epidemiology | EVENT ★ ZETA-12 WEEKS 3 + 4

ZETA-12: WEEKS 3 + 4

After making their way through the biting cold of the tundra and the forest's deadly chasm, team Audentes reaches the swamp. Once there, their squidges will begin to transform.

For each choice your character has made, select one squidge evolution. Please note, you must have submitted your choice to the threads in the previous logs in order for your squidge to evolve.

For those who crossed the ice, there are two options. If they succeeded, their squidge has taken on one of the following features: fluffy fur, the ability to freeze small things with their breath, or small foxlike ears. If they fell through the ice, their squidge has one of these: fins, minor hydrokinesis, or protective scales.

Those who chose to walk around the ice, whether east or west, will have squidges with one of these attributes: faster speed, climbing ability, or goat-like hooves.

As for week 2 choices, everyone who soothed their squidge will find them with one of the following: small wings (able to keep them about a foot off the ground at most), a calmer demeanor, or the ability to soothe fear by touch.

For the grouping crew, one of these: the ability to heal small wounds on other squidges, long ape-like arms and hands (for hugging!), or a beautiful singing voice that can act as a beacon for other squidges.

Squidges that were forced to cross will have one of: increased independence, clawed fingers, or sharp teeth.

These evolutions may take place at a rate of your choice. Please note that apart from these changes, the squidges will not be undergoing any further physical development (size, etc) for now!

THE SWAMP (WEEK 3)

The swamp is damp and spooky, filled with rotting logs and large, spindly trees. The water level dips and rises, making traveling slow and difficult; at some points, there is no dry land at all, so recruits will either need to wade or find some other way to get through the murky water. Some of the fallen logs may create a series of interconnected bridges if you're nimble enough, but be wary not to put too much weight on the rotten parts of the wood.

Because there are no animals on this planet, recruits won't need to worry about mosquitos or crocodiles, but still be wary of dermal vines, which continue on from the forest, as well as something lurking beneath the water: in deeper portions of the swamp, recruits may run into a gangly, humanoid creature with gnarled fingers and a body made entirely of vines and twisted roots. The creature makes no sound and does not breathe, but it moves quickly and can shoot a cloud of powerful neurotoxin out of its maw.

Make your choice: You can attempt to fight the creature, but not all attacks will be effective and you risk injury to you or your squidge. Outsmarting is possible as well -- as the creature has no eyes or ears, it senses its victims through heat. Do with that what you will. Finally, you can choose to wait for someone else to do something and ride their coattails, as long as you’re okay with living with that. Please indicate your choice here.

After a week, the scenery begins to shift, lightening up as trees become fewer. Welcome to the grasslands.

THE GRASSLANDS (WEEK 4)

As opposed to the swamps, there are few hazardous plants in the grasslands. The most dangerous are more annoying than anything else: fluffplasters, the hairs of which become sticky and eventually harden like cement if they’re disturbed. For the most parts, the grasslands are grass, grass, and grass, with little variation in appearance. In fact, it’s kind of hard to tell if you’re going the right way, or if you’ve been here before. Everything sort of looks the same.

The other flora found are happygrass, which has a short-term calming effect on anyone who ingests it. On the other hand, beebulbs, long, spear-like stalks whose bulbs contain a delicious liquid which invigorates the drinker upon ingestion. Too much either way can lead to laziness or hyperactivity. A geared up squidge is a happy squidge most of the time, but there’s also the possibility of heightened anxiety.

The weather is pleasant for most of the journey, but near the end, the wind picks up and a storm begins to brew. The wind whips around and, while it’s very difficult to travel through (and very frightening for squidges!) it’s still possible to walk through.

The choices are these: Characters can keep going against the wind, although they’ll need to be wary of flying debris and their squidge’s fear. They can also choose to find shelter nearby -- there are several trees on the way that can be hidden under, a large cave many people can fit into a distance into the storm, and characters can also set up their own shelter. There’s less possibility for injury and squidge crying, but the tornado will put them back for hours; those who power through can talk their squidge through it, but they’ll still be a bit unhappy. Please select an option below to determine the future of your squidge.

Whatever choices the team makes, they’ll eventually all reconvene as they set up camp for the last time before they hit the desert.

OOC NOTES

This log ICly and OOCly covers two weeks! Characters may proceed at whatever pace they'd like, but going too quickly or too slowly will mean they travel alone. (And those going too quickly will probably have to contend with screaming squidges, who prefer to travel at the speed of an easy plod.)

New characters will find one of the unbonded squidges toddling after the group takes a shine to them. A squidge will imprint on them very quickly, then refuse to leave their side or rejoin their unbonded friends.

Direct questions about the Zeta-12 mission here. And don't forget about the bounty board!

Please remember to select your choices in the threads below! How you choose will determine how your squidge grows. Please choose before July 21st, 12:01 AM GMT!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Of everyone in the group, he's probably the droopiest. And it's odd, isn't it? Travelling this far without having Luffy burst into excited bursts of 'look at that over there' or running ahead to check out something he sees in the distance?

He's up to his knees in the goopy swamp water, and it's clearly starting to take an effect on the Devil Fruit user, even if it isn't sea water.

Water just...

Water, why.]

--Dry land? [He finally perks up, as best he can while sounding like he's, honestly, Drunk.] Where, let's---

Let's go. Right now.

[Sanji's never been more glad that he was blessed with long-ass legs until this very moment. Mostly because he's at least slightly better-off than just about everyone they're traveling with.

Which is probably why he's in a slightly better mood than their dear old captain. A good enough mood that he's just watching Luffy slosh his way forward with a bit of a grin.]

Well c'mon then. This isn't even salt water. [Splosh splosh splosh towards the little log pile he found. Sorry your cook's not as helpful as he should be.] Unless you want an express trip?

[Is he offering to punt you across the swamp? He sure is offering to punt you across the swamp.]

Water's water! Even bathwater makes me feel gross, you know? [It's so bad, Devil Fruit really made life hard for anyone stupid enough to eat one. He's coming to a stop, as he seems to think about Sanji's offer...

And then he squints.

Don't kick me around like a ball, oi! It hurts, you know! [No, it doesn't. Not enough to matter.] I just wanna' get through this junk and get something good to eat....

[But he is FOR SURE going as fast as he can towards those logs. Land, sweet land....]

[Have a halfhearted kick in your general direction, Luffy. Not one meant to, you know, actually kick you, more like just bonk you in the head or something.]

Oi! You can't keep using that excuse to get you out of bathing. It's disgusting!

[He can't help but scoff at Luffy turning away his amazing, brilliant offer of help, though.]

Well if you can make it somewhere you won't just fall into the water, I guess it's about lunchtime.

[Food is, after all, Luffy's number one motivator.]

It's not an excuse! It's true, it's true! [And it is gross, but at least he HAS an excuse for bathing once a week. What's Zoro's excuse, who has the same bathing habits as him? Absolutely nothing, that's what.

Either way, the mention of LUNCHTIME gets Luffy's attention, 100%.

Even Shanks pokes his head up out of Luffy's bag, just as excited at the word as the captain himself.]

Lunchtime?? YEAH, YEAH!!! Let's eat, LET'S EAT!

It is not an excuse! Half the time you idiots smell so bad it ruins dinner! [No seriously why do you think he tries kicking Zoro over the side of the ship so often?

His eyes flick back to the little squidge perking up at the mention of food, and for a split second Sanji can't help but grin at the sight of it. It's cute. So sue him.]

Oi, oi, I said it's getting there. Find somewhere you won't spill everything in the water and then we'll talk.

EVENT ★ ZETA-12 WEEKS 3 + 4

i

no subject

no subject

no subject

omg i fucked up my HTML bad last tag and didnt notice im so sorry

ITS OKAY you forgave me posting in the wrong place, i'll forgive html :|b