Zacharias smiled, but muttered, "that explains so much." Then, still smiling, but with a shake of his head, he added, "oh well. Your teeth. I won't lecture you." He took another bite of his mutton, and after chewing it thoughtfully and swallowing, said. "Oh, okay, I might have to lecture you a little. As much as I love my adoptive country — most of the time — the only way you could make that meal more American is if you deep fried it!" He briefly laughed, but an expression of worry crossed his face when he realized might have just given Tina an idea. He asked, "do you normally eat things like that if given the choice, or was that just a splurge?"
Samira glanced over at Marcus' (presumably adoptive) mother, and said, "she seems rather at peace with the attention." She shrugged, then studied Marcus himself. Western style clothes, as far as Samira could tell, but clearly, his society wasn't one she knew. "Marcus, if you don't mind my asking, where are you from, exactly? Would I have heard of it?"
edited 20th May '12 10:30:46 AM by KillerClowns
Marcus looked at Samira, then shook his head, "Probably not. Based on what I'm seeing of everyone else, no one has probably heard of where I'm from," he breathed out before explaining, "I'm from the Psionic Coalition. Its one of the largest nations where I'm from and its currently in a war with the Magister Union." He decided to stop there, wait for anymore question.
Marcus turned toward Salis, "Well, the Psionic Coalition is a country of Psionics and the Magister Union is one of Magisters and the two are currently at war with each other. The Psionic Coalition is currently the most advanced technology wise, but the Magister Union has more fire power in the means of magic. It's really a matter of Mind v.s. Mana," he shrugged, "I don't exactly remember how it started, but I think it was something over territory."
Samira sighed and muttered, "war. Across all the world... the worlds... well, at this rate, the multiverse, it seems, there's always war."
Amu considered this. "Pretty much," he said, "yeah. I mean, anyone here got a world that hasn't been chewed out by war?" He looked hopefully at Heidi.
Samira shook her head and said, "she comes from my world, or one very similar. So, no luck there."
Amu sighed, then turned to Marcus. "Y'know what, let's try not talking war, unless it's something you absolutely gotta get off your shuolders or just plain can't avoid it. So, what's your story?"
Zacharias shook his head and said, "well, thank goodness you're not eager to try it. Although my friend Frank swears his state's fair serves deep fried Snickers, and it's really a... oh, God, I shouldn't give you ideas." He looked over at Daisuke, leaned in close, and whispered, "I can almost hear Vince grimacing."
edited 20th May '12 1:21:08 PM by KillerClowns
Marcus turned to Amu and shook his head, "No, the war hasn't been a thing that's greatly affected me. I'm too young to be drafted, so hopefully the war will end before three years happens," He then thought for a moment, "My story? Well I guess you could say I'm like any person in the Psionic Coaliton: Birthed by my biological parents, they give me up to be raised by my mom, live a basically normal life and become a functioning member of society," he paused, "Except add the fact that my friends and I are on the run because we're some of the few Psionics who both have Psionic powers and Magister abilities and that both governments want us to turn us into weapons and we're basically traveling the world to escape." He rubbed the back of his head, "It's weird like that"
Amu listened to Marcus' story, then sighed and shook his head. "Xau. That makes two things: war and slavers."
Samira considered this: Marcus had never described his would-be captors as "slavers" directly, but... it did fit, if one was used to thinking of the world in that light. And Amu had previously described those who abused the mages of Wilhelm's world the same way, hadn't he? Still, Samira couldn't help but notice that she was seeing the seeds of the most popular accusation Uelane propaganda leveled on its various foes.
Then, looking worried, Amu studied Marcus' mother. "So," he said, "what, exactly is the relationship between her lot," he pointed to Marcus' mother, "and your lot," he pointed to Marcus. Because what Marcus had described could be completely innocent, and the relationship between Marcus and his caretaker seemed healthy. But Amu wanted to be certain.
Samira added, "and... what is her name? That'd be a help."
In response to Tina's question, Zacharias said, "I don't know. And honestly? I don't want to know." He grimaced. "Yeuch. I mean, I've got my guilty pleasures, but deep-frying candy... yeah, that just seems deeply wrong."
"There's actually a place in New York City that will batter and fry anything you give them. My friend Matt told me about it. He said that when he was going to school in the city, he and his brothers would go there on their birthday and order fish and chips only on that day- because Matt has heart problems and he liked the irony of eating fatty food only on the day that celebrates his birth. Matt's just weird and morbid like that."
It's called the Chip Shop.
The website looks eye-bleedingly 90s, I know.
Lydia gave Marcus' mother a respectful bow, and flitted over next to Samira.
Eli nodded in agreeement. He felt that calling the cute thingy Marcus' mother was like Japan, where you'd get stared at for using someone's given name because it's too personal. That was stupid!
edited 20th May '12 3:35:34 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."Marcus turned to Amu, "Well basically, in the Psionic Coalition, a child's biological parents give them up to be raised by beings like my mother, who raise the children until they're sixteen or eighteen, pretty much in the way a biological parent in another country would. It's always been that way. My biological parents did it, their parents did it, their parents did it and so on and so forth. People in other places think that it's weird, but it's always been that way, so it's not like it's weird to us in the Psionic Coalition."
He turned his head to Samira, "I really just call her 'Mom' or 'Mother,' but I've heard before that her name is Streckellia," his mother switched her antennae to signal that what he said was in fact correct.
Amu bit his tongue — Salis had beaten him to the question on his mind. But he was perhaps even more suspicious. It reminded him too much of the reasons the Alasu enslaved his own people, under the auspices of freeing them of their supposedly "primitive" culture. He studied Streckellia icily, but he did not raise his glaive to the ready or show any other outright hostility.
Samira, however, said, "whatever the case, she doesn't appear to have done any harm. It's... definitely very different from any culture I know. But..." she frowned. "I don't know enough to comment yet, so I don't think I shall." Instead she looked over at Amu, guessing with decent accuracy what he was thinking, and kept a close eye on him.
Zacharias blinked. "Well. That is rather morbid. I wonder, would they..." he stopped, thinking of the various unconventional cuisines he'd sampled in his life, and what effect deep frying would have on them. "...never mind," he finished. "Good thing we've already eaten, else I'd be quiet hungry. Or..." he looked over at Tina. "Actually, I don't think you've..." before he could finish, a plate slid onto the table, though Zacharias could not tell where it had come from.
As with Daisuke and Zacharias, the food on the plate is whatever Tina desires at this particular moment.
edited 20th May '12 4:05:15 PM by KillerClowns
Marcus turned toward Salis, "Well, a newborn Psionic isn't in full control of their psychic waves yet. Unchecked psychic waves can cause madness in an adult Psionic, and beings like my mother are able to absorb those waves and form a psychic connection with the young Psionic. It's been tradition for young Psionics to seek out and form a connection with creatures like my mother, so that they can raise the children and teach them how to live through life," he shrugged, "Beings like my mother are really important in the Psionic Coalition, cause from what I've heard, there's a secret society that deliberately lets themselves go insane and allow their own psychic waves to go unchecked, spreading madness."
He rubbed the back of his head as his mother rubbed her tentacles beard against his hand in the way a human mother would clutch the hand of her child to reassure them, "Psionics are a little different then most humans in my world."
Last post for tonight.
"Awesome! Mushroom pizza!" Tina said looking at the slice of pizza that's topped with the mentioned fungi. "It's because of the Mario series that I grew a fondness of mushrooms. And before any of you ask, I don't take the druggie shrooms, and I know which one's edible, and which one's poisonous."
edited 20th May '12 6:12:23 PM by DiurnalBrocolli
Just floating around......If anything, she made herself look more suspicious. But she obviously doesn't smoke anything, even though he would very much like to think so.
"Of course we were suspecting that you do drugs, even though your eyes don't look glassy or bloodshot." Daisuke rested his face in his hand.
"I like Mario, but he hasn't made me like mushrooms. I still think they taste like dirt even after they're washed."
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."Bianca was quite shocked when Marcus said that his parents had given him up, but once he explained why, she grudgingly agreed that it was for the best.
Wilhelm, however, beats her to asking the burning question. "Is it possible to meet your actual parents?"
He imagines walking down the street and passing by someone who might be your real mother or father and never even guessing. Brrr.
edited 20th May '12 7:13:53 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!All Amu could find to say was, "huh."
Samira, however, said, "I'd imagine they'd know who their parents were and how to find them. If they're smart, they would keep those records around and public. If nothing else, it would help to prevent accidental incest. And there's nothing to be gained by hiding them." Then she looked at Marcus and added, "but I'm just conjecturing, though."
Zacharias looked at Daisuke quizzically. "You don't like mushrooms? Oh well. Your loss." Then to Tina, he added, "Daisuke's sarcasm aside, he has a point. Immediately insisting you don't do drugs is a great way arouse suspicion of the very same. I mean, I'm sure you don't, but... well, some people see somebody different and they're just looking for an excuse to assume the worst." He waved his hand absently around. "It's like how Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher were sometimes assumed to do drugs — some people just assume any creativity or imagination outside the normal can't possibly be the result of a sober mind."
edited 20th May '12 8:21:25 PM by KillerClowns
Marcus looked toward Wilhelm, "It's possible, I knew a few people who've meet their real parents and have active relationships with each other," he turned toward Samira, "The Psionic Coalition keeps records of everything, so I'm sure that there are records of my real parents," he shrugged, "I'll probably meet them when I have the chance to look it up and I'm not running away from both nations."
A woman made of what appears to be porcelain comes out of the mist. Her limbs are loosely connected by wires. She wears a tattered purple robe. Her white face, featureless except for two curved slits for eyes, is chipped and scarred. Similar imperfections cover the rest of her body.
She stops in front of the Japanese-style house. It's alien but appealing to her. The design is simple and clean. She should try building something like this someday. She approaches the lifeforms on the deck, her clockwork innards whirring and clicking with every step.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!

"It didn't try to fight back. Unfortunately... I'm immune to awful modern American music. Its legs were like sticks, it was too large to move very quickly... it was more creepy than anything. I'm fine!" Daisuke smiled cutely and chewed on the last forkful of pasta. He swallowed and set the bowl next to him, then started petting Ran.
"But, really." He looked back up at Tina. "Do you eat weird things before bed, or something? I'm really curious."
edited 20th May '12 8:37:31 AM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."