sassafrisk: <user name=e8luhs site=tumblr.com> (Can't Believe You)
sassafrisk ([personal profile] sassafrisk) wrote in [community profile] melodiesofeternity2018-11-16 11:26 am

Player Plot: Winter Isn't Coming, it's Already Here

Who: Everybody who signed up for the event.
When: November 23rd-30th
Where: The Uncharted Territories
What: Frisk leads an expedition into the North to try and find Hades. It doesn't go well.
Warnings/Notes: Post a toplevel to each of the segments below if you want. Encounters will be posted under the appropriate toplevel. For combat, I'd appreciate it if you put where your putting your passive job stat boosts in the subject line of your first post, plus any other boosts your character may have. Thank you!


THE STAGING GROUND (DAY ONE)
The directions that the volunteers have been sent over mail lead to a chocobo ranch just a day away from Armstrong Fort. For a groundbreaking journey into the unknown, the staging ground for Frisk’s expedition isn’t all that impressive. A quaint, if run-down, farmhouse lies next to the chocobos’ grazing patch, where Frisk can be seen arguing with a surly-looking Elezen. White chocobos coo at the new arrivals next to a mound of barely organized high-quality camping gear, staring at them curiously (or blankly, depending on how much intelligence to ascribe to chocobos). It’s a brisk November morning, and the cold bites into marrow of one’s bones as frost-encrusted dead grass crunches beneath the chocobos’ feet. Bleak grey clouds block out the sun, threatening snow but never quite delivering. Resignation and bleakness permeate the air. This certainly isn’t an auspicious start to an already dubious quest.

INTO THE VAST (DAY ONE)
The first day of the expedition is, in a word, boring. Dreary, depressing, monotonous, and several other words of similar caliber would also be apt descriptors. The moody weather doesn’t change through the long hours of plodding towards Armstrong Fort, the clouds oscillating between grey and sullen, and black and intimidating; but always refusing to actually burst and bring down snow on the party’s head. Not even random encounters deign to make an appearance to spice up the day, due to the extensive efforts of Tark Varentain’s military. Perhaps the only redeeming factor of this first day is that the flat terrain and docile chocobos make the actual riding of the birds a breeze, with only the most inept of chocobo riders--such as Frisk--falling off or bruising their rumps through other means. With MogNet reception growing spottier as the team approaches the Claus Snowfields, the only way to pass the time is with conversation.

ARMSTRONG FORT (NIGHT ONE)
When Armstrong Fort appears on the horizon near sundown, it brings a sudden change in weather. Snowflakes begin falling from the sky, increasing in numbers and force as the expedition party makes its way towards the imposing fortress. After just thirty minutes, it’s nearly impossible to see ten feet past your chocobo’s beak. Thankfully, the white chocobos are used to such conditions, so the expedition party still makes good time. The party arrives at Armstrong Fort an hour after the inclement weather begins, and they’re greeted by grim guards who refuse to let them in after a solid fifteen minutes of arguing with Frisk, despite the permit for lodging that they display.

Inside, the fort is just as bleak as the outside, although in a significantly different way. Primarily elezen and human soldiers huddle around sputtering fires on the walls, peering through the snowstorm looking for any signs of monsters. The cries of the wounded echo from the medical hall, although all of the soldiers remain stoic even to their comrades’ pain. If pressed, one of the guards will begrudgingly explain that without a regular shipment of mana potions, their healers often can’t use magic on every wounded soldier, forcing them to do it the old-fashioned way.

The empty bunks that the volunteers are escorted to are uncomfortable, cold, and barren, but it’s marginally better than sleeping on the floor. Marginally. But whatever slumber the party gets is interrupted at one in the morning, when a pack of ferocious yetis attacks the walls. The soldiers stationed at Armstrong Fort are used to such assaults and don’t need any help fending off the monsters, but if any of the adventurers give their assistance anyways, they’ll earn the guards’ grudging respect and perhaps a little something for their trouble.

CLAUS SNOWFIELDS (DAYS TWO AND THREE)
The volunteers are awoken just before the crack of dawn, dragged (by force if need be) to a breakfast of heated ration block and hustled out the door before the sun would even peek over the horizon if it wasn’t completely obscured by the endless snowstorm. From there, a boring journey becomes downright miserable.

Everybody has to huddle uncomfortably close together on their chocobos to keep from losing each other in the oppressive whiteness of the storm. Even the high-end survival gear that the volunteers are wearing only slightly blunts the biting edge of the cold, the raw frigidity of the environment digging deep into the marrow of the bones and nestling there like some twisted parasite. The white chocobos, as surefooted as they are in this environment, struggle against the howling gales, each step forward seeming like a monumental accomplishment.

It isn’t long before all sense of direction is lost. Compasses stop working just a few hours in, their only use being pointing a way vaguely forward to venture towards. The only reliable way to tell the time is the frequency and strength of monster attacks; as the day inches towards night at an agonizingly slow pace, more and more monsters bound out of the snow to savage the party. At the start of this leg of the journey, packs of roving monsters only came once or twice every hour. But as the hours grind past it begins seeming like the party can’t have five minutes of peace before being interrupted by some manner of beast. It’s not just yetis and ice elementals, either: there are strange, exotic animals, all the apex of physical perfection that comes with the ability to survive in such a harsh environment. Magical constructs such as ice golems and undead dressed in the clothes of other explorers also sometimes come charging out of the snow at the party, forcing a confrontation.
pishirogane: (.....)

[personal profile] pishirogane 2018-11-22 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
"How long does that generally last?"

Finished with her potion, Naoto wasn't even going to ask what was happening that resulted in the singeing. It was best - if at all possible - that Frisk remain in the present now and not get anymore injured than they already were.
mythmaker: (💜106)

[personal profile] mythmaker 2018-11-22 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sorry, sorry. I lost one of my mittens in the snow."

Instead of wearing heavy Astrologian robes, she's wearing heavy winter clothes instead. A purple parka, heavy gloves. You know, like she's about to adopt the Ice Climbers. She holds her hands in front of the fire and exhales a long sigh.

"My, my...your Melodies are really impressive, aren't they? I wonder if I have one."
whirluendo_of_puns: ([Uendo] the heck does that mean)

[personal profile] whirluendo_of_puns 2018-11-25 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeesh, isn't that kind of scary?" Uendo asked, reaching down to pick up the raggedy cloak dropped by one of the mages before joining the others at the fire. Even dressed up for winter, it was still too damn cold. "What if something goes wrong with the other yous? Wouldn't that do odd things to time and space?"

Not that he was an expert on time travel. His knowledge pretty much all came from scifi movies.
topgun_textiles: (urk--)

[personal profile] topgun_textiles 2018-11-26 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure ya do! Just gotta kinda... look in yourself and kinda let it out somehow. I dunno, it's weird to explain." Maybe he'd one day figure out how to properly explain how to discover innate powers, but for right now, he wondered how the hell he even first brought out his Persona.

He just... got mad and wanted to do somethin' about what was wrong with the town.
pishirogane: (... Were they streaking?)

[personal profile] pishirogane 2018-11-26 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
"Kanji-kun, not them. It's the other Frisks." Though, considering they were discussing Melodies somewhat, not hard to get mixed up in the conversation. "It's a common trope in time travel where altering yourself at any point will have an overall effect."

Though, looking over at Frisk, she does consider. "Hm... each of them appear to be separate entities so I assume the Frisk present with us would be fine..."

Glancing behind her, she looked up at Kanji. "We'll be off our shift soon." The confusion might be from exhaustion.
Edited 2018-11-26 05:40 (UTC)
topgun_textiles: (... o///o)

[personal profile] topgun_textiles 2018-11-26 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
He canted his head, perplexed himself. Ah well, it was late and if Frisk was gonna be alright even after blinking in and out of existence for a while who was he to question it? So long as they seemed pretty chill about it... but were they, really?

But he blinked down at Naoto. "Yeah, I think so. I think I'm ready to hit the bricks. I'll start wakin' up the second shift."

...

He spotted some stray sword laying in the snow, fallen from one of their foes. Perfect. Using it as an anchor embedded in the snow, he began to awkwardly... slowly... shuffle... back to the tents.