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ximilialog2022-08-05 11:19 am
- ! event log,
- doctor who: river song,
- fear street: ziggy berman,
- fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- marvel comics: gwen stacy,
- mcu: natasha romanoff,
- mcu: peter quill,
- naruto: kakashi hatake,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- supernatural: dean winchester,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the old guard: andromache,
- the untamed: wei wuxian,
- the witcher: yennefer of vengerberg,
- towards the terra: soldier blue,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: WISH FULL, PART 1
● ● ● M I S S I O N 8 . 1
After two weeks of much-needed rest, there is once again the unmistakable ping of the earpieces, alerting the team to a new file — and before most of you will be able to read through the file, Viveca’s voice interrupts you.
I’ll see you on the platform tomorrow morning, so go pack your things… just not anything that’ll rust.
She ends her speech there, and then the comms go silent, allowing you to get a better handle for the new mission file and to start packing. Whatever it is you do to prepare — whether it’s training intensely, sleeping the day away, or focusing on what to take with you — you still have a bit of time.
The next morning, it is not just Viveca but Degar, too, waiting for the team on the teleportation platform. The hum of the machine is loud as always, but not quite enough to drown out Degar’s voice.
Just close your eyes and try to imagine your fishiest form, and I guarantee you’ll blend in with the rest of the Xrisora just fine. Good luck everyone.
The golden light of the spell mingles with the bright white from the teleportation machine, bathing you in what resembles the first rays of morning sun. You’re sent off to a chorus of murmuring voices, barely discernible except for the words whispering your personally catered goal—
And before you so much as open your mouth to respond, you can feel it: a splash of cold that feels almost welcome as you breathe in the water that surrounds you, feel the oxygen from it go through the gills you now have.
Welcome to Qruria City, orbers.
In front of you, the mighty gates to Qruria City rise up, carved into the rocks of the ocean floor, shaped by years and years of sea currents. Behind them, you can peek at the tops of lotus-pod-like buildings amidst gently swaying seaweeds and corals that climb up on the sides of the buildings. Grains of sand move underneath your legs, or tails, or perhaps both — as from around the gates, two guards come forward, one a shark merman, one a woman with the lower body of a shrimp.
You nod — and so do some others around you, and that seems to be enough for Xriom.
With those words, the gates creak open, letting you swim into the city.
1.0 A series of tall, dark grey twisting towers carved and created from sedimentary rock form a border around lush park-space full of brightly coloured flora that can be found draped across the queendom and its structures like a living blanket. Nestled into crevices and shrouded in coral and plant-life are a series of market places and residences, large swaths of farmland, and places where any citizen of Qruria can thrive in their day-to-day life. The queendom is large and there is plenty to explore, with friendly faces to greet you as you pass them by. All you need to do is … do a little swimming to get there.
The entertainment district is cluttered with underwater grotto taverns, stages for singing, dancing, and gatherings. These spaces are lit by way of bioluminescence, blossoms that have become permanent fixtures and begin to glow the moment the waters become dark. They do lend themselves to creating a certain mood.
Just past the taverns and performance centres are stalls and shops selling simple, practical, and beautiful items: garments, pottery crafted from hollowed out shells and coral, jewelry. You may walk past a stall selling beautiful, luminous necklaces made out of flaming pixie cups — these sparkling plants are bright like diamonds, and famous for imbuing their wearer with a feeling of happiness if worn for over one hour. There are herbalists selling healing tonics and medicines; and just past these shops, cafes and restaurants. Some are no more than holes in rocky caverns, but others are up high in lotus-pod-like structures sitting on top of rock pedestals, grand and famous with large dining halls and sparkling dinnerware promising you the meal of your life.
Beyond the pomp and the circumstance are quiet farmlands where mer-farmers keep their herds of Zavos, caring for them. You might instantly recognize some of these creatures simply by consulting the bestiary that is downloaded into your communications device the moment you arrive in Qruria.
2.0 Even from afar, the royal palace is a sight to behold: made from a marble-like material much more refined than the roughly-hewn towers past the palace’s walls, the structure seems to glimmer as the water currents circle around it, with spires that stretch towards the water’s surface, the entire palace area is lit with bioluminescent-powered lamps. It’s a must-see for any tourist from out of town, and certainly for any foreigner, and some areas of the palace itself are also open to the public with designated tours free to join.
If you join one of these tours, you’ll be led past the entrance gates and into a courtyard (one of many, and one of the few open to the public to view). Depending on the time of day, you may also catch sight of the Queen’s guard training by the barracks with long silver spears in hand. They look fierce, and their weapons look sharp. And while most of the tour is in the service of viewing the architecture and understanding how the royal family live their lives behind the palace’s gates, on the very rare occasion, you might sight the small royal princess swimming past a row of columns, giggling and chasing after her sea dragonling; or making a concerted effort to hide from whatever lessons she’s meant to be in that day.
3.0 There are a variety of different species of fish that also share the city space with the xrisora — a school of mackerel that move around in a synchronized cloud; whales that drift above the city, casting shadows onto the buildings … and even larger creatures, bioluminescent markings on their skin, swimming slowly towards the surface. Some xrisora stop and bow to their direction whenever they are seen.
One species of sea creature, one that faintly resembles a plesiosaur, sticks mostly to hiding behind rocks and coral reefs, shying away from the xrisora and the orbers… except for one of them. It sways its head back and forth as orbers swim past, as if sensing something — and when it sees Finn, Peter, Daisy or Clarke, it makes chirping noises and starts to swim around them, clearly excited.
4.0 As you wander — perhaps seeming a little lost or a little bored, maybe — you hear a little something that sounds suspiciously like pspsps. Looking around you don't see anything, at least not right away. But, then a sprigtly looking little guy bubbles up directly in front of you.
He's a fast talker and an even faster swimmer. He circles around you, no matter if you're still or moving.
There is no card.
Where, exactly, is this place? Well, if you watch him swim away, you'll be able to spot a small stall in the distance, in the city but right along the edge of it. If you miss it, you can inquire about it to be pointed in the right direction by any passerby. And once you visit him, he'll make an offer promising great rewards.
5.0 There is a different kind of excitement that can be felt all across the queendom of Qruria City, a feeling of anticipation that bubbles and gurgles in the hearts and gills of every citizen. Twinkling bioluminescent lights are hung like streamers across archways and around pillars of coral and limestone. Bright flags made of different coloured kelp wave and flutter with the current. Shops have started to pull out thematic wares — crowns and flowers, preciously crafted jewelry, small glowing sticks of light, iridescent fabric meant to drape over one's shoulders, or around one's waist all in celebration of something that unifies the whole of the queendom.
If asked what it is that calls for the occasion, one of the xrisora will cheerfully exclaim, “The festival, of course!” before they carry on. The festival they speak of is the Caerulea Festival, and it is the one time of the year when the light from the surface stretches its reach, touching the ocean floor and bathing Qruria with its bright glow.
Some might ask for your help in putting out the finishing touches to the fronts of homes or the frontages of a store. Or, depending on how buoyant they may seem, an excited xrisora might drape a free chain made of small shiny shells around your neck, or weave little corals into your hair.
You’ll find that the energy is the same across the city. Find a way to be helpful if you can, or simply find a place to sit and float, watch as the city around you is transformed throughout the week in anticipation for this festival of light.
6.0 In the middle of the City, there is a protected ‘park’ of sorts, a cluster of coral and plant-life in every colour one can imagine. With tendrils of gold, blooms of bright pink, and curling stems of blue and green, some multi-coloured, others a solid deep shade of its chosen hue, this ocean’s forest will be the main attraction of the Caerulea Festival, the best vantage point for the reach of the surface’s light. A stage with the delicate texture of a giant clam-shell has been set at one end with the park as its backdrop, and it is here that a congregation of xrisora have gathered to hear the Queen speak just a little before nature performs her very best number of the year.
She swims towards the stage in a gauzy gown of pale violet that compliments the greenish hue of her skin and shimmers with each motion of the water’s current or her own movement, her guard and handmaidens trailing behind her in straight lines. Each one of them is adorned and decorated in coral and pearl and jewels not unlike the Queen’s.
7.0 If you haven’t already been roped into joining in the festivities, you’ll find yourself wanting to do so on your own accord. With stalls and shops open to browse, new foods to try, and music being played all across the city on small sound-stages and in the city’s square, it’s already too difficult to resist, and it would be a shame not to take part. Even under the water, the smell of warm food manages to waft its way into your senses, with market stalls that offer an assortment of savoury platters and sweet delights in bright and appetizing colours of pink and red and rich warm brown. The shops you may have swam past earlier seem brighter and more energetic with their wares and vendors beckon you to try a shawl or look closer at some of the jewelry pieces. At every corner of the city, there are small groups of musicians and dancers twirling with the water’s current, singing beautiful songs that have a hopeful energy to them. It doesn’t take long before the tune is stuck in your head, easy enough to follow along, daring you to sing aloud. If you want to, performers are more than happy to rope you in and let you join them.
You are not the only foreigners who have come to Qruria City for the Festival either. You’ll find during your explorations that the city feels fuller now, with more people in the city’s streets and hanging around the shops.
8.0 After the main event, Queen Xephia opens a large gala that is expected to last until the next morning. The city’s centre is transformed into a space for dancing, singing, and merriment with musical acts that span from energetic ditties, and big band numbers to slower, calmer ballads that sing of love lost, or love regained again. They are tunes of hope and longing and discovery, and the melodies are not unlike the ones you might have heard earlier … only now there is a larger, more unified gathering. As the waters become darker and evening settles, more and more lights begin to glitter around the kingdom, reflected in the flora and the water itself. It transforms Qruria as though she has become a completely different city, but the feeling of awe and magic never wavers.
All manner of fish-folk can find a partner here, whether it’s someone they might know already, or seek someone new. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to learn about the different cultures on Xrisora, and perhaps in your own way learn clues about the possible whereabouts of the orb while you’re at it.
The next morning, you may be slow to rise after an entire day of festivities … or maybe you’re one of the partiers that haven’t even had a wink of sleep yet, dancing until your fins ache and until the rays of sunlight start to slowly filter through the water again, cascading like falling stars.
This magical calm is broken by the clanging of alarm bells in the palace, the sound reverberating through the city, soundwaves echoing from large bells so low you can almost feel their vibrations.
The closer to the palace you go, the more you find it to be in complete chaos: guards swimming to and fro, barely even paying attention to the early visitors.
Before you think to ask what exactly it is they are searching for, you see the king himself, swimming out into the palace entrance. A small sea dragonling swims around his head in rapid circles.
It is this shocking announcement that ends the merriment of the festival in one swift strike, the information traveling from one onlooker to another — Queen Xephia and Princess Xoria are missing.
F Y I
• If you have questions about any of the prompts or the mission in general, please direct them HERE.
• To submit a search request regarding exploring a specific place or speaking to an NPC, please do so HERE.
• To sign up for a quest, please do so HERE. Characters will get the choice of two quests that Levi has prepared for them, and after hearing the first one, can ask to hear the second if they don’t like the first. One character may sign up for multiple quests. Quests can be done in pairs or larger groups.
• Take note of the bestiary that is downloaded into the communications device the moment characters arrive in Qruria. It is accessible to all orbers, and will update as the mission progresses.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
w i l d c a r d | 🌺🌻🌷
After convincing them otherwise, he played with the little things until they got tired and left. Peter is now resting on his belly with the large fins of his manta ray body spread over the rocks at his sides. A large shadow moves above him, and once he gets over his surprise, the guardian spends some time admiring the giant whales that drift above the city.
All in all, he's simply relaxing now and wouldn't mind another distraction. It's why when he spots Aleksander swimming nearby, Peter throws a small conch shell at him to get his attention and then uses one of his fins to wave. ]
Ey, hi! Whatcha doing? Need any help?
no subject
But he's still out here, one hand trailing over the blooming flowers.]
I was looking at the flowers. [A flick of his own tail brings him closer to Peter's flat body, the span of his... wings casting long shadows along the ocean floor.] And trying to remember if any of them were poisonous, actually.
no subject
The flora on this planet is very pretty. I've heard some have healing properties. The ted herloks are poisonous. They're listed in that bestiary file Viveca gave us. They're the big, yellow plants that look like beach balls.
[ Peter lifts his upper body from the stone, so he's at eye level with Aleksander instead of staying sprawled like a lazy cat. Green eyes admire Aleksander's new form, going from the man's beard to the curve of his tail and smiling upon seeing the red accents. ]
You look great. everyone has such pretty tails or fins, and I'm stuck like this. [ The blond waves a hand around, gesturing to his fins. They're sturdy looking but also smooth. ] Looking like a sea pancake.
no subject
Remembers Peter, face in the wind and the heavy pollution, handing his only protection to him, before taking him somewhere safe.
In ways he cannot explain, Peter talks about being weak as if it's simply a fact of life. When Aleksander's own weakness burns and stings, is hidden and buried deep inside.
Nodding along, he let's the flower float to the surface.]
I did see that. I was trying to see how much I remembered without consulting it. But- [The secret smile slips in, replacing the polite one he usually wears. It's wider, less pretty but it is real.] I have you. Help me?
[Before the breaking out in a laugh.] Oh- you're a pretty pancake, Peter. You even choose to wear clothes.
[Unlike Aleksander, who took one look at his flicking tail and opted to stay naked. Or, as naked as a half-fish could claim to be. His scars barely visible against his pale skin, small lines criss-crossing over his chest and down his back. Knotted scar tissue to the back of his hand and on a shoulder blade.]
no subject
Oh, like an applied student. Smart. I memorized some of the plants' names using rhymes in my head or I associated them with other things. A bit of a childish method of learning, perhaps, but useful. The flaming pixie cuts look like light bulbs.
[ He nods at the question, not having to be told twice before he moves closer. Then he's playfully pushing at Aleksande's arm and smiling. ]
A pretty pancake? That's a good compliment. And it felt weird not to wear anything. I miss having pockets to carry my gadgets in, but wearing a jacket would have been too much.
[ This is the most naked Peter has ever seen him, and his eyes look over the scales, fins, and curves of Aleksander's body. Respectfully, of course. Or...mostly respectfully. Peter's got eyes and he's only human, all right. The scar tissue on Aleksander's shoulder gets noticed. While curious about it, he doesn't bring it up to attention, like he didn't ask Rocket about the mess of scars on his back when he first saw them. They are a very personal thing and often associated with unpleasant memories. He doesn't want to trouble Aleksander now. ]
So, we're going flower picking? In that case, me wearing clothes might help, I can use them to carry the flowers.
no subject
[Because all he brought was a basket, but some of the flora might be poisonous or irritate his scales when he held it too close to his side, swimming from one row of pretty flowers to the next.
The personal mission had been an easy one - find flora. But what if it mattered which ones he brought back?
Would a poisonous one be held against him, and his constant reminder of just how little patience Viveca would have with him glints around his wrist.]
But that also means you will have to wear my flowers until we're back at the station. Picking these- [He gestures with the flower in his hand] is my personal mission.
[Admitting to that, to any truth that might mean something, was hard. Not being a secret and deep-felt passion for ocean flowers, but because there were personal missions dedicated to ruining others.
He should know.]
Perhaps the station needs a bit more color since I was asked for this.
no subject
[ The thing is, he does have good ideas from time to time, or crazy ones that are strange enough to work, but not everyone pays attention to him. Especially not his team. Oh, well. ]
I don't mind being your porter and helping you out with the goal. [ He is well aware that Aleksander is not a man who has an easy time asking for help, even when it comes to simple things, so he appreciates it. Peter returns the show of trust in kind. ] Mine is pretty simple this time around, I need to confess to a teammate my greatest wish. Which is to see my girlfriend and my team again, so...there we go, goal accomplished.
[ It's never been easier, truly. Mostly because Peter didn't consider his greatest wish to be anything secret or that he wouldn't want to talk about. It helps that he trusts Aleksander with this too, he doesn't think the other man will make fun of him for such a sentimental wish. ]
It can't hurt, no. It's so white and clean. A bit too much.
no subject
Yet.
[Peter's goal - the greenskinned woman, the fierceness of her still memorable in his mind from seeing her memories of Peter a long time ago- and he hadn't seen her on the station in months.
It's a slow realisation, creeping up on him in the silence between them--]
I see.
[His own goals, his own rewards and all his nights, all the lazy mornings, spent wrapped around Alina. Head pillowed against her chest or with his face pressed in to the fragrante tendrils of her hair, the stalk cold that slipped between them on the train mission and the quiet that came after.
The loss that Peter might have suffered.
Not that Aleksander cares, all that matters is Grisha - his own happiness and his own weak wants were nothing in the face of saving them all.
But
What if
The question that burned so hot in the dead of night, slipping in in the dark and sprawling through his dreams--]
She... left. I didn't know- [Fins fluttering, he swims closer. A slow move until he can place a hand on Peter's arm.] I am sorry.
no subject
Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll try to keep a perfect record.
[ Gamora disappeared while they were in Scorpion's Bend, which is another of the reasons why Peter hates that damned mission. He mentioned it back to a couple of people, mainly Jim and Finn, but didn't talk about it that much. Everyone was feeling depressed after how the mission ended, they all carried some sort of burden. Now he watches the realization dawn on Aleksander's face, and Peter's own smile fades, the bunny-like ears that he sports on his head dropping a little as well. ]
It's...okay. It was some time ago, I'm managing a little better now.
[ His voice can't quite mask the hurt of thinking about Gamora, and the veracity of Peter's statement could be easily put into question if Aleksander pressed the issue. If Peter is honest with himself, he doesn't think that losing her will ever stop hurting. When a comforting hand is placed on his shoulder, Peter lets out a slow sight, even though they are underwater, and offers a small smile in return. ]
Thanks, Aleks. That means a lot.
no subject
[He cannot imagine what Peter might feel, having the woman come to the station and for her to vanish again.
But he's seen loss mirrored on the faces of other orbers, on the faces of parents and loved ones after each battle in Ravka. Has seen the almost flawless simile of it on his mother's face (mama, madraya) too many times to count.
And his own eyes drop, jaw tensing with this almost-understood emotion.]
That makes it seem so banal. Managing. If you need anything- [open-ended on purpose, his grip firm on Peter's shoulder before he lets go.] I will be here.
[He is eternal, and his own feelings about Scorpion's bend are dual. The dizzying elation and the plummeting fall of realization.
Not that the mission on the train or the one to Viveca's world ended much better.
For him.]
So. Tell me the plan to get me the flowers that I need- should we make them in to something wearable, since I will need to bring them back with me. And the only way I've found to do that, is to touch it.
no subject
You're right, it's...it's not the best word. [ Peter averts his eyes, looking down at their point of contact, but nods before Aleksander has finished. ] I appreciate it. If I ever need to talk to a friend, I'll come to you, I promise.
[ The reply is sincere, and Peter's chest hurts a bit less after saying the words. It's like whatever metaphorical thing has been squeezing his chest and suffocating him for so long has eased a little. Going back to talk about the flowers is a welcome change of subject, and the fins on Peter's head resume their usual upright position. ]
Oh, yes, absolutely. We can do flower crowns or collars! It would make carrying the flowers much easy. And you could also give them to other members of the crew and make sure they, too, bring them back to the station.
[ Wouldn't Alina look pretty with a flower frown made of yellow flowers? Peter needs to make one for Aleksander. Maybe a crown of white flowers, something that pops out against his dark colors. ]