THE AMAZING BASE.

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Welcome home, nerds.
WHEN? Outside time and space, in the aether between dimensions.
ANYTHING ELSE? There is also a fish. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

MYSTERY FISH;

question the mystery fish

DEPARTING GALLIPOLI

The order comes the day after the Marie Antoinette sets sail:

PACK UP AND GET READY TO MOVE OUT. WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN HERE.

DEPLOYMENT: BASE.

WE NEED TO RESTOCK. BE PREPARED FOR MORE TRANSFERS ON ARRIVAL.

STAY SAFE. TIME-STEP EXPECTED TO BEGIN WITHIN THE HOUR.

FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO COST: FIND A SECLUDED SPOT AND TRY NOT TO EAT ANYTHING BEFORE THE JUMP.

The Time-Step

The transfer begins like a vibrating heat on the collar bone, just a hum of sensation.

But the vibration spreads. Veteran COST soldiers often refer to this phenomenon as "the buzz". The feeling builds, not unlike standing near a great engine or the wind-rattled branches of a massive tree. There is a long moment of motion sickness and you can't be sure if the world is shaking you from the inside out or the outside in. It may be better to close your eyes against the growing nausea, as the world blurs out of focus.

A star shines in the distance. You may hear the faint rustling of leaves. Some swear they hear voices in this moment, indistinct words echoing off nothingness. Others say they feel a touch of the divine, that the eyes of the eternal look down upon you. Ancient bones rattle just out of earshot, cold and brittle and nothing more than the suggestion of sound. Or maybe it's only an illusion, brought on by the powerful technology grafted into your skin.

One thing is for sure: One moment you are here and the next you are not.

The shift takes you from whatever solitude you could find aboard the Marie Antoinette to the temperature-regulated hallway of what looks like a very poorly put together space station. Droids rush up and down the long hallway, fixing broken bits of machinery or just chattering with each other. A few crows sit on high ledges, looking down and watching. Someone mutters something about a centaur around the corner.

And you might just notice, provided you were in Gallipoli long enough to acquire stowaways, that the parasites lurking on your skin are mercifully gone.

For new arrivals who didn't experience Gallipoli: You, too, will appear in this long hallway, filled with droids and crows and humans (still filthy and clad in ANZAC uniforms, carrying battered equipment from the first World War). And you'll be wearing the minimal COST-issued athletic underwear and holding whatever one item you were allowed to bring. Surprise!

READ THE BASE INFOPAGE.

home away from home

Those who have been to BASE before may find a strangeness to it all: BASE seems...still. The windows show a verdant world instead of the usual aether (though with the typical paranoia), and the halls are bereft of all but a few crows. A man stands at the end of the long hallway you arrived in, waiting for you to get your bearings before he speaks.

Except, you know, he's not a man. He's a centaur.

"It's been barely a week since you left, by my reckoning. But for you, I'm sure, it's been much longer. Still, much has changed. You may have noticed we are...becalmed. This is due, it seems, to an error in our ways. We kept something that does not belong to us, several wild creatures that are meant to be free. They seem to have psychically called out to their home, and their home responded; we are now somewhat stranded.

"But let me explain—the Aether is the nexus between worlds and times, but it is not a dead thing. Creatures live in it. We have crashed onto the back of one such creature, a mighty beast, as large as a small country and entirely undiscovered. We have found why the creature has intercepted us: we have accidentally taken captive some of its children. Shapers, the wild creatures I mentioned, it seems they form a symbiotic bond with the creature, and live happily within its stomach."

He frowns, considering this.

"Shapers, I should mention, are creatures that briefly infested our fair BASE. The issue was dealt with, though we kept some for experimentation. The coelacanth took issue with this, it seems. It can speak, of course; we are stranded very near its head, and if you wish to ask it a question, I implore you to do so. The creature is older than creation—older than me—and only speaks once to any creature it encounters. It's said its wisdom brings kings to their knees."

His eyes crinkle in humor.

"My name is Chiron and I am the caretaker of this place, for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. More importantly, I am a trainer and a teacher of some experience; if you wish training or schooling of any sort, do summon me. I will be happy to assist."

He's easy to contact, often found in the library, the training area, his capsule, or elsewhere in the station, attempting to fix what he understands and arguing with crows.

"We intended to spend this time exploring, for this is a rare opportunity to discover more of an entirely uncharted world. I hasten you to see if anything on the coelacanth can be of use, but be careful. Take only what you need, not what you may want. I intend to learn my lessons well; these creatures are not pets. Takes food, water, and any materials of use to us for our survival and perseverance, but no more. We task you with this: explore the coelacanth, and see what of it can be understood. Bring us back samples, but do try to interrupt the natural habitat as little as possible. We are guests here."

He bows and the action shows a slight limp in one of his back legs.

"I would join you, but I am far too old for such activities. Still, do pepper me with any questions you should encounter. I am always available on the network, or in person, within this hulking mass we call home."

And then he leaves you to find your capsules and rest.

CAPSULE ASSIGNMENTS

Once you've found your room and settled in—perhaps taken a shower, collected clothes, and eaten—a droid will approach you with camping equipment and give you a brief explanation of how to access and use the database. It's time to get your gear and go.

Of course, you can decline. You can stay and tend to the fort, maybe try and clean up this patchwork jumble of metal and machinery. But seeing the sights on the back of a giant fish flying through non-space? Who can say no to that?


the undiscovered country.

BASE's airlocks open into a lush valley, vibrant with color and rustling with life that has thrived on the coelacanth's back for millennia. It's a striking shift from the rot and gunfire of Gallipoli, unmarked by shrapnel, bombshells, and never-fresh air.

No, the air here is clean in a way that can leave you breathless, untouched by pollutants and stirred into a gentle breeze. It's a marked departure for anyone used to a more modern Earth or rough equivalent; letting the air sit on your tongue leaves a crisp, unsullied taste behind. And the whole forest feels alive, in a way that reminds you of how small you really are.

A white crow perches in a tree near BASE's exit, too high up to properly engage but a stark contrast to the bright leaves around her. She merely watches recruits come and go with a shrewd eye, feathers fluffed against the light chill. There are other crows scattered throughout the wilderness, some easier to find than others as they flit through the trees, sit on camping equipment, or hitch rides on the hoverbikes.

Besides those brief flashes of black feathers, however, you're left unsupervised.

Try not to fuck up anything too badly.

EXPLORE:INFOPAGE|DATABASE
talk to a fish | destruction report

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

[horsepowered]

Base

[Chiron's first instinct upon returning to base is to sleep. Sleep for a week at least, recouping all of his lost energy and refusing to do more than the bare minimum of work that is expected of him. The last mission has been exhausting on every level, and frankly, he suspects that a week won't be enough time to recoup lost energies.

Not that he actually sleeps for a full week, but he does take it fairly easy, puttering around BASE when sleep doesn't take him. When Chiron isn't resting, he is quietly walking the halls of BASE, or else in the library. In there, he's taken to curling up and grabbing something at random, losing himself in the work.]

Exploring the Marvelous Breadfish Coelacanth

A horse is a horse of course
Being back at BASE had mostly been a matter of relief, but there had also been a surprise upon Chiron's return. He had found a small runestone left for him, and after trying to determine it's use, well, it had only one purpose: regaining centaur form.

Not being so foolish as to put two big horsebutts on BASE due to space, Chiron had waited until he was ready to explore the coelacanth and the vast flora and fauna it was home to. Once he was outside though? The runestone came out immediately, was put to use, and Chiron's usual form was back: his lower horse half was a medium brown, well groomed and with the ponytail matching his normal hair. (Dead straight, well kept, probably highly braidable.) Either way, it meant getting around on all four legs rather than using the bikes, and indugling a little bit of glee at being back to normal.

The sound of horse hooves heralded his approach everywhere on the coelacanth.

Study time, excellent
"Hm, it'd be good to get an idea of any of these have medicinal purposes."

Chiron's exploration meant that he assumed he was alone more often than not. The coelacanth was large and COST's cell was big, but not that big. Crouching down beside a collection of Heaven Blossoms, careful not to touch them. Observation only. Chiron chided himself quietly for forgetting gloves back at the little spot where he had made camp for the time being.

"There's too much here. It'd take a lifetime to catalog it all, and another to make sense of every discovery.


Wildcard!
You know what to do.

[cutlery]

BASE

i - showers

[ Like certainly everyone who had just gone to Gallipoli, Sebastian's first order of business is to head to the showers. He doesn't usually mind getting dirty or being messy, but he also usually has the luxury of being able to take care of such problems in a very different way. There's something quite nice about simply changing your form to rid yourself of anything unsightly. But an extended period in mud, blood, and grime, and the usually prim and proper demon is actually looking forward to getting to wash all of it off the "human" way.

In theory.

Because he's far from the only one with the idea, after all. It's many peoples' first stop, so by the time Sebastian arrives, there's a bit of a line even with the many showers. As soon as Sebastian sees this, he smiles, though it's a thin, tight smile. It passes to one that's much more friendly, since he turns to someone just a bit ahead of him in the queue. ]

Pardon me, but... Would you be interested in perhaps bartering for your spot in line?

[ He's at least polite, but he wants that shower so bad. It's not often that a demon opens the table for bartering for something so simple, so this might be a prime opportunity to get something from him... ]

ii - library

[ Once he's feeling refreshed, Sebastian is in a distinctly better mood, and taking a bit more time to look around BASE than when he was last here to train for the trenches, it doesn't take him long before he finds the library. Despite being a demon, he's also a Huge Nerd, so the idea of knowledge and simply seeing what humans can and will do is enough for him. ]

Well, at least they have taste...

[ It's said more to himself as he browses books, though if you're nearby, it's easily overheard. Maybe he'll share what he's looking at if you ask? Or if not, he eventually finds the films, and is promptly fascinated once he realizes exactly what they are. It somehow doesn't surprise him that humanity would manage to record even motion, but he's quite interested to see it. So. Sebastian leans your way, and nods politely to catch your attention. ]

Would happen to have a recommendation for a film? I have not seen one, so I do not know a good place to start.

COELACANTH

[ If you're heading out on a longer expedition to explore this strange new "world", you'll have a willing and capable companion if you want to take one. You can either ask Sebastian, or if you seem to be heading out, he may just ask to come with you. Regardless, he has his own curiosty about where the BASE has landed, though not quite enough to venture out alone. A sense of adventure is something he doesn't quite have... ]
i - camping

[ It's about time to rest for the evening, though chances are, you probably decided that. Sebastian doesn't seem tired at all after a day of sometimes difficult hiking, weirdly enough. But he also doesn't complain about pausing, and instead is helpfully trying to set up the tent. As it recommends, it's definitely easier if it's a two person job, though it's still tedious. That's probably why he strikes up conversation while they work. ]

The coelacanth we have landed on... Or run into, I suppose is the better word. Do you think you will be asking it a question?

ii - idk there's so much

[ Like seriously, there's so much on our new fish friend that it's hard to not write stupidly long prompts... So a variation instead! Comment with this prompt, and I'll write you a custom starter for some expedition/camping activity. If you want to investigate a particular piece of flora/fauna, let me know and we can incorporate that. Otherwise, I'll probably just randomly pick something that seems fun! ]

WILDCARD

[ The standard wildcard! Come up with a scenario either inside the base or outside of it and I'll gladly go for it! You can always hit me up if you have something particular in mind as well! And as always, I'll match your prose preference for any prompt. ]

Daenerys Targaryen | GoT

[dorzalta]

The call for their departure comes at a fortunate time; it's been days since she's had food or drink, days where battle and travel have drained her near dry. The world threatens to spin and fall out from beneath her feet even before the buzz begins manifesting. Irriella, larger now, fattened up and the size of a small pony, is stuffed beneath Dany's coat, making her look pregnant and bizarre at the best of times in this enclosed space on Marie Antoinette.

When they reappear on Base, the world does fall out from beneath her. Her vision fills with spots. Her stomach drops and then lifts, but empty as it is, there is nothing to retch... and besides, everything is in the process of turning black as she collapses in an unconscious heap. If you're near her, you'll see the lion-masked woman tumble, a large and pale spider bursting free from within the confines of a war-ragged coat, clicking out loud in a frenzied tone: "Lady Mother!"


[ ooc: Mask: 1, Dany: 0. She'll be carted away so that Sgt. Chiron can remove the mask from her. Actual prompts in individual tags below. If you'd like something specific, please let me know~ bubblytangerine ]

shouta aizawa | mha

[eyedrop]

i. wandering around;

[ There's an unfamiliar man in the middle of the hallway, dressed in basic black underwear and clutching long loops of a pale, grey scarf. He has fresh stitches in his back and numerous other scars everywhere else (particularly under his right eye and on his right elbow), his skin is sunless pale, eyes bloodshot, shoulders hunched, hair a dark, wild riot about his face. He looks both fit and fit to collapse.

Aizawa starts rolling up the scarf in his hands, frowning slightly. He doesn't remember how he got here, though he knows that he did agree to it. He just can't, for the life of him, recall why.

He starts walking as he finagles the scarf, his tired eyes catching on whomever doesn't seem too preoccupied. His voice is deep, languid, and completely deadpan. ]

Hey. I have a few questions.

[ Someone direct him to the clothes table, please. ]

ii. hanging out;

[ After some time spent gathering his bearings, Aizawa's ready to be useful. He's not exactly a rugged survivalist--he's much more used to concrete jungles. But he's adaptable. Case in point: he's presently suspended, upside-down, from a thick tree branch. He's got his fists in his scarf, which is otherwise partly looped around the branch, easily bearing his weight. He's squinting into the rustling underbrush, alert for--something.

On approach: ]

Watch yourself.

[ And then, an echo from the bushes: "Watch yourself." ]

iii. sleeping dangerously;

[ The carrot coffins suit Aizawa just fine. More than, even. As a connossieur of such things, he rates it low on usability, but the heat rating is perfectly adequate--and 'obnoxious orange' is almost as goood as 'banana yellow'. So he's up in another tree, giving this bag a whirl. Surrounded by strange flora and fauna. Ostensibly alone.

A number of small, chittering foxwealds are crawling all over him, snuffling against the sleeping bag, nibbling cautiously on the ends of his hair. His eyes are shut, he's breathing evenly, and he seems totally unperturbed. His scarf hangs from the tree, swinging idly in the occasional wind.

Hopefully these friendly little creatures won't eventually move on to nibbling his actual face. ]

iv. wildcard;

[ THE FISH IS VAST and thus so are the possibilities; Aizawa's wandering here and there, largely trying to be useful. If none of these prompts suit, feel free to reply with a blank or hmu @ runehallow & we can sort something else out. ]

BASE

[dorzalta]

1. BACK IN ACTION
It's important to maintain appearances, particularly when a queen makes a fool of herself by collapsing in a show of weakness before her allies. The events of the mask's removal is a blur to her, honestly, more like a fever-pitched dream than something she's survived. Little flashes of memory flit past: Jon lifting her; Sergeant Chiron removing the mask piece by piece; Irriella sitting atop her lap so she did not restlessly shift, chittering in a worried pitch. The rest is blank, until she'd awoken.

Maintain appearances she does, walking the halls dressed as the Queen of Meereen she once was and still is by proxy. Irriella is close on her heels, too large to properly ride Dany's shoulder any longer.

You may find her looking properly harassed as the crows squawk at her spider, and the spider clicks angrily at the crows. "Come now, is this truly necessary? You're both allies!"

There's something distant to her look, in her eyes, though she's happy to hold conversation and actively approaches those who proffered their aid to her in Gallipoli. Still, she does not seek many out, and can be found more often than not gazing out the windows throughout Base and into the... well, wilderness. "I'd grown used to avoiding the windows because I'd felt as if something was watching me. Now..." A shrug.

2. MIDNIGHT WANDERINGS
Sleep is difficult to come by after the first long spell of it. You won't find her those first few days on Base wandering aimlessly; however, as the first week progresses and Dany recovers, you will find her wandering the halls like a ghost some nights. Irriella isn't with her during these nightly wanderings, nor is Jon--and there is a stab of guilt upon knowing she's left him in bed, alone. (But is he truly, when his direwolf has been gifted to him? And gods, the rise of jealousy over realizing that she would not see her dragons worsens the guilt until she cannot bear to be near him for how rotten a thought that is.) Still, the Dragon Queen is mostly sticking to larger, more open spaces.

"It's unfortunate torches don't line the halls," she says by way of greeting. "There's something comforting about a fire."

Only those who really go wandering into the nooks and crannies on Base might find her one night asleep in that space, in the wee hours of the morning. She'll stir only due to the sound of movement, awakening with a sharp inhale and reaching for--nothing. There's no weapon with her. "What are you doing here?"

3. OPEN TO HER CAPTIVE PEEPS (also Jon, Chiron, and Prompto since they can see her whenever they want tbh)
The insomnia--as she's been informed--does not only affect her... which is why her fellow captives will one day receive a message from her via the mind ravens, inviting them to her capsule. There's a large barrel in the kitchen area, where Dany sits, sipping red wine out of a glass. Dressed in yet another outfit from her days in Meereen, she'll lift a glass to you in greeting.

"This is one of the finest wines in Westeros. A red summerwine. I'd not tasted it until Olenna Tyrell proffered me a casket of it."

However many of the captives appear, at whatever point they appear, doesn't matter. She'll insist you have a glass (or two, or three) with her.

Prepare to get sloshed, bitches.

COELACANTH

[dorzalta]

1. LITTLE QUEEN, STRANGE NEW WORLD
It's a giant fish. Finally, after a week of rest and drinking herself into a stupor, Daenerys is ready to venture out into this strange world. If you're nearby, you might hear her suddenly laugh after a moment of standing out in the fresh air. Irriella isn't far away, curiously exploring the grounds within sight. Dany, dressed in proper attire for exploration, has her head tilted upward, and is waving to the white crow watching her.

"I don't think I've ever seen such a strange place before."

Her hair is plaited back, multiple braids into the singular, and it lifts in the breeze, the curly, loose ends touching well past the small of her back. After a moment of basking in the open space, her attention drifts to one of the hoverbikes. Stand near her, and you'll likely be breezed past as a look of calculation and excitement brightens her gaze.

"These can fly?" It would be like riding Drogon's back, almost. "Have you ever driven one before?"

She's not waiting for your answer, depositing her supplies on the back of the machine and mounting it.

"Are you coming or not?"

2. THE DRAGOKEET QUEEN
Exploration yields interactions with wildlife, and whilst she's submitted information on strange and terrifying creatures, the one which holds her attention raptly is what an individual by 9S has discovered: a Dragokeet, a winged reptile about the size of her hatchlings. Where one comes, she soon discovers a handful, and they take keen interest in her once she allows one to perch itself upon her forearm.

Soon, there's a number of them sitting atop her head and shoulders, nesting amidst her braids and wherever else they can find a place to perch. If you're her lucky camping companion, you might be startled to find Dany suddenly colorful. Or, you'll see a Dragokeet attempting to land on Irriella, who is none-too-happy about the invasion of her space, clicking her mandibles angrily (and hungrily) at the offending reptile.

Or, if you see her riding a hoverbike, you might notice a trail of color following her, their sing-song voices echoing in her wake, saying: "Fire--and--blood--mother--fuckers!"

She, of course, is laughing as she lands near you.

"I'd only said fire and blood once!"

Which, of course, begins the mantra of "fire and blood mother fuckers!" once more.

3. WILDCARD
[ Let's go on some camping adventures, friends! Totally down for some hoverbike races as well. And her book of spells causing havoc during adventure time. ]

NETWORK

[dorzalta]

>>FROM:@STORMBORN
>>TO:@ALL

I've noticed a strange addition to my BCE. Well, there's two: ZapChat and Retrogram. Have any of you seen this before? I've tinkered with them, but I don't understand their purpose, as both seemed to cast an illusion atop of the spaces before me.

BIRCHSTORY

[dorzalta]

[ The BCE had prompted her to 'create an avatar,' which she'd begun to do. But distractions on Base read: she's drunk and doing this has her picking the incorrect facial expression, and she cannot find a way to change it. So, if you're playing in BirchStory, prepare to meet the angry looking DragonQueen approaching you. There's sporadic movement before the avatar lifts its hand and flames shoot forth. ]

DragonQueen says: I do not understand this.
DragonQueen says: What am I supposed to be doing?
DragonQueen says: And what is this place?

ryo asuka | devilman (ova/manga)

[reillumination]

a. shout shout let it all out

[ Ryo's arrival on BASE is not one that is colored with relief. Instead, it is one that comes in a slow and anxious sweep. After showering and ridding himself of the grime of war, he walks the halls without making eye contact with anyone. As time passes, he keeps himself sequestered in his capsule, seated in the common area and poring over any text that might be useful to him over his BCE once he's figured out how to work it. What is left of the equipment they'd been provided in Gallipoli has been dutifully cleaned to the best of his ability, sprawled out before him on the table.

Where others can roam, Ryo spends most of his time in the library. Though he is always (largely) alone, he always wears a look of intense focus for whatever he can get his hands on, bundled up in a non-standard issue trench coat that he often tucks his face into the upturned collar of. If he can't seem to go back to where he needs to be, then he's going to make himself as useful to his cause as he can from here. He can't let himself fail. He can't let himself fall victim to the way his heart seems to lurch every time he thinks –

Every so often, you can hear a song or two turned down soft and low nearby him. ]

b. we're running with the shadows of the night

[ Provided you have your ears and eyes open, wandering less than one hundred paces from BASE will put you in the sphere of some decidedly upbeat rock music. Further investigation will reveal a young man, sleeves pushed up to his elbows and something like oil smeared across one of his pale cheeks, with his hands intermittently in the guts of one of the issued hoverbikes. He seems to have figured out how to link up to the network well enough to get music to pour through as he mumbles to himself, brows pinching together in concentration every once in a while.

To those of you who saw him in Gallipoli, he looks like another animal entirely. It seems having something to funnel his intense focus into smooths out the rough edges of his psyche, as stepping even closer will tell you that he (sometimes) mouths silently along with the vocals between making remarks on whatever it is he's seeing within the belly of the hoverbike. All you need to know is that it is dirty, rusted out in spots, and prone to making him cough when he hits a particularly foul snag. He doesn't recognize much of the internal lay, but what he does recognize he's made an attempt to clear out as best he can and looks comfortable enough to try to make notes to puzzle out the rest.

All-in-all, he doesn't look like he'd be out of place in a high school auto-mechanic shop. With his trench coat folded neatly beside him and his hair pushed back, it feels like he could have walked out of Grease were it not for the choice in song keeping him company and the regrettable lack of a cigarette. ]

[ If you choose to shove in too close to his space, he pauses and pulls his hands out of the hoverbike only to wipe his palms off on the grass. He doesn't turn around, but he glances over his shoulder. His pale eyes are wary, but sharp. This time, he's really taking everyone in. ]

What?

[ Most would have expected, presumably, something more scathing and like the tip of a knife, but Ryo's voice falls flat and even instead. If you expected him to stop for long, he doesn't. He'll continue without your answer if you hesitate long enough. ]

c. help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure

[ Vices in this place were hard to come by.

It wasn't a surprise to Ryo that a few days in, his body had started to enter a state of agitation. His hands itched for something familiar to put in them, his tongue knotted itself around words that normally would not come to him regardless. His patience, which was perhaps the only thing about him that was consistent, started to fray minutely at the edges.

When off BASE, anyone who passed him would have noted his tendency to occupy himself with anything. The lighter they'd been issued would frequently be flipped off-and-on, on-and-off again. The sleeves of his trench coat would be systematically rolled up and rolled down. Idly, and more than once, he would have smoothed down his hair at the back of his neck to no degree of real success.

In some ways, perhaps it was a blessing for everyone that Ryo's restless wanderings had landed him where he needed. Sort of.

If you've managed to trek out this far to this damp, loamy patch of forest? Congratulations. You're likely to feel the same way Ryo seems to in a few moments, situated as still and calm as he is with his back against one of the towering trees. It is hard to tell what time of day it is in here, with the canopy above as dense and green as it is. All that you'll know is that there's a small bundle of thick, red fungi nestled in an earthen dimple by Ryo's feet. ]

It's okay, [ he hums, but if you choose to listen, you'll notice he isn't looking at you. Half-turned to you like he is, following his eye-line permits you the knowledge that he's speaking to an older foxweald. His lips tip up in a small, languid smile. For him, it's unusually warm. ] Come here.

[ If you're patient and wait to see how this plays out before approaching, you'll see the little thing come snuffling up slow and anxious to his extended hand. It'll touch the tip of his fingers with the tip its nose, before deciding he seems acceptable enough to almost drunkenly rub its dark head against. Looks like Ryo can make friends after all, considering the way his eyes almost seem to light up as it trots around, bumping against him until it curls up near his hip. ]

d. to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die

[ It is hard to know how many hours have passed on this fish. More, it is even more difficult to know where it is you are going the further across the body you go. Trekking in this area is sure to bring you through thick undergrowth and low-lying shrubs, but if you were taking your time to watch your footing in the gloaming, it is your own fault if you're startled by the hand that shoots out to grab whatever is closest to it in the dark shadow of an evergreen. If you let yourself get pulled in or turn sharp enough, you'll be greeted with a young face - though their pale eyes don't touch on you, but rather beyond you, narrowed and alert. ]

Keep your eyes open, [ he hisses, once you're in close enough. His mouth twists, irritation and something else catching at the corners. ] I just lost that thing.

[ That thing would be whatever is stumbling slow and staggered out of the woods. If you squint, you can make out the form of a deer, eyes pale and white, but even if you can't make it out you can hear it. It pants from an open mouth, scrapes its branched antlers against bark and brush.

Beside you, even though Ryo's long ago let you go, you can feel the way he tenses. He doesn't go for his gun, but instead seems more compelled to run. ]

e. why are you so far away?

[ CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE OR REQUEST SOMETHING ELSE FROM ME. I don't mind setting up anything at all, so by all means prompt me here, over at rasasvada or on discord at morning star#3715. Also, if you would like to contact Ryo about music, you can use @CRUELLA or just here to get in contact with him over the network. I 100% encourage it. ]

3 because we gotta

[horsepowered]

The invitation is something that Chiron does hear. He is in the library when it arrives, engrossed in reading a play. The play itself is fairly good, but the offer outstretched is a more tempting option.

Wine was as common as water in his own day, and sharing it was a sign of hospitality. This feels like much more than that though. Catharsis, perhaps, and that is understandable.

For that reason, he arrives at the capsule, and rather than knock, he relies on more private lines of communication.

I believe you extended an invitation...?

Coleacanth II

[horsepowered]

[Fun animal encounter is up to you? :D?]

Mamoru Hijikata [until death do us part] ota

[prizeneck]

BASE

ARRIVAL - Roads' end getting nearer, We cover distance but not together

[While he's not in a state as bad as some of the other recruits', the jump did no wonders to Mamoru's condition.

He pulls at the tube of the ever-present gas mask in Gallipoli, takes it off, a thick black mass sticking to his head in a hideous case of hat hair, jaw patched with hair that needs shaving. Still, normal, considering where he just came from. A little less normal, especially considering where he just came from - sunglasses, red tinted lenses that barely cover the coat of scars over this man's brow, even denting a lower eyelid, if you're lucky enough to spot it underneath the specs.

He wants to frown at the horse. No, man. Horse-man. He knows the correct name is centaur but even with the fact that he has been time-traveling and is now in a ship that seems to have landed on a giant being, it still takes some time to go around incredulity at first.

He wants to frown, but the jump made him worse. His senses decide to pick on other things instead. The scent of oil, cleaning products, the sound of metal that isn't steel under his boots, the occasional, distant snap of electrical wiring gone wrong. The buzz of machinery all around him. How close the next recruit is standing near him, even if they're not close at all. The taste of copper underneath his tongue. He does hear what the centaur has to say, but merely saves the information to process when his mind is clearer. Hypervigilance, he knows this state very well. So he steps into the corridors of the ship - not making a beeline for the showers. He cannot allow himself to cool off, not yet. He's not in an enough of a state to do so.]

i. GYM - What I have and what I ache for

[It's his first destination. This, he knows where it is, had been there in the short time he prepared for Gallipoli, a rushed training and warm up. It had been a short while, but still, he remembers at the time he had felt it took too long. He had just come from preparing for a full out war in an African country when he was recruited, his mindset had been more than ready.

He wasn't wrong, in a sense, comparing to others' and his own aftermath. Sure, there's the seemingly rarefied air that feels unsatisfying in his lungs [all in his mind], the skin on his exposed arms raising in goosebumps when he drops the top of the uniform to the floor, leaving his undershirt [air conditioning, not fatigue], the ache under his knuckles when he grips the bayonet in his hands [lactic acid that needs more movement than rest]. He knows that this is what he needs to do if he doesn't want to jerk at every little step someone takes his way.

As he shadow fights the Regency soldiers in his mind, their movements in his head, his mind clears, running rapidly. Carefully considering the number of hits the grunts took before they fell, in opposition to those with Jackal masks, be it by his own blade or someone else's weapon. How many different weapons did they have? What kind of skills is he supposed to be aware of when they're unarmed? He closes his eyes, thinks about speed and distance and wonders if the next time he faces them their nullifiers will be upgraded as he lunges yet again at the battle in his head.

As he sweats the last remnants of his energy, he can't help but feel a little at home.]


ii. CAPSULES - There's no room where I can go and, You've got secrets too

[ANZAC uniform in the washer - even if it had no braille indications, to begin with, the BCE did help a little to put the clothes on the longest, hottest program - hair still damp from the quick but efficient shower he took, he felt the beginnings of fatigue as his temperature lowers. He takes his time walking along the corridors of the ship, pinpointing landmarks - the way the sound shifts against the walls, different as he moves closer to one of them; the whirr of the droids scurrying past him, the voices as the other recruits get settled or remain restless. He can still see, if the wire grid frame his sunglasses project into his eyes can be considered sight at all, but he's keeping tabs on his other senses, because who knows when they will malfunction. And that's, perhaps, where you catch him.

He stops at his destination. CAPSULE 6. ] Here? [The BCE reads it out for him, and he makes to enter the room.]


iii. MESS HALL - And the flashlights, nightmares and sudden explosions

[ There's a new sound in BASE. It's subtle, but it has some consistency to its rhythm. Tap, tap, tap.

It's late, most people are asleep, that with Mamoru taking a different path than most. When everyone had been waking up from their slumber, he had just begun his own. He's wearing different shades - these are all black, don't look as reflective as the previous ones. In his hand, he has a cane, which he taps from side to side carefully to maneuver himself across the ship. Soon he won't be needing it much, with muscle memory and visualization - a mental map constructed to make his life a little less awkward.

Once the scent of cooking heightens, - or whatever passes as cooking from the Droids - he turns and walks into the mess hall, listens carefully at what the BCE can tell him about the place. "Series IX Cooking Tastes Good Impersonalitix™..." what kind of name was that? He orders something simple. Grilled chicken. Soba noodles. A lot of soba noodles. Soba noodles enough for three people. Nothing too fancy, just simple enough to consume and energize him.

He had a sword in his room that's calling his name and hell if he doesn't plan to use it in the gym after this meal. Finally, some fucking good foodweaponry.

Carefully running the back of his hand along the side of the table, he sets his dish and chopsticks on it - pinky resting below both to know they've reached the surface and avoid slamming or dropping the items. He sits down, having sat a little further away from whoever is in the mess hall as well. He's hungry, and he's very grumpy when he's hungry [and when he's not], and if the grimace and the mutter of "sub-par" at the first bite don't show it and isn't enough to convince you to leave him alone, then go for it.

HEEEERE, FISHY FISHY FISH

iv. INTO THE WILD - I don't know what more to ask for I was given just one wish

[Even with a routine set up of eat-practice-nap-practice-shower-eat-nap... Mamoru does decide to go out, eventually. Not due to curiosity, but both duty and knowing that if he's going to face whatever he's going to be facing next, he needed to know what else this aether could throw at him. So he folds the cane and slips it into his back pocket, tucks a wakizashi into his belt with an expert knotting sequence that he knew worked from years of trial and error to figure out how to carry a blade with a modern outfit. Shoulders the backpack with the utensils, the lenses of his sunglasses flaring red with the bioluminescence outside.

Maybe you catch him walking out of the ship, and into the woods. Or, maybe, you find him registering one of the things he found in his stroll through the woods. Thankfully there won't be any bear-like beasts around. He's known for throwing inexperienced people at them.

CALL ME, HONEY. feat. MC Wildcard

[Heeeeey, Macarena.

This guy is @SWORDARTONLINE if you wanna send him a "wyd" or flood his inbox with shit from the apps he does not have or use

OR I'm over at mikefoxtrot if you wanna hit me up with something specific but chances are I'm thirsty for CR shenanigans and up for anything, really. ]

[heilt]

BASE

( open )
( having being back from the mission longer than everyone else angela is there to greet them when they return, scanning for any injuries and new faces. she's thrilled to have them back, not only because it had been very quiet and lonely with them gone, but also because the mission in gallipoli had been difficult )

Are you alright?

( her words are gentle and laced with concern, eyes appraising for any injuries or weakness. for any faces that are more unfamiliar, she may also ask if they need anything or have just arrived )

( genji )
( they'd had a long conversation over the devices but seeing him again now was different. it had been too long since she'd seen him in person, and even longer since she'd seen him so--

angela's smiling the minute she sees him, recognising his face, and reaches him quickly. a hand moves up to his face, resting on his cheek. it all looks so real and feels it too. however cost had given him this skin they'd done well with it )

It's good to see you, Genji.

closed to arthur

[cutlery]

[ When Sebastian had first realized that his desginated space wasn't his alone, he was slightly disappointed. It wasn't as if the necessities or comforts it provided were all that important to him, but he's a creature that enjoys certain luxuries, and privacy was one of them (when it was possible). Yet to his surprise, it wasn't actually a terrible situation. Despite his generally low opinion of COST's leadership, he did wonder if perhaps this was a more intentional choice. Their personalities worked well together, and though Sebastian spent more time out of the room than ever in it, when he would stop by, the conversations were pleasant and amiable.

Though there was one of Sebastian's habits that might stick out to Arthur, all things considered. He was unassuming and quiet, but in the two weeks or so they've been sharing this space, there are some things he'll have never seen Sebastian do. Eat, drink, and perhaps most notably, sleep. Maybe they were just missing each other, but the consistency was probably more noticeable.

Sebastian enters the space with a datapad in hand, since it's loaded with some new book that he's interested in reading. There's a group playing games in the library at the moment, so back to his room it was, though he generally preferred the more public space. He sees that Arthur is here and gives a polite, friendly nod, but his attention is drawn to what Arthur seems to be fiddling with. From his vantage point, it only looks like a metal suitcase. ]

Oh, my... Hard at work?

[ Because there is an association with business, naturally, and to be honest, if there's something of the sort for recruits to volunteer for, he probably would. He enjoys that sort of thing. Nerd. ]

Jon Snow ✥ Game of Thrones/ASOIAF ✥ OTA MOSTLY

[northerndragon]

[HMU in a PM, a Discord DM to detectivefiction#1669, or a PP/ping to detectivefiction if you want something specific! Or just reply to the open-ended one once I post it.

Jon is @AEGONNER.]

CLOSED TO DAENERYS

[northerndragon]

They've put him in a new room. He doesn't see the necessity of it -- the last one had just begun to feel a little less new and strange to him, a little more like a kind of home -- but any of these rooms is much like one of the others. He knows what the new one will be like without looking at it, because it's the twin of the one Daenerys had before Gallipoli. The bed will be lower than his previous one, there will be less room on the floor, but the arrangement won't surprise him.

Approaching the room, looking over his shoulder at her, he plans to try to convince her to shower and sleep.

But then he feels two sensations at once: intense hunger, and the taste of roasted chicken in his mouth, chicken like he hasn't had in months, tender and savory. The feeling is so strong and immediate that it stops him in his tracks. He frowns, then begins to move faster in the direction of the door.

Every time he's felt something like this before, it's had a single cause.

Armitage Hux | Star Wars

[neutronium]

Base

Wandering

[This is Hux's first time on the BASE, so wandering was something he was bound to do--judging, as well. This reminded him of what he supposed Resistance ships must be like...vaguely a mess, chaotic. Nothing as soothing and cold as the smooth and efficient lines of the Finalizer. Still, at least he was back on a ship again. That counted for something, at least, even if they weren't moving through 'space' in the purest sense.

Hux can be found moving through the halls, hands brushing against walls, moving in and out of rooms, regardless if he has the clearance to be there. He's mapping it mentally, as best he can, as if it matters that he memorize it all.

Finally, he settles in front of one of the large windows that looks out into the strange fauna of this fish-thing, and the Aether above. Like some strange thing caught in hyperspace.]

At least this is somewhat familiar.

Closed to Hei

Hux had been more than a bit worried about who was going to be his 'capsule' partner. He hadn't shared a room since the Academy, and he had done a very good job in terrifying that man into rarely being around. He was not one for socializing in close quarters with people he disliked (or barely tolerated). He thought he was doing a better job dealing with people of all types here, at least--so he braced himself as he entered the room...

...only to see Hei there. His shoulders visibly relaxed, and there might have even been a tiny hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

Exploring the Fish

General

[Hux would rather have stayed on the ship, working on some engineering trick to get it back up, but it seemed that wasn't the way this was going to work. So like the others, he headed out into the wilderness. He'll be wandering out and about, but never heading very far from BASE for the most part.

There is the incident with the Kelpie--but hopefully no one saw that. Feel free to ask him about it, however.]

Cave exploration

Hux isn't quite sure why he decided to explore these caves; he knows they were told to go exploring in pairs, and he should have asked someone to go with him...but here he was, wandering towards the edge of the cave, pack on his back, and lantern in his hand, alone.

Something them in draws him in; that something like this could exist on the back of something living was so curious to him; it reminded him of the tales of Exogorths, the giant space slugs one could get trapped in without even knowing.

Shifting his pack on his back, he hears a twig snap behind him and he spins on his heel, blaster raised, and he lowers it, frowning slightly. "Ah--thought you might be a creature."

Wildcard

[ooc: if you would like]

[cutlery]

[ Chiron and Sebastian haven't been out away from BASE terribly long—Only a day or so at this point. The first day is uneventful, and largely consists of hiking and marveling at the strange, yet beautiful sights that this place holds. So while it's quiet, it's hardly uninteresting. The second day takes them towards water, and preferring the slight openness of the terrain by the shores of the lake, Sebastian had been the one to suggest taking that route. They're not so close to the water that their feet would sink in the softer ground, but it's only a stone's throw away.

There's also been light conversation, since considering their conversations in Gallipoli, they both probably have a fair amount of curiosity about the other. Something rustles in the taller reeds by the shore, and Sebastian pauses and looks that way curiously. He's not quite worried about what they might encounter, since wildlife is a bit easier to deal with, in his opinion... But he'll still err on the side of caution all the same. ]

It seems we may have stumbled across something. [ He looks to Chiron as he adjusts his pack on his back as if to make it sturdier. ] Shall we take a look?

[dorzalta]

Food was consumed the moment Dany opened her eyes and could breathe. She'd nearly been ill with how quickly she drank water, her stomach twisting into knots after three hearty gulps that drained her bottle dry. It didn't matter then, didn't matter that her hands shook, nor that Jon saw her in these weak moments.

She follows him to his capsule, because she's no desire to meet a new roommate. Whatever the reason, their dwellings have changed. Likely she would not see Prelati. She'd not seen the girl in Gallipoli, which made her wonder just what had happened to her.

"What's wrong?" she asks him, only noticing he looks back at her. There's something like surprise which appears shortly after he glances back at her. Something which has her fighting back the heaviness of exhaustion and tensing behind him, quickening her steps to follow. "Jon?"

[northerndragon]

With another glance over his shoulder, he shakes his head. Nothing is wrong. In fact, he hopes --

He opens the door.

Most of the bed is taken up by a huge quantity of white fur. It's a wolf, much larger than any normal wolf, with a half-eaten chicken held steady between its big front paws. It lifts its head when it hears the door open, and then stands and jumps to the floor, momentarily abandoning the chicken. Its eyes glint deep red in the low light.

At the same time, Jon's face breaks into a wide smile, and he crouches near the foot of the bed, arms out.

"Ghost!"

A moment later, the direwolf is licking his face.

OTA, INCLUDING WILDCARDS.

[dipolar]

ONE— [PSYCHO THEME PLAYS IN THE BG]

(after being seen at the medbay, translocation leaving him with a grafted hole in his side, hei avoids the line for the showers and ducks into the spa. he’s heard the rumours; it’s haunted by the science experiments that died there. but what ghosts exist can make themselves known and try to bother a man who sees them every night. why in the world should he fucking care? nothing can scare him now and he peels his uniform off to prove it, vulnerable save for the gun he leaves on the edge of the tub like an open promise.

quietly huffs through the crowding of water because it smarts as it bites into superficial wounds and floods his body with a warmth he hasn’t experienced in months. overwhelming and unlike anything he’s felt in recent years, he’s forced into a restful hunch in the water, chin beading whatever solution is pumped in to flush the grime off of him. thinks he might actually be able to give into the feeling and let the jets knead at his aches and pains. a noise, however, pricks at his ears and forces one of his eyes open with an irritated set of his jaw.)

Who the hell is it? Don’t bother me. (blames it on a teammate with a particularly sour sink into the water, hand reaching for his weapon.) Quietly bathe or quietly get the hell out, those are your options.

TWO— THE FIRST CASUALTY IS TRUTH

(hei is looking particularly depressed on his trek back from the head of the coelacanth. clearly the man's heard some particularly distasteful news, because he's broken his indifferent stare and looks rather pissed off. he does, however, stop at the base of the climb to rummage in his bag for something — which happens to be a freezer capsule lent to him for specimen collection abused for the sake of toting his snacks around.

a very unlikely sort of thing for an assassin to eat, but he does so with a particularly irritable chomp, breaking the top off and chewing for a moment in a bid to calm himself down. upon spotting a fellow COST member with a reluctant squint, hei lifts his chin in a little nod.)

"Brings kings to their knees"... tch. Don't go waste your time on that fish...

THREE— CALLING ALL MILLENNIALS

@BURGERKING— @ALL
I have an announcement to make. ZapChat is broken. My experience is poor. It will only let you look at pictures for 10 sec before the window closes. I took crucial optical scans and now they’re gone. I’ll never get those back.

Safely consider it bugged and delete it before it glitches your BCE and you wind up MIA. You have been warned.

FOUR— MAYBE YOU'RE THE PROBLEM

(bugs are his life now. everything malfunctions around him, whether it’s technology or people, and hei’s stuck playing clean-up duty. sitting on the back of a hoverbike, brow knit as the angry sounds of a playlist he’s been using to fall asleep to — currently, a recording of a rainforest during a major thunderstorm — blare from the futhark-enabled speakers.)

Hey. (thank god, maybe it's someone capable he's raising his voice at.) Make it stop.

(it’s attracting attention. the unsavoury kind from beasts that shouldn’t be disturbed, ones large enough to bend trees as they beat a hasty path towards the disturbance.)

FIVE— THE OLD BAIT AND SWITCH

(hei’s standing in a still lake at the darkest time of whatever constitutes day. its surface? like glass, reflecting his silhouette and the aether above it. barely a ripple caused by him and anything else that may be lurking in its depths, he’d look like a statue if it weren’t for the occasional finger-spin of a forearm-length, double-sided dagger. an old habit that’s back with a weapon from home, custom made and tailored to his every quirk — in battle and out.

lying in wait, hei acknowledges any COST comrade's approach with the barest turn of his head and a harsh shushing when another is heard at a distance.)

They come out to shore around this time. Don’t step in the water. (and in the runnings for what may be his oddest request yet:) If you want to be useful, to the right of you there’s a pile of things that looks like a nest. Go on and sit in it for me.

[dorzalta]

Witnessing such a large wolf on Jon's bed is enough to freeze her in the doorway. It's massive. Far larger than any dog she's seen, however rare a sight they might've been in her travels.

She stares, her heart kicking into a frantic beat, drumming in her ears and throat when the creature moves--

--but there is no ill intent, for Jon's reaching for the--Ghost, Ghost. He's reaching for Ghost, and the animal is licking her lover's face. With the mouth that'd just been consuming a chicken corpse. She eyes the chicken left on Jon's bed, wondering what state Jon's face will be in.

More than that, however, she's pleased to see him reunited with his companion. So she watches, not stepping into the bedroom space because she knows that however content Ghost is with its human, that did not always extend to the human's guests.

Besides, this was a moment meant for the two of them to share.

[pointedlook]

[ Although he largely considers himself a private person, Arthur's been mostly unbothered by the shared rooming on base. For one, he seems to have gotten lucky with rooming partners. Merlin hadn't been around much, had been quiet and respectful. Sebastian is shaping up to be much the same, though he has manners to rival a victorian maiden. Not a bad thing, just interesting. And sometimes amusing.

In any case, Sebastian rarely sticks around their space, preferring the more public areas. Truthfully, Arthur spends his time out of the room as well, mostly in the training areas and occasionally in the library. He doesn't want to let his fighting skills to go down the drain– Gallipoli had been a real eye opener for how much they're really fighting tooth and nail in some of their missions. He's taken to training with the less modern firearms, honing in on his aim.

Right now though, he's got the PASIV open on the kitchen table, fiddling with some of the pressure valves. After long periods of disuse, they can get persnickety, which is definitely what happened. Steps nearby warn him of Sebastian's presence before the question filters through. ]

Something like that. Was just about to clean this thing.

[ It'd collected some dust while they were away. Arthur pulls the tubing spools out, sets them on the table, and then sets to work unscrewing the valves. In the top of the case, he procures the cloth he's tucked there for cleaning, giving the machinery a cursory wipe. ]

Found new things to read?

[northerndragon]

Jon's mood is, suddenly, about as good as it ever is. For the moment, he casts aside the worries of the past few days: what the mask had done to Dany, Robb's disappearance, all the fighting with the Anubian Regency troops. He'd had his own small wounds patched up while the mask was taken off of her, and there's nothing to be done for Robb right now.

He'd left Ghost at Winterfell when he made for Dragonstone with Davos and some men-at-arms. A ship on the sea for a moon's worth of days is no place for a direwolf: that much had been plain. But he also hadn't expected to be gone for so long. They'd been separated for months once in the past, when he'd climbed the Wall with Ygritte, so long that he thought he'd lost his friend to the wilderness. This time, they've been apart for most of a year.

His fingers curl in the thick, soft white fur, and he smiles and rubs behind the wolf's ears, not minding the chicken grease getting on his face.

"I missed you, boy." Then, "Someone for you to meet."

But he notices that Daenerys is hanging back, so he turns his head to look up at her.

"Come in." He's all encouragement. "I didn't think you'd get to see each other so soon."

[cutlery]

[ It's not the response Sebastian had been expecting, considering what he thought it was. He steps closer curiously to take a look at what's inside, provided Arthur doesn't indicate in some way that he's being too nosy. ]

Oh? [ Certainly not what he expected, since the mechanical nature of what's inside is unusual. He cants his head lightly in curiosity, since even if he's not well experienced in modern technology (to say the very least), this one still looks odd to him. ]

[ He looks to the datapad with a smile that becomes a bit wry, then holds it up to playfully wave it, since it's small enough to do so. ] What is it, if I may ask?

Sherlock Holmes, as a matter of fact. I was surprised to see the name, since I know Mr. Doyle. I am looking forward to seeing his works, since I imagine I know some of the inspiration.

[ aka it's him and he's a narcissist ]