1/3 teegee 2021/05/03(Mon)18:15 No. 998818 ID: 3994a2
File 162009094931.png - (1.36MB , 1024x1024 , -1-028-1.png )

"...Remind me again, Mike, just who are these mystery rivals of theirs?"

"Probably some ward, is my best guess. Or maybe one of the plasmodians... you know how the taffa biz is. Hard to say for sure -- but whoever it is, they ain't bein' loud about it."

"And just why should I be so afraid to get caught? Hell, it's been a year now, why are they still hot to trot after me?" I pause. "Maybe we should just give them the samples, huh? Or at least offer them. Play Orchid and this rival against each other."

Mike stares at me quietly as a pained expression spreads across his face. "They want you dead, Siobhan. That joint you broke into, down on the surface... the rival wants any memory of that place and whatever's in there wiped out." He taps his forehead. "Including the ones in your head."

I look down at the bender in my hands, wondering if I really have the guts to use it. "We got any dirt on Orchid? Anything we could push back with?"

Mike shakes his head. "You know how secretive those wackos are."

"What if we just... didn't do this, and say we did? How would they even know?"

"They got eyes everywhere, Siobhan." He glances upwards, scanning his eyes across the walls of the shaft. "Prolly watchin' us right now."

"...Then why are we even hiding?"

"I dunno about you, but I don't exactly wanna be out in public if somethin' goes wrong here. Now hurry up 'n zap me, already, before I lose my nerve."

"Yeah, about that -- what if something does go wrong, Mike? The hell am I supposed to do if you die, or... or worse?"

"Take the money n' make yourself scarce 'til someone from Orchid contacts you, 'n then you tell 'em you wanna join up. They're a buncha wackos but they ain't gonna let one of their own get got." I can tell he's been practicing that one.

I sigh. "Be honest, Mike... did they really say to zap both of us?" My gaze meets his. "Or just me?"

"I don't think they give a shit which of us takes the shot. Which is why it's gonna be me."

An awkward silence passes between us, as I stare at him, grappling with disbelief about this whole fucking situation.

Fuck it.

"Y'know, Mike, you're an asshole for getting us into this situation... but if you think I'll help you fuck your life up worse than mine, you've got another thing coming," I say slowly, sitting down.

"Siobhan, what are you..."

Silently, I ready my arm to go into autopilot. My arm robotically presses the nozzle firmly against my neck, chambering the first payload.

"God damnit Siobhan, stop!" Mike shouts, leaping to his feet.

"Just stay safe, you big idiot." My finger, guided by the aug, pulls the trigger.

2/3 teegee 2021/05/03(Mon)18:16 No. 998819 ID: 3994a2
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Boom. A sharp whine escapes the bender as the first sample enters my body, mingling with my dust.

Dazzling lights scatter across my vision. Mike runs at me in slow motion, never really seeming like he'll catch up. I should feel alarmed by it all, but instead I'm just... calm, serene. Everything seems okay, even though I know it really isn't.

3/3 teegee 2021/05/03(Mon)18:16 No. 998820 ID: 3994a2
File 162009098902.png - (1.46MB , 1024x1024 , -1-028-3.png )

Mike careens into me, grasping for the bender, but not before my finger pulls the trigger a second time, injecting a second sample. He yells something at me, and I vaguely get the sense I should try to keep the bender away from his grasp...

but... who cares. I stare past him; unfamiliar visions drift by, catching the eye briefly like airborne motes in corelight...

You have -1 new messages.
Open it.

>>998820

... wait a minute, these aren't dust samples, they're recordings. They're memories.

Small wonder Orchid's rival wanted it gone, and what easier way for Orchid to use that against them than to make sure that they're all sitting in one very inconvienient place?

I see three figures there, maybe a fourth one behind Siobhan. Is one of them facepalming at our actions? good.

Anyway, it was probably a good idea to zap ourselves, Orchid will protect us from whoever wants us dead if we have the samples in us.

what do? try to get your mind focused back to your own reality. Mike seems to be the only thing from reality right now, so focus all your senses on him. Keep your eyes on him, listen for his screams, smell for his scent, try to grab hold of him to feel him.... And if you can, taste him with a kiss.

Turn your head towards the shapes.

Try to say something to Mike, we need to let him know we're okay...

Okay, maybe we're not okay. Just focus on getting a grip. Try to let Mike you're okay by trying to get yourself to be okay.

>>998831
What if you are the recording?

Whoah...

>>998891
But seriously, keep a grip. It's only gonna get worse from here.

>>998820
Are you a quitter, or a survivor? You're adrift in a sea of overwhelming perception. Float atop it, let it pass under you as you pay attention to your surroundings.

1/1 teegee 2021/05/04(Tue)20:22 No. 998927 ID: 3994a2
File 162018493553.png - (1.51MB , 1024x1024 , -1-029.png )

My hand pulls the trigger again, and -- and... another wave of, of...

>these aren't dust samples, they're recordings. They're memories.
They could be... the visions flash quick, hard to read, I try to focus on one, slips through my fingers, do it again, get something

... What ... find?

Not much to it, too fuzzy... hear a little bit though...

... a closed ... There's room ... large moon ...

>Try to say something to Mike, we need to let him know we're okay...
>Okay, maybe we're not okay. Just focus on getting a grip. Try to let Mike you're okay by trying to get yourself to be okay.
Mike... yeah, right, I ... he's yelling something, I smile at him, I'm okay Mike, I'm okay...

... do we have? ... free quarks.

Mike grab... grabs at.. thing in my hand... bender! Mike grabs... bender. Hey, I'm, I'm using that, finger wants to pull the trigger but he's pulling it away, stop it Mike...

... the threshold, ... go back. ... trapped ... energy ... the space entirely ...

Mike hands pulling... pull harder, think I should pull back, try to, need to finish samples... can't let him...

... anyone's guess ... other side.

You are fine. You have to believe you're fine because if you can't get Mike to stop pulling the bender from your hands, he's going to interrupt the injection. That has to be worse than doing this in the first place.

HOLD THE DUST BENDER. You only need to keep it from his grip for a few more moments.

Boop his snoot! The universal sign that everything is okay

Well you know what they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. Try to finish the injections.

Also uhhh are you getting off on this? Looking kinda ahegao’d at the moment

>>998934

I think she's just extremely out of it and trying to smile.

How many injections total? 12? And we've done 3?This may take awhile. How can we get Mike to stop for all 12? We may need to try to convince him thimns are okay, try to tell him we need these memories otherwise he'll just keep after us, and that will be difficlut for the other 9 injections

Some ideas, push him off with your legs, Boop snoot could work. Give a Thumbs up? Maybe sush him?

>>998927
Let him have the rest. You know now the samples are safe, maybe you should just let him hang onto half of them. That way you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

Keep it away from him. It wont do you both any good if he does it on himself and you're both in this drugged up vulnerable state. Keep trying to calm him.

Give him a thumbs up and try to reassure him.
Are we sure those are memories? Try to interact with them beyond listening.

Pull back. Finish the samples. And

Don't.

Trip.

Over.

The.

edge

>>998927

No point in stopping halfway through. There's something in this -- a message, a memory, who knows what it is -- and it's meaningless without the whole.

Just tell Mike we know what we're doing. Better us than him, you know? We're the one in a different body, after all, because of what happened.

Ah, so that's what happened. That's some extremely dangerous information to possess. Tsk. This changes things because it basically means you'll never be safe, no matter how much time passes.

Go for round 4.

You are absorbing the memories of a legend.
Someone who did the impossible. Just because it would take them a step further than all the others.
Follow in their footsteps and keep going.

It seems as though you're slipping, the information must be quite overwhelming, try and focus on your limbs rather than your thoughts, keep the idea that you need to pull the trigger on yourself in your mind, and let go of everything else. Focus on finishing the job.
We don't know exactly what this dust does, but something tells me it's more harmful incomplete, and that we should use all of it, or risk having some sort of biological equivalent of a half-finished code making errors inside of us. We need to finish the job, as although it seems to be getting harder to think, we seem to generally see better each time we put in more, which is the only sign we got.
On that note, while holding onto the gun, we should also try to crawl backwards a bit, get some distance. And make sure we've got a dead man's grip on the bender.

Even if I'm a lot for an "I'm Ok" boop in the nose, I think we should stop and take it easy. I mean, is safe to put all the suspicious dust samples in one go?

Say, did you pre-program your limbs with kung-fu as well?

Maybe it's time to wake up.

I'm torn...we definitely should see what these hold, but Mike's important to us. Lets try and push for him

>>999059 As much as waking up would be good, we also need to see this through, even if it's a memory or dream we need to know what happened, and we need to know what information the samples hold.

>>998927
Float your consciousness above this sea of information. Do not capsize. Focus on you, sort these memories out after they settle. Otherwise you will be lost.

Form the words with your lips, focus not on these scraps but on the movements.
"I know what I'm doing now, it's ok."
Then pull again.

Stopping now could make things way worse at this point. Just say, if you aren't tripping too hart to speak, that its just a memory; it doesn't seem to be causing physical defects, so why not see what its a memory of.

Gotta pull it back and finish this. You know what they say, "In for a penny, in for a pound."

1/5 teegee 2021/06/07(Mon)20:01 No. 1002857 ID: 3994a2
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"I... I'm okay, just okey-doke, Mike.......boop."

Hoefler ... damnit! Why did ...

2/5 teegee 2021/06/07(Mon)20:01 No. 1002858 ID: 3994a2
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"Dammit Siobhan, just... let... go!"

... you already know ...

>You are absorbing the memories of a legend.
>Someone who did the impossible. Just because it would take them a step further than all the others.
>Follow in their footsteps and keep going.
"A... a legend..."

"Stop it already!"

"nnnnnNNNNUH-UH! I'M A LEGEND!"

3/5 teegee 2021/06/07(Mon)20:02 No. 1002859 ID: 3994a2
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You took everything ...! .... everybody! ... little fucking utopia?!

4/5 teegee 2021/06/07(Mon)20:03 No. 1002860 ID: 3994a2
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clacktaktak

... getting old, ... just stand by ... die off ... tin can?

5/5 teegee 2021/06/07(Mon)20:03 No. 1002861 ID: 3994a2
File 162312140758.png - (1.48MB , 1024x1024 , -1-30-5.png )

The manifold ... our home ... conventional ... failed us ... paracarbon ... actually survive ... term.

Well, what are you waiting for? Quickly stagger off the ledge and fall to try and get that dust gun thingy! Wheeeeee!

>>1002861
Uh oh. What's off that ledge?

"You d-DON'T understand! He WaS the Foundered! h-hE FouNDereD Ȩ̵̨̥̬̝̘̤̑̊͌̑̀͗̊V̷͔̳̣̝͓̖̜̤̘̦̤̞̪͕̲̂E̵̥̗̊͐͒́͐͜ͅR̶͈̜̬̜͕̮̠̘̳͎̪̞̲͛̎̀̐̋͛̾̀̈́̊͝Y̶̛͔̓́̀̀T̸̛̝͇̦͙̯͎̬̝͉͓̗͍̞͛̔͊̒̽́͝ͅḦ̶̫̦̝̥̜͈̱̮͇̥̭̼́I̷̳̼̝̘̝̲̺̳͈͊̉́̿Ǹ̶̪͕̟̱͎͈̘̳̀̆̈́̀̎́̾̈́͌́͜͠G̷̡͓͈̥̘͔̠̳͐̀͜"
Pull out of Mike's limp noodle.
"And they FORGOT him! Ę̵̢̬̺̱̣̥̻̩̩̞͉̆͆̿͆̿͒́̿͑̚͝V̴̛̫̬̻̣̈́̀̋͐̆͌̈́̊̀̄̀͜͝E̶̢̦̗̩͚͉̘͈͋͗̿́͐̎̾͛́͘Ŗ̷̧̜̻͔͔̖͙̻̩̹̈́̑͒̀͂Ȳ̵̪̱̟̯̯̻̤̆̉͑́̚͠͝Ő̵̧͕͎͕̦͕̝͇̘̘͉̖̙̖͉͠Ň̷̡̧̹͇̫͖̣̤̟̤̣̈̇̀͊̑̈́ͅĘ̴͇̝̰̺͙̗̰̘̳͉̭̘͕̹̈́̏̽͂̽̊̔̚͠͝͝ forgot him!"
Jump off the ledge.
"̴̘̺̮͕͎͙̱͍̣̓͜͠͝Ỉ̸̡̛̜̦̲̲̐̔̉̽̍́́̒̉̚ ̸̡̨̠͚̺͓̻̞̳͓̬̗̌̐̒̓͑͌̕͜͝͝͝W̴̘̞̗̤͓͕̩͋̀̈́̍͌̃͊̾̎͜͝I̷͇͐͒̕̕͝L̷̢̡͙͎̤̯̃͋͋͊̂̃̔͘L̴̢̲͇̪̝̥̫̞̏̔̽̀̚͜͜͠ ̷̡̛͓͖̜̇̏̈́̏́͂̏́̏̓͐̾R̶͇͇̦͉̦̦̰͂̈́́͋̒͛̒̽̈́͠Ȅ̸̛̼͚͕͖̀̃Ḿ̷̢͈̭̣͙̳͒̍̀̏͗̆̾̈͐͘͠͝Ẻ̸̘̱̥̄̉̍͌̋͋͋̐͊̈́͛͘͝M̸̧̢̖̳̜̙̖̠̣̆̈́̌̅̕͜͝B̸̛̝͎͈̙̪͔̺͈̉̆̔̈́͘ͅĖ̵̢̪̜͕͙͚̻̮̑͊̒̓̽̐͐͠R̷̦̭͔̽̓̓̀̏̄̽̋̔͋̇̊͝͠ ̷͉͛̎͠͝Ý̶̞̣̹̪̘͍͖͈͍̐̉͗̌̅̒̏̂͆̚͝O̴̯̳̗̠͙̿̄̀̓̐̓̑̀̔̿͘͠͝Ų̵̼̬́̂́͌̽̕͜!̷̨̬̪̻̬̰̙̹̯͍̑̈̋̕ͅ!̷͓͔̏̑̈!̶̯͚̟̟̯̯̥͎̣̫̺̆̅͑̐̅͑̓͊̽̀́̕"̷̺͙͂̈́͋̃͗̓͐́

>>1002863
>>1002865

The RESK-U Safety Net System is probably going to prevent us from jumping off the ledge to get the dustbender back...

But whatever, lets jump off anyway, we're not thinking rationally right now. Who knows? Maybe Orchid will somehow prevent it from catching us, mike did say they are most likely watching us right now...

>>1002860
Sort of looks like they dustbend'd themselves there?

Also, oh nooo the dustbendeeeer.

>>1002880
Snap back to reality as you reach the edge, staring down, a sinking feeling in your stomach, and not just because of the height.

What was that? What just happened? It seemed sort of like memories? Stretched out in time and place.

"Holy shit, was that Hoefler and Kurosawa?"

Did you see... hear... feel the discoverers of HK-dust, arguing with one another?!

And are you... you, still? Body seems the same, at least.

Don't jump down yet. If you did that, you would lose the game~ Legends never lose, right?

Tell Mike about Hoefler.

J U M P

Actual feeling has left, but there's still a threat. Initiate shutdown, pass out before you can hurt yourself.

Bask in how overwhelmed you are, and shut down.

Jump after it! The Memories Must Survive!

Your understanding is limited, you know nothing of your current situation and what little you did know is not enough. You NEED that info. You don't want to be stuck with a shred, unable to fully piece together a great truth, unable to fully understand and stuck only with the knowledge of not knowing. If you don't get the rest of that dust, you can consider yourself gone, whether it be from incomplete memories scrambling your brain or being stuck with that longing, being unable to live without the truth. Either way, you're better off dead.
Jump.

God, this is going to hurt tomorrow.

Ok, nothing we can do for the gun rightnow. Lets digest the information we got and then start to look our situation (Are we still there? How many time has passed? How much damage have we receibed? Are we still the same person? You know, the usual).

Don't hurry, latter Mike might want to have a words with us (ouch)

1/1 teegee 2021/06/22(Tue)19:08 No. 1003943 ID: 3994a2
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>fall
>off that ledge?
>Jump
>jump
>the height.
>jump down yet.
>J U M P
>down.
>Jump
>Jump.
>hurry,

yyees.. Yes!! Jump! Can't lose it!

"For fuck's sake Siobhan, fuckin' stop already!"

"L-leggo!"

Eh, fucc it, strip off the coat, this is far more important than he realizes

Mike clearly needs convincing. Grind up on him and strip your clothes off so he understands the spiritual journey you’re currently undertaking.

>>1003944
>>1003945

That would explain how she ended up with nothing under her jumpsuit, and how she got down there at the start of the quest. Support these two

Next we'll need to figure out how she got the jumpsuit

Shift your weight so your head is facing upwards and let gravity help you take the coat off.

>>1003950
break the momentum with your shoulders though because otherwise you're gonna snap your necky-wecky

Parting words for mike: sorry Mike, but we gotta save Hoefler-Kurosawa!

Realise that even if you fall now, you'll never catch it. You'll need to figure out where it landed and go after it by another method.

It's too late. You'll have to try going down in a saner mode of transport like a shuttle.

Moment of truth, Penny:
Do the Windy Thing.

Remove coat, drop down after it. I'm sure if Orchid is watching, they'll help make sure we don't get hurt. We have some of the samples they want us to put in us after all.

>>1003950
Do this so mike doesnt grab our tail

He doesn't seem to understand that you have to get the gun. Try speaking in a dead idiom that you shouldn't know to make a point. Try "Omnia denique ortum sit" or "Vanum est vobis ante lucem lumina?"

Slide out of your jacket and go after the bender. Literally do whatever it takes to get it.

Was there any cake in those memories? Does Mike have cake? Ask Mike if he has cake.

>>1004415
The cake is a lie.

There, now the amount of references are up to two.

Let him pull you back up, you're not going to be able to grab that thing now.

1/4 teegee 2021/08/29(Sun)19:56 No. 1009053 ID: 3994a2
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“Sorry Mike… but omnia demi-cake crow-saw!”

2/4 teegee 2021/08/29(Sun)19:56 No. 1009054 ID: 3994a2
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“Siobhan! God damnit!”

3/4 teegee 2021/08/29(Sun)19:57 No. 1009055 ID: 3994a2
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Huh… Mike’s yellin’ his head off, can’t make it out though.

4/4 teegee 2021/08/29(Sun)19:58 No. 1009056 ID: 3994a2
File 163029232050.png - (446.58KB , 800x800 , -1-032-4.png )

…As the effects of whatever was in those samples recedes, the gravity of what I’ve just done begins to dawn on me.

So now both you and the gun are going to be caught by the RESK-U system, but that probably also means you'll be caught by the authorities with the dustbender and the samples. I don't think there's anything you can do about that right now.

No turning back now. I don't think the RESK-U is going to grab the gun considering Mike kicked the other gun off. It'll probably just save save us.

unless Orchid does something to prevent it, since they are spying on us like Mike said, in which case, look for the softest spot to land on, maybe water?

Then in case the RESC-U system doesn't catch the dustbender, try to angle yourself to fall faster and catch it.

Straighten up and reach out for the bender. If your fucked you might as well finish what you started.

>>1009056
angle for the dust-bender, then spread yourself as wide as you possibly can to catch as much wind as possible before you hit the dirt.

Concentrate on your new Founder memories and learn how to cast Feather Fall right now!

From what I understood RESK-U was a relatively new system... Is it implanted yet?

If not I suggest to start to flap your arms very fast, try to use your trousers as parachute or pray really really hard.

Don't panic. There's the RESC-U system. Right?

But fuck, the bender. Will it rescue that?

>>1009084
As of chapter 0: "for the past 10 years, the Concourse and it shelves have had zero deaths from falling off of a plate or shelf"

To your left, is that the dustbender? if it is, try to fall faster to grab it.

Also, just realized it said "it was standard practice to keep teams of rescue personnel mobilized around the clock, ready to handle any number of accidents leading to someone, or something, falling from the Concourse or its shelves."

so maybe the Resk-U system does grab things as well? then why did Mike drop that gun? maybe the system only grabs people and not objects while in the past, rescuers grabed both objects and people.

Take off your pants to gain an aerodynamic advantage and catch the dustbender. It would also be a good excuse to say that you were nude skydiving.

>>1009056

Tits-out revelations are always the most chilling.

Any thoughts, feelings? Sudden regrets?

Regardless, we'd best hope the RESC-U system engages soon, and that it manages to snag the bender, too.

(Speaking of ... where are the samples? Not on us, from what I can recall. Does Mike still have them? If so, well ... shit, not much worth in the bender without those.)

Doesn't the bender have some samples left in it that haven't been stored? If we can grab it and finish injecting before RESK-U picks us up, then we're home free.

I think we put all the samples in the dustbender. We probably dont wanna lose it or have it break.

Well then, it seems that the shock has kicked in and logic has returned.
You still need to dive for that bender though. If the authorities get their hands on those samples you would be royally fucked, so whether we want to continue or not, we can't let rescue workers confiscate those samples.
You're already fucked, might as well take the rest.

Least the safety net below will grab us. Who knows about the gun or anything else now though.

>>1009054
noooo the cool jacket

1/3 teegee 2021/09/19(Sun)20:46 No. 1011110 ID: 063cdd
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...Fuck it. Whatever was in those samples... it's important. I don't quite understand how, or why, but I know I need to get them back at any cost.

Steeling myself as I plummet, I push my arms to my sides, trying to gain speed on the bender.

2/3 teegee 2021/09/19(Sun)20:46 No. 1011111 ID: 063cdd
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>RESK-U
As if on cue, the safety net beneath Gansett kicks in; I try to shake it off as its tendrils wrap around my legs and tail.

3/3 teegee 2021/09/19(Sun)20:46 No. 1011112 ID: 063cdd
File 163210958985.png - (590.49KB , 800x800 , -1-033-3.png )

The bender's so close that I can almost grab it -- just need to get a little closer! But I can feel the net pulling on me, slowing my descent -- I writhe as I fall, trying to break free for just a few moments longer!

You know the drill. Pants-B-Gone!


Like those Monster Movies...

Seems most of the Resk-u is grabbing your pants. Ugh, fine. Pants off. should release your from most of the net grabbing you.

Your skill at fast clothing removal has suddenly become vital.

Slip out of any clothing the net captured you on like the pants. You'll call a friend when you reach the ground and make sure the dust bender doesnt hit the ground and break. Raise your tail upwards toward your back too so it is't caught on the net. Also, look for something soft to land on.

Use the Force, sister.

If there’s literally any movement you feel would propel yourself forward even slightly then you gotta do it!

Can't you like, grab some of those nets and throw them at the bender to have them slow it as well? Since there's dust in the bender, it might get recognized as something alive as well.

Question is, if we take off our pants, is there another layer of Resk-U net to save us further down? If the answer is yes, then off they go.

All that matters is grabbing that dust bender, your pants are just holding you back, literally. Off they go.

I notice one of the strings is about to wrap around her right arm. Might be a good idea to pull it directly back instead of reaching for the bender before it tightens and use the arm to unbutton the pants to loosen them so she can have an easier time slipping out of them.