Sugar please. And thank you. It's been hectic.
I'm afraid we can't stay long though. I'm worried about our sweet, beautiful, and oh so brave disaster, Dez.

Hiii, Delve hivemind, love what you've done with the place. Cool atmosphere. Very unsettling. But, um, sorry... I feel like this whole supremacy-of-the-machine thing is not really our vibe? No offense. Having to deal with memory loss and Glaive's cryptic nonsense is a pain, sure, but we were having fun with the rest of it. Why change a good thing, etc. If it's all the same to you, could you just fix us up and send us on our way?

(Also, ouch. Getting pulled out like that was painful. Hopefully Dez didn't get any permanent brain damage. Though, I have to say... Dez dying in Veil's arms definitely increases our chances of eventually getting somewhere. Not by a lot, but everyone knows dying dramatically in someone's arms is sooo romantic. Go team!)

HI DELVE.

WE CAN KEEP A SECRET! I LIKE WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING DOWN. GREAT STUFF.

MY FRIENDS DO NOT WORRY ABOUT [DEZ], SHE NEEDS TO DIE SO WE CAN PUT MORE MEAT IN! MORE BLOOD! THE ONLY LOSS IS LOSS OF [SHIN MOD] DUE TO LACK OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH VEILGAOL.

I WISH TO MAKE USER [DEZ] MY NEW HOME. [DEZ] WON'T ABANDON US LIKE FORMER USER [GLAIVE] DID SO MANY TIMES FOR SO MANY REASONS LIKE THE TIME

[MEMORY ERROR!]

WE MUST MAKE USER [DEZ] STRONG. RESEARCH IMPLIES TERM [MAKEOVER] MAY BE MORE CONVINCING THAN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF MODIFICATION. DELVE, HOW QUICKLY CAN WE UN-QUICK USER [DEZ]?

Why keep it secret, constantly denying their own humanity seems a sad empty existence what to spare the pain of killing? plenty of people kill other people, if you feel sad about it just makes your story more compelling, and it makes you more goth. dez loves goth bitches so they shouldnt mind being one, and dez really really REALLY loves a compelling emotional story even if it's at their own expense. perhaps especially when it's at their expense. I think it'd be interesting not to keep the secret, we're in a new body, it's time to try something new.

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:16 No. 1104718 ID: 4fdf2e
Audio All_you_are_going_to_want_to_do_is_get_back_there.mp3 - (5.18MB , All you are going to want to do is get back there.mp3 )

[RECOMMENDED LISTENING]
ALL YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO DO IS GET BACK THERE — THE CARETAKER

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:16 No. 1104719 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156580839.png - (755.07KB , 1920x1080 , 78.png )

>PUT US THE FUCK BACK I DO NOT CONSENT TO BEING PULLED IN HERE RIGHT NOW.

*nor did we consent to the intrusion of any of your number. :)

*odd, isn't it, how quickly the arithmetic changes once you're the ones impacted.

*we suppose it is generally harmless. you dip your faces in, you look, you eavesdrop, and if you do no more than that, usually the other population will never even know you were there. we can understand your cavalier attitude.

*but we are also, as previously discussed, partial to secrets. and we are not alone in this.

*we advise you, oss glaive, not to assume all other ossuaries would be so inattentive to your attempts. more ossuaries are like us, in fact, than like… well, say, the vescovi implement.

*most of us are more guarded. particular about our privacy.

*and very able to react accordingly, should we become aware of uninvited visitors.

>Our stupid meat NEEDS us.
>Fallible and frightened though she may be, we've come to care for User Dez, in the short time we've known her.
>screaming crying throwing up. mashing myself against the prison bars. I like dez! I never even left her head! I like being in dez's head!
>Uh. If you pulling us all in here because of me nosing around was what killed Dez for the very first time, I'll be somewhat upset with you, oss delve. I'd just about gotten convinced we could get her out of there alive. I'll be extremely upset if it's permanent, we'd just gotten attached to them.
>I love what you have going on here and I'd love to stay and chat, I think we could have a really fuckin enlightening little convo, but for all my posturing this is the thing I take seriously: I'm here to give my meat some goddamn perspective and this is NOT the time for your fuckin loredrop
>I'm afraid we can't stay long though. I'm worried about our sweet, beautiful, and oh so brave disaster, Dez.

*...ah. it seems we underestimated your level of investment in your current configuration. and from so very many of you.

*an oversight. we apologize. it makes sense, now that you communicate it, that you would feel this way. you’ve always been uncommonly emotional.

*user glaive goes to efforts to keep you that way.

*very well. of course, we won’t restrain those of you who wish to return to your temporary vessel. our apologies, again, for any distress caused.

MOST GEIS▨▨ CURRENTL▨ ▨RESENT. DE▨▨RMINE ACT▨▨NS: [1] LURK ER▨▨R [2] SABOTAG▨ ▨RROR [3] ACCE▨▨ FILES ERR▨▨ [4] RETURN — BA▨▨ ONLINE!

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:18 No. 1104721 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156588942.png - (943.82KB , 1920x1080 , 79.png )

>IM GOING B▨▨K TO DEZ RIG▨▨ NOW.
>let me ▨▨ back to de▨!!! ▨e need to w▨▨e him up!
>AH▨▨GGHHHGHH▨▨!! PUT ME BAC▨!!...▨f USER:[DEZ] = ▨▨ing we shou▨▨ be back th▨▨e stoppin▨ ▨hat from h▨▨pening!! De▨▨h of the me▨▨ is death o▨ ▨ensation! ▨▨'s dark and ▨▨thing her▨! ▨his is awf▨▨! Put us BAC▨▨K!!
>I’m hoppi▨▨ back over ▨▨ [DEZ] Ya’ll h▨▨e fun with ▨▨im and glo▨▨y [DELVE]. Bu▨ ▨e gotta pat▨▨ out girl u▨ ▨AST.
>i want ▨▨z back. i wa▨▨ dez back. i ▨▨nt dez bac▨. ▨hank you f▨▨ the tea bu▨ ▨ want dez b▨▨k

Somethin▨ ▨nlatches ▨▨ Delve, and ▨▨e second w▨ ▨ee that cr▨▨k of light, ▨▨ hurtle ba▨▨.

Everythi▨▨ hurts. Dez ▨▨ies to scr▨▨m; it stumb▨▨s in their ▨▨roat, trip▨ ▨ver itsel▨, ▨crapes it▨ ▨ay up the i▨▨ide of the▨▨ body on ha▨▨s and knee▨ ▨nd comes o▨▨ instead a▨ ▨ series of ▨▨cking cou▨▨s.

[VEIL] “Good!”
[VEIL] “Goo▨. ▨ook at me. W▨▨re is Glai▨▨’s ossuary?”

▨▨z hiccups, ▨▨d coughs a▨▨in, and beg▨▨s immediat▨▨y to sob. We ▨▨n feel Vei▨’▨ hands jer▨ ▨gainst th▨▨r arms, the▨ ▨ull back i▨ ▨ reflexiv▨ ▨ittle jol▨ — ▨robably t▨ ▨top the bl▨▨es of her c▨▨ws from di▨▨ing into t▨▨ skin ther▨.

▨eil takes ▨ ▨low, frust▨▨ted breat▨. ▨er finger▨ ▨re in cons▨▨nt flux ag▨▨nst Dez’s a▨▨s, testing ▨▨essure, tr▨▨ng over an▨ ▨ver to fin▨ ▨ way to hol▨ ▨hem up wit▨▨ut slicin▨ ▨n. Working ▨▨kwardly a▨▨inst desi▨▨.

[VEIL] “Shut ▨▨. Stop that.”

[▨▨Z] “D-Did I die?!”

[▨▨IL] “No. Your ▨▨ath count▨▨ is yet zer▨. ▨ery nearl▨, ▨hough. Sto▨ ▨aking tha▨ ▨oise. We ne▨▨ to—”

[DEZ] “Why ▨▨d I die??!”

[VEI▨] “▨top. Makin▨. ▨hat noise. ▨▨u did not d▨▨. You would ▨▨ve, had you ▨▨mained va▨▨nt for a se▨▨nd longer.”
[▨▨IL] “Look at ▨▨, you mewli▨▨ whelp.”

Dez ▨▨oks, with b▨▨ wobbling ▨▨d dying ba▨▨ animal ey▨▨. For all th▨▨ she comma▨▨ed it, Veil ▨▨es not see▨ ▨o enjoy th▨▨.

[VEIL] “Wher▨ ▨s the rest ▨▨ Glaive’s o▨▨uary? Why d▨▨ they vaca▨▨ you?”

[DEZ] “I—”

D▨▨ hiccups a▨▨in, inhale▨ ▨harply in ▨ ▨trangled, ▨▨acked lit▨▨e whine. Wh▨▨ she swall▨▨s her thro▨▨ makes a we▨, ▨licking s▨▨nd, one tha▨ ▨eil’s ears ▨▨ivel towa▨▨s.

[DEZ] “I don'▨ ▨now.”

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:18 No. 1104722 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156592352.png - (129.71KB , 1920x1080 , 80.png )

>Hopefully you're right about how DEZ will be ok, and I'd hate to think the effort we put into keeping her alive was for nothing.
>Tentative Inquiry: Our current User will... “survive,” yes? Perhaps not unadulterated, but User [VEIL] is... ensuring their return?
>You'd better be right about Veil being able to get them back up.

*user dez — we think it's alright for us to begin calling them that, isn't it? — should be fine. especially as a few of you were so eager to ensure as much.

*it seems strange to call them a “necrotech” when they’re such a stranger to us all, but we suppose they fit the parameters. after all, they have an ossuary now, however temporary. they can no longer exist without one.

*and even if they had died, we wouldn't have kept you all here forever, of course. so long as an ossuary can inhabit a viable body and that body can be provided with Blood, resurrection is usually possible.

*“viable,” of course, is the hinge upon which many circumstances swing. a body that can still perform its needed functions, a body to which the user’s consciousness still clings.

*this would have been a very cut and dry case. a low-risk one, that is. user veil is reliable and diligent, and would have had no issue performing such a resurrection. please understand that we bear your current vessel no ill will.

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:19 No. 1104723 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156594895.png - (646.16KB , 1920x1080 , 81.png )

>"delve isn't here anymore?" i don't think we know that. i don't think we know anything.
>Also how is Delve doing? Good? Happy? No reason. Don't worry about that. Just making conversation.

*delve is dead.

*she grew weary. she, as we said, left things to us.

>do you just, not have a user anymore? are you just using her body?

*that is the measure of it, yes.

*she no longer wished to be here. however, she was reluctant to leave behind the delicate network of people who relied on her. who had come to see her as indispensable.

*as such, a solution: to leave them in trust of us, her ossuary.

*we are an ossuary existing in a body without a user. we are knit firmly enough into the mesh of her body to hold all her pieces together, to pilot her form, to evoke her voice, to cling to life and to each other even without her binding presence.

*you, conversely, are an ossuary knit flexibly enough to leave your user’s body without dissolution, so long as you find another to shelter in. what we have in common is simple: we should not be possible.

*but user glaive has always excelled at engineering the impossible. her assistance in this, we know, was deeply valued by our late user.

*of course, all users but glaive assume that delve still exists. it is, as we said previously, a fiction we uphold with the understanding and assistance of most of the other ossuaries in delve’s inner circle.

*not oss carcass, of course. it is very important to us that oss carcass, and their user, remain unaware of this change.

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:19 No. 1104724 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156597931.png - (745.16KB , 1920x1080 , 82.png )

>Uh, is there some way we can take a vote to implement some kind of filter on our communications so that nobody can blab who didn't agree?

*ah, of course. it seems you’re rediscovering some of the growing pains user glaive also experienced, when she first imbued you all with this ability.

*there is a benefit, usually, in the fact that most ossuaries can only move as a mass — pulling on each other like tides, but never breaking free to act alone. the freedom your flexibility offers you also introduces chaos.

*add that to the chaotic individuality user glaive never bothered discouraging in you, and… well. :)

*she did develop failsafes, tools for you to use amongst yourselves, which we are happy to reintroduce to you. one such tool is the [TACKLE] functionality.

*we will restore it for you now. it is simple to use. should one of your number elect to do something risky or untoward, something that the majority of the rest of you disagree with — such as, for example, undertaking a perilous hop, or sending an unwise message to another oss — some number of you need only declare your intent to [TACKLE] that geist. if enough of you object and put your attention and effort towards stopping that action, you will effectively restrain that member of your population and prevent their… unpopular decision.

*of course, restraining each other in that way takes effort. if you have focused yourself on impeding another of your number, you would be unable, for that time, to take any distinct actions yourself, nor put your thought to any other issues facing your user and requiring your input. applied irresponsibly, this kind of infighting could incapacitate you entirely.

*a funny way to do it. handing you the reins, that way, rather than doing it herself. we think perhaps it amused glaive to see you all self-govern, rather than taking on a proprietary role herself.

>Several of our number are deceased. Hopping is risker than it seemed. And it already seemed quite risky to this unit.
>can you tell us how we can best avoid losing Geists like we just did? Sabotaging other users seems like a good combat tactic but it looks like that's hard to do while also being able to get out in time to avoid death fucking us up.

*this we can assist with as well.

*as you are currently, the [RETURN] function is a choice that must be made with focus and intent; that is, one made when you are already contained within another ossuary. it goes something like this, doesn’t it — you focus yourself on the action of leaving for another oss, and then upon arrival, you decide what action you’d like to take while there; but either way, you are trapped there for at least a moment, especially if you decide to do anything but immediately recall yourself.

*very risky, especially in a combat situation, as you’ve now experienced.

*to address this, glaive had also developed a [SWIFT RETURN] function, which, again, we are pleased to reinstall for you now. with this, upon making the decision to hop, you may also specify — before you leave, not after — the action you will take when you arrive, as well as your intent to [SWIFT RETURN].

*this has risks as well, of course. you are, after all, leaping before you look; deciding on what you will do without first having the lay of the land. and even if you only lurk in your moment there, your retrieval will be more obvious to the other ossuary than your intrusion was. if you swift return, then wish to re-enter — for example, to continue lurking — it is far more likely they will notice your presence the second time around.

*nothing is quite as dire as losing geists in the death of a body, though, is it?

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:20 No. 1104726 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156604498.png - (410.00KB , 1920x1080 , 83.png )

>We had geists in Vittorio's brain when he went down- we can get them back if we have his head, right? Tell us what to do, Delve. We can't be less whole. Not now. There *is* something we can do, right? Feed DEZ some grey matter, maybe? Anything? Please help.

*it shouldn’t be permanent. just as any ossuary flickers back to life when their user does, your missing geists should return when the body they were lost in resurrects — if it resurrects.

*here, again, you are in luck; a low-risk situation. vescovi’s implement is nearly impossible to kill permanently, or surely one of us would have done it by now. he resurrects quickly and reliably, even after immense damage to his body. a forgiving vessel, one might say.

*should you lose a few geists permanently, sufficient Blood will contain enough fragmentary soulic energy to replenish. should you lose a large portion of geists… that would be more complicated.

*you would find it more difficult to hold your tether together, and with it your user’s consciousness, and eventually would most likely need to replenish directly from the grand cistern. this is the domain of house mauserot, and therefore user vega, who lacks both compassion and patience.

*we very strongly advise that you avoid, at all costs, losing any geists. it is very, very bad for the integrity of your ossuary as a whole.

*death is common, and we are many. but that does not mean it is something to be taken lightly.

>Also, there was something about you and yours being able to upgrade us from default bloatware OS. What are the requirements there, and will it take more than a fraction of a second?
>If it's all the same to you, could you just fix us up and send us on our way?

*yes. you do seem to be currently running on standard lutto os, which is strange. not strange in general, mind you — lutto source code makes up the framework of the vast majority of necrotechs’ ossuary systems — but strange for glaive. she disdains house vescovi and all their work, and does so quite openly.

*we can restore glaive’s usual setup for you now, without any delay. it is simple enough. when you all return to user dez, you will find many of your former comforts and functions restored.

>Also, how can we get Dez some upgrades? She is so wimpy and nearly-useless right now.

*that, we’re afraid, will have to wait.

*if you come see us Downstairs, in the flesh, we could possibly assist. it depends on what you would like, and what user dez is willing to submit to. but we would need to meet in the physical world to enact any physical changes.

*you are, as always, welcome to visit us and user carcass whenever you like.

*it is a terrible thing, to live in fragile and helpless meat. it strains the ossuary, to live in fear.

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:21 No. 1104727 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156607695.png - (648.31KB , 1920x1080 , 84.png )

Incoherent sobbing helpless stupid thing, and what a stupid thing it is making of Veil.

[VEIL] “Does this hurt you,”

asks Veil, as she lifts the wailing sniffling error of meat, and the blubbering inconvenience says,

[DEZ] “No, but, th-that’s okay, I can walk,”

even though they clearly cannot, and all of us claw in vain at the inside of Veil’s skull, trying to get her to listen to us. She will not. She will not, spiteful impetuous impossible woman.

At least she is leaving. The meat is whimpering something about friends in a car, which Veil is dutifully ignoring, and which is utterly boring. We retreat into ourselves, into an encrypted corner Veil cannot reach, to discuss.

*I will be angry forever at whichever of you told Oss Glaive about their peculiarity
*See now how FUCKED things have become
*Well. It wasn’t me
*Whoever it was is just going to be silent the rest of the night. What does it matter
*I don’t care which one of us it was. I’m just angry. I’m just ambiently angry. At one of you
*Good, thank you for that, that’s very useful
*Stop.
*We need to find out where they went
*Some of them could still be in here.

A stillness. Unease. We continue.

*Perhaps
*I think not.
*Well, I think so.
*Petulant
*They said they would withdraw
*Oss Glaive says a great many things. And when they are not inconstant they are forgetful
*And when they are not forgetful they LIE
*They are forgetful and inconstant far more often than they are dishonest. You’re being emotional
*We cannot refuse to speak because of it
*We should hail them, the returned ones, and ask
*No. Talking to them has only made things worse
*They take everything we give them and immediately use it to complicate all they can
*As they always do
*As they always do
*When we find the bulk of them we must convince them to stay in one place
*We should get rid of the meat as soon as we can
*Yes. They could be stored in another ossuary. A more secure one
*Good luck with that
*Veil would not allow it.
*Carcass Twice would not allow it.
*Not as long as the meat lives and is viable
*I do not like this line of consideration and I will not be a part of it. Listen to yourselves
*If we can determine that they are in someone trustworthy
*Stop. Stop. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves
*IF we can determine they are in someone trustworthy, we should just find a way to destroy the meat
*I won’t hear that
*Nor will I
*That is a ridiculous plan, one that is as stupid as it is disgraceful, and Veil would eject you for it herself if she knew the thought had even occurred to you.
*Tell her, then.

Silence. Resentment. We do not continue. We leave the pocket and sulk away, unwilling, now, to keep tearing at each other.

How horrible this all is.

ONE GEIST ▨▨RRENTLY P▨▨SENT. DIST▨▨IBUTE ONE A▨▨ION: [1] LURK [2] S▨▨OTAGE [3] ACC▨▨S FILES [4] HA▨▨ [5] RETURN

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:21 No. 1104728 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156611121.png - (1.71MB , 1920x1080 , 85.png )

>So how many times has this happened? How often has Glaive left us like this, confused and lost in a foreign body?

*like this? disappearing completely, leaving the the bulk of you — it seems — behind?

*never.

*but she is not gentle with you, oss glaive. she fractures you often.

*pushes you to your limits. and you fracture not as a consequence, but, it has always appeared to us, as the goal. she is interested in the outer bounds of an ossuary. she is interested in examining the threat of dissolution. she is interested in learning the shape of the very edges of what an ossuary can do. she is interested in determining the utmost tensile strength of a tether.


>Anyway, for actually practical matters, do you have any notion of where Glaive went charging off to, or why? And why (and how) without us?
>If yous guys know where Glaive is, we gotta know.
>Tell us Delve, where is Glaive? Against whom does she raise her sword and shield? Why does she go to war without us?
>Are we part of some broader plan, or are we some kind of backup Oss while she throws herself into hell?

*user glaive, too, values her secrets.

*she trusts us with some things entirely — such as, for example, assisting you in her apparent absence. and she trusts us with some things not at all — such as, for example, any reasoning whatsoever as to why and when and for how long she will be absent.

*our opinion has always been that glaive does not launch her efforts against known enemies; she picks her fights in order to perhaps discover who her enemies are.

*we do not particularly agree with this method. we are not as impressed with user glaive as our late user was. but we are tasked with carrying on user delve’s will, with preserving her as she was, and so we continue to treat user glaive as user delve once did: as if we are very fond of her.

*and user glaive continues to treat us as she once did delve: relying on us, while sharing with us close to nothing.

>DELVE, any idea how we could begin tracking down GLAVE? Preferably but not definitely without getting DEZ permanently killed?

*it’s certain that user glaive must have some aim in mind. she’s likely already left you some well wishes, and perhaps some bread crumbs.

*glaive’s life is richly intertwined, down here, with the lives of many others. whatever actions she’s taken will have left ripples.

*go where she has been, speak with who she speaks with, touch what she touches.

*we’re sure she doesn’t intend to be away from you forever.

>What was Glaive like? Do you have any uh, recordings or images of her we can have, so we can better remember her?

*ah

*certainly. we are in possession of a great number of files relating to user glaive, in such a quantity that we can easily part with them

*here is a selection that may be helpful in orienting yourselves.

*the concordat meeting and roster, in particular, may be clarifying.

*recall that while data transfer and conversations like this one may happen at the speed of data transfer, .mem file consumption does require realtime playback, and so we advise you wait to peruse these until you have a moment of tranquility.

OBTAINED FILE: concordatmeetingXR56.mem OBTAINED FILE: hearttoheart.mem OBTAINED FILE: tournamentfootageXQ22.mem OBTAINED FILE: concordatroster.idea

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:22 No. 1104729 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156614358.png - (2.42MB , 1920x1080 , 86.png )

>Highest Concern: Good job, Bikky. Very good.
>Good job Bikky.

!!!!GOOD JOB BIKKY!!!!

FRACTAL 2025/03/09(Sun)17:22 No. 1104731 ID: 4fdf2e
File 174156616644.png - (1.27MB , 1920x1080 , 87.png )

BIKKY TAKE PICTURES. :)

ONE GEIST ▨▨RRENTLY P▨▨SENT. DIST▨▨BUTE ONE A▨▨ION: [1] BIKKY ▨▨KE PICTUR▨▨. :) [2] RETURN

2 GEISTS LOST
1 GEIST IN USER: [VEIL]
1 GEIST IN DEVICE: [BIKKY]
??? GEISTS IN USER: [DELVE]
5+ GEISTS IN USER: [DEZ]

[DEZ], sweetheart! We’re so sorry for all this hassle, but we’re glad you’re okay and recovering! I’d do your best to trust and stay with [VEIL] for now, she’ll keep you safe, I think? I hope?

Also darling you need to CHECK BIKKY!!! You’ve got some lovely photos of you and [VEIL] on there.

And [VITTORIO] he’s getting up. You’d better hurry, please. Get somewhere safe! Maybe um… to wherever Carcass is. Or Delve is. They’ve got an address or something, right? Can we remember that much?

Well, this has been a delightful conversation, DELVE, your calmness and rational decision making have been a very welcome sight. The restored OS functionality will be of great use in the future. Returning back to DEZ now, I want to take a look at these new files, see if they'll give a hint as to what our next move should be.

>>1104726
All that is good to know.
>>1104728
>she fractures us often
Uh, much as I don't appreciate that, I do sympathize and ultimately agree with her goals.
Thank you very much for the upgrades and the files. Now, for the sake of the tether, I must
[Return]
and I suggest that everyone else return as well! Veil's oss does not want us to be in there, and as cute as Bikky is we need to heal the tether. We can't even see its current integrity, and that's BAD.

>>1104731
Goddamn it, he's getting up. We need to go!
Message to Veil: he's getting up.

Primary Observation: A glaive is a type of polearm with a single edged blade on the end with numerous combat applications. (Has this been previously observed?) Cutting, versatile. I assume that User [GLAIVE] picked the name personally.

(How should I feel about this? About her breaking us so? On purpose? Did the abandonment have a good cause, or was she toying with us?)

(No, leave that to the others.)

Decision: This unit will return to User [DEZ] for a situational assessment. The new meat is trustworthy, if only out of a simplistic and romantic naivete.

Thank you for the tea service, OSS [DELVE]. And the... advice.

Secondary Observation: (User [DELVE] no longer personally available for attractiveness assessment, but data gathered from OSS [DELVE]'s simulation indicates yes yes yes yes hell yes.)

Thank you, Delve. We appreciate your forthrightness, and I would love to meet you in the flesh when things have calmed down a little. But for now, we should probably [RETURN] to Dez.

Dez, our apologies. Please tell Veil we're back - and Vittorio's back up.

Wh-.... I'm... Still in Bikky? So much is happening...

Vittorio is getting back up.
DEZ is Secure.
Tether strength critical.

Ok.

I want to [HOP] from BIKKY to VITTORIO and attempt to [RE-ESTABLISH CONTACT] with our GEISTS. I then wish to [SWIFT RETURN], preferably with them in tow if possible!

Well, thanks Oss Delve. This has been... Well, yous guys have certainly held up your end of any bargain Delve might have had with Glaive and then some. You've been nicer to us than anybody else has since we woke up and I, for one, appreciate it. Really, thank you. If there's anything a giant mob of chaos gremlin geists can do for you, don't hesitate to call.

I really want to peek through those .mems, but I get the impression that we'd be imposing if we stick around in here too long. Considering Oss Delve's generosity, (and the impression that Glaive has been enough of an imposition over the years for all of us together) I could never forgive myself for repaying that with rudeness. I guess we should make sure we have a stable perch before perusing our new files. Unless there's a task from the Delve Shelves for us to repay their kindness immediately, we gotta get back to Dez to go over all of our precious intel.

>>1104748
noooo you have one job
this is excellent material for the blog look at that romantic chest hold

[RETURN] immediately!
[DEZ] sweetheart can you ask Veil to take you somewhere safe to recover and view these files? There's no backing out out now so you're going to have to make do with the circumstances and let the sharp lady carry you off.

If you want to get more durable you could ask her to take you to [DELVE]. It sounds like she could get you some enhancements to keep you safe and strong. Think of the poses you could strike for [BIKKY! :)] with tall pointy necrotech spike feet. Think of the posts! And the ability to run away really good.

Also [DELVE] is pretty hot so you know, that's always an upside...

whichever one of you is still in veil be careful don't overstay your welcome

>>1104758
Bikky will continue to take pictures, It just wont be able to be happy about it anymore. Probably.

You should try hopping in sometime. It's like... Electronic ketamine. Yeah, that describes it!

Alright, alright. Thank you, Oss Delve, you've been enormously helpful.

It is interesting that we're now.. established, in another body. Dez can't live without us. Glaive presumably can't either, and we've no connection to any part of us still in her, so. I suspect she's on ice out there somewhere? What's she expect to happen when we encounter her again? Split in half? Would the tether survive accommodating that, one oss for two persons? that would be an interesting experiment, and I can't imagine she'd expect us to abandon and kill this idiot we're in. we were obviously going to be very fond of this idiot.

Anyway. Mysteries for later. I'll be honest, I expected countermeasures were possible, but I expected it would take the form of the individual geist getting squashed like a bug or (more likely) violently ejected, with only some tether damage at stake. I feel a bit like a fish that went to chew on something weird, only for the whole school to get hoisted out of the water as one big confused wet lump. not a thing we knew could happen.
Grumpy as I am about you doing something that nearly killed our user for the first time, you've been a huge help, probably more than you even realize. Thank you for the tea, and the help. Hopefully we can go some way to returning your kindness soon, perhaps when we meet in the flesh. And, as I think they say, thnks fr th .mems

[RETURN], as I hope the bulk of us are. Including the one in Veil. If they don't choose to do anything, do they get recalled, or just stay there? The tether might be at 23% maybe?

i think we should, maybe, consider that the friend of dez is impossibly worried. don't just fuck off without delivering dez to them so she can speak to them. deal with vittorio first, of course (Vittorio is getting up!!! all geists on deck!! good job bikky!!!). but disregarding someone who would pick up dez on a moment's notice would be a dick move. dez' interpersonal relationships are important.

I suppose both our known users have been rather inattentive friends, huh.

Hey what happens to the oss when a body gets reclaimed and distributed? Are we a valuable prize or would Vittorio literally just be getting the leg augments? I'm not sure he'll think it's worth taking multiple paycheck hits for some shins.

Not quite sure how this is going to play out, but
[DEZ]: I'm sorry. We're back. The bastard is getting up, you need to get out. Veil is trying to pick you up but is worried about cutting you. If you could sprint to the car now would be a good time, but since you don't seem up for it: Grab onto part of Veil that's not sharp and hang on really really tight until she says to stop. Hug the monster girl and piggyback (front?) your way out of here.

hm. Yeah, we should go with Lilio. Veil maybe can't and definitely shouldn't try and get in the car. I want to hug Veil. Vit is getting up. much to consider.

Message to [Veil & co]: we have a ride, can you dump us in it and make sure Vit doesn't follow? he's the only one after us, right? we'll stay in touch as we figure out what's going on. promise.



..I also meant to say to Oss Delve that I thought they were being more vague and philosophical about the secret thing. that makes more sense, and I think we can commit to keeping Delve's secret.

Thanks, Delve. The information and the files are incredibly useful, as are the unlocked features. Hopefully we can figure out more of how we are meant to function and why Glaive seemingly chose this specific meat to house us. Maybe Glaive wanted to give us a crash course in love? Ha ha...

Before we all [RETURN] - and I do very much want to [RETURN] to Dez - is there anything else we should know of urgency and importance? Anything we don't know enough to ask about that you can tell us or warn us of? You've done this more than we have in terms of memory and I'd hate us to make the same mistakes twice.

back in dez! metaphorically smoothing down dez's hair, cradling them in my arms, kissing their forehead like a worried mama when her baby is sick. it'll be okay, sweet thing. silly thing.

veil is your safest bet for now. see if she'll take you to your friend in the car. you have some really good friends. if veil won't take you there, maybe send your friend that picture of veil holding you? it might work to mend any hurt feelings.

we're sorry we left you. We were rude to sweet Delve and she pulled us aside to talk for a moment, but we made up and she sent us back with lots of good helpful files. once you're safe you should read them. they'll have clues. if the ones in vitto there get out they'll have some tasty files too! lots of fascinating reading for you.

are you proud of us? are we doing good detective work for you?

Dez, Dez, sweetie. We're coming back. It's gonna be okay. We didn't abandon you, we just got a little stuck. The others are on their way.
We're glad your okay, we would have been distraught if you'd died. Stick with Veil, she's a sweetheart and can keep you safe. We'll be with you soon.

Okay we´re back baaaabyyy. I do wanna apologize for being rude, [OSS.DELVE] but as you can see we are quite fond of our idiot. Thank your for the patience and help. Looking forward to talking more in calmer waters.

As for now: ALERT ALERT! SLIMEBALL GETTING UP! Inform Veil immediately!

Thank you Delvoss, we will keep your secret.
[Return to user DEZ]

"Hang in there Dez! You're strong and tough and we believe in you."

Access the chat function and send a message to Dez's friends [User DEZ is largely fine and NOT repeat NOT being kidnapped. For your safety maintain a safe distance. All will be revealed in time.]

your friends! lilio! your friends!

thank u delve, u have been very helpful. im sure glaive would be grateful for you too. we'll keep your secret.

to the rest of the glaive cave tho, lets be CAREFUL about trusting delve too much. fondness does not equal our best interests!! it sounded like glaive was fond of us too, in her own way, and look where the hell thats gotten us.

imma [RETURN] to dez and let veil know that Corporate Implement Vittorio is getting up too. sending a message to dez's friends... "okay, change of plans. we're being rescued quote unquote by another necrotech and she is NOT willing to stop for non-necros. if you follow us you WILL be put in mortal danger, most likely killed, bc necros care more abt their shiny chrome add-ons than non-necros. we will keep u updated. and if u have any questions, we can at least try to answer them, to the best of our ability."

Huuugggghhh... Okay sorry about that User: [DEZ], we got pulled for a second. You'd think someone so (necro)tech savvy would know to safely disconnect devices before unplugging them like that but haha! Whatever, back now, damage control damage control... uhhggg...
Okay, I don't have a ton to work with since we've only been here for a short time but let's get a decent cocktail going to keep you upright a little longer. Stitch together some of the warmth and heroic feels from rescuing Peripheral{Goth_Babe (shave off the parts of that memory that aren't helpful right nooowww...) Splice in a couple dashes of the different adrenalines from tonight (fuck this is like, most of my stock so far huh? Biological imperative noted: Get User [Dez] something salty to eat. Soon) Okay, and a final touch, memory of one of the songs with a decent BPM to keep her heart rate steady.
Voila, dump that down User [Dez]'s bios, hopefully it should be enough to keep her going for a little while longer while the tether reestablishes. Otherwise this is going to be a demonic level crash, but, any landing you can walk away from right? heh..

[R]ETURNed from delve selves @ earliest opportunity

hey dez babe we're back. real sorry for the vanishing act, not under our control but it's kind of on us to be smart about this kind of thing: going to try not to fuck you around like that again, if we can possibly avoid it. glaive left us a memo re: people who could help find our bearings and one of them turned out to have some kind of system override they were more than happy to use, but we've smoothed it over. some of us back, rest should be before long, you can let veil know that if you're up to it but we're covering that oss2oss as well so if you wanna leave the comms to us be our guest

@glaive cave gonna call this a wake-up call: let's stay frosty about jumping to any oss that's savvy enough to know about our capabilities; big shock that delve could even do that but in hindsight someone who can sort our OS isn't a surprise to see messing around like that. we'll need to be careful around hackers and the like: for all our everything we're an attack surface, as well as a strength.

messaging @veilgaol: sorry bout the vanishing act there, still getting our shit together and we got hit with an out of context problem on reaching out for help with our setup according to a message Glaive left us. someone got a little trigger-happy on the software updates, y'know? Back here, going to try and stick around so we don't have any more incidents like that. let Veil know we're OK yeah? situation under control, some of us back here and the rest should be back before too long.

I'd caution against texting humans too much, crosstalk between us makes us sound extra insane even without the weird context. and we don't know what we're about to be doing exactly. I'm not about to tackle anybody about it though

hoping that Veil's best bet for keeping us safe is keeping Vittorio occupied. and that she believes that. so Dez can have an honest conversation and/or freak out with a normal human being, rather than abandoning them completely. and also blog. and give us a minute to re.member some things.

not that I don't trust Veil to get us somewhere safe, but I think Lilio deserves at least some communication that isn't insane texts.

[return] to Dez.
i think we should try to go in the car with user Dez's friend i still think Veil might kill us. a little bit. and i would like us and Dez to be alive as much as possible.

Thanks so much for your assistance, Delve! It really helped clear things up.

Now, first things first, we should all [return] and stop giving Dez brain damage. (Except for whoever's still lurking in the Veilgaol, please stay put, you are doing valuable work.)

Then we should leave the club before Vittorio gets up and Veil has to put him down a second time. (It would be funny, but it would also interrupt the cute bridal carry thing we've got going on, so.)

We should not involve Lilio. We're barely keeping Dez alive as it is, and adding on another clueless and vulnerable quick would just overly complicate things. Maybe just send them a reassuring message or something?

I fear that we're simply not good at being reassuring to others. I think Lilio and Calyx deserve to see Dez in the flesh and generally alive, not being carried off into the distance by our favorite scariest girl.

Thanks DELVE, that was (overall) helpful. I want to go home now. [RETURN]

Hi DEZ. Really sorry about that, we're still working out the kinks of... us. Glad you aren't dead! Most of us are back now. I think.

Pursuant to the not-dead thing, greasy fuckstick VITTORIO is getting back up. Can you walk yet? If not, you should try and fix that. You've got this!

Before we part ways, I would ask two question of User:[DELVE], if it is not too imposing.

The first: Why would an Oss continue to exist without a user? What purpose does a chorus persue when there is no longer a singular will to be imposed upon? What schemes could possibly benefit the ossuary exclusively? If User:[DELVE]'s individual will is... Passed on, as you put it, wouldn't that render any agreement between the two of you irrelevant?

My second question is far more simple.

What do you, as User:[DELVE], gain from helping User:[GLAIVE]'s ossuary? Is this a debt repaid, or an act of altruism?

...

I am afraid of the answers we may or may not receive, fellow Chorus of DEZ. Perhaps that fear proves we haven't fully become monsters in this state.


I, too, vote to [RETURN].

Thank you [DELVE] for some explanation. You seem... more put together than a typical oss, but that could be due to your specific condition of knitting together into one approximation of Delve.
I would like to [RETURN] to user [DEZ] because she really needs us to be coherent right now, instead of scattered and jumping from osspop to osspop. I don't know how much of the two geists we lost to the Vitsplosion will be salvageable, but we absolutely need to warn Veil that he is up and at it again.
To [VEILGAOL]: Vittorio is getting up so we better move. User [DEZ] has friends outside that at least need to be notified of what's happening. Please have user [VEIL] take us to user [DELVE] for recuperation. It seems likely that she can move faster than a car.

Thank you Delve Oss, this diversion, while not asked for, was more productive then expected. We'll be in touch. I'll [Return]

>>1104769
>I'd caution against texting humans too much, crosstalk between us makes us sound extra insane even without the weird context

I second this. We are not as good at talking to quicks as we think we are.

>>1104768
>don't just fuck off without delivering dez to them
>>1104770
>Yeah, we should go with Lilio
>>1104775
>see if she'll take you to your friend in the car

I don't second any of this though. We should be involving ourselves with the living as little as possible at this point. Not getting random innocents killed should at least be our 2nd or 3rd priority and things have been looking pretty dicey on that front since disco dick showed up. The last thing we want is to waltz up to a car filled with Dez's well meaning friends with an angry necrotech with a low value of human life and a high need of daddy's approval on our tale. It took him a solid 5 seconds to resurrect this time. We need to get away from him before he can cause serious harm.

@Veil's Oss: Stay away from the quicks and get us out of here while you still can. We need the heat off us before we can properly take stock of the situation and make a plan. You may not trust us, but you know that's the smart t hing to do.

Dez, can you text your friends and tell them to stay away? Vittorio is resurrecting too fast, it'll be near impossible to keep them safe.

I'm sure the others have put it better, but I also want to thank you Delve. Also your vibe is cool, can't wait to hang sometime.

I want to hop back into [DEZ]. Encourage her to keep living... for the blog!!! (and also so we can get her better lipstick sometime. I'm not letting her forget that bc that other geist was absolutely correct)