expiationlogs | {EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

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{EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

THUS DO WE HUNGER

MOD NOTES:

Welcome to the first event!

Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that characters can be involved in multiple prompts (whether you choose to thread that out or not), and that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation.

In two weeks from this event, the moderator team will be posting a poll on the OOC community that will allow players to share what actions their characters took and two weeks after that, there will be an announcement made sharing said results, how those actions have impacted the state of the world, the game's story, what information can be used ICly, and so on.

The various prompts are, of course, optional, so you're not required to travel to Rumpitur if you don't wish to. You're not required to help the locals or other Chosen during the food shortage. There is an option to simply not be involved, and that too can have potential repercussions on the future of the game's overarching story and other characters.

WE'RE STARVING HERE!

HOW TO REPAIR A REFRIGERATOR 101

Do you remember the fishing tournament where a variety of locals and Chosen alike submitted a bunch of fish for a very modest and unimpressive wooden sculpture? Well... about that...

Aldrip's refrigeration has catastrophically failed and as a result, the food stores that the locals have been keeping are now on the verge of total and utter collapse. The townspeople are in an absolute uproar. According to them, this has never happened before and though they would normally just pray to Those Who Were There for a resolution, they kind of need something immediate. Otherwise, all residents of Aldrip are facing the very real threat of starvation.

The good news is that you can help!

The more handy of the Aldrip townsfolk are going to get right to work on repairing the refrigeration units. At present, the only units that exist belong to those who are making food and providing them to the townspeople. This means people like the tavern keepers, the inn, bakers, and other miscellaneous cooks, are those who possess and control these refrigeration units. If you've got some handyman skills, put them to work, though be aware that working on repairing the technological malfunction might just be an electrifying experience. Literally.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO COOKING MAMA

There sure has been a lot of opportunities to cook, but now Aldrip needs cooks and would-be cooks like never before!

Those not necessarily good with repair work might find themselves better suited for hunting the local wildlife, whether that's on the meadowland plains or taking, yet again, a fishing pole into hand. A good deal of the meat, vegetables, and fruit that was already preserved has spoiled and will need to be replaced hastily if people want to continue eating.

With bodies going to retrieve replacement food, there's suddenly an open and demand for people who either already have experience with cooking or just really want to learn. There's no better way to learn than some truly hands-on experience. For those with some cooking in their background, even if it's simple at its best, the kitchens are free and available. You might not have your choice cuts of meat or whatever else you might be accustomed to preparing, but fortunately the dried spices and herbs aren't impacted by the food shortage. Consider making something flavourful or just really spicy. (Alphen, we're looking at you.)

If you haven't cooked before and you're one of those who's just dying to learn, pair up with a buddy in the kitchen, or fumble along. Beggars can't be choosers, after all, and we're facing a crisis. Maybe the threat of having no food will encourage people to try whatever you make, no matter how black, crispy brown it might turn out.

The more innovative and creative individuals may find a way to dry / dehydrate anything caught or harvested. Or we can just have a huge impromptu grilling adventure where people hold raw meat over fire. Your choice!

WE'RE OFF TO SEE... THE NAGA?

WE COME IN PEACE

Aldrip is hardly the only settlement on the continent of Expiation and though the various peoples of these settlements can often stick within their own, when times are hard and adversity encroaches on livelihood, they're not against seeking the aid of others. Some of the more well-travelled of the Aldrip locals are planning an expedition to visit Rumpitur, an impressively-sized village on a peninsula to the east of Aldrip.

They are ready and willing to take all volunteers who are interested in accompanying them to barter for food and other potentially needed supplies. The visit to Rumpitur will require travel through the Pessiria Forest, a thick veil of trees that one can be easily lost in, but if everyone's together, then it shouldn't be an issue.

Consider joining the expedition and getting to know some of Expiation's other peoples.

Rumpitur is home to a race of naga-like people with scaled features, tails, sharp teeth, and forked tongues. Their way of life is considerably more simple in comparison to some of Aldrip's fancier advancements. They are skilled combatants and a fishing people, whose diet primarily consists of seafood. In Rumpitur, one may take note of their many-in-number stone constructs, depicting a notable and perhaps significant naga.

Although they may seem intimidating at first glance and can have terse ways of speaking, they are amicable enough and will be willing to do business with Aldrip and her citizens.

OR MAYBE WE DON'T

The visit from Aldrip, which is a rare occurrence indeed, results in much confusion for the Rumpiturian people, and this may or may not be considered a blessing to those who could be more unscrupulous in nature.

Although the visit to Rumpitur is meant to be one of peace, locals of Aldrip and the Chosen alike have the opportunity to steal supplies from the people. If they choose to do this, they may find that there are no immediate repercussions for this course of action. The likelihood is that this visit has caught the Rumpiturians so off-guard that they're not expecting to be robbed. Of course, how this will impact things in the future remains to be seen...

Individuals may grab as much as they can carry, depending on what they've brought with them. The locals of Aldrip who planned this expedition provided convenient-to-carry containers that can be filled with anything retrieved from the village and her kind. Larger containers will require at least two people to carry when filled, so perhaps you're inclined to work with a partner-in-crime. Just remember that for every action, there's a consequence, even if you're not seeing it right away!

Rumpitur will not notice that they are missing inventory until well after Aldrip has left and travels back through the forest to town, so no one need fear the chasing and hissing of snakes into Pessiria.

Probably.

HOLD ONTO YOUR VALUABLES

IT'S NOT REAL... RIGHT?

Those who've decided to brave the forest will find on their adventure to Rumpitur that it's rather straight forward and proceeds without incident.

The sky above the trees is a difficult thing to see, blocked out by the way the evergreens stretch and imposingly tower above. At times light may scatter through various openings in branches, but it is a largely darker atmosphere, and at night requires the assistance of candlelight or related.

Travellers with the courage to make way through the forest with the others may hear occasional snaps, cracks, whispers, and more enigmatic sounds that are difficult to justify with logic. Of course, whether this is all in the head or something truly more sinister at play is up for debate. Despite the strange occurrences that one may experience, no members of the Chosen will find themselves harmed or otherwise physically disturbed initially. That said, some may later find themselves haunted by strange dreams and visions of the forest in the future if they are especially sensitive to such things.

Were those sounds real? Were you just hearing things? It's probably wisest not to investigate further. At least, maybe not now...

COUNT YOUR NUMBERS

Aldrip has a great many stories about Pessiria Forest and many of the other towns, landmarks, settlements, and people scattered across the continent. Most of these stories seem to depict folklore or a certain mythological feeling about them, implying that many of the locals don't truly believe in any of the more macabre tales. Pessiria Forest has no shortage of poetry and song that pertains to its supposedly 'holy' grounds and mysterious happenstances.

There are several alleged accounts about people having gone missing in the forest, due to how complicated it is to navigate by one's self. The more people travelling together, the safer it is purported to be.

Before leaving for Rumpitur, heads have been counted to ensure that wherever they start is also where they end up, however, for the more observant, one may find that the returning party is short of a few heads. Maybe some of them stayed behind to further the diplomatic efforts with the Rumpiturians. Maybe they're going to catch up later. Maybe they took a different pathway through the forest with some of their mates. Maybe there's something more untoward going on.

If this is brought up to the locals, the leaders of the expedition will warily make note of it and conduct their own investigation. At least, they say they will. Either way, it's suspicious no matter how you may turn it. Perhaps put heads together with another and see if you're just miscounting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Joel, pistol holstered at his waist and a bow and arrow in his hands, is alert to everything going on, but not jumpy. If anyone knows how to keep his cool in stressful situations, it's this guy. ]

It's a forest. Forests make noise.

[ Not usually noises like these, but he's not saying that to this kid. ]

Oh... if you say so.

[As someone who's spent her entire life in cities, she's more than willing to just take him at his word. She gives him an appraising glance, eyes lingering on the gun for a moment before glancing back up to him with a smile.]

I thought I heard someone trying to talk to me. Like, I thought someone was sneaking around out there. You didn't hear anything weird?

There's a lot of weird shit in forests. Animals that sound like people.

[ He's not, like, a scientist or anything, just camped out in enough forests in his life to know that shit sounds weird in them. Especially at night. ]

I guess that makes sense!

[It didn't sound like an animal, but until an obvious threat presents itself (or if it is real, someone steps out and actually speaks to her), she's not going to worry too much about it. It's not like some phantom boy is showing up at midnight to warn her about the end of the world or anything, at least.]

I'm from the city, so I've never really gone camping or anything before... it's kind of weird how it's so quiet, but there's so much noise, isn't it?

[Like, there's not a lot of people-noise, but there's a lot of other noises that are hard to get used to!]

It takes some getting used to.

[ He'll certainly concede that much. He remembers the early days after the outbreak, jumping at every weird noise, expecting infected around every tree. Eventually realizing, infected don't usually wander around in the middle of nowhere. It really was just animals, usually. Coyotes, mountain lions, god knows what else, depending on where you are.

He doesn't say any of that aloud, though. Just continues scanning the tree line for any threats. ]

[She just nods. Yeah, that makes sense. Anything can seem normal after being around it long enough. She just hopes she doesn't have to spend that long in the forest itself.]

Something about it gives me a bad feeling, but I guess that's just because I'm not used to it yet, huh?

[It just reminds her of the voices that would lure people into Tartarus, that's all. She takes a breath and forces it out of her mind by drawing another smile to her face.]

How long did it take you to get used to this kind of stuff, mister?

[ Heavy sigh. ]

It's Joel. And I don't know. A week or two, maybe.

Nice to meet you! I'm Kotone.

[Since they're apparently only offering first names? She doesn't question it overmuch as she finally starts walking again, trusting that he'll stay with her.]

Where are you from? I'm...

[And there it is again, that almost-mumble that she could swear is coming from the trees. She trails off in spite of herself, glancing sideways with a frown, before returning her attention back to Joel.] I'm from Japan.

[ Joel walks. He walks, and he listens, and he tries not to get jumpy. He tries not to listen for voices he recognizes, because that would actually be bad, and the last thing he needs. Like, literally a monster attack would be better than anything in Joel's psyche right now.

Luckily, this girl is vague enough with her answer that Joel doesn't feel the need for being more specific, either. ]

America.

Oh, really? I've never been abroad, unless this counts. I've heard some schools have their trips to places like, Hawaii or Los Angeles, but mine just went to Kyoto.

[Chatting blocks out a little of the voices -- or at least makes them easier to ignore -- so she continues, clasping her hands behind her back as they walk. If that puts them closer to where she's strapped her not-quite-a-naginata, that's just incidental.]

Have you ever been to Japan?

No.

[ He wonders if Japan even still has any human inhabitants, in his world. He kind of doubts it. ]

You know how to use that thing?

[ He points vaguely at her weapon. ]

Yeah! I asked them to forge it for me back in Aldrip. It's a little different from the naginata I used to use, but it wasn't hard to adapt to.

[She's used everything from hockey sticks to legendary naginata that she really shouldn't have had access to. This will be fine for her! Her Evoker is holstered and hidden under her skirt, just in case, but she'd rather not answer awkward questions that she doesn't have to, so under her skirt it stays.

She nods at his bow.]

A friend of mine does archery, but I've never tried. Is it true all Americans have guns?

[Source: Joel is an American and has a pistol.]

[ Joel considers how to answer that for a moment. Finally decides on: ]

No. But where I come from, most people need a weapon if they don't want to wind up dead.

Oh, really?

[Her shoulders stiffen up as another chill breeze blows across the back of her neck and prickles her skin, and if her hands behind her back bump against the polearm for reassurance, well, don't worry about it.

Still, what Joel said is kind of scary, and she says so.]

What happened...? Is there a war, or...?

[It's probably not the Dark Hour, considering no one else has mentioned anything remotely similar to what she's experienced.]

The world ended.

[ Simple as that. No war, just the world. Over. ]

[It probably wasn't the Dark Hour, she'd thought. But at his blunt statement, she freezes in her tracks, eyes going wide with a sudden jolt of terror, followed by a wave of guilt. That's what they'd fought to prevent. That's what she was going to die to prevent. Had it not been enough? Or, worse, they don't know how time works in this place. Shinji had arrived mere hours before she had, it seems, and his last memory is from almost six months before hers. Had Kotone's presence here meant that Nyx hadn't been sealed, and everyone had--

No, stop. That thinking isn't going to get her anywhere.]

What happened? [she asks in as level a tone as she can manage, forcing her own feelings down and locking them deep inside.]

A fungus infected almost everyone, turned 'em into monsters.

[ If Joel notices her existential crisis, he's ignoring it. It's got nothing to do with him, whatever it is, so unless she's about to pass out or something, it's not his problem. ]

Oh... I'm sorry.

[She shouldn't feel relieved at that, but there is a note of it that enters her voice, below the sympathy and concern. It's not her fault, probably. Apathy Syndrome on a wide scale wouldn't have turned people into monsters. It would have just turned them into... shells. Unable to care for themselves, unable to care for anyone else, just a vast wasteland of people unable to see a point in any kind of action. Zombies, but not violent. Not monsters.

But she's hardly expecting any sympathy from Joel, so she just smiles at him instead.]

So I guess if anything comes after us in these forests, you'll be pretty good at fighting them, huh?

[ Yeah, whatever trauma she's experienced - it's not so much that Joel doesn't care as it is that - where he comes from, one just doesn't ask those kinds of questions. Where he comes from, everyone has experienced horrible trauma, and there's no point in asking people to dig it up and talk about it.

Why the hell should he ask or expect anyone to relive their trauma for him? Nobody needs that.

But then she says that last thing, and he nods. This is not so much a case of Joel believing he actually can handle anything that might attack them, as it is a matter of wanting to reassure this girl that he'll be able to keep her safe. She shouldn't have to be afraid because he admits he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. ]

Yeah, I got this.

[She wouldn't know what to tell him if he'd asked, to be honest. Most of it she keeps to herself out of force of habit anyway, so it's kind of a relief that he doesn't expect the same answer-giving courtesy.

Almost as much of a relief as his reassurances!]

Great! Since you have the bow and arrow, it's probably best if you take the first shot at anything that comes out. I'm more suited to close-range fighting. I mean, not that close, I'm not a boxer, but since arrows tend to have lower accuracy, I'll be ready to jump in if I have to finish something off.

[Like a switch has been flipped, now that she knows whatever happened to Joel isn't directly or indirectly her fault, she feels much better about it. Not to mention having someone to chat with makes the forest feel just slightly less oppressive, even as another whispering voice echoes some ways behind them.]

Do you only fight at range, Joel-san?

I fight however I need to fight.

[ He's not a strategist, or a planner. He goes into a situation, figures out what needs to be done, and does whatever he needs to do, whatever he can do, with the resources he has. ]

Okay!

[Fair enough. She appreciates the versatility, anyway; it's easier to plan that way, especially without knowing whether or not it's safe to summon her Personas here.

She almost asks if he'd rather she shut up, but figures that he's been direct enough that if he wanted her quiet, he'd tell her to be. Even in the few seconds' silence, the pervasive feeling of being watched pulls the muscles in her back into something painfully stiff.]

What else do you do? Like, in general?

[ In general. That's a tricky question. What does he do? Escort teenagers across the country for several months? Well, he did that, but he's not going to do it again (hopefully). He's done doing that. Smuggling? He left that behind in Boston. Carpentry? Not for twenty years or more.

He thinks of Jackson, then. ]

I live in a... town. I help keep it safe.

[ That. That's correct. He knows that, deep in his bones. He and Ellie are going to live in Jackson, and he's going to keep it safe, for her. ]

Yeah?

[She's not stupid; he didn't say "I'm police," so she doesn't ask if that was his job. Would that even mean anything at the end of the world? Officer Kurosawa had done his best, but he'd all but told him there was nothing he could do about their mission other than support them. Maybe Joel was the same way, maybe he wasn't. Those particulars, she decides, aren't any of her business.]

What's it like? The town, I mean.

[ Joel probably wouldn't take kindly to being compared to a cop or a soldier (in his mind, they're the same thing). He's not either of those things. ]

It's... nice. They've - we've got electricity. Running water. Livestock.

[ He hasn't thought of himself as being part of a community for a long time, so it feels a little foreign to him. ]

{EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

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