Islander meeting!

[savedbyasong]

Who: Everyone!
What: An information gathering meeting, mingle log style!
When: 13th as advertised Here!
Where: Big tent, islet 4 (sorry Ardyn!)
Warnings: Keep an eye on subject lines for warnings!

[The tent is a good place to have this. It's sheltered at least. Shion has collected strawberries and also water. He hopes that people will turn up, there's a lot to discuss. About this place, how they are here and how to leave. But also surviving here. Helping each other make the most of being here.

They had done such things in the Tower and it was a good way to get things organised. He knows he has questions and he thinks other people probably do as well. If it's anything like the Tower then people all have different bits of information that will fit together eventually.

He greats people as they enter and will encourage anyone who looks less than certain to enter and offer them strawberries.]

((OOC: So I'll put up a subthread for mingling before the meeting, then discussion points can be posted as a reply to this main thread. I'll do a few for things Shion will bring up but feel free to post your own points as well! Tag around, do breakout threads, discuss all the things. Don't worry if things go off topic. Have fun!)

Comments

Pre-meeting mingling!

[savedbyasong]

Shion ota

[savedbyasong]

He really isn't sure if people will even turn up, this might end up being just him and Aster talking theories. Half afraid that they will, he's mostly kept himself to himself since his misadventures and he'd rather be in the background of such a meeting. Writing notes as Reno put people at ease with a smile and encouraged them to share what they knew and work together.

But his dads not here, no hand is going to ruffle his hair and remind him sternly to breathe. Shion and Aster were trained in this. For the most part it was just being friendly, helping people who were stuck here. He could do that.

He is breathing though and though his smile is nervous it is friendly, he has the notebook that the Storyteller gave him and he frequently pauses to write yet another note.

[catpiper]

Hello, a useless person has appeared to do nothing other than irritate the poor nugget that got this little gathering together. But strawberries are good? She'll stay for that reason alone. She already has like three crammed in her pocket for later. And really, she's kind of content to stay under the tent shade for the entire afternoon, watching Shion scribble in that cute notebook.

"Are you drawing?"

the drifter | ota | i'll match your format!

[hyperlit]

The intricacies of this meeting don't quite appeal to them, but they can at least use it for a forum for something else of note. A pink HUD hovers a few inches away form them, large block letters imprinted across its center:

SIGN LANGUAGE

...that's it. They don't elaborate, though if you approach them you're probably likely to get more specifics. In general, they're interested in teaching it, particularly to the illiterate - though the fact that they're advertising this via text throws a few wrenches in that plan, alas.

[savedbyasong]

"Sign language?" Shion reads the sign and looks up at the Drifter with a smile, "Is that the hand talking that Seto was asking about on the rock?"

Because Shion would like to learn that, he knew a few ways of making signs with his hands, for use in stealth situations, but not an entire language.

[catpiper]

[While she hadn't stayed for the entirety of Seto's rock post, he had given her the lowdown after his first lesson with the Drifter and now she can finally ask the question that's been burning on the tip of her tongue since finding out about this magical method of communication.]

Can you show me?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet greets the Drifter with a gentle smile and a little wave, having caught sight of their sign.]

Are you offering lessons, dearie?

[She doesn't bring up the event directly, but both of them can probably remember her own halting, scattered knowledge of the skill, just barely enough to get some meaning across.]

[Really, it's time she learned it properly.]

The Storyteller

[savedbyasong]

[There's so much it's hard to know where to start. But the Story Teller is a known unknown. They know he exists, he has control over them. Can take them to story tellings. He helped them last month. But much of him is a riddle.]

I was wondering what people thought of the Story Teller. They helped us last month, a lot of us wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. [Not really thinking about it, but it's true. Death might not be real but who was to say they would come back from eternal sleep. It was subtly different]

I don't know much about them though. [He hadn't trusted them, now he's not so sure.]

[hellawrath]

This is certainly an event Lup can't miss. If anyone should be telling these fools, new and old, how to run this island? It's her. Also, free food! She tosses a few strawberries into her mouth and crunches the seeds thoughtfully.

"Y'know, honestly? Don't expect too much of them and you won't be disappointed. They're not super great at like... things. Like knowing what's happening on their world or even their own fuckin island, or like, how to handle a bunch of interplanar mortals who keep showin up on their dang lawn. But... I believe they're trying to do better, and they wanna help. They have helped, last month wasn't the first time."

There's gonna be at least a couple clowns here who are gonna have some shit to say about this, she knows, but she wouldn't be Lup if she wasn't certain of her beliefs. Bring it tbh.

"Look, I've been here since day one of fucking Fantasy Lost," she shrugs and glances down at the white-haired boy. "Whatcha wanna know, pumpkin? Hit me." Or like, anyone who needs schooling from your wise island elder Lup.

[savedbyasong]

That pretty much is sort of what Shion had gotten from the Story Teller in his one conversation with them. They didn't know of rock or sand. Of many things. They seemed concerned by the sea, which worried Shion as there was so much ocean. Everywhere.

Lup's words make him pause though and he flicks to a blank page of his notebook. "You were one of the first people here?" Red eyes blinked at her, almost excited.

"How many people were there when you arrived? Tim said it was August, seven months ago he was one of the first as well. Was he with you? Did you all wake up together? I've not been here long but Monsun and Chol were here when I first came, were there any other islands before that that disappeared? And..."

Wait. Breathing. He just wants to know... everything. He has a pretty good report of what happened when the sun was reborn, from Aster but things before that.

[crosslaced]

Seconded. They've certainly done us wrong in the past, but unless they're an excellent actor waiting for a specific opportunity those are mistakes. I'm inclined to think they're not against us.

[thisisourfuture]

"I don't think they know much about themselves, either. Or at least, not at a place they can talk about it. But like everyone else said I think they're doing their best." He holds up his hands and spreads them apart. "They have a gap of understanding. I don't know but it feels like if anyone tried to reach them personally before...it's been a long time since then."

Storyteller...what drew him in was the way they talked about events and tried to get him to understand...He scrubs at his face and drops his hands to his sides. "We have a gap in understanding them too. We have to work together, them and us to find the middle ground. I noticed their ability to act or know something has some limits. If a group rejects stories...I don't think they can follow or know beyond the point the group rejected them. Does that make sense?"

[savedbyasong]

"It does." Shion nodded, there definitely was a gap of understanding. The Story Teller had told him that they didn't understand certain things. "I guess that's why they didn't know what it was like on Ai'Tuoh..."

He looked down at his notebook, thinking. "I asked them about the floating islands and the strange... almost volcanic rock that was there and they told me they didn't know how the rock thought, or the sand or the sea."

A pause, "They don't seem to like the sea."

First Aid and Clinic

[savedbyasong]

So me and Hinata were talking last week. We both know medicine even if neither of us have any kind of license for medicine, but it's not like that matters here...

[Anything was better than nothing after all]

Anyways we were thinking of setting up a clinic, in the Story Tellers temple. Somewhere where people know they can go to get help if they need it. I was wondering if anyone else wanted to help out?

[attheclocktower]

I know it's not the strongest, but... I'm happy to help with my healing magic, if you guys ever need it.

[ Like she wouldn't support her brother 100% on this. She's really proud of you. ]

Other worlds

[savedbyasong]

"So... before me and Aster were here we were somewhere else." Maybe not the most clear start, Shion took another breath. "A place that wasn't the worlds we started on."

He figured they probably weren't the only ones. "It was a bit like these islands, in that it was full of people from many different worlds. Where did everyone here come from? Was it your own world or a different one?"

He will make a tally chart. Or something.

blasts the madoka ost through speakers | ota

[crosslaced]

[Please ignore the weird plant tiger he drags in. The Tigerlily starts sniffing the corners of the tent, ignoring anything Laurent says.]

Don't- nevermind. The cat doesn't eat meat, don't bother it. [Anyway. Where were we?] I came from somewhere different.

When people make a wish, a creature offers to take your soul in exchange for granting a miracle. Magi, as we're called, must hunt for- monsters, I suppose, or demons- to sustain ourselves. If we don't, or otherwise succumb to despair, I'm told we become what we hunt.

[This is absolutely second hand knowledge and nothing he has experienced personally.]

tim wright | ota | i'll match your formatting

[postictal]

He's antsy. It feels inconsiderate to start smoking in here, but he doesn't have any idea what to do with his hands, so he jabs them into the pockets of his jeans so he doesn't spend the entire time fidgeting like a moron.

He'll probably end up doing that anyway.

"Castle in the Mist, they called it," he says wearily. "Sol Raveh. Allegedly there was some kinda...war between shadows and light, but I never really caught onto it. Wasn't there for too long, but it sure as hell wasn't where I was from."

Was it a slight improvement over Alabama?

...nominally, actually.

Aster (Xion) | OTA

[attheclocktower]

"And if... anybody wants to ask any questions, I can answer," Aster adds, once Shion is finished.

"The place we were from was called the Tower of Animus. There was... a girl there, named Ruana. They'd performed experiments on her, and all kinds of other kids, to try to achieve immortality. It worked, but...at the cost of all life on her world.

In the end, she decided she couldn't handle being alone. So she went to other realities and repeated the experiment.... and brought the survivors back to the Tower with her."

Which... obviously, was them.

[want_to_belong]

"Came here straight from my world. Pretty sure that goes for Iggy and Noct, too."

At least the Noct he'd known. But it didn't hurt to gather information, so he didn't mind telling Shion what he knew, and he felt pretty comfortable speaking on their behalves about that. "It's kind of weird to think that people could be plopped on another world over and over again."

Ignis Scientia | OTA: There's Something Rotten on the Isle of Ziziphus!

[shatteredlenses]

[When Ignis was first told about Shion's meeting, he'd intended to speak about the dream he had related to the Water to see if anyone else had similar dreams. However, on the heels of his recent visit to Ziziphus and what he and Ardyn found there, that thought has been pushed far, far from his mind.]

After what happened on Ai'tuoh, I hardly think I need to urge caution when it comes to exploring Ziziphus, however, Ardyn and I made a discovery there the other day that has left me quite unsettled.

[Those who might wonder why he and Ardyn--of all people--were out exploring alone can just keep wondering as he has no intention of explaining farther.]

We were near the south-central part of the island just finishing up our search when we came across a very thick and ropy vine. Not something all that unusual until it moved.

[He huffs softly as if he can't believe he's about to have to say this, but then continues.]

Not just moved. It acted as if it had an intelligence of some sort. It nosed at us, almost as if it was trying to figure out what we were and then vanished into the undergrowth so quickly we could not follow. Not even by the terrible smell it left behind.

[A frown crosses his face now and he actually wrinkles his nose as thinking of the smell reminds him of something equally unpleasant from his home.]

It was sickly sweet and rotten. I'm not certain if anyone else has run into either this smell or a similar vine, but if either show up again, I believe it would be wise of us to track where the discovery is made.

[There's definitely something going on here, and Ignis prays to whoever may be listening it's not something anywhere nearly as bad as a Malboro is.]

[savedbyasong]

[This was... worrying. Interesting as well but worrying.] Many of the monsters on Ziziphus are like plants, but are sentient. Many can move without being rooted to the ground unlike other plant monsters I've seen before. I didn't see anything like that though...

[But... the smell...] In the woodland there it does smell a bit like that. Sickly sweet. It's only faint. [Until Ignis mentioned it he had hadn't even thought it unusual, just what that place smelled like.]

[want_to_belong]

[Gross smell? That instantly brought one thing to mind.]

Please tell me it's not a malboro.

[They could do without any of those.]

Things were going so good on that island.

OTA: So who likes food?

[alittleditty]

[ WELL she hasn't seen it mentioned yet, but, well, why not? Once there's an opportunity, Tataru will stride into the middle of the group, all cheer and enthusiasm. ]

I'm sure plenty of you have already seen the message that Tim left on the communal rock, but if there's any chance you haven't yet...

There seems to be a series of ruined buildings on the eastern side of Enso. A few of us, especially Tim, have been working to try to turn the largest into something of a restaurant! A place for us to all gather.

We're still looking for all kinds of materials, so if you happen to find any out on Ziziphus, or have anything you can offer, or even if you simply want to help out some other way, please let us know!

[ooc; see here for reference!]

Re: OTA: So who likes food?

[want_to_belong]

Oh man, a restaurant?!

[He was so into this. FOOD.]

What kind of stuff do you need? I know we've got some plants we're working on. Maybe we can get some more? We've kind of been trying to help them recover since they were missing the sun for a while.