futurologists: (Default)
Hathaway. ([personal profile] futurologists) wrote in [community profile] epidemiology2015-10-01 07:32 pm
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OPEN ★ ARRIVAL LOG

ARRIVALS ( OCT 2 )
The dragons are taken from you, sent off to a safe haven. You're back in Oska for less than a day when you hear the announcement and head to the rendezvous point. You blink, step through the portal, there's a loud crack, and...



You're thrown into darkness. You taste copper and, for a moment, your ears won't stop ringing. All common side-effects of portal travel. The entire crew arrives just beyond the city gates, so you might also be feeling a little bit claustrophobic.

It takes a second for the eyes to adjust, but one can make out buildings and the cobblestone beneath their feet. To the right is the Trade District, where all the vendors are gathered to sell their wares. Up ahead is the City Square, where the rest of the citizens out and about seem to be gathered. To the left of the square is the Commoners' District, and to the right of it is the Nobles' District, the two main residential areas. Further travel west will come to the outskirts, a makeshift residential area, this one densely populated with goblins. Many of the people are holding candles or lanterns. You might want to try getting your hands on one of those.

If you have not already done so, your enchanted jewelry will manifest words in front of your very eyes — or sounds in your ear, if you're illiterate — asking you to identify yourself. A quick look around shows that you seem to be the only one able to see it. All you have to do is think or say how you wish to be identified. After that, you're immediately given a message.

Those who participated in the dragon mission at Anwick will first receive this:

We appreciate your help at Anwick. The wyrmlings will live to grow up and bring about the world's natural end. Thank you.

-- ALASTAIR

Afterwards, the crew will be given an abridged version of this, then told to familiarize themselves with the city and natives, report all information gathered back to ALASTAIR, and wait for further instruction.

At the end of the night, wherever they may be, everyone will receive a letter with the royal seal thanking them for their efforts to end the goblins' defiance and inviting them to the Festival of Illumination on the 4th.


FESTIVAL OF ILLUMINATION ( OCT 4 )
Candles are sitting on windowsills throughout the entire city, but the main event is in the city square. In the fountain float lit lotuses, and people all around are holding lanterns, waiting to light them.

There's a minstrel playing songs, and several of the vendors have pulled their carts up to the square in the hopes of making a sale. Many sweets are for sale, including baked apples, gingerbread, cherry tarts, pudding, and more. There's also some drinks for sale.

Some children are playing games in the corner, and others are dancing to the music or writing wishes on slips of paper to be sent into the sky with their lanterns. Everyone seems merry for once, but you'd better be careful. This is an ideal place for a pickpocket.

About an hour and a half into the festival, the lanterns are sent into the sky. They're sent flying, the sky becoming filled with bright lights, until...

A strong gust of wind sends all the lights out. At least, you think it was a gust of wind. What else could have done that? On closer inspection, however, you'll see that even the candles sitting on windowsills inside have gone out. For a minute or so, there's only darkness and chaos.

Suddenly, the flames begin to burn again, revealing a message in the cobblestone in the center of the square. It almost looks as if it's been burned into the ground: IT IS COMING, followed by a symbol of a creature with a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail.


[MOD NOTE: This is a catch-all log for the first few days. For the sake of organization, all arrival threads should be posted under the subheader ARRIVALS and all festival threads should be posted under FESTIVAL. Threads that don't fall under either of those categories can be top-levels. Also, please remember to add your character's tag to the post! Thank you, and have fun!]

digophelia: http://batteryli.deviantart.com/art/Ready-To-Die-214130629?q=favby%3Aanephilimrising%2F56725112&qo=52 (brother what tidings doth thou bring?)

[personal profile] digophelia 2015-10-27 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ Right on cue, Alice's hands go to the back of to the ties of her apron, pulling out a large knife.

An overdone kitchen knife, caked in blood that Alice runs her fingers over. ]


But of course. Unfortunately. A blade that can never break or dull.

[ She figures that will be enough against whatever is thrown of her -- well, mostly. She slides it back behind her and crosses her arms, with her empty hands resting on her arms. ]

Hopefully, it won't be used any time soon. Fighting with a knife is no better than fighting with your fists.

viscontree: (not gonna join your party this time)

[personal profile] viscontree 2015-10-27 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
To do that we'll need to research our environment more.

[Maybe there's some sort of connection between everything and he's just not seeing it.]

I wonder if we can find any records in the library.
unoradinary: (Default)

A(ii)

[personal profile] unoradinary 2015-10-27 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[A promise was a promise. When Nico went out there and gave it her all idoling it up, Ranmaru was in the crowd just as she said she'd be, and.........well, it's no understatement that she was likely the most enthusiastic person in the crowd. She was super into it the whole time, and at one point if she was under the impression Nico was looking right at her from up on her stage, she cupped her hands around her mouth and gave a very spirited "NICO-SENPAAAAAI!" cheer. Every song got applause. She was embarrassing the whole time.

But directly after the show when Nico's meeting people, however few, Ranmaru is nowhere to be seen. It's as if the moment the concert left she got out of there without so much as a word.

It's later on when Nico's not quite so busy and more focused on buying sweets for herself that Ranmaru approaches, and...well, seeing her on the network didn't do her appearance justice. She's about 5'10, and considering her outfit choice consists solely of bandaging up her chest and a jacket, it is very apparent how toned she is. She clearly works out a lot. Never mind the whole school delinquent look she's got going on, complete with geta.

Despite that, she couldn't look any more cheerful, wearing a big friendly smile as she slaps a hand down on Nico's shoulder to greet her.
]

Yo! I saw you out there, you were amazing!
bodyscarred: (The dysfunction is strong in this one.)

[personal profile] bodyscarred 2015-10-27 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure how to take an insult and a compliment delivered within twenty seconds of each other...
tachiboner: with plan b and a rose... (he showed up at my front door)

[personal profile] tachiboner 2015-10-27 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
I prefer my fights to be fair ones.

[There's nothing to be found in a fight like this, with an opponent who doesn't look to put up much of a fight and clearly doesn't want to take his chances. No challenge, no honor, and no resolution to the situation that they couldn't just as easily reach without coming to blows.]
bodyscarred: (I almost forgot to feel shameful)

[personal profile] bodyscarred 2015-10-27 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
Just check-- aha! Sparkly secured!

[ So he'll just scoop it up and trot on over to kneel in front of Anna, offering her the marble. ]

Yours, I believe, my lady.
troublebusted: (My hair also waves,HOPPITY♡HOP!!)

wow what a cutie

[personal profile] troublebusted 2015-10-27 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Nico is perhaps one of the people least embarrassed by being on the receiving end of such attention. After all, it's her goal in life to receive such enthusiasm from a stadium-full of fans and she's an enthusiatic fan of idols herself. She's more pleased than embarrassed and Ran's enthusiasm is actually reflected in Nico's performance as she responds to it with even greater energy.

...But she is still a little embarrassed, even if less than most people would be, especially after the "NICO-SENPAAAAAI!" cheer. Oh my gosh, Ran, you're the only one cheering like that, how are you not embarrassed. Nico is glad that a combination of distance, lighting, and makeup make it unlikely that her blush is visible from the audience. (She still throws in a small two-handed wave in response to the cheer, though - gotta give service to the fans!)

After that level of enthusiasm, Nico is a bit disappointed to not see Ran amongst the people she meets afterwards and she actually looks around a couple of times to see if she can spot her in the crowd. She really thought after that that she'd gotten a new fan. It's kind of a let down to not have her come up immediately.

So she's pleasantly surprised when she feels the slap on the shoulder (which only makes her stumble a little) and hears Ran's voice. She hadn't just run off! Nico turns and...actually stumbles backwards and drops her baked apple, her arms raised in what is almost a subconsciously defensive position.
]

H...huge!

[What the hell, how does a Japanese girl get this tall and buff? She's literally taller than half of the Japanese women's national basketball team! (Not that Nico knows the statistic off the top of her head.) The tallest girl in her school idol group isn't even 5'4"! And, sure, Muse has some athletes amongst its members, but this is a different level of toned. And that outfit....]

I, uh - I.... [How to say "holy crap" without being rude.] Thanks?

[That's more tentative than she meant for it to come out as.]
unoradinary: (Default)

nobody can grasp the true depths of her cuteness. she got that gap moe

[personal profile] unoradinary 2015-10-27 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
...heh.

[Yeah, she gets that a lot. But at least she isn't embarrassed about it, or ashamed of how she looks - she only gets a little uncomfortable about it if people compare her to a man or something, or ask if she's really a girl.

Which happens more than it should.

Still, she seems to take the reaction in her stride.
]

Um, that thing you did on stage- was it like, your signature move or something? Y'know, like-

[And she does a somewhat not-so-perfect imitation of the whole nico nico nii...dance? pose? Whatever.]

Nico Nico Nii~

It's really cute.
counterattacked: (35)

the world is cruel, etc

[personal profile] counterattacked 2015-10-27 09:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Edward Elric eat your heart out, I guess.

This isn't exactly what he'd meant to do to this conversation, but it's also hard for him to stop once he gets going. He sucks at his teeth and watches the lights. The slip of wish-paper has long been crumpled into a mess in his fist.

He's not very good at this. Explaining something that had been an overwhelming and established Fact for his whole life. Getting used to expecting that people have no context for it. Putting words to it can't do it justice. How humiliated and helpless they'd been for years. How terrible their enemies are. How important it is.
]

Titans. [If his voice had picked up any bitter or aggravated edge, before, it's nothing on the hateful bite that comes with the word. Titans. He turns away from the bobbing lights of the festival to study her face for a reaction. Recognition, maybe, though he's learned from asking around the locals that he shouldn't expect it.] They nearly wiped humanity out. They still will if we don't put a stop to it.

[If they don't get home to do it. With Eren and Mikasa and Levi all here with ALASTAIR instead of back with their own war, humanity's lost quite a few of their key assets.]

That's why I need to get back.
keystaff: (I can do it)

[personal profile] keystaff 2015-10-27 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
Yes! Exactly! Or, at least, everyone that wants to? I don't see why ALASTAIR wouldn't accept those who might prefer to keep helping.

[Either way. If even one person wanted to get back, that's all it really takes for Sakura to be determined in achieving the means to get home. For them and for herself. That is all there really is to it. Putting one's mind to something. Being optimistic on the outcome.]
viscontree: (pretty clothes made this game worth it)

yay..

[personal profile] viscontree 2015-10-27 11:30 am (UTC)(link)
We'll go to the closest inn.

[And walking WOOPIE DOOO!! Occasionally Julius checks behind him just to make sure Anna's following.]
dishearten: \ (♟ 98)

[personal profile] dishearten 2015-10-27 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen a few Chimera in my life, but that doesn't mean they're in this world.

( it's hard to tell, but it certainly doesn't seem impossible, either. )
dishearten: \ (Default)

[personal profile] dishearten 2015-10-27 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
( it's true, he probably doesn't look his best. what with the mess of slowly remembering, practically going mad looking for a heart he never got back. still, considering how that adventure had ended — with his last breath — for a dead man, he's doing quite well. weary, tired, unnerved, more like prey than predator at the moment, but he's still alive, somehow. he's trying not to forget that. )

I don't think I'll be resting until I know a bit more about where we are. ( he's told that they can find accommodations in town, but he'll be happier a little outside toward the woods. )
adlantisag: (» 62)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2015-10-27 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hyperborea wouldn't ring any bells, neither would Gorinium. Kida knows next to nothing about the surface. She was there when Atlantis crumbled, once lived under the sky instead of under the water, but she remembers precious little of it. Probably better off that way. ]

You offer me a kindness. Thank you.

[ Her gratitude is genuine, reflected in the softening of her expression and her tone. She turns her face up to his, considering. ]

Did your father's searches ever bear fruit?
livedtwice: (the boy who thinks the Yankees suck.)

[personal profile] livedtwice 2015-10-27 05:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Harry startles at the blood on her knife. He wonders if she's also unable to clean it, that whatever makes it so that it doesn't break or dull also holds blood forever. In the world he comes from, it doesn't seem altogether impossible. But he swallows, choosing not to remark on the matter. It's not that he's squeamish, but a blade like that has likely ended up that way for a reason.]

I think fists are a little less dangerous, [he offers, his tone careful. Though he's done terrible things with the Unforgiveable Curses, it had only been while he was pushed and desperate. And he knows there's a chance he might be pushed again, especially considering whatever might lie ahead in his future.

But still, it's odd to hear a knife compared to fists, as if they're comparable at all. To him, they aren't. Not one bit.]
hellshaped: (is this albuquerque)

[personal profile] hellshaped 2015-10-27 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[And now she's looking at him, and God damn it, she's really pretty. He almost makes some dumb comment about how he could never turn down helping such a pretty face, like he's some idiot detective from a noir movie, but he holds his tongue. No. Hellboy's sense of humor does not always come across correctly and the last thing he wants to do is offend the woman with the spear.

Instead, he just tilts his head and shrugs to let her know it's not a problem. It's not too far from his job, anyway, when he actually had a job -- investigation and research.

He hesitates slightly at her question, realizing something. Jesus, it's been thirteen years.]


Yeah... he stumbled on something he shouldn't have. Didn't turn out too well. It was -- well, hang on. [Gorinium, Lemuria, Atlantis -- they're all connected, he knows. Bruttenholm was searching for Gorinium by researching Lemurian script. He was going to ease into this cautiously, but the conversation has flowed to the point where it would be stupid to ignore the opening.

Hellboy stops walking, fishing around in his coat pockets until he comes up with a scrap of paper and one of those little golf pencils. Using his right hand as a writing surface, he scribbles something down (the equivalent of "Hello, how are you?") and then holds it out to Kida.]


Can you read this?

[Old Lemurian is a series of swirls and lines and dots. It's a long shot -- he doesn't know if Atlantis uses the same writing, or if it's changed since it sunk -- but Hellboy's life has been a series of long shots.]
hellshaped: (holy shit another liz icon)

[personal profile] hellshaped 2015-10-27 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, at least torches would make things brighter, anyway. [This is morbid. Why is he always so morbid?

Hellboy tilts his head at the comment, though, because... well, this guy is a tiny bit... stuffy? He's a little stuffy. That could put some people off, sure, but it's a medieval world. He figures they're used to that sort of thing.]


We can tag-team it for awhile if you need some help. I'm certainly not having much luck alone, and I could use the company.
beyourrock: (Of course it wouldn't work.)

Omg im so sorry i thought i replied to this

[personal profile] beyourrock 2015-10-27 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[Pearl tilts her head to the side. And then things slowly start to click. Horns. The red complexion of his skin. She opens her mouth to comment on it, but bites her tongue. Would it be rude? She purses her lips into a thin line.]

If you don't mind me asking... Are you some kind of mythical demon? [She had heard of such stories in passing on earth. But his demeanor was rather laid back for a demon. Non-destructive.]
adlantisag: (» 38)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2015-10-27 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She watches him draw and feels a knot form in the pit of her stomach that's only compounded by the question he asks. Her demeanour changes completely, becomes closed off as she takes the paper in one uncertain hand. With her thumb she traces the symbols, melancholy. They look enough like the symbols dotting the walls and murals of Atlantis that she feels a kind of pained longing. ]

I cannot read this. [ She says it mournfully, her eyes tracing the lines over and over. ] Even if it were my language, I could not read it.

[ All knowledge was lost. All of it.

Her hands shake when she hands over the page again. With futile frustration. ]


This is not dig Adlantisag, is it? But similar.

[ She can say that much, at least, even if she can't provide much else. ]
Edited 2015-10-27 18:59 (UTC)
hellshaped: (is this albuquerque)

NO PROBLEM, i do that all the time lmao

[personal profile] hellshaped 2015-10-27 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is Hellboy's least favorite line of questioning in the entire world (or multiverse, as the case may be), but since he already stuck his foot in his mouth earlier about Pearl being an alien, he figures she gets a free pass. Still, he doesn't really know how to answer -- it's certainly one of the most straightforward ways to ask that question, anyway.

He looks to the side, his tail lazily swishing back and forth. 'It depends on who you ask' is something that crosses his mind, but he decides against it. Usually it's easier to be cagey in his response, but she sure did cut to the chase, huh.]


It's a little complicated. I was raised by humans, if that answers your question.
beyourrock: (Concern.)

[personal profile] beyourrock 2015-10-27 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[That was at least a comforting answer. Not that she was worried before! He didn't show any alarming mannerisims for her to be on edge anyways. She smiles none the less.]

What did you used to do back home then?

[She imagines it must be hard to walk around with that large hand of his. Then again, people could be used to it, like her own 'home' of Beach City. Seeing a purple talking cat? Normal to the residents of the city. Every world and universe was different however.]
Edited 2015-10-27 21:03 (UTC)
hellshaped: (passing notes)

[personal profile] hellshaped 2015-10-27 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh. He hadn't really been expecting Kida to know the words, long shot of long shots as it was, but he definitely hadn't been expecting her to react like... that. He can tell he's upset her from the moment he passes her the note, and he instantly regrets it.

Gently, he takes the scrap of paper back when she returns it, and he slips it into his pocket, ready to just forget the whole thing -- but similar. Hellboy blinks, realizing that he may have actually been right, though not in the way he'd been hoping.]


It's Old Lemurian. My father taught it to me when I was little. [He pauses, considering, and his tail flicks once.] It's what he was studying before he found -- well, before something found him, I guess. He was looking for Gorinium.

[If she can't read it -- if she can't read her own language -- then it's extremely possible she doesn't even know what that is. He thinks to clarify.]

Another lost city.
hellshaped: (beer!!! yeah!!)

[personal profile] hellshaped 2015-10-27 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[It had better be comforting, because that is all he is about to say on the matter...! But Pearl seems to accept that readily enough, and Hellboy relaxes somewhat. It's going to be super stressful the day he meets someone who doesn't take his chicanery for an answer.]

I haven't worked for awhile. I was a paranormal investigator for a long time, though. [He pauses, because... well, TV has some things to say about that.] I only met a couple aliens, though. Don't worry.
beyourrock: (Say what?)

[personal profile] beyourrock 2015-10-27 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I do hope they didn't give terrible first impressions.

[A weak laugh, but Pearl tilts her head. Oh boy, the paranormal? Or would that technically be 'normal' to beings like them?]

I'm sure you've seen some crazy things in your time as a paranormal investigator. Have you ever witnessed anything like ths before? Traveling to alternate dimensions?
adlantisag: (» 100)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2015-10-27 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
There are other lost cities? Lost to the Flood?

[ 'Lemuria'. 'Gorinium'. Names she's instantly, insatiably curious about as soon as he says them. Were they once Atlantis' sister-cities? Do they slumber beneath the earth? What were they like when they lived and blossomed with people? ]

What were they like? Do you know? Are--did you go there? Your father?

[ Each question pours out of her on the heels of the previous, tumbling like rapids, like a dam breaking. She lays a hand on his arm as if his attention might waver and fall away. She's practically vibrating. ]