EVENT ★ TEAM BONDING

[futurologists]

TEAMBONDING TASKS Early in the morning, all characters will receive a message in their personal inboxes encouraging them to help with various tasks around the castle. Characters may either volunteer or be randomly shuffled into a group by accident; once assigned, they’ll be expected to show up and harangued by the castle’s animated suits of armor until they cooperate. The teams are as follows, though all groups besides the Training Center are open to sign-ups until the caps are reached. This OOC post may also be used for questions and plotting! LIBRARY: Anduin, Sigma, Rin, Keats, Papyrus, Adrien, Gumshoe, Sorey, Archer, Rosalind, Mikleo GREENHOUSE: Koltira, Julius, Sieglinde, Alice, Hellboy, Aqua, Dipper, Edna, Rodimus, King, Jekyll STABLES: Undyne, Khisanth, Mabel, Rey, Graham, Dezel, Olivia, Steven, Yata, Saber, Anakin TRAINING CENTER REDS: Shadow, Gintoki, Luciola, Gilgamesh, Ban, Melan BLUES: Kylo Ren, Pearl, Masamune, Poe, Barry, Lancer The Training Center will have a catch-all subthread below, but anyone in any of the other groups (or not in a group at all) is encouraged to make a top level and tag into whichever area you'd like to play in. TRAINING CENTER Once recruits step foot into the Training Center, they’ll find themselves suddenly outside. A voice coming from their jewelry informs them that this is a simulation of the world Asharion. There’s swamp for as far as the eye can see, and it’s dark and… sort of squishy in here. The two teams arrive at opposite ends of the swamp, where their respective “base camps” are located. Each of them will find themselves dressed head-to-toe in the color of their team, red or blue, and will see that a flag of their team color flies above their heads at base camp. There’s no concealing what team you’re on. If you look down, there’s also a HP bar plastered across the front of your shirt. Each time you’re hit, your HP goes down. (Remember, no one is actually getting hurt -- this is just a simulation. Once you run out of hit points, you’ll be kicked out of the simulation and offered a piece of cake from the kitchen as a consolation prize.) All powers are still around, but use anything too powerful, and the game will view it as a “cheat” and detract from your HP bar. A timer, floating in front of your eyes, starts counting down and the voice speaks again: ”There are three artifacts hidden within the swamp, and we’d really appreciate getting them back. The objective is simple: be the team with the most artifacts when the game is over. The game is over when all of a team is kicked out of the game or when the timer runs out. Good luck! Oh, and be careful with the artifacts. They have some… interesting magical properties. The aforementioned artifacts: THE STAFF OF INVIGORATION The staff is very plain and easy to miss. When you touch it, however, you’ll know. You’re suddenly filled with energy, flowing through your entire body. At least, for a little bit. It runs out of charge in about five minutes, and if you’re still holding it, you’ll find it actually starts draining you of energy until you’re too tired to walk. VENKAN STATUE A small, very delicate statue from the world of Venka, made of crystal. Try not to drop it. Whoever holds it will find themselves easily irritated, however, even by their teammates. The longer it’s held, the stronger the effect -- it starts out with mere annoyance, making you almost comedically ornery over small things, but if you hold onto it, you’ll find yourself becoming paranoid and aggravated. The statue is actually of the Goddess of War, and it turns out it might have started a few wars itself. THE RING OF… PUPPY LOVE? A beautiful sapphire ring in the shape of a heart. Once held or put on, the wearer will get an extremely awkward crush on the anyone they see, and be unable to do anything but giggle like a schoolgirl in their presence. The effect will only fade if they drop the ring. How embarrassing. The artifacts can be found anywhere in the swamp -- almost like they’re moving around on their own. Knowing ALASTAIR, they just might be. The countdown hits 0. From this moment forward, the voice tells you, you have exactly two hours. The blue team will end up the victors, but only by a hair. Cherenkov will be available for any questions and feedback afterwards (see subthread below), provided she's not napping. REWARDS: Both teams will receive a pocket watch, with very specific instructions attached. Both are capable of a one-time spell. The blue team’s pocket watches will administer a shock to stun the target when opened for the first time and the first time only, so don’t waste it. The red team’s pocket watches will create a barrier around the character that will shield them from any incoming attacks for three minutes. LIBRARY The library is enormous, with stacks that rise nearly to the vaulted ceiling. Rolling ladders lean up against the sides of the stacks, ready to be climbed, but the burly librarians that usually frequent the library are not found today. They have left only a single note behind, in neat, cramped script: Please clean up after yourselves. Thank you. There is a long wooden table in the middle of the library. Two closed books rest upon it: Escarpan Gardening And You and A History of the Hurricane of 62.516-18 A. Opening the first book will cause vines and flowers and other greenery to sprout up from nowhere, blocking the shelves and making traversing the library quite a difficulty. Opening the second will cause the entire library to be engulfed in wild winds, throwing books off the shelves and perhaps each other across the room. Opening them both will cause both things to happen, simultaneously. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rest of the books do the same sort of thing. Open a book about medieval weaponry? Suddenly there are swords flying through the air. That murder mystery novella? Everything is now black and white with deep shadows. The encyclopedia? Nothing happens. Encyclopedias are safe, for some reason. How do you make these book effects stop? Shelve them in the proper place. But beware -- every misshelved book will cause another to pop out of place. Try to catch it before it hits the ground and opens, or you just may have a disaster on your hands. HINT: The solution is to shelve the books in order by size, large to small. REWARD: All participants will receive a fountain pen, with instructions: write a character’s name on any surface and you will be able to see through their eyes for thirty seconds. After using it once, it will become an ordinary (but fancy!) pen. Crowley will be available to contact for any general inquiries, though responses may be tardy since the cat NPCs are likely to be asleep on a high shelf together. GREENHOUSE The greenhouse and surrounding courtyard should be tranquil, but more often than not it ends up just as absurd as the rest of Oska. Recruits will be tasked with cleaning one of the giant glass domes that houses a massive, archaic tree at its core. Surrounding it is an entire biosphere teeming with life, but the fauna is limited -- that shift in the corner of your eye? Probably a slithering vine. The snapdragons here will take off a finger if you’re not careful, and the stinging nettles will leave worse than a rash. Some examples of the more fantastical plants are listed below, though players are welcome to create their own: Noxious Nightweed: the bright, glowing flowers of the nightweed are beautiful and full of nectar that smells of berries -- catching scent of it will cause drowsiness, lethargy, and thirst. As enticing as the flower sap may be to drink, it’s deeply corrosive and will burn on contact. Don’t fall asleep handling one! Kukichas: These large, puffy, red fungi are harmless to other plants and tend to grow on just about any other flora. However, they’ll stick to anything that brushes up against them and detonate some time later. Once they explode, characters will be plagued with itchiness, tickling sensations, and sneezing fits. Characters can remove these by quickly finding another person to stick them to. Beware though: kukichas reproduce by budding. Quickly. Mandrake: these plants appear to be normal, tiny shrubs, but when pulled out of the earth will become animate and let out a horrible, piercing wail that only increases in volume over time. They will cease when fed a drop of blood. But none of the compost should go to waste! After gathering trimmings and various plants, herbs, and flowers, recruits will be shuffled off to the greenhouse labs to make use of them. There are gargantuan, dusty grimoires full of recipes for various potions and all the necessary cauldrons and equipment to brew them. The directions are laid out thoroughly, but are quite complex -- one character may have to read an incantation while the other stirs, others might require careful handling of volatile substances, and so forth. The only thing they have in common is that none of them can be properly made without a little aid from someone else, so work together! Worse still, the books are old. Text in some places is washed out and requires quick, smart improvising. Or guesswork. ALASTAIR is not responsible for any toxic fumes, poisonous bubbles, or other strange side effects that may arise from randomly throwing ingredients together. Dagny will be available within both the greenhouse and the labs to offer assistance, feel free to snag her with any questions! There will be a thread below where you may drop links to threads you’d like her to briefly appear in. REWARD: All characters that participate may keep a single, one-use potion of their choice: mandrake potions are essentially magical molotov cocktails, kukicha potions cause euphoria and ease mental status effects (hallucinations, berserker rage, etc.), and nightweed potions will instantly evaporate into fumes that force anyone who breathes them in to tell the truth. STABLES The stables are a mess. It seems like all the stalls have been left open, and there’s animals of every sort everywhere, through courtyard, grounds, and castle. Most of them can be seized by the halter and led back into their stalls easily enough, but there are a few species that are a little trickier than that. Lucky for you, Uruz has a checklist of exactly what’s missing. On it, you will find: Spiked Horkles: These things are enormous, it’s unclear how people are even meant to ride them. They’re giant, bipedal, white-furred monstrosities, with spiked ridges all down their back, intimidating tusks, giant horns, and one single, central eye. The tallest of them are almost fifteen feet high, they look like they could snap you over one knee with their massive hands. They don’t seem to be inclined to violence, but they’re also utterly uninterested in following you anywhere, and impossible to budge. That is, unless you’ve got an instrument or a good singing voice. They’ll happily and docilely follow anyone putting on a musical performance, straight back into their stalls (sized accordingly), if that’s where the route takes them. Sixers: A sixer isn’t really all that different from a horse… except for the fact that it has six legs, and each of its hooves strikes sparks whenever it lands. This is fine if it’s taking a stroll in the wake of a light rain, or over stone, but entire fields have been lost to a herd of sixers. And unfortunately the whole lot of them seems determined to go sightseeing into the castle itself. They’re relatively easy to lead around, all it takes is any sort of food a horse would be inclined to eat, but the route you lead them on is the important part. Try not to cause any more property damage than necessary, please. Boxing Peters: This creature looks like its closest relation might be a giant anteater, although this version is several times larger. Also, nearly hidden along the long, hanging hair of its stomach is several more pairs of legs, tucked neatly into its body as it walks. They’re content to snuffle about in the courtyard, but will resist tugs at their halters, and utterly ignore any attempts at herding. The only way to catch the attention of a Boxing Peter is to challenge it. Drop into a fighting stance in front of it, take a swing at its side (not too hard, Uruz would remind you), shout insults -- whatever it takes. Upon being challenged a Boxing Peter rises up onto its hind legs and unfolds all ten of its hidden limbs, each of which ends in a large, padded hand, ready to fight. You don’t actually have to fight, but it’ll pursue a challenger wherever it might lead, until mutual bows signify the end of the match. Webbed Gliders: These are ALASTAIR’s aquatic environment mounts. And, oddly enough, they’re just tiny frogs with webbed limbs like a flying squirrel. They don’t need to be very large to be useful, as it turns out -- each one secretes a special slime which, when touched, shrinks whoever has done the touching to a size small enough to comfortably ride it. You’ll have to get these little guys back into the tank inside the stables without touching them, and they can be found anywhere outside where it’s damp. Any shrinking will wear off after 5 minutes without contact with the frog-slime. Ferrets: That’s it, they’re just ferrets. They’re enormous rideable ferrets, but still just ferrets. They’re just as energetic and playful as their smaller counterparts, and they have way too much energy to want to go back into their stalls. You’ll have to wear them out first, and it’s suggested you do so by playing with them. Did you know most of these ferrets are trained to fetch? Uruz is very proud of that. Uruz is happy to give pointers for the trickier species, but she’ll have to be found before she can be asked. She’s off wrangling some of the more volatile mounts, and can be spotted throughout the grounds madly galloping after something or another. If you have any interest in snagging Uruz for part of your thread, feel free to drop a link in her thread below for a tag-in! REWARD: As thanks for their assistance, each recruit will be sent away with a small, silver whistle. Blowing it will entrance all animals within hearing range, putting them into a placid trance for about a minute. This whistle will work for about two months before its effect begins to wear out. OTHER If your character isn’t signed up for any of these tasks, you are still welcome to tag into other characters carrying them out! The Training Center will be locked for the duration of its event, but the Library, Stables, and Greenhouse are all open to visitors. Characters are free to stop in and help (or mock) their friends, but they will not be receiving the same rewards as characters specifically contacted for help. You are also free to create open prompts within Oska at large, or your own logs. This log covers the next 2 weeks, so feel free to set them at any time within that timeframe! UNIFORMS: Every character will also find their official uniforms when they return to their rooms, accompanied by a note from Dagny: A reward for being you! :) - Love, Dagny. There is a gold star sticker by her name. The uniforms are instantly respawning, no matter how damaged they get. Whenever a character opens their closet, they will find a brand new one.

Comments

viewing hall

[keeper]

[ Aqua... doesn't exactly hate mirrors, but one exercises a certain measure of caution after getting trapped in such a device. (The hall in front of her is dizzying with all the shifting images and blinking movement, but she resists the urge to materialize her weapon as she approaches the nearest, 'reflective' surface.)

The pull of unknown worlds is enough to win over her curiosity, anyway, and bygone boss fights (Magic Mirror was a chump anyhow) are soon far from her mind as she observes the landscapes shown to her. Dingy alleys, majestic spires, and everything in between. She wonders if she'll see home, should she wait long enough...

...Meanwhile another recruit pulls up next to her to survey an adjacent fixture on the wall, though he doesn't seem invested for very long. (If anything he looks... somewhat bothered?)

She's about to address him when he whirls into her, knocking her back a couple paces. (Oof.) But she's quick to accept the apology, brushing it away with a shake of her head. ]

—No harm done. ...Are you alright?

cripes

[gutpunching]

[Really, compared to the chaos that is the chore-laden disaster areas, it's not a terrible place to be. Dim and spooky. But quiet. Kind of pretty, in a melancholy twilight-zone kind of way. Jason's not actually without curiosity—you can't accidentally hitchhike across the multiverse and not find some awe in it. Still. Priorities.

In short—he's never alright, Aqua. It's not really her fault. He very poorly suppresses the urge to be sharp.]

Sure.

[So what if he's getting jerked around (again) by forces he can't put a face to. That he'd stumbled on a sepia-toned kick in the teeth reminder of unfinished business that shouldn't bother him as much as it does. Of course, he's not exactly going to explain that a too familiar glimpse of Gotham by gaslight's got his dander up and his nerves buzzing. He gestures grandly at the hall and the moving pictures therein.]

Always wanted to watch National Geographic on the big screen. Why wouldn't I be alright?

[Just had to fall into some shady interdimensional halfway house to do it. No big deal.]

gomen...

[keeper]

[ The hall does have a very distinct flavor to it. Pretty and mysterious, laden with secrets disguised as open knowledge.

—Also she has no idea what 'National Geographic' is, or the answer to his question... (Why aren't you okay Jason??? What happen???) She makes an awkward sort of half-gesture, indicating she really hasn't a clue how to appease him in his time of... 'need'... ]

I'm sorry, I don't know what that is...

[ Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... ] ...It's... difficult being away from home. [ Not sure if he falls under the homesick category, but something's getting him riled up. (Or maybe she's just barking up the wrong tree in this conversation, oops.) ] But you learn to get used to it.

[ Speaking from experience, anyway... Nothing else they can really do about it but move on. ]

ughhhh she's so cute, what the hell

[gutpunching]

[Oh. She's got the wrong idea. And she's trying to reassure him over it. That's...cute, but it also kind of aggravating. (Because it's misplaced, because it feels too much like pity, empty and directed in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons.) It makes his teeth itch and makes it clear he's said too much. He clamps down on his temper to dissect what she'd said.

You get used to it. He huffs a breath out through his nose.]

Spoken like a real old timer. [She looks too young to call her that, but. Blue hair, universe hopping. For all he knows she's a centuries old alien who's been around the ALASTIAR block. He pockets his hands in his jacket and evens out his posture and definitely doesn't look at the steampunk spectre of his home city reflecting back at them. Since they're on the topic—] Our buddy Llyod says to follow orders and they'll put us back in our respective universes sometime.

[So they say. The skeptical tilt in his tone isn't hard to hear.]

That's the deal, right?

no... she's so dumb...!!! 8(

[keeper]

[ Ah... Blue hair's never been much of a mystery to her but apparently it's the mark of nymphs, space ghosts and now aliens. (Also sorry, Jason, she's clearly not used to addressing grimdark comic book characters... Everything she says will probably be contextually incorrect...)

She quickly shakes her head. ]

I've only been here a few months. [ That hardly qualifies her as a veteran. ] ...My name is Aqua, by the way.

[ They can... probably skip the handshake! And if Jason's pointedly ignoring the mirror, she'll turn slightly to face it, waiting for something new (or not new) to appear. ]

—That's my understanding as well. Though, I'm not sure how long it's supposed to take... The rifts here are apparently quite difficult to open.

[ 'Here.' Like rifts elsewhere are butter under a hot knife, or something. ]

no!!!

[gutpunching]

[Also rebellious teenagers I guess? Is that better than aliens and nymphs and space ghosts, take your pick.

Don't worry, you don't have to be a veteran to sound like an old timer, Aqua, you just have to sound Old. More importantly, Jason commits her name to memory but somehow neglects to remember to offer one of his own right away, because he's the kind of cagey asshole who'll sidestep it quietly if he can. Instead, he pursues portal talk.

Not exactly an encouraging answer, though. If a pretty unsurprising one. "Not sure" and "apparently."]

No one's actually seen it happen yet?

[It's a small crew. Word would spread. In the mirror-city, a clock chimes midnight as Aqua watches it. A black shape swoops through the sky in the distance, visible only for a second or so.]

>:c

[keeper]

[ Oh right, blue is also a product of Manic Panic and Angst, not just magical animu girl DNA.

And it's true, she does sound old, her soul is probably 'centuries old'. (Hilariously they're probably about the same age...) Also diversion tactics work greAT, she's not dogged enough to try and wheedle a name from him if he isn't ready to share. (Jason pls... She has no idea who you are... And it's such a mundane name to begin with...)

Aqua shakes her head. ]

Some recruits have been transferred to other locations, [ here she frowns a little bit, POINTS TO EYES POINTS TO EREN ] but I haven't heard of anyone being sent back yet.

[gutpunching]

[oh my god DON'T MAKE THIS SAD........I'm sure Eren and his magic bear gloves are doing fine on another crew.

Anyway, don't take it personally, it's just habit. He's not at full Bruce levels of paranoia, but there's no reason in giving out more than you have to. If she asks, he'll pony up. He's just not in a rush.]

Guessing they didn't get a choice in the matter.

[But just guessing, please let him know if he's wrong. It's all very military sounding. Move these troops to this station, etc, etc.]

Odd to call us recruits.

[Didn't Lloyd say they'd wound up here by accident?]

[keeper]

[ i'll do as i please!!!!!! but good to hear... gunboat eren. u_u

Aqua blinks up a little at him, brows knit as she turns over his words, examines their darker underside. She's not one for conspiracy or subterfuge, and she'd rather trust their overlords than not... But even then she hasn't been oblivious to these past few months under their command. ]

...None of us do.

[ It isn't meant to be a particularly foreboding comment (ALASTAIR hasn't done anything to raise red flags yet), it's simply the truth she's come to know. They carry out their missions in hope of compensation, whether it's material riches or a means home... There simply hasn't been any alternative. ]

...Do you think we were brought here on purpose? That the rifts...

[ ...She trails off into a grave silence. Not because she thinks it's true, but because she can't know for sure it's false. ]

[gutpunching]

[He's just saying, the terminology doesn't exactly match up.]

I don't know about that.

[To be fair, he doesn't have any evidence one way or the other, yet, besides the semantics. But theoretically.]

I don't think I'd call a bunch of people who got dropped into my lap until they earn their way out "recruits," either.

[More like crossdimensional indentured servitude, if you tilt your head.]

Doesn't sound like they mind the free labor much. It'd be some racket if we weren't here by accident.

[They're certainly in no rush to get rid of them. And who are they to know when they've served "enough" time?]

[keeper]

[ 'We suggest staying here for now... Join our organization, and we will ensure you return to your universe when we have the energy.'

'There's not really anywhere else to go for you, though, let's be real.'

Lloyd's message had basically been an ultimatum disguised as a choice, but either way there's no point chasing after wild theories. Aqua quickly shakes her head. ]

Who can say. [ Certainly not her... (Regardless, it's strange to be on planetary lock-down, after having free access to multiple—albeit minuscule—worlds just prior.)

Before she can cross over this conversational hurdle, however, ] ...There are children among us, though. I'd like to think it wasn't by their design.

[ Not to say the younger recruits can't be useful, or that they're lacking in ability, but the conditions they've been forced to endure have been inexcusably cruel. ]

At any rate... Have you been to the Training Room yet?

[ This is her trying to be Responsible and Helpful... (Exercise personally helps her stay both distracted and honed... Funny, that.) Maybe Jason could use something to burn time with as well... ]

[gutpunching]

[Maybe theory chasing is its own point, Aqua!!! But he's more than fine doing that sort of thing solo, so he lets it drop when she does. (No matter what she'd like to think, the presence of kids on the crew doesn't really change anything at all. But it's not untrue that they don't know enough to call it either way, either.)

She's trying to Help, so he plays nice and answers her plainly.]

Not yet. They had it locked down for a game of capture the flag last time I checked in.

[Or something close enough. Red vs Blue, etc. He can probably guess what team she was cheerleading for.]

I got a workout in the library, instead.

[Because, you know, that's what you do in libraries.]

[keeper]

[ Oh right, the place had been on lockdown for a riveting match between color teams... (She'd missed most of it, partly from being busy with other chores, partly from secondhand embarrassment.) ]

I see... [ She perks an eyebrow. ]

Library? [ What, were the books crazy heavy or something, or did he bench a bookshelf...

—Actually, ] I've heard some of the materials there are quite... a handful.

[ Crazy. Full of magic. ...Also, crazy.

She'd kept to the safer fringes of the stacks when she'd read up on some botany for the greenhouse, but she's curious to know, ]

Did anything interesting happen while you were there...?

[ Or whatever a 'workout' means... ]

[gutpunching]

Oh yeah. So much for quiet in the library. I'm sure you'll hear all about it.

[Boy, did you ever miss a party, Aqua. He gestures in the vague direction of the library, as if for emphasis.]

Soon as the coast looked clear some blue unitard asshole decided to drop a sea monster on my head.

[Among other things. He's actually not too bent out of shape about it, anymore. They blew it up, no one important died, it's fine. These things happen. But that's no reason to pass up on an opportunity to call Lancer an ultramarine nuisance in public. Though, as if in afterthought—]

No offense to present company.

[How many people here are this blue, do they color code the crews or—]

[keeper]

[ .....................For a moment she looks like she ate something 5 months past expiry date.

Lancer.........rrrrrrR ]

...None taken.

[ She's not offended, it certainly isn't the first time someone's pointed out their matching palettes, it's just...

She fights the urge to rub at her temples. (She doesn't really claim ownership to the Servant and yet, as a Master she's inclined to feel some measure of responsibility for him.) Because it really just sounds like he's running around on her dime (mana) playing pranks on unsuspecting recruits.

(Before they'd even contracted he'd supposedly 'dropped a tree' on Sigma Fuckboi Klim, now it's apparently evolved to sea monsters...) She's almost reluctant to ask, ]

Did he do anything else...?

[ Does she need to file any insurance claims... Go to court... Pay bail... ]

[gutpunching]

[Whoops. Looks like he hit a sore spot.]

Friend of yours?

[Cousin? Brother? He wasn't going to assume all Blue People know each other, but, you know. To his credit, Lancer helped with the blowing the squid up thing...eventually. He can dig himself out of this hot water, though.]

Don't worry, I've decided not to press charges.

[See how magnanimous he is. (As if there are authorities to go to. This is not actually a serious reassurance.)]

[keeper]

You... could say that.

[ Except her tone makes it sound like you really couldn't. ]

...Right.

[ She's naive but not so dense she can't tell he's joking... Still, it's hard to come up with any meaningful response to that. (She's not well-learned in sarcasm okay...)

And honestly, she wishes she had better things to do than to deal with this, but, ] I'll have a word with him.

[ Someday or another...

—Hold up, she doesn't even have this guy's name yet, kind of hard to broach the subject with only a vague description of clothing and haircut to go off?? ] ...May I ask your name?

[gutpunching]

[Look, how many people has Lancer dropped sea monsters on lately, shouldn't that be description enough!!!! Still, that long-suffering picture says a thousand words. Sounds complicated. Clearly, he should mind his own business. He'll throw her a bone before he butts out.]

Jason.

[If he feels bad about apparently landing Lancer in the doghouse, it doesn't show. Though in a casually (un)conspiratorial way—]

If he asks, you didn't hear it from me.