raiamods: (Default)
raiamods ([personal profile] raiamods) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-06-10 06:01 pm

EVENT #01 —

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: Guests arrive at the basecamp
WHEN: June 10 - June 17
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we should update this because we missed something)


EVENT LOG 001 — JUNE ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we missed something and should update this!)

Please note that several of these sections have deadlines, so it's a good idea to prioritize your plotting for the earlier section of the event first.

A calendar of events and deadlines is as follows:
IC:
June 10 -
The thessyx arrive with the shell.
June 11 - Dinner with the thessyx, gifts distributed.
June 12 - Scrimmage interrupted by the formation of a sinkhole.
June 14 - Critters emerge from the sinkhole in the gymnasium.
June 13-17 - Two more sinkholes open up, with more critters emerging within the day.

OOC:
June 13 -
Last day to ask about your character interfering with the shell.
June 16 - Last day to ask about your character joining the closed-door meeting with Childe and the thessyx.
June 30 - Last day to register the way your character engages with the thessyx and the critters directly. (Mods do not anticipate replying to these comments.)
❀ UNEXPECTED VISITORS


At noon on June 10, a dozen visitors arrive. The Thessyx carry themselves quietly, moving through the base as if they were attempting to enter a body of water without disturbing it. Lightweight robes of some native skein cover their green-grey amphibian skin, but do not obscure the fact that each of them possesses four arms. Once inside the base and in the leviathan’s embrace, they will lower their hoods and additionally reveal fins of varying colors along the back of their scalps. These creatures have slit noses; wide-set, irisless eyes; and mouths that stretch the full width of their skull. With them, they bring a great shell about three meters long and as tall as a small adult human.

The security force of the Adamant greets the visitors on their entry to camp. These strange amphibious creatures inform the security force that they are the Thessyx, and that the shell is full of gifts. The security force is ordered by Chief Security Officer Rémi to lock the shell away until Captain Childe has had the opportunity to decide what will be done with the contents. If you intend for your character to interfere with the shell in some way, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below BEFORE JUNE 13TH — this includes if your character would try to stop others from interfering with it.

Three of their number with blue fins on their head go to speak in a closed-door meeting with Captain Childe. If your character would like to attempt to get access to this meeting, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below with an explanation of how they would attempt to do so BEFORE JUNE 16TH.

The next day, more Thessyx arrive, and they will remain on the base for about one week. They move around the camp fairly casually, mingling with the Adamant’s crew. They are particularly interested in the hatchlings. If your character would like to ask specific questions of the Thessyx they encounter, please direct them to the QUESTIONS thread below.

Just before dinner the next evening (June 11), Captain Childe announces that there will be a special celebration in the mess hall, courtesy of their guests — all of their guests. The announcement is as follows, and goes out on the communication devices camp-wide:
I'm sure some of you have noticed the Thessyx walking among us. In light of their arrival and the gifts they've brought with them, we've decided to have a joint celebration in the mess. They have agreed to have guards from their city patrol our perimeter, so everyone has twelve hours off. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it's strongly suggested.

They've brought gifts for our new arrivals as well. These gifts are to be distributed later. I know some of you will think it's unfair that the Thessyx are favoring them, and that in three years of being here this is the first time they've initiated contact with us. Tensions are bound to be high — but the first person who picks a fight is getting thrown in the brig, I don't care if you're a civilian or not. We could all use this break.

Don't offend them. No fish jokes.

Childe out.
At dinner, a few crew members get out their instruments, and Captain Childe even looks the other way when Senior Engineer Thorkil Bjørnson opens up a barrel of the moonshine he’s just finished. It means going without later, but they’ll share some of their modest wealth with the Thessyx. The mess hall is cluttered with revelry, and some of the tables have been pushed together to make room for people to dance.

The feast is made up of various mosses and seaweeds, pickled insects, and a few mollusks. Whether this sounds appetizing or not, it’s the freshest food anyone on the base has had for a while, and it seems it’s only intended for the Children of the Leviathan. Some crew members look on jealously or externalize their bitterness. Others may be pushier — after all, they’ve been providing for the hatchlings out of their own supplies for a while now. Still others will be surprised if any of the hatchlings offer trades or pawn the food off on them preemptively — they may be inclined towards favors and good will.

A few notes:
  • The Thessyx refer to the hatchlings as ‘Children of the Leviathan.’ They do not appear to sleep, nor do they step out from under the leviathan’s embrace when the sun is out. The three blue finned Thessyx who meet with Captain Childe are not the Thessyx’s leaders, only representatives. They prefer to ask the PCs questions about them and where they came from rather than answering questions about themselves.

  • To interfere with the shell, attempt to be involved in the closed-door meeting between Childe and the thessyx, or to ask questions of the thessyx, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread. These options have staggered deadlines so that we can account for each stage while responding to the next; these actions of some hatchlings will reflect on others.

  • By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the mod comment labeled THESSYX GREETING with a brief description of how your character would greet the Thessyx. Feel free to write multiple characters in a single comment. We just want to check the temperature in the room.

  • ❀ A DISTURBANCE UNDERFOOT

    On June 12th, the thessyx’s visit is disrupted by the appearance of a sinkhole in the gymnasium. The basketball court, which was already in disrepair, suffers the worst of the damage. In the midst of a scrimmage between PCs and NPCs, which the thessyx observe quite rapturously, a 5-meter hole opens in the middle, with concrete and steel and earth crumbling underfoot. Any injured PCs will have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team, and the gymnasium will be closed until further notice. Don’t worry! The Adamant’s engineers are on the case, figuring out how the soil’s stability gave way. This could be bad news for the entirety of the basecamp if it’s an ongoing issue. The engineers could probably use some help addressing the issue — to volunteer, reach out to us in the QUESTIONS thread.

    Over the next couple days, two more sinkholes appear — one near the Memorial Wall, and one in the showers (though it thankfully doesn’t seem to have affected the plumbing). Anyone injured by a sinkhole will also have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team. Cartagena shares a helpful (“helpful”) PSA about the dangers of sinkholes and how to protect yourself, which is clearly dated and has nothing to do with whatever is going on here on Ethyraia:

    Hello, Children of the Leviathan! Isn’t that a silly name? I guess it’s the most accurate, since you did come from eggs. Soon you will be one month old! Hahaha! Biology can be odd sometimes.

    It’s not just biology, though! Ecology is certainly strange and confusing, and nothing is stranger and more confusing than the ecology of Ethyraia. I’m sure you have all noticed the sinkholes appearing more and more often these days. Do not be alarmed! Not because there is nothing alarming, but because alarm leads to panic and panic leads to more danger!

    For the time being, please follow these helpful tips for sinkholes:
    1. If you see a sinkhole, go the opposite direction.
    2. If you fall into a sinkhole, try not to cry. Instead, yell for help!

    I think these are sufficient enough guidelines to follow, yes?

    Remember, be careful out there! And protect your squishy selves. You never know when you might be useful later. Then it would be a shame if your squishy self was gone. We’d all be very sad. Or most of us. Or some of us. At least me, to the capacity that an AI can be sad.

    Stay safe! Cartagena out.

    On June 14th, the first of the critters emerges from the sinkhole in the gymnasium. These creatures are roughly a meter tall at the shoulder, blind, with enormous clawed forepaws and supernumerary hind-legs that appear shrunken and shrivelled and barely provide function. These creatures have tough, armored hides and truly, truly awful breath. They are capable of tearing through metal with their claws, and small arms fire does nothing to them. Within the day, dozens of them have skittered into the base. They seem as confused and afraid to be in here as the basecamp’s residents are to have them here. However, these are wild animals; they react to their fear with sharp teeth and claws. A few perseverant critters find their way into the cafeteria, sniffing out food, while others can be found gnawing on cables that power the lights for the basecamp.

    Chief Security Officer Rémi will be quick to pursue an extermination plan. The problem is big enough that the PCs are encouraged to help out, and those who volunteer will be quickly accepted, as long as they aren't trying to offer their own bright ideas.

    A few notes:
  • To volunteer to help out with engineering, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread.

  • If your character would volunteer to help security exterminate the creatures, or if they would disregard the security force and go after the critters on their own, please let us know in the QUESTIONS thread so we can talk about what this would look like. Rémi isn’t well-known for liking people who subvert the chain of command.

  • By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the CRITTER WRANGLING comment with how you vote the critters get dealt with — extermination, rehoming, or something else. If someone has already commented with your characters’ IC preference, please add your +1 under other people’s comments, so it’s easier for us to sort.
  • unclesam: ((5))

    [personal profile] unclesam 2021-06-12 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
    Thank you as always for the detailed response!

    For 1) Sam will pass the information along to Childe and Rémi as that seems like a biiiiiiiit of a security issue they should be aware of, and he'll pass any knowledge of instability etc on to the people working on fixing the sinkhole issue from engineering, too.

    re: the rat warrens + tunnels + critters, once the critters are dealt with, if possible, Sam would like to talk to childe and/or rémi, seeing as it might be a good idea to investigate if the past rescue efforts led to this burrowing and the critters breaking through, or if something else happened there/is currently happening there. ICly, he'd volunteer to put a small team together to check it out once the camp is secured unless he's needed more at the aid station, OOCly, if this is an avenue that will be plot explored I understand that it'd be RNG'd of course <3

    for the vibranium/laser: no worries, absolutely no intention of one shotting things or cheating around creature strength here, just thinking of some fun options to have Sam attempt to varying degrees of success.

    edit: my bad, I misunderstood how you set up the threads re: the thessyx greetings. I just saw the announcement on discord, and am moving my question here accordingly:
    Sam would love to trade some info with the thessyx for a conversation about the "Dreaming" portion from the intro log, if they might have knowledge of that, and share some insights into his home world in exchange. he's particularly interested if they can tell him anything about the lake, beast or the lilac mark that was on his skin for a few days.
    Edited 2021-06-12 02:07 (UTC)
    spalten: (awkward) (Default)

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-12 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
    SHELL vidar knows his temper and won't push it so he'll refrain from volunteering himself to attend! but he'll be happy to throw in his assent with others going to represent the hatchlings.

    DINNER ... unfortunately yeah .... he is a softie u_u if the other survivors don't have much to trade in lieu of tastier food, that's fine; vidar will give the kids food with no caveats to it

    THESSYX in that case vidar will totally be happy to teach them dancing, just because that'll be hilarious, though he's a former aristocrat and will likely attempt to teach them more formal dances (a waltz), however badly they fumble it.
    cryptoherpetology: (002)

    Re: MOD QUESTIONS

    [personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-06-12 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
    Alex will probably look curiously at the Shell when it's visible but will not try to mess with it. He won't narc if someone says they want to, though.

    The food after he eats or trades for enough to keep himself from going hungry will be shared freely with the crew, probably favoring the kids since it can be broken up into smaller portions to go further that way. He will do his best to keep the children from sharing their food with the clingy church griffin who'll be around for that and giving everyone Starving Birdcat Face.

    He will agree there should be a hatchling representative at the meeting but has no preference to who beyond "not me."

    As for questions I'd like to know if there's anything Alex would be able to tell about the Thessyx as a herpetologist who's been around cold-blooded humanoid species before that his fellow endotherms might miss. (IE, would familiarity with for isntance these or this species give him some comparative context or insight?)
    Also, will they be offended that he's basically in perma-study mode and trying to be awkwardly polite about it, but in the end is just kind of nerding over an entirely amphibious society?
    Apologies for editing but also what could he learn about the critters via dissection and how do the Thessyx seem to think of them?
    Edited 2021-06-12 02:48 (UTC)
    needfully: (pic#14879362)

    [personal profile] needfully 2021-06-12 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
    food
    the good news is that illumi will eat all the offered food with ease, like it's the most delicious thing ever... but if asked to share what he's been given, illumi will ask, completely genuinely, why he should/why he owes the adamant's people anything. he will not care if asking this (rightfully) pisses crew members or civilians off. if pressed about it, he'll respond that he'd be willing to give the food up in return for some samples or information about the planet's poisonous plants. if the person asking can't provide that, he won't budge, even if they're a child.

    shell
    illumi would only interfere with the shell by using his nen to try and sense if there's anything living inside of it, which he can do by just getting kinda close to the shell. so, he will attempt to get close to the door that the shell is behind, but he won't go any further than that. if other hatchlings get on his case or tell him to go away, he'll slink off until whatever person that told him to stop isn't there, rinse and repeat.

    thessyx questions
    because the thessyx have interest in them, illumi would ask if there have ever been other children of the leviathan, or if they're the first ones! he would get the impression the thessyx were prepared for their arrival, and already knew what to call them, so this is why he would ask.

    general questions
    if illumi were to disguise himself as soon as the thessyx show up (he can turn into this horrifying thing) or give a fake name to them when asked, would the thessyx be able to tell he was in disguise/lying? since they are telepathic... i'm just curious!
    Edited 2021-06-12 02:14 (UTC)
    fossils: (Default)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-12 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
    Put it in the wrong spot so adding here, sorry!

    Steve will approach to ask questions about the Thessyxs, about the Leviathan and their 'hatching' if they will tell him anything about that.

    When the sinkholes and critters appear he will also try to ask them if they know how to deal with the animals.
    cleaningsolutions: (Default)

    [personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-06-12 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
    Mops is good at picking up on subtle reactions. Do the Thessyx show any body language/eye contact/tone of voice or pace of speech changes with regards to who they speak to (are they more comfortable with redheads, do they stare at prostheses etc)? How do they tend to respond to enthusiastic friendliness vs reserve vs whatever level of hostility the Adamant survivors will show them? Besides the hatchlings, what are they most interested in and does anything in camp worry or repel them? How united are they, are the older and younger ones on the same page, and do they talk amongst themselves? Are they surprised by the sinkholes and the turbo-moles?

    But really, Mops is still at least this interested in the humans. Additional strain imposed by the visit, levels of resentment vs hope, how steam is vented, stories of previous encounters. What she eats basically does not matter to her so she'd give her shares away pretty much immediately.

    I see we've got answers about the tunnels suggesting the moles have gotten spooked out this way from rat-wards! Do any of them bear wounds worth noticing? Are there any particular commonly available chemicals/substances that repel or attract them?
    cleaningsolutions: (Life longs for life.)

    [personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-06-12 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
    Mops has zero qualms about aliens and will actually be more inclined to like these just because they have no context for her and aren't afraid of her.

    She will be happy to talk at length about where she comes from and ask about thessyx cities. I'll be real it's gonna involve a lot of infrastructure, the problems of keeping amphibious spaces clean, how do they dispose of waste. Mops can bond like a motherfucker over that stuff if she can find anyone who's worked in related fields.

    If she can make friends with some she'll ask after them in future interactions.
    cleaningsolutions: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-06-12 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
    Mops would prefer to find a way to chase them out or lure them elsewhere, though time and more damage/injuries would tip her more towards extermination. She's not opposed to relocating the ones that are more amenable to this and killing the others.
    fortyforged: (Yep)

    +1

    [personal profile] fortyforged 2021-06-12 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
    No sense in finding trouble- or maybe in this case more trouble if it can be avoided. Maybe just nudge them out of places they shouldn't be if they get too curious.
    brosbeforeprose: (breakthru)

    [personal profile] brosbeforeprose 2021-06-12 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
    omg the cutest nug!

    Thanks so much for your answers, this is all fantastic :D
    I'll see how the RNGing goes, but if Varric doesn't get to go into the meeting, I will totally be hitting you up about eavesdropping opportunities (and the consequences of same)!

    I have a couple of follow-up questions:

    1. Was it a thessyx in the dream who touched the PCs or something else? If something else, did that call to the thessyx? (And will the thessyx talk about this at all?)

    2. Can the thessyx communicate telepathically with the PCs at all? Can information be shared both ways like that?
    wittingly: (ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴡᴇ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴏᴛʜ ғᴀʟʟᴇɴ ᴜɴᴅᴇ)

    [personal profile] wittingly 2021-06-12 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
    hello thank u, in exchange please accept this picture of a lizard licking him own face.

    He'd be assessing the sinkholes to see how likely they are to screw up the structural integrity of the buildings they're in and around, or if they're at risk of an iminent further collapse, then use his fancy magic chest bullshit to reinforce/fill them so they can hopefully rebuild without fear of a repeat. Or, alternatively, tell them if the ground is way too fucked up to be safe and suggest they relocate things elsewhere.

    Then, you know, help do a build.
    wittingly: (I'ᴍ ᴀ ᴡᴇɪʀᴅᴏ)

    [personal profile] wittingly 2021-06-12 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
    Ian's 100% down to assist, but also wants to pitch the concept of somehow catching one alive. He is... still coming up with ideas on how to do that considering they can tear through metal, though. He just really wants to keep one to study.
    wittingly: (Nᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ɴᴏ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ)

    [personal profile] wittingly 2021-06-12 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
    follow-up question / pitch

    Ian really wants to catch and keep one of those snarly angrybois to study (or domesticate??)

    problem: them claws can cut through metal
    potential solution: seeing them totally not able to cut through the fancy vibranium, he'd like to try duplicating a patch of it to make angry lizard kitten mittens. Basically cap off them claws so it wouldn't be able to rip its way out of a cage.

    is this a thing that could be a thing
    psychometries: (Default)

    [personal profile] psychometries 2021-06-12 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    just a could things!! for the shell, it looks like nobody's really going to try to mess with it, but just throwing it out there that cal will also try to stop people from interfering.

    for the sinkholes, if he happens to be around when one opens up, he'd try to keep people from falling and getting hurt, either by pushing them out of the way with the force or using force stasis until he can grab them!! idk if that's useful. he'll also help try to fix them — he's no civil engineer, but he's always down for manual labor. if the engineering team gives him something to do, he'll do it.

    and questions!

    ▶ for the thessyx: cal would ask them about the leviathan, e.g. what kind of creature it is, what happened to it, what powers it had, etc., and what "children of the leviathan" means to them, like does that mean they think that the leviathan brought the hatchlings here? things like that!

    ▶ for the lovely mods: do the thessyx use energy/aura/magic/chi/the force or anything like that that cal might be able to sense in them? i noticed in some of the other answers that you mentioned the dream and telepathic interfaces so i'm curious if cal would be able to pick that up!
    psychometries: (Default)

    [personal profile] psychometries 2021-06-12 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
    cal isn't even slightly fazed at all by aliens with four arms so he will be polite and respectful and curious to learn about them, since he definitely wants to make peace and cooperate with them! he'll readily answer questions about his galaxy and what it's like, along with surface-level details about himself.
    psychometries: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] psychometries 2021-06-12 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
    cal would much prefer to find some other way to relocate the creatures or herd them away from the camp, but if that isn't an option at all, he'll help the security team exterminate them!
    cryptoherpetology: (Default)

    [personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-06-12 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
    I am so up for a thread of these two trial and erroring their way through building a bigger, better mouse trap.

    wittingly: (Tʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴏᴡᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪ)

    [personal profile] wittingly 2021-06-12 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
    yaaaaas

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