all this energy calling me

[agogemod]

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

Comments

Yoshitsugu Ōtani | OTA

[hakanai]

[Whatever one might think about the philosophy of 'going with the flow' in general, you'd have to admit that right now? It's pretty handy. Upon arrival Yoshitsugu is very swift to grab some clothing that suits and fits before disappearing.]

[It wouldn't do to throw up in front of others, after all.]

[But the retreat to the room noted in his BCE turns out to be useful for more than a bit of privacy and when Yoshitsugu returns into the halls to mingle with his unit members he is wearing the beloved (and impossible to miss) hat from home he favours. Never mind the slightly bloodshot eyes, he looks pretty damn happy about the reunion and can ignore his still-churning stomach, for now.]

It's interesting, isn't it? [He says, to anyone or no-one.] What they have chosen to give us.

[Because as grateful as he is for the hat, it's strange that it of all his possessions should make its way here. It's not useful in any practical way. Did they expend energy to summon it? At least that strange magic book, which he is already itching to use, could prove useful... maybe. He might talk about it to the right person, maybe even find a willing test subject for later.]

[frogfractions]

[Prelati - well, her glasses are what she has from home. She isn't sure if they were given to her as a good-will gesture or if they were only given to her so she could actually see (a 'perfect' body has a tendency to get eyestrain if you spend 200 years reading at night by candlelight) but either way, she's grateful for it.

She shrugs at him as she sorts through the piles of clothes, though, trying to find anything that remotely resembles her dresses from home in terms of materials. Frankly, she'd trade her sight for one of those... but she hasn't found the library yet, so that opinion will change.

She's already put on a shirt and some slacks, just for something to wear, but now she's really digging into it.]

Their fashion sense is less interesting, to say the least. [She considers a long-sleeved shirt, made of slightly flimsier material than the rest, and slides it onto another pile she's making for herself.]

Why so few items from home? Not our clothes, not many of our tools or creature comforts - it's almost as if they don't trust us. Or it could be about indoctrination.

[hakanai]

[Yoshitsugu grasps a certain coat the moment he sees it appear in the pile; it's long, will cover much of his body and only has a few holes in it that he suspects he can fix or cover at some point. There's a good chance they have at least basic sewing items somewhere on this base, and if not, well... there's always the next mission.]

[He and Takatora got good at mending clothes rather young. When you're a poor kid with no living parents to care for you? You really, really need to make everything last. Sometimes Yoshitsugu wonders if that's where Takatora's handtowel fixation comes from.]

It's hard work for them to transport too much.

[The samurai idly strokes his prize, sounding vaguely amused.]

But that's why what they do chose to bring here fascinates me. This hat is the second item of mine I've encountered COST and it was waiting for me, here in the base, after three months on campaigns.

[frogfractions]

[Prelati knows a bit about clothing - Cagliostro had enjoyed dressing nice for her own sake, Saint-Germain wanted to have a certain presence about her, tall and imposing and handsome, and Prelati had gone with the flow. Cagliostro had done a lot of the actual shopping - or consulting with tailors, hundreds of years back - but second-hand knowledge was still knowledge.

She glances as he takes the coat, pulls out a waistcoat that seems a little nicer than most things in the pile.]

Maybe they knew you'd like it. [It's a guess, but he doesn't seem annoyed by having it back, at least.] I'd certainly like to have my hat back. As a reward for good behavior. [She snorts a little at the prospect, but she supposes she is an employee here, a servant. A soldier? She's searching for the right word.]

Do you need that coat patched up? Or do you enjoy having a little breeze?

[hakanai]

[Yoshitsugu slides the coat on, testing the fit. It hides the shape of his willowy frame almost completely and is a little long in the arms but overall, not bad at all. He hums, satisfied.]

I will fix it if and when I can. [He shrugs.] The material is unfamiliar to me but I'm sure I'll manage. Or someone can manage for me.

[He runs a finger around one of the small holes on the front, and says, in a completely calm and even voice:]

Otherwise I'll cope. A cold breeze probably won't chill me so much I die, but if that happens, feel free to retrieve the coat for someone else.

[frogfractions]

Ha. [It's a dark enough joke - if it even is a joke - that Prelati allows herself to laugh at it, briefly, has to reach up and adjust her glasses after. The smile still tugs at the corners of her lips, though it's a pretty tired and unfamiliar thing.]

From the condition these things are in, I think they do the retrieving for us. People have died from worse than a chill in these things.

I could take a look. It might get mixed up with my things, though. I'll be trying alchemy on them - basically, seeing if I combine three tattered shirts into one good shirt. The materials are all there, so it should be possible. If you don't mind donating it to the cause, I'll see if I can find something for you when my work's done. Think of it as redistribution of wealth.

[horsepowered]

It says a lot about the state of their operation, I believe.

[Chiron has been folding the laundry even as he's been going through it, putting aside what doesn't fit in a much neater way than he found it.]

[hakanai]

Which is why it's so interesting that they'd chose to fetch something like my hat and leave it on my bed.

[Yoshitsugu taps the golden symbol, his kamon, that adorns said hat and huffs a brief, quiet laugh. He watches Chiron work but does not actually start helping (in part because he really can't fold so well but also because, well, why bother when someone else is at it already).]

A strange use of resources, isn't it? [He folds his arms.] Home comforts are good for morale, but then you look at this pile of clothing and wonder if the effort would be better spent elsewhere.

[horsepowered]

[Chiron's eyes go up to Yoshitsugu's hat, and gives is a moment's look over. It is distinct, and he's right. It's a very strange use of resources.]

It might be, it might not. It may be a matter of knowing overall allocations and then making specific judgement one way or the other.

[hakanai]

And what of a magic book containing a single-use spell for making stale bread taste fresh?

[Yoshitsugu would dearly love to know where his new tome came from and why it was created. Most of its contents are so specific and trivial that they have no practical use whatsoever; it's the sort of thing he might create, if he knew how.]

I can see no use for that, unless they intend to surprise us with a meal consisting of the last remnants of a bakery from France.

[horsepowered]

Field rations could likely use that?

[Okay, so you got him. Chiron shrugs, unsure of what the real answer truly is. That's an extremely specific use.]

What other spells are in said book?

I'm here for bad poetry spells

[fessus]

[ It takes Noctis a moment to realize he's being spoken to, and not just because the words seemingly come out of nowhere. No, it's due to the fact that he's finally getting a look outside into the churning, unsettling aether when he's interrupted from his thoughts, abruptly whirling back around. ]

--hah? Oh.

Yeah, I guess... Are you talking about your hat? [ Yeah. Yeah, that just does not square with the rest of the outfit, man. ]

[hakanai]

[Interesting, isn't it? That strange and almost terrifying eternity outside that Yoshitsugu has spared no glance whatsoever yet. Such things are better saved for a day when he isn't half-exhausted and has a bit more mental energy to dedicate to it.]

[Plenty enough to be getting on with, right? Like discussing hats and ridiculous books you found on your pillow.]

The hat, yes... amongst other things.

[He taps his facecloth, eyes growing half-lidded with amusement.]

Such as sweet treats and a peculiar enchanted book, left waiting in my room. I assume you were not so gifted?

[fessus]

You don't have to say it like that...

[ He's gifted, okay, just not with nice items at the moment. In fact, he's here with even less than he had back home and limitations on his magic that are causing new stresses on him he's never felt before. But. Still, that's a cool hat. ]

I only showed up here with one thing from home. Definitely no books, either. I wonder why they just gave those to you.

[hakanai]

[That's an interesting reaction; reveals vital information about this young man, especially if you take as much delight in being a tease as Yoshitsugu does. So of course he says:]

Oh? So you lack those kind of gifts.

[...kind. But he follows up with some kind of further explanation, watching Noctis curiously as he does so.]

When I first came here I only had my weapon with me; I've been part of the unit for three months. Maybe you'll get something if you match that time... or maybe the flow will be kind and ensure others will share?

[fessus]

[ The quality of his stare turns indignant, hands settling on his hips as he really looks this stranger over. Talk about a smart mouth. ]

Yeah, I lack a hat. [ How dare you. Though now he's thinking about his favorite baseball cap, and he does miss it. Damn it. ]

So they just showed up without you even asking for them?

[masque]

Yeah, talk about a low budget. At least everyone's in the same sloppy boat...?

[has just found an outfit that somewhat works for him, so used to looking presentable, but maybe right now it's best to grab whatever's still together and go from there.]

Except you, managed to find a hat and everything.

[hakanai]

This hat was not amongst the charming pile we have here.

[Yoshitsugu runs a finger along the the hem of his slightly faded shirt; the style is, like the clothes in France, completely new to him and feels a little strange to wear. But he'll save his complaining for other things.]

It was left for me in my room with other things, though it alone came directly from my homeland. One might suggest that expending energy to bring it here was completely pointless.

[Though welcome.]

1/2

[masque]

You... got your hat back from home?

[pause, staring at him......]

[masque]

How do I get my glasses?

[hakanai]

[Yoshitsugu just stares for a few moments, regarding Akira with calm grey eyes before snorting lightly.]

I cannot say. COST chose to bring this hat here, I had not requested it.

[Wasn't that obvious? How adorable.]

Maybe you need to charm the right person.

[lonelywar]

[Ashitaka had picked over the different varieties of clothing for a while, not really because he was picky but because he was fairly confused by a lot of it. Fashions had certainly changed quite a bit from what he was familiar with, but eventually he grabs some garments that he thinks wouldn't be too difficult to wear. From there on out it was a slightly confused expedition to where the pod-like rooms were located, figuring out how they worked, finding his room, and fumbling his way through getting changed.

The end result was that he was exiting his own room, clad in a fairly post-apocalyptic-looking ensemble with boots far heavier than he seemed used to. He's tugging his sleeve down to cover the part of the mark extending to his hand (he should have found some gloves...), so he doesn't immediately notice he wasn't alone in the area outside all of the pods.

The voice is familiar, however. He looks up to see Yoshitsugu, clad in vaguely similar clothing but with a very distinct hat. It takes him a moment to connect dots as to what he had brought up, but Ashitaka ends up nodding as he approaches him.]

I wonder if they are limited in some way. [He had noticed his sword resting on the bed allotted to him, and he was grateful for it, but it seemed a fairly paltry offering. He at least wishes he could have his clothing and bow...] It would benefit them to give us what we are comfortable with, yes?

[hakanai]

[Ah, a familiar face. This is the youth who knows when to be useful; Yoshitsugu hasn't forgotten that interesting conversation. Their first meeting, amid mud and gunpowder before the Battle of Valmy, had told him a lot about this young man.]

Oh, they are definitely limited. [He draws himself up a little straighter and rubs his eyes.] But there are many more practical things they could have given me instead of what is simple comfort, and nothing more.

[A couple of tears run down Yoshitsugu's face when he finally allows his hands to drop, though they are rooted in soreness rather than any kind of sorrow. Still, it's odd to see them on the face of someone like himself. He looks like the sort who would never cry, which isn't strictly true, but it's a very rare thing.]

You know about when one should act, so let me pose you a question. [No mention of having noticed that mark yet; instead he regards Ashitaka with curiosity befitting a cat.] What use might someone like myself have for a spell that reveals another's ideal wedding?

[lonelywar]

[He nods.] It does seem like it would be more useful if we could actually request —

[He trails off as Yoshitsugu lowers his hands; even if he had been rubbing at his eyes, Ashitaka wouldn't have anticipated for something like that to cause the tears to fall. He becomes a little tense, taking a half-step forward — this was not out of shock or discomfort for such a thing, but instead acting upon a sudden worry that something was wrong.] Are - you hurt? [He asks it with a genuine look of concern furrowing his brow.

Apparently that wasn't the case, even without an answer, as he poses his own question: one that stops him in his tracks both physically and mentally, locking both aspects up as well. What?] I — [blink and you'll miss it, but the boy actually does get a little red in complexion for just a moment before he seems to get the better of it.] Why do you ask?

[hakanai]

[Yoshitsugu nods a little in response to the first question, but doesn't make any other response. It's simple honestly but also he's not particularly interested in getting into his health. Really, a bit of nausea compared to the kind of thing he's dealt with before? Nothing worth fussing over.]

[The second question, however...]

I was given a book; within ten one-use spells. [Yoshitsugu definitely saw that slight flush and beneath his facecloth, he's smiling.] One to make stale bread taste fresh... another to contact the dead...

[He pauses after 'the dead,' eyes almost closing into menacing slits before he lets the ominous moment pass and becomes calm again. Sometimes he just can't help himself; Yoshitsugu has always had that kind of humour. Even if those around him don't appreciate it.]

Another to reveal a person's ideal wedding to the caster.