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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[ All this science business isn't really Undyne's thing. Now, if Alphys were here, she might be bothered to pay attention, maybe even try to be interested. On her own, though, it's not her strong suit. As much as she respects the initiative, she's best to just leave it to the professionals. Or amateurs. Or whoever, really; anyone who's not her.

She makes her way through the woods with an actual destination in mind. Visiting a friend-- what could go wrong? She's in the middle of wondering if she should have phoned ahead... magic messaged ahead?... when it starts raining, and she almost thinks nothing of it. The lightning is new, and it briefly surprises her as it crashes across the sky, but she's no stranger to being wet. It's a minor inconvenience, at worst, that she'll have to dry out all her nice warm clothes later. At best, it reminds her a little of home.

Among the other sounds of the forest during heavy rainfall, raindrops pattering from one leaf to the next on their descent to the forest floor, she hears another noise, and she stops for a moment, listening. These woods are still strange to her, and she hasn't ruled out a surprise attack from some kind of wildlife. She raises a hand, ready to summon a spear in an instant, but is interrupted by a distinct crashing noise, and she sees something tumble from a nearby tree-- a tall tree, and something not too small at all. An animal of some sort?

She rushes over to find the bushes mangled, and a vaguely humanoid figure within them, trying to push them aside. Whether or not something human-shaped could also be malicious wildlife fails to cross her mind. ]

Hey?? Are you okay?!

Edited 2016-01-08 22:15 (UTC)

[Pearl scrambles to get her bearings together. Her view is obscured by the leaves of the bushes, and she sputters, trying to push away what she cam. Thankfully, it looks like she's receiving some assistance! What a relief!

She's able to sit up in the bushes, trying to stand up. She feels disgusting, mud covering her attire, leaves clinging to her pale skin and gem. The Gem wrinkles her nose before she looks up to see who was assisting her in the first place. The first thing that catches her attention are the sharp teeth, and the... fins for ears?

Pearl stares up at the individual, blinking owlishly through the falling rain.]

I ah... yes. I'm fine! Just ah... fell.

[ It's raining... people? Undyne glances up at the tree, sees the broken branches, and doesn't really come to the obvious conclusion right away, and flashes a big grin instead. She's kind of used to getting that look, it wouldn't be the first time, but she's really trying to be a little less frightening. Perhaps bearing her fangs at strangers in a dreary forest isn't the best way of going about it, but it's a start. ]

Good! [ Then it sort of falls into place, and she comes to several different conclusions, all at once. ] Were you up in that tree? You're probably better off down here, who knows how long it's going to rain like this. We should probably find cover, or something...

[Her appearance was unlike anything else Pearl had seen. But oddly enough, she isn't too frightened by Undyne. She didn't show any ill will towards her, nor was she trying to be imposing. She was simply helping out.

Pearl stands up with a small bashful nod. Yes, smart for her to be up in a tree. Then again, the storm happened after she had gotten settled into her perch. She slumps her shoulders defeatedly, deflating.]

Yes, I was trying to get a good look at my telescope. I saw something before the lightning struck across the sky. [She picks off a few leaves from her gem and arms.]

Shelter sounds adequate.

You saw something? What kind of something?

[ She might not be a scientist but, hell, she wants to get this mess figured out, too; her interest is piqued.

She doesn't knows the forest all too well yet, but she turns and starts backtracking without further ceremony. She's sure she saw a nicely sized outcropping of rocks that should do for the time being, or at least to let her get her bearings. ]

I saw light!

[She exclaims as she walks beside Undyne.]

Just a small flickers. Barely even noticeable by the human eye! But then the storm happened to roll in, and now I can't see anything worth a pebble!

[She crosses her arms stubbornly, holding her head up high, despite her entire frame being soaked to the bone.]

That's more than you've seen before though, isn't it?

[ She hasn't the slightest idea what it could even mean, she won't even pretend she does. But if she can do nothing else, at least she can provide moral support.

She spots the outcropping up ahead; rocks fallen in a conveniently enough formation to leave a little space underneath them, big enough for a few people to huddle under-- if they were okay with being friendly. It's enough for the two of them for now. With a soft hum, a spear materializes in her hand, and she shoves it into ahead of her to make sure that nothing else has taken up hiding there as well-- not the best method, maybe, but it does the job. Satisfied, she ducks under the rock and crouches down. ]

And if this rain lets up soon, you can go back and see if there's anything else! And this time I'll spot you, in case you want to try falling again.

[Pearl nods furiously as they walk.] Yes! much more than what I have seen within the last three months here.

[The Gem follows Undyne carefully, peering around the dark forest for any unforeseen dangers that may be waiting. Her eyes widen, seeing the spear materialize. Another spear wielder? Her gem atop her forehead glows softly, lighting up the interior of the rock as well. It looks to be deserted for the most part, and she takes her place next to the other.

Pearl smiles with a small chuckle.]

I'd appreciate that, Miss...?

[ Now that's one heck of a trick. It reminds her of something she can't quite pinpoint. For a second, she stares a bit dumbly as a question's posed to her, because the gears are turning, though not enough to click into place. Driving the tip of her spear into the ground, she leans on it, settling in at least for the time being. ]

Hah! Just Undyne is fine! Nobody one ever really calls me Miss! [ Oh, right. Manners. ] Nice to meet you. And, uh, you are...?

[She takes a better look at the fish-like woman and faces her properly. She gives a small quick bow, her gem glowing a little brighter.]

My name is Pearl. It's a pleasure to meet you Undyne.

[She leans to one side to see her spear.]

I see you specialize in the spear as well!

Huh? This?

[ She eyes the spear she's leaning on, then looks up again, nodding. She never really thought of them as anything particularly noteworthy, no more than Lesser Dog's sword or Asgore's trident, but she's kind of intrigued, and maybe just a little proud. ]

Yeah. I got them when I joined the Royal Guard. You like 'em?

It looks so simple, and yet, effective. It looks so powerful too! I've never seen one quite like it.

[She steps a little closer to the weapon in question, head bobbing in curiosity. However, her attention is brought back to Undyne.]

The... "Royal Guard"?

[ She's using it for balance, so she can't hand the spear over, but she leans it forward a little, to let Pearl inspect it. ]

Yeah. The Royal Guard! You know, the... uh. Oh, yeah. You wouldn't know. The Royal Guard is my elite team of guards! And together we protect King Asgore, and the entire Underground. Mostly from humans, even if they don't show up that often, or turn out to be huge wimps!

[ Lovable wimps. But wimps none the less. ]

Hold on.

[She lifts her hands, trying to gather her bearings.]

You protect the underground from humans? [Pearl looks Undyne up and down. She looks more than capable of holding her own. And whatever she was, her race must be capable as well. She squints.]

Are... humans your enemies?

Well yeah, why wouldn't they be?

[ Her weight shifts, not uneasy in Pearl's presence specifically, but an ingrained reaction. ]

They drove us down there, they put up the barrier. They were the ones who made it so we'd need human souls to break the barrier! And for some reason, they still come to the Underground from time to time, and...

[ She stops, mid-thought, then shakes her head. Whatever she was about to say, she's second guessed it; she just shrugs it off instead. ]

I guess it doesn't happen that often. Feels like it does, though. ...And the last one wasn't that bad, either.

They did...

[Pearl is genuinely flabbergasted. She can't imagine humans doing such a thing. And their souls? Were they that strong from where Undyne came from? She furrows her brow as she listens to the rain patter outside their rock shelter.]

What happened with the last human?

[ Pearl's confusion only has the same effect on Undyne. It's not quite like disagreement, and that's what throws her off. She could argue it for days, but this is a new reaction. ]

Well... they turned out to be a totally lovable dork is what happened! I thought they were going to be just like every other human who tries to kill our king, but it turns out they have a pretty big heart for such a weenie.

But why would humans want to kill you?

[Again, she tries to wrap her head around this. Undyne seemed pretty nice for the most part.]

Did something happen to make them drive you down below the earth?

The humans were afraid of our power and declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and mercilessly. But humans are unbelievably strong, and it would take the Soul of every monster just to equal a single human soul. But we didn't take a single Soul, yet countless monsters were turned to dust...

[ She's reciting, and not trying to pretend that she isn't. She's read the inscriptions in Waterfall so many times that she knows them almost entirely by heart, even if she'd never been the most astute student. Those parts had always been important to her though, to remember what she was fighting for. ]

It's not like I was there or anything though! It's not like I could just ask them why they attacked us! Because I can't think of a single monster who would be a threat to them.

[These sounded like some strong humans. She listens to Undyne with wide eyes. Slowly her brow furrow in sympathy at the loss of her fellow monsters under this senseless war.]

I'm sorry for your loss none the less. You do seem very kind. N-Not that I think all monsters are bad! [Pearl quickly corrects herself.]

I think most humans from my world would think you're... intimidating. But, I think once they get to know your kind, things would be much better.

I know I had to adapt to humans myself.

Me, intimidating?

[ ...okay, she can't even lie to herself, so she just laughs. ]

Yeah, maybe! Not all monsters are like me. You'll meet Papyrus. I'm pretty sure he's going to try and meet everyone here if he can, and when I tell him about all this, he's definitely going to want to meet you!

So if you're not a human, what are you then?

Well it's not a bad thing to be intimidating! [She quickly tries to correct herself. But she smiles warmly at the mention of Papyrus.]

Ah yes! I have met him! He helped me a while back with the jailbreak. I've never met a talking skeleton before.

[And then a question is directed at her. Oh.]

To put into simple terms... [Pearl gestures to the gem in her forehead.] I'm a sentient rock. From space.

[ Simple terms are probably best, especially because the gears start clicking into place. Space rock. Likes humans. A lightbulb goes off, and her face lights up, and not just with another crack of lightning. ]

Hey! Wait a minute, do you know a half-human-half-rock kid named Steven?

Yes I do!

[She brightens as well. Oh it's so nice to see Steven making friends!]

He and I come from the same world!

Seriously?!

[ Small forest, it seems. ]

You know what he told me? He told me he's gonna help people and monsters live together in peace. Can you believe that??

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beyourrock - 2016-02-19 21:39 (UTC) - Expand

i have no idea if that's 30 minutes worth of chatting... movie timing??

aspearation - 2016-02-22 06:30 (UTC) - Expand

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