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meadowlarklogs2020-07-08 06:34 pm
EVENT #010.1
WHERE: The Drake Passage, Adelaide Island, and surrounding areas.
WHEN: In the days leading up to May 21, 2512.
WHAT: Trip to Antarctica, as well as an event prelude!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Seismic activity, weird biological creatures, and sea sickness. Please look at our additional notes down below!
Heading through the gate and into New Magellan is the easy part – it's just a hop, skip and a jump from the New Amsterdam gate. It's early in the morning, and the sun is barely peeking over the horizon when a group of mismatched, highly unlikely, unseasoned scrubs make their way to the lowermost point on the globe. They're led by Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, and they're heading on an expedition to Antarctica in search of abnormal creatures whose existence has almost been lost among passing mentions. The scientific community does seem to remember, though, as do those interested enough to fund this little haphazardly put together expedition.
They're equipped with heavy coats and supplies, dragging what they need between the two gates. There's no need to be particularly punctual, as the research team that's meeting them is already on Deception Island. When they get to New Magellan's southern port, it's cold. The wind, harsh and dry, makes for pink noses and cheeks, biting at any bare skin that's left to its devices. It's only the first leg of the trip, and conditions are about to get worse from there. There's no train through the Drake Passage, and every step further is colder, more treacherous, and more demanding.
Getting to this island via boat is going to be treacherous for all of the characters on their way! While scientific enhancements in medication (High Quality Dramamine!) and boats will help, the characters will be taking The Drake Passage over to Adelaide. What does this mean for them? A miserable time ahead, all things considered. They'll have to battle nausea while dealing with terrible currents. This is the most unpleasant body of water in the world. Global warming caused things to change, but not enough to make travel much easier.
Anyone taking the trip will be given dramamine to deal with the motion sickness, but it'll be up to them to take it. Even then, there's a high chance that it won't work. The people navigating the boat across The Passage will be used to their passengers getting violently ill. It's a part of the rite of passage for this kind of trip.
(For some extra info from our science consultant on The Drake Passage, go here!)
Needless to say, upon arrival it is very cold. Everyone will need to have specific cold weather gear, and anyone who seems ill-equipped to handle it will be kept indoors and forced to bag and record any samples collected. In addition, anyone who doesn't pick up on how to take and handle samples before they're brought indoors will also be relegated to that. There won't be a lot of need for muscle on this trip. Overall, it's largely going to be a peaceful endeavor, albeit with a lot of signs that things could have turned for the worse at some point.
As for research, characters will be working on both Adelaide Island and taking a short boat trip to Deception Island. The team there will explain that there used to be facilities located on Deception Island, but after they got destroyed several times over throughout the centuries, all samples from there were taken back to Adelaide Island for analysis. Field research time.
In this region, most of the more "common" creatures that have made it are the following:
◉ Nototheniodei fish
◉ Leopard seals
◉ Antarctic octopuses with sub-zero venom
In addition, the surface area is very spiky and unusual, albeit lacking in any color. It's extremely monochrome.
This research trip will not be focused on these more typical creatures, albeit the researchers and Displaced could still take samples to see if any of them have evolved in unusual ways (especially given the unusual reptilian creatures found here before).
Other than these more common creatures, anything else the Displaced might find will be uniquely mummified due to the lack of humidity in the area (AKA it's extremely dry). Characters will be able to find the following (again, mummified):
◉ Reptilian creatures with exoskeletons like the one we referred to above (some of these are gator-like, while others are snake-like)
◉ Thick-furred walrus-like creatures, taking up massive amounts of real estate (so to speak) in the ice
◉ Featherless birds with retractable claws for talons
◉ Unusual mollusks with thick, spiky shells and legs that extend from them (these in particular are venomous, so they will need to be careful when extracting them—even breathing in their vicinity could be dangerous)
William's skill set will also be relegated to the indoors, but that means he'll be able to dig into the servers there via the local connection to see what's what. This particular research facility has been around for a long while, with some of its most unusual findings starting around 200 years ago. At the time, thanks to the large amount of ice that was melting, they found (equally mummified) bodies that were buried on Deception Island. Most of the clothing would be carbon-dated to the early 1800s. No one really knows how these people got here, but several of them had scarification and tattoos of various geometric symbols. Otherwise, these samples were passed off to labs elsewhere, as human remains aren't really in their wheelhouse. For what it's worth, none of these humans came up as unique in any way (in terms of biology) in the findings by those other labs.
Otherwise, William will learn that the laboratory is doing its best to publish its findings there, especially as they've found more and more unique creatures in the past year. Despite its best efforts, they've been running into roadblock after roadblock. There have been questions of integrity around their findings, and several attempts to pull funding from the area. None of these attempts seem as if they're intended to go through. On the contrary, they're clearly meant as scare tactics to keep the researchers there working but never getting any information out. They'll see this current expedition as an opportunity to bypass that process to get their news about these weird evolutionary formations out into the world.
After a few days of research, the ground will begin to rumble right before a massive earthquake occurs, causing massive damage in the area and sending shocks through the world. Knowing about the risk of the volcanic activity, the researchers will advise everyone to get moving. While the volcano won't be erupting yet, there will be a risk of a tsunami on the horizon, so they will need to move. The Richter scale of this earthquake will be around an 8.2, causing a great deal of damage and likely costing the lives of a few valuable NPCs (as they won't make it back to a mediunit in time).
Elsewhere, this will have an impact on the megacities, as there will be rolling brownouts. The mods will be detailing this in the Arrival Log (which goes up on July 11, 2020), so please don't post about this earthquake until then! As an equally important note, anyone who's on the Antarctica trip will not be present for the arrival log. We promise there will be cool stuff in New Amsterdam for the Arrival Log, however!
In addition, we suggest that the characters have at least four glowing relics on hand so they can make a makeshift gate to get out of there. This gate will probably be destroyed due to the damage in Antarctica following their escape.
Please see this link for the full player plot here!
no subject
[Once the label is on, Kyna sets the sample safely aside and promptly picks up an empty bag to swat him with. Despite her complaining, she is taking the actual work seriously.]
This shit is why I didn't go to college.
no subject
Just that? There are a whole world of non-label-bagging majors out there. They're not as cool, but. They're out there.
[ He's cross-legged on the floor despite the plenty of acceptable chairs around the place. Just easier to reach into those big tubs, and he's also just... a floor person, sometimes. ]
I still say trade school's your sweet spot.
no subject
[She plops down beside him, her knee knocking into his, and watches him bag the sample absently.]
But I guess a trade school could work.
[But there's still something about using all that knowledge and instinct she gleaned from her magic for something else entirely that... feels oddly like giving up.]
no subject
[ He corrects brightly, flashing her a wide smile.
Really, that's subjective. He lectures with passion and incredible interest, but if you don't care about the subject matter there's really no way to fix that. ]
If you--
[ A sudden bump cuts him off. It's sort of like hitting a pothole in a car, except it's the entire damn room around them. Buildings should not hit potholes. A mug gets jolted off a nearby desk, hits the floor and breaks into two or three ceramic pieces. That might be the only way he knows for sure he isn't nuts.
And then the familiarity sets in. ]
Oh shit. Come here.
[ Pretty calm, all things considered, for a guy who's randomly tugging a desk chair out of the way while still on his knees.
There's almost always one little warning before the real thing starts. ]
no subject
What the fuck. Are there earthquakes in—
[She's cut off by one of the mugs on the desk smashing to the floor, cold tea puddling on the tile. Ian is going to have to take charge here, because she's quickly realizing her earthquake safety knowledge ends at "don't stand under a chandelier".]
no subject
C'mere, it's alright--
[ A murmur that might seem absent if it weren't so hurried. You usually only get a few seconds after the warning jolt before shit goes down properly. He has almost exactly enough time to tug her between his legs back to chest before it starts. Right arm around her chest, left hand gripping the edge of the desk, left foot braced hard against the side panel for even the slightest semblance of stability.
It's practically nothing.
The whole fucking place starts shaking. It's a hell of a lot worse than the moderate ones they get in Berkeley, the kind that disrupt your day and send your chachkies smashing on your floor.
This is bad. It's a good thing they're on the lowest floor (as far as he knows, fuck, don't let this place have a hidden basement) or else he'd worry about collapse beneath them.
The entire place shakes. The desk almost goes skidding until he braces harder, but all the contents are scattered.
And then the light bulbs crack and spark. The foundation groans, and the first bits of plaster crack from the ceiling, falling to the floor a few feet away from them.
Oh, fuck this is really not good. ]
no subject
She hunches down, arm wrapping over his as she grips his hand. She doesn't even think about the fact that her bare skin on his will give him a front row seat to her desperate attempt to wrestle down her panic. Monsters and demons and attempted possessions, she can deal with. This is utterly, inescapably out of her control, and this thin metal and pressboard desk feels like a complete joke.
Very rapidly, the quake starts to shake apart everything around them. An expensive looking microscope crashes down a few feet away, cracking the cheap tile, and Kyna flinches.]
We can't stay here!
[Can they? She has no idea. She just knows she has to half yell to be heard over the rumbling and shattering, and she's suddenly very aware of the possibility of the two of them being buried alive.]
no subject
He can barely hear her over the sound of the entire facility shaking, but when he does his arm clamps down more tightly. It's not anger, but there is sharp authority in his voice. ]
Don't move.
[ Some people have that old wives' tale in their heads about needing to be under a doorway, but that's utter bullshit. The framing of a doorway isn't some magical structural marvel just because you see them standing after fires or some quakes. More often than not they'll wind up collapsing one way or the other in the end from uneven weight distribution. ]
This desk is the only thing keeping your skull in tact right now!
[ Spoken loudly enough by her ear that hopefully she picks it all up.
A piece of plaster, something knocked off the walls, a light fixture, any of that cracking into their heads is more likely to kill them than being buried under rubble beneath this desk.
Christ, being buried under rubble at all is a possibility, just without the shelter. ]
no subject
So, really, he doesn't need the authoritative tone to get through to her, but it does trigger some instinct to listen in her, borne from following and giving a million orders when things were trying very hard to eat her back home.
She squeezes her eyes shut, her grip on his hand tightening until her fingers ache. Waiting isn't her thing, and it goes against every instinct of self-protection that she has, but she trusts Ian, and so she waits, trying desperately to ignore the world shaking apart around them.]
no subject
Probably won't help when a massive portion of the ceiling comes down on the desk, and the whole place goes abruptly dark.
That one's enough to rattle him too, just for a second. Pulls out a sharp intake of breath, a tightening in his core behind her. The first one fades, the second one doesn't.
It seems to last too goddamn long. In reality it's maybe, what, ninety seconds? When it's happening, that stretches out in your perception to something wild.
It tapers off.
Slowly stops.
Gets quiet.
There's distant, precarious creaking. A muted thud somewhere a hundred yards off, maybe. Everything's a little muffed from the debris around their desk.
Slowly, gently, he eases up. ]
Don't move yet.
[ His voice a little rustier than normal, ears ringing and yet still too loud somehow.
It's like he's on some kind of autopilot, because he doesn't even asking before reaching out to find the collar of her shirt to pull it up over her nose and mouth.
Dust is gonna be a problem, inhaling it will fuck them up. He pulls his own up after it. ]
I need you to set a fifteen minute timer. We're staying here until that goes off. Aftershocks sometimes come hours later, but you don't know until they're happening. Everything's shifted, the structural integrity... it's gotta settle before we move.
[ If something's straining, waiting to snap, to give out, it needs to happen before they wind up under it.
They can worry about the detritus blocking their exit after that timer goes off. It's actually a help now, it'll keep anything worse from making its way in with them. ]
no subject
Eventually it slows, and then Ian is pulling her shirt over her face and she blinks up at him owlishly. They're still hunched under the desk, and she swallows down some ridiculous joke about him being too tall. Is that some kind of panic response?
She sets the timer as he asks, eyes going glossy for a moment as she works the implant. Then she's focused on him again, finally loosening her grip on his hand. When she finally responds, she finds her voice sounds just as off as his does.]
Could they happen sooner than that? The aftershocks?
no subject
It's possible.
[ He agrees. Unlikely, he thinks, but then again he doesn't know how this new fucking world works, how the tectonic plates have shifted in five hundred years after such dramatic changes to the environment.
Something he's abso-fucking-lutely going to be researching after this, though. ]
If they do, they're usually more dangerous than the initial quake just because of the damage the first one caused.
[ Shaking loose something already precarious. ]
If it hits, there's no walking. There's no getting outta here, because it's practically impossible to keep your equilibrium. You're just hitting the floor.
[ That's another big reason why don't move was the prerogative. ]
no subject
[It makes sense, and he's treated to a particularly strong rush of gratitude before she pulls her hand away from his completely. She would have been so screwed if he hadn't been here. She might have died. It takes her a second of focus to get her breathing to steady and slow, and she has to shove that thought aside.
She can't help but wonder why fifteen minutes is the magic number here. How do they know it's actually safe to move after that? But maybe they don't, and Ian is just trying to minimize the risk as much as he can.]
Are you okay?
no subject
Strangely enough, it isn't until she asks him if he's okay that he actually feels something. It filters in then, steadily flooding now that the chaos has passed. Can't block it out forever.
Jesus fucking Christ. What the fuck. They could've died. If Kyna had been here alone she would've gone tearing through this place in the midst of it, maybe gotten her neck fucking crushed by the plaster sitting outside their desk right now. Fuck, fuck.
Why does he feel responsible for that?
He exhales shakily, dragging a hand over the shirt covering his face. ]
Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
[ Other than the panic attack brewing in there that he can choke down because he is not freaking out in front of anyone. An earthquake is enough to deal with. ]
It's okay. We just need to get that out of the way, get to the exit, try and take inventory of who we're missing. I don't know how bad the damage was, but they build these places to be sturdy so I don't think the whole thing would've collapsed anywhere too bad, nothing impassible--
[ Just gonna ramble his way through this, talking to himself more than Kyna at this point.
He could really use a fucking drink, actually. ]
no subject
I could still get out. If it's impassable, I mean. I could find help or another way through, maybe.
[She's bringing it up because they need a plan, sure, but also because she thinks it's making him feel better to run through the logical side of this right now.]
Uh... Maybe that should be our Plan Z, though.
[Because the idea of leaving him somewhere in here when an aftershock could hit any second is just a little terrifying.]
no subject
That is not the case now, and it's not the kind of thing he shares with someone.
He tries to downplay it, take his hand and use it to card his hair back. Not acknowledge anything about it. ]
Right, right, right--
[ He breathes, a little relief fading in to quell the fire. She probably would've been okay regardless, right? They say your powers kick in when you need them most, she can phase through stuff, odds are anything would've gone straight through her.
He didn't have to be here for her for her to be alright. He doesn't have to be there, he doesn't have to own this, this is not a requirement. She'll be fine, he'll be fine once they make it out.
It's fine.
It's fine. ]
Okay, yeah, that's good. God knows there's bound to be someone out there who can... I don't know, move shit with their fucking minds or something, so.
[ So level out, Fowler. Calm the fuck down. Go steady, there's nothing to get worked up about. Breathe in, breathe out.
The anxiety lowers, bit by tiny, minuscule bit. ]
no subject
Maybe it's a good thing that her fear works a bit differently than his. Now that everything has stilled, her own panic is abating, and she's focused on her fading adrenaline and the anticipation of waiting for their next move. It's a low anxiety rather than terror. Just a minute or two left on that timer.
This close, though, she can feel that specific hitch in his breathing. She doesn't need the empathy bond to know what that means. Kyna shifts a bit, then reaches up to squeeze his bicep, forcing her voice to sound a little lighter, more teasing.]
Who says we need mind powers when you're this jacked?
no subject
Yeah, true, let's not dismiss hulking out as maybe plan C...
[ Just based on the sound, he thinks he actually could probably lift off whatever's on the other side there. It wasn't huge, didn't crack the ground beneath them, and if nothing else he could possibly try moving the desk.
Still, times like these he wishes he had a useful fucking power.
Lighter tones work for him, defaulting to humor works for him. ]
You are so lucky I didn't piss myself. Then things would be real uncomfortable.
no subject
I already watched you puke, so who cares? I'm wearing your sweater anyway, so it'd be your mess to deal with.
[Literally, apparently. The timer goes off, a quiet chime in her head, and she lets go of his arm.]
That's fifteen minutes. Ready?
no subject
Focus on getting them both out right now. ]
Yeah.
[ He agrees with a little grunt, shifting uncomfortably around her in the tight space. He drags one foot around from behind her back. Plants them both on the plaster, then pushes with his legs.
It takes a little effort, but it's not that bad. The desk moves behind him almost as much as the plaster moves in front of him, and in a couple seconds they can extract themselves from beneath it and stand up.
The place is a fucking mess. Broken glass, light fixtures hanging by a thread. It's bad enough that in some places an inch or two goes clear to the outside, but the good news is it lets a little grey afternoon light fade in. Dim, but manageable.
Business-mode seems to get him back to calm again. He can handle this shit when he's moving, when he's being practical, when he's in motion. It's just the sitting there stewing that chokes him up. ]
Alright, c'mon.
[ Murmured through the fabric of his shirt. Clutter surrounds the desk, so he actually has to sit on it and swing his legs over to head toward the hallway.
RIP their samples. ]
no subject
Ian's voice gets her to snap out of it, and she scrambles over the desk after him. This is fine. She's been in worse situations. They're going to get out of here and she's just going to give him shit about that pee comment forever. But.
The door is, predictably, blocked by what looks like a combination of drywall and twisted rubble. Kyna hesitates before approaching, glancing back up at Ian.]
Alright, engineer boy, tell me how fucked we are.
no subject
[ It's a thoughtful noise, striding up to brace his shoulder against it before giving it an experimental shove.
Ain't budging. ]
So, we're either very screwed or we're not screwed at all.
[ Helpful, no? ]
So it could be--
[ Let him just search around for a pen and, nope, right, they have the implant thing. Let him share a little image really quick.
He draws out the straight line. ]
Here's the door.
[ Partially open, mostly wedged shut by debris. ]
If that plaster's pressed up against it like this--
[ A little forward slash looking line, making a triangle with the floor. ]
All you're gonna have to do is get in there and pull it backward. But if it's like this--
[ And he just... draws a whole bunch of scratchy scribbles indicating a fuckton of debris just stacked for a few inches. ]
We're boned. I think either way you're gonna have to do a little spooky spooky to get it open.
no subject
Speaking of which, she's... actually kind of okay with this. This is something she can do, which is more than a relief after being totally useless in that fucking sim.]
Spooky spooky. Got it.
[She's definitely calling it that from now on. Impulsively, Kyna reaches out to give his wrist a squeeze, avoiding the empathy bond this time.]
Don't get crushed while I'm gone, okay?
[It's flippant, but she actually kind of hates the idea of leaving him in here. If only she could make him intangible too. But... whatever. Okay. Just a second of focus and then her chest glows, and she feels that strange little disconnect, like suddenly everything is a bit less real. It's not the freefall adrenaline rush of magic, but it's something.
Kyna slips right through the debris, Kitty Pryde style, and is relieved to find that the other side isn't as bad as she expected. It's a leg of the triangle rather than those beautiful scribbles. The glow in her chest fades as she becomes solid again, and she wiggles her way between the wall and the chunk of ceiling, pushing herself through to the other side. She's fully aware that she's not very big or strong, especially not compared to Ian, and so she has to press her back against the wall and shove the fallen panel with her legs, then push it the rest of the way until the door is free. Thank god there's nothing too heavy involved.
And thank god the metal doorframe hasn't warped. The door sticks for just a second, but Kyna's able to yank it open with an obnoxious squeak.]
Tada.
no subject
Check it for now. Come back to it later. Right now, what matters is survival.
He breathes out in an approving exhale when she tugs the door open, and he slips by her to head out first. Just seems like instinct, like the right thing to do. Be the one leading, assess for threats.
The facility's a mess. Portions of the hallways are collapsed in, a few of them have hanging sparking wires oscillating precariously. It's not an easy extraction by any means, but on the bright side... No after-shocks. ]
no subject
So is Ian's shift in demeanor, actually. Maybe it's just to be expected, considering the circumstances. Kyna's coping method is usually just... not to cope and coast on adrenaline and action, so she might not be the best judge. Still.]
Are you okay?