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]

[some people were born patient. Hideyoshi, despite his affinity for wild colors and loud noises, was one of those people; as such, he counts his time spent atop the spire (or roof, because the authors demand it for Dipper accessibility) in the telescope's beeps rather than seconds, a process which grinds to a halt at his new company's answer.]

It doesn't?

[sounding a mite surprised, eyes blinking over. one eyebrow raised above the other.]

Your world has goblins and magic...?

[magic seemed to basically be a commodity, but, still.]

[twinpeak]

[ Finally tearing his eyes away from the sky, Dipper blinks back Hideyoshi's way before breaking into a small grin. ]

Yep. [ He shuffles his backpack off his shoulders, setting it down; among the rest of his belongings, a telescope sticks awkwardly out of it, and Dipper plops down right beside it. ] If you have any idea where to look, anyway. It's like... all hidden and stuff. Most people don't believe in that.

[hideyourself]

[a small 'huh,' half amused huff and half wonderment.]

Right on. That's not so different. [he peers down at his own telescope as if inspecting it for clues to aliens, before glancing over to do the same to Dipper's.] Personally, I'd be happy with just seeing a shooting star. Of the good luck variety more than the alien variety-- and for, you know, seeing stars at all.

[twinpeak]

It's not too bad a night for stars...

[ Dipper trails off, looking back upward. It's a little cloudy, but he's not here for stargazing, himself; not tonight, anyway. ]

Couldn't tell you if a shooting star will happen, though. Aren't those kinda hard to come by?

[hideyourself]

You've never seen one either?

[with a teasing side-note, if the star could out-weight a whole life of (in Dipper's words) discovering the unknown.]

[it really didn't, but, well. better than getting bummed out over the lack of stars in general.]

[twinpeak]

Hmm...

[ Dipper hums thoughtfully, glancing to a spot ahead as he mulls over the question. ]

Probably not. But who knows, it could happen eventually.

[hideyourself]

Anything's possible. [half-teasing, half-honest. after everything that happened upon arriving here-- hell, even before that-- Hideyoshi can't deny the possibility of the smallest thing. a unicorn could prance by with a book to the world's answers, and he wouldn't bat an eye.]

[... so,]

Hopefully, that includes getting the big ball of sun back in view.

[twinpeak]

[ Yeah, but you don't want a unicorn to prance by. Did you know they're actually huge jerks? Neither did Dipper until recently. ]

That's kind of our job to figure out, right? Aaand why we're even out here. [ Whether he's shuddering at his next thought or the cold weather is hard to tell, but— ] This world's kinda neat, but I don't wanna be stuck here forever if no one can get to the bottom of this.

[hideyourself]

[that sounds like a dream-shattering revelation. no thanks. Hideyoshi shudders from the cold weather alone, especially as his next sentence is a bit of cynical foreshadowing (not the usual tone, but, hey, the sun was literally missing).]

The snow's going to stick an awful long time if there's no sun. We'd probably freeze before forever.

[silver lining??]