Professional Recluse
Nebula Lobby- Ulf, Gwion, Terri, Wolfe
Uff nodded to Teri, ”Not a fan of concrete too much anyway. The usual apprehension about problems, but I’m probably better equipped than most to deal with them.” He paused and took in the earthy scent of the group and smiled.
”But I’m sure I don’t need to explain that to you all. It seems like you have plenty of experience with that already.”
"There's bound to be a bar somewhere around here. Fancy grabbing a drink or three?” Gwion said. Ulf paused reflexively. He’d spent years building his excuses not to drink. Lowered inhibitions around a super-durable killing machine was naturally bad idea. But.
The furry thing within flickered residual fondness for the part cyborg. He felt the preparation in his pocket and the events since Capital. Instead he smiled.
”Actually, that’d hit the right spot I think.” he said with some satisfaction a little spontaneousness brings.
Club Bizarre - Digital Being, Nemaforte, Ethoya, One-Who-Brings-Horizons
The digital being digested the not-riftdemon’s assessment and found it hypocritical. One requesting a share of information while obfuscating their own was hardly a fitting exchange. Frankness was a necessity when cataloging as much data as the Technomancers did. Obfusciation according to their data was normally recorded as a control variable over lesser beings and the realm of ego and self. They noted nothing though, remembering the third dimension’s obsession with restrictive etiquette. Perhaps they would offer knowledge convergence of how they came to be if they requested it.
The small human was similarly obfuscating but it did not seem to be inherent, rather an effect of it’s biological form, matter was inconveniently vulnerable to chemical, mutation, and urge. They started noting magi sphere and telekinesis. The digital being reevaluated their assessment more favorably.
”The observation is apt.” they noted. ”Different system but similar mechanism. Gravitation, nuclear forces, magnetism, all govern interactions in this plane. But my…self comes from planes beyond…” The digital being got caught on a metaphor, transfusion of information would be much more efficient.
”As an entity in liquid medium. They are within and without. So it is more fitting to say I am not entirely…present. This state gives us…flexibility.” They hoped the small human would understand better. ”Confusion of classification understandable. We have little direct interaction with most beings. Unnecessary for data collection. I am also an oddity among us.”
This One-Who-Brings-Horizons had many similarities. Seekers of knowledge were hardly uncommon but one who avoided the frailties of fixed forms was interesting. They also seemed to have difficulties with the audio-expression medium. A fact that didn’t comfort the digital being per say, but the similarity was stimulating regardless. While still obfuscating they seemed to avoid demand, something they looked upon with something resembling approval.
”Horizons…” they noted as if tasting the word. ”Yes, the third dimension favors subcategorization on the individual level.” They reflected on their origin and the forces involved and expressed.
”Perhaps Magistralis will be ours. Yes, that is acceptable for the current frame.”
edited 9th Mar '17 12:34:35 AM by Slysheen
Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
"Oh, we've arrived here recently, too," says Cecilia. She waves her hand in the direction where Max is sitting. "This way. What do you do for a living, Rolph?"
Meanwhile, their duo's more left-brained half is speaking with Glitch:
"'Simulated personality'? Are you saying that you're an AI? Not a low spirit-possessed piece of equipment?" Van Segher's eyes flicker with interest. "Tell me everything about you."
Spiral out, keep going.
[Observation Deck]
Proseda perks up, suddenly seeming much more interested in the conversation at hand. "I'm not in a business where you even try. You think I give a damn if I know the guy who brings twenties to the club once in a while has a wife and kids at home, even if he's showering a bed with hundreds later? I'm not in a position to try to change opinions, let alone care." He laughs, "You should see some of these guys, insisting they're straight while I take their clothes off, right before we start sucking face. Who are they trying to prove this to? They're showering money on a bed so they can fuck me, hell sometimes the reverse, and they're insisting they don't like men? That really at the end of the day they really want a girlfriend? I recognize these guys from the club, I pay attention to where all the cash is really coming from. I know if they were grabbing my ass the other week. I'm not blind."
He pauses, calming, swirling the little beer left in his glass around for a moment, "Such is my life though. Going through men every day, each having fallen to how uncomfortable their pants get whenever they go to the gym. Tomorrow they'll put on their suit, or face their wife, or delete grindr. They'll try to forget about what we did. But most of the time they come back." The demon downs a bit more beer, at this rate he'll need another drink soon. His voice softens a bit, "Honestly I think you may deal in the opposite business I do. It may indeed be difficult to get a man to bend at the knee, but I see them when they do. When a man's desire overwhelms him and he tries to lose himself in a fantasy, or a drunk fling, I'm there. I am not interested in saving these men from their vice, it's too much fucking work. You, you may need to put up with the elite's BS, or figure out what they really want. All I need is some lube and a stack of cash."
Bet you didn't see that coming
It's a bird.
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
Rolph followed Cecilia towards the table. "Well, I'm a scientist," he answered, clasping his hands together. "Ripple field mechanics, mostly, but I dabble in other things. I'm stationed aboard this lovely Cravyn vessel called the 'Sword of Anwyn' at the moment."
He picked a chair and sat down - with some difficulty, given it's shape and his number of legs - and glanced over at the Human who was already seated. Ornamental burn marks? That reminded him a bit about the more extreme parts of Cravyn culture. Or the Zealots...
"Hi there. The name's Rolph." He gestured towards the two women who had greeted him. "I guess you're a friend of theirs?"
Meanwhile, Glitch hovered along next to Robin. "Correct," it answered. "Basic adaptive programming and social interaction protocols, with a number of experimental upgrades. Nothing supernatural. Telling you everything would take a lot of time though. Is there something more specific you're curious about?"
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
Max barks out a small laugh.
"Well, not exactly a friend." They exchange meaningful looks with Cecilia. "I'm their captain. And where I'm from there's a saying that your commanding officer is your second father." This saying usually prompts numerous questionable parentage jokes. "Name's Max Ahlstrom. Forgive Bergmann and van Segher if they're too prying, in our homeworld there are not many people of your... stature." Max pauses, giving Rolph a good, head-to-bottom-claws look. "Although if I were you, I'd watch my back around Bergmann. She's a scientist, too."
"Don't listen to him," says Bergmann. "The knowledge I'd got from studying you would be pretty useless for humans."
"Didn't stop you from doing research before..."
"First and foremost, I am a healer, not an adherent of Sophia," says Cecilia indignantly. "And besides, I'm only a quaesitor of Medicine, I don't count as a proper scientist yet."
Max only "Hmpf!"'s in response.
There is a small pause.
"'Sword of Anwyn' sounds a lot like a name of a battleship," says Max. "You work for the military?"
Meanwhile, at the other side of the table, Robin is trying to establish contact with a drone.
"Nothing supernatural? Good. Otherwise I'd whack you with a wrench for lying to me." The oldest trick for dealing with misbehaving equipment. On the Shattered World, the misbehavior is not always metaphorical. "Kidding, I don't do that to strangers. And I left my wrench in my other cocktail dress, anyway." Van Segher gives Glitch a smile. "So, why don't you tell me about your energy source first? Those lovely turbines of yours don't seem to be too tired."
Spiral out, keep going.
It's a bird.
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
"You're a space farer too?" Rolph replied, throwing a glance at Cecilia when the captain mentioned her. A fellow being with an interest in xenobiology, then? "And yeah, that is understandable. As far as I know I'm the first Mroothan to make it here." His mandibles made a few rapid clicks, and the pointed carapace plates decorating his forehead sloped back a bit towards his scalp, in his species' equivalent of a smile. "I promise that we're very friendly though."
One of the ship's automated staff members rolled by to drop of a set of menus, and Rolph began to scroll through one of them. They seemed to have an impressive amount of pizza toppings and pie fillings available, suitable for many different species.
"Hm, I guess that the name does sound a bit aggressive," he continued, "but the ship's been refitted for exploration and research. The Cravyn - the people who own it - just have a thing for dramatic names."
While Rolph and Max were talking, Glitch gently touched down on the other side of the table, facing Robin.
"Oh, it's just a standard nanofoam battery," it explained. "We have thought about getting a fusion core instead, but there wouldn't really be a need for it. I have to say that your interest in my design is very flattering, by the way."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Club Bizarre]
Ethoya gave Horizons, after a moment of hesitation, a half-nod. "Translation can be difficult for those who aren't used to words," she granted. "If you would rather speak to me in your... native tongue, as it were, you can certainly try. It can't hurt," she added with a wry smile, "I'm quite resilient."
As to the Technomancer? That thing's continued similarity to a Dead God was really starting to make her wary. The precise cadence of the language, the muted emotions, the utterly inhuman perspective. Little interaction with other beings. Did they derive no pleasure from simply socializing? Horizons was also strange, but in contrast, their interest in art showed some sort of heart beating beneath their unfamiliarity with this plane of existence.
And then, to answer the question in turn, as she sipped the drink sent to her by the mortal. "What I am," she said, "is a humble servant of the Xayu, a guide to all who would seek me..." she smirked, "and sometimes a few who would rather I leave them be." Then she said, "who I am..." she briefly paused to take another sip, "...is Ethoya Uvalex, who believes that none should follow a path — even a noble one — that they do not first understand."
That done, she looked over at the mortal. Alcohol. A traditional offering among her worshipers. And Ethoya was quite used to said worshipers eying her with as much lechery as respect. (Especially given that most of her representations were from an era of looser nudity taboos.) But somehow, she suspected the woman who bought her a drink had not the slightest idea what she'd just gotten herself into.
She looked at the nearest bartender, finished the drink in a single gulp, and said, "two glasses of Xelase Frogeye Whiskey." The bartender rapidly complied, offering two small glasses of extraterrestrial whiskey that Sigmund Clark had gotten a Scotsman to begrudgingly admit was a legitimate contender for the best whiskey in the known universe. Ethoya took both glasses and headed over to the stranger, offering one of them to her with an impish grin.
I know Proseda's on the to-do list next.
edited 9th Mar '17 4:29:37 PM by KillerClowns
Attitude is prohibited
[Club Bizarre]
Sakura blinked a couple of time. That had not been the reaction she'd been expecting. Then again, in hindsight, she supposed it made sense. If she had been unknowingly transported into space, she suppose she would be quite distressed too. She walked up to Akira and gave a quick bow. "I'm sorry," she said. "I really sprang that on you, huh?"
She knelt down next to him, not willing to pull up a bean bag chair of her own for fear that she might not be able to get out of it again. Plus, upon seeing how silly Akira looked in his chair, she didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already had. "I'm sure this is a shock to you, but..." she smiled, a bit sheepishly. "Maybe try and... you know... look on the bright side? From what I've seen, it really wonderful here! There's so much to see and do!"
And I could use some help getting around, because I am totally lost, she thought. Better leave that part 'till later, though.
Not entirely dead.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Club Bizarre (Nemaforte, Horizons, Digital Being)note
So this celestial being wanted a garden, eh? Nemaforte did find it strange that one would want a garden that contains many plants in addition to Zuremic herbs, but nonetheless, in her amused and pleasured state, decided to address the One who Brings Horizons anyway. "A garden... of herbs? Hmm, though if they grow outside of Zurem, special care one must give to them."
Reaching under the table into the large duffel bag ashe had brought up, she retrieved a box of bluish cylinders, softly glowing much like the Mushrooms of Time Ethoya had just purchased and Horizons had been eyeing. One of them she placed on the table. "This is a lunar battery," she explained. "One for storing magical energies rather than electric. If you want the herbs' magical properties to remain, the garden must have these to mimic the effect of moonlight. Without one they will still grow and look same. However, they must not touch sunlight. If sunlight presents in your world, it's to be kept in a blackhouse, away from light. Now, Mushrooms of Time aside, do any of these other herbs of interest?"
Again she figured root herbs would be useless since they would be hidden under the ground - from what Horizons had said, something more visually striking would be best. Then the Mushroom of Time was, again, a good choice. However, she also withdrew a seed pod bearing seeds that looked like pink pearls, as well as some fuzzy white seeds and a few white leaves shaped like five-pointed stars.
First she pushed forward the pink seed pod. "Toletei. Passion ivy. Grow this will sweet-smelling pink leaves that resemble hearts. They are used in perfumes and love potions." And then she gestured at the fuzzy white seeds and the star-shaped leaves. "And this is reichirima, or Milky Star. One of the ingredients of my Cosmic Potion," she added with a tap of a sharp nail against the glittery blue glass bottle sitting on the table. "These leaves ready will absorb magical energies, so a lunar battery is must. They grow best in very dim light, but the roots are weak, so do not expose them to wind. Both Passion Ivy and the Mushroom of Time grow very shallow roots but require rich soil. Very valuable look the crystals you showed me, so which may be your interest?" Pushing the mushroom jar forward as well, she waited for Horizons to make their choice.
Then there was the Digital Being. Again Nemaforte had no idea what a technomancer was, but the way they talked about being both within and without, and on a different plane... "So then, you are a spirit? A spirit of electricity? Heard I have of batteries of haunted, so seeming you are a spirit who entered an electrical system and becamed damaged in its wires?" She was bobbing her head back and forth as she said this, thoroughly enjoying the sound of her own words. "It is much akin to one who astral projects and is caught in the world of spirits, surrendering their body in the process."
But she remembered what the Digital Being said about reciprocation. "Said I things about you. Is there anything more you would want to know about me or these herbs?"
While awaiting a response, she glanced over at Ethoya, who had been treated by another patron of this bizarre club. Here she cracked a smile. Already like magnets the Mushroom of Time's aura is affecting on her.
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.
[Observation Deck]
Enkar went through a number of reactions. At first he seemed mildly startled by the passion of Proseda's response, adjusting his glasses on some tic. But as he continued, Enkar seemed more and more bemused. Finally, he decided to take a step back; he may have overstepped his bounds, telling Proseda about his own job. So instead he gave a wry shake of his head. "Our ambassador from Uel was previously employed in your line of work and speaks of his memories of it fondly, but he had the privilege of coming from a culture where both his sexuality and employment were mostly accepted." He shrugged. "I suppose I should not be surprised you do not share that old southerner's rather more... loquacious view of your career path. If you think I talk too much..." he stopped there, having at least some sense of irony. "At any rate, apologies if I gave offense." Cue awkward silence, though hopefully if Proseda decided to leave him (and he wouldn't be offended if so), it would be on reasonably affable terms.
edited 9th Mar '17 9:18:19 PM by KillerClowns
[Observation Deck]
Proseda gazes into his drink for a moment, as if trying to find the proper words for this situation in the depths of the beer. He swirls it around then sighs, "I think..." he pauses, "I suppose you really did mean courtesan. And if that's the case I see where you're coming from. An entertainer first, a sex object second. A thing for the rich and powerful, not anyone who's saved up the cash. I can hardly be offended by you mistaking me for someone of higher standing than I now am. That ambassador you speak of was not in my line of work, but rather another one." He downs the rest of his beer in one rather aggressive gulp, then lets go of the glass, a faint glow enveloping it as he sends it levitating towards the nearest servant. "I may complain about what I do now, but it is preferable to what I did before this. Don't get me wrong, in a way I miss my homeland, hell I miss my old idiot ex boyfriend sometimes, but there's worse ways to make money than entrancing and fucking a bunch of humans. If it weren't for my... obligations, I don't think I'd have to work much at all."
The demon stares at his feet for a bit. Maybe Felicitas had been right about mortals rubbing off on him, as much as he tried to deny it and cling to his past. He felt bad dragging the conversation back to a wistful state, especially after he'd avoided one, but at this point it seemed his only good idea. It was rare he got to speak to a mortal about this kind of thing, and for once he might be able to speak to someone frankly about something that had been nagging on the very edge of his mind. "Do you think life has any meaning without death? Truly? You seem to have lived a long life, but if given the possibility would you stretch that on for an eternity? When I started my current job I got that comment, that I should do something else, that my life was too short to waste on booze and partying and acting and making men drool. But does that even matter if I have tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that to do the same? And if I had done the same for eternities before it? People speak of finding a reason to live, for many of the men I see that reason is misplaced, a wife and children when they have no love for woman, a life of celibacy when it makes them miserable. But a few of my coworkers light up with glee when they speak of their aspirations, their progress in nursing school, their marriages, their hopes for children..... Life does not have that spark when you stand still."
He frowns, pausing "I'm sorry, just. I meant to try to escape from this, to leave my worry behind, to just come here and relax, but my compatriots look at me funny, and the humans see my angst as nothing more than hypothetical, and my friends from home haven't left the heavens for a long period of time. Just. Fucking hell."
Sorry if Proseda is coming off a bit inconsistently, but he's shifting pretty rapidly due in part because I haven't examined him in so long. Assumptions I made that previously underpinned his behavior just don't pass standard for me anymore. I apologize if it's making keeping Enkar's thoughts straight a bit hard.
edited 10th Mar '17 3:29:54 AM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming
Laugh and grow dank!
Club Bizarre
The sound of a pair of glasses clacking down on the bartop caught the brown-skinned woman's attention, and she turned to see Ethoya sitting next to her, a drink in each hand. Her face registered a look of surprise, which quickly turned into a slight smile.
Well, imagine that! She decided to take me up on my offer, thought the woman. Then, ... Shit. What happens now? Suddenly she became very acutely aware of the fact that she had no plan at all going into this.
What is wrong with me? I can command a starship, but I can't start a conversation with a stranger?
Chagrined, and trying very hard not to let it show, she summoned her will and forced herself not to look down at the bartop, which would have been a clear sign of embarrassment. Unbecoming. No- no, this was my decision. I am doing this. Instead, she lifted her drink to her mouth, finishing off the rest of her tonic in a few audible gulps. She then set the empty glass to the side and took the drink that Ethoya had offered her in hand. "Thanks," she said, giving an appreciative nod of the head. It was an attempt at the kind of cool confidence she figured would befit an experienced star captain- and she was exactly that, she knew- but right now she didn't feel any of it.
From a distance, the woman would have appeared more or less like an average Human in her mid-twenties. Now that Ethoya was up-close however, certain obvious features became visible that marked her as something else entirely. Her face had sharply feline features; prominent cheekbones, a thin nose and keen, bright green eyes. There was no comparison to Ethoya's almost ethereal appearance- she looked, for lack of a better term, more prickly than elegant- but her looks were nonetheless distinctly recognizable as being the product of something other than natural genetics. Her ears, too, tapered into elongated points and- most notable of all- two stubby dark horns protruded from just above her forehead. They emerged right where the hairline began and curved sharply back to lie almost flat against the top of her skull. If one were to look closely, they might see a set of pale horizontal stripes running down the back of her neck, and that likely continued across her entire back.
Most of the rest of her gave the impression of a practical, hard-bitten spacer, dressed as she was in the rugged garb of a privateer captain. Armless flight vest over a Frontier Spacefaring Guild t-shirt, loose cargo pants, combat boots. Her skin wasn't nearly as dark as Ethoya's was, more a medium brown than truly dark, and marked in a couple of places by spacer tattoos. A constellation ringed her right bicep just above the elbow, and a trajectory indication line wound it's way down her left forearm, highly detailed and complete with the celestial bodies that caused it's curve. The curve of space itself.
The horned woman's eyes were drawn to Ethoya's own, which she found quite striking. Gold-on-black. That's rare, even for gene mods. After a moment transfixed, she seemed to realize she had been staring and looked away. Then, she ran a hand through her auburn hair, done up in a spiky crew-cut, her hand passing in-between her horns.
"Uh- sorry. Hello. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything." She gave a short nod back at the table Ethoya had left, with it's three occupants still sitting and chatting away. Best to start things simple, she thought.
edited 14th Mar '17 9:12:40 PM by Gault
yey
[Club Bizarre]
Akira gave a slightly annoyed glance at Sakura.
"Yeah, that helps." he said, "That helps me be at ease at the fact that I am far away from home, on a place I don't recognize, and traveling around in space. Thank you for putting my mind at ease."
"Akira!" John snapped, turning around, "Don't be an asshole!"
Akira slid his hands down his face, then sighed heavily. "...Sorry. I'm just...on edge right now. You didn't deserve any of that." He rubbed the back of his head, now feeling awkward. "Er...so, how on earth did you end up here?"
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
Cecilia takes one of the menu screens and, mimicking Rolph's movements, begins to scroll through the toppings list.
"Well, space farer is a strong word. I'm an airship captain." Max, also taking a menu, begins fumbling with it and adds absentmindedly: "Although Afalina could be refitted for inter-shard travel... Should ask Frost about that... Could you help me with this?" says he to Cecilia, finally getting fed up with unfamiliar technology.
A couple of minutes pass, while Bergmann shows her captain how to use a menu. Finally the three make their orders: Cecilia - white mushroom and smoked salmon pizza, Robin - pizza with turkey and chili pepper toppings, and Max - beef and potato pie.
"If you're ordering filling food now so you can drink more alcohol later, then reconsider," says Cecilia. "I won't be dragging your unconscious body to your room."
"Why do you think van Segher's here for?" says Max. "By the way, Rolph, we're going upstairs, to the bars, after we finish eating. Want to join us?"
At the same time, Robin continues her conversation with Glitch:
"Well, a flight mechanic should be interested in such things, shouldn't she? Are you flattered enough to give me your engine blueprints? I don't think we have engines similar to yours back home."
Spiral out, keep going.
Crazy Kiwi
Deck 1 - Arboretum
[Joshua, Pearl, Aubrey]From Joshua's quick synopses of his duties Aubrey gained the impression that he and his "group" were more like some sort of international police or military outfit - certainly not sales and far more overt in their activities than espionage - with an extremely diverse scope of operations, from the sound of things.
It reminded Aubrey of some of the things that James, Wolfe and the others did at Sir Aubrey's behest - such an unusual mix of rescue work, investigation and mercy missions that they had recently taken to calling themselves "The Mad Bastards" on the grounds that no one else was "crazy enough" to do them. They had been sent to the Frontier place to find Aubrey when he had been abducted - he had ultimately been rescued from his dark prison by others but it had been James, along with Wolfe, Karl, Teresa, Kristina and Margaret, that Sir Archibald had sent to find him - and it sounded very much like Joshua did similar sort of "work".
It was clear that Joshua was giving an extremely sanitised and redacted version of the events, which was quite understandable, and it was equally clear, from Joshua's tone and aspect, that the events were far more dangerous and horrendous than the bald descriptions conveyed. Viral outbreaks, political unrest, protecting villages from attackers and even - he thought of what James and the others had recounted about their attempts to find him in and around the Frontier town - finding missing people were seldom trivial matters to be handled with ease.
Joshua's question about the Council getting to know about new arrivals got him thinking about his own induction. "Well, they certainly try. There are numerous forms to be filled out and lengthy interviews, so I don't think I can fault them on their information gathering. Reform, I am given to understand, is a slower process. I can personally attest that it is difficult to come to terms with the differences between the eras."
Pearl wondered what had happened to Joshua's pipe. It seemed to have disappeared as suddenly and inexplicably as it had appeared - almost as if by magic. Sleight of hand, perhaps? She wondered Is he a prestidigitator? Or perhaps it was as Wolfe had said before they embarked on this cruise, that there were technologies so incomprehensible that they were indistinguishable from magic. 'Clarke's Law', he had called it.
Joshua's description of his work sounded dangerous - travelling the world and dealing with diseases, cults and invaders - and he obviously had no desire at this point to go into detail.
She shut off her vapouriser and stowed it back in her handbag. How to explain "daily life" on Terra Nova, that was an interesting challenge. "It depends on what part of Terra Nova you're in. Some places have very few of what people call 'modern conveniences' - the further you get from New London and the larger towns, the more 'rustic' the place is. In Hartmouth, where we live, it's pretty good - we have electricity and street lights, there's a train service to New London, some people have their own telephones and some even have cars." It occurred to her that her description would be misleading to someone from Earth. "We don't have any fossil fuels on Terra Nova, so our trains and cars run on electricity, which is mostly generated by geothermal steam turbines."
Aubrey nodded. "Further out, especially in the smaller villages, most people still rely on candles for light and wood fires for cooking unless they are well-off enough to afford their own generators or solar arrays."
He took a final puff of his vapouriser, shut it off and returned it to his pocket. "It's not what many of the more recent arrivals would call 'modern', but it's a land of marvels for the majority of the population, most of whom date back to before the beginning of the twentieth century - such is the pace at which technological advances have been introduced."
Deck 1 - Nebula Lobby
[Ulf, Teri, Sophia, Wolfe, Gwion]Teri nodded at Ulf's comment. For all she had been raised in the heart of London's East End she had adapted quickly, and extremely well, to the wilderness - earning the respect of both James and Wolfe.
It seemed that the plan was to go and find a bar and have some drinks - it occurred to Teri that most visits to "civilisation" quickly became "go and find a bar, somewhere". Then again, what else was there to do in civilisation?
Gwion fished his Portable Office out of one of his vest pockets. It had automatically connected to the ship's intranet so he was able to use it to call up a guide to the ship. "Well, there's a number of establishments available, The nearest seems to be the Moonshine Bar and Lounge on the next floor, just up the stairs - or we could use the lifts over there. Unless you would prefer another place."
Wolfe shrugged. "I'm easy."
Sophia snickered. "Yeah, I've heard that about you."
Wolfe turned to Gwion and said in feigned dismay, "You told me you wouldn't tell."
[Observation Deck]
Enkar's eyes lit up. "Does life," he replied, holding his glass high in mock-toast, "have meaning even with death?" He finished the drink in a great gulp and said, "in a way, I think not; the universe is by its nature absurd and uncaring. It is in the struggle itself we find meaning."note He waved his empty glass a bit. "And so, offered an eternity — provided the price was not steep — I suppose I should accept it. There is no more meaning in death than in li..."
Enkar had only been half-listening to Proseda, and so it was only now, a few sentences in, that he fully grasped what Proseda said. He blinked, put down his glass, and straitened his glasses — although, as they were quite straight before, the result set them slightly askew. "...wait, if I heard you right, you are immortal. And have been describing humans in the third person. What are you, exactly?" For once, Enkar was otherwise at a loss for words.
edited 11th Mar '17 8:33:41 AM by KillerClowns
They/Them
[Deck 1, Arboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]
Joshua's crossed their arms as they listened to Aubrey and Pearl's details on the Council and daily life on Terra Nova. The bureaucracy of this Council was something Joshua was glad that they'd never have to deal with, the council in their own world was enough. The eclectic mix of technology that was Terra Nova was something Joshua would hate to deal with. It did make Joshua wonder if 3rd age tech was also something like that, considering how little was known of it.
"I can't imagine living life having to cook on wooden fires. Maybe as a thing for a camping trip, but doing that everyday sounds like an intense chore," They trailed off for a moment, "I guess I should be grateful for being born in the modern age," Joshua said with a chuckle.
Pearl's comments about electric cars on Terra Nova peaked Joshua's interest, "Wait, why don't you have fossil fuels? Have they never done any mining on Terra Nova?"
Joshua would be frankly glad to never have to deal with oil ever, since they already were dealing with a living, malicious oil. Joshua managed to suppress a shudder, they didn't want to think about it.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
To dream is my right
Nebula Lobby - Third Floor
Was that really true? Sii-razh literally stumbled into an alien, or had an alien stumble into him, made a terribly incompetent attempt to start a conversation, and after that was invited to join them? How... what...
"Crawling through an unlit and desert place does sound more... memorable than standing in a corner watching people drink.", he answered after blinking a few times, with a brief nervous smile beneath his cloth mask. Although sampling some of the more exotic beverages was another story. He could already imagine the taste of the combusting fluid one of the mechanical servants brought to a nearby group, and even through his mask he felt the smell, reminiscent of Midnight Tea...
No, he told himself, gritting his teeth briefily. Focus on the adventure.
"I... assume introductions are postponed in your homeland?", he said uncertainly, only looking in the stranger's eyes for a moment before turning his head for the exit of the Lobby. "If so, I am ready to move."
The sooner the better, in fact.
"The dried flowers are so beautiful, and it applies to all things living and dead."[Observation Deck]
Proseda sighs, "I guess there's no harm in just showing you." He looks over his shoulder to check nobody is watching, scanning the room. Satisfied, he snaps his fingers and his body begins to shine before turning into a mass of light. It grows and stretches, his humanoid form becoming almost as tall as Enkar, a long tail sprouts from behind him, huge batlike wings appear from his shoulder blades, and large curled horns emerge from his forehead. As his form gets close to complete the light begins to fade, revealing an extremely muscular demon with dark burgundy skin, fingers tipped with short black claws rather than nails, and slightly oversized pearl white canines. His blond hair has turned black, and his eyes seem largely human, minus the bright red irises. He reeks of musk and masculinity, not helped by him only wearing a pair of leather pants.
"I suppose if it's not obvious", he says, voice absolutely dripping with sex, nearly an octave lower than it had been just moments before, "I'm an incubus, one of the many servants of a god, patron saint of the elves. Not that that matters much these days." He rolls his shoulders, stretching as if just getting up in the morning, his wings expanding behind him, each maybe two meters long. "I suppose you could call this my true form, although there are plenty of shapes I can take with almost no effort. Thousands of years of practice will do that to you." He snaps his fingers again, an invisible ward setting itself up near the elevator to allow him to transform back into his previous form if anyone came to join them.
edited 12th Mar '17 3:20:58 AM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming
It's a bird.
Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)
"Inter-shard travel?" Rolph asked, as his eyes widened with excitement. A strange word for space travel, or an interesting new concept? "I don't think I've heard that term before."
He looked down at the menu screen and selected a pizza topped with tasty looking maggots that reminded him a bit of a traditional Urrlnan dish, but looked up again with a curious look on his face as Max and Cecilia mentioned their plans. He knew that the use of alcohol as a recreational drug wasn't entirely unheard of, even back home, but the idea still sounded very strange to him. Well, the bar probably served other things as well. And this might be a nice opportunity to study the effects up close...
"Sure, I'll join you." Rolph tilted his head slightly, thinking about something. "Hm, just in case... You wouldn't happen to be familiar with a species called the 'Qrtxians', would you? I promised my captain to ask if I got the chance."
Glitch was still resting on the table, talking with Robin.
"We're not really allowed to freely share technological schematics without a proper agreement first," it said. "But my turbines aren't exactly a military secret or anything, so it should be fine."
A set of lights just beneath Glitch's main camera lens lit up, and a holographic blueprint of it's turbines flickered into existence in front of Robin.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
(Lobby- Rebecca, Carlotta, Ryya)
"So, she turned herself into a lich, too, but she took a very different path to protecting her phylactery than I did. Interesting... I'll have to compare notes with her sometime." Rebecca glanced over to Ryya. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ryya. I'm Rebecca- lich, necromancer, and friend to those with nowhere left to turn."
(Starlight Restaurant- Phagora, Lucina, Emile, Shireen)
"I don't know much about words," Phagora commented, "but I was named after my father. He's the..." <Oh, just say it already! It's not like they haven't had children of The Pit on this ship before.> "The Demon Lord of Gluttony." She expected the eye rolls to come her way- the ones that usually accompanied the notion that the blood of a fallen angel ran though her veins. At least it was better than the Silver Order's reaction would have been. The teenager's skin crawled at the thought of that particular torture.
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Deck 2 ~ Sickbay (Minerva, Anna, Gabriel, Tigris)
Looking at the uniformed figure with narrowed eyes and suspicion, it is Anna who 'responds'. ~"I'm in his arms, though I don't think there's much to treat. I'm not in danger of dying, though I'm not very strong and merely surviving rather than thriving. So, proper nutrition and physical therapy should suffice."~
Gabriel's singularly exposed brown eye gaining a look of uncertainty & sadness as he took in Anna's words, the young man looks back to Minerva. Chuckling softly and melancholic, he replies to her- Whilst Anna seems to curl up in shame as he does. "They're exactly what they sound like- The servants of God himself."
Lowering his own head and taking on an air of shame, Gabriel continues with his eyes closed. "The Eldritchians weren't the bad guys though, nor was God. Imagine being trapped in an endless void, as that's how it was for God. He hated being all alone, and decided to create the various species that inhabited our universe- The knowledgeable Altens, the adaptable Humans, and the unpredictable Eldritchians."
Tears beginning to stream down his face, Gabriel doesn't stop. "God just wanted to have friends, he didn't know... The universe couldn't handle us all. He tried & tried, but he couldn't correct that flaw. He... He hated the idea of culling the universal population, but that was the only option- With the Eldritchians being the only ones altruistic enough to treat that job with respect."
His body beginning to quiver, Gabriel's tone picks up traces of anger and horror. "The Eldritchians did try, so many times, to get the other species to understand. Despite being God's harbingers of death and rebirth, they're a friendly species. So, you can imagine the toll it took on them spending trillions of years fighting bloody wars to save the universe... The Altens wanted to escape, but Humanity was simply too arrogant to believe."
Throwing back his head and opening his eyes, Gabriel's face is stained with tears as he finishes. "So it was easy for the Altens to manipulate Humanity into helping them purge the Eldritchians... And kill God himself. The real kicker? He was the Afterlife, keeping secure the souls of everyone dead... So with him gone, so was reincarnation and the security he provided regarding our immortal souls. He just... Didn't want to be alone, and we killed him instead..."
Deck 6 ~ Stern Elevators
As Junko's elevator began to move, metallic slime seems to squeeze itself through the door. The large mass of metallic goop falling onto the floor, it quickly begins to stand tall- The slime racing off the ground, beginning to form what looks like a person. Once the head began to take shape, the being smiles with a friendly look at the teenager.
The metallic being's body becoming notably female as it formed more completely, she waves her right towards Junko. The metallic pits that would be eyes changing color to look like natural blue eyes, a brown bob cut forms from her head as well. Finally, as she begins working her jaw, she holds out her right hand before speaking sweetly.
"Hi! I'm Natalie, high-tech member of the Servants of Humanity. I'm here to do research on other universes, so I hope it isn't any trouble if we could talk." Though Natalie had fully formed her upper body, what would be her legs are more like semi-cohesive slime. Still, given the lack of anatomy and almost-uniformly metallic grey body, that didn't stand out too much.
Nonetheless, Natalie blinks her eyes and inclines her head to the right, looking at Junko's hair with curiosity- And thus speaks up. "Is there a special reason you have white hair? White hair isn't a mundane pigmentation back home, so usually that means someone is supernatural or genetically altered from baseline."
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
[Observation Deck]
Enkar blinked and recollected his thoughts. "Interesting," he finally said, to give himself a few more moments to think. Never had he met an immortal being so... sane. Then again, he hadn't met all that many. But apparently he wasn't a child of the Dying World? Hadn't he mentioned some of its cultural quirks? Well, he could just ask.
"Your fashions remind me of the Dying World," he said, "even now." Hey eyed Proseda's new outfit warily; for a man used to kilts, it looked wretchedly uncomfortable. "I previously took you for a native. It lacks elves and incubi natively, but the resemblance is still remarkable. I don't suppose in your adventures, you have come across it? You'd surely remember it: unhealthy obsession with popular culture, pollution-soaked atmosphere, collapsing nation-states, occasional outbreak of murderous cyborgs...?" Then, realizing the obvious mistake, he quickly added, "Earth, to its natives."
[Club Bizarre]
Ethoya shrugged and said, "no, no, not at all. I always appreciate a good drink." She took a slight sip of the whiskey here. The mortal was definitely, well, a mortal — their spirit so palpably felt human, if nothing else. There seemed to be some sort of self-modification. More than the hair dyes of modern Uel or even the tattoos of the Kykzavi. (And the tattoos she did have were clearly not Kykzavi.) But that wasn't of any interest to Ethoya, so she simply took to ignoring it after making note.
The woman also seemed fascinated by Ethoya's eyes. Not the worst place to be staring, she supposed. She made note of this as well. She smiled sweetly at the human, patiently leaving it to her to attempt to make conversation.
[Observation Deck]
"Um...." a puzzled expression crosses Proseda's face, "I'm not from there that's for sure. But I live on an earth right now.... just not that one it would seem. Here, give me a moment, this might help." He frowns, makes a few swipes in the air with an extended finger, and in a flash of light his cell phone from earth, a moto g, a mid line android phone from 2015 or so, falls into his hands. "When it comes to popular culture you're right, but the climate is still passable most places, most of the world is still relatively political stable, and cyborgs..... yeah I'm not even exactly sure what a cyborg is honestly. Maybe a photo..."
He swipes through his phone, scrolling past a rather large collection of gay dating apps, before opening up the gallery. He opens it, swiping rapidly past what looks like a bunch of nude photos and pictures of various strippers and rent boys, before opening a photo of him taking a selfie, the Château Frontenac
in the background. He's clearly under-dressed for the weather, sporting a mere polo shirt despite what looks like light snow, although given the smile on his human form's face he seems content. More importantly for Enkar, the background features a large group of chinese tourists, each in extremely heavy winter jackets from north face, taking photos of the hotel with what during Proseda's time had been the latest Iphone.
"I don't know if you know anything about Québec," the last word sounding surprisingly French in what seemed to be the mouth of an English speaker, "but this seems to be the last photo I have of anything that isn't well. Gay as hell." His phone floats in front of Enkar, bathed in a blue glow.
edited 13th Mar '17 3:00:15 AM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming
[Central Elevators ~ Deck 1 —> Deck 9] (Mari, ???)
Mari pushed the up button for the elevators before pulling out her keyphone. She took a look at the deck plans, looking up when the chime of one of the elevators announced its arrival. Ducking in, she went back to her phone, scrolling through the list of bars, looking for one that would catch her eye. Dark Matter Lounge? Sounds interesting, and it's poolside...
She looked up again as the elevator began heading up, someone must have called it on a deck further up. Stopping at Deck 3, the doors opened up... and in clinked two bipedal cats. They were odd, to say the least, three feet tall and dressed like miniature Roman legionaries.
The first was a marmalade tabby, wearing a tyrian purple cloak, with a golden leaf crown emblem, among other medals, on its lorica segmentata, and carried a red, rectangular shield on one arm. A red crest traversed the top of its steel helmet.
Following behind him was a Siamese cat soldier wearing a red cloak. This one was burdened down by a pair of colorful boxes, which nearly completely blocked its view.
The first legionary cat nodded at Mari. "Meow," it said, in a deep, rich baritone. It then proceeded to push the button for Deck 8.
Taking a moment to process this, and realizing she was disturbingly sober, Mari moved in to push the button for Deck 9. The occupants of the elevator stood in awkward silence for the entire trip, no additional passengers entering the lift.
The odd pair departed, clinking off down the hall on Deck 8. Mari craned her head out of the elevator to see where they were headed, but lost sight of them when they went around a corner. The oni shrugged as the elevator began wailing at her to get out of the doorway. Then it hit her. Those two reminded her of those tea-serving karakuri puppets. Strange.
Arriving at Deck 9, Mari made a beeline for the Dark Matter Lounge.
[Central Elevators ~ Deck 2 —> Deck 2 ~ Sickbay] (Minerva, Anna, Gabriel, Tigris)
Minerva shook her head. "It's perfectly fine to not know certain things if you haven't had experience with them," she said in response to Tigris.
She listened to Gabriel's somewhat troubling backstory as they arrived on Deck 2. "I can understand why some might be disquieted by such a strange ability. There is a group of young women in the Japanese branch of AEGIS, the organization I work for, who have somewhat unconventional abilities and methods. You'd probably fit in with them," she said.
"You mentioned these Angels, and seem to describe them as..." Minerva paused for a moment to find the (hopefully) appropriate term, "as though they are Lovecraftian horrors. What exactly are they? They certainly don't sound nice, especially if they attacked your home."
Minerva pondered Gabrial's tirade against humanity, unsure how to respond as they approached the sickbay. Upon entering, a uniformed, androgynous figure appeared in front of them.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
[Deck 6 ~ Stern Elevators] (Ayako, Junko)
It didn't take long for Junko to take an elevator up to Deck 6. It did, however, take a while traveling around in a big loop looking for their room.
After a few minutes, she was struggling to grab her keyphone without dropping Ayako outside of Room 202. Sucessfully pulling the phone out, she tapped it on the pad on the door, prompting it to slide open automatically. Stepping into the room, Junko nearly dropped the unconscious girl on her back in surprise.
Junko had come on this space cruise with the expectation that they would be in a standard room. Instead, they were booked for a suite. A really big suite.
Glancing over to one side, she dryly noted the wine bar in the kitchen. "2,000 yen says that Mari will empty it out by midnight tonight," she said to no one in particular.
She deposited Ayako on the couch, left the remaining keyphone on the table along with a note she wrote on a piece of stationary, and departed from the room. Junko wasn't exactly in the mood to take a look around the room. The door closed automatically behind her as she pulled up the list of amenities on her phone.
Deciding upon going to the Fitness Center, Junko headed back towards the elevators, faster this time now that she had already traveled around the stern half of the deck. She pushed the up button for the elevator, and leaned back against a wall to wait.
edited 8th Mar '17 11:43:58 PM by WillDeRegio