HANSA

[chanteuser]

Comments

[robopriest]

...Alex?

[He saw her from afar and decided to come say hello, but coming closer, its apparent something is wrong. As he steps forward, concern bubbles over, mixed with light confusion.]

Are you okay?

[chanteuser]

[ she just sort of freezes, and if he's close enough then the answer is-- not really? there's a lot of dread there, but it's both strong and weak like a cycle. like she's calming herself down, and then losing control of it again and the dread is creeping back in. it only really deviates from that pattern with her surprise at hansa sneaking up on her. ]

I--What we talked about yesterday. Who did I say was in last place in the first week?

[ thank you mods for giving me some great ic/ooc overlap here because i only remembered the first rankings by pure chance. ]

[robopriest]

The...first week? I mean, we talked about the most recent rankings. Goat was first, Tiger was last. And...right, Goat was last on the first week.

[Every time her dread rises to the surface, his own concern spikes, vibrating like the needle of a just-stilled metronome.]

Is it something you forgot?

[chanteuser]

No, that was what I meant. The change between the two weeks and which team had the biggest change.

[ what a lovely concern dread loop this probably is. talking about it seems to stabilising it though, now she's not trapped thinking it over in her own head. ]

I didn't remember. We only talked about it yesterday, and I couldn't remember which team it was. I didn't write down the first rankings, because I thought I wouldn't need to. [ which is... possibly the only reason it stuck out to her now. ]

[robopriest]

...Is it possible you were just tired last night? I mean, forgetting a conversation isn't too out of the ordinary, especially with everything we've been dealing with.

[But now his emotions seem to turn inwards, self-reflecting...he still remembers, right? He remembers their conversation. Is there something he forgot, just like her?]

[chanteuser]

[ she rubs her temples, like she's trying to force her brain to think. ]

A lot of people have been talking about rankings recently, I... don't think I'd forget details of it. [ ... ] I wish I'd written it down, maybe I'd know if I was looking at it and not remembering it.

[ stupid. ]

If -- and only if, this is speculation -- I did forget it. Or... I don't know, it slipped my mind? [ forget doesn't seem like the right word right now. ] Is it possible our memories of this place are at risk too?

[robopriest]

...

[His mouth twists to the side. He can say that that's really not the case. Maybe stress is just something they're all dealing with. These days are blurring into one, sometimes.]

[But then again...]

[Doubt rises to his mind.]

I...don't know. I don't feel like I've lost any memories of our time here personally, but...I think its just because I'm not thinking about it all that much. [A sigh.] Look. No matter what's happening, panicking is not going to help us.

[chanteuser]

[ let a lady freak out a little, thanks. ]

...

[ she presses her hands over her face and just takes a deep breath. and then lets it go, slowly. and again. that feeling of dread shrinks, and shrinks but it doesn't complete go away. it's just... under control, rather than running rampant.

there's also some relief there. maybe someone telling her, politely, to get a grip was a boot up the ass she needed. ]

...

Right. Right...

I spoke to my leader yesterday. They're going to see if they can take their mask off. I think it's got to be a group agreement.

[robopriest]

[The feeling of her dread receding brings a little sunshine ray of relief out of Hansa as well, though its more relief about her feeling better and calming down than relief about the situation. He's hanging onto his little speck of doubt about his own memories, but he's just going to focus on her, instead.]

Oh, same here. Though...I still think one of them is lying to them, and has already tried to take their mask off before everyone else. We'll see what they say, though.

[chanteuser]

Maybe.

Although, Chiron showed me something yesterday that mentioned almost this exact situation. I'm not sure whether or not the Leaders know about it though?

[ surely one of their mysterious npc leaders isn't lying to them. and if they are is it tiger. ]

[robopriest]

That's what I'm talking about. Chiron showed me the same thing earlier.

[That diary entry...also wow Tiger isn't?? That bad?? (CITATION NEEDED)]

I made my Leader aware of it, and they seemed sincerely surprised...but who knows.

[chanteuser]

[ CITATION AND A CHARACTER REFERENCE. ]

What would the point be of pretending they hadn't taken their mask off though? It sounded like they all agreed to let my Leader take theirs off without any argument.

[ what good does that secrecy do? ]

[robopriest]

I don't know. Either this was someone testing the limits of the rules by themselves...or this is actually somebody from a past experience. Maybe this isn't the first time people were brought here to gather nova.

[Which...........sucks to think about, actually!]

[chanteuser]

[ ... ]

It... sounds a bit like that could be it. Like this is a cycle, or something?

[ it sounds terrible. if her mood were represented as a visual by some kind of animal it'd be this sad cat, right now honestly. ]

[robopriest]

...

[There's a gnawing sort of worry at that. THIS IS. CONCERNING. But also just a little bit of "please Alex DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT" in emotion form...]

...I would hope it isn't.

[chanteuser]

[ ... she just sort of blinks at that, and looks up at him.

without really thinking, her hand moves forwards, like she’s about to tug the brim of his hat down.

but she stops herself before she does, her hand hovering for a moment before lowering. ]

I’m okay.

[robopriest]

...

[What was that?]

Are you? [He reaches up to tilts his own hat down, a little confused.] Are you, Alex?

[chanteuser]

As much as I’m going to be. Does that count?

[ she’s certainly calmed down at least, but... the negative emotions aren’t things she can’t deal with. she’ll cope.

she nods her head at hat though ]

Very stylish. Did you find that in your wardrobe this morning?

[robopriest]

[A short huff.]

I suppose.

[At least she's feeling better.]

I sure did. It suits me, huh? I look like a regular Spanish buccaneer in this thing.

[chanteuser]

[ the bandana of her outfit is absolutely not tied around her head, it’s tied somewhere around the belt of her skirt. she looks down at it thoughtfully, as if judging her own outfit’s headgear choices ]

I’ll take your word for it, as I’ve never seen a Spanish buccaneer before. [ there’s something fond about the way it’s said and feels. and that calm feeling’s still there. ]

Some of them look a bit like costumes though. [ she. gives her own skirt a bit of a tug, glancing back down at it. yup. definitely costume material here. ]

1/2 this turned into this now

[robopriest]

What, not even in illustrations? I thought they were pretty common. They had the big hats, and the big feathers on the hats, and the big and very cool sword...though I guess in a way, they looked ridiculous. But they owned it.

[There's a hint of playfulness in his tone, and easily felt - he reaches forward to flick at the edge the bandana around her waist.]

Well, they do. You look good in yours, nevertheless.

2/2

[robopriest]

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand its time to get shocked]

[he draws his hand back before it lasts long but IT SURE MAKES HIM JOLT IN PLACE. OUCH]

1/2

[chanteuser]

I don’t think I’d remember if I’d seen a picture of one either way.

Maybe having everything be that over the top was on purpos—-

2/2

[chanteuser]

—-!!!

[ apparently not being 70% metal in this instance means slightly less of a shock. but a shock nonetheless, and alex also ends up jolting as well.

because ow?

and also what? ]

[robopriest]

...Come on! [He throws his hands up.] That wasn't even an actual touch!!

[THE EMOTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF >8U!]