acatalepsy_logs | PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

I ▫ main	IV ▫ premise			XI ▫ applications	XIV ▫ activity
II ▫ logs	V ▫ rules	VII ▫ bestiary	IX ▫ canon updates	XII ▫ taken	XV ▫ drop/hiatus
III ▫ ooc	VI ▫ faq	VIII ▫ setting	X ▫ mods	XIII ▫ reserves	XVI ▫ players

the tides shift.

Darkness has begun to spread, rapidly, throughout the entirety of Akvos. Different areas of the Kingdom are plagued by different instances of terror, but one thing remains clear: the Circle does have the available tools to help . . . of sorts. Many of you have discovered different areas of Akvos to focus on, but by and large? There are no shortage of people to help, of people to fight, and of creatures to save.

Hurry quickly, Circle members. Akvos needs your aid.

SHADOWS IN THE DARK.

Shadow creatures have begun to multiple en masse in the Depths of Markolos, and are spreading to every which corner of Akvos. They will be at their highest density in the Depths, and take the form of terrifying creatures with massive claws and gnashing teeth. They seem to be impervious to non-magical damage, so some unique tag-team action may be necessary in order to actually kill the things.

As the monsters multiply, mermaids from across Akvos will fall prey to their attacks, drifting listlessly in the currents of the sea as they fall unconscious, the life-force drained from them by a shadow creature. In order to wake them again, the shadow creature that drained them of their energy must be killed. Act quickly, and you may be able to rally the native forces necessary to stage a proper fight back. But the more you fight, the more exhausted you begin to get.

Those who cannot fight will not find themselves of a shortage of ways to help, though. Shelters are being set up within the Palace of Wahine, a fortress unto itself. Children are corralled there, the injured are kept in the impromptu hospital beds that are guarded by the Royal Guard that are still conscious from the onslaught. They will desperately accept help to care for the children whose parents are unconscious, or to console parents who have lost their children in the mayhem of the sudden attack upon their city.

Food still needs to be gathered, supplies still need to be run from door to door. People need to be evacuated. And from each area of Akvos, there are "runners" of powerful merfolk who have set up caravans drawn by dolphins to quickly whisk people from place to place. Each caravan is under threat of attack from shadows, though -- sign up for the evacuation committee, keep your heads down, and fight back as much as you can to protect these people from whatever the hell is going on.

THE SEVEN SEAS OF WHY.

In addition to the shadow creatures, each area is plagued by a different onslaught of dark magic. Each area has different needs, and each area will require your attention. Focus your energies where able, and do your best to stem the flow of chaos before it is too late. (Check here for a breakdown of types of effective magic.)

The Palace of Wahine is facing an onset of red algae, blooming through the alleyways and infecting mermaids rushing to seek cover. Inhaling the algae doesn't seem to do much to you, in small doses, but it causes violent coughing fits with the mermaids, preventing them from breathing properly underwater. Getting into contact with the red algae will turn your own skin a brilliant shade of pink, and it will cause it to itch uncontrollably (something that is, apparently, impossible to alleviate under the water). It will wear off within a few hours, but the same does not hold true for the mermaids. The healers in the community say that certain herbs in the Fields of Akvosia can be harvested in order to help cure the illness, but they are notoriously hard to find . . . and in the middle of the sharpest parts of the coral reef, naturally. Tread carefully, and be careful not to anger the shadow creatures in your quest.

The Depths of Markolos is the hotbed of chaos, and seems to be where the majority of the shadow monsters are lurking. In addition to the shadow monsters, ice is cascading out of control from the western wall of the depths. Melting it will do the trick, or controlling it to move it out of the way, but it seems to persist. Some of you may find your way to the far back wall, to discover what appears to be the source of whatever this ice seems to be . . . but it will be tough going, and will require some teamwork to make it there. The ice, too, seems to fight back against your forces, and may curl its way around your legs, your legs, to freeze you into place. Hopefully you have a buddy that can get you out of there, before you become a frozen popsicle under the sea.

The Fields of Akvosia's beautiful coral reef is quickly dying, and the mermaids are working as hard as they can to curb the death by harvesting the essential food sources they can before it is too late. Schools of fish desperately flock from reef to reef in search of shelter and food, and soon meet their demise the moment they settle in to a new habitat. Working to cure and reinvigorate the coral reef will be met with great relief from the merfolk, who are desperately trying to cure what they can. Beware the shadow monsters, here, and be on the hunt for herbs that can assist the merfolk falling ill in the Palace of Wahine. Caravans of dolphin-pulled carriages will be whipping by to refill supplies, too -- jump in and help guard them on their way back to civilization.

The Thunderdome has a fresh stock of weaponry that is particularly effective against the shadow monsters, electrified with old runes that the merfolk will happily give to the Circle free of charge to fight back against the monsters. In addition, the jellyfish of the Thunderdome are darkening at a rapid pace. Electricity seems to do the trick in reinvigorating them, but touching them will still turn you a brilliant shade of blue . . . so tread lightly, in that regard. The electrified weapons will do the trick to jab the jellyfish into feeble light in addition to magic already gifted by Astoria, but the mermaids are a bit busy trying to fight off the shadows that are growing increasingly prevalent in the Thunderdome. Help wanted?

THE WHISPERS OF KEA.

Throughout the duration of this battle, investigations taking place by members of the Circle will begin to unveil certain . . . clues. The Princess is still missing, but members of the Circle are getting close to unlocking where she is. King Kathashun, at the beginning of this journey, indicated that she was the key to stopping all of this, and while most of you have no idea who that guy is, he seems to be genuine. (Right? Right.)

But where is she? The Queen is unavailable, for the duration of this event, and who knows where this mysterious "King." is. But as the Circle battles for the life of Akvos, certain messages begin to pop up through your magical watches. Riddles, if you will -- pleas of assistance, begin to trickle through, popping up on your watches in a series of nonsensical words.

The only problem is that the messages seem to be all scrambled up.

lktmohidionl.

hsdpepelgnyeiaior.

herywaeoleeahhthpyveneto.

ehdtetirviarcaeshrasmaohmitnrn

Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before!

NOTE: The Princess' messages will unlock a hint to their meaning (if they aren't solved by the time this happens) once this log hits over 750 comments. :) We are pretty sure this will happen well before the End Log for Akvos happens in January, so we won't be putting a time limit on it. ;) Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hank doesn't have too many grins in him right now so it might be obvious that his short little return-smile is mostly a polite one. But his eyes flicker down to the kid Izuku's got and he waves her closer, interrupting himself to make her feel welcome.]

Hey there, wanna sing along? There's a part comin up that you can just shout right out with us if you want to, I'm sure this guy can help you with it.

[Hank jerks his head toward Izuku because, hey, everyone who looks even vaguely normal probably knows this particular set of lyrics, right? Sure, he can help the new kid sing along. Everyone knows Spongebob. Spongebob is interdimensional.]

[It's okay he gets it. Or at least he's trying to. The merkid drags him over closer so she can hear better and he blinks when called out.]

Um m-me?

[He had a one track mind as a kid for heroes and not sponges in squarepants. Maybe there was a show like that when his mom was a little kid... or even before that.

But he's getting expectant looks from the child and how... can he turn her down? So he inhales and puts on his best smile.]

Y-yeah sure, let's go.

[Well, that sure sounds like confidence. It's too late to take it back now so Hank goes for the next line - Absorbent and yellow and porous is he! Fuck dude, he sure is - and watches Izuku expectantly. If he doesn't come up with something - not even the right thing, just something - quick, the kids are going to stare at him, too, and one of them might shout out something to prompt Izuku along. They might shout out the right thing, or they might shout something rude. You never can tell what it's going to be, with kids. But hey, Izuku might know it! Let's hope he knows it.]

[Well.

This is. A special kind of hell. Everyone is staring at him and he's... gotta come up with something good! Except he's socially awkward as hell and therefore not remotely good at improve.

He sputters for a bit before coming up with-]

Spongey Bob's Square Hat?

["That's not right!" The little merchild looks at him like he's the biggest idiot to ever stumble into her field of vision and gives him a pinch for being such a failure. He yelps softly and rubs at his arm as she takes over and correctly continues the song.]

[Hank manages to get his laughter under control by the time the kids want him to go on and Hank's even able to make it into a whole thing, acting like he's forgotten the line too and making every repetition of it into something like, 'Spongey Bob's square shoes' or 'Spongey Bob's square tie' and acting really surprised every time he gets corrected until, by the end, the kids are shouting the right line out at the tops of their lungs before he's even done with the previous one so Hank doesn't get the chance to mess it up. And then they ask him to sing it again. Hank gives them a faint smile.]

I don't know, I might be too old. I'm forgetting all the lines already! How about you teach, uh, Sumo how it goes? Dogs from the surface are real special, you know. They understand more than you'd think.

[Hank gives Izuku a tired, expectant look at this point. Back him up here, surface human pal.]

[Oh well.

That turned out better than expected. He sighs relief only to get pinched again for not paying attention. Ow. That's going to add to his growing list of bruises. Oh well, that's pretty much his life.

He mostly lets the kids and Hank take over but he claps along to the beat as best he can. This is... nice and he also feels a little inspired. In his head, this is exactly what a hero should be able to do when they save people: help them keep smiling. He's got a bit of a one track mind about this hero stuff, admittedly.

Oh and then he's called back to action and he straightens up.]

Dogs can... [Oh yes, he can play along.] Yeah! Dogs are really smart! Umm, they can learn tricks and things so you know they can probably learn a song!

Yeah, you just gotta figure out how to talk to em. Think you guys can figure it out?

[The first kid leans toward the one Izuku brought along and starts whispering to her, talking out their plan of attack. The mermaid looks up from them, smiling, and leans toward Hank and Izuku while the kids are distracted.]

I can't thank you enough. All of you. Without you, girls like my daughter might never have woken up. Thank you.

[Hank grimaces.]

Nah, I'm not even the one who killed the one that got your daughter. This guy, now- [He motions to Izuku.] He's been up to some stuff.

[Well. It's an educated guess based on just looking at Izuku, but it's a guess that gets the weight of unearned gratitude off Hank, so.]

[He has been up to stuff but he still squirms uncomfortably under her gaze.]

I've... I've really just been trying to help where I can. My powers here aren't really offensive so...

[He glances at Hank, trying to decide how best to handle this sort of thing. He knows that Hank is trying to deflect and he wants to help but he's sort of in the same boat. He bites his lip and then inhales. This sort of thing probably isn't what she wants to hear. It might be the truth but it's not really going to help to anything to say it. So instead he swallows all of his nervous thoughts, puts on a small smile, and bows to her.]

We're definitely going to stop those creatures and make sure everyone wakes up. But we're also here to help however we can. So if you need anything else, please let us know and we'll do our best to help. Even if that means coming up with more songs.

[It's not a bad PR reel and it works, she smiles, and Hank catches her eyes and tilts his head over toward the kids.]

Looks like they're getting along pretty good. Would it be too much trouble for you to, uh...

[He looks apologetic, and she gets it.]

Oh, of course! Of course. I'm sure you two have work to do, and it's good for both of them to have a friend at a time like this. Unless there was somewhere else she needs to be? With her family?

[She frowns, knowing how likely that is.]

[Izuku frowns as well, his head still inclined. He's asking a lot of this woman but at the same time, finding her and Hank seemed to be the best luck he's had recently.]

By the time I found her, I was only able to stop the shadow from getting her and we managed to escape without harm. [Well, mostly.] Her family was already...

[He trails off, they don't need the details explained. They know what happened. But the silence in the air is still uncomfortable.]

[The mermaid nods solemnly, then moves to clasp their shoulders. Izuku's anyway - her hand stops a couple inches from actually touching Hank's and just makes the gesture instead, because she's cool. Hank hadn't wanted to explain his power or why he didn't want to be touched, but she's never asked, just doesn't touch him. Hank gives her a halfhearted smile, because he appreciates it. He hates it, but he appreciates it.]

I'll look after her. And Sumo too, unless you need him?

[Hank shakes his head.]

Nah, I wouldn't want to break up the wonder team. I'll be back in a while, okay?

[She smiles at them both, then leaves. Hank turns toward Izuku.]

You okay, kid? You look a little beat up.

Thank you.

[He trembles a little under her grip, trying to fight off the emotions of guilt that he feels for not being able to do more for that girl. He can't save everyone, he's been told that many times, but he wasn't prepared for how hard it was to see so many people that he wasn't able to help.

He has to reach up and rub at his eyes a little before responding to Hank. But then again he is in the ocean, so maybe no one would notice tears anyway.]

Yeah. I just... those shadows were a lot stronger than I expected. Between the water and the fact that my new Quirk doesn't really improve my mobility... I was... pretty outmatched.

You escaped okay...?

Yeah, I had help.

[Hank shrugs. It'd been terrifying at the time, but - well, that's not exactly new territory, and that's one kind of fear Hank doesn't generally have much trouble shrugging off.]

It get your hand too? I didn't know they could do that.

Ah, no.

I was using a javelin to fight off the shadows. But I think the electricity had some backlash when I gripped it too hard. I didn't really notice until after we'd escaped the shadow.

[He winces, looking a little embarrassed at his own lack of skill.]

Ah, that's too bad. Guess it's lucky we can use electricity here at all without fryin the shit out of ourselves.

Yeah, it doesn't really make sense when you think about it. Must be... magic.

[He's still not used to thinking that! He glances over at Hank.]

I'm glad we found you... I don't think I could have cheered her up quite like that singing.

Eh, it wasn’t really my idea. But yeah, I guess kid’s songs translate okay no matter where you are.

[He shrugs and then frowns, curious.]

Why, don’t they teach you how to deal with kids in hero school? Or is your voice just that bad?

I'm not good at singing, n-no.

[He presses his hand against his chest as if having to still his heart at the very thought of singing in front of people.]

I mean... we learn to help victims get to a safe place after we rescue them but... not deal with kids specifically, no.

[Maybe they should though.]

So, what do they teach you? Don't worry, I'm not, uh- I'm not out to start shittin all over everything you love again, that was just- That was a bad day.

[This is a bad day. But whatever. It feels easier now, when the idea of freaking out again is at least a little farther away, especially here, in the middle of a bunch of desperate, scared people who need them.]

I... oh! Oh. Don't worry about it. [He's sort of used to that thing.] I wish I could say that I hope things have gotten better. ...At least it's less... shocking.

[he glances around before back up at hank.]

I mean, we learn the normal subjects like math, english, social studies, just like everyone else. But we also have Hero Courses where learn how to hone our Quirks in ways that we'd use specifically to rescue people or to take out villains. We do that through various sorts of training regimens and exercises.

Yeah? So, all physical stuff, like... I don't know, how to fly without hittin' airplanes, leap tall buildings in a single bound without squishin anyone on the landing, that kind of thing?

Yeah! Exactly like that.

Plus things to increase our stamina for using our Quirks. They're like muscles so you have to build them up in order to use them. And then we move onto better strategies for using our powers. Pure strength isn't everything. A lot of being a good Hero is knowing how and when to use your powers in a specific situation.

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, since you guys are kind of like walking weapons.

[Of course - Hank's included in that, now. In a way. But that thought sucks, so he ignores it.]

I guess. [There's no doubt that people like himself and Kacchan, most of his class really, could cause serious damage if they wanted to. But that's not the sort of people they are. Even Kacchan's bad attitude doesn't mean he wants to use his powers to hurt others.] But that's why we want to be heroes! To make sure people don't use their Quirks that way!

Well that's uh, noble. I guess it'd be necessary too, wouldn't it. In a world where everyone's got some sort of... special shit. God, that's a weird thought. Like us, with the witch and all that shit but, you know. Normal.

[And all this? Even just their powers? It's anything but normal. Hank can just about handle it because he has to, and because the circumstances around it are weird as hell to match. Imagining this being the case back home? God.]

PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

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if that's not enough of a hook let me know and we can timeskip the song instead

no worries!

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