Pondskipper Memories

[21:30] <deadRoss> [Long, low, purple hall-ways stretch the length and width of the bubble, checkered in the black and white so common to Dersite flying juggernauts. Here and there, clothes are strung up on lines. The walls are riveted, (a few bolts missing, in a few places) and while there are port-holes to the outside, most of them have the covers pulled down.]
[21:31] <deadRoss> [In a round room, cushions and sofas in a variety of styles circle a coffee table. Board games and books are carelessly stacked in a corner. Two of the little round windows are open, showing darkness and glints of light outside.]
[21:32] <deadRoss> [A young man in ragged cut-offs, goggles, and a stained white tanktop peers intently at something pink and shining in his hand.]
[21:35] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You pass through the shell of this bubble on passage from the last. Finding yourself in one of the corridors. Your initial reaction is that its someones memory of a Dersite battleship on or around the Battlefield, but the...decorations makes you rethink that. You're musing that it might be one of the fabled ring ships, and the thought encourages you. Your walking pace quickens a little to see if you can find who's memory this is.]
[21:37] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You catch the pink light out of the corner of your eyes before moving past it. Backpeddling to see if theres something causing it. Once you notice the person, you start walking slowly towards them, not wanting to break their concentration. You cough quietly to see if you can draw awareness to your presence.]
[21:40] <deadRoss> [Your head jerks up from your work, but you don't startle. "Oh! I've got company!" His smile is broad and genuine, his goggles are pushed up on his forehead, and his eyes are the blank white discs of the dead. He stands, quickly--but the little orb remains in his hands, flickering. "Welcome to the Pondskipper--sorry, I'm not sure where the others have gotten to..."]
[21:47] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[Theres a quiet look of dawning realization as you get closer. "Ross?" You say slowly, unsure of yourself.]
[21:53] <deadRoss> ["I'm sorry, I don't-" The ghost cuts off mid-sentence as his eyes widen. He straightens up, outfit suddenly shifting--pressed slacks, suspenders, waistcoat, faded red driver's cap, all the appropriately steamy trimmings. "Ah."]
[21:53] <deadRoss> ["I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. Or, met yet, Miss...?"]
[21:56] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[He's a lot younger than the picture you saw. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to...uhm." You collect yourself and try again. "My names Afiqah. Afiqah Radzi. I know you, or your, uh, alpha you from after you died?" You hope that made sense.]
[22:01] <deadRoss> [You nod, and tuck the shiny you were holding away in your pocket. "Lovely to meet you, Afiqah. Don't worry, you've got the hang of it. Which session was it, when you knew me? Are you and he co-players?"]
[22:03] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3["He, uh, was in his..." You can't remember the exact number. "Fortieth? Maybe more? I, uh, can't quite remember. And no, I'm only in my second. We just started talking, he was helping me with some, uhm, stuff."]
[22:06] <deadRoss> [You whistle, impressed. "Goddamn, I make it to 40? That's a fucking record. Is Sburb.org still going strong? What was I helping you with?"]
[22:08] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You nod. "It's still going. And with, uhm, finding the Green Star. And, uh, later with...corruption issues." Your voice gets quieter as you get to the later words.]
[22:13] <deadRoss> ["The Star?" His body language goes a little distant for a minute, and he stratches at his chin. "Ohhh. Right. Think I remember hearing a little about that..." He grins...then becomes more somber as her voice drops. "You've still got your eyes. Did...did it go okay?" He steps closer and raises a hand, but...doesn't finish reaching out.]
[22:14] <dreamingKaren> [You enter in pretty normal-looking pants, boots, a grey shirt and a newsie cap with your rose symbol pinned on it. Your eyes are normal, of a bright shade of red. You walk lightly on the balls of your feet. You look around at the battleship and rest your hand on it before looking over at the pair already there. You do not approach them yet.]
[22:15] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You hesitate, then shake your head. "No." You continue quietly. "My coplayers had to tier and clear me."]
[22:20] <deadRoss> ["...I'm glad it turned out better for you than it did for me."]
[22:21] <deadRoss> ["I"m sorry it had to get to that point."]
[22:22] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[Oh. Now you feel even worse. "I'm sorry it didn't turn out better for you." You hesitate, clearly debating with yourself. Its one thing to say it in chat, but to actually ask for it is a little more difficult. "...could I ask for a hug?"]
[22:25] <deadRoss> [He softens, and spreads his arms a little. "Absolutely."]
[22:26] <deadEspa> 14[You walk into the bubble, oh, battleship, and people, you quickly move to climb up the highest nearby object before anything else to watch]
[22:27] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You take a cautious step forward, as if expecting something horrible to happen, before burying yourself in the hug.]
[22:27] <dreamingKaren> [You approach the pair-you don't mean to eavesdrop nor will you. You are a little surprised to see Ross and to hear that. "Hello-sorry if I am interrupting something." You speak up in a gravelly voice.]
[22:27] <dreamingKaren> [You look a bit sheepish.]
[22:27] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[And you immediately jump out of the hug, face heating up.]
[22:28] <deadRoss> [He gives good hugs--firm and warm and---unless interrupted, apparently.]
[22:28] <deadRoss> ["Excuse me," you scowl. "You kind of /were/."]
[22:29] <dreamingKaren> ["Oh please don't mind me, I am very sorry." You cover. "I thought I saw a familiar face. My mistake." You take a few steps back.]
[22:29] <dreamingKaren> [Now you are mortified.]
[22:31] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You kind of want to disappear now. You slowly start backing away.]
[22:31] <deadRoss> [You tilt your head. "It was only my tenth session. I don't believe we've met."]
[22:33] <dreamingKaren> ["Ah. I am sorry. We met I think your... twenty-sixth session? It was quite eventful." That is putting it mildly at that.]
[22:34] <dreamingKaren> ["Miss, please don't be bothered on my account." You sound sad and resigned.]
[22:34] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[It's a bit too late for that.]
[22:34] <dreamingKaren> [You were about to say 'run'.]
[22:36] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You try to speak but all that comes out is "Uhm." And you keep backing away. This was a bad idea.]
[22:36] <dreamingKchtni> 3[You stumble in, looking rather confused.]
[22:37] <deadEspa> 14["Are hugs illegal from where you're from?" you call from a pile of boxes a decent bit away]
[22:37] <dreamingKaren> [You rub your forehead.]
[22:38] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[Your head snaps around, oh God theres even more of them. You decide to cut your loss and just start running away down the corridor.]
[22:39] <deadRoss> [You shoot Afiqah a pained look and mouth, "I'm so sorry."]
[22:39] <deadRoss> ["I don't even think hugs are illegal on--"]
[22:39] <deadRoss> ["Excuse me. You three, please, help yourselves to sandwiches in the fridge." You shut the hatch behind you as you turn to leave.]
[22:42] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You take a couple more turns down corridors before eventually resting against a wall before sliding down it. Curling your legs up and hugging them. You finally meet someone you could talk to and trust, and it turned out horrible.]
[22:44] <deadRoss> [You walk down the hall, slowly and unhurriedly. There's only so many places she could have ended up--and this is /your/ memory, cherished and well-preserved. You'll find her.]
[22:46] <deadRoss> [She'll hear your footsteps down the hallway, before you arrive. If she doesn't make to leave, you'll sit down against the wall a few feet from her.]
[22:49] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You don't. You continue to sit there, occasionally glancing at him. "Sorry." You mumble.]
[22:50] <deadRoss> ["No, /I/ need to apologize. I...wasn't in a place with a lot of traffic, I wasn't expecting anyone to walk in on us, either. I'm sorry."]
[22:55] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3["Not your fault." You mumble. You sound tired now. You wanted to ask so many things, but it seems pointless now.]
[22:59] <deadRoss> ["Nnf." You tap a finger on the ground, thinking... "Have I told you about this ship, before?"]
[22:59] <deadRoss> ["I think it's pretty funny--there's void and nothingness outside, and then inside the bubble there's my /memory/, my dream of that. And the two things really aren't that similar."]
[23:02] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You nod. Legs slowly becoming untucked. "Theres the Ring outside the bubble, and the, uh, memory of the ring inside it?" Asking to try and understand.]
[23:04] <deadRoss> [You nod back, leaning in. "Exactly."]
[23:05] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3[You look at the covered portholes. "...how bad was it, out here?"]
[23:09] <deadRoss> ["It was two years in close quarters with rationed supplies and an uncertain destination, spent with five other people who had all survived an impossible session together. If we hadn't become the closest of friends, we'd have all killed each-other."]
[23:10] <deadRoss> ["Even the frustration and the fear are something to remember fondly. After this? We could do anything."]
[23:12] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3["Was it dangerous on a daily basis? Fending off attacks from I don't even know what? Or...?" You try and prompt him into continuing. Voice gaining a little more strength again.]
[23:18] <deadRoss> [You shake your head vigorous. "No. Oh no no no. That...you don't fend off /attacks/, you stay the hell away. Spenih and Cogs navigated; she kept us safe and away from other dreamers' bubbles, and away from them."]
[23:19] <deadRoss> ["Mostly it was...I'd keep one of them company while they piloted. Or I'd monitor the engines. Or I'd...find some way to keep myself busy. Boredom was a bigger problem."]
[23:19] <@dreamingAfiqah> 3["Ah." You think for a second. "Hence all the board games?"]
[23:22] <deadRoss> ["We go so sick of those. And tended to lose the pieces."]
04[19:03] <dreamingAfiqah> [You smile. "Well, if a random checker piece flies out of the ring and into my session, I'll know who to blame."]
[19:04] <deadRoss> [You hold up your hand, forefinger and thumb close together. "Little monopoly houses were the worst."]
04[19:06] <dreamingAfiqah> [You give a small laugh. "So, knowing what you do now, what would you change about the voyage?"]
[19:08] <deadRoss> [You consider, carefully.]
[19:11] <deadRoss> ["I'd have opened up to Vitt sooner. Or sat him down and had a conversation about boundaries and comfort levels, much sooner."]
[19:11] <deadRoss> ["I'd have spent more time working /with/ Cole--he ended up with the most terrible inferiority complex, and he really was a prodigal talent. Sold himself short in a lot of ways."]
[19:12] <deadRoss> ["I'd have encouraged us to set aside food just for Myra to hoard."]
[19:15] <deadRoss> ["Started looking for Vitt's still sooner. Started writing down what I'd learned about Heart right at the beginning?" You shrug.]
[19:15] <deadRoss> [You turn to her. "Everybody knows about food and entertainment and space, but really, it was a test of how well could we get along."]
[19:16] <dreamingAfiqah> [You nod as he talks. "Thats fair." You look around the hallway before back to him. "What were they like? Your friends. I, uh, only ever talked to you."]
[19:19] <deadRoss> [You count off on your fingers. "Who? There were six of us. Cole, Vitt, Violet, Myra, Spenih, and me. ...do you know if they're still alive?"]
[19:22] <dreamingAfiqah> ["I'm pretty sure that Spenih and Violet are alive." You sit and think, trying to remember passing details. "One of the others is dead, and the, uh, remaining two are missing. I can't be sure though. It's...not something I've looked into a lot."]
[19:25] <deadRoss> [You nod, absent in thought. "We wouldn't have Sburb.org without Vi. Mm. Myra's dead. I remember now--she was so damned coy about not being 'Alpha,' but she's dead."]
[19:28] <dreamingAfiqah> [This...may not be the best topic. You decide to try and steer it back to something a little less macabre. "You were, uh, looking at a shiny earlier? What were you doing with it?"]
[19:34] <deadRoss> [You can recognize a shift away from an uncomfortable topic. She's young, and you're dead. You can humor her. "Oh! That was the Pondskipper's. Or it's memory, here. I'm trying to identify the differences."]
[19:36] <dreamingAfiqah> ["Can I see it again?" You know you won't understand one thing from the next, but that doesn't stop you from wanting to anyways. "I haven't rolled with a Heart player yet." You offer as way of explination.]
[19:42] <deadRoss> [You nod. "As a place, or a vehicle, it's a little different from a players." You hold up your hands and concentrate. Little glowing flecks of light, multicoloured, coalesce out of the walls, out of the air, gathering into a point between his palms.]
[19:43] <deadRoss> [Little flecks and lines and globes and swirls of light dance around, in layers and shells.]
[19:45] <dreamingAfiqah> [You look around and silently mouth 'wow' as the light show goes on. Scooting along the wall so you're sitting beside him to get a better look at the finished product. Leaning in more than a little bit, clearly interested by it.]
[20:08] <dreamingAfiqah> ["I have no idea what I'm looking at." You admit, still studying it intently. "But its beautiful."]
[20:18] <deadRoss> ["They are, aren't they?" His eyes practically glow. "And it's even got layers and shells, just like a person's. The outermost pattern of lights melts away, and the orb (and a different pattern) grows to a larger size in his hands. This cycling-through repeast. "See?"]
[20:21] <dreamingAfiqah> ["Yes." You shuffle around again to get a different angle on it. Before looking back at him, no small look of wonder on your face. "So you can change aspects of this ship by manipulating the shiny?"]
[20:23] <deadRoss> ["Part of that's because a Battleship is nearly a place, not just an object, but part of it's because it's the /Pondskipper/, and we cared about it-" You interrupt to answer the question. "Mm?" He pauses to consider. "Yeah, I could. I couldn't do it /then/, but...I've had more time to practice."]
[20:25] <dreamingAfiqah> [You tilt your head at him. "Caring about a place affects its shiny? I would've..." You frown at the shiny. "I would've thought that it'd change the person who cares about it. Interesting." You peer at the shiny intently, trying to draw its secrets out by force of will.]
[20:33] <deadRoss> ["Well, it's like..." And you pass the Pondskipper's soul off to one hand, and deftly reach inside your own chest with the other. "See how they interact?" Little packets and thin lines reach out between the two of them. "We spent two years here.  Plus the time Violet and I put in to build it. And living out of it after we arrived...and making this my home-memory..."]
[20:35] <deadRoss> ["It's more that..." He delicately 'peels' away a few layers of the Pondskipper, revealing a pattern even more similar to those that pulse in his other hand. "I know this place well, and it is a place with /meaning/, to me, so I know what to look for, and how to change it."]
[20:41] <dreamingAfiqah> ["Ohhhh, its a two way street that feeds back on each other, instead of a, uh, single event if something were to change in the ship." You start to reach out with a hand, almost pocking at the lines and packets moving between the two. "I'm not goig to do any, uh, damage to the shinies by touching them?"]
[20:44] <deadRoss> [You shake your head."No, of course not. They're like crystalanthemum light."]
[20:47] <dreamingAfiqah> [You gingerly poke at one of the packets. You're practically leaning into them at this point, trying to look at everything and all the paterns. "So picking up a, uhm, random rock off a land isn't going to have something near as complicated. Its only the value and love we put into an object that creates something this complicated?" You glance up at him before back at the shinies. "Initial complicatedness would impact too right? A ship like this is going to have something more complicated than a rock barring other factors."]
[20:51] <deadRoss> ["Yes! Things we care about pick up a context, an identity that's only meaningful in relationship to how we see them. That's what makes a watch different from a keepsake that carries with you through the door. And, yes, complexity is reflected in shiny--you can see it with consorts and the density of the code that scripts them."]
[20:55] <dreamingAfiqah> ["Which would make a person's shiny one of the most complicated things in this reality? Cause except for some, uhm, instinctual things, everything we are and remember is based around relationships. Either past or present."]
[20:58] <deadRoss> ["Well, a lot of it comes from our neurology--our programming, as it were--but what gets expressed, yeah, has a lot to do with the influence of the people and the environments we grow up in."]
[21:00] <dreamingAfiqah> [You nod. "So, how does changing shinies work?"]
[21:03] <deadRoss> ["With abilities, or on their own?"]
04[21:04] <dreamingAfiqah> ["Both? I mean, I can guess how they change on their own but..." You sit down beside him again. "I want to hear you explain it."]