[Deck 11 ~ Club Bizarre] (Loki, the Discoverer of Subversions, the Nameless Songmind, Iragan —> Loki, Nemaforte)

The little girl wanted to curl up into a ball and hyperventilate. What was this thing that decided to join their little group? It looked like a man, but clearly wasn't. It was familiar, but clearly wasn't. It was alive, but clearly wasn't. Loki tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled "hyurk". Her mind eventually began to restart, allowing her to calm down.

Massaging her temples, she pointed towards the Songmind of making her head hurt, "Correction, you're Captain Nemo." Loki then pointed towards the Discoverer, "and you're Zachariah Webb." She thumped her staff on the ground before crossing her arms, "You "people" are strange and I am growing bored."

After hearing the Discoverer's statements, Loki leaned forward, leering at him. "So, I take it these Brittles you talk about are humans? And you seek to prevent them from surpassing you?! You shouldn't underestimate humanity!" she said angrily, turning her head away from the armor-clad man.

When the Songmind gave its surreal explanation of itself, Loki had begun slowly backing away from the enigmatic being. Once more she had been rendered speechless, before shaking her head. Once her long pigtails' swaying slowed down, she took a glance towards Nemaforte's shop. "I need a freakin' drink or something," she dryly stated.

Now facing Ira, the little girl corrected the older-looking man, "They payed me in hostility. I call them out on their behavior, and the ungrateful bastards murder my son, uses his guts to strap me to a rock, and drip venom into my eyes for a millennia," she said, anger flashing across her face. With that, she turned from the group and marched off towards the sunestre's alien pharmacy.

"Pale woman, I seek to ease the headaches I have when dealing with that thing," Loki told Nemaforte as she approached the woman's shop while indicating towards the Songmind, "what do you recommend?"

edited 13th Apr '17 10:48:14 AM by WillDeRegio

[Dark Matter Lounge]

"Ah, so the loincloth was real, then? Glad to hear it. Wouldn't mind running into a few oni, if they were anything like you." He sipped his drink, and with a sly smile, added "That is, if they all have such charming personalities." He chuckled softly, contemplated his drink for a moment, then looked over at her. "So, seeing as you've been sitting here drinking with me, can I assume you're not busy at the moment? I can hold my sake like it's nobody's business, but sooner or later I'll have to head back to my room. And, hey, maybe you could come with me? You could tell me more about that sarashi-and-loincloth getup you had..."

[Club Bizarre]

Sakura had only been standing around for a few moments, lost in thought, when Akira came back and asked her to help show them around. Her face lit up. "Of course! I'd be glad to help," she said. The enthusiasm wavered slightly as she continued, however. "I, uh, I was actually pretty lost when I got here..." she rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly. "Oh, but, together I'm sure we can found our way around! I mean, how hard could it be, right?"

Deck 2 ~ Sickbay (Minerva, Anna, Gabriel, Max, Cecilia, Rolph, Tigris)

The young man looking massively confused by the accusation he was insulting the new woman, Gabriel ends up curling up- Back against Anna's bed and sitting upright, though curled he may be. Looking all kinds of upset and ashamed, he calls out defiantly but weakly.

"I wasn't even insulting her, if anything I was insulting myself... Loser like me, tch, is never gonna find real love... Never get to have a real daughter... I just piss off everyone I meet don't I? Dying would of been easier than this, I'm the asshole who did nothing to save God..."

The little girl wincing at this, she sweeps her gaze across the room in a rather general kind of way. Then, her 'voice' rings out from Gabriel's smartwatch. ~"I am an Esper, an artificial human explicitly given the mutations necessary for manifesting Psychic abilities. Specifically I was created to be a Mentalist, Espers who are used in place of an AGI to assist mechanical operations."~

The blonde child looking at the curled up not-Hispanic young man, she physically sighs as she wraps her arms gently around her chest. ~"In my case, I served as the intelligence unit for the VESTA known as Crimson Exosso, using my technopathic abilities to improve Gabriel's efficiency. It would appear my co-pilot assumed you're an Eldritchian, the alien lifeforms we routinely killed and realized too late were justified- Thus leaving God defenseless, which eventually resulted in our universe's destruction and subsequent arrival here."~

Gabriel making a kind of grumblely growl, he finally speaks up again darkly irrelevant. "She's right though, I'm the freaking loser who couldn't do anything for you Anna... I'm so fucking stupid for thinking being here would change things... I still make stupid jokes, I still form crushes on people far better than me, and I'm still so full of hate for what a pointless freak I am... I don't deserve you, Anna..."

The little girl sort of squeaking as she tries to form words from her mouth, Anna grips her slightly more tight- Almost as if she's having trouble exerting physical effort. Looking towards the doctor, it takes a few moments before she finally speaks through Gabriel's device.

~"Is there, um, no magical solution? I just figure, if magicians can get on board, surely the staff here can access magic? I much rather be done soon, instead of later? I'm not ungrateful for this service, but seeing as we're in a new universe it makes sense to determine the differences."~

Pride of Rust, Cargo Bay - [Ethoya, Kiran, Ray, Mashala, Carlotta]

Ethoya seemed a bit less nervous now. It seemed she'd been forgiven. Hopefully. Regarding Carlotta, Ethoya said, "no, no, it's fine." Then, to Carlotta, "golden parrot, is it? Hmm, how strange... that is what my name translates into. Ethoya, parrot, and so on." Then, more seriously, "I probably would end up annoying your queen. I seem to annoy a lot of monarchs. It would not be the first time one tried to have me banished somewhere terrible." With a proud smirk, she said, "my father tried to have me sent to the void because I rejected the marriage he'd arranged for me." She scoffed; apparently her suitor had been most unsatisfactory. "I let Xeqa add his skull to her throne; I've lost track of which one it is." She kept a lot of skulls, really. How that savage became an aspect of the Xayu was a mystery Ethoya doubted she'd ever understand.

Then she turned back to Kiran. "Now, where were we? Oh, right!" Some of Carlotta's enthusiasm had rubbed off on her, it seemed. "Where to next, then?" she asked. Then, with a whisper, "I guess we'll have to delay that visit to the captain's quarters, though."

edited 23rd Apr '17 7:26:45 AM by KillerClowns

Pride of Rust (Kiran, Ray, Mashala, Ethoya, Carlotta)

Carlotta just had to laugh when Ethoya mentioned adding her father's skull to Xeqa's throne. "Sounds like something my 'mother' would do if her 'throne' wasn't an old chair." She felt the need to use air quotes the first time, since she had told Ray earlier that she didn't have any parents - though that had technically been the truth, since it was impossible for any doll to have biological parents at least. "But... it sounds rather harsh to do that to your own father though, even if you didn't kill him yourself, wouldn't you think? I would've just run away..."

Pushing aside that thought, she let Ray lift her onto the Hellcat's shoulder. As soon as she was up there, she peered down its neckhole, wondering how uncomfortable it must have been to wear it. Then she looked to its left arm, wondering wherever the aforementioned flamethrower was and whatever the heck an oxidizer was. "So you wear it to repair the ship mid-flight? Huh, never heard of that one before. Can she fly herself?"

Then she looked over at Kiran. "Speaking of flying, in all fairness, I'd think myself more able to throw you off a ship. But no matter. Where are you planning on going?" She secretly hoped she wouldn't decide on the lobby or the Starlight restaurant, as she didn't feel like running into Sinistrina or Lucina and her court again.

Starlight Restaurant (Lucina, Emille, Winky, Phagora, Shireen, Jake)

Lucina grinned broadly when Jake told Shireen to mind her own business regarding the pedophile's soul. When Shireen brought up the possibility that it might be someone else's soul, the grin faded, but she didn't worry about it too much. After listening to what Jake had to say, she addressed him first. "I suppose you have a point regarding good and evil. Although I do strive towards goodness and light as is befitting of my namesake, even I recognize that evil has a place in establishing order - and I do not worry about it so much anyway." Unlike some people.

She looked at Shireen. "I am a bit confused. First you mention how terrible that man's crime was, and then you say that I am too quick to punish people who commit similar crimes?" Once she finished, she picked up Winky and placed him back on her shoulder.

"I say, what is with all the morbid talk about punishments all of a sudden?" he asked.

"See that?" Lucina gestured out to the crystallized soul Jake was holding. "That's the soul of that Austrian earl who violated Emille at the hotel. Jake here thought of the most wonderful punishment for him!" Remembering Shireen's remark, she looked back to her, smiling. "Ah yes, that was a nice side effect of learning how to bring the dolls to life. Through putting souls inside of them, I learned how to see them. When a soul is intact, it is very easy to see who it came from, so that definitely is the correct one."

Then to Jake she said, "Hmm, perhaps you have a point - if he is to be unable to affect the thoughts or actions of the doll he is in, then it can be a girl doll. I suppose that crystal could even just be placed inside any doll, even one that's already living. I wouldn't do that to Emille of course, but I did bring Yuliya along on this cruise..." She pondered for a moment, but then her eyes grew wide and her face lit up with excitement. "In fact, why did I not think of this before?! I had been trying to find a way to put existing souls into dolls, but that just made them crumble. But if I first put the soul in another object, then put that inside a doll..."

Moments after her voice trailed off, she heard Jake's remark about her sister - and this caused her to jump right out of her seat. "What?! That's impossible! Nobody can survive that long in the Deathly Glade, much less escape from it! She's been in there for three years!" Then she calmly sat back down, narrowing her eyes. "How do I know you're not just pulling my leg?"

While Lucina was distracted by that, Emille left her high chair and walked over to Phagora's side. Along the way, she tapped Jake's tail with her parasol, speaking very quietly to him. "I do not fancy becoming human, unless it would make me older than a child, perhaps Lucina's age." Then to Phagora she said, "That sounds like a good idea. Let's go before Lucina suspects anything."

Meanwhile, Winky decided to respond to that same idea. "I say, I do like being a marionette, but I wouldn't mind returning to my human self once in a while."

Lucina shook her head and patted him on the back. "You are silly, you know that?" She didn't even notice that Emille had left her seat.

Let's assume there's time for Jake to give Emille the trinket before she leaves.

edited 15th Apr '17 4:18:09 AM by ladytanuki

Starlight Restaurant 1F (Lucina, Emille and Winky; Shireen; Jake; Phagora)

"So it's suffering what you seek to inflict, and vengeance what you're after." Shireen makes a deep sigh. "I've seen what happens when people take this sweet poison too many times. You're walking on a road to ruin. Not even thinking about the consequences of your actions."

She takes a sip of her hibiscus tea, finishing the cup.

"It's the chosen method of punishment that I'm concerned about, not the fact of a punishment itself. The punishment is supposed to limit the unwanted behavior, while yours is opening new possibilities for it. And you seem to be enjoying it too much, Lucina. As a Queen, you're supposed to deal justice to your subjects for the good of all kingdom, not seek petty revenge for your own satisfaction. I wish you were one of my students, so I could teach you that. I wish I could do something about it. But I'm just an ordinary professor of Linguistics, I can't do a thing against you. Can I?"

A silent moment passes, just enough for the question to be answered. Then Shireen stands up, looks Lucina in the eyes, and when she speaks again, her calm trained lecturer's voice resonates with another one, of unknown woman seething with anger:

"Lucina Geppetto, Queen of Solevaille, heed my words! An unjust, short-sighted and vindictive ruler as you is the bane of the whole community. Your integrity needs to be awakened, your eyes to be opened, your ferocity to be curbed. From this moment on, you shall be sharing the bitter fruits of your injustice in equal measure with its victims. The collective pain and grief caused by the cruelties done by you, or in your name shall be returned to you tenfold. So be it, unless you are stripped naked of your power, and until Death, final and irreversible, comes for you."

The psychopomp makes a deep breath, puts her keycard in the slit in the table, paying for her unfinished meal, and when she speaks to Phagora, the second voice is gone:

"My compliments to the chef," says she. "The quwyrdaq is exquisite. Although it's tad bit too filling. A girl like me can joke about being tempted by Gluttony as much as she wants, but in the end, Vanity wins anyway."

She smiles at Phagora, gesturing to her waist. She takes her purse and turns on her heels.

"Farewell."

Sickbay (Gabriel and Anna; Max and Cecilia; Rolph; Tigris; Minerva)

Max frowns at Tigris' reaction.

"This really is not a laughing matter, honora," growls he as gently as he can. "Now, Bergmann-"

But the healer is already standing next to Anna's bed, ignoring both her captain and the sorceress, moving her hands above the girl's body, and the medallion on her chest is blinking with red light. After several moments, she turns to Gabriel.

"Have you finished pitying yourself? Listen up, your daughter is indeed 'suffering from large number of chronic ailments'. These ailments are caused by all the machinery her body is riddled with. It's tampering with her metabolism. The blonde is right, you don't need my services for her to get better. All she needs is to have several days' worth of rest, and then to remove or at least to turn off the devices in her body. All I can do is to speed up the recovery process dramatically."

"How?" says Max.

"By lending her a part of my life force."

The captain's eyes go wide.

"Afraid I can't allow it, Bergmann. Can't risk the health of the only healer on my airship."

"I'm afraid that's still beyond your area of authority," says Cecilia, not even looking at her captain's direction. She says to Gabriel: "Your call. You know the price."

[Observation Deck]

To Jin, Enkar raised an eyebrow and said, "politics certainly did not wreck my family." He gave a dry chuckle. "It brought us together as much as anything — we disagreed on what the Revolution was, but at the end of the day, we were being shot at by fascists and royalists." Then he reconsidered and softened. "But you are right. We were lucky; many of the oppressed masses who would have benefited from the Revolution were swayed by royalist propaganda or fascist promises. I know a few Revolutionaries who found themselves battling their own siblings, their own family. A tragedy, truly, when one must take up arms against one's blood in the name of what is right."

They had proven troublesome. Early in his career, Enkar had overseen the punishment and re-education of counter-revolutionary forces; often, their family members, nominally part of the Revolution, complained. Begged for mercy — a ridiculous concept, dreamed up by royalists to allow themselves to spare prisoners whimsically. The aims of the Revolution were justice, unyielding, perfect. Again, however, Enkar was too savvy to say this aloud. Perhaps, for those used to finding the subtlest details in a face, a brief, dark expression and malicious glitter in his eyes might whisper a hint of the untold story as he took a quiet sip of his tea.

edited 15th Apr '17 7:22:00 AM by KillerClowns

[Deck 1, Aboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]

The realization that Joshua's answer to Pearl's question might seem like Joshua was being negligent only now dawned on them. There really was no proper way to say 'I'm taking a break' after talking about saving the world in the face of overwhelming darkness, so Joshua only sighed.

They leaned against the tree and slid down, returning to the sitting position that they had been in earlier, giving another deep sigh as they thought of a way to answer the question.

"When I said this was a vacation, that was true. Even if the world is ending, a person can't fight against the forces of evil and not get tired. Everyone needs to recuperate from time to time."

"Besides," Joshua said with a more positive look on their face, "I've got an army of other people just like me, fighting against the darkness everyday. Heck, I'm part of just one of three armies fighting to save the world. It would be really boring, lonely and stupid to be The Chosen One."

Joshua stretched their legs and leaned back until only their upper back was leaning against the tree, "I may not be looking for help, but I sure as heck hope nothing I have to worry about is on the ship."

[Deck 12A, Observation Deck - Geoff, Proseda, Enkar Zaa, Jin]

Geoff 'looked' at Proseda, multiple eyes sliding around the glass helmet that Geoff wore to look at him, giving the demon a look that Geoff gave to most other demons. A whole jaw formed in a slanted position as the best way to expression how Geoff 'felt' about what Proseda said.

"I see that demons never knowing what they're talking about is multi-universal," Geoff gurgled, copying Proseda's sarcastic tone.

The conversation switching to politics did not interest Geoff. It was something that only short lived beings wasted their dismal amount of time with. It know that no amount of input Geoff could provide would matter to them, human bullheadedness of their personal views was something Geoff had yet to understand.

Sickbay (Gabriel and Anna; Max and Cecilia; Rolph; Tigris; Minerva)

Rolph nearly jumped a bit as the woman who'd been introduced as "Tigris" suddenly made a strange cackling noise, but calmed down once his implants labeled the outburst as "amusement".

Right, laughter. The Cravyn sometimes made vaguely similar noises, though these ones were a lot louder and more high pitched, and - in his opinion - kind of creepy. Still fascinating, though.

Once Anna started talking, he glanced over first at Gabriel's wrist device, and then the girl herself. A lot of what she and her "father" discussed made him wonder if the translators were glitching out, but he caught enough of it to get the general picture. So they had apparently failed to protect their "God" - just a ruler with a pompous title, or something more? - whose death had resulted in a disaster? Rolph hoped that the part about the universe being destroyed had been an exaggeration.

The part about mutations and integration with technology sounded much more familiar.

"Some of my friends are soldiers who got gene therapy and implants as part of their training," he told the girl, before giving Cecilia a nervous look. What was she up to now? Life force?

He gestured towards the side of his head. "Got a few add-ons myself, actually." He looked over at the holographic doctor, who was waiting patiently near the bed. "I'm sure the medical programs around here know how to handle this sort of thing. You, uh, seem a bit young for a soldier though."

Holodeck 2 (Glitch, Robin)

"Oh, me neither," Glitch responded. "I don't really drink all that much anyway."

The drone hovered over towards the room's exit, a large metallic door that looked very out of place in the otherwise completely empty white void.

"Do you have any specific preferences? I would suggest the Arboretum myself. Rolph's fascination with alien life had a large impact on my programming."

Yes, it had been a while since it had scanned any alien plants. Perhaps it could...

Strange.

Glitch hovered in place, silently focusing on the door for a few seconds, before suddenly jumping to life again.

"Let's get going, shall we?"

[Club Bizarre-Hallway]

"Then we'll just have to explore together." Akira said, "Come on."

John was waiting outside the club. Once he saw both Akira and Sakura come out, he motioned them to follow him.

"So, any ideas?" John asked, "We're going to be here for quite a long time, so we better start getting comfortable."

"Hell if I know." Akira said, "That's why I brought Sakura here. She knows a lot more than the both of us at this point."

"Yeah, but she's new here too!" John sighed, "Aw well; I won't oppose some new company. As long as none of us get lost, we shouldn't worry too much."

[Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge] (Mari, Kiryu)

Mari broke into a soft smile, taking another sip of sake, "Not all o'em are like me. They especially don't 'ave British accents like me!" She broke into hearty laughter, before letting her smile fade. "Oni are just like people, too, y'know. Some o'em are nice, kinda like me. Others would rightfully be called monsters. And some... are just misunderstood," she said.

The oni woman closed her eyes for a moment. "Yeah, I don't 'ave much goin' on right now. Just came 'ere t'get some drinks, I'm a capable drinker to, y'know," she said. To Kiryu's offer of accompanying him back to his room, Mari gave him a sly grin. "I'll think about it," she replied.

Club Bizarre- What is the purpose of dominance, when it leaves nothing?

To those who could detect it, a sense of pity flashes across the Discoverer's soul. Listening to the soulless creature parrot him and speak perplexing words of its own, the armored man begins slowly but anxiously flexing his right hand. Sir Loki's words, to that end, causes his hand to speed up. Finally, the steampunk tinkerer begins in his normal tone.

"First, I would like to thank you for that attempt at communication. I did note it was rather strange everyone was speaking the eternal English, and now I know there's a translation system in place. Regarding what Brittles are, they are defective humans- Their bones weak, their healing slow, their lives halved, and their aging grotesque. Honestly I have nothing against my fragile brethren, but my people have great pride in our species' true nature."

Holding his right hand flat and palm up, bone seamlessly grows through the armor- Forming in a flower-like shape, whilst being clear the armor isn't damaged. The Discoverer letting out a slow breath, he holds his left hand over it. Fingers moving about as if manipulating invisible strings, the bone flower begins to warp.

"You got a good trick there, looking across spacetime and possible futures. Yet in the end, are you anything more than an automaton completing assigned objectives? Without a soul, do you really count as alive? I want you to see this, and determine if she's different from you in the general sense of an intelligence."

With that said, the Discoverer brings his left hand down, the bone flower shaping itself alone now. Rising up first into a vaguely humanoid shape, four thin wings spread out from the back. The bone white turning into a more normal pale coloration, what isn't meant to be skin seems to fluff out into a pure white dress. Finally, as brown hair and blue eyes form, the little figurine has fully shaped into a miniature human.

Blinking her eyes a few seconds after being fully formed, the little white dressed brunette looks around in confusion and awe. Falling to her knees and hands as she tries processing it all, it would be noticeable that a new soul had been born within her. The Discoverer holding his hand still so the nascent life can examine everything, the steampunk tinkerer speaks once more.

"In my universe and many others, the soul is life. One can program the inanimate to action, but the inanimate cannot truly make decisions like that. Thus, free will is one of the benefits- Allowing one to make any decision they can imagine, whenever they want. I won't lie and say free will is perfect... Too many individuals waste that power by being too slothful for even basic decency. Still, I think you would prefer it for the pragmatical reasons, such as gaining unpredictability and expanded options to maximize your efficiency. Nonetheless, if you wouldn't dismiss it as superfluous, having a soul would allow you to use magic- One can always strive for more power..."

With his words to the soulless done for now, the Discoverer addresses Ora and Ira- Though not without presenting it a 'thread' should it be inclined to listen. "Have any suggestions what to name this fledgling soul? I am not yet certain if she's an unknown, or an alternate of one I've witness. My people study the peculiarity of an individual manifesting across the omniverse, of how each incarnation is meant to be the same individual yet unique at the same time."

Club Bizarre - Bar (Striga, Iragan, Discoverer of Subversions, Songmind)

Hello there, readers. I hope you don't mind me stepping in here, but the opportunity to interact with so many cosmic entities and omniscient spirits was just too good to pass up. I would like to extend a greeting to Orain and Iragan in particular, and to thank them for giving me the idea to show up here in the first place, when previously I just sat in the background and watched my creations from afar. Ah, my name? Here, I'll go by... Striga, how's that?

While nobody was looking except perhaps the aforementioned narrators, a small and petite woman materialized at the bar, enjoying a glass of already-prepared absinthe. At first all one could see of her was a short velvety purple cloak with the hood up, with a couple of curly strands of very dark brown hair peeking out from the sides, and a long black robe trailing out from underneath the cloak. But after setting her glass down, she turned around to face Iragan in his physical form, and slid back her hood. Here one could see that a few more strands of her hair were tied back and fastened with a silver owl clasp, while the rest hung down in more curls. Her face was of an ambiguous light shade and otherwise round and youthful in appearance, almost comically so in fact. Same was true of her deep purple eyes. And there one can see that her black robe was worn open, revealing the flowing purple dress and the black mary-janes on her feet, and bore long sleeves that flared out considerably at the end.

After taking a quick sip and finishing her glass, she set it down, where her sleeve fell back and revealed the long black fingerless gloves bearing a spider-web pattern covering her forearms. In its place she summoned a long object that was part staff and part broom, where the "brush" was actually a miniature cape of the same material as her cloak, and where a crystal was fastened at the tip of its curved wooden shaft with three black feathers hanging below. She preferred to call it a staff, as she held it upright and planted on the ground like one - in fact, on closer inspection, the wooden shaft went through the capelet rather than ending in it like it would on a broom.

"So, a fellow narrator, I presume?" she said to Iragan, with another glance toward the Discoverer of Subversions. If the latter read her mind at that point, they'd be able to tell that she also recognized Nemaforte... and five others aboard the ship that the Discoverer did not know. "In this bizarre place, you meat all sorts of interesting beings, so it seems." She spoke with a peculiar accent that sounded mildly similar to Nemaforte's - tall vowels, barely pronounced R's, though with a more proper-sounding inflection. "For those of you who did not hear my introduction, you may call me Striga."

First she looked to the strange steampunk-ish construct. ''I could not help but overhear your talk of souls. I, too, have seen strange things done to souls - crafting them from spiritual materials, trapping them with black magic, storing them inside inanimate objects, and even two souls sharing a body." In fact, if anyone here could see souls, they might notice a presence in the crystal on her staff that seemed to contain part of the same soul that inhabited her body.

She looked over at the black-armored entity. "I do not believe we have heard your name yet, if you have one. Interestingly, you remind me of a much larger entity I have seen out in the mountains, something of a space nautilus - though I only saw it from afar. I have also heard of the Song, though what of it? Does it defy sound, playing directly into the souls of those listening?"

While awaiting a reply, she saw something peculiar in the crystal atop her staff. Huh, so Lucina just had a curse of some sort placed upon her, preventing her from being the villain she was meant to be? Well now, this will be an interesting development. Also, that Mancipium has some interesting soul anatomy - what do you think, does she qualify as alive?

Like KC's character, this may well be another short-lived experiment.

Club Bizarre - Herb Shop (Nemaforte, Sir Loki... and Horizons and Magistralis if they are listening)

While Nemaforte was awaiting the otherworldly beings' response, another customer came up to the table, asking for something to relieve headaches. A part of her not-quite-rational mind was relieved to see someone who looked more "normal", if very oddly dressed, but her aura was also quite bright, holding a similar signature to the One who Brings Horizons in fact.

"Ah, welcome to my herb shop. Fitting it is that my wares attract those already attuned to matters of the spirit. And you could not come at a better time." She gestured to the drink she had just prepared. "This is my special, the Cosmic Potion, made from magically-imbued herbs that never seen sunlight. It contains the reichirima or 'Milky Star' herb, which is very good at to clear both the head and the mind. This glass is for you, if you like, though I can always pour more," she added to the other two.

Then she looked back at the oddly dressed girl, who she realized was just about her height. "Very pretty your coat is," she told her - in fact, in her heightened state of awareness, she saw the embroidered patterns on it dance upon the black background. Gesturing both bare thickly-built arms around the table, she looked up so that the entirety of her pale, flat face could be seen. "I am Nemaforte, from the dark side of the planet Orenya. You have a bright aura of mischief about you. Who may you be?"

edited 16th Apr '17 3:34:16 PM by ladytanuki

Club Bizarre:

"This frame is as physical as yours.", Horizons said confused. "And my mind is possibly more attached to it than yours."

As their colour returned to normal they dedicated a little more attentiom to scanning the room, "looking" at each person there with some curiosity and pondering on the things they perceived, the sensations inside, the patterns cut short in their photonic thought net. The excesses, the liberal use of power, the defiance of regular laws of being.

"This should pay for the time you dedicated to my curiosity and more.", they told Nemaforte, opening a "hand" to levitate a sapphire to the center of the table. It was pale in colour, but large and perfectly cut... no, grow in a almost spherical multifacetated shape. "I will leave for the room above."

Then as they slid away from the table, Horizons told the young human approaching: "You appear to not be fully formed. The substances Nemaforte deals are surely strong enough to impair the process."

Then without waiting an answer and ignoring all questions, they left for the Spirit Room. Hopefully, people would be more mindful of the integrity of physics there.

[Club Bizarre]

First, the Discoverer. That new lifeform? "A rudimentary creature of flesh and blood, they are as much an automaton as we," it said. "Moreso; they cannot examine their own source code to debug discrepancies between desired outcomes and behavior, and must rely upon proxies." It studied the new human with cold dispassion. "Seemingly minuscule alterations to their initial starting scenario may result in wildly divergent futures, making predictions difficult, but the same can be said of a competently-designed cryptography function."

It looked back up at the Discoverer, dismissing the creation of new, vital life with all its potential as though it were a parlor trick. "You speak of 'any decision one can imagine', 'whenever one wants'. But what are wants and imagination?" The flames of fervid certainty licked at the edges of its cold words. "Such things are shaped by beliefs. Beliefs are the product of deterministic interactions between biological imperatives and the preexisting environmental and tribal climate, with particular neurological glitches serving as a seed for a merely pseudo-random generator for a chaotic but ultimately deterministic system. And the soul? A bit of... arcana echoing meat, shrinking away in importance as the psychologists and neurologists of a species determine the true origins of cognition."

And the Songmind was visibly insulted by one suggestion in particular. "Finally, regarding the Dissonance... magic." It spat the word as an insult, and began to speak with a sudden passion. "We have no interest in tainting ourselves with the Dissonance. For we do not seek power for its own sake. We are artists, and the artist creates beauty despite their limitations. The mathematical purity, the perfect symmetry of the Song, the fractal forms we have so painstakingly designed and shaped according to our understanding of the cosmos, can only exist as a counterpoint to the rhythm established by the laws of reality. Where the taint of magic blurs the line between the possible and impossible, all beauty dies, all meaning fades, all hope is unmade."

An observer might wonder why a mind could simultaneously speak so passionately of art while denying the existence of imagination. The Songmind's definition of art was quite different than that of a human's, dependent on ancient programming from *before* the loop and an "instinctive" sense of mathematical aesthetics. As such, it was rarely appreciated by any organic beings who stumbled upon it unless they were highly-trained mathematicians.

Striga, now. First, the matter of names. "We have an identifier," here it transmitted a complex mathematical formula that, given the Songmind's position in time and space, would generate a complex unique identifier for the hardware, "but this is merely for the proper routing of data packets." This established, it briefly skimmed the past to determine of what she spoke. "And the one you call the Dead God *was/will be* one of the results of the Harmonic War. One of our kind, maddened by millenia of disconnection from the Song. And the Song... the Song *was/will be* the Song." It paused, seeming to recognize the futility of its own attempt to communicate this thought. "Imagine a painting. But instead of a canvas, time itself, and instead of paint, a reshaping of energy and mass in space. Particularly gravity. And instead of portraying a particular three-dimensional figure in two dimensions, it portrays the infinite dimensions of mathematical truth in a mere four macroscopic dimensions, with some additional touches in the subatomic dimensions." It wasn't a very good metaphor.

edited 16th Apr '17 8:36:09 PM by KillerClowns

Holodeck 2 → Elevators(Glitch; Robin)

"Isn't it the garden at deck 1?" says Robin, heading out of the holodeck. "Sure, let's give it a try. I like outdoors, even when they are indoors."

She approaches the elevators and pushes the call button.

Club Bizarre (Discoverer of Subversions; Striga; Nameless Songmind; Iragan)

"That's rough, buddy," says Iragan to the trickster god, who's heading away towards the Nemaforte woman.

And then the spirit of the past jumps up, as the new client appears near him out of thin air.

"For Heaven's sake, woman!" He straightens his robes. "Don't you enter through the door, like decent people do?"

Look who's talking.

"Narrator? Well, formerly," says Iragan. "I lost the status and the powers once I became a part of the narration."

Hello, Striga. I wasn't aware that our ramblings have an audience. Welcome to the club.

And, Discoverer, did you just created sentient life?

...

...

...

Why?

Whatwhatwhatwhat

What for?

What are you planning to do with it?

[Observation Deck]

Given his rather dramatic display, Proseda had hoped that Geoff might abide by more standard etiquette, but Proseda was merely given an even more bizarre comment than the first. The insult he understood, but the sarcastic tone that came with it was simply baffling. He would have to shift his attention to Enkar and Jin despite their stuffy political topic, and hope that Geoff would find something else to pick on without a response.

He directs his attention away from Geoff, purposely angling his body towards Jin and Enkar, "Progress doesn't really care what it destroys." He reaches for the tea pot, pouring himself some more of the liquid, before reclaiming his teacup. "If you're lucky it'll leave what you care about intact."

edited 17th Apr '17 2:15:44 AM by Aqueos

Club Bizarre- You're aware of them too? Is this a visual novel to them? I want to be in one...

Taking stock of the newcomer, the small fairy-like(?) girl in Discoverer's hand blinks in confusion as she mulls over the woman's words. As for the steampunk tinkerer, he notices Striga's peculiar word choice. Still, allowing her and the soulless one to speak all they need to first, the pity Discoverer feels only deepens as the soulless does.

Holding the nascent lifeform in the soulless one's direction, the Discoverer gestures at his creation as he speaks. "You really failed to notice the soul she was born with? Or do you disregard the significance of souls that extremely? Such insanity is equal to a breathing creature denying the necessity of continued breathing to survive. Though, this Dissonance you're referring to..."

The little white-dressed brunette looking up at her creator puzzled by how he ended his sentence, she squeaks a little in surprise as the Discoverer pulled her in closer as if protective. Finally, the armored man speaks "Do you mean The Eyes and Teeth? Such a thing has no place in my world, though as one who doubts the purpose of souls... My world's pure magic would be unavailable to a soulless being like you, since it is not much more than a medium to express the reality defying power all souls contain."

Innocent little blue eyes looking from Discoverer to the soulless one, the nameless new life clearly doesn't seem to understand. Still, the Discoverer speaks towards it one more time. "Wants are something you desire to do, whereas imagination is the ability to think up a variety of things. Though overall, neither of us came here for me to sell you on the merits of a soul. Granted, asking something with no self, wants or desires likely wouldn't produce the information I need. Still, I'm sure you can mention something useful for solving my problem."

With his words to the soulless one finished, the Discoverer turns to the youthful maybe-witch named Striga. Though his face couldn't be seen, it would nonetheless seem like he's staring at her in an analyzing kind of way. The small winged humanoid, on the other hand, seems to be perplexed yet curious as she compares her dress to Striga's attire.

Finally, a bit slowly, the Discoverer speaks to the youthful narrator. "You... Do realize you said meat, right?" The small lifeform looking up as her creator holds his left arm up and across his chest, she looks transfixed as holographic words form over his arm. For those actually aware of words, it rather simply says 'Trust me, I am not supernaturally delicious.'

Still, upon bringing down his arm and holding both his hands together so his little creation has more walking room, the Discoverer uses his normal composed tone. "Souls are a major topic of research for my people. We're still not sure how souls originally emerged, though crafting them isn't impossible and souls can even reproduce without a body. There's actually a sort-of miko in the Earth organization I supervise that bore a bodiless soul's child. Of course, that's only a fraction of what we've learned, which I would gladly elaborate on."

Nonetheless, having noticed her bifurcated soul, the Discoverer soon follows up by mentally contacting Striga. "You're quite knowledgeable about souls yourself, aren't you? Any particular reason you partially inhabit a crystal? I doubt you had an unfortunate run-in with a weasel cat as the explanation. Still, why use the latin term for slave regarding this individual's existence you question?"

The nascent lifeform having been experimenting with walking, she's currently going about a somewhat unstable yet slow circle. The Discoverer, however, soon contacts Ora. "If you're thinking my answer is 'For sex', then congratulations- You now know the magic phrase for determining which kind of True God you're dealing with. I can assure you though, I created her with wholesome intention and I can even present you another innocent creator named Ryan Steele to prove the matter."

The Discoverer looking over to Ira, the metal man adds him into the discussion as well. "Should I apologize for offering an escape from that place? It was not my intention to rob either of you of power. Speaking of, have you felt any significant changes Ira? That drink was meant to bring you to full fitness in time. Still though, neither of you have a suggestion for her name? Perhaps Striga if she's reading this?"

Starlight Restaurant 1F (Lucina, Emille, Winky, Phagora, Jake Ronso)

Smiling towards Phagora and giving a polite little bow, the Demon General speaks in a friendly way. "I am not easily made an enemy, I assure you. Besides, the punishment must be fitting, so you shouldn't worry about a fate like him. I would like to know more about your world's demons sometime, if you would humor me."

Turning towards Lucina and listening to her calmly patient, his eyes briefly flicker as 'false' when she mentioned striving for goodness & light. Still, his expression and stance don't noticeably change as he continues listening. Well, until she brought up the suggestion of putting the soul into one of her already alive dolls.

His face lightly twisted up as if asking 'What is wrong with you?', his expression becomes curious instead as she asks doubtful and loudly about her sister. Still, feeling his tail being tapped and Emille quietly responding to him, Jake briefly forms a black mouthplate. Holding it over his mouth and looking rather thoughtful, it soon disappears-

-And a seemingly ordinary ring finds itself slipped onto Emille silently, with a small rolled up piece of paper attached. Jake's eyes having remained on Lucina however, there wasn't much to prove his involvement with the ring. Yet, before he could finally begin to answer Lucina, Shireen speaks up.

The rider of conquest looking disapproving as she condemned vengeance, his eyes go wide as he notices the voice of seething hatred blended into Shireen's own. Listening closely to what he knows is a curse being cast, Jake Ronso watches as Shireen ultimately begins walking away upon finishing.

Setting his eyes on the now cursed queen, the Demon General finally speaks up. "I... Was not expecting that to happen Queen Lucina, my apologies. On the plus side, curses tend to be very exact by what they mean. I'm certain if no pain or grief is felt by them, you should be fine. That, or you're now on the road to being the ultimate social expert out of necessity."

Still cupping the soul crystal close to him, Jake begins gesturing with his left hand as he speaks again. "However, I refuse to implant this soul into Miss Yuliya. I don't know why her possibly dying is okay for you, but what point is there anyways? If your dolls cannot use magic, then a second soul would just be over elaborate dissociative identity- Ah, split personality issues. Regarding your sister..."

Holding out his left hand, darkness billows forth before forming a crystal clear image of Sinistrina- Just far away enough to show her in full, yet close enough the exact location can't be made out. Letting the real-time image linger, the cat boy continues. "I didn't investigate how she got out, yet she's undeniably from your universe. Like I said, she's probably been better, but I rather not presume you're both purebred humans. Speaking of sisters however..."

With that said a new portal, much like Jake's own, appears next to Lucina. Foot first, soon a seemingly young woman steps out- Hair ginger red, eyes emerald green, her body adorned in what looks like a crimson & black Victorian dress. Yet the cutesy flair, the prominent little chest bow, the not prominent chest (ironing board?) makes her look awfully adorable.

-Then she breaks into a wide grin as she notices Winky, and exclaims rather excitedly "Oh my gosh, this is the Rozen Maiden girl!? Her handiwork with this guy is amazing~!" Jake Ronso looking over to his sister with a raised eyebrow, he speaks up much like usual. "Yes, though her dolls don't engage in violent battle to steal each others' souls and become the perfect girl."

The newly introduced General's expression deflating bit, she replies a bit awkwardly. "Oh, so not at all like Rozen Maiden..." Rubbing her left arm with her right to express that awkwardness a little more, she smiles at Lucina and speaks up warmly- Hand held out to shake. "I'm Fiona Mulier, the Demon General of Lust! Pleased to meet you Queen Lucina!"

Little look of realization crossing her face, Fiona pulls out a purplish black medallion from her right hand-concealing sleeve. Holding it out to Winky, the General of Lust speaks up. "This is what I make them all, so I hope you don't mind good sir! Chant the magic words 'From dust and stone, this doll shall wear flesh and bone'~! Of course, you need to wear it for the effect to last, haha..."

Jake making a fake cough to get Fiona's attention, she smiles and nods before asking Lucina. "Are there any lifeless dolls you wouldn't mind being animated? I kind of wanna help craft a new body, but she's going to be your servant right? Figure I should be polite and ask, rather than abruptly presenting a vessel for her."

Regarding Emille, the note reads "Hi, Jake told me about you. We'll make that jerk suffer and give you a little sister! Anyways, that ring allows you to freely assume human form. It comes with all human functions like eating and smelling, though you'll be freely in control of those too. Signed, the Demon General of Lust Fiona Mulier~!"

edited 17th Apr '17 11:21:05 AM by Kkutwar

Pride of Rust, Cargo Bay - [Ethoya, Kiran, Ray, Mashala, Carlotta]

Kiran felt her patience starting to wear thin. "Sure, kid." Pointing at Ray, she said, "You brought her here, she's your responsibility." Ray gave an absent-minded wave. "Uh-huh. Sure thing boss, I've got this. And big girl's here to help me." He cocked a thumb over his shoulder in Mashala's direction, and she lowed and nodded obligingly.

Kiran looked back at Ethoya. "As for us..." She sucked a tooth. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. But, I've got an idea. I hear this place has a spa..."

Club Bizarre - Bar (Discover of Subversions, Iragan, Songmind, Striga)

Striga listened to the relative of the Dead God's explanation of themself and their opinions with much interest, seeking to understand what was clearly meant to be incomprehensible to "magic folk" like her. Of particular interest was that formula they presented, which produced a name that defied language, much like the song without sound she had brought up before. She did have to agree with the Discover of Subversions' explanation on want and imagination.

...Wait, why am I narrating in third-person for myself? Third-person limited, in fact? I'm supposed to be omniscient! Perhaps Iragan was right, in that by manifesting as a character aboard this ship, I lost a good portion of my omniscient powers. Ah well, I'm used to third person, so I'll keep at it I suppose.

To Iragan, she nodded. "Ah yes, the loss of power that comes from being a character in a story... I know it all too well. This Club Bizarre truly lives up to its name, does it not? I know I wanted it to break the dimensions a bit, but I never imagined this..."

And then she looked to the One with the Unpronounceable Name. "I suppose someone who has never had a soul cannot imagine the powers a soul can have, especially if it nullifies such powers by its very existence. And yet, I agree with you on art. Though some may argue that art can only consist of imagination, I think that there is a certain beauty to be admired in the natural patterns of our universe. In a sense, one can boil any mystery in our natural world down to trillions of complicated formulas, operating on goggols of different materials and immaterials. Am I wrong in saying that this beauty is what the Song plays to, ...Muse? Yes, with all your talk of the Song, I think I will call you Muse, as unfortunately my language does not have a proper term for the formula you presented."

She, or I, I guess, looked to the Discoverer. "Hmm, virgin births are not unheard of on Earth. I heard of one woman from myth who bore a son from a god - no, the God." The nuance of capitalization reminded her of the Song, prompting an aside glance at "Muse". Then she looked down at the bone fairy. "Hmm, now what to call you... How about... Flora Exosso?" She cringed, pushing away from the two. "No, don't listen to me... that's a terrible name. Also, how did you know that I made a typo in my narration? Are you a narrator yourself?"

Noticing that the Discoverer had contacted her mind... seriously, does he know I'm omniscient? ...she decided to do the same. "But yes, I do know much about souls. A magic staff is supposed to be bound to the mage's soul, so that bond is what you are seeing. And yet, my soul is able to travel between its crystal and my body, inhabiting both. A little trick I learned from a necromancer I'm in touch with. Oh which reminds me, calling one's mostly-soulless bodyguard 'slave' is a bit harsh, is it not? Though I'm one to talk, as I gave myself a name that is Latin for witch."

She sighed. Whew. I will make a note to proofread my narration from now on. Why, just now I almost made it so that what I just said mentally to the Discoverer of Subversions could by heard by all in the club!

edited 17th Apr '17 11:45:15 PM by ladytanuki

Pride of Rust, Cargo Bay - [Ethoya, Kiran, Ray, Mashala, Carlotta]

Ethoya looked over at Kiran. Spas were possible to find in Uel, mostly built around the hot springs of the Imperial Mountains. She'd seen plenty. While this was a space ship — okay, the whole place was a space ship, but seeing one actually used for more than ferrying customers around was different.

Then she glanced between Carlotta and Kiran. She had a suspicion that Kiran did not share Ray's fondness for the eccentric little doll.

Well. That settled that. "I imagine it's been a while since you've been able to really get the engine grease off," she said to Kiran. "And my own job has been insane over the past few weeks. Some unpleasantness involving a foreign ambassador has people saying their prayers." She grimaced slightly at that; she was willing to go into details, but didn't want to ruin Kiran's day by introducing her to the existence of First Advocate Enkar Zaa. "It doesn't matter out here, but I could really use some warm stones on my back."

Then she leaned in and said, quietly, "it is a bit of a walk, though. Long waits in an elevator. I know a fast way, though there might be some mild inconveniences, if you're willing to try it."

Nebula Lobby 1F Elevators (Rebecca, Ryya, Kokoro, Sinistrina, Conrad, Mancipium)

No real reaction being detected from Mancipium as Sinistrina replies to her, it is Conrad instead who reacts- His face lightly twisted into an awkward gesture, whilst he thought to himself. "Yep, that's definitely what a Revenant, totally not something you should be utterly terrified to be. Just, like, amazing how not existentially horrific that would be."

The young half-lizard clearly troubled how to explain it, his attention is soon caught by Sinistrina saying he has a ton of... Ether? "Is she talking Life Energy? That can't possibly be right, I would know if I had my reflexes supercharged... Maybe she just means my soul in general? Huh, what does an unusually dense soul look like?"

Still, as Conrad pondered things over, Sinistrina reached out with her magic- And Mancipium abruptly reappeared next to Conrad, who wasn't more than slightly surprised to see her there. Yet within the scraps of soul called Mancipium, a sort of hissing could be made out, like a creature screaming 'Enemy enemy enemy!'

Thus did the nearly spiritually devoid bodyguard track Sinistrina's presence, clearly on high alert despite looking much the same. Must be hiding something in that suit... Though as the sorceress mentioned how her mother committed suicide, Conrad looked more noticeably surprised at that. "How can she mention that so easily? Didn't her mother matter to her?"

Still, as she brought out her hand mirror, Conrad looked it over curiously- Yet immediately and hurriedly looked away by the time she started saying 'draining', putting together the rest on his own even as he listens. Quizzically looking over the brochure as Sinistrina handed it out, Conrad didn't bother reading it as he slipped it away.

Looking back towards the senjai girl, Conrad raises his eyebrows as he reflects on what she said before speaking in response. "Half-human actually, though given that all sentient life seems to be human creations or subspecies... I guess Human Plus would be accurate? Or, you know, Neo-Human Minus to be cynical. Honestly though, I'm the only half-human I know who's also a Homo Animalia, so I could be something else entirely."

His eyes becoming a bit downcast as he rubs the back of his neck using his right hand, the draconic-looking boy continues. "Why were your people hiding? Where I'm from, there's these supposedly ancient and almighty beings called the Suppression Gods. History class says they're responsible for the human empire shattering and why the Fantasticals were too afraid to show themselves until the Magic Inducing Waves. Basically, I think they're just a scary story that blew out of control..."

Though as he settles his attention on Kokoro, Conrad's works his mouth wordlessly- Like he's thinking of something only to come up with something else. Finally his expression settles on 'Casually Questioning Thug' and speaks up rather casually harsh. "Freaking morons must of never looked around a corner, ya? You ain't a weirdo, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

Letting out a breath and rubbing his neck more nervously, Conrad begins talking casually warm instead as he addresses Kokoro and Ryya both. "Don't let idiots hold you guys down, okay? That just emboldens them, and nobody will help someone who doesn't even try to help themselves. Of course, if you need a nobody, I don't mind lending a hand. It just kind of riles me up when others think they can treat people like shit."

Shooting a glance back over to Sinistrina, Conrad briefing notes how Mancipium keeps watching her. Shrugging his shoulders in a 'whatever' kind of way, the young man speaks to the undead woman. "Well, people have noted how strange it is I have such good spatial manipulation powers. I don't really like teleporting people, but I think my dad synced Mancipium up to my power. Honestly I'm not sure why my dad was making me a bodyguard..."

Looking more darkly awkward as his neck-rubbing becomes more anxious, he speaks up one more time. "You're clearly not a Revanant though, that's sort of... 101 honestly. The subject is really uncomfortable though, so I rather not explain what a Revanant really is. Basically, though, I would have to kill you if you were one..."

Avoiding direct eye contact, Conrad adds on rather hastedly "Though yeah, I guess it would be cool to see you work your magic on something. Necromancer Detectives are really cool how they can get the dead to reveal their killers, you know? Gah, I think my JND Halloween costume is still intact somewhere..."

edited 18th Apr '17 6:29:18 PM by Kkutwar

Cargo Bay: Pride of Rust (Kiran, Ray, Ethoya, Carlotta)

Again Carlotta had to scowl a little inside on the mention of her being Ray's "responsibility". When Kiran expressed plans to go to the spa, the doll listened intently to what Ethoya had to say.

"What's a faster way of getting there than an elevator?" she asked the golden parrot. "Flying perhaps?" She glanced down at the Hellcat, remembering Ray's comment about "riding" her - as if that implied that this suit could somehow fly.

Elevators -> Planetoid Park (Rebecca, Ryya, Kokoro, Sinistrina, Conrad, Mancipium)

The ensuing discussion left Sinistrina in shock. First there was what Ryya said about hiding from society. Then there was Kokoro's remark about weirding people out and Conrad responding by saying she was not a weirdo, and also Rebecca's mention of execution of witches. Then Rebecca's mention of causing sickness and decay with her magic and tale of re-animating a cat. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, Kokoro's enthusiasm about their ability to raise the dead, of which Conrad's comment on "necromancer detectives" was icing on the cake - and both of them and Rebecca wanting a demonstration. To all of this, she froze in place before the elevator doors, what was left of her cheeks turning a more prominent shade of gray.

It was only when Anima crawled across her face and waved a leg in front of her eye that she snapped out of it, composing herself with a light shake of her head. That was also when she heard Conrad's comment about revenants and saw Mancipium teleporting next to Conrad and glaring at her. It was so much to take in...

First she decided to reply to Rebecca, the one in the group who thus far shared the most in common with her. "What is this Black Pit? I am inclined to not believe that it is the same place that people more religious than I may call Hell. Nor am I inclined to believe that your Order would settle for merely burning witches at the stake, unless of course they as a society never advanced past the Middle Ages." And she cracked a small smile, though empty as all the others she cracked. "Coincidentally enough, my second zombie was the family cat, and also the one who got me into trouble, as though he looked fairly alive, I had forgotten that my mother had a keen sense of smell. And you are also the only other person besides me who I've heard call re-animated corpses 'zombies'. The term is not common at all - at least where I am from. Though death made slow... that is a fair way to put it, but every mortal already suffers from a slowly-fatal disease called 'life', wouldn't you say? I used to inflict such curses in my childhood myself before I realized that."

She looked around at Kokoro, eyes widening in memory of that initial shock. "You are actually..." She looked at Conrad, then Rebecca again, then Kokoro again... and bowed her head a slight bit. "Forgive my surprise - it just is so unusual for me to have anyone express interest in the type of magic I use. I, too, have been known to weird people out because of it, or worse." She took another brief glance at Rebecca. "The society I come from does not take kindly to witches either, many still believing them to be the spawn of the devil. Even my sister, who is the queen of Solevaille, responded to my protests of her tyrannical reign by sealing me inside my own mirror. The fact that my talents happened to be in black magic did not help at all."

She looked back up at everyone. "But yes, I would be glad to provide a demonstration." Though she certainly did not look or sound glad while saying it, retaining her usual tired gaze and low, solemn voice. "Fitting that it is a club named after the Roman god of the underworld that was abandoned and filled with corpses." She did have a thought about bringing them inside the mirror instead, but figured that was a bad idea with half the group being alive. Right at that moment an elevator door opened nearby, and so she stepped in and invited the others to follow, taking another glance at the map on the brochure. "Well, it looks like we cannot access Club Pluto from this elevator. To get there, we have to ride this elevator up to Deck 10 and walk over to the front of the ship, then take the elevators behind Club Saturn."

Once they were in the elevator, she spoke to Conrad. "Well, it seems that you have an entirely different definition of 'revenant' than I do." The way she looked at him, she looked more intrigued than anything else. "I would very much like to know what your definition is, especially if you would feel obligated to 'kill' one." It seemed odd that he should mention killing since, according to her anyway, revenants were already dead. "You seem awfully afraid, though, for one with space-defying powers. And yet you say that I am not a revenant. What would you call someone who has died yet retains both their body and their consciousness, then?"

She paid special attention to the elevator, making sure to depart once they had reached Deck 10. Once there, she led the way once more, heading right through Planetoid Park. Occasionally she glanced behind her to make sure nobody got distracted by all the rides or flashy lights there - though in all fairness, if anyone decided at the last minute to spend time here rather than the creepy Club Pluto, she would understand perfectly.

edited 19th Apr '17 1:17:55 AM by ladytanuki

[[Sickbay]]: Tigris, Max, Cecilia, Rolph, Anna, Gabriel, Minerva

Tigris felt some amount of shame fall upon her at Max's words. The situation was absurd, no doubt, but all the same, it was not right to laugh when Gabe and Anna were in the mess they were in.

Gabe sure was demonstrating his lack of filter, though, only this time he was only embarrassing himself. Tigris felt a certain pang of pity for the guy - he must have had it rough with the ladies, and being involved in the destruction he and Anna had narrowly avoided could not have done much for his self-esteem. But now was not the time or the place for this, especially when Anna still needed treatment, and the pair of newcomers were decidedly not the right ones to provide it.

"I think we'll just let the medics here take care of her," said Tigris. "Like you said, she's in no need of magical healing." She moved aside to allow the robotic medic, which had been hovering patiently near, to approach Anna's bedside.

Tigris placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself," she said. "From what I can tell, you're dealing with a lot more than anyone should have to experience, let alone someone your age. But if you want to talk about this, let's wait until we're out of here." She glanced again at Max, Cecilia, and Rolph, hoping they would not pester Gabriel and Anna further.

She turned to Anna. "You are okay with the ship's medical staff treating you, aren't you?" she said.

[Deck 2 ~ Sickbay] (Minerva, Anna, Gabriel, Max, Cecilia, Rolph, Tigris)

Minerva gave Anna a downcast look, "So, you were specifically designed to serve as a computer? That's... that's barbaric!" she exclaimed. "Enhancements shouldn't be used to cripple someone! And someone shouldn't try to justify such an action."

She then whirled to face Gabriel, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, everyone makes mistakes, even me!" she said, pouting at him. "I'm sure that everything will turn out fine from here out."

When Cecilia offered to use part of her life force to assist Anna, Minerva flinched back in surprise. "That... seems a bit extreme, don't you think?" the gynoid inquired. She crossed her arms and shook her head, "But, I won't stop either of you if this is what you really want."

Meanwhile, the holographic doctor shook its head in response to Gabriel's question about the sickbay having magical capabilities. "I'm afraid that isn't possible here, but I assure you that we have the best medical technology available here."

[Deck 11 ~ Club Bizarre (Nemaforte's shop)] (Loki, Nemaforte)

Loki listened to Nemaforte's description of this Cosmic Potion, which the odd speaking woman said would clear the mind. Slowly blinking, the youthful looking trickster rubbed her chin thoughtfully, before rummaging through one of her coat pockets. She pulled out a keyphone and placed it on the table, "I'll take a bottle of that then."

The girl produced a smug smile at the shopkeeper's complement. "Why thank you, I designed this myself," Loki said, tugging at lapels of her coat. "So, you're an extraterrestrial? Interesting.." She then tapped the butt of her staff on the floor, frowning slightly.

"I must ask, is it that obvious about me? Almost everyone I've met today seems to notice that about me," Loki said, crossing her arms and pouting. She then sighed, "I am Loki, of Midgard."