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Annexed Mod Team ([personal profile] modaccount) wrote in [community profile] annexedlogs2022-10-21 09:04 pm

Relief Log #2

I. In The Aftermath

After the mission is complete, the new recruits are invited back to Central Command for a patch-up and celebration to let loose and socialize a little bit.

The first order of business is the patching up. Anyone who was injured is welcome to go to the Hospital, if the injuries are more serious. Everyone else, those with smaller injuries like scrapes and bruises, minor cuts or burns or abrasions, are welcome to come to the Infirmary in Central Command. There will also be attendants that tell returning new recruits that if they'd like to learn a little first aid and tend to their comrades, they can also head to the Infirmary.

In the Infirmary, anyone who's not injured but shows up will be instructed in basic first aid so they can tend to their teammates and friends. Nurses will be rotating around to check in on people and make sure nothing is more serious than it looks, but generally, the new recruits will be encouraged to tend to their teammates in order to encourage group bonding.

II. A Fine Meal

On an evening a few days after the mission is complete, all the extra-universal new arrivals will be summoned to one of the large meeting rooms in the Central Command for a feast. When they arrive in the room, it is decorated with orange and brown streamers and fall iconography - bundles of twigs and dried flowers, bundles of fragrant herbs, dried pumpkins with faces and fall scenes carved into them, and other decorations. In the center of the room there is a large table laden with delicious-looking fall foods - poultry birds so large they had to have been roasted on a spit, huge roasted portobello-style mushrooms, mashed tubers, gravy, stuffing, bean casserole, candied yams, mooncakes, boiled spicy crayfish, roast herring, various types of stews ranging from traditional stew to fish stew to mushroom stew, and tons of desserts like tarte tatin, ice cream, apple crumble, pumpkin pie, and almost any other fall food you can think of.

Characters will be invited to sit around the table and feast together, while quiet music plays in the background, facilitating conversation. Some of the rebels have volunteered to keep restocking the table as people wander in and out to sit at the table and eat in rough shifts, and these volunteers will encourage characters to share things they're thankful for, things that make their lives better. All of those things that make life worth living, that make the fight worth fighting.

On a table near the door to the room, there is a stack of beautifully cloth-wrapped bento-style boxes that characters are invited to take with them. They are told by volunteers that these boxes aren't just leftovers for later, but a necessary component of the night's test of courage. They encourage characters to take one and participate, as it's a particularly bright feather in the cap of anyone who undertakes it.

III. The Skyclad Light Show

Once the feasting throughout the late afternoon and early evening is about complete, characters will be invited out into the courtyard of the Central Command for the evening's entertainment. The courtyard is essentially a small but beautiful park, with benches, patches of grass, a few ornamental trees and gardens, and plenty of places to spread out a blanket (provided by friendly volunteers!) and watch the show. And what a show it is!

Every year around this time the Skyclad take magical lights that trail behind them, and put on a spectacular light show in the sky. Streaks of vibrant color follow each hoverboard as those riding them in the sky flip, twirl, dive, and perform other feats of hoverboard artistry for the crowd below. The show goes on for about 45 minutes, with the Skyclad twisting and twirling, drawing beautiful designs against the evening sky.

Characters who really bonded with their hoverboards and took to tricks and flips and kicks after the mission would have been invited to participate, especially if they were interested in joining the Skyclad. The Skydance, as they call it, is quite highly choreographed to avoid midair collisions, all with the goal of producing something truly beautiful and ephemeral. Try not to choke!

IV. Night of Remembrance

The final tradition of the evening is a solemn remembrance of the warriors who have fallen in the fight against the Sylphid. After the Skydance, volunteers would have set up another table of those bento boxes from earlier as well as little bags containing 5 mandarin oranges, and would brief the people in small groups about the traditional Night of Remembrance. The Night of Remembrance is a really big deal among the Witches, and is a great opportunity to prove yourself if you're looking to gain respect and rise up the ranks, as it's also partially a test of courage. The tradition involves taking leftover food from the feast to the shrine at the cemetery in the Mages Sector in order to 'prepare a feast' for the dead and honor those who have fallen, and offering oranges to the fallen along the way. The food must still be at least a little warm when it's presented to the spirits. Sounds simple, right?

Once characters who wish to participate find their way to the cemetery, they will discover a couple more volunteers with a variety of lanterns. For some reason, nothing electric, battery-powered, or at all technological will work in the cemetery, and they haven't for as long as anyone can remember. Any light source must be either very old-school or magical in nature, and texting someone for help would be completely impossible. But why would you need to call someone for help?

Well, it wouldn't be a test of courage without a little danger, right? On this night, every year, the spirits in the cemetery are stirred up and come back into the land of the living. Yes, ghosts do really exist. The ghosts have a variety of temperaments - some of the ghosts are very pleasant and will chat with people for a while before accepting their orange, some are playful and mischievous and will play pranks on people coming into the cemetery (these pranks are sometimes harmless and sometimes very not-harmless), and others are angry and resentful at being dead and won't hesitate to viciously attack interlopers. Some of the more unfriendly ghosts can be calmed down with pleasantries and shows of respect, but others cannot be and will continue to attack interlopers until offered one of the oranges that they've brought.

There are two types of lanterns available: traditional lamps that are simply a candle in a glass bell that can be easily carried with a ring on the top, and magic lamps that attract spirits and appear as a glowing blue-green orb floating in a glass bell fitted with a ring for portability. People carrying traditional lamps are seen as quite brave, but those who take a magical lamp are absolute legends.

Participants will need to take a bento, some oranges, and a lantern of either variety, present the oranges to various ghosts as they make their way to a shrine on the other side of the cemetery, where they will set out the food from the bento as beautifully as possible...and don't let that food get cold, or your offering will be worthless - who wants congealed gravy and soggy stuffing?! At the shrine, they will find an assortment of delicate beaded charms attached to the branches of a large weeping willow tree. These are protected by magic, and can only be taken by someone who's completed the tradition. They will light up a different color depending on what kind of lantern the participant is carrying. These charms will provide a one-time magical boon to whoever takes them.

Characters carrying traditional lanterns will find their charms lighting up orange and these charms will, when used through the calling of a keyword by either Heba or Tian characters, summon the spirits of the dead in an area with a radius of around 50 feet to attack an enemy or group of enemies. The keyword can be set simply by speaking it to the charm. This charm can be offered to another person as a gift or kept for the character's own use, and can be used only once. If the charm has been gifted to someone, it will turn red, but will still be functional.

Characters carrying magical lanterns will find their charms lighting up blue and these charms will, when carried on a character's person, provide one resurrection from death without the loss of memory that usually comes as a side effect of resurrections. This charm can be offered to another person as a gift or kept for the character's own use, and can be used only once. If the charm has been gifted to someone, it will turn purple, but will still be functional.

Regardless of which charms are given, characters are encouraged to show them off as evidence of having participated in the Night of Remembrance. Anyone who is gifted one of these charms should be grateful, they are regarded as high-value gifts to be given only to someone you care about a great deal. Many people, regardless of whether they've earned the charms themselves or been gifted them, will attach them to their network devices to show them off.

twelfthsong: (pic#15987672)

[personal profile] twelfthsong 2022-11-10 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
I should be the standard. I'm glad someone is finally recognizing that.

[ And is he serious about that? There's a very high chance of that.

His gaze doesn't stray from the readings on the sonic as they roll in; it's enough to let him know that his gifted powers can probably help with this and that the first aid kit is really nothing but a formality. A few bandaids aren't going to fix a hairline fracture. ]


What gave that away? [ He pockets the sonic when he's satisfied that he's taken in all in the information he needs and sits back in his chair for a minute. ] I take it you've learned healing spells then and didn't leave anything in the tank for a post-mission fix up?
jedied: (277)

[personal profile] jedied 2022-11-10 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Vader's probably going to have to be the one to clue either of the two of them in, in that case.

Rey listens with increasing interest as he speaks of Padmè, and for not the first time feels a pang of regret that she hadn't gotten more of a chance to talk to her. She would've had some applicable advice to the situation back home, Rey's sure.

As far as Kylo's desire to rule the galaxy goes, she's less certain.

"If he doesn't want it, he's got a strange way of showing it. He could've walked away."

With me, she doesn't say aloud, though the thought's right below the surface. Now that they're no longer at odds with one another she's begun to accept that maybe Kylo's intentions had been closer to her own than she'd thought.
twelfthsong: (pic#15987654)

[personal profile] twelfthsong 2022-11-10 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
Oi - language! It was just a joke.

[ Despite the orange falling flat onto the ground it still elicits an immediate frown from the Doctor, his nostrils flaring slightly as he goes to pick up the fallen fruit. The departing ghost only rudely gestures in response before fading out of existence probably in search of someone else who wouldn't tell an awful joke or ask them what was, in their mind, a stupid question.

Turning to Clara with the orange in hand and a rather miffed expression on his face he huffs. ]


That was rude right? That wasn't just me?
twelfthsong: (pic#15987693)

[personal profile] twelfthsong 2022-11-10 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
Alright there's no need for the comments, I got you the glass of water in the end, didn't I?

[ The word jedi does catch his attention though. ]

The impression I got of the jedi is that they were mostly monks with swords that glowed which is to tell you I don't know much about them at all. [ He doesn't mean any disrespect by it. In fact, there's a glimmer of a teasing tone to it - but he's not about to make that obvious. ] Interesting to meet someone that considers herself a combat jedi.
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader floating in a meditative pose (Dark Dimension Vader: floating)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-10 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm sure it has. Regardless, you can always turn to me. Even if it is just over the Holonet, I have an address I can be reached at." It would get worse, he knew, and really? Kriff it. He was a Sith, he was allowed to be selfish, to cling to what was his and want to keep it.

"I do keep my own mind from Palpatine, Tech. I wouldn't give you to him. You will be safer if he believes you dead, because he will try to have you brought in. But his interest in the running of the galaxy will fade in a few years for you, as he focuses on other pursuits. Bail Organa would likely help you as well." Vader shifted his weight, now levitating as if he was sitting in a meditative position. Only without limbs.
nouskaiananki: (Unmasked)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-10 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Can't he just smack them both upside the head?

"That's not as easy as you think. This has been his entire adult life. More. After a time, you've done so much, given so much, walking away doesn't feel like an option anymore. That ship has long since jumped to hyperspace and left you in it's wake." Was he talking about Kylo or himself? Or both? And how much did that matter?
tech_nically: (just a tad concerned)

[personal profile] tech_nically 2022-11-10 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
The thought is almost a funny one, to send a message to someone who's part of the Empire they're trying to keep out of sight from, but there's other things as well that don't make this much of a viable approach. "If not for these circumstances I would not have thought there to be any other options, sir," he notes. "Our personal contacts are few, and of the Jedi we were only able to assume if they haven't been killed, then they have made themselves scarce- and are doing a far better job of it than we have been."

Bail Organa... Ah, the senator of Alderaan. Tech nods. The mention of Palpatine shifting his interests is something that he's uncertain about. It seems irresponsible after all the work that had been obviously put into getting to the point where he could create a Galactic Empire, but then it seems that there are plenty enough like-minded people more than willing to do his work and exert their power over others. All in all, it's still unsettling, and Tech finds himself guiltily thinking that perhaps being here does have its advantages in that it provides an odd reprieve from those problems. But he still misses the rest of his squad. That's an absence he can never quite get used to.

He looks over at Vader again, head lifting at the sight. Even having seen the Jedi use the Force before, it's still something to see. "Are you almost ready?"
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader floating in a meditative pose (Dark Dimension Vader: floating)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-10 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"More survived than you might think. Most were Padawans, who survived because their masters drew fire to protect them. But the odd adult did as well." Or children who escaped him. "As much as you can, avoid them. They are hunted, and it's generally successful." It's not a brag - it's oddly flat in how he said it.

"Yes." He's figuring out how to tuck the bento box he's 'carrying' into his clothing so he can hold it. Normally he'd tuck it into his obi or under a tabbard but he's not sure it will stay given how he's dressed. "Eager to get started or desiring a change of topic?"
tech_nically: (riiiight)

[personal profile] tech_nically 2022-11-10 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
He's not going to mention the one padawan he's so far aware of that's escaped. Hopefully young Caleb had made it safe somewhere.

The thought of the Jedi being hunted is a chilling one, especially with how indifferently Vader speaks of it. "Not that I think they'd be so trusting of any clones if we ever did come across any," he says. He remembers the haunted look that had been in Obi-Wan's eyes the first time they'd run into each other here.

"...both," Tech admits then. He has no reason to lie about it, while interesting as it is to speak about these things, it's no light matter. It gives him a lot more to think about as well.

"Should I carry it?" he asks then, gesturing to the box.
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader floating in a meditative pose (Dark Dimension Vader: floating)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-10 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
He's more aware of Caleb Dune than Tech knows.

He has to be indifferent. He can't face what he's done, and he can't sit smug in his actions with Obi-Wan and Luke here either. Indifference is all he can manage.

"No, they wouldn't. That's for everyone's safety, but it was designed to prevent survivors and any Clones who slipped through the cracks from teaming up against Palpatine." And him, but it hadn't been his design.

"Fair enough." Despite the fact that he asked, most wouldn't have admitted they wanted Vader to change the topic - they wouldn't dare challenge him. It's...actually nice to have someone who will. "Do you have any other questions about general customs in burial grounds?" Information gathering and all.

"That would be helpful, yes. But I am not sure if that 'counts'." They'd find out, he supposed. He floated it over to Tech.
maskedtyrant: (Bashful | Deflect)

[personal profile] maskedtyrant 2022-11-10 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Codi huffs a breathless, wry laugh. "What would you rather I said?" she asks, wincing as she rolls into a slightly more dignified position on her elbows. Her injured leg is held awkwardly in front, the fabric of her pants soaked red from mid-thigh down to her calf. The fact that the color has drained from her face and she's broken into a cold sweat says that this is probably too much blood for her to be losing right now. "'Please take this orange so you won't stab me again'? These things appreciate decorum more than honesty, Juhani - I'm just giving them what they want."
morganknight: (smirking sort of)

[personal profile] morganknight 2022-11-10 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, thank God." Despite not believing in a supreme deity, plenty of American life had influenced his language nonetheless. Relaxing a little, he turns back to the patient, gently tugging the sheet away to expose the bare skin of the upper back and shoulders. . "Iodine for the back if you would? I'm so glad you remembered, I figured you would, but I sure would've sounded weird and creepy if you didn't, right?"
makemeasong: (Default)

[personal profile] makemeasong 2022-11-10 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
It was an overreaction. [ That, she does agree with. ]

But I see the alter ahead so maybe our last ghost will appreciate you and your oranges.

[ A question pops into her mind and before she can keep herself from asking, it leaves her mouth. ]

Is there a ghost you'd want to see in particular?
tech_nically: (as i expected)

[personal profile] tech_nically 2022-11-11 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
There's something upsetting in that outline, framing just how intricately things were planned. Knowing distrust was purposely sowed between former allies probably only feels worse when you hadn't been subjected to being forced into acting out against them. Perhaps he should be more thankful that at least here he can still talk with any Jedi at all, without anyone being wary about things he hadn't personally done.

Tech does tend to be more direct and forthcoming in things than other people might be. Speaking with Vader is always an experience in general. "I suppose being respectful is an expected behavior. I think my concerns are more in how one is expected to interact with the deceased if they are capable of doing so here." Giving them fruit to appease them is certainly a strange notion. He takes hold of the bento once it's within his reach, nodding at it. "Is offering food to the dead not an unusual practice?"
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader (his mental map of himself) armed with swords (Dark Dimension Vader: armed)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-11 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Vader had played so wonderfully into Palpatine's hands too - in ways he didn't even realize, still. The man was a master manipulator for certain.

Don't trust wealthy old men. A lesson he thought he knew.

"It's common enough. Food, incense, candles. Not everyone does it but many cultures do." Once Tech had the box, Vader just pushes himself forward, moving as he still has legs attached but only Force replacing them. "If they'll tell you a name or title to addresses term as it's best, and it's best to use your most polished manners until they say otherwise." Mostly lessons he'd learned in Sith tombs that.
tech_nically: (I guess I'm alive)

[personal profile] tech_nically 2022-11-11 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
Tech stacks both boxes to carry against him under one arm, slipping the ring of his lantern onto that hand before adjusting the bag of oranges in the other.

"So you've had experience with...spirits?" he asks. It's such a strange thing to ask, but he's never dwelt too much on supernatural matters. The most supernatural experiences they'd ever had would be in witnessing the feats the Jedi performed. Wondering what came after death just seemed to invite more potential of the prospect, and he and the rest of his squad lived very much in the moment of things, but then he suspected all clones did. They only had so long a lifespan after all.
forcecalls: (pic#14254155)

[personal profile] forcecalls 2022-11-11 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
The element of weakness does worry him, though whatever he's dealing with now, it's not as much of a disadvantage as those first battles when he still had his chip.

"I wanted to see if it would pass. It does." Of course, the simple fact of that statement proves that it hasn't in any long term sense. These spells of feeling unwell just keep happening. "...for a while."

He hears himself, and there's an edge of shame in his voice as he adds that last part. Trying to deny that tethering is the likely solution to this issue is foolish at this point, isn't it? Much as a passing illness would be a far more convenient answer.

He huffs a small, frustrated sigh. "I'll consider it."
jedied: protecting both your heart and mine (19)

[personal profile] jedied 2022-11-11 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
She'd been prepared for him to put up more of a fight. She relaxes considerably at even this much agreement, which in itself is a testimony to how concerned she'd been.

"Good. Even if they were exaggerating and it won't kill you -- you don't need to take the risk. There must be someone correctly aligned that you'd consider."

A quick rundown in her head produces Obi-Wan and Luke, the latter of which is obviously out. A few other people she'd met, but no one else she knows well enough to recommend. But she doesn't know everyone here yet, and it'll still be a while yet before he's risking actual lasting harm. There's not a rush to tether to someone immediately -- though she'll still feel better once she knows he's chosen someone.
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader (his mental map of himself) armed with swords (Dark Dimension Vader: armed)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-11 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Every battlefield I've ever walked in has been littered with them." Occasionally he could ignore them but occasionally not. "It troubled Ahsoka when she was young. She was young enough to not have experienced it before and I didn't think to prepare her." His fault. His failure.

"Not all Force Sensitivities are a strongly attuned of course but we can all sense them, eventually." It was why the dead were normally burned - and how he made Jedi traps. Used the bodies and the souls connected to them.
jedied: (205)

[personal profile] jedied 2022-11-11 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Someone probably should.

Rey is quiet for a long few moments as his words sink in, during which she regards him with some seeming new understanding. Perhaps she's starting to see that the similarities between him and Kylo aren't necessarily bad.

"How do I help him see that it isn't too late to choose another way?"

What would you believe?
forcecalls: (bad pickup lines)

[personal profile] forcecalls 2022-11-11 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
He notices that relief. Somehow, he never fails to find her concern for him surprising.

"I've met a few people aligned with Tian." Rokuro had all but directly offered, back when they'd all been forced to join that tethering app. Kylo stands by what he had said there, even now, but that makes him an option, if needed. Of course, there's someone else he would rather choose. He isn't certain how he feels about his grandfather having access to his thoughts, either, especially when he doesn't have any idea how to control a tether the way he can the Force, but it's a much more palatable idea than it would be with most other people.

He turns to Rey curiously. "You've been tethered for a while. How does that connection work?" Much as he has no desire to learn new things about his shockingly young uncle, he would like information on the tether itself.
nouskaiananki: Dark Dimension Vader floating in a meditative pose (Dark Dimension Vader: floating)

[personal profile] nouskaiananki 2022-11-11 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Give him time then.

Vader is quiet for longer than Rey was, looking straight ahead. But it's not difficult to see the almost violent twitching of this muscles where they attach to the cybernetic bases, even through his clothing. It's not difficult to feel him either, the hurt, the betrayal, the rage, the pain.

'Then you are truly lost.'

"There isn't a way back for me. It's too late." It's resigned. Not angry or prideful, just resigned. This was his life. "But it needn't be that way for him. Give him an anchor which won't yield it's hold, not to anyone, not even him. Know, believe he's better than the worse he's ever done, don't let go. It's a battle he must fight, but one you have to win. The Dark lies. It whispers beautiful promises or screams terrible fates, but it's all a trap. And I made my pledge. But it. He. Can't have my grandson."
tech_nically: (origins uncertain)

[personal profile] tech_nically 2022-11-11 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
A sobering thought. In that he decides he can be grateful that it's not something he's been aware of, although he can only imagine how overwhelming that might be for someone so attuned.

"What makes them linger there? Or anywhere..? Because it is where they died or where their bodies rest?" Tech asks, gesturing towards the cemetery with the latter part of his question. He'll start to move forward once Vader does so. Perhaps walking alongside a limbless figure in such a manner might be considered just as strange and unnerving as walking through a graveyard full of ghosts, but despite being adept at technology, it didn't particularly mean that Tech himself stood stolidly by more scientific aspects, and really, besides the implications, he was finding the information rather fascinating.
jedied: (Default)

[personal profile] jedied 2022-11-11 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
She sent herself to him in a cargo container to get him away from Snoke; even angry with him, she's always going to be concerned.

She's equally reluctant to talk about her connection to Luke, but there's no need to mention anything specific. She hesitates briefly, trying to be careful with her words.

"It's not so different from our Force bond, minus the part where we appear to each other. Tethers don't seem to work that way."

Little does she know that her Heba gift will in fact work that way.

"It's nothing bad, honestly. You can tell if they're feeling a particularly strong emotion. Pick up thoughts here and there. I haven't worked out how to shield myself from it like I did with the Force, but it's been fine so far. We try to respect each other's privacy."

She's grateful for that. Luke had waited for her to reach out after picking up on her breakdown over her bloodline. He'd been concerned, but gave her space. She's not sure it'll be harmonious forever, but so far she appreciates the extra sense of being connected to someone.
forcecalls: (no seriously i don't understand)

[personal profile] forcecalls 2022-11-11 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Hm." Particularly strong emotions and thoughts here and there are things he's used to picking up from people on a daily basis, though in most cases, he's not used to that being a two way street. And not being able to shield at all, having no choice in what thoughts get shared, is concerning.

"What sort of thoughts?" There are different layers, some loud and on the surface, easy for a Force user to pick up, and others that take more digging. He'd like to know whether this tether bond restricts itself to the former or not. "Can you communicate through it intentionally?"

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