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Likes: 1. Kindness 2. Mutual aid 3. Justice Dislikes: 1. Bullies 2. Racists 3. Rich Assholes
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Nov 15, 2020 00:20
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HiHo ChiRho posted:Likes: Yep
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Nov 15, 2020 04:32
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So Sasha can still provide overwatch from the matrix when she's in the vat right? I worry that she feels sidelined from all the important events. EDIT: cool thanks steelninja fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Nov 17, 2020 |
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Nov 17, 2020 01:28
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steelninja posted:So Sasha can still provide overwatch from the matrix when she's in the vat right? I worry that she feels sidelined from all the important events. Yes she can.
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Nov 17, 2020 01:35
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Julie, Mrs. Liu, Devin, Cassie, Marco, Jimmy, Georgia, Keith and Ricky - Tuesday, August 20th, 2075 – Evening – Touristville, Eighty-Eight Tastes of China Julie had a lot to think about on her walk back to the party and while she thought, Mrs. Liu strode next to her through the mostly empty corridors of Touristville. Neither spoke to one another for minutes until the very end where Mrs. Liu stopped Julie in front of her restaurant with a gentle touch on Julie’s shoulder. The older woman took the opportunity to speak. “Everyone is winding down for the day,” began Mrs. Liu, “So remember to thank them all for coming, but don’t hurry them out if they wish to stay and eat. Instead you should offer them a chance to sample the sweets in the main shop which should shift enough of them from the private room to move the others.” “That’s smart,” said Julie. “Mmm,” mused Mrs. Liu, “I have some over the counter medication that will sober Jimmy up so he can assemble the drone. Might I suggest you not be the first person who tests the drone? At least tonight.” “Why?” asked Julie. The look that Mrs. Liu gave Julie was a serious one. “You received the drone from a megacorporation that you angered, though you of course cannot tell me why,” said Mrs. Liu, “And it is not insulting to say that they are vindictive. In fact they pride themselves on this, so I would not put you under their tech until it is all thoroughly checked by an expert. I can arrange for someone to go over the software and hardware of everything you brought. It should be done by morning.” “Uhhh...That’s a good point, yeah,” said Julie. “With your permission I’m also going to assign a construction team to your apartment which will also come by in the morning. Though I would appreciate it if you use your reputation to attract them. I can make it happen, but there is the parking lot dig and that will take priority otherwise as my reputation is not as high as yours and I’d prefer not to burn it to get things done.” “How do I do that?” asked Julie. “Your commlink?” Julie pulled it out, unlocked it and Mrs. Liu pressed the touchscreen a few times and opened up the AURS app. A screen for wants and needs based in individual communities and Mrs. Liu ticked off all four of the Touristville communities: North, South, East and West. Mrs. Liu began to type in information. Subject: Construction Team Needed Requested by: Julie Freeman Lead by (optional): Connie Liu Description: We’re setting up a large scale, modern dentistry office for use by the community and tourists which will bring many more tourists into the community. Pay (Optional): Increased reputation from Julie Freeman and Connie Liu based on performance and speed of completion of the project. The entire community will receive comprehensive dental healthcare upon completion and your names will be attached to the project for further reputation gains by other citizens. This is priority work! Starting Date: August 21st, 2075. End Date: To be determined. Mrs. Liu pursed her lips as she finished. “Anything you want to add?” asked Mrs. Liu. “How does this get done over the parking lot addition?” asked Julie, “They’re doing that now, right?” “You have a higher reputation than them and mine is very high in East rep,” said Mrs. Liu, “Together we’re going to steal away their best for this project. It’ll make the people leading the parking lot project mad, but I’ll smooth that over. The addition does need to get done though. We’ll need the extra space for pickup and dropoff, but this should take priority.” “So because those people can redeem reputation for money, they work for rep?” “Yes,” said Mrs. Liu, “Though most people don’t. They mostly redeem them for goods or services. There are some people in the community who are trusted enough to make bulk purchases of needed or wanted items or services from outside of the community. They do handle money while most people don’t. Never lots of money, mind you. We don’t want someone running away with everything. Such concentrations of wealth are always a risk.” “Has that ever happened before?” “It has. Then it was dealt with and the money was retrieved. It has not happened since.” “What happened?” “The example that is set by thieves is not something you should trouble yourself over. Anyway, given the pressure of a tight budget, they’re always on the lookout for a good mix of price and quality. They can do very well for themselves, even if they sometimes let something become a priority so they can swoop in and get more reputation.” “That sucks,” said Julie. “Not as much as you think. People that create shortages too often or that are too severe lose reputation and therefore are not trusted with the work,” said Mrs. Liu, “There are limits to what people will tolerate, but if you always provide what people need then people take you for granted. A lack of appreciation means a lack of reputation and someone will leave that work unfulfilled to find better prospects. There’s a kind of sweet spot to gaining a good reputation through labor. You need people to care about what you do without them getting angry because they feel cheated or exploited.” “Is this how everything gets done down here?” asked Julie. “No. Some people move from job to job. Some people like a specific job. It depends on what they want. An economy is still the wealth and resources of a place, its productive power and the goods and services that are consumed. The basics haven’t changed. What has changed is how goods and services are distributed, who is in charge and who owns what and how rigidly they are held to their jobs, which to be honest is a problem sometimes. Jobs must be made attractive to attract labor. We are too small to be too inefficient and so working conditions are very good, even when compared to most work above. Most of us have lived under tyranny of the corporations or the big men and women. Never again.” “You mentioned that. The big people. Orks and trolls?” asked Julie. “Another time. I’m already taking too long. Time is precious and I want to have the project completed before Friday. Now, is this sufficient?” Mrs. Liu pointed to the AURS app on Julie’s commlink. Julie considered the initial request as Mrs. Liu’s finger was hovering over the post button. “It might be good to put down food and drink,” said Julie, “Especially if you’re going to work them all day. If they’re fed they’ll be happier and work harder.” “And I can keep them all in one place so no one lags behind,” said Mrs. Liu, “Yes, you are correct.” Julie had a feeling that Mrs. Liu might have been testing her, but she said nothing. With nothing said about the potential test, Mrs. Liu pursed her lips and then added to the pay portion. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided by Connie Liu. Alcohol will be provided after each day of work after closing at 88 Tastes of China for one hour. - C. Liu “Happy workers are productive,” said Mrs. Liu, “Anything else?” “I think we’re good.” Mrs. Liu nodded and hit the post button. As she handed the commlink back to Julie, a new request populated to the top of the screen above many, many other requests. Julie scrolled down and saw requests for things like tools, raw materials, for labor, for people seeking work and she even saw social requests. Someone asking if anyone wanted to hang out and a call to come to Our Abbey Underground posted by Devin. Then she pocketed it. Maybe she’d explore it later. “You seem really confident that you’ll be able to convince Julian,” said Julie. “It’s necessary,” said Mrs. Liu, “So it’ll happen.” Julie frowned. “I’m pretty sure that he could make a case that it isn’t necessary,” said Julie. “You misunderstand,” said Mrs. Liu, and her voice turned hard, “For the survival of our community It is absolutely necessary that I accomplish this task. There are two-thousand lives at stake and half of them are children. Gentrification will mean breaking up this community and that will mean the total destruction of this community and our way of life. It will take time, maybe years, but it will be total. The lucky ones will simply end up poor. The unlucky ones will end up in the barrens or the ACHE because there is not enough work for everyone. So failure is not an option.” Julie shivered. She hadn’t seen the scary side of Mrs. Liu before, but her presence in that moment felt a lot like Song’s. Not as powerful, but it still had a weight to it. “You’re a little scary,” said Julie. Mrs. Liu’s smile was chagrined. The weight of her presence faded as she composed herself once more. “I apologize if I scared you. I am merely determined and that determination must be unwavering,” said Mrs. Liu, “I will explain to him the circumstances and what success and failure mean. We will come to an accord that is mutually beneficial. I simply request that you allow me to talk to him first.” “Okay,” said Julie, “This is all happening so fast. “Speed is important to accomplishing our goals,” said Mrs. Liu, “So much to do. I will provide the necessary building supplies. Our little community has expert dig and construction teams and we have many people who are free to work due to the lull in business. Oh, and it may be best to borrow some space from your doctor’s office. I’ll run that by yourself and Devin, of course. Can you provide the initial capital for the drones?” “The capital?” “The money,” amended Mrs. Liu, “For the purchase of the drones and startup costs. I could provide this from my community, but it is not my money. It is my community’s money and I don’t think you want this managed by committee or to become an extension of my community.” “Yeah, that’d be a problem. I can handle most of it I think. Maybe all of it,” said Julie, “I’ll need a bill.” “That I can do. You’ll have an itemized bill in the morning. No need to worry about marketing or licensing or the legalities. I can take care of that, but can you take care of the cost on your own? I assumed that since this is your idea that you provided food to the entire community for Sunday breakfasts as of late that you have your own wealth, yes?” Julie hadn’t worried about any of that, was shocked by the revelation, worried very briefly and then trusted that Mrs. Liu would take care of it as long as she had the money. It was a strange sensation, like the shock of suddenly finding something on fire only for someone else to stamp that fire out with a boot. Then Julie remembered something. “Oh! Talk to Jimmy about drones,” said Julie, “He got me something like forty percent off. Well, he did until I got one for free. Apparently there’s a glut of them right now so we can probably get a deal, especially if we get them in bulk.” Mrs. Liu’s smile was approving. “That is very good to hear.” Julie felt her heart lighten at that approval, but Julie’s mood fell as she remembered something. “I might not get back to you immediately,” said Julie, “I’m worried about the CPS meeting tomorrow.” Mrs. Liu didn’t seem concerned. “When you last spoke to me, you mentioned a visit from the government, yes. I have a strong feeling that all will be well,” said Mrs. Liu, “To maintain that wellness, I want to keep you out of the spotlight as much as possible. I’ll find someone who wants to be the face of the business to take that burden from you as I suspect you will quickly grow sick of it. Also, there is the matter of your home.” It was odd how she’d dismissed a visit from CPS so quickly and went on to other things. Julie didn’t know a lot about CPS save that they were generally feared and hated by parents. Still, she had a suspicion that she voiced. “Did you...Do something?” asked Julie, “You know…” Mrs. Liu seemed unphased. “A very strong feeling,” repeated Mrs. Liu. Julie had a sense of what was happening now. Mrs. Liu had arranged things in Julie’s favor because that had been in her community’s favor and Touristville’s favor. Julie had thought that when she’d talked to Mrs. Liu it was to complain and vent some frustration. Instead, the older woman had apparently done the last thing that Julie had expected, which was to do something about it. Again Julie was hit by strange emotions. An odd mix of relief and annoyance. She resolved to be careful about what she said around Mrs. Liu in the future. “Anyway,” said Julie, as she changed topics, “I think that I should probably spend one more night in my home before I go. Maybe take some pictures…” “Oh, yes, of course,” said Mrs. Liu, “We should find or dig a new home for you. Something...Cozier perhaps? Something that fits your sensibilities, not ones imposed by the community. Something that will be away from the crowds which should be forthcoming. I was thinking in a little nook in the South end. East end of course would love to have you, but it is more connected to the main corridors and I think you would have a preference to be away from the hustle and bustle, yes?” Again Julie was surprised. Yet another thing she hadn’t thought about. She’d have two businesses, but no home outside of a cabin at school, which wasn’t her home in the summer. “Ah, yeah, that sounds good,” said Julie, “I hadn’t even thought about that.” “Hmm...Not too far into the South end. I don’t want you showing too much preference. Removing your home and setting up a business without giving you a new home would send the wrong message about your willingness to stay. Not having a home in the community might look like uprooting yourself to some. Better to smoothly transplant yourself and set your roots down once again. It would head off any suspicions that you wish to leave. Tensions are beginning to climb as the election comes and it would be best to not give the appearance like you would wish to leave.” “Yeah, that makes sense. That’s great advice.” “That is why you have me,” said Mrs. Liu, “I’m afraid that you’ll be subject to the tyranny of good ideas so I’ll seek your advice whenever possible so I don’t end up running this place without you.” Julie quirked an eyebrow. “The tyranny of good advice?” asked Julie. “When advice from another is so good that you feel like you have no say or control,” said Mrs. Liu, “Many people come to resent it in time and explore less...Optimal options to express themselves. I hope that you will not do this. This is your project of course, but you are unskilled in executing it. As a woman of business I am skilled at this and understand that it is critical to the health and survival of our community. I can teach you if you wish or you can focus on the creation of your community and all that goes with that, but I will be busy and I won’t always have time to explain myself. Some decisions that I make may seem strange and their reasoning not immediately obvious.” “Let me think about it?” asked Julie. “Take all the time you need,” said Mrs. Liu, “Just know that time will close some doors and open others as I move. Your new apartment. It will take a few days to complete and I would suggest putting up a call for a new place to live before people take notice of you leaving your first home. I trust you can do that on your own now that I showed you?” “Uh, yeah. One second.” “Mmm…” Julie opened up the AURS app again and navigated to the same section as before. Subject: New Apartment Needed Requested by: Julie Freeman Lead by (optional): N/A Description: I need a new place that is smaller than my own that either already exists or is dug out for me. Preferably on the northern side of the South end. I need one bedroom for myself and one for my spirit. Pay (Optional): Increased reputation from Julie Freeman. Starting Date: August 20th, 2075. End Date: To be determined. “Like that?” asked Julie, and she held up her commlink. Mrs. Liu took a look at it and nodded. “Yes, exactly,” she said. “And my reputation will go down?” asked Julie. “You’re bringing prosperity to the community and moving into a smaller place that will take up fewer resources,” said Mrs. Liu, “It will probably go up. The potentially large influx of people may make it go down again, but you’ll be working on your own community, so I doubt many people will do more than grumble so they don’t offend you. There will be change and there will be grumbling, but this can be soothed with time and effort.” “That’s a lot to think about,” said Julie. “A higher reputation is easier to maintain if you’re likeable, bring rare skills, needed resources, connections and of course if you’re something of a political animal. The higher the reputation, the more maintenance is required to keep it and the harder it is to push it upwards.” While Julie fretted over that, Mrs. Liu read over the description again. “Hmm...Your spirit doesn’t sleep, does he?” asked Mrs. Liu. “No. I just think he’d like a place to put his things,” said Julie. Mrs. Liu smiled. “That’s very sweet.” Julie nodded bashfully. “Thanks,” agreed Julie, “I think he’d like his own place.” “Unless there is anything else…” said Mrs. Liu. The older woman was already beginning to turn away, but Julie remembered what Keith had said about mushrooms. About making food underground. “Mushrooms,” said Julie. Mrs. Liu furrowed her brow and looked at Julie. “Mushrooms?” “Yeah. I’m interested in growing some local produce. If you’re contacting experts, could you contact some more?” “You’ll be using those drone farms?” Julie hesitated before she spoke. “Maybe one, but I think I might take both topside. Mushrooms shouldn’t need that much electricity. I’d prefer to use local materials to make the farms.” “Farms? As in more than just the two?” asked Mrs. Liu, “You want even more?” Julie bit her lip in agitation and knew she’d made a mistake. The gaze that Mrs. Liu gave Julie was a piercing one. “The Ork Underground does mushroom farming in some places that are...Stable enough to farm them. Not in Touristville. That’s not our specialty,“ said Mrs. Liu, “The Ork Underground mostly uses those mushrooms to make beer. I can make some inquiries. Not about the beer as that would be seen as cutting in on their profits, but I can speak to some about their methods so long as I give assurances that we won’t be making beer.” “Great!” said Julie, and her voice cracked. She tried a smile. Mrs. Liu did not. “I suspect that we will talk about your newfound interest in farming later.” “Okay.” “At length,” said Mrs. Liu, her tone a serious one. Julie’s smile suddenly fell. “Yeah, right,” she said, her voice a little lower this time. Mrs. Liu patted Julie’s shoulder. “It is not bad that you are ambitious,” said Mrs. Liu, “But ambition must be tempered with wisdom. I will get you started and I will help point you towards the right people, but I will be busy on the main project. I will only be able to give general advice if you wish to grow food. I apologize if I am not as pleasant as normal. My mind is preoccupied. This is a good day. Thank you for thinking of me when you thought of prosperity. I will not let you down.” Mrs. Liu offered Julie a real smile, just a flicker, there and gone. Then she whirled around and walked into her shop like she owned the place even though Julie knew that she actually didn’t because no one could own the place or for that matter, almost any of the land in Touristville. It was then that she figured, half a beat too late, that she hadn’t told Mrs. Liu that she was welcome. She was doing so much. The older woman wasn’t the only one who was preoccupied. As Julie followed, she felt like she could have handled that much better than she had and maybe she’d given away too much by accident. She’d have to work on that. Meanwhile, Mrs. Liu fell behind and urged Julie forward, letting her lead the way into her own party. A gust of warm, humid air hit Julie as she entered the room. After all, the hot pots were still bubbling even if people were mostly finished. The food smelled even more amazing than when she had left. Julie felt spoiled after a year of eating food at school and a summer of eating the best of what Touristville had to offer. Sometimes she forgot that others didn’t have it nearly as good as she did. For the poor, food that was made up primarily of rice, soy, krill or mycoprotein was the norm while Julie had slowly grown used to real meat, fruits and vegetables in a way that others had not, though she sometimes still ate soy products. Then she shuddered at the thought of the barely palatable prison food. The deliberately tasteless nutraloaf, like mushy styrofoam. It seemed far away, but it wasn’t far enough. Maybe it never would be. “Hey everyone,” she found herself saying. All of their eyes turned to her. “Mrs. Liu just let me know that if you want dessert, the you can get whatever you want from the counter in front,” said Julie, “If still you have room that is.” “I have room!” exclaimed Fuzzy. There was some scattered laughter. “Any chance that I could get some more wine?” asked Cassie. Devin’s wife had her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her hand, though elbow, arm and chin all wobbled a bit. Then she cast a long look at her husband in a way that even Julie couldn’t mistake for anything other than the obvious. Especially after the slow lick her lips. Devin flicked his gaze once to her and then back and as he tried to keep his own gaze neutral and composed. Perhaps overly composed. “I just wanted to thank everyone for coming by,” said Julie, as she ignored Cassie, who definitely didn’t look like she needed anymore wine, “The food will keep coming of course if you’re still hungry, but if you’re interested in sampling a lot of desserts, you might want to check them out.” “Oh, I think I’ll just stick to my favorite dessert, tonight,” cooed Cassie. The mood was such that this wrung more laughter out of the room than awkwardness, though there was enough of both. Devin facepalmed and then put his hand on Cassie’s shoulder as he recovered. “Perhaps we should head home,” said Devin, “Marco, will you be alright?” Marco couldn’t help but smirk. “I’m not saving you.” “Noooo ooooone is saving yooooou,”she teased, in a drunken, sing-song voice. This time it wrung more laughs than awkwardness out of the room, though Georgia didn’t seem amused as she cast a look at the husband and wife and then at her son. “Ah, well, look at the time,” said Devin, far too quickly, “Time to go. Right now.” He stood up and so did Cassie and he did his best to steady her while she did her best to snuggle. They walked over to Julie. “Lovely party, Julie,” said Devin, “Thank you.” Thaaaaanks for the wiiiiine,” said Cassie, who tittered. They left and soon after, Georgia unfastened toddler Ricky from his high chair. Keith stood up and nodded towards Julie as he approached. “Thanks for the food,” he said, “I haven’t had real food like this in like...Ever.” “It’s kind of new for me too,” she said. “Yeah?” “Yeah. I really only started eating real food last year.” Keith just looked at her for a moment while he considered that. “Okay,” was what he managed. “I think your dad is getting some to take home,” said Julie, “Maybe a lot of it. So you know, it won’t just be a one time thing for tonight.” Keith nodded appreciatively. “Very cool,” he said, “Very, very cool. You were serious about the dessert?” Julie looked to Mrs. Liu, but she was already gone. Belatedly, Julie imagined that she was putting her plan into action. “Yeah,” she said, “Go nuts. Try the snowflake cake. It’s got coconut and raspberries. It’s really good.” “Real ones?” asked Keith, interest piqued. “I don’t know,” said Julie, “You might want to ask.” “All right,” he said, “Oh hey, uh...Are you on Shine?” “Am I what?” she asked. “Horizon Shine,” he said. He paused for recognition and frowned at her in confusion. “Social media?” guessed Julie. “Yeah,” he said, slowly, “The one that pretty much everyone uses?” “Oh, no, not in years,” she said, “I used to have an Ares account on...I think it was called Olympus, but that was uh...Back when I was human, wow. I should maybe delete that.” “Olympus is pretty dead and it’s uhh...More human only these days if you get what I mean. Wait, you transformed?” “On a softball field, yeah,” she said, wistfully, “If we could not…” Keith blushed and looked away. “Oh, yeah, sure,” he said, quickly, “Shine. I mean I don’t like using the corp stuff, but you basically got to if you’re doing political stuff since that’s where everyone is.” “Okaaay…” “And I asked my mom about the mushroom thing and I said you were thinking about setting something up and she said she could talk to you about it when she gets some time. She used to grow them back in the day. That and a lot of other stuff, but you know...” “Oh, yeah, great,” she said, “Um...I don’t have an account. I guess I can set one up. No one at school really uses social media.” Keith looked at her again, uncomprehending. “None of you?” he asked. “There’s this lame social media thing that no one uses called Salmon Run, but yeah, no one actually uses social media. At least not at school.” “I’ve literally never heard of Salmon Run before.” There was an awkward pause. “I’ll set up a Shine account,” she said, “I barely use my comm number either so you’d have a hard time getting a hold of me. There’s only one public terminal at school.” Keith took a few seconds, still very confused. “Why would anyone use a terminal?” he asked, “Who uses terminals when we’ve got commlinks? All the ones I see in my neighborhood are busted.” “Uhhh...The school jams all wireless signals,” she said, “There’s something about isolation in nature that helps us more easily increase our magic. I mean, I have a little cabin and everyone else has their own cabin too, but I basically live on a nature preserve.” “You get your own cabin in the woods?” asked Keith, “Do you have like...Dirt floors and a fireplace or something?” “It has wooden floors,” said Julie, “So it’s not that rustic, no.” “Well, terminals are rustic,” said Keith, “Or maybe rusty? Rusty, yeah.” Julie laughed a little. Rusty did discribe most terminals these days. “The school’s terminal isn’t rusty, but yeah it is kind of old. Really old, actually. I had a hard time understanding how to use it until someone showed me. Anyway it works for some reason, but I don’t know tech stuff that well. I still don’t fully understand my commlink sometimes.” “Ooookay,” he said, slowly, “I mean, you’re...Kinda cool even if you did sort of levitate me that one time which I...Uhh...Whatever, okay. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t use social media. That’s weird. N-Not that you’re like bad weird but...” “Thanks?” she said, unsure of how to take that. Keith pulled out a battered commlink and made a flicking motion over it from her to him and she got his Horizon Shine information. “Set it up and hit me up,” he said, quickly, “We’ll talk about mushrooms, I guess.” “Yeah, okay.” Keith hesitated. “See you around?” he asked, hopefully. Julie remembered the looks he’d given her before and they were a lot like the looks he was giving her now. Hopeful and nervous. She was glad for the armor vest and that it gave her a kind of flat, shapeless front, because she didn’t especially want to be ogled by a middle schooler. Not that he’d stared in a creepy way. At least she didn’t think he had. There were differences between being looked at and stared at after all. Maybe she was being uncharitable. “Yeah, sure,” she finally said, “Sorry. I’m just tired.” “No problem,” he said, “Hey, I can get some tickets for…” “We have to get going soon, Keith,” said Georgia, “Your dad still has to assemble that drone.” Keith groaned at being interrupted by his mother. “Mooom, come on,” he complained, “I’m talking.” “Mom I want candy,” demanded Ricky, from the place in her arms. “Just one piece,” she said, to her youngest, “I don’t want you bouncing off the walls.” “Caaaaaaaandyyyyyyyyy.” Georgia groaned in a way much like her oldest son, who looked sullen at the sudden appearance of his mother. “Thank you for the party, Julie,” she said, “And for the take home food. Jimmy told me.” “Oh yeah, I’m glad to have you here,” said Julie, “Sorry about Cassie. I’ve never actually seen her drunk before.” “It’s fine,” she said, “You asked about mushrooms?” “Yeah, I was looking into starting an underground farm. At least where I can find the space. Keith mentioned you might be willing to consult.” “Consult is far too fancy a word for me. I have ideas and experience,” said Georgia, “I did stuff like that for…” “Candyyyyyyyy,” said Ricky, as he experimented with one of his favorite words. Georgia shifted Ricky in her arms. The smile she gave Julie was a tight one. “We can talk about this later,” said Georgia, “Don’t let Keith bother you too much.” “What the...Mom? Why?” asked Keith. “It’s no trouble,” said Julie. “If you say so. Ricky here heard one of his favorite words. I think Jimmy will need a way into your apartment in a few minutes after my youngest finds something tasty.” “Into my...Oh, it’s unlocked,” said Julie. Georgia’s eyebrows climbed in surprise. Keith’s obvious confusion only intensified. “You leave your apartment door unlocked?” asked Georgia. “Only at night when the Tourists are gone,” said Julie, “And only when I’m here.” They stared at her. Julie didn’t squirm even though she wanted to. “This is a nice community,” said Julie, “No one steals or anything.” “You leave your door unlocked at...Who are you?” asked Keith, his tone a tight ball of confusion and exasperation, “What is this place? Is this even Seattle? You eat real food and don’t have social media and you live in the woods in a cabin and you don’t leave your door unlocked at night. Are you visiting from some different plane of existence? Can you take me there when you go? Reality sucks. Take me, please.” There was an awkward pause. “That’s just my life,” said Julie, lamely. “Come on, Keith,” said Georgia, quickly, “Let’s go get sweets and watch your dad assemble a drone. That is if he ever gets up.” She pitched her voice towards her husband, who didn’t seem to notice. Keith looked increasingly more sullen and moody by the moment. Ricky bounced in his mother’s arms. “Candy!” squealed Ricky. They departed as Georgia pushed her older son forward past the door. Julie sighed in relief and looked to who was left. Marco and Jimmy were listening to Fuzzy tell a story at the table. It was late and a school night. Not for her, but for Keith. Best that she talk to Jimmy and get him going. “Yeah, so my friend Kenji and I dodged the press,” said Fuzzy, “I ended up at this party for rich kids from school and it was okay, I guess. I got this thing called a mojito which was really tasty and Kenji got this bartender lady to try his magic alcohol.” “Magic alcohol?” asked Jimmy. “Yeah, it lets you relive memories that have water in it. Important ones.” Fuzzy suddenly had a distant look on her face. “Very important ones,” she said quietly. There were a few beats of silence before she came back to herself. “And then I ended up eating the wrong kind of cookies and got really sick,” she said. “What kind of cookies?” asked Marco. “I think that they’re called edible cookies,” said Fuzzy. Both Marco and Jimmy winced. “Oof,” said Jimmy, “Those are potent.” “They had drugs in them,” said Fuzzy, “I didn’t know that.” “How many did you have?” asked Jimmy. “I don’t know,” said Fuzzy, “A couple?” “Pieces?” “No,” said Fuzzy, slowly, “Cookies.” “Ooooooof,” said Jimmy, “I remember doing that before. Rough time.” “Yeeeeeah,” agreed Fuzzy. “So a toxic spirit of fire couldn’t take you down, but a few marijuana cookies did?” asked Marco. Fuzzy grunted once. “Yeah, maybe don’t spread that around,” said Fuzzy. “I’m actually loving the stories you don’t hear,” said Jimmy, “Keith went on and on about that trid where you fought that spirit. The whole matrix was abuzz for a minute or two if you pay attention to those things. At least if you believe Keith, which I do, but I don’t think anyone knows the person behind the spear and shield. They just saw shaky, grainy trid footage where you kicked rear end.” Julie sat down. “I could tell you some stories,” said Julie, as she inserted herself into the conversation. “Me too,” said Marco. “How about no,” said Fuzzy. Jimmy looked at Julie and raised a hand in greeting. He was in a lazy slouch in his chair, a glass of water balanced on his belly. “Hey Julie,” said Jimmy, “One of the waitresses gave me a pill to sober me up. They said it would take ten to kick in. Then I’ll assemble your drone and we can give it a test drive.” “It’s...Okay,” said Julie, tentatively, “Maybe do the test drive tomorrow?” “I got work, sorry,” said Jimmy, “I could remote in. In fact, if I can get someone to refill the drone from time to time I could run it all day. I’m only at my job because someone needs to fix those old drones. I could knock out a hundred people easy tomorrow without even blinking. Get an early start on things, you know?” “Umm...Umm…” Julie tried to think of a lie, failed but left him hanging for too long. “I should check with Mrs. Liu first,” said Julie, awkwardly, “She’s the one putting everything together.” “There are legalities,” said Marco, “Better not to violate those.” Julie appreciated Marco as he tried to cover for her. Tried and failed as Jimmy waved his hand dismissively. “You’re universally zoned and I’m licensed. Deregulation means that I can run one for a few days before getting the business license. You’ve got roving pop-up shops as a result,” said Jimmy, “I mean, I’m not the smartest, but I know how this works. I can get an early start. It’ll be my way of introducing myself to the community, you know?” He winked conspiratorially at Julie. “I’d just...Rather be there,” said Julie, quickly, “And have you be there. To make the introductions. That’s...Better, right?” Jimmy paused to take this in and then shrugged. “Okay, yeah,” he said. He chugged his glass of water, set it down on the table and stood up. “Looks like the pill kicked in,” he said, “Would you mind letting me back into your place so I can put it together?” “The door should be unlocked,” said Julie. “Really?” asked Jimmy, incredulously. “This is a nice community,” said Julie. “Nicer than any I’ve lived in,” said Jimmy, “At least in a loooong time.” “Really nice when I’m kicking out all the toxic spirits,” said Fuzzy, proudly. Julie stayed very still. Fuzzy had said spirits instead of the single spirit. If Jimmy noticed, he didn’t say anything. “Hell, it’s got to be real nice if you’re here looking out for it,” said Jimmy. He slapped Fuzzy on the back a few times. Fuzzy lifted her chin with pride and positively glowed from the praise. “I do what I can,” said Fuzzy, smugly. “I see why an attack by a toxic spirit would be scary, but it’s nothing to get bent out of shape about,” said Jimmy, “The longer you live in Seattle, the more you interact with scary things. A toxic spirit is rare, but a ganger will kill you just as dead. Anyway, a right at the intersection?” “Left,” said Julie, “First door on the left after the doctor’s office.” “Right, right...I’ll get out of your hair then. I’m not sure when I can actually make it down here with you, but I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can ask one of the guys to cover for me since I’m a little flush now and business is slow. Someone who needs the hours. Just let me know what you want to do.” “Sure, yeah.” “Thanks for the party,” he said, “I haven’t eaten this well in years.” “Yeah, no problem. Thanks for the help.” Jimmy worked his tongue around in his mouth. “I think that pill is giving me cottonmouth though,” he said. He drained the rest of his water. “Nope, not doing it for me,” he said. “There’s some juice in the fridge,” said Julie, “And you can make some tea in one of the cabinets. Help yourself.” “Thanks. I’ll need matrix access too. I’ll have to install some drivers on the drone. It won’t budge without being authorized. Got a password?” Julie sent him the password wirelessly and Jimmy nodded. Then he put his hand on his present, the large box containing the control console for the drone and then waved to Fuzzy and Marco. “Fuzzy, Marco, nice meeting you two.” “Bye Jimmy. See you around,” said Fuzzy. “Wonderful meeting you,” said Marco. “Right back atcha,” said Jimmy, “I’m going to take you up on that treat on the way out.” “Get whatever you like.” Jimmy put a hand on his pot belly and patted it. “The best way to my heart? Through the stomach. There’s a lot more stomach than there used to be so you have to take the scenic route, but it’s still the best way.” There was a little friendly laughter. And so he left with a little wave and the teens waved back, leaving Julie with Fuzzy and Marco. As soon as the door was closed, Julie flopped back in her chair and blew out a big breath. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Feb 22, 2021 |
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Nov 19, 2020 14:41
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“Ugh...Tired,” said Julie. Marco looked at her. “So why was I covering for you?” asked Marco. “Mrs. Liu needs to run a test on all of the drones,” said Julie. “Why?” Julie considered not telling him, but Marco was lonely and she wanted to include him. Not the whole truth, but a part of it. “They’re from Aztechnology,” she said, “Fuzzy, Kenji and I went on a kind of field trip and they gave us a lot of stuff. Then we pissed them off. So we have to make sure they’re not sabotaged.” “Why would you...” began Marco, before he stopped, “No, you can’t tell me, can you?” “That’s right,” sighed Julie. “How did you know?” asked Fuzzy. “They’re big on being intentionally creepy to intimidate people,” said Marco, “Part of that is through secrecy.” “So we should not worry or…” began Julie. “That depends, but you shouldn’t piss them off. That's good advice for any megacorporation really, but Aztechnology is up there.” “Oh.” “Look, I don’t have a lot of connections to Aztechnology, but if you feel like you’re in danger then I can try and mediate.” Julie looked to Fuzzy. Fuzzy obviously didn’t know. “We should talk to Julian first,” said Julie. “That’s smart, yeah. It’s a good sign that you came back with stuff. If they wanted to really hurt you, they wouldn’t have bothered and you wouldn’t have been allowed to leave.” “Really?” asked Fuzzy. “Extraterritoriality,” said Marco, “The biggest corporations not only own the land they’re on, but they make the laws inside of that land. UCAS laws don’t apply.” “Okay…” said Fuzzy, “Is that normal?” “Only for the biggest corps out there,” said Marco, “Maybe...Thirty? Forty of them? It shifts from year to year. Lone Star looks like it's gone now so it’s one less. Same amount of land though, it's just that Ares is eating it up." “What can you tell us without us telling you anything?” asked Julie. Marco considered. “Younger people tend to get a little more of a pass with corporations. Harming children and teenagers hurts their bottom line pretty bad and with the revelations about Lone Star, everyone is using a soft touch with children. Plus you’re connected to the school and most of the teachers are at least a little connected to the corporate world through the graduates and their families. Some of them are extremely connected. So unless you screwed up really badly then you’re probably not worth really going after for the potential trouble that it would cause.” “What’s screwing up really badly?” asked Fuzzy. Marco shrugged. “Like I said, Aztechnology likes to keep people guessing, so I don’t know. Also there’s not just one monolith that is Aztechnology. Every corporation is riddled with factions who all think different things. Anyway, why would you go there? Why would you piss them off though? They’re creepy cultists.” “It’s complicated,” said Fuzzy. Marco rubbed at his face. “Fine, yeah, maybe it’s best that you don’t tell me,” said Marco, “What did you get?” “Umm…” began Julie, “One dental drone, one medical drone and two drone farms. Also some odds and ends. I can’t remember everything. I’m tired.” Marco took a moment to think about that. “Huh, okay...” he mused, "That tells me a little." "Really?" asked Fuzzy. "You got functional things instead of their finery," said Marco, "So yeah, it tells me a little. Who went with you?" “Uhh...Kenji, Fuzzy, Julian and me,” said Julie, “Why?” “No one corporate?” asked Marco, “No one else?” “No…” “Why not anyone else?” asked Marco. “I was interested in where our food comes from and Julian put something together since he’s not teaching spells right now. It wasn’t anything really official.” “Okay, that’s weird, but okay. The fact that you didn’t bring anyone corporate along tells me something about why they might be offended.” “What do you mean?” asked Fuzzy. “Well, okay,” said Marco, “Imagine that it’s like a thousand years ago. No corporations, but kings. You show up to some king’s castle and ask to look around. They let you in because you’re from somewhere important. You ask for their hospitality and they say yes. Then they find out that you’re just...You know, regular people. It looks insulting that no one that the king deems important shows up if it’s something official.” “Something official like a field trip?” asked Julie, “Is the school that big a deal?” “It’s the best private school for magic on the west coast. That doesn’t include the colleges, but even then, Blake Island has a lot of clout due to all of the corporate kids that go there. So yes, the school has more than a little respect. It rates, so you can't just be turned away. At the same time you’re not important enough in their eyes to really treat well, but you are important enough not to refuse. You go through their...Castle I guess and you have eyes for certain things and they give them because being stingy with people who are just important enough would reflect badly on them. So you look and they say that of course it’s yours and they feel obligated to give you things while they feel insulted.” “We were looking to buy,” said Julie. “You didn’t look like you were going to buy. You showed up in an official capacity,” explained Marco, “You know, as representatives from a school where the corporate nobility congregate, even if it isn't Aztechnology corporate nobility. I really care about you, but to corporations, you barely rank. The school ranks. Julian ranks. But they’re not corporate. So it looks insulting because they had certain expectations about who would come. They want to show off their finest things to fine people and then regular people show up wanting dentist chairs and farms. Those expectations were violated. So you get your foot in the door and you get corporate largesse...Stuff. You’re not beggars on the road that the king’s entourage tosses money to. You're not some foreign dignitaries worth treating well. You're in this weird space where you're not only in-between that, but they're probably going out of their way to treat young people well.” "That sounds incredibly complicated," said Julie. "Welcome to the corporate world," said Marco, "It's pretty impenetrable until you know how to interpret it. I'm really only telling you what EVO would likely do. I can only guess for the Azies." “You know,” said Fuzzy, thoughtfully, “I’ve been LARPing long enough that I actually understand some of this stuff now. So um...We showed up with the least of us from the school...And...Uh...Because we didn’t have anyone important from the corporate world it looked like the school was insulting them, right?” “Yes,” said Marco, “Julian counts of course, but he’s not enough on his own not to be insulting to a corporation. He is the one who brings people and he brought all of you. You could get away with it at EVO, but they wouldn’t be happy and EVO has a reputation for being extremely tolerant. They're really not, but they like having that reputation. I can’t say about Aztechnology in particular, but that’s how it would look to my corporation. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that it looked like an insult.” “We got treated...I don’t know...Well?” asked Julie, “I mean, we had this person attached to us. This guide who smelled weird.” “They got you with those tailored pheromones, right?” asked Marco. “Ugh,” said Fuzzy, her tone filled with disgust, “She smelled so good and I hated it and I hated her, but it was hard to hate her. I had to try not to like her.” “Yeah, that’s standard,” said Marco, “Corporations use soft power to manufacture consent.” “You lost me again,” said Fuzzy. “They use trickery and words and magic and tech to twist your no into a yes. And they do it over and over again until you’re doing what they want, whatever that is, because then the person getting tricked will eventually want what the corporation wants. Violence is for the have nots, or at least the ones who don’t work for them. It's nasty and I’ve seen it. They don’t want you to see it at my level or they only want you to see it in specific ways but...Anyway, subtle manipulation is for the people they can’t just use violence on to coerce. It’s for the wealthy and the powerful and the influential. So the fact that they tried to manipulate…” Julie and Fuzzy were revolted. “Ew,” said Julie, “Is that normal?” “It’s…” tried Marco. “My dad warned me about this,” said Fuzzy, angrily, “That corporations twist you up until you fit. Until you do what they want.” “Please just…” said Marco, anxiously, “Just...Look, I’m not the bad guy here.” “I didn’t say you were,” said Fuzzy. “Yeah,” said Julie. “Well it feels like I’m being called the bad guy here,” he said, defensively. “We didn’t call you bad,” said Julie, “I’m confused.” Marco groaned and rubbed at his face. “It just…” he began, but his voice was muffled by his hands. “You are helping,” said Julie. Marco took a sharp breath in. “You were doing great,” continued Julie. Julie figured that he was stressed. Even though the criticism hadn’t been about him, she figured that the stress of his life over the summer was getting to him. Meanwhile, Fuzzy got up from her seat and put a hand on his back. “Not you,” said Fuzzy, to his back, “Them.” “What?” asked Marco, obviously confused, voice still muffled by his hands. Even as he sat down, Marco was as tall as a tall human standing up. Fuzzy rubbed his back and Julie could see the agitation and anxiety plainly. From the stiffness of his shoulders to the way his shirt bunched as his biceps stretched his shirt to the rapid pace of his breathing. “You’re my friend,” said Fuzzy, soothingly, “And I spent all of last year eating with you and you were nice to me even though most everyone wouldn’t even talk to me and you even taught me how to read. So I know you more than a little. It’s not about you. It’s about them. Not you, them.” Julie looked on. This was something Fuzzy could do, not Julie. Not without the risk of sending mixed messages and confusing him more. There were still too many unresolved feelings between herself and Marco for Julie to comfort him. So she stayed silent, but felt for him all the same. “I…” said Marco, quietly. “Shhhh…Take a minute.” Fuzzy stroked Marco’s back. “Now say it,” said Fuzzy, against his ear, “Not you, them.” He hesitated but finally nodded and began to control his breathing. “Not me, them,” he said, eventually.. “I’m not…” He squeezed his eyes shut and licked his lips. “I’m not EVO,” he repeated. Fuzzy stood up on booted tiptoes and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. Then she strode back to her seat next to him and sat down. Marco finally pulled his hands away from his face. “Sorry,” said Marco. “You’re stressed about Touristville,” said Fuzzy. “I’m stressed about a lot of things,” said Marco. “Is there anything that we can do to help?” asked Fuzzy. That was when Julie realized that she was probably a source of that stress. Her relationship with Marco had ended abruptly and she’d never explained what had happened. They had only spoken once over the summer, but it had been about getting money for Oli, which may very well have tapped into Marco’s legal defense fund for Touristville. Guilt squirmed around inside of her at the thought. “I don’t know,” said Marco. “Want to hang out more?” asked Fuzzy. Marco looked first to Fuzzy and then to Julie. Again she realized something. Marco may have been keeping away from his friends because Fuzzy, Kenji and Sasha were Julie’s friends. “I don’t…” began Marco. “I think that would be a good idea,” said Julie, “Kenji and I have to go through a ritual cleansing. Since Fuzzy doesn’t, maybe you two could have fun.” “A what?” asked Marco. Marco looked at Julie and his eyes went out of focus. It was rude to assense someone in the astral without their permission, but he was doing it anyway and probably getting a good look not only at her bruised magic, but at her emotional state as well. “Did they hurt you?” asked Marco. “They took a swipe at my magic,” said Julie, “I’ll get…” “If they hurt you,” he said, and voice turned threatening. “I’ll get over it,” said Julie, firmly, “It’s okay. Just a ritual cleansing and...Some other things, I can’t remember. Tired. Julian said we’d be okay. It would just be time consuming.” That edge to Marco suddenly vanished and a guilty look replaced it as he realized what he’d done. “I’m sorry I…” “It’s fine,” said Julie, “You were concerned. I’m okay. My magic isn’t permanently diminished.” “But you’re wounded,” said Marco, “You and Fuzzy, but Fuzzy’s magic is okay. I don’t understand.” “It’s one of those things that we can’t really talk about,” said Julie. Julie was actually talking about two different things at that moment. Both of which she couldn’t talk about, but for different reasons. The people from Aztechnology had been clear not to speak about what they’d witnessed on the impromptu field trip and though Julie trusted Marco, talking to others about Dragonslayer, even if she trusted them, didn’t seem smart without discussing it with everyone else. “Ah,” said Marco, “I understand.” Julie felt bad. She didn’t want to mislead him, but she’d probably have to do a lot of lying and misleading in the coming days if anyone came too close to inconvenient truths. “Yeah,” said Julie. “You’re really okay?” “I feel like I fell down the stairs,” said Julie, “It’s not great, but I’m okay.” “I mostly ignore it,” said Fuzzy. “How do you ignore this?” asked Julie. Fuzzy shrugged. “You just do.” Julie sighed and looked to Marco. “We’ll be better by tomorrow,” said Julie, “And before you ask, Kenji is getting some surgery for something unrelated and Sasha is getting help for her anxiety. They’re better than okay because they’re getting help.” “Oh…” said Marco, sadly, “I wish I’d known.” “It all sort of happened pretty quickly,” said Julie. “Sasha hasn’t been dealing very well,” said Fuzzy, “She’s going in the vat, whatever that means.” “She’s damaging her magic with tech?” asked Marco. “The pills and the exercises and the therapy weren’t working,” said Fuzzy, “I had to help her through panic attacks at least once a week and I figure she was having more without telling me. She said that losing some magic that you can get back later is worth it if she could stop the panic attacks.” “I guess that makes sense,” said Marco, “Kenji is okay?” “Yeah,” said Julie, “He’ll be back home tonight.” Julie neglected to say that there were weird craters where his sinuses were and that had been a weird and awful night, but Marco didn’t need to worry about what was over. “Sasha is doing inpatient treatment for two weeks,” said Julie. If Julie didn’t know that the CPS people weren’t bribed by Mrs. Liu, she would have worried that Sasha wasn’t there for the visit. She still worried of course, but far less so now. “Where?” asked Marco, “Can I visit?” “Council Island,” said Fuzzy. Marco furrowed his brows in confusion. “They don’t have a...Oh...Wait…” “What?” asked Julie. “I mean, it’s just a rumor,” said Marco, “The Salish do all of their diplomatic work with the UCAS on Council Island, but they only have a hospital, no geneware clinic. Not even cyberware or bioware. Just medicine. I heard that there’s a deltaware clinic there.” “Oh,” said Julie, “Really?” “What’s that?” asked Fuzzy. “Top of the line, grade A cybernetics and bioware and geneware that gets stuffed into your body,” said Marco, “It’s easy on the essence, so you can stuff a lot into yourself. It’s pretty pricey though. Delta clinics are really rare and going to one is less like a doctor’s office and a lot like going to a spa. It’s great for attracting dignitaries and some of those treatments last for months. So I imagine a lot of deals get worked out.” “So she’s not going to be able to talk to us?” asked Julie. “It’s more a rumor, not a secret,” said Marco, “They’ll probably just have her sign some NDA’s. It’s a deltaware clinic, not a prison. If it’s real. How did she get in there?” “I think Kenji cashed in a favor from Joyce,” said Julie. Marco’s face darkened in anger. “Joyce? As in Joyce Sartel?” he asked, “You shouldn’t exchange favors with Joyce Sartel.” “Kenji sort of learned that the hard way, yeah,” said Julie. “How did he end up?” “He got the better of him,” said Julie. “Keep it that way,” said Marco, “Joyce is a...Well, he’s a snake. Always hissing into peoples’ ears. Elves only and for all the wrong reasons. Odds are he was trying to get Kenji into his...What do you call it...Retinue.” “Oh hey, I know that word,” said Fuzzy, “Like a courtier?” “Joyce isn’t a king,” said Marco, “So it’d be more like a retainer." Julie looked confused, so Marco clarified. “A high class servant for a noble house. Not someone who does drudgework. The people of import to the nobles. No way would he view Kenji as an equal, but Kenji has enough talent and magic that he’s a prime candidate for recruiting.” “Oh,” said Julie. “Fuzzy, you didn’t learn that word from your reading program, did you?” asked Marco. “No, from LARPing,” said Fuzzy, “You should come with me. I can try and go next weekend.” “I don’t know what lerping is,” said Marco. “Live augmented reality role playing,” said Fuzzy, “Or live action role playing I think. You use tech and your imagination and you swing foam swords and stuff. It’s fantasy game stuff. I’m a barbarian. I do it at the park on weekends sometimes with a bunch of other people. And hey, you can ride in my sweet truck.” “That...Sounds fun,” said Julie, “Would I fit in your truck?” “Ummm…” said Fuzzy, “It’s a pretty big truck. I might have to lean the seat back a little. Is Saturday good for you?” “I spend weekends with my mentor,” said Marco, “my ever surly, ranting, inflexible mentor. I’d never hear the end of it if I ditched.” Julie pursed her lips in thought. “Hey, what if you made him happy?” asked Julie, “Could you ditch then?” “Nothing makes him happy,” grumbled Marco. “I know what would make him happy,” said Julie. “Well please, tell me,” urged Marco, “I really want to ditch. Even if it’s just for a day.” Julie’s smile turned knowing. “You know those farms I have?” asked Julie. “Yeah?” Julie looked to Fuzzy, who was sure this time. She nodded. “What if I told you that I want to set those up and feed the poor?” Marco’s face slowly lit up. It was like it was last year and he was happy again. That was the Marco that Julie remembered and loved. Still loved, probably, though she put that feeling aside for now. It was kind of hard to do that when he smiled like that though. “Yeah,” said Julie, “We got one deluxe farm and one basic farm. Both of them are drone operated. I’m also talking to people about setting up some farms down here in Touristville.” Marco’s smile diminished. “The electric grid isn’t set up for drone farming,” said Marco, “It’s too energy intensive. One farm, maybe two, but the energy is a real problem.” “Oh, we’re going to float one of those and the other is going, well...We’ll see,” said Julie, “But I was thinking we could make space down here. Mushrooms don’t need much energy. They grow in the dark.” Marco rubbed at his chin. “Good point,” he said, “You really shouldn’t sell food though. Aztechnology doesn’t like people selling food unless they get a cut.” “I was thinking of giving it away,” said Julie, “To the people most in need.” Marco’s smile returned. “That...Might actually not make them mad. How many people?” asked Marco, “Where are the people most in need?” Julie almost reached out to pat him on the arm, but then thought better than to touch him. “That’s something to discuss on Saturday,” she said. Julie hoped that Saturday wasn’t the day of the future massacre. She had no idea when it was coming up. Sooner every day. “And maybe we could have a fun day out?” asked Julie, “You, me, Kenji and Marco? I’ve never actually been though. Do I have to get a costume?” “You can get an AR costume or you can get a real costume,” said Fuzzy, excitedly, “And you can ride in my truck. And I can ask Jayvon if he wants to do barbecue again. And…” As Fuzzy went on about LARPing, Marco relaxed and Julie hoped that a day out to have some fun and talk about feeding people wouldn’t be interrupted by a massacre. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Feb 22, 2021 |
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Nov 19, 2020 14:41
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Going to do tallies later for votes when I wake up. We'll be moving on to the next day and one very bribed CPS rep. Edit: Might make some tweaks to the ending. Not sure. I'll think about it when I wake up. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Nov 19, 2020 |
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Nov 19, 2020 14:43
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Joyce - Wednesday, August 21st, 2075 – Morning - Blake Island “Squeak-a, squeak-a,” went the mirror, as Joyce’s hand cleared away the fog from the shower. He was half dressed now, designer jeans on his hips, hands on the sink as he looked at himself. Something he’d been trying not to do for the last few days. He’d also been left alone with his thoughts. Something he’d dreaded and so he’d found every excuse not to think. For the past few days since Julie’s pronouncement in her doctor’s office, Joyce had buried himself in work. There was plenty of it. The diplomatic office was absolutely swamped and he was doing what he could to help. Still, there were those moments when he woke up and the subsequent shower was disconcerting. Moments like waking up and attempting to sleep were a nightmare, because then he was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that he could talk about out loud to no one save for Julie, whom he didn’t know and therefore couldn’t trust. His hands touched at his chest and then away, as if burned. Then he opened the bathroom door and with purposeful strides he found a shirt, for once not caring what it looked like, slipped on some socks and shoes, pocketed his commlink, put on his AR glasses and then headed out the door. As he left, he looked up and his face prickled with shame and indignation. “Oh, right,” he said, “That.” He was stopped in place when he stared at the shame pole in his front yard. There were no adornments to it. It was just a tall log. The same kind that someone might be tied to during lunch if they’d screwed up badly enough. The difference was that it was his. People had seen him dig it so at least he wasn’t dreading the shame of it being noticed. Olisha and her friends had set up lawn chairs and had cat called him for hours when he dug. He’d been so sore and his hands had blistered because he didn’t know to use gloves. They’d healed up fine, but Joyce had been a stranger to manual labor and it showed. Then he looked down the way and saw the shame pole in Kenji’s yard. That made Joyce feel a little better. At least Kenji’s shame pole had gone up first. Julian’s shame pole was in front of his own cabin. Joyce had been third and hopefully he wouldn’t be the last of this select crew. All elves, Joyce noted. Not a ringing endorsement of his race. Joyce turned on his commlink on his designer Fairlight Caliban commlink. Top of the line, not that he noticed. In fact, he only would have noticed if it wasn’t. He entered in his password and biometric data onto his commlink and he was walking and reading about Tir’s coming war with California. As a Dove shaman, this bored and disgusted him. The war is always coming or so the saying goes in Tir. As he strode down the dirt path, heading nowhere in particular, he read bland reports about the coming war. All of Tir’s diplomats had been expelled from California and Tir in turn had expelled the Californians. The thing about war always coming is that no one can say exactly when it will start. The expulsion of diplomats happened every few years. There would be some mountain border skirmishes and then things would cool down. There hadn’t been a real war in over a decade and Tir had not only won that, but taken land in the mountains and further entrenched on California’s northern border. Joyce slowed as he neared Krupa’s cabin. That was a painful knot that he didn’t know how to untie. She’d been so disappointed in him and Joyce in turn had been confused. Recruiting someone like Kenji who would be a loyal retainer was standard in Tir. In fact, Joyce had been gentle about the process as far as he could tell. The word enslavement when applied to Kenji had been a serious slap in the face. There was no unwillingness to the process. If anything, Joyce should be aggrieved as Kenji had hit him several times and then taken all of his wine. Though in retrospect, Joyce was glad that the wine was gone. That first day after Julie’s pronouncement had been a rough one. He sped up and buried himself in the reports because there was nothing else he wanted to do or consider. After all, his own reports were complete and Saanvi was no longer being a problem and so the reports about her had dwindled. She was finally taking her training seriously even if Joyce knew it had been to protect her sister during the protest at Olympic Park and despite the attack by human supremacists, she had performed admirably and Krupa’s efforts to heal the injured had been noticed and appreciated. Though it was Joyce who had received the commendation, not Krupa as Krupa as his betrothed was technically his subordinate. Meanwhile, his future sister-in-law was frequently apathetic and uncaring about the honors bestowed upon her...Well, Joyce really. It was his duty to commend both sisters, but they weren’t talking to him. He wondered if his father had such problems managing his household. Joyce couldn’t focus on the ever coming war. It grated that so much attention was paid to war instead of maintaining the peace. Tir had won its place in the sun through war, but even Joyce understood that they were less skilled at winning the peace. People like him were needed but sadly not appreciated. Someday. Hopefully. He walked where his feet carried him, which was towards the cafeteria. As far as he could tell, he was alone on the island save for security who were unseen. There was no one to talk to. No one to distract himself with. No networking with the corporate elite to be done. His time was being wasted and he wasn’t used to that. Perhaps after breakfast he would wait at the docks and see if anyone came. The fork scraped the plate and he ate his vegetarian meal mechanically. He listened to music. An elven re-imagining of Mozart’s Lacrimosa. Music that he didn’t really like, but it was expected that he would like it in order to present a certain image and so it was all he had on his playlist and so he listened. He looked down at his vegetarian meal. Mostly unfinished. Then he looked around. There was no one here. He could do as he liked, he realized. He’d never actually had meat before and he had this perverse need to try it. All he’d had were meat substitutes of course and only rarely, the lab grown substitutes, cruelty free, but Blake Island’s cafeteria did serve the real thing. Flesh from real animals. He wavered between curiosity and disgust before he headed back towards where the prepared meals lay. This time instead of walking towards them, he stole his way towards them, quiet as a thief. He uncovered the wrap that kept the meal fresh and found bacon, eggs and sausage on a plate. Horribly curious, he took only a single piece of sausage before wrapping it up again. Then he stared at the sausage, smaller than one of his fingers. Though it was bite sized, he took only the tiniest nibble from it. It was surprisingly good, even cold. So he took another bite and another until it was gone. It felt wrong, but good. He enjoyed transgression for he did it so rarely. Then he wondered how Dove would feel. People who followed Dove ate meat, right? Not all of them could be vegetarians. But to create the meat that he’d devoured was a violent act. The animal had been raised and then murdered. Its skin peeled away. Its meat was pulled from the bone, seasoned and then cooked. Joyce’s stomach began to roil as he contemplated this. As his body began to reject the violence that he’d taken into himself. He ran to the bathroom, bursting in and then throwing up to the sound of his people’s take on Mozart. He knelt in front of the toilet, crying and heaving, the ends of his long, straight red hair in the toilet water, for he didn’t know to hold it back. The partially digested vegetarian meal and bit of meat floated in the water with his hair. “I’m a man,” he whispered to himself. What Joyce had been running from caught him in a low moment and all of the fear and the hatred and the doubt set in to plague him. Julie was a liar. She had to be. Or she was mistaken. He could not go to another doctor because he would be watched. Perhaps someone could summon a spirit for him, but then the summoner might know what the spirit did. The spirit would likely be trustworthy, but the summoner? What Joyce needed was truth and confirmation. To put these feelings of doubt to bed. To regain and maintain control. Then he realized, much belatedly, that he could do these things for himself. His magic wasn’t potent. In fact it was slightly ahead of the pack as far as the slight amount of damage from his actual deltaware mods created. The real ones that improved his quality of life. Not excelling too much had been a directive from Tir to allow him to better mingle among the corporate elite without threatening him, but they weren’t paying attention. And as a dabbling sanologist, he did know the diagnose spell along with many other health spells. He paused and considered as his forehead lay on the cool lip of the toilet. A way forward gave him hope and clarity. Within a few weeks or maybe months he could improve himself enough to perhaps diagnose himself. “Yes,” he whispered to himself, “Yes, that would be best. I must do it alone.” It would be difficult, but it would be doable. He couldn’t just passively grow in power from being here. It would take at least another year before he’d grow in power. Maybe two. No, he would not wait. He scraped together his resolution and stood up and before he could speak, the ends of his wet, filthy hair clung to his neck and he froze in horror. His stomach roiled again, but he swallowed his vomit. Then he carefully bathed his hair in the sink like he imagined a peasant would. His lowest point in a long time to be sure. Perhaps his lowest ever. He was very glad that no one was here to see him. He paused before he left the cafeteria and looked to the room with the terminal. A thought came over him and he made his way inside, but not before he peered in to make absolutely sure no one was there, even though he was alone. So he sat down in front of the old, silvery device with its keyboard and flat screen, logged into his school account and looked for a way to increase his magic. This wasn’t a class exactly. No class boasted of a way to increase magic. It was more about discovering your place in the environment, isolation, introspection and pushing oneself. The last of which… “Ah, there we are,” he said to himself. His class schedule. Mornings with Julian in the spirit mentors class. Then advanced summoning with Mrs. Maureen. Then math and science. It was possible to change classes before the two weeks were up. So Joyce turned his attention away from his revolting circumstances and towards what classes would challenge him the most. Tir had picked out the summoning class to grow closer to one his prospects from last year, but Joyce could just not tell anyone. No one was watching. This was his work and he told himself that he could choose how to best execute it himself. Perhaps he could find a new prospect in whatever class. So he went through the class lists for magic: Alchemy or enchanting with Mr. Peters. Spellcasting with Mother Bear. The physical adept gym class and combat class with Coach Bolt. He paused there and stared at the physical adept class, basically a gym class and the combat class. Again, his aversion to violence meant he’d never take the combat class, but Coach Bolt did offer the gym class and one could take it multiple times if they wished. Joyce leaned back in the chair. He really didn’t want to go to gym class, which meant that in order to improve himself, that was probably the best option. The fact that this was also the most “manly” option did not escape Joyce either. His body was slender and that was purposeful. Manual labor of course was not something that someone of his station should never do, of course, but the pursuit of physical fitness was something noble and good. “Very manly, yes,” he said to himself, “Just the thing to prove myself. Improve myself. Yes.” And so Joyce made the switch from summoning class with Mrs. Maureen to the physical adept gym class with Coach Bolt. There was a box below with the reason for the change. Joyce stared at that box for long minutes before finally typing in his answer. “I want to change myself.” Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Feb 22, 2021 |
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Nov 20, 2020 03:56
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Baby steps on the road to self-discovery and Independence.
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Nov 20, 2020 12:52
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Joyce really needs someone to talk to, though. Emotional turmoil combined with isolation can be a pretty toxic recipe.
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Nov 20, 2020 17:20
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Butt Discussin posted:Joyce really needs someone to talk to, though. Emotional turmoil combined with isolation can be a pretty toxic recipe. He's already pretty toxic though.
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Nov 20, 2020 21:47
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There's normal toxic like just being an rear end in a top hat and then there's being toxic like super evil magic terrorist. But come to think of it I wonder what a toxic shaman of Dove would be like.
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Nov 20, 2020 22:13
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steelninja posted:There's normal toxic like just being an rear end in a top hat and then there's being toxic like super evil magic terrorist. But come to think of it I wonder what a toxic shaman of Dove would be like. neville chamberlain the magic user. peace for our time!
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Nov 20, 2020 22:17
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VanSandman posted:He's already pretty toxic though. I think the concern is less that he's small-t 'toxic' (most Blake Island kids are going to be, one shape or another) and more that he might go big-T Toxic. steelninja posted:But come to think of it I wonder what a toxic shaman of Dove would be like. I imagine something like the Lego Movie's Lord Business and his Kragle superweapon, trying to preserve everything exactly as it is so nothing can ever be hurt or damaged again.
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Nov 20, 2020 22:48
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Definitely feel like he's a ticking time bomb to toxic shaman, looking for short cuts to power. Eats a porterhouse steak with a side of sausage links and bacon that he butchered himself, becomes toxic and feral and has a stand off with Fuzzy while she's hunting the same deer as Joyce. Puppy gets injured but the owl picks up Joyce and tosses his tiny person into the sound where Krupa happens to be communicating with dolphin. Toughy fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Nov 21, 2020 |
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Nov 20, 2020 23:09
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Doesn't seem to me like he's trying to take a shortcut. He's trying to push his own boundaries by working out and affirming his manliness. It actually seems to me like one of the more benign ways to express that kind of desire, at least for now. I guess what he really needs to do is confront the thoughts he's avoiding, but physical exertion might even be able to help with that.
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Nov 21, 2020 00:00
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"It would be difficult, but it would be doable. He couldn’t just passively grow in power from being here. It would take at least another year before he’d grow in power. Maybe two. No, he would not wait." Granted exercising is an ok first step but when exercising doesn't work as fast as he hopes (because exercising isn't a fast way to power)
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Nov 21, 2020 00:05
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I took it more to mean that he's accelerating relative to what would have happened if he had remained a passive, run-of-the-mill student.
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Nov 21, 2020 00:18
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Dr Subterfuge posted:I took it more to mean that he's accelerating relative to what would have happened if he had remained a passive, run-of-the-mill student. I admit I'm probably taking the more sinister interpretation
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Nov 21, 2020 00:28
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Dr Subterfuge posted:Doesn't seem to me like he's trying to take a shortcut. He's trying to push his own boundaries by working out and affirming his manliness. It actually seems to me like one of the more benign ways to express that kind of desire, at least for now. I guess what he really needs to do is confront the thoughts he's avoiding, but physical exertion might even be able to help with that. Yeah, the Island passively generates magic up to a point, which is about rating 4. This isn't something that only the island does, just being surrounded by nature for an extended period of time. I draw this from the physical and mental health benefits from being in nature which is pretty well documented but the mechanisms are not understood. So if you're stressed, a two hour hike through nature once a week is great for you. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/sour-mood-getting-you-down-get-back-to-nature And something of a more scholarly article on that. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3 Joyce is taking an active interest in his growth instead of passively receiving magical growth. So he's willing to accelerate growth instead but he isn't seeking instant gratification. This is also delayed because he probably doesn't want the answer, just to confirm his biases. I will say that he's not doing great and that he is at risk, but he's more aware of that risk due to being in a class that's specifically about dealing with that, the spirit mentors class. Joyce is very aware that if he intentionally goes toxic to gain power, he'll go insane and start hurting people. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Nov 21, 2020 |
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Nov 21, 2020 01:13
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There's a "toxic masculinity" joke in here somewhere, if you reach for it.
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Nov 21, 2020 01:15
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Side note, is the CPS rep very bribed because both Mrs. Liu and Kenji were independently bribing them :P?
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Nov 23, 2020 03:40
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Keldulas posted:Side note, is the CPS rep very bribed because both Mrs. Liu and Kenji were independently bribing them :P? Let's see how many people I can get to bribe that rep all at once. Bribing government to do something or to not do something is a Shadowrun standby.
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Nov 23, 2020 03:55
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Bribing the same official 3-4-5 times and the official is like ya I'll take the money then kick it to someone else and walk away
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Nov 23, 2020 04:49
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The thing you got to worry about is if too many people bribe them it starts to get suspicious and they start to wonder is there something bigger or dangerous going on. it's not good to have too many questions. Then again it could have the opposite approach and it could shut them up because they don't want to get involved.
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Nov 23, 2020 15:14
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Hey folks. Two things: First, I'm putting together a blurb for Blake Island, which is a kind of short description of the story to get people to read the story to begin with. Getting people to read a story at all is heavily dependent on a blurb and I'm not especially good at that. In fact I usually asked for help in creating those, but when it's done and I have the first book up I'm going to start promoting it as well as editing it. I've been talking about this for years, but I think that having it on Royal Road, which is a place specifically for web fiction, would be good to get more eyes on the work. And I'll try and have that out in the next few days. The second is that updates are going to be a bit delayed. My computer is in the shop and my notes were on the other one. This is just a heads up for a delay and it's on me for not backing up work. I remember the scene and what happened, so I'll just have to recreate it what I wrote. That's all. I'll try and roll out the next update soon. 
Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Nov 27, 2020 |
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Nov 27, 2020 19:30
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Good luck!!
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Nov 27, 2020 21:23
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Sounds great when you get the blurb and the link to the first book ready I can share them to a few places I know. I already did it once on the shadowrun Facebook group I'm part of but I'll do it again.
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Nov 27, 2020 22:41
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What's the status?
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Jan 3, 2021 04:47
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Butt Discussin posted:What's the status? Writer's block, mostly. I'll see if I can push past it. I've also had some stuff happen recently that sapped my creativity. Apologies for the delay and lack of communication.
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Jan 3, 2021 23:12
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On a side note, can Julie talk to Devin or someone about Rita? Currently she has told no one that Rita is coming, and that's just another disaster on the horizon. Her life is exciting enough, she really doesn't need more problems. And yeah, it can be a disaster even still, but she needs to at least prepare a little for Rita's coming.
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Jan 12, 2021 11:17
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Keldulas posted:On a side note, can Julie talk to Devin or someone about Rita? Currently she has told no one that Rita is coming, and that's just another disaster on the horizon. Her life is exciting enough, she really doesn't need more problems. +1 to this
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Jan 13, 2021 20:42
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I may be misremembering but I'm pretty sure that Julie already told Devin about her coming. I don't know if Rita is just coming for a visit or to stay permanently but she has some really good skills and experience that I'm sure Julie with her new responsibilities could make use of.
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Jan 17, 2021 15:00
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Would she would be better than the average shaman at dealing with the astral in the Ache? Maybe she could get involved with protecting the farms there. After, you know, the gang actually gets that off the ground.
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Jan 17, 2021 15:55
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Chip and Mother Bear - Wednesday, August 21st, 2075 – Late Night - Blake Island “Am I good now?” asked Chip. Even though Chip did indeed feel good now, he was expecting a no from Mother Bear as he had on the hour every hour since he’d laid down to heal. After they’d returned from the ritual, she’d slapped some mud on him while he was recovering and that mud had strangely aided in the process. Then she just sat down and began to write on real paper, which Chip thought was interesting because he’d never seen someone write something down on paper before. Chip was pretty sure that Mother Bear was currently poring over the complex arcane formula that the teens had received from Oracle because she’d been concentrating and swearing under her breath for hours. “Hmm?” she grunted, “Oh, yeah, sure.” Chip smiled. “Really?” he asked, “I feel great. What was in that mud? It really helped.” “Dirt,” said Mother Bear, enigmatically, “Leaves. Nosy spirits.” “Nosy spirits?” “Yeah,” she drawled. It took a moment, but Chip got it. He still wasn’t used to sarcasm yet. Instead of letting her know that, he decided to change the subject. “I could help you with the formula you know.” “Oh, I’m pretty sure I understand it,” she said, “Normally I'm used to something more complex and it is, but it's surprisingly short and elegant compared to a normal geas. I’m looking for traps and I'm not finding any.” “That's good though, right?” Mother Bear grunted in response. When no more response was forthcoming, he prompted her again. "Do you think there are going to be any?” “It doesn’t matter what I think. I keep digging until I’m completely sure that there aren’t any. Paranoia little spirit. It’s why I’ve lived so long. And that experience is telling me that it’s getting late and I’m not making progress on this thing. Gonna turn in.” “To what?” She looked at him and smirked. “A sleeping person.” “Oh, okay,” he said, then hesitated, “Hey, can I get a ride off the island?” Mother Bear pocketed the paper and shrugged. “Yeah, sure,” she said, tiredly, “It’ll be automated though. You need an air taxi back to Julie’s place?” “That'd be good,” said Chip, “What time is it?” “Nearly midnight,” she said, “Are you going to do the night shift over at Touristville again?” Since Chip didn’t sleep, he tended to get bored at night. He’d already explored the island, including some very interesting ruins of an old mansion, though all that was left was the foundation and a big, hidden door that he couldn't get into. Despite months of checking it, it never opened. Still, he basically knew everything worth knowing about the island that was within easy grasp. Things were getting routine now. Sometimes he picked up trash from the beach, but he did that during the day with Julie and Julie had been busy so he did that at high speed and was gifted interesting snacks from Mr. Peters. Routines at school were comforting, but he was already bored as he'd learned most of the secrets last school year. Like a chick inside of an egg, he was comfortable where he was, but as he grew these places seemed ever smaller. Chip had an itch to explore the wide world outside. So he’d volunteered to be the official Touristville third shift first responder to take the pressure off Julie, which was a fancy way of saying he healed people at night who had medical emergencies. He’d asked Mother Bear about how to better help people on the night shift and mostly she told him stories about her time as an ER nurse before she became a schoolteacher, which he appreciated and she seemed to appreciate telling them. Except that time when Kenji told him to ask if it she'd been a nurse during the nineteen-forties or the twenty-forties, which she hadn’t appreciated very much, but had been very funny. Then Chip realized that he’d left Mother Bear waiting for too long and finally answered her. “Oh, no,” he said, “I didn’t expect to heal up this fast so my shift is covered. What time is it?” “Almost midnight,” she said, “Way past when I should be asleep, anyway. You thinking about hitting the town?” A much younger Chip would have been confused by idioms, but Julie had made him more personable and so he nodded. “Yeah, I want to explore. I don’t get to do that much.” “Want me to send a spirit with you?” she asked, “Just a simple summoning.” Chip frowned in concentration. Not that he had to, but he’d learned to instead of just staring at people without blinking. “I think I’ll be okay without a babysitter,” he said, “I mean, I can get hurt, but I can’t die or anything. I’ll be fine.” Mother Bear looked at him for a long time and shook her head at him. “Cocky,” she said, “You’ll learn.” “Learn what?” Mother Bear worked her mouth, as if chewing the answer. "You sure you want to know?" she asked. This was rhetorical of course. Chip was a spirit of knowledge. Of course he wanted to know. "Tell meeeeee." Mother Bear cleared her throat and adopted her "teacher voice". “It takes an extraordinary amount of work to kill a spirit,” said Mother Bear, “Killing a spirit on the material plane of existence, the one which all people reside, is almost impossible. They'd have to follow you deep into the astral plane. Someone powerful enough could try to take you on there, but even a little spirit like you could give someone a run for their money on your home ground. Your home, your rules, your tiny little slice of reality that will do what you tell it.” “I’m not little,” he said, defensively. “Fine, you’re not. I have a bit of a problem with scale on account of my power. To your average awakened you’re slightly above average, but you’re not particularly intimidating. What I’m saying though is that barring someone more powerful than me or a lot of someones slightly less powerful going to hunt you down in your very own reality which you control, a lot like the place your friends dipped a toe into but less friendly, you mostly can't be touched." "Mostly?" "Oh, you could be hit with a magical bioweapon or an artifact. Unlikely in the extreme though. You’re basically unkillable.” “Yeah, so I’m fine,” he said, “And what’s an artifact?” Mother Bear hesitated, torn between correcting him and answering him. “You won’t be as fine as you think if you get banished,” she said, “And an artifact is a magical object of great power.” “What do they do?” Again she hesitated as she chose how to educate and correct him. “Depends,” she said, “Think of a permanently flaming sword as a simple artifact and then work your way up. The sky is the limit.” “Can I have a flaming sword?” “If you have millions of nuyen, sure,” she said. “Could it kill me?” “Probably not,” she said, “It’d hurt because it’d slice right through that toughness that spirits have. Any magical weapon, whether it’s a focus or an artifact can interact with you. And by interact, a flaming sword would burn and cut you. Not fun.” “Oh.” “And those are the cheap ones, relatively speaking. Making permanently magical items that aren't powered by an awakened can be done, but it's still in its infancy. Most permanently magical items just aren’t for sale. They’re almost all museum pieces from before magic entered the world with a few...Rare...Exceptions.” She stared off for those seconds before coming back to herself. “No, the problem,” she continued, “Is that you can be banished. It wouldn’t even be particularly hard. Any piddly wage mage could make a real attempt at banishing you either by well...Banishing a spirit through magical might and skill or just casting spells to damage you or just overwhelming you with normal damage. You don’t even need to be have to do that last part. Just lots of ouch. If that happens then you’d be gone for most of a month. And Julie needs you.” “Oh, that’d be bad,” he said. “It gets worse,” she replied, “You might’ve noticed that time doesn’t work that well on your foray into the planes. It’ll feel like less than a month to us, but to you it’d feel...Well, different. It could feel like minutes. It could feel like years. Longer even if you’re unlucky. And you’d be alone. It’d damage your connection to Julie.” Chip scooted away from Mother Bear in horror as he moved to the furthest side of the medical bed as possible. Mother Bear nodded as she saw her lesson hit the mark. “So you be careful,” she said, “All you’d have for company when you’re banished to your home plane is yourself. You’d be cut off from your friends. Contacting you would be possible, but it’d mean a ritual and those rituals can be dangerous. Odds are it’ll happen someday and when you’re older it won’t be so traumatic. Now when you're young and less grounded, it's way less fun. So be careful.” “Oh,” he said. “Yeah, oh,” she replied, “You want to explore the world? Well that’s good for you. You’re young and the young need to explore before they nestle into a place. Just remember that the world is scary and dangerous sometimes. Just because it is basically impossible to kill a spirit doesn’t mean you won’t suffer if you’re careless. The people around you will suffer for your loss too, even if it’s temporary. Remember to think about that.” Mother Bear stood up, her lesson over. She stretched, grunted in pain, fell into her normal stoop and quietly shuffled out of the nurse’s office. Minutes later as Chipthought about what all of that meant, he wondered if he should go out and look at the world beyond Blake Island and Touristville. Instead of rushing at high speeds like normal, invisible to all in the astral, he stayed in the physical world. He took time to ponder as he walked back to Julie’s cabin in the night. Thankfully the cabin had been left unlocked for him. The cabins were protected from spirits or anyone astrally projecting, especially curious students who wanted to snoop or spy, so it was a good thing she'd thought about him or he would’ve been locked out. So he walked in, gathered his bag that was full of fruit, snacks and his med kit, though not as full of fruit and snacks as he normally liked. He’d need to gather some more offerings from Mrs. Liu's shop. Then he saw the unopened commlink, the one that Kenji had given him and he sighed. He had no idea how to use it or set it up. Worse, now that he had his bag, he could no longer choose to enter the astral. Not without abandoning it anyway. Physical objects couldn’t follow him into the astral. So he walked over to the school boat, still in thought. As soon as he boarded, the engine rumbled and it began to move towards the normal stop-off for the boat. Was it Bainbridge Island? Vashon? He couldn’t remember and it didn’t really seem important. What was important was that for the first time in a while, he had a night completely to himself, even if he was nervous. And he had no idea what he was going to do. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Mar 2, 2021 |
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Feb 7, 2021 14:30
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Apologies for the long delay. I had some serious depression to deal with. I'm feeling better now after taking a kind of, sort of vacation. Mostly just quarantining elsewhere for a few weeks, which was seriously good for my mental health. As for updates, I did the storyboards, the rolling and then interpreting those rolls, so I have a pretty solid template about what to write. I just have to make it into a story. I will be switching Joyce's interlude that I posted before this and push it forward a bit as I want to focus on Chip's night alone and that would happen previously. Not a huge change, but you'll see me switch things around. Anyway, I expect to get back to updating the storyboard again now that I'm refreshed and not burnt out and depressed. Not from writing, but you know, the world right now. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Feb 8, 2021 |
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Feb 7, 2021 14:37
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A post! I'm glad you're feeling better. Exploration time with just Chip sounds great.
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Feb 7, 2021 14:53
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Woooo Chips night the town sounds like a great premise! I'm excited!
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Feb 7, 2021 15:26
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Thanks for the post, missed your posts for a while. Chip asks Paige what time it is twice - intentional to show he was lost in thought or nah?
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Feb 8, 2021 10:09
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I'm excited and worried for chips night on the town. I hope it's a good experience and he doesn't accidentally take drugs or something and have a bad trip.
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Feb 14, 2021 14:24
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