hello (heart)gamers. im here w some special guest stars

[finalbows]

WHO: all who dare enter angie's literal mind palace. it's OPEN HOUSE! no invites needed!
WHERE: in front of miku's salad (and yours)
WHEN: evening 73.

[ in the middle of running a perfectly innocuous miniquest, Angel Devil falls down.
His clothes have twisted away into bone-white rags, leaving a body covered over with only thick swathes of red fur, and downy feathers. His long tail is curled into a tense arc, banded fur standing on end.

The air wavers like he’s a heat mirage, not a man. He’s boiling away with absolutely stupid amounts of arcane power… and, most frighteningly, he does not seem in control of the fact that it is there and being brought to bear. It’s impossible to get any closer to him.


When he speaks, it’s quite timid. ]

Oh.
Oops.
...Thought I had... a little more time.

[ (and in a blinding flash of light, there is the sound of something breaking.) ]

~KRRSHHK~

[any observers will see, strangely see-through and superimposed on the scene, some kind of vast tree, illusionary roots twisting over and around to frame a door.  the door itself is wrought of opaque stained glass in blacks and whites and greys; a stylized rendition of Angie in that strangely ragged, feathered form, curled in on himself, eyes closed.  Angie himself is nowhere to be seen. ]

instead, a shadow . . . steps into view from behind the door.  for a moment it looks like nothing so much as a second genome – then it turns, gaining features and definition with the movement.  The monkey tail separates into three plumes; a ponytail unfurls into wings that lift up from the sides of the head.  

Teleute(?) is here, dressed in her customary black, but there is colour in her skin, and her hair and eyes are blue.  she’s frowning.]

. . . well.  This is the least I can do before I go, in exchange for the safe harbor.

[she lifts her head, nodding to any observers, and gestures at the door.]

You’ll want to head in there now if you don’t wish to lose your flockmate, I think.  Even the false-death of this place won’t be much help to him, if his soul is left to finish pulling itself apart.

My sisters and I can maintain the way into and out of it for you, but we were not made to knit such wounds by ourselves.  Have a care.

Comments

[electricflock]

... Sorry.


[AVOIDS EYE CONTACT WITH ANY GENOMES

carry on

this is normal



ignore the guy wading into the muck of your history to rummage around like he's looking for the prize in a melted kinder egg]

[finalbows]

[ the Genomes have absolutely no opinionated reaction in any way, shape, or form. the ones that were basking in this particular crystal keep passively standing, even when the signal has obviously cut out from what they were listening to.

there's definitely ones that ARE watching him, though. just. taking that all in like rocks with eyes.]

[ ...poor muffin. his everything is going to be so, so sticky.
at least it's not hard at all to reach through a bunch of sludgy wet sugar to pick the mask up, sugar-clumps sloughing off as he picks it up to look at it.
Gained MASK OF THE GUILTY. ]

[electricflock]

Didn't know was going to melt.

[wipes the mask off on the driest part of his clothes and picks his way out of the sludge. ow. ick. eugh.

back outside into the headache light to find a public water feature to rinse his hands off in]

[finalbows]

[ luckily, Bran Bal features a very large and very public water feature unavoidably right in the middle of everything; a big, perfectly placid pond, that is... kind of... concerningly clean and clear.

there's basically no microrganisms or algae or random planty bits in there. it's as lifeless and inert as a body of water can be. pure distilled H2O, and now he's dipping his hands in it and making pretty splish-splish ripples. ]

[electricflock]

[well.



if it's that clean, he might as well.

]

[finalbows]

[ SPLISH!!! SPLISH!!! SPLISH!!!!!
muffin is absolutely free to get in some good splashes. the water is soothingly cool, and while he's in it, the pulse of the Outdoors Headache Light doesn't seem to bother him. ]

[electricflock]

[he's CLEAN, he's got his blue light blockers on, and he's turning on Daffodil warmth to start drying his clothes.]

Much better!

[after he's had his bath, he takes a bit of time to wade around in the pond. pool? fountain? waves at some Genomes now he's in better spirits HI HOW ARE YOU]

[finalbows]

[ we are staring blankly, thank very much for asking! ]

[electricflock]

[oh my god this is a whole city of babies]

[beckons them over, c'mere c'mere]

Are you busy?

[finalbows]

[ the one he is staring directly at says blandly, ]

"There are no currently assigned tasks."

[ and doesn't seem to understand his strange alien gesturing. ]

[electricflock]

So you're on free time, great!

[BECKON! BECKON!!]

C'mere, put your feet in.

[finalbows]

[ the Genome obligingly walks forward, shoes still on, to come stand stock still in the water up to just under their knees. ]

[electricflock]

WAIT, shoes! Shoes!

[finalbows]

[ ...points at their own?


....points at Muffin's on the bank? ]

[electricflock]

[muffin’s standard-issue Daffodil-brand summertime flippy-floppies]

Is not good for your shoes to get wet! Bad for them, bad for feet. Gets squelchy.

[finalbows]

[ squelches their way back out of the water back to dry ground

...processing..
takes them off. ]

[electricflock]

Socks too! Water is nice on bare feet.

[finalbows]

[ with lots of VERY CONCRETE instruction, he finally manages his goal:

one barefoot Genome, obediently standing in the cool water. ]

[electricflock]

[stamps his own feet for a little splishy splashy]

How is it?

[finalbows]

"The temperature of the water feels colder than that of the surrounding air."

[electricflock]

Yeah, but in nice way? I like it. Is refreshing.

[finalbows]

[ the concept of "nice" isn't really big in bran bal, so the Genome just sort of... spends some time contemplating how to respond. chooses to hone in on "refreshing." ]

"If you require rest, there are beds available within that structure."

[ turns, and points toward a particular building. ]

[electricflock]

Am not tired, but thank you. Are dormitories?

[finalbows]

"All active vessels in Bran Bal sleep there when rest is required."

[electricflock]

"Vessels?"