agogelogs | all this energy calling me

all this energy calling me

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

TOUCH BASE;

backfill armed services echelon
COST re-appropriated vehicle 854A-5.2

read the base setting infopage

DEPARTING FRANCE

The order comes out the second day after the Tuileries is sacked:

PACK UP, 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, and it starts like a vibrating heat on the collar bone, not painful, not to start with. Just a hum of sensation. But the vibration spreads. Veteran COST soldiers often refer to this phenomena as 'the buzz'. The sensation builds, feeling not unlike standing near a great engine, or the wind rattling the branches of a great tree. There is long a moment of motion sickness, and one cannot always be sure if it is you that is shaking from the inside out, or the world that is shaking you from the outside in. It may just 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. Some swear they feel a touch of the divine; the eyes of the eternal look down upon you. Ancient bones rattle just out of earshot, cold and brittle. Or maybe it's an illusion brought on by powerful technology grafted into your skin.

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

Nausea is commonly accompanied by this shift. One moment, you're in the cold of France. The next, you're in a temperature regulated hallway, looking not unlike 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. Crows sit on high ledges, looking down, watching.

(For those of you who just apped in and didn't participate in the TDM, you'll appear alongside your comrades now, standing in this long hallway filled with droids and crows and men and women in clothing from 18th century France. Of course, you'll be wearing the minimal COST athletic issued underwear, and holding whatever one item you were allowed to bring. Surprise!)

At the end of the hall is a long table with heaps of used clothing on it. The sizes and styles vary, along with color and detail (AKA none look exactly like the linked pics, they're just a baseline, use your ~imagination~). One thing's for certain, all the clothing has been used before, with holes darned and worn edges. They're all clean, though, and each bears a single patch with the words 'KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN' and 'COST sewn into the side.

They're not exactly high fashion, but they might be more comfortable than the late 18th century digs you're still wearing, if you showed up in France. Or, you know, the underwear.

Meet the Drill Sergeant

There is the echoing sound of hooves, and a strange creature emerges from a nearby room: a centaur. He smiles kindly, happy to see you've arrived. He has a significant limp in his back left leg, causing his hoof-beats to pitch an irregular rhythm as he walks slowly through the hall.

"Hello, all!" His voice is kind, but it's pitched to carry. "You may know me as Sergeant-- I am in technicality a drill sergeant. You may call me Chiron, if you wish, though I'm to understand some may know others with the same name." He laughs, amused. "In any case, welcome home. It is not much, but we have tried to make it hospitable for you in your time here. Your room assignments have been uploaded onto your BCEs, along with some technological upgrades we've been testing out. There are a few prototypes and experiments you may find in your rooms as well. Our agents are..." He looks up at the crows. "We are a curious people."

He looks over to the table stacked with clothing. "Please pick out what suits you, and make adjustments as needed. If you have any complaints, and wish to change your rooming situation, your username, anything of that nature, please send me a request. I am also known in some capacity as a trainer-"

One of the crows caws, and it sounds almost sarcastic.

Sergeant Chiron ignores it. "Hm. If you wish for me to make a training regiment for you, to better your skill in this organization, please let me know. But for now: I am to understand your last mission was... tumultuous. Please, rest and acclimate yourself to BASE."

He turns to leave, before stopping-- "And please be kind to the crows. They remember slights."

The crows' cawing sounds like laughter.

HOTSPOTS

There's been some technical difficulty since the prognosticators had their little meltdown. Coolant is in short supply, and some of the corridors of BASE are a little warmer than others. Pleasantly warm. Comfortably so, like walking through a sunbeam. In these hotspots, it feels comfortable and snug.

Characters walking through them will feel the urge to lie down and rest, maybe take a quick little nap.

Sleeping in these spots will cause unsettling or confusing dreams, but not nightmares. Dreams in these hotspots-- and sleeping in these hotspots will never be dreamless-- will be hard to remember upon waking, but they seemed very... strange. Almost as though you were intruding on something important but private.

Yet you can't quite remember it when you wake.

If you're clever and watchful, you'll notice the crows avoid these areas, so you can avoid them as well before you're seized by the urge to lie down and nap.

Particularly watchful characters may notice the hotspots are growing in size and number as the days wear on.

(More information about these and the forthcoming December plot will be coming in an infopost on the 12th, but if you have any questions now, feel free to ask here!)

read the base setting infopage

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC PLURK DISCORD

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh! I can totally fix that.

[ she whispers something to herself, and presses her hands together. when they come apart, she presents chiron with a gift, and beams. ]

Now your quarters will be a little more colorful!

[There's a moment of surprise on Chiron's face, followed by genuine delight. The smile on his face is all to warm, and he holds the gift very carefully, lest he damage it.]

Thank you, that's extremely kind. Am I to guess that this kind of magic is your forte?

I'm a druid of the Ashari. I have all kinds of fun nature tricks up my sleeve.

[ and she intends to do another one, hands moving in a different pattern. keyleth whispers, sounding different but similar than before.

and nothing happens. ]

That's weird. I swear this has never happened to me before...

[Those are names Chiron doesn't know, but he gets the gist. A nature spirit of sorts, and that puts a warmer smile on his face. He enjoyed the company of those spirits in life.]

...Perhaps there is a type of interference here?

Maybe. And my magic isn't as clear-cut as other spellcasters, I guess. Natural abilities take some time to master.

[ a thing she seems to be saying in an effort to console herself. because uhhh what the what is happening. ]

It wasn't even that advanced of a spell, though.

But we aren't around much that's natural. That would be my first guess as to why things might be awry.

[ oh god. at that thought, keyleth's hands slap against her cheeks and press, and she just

groans miserably ]

Keyleth?

[That's the groan of realization, isn't it?]

[ got it in one buddy

her groan continues but lilts upward in an intonation of 'yes?' ]

[Well...this is a problem.]

Perhaps acquiring a few plants on the next mission is something to consider.

[ she's a panicker, it'll pass. ]

I feel sick. [ her hands drop and she huffs. ] Scout and friends made me feel so much better and now I feel so far away from home again! This is dumb. Being in a cave outside of reality is dumb!

[Chiron's own nature is to well, not panic. It takes an awful lot to provoke a reaction, but he can't blame anyone for finally losing it, given the circumstances. It is honestly a little out there, being outside of reality itself.

There's also precious little he can do to help ride it out. Emotions belong to the person having them and he can't do a damn thing on that front. So he nods quietly, just listening.]

[ she takes the silence as permission to melt down a little more and get it out of her system. ]

You know, I've been down in the Underdark, like-- so far down? And I still managed to find vines! Deep underground! [ her hands gesticulate wildly, and she's got herself worked up enough to be panting at this point. ] Like, I just made you a flower, that's a thing I do. But no fire? This is bullshit!

[ huff, huff, huff. oops. ]

Sorry. That was a little extreme. I'm just kind of stressed out, you know?

It isn't as if I'm going to begrudge you for having a perfectly rational reaction to the present circumstances.

[The locations she speaks of are unknown, but they can remain that way. He gets the point, and honestly, if that's her rage then it's a pleasant break from some of the others in Chiron's life.]

Oh.

[ she's used to being teased for her outbursts, which leaves her a bit lost. ]

Usually, people tell me I should calm down. [ aww this is kinda nice. ] You're really nice, did I say that yet?

[ chiron there's def going to be a flower crown waiting outside your door, buddy. ]

[Sometimes it's awkward to just stand there and not have much else to offer the person having the outburst, but it also isn't nice to tell someone to calm down when they're freaking out. That usually has the opposite of the desired effect.]

You did, but I appreciate the repetition. But truly, I don't think anyone is in their right to say such words here.

It does seem like everyone is pretty out of their element here.

[ it's a good point, but still uncommonly kind from keyleth's perspective. ]

So I was going to go exploring-- you wanna come along? I mean, if you haven't already seen everything, that is.

I would be extremely happy to. This place is large enough that I haven't exhausted it yet.

You do seem like the observant type...

[ a compliment delivered with a smile! keyleth moves to walk alongside her exploring buddy, and can't help but wonder aloud-- ]

What do you make of this place so far? Is it anything like what you're used to?

[There's a nod and a smile at the compliment. It's one skill of many, in truth, but one to take pride in.]

In truth, no. I lived on a mountainside for most of my days.

Oh my god I grew up in the mountains! High up in a place in the Summit Peaks.

[ and she's been homesick for it longer than she's been a part of cost, if the wistful tone of her voice is any indication. ]

Do you miss it?

Ah, no wonder we get on so well.

[Chiron smiles, warm as anything. Being brought up in the mountains explains her connection to nature all too well, and it is nice to have someone else (who isn't himself or Achilles) who knows what it is like to live in such lands.]

I do. The world of cities has an allure, but...I'm sure you understand.

Cities are wonderful forests of their own. There's all kinds of things to do and people to talk to.

[ she agrees, and she does have a love for cities. but it's good that she can speak freely and without worry -- chiron will know what she means. ]

But it's easy to forget yourself in them.

Far too easy. The quality of the world around you also shifts, and it's something you don't realize until you return home.

Like here. There's a staleness to the air.

Yes! I've been trying to figure out what it is that's so offputting here. I've passed through planes of existence before but this feels different.

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refraining from earth elemental puns is hard

give into the puns! fulfill your true potential ;)

alas puns are not IC

sobs nooo i need them to survive

I WILL ADD THEM IN SUBJECT LINES IN THE FUTURE THEN

╰(◕ᗜ◕)╯you are too good to me omg

shhhh no you're too excellent

naw shucks you'll make me blush