Event Log: The Beach Episode

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone!
What: The event log for the transition to our new planet!
Where: The city, which has now been fragmented onto four separate islands.
When: May 27th-June 10th
Warnings: Surf's up! If by 'surf', you mean separation from your friends, weird sea creatures, and cold rainfall.

The sun and the sand and a drink in your hand- well, it all sounded pretty nice when you voted for the island planet, but ultimately what you're getting is a bit less glamorous.

The transition takes place instantaneously, with very little noteworthy shakeup, though those of you who are particularly in-tune with the supernatural may feel a bit dizzied or nauseated by the sudden movement. And that's exactly what it is: for those of you who are outside, the change is fairly noticeable, as in the span of a single blink, what used to be miles of desert is now rocky ocean. The city is simply in one place one moment, and then somewhere entirely new a second later.

And that somewhere new is exciting! The islands have plenty of landscape to explore and weather conditions to adjust to, fish to catch, and- wait, how do you get to the other islands? What if your friends or your home or the bar is on these other islands? Enjoy having to figure out who is where and how you're going to get by with only a small fraction of the city to work off of- hopefully those boats will come sooner rather than later...

► This log covers May 27th-June 10th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you drown or get eaten by an alien shark, let us know here.

Comments

alphys | ota

[sciencelizard]

i. [west island, lab, 27th]

[The shift happens, and once again, she finds herself mystified.

Alphys had only ever seen the surface in media and television; even if the Underground often approximated weather conditions, it was areas you could move through, not things that could just happen. So when the rain starts hitting the windows, she's startled until she registers what it is.

They've moved. There's a whole new city, now. And that means a whole new Surface to get used to.

She finds herself standing outside, looking in disbelief over at the churning ocean with her mouth slightly agape.]

Is this... t-the ocean? It's... darker, than I thought it'd be.

ii. [west island, south coastline, later on the 27th]

[Well. This is a problem.

The last time Alphys was cut off from people she knew was the first time the city was under attack, so frankly, even though she can see the other bank in the distance she has reason to be wary. Sure, there's space in the Lab for her to stay, but-- her stuff! Her computer! All her pets!! Not to mention all her food...

Alphys can be found pacing the shoreline, tapping her claws together, biting at her lip, and looking just as anxious as most people know her by.

Looks like she could use a hand.]

iii. [wildcard]

[Want to find her at some other point? Do some investigating of the new terrain? Hit me up over PM or at cancerously and we'll work something out!]

ii;

[restinglichface]

[Alphys looks like she could use a lifeline.

Lup hasn't exactly adjusted to the new weather yet, she's still wearing the usual shorts and crop top she'd be sporting back in the other world, but she doesn't appear to be too bothered by the new chill as she approaches her friend on the shoreline.]

You look lost, sis. What brings you over to our island?

[sciencelizard]

[Alphys could always kind of use a lifeline. Despite this not being the first time the city's moved, it doesn't get any less jarring. Besides, this water is a problem, and while Alphys can swim, she's certainly not that strong a swimmer. Plus she couldn't get back, and that's just so complicated, and--

She's broken from her thoughts by Lup's speech, head spines standing on end as she whips around and sees her.]

Oh! Lup, I, uh-- well, I was in the lab. And then the lab wasn't... in the desert! And my house suddenly wasn't here either.

[That makes no sense, but with context, it's enough.]

I d-don't know if my roommate is there, and even if she is, we have pets, and all my food's over there, and it's... there, and I'm here.

[restinglichface]

[It's definitely enough. Context got.]

Oh, so you got pulled over onto our side of the island during the big switcheroo? Talk about jarring.

[If Lup didn't already know that this was just the woman's normal base state, she'd assume the monster was all frazzled due to the unexpected shifting of their home. But this is just all Alphys.]

Need a lift? I could drop you off over there, but you'll have to let me crash on your couch for a spell so I can get back.

[sciencelizard]

Well, not stuck I guess, uh-- t-the Lab is here.

[It is, in fact, just Alphys. But Lup mentions help and as much as she's grateful, she can't quite picture what that is right now.]

Uh-- I mean, that's fine, but-- I was kind of thinking I might pack stuff up to bring back until there's uhm, bridges or something? Also... h-how would you be getting us there.

[restinglichface]

[Lup waves a hand, fingers wiggling, and lets a soft dazzle of sparks fall from her fingertips.]

Magic, babe. Natch. Haven't we had this convo before?

[Something something she's a magical elf.]

So you're thinkin' of movin' in? Ah, hell yeah! We can do a girl's night slumber party in the lab every week!

[sciencelizard]

[As usual, Lup doesn't give her the time to be caught up in semantics, even as she starts trying to get them in.]

Okay, but, d-do you have a flying spell or are you gonna conjure a boat or--

[Wait--]

Sleepover?? I mean, it-- this probably won't be permanent! I think. Just until, uh, it's e-easier to get home. Probably. The Lab is great, but I, uh, you know.

[restinglichface]

[How very gay of Alphys to hone exactly in on that part of it.]

Yeah, but even when we get a giant bridge or whatever crossing between islands, that doesn't mean we still can't make a sleepover night at the lab on the reg. C'mon, Alphy, just us girls.

[sciencelizard]

[Of course she's gonna hone in on the part that lets them spend time alone together, what do you take her for, someone who's not super bi?]

Well, I-- I gu-- okay?? There's really only one bed though it's just a p-pull out couch so it might be kind of cramped?? For you?? If thats okay!!!

i

[unknowable]

[Every change seems to bring Adam something new. He dreamed about traveling, back at home, when he didn't have the money or the time to do any such thing. Not the way his friends did, he had no destinations or dreams of exciting journeys. He just wanted to get out, and seeing the world was part of that. A status symbol, something people with money got to do.

There are so many things he hasn't seen. The desert was a first, actually. This?

Well, the ocean wasn't terribly far from his town. But how would he have gotten there? And when?

He walks up beside Alphys, looking out over the dark water. It looks like pictures of the ocean he's seen, but... more.]

It looks... bigger than I thought it would. I don't know why.

[sciencelizard]

[Her head spines pop up when he speaks, almost not expecting someone to have responded to her. She wouldn't be surprised if she was just out here, watching the waves forever and had lost track of time. But Alphys is pleased to see it's him, giving Adam a smile.]

I know, r-right? I mean, I've read about it, and seen it touch the horizon in, uhm, in shows, but... really being here. It's something different.

[It occurs to her then, and she looks towards him.]

Is this your first time, uhm, s=seeing the ocean too?

[unknowable]

[He smiles in return, careful but genuine.]

Yeah. It wasn't really that far from where I lived - a few hours by car, I guess? But I never got to go. I had work, or school, or no car and no reason.

[And honestly, he didn't think about it that much. It looked cool in movies and TV shows, but nothing worth going so far out of his way for. Now he's reconsidering that, because this - the immensity of it, the far horizon, the blue water - is actually a little overwhelming.]

It's... kind of intense. Makes me wonder what's down there.

[sciencelizard]

[It's kind of nice, to know even humans don't have all of this knowledge or anything like that either. That there's still new things to find, even for people who've lived in this world for so long.]

Well, who knows how deep it is, really, it's... there's n-no way of knowing.

[At least that's familiar. Maybe not in a good way.]

I, uhm... there was a big waterfall, where I lived, that went into a cavern no one could see the b-bottom of. I used to think about what was there all the time. Where the water might go.

[unknowable]

Especially here. For all we know, it's water all the way through the planet.

[Which should really not be scientifically possible, but given the weird magic of the gods and everything they've faced here, Adam would not be so terribly surprised to discover that was true.]

Did anyone ever find out? Where the water went, I mean?

[Drained from the bottom somehow, Adam would guess, but he has a scientific mind. After everything, he knows that's not how it always is. He's sure Alphys knows plenty of things that he doesn't, too.

He sort of misses school.]

[sciencelizard]

[She looks like she's buzzing for a second at the thought of an entirely surface tension held water world, but his second question sweeps that away. Well, she did, in a sense. But not in one he wants to hear, she's sure. She'll make it nice foe him.]

No, n-not really. It, uh... it probably went to the ocean, but. I always sort of hoped it was a portal to another world. Something-- somewhere else, where everything was different. And then I ended up here anyway, I guess, so!

[She thinks she was right, anyway. Provided she hit the bottom before she got here.]

[unknowable]

[He glances at her, picking up on the change in mood. Adam's always been observant about that kind of thing - he's had to be. But he doesn't press it, because he doesn't know why it happened. Just that maybe that was the wrong question somehow.]

That's a nice thought. Or a bad one, I guess, depending on how much you like the world you're in. I wouldn't have minded a portal when I was at home. Sometimes, anyway.

[Not that it was all bad. But a lot of it was.]

It's interesting to think about.

[sciencelizard]

[She gives a little chuckle, reaching over her head and smoothing down her spines like someone might put a hand through their hair.]

I always thought it would be k-kind of exciting, you know? Like a show, where, I'd end up somewhere else and become the protagonist and s-save the world. But it's, uh... it's harder to live it. This wasn't the adventure I thought, I guess.

[Could have been the one she needed, though.]

I guess it must be hard for anime characters to be so happy all the t-time on their journey, too. But it's easier when you know the ending.

ii.

[whip_poor_will]

She appears from the shadows. A shifting, rolling blackness that dances from rock to air, turning into a familiar tall, dark woman dressed in red and black.

Alphys may have caught the last of Ravine's entrance, or maybe all of it. She's been shifting from place to place on the islands, exploring the confined lands on this sad little planet.

Soon, she steps towards Alphys. They are not strangers, but Ravine is aware that this little monster lizard has the nerves of a salt shaker -- real trembly and losing more of it as she goes along.

"Do you need anything?" Ravine offers with genuine politeness, despite her unsettling arrival.

[sciencelizard]

Alphys has tried to get used to Ravine just popping in out of nowhere. It's not horribly unusual- Sans could teleport, and she got used to that- but also, this still looks more like something's coming to attack her. But she does tilt her head when she sees it out of the corner of her eye, head spines alert but certainly not bolting, and visibly relaxes with a drop to her shoulders when she recognizes who it is.

"H-Hey, Ravine." Alphys gives her a little wave, hand moving to rub the back of her neck. "It's, uh, it's just kind of-- complicated? Trying to figure out how to get home."

[whip_poor_will]

Sadly, Ravine can't dial down a lot of her creep factors. It's all the more reason for her to come off as least threatening as possible -- a task easier said than done, given her stature.

"Is there anything specific that you need? I am capable of transporting things from one place to another. Living things as well, though the experience can be... overwhelming for those who are not used to the method."

The last thing she wants is to accidentally drop someone in the Dead Zone who can't handle the trip.

[sciencelizard]

Yeah, the Dead Zone might kind of be a lot. Not that Alphys hasn't technically been dead at least once, maybe twice. Not that she really wants to repeat that experience.

"Well, uh-- mostly I was trying to get my computer and stuff, but I have a bunch of pets there, a-and I'm not sure if my roommate is, uh, home." Or if she's in any state to do anything with islands suddenly being a thing. "She hasn't picked up her phone, so..."

[whip_poor_will]

Knowing full well how Alphys can be, Ravine opts out of carting the other through the Dead Zone. She's jumpy enough as is.

"Oh, do your pets need care?" Ravine suddenly perks up. "I may tend to them in your absence, if you wish. Although I cannot say the same for your roommate."

Finding people isn't really her thing. Not that she can't do it, she just doesn't want to. Sorry.

[sciencelizard]

She brightens in turn, looking more hopeful than she has previously. "Yes! That would be amazing, I mean-- n-not about Rosie, but, if you could. There should be plenty of, uhm, food for them, I just-- you know. C-Can't get there."

Alphys smiles at the other woman, hands knitted together. "I'll find some way to make it up to you, I promise."

[whip_poor_will]

"It is absolutely no problem, I assure you."

Funny. Nick Valentine also seemed inclined to be indebted to her goodwill. It isn't something Ravine is used to hearing, but she shakes her head.

"And do not worry about that. It is not like you knew you would be marooned on separate islands on this planet." Even if Alphys did vote for it. But then, so did Ravine.

[sciencelizard]

Well, she did, but she was imagining like one island, not four of them. This wasn't something she had pictured being an issue. As ususal, the Gods find ways to surprise them.

"Well, yeah, b-but I mean-- you're still doing something for me. So if there's anything I can, uhm, d-do for you, I will!" She doesn't want to be a mooch, after all. "There's a nug, a fox, and three cats. Oh, and Rosie's wolf, if she's not there."