=>[MINI-META] Return: Outside the Hive

[seekingCylem]

Oisier held Reisio's hand. The other adjusted one of the straps on their backpack. It was Oisier's turn to carry the supplies. Truthfully, they preferred it that way. They enjoyed the security of having immediate access in case of an emergency. (Bandages. Flashlight. Notepad. Juice boxes. Moonblock. Compass. Warm scarf. Umbrella. Signal flare. Actually, the backpack was rather heavy...) If the twins needed to consolidate, then Reisio would be the one to pick up Oisier. That was always Oisier's favorite combination. There was a thrill in the added height that came with riding on Reisio's shoulders.

Oisier was feeling especially aware of their stature surrounded as they were by older trolls. There were plenty of other children, certainly. The host of the evening, however, was careful to stress that the challenge placed before them was to be no simple walk in the park. A park filled with dead people, maybe. Oisier blinked the ridiculous idea away. They were missing important information.

The young blueblood watched the laminated diagram like it held the secrets of the universe. In a sense, it did. "Latent psychic energy." That in itself didn't pique Oisier's interest. Bodies expelled plenty of things when they died. There was no mystery in that. No... mysticism. Were the ghosts still technically trolls? Were they aware of their actions or simply responding to stimuli as coded into them by the original troll? Where did they go when they dispersed?

A hushed "Ooh..." escaped Oisier as Glamis--THE Glamis--listed off the rogue's gallery of mansion inhabitants. Their grip on Reisio's hand tightened almost imperceptibly. There were so many fascinating socialites (and one grotesque but admittedly interesting oddity). Any one of them would have been a boon to meet in person, and now they were all in the same place and undead. Doubly, nay, triply interesting.

Despite their childlike wonder, Oisier still found it in them to scoff at the emphasis on the buddy system. As if they didn't know. Any other troll present should be so lucky as to bask in the glow of their perfected state of buddyhood.

"It looks as though we are intended to not just incite a ghost, but capture them as well," Oisier mused to their twin, and perhaps their lusus. Oisier was never entirely sure whether or not Planariant understood the intricacies of spoken word. At the moment the creature was content to flutter by their ankles, munching what little sea grass was growing between the uneven cobblestones. "What say you, Reisio? Will this undertaking require... backup?" Their good eye slid in Reisio's direction.

Sypon

 

[Sypon]

Most of the infrastructure of the hive had been destroyed. History, lost. Likely, all documentation was gone too. Reisio had heard through the grapevine about Awassi’s parties. They seemed like they were the kind of troll who had a lot of books, needlessly complicated architectural details, and perhaps intricate molding for them to ponder. It was a shame that the hive was gone. The hive, and its residents and associated guests. There was comfort in the hand that held onto their other half. All of this was interesting; surely a boon for the Mirrims, pertaining so acutely to their interests. So why did they feel some hesitation? It was something to unpack later. For now, Reisio chalked it up to an upset tummy. Flatparent warned them to eat slower before they all set off, after all.

Scanning the crowd lead to a few important sightings. A few celebrities had shown up (exciting), but the most important celebrities of all were here: The SHEshells. It seemed like only last night Reisio and Oisier were traipsing through their haunted hive, taking pamphlets for their JROTC program. Now, they were at a real haunted hive, with real military officers. Reisio’s pumpbiscuit bristled with pride and the need to impress. They would have to join them as soon as the briefing was over.

Fortunately, the briefing was - well, brief. As brief as it was scientific. There was some comfort in knowing that the building-blocks of troll life were well-researched. That sense of stability took some of the mystique out of their fear, which was a double-edged sword. They looked over at their twin, who seemed to be coming to the same conclusion in their dry expression.

The building seemed like a danger, but nothing two intrepid explorers could not handle. They were small, too small to trigger some kind of sinkhole, probably. The ghosts were another thing entirely. Reisio tightened their grip on Oisier’s hand and hummed. “A heavy task, of not a nebulous one. We should add numbers to our ranks. I am noticing that the Lieutenants Devile and Dromen are here.”

They tugged slightly on their twin’s hand in order to start off in the direction of the two women.

As Reisio approached them, they realized that they were suddenly uncertain of what to say; how to introduce themself. They were of a certain rank, surrounded by others of a certain rank. They were unranked, still children, volunteers and enthusiasts. The atmosphere lent itself to formality, and yet there was an off-kilter atmosphere fostered by the familiarity of strangers. Reisio cleared the knot in their throat and kept a firm grip on their anchor, Oisier.

“Hello. We are interested in joining an investigative party. As we are avid fans and an interested party in the JROTC, our position among your ranks or your associates’ is logical.”

They bowed at the hip and rotated back into their standing position. Flatparent fluttered around Reisio’s ankles supportively.

seekingCylem

Yamashii

Doutei

 

[Buzzwulf]

Quella managed to get there just in time to hear the very tail end of the blueblood's speech about ghosts, huffing and puffing like she'd just run a marathon. In fact, she nearly had. Ghosts? GHOSTS? The hunter hadn't even known such a thing could exist! If everything that died left behind a bit of itself, did Quella have a bunch of beast ghosts haunting her, waiting for their chance at revenge? The hunter shuddered at the thought, put it out of her mind.

"Private Quella Fehtan, reporting for duty!" The blueblood snapped a half-salute to the assembled trolls, a huge grin on her face. She stuck up her hand, waved it in the air.

"I have one question!" she shouted, pointing at Glamis. The blueblood gave the ghost hunter a glare, looking him over suspiciously. There was definitely something spectral about the way he was standing. Oh yes. Something was most certainly strange and otherworldly about the troll. Quella pointed an accusing finger right at him.

"How do we know YOU'RE not a ghost?!" she cried out, springing forward. She pinched at the air as she tried to get closer to the blueblood, trying to make sure that he was just as material as the rest of them. "You're acting just like a sneaky GHOST would!"

Hivestuck

please save me from myself

 

[Gl!tch~]

Isn't it ironic how we're all finding ourselves here again?

"Not particularly," she replied. "I don't doubt that a few trolls seek closure, based on the trauma and subterfuge from the night of the ball." It all made too much sense to Hemera, really. She was more surprised by who didn't show up than who did.

Mera went quiet after, not about to interrupt or distract her superior. The information itself... Hm. Those sorts of types were bound to pop up, she supposed. She would keep a note to remain vigilant whenever she could, though with the current goings-on, she had higher priorities. No questions on her end, either.

And she didn't pull her notebook out until Glamis addressed the whole group. Mera had to write fast to keep up. Details on ghosts, the more-public information on the deceased... And... Wait. She looked up. Buddy system? Maybe just strange to hear a personality like Glamis's say those words together. A good point, though. Something she herself did not capitalize on before. Oops. Live and learn...

Back to note-taking, only glancing up again at the? Move? Kursha did towards Sarcel. She looked between the two of them, then back to her notes. None of her business.

Cataloguing the deceased, her thoughts turned to Tigwyn. Out of a window and assumed dead. Hemera was sure the space crew would want to know about whatever she learned tonight. And maybe she could do something for him, if he was in torment.

A blueblood jarred her thoughts, but not the one who usually excelled at that. Someone she didn't recognize, a private? But not a name from the space mission records. Hm. Interesting. Less interesting was her question. An embarrassment to her caste and peers, really. It did lead Mera to her own question to contemplate.

Melancholiesxx

 

[Melancholies]

Good, good. Things were going as well as they could for the time being; Austri seemed more than chipper to pass the good word along, everyone seemed in agreement.

Except, well, Kursha was throwing his arm around her like it was no big deal, when it actually was a big deal, but you wouldn't catch Sarcel Cincil making a scene when she was representing the military, no no. That was entirely out of the question. At least she didn't tense up from the action, but that was mostly because she was already wound up like a spring.

"Corporal Nahori Caviap. She reported to me during our space mission." Sarcel spoke while surreptitiously rolling her shoulder. Just because she wasn't going to make a scene didn't mean she was going to tolerate the touch. "Caviap, I'm sure you're familiar with Captain Vidari." at least in a technical sense; Whether she was acquainted was another matter. Statics inquiry on the deceased trolls made her look to the side briefly. Galmis' explanation was hardly an in depth one, although she agreed with his sentiments.

As if to make matters somehow worse, an unfamiliar blueblood bounded onto the scene. It would have been fine if they had been a civilian, but the second Private Quella Fehtan came out, Sarcel felt her gaze narrow slightly. She wasn't familiar with the troll, at least not personally. Ah well, let Galmis reprimand her. Sarcel would step in if she had to.

She turned back to Static. "If there's any questions you have on the deceased--preferably ones pertinent to our current task--I can answer them." She didn't want to, but a troll who didn't have expansive information on the adults in question wouldn't be as efficient at finding objects for the... seance, or whatever.

She rubbed her temple. Damn headache was only getting worse, and it wasn't helping.

green minuet
):<


saedusk
):>


micillia
):


Buzzwulf
watching YOU


show spoilerhide spoiler
Gl!tch~
proximity 2 mera
imaginationsparadise
proximity 2 eridia

 

[T-Kai]

”nepsah”

TENTATIVE APPROACH:
INITILIASE

Aconan snapped to attention when the main guy started talking; a slightly guilty flush taking over her face as she realised she’d literally just been staring at people (even if they were cool people) and not doing anything useful. He was talking about ghosts. Huh. Well, she supposed that had been in the job description, and it was certainly interesting to know the science behind ghosts. Latent psychic energies….hm. Did that mean all trolls had psychic energies? I mean, she knew that sometimes trolls had psychic powers, but wasn’t that just lowbloods? Then again, hm.

Anyway, that was a question for later. For now, he was talking about a buddy system. Looking around, Aconan failed to see many people who hadn’t already buddied up. Except...there, there was a lone purpleblood of similar age to herself. Yes, that could work if she was polite. Aconan patted Loupsus on the flank, and the lusus’s four ears flicked to attention, and he padded alongside his charge as she approached another pup. He kept his eyes on the other lusus, aware that they were the real threat here - he trusted his pup to deal with other pups.

Aconan tilted her throat slightly as she approached Mihail, and spoke politely, making sure not to meet his eyes.

“Greetings, highblood. The commander speaks of a buddy system, and I see you are as yet alone - is this by choice, or can I offer my assistance?

That was polite enough right? Aconan was modelling her behaviour off other interactions she'd seen.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

Acteon raised an eyebrow, but listened to the purpleblood. She must be one of those trolls really interested in the paranormal. Which would make her an excellent ally in actually dealing with them. "Oooh... so you're just smart, nice. I'm excited for the chance to deal with someone a little dangerous, though..." They laughed. "Condemned as hell, but that just makes it cooler."

They were just the slightest bit envious of Stemma's supplies. They hadn't even thought to really bring anything. Not that they would have wanted to be bothered to prepare. Though, they could also just bum off more prepared, more hardworking trolls. No need to waste all their time and energy when someone else can do it for you, including take notes. However, it was a bit unexpected still when Stemma held out the necklace.

"Really, for me?" Acteon took it, rolling it over in their hands and admiring it. The charm was cute. Even if it was useless for protecting from ghosts, probably. But maybe the purpleblood was a real a** witch or something. "You're so prepared! I guess you really do know a thing or two about ghosts, huh? Thanks," they said, putting the charm necklace on. "Hey, we should team up! Between the two of us, I bet we wouldn't have to even worry about a ghost possessing our bodies. A couple of very talented gals such as ourselves, yeah?"

Ace looked back at Mallok. "And I can see if my friend Mallo wants in too. He's strong, and makes good snacks. Important to keep your energy up when hunting down some ghosts to seance them back to where they came from and all," they said, before waving their arm and yelling to the greenblood. "Hey Mallo, you wanna group up? Come hang out with us!"

Kimbley Kitty

tenaciousgadabout

[griffin voice] come play with ussss

 

[Hivestuck]

Buzzwulf

"Stand down, Private," Glamis barked. "If my reputation, my files or certain lack of death certificate has not already clued you in, maybe this will."

The blueblood gingerly removed one of his pristine white gloves, took a step towards the Private and struck her between the horns with a quick, light palm strike. Bap.

He stepped back, and put his gloves back on.  

[Gl!tch~]

Well. There were certainly other ways to prove one's corporeal state, but Glamis was the local expert. At least it wasn't a full slap. Plenty of parties present were not above doing that themselves, so.

Hemera cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Specialist Harice? Sergeant Hemera Moachm. I have inquiry inspired by Private Fehtan's unfortunate logical connections. More relevant to the task at hand, I assure you. Are deceased trolls capable of replicating looking exactly how they did as when they were alive? Are there correlating levels between how visible they are and their strength level, or is it a very strict difference of invisible versus visible?"

She tapped her pencil to her chin, thinking, then added, "When you mention hallucinations, how strong can they be? Are there any steps one can take to help them try to become aware of being under such influence themself?"

Hivestuck

 

[T-Kai]

Gl!tch~

Fletch hovered, Toothdad chirping at him, as he decided who to approach. There wasn’t really anyone he recognised that he could see, but then there were so many people here, it was difficult to pick people out of the crowd. Thankfully, salvation arrived in the form of a familiar blueblood shouting at him. It was snowball-bro! Fletch’s face tripped easily into a grin as he bounded over to his bud in snow-based violence.

“Woah bro, you aloft and got bigger since the last time!”

It was true, whilst Fletch had grown a little in stature over the time, Guo had up and shot up, ******** miracles of growth he’d had. Fletch stared up at him, blinking as he took in the change.

“And scarred up too, ********’ miracles of flesh-healing on ya.”

Finally it filtered through that Guo had asked him a question.

"I've been around, doing stuff. Practisin' mostly. What 'bout you?"  

[Hivestuck]

“Greetings, Sergeant. Yes, very powerful trolls are capable of replicating their living appearance. However, there will be signs that they are not tangible. It takes a lot of effort and energy to be visible, tangible and perform other psionic feats, so look for visual signs. The more ‘life-like’, the stronger the spirit. I wouldn’t stake the amount or quality of visibility on strength, but the other factors I mentioned before will play a large part.”

Glamis nodded. “Hallucinations can be visual, auditory or olfactory, or any mix of the three depending on the strength of the spirit. You will not be trapped in some kind of alternate hallucination dimension - at least, such an incredible power I have not yet witnessed in my research. I always recommend casing your research grounds before going in. That way, if something is out of place, you can note it and focus on the reality instead of succumbing to a hallucination. Likewise, talk your companion out of their hallucination by grounding them - calmly - in reality. For instance, if you know the distance between yourself and a wall and suddenly the wall falls away - simply reach out where you know it is for its support. Once you make contact, you can more easily ride out the effects of the psionic attack and begin to resist its effect. Thank you for your questions.”

Gl!tch~

 

[tenaciousgadabout]

Mallo had been wandering about trying to find anyone else he knew who could taste his exceptional trail mix. A few strangers were willing but before long he found he'd run low on his first bag just from nibbling at it himself! Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the sec-

wait a minute.

”Where the mother-grubbing ******** is the other bags?! Oh bother...”

He felt all around in his bag and just couldn't find them! As he struggled to reach his hand somewhere in the bag that he hadn't yet, beginning to grow upset, he notice a large looming shadow standing over him. Turning he recognized the well-muscled and mustachioed visage of his parental unit.

"Hellu zeere-a, my buy! Bork Bork Bork!"

”Woah, Chefpops! What are you doin' all the way out here, who's running all of the restaurant s**t?”

Borkuisinier, Mallok's burly bovine lusus produced the two bags of trail mix from his own pack, handing them to his child.

"I clused zee-a restuoruont ierly! Yuou lefft zeese-a beheend und I feeguored I shuould retuorn zeem! Nuo, ire-a yuou ixceeted tu feend sume-a ghusts?"

The juggalo ran past the beefy arms of his parent and hugged him. He was elated not only that he still had the trail mix for everyone to sample now, but also that his lusus would be joining him for a fun-filled romp through a spooky mansion!

Storing the mixes away, he set about finding Acteon while the musclebeast went off to inform Glamis of him joining his charge. Walking about, he suddenly heard his name and turned to see it.

"Hey Mallo, you wanna group up? Come hang out with us!"

The greenblood waved in their direction and made his way toward them. He reached back into his pack and readied some more trail mix for the purpleblood he didn't recognize to taste.

”Why hello there! I would be hella pleased to join your group if you'd have me!”

With a courteous bow to Stemma, he introduced himself before holding out the trail mix.

”My name's Mallok, it's an absolute ******** pleasure to meet you! ”

With the skill of a lifetime as a waiter behind him, he deftly exited his bow in the perfect pose to present his trail mix forward to this new friend.

”As a gesture of friendship, won't you please try some ******** trail mix? It's a homemade blend that I can personally guarantee is dope as hell.”

purplerosesbeauty

Mallok Ablonk has joined the party!

Hivestuck

Mallok's lusus Borkuisinier has joined the party!

Kimbley Kitty

Charmed, I'm sure!

 

[Hivestuck]

"Well, enough waiting. It's time to commence the investigation." Glamis announced. "I would recommend, for your own safety, et cetera, that you search a single outgrowth at a time. Feel free to come back here and ask me any questions that arise. Good luck."

The investigation stage has begun! Please view the "How to Play" rules within the Outgrowth Threads.

Where will you start?
[North][South][East][West]

 

[blackbird cake]

sergeant elidae bonbon


Arriving late never made Elidae Bonbon feel good; she supposed it was better to arrive fashionably late and come at all than to hole herself up in her hive, wondering what could have happened if she went. To be frank, she considered abandoning the invitation- making up an excuse not to relive the horrors of the very edge of her childhood. Darkness, death, disillusionment. The traumatic loss of an ephemeral friend.

The mansion looked the same as she last recalled, though simultaneously much different. Certainly quite a bit less on fire. The very memory of inhaling smoke and blood seemed to clog her sniffnodes, however, and she squinted in response, lips tightening in an uneasy smile. She's dealt with worse since then. This shouldn't be that difficult.

She put on the necessary equipment before venturing inside, hopefully catching up with some familiar faces.