driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Allen Walker
Broadcast: Video!
Action: Blue Fish
When: Today!

[For those who have been here awhile, it's a familiar feed. Allen's standing in behind a table in the lab, looking positive. Meanwhile Timcanpy sits behind him on a shelf, wearing a glowy stripe ribbon on his tail while he flaps his wings around- as if doing some sort of sign language interpretation for what Allen's saying]

Hello everyone! For those who don't know me, I'm Allen Walker, I'm one of the medics in the fleet. There seems to be a lot of new faces lately, so...either welcome aboard, or sorry you've been dragged into this- whatever you'd prefer.

[He clears his throat]

Anyway, just a couple quick announcements today! We'll be holding our bi-monthly blood drive the first weekend of February! The blood donated will be kept in case of medical emergencies that require a blood transfusion - in other words, using scientific methods to help someone whose lost a lot of blood. If you are interested in donating, we will pay you in money! In fact, we'll even pay you double the rate we usually pay since I know many of you are tight on funds.

So if you're interested and you're over the age of 16, please fill out the form attached to this video. [And what do you know, it's there] If you're interested in volunteering, please let me know. Vampires interested in volunteering will need to be able to have restraint around blood and will not be allowed to sample the blood.

This time, the drive will take place on the SS Paisley [Due to someone's psychotic sister making Blue Fish tightening up security], a thank you to Captain Alex and First Mate Stefan for the hospitality.

And of course, there will be cookies.

[Right, that out of the way]

Secondly, I'm sure everyone has noticed by now the crates that showed up in their cargo bay. My crewmate's scanner managed to detect they are gumballs inside that contain some unfamiliar substance. If there's anyone whose already opened their crate and would be willing to donate some of the cargo to our lab for us to study, we would be happy to give you money for it. [Though not nearly enough to cover the fee you'll get for breaking it open. Suckahs] Thank you.

That's all I have for today. Thank you and have a wonderful day! [He gives a wave, then cuts the feed]

[OOC: As always, the blood drive will be handwaved!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mm, it is a rather strange name. I'm not sure who named it or why. [The suspect? Anime Engrish] Some people also call it "God Matter", though I don't use that term much here.

[Cause people get weird about religion and Allen would rather avoid that]

But it's a very rare and unusual substance. When it's in it's natural form, it can cause all sort of strange phenomenons. And when it's in weapon form, it's the only thing in my world capable of destroying and purifying creatures of darkness- the undead. [Like Akuma, but again- long ass explanation there]

That is a rather lofty term, and far more intimidating. Of course, that's not always the angle you want to go for.

[Intimidation should always be a last resort.]

The undead cannot simply be beaten with normal weapons and magic where you're from?

No, and people get touchy when you mention anything religious. I'd rather avoid that.

[Seriously, it's a headache.]

No. Akuma's hides are tough enough that even bullets bounce off them. Magic can shield from them, but that's about it.

Of course they do. [Said with no undue sarcasm. Good to know it's not just limited to Thedas, she supposes.]

...your undead are much hardier than ours, then. I take it your Akuma aren't just shambling corpses, for the most part? [Granted, Thedas had Revenants and the like which could be an enormous hassle, but they were rare.]

[NOPE ITS EVERYWHERE RIONA HAVE FUN]

Ah, no, they're nothing like a zombie. They're actually weapons designed by a necromancer who uses the soul of the dead to power them.

So...they're very dangerous.

Zombie? [The word feels clumsy as she says it, but she can't help but smile.] It's silly but I like that term.

That is a very determined necromancer. [Apparently just raising the dead from the ground wasn't good enough for the necromancers in Allen's world. Gosh.] What are they made out of?

Oh yeah? What are they called in your world? [Since you clearly have them]

I don't know all the ingredients, actually. But they use dark energy, as well as trapped soul for fuel. And some sort of fluid that that contains a toxin that's instantly lethal to anything organic. [...] Which as you can imagine, is why we only know so much about their composition.

Simply walking corpses or the undead. The walking dead if you're feeling particularly dramatic.

[As he describes them, Riona can't help but be reminded of the taint and the Blight. The two sound remarkably similar, especially the "lethal to anything organic" bit.]

Yes, I can completely understand. The toxin you speak of sounds like something we have in Thedas that we call the taint. If it gets into a person's bloodstream, they'll either die in a few days or turn into a mindless ghoul. If it touches the ground where plants grow, the land there will become barren for centuries.

Ah, fancy names.

[Very dramatic! And he gives a nod at that]

I see...yeah. Make a few days into a "a few seconds" and that'd be the Akuma virus. I'm sad to hear something like that exists in other worlds.

We're a creative lot in Thedas.

As am I. I wouldn't wish that on any world. Any world has enough problems of its own without something like that trying to kill everything. [There's a short pause as she considers something.] Has your world always had this Akuma virus?

[Yeah, he can agree with her sentiment there. Stuff like this shouldn't exist in the worlds. Speaking of-]

No. Akuma are a completely unnatural creation. They only started existing about a hundred years ago.

That's not long ago. Do you know what made them come about?