TCP session

[knux400]

Let's head to the cabins! Those seem interesting.

[TwistBone]

The cabins seem like a safe bet. I wonder what Fllif’s domains and motifs are?

[1011686]

After a silence that goes just long enough to become awkward, you decide the time for cards has passed. Cushion takes well to the idea of looking at the other cabins, and runs over to the closest one, near the pool.

The door and outside walls look normal enough, made out of plain, unpainted wood, but the inside is extravagantly furnished in colourful fabrics strewn about many armchairs and couches filling the room. Hanging from the walls and ceiling are several spindles with small hoops and shapes tied to them, fluttering softly in the breeze created by the opened door. Cushion jumps from surface to surface before leaping to one particular sofa, landing with a roll and curling up on it.

 "This is my place, but you're welcome to stay if you want! Fllif didn't really know what you'd like, so there's just a bunch of stuff in your room."

"Stuff?"

 "Yeah, mostly clothes I think? I don't really know what's up with those, I haven't-" They stop talking mid-sentence, seemingly interrupted, before reacting.  "Uh, I don't think-"

A pair of black tracksuit pants poofs into the air above Cushion and falls onto them. They pick it up with both paws and fiddle with it for a few moments before turning it up the right way, and then hold it to their legs. They turn their head back and forth, trying to get a better look, before wrinkling their nose and throwing the pair of pants across the room. They wave their arm in the air dismissively, and turn back to you.

 "Anyway that's my room."

Inquiring about the other cabin, you learn that it is Window's, and is apparently a lot more boring than Cushion's, though they still come with you to it. Window unenthusiastically opens the door for you, asking that you be careful to not make a mess.

In the center of the room is a chair and desk, partially covered by paper and writing implements. Along a wall is a small bookshelf, though you find yourself unable to read any of the titles. In one corner of the room is a pile of small bits and bobs, dolls, pool floats, game boxes, a sword, a little chest with a keyhole, a spade, a sleeping bag, and other things, all next to broom propped upright. Nothing else is in the room.

Cushion places an arm on your shoulder as you stand in the doorway.  "Yup, still dull. Why don't you get Fllif to make you something nicer, Window?"

Window responds in a mumble you don't quite catch, and Cushion shrugs.  "You should join us in the pool later, I bet that'll be fun! Come on Tables, there's other stuff we can do." They walk out the door, and don't look back to check if you follow.

Window looks up at you. She doesn't say anything, but you get the feeling she's trying to tell you something, or ask something. Her expression looks… sympathetic? You can't quite tell.

What do you do?

[knux400]

...Once Cushion is out of earshot (or earnub-shot, heh), we should talk to Window by herself. It seems like Cushion has a habit of bashing on Window's interests, whether that's a conscious thing or not is still hard to say.

"Did you want to show me your room?"

[King-Clod]

Follow up with excitement about something in the room, so she doesn't worry that we're just asking to be polite.
Maybe ask if she could show us what's in the chest, or what she's been writing.
...Or if she wants to play dolls.

[TwistBone]

“Cushion is certainly... excitable aren’t they?”

[1011686]

You take a few steps further into the room, not really willing to follow Cushion's exit just yet.

"Did you want to show me your room?"

"Not particularly. There's not much to show, it's just a room." Her voice mild and gruff, without much emotion.

"What's in that chest?"

"I don't know. She hid the key somewhere else."

"...Would you like to play dolls?"

She pauses for a moment, seeming to seriously consider the idea, before going back to her writing.

"Maybe later… thank you for asking though. You should probably chase after Cushion before they come back and drag you out."

"They're certainly... excitable aren't they?"

"If they ever bother you, just do something boring. They prefer playing with her to anything slow or silent.” She waves her hand slightly, indicating her room and the things in it.

“What are you writing anyway?” You take a few steps closer, looking over the paper, but the scrawls and shapes on it are meaningless to you. She half-looms over the desk, covering a few sheets with her arms, but she doesn’t ask you to move.

“Just some thoughts. They’re a bit weird. I’m still working things out.”

“Oh, well, I can’t actually tell what they say, so don’t-”

The voice sounds in your head again, interrupting your speech. “Oh, here you go!”

>TEACH:
Reading
Another influx of knowledgeNarrate bursts into your head, notions of Quotecharacters and symbols linked into wordsText and sentences, conveying meaning in aWrite multitude of forms. The sensation is not quite asDescribe jarring as it was the first time, and Notethe new concepts seem to slot in neatlyGrammar with what you learned of talking. Still, it's enough to Interpretmake you stagger slightly.

Instantly, Window stands up, shoving the chair and knocking it over. She grabs you by the shoulders and roughly pushes you backwards out the door, her peaceful (if not entirely pleasant) demeanor vanished.

“Just go away! Not here, don’t do this here! Just leave me alone!”

You’re not sure what she means, but before you can reply the door slams shut. Before you were forced out, you glimpsed a few lines of writing, now decipherable.

-motivation about things. Maybe being self-awar-
-help with that. Also that was a completely spon-
-writing this entry (feels weird calling them that-

You're left standing outside her cabin, slightly in shock, but before long Cushion shows up again.

“Hey Tables, you good?”

[cosmo]

wow.... window REALLY hates fllif, huh? enough to kick US out because fllif was interacting with us at the time. i wonder what happened.... I would rather give window her privacy though, if she dislikes fllif so much we shouldn’t go blabbing about it where fllif can hear it. we should pretend everything is fine for now, and greet cushion as cheerfully and nonchalantly as we can muster.

[King-Clod]

Uh...yeah. Yeah, I think so.
You mentioned other activities earlier, are there any activities we could do that wouldn't require much teaching?

[1011686]

"Um… yeah, I think so… I mean, yes! Totally, I'm good." You dab for additional reassurance.

 "Great! So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, is there anything that wouldn't need much teaching?"

 "What? Well, I guess there's probably some stuff, but that's a bit of a weird ask. Learning new stuff's great! Don't let Window tell you otherwise, I bet you she'll come around eventually. Now come on!"

They pull you to the pool, before climbing up the slide and riding it down, plummeting into the water with a large splash before popping up again and floating on their back. You've got to admit, it looks pretty fun, and you follow their lead.

You hit the water in a burst of bubbles and spray, feeling your descent slow until you almost reach the bottom, before kicking off the floor and…
…
You don't know how to swim.

It doesn't seem like it should be that hard, you can see Cushion above you and all they're doing is moving their legs and arms, but you just can't seem to coordinate your limbs properly.

Being underwater is still kind of nice, though. Everything is slow and kind of weightless. Cushion retrieves a few objects from the side of the pool, and you end up playing a game where they throw things into the pool and you try to catch them before they reach the floor. You even start to get the hang of kicking your legs a bit after watching Cushion for a while.

Eventually, you signal you're getting a bit tired, and Cushion helps lift you to the pool's edge.

 "That was great! You want to take a rest now?"

"Maybe, not sure yet."

 "Fllif wants me to try some clothes, but everything she comes up with is so plain." They give a small laugh.  "I want something that really fits me, you know? She also said that her friend told her about this 'adventure' kind of thing we could do? Don't know much about that, but it could be fun."

[King-Clod]

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that sort of thing yet, I really haven't been here long. I'd like to see a bit more of home before I see what's beyond it, you get me?"
Oh, also
"Could you ask for a clothing... book thing? Something that has drawings of outfits, so you could point to ones you like."

[1011686]

You don't know exactly what they're talking about, but you get the feeling that this 'adventure' would be quite an ordeal, and not something you’d want to undertake right now.

“I think I’d like to see a bit more of home before I see what’s beyond it. I haven’t really been here very long, after all.”

 “Fair enough, I suppose. Although, there isn’t that much else to do to be honest, at least not without Fllif. But I only told her to keep quiet so you wouldn’t freak out, and you seem pretty cool, so I probably don’t need to worry about it so much.” Cushion’s voice drops out awkwardly towards their last word. They pause for a moment, and you catch a quiet  “yeah, sure.” under their breath.

“TablES I LOVE YOU!!” The voice in your head isn’t loud, but it feels like it’s supposed to be, and makes you jump a little. “UM SORry, sorry, sorry about that. I was just excited. But I promised Cushion, so, I’ll try not to bother you too much. I just really like your dabbing, it’s so cute.”

“...Thankyou.” You aren’t sure how else to respond to the compliment. But now that you’re on speaking terms, you might as well bring up an idea you had. "Hey Cushion, could Fllif make you a clothing book kinda thing? With a bunch of pictures for outfits so you can choose what you like."

Both of them respond with eager agreement, and a... fashion magazine (you think???) pops onto the ground in front of you. Cushion lies on their back and begins rifling through the pages. On the cover is a creature you don't recognise decked out in a fancy shirt and skirt, under the words "Luxson Vogue".

 "Hey Tables, you could pick something out too. Do you think Window would like any of this stuff?" They shuffle over to show you the various garments and dress wear being displayed. The pieces are mostly long and loose, covered in simple but colourful shapes and patterns. Fllif would probably make you something different if you wanted it, though.


(You can suggest something for Tables to wear here, and also Cushion or Window, though they won't necessarily agree with your choices.)

[cosmo]

could we submit outfit suggestions by drawing over the tcpdex bases? (i know there isn't a base for collective type but the others!)

[1011686]

Yeah sure, thatd be great.

[King-Clod]

"I think Window would like some of this, but I'm not sure if I know her well enough to say what exactly she'd like. Do you mind if I bring this book to her after we've picked our outfits?"
also, outfit wise, I'd say we point excitedly to clothes without rhyme or reason

[Lilium Mortem]

We should wear a glowing mosaic trench coat over a pinstripe vest.

Also questions to ask whenever: Why is our name Tables? Is it possible to be something different? Is teaching stuff without consulting us a violation of free will? do we have free will? do we have a soul? Do I, a single voice amongst the collective, have a soul? also can I have a churro?

[1011686]

Looking through the magazine, you make an interesting discovery: you have no sense of fashion, or at least not the usual kind of one. You pick whatever looks flashiest, or coolest, or most comfortable for one part of your body in particular. You have a few ideas of your own as well, which Fllif willingly fulfills. By the time you’ve finished, there’s a pile of colourful clothing next to you, and Cushion is staring at you with a slightly perplexed expression on their face. You begin talking to them as you go through your choices, picking out items that appeal to you in the moment.

“Window might like some of this stuff, I don’t really know her that well though, I think you’d probably have a better idea of what she’d like.”

 “Mm, I guess that’s true, just thought, you know, you might have some ideas to help bring her out of her shell?”

“Oh, I could make something really fancy for her! There was this dress I saw once, it went out really far-”

 “Fllif, I don’t think she’d really like that. Just let me and Tables take care of it, okay?”

 “Okaaaayyyyy….”

 “...I could bring her the catalogue once we’re done.”

 “Yeah, that might work.”

You finish up your selections and step back, simply considering your appearance for the moment.

(i used the typeless tcp as a base, your physical body looks mildly different under all the clothing)

It feels… more or less right, for now. You might change it later. Cushion picked something much simpler than you, just a checkered woolen shirt and a pair of yellow socks. While being worn, the trench coat glows slightly, apparently at the cost of some of your internal fluid, though it’s so slight you can’t really tell.

 “Tables you’re so funny, what are you even wearing!” You can hear giggles in your head, strangely muffled by something. You suppose you do look a little humorous. While she’s here, you decide to ask Fllif some random questions that popped into your head.

“Hey Fllif, why did you name me Tables?” 

 “Oh, because none of the other commands work if you don’t have a name. And I couldn’t really think of anything else. Coming up with names is hard…”

 “Could it be something different?”

 “What? Um, maybe? I don’t really know, I could ask my friend I guess. Do you want to change it?”

You can’t currently think of any names you would prefer over the familiarity you have with Tables, so you drop that question and ask some others.

 “Hey, do I have free will?”

“Huh? I, what do you-”

 “Is teaching me unexpectedly violating my free will? Do I have a soul? Do I...” You stop for a moment, considering your next question. You don’t know much about, well, anything, but some innate awareness tells you that your mind was not particularly singular in its formation, not that you have much to compare with. But at the same time, looking around the inside of your head, you can’t find anyone other than you. Your actions and thoughts, disparate though they might be at times, still feel like they are all yours, just from different facets of you. While there might be complex interactions that you aren’t entirely consciously aware of going on, different layers changing places, you identify with that whole process. It’s all you. 

 With that sorted, you ask the final question you had.

 “Can I have a churro?”

 This time however, there is no reply. Fllif is silent, and Cushion is staring at you in utter confusion.

 “...What the heck?”

What do you do?

[Lilium Mortem]

I asked for a churro. wait ok, you meant the other things. I just want to understand. ever since I was created things have felt weird. I want to figure out who I am, and what the world is, because I already have ideas of what I think it should be, and it doesn't line up. So I'm asking questions, trying to make sense of things. Sorry if I'm freaking you out, but I'm kind of freaked out a bit myself.

[ಠ_ಠ]

churros are from mexico

[cosmo]

remove lobster slippers. make them hold claws. they are friends.