PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

[ricksybusiness]

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! ]

Comments

[hideyourself]

[curiousity spreads to his face at the odd description, his eyebrows drawing together as he blinked across their shared low-light space. a lamp would've proven to the guards there was something worth investigating atop their lord's tower, but then, the stars wouldn't have been as pretty with a flame to distract them.]

Any warning? [portal transport... jeez, this just got more and more sci-fi.] Or did they whisk you all away without so much as a congratulations, you did it?

B!

[digophelia]

I know, it's a little ridiculous.

[ She's plugging her ears, just a bit, and hardly reacting to the loud thunderclaps whatsoever. After what felt like being outside all night, Alice found herself pretty tired and slightly irritated with the thunder. By now, she had given up on the telescope and was only standing outside, bundled up in a blanket to watch the thunder and lightening. ]

Strange, isn't it? I'm almost expecting a downpour, at this rate.

D

[perma_banned]

[With a whistle, Ban announced himself--though only after he stood right behind Peridot. If she turned to look at him, though, she would find he was back where she was facing originally, looking over the equipment she modified with a look of bored scrutiny plastered on his face.]

Oi, oi. brat. Are you the one that's been clamborin' around on the roof all niiiight~?

[beyourrock]

[That enthusiasm earns a soft muffled giggle from the Gem, from behind her scarf. She hooks a finger around the edge of it, tugging it down to tuck it under her small chin. Reclining in the air comfortably, her legs pulled in tight at the knees, brought up to her chest, she waves her hand dismissively.]

Gilgamesh, please. [She speaks, exasperated by his drive, but endeared all the same. It was nice to see him like this. So determined for a positive outlook. However...] There's no need for you to rush into things haphazardly.

[She shifts in the air again, letting herself lie on her stomach, pointing down at the city.]

ALASTAIR as a whole is working on just that, remember? [She even gestures to telescope, stashed away in her sash around her waist.] A team effort.

C

[perma_banned]

[There was a pause in Ban as he saw Sakura float through the sky, calibrating her telescope. He looked to his bottle of wine, then right back to her as if questioning her existence. After a bit of squinting and blinking, it seemed she had been real--or, a very persistent hallucination.

Ban jumped fairly silently, descending to land lightly on the edge of Sakura's broom. He had been just tipsy enough to not consider if it would support his weight, too.]

Woah, it's real~?

D!

[digophelia]

[ Oh, no.

The last thing she was expecting was to find Steven asleep on the roof. With a bit of a sigh, Alice settles right down next to him, not even hesitating to put her blanket over the sleeping boy. ]

Goodness, I can't believe you were out this late.

[beyourrock]

[Pearl chuckles and shakes her head, a bittersweet smile on her face.]

No. Nothing of the sort. We were only told the fate of that town when we arrived in Chantes. They claimed it to be a success, but some would say otherwise.

[Especially herself. Pearl closes her eyes and feels herself deflate with slumping shoulders.]

Perhaps here, we can actually do some good. Find out what happened to the sun, restore it, and end this petty tension between races.

C

[satsujinki]

['Of course' was the phrase of the day, it seemed. When Keats settled down to empty his boots, they were the first words to leave Shiki's mouth.]

Of course.

[With whatever luck was left after he had been cursed by some strange deity, Shiki stood just across from Keats on the other side of the flaming log. He had his jacket over his head, held aloft to protect him from the rain. They both had the same idea.]

iii

[digophelia]

[ It was getting pretty late by this time and yet, trudging through likely three or four hours of sleep from the night prior, Alice just so happened to be passing through the castle, heading to another point or just to drop by and say "hello" to a friend or two.

The rock startles her enough to where her fingers are lingering on the vorpal blade considering to unsheathe it.

Thankfully, she hears his voice and Alice reconsiders completely. It's dark and to make it worse, she hates lanterns, so Alice is left turning up to the shadowy figure with a bit of a frown on her face. Her fear of fire was completely inhibiting in the darkness. ]

Ah... yes? What did you need?

[ Hopefully that doesn't involve climbing, but if she has to, she will. ]

d - ban picks the best times-- Lemme know if it's alright!

[perma_banned]

[Ban had, apparently, gone unnoticed from his seated position atop a damp rock in when Gintoki sat down to relax. He stood up from where he was, stretching his arms out--up and over his head.]

Oiiii~. Nobody invited you to this spot, fella ♪.

[Of course, Ban wondered if it was pointless or not to object to someone who fell asleep so quickly.]

...The hell? Lots of people're out tonight with weird machines on hand~. Wonder how valuable it's gotta be ♪.

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh beams as if he's just been praised. He may very well have taken it as such.]

Save your please for later.

[Gilgamesh draws out his own telescope with a showy flourish, and predictably, it's been given a fresh coat of gold paint to suit him. He extends it and leans back for a better view, adjusting the lens and exclaiming in triumph once he finds what he's evidently searching for.]

There it is! They've shown themselves for me, just as I said! Come, Pearl, look at this!

[Has he actually seen anything? Is it merely a ploy to get closer to Pearl? That grin of his could go either way.]

C

[perma_banned]

Ahhhh~? What is it ♪?

[Ban wasn't there a second ago--but, without warning--he definitely changed that fact. Arms and legs stretched out, Ban splayed on the edge of the roof with his mouth opened wide in a rather discourteous and long motion to yawn.

Smacking his lips, he slowly began to pull himself onto his side.]

What're you even dooooiiiiin~?

[hideyourself]

[ah. now there marked what he did know: a dragon born under their hands to bring the end of that world's civilization. he wonders briefly if she was part of the some to say otherwise; another glance as she continues speaking about fix-all hope, and it seems clear that she very much was.]

[he shifted the telescope to his other hand, shoving the colder mitten into a pocket, and tapped his foot against the roof tile, making sure his toes weren't frozen.]

I don't know if I'd call it petty... [quiet, as if he wasn't sure what he believed himself (that would be a lie).] Once the sun is back, maybe they would be willing to move out of this town. On finding new land to cultivate away from the monarchy.

It wouldn't be a permanent fix, but separation could buy them all some time.

[bougy]

( that must be some intense thunder? that'd explain the yelling in a written medium. )

Thunder? Or maybe a god is rearranging his furniture. ( sorry she couldn't resist a bit of too easy teasing. )

[beyourrock]

[Pearl groans with a small roll of her eyes. Did he even listen to her? Pursing her lips into a thin line, she floats over to Gilgamesh and his telescope, her limbs hanging loosely as she does so. The Gem squints up at the sky above them as if she'd be able to see what he sees. Obviously, she can't see a darn thing.

She reaches out for his telescope once she's close enough to the King of Heroes.]

Let me see. [She'll be the judge of this.]

[heavyhitter]

[ Oh, she caught that Olivia reaction. That means something. Her smile sharpens just slightly with a resolve to look into it at some point, maybe in the immediate future. ]

Guilty as charged. [ that telescope reminds her of what they're actually supposed to be out here for, though, and then in turn of how she's not holding her own anymore. She blinks, glancing around the roof. ] Hey, have you seen my thing? My junk-o-scope?

[digophelia]

[ Interestingly enough, Alice doesn't see him out of the corner of her eye, not beyond the dark tendrils of her hallucination obscuring her vision. By this time, she's gotten so used to bits of shadows and other frightening visions that she doesn't bat an eye at it.

She flinches, turning herself to him as she pulls strands of her hair out of her face and turns to him. ]

I'm not ready to go back inside quite yet.

[ As much as a good, warm bed sounded so very tempting, Alice stubbornness would likely multiply with him around. ]

I'm fine the way I am.

[satsujinki]

Well, hopefully that isn't the case.

[Though, it wasn't as if they could fully see it. Shiki imagined there were some people who could feel weird shifts of pressure in their bones, but it seemed outlandish no matter how one tailored a sixth sense like that.]

But, I think it's found something. It's not much, but it's definitely not perfect darkness--so, the sun isn't actually gone, I think. At least--that's what it's saying.

[Shiki tapped the screen for reference before averting the telescope to look through its scope, again.

He envied Alice and her blanket--even if he knew he had his own. Sadly, the presence of a blanket made quick motions with the telescope difficult. Since he had to check the whole sky as often as possible, it wasn't likely he'd be able to retreat to his blanket so soon.]

[hideyourself]

[a lit lantern would have been begging for a guard to come running, and he didn't think he could pass for nobility or a lost servant without the proper attire - as it was, the (surprisingly unangered, which he'd honestly expected in reaction to getting a rock thrown at her) response causes him to sigh in relief, thick coat rustling as he leaned farther over the castle wall.]

Thanks, miss! Oh, jeez, you're a savior! [if she actually helped him out, but it was best to start out optimistic.] I've got a ladder up here, but I'd need someone to hold it while I climb down. Would you mind?

[another dash of lightning across the sky illuminates their world in one quick, violent wash; he spies that she has long hair and either lean or no muscle, and little else.]

[bougy]

Why don't you toss it down, and let me have a look? ( since he's offering. she doesn't move from where she's standing, she just stares up at him as he casually continues taking the look he's just admitted to.

not that she herself hasn't seen her own neighbours in compromising situations before, but at least she had the decency to do it in her own home. anyway, she's wondering if he'll be foolish enough to throw the telescope down, and she's smiling because what if. )

[digophelia]

[ Admittedly, after finding virtually nothing, her attention span waned and she resigned herself to not being able to find anything and enjoyed the silence and quiet of the night. When he says he found something, Alice's curiosity spikes and she tentatively approaches him. ]

Did it? How do you know?

[ Ignoring the clap of thunders, she was thankful for the bright light show to bring some light when she was just using the screen of the telescope and her device as makeshift lanterns. It was better than nothing and her fear of fire was very limiting. ]

Well, no, it can't be gone completely, it existed once. How else would there be life here if there was no sun?

[digophelia]

[ That was it? Well, it didn't seem too bad. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, possibly steeling herself up for him asking to give him a torch. After an awkward pause of watching him, Alice approached, adjusting her blanket and cloak so that they didn't slip off her shoulders. ]

Very well, then.

[ Certainly, she didn't want this stranger to fall. He sounded young, which was also a plus. Alice couldn't say she'd be willing to help anyone else that was a bit older. With hands on the ladder, she held it in place, even leaning on it to a degree worried she wouldn't be strong enough to hold it if he fell. ]

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh scoots over so she can peer into the lens, clearly delighting in cozying up shoulder to shoulder with her.]

Shh. If you listen, you may even hear them sing.

[And maybe they won't sing, but Gilgamesh hadn't lied after all—something's there, alright.

At first it seems like only an illusion, a trick of the eye. But after some squinting and focusing it becomes obvious that there are little tiny lights in the sky, faraway and winking in place. Arranged in alien constellations, like nothing that one might find on earth, but they are present and they are bright and they are enough to fuel that foreign feeling called hope. They are faint and they are fleeting but they are all the more beautiful because of it.

Naturally Gilgamesh appears terribly pleased with himself.]

You ask me what we've accomplished, and I've shown you. We've accomplished a future.

[That's a romantic thing to say, right? Right.]

1/2

[beyourrock]

[Pearl peeks into the lens, but at the first sight of a licker. Light. Stars. She snatches up the telescope entirely and leans forward, as if it would give her a better look than what the telescope offered. There were stars! Real stars! Once she was very unfamiliar with, but some none the less!

Pearl's face brightens up considerably behind the golden telescope. She takes a few silent moments of tense excitement to take in the sight before she looks over to Gilgamesh grinning widely.]

There are stars out there! There's something! [She clutches the telescope in one hand, almost trembling in pure excitement--!]

[grunehexe]

[What Sebastian said was true- they had no expertise in these sorts of devices. Of course, Sieglinde had used telescopes before, but nothing like this...

Yet at Sebastian's question, Sieglinde looked rapidly between Peridot and the butler, aghast at the very suggestion- and not because she was necessarily opposed to modifying things so much as,]

She just said she doesn't even know.

[No offense, but that doesn't inspire much confidence... nor much tact in Sieglinde's own comment.]