audio;

[throwne]

This is quite a craft.

( the attached voice is feminine, ~*~dark~*~, and colored with an impossible to place (vaguely russian, but... not......) high fantasy accent! she also sounds just slightly detached from current proceedings ― like this pants shittingly terrifying transdimensional jaunt is something she's observing from an outsider's perspective, not her own. )

Not to my tastes, I'm afraid; a man could shred himself on this architecture, and your Tranquility exudes anything but. Still, I'm certain it could be worse. ( KNOCK KNOCK. this is someone rapping their knuckles on some sort of metallic surface. ) She's quite sturdy. Better a well built mausoleum than the alternative.

( hardy har. a beat. )

Your guides mention hostile creatures, but not the breed. I would hear of them, if you'll indulge me; their appearance, their behavior, where they roam, how often they've been seen.

Call it grim curiosity.

Comments

video;

[lacksgrace]

Just stay where you are, and you won't have to worry about ever running into any of 'em.

video;

[throwne]

Mm, I don't intend to go wandering. Being disemboweled in a dark crevice somewhere seems a particularly unappetizing end.

Still, I'm curious. Have we any bestiaries on board?

video;

[lacksgrace]

[ He just rubs a hand over his face. ]

Not that I know about. You kinda learn about stuff as you go when you're here.

permavoice »

[heister]

I think the terms they use for the design are 'minimalistic' and 'futuristic'.

[throwne]

Not the wording I'd choose, but 'labyrinthine', 'claustrophobic', and 'suggesting of an impending grisly end' would be more difficult to feed to the masses, wouldn't they.

It's really the lighting that does it.

[heister]

Probably. The last one's a mouthful.

Too dark for your taste?

voice

[unaccepted]

So you see the reflection in this metallic beast as a tomb just as much! The rooms are coffins, there is enough space for a grand funeral service, we are branded for our loved ones to identify us--yes, this can be nothing but Charon ferrying us to the land of death. Although, you are mistaken. A graveyard is always tranquil, if unfriendly. [ He can't help with the creatures, so he can ramble about something else. ]

voice

[throwne]

( her reaction is basically "oh my god this guy." )

No barbarians feasting on the recently dead in your graveyards, I take it.

[unaccepted]

I would not put it past some, although I have heard more stories of such a thing taking place on rafts, or presumably more dire situations than idle graves. It tends to create quite a scandal.

[ A pause. ] Is that a hobby of the barbarians in your area?

[northerner]

It depends upon the beast you ask after.

[ says the man with the massive direwolf onscreen behind him. ]

There are several types that lurk out in the darkness, but all worth being wary of.

[throwne]

I would ask after them all. If this ship is as capricious as they say, better to know what may come crawling out of the dark.

( a beat! )

I would ask after your beast as well, if you'll humor the interest.

[northerner]

There are great monsters named manticores who dwell in the deepest parts of the ship. They have never drawn close to the well-lived parts, though they've been encountered by those who have ranged into the ship. I've heard tales of large rats, with a poisonous bite, who live in the genetics bay. I'd not recommend seeking either of them.

[ oh hey direwolf inquiries, always welcome. ]

I would happily answer any question you might have of my companion. Grey Wind is a direwolf, though you've nothing to fear from him so long as you mean no harm to me or mine.

voice;

[romanticism]

There's a lot more than just architecture that can shred you to pieces here. [ Oxford needs to stop substituting charm in his welcomes with foreboding. ] But like you said, at least our potential tomb is much more stable than our potential futures.

voice;

[throwne]

Certainly. My understanding of our precise function here is admittedly... somewhat dimmer than I'd like, but I've seen little mention of exactly where our ship is sailing to. I find it a touch unnerving.

( this would probably be more convincing if she actually put any effort into sounding unnerved.

EH. )

But I've also seen no mentions of our craft springing leaks. A coffin fit for kings, this one.

voice;

[romanticism]

I mean this in the most polite manner possible - join the club. [ He sounds mildly amused. ] None of us know where we're headed, and our only function so far seems to be to survive, or else be turned to fodder for the ship's more unkind whims.

[ Still, he's impressed by the lack of concern in her tone. ]

For kings, princes and paupers alike. It doesn't tend to discriminate.

video;

[gilding]

It's been heavily inferred that breed wouldn't be quite the right term for them.

permavoice!

[throwne]

What term would you suggest?

[gilding]

Strain, perhaps. Stock. Creature remains adequate, as long as the definition of being created is considered.

voice

[humanistic]

Is this the sort of grim curiosity that's going t' send you out hunting the hostile creatures, or the sort that's trying t' find something familiar.

Either way: don't.

voice

[throwne]

I'm hardly so adventurous. Should the other Gwynn surface, you'll have something to worry about; I can only hope that he doesn't.

My interest is purely scholarly.

voice

[humanistic]

Is that so. And did you happen t' bring a fast camera and a warehouse of body armor? I don't think they're exactly keen t' be studied.

Gwynn?

voice »

[surrogates]

I wouldn't exactly call them a breed of creatures. That implies they're just one thing, and last I remember, they weren't exactly just something mutated from one creature.

It'd be best to call them a species. [ a beat. ] Unless you're talking about the overgrown rats with the nasty bites. Then just think of a rat that's way bigger than rats are ever supposed to get.

voice »

[throwne]

( "mutated"? distinctions between the definitions of breed and species?? oh god all this science. )

I see.

( BULLSHITTING IT. )

You're at least passing knowledgeable about these creatures, I take it?

voice »

[adlered]

At least if it wasn't well-built, you really wouldn't be around to particularly care.

[ that's morbid, good job you two. ]

Do try and keep in mind that it was probably a little less dark at one point. Even if it does nothing for how droll and dreary it can be in any case.

voice »

[throwne]

Mm, a few seconds at the most. I've heard nasty things about "being spaced". Still, I've made a distinct effort to seek out any past accounts of sudden screaming deaths in the void. As I've seen none - so far, mind you - I'll assume she'll keep us from it.

( RAYS OF SUNSHINE, THESE TWO. )

And I can't imagine what she might've looked like when properly lit. Breathtaking, maybe. Or just a little less dreadfully atmospheric.