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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)
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:
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:
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.
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.)
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. 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.
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:
❀ 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.
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:
no subject
Indeed, it's like a small ship. It's not tethered to me persay, but it requires training in both magick operation and flight steering that I confidently assume no one else here can access. I could teach someone, of course, but it would take time.
[ He leaves the last bit lingering, watching Alina's hunger. He wants her to have a reason to stay, something to work toward. It's selfish. He enjoys her company, for one, and for another he sees himself, young and lost. A powder keg waiting to explode. What he would have given for someone to have cared about him, someone who wasn't Ba'Gamnan or his father, waiting to betray him.
He'd found that in Fran, of course. But that was different -- friendship. He'd wanted a mentor.
He wasn't that much older than Alina; was this even an appropriate relationship to pursue? He didn't know, but it was already out of his mouth. ]
This one technically belonged to my partner. [ He puts a gentle hand on the side, as if it were a creature, or a memory. ] I don't know if she named it -- she never said. Not everyone has one on Ivalice, no, but it is certainly not the only one.
Now the Strahl, my airship, she was one of a kind.
[ He stoops down, fingers laced. Alina may recognize the gesture from mounting a horse; he means to help her get in the back seat. ]
no subject
well, she couldn't have failed more utterly.
some of it lingers, mingled with confusion and suspicion in the crinkle of her brow as she takes his assistance to climb up onto the hovercraft. she braces herself like she expects it to buck and move, but it's much more stable than any horse she's ever been on. she exhales, letting her hands instead rest on her knees. ]
What was she like? Your partner. [ if he's looking for another, alina might just convince him to teach her. she could get out of here. ]
no subject
As she settles, he mounts the craft. He's getting used to being in the driver's apparatus instead of the gunner seat. He barely has to think about reaching for the Mist despite it being quieter here.
The craft whirs to life, filling with light as it begins to lift quietly from the ground. The nearby children gape and laugh in delight. He slowly takes it up to about twelve or fifteen feet in order to clear the majority of the people and stalls. And he enjoys showing off. ]
Fran was [was] a woman of few words who could strike a man dead at three hundred feet with a bow or a fire bolt, had excellent command of most battle and subterfuge magicks, and was a good deal wiser than almost any living creature I'd ever encountered. Excellent taste in tea, too.
[ He hopes that the past tense is inappropriate because she somehow survived the explosion too. But it's been over a month and she hasn't awakened here; what are the chances she survived somewhere else?
They aren't nothing, and foolish as it is, he clings to that. ]
no subject
[ but alina smiles as she says it. fran sounds terrifying in the way that saints sound terrifying, but everyone finds a way to admire them and hope for their blessings anyway. ]
no subject
[ he catches her smile, though. ]
How about you? Anyone you worked with regularly at home?
no subject
[ she hunches her shoulders a little. ]
There was a boy I grew up with. A tracker. We used to be inseparable, joined the First Army together. But ... He hates Grisha. So when it came out what I was ... I haven't heard from him since. [ she clears her throat. ] In the capital, though, I met a few people who've helped me. The Queen's handmaid, Genya, has made it easier to fit in. Nadia and Marie are good friends. [ beat. ] Or. Marie was. But she ... [ died. the word dies just as suddenly on her tongue.
she grapples valiantly for something less depressing and lands, instead, on the words of them all: ] And General Kirigan, of course. You've probably seen him around.
[ it's cool and normal to hang out with dark looming dudes twice you're age, yeah? because they're attached at the hip. ]
no subject
I didn't keep many of my friends from youth either. I think I interacted with Kirigan once on the forums -- haven't seen him in person. A general is he? [Balthier has vague memories of a man he talked to about war and ethics. Alright fellow, but reminded him too much of the Judges and other Archadian elite. ]
no subject
[ she chews the inside of her cheek. it feels like less than enough, but she isn't prepared to consider what else she might say of him, these days. and she can't risk it getting around what she did say. it's not that she doesn't trust balthier, it's just ...
well, she doesn't trust anyone right now. ]
no subject
Balthier catches himself. Anyone who is part of a structured military force sets him off right now; he's happy to judge the man himself, but only where there's information to judge. ]
Quite the feat. Hard enough to keep a crew of six aligned, let alone a whole people.
[ The only way he's seen that work is force and control. ]
no subject
[ alina shrugs. ]
Serving under General Kirigan in the Second Army, serving the Ravkan throne, doesn't look so bad.
[ if you can call that unity. ]
no subject
no subject
[ saints, she can't even figure out what she feels the honest answer is, let alone the one that's right to maintain this illusion she's built. she doesn't even stop to consider whether she can trust balthier with this. she knows she can't trust anyone. ]
But the Grisha are only united by having nowhere else to go. That's not Kirigan's fault. [ the words feel strange in her mouth. making excuses for him. it should ring false — he created the Fold, and so many people hate and fear Grisha precisely because of the Fold. but Grisha were hated and feared before it, too. all through history. so it's strange to realize that it's not entirely false. ] Anyway, that's politics for you.
no subject
Kirigan, is it? So you've worked together often, I take it? Good to have someone you know and trust here -- I'll admit I'm jealous.
[ He's not being disingenuine, but he's definitely watching for how she reacts. There's something below the surface here, and what kind of pirate would he be if he wasn't good at finding hidden things. ]
no subject
Yeah. [ simple is better. she doesn't know if she can muster a real lie right now. ] I bet you wish your princess were here.
[ she lets the segue speak for itself. ]
no subject
Ah, not at all. She should be Queen by now and gods know Dalmasca needs her. [ She's hardly his princess. He'd certainly have made the best of it if she were here, but she'd have been restless, losing her mind, trying to get back to her people. Maybe it says something about him that he isn't.
Maybe just that he knows better than to want after things he can't have.
He does wish Fran were here, dearly, but he doesn't spend too much time on that thought. ]
no subject
[ for the record. alina shrugs one shoulder lightly. it seems fair enough, but it's also a defense of her own selfishness. how many times had she wished mal were with her at the little palace? he'd have hated it. that didn't matter to her. ]
no subject
Harder to miss the people I do need. [ He admits the second part more to see Alina's reaction than because he feels particularly strongly about disclosing the information. ]
no subject
[ she gives pause here, studying him. he seems to have a far easier time sharing things about himself than she does. maybe he has fewer people trying to kill him, despite all his troubles. ]
no subject
Fran had my back for close to seven years. Whether it was fighting bandits or escaping prison or a bad cold or just pontificating about the universe, she was there and she let me be there for her. We argued and we pushed each other and we were there when things got hard. I need her. I haven't...figured out what I'm going to do about that space. She's been a part of my life so deeply and for so long.
Ashe and I never got there. We had a few meaningful conversations, we survived some near death experiences, but if a year or two goes by, we'll be as good as strangers.
She's a fairy tale. Fran was family.
no subject
[ she says it like she doesn't desperately wish that mal were still here, that he hadn't turned his back on her when she'd become grisha. things would make sense again if mal were here — if only because she'd be that quiet little girl living in his shadow. she could hide away in the relationship she had to him.
it's hard to project that onto how balthier describes fran. ]
no subject
[ He thinks of his mother when he says it. He learned to live without her within months, but it wasn't until Fran that he really felt wanted, part of something bigger than himself. Of course, the need for a parent still flares up from time to time. ]
I don't think anyone will ever fill Fran's shoes, but I think I might prefer it that way. Besides, I'm too charming not to make new friends.