deercountry | [OPEN] OUTPOST HAVEN [player plot]

Entry tags:

[OPEN] OUTPOST HAVEN [player plot]

Who: Anyone and Everyone
What: Open Post for Player Plot
When: Early August and Onward
Where: Staging Point in Crenshaw and Outpost

Content Warning: None in the main post

[Ooc: This is an open log place for the Outpost player plot, plotting post here and location post here. Feel free to post starters here and tag one another.]

Wall Complete

On one of the days after the wall is finished but before the gate is added D schedules a section of time when only a few people will be at the outpost so a hazardous construction project can take place, just a handful of guards.

When the all-clear is given for construction crews and day shift guards to return the outer wall is practically glowing with heat and the individual stone blocks have been fused together. The ground around it is scorched but there's no lingering fire anywhere despite the smoking and blackened trees and greenery.

Staging Point

On the main floor of the house D has chosen to use as the staging point is an area set up for collecting and preserving blood. Darkblood and coldblood keep easily enough but more care is needed when dealing with vileblood and there's an abundance of dried plants ready to be ground to a powder and added to collected vileblood in the first stage of making the special blood mortar.

In one of the rooms upstairs are scales and measuring devices and glass and metal jars ready to receive the mixture of all three blood types in specific parts along with another plant mixture, the last stage before it's mixed into mortar, which is better done in large batches at the outpost itself.

Tree Clearing

One of the tasks to start off the next step of construction is clearing trees for fifty yards in every direction outside the wall as well as any bushes that are large enough to obscure vision. Felled trees are moved inside the outer wall to be processed mostly into logs for use in construction.

Simple wooden watch towers will be erected at the corner of each wall and wooden stairs in a few other places to allow rapid access to the walls for defensive purposes.

Extra wood and other plant material will be processed for firewood and any other purpose it can serve.

Excavating

Digging and leveling start for both the eventual large basement as well as long trench corridors to run under what will be the kitchen and bath house and clean up area to provide places to run pipes or access the foundation from below. Both buildings share a wall with the already completed bunk house and form the basis of what will eventually be expanded to become a barracks.

Construction

The main focus in this phase is making the place livable for people full time. Getting clean is especially important with blood pollution and corruption still being large issues. There's a bath area to be constructed with six individual bathing areas and a pair of large fireplaces to heat water until more permanent systems can go in. Before plumbing and other things can be done the baths will drain into a set of underground paths and from there to a gravel-filled pit beneath what will be another rose garden.

A kitchen will also go up with a pair of fireplaces and room for people to cook and clean with room for plumbing and more advanced options to eventually be added but for now all food and water will come from storage barrels brought in from the staging point and taken back when they're empty.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Maul shrugs, staring out into the surrounding area. He pulls out some strips of dried meat and begins to eat one while he does so. Not that he can see a whole lot. But at least he'll know if a monster is heading their way since the creatures still resonate in the Force.]

I like to get to know new Sleepers. Knowledge is power.

[fuck this list, she is not going to subject herself to these classes no matter how much she wants to impress d. not the way to go about it - not after the ...incident.]

Nothing wrong with that. Unless you're up to no good. [a beat, half a smile.] Just giving you shit.

If you're good with D, you're good with me. [what? no. no no no. ugh unintended rhyming. why is everything about this man tied to embarrassing herself?] Fuck, I just said that out loud, I guess.

[but he's got a good idea: snack break. she follows his cue and pulls out a cloth with dried fish in it.]

I'm always up to no good.

[Even with the smirk on his face that makes the words a little bit lighter, it doesn't seem like Maul is at all joking. It's true that he always seems to be involved in something or the other around here. That was how he ended up out here at any rate.]

He doesn't seem to despise me and strikes me as the type of person who would make it known if he did.

[D is hard for Maul to read. He's never quite sure just what the dhampir is thinking.]

Yeah, he's a straight shooter, D. I like that. I like---

[nope. nope. back on track, stop that. she is not going to wax poetic about d again. she is going to take this opportunity to stuff a piece of fish into her mouth, though it doesn't completely stop her from speaking as she chews.]

---eh. Sometimes no good is good. Fine line, and all that. How long have you been doing this? You a guard, or....?

[he could be assisting palamedes, or even saeri. a sigh, there.]

[Maul looks sidelong at Vi when she stops herself abruptly in the middle of her sentence. He doesn't know her well enough yet to judge just what she thinks of D, but once he does, oh she is going to be in for a world of trolling about her feelings.]

Sometimes a guard. Sometimes I help with construction. Whatever is needed of me.

[He'd told D he would help since he owes the dhampir. But he still does so on his own schedule, doing what he wants when he wants like an aloof alleycat.]

Same. Guarding, lifting heavy shit here, moving other shit there. I like both, but fighting beasts? That's where it's at.

Well, that and carving out another "safe" place in case Trench shits the bed.

[ahhh, the joys of carrying a cursed object that makes you feel your feelings so much you can't stop talking about them more than usual.]

I'm not one much for getting along with people and doing as I am told. But right now I shall at least try.

[He's doing an okayish job of managing to be around other people and work with them for a long period of time.]

It very well might at any point. Deerington seemed very solid and secure a place until one day it simply wasn't. My brother and I were eating lizards by the end of it all.

Trying counts. That's half the battle. I think it's easier when the people in question tell you to do stuff you'd already do.

[that's success. if there isn't a body count, or a daily incident she'd call it success.]

Okay, I have to ask, and ...you don't have to tell, but lizards? Was that all that was left after...

[what the hell could have happened? she's trying to imagine.]

That does help.

[Maul is on his best behavior when he's doing something he actually wants to instead of being forced into a box that doesn't suit him at all.]

All the other food vanished, first the stores and then even the animals that were around the town. Zabraks have different dietary needs than humans. We can eat fruits and vegetables but they provide no real sustenance to us. For that, we need meat.

Oh, yeah. It helps me a lot. And when that doesn't work, telling people to fuck off? Not underrated.

That's messed up. I can see why you'd want double assurance that shit won't happen here. [and what is assurance, really?] I'd like to believe it's not a possibility, but...

[well, that's a laugh. it's a tiny bit bitter.]

...some of the clowns running this circus? Assholes.

I usually do that with a Force Choke.

[He believes his actions always do speak a lot louder than his words when it comes to interacting with people.]

The Pthumerians will do whatever they so choose and most of them seem to delight in our suffering. If having us end up with a lack of food will amuse them, then that's what we shall be forced to endure. Let us simply hope it doesn't end with us eating each other.

[Cause Maul has been there, done that, and doesn't recommend going through it to anyone.]

[actions do speak louder than words some times, people that can't understand a fuck off might get a fist. here? not so much of a problem, yet. it's weird, but kind of refreshing.]

How's that different from a regular choke?

[yeah. the idea of cannibalism? that's about the only thing that could put her off food ~~and only if she knew about it~~.]

Huh. I wonder if they could cook the poison out of me, or if that'd be like, my last 'fuck you'.

You simply have to reach out your hand-- [Maul demonstrates.] --and simply imagine a hand around their throat. The Force causes them to feel the same sort of pressure. You never even have to touch them.

[Not one of Maul's favorite tactics to outright kill someone but great for intimidation.]

Perhaps only the other Vilebloods would be able to eat you. Or, as you said, you'd poison those who ate you to death.

So it's sort of like magic. That's a pretty badass way to fuck someone up without even having to get close. How much distance do you need for that?

[she's a bit envious of the people that have magic. it's got the capacity to fuck her up bad. but it's still interesting.]

Is it something anyone can learn? Probably not, huh? The cool stuff's always innate or something else. Just gotta make do with these, I guess.

[puts up her fists.]

No. Not magic. The Force is spiritual energy that comes from the surrounding area. Magic, at least in my universe, is a process that involves using what comes from within your own self.

[But he gets it. A lot of people here have mistaken the Force for magic when he gives his general explanation.]

Generally, in the same room as someone, but if my rage is great enough I can do it to someone all the way at the other end of the street.

[And Maul can get very, very pissed off when he wants to.]

No, only those Force-sensitive can learn. It is a very low number of people who can, even in my own galaxy. [He grins when Vi holds up her fists.] I once ruled a planet made of warriors who had no other abilities than those they could cultivate on their own, things like physical prowess and blasters. They are still some of the fiercest fighters I have ever encountered.

[that sounds a little like the aether nara'a had told her about.]

Yeah, that tracks. Is there For---

[is there force here? there must be. so she answers her own question with a roll of her eyes.]

---well, of course there is or you couldn't do it. Huh.

[that's given her an idea. and of course, she's disappointed, but she nods.] Yeah, it's a blessing and a curse, I guess. And that's some endorsement, 'cause I don't know ya, but you look pretty fierce. And you fight out here, so...

...they must have been fierce as hell. Been hearing a lot about planets lately. You ruled one, pretty sure another couple guys ruled 'em, and then there's the cutie that uses them as transportation. It makes my head spin, but not in a bad way.

[Maul nods as she asks before figuring out the Force is indeed in Trench. Funnily enough, he and Nara’a have had more than one conversation about how similar the Force and the aether are.]

If you are fortunate, someday you will be able to see me fight. It is quite the sight.

[Maul’s arrogant and likes to brag but he’s also not just full of hot air. He’s a graceful, acrobatic fighter that often makes his bouts look more like a dance than just a battle.]

Good. You have taken your first steps into experiencing a much larger universe. This world seems so very small to me after being in a galaxy full of billions of planets and moons.

[Yep, that’s right, not millions. Billions.]

[billions. that's some number. it's still headspinning, but it's cool. it also accounts for ...all the worlds people come from, here. how many more must there be that belong to squids lying dormant in the sea?]

I hope I'm fortunate, then. I usually am. I've got some luck.

[vi can be arrogant, too - though she usually leans more ...confident, especially these days. she's outclassed on the regular. but that's how you learn, right?]

Trench must seem really small compared to all that. It's big compared to prison, though.

[it's big compared to the undercity, too.]

Some seem to just be born with it.

[Maul certainly wasn't one of them. If anything, he thinks he was born unlucky.]

Oh yes, this place is tiny. And very confining. And has less diversity of different species in it than the worst backwater space port I've ever been in.

[There are far too many humans here for Maul's taste. It needs to be mixed up a little! He wants to see more sentients, especially those that aren't humanoid looking.]

Or we just have to make it. That's probably a lot of us. We're luckier than the people that live here, the uh ...born here kind. And most times we're luckier than the beasts. [a small laugh] I like those times.

D's always luckier than the beasts.

[is there a bit of a sigh when she says it? yeah. she'd rather there not be, but ...it's there. but the backwater space post comparison also gets a laugh and a nod.]

There's a lot more variety where I'm from, and even [bitter disdain] the city above it.

I suppose that is true of many.

[Maul isn't sure where he stands when it comes to luck. He has the worst sort of things happen to him, like getting sliced in half, but also managing to survive that which would have surely killed anyone else. Or having his entire family die but somehow being lucky enough to survive that too.

He has a certain look on his face like he's trying not to laugh or smirk when Vi mentions D. Oh, she's got it bad, Maul can tell.]

Pretty and deadly. He's quite the combination.

[Vi's mention of living underneath a city strikes a chord with Maul given the years he spent living on Coruscant, a city that literally had levels stacked on top of one another.]

You live in one of the lower levels?

[was she doing it again? was it the face or the voice? when she tries to control the face sometimes the voice happens. when she controls the voice the face happens. it's a lose/lose, but fuck it. she's not the only one with this problem - at least there's comfort in that?

it's so embarrassing. also? it's fucking inconvenient! she has walked into things! people! all in the effort to get a look at d. it's hard to even watch him fight, and that part is the worst.]

Yeah, he's a combination, all right.

[wow. she was going for sarcasm, not ...whatever that just was. she will just ...laugh at herself now. with a bit of a facepalm.]

The lowest of the low. Lower than that to hear those topsiders tell it. The air down there makes that stink they're making up there [she nods toward the area where they're doing the blood things.] as fresh as a spring breeze.

It's toxic, but sometimes I miss it.

Tell me, how are you handling the weight of that crush? Is it weighing down your shoulders at all?

[Maul teases lightly. Sorry, Vi, he can't help but be a bit of a troll sometimes and she's just giving him far too much ammunition right now for him to pass up the opportunity.]

But I noticed that myself when we first met. I'm not attracted to most right off-- [Maul fell more for people's personalities than their looks most of the time.] --But I'm also not blind. [Pause.] Anymore. He is strikingly pretty.

[Between his looks and how fluid D could be in a fight, Maul is suitably impressed. He finds beauty in violence and always has.]

The planet I lived on for many years, Coruscant, is one giant city and has over 5,000 levels people can live on. By the time you got down to the mid-levels, you couldn't even see natural sunlight anymore. Some live their whole lives down there without ever even getting to the upper levels of the city. I could live a millennia and never see all there is to on the planet.

Like a fucking suit of armor. I didn't ask for this shit, you know? He's not...

[just, a gesture.]

...not my type. [but then maul notes how pretty he is. which...] Or maybe he's just a bit of a variation. I see plenty of cool looking and even pretty people, and I don't feel like that around them, you know? You look cool, that guy's [a point toward duty] built, [a series of random observations of other outpost people], she's cute, she's hot, but I'm not stumbling over my own name around any of 'em but D. [the start of a big sigh, and---wait.]

You were blind before?

[vi finds beauty in violence, too - maybe not as much as maul does, not in the same way, but it's there - and she also finds beauty in beauty. but this? it's fucking annoying.]

Five thousand levels? Holy shit. Not that Piltover wouldn't try and stack that many of us on top of each other if there were that many, but there's not. I know what it's like to spend my life in a hole, and well, some holes are better than others. [a laugh, because yeah, she knows how that sounded and she doesn't care.] Not every hole's a shithole, but I'm not gonna complain about the sunlight.

This place must feel like a pokey little town to you. Something you blink and miss. One giant city? Wish I could see it.

That's why they call it a crush. If it was easy, they'd call it something less horrible and violent sounding.

[He says sagely. Maul doesn't know much about love but he is an expert on a lack of love and so he's able to (occasionally) dole out a piece of advice. He nods at her question.]

For a long period of time in Deerington before Usagi healed me and restored my eyes. They were stolen from me, ripped out by evil little creatures.

[Which sounds a lot cooler and more badass than 'evil fairies stole my eyes from me cause I let my guard down around them.']

I didn't even know what Reaper looked like for months on end because we got together when I was still blind.

[Which meant Maul really had fallen in love with Reaper's personality rather than anything to do with his looks.]

Not too many people complain. There's ways to rise up out of the lower levels if you try hard enough. Most are content enough simply to scrape out a life for themselves wherever they can find it.

It feels....confining. Not simply because of the size of the city but because of being stuck only on a single planet. I've spent my whole life going from planet to planet, always plotting what to do next and moving on to accomplish those goals.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN] OUTPOST HAVEN [player plot]

Wall Complete

Staging Point

Tree Clearing

Excavating

Construction

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cw: mentions of cannibalism

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cw: eye trauma described