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

Wildcard: South Island (maybe mid-event/June?)

[circumitus]

Most of the time Rey is at the Speakeasy. With her house just across the water, she has nowhere else to sleep, anyway.

On the beachline overlooking the West Island, Rey sits on one of the basalt columns, one foot planted on the lower rocky column while her left is propped up on another, tapping furiously over the slightly more elevated pillar. She watches the tides roll in and out down the shores, brow creased and hand pressed to her mouth as she haunches forward in a rather relaxed (but cantankerous) position. While the winds are unkind and the climate is as chilly as it's ever been, she still appears as underdressed for the weather as always.

The waters don't look very friendly, but Rey can't take her mind off the distance. If she's careful, if she puts her memories of the past women she had been to work, the space between the islands doesn't even pose a real challenge.

"Could probably swim it," she mutters to herself, eyes locked on the rapid, rolling waves.

Maybe not, but when has bad ideas ever stopped her?

[hot_mes]

On this particular day Law is actually mapping things out, mentally, testing to find the closest points on all the islands so that if he has to Shambles himself over to one, he knows the quickest route. The southernmost island doesn't have very much that he's interested in, but, you know. Due diligence and all that. He passes by to hear Rey muttering to herself and diverts down closer.

"What's the matter?" he wonders. "Stuck?"

[circumitus]

Other than the Speakeasy, there isn't much going for the southernmost island. Some people's homes are here, sure, but beyond the temples and the sliver of foggytown, there's very little reason to come here.

When Law approaches, only Rey's eyes dart towards him. She remains as pensive now as she was before.

"Not technically. Was thinking about swimming. Nick would probably be pissed, though."

She can already see the disapproving scowl on his robot face.

[hot_mes]

"It's a bit far." Not that he can talk since he can't swim at all, but that's neither here nor there - and Law's already mentioned that to way too many people. He hops down a couple of rock-levels and stands looking out at the sea, breathing deeply of the salt air like he can't get enough.

"Do you want to get over there?"

[circumitus]

"Have swam farther."

Granted, with her strength and fortitude, Rey can last much longer than most would. If she had half a mind, she would see just how far out she could make it.

Nick had a point about what could be out there, though. There's no telling what sort of aquatic life exists on this planet.

She sighs, scratching the side of her neck as she thinks. "Maybe. Not really. Don't know." She grunts. "Would just be nice not having the whole city divided like this. It's fucking bullshit."

[hot_mes]

Hands in his pockets, Law just shrugs. He can easily tell what's down there, and while there's no sharks immediately in the vicinity at the moment, that could change at any moment. "It is what it is. I don't care one way or the other, but then, I can go anywhere I want at any time."

He glances over at Rey where she is. "The one thing I haven't seen on any of the islands is this stuff about the Door. Sorrow suggested something would be here, and it's not."

[circumitus]

At that reveal, Rey can only scoff. "Lucky you. Guess that's one way of getting around."

Too bad the gods hadn't taken that into consideration before the move, but the gods rarely think about people's needs ahead of time like they care.

The mention of the Door has Rey's eyes darting towards Law again.

"Maybe it's somewhere underwater." Wouldn't that be a trip.

[hot_mes]

Law hasn't really offered anyone a ride, yet, but by now surely others have seen him popping between the eastern and west-central islands. If Rey really needed to get off this one, he'd be glad to shift her across that narrow strait between the two islands. She gets his nice side.

Underwater. For a flash of a moment there's trepidation on Law's face (it's entirely the swimming problem) but then it's replaced by a keen sense of interest, almost thrill. "If it's underwater," he says cautiously, "we'll need a submarine. Shame I can't build one, but I can captain one."

It would mean not having to make weeks-long journeys out to see (aww) but on the other hand, where the hell are they going to get a submarine?

[circumitus]

At first Rey starts to ask if Law has some Navy experience, but then she remembers.

Yeah, right. Pirate. Of course he has some experience with traveling across large bodies of water. But now she's curious about something else.

"You have experience with actual submarines?" She almost sounds impressed. "Who knows, it might be on the agenda soon, since it's not like Tranquility's mopeds are going to be much use here. Subs would be a step up, anyway."

Everything isn't so far apart anymore on the islands themselves, and Tranquility has provided them with means of faster transportation in order to retrieve Hope's orbs.

[hot_mes]

He can't stop the smirk at all this time. "My ship, the Polar Tang, is a submarine," he admits. He hasn't missed it quite as painfully as other parts of his life but man, wouldn't it be great to have it right now? "It wouldn't be practical for use among the islands here, but for longer journeys, well."

Sinking down below the surface to hunt for ruins and the information on the Door is the only good reason to have one in the city-islands. Otherwise, he's ready to get out there and explore, find other islands. Neither mopeds nor the hooded bikes will help them here, anymore.

[circumitus]

Rey inclines forward in her position a little, getting a better look at the waves crashing against the rocky shores before her.

"Won't lie, it would be nice see what's down there. Or, hell, even farther out. Sorrow said this planet had structures and artifacts from his species that survived the Null's attacks." She glances to Law at that. "Don't suppose you've been able to find anything of note when hopping around these islands at least?"

That's what Rey would be doing if she were able.

[hot_mes]

He shakes his head, just once. "Nothing we don't already know. These four islands only contain the same city we've been in all this time." He shifts his gaze away, past the strait between islands and out to the open ocean. "Sorrow's information is what made me choose this place, as well. I want to find what he was talking about. If it's out there, on another island, we'll need a ship anyway. A real one," he adds, a bit grouchily, "not some raft someone pieces together from scrap. Something seaworthy."

[circumitus]

The mere mention of that last comment makes Rey wince internally. If someone is going to be so stupid as to travel by a measly raft on a planet of 92% water, they deserve whatever comes to them.

"Mm, so whatever he was talking about is probably somewhere out there." What a pain. "The chances of these islands being the only eight percent of land on this planet sounds like a stretch. Traveling might be next on the agenda, but it can't hurt to be prepared, anyway."

[hot_mes]

"I agree." Only eight percent, huh? "The land to sea ratio is eerily similar to my home world, which means there are far more islands out there, and easier to reach than you'd think. It will still take work, but it's not an insurmountable obstacle." He flashes her a quick smirk, there and gone again. "Not when there's enough of us who know the ocean."

He was still finding them, here and there, rearing their heads where he least expected. Curufin's craft doesn't suck but it's going to take more effort to build something that will get them out there.

[circumitus]

"Sounds like it's a good time to be a pirate."

Rey isn't, but she has enough experience with the sea and open waters to know how to navigate. One of her old selves even died in the ocean once, but that was so long ago that it's just a memory now, and not something so traumatic that she fears getting her feet wet again. She's let bad experiences ruin enough parts of her life and she won't let it make herself less useful.

[hot_mes]

"It is," he concedes. "Finally, my other skills are in demand." Or will be, if he has anything to say about it. He'll need a navigator, so finding out that information will get Rey a spot in his crew when he forms it.

Law stretches his arms a bit and then glances back over at her. "So. Are you intent on staying here, or trying to swim? I was about to head back over there."

[circumitus]

Being a soldier girl has given Rey plenty of navigation skills. Not everyone is cut out for it, but when you're someone with an attention and memory like Rey's, you catch on quick. She just nods at that thought.

When Law talks about leaving, Rey pauses a moment to think, scratching the side of her neck. Now that he mentions it...

"Well, it would be nice to pick up some stuff from the orchards and gardens to help distill more liquor. It's about the one thing keeping me sane right now."

God, she hates idle hands.

[hot_mes]

"Orchard's on the eastern island." Law thumbs over his shoulder at the other landmass in the near distance. They're closer to the west at the moment. "I suppose I could take a detour to drop you off. Or, if you want to come with me to the west, we can walk to the point where the two islands are closest and I can send you over."

See, he can be helpful when he wants to be. Besides, Rey's good people and more booze is best. The only thing he can't do, unless she calls him on the phone, is get her back to the Speakeasy.

[circumitus]

Well, Law would know better about what's where than Rey. She doesn't have any special ability to get from one place to another in a blink.

And she thinks ahead when considering Law's offer.

"What about getting back? Don't suppose you could help with that as well."

It's one thing if she's just swimming, but carrying other things across the water without a boat is an even bigger pain that Rey doesn't want to entertain right now.

[hot_mes]

Well...

"I suppose," he sighs like it's going to be such an imposition. "But I'm not waiting around. Call me when you're done and I'll head over and bring you back."