Deck 1 - Arboretum

Aubrey blinked at Joshua's explanation of 'zombie'. He recalled that Wolfe, after their recent journey to the Frontier, had described some strange things that he and the others had witnessed and had warned him that the natural - and supernatural - laws of other places could be quite different from those to which he was accustomed.

And apparently these 'zombies' were the most normal thing in Joshua's experiences. "I always thought a reanimated corpse was a 'vampire' or a 'revenant'. Especially if they go around biting people." He found the concept completely fantastic but was not about to doubt Joshua's word - he seemed perfectly genuine and candid, in contrast to his earlier evasiveness. In fact, he sounded genuinely concerned that his actions had done more harm than good. "Chin up. I'm sure you did the best you could under what sounds to be extenuating circumstances."

Pearl nodded. "I'm sure that dealing with supernatural problems would not be easy," especially if you used to be a pharmacist, "and no doubt you made the best decisions you could at the time. It's too easy to let hindsight bring you down. Looking back on some of the choices I made since my arrival on Terra Nova, I can see numerous times when it would have been better in the long run to have done things differently, but I did the best I could with the information I had at the time."

Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

"Oh, I see..." Rolph said with a somewhat awkward look on his face, mandibles and forehead plates twitching slightly, but not with excitement this time. He glanced over at Glitch as the drone sent a discrete message to his optical implants, a line of text overlaid on his vision that read "I think we might have discovered some kind of cultural stigma. I advise caution with this topic."

Rolph got up from his chair, and walked over to Cecilia's side of the table. "Right, we'll get going," he said. "What exactly do you plan to do with the tissue sample, by the way?"

He looked over at Glitch again, and his expression returned to normal. "Make sure to get some scans of the holodeck. If the translators are any clue, this place must have some beautiful tech."

Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

"Oh, I haven't decided yet," says Cecilia, inserting her keycard into the slit in the table they were sitting at to make payment for the dinner of the whole crew. "Your carapace is chitin-based, am I correct? Judging by how technically advanced your species is, I guess you already figured out the exact compound of your body's tissues. If you won't give me this information, then I'll just make some tests on the sample. Otherwise I think I'll make earrings out of it. The experiment is not what I'll do with the tissue sample. It's whether or not I can get it the usual way under new circumstances."

She smiles sheepishly.

"I know how unprofessional I must sound. But you'll see everything for yourself."

With that, the crew disperses.

Club Bizarre- Is this really all she has?

Though nothing could be made out from looking at the Discoverer of Subversions. Seeming to be listening intensely, for what it was worth a sort of... Flinch echoed from his nature upon realizing where Ethoya was going with her story. Thus as her story reached a conclusion, the armored man sighs quietly.

"No, I would say... It is more like I'm trying to create an infinitely superior shark, that still has more to do than endlessly exist- What joy can be found, when by nature you're constantly compelled to do something you're already master of? Perhaps I should share a story of my own, to hopefully better explain where I'm coming from."

Generating a new holographic map, it zooms all the way in on a single planet- Bustling civilization and bountiful, natural beauty. To list all the orbiting bodies would take too long, but the sheer quantity makes it clear they must have accomplished a lot. Then, the Discoverer speaks with his usual tone.

"This is my planet, the birthplace of all humanity where I'm from. As my people evolved, they realized many things- That they could manipulate the world, and that they exist purely to exist. It was quite the natural conclusion, then, that they diverted so much effort into mastering what would be science. That singular drive, however..."

The hologram shifting into a recording of a boardroom, even without words it was clear they were arguing. "Meant many did not want to accept we had hit a dead end. Though they struggled valiantly, there was no recourse- We knew it all when it came to science. However, we would eventually encounter something... Unnatural."

Now showing a singular individual, multiple things immediately stood out- His clearly decaying body, the gruesome spikes of bone jutting out over his body, and the clear electricity coursing all over his body. The feral aggressiveness of the man, and the complete lack of anything more technologically advanced than his tattered pants made it seem likely something supernatural was going on.

"He was a Brittle in life, born with a fragile body and short life. Everything told us he was dead, and it was impossible we made an error. Yet nonetheless, one day he 'awokened'- Stunning us all with the lightning he was just... Conjuring from thin air, seemingly nothing technological or biological happening. That impossible man frightened us, resulting in us humans forcibly deporting all Brittles to an insignificant little blue planet halfway across the universe- Earth."

Displaying what was clearly the ancient Earth, with Pangaea still intact. "Though we had terraformed and seeded the planet with some of our species, it was ultimately just to placate the Brittles- We wanted to study their impossible power, but we were also utterly afraid of what they could do. Then, I made the ultimate discovery..."

Though at first glance the hologram seems to cease, the image had actually became amorphous and... Well, existent or nonexistent wouldn't be quite right, perhaps only half real? Whatever the case, it was clear the thing he was now showing couldn't possibly be scientifically possible.

"The power to subvert reality itself... Though I now wish I never did, I convinced my people this was the answer- Where science failed us, magic shall be our champion. In due time, we managed to guide the Brittles, and we all reaped the benefits of magic. However, I made the ultimate mistake, as my people took diligently to magic as they did science."

The hologram ending outright, the Discoverer's faceplate peels away- His pale face and blue eyes locked in an expression, practically saying 'I would hate me too' all by itself. "As magic is all about defying and rewriting reality... It did not take us long to be a multiversal powerhouse, responsible for countless universes and species being born. Yet, as magic has no limits, it has become standard for bored humans to commit unethical actions- Life and death has no meaning to an all-powerful god."

His faceplate restored and the man holding his arms behind himself, he speaks one last time. "I want to correct my mistake, of being responsible for trillions of self-made gods rampaging through the omniverse. If nothing is done to satisfy my people with perfection and peace, only more will emerge- Creating entire universes as their personal sandbox, of treating people like puppets to act out their imagination..."

Though the Discoverer of Subversions stopped talking, he began to reach out to somewhere else- "What exactly are you two doing out there? Still, I don't think I'll be able to get much out of Ethoya here. Feels good to get that off my chest though, like a good billion or two years? I swear they've been messing with me..."

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

Joshua looked up at the two and smiled, "Thanks. That really means a lot, even coming from strangers. I guess it's hard not to dwell on it when you mistakes are likely going to stay with me forever. The least I can do is to spend what time I can correcting the I made mistakes in the future."

Joshua straightened up as they decided that it was best to move on with the conversations, "As for the difference between zombies, vampires and revenants, zombies are stupid. You can get their attention and they'll chase you to their death. They also bite people to kill for flesh."

"Vampires however, are smart. They can be very articulate and even look human. They're also very manipulative and can even get werewolves to listen to them," Joshua forgot that they hadn't mentioned werewolves yet, "And yes, in my world, werewolves are also real."

Joshua mentally debated whether going into vampire feeding habits was a good idea, "Vampires also keep their victims alive. Paralyzing them and hanging them up, so they can get a steady supply of blood. Why kill your food, if you can keep it alive as a regular feeding stock?" There was a sense of malice and disgust in Joshua's voice. It disgusted them to see it.

"Revenants are weird. They're more like spirits of malice and seem more inclined to just randomly kill. They manifest as ravens when they don't look like hooded figures wielding cleavers. It's freaky and putting them to the sword is usually the best immediately solution."

Joshua felt like they were giving a lesson in parabiology, not that they minded. An intense interest in biology as a child had lead to spending most of their time documenting supernatural creatures, even when they felt disgusted at what they saw.

(Starlight Restaurant- Phagora, Lucina, Emile, Shireen, Jake)

"Where you come from, maybe, but the demons I know are very different from witches. A demon is truly immortal, at least in theory. I grow, I age, I die- though another member of my coven has found a loophole in the last. That, and my mother was a witch. She traded her soul to Phagoriel in exchange for me."

Phagora chuckled as Emile asked if she could alter meals. "No, Your Majesty- is that the correct term?- but I do have some other gifts. Waiter, please bring me an Aloha Special, and yes, the full size."

As the waiterbot raced off, the half-demon turned to Jake. He thankfully didn't seem to have the subtle malevolence of her father or the other demons, and that was confirmed when he announced that he was actually his world's guardian. " A bit of both, really, and I've never heard of demons willingly serving as guardians. We have a few lesser imps bound to our fort, but it was quite a task. And you say that your desires earned you the title of Greed? I'd have thought that more akin to Lust, personally. Ah, the meal is here."

The waiter returned with a whole roast young pig, topped with rings of pineapple. Obviously meant for a large luau, the thing had to weigh at least fifty pounds. The poor server tried to set it down gently, but it still landed with a heavy crash.

Phagora tipped the plate towards herself. As the massive hunk of hog slowly slid towards her mouth, her she opened her maw wide, Disturbingly wide, in point of fact. Her jaw reached down to her chest, then her waist, then her knees, before it finally came to rest all the way down on the floor. The pig was swallowed whole- no chewing, no bloat in her neck or gut. She closed her mouth with a single snap like the crack of a whip. "That's what I can do."

(Lobby- Rebecca, Winky, Ryya, Korkoro)

Rebecca rolled her eyes when Carlotta asked why she subjected herself to her fate. The living didn't, couldn't understand. The pain, the fatigue, the fear... she had been desperate for any way out. What was worse, her soul had been corroded by years of dark magic. Too damaged to exist without some sort of container for support, in fact. She had no chance at an afterlife, so she'd used the best of her limited options. Then the doll left, and Rebecca was thankful she didn't have to explain herself.

"It's a long story, Ryya, so I'll give you the short version. I stuffed my soul in a crystal. Since the crystal can't actually die, it keeps my soul inside me, even when the rest of me is rotting."

Two new people had shown up since then. One, another living doll who for some reason wore a monocle, and the other, a girl who was missing both her arms. Rebecca was tempted to ask about it, but realized that was a bit too close to the "How did you die?" question she was sick of answering herself, so she settled for an introduction. "Greetings, both of you. I am Rebecca, and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you."

[Club Bizarre]

Maybe, Ethoya reflected, the mad despot Enkar Zaa was on to something when he spoke of memetic reality. She and the Discoverer might not be able to meaningfully communicate; the very structures of their thoughts might be to different.

Or maybe not. Ethoya took a few moments to visibly swallow a snark or two. "The reality is," she finally said, "that your people have damned themselves to an eternity of ennui because they don't know who they are. And I simply cannot help you answer that question." That wasn't entirely honest; maybe, perhaps, if she were to work with him for a while, and let the buzz wear off, she'd have a better answer for hm. But while the Xayu itself might able to do so, Ethoya simply didn't think she, personally, could endure the Discoverer long enough. Here he was, in a nightclub with whiskey, attractive men and women, and a plethora of substances to experiment with, and yet he might as well have been standing in a shipping crate for all the interest he showed! Some of her brothers and sisters might respect that kind of mindset and enjoy conversation with him, but Ethoya herself was a being of small pleasures and simple joys, things the Discoverer seemed to have forgotten. (Maybe that was the root of the problem? No, no, that would be far too simple.)

Except... a strange thought. Ethoya wasn't sure if she quite understood it herself. Slowly, now, carefully. "But... wait... If magic has no limits and can subvert reality, why do they not simply subvert the reality of their own boredom directly?" There was something else... a thought just out of reach. Something she felt was important, but couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe another would be able to say it, but for Ethoya, whether from the drugs she was enjoying or perhaps some aspect of her nature, the thought couldn't quite coalesce. After a few moments trying to put her finger on it, she decided instead to indulge herself with a petty act: "at any rate: here, a perfect gem for your perfect society." She then conjured and handed him a piece of ordinary rough basalt, a riddle with at least two possible interpretations.

Then she turned back to Kiran. "They don't have space ships where I come from," Ethoya said. "I'd love to see one." Remembering where she was, she added, "I mean, I know I'm in one now, but I don't have the run of the place. It's basically just a floating hotel anyways." She gave Kiran a winning smile "Would you care to give me a tour of yours?" Maybe with special attention to the Captain's Quarters, if she's interested...

edited 24th Mar '17 8:37:50 PM by KillerClowns

Deck 1 - Arboretum

It was impossible to sit through Joshua's description of the various supernatural horrors and their feeding habits without reaction. Both Pearl and Aubrey were visibly mortified and repulsed by the descriptions, wincing, screwing up their faces and generally conveying their disgust.

Aubrey now knew more than he had ever desired about the distinction between "zombies", vampires and revenants. Oh, and apparently there were werewolves, in addition to the reanimated dead and Loki - it was clearly a universe that he would not enjoy visiting.

Pearl recalled that Gwion, the unusual man from the future who had a mechanical arm that wasn't as good as Kris', had mentioned something about meeting a werewolf on a couple of previous journeys. At the time she had passed it off as figurative but, from what Joshua was saying, there were obviously universes in which such things really did exist.

She canted her head and looked at Joshua incredulously. "And your job is to travel the world fighting such things? I can't begin to imagine how horrifying it must be."

Aubrey nodded solemnly. He'd go through the wilderness on Terra Nova again - alone - rather than face the horrors that Joshua described. Suddenly bears, vipers and lynxes all seemed reassuringly "normal".

"So-" Aubrey's brow furrowed. "These things, they're all over the world?"

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

Lucina was taken slightly aback at what Shireen said about demons. "Guardian spirits!?" she exclaimed. "I thought demons were forces of evil!" She took glances at Phagora and Jake, turning her look of surprise into the sweetest smile she could muster. "Not that there's anything wrong with evil, of course!"

"There is everything wrong with evil," Emille grumbled next to her, and at last whispered in her ear. "I think we should leave as soon as we finish our meal - I do not like being around demons."

Ignoring her, Lucina watched with awe as the greedy feline demon slid gracefully into the seat Emille had offered. When he asked Lucina how she was to be properly greeted, Lucina blinked her eyes and kept her face still, resembling very much several of the dolls in her court. "You must not be fully familiar with the world of the living. Typically anybody of such high royalty would be referred to by either 'your highness' or 'your majesty', and while I would tolerate those titles, I think they sound too generic. I love my name, so I would much prefer if you simply call me Queen Lucina."

Emille scowled at her. "Your ham is getting cold by the way." She pointed the tip of her parasol at Lucina's half-eaten plate. Right after that, Jake spoke to her, or rather, seemed to whisper something in her ear from afar. The suddenness of it actually frightened her, not to mention the directness of his question. Especially when he joked about her being Lucina's bore child, which brought up a brief mental image of her actually lying in between the queen's legs.

A bright flash of red then suddenly flashed across her mind, such that she barely heard anything else Jake said, except something about succeeding Lucina. Her surprised jump was so sudden that she fell backwards out of her high chair, but before she could hit the floor, Lucina reached a hand behind her and grasped Emille's own.

"What's gotten into you?" Lucina asked the frightened princess as she helped her up, readjusting the wide red hat that had fallen off the doll's head. Once Emille was back in her chair, Lucina heard a great thump on the table... and was shocked to discover a massive roasted pig sitting there. Which Phagora devoured in one gulp. Lucina's tiny-by-comparison mouth fell open in astonishment.

"What in the... And I thought I was the one who was overly fond of ham! You really do live up to your name. And you." She thrust her scepter forward at Jake, where its crowned tip rested about a foot away from his face. "What did you say to Emille to frighten her like that."

Emille, having just barely composed herself, decided to pour herself some hibiscus tea, though her hand shook so much that she scattered sugar all over the table as she moved the spoon near her cup.

Nebula Lobby 1F (Rebecca, Ryya, Kokoro, Winky, Sinistrina)

Winky scratched his head as Ryya and Kokoro remarked on Carlotta's whereabouts. The former nervously claimed to had never seen her, while the latter pointed a stub-arm to a spot on the far end of the lobby opposite the info desk. He looked at Rebecca, but she seemed more concerned with introducing herself. There was something off about her, but he couldn't think of anything to say that would not sound rude.

So instead he looked up at Kokoro and tipped his hat. "I say Miss Kokoro, it seems that when you lost your arms, your heart^note appropriate, given Kokoro is the Japanese word for heart grew bigger. Well then, ta-ta for now, my fine ladies!" And with that, he wandered off in the exact direction Kokoro had pointed him in.

While all this was going on, Sinistrina was descending the stairway towards the first floor of the lobby, headed in the direction of the info desk. All the while she looked around the place with a faint sense of wonder, given that not only had she been in any place other than the world within the mirror for a very long while, but she had also never even imagined being in a place that seemingly came from the future. She was almost inclined to believe it was all a dream - but knew that was impossible, as she had also not had any proper dreams in a very long while^note how she is in Dream II is a mystery to everyone. And yet, despite the novelty, it all seemed rather distant for her, as did the awed emotions normally experienced with such. Even to onlookers, there was that same look of overall weariness on her face.

As she descended the final stairway, she scanned the crowd, and was quite surprised to glimpse someone who looked to be half woman and half lizard, given the green scales... though her legs looked more cat-like (scaly cat-like) and she had antlers for some reason. Of course... if this is a spaceship, that means there would be extraterrestrial folk here... Again though, it still seemed very surreal to her. Still, as she descended the remaining stairs, her gaze fixed on her, and for a moment both of their red eyes may have even met.

But as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she remembered that she wanted to go to the front desk for information. And she was about to head that way... when she felt something that made her stop. Something familiar, something that very much resembled the strange black mists that were contained in the mirror she emerged out of. Looking behind her, she could see the scaly girl was conversing with two more normal-looking ones... well, sort of. One of them had no arms and almost repulsively plain attire, and the other wore a scarlet cloak... and looked to be definitely the source of that familiar dark feeling.

It was just then that she realized she had probably been staring. After stepping back with her cheeks flushing gray, she composed herself, hiding her face under the wide brim of her hat as she slowly approached the three, planting her staff on the ground as if it were a walking stick.

"My apologies if I have been staring. This place is highly unusual to me, and I am still trying to take it all in." She finally looked up at everyone, her voice carrying the same distant solemnity it had back at the clothing store. "Though it must be the same for all of you, I imagine. Anima, it is not nice to crawl on people without asking."

She was referring to the black widow spider that had crawled off the black web on her staff, down the length of said staff, across the floor, and up Rebecca's cloak, headed right for her chest. Upon closer inspection, this woman seemed to be undead just like her, and she could see the faint dark presence pulsing in the exact place the spider was headed for. Her eyes briefly widened a slight, which she diverted by taking quick glances at the others. "My name is Sinistrina by the way."

Nebula Lobby->elevators- Ulf, Gwion, Teri, Wolfe, Sophia

“Argh you beat me.” Ulf said mock clutching his heart. ”67. Born in 1919 but alas…” he motioned to Teri and Wolfe with a grin. ”Cheating.”

As they approached the elevator he turned his head to regard Teri. ”I’ve come across some fellows like you all back on my home planet, from what I’ve listened to it seems like you’re from somewhere…earthish too.” he stumbled over the phrase for a moment. ”I’ll admit curiosity of whether it’s some time discrepancy or a different world entirely. Friedrich always kept trying to explain quantum dimensions and nonsense but it always just slipped out of my mind.”

Club Bizarre -Magistralis

”We exist as data, not knowledge.” Magistralis corrected. ”Knowledge is what ‘’is’’, data is what is observed. Data is mutable, incomplete, limited.” a slow ebb of sorrow perhaps colored them and faded away. ”Most of our data is from dimensional travels. Such things had understandable rules, complex but constant. We are not…equipped to observe Will Entropy completely. It is perhaps the most painful shortcoming of our race.” The data returned for a moment but Magistralis held it so they could regard the small human again.

“Orenya. yes. You have given us much data to contemplate. I am not a data seer but they will be grateful to know this. If you seek some knowledge we will provide you with what we can. Though matters of Will Entropy are dark to us unfortunately.”

The humanoid entity beside them touched a battery and reacted with surprise at compatibility. Perhaps they were as Magistralis was but inverted. An amalgamation of Will Entropy gathering knowledge of the physical. It fit well, just as matter and dark matter were twins there was always the possibility of another being such as they. In fact they’d be more surprised if there wasn’t.

But the other possibility was just as compatibility with physics could surprise them. Perhaps Magistralis was also compatible with Will Entropy. The possibilities were interesting.

But there wasn't enough data for any scope of certainty. Such matters would have to wait.

edited 24th Mar '17 12:03:38 AM by Slysheen

[Observation Deck]

No surprise registered in Jin's demeanor as the words appeared on Proseda's wings, but they did raise their eyebrows slightly when they realized that there were three, not two, teacups at the table.

Jin put the pencil in a shirt pocket and approached their newfound company. Their light step was almost silent. "An admirer in a purely artistic sense," they said, forgetting that Enkar and Proseda could not have reasonably expected Jin to hear that. Their voice was quiet, but firm and deep. "I'm Jin. Soldier by profession, artist when I'm on leave. Which is not often. And regrettably so, because as you just reminded us—" They jerked their head at Proseda. "—not all of us have infinite time to play with, and seeing as I make my living by being ready to die, I potentially have much less to work with than even the average human."

edited 24th Mar '17 3:48:28 AM by SnowyFoxes

Square Root of Pie -> Sickbay (Rolph, Cecilia, Max) / Elevators (Glitch, Robin)

Earrings?

Rolph gave Max a wide-eyed, "is-she-being-serious?" look, before heading off to the restaurant's exit. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about the prospect of his tissue samples being used for that kind of purpose. "Uh-huh," he mumbled, turning back towards Cecilia. "Mostly chitin, yes. Uh, are you sure that this is safe?"

While Rolph and his odd companions followed the ship's corridors to the sickbay, Glitch and Robin were on their way to the nearest elevator, the drone cheerfully hovering along, taking scans of everything it could find. Power conduits in the walls, robotic staff members, a potted plant...

"Have you used the holodecks before?" it asked. "I've been told that organics really like that sort of thing."

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

"Me?" Shireen looks at Jake innocently. "I'm just an ordinary linguist who, after a long trip, got a little hungry. Me talking about corruption by a Gluttony demon is just my way of informing the chef that I'll only get hungrier as the time passes."

She winks at Phagora.

"So no, I'm pretty sure that I'm accepting of my life and I certainly don't want to bait Phagora. What would I do with her if I caught her? You can't have a Gluttony demon child as a pet, can you?"

She takes a sip of her tea. Then, when Phagora performs her "demonstration", Shireen's only reaction is pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows.

"See? Why would I want such a pet?" says she. "Young lady, I have to say that your table manners are the second most disgusting ones that I've ever seen. Why would you strip the eating of its pleasure?"

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia)

Max nods, giving Rolph a sympathetic look. Well he tried giving it. His face looked like he was about to eat the Mroothan. Cecilia gives out an exasperated sigh.

"If my theory is correct, then nothing will happen. That's about as safe as it's possible to get," says she. "If not, then I'll take the tissue only from the top layers of the carapace, I won't expose the... um... whatever it is underneath. The main hazard to your health lies in the wound getting infected. If somehow that will happen, well, we're going to be-"

Cecilia stops before the doors to the sickbay about to open, and immediately corrects herself:

"we are in the sickbay. I'm sure they'll save you. And they probably have all kinds of sterilizers out there anyway." Bergmann puts her hand on Rolph's shoulder. "But I assure you, if I'm proven wrong, if I've retained my powers, then there won't be a wound. Let's take a place somewhere quiet, shall we? And do you know how thick is the carapace on your... er... lower arm?"

Elevators(Glitch; Robin)

Entering the vacant elevator, Robin, after waiting for Glitch to catch up, pushes the "9" button.

"No, I haven't," says she. "We don't have holodecks back home. Why would we like using them? And you have a strange way of addressing us humans. Although, since your master is of a different species, 'organics' is a broad enough term, I guess."

Club Bizarre

Hey, Ora. I think that armored person is trying to talk to us.

What? It's impossible.

Better believe it. I sense him looking at us.

Um. Have we met, good sir?

Fuck the pleasantries, girl. Hey, can you get us out? We're stuck in here for Sophia knows how long! S.O.S.! S.O.S.! S.O.F.S.!!!

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

Joshua felt that they really should have noticed the two's discomfort with the subject. It seemed like continuing to discuss it, but lesson in parabiology is comfortable to talk about at first. Also, they were still asking questions.

"I mean, my job has mostly been to investigate the issues these things are associated with, taking them out along the way is part of the job. It is horrifying though," Joshua shuddered, "You see the death and suffering these things bring and it starts becoming a responsibility to stamp out the darkness that they're a part of."

Joshua thought about how to explain why these creatures were located in specific areas, "The zombies are only on that island in New England I talked about. Remember when I mentioned that sword? It brought with it a fog that enveloped the island, which lured people out to sea where they drowned. I've been working on and off with the locals and visitors who managed to avoid being lured into the fog who hadn't turned. Strangely enough, the bodies of those who had been dead for far longer also reanimated."

"As for revenants and vampires," Joshua tried to think on their answer, "While vampires were, luckily, only located in Transylvania, I encountered Revenants in both New England and Transylvania. They seem to exist in areas that have extensive histories of suffering, particularly where ravens are also common."

"Like I said though, most of these were things you had heard of in books or movies. I had to do extensive reading on some of the other creatures I had encountered. I also had to make my own notes on things like living fungus," Joshua visibly shuddered, "Anything but the fungus."

Deck 9 (Junko, Natalie)

Following after Junko, Natalie is briefly confused by the magical girl poking a finger over her shoulder- Though the figurine(?) makes a clearly exaggerated expression of pain. Still, before Natalie could fully puzzle out her actions, Junko began talking about her version of Loki. Smiling wide at what she is heading, Natalie excitedly bobs her head.

Though as they pass the pool, the nanoslime girl notes with curiosity as Junko seems to spot someone familiar. "I should ask later who she is, though... Oh! Is being a magical girl inheritable or familiar? Would make more sense than some uber-being getting bored and randomly choosing someone."

Still, as the initial subject about gods winds down, Natalie brings a finger to her chin thoughtfully before speaking up. "Well, Jetman is technically completely legal when it comes to masquerade safety. Still, given the kinds of things we Servants of Humanity work on, we have to maintain high security. For example, all the prisoners of the Nightmare Normalcy nearly escaped because of Eldon, and we were basically terrified when they managed to steal our OWA serums- Nearly gave all Gift Descendants superpowers with it. Don't even get me started on the time they tried to forcibly kidnap the Tentos..."

Patting her cheeks with her hands and letting out a smooth breath, Natalie's tone picks up an air of thoughtful as she speaks again. "I'm honestly not sure what her True Name is, but she definitely goes by Loki. Though this is getting pretty curious, as Miss Loki works for the Servants of Humanity in my universe. Still, you'll probably find it strange she's the Division Leader for our extranormal division ESPER..."

Natalie ceasing communication for a moment, she seems to be thinking something over as she begins nervously blushing. Tapping her fingers together in that same nervousness, she begins stammering "Um, well, uh, I-I... G-God, G-Goddess... I-I mean, do you, is she, uh... Li-Lili-" "Ooh, a naughty sex goddess in a meguca world? Scandalous!" Natalie screaming in high-pitched shock, she practically melts trying to press herself on the floor. Yet...

Sitting as if she's still supported, the figurine from Natalie's shoulder smiles cattishly with arms held behind her head. Motioning herself as if jumping, the figurine sprouts to full size. Looking up to Junko completely innocently, the 'little girl' speaks totally sweetly "Hi, I'm Loki and I gave birth to a horse!"

Beaming with childish pride, the so-called child abruptly disappears- And a brown-skinned woman dressed like a Catholic priest stands next to Junko, looking down at the utterly embarrassed Natalie. "Tsk tsk, it is so difficult teaching younglings to be properly ashamed of their bodies."

The explicitly-not-a-nun disappearing in turn, now a marine biologist appears looking over Natalie with a notepad in hand- Complete with a pen and jolting down notes before speaking fauxly to herself. "This exotic new specimen, the Mortified Nanomechanus is quite fascinating. Just watching it sit there, clearly ashamed and terrified by the world, I can hardly fathom what cruel god would make this."

Natalie kind of just emitting a quiet whine as she slowly resumes the form she was just using, the woman... Child... Person calling herself Loki reappears before Junko as a color inversion of the magical girl. Still, she seems to have enough class not to mimic Junko's voice. Letting out an amused sigh and wiping away a nonexistent tear, the supposed goddess speaks with a highly dissonant voice more fitting a bifauxen.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just... Things get really boring after you've been alive for just twenty thousand years. That, and the adorable little s-word infringed on my job territory. ESPER is all about studying weird reality crap- And that includes other universes. Honestly, I'm starting to doubt Gottfried is actually German- Shenanigans like this are so American ya know? Still, pleasure to meet you."

Trying to look serious as she smiles cheekily, Loki offers her hand to Junko for her to shake. Though, glancing at Natalie, it would be clear she's still upset and embarrassed by the clearly theatrical woman interrupting her. Natalie rubbing her right arm nervously, the machine girl stands just behind and to the side of the goddess- Shooting uncertain glances towards Junko as if afraid of her response.

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

Notably intrigued when Phagora mentioned how she came to be, Jake focused his attention on her as Phagora mentioned more about demons. Filing away the bit about Lust, Jake's attention was soon grabbed as the young queen commented on the evilness of demons. Raising his eyebrow and giving a 'Don't say that like I should be proud' kind of look. Still, smiling and lightly bowing his head respectfully, it is clear he understands Lucina's request.

However, as he watched Emille fall out of her seat and Phagora commit a sin against all cuisine fans, Jake mouthed a rather simple 'Ah' even as he watched them with catlike focus- As if deducing something from those displays. Flicking his eyes to Lucina, his gaze is locked onto her eyes. His tail swaying more slowly and his cat ears twitching once, the demon boy speaks in a refined yet casual kind of tone.

"My apologies Queen Lucina, I just wanted to know your exact relation. I explained that her being your bore child would be one of the least strange things I encountered, though nonetheless thought it unlikely. Still, if you're her creator, she would be your daughter anyways. The fact she reacted so strongly however, despite explicitly doubting the probability..."

Looking towards Shireen briefly with some suspicion, and then glancing towards Emille, Jake finally looks at Lucina again. "Well, let's just say I have bad experience with those claiming to be my superior. Speaking of which, how much of your magic have you taught Princess Emille so far? I'm sure she must be quite the student."

Glancing towards Shireen and Phagora as he awaits Lucina's response, he speaks to them both. "Greed is about desire, whereas Lust is about pleasure. Honestly, I would say they're closely bound to Gluttony- The concept of taking things to excess. So in that definition, I think a Gluttony entity would be a perfect pet despite the linguist's opinion. Though neither of you find it strange a witch would make such a demand? Even more so of Gluttony, than Pride or Lust."

edited 24th Mar '17 3:32:57 PM by Kkutwar

[Deck 9] (Junko, Loki, Natalie)

Junko raised an eyebrow at the response she got out of the figure on Natalie's shoulder. She hadn't used that much force... the magical girl shrugged, maybe she had used more force than she realized.

As Natalie went on about some of the things from her universe, Junko had to wonder just how convoluted the whole set up had to be. The masquerade thing was starting to sound like it was run by a bunch of old white guys(it's always old white guys), meeting in a dark room(second verse, same as the first), determining how much the public should be made aware of while furthering their plans for... something.

Granted, from what she could gather, Eldon's a bad guy, Nightmare Normalcy is a weird name for a prison, and Servants of Humanity sounds suspiciously like it's composed of people who aren't human. Then again, the same could be said of AEGIS. Junko paused her train of thought to laugh lightly. She looked over at Natalie, nodding in agreement with what she said about her Loki, "Yeah, it is a coincidence that both of our Lokis work for similar types of agencies."

Junko continued to look at the nanoslime girl as she began to temporarily loose her ability to talk coherently, curiosity growing. Raising an eyebrow, she started to ask "Huh? Lili? You mentioned a-" The next sentence caught her off guard. "Wha..." she started, only to flinch back when Natalie shrieked.

And then Loki made her presence fully known. Maybe. Junko wasn't completely sure. Busy trying to formulate the right response to the almost non sequitur thing the girl just said, she merely responded with a flat "Wut."

Whipping around when the nun showed up next to her, the bewildered magical girl pointed slightly, before realizing what happened and sighing slightly. "Why would you do tha-" Loki transformed again, this time, studying the Natalie puddle. Junko narrowed her eyes at the goddess(?), due to the woman reminding her of Dr. Amelia Ingram, renowned scientist and nominee for terrible parent.

Slowly accepting the hand, Junko shook hands with Loki, "Nice to meet you too... I guess. You're definitely different from the Loki I'm acquainted with." She paused for a moment, "Did you say your twenty thousand years old?" she asked incredulously.

Junko then stepped back, rubbing her head slightly.

edited 24th Mar '17 9:42:31 PM by WillDeRegio

Deck 3

"Those are impressive titles.", Sii-razh said as his eyebrows probably hit the ceiling, or so it felt for him as he briefly looked the other way. Even then his voice only took the tone of mild surprise, mixed with a bit of skepticism and a hint of something else. Curiosity? Excitation? Following the couple towards the abandoned theater, he answered with his own introduction:

"I am Sii-Razh Izos Steinathormin", he said with a voice between a whisper and a hiss for the first two names, with nasal vowels and consonants that flowed like snakes on a dry riverbed. For the last surname his speaking, accent and even posture changed, and what was a loud whisper turned into a series of quiet shouts as every syllable seemed to be overemphasized. "It is a difficult name, but I also answer to Cirranze, a corruption of my first name. I am part of a diplomatic mission from the Arginan Empire." And I don't even know how I was chosen for this job.

Once they stopped before one of the doors leading to the theater, Sii-razh saw Henry remove some sort of tool he planned to use to break into the theater, something Lauren, didn't think was a good idea, and Sii-razh happened to agree.

"Don't they have surveillance systems or something to keep people from... doing this with the ship?", he said hesitatingly, before touching the door, as if to convince himself of its solidity, to convince himself to give up and not harm the whole mission. It would be easier if the door didn't simply slide open, revealing a dusty pathway into absolute darkness. They couldn't punish him for investigating a passage that was already open, right? "This was... eery. Who goes first?"

Explanations will come in the discussion thread, but to make things simple, assume this ISN'T the same Cira of Dream II. In fact, assuming he is could end badly. So please don't. Like Anakin and Luke, they are. Except father and son they are not. Nor in the same continuity they exist.

[Observation Deck]

Proseda looks over at Jin blankly for a moment, a slightly confused if amused expression on his face, "So you're not spending your days painting every guy you see then," he inquires, voice suddenly far more lilting and playful. "I guess you can do without the distraction, first they're the model, then you take them home and they're your muse for the next week. Or month, or forever." He reaches for the teapot, grasping the handle "Gotta do something to relieve some stress between blowing people up with magic." With that, he pours himself a cup, before offering the teapot to the other two, "Tea?"

Nebula Lobby

Well, the marionette seemed to eat up Kokoro's lie, and went where she had pointed. A well-mannered person, he didn't seem that bad. Ryya looked at him walk away, and could only hum in wonder.

As she was still looking, she felt a shiver down her spine, and that feeling of being watched. This time, it came from the stairs. She turned around and saw a thin figure walking down the stairs, dressed all in black.

For a moment, Ryya and the woman's eyes met. The woman's eyes were red, like Ryya's, but something in them made Ryya feel uneasy. Something was wrong with her, Ryya could feel it. The girl looked away, but was still curious.

The senjai closed her eyes and tried to focus on the woman's aura. It was hard to do, there was too many voices, too many people around, too much noise. Ryya couldn't concentrate properly, but she could faintly feel a very dark aura around this woman. And, now that she noticed, around Rebecca as well, emanating like a big cloud of stench. Ryya recalled what the 'lich' had told her. Was this what she had meant?

When Ryya opened her eyes again, the woman was next to her, introducing herself as Sinistrina, and asking if others were taken aback by this palce as well.

"Well, it is a very weird place, I guess." Ryya found herself saying. "But it's still amazing! I really want to see all of it!" She finished with enthusiasm. The woman seemed nice, even if she had a dark presence. Ryya didn't feel she had anything to fear for now.

"My name is Ryya, by the way." She senjai bowed towards the woman in black. "So, are you new here? Where are you from?" She had been wondering the last question a little, but now she had blurted it out. She looked around, also eyeing Kokoro, as if the question was also directed at her.

Deck 1 - Lobby and lifts

Sophia snorted and Teri, Wolfe and Gwion grinned at the "cheating" comment.

Wolfe gave a shrug and drawled, "well, you know, ya see a shortcut..." He figured the rest was obvious.

Teri added 1919 and 67 and came up with 1986 - just a couple of years before she was unceremoniously and inexplicably "plucked" from Earth.

She nodded thoughtfully at what Ulf said to her. "Well, we're originally from Earth-" she looked at Gwion and Sophia, who seemed to come from a somewhat different version of 2070's Earth than Kris, "well, one of 'em, anyway - until we suddenly found ourselves on a completely different planet that's 'Earthish' only in that it's got earthlike atmosphere, gravity, days, months and years and is filled with plants, animals and humans that came from Earth. 'Ow we got there is anyone's guess and we don't know if it involved time travel or if we ended up in another universe where time passes at a different rate. It used to be that there was a predictable ratio between the time passed on Terra Nova compared with that on Earth, but a whole bunch of us, all from different times, arrived within a few days of each other. Dunno if it was time travel or some of us just got delayed in transit - you know what mail's like to the colonies."

"Or it could involve both time travel and another universe," said Wolfe. "I like the theory that it's some sort of stable, somewhat permanent wormhole between Earth and Terra Nova - which doesn't preclude either possibility." He stopped at the lifts and pressed the button to summon one. "I'm tending to the opinion that we wound up in another dimension where time passes at a different rate - which would explain most of the arrivals - but the wormhole's also randomly shifting and occasionally taking people from different places and times." In his mind's eye, he saw the end of a snakelike wormhole whipping about through space and time while still nominally "anchored" to the Earth.

He remembered chatting with Katya at the resort and his brief encounter with her at the Frontier town and turned to Ulf. "So I gather your world is somewhat 'earthish' as well, but - I think - rather different from the one we left. A parallel universe, perhaps?" Once he would have dismissed the idea of universes where all things were somehow coincidentally the same as another except for one small "point of divergence" or other difference, but his experiences in the various universes he had visited - and the people he had met in them - clearly revealed that such places did exist.

The lift arrived and Teri and Sophia made their way into the interior. Sophia stuck a finger on the "Door Open" button to give the others time to get aboard.

Deck 1 -Aboretum

Aubrey and Pearl puffed silently on their vapourisers as Joshua talked. Both had seen more than enough death and suffering in their time, albeit at the hands of otherwise normal humans or due to natural disasters rather than horrendous monsters - which had to make things even worse.

Aubrey gave a wry smile. "The tales of vampires and revenants were well known bits of folklore even in my time - ahh, that would be the late eighteen hundreds, I left Earth in 1891 - but I have never been fond of such tales and have not read any of the books about them. As for 'movies', I have only encountered them since my arrival on Terra Nova. It is a budding industry so the number of local movies is still small and those movies that have come from Earth tend to be on something called DVD or Blue Ray and can only be viewed by those fortunate enough to have access to a laptop computer or some such device on which to view them. In either case, my opportunities to watch them have been limited and my tastes preclude anything of the sort you describe."

Pearl canted her head as she looked at Joshua. She was familiar with Bram Stoker's novel - which on her world was nothing more than a work of fiction - and had seen the film "Nosferatu", but zombies were something new to her. "I left Earth in 1925 and I've been too busy trying to make a life for myself since to read much or watch many movies."

After Joshua's reaction when he mentioned the living fungus, Pearl wasn't terribly sure she wanted to know anything more about it. "So you had vampires in Transylvania and these zombies and other undead in New England. You also mentioned werewolves. How common are they?"

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

Joshua had forgotten that the two may not be aware of certain media from later time periods, but felt no need to stop answering questions, "Well, the werewolves mostly seem to be isolated to snowy regions and forested areas in Transylvania. They live in large groups, alongside regular wolves and they don't seem to have any in-fighting, but I think that's because the vampires are commanding them."

"I have also seen a man transform into a werewolf," Joshua stopped, "The process is quite painful to watch."

Joshua decided it was time to take out the pipe again. Taking out the pipe, amd not attempting to pretend it was a sleight of hand trick this time, they quickly lit it up with a wooden match and started smoking. A few puffs and some silence was what Joshua needed.

"Zombies, revenants, vampires and werewolves," Joshua said, somewhat trailing off, "All those things are hideous in their own horrible way, but they don't even compare to the worst of it," They took a puff, "I would say the worst enemy I've ever had to face would be other people, but that'd be a lie. Though I'm sure the conflicts in Terra Nova are interesting, even as a people to people thing?"

Lifts -Ulf, Gwion, Sophia, Terri, Wolfe

Ulf scratched his chin thoughtfully, hopefully seeming like he knew more about this subject.
"Maybe. I've talked to some folks from what we think is earth. Isn't quite like the one I left, some are all mechanized, others are so mundane they vehemently believe werewolves and vampires don't exist. And well.." He chuckled as the lift closed and the still not quite familiar whooshing feeling turned his stomach.

"There does seem to be a...duality to it though. There's always some worldwide conflict in the 1900's. How many and who's involved vary. I try not to think about that much, it wasn't a happy time in my life. I'm sure things aren't perfect here either, but it's easier to...eh wanted a better word than "ignore" but I guess it works."

"So your earth's already traveled to the stars? Mine was just starting to realize the possibility and were working at it like men possessed."

edited 26th Mar '17 1:51:35 AM by Slysheen

Nebula Lobby 1F - [Carlotta, Ray]

The man looked down, noticing the diminutive doll for the first time. He took a few seconds to stare, eyes bugging out in their sockets, before reaching out a hesitant hand and taking the tablet. "Uh, sure, l-little girl?" His voice lilted upward in question, but continued, "It's a datapad, you just write with your finger." He pressed his index finger to the side of the display, bringing up a pencil application with casual ease, scribbled a bit in the corner of the document as a demonstration and handed it back. Clearly he was familiar with technology of this sort.

Far from resembling some dashing space captain, the man looked more like a mechanic or chief engineer. He was scrawny, with unkempt short black hair and a thin face, and couldn't have been a day over twenty-five, boyish stubble still peppering his chin.◊ He was dressed in a plain white short-sleeved shirt that was stained in places with mechanical lubricant and a pair of rugged dull-orange cargo trousers, with a utility harness going over both. A similar device to the one he handed back to Carlotta- albeit smaller and with rubberized edges- hung from a spot on the harness on his upper chest.

However, upon closer inspection, something seemed distinctly odd about him. He couldn't be described as disfigured in any way, but nonetheless, one got the sense that he would have been naturally short had a youth spent developing in microgravity conditions not stretched him out to average height. There were also slight, odd-looking bulges around his joints, which made his limbs look slightly skeletal, thin as they already were.

"So uh, my name's Ray," he began, voice uncertain but clearly curious. "Are you- are you like, actually alive?"

[Observation Deck]

"Certainly," Enkar said, when Proseda offered to pour it. He took the cup — fragile-looking in his heavy hands — and took a surprisingly delicate sip, savoring the flavor. Then he nodded at Jin. "Ah," he said, "a warrior-poet. Found, in some version, in many cultures — my own included, I add, though our current era of relative tranquility has not provided many opportunities for such." There was an odd hint of morosity and wariness in his voice here, underneath an effort to hide it.

The Revolution had a fair few of Jin's sort (or perhaps what Enkar perceived to be Jin's sort) — artists driven by their passionate quest for justice into, in Zavi's case, revolutionary fervor. Some of them had gone on to great places in Zavi's new governments, architects and artists creating new, "socially conscious" works for the enlightenment of the people under the guidance of the State. Unfortunately, others — most of them, though Enkar would never admit that — had proven a bit too individualistic, unwilling to put the needs of state and people ahead of their own ambitions. Enkar had dealt with those, of course, as he dealt with any enemy of the Revolution. But that was hardly a topic for the present.

Instead, making more pleasant conversation, he said, "I do not suppose you have brought samples of your previous work, out of curiosity? Even admitting," he gave a lopsided, apologetic grin, "I am unlikely to fully appreciate your artwork, coming as I do from a different memetic reality."

edited 26th Mar '17 8:55:28 AM by KillerClowns

Nebula Lobby 1F (Carlotta, Ray, Winky)

When the man - who Carlotta thought looked like he had experience with machine operation - handed Carlotta the tablet, she blinked. Staring at it, she still had no idea how it worked, the technology being entirely foreign to her. "So you just write... with your finger?" Still incredulous to the concept, she pressed her finger to the screen and dragged it... and was very surprised to see a black line appear on the screen. (Her clay finger made for the perfect stylus.) "What kind of ink does this use anyway?"

She could see that the man - Ray, as he introduced himself - had a similar-looking device on his harness. Was that what everyone wrote on in the future? This she thought up until the point where he asked whether she was alive. Here she would have scowled at him, but on her static face it looked lik any old stare.

"I'm Carlotta, and yes, I am very much alive, if artifically so. I was brought to life by a witch." Which was funny because she currently had her back turned to someone who looked very obviously like a witch^note this being Sinistrina of course, who could be briefly glimpsed through the crowd. "I don't suppose you would know anything about magic, do you? You look like you came out of a long shift at a factory."

Meanwhile, Winky wandered over on the other side of the lobby, and came across a desk, which he assumed to be the info desk. However, when he got the robot clerk's attention ("I say, I'd never expect an automaton to be running establishments like this in the future"), the robot told him that this was the purser's office, and the info desk was in the complete opposite direction. Which meant that the girl who pointed him in that direction was either bad with directions or deliberately lying, though neither possibility crossed his simple mind.

Fortunately, when he walked in the opposite direction, he found who he was looking for anyway - and she was conversing with a man who looked like he had just finished a long shift at a factory. "Ah, Carlotta, there you are," he said to her. "You have the permit for that mirror, I presume?"

Carlotta nodded, handing him the tablet. "Good luck getting Lucina to figure out how to use it though."

"I say though, the queen figures things out far more easily than I do." And with a tip of his hat, he turned around and headed for the stairway. Though he and Sinistrina managed to somehow not see each other as he struggled to climb the stairs, the rest of that group might see him if they were looking that way.

edited 26th Mar '17 1:08:07 PM by ladytanuki