EVENT ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION

[futurologists]

RETURN TO OSKA Upon arrival in Oska, new and returning recruits alike will find that something strange is going on. Any attempts to communicate with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you will be just that -- like you don't speak the same language. Let's hope everyone is good at charades, because you're going to be out of luck for a full day. On the second day, a text comes across -- surprisingly intelligible to everyone. Is it over? Well . . . crowley: Hello, Audentes. We are currently experiencing magitek difficulties, as you may have guessed already. Temporal insects have arrived with our latest arrivals, and as you may imagine, we have had our paws full. cherenkov: We are working out how to mitigate the pest problem for good. For now, please put your unpleasantly huge feet to use and stomp them out. Or other such methods. crowley: We have created a quick patch to facilitate text-based communications, but verbal translation will continue to be down until the insects are exterminated. Thank you for your patience. It's not over. TEMPORAL INSECTS This invasive species has worked its way in through the rifts along with the newest batch of arrivals, and information on them is available in the library (provided you can read the language it's written in!). It seems they behave like locusts, living quietly within the space between rifts for many years until their numbers suddenly balloon and they begin to swarm in search of food. These bugs move fast and pack a nasty bite, but are unarmored and easily squished. Each one is about the size of a football, and leaves a little tell-tale slime trail that makes it easy to track. They can cling to any surface, and won't hesitate to leap onto attackers and bite if they feel threatened. One can take a decently sized but non-lethal bite out of someone, but a number of them together will pose a real danger. If punctured or squished they tend to explode into moderately acidic goo that can cause caustic burns if not immediately washed off. They are attracted to any area of high temporal energy, which can be literally any surface, corner, or point on or within the castle and its grounds. As they begin to feed they cause temporal distortion in the area. This manifests as the immediate area seeming to flicker backwards and forwards through time. An insect gnawing at a table leg in the dining area, for example, might cause the area to stutter between years and years of dinner parties, ghostly attendants of all fashions and species appearing and disappearing as they enter and leave the affected area. An onlooker can't interact with temporal distortions directly, but if the insect is left to its own devices, it will eventually eat through all of the temporal energy and render the immediate area gray, frozen, and completely inert. It's highly recommended you kill or otherwise chase off an insect before it manages this, as it can do irreversible damage to a world. For affected Oska locations, please see this post. OOC NOTES The translation errors will continue through the rest of the month. For more information or to ask questions, please check the plotting post here! New bounties are available in Oska! Please remember to fill out your squidge success form before August 31, 23:59 UTC! Filling the form out is mandatory, even if you do not have the 3 squidge threads. You will not pass AC if you do not fill out the form. Characters who have been accepted on August 20th are exempt. Please direct questions relating to the success form here.

Comments

[sekimorinashi]

[ She just ... kind of raises an eyebrow and gives him a thumbs up in return. You're welcome? Does that mean he's okay? How do you even gesture something like that?

Rather than try, she'll just move a little closer and sort of keep an eye on him. ]

[secondnature]

[Okay. Okay, for some reason she's coming closer. Though she just saved him from bug goop, his naturally cynical nature flares up, making him go rigid as she comes closer. No, it doesn't occur to him that she might be ensuring that he didn't get any bug guts on him. Instead, he remembers (because it was literally like three seconds ago) how she threw a blade in the air rather competently.

That means he shouldn't trust her.

His eyes narrow and his jaw tenses, ready for whatever she might do.

Which, he doesn't realize, is probably nothing.]

[sekimorinashi]

[ The tenseness in him doesn't go unnoticed, but she pretends not to. And she does, in fact, pull out another knife, but not to throw it at him. No, it's to throw it at the one stuck in the ceiling, to make both knives and bug fall to the floor.

Because she only has so many so she tries to keep the ones she can.

Then she walks over to kick the bug aside and pick up her weapons, tucking them back into her sleeve. This way she can get a bit of a better look at him too, and she at least can't see anything external on him. That's something. ]

[secondnature]

[The entire time the new blade is pulled out and thrown, his eyes seem to follow the shine off of it until it hits the bug-knife duo and makes both of them drop to the ground. It means that there's a mess on the floor, but not on him (and hopefully not on her, not that it seems like there's anything).

He relaxes after a moment, shoulders sloping forward and lips softening with his jaw becoming less tense. He seems fine. He is fine. He's relaxed. Or as relaxed as he ever is, arms coming up to cross over his chest.]

Uh. Okay.

[Should he say anything else? This whole "not understanding people" thing is really a great burden. A not fun one.]

[sekimorinashi]

[ Why is he so tense? Kids these days. (She's only a few years older than him.) ]

You okay?

[ She'd try to gesture it, but she can't even begin to think of how that would work. How do you mime pain? ]

[secondnature]

Sorry, even if it's something that short, I still don't understand. [The apology comes with a sheepish shrug, revealing that he's at least aware that she isn't here to cause him harm. That's good. No harm is good, even if he's fairly certain that he could hold his own.

If he gets through this experience without accidentally picking a fight with someone over language barriers, he'll consider it a success.

(At least he's a little self-aware on that account.)]

[sekimorinashi]

[ She gives a sigh. ]

Ah, well.

[ Honestly, she has no idea how to do charades and she doesn't really feel much like trying. She'll just mirror his shrug, and then make sure to push these insects out of the way so no one steps on them. ]

Try not t'get hurt, yeah? See ya 'round. Hopefully we'll be able to actually talk next time.

[ Unless he wants to attempt more conversation, she'll nod and be on her way. ]