mingle a little Mor tonight

[catamite]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Sure!
Action: The wonderful world of Mor, nearby way-stations, and ships!
When: The first week or so of arrival

[this is it-- Atroma's surprise vacation stay for you all! it's time to explore, speculate, relax, and totally behave yourselves. right?

how are you all dealing with the ever-so-educational volcano? have you played around with the visual toggle on those collars yet? aren't they cool? aren't these peasant clothes rad? if you haven't had a decent meal since Abeo, maybe you could afford some of that authentic farm-raised meat they have here. historical!

I bet you're all excited and completely thrilled to be here! who wouldn't be? ...so, make some discoveries, make some friends, and have fun!]

Comments

IN THE VOLCANO | Action

[theboogieman]

[what can I say? some guy is fed up with the annoying robot that's trying to bar him from leaving. depending on whether or not your module is on, he either looks like a guy in skull facepaint with glowing orange eyes, or a totally normal dude with boring brown eyes. he stands in front of it, dully glaring at its shiny metal face as it quips out protocol.]

Warning! User is not authorized to leave this sector.

[...he tries to step around it. it blocks his path.]

Warning! Return to the designated testing area.

[he tries to step the other way. it happens again.]

Warning! User is not authorized--

[he decides he should PUNCH IT INSTEAD. with a satisfying metal bang, the robot rocks backwards... but leans upright again a moment later, while Zhas is shaking out his sore fingers. he might as well have just punched a steel wall. ow...]

Warning! Violence towards educational constructs is prohibited. Please return to the designated testing area.

[ino]

[ .... Definitely ... just watched most of that go down.

... she isn't really condoning punching the robots, but at the same time, it's not really a good idea, probably ... ]

Uh ... are you okay? [ That looked like it hurt lmfao ]

[noctiphile]

[While Mattias is usually all for stupid decisions, there are some that just aren't worth it. Like punching robots that may or may not be equipped for harm over a quiz. It's a waste of energy and despite it having nothing to do with him, he intervenes anyway, hands raised as he slips between man and machine.]

You know, at this point, I'm fairly certain you're not allowed to enter.

[He smiles but it's stretched. The look of a man toeing boundaries. He ducks his head slightly.] But, that's fine. The test to get in is very simple and entirely unchanging. If you're having trouble with it-[You're an idiot.]-you can...

[He trails off, uncertain where he was going. Or why he even began. What was he doing here? Why should he care if the man futilely grazed his knuckles over something so stupid?

Because it was stupid, and the fact that even he could recognize that was annoying enough to have it dealt with.] ... ask for help! From me.

[No. No, he doesn't want to do that.]

[theboogieman]

[he looks over at her... nods his head, shrugs a little. flexes his fingers a little. it wasn't so bad.

the robot seems to try to move forward, perhaps to herd Zhas out of the way, but Zhas doesn't even look like he's paying attention--so it just inches back and forth in front of him.]

[theboogieman]

[most people would take a step back, what with the sudden intrusion into their personal space. Zhas, however, stays exactly where he is and doesn't seem to notice that they are now uncomfortably close together.

he also gives Mattias the exact same glare that he seems to give everything by default, looking over the details of his face, perhaps giving the impression that he is not at all listening to anything that this thing that is making noise has to say to him.

suddenly, he draws his arm back like he's going to punch him.]

[noctiphile]

[Mattias' tone falls flat.]

Same answer as before, then. Not a very creative one, are you?

[His hands are still up, though. He won't retaliate nor will he relent. Punches have long since lost their threat.] The first answer is no.

[A beat.] It's for the quiz, but it's also applicable to now.

[theboogieman]

[WOW HE BARELY EVEN MOVED.

Zhas does not punch him. he puts his arm down, tilting his head a little. watching his face more. Zhas is now much more interested in Mattias than he is in the robot. his glare lessons, though there's not exactly much expression rushing in to replace it. it still looks like he's not really listening.

which makes it kind of surprising when he leans forward to smell him. not touching him, but you know. near his face. kind of by his neck. not unlike an animal.]

[noctiphile]

[To say that was unexpected would be to call a mountain "big". The word doesn't fit. It doesn't even come close. Though the urge is there to shy away from the... sniff, he resists for fear of offense. For all he knows, it could be a form of greeting. There was no need to assume he was strange.

Even if he was.

Still, it puzzled him that he didn't know how to reciprocate. Was it customary to stand still or was he supposed to sniff back? Perhaps neither was an option and the sniffing was his cue to perform some intricate dance maneuver. He just didn't know.]

I have to admit, I'm rather confused right now.

[ino]

It might be a good idea to the listen to the thing. I don't know if you wanna get stuck in jail.

[ Last month's jail was pretty bad, but she knows it could have definitely been ... worse ]

[theboogieman]

[he doesn't seem to mind. whatever he was trying to accomplish by doing this... maybe he learns something, maybe he doesn't. either way, he returns to his previous posture...

...but fuck it, decides to punch him anyway. in the arm. not very hard (though "not very hard" for Zhas is still probably going to hurt).]

[theboogieman]

[...the girl human has a point. this is obnoxious. being in jail would be more obnoxious. hrm.

he sighs, but... finally steps away from the robot, sure. he'll go be difficult somewhere else. maybe deal with the test. he doesn't know.]

[noctiphile]

[It doesn't hurt but not because the punch isn't strong. Mattias can feel it, see it, knows it will leave a bruise but the pain doesn't register. He doesn't even flinch, just rocks back slightly. A motion caused by the force.

So no, it doesn't hurt, but it does annoy and before he even thinks about customs or etiquette, he's returning it. Punching him in the opposite arm. Lightly. And then letting the arm flap to his side.]

[ino]

You might as well just let them tell you about the planet. It doesn't take that long.

VOLCANO TIME | Action

[mortalcoil]

[Coil hasn't made it out of the volcano yet. he's watched the displays, jumped through the hoops, outfitted himself with a modulator... but he's still hanging around. he's sitting on the lowered ramp of the Red Fish cargo bay, to be exact... just watching.

maybe he's waiting for other people to take the plunge and head out of the volcano first. maybe he's just observing how they're all dealing with the various rules and regulatory robots. either way, he's just sitting there without expression... toggling the button of his modulator on and off, watching everyone blink in and out of their new human disguises.

and for anyone viewing the world through their own modulator, he hardly looks any different at all. the only changes are that his one eye no longer has any glow to it, and his shabby modern clothes are now shabby archaic ones. either way, he still kind of looks like a hobo.]

VOLCANO | Action

[heresyandlace]

[Tek has been quiet.

there had been a disbelieving scoff when the displays had informed him of the name of this planet, but that's the last sound he's made. it seems everything after that point has worked together to put him into a brooding silence. he watches every display, absorbs the details and follows along, and he even outfits himself with one of the modulators. but he's busy in his own head about things, keeping his opinions--for once--to himself.

it's easy to tell when he's finally beginning to come out of his little mood, however. it begins with him... looking in a mirror. that always cheers him up.

so, that's what he's up to now. standing around his ship, he's admiring himself in a hand mirror. the modulators have spared his clothing from any changes, since he looks halfway like some medieval noble anyway, but his hair is a natural shade of black, and his eyes are an average, pale blue. even his skin tone has warmed up to human standards.

it's weird.]

VOLCANO/MARKETPLACE | Action

[everydayhero]

[Hiro is going to be spending a rather ridiculous amount of time in the volcano checking out the holograms and all of the tech inside. This kind of thing fascinates him, of course.

[Otherwise, he is going to be found either helping out around town with non-dangerous jobs, or hanging out in the marketplace.

[Specifically, he'll be eyeing a very, very pretty dagger with ornate graving at a blacksmith's. It's expensive. He's set himself the goal of using only money he gets while he's here to get it.

[As for clothing, he's been changed into peasant garb. This makes him a lot less assuming when he's trying to make some coin yanking carrots out of the ground.]

Marketplace

[howcanihelp]

[ Steffa is very grateful for her own clothes, because she's being afforded some measure of respect, at least. She may not have a lot of money, but even in a simple design not intended to call attention to her rank (or former rank), her Warden armor is very high quality.

Like the Wardens at Vigil's Keep were going to let their Warden-Commander leave without the best they could give her?

She's looking over some mid-quality bows, mentally trying to work out how much work she'll need to do to afford a couple of them. ]

Thank you, I still need to visit the other vendors, but I will certainly keep you in mind when I come to a decision.

[ Smile, move on to the next st-- Hey, that's a familiar face! ]

Hiro!

[everydayhero]

[!! well i sure know that voice.]

Stephanie.

[grin, and a wave.]

What're you over in the weapons department for?

[He's saying it in a way that suggests he means it earnestly, not that he's questioning her right to be here.]

COUNTRYSIDE/TOWN basically everywhere | action

[noctiphile]

a. shit makes the flowers grow

[The first thing he does is leave the city. Test the limits of how far he can go and taking in the sights as he travels. His home is desolate, cursed with a surplus of sand and limited water. Forests, while not new, are unusual and the flowers in the countryside display an array he's never before seen.

He documents them all, easily found sitting in the wildflowers, pressing flowers between the pages of a leather-bound journal. It's an act of preservation but it's not enough. Just the first step. He takes the next in the river, half his clothes on the banks as he wades as deep as he can, delighting in the sensation of the current sweeping by. It excites him enough to call out random passerbys with exclamations of joy, some typical ("Come on in! The water's warm!") while others are bit more obvious ("It's wet!").

It's enough to make the locals steer clear of him, though, when asked, they agree that he's likely harmless. Just a little cracked in the head.]

b. now it's time to bring it around town

[In town, he's a bit more diverse. There are more things to do, more things to study and though he prefers the outdoors, he can't resist the appeal. With a wrinkled nose, he stays far from the sparring and plays, sticking close to the temples. He sits in them for long hours, studying the embellishments, religious practices and general theology. But even he needs a break. He takes them in the city's festival, taking advantage of his drab peasant appearance to ask for every dance the peasants know. Even the fire-dancers. He might have gotten a few burns from that.]

[howcanihelp]

I'm looking for a bow. Well, a couple of bows, actually. Back home, I had a bow that had been treated to work as a focusing staff for my magic. It was really amazing, if I do say so myself.

I'm not entirely sure what the process is to make foci, but I know some steps, and I know the theory, so I want to see if I can manage it on my own, with a bow that's already been made.

[ Her expression and the way she talks about it... well, it's not science or robotics, but Hiro probably would recognize it from himself and his friends back home.

She's trying to innovate, or at least learn to be able to do things herself that she's not entirely sure how to do but that it would be very useful for her to be able to do. Just with magic instead. ]

I'm checking prices right now.

[aberrant_type]

[She strolls up behind him, making enough noise that her approach won't come as a surprise.]

Whatcha doing, kiddo? Go join the fun.

[theboogieman]

[funny, he doesn't flinch either. his arm is nudged back a little, but he absorbs what little force there was with hardly any change in his person to show for it.

well, maybe he smirks a little. it's hard to tell.]

I know.

[oh jesus. he does talk. it's short, but his voice is deep and monotone and not entirely unlike a gravel driveway.]

[noctiphile]

[After all that and he only gets two words. Mattias sighs, one hand defaulting to a cocked hip.]

Know what? The quiz? [Well, that promotes him above an idiot.] Then why didn't you tell it? You were just prolonging the wait.

[theboogieman]

Why do you care.

[...again, not much for tone in his voice. it's not even accusatory, but the interrogative word is the only reason it comes off as a question. he continues watching the other's face with very little showing on his own.]

Volcano / Town / Spoopy haunted ruins

[aberrant_type]

Volcano.

[The entryway to the Red Fish is down... and inside, it sounds like something exciting is happening. There's the scream of metal on metal, various clanking sounds, the occasional weird smell wafting out the door - smells of hot metal and rubber.

If anyone decides to poke their head inside, it looks like Hange is utterly concentrating on putting some kind of weird frame together. Frame and troughs. Every so often she stops and shakes at the whole thing to make sure it's secure.

... though she happens to glance up at any observers, and grins at them.]

Hey there!

Town.

[With her disguise module going, Hange merely looks like a tall peasant woman in a buttondown shirt and long skirt. She seems utterly comfortable dressed this way, and she's criss-crossing the market...

Looking at weaponry. She picks up swords here and there, tries their balance, discards them or glances up to memorize the location of the place. She's not really trained to use swords like these, but they're the best option yet to replace the weaponry left behind in her own world.

She's got a pretty good memory for faces, though she doesn't directly talk to anyone, so other fleet members that she notices get an interested once-over and a nod, to be friendly.

Eventually she stops at a tavern with tables set up outside, too, and orders a tall mug of beer and some soup. This world feels homey to her. It's not quite right... but still.]

Ruins.

[Once a sword that satisfies her is found, she makes her way outside the town. Word of those ruins... haunted? Hah. She'll see. She doesn't especially believe it, but a visit might prove interesting, so with a bag of some basic necessities (food, first aid things, notebook and pencils, water) slung over her back, and her sword at her side, Hange strides out of town to see what the burial mound has to offer.

Whistling cheerfully, she certainly looks like she knows where she's going...]