001: Group Introductions - TEXT

[tarnishedavenger]

[During a lull in the party, Armstrong taps out a quick message to the network. Not that private one, he doesn't trust it. They can answer whenever they like, so long as he gets an answer. The trick would be wording it.]

So, we're all in this for now. You've had your welcome cake, but you can't meet everyone in a party, no matter how hard you try. But, since we've all been encouraged to sign up with Jorgmund, I figured now would be a good time to get some introductions done. Talk about any specialties we might have.

Share information that we feel comfortable sharing. This isn't to pressure anyone or to force out any dark secrets.

[Not where watchful eyes can see, at least.]

Besides, I prefer doing this to making a cute information sharing game.

So, please, make your own threads within this post to keep everything organized.

Comments

ama

[shipoftheseus]

[This post is at least way easier to follow. It isn't peppered with tons of weird words they don't know, at least. It's kind of frustrating how easily everyone else seems to jump right into responding to it, though. They're still struggling with the basics of typing period, let alone on a device designed for human fingers. They add the AMA title without really knowing what it means. Everyone else is doing it, right?]

im just spposed to introduce myself right
im phosphophyllite
im a gem
i dont really know what any of youa re though
the eetser bunny said yiure humans?
most of you look kind of like gems but jst worse i guess

[walkingballpit]

Hi Phosph- can I just call you Phyll? I’m Robbie. I’ve been told I’m a peach.

[shipoftheseus]

[It's honestly a shame they don't understand this thing enough to switch over to video so you can see the sheer distaste on their face.]

no??
thats stupid
you can callm e phos
you arnt human then?
so whats a peacv

[walkingballpit]

Hey, don’t go trashing Phyll like that. Phyllis is a real pistol. Phil sells you shoes. Philly isn’t so great, true, but we can’t all be perfect.

I’m humanish. I never really thought about how loaded a question that is. I hear superhuman or metahuman more often in some universes, but sentient or sentient being is the new PC term.

Peach is a lot of things. It’s a color, a fruit, a nice helpful person. In this case, I meant the last one. Colorwise- I’m somewhere between Earth sand and golden, and I’m not edible.

[shipoftheseus]

[They take a good stretch of time trying to parse all this, and then finally:]

what are you even talkingnabout
are you stupid??

[walkingballpit]

I was actually being pretty clear.

And that's kind of unnecessary. I'm not sitting here calling you stupid, and you're the one who doesn't understand.

[likeits1999]

i mean. i'm a vampire but that's just a dead human with bonus weird stuff. i definitely don't know what a gem is.

[shipoftheseus]

[Bless you for explaining without being asked. It helps a teeny bit.

But now they're confused in a whole different way. They have a vague memory of Rutile explaining "death". One of the jellyfish not moving anymore and Rutile saying it was because animals just eventually stopped functioning forever. So...]

hiw are you talking if youre a dead human?

[likeits1999]

magic i guess? i don't think anybody even knows how vampires work exactly. it's a curse or something. we get to still be kind of alive but in order to stay that way you gotta drink blood.

this is kind of a big problem usually, but the company said they'd feed me so i don't have to go around asking people for blood so like. that's good. because that would be hella awkward.

are you some kind of alien not from earth?

[shipoftheseus]

[ how do you manage to keep making them more confused ]

sensei called the planet earth once ithink
are you from there???
is there more land smewhere?

[likeits1999]

oh yeah dude i'm from earth, there's land all over the place. at least right now?

is there not land on earth??

[ It's okay now, the confusion is mutual. ]

[shipoftheseus]

ive never seen anything besides the jsland
its just ocean innevery direction

[likeits1999]

oh okay bro nvm i get it i think.

earth is a really big place, there's lots of continents and stuff all over the place. way bigger than islands.

Re: ama

[wheyoftheadept]

what's a gem? other than a sparkly stone for jewelry but I think you mean something else

[shipoftheseus]

[Oh man, how does one even answer this question? Phos does briefly try to think of a legitimate answer, but it's so vague and open-ended that they quickly get frustrated.]

a person like me obvioussly
whats a human??

[Let's see how well you handle a question like that.]

[wheyoftheadept]

it's what the intelligent life native to most versions of the planet terra seems to usually call itself. in my version we call ourselves "metahuman" and you have like, trolls and elves and dwarves but since we came from the same like, basic family we're all types of human basically.

you saying you're a gem makes me think that you're a person who is not human so i guess im also asking where you're from and all that.

[shipoftheseus]

[They're genuinely trying to follow this. Trolls and elves and whatnot all mean nothing to them, but if they're all types of humans then maybe it's like the difference between them and any of the other Gems?

They know they're not human, but trying to narrow it down based on point of origin is where they're coming up blank.]

where??
the samee place as all the others

[Which, evidently, these people don't know anything about somehow, so....hmmm.]

i think sensei saidnthe planet was called earth once
i dont know
we dont really bother calling it anyhing

[wheyoftheadept]

huh. all right then. there are intelligent rock people/not flesh people where i'm from, we call them obsidimen. maybe you're related somehow if your from a version of earth.

[shipoftheseus]

[ what ]

do you mean obsidian?
i know them

[gempathizing]

[ Steven reads "im a gem" and makes it his immediate priority to be on that. Familiar terminology? In this setting? Unbelievable. It's time for some unscheduled sort-of mistaken identity problems. ]

Don't worry. You get the hang of humans after a while. I can try to help you with that if you want. I'm used to it.

I've never met a phosphophyllite before, though. Is it... weird if I ask what kind of job you were made for originally?/tt>

[shipoftheseus]

[Oh boy. Phos is immediately just as mistaken and this will probably be confusing later, but for now they're too relieved by someone seeming to understand to notice that oddities in the phrasing here that might have otherwise clued them in.]

i never had a job since iw as too fragile
and i guess i wasnt really good at anythng
i mean i wassupposwd to make an encyclopdia at one point b ut that never really went anywhere
but i can fight and do patrols n ow
how do yiu get the hang of humans?? ive never seen any before

[gempathizing]

Everyone's good at something. Sometimes it just takes a while to find out what.

What kind of encyclopedia were you supposed to make? Patrols and fighting are probably gonna be handy here, but information's always handy, too. Or not doing anything. Whatever not-anything anyone can get away with here, I mean. Whatever you want.

Humans are easy to get used to. All you really need to do is spend time with them and remember they're fragile, too. As long as you want to make friends, the rest works out.

>>video, have a dumb rock

[shipoftheseus]

[this is steadily getting longer and Phos is getting frustrated. Writing on this thing is so slow and annoying and they keep having to fix things to be legible enough and even then it's all still full of fuckups while everyone else seems to be blasting these messages out so quickly–

It's while they're agitatedly trying to mash buttons that they manage to swap the settings to video entirely by accident. Look at that, something fortunate for once in their life. Have a spontaneous facetime call, the person on the other end dipping just a bit into the uncanny valley with a surface that's too smooth and flawless and without the give and stretch of flesh, eyes and hair that look straight up crystalline.]

–do this? Does this work?

[Things look different on the screen now and the spot to enter text is gone and they can see a little thing with their own face like a reflection almost? Hello????? They scowl at the device.]

This is so stupid...

team new hires is only allowed to have their brain cell back for missions 2020

[gempathizing]

[ He wasn't expecting the spontaneous facetime call, but it's not a hassle by any means. If there's a Gem here, after all, all the better to talk to them face-to-face. See how they're feeling. Check in.

Steven can already confirm for a fact that he's never met a Gem like this one in his entire life. In the specific individual sense, at least. Gems can technically do whatever they want with their features. He's never known one to land around this area. ]

Not stupid. Convenient! I'm Steven. It's nice to see you, Phosph... uh. [ Oh no. ] Phosphophyllite? Is that right? Sorry. Guess I have a knack for meeting Gems with shorter names.

[ It's mostly right. He'll get the hang of saying it faster. ]

mom said it's my turn to use the brain cell

[shipoftheseus]

[Huh. They were kind of expecting a Gem from the way he'd been talking, like he actually knew what he was talking about. There's a hint of disappointment in their expression, but they'll be nice. This person makes more sense than most of the others.]

"Phos" is fine. [They give a little wave with a hand that is, unlike the rest of them, golden and metallic in appearance.] Where do you usually meet Gems? I've never seen any humans on the island before...

[They're assuming human, anyway. That's what some of the others have said all these kinds of people are called.]