Entry tags:

Asteroid 276: Conclusion

Who: Everyone visiting the asteroid
When: April 30, day to late night
Where: Asteroid 276, Thisavrou
Warnings: Disturbing imagery, nightmares (?), descriptions of blood and vomiting.

event log

Over the past month, relations with Asteroid 276 have transpired peacefully. Many visitors observed the self-proclaimed recluse of improvement. Some spoke with the Greeter. Some pursued modifications. Some shared stories of their lives. No effort was made to breach the commune's privacy, harm its inhabitants, or break its rules. In turn, the asteroid's inhabitants provided examples of their work.

As a result of your actions, negotiations are successful.

Asteroid 276 is to become a long-term trade partner of Thisavrou. Its universal signature will be saved on file, with trade representatives visiting every quarter-cycle. They will bring a steady supply of resources and requests, and the commune will turn their skills to any of the problems that face the twin planets, whether in curing plagues or helping individuals.

To celebrate this alliance, a gathering is held in the welcome wing of the asteroid. All who participated in the assessment are invited, and if some might find the lack of bar brawls disappointing, certainly the meal can't be faulted. With a full month to refine their produce to the preferences of visitors, the commune offers tables full of dishes to suit a wide array of palates and digestive tracts. The vegetables and meats may not come from the sources you're used to, but they certainly taste close enough-- taste better.

Mild intoxicants are available for those who choose to partake, and crowds of researchers proudly show off some of their projects around the edges of the room. A near-transparent insect flits up and down on gossamer-thin wings, appearing almost to teleport with its speed. A limbless expanse of furred green membrane encases a sick rodent... only to expel it moments later, with all trace of disease gone. The creators prefer to show rather than tell, but the Greeter makes her rounds around the room: to explain to the curious and draw out the shy. And most of all, to express her gratitude.

"Centuries of isolation. Millennia of fear. And you have given us a chance to move forward."
"Truly, I cannot thank you enough."

The night ends. All parties return home. There's a hum to the Ingress, a strange bout of nausea, but it passes quickly enough. So does your ride across the EN-Line. All guests, even those who partook lightly, will find a sleepy fullness settling upon them. Perhaps you sleep?

Certainly, you dream.

You dream of a wide emptiness, a place with neither up nor down but joy and kin and kindness all around. You dream of poisonous fury, of vengeance and loss so complete that you could scream forever and not vent a fraction of the pain. Of blood, blood, blood, thick enough to paint your skin and hide. You have to. You want to. You rip it from them gleefully, but there's so, so much you find yourself drowning. It's filling your lungs, surging up through your throat--

(Some of you may dream of slightly more.)

Wherever your dream takes you, it ends with nausea. With retching. You come to consciousness to find your body already reacting: you're outside, upright, purging the contents of your stomach over the nearest balcony or into a trash chute. The world is still twisting before your eyes, and it may take a moment for reality to settle. A moment longer to realize you're not the only one outside. Maybe you take some time to talk. Maybe (eventually) you realize you need to go clean up the mess.

There is no mess.

Maybe you dreamed it?

Still, the hunger in your belly persists-- for days, in some cases. And with it, an odd quiet, an emptiness in the back of your skull. Like waiting for an echo that won't come. Thisavrou's physicians can find no symptoms worse than mild indigestion, and only those who work around the Ingress are likely to hear the other strange occurrence of that night. The rumors are unsubstantiated--wild, and those who chatter too openly about them on shift are encouraged to take some time off. Still, the words carry: Asteroid 276 is gone.

What that means? Interpretations vary. Feel free to do some research, or come up with your own.

[[ooc: Check out the OOC post if you have questions! More information, especially on the dream portions, will be inside.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[If she's mentally translating that into Shiro speak, then he's still clearly not fine. Her frown deepens a little as she puts her hand on the doorknob, ready to open it.]

I'm coming in, okay?

[He really can't protest right here. Propped up on the edge of the bathtub, because even a little delirious from the dream and apparently hallucinatory puking, you don't leave your face in the toilet.]

[So he, there's that, at least.]

[She's taking that silence as an "okay", going ahead and opening the door to check on him. At first she just pokes her head through the space she's made, but when she sees the way he's sitting on the floor against the tub she steps all the way in. Her eyes are still wide as she looks at him, clearly trying to figure out what's going on.]

Um... What happened??

[There's surprisingly no mess. None whatsoever. Whatever happened was, apparently, either cleaned up by an invisible, intangible maid, or all hallucinated. He's not really sorting through that at the moment.]

[He's just sort of sprawling there, focusing on breathing.]

Just... just a dream. Again.

[Pidge frowns worriedly, shutting the door behind her as she steps closer until she can plop down on the floor in front of him. It's weird that there's no... visible evidence of anything having happened in the bathroom. She's not sure what that could mean.]

You... don't usually run into the bathroom afterwards, though. [Not that she can say that with absolute certainty, but... she's still pretty sure.]

This was... this was bad. Really bad.

[Considering he's still under the impression he's made a mess in here, he figures she's owed an explanation for it. One hand reaches vaguely across the bathroom.]

Hand me a towel?

[Her eyebrows knit together in concern as she reaches up to pull one of the hanging towels down to their level and hand it over. She's not sure what he needs it for, but... Well, maybe he just wanted to hide behind it.]

...Worse than usual?

Yeah.

[He doesn't hide behind it so much as he wraps it around himself. Getting sick, even hallucinated sick, takes a lot out of you. And now it feels cold in here.]

Way... way worse. Haven't ever had one that bad.

[Pidge brings her knees up closer to her chest as she watches him, carefully, like she's worried he's going to turn and puke into the tub at any second.]

... Galra stuff? [Which is actually how she's trying to oh-so-very-eloquently ask if it's about Zarkon and awful future things.]

[Honestly, he feels like he could turn and puke into the tub. If, y'know, there were anything left.]

That's... that's the weird thing. It wasn't that. For once.

[That's why he's more concerned than usual. He's used to the other kind of dream. As much as anyone can be.]

Wait- What?? [Her eyes widen and she blinks at him owlishly, clearly confused.]

Then... What was it about?

Like... the worst vampire movie I've ever seen.

[Judging from the look on his face, he doesn't mean the sparkling kind.]

[Pidge is quiet for a moment, frowning and looking terribly concerned.

Mostly because the worst vampire movie she can think of is definitely the sparkling kind, so she's not really sure if Shiro is referring to gore or just... terrible movie tropes.]

...What happened? Were you.. one of the vampires? [Maybe he fought werewolves? Maybe it got too gory? Pidge wouldn't have pegged Shiro as being squeamish, but...]

No, there... there was a lot more blood than -- you know that movie? With the haunted hotel?

Elevator doors open. And it's just... a tidal wave?

[It was like that. Like the ~~Shining~~ Glowing, or whatever the generic version of the Steven Queen classic is. He's trying to figure out how to say it more tactfully than "I dreamed I was drowning in blood".]

[Human blood, at that. Nothing else they've seen so far had been that kind of red. And just thinking about it sends a visible shudder through him.]

Never. Ever seen that.

[She's pretty sure she knows what he's referring to so she nods a bit, head tilting to the side. Why the quiznak would he be dreaming of things like that? It has nothing to do with anything, and sure dreams can be completely random but usually there's some degree of tapping into the subconscious mind and beyond the connection to that movie Pidge is pretty sure there's no good reason for his mind to be dredging something like that up...

The human brain is a mystery. Pidge will just stick to computers.]

And it made you feel sick..?

[It really is a mystery. He hasn't seen a horror movie in years. Purposefully, now that there's better access to that kind of thing here. Unless... there's something more to it. Unless there was something he'd been through that --]

[The thought of it makes him curl in on himself, sickened all over again.]

Yeah ... yeah it... is.

[--is making him feel sick, in other words.] No one else is... no one else is sick?

[Just in case this is Something Else.]

[The way he shifts gets Pidge to scoot a little closer, putting a hand on his back and giving it a soothing kind of rub.]

I don't know... I'm not, but I haven't heard anyone else.

I guess... guess that's good.

[Just going to attempt to flash her a smile. It's shaky, he's about as white as his hair, but hey. Still in one piece.]

Sorry.

[She offers a smile back, but it definitely doesn't mask the concern she's feeling.]

Do you want, like, water? Or something?

... yeah. Yeah, that's. Probably for the best.

[Hey, he's sitting up now, at least.]

[She nods at that and proceeds to get back to her feet, still watching Shiro a bit nervously.]

I'll be right back. Just... Stay put, I guess?

[That's probably the best course of action for him, right? Right??? ~~SPOILERS: SHE DOESN'T REALLY KNOW~~]

No problem. Staying put.

[Except he might just. Lie down on the nice tile floor. Wow, food poisoning isn't fun -- if that's what this is.]

[What else could it be?]

[Honestly, that's Pidge's best guess, too.

But she'll hurry out of the bathroom, off to get Shiro a nice glass of clean, cold water. Hopefully she doesn't end up waking anyone else in the house up; She is trying to be careful.

It's a few minutes before she returns, holding the glass like it's carrying the most precious liquid in the universe as she leans down to hand it over.]

Hey, sit up, okay? I'd rather not have to pour this on your face.

[He'd have nodded off in those few minutes if it weren't for the new nightmare to worry about. He's going to focus on breathing, instead, though. Slowly and calmly.]

[That's guaranteed to help both nausea and dream memories.]

[When she comes back, there's a bit more color to his face, and, though he grumbles, he does his best to sit back up in a timely fashion.]

Yeah -- same here. Thanks.

[She extends the glass out for him to take from her before she sits down again, this time taking the spot next to him so she can also lean back against the edge of the tub.]

...Are you gonna be okay?

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