HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Herein lies the various threads in which our characters live out their lives
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Shadowcaller
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

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[Fairy Tales]

"Isn't the story supposed to be fairly simple?" Ambrosia questions. "Since this is beginning to sound like a bit of a stretch. Since now we would need to explain why a book not only has been written about her experiences but why she fears she has forgotten about it yet at the same time is trying to forget what happened since she must be remembering it so well." She looks between Rein and Venus. "You seeing how this is a bit of a logical leap? We could cross it but all of this needs to be explained to the reader. Might be best to leave it vague. The story could start off with a nightmare of the traumatic event where she sees the cover of the book. Then she sees it again in the library and have flashbacks to the nightmare and struggles with it until she finally brings herself to reading it..." The scholar makes a circular motion with her hand. "That or we cut this subplot completely."

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Oh but all the arcane arts are dangerous to some degree, Dulcie. But that only proves how capable your friend is." Zhareen remarks with a nod. "As for the weather, today it's a bit cloudy but tropical all the same. In fact, I think your attire might prove a bit sweaty I'm afraid. I don't think you'd be staying particularly long but we have clothes to lend out if you want." The warlock then slithers through the portal. "Now, tell me a bit more about this friend of yours. How were they taught the art of necromancy?"
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Reinholdt »

[Fairy Tales]

"I admit, I find it strange that Jane needs to find courage and that she'd do it at a library. She literally just stood up to a dragon and dragons can be quite intimidating when they want to be. So I would be in favor of cutting out everything having to do with the library at all and just say that the dragon transports Jane to the castle. She can find out the King's weakness by going directly against him and discovering it in action," Reinholdt suggests. The library maybe made more sense if the weakness had been something else.
► The Story So Far
[Docking Bay -> Infirmary]

This face was the least exciting dramatic reveal Rein's seen all week! Seraphina should be ashamed. Reinholdt will just pretend it's someone else's face and try not to accidentally call her by their name later. Sometimes you gotta do everything yourself.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Even if the fish are very distracting." They're always swimming by, practically begging to be eaten, but never getting eaten. Their taunting of Rein does not go unnoticed by the hungry feline.

Thankfully it is not a long walk to the infirmary, the place of healing being conveniently placed close to the entrance. Precisely for situations such as these. It can be found equidistant from the entrance and the HoloRoom. It's mostly just good that Rein doesn't have to help Seraphina too far because he's really not built for these muscular endeavors. He'll help her into one of the beds, very comfy bed. Very fluffy pillow. "So besides being four hours dehydrated, were there any other injuries or illnesses or difficulties you encountered along the way to our humble aquarium?
► SHOW SPOILER
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Arkhosia »

► SHOW SPOILER
[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

'Dulcie'? The girl turns and cocks her paper-pallid face at that one. It wasn't a new abbreviation, but coming from Zhareen it felt startlingly familiar over all of a few minutes. Not that it irks her enough to point out or try and contest, instead chuckling and waving a hand dismissively. "Don't fret about me, I'm sure I'll be fine in this! I tend to run cold, and it's not like I can't shrug my jacket off if it becomes necessary. Assuming it doesn't rain, I suppose." Though it would be interesting to see just what kind of fashions the Fourth Tower had in storage....

Dulcinea steps through a moment behind Zhareen, bracing herself for any potential tinges of discomfort from the portal - though the next question won't give her much of a chance to dwell on them, because the moment she asks the half-elf instantly brightens. "Oh, Kahu? Of course!" A beat. "Sorry - Reilana I should say. I really must stop introducing her like that. Force of habit, just an old little nickname only I'm allowed to get away with."

"Anyways! I believe it runs in the family, so to speak. Not a genetic thing - her stepdad's a practicing necromancer. Follows this kind of strict and esoteric religion, some form of high-concept philosophy about balance between all aspects of light and dark." It's the kind of tone that suggests that she does, in fact, know quite a lot about the exact details despite her clear disinterest. "I think she's actually mostly self-taught with his guidance and consultation? He's very supportive of her though, just very busy."
"Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
~Welcome to Night Vale
SliiArhem wrote:Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Fairy Tales]

Venus tries to not let it get to her, the fact that an idea she was invested in was shut down.

She lightly slaps her cheeks.

"Yeah. You're right. Going straight to face the villain makes a lot more sense for learning courage." Venus exhales, then inhales deeply. "Jane, having rescued her friend the dragon, decides she needs to face the villain who did this to her friend and goes straight to the castle for a confrontation. Yeah, I suppose that works better because she's already showing courage in the face of fear right then and...yeah."

Venus bites her lip and waits to see what everyone else will say.


[Infirmary]

Seraphina will do her best to make her next face reveal much more exciting.

She sits on the infirmary bed, with her legs dangling off.

"Yeah! An aquarium!" Seraphina says. She points at Reinholdt for describing it perfectly. "That's the word I was looking for, this place is like living in an aquarium!"

Seraphina breathes in deeply, then exhales. "Um.....let me think." She counts out on her fingers, "That should be healed by now, if that got infected I would've noticed already, and someone who understands magic said that was taken care of..."
She pauses on her third finger.

Then bites her lip. And looks off to the right, as she thinks.
...
This is something that she, honestly, has been avoiding talking about. But, then again, this is a hospital. So maybe it's alright? Besides, Rein doesn't know her. And after she leaves, it's unlikely they'll ever meet again...so there should be no harm in telling him, right? But, then again, she's been (poorly) keeping this as a secret for this long, so why not keep on pretending none of it has ever happened?

After the war between wanting to say something and wanting to keep it private, Seraphina finally says, "Okay, so you're a doctor, right? We're in a hospital so obviously you are. If you're a doctor you've got to keep medical confidentiality." In spite of any potential protests or 'i'm not a doctor's, Seraphina looks down, and, as if confessing a great secret, she says, "Well. Okay. So, something weird. It seems like half the time, it seems like any injuries I get are completely and immediately undone, and the other half the time they aren't. And I have no clue what dictates one or the other."
She pauses. And swallows.
Then corrects herself: "Okay, that's a lie: I have an idea what causes one or the other. Gunshot wound wasn't too serious so it just healed normally, but tiger bit open my throat?" She moves her hood just enough to show off her throat, and it's completely uninjured. "Nothing, like it didn't even happen. So, um."
She looks to the side again, definitely avoiding eye contact.
"B-basically, what I'm trying to say is, there's really no need to waste your time checking me for injuries because anything I do have isn't that serious. I mean...any injury I do have is minor enough that it'll heal naturally. So there's no need to do anything about them."

Besides, basically all the injures she has are located in embarrassing places like her upper back and her thigh so there's definitely no need to check them. Her cheeks even turn red from embarrassment.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

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[Infirmary]

Reinholdt's sort of a doctor. If stealing a doctorate counts. Admittedly, it was stolen from GLoG's medlab, so the doctorate is probably not only stolen but also fraudulent. But at least he's no duck!

"So what you're saying is that any lethal injuries heal instantly, but injuries don't. That doesn't make them any less serious, unfortunately. There can be a significant decrease in the quality of your life if you don't get them treated properly," Reinholdt chides, grabbing a medkit. Ok, so he isn't a doctor. He does, however, have quite a bit of experience patching himself up. This makes him much closer to a field medic than anything. And if Seraphina's injuries aren't life threatening, then he might actually for once be qualified to handle them.

"For instance, you could stumble into a place you're trying to visit and collapse on the floor which must be hugely embarrassing at the very least." And what if she can't get done what she came to that place to do! A tragedy. "And the pain alone can certainly be... highly distracting from any activities you might want to do." Jogging would be right out.

"So, I'm going to have to ask you to show me your injuries if you would, please," Reinholdt requests, pulling out gauze, antiseptic, and a needle and stitching thread. "And tell me how you got them." Before he forgets though, he pauses what he's doing to get her a glass of water.
► SHOW SPOILER
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Zefir »

[Fairy Tales]

"I would still say we go for grandparent thing or explain that the author has retired," Mr C says. "I don't see a need for more explanaition other then her attachment to that person which can be rather short as many people can understand the relation to those either by own experience or by other storys.
Also I think it's a big difference to face an actual thread like a dragon and something mental. A mighty knight might face demons and dragons, but when it comes to talk to his crush he cowers in fear. Just to give an example."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

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[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Oh, she's an amateur? Er, passionate soul I mean. A better term considering your age. Well, that speaks even more highly of her skill then." A beat. "Y'know, Vax is something of a necromancer too. A different kind of necromancer I'm sure but that means we have something in common don't we? Girlfriends with profound knowledge in the necromantic arts." Zhareen winks at her. "Eh? Eh?"

[Fairy Tales]

"Will the dragon be aiding her in the fight against the 'king' himself? Not directly of course as that would undercut the point but perhaps dealing with his minions while Jane goes for his throne." Ambrosia suggests.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Infirmary]

At the very least, a professional thief knows the value of privacy better than a quack doctor.

Seraphina nods: yup, decent summary. "I don't go out of my way to try to get injured," she adds, even though he didn't imply she does. She just feels like putting that out there so nobody misunderstands. "It just happens. And, besides, I do know first aid." Probably not quite as much experience as Reinholdt, but it's possibly good enough.

Even so, she does relent and decide to let him see them. She turns away, facing the wall, and takes off her cloak, holding it in front of her. And then takes off her few small packs that she was wearing under the cloak, and sets them aside, on the bed. And then pulls an arm out of her sleeve to reveal the pretty large injury on her upper back and shoulder.

Seraphina takes the water and drinks it way too fast, such that it almost goes down the wrong pipe. Luckily, she coughs.

She pulls aside her red hair to show the wound. Luckily, it's wrapped and bandaged, so nobody actually has to look at the wound! The gauze under the bandages is a little soaked red with blood, though. "...Um. This one's the most recent. I've been replacing the bandages once in the morning, once before bed, so I probably don't need them replaced again yet." She doesn't know, though, since she can't see them. "There was a shipwreck, turns out it had ghost pirates," she gives as way of explanation for the wound.

Seraphina bites her lip.
Still facing the wall, she tells about the next two: "On my chest, there's one from falling out of a tree - it's stopped bleeding - and a burn. Only second-degree, so, y'know, not that bad." Unfortunately, she's just been letting them heal instead of doing anything specific for them.

She taps her waist. still wanting to face the wall. "...gunshot." Practically healed.
She shows her knee: fairly messy scab. ". . ." She's hesitant to explain this one, but ultimately relents and says, "I tripped." Very embarrassing, actually, at how basic it was.
And, the last one that she's unwilling to show, but she taps her inner thigh and says, "I don't actually know. Some kind of magic hit me here. Magic injuries should heal naturally over time, right? Like, when the magic runs out or something."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Arkhosia »

► SHOW SPOILER
[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Oh, extremely!" Dulcinea tilts her chin in the perfect image of a puffed-up secretary bird. It's the kind of pride in someone that echoes Zhareen's own eager behavior about her wife earlier - which makes it all the more entertaining when she stumbles midstride and whirls around with a noise like she'd just had the wind knocked out of her.

"What? She's- she's not my girlfriend!" She answers quick in a flustered trill, her cheeks glowing scarlet - though the look in her eyes seem to add, not yet. Which is all the more reason for Dulcinea to feel such a frantic need to correct the mistake as soon as possible! Reilana might realize she's been holding back her own confession for so long if she lets people go around saying things like that!
"Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
~Welcome to Night Vale
SliiArhem wrote:Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Reinholdt »

[Fairy Tales]

A lot of ideas have been shot down all around, sadly. Maria's probably less happy about it than even Venus. If it were up to her, the entire plot would take place in the library! This was madness. Like cutting public funding to a library. Disastrous.

"It just doesn't mesh with what we've already established," Reinholdt tells Mr. C. "Jane doesn't need to learn courage, she needs to summon it from within. We're cutting the library." Maria tries not to faint as Rein erases it from the whiteboard.

Reinholdt nods to Venus. "Yeah, we'll go with that."

Rein glances to Ambrosia. "I think having the dragon take her to the castle is enough. It'll keep the tension if Jane doesn't have a dragon in the background. Dragons are mysterious enough to fly off and we could always just explain that the dragon just couldn't reasonably fit in the cramped castle corridors if we absolutely needed to. That is a question though."

"Do we want Jane to encounter minions in the castle or just go to the Throne Room, the place darkly inviting her in? Which is scarier?"
► The Story So Far
[Infirmary]

Reinholdt puts on some gloves and checks the back bandages just to be sure. Needs to at least see if it needs stitches or if she's just been putting bandages on it hoping it will close on its own. "You've been changing these twice a day by yourself? That's pretty impressive." How has she reached back here?

So many injuries, geeze, no wonder she's ready to collapse at any moment! Just have to go one at a time then. While Seraphina's faced away in embarrassment, Rein will focus on the gunshot wound as he's most familiar with those. "Could you lift your shirt so I may see the waist, please? Do you know if there was an exit wound?"

He almost laughs at the scrape, but she's not looking at his face so he manages to recover. "Honestly it depends on the magic. Some are instant and down, some linger like you suggest, some will not get better without actual treatment." So she's probably going to have to reveal that one at some point when they get to it.
► SHOW SPOILER
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

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Arkhosia wrote: May 05, 2023 4:57 am [Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Oh, extremely!" Dulcinea tilts her chin in the perfect image of a puffed-up secretary bird. It's the kind of pride in someone that echoes Zhareen's own eager behavior about her wife earlier - which makes it all the more entertaining when she stumbles midstride and whirls around with a noise like she'd just had the wind knocked out of her.

"What? She's- she's not my girlfriend!" She answers quick in a flustered trill, her cheeks glowing scarlet - though the look in her eyes seem to add, not yet. Which is all the more reason for Dulcinea to feel such a frantic need to correct the mistake as soon as possible! Reilana might realize she's been holding back her own confession for so long if she lets people go around saying things like that!
[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

Zhareen giggles out loud as she recognized this outburst. She had worked with teenagers much like Dulcinea for a long time after all. "My apologies young miss. The girl which happens to be your friend then. Or your girl-friend if you will. Not anything necromantic at all if you excuse the pun. I'm sure Reilana gets those all the time and is sick of them by now."
By now they've stopped in front what appears to be a lobby which Lara-the-player can describe. "But before we meet Vax I do have one offer for you. A way to achieve immortality in your friends heart at the very least. Since after we've spoken to my wife would you like that Zhyrie painted a portrait of you? So that regardless of the outcome she would have something to always remember you by. Just like I will always have something of Vax."

[Fairy Tales]

"Depends on how much detail we want to keep in our story. A fight scene with his minions would probably look exciting but might drag on in a written text. In which case its better if she sneaks past them as you could get a lot of tension out of them almost discovering her I think. As opposed to she simply dispatching them in a fight. It would build up for the final confrontation as it will seem unclear if the King even can be beaten if she never even fought his minions." Ambrosia shrugs. "Not that her dispatching them wouldn't have its virtues but I then the king won't seem as much of a threat if his minions proved to be beatable."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Gullara »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

When the two step though the teleporter, the most obvious difference will be the climate. The humidity especially is notable, but the temperature is not so tightly controlled as the underwater base. The room with the teleporters is not super notable, though there is a difference between the stone construction and the metal previous.

Once they leave the roo, the space stands out. In some ways it mirrors the lobby of the Fourth Tower on the other side, with a wide open area and tapestries covering the walls. Here though the floors are a tile mosaic. The front door lies ahead of them. It's not an enclosed pace, but instead a large arch is open to the warm outdoor air. The sun streams in through the door and several windows. Zhareen was quite correct about the warm temperature.

There are a couple open arches that lead to other smaller doors, and also a staircase in plain sight. Vax's working space lies above.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Fairy Tales]

Maria can probably take comfort in the fact that, even if the plot doesn't take place in the library, at least the story itself will likely get put into libraries all across the Nexus.

"You're right, sneaking by and avoiding them would probably be the most interesting option. Or, at least, doing some kind of clever thing to get past them, since too much unnecessary conflict would distract from the purpose of the story."
Venus runs her teeth across her lip, as she thinks and tries to remind herself what the whole goal of the story and conflict is.
....
Right. Weakening the Ragged King and countering the fact that he magically spread stories across the Nexus about himself in order to strengthen himself.
"...I think the simpler the story is, the better it will be for our purposes," she concludes.


[Infirmary]

To be honest, the injury on her back probably should have stitches. It's not deep enough to require stitching, but it's definitely long enough that it should have it. Sadly, giving oneself a suture on one's back requires much more flexibility than just bandaging up an injury, and Seraphina isn't a contortionist, just somewhat flexible. "Well, um. Yes. Figuring out how to do it myself was better than wearing a blood-soaked shirt."

Seraphina sharply breathes in through her teeth as the bandages and gauze is checked. The movement and sudden exposure to air stings a little, so she makes sure to ignore the sting as much as she can. She does jerk forward a little, though, and digs her fingernail into her thumb to make it sting less.

Seraphina lifts up the hem to show the 'mostly healed' bullet wound. "Yes, there was an exit wound," she says. Miraculously, it appears to have been a quite minor wound, not even hitting any important organs! (Or...maybe it wasn't miraculously, considering how she said that lethal injuries don't stick. This is essentially a weird example of survivorship bias.)
With his expertise on bullets, Rein will be able to tell it was something along the lines of a steel-cored bullet and not anything like hollow-tip, considering how cleanly the bullet went in and out. "So, how's it look, doc?" Seraphina says in an effort to act nonchalant, force some levity, and distract from her burning-red embarrassment. "Give it to me straight: you think I'll survive?"

Leaning forward like she is, some hair escaped from her ear again. Geeze, that's why she hates it at this length: too short for gravity to keep it in place, too long to just stay in place on its own. She once again tucks the white hair back behind her ears. "Next time I find a magic expert, then, I guess I'll just have to ask them about it. Or maybe there's a book about common magic injuries that I could read."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Earl of Purple »

Outside, Near The Shuttles

A vehicle rolls up here. It's nearly silent, despite being a car; a symmetrical vehicle identical at front and back. It's the size of a luxury sedan, the top and upper sides covered in solar panels, with no windscreen or windows. The sides have been painted silver, and it has a wheel at each corner. There's a row of pockmarks in the side where the solar panels have received damage and small dents underneath. It's also covered in dust and sand, which isn't going to be great for the solar generation. After it comes to a stop, the suspension lowers the vehicle down as it settles into place, the clamshell doors opening on both sides, revealing the interior. There's a pair of benches facing each other with black vinyl seating, a central pillar supporting the roof with some sockets in its surface, and a pair of large screens above and behind the seating. The floor and internal panelling is walnut, polished to a high standard, though the air inside smells stale and musty.

Inside the base, a telephone will start to ring. If answered, a masculine voice will begin to speak. "Hello. My name is Bentley: I'm currently outside, near the beach where your shuttles visit. I would like some help, and you were suggested."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Arkhosia »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

Dulcinea's whole face scrunches up in a red and indignant pout, unable to help but see Zhareen as doing anything but teasing her. How dare someone like her immediately see right through her! It's outrageous, it's unfair, it's - well, kind of impressive, actually. The things she could do with that level of insight!

Fortunately, it doesn't come off to her as anything but supportive and light-hearted in intent, which is why she drops the topic rather than go on any sort of offensive. And besides, it's a little hard not to falter in her tracks at that suggestion. "I- erm, a painting?" The girl stares, then tilts her head. "Well, I - maybe?" she hesitates. "I dunno, it feels - ehehk - it feels a little self-centered?" To commission a depiction of herself as a gift and expect the very sight of it to comfort her grieving friend seems like a good way to prolong the grief with a reminder of who she's lost, if anything else.

Still, there's potential in something here... and from the look in her eyes, Zhareen might just be able to perceive the gears turning. Her suggestion isn't being discarded here. Instead, it's being filed away for later; a thought to dredge back up, hone in and examine in detail, then search for connections to build upon once they come.

Dulcie's eyes flit to the pathways ahead, and then return to Zhareen. She flashes a smile, ignoring the buildup of heat for now. "Well. After you, I suppose."
"Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
~Welcome to Night Vale
SliiArhem wrote:Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"It's entirely up to you young lady." Zhareen remarks with a sagely nod, not wanting to pressure Dulcie to make any decisions. "Now, let's go and see my wife shall we? You might find that you have a few things in common in fact." The merfolk remarks before she slithers further inside the facility. Past the reception desk, where she pauses for a moment to reach behind it to fish up a sign reading 'Will Be Right Back" and places it on the counter before she continues inside. Up the stairs.

"You know, some of our students would probably find you fascinating, Dulcie. Some of them are not too unlike yourself. Go-getter's y'know?" By now they should be before Vax's office however which Zhareen starts to knock on in a way that Vax would immediately identify as Zhareen. Unless of course anything else get in their way first.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Reinholdt »

[Fairy Tales]

"Yeah... yeah. Stealth works quite well here. It's pretty unlikely the King in Rags minions are likewise affected by the story anyways, so this works perfectly." Reinholdt's terribly biased towards stealth admittedly, but it really does help keep the tension while avoiding unnecessary fight scenes. Rein adds a football like strategy to the whiteboard where Jane goes around the minions straight to the Banished King.

"I think the rest is all just a bit of back and forth between the King and Jane as the Banished King attempts to intimidate Jane with empty words and Jane calls him on it, each time stripping away the King's spooky façade. As it does, he shrinks in the face of Jane's courage and maybe when he shrinks enough, the Skelly Dog decides he makes a better squeak toy than ruler, thus ending his rule. The pallor over the land lifts, happily ever after, etc. etc. Is this good? Anything else in particular here?"
► The Story So Far
[Infirmary]

"Oh yeah, I'm going to have to stitch this one up," Reinholdt says as he examines her back wound. He probably doesn't have to, but it'll a lot faster and better if he does. Rein peels the bandages off completely and prepares the needle with heat and alcohol. He grabs iodine as well. "Well this is going to hurt a lot. You might want to lie down on your stomach and bite your pillow."

Reinholdt gives Seraphina a moment to do just that and prepare herself for the thoroughly unpleasant experience she's about to suffer before he proceeds. So long as she doesn't find some way to chicken out or escape the procedure at any rate. He does not hold back on the iodine either, making sure it gets in every crevice before finally going in and stitching her back up from top to bottom. During the process, he does keep talking, if for no other reason than to keep her as distracted from the pain as he can.

"Yes, well, the good news is that you'll survive. The better news I imagine, is that we really don't have to do much with the bullet wound. It clearly did not embed itself in you so we're not going to have to fish it out. Keeping it clean and bandaged will be enough for you. Same with the scrape from your fall I suppose. I'm still going to need to look at your chest, but we do have burn ointment. How did you burn yourself falling out of a tree anyways? When you're up to talking about it that is." Seraphina might have other things on her mind at the moment.

"I've seen plenty of magic injuries in my time, so I should probably still look at the leg, but I'm also much less versed in being able to heal them. I guess I could tell you if you can just wait it out or not. Fortunately for you, we have magic experts here in HALO that could help you more thoroughly. Once we're done with the rest, I can take you to them and you can get treatment from them if you'd like."
► SHOW SPOILER
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Ironsmith »

[Outside, Near The Shuttles]

Vlad isn't usually one for desk duty. Not that he can't sit in one place for hours at a time when the opportunity presents itself, but working the reception desk tends to hit a different sort of balance with regards to work and leisure; it's difficult to enjoy having nothing to do when that could change in ten seconds. What could be a simple, relaxing job turns into mind-numbing tedium as he's made to wait for something to happen. Sure, he brought a few "desk toys" that help keep his cortisol levels down, but it's still a slog of a shift.

Oh, well. The usual receptionist (or at least the scheduled one) was sick, and it was his dumb idea to fill in. He should just bear this in mind next time.

Vlad looks up from his microengine as the phone rings. Presumably, this has something to do with that fancy car parked out by the shuttles. He'll just go ahead and...

"HALO headquarters, this is Vlad. How can I help?"

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

"Well, sure. Step into shuttle three and I'll have you right down." Vlad instructs.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Gullara »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

They have to go a ways up the stairs to get to Vax's workspace. She's claimed one of the upper rooms, though not at the very top floor. "Come in." A moderately deep voice inside answers. The tone might not read as particularly warm to Dulcinea, but Zhareen can tell when a greeting is meant for her.

Inside Vax stands by one of the room's many large windows. It's almost like a mini greenhouse in here with all the potted plants and draping vines. Most of the furniture is at the edge of the room and dedicated to this purpose, except a small writing desk and seat, and a chest of drawers. The plant woman turns toward them when they enter, and takes a step into the middle of the room, her foot crossing a simple circle engraved in the floor.

Vax smiles with closed lips at her wife, but then raises a brow when Dulcinea follows behind her. Her black eyes immediately search the youth. While Zhareen would accommodate Dulcinea's height, the girl will experience the disconcerting feeling of being tall and yet still being towered over now. "We have a guest."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Earl of Purple »

Outside, Near The Shuttles

"It would be my pleasure, unfortunately the... shuttles aren't quite large enough. I fear I would scratch my panels if I tried to enter, and cannot easily navigate around the seating. I should really introduce myself properly. I am Bentley, a 2164-model Bentley Mulsane Electric Executive, fitted with the armoured bodywork, improved entertainment system, and a Class Two brain. It has been... Oh, about ten years since my last service, and since my GPS has stopped working I am unable to determine my total mileage since then. Do you have a mechanic?" Vlad was probably aware the car had some level of self-driving ability, depending on the resolution and positioning of the cameras. Bentley doesn't have any windows, instead displaying the surroundings on internal screens using a network of cameras hidden and recessed within his bodywork.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Fairy Tales]

Venus shakes her head, thinking it's all good so far. "Do we still need to come up with a way to propagate this story all across the Nexus? Since I don't...know if we can do the same thing to retroactively spread the story in everybody's mind."


[Infirmary]

In spite of technically not being a doctor, Reinholdt has managed to pass himself off as doctorly enough that trying to escape the procedure doesn't even cross Seraphina's mind. It's not like she's against receiving medical treatment for her injuries. Rather, it's more like she just spent, like, six months on a trip that would normally take someone a couple hours, tops. Visiting a hospital would probably be a two-month detour.

More than something on her mind preventing her from answering, there's something in her mouth: the pillow. Sadly, Seraphina hasn't yet learned how to answer questions while in pain and with an occupied mouth.

Once the stitching is finished, Seraphina takes in a deep breath, rotates the pillow, and sticks her face in the middle of it so she can say "Ow ow ow ow ow!" in a muffled voice and then "Thanks." and then breathes heavily for several moments.
She slows her breathing.
And then sits up again, hugging and squeezing the pillow in her arms.
"Um...Tree and bonfire. Fire scared the animals away but lured zombies. But zombies didn't know how to climb trees and I needed to sleep....So, yeah. Context behind the burn."

Seraphina purses her lips and looks down.
...
Were her eyes always this red? Not even red as in bloodshot, but red as in not green.

Although she's uncomfortable with it, she does accept all the other treatments. "People who are experts at magic are so lucky. LIke, I've met so many people who just seem naturally gifted at magic, but...well, I guess some people just can't do it."
Last edited by Thursday Violist on May 10, 2023 4:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Arkhosia »

► SHOW SPOILER
[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

There's a brief pause in Dulcinea's limping gait when she realizes what direction they're taking. Oh, wonderful. Stairs. Just what she's always wanted. She doesn't halt Zhareen before the ascent, though - something tells her that asking for accommodation here will only result in all the wrong kinds of fawning.

So instead Dulcinea toughs out the ascent step by step, making careful use of her cane and a tight grip on any available handrail. It's slow going, too. Zhareen will have to slow down to keep in step with her - and she can't help but let a mite of annoyance fester at just how much longer the climb takes than she feels it has any right to be.

"I- sorry, students?" Dulcinea looks up from a casual lean against the wall, interrupted from a subtle attempt to minutely massage the soreness in her calf and thigh. "I mean - well yes, of course they'd find me fascinating. I tend to have that effect on people," she adds, tossing her hair back.

The moment the pair steps in, she first glances for a chair - and then stops when she sees the greenery. Some of the annoyed tension in her posture relaxes, her focus drifting from Vax to take digest it all. Not enough to actually forget herself, but certainly enough to pretend like she had.

"Hm? Oh! Yes, you do indeed. Apologies, that's a rather gorgeous crop of henbane you're cultivating." The girl shifts her cane from one hand to the other, then looks the woman straight in the eye and extends one in a handshake. If those dark, studying eyes shake Dulcinea for more than an instant, she doesn't show it - but Vax might just read the calculation in her icy blues beneath the cheery mask she puts on for new acquaintances.

"Dulcinea Antoninus Hortensis. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Vax...?" The question mark hangs, a silent prompt for the woman's own full name. There was a disappointing lack of nameplates or labels for her to work with here.
"Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Reinholdt »

[Infirmary]

Some fresh clean bandages to finish off her back will probably help the pain subside and offer a level of psychological security.

Were Seraphina's eyes always red? Huh... probably actually. Rein only got a few good looks under that cloak. This is nothing to worry about. Her personality seems the same so far, so it must have always been this way.

Reinholdt works on her gunshot wound next since it's simple enough. Cleaning it with fresh cloth and antiseptic and getting bandages on both sides. Probably still stings, but nothing as bad as what she just went through.

"So you fell into the fire? Yikes. I mean... I'd hide up in a tree if zombies were around too honestly. There's little worse than getting eaten while you're asleep." Reinholdt shudders in genuine fear and tries to push it out of his mind as he examines the chest wound next to make sure no firewood lingers. He'll patch that up to the best of his ability, but gives Seraphina the burn cream. Allowing her to treat herself with it while merely instructing her on the frequency she should apply it.

"I'm the same. Can't really do magic and I've actually studied it for a time. Well enough to understand my job anyways. It's good to know the difference between a fireball and a fire curse." Rein smiles a little at Seraphina. "Well shall we go speak to them about your thigh then?" Reinholdt suggests, holding his hand out to help her up out of the bed.
► SHOW SPOILER
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Zefir »

[Fairy Tales]

"Sounds good." Mr. C says.
"On that topic would we even consider such a method to force it into anyone? We will need a way to make it exist in many worlds like the King in rags does but I think forcing it into the memories of everyone is... bad?"
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Fairy Tales]

"I'm sure HALO can afford more traditional methods to spread the story." Ambrosia tries to argue.

Which is when Zhareen raises her hand again. "Oh! But we can help in that regard. There's plenty of spirits that could spread the message." She glances at Mr. C. "-And if we do want to spread it like the king did, we can help with that too."

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

Zhareen also had some problems with stairs as she had to partly drag herself up if she didn't have enough momentum. It would honestly be easier if the steps hadn't been there as her leg-less body kept bumping into their edges.
But they hadn't had the time to adopt it for her yet though there are handrails for the both of them at least.

"Teplos." Zhareen finishes for her wife as she exchanges a loving look with the diim. They shared that name after all.
Then she moves over to her armchair in the room. After ascending those stairs she always needed to sit down for a bit. "And Dulcinea came here since she wanted to ask you about yu-seeds and necromancy. The poor girl is-" She glances back at their guest. "-well, I will let her explain."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Infirmary]

Rein is, of course, correct: she must've always had red eyes. Her face was so unremarkable and boring that it'd make sense for there to be one thing that stood out like that. Especially because the red eyes seem to go so naturally with the stark white hair that they don't stand out or clash at all. Very normal, unremarkable, and boring.

"I can confidently say that I've never gotten eaten in my sleep, because wow that does sound pretty horrible," Seraphina replies.
She applies the burn cream and puts the remainder away so she can use it again when she next needs to.

Seraphina swings her legs a little, checking how they feel.
Of course, they still feel exhausted. But by now she's been sitting and lying enough that they don't feel like jelly anymore.

With his help, she gets up. "Yes, let's." Then grabs her packs and bags and puts them on and attaches them, and then grabs her cloak.
She internally debates whether or not to put her cloak back on.
Probably no need to, right? Since she'll just have to take it back off once they get there.
...
She folds her cloak and holds it in her arms. "Are they more the witch kind of magic expert, or the bookish library nerd kind of magic expert?" Seraphina asks, as she tries to get a mental image of who they're going to talk to. Witches are slightly cooler than library-nerds, she thinks. Just because of magic. Witches seem way more magical than library-bookish people.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Gullara »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Indeed?" Vax's gaze shifts to her wife while she speaks, but then her attention is back on Dulcinea in full. She takes the outstretched hand and gives it a curt, efficient shake. "By all means, explain yourself. Take a seat if you need it." She glances momentarily at the cane the girl is holding and gestures toward the chair in front of the writing desk. "I didn't imagine you were here to admire the foliage."
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Arkhosia »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

"Gladly, Mrs. Teplos." Her own handshake is crisp, comfortable and honest. She accentuates it with a brilliant flash of teeth before breaking it in time with Vax and following her to the desk. She takes a seat and crosses one leg over the other, then rests the cane in her lap.

"That is not the case I'm afraid, no. As I explained to your wife, Mrs. Vax, I am deathly ill." She opts for a more subdued approach this time - a soft, "can't be helped" sort of smile. "Bone cancer, stage four - osteosarcoma in the right thigh, since metastasized into my lungs. Particularly resilient, too - we've tried everything, ranging from radiation and chemotherapy to surgical intervention and magical spells. Which haven't worked, obviously - I think we've had some suspicions about there being something cursed or at least anti-magical, but it hasn't been very conclusive." Dulcinea adds this with a wave of a hand, as if she were talking about some weatherly minutia.

"The point is, I haven't much time left to live. A few months, maybe a year or so. Now, initially, I only came here to make a simple request. Considering my dire situation, I thought it best to propose donating my physical corpse once I'd passed in the hopes that it would be useful for medical study. Something I assumed would be within HALO's perview, considering its reputation for general scientific research." And was evidently not, if her tone suggested anything. Which is truly a shame when her gesture had such a magnanimity to it!

"However, when Zhareen heard my plight, she had a different idea altogether." Her smile briefly grows a little brighter, and she nods towards the woman. "We discussed a few possible alternatives to my eminent demise, such as extension of my life via undeath - but she also suggested that given your expertise and field of study, you might also know of potential ways to extend my life." She waits for Vax to respond with an inviting quirk of the brow.
"Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not, we never are. But that's not the right question. The question is: are we living a life that is worth the harm?"
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SliiArhem wrote:Arkh I may be slightly delirious but I don't think that would make sense even if I was coherent.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Morbid Adventures in Occult Science]

As Dulcie explains her plight Zhareen she has a sudden flashback to herself handing over a half-dead crab to Vax and wondering if she could make it better somehow since its crab family needed them. A request her wife didn't find all that pleasant.

Since that's when she realized that Dulcinea was like that crab, but in human form.

A revelation which causes her to look increasingly nervous the more the teenager told her wife. Slowly wishing the earth could just swallow her up as she felt Vax's gaze upon her without even needing to look in her direction.
Last edited by Shadowcaller on May 12, 2023 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: HALO CLXXXV: The Titles End Here

Post by Ironsmith »

Earl of Purple wrote: May 09, 2023 10:32 am Outside, Near The Shuttles

"It would be my pleasure, unfortunately the... shuttles aren't quite large enough. I fear I would scratch my panels if I tried to enter, and cannot easily navigate around the seating. I should really introduce myself properly. I am Bentley, a 2164-model Bentley Mulsane Electric Executive, fitted with the armoured bodywork, improved entertainment system, and a Class Two brain. It has been... Oh, about ten years since my last service, and since my GPS has stopped working I am unable to determine my total mileage since then. Do you have a mechanic?" Vlad was probably aware the car had some level of self-driving ability, depending on the resolution and positioning of the cameras. Bentley doesn't have any windows, instead displaying the surroundings on internal screens using a network of cameras hidden and recessed within his bodywork.
[Outside, Near The Shuttles]

"I don't..." Vlad trails off, looking over the camera feed again, before letting out an audibly-concerned "oh". That's... he's talking to the car. To an AI.

A remarkably well-mannered AI, granted, but still.

Vlad sits there for a moment, puzzling out this conundrum. Part of him doesn't even want to let the Bentley in; it may appear stable now, but monotone, expressionless machines have this habit of being incredibly good at deception, and he has no way of verifying the car's intentions. For all he knows, there's a bomb strapped to its undercarriage and it's just waiting for him to let it near something important before blowing up.

But he can't exactly turn it away on those grounds.

"...Wait there." Vlad instructs, tapping a button on the phone.

After calling for someone to fill in for him, Vlad makes his way up to the surface, emerging from the water in his cherry-red suit. He's turned off all but a few of its communications modules, so there's no chance of being hacked, and he's certainly big and strong enough to manhandle a car if he needs to. "What seems to be the problem?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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