[ Upon the caller touching the podium, the lost soul will find their way into this makeshift holy house. Summoned as a soft silhouette of light, anyone can confirm it is Margaret and the summoned can take a glance at her surroundings.
It is a cozy space and she may have seen it on the big screen before. It's Life Support.
Life Support is tied to hydroponics and is a peaceful-looking place. Several, suspended white, egg-shaped pods here are decorated inside with colorful bolts of fabric and pillows in all kinds of sizes and textures. This is the perfect place for a nap, and when one wakes up from a rest in these hanging pods, they'll feel quite refreshed. So if you're stressed, grab a blanket from the pile and have a quick nap. Just try not to disrupt the tranquility too much.
The... Church podium is here in this space and the door is closed. Don't worry about how ridiculous this all looks. They had to manage. At the podium is her caller and right beside them is Amalthea giving off nervous energy.
Here 3 questions will be answered, no more and (hopefully) no less. ]
[ you have no idea how close this came to being in the Bathroom let me tell you
hi lucien is here and is kind of angrily pushing one of the stupid hanging pods around. his fucking church!!!!!!!! actually, when the Margaret ghost shows up, the first thing he does is kind of round on her and make a face while he figures out how not to phrase something as a question. ]
[she's here wearing a nice set of silk pajamas and a waffle robe. he can see she's uninjured, but he can also see that she has some eye tattoos on her neck and arms, so that's fun.
she waves.]
Rats! [there's no way to convey this in text but she says it as though he's saying it like an old timey exclamation.] Oops. Wrong number?
[ he has never used a phone. he doesn't understand the concept of calling a wrong number. also yeah he's not exactly surprised to see the eyes, but he still recoils some. this was maybe a mistake. ]
... You still have them.
[ Again, trying not to phrase things as question. ]
[ the greater game plot can wait because he has to have some feelings about the pear wiggler in his head first. god. well. he shrugs, and then scowls, because he is a dick, and then looks over to Amalthea but after a second he unwinds a bit. fine.
he, in fact, has the book with him now. it's sitting somewhere around nearby. ]
They can't reach this place. I haven't heard them for weeks-- It has no power or influence here, just a collection of the ravings of a madman. I don't know why it did that.
[she looks over at amalthea, too, giving her a slightly sad but friendly smile and a wave, and then looks back at lucien and nods.]
That's what Viktor said. And I doubt "it" did anything. I think the reason this happened is the reason any of these things happen - some sick torture dream based on someone else's trauma.
[it's not exactly unprecedented.]
You aren't to blame for it. [she chews her lip.] But if what we saw in there was anything like what it's like for you, then you need to get rid of that thing.
[she doesn't mean to be nosy, but, well, she does.]
Was it like that for you? Did it make you turn against the people you care about, betray them?
[ ... he isn't sure how to answer that question. he hadn't killed them (yet), but he'd certainly led them to the brink and had controlled their minds when they had disagreed. that is certainly a betrayal. he paces a little circle again.
the idea that she's going around telling people about the lunacy inside is head is making him so itchy. of course that is what was going to happen, but god. what a violation upon him! on him. and no one else. awful. ]
I mean to be rid of them, but I need the journal to do that. You all think it so simple, that I could simply decide to be done with it and it would all be over. But I died and still they hounded me. I can travel here to the further depths of the Astral Sea and the eyes remain. I'd be throwing away my chance to actually be free.
[ he thinks he should probably ask a question that is relevant but he doesn't want yet. ]
[ I mean, he probably doesn't need the journal itself because he is already so haunted. but you know it wouldn't HURT. anyway he doesn't want to answer this question so he's going to ask one instead so she has to talk about that instead of his Problems for at least a moment. ]
I-- asked about the review of planets. And spoke of the woman. As asked. But I don't know that anything has come of it yet - the Senior Crew doesn't seem to know much about it. Others have seen the Flesh in various places - the church, and I saw it in Engineering. This "Cash" has told me to cease my search for the body, on account of the fact it is on your side. I don't know if that accurately conveys it, as I imagine it is everywhere for whatever feckin' reason.
I don't know. We're sending you leads, but I don't think there's some overarching thing we know about and you don't. You should be looking for how to let us know about what you've found, because some of that is news to me.
Otherwise, just - same as it's been. Cash. Anything we can learn about the senior crew and the ship. We keep coming up on voids to nowhere and flesh and ghosts, and flowers and pink haze, but things on our side are weird in general, so it's hard to say what's important. There are so many rats. I don't know if the rats are important.
We passed on that weird letter to Yuri, so I'd check on that, and also we got a dossier the other day that -
[actually she glitches, she's suddenly dressed in a waitress outfit.]
Can I interest you in a corn margarita? It comes with a spicy corn nuts rim.
I only learned most of it either last night or this morning, don't be impatient. [ don't be rude, lucien. ] I imagine we're learning much the same, though significantly fewer voids. There's a cult for CEM or some such, on the planet we were last on, perhaps that's something, perhaps it's nothing. I don't know what is significant, but I can't imagine the rats are important. Ah-- when I saw the woman, there were giant teeth. Apart from that, flowers and pink haze ... the flesh walls seem to be beginning to leak to this side. My suspicion is that we are getting closer together, as more of the ship unlocks. Perhaps we will be consumed and we will have no more concerns about the state of my personal property.
[ SIGH. ]
We can't touch, let alone share foul sounding beverages.
...Okay, I didn't mean to say that. But speaking of which, he mentioned you said something in your letter this week. We wanted to know more about that.
[ DON'T ASSUME HE'S HERE VOID FUCKING FOR FIVE HOURS. also it was a waitress outfit and also a rat kigu? what is this outfit. look he assumes she glitched because something important was happening but he does not expect they can work around it. ]
You-- there was a dossier-- ... Shit-- not a question. [ he rubs his temple. ]
Right. The woman. It was after the last Seance, I normally try to extend the connection, to keep it as long as possible and each time I spent a little longer outside of my body. The last attempt, before I could be pulled back, I believe I slipped to the other side entirely. Where the rest of you are. I could hear Dahut, I believe, though a wall made of flesh, lined with bone. Ribs. I felt a presence, and heard water - water that I could walk across. Something about a Holy Day. There was a sweet scent, and I eventually came across a woman, floating in the water. SHe had dark hair, but I never saw her face, she was face down. When I touched her back, I felt some of her memories, perhaps. Something about the choice between happiness with a man or stability.
Then she turned into Brevyn. [ Margaret doesn't know who Brevyn is, probably! why would she. :) ] It-- That doesn't matter. But I believed if I truly wanted to, I could have both her and the journal. She did not have to die in Aeor. It would not have been a trade, as it was in life, for one or the other.
When I rejected the offer, it turned to me and kept pleading. Pink haze. The promise of everything I have ever wanted, and then, it consumed me. Teeth. I felt myself being crushed. And then I woke up.
[look i got confused about which shitpost i went with fuck off. anyway she doesn't know who brevyn is, she didn't get that memory.]
Gross. [but, okay. a little more seriously - ] He'll be glad to hear the not 300 words version. This woman, before she changed - she didn't look familiar at all? No leads?
We think our consciousness is being stored somehow - maybe digitally, maybe psychically, maybe just as a memory - and our bodies are being preserved in stasis in a way they could be put back together. We think some of the experiments from the former crew could be important to figuring out how to do that, but we don't know specifics, it's just a hunch. We think you know as much as we do.
With the right amount of power, and a willing and available soul, restoring flesh is an easy task.
[ he was resurrected after all. ]
Experiments from the former crew. I suppose we see those on occasion. [ he's a little conflicted on what to ask next, so he paces a little circle again. ] Am I ... missing anything?
Not that I know of. We'll keep sending you what we can, and if it's censored or glitches, ask more about it. Maybe keep an eye on the planets and what the ship is doing there.
[she frowns and thinks.]
Consider throwing things away you want to get rid of. Like certain journals. Trash is helpful.
[ well he is listening intently to the first part because he is doing his JOB but he also frowns at the second part, setting his jaw stubbornly. he knows it's probably what he should do and it makes him quite mad. ]
And is putting the cursed item into the system that is already haunted by ten thousand ghosts, rats, naked women and giant terrible teeth a grand idea?
[ maybe the ghosts in the ship and the ghosts in the journal can just fight!!!!!! endgame solved.
lucien pushes a hand through his hair and thinks, but he shakes his head after a moment. ]
I have letters. [ rude. ] Tell Sidon ... I don't know. [ he's not sorry because it's not his fault his brain is terrible, but you know. ] I didn't intend for that to happen. To either of you.
And not exactly a message, but [ he's pulling up his IRIS to look over the messages again, quickly, looking honestly kind of concerned.] Viktor mentioned he was unwell again. Is ... [ well "is he alright" a question, so. can't ask that. ] Keep an eye on him.
[she doesn't know how much he'll be able to actually keep an eye on him. she doesn't know him that well, she doesn't think he'll open up to her, but...]
He's worried about you, too. So keep an eye on yourself.
[ he was all set up to start fussing again about how Viktor needs to stop worrying about him because he's so full of shit HE IS THE DEAD one and then the call drops and he's like.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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It is a cozy space and she may have seen it on the big screen before. It's Life Support.The... Church podium is here in this space and the door is closed. Don't worry about how ridiculous this all looks. They had to manage. At the podium is her caller and right beside them is Amalthea giving off nervous energy.
Here 3 questions will be answered, no more and (hopefully) no less. ]
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hi lucien is here and is kind of angrily pushing one of the stupid hanging pods around. his fucking church!!!!!!!! actually, when the Margaret ghost shows up, the first thing he does is kind of round on her and make a face while he figures out how not to phrase something as a question. ]
Rats.
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she waves.]
Rats! [there's no way to convey this in text but she says it as though he's saying it like an old timey exclamation.] Oops. Wrong number?
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[ he has never used a phone. he doesn't understand the concept of calling a wrong number. also yeah he's not exactly surprised to see the eyes, but he still recoils some. this was maybe a mistake. ]
... You still have them.
[ Again, trying not to phrase things as question. ]
They'll go away. [ supposedly. ]
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[she's glad he's not surprised, actually. but her expression does get more serious.]
You have that book here. Yikes?
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he, in fact, has the book with him now. it's sitting somewhere around nearby. ]
They can't reach this place. I haven't heard them for weeks-- It has no power or influence here, just a collection of the ravings of a madman. I don't know why it did that.
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That's what Viktor said. And I doubt "it" did anything. I think the reason this happened is the reason any of these things happen - some sick torture dream based on someone else's trauma.
[it's not exactly unprecedented.]
You aren't to blame for it. [she chews her lip.] But if what we saw in there was anything like what it's like for you, then you need to get rid of that thing.
[she doesn't mean to be nosy, but, well, she does.]
Was it like that for you? Did it make you turn against the people you care about, betray them?
no subject
the idea that she's going around telling people about the lunacy inside is head is making him so itchy. of course that is what was going to happen, but god. what a violation upon him! on him. and no one else. awful. ]
I mean to be rid of them, but I need the journal to do that. You all think it so simple, that I could simply decide to be done with it and it would all be over. But I died and still they hounded me. I can travel here to the further depths of the Astral Sea and the eyes remain. I'd be throwing away my chance to actually be free.
[ he thinks he should probably ask a question that is relevant but he doesn't want yet. ]
no subject
[and she's not going around telling people about the lunacy inside his head.]
Are you sure you need that journal to be free of them, or is that something you think because part of you is afraid to get rid of it?
[she genuinely doesn't know the answer to that, but it's something to consider.]
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I-- asked about the review of planets. And spoke of the woman. As asked. But I don't know that anything has come of it yet - the Senior Crew doesn't seem to know much about it. Others have seen the Flesh in various places - the church, and I saw it in Engineering. This "Cash" has told me to cease my search for the body, on account of the fact it is on your side. I don't know if that accurately conveys it, as I imagine it is everywhere for whatever feckin' reason.
What should I be looking for next?
no subject
[but fine, okay. the question. she frowns.]
I don't know. We're sending you leads, but I don't think there's some overarching thing we know about and you don't. You should be looking for how to let us know about what you've found, because some of that is news to me.
Otherwise, just - same as it's been. Cash. Anything we can learn about the senior crew and the ship. We keep coming up on voids to nowhere and flesh and ghosts, and flowers and pink haze, but things on our side are weird in general, so it's hard to say what's important. There are so many rats. I don't know if the rats are important.
We passed on that weird letter to Yuri, so I'd check on that, and also we got a dossier the other day that -
[actually she glitches, she's suddenly dressed in a waitress outfit.]
Can I interest you in a corn margarita? It comes with a spicy corn nuts rim.
no subject
[ SIGH. ]
We can't touch, let alone share foul sounding beverages.
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[she unglitches, her rat kigurumi disappearing.]
...Okay, I didn't mean to say that. But speaking of which, he mentioned you said something in your letter this week. We wanted to know more about that.
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You-- there was a dossier-- ... Shit-- not a question. [ he rubs his temple. ]
Right. The woman. It was after the last Seance, I normally try to extend the connection, to keep it as long as possible and each time I spent a little longer outside of my body. The last attempt, before I could be pulled back, I believe I slipped to the other side entirely. Where the rest of you are. I could hear Dahut, I believe, though a wall made of flesh, lined with bone. Ribs. I felt a presence, and heard water - water that I could walk across. Something about a Holy Day. There was a sweet scent, and I eventually came across a woman, floating in the water. SHe had dark hair, but I never saw her face, she was face down. When I touched her back, I felt some of her memories, perhaps. Something about the choice between happiness with a man or stability.
Then she turned into Brevyn. [ Margaret doesn't know who Brevyn is, probably! why would she. :) ] It-- That doesn't matter. But I believed if I truly wanted to, I could have both her and the journal. She did not have to die in Aeor. It would not have been a trade, as it was in life, for one or the other.
When I rejected the offer, it turned to me and kept pleading. Pink haze. The promise of everything I have ever wanted, and then, it consumed me. Teeth. I felt myself being crushed. And then I woke up.
[ vored. ]
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Gross. [but, okay. a little more seriously - ] He'll be glad to hear the not 300 words version. This woman, before she changed - she didn't look familiar at all? No leads?
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Mm. Not the Oakbender way to offer compromises. She'd never have shared space with that journal.
[ it was pretty gross. ]
No, she was not familiar to me. Perhaps ask Cash. Do you have any more imformation on how to bring you all back to the living?
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We think our consciousness is being stored somehow - maybe digitally, maybe psychically, maybe just as a memory - and our bodies are being preserved in stasis in a way they could be put back together. We think some of the experiments from the former crew could be important to figuring out how to do that, but we don't know specifics, it's just a hunch. We think you know as much as we do.
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[ he was resurrected after all. ]
Experiments from the former crew. I suppose we see those on occasion. [ he's a little conflicted on what to ask next, so he paces a little circle again. ] Am I ... missing anything?
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[she frowns and thinks.]
Consider throwing things away you want to get rid of. Like certain journals. Trash is helpful.
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And is putting the cursed item into the system that is already haunted by ten thousand ghosts, rats, naked women and giant terrible teeth a grand idea?
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[...]
Any messages for me to pass on?
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lucien pushes a hand through his hair and thinks, but he shakes his head after a moment. ]
I have letters. [ rude. ] Tell Sidon ... I don't know. [ he's not sorry because it's not his fault his brain is terrible, but you know. ] I didn't intend for that to happen. To either of you.
And not exactly a message, but [ he's pulling up his IRIS to look over the messages again, quickly, looking honestly kind of concerned.] Viktor mentioned he was unwell again. Is ... [ well "is he alright" a question, so. can't ask that. ] Keep an eye on him.
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[she doesn't know how much he'll be able to actually keep an eye on him. she doesn't know him that well, she doesn't think he'll open up to her, but...]
He's worried about you, too. So keep an eye on yourself.
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what the fuck. ]