october 2019. welcome to the void.

[modblob]

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Fourth Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of October 2019
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. sini express delivery service.

There's something odd rolling through Anchor. Whether they wake with it next to their beds or find it sitting neatly in some corridor as if placed there just for them, characters will start finding items that are distinct and unique enough that they have to belong to someone. But where are they coming from? And whose are they?

The easiest way to find out is probably to walk around with the item held high yelling "Does this belong to you?" but that's not a good way to cover a lot of ground.

Don't worry, though! There's someone (something?) to help you. Chiming in periodically from communicators or intercoms across Anchor comes a voice that might sound a little familiar to anyone who made it as far as that spaceship wreckage in the wasteland. Softly laughing and humming, this some-one-thing will cheerfully coax characters in the right direction, giving tips and offering little clues to anyone who might be confused about whose item they have.

Characters struggling with identifying whose item they got might hear a helpful voice whispering out of their device as they move around the city - "Warmer, waaaaarmer...oh no! COLD!" They might hear a laughing voice coming out of a nearby speaker, giving tips or riddles about the person the item belongs to - "Her eyes are grey!" or "What kind of spider is sweet as pie?" Sometimes, it'll just be amused giggling at the efforts of those trying to find their object's owner. That bubbly voice is everywhere, encouraging residents to solve the riddle because "It'll be wooooorth it. Pinky swear!"

And no matter what, it can't be turned off or muted, and it doesn't respond to any direct attempts to communicate in return.

b. flu season.

No one probably takes special notice, at first. It's a sniffle here, a cough or chill there. 'Tis the season in some universe, after all, and even the advanced decontamination process isn't completely flawless. But what starts as a tickle in the throat gets a little worse over the span of a week, or in some cases a lot worse.

Whether laid up for a few days or longer, afflicted characters can expect to feel a few consistent symptoms. Dizziness, lightheadedness, chills and fever, coughing and sneezing (that kind of sneezing that comes in annoyingly long bursts and makes you feel like you've shot your brain out of your nose).

Oh, and hallucinations. Mild ones! Nothing to write home about! (If you even could, anyway.) Hallucinations are the last stage of this mild interuniversal flu, an annoyance more than anything...

And it leaves some people immune, and some people even more susceptible to what might follow.

c. harvestival festival.

Something good is happening in the agricultural sector. Weird, right?

But lo, the whole place has started to bloom seemingly overnight. Tiny fruits become noticeable, then large. Edible vegetation is flourishing, and you can tell which vegetation is edible thanks to the flocks, gangs, and small herds of creatures that have emerged from the still-wild depths of the sector. None of these creatures are aggressive except as a means to protect themselves when scared. Unused to strangers as they are, they'll probably let you get pretty close! Which means you could hunt them, I guess, or try to lasso and bring home some critters to the farm and fenced areas.

The food varies wildly. From electric pink berries the size of a pinkie to giant purple melons nestled in beds of vines. The tastes are as exotic and strange as the fruits themselves. A few people might even recognize some kinds of fruit from home. The root vegetables, squash, and edible vegetation is as colorful as the fruit, though a little more weirdly shaped. Why does that carrot-seeming thing look like a coiled spring? Who knows? You can't judge its life.

The culinarily inclined can take harvested goods to the kitchen areas and start experimenting, but beware! Even plants that look like they could be from Earth or other areas that the residents of Anchor know probably taste a little weirder or more intense than normal. Your best bet for a good recipe is to taste a little bit of everything before you get started. The spicy, the melony, the crunchy, salty, and sweet. There are no available records of what any of these things are, so you'll have to make it up as you go! The only consistent thing across all the agricultural sector's bounty is that NONE of it is poisonous. And none of it will get you high, Klaus and Kabal, so don't get your hopes up.

Navigation.

Comments

[abheirrant]

"Unfortunately," Carlisle replies, his voice dripping with all the revulsion he can muster.

Closing his eyes, he puts his hands to the smooth metal frame of the cabinet. It comes easier to him this time, albeit marginally: he's still disgusted he apparently has such an ability, frustrated with himself because of what it means in regards to his being the Blight Heir, but now that he knows what it feels like to consciously cause decay, it takes him less buildup and mental berating to get the job done. The surface of the cabinet corrodes beneath his fingers, rot blossoming across it in circles like a field of tainted, vile flowers.

[kaballin]

"Look at you learning as we go. I'm so proud." Behind the mask is a single tear, he swears. "Cheer up, learn to love yourself or some shit. If you've got an edge on everyone else, use it. Else you're just gonna end up dead and miserable. Do not recommend."

He's quicker about it this time, which is nice, way to go Carlisle. "Well well well, look at that. See? It was worth it to come in here."

The cabinet contains some very technical looking objects. He's not sure what they are, but they look expensive and Carlisle might be able to see the dollar signs floating around Kabal's head.

[abheirrant]

Carlisle holds his tongue about his already being dead and miserable, opting instead to sigh wearily as he waits for Kabal to inspect the cabinet's treasures. The objects inside appear to be very technological, enough to make Carlisle uncomfortable.

Well, more uncomfortable than he already is. In addition to the devices are a number of strange, black tablets, each oblong, unassuming, and largely featureless.

"What are all these things?" he asks, not expecting much of an answer.

[kaballin]

"No clue!" But he still sounds delighted. Just because he doesn't know what it is doesn't mean no one will want it. He picks one of them up, tossing it in his hands, lots of buttons and a piece that looks like it might light up. Honestly it looks a bit like some futuristic shaver.

The flat things look a little more familiar. He's from a time before smart phones were in standard use, but the shape and screen reminds him of the tablet he'd knocked out of Jacqui's hands once and subsequently stole. He hadn't been able to do much with it because of the password protection, but he'd used the light to find some shit he dropped in the dark once which definitely makes him an expert on these things.

"This one though, just need to figure out how to turn it on.." Buttons buttons, gotta be a .. oh there it goes. The screen lights up and opens to a helpful message about Anchor and prompts Kabal for a network ID. "Well that's nice."

He shoves one of them at Carlisle, "We're about to own the network my friend."

[abheirrant]

Kabal shoves one of the tablets at Carlisle, who nearly drops it halfway out of his fear of technology, and halfway because he's not sure he wants it at all, whatever it is. He watches as his masked companion fiddles with the device, which seems to be asking for his network ID.

"I'm fairly certain it is not possible to truly own something so intangible," Carlisle mutters, Kabal's meaning lost somewhere to his own, pedantic nature.

Given Carlisle can hardly remember his credentials his own communicator, he decides to tuck the one he was handed (tossed, rather) into his bag for now, figuring he can choose whether or not he actually wants the black, technological slab later. Looking up the information would require finding it written in his journal, and he's uncertain if Kabal would take that as an invitation to steal his precious notes, or use them against him, or hold his book as collateral for his continued service -- something like that. There has been nothing in the man's moral choices thus far to suggest he would do otherwise.

The other device looks less ominous, despite its obvious buttons and mechanical bits -- something about being able to tell it is a machine sits better with him than the black slab, which had hidden its nature until activated. With a tentative grasp as though it may bite him, he reaches around Kabal and carefully picks up one, giving it a surveying glance. The masked man doesn't seem to know what it is, and Carlisle himself has no clue, but maybe he can ask someone else. Peter, perhaps. Or Qubit, the technomancer. He would know, assuming he does not immediately accuse him of theft.

[kaballin]

"Intangible things are the most powerful ones to own. Think about those in power, what do they got? Influence. That's not a real thing. Sure they end up with all the weapons and money and hookers and drugs or whatever, but that's because of the intangible things they have. Works in reverse too, get enough stuff and you start having influence." For being a dumb brute he can have some clear insight into how things work occasionally.

He's gotten into the tablet now, checking out the games first and then the different UI for the messaging program.

Carlisle will soon receive this via the network:

🎆🎁😁👍

[abheirrant]

Carlisle has half a mind to ask what a hooker is, but decides from the context of the rest of that list that no, he doesn't want to know. It's impossible to miss that Kabal is smarter than he expected, though -- or at least when it comes to the value of intangible concepts like influence and power.

"I suppose you have a point," Carlisle grumbles as he situates the black tablet and the other device in his bag. His communicator vibrates as he attempts to find a place to put the paper towels; he pulls it before him, his eyes narrowing as he attempts to decipher the message.

"I have no idea what these pictures mean," he says flatly, eyeing the device in Kabal's hand. "A sun, and a gift? And then someone smiling, and a hand. We are going to 'own the network' with pictographs."

[kaballin]

"You may be the least imaginative person I've met since Cho." Why does he keep attracting people who don't get his dick jokes or understand his wonderful personality. He is witty and funny and he is wasting all his good material on these losers. What did he do in his life to deserve this?

Other than.. well.. everything.

"Nevermind, I'm not going to waste my time teaching you. Just be glad I'm a man of my word sticking to my side of the deal. You get some more of this too: thirty percent is thirty percent. Take your cut. Start letting people take advantage of you and then you'll be negotiating for single digits in the future. Think of this as a learning experience."

As if somehow Kabal hasn't been taking advantage of him the whole time.

[abheirrant]

Disinclined as he is to take anything about this situation as a 'learning experience,' Carlisle does eye the items in the cabinet one more time, and settles on taking another of the small, black tablets -- mostly because he's not sure he has enough room in his bag for another one of the other devices, given the fact the roll of paper towels takes up a good chunk of his free space.

"What do you intend to do with all these items, exactly?" he asks, hoping for a clearer answer than 'owning the network.' "And what will you say when someone asks when you got them?"

[kaballin]

"Don't know yet. Someone might want them." Qubit for instance, he seems like a good start on the extortion attempt that Kabal is already planning. Maybe Peter, except there isn't anything he wants from Peter. Hm.

"Why? Want me to play up how good you are at this? It'll beef up your resume for future criminal activities. 'Highly recommended by the Black Dragon.' Be good for you." He says of the man who's name he probably doesn't know.

[abheirrant]

His face wrinkles in outright disgust at the very thought of this masked criminal referring people to him, as though he's a thief for hire.

"You think I want people knowing I can do this?"

[kaballin]

"What you want me to hide it? I can do that." Gosh isn't he altruistic. Or maybe he just wants to keep all of Carlisle's abilities for himself. His own personal lackey to get through sealed doors.

"I'll say I busted the door in myself then. Makes me look good, keeps you out of it."

[abheirrant]

Unfortunately, Carlisle is so wrapped up in his contempt at the very notion of all of Anchor knowing he's a walking blight that he doesn't consider for even a second that Kabal might keep that knowledge for multiple reasons. Not only would it give him an advantage over all the other would-be thieves to know a fellow who can rot through walls, but he can use it as collateral to force Carlisle's hand at a later date. And on top of that, his claim that he broke into the room himself does paint a better picture of his skills. His silence is nothing but positive.

Carlisle can realize and regret that later. For now, he shoves the second black slab into his bag, giving Kabal a venomous look the entire time. Apparently, the thought of rumor of his nature spreading was the straw that broke the camel's back. He lived his entire life being the subject of gossip, whether it was because he was a failure of a Longinmouth or a twice-cursed; he struggled to survive under the weight of his reputation, for better and for worse. Among his numerous problems he has with his current existence, he does not need to deal with that, too.

He's still shooting daggers at Kabal when he steps closer, jabbing a finger in his companion's direction. "I am leaving. You say nothing of this, and nothing of me, or so help me I will find you and rot the ground beneath you until you end up in your grave. Do you understand?"

[kaballin]

He holds his hands up in mock surrender, "I'm shaking. Don't worry - I won't say a thing."

Granted Carlisle could actually make good on his threats and Kabal knows it. But he's more than confident that if it came to it he could slice this guys head off without much effort. It's hard to be intimidated by someone who nearly dropped paper towels that were thrown at him.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

[abheirrant]

Carlisle, in his outright disgust, might have spit on Kabal if not for the mask covering the majority of his face. Fortunately, that mask is there, so his grumbling as he storms off will have to do.

"This was neither business, nor a pleasure. Do not speak to me again."

And that's a request he's positive will be ignored, if this entire ordeal has been any indication.