genessia | Spirit Shenanigans and Metaplot Meanderings [Private Video, Action] [Backdated from 6/11 to 10/13]

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Spirit Shenanigans and Metaplot Meanderings [Private Video, Action] [Backdated from 6/11 to 10/13]

[So the spirits were being publicly killed over and over and the world didn't shed even one collective tear. Not cool. But rather than make a heartfelt speech like he usually would, Ted decided to calm down, not talk for once, and investigate what, if anything, could be done for the wretched souls. And that meant asking for help from the brainier, curious types.

Unfortunately, the research he has in minds is all kinds of dangerous, secretive, and...well, there weren't many upsides. It was a risky venture with no promise of rewards.

But they need help. And they're the only ones that can. After his multiple failed wishes, that much he knows for certain. He'd gathered as many living and non-living samples as he could. Now it was time to see if anyone else would care for them as much as he did. So he's pacing the world, enlisting the aid of any expert foolish enough to try and aid the most helpless and cursed creatures he's ever laid eyes on.

God have mercy on them all. ]

(OOC: tl;dr Ted's investigating the void spirits. If you want in on this or think you could contribute somehow, don't be shy. Plot with meh!)

Private Videos

Hello Force, do you have some time? I need your psychic expertise; possibly your life. Certainly your comfort. How does that sound?

Hello Mirajane! Sorry for not socializing with Fairy Tail as much as I ought. Tell me, does your mad group of magicians have a research division? I might be in in a bad way for their help.

[He hadn't talked to 12 as much. Seen and read all his network posts, per usual, but he got a feeling--call it intuition--that he could be useful. Might as well; he's never been one to shy away from a hunch.]

Hello Joe Cool! Er, Doctor. Whichever you like. I like the latter, confusing as it is. Can't imagine why your parents didn't give you three names like humanity's got.

Anyway, you have a history of saving universes--I'm still not sure how there's more than one--and being around interesting developments, to say the least. Up for something dangerous, thankless, and interesting? I think that'd tick all your boxes. Oh, and very hush-hush, too.

Action - Open
[Wanna bother him during all this wandering across the world in search of TRUTH and ANSWERS? Feel free!]

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Sign me up. [he doesn't even know what it's for and in a lot of ways it hardly matters.] Where do I need to be and what should I bring? Also is this a fancy saving the world or a kind of: 'saving the world casual?'

[Well that was fast!]

Aheh, a willing victim! Er, participant. That's heartening, nonetheless! I hope you'll remain so.

You have a lab, don't you? Not an evil one, I hope, but something filled with just as much cunning, if not more.

[He'd be disappointed if there was no lab.]

And any scientific or other research materials you can scrounge up. I can help with the transport, if necessary. The scope of this science...well, it might extend to the whole world, but for now the purpose is something more personal and soterial.

A lab? No. Access to one. Definitely. [after all, access was just a matter of not getting caught] I can get anything or make it if I can't. [more or less.] Where are we transporting it too? And what sort of things do we need?

[Ted's enthusiasm for the law and its maxims on trespassing isn't the best. It'd all but vanish given the circumstances.]

Terrific! I admire your resourcefulness. I'm not picky about the "where"; wherever the lab is, I suppose. Something roomy if the facilities and equipment are large. Somewhere close to The Bay would be ideal.

Suppose I shouldn't be cagey. You know those void spirits you were so interested in talking to David about?

[Why yes, he has observed your every post, why do you ask?]

I mean to save them. That means finding out absolutely everything about them and anything even remotely related to them. Unfortunately, most are rather more interested in killing and possibly torturing them, so I'm in the minority. That means this is top-secret. That means that if you leak anything, I'll be forced to kill you, which I think we'd both dislike.

[Haha what a kidder. Moving on!]

Towards that end, the fields we're about are:

Crystallography, mycology, hydrology, neuroscience--possibly every kind of bodily science, really, if you're an especially willing subject--, and parapsychology, though I'll forgive you if the numinous eludes you.

I admire your ambition. It takes a lot of determination to go straight to: I'll kill you. Especially when entering into a partnership. [and he does mean partnership. He's more than willing to do this but he's not going to be bossed around either]

As for those fields, I'm an expert in all of them and more. [and if not, he can make some very educated guesses]

I suppose I'll have to get a space by the bay. [but, real estate] How about I give you the money and you take care of it. [because...money.]

Ahehe, only if you blab! One can only imagine how much more suffering they'd have to endure should whatever we uncover fall into the wrong hands.

Haha, then I'll be counting on you, you prodigious polymath of a partner.

Space, eh...but being clandestine is very important; buying something up and settling in would be bound to draw attention...

Just space, then? Lots of room and naught else? Because...rats...if that's all, I can produce that easily enough. So long as you're an expert in optics, too. It could be very dark.

Fair point, still unacceptable. Murdering in response to suffering or even murder only serves to make the whole world dead. I assume you've given others who've agreed to work with you this same spiel and say what you want but I don't intend to allow you to do it.

Also why does it have to be so clandestine? It's not as if others haven't researched similar things. Besides which you'd be amazed what can be hidden in plain sight. If you're sneaky, that's when people want to investigate. If you're mundane, there's no point.

Also, I'm an expert in everything.

Has anyone ever told you you take others too seriously?

[Now Ted has to do what he likes least: explain the joke]

Luckily that's merely a morbid jest to impress the severity of the undertaking. Death means a bit less for us than usual, so it's no remedy.

Goodness, I hope not. If others have done the same thing, they've either come up fruitless or have hidden their efforts too. I'm just worried we'll find something too significant, like how to split the atom. Wouldn't want, metaphorically speaking, any atom bombs from the unscrupulous, who, near as I can tell, quite outnumber the scrupled.

[He huffed a laugh.] Of course you are; how blessed I am to have a man--don't worry, it's honorific--of such diverse talents. Well, which of these do you prefer: something steady and rooted near the area, or a mobile, if utterly featureless space of my own? The latter's less convenient, but far more frugal. Won't cost a single bill.

You'd be surprised at the people that make jokes about things they're serious about. The last thing I want is something to happen where someone does the thing you warned against and are murdered for it and you say in a dark dramatic voice: "I warned you." [this accompanied by appropriately dramatic finger wiggle]

Scrupules are all a matter of perspective. Forget that for now. [handwave] As for which I prefer, honestly it's whatever works best. I have more than enough money than I know what to do with but mobility has always been a draw for me-- especially in this place.

[He does enjoy his dramas...]

Duly noted. Now, all this equipment you'll need: are the energy requirements anything taxing? Can batteries, however sophisticated, serve the purpose? Because if not I suppose a proper building will be mandatory.

[He's pretty new to the whole real estate cycle. Hopefully the land's policy on permits are lax.]

Energy? That's the least of our worries. I've got a generator that can last eons if I can find it. I think it's in the ancillary shoe closet... [is it? he'll have to check. He distinctly remembers it being by a pair of bubblegum pink stilettos that once belonged to the Queen of Sheba though she'd forgot them after they'd gotten back from Second Paris.]

Either way if I can't find it I can make it.

Goodness...

[He says, a little awestruck. He sure knows how to pick 'em!]

So it really is just a matter of the space and the privacy. In that case...well, suppose it won't hurt to show you and see what you think. Could we meet in person? The sooner or better. I'll see if my solution meets your standards.

Suits me fine. Let me know where and when and give me a bit of leeway in time. [because everything is so linear here he likes to be surprising]

All right. Mm...

[That's a nervous 'mm' he's got there.]

Behind the Bay to the West. I'll be waiting by a ~~somehow~~ discreet wardrobe. I'll be waiting.

[He's nothing if not punctual.]

[it takes a few hours before he's wandering along the Bay to the West, hands in his pockets and wearing completely and totally innocuous sunglasses with nothing special about them whatever. Ask anyone. He doesn't seem to notice Ted right away, though, almost as if hes' looking for something else]

[Boy, whatever he's doing must be pretty important for whole hours of waiting. Oh well; good things come to those who wait. It gives him time to catch up on his ~~worrying~~ reading.

Ah, there Mr. Cool is now, sunglasses in tow. Ted's bounty work had granted him an intimate knowledge of every city's less scrupulous nooks and crannies. He's in one now, with an out-of-place, large armoire behind him. He made himself as comfortable as he could in a dirty alleyway.]

Joe!

[He sprang up, offering a handshake.]

Good to see you in the flesh. Say the word and I'll show you your, ah, tentative workstation.

Word, yo. I am ready. [adjusts his sunglasses and has no regrets about being Hip and Modern.]

[Ted buys it, at the young age of 27.]

All right. Let me show you to your office.

[He goes to put a hand on the misplaced furniture, looks to be in a deep instant of concentration, then lets go.]

Oh, and the usual oaths to secrecy apply, of course. No disclosing this either, please.

Right. Yes. Perfect secrecy. [there was something in there, that he could see. The data that his sonic sunglasses was giving him was pretty much a scramble of data as well a as enormous transferrance of energy but without the energy it would cost to transfer it. Something interesting was going on]

May I?

[and he opens the door. To blackness. Mostly blackness. With a lampstand. And far more room than a wardrobe ought to have]

Now this is fascinating. A little bare bones in the decorating. [it's not a TARDiS, at least he doesn't think so. He taps his glasses a few times and then shakes them a bit before putting them back on. Ah... the readings are a bit skewed all over but-- what he's seeing is not something he'd ever thought he'd see outside of Gallifrey and even then]

A stasis void? [or something similar. He goes into the blackness as much he can, getting input, what input there is.] Where did you get it?

[To Ted's longstanding chagrin, there's not a lot going on there. The air readings are about what he'd find outside; an import. Beyond that, what little data there is grows fainter with time, until all any scientific instrument could perceive would be naught but emptiness in all directions with steadily decreasing temperature. Ted's usual elan dies down as the Doctor shares an interest he could never hope to have in it.]

Aheh, in all likelihood, Doctor, your guess is as good as mine.

[He's usually pretty good at deflecting with a joke.]

Well, for now it's enough to know that this ought to be all the space you'll need; won't even cost you a song. And your curiosity would be better spent towards...

[While the Doctor isn't looking, all the research materials would appear from behind. Sneaky! They're all immaculately laid out and separated on a sturdy wood bench.]

These!

[He gestured towards the items. Crystals, fungus, rocks, a tub of Bay water, and an enchanted sword.]

Be very careful with that last one; the enchanted weapon, I mean. Tamper with that overmuch and it'll be good as gone. Feel free to tinker and experiment with all the others; any equipment that you need can be brought whenever and wherever you like.

That just leaves the matter of the...ah, spirits themselves. The ones that um...drain people. Let me know when or...if, I suppose, you're ready to put them under the microscope. That< I suspect, will be the most desperate measure to mete.

Oh I don't plan to put them under a microscope. I'll probably invite them in for tea.

[goes immediately to fiddle with the enchanted sword] How is it enchanted? Will it turn me into a frog or make me the king of England? [he thinks] Which I suppose... I have been depending on who you talk to. Also world president. It's amazing how easy monarchy is to get into. You wouldn't think so. Ow!

[now he's gone and nicked himself on it. He sucks on a finger as he observes one of the crystals] Got any books?

[Ted is both glad that he's so recklessly curious--necessary trait--yet more than a little worried for the same.]

It's enchanted because the spirits we're trying to help is trapped inside the cursed thing! Goodness, didn't David Haller speak to you of it? Handle that overlong while it's drawn and you'll gain an emptiness much like theirs.

[Put it down!]

That's really more a matter for magicians, anyway. I doubt anything material about it will be very interesting. The weapon operates on the "hair of the dog that bit you" theory; using a spirit to slay the same. Morbid operation, at best.

[Temporary scare passing, Ted relieves himself with a mild chuckle.]

Man, if you can get them in such a state to accept such an offer, I'll call you Doctor Pendragon.

Oh, certainly, got books of all sorts. The Art of War, fencing and wrestling manuals--can you believe a jew, one Mr. Ott, penned the best?--, the Bible, of course, in whatever translation you like. Chaucer, too, if verse is more your aim.

[Though what that'd have to do with Very Important Research he doesn't know.]

Edited 2017-11-15 16:15 (UTC)

[the sword drains emotions, does it?]

Why didn't you say so before?

[he returns back to it to pick it up in both hands, more of a cautionary measure because he's not used to handling it]

I can feel the pull. [very faintly at the moment, because he's not actively using it perhaps or they're just getting a feel for him or maybe he's being drained and doesn't know it]

I wonder how they do it. It's got to be some sort of psychic neural repression. Because you can't just, you know, run out. You can get tired and worn down or depressed. Chemical imbalances in the brain, there's another thought. Or perhaps it feeds off the energy produced by emotions. Maybe they're not empty but hungry. Or exist on a wavelength not yet understood or seen.

I wonder what would happen if you were to give them a burst of emotion while simply holding it like this? [not that he can call up a burst of strong emotion at will] And what happens when you're repressed or drained or however it does work-- will the sword still be able to be utilized?

Though how does it work against the spirits? That doesn't make sense. [he holds the sword up to the light, contemplating] I mean it can't 'drain' what's already been 'drained'. Maybe they cancel one another out? But what does defeated mean anyway? How do you kill a spirit? If that's what they are? For that matter, how do they procreate? If they can? Is there sapience? Sentience? Natural will? Is it some kind of phenomena of loose psychic energy?

[holding the sword in one hand he knocks on the blade lightly]

Hallo, in there! Can you hear me? [and he tilts his head as if listening]

Edited 2017-11-15 18:09 (UTC)

Aheh, why didn't you know so before? Fond as I am of blades and the romance surrounding them, they aren't the sort of thing I show off arbitrarily. You've talked about these before.

[Don't make him show you the documentation. Ted's a network fiend.]

So long as it's sheathed, you're safe.

[Whuh oh, 12, you're speculating. That earns you the motor mouth.] Hard to say; so bound, they're in a different state than one finds them, er, "in the wild." Even if one could wield the weapon with nothing to give it, I shouldn't like it. The purpose, after all, is to keep them alive, an aim the weapon, as you might surmise, does not share.

Oh, no, it doesn't drain the spirits. It simply meets them on their own, ethereal level. Fighting spiritual fire with fire, say. Any numinous attack will do the dirty deed.

Emotions can't run out? Well, if you say so. They're seeking a byproduct of the feelings themselves, then? Not the tree, but its attendant fruit? There's something in that; the barrier, after all, is said to be powered by emotions, so clearly there's more in them, like the energy of an atom. I thought the draining process, when they find a victim, was akin to vampirism, in that they make their target more like themselves: empty. But since they do not possess the means of production, anything they get won't, ultimately, satisfy, and they hunger anew eternally. We, luckily, are not so deserted, and can recover from the condition that haunts them endlessly.

As to what happens to them upon death--God knows. I wish we did. Whatever it is, I get the feeling we should avoid it at all costs. There may be, unlike us, no retrieving them from that threshold. Nothing short of miraculous, anyway.

They're derivative creatures, of that I'm near certain. They've clearly been split from something they shouldn't have, and it's driving them mad. Perhaps the soulless natives? But your questions strike at the heart: can they feel pain? Do they have any self-knowledge whatsoever? Their rescue may depend on slaying such riddles.

Edited 2017-11-15 19:59 (UTC)

Given I know nothing about you it could be literally anything. [he listens to what Ted has to say]

So they're parasites in other words. I wouldn't anthromorphize them too much until we know for sure how they think and feel or if they do. You're right in that we have to understand them first. Until we know what we're up against we can't know how to stop it.

[That being said, he unsheathes the weapon to see what will happen and immediately staggers a bit]>

Woof they are rather strong aren't they. Just... sucking it away. Rather an odd feeling. Should record this actually. I wonder if I can go in. Connect ....with them... psychically... [he tries to hold them back psychically as well, but it's like they don't care about barriers or the ones he has are the wrong kind and it's like being sucked through a very small straw. He goes to sheathe it again only he seems to have dropped the scabbard.

Oops]

Come on, don't be silly. You know some things. My name, my appearance, a few acoustic qualities.

[That he has a gigantic void. Though on second thought he'd rather the Doctor forget. He watches him handle the blade with fret before he has his whoopsie. In a flash he rushes to scoop the scabbard, clothe the naked blade, and set it back on the table.]

Goodness, Doctor, I wasn't aware you're a mad scientist! Save that kind of research for last, won't you? I'd rather you apply what faculties you've still got for the other materials.

[He gestures towards all the decidedly non-spiritual things, like rocks and crystals and junk. Wouldn't he rather play with those? Hmm?]

Edited 2017-11-15 20:37 (UTC)

That is a rush. [staggers a bit and braces both hands on the table] But I wonder if you wore gloves. Or something like a hazmat suit. Maybe something can be used to draw the spirits out somehow. We don't really need it to be enchanted do we?

[he slides his fingers along the scabbard thoughtfully]

I wonder if there's any temperature differential that would effect how it works? Not heat but maybe- ah! Cryofridge. D'you know I always wanted one? Will have to build one to make it effective. Course it just might freeze them but I doubt it will kill them. So long as I go by degrees and test the efficiency of it as I go I shouldn't be able to hurt them...and if they are even somewhat biologically compatible with carbon based beings they'll just go into a deep sleep with a cryofridge. Only without knowing

Electromagnetic scanner, psychic impulse regulator...[he counts on his fingers a few times] No that won't work. Hmm.

[he leans really close to the sword with his sunglasses on as if trying to peer through it though really collecting data.] They seem dormant without some sort of physical interaction or is it just interference?

[He laughs, a little helplessly.]

I...I don't know, Doctor. Ask the magicians; indeed, I intend to, if they ever answer my calls.

[Friggin' Mirajane.]

But back to your "anthropomorphisizing" bit...

[Time to put on your solemn face, Ted. Come on, you can do it.]

When I said I meant to save them, I hope I communicated that I thought them worth saving; far more, in fact, than most of the populace. Whatever experiments you intend to conduct on and for them, treat them as though they were the one you love most under a curse, and might yet be restored. That's the only way I'll permit you to proceed with anything. Nothing less will serve.

[Hopefully that impresses the gravity of the situation, for he can't hold a serious disposition for long.]

Anyway, no, I don't think the cold will destroy. It might phase them out of our immediate contact, however, loosing them into the world. Then we'd have an entirely different problem. Won't you please look into the non-living materials first? They're all related, I assure you. We can save the live samples for later. And, not to nag too much, but if your curiosity gets the better of you, that sword will seal the spirit permanently, making it little better than a steel prison. Won't get much good out of it then.

[gives him a look] That's what I told you at the start of this. More or less. And I don't have to have something anthropomorphize to want to protect it. I don't even have to understand it. But I plan to.

[he glances at the other things]

How are they connected.

[as for his spirit being sealed, it wouldn't the first time or even the fifth. Anyway he's got redundancies so it's not a problem]

[He nods with a surge of relief.] Good. No more dying, then. They've all had entirely enough of that.

Oh, all these materials were found in The Maw; a peculiar mountain that housed a great deal of interesting substances pertaining to them. That's where I collected all my samples. The flowers in particular might interest you. You might've heard about some strange event that bifurcated everyone along lines of good and evil; well, these flowers were used in that process. Some spirits even sported the fiendish flowers inside them. Goodness, I wonder whether the Maw might be some laboratory in disguise?

Well, whatever their case, the physical and mental properties of all this ought to provide plenty of clues. If I'm lucky and my friends as charitable as I've come to expect, I'll be able to procure another sample yet.

Hmm. [he peers at the things as if he's also taking the energy signal but he might be more drained than he originally thought. Not that anyone has to know about it.]

I'd like to visit The Maw if I could. [not right at the moment, but eventually]

By the way, is it alright if I borrow this pocket void to put it in my office? Much easier to access for me. You'd also be welcome to pop by. [since it was his, though if he can suss out how it was made and/or procured he might try to make one himself]

Aheh, would you, now? It's not a very pleasant place. Then again, I suppose it beats where we are presently...

[Ah, the void. The less said about that the better.]

Sure, I can put it there and have you work out of it while I'm away on camp, at your convenience. Try and remember how you got in, of course, so you can find the way out. And if something happens or you need to leave early, just ring that bell

[He points]

Over there, and I'll come retrieve you. It's very, ah, easy to put equipment here too, if you'd like something within.

I wouldn't expect it to be pleasant. [which is part of its charm, really. It's not easy to find 'harrowing' around this place]

You wouldn't want to show me how to move it myself, would you? [he says not at all looking at the bell he never intends to ring]

Edited 2017-11-18 03:44 (UTC)

Aheh, no it's ah...rather attached to me, I've found.

[Interesting hypothetical: if he could foist it on someone, would he? Answer cloudy; ask again later.]

The timing's fortunate; if you just show me where you'd like it, I could safely deposit it for your use. I'll be going away for a

[Snort - boot camp.]

...vacation, later, so I won't need it much but to check on you should something interesting develop.

[Boy he hopes nothing really dangerous happens. Or does he?]

[he'd take it if it were so foisted] How did that happen if I may ask? [a pause] This isn't some extended metaphor for your inner being, is it? Because it gets kind of awkward setting up shop in someone else's psychic core.

[He clearly has not impressed how little he likes talking of it. Being metaphorically likened to an immeasurably large, black, insensate abyss can make even Ted a little self-conscious. Luckily, he's well practiced in brushing off his discomfort through humor.]

Hah, goodness, I hope not! As I said, it's a mystery. I'm better with the "what" than the "why" of it. Speaking of the psychic is that...something you'd be willing to try, once all the physical investigation concludes? Feel free to refuse; a meeting of the minds with one can't be pleasant. Of course, I'd assist however I can.

[He has no idea which response he'd prefer, really. On the one hand, he desperately needs to know if and how much they can think and feel. On the other, he'd rather not get any one killed or worse in this harebrained scheme.]

[he sees the hedging. He's quite good at it himself.] Oh, well... We'll have to see. No one likes it when you start poking around without their permission. Among other things you have to take care in case they start poking back.

[Plaintively]

I doubt extremely they've the liberty to grant permission, or anything else for that matter. And yes, I agree with you on the need for care. Well, do let me know when you decide. If there's no further questions, I'll get to arranging your new and, hopefully, very temporary workspace.

Thanks. [waves a hand] I'll get right on it. [and then, seemingly at random] You know I think I'll have to buy a new cryofridge.

Thanks, Doctor. I...really appreciate it.

[Only one's who answered ~~The~~ his call so far. He can feel his affections, even in this dark and awful place, rising. Dare he? Dare he forsooth?

He goes up and tries for a hug. Clearly this means a lot to him.]

Ah... [a hug. He can see it coming in. There's no need for that and he hadn't' been aware their relationship had reached such a level in a short amount of time...But he used to be good at this sort of thing, so he would just have to see if he remembered how.

So to that end he accepted the hug and patted his back once or twice stiffly]

There there.

[this was good, yes?]

[No, their first in-person meeting probably wasn't that deep, but then, Ted's deepest relationships were usually forged in crisis. They seemed to be on the cusp of one now. He lets him go to his work; pretty dangerous work, if The Doctor does what he both hopes and fears. He lets him go in both ways.]

All right, well...let's get out of here into some fresh air, eh? They'll be plenty of time to dither in the dark later. I'll, ah, get you set up in the spot of your choosing.

Yes excellent. [he pulls away, rubbing his hands together. A new void of limitless possibilities. And... an experiment, too, to keep him occupied. Things were starting to look up]

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Spirit Shenanigans and Metaplot Meanderings [Private Video, Action] [Backdated from 6/11 to 10/13]

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