quack quack

[forsometimenow]

Who: The crew of the SS Wonderduck and any visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Wonderduck
When: The first few weeks of April

[The crew has changed a lot since the last mingle. What're you up to, Wonderducks? What nasty and/or hilarious rumors are being spread about you?]

Comments

[dancingmd]

[Beverly sighs dramatically.]

That poor other woman. Left out in the cold.

[forsometimenow]

And then the audience would be complaining because their preferred combination didn't happen.

[dancingmd]

What?! Are you telling me that we're not everyone's preferred combination? Outrageous!

[forsometimenow]

You never know- maybe we're paired with people we've never even met. Or people who aren't on the Fleet.

[dancingmd]

Why would anyone want us to date someone we've never even met?

[forsometimenow]

Truthfully, I don't know. But the fans will believe anything, if these notes are supposed to be from them. Did you know we're growing man-eating plants on the Iskaulit?

[dancingmd]

I did not!

How fascinating: you learn something new every day!

[She is being completely facetious of course.]

[forsometimenow]

You'd think I'd be getting big bucks from that. You know, growing them against all odds- lack of proper lighting, the fact that nobody else has found out, that they're alive despite not eating anyone... all that hard work for nothing.

[dancingmd]

Between that and our illicit affair we should be rolling in credits!

[She puts her hands on her hips.]

Jennifer, I do believe we are being cheated!

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer finally is caught up in a fit of giggles over that, and covers her mouth.]

I'll be sure to put something in the complain box. They've got to empty it eventually.

[dancingmd]

[The giggles are infectious: Beverly starts laughing as well.]

Or we could tell Diamond the next time we see her - I'm sure she'd be delighted!

[forsometimenow]

And she'd be sure to tell us so in that same perky monotone. You know, I'm still more than a little suspicious that she's a computer simulation.

[dancingmd]

Maybe... I don't know, with what happened during the calibrations.

[She rubs her chin thoughtfully.]

[forsometimenow]

I thankfully missed out on experiencing the worst of that one- mind giving me a refresher?

[dancingmd]

They weren't really giving us those smooth, practiced broadcasts that they had before... There were glitches and glimpses of them "behind the scenes," so to speak.

[forsometimenow]

Hmmm... and I think that kind of thing would be hard to fake with artificial intelligence, no?

[dancingmd]

Not impossible but... it seemed too unexpected.

[forsometimenow]

And I'm not sure they'd willingly let us see any cracks in the program, come to think of it. They want us to think they're in control 100% of the time.

[dancingmd]

Exactly. And how long has it been since we've heard from them at all? I don't think this is going as they intended.

[forsometimenow]

No, it's definitely not- and it HAS been a long time since they've spoken to us. Some of the newer arrivals have never heard Atroma speak at all, which is odd, because you'd think they'd want to be more present.

[dancingmd]

Not that I miss it, mind you, but it does make you wonder...

[forsometimenow]

Mmmhmm. Something either went very wrong, or they're planning something. I mean, obviously they must still be around and doing stuff if we're still going star system to star system like normal, but this quiet is kinda suspicious.

[dancingmd]

And these rumors had to come from somewhere.

[forsometimenow]

Mmmmhmm. And Atroma are the only people I can think of who would have the capability of spreading them around like they are- not only the notes, but I've seen a few peoples' broadcasts glitching. So maybe this is their way of saying "we're still here"?

[dancingmd]

Seems likely. Probably they just want to see how we react to the rumors, though it doesn't seem like anyone is taking them too seriously.