synopsychic | [Audio]

[ yeah, remember when Armin said to stay calm? ]

Wait, how the hell are you talking in my mind?! [ because Pascal sure doesn't. ]

[It's a kind, somewhat older voice that responds. It holds its own share of amusement, but he keeps it polite and gentle.]

We all can, Madonna, and you in ours. It is simple enough to turn off, if needed. But working together and coordinating as we do, usually requires the use of this Network.

[ wow okay, that was definitely a different voice from the one she originally heard. this is only confusing her more but she proceeds to focus on the new voice instead. ]

Actually, it's Pascal. But yeah, wasn't that what these communicators were for? To communicate with each other and stuff? [ which isn't even working anymore, wth Haven. ]

It is a pleasure. I am Leonardo da Vinci. [His thoughts pause for a moment, as he tries to figure out how best to word such things. But Pascal will soon hear him in her mind again.] I have not been here for very long, I am afraid, but I can try to answer what questions you might have. I've gotten the basic ideas from the more seasoned of us in Liminal Space, so if I cannot answer it, someone else might be able to help you.

... communicators? What are those?

[ she honestly can't tell if he's telling her a name or if he's sneezing. she's about to give him her thanks (or a blessing for that maybe-sneeze) until he asks that veeery last question. ]

Whaddya mean "what's a"-- ...Ohh. [ it's at that moment that she realizes that not everyone is A: an Amarcian, or B: familiar with Haven and its technologies. as soon as she realized it, it gave her a surge of nostalgia since it reminded her of the times she explained different Amarcian technologies to the gang. ]

It'sss kinda like a transmitter, y'know? You use 'em to instantaneously send messages over long distances-- like, "ba-BAM" instant. Where I'm from, a buddy of mine created one that was able to transmit written words as data and it can only go between two points. But the one I got here can transmit visual and audio data, and can be sent to a buncha people all at once!

[... okay, he did not understand half the words she just projected into his mind. There's a dead silence on his end for a moment, before he finally replies to her thoughts by carefully responding with his own.]

You are telling me that this... "transmitter", or "communicator", is a device? As in an invention? And it can send pictures, and voices, and words... this is all very confusing. Mi dispiace, I don't understand. How can it do these things?

You're pretty much on the right track! But uhh... [ oh jeez, it really is like explaining things to Asbel and co, or really just to Asbel. how to describe this... ]

Sooo, okay-- the one I have, it can record pictures using this iiiiiitty bitty camera, yeah? 'Cept the pictures are moving and it's not like, a still picture, it's recording every movement you're doing. And whatever you're sayin', it records that too, using an iiiiitty bittier microphone, and it sends 'em using this sorta signal that we can't see that pretty much goes "NYOOM" to someone else that's got the same device. So it's like, we can instantly see and hear what that person's talkin' about, even if they're like, far faaaaaaar away!

[ Pascal's not good at this sort of thing. ] ...Man, if it was actually working I could totally show you what I talkin' about!

Ah... that's a little hard to explain. Basically, whoever it was that brought us here set up the telepathic network for our benefit. Most of us don't someone else having the power to do that with our minds, but it certainly does come in handy.

[He frowns listening to her conversation with Leonardo.]

What communicator?

[ she's definitely following along (seemingly, at least), and she even lets out a few thought-hums as he talks. at his question, though, she frowns. ]

We... kinda woke up with one? Well, I mean-- I woke up with one, I guess, I dunno 'bout you. But... [ her head's starting to hurt. ] Bananas, I don't even think I am where I think I am!

I don't think the communicator has anything to do with what's happening here.

I don't know where you think you are, but right now we're in Liminal Space. It's a place between worlds, kind of a rest stop. It doesn't always follow the same rules as normal places.

[ wait what. ]

So this seriously isn't Haven West? Like, seriously seriously? [ please say yes, please say yes, please say yes-- ]

...What's Haven West?

It-it's Haven West! Y'know: dirty, crumbling buildings, crappy food, run by the Yao Corp, used t' have a monster walking around with a rusty metal roof for a head?

Any of that ring a bell?

Edited (sorry i like this better) 2014-06-08 05:03 (UTC)

No. You're not in Haven West anymore. [Given the description, he can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing - so he doesn't say anything more just yet.]

[ Armin's not going to get a clear response out of that in the network, but he will hear something of a really loud squeal along with a girl shouting "OHMIGOSH, YES! YES, YES, YES!" a ways away. ]

[S-Stay calm? UHH?? There are voices in his head, man!! This is normal here? How does he even.. respond?]

Uhh...

Hello? Am I doin' this right?

[That's... a start.]

[Armin's careful not to transmit his innocent amusement over the network.] Yes, I can hear you.

First thing's first. Are you all right? You're not hurt?

Whoa it worked. Man... this is kinda crazy...

Um, nah, I'm not hurt but... wait, am I supposed to be? [Armin can't see it of course, but Josuke checks over his shoulder.] There isn't anything out here looking to beat the crap outta me is there?

[Even though he's fairly confident he'd come out on top...]

No. Not here, anyway. [Though once you get to Dolorosa, he makes no promises for any of the dragons or bandits. Or the barons, for that matter.] Some people arrive here injured, though. It's always best to make sure.

Wait, seriously? Man that must suck. Talk about timing...

So uhh, I'm guessing you're pretty familiar with all this right?

Yes - I've been here for more than half a year. I can answer any questions you might have as well as anyone here. [Which is not necessarily to say he can answer them all well, or that he will always have a good answer. Just that no-one will have a better one.]

Half a year?! You've been away from home for that long?!

[Dude that's long enough for the cops to consider your missing person's case dead cold.]

Whoever brought us here seriously isn't messing around. Why can't they just do all this themselves?

I'm afraid we don't know. There's speculation about who brought us here - why they do all this, and what else they're capable of - but nobody knows for sure. My best guess is that they can't do this themselves, for whatever reason - they need us to influence the world. [That, or this was all an experiment - but that's not a theory he's inclined to share with new Travelers.]

So how close are you guys to fixing this thing then? I mean in half a year, you've gotta be making some decent progress, right? Like it's nearly totally under wraps, and you just need a few more finishing touches?

Oh. [He's clearly done a poor job of explaining. Then again, there never is a good place to start.] Well, it's not just one world we're affecting. We usually spend 4-8 weeks in one place, then we're sent somewhere else. We call these jaunts. This is my 5th, that I remember. Other people have been on a lot more.

[He's quiet a short moment. He considers not saying this next part - but no, he won't sugarcoat it. That won't help anybody.] On the other hand, if you're asking if we've figured out how escape this whole thing and go home, I'm afraid we're not even close. It's been half a year, and we're barely any closer to discovering how we got here than when we started.

[There's a prolonged silence as Josuke absorbs all that, and at the end of it all, comes a loud, exasperated sigh.]

So basically we're all workin' on a contract with no expiry date? Are we even getting paid anything? What happens back home?! My mum's gonna turn the friggin' town upside down lookin' for me.

[Not an exaggeration. And sorry for all the questions, Armin...]

I'm afraid so.

It's... hard to say what happens back home. Nothing, quite possibly - I was taken from earlier in time than my friend, who came with me. Yet, he doesn't remember me disappearing.

Whoa, seriously?! Man, you're just throwing one curveball after another at me. I'm barely keepin' up.

So-- wait-- you're saying it's like your friend never noticed you left to come here? What does that mean for us? I mean, if life's carrying on as usual...

Edited 2014-06-16 13:23 (UTC)

You're not working too hard, are you? [ There's something warm even about the way she thinks about it - after all, she remembers Armin helping her out too when she was new, and while she doesn't doubt that it'll make new people feel welcome (it's why she's trying to help out people the best she can too, so no one has to feel confused or alone), everyone must be exhausted from the Jaunt things too, and they're still in the middle of it.. ]

If people are still having trouble, then they can come to me too. I have less experience, but I'll try my best..!

What? Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you! [Sure, he's tired, but that's hardly debilitating, and this is more important. He does notice the warmness after a moment, and it makes him smile softly.]

That's very kind of you. I'll direct a couple people in your direction if I start to get too many to handle.

It's alright. [ "It's nothing special", she means, really. ] We're all together in this, so I figured it's a lot easier if we all try to help out a few people so no one has to carry the burden of doing that all by themselves.

[ And so far their group has mostly been working together, so.. that's a good thing. It's something Chizuru definitely wants to rely on. ]

If you want, I can even keep out an eye for people you might know from back home!

That's why I'm doing this too. [His voice is quiet, and very nearly shy.] People used to leave all the work to Joscelin and Remy. I just figure if I can help a little...

[He trails off, not finishing the thought. Working together is something Armin wants to happen too, but he doesn't trust it enough to rely on it. That kind of complacency would be too easy to take advantage of.]

Oh! Th-thanks. The uniform and the gear are pretty distinctive, so I guess it'd probably be pretty easy to tell.

Hmm, I'll send you a thought right away when I find someone like that! [ She knows all about uniforms making it easy to recognize people, after all, it's the same with the Shinsengumi and their blue haori. It's probably the same with any kind of miliarity--

.. Huh, wait. She never did ask Armin with how little they had talked, but.. ]

Um.. I'm sorry if this seems sudden, but are you part of an army back home..? [ It's just strange to her with just how young Armin looks. Even the Shinsengumi didn't recruit people that age back when they had a lot of people fighting for them. ]

Thank you.

There's no need to apologize. Yes, Eren and I joined the military - or joined the cadets, anyway - about three years ago, now.

Edited 2014-06-11 00:02 (UTC)

Three years ago?! [ Don't mind that surprised sound.. After all, he still looks younger than she is - despite her own height, or rather, the lack thereof. And the same goes for Eren. Yet it's already been three years since he joined the military.. ]

Do people really start fighting wars at that age in your world?

[ It's mostly surprising since she thinks her world is rather war-oriented too - at the moment, anyway - yet it's rare to people as young as Armin must have been when he actually started fight with actual armies. Maybe as a page, but to join by themselves.. ]

Not exactly... [There's the psychic equivalent of a grimace, and Armin closes off his mind, focusing in on just her.]

The first two years was just training, and I've spent most of the third year here. And it's not really a war. At least, not as people usually understand it.

In my world, we don't fight other humans. We live inside a cage of our own making, to protect ourselves against a mindless enemy that threatens out very existence. We're near to extinction. Unless we're able to learn about the Titans - where they come from, how we can beat them - we'll just be prolonging the inevitable.

Already, I saw more and more of my friends get ea- get killed by the Titans. I couldn't just do nothing. That's why I've given my heart to resurrecting mankind. If I die helping to achieve that, I could ask for nothing more.

At least... that's what I thought. After everything I've seen since being brought here, I'm not sure what to think anymore.

[ There's a moment of silence from Chizuru's mind. Mostly since it takes her a moment to even take all of that in. Armin is young, younger than her, so young - yet he's already fighting back home, and they're living the kind of existence where they constantly have to fight just to live. It's not that the position she's in with Hijikata is anymore favorable - they're very much losing the war, after all, and they've already seen all of their friends die - but somehow Armin's situation sounds even worse. He's so young and he's already seen all of those things, and he doesn't know how to truly make the enemy stop since they aren't human, apparently..

Chizuru is a bleeding heart for other people, so she already feels a hollow feeling in her chest at hearing all those words inside her mind. ]

.. I'm sorry. That's.. [ .. ] .. horrible. [ But even that doesn't feel like it's enough to just encompass all of it.

Besides, in a way she can understand what Armin is saying - she'd do anything for her friends as well, for the Shinsengumi, for Hijikata-- ]

Isn't it a good thing then that you're here for now..? You've been so kind to me, so you really deserve a break from an awful situation like that. [ She bites her lip to herself as she sends the thoughts to him. ]

[There's an even longer silence in response. If the conversation were in person, Chizuru would see the way Armin's fists clench, the way his eyes narrow in fear and determination. As it is, she'll only get quiet echoes of the feelings.

When he does speak, his voice is tight and pained, anger and frustration plain - at himself and at their situation.] How can I take a break when all my friends are fighting and dying back home without me? There were few enough of us willing to fight as it was - even among the cadets, most of them were training to become good enough to be allowed behind Wall Sina, where they'd never have to see another Titan!

I may be a good soldier. I may not be able to keep up with the others. But how can my world survive if those of us that are willing to fight and die for humanity aren't allowed to?

[ In a sense, she gets what she's saying. She's sure Hijikata wouldn't have wanted to abandon all the last soldiers he was fighting with back home either, no matter how hopeless the battle was getting. And it sounds like Armin's situation is similar, with maybe a tiny bit more hope, but.. even so.. ]

I'm sorry. [ And she does sound genuinely apologetic, if not just to counter the emotions all present in Armin's voice. ]

It must be hard, being stuck here and knowing you can't do anything for everyone back home, but.. it's not like you can help it, right? We're all stuck here, so you can't help them until we find a way out. That's not your fault at all.

Besides.. [ Her thoughts get more quiet for a moment, and she lightly bites her lip as she wonders if she should even send out the next thoughts. In the end she does though, if not just since she wants to be honest. ] It's probably a selfish thing to think, but I'd like to see you happy and not having to handle all of those things.

[Not actively projecting them? Neeshka is, for a moment, utterly confused about what exactly that means. There are psionics in Faerun, but she's never met one.]

Uh. How do you project? Or not project? And who are you?

[She's making her way over there physically now, too: an average-looking twenty-something girl, except for, you know, the horns and tail and ears, and the glowing rapier in one hand and glowing sickle in the other.]

Basically you project something onto the network if you think it really loudly. You learn to control it pretty quickly. Alternately, you can just think to someone like you are to me right now.

Right, of course! I'm Armin Arlert. I got here the same way you did - the same way everyone did - but I've been here for several months.

[Since Armin has no idea who the voice in his head belongs too, he doesn't connect it to the girl approaching him.]

[ooc: Since this is moving off the psychic network, we should probably switch to here, if that's all right.]

I didn't have any idea you could think loudly. Or not think loudly! So I guess I'll just have to trust you on the control thing.

[Her tone, though, is dubious. And she'll probably keep projecting, even as she shows up in person....]

((heading over there now, then :3 didn't know if the comms could bleed into the other like that in this game!))

So, not only have I gone mad, but half the voices in my head don't even seem to know what they're doing. Typical.

Edited 2014-06-05 16:49 (UTC)

*AHEM!* He cranks the force of his thoughts up to 11.

"RIGHT! You! Voices in me bloody head, listen up! If you're going to stay in my head, you're going to earn your keep. Now, I've obviously gone stark, staring mad. Fine, I can accept that. However, I've got my own hallucinations asking me for directions and I refuse to fail in my imaginary duties. So, those of you want to stay in my head start explaining what's with the Chess Board Dream I'm stuck in. And quickly. If you are my own delusions, then you know that the mind you're in is NOT that of a patient man..."

[Armin winces at the force of the thought.] Please, everyone can hear you. You don't have to shout. And I know this is confusing, but you haven't gone mad - the voices you hear are the thoughts projected by the people you see around you.

As for where we are, I'm afraid it's not a dream - we call it Liminal Space. It's a quasi-real world that exists between dimensions.

There's a longish and rather communicative mental silence, the sort filled with the precise lack of sound one would associate with contemplation. When he thinks again, it is at a more normal 'volume'.

"Hmph. My madness is my own and I'll not have it decided by the likes of you, lad. However, acting on the assumption, for the moment mind, that this is actually happening...'quasi-real' Sounds like Wizard talk. I was afraid of that. The only thing less reliable than good-old-fashioned madness is magic. Alright, pretending for the briefest of moments that I was educated in the streets, let's skip all the technical stuff and address the practical questions.

Things like 'How did I get here?' 'How do I get back?' and of course, 'What here is going to try to kill, maim, rob or generally carve a large and bloody chunk out of my already-pretty-ragged quality of life'?"

"I'm afraid those aren't all as easy to answer as you might hope.

You were brought here like the rest of us - we don't know how. We've never met any of them, but we call the creatures who did this the Trumps.

I'm afraid there isn't any way to get back home.

As for what's going to try and kill you - in Liminal Space? Nothing. But liminal space is connected to another world right now, and that one if full of knights and gryphons and dragons and magic, any of which might try to kill you."

"Mmm-hmmm..."

In mental space, one's silences can often say more than what one thinks 'out loud'. Sam Vimes' silence is one of

"And these gryphons and magic and..." *snort of derision* "...dragons, apparently, they getting into Liminal space to get at us? I almost hope so, because otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned them unless there was some reason we'd go out there to meet them..."

There's a slight snarl under his thoughts now.

"So what's the catch? I've got a strong and unpleasant feeling that there's a second part to this situation that you're not telling me... It's not all just sitting around chessboards and the like where it is nice and quiet, is it?"

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