[IN PROGRESS] Hazard's Fishing Trip

[cosmo]

They scurry over and put their new friend in the cooler. “They won’t hurt each other, right?” they ask Hazard, ready to perform fish rescue if necessary.

[skinstealer]

"Nah, should be fine! Dippers are big fish, but they're very gentle."

[RibbonCharm]

"Wow, that one's huge! Good job!" Timothy cheers from his position. "I'd clap, but I don't want to drop my rod."

[cosmo]

“Good, good.” They linger by the cooler, watching the fish swim.

[Pichi2214]

Markus looks up a bit, uncurling slightly and looks at the fish. He takes the TCP equivalent of a deep breath and slowly relaxes again. "You caught a nice fish... Big and friendly."

[RibbonCharm]

"Like you!" Timothy realizes this can be taken as an insult and backtracks. "You know, the big and friendly part, not appearance-wise."

[Pichi2214]

Markus chuckles a bit and looks down at his feet a bit self conscious. "T-thank you..."

[seppawku]

“That fish was pretty cute..! Are you okay, by the way, Markus?”

[Pichi2214]

He looks up and turns his head towards Trice. He tilts his head for a moment before nodding. "Yeah... I am just... worried about Hazard." He looks down again. "Well... I was also kind of self conscious about joining a mission, because of..."  Markus gestures vaguely at himself with one paw and mumbles. "My typing."

[seppawku]

“I think you’re doing great!” Trice looks at him earnestly, attention turning from her fishing line again. “Worry for Hazard is understandable, but you have nothing to fear about your typing here.”

[Pichi2214]

Markus seems genuinely grateful. "Thank you... It is somewhat rare that my typing is approached without fear.."

[RibbonCharm]

"Honestly, I don't think cats should be judged for their types," Timothy says. "That's easy for me to say, since I'm an abstract type, but look at Hazard and Shock. We're all getting along just fine, despite typings. We didn't ask to be made the way we were after all."

[skinstealer]

"That's absolutely right- if there's one thing I learned in the lab, it's that us TCPs have to celebrate our differences...even if to a lot of people, those differences can be kind of scary, or new in general. Part of why we're all pretty lucky is that we got to spawn safe and sound, and can better the world through all this fancy tech they gave us...we can help teach people, even if it's just by existing in our communities and making ourselves known."

[skinstealer]

"Hmm...looks like the rest of y'all's fishing spots aren't turning much up! That's just how it is sometimes, so don't get too down about it."

COMPLETED: Fishing Round 2!
BEGIN: Fishing Round 3!

BAIT CHOICES:

• worms
  
• leeches
  
• minnows
  
• spinnerbait lure
  
• crankbait lure
  
• spoon lure
  

SPOT CHOICES:

• end of the dock
  
• midway down the dock
  
• on the riverbank
  
• on a nearby tree branch
  

HOW LONG TO WAIT?

• a short amount of time
  
• an average amount of time
  
• a long amount of time
  

[cosmo]

Shock shakes their head. “Not fishing this round. Want to keep friends company.” They are still watching the fish swim in the cooler.

[Pichi2214]

Markus sits there for a moment longer before sighing and standing up. He walks over to the container and switches the leech for a worm, before settling down at the same spot again, ready to wait for a long time.

[RibbonCharm]

"Aw, boo." Timothy mutters to himself, getting up and switching out his bait for a crankbait lure. Like Markus, he returns to the same spot, getting ready to wait a long time once more. "We'll get it this time," He pats Markus on the arm. "I'm sure of it!"

[seppawku]

Trice takes a spinnerbait lure and settles down halfway down the dock, ready to wait an average time.

[skinstealer]

"I've got a good feeling about this round...just can't shake it!"

[seppawku]

Trice kicks her feet in the water a little, blanket hem weighing heavily.

[skinstealer]

"So...have any of y'all explored your own pockets yet?"

[cosmo]

Shock shakes their head. "Might soon."

[skinstealer]

"I've only ventured into this place a little bit...but there's a lot to see, even nearby! I can't wait to explore more of it- and maybe I could invite more people over!"

[RibbonCharm]

"From what I've seen, mine's a meadow, but the material it's made out of is like..." Timothy makes a shaky gesture. "Pillowy? And there's a forest nearby, but all the trees feel fake too. The only thing that feels real to me so far is the flowers. I've only explored a bit of it though, I'm saving any actual studying and exploring for when I invite some friends over."

[skinstealer]

"Well, maybe I'll have to keep an eye out myself for when that happens...I'll be honest, I don't have a whole lot of friends, and this is helping me a lot. I may be a simple person and all, but simple people still get lonely."

[cosmo]

“Lonely,” Shock echoes, seemingly in agreement.

[skinstealer]

"Well...I'm sure that everybody's pockets are going to be great, even if they haven't been explored much yet. It's a lot to take in, but the lab's giving us so many opportunities for a new, exciting life. I guess I didn't expect to stay in touch with them as much as I do, but it feels like I'd be missing out on a huge resource to turn them away, yknow?" The touch type sighs, crossing their legs and lounging back. 

"Do any of y'all miss the lab?"

[seppawku]

"Sometimes. Life outside the lab can be.. overwhelming. The pocket spaces are a nice safe space."

[Pichi2214]

Markus finally snaps back into reality after being lost in thought and joins in again in the conversation. "I haven't actually explored my dimension yet... I dunno, I am kind of scared to find out what has been made for me there? I suppose..." He tilts his head a bit. "But to answer the actual latest question... I don't necessarily miss the lab, there's so much to see here! But I do miss being able to see my friends... I write them letters of course! So it's not that bad... put sometimes I really miss them."

[cosmo]

"Not really. I did not... stay a long time. Found a home very quickly. So not so much to miss, really."

[RibbonCharm]

"It was nice there, but everything was so..." Timothy taps his chin, needing to think for a second. "Sterile, I want to say? Like everything was the same, and safe, but in a boring way. I prefer living on my own, it's more interesting."

[seppawku]

Trice nods a little too vigorously, unbalancing herself. “And outings like this or the research they ask us to send back are much more fun than the tests in-lab!”

[skinstealer]

"Oh, yeah...I remember all those ability tests! Some of them can get kind of nasty with my typing- stuff like making somebody feel things more and then getting put in a mildly painful situation...I mean, they were a volunteer! But that was still a little unpleasant, seeing how my ability could be used for something like that. Is that too, like, wimpy of me or something, to be upset by that?"

[Pichi2214]

Markus flinches a bit at the mentions of the ability tests. "...N-no. I don't think that's too wimpy of you at all... Especially for... body types... the tests can be rough.."

[seppawku]

"Worrying about that makes you pretty kind, I think.. I agree, that's not wimpy." Trice's testing wasn't anywhere near that bad, but. She'd have hated that.

[skinstealer]

Before Hazard can reply, there's a pull on Markus' line- and it's a big one!

[Pichi2214]

Markus just gets startled as the fish pulls on the line, scrambling to grab the fishing rod as fast as he can after realizing what just happened. One he firmly grabbed the rod he just tries to pull his catch out of the water with as much force as he can muster.

[skinstealer]

The fish Markus pulls out of the water is very long, thrashing around as it breaks the surface.

Markus has caught an Orphanus!

"Wow!! Look at that eel!"

[Pichi2214]

He kind of just grabs the eel in an awkward hug, holding the lil big noodly friend in his arms surprised. "oh. OH!! Oh my gosh!" He waddles with the eel in his arms over to the box where all the fishes are put, hoping it's big enough for the long buddy. The eel nearly slips away a few times but eventually he manages to safely drop it into the box.
He immediately lies down next to it and stretches his long neck up a bit so he can watch the eel closely, staring at it in silent amazement.

[seppawku]

Trice claps in excitement, steadying her fishing rod in her blanket before it can fall. "It's so cute! Good job!"

[Pichi2214]

Markus makes some happy cat noises in return, wiggling with his ears. "Yes! They're amazing... Noodly... like me."
He lifts his head a bit to look over at Shock excited, remembering that they seemed to like eels. "Look! I caught the eel!!"

[cosmo]

Shock makes a hiss of approval, reaching into the box to pat the eel gently. "Big one."

[skinstealer]

"A REAL big one!! That's sizable, even for an Orphanus!" Hazard claps their hands together, making a bit of a mess as they did. "Any plans? It's a special catch!"

[Pichi2214]

He scratches the back of his head sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at all the positive comments. "I'll probably just keep them... It's a friend. I'm not sure how this stuff works with taking them back to out of pocket dimension or how to get them into mine, but I'll take care of it." Markus nods determined, to emphasize his point.

[skinstealer]

"Should be easy enough to take it with you! I have a manual around here somewhere...besides, even if you couldn't, I'd be fine with keeping it safe here for you. I mostly cook fish myself, but I think I'd be pretty good at taking care of 'em too."

[Pichi2214]

He seems a bit startled when Hazard mentions cooking, it makes sense, but he kinda just didn't really think about it til now. "I'd like the manual if you can remember where it is..." Markus carefully drops his head onto the edge of the fish container and just observes the eel swimming around a bit, wiggling with his earnubs contently as he watches.

[cosmo]

"Manual? Does it teach about fish?" Shock looks over at Hazard with interest.