( october event log pt. 2 )

[hohnkai]

Who: Everyone
When: October 19th into the beginning of November.
Where: The Mini Colony of the Runoff & the Moira.
What: The Moira stops to resupply at the closest planet and things get weird.
Warnings: Physical transformations, phobias - please label if needed.

E V E N T L O G

Between the Perspectives "but in your future, the you i see is exactly the person you always wanted to be." Supplies have been loaded onto the ship, and the captains have encouraged all crew members to explore with the added notice that this will be the last planetary stop (hopefully) until the Moira reaches the Midway Hub. While seemingly uneventful on the Moira, the mini colony has been thrumming with adventure and has offered its visitors the opportunity to explore. To those who have indulged, some experienced great changes and others discovered enlightening information about the Ingress and the very ship some have called home for over a year. Later in the month, the Lamaria hold the closing ceremony of the Desiderium Festival (which was noted on the prior event log) . The burgundy and lime colors of the celebration slowly fade into black and vermillion, and small fires are now in place for visitors to throw their written notes into. Everyone who participates will be blessed by one of the Lamaria (they will visit the ship as well), and the MID will be able to only translate bits and pieces of what this blessing means. "Experienced loss — every story is different — and saying goodbye — not to know — understanding lies in the mingling of holding on and letting go." ☄ TRANSFORMATION CENTRAL For some, it might be due to a touch or a look. For others, it might not be any of those things at all, and something that just happens. Either way, shortly after the blessing occurs, you will find yourself changing. Your character’s body will slowly transform into the physical likeness of another being on the Mini Colony. The effects of this change may last as short as a day or as long as a week, but each come with their own stipulations—advantages and disadvantages. This is limited to one as the blessing itself only allows for “a little understanding”. Linked below are some of the possible transformations that your character can go through. Players can choose either one of the mod-supplied suggestions or choose the form of another already living on the Moira. ☄ THE FEAR MACHINE Paranoia writes the checks, we're dangling here like a marionette. Here we go again, the world is coming to an end. Engage the fear machine and collect the dividends. While the festival is beautiful, and some have found enlightenment and understanding here, there are those on the mini colony who don't enjoy the festivities. In a secluded room on the fifth floor in one of the buildings in the Science District, there is one such person who finds the religious festival to be a nuisance—one who should be stopped. Thinking that disrupting the blessings and celebration will somehow "get back" at the Lamaria for impeding their work (some of those who have transformed got into the building a few years ago and destroyed this person's property). Pettiness thrives, and they create something they dub The Fear Machine. Yet, while the science is sound, the technology itself is not. In the middle of the mini colony, the machine is set off, and bolts of transparent energy erupt and spark out around it, stretching as far as the docked ships. Since the technology wasn't created properly to sustain the energy, it doesn't spread out evenly like they had hoped. Some are hit. Some are not. Those who are will develop a sudden and overwhelming phobia that will last well into the beginning of November. The machine might be turned off and left behind, but the obsessive fear has only just begun. ( ooc; For questions, go here. This log will run into the beginning of November; any threads here can be claimed for bonus activity the following activity check as well. )

Comments

[mylawn]

[76 would much rather not have a pack at all, which is probably why he's so irritable in the first place--he hasn't quite figured out that the thing he is does much, much better in a group. It's likely his own internal conflict isn't too different from Snake's, that is, he's so used to being on his own, that anything else is uncomfortable, even if he has a whole new set of instincts telling him it shouldn't be. It's just confusing enough to make him dangerous.

So when Snake hits the ground and matches his threat display, that's all it takes. He's circling, snarling, and then in one swift motion, he launches himself at the other creature.]

[soldiergenes]

[ It's not like Snake had come here looking for a fight, but isn't that often the case? No matter what he does, he always ends up in one anyway. This is different from what had happened with Liquid, where he'd been aiming to aggressively dissuade his brother from snacking on people to sate his unnatural hunger. No, this is little more than a fight for dominance, something territorial and hardly rational.

All the same, Snake doesn't plan to run with his tail between his legs either. He finds himself pinned before he's actually able to react, his much larger and heavier body hitting the ground hard after that tackle. He's got quick reaction time, though, and lifts his head and shoulders with pure strength (despite the fact that he's got a whole other body on top of him) to snap at the other erant's neck.

His fangs might graze skin, though for now he isn't aiming to do any real damage. It's a warning more than anything else, but that could quickly change if 76 doesn't relent. ]

[mylawn]

[Yeah, this could have gone better.

But it’s far too late for that, mostly because 76 is too far gone, the instinct to fight overtaking anything else. It’s not much different from how he usually is, but the added stress of the transformation and the fact that he hasn’t been around others of his current kind has tipped him over the edge.

Luckily, it seems these space werewolves are built for these kinds of fights, thick ruff of fur warding off the brunt of Snake’s fangs. The feeling of having sharp teeth so close to such a vulnerable area, however, doesn’t exactly do much for his rationality. Now that they’re in such close quarters, he tries to roll them, keep from getting bowled over and putting himself on top.]

[soldiergenes]

[ It could have gone much better.

As things stand, though, the warning is only met with more aggression. Any reasonable reaction flies out the window, replaced with a blinding wave of aggression. 76 is still able to get the upper hand, partly because their strength is well-matched in their current forms, and so Snake can only do so much to prevent being rolled over. That immediately puts him on the defensive, as he continues to snap at the air to keep 76 from getting too close.

At the same time, he draws his legs up as far as he can and then kicks upward with a rough growl, aiming clawed feet for 76's gut. If he's able to push him off, maybe he can get this fight back onto equal footing. ]

[mylawn]

[76 is relentless, but it’s clear that a good deal of his tactical mind has gone out the window in favor of what’s become a territorial dispute or outright display of dominance. All he really cares about is being the one to come out on top, and all of the stress and anxiety from his earlier transformation fuels irrational thought. It’s all claws and teeth and no regard for leaving himself open.

Which Snake takes advantage of, booting him in the stomach and sending him rolling off. He scrabbles to right himself, hopefully before the follow-up attack, but there’s distance between them now, something anyone with any fight experience knows to take advantage of.]

[soldiergenes]

[ Normally Snake would have taken advantage of it, too. There's enough time for him to get back onto his hind legs while 76 goes rolling across the ground, and he even has an opening to strike, but despite how a feral kind of rage has been rolling through him, there's that moment of pause (and clarity) to reflect on what they're doing.

Which is nothing, really. They're fighting for literally no reason and there's still that internal tug, that knowledge that they're supposed to be pack.

Not that either of them know how to do that.

Snake takes a few steps backward, growing the distance between them and then crouching down until he's on all fours again. It's not a submissive position, exactly, but it is passive.

He forces himself to make words. ] What do you want?

[mylawn]

[He’s quick to scramble to his feet, not staying on all fours like Snake and instead trying to use an upright stance to his advantage; the idea that a greater height is more intimidating. Still, he’s uncomfortable in this body, doesn’t exactly know how to use it, and running on instinct will only get him so far. Being spoken to seems to give him a moment of pause, but there’s still a wild look in his eyes that indicates he’s not exactly ready to listen to reason.

It occurs to him that he doesn’t know what he wants, and that just agitates him further. 76 is not a space werewolf who doesn’t like not knowing things, that much is clear.

So although Snake’s stance is more passive, he doesn’t perceive it as any less of a threat, offering little more than another snarl in response, as if daring him to try and come closer.]

[soldiergenes]

[ Having already been goaded into a fight once before now, Snake doesn't intend to let it happen again. His claws sink into the ground, as if he's using that small action to let off tension. Better than trying to bite someone's face off again, especially when it's someone like him.

Or... no. Someone else who's been turned into this against their will, he's sure. Because that's what life out in space is like, apparently.

He gives a sharp shake of his head. While he remains on the defensive (if he lets his guard down too much, he might regret it), he isn't making any move to approach. ] I'm not here to fight you. [ Which leads to the question: why is he here? He doesn't really know how to answer that. It might make more sense at this point to just walk away, but there's a part of him that doesn't want to, and he's having a difficult time pushing past that innate feeling. ]

[mylawn]

[It's clear that there's perhaps a lot going on in 76's head, if the way he seems frozen in place is any indication. Finding it nearly impossible to reconcile his own paranoia and hostility with the overwhelming instincts of whatever kind of creature this is, he

He tries to breathe--Snake isn't here to fight him and is saying as much. 76 just needs to get a hold of himself, first.

It takes a long moment, but something seems to register after a few seconds, his shoulders seem to relax, but only slightly.]

What are you here for?

[If not to THROW DOWN. His voice is still a growl, and though he's less tense than he was a moment ago, he's prepared to launch back into the fight, if that's the way this goes.]

[soldiergenes]

[ To be fair, it's difficult for them to speak right now without it sounding like a growl, and so Snake's voice is just as gruff and snarling as he replies, even though he isn't trying to reignite a fight.

Even then, it takes him a moment to think of an answer. Trying to take all of the instincts humming under his skin and put them into words is more or less impossible, and so he decides to keep it simple. To not reveal too much. ]

I was curious.

[ He tilts his head to one side, then the other, and then slowly straightens back up. ]

You're not usually like this, are you?

[ A giant wolf creature, he means. ]

[mylawn]

[Again, he takes a long moment to answer, like he’s waging some kind of internal battle with himself. The sheer amount of suspicion doesn’t help either, and his body language still indicates that he’s threatened, but he seems to be processing the conversation, at any rate.]

No.

[So they have no reason to fight each other, not when they’re in the same boat.]

Not you, either.

[soldiergenes]

[ Snake shakes his head, emphasizing the movement to make certain that he's understood. While there might be actual aliens out there who look and behave like this, the two of them have been forced into an ill-fitting mold, and it's making his skin itch.

Or his fur. Whatever. ]

We'll change back.

[ He's not sure if it's a promise, a reassurance, a guess, or a lie, but it seems worth saying. The logical part of his brain knows that this can't last. ]

[mylawn]

You sure about that?

[If he sounds skeptical, it’s because he is, and he seems to be shrugging off the conversation in an attempt to turn and go on his way. The fight is over before it had a chance to really get started, and he’s not exactly one to hold discussion.

But hell, maybe this guy has been here longer. Maybe things like this have happened before.]

[soldiergenes]

[ That turns out to be exactly the case. ]

I've been through this before. [ A pause, and Snake shakes his head. ] Not this -- [ He motions at himself, at this body that doesn't match anything he's used to. ] But I've been changed in other ways. It never lasts.

[ The parts of him that had been turned to glass, those agonizing few days when he'd been aged decades, and yet all of it had returned to the status quo eventually.

Why should this be any different? ]