event 001

[vaeramods]

» a little gift for you.

While characters work on getting rid of the magic-leeching flowers, Vaera slowly returns to itself. Without their roots digging into the planet's core, it has plenty of breathing room to replenish its' magic stores and settle. The power outages cease, Vaera feels more content with itself, and those who contributed to aiding in destroying them will find a ring sitting on the bedside table of their apartment in the morning several days after the plants have been taken care of. The ring is embedded with some of the magic from Vaera's core, and will carry it's signature. This can be used to help replenish one's own magic, or used to heal someone from a mildly serious injury. Only skin contact with the ring is required. It does not come with an instruction manual, but those who may have an understanding of magic will recognize the healing magic for what it is.

Supplies have been a little tighter than anticipated, given the sudden influx of people coming through the gate and all of the destroyed clothing from the plants. Vaera residents will get a ping notification to their YDEX with information for the next supply run a week in advance, asking them to register to board the shuttle to Yreska if they would like to assist in grabbing items. A few credits stipend is issued, to play and have fun on planet whilst they're there. Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson are already registered, and do not need to sign up again

» YRESKA.

CW: drugs

The shuttle from Vaera to Yreska takes approximately three hours one way. During transit, the YDEX will not transmit information. However, once the shuttle has landed on the planet, their connection is restored and characters will be able to communicate to those still on Vaera, and to those on Yreska.

Yreska is a decent sized planet, comparable to Earth in size. However, it is 74% covered in land and most of it is desert. The shuttle lands in a large city towards the center of a massive piece of land, called Rodtlev. Currently, the city of Rodtlev is running their bi-annual Carnival. The shuttle lands to the south of the busiest parts of the city itself, near a supply port. NPCs will immediately exit the shuttle and rush over to the warehouse with a large, digital sign reading VAERA, PAID to gather their pre-purchased supplies. There are several large boxes within the warehouse. These supply boxes contain food, water, med kits, various fabrics and other raw materials such as hard metals, glass, herbs, and other minerals and natural substances. Characters are expected to gather the supplies and load them up before they head into Rodtlev proper. They have two days on the planet before Vaera will begin pulling away and leaving.

Rodtlev is full of fun activities. From interesting performances to full gambling rings, to roller coasters and other exciting rides. It's hard to get bored. If anyone does look like they're flagging behind, they'll be quickly spotted by workers and offered sweets, or pointed towards something else exciting After all, this is how Rodtlev affords to keep its citizens fed, it can't have anyone sitting around not spending money!

The house of mirrors is one of it's more popular attractions, and workers will usher others towards it telling of how much fun it is to wander within it. Once inside, characters will find mirrors that show themselves as all shapes, sizes, and colors. A mirror towards the center of the maze will reflect a character's true face. Another one a little deeper will reflect their inner thoughts, the image in the mirror leaning in close to whisper their insecurities. Attempts to break the mirror will only reflect the pain back at the character themselves, rather than hurt the mirror.

Another popular attraction is the Fortune Teller. Sequestered away in a little both by the ferris wheel, they're dressed in massive robes that make finding their features near impossible. They will lay out three cards in front of characters, and prompt them to flip the card over. The cards will cause one of three effects, pending which card the character flips:

• The Stars Characters find themselves unable to lie or dance around the truth.
• The Goat Any stressful memories a character has becomes fuzzy background noise. They will find that anything that has weighed heavily on them feels so far away, that it is no longer bothersome. What was that thing they were worrying over? Clearly it couldn't have been too important!
• The Moon Characters find themselves wanting to be affectionate with others, whether it's simply touching their hands, pressing their shoulders together, or. well. you know. going a few steps further than that.


Effects will wear off sometime between a few hours to two weeks.

The performance artists range from knife throwers, flying trapeze artists, tight rope walkers, hypnotic aliens, colourful creatures, and beautiful dancers of all shapes and sizes, from every corner of the galaxy.

The town around the carnival is--barren. Most individuals who live there are only in town during the four months of the year that the carnival is running in full swing, and the ones who cannot afford to move during the off-season live in squalor working the supply docks. They receive deliveries of items from around the globe, get them settled into their correct dock, then go home at the end of the day.

As their time on planet nears the end, characters will receive a ping on their YDEX letting them know that the shuttle will leave in two hours, and they need to return to it or be left behind planet-side.

» something fishy this way.

CW: dismemberment, blood, gore

A week after Vaera leaves Yreska, the Gateway flashes. Just once, a bright, searing white light that manages to spread across the entirety of the Capitol for just a moment before it all fades back. The YDEX sends out a message from Vax near immediately: a quick "hey, don't worry about it, we're looking into it". Responses will be ignored.

A couple days later, water begins riding up the sidewalks of the Capitol. There's only a few inches of it, enough to get one's shoes wet. It invades the lower levels of buildings, completely floods underground facilities. It spreads from South to North, although following the waterline will only find a small lake at the end of it. Nothing large enough that it should have caused this much flooding.

Barriers can stop the water from entering, but nothing gets rid of it entirely. The day after the water appears, little bits of electricity start to spark through it. Not visible from the surface, but when characters get close enough to a hotspot, they'll definitely feel it. It's not powerful enough to knock someone off their feet, but it's enough to cause the hair to stand on the back of their necks. Within the water, characters may spot little electric eels swimming close by wherever the electricity sparks fly.

Four days after the water starts, chatter starts getting around about Dravok, one of the tailors in the city. Dravok was found sitting on the floor of their lower level apartment, with their leg bitten off and missing. Dravok was still alive, and is currently in medical seeking treatment for the lost limb.

They aren't the only one, either. Hours after the whispers around town about Dravok started, another, Tisk, gets reported as missing. After Tisk, Nuala is rushed to the hospital missing the lower part of her arm and screaming about a large aquatic creature.

» don't tap the glass.

The aquatic creature in question spans nine feet, with rows and rows of teeth in its mouth. It doesn't speak, but gives a loud, shrill sound when approached. It runs throughout the town, keeping to darker alleys and away from the light. It does not like sunlight, and will avoid it at all costs.

Additionally, it only attacks when hungry or in self-defense, and will not lurch for others outside of that. Otherwise, it will stay inside of the twenty-foot lake four miles South of the Capitol, swimming towards the bottom of it and keeping out of sight. It requires cool temperatures to keep its internal organs working sufficiently. It's very strong physically, able to lift up close to three tons without struggle, and it will use that strength to try and fight off anyone who tries to capture or hurt it.

So. . how will you choose to handle the creature? Will you kill it, capture it?

» ooc notes.

Please direct any questions/plot notes over to the ooc planning post!

Comments

alix. | original.

[illegalis]

⇢ it's carnival, baby

[ supply runs are alix's job, she's comfortable with moving supplies. less comfortable in a city, but them's the breaks and she'll suck it up for the job. she's surprisingly strong for someone who looks like she is made of bird bones.

when she isn't slinging boxes, her curiosity gets the best of her and she drifts awkwardly into carnival, people watching like they're animals at a zoo. the workers keep circling around to pile her arms with sweets and try to direct her at the next exciting thing they want her to try. she does not try any of their suggestions and so they come back with more sweets.. ]

Thank you, but no thank you.

[ the worker drifts away again and alix smiles beatifically... at her snacks, some of which she tucks away into her bag. she can probably be convinced to share. ]

⇢ sleeping with the fishies

[ sitting on a bench (well, sitting on the back of a bench, feet on the bench itself, alix watches the water lap at the sidewalk. she's from a landlocked country, she's never seen the ocean, she doesn't know how to swim. no, no thank you she isn't touching the water. she's just listening to the chatter about dravok's missing leg.

when someone she vaguely recognizes passes she will chirp out: ] Did you hear about Dravok's leg?

[ maybe they have more gossip. ]

⇢ wildcard

( go where your heart takes you or hit me up on disco @ baleinette#3692 to plot or w/e )

[ake]

[ he has never felt so relaxed and carefree in his life, like a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders. there is not a remnant of the usual guardedness in either his demeanor or posture as he leaves the fortune teller behind.

what even warranted his caution before? he can't place his finger on it and it doesn't seem very important right now; in fact, his mind has already drifted off to where alix could be. they're currently at a carnival on yet another planet, so shouldn't they enjoy themselves? he doesn't remember the last time he really enjoyed himself — a thought that gives him slight pause. he has to wonder why, yet once again, his rumination is inconclusive. ]

There you are. [ he smiles at her, a rare one that's completely void of its typical reservation in a public space. ] Have you tried any of the rides yet?

[illegalis]

Uhh..?

[ dumbfounded, alix blinks at ake for a second, shaking her head automatically. she hasn't seen him smile like that... has she ever seen him smile like that? maybe when they were still children and didn't realize that the world they lived in was absolute shit and they could still play freely, however rationed their play was. ]

I didn't know you were looking for me. [ wait he'd asked her a question. ] Do you want to go on a ride?

[ake]

I thought it was strange that we weren't together. [ a lopsided shrug of his shoulder. ] I doubt that we'll get another chance to experience something like this, so why not go on a couple? [ he fixes his gaze on an attraction a few feet away. ] They look fun.

[ he nods his head toward it. ] Haide, Alix. [ he reaches out to take her hand, intertwining their fingers together, as he pulls her along behind him. ] We're wasting time just standing around here. Let's go try that one.

[illegalis]

[ alix's mouth goes dry when he takes her hand because as much as she literally has dreams about this — not always ake, but alway casual intimacy, and the warm feeling of being cared for even a little bit — he has never held her hand in their entire lives. even when he came back from the rege beat almost to death and alix had to make sure he kept breathing through the night and that his fever didn't grow too hot, he only ever held her wrist.

she follows along automatically, head swimming because none of this is right. something had to have happened. ]

Ake, wait. [ she yanks on his hand, dragging him to a stop but not releasing his hand because while she's concerned, she's also deeply selfish. ]

Are you okay?

[ake]

[ ake has no use for affection. he never had it while growing up and he would even go so far as to consider it a hindrance to survival.

as a result, he neither seeks nor desires physical intimacy even with the people closest to him. he doesn't hold hands, give hugs or offer warmth to others. indifference is an act of kindness coming from him. maybe it makes him seem cold and unsympathetic, but that's what he believes is the best course of action for those who he looks after. it makes them stronger and more independent, so that they'll have a better chance of getting by on their own if he is ever separated from them.

so, the way he's acting now is very strange.

he isn't himself. it would be more alarming if he was aware of it, but from the lack of confusion or concern on his face at her probing, it's clear that he isn't. ]

Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?

[illegalis]

I dunno.

[ she squeezes his hand and manages a crooked little smile, but she can feel the tickle at her nose that makes she's going to cry so she tries to cut it off. he wants to ride the, uh — she squints at the sign. he wants to ride the ferris wheel so she unsticks her feet from the ground and brings him to the attraction he'd pointed out. ]

You're right. It is strange we weren't together. [ she rubs at her nose with her free hand, willing the tickle away. ] You know you're my best friend, right? I know friendship is unnecessary and it contributes nothing to survival, but there never would have been a point if it wasn't for you. So... I hope you don't forget that.

billy butcher — the boys

[cheapbastard]

01. RODTLEV

( billy's seen people fly, run faster than possible, and explode into bits of bloody brain pieces but he hasn't been to a completely new planet and now he's been to two in the span of a couple of weeks.

too bad this wouldn't be his fuckin' choice if he was allowed to make it. still, if he's gotta be here, he's going to take advantage.

for the most part, you'll find billy hanging around the gambling rings sticking mostly to card games. he's not bad either, alternating between teasing people so badly that they give him a tell or just sitting there stone faced.

he makes a good amount of money and, maybe shockingly, pockets it so he can use it on terrible shit that he shouldn't spend money on.

once that's done, he finds his way to the a fortune teller and sits down after she beckons him. he listens to prattle on and on about the future and shit and he jus rolls his eyes. he asks her to read his palm, look into her crystal ball and she just stares at him before she flips a card in front of her, showing off something with stars. billy asks what it does and she just smirks.

eventually, billy shakes his head and turns away from it, heading away from the mirrors. )

The fuck was the point of that?

02. EEL ME IN

( he notices the water after awhile, watches it slosh around his boots. he thinks, at first, it's just some kind of fuckin' flood.

as far as he's aware, there hasn't been any fuckin' rain so where all this goddamn water's coming from, he doesn't know. he's trying not to let it bother him but when something long and slimy brushes against his leg, he changes his mind. )

The fuck is that? ( he climbs up on the first car he sees, ignoring that there's someone in it and stands on the roof, looking around. )

You fuckin' kidding me?

( were those eels? )

03. WILDCARD

( feel free to throw something else at me, if you'd like. i'm at jortles for plotting/discussion. )

damon salvatore — the vampire diaries

[futilitarian]

01. YRESKA

[ while damon's up for an adventure, he doesn't want to lift a finger to help even if he could carry pretty much everything without breaking a sweat.

instead, he installs himself off the side and decides to just supervise, telling people where to go and how to carry their boxes. he's kicked back, feet crossed at the ankle while he looks on, clearly showing off his amazing delegation skills because the stuff's getting done and he's helping.

in his own way.

when the supplies are mostly done and he gets bored, damon wanders off and ends up in the house of mirrors. he rolls his eyes because these are always cute and quaint and typical for a small town carnival.

he whistles as he walks, occasionally seeing other people. when he stops in front of a mirror, he stares at his reflection for a few long moments and watches the reflection turn into something monstrous and bloody.

but it still resembles him and damon actually takes a step back, turning when he hears footsteps and trying to cover the mirror so no one else see.s ]

02. WATER WATER EVERYWHERE

[ the city starts flooding and damon, being the smart person that he is, finds a bar and hitches his legs up on a stool. he doesn't even know how long it's been flooding, he just knows that he doesn't want to deal with it.

while he sits there, he listens to the conversation around him, using his enhanced hearing to listen to people chatter on about dravok and then some other guy, tisk, and how they've both been attacked by something.

finishing his drink, damon sloshes over to one table and slams a hand down on the table. ]

Where's the monster you guys are whining about?

[ once he has his answer, he's on his way to check this out because he can't resist. ]

03. WILDCARD.

[ feel free to throw something else at me. i'm at jortles for plotting. ]

yreska;

[wrend]

( aidan doesn't like lookin gin the mirrors and seeing himself, but he was quick to also realize how the fucked up toys make a great way to figure out who the hell he's planet hopping with.

so he waits close by. surrounded by images of himself that look--well. significantly more pleasant than what he finds in the one damon stops in front of for a moment. which is why he's--careful. keeps himself angled to the side so his image appears elsewhere but not there. he's not that up for sharing, thanks.

instead he tips his head and tries to see whatever damon's covering. can't quite, but the corners of his lips do twitch up into a small, barely-there grin. )

Don't want to look at your pretty face anymore? Did you get tired of it?

[futilitarian]

Fuck off.

[ whatever's going on isn't aidan's fault but damon can't help but be sour about it anyway. he doesn't know what the hell is going on but he doesn't like it.

the horrible thing is that he knows what he's seen is true and right. he knows that he's that person and he sinks into it because someone has to be. ]

What are you doing in here? Stalking me?

[wrend]

Being a little bitch, obviously.

( aidan takes a step out, closer, but still just out of view from the mirror. )

What are you trying to hide?

[futilitarian]

Glad to know you've accepted your fate.

[ little bitch. ]

What's it matter? You really concerned?

[ yeah, right. ]

[wrend]

I want to know who I'm dealing with.

( isn't that why anyone would be lingering around here? causing problems? aidan doubts there's anyone who really wants to see what goes on in the mirror, let alone lingers this close to it. )

[futilitarian]

You know who you're dealing with. You think I'm hiding stuff from you?

[ he was. but he doubts aidan's been all upfront and truthful too. ]

[wrend]

Sure. ( damon might have felt like being upfront and honest about one thing, but it doesn't mean he's not hiding shit below the surface.

hell, aidan's done that in the past. said one dramatic bit loud and proud to offset everyone's attention from focusing in on something he really doesn't want to get out. )

I mean, you look like you're hiding shit now.

[futilitarian]

Why do you care?

[ damon doesn't snap it but it's a genuine question. he doesn't know why anyone would give a shit about what he's hiding. ]

Isn't everyone hiding something?

lizzie saltzman | tvd, et al.

[kastor]

⇢ is this carnival or burning man?

[ lizzie moves A Box and decides she is done and can delegate. it takes all of ten minutes for her to grow bored of that and off to the city proper she goes. she came for carnival and she lifted one whole box so technically she fulfilled the requirements to party and no one can stop her.

it's absolutely stupid of her to stop at a fortune teller after having just been harassed by a jinni but josie isn't here to be her impulse control so bad decisions bears it is. lizzie flips over the stars and immediately declares: ]

Wow thanks, Baba Yaga, that's super illuminating!

[ and flounces away. except now she is compelled to tell the truth. which is fine, in theory, because lizzie is a Mean Girl™ and prides herself on being brutally honest — which is just a clever way of being an asshole and getting away with being shitty — except lizzie is mean as a defense mechanism so telling the truth feels like cracking herself open and she hates it.

burning man sucks. ]

⇢ house of mirror hell

[ "it's so much fun!" they tell her and as much as lizzie wants to tell them to back off, she doesn't want to open her damn mouth right now so she lets them usher her into the hall of mirrors.

the first mirror makes her look like a squat blonde tweedledum and she can't help laughing. the second and third make her look as tall and lanky as slenderman and she pushes on, rolling her shoulders to rid herself of the heebie jeebies. the next one she is blue and she makes a noise like a hissing cat. ]

I refuse to be Smurfette!

[ it only grows worse the deeper she goes, mirrors that reflect every flaw, mirrors that reflect a life where hope has everything she wants, mirrors that reflect josie and make lizzie want to cry. after hurrying away from that one, lizzie finds herself completely lost, twisting and turning and only finding herself reflected back at her, whispering all the terrible awful things she hates about herself, a parade of intrusive thoughts.

her hands press to the mirror, magic shimmering under her fingertips and she screams ] Shut up! [ but she can't siphon the mirror and it only makes her more upset until she cracks and punches the mirror.

and goes flying across the room, hitting another mirror and crumpling on the floor like she's the one who has been hit. ]

⇢ wildcard

( go where your heart takes you or hit me up on disco @ baleinette#3692 to plot or w/e, i'm game for monster fighting i'm just lazy )