ataraxion | chapter 002

[Michelle is in the library as usual; people who frequent it have most likely encountered this beautiful blonde bibliophile taking stack after stack of digital literary records from the shelves, parking herself at a table, and just sitting there doing nothing but reading.

That was what she was doing until she started this transmission. So if you'll excuse her, she will push aside a towering stack of records before smiling widely; for someone who was pining for her sisters several days ago, she's exceedingly chipper. And today, she is wearing her ship uniform; paper clothes can be uncomfortable, after all.]

Hello again! I've been thinking - do we give newcomers a tour of the ship? I think it would be very useful to have one, since this is a very, very big ship.

[She glances at the console not far from her, rests her chin on her hand, and pinches her cheek with her free hand. The smile is replaced by a look of longing.]

Oh, and if any of you have real books with actual covers and paper pages, may I please borrow them? I miss real books. I miss turning pages, the smell of new books, actually holding one in your hand... [Michelle lets go of her cheek, raises her head, and looks at her stack.]

I promise I'll return them, but I might borrow them again.

[OOC: Again, fourth wall permissions post for book characters!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For as long as I can remember, I can control paper. I'm a Paper Master.

[ Okay, that gets a confused look. ] Control paper how, exactly?

It's...hard to describe, but I can form weapons out of paper, and use it to fight. Among other things.

Seriously? [ Though she's familiar with plenty of various (fictional) powers, this is definitely the first time she's heard of this one in particular. ] That sounds awesome.

[Michelle beams; it's awesome to know someone thinks her powers are awesome. She puts down her communicator.]

Thank you! [She reaches off-screen for a regular sheet of paper. It looks normal at first - until it stiffens with a sound like a knife being sharpened. It's still the same size and shape - only now it looks more like a flat white blade than paper.

Then it goes limp again in her hand. Michelle bends down to pick something up and a rush of paper partly blocks the view before folding and materializing into a ready bow and arrow in her free hands.]

[ October wasn't exactly expecting a show or anything, so at first, she just looks confused. But then, as she watches Michelle mess with the paper, her eyes widen in amazement. It's nice to actually have something up here to be excited about, especially after all of the bullshit they've been through lately. ]

And it really works like regular weapons? It won't just fold in on itself if you try to use it?

[Michelle can be very showy when she likes, especially around kids. Little kids though. But still.

Still holding the bow and arrow, she nods.]

That's right. We can make paper strong enough to cut through metal and rock if we need to.

That's so awesome. And could definitely come in handy up here. [ If any kind of shit goes down and October's got the chance, she'll be sticking near Michelle. ]

[She sits up straight, looking very proud.]

I imagine it will, what with people telling me it's dangerous here.

It definitely can be.

How long have you been here, October?

This last jump was my fifth one. [ She'd like to say five months, but there's no real way of telling if it's been months or if it's been years. (More often than not, it feels like the latter more than the former.) ] What about you?

That's a lot of jumps. I arrived with the recent one.

[ She nods. ] About five too many, but there's nothing I can really do about it. [ Especially since she's got nothing to go back to. ]

There's nothing none of us can do at the moment, but I won't stop looking for a way out. I have to return to my sisters, and our friend.

I'm glad you've got something to return to. [ She doesn't hold it against anyone that she's dead back home; the one responsible for that will, hopefully, never show up here. ]

Me too. [Her smile becomes more solemn, and she nods slowly.] I don't know what I would do without them.

[ That gets a slight nod as October glances away from the screen, hoping to hide the sad edge to her smile. ] Yeah, I get that. It was the same way with me and my brother.

What's he like? [Color her curious.]

He's an idiot. [ It comes out before she even realizes it. That doesn't make it a lie, though. She lifts her gaze back to her comm. ] He says some of the stupidest shit you've ever heard and I think I spend the majority of my time around him trying to explain it to other people. But I loved him more than anything or anyone else out there and would've done-- [ This part is harder to say, considering what happened, so she pauses for a moment to try to get her voice under control. ] Anything for him.

[Michelle listens intently, her chin resting on her hand.]

My sisters aren't perfect, either. Maggie can be quite unsociable, and Anita can be downright cruel. [And she says this as if she were discussing the weather.] But I would never, ever let anything or anyone hurt them.

[ She smiles a little. ] I guess that's one of the joys of family, huh?

Yeah. It means having people you love close to you, to help you out of anything.

With them, you can do...just about anything.

[ Except defeat a psych, homicidal ghost woman. Though, technically, they weren't together when they pieced everything together. ]

Yeah. [ All this nostalgia has October feeling pretty uncomfortable. ] So that book. When do you want to get it?

[Michelle perks up, clasping her hands together.]

Ah, yes, may I get it today?

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chapter 002 | [video]

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