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

[theweakhavepurpose]

"You're not helping." The voice doesn't respond no matter how much he complains that he doesn't understand the riddles or know what the hell it's talking about. Of course octopus live with fish. And in water. And in the ocean. Everything it throws at him is putting him no closer to finding whoever owns this thing.

He's frustrated enough that he's almost about to give up and go back to his room; the only thing stopping him is that he's positive the voice will chirp at him all day and night until this glass critter gets back to where it belongs.

There's few people around, and everyone seems to be doing the same thing as him, so he doesn't connect that Annie may be who he's looking for, assuming she's out looking to return some object of her own, "Seen anyone who looks like they're missing an octopus?"

He gives a halfhearted smile.

[treadswater]

Annie thinks of Cho. Not that Cho's ever mentioned an octopus specifically, but she's one of the others here who is linked in Annie's brain with fish and the sea. But she's not sure, and in any case, it goes against every instinct she has to volunteer a friend to someone she doesn't really know.

So she gives a small smile in return.

"I, I don't think so? I mean, I guess it depends on what type of octopus you mean. Or if it's a real one."

Maybe it's not. If it's not, that at least explains the lack of damp around the man.

[theweakhavepurpose]

He hadn't considered what he would have done if someone had plunked down a live octopus in his room. Maybe put it in the bathtub or something. For the first time someone else is bringing up how it could be worse. Well, that's an odd feeling.

"No, fortunately. Little glass one." He holds it out with two hands, being careful to keep a grip on it. It belongs to someone so he doesn't want to drop it, and being glass it seems too fragile for his meaty hands.

[treadswater]

That's Annie Cresta for you! She is always able to think up worse situations. It's the opposite of a talent.

She's already starting to frown when he mentions 'glass', because she's noticed that the objects tend to mean something and she does make things with glass. Did. Past tense. She hasn't made anything in months, and she misses it, and-

"Wait, that's mine!" It sounds accusing. Annie flushes and gestures, trying to take the tone back. "I mean, um, it's. I made that."

Her first item once she'd graduated from cups and vases. It'd lived on her study desk.

[theweakhavepurpose]

"Oh then take it. I've been worried about dropping it this whole time." He holds it out to her hoping she'll rescue it and he doesn't have to fret about shattering someones little statue. Especially if it's a precious heirloom or something.

"Wait, made it? You're a glass blower? That's awesome."

[treadswater]

And rescue it she does. Which takes some bravery on her part, but she steps forward enough to take the octopus from him. While she cradles it, she doesn't treat it as if it'll shatter at the touch. It's survived for a few years now. But the way her fingers curl around it make it clear that she treasures the colourful glass creature.

"Thank you. I mean, it's kinda tough. Good paperweight."

Then she smiles, startled but pleased.

"Yeah! Um, thank you? I've, you know, there's been not much opportunity to, here. But I am. I can do molds, too."

[theweakhavepurpose]

"Yeah considering how high tech this place is there might not be the facilities for it. You need a big fire right? Or am I thinking of blacksmithing?" Lots of people out where he lived had hobbies but admitedly Pratt didn't know how they worked. He'd never actually seen what went into making stained glass before it was hung up all over peoples houses. And his only experience with glass blowing was a travel documentary he'd watched once.

"Anything from home is good to have back. Memories and stuff."

[treadswater]

Annie pauses, thinking. Really thinking about it, weighing up different conditions and equipment in her mind, trying to think of uses and jerry-rigging. Her brows crinkle and she tilts her head.

"I think it depends? I used a kiln. And, uh, I think a lot of metalworkers do as well. But a fire could do. If, if it's tended to consistently. And made hot enough to keep the glass molten. I. You know what? Maybe they do have kilns or somethin' up in the garage. They have to get the glass we have from somewhere. Or we could, I mean, maybe the past folks used to repair windows and helmets."

There are some ideas there. Something she could do that's useful, and not entirely related to fish. She loves working with the food, but she trained hard for the glasswork. And there's something mediative about it.

"Well. This memory's a good one. I mean," she holds up the octopus. "It's adorable. Do, do you have something? From home?"

[theweakhavepurpose]

"There's gotta be something or we wouldn't have glasses and plates and stuff. The video made it seem like they came with nothing and built this entire place with resources they found and what they had on hand. And I doubt people were travelling with all their fine china." It had seemed a long time ago, long enough for them to make all the stuff the current residents were using. So they must have some sort of manufacturing facilities. Maybe someone had found them but Pratt wasn't paying attention because his area of expertise was livestock and that had been found on day one.

"If anything showed up, I haven't found it. But I dunno what would. I have everything that was on me when I got ported away to here. Be nice if my car showed up, not that I could really drive it anywhere." But it was one of the things he greatly missed.

[treadswater]

This hesitation is different. It's not a pause as she contemplates logistics, but a pause as she weighs up pros and cons of offering anything deeply personal. It doesn't last long. This can't hurt.

"I think I understand that. Like if, um, my boat appeared. It'd be nice, yeah? Even if there's not enough water to sail her anywhere."

Then she smiles, quick and impish. It lights up her face.

"Not that my boat has any of my china. Bit fragile for sea-travel. So, so, so uh, yeah, you're right. There's gotta be somethin' around here to make stuff. You, I know you deal with the livestock, but you seen anything on your travels around here? Like, which floor maybe?"

[theweakhavepurpose]

"Yeah it would still be yours and here. Which means it's not back home getting stolen or broken or whatever. If it's here it's safe and you can look after it." In the grand scheme of things he's not terribly concerned about whats happened to his car since the people in his county are being murdered. But he did really like his car and if he had some random physical thing show up he would have liked it to be that.

"I guess I could only sit in it and make vroom noises like I'm six years old." He manages a smile because he would absolutely do that at least once.

"There's some mechanical stuff on the level below agriculture. I know what pottery kilns look like and I haven't seen anything like that, though there is a pizza oven."