THE ESTUARY OF TIME [a Rainworld inspired Survival Role-Play] [OPEN]

[DustyStar]

OOC for this role-play will be handled through Discord. Please PM me for the invite link if you wish to join. :3

 

"Time is a river, where even the tiniest changes lead to a cascade downstream." - Anonymous

 

Rainworld is a exploration-focused survival platformer game set in a post-dystopian world now inhabited with many frightening creatures. The main protagonists of the game, and what most player characters will be, are a hybrid species known as Slugcats. They are small cat-like creatures with a slug-like tail that come in a variety of colors and patterns. As per the name of the game, it rains on the surface of the world almost constantly. The downpour is so strong it destroys the previous infrastructure and can harm any living creatures near the surface. For this reason, most life has moved down into the previous city’s drainage systems and hibernates there until a brief period where the rain stops. Then the creatures battle it out on the surface for food and resources to make it through the next storm period.

 

This role-play will be focused on creating a found family to survive the new sudden shifts in climate with, as well as forming other alliances and rivalries with enemy tribes or enemy Slugcats as you scavenge for food and resources. After each day cycle the timeline will change to a new one, completely changing the surrounding environment and available resources. Creatures remain unaffected by the time change. The operation of Iterators will vary by timeline. I will be primarily responsible for establishing new settings, but any player that wishes to have a specific environment may introduce it in their post on the next day cycle after its been approved.

 

You will be free to create different timeline environments and regions for your PCs and any other creature tribes you would like to add into the world. If you aren't familiar with the game, I recommend doing a quick read of the Rainworld wiki before creating tribes and environments. With that said, worldbuilding is still pretty flexible and I'm happy to entertain any ideas you want to add.

 

Story introduction

----------------------

 

Raindrops to soil, soil to brooks, brooks to streams, streams to rivers, rivers to oceans. Like water flowing across the earth, everyone has their own unique path that will all end in the same place. The Ancient assumed that place was only achievable by transcendence, but time did something the ancients could never have come to expect.

 

The Void Sea erupted from the Depths and poured from the skies like the rainstorms the planet knew so well. It swallowed everything on the planet's surface. It washed over the decrepit cities like a shimmering velvet blanket turning the cities into thick blobs of inky nothingness. 

 

Normally, you would have been dissolved and erased from existence. In spite of how suddenly it erupted, it washed back through the drains as though nothing had occurred. All was well. Albeit for a few pools of the Void Sea’s black liquid sitting in puddles along the surface, daring those desperate enough to plunge into its depths. Nothing seemed amiss.

 

Then the rain returned. The creatures continued their usual hibernation cycles through the severe weather, but suddenly the rain stopped. And then it started snowing. 

 

The sudden shifts in climate were jarring to say the least. Creatures began to return to desperate measures to survive the harsh changes. Their numbers dwindled. Some days, it was so hot and dry that water was a scarce resource. Other times, there was so much of it you could drown. It froze, melted, evaporated, poured through the cracks in the walls and froze again. But at the same time, new faces started showing up. New creatures, new leaders, new tribes began popping up from nowhere. Some were better suited for these climates than others, and no one knew where exactly they were.

 

Time has always been weird here. The original inhabitants of the same city these new tribes call home were obsessed with time. Obsessed with ascending past the very concept of linear time. Was it them who finally caused time itself to break?

 

Every timeline collapsed into each other all at once. Yet each one continues to exist, layered on top of eachother. Time has become unstable. With each new sunrise a different time exists. The sentient inhabitants of each are now trapped in the endless shifting of the world they thought they knew. Slugcats torn from their own world and now forced to live in a shared narrative. Generations of family now able to meet, alternative versions never meant to exist in the same space, all together at once. This wasn't an ascension. This isn’t paradise after an escape from linear time. This wasn’t what the ancients strove for. This isn’t what the iterators spent all their time trying to solve. Somehow, time had broken, with everyone randomly jumping to a new timeline almost every day.

 

And somehow, we will all have to survive this.

 

Setting and Objectives

------------------------------

 

This RP will be set in the same area as the main game. The main change is the resources and climate shifting with each hibernation period as timelines shift randomly. Alternating between scavenging on the surface to hibernating in the drainage system under the city or in the warm computing banks of the timelines’ respective Iterators. 

 

Iterators are massive supercomputers that are the last remains of the Ancients that built the city the game is set in. They have their own personalities and actively communicate with other Iterators. They have tiny robotic avatars called puppets that creatures can interact with. Iterators occasionally adopt creatures to act as communication proxies between each other if digital communication isn't working.

 

I’m willing to add on new regions and new iterators if any player wants to. 

Current regions 

---------------------

 

Outskirts
A gloomy region full of poles and pipes that make it easy to avoid predators. 

 

Drainage System
a water-filled region that consists of a series of indoor rooms, pipes, and tunnels.

 

Industrial Complex
A dilapidated manufacturing site, made up of a series of towers, bridges and tall interior rooms.

 

Garbage Wastes
A region covered in piles of junk and pools of green water filled with Leeches.

 

Shoreline
A region filled with deep green water and the scattered remains of buildings.

 

Shaded Citadel
A region characterized by dark, decrepit hallways and dangerous infested lower pathways.

 

Iterator cans
Big silvery superstructures that the cities are built on top of. There is a zero gravity region in the center where the iterator has its puppet.

 

Chimney canopy
a region composed of large towers and broken structures extending above a ruined industrial landscape.

 

Sky Islands
A region made up of decayed and broken mechanical structures high above the ground.

 

Farm Arrays
An expansive outdoor region, with large overhanging machinery, evenly spaced trenches and tall fungal growths.

 

Subterranean
A region that consists mostly of long dim tunnels filled with dilapidated trains.

 

The Depths
An inky sea of black liquid known as Void Fluid. Gold light dances across its surface.

 

Current iterators

-----------------------

 

Five Pebbles [“Pebbles”]
A short-tempered and spiteful iterator attempting to achieve self destruction at all costs.

 

Looks to the Moon [“Moon”]
A kind and generous iterator who is something like an older sister to her local group.

 

Silver of Straw [“Sliver’]
A sort of saintly Iterator amongst the rest for somehow achieving self-destruction.

 

Seven Red Suns [“Sun”]
Rather cynical in their views, they've gone so far as to pronounce the futility of the Iterators and their attempts to solve the "Great Problem"

 

No Significant Harassment [“NSH”]
A flippant and sarcastic Iterator, often making friendly jabs at others and showing little concern towards issues their peers consider serious.

 

Night Chases Dawn [“Night”]
A senior iterator for his local group. A stoic and strict iterator that can be intimidating to those who slack off too much.

 

Serenade of a Desert Rose [“Rose”]
A ditsy and air-headed iterator who spends more time making music than working. No communications have been received from her in a long time.

Others can be added anytime. You don't necessarily need a slugcat to have an Iterator, or vice versa.

 

Rules

--------

 

1. No godmodding or powerplaying.
2. Be polite and considerate towards other players.
3. There is no time limit for posts. If an event occurs where you can no longer post or will go inactive for a while, please let us know on the discord so we can find the best solution going forward.
4. Please join the Discord, it's where all ooc discussion will take place.
5. I have no player character limit. I expect you to manage your own cast and respect your own writing and time limitations in regard to how many characters you submit. Player characters don't have to be final, they can be moved to NPC status at any time and switched out if you wish.

 

Character sheet 

--------------------

 

As i am averse to list descriptions, please submit a small paragraph with the following information about your character to the character submission section of the Discord server:

 

Name (Slugcat names usually start with “The _”)
Nickname, if you wish.
Species (we will be primarily using Slugcats but i’m not against any other creature you might want to play as)
Pronouns
Abilities
Appearance
Personality
History, if you care to mention it.
Iterator (not necessary, but you can connect your character to an existing iterator or make your own!)
Specific timeline/environment (again, can connect to the existing timeline or make your own! Their timeline is their home environment that they came from and are specifically adapted to. As the timelines shift often we will probably end up in your characters timeline eventually. Also feel free to add in environments to torment the PCs in new and exciting ways.)
Known family (can discuss beforehand if you would like. Always ask the other player before deciding any serious relations)
Character summary for the main page (personality + ability)

Current Player Characters

-----------------------------

 

DustyStar

 

The Anarchist “Noodles”
An angry slugcat that spends a lot of time talking to things that aren’t there. Has adopted a semi-tame noodlefly as a companion. Has the ability to make non-slugcat creatures begin to fight each other within a certain radius.

The Paladin “Wooly”
A blind slugpup that claims to be guided by the voices of the Ancients. Has the ability to determine the exact location of dangerous predators within a certain radius.

Edited April 26, 2023 by DustyStar

[ValidEmotions]

Ayooooo it's here!

[DustyStar]

Waves of heat flickered in the distance where a pinpoint of yellow light was still a small spot on the horizon. Burnt umber seared into the dark indigo sky with the rising sun casting the early rays of morning light on the charred expanse of the city. Early morning dew collected on the remaining window panes of the city's buildings, scattering light like tiny crystals as the sun came fully into view. The thick clouds normally draped over the buildings began to rise slowly, hovering just above the buildings tops, lifting the cool blanket of fog that washed through the city streets, letting the sunlight fill the space with inviting warmth. 

 

Creatures stirred to life as the cool morning air softly blew through the area. It looks like today time has been kind to us. A nice day out of a dozen bad ones. The question is though, nice for how long?

 

The Anarchist

[REGION: The Outskirts]
[STATUS: Stable | Hunting Lizards]
[OTHER CREATURES: Noodlefriend | Cyan Lizard]

 

The air crackled and hissed with the sound of an explosion erupting in the distance. The pops increased in frequency as a massive cyan lizard shot into view over the warm grassy expanse of the outskirts. With a snap of its jaw it took another pop at a smaller lizard in its view, trying to chase it down. It slithered through the tall grass with an aggravated hiss, mere footsteps behind the smaller lizard. Before the other lizard managed to make it through the drain pipe the bright blue lizard's jaws opened to consume it whole, reaching down to take a bite out of the other creature. 

 

Before its jaws even grazed the tail tip a bright pink spear came launching out of the air straight through the top of the lizard's jaw, pinning it to the ground. The other jaw stuck opened like a loose hinge swaying in the breeze. The lizard's backside writhed with pain as it wailed and kicked and hissed. The horrible sounds it made cut off abruptly as another spear flew from the heavens down through the lizard's torso, and it fell limp. 

 

From up above a peach colored slugcat with red stripes let go from the tail of a hovering noodlefly and free-fell, landing with a huff on top of the cyan lizard. They stood up straight on top of the lizard, pink spear in hand positioned proudly out in front of them, like they had conquered a mighty beast. Their head swiveled as they surveyed the area for any nearby predators. Seeing none, they quietly bent down and began tearing at the lizard's tough flesh, eating whatever parts they could easily shove into their mouth. 

 

The Paladin

[REGION: The Drainage System]
[STATUS: Injured | Finding Food]
[OTHER CREATURES: none detected]

 

Water dripped out of a rusted black drainage pipe a few feet from the ground. The outlet of the pipe lead into a small cavern just a few pipelines away from the Outskirts. The inside was dark and musty, with thick purple moss draping from the ceiling and thick black vines dangling down from above. The ground was covered in damp, rotting grass that filled the cavern with a smell of decay. A few black platforms jutted out of the rock in the far wall, spaced evenly enough for a small creature to jump across. 

 

A tiny, dark teal slugpup was reaching up high on its little feet struggling to reach small blue fruits that lingered just out of reach. He pawed at the air, inches away from his prize. Getting no closer from his current vantage point, he sat down firmly on his haunches with an irritated snort, head still pointed at the fruits above. One foot came up to scratch his ear while he thought about what to do next. One of his ears twitched, seemingly listening to something, even though there was nothing nearby. Suddenly the pup chirped with a small wa of excitement and rushed over to the moss on the far side of the wall. 

 

Digging his paws into the soft, stringy moss he began to climb up higher. Nose twitching as his sightless eyes could only guess where the ground might be. He stopped, head whipping around, right ear twitching again as he seemed to listen to something. Then he jumped, paws flailing mid-air as he desperately searched for something to grab during his free-fall. 

 

A paw met a thick vine and clasped onto it for dear life. Within a few sways he was finally still. Suspended a few feet from the ground the slugpup hung blindly from the fruit vine he was attempting to collect earlier. Slowly, he let himself wiggle down the vine, grabbing onto the fruit and eating it upside down like a fly-bat hanging from the ceiling. 

 

Wiping his mouth with a satisfied yawn, the slugpup flipped himself around and began swinging on the vine slowly. His ear twitched in the direction of the wall and his sightless gaze followed. With a short huff he jumped from the vine over to the far wall, once again digging his claws into the dry matted material coating the musty cavern walls. He held firmly to the wall for a second before the patch of moss he was clinging to started to slide. He let out an alarmed chirp that echoed through the cavern, resonating through the nearby drainage pipes. 

 

He hit the ground hard on his back with another pained whine. For a moment he just lay there, listening for the sounds of any nearby danger. Once he decided it was safe, he slowly rolled over onto his belly, trying to quiet his pained warbling so as to not attract any nearby predators.
 

Edited April 26, 2023 by DustyStar

[Lycanious]

THE FORGOTTEN

[REGION: The Drainage System]
[STATUS: Hungry | Cautious]
[OTHER CREATURES: The Paladin]

 

From a nearby body of water, the navy-coloured snout of a slugcat slowly emerged.  In contrast to many a slugcat's reaction to being submerged they seemed relatively at peace with their surroundings, lingering at its surface while a singular, golden eye took a moment to observe their surroundings. The other eye, the left one,  looked to be missing entirely and had heavy scarring running over its eyelid and across their cheek. More scarring was apparent as the slugcat drifted towards land and started to gingerly ease their body out of the water, revealing the faded signs of old injuries that ran along their left shoulder and across their back in long, sharp lines that suggested the claws of another animal were to blame. Long, feather gills either side of their face wriggled and took in the scents in the air around them, while the rest of them took a moment to shake off the excess water. The slugcat then emitted a huff of annoyance, and turned their attention for a final time towards the water in order to scowl at it.

 

Despite the opinion that other slugcats perhaps held, this particular one found that they preferred the comfort of The Drainage System most days. The cool, damp atmosphere didn't dry out their furless skin nor hurt their eye like the piercingly-bright world above them where they knew many other slugcats preferred to roam. There was water everywhere here, letting them linger just below its surface in wait for an unfortunate bat-fly to flitter too close or to easily dart away to the safety of a nearby drainpipe should something far more dangerous make its presence known. The land by contrast made them feel far more vulnerable, requiring them to drag their now-cumbersome, aching form across rotting grass in search of food or shelter. For this reason the preferred to try to avoid crawling too far up onto the land at all, though sometimes there were days where they were forced to.

 

Today they were, regrettably, realising was going to be one of those days. Attempting to minimise the amount of sound they produced, the tired old slugcat currently found themself plodding along the floor of what looked to be a small cavern that formed the entrance to their usual haunt. Choice for food in the area so far had turned out to have been rather dismal for this particular location. A problem that could have forced them onto land on its own accord, but it was the salamander that had recently given them chase that was their justification for not returning to the watery depths in a hurry. Briefly they glanced back behind them, ears twitching, as they checked yet again to see if they were still being followed by anything. When nothing gave them cause for alarm, they slowly turned back around and continued their journey further inland in search of food.

 

It didn't take long to pick up the faint yet distinctive smell of Blue Fruit up-ahead. Though not nearly as nutritious for them as live prey, Blue Fruit at the very least was usually far easier to obtain and they would often use it as a last resort backup.  Automatically they began to steer towards it, nostrils flaring.
 

With age however they had found their sense of hearing on the land to have grown a little dull, not helped in the least by the sounds of water trickling and gurgling through a nearby pipe as they passed by it. They didn't notice the other presence at first, only freezing and looking upwards with abrupt alarm when they heard something leap to the wall beside them them and start to scramble for a hold on the surface somewhere with tiny, frantic scrapes of claws against moss and rock.  Quickly they registered that it was the sound of another slugcat though, as opposed to a much more dangerous lizard or centipede skulking about, and started to relax once more.

 

For a brief second, they glanced away and made another step towards a few fruits that remained on the vines. Then a loud, distressed chirp broke their concentration once more as they quickly switched their attention back to scanning the area around them. Had the slugcat noticed something they hadn't?

 

A moment later,  a loud thud beside them caused them to jump in alarm and scramble frantically backwards as fast as their aching old joints would let them.  A singular golden eye gawked down at the tiny being that had landed in front of them, ears pinned back as they tried to determine whether they were still conscious. Then, the other being started to whimper, and they hunched forward to emit a hushed, chittering sort of sound.  Not so loud!  They then sat back on their haunches, fin-tipped tail swishing in an irritable manner through the grass beneath them as they once again inspected their surroundings for signs of danger.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Lycanious

[HomeForFlowers]

The Dragoon

[ REGION: The Outskirts ]
[ STATUS: Stable ]

[ SLUGCATS: The Anarchist ]
[ OTHER CREATURES: Noodlefly | Cyan Lizard ]

 

The industrial flats were one of the more peaceful regions within the area which wasn't saying much. The abandoned suburbia, populated with eroded buildings and quiet tunnels, had fewer dangers compared the farm arrays or even the decaying mechanical complex. The industrial flats its fair share of lizards and centipedes, but scarcely anything more dangerous than that save for the occasional vulture or well-disguised pole plant. Even know, with the rain having fully subsided for the time being, only two lizards were wandering out into an open, grassy field cushioned between two buildings.

 

Up several feet above the lizards, a dark violet slugcat perched on a horizontal pole sticking out from the side of the building. They watched the lizards from the corner of their eye, twirling their spear idly in their hand. It wasn't often that they were sent to the outskirts of another iterator's can for recon. Normally, when they were sent so far away from their creator it was to locate pearls, decipher their data via the pearl reader implanted into their skull, and then move on to the find the next. It was an endeavor more boring than the slugcat would like to admit. The overseer that had so diligently guided them to that point had disappeared a few hours ago, most likely to determine if there were any pearls in the region. In the meantime, they just had to sit and wait.

 

The slugcat sighed, their ears drooping. Sometimes the overseer could take several cycles to find anything of interest. Even worse, sometimes it found nothing and that meant the slugcat had just waited around for nothing. It wasn't like there was anything for them to even do besides hunt, eat, and sleep. Lizards only cared for company they could fit in their mouths, there weren't many scavengers in the region to begin with, and none of the other creatures were intelligent enough to interact with, not that the slugcat would even bother with them. Unlike the other uncivilized creatures in the area, they were important enough to have not only a purpose but a name.

 

The citizen drone that hovered silently by Spooky's side drifted in front of them. A holographic symbol popped out of its eye, flashing blue and red. Spooky blinked, taking a moment to read the symbol. They couldn't read the ancient languages scribbles well without the pearl reader translating for them, but they had been with their drone long enough to associate some symbols with meaning. The flashing icon four horizontal stripes across a single vertical one with a curved tail at the end of it. Spooky remembered the symbol vividly. The top portion, the one with the lines, is what the drone flashed whenever there was food nearby. The squiggly thing on the bottom added another meaning to it, one that Spooky hadn't fully deciphered when it came to that symbol being by itself; however, when paired the food symbol, they had a general idea of what the drone was trying to tell them:

 

"Something here wants to eat you"

 

Glancing down from their perch, Spooky realized they had neglected some sort of commotion underneath them. A slugcat was hunched over a deceased lizard, bowing their head down to rip chunks of it. Spooky hadn't seen them enter the room through any of the nearby pipes so where did they come from? Did the fall from even higher above Spooky or was there some hidden pipe that Spooky had neglected to notice? The slugcat looked backed over at their drone that was persistently flashing the danger symbol. They scoffed at the absurdity of it. What exactly was supposed to be dangerous in that scenario, the lizard or the slugcat? Spooky had handled hundreds of lizards before and the slugcat? Please, Spooky was the cream of the crop when it came to combat and they rarely had to resort to such measures when it came to their own species. They had it on very good authority that they were especially charming.

 

Unperturbed by the drone's warning, Spooky slid down the pole and hopped onto a nearby ledge. They let out a loud, waaing sound to signify their presence. They continued to make similar sounds each time they leaped down onto a new ledge up until they hopped on a platform eye-distance away from the slugcat. Spooky sat on their haunches, tilting their head curiously and unabashed at the stranger.

[DustyStar]

The Anarchist

[REGION: The Outskirts]
[STATUS: Stable | Hunting Lizards]
[OTHER CREATURES: Noodlefriend | Cyan Lizard]

 

The sound of another slugcats call startled noodles out of their feast, their head snapping in the direction of the sound. They jumped directly on top of the lizard and curled defensively around it, letting out a soft hiss to let the other slugcat know that this was their prey. They took a quick glance up at noodlefriend who flew just out of eyesight above a collapsed wall frame to make sure they were still safe. Their spear was still firmly gripped in their right hand, held right underneath them just out of view. As the other slugcat finally stopped a few paces from them they gave them a sharp cry in greeting.

 

This is mine. Find your own.

 

At once they stood up with their spear in hand, back hunched low to the ground with their ears pinned back against their head, tail tip twitching in anticipation of a fight. The bright pink tip of the spear was pointed at the other slugcat, both hands tightly gripping the lower part of the shaft. They began a long series of wa's and clicks at the purple slugcat 

 

I dont want to fight if i don't have to. You stay put and everything will be juuuuust fine,  ya hear?

 

The Paladin

[REGION: The Drainage System]
[STATUS: Injured | Finding Food]
[OTHER CREATURES: none detected]

 

Not so loud!

 

The sudden sound of another creature caused the younger slugcat to let out another alarmed chirp as there has been no one in the area prior to him falling according to his observations. Defensively he rolled away from the figure and hunched his back on all fours, staring blindly in the direction of the sound, ears pinned down to his skull. He let out the most aggressive chitter he could to let his opponent know not to mess with him, but in the end sounded more like a dying lantern-mouse than anything truly threatening. 

 

fret not, child. They do not mean you harm. You may relax.

 

The familiar sound of his deities voice ringing through his mind effortlessly soothed the knotted anxiety that was building in his stomach. Slightly his back arch eased a bit into a more relaxed curve, and the pups ears rose from his head. He let out a soft call to the other creature a few paces from him.

 

Who are you? What do you want?

 

It was quiet, and his voice wavered with visible nervousness, but he stood his ground.

 

I am alone here. I have no family. I am simply searching for food.

 

He sat up onto his haunches and ran a paw quickly over one of his ears, nose twitching as the young pups scarred face seemed to look over the other slugcats tired form. He didn't know exactly why he felt the need to elaborate his situation to a stranger, but he trusted his deity to not bring him to any harm.

[DustyStar]

The Anarchist

[REGION: Unknown]

[LOCATION: Shelter]
[STATUS: Stable | Waking Up]
[OTHER CREATURES: Unknown]

 

The slugcats eyes blinked open slowly, risen from slumber by the harsh metallic grinding of the gears and servos opening the heavy metal doors of their protective shelter. They stayed laying down letting their consciousness slowly return to their body as their mind focused on feeling the subtle vibrations running through it as the doors shook open. With a yawn they finally rose, bringing a back paw up to their ear for a good scratch. With a hop they squeeze themselves through the door and down the pipe into the chill morning air.  

 

Drips of rain still fell from the surrounding pipes and dilapidated metallic structures of the city they stayed in over the past cycle. Carefully reaching from the pipe onto a broken metal panel dangling from a wall they clawed their way onto it and stood upright, turning their small black nose to the air for a sniff. The air had a dry tang to it. It put an strange feeling in their gut. It was familiar in a way. Reminded them of the mornings outside the can they were raised in. A lingering instinct told them they only had a few hours to wander before the heat set in. Their gaze flicked over to the droplets of water pooling on the ground. Much of it was already beginning to evaporate. Indeed, the day would be warm. The niggling familiarity itched at their brain. They looked off into the distant city, lingering thoughts and memories of their city and their can melting through their mind. The thoughts sinking into each other before swirling together into something indistinct. They shook their head, better not to dwell on it for long. They hopped off the platform away to find food. 

 

 

The Paladin

[REGION: Unknown]

[LOCATION: Drainage Pipe]
[STATUS: Stable | Waking Up]
[OTHER CREATURES: Unknown]

 

The young pup came skittering out of the drainage pipe a little faster than they had intended splatting face first into a murky puddle that pooled at its opening. They sneeze, shaking their whole body to try and get the water off their thick woolly fur that was now starting to form clumps from the dampness. They took a step out of the puddle with a short gasp, the rough texture unexpected. They set their paw down carefully, taking in the sensation. Last they remember the ground had been smooth and cool. Now it was rough and wet, like sand around water. They lowered their nose to sniff it. It was earthy and pungent. Some strange mixture of mineral and rot. This definitely had not been whee they had last fallen asleep.

 

“It is different.” They announced.

 

yes, you are correct.

 

The powerful voice rang through their mind with startling clarity. Hearing it put their racing heart at ease.

 

“It all feels different. Everything.”

 

Indeed child. Time itself has changed.

 

“It feels off. We are not where we should be.”

 

Indeed not. We are far back in the past.

 

“How far?”

 

It isn't exactly clear. Many layers overlap. Many are here from different times. Many exist where they should not. It remains a time where the ancients were distant, their influence is still far.

 

"I see."

 

They sniffed the ground once again, taking in the scents with this new information in mind. Slowly they walked onward, careful to feel where they were stepping as the terrain had shifted so much since they had arrived.

 

Serenade Of A Desert Rose

[REGION: Valley of Fire and Ice]

[LOCATION: Her Can, far east side of the valley]
[STATUS: Stable | Joining VC]
[OTHERS: Slugcat | Ham | Line]

 

 

 

She floated gracefully through the air lifted by the invisible forces of her anti-gravity chamber. The layers of her skirt drifted upwards like petals of a flower as she lowered herself down to the floor. Taking a few dainty steps forwards she then gently reached downwards towards an alcove filled with a few brightly colored mounds that had a glossy shimmer even in her dim can lighting. She carefully wrapped both hands around one of the small mounds and lifted it upwards into her arms. Immediately it began to squirm, unfurling into the startled expression of a young slugcat. 

 

“No worries, little one. I simply want to show you to some friends.” Her melodic voice rung through the otherwise empty can echoing off the walls. 

 

The small creature took no heed to her words and continued its revolt anyway. It writhed for a moment attempting to sink and squish out of her grip and for a moment nearly succeeded before she caught it again and held it more firmly against her chest. Seeming to accept defeat it plopped its head across her shoulder and wordlessly stared off into space.

 

“That's better.” She cooed, bringing a hand up to softly caress the top of its head.

 

With a small hop she lifted back up into the air, soaring over to the near wall. Upon her approach the panels shifted and opened, revealing a large screen with the long glowing bodies of a few overseer-like attachments poking out the sides of it. It lit up in a bright flash, flickering in and out as the translucent overlay drew neon lines across its surface until it resembled a text chat platform. Needing no physical contact her processors flicked through the channels until she found the one she wanted.

 

@everyone I have something to show everyone, if anyone wants to join me on video. Outside of Ham of course ❤️

 

The screen dissolved then flickered back to life with a small image of her face in the top corner split between another currently empty video screen. It was slightly muffled but she could make out some unintelligible muttering in the distance.

 

“Hi, Ham! What ‘cha working on?” She chirped.

 

A ping sounded as the screen split further. The new video screen was black outside of a small icon of a pink writing utensil.

 

“Hi, Line! So happy to see you could make it.”

 

A text box opened on the lower corner of the screen as a few bits of text blipped into view.

 

@Rose hello my love

@Rose what is it you wanted to show us?

 

“Ah! Right.” She wrapped her hand around the slugcat cradled into her shoulder and held it out to the video screen high above her head so everyone could see it clearly. “I found one of the purposed organisms Night talked about a while back! Look at how cute they are!” She giggled.

[Lycanious]

Hammers An Immovable Rock

 

[LOCATION: Ham's Can]
[OTHERS: Slugcat | Rose | Line]

 

“The Void Sea beckons, and yet I linger.”

 

A thin, wiry antennae twitched as he reached towards the azure-coloured data pearl with his metallic hand. With the adjustment of gravity in the interior of his Can both he and the pearl were suspended in mid-air, his fingertips just lightly brushing against the smooth, rounded surface of the object as its words scrolled across his visual processors.

 

“T’is not for material goods, nor unclaimed victories. T’is not for the wonders of this undying world, nor the desire to claim them as my own.”

 

He enjoyed reading from a data pearl in hand ever since he’d first witnessed the Ancients do the same with their note-taking. It wasn’t necessary of course, he had a flawless memory bank that could retain millions upon millions of perfectly-accurate scripts. But he found it fascinating to switch it off for a while and instead comprehend and analyse the words he had written as he recited them for what would feel like the first time. It would lead to different inflections, different stances. Sometimes he’d even ignore the script for a moment and improvise a new line on the spot. It was how he imagined the organic brain to work, in some way, and thus had potential to take him one step closer to acting and thinking in the same way as The Ancients did.

 

“It is for you, that I hesitate. It is you that continues to bind me to this plane of existence. And it is you for whom I-”

 

“Hi, Ham! What ‘cha working on?”

 

The solemn speech gave way to an exclamation of surprise as Ham withdrew his hand from the pearl and left it suspended in the air a short distance from him. Ham often left his video rolling when practising a performance, mostly in the hopes of constructive criticism, but it was becoming rarer and rarer for anyone to actually join him in the channel these days and always startled him when he heard a response.

 

Delighted by this new development, Ham made a wide sweeping gesture with the arms of his Iterator Puppet and watched as the walls shifted and parted in kind. Behind them lurked an enormous screen, and the familiar silhouette of Serenade of A Desert Rose revealed itself to his visual processors. The blue-painted Iterator clasped his hands together in a show of delight and then made a low bow in greeting, making sure to swish the long, luxurious fur-lined coat he wore out behind him as if caught in a momentary wind.

 

“I am working on a new theatrical performance, but of course!” Ham declared as he rose to full height once more. The puppet then whirled forward, shaking back and forth, until finally it detached itself from the mechanical arm that kept it bound to the inside wall of Ham’s can. With practised precision he landed in a wide-legged stance upon a small, raised platform that had been marked out along the floor beneath him. Accompanying the drop to the ground was a dramatic change in the lighting of his surroundings, the soft ambient glow of various monitors extinguishing in favour of a concentrated spotlight upon his puppet.

 

With his newly found spotlight Ham posed in a melodramatic manner in the centre of the room, hand momentarily outstretched to trace a semi-circle wave through the air. “Picture this, a tale of two souls, back when our grandiose cities still bustled with activity of The Ancients.” He began in a voice far deeper from his usual timbre. “One, an upcoming talented thespian, taking the world by storm with their immaculately written plays and flawless character portrayals. The other?” Ham took a moment to change up his positioning, quickly scuttling over to the other side of his stage and drawing his cape up with his hand so that it briefly hid the lower half of his face from view. “A cloaked, enigmatic figure. One who they spend many a day pining for but, alas, they seek the Void Sea and must rid themselves of all such ties to The Great Cycle.” Ham released his grip on his cape, and poised now with his hands clenched before him. “And thus, the audience shall witness in shock as they descend into despair, nay, madness, as they find themself torn between their wants and desires.”

Ham then perked up from the melodramatic stance, now patting down either side of his cape for a moment as the lighting returned to normal. “T’is my latest attempt to explore the inner machinations of the minds of The Ancients.” Declared the iterator. He then swooped forward, glowing eyes widening as he observed the strange little creature held in Rose’s hands. “Ah, a little beastie!” He exclaimed in delight, again clasping his hands together. “Does it have a name? Night usually gives them names. I have them all recorded for future reference.”

[HomeForFlowers]

Night Chases Dawn

 

《 REGION: Night Chases Dawn 》

《  LOCATION: Neural Terminus(Puppet Chamber)》
《  NEARBY: Rose | Line | Ham | Slugpup 》

 

The puppet chamber was lit up by the ambience light of over a dozen overseers. Most of them were his, dark blue just like his puppet, but there were several overseers sent by other iterators sporting their own unique colors, creating an almost nebula-like light show within his can. His hand hovered over the holographic message in front of him. It was a status report, an automated one sent by one of his overseers from the field. Indebted as the unofficial leader of his local group, Night was obligated to send his overseers far and wide to check for structural failures in both his and the nearby iterator's cans. While he would receive live updates from the overseers as they adventured through the remains of the Creators' world, they were also tasked with sending automated reports of their activities either every five cycles or when under distress. The status report in front of him was sent due to the latter, which wouldn't have been noteworthy, except nothing in the report made sense.

 

"That can't be right," Night mumbled to himself. He pinched his fingers together in the air and then slowly spread them out. The message sent by the overseer zoomed in until it encompassed the entire window. The report detailed the activities of a purposed organism as it traveled through an abandoned industrial complex. The report contained health updates on the organism as well as readings of the pearls that it collected. Most curious was the functioning citizen drone that was imprinted on it, one of Night's citizen drones. The header on the message was even more concerning: [NSC_OVS4051] - CYCLE96 REPORT. A quick scroll through the overseer's previous reports showed no evidence of any similar reports in prior cycles, and yet the header implied otherwise. Normally, Night would order the overseer to turn to the superstructure so he could see if it was faulty, but that didn't explain why it was following a slugcat he did not recognize around or how the slugcat found one of his own citizen drones. If there was something wrong with his memory, to the point that he couldn't remember over 90 reports from his own overseer, then his own structural failures were too great to—

 

@everyone I have something to show everyone, if anyone wants to join me on video. Outside of Ham of course ❤️

 

In lieu of some of the more sophisticated screens and attachments the newer iterator models had, one of Night's overseers was dedicated to keeping the local group's general chat open at all times. He seldom spoke in the chatroom himself, only really engaging with an occasional comment or when someone specifically pinged him or the entire group. He took it upon himself to keep the chatroom open at all times, in case of emergencies. Knowing Rose, the video call was less of an emergency and more likely because one of her newly hatched centipedes was a strange color.

 

Still, it was better to see what she had to say.

 

Night started a process to comb through his overseer files for the missing overseer reports. It would take several cycles to go through all of his filed reports, so it was good to let it cook while he focused on something else. Several of Night's overseers popped out of the wall, using their antennas to create the corners of the screen. The screen flickered for several seconds before the videos of the other iterators came into view.

 

"Evening everyone." Night's eyes drifted down, or as much as his robotic body would allow, to the defeated slugcat slung on Rose's shoulder. Night have grown a soft spot for the slug-like creatures over the cycles, ever since a wild one had made its way into puppet chamber long ago. A shifting movement underneath his robe reminded Night that he hadn't shown off his latest little friend to the local group yet. They were still young, exceptionally so, and still in the process of being raised and tested. They were the first slugcat Night had successfully made specifically for his own purposes, but they still needed time and love to grow before sending them outside. "I see you have a new friend, Rose. Showing them off, I presume?"