welcome to joikull.QUICK LINKS
You're lying in bed, when it happens. There's an odd pulling sensation in your stomach, and people who have been through this before know that the Jump is about to occur. You have time to grab what's closest to you, and that's about it, before you suddenly wake up in... a bed? But not your own. The first thing you notice: the temperature. You were comfortable when you fell asleep, but now it’s very, very cold. Even if you pull the blanket up over your head, the chill seems settled into your bones. How did it get this cold? You were sure the flurries at the Temple last week were not in your bedroom. When you finally peek out to face the rest of the world, it will start to make sense. Your room appears to be made of ice now. You are, as far as you can tell, inside an igloo. Your blanketed bed is made of wood, but everything else inside is ice. The door. The desk. The floor. It’s all carved out of the stuff, to an expert degree, sure, but it’s still ice. Just when you begin to wonder what in the hell is going on, there is a ping on your watch. A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH. "Hello, dear Traveler! It worked, it worked..."
Astoria's expression is cheerful and chipper, on the watch. Those who have done this for awhile know that Astoria typically reaches out before the Jump, but for the second time in a row, she seems to have managed to contact you afterward.
"You are now in Joikull! It appears to be a bit cold, so I sent you with some coats and things in your rooms! Make sure you wear them. ♥ I feel a darkness in that world that is hard to explain, a bit warm but -- "
Astoria's voice suddenly stops there, and her brow furrows slightly. The image wavers, ever so much, and Astoria's eyes suddenly shift off-screen, her mouth opened slightly, her brow furrowing in confusion. There is a sound of a voice offscreen, but it's a bit too muffled to make out. And then, Astoria says:
"How did you get here?"
But the image cuts, after that. You have little time to wonder what the hell that was on about, though: you're busy pulling on the fur-lined coat that Astoria has seemingly left you, and set off to explore . . . what had she said, again? Joikull?
WHEN YOU WAKE UP.Welcome to Joikull!
➜ It hits you in waves — the icy cold, biting and relentless. Whether you’re accustomed or unaccustomed to the cold, the temperature is a drastic contrast to that of the Temple’s. The walls around you are a transient white, and it’s not long before you realize that they too are forged from ice. There are 2 other beds in your room, both of which are occupied, and the wood underneath you begins to creak.
Suddenly, an elderly woman enters the room, clanging a silvery white (is that more ice?) pot and pan. “Rise and shine, darlings!” she crows out before standing at the center of the room. “It’s time for breakfast! She beckons you to come downstairs, and should you follow her, you’ll be sure to discover that practically all of this newly discovered...inn? is also forged from ice.
➜ The dining room is grand — it’s fitted for a castle of sorts, but this appears to be the norm around here. The tables are overflowing with food, ranging from warm stews and breads to chilled meats and sweet, frozen delicacies. And when one plate runs out, Joikull’s civilians rush to simply fix another one out of thin air. And while there are plenty of other natives here, none of them seem to be eating. In fact, they seem to be looking excitedly at you to eat instead. You've got to be hungry, don't you?
➜ People are quick to make conversation with you, and if they notice that you’re cold, you may get wrapped into somebody’s embrace or asked if you need to huddle for warmth. Perhaps you’re better off asking one of your Circle members?
 JOIKULL: MORE THAN JUST THE COLDThe city is built on the top of a mountain, with cliffsides surrounding each side. With the help of the stone and the ice, the city itself is grand in scale. Buildings and homes and places of business have all been expertly crafted and carved. Lives happen here, as they do in any city, and they all seem to surround themselves with ice, snow, or the continued existence of it. The magic is particularly curious, as it doesn't seem to match the rest of it, but there doesn't seem to be any clue as to why.
➜ Do you want to build a snowman? No, really - in one of the parks there seem to be a large group of natives (all swirling snow and ice and all) who are collecting snow into forms and figures. They'll ask for your help, if you're willing to grant it, and while putting together the snow and ice you'll find that you're able to create...a new person? Or at least a new native, with an energy, personality, and appearance all their own! They will also want to be your new best friend, so I hope you're...ready for someone to follow you around at least for a day or two. No worries if you've decided to do some crafting on your own, though. They definitely need the magic of the natives (and not the new, warm kind) to actually come alive. So if you want wanted to make something on your own, you're quite safe.
➜ The city seems to basically be made of ice. And by basically, we mean almost entirely. The use of wood and fire and food and really, anything that isn't ice and snow, is all vaguely new and foreign to the natives. You may be asked, even walking down the street, how to use a specific item or what to do with it. If asked, they got it through the magic, it looks quite fun! They just need....some help! Or it's possibly you can see a native using something in a very incorrect way. Will you step in?
➜ You're more than welcome to explore the city. The natives are all quite trusting and eager to welcome you into their lives! But something you may notice while you do so is the...well. Way that everything seems a bit off. It's subtle, so much that you might not even notice it, but the walls of this building definitely seem to be...melting. No, that can't be possible, can it? The natives will argue with you, say that everything is fine, but actually no - you're looking at it now - and it's definitely melting. Like. Very much so. But what can you do?  A CELEBRATION OF VISITORS
Joikull’s people are more than amiable enough — and they’re at their prime during their festivals. This celebration has been hosted with the intention of welcoming the Circle, and it certainly shows. They’ve up and concocted makeshift buildings to accommodate their festivities, and a circle of flora forged from ice surrounds the premises. There are stalls, games, and food for all, alongside people eager for your company.
➜ It's only natural that in a winter wonderland, you're expected to get creative with snow: well, it appears as though Joikull has taken a bit too far. There are games ranging from the average game of rope tow to full fledged snow wars. People have gathered into teams, and fortresses have been constructed from the ice — the objective of this game seems to be to destroy your enemy's defenses. With the power of magic, everyone has a bit of an advantage...and a disdvantage. Apparently, the winners will be receiving a day's worth of shopping fully on the house.
Or you could play rope tow. That's an option too.
➜ Food is integral to any festival. Today, plates of curry are offered from vendor to vendor — now, curry may seem a bit random, but this is the first time they've been able to make it due to the sudden surge of magic! Does it taste alright? Some plates are far spicier than they should be, but it's the thought that counts. Wash it down with pineapple upside down cake-on-a-stick, or a few gourmet popsicles (all of which which happen to be enchanted with a random side effect unbeknowest to you.)
➜ Keeping warm is likely on your mind right now. The vendors have rustic, sizable antiques to offer, varying from lanterns to wooden carvings to glass orbs, but they also have a collection of weavery to offer as well. Oversizes dresses and jackets seem to be in style right now — but there are ponchos and hats to suit your needs as well.
➜ Once the sun begins to set, Joikull’s citizens get into position, all circling the center of the festival grounds. Suddenly, they hook arms, joyfully dancing and shifting from person to person. It appears as though they’re square dancing — either find or a partner or get roped into a dance unwillingly! The goal is to dance until you’re the last pair left; the flashier you are (perhaps with the aid of magic), the more attention you’ll draw to yourselves.
 BEYOND THE WALLS.The decision to venture down under the fortress to get beyond the walls is one you will need to make on your own, as the natives are quite adamant about the fact there is nothing wrong and nothing to see out there. It will actually take you, and other Circle Members, to even find the door that will lead you out of the city - an old, dusty, boarded up doorway. Boarded up with wood, strangely enough.
Your decision to investigate is entirely up to you. If you signed up here, it will be your or your team’s decision on when, and for how long.
The natives weren’t wrong - the trip will be dangerous, but there are enough supplies for you to bring with you to survive, as long as something else doesn’t get in the way.
For those who have decided to go off into this journey, direct your attention to The Beyond The Walls Log!
TEAMS/GROUPS/ADVENTURERSZari, Wanda, Steve, Bucky, and Nate.
Hisoka
Pigdge, Shiro, Firo, and North.
Roy, Riza, Maes, Molly, and Konoha.
Vex, Vax, and Percy.
Ruby, Ren, and Carmen.  HELP NEEDED:➜ Calling all able-and-solid-bodied workers! The festival is in need of some hard working hands to help, you guessed it - CARVE SOME ICE. There are new structures in need and new buildings that need help and they need as many hands as possible to carve into these huge blocks. Their new magic just isn’t working fast enough!
➜ Are you interested in food? Cooking? What about trying to teach the natives about said food and cooking? Because somehow, this magic has created a way for them to find food - mostly veggies and salted meats - but they’ve never eaten before! And this looks fun! Share some of that knowledge and experience, yeah?
➜ There are booths set up all along the main street of Joikull sporting a variety of games, crafts, fortune tellers, drinks and food, and everything else in between. And boy- do they need help managing! Ever wanted to work in the service industry? For an entire population of ice people? Now’s your chance.
➜ Clean up! Each day, as the sun begins to set, it will be time to clean everything up and put it away. Even with the new and fun lights everywhere around, making the job much easier than it would have been previous, it’s still a bit more…..difficult. Can you tell a small ice statue from the next? How about sweeping up snow off of…snow? Have fun! Because the natives are leaving you pretty much on your own.
➜ One of the larger establishments (Marietta’s Mansion is the name carved above the front door) is a working and busy tavern of sorts. Natives move in and out of the large open space chattering loudly an excitedly about all of the newest and brightest things they’ve seen. But what Marietta, yes the owner, can’t seem to keep any of her native workers on task. Spend too much time in here and she will put you to work - carving new seats out of the walls, cleaning the tables, figuring out some way to keep everything from wearing down and melting…it never used to be this difficult for her before!
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acatalepsy_logs2019-06-13 09:27 am
Klan Klang | Macross Frontier | OTA
[Klan isn't doing too badly for herself in the cold (though she is wearing a very big jacket to cover her very big ten foot tall self). However, she doesn't want to waste any time figuring out what the problem they need to be dealing with is for this world.
It doesn't take her long to pick up on the...glistening about some of the buildings here, and before too long, she's stopped next to a rather melty wall that visibly has a little bit of water running down it.]
...Is it just me, or is this thing melting? Shouldn't they be fixing something like this?
--
[b: snow wars]
[Klan might have a bit of a soft spot for overdone war games, judging by the fact that she seems to have kind of taken command of the side of the forts she's on. Or that might just be because the snow people are apparently inclined to look up to the very definitely tallest person in the area right now.
At least her tactics are good, because the other fort seems to be getting rumbled a bit by this point, its defenses being methodically weakened by focusing on areas that are easier to break through. Klan looks like she's considering something, though, and after tossing another handful of snowballs over (which is a lot for someone her size), she crouches down to talk to the person next to her.]
If they're using magic, do you think the powers the witch gave us are supposed to be fair game?
--
[c: ye olde pickaxe method]
[When it comes to helping out, Klan takes the obvious route of offering her strength, which means she starts out over in the ice carving area. Though she's never used a pickaxe before, Faerun gave her some experience with swinging around human weapons like that, and it's not like the weight is any bearing on someone like her...which is why she seems to be wielding one pickaxe per hand instead of doing it the traditional way. When you're her size, using two hands on a weapon is basically just shorting yourself a hand you could be doing something else with.
The effect is that she looks like some kind of engine of destruction over here, plowing through the wall of ice with worrying efficiency. If anyone else tries to approach her section, she glances over and spreads her pickaxe-filled hands by way of explanation.]
I think you might be safer taking up somewhere a bit down the wall, I don't want to hit anyone by mistake.
--
[d: marietta's]
[Unsurprisingly, Klan finds her way to the tavern before too long, though she doesn't do a lot of drinking so much as just listening in on what people have to say. She's curious about how aware the locals are of the melting situation, though it doesn't sound like much is going on.
The establishment itself seems to be melting, though, which Klan observes in particular when the tavern owner requests her strength for carving some more furniture out of the walls. It's hard not to notice when her tools bring a small running of water wherever they cut through, and she frowns a little at it.]
Do you think they have anything to cool down their interiors here? Not like you'd need it in a place like this most of the time, but the people are gonna start melting at this rate.
--
[e: wildcard]
[[Klan is probably going to be looking into the melting problem on the city end of things, so feel free to jump in with anything about that, or hit me up at
a
[The melting thing is a little concerning, right?] It's possible that's the first sign of what Astoria dropped us here to tackle -- though now we could possibly make this place colder...
[A shake of his head.] Unless we're part of the cause for the melting
no subject
It'd be pretty weird if she sent us here knowing that we'd cause it. There has to have been something going on before we got here, even if it doesn't look like the locals want to admit it.
[There are definitely a few people who seem to be hurrying by to avoid getting flagged down for conversation or a second opinion.]
no subject
[Keith answers with a frown. It's ether that or willful disregard, but for the moment he leaves that unsaid.]
But you might be right about that. Something like this couldn't start that fast.
[They've only just arrive. And the local do seem hesitant to speak about it.]
no subject
I'd suggest trying to look for a timeframe, but if the locals won't speak up about it, then that's going to be hard.
[Unless anyone else here turns out to be deeply experienced in the area of ice architecture.]
sorry about the journal fail there for a second
[He remembers Akvos and the rift and how it tore and destroyed everything. Keith has a feeling that all their travel as a group and individuals through that rift, trying to help as they may have been, pushed a world on the brink over the edge.
He shakes his head.]
The denial is a little weird. You're right about a timeline helping. There's got to be a reason they don't want to even acknowledge it.
[Keith grew up in a desert, so his ice experience involves cubes and that's about it.]
no subject
We might have to do some research, see if there's any records of when it started that the locals marked. Even if they just wrote it down as something interesting and not a problem, because it sounds like they've gotten more than just melting out of whatever this is.
[The food and things seem to be recent additions, so Klan's suspecting something weird going on there.]
no subject
[Keith's eyebrows rise faintly, but his tone is level.]
The attitude of being aware that our actions could have consequences that aren't necessarily the ones we intend?
[He's used to missions too. And he's learned the lesson of what charging in without considering all the possibilities can do. So he'd rather not have a repeat of Akvos where they watched a world be destroyed and may have hurried it along trying to help or Struxta where they nearly wiped themselves out with a plague.] If it's all the same to you, I'm going to keep it in mind.
[He frowns, considering. Better to focus on the actual problem at hand for now anyway.]
Maybe they'd be more willing to talk about when that started happening, the other things showing up, I mean. And find out if there are records, a library or some local historian. Or something.
no subject
Then again, she's never really understood humans' tendency to overthink that sort of thing.] If it's framed as being curious about what came around that time, they might be happier with it. It seems like it's just the melting they want to ignore, so if we take it from another angle it might be easier.
[The suggestion of a library gets a faint snort out of her, though, as if something just occurred to her.] I wonder how they keep records here. Not on paper, I bet.
no subject
[Keith looks, for a moment, genuinely confused. He doesn't know this woman, and he doesn't know what to make of the fact that she's projecting these decisions and conclusions on him that he hasn't made or even hinted at, aside from being cautious and not counting out any possibility until they do have some evidence or answers.
It's probably not worth arguing. If she wants to scold for things she's decided he's thinking or doing, it doesn't matter. So he focuses on the part of the conversation that seems like it might actually be productive.]
It's something to try. And it might turn up other details we haven't noticed because we don't have the familiarity with this place to know what is or isn't recently changed.
[He considers. Probably not paper, no.] Oral tradition maybe? Or some written form preserved in ice, like everything else seems to be. And if there is some ice-based written archive, it's going to be just as susceptible to the melting if it continues.
no subject
Well, it's natural to start something like this by gathering information. Until we have a clearer idea of how this started, there's not a lot of point theorising. [Because it's more likely they'll be completely wrong in the end if they're doing it apropos of nothing.]
Oral tradition seems more likely. I guess you could carve in ice like you could stone, but it'd take a hell of a lot of space to store that. But we'll find out once we start looking.
[She runs a finger over the wall, as if to test it.] Figuring out how long it would take this amount of melting to make this city structurally unsound might be more of a problem, though. Assuming the people aren't the ones who start to melt by then.
no subject
I've seen some alien species program living organic plant matter like a computer because plants were what they had to work with. Who knows what these guys have figured out how to do with ice. The structures are impressive.
[And melting a little. But not enough to concern the local population.] At least the natives seem willing to talk to us, and happy enough that we're here. [Hopefully that means they just need to ask the right questions. Maybe.]
...I've got a couple friends who could probably figure it out, the structural integrity bit I mean, if they had the right data. [Give Hunk enough structural information and he can puzzle anything out, so far as Keith is concerned. And Pidge may be a programming genius, but he won't count her out of any sort of mathy problem.]
no subject
It's nice that they're receptive to us being here, but it's compounding their problem and ours that they're trying to distract from what we're trying to solve. [She'll take it over trying to work in active hostility, but still, it's worth noting.]
They might be more willing to share that kind of data if we don't tell them what it's for. They've seemed pretty fine with showing off so far.
no subject
[Keith agrees, considering. Given that their current hosts are openly welcoming and friendly, the fact that they are so adamant about nothing being wrong is stranger still. There has to be a reason for it, but getting that out of anyone is likely going to be just as challenging.]
So we ask about the other things turning up. Avoid the questions that no one wants to answer, for now anyway.
[Those things have a tendency of having to come out in the end one way or another.]
no subject
[It is a little bit weird, though, considering the situation. The magic seems to be relatively new, and surely the Joikull people could tell that that was probably the source of the melting issue...but the fact that they don't want to admit to it implies they might already be too attached to the new magic.
A slight frown crosses her face.] I'm wondering if their reasoning for not wanting to talk is plain just wanting to keep peace or keep the new magic, or something else.
no subject
[Keith nods. Could be a lot of things, but until they actually get some answers, hard to know what fits. In the end, the melting could be more a symptom than the actual issue.]
It could be... finding the source of the change in the magic would probably help us know for sure too.
no subject
For now, I guess we'll probably have to do our own investigations for the most part until we get enough leads to do something more meaningful.
d
It's likely that they never had to worry about it. ...If it's possible to begin with.
[She has seen a handful of carefree races in her time, but this is bordering on ridiculous.]
no subject
[Krolia definitely isn't the only one who's noticed that kind of carefree attitude among them, though, and Klan shakes her head as she straightens up with a fresh, table-shaped lump of ice.] They seem pretty ready to throw this new stuff they've discovered all over the place without having any idea where it came from or how.