Post Reply to ⛆ XENIAL ⛫ at ECHO SHORE ⛆

Your browser has JavaScript disabled. If you would like to use all features of this site, it is mandatory to enable JavaScript.

Thread Review (Newest First)

Posted by palencorgi - 02-16-2023, 02:32 AM

I think... I should ask Pepper for a rundown of sparring basics! I may be new, but who knows- I may end up enjoying it as much as they do, and it could go somewhere, even a little tustle. And it's all the more reason to get to know more about them, and myself!

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 02-14-2023, 01:52 AM

Well, I've only been alive forrrrr like several hours so if I seem clueless that's probably why. a fight might be fun later but only if no-one is going to get Hurt hurt from it. Even if we have medics available, I don't think we should be relying on them unless really necessary

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 02-14-2023, 01:25 AM

I haven't physically existed for even an entire day yet. Sorry I've never fought before so I doubt itd be fun for either of us.

Posted by knux400 - 02-14-2023, 01:09 AM

"...you what. Um. No???"

"ijustbeanedsomeoneintheheadwitharubberballandifeelbadaboutitidontthinkfightingisreallymything"

Posted by Ignispark - 02-14-2023, 12:50 AM

Um...that, sounds like a bad idea! Also this first day on the job has been rough enough at times without getting beaten up and then having my shins stolen...
Also, like...anyone who asks 'do you want to play x? do you want to compete in y?' is almost always really good at it. You could almost certainly kick my ass...

want to talk about the weather? or like your favorite fauna? plants? or talk about fighting! um, just. not going to fight you.
like!!! how about fishing? do you like fishing? that's like fighting. Or maybe, uh. painting. where you stab. liquid. at a canvas. or like, roleplaying and pretending to fight. so people dont get hurt.

Posted by SHIVERS - 02-14-2023, 12:18 AM

You briefly debate sitting between the two who aren't getting along,
but you'd prefer something calmer right now.

Staying at the back seems like the better option, but you want to Sit, not Stand.

. . .

well, the pockitt looks Bored anyway, and I want to say hi to people

plus theyre only One Row from the back;
the person behind me can just lean to the side a little and be able to see Just Fine

With that decided, you make your way around behind the seated crowd,
eventually sitting down next to the pockitt at the far side.

They're leaned back in their chair, chin propped on their elbow.
Though, they glance up at you when you seat yourself.

You feel somewhat self-conscious,
given the person staring at you is about half your height, give or take.

You still haven't quite gotten used to towering over every other person here.

You'd still like to talk, though.

But,
Murmur speaks up before you get the chance.

"Well!"

Murmur claps her hands together, standing up in front of everyone.

"Now that everyone is seated, er-"
She glances to those standing up.
"-situated!
Let's get into things, shall we?"

The OBJ takes a breath.

"I'll only be running over the basics today, then I'll let all of you get to it,
and you'll be able to move about the xenial at your leisure.

Firstly,
could everyone raise their xenial stones, please?"

Everyone in the crowd fishes their stones out of pockets and bags to hold them up.

You reluctantly follow suit.

You catch a glance at the pockitt's stone as they raise theirs:

It looks like a bizarre, spherical version of a puzzle cube;
different colored segments all somehow separate from each other but 'interlocking' despite not touching each other,
forming into different combinations of shapes and colors as they float silently; nested together.

You're immensely jealous.

Murmur looks overwhelmed as she counts through the stones.

"Alright. Good, that's... good. Looks to be that everyone has one!
Perfect.

So, while cellular devices will not find a signal here in the xenial,
you will have access to landline phones in every bedroom.

The lines only connect to our own network within the surrounding communities;
those of you who have friends and loved ones staying there, you may contact them at any time using those phones,
or the 'payphones' you may find throughout the building - they are free to use!
No money required, don't worry.

However, the xenial itself is,
well,
it can be much larger than it appears at first glance,
and given its propensity to rearrange itself or redirect you wherever it pleases -

Well, you may have cause to contact other individuals within the xenial, is my point!

Luckily, you can use your stones for this!

As long as you have properly met the other individual, you simply have to hold your stone,
think about contacting them,
and their stone will...
er,
'ring'.

The tones are different for every stone,
but you'll know when someone is trying to contact you by the sound, as well as a visible glow it will produce.

If you want to answer it, you only have to pick up your stone, and think about doing so,
and you should be able to hear the other person, and speak back and forth.
If you wish not to answer a call - which, you are more than welcome not to do; privacy is important! -
then, as expected,
think about not answering the call, or simply don't touch your stone to begin with.

It's quite an odd phenomenon, but it's really quite simple to do-

I see some of you pulling out your stones to test this; as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm,
please wait until After our meeting.

Thank you!

To add an important note on stone communication:

If you find yourself having difficulty, or in some sort of emergency,
you may contact myself, or any other staff member - that would be Model,
as well as Toluca and Cardinal for any sort of medical emergencies, in particular.

If you are able to, meeting with any of us in person is also more than welcome.
We are here to help!

Now,
moving on to Common Areas you will find in the xenial--"

"Pst."

A quiet, sharp sound rouses you,
and you look over to find the pockitt trying to get your attention.

"Pssst."

"Hi," you whisper.

"Sup," they whisper back.

"Got a name?"

"Vessel. Or Vess is fine."

"Pepper. Uhh-they/them."

"It/its, or any neopronouns. I don't care."

"Cool. Awesome.
Great."
They vaguely nod their head.

"...ssssSo Anyway,

you wanna fight?"

"What."

"In a li'l bit, obviously.

You look strong-
well kinda like, clueless but, Probably Strong;
n' I'm gonna be bored outta my mind if I don't find somebody to spar with while I'm here.

So you in or out?"

The pockitt looks up at you,
gauging your reaction.

While you're thinking of an answer,
it would be good to come up with small-talk,
if you Want to chat.

Show ContentXENIAL_TRACKER:

Posted by skinstealer - 02-13-2023, 08:54 PM

pockitt time, time to go say hi to people

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 02-11-2023, 08:51 PM

seconding sitting all the way in the back, Vess is very tall after all But I'll leave it to writer's choice who in back we sit next to

Posted by Ignispark - 02-10-2023, 07:52 PM

I think it'd be really interesting to sit in the empty space between the two that aren't getting along, but one of the other options is probably calmer.

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 02-09-2023, 09:11 PM

I wanna sit next to the pockitt.

Posted by knux400 - 02-09-2023, 07:30 PM

We should probably sit in the very back with the ant so we don't block anyone else's view.

Posted by SHIVERS - 02-09-2023, 07:19 PM

Having talked this out, you feel calmer than before.

You take a slow breath.

we should reassure them

but what do we Say

"You're OK.

I like hearing you talk.
You're fun."

A :) shows up on your screen.

is that good???? did That help ? ? ? ? ?

Murmur's head shrinks down into her shoulders a few inches.
She stretches one arm across her front, holding the other for a few moments as her eyes trail away.

"That-

Well.

...I am very happy to hear that.

I find your own company quite,

er,

stimulating, as well.

Fun."

You've felt it a few times now, to the point that you're getting used to it:

You can tell they're smiling.

"I accept the install."

You take a moment to think over all of this;

the situation,
what she told you about this act,
yourself and Murmur.

As they ready the chip, you raise your hand to pause them.

"But.

It means we're friends now.

Like a Blood Pact.
For robots?"

Murmur snorts.

[ ? ], your screen displays.

"I... suppose that's one way to think of it!

...Alright, then.

If you would be so kind as to crouch down, at least a few feet,

I'll have this completed quickly for you."

You lower yourself,

and feel her hands at the back of your neck.

You feel

alarmingly vulnerable, in a way.

Despite your size.

Despite your durability.

Hands

behind you

at your Neck

Anything could happen, your mind tells you.

What Murmur said before comes back into focus.

This being an act dictating closeness.

It makes sense to you, now.

This act requires Trust.

It's frightening

but only

briefly.

Feeling her set to work,

feeling

tiny sensations

clicking, tightening, adjusting

you try to Breathe.

What she said just before

rings in your head.

'It was a mistake.
Being scared of you.

I do trust you.'

. . .

i don't want to be scared of them either

she wouldnt hurt me.

You breathe.

Deeper now.

You settle.

Your shoulders untense.

You breathe.

Your mind wanders.

To your time here.

Short

and rushed

but Valuable.

You've enjoyed it so far.

Mostly.

you think back to the Dent on her helmet--

You wince.

Murmur stops.

"...Did that hurt?"

" . . .

I'm OK." is all you can think to say.

"...Deepest apologies. You may be somewhat sensitive.

Which-

That does make sense, given this is your first install.
I should have been more careful."

It hadn't hurt.

"You're OK."

"I will... do my best to go slower, more gently.

Shouldn't be long now. Nearly there."

Breathe.

You calm, as before.

Eye closed.

Head wandering.

Murmur has been here

since you got here.

You think of the

peculiar position

that she's in.

At the helm of all of this.

Trying to organize

everything.

'-cannot shake being terrified.
wondering if this is going to work out,
or if...

...if I am going to make it a disaster somehow--'

All that pressure.

You're worried about them.

But

'...But what a Wonder to behold...'

You're happy she's here.

"There.
All finished."

Murmur pulls away.

Your eye slowly opens.

Your body feels

limber

if a little sleepy.

Pleasant, though.

"I hope that wasn't too terrible.

Are you alright?"

You think over this.

You smile.

"I'm OK.

:) "

They smile back at you.

"I am very relieved to hear that."

The two of you are distracted,

basking in the moment.

"...Well!
The chip should boot up momentarily."

You feel a tug in your head

as a window fills your vision.

A splash screen, which is loading.

Show ContentXENIAL_TRACKER:

"I had to work around the fluid nature of the xenial to program this.

Challenging, but,

rewarding in its own right.

But, syncing up with such an odd and ever-changing place - and the, er... 'magic', here?
I am not sure Magic is the right word -

...regardless,

the chip does not function

er-"

The OBJ wrings her hands, searching for an appropriate word.

"...Typically.

Features may,

'ebb and flow', to some degree; what you have access to may change over time.

Or, they might not!

I cannot be certain. Such is the unpredictable nature of this.

But, as for rudimentary features,
ones that Should retain regardless:

Anyone you have met within the xenial,
as long as they carry a stone,
should be logged in a list.

Typically,
along with their name,
you'll see:
their pronouns,
current species,
current morph,
and a color.

The xenial seems to organize every one of us by color.
We are unsure as to why.

I also added a location feature;
one that tracks what spot in the xenial everyone listed is at.
However, it can be finicky, to put it mildly.
It works Best with more general locations and common spaces - such as the dining hall, bedrooms, and the like -
less so with, anywhere else, really.

It can suddenly lose track of someone, or provide inaccurate information,
with no rhyme or reason.

Still, I hope you will find it useful."

Show ContentXENIAL_TRACKER:

"As a note,
extranatural beings are typically less... predictable, than Morbitians.

But, with everyone else, you should find that
as long as you've exchanged names, properly spoken to each other, and are on good terms,
you'll find them on the list.

...The xenial, strangely, seems to take note of that.
Whether you're on good terms with the other person.

I like to think it's because it wants this experience to be friendly for all involved,
that it wants us all to share our respective company with each other,
but that's most likely my own bias speaking."

You blink.

Trying to retain all information.

There's something else on your mind, though.

"...You could have used this yourself.

This is not something you needed to do and I appreciate it."

"It's quite alright.
I'm happy to gift it, I hope it's of some use to you."

"If I can help you by using it at any point, ask."

"I have my duplicate,
it should be adequate.

...But, I will keep that in mind.

Thank you."

The two of you hold the moment, as before.

The occasional noise of conversation finally catches your ears,
pulling Murmur's attention there, as well.

"...Oh!
I'd better-
Yes, I'll need to get started.

Feel free to find a spot you'd like to sit,
if there are open seats."

They glance in, glowing eyes squinting.

"...I see one or two, I think.
Some people are standing, as well. ...I should have brought chairs."

She sighs.

"Talk to me anytime if you have questions,
or for anything at all, really.

Good luck, Vess."

The OBJ smiles.

"...You too."

Murmur makes her way inside, to the front of the crowd.

You get a good look at the scattered seating,
trying to look at what's available to you:

The seat next to Laurel is taken, unfortunately,
and Model is standing at the front next to Murmur;
so both of those options are out.

Towards one side,
there's a tri-colored selected hybrid and an odd, grinning, rabbit-like creature in what appears to be a baseball uniform.
The two have purposefully left an empty space between themselves, looking like they aren't getting along.

There's an exhausted-looking pockitt hybrid, one row from the back.
They look undoubtedly Bored,
bouncing their leg with a yawn.

At the very back,
standing behind everyone, there's an ant corvice who seems to be watching intently,
scanning the crowd.
You don't like the look in their eye, but maybe you wouldn't have to talk.

Show ContentXENIAL_TRACKER:

Posted by Ignispark - 12-17-2022, 10:40 PM

accept BUT this mean's we're friends (is this like a blood pact for robots) now because giving a gift thats really important when you could use it yourself. if you need any help just ask for it in the future

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 12-17-2022, 10:13 PM

Agreeing with accepting the install and reassuring Murmur

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 12-17-2022, 09:51 PM

What would you prefer? you seem worried about the cultural context in regards to the installation, but I do understand the practicality of doing it that way. And, Thank you. for this gift. this is not something you needed to do and I appreciate it.

also sorry for the yelling

Posted by skinstealer - 12-17-2022, 09:40 PM

accept the install, and reassure murmur while you're at it

Posted by SHIVERS - 12-17-2022, 09:34 PM

You watch as everyone else filters inside to find a seat.

Avoiding making eye contact with her in the process.

"Hey, Murmur."

Your chest pounds rhythmically.

she isnt likely to chew us out.
we're a newbor--

No, that isn't quite right.

This may be your first stretch of time with a body,
but you can feel it,
you existed in some form long before that.

You're still getting used to this place, to language, to

all of it, really

but you aren't a child, much less a newborn.

You're certain of that much.

so, she could still chew us out, then

Yes, possibly.

It takes until now to recognize that you've been staring at your hands in silence for a solid minute or so.

Murmur has remained patiently waiting for you to speak,
idly glancing in at the crowd finding seats.

You pull your voice up from the depths, willing-
forcing yourself to speak.

"...I'm sorry about hitting you with the ball.
And I'm sorry I didn't say sorry until now.
I'm sorry I ran away instead of making sure you were ok,
but it's hard.

I don't-
I don't think I'm good with people.
With-

...being around people."

...

don't say it

why would we tell HER THAT--?

it's
It's good for us to tell her and talk about
we should Admit It.

WHY NOW WHY LIKE THIS I DONT THINK THATS GOING TO HELP--

it Will help and we Need to The First Step IS Admitting you Have a PROBLEM--

WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT--

IT IS NECESSARY--

NO, THIS IS STUPID--

"I HAVE ANXIETY." You yell.

Some from the crowd inside glance over.
The entryway is dark,
but your screen is lit up enough for them to see you clearly, you're sure.

A pang of embarrassment swirls into being and coils within you,
uncomfortably nestling itself there.

You feel a little sick.

WHY--

WE NEED IT--

Murmur's glowing eyes are wider than before.

You hastily continue speaking.
Though, your voice is

glitching

speeding up as your nerves race.

You don't want to speak.
But you do anyway.

"EVERYTHING IS NEW TO ME AND I'M TERRIFIED OF MESSING UP,
and when-
and when-
and Then I DID-
When something that just seemed like an idle thought turned into a huge mistake-
It-
It felt-
It felt-
It felt-

IT FEELS LIKE THE WORLD IS CRASHING DOWN AROUND ME--"

Gasping in air through your filter.

"I've only existed here for a FEW HOURS
and I already have SO much RESPONSIBILITY.
I want-
I want-
I want to do it RIGHT,
by-

but maybe I-
I want-
CAN'T I HAVE-
I NEED-
like a year-
A YEAR A FULL YEAR TWO WHOLE SEMESTERS-
like a Year to go to Not FUCKING E V E R Y T H I N G UP-

School."

You pant.

Your breath is shaky.

She clears her throat.

"Yes,
well,
that much was... fairly obvious to tell.
The anxiety, I mean.
And I imagine any amount of anxiety is natural, given all that you're dealing with.
I don't envy the position you're in.

...And, of course,
of course the apology is accepted.

Really, I should be the one apologizing.
We...

We had time.
In the stairwell.
I could have discussed it with you.

...I was upset- Well...

Really, I was...

...afraid."

Your heart sinks.

"...That was a mistake.
Being scared of you.

I have had time to think, and-
I cannot believe-
Cannot fathom, really,
how I accused you of... hurting me intentionally.

We have not known each other long, but-
I should have known better than that.

Vess, I do Trust You,
and I do hope you understand that.

What happened was a minor incident.
A minor accident.
And really, when it comes down to it... entirely understandable.

You are new here.
Mistakes Will happen.
And with all the pressure on you, everything that is being asked of you so quickly,
that chance is only magnified.

What concerns me, is that you're-
I do not want you to carry this with you as anything other than... a motivational incident.
Something that does spur you on to try and be more thoughtful and communicative amongst yourselves,
but does not... warrant any sort of guilt.

You apologized.
And you will not do that again.
That's the important part, isn't it?

So, there is no reason to feel guilty."

You want to speak up further.
Complain about yourself, how you dented her SKULL.

But you finally have managed to quiet yourself.

So, instead, you simply force yourself to nod.

"Excellent.

And... do let me know should you have anything you wish to talk over.
At any point, really!
I am sure we can find a soundproof-
Erm... a private space to do so.

With that out of the way,
onward to more exciting matters!"

Murmur fishes something out of her pocket.

Your face displays a '?' as you squint in the dark.

"I created this not long ago.
It's a chip that is designed to, well,
in simpler terms, 'sync up' with the xenial itself.

I was planning to use it for myself, to help me keep track of everything, but...

Well, when I saw that your body mostly follows volare lines,
I could not help myself.

You see, you have ports on the back of your neck, right at the base of your head."

You curiously reach a claw back in response,
finding what feel like small circular and rectangular holes there.

"Right there, yes."

It's unnerving.

"So... I modified this to fit you.

I did, also remove some of the features.
Those were passed along into a rudimentary duplicate version for myself,
as they would have been useless to you,
but, well,
I only had so much time before I was sure you and Model would finish selecting an outfit.

...Apologies, that's neither here nor there.

The point is that, this will have features you should find useful during your stay,
and I would very much enjoy installing it for you.
It's a delicate piece of hardware,
and given you only received this body recently and cannot exactly See the ports, yourself,

I-"

Murmur suddenly seems... bashful, of all things.

"...Well...
I would-
I hope it is not presumptuous of me to ask,
but...

Would you be opposed to me installing the chip myself?

Oh,
I should...
I should explain, shouldn't I?
Yes, I don't know for Certain that you would-

Right, yes-"

She clears her throat.

"Volare tend to see performing this act as... dictating closeness.
Not-
Not necessarily in... any particular direction, mind you!
It can be romantic, but can also be a familial act - such as between those that consider themselves siblings, for instance -
or simply indicative of very, very close platonic relationships.

So-
I do not know if you would feel the same way instinctively, given you are more volare than any other species,
from what I can tell, at least,
but... I figure it best not to assume, in either direction.

At any rate... you are more than welcome to say no,
regardless of how you may feel about the act itself; what it may mean to you, if anything.

But, I do want to reassure you,
that it does not have to mean anything, either.

More than anything,
I Do simply wish to install this for you.
It's... a functional act, more than anything, though-

Not that-

Not that I care nothing for you!
You DO matter to me!

We haven't known each other long, of course,
but I already care to think of you as a friend, and I would hope-

I am... talking far too much, aren't I?

Forgive me."

They let out a quick breath.

"At any rate:

Would you like me to install this for you, Vessel?

If not, I can... attempt to guide you through installing it yourself.

Or you can refuse this installation outright, of course.

I will respect your decision,
whatever it may be."

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 10-22-2022, 01:14 AM

Hey murmur. I'm sorry about hitting you with the ball. and I'm sorry I didn't say sorry until now. I'm sorry I ran away instead of making sure you were ok, but it's hard. I don't think I'm good with people. with being around people. I HAVE ANXIETY(admit it Vess, please), everything is new to me and I'm terrified of messing up, and when I did, when something that just seemed like an idle thought turned into a huge mistake, it felt like the world was crashing down around me.

I'm only like, what? a few hours old? and I already feel like I have so much responsibility. I want to do right by y'all, but maybe I need like a year to go to Not Fucking Everything Up School.

(10-22-2022, 12:56 AM)Ignispark Wrote: ...this could be about safety. we should probably, definitely, listen carefully to this.

like this is basically the gate to nothing knows where right...?

Remember Murmur said she'd talk with us about beaning her in the face with the ball here, at the entrance. There might be some safety tips in there but this is likely gonna be a hard feelings type convo, buckle up.

Posted by Ignispark - 10-22-2022, 12:56 AM

...this could be about safety. we should probably, definitely, listen carefully to this.

like this is basically the gate to nothing knows where right...?

Posted by knux400 - 10-21-2022, 10:04 PM

Well, we did agree we'd talk to her earlier... Might as well hear what she has to say. Let's try to comfort ourselves with the fact that they've been nice to us so far, and they're aware we're new and not used to the world in general yet. Not many people would chew out a newborn.

Posted by SHIVERS - 10-21-2022, 09:55 PM

You do your best to put what happened out of your mind.
Everything's fine now, anyway.
And it's none of our business even if we really want to know what happened.

Let's talk with Laurel

...And DON'T think about it

"So...
space has got to have a lot of data.
All the transmissions and visuals and- ...more than anybody could parse.

How do you avoid getting overloaded with all of it?
All the stimuli,
and the implications that come with everything you've found?"

"Oh, it's... a lot to deal with, honestly.
It can get incredibly overwhelming!

The sheer scale of the cosmos...
and all that we do know is most likely just barely scratching the surface.
It's enough to make your head spin.

But... for me.
I journal a lot, obsessively even.
Writing these things down helps me parse my thoughts... even if they do end up looking like a mess."

"Journal?"
You glance over, hoping they'll pull it out for you to see.

"Yes!
I write things down, doodle in the margins..."
They do no such thing, but catch your line of sight.
"...for my eyes only, however."

You lean your head down.
"...Please?"

"Talking about my findings alone is a huge deal!
To show someone my private, unfiltered notes...

...as interested as I am in your whole catalyst thing as well,
it would require a lot more trust than 'we just met and have interest in each others' situations.'

Surely you understand?"

Your eye shifts upward as you think over it.

"Not really."

"...you have a lot to learn, then.
I'm sure that everyone here is around for their own reasons,
and I don't think people will give up that information so willingly, not when such strange and mysterious things are afoot...

At the very least,
I know that I would only be able to share my ultimate secrets with someone I trusted entirely.
You, while extremely interesting to me, are still a stranger."

"...I guess."

You feel a little strange over someone having apparently taken an 'extreme interest' in you.

You aren't sure how to process that.

Your eye skims over the crowd ahead of you,
listening to the idle chatter popping up from scattered groups.

Seeing individuals of all different sorts,
probably from many different places,
all congregating together;
Here.

"...This is a lot of people.

Is this whole thing really important?
Earlier I was thinking it was a fringe science... thing,
but now... seeing all these people;
it feels really important, all these people traveling here.

What do you think?"

"It's definitely fringe as far as interests go,
but as I said... people have their reasons for being here.

Getting the chance to commune with the extranatural...
there's a plethora of reasons for why people might be intrigued by it.

So... important?
I think so,
and potentially enough to affect the world at large,
but I do agree that fringe is a solid word for it as well.

...underappreciated opportunity also works, as a descriptor."

"Underappreciated?
So this isn't common?"

"Definitely not.
Most people don't go looking to talk to fairies and the like.
...not like most people even believe this stuff to begin with..."

You tap at the side of your screen, deep in thought.

"...What about... here?
What's it like here?"

"Define here."

"The...

...here?"

You try to think back and remember what this place is called.

"...Morbit...?"

Your face displays a ?.

"Oh!
Hm.
That's a very broad question..."

Their beak scrunches up, ever so slightly.

"...place could use some work, if you ask me.
There's some good things, for certain,
but... can't help but wonder if the grass is greener on the other side.

...and by the other side, I mean literally anywhere else.
Off planet, in other dimensional planes, you name it... surely there has to be something better than this."

...Concerning

"What's wrong with here?"

"I mean... I guess you wouldn't know much at all, would you...

People are people and what people are is crabby-
and hard to get along with,
and there's so many of them that always try to tell you what to do or think.

It feels like there isn't a single shred of respect for those trying to actually accomplish things that matter..."

They start to huff.

"And don't get me started on things like transportation,
or funding,
or-

well, no,
some people agree with me on things like that being terrible.

But then there's things that everyone seems to think is great, like marriage!
They all say stuff like that until they're the ones with divorce papers getting handed across the table-"

They finally start to get a grip,
taking a deep, somewhat-slimy inhale.

"...I doubt that extranatural beings have to deal with any of this,
and for that, I do envy them."

You are unaware of the animated . . . displaying on your screen.

"...you'll learn with time."

"OK."
You tilt your head in thought.
"I'll try to keep... all that in mind.

...Where are you from?"

"Wonder,
specifically the city of Etchings.
Bit far away from here."

"...What's your Favorite part of this world?"

"...hm.
Hard question."

That gets them thinking, their beak scrunching up again.

"...looking at the dust patterns in the sky, and wondering.
It's...
it's infuriating sometimes, but there are-
...it's hard to explain.

...perhaps it's just the fact that I've been doing it for so long."

"...dust... patterns?"

"Space dust.
You'll see it."

You look up into the sky and squint.

The sky is completely devoid of any sort of... dust.
Only storm clouds.

"...at night.
You'll see it at night."

"Oh."

"...but you will see it!"

"What's it look like?"

"Swirls and clusters of all kinds of colors, though most nights they appear quite dull...
seeing the stars between them feels like a little treat,
considering they can be hard to make out through all that cloudiness."

You finally turn your head away from the sky.
"...sad that you can only see them at night."

"Trust me,
it just makes you appreciate them more."

That idea in particular hits you, for some reason,

and you find yourself lost in a train of thought.

Moments later, though,

Murmur speaks up.

"Alright, all,
we are now approaching the xenial proper -
just through here!"

In front of your large group stands a fifteen-foot stone wall indented into the cliff face.
It's smooth, with an elaborate, textured pattern to it.

You can't make out what the pattern is supposed to be, though, it only looks like geometric shapes.

The group begins to naturally huddle, everyone stopping.

The moment you're within about twenty feet of the indented wall,

your red ball leaves your palm,
floating upwards of its own volition.

...You don't particularly mind its leaving.

It levitates over to the stone wall,

sinks into it,

and fills the indented pattern in with the same red-orange tint it has;
the one it got from You, you realize.

The stone vibrates and buzzes,

then suddenly animates itself as if it were leaves in wind,
twisting itself away from its previous position,

threading into the adjacent parts of the rock instead;

creating a , extensive opening where it used to be.

Inside, you think you spot dim lights.

Candles, maybe?
But it's too dark to see much.

The process soon completes,
and the ball reappears in your hand.

"...Oh, it is brilliant to witness the opening up close!"

Murmur's beaming,
you can tell simply from the timbre of her voice.

They seem to get self-conscious soon after, though,
clearing their throat.

"...Well, don't mind me; right this way!
There are chairs set up inside the first proper room there, not far beyond the entrance.
Please, make yourselves comfortable."

You notice that she's visibly counting those in the group with her claws,
one-by-one as they start trailing inside.

"...There, erm...
may not be enough seats for everyone, but please be polite and...

feel free to stand,
...if you feel you're able!

The initial proceedings should not be too long."

You walk through into the newly-opened passage,

side-by-side with Laurel,

but-

Murmur steps next to you,
catching your attention.

"...Vess?

May-

...could I have a word first, before we start?"

Her voice is as gentle as ever,
which only serves to grow the pit in your stomach.

"We can speak privately,
here in the entryway."

Your body locks up.

Posted by Ignispark - 10-13-2022, 03:08 AM

...perhaps to continue the conversation...something, topical? ask a question that hints at a vague, feeling. while still being in the space zone, like:

so...space has got to have a lot of data. sifting through transmissions. countless visual data. more than one could ever parse.

how do you avoid getting overloaded with all the data? all the stimulus of the world and what lays beyond it? the implications of everything.

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 10-13-2022, 03:08 AM

Yeah just try to put it out of your mind, it's none of our business, and they seem to be doing well now.

uh, try this: there seems to be a lot of different people, is this whole thing really important? earlier at the research facility I was getting like, fringe science vibes, but now? I dunno feels important, for all these people to travel here.

for that matter, I've asked a lot about alien stuff, but what about our planet? what's it like here? where are you from? what's your favorite part of this world?

Posted by SHIVERS - 10-13-2022, 02:55 AM

Your trek along the beach continues,
your populous group starting up a ramp-like incision in the impending cliffside.

The walk's somewhat more difficult now, thanks to the incline,
but you aren't breaking a sweat at all.

Instead,
you look out over the ocean.

Rays of sun-soaked light cut through some of the rainclouds,
painting ribbon-like spotlights on the water's surface.

"So what's the difference between an alien
and extranatural...
...things?
You're an expert, right?"

"Like I said, squares and rectangles-
but not in the way you expect.

What most people consider 'alien life' is almost always extranatural,
and when you do end up having an actual alien,
it tends to be investigated as an extranatural creature by so-called experts.

They're not the same thing, but they get mistaken for each other more often than not."

"Oh.

...Well what makes them unique?"

"Defining an 'alien' is simple-
something not from our planet.

Extranatural stuff, however- is from our world,
just... a different place.

I'm not the most well-versed in the latter,
but the former I have been studying for quite some time."

You lean in.

"...have you seen any?"

"...that's classified."

You stare.

"...I just met you, I can't be telling you things like that."

' :( ' displays on your screen.

"Oh no, not even for a face like that.
Besides...
you never upheld your end of our deal.
We'll see how I feel after you fill me in on your stone."

"...Oh, right."

You forgot.

"I remembered."

You hold up your stone,
squeezing it slightly in your claws to demonstrate its rubber-y consistency.

"It's just a ball.
It can bounce and roll and...
...things a ball can do.

...I don't really like it," you admit.

"Fascinating, though!
Perhaps it suits you, somehow?"

You grimace,
your gasmask distorting to pull off such an expression.

"No."

"I could see how the idea is unappealing,
but consider- bouncing back is a sign of adaptability."

You don't say anything in response.

You don't want to be rude,
but you also aren't going to budge on thinking anything positive about the little red ball.
Not after what happened.

They seem to pick up on your mood quickly at that,
their feathers fluffing up slightly.

"I-in any case...
I suppose I can say that I have
possibly
heard an alien."

Your head whips back to the bird,
the motion mildly intimidating thanks to how long your neck is.

"Tell me."

"Just intercepting transmissions,
that's all... but I swear,
it was more than just noise."

Their expression is completely confident.

"My colleagues seem to think I've completely lost it, but I know what I heard.
I think there's something out there,
and I have reason to believe that this place may have answers towards helping me figure out whether it is extraterrestrial- or extranatural."

"What did it sound like?"

"Indescribable-
but if I had to try,
I'd say hundreds of voices all at once, warped so far that they're unrecognizable as words."

You try to imagine such a sound.

It's unpleasant.

You decide to pivot the topic;
you'd like to have that out of your head for now.

"What's space like around here?"

"Oh, that's a whole conversation and a half alone.
We don't understand much about space as it stands...
aside from the fact that something out there is preventing us from exploring it.

Something...

...hostile."

"...hostile?"

"We're still figuring out the exact trends,
but... certain things are 'allowed' to exist in our planet's orbit,
and others are not,
almost as if our actions are being judged and monitored.

That which is... well,
presuming that this is a conscious process on behalf of some extraterrestrial creature,
that which is not up to this supposed being's standards,

is destroyed.

Violently."

"...oh."

"Mm.
It's quite the conundrum."

You aren't sure what you were expecting,
but it wasn't that.

Quick.

Another subject change will smooth things over.

"...do... you like constellations?"

"When I can see them, yes!

It's hard to make them out some nights what with all of the strange dust-like formations-
I've been trying to study those as well,
but it's impossible to get samples.

I do have some favorites..."

"I haven't seen Any of them yet.
Tell me your favorites."

"My absolute favorite is this one called Nile,
and it's a depiction of a philosop-"

Before you can make out their answer,
a voice echoes from behind you both.

It's strained,
and somewhat...

...slimy?

"Hey..."

The voice raises its volume a bit,
more stressed this time.

"H-hey!
Fritz, wai...

wait up...!

F-fucking hell this is a long walk-"

"-and really it has so much lore to it that it's impossible not,
even for just a cluster of stars-"

You turn to look back while Laurel continues speaking,
too distracted to pay attention.

There's a bright pink bear trailing behind you,
their equally bright blue hair dripping-

You realize their voice isn't the only part of them with a slime thing going on,
a huge slime tail dragging behind them as well, making an awful mess.

They're struggling to keep up with the rest of the group,
having to visibly use their cane for support.

Not far ahead of them,
a ruffneck in a black denim jacket and cap is trudging along absent-mindedly.

Oddly enough,
you note that their right hand is entirely wrapped up in bandages.

You would say they were staring off into space,
if it didn't look like they were staring straight at You.

It's

unnerving to say the least.

Their gaze is intense.

Focused.

You miss a step,
stumbling a pace before you recover.

The bear pants before raising their voice one more time.

"F-FRITZ-"

The ruffneck's ears pop straight upward.

They stop walking,
turning around entirely to face the bear,
and immediately hurrying over to them.

"...fuck-
Sorry, I w-
-Sorry."

They catch the bear's shoulder,
then hurriedly step in front of them and crouch down, moving their arms back.

"Here, hop up."

"...Fritz, I'm going to crack your back in half."

"I got you, hop up."

"Okay,
but I won't take offense if you need to drop me..."

The teddy bear grips their cane in one hand,
then does their best to clamber up into a piggyback position, wobbling a little as they do.

The dog lifts them up with a grunt.

"Got you, no big deal."

They wait a moment to get their bearings, then continue walking.

"T-thanks...."
The bear seems relieved, the slime drips slowing down a bit.

Laurel finally stops talking,
having noticed your attention pulled away.

"What's going on back there?"

The ruffneck looks up in your direction.

You hastily swivel back around to avoid making eye contact.

"Nothing-"
Your answer comes a little too fast.

"...you sure?"

They tilt their head in that birdlike fashion again.

"Well... alright, then."

You breathe a silent sigh of relief.

If they'd pressed you, you're not sure you could've come up with a good excuse.

You're suddenly unsure how to continue the conversation;
too distracted,
wondering whether or not they were Still staring at you.

You want to look back again to check,
but,
you don't want to be rude, either.

Ultimately,
you find yourself paralyzed with indecision,
walking with Laurel in awkward silence.

Posted by Ignispark - 10-05-2022, 09:12 PM

so, i imagine there's a lot of variety but,

what's space like around here? what can it be like? what are some cool examples? do you like constellations? what's your favorite celestial object?

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 10-05-2022, 09:02 PM

well, go ahead and tell them about your bouncy ball. come on, we gotta fulfill our end of the bargain.(plus it gives us something to talk about)

Maybe ask what makes the difference between an alien and something from like, another dimension or plane of reality or whatever

Posted by SHIVERS - 10-05-2022, 08:52 PM

let's try to talk to each other, right?
like Jenkins said
we can crew this ship better if we're on the same page.

well, as for Saying things...
Murmur is probably busy right now,
but we definitely need to apologize when we can.

Agreed.
let's wait for a better opportunity to present itself.

You have a brief conversation with yourselves.

You resolve to address the-
Well.
You resolve to... sort out the 'panic attacks' - you don't really know if you can call them that.
They're not quite That bad.

Really.

You're pretty sure.

You'll sort out whatever's going on with those later.

For now,
your eye turns to the corvice.

You walk up beside the bird, trying to keep as casual as possible.
"...You seem really interested in your stone."

"H-huh? Oh!"
The corvice holds up their stone, its saucer-like shape unmistakable.
"It's just...I don't think anyone else got this shape.
It's surprising to me, considering it...

...well,

it's nothing."

You peek over their shoulder to get a better look.
"Considering what?"

They look around a little,
glancing to make sure no one else is listening.
"...you'll think I'm nuts."

You cock your head.
"I think you're a corvice.
Aren't you?"

They finally get a good look up at you, startling.

"I-I mean...yes.
Yes, I am, but that's not...
...what are you? "

You're not sure whether to feel self-conscious or proud of your appearance catching such a look.

"Vessel.
Vess."

You put your arms out to the side regardless,
checking yourself over.

You only now realize that you're TWICE as tall as the corvice you're speaking to.

Given your height,
it's probably something you'll have to get used to . . .

"I'm the catalyst."

"Oh!
Oh, that explains it."
They look relieved,
as if whatever option they had been considering was a lot more worrying.

"Fascinating form you've chosen.
Do I detect... volare?"

You nod excitedly.
"Yep!
Yes.
And lots of others.
Gesabott,
chorosy,

...boat."

"Incredible..."
They can't help but look you over more,
not exactly subtle about it.
"It really does look like I'll be seeing things beyond my previous understanding."

You mirror their movements,
needing to duck down at points to look the corvice over as they size you up.

"What did you mean before?
About your stone?"
You hold up your own for comparison as you speak,
the red rubber ball looking much less impressive.

"Yours is a ball?"
They crane their head in a decidedly birdlike way,
peeking around at it.
"Does it roll?
Bounce?
Ricochet?"

You hold your ball up a little higher, out of their view.
"You tell me, I tell you."

"A-ah!
That's very fair..."

They hold up their saucer-like stone for you to look at,
though it's clear they have no intent of letting it go.
"It's shaped like... well,
I don't even know if you know what a UFO is,
but it looks like one!"

"Why is that surprising to you?"

"Because... it is aligned with my interests."

They puff out their chest a bit,
clearly trying to look cool and confident.
"I am Laurel Pinweight,
an astronomer and aerospace expert.
I study space, essentially."

You look side-to-side.
"...And UFOs?"

"...yes,
but not on the record."

"Any reason why not...?"

Dots connect in your head.

"...you're looking for aliens...?!"
You blurt out before giving them a chance to answer.

"Shhh!!!
Shhhhhhh!"

You cover your gasmask,
a question mark appearing on your screen.

The two of you get a few looks from the crowd.

"...yes,
I am.

Sort of.

It's complicated,
but I don't want anyone to think I'm out of my mind with it...
...they aren't exactly believed in."

You lower your stance as you walk, staying quieter;
trying to help keep the secrets secret.

"Have you found anything before...?"

"Some things,
but nothing that'd convince the masses.
I heard though, that this place has the chance for extraterrestrial contact..."

"I think it's 'extranatural.'"

"Similar.
It's... like squares and rectangles."

You put a claw to the tip of your gasmask,
pretending like you're thinking that over.

You nod.

"Mhm."

You don't know what they're talking about.

You aren't sure what else to say, either.
There are too many things you could ask about.
This is your first conversation outside of Model and Murmur.

You want to make it count.

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 09-07-2022, 07:20 PM

Let's try to talk to each other right? like jenkins said. we can crew this ship better if we're on the same page.

(09-07-2022, 09:49 AM)knux400 Wrote: Murmur is probably busy right now, but we should definitely keep them in mind and apologize ASAP.

Agreed. let's wait for a better opportunity to present itself.

I don't have a strong preference for who to talk to, so for the sake of consensus, let's talk to the corvice.

(09-07-2022, 09:49 AM)knux400 Wrote: They seem interested in their stone, and they might like to hear about ours.

Maybe ask them if they're nervous, I think I'm nervous, and we definatly got a boatload of anxiety, so we can (calmly) talk about that if it comes up. just try and compare experiences, and talk about simple stuff, like how silly our little rubber ball magic stone is.

Also Vess, I know you can hear me I'm you(I think(this is really complicated)). we need to address the panic attacks at some point. it's clear we have anxiety. now's not the best time but when it comes up at least acknowledge it. people aren't gonna think we're weak or something just because we have problems.

Posted by knux400 - 09-07-2022, 09:49 AM

Murmur is probably busy right now, but we should definitely keep them in mind and apologize ASAP.

As for who to talk to right this second, I definitely agree with the idea of talking to the Corvice. They seem interested in their stone, and they might like to hear about ours.

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 09-07-2022, 08:47 AM

Well, as for Saying things

we definitely need to apologize to Murmur when we can. What we did was reckless and impulsive and and did hurt her, hopefully not long term but a part of that hurt could become long term if we don't apologize, and could wind up being a long term hurt for us too. Psychological hurt is a nasty weight to bear.

as for who we should interact with now...
They all seem interesting to be honest but I'm personally leaning towards the Corvice.

Posted by SHIVERS - 09-07-2022, 07:54 AM

The skirt combination Does sound nice...
...but ultimately you grab the 'Bandana' box.

With it in your claws, you head off to the changing room.

You rip open the box,
finding:
- An off-white crop-top with some logo on it you don't recognize
- A dark purple bandana
- Grey-purple sweatpants

It's easy enough to slip everything on,
though you have a bit of trouble with the sweatpants.
The spines on the back of your legs could easily rip them apart, but you take it slow and manage the task.

Checking the mirror,
you try a few different positions for the bandana before settling on keeping it around the base of your elongated neck,
letting it droop down onto the crop top.

You think it's a pretty good look.
Not that you have much to compare it to.

All finished up,
you step out of the changing room,
glancing over at Model in your new outfit.

Model glances over,
their face lighting right up.

"Now that's a getup!
Kinda sporty, don't you think?"

From the sound of her voice, it's still Jenkins.

You look yourself over.
"Sporty?"

"Yeah!
You look like you're ready to go!"

Your head tilts.
"...Maybe?
Probably.
I think I'm always ready for anything."

You glance back up at her.
"Is now a good time to talk over collective stuff?"

"Well, we gotta start heading back soon...
but what the hell,
I can spare some time, said I would.

What's eatin' you about it?"

"So..."

You take a seat on top of one of the shorter shelves.

"...I'm not having trouble?
Not with that, or anything.
At all.
Existing is easy and there is No stress.

But also:

Am I one person with a million thoughts or a million people?

What about the me talking right now?

Who is that?

Who is me?"

Your voice fills with static as it speeds up.
You grip the edges of the shelf and it creaks in strain.

"When I stop talking, do I fallbackin with theothervoices?
The other Me's?
The otherThems?
I don't know whattofeel or who'sFeeling it and-and-
If avoicegoesawaydoesapersonins--"

"Heyheyheyheyhey-"
Jenkins raises her hands,
making calming, deep breathing sounds.

"Relax.
All of this,
is like... you figure it out.
Slowly.
Well, sometimes quickly, but over time.

You don't have to have all the answers right away."

You do your best to breathe deep,
going overboard,
getting lightheaded.

"What about-
...communication-

How do we do that?
...Better?"

The words aren't quite coming out as you want them to.

Your head feels scrambled.

"From the look of it,
y'all are just saying whatever comes to mind without...
yknow,
talking about it.

So... it just bursts out in a big explosion!
And that can be really overwhelming, especially when you're so new.

Try taking it slow and talking things over
before you put the thoughts out there into the world.

You'd be surprised at how much better you'll be able to get things done."

"...but it's Faster to do things on our own.

If we just say what we think about things when we think them then we don't have to Discuss it or Disagree.
And it all combines together,
kind of.

That's... fine, right?"

Jenkins shakes her head.

"Nope.

You're gonna end up making dangerous, impulsive decisions that way!
...or have a panic attack,
like just now.

You won't have your individual voices go away just because you're talking to each other."

You lean your head down as thoughts swirl.

The bandana feels too tight.
You grasp at it.
Both claws.

Some intangible motor cranks up in your head.

You squeeze inward upon yourself.

It all--

There's an audible pop - you think you hear it, at least.
A shock runs through your system.

"What panic attack?
I just needed some advice."

You hop up from the shelf, stretching your arms.

"Ready to go?
I have more questions but talking can be done on the way."

"Yep."
Jenkins doesn't miss a beat,
unperturbed as she stands back up.
"Lay it on me."

You follow Jenkins out of the room and down the hall.

"Can you tell me more about this whole xenial thing?
Wanna know what else you do here, too."

"So...
a bunch of people get stones, right?
They're allowed into the xenial, and that's where shit goes down.

Whole meeting of worlds sort of thing,
you see shit like nobody's ever seen before,
get to meet some weird creatures, go on some little adventures even...
though every year, it's a little different.

As for what we do outside of heavy lifting,
depends on who in the collective you're talking to.
Me, I work out.

No real need to,
yknow, no muscles in a robot body,
but I like it.
Feels nice to stretch and exert some power."

"What else takes place here at the labs?"

"Bunch of research stuff, mostly.
You'd be better off asking Jill about that,
it's a real bookworm."

She taps the side of her head.
"Just another Model."

"...Why do all your names start with the same sound?"

"Not all of 'em do,
but we just think it's cute and funny for a bunch to."

"Huh."

You idly bounce the ball while making your way through various hallways,
not really paying attention to where Jenkins is leading you.

You mull over what Murmur said . . .

"You don't gotta worry about names for a while, though.
Honestly, sometimes we miss the just... blendiness of it all.

Wouldn't trade how we are now,
and honestly, living any particular way as a collective is just as good as another,
long as you're cooperating.

Gonna keep harping on that-"

Your arm reels back,

filling with the energy of reckless abandon,

and you toss your stupid red ball as hard as you can down the hallway.

"H-"

The ball sails just past Jenkins' face,

shooting at top speed down the hall.

You watch it fly.

It makes contact with a loud THWAP!

A certain football-helmeted OBJ is now on the floor,

having nearly flipped over from the force of your stone smashing into the side of their head.

"F- MURMUR-"

Jenkins is already rushing forward,
kneeling by their side.

"You alright there, bud?"

Stars appear across her eyes.

Too out-of-it to reply to Jenkins.

You can hardly see from where you're at.

Frozen stiff.

Feeling your stone pop back into your palm.

You watch various researchers peeking outside doors,
seeing Murmur on the floor,
Jenkins standing over her,

and their eyes trail back to you.

Guilt wells up and twists itself into the pit of your stomach.

But you don't move.

"Cmon, let's..."

Jenkins does her best to get Murmur propped up,
dragging her into a sitting position against the wall.

She turns her attention to you now, gesturing for you to come over.

Her expression doesn't look pleased.

You take a step,
but hesitate.

Realizing things aren't too serious,
most have returned to their research.

But, a few are still staring,
watching you through the windows.

The door on your right.

There's stairs inside.

You push the bar and step through.

Jenkins is on her feet immediately, racing after you.

The stairs go up on the right,
down on the left.

Up... = outside?
don't know what's outside.

there were all those hands in the water.

Too many hands,

too many eyes.

You head down instead,
practically rushing until you reach the bottom.

You find the back corner, under the stairs,
and sit on the cold concrete.

You clutch your gasmask and squeeze.

Footsteps echo above you,
someone racing down just as fast.
"...Vess?!
Vess, you down here?"

You shake your head,
though she can't hear you.

"...cmon out Vess,
no one's gonna scream at you..."

Nothing.

"You screwed up,
and you're gonna have to give Murmur a proper apology,
but like...
this is what I was talking about, yknow?"

Nothing.

Jenkins pauses right before your hiding place.
"We can work this out."

"...don't know."

The construct crouches,
scooting in with you without much fanfare.

You push yourself tighter against the wall.

She makes sure to keep just a bit of distance,
and while you can tell she's having to put some effort into keeping a smile on her face -
there is one, albeit tired.

"What would help you out right now?"

"...I don't want to think about it.
I don't want anyone to stare at me."

"I can tell people to clear out and give you some space.
They'll get it."

"...are we going outside anyway?"

"Got a job to do,
so... yep."

"Then we...

we can just go topside,
and nobody up there will know.
We can bring Murmur if-

Is Murmur okay?"

"They're gonna be okay.
You still gotta apologize, but I know you'll make things right."

"You don't know that.

Can we-
...can you go get Murmur?

And we can go outside from here.
And I won't have to go back inside where everyone can see me."

"Yeah.
Yeah, we can do that."

"OK."

Jenkins slowly gets to her feet, brushing her jumpsuit off.
"Need help getting up?"

You shake your head.

"Alright... stay put."

Jenkins starts up the steps,
keeping her gaze over her shoulder as she does.

You wait for her to fully leave and slowly pull yourself up and out of the corner.

You suddenly don't know how to stand,

or where to put your hands.

You lean against the railing,

looking up to watch for their return.

Sure enough, there's two sets of footsteps coming down the steps again, not too long after.

Murmur appears first,
seeming a little uneasy.

There's a dent in the side of their helmet now.

"...Hello."

You don't know what to say.

You're self-conscious about your size,
feeling like you're towering over her in a menacing way, now.

"...I want you to know I don't harbor any ill will towards you.
Not... at all.

Though...
what exactly were you trying to accomplish by throwing your stone the way you did?
Were you-

You were not...

...aiming for Me,
were y--" "No. No. I-

It... comes back.
You can't lose it.

I wanted to throw it far to see if it would come back."

"That's the kind of impulse you gotta discuss out and curb.
I know disagreeing and bickering amongst yourselves doesn't sound like the best time,
but...
you need to be able to shut stuff like that down,
before people get hurt -
and I'm meaning both yourself and others."

"...OK."

You slide your thumb across your other claws, over and over.

Jenkins fidgets,
just as awkward as she looks in between you and Murmur.

No words come to you, either.

"...Well,
erm...

If that's all,
perhaps we should get going?

I'll-

I...
have something I want to show you, later, Vess,

but for now,
we can get this show... on the road?

...As they say?"

They awkwardly gesture to the both of you.

You look away.

Jenkins gives you a look,
mouthing the words 'Apology, Later.' before gesturing ahead.

"On the road we go!"

Murmur nods briskly,
and begins making their way up the stairs with the two of you.

You note a distinct lack of her usual passionate enthusiasm,
though she tries to lightly feign it anyway.

"Vess, we'll be joining up with the group properly this time.

Together,
we'll all be making our way up the coastline cliffside,
all the way to the xenial's entrance:

An intricate, cave-like structure that only permits access to those with one of these stones.

All parties have already been briefed,
so we'll simply begin our trek when we reach the surface."

The OBJ turns to Model.

"Did any of you have concerns before we start?
...Am I forgetting anything?"

"Nope,
I think we're all good there..."

"Understood.
Please inform me if that changes."

The three of you reach the ground floor in no time,
pushing your way through a set of doors to emerge... outside . . .

This is your first time seeing it in person.

A stormy coastline at what you assume is midday.

It's still raining,
though the worst of the weather looks to have subsided.

Curious hues of orange and yellow grace through the dark clouds above the ocean waves,
staining their edges with a distinct palette,
the sun rays reflecting on the water.

The outside of the labs themselves look simple and plain by comparison;
sandstone or marble surfaces,
with only three entrances in this relatively small, coastal valley.

That particular silver and green coloration is present, too,
the exoskeleton of the lab clearly carved from the hills, mountains and caves surrounding the area.

The air is open here,
but nearly every direction is eventually blocked by the stone ridges,
save for the coastline to your right.

You can see a direct path down the shore, along the beach,
which... you think leads up a cliffside,
but a thin grey fog obscures your view past a point.

There are... a LOT of people waiting here.

Forty?

Fifty?

Something like it.

Each carrying at least one bag or backpack.

They're separated into two groups,
distinguishable by the group on the right all holding stones,
while the group on the left have none;
though, there's intermingling between the two groups.

Murmur looks in your direction,
which immediately makes you nervous.

"...Perhaps, we could discuss the incident earlier once we reach the entrance?
I'll be busy until that point, and after as well,
but I'll have a few minutes to talk before the orientation, right when we arrive.

Would that be acceptable?"

"...ok."

They give you a half-formed smile.

Murmur motions for Jenkins to follow her.

"Are you ready?"

"You bet!
Me and Jimmie and everybody else all together!"

Murmur nods.

She takes a quick breath.

"Let's break a leg, then."

With that, the pair sets off ahead of you.

You awkwardly shuffle to the back, getting some stray looks in the process.

You feel that you stick out like a sore thumb,
probably thanks to being... almost eight feet tall.

The OBJ addresses the crowd as she makes her way to the front:

"Apologies for the delay, everyone!"

She turns 180 upon passing all of them.
Her arms fold behind her back.

"We'll be setting off now!
The entrance is not too far down the coast,
but it will take approximately twenty minutes, as was stated prior.

A brief reminder that only those carrying stones are allowed beyond this point,
but those without may follow Liza-"

A karacel emerges from the left side of the crowd,
giving a wave.

"-back to the previous station,
where you may contact your friends and loved ones who are continuing on,
once we finish orientation."

There's a brief, quiet commotion as people say their goodbyes.

"You're gonna do great, Fio!
And you can call me whenever you're able, okay?"
"Still don't know why I-I got one and not you.
I'll c...call you when I can, if I don't back out f-first."

"Remember:
You're to take as many notes as you can, especially-"
"I got it. You'll get your results."

The group soon disperses,
leaving only those with xenial stones.

"As for our temporary medical staff members,
if you would please come to the front."

Two individuals step forward:

The first is a black-furred bat in a red jacket.
When they turn, you can see them a little better.
They've got a rose pinned near their neck, and what looks to be a bitemark torn out of their left ear.
They smile, and something about the expression unnerves you.

The second is a black-and-white being whose head and twin tails seem to be made of crimson-red blood seeping out of their clothes.
Their head is especially notable, as it's floating above their shoulders,
blood dripping between the surface as irregular intervals.
They've got a grin plastered across their face which looks... 'simulated,'
and more of a permanent feature rather than a marker of their mood.

The two of them are wearing thin, seafoam-green sashes across their chests.

"This is Toluca-"

The bat raises a paw.

"-and Cardinal."

The grinning blood-creature does the same.

"Both will be here to assist you to the best of their ability in the event of an emergency medical situation.
I'll explain more on that later, but for now-"

She manages a genuine smile.

"-let's embark,
shall we?"

Murmur and Jenkins set off for the coastside,
leading a crowd of twenty-something people behind them.

Most separate into groups of two-to-four,
with a few people keeping to themselves.

You're at the back, for now.

But you should... probably attempt to make small-talk with someone.

The coast is pretty to look at, but not that entertaining.

You'll be bored out of your skull,
and alone with your thoughts,
if you don't try for some social time along the way.

You glance along the scattered crowd for anyone who looks potentially sociable in this moment.

Towards the back,
there's a white and brown avian corvice with a polka dot dress -
sheer sleeves covering their wings with a large, saucer-shaped stone kept propped between them.
They keep glancing down at it,
peering their head around in an especially bird-like manner.

A little further up,
there's a group of two: A bright aquamarine and grey gesabott and an ink-black agent chorosy.
They're idly chatting here and there,
but neither looks particularly busy.

Off to the side,
you spot an indistinct mammal with horns and a shrimpy tail,
dressed mostly in black.
They're messing about with a small device, no bigger than a calculator.
They look a little frustrated by whatever they're seeing on it.

You should probably figure out what you want to say along with who you want to talk to.

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 09-02-2022, 08:57 PM

you know it's weird, never noticed I'm naked, now that I do I feel like I should care. I don't, maybe because I'm so robotic and I don't have stuff to be worried about?

Bandana

Is this a good time to ask about collective stuff? like am I one person with a million thoughts or a million people? if a voice goes away does a person inside me die? what about the me talking right now? who is that? who am I? when I stop talking will I fall back in with the voices? I don't know what to feel or who's feeling it and it's.. it's a lot. it's scary.

Posted by Ignispark - 09-02-2022, 02:09 PM

raincoats are always practical. long live the raincoat

skirt seems like an optimal choice. it has a jacket and jackets are the lifeblood of fashion. (probably.)

after something's selected itd probably also be a good idea to ask a bit more about the whole, xenial thing. and/or what happens at the facility outside of the whole, xenial. thing.

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 09-02-2022, 10:16 AM

Hmmm, these are all pretty good.

Uhh, ratings out of five?
Bandana 5 out of 5, great look, only question is which way to wear the Bandana: pirate style or kerchief style...(leaning towards the latter)

Office 4 out of 5 looks slick, maybe a little too fancy for day to day? Not a huge fan of khakis, but they can be nice... thank goodness I somehow inherently know how to tie a tie. not sure how I know I just know I know

Skirt 5 out of 5 Also a great look, and the skirt shouldn't need adjusting for our leg spikes...

Raincoat 3.8 out of 5. Incredibly cute, not very practical for day to day

Uniform 4.5 out of 5, seems a bit, idk, work focused for day to day? Otherwise sounds neat and simple

So overall: Bandana = Skirt > Uniform ~ Office > Raincoat

Also: not that we're having Any trouble with it so far nope, great 0 stress first day of existing so far but
Any pointers on like Collective Stuff? Like idk for instance communicating better and such

Posted by Pichi2214 - 09-02-2022, 08:15 AM

Bandana or skirt seems cool!

Posted by knux400 - 09-02-2022, 04:39 AM

"...Wait, so you can't lose these things? They just... shloop back into your hand?"

Pause for a moment, and throw the stone as hard as you can down the hallway.

Oh, and {BANDANA}. Perfect hybrid of comfort and arcade cabinet fighting game character.

Posted by SHIVERS - 09-02-2022, 04:30 AM

You ball your fist and go for it,
plunging your hand up into the water.

Water splashes onto your screen from the impact.

You shake it off.

It feels nice, though.

You wiggle your claws within it.

Thunder rumbles
from Within the fountain.

At least four dozen hands dip through the water's surface above you,
coming into view.

All different shapes, sizes, species,

waiting.

Murmur and Model do the same from below,
reaching up to place their hands in.

Your head tilts as you address the OBJ,
still watching the black lightning overhead.

"On a scale of 'candle flickering at a seance'
to
'the moon exploding and raining down in hellfire,'
how dramatic is this gonna be?"

She calls back to you from her own chamber, her voice muffled.
"Every year the fountain produces a variety of effects,
but this has typically yielded only marvelous lightshows, such as the dark sparks overhead.

...Although,
the catalyst always experiences the events differently,
and I have no method of predicting the sort of sensations that will happen to you.

...You may wish to brace yourself."

You widen your stance,
taking a breath.

i still have this.

i can take on the World if i have to

You watch the lightning.

[Image: O3P86af.png]

It grows.

It pulls closer.

Your hand shakes.

But you do your best to stay firm.

It jumps towards You

A stray arc lashØ§�☒☒☒ ☒

☒☒☒☒☒☒☒ ☒☒

[Image: Ch7Bdvq.png]

╔╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╤╗
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀‡ ¶перезагрузите your wrist потенциальный ‡▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀‡ возникла проблема. your wrist Системная ‡▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╢
╟██████████████████████‡‡‡ Пожалуйста, your hand На вашем ½ПК ‡‡‡‡██████████████████████╢
╟██████████████████████‡‡‡‡‡ устранить pulled систему, чтобы ‡‡‡‡‡██████████████████████╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡ автоматически Coiled ущерб. ‡‡‡‡‡▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄‡‡‡‡‡‡ операционную let Go ошибка! ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╟▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄╢
╚╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╧╝

it pulls.

You are

Elsewhere

drifting in the space

between
moons
and
worlds
and
daydreams
and
a l l

slipping down to places betwixt

a Moving Surface below you

pulled Towards it

pulled
Down

[Image: ZoSUkmo.jpg]

pulled
      deeper

You      CLEAVE       Through the surface

rupturing space

sending

Iridescent Tinctures

[Image: wo5yCd8.png]

unto your soon-splitting vision

there is no s p a c e held here

No Room

yet

a Presence emerges from the Hole you tore

it Latches to your hand

[Image: k84lkoN.jpg]

your instinct tells you to shake it loose

to pull away

but it Soothes you

weaving a lullaby through your veins

you Breathe

the colors fade

the water returns

Overhead,
clear spheres burst forth

and float upwards

placing themselves in hands, here and there

leaving some empty.

You don't bother watching.

You close your eye.

Your body sways listlessly.

Branches in breeze.

Back.

Forth.

Transfixed.

A voice snaps you back.

"Vess...?

You may pull your hand out now!

...Are you awake?"

You open your eye.

At long last,
you gently loose your claw from the water,
finding a small, red, dimly-glowing stone held within it; big enough to fill your entire palm.

Murmur collapses in the next chamber over,
falling to a sitting position on the floor,
clasping their stone in their lap.

Model approaches slowly,
holding a coal-like stone in their massive hand.

"Wild show, ain't it?"

From the sound of her voice, you can tell it's Jenkins still.

"Bigger crowd than the year we were in your shoes, too."

You'd been watching the stone in your hand.

The strange power radiating from it could be felt,
and it mainly serves to unnerve you, but is intriguing all the same.

"Huh?
...Yeah.
...Wild."

"Did you happen to get a count, Jenkins?"

Murmur is still on the floor,
speaking while sitting in her chamber,
head pointed upward.

"Any... rough estimation...?
...I don't believe I had a decent look."

"Had to have been over two dozen.
Maybe even three."

"...oh, stars..." Their reply comes quietly,
the OBJ nestling their face against one of their claws.

The downward angle of the motion lets them see their stone, though;
shaped like an hourglass,
with twin colors of green and lavender meshing in the middle.

She smiles.
You think so, at least.

"...but what a Wonder to behold..."

They hold it aloft,
looking it over in the light.

"Have you ever seen Anything so peculiar...?"

"They're one of a kind, that's for sure.
...Before, our stone was pretty dull looking-"

Jenkins holds up her stone with a wide smile,
the round chunk surprisingly iridescent in the light.

"Now it's shiny!
That's good, right?"

"Typically,
they change color,
shape,
and...
well,
all manner of properties to fit the user.

I'm not sure the result can be broken down to a simple binary 'Good' and 'Bad';
all it says for certain is that you are different,
than you were before."

You hold up your stone,
squinting at it.

It doesn't glint in the light.

It's spherical,
boasting the same tint of vermilion you've got yourself, and-

You suddenly drop it,

grasping to catch it.

You miss,

but, to your surprise,

it bounces back up,

allowing you to catch it once again.

It's soft,
and rubber-y.

...A bouncy ball.

An unamused ':|' displays on your screen.

"Lookit that!
You can do trickshots with yours."

"Can we trade?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Have you tried?"
Murmur pipes up.
"To trade?"

"...I mean,
no,
but-"

Jenkins thinks to herself for a moment.

"I guess if you promise to give it back."

You snatch it from Jenkins' hand,
popping the bouncy ball up for her to catch.
"Thanks."

Jenkins fumbles,
doing her best to catch it.
"H-hey!"

Murmur leans back against the side of their chamber,
observing.

You hold the iridescent stone up to the light,
watching to see for yourself-

A strange VWIP! sounds through the air.

The red rubber ball is back in your hand.

Jenkins is holding the iridescent stone.

"You cannot trade them,
or lose them.
If you leave them behind, they will follow you."

She holds hers up to get another good look,
watching the sand-like particles flit about on the inside.

"Rather insistent little minerals, aren't they?"

":|"

"Huh...
we just figured we shouldn't let go of ours the first time around.
Kinda became a comfort object."

"No reason it cannot be that for you again, Jenkins.

...And there is no reason to be so disappointed, Vessel.
Yours is certainly unique,
and quite... playful, it would seem!"

"...I guess."

"At any rate,
Jenkins, would you mind, er-
Helping Vess here pick out some clothes?

...We don't have a perfect selection, and they are all arranged into all-in-one outfits;
no customization, I'm afraid.
It is all donated, after all.
But, you may find something you like."

"Sure thing-
you're in luck, I'm the most fashionable of the bunch."

Jenkins does a proud little pose,
showing off her work jacket and jumpsuit.

"I picked out the colors here and everything."

You look Jenkins up and down,
though you have no opinion on her outfit.

You hardly see it,
still preoccupied by the toy you're holding.

"I can pick it."

"Sure, that works too!
But lemme lead you on over, at least."

You turn to follow, your posture pouting.

Murmur is still on the floor.

You give her a glance.

"...Oh, don't worry!
I merely... need to rest, before we start.
The two of you will have time to confer with one another on the way."

"You sure, Murmur?
I could carry you."

"That... will not be necessary, thank you!"

"Vess and Jenkins time, then!"

You follow along as Jenkins gets moving again,
raising a huge paw victoriously.

You watch.

You blink.

You mimic the gesture.
"Hell, yeah...?"

"Yeah!!!
YEAH, that's what I'm talking about!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Hanging out with another collective!
This never happens for us!
Usually everybody else rattling around in here is too shy to say hi to any of the other catalysts,
believe it or not."

"Why?"

"Eh,
I think they get worried people are gonna judge us or something.
Jimmie and I finally teamed up to handle stuff this year, got over it."

"Teamed up?"

"Yeah,
stopped being weenies and decided to step up and be present for this."

"...I think I'm present for this, too.
I'm pretty sure I'm present and here and not a weenie.
I'm pretty sure I'm pretty good at it, actually."

"That's the attitude I like to hear!"

":)"

"So...Vess.
Got anything particularly interesting rattling around in that head of yours?"

While you walk,
you reach your claw up,
and tap your head.

The gesabott claws clink against metal.

"...Metal."

"Nice!
Same here, yknow.
Just... under the soft part."

Jenkins smiles wide,
though there's a weird look in her eyes.

"We don't gotta talk if you're not up for it, either.
You're new and all,
and I don't imagine everything's settled in yet."

"Settled?
...I'm not unsettling."

"Nah, nah, I mean-
you're new to this whole collective thing,
I imagine things are still getting figured out, yknow?
And that's chill."

"I don't know, Jenkins,
I'm pretty sure I'm doing very good at this.
I did that whole thing earlier with all the colors by myself."

"You did do that,
and it all went without a hitch.
You have every right to be proud of that."

"Cool."

"The coolest."

Jenkins doesn't speak too much for the rest of your walk together.

Not that you were paying attention.

You step with your head held high,
soaking in all the attention you've been getting.

i MUST be important
look at all this stuff i did
and how hard they tried to get ME for this!!!

You couldn't be more proud of yourself,
barely noticing as you reach the end of your journey,
back at the more 'casual' area you'd vaguely seen before.

"Alrighty,
step this way, champ.

Let's get you dressed up."

You follow Jenkins through a door.

The light blinks on in this new room,
showing numerous metal shelves lined with plastic boxes,
all labeled.

"Gimme a second."

"Uh-huh."
You lean against the wall,
trying to look as cool as you can while your screen glows brighter with confidence.

You don't pay too much mind to Model,
as they look back and forth between you and the shelves,
finding a specific one and pulling some boxes aside.

They stack each box in front of you,
ending with five total.

"Changing room's in the corner,
you can pick whatever box you want.
Don't stress too much about it, kay?"

"I don't stress," you lie.

You look over the boxes.

Each is labeled with an outfit 'name',
as well as some unspecific descriptions of the contents.

{ BANDANA }
crop top, bandana, sweatpants

{ OFFICE }
dress shirt, tie, khaki pants

{ SKIRT }
jean jacket, striped top, skirt

{ RAINCOAT }
raincoat, ripped jeans, rain boots

{ UNIFORM }
extra maintenance jumpsuit

You tilt your head,
thinking over the choices.

"Don't feel a need to stay quiet if anything crosses your mind, either.
I'm a real talker when you get me going, but I try to keep the conversation good."

Posted by Wilds - 09-02-2022, 03:53 AM

Shut up and put your hand in. Experience the thrill of Doing Something Important for the first time. Live. Laugh. Love. And also LOOK HOW PRETTY THIS WEIRD WATER IS. You want to swim in it. You Will Never Do This.

Posted by Pichi2214 - 08-30-2022, 09:08 AM

oh my gosh water!! of course we as the boat and water fan that we are will stick our hands into it, there is no other choice (maybe wiggle your fingers a bit?? unless like. some weird magic fuckery happens that prevents us doing anything in which case, that's cool too ...or unless there are other instructions, those are also more important i suppose)

Posted by King-Clod - 08-29-2022, 08:54 PM

Well, let's do as she says I guess.
I'd rather not see what happens if we mess this up.

Posted by Lilium Mortem - 08-28-2022, 07:36 PM

Punch the water "on a scale of 'candle flickering at a seance' to 'the moon exploding and raining down in hellfire' how dramatic is this gonna be?"

Posted by MarxzVulpez - 08-28-2022, 07:33 PM

Go for it!

Posted by knux400 - 08-28-2022, 06:13 PM

Put our hand in the water, we can figure out details later.

Posted by Ignispark - 08-28-2022, 03:27 PM

Considering everything, it's probably best to follow procedure and just. Do it. Place hand into water. And try as hard as possible to not. remove the hand from the water until told it's over. as, they never actually mentioned what it being over is. so they'll probably mention when its done?

Posted by SHIVERS - 08-28-2022, 03:20 PM

"Well, part of me wants to go off the rails,"

You begin listing off on your claws.

"Part of me wants to say 'let's FUCKIN GO!',
part of me reaaally wants to discuss it first,
but this is a spur of the moment decision,
part of me also-"

Murmur is fidgeting on her feet,
switching between looking through the open door and you, as you talk.

"-thinks that this is a rare opportunity, so--"

"Vess."
Model clamps a giant hand on your arm.
"Decide, now.
Please."

You look at the ceiling as you do some math.

"That PROBABLY averages into a Yes.
I think-" "Fantastic, wonderful- we HAVE to go now,
I'm sorry!"

The OBJ takes off running through the open door.

You hesitate for barely a moment.

"Off we go, then!"
Model starts pulling you along.
"Cmon, champ!
We've gotta make good time on this!"

You go with the flow,

and take off sprinting past Model in an instant,
catching up with Murmur in mere moments.

You slide up next to them as they run,
keeping pace without much difficulty, thanks to your elongated legs.
"BUT-!"
"W-
VESS, I AM BEGGING YOU-"
"I've got to insist we discuss it on the way!"

"W-what do you want to discuss?!"

Model manages to catch back up,
her expression scrunched up a little.

"I'll field it!
Whatever!"

The three of you pass a casual area of sorts;
couch, TV and a small cafeteria just beyond it;
empty entirely safe for one person in the kitchen who looks out from the cafeteria window as you pass.

"I- I suppose I Can if it will alleviate-" "Cool!
One sec, though."

You turn to Model.

"Okay you first then:

I'm holding you all to what Jimmie promised.
Are you going to be good for that?
My personal crises can't stay bottled-up forever."

Murmur rounds a corner,
the rest of you following.

"Jimmie's a man of his word,
I'm a gal of mine!"

Model gives you a big thumbs up-
as big as she can while running, anyway.

"You c-can call me Jenkins,
I'm just as game!"

"Cool.

Good.

So, Murm-"

The OBJ skids on tile as you all take a second turn.

"...ur,
I need to talk over some things."

"Please, please be brief is at all possible-"

You all hit a lab section labeled '[WEATHER CENTER]'
and speed through its halls.

The halls are mostly cleared out,
though a masque peeks out from a door.

"Estimating a little under three minutes, Murmur!"

"THANK YOU ZOE-"
she calls back as you pass.

"So:

How dangerous is this going to be?
Is this potentially super lethal?
What's the worst that HAS happened?
Could I have a basic run-down of all potential dangers we might experience in-"

"Nobody's died,
if that's what you're scared of!
We've only got our year we did to go off of,
but even with, yknow, some magic bullshit going down thanks to Jimmie,
nobody actually got hurt in the end.

Disoriented, yes.
Hurt, no."

"Yes, the-"

Murmur is beginning to pant from running,
interrupting their speech at points.

"Typically, no injuries--of any kind occur.
Mild injuries -
bruises,
small cuts,
that sort of-
-those are... uncommon,
but they have occurred, on average--"

Murmur misses a turn,

trying to correct last-minute only to skid and slam into a nearby door.

She recovers rather quickly, but looks sore.

"-ON-

ON AVERAGE-

...W-

ONCE--EVERY...
F-FOUR TO SIX... YEARS."

The next hallway is short,

the three of you having to make a turn within only about twenty feet,
Murmur hardly slowing down before taking it.

"More severe injuries are VERY rare.
Occurrence-
...hh-f-"

She looks light-headed,
but picks back up.

"-ten to twelve years,
on average occurrence,
and at worst are--typically broken arms, or legs,

--fffrom...
provocation and fights between individuals within--the xenial."

This new hallway catches your attention.

The section name reads '[AQUA CENTER]'.
Various fish tanks and other tubes of water, displaying various creatures - all colors and shapes -
in recreated natural habitats.

Apparently,
word had not yet reached this part of the labs,
as you have to dodge around the occasional lab employee,
several narrowly missing you,
or having to duck back into doorways to let you through.

By now,
Murmur looks ready to collapse,
heaving as she tries to finish answering your questions.

"Th-hH--w... Worst that has happened--

is--

is whe--

is when Timber,

our--the...

god of--the god who built,

all--hH--TH... THIS,

dis--

disap-ppeared a-ab--out...

hf--

eight--een years...

ago."

"But...that's not gonna happen again."

Jenkins seems to be having a much easier time keeping up,
likely due to her construct body.

"No way in hell."

"Got it."

One last section sign hanging in front of a wall:

'[FOUNTAIN LOW CHAMBER]
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT! '

Murmur pulls out a keycard you didn't even realize they had and slams it against the nearby card reader,

a little chime sounds and the wall opens before your eyes,

leading to a set of stairs going down.

The OBJ practically flies down the stairs,

only to slip near the bottom,
managing to catch the railing but still fall on her ass,

groaning as they pull themself up and keep moving.

At the bottom of the steps,

you can hear water flowing.

The black walls around you are fairly short,
but you have enough room to maneuver.

It doesn't take you long to realize that all the walls are actually windows,
housing relatively dark water.

Your eyes are adjusting, though, allowing you to see the greens, blues,

and... a deep violet at points,

all comprising the water.

It's all lighter towards the top, as well.

There's a fairly large chamber at the middle,
with two smaller ones at the sides,
all of them circular,
and arranged together in a half circle of sorts.

Murmur motions for Jenkins to move into the smaller chamber on the left.

She tries to speak,

but is panting too heavily.

Jenkins gives her a thumbs up before darting over.

The helmeted OBJ hastens you along into the central chamber,

pointing Up.

There,

a few feet above you in the chamber,

is... water.

Not... through any sort of window,
simply within the chamber you're already in,

hanging - defying gravity -
with swaying motions above you,

within reach.

A horizontal surface of that glistening water,
the light from above shining through.

You can see the upper surface of the water, too,
though it's too blurry to see through;

obscured by raindrops falling across it in scattering ripples.

Murmur makes sure to speak this next sentence Emphatically, and Without Pause.

"When I say Go,

place your hand up into the water,

and do not remove it until the process is over.

Understood?"

You nod.

She nods back as she exhaustedly jogs around to her chamber,
making her way up onto a small platform as Jenkins does the same.

It's all quiet.

Gentle sloshing of the fountain water around and above you.

Filling space in the otherwise-soundless air

Murmur is looking straight up.

Watching for something.

You look up, too.

You spot, what looks like

tiny, white and black sparks of electricity,

jolting through the water in random patterns.

Murmur yells -

the first time you've heard them do so.

"GO!"

Posted by Wilds - 08-23-2022, 08:26 PM

LET'S FUCKIN' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Posted by King-Clod - 08-22-2022, 09:47 PM

We just need to be there to spawn the stones, right? We don't necessarily have to go in. I'd say we go, spawn the stones, and spend the time getting there deciding if we want to follow.

Posted by knux400 - 08-22-2022, 04:35 AM

(08-22-2022, 03:18 AM)Ignispark Wrote: (...Maybe really insisting on like, a quick run through of dangers if they want this to happen could be good actually? Like...what's the worst that HAS happened? is this potentially super duper lethal????????????? um.)

How fast are we going to be running here, could this discussion happen on the way?

Posted by knux400 - 08-22-2022, 04:34 AM

Hggghhhh I want to discuss this like Jimmie said, but this seems like kind of a snap decision thing, so just go for it. We're not going to get this chance again and it's the right thing to do to help someone out.

Posted by Ignispark - 08-22-2022, 03:18 AM

So, considering everything, I think it's probably be prudent to make haste in discussing/considering this. This seems like a rare opportunity to experience something? And also there's not a lot of time. So, maybe we should say yes or at least, go along to look at it and think along the way. Not really like they could STOP calling things off at the last moment if things seem quite...dangerous. Honestly on one hand the whole, 'best not to underestimate' is very bad sounding...Any other thoughts?

(...Maybe really insisting on like, a quick run through of dangers if they want this to happen could be good actually? Like...what's the worst that HAS happened? is this potentially super duper lethal????????????? um.)

This thread has more than 50 replies. Read the whole thread.

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me