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.
  • dissemblance: (Default)

    save the critters

    [personal profile] dissemblance 2021-06-13 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
    nat will kill if necessary, but otherwise she's team 'herd them elsewhere'.
    dissemblance: @megascopes (pic#14842346)

    nat romanoff | ota

    [personal profile] dissemblance 2021-06-13 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
    BASKETBALL ᴊᴜηє 11ᴛʜ

    so, things have been — tense. nat, who's dressed down in an oversized hoodie and something suspiciously like yoga pants, is very determinedly not giving off 'i am a spy' vibes. instead, she's playing a little basketball.

    good way to stay in shape without being too conspicuous.

    she bounces a ball to the nearest person walking by, tips her head towards the makeshift hoop in a universal gesture of game?


    So. Aliens, huh?

    she says it playfully, the same way someone might roll their eyes and talk about boys will be boys.


    FEAST ᴊᴜηє 11ᴛʜ

    she's given most of her food away, but she is nursing a small glass of what seems rather suspiciously like thorkill's moonshine. providing your character roughly looks like a legal adult, as they pass by she'll hold out a second small cup.

    Up for a toast?


    SINKHOLES ᴊᴜηє 14ᴛʜ

    she's just putting her boots on, her there's a shift to the ground, a tremendous noise, and then the whole thing goes to hell. the ground gives out from under her, and nat grabs one of her wristlets. no time to put it on, she just hits the grappling anchor and is gratified when it hits one of the solid overhead structures of the shower.

    the end result is that she's sort of dangling over the sinkhole without the immediate momentum to swing to the other side of it.

    she gives a sort of sheepish smile to whoever's nearest, and in a coy tone:


    Little help?

    no hiding that she had the reaction time and gadgetry to deal with not getting swallowed by a sinkhole, but — at least she can play it off.


    WILDCARD

    hit me up on discord @ roy#6263 and we'll hash something out! i'm game for any of the listed prompts, happy to tag cross-canon/medium/whathaveyou and excited to build up any sort of cr!!
    brosbeforeprose: (play the game)

    Varric | ota!

    [personal profile] brosbeforeprose 2021-06-13 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
    cultural exchange
    a. note-taking

    There are kid Thessyx! Fancy that.

    It took a couple days of watching them and chatting to them to figure it out, but the younger ones are the more actively curious, with the others - adults - seeming to all equally look after them and keep an eye on them.

    The kids talk more. They love his stories and answers to eager questions as much as the adults, but they talk.

    At one point he's in the canteen ignoring his food and furiously writing notes in the notebook that came with him - the Hard in Hightown draft in the front of it can wait.

    If anyone happens along, he'll glance up when he notices, greets them with a nod and looks pointedly at the seat opposite him.

    "Feel free, if you're ready to listen to me thinking out loud."



    b. it's for, uh, medical use

    The janitorial staff have a good supply of weed.

    Varric never heard of weed in his life - there are equivalents in Thedas, but he doesn't use them, less predictable than alcohol - but the janitors are too sodding nice and he's too sodding soft, so he drew up a few blueprints for them, helps out some with cleaning various tools and somehow, by showing base kindness, got himself a handful of joints.

    They're great trade fodder.

    So tonight starts with a(n adult) thessyx and a tale.

    "Picture the scene: a beautiful, buxom pirate... 'What's buxom'? Uh, well, our people feed their children from breasts - here, on their chest - and for some people a large chest looks very attractive. It's a warm-blooded thing.

    "Yeah, I'm sure it does explain a lot. Me? No, I guarantee you on me the chest hair is attractive, but not the breasts. It's complicated."

    He catches the eye of a fellow hatchling sitting nearby and grins ruefully.

    "...I've shitted this up in the opening lines, by the looks of it." He leans foward and in his hands appear as if by magic a couple of joints. "Here, has anybody offered you one of these yet? If I'm going to keep explaining tits, no one's allowed to be sober."


    CRITTERS
    a. well, shit

    When his crossbow didn't work on the creatures - the arrows bounce uselessly from the armour, and he could poison or trap one, but he'd have to take the time to make these things, and buggered if they have any time right now.

    All he can do is use Bianca's recoil to propel him in high jumps away from the rampaging things and hope he doesn't...

    ...land on any more of them. He falls from ten feet in the air to land heavily on a rock-solid shell; the creature staggers, snarling with putrid breath that washes over him so he nearly retches on the spot.

    It's taller than him when both are knocked down. He's looking right into a maw.

    "Fuck fuck fuck--"

    He repeats the word like the Chant of Light itself as he quickly calibrates Bianca to aim directly down the beast's gullet, but he's not going to make it, it's too angry and too fast--



    b. gently, gently

    He's good at sneaking, being a rogue and all. That's his best bet now against these Maker-forsaken little sons of nugs.

    It works for a solid day, until it doesn't, and he finds himself cornered.

    It was an accident; he was on his way through a doorway and the critter raced through it, bellowing in foul-smelling rage and fear when they almost bump right into each other. And he's not sure what makes him react the way he does. Maybe thinking it was frightened struck some chord.

    But instead of reaching for Bianca or a knife, or even fleeing, he calmly holds his hands out and makes a shushing noise.

    "There there, hey," he says, voice rumbling low in his chest. "No need to worry. You're as scared of me as I am of you, aren't you..."

    And fuck him sideways, he thinks it's working. It actually backs away a little, just looking. It probably helps that Varric's barely taller than it, too.

    But the moment's closed by another door opening - another hatchling pops through the door, and without looking up, Varric simple pitches his voice to carry farther, still the same soothing tone.

    "Don't make any sudden moves, I think it's calming down."
    spalten: (pic#14544826)

    b-ball

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-13 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ the thing about being tall, it doesn't really guarantee you an automatic advantage when it comes to basketball when you don't know how to play the game. vidar's got the reflexes to grab the ball, certainly, born from training, but that doesn't guarantee the ability to sink it to the net when he throws it. ]

    Ah. Oh well. [ that's ... maybe he ought to lob it gently instead of throwing it aggressively like a guided missile, but that's fine. he has other skills. he meets the team captain's glance and gives a sheepish smile. ] Sorry.

    But yes, aliens. [ they look like fish, but that's verboten according to the captain. vidar frowns and settles with, ] Very aquatic ones.

    I've never seen aliens before, so this is quite the experience.
    spalten: (pic#14544820)

    02

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-13 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
    Disgusting.

    [ someone doesn't like vermin. and the way vidar retaliates is with an exasperated face as he takes a section of steel pipe that's been wrangled free by the damage done by the sinkhole. wielding it like a spear, vidar pushes the blunt end right onto the head to crush it; with another heave, he thrusts the confused critter right back into the hole. ]

    I hope this isn't a regular occurrence. It's ruining the atmosphere. [ and by atmosphere he means his mood, which makes no allowances for gross critters. eew!!! ]
    baum: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] baum 2021-06-14 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
    John doesn't want to kill animals just for being animals. Unless there's no other choice, he'd like to try and herd them outside to somewhere safe.
    baum: (Default)

    [personal profile] baum 2021-06-14 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
    John will be interested in them! He's more fascinated by alien life than he is nervous of it, and he'll want to try and see if the Thessyx have more information (or even theories) about what they're all doing here.

    He'll ask:
    • Why they call them the Children of the Leviathan
    • Why they haven't appeared to the other settlers until now
    • General questions about their culture, where they come from, what their names are, whether there are more of them somewhere
    • Whether there's anything they can tell them about the eggs or why they might have been brought here so suddenly


    Beyond those questions, he'll try to be generally friendly and welcoming.
    baum: (Default)

    [personal profile] baum 2021-06-14 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
    SHELL

    John will stay out of it. He thinks making friends with the newcomers is a good idea, and he won't want to prejudice that in any way by making messes with the gifts. Besides, if there's anything to worry about, he'd rather not be on the receiving end of it. He'll wait until Childe does her due diligence.

    MEETING

    He'll be keen to meet the Thessyx and would want to go to the meeting if he could. If he can't, he'll try to connect with those who did, and find out what was said.

    FEAST

    John will eat, but he'll also share - he knows the value of making allies, and the crew of the Adamant have been good to them. He'll pay it back.

    SINKHOLES

    He joined up with Engineering for the intro log. He'd help out as far as he could, but his expertise isn't in structural engineering. He's able to do what he's told, and he's handy with tools, but it's more that he'd be a body following instructions than doing anything from his own initiative.
    fortyforged: (huh)

    [personal profile] fortyforged 2021-06-14 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
    Yay roomba kitty!

    Same question but for the critters. Since they're blind, would they ignore or treat Banshee as an obstacle if he was in the way?
    neversmall: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-14 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
    Nina sighs and backs up her not!boyfriend, because it seems to mean a lot to him and as long as the creatures are out of the camp it doesn't matter to her one way or another how it happens, really. She'll start asking people how'd they'd like it if the Adament crew had done just killed them when they abruptly showed up if Tensions Rise.
    neversmall: (Default)

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-14 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
    Shell
    Leave it the shell alone, tbh. If she could figure out how to be sneaky and find out more information about the shell, she would, but it's a shell, so... no. She will also ask anyone who she sees going to interfere with it if they have a better plan other than 'poke it and see what happens', because if they don't, please stop.

    Thessyx Questions
    - How did you know we were here? - Saw the answer to this!
    - Vague to more specific alluding to the dream fish as it felt like Welcome and left a mark. Something along the lines of, "I had a very strange dream a few weeks ago. I was in a giant underground lake and a creature like I've never seen before swam out of it. My friend thinks it was some kind of water spirit - he had the same dream. Have you ever heard of anything like that?"
    - Where can they go to scavenge more food, plz. Any recommendations of things that are good to eat on the planet?
    - Has anything like this ever happened before?
    - What's it like where you live? What are your names?

    Feast
    Nina will definitely be relishing her food, but she'll also be sharing it with the Adament crew, particularly the NPCs she knows well and has been working with either at the Aid Station, Theater, or during clean up in the kitchen.

    Sinkholes
    Nina will be doing what she can to help those injured while working with the NPCs.

    Ty, mods! This is fun!
    Edited (smh) 2021-06-14 02:23 (UTC)
    fortyforged: (that right)

    [personal profile] fortyforged 2021-06-14 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
    Okay, that makes sense! Thank you~~ :3
    fortyforged: (hm)

    b

    [personal profile] fortyforged 2021-06-14 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
    After seeing what the critters could do to some solid walls, the last thing the old Exo wants to do is get caught up in close quarters with the things. The impression's thankfully a fresh one in his mind, which is more than can be said about his knowing where he's just stepped out to.

    Banshee blinks on the other side of the door, looking past the large creature to the figure just past it. He squints a little, then nods, remaining still as his glowing gaze returns to the anxious creature, one hand remaining on the door.
    portolan: (Default)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-14 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
    Hi!

    Balthier was talking to a couple of characters IC about doing gifts of some sort for the guests. Are any of the following viable:

    (a) having the theater crew do some kind of performance (per Alina's organizing)
    (b) creating some kind of art piece to present or display (per Ian making something)
    (c) bestowing some kind of ceremonial title on guests

    And, would Childe approve of gift-giving or shoot it down? Balthier said he'd ask.

    Thanks!

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