tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

WHEN: midnight between Sept.29 - 30th, all day of the 30th.
RATING: PG-13
CHARACTERS: anyone on that darn tootin' Ark.
SUMMARY: Come midnight,

monstrodick seeks its [Bad username or site: tharheblows title= @ livejournal.com] in battle, taking down his ship in three flicks of its great tail in the course of one hellish hour. The Whale takes the Captain, but spares his crew, and later it returns to carry the less fortunate survivors to the island fringe. And what of the Arkmaster? Time will tell. For now, deprived of their weapons and their goods, the shipwrecked Citizens should care for their own.

[ooc: have fun playing out the aftermath of the shipwreck! After sinking the ship, The Whale will deliver any survivor who can't make it back to the island on their own; it will also be making sure no one tries to escape the City by trying to swim further off in the horizon.

If you'd like to log the ship sinking, or your characters making their way back to the City!island, be sure to title your threads "DURING SHIPWRECK" or "ON THE WAY BACK" or something to hint at the timeline. If not, just go ahead and thread how your gent, or your belle manages to pull it together and survive at the City!island periphery without much by way of provisions.

Remember that while they'll have access to their apparently waterproof network devices, your characters won't be able to get back into the City proper until tomorrow, because of the very heavy patrol of forest monsters blocking the way. (Naturally, it never hurts to try!) Likewise, while people in the City are welcome to give them tips or instructions, and to know of their whereabouts, they shouldn't be able to physically come down and meet the survivors at this time.]

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[ Presea was pretty sure that she'd never stop feeling wet. It had been a difficult swim to shore and a nervewracking hour to locate those she loved, but now that everyone had been accounted for, she could spend a moment to contemplate the hair soaked to her back, heavy in its ponytail, and the salt-stained wetness of her clothing. According to others, the monsters were preventing a return to the City - no one knew why, but she was unsurprised to be "punished" for the failure of their boat to hold up, or whatever reason the deities would have for setting up vicious patrols. So there was no going home, not yet.

But she could totally build a fire, and that's why she's piling up boat driftwood on the beach, forehead creased in concentration. If nothing else, the physical labor would dry her out. ]

[There is a double rainbow stretching across the entire sky. It's truly beautiful--more vivid than any rainbows ought to be, more entrancing than any other natural phenomenon (but, given the curses, perhaps the rainbows are less than natural). It's just the kind of thing that Penny would normally love, curse or no curse.

For now, however, Penny is watching the surf, looking about as tragic as she has ever looked. She doesn't remember making it to the island; everything after the first crack and shudder of the ark is a blur.

The bedraggled redhead ignores the rainbows and tries to hide in the towel the captain gave her the other day. It's wet and cold and Penny has no idea how it managed to make it to land with her, but it makes an excellent security blanket. She keeps her eyes on the surf, toying idly with her necklace--thank Whoever that didn't get lost--and sniffling in an uncharacteristically woeful fashion.]

[ooc: Penny lost the various animals she brought onto the ark with her in the wreck. If anyone would like to have rescued a guinea pig, a rabbit, a duck, or a lame pigeon--or, for that matter, Penny herself--have at it!]

[Oh, double rainbow, Alester is not impressed with your way of refracting light. Instead he is glaring somewhat balefully in your general direction, as if you have recently insulted his mother. He is wet, disheveled, and sneezing occasionally.

Passers-by should approach with caution.]

Penny!

[Rosella looks rather bedraggled as she comes up along the beach, her skirt soaked through and her hair dripping from the ends of its braids. As she gets near to Penny, she pushes a wet curl out of her face and heads over, one hand tucked inside a suspiciously bulging pocket in her dress.]

Penny, there you are! Goodness, are you all right? Are you hurt?

Rosella...

[She gets up and brushes sand off of her wet jeans--not that a bit of sand will hurt anything after all of the saltwater and shipwrecking and all. Penny forces a smile. She is glad to see Rosella safe and sound.]

No, I'm fine, I--are you okay? It's cold. You've got to be--

[Penny suddenly starts to cry.]

I lost all the animals, Rosella. Maybe Doris'll be okay, but the rest--and Babbage was Billy's, and I said I'd take care of him.

Oh, Penny--

[And have an abrupt, tight hug as soon as Penny starts to cry. It's an absolute disaster out there, and bad enough that the ship had gone down as it did; worse still for Penny, to have lost all the animals she'd tried so hard to save. She'd certainly be distraught herself, if she hadn't managed to hang on to Snowdrop--and doing so was no easy task, certainly. She has scratches all over her damp arms to show for it.

But then, after a minute or two of tight hugging, something begins to squirm in Rosella's pocket, and a look of confusion crosses her face as she steps back and reaches into her pocket. Then, blinking, she withdraws her hand and produces a waterlogged little bundle of fur that might, if you were to squint, possibly resemble a guinea pig.]

[Curt wanders over, holding Doris.]

Hey, Penny, is this your duck?

[He looks a little out of it, and his hair is a disaster, but he's mostly okay. Curt's a survivor by nature.]

[Penny hugs Rosella tightly--and abruptly steps back. Surely Rosella isn't smuggling Snowdrop in her clothes. Not only are the sizes there all wrong, but wet cats...

And there's Babbage in all of his--well, not glory, really, but the soggy furball is unmistakable. Penny's entire demeanor changes as she carefully takes the guinea pig from Rosella. He's wet and, if the disgruntled squeaking is any indication, not amused, but he's alive.]

Babbage! Did--how'd...? Did you find him, Rosella?

[By now, Penny has managed to dry off somewhat has the recovered Babbage situated by a fire in a little picket fence of sticks. The towel's gone and she's nervously fiddling with the anatomically-correct heart charm on the end of her necklace, looking for other friends (and pets).

Her face lights up immediately when she sees Curt and Doris. And of course it's Doris! No other ducks in the City wear tiny collars. And Curt--well. He's Curt. It'd be hard to mistake him for someone else. She hugs Curt tightly, mindful of Doris and hoping he won't mind a cold and clammy hug.]

Curt... and that is Doris! You're okay, and--I can't believe...

[Words fail her, so she gives Curt an impulsive kiss on the cheek and gingerly takes Doris from him. The duck looks considerably better than either human does.]

...Are you okay?

When I was swimming in, I saw him in the water and just sort of...

[She motions vaguely, but it's not hard to guess what happened; she was, after all, a bit preoccupied with swimming and hauling Snowdrop's basket to shore, and when she'd passed the poor little bundle of fur, she'd simply grabbed him and carried him along without a second thought. And now, knowing that it's Babbage, she's suddenly very glad she did.]

I didn't realize he was Babbage. I just brought him with me while I was coming in. Poor thing, he must've had an awful ride, too.

[Xemnas isn't paying any attention to the rainbow. It's a simple phenomenon of refracted light and that's something that holds his interest very little. What he is interested is finding somewhere he can dry his coat. It's horribly uncomfortable when it's wet, and he doesn't look terribly pleased as he happens by.]

[Curt slings an arm around her waist, because that way they will at least be a little less cold and clammy. Okay, not that he needed much of a reason.]

I feel like Pinocchio, but I think I'm fine. How're you?

Edited 2010-10-01 03:38 (UTC)

[It'd been tree times now that Umi'd tried to make her way through the army of beasts guarding the forest areas surrounding... wherever the hell they were... to get back to The City. Three times a search party made of a stubborn few who could fight had failed to find a way through. Knowing better than anyone that getting herself killed out of concern and stubbornness wasn't an option, the Water Knight had instead returned to the beach where their small party had gathered after the mess that had concluded the ark's voyage.

Breathing heavily more out of irritation than exhaustion, still feeling both furious and relieved and all sorts of aggravated at how the City had thought to shove a friggin' RAINBOW on their faces just to prove how dumb they'd been, she kicked a mound of sand and crossed her arms with a huff.

...Then gazed at down Presea's endeavors with hope.] ...Any luck with that yet?

[She certainly wished she could help. But her magic's jurisdiction had ended when they'd left the water, and she had none of it left in her anyway.]

[ The ship--or what is left of it and what is barely left--is chaotic to say the least. Twice they've been hit and many of the passengers have already jumped over board, but Katniss pushes against what remains of the crowd--a lot, if anyone wasn't sure--in her search for a familiar head of sun-blond hair and possibly the bronzed one that has made a habit of keeping so close to him. There is Gale to keep an eye out for as well as Rue, but the reality is she couldn't find all of them even if they were on, and she never confirmed that they were in the end. Cinna is smart though and Haymitch a Victor who isn't dead even after all the years of clearly hating life as it is. She banks on that because she can't focus if she is trying to look everywhere at once. It doesn't work like that.

Focus.

Shoving her way through, she yells for them, but it doesn't make much of a dent in the stampede of sound that has erupted from the blob of human panic trying to decide whether to join some of their fellow riders in the waves or cling to sinking remnants a little longer.

It just figures that her device has gotten lost in the jostle.

Minutes later---it can't reasonably be more than that, she knows even if she has no real marker for time right now---she has reached the other side of the ship with no luck. There is a chance they aren't even below however, and she goes with that train of thought, skirting the main flood of people going up this side by scaling a fallen rafter or beam or whatever up. It's not a tree by any means, but it's also not perfectly vertical, which balances out some of the difficulty.

A few times she slips and twice she almost falls, but she's good at this and winds up on a landing a little ahead of one of the surges of people. She takes that moment to run the rest of the way, steps shrieking beneath her feet. The ship won't last much longer.

She inhales sharply once on deck, turning this way and that sometimes because of other people and other times not. They're scared and she gets that, but when someone nearly knocks her over and into the side of the ship nearest to her she has half a mind to push them overboard herself.

Pushed into the side however, hands gripping the edge which is still somehow a section of the ark that is intact, she thinks she glimpses what it was that has hit them so far.

...well, part of it.

Turning back to the people still running around and trying to avoid the ones diving off, she calls out for the people she knows, starting with Peeta. The sun isn't rising just yet, which helps no one, but if they yell back she can find them that way too. ]

Thank you. Thank you so, so much...

[Penny removes her wet towel and attempts to dry the unhappy guinea pig (who, considering how anxious and unfriendly guinea pigs tend to be, is taking it all quite well). She doesn't make much progress, but it's the thought that counts.]

He's fine, I think, and--is Snowball fine? I don't know how you swam with them.

[Alester stares at the man for a moment. He feels like there's some sort of sarcastic comment he could be making but it's not coming to mind. Nor is he in the mood for social pleasantries. He did, however, find a tree to lean against, and it has a few low hanging branches, so maybe the guy with a coat is looking at that.]

Tree?

[His voice is sort of hoarse and he also realizes he didn't manage to make an actual statement or question, but whatever.]

[Unfortunately for Curt, Penny doesn't give off much in the way of body heat. She leans close to him anyway. A little physical support is nice after being shipwrecked and thinking you killed most of your pets.

Doris gets away from Penny, but doesn't go far. The duck begins to fuss with her feathers. Curt's handling was clearly not up to Doris' standards.]

Did you see the whale? ...It didn't try to eat you, right?

[It never hurts to check.]

I'm okay. Better. I mean, I didn't get hurt or anything, but I had all of the animals except the dogs with me, and they-- ...but now Babbage and Doris are okay, and you and Rosella made it, so things're getting better.

[The thing about being a Victor--which really just means a survivor of the Games--is that you learn to react fast at the first sign of trouble. That's how you stay alive longer than everyone else; react faster, strike first, and you'll be the last one standing. Speed and reflexes are always the key. So when the first hit strikes the boat, Finnick doesn't hesitate; it's too easy to waste precious seconds wondering what might be happening, when he already instinctively knows all he needs to--they've been hit, or something has hit them. Already people around him are beginning to cry out in surprise, and from the buzz and tension in the air, it's clear that outright chaos is not far off.

Weapons first. Prior to this, he's been avoiding walking around in the open with his trident, since it's hardly the most inconspicuous of weapons. Now, though, the people onboard will soon be panicking anyway, and being conspicuous is the least of his worries.

He's just made it back to retrieve it as the second hit strikes. From the way the boat shudders, it's clear that it won't be remaining seaworthy much longer--which means his next priority is finding Katniss. Up, he thinks, recalling Peeta's words from the day before and the way he has seen her climb. For Katniss, high ground is safety. That's where he needs to look.

There is already a crush near the exit by the time he gets there, but it's not nearly as bad as it's going to be in the next few minutes; through some creative pushing and a little help from the handle of his trident, he pries his way through and makes it up onto the deck. It's madness on deck, people shoving everywhere, and there is no chance that he is going to find anyone in this chaos, unless it is through pure luck.

And so he starts shoving, following the railing as best he can and shouting their names over the already tumultuous din, silently hoping that today, the odds will be in his favor.]

[Rosella would offer some help at drying him herself, but she's just as wet as the towel is, and so is everything she has with her. However, she's still rather exhausted from the swim, and her voice reflects it; her voice has a thin sort of sound to it as the adrenaline finally begins to wear off.]

Oh, I once swam that far carrying a hen with me. At least Snowdrop didn't squawk.

[She pauses, looking at her hands.]

She scratched, though, but at least she came with me. I managed to grab her basket, so I pulled that along, too, I think.

[Peeta is surprisingly good at being in a disaster. He's calm and aware and alert, all things that have kept him alive; the way that Katniss and Finnick treat him, sometimes, people might think that he just curls up in a ball and stares blankly into the distance but that isn't the case at all.

He moves for Katniss because the second the crush begins his only thought is for her. He yells her name in reply and reaches for her hand, unwilling to be separated from her, and it might be madness but Peeta is completely alert. Once he has Katniss' hand he turns and yells Finnick's name, his voice not panicked but trying to be heard over the din.

He sees Finnick before he's seen, and he slips his apron off and waves it over his head, hoping that the fabric draws his fellow victor's attention]

[ Katniss would say she doesn't treat him like that if she knew that's how he perceived it, but then if anywhere there is a reason for them to treat him like this, it's on a ship that's sinking. She sees him before she hears him, oddly enough or not oddly at all depending on whose opinion is asked, and that's no one right now anyway.

Her hand curls around his, familiar and painfully tight.

Finnick's voice, which she heard first but could not spot the source of, she looks toward again, seeing him only for the crowd to get in the way again. The corner of her vision remains caught by the white of Peeta's apron but she worries that's not enough to follow, even though Finnick is almost absurdly tall. About now Katniss wishes she knew the terms for which side and part of a ship but she doesn't, so she resorts to the obvious. When this stupid ship goes down she won't be able to get Peeta to land on her own and that decides for her whether or not she cares enough to wait for the District 4 Victor where normally the vague beginnings of actually liking him would not be enough. ]

Finnick---can you hear me?! This way! This side!

[ Poor directions, to be sure, but that plus the white apron waving in the dark should manage. She means the side of the ship of course, breaking even as it is, which she tugs Peeta toward because the truth is eventually they will have to get off but until that happens it is better to have something to hold onto. The side, where there is a grip to be gotten at all, is better than nothing. In some ways this is very much like something concocted in a set of Games, and she busies herself still trying to find Finnick's supposedly approaching form, her hand never releasing Peeta's.

A part of her consciously avoids glancing at the water again, moving like it's alive even though it is in actuality the creature beneath it that stirs it so. ]

[ Presea looked up at Umi and assessed her. Though as uncomfortable, perhaps, Umi didn't seem too much worse for wear, which the Pharle was thankful for. ]

[ She looked down at her kindling, considering. ] I need to find spark rocks. Or see if Hikaru is up to lighting this.

...I'll see if I can find her for you. She's probably around, trying to help everyone...

[She says this with obvious fondness, but still not approving of the Flame Knight's tendency to overwork herself -- NOT that Umi's one to talk at the moment.]

How are spark rocks supposed to look like anyway, just to play safe?

Katniss!

[It's pure chance that he manages to catch the sound of his name above the cacophony of noise around him, but it's enough to draw his attention in the right direction--and the sight of the apron waving like a banner is exactly what he needs to lock his sea-green eyes on the location of the other two Victors. And once he spots them, any thoughts of maintaining some semblance of order go right out the window; he starts shoving and elbowing his way through the crowds, determined to get to them by any means necessary.

Keep them together. Keep them alive. Those are the only two things that matter at this point.

Eventually, through a mixture of pushing, ducking, and haphazard maneuvering, he makes it over to them, using the railing as a guide to help force his way through.]

[Peeta holds onto Katniss like it's the only thing that matters but he's pleased to see Finnick. It's fear, too, that heightens this relief - Peeta can't swim, and the water below is terrifying. He can't drown, he just can't, not here, not now.]

Finnick, Finnick!

[When he arrives Peeta takes his hand too, his eyes wide]

What's going on?

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(no subject)

shipwreck site; open to friends

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

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On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

~now we checked out this duck, quack!

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

<3

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

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<3

shipwreck site; open to friends

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

no subject

no subject

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss

On Magical Shipwreck Island, daytime; entirely open

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss

shipwreck site; open to friends

shipwreck site; open to friends

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss

When I rise will you be there holding on or turned the other way? ][ finnick ➳ peeta ➳ katniss