Newbies + Monthly Prompts!

[trainmasters]

Who: Everyone
When: Day 47, morning
Where: the Aurora

[It's that time again: this morning, you're awoken by the jingle associated with an official message from your Chain -- the usual "newbie time" balloon animation and text:]

WELCOME NEW HEROES

[This round's newbies are waking up in their rooms, in the usual nondescript undies or team pyjamas.

Outside, the cold snap has broken. It's back to jungle warmth, though the sudden change in temperature appears to have caused a thick fog. So thick, in fact, that you can't see more than a few feet in front of you -- and it doesn't burn off with the daylight.

For the next few days, Origin Star will be lost in the mist, and should you venture too far, you may be too. Because out there in the humid dim are willow-the-wisps, faint lights in the fog that will lead you to perilous terrain or into the jaws of beasts.

Sometimes, you may also hear a voice -- a distant song from across the sea, in the direction of the corrupted island. If you get too close, long and spindly arms will reach out of the water and pull you down, for a kiss from a scaly human-like being that sucks all the emotion out of you and leaves you feeling hollow and lacking empathy for others. The cure is time -- you'll be better in a day or so, but you can speed it up by basking in the warm feelings of others.]

[[OOC NOTES: As the monthly prompts, the fog and mermaids will continue until next month's placements. If you have any questions, please ping the mods via the q&a. Thank you!]]

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

Offering up your name before demanding would go a long way in a better first impression.

Less than two weeks, but from my understanding, the train hasn't even been running for fifty days.

[comingstorm]

[No comment on making good impressions.]

So we're all relatively "new". Your impressions on the place?

[schrodingerscockroach]

How much have you read off the Chain?

[comingstorm]

Save the universe, work together, teams, trials, some robot that wants everyone to hug. Hugging, in general, as a theme.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Yeah, kinda.

The train has a lot of good people on it. And some of those people are also emotionally stunted so it makes the work together thing frustrating at times. [Listen, Jasmine is just Like That, so better he knows.] People have seen the direct result of bond magic and I trust their word, and I've seen some of the purification stuff myself. So there is stuff that's true.

Personally speaking, jury's still out on the powers that be. They could be honest, there could be lies, but I trust the people on the teams.

[comingstorm]

I shall take that into consideration.

[And he will. He's just, you know, calmly cynical.]

And your goals here?

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Nah, he can understand that. As long as he's not out to hurt anyone else, he can be as cynical as he wants.]

Get back my memories, purify my world is that's a thing, try to make sure people on the train don't die for stupid reasons.

[comingstorm]

Noble enough. Your plans to accomplish that? I don't suppose they involve hugging.

[He hopes they don't.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

....they kind of do.

Getting skills and memories are good for continued survival. Supposedly bonding helps stabilize people's presence here and it's one of those things where there's a lot to lose if it's true and not do it, and little to lose if it's not true, but still did it. One of the easiest way to stack up sparks is to do some kind of physical gesture of affection.

It also gets me memories and I have some pretty weird experiences, including time travel with a possibility of dimensional travel and knowledge can go far.

[So yes, hugging is part of the plan.]

Otherwise, keep my eyes open, learn as much of what I can about what's going on. Help people learn how to defend themselves and keep mentally sound. Try and get people to connect and trust each other because whether or not bonding is helping save the multiverse, best chance people have when things go to shit is to have people you can rely on and work with.

[comingstorm]

[Uggh]

Well. I agree. But it's unorthodox to be so... physical.

[Reminds him of Tenka and that makes him want to punch someone.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Trust me, I know. I'm used to wearing armor all the time, it's weird to be touchy.

Though it might be an advantage. Sometimes touching without thinking about it doesn't seem to take. I guess you have to put in the effort to reach out or something for it to work.

If you're not used to touching, you're gonna be thinking about it everytime you do touch and then get the sparks.

[comingstorm]

....Well that's some small advantage in an annoying situation. I'm not unbiased to whoring myself for a goal. It will simply have to do that this version is a little less literal.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[....I mean, crudely put, but it's not like he wouldn't do the same if he had too.]

There's a lot annoying about this situation, but yeah. At least that part can remain pretty tame. You don't even need to hug, just have it be a friendly kind of contact.

[comingstorm]

That can be acceptable. I've dealt with much worse.

[Sigh.]

You're a soldier then?

[schrodingerscockroach]

That's right. At least over a decade.

[comingstorm]

You certainly have the scars.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Yeah, I've been near a lot of explosions.

Surviving is apparently a thing I'm ridiculously good at.

[comingstorm]

You would have to be. A human experiment, perhaps?

[schrodingerscockroach]

Surprisingly, I was good at it even before I agreed to be the human experiment.

But yeah, I've been augmented.

[comingstorm]

...You agreed to have your body tampered with.

Are you an idiot?

[schrodingerscockroach]

....

Desperate.

Humanity was facing an extinction level event.

A lot of people were agreeing to a lot of very dangerous experiments to find a way to stop that. I was good at surviving and willing to do most anything for the greater good. I'd guess that made me a good candidate.

[comingstorm]

I see.

So a noble idiot. I don't hate that sort.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Shrugs.] I know the things I agreed to were stupidly dangerous and I suffer the consequences of it.

But if it helped the war effort at all, then it was worth it.

[Worst part it really didn't help.]

[comingstorm]

I don't hate your sort, but I don't like it either.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Fair. I know it can be a frustrating sort. [He knows.]

What about you?