Caelan (
stickyflippers) wrote in
aterat2020-09-30 08:36 pm
Logs for October
Who; Caelan and you!
What; Phone troubles, pillow forts, discussions on the weird goings on, and a seal in the tub
Where; Red building, and the docks.
When; End of September / Early October
Warnings; Mentions of nudity (Not descriptive, shape changing just doesn’t work with clothes), references to alcohol abuse (marked in thread with Nida), references to suicide (marked in thread with Nida)
What Do You Mean It’s Not Water Proof?
Caelan was experiencing some very obvious levels of confusion and frustration as he wandered up from the docks post swim that evening. His hair was still dripping and damp as he walked, eyes glued to the tell-phone that was looking rather... Less functional than it was meant to be. He hadn’t even bothered to button his shirt all the way, after the damn thing slipped out of his pockets and into the water when he was getting himself dressed and presentable by human standards.
At first, he’d only been annoyed because he’d had to stop what he was doing to fish it out of the water. Now he was doubly annoyed because the screen wasn’t lighting up. It was like the damn thing didn’t have any life in it...
Weird and very inconvenient if he had anything to say on the matter.
Which he was... At length, muttering under his breath and his accent growing a touch stronger than usual as he forgot himself. “The bleedin’ hell kind of joke is this? Really? Give the man who spends copious amounts of time near the water something that up and dies just because it gets a little wet. Can’t handle your drink at all, can yah? You finicky little box of nonsense.”
Speaking of a drink, he had a feeling he was going to need one very soon. Between that weird energy pulse a while back, the nightmares and now this? He was willing to admit he might need several.
A Fortress Fit for a Princess
Caelan wasn’t asleep when a mist slipped under his doorway, he’d come to expect at least one interruption a night since a few prior when something exploded somewhere and released a shockwave of mysterious energy. It had upset a whole lot of people (him included, for all he said he wasn’t bothered). Holly had become the most frequent guest, especially when the nightmares had begun.
Tonight he was ready though, and hoping to get the kid to talk a little more rather than the sullen insistence that she was completely fine and whatever other absurd excuses she came up with for her visit that night. Because honestly, she wasn’t the only one having nightmares, and he was starting to worry more about what they actually might have meant.
Hard to tell though if there were any connections or similarities if you weren’t talking.
Thus, tonight he was more than prepared for the visit. The living room space in his apartment had been entirely disrupted, cushions and pillows moved to the floor along with some of the chairs from the dining area, the sheets from his room and the pillows for good measure. All because he’d gotten it in his head that he was going to try one of those ‘Pillow Fort’ things that Holly had mentioned once or twice in one of her super-fact-filled-rambles.
When Holly materialized into a solid form again, she would be greeted by the sight of a very large, very chaotic looking fortress of pillows and blankets. If she ate food, there would have been all manner of sweets and snacks. Unfortunately, as happy as he was to make sure she could feed safely, he wasn’t confident in grabbing a random person off the street for her to snack on.
Someone would be bound to ask questions if they saw him lugging an unconscious body up and down the stairs... right?
So... No snacks, only a structure that was only slightly stable, but magnificent to behold (in his personal opinion).
Splish-splash
If there were any human creation that Caelan favoured over any other (aside from motor cars, they were fun) it was most decidedly the bathtub. A place to soak and relax at the end of a long day? A place where you could safely just splash around or doze off for a little nap without worrying about a predator?
It was brilliant. A private bath was practically a requirement when he was staying somewhere on a job. It wasn’t a replacement for the ocean by any means though, it did little to quiet the call in the back of his mind. It was, however, the nicest substitute on days when the call wasn’t loud, and he couldn’t be fussed with sneaking down to the shore.
Even the Lighthouse he’d purchased had a nice one installed, despite the fact that the ocean was just down the cliff side.
So after he’d finished a day busking in the market he hadn’t taken long to run a nice hot bath, grabbed his pelt, and slipped into the water like the delighted seal he was. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have the time, he wasn’t expecting any company for a while yet. Usually his visitors tended to show up slightly later.
Wildcard!
Have something you want the seal boy for in particular? Throw it at me! Also, if anyone wants something specific in a starter they should let me know. I can totally write one. <3
What; Phone troubles, pillow forts, discussions on the weird goings on, and a seal in the tub
Where; Red building, and the docks.
When; End of September / Early October
Warnings; Mentions of nudity (Not descriptive, shape changing just doesn’t work with clothes), references to alcohol abuse (marked in thread with Nida), references to suicide (marked in thread with Nida)
What Do You Mean It’s Not Water Proof?
Caelan was experiencing some very obvious levels of confusion and frustration as he wandered up from the docks post swim that evening. His hair was still dripping and damp as he walked, eyes glued to the tell-phone that was looking rather... Less functional than it was meant to be. He hadn’t even bothered to button his shirt all the way, after the damn thing slipped out of his pockets and into the water when he was getting himself dressed and presentable by human standards.
At first, he’d only been annoyed because he’d had to stop what he was doing to fish it out of the water. Now he was doubly annoyed because the screen wasn’t lighting up. It was like the damn thing didn’t have any life in it...
Weird and very inconvenient if he had anything to say on the matter.
Which he was... At length, muttering under his breath and his accent growing a touch stronger than usual as he forgot himself. “The bleedin’ hell kind of joke is this? Really? Give the man who spends copious amounts of time near the water something that up and dies just because it gets a little wet. Can’t handle your drink at all, can yah? You finicky little box of nonsense.”
Speaking of a drink, he had a feeling he was going to need one very soon. Between that weird energy pulse a while back, the nightmares and now this? He was willing to admit he might need several.
A Fortress Fit for a Princess
Caelan wasn’t asleep when a mist slipped under his doorway, he’d come to expect at least one interruption a night since a few prior when something exploded somewhere and released a shockwave of mysterious energy. It had upset a whole lot of people (him included, for all he said he wasn’t bothered). Holly had become the most frequent guest, especially when the nightmares had begun.
Tonight he was ready though, and hoping to get the kid to talk a little more rather than the sullen insistence that she was completely fine and whatever other absurd excuses she came up with for her visit that night. Because honestly, she wasn’t the only one having nightmares, and he was starting to worry more about what they actually might have meant.
Hard to tell though if there were any connections or similarities if you weren’t talking.
Thus, tonight he was more than prepared for the visit. The living room space in his apartment had been entirely disrupted, cushions and pillows moved to the floor along with some of the chairs from the dining area, the sheets from his room and the pillows for good measure. All because he’d gotten it in his head that he was going to try one of those ‘Pillow Fort’ things that Holly had mentioned once or twice in one of her super-fact-filled-rambles.
When Holly materialized into a solid form again, she would be greeted by the sight of a very large, very chaotic looking fortress of pillows and blankets. If she ate food, there would have been all manner of sweets and snacks. Unfortunately, as happy as he was to make sure she could feed safely, he wasn’t confident in grabbing a random person off the street for her to snack on.
Someone would be bound to ask questions if they saw him lugging an unconscious body up and down the stairs... right?
So... No snacks, only a structure that was only slightly stable, but magnificent to behold (in his personal opinion).
Splish-splash
If there were any human creation that Caelan favoured over any other (aside from motor cars, they were fun) it was most decidedly the bathtub. A place to soak and relax at the end of a long day? A place where you could safely just splash around or doze off for a little nap without worrying about a predator?
It was brilliant. A private bath was practically a requirement when he was staying somewhere on a job. It wasn’t a replacement for the ocean by any means though, it did little to quiet the call in the back of his mind. It was, however, the nicest substitute on days when the call wasn’t loud, and he couldn’t be fussed with sneaking down to the shore.
Even the Lighthouse he’d purchased had a nice one installed, despite the fact that the ocean was just down the cliff side.
So after he’d finished a day busking in the market he hadn’t taken long to run a nice hot bath, grabbed his pelt, and slipped into the water like the delighted seal he was. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have the time, he wasn’t expecting any company for a while yet. Usually his visitors tended to show up slightly later.
Wildcard!
Have something you want the seal boy for in particular? Throw it at me! Also, if anyone wants something specific in a starter they should let me know. I can totally write one. <3

no subject
"Might be a suggestion to make. Maybe give us a manual along with the welcome package," she said with a casual shrug. Honestly, she meant it. At least then everyone would be on an even page. Didn't seem like this place really wanted people on the same page though.
no subject
At the idea of finding the aspects to ask, he nodded with another huff. “Trust me, the minute I get an audience with one of them again I’ll be giving them a piece of my mind.” This is said as someone who hadn’t really calmed down enough to think about the fact that the aspects would probably want to know why it was such a big deal. He could just be more careful, considering he really wasn’t keen on telling anyone (let alone the people in charge) what he was or what he was accustomed to doing in his own world.
Tucking the ruined device in his pocket, he pulled his hair out of his face and finally wrung it out a bit. “They don’t even give new folk something for them? Damn, they at least gave people instructions for the crystal! Bloody careless that is.” Not that he could say much. He hadn’t really thought to check in on what the new care packages might have included since the switch over. Then again, most people he’d met seemed to have a good idea of what the phones were and how they worked. Holly had called him an old man (a geriatric to be exact) a couple of times already.
no subject
"Seems like they're avoiding that," or maybe she was just paranoid. For the moment though it looked a lot like they were avoiding being confronted by them. Didn't make much sense as to why, unless they were trying to hide something.
"Might assume we're all familiar with the tech and what weaknesses they might have," she shrugged. "We have them back where I'm from and most aren't waterproof. Some of the stuff I'm used to is, but that's different." Not everyone was capable of making the technology that Adam could back home. What she wouldn't give to have him here. He'd know what to do. Or, at the very least, he'd know more than she did. She shook her head to try to throw the mounting loneliness off.
"What made you take it with you into the water anyway?"
no subject
“Not particularly proper to be avoiding people like that, what with bringing us all here...” He groused a bit more a moment later, not really sure what to make of their absences. Especially with all the weird things happening of late, the weird influx of nightmares plaguing people’s sleep-schedules. Caelan didn’t sleep much, but he certainly had noticed the increase between the fact that he rarely had nightmares and the fact that he had house-guests almost daily of late.
He couldn’t complain, he liked having people around. It was what the selkie was used to back home, and regardless of the circumstances, it gave him some comfort.
“I’m presuming its something like that though. A lot of people seem to be from more ‘futuristic’ eras than myself? Or at least worlds with far more advanced technology.” He wouldn’t be surprised if, in some part, the kinds of people who arrived did influence the world. At least in that they influenced the aspects decisions and intent on keeping everyone ‘happy’ and cooperative here... Caelan supposed that he was just one of the odd ones out, from a time with far more large, stationary devices connected to so many wires...
Now... Some people with secrets might panic and throw out some kind of weird excuse when asked a question like the one Shalimar directed at him. But he huffed and shrugged lightly, “I didn’t take it in the water, I dropped it off the docks by mistake. Might’ve been more careful with it though if I’d known how bloody delicate it was.” Which was the honest truth of it, it just lacked some of the details as to how he dropped it in the first place.
no subject
"Interesting. It's like this place is catching up with the technology of the people it's bringing in?" At least that's what it was starting to look like to her. "Question is, does it do it on it's own, or are our Aspects in hiding responsible for keeping up with the upgrades?" Question after question. If only they could just ask them. That thought caused Shalimar to scoff aloud. Like they'd answer honestly even if they could ask them. Everything about this shit just came off as more and more frustratingly shady.
"You know, I didn't take you for someone so accident prone. Might want to leave it back in your room next time you come out to the docks if you drop things so easily." She tilted her head. "Guess you're lucky there isn't anything in the water and you were able to fish it back out so easily."
no subject
“Someone suggested something like that? It’s definitely something I’d like to ask about next time they make an appearance.” If they made an appearance, it was nagging at the selkie a bit that they still hadn’t shown up. “You’d think with that weird energy pulse a little while back, and weird increase in nightmares that people have been talking about that they’d show up or announce something...”
Well yes, he’d leave it home next time...! He shrugged widely, “Well what can I say? We all have our days, don’t we?” Caelan grinned a little finally, because admittedly he could have been more careful... He would have too, if he’d known. “You’re right though, lucky that for all the weird things there are in this place, there doesn’t seem to be anything close to shore to worry about.” Further from shore was where the fun was, Shalimar.
no subject
"You'd think," she said in response. "Unless they know what caused it and don't want to admit it. Seems a lot like they're hiding from questions." In the back of her mind she knew that sounded fully paranoid, but it was hard to deny that's how it looked. "Might even be they're the one's responsible. Doesn't sound like they understand much about this place themselves." The one thing she couldn't get out of her mind there was the curiosity of if they caused that pulse on accident. It'd definitely explain where they disappeared to. Reminded her a bit of Adam. Make a huge mess and then disappear because you couldn't explain how you managed to mess up that badly.
"Lucky you. Wonder if there's anything further out there. Been to the sewers and there's a lot of shit down there." Giant roaches. And a lot of scents that almost overwhelmed her Feral senses. Not that she was going to bring that up with a stranger. Everyone had to have their secrets and she had no idea who to trust in this place. "Be surprising if there wasn't something dangerous in the water somewhere."
no subject
Caelan frowned a little more deeply though, at the very idea that the aspects knew what was going on and just hiding until it blew over. “Wouldn’t be surprised by that, rude as it is. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of them since they upgraded these phones, now that I think about it.” At least not that he’d noticed, though it was hard to say for sure. “What do you make of the whole thing?” The selkie didn’t like it, and that was about all he knew. He rarely had nightmares before, rarer still to be not quite understand pieces of them.
Glancing out over the water, staring vaguely towards where he knew the reefs were, he shrugged slightly. “Could be, it wouldn’t surprise me anyway. Especially what with the situation in the sewers.” Caelan agreed as he glanced back to Shalimar. “There is a lot down there, not sure how half of it got there but it’s not good. I’ve been working on mapping the system, since there wasn’t one in this place for some reason.” That or the directory had been holding out on him, tricky thing.
no subject
"Based on my experience, I think they're hiding," she replied with a frown. "My best guess? They did something that's caused whatever's happening now. Now they're hiding while trying to figure out some way to fix it on their own. People who set themselves up to be worshipped aren't going to want to admit they aren't all they're built up to be." That she had more than enough experience with. Maybe that experience was making her too cynical and paranoid though. Not like she'd directly spoken to either herself to try to get a feel for what they were like.
"You been doing that on your own?" She quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head curiously towards him. Guess there was a lot more than meets the eye about Caelan.
no subject
“You have a lot of experience with people like the aspects where your from?” He asked offhand, folding his arms as he started moving away from the docks. “You’re probably not wrong though, even without what’s going on I can’t say I’d want to make myself easy to approach if I kidnapped a bunch of people to help fix the shit that’s broken.” If they were in another, parallel realm to this one, he hadn’t gotten any sense for where the link was. No paths or obvious doors between that he could feel. Bloody annoying...
Caelan grinned, “You impressed?” He raised his brows a little in return at the bit about his work in the sewers. He knew that look, the look of someone who hadn’t expected him to do something that he’d done. Of course, he shrugged a moment later. “Not really on my own, I work with the Gullwings. So Yuna sometimes joins me, and Nida from the city guard. So most of the time I have some backup, only the foolish would go down there on their own. At least,” he chuckled, knowing full well he was occasionally just that foolish when they others were busy. “not without a proper map to show where the dead ends, and the easy exits are. I’m almost done though.”
no subject
She shrugged at his question and put her hands into her pockets as she moved alongside him. "Got a lot of experience with people that think their power makes them a god." Too much experience. She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. "Get rid of one and another shows back up. It's like a never ending cycle. The one thing they all have in common though is they don't like being available for questioning." Seemed like they all preferred to hide in the shadows until they decided it was the right time to come out and explain. Or monologue.
"Might be a bit impressed. At least I was until the name. Gullwings?" Definitely an...interesting name to say the least. Then again maybe someone that belonged to a group that called themselves Mutant X shouldn't throw stones. She rolled her shoulders and gave a light chuckle. "Foolish huh? I feel like I should take some offense here." But there was no denying she was foolish.
no subject
Glancing at Shalimar again a moment later, he snorted lightly. “They always forget that you need more than power to be a god.” Otherwise he’d be will to wager that there would be a hell of a lot more gods than the ones they all knew of. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full back in your world though.” He hummed a couple bars of an old song before adding, “Might need your expertise here, if the Aspects get too carried away with all this.”
Whatever this even was.
Now the comment gets an honest laugh out of Caelan, shoulders shaking lightly at the comment. “Listen, I didn’t name the group, and I didn’t have the heart to bring it up with our lovely leader. Bloody annoying birds, gulls. Always screaming at the skies and being nuisances around the beach.” A pause, and then a small grin. “Actually it might not be a bad name now that I think about it, I’m sure at some point at least one of us will be a complete nuisance to this place.” Himself, he means himself. “And Yuna can be a loud sort, at least she was when I met her.”
With another little grin, and a tilt of his head, he shrugged. “And if you take offence I beg your pardon, dear lady!” Does he sound dramatic again? Yes. Yes, he does. He thinks he’s amusing. “I suppose I should have added that you’re a fool if you’re inexperienced with dealing with things like that beforehand and go running in alone.”
no subject
"Not sure if it's that they forget, or that they just don't care," she said with a vaguely bitter sounding scoff. She ran a hand through her hair quickly before sliding it back into her pocket as they walked. "Never a dull moment for us back home, that's for sure." At this point she wondered what she'd even do with a break. Then again, maybe she was figuring that out here. Compared to everything else in her life this was a walk in the park so far.
"Never been much of a bird person myself," she said with a laugh. Cats and birds just never mixed too well. She turned her head to look at him and tilted her head. "That the goal then? Be as annoying as possible?" There was something amusing about picturing him doing his best attempts to be as annoying as possible.
"Can't take offense to the truth," she said with a wide grin. "I'm used to tracking alone. With my team back home I get sent in first a lot." She flashed another quick smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, I'm faster than I look if I do run into trouble."
no subject
The comment about not being a bird person gets a small chuckle out of him, “I don’t know, they’re not all bad. Some of them are rather lovely, and less prone to shrieking like gulls. Swans are kind of grumpy assholes though.” This is, of course, a small inside joke. A fond one, considering he worked with a swan fae who handed him his ass regularly.
To be as annoying possible was an excellent goal in his opinion, and admittedly he was very good at it sometimes. If it got results, all the better. “I don’t know if it’s the goal so much as a nice bonus for whatever I get up to here.” And knowing he’d pissed off the people who brought him here (while stupid) would be very satisfying. At least as long as he didn’t bring trouble on a few people that he’d gotten more than a little attached to.
“Then you at least have some experience with going in to a dangerous situation alone, I can’t say the same of everyone here.” Caelan certainly couldn’t say how fast the woman was though, after all... Looks were very deceiving, and he wasn’t in the habit of assuming one’s abilities before he’d seen them. “And if you’re used to running, then I would say you’re probably safe.” That said, “If you need a map with the dead ends and easy exits routes, you should stop by and grab a map once I’ve got it finished. I’m guessing in the next week or so, as long as nothing hinders the process.”
no subject
"Might just not be in my personality type to get along with them," she replied with a laugh. Though she did actually find herself pretty curious about his comments about swans. "You got a grumpy swan story?" She really hoped he did at least.
"My fair share of it. I used to be on my own a lot." She shrugged a shoulder and shook her head. "But I'll be sure to stop by in the next week. It'd be useful to have a map of some kind. Plus, I'd be curious to see what you all have found."
no subject
Caelan grinned though, “See that you do, I’ll make sure to put a copy aside for when you stop by.” He wasn’t always there, of course. Often the selkie found himself bored with the whole ‘office work’ part of having an office and would wander off to busk at the market. “Maybe if I’m there, I’ll even give you the grand tour.” He added a moment later with an amused grin. Office supplies, nice desks, all that exciting, fun stuff. “Joking aside, it’s a pretty well organized space. Jagger keeps it all tidy, anyway.”
no subject
She matched his grin with one of her own. "Generous of you, now I feel like the pressure is on to step by. I'm going to hold you to the tour though. Nothing more exciting than seeing office workers in their natural habitat." Her tone took on a more serious edge. "You guys found anything [particularly weird down there?"
no subject
“I would hate to disappoint, so maybe I’ll have to spend a little more time around the office next week.” He responded with a cheeky grin, before he considered the question a little more seriously. “I would say most things down there are a kind of weird, but there is an odd door? It leads to the cemetery apparently, Yuna was looking into finding the key. We’re supposed to organize something to get it all sorted out, but... Well, with everything going on, I think it’s being pushed back. At least until whatever has been up around here lately is figured out.”
no subject
"I'll take it as a personal insult if you're not there when I come in," she said with a quick smirk. "Must be where the smell comes from. Something turned my stomach the further down I went." It'd been strong enough to put her off from trying to figure out what it was. She was foolish, but not that damn foolish. At least not for the time being. "Sounds like we're all just finding one mystery after the other."
no subject
He liked Shalimar though, and she was very interesting. Maybe one day he could share a little more. Until then, he focused on her comment about the sewers. “I would argue that everything smells awful down there, but if you’ve got a strong sense of smell... yeah, it’d be worse closer to the graveyard. Yuna says there’s something bad in there, creating unrest among the spirits.”
Something bad that was bound to get out, because nothing ever stayed contained for long. That was just an unwritten law as far as anything of an otherworldly nature went. “This place is like one big puzzle, you uncover one thing and find more questions. At least we won’t be bored, yeah?”
no subject
"They're not pleasant smells, but not much different than any sewer. Until you go further down." The fact that she could say that just told her she'd spent way too much time in sewers. Someone had to do the dirty jobs and who was better equipped than someone that could innately track? "You know, ghosts and undead are the one thing I've never dealt with much." People she thought were dead coming back? Sure. She'd dealt with that a lot. But actual ghosts or undead? That'd be new. "This Yuna got any idea what or who the something is?"
She chuckled at his last statement and gave a nod of her head. "Sounds like we'll find plenty of trouble to get into after all."
no subject
“Sounds like you’ve got a finely tuned sense for things that like.” He responded with a curious little look. Really, there seemed to be all sorts in this place. He hummed a little, thinking back on how Yuna had described the situation with the graveyard. “Well, she called the thing a Lich. It’s been contained in there from what I understand, but probably won’t hold forever. She wants to help the spirits and handle the thing, but we’re trying to build plans to do it safely. I’m planning on trying to manage things in the sewers if it gets bad, which is why I want to get the map done so everyone gets a clear idea of the layout. On her end, she’s looking to put together a team to help out inside once she opens the place up.”
Between the growing problems this month, and then situation in the graveyard when that’s over? Yeah, they definitely had more than enough to get in trouble with.
no subject
"You could say that," she said with a light chuckle. If she knew him better she might admit the truth or at least hint more at it. The problem was she had no idea how anyone here might react to what she was. It wasn't a risk she wanted to take. "A Lich? I thought those things only existed in fantasy." Then again half the shit here looked like stuff that only existed in fantasy.
"Well, if you need some help in the sewers, feel free to let me know. I can probably offer a hand."
no subject
He did grin though, “I wouldn’t say no to a little help from someone with extensive experience in sewers. It’d be foolish of me to turn the offer down, I think.” Besides that, he had a very bad feeling that the sewers were going to be an over-crowded problem when this went down. There was already a lot to contend with in them, and the potential of escaping spirits riling them up and forcing them to flee out the entrances could get dangerous.