intro log.

[fracturamods]

welcome mingle

( AND SO IT BEGINS. )

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.

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. 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.

Well - that, and all the people who seem to have woken up alongside you, lost and also probably Doing Their Best™.

There's no need to fret that much though. It's hard to say exactly where you're going next, even though some places might feel a little bit more like a clue, but what you do know is one unshakeable thing:

There's still much more ahead of you.

Comments

[counterclocked]

[Well. If you're going to eat a melon off the ground, that's probably the most socially acceptable way to do it, but all the same:]

I can get you another cantaloupe if you want... There are probably tons around, you know? Especially since that was my bad. Sorry.

[Since this store is huge. Anyways!]

Okay, new first question. What's the difference between and spirit and the undead?

[givethemhell]

[He has like, a tiny scrap of sense sometimes, see! Teeny tiny... So small. He seems perfectly content with his floormelon though, and shakes his head.]

No need to apologize, this one's fine! I already know it's sweet and I don't want to waste time trying to find another sweet one. What if I open it and it's watery? That would be the worst. Do you want some?

[He... holds his out... Not that he actually expects this poor kid to agree.]

Ah - that's a good one, though. The spirit is the essence of a person! The undead typically just involve the physical part - the body. You can divide it further though, if you want! Technically, demons and ghosts come from humans, spirits and monsters come from plants and animals.

[counterclocked]

Uh, no. No, I'm good.

[Moving on quickly!]

So it's just the body coming back, not the soul... Like a zombie, basically? I mean, the undead type. So if a spirit does come back, it's not from a human?

[He's still clearly interested, but not enthusiastic enough to forget WWX's movieless life. The Evil Dead reference will wait for now.]

[givethemhell]

[He just shrugs in a very SUIT YOURSELF way, like Hunter is truly missing out by not eating this damn floor melon.]

Zombie? I suppose! [He's learned a new and vital word in this moment.] Fierce corpses are among the undead - animated bodies, but without the spiritual consciousness.

[He taps the side of his head for emphasis. The dumb kind of zombie...]

Mm, but that's more or less it, yes! Sometimes we call everything not of the living a spirit, just because it's easier to simplify for people who don't deal with these things, you know?

[counterclocked]

Yeah, without the consciousness! Like, just wandering around because they want to eat brains. That's a zombie. God, I wish we had a DVD player... I could teach you so many things.

[He still hasn't explained what a movie is, but in his defense he got distracted by ghosts and melons and forgot.]

[givethemhell]

[AND WEI WUXIAN WON'T REMIND HIM because ???? for some reason instead of asking for explanations directly he just likes making a game of putting two and two together, apparently.]

There might be one in here, right? We can go look, see if we can find it!

[counterclocked]

Yeah, fair enough. I probably missed it somewhere along the way... I mean, this place has everything else, right? It'd be weird if it was just missing that one specific thing.

[Narrator voice: it is missing this one specific thing.]

[givethemhell]

["Surely we can't be that unlucky!" they think, being that unlucky.]

Is this sort of thing normal where you come from, too? Stores this big with just about anything you could ask for inside of it? Haha, it's so much more convenient than marketplaces! And no one's here to trick you into buying sprouted potatoes, either - how nice.

[It's been 13+ years and he STILL REMEMBERS YOU, POTATO MAN.]

[counterclocked]

Grocery stores? Yeah... Did they not have them where you came from?

[He's slowly narrowing down on what time period WWX is probably from, but then he gets distracted by potatoes.]

Wait, someone did that to you? That sucks.

[givethemhell]

They don't - only marketplaces. Vendors come from all over to sell their wares, but even the biggest one I've ever been to hasn't had quite so much variety!

[HE'S AMAZED...

ALSO YEAH. YEAH. Let him TELL YOU about his fuckin POTATO ADVENTURES.]

Isn't it just the worst? How terrible! There I was, obviously a man with no money - did you know I was called Brother Poor? Isn't that just the saddest thing? Anyway! There I was, just trying to get some potatoes for supper that night. No radishes! Only potatoes! And yet, the only potatoes being sold were sprouting already. So I said I'd take them, but only at a discount! And would you believe it? He wouldn't even give me that!

[counterclocked]

[There are a few things of note here, but. Holy shit.]

People called you Brother Poor? That's awful!

[givethemhell]

[BE MORE OUTRAGED ABOUT HIS POTATOES!!]

When it comes down to it, kids are the most merciless and brutal of all, aren't they?

[Betrayed by his own fuckin A-Yuan.]

[counterclocked]

...Right.

[It's a joke, but like, from firsthand experience he isn't that wrong. It's been a wild day!! So he's moving on quickly.]

Did you end up changing his mind?

[givethemhell]

[Please stop getting bullied by children, Hunter... Please.]

Who, the potato seller? Nope! Isn't that just the worst? I'd never patron his cart again if I could help it, but Yiling isn't the biggest city and there's only one real marketplace.

[A sigh! His life is so hard.]

[counterclocked]

I guess it's radishes from now on.

[Very solemnly.]

[givethemhell]

You wound my heart! I can't stand radishes, and yet, it always seems to come back to radishes in the end... I should have just submitted to my fate and gotten them from the start!

[Then Wen Qing wouldn't have had to threaten his pathetic life!!]

[counterclocked]

I think I know a way to make it up to you. Mind if we take a detour to the snacks?

[he's going to show him a whole new world... of junk food]

[givethemhell]

[Please, THIS IS WHAT HIS LIFE NEEDS... He's immediately looking curious and excited because of course he is.]

I don't mind at all! Lead the way.

[He will follow and try not to get distracted by every other item they walk past.]

[counterclocked]

Sure thing.

[Snacks, snacks... Off they go to make bad food decisions. Once they reach that aisle, he's gesturing towards the huge bags of various kind of food.]

Does anything look good?

[He says, as if WWX is going to recognize anything that's there.]

[givethemhell]

[HE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE ANYTHING AT ALL but naturally his attention is drawn toward anything with peppers on the bag... Curiously, he picks up a pack of flamin hot cheetos.]

What are these supposed to be? Weird carrots?

[counterclocked]

A carrot? No way.

[He's just snatching a bag and pulling it open, before holding it out to him.]

Try one. They're pretty spicy, though, fair warning.

[givethemhell]

Oh— are they?! Wonderful! I love spice.

[BOY DOES HE and he immediately grabs a fuckin handful like a demon, though it's mostly to look them over more carefully. They really do look like... little weird mutant carrots.

After a second of consideration, he shoves a few into his mouth. The texture seems to surprise him as he bites down.]

—They're crunchy? But light...! I've never had anything like this before!

[If they're spicy, though, he sure shows zero signs of reaction.]

[counterclocked]

Maybe don't—

[Eat more than a few at a time, he's about to say, but when he doesn't show any signs of Spicy Food Pain:]

...Dude. How are you doing that? Were you born without taste buds?

[He's so strong!!]

[givethemhell]

Of course I have tastebuds! It would be too sad if I didn't. Imagine all of the good food and alcohol I'd be missing out on, haha.

[HE SAYS AS HE STUFFS A FEW MORE INTO HIS STUPID FACE. He's the worst kind of gremlin, one covered in cheeto dust.]

I guess I'm just used to spicier foods?

[counterclocked]

I've never had them, but... I've heard they're supposed to be really intense.

[Come to think of it, though! He reaches towards the bag, pulling a few out. Words spoken seconds before disaster!!]

I guess they aren't as bad as I thought.