I couldn't just let... well I don't know what was going to happen but I'm pretty sure it was going to be bad.

Umm, when this is all over, if any of this is real just mention bagels next to you see me. So I know this isn't just in my head because goddamn this is screwy.

Guys seriously it's spelled Axle. Axel is a Kingdom Hearts character.

>>582947
Bagels is silly. Tell him to ask about the Wasps and the Beetle if this is actually something he's in on. Otherwise, we'll just assume Nate had a psychotic breakdown and needs to talk to his therapist ASAP.

To Diego: "It's just a flesh wou- er, mind wound."

Witty replies aside, see if the disk/axle/thing is still present out here in space.

>>582941
It's probably fine to eat. It won't give you a direct connection to the King in Yellow or anything.

>>582949
No, inside the axle is Axel. He's eating sea salt ice cream and trying to ignore the countless bad gay fanfics being written about him.

i agree that we should get back out of our heads soon, and also to ask diego to bring it up with us once we're back topside if he remembers.

also, hugs are in order

Examine your side- is it changing?

Well. That's never happened before. You may want to mention that you have seen some anomalous astronomical phenomena out here lately, though.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/06(Sun)16:14 No. 583123 ID: 557bac
File 140468849430.png - (133.92KB , 576x600 , 1-87.png )

Together, you float down to the stone block and alight on it.

>Its not your fault. If anything it's mine for accidentally ending up in you head somehow.

Nate
"Its not your fault, Diego, I ended up in your head by accident and I should have been more careful.

> we don't even know if you're real Diego or what we even just did

"Listen, I don't even know if any of this is real: it could all be some mental fantasy-scape in my head, and you could just be part of my imagination. But if somehow you are part of the real Diego, I'm sorry I was messing around in your mind, but you just looked like you were in so much pain. I've been alone for a long time, and I know how much it hurts: I've wanted to be close to people for years, but have had to deal with this condition which makes it too terrifying to try. The relationships I have had always ended up making things worse..."

>If nothing really bad happened in reality, and only good things happened, we might do this more often. We hope you're going to feel better about things, but we don't really know.

"The only reason this place exists is because sometimes I just needed somewhere away from people. Somewhere where I don't have to worry about people thinking I'm weird or crazy or whatever. Now that you're here, you don't need to hang on to the past like that, there are people who are here for you. It looked like you were so focused on what life had been like, you were blind to the people around you."

Diego
>"People like you?"

You feel yourself blushing.
"I, uh.. well yeah, like me."

>Umm, when this is all over, if any of this is real just mention bagels next to you see me. So I know this isn't just in my head because goddamn this is screwy.

"Like I said: I don't know what's happening here exactly but... when I wake up, could you give me a sign or something if you remember any of this? It would help to know that maybe I didn't just hallucinate this."

Diego
>"Yeah, sure. But even if this is just a dream, thanks for your help, Nate."

Toxoglossa 2014/07/06(Sun)16:15 No. 583124 ID: 557bac
File 140468850279.png - (518.90KB , 700x700 , 1-88.png )

>Tell him about/show him the Axle!

You feel the familiar drag of gravity and something yanks you off of the orbiting stone block. You find yourself suddenly flipped around and falling into the seething black maelstrom of the Axle.

>"Nathan! What the hell is that?"

>Nathan! What the hell is that?
Don't know, yet! Bad, at least.

Looks like it's time to get back to the real world, again.

Hey Diego, think you can think up that transponder and an imaginary Hiro so he can punch an imaginary satilate at it? This little axel might represent whatever crap we got to deal with today because I've seen more of it the more we understood the problem that we're dealing with at work.

I think it's work stress combined with a weird trivia tidbit Kim sent us that doesn't really concern us earthlings at all, combined with our own mental bullshit.

>>583124
Tell him to wake up. You'll tell him there! Try to eject him from your Safe Place somehow, or eject the Axle even. Then, wake up.

If you can, try teleporting to Diego, then teleporting...back to the real world? If you can't, I guess...wake up? Maybe first shouting at him to wake up.

>>583168
>>583128
This.

>>583124
errrrr think diego can get back without you?

Toxoglossa 2014/07/09(Wed)18:43 No. 583556 ID: 557bac
File 140495663429.png - (192.05KB , 600x600 , 1-89.png )

Diego hangs from the chain, clearly being pulled towards the event horizon, but you note that the stone block remains strangely immobile.

>Don't know, yet! Bad, at least.

Nate
"I don't know! "

He reaches down and seizes your outstretched hand, but the gravitational pull tears it off of your arm as if it were paper-mache.
Dragged backwards into the abyss you manage to shout back to Diego.

>Tell him to wake up.
"Don't worry about me! You need to wake up!"

Toxoglossa 2014/07/09(Wed)18:44 No. 583557 ID: 557bac
File 140495664407.png - (84.46KB , 214x600 , 1-90.png )

Once again the bizarre arrangement of singularities engulf you and you are stretched out, twisted, and compressed into a single point.

>wake up?
Your mind is slammed back into consciousness and you find yourself back in the real world.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/09(Wed)18:44 No. 583558 ID: 557bac
File 140495665178.png - (117.53KB , 600x479 , 1-91.png )

On the table in front of you Diego closes the binder and hands it back to you.


Diego
>"There we go. I'll have everything sent up to you before too long; you should go get suited up."

Nate
"Th..thanks..."

Your hand and side are all pins and needles and you can't help but shake slightly as your mind catches up. You aren't sure what to say though... You're left waiting for some confirmation that what just happened was some kind of shared experience and you feel your face get warm as uncertainty sets in.

Diego
>"Hey... um, Nate. Listen, I was wondering, did... you want to go do something sometime? I mean, together?"

Nate, this is your chance to get close to someone. He's obviously interested, otherwise he wouldn't be asking.

he's looking for a NOW friend. take it!

>>583558
...maybe it was, but only subconsciously. Tell him yes and figure out a good time for it.

Hey, is there any scrap paper? Draw a representation of the Axle and ask if it looks familiar to him. Then I suppose we should return the folder then get to work on the stuff Doug wants us to do. Hmm, on the way over, why not look through the folder a little?

Umm, yeah sure... so beers or what? I've been cooped up so long I don't even remember how to hang out or have fun with people beyond an occasional on-line game with my neighbor.

Okay, it looks like it's a subconscious thing... whatever 'thing' means. Don't go mad with power over your new found ability to subconsciously influence people.

Okay sure, maybe he likes that game Zeke wanted to play? Could you make it a Lan party?

>>583558
"Sure, I guess... Do you like bagels?"

>>583558
Agreed with the folks who say to accept! Is there anything you'd like to do, and feel safe doing? You can ask if there's anything he'd like to do, too.

It might be worth taking a glance to see if his beetle's still present at all. Just make sure not to look like you're checking him out or anything... May be a little too forward.

Question for you, Nate: Have you thought much about your preferences in terms of romantic partners? You mentioned you tried flirting with the girl across the counter, but if you're not at all interested in dudes, you should try not to give Diego the wrong idea. (Still totally worth being friends with him, though!)

His bug is gone. Is that a good thing?

>>583637
I guess we got rid of his emotional bug-age.
Also accept the invitation of doing stuff. LAN PARTY!

HAHA, TIME FOR SOCIAL LINKS!

Ah. I figured out what The Axle is. It's just a mental construct. First off, the "gravity" didn't affect anything but Nate in his mindspace. Secondly, there wasn't even a gravity well before Nate theorized the blueshift was caused by a black hole, and thirdly the Axle proper didn't show up until Nate theorized it was aliens. It's all in his imagination.

The whole mind-delving thing might be real though. We should try it again and when we talk to the inner self of the target, we should ask for a secret that will prove we did what we did. Actually, I wonder if we have a secret of Diego's? Nate, from the memories you watched, is there anyone specific you can describe to prove you saw them?

Nate! You take that nice young man on a friend-date or a date-date the instant work is out! Make some good friends or else!

Also maybe swing by the restroom in a bit and take a gander at your side to make sure no oddities have appeared.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/11(Fri)18:27 No. 583837 ID: 557bac
File 140512843208.png - (101.74KB , 600x424 , 1-92.png )

>he's looking for a NOW friend. take it!
>It might be worth taking a glance to see if his beetle's still present at all.

You notice that his beetle has disappeared, though there's no telling if or when you'll see it again.

Nate
"Er, yeah! Sure! I'm not sure what you'd want to do though; most nights I hang out and play video games with my neighbor."

Diego
>"That's fine, we don't have to go do anything if you don't want to. It would just be nice to hang out and talk to someone. Here let me give you my number, give me a call after work if you still feel up to it. Would, like, bringing something to drink be cool?"

Nate
"Eh...I mean, I'm fine with it, but I'm not really supposed to drink alcohol though."

Diego
>"Ah, okay. No problem."

>Nate, this is your chance to get close to someone. He's obviously interested, otherwise he wouldn't be asking.

The two of you exchange phone numbers and goodbyes. You head off to get back to work, still shaking with excitement. Being able to help Diego come out of his shell, even a bit, gives you a strange sort of satisfaction. Or maybe its just the elation of finding someone who is interested in hanging out with you. Whatever it is, it feels good.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/11(Fri)18:27 No. 583838 ID: 557bac
File 140512843763.png - (86.64KB , 600x455 , 1-93.png )

>Question for you, Nate: Have you thought much about your preferences in terms of romantic partners? You mentioned you tried flirting with the girl across the counter, but if you're not at all interested in dudes, you should try not to give Diego the wrong idea. (Still totally worth being friends with him, though!)

Despite the hallucinations plaguing your everyday life, you've still felt attracted to people, which makes everything that much more frustrating and confusing. You've had relationships in the past and as far as you're concerned, you're bisexual.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/11(Fri)18:27 No. 583839 ID: 557bac
File 140512844336.png - (140.97KB , 298x700 , 1-94.png )

In college you actually dated a guy for quite a while. Since he had no infestation, you felt pretty comfortable but were still reluctant to have a physical relationship. After a while you'd see him and and find little red ticks on him and you started to worry that he was seeing someone else. But your only evidence was "in your head".

You tried bringing it up to him.
At first you were being "silly"
Then "ridiculous"
Then "paranoid"
Finally "psycho"

By the time he had "enough of your shit" the fear and doubt built up until you had wasp swarms every waking moment. The scratching, which had been mostly a nervous tick, turned into long crisscrossed scars across your body. You ended up getting hospitalized and-

"-oh GOD, I've made a huge mistake! What the hell am I doing? I'm not ready for something like this. The hell am I thinking? And what was all that with the beetle and the wasps? Am I some kind of nest now? What even.. what? What the fuck?"

Toxoglossa 2014/07/11(Fri)18:27 No. 583840 ID: 557bac
File 140512844946.png - (101.06KB , 600x494 , 1-95.png )

You start breathing. A lot.
Too much.
You think you need a minute to collect yourself so you go back outside and sit down in the courtyard. There's a nice rock garden here built with, supposedly, chunks of meteoric iron. You aren't how much that set Apex back but its pretty, as long as people don't put their cigarettes out in it.

>Also maybe swing by the restroom in a bit and take a gander at your side to make sure no oddities have appeared.

You check out the "wound" you opened in your side. There doesn't appear to be any physical change, and the "asleep" feeling has faded but you run your hands over the area trying to find anything different. All you find are old and familiar scars.

You aren't really sure what to do, you're worried about whats happening to you, and feel like you need to talk to someone about it.

Maybe you should call your therapist today. Tell her you've got a date. And about your misgivings, considering...does she know about your, ah, unfortunate relationship attempts?

There's Diego tonight and you finally might be able to talk honestly about it with him.
There's also your therapist, but I don't know how sessions work with her, if you can get a session soon or what, though it may come with an extra charge.

So... your last romantic relationship is what caused this mess? Shit. You haven't met him since then have you? Like, you're not even facebook friends with him? You've talked about that with your therapist right? What's her take on that?

>>583840
Dude, relax. Yes, you fucked up that previous relationship. That doesn't mean you'll fuck up this one, and it might not even BECOME a relationship. You can just be friends.

Also call your therapist. If you can't do that, talk to... I don't know, Hiro? I want to touch another bug, get inside someone else's head, and PROVE you did it. You still haven't proven you were in Diego's head, and not just hallucinating. All you supposedly found out was that he was having trouble letting go of his life before he moved, and needed friends here. That much was fairly obvious because of things he told you. You need to get in someone's head, and get them to tell you something that is significant in the waking world. Like a password or a private memory. If you can prove you have this ability, you will be able to tell people about it. Maybe get a part-time job as a psychic investigator, or gather enough clout to hitch a ride on some spacecraft, even if it's just a private one.

Call the therapist. Talk to her about your date, and confide stuff in her, you know? It will make you feel better.

I would not worry about what happened in the past. Best to move on and learn from your old mistakes.

Hey if you need someone to talk to maybe you can chat with your wasps? Might not be the best conversationalists but might have something interesting to say.

Alright alright calm down. This isn't a romantic thing yet, not even close- you're jumping way ahead of yourself.

I think the bugs represent problems or internal conflict. Heather doesn't have any bugs either because life is good or she's just a carefree person, and your supervisor doesn't have any because he's a psychopath or something. psychopathy is surprisingly common in the business world, but that's beside the point. You have a lot of bugs because- well, let's face it, you ended up in an institution. If we're going with the theory that Zeke sees your psychologist and was also set up with an apartment, that means he might be in a similar situation to you. What I don't understand is 'the kid'. He must have some serious skeletons in his closet to have an octopus latched on his back.

Take those notes to where they need to go, we've got ENGINEERING! to do.

>help Diego come out of his shell
i see what you did there.

calm down about Diego. take it one step at a time. i think you've improved enough that you're ready, you have a grasp on the bug things this time - you sort of know what they are and Diego isn't a scared teenager that doesn't understand mental illnesses like the last boyfriend. i say at least try.

of course, we HAVE seen the bugs do things more complex then just fly around.

>oh GOD, I've made a huge mistake! What the hell am I doing? I'm not ready for something like this.
Dude, calm down. No reason to move anything any faster than you feel comfortable with.

...and the wasps aren't attacking you this time, at least. They helped with the beetle, remember?

>You aren't really sure what to do, you're worried about whats happening to you, and feel like you need to talk to someone about it.
Well, the obvious question is who are the people you could even talk to about this.

You might want to schedule that for later, though. Can't you distract yourself with the pressing issue of doing your job for a little bit? You've got a thing to make, asap.

why don't you flick the peacock's scorpions In conversation while he's distracted, do you know anything about Anthony, or any other avians, what do you think about the avians any experience with them.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/13(Sun)12:07 No. 584068 ID: 557bac
File 140527842585.png - (118.72KB , 582x600 , 1-96.png )

>calm down about Diego. take it one step at a time.
>Alright alright calm down. This isn't a romantic thing yet, not even close- you're jumping way ahead of yourself.

Okay, okay... yeah, you're getting ahead of yourself. Diego is an adult, and as long as you're up front with each other, you're sure he'll understand. There's no need to panic about a relationship that doesn't even exist yet. There's no sense in dwelling on the pain you've suffered in the past, and you shouldn't assume Diego is anything like your old boyfriend, Brandon.

>why don't you flick the peacock's scorpions In conversation while he's distracted, do you know anything about Anthony, or any other avians, what do you think about the avians any experience with them.

You aren't sure if you should be so cavalier about messing around in your co-workers heads, if that's what you are even doing. You get the feeling that, even though you helped Diego, you could easily have done some kind of damage while you were in there, and there's no telling what that wasp-entity you created is up to. You feel like it might be good to get some advice from someone who messes with other peoples heads regularly.

>Maybe you should call your therapist today. Tell her you've got a date. And about your misgivings, considering...does she know about your, ah, unfortunate relationship attempts?

With all that's going on, you feel like you should call your therapist, since the last time you dated someone it put you in the hospital. You pull out your phone and call Dr. Cooper's direct line.

Toxoglossa 2014/07/13(Sun)12:07 No. 584069 ID: 557bac
File 140527844397.png - (162.94KB , 595x600 , 1-97.png )

The voice that comes over the phone is quiet, serene, unshakable.
>Dr. Cooper's office... Oh hello Nathan. How are you doing?

END OF CHAPTER 1

Between Chapter 1 and 2 suggestions will be used to determine what Nate will inform Dr. Cooper about.

>>584069
Tell her about your adventure into "Diego's mind", and how it seemed like you actually did something because of how he acted afterwards. Also mention the Axle, but tell her you think it might just be something your subconscious made out of your imagination. After all, it seems like a pointless construction.

No visible bugs on the therapist.

One big thing to bring up is your weird episode 'inside' Diego. What the heck was that? You noticed the bugs kind of respond to or telegraph people's feelings or moods (sometimes before you notice otherwise), so was the whole head trip some weird metaphor for figuring him out? Some part of you making intuitive leaps and expressing them in weird ways? (Crazy as that sounds, you're even more reluctant to consider the alternatives- that it's real, or that you're just losing control and it's getting worse).

The other is the wasps tried to communicate with you, even helped in the context of that hallucination. Something that always seemed confrontational before was something different.

>No visible bugs on the therapist.
...Nathan can't see her right now, he just knows her visual appearance and is imagining her facing a window.
>Some part of you making intuitive leaps and expressing them in weird ways?
If it comes down to her asking what he thinks of it, it might be that his realization and reaction left a sort of body-language that caused Diego to react as well.
>Something that always seemed confrontational before was something different.
There's some reasoning behind that that I can think of, but I'd rather hear the therapist's take on it.

ALSO

Ask doctor cooper about a good personal camera/recorder that you could hide on yourself, to see how you actually act if you have another one of those "inside their head" episodes, because time clearly passed in the real world, as there were a lot of notes that Diego had to put together, and by the end of the episode he was done.