sticksandbones | [OPEN] girl help the trader is making him be Emotional

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[OPEN] girl help the trader is making him be Emotional

Who: Gnosis & You!
What: Help a local bird with a Quest (2 open prompts / 1 semi-closed)
When: End of September
Where: ~Around~
Warnings: if anything comes up i'll edit!

[Gnosis has... a quest. He has it written down in his notebook, which he'll regularly consult throughout this as he seeks people out... sigh. He supposes it could be worse, but also, why would he want to talk to people? About his emotions? Gross. Ew. Get those away from him.

...

So anyway, this is going to suck.]

I. A Place You Love [OPEN]

[Gnosis figures he'll go in order of the quest items given, so first up: he's approaching with a wave of his notebook, a signal that means "hey I have something important to tell you" except the important thing is actually—]

The trader gave me a to-do list. Do you particularly mind speaking with me at length about... [he huffs, looking somewhat tired,] ...well, nothing substantial, but my laboratory back home?

[His eyes say: "Hey there's a reason for this. I don't want to do this either."]

II. A Thing You Love [OPEN]

["Things" are a lot easier to talk about than "places" for Gnosis, luckily, so this second task should be relatively easy. The next person he flags down, he does the same as the first, waving his journal around in a hey-I-need-something way. What differs from the first person he spoke to is that this time, he's holding a blade made of ice. And, after a break to explain what's going on:]

Have you heard of never-melting ice before?

[hey nerd time to talk about science]

III. A Person You Love [CLOSED for Mizuki and/or Caoimhe]

[The third thing on his list is the hardest, and it actually takes Gnosis a couple days to get to. To be frank, he's not an emotional person (outwardly) and prefers to keep everything locked down for personal reasons, so this... is difficult. Gnosis doesn't know how to begin talking about someone he cares about to someone else. It would be easier to talk about Monch, but he wouldn't say he loves Monch, just appreciated her company while he had it. He's pretty sure, from the look Ydalir gave him, that he has to very literally talk about someone he loves.

Which...

Goddess Kjeragandr, why.

So. Gnosis will drag himself out of his room now, to go seek out the people he trusts the most out of others here. The people that are easier to talk to, for one reason or another.]

Could I borrow you for a moment?

[He's not going to open with what he needs to do this time. He's still working up the will to be less closed-off to others.]

[[OOC: hii i need 3 people for qwuest, this is the one time i have to say "please don't double up on prompts" bc it has to be 3 diff people. thank u for ur time ily]]

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Mister Gnosis!!!! [ Gnosis probably would have been willing to talk to him about a person he loves if he wasn't immediately greeted with Mizuki's very excitable self. He's like a puppy, yet this man is definitely not a Perro. "Hey, something important to tell you," means just that. Mizuki is going to so intently listen.

He smiles, warmly. ] You talked with Miss Ydalir? Did you ask for something~? [ He claps his hands together. ] I would be more than happy for you to talk about your lab!

I did, yes, and she has expressly told me that my payment is due in the form of opening up to others, in no uncertain terms.

[Gross.]

I have to talk with someone about something I "love", and I do like the facilities on Rhodes Island enough to speak of them at length. They're far more technologically advanced than what I had in Kjerag. I do mind sharing the space with some of the others, but I can, at least, use the common areas of the facilities to bounce ideas off of others.

[This also means he's able to walk to the side dedicated to pharmaceuticals and watch Thorns blow himself up on the daily, so.]

Oh! She had me do something similar for me. But… um, she had me talk to her instead. [ She must know that Gnosis is reclusive— ] Sure, of course! Feel free to talk to me about it. I don't usually hang out in there, so it'll be fun to learn about what you science-y people do!!

[Bitch-ass trader—]

Numerous things. That entire section is split off into several departments, but it's simple enough to walk next door and see what others are up to. It is, however, sectioned off from the garden, so you have to walk a great distance to get to the greenhouse.

[I am just making all this up who actually knows what this goddamn landship looks like fr—]

I have my own "section", we'll say. My own workbench and tools. It isn't uncommon for one of the other Operators to swing by to ask for something from me. [Especially because he often falls asleep in there.]

[ Don't be mean, that's Mizuki's mom!!! ]

I imagine you probably work pretty close by to the engineers of the bunch, right? Do you talk to Miss Closure often? She's usually real nice to me when I see her. Or do you hang out with any of the robots? Mister Thermal will let me ride him sometimes.

I do, and yes, we interact a fair amount. The robots are quite helpful, actually. I'll admit, I hadn't seen one so advanced until going to Rhodes Island.

[Those things would rust to death in Kjerag.]

I speak frequently with Passenger as well, and some of the operators from Rhine Lab. Actually, the work of Rhine Lab significantly interests me... Doctor Silence has insisted that I could find better outlets for my interests.

[She's right tho.]

Oh, oh, then you should absolutely talk to, umm, that explorer Liberi… She's real famous! I can't remember her name too well… Megan? I think? Anyway, I heard she has tons of fancy gizmos that work in cold weather. I feel like you two would get along real well!

[ She's so right, Kristen's a bitch, burn the labs— ]

Oh! Yeah!!! I've seen Doctor Silence and Miss Saria a lot. I look after Ifrit quite a bit. She's kind of one of my closest friends back at the landship, actually. I miss her, but I feel like she wouldn't be happy here at all, so it's for the best.

I'll have to speak to her, then.

[Megan... Magallan, maybe? Gnosis doesn't keep tabs on the personal lives of others, but he at least knows of her.]

Ifrit would burn the forest down and it would very likely kill her. For her sake, I hope she stays on the landship getting treated. I don't fancy seeing Saria angry.

[Or distraught. Or having an emotion that isn't science and being a mother.]

[ Mizuki nods, but then veers back to the topic at hand. If he needs to talk about somewhere he loves, Mizuki is certainly one of the best people to come to. He’s interested in questioning people always. ]

So, what about the labs specifically makes it a “loved” place? Is it just because of the research you do there? Would that, then, not just be a love of the research and not the place?

One would think, but my research facility on Kjerag was lacking severely. Rhodes Island has access to all manner of documentation and private information that the rest of the world does not. I would say the one thing we might be missing is Laterano's patent on firearms.

[And a whole lotta classified shit from Rhine Lab but don't worry!! He will get his hands on that one day, surely.]

Going from a small, insignificant lab in backwater Kjerag, to a top-class research facility overnight, was quite the paradigm shift. I had access to thousands of new materials, textbooks, and methods, that I never would have ever dreamed about in Kjerag nor in Victoria.

You could talk to Andreana. She crafted her own gun after what she’s studied of Laterano’s firearms.

[ Megallan makes sense for Mizuki to know, considering she’s a well known, very famous explorer. Andreana, though… Well, she’s just some weird Aegir girl, isn’t she? Mizuki certainly doesn’t stalk her and the other Abyssal Hunters to make sure his “sisters” were doing well. He certainly sticks around her the most because she doesn’t understand that tingling in the back of her head that her kin is nearby means anything, unlike the other three who get immediately on edge. He likes to hear her talk. He can actually show himself around her.

It’s nice. ]

Is there anything about the labs back in Kjerag you miss that the labs at Rhodes doesn’t provide…?

[yeah his name is Enciodes Silverash]

Not in particular. I suppose the solitude might be one of them, as well as the fact it's become rather difficult to store tea in a shared space. I used to keep boxes of it within the kitchenette in Kjerag, but that's impossible at Rhodes, half because there is no kitchenette and half because it's an uphill battle to keep anyone out of anyone else's areas.

[he misses silverash coming in at three in the morning to make him sleep after he's not done that for many days—]

…? You like being alone more, Mister Gnosis? Isn't talking with others and such… make it easier to do your work if you're bouncing ideas off one another?

[ Admittedly, he doesn't know for sure, but he at least knows that when he bounces game theory ideas off other people, that's usually how it goes… ]

That depends. I prefer to work alone in most cases. It's nice to have people to bounce ideas off of, but some of the others who work in the lab are quite loud. The pharmaceuticals wing is only a short walk from the technology department, and I can hear Thorns blowing something up on the daily.

[Sigh.]

It isn't awful, and sometimes the social interaction is necessary, but I do wish I had the option to lock everyone else out when I simply don't feel like engaging with them.

If that's what would make Mister Gnosis happy, when we get back home, I can talk to Doctor Kal'tsit about getting you something a little more private, if you want. I have to go to her pretty often, so I make small talk a lot. I can bring it up then.

You must have some sort of sway with her.

[Yeah it's because he's a Little Guy, obviously, and has no secrets ever.]

...I'll accept the additional help. I could ask Enciodes to pull some strings for me, but he's the one who landed me this position in the first place. I wouldn't risk my role being compromised, though I suppose I've worked with the company long enough.

[Just thinking out loud.]

[ Definitely just a little guy. Just like how Amiya is just a little gal and there's nothing wrong with her. ]

Doctor Kal'tsit is just a very nice person, Mister Gnosis... [ Even if Mizuki weren't Chock Full Of Secrets(tm), he's entirely convinced Kal'tsit would treat him the same she does currently. Maybe this is naïve of him, but he holds her in such high regards. That's his mom! One of his many, many moms. ] I'm sure she'd be amenable regardless, especially since of the people who work in the labs, you're one of the more focused and... not disruptive? [ A kind way of saying 'doesn't accrue insane amounts of replacement money in property damage'. ]

Anyway, it would be my pleasure. Like you said, this is your most favorite place, right? I'd want you to feel like it's even more special and comfortable. A sanctuary, of sorts.

( blink blink. blink.

felicity glances at the blade and then at gnosis- is the blade made out of never-melting ice? neat. and also oh god she can imagine how frigid being cut with that sort of thing must feel- y i k e s. )

In a sense- there's such a thing back home, but I'm going to assume it's different until proven otherwise due to the circumstances surrounding it.

[It sure is. He normally keeps it in a case hidden from the daylight, and also never uses it as a weapon. SilverAsh has a similar core of never-melting ice somewhere.]

I would need to have more scientific data to correlate it in such a way, though I imagine the phenomenon is similar. Enciodes and I ventured to the depths of a Kjeragi mountain on an expedition once and discovered them. I'm not sure what he had his own core fashioned into, and I don't ever plan to ask. I had mine made into a blade, as you can see.

Ohhh...

( she looks over it, almost sparkly-eyed. she doesn't touch, obviously, but she does lean in a bit more until gnosis elaborates, giving him her undivided attention. )

A core, huh? Does that mean it... grew, then?

[If she touched it she'd probably get immediate frostbite. There's a reason this thing has a handle.]

Correct. It would have been "growing", so to speak, for at least several thousand years. I doubt it's even the oldest ice core in Terra as a whole, but I digress. Ice cores are valuable for scientific research. Thousands of years of climate changes, volcanic eruptions, and other such phenomenon can be observed in them by way of simple laboratory analysis.

With that being said, such a young ice core doesn't offer much compared to ones that are over twenty thousand years old, and most ice cores will melt if not kept properly. This one, by all observable phenomenon, will not.

( she's curious, not dumb!! no frostbite for this witch.

for now. future events remain unseen.

she listens with a soft hum, glancing up at gnosis not unlike one might a well-loved teacher. )

So, what keeps it from melting, then?

[Listen he has to say "don't touch it" because of the amount of people he knows who would immediately try to stick it IN THEIR MOUTHS—]

It's a question I've been asking myself as well. Superstitious people would say it's a blessing from Kjeragandr. I disagree, [YOU PERSONALLY KNOW HER] and argue that the phenomenon has to do with some sort of natural wellspring of Arts. My ability to test this right now is limited, naturally, but it is theoretically possible for Arts to become frozen in time, so to speak. Thus...

[Well, it's just a theory, but it's one that makes sense, considering his own ice can persist long after a battle ends.]

( felicity repeats the name slowly, cautious of the pronunciation- )

A local deity? Hm... Well, it may be a bit... lacking, compared to labs back home, but the merchants should probably be able to help get equipment. And I can basically charge batteries, if you need.

So, how'd you get it? You said an expedition but I'm curious!

( story tiiiiiime! )

Edited 2023-10-17 04:52 (UTC)

[me voice his module story doesn't say what the expedition was about so i guess i'm making shit up again]

Enciodes tends to do things on a whim. [Just putting that out there.] If there's something he hears about, or something he wants, or even something that he thinks may be of interest to him, he drags the rest of Karlan Trade out to find it. To that end, the expedition was planned by him and myself.

To be clear, I wished to travel to find those ice cores myself, so it isn't as though it was entirely one of his ideas, for once. [FOR ONCE.] There isn't much story to tell otherwise. We spent several hours hiking through naturally-carved tunnels in the mountainside, Weiss nearly fell to his death on several occasions, [UM], Matterhorn stopped to lecture all of us on safety shortly before Enciodes ran ahead and recklessly began climbing a cliff face...

[GNOSIS THAT'S NOT—]

As far as Enciodes and his impulses go, it's fairly par for the course. [GNOSIS?????]

( felicity listens quietly, noting the names- not any that she's heard before, save enciodes, but interesting enough. she'll have to remember them for the future. for all his stoicism, gnosis speaks with a certain fondness. it's sweet. and hard not to giggle at the recollection, honestly- )

From the sounds of it, yeah. But it sounds like you enjoyed it all.

[Karlan Trade is his little found family and he would commit atrocities for these losers*

*he has already committed the atrocities.]

...perhaps. [He's not smirking, shut up.] It was an arduous hike, and I'm one who prefers to stay within the temperature-controlled environment of my lab. At the same time, I suppose I've hardly minded Enciodes' tendencies to seek adventure. I would not be half the man I am today without him.

[gross]

[ Caoimhe had been in the middle of scavenging for herbs, and flowers though today she hung by the river when Gnosis approached her. Her head veers upwards, and her eyes fall upon the other. Immediately, her expression softened. ]

Gnosis, hello... Oh, are you okay?

[ Her skirt was rolled up and she was barefoot inside the river. Looking for stones, fish, and all sorts of things within it. ]

[He will simply make himself comfortable on a fallen log and let her do her thing in the river.]

The Trader gave me some tasks to do, that's all. I don't need much besides a willing ear. I have to talk about... [Ugh.] Someone close to me, so that she can perform whatever ritual she needs to do to get me what I asked for.

[ Caoimhe was leaned over pulling out something from the ground, finding a beautiful smooth rock that she pockets while the other speaks. When she hears something familiar from what he says, she ends up giving a subtle laugh that is warm and endearing. ]

Yes, her magic is quite unique! That was how I was able to send Cinnamon back and instead, return Midna to me... Though she is far smaller than she was before... I find it charming really. [ The elven woman continues her conversation, a small bubble appears in front of her and she says a quick - ] Oh thank you! What a nice find.

[ The bubble then returns back to the river rejoining with it... She turns over to Gnosis once more. ]

Feel free to speak your mind, I will listen.

[That's the thing, is he really doesn't want to speak his mind. The Trader was nonspecific enough to make him think he can talk about "whatever", but at the same time, the instructions clearly said to confess. Gnosis is mathladymeme.png trying to figure out how to do this without being too weirdly forward. He really, really, seriously doesn't like sharing details of his personal life very much, even if it is with friends.

Ugh.

Gnosis crosses his legs, knee-over-knee. "Confess to someone about someone you love"... he doesn't have to say it aloud, does he? Urk—]

...it's about Enciodes, [kill him kill him kill him,] the Trader requested I confess to someone about "someone I love"... so here we are.

Enciodes! [ Caoimhe squeaks out a bit excitedly, pulling out something from the floor. ] I have been wanting to hear about this man! Please tell me, is he kind like yourself?

[A wry smirk.]

Enciodes Silverash is the most delusional, self-absorbed, egotistical man I have ever met in my life.

[Affectionate (????)]

If he's not going hunting with Tenzin — his hunting hawk — in a blizzard, he's attempting to build a railroad through Mount Karlan and angering the Browntails and Paleroches, or he's busy trying to buy out some small business overseas to suck it into Karlan Trade's growing mass. He stubbornly thinks he can have whatever he desires no matter the cost or method of acquisition. He's reckless, foolhardy, clingy...

[Gnosis looks off into the distance, gaze softening.]

His own arrogance may just get him killed one day. But he is kind, and he does want good things for Kjerag and Terra's Infected, and for all his cold exterior, there's warmth underneath. I might very well be the only man on Terra who gets to see it.

[ Love, it is a most brilliant thing. Tuatha de teaches of it from the moment one takes their first breath. The conception of Emer as their god of skies, who beloves all that lives within her - to them she was what Love is conceptualized in a figure. Despite her being Primordial and another worldly existence. She held love of them, and all of the Tuatha De felt this Love... And taught it to all who would listen.

Hearing him speak, makes her eyes at first - widen in surprise. She was not sure what to expect, how his voice was so candid but then held this warmth to it. Yet speaking more on his friend, someone who he felt so drawn to. Caoimhe swears she can hear the sound of something new from him she has never heard before.

By now she is familiar with the warmth in Gnosis's voice when it comes about. It blooms in the way a warm fire does, in the blizzards he speaks on over. Blizzards Caoimhe has had her fair share of living through, especially when her people travel along the mountains. ]

A strong man.

[ She says, gaze having soften with every detail Gnosis gave. Even having paid attention to him, overlooking the river's embrace. ]

I imagine that maybe you were, [ The only man who has seen it. ] with all that the two of you have gone through. How would anyone else, know? I think in that shared truth, the two of you must be so close.

I suppose that's what happens when you grow up alongside one person all your life. You learn their tells, and you learn what they're like underneath that cold and serious exterior. He would not have anyone believe he is soft for anyone or anything, not even his own family, not even I. In that, we're the same. I would not have anyone believe I am "soft" either.

...yet here I am. [Gnosis reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out his phone. It doesn't receive a signal, obviously, but he's still able to look back through what's on it already.] For all my fronts, for all the facades I put on in the name of saving face, I do miss him. Yet I would give anything to never see him again, if it means he can live freely on Terra and not be trapped within the endless loop of death and rebirth this place gives us.

[Opening his phone's gallery... looking through old pictures. Ugh. He misses this stupid snow leopard more than he's actually willing to say.]

[ Caoimhe maybe changes the tune and song into a soft ballad of love. Romantic in its conception, she keeps it low between them thinking long about his feelings for this friend of his. ]

I am sure... If he knew you were here, and knew how to, he would want to come save you.

[ She knows her own sisters would, and knows that this is why - regardless of what she learns here. She must return home, because in the end - that is her home now. ]

Um... What is that, in your hands..?

Edited 2023-10-30 00:48 (UTC)

Mm, yes, and "saving" me and, by extension, everyone here, would contribute to his supermassive ego.

[(Affectionate)

He thumbs through his phone's gallery idly.]

It's a cellphone. Or just a "phone" for short. People from Terra commonly have them, as they're useful for long distance communication. They don't work here, though I can still view what was on it before my arrival, as well as take photographs.

[He flips his phone around to show her one of the photos — of himself and Enciodes in particular.]

That means I can show you who I'm referring to, at least.

A Phone... I-It sounds like the sendings stones our realm has, they are most useful but... They only send words - nothing else.... [ Caoimhe blinks, looking at the image and wondering about the ears and tail - for all she knows Gnosis has been human to her this entire time. She hadn't the faintest clue. ] Oh! He is most handsome... What lovely ears - is he a Beastwalker?

Is that what you refer to them as? On Terra, he's simply called "Feline". He in particular is a snow leopard.

[Flip, flip... ah, and then he'll show her a picture of his two sisters as well. All snow leopards, the latter being the Saintess he'd told her about prior.]

Perhaps I didn't tell you, but there are no humans on Terra. Most are some sort of animal, save for the Sarkaz and Sankta.

[The feathers in his hair are part of his scalp, in fact!]

How lovely, they look most like one another....

[ Caoimhe cants her head a bit hearing him speak on his truth, fingers still tidying away along the strings of her harp. ] No humans.... Wait do you mean.... Do you mean you are an animal as well?

Yes. I should have informed you. I'm Liberi — a "bird". Specifically a black-necked crane.

[You know because that information is relevant to have.]

You likely haven't seen much other than the feathers on my head. I have tailfeathers as well, but they're often buried in my coat, so I don't imagine you've seen them.

[the cowards wont draw gnosis with tailfeathers but rest assured they are very fluffy bc he's a crane]

That is so interesting! I hadn't known!! [ Caoimhe stops playing music, and presses the palms of her hands on either side of the strings to stop their vibrating. She can't help but lean closer and look him over, attempting to find these feathers! ]

Birds are beloved and treated highly among my people. They are said to be the children of our God Emer! For they too, sing songs of nature and ride the winds freely.

[The feathers on his head are at least longer than his hair is, hanging in front of his left ear and over his shoulder... if she wants to walk around and try to look at his ass he'll take his coat off so she can parse the tailfeathers sticking out from underneath the back of his shirt lmao—]

Such stereotypes exist about Liberi too, although I assure you that my musical talents lie solely in the piano, and only because Enciodes' parents saw fit to teach me as a boy.

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[OPEN] girl help the trader is making him be Emotional

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III. A Person You Love

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