001 - Hello, World - Week Two | CW: insects

[snaggletooth]

[ A buzzing besets the wearers of masks, building and building. Then, the moment it seems impossible for it to become any louder, it stops. Like an approaching swarm that's ceased all aggression in an instant. There's still something sitting there behind this sudden cessation, however, hidden in the shifting blackness of the mind. A presence, just arrived, awaiting a turn to speak. ]

Hello, please pardon my intrusion. My name is Ivan. I'm standing at the entrance to Grand Central Station.

Before I head below, there's something I believe I should do for my own safety. With an appearance like mine, it would be easy for those of you I've yet to meet to mistake me for one of those other mindless things that live down there, in the dark. That's why I'm going to show myself to all of you now. It may be startling, so I apologize.

Please, brace yourself.

[ There is movement in the mind's eye. There is a light that switches on, illuminating an oily mass that goes on and on, disappearing off in the depths of the dark plane. Nothing gives it scale except for the distinct sense that it is looming, this terrible silhouette that terminates in the pale, placid face of a young man. It looks like a porcelain doll's head has been torn off and placed atop a nightmarish effigy.

He sways softly before allowing himself to fade away once again. ]

There, ahaha... if you're still hearing this, then I have to thank you for at least humoring me.

I realize that my gesture doesn't give anyone a reason to trust I'm not as bad as the next abomination you run into. I won't begrudge you, whatever your decision. There is one piece of guidance I can offer though. It doesn't even require dealing with me in person, fortunately for all.

Just concentrate with me — for one more moment.

[ He's not usually the one to do this. That person has concerningly not been present. At the end of the moment he requested, your thoughts are pulled along, beyond anywhere you thought to direct them. You can resist and the sensation will simply dissipate, but allow yourself to be lead and all will also be well. At the end of the line is a susurrating knot of voices speaking over one another. Echoes that, with just a bit of focus, become clearer. Individual. ]

If this information proves useful, send your regards to the young man named Megumi.

( NOTE: This message will be sent out once the Veteran's nightmares begin leading them to the tunnels. Ivan will be actively searching while communicating and can be intercepted by other characters in the area. His close companion Till may also respond and/or can optionally appear if a conversation thread is converted to action. )

Comments

[inverseye]

Wow, thank you for sharing, sir!

[ Yes, thank you for gathering so many ignorant mongrols thoughts to one place, Ivan! Saheon appreciates you.

…But. Hey, you stupid godbug, where was this kind of helpful attitude for Saheon!? Do you act like this for other people!? ]

I can vouch for Ivan-ssi’s…inner kindness! So come find me, too! I’ll help anyone who needs it!

[snaggletooth]

[ ...where is it, you ask? Well, here it is helpfully not calling out the mysterious misanthrope for taking a sudden, unforeseen interest in others. You do you. ]

I appreciate you speaking up on my behalf, mister with the eyepatch... I'm so sorry I still haven't learned what you prefer to be called. Though, in return it only makes sense that I do the same for you!

Once, I startled him by accident. Rather than ask for an apology, the first thing he did was apologize to me instead. It was a funny situation.

[demoon]

( The murmur is such a strange thing. Guren's connection feels like a tangled knot of emotions flooding together, overwhelming and muted all at once. Another presence lays distorted behind his own, like an odd shadow, prevalent in varying intensities. )

This is too noisy.

( Not literal noise, but the idea of it, the feeling of it, cluttering a mind he already works so hard to keep hidden. Memories he doesn't want to slip, feelings and knowledge he tries to keep to his chest...

There's the feeling of a heavy sigh, but it's halfway between exasperation and gratefulness at the shared information. Strangely, besides the ping of curiosity that rings solidly after Ivan's form is shared, no feelings or thoughts of disgust make their way through. Even if he does remind him of one of the monsters that came with the world's end. )

But it's more useful than a lot of people here. ( If that feels oddly pointed to a certain somebody yapping through the murmur above, well. Maybe it is. ) Thanks.

I'm Guren Ichinose. Let me know if you run into friendly fire down here, and I'll come help you out. ( As a thank you. ) What are you, exactly?

[snaggletooth]

[ Just because he can't detect any disgust doesn't mean it's not there. Still, he appreciates not having to feel the disgust of another. It would only deepen his own.

Now that the images he projected have faded, there is only the impression of someone smiling. Smiling while listening. Smiling while "speaking" in a voice that doesn't travel through soundwaves. It's constant. ]

Thank you, sir, though hopefully I'll manage. I have ways of avoiding anyone who gets carried away. [ Most can't crawl along the ceiling. ] Horrible first impressions are a little harder to escape on the other hand, ahaha.

[ Anyway, this person had a real question! ]

I was human, however... that doesn't describe this form anymore, does it? The one we call Sleep transformed me into what you saw just now.

It does have a name — "Swarmling" — though I'm afraid that's all I know. This didn't come from anyone or anywhere in particular. I simply came to realize it one day, as if it had already been in my mind all along.

Things tend to reveal themselves that way here.

[markingnight]

Altogether too shocking.

[ A familiar voice, even if they'd never talked over the Murmur before. There was the slimmest tinge of humor to the Ironeye's voice, almost imperceptible. ]

Will you be all right underground? Even with the Hosts emerging, the tunnels will be thick with them.

[snaggletooth]

Ironeye.

[ The armored man.

The greeting sets off another volley of the noises small, shelled creatures are known to make. A high-frequency chirp there, a rapid chitter here. It's a little like a crowd expressing their surprise in unison. It doesn't sound not positive.

So he too survived the long night of rituals. ]

Well, I'm more than happy to wait here for someone with weapons to go in first — It's good to hear from you again.

[hallowedly]

That's — ...quite the makeover, I suspect.

[snaggletooth]

Your assumption is correct. [ Brevity in the form of a light, chittering laugh. ] I sincerely hope this message didn't reach you in the middle of something. Like eating!

[trashblaze]

[ That sure is something to witness. But Caelus isn't fazed. Rather, he's more curious and excitable over it. ]

Ohh…

[ Actually, he doesn't even realize this reaction broadcasted. So, have a raccoon in awe. ]

[snaggletooth]

[ The imagery has gone away, but the presence remains. It leans in closer, unseen, but still long and winding in concept. He has no ill intent. It's just a courtesy. ]

Not to alarm you, but I can hear you.

[ Before someone embarrasses themselves by saying something they can't take back... ]

[cursedvessel]

Don't anyone give Ivan any trouble. No one but Sleep gets to decide what weird transformation will or won't happen to you.

[His first reaction to Ivan hadn't been without a bit of trepidation, but that had only been because he'd stumbled into one of his feedings. He hated the thought of someone running into the other boy and assuming he was the enemy. If he wasn't currently tied up with...other matters (his bestie's sudden coma) he would offer to join Ivan underground.]

Be careful down there. [This is addressed more pointedly towards Ivan.] I'll be going down eventually, but I'm not sure when. [He's hesitant to leave Megumi in this state.] But there's someone I need to look for down there.

[snaggletooth]

Those are kind words, Yuji, very kind words. You may be happy to hear that I now have a bodyguard.

[ Yuji would have said something if something truly terrible had happened to Megumi. Right? He may have simply been too busy to check in with the new blood this time around. ]

Tell Megumi I've stood in for him this time, hm? Tell him that I don't think I'm good at his job, also, or at least not the right fit, haha! I await hearing from him.

[dollpin]

( her head, indeed, now feels like a beehive with all the buzzing about going on in there. goodness!

excuse her a moment while she quietly tries to parse literally all of that (with varying degrees of success). the program shall resume momentarily.


..

...

ok! she's not sure if she wants to receive that amount of information all at once any time soon, but still, something to chew on for later! )

Haha, I'm kinda dizzyy?

( a girl akin to a still lake, one that should be warm under the sunny day but strangely isn't. )

Thank you thoughh! You're really nice! ( and polite! ) But umm, it might get kinda tough to move around down here since you're kind of.. ( she's making a gesture no one can see with her hands, arms outstretched. ) ..long?

( like he's the train to this dilapidated subway system! )

I'm worried about you getting flanked or stuck!

[opheliac]

Motor oil oughta do the trick for that.

[snaggletooth]

Oh, haha, I worry about that too. Judging whether I can fit somewhere isn't yet an exact science for me.

[ This person could be guessing at things, picturing a generic hole filled with generic hazards. Ivan doesn't think that, however. He thinks they may have seen something for themselves that's made them bring up this concern.

The hint is in their choice of words. ]

Can you describe where you are for me — for all of us?

[sacral]

[ Briefly, the image of a shining carapace stirs his recollection of the dragon-eaters, coiled about mountaintops seven times over with their hundreds upon hundreds of legs. Even Subaru has never seen one; he's certainly a sight worth the awe. ]

Noted. Would it help to have your body more fortified?

[snaggletooth]

[ If only he didn't imagine several masks being torn off in horror for every one person who stays to speak with him pleasantly. It's the only way he can irrationally rationalize the responses he's receiving. ]

More... fortified?

Like with armor? I think that would have to be special-made for something like me.

[tequila_sunset]

“Ivan! Hi!”

A sloppy feeling of unrestrained affection is directed at Ivan! Excitement. A tail wagging, a headcrest fanning out.

“Ivan is really nice and cool! Don’t be afraid of him, guys. He’s awesome.”

[snaggletooth]

Harry, hello. [ That craggy tone is instantly recognizable. The impulse to reach out to ruffle feathers hangs suspended, unfulfillable, in metaphysical space. ] Are those some new changes I sense?

[for_sake]

( if you feel the need to make this sort of announcement, should you really go down there?

yoshiki doesn't say as much but his concern gradually, inevitably, saturates the connection. what he does say: )

Hard to mix you up with those things even on a first meeting. Way less fungus... blood... things with you.

( then, after some contemplation, ) Do you have to go down there?

[snaggletooth]

[ Oh, Yoshiki, he appreciates your attention to detail. He's not sure it would matter to someone lost, panicking, aware that there are things out to get them. Humans aren't all discerning in that state of mind.

Ivan gently meets the concern with an interesting emotion... if it can even be called an emotion. It's not determination, not righteousness. It's maybe a bit of protectiveness over the one waiting beside him to set off.

But mostly it's decisiveness that feels fresh, new. Decisions are things freely made now. ] Someone I know is down there.

It's not that I have to be the one to bring them to safety. I probably won't be. [ He's not the strongest. ] It's that I can choose to try.

[sorte]

Ivan, I have some things for you and Till before you head down~!

[untilldeath]

Sweet-!

[What he offered last time was really helpful.]

Are you not heading down this time, either?

[roedeer]

[ holy shit, what the fuck is that!? soleum feels a headache coming on, and then a nightmare creature settling in? this is one of those moments he really thinks he's going crazy. is it because he's not eating? because there's no water? death seems like the easiest choice if these are the demons he has to see in his mind's eye.

it sends a shiver down his spine, it ties an unsettling knot in his stomach. that is not coming down here.

that is not coming down here.

that is not— ]

Hello. I appreciate your warning.

[ he does because he knows what to look out for, but also soleum isn't good with people being in his head. even baek saheon is here, and out of all people shouldn't he be the one shitting himself and crying? well, soleum might have to take that mantle, he wants to cry so damn bad. what IS THAT!!!

how he feels inside never matches the out, his voice smooth and firm. ]

You can call me Roe Deer. I help manage the teams underground, from what I can tell, some aren't here in my head... so I wanted to make things easier for you.

[ with some armed with weapons down below, it would be a problem if ammo and such were wasted on ... this entity. ]

I've mapped out safe tunnels between the contaminated hosts, to which camps are safe, and what leads to dead ends. If you'd like, it could help you move easily without getting stopped, or attacked.

[snaggletooth]

[ The response comes calm and cordial, cutting across the connection without leaving any impression of the person behind it. It's just like him, an absent mirror. It doesn't inspire any kind of affection or anything, but he now thinks there's a chance he understands something fundamental about them, if they sound so similar.

There's even more symmetry when it immediately offers him what's most practical in this situation, too. He couldn't have asked anyone to get to the point any faster.

Unseen mandibles click-click in approval. ]

Amazing offer, Roe Deer, head of the underground area. [ Teams? — Management? Wow. ] I'm in favor of not taking any avoidable risks. And at this point I think those making the trip with me agree.

[ They've just spotted their first fused-to-the-wall host. ]

Speaking for us all, will you please share with us?