[mingle] the space (april).

[fracturamods]

interim mingle

( WELCOME BACK, TRAVELERS. )

There's nothing but the clatter of train tracks, and the odd feeling of almost floating.

When you wake, it's hard to tell exactly what it is that you're missing - only that you are. There are pieces that aren't quite right, even if you're not sure where those pieces would normally be. Pieces of what, exactly....? Well, if you had to put a word to it, it would be - yourself, probably. Or did you get something back recently? In addition, characters will find that they've been allowed to bring back souvenirs from this most recent trip - trinkets, nothing violent, but items that can fit in your character's pockets, whether that be sentimental or otherwise.

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. For those who have been here a while, they might notice some expansions. Though it just as easily seems that the only form of welcome or explanation that you have, comes from nothing more than a slab of marble.

It might've changed since the last time you saw it. Today it reads:

(*´ω｀)o That wasn't so bad, was it?
Hey, you know how that old song goes?
Do you believe in magic? (☆▽☆) Do ya?

Hope you found what you were looking for!

You might have changed since the last time you saw yourself too - perhaps with a new emblem on your clothes, or a portrait on your skin. In addition to that, it seems like Home Base is on the fritz again…?

It seems that suddenly and at random, characters will be able to suddenly see visions of memories that aren't their own flash before their eyes. Pieces of your lives or where you were before this will suddenly slam into other's heads, as clearly as if they experienced the event and the feelings themselves. You might have an inkling of where your memory went and what it was - but you'll need to talk it out with that person in order to recollect it in all its strength back to yourself. Don't you want to keep those precious parts of yourself? It's best if you don't fall more to pieces while you're here. (Memories that have been lost in fragments cannot be sent to others - that's more fun for the future!)

There's no need to fret that much though. You've already gone through the ordeal once, and you might be able to see results from it. Or maybe you'll get a glimpse of where you're going next. Even so, it's best that you don't get too comfortable, because there is still the unshakeable feeling:

There's still much more ahead of you.

Comments

[supremity]

[ Some meals take a great deal of preparation, and he can find the time, given what it's for - or, who, in some cases - but this... doesn't look like it's worth the effort. Hua Cheng clicks his tongue and disposes of it in the trash without missing a beat. ]

I feel for these people of your London that would find it a novelty. [ Said in the tone of someone who does not, in fact, feel for them. ] How long is it meant to cook?

[illhearted]

[ They're middle class and think it's a lovely status symbol, to have canned food around the house. Honestly? She doesn't get city folk. ]

Thirty minutes or more, just about.

[supremity]

[ Hua Cheng: raised in absolute poverty, became richest man in fantasy ancient China, still thinks city folk are fucking idiots. ]

Doesn't that defeat the point of its convenience?

[illhearted]

[ She's technically wealthy, but she's from Not London, so, man. weirdly enough i made up stirling as a city for her to be from but it's an actual city in the uk (but scotland) so closes my eyes.

She shrugs though. ]

Perhaps all you have to do is heat it up? I'm honestly not sure. [ canned food, man. ] I would assume it's less pricey than buying things fresh, however, and they appear to keep for longer as well... Though why you'd need to stockpile food, I'm not certain. It isn't as if we're going to have a famine or a war anytime soon.

[ (looking ahead a few years) hmmmmm eliza, ]

...Well, I won't disparage others for their choices - it's theirs to make, even if I find it senseless. I live alone, after all - my cat aside.

[supremity]

[ closes eyes with, you know, it's fine, it's fantasy UK and no one in Scotland needs to know that the British stole yet another thing from them with a city name.

He shrugs back, sweeping the remaining cans to the side so that he can focus on something else - which, turns out, is a plump tomato. Hua Cheng has seen these around, but he hasn't bothered with investigating them with much interest until this kitchen thing was available. No point in it? But they're one of the many foods that he hasn't seen before. ]

This entire place is a mockery of that concept, really. Of stockpiling for famines and wars. It's rather pointlessly excessive, especially since you can't take anything out of the containers they're stored in unless it's in bulk, and it's outside the place itself.

[ Reaching calmly for a knife he'd pried out of a package of them, he rolls the tomato a moment. ] I don't need to eat, so I suppose I can't talk, either.

[illhearted]

[ Oh, tomato. Lovely- ]

You don't? [ ...Well then. ] Then I suppose you merely do so, when you do so, for the pleasure of it.

[supremity]

[ There's no point at all in him hiding that he's dead? lol it's fine. ]

Ghosts don't tend to need food, but I do still enjoy it, yes. And it does help from time to time if you need a... boost, I suppose. [ snick goes the tomato. ]

[illhearted]

[ A ghost... It takes all kinds. ]

You don't simply take the energy from a living creature? That's how it goes in many of the stories one hears.

[supremity]

And you wouldn't necessarily be incorrect in presuming such a thing. [ Hm, it's a little like a persimmon... ] Weaker ghosts frequently feed off of the living. Some are cannibalistic, as well.

[illhearted]

[ Ghosts are just demons, wakarimasu. ]

How intriguing. I wonder what changes between this world and the next. Humans take advantage of the weak quite frequently, if not outright ignoring them depending on what suits, but rarely do they literally consume them.

[ Where do morals and ethics go when you die? Where do the lines shift and when? Philosophical questions she doesn't care about. ]

[supremity]

[ Effectively! The stronger the ghost, the more often they're referred to as a demon. ]

Desperation is often something that colors a ghost's final moments among the living, and it can lead to them preying upon the weak with a great fervor as they cling to whatever shreds of "life" they have left, especially with such a weaker sense of self. This last world had some traces of it, I suppose, but this in-between has no signs of life nor death - who knows, maybe we'll contend with a literal dog eat dog world next.

[illhearted]

[ Much to think about. ]

I certainly hope not. I'd hate to have to shoot anyone. [ She doesn't like wasting bullets. ] I do wonder if there not being an afterlife a being such as yourself can sense means that death itself is impossible here. It'd certainly be difficult to do, given the lack of weaponry.

[supremity]

[ He snorts as he cuts off a bit of his tomato slice to pop in his mouth. yolo, except not. ]

A few creative uses of what we do have here would do the trick, I think. Or if you're strong enough just drop one of the metal shelves on someone. [ lol. ] At least in other worlds we have access to weaponry, I guess.

[illhearted]

[ Ew, raw tomato??? ]

Quite true. [ ... ] I'd offer to help you test a few of those creative uses here, but I'm under strict contract to not die before I'm supposed to.

[ lit...erally. ]

[supremity]

[ ikr he's disgusting. Not that he's ever had one before. ]

And I can't die when I'm already dead, so I'm afraid we're at an impasse on that one. [ And it's easy as that - Hua Cheng simply gives a small tilt of his head to acknowledge what she's said, because of course someone can have a contract to not die? Makes sense to me. ] I suppose we'll have to see what moron goes through that monstrosity outside and gets themselves killed using it wrong.

[illhearted]

[ learn to hate them, hc, be the better man. ]

...Ah. The large washing building, you mean. [ thank fucking god automatic car washes did not exist in any form until at least the late 1940s (they were semi-auto then). No surprises for Bella. ] Yes. I watched a young man attempt to fight it earlier.

[ ............. ]

He seems to believe he won.

[supremity]

[ If he can eat Xie Lian's food and go back for seconds willingly and happily, he can eat a tomato unfortunately. ]

I thought that might've been its function. [ But he was not going to go any closer to it, because hell no. Let someone else do that - he's here for observational learning in the event that someone makes a fool of themselves.

... case in point. ]

Does he now. I find that incredibly hard to believe, but to each their own.

[illhearted]

As do I, but he seemed happy to think so, and I'm not one to rain on another's parade if I can help it. He was quite happy to receive my assistance as well - his hair was more than a little messy after he dried himself off, so I merely combed it with my fingers just as my grandmother would do.

[ elizabeth: grandma at heart, ]

It was like interacting with a puppy.