The full seasonal event can be read here! Below are the main seasonal items for quick reference:
1. A thread reacting to the season's weather in some ways.
2. A thread in the part of the city your character doesn't live in!
3. A thread relating to your vocation.
Of The Season
Quote
"Tell Dr. Nate that Gale sent you, and he still owes me for the mushrooms. Except that it takes you a while to reach the clinic, and by the time you do your fever is spiking, and so instead of the requisite message you instead tell the poor soul who greets you that 'A gale'a m'shrooms sent me cus'a my hands.'" - Zephyr in Oh help me, please doctor, I'm damaged
I accept it though, and stand patiently, waiting for more directives or information as people start to shuffle in. A familiar face pops in as Cian joins the group, and I offer him a quiet smile and nod in return. Some of the people showing up do not seem entirely well, and I begin to wonder if they are ready to put in a hard day's work. Still, I guess that Drenchers are used to working through the pain regardless.
Zeph appears next to me, like smoke, and I turn and offer him a bright smile. The smile turns to worry, though, as I notice that he has quite a few large size scabs on his hands and arms. I point and mouth quietly, "Are you okay?" and pause for a moment before the scientist begins to speak again.
As they go through the description of the bugs and the eels, my face contorts into a disapproving, slightly grossed out expression. I'm not really sure that we needed to know the details about bugs eating debris out of eel gills, but they just had to share, so now we have to live with this information.
My eyes scan around the room, observing the pools, and I decide that the mod appears to be the safest choice for now. I walk carefully over toward the edge, assessing the situation for a moment. Then, I start to scan around the room for tools - specifically a bucket, shovel, and push mop.
Iara chooses the mud bath.
When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay
(This post was last modified: 05-10-2023, 07:15 PM by Iara.)
He stands with his arms crossed over his chest, if only to keep his hands locked from starting to idly scratch at the rashes covering them and his neck, and he watches as more people show up. At a quick glance, he only recognises two of them. Iara, of course, and the black haired girl that had helped out with the toads out in the Dust Fields last season. The rest he has not met before, but some seem to know each other and he keeps to his side of the gathering. Feeling again a little bit like the outsider, not really belonging to either side of the city or having a proper network. However, he is still more than willing to help out where he can.
He listens closely to the biologist and can't help but to raise a brow at the talk of eels and bugs. Eel bits-eating bugs that should be eating the red algae instead? He scratches the back of his neck, not completely sure he wants to trust it will be as easy as a simple "problem solved", but this person most likely knows a whole lot more about the subject than he does, so he can't really judge the information he is given. Or, he can, but he probably shouldn't.
None of the options look very inviting, but he makes his way over to the rose pool. It was the first one shown, so he picks it before he gets stuck standing there trying to think about making up his mind about which of the pools seems the least nasty.
Cian chooses the petal bath
The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character. Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.
The scientist rambles on about eels and bugs, and Maven listens with a vague sort of interest. She has never been particularly into marine biology, but she does have a scientific mind, so she finds the entire concept of what they're trying to do fascinating. She is pleased to find that many others have shown up to help - though some don't look entirely well, which brings a slight frown to her face. She noticed Zeph in the crowd and her mouth flattens into a thin line. He is recovering, she's sure, but whether he should be doing hard menial labor? That, she cannot say.
However, whether people decide to rest when they are ill or not is ultimately none of her business, and she turns to the pools with a soft sigh. She can't force people to stay in bed, after all, and she can't help but admit that cleaning the pools will require all hands on deck. She considers each bath in turn - the petals, the salt, and the mud - and contemplates which she'd rather work on. She is not a fan of mud and dirt, and even less so of getting muddy and dirty. With that in mind, the salt pool looks like her best option, so she grabs a bottle of cleaner and approaches the pool with a sort of calm acceptance that this is going to be her day.
questions of science, science and progress do not speak as loud as my heart
You flash Iara a crusty thumbs-up, confirming that yup, you're great, nothing to worry about here. Should you be in bed resting? Maybe- but also, ain't nobody got time for that. You've eels to save and a living to make. A couple scabs can't hold you back.
The three pools are spectacular messes in their own ways, but you know immediately which one you can help with the most. You're from Dinalla, after all, a coastal boy through-and-through: salt buildup is a way of life for you, something you've battled since you could walk. So with a wave to Iara as she takes on the mud (ew) you set off toward the brittle, sparkling disaster zone, scooping up some vinegar and a spray bottle on your way.
Two women are already there, one of whom you know. "Hey, Doc!" you greet Maven cheerfully, hoping the brightness of your smile will mask the dark bags under your eyes. To the other one: "Hi, I'm Zeph!"
Miraculously, You have the wherewithal to not offer a scabbed hand to shake.
Instead you pull on your trusty gloves before turning to the task at hand. "Let's get this bad boy doused in vinegar an' give it a couple minutes to soak, hm? Oughta help break down som'uv the crystals, so we don' get too cut up. You guys got gloves?"
hey mr. trailblazer, spare you a joint paper it's strange how the days layer, and weigh on you years later
Ira’s apology is one that Uldren quickly shrugs off with a small smile – far more concerned about her health rather than whether she came and went at her own pleasure. “S’okay. Just wanted to help too.” He returns to her quietly before the scientist that speaks, though he does remain close to Ira the entire time as if he can be the one that can help keep her upright rather than trying to tell her what to do.
Granted, he’s not quite in good health either, but the cold would soon pass he’s sure and it was nowhere near what Ira had described what she felt like up on the Plates. But the instructions are given and Uldren watches as Ira picks the salt bath, and before he has a chance to turn around and see where exactly she’d picked, there’s quite a number of others that have joined her in that section.
So he takes a look around again and decides to go with the petal bath, nodding to Cian in a quiet greeting, before he gets to work.
kill your demons, kill 'em dead; in your mirror, in your bed in your heart, in your head. don't you look good in red?
He remains nearer to the back, thankful that nobody has recognized him despite his drastic attempts to hide his identity. So far, it’s relieving to know he hasn’t been called out just yet, but there was still that edge of worry that lingered and prickled along his spine. He tries to keep from fidgeting too much, shoving his hands into his pockets as he listens to the scientist explain just how they were to go about trying to fix this sickness.
He steps up to take the jar, keeping his attention away from anyone around that might recognize him aka, Cian and he turns to try and see what hasn’t been taken yet. There’s a few at the salt bath already, and he wants to avoid the one with Cian so that takes out the petal bath, and so the young Bratena picks the mud bath where someone already stands, looking ready for a hard day’s work. That makes two of them, then, and Sunjata takes the jar over toward it, grabbing a bucket and two shovels, eyeing the push mops on the other side of the room when he looks to Iara with a nod, before he sets the bucket down and gets to work.
Dr Tetya was pleased to see everyone getting right to work; not sure how to look in charge, they wandered back and forth along the top of the pools clapping their hands and nudging tools closer to the edge in case they were needed. "Good! Remember, they need to be pristine for the eels!" Any remaining, unfamiliar bacteria could easily poison the water and ruin the plan.
Cian and Uldren descended into what had once been a pleasant smelling flower pool - and what was now a slurry of rot and suspicious lumps under piles of petals. While cleaning this pool was not difficult, the petals easily coming up and leaving behind a residue that could be lifted with a cloth, the smell would be overwhelming, challenging those within to resist running out before the job was done.
In the salt bath, Zeph, Ira and Maven would find themselves with a much more technically challenging project. While the salt was relatively clean and did not smell or get on one's clothes, the crystals had grown strong and spiky over the years (one wondered how anyone bathing in the pool had not come out covered in scratches). It would take some determined strength to yank the crystals out of their crevices and into a bin.
Zeph's vinegar idea was certainly novel, though Tetya pursed their lips upon hearing it. "Uhh, did you...bring vinegar? I don't think we foresaw a need for that...I guess I could go ask a...diner...?" Clearly, they didn't know where vinegar could be sourced from.
Finally, in the mud bath, Sunjata and Iara had a unique problem too: the mud, while thick, was very slippy; it seemed to slide and move underfoot before they even put their whole weight on it, the sludge slurping back over to cover ankles within seconds. It would be difficult to maintain upright posture while cleaning this bath.
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Write how your characters attempt to overcome their individual bath's challenges. Inventive or smart ways may result in a bonus to rolls.
Petal Bath: Attempt to manage the smell of the rotting petals while you work to clear the bath! (HLT Roll)
Salt Bath: Attempt to prise off the determined crystals from the gaps. (PRO roll)
Mud Bath: Don't slip while you clean the bath! (DEX roll)
(If you want to last minute change your bath, you can. These rolls are not important though.)
You said I could fly so go on then, fill my eyes with fire, I set my sails with desire
She looks at the two strangers joining her, then looks after Uldren as he has to select another pool. Looking back at the two, she frowns as the one she learns is named Zeph calls the other woman "doc". Just her luck to end up with some medical person while she is trying to appear as well as possible. Though her breathing struggles and shadows around the eyes are a dead give-away that she's not in any good health right now.
To avoid having to speak much, she just gives both of them a faint smile and a nod in greeting, before looking back and forth between the baths. Knowing she'll suffer one way or the other no matter what, she ultimately decides she'd rather suffer in known and trusted company, and slips over to the first pool. Also to avoid anything doctor as much as possible...
"Can't escape me that easily." She mumbles to Uldren and gives him a teasing smile, before zipping the high collar of her shirt up over her mouth and nose the moment the smell from the flower mush hits her. Almost feeling happy she has to more or less breathe only through her mouth to begin with to get enough oxygen, but it's still barely an escape and she can only hope it won't make her all nauseous on top of everything else.
To stay as far away as possible from the source of the smell and not having to stand much, she grabs herself a large bucket and a mop, and sits down on the edge of the pool. From there, she uses the mop to fish up whatever old trash and petal slush she can get hold of and drops it off in the bucket. Probably not the most efficient way of working, but it is better than nothing and what she can manage at the moment. She's almost tempted to stick her nose in the jar she picked just to see if it can mask the stench, but doesn't since she has no idea how toxic the mysterious blue fluid might be.
Ira switches to the Petal Bath
She hides her face in the collar of her shirt against the smell and stays up on the edge of the pool to fish stuff up with the help of a mop.
IRA
The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character. Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.
I don't pay much attention to the newspapers or anything, so I don't recognize the Arbiter's son. All I see is some blonde guy walking toward me with shifty eyes. I can't say I care much for that.
Still, he comes with tools in hand, so I'm not going to rebuke his attempts to be helpful "Thank ya kindly," I say as I take a shovel from his hands. I point at myself with a smile. "Iara." I pause just for a moment to await his own introduction, if he chooses to give one, but the scientist is speaking again. They have quite a loud mouth for someone who clearly has no intention of helping with manual labor.
With a sigh, I go about trying to scoop some of the mud out of the bath and find that it's... difficult. The mud slops about uneasily, seeming to fall out of the shovel more easily than it falls into the bucket. I think it's probably best to have my feet firmly planted on the ground within the bath in order to get a better handle on it, but I also know the chances of falling over into the sludge will increase dramatically if I do so.
I'm a grease monkey, though, so getting dirty doesn't scare me. Not so sure I can say the same for blondey though.
I jump down with a SPLODGE sound, dragging a bucket closer to the edge while I dig into the layer of mud. It scoops up much easier, but it seems like my work boots have difficulty finding a solid place to stand. I guess it's a test of grace, yeah?
Iara jumps down into the bath and scoops out mud into a bucket by the edge.
He returns the greeting with a silent nod of his own, unaware that his so called friend is right there again but keeps avoiding him like the plague itself, and then proceeds to wrap his scarf around his face in a n attempt to keep the stench at bay. It's still awful and he's already regretting his decision to pick this pool, but he is committed now.
With a bucket and shovel in hand, he hops down into the lumpy mix of rotten petals and quickly starts filling up the bucket while doing his best to hold his breath at the same time. He gets a couple of shovel loads into the bucket before he has to breathe, so he brings the bucket with him out of the bath to dispose of the rotten petals into a bin.
He takes a few deep breaths of perhaps somewhat decent air while making his way back to the bath, before he jumps down into it again to repeat the process of filling up the bucket as fast as possible while trying to hold his breath. Whenever he has to catch his breath, he moves over to the edge of the pool to take breaths away from the stench rising up from under his feet.
Cian wraps his face up in his scarf for protection and shovels away while trying to breathe in as little of the stinky air as possible.
The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character. Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.
