video | un: helloladies

[kappastrophe]

[All viewers can see at first is the top of his head -- bobbing red hair as he adjusts the camera. After a second it jerkily settles on his grinning face, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

He lifts his hand.]

Yo! Resident new kid here. Already had some helpful beach-goers gimme the ropes, so thanks for that. Just a couple questions if you don't mind.

[He coughs into his hand off camera -- behind him seems to be greenery, a forest of some sort. If you have very good hearing, you might hear the trickle of a river nearby.]

About this curse shit. Like how when I got here some people turned into eight year olds or something. How do you unfuck that? Or do you just wait around forever until it decides to go away? Because that would really suck.

Same question about that corruption stuff. How do you... [he makes a vague gesture with his hands] Un-corrupt?

Comments

(NOT HERE)

[knowsvinewhip]

[Really you picked THAT for a username. The judgment is palpable.]

(ALSO NOT HERE)

[glutton_monkey]

[Ewwwww, so laaaaame!]

[okay actually here and probably action]

[knowsvinewhip]

... What a creative username the device has provided you with.

asdfkljs OOPS

[kappastrophe]

What?? Just in case, right? I figure I oughta set the mood.

[knowsvinewhip]

Ah, that's right.

We're the ones who set the names on these, aren't we?

audio | un: sds

[fogsong]

With the curse shit, you mostly have to wait until it goes away. There might be times when you'll have to do some weird blood ritual to fix yourself. You can usually find out what's going on by asking around town. Gaze is a good district to gather that kind of information.

As for corruption, there are a lot of ways to deal with it. If you're in the early stages, just doing things you love can be beneficial. Being around friends. Talking about your feelings. Night Walkers are good go-to's when you're getting bad. A good fuck can help. There are also items that can lower corruption immediately. Some strains of mushrooms, moon drops, special incense and teas, but those all tend to be a high trade item and tough to come across.

[kappastrophe]

Huh. That ain't as bad as I was expecting. Sucks about the curse shit though.

[He writes down "Gaze" and makes a note to ask Hakkai about it later.]

So basically real shit with people you care about? That's it? [He frowns audibly.] That mean you get corrupted by the opposite of that, basically?

[fogsong]

Add in excessive exposure to blood pollution and, yeah, that's basically it. Don't isolate yourself too often, reach out to people when you need help, pay attention to what your body is telling you and you should be fine.

Corruption tends to vary from person to person, too, so most people don't have the same symptoms. A lot of people isolate as it gets worse because they don't even realize that's what they're dealing with.

[kappastrophe]

Well fuckin' A.

I'm a pretty social guy, so hopefully I'll be alright. Or as much as you can be in a place that throws stupid shit at you all the time.

[Several things immediately slot into place for Gojyo and yep, now he knows exactly how Hakkai got all fucked up.]

I'll make sure I check in on my buddies too. Some of 'em can be shut-ins, sounds like that's a recipe for a bad time.

video | un: graham crackers

[possessum]

Oh hey, uh— welcome to Hell, dude.

( What a gloomy welcome, Peter..... But it's the truth, and it sounds like this guy's already plenty aware of how much this place sucks. He offers a grim little smile. )

Mostly you have to wait, but the good thing is, it usually doesn't take long. Whatever weird shit happens to people, tends to undo itself after a few weeks or so.

....The bad thing is, weird shit happens to people like every month. And depending on what kind of blood you have here, it could be different shit, too.

[kappastrophe]

Heh. Folks always said I'd end up here eventually. Owe a few people a round of beers.

[He scratches at the back of his head in frustration.]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Glad it goes away, but pain in the ass you gotta wait it out.

[And at that he pinches his nose.]

My buddy told me all the different blood types do different things. Guess it was too much to hope we all just got wicked powers.

[possessum]

( He gives a little laugh at that. ) Honestly, whenever I realise all over again that I'm in some jacked-up hellscape, I'm just like... Yeah, that tracks.

( If you can't find some humour to it, then what's the point, right..... )

Oh, you know someone here? That's good— to have people to help you through it. Shit's definitely insane. If you need any other kinda pointers along the way, I've been here a few years. I'm Peter.

[kappastrophe]

[He grins a little.] I've been in worse scrapes. Least I got company this time and the food ain't too bad. Now if this place doesn't have cigarettes I'll be in real trouble.

[Gojyo actually perks a bit, leaning forward.]

Yeah, my best buddy from back home's here. He's been here awhile too, so he's got a good feel for the ropes. We'll stick together like always and ride it out. We've done it with worse shit.

Thanks, may take you up on that. I'm Gojyo, and my buddy's Hakkai.

audio | un: hoody

[theflyingone]

[ "Hello ladies"... There is nothing ladylike about the dour voice on the other end of this call. ]

Are you experiencing the effects of Corruption right now?

[kappastrophe]

[Well there could be ladies in his future!! Gotta be prepared, man.]

Oh, nah, I'm good. Just lookin' out for the future, you know?

[theflyingone]

[ With an argument like that... ]

There are the usual remedies of tea, herbs, certain foods, incense, or a listening ear. These may sound foolish, but mastery of the mind is important for a Sleeper. Without sufficient discipline already in place, methods that soothe the body are effective for prevention of the deterioration of the mind.

[ And Altaïr is, of course, disciplined enough over his own mind that he can just walk it off, no problems here, absolutely none. ]

For more extreme cases, there are physicians in the city who can administer medicine with blood.

video; un: d.larusso

[miyagimagic]

[ .. well, that sure.. is a message. And that sure is a username.

But Daniel is - for the moment, at least when it comes to the former - moving past all that, because there's something else he's definitely noticing when the message shows up on the network. Which is the other's appearance - one that he's seen before. ]

Aren't you Hakkai's..

[ ...

Audible pause. ]

.. friend? [ Nailed it.

But at least Daniel is confident enough that he's got the right person that he doesn't mind just directly going for that question. It's important, okay! If he knows anything about Hakkai, it's that he's missed Gojyo.

(And that 'friends' probably isn't the right term there, hence, you know, the pause.) ]

[kappastrophe]

[Gojyo blinks owlishly into the camera.]

Oh. Yeah, how'd you know?

[It takes him a second, but Hakkai's only mentioned one friend here, and knowing Hakkai that might be the whole damn list. So he takes a stab in the dark, too.]

You're Daniel, yeah? Dojo guy?

[miyagimagic]

[ Well, maybe he should accept dojo guy if what Daniel was giving in return was a very hesitant friend after that pause, huh.. ]

Daniel LaRusso, that's me. [ See, at least he won't deny it. He'll at least give Gojyo a friendly smile, despite some of the uncertainty after seeing that initial message. ]

It's good to see you here. Hakkai really missed you.

[ Sorry to out you like this, Hakkai.

On the other hand, Daniel feels like this fact was probably really obvious. ]

(VOICE) — UN: BOMBSHELL

[opheliac]

Hiya!

( and that is it. because it seems people are answering his boring questions already. so it's only logical to address the next thing and that is his username. he is saying hi to ladies, so she'll greet right back! )

Re: (VOICE) — UN: BOMBSHELL

[kappastrophe]

[Oho, that sounds like a lady. A hot lady? Only one way to find out. With a username like that Gojyo had his fingers crossed.]

Well hey there yourself. 'm Gojyo, just got here today.

[opheliac]

I'm Jinx, nice to meetcha! So today, huh? — Hope you like chaos 'cuz there's a lotta of it here.

Which is fun! ( a pause. ) Well, if it's caused by me anyway.

video; un: mariathorpe

[givetheslip]

[Well, she is a lady, so his user name is at least greeting her properly.]

Remedies to curses are, mmm, unpredictable. There are rituals, magic stuff, things you'd expect to be an answer. But other methods are entirely unpredictable. I was able to turn my...someone I care about back from being a statue by touching him with affection, or so it seemed at the time.

So you could add that to a check list of cures to try, I suppose, but it might be harder to aid someone you don't know. Or someone who you find very annoying.

[kappastrophe]

Huh. So if its someone you care about and you touch 'em that helps? That's pretty easy. Guy's my best friend, so that oughta count.

[Oh, Gojyo. So stupid.]

Wait, but -- okay, so you said magic stuff, right? Is that like, because of our weirdass blood or some other kinda magic?

[givetheslip]

It did at the time. It doesn't for everything.

[If only. Trench would have a very different atmosphere if that were the case.]

Honestly? We never determined the cause. It could have been because of our blood — his type is different from mine — but it could have been something else, too. That's the maddening part.