Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Hangar Bay (Carlotta, Reshk)
Reshk looked very confused by what Carlotta had said. She blinked her spring-green eyes. "Your planet doesn't have dolls? Or magic?" She vaguely remembered learning something about the use of magic requiring possession of a soul, and most of the magic she was familiar with involved direct manipulation of souls. "...Well, aren't I a fish out of water." Though her face was made of clay, her cheeks turned the same shade of pink as her waistcoat-like garment... but only for a moment. If anyone is a fish out of water, it's Reshk.
"I have never heard of anyone like you either; the name 'oquar' is entirely unfamiliar." She took a peek over at the ship he came out of; it looked even more alien than the Pride of Rust. And also shinier and cleaner. Looking back at the Pride of Rust for comparison, she... didn't see it there?
"What in the... how... where did they go?" Ray and Mashala were nowhere to be found either. Turning back to Reshk, she said, "Where I am from at least, it is very rude to suddenly disappear from a conversation like that. If you ask me, those two seemed a bit, I don't know... giddy?" In fact, now that she thought about it, Ray especially gave off a playful vibe similar to that of Lucina. Speaking of Lucina... "And yes, Queen Lucina is the only human in the royal court; everyone else is a doll like me. She dresses a lot like a doll, though. And I am in her court, though a bit low on the hierarchy if you know what I mean."
It actually pleased her to talk about Lucina in the presence of someone who had about a 0.000001% chance of knowing her, and about a thousandth of a percentage of that percent chance of being in cahoots with her. Rebecca had been a slight bit more trustworthy due to being undead, but though he was clearly from a very strange world, or maybe because he was from a very strange world, she decided that she would trust him for now. Plus the fact that I had already practically bragged to Ray and his captain and that parrot angel about where I came from.
"So your ship is called Scout? Are you here to gather information on something? Or to take a break from that and relax?"
Club Bizarre (Nemaforte, Discoverer of Subversions, Muse)
Several minutes passed, during which she could hear traces of other conversations going on in this strange club, and during that time, she decided to grab a pillow to sit on. In her current state, the pillow felt immensely comfortable, as if she was floating on a cloud of incense vapor. "Like passion ivy you are..." In fact, she wasn't even realizing that the pillow, which had been yellow, was turning the slightest bit pink, as if her very aura was dyeing it.
After several moments she found herself gazing in wonder at the pink-stained pillow, and then looked around to see absolutely nobody in the room where her shop was. However, there was a clear coversation going on in the next room over, and one of the people conversing was the one who knew about Orenya. Curious, she walked away from the table for a bit... but not before turning around to face it and spreading her arms in an arc. "Sao nemethe shirai-ya!" And with those words, though it was difficult to see, a faint purplish semicircle enclosed the space between her shop and the far wall... one that practically spoke "do not cross this line or else". This became especially apparent when she pricked her finger with the sharp tooth sitting slightly askew out her mouth, touching the arc with a single drop of blood from it. At this the arc sprouted wisps of what looked like smoke.
Satisfied, she turned back around, approaching the gadget man and the... automaton? No... it was far worse than that. The very air about him seemed... not evil per se, but definitely wrong. Defiant? Unearthly? And yet... familiar, somehow.note Still, though, the sheer shock of sensing such an unearthy, almost anti-magic thing up close overwhelmed her, such that just when she was close enough for the two to see her, she fell forward onto her face, her tall pointed hat rolling forward between the Discoverer and the Songmind.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge (Mari; Kiryu)
The oni woman shrugged, "Sometimes they can be o'assistance, and sometime, ya gotta slug 'em right in the face," she said, grinning wickedly. She knocked back another glass and set it down on the counter; the bartender obligingly refilled it.
"They can get a lot o'drinkin' done at parties," Mari said, tilting her head, "though, those parties can get quite feisty sometimes." She grinned at the surly samurai, gently elbowing him in the ribs, "Where do you think the word debauchery came from, eh?"
Deck 11 ~ Hallway —> Deck 10 ~ Heading towards the Comet Cafe (Loki; Sakura)
The elevator took them down one deck, and the tottering goddess led her companion along the length of the ship towards the snack bar. Loki took a moment to double check her phone to see where the place that served sushi was; "Deck 3," the girl replied to Sakura, "the sushi bar's on Deck 3."
Loki then tapped her fingers together, momentarily distracting herself with the claw like movements she was mimicking. "Space tempura... shrimp goes on sushi, right? So if you have space sushi, you gotta have space shrimp, so yeah, they probably have space tempura."
She carried on forward for a few paces, before stopping suddenly. "Wait, how could fish and shrimp survive in space? There's not nearly enough water..." Loki scratched her head for a brief moment before shrugging; trying to ponder the mysteries of space food wasn't on the top of her to-do list, getting said space food was.
Loki dashed over towards one of the glass windows overlooking the deck below. "Hey, look, there's the pools!" she exclaimed, before tottering along down the deck towards the cafe further along at the bow of the ship.
(Spirit Room -> Hallway Phagora, Emile)
"Glad that you understand." Phagora let her negative emotions fade, and soon she returned to her smaller, cuter look. "And remember, just because someone prefers the darkness to the light, doesn't mean they aren't good inside. Look at me, I helped you learn magic. But you're right, holy magic and I don't get along well. If I were in your shoes, I'd find someone who really knows those kinds of powers and learn from them."
Phagora opened the door for Emile. "I guess this is goodbye, then, Emile. I'm glad to have met you."
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
[[Sickbay: Tigris, Gabriel, Anna, Rolph, Minerva]]
Tigris felt no small amount of relief at the multiple suggestions that they find a restaurant. She thought back to the doors and hallways they'd passed on the way to the sickbay, but she could not remember anything resembling the restaurants she'd glimpsed on the deck map that she'd seen for that half-second before Gabriel and Anna had burst in.
"Sort of," she said to Rolph's question. "It's more like the absence of blasphemous or evil works was too obvious at that point to continue condemning us. Plus, the mages had saved the kingdom from what could have been a major catastrophe." She paused a moment, taking care not to let any more of the arrogance she'd seen in many other mages slip into her speech. "Of course, there is some small danger of the arts being picked up by the wrong people," she said, thinking again of Hashine, "but the foundational training is kept well-guarded, and the specific spell paths take years to master."
Her leg was going numb from sitting in the sharp-angled chair. She turned back to the group. "If everyone is okay with going to eat," she said, stretching, "I'm fine with wherever you all decide. And since Cecilia's spell didn't seem to hurt Anna any, I can probably provide some healing later as well if necessary." Of course, that was frowned upon by the House, but that was no longer a part of her now, and it felt good to offer her abilities in this way, without restriction by the Mirren.
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Spirit Room -> Pool Deck (Emille, Ayako, Ethoya, Lux-chan)
Although she didn't normally breathe, Emille breathed a sigh of relief as Phagora returned to her human form. She was a tiny bit disheartened at Phagora deciding to leave the place, but she couldn't blame her either; for all she knew, she herself could be emitting a holy aura of sorts that would put her off. Again she was reminded of how absurd it was to learn about magic from a half-demon-half-witch (as she had been apprehensive about asking for help with magic from another witch long ago), and how it was even more absurd that she ultimately ended up acquiring it from some other source anyway. After taking a quick glance at the wall, where she noticed that the white mists in that one panel had vanished, she followed Phagora to the door.
When Phagora said her goodbyes, Emille replied, "Indeed, and although it is a shame our lesson had to be cut short, I believe I can figure out the rest myself. Do take care, and au revoir."
As they headed off in different directions, Emille wandered across the observation deck, gazing up at the stars and wondering what to do next. Hmm, well first, I should see if I can still use magic in my human form... She was still apprehensive about being human, but just as with magic, the allure of that forbidden fruit was too tempting to resist. Plus she kind of liked how good she looked in that form, and Phagora had even confirmed it. However, as soon as she saw a sign that read "No Bright Lights Allowed", she waited until she was inside the elevator to do so.
Once again, though everyone around her simply saw her become shrouded and light and then grow to human height, she went through the full transformation sequence, growing as the porcelain shell broke away and clothes weaved their way onto her. However, the clothes she wore were slightly different, as halfway through the transformation, she became suddenly curious at checking out the pool deck. She had never gone swimming before, or even taken a bath, as dolls never needed to do the latter, and she did not very much fancy getting water inside her hollow body. But now that she was human, she just had to wonder what it was like. Thus, she emerged from the transformation wearing a red satin robe and matching sandals, as well as a larger version of the wide-brimmed hat she wore as a doll, black pom-poms and everything.
Just in time, the elevator opened onto Deck 9, where she stepped and headed off to the pools. She decided to head over to one of the hot tubs, as in the chilly air of the upper decks, she was feeling a slight bit chilly herself. Her new form still felt weird to her, but what felt even weirder was walking on flat feet for once, as she had grown so used to wearing high heels as a doll.
Once she reached the hot tub, she immediately spotted a ragdoll in an elegant purple and black dress sitting flopped-over next to a chair. This had her interest piqued. A Ragdoll? I don't remember Lucina bringing any along... Curious, she walked over the chair next to the one the ragdoll was propped up against. It was at that point that she could see two ladies in the pool... well, one of them looked to be quite young. There was a dark-haired girl whose bathing suit matched the clothes the ragdoll was wearing, and a dark-skinned woman wearing a golden-feathered top.
But there was a third somethng there. Not a person, but more like a cloud of radiant white mist, looking very much like those she had seen in that "mirror" she had gazed into.note Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a similar, brighter presence in and around the woman. Both of them appeared to notice the strange entity... which made Emille feel a little better, as she had almost been sure she was seeing things.
Sitting in the chair next to the one the ragdoll was slumped against, she spoke to the younger girl. "Excuse me... but is this your doll?" Glancing over at it, she also saw a faint presence inside of it... like it could come to life at any moment. But not anything like the "ether" Lucina had mentioned a couple of times. "She is quite lovely for a Ragdoll. As something of a doll enthusiast myself, I must say I am impressed."
edited 21st Jun '17 8:15:50 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
It's a bird.
Sickbay (Rolph; Minerva; Anna, Gabriel; Tigris)
Rolph gave Minerva a wide-eyed stare, with an expression that could only be described as reverence forming on his face. He got up from the chair and took a few stumbling steps closer to the gynoid.
"Oh, I didn't mean... it's just..." he began to say, speaking as if his words were competing in a frantic race, shoving each other to the ground to get ahead. "I never thought I would actually get to meet a true... I've done some tinkering myself, but nothing that's even close to... Just can't get the funding for these things anymore... I..."
He suddenly stopped, and nervously ran a hand across the carapace plates on his head, his eyes darting across the room.
"I'm rambling, aren't I? Food? Yes, that sounds like a good idea."
Rolph started moving towards the door of the sickbay, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had already recently eaten. On the way, once he had managed to calm himself somewhat, he turned to Tigris.
"Of course, there is some small danger of the arts being picked up by the wrong people, but the foundational training is kept well-guarded, and the specific spell paths take years to master."
"Yes, that would make sense," he responded. "I wouldn't want any random Mroothan to put together a fusion core in their garage either."
Arboretum -> Elevators (Glitch; Shireen, Robin)
Glitch hovered along beside Shireen and Robin, following the two Human women out of the Arboretum.
"It's not very far," the drone said. "The sickbay is right by the elevators, one deck up."
After a few moments of walking, the group reached one of the ship's elevator areas, and Glitch extended one of it's thin tentacle-like telescopic arms, pushing the "call" symbol on a touchscreen on the wall.
"I hope the experiment went as planned."
Glitch couldn't quite process why, but there was something subtly different about that statement than usual.
edited 22nd Jun '17 10:17:46 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Deck 2 ~ Sickbay (Minerva; Anna, Gabriel; Tigris; Rolph)
"Previous purging of all life? That... doesn't seem like a natural occurrence," the gynoid worriedly commented. "Still, I should reiterate that what might seem like a glitch may very well turn out to be something that has yet to be understood. Like those Eldritchians you spoke of," Minerva stated, casually holding her hand up by her ear.
She shrugged at what Gabriel said about people, before nodding and smiling at his desire for food, "I figured as much." She started drifting towards the door, only to stop and turn around when Anna spoke up. "Uh, I've been designed to pass for human, though I'm rather heavy for someone of my size despite my titanium alloy frame. Many parts of my design are highly classified, but I can state that a good portion of my body consists of a specially designed liquid crystal polymer, which acts as a thermal regulator, and under normal circumstances, allows my body to replicate the, ahem, squishiness of a normal person." She blushed slightly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Her rosy cheeks returning to their normal coloration, Minerva gave Anna a concerned, mournful look; "Wait, so they didn't feed you?" The gynoid’s eyebrow twitched; before long, Minerva was frowning. "I'll be beating a dead horse before too long, but that's just... wrong," she said before sighing; her face softening. She then tapped the tip of her thumb on what could reasonably be called her sternum, "I'm capable of eating food, if only for the sake of eating; I'm powered by a near limitless means of power generation." Once again, she broke out into a blush, "As for a reproductive system, that's something a bit personal that I'd rather not talk about, if you don't mind."
When the gynoid noticed how Rolph had practically broken down when it came to what she was, Minerva's blush deepened. She then paused for a moment, searching the ship's public databases for the closest restaurant for their little group; she didn't want Anna to travel farther than necessary before she could get her strength back, so-to-speak.
Glancing at a map that only she could see, she gesture to her left as she approached the sickbay's exit; "Down the hall to our left is the Starlight Restaurant, and to our left is the Square Root of Pie; they apparently serve pizza... and pies," she said. As she left the sickbay, she couldn't help but overhear what Rolph and Tigris were discussing, prompting her to anxiously clutch her chest for a brief moment.
"Right, so which of those sounds good to you guys?" she asked.
[Observation Deck]
With Geoff out of the way, Proseda had hoped that things would improve, but unfortunately things had taken a turn to the political and somewhat unrelatable, fascism had never really come about in the world he had lived in before his move to earth, and so he was left with a limited idea of what the word meant.
"I guess, but during war isn't the enemy just always the enemy?" Proseda begins in a quizzical tone. "You can't spare the enemy during war, you'll just die." He pauses, voice becoming more forceful, "But fascism needs a leader and media to enforce its realities. If you can dismantle that system with propaganda or a few select assassinations, the system will simply fall apart." He reaches for his tea again, his wings folding and shrinking disappearing into his back, "Propaganda and the leader maintain order, remove the strength of one or the other, and the entire system collapses at once."
He takes a sip of tea, "Replacing their leader would be better, but I doubt that would do you much good." A light glow envelops him, and his human form returns. "The skills are rare after all."
Bet you didn't see that coming
Mr ship
[Abandoned Theater/Henry and Lauren]
As Henry was about to open the portal to the other world something caught his attention. He heard rumblings up in the catwalks of the stage. Looking over to Lauren he could tell that she heard it too. Shutting off the portal gloves he put his hands down so he would be able to draw his pistol quickly if needed.
Lauren watched Henry and followed suit just in case.
Suddenly a large 7 foot tall lizard like creature fell from the catwalks. It was clearly stunned by the others being there and was frozen in shock.
Lauren watched the creature very closely being sure that she would be able to draw her pistol quickly.
Henry made sure his universal translator was on and gingerly approached the creature. "Hello there friend." He said to the creature warmly. "Are we intruding in on your home. If we are I must sincerely apologize. We were under the impression that this place was abandoned."
[Deck 1: Hangar/Docking Area (Carlotta, Reshk)]
"Business and pleasure, mate," Reshk replied. "And hopefully a bit of treasure too. That rhyme in your language?" He began walking forward towards the elevators, intending less to leave than to get a sense for the ship's grav. It wasn't oquar standard, but it wasn't too tough either, especially with his... alterations.
Though he wasn't really sure what Carlotta was doing, or where she intended to go, he kept up his patter to her as he walked - at least for now. "So your people have a Court too. Figures. I mean, long live the Empress and all that bilge, but most species consider that sort of arrangement to be what we might be calling 'old-fashioned.' He wasn't sure, yet, whether to probe Carlotta too much on what she thought of that. Not that he really cared, but the others might.
"We do have dolls in known space, just not... actually alive. Bots and objects and such. Though I do know some zaran, so I'd reckon that counts for maybe .05 of something like you. It's hard to tell with zaran sometimes."
Elevators -> Sickbay (Glitch; Robin, Max, Cecilia and Shireen)
Developing a soul? How is this even possible?
I have no idea, came the thought.
They ascended to the 2nd deck in silence. Robin stepped out of the elevator first, with Shireen following her. They entered the sickbay and saw three blonde girls, one of them lying on one of the beds, looking pale and sickly; a black-clad teenager standing right next to her; Rolph, with what appears to be Mroothan dumbfounded expression on his face; and Cecilia, lying unconscious on the bed next to them, with Max sitting at the bedside, frowning, as usual.
"What the hell happened?" Seeing Bergmann's condition, Robin's eyes went wide.
"Emergency surgery, it seems." Ahlstrom gave his healer a disapproving look.
"Uhh... Not this again..."
"Change of plans, van Segher. Bar round will have to wait a little." Max sighed. "Find Frost and the rest. Tell them of our situation. They should be at the Restaurant."
"Yes, sir."
"And who are you, honora...?" The captain turned to the psychopomp.
"My name's Shireen of Karaozen valley." She smiled. "I met Robin at the Arboretum."
"Pleased to meet you, Shireen."
"What are you going to do, Chief?" asked Robin.
"Stay here." Max shrugged. "Make sure Bergmann won't do anything stupid again."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Exhaustion. Give her time."
"Right." Robin excused herself and headed towards the exit. Shireen, after hesitating a little, approached the other group.
"Good day. My name's Shireen. What happened? Was there a fight? Are we in danger? I didn't expect a passenger liner's medical bay to be so full, to be honest."
edited 24th Jun '17 6:46:59 AM by Millership
Spiral out, keep going.
They/Them
[Abandoned Theater]
No amount of reassuring words from the trio would calm the creature down, and Henry's approach didn't help much either. While it didn't do anything that could initially be recognized as panic, internally, the creature was quite scared.
It jumped back and began to curl up, its mane wrapping around it's body in an attempt to hide itself. The mane began to turn black, the chromatophores in the thin tendrils changing to blend into the dark background of the stage, though the horns stuck out like sore thumbs.
The creature was also disadvantaged when it began to shake and whimper, very much like a scared child.
edited 26th Jun '17 11:19:02 PM by DarkbloodCarnagefang
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Attitude is prohibited
[Dark Matter Lounge]
Kiryu snorted. "I'd like to punch a god or ten. They're off having their damn parties, but what about us mere mortals? The world's getting all messed up while the gods are out getting all messed up." He paused, then chuckled. "Heh, maybe there's some relationship there? If the gods are just drunk off their asses, that'd explain a few things." He downed the rest of his drink, and the bartender refilled it.
He stared at the cup with some mild concern, then looked over at Mari with a grin. "I've never been drunk under the table before," he said. 'Not once! But, y'know, I have to admit, you're looking like a strong contender for that honour."
[Deck 10] (Heading towards the Comet Cafe)
Space fish. The idea had never even occurred to her before today. "Would space fish even need water if they live in space..?" she wondered aloud. Her head spun at the thought of schools of fish swimming around the moon. Then there was the pools to look at - like giant hot springs? Fake lakes? But why? Just for fun? - then something about a "cafe" - a what? - and then the girl was off again. "Hey, wait up!" Sakura chased after her. A faster child, both mentally and in terms of running speed, she had never met.
Not entirely dead.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Hangar -> Elevators (Carlotta, Reshk)
In lieu of raising an eyebrow painted onto her mostly unmoving face, she blinked her hinged eyelids over her eyes a few times while gazing up at Reshk. "Old-fashioned? ...Well, perhaps you are correct, as this entire vessel seems to me to have come from the future. It makes me wonder if by next century the people of Earth will figure out how explore the stars like this ship is doing. It is all very bizarre to me, really."
Noticing he was headed for the elevators, she decided to walk alongside him, and began to think of where she even wanted to go. But first... "But I do hear that monarchies are beginning to fall out of fashion on Earth as well. Why, before Lucina was queen and before dolls like me came to life, we had a mayor - feasible as Solevaille is more a town than anything else."
Along the way, Carlotta picked up a bolt that had fallen loose from some unknown ship (for all she knew, Ray might have dropped it), and once they were at the elevators, she promptly said to Reshk, "Allow me." An odd thing to say given the elevator button was too high for her to reach... until she gave the bolt she had picked up a surprisingly hard throw, hard enough to press the button with the impact. "Not bad for someone who is technically dead, am I right?"
She stepped into the elevator, beckoning Reshk to follow. "I must ask you to take us to a floor, though. Though I would tentatively ask of Deck 11 for Club Neptune, I will be glad to join you wherever if you have no business to attend to immediately. ...Except for the Starlight Restaurant. Queen Lucina is on board the ship as well, and she might still be in there. I... kind of want to take a break from her. You have an Empress, so you know what I mean, don't you?" A pause. "And what's a zaran?"
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge (Mari; Kiryu)
Mari smirked as she joined Kiryu in laughter, "You're probably not wrong there; drunkenness and wise ideas a couple they do not make. Add god powers, and everythin's totally bollocksed." She put her glass down for a moment, taking a break from her efforts at drinking the establishment dry.
She then nodded slightly at Kiryu's enthusiasm, "Well, just don't over do it; no fun talkin' t'someone whose thoroughly pissed." The oni woman shrugged, "'Sides, it's not worth an awkward morning or the bloody hangover later."
Deck 10 ~ Heading towards the Comet Cafe (Loki; Sakura)
Loki blinked a few moments at what Sakura had said, "If they don't need water, then I guess they aren't fish then?" She stared off at a wall for a moment, her eyes widening, before exclaiming, "The space fish aren't fish!" The girl then proceeded to mutter to herself, puzzling over what space sushi would actually be, if not terrestrial sushi.
The other girl's calling to her broke the goddess from her trance, causing Loki to whirl around to face her. "Oh, sorry about that, guess I'm speedier than I realize," she said. Making a point to slow down and not run off again, Loki cheerfully took Sakura's hand and kept pace with her.
To dream is my right
Abandoned Theater:
Oh, so the mysterious alien was the one begging for mercy? Such an... odd twist that was. What would come next, an even bigger monster standing right behind them? Doing his best to hold back a smirk at the absurd scenario, and not doing his best to suppress the shivers running down his spine, Cirranze straightened his posture and walked closer to Henry and Lauren, keeping his gaze on the creature and not moving an inch close or further away from it in his path through the stage. And as always his steps made little sound, even for someone of his small size.
"Henry? Maybe you should make the light you projected less bright. I feel that the alien came for a dark and empty place, and am curious about its behavior when less stressed.", he said, almost whispering, while his heart pounded faster. "Maybe we will see something more familiar moving under its skin." And even as he spoke with the human, Cirranze's eyes kept staring at the alien from the shadow within his hood... a shadow that seemed to grow deeper still.
"The dried flowers are so beautiful, and it applies to all things living and dead."
[Deck 1: Elevators (Carlotta, Reshk)]
Reshk looked askance at Carlotta with two of his eyes after the doll's little bolt-throwing stunt. "Wow, basic hand-eye coordination. That'll have them lining up with lucre, all right."
He looked at his membrane flaps with another eye. "Then again, I don't have hands, so what do I know, eh?"
Hesitating a moment, he looked back at the Scout, then followed Carlotta into the elevator. It wasn't like he was actually needed on this deck or anything. That was the whole point of using this... thing.
"Can't say as I do know what you mean about your queen, seeing as I've never actually met the Empress. Hell, I'm not sure how many people have ever met the Empress, face-to-face, leastways in the last hundred years. 'Course, either way you have to realize there's something like eighty billion oquar out there, so."
He hit the control panel for Deck 11, and as the elevator rose, decided that figure would work as a segue into her other question. "Only about a quarter that many zaran. I suppose you wouldn't have heard of them if humans where you're from don't have space travel. They're an alien - species originally, but really more like an alien genus now. Very, very into radical self-modification and -experimentation... and engineered intelligences. They haven't been eaten by a blight yet, so whatever they're doing can't be anything like what we or the GA know about, but still, gives a being the shivers thinking too much about it."
He waved his arms in what he vaguely understood to be a 'shrug', a human way of expressing uncertainty. "On the other level, I've actually got a zaran aboard my ship now. Not a very social bloke, though - you'll probably never see it."
[Observation Deck]
Enkar looked over at Proseda and shook his head. "You've been on the Dying World long enough to perhaps know the immortal last words of Che Guevara: 'Shoot, you bastards, you only kill a man.'" Enkar shrugged. "I am not a Marxist myself, Marx's 'Historical Materialism' makes certain assumptions about the centrality of 'class struggle' I find dubious..."
He suddenly stopped, realizing nobody at his table likely gave the slightet whit about his opinions on Marxist history. (Which weren't as well-formed or well-thought-out as he believed them to be, anyways.) "Ahem. Forgive my rambling. The point is, Guevara was right: to kill a leader is only to kill an individual, the ideas will find new leaders to carry their torch forward — and Guevara's words apply to any philosophy, even those the world would be better off without. Even without a government, carriers of a disease of the mind may spread in secret and, decades hence, poison the world once again if they are not propertly dealt with immediately."
He motioned towards Jin. "Merely existing as a fascist, you said, is an act of violence. Then I am sure you understand how such violence must be dealt with?"
edited 2nd Jul '17 8:07:54 PM by KillerClowns
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Elevators -> Club Neptune (Carlotta, Reshk)
Though Carlotta's face did not - could not - change expression while Reshk talked about zarans, on the inside she grew more uneasy, to the point where there was a tremble of worry in her otherwise sweet and childlike voice. "...Th-they sound quite creepy. Almost as creepy as, as... as spiders. No, more than spiders, I bet."
And indeed, she had seen creepier. In fact, her response made her realize something, and with that, she clenched her fists and bowed her head in regret. Wait a minute, Sinistrina is on the ship... drat! I could have told her Lucina was on the ship too, brought her back to the restaurant, and... urrgh, no, I can't deal with what she might ask me... but still!' Now she wished she opted to go back the Nebula Lobby instead... but chances were that the two liches and the dragon girl and the armless girl had left already. After a slight shake of her head, she looked back up at Reshk.
"Hmm, come to think of it, you don't look like you are affiliated with a royal court. That or your empress isn't as... involved in your kingdom as mine is. Lucina, on the other hand, is an annoying, cheerful schmuck, and I constantly have to play along with her insanity! ...Though the tea parties are quite nice."
At that point, the elevator opened onto Deck 11 (after moving horizontally towards the central shaft on Deck 10note ), and immediately upon stepping out, Carlotta could see a sign that read "Club Neptune" right there above a door. A glass door, where beyond it shone an undulating deep blue light, giving the place the impression of being underwater.
And indeed, the walls seemed to glow with this undulating blue light. It was all very surreal to Carlotta, as she could not even begin to imagine the technology behind it... perhaps too surreal in fact. But the tridents on the walls were kind of a nice touch, she had to admit. So she chose a round table with four chairs sitting right next to one, inviting Reshk to sit down. At this present moment the club was relatively quiet, with only some relaxing electronic music playing in the background. There was a stage off in the other end of the club, but apparently the DJ was taking a break at the moment, as it was empty. And the only person dancing was a robot tending the nearby bar, one who looked like it was somehow drunk.
"I have never been inside a club quite like this," said Carlotta as she looked all around. "I... kind of like it." She looked back at Reshk. "So what is your empress like, if you even know much about her? Does she treat the empire well?"
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Phagora (Spirit Room-> Club Neptune with Carlotta and Ay)
With Emile gone, Phagora was alone with nothing to do, a state she was not exactly fond of. She pulled out a guidebook, looking at the various amenities she hadn't had a chance to sample on her brief time aboard the ship. <That sounds interesting.>
She made her way down to Club Neptune, noting the underwater décor. Many air-breathing beings might have a moment of panic at the illusion of being suddenly underwater, but there was a mermaid among Phagora's coven, and she'd been able to at least explore the depths of the local lake without fear of drowning. The club itself was by and large deserted, save for a doll that looked similar at first glance to Emile and some sort of walking fish. <Well, I guess he feels at home.> "Greetings, the both of you. Would it be alright if I joined you?"
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
Crazy Kiwi
Deck 1 - Arboretum
[Joshua, Pearl, Aubrey]Pearl nodded thanks to Joshua for the name of the food. It was quite delicious, so she added "tacos" to her mental list of foods she enjoyed and would certainly eat again. There was no way to eat the thing in a "delicate" or "lady-like" manner it seemed, so she crunched into hers with gusto.
It occurred to her that the London of her own world probably wasn't too dissimilar from that of Joshua's and the same cultural migration and integration - without the supernatural aspects - had probably occurred there as well.
Aubrey mused silently while he chewed a bite of 'taco' significantly less silently. Being kidnapped had been terrifying and just thinking about it gave him a knot in his stomach and a heaviness in his heart. He had genuinely feared that he would die - more so than on the Long Walk with its bears and other dangers of the wilderness - but what Joshua described sounded even more horrifying. That Joshua had any hope in his heart at all was a miracle. Aubrey doubted he would feel anything but despondency and futility in such a world as Joshua inhabited.
'Sprawling dungeons,' he thought. That's what the mine was like. It had been a scary and difficult escape - especially having to swim an unknown distance in complete darkness - but preferable to being locked in a dark room with no idea of whether the door would open to admit food and water... or death.
He looked at Joshua. "You are a modern man, acquainted with travel, what sort of facilities and entertainments would one expect to find on a vessel such as this?" He knew what he would have expected on an ocean liner of his own time, but this place was far beyond that.
edited 6th Jul '17 12:32:27 PM by Wolf1066
Attitude is prohibited
[Dark Matter Lounge]
"It's never worth the hangover, when you think about it," Kiryu chuckled. "But people do it anyway. Says something about humanity, doesn't it?" He picked up his cup and stared into it, swirling the liquid around. "Anything for a quick dose of feel-good, eh? Gotta stave off that impending mortality somehow, I guess." He chuckled again, but a bit darkly, this time. After a moment of contemplation, he put the cup back down. "I hate to waste good sake, though," he said, looking over at Mari. "It's really rare where I'm from. We're lucking to get it at all, really."
[Deck 10] (Heading towards the Comet Cafe)
Sakura was happy to hold Inigo's hand. She seemed like a sweet girl, if a bit of an odd one, and seeing as there was no one else around who seemed to know her, she was the responsible adult in this situation. Also, she was glad she didn't have to worry about getting left behind anymore.
Even so, thoughts of space fish occupied her mind. She tried to picture huge koi, catfish, trout and salmon all swimming around out in space, among the stars. "But if they look like fish, and taste like fish, and you can use them for fish-based meals," she wondered. "Aren't they still just... fish?"
Not entirely dead.
They/Them
[Deck 1, Arboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]
Joshua thought about Aubrey's question. "Come to think of it, I've never actually been on a cruise ship. When I was a kid, we never took a vacation that wasn't either a long drive or a plane ride away. Also, a cruise ship in space is a really new concept, even for me. Since I mostly travel by foot and through portals, I don't really go globetrotting in the way that most people do."
Having had their fill. Joshua reclined further, resting their head against the base of the tree, "I'm sure there's a map somewhere if you want to find out, but I'd like to relax before I do something like swimming or whatever amenities are on the ship."
Joshua rolled a thought around in their head, thinking back to when they had teleported to escape the conversation, "I at least know what's on the first deck of the ship. Since people like me have a gift to teleport between certain points, we have a mental map of the local area. I think I'd have to go to the other floors before I can map out the other decks of the ship."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Quasarcade (Elijah Robinson)]
Elijah Robinson stood at almost exactly six feet, with broad shoulders and a healthy runner's physique. His forty-seven years had done little to diminish his boyish, All-American good looks. His light skin was charmingly sun-kissed, his face shaven perfectly smooth, and his blonde hair was artfully tousled. His soft grey eyes were especially noteworthy: expressive and soulful, they gently commanded attention. One would only barely notice the wisp-thin, near-transparent glasses he wore. Without the expensive clothes he wore, he might have passed for a particularly handsome surfer, but what clothes they were.
Over a perfectly-fitted gray button-down shirt, he wore an flawlessly tailored ebon-black waistcoat made of advanced bullet-resistant meta-materials, worn without a tie. (It wouldn't actually do much against a bullet alone, but combined with the jacket hanging in his room it could theoretically do enough to be the difference between a hospital visit and a funeral.) The waistcoat was a trend-setting example of the neo-cyberpunk style that had become popular in his time: unabashedly synthetic, its lines were angular and very subtly emphasized with lines of silver. Where an older suit might have had pinstripes, Elijah's suit had a very subtle hexagonal pattern stitched into it, visible only upon close examination.
Most importantly, the waistcoat had plenty of pockets for gadgets, and as CEO, founder, and majority shareholder of Tesseract, most of the gadgets were his company's own inventions. Including his company's latest smartphone, which he occasionally, reflexively pulled from his waistcoat's pocket and skimmed before putting it back in. (He didn't know how he got service here, but he did.) Made from a slick grey polymer, the phone was relatively bulky compared to what we would deem a "modern" smartphone, but the extra size was a necessary design decision to hold its powerful processor and holographic projector.
Then there were the gadgets in his own body; though he looked baseline from a distance, close examination would indicate a cybernetic left arm covered in synth skin — not much stronger than an ordinary one, but full of useful tools and, most miraculously, fully possessed of a sense of touch — a highly-augmented pair of eyes, and a pre-Richards Act neural lace that permitted him impressive control over his mechanical portions. It also would have allowed him to access the internet with his thoughts had the project not been shut down by the government after that unpleasant business with Sol III. For now, though, it was just making his augmentations that much better... and serving a curious extra purpose that was not usually relevant to Elijah's everyday life.
At first glance, he was a bit old — and overdressed — for the Quasarcade. But he'd been born in the internet age, and been playing video games near enough all his life. One of the great joys in his life was kicking back and, under pseudonymity, hopping on a server of whatever the Fighting Game du jour was. For a time, he could cease to be CEO of Tesseract. Instead, he was just another player, albeit a viciously fast one (those augs weren't just for show). His plan here was pretty much the same; he leaned back against a wall, considering the crowd, looking for someone or, in this curious place, something who might be able to give him a good challenge.
edited 8th Jul '17 5:47:26 PM by KillerClowns
Arboretum (Glitch; Shireen and Robin)
Did you notice that, my lady?
Yes. It seems that little drone is developing a soul, came the thought.
"Huh. I wonder what's taking them so long," said Robin and turned to Shireen. "Do you want to join us? We were planning to go to the bar afterwards."
"Sure. I'm looking forward to meet this 'Rolph' person."
"Then it's decided." Van Segher stood up and headed towards the exit. Shireen followed through.
Spiral out, keep going.