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.
  • baum: (a r g u e)

    i

    [personal profile] baum 2021-06-18 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ John's been sharing his own food as much as he can. The response to that has been good, and he feels like he's making progress with that. People aren't grumbling so much, there's less resentment - at least towards him personally.

    That's why it irritates him to hear someone saying this.
    ]

    Hey. Little perspective? They shared everything they have with us.

    [ They hadn't needed to. They could've just left the hatchlings to fend for themselves. ]
    sunmon: (Default)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-18 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
    Yeah, I can see that. Thank you.

    [ her head is buzzing, but somehow, claptrap's stilted cadence pierces right through. alina groans again as she tries to sit up, touching her leg more gingerly with the arm that can fully extend. not broken, but not ready to bear her weight either. ]

    Do you see a rope or anything?
    sunmon: (pic#14981239)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-18 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    the smarter thing would be to pretend that she hadn't been looking for a way to anywhere but the basecamp. but trish's attitude — dismissing alina's needs and insisting she focus on the rest of them, as if alina's actions have anything to do with the others — rankles her. ]

    What is that supposed to mean?

    [ it comes out pushy and defensive. alina is too young and too unused to politics to see how her actions might reflect on the whole. ]
    angerberg: (pic#13922738)

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-18 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ a flutter of a smile spreads when she notices the quick aversion of his eyes. of course he's going to be noble about it. she dusts herself off, but it's a failed effort. there's just as much dirt on her hands. ]

    Fortunately, my dignity appears to have taken the worst of it.

    [ instead of walking to him, she walks to the nearest wall of the soil, pressing her hand to it. she rubs some between her fingers, then dusts some away from the wall. it's dangerous to be this close to the edge of a sinkhole, probably, when more could start caving, but it's also the only viable way to start thinking about the most practical method of getting them out. ​]

    No roots. [ she observes, thoughtful. ] They were planning to put down a colony, weren't they? [ of course they'd bring the necessary equipment for clearing the land well. they'd done a passable job, here. she sighs. it doesn't help her now. ]
    angerberg: (Default)

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-18 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    Ah, but it's the good-looking ones you have to look out for.

    [ she cracks her neck. ]

    Step clear. The hides are too strong. [ she's worked with enough witchers to know it's about the right tool for the job. ] You're not killing them. You're irritating them.

    [ she confirms it after seeing the one he'd just hit start twitching. ]
    angerberg: (Default)

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-18 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ not with her, of course. she had made a good show of respecting the norms of the commune by keeping her weapon in the storage locker near the bunks. she didn't want to appear threatening — or, frankly, too useful.

    but now the beast is whipping its tail around and sniffing fearfully, claws pulled back near its chest as it sits back on its haunches. yennefer knows what comes after fear. she takes a deep breath. when it figures out what direction yennefer and illumi are in, screeches at them. ​
    ]

    Keep your distance. [ she draws a deep breath, braces herself, and thrusts her hands forward. fire blooms from them, spilling over the broken pieces of the basketball court and onto the creature. flames take less chaos than summoning the sword from her locker would, so her best hope lies in cooking the creature alive. ]
    angerberg: (pic#13922742)

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-18 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
    I haven't heard anything on their channels. Of course, if it were me, I'd be hiding that sort of thing from the rabble.

    [ she doesn't bother to disguise her interest in the shell as it ambles between the crowd. the security force fumbles with the size and shape of it, and two of them stop to discuss where to best secure it — and how. ]

    It doesn't seem like they were expected. [ dryly, ] Maybe they hatched from the next dragon corpse over.
    spalten: (pic#14544820)

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-18 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
    That so? Might need something more drastic, then.

    [ she seems like she can handle the pressure, so vidar switches roles - ] I'll corral them to you.

    [ a flip of the weapon he's been using to bludgeon them, and then vidar gets to work. though granted, he's curious as to what her plans are. ]
    needfully: (pic#14782435)

    [personal profile] needfully 2021-06-19 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
    ...But isn't that their responsibility? They brought us here. "On accident."

    [ Personally, he doesn't care whether or not it was an accident; the fact remains that it's their fault he's here, allegedly, so some part of him does feel the food and board is repayment for that colossal fuck up. Thus, he doesn't feel indebted. Obviously, it's not a popular sentiment among the hatchlings. But Illumi's not afraid of expressing it, anyway, it seems. ]

    Unless you can look past that, [ His eyes move back from over his shoulder to look the man in the eye, his expression neutral and calm. ] I don't see a reason to do more than I'm already doing for them.
    portolan: (c o m e a t m e b r o)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-19 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
    [ This Balthier knows how to do, though most recently it's been with stubborn teenagers. He follows her trajectory with his eye, calculating for how much of a range she might have, and gets himself in position. He moves quickly -- she's too precariously anchored for his liking. ]

    Deal. Ready when you are.
    portolan: (l o o s e n y o u r c u f f s)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-19 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
    [ he sees her eyes widen, senses the nervous energy. she showed it in the alley, when she showed him her light and he asked questions she didn't like. ]

    I would be a terrible pirate if I advised you to not keep a back door option.

    [ he considers his words. ]

    Or for wanting to be somewhere else.
    sunmon: (pic#14981233)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-19 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
    [ there's a casualness about his words. the kind that allows the understanding to lie on its own, settle between them comfortably. but more to the point, that generalization of her sentiments gives her an easier opening to divert them. something more believable than the good of all the hatchlings — or the children of the leviathan, as it were. ]

    Do you know what they do to Grisha — people with power like mine and yours — where I come from? [ she straightens her back. ] In the North, they burn us at the stake. In the South, they experiment on us, trying to replicate what we can do. I've heard on the Wandering Isle, they think drinking our blood will prolong the lives of the otkazat'sya.

    [ all this, she'd learned in greater depth since coming to the little palace. she breathes deeply. ]

    In Ravka, we're lucky. The king just expects us to be soldiers. [ but the people were still turning against them, even in ravka. she recalls kirigan's fears of west ravka, of the uprising. she thinks of marie. looking a bit dour, she contextualizes; ] It's a matter of time before they realize the value of what we can do and decide what they're going to do about it.
    Edited 2021-06-19 02:21 (UTC)
    portolan: (g r i m a c e)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-19 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ he's surprised she's taken to telling him something so private so quickly, but he remembers how desperate he was to share the huge weight of his life when he'd broken free, when he was alone and had no idea where he was heading. He was younger than her, and more naive, but the general feeling was the same.

    still, the oppression she's talking about is beyond his experience. he was the spoiled -- if misunderstood -- son of a powerful noble. he had the highest position a person could have next to emperor, and at 16. he'd run away from power, not persecution.

    but he does understand one piece.
    ]

    When the environment we are in is anathema to our nature, we do what we can to survive. That's always been the appeal of the skies, where there are no rules.

    [ maybe not none, but so many fewer, and so much easier to flee. ]

    I'm sorry you're home treated you that way.

    fossils: (pic#8212148)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-19 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ It's a language that persists, in spite of the gaps everywhere else. The canteen gets wordlessly traded for the sleeve rags, he tears them into bandage lengths as Bucky pours the water over the slash marks. Wait for him to finish and hold out his arm to start. ]

    Brutus' got you worse.

    [ There's a light, almost fondness to his tone, eyes still lowered on the wound.

    Brutus had to have been over ten years old when Bucky's sisters first found the massive, half feral tomcat lurking around the block. ]
    freightcars: (097)

    [personal profile] freightcars 2021-06-19 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( There's only one small pause in an otherwise perfectly choreographed routine. One little hesitation in what otherwise feels like pre-scripted habit. Just a second after he finishes pouring water on his wounds and before he holds his arm up, like he's not completely sure the song doesn't end there and he's not going to be dancing this one alone. He doesn't seem outright surprised, just...

    It's just a moment, and then it picks back up to unfold the way it's done before — usually the other way around, but not always.
    )

    Don't say his name. You'll somehow summon him here.

    ( He drawls darkly, casting his eyes down to study the depth of the wounds. Three nice, deep gashes down the bicep. The rest are little knicks and scratches that won't last more than a day or two, tops. )

    Still wish I would've chucked him into the canal before I left.

    ( But Mary loved him, and he tolerated her enough to let her pet him. Pretty much guaranteed him a safe ticket. )
    fossils: (pic#14839568)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-19 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ His head cants at the verbal air quotes over offered. ]

    Never said everything. [ Not their own things, the meager supplies and personal belongings they arrived with in their... eggs. He shakes his head, spooning some beige food into his mouth as he scans the cafeteria. ]

    You're free to do what you want. Just doesn't sit well with me that we're the only ones receiving these gifts right now.

    [ They don't even know the Thessyx's intentions, other than what little they've said so far. ]
    fossils: (pic#14141625)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-19 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    Won't tell anyone if you don't.

    [ There's a good-natured, easy going kind of self-deprecation in his tone as he pulls himself onto his feet with care for the potential instability of the dirt beneath. But then he's just as quickly back to frowning as she walks toward the wall, arms crossing over his chest as his head angles to one side with his question. ]

    They?
    fossils: (pic#14157041)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-20 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Can't go unnoticed, that pause almost like a misstep. And maybe there's the briefest flicker of tension across his own form, bracing for a split second before its over, back on the rails again.

    He murmurs to himself wryly as he wraps the first makeshift bandage, then the next: ]


    Every cat by now from Flatbush to the Manhattan bridge must be his great-great-great-great grandsomething...

    [ He lets out a huff, shaking his head. ]

    You know, I still got the scar from when he bit me?

    [ The only time he got close enough to Brutus to get bit, seeing as how he was allergic and the cat hated anyone, even the older girls half the time.

    Even the serum was no match for a homicidal ball made of fur and compressed rage.

    (he's not angling here, not on purpose) ]
    neversmall: (Default)

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-20 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
    Thank you very much, mods!

    The names are very interesting! o.o It will make some cool connections once she gets out of them that the dream was their monarch - it makes it less of an Intrusion and more of a Communication, if that is even how they are named.
    freightcars: (231)

    [personal profile] freightcars 2021-06-20 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
    Most people would've learned some kinda lesson from that...

    ( He muses, dry insinuation written in there. Maybe something about leaving feral things alone so they don't stab claws into you just for trying to save them. Just saying.

    Good thing for both him and the cat that Steve has less sense than a roll of paper towels.

    The second bandage twinges, strikes a nerve. The muscle beneath Steve's fingers flexes, rippling tension that doesn't make it to his face or his voice.
    )

    Wouldn't be surprised if the damn thing was still alive. Stowed away on the ship. Caused the crash. Just waiting for the right time to strike now that we're here.

    ( Despite the pain and his feigned annoyance over the subject matter, despite the strain between them, a few threads of amusement start twining together. They wrap themselves around the little seed of guilt that planted itself back when Sam got them all caught up to speed. )
    fossils: (pic#14195591)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-20 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Eyebrows knit together slightly, and he gives him a side-eye for whatever he's insinuating there. At the same time a half-smile tease at his mouth. ]

    You're one to talk.

    [ Learning lessons.

    The grip on his arm loosens under the flexing muscles, the notch at his brow deepening as he settles his attention fully on wrapping the next bandage a little more slowly this time, his calloused hands gentle and practiced. Their bodies have changed, but the motions are the same.

    Both eyebrows raise. ]


    Think that'll hold?

    [ Not his best work, but it should keep him from bleeding on everything. ]
    freightcars: (pic#14860638)

    [personal profile] freightcars 2021-06-20 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
    ( It's a quiet moment, watching Steve so diligently focused on that last wrap. He studies Steve's hands for a second, but eventually shifts his full attention to Steve's expression. Their bodies have changed, but Steve's expressions are the same.

    And that's the thing, isn't it?

    Whatever happened-- happens-- the reality is there's no reality where Bucky doesn't forgive him. That isn't to say things are magically better; he's still selfishly sad, still selfishly hurt, there are still complicated things to process in the wake of it, but the anger and the resentment slip away for now. They leave behind instead a nostalgia-inspired reminder that Steve is Steve, and every moment leading up to him leaving isn't undone by that choice.

    Maybe he shouldn't be ruining this extra time so goddamn hard, he knows he'll regret it and hate himself for it once it finally comes to an end.

    So, instead of answering the question, he softly sighs.
    )

    I'm sorry. For... being such an asshole. I don't really mean it, you know?

    ( The passive aggressive barbs and the ire he keeps throwing out. )
    fossils: (pic#8214047)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-20 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
    [ That gets a flicker of surprise. His lips part, then close, head canting to one side as he frowns, looks away for a second. ]

    Nat talk to you? Or Sam?

    [ Ask you to lay off?

    He'd kinda deserve that sorta irony.

    Still regrets asking that a half second after it leaves his mouth, and he glances over at Bucky again with a tight smile that's more grimace than anything else.

    You don't have to apologize. ]


    I know, Buck.

    [ He pulls in a sharp breath, tilting his head again as he closes his eyes shut. He's let go of Bucky's arm, let his hand slide down as it lowered, unwilling to break that contact as his chest goes embarrassingly tight beneath his sternum.

    You got every right to be mad.

    They're not built for this. They never were. It's how so much has gone unsaid for this long.

    Sometimes he feels too old to learn anything else. Maybe you feel the same.

    He tilts his head the other way, lets his eyes open and fix on Bucky's shoulder, then his mouth, his eyes. Still grimace-smiling, eyes narrowed, but that doesn't stop him from blinking rapidly and being forced to look down again. ​]


    ... I really don't wanna waste this time either.

    [ They're always, always running out of it. ]

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