> >>908323 >whip it all out
We already exposed our junk to Quincy and it didn't tickle her fancy. So I don't think that going for round two with the twins would get them worked up either.

> >>908880 >Ask them
They couldn't even explain what the kroy-vons are, so I doubt asking them hard questions would result in satisfying answers.

> >>908920 >We know
Where in the quest is this written?

>>908923
>where is it written
It wasn't spelled out, but there's plenty of evidence to come to this conclusion.
Dust is the essence of a person,(THAT has been spelled out, at least) and those with taffa syndrome are called zombies. Thus, taffa syndrome is a problem with your Dust. There's a campaign for better access to raw taffa, talking about the "right to forget", so raw taffa is needed to mess with memories; the tool we handed off is further evidence towards that conclusion.

>>908979
>>/questdis/126293

1/3 teegee 2018/11/01(Thu)18:18 No. 909199 ID: 891b91
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With a single flush, the twins' contraband disappears from sight, to their obvious relief. "Thank you," the ponytailed one whispers as she throws on her dress, "thanks much for help."

"Glad I could help," you reply, keeping your voice down. "Can you help me too?"

The two exchange a glance before Ponytail speaks up again. "Maybe," she says cautiously.

You pause, trying to think of the least complicated way to describe your request. You take the jar, vial, and evidence case out of your pockets and array them on the floor in front of you. "Are any of these... bad? Trouble?"

Ponytail seems surprised by the question, as though she was expecting something else; she whispers something to her sister, who also reacts with surprise. She crouches down, and slowly moves the jar across the floor towards you. "Trouble," she says solemnly, giving you a confused look. "Taffa."

"Thank you," you say, collecting your items as you head over to the sink. "I'm Penny, by the way," you add, pointing to your chest. You give the jar a quick rinse before depositing it in the nearby trash can.

Ponytail looks uneasy for a moment. "Pico," She finally replies, gesturing to herself. She points at her sister. "Zaza."

>can you hear what's happening outside?
You hadn't noticed it until now, but it sounds like the big guy has stopped yelling. The alarm is still going off, though.

>Get their contact information
"Can you... can I get your holo addresses?" It's the only kind of contact information you know to ask for.

"No, no," she responds, shaking her head. "Is bad idea." She whispers something to her sister, who then nudges her with a tentacle. "...You want kroy-vons? We go 2u-E, you come find." That's not exactly what you intended, but it's probably the best you can do, considering the language barrier. "...You tell, you get big trouble," Pico warns. "Shhh."

"I won't tell," you reassure her.

2/3 teegee 2018/11/01(Thu)18:18 No. 909200 ID: 891b91
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Thanking them once more, you duck into one of the adjacent stalls and lock the door. You know you can't leave this room while still in possession of the Vesper page; having it makes your amnesia too obvious for comfort. If you're going to use it, it's now or never.

You decide to go for it. You figure it probably just gives you some instructions, or maybe at most sends a message to Vesper; which doesn't sound too bad in itself, especially considering that it could possibly lead you towards actual help with your predicament. You pull the page from your pocket, unfold it, and take a deep breath before focusing your gaze on the glyph. Like before, you feel a strange tension in your eyes, but you push through the sensation anyway.

The tension increases gradually, and the glyph itself begins to flicker and randomly leap from the page; your peripheral sight grows blurry and you begin to get tunnel vision. Alarmed, you change your mind and decide to throw the paper away -- only to discover that you can't stop looking at the glyph! Your limbs grow numb and distant; you want to cry out, but nothing happens, and finally, an inky darkness overtakes you.

3/3 teegee 2018/11/01(Thu)18:19 No. 909201 ID: 891b91
File 154112155633.gif - (3.61MB , 1024x1024 , 038-3.gif )

. . .

Focus on opening your eyelids!

>>909201
Maybe this is some form of remote communication. Try saying hello, ask what's happening to you.

What is this thing? Can you feel anything? Are you awake? Think of something.

Vesper's autopilot? How droll. I do have some ideas about how to regain our control but, nah. Even if we could regain control, I think it's better to just wait.

This feels like an "I told you so" situation. Try moving.

...Crap. I really hope that this doesn't take too long or we'll miss our number being called and end up at the back of the new line that'll form while we're effectively disabled because of this.

Note to self: DON'T USE FUTURE GLYPHS UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!

>>900075
why do i have the feeling that half of those characters are real OCs

teegee 2018/11/02(Fri)01:42 No. 909231 ID: 891b91
File 154114817558.gif - (3.61MB , 1024x1024 , 039.gif )

>Focus on opening your eyelids!
You try to open your eyelids, only to discover that you can't feel them.

>Try saying hello, ask what's happening to you.
You open your mouth to speak, except that you discover you can't feel that either. You try to "think" the words, but you receive no discernible response.

>Can you feel anything?
Your entire body is numb to the point that it's like you don't even have a body, but... you do feel something. You lack the words to describe it, but it feels as though you are traveling a great distance, very quickly. It's not a kinesthetic feeling of momentum, just... somehow an innate knowledge that it is happening.

>Are you awake?
You have no idea whatsoever, but it seems plausible that the glyph might have knocked you out.

>Think of something.
You think about the events that led up to this moment, trying to make some sense of your increasingly strange predicament. While you don't have sufficient answers, it's enough to convince you that you remain in control of your mental faculties, at least.

>Try moving.
You make your best effort at moving any body part you can -- but you are only greeted with a numb lack of response from any of your limbs, accompanied by the slight rustle of your clothing. It feels incredibly futile.

>Note to self: DON'T USE FUTURE GLYPHS UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
If this is the kind of power these glyphs can have, then you never want to look at one again, assuming you regain the ability to do so.

>I think it's better to just wait.
You don't think you have much of a choice. Despite it all, you feel strangely calm, even though you feel like you should be terrified. This feels less like danger to you, and more like some kind of intellectual puzzle; maybe your present numbness has left you disconnected from your endocrine system, and therefore biologically incapable of experiencing fear. You wonder idly what led you to that conclusion so readily.

>>909231
Wonder if that biological insight is something that the old you had or something the new you was given? Assuming you can give stuff like that. But with glyphs like this, I wouldn't just discount that.

>the kind of power these glyphs can have
Perhaps because our memories were erased, our safeguards were erased as well and this made us a special case.

I still don't want to regain control because I don't think it's safe to interrupt whatever's happening mid-process. However, a little introspection shouldn't hurt while we wait...

Rather than your body, focus on your inner self. Imagine your outlines and imagine your dust in there. Feel how it vibrates. Do you feel something wrong?

I'd wager that tentatwins are taking care of us rn. They seemed nice enough and we probably collapsed.

>>909234
Idk that we want to have an awakening in customs here. Lets just try to regain motor control before we start trying to channel our inner qi.

teegee 2018/11/02(Fri)09:59 No. 909256 ID: 891b91
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>Wonder if that biological insight is something that the old you had or something the new you was given?
The old you and new you -- in your present state this dichotomy seems alien; are you really so different from the person you were before you lost your memories? Well, maybe you are, since apparently the old you wanted to erase all of her memories, and now the very idea strikes you as insane and practically a form of suicide. Maybe you should be glad that you don't remember whatever it is that drove you -- her? -- to that point.

You wonder if this is another such transition, from an "old you" to a "new you," and if you'll remember any of this when you finally come to.

>I wouldn't just discount [the idea that these glyphs can impart deep, instantaneous knowledge]
At this point, any speculation about the glyphs sounds plausible to you. If someone told you looking at a glyph would cause a horn to sprout from your head, you'd probably believe it.

>Perhaps because our memories were erased, our safeguards were erased as well and this made us a special case.
This is worrying to you -- if you lost more than your memories alone, what else might be gone now?

>I don't think it's safe to interrupt whatever's happening mid-process.
Unpleasant ideas of what may be happening to your body bubble up from your subconscious, and it takes active effort on your part to suppress them. Whatever is going on, maybe you should feel fortunate that you aren't... present for it.

>I'd wager that tentatwins are taking care of us rn. They seemed nice enough and we probably collapsed.
You can think of worse people to collapse around. Hopefully they're as gentle as they seem.

>Rather than your body, focus on your inner self. Imagine your outlines and imagine your dust in there. Feel how it vibrates. Do you feel something wrong?
A thousand swarming lights are arrayed before you, each performing its innate task. Still, thousands more lie quiet, dark. Dormant, waiting for something. It pains you to think about what it might be, but if you can just --

>Lets just try to regain motor control before we start trying to channel our inner qi.
...Right, stay focused, Penny. Or whoever you are. Spade? Stop that, that's a distraction just like all the rest. Think. Move.

With great effort, you try to move any part of your body once more, and again you are greeted by an unwelcome numbness and the faint sound of fabric against your body.



Wait. You can hear? You stop what you're doing and listen intently. There's an uneven murmur. A voice? No, voices...

"... --ew ... doing? ... Any ..."

"... before ... increase-- ... activity, but ... sure."

"Damnit, ... doesn't... should've ..."

They're too muffled to make out fully, but you still pick up hints of concern and weariness in their speech.

>>909256
Probably doctors of some flavor, be it official or backalley. They seem to be talking about your neural activity. If we still have it, keep the rune. We should try it out again once we find a place where we can safely be alone for a few hours - maybe days - while we explore what we may or may not be able to do. It is fascinating and worth looking into, but right now it is dangerous.


Imagine a tightrope walker walking between skyscrapers that suddenly gets a vision from eldritch gods on how to truly bring about peace, happiness, and how to unlock the latent powers to do it. Ofc they only come to their senses milliseconds before smashing into the street; rendering the epiphany fruitless.

While getting across the proverbial tightrope is paramount for now, just remember to give the elder gods a call back.

>>909256
Wait, hang on. That first voice is Quincy.
She seems rather distressed and is talking to someone who is either monitoring something, or ordering people around (either some sort of tech or a head surgeon). Either way, they are most likely medical.

So these runes are probably more or less QR codes meaning that you either have neural implants, or are in an artificial body. If the latter is the case, this means that most likely everyone is in an artificial body made of nanorobots or similar analog (like taffa, for instance).
Anyway, you probably have at the very least, a rudimentary software suite installed allowing you to use runes. Ofc, there could be all sorts of things stuck in your head you just dont know about, and without knowing what security you have, there is the possibility that just about anyone could stuff things in your head and you would be powerless to stop them. This is an exceedingly dangerous situation if it is indeed the case. Be paranoid, but not unfriendly, and learn as much as you can about what is involved before doing things or having things done to you.

You also need to get disconnected, sanitize your mind, and then set up local security before reconnecting.

>>909256
Let's actually try the qi thing.

Focus harder. Achieve inner superior willpower.

Maybe try speaking, next?

Just don't fart.

I guess alternate between trying to catch the lights and focusing on the outside world. Keep trying to get further in each area. But if you get somewhere with the lights, focus on them until you can't anymore.

>>909261
>>909263

We are in an unknown place with individuals with unknown intentions. Lets wait on anything that may cause us to temporarily go comatose.

It seems the effects are wearing off.

Keep listening and extending your awareness. Feel anything between your legs yet?

>>909269
But we ARE comatose, if those voices are anything to go by?

Whatever the glyph was suppose to do, it has gone terribly wrong given that we've evidently gone insensate.

Well, might as well try, keep trying to move, to talk, make yourself notice and see what reaction you produce in to these voices.

It does sound like you are being taken care of. And that does sounds like Quincy. Even though she is a stranger you just met, it does sounds like she might be concerned for you. that is comforting, right?

Maybe best to rest and let the docs do their thing?

>>909328
Even slavers care about their stocks' health.

>>909331
That's depressing.

1/3 teegee 2018/11/02(Fri)22:53 No. 909344 ID: 891b91
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>Wait, hang on. That first voice is Quincy.
You're fairly certain one of the voices is male, and what you've heard from the other voice doesn't sound much like Quincy either.

>catch the lights
In this... mental space, you lack limbs with which to catch the lights. You instead attempt to focus your mind on them, but the swarm is too quick and chaotic to keep up with; in fact, they become only more active in response to your mental exertion, scattering them further. You notice, though, that one light is approaching you, drawn to your mind's eye. You set your attention upon it, drawing it further in.

2/3 teegee 2018/11/02(Fri)22:53 No. 909345 ID: 891b91
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The light gets closer still, until it envelops your entire mind's eye, revealing the face of a ruined building. The weathered sign atop it reads TAUNTON MICRODYNAMICS.

And then the murmurs of voices return, distracting you and causing the scene to slip from your grasp.

3/3 teegee 2018/11/02(Fri)22:54 No. 909346 ID: 891b91
File 154122445220.gif - (3.57MB , 1024x1024 , 041-3.gif )

>Maybe try speaking, next?
You attempt to call out to them and ask for their help, but you still can't feel your mouth. You try your very hardest to make any noise at all, and you are rewarded by a strained hum from what you assume is your throat. The voices pause suddenly -- they heard you! They are still quite muffled, but you're starting to pick up more of their speech.

"Wait-- ...hear that? ...coming around."

"...relief. I'll go... cider... you get... revived."

"... hurry back."

>Feel anything between your legs yet?
The numbness has started to gradually recede, leaving you with a vague awareness of your own body. (And as far as you can tell, the situation between your legs is normal.)

At the same time, a yellow-orange glow becomes increasingly apparent as it gradually fills your vision.

Maybe TAUNTON MICRODYNAMICS is a memory that you forgot?

Try focusing on the orange glow and see if you can get another memory before you wake up. Do this quickly, it seems like your coma is almost over.

>>909345
Hey that name was on the pill bottle!

>>909346
Alright start trying to move and sense the world again. Focus on the light?

The light means your optics have started receiving again. Which means your eyes should be working. Which means the rest of your body should too.

Once you feel you can move your muscles, quietly whisper, "closer... hear me..." so that the two people move close to listen to you.

Then perform a screaming wakeup.

Tell them you're just kidding before they apply sedative measures.

If you are starting to get sensation back, try to move around. Or at least establish contact with your major appendages.

>>909344
>You're fairly certain one of the voices is male, and what you've heard from the other voice doesn't sound much like Quincy either.
Let this be a lesson: Just because someone’s voice is the same color, that doesn’t mean it’s the same person.

If i have to guess, they know that you have taffa, they are aware that you wiped your memories and probably deal with this kinds of things, which could be either good or bad for you.

>>909348
Sounds like you don't have much time left to do this so give it one more shot.

>>909355
I think we are entirely in headspace. Any sensory info we are getting is internal - we are dreaming.

1/3 teegee 2018/11/03(Sat)17:06 No. 909422 ID: 891b91
File 154128997659.gif - (2.17MB , 1024x1024 , 042-1.gif )

>Let this be a lesson: Just because someone's voice is the same color, that doesn't mean it's the same person.
I use text coloring mainly to make dialogue a bit more readable. There's a limited range of colors/hues that will work well with the site's formatting, though, so out of necessity there will be some overlap.

>Maybe TAUNTON MICRODYNAMICS is a memory that you forgot?
>Hey that name was on the pill bottle!
There does seem like there's a connection between the vial and the building you saw -- or remembered? Maybe that's where it came from, but even that you can't be sure of.

>Sounds like you don't have much time left to do this so give it one more shot.
You make another effort to focus on any of the small lights and get whatever information you can, but the orange glow has begun to drown them out, making it difficult. The best you can muster is a handful of unconnected sensations that each bear a hint of familiarity: thick fur meeting bare skin, the patter of rain hitting damp pavement, the metallic stench of freshly-spilled blood. You don't know what to make of it all.

>Try focusing on the orange glow and see if you can get another memory before you wake up.
>The light means your optics have started receiving again. Which means your eyes should be working.
The glow has become overwhelming at this point; you attempt to capture it the same way you did the smaller light, but you receive no response. You begin to suspect that unlike the swarm of little lights, this one is from an external source.

>they know that you have taffa, they are aware that you wiped your memories and probably deal with this kinds of things
Although you're unsure who exactly these people are, it seems like you might be in a hospital; you find that a little encouraging.

>quietly whisper, "closer... hear me..."
>Then perform a screaming wakeup.
Perhaps feeling a bit delirious, you attempt to lure them over by speaking; but it seems you've used up all of your vocal energy for now, since all you can muster are some faint wheezes.

2/3 teegee 2018/11/03(Sat)17:06 No. 909423 ID: 891b91
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>If you are starting to get sensation back, try to move around. Or at least establish contact with your major appendages.
Instinctively, you try to get up, propping up on your elbows -- only to be met by someone grasping your shoulder and softly pushing you back down. Your muscles quickly give in, returning you to a supine position.

"Eeeaaasy, easy now," he -- a doctor or nurse, maybe? -- says in a reassuring tone. "There'll be plenty of time for that once you've regained your strength. For now, why don't we focus on getting those eyes open, hmm?" Well, at least you can hear properly now.

With some effort, you manage the pull your eyelids apart, revealing a blurry view of a moderately-sized room, bathed in golden sunlight streaming through a nearby window; you can't ascertain anything more than that for the moment. You look at the man beside you, but your eyes refuse to resolve him into anything more than a blurry mass.

"You're lucky, you know," he continues. "We were just about to intubate you. Three days is a long time to go without eating! Oh, speaking of --" you think he's turning around to check something "-- we've got a fresh bowl of oatmeal for you, whenever you feel ready to eat." You can smell it now, and the empty pit in your stomach confirms that there is at least some truth to what he's saying. You feel famished.

You hear a door open. "We've got a visitor~" someone chirps; judging from her voice, it's the same woman you heard earlier.

The formless blob attending to you rushes over to the door. "Oh, Cider! Thanks for coming so quickly!" You think you see him gesturing towards you. "Look, she's finally awake!"

A shorter blob quietly approaches, saying nothing. They sit down on the side of the bed and grasp your hand in both of theirs, rubbing it gently. There's something... warm about it, in an almost maternal way.

END OF CHAPTER 0 teegee 2018/11/03(Sat)17:07 No. 909424 ID: 891b91
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The world starts coming back into focus, revealing the figure sitting beside you to be a woman clad in heavy robes and a strange, tasselled hat. Her placid expression is somehow haughty, yet at the same time friendly and inviting.

"Welcome home, Sigarzghar."

- END OF CHAPTER 0 -

Disthread: >>>/questdis/123379

Alright, let's have that food before we really do need to get incubated.

But after that.... Questions. lots of questions and in no particular order.

Am I suppose to know you?
What happened to us after we activated the glyph?

who found us and what was the emergency response like when BigMcLargeHuge tried to force open the door?

Did Quincy try to get in contact with us?

where even are we?

The doc and sombrero both have the same ears and facial structure (esp. the nose updoot) as tentatwins. They may have taken us somewhere. It would explain the weird name.

>>909424
Good. Now then... Please try to relax. There is plenty of time. I need to tell you something. Please listen, and try not to panic. You've been in a coma for... quite some time. Yes, yes, I know. You'd like to know how long... I'm afraid it's been... nine years.

Well, goodbye Quincy. At least she's getting something out of the deal we made.

Gesundheit?