epidemiology | PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION.

It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months.

Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775:

Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around.

It's time to get to work.

OBSERVATION.

Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right?

Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up.

People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height.

82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough.

[ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

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[ It is disappointing that Alice won't know what became of of Houndsditch or her father's work. The former rather than the latter is the source of her guilt and her guilt has always pushed her near madness. Alice regards with a small silence and a bit of a look. Alice, who has such a great tendency to kick herself, is even taken aback with that statement. ]

I've been disappointed and led astray by many in my life, Miss Saber.
[ Betrayed, especially. ]

You hardly hold a candle to any of them. I'll never have that resolution, I suppose I should accept it.

[ But she can't, she may never with the children of Houndsditch and if it drives her further into darkness, so be it. Alice thinks she deserves it. ]

[betrayal leaves scars on the soul that are not always visible. as someone who has suffered brutal treachery time and time again, Saber can recognize the signs of a fellow tortured soul when they surface.

it is a difficult thing to accept, to find someone else who has suffered the same pain and walked the same path. the events that unfolded may not have been the same, but the feeling upon realizing you've been deceived never changes. it is not something she would wish upon her worst enemy, and most certainly not another young girl like Alice. her life has been much harder than any girl her age's should, of that Saber is certain.]

It is not my place to plead for you to cling to the hope that you may some day find the answers you seek, but it is my earnest with that you might reach a resolution of some sort, and find some measure of peace in it.

Peace is deserving of those who don't turn from the suffering of others.

[ Had she not been so upset with herself, Alice wouldn't said such a thing, at all. Anything like that is too much information and it makes her vulnerable. Alice turns away, adjusting the blanket tighter around her body. She doesn't express her thoughts that she is undeserving of peace to her. It's odd, even after being with her friends in in ALASTAIR that they have expressed wishing Alice well. Her inability to forgive herself is amplified even more after upsetting Sieglinde so badly at the tea party. Resolution would be nice, if only for those she left behind. ]

Unfortunately, there are many things wrong with London, within the slums of it like Whitechapel. The world is filled with cruel people who don't bat an eye at harming the most innocent and vulnerable. I would hope another would step in my place and do what I wasn't able to do. At least Oxford had good people, like my father -- maybe it still does. Your words are kind, but I'm afraid I can't find peace until those I left behind find it before me.

How does asking about robot butlers make me a nerd in any way?

[He almost looks like he wants to pout.]

Do you do this to everybody you meet?

The saddest part is how you don't even know it.

[ She laughs, mostly to herself, and her smile looks genuinely fond when it finds him again. ]

But yeah, definitely. Don't worry, it means I like you! [ it means she likes him, it means he'll see more of her, it means she'll be tough to get rid of... all sorts of unfortunate things. ]

Well, I'd like to think I'm above such a childish term...

[Come on, Keats, you're fooling literally only one person here: yourself.]

Strange way of showing you like people. [But there's a small smile on his face as he turns back to the telescope.] I guess the punching in the leg means you like me, too?

I'll kick your ass now if you want! I'll kick your ass with your own rectum if I have to!
_{[ ?????????
My god. Why does this guy even talk? It's a it too late, though, and granted he is too lazy to chase after him but fine. Next time he'll kick your ass just from looking at you.

Because Ban is right about him, and when Ban is right about something, it makes him angry. ]}

[ That doesn't even deserve a real reply, she just snorts. He can keep living in that denial if he wants to. ]

Oh, yeah, punching is basically a proposal. How's your Tuesday look? Good for a wedding?

Oh, I'll have to look at my schedule. I'm a rather busy man.

[He can't hide his grin as he glances over at her.]

Pity you didn't get me a ring, though.

Oh! Shit, hang on.

[ She shifts up into a kneel to dig through her pockets, making a face the more she digs. Man, there is like nothing useful in here. ]

How about some twine? I could just tie it around your finger, it'd look nice.

Well if they're made, then what are they made for?

_{[ Gintoki doesn't care. Free food! You've got his attention. ]}

Yeah, you did ask. It would only be fair. It would also only be fair to buy a couple of rounds of drink while you're at it, too.

_{[ What have you done. ]}

We can talk more about "astrology" together.

_{[ It's a game that his childhood friends taught him how to play. All three (and eventually four) would play it during downtime in the war. Gintoki is sentimental— and has often been seen playing the game by himself back in Edo when he was taking a break from an odd job.

He huddles the blanket around him even more, keeping his voice low. ]}

Yeah. Don't play it much, _{[ liar ]} but you might like it.
And the kids you like to talk to. They'd like it.

why would somebody catch him?
he blends in with the rest of the bird poop that falls from the sky.
_{[ this is a terrible way for them to bond? ]}

No, not nearly.

[ or maybe olivia's just used to compartmentalizing these kind of things. given her usual attire, she's had enough experience simply "toughing it out."

she turns to alice then, pausing briefly in her dance to smile warmly at the girl. ]

Would you care to dance with me?

Twine?

[There's a brief moment when he just looks at her with a look that seems to be so serious, like he's about to say something snippy about how that is a ridiculous, dumb idea and that she should know better, and that her even suggesting it is quite an offense...]

[Before it suddenly goes away, leaving a look of a man who couldn't care less about anything. He shrugs.]

Sure. Maybe it'll help me not to forget the date, given the old adage about memory and strings around fingers.

Edited 2016-01-22 15:44 (UTC)

[ her lips purse briefly, though he was wise to call it an "investment" rather than a "purchase." it appeals to the frugal, practical side of olivia's nature — at least when it comes to spending money. ]

I'm wearing a coat, [ she insists. it's the one "santa" had gotten her, but it did better to serve her in the snow than the rain, admittedly. ]

It's really interesting, isn't it?
Gosh, I wish I knew why... But I've never really been a sciencey kind of person...

I mean a better coat. The one you're wearing doesn't really work.

[This is the look of a man who is doing his best to quell the urge to just go and buy a coat for her right this minute, all while trying to hide the kind gesture by complaining about it.]

You'll catch a cold, you know.

[ she sniffles once, reminiscent of the time he'd caught her standing outside his apartment door, trying to be sneaky... ]

I don't get sick, [ she claims simply, which is also. reminiscent of that time. ]

In any case, you're just as wet as I am.

I can survive. You - [he pauses, gesturing to her with a finger] - have already been sick, don't you remember? You're more likely to catch something bad than me.

[ Her smile is back again when she does manage to pull a short length of twine from her pocket (way too long to be just a ring, despite 'short length'), triumphant. ]

Got it! The wedding is on.

Oh, good.

[It's easy to joke about this, for some reason. If she had offered to kiss him, he'd retract back into his shell and have a grumpy fit, but just chatting nonchalantly about getting married doesn't do anything of the sort. Probably because he isn't taking any of this seriously.]

Are you sure that isn't going to be a necklace, instead? I'm not sure if I want a ring that will cover up my entire finger.

[ she turns towards that finger and gives it a lofty stare. ] I don't know what you're talking about.

[ a few sneezes doesn't make a cold, keats, gosh!! but of all the things to be stubborn about... seriously, this girl. ]

Come on, like I can't shorten twine. It'll be a gorgeous ring.

[ She holds up the length of it, gives a satisfied nod, then balls it up to toss it to the side with a quiet laugh. ]

Maybe next Tuesday, actually. There's all sorts of people I'd want attending and none of them are here, so.

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PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

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