Adepts Knead Daugherty
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Date: 09/02/2018 |
1337 Temple Street, Corktown This basement apartment is, in a word, tiny: one bedroom, one bathroom, and a living room that can cosily fit a half-dozen people. The entertainment suite serves as the living room's centrepiece. The couch's leather is peeling, but it's still comfortable; the coffee table has stains, but it's still sturdy. The wide, flatscreen TV set has some scuffs -- likely, it was taken out of the trash of a wealthy family that had just upgraded from a 71-inch screen to 72. Rows of game consoles surround it, all in pristine condition. Obviously where the occupants put most of their economic effort. Those, and the computers on the two desks beside each other, against one wall. In one corner stands a miniature kitchen: essentially just a sink, a fridge-freezer with a microwave on top, and a single small bench, barely big enough for one refurbished appliance at a time. One short hallway leads to a linen closet and has two rooms branching from it, with the bathroom on the left. It's small and perfunctory, but it at least has a bathtub as well as a plain, glass-walled shower cubicle. The right-hand door leads into the single bedroom. |
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Cast: | |
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Shadi texted Jae. Asked if they could chat about 'that thing'. She is so not bringing it up over the internet. That is why she's here, though, knockin' on the door. She's brought people's caffeinated beverage of choice. She asked. Despite Aster's significant gamer cred, her caffeinated beverage of choice is /not/ Mountain Dew. Instead, it's vanilla Coke. Er, that is, Coke with vanilla in it, not normal Coke. As is likely expected, she's the one to open the door and invite Shadi in with a bright smile. "Hey there, unicorn. C'mon in!" She's in a tank top and shorts, enjoying the warm weather while it lasts. Jae is currently wearing a pink sports bra and sky blue tiny athletic shorts. She takes a deep breath and holds it for a second, squinting through her usual blue designer frames at a tablet she is holding in hand. She draws a stylus aross the surface, pursing some precise interaction no doubt lost on the rest of the room. Jae doesn't even look up as Shadi enters. "Hey, Shadi. ...Cherry coke on the counter." So similar to Aster's beverage of choice yet utterly different. There's a metaphor on life in there somewhere. Meanwhle, Shadi is in her typically far more modest, far more covered attire and ever present hijab. She bought the requested beverages and a frappe for herself and soon enough she's dispensing them with broad, happy smiles. "How's it going, guys? Jae, I was hoping maybe you'd been able to figure out what's up with that thing I told you about," a glance towards Aster. She's not sure if Aster had been filled in by Jae and she's checking her expression to see if that's the case. Aster's expression is a raised eyebrow. She hops up to sit on the counter, her legs hanging down. "Er, 'that thing'?" She knows that if she's to be brought in, they'll do it naturally, but that won't prevent her from a nudge. Or, as the case may be, a reminder, in case they've forgotten that they haven't told her. "...Oh. Right. I told virtual Aster, not realspace Aster inhabiting the virtual plane. I should probably put the game down before I stop being to tell which layer of reality I inhabit." A beat. "That is to say, I kind of forgot." Jae looks up then, blinking slowly as she casts her brown eyes between the two women now in the room with her. "Well. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to share. Shadi came to me with a, um, problem for one of her friends. We were looking for a person who seems to be impossible to track in virtual space. I- actually got lost in a null-end maze trying." "Rei," says Shadi to Aster in answer to which friend. "I ran itno a weird thing on the internet when I tried to search a name related to her. It kinda got all weird on me and it -- I dunno - felt like something was maybe watching what I was doing? Anyway, I asked Jae to see if she could find anything, because I couldn't even find what was supposed to be there, you know?" "And- nothing." Jae's nose twiches a little bit. Her expression is flatter than usual, which means she's vexed. Aster blinks. "Oh, Rei. If it's the same issue, then yeah, I've been trying to help her with that issue too, but... a lot of it's just beyond me. Though depending on timing, er. That 'weird thing on the internet' may have been me, or the direct result when /I/ had tried to get in and have a look at it. What name were you searching?" "Thomas Daugherty?" Jae does look vaguely relieved when Aster mentions being stumped as well, thoug hthe fidgeting continues. She traces a circle in the air with her big toe by rotating her ankle. Her styles taps quietly against the tablet in her hands. Brown eyes remain affixed to Aster for now. "Might be the same thing," says Shadi, waiting for Aster to confirm that's the case. She slurps her frappe. "That sounds possible. It's a problem. So what does it mean?" She asks, now, of both of them. "Ah." Aster shakes her head. "Not the same issue, then. She hasn't mentioned any Daugherty to me before." Her nose wrinkles. "I sure hope she's not tangling with /several/ weird things in cyberspace, that would be bad for her health." "Who did she have you looking for?" Jae asks then, her eyes narrowing then. She pauses. "I didn't find anything," she adds somewhat sheepishly afterward, pursing her lips as she does so. "I am not completely sure I know where to start. It's just- I had a thought." She takes a deep breath, drawing that stylus across the surface of te tablet again. She looks down at it before continuing on in her soft, even voice. "It seemed to me that the null-ends- I don't know, it was kind of weird. They might have been forming a pattern. Like a shape in virtual space. I'm not even sure why I'm talking about this, I'm not even sure the concept makes sense to me. But it was like the feeling of being a rat traveling from room to room not realizing I was actually wandering in a maze." Now Shadi's looking at Aster with curious eyes, herself. She's wondering just how deep Rei's troubles go, clearly, but Jae's words have her squinting at her too. Brows furrow. "That... sounds aggravating," she adds. "Very." She takes another sip. Because, you know, she needs one after that. Aster shakes her head. "She'd had me working on something else -- I'll have to leave it up to her to tell you about it, it's pretty private to her." She rubs her chin thoughtfully at Jae's commentary. "Have you tried running the same kinds of searches via the Digital Web rather than the usual internet? It all still connects, and it'd give you another couple of dimensions to look at it with. Or, you revisit those null ends and I'll watch from the Web to trace it." "Two man job. Might be a good idea to work together," Jae replies soberly. "If you watch from the Digital Web we might get additional hits." She takes a deep breath and then nods her head once, a bit forcedly. "I wasn't sure I should say anything but SHadi was the one who asked me to work on this so... Her discretion. You're in." She flashes Aster a brief smile and then leans back in her seat slightly. "Okay, so. I can run the search again, you can mirror from the Digital Web. If we get a hit on both sides then we can dig a little deeper into the source code and see if we find an aberration. Right?" Shadi, for her part, instead mouths 'Digital Web'? "Is that some kinda dark web thingy? I mean, the web is already digital, so it's kind of a silly name, if you ask me. What's next? The spirity realm of spirity spirits?" Her nose twitches slightly anmd then clasps her hands together around her frappe, looking back and forth between them. "Still, sounds awesome. Maybe the two of you can figure out what's going on! I know if anyone can, it's both of you." A beaming smile. Aster nods to Jae. "Sounds good to me. Me and Wildcard are all set up for it. Though, ah. Because of the gauntlet issues Detroit has with the spirity realm of spirity spirits, Maya's made me promise not to Web-dive from anywhere in the city -- have to head to somewhere /outside/ the effect of that big sticky web thing first." She considers Shadi's confusion, and glances over to Jae. "D'you want to tell her, or should I?" "Go for it. I'm already breaking all of my rules by being here physically for this discussion," Jae repleis seriously. She shurgs her shoulders, continuing to wathc her tablet as if nothing of particular import is occurring around her. "Digital Web. You're not wrong, Shadi. No one goes around talking about the analog web. I wondeer wht that actually is... People going around with strings and cups crisscrossing entire continents sharing their discoveries? An analog... 'Web'..." Tucking the stylus into her palm Jae actually makes the air quotes before looking up to see their reactions. "...Anyway." Shadi is just staring at Jae like she's grown an extra head. "...okay?" She says, after a halting pause. Then she has a drink. "Okay, then. So... yeah. I'm catching on from what ASter said. Kinda. And you." Aster smiles at Jae. "Yes, but you being here physically makes /this/ possible." She slips around behind Jae and drapes on her, both arms wrapped around her. She kisses her cheek from behind. "Love you. And your goofy analogue ideas." With that, she turns her attention more on Shadi. "Anyway... the Digital Web is a higher realm. Essentially, it /is/ cyberspace, encapsulating the internet and beyond it. I've heard people say that you can even climb there from the Umbra, though I've never done it myself. We just project ourselves, VR-style. Full immersion. Pro tip: DO NOT go to Myspace via the Digital Web. Some of those pages are too garish for /two/ senses, let alone all of them." "Visiting MySpace was the worst dare I ever took," Jae replies quietly. She leans her head back against Aster and closes her eyes, sinking into the taller girl's arms. "I love you too," Jae replies breathlessly, half-laying there. "It's a virtual construct that embodies all information encapsulated on TCP/IP as 3D space. If you posit that the information on the internet is in fact indicative of another layer of reality you can enter and experience all of it directly then you're close." Jae gives a light shrug. "Some of this going straight over my hijab but I kinda get it," replies Shadi, taking the end of her scarf and waving it at them. "I've been to a spirit world before, anyway, so I kinda get the idea!" Wait what she's been to the spirit world?! She beams at them both. "So you think that you'll be able to more clearly see what's going on from there? If Jae is right, and it's a maze, what happens if you get sucked in or lost?" Aster doesn't seem surprised about Shadi having been to the spirit world. Hell, as far as she's concerned, this unicorn may have been all the way to Equestria, and she wouldn't find it surprising. Aster hms. "My thinking was that I'd be looking at the maze from outside, following searches the way Jae's running them. But worst comes to worst, I just disconnect and then boom, I'm right back here." "There are different levels of access," Jae offers helpfully. "If Aster connects virtually then worst case scenario I'll just turn her rig off." She takes a deep breath again, stil llaying against Aster and forcibly dedicating the other woman as her personal support system. "But if she really gets lost somehow I'll just have to go find her." She arches a borw at the mention of the spirit world but then Jae settles down again. She seems to take cues for her level of surprise from Aster. "Right. Okay. So, all I'm saying is that whoever set this up might be watching and ready for this kinda thing, is all," says Shadi, spreading her hands out in a disarming gesture. "I just want my friends to be careful because I don't want either of you to get hurt. Please promise me that you'll be /extra/ careful, okay?" She fixes them both with stern looks. They're not super effective, those looks. Aster beams at Jae laying against her. "And I'm sure you'd find me before I even knew I was lost, sweetheart." She nods to Shadi. "Yes, I'll be careful. That's why I made that promise to Maya, too; I did a dive the other day from a hotel near Ikea, and that went just fine. We'll be extra careful, and come out fine." "Extra careful. Okay." Jae nods slowly. "If we both vanish from existence go find Maya and tell her what's going on as soon as possible. Other than that, we've got this handled." She is engaging in a classic trust exercise, resting largely on Aster and her heels. If the other woman took a step away... Well. Jae continues to speak, "There's always anelement of risk. Have you been being careful, wandering in the spirit world and all that?" "I am like the last person Maya wants to see. My advice? Get Rei. She'll be ready to watch over both of you in case anything gets hinky," says Shadi, "And this is her thing anyway so why not make sure she's carrying her fair share of the load?" She then gets a broad grin at Jae. "It was just the one time, okay?! Well, two times. Technically." She coughs once. Aster does not take a step away. Her arms descend, wrapping more around waist or hip height now. "And vanishing like that is seriously a worst-case scenario. I don't even have any of the kind of gear you'd need to make something like that happen. And Maya is considerably more handy for spirit-realm issues like that; she's someone we can expect to /be able to/ come find us, and I don't think that's something Rei can do. I'm sure you two could sort out your differences if it's to get us back from being lost in the Web." "It's pretty unlikely. If there's someone with that level of administrative access protecting this thing we're way more likely to just never get anywhere. I wouldn't worry." Jae smiles quietly, otherwise remaining entirely still. "IT'll be okay. I can't promise, but the math is overwhelmingly in our favour." "Well, I mean, if there's no other option, sure. I'll do what I have to do of course, especially if you're both in any kind of danger. Just let me know when you do it and then give me an all clear when you're back. Okay?" She leans back, wiggling her toes in her shoes as she observes the both of them with concern. Aster nods to Shadi. "Of course. We'll let you know when we're hacking reality and hacking /in/ reality simultaneously, and then let you know when we're done. Though time can get a bit screwy when you're operating at the speed of thought and cyberspace, so don't be too surprised if the second message comes in before the first." She's joking. Probably. "Nonsensical statement," Jae replies soberly to this. She opens her eyes to look right at Shadi. "Time is an illusion derived from our failure to comprehend dimensions external to our perception." "....okay then! I'll be over here witrh my arrow of time and what not," replies Shadi, giving Jae a look. SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING. Aster giggles at Jae and leans in tighter, far enough to kiss her upside-down. "God I love you." She turns her attention across to Shadi. "We're messing with you. Time should be just fine and sequential for this." "But it's still largely illusory," Jae adds. She returns the kiss from Aster in a rather intimate way. "I love you too. More than anything. Don't tell math I said that." Somehow, even Jae has managed to forget about her tablet for a moment. "I gathered. Also, I am going to roll my eyes at both of you now." And so she does. Roll her eyes at both of them, that is. She makes a big show of it, too. Aster grins. "Just try to roll a natural 20 with 'em, alright? Because nothing short of that will hit the AC of how lovey-dovey we get. So, sounds like we have our plan now, in any case. But what else has been going on with you, Shadi? I sort of disappeared for a bit, so we haven't caught up in a while." "I made sure to fortify our armor to negate critical hits," Jae replies lazily to Aster's statement. She takes another deep breath. "Yeah... I didn't get to ask a lot of questions when I saw you to set up for this Daugherty thing. Apparently you're wandering in other reality levels now?" "Oh, that happened over a year ago," says Shadi. Again, like it was no big deal. "I wouldn't call it /wandering/, anyway. I just sort of fell in by accident, but definitely not wandering. All of that is a bit beyond me. I'm really kinda fortunate to be alive because a really awesome and chill spirit fisher cat helped me out big time." She idly twines the end of her scarf between her fingers. "Nothing super new with me, though. Mostly, trying to get Kai to help me out with some things with regards to the river for a friend and sticking my nose where it doesn't belong." Aster gives Shadi a long, hard stare. "You... completely by accident, but /not/ by wandering... just sort of... stumbled past the /gulf between physical and spiritual realities/ and got stuck there for a bit." She lets that hang, and just stares at Shadi, while holding Jae. Now Jae finally has both eyes open. "So how does that work?" She asks rather pointedly as her eyes return to boring holes into Shadi by means of redirected light energy. Yes, her /gay/ eyes. Which are also brown. FOr those who might have questions later about the quality of those organs. "Welllll, it was a bit more complicated than that. I was investigating a disappearance and it turned out the thing that was doing it was punching holes in the barrier between the worlds and I fell through /that/. Did save someone, though, so it's all good." You know, just a typical thing teeangers do. Aster continues staring, her own brown eyes boring in from another, taller angle. Pincer attack. "Uh-huh," she says. "Yes, just a thing that happens, surely." She shakes her head, somewhere between amused and bemused. "But, we should get our gear together for that dive." "...Right. But you said you've been twice?" Then Jae shakes her head as well, as if she were tossing off some kind of mesmerizing distraction. "We do have to, um, get ready. We'll talk to you again soon, Shadi? I promise to give you a call before we actually go in and do this." "Well, yeah. We had to kill the thing that was taking people," says Shadi. She looks to Aster. She can probably guess what she means by 'we'. "I mean, /they/ did all the work but you know." She waves her hands, then says, "Well, okay. I'll let you two do get back to being obnoxiously adorable!" She pops to her feet. Aster shudders at the reference to that particular 'we' shaking her head. "You didn't have to /go with them/," she says. "I mean, it's not like you were involved in the fighting, so you could have just... stayed home." She grins. "Oh, but we never /stop/ being obnoxiously adorable." She kisses Jae's cheek. "But I do need to start getting things together." She releases the embrace and gives Jae a moment to get back to standing up under her own weight. | |
