❪ introlog: #6 ❫ city of secrets

[natha]

You've spent the last few days on Thesa Station, taking in the knowledge that your world is no more. Now, the time to put all your survival training into practice has arrived: El Nysa needs you, and you're here to help the planet thrive. Are you ready? THE DESCENT     All refugees on the station are called to the hangar, where a large-scale teleporter awaits. Simply step onto the space between the arrays and wait; everyone will be sent down to the planet together. Before they depart, all refugees will be given a cold weather survival kit with warm clothing, rations, and bedding. The arrays build into a brilliant wash of light, creating a column that travels all the way from Thesa Station to the surface of El Nysa, teleporting the refugees to the planet on an aurora. Once on the planet's surface, refugees receive one last message from Darma. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet we must ask you to brave further peril. Within Nadril are the secrets to how poor Ysverai's revival was hidden from our sight and how this disaster has come to our star. Find the first refugee from beyond this planet, a man named Magda. He will not speak to us, for much has come between us, but to you… If you prove yourselves, he may be willing to answer your questions. We beseech you, for there is a veil over Nadril that hides all within from us. There may yet be more untold dangers waiting to befall this planet. For the good of all who make this world home, we ask you to lend us your aid. There is yet one more favor we would ask of you. In warding off the Storm's encroachment, the physical aspect of ourselves that you call Thesa Station was damaged. We must remain to continue repairs to El Nysa and to deal with Ysverai, but there should be suitable technology within Nadril that could be used for spare parts. If you have the chance to find it and can return it to us, it would hasten— Darma's message crackles with static, another image overlaying hers — her broadcast is cut off and replaced with another. A more sullen and alien voice takes Darma’s place, overlapping on itself in an ominous reveal. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet you’ve only just arrived here. To say I’m not disappointed in your… generation would be to lie, and I am nothing if not an honest creature. But I suppose these have been unusual circumstances. You must ask yourself this — are you only here as Darma's lapdogs? I can assure you, it's not worth being on the Natha's leash. With time, that will be something you'll have to learn for yourself. If you're so determined to come find Nadril, then follow the path north, and you'll find the border. What awaits you is revelation, if you're up to the challenge. A FROZEN LAND     The refugees land on a literally frozen world, both in temperature and time. Curls of icy wind hold swirls of snow aloft and an uncanny silence is broken only by the crunch of hoarfrost underfoot. Only Darma's protection allows the refugees to move through this frozen world — and movement is very necessary. Bitter cold sneaks through even the thickest clothing and without warning, a snowstorm rises: unnaturally quickly, a wall of white howls directly in the refugee's path. Bizarrely, the way back is perfectly calm; it's obvious that this storm is no product of nature. Magda's challenge becomes clear: the only way to Nadril lies through this storm. Visibility within the storm is near zero, the whiteout hiding any landmarks from view and making navigation near impossible. The only guidance refugees have is a sporadic path of faint, greenish lights, easily lost in the raging storm. Refugees need all the survival skills they practiced on Thesa Station to survive, for getting lost alone is a death sentence. Luckily, those separated from the group can happen upon guiding lights Magda has planted throughout the tundra. These blue-white sparks cause frostbite if handled recklessly, but they also serve as directional anchors, turning into ghostly flames that lead lost souls back to the path to Nadril. The trek through the storm will be no mean feat and will last for the better part of three days. By the time the refugees reach Nadril's gate, most will find themselves exhausted and running on fumes. As the snowstorm dies away and a gap in the glittering forcefield around the city opens to usher the refugees inside, it's clear that Nadril is a different beast. A WARM(?) WELCOME     I. Despite the unforgiving journey, entering Nadril is painless. Once inside, characters will be greeted by their predecessors: the original refugees who made this advanced city. They'll immediately be offered medical attention, as well as warm cider and blankets. But it's obvious that the Nadril citizens prefer higher tech to fend off the weather: they also offer wristlets and ear cuffs that that double as mittens and earmuffs by creating warm bubbles of air. The earrings also feature a few quality of life programs, such as timed alarms and thought-to-speech messaging. However, both programs are in beta stages so it's not unusual for a stray thought to accidentally slip through or an alarm to accidentally ring at an inopportune time. II. Refugees are offered free lodging in a large, crystalline building crafted from ice. Despite the coarse building material, the ice is unmelting and surprisingly well-insulated, and the beds are as warm and cozy. The rooms are, however, small. The sleeping quarters house two people, and are some cross between an igloo and a capsule hotel. Though built for efficiency over comfort, all rooms are also outfitted with the latest Nadril AI, RoboAlfred, or Ralf for short. This helpful program is installed in practically all the furnishings: the closet tells guests to bundle up, the bathroom sink reminds them to brush their teeth, and the mirror offers helpful fashion tips. Ralf's personality matrix still needs polish, though: it may very well insult your clothes and passively-aggressively question your lifestyle choices for the entire stay. III. Though not as advanced as Thesa Station, the colony has technology far beyond the rest of the continent, such as rudimentary AIs and mechanical transportation. Nadril's skyline is a point of pride — refugees can take a (literal) lightrail that gives an aerial view of the colony, which is hewn almost entirely from ice and rock. Despite its tech, Nadril is much more sparsely populated than Olympia and Wyver, and its residents stay near a central hub: a Natha refugee drop ship, Central, which has crashed and long embedded itself into the earth. Central is similar to an older, smaller, grounded model of Thesa Station, in functional order with round-the-clock solar power. Within Central are lounges similar to ones on the Station, though many of the damaged areas have been converted. They include repair stations, different wings dedicated to science, botany, astrology, and mechanics, and a research and history facility, which has a smattering of technology from planets beyond El Nysa — including your own. The staff here don't mind if anything is sampled and studied, but objects cannot be taken from the labs. IV. On the outskirts of the central hub, many will find several curious looking bots with insect-like wings perched about high traffic walkways. Simply passing the bots will cause a dizzying flash before a series of photos print out. Upon closer inspection, people will find that these images reflect stills taken from their home worlds as they remember it. Unfortunately, these photos only last a couple of hours at best. At that time, they will revert back to regular pictures of the refugees. People will be encouraged to share these images of their worlds. The residents of Nadril comprehend the value of remembering one's origins, and will be pleased to see that people still hold memories of old homes close to them. RECREATION IN NADRIL     I. Small, mechanical creatures scampering through the city are a common sight. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that they come from a shop called Paws About Town. They’re very useful, as companions, gophers, and couriers (though the more mischievous will note that they’re just small enough to keep tabs on people without being noticed). Premade robotic pets are available on display inside the shop. They come in all shapes, but small sizes; one may be able to find robots that even look like miniature creatures from their homeworld. These are a part of a new, highly customizable line with programmable personalities. Customers have the chance to take pets for a one-day trial run. Those who don’t know how to program may want to enlist more knowledgeable aid, but the pets come with instructional pamphlets for basic personality traits such as obedience, helpfulness, playfulness, and bloodthirst. For returns, the switch to wipe the robot's personality to a blank slate is on the back of its neck, right between a switch to invert all traits, and a switch to have them learn by observing. Try not to press the wrong switch — you might wind up with a pet with a mind of its own! II. A. The Frosty Tap Cantina is a thriving hub of activity, but one of the major draws is the self-service bar: molecular mixology is wildly popular here. Playing with drink compositions can be a game in and of itself, and newcomers to the cantina will find that the bartender — a cheerful woman with lilac skin and three eyes — is always happy to give them a few tips on how to use the wide array of tools within reach of the barstools. All manner of drinks are possible — from glowing, layered cocktails, to clear drinks with colored, spherical bubbles and vividly-colored shots that give off their own smoke. There's a nightly contest in the cantina for the most creative drink created by a team — this may be as good a time as any to partner up with someone and see what can you come up with. Winner gets all their drinks for the night free! And, hey, even if you don't win, you get to drink whatever you make. The well-lubricated patrons of the bar are eager to challenge anyone nearby to a different sort of drinking game… Just how well can you hold your liquor? B. Holo-screens in the cantina are nearly always broadcasting some match or another of a game that looks very much like hockey, albeit played with sticks that light up and a puck that changes shape from time to time. Colonists here merely refer to the game as "the sport," and one of their favored pastimes is betting. However, they don't use currency — they wager dares. Nadril colonists are a tough, weathered lot, and they prefer to speak with actions over silver. Colonists will urge the refugees to take part as well. Common dares range from the ridiculous (lead a sing-a-long, attempt to make someone with a poker face smile) to the suggestive (kiss the person in the cantina you find most attractive, strip off a piece of clothing), to the outright reckless (venture out into the snow for a certain amount of time, and no one will judge if you find some company to keep warm). The colonists are unfazed by even the most insane or tawdry of dares — but you'll certainly be called a killjoy for refusing too often! Why not grab a friend and give it a whirl, or challenge a rival to a dare yourself? THE MISSION     I. On the outskirts of Nadril is the communications tower of the old refugees. This is where Magda resides, monitoring Nadril's technological protections, the extent of the Natha’s influence, and running his own personal projects for El Nysa’s technological advancement. It is isolated, filled with research labs and relics of the past refugees who have come to El Nysa — a living mausoleum of worlds swallowed up by the Storm whose peoples have refused to forget where they came from. Crew photos line the walls of the tower: pictures of alien families and friends, the refugees who came to Nadril before you. Each group of photos gradually becomes smaller in number, and the most recent of the pictures are from half a century ago. Magda's picture can be found among the first group of refugees, an unusually small cluster of photos dating back centuries in El Nysa's past. I have been on this planet for nearly two centuries. Life has come, evolved, and collided in an ever expanding culture. But Darma fears interference, and made this place a prison, with she our warden, stifling the growth of the creatures native to this world rather than encouraging them to flourish. She sent you here for answers in her stead because she knows I'll spurn her, and after seeing what that fool Raysc has wrought, I'll give you them — not for Darma's sake, but because I trust after all the Natha have done to you, you'll understand my decision. Mistakes were made, and I won't hide them. You've made it here so there's some mettle to you, and unlike the Orbiters, I'm not interested in hiding the secrets of the dangers we face. I gave Raysc what he needed to keep his actions hidden from Darma's eyes — what he needed to advance the primitive magics the Natha had doomed him to. It was old Natha tech, Darma's very own used against her. Hilarious, isn't it? Raysc learned of Nadril, and like you, braved the snow to find his way here. He proved his worth and his determination, and he spoke of a brighter future, El Nysa coming into its own, its people realizing their true potential, unhindered by the shackles that had been put upon them. I believed him. He had vision — or so I thought. In truth, he was a fool. A madman. He wasted the opportunity I gave him on his petty vengeance. But not everyone on this planet is such an idiot. Surely you lot aren't. The Natha are hiding things from us — about the Storm, about everything. And here in Nadril, we're going to find all those secrets. What's it going to be? Will you help us, or are you going to stay obedient dogs on Darma's leash? Magda isn't too talkative yet; after all, the new flock of refugees may just be here as eyes and ears for the Orbiters. But what he has said leaves you with plenty to talk about, and if you can earn his trust by helping out around Nadril, he doubtless has a great deal more to reveal. II. Central isn't the only Natha ship that made its way to El Nysa — another, crashed just outside Nadril's borders, is little more than a junk heap. It's here that you'll find the spare parts Darma asked you to retrieve for Thesa Station. What remains of the ship's hull serves as a windbreak, and snow has built up against it, turning the piles of old Natha tech inside into something of a snowy morass. Holes in the deck offer would-be scavengers passage to the ship's innards, barely illuminated with flickering lights — the tech is old, but hardy enough to withstand a crash landing, the severe weather, and the passage of centuries. Deep in the wreck are the remains of living quarters, research labs, VR arenas, mecha bays, cafeterias, and a host of other rooms, many of which may seem familiar from Thesa Station, albeit with a decidedly older feel to what remains of the smooth curves and sleek surfaces of the Natha architecture. Most of the ship's systems are damaged and the technology is nonfunctional, but that just means there's plenty of spare parts to be found. The wreck isn't in the best shape, its structural integrity damaged, and the drifting snow threatens to block off exit routes. Be careful while exploring and be sure to bring a partner. As it turns out, Darma isn't the only one interested in the wreck — Magda is also eager to get his hands on Natha technology. In his own way of taking some responsibility for Raysc, he's asking scavengers to bring him parts, muttering about seeing what he can do about Ysverai's curse. Bring him anything that looks useful, and he may have a chance to succeed, though whether he'll be more effective than the Natha Orbiters is up for debate... FINAL OOC NOTES     An AC-eligible thread with a new character as a participant for 2 NADRIL REP POINTS may be submitted from this log. SUBMIT THE THREAD HERE BY AUGUST 5TH, 11:59 PM EST. As always, feel free to create your own prompts and explore the Nadril location page! There are a variety of activities made available, including fishing and cave exploration! Please direct questions to the questions thread below! Thank you! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

3

[hellzone]

[ This shouldn't be here. If her world was destroyed, then all photographs from it would be destroyed too, right? And yet this weird flying robot thing took a picture of her and the rest of her idol group. It doesn't add up. And Yoshiko isn't sure if she likes it or not.

There's somebody else looking at one of the photos. Honestly, the guy looks kind of weird and beat up, but there was apparently a literal dragon a few weeks ago, Yoshiko'll blame that. So, she walks over to Theon. ]

Hey, [ she asks, trying not to sound as sad as she actually is. ] Did these photographs do something weird for you as well?

[ Yoshiko shows Theon her photograph. It's nine girls in matching outfits, standing and posing on a stage of some sort. One of the girls is Yoshiko herself and another is a different member of the Station bunch, You Watanabe. ]

skating

[hellzone]

Fufufu~ [ Yoshiko lets out a low chuckle as she looks over at Diva. At the moment, Yoshiko's standing upright, not moving on the skating ring: she puts one hand to her face, makes a 'v' shape with her fingers over her eyes, and starts talking. ]

You needn't worry, my little demon. If you focus your mind and call upon the forces of darkness for assistance, skating is but a trifle!

[ She moves forward a little bit but her foot shoots forward a bit too much and Yoshiko's gloating turns into a yell as she falls right on her ass. ]

[shashka]

[ look, he's not here to tell kids not to drink, after all, he's hardly there to parent them. one side of his mouth quirks into a half-hearted smirk. ]

Sounds like an impressive nickname. But "quantity" doesn't always equal "quality".

[ after all, when you're in a foreign country, and trying to get information out of someone, sometimes you find yourself drinking absolutely terrible swill. ]

Know any interesting drinks from your world? Something that could knock most "normal" people out?

[ that, at least would help determine the direction that they'll take. as for him? he also has a few ideas. ]

Mission

[dreamprotector]

[Who to trust… that's the very question that Riku is wondering now too, even though he's had months to form an opinion on the Natha already – Too mysterious, too distant, in his opinion to really trust; but they are keeping his loved ones safe as they promised; so really how much can they openly criticize them without having to fear retaliation?

Knowing that, but also knowing that Magda had helped Raysc resurrect that damn dragon that's still suspended in time…

He can't help but answer aloud:]

It's not that simple as just choosing a side.

[It hadn't been like that with Olympia and Wyver either.]

The Natha have been keeping their secrets, no doubt, and are certainly using us… but I wouldn't trust this guy just on his word either.

[Magda so far hasn't given any indication of being anymore trustworthy than the Natha at least.]

Yoshiko Tsushima | Love Live Sunshine | ota~

[hellzone]

1: snow problem
Fuck you storm, she's got this. Except for the fact that no, she doesn't, but Yoshiko hasn't let a thing like 'the weather' stop her before. She's wearing intensely practical clothes: the voice of Dia Kurosawa rang through Yoshiko's head as they suited up, warning her away from this one super cute jacket that was a bit more flimsy than the rest. Of course, that just made her miss Dia and the rest of her friends more, so Yoshiko's spent the first part of the trip in a bit of melancholy.

It's a melancholic state that she's got to force herself out of, partly because she doesn't really want to worry about it, partly because she's got to keep up her spirits and keep up her attitude. You's been here by herself for ages! Yoshiko's got to be strong for her!

So, she turns towards the storm and starts laughing. "DO YOUR BEST, WEATHER!" she yells, as if mother nature herself can hear her. Yoshiko strikes a pose, pointing a dramatic finger at the storm, and in a deep alto, starts to intone: "Forces of darkness, little demons, give me strength! A storm like this is but—" And then Yoshiko's words cut off with a scream as a gust of wind knocks her backwards, on her ass, in the snow. Help her up, someone?

2: please don't drink this
People still might side-eye the fact that someone on the younger side is at the bar, but this mixology station is so much fun. Yoshiko's been sitting at the bar for the past fifteen minutes, experimenting with flavor profiles, figuring out what all the switches do, and just generally having a grand ol'time. This place is still weird. This whole scenario is still weird. But making drinks like this is pretty fun.

Eventually, she's come up with a drink that she likes. And so, random person at the bar, there's a teenage girl practically forcing a drink onto you. She's using her deeper, 'Yohane' voice as she asks, "I call this one Fallen Angel's Desire. Take a sip and descend with Yohane~"

Aside from the fact that it's an unpleasant shade of green with dark purple ice cubes and that it's literally smoking, Fallen Angel's Desire has the spice, heat, and flavor of habanero peppers. RIP taste buds.

3: plot catch up
Newbie is super lost. At Magda's speech, Yoshiko just watches with an expression that shifts from interested to 'trying desperately to hide her confusion.' Obviously there's some bad blood here, but she doesn't know all the details! Yeah, You told her about some of the things that happened here, but these people seem to be talking about a few things that she doesn't know period!

It's after they hear from Magda that Yoshiko starts to look for someone who might help. As she runs up to someone competent looking, she tugs on their clothing a bit, to get their attention. "Hey!" she whispers, in her more normal high pitched voice. "Who's Raysc, again?"

She's gotten like fifteen new names in the span of a few days, give her some time to catch up.

wildcard
It's a wildcard! Yoshiko can be found doing a little bit of everything, though she'll spend a lot of time at the bar, making other intensely awful drink creations.

b–i

[dreamprotector]

[Riku is tempted to take off his ear cuffs ever since realizing that the thought-to-speech transmission can go exactly as wrong as the concept suggests that it might… but with the cold all around them that he still feels seeping into his bones… yea no, there is no way he's taking those off in near future. He'll just have to be really careful about focusing his thoughts and then it will work out right, right? Right.

In any case, he's not surprised that other people's thoughts seem to keep being transmitted – but the delight he hears in the one greeting him now kind of takes him off guard.]

Hello?

[His head turns around in search for the source… until he spots the white wolf on the sidewalk. Huh. He isn't entirely sure… but he thinks he can sense a brightly lit presence…]

Is that you, sending all those greetings?

ii

[judicia]

( Anders can't say he's thrilled with anything he's seen so far in Nadril. He often has to wonder, though, why everything from the future has to also be so cramped. The tight space of the igloos doesn't do anything to help his anxiety, and the attitude of the AI is only making it worse. It already made some smart ass comment at him earlier, when he made the mistake of trying to fix his appearance in front of the mirror.

So when the AI starts laying it into Ocelot, Anders can't help but sigh a little in annoyance. )

Is there a way to put that thing on mute?

» there's gold in them there space hills.

[evite]

( or, you know, technology of some variant, the exposed wiring and what she can only assume is copper plating glittering in the dim lighting of the station. it's a siren's call for the tech dweebs out there, truly, and daisy's no exception; she practically beelines for the first room she can get into, experienced hands going to work immediately at freeing an old tower computer from its snowy prison.

if she's lucky, she'll find compatible parts to her own pieces of tech. if she's really lucky, she might find intact data, enough to shed some light on ye olde space conspiracies. in reality? she expects to find some scrap metal, something she can sell off for a few bucks to pad her pockets in case of a rainy day. an audience to interrupt her private time with alien tech, however? that's a surprise. way to startle a girl, captain kirk. )

Please tell me you're not here to go demolition derby on this place.

( he does have a shovel strapped to his back. what else is she supposed to think? )

don't @ me

[tailorable]

[ eggsy knows better than to order his favourite mixed drinks 'cause they inevitably taste different from their earthly counterparts (but ask him to make you an approximation on thesa, and he'll sort out something damn close, swear down). instead, he nurses his second pint at the bar, chatting with nadril colonists whenever possible. it's lowkey intel gathering, seeing as he's actually enjoying the sport and lively atmosphere. reminds him of london during the football. his last month was dramatic, with losses and undead dragons breaking up the weeks, so tonight is a nice reprieve. after losing his bulletproof suit to bloody robots, he wears plain blacks beneath his natha-issue winter gear. no snapback today, either (you're welcome).

daisy's proposition is ballsy enough to make him smile, hidden behind his drink as he turns to assess her. one of the american refugees, definitely. and pretty. he nearly says, "sorry, i'm taken" on instinct, but he's not, hasn't been for nearly a year despite the sudden burst of memories in his head, with a few almosts scattered in between. and he can't turn down her delivery, said like a dare in and of itself. ]

Any drink?

[ teasing, as if that's the important part of her offer. ]

xoxo.

[evite]

Yes.

( straightforward, to the point; it's perhaps not exactly the most well thought-out concept of daisy's espionage career, considering she's got zero idea what the range of pricing is on another planet, but she's sticking with it. might as well, right? backing down certainly won't win her any favors, and it'll likely error out her attempts to settle her bet fair and square.

so, no dice to hedging out now. she'll just have to keep her game face on, a wicked smile offered freely in his direction as she reaches out to cup his glass between thumb and forefinger. he doesn't protest, surprisingly, and so daisy finds it easy to tug it away, pulling it to her own mouth to take a considering sip. (result: it's not terrible. a little hoppy for her tastes, but fitz had shitty taste in beer too, so she can't be too shocked that this pond-hopper does as well.)

to his question, though, she follows up with one of her own: ) Well? Do you want the drink or not?

recreation

[judicia]

( Whether he looks trustworthy or not, Anders is already past the point of caring. He doesn't usually drink, and that's mostly by choice, but after everything that's happened this month — fighting an undead dragon, losing his cat, and Justice going back on ice — he feels like he could use it.

So when the man with the unrecognizable accent offers him a drink, Anders smiles and takes it. )

It's not poisoned, is it? ( He's teasing, mostly. )

[revver]

[ Makoto knows that it would be easier if he just hugged her, and that it wouldn't mean anything, but she really needs her mind completely focused on driving. Even with Johanna's help at the wheel, and the fact it shoots pretty strong beams of light, Makoto isn't comfortable at all driving on the frozen terrain. ]

Yes, that's good enough. We should manage to reach the main group in a moment.

[ Riding Johanna might prove to be an experience; the bike is rather large in proportion to its rider, but Makoto seems to easily maneuver it. It also moves with unexpected smoothness, and the engine purrs powerfully, yet the vehicle remains completely vibration-free.

Also, it seems to glow a bit now and then. Odd. ]

Oh, by the way: I'm Makoto. Makoto Niijima. Nice to meet you.

[ Might as well try to be polite. ]

[givingback]

; A warm welcome pt 1.

[ This isn’t what she expected when ship life was ending (for now??) and life on a planet was beginning. She’s only been from one place her entire life - Boston, so Brianna really has no idea what anything else could ever be, let alone a whole other world. She had no idea there was cold and then there was cold.

In the blinding snow, she’s separated from Claire despite her best efforts to stay close. It’s hard to see, she’s freezing, and she tries to follow the lights until she makes it through the storm. By the time she’s in Nadril her lips are blue, her skin burns, and she’s just looking for someone - her mother, Jamie, anyone - willing to help her warm up. She can’t even speak with the way her teeth are chattering, but Bree walks toward the closest structure, slowly, because she’s exhausted but determined. She's not even aware that anyone privy to her thoughts is only receiving names on a loop. Mom. Jamie. Fergus. Over and over again. And she's only met her adopted brother once, briefly, over the network. But he's still her brother. ]

; A warm welcome pt IV.

[ Once Bree is warm, recovered, and curious enough, she ventures out, trying to figure out the tech because even if (for most people) it’s not very high-tech, she’s from 1968 and a computer is something that seems far out there. Something only used in big labs, maybe NASA, to get men to the moon. Everything she sees is interesting and new. As she passes a bot, the blinding flash makes her pause and squint, but she reaches for the photo that prints and simply stares at it before looking around to see who’s watching and triggering another photo, then another.

In one photo she’s a toddler on a beach, looking back over her shoulder with a grin as she heads toward the water. In another, she’s behind the wheel of a car, and she remembers learning how to drive. Her father taught her. Frank taught her. She sorts through the pictures and realizes that in all of them, even though he can’t be seen, her father was there. He taught her to swim. She looks at a photo of herself stacking wood: he taught her how to wield an ax. How to fish, how to document historical objects. Bree’s in a new place with a new father, and of course, every memory is of Frank Randall.

As she sits, near the bots but not in the way of others, she wipes at a tear or two that falls, feeling more conflicted and confused than she did before. It isn't fair, to try and figure out who she is with family surrounding her, only to be reminded of all she's ever known. ]

; Recreation pt. II A

[ She’s 20, and in Scotland, she could drink. Legality is ambiguous anyway, but for today, she’s claiming her Scottish side to grant her the benefit of alcohol. Before she even hears about the contest, she’s had four shots of something very cinnamon-y that dangerously doesn’t taste like alcohol. But it’s enough to make her smile and reach out to the nearest person who looks friendly. ]

Hey! We should make a thing, a...a drink together! Look, look, look, we can do….this blue stuff [ blue Curaçao ] and this Irish cream and then…[ She looks around at everything, then grabs banana liquor. ] This! [ Pouring it all together in a shaker, she shakes her heart out before pouring it in two shot glasses, handing one over. ]

We could win this thing. Me and you.

;wildcard.

[ ooc: Find Bree rooming with Claire, exploring, or anything else. Feel free to hit me up on plurk at babybokchoy if you’d like to plot more! ]

[shashka]

[ a lazy smirk begins to slowly spread across his face. although he has mellowed out considerably since the days of his hot-headed youth, Ocelot's always been one for spirited competition. and, the woman across from him at least looks like she knows what she's doing (pink fruity drink aside, though that was likely not her personal choice, if he had to bet based on first impressions).

he downs the shot quickly, not even flinching. ]

You know much about drink mixing? While I've always preferred my liquor straight, back home, I got to do my fair share of travelling.

[ after all, that would hardly be out of the ordinary for a career military officer, even one from the Soviet Union. ]

☇ mission (im)possible.

[evite]

( does daisy know natasha romanoff? not exactly. she knows of natasha romanoff, has likely even been in the same building once or twice, but they're not technically friends. or colleagues. it'd be a stretch to consider them even acquaintances. if she's honest? the so-called black widow probably has never even heard of her.

which makes it less creepy, in her mind, to just saunter up and say hey there, let's partner on this, as if this is something two people do all the time. as if this is just some chance encounter with another totally normal person on a totally bizarre foreign planet, nothing weird or vaguely fangirl-y about it.

yeah, no, but she's gonna go for it. how can she pass on an opportunity to work with natasha romanoff? she can't, so ... fingers crossed? )

We should take a left here.

( you know, inside the crashed spaceship's maze of corridors and doorways. to the right seems deadly; she's not certain, but the tingling sensation in her arms is never a good sign. better to steer clear of that if at all possible. )

[revver]

[ She wasn't really waiting for an answer...but she is speaking out loud. Hearing someone else's opinion might help her too, she considers. ]

I suppose it's not. Having just arrived, I can't say I know very well all that is happening, but either side has done much to make me feel like I can trust them.

[ But yeah, they do have her sister on a pod up there, for better or for worse. ]

And I don't want to make an enemy out of anyone if I can help it.

[flask]

[Nott freezes at the loud voice, heart beating fast as it carries through the store, and she looks up and up (and up) at the man twice her size. Fuck.

She double checks that her mask is securely on her face -- she doesn't want this escalating even further, though it almost certainly will -- and keeps a hand on the rat she pocketed.]

J-Just shopping, mister! There's nothing untoward happening here! I'd never!

[...For a thief, she could be better at lying.]

II. alcohol can only solve problems, ever.

[givingback]

[ Bree can't help watching a drink that literally looks like a heartbeat, pulsing and glowing. Possibly, she's pretty buzzed herself, and she just stares before finally speaking, not taking her eyes off of the drink. ]

How'd you do that? My drinks are so boring. They're boring. I can't figure out how to make anything cool happen. Can I drink it? Can I drink your drink?

[ Yeah, this is all a lot stronger than the whiskey she'd had in Scotland at the pubs. But still, she can form sentences so she must not be too far gone. ]

paws about town

[judicia]

( Anders wants his cat back something fierce, too. She's been gone ever since Ysverai started attacking Olympia, and Anders has no idea if she's even okay. The thought of her hiding away somewhere without any food or water only makes his anxiety shoot into overdrive, and the sight of the mechanical pets aren't doing anything to help that. )

I hate this place. ( He says, staring down the robot cats with a glare. He doesn't notice Caleb until a moment later, but his expression softens somewhat when he does. )

Why do these people have to be so obsessed with robots?

[shashka]

[ Ocelot, at least is used to close quarters, though his nerves are far from calm with that wretched AI. it also isn't helped by the fact that DD is still out there, frozen in space, and the Natha have deigned to do nothing about it. ]

Short of shooting its mainframe, I can't say.

[ Ocelot was an intelligent man, but his expertise had never been particularly strong when it came to the inner workings of AI. engineer, he was not. ]

You wouldn't happen to know a spell, would yo-

[ but he's interrupted by another snide comment from the AI. ]

-Of course you'd shoot first, and ask questions later. Your mind probably can't begin to understand how sophisticated my programning actually is.

[ and while Ocelot might not understand AI as well as others, he does know that whoever programmed this particular one really had no idea what idiocy they were unleashing onto the world. ]

[tailorable]

[ with his beer goes his cover and attempt at coolness... but he doesn't protest, no, eyes bright with amusement at how forward she is (so so so american). and when she counters, he shrugs. his gaze flickers from her to the rest of the room (feigning thoughtfulness, despite the obvious curve of his mouth, but he might be checking if a different agent of shield is around to tease him about this, too).

it only takes him a few seconds to decide. ]

Don't worry about it. [ the drink, that is, but his answer's at odds with the way he leans forward, minimising the space between them. she said kiss me, not sit around and wait to be kissed, after all. as soon as she sets his pint aside, eggsy reaches out to cup her jaw and tips down to press a quick, soft kiss to her mouth. he doesn't know the parameters of whatever wager she lost, but he assumes she doesn't want to snog a random bloke. ]

[flask]

[She plays with the bandages on her fingers.]

Acid? Trost? Fire whiskey?

[She doesn't know what qualifies. Alcohol is pretty straightforward, where she's from. People drink it and don't usually die.]

I can come up with something. I'm an alchemist.

[flask]

[Nott grins proudly, mask forgotten as it's gotten in the way of her drinking. She points out the ingredients as she explains.]

I mixed that, that, and that. And added a little of that. I don't know all this stuff, but I'm an alchemist.

[Well, not really, but she learned alchemy from one, which was enough to prepare her to make intense alcoholic concoctions here. Apparently.]

You can drink it if you want.

welcome!!

[expiable]

[ Nat eases the door further open soundlessly, eyeing the interaction up close before deciding to speak. She raps twice on the door to alert the girl to her presence in the interest of courtesy and, uh, being perceived as a vaguely normal person. ]

[ lifting her brows. ] Technical difficulties?

[ listen, she knows that's a generous assessment... ]

iii. come get your sister

[givingback]

[ Bree's been at it now for a while, not purposefully slamming back shots but she's so curious about everything there is to try. When she catches the eye of Fergus, she realizes they haven't actually spoken at length yet, and she can't help but wonder if Claire's actually had the chance to tell him some truths.

Which means Brianna has to be careful as she makes her way over to his table. ]

Mon frere! Is that right? I took some French in school.

[ She sits with a smile in front of him. ]

I should get to know you, I think.