ayatantreasure: (Volt: Attentive)
Ayatan (They/Them) ([personal profile] ayatantreasure) wrote in [community profile] nexus_crossings2022-02-23 08:12 am

+1 Space Ninja

This place reminds them of Cetus, a little. Not quite as bustling and busy with the snow blanketing the walkways, but the closed shopfronts and toned-down open air markets suggest that the dry seasons might be comparable - surpass it even. They've been doing recon for several days now, first by observing from rooftop perches, then mingling among the pedestrians. It seems odd to walk among people of so many different sizes and shapes, and almost never be looked at twice. Never recognized for what they are.

No fear. No adoration. They can just... be.

It's a start.

The warframe is tall as an adult human, metal skin glinting slightly in the faded winter sunlight, hoof-like feet stepping lightly despite the metallic scrape against snow-dusted concrete. The long ribbon-like syandana attached to their back flutters softly in the breeze, a playful contrast to the weapons they carry on their back - a sword, some kind of rifle, a pouch of throwing knives. Their hands are empty, though, flexing yellow fingers absently as if trying to grasp something intangible.

Finally, they choose a perch on the edge of the walkway that passes by the Plaza, balanced effortlessly in a crouch atop a low wall. They raise one hand, projecting an image of words in a swooping script, which the Nexus then translates:

Have you ever dreamed so deeply you forgot who you were?
stark_ravingmad: (uh huh totally listening)

[personal profile] stark_ravingmad 2022-02-23 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, wasn't this creature interesting and---was it a robotic alien? Some sort of exoskeleton going on here? Either way Tony was now offering the newcomer a wave while taking a sip out of his specially modded out coffee flask. The one Lucifer gave him as a Valentine present last year. That angel was such a sugar daddy to the engineer in a way and Tony loved it.

"Uh so---dreamed so deeply I forgot who I was? Good question, blue. Maybe? I mean I've woken up thinking I was someone else or wishing I was someone else, depending on the question. I've slept in my suit before and that was pretty embarrassing."

Tony liked to talk and he figured he should stop for a moment so the newcomer could get their bearings.
stark_ravingmad: (found a new element)

[personal profile] stark_ravingmad 2022-02-28 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Who did I think I was? Not Tony Stark that's for sure. That's who I am by the way. Iron-Man is my suited up hero version of myself. Avenger. Philanthropist, billionaire. That's me."

The engineer sipped his coffee and then blew on the rim, hoping he wouldn't scald his mouth like last time because he was talking too fast and didn't time the whole drinking hot coffee while talking thing. Patience was something Tony Stark often forgot existed.

"How about you, Blue? I'm assuming you woke up thinking you were someone else at some point? Hence the question I guess."
torsion: (tombstone piledriver.)

[personal profile] torsion 2022-02-25 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's no BOW. Whatever it is, it seems friendly and since coming here she's become accustomed to the strange -- or at least outlandish compared to where she's come from. While Jill approaches with the mere caution of someone who throws it to the wind, there still remains some hidden up her sleeve.

She walks the street but can easily reach whatever it is that's addressing her (or perhaps the Nexus as a whole) but the distance allows for safety and certainty for both parties and the weapons they hold seem to be no joke, far more impressive than some she's seen here. She, herself is equipped with a large knife at her calf and on the same side, a handgun that remains carefully strapped and without indication of being drawn.

"That's a very personal question." Albeit one she seems to have an answer to. She doesn't have to offer all details, she supposes, and there's no harm in being frank. "Almost, maybe. I don't often remember my dreams. I've felt that way when awake, though. Or tried to."
torsion: (LET'S ME SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU.)

[personal profile] torsion 2022-03-01 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
At least there's acknowledgement. She's never thought much about language barriers considering she speaks several herself, but she saw something unrecognizable in that script before it was translated. Not long enough to relate it to anything she might know, so she probably doesn't know it. It's curious enough that she tries to catch it the second time around still.

"Personal," she repeats, but lighter, almost jokingly. Her smile is taut with burnt memories, but none so sour that she can't share. "There was a time when I couldn't control myself, when someone else made every move for me against my will. I was aware the whole time, though. A part of me, in the corner of my mind that rallied against the person I was turning into."

It was complicated, to put it lightly. Jill didn't know how to explain her inner voice, her inner self still existing and fighting back and the separation between her 'real' self there and what she was on the exterior.

"Is there a reason you ask?" She's cautious because it is a personal question.
vliste_staba: (28 Nature)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-02-25 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sometimes dreamfasting is like that," says a soft voice from the other side of the wall. If the newcomer hasn't noticed the speaker until now, it's no wonder. Deet is not quite as tall as the wall, although when she gets on her tiptoes she can fold her arms across the top of it and then rest her chin on her hands, leaning against the sun-warmed stone with her wings flared for balance.

"You're sharing thoughts and memories, then. It's sacred, in a way. There is no lying there. So sometimes if you're dreamfasting with someone you already care about and you're close to them, it feels like living what they've lived."
vliste_staba: (29 Laugh)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-03-16 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Deet can read body language reasonably well, and her default character is warm and friendly and interested in people, so her instinctive response to this is delight to have made a new friend. She grins at them as they settle closer.

"Not all. We dream alone, too, when we sleep. But dreamfasting is a sacred gift that all gelfling have. You have to touch another gelfling to dreamfast with them, usually, but sometimes if the call is very, very powerful a group can dreamfast together from a distance."

"That's what I am. A gelfling," she adds, because most people here haven't heard of her kind, and that's okay! She's happy to share. "My name is Deet, what's yours?"
vliste_staba: (Default)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-03-21 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Volt," she repeats, aloud. "I like that. I've never seen anyone like you before, but that's normal in this place, since people from all sorts of worlds come here."

Part of her really wants to reach out and touch the glowing letters, but she refrains for the moment. Candle-flames look pretty and touchable to children, after all, and grabbing them is the opposite of a good idea. "Did you just get here? Do you need anything to eat or drink? It's a strange place, but people can be very kind and friendly here, and there are lots of things to see."
vliste_staba: (28 Nature)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-03-22 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh? That's different." Deet hasn't known many people who didn't eat. Some of the angels don't, Death in particular. Hopefully Volt's reason for not eating isn't the same as his.

"Well, if you'd like to walk around with me, we can," she offers. "I don't have anything to do this afternoon. We could look at shops or go to the park."
vliste_staba: (29 Laugh)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-04-14 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Deet can't help but giggle at the roll and drop to the ground. Graceful as it is, it strikes her as a little bit childlike, too. Perhaps Volt is younger than she thought at first glance? It's hard to know in the Nexus.

"I like the toy shops the most," she admits, a little sheepish. "But the plant nursery is nice, too. It's just, we didn't have the variety of fabric they have here, to make toys with. Some of the plush animals are just so wonderfully soft and fluffy! And they're made for people bigger than me, so some of them are honestly big enough I could just set them on the floor and sleep on them like a little bed."

She might or might not have napped on a unicorn squishmallow, ssh.
vliste_staba: (Default)

[personal profile] vliste_staba 2022-04-18 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yes. Deet has concluded this is, if not a child, certainly younger than she is. Perhaps she ought to stay with them a while and make sure they're safe while they're here? Presumably they can defend themselves, what with the armor, and the way they carry themselves doesn't escape her notice, but sometimes knowing what to defend oneself from is a problem.

"Toy shop!" She agrees happily, and she would offer to hold hands and lead them, but given the height disparity they would have to walk bent over. Instead, she walks a short distance ahead until they're on the sidewalk, then flutters her way into the air. As delicate as those wings of hers look, she seems to be able to hover with them, an impressive feat.

The toy shop isn't far, situated between a clothing shop and a thrift store for electronic equipment (a lucrative business where so many worlds with varying technology levels meet). A little bell chimes when Deet tugs the door open. The inside smells a little like vanilla and cotton candy.
termineur: (Sure)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-01 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
The warframe catches Sylar's eye, and he just stares for a long moment. They're beautiful, even if he doesn't understand just how the whole of it works. He knows it does.

So he's probably stared too long by the time the scrawl comes up, which is then so conveniently translated. He glances at it- and laughs suddenly, in disbelief.

"Sorry, just- didn't expect that one. Yeah, I have. Once, I did forget myself. And once, I found myself again, after being lost for a long time." He heaves a thoughtful sigh before looking at them again. "I don't know if it's the sort of thing you're thinking of, though. I had help both times. Why do you ask?"
termineur: (Yeah)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-02 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Sylar gives a brief, understanding nod at that first bit of text. His mind wanders to how this person in front of him works, but he manages to shove those thoughts aside. He's gotten better at ignoring it lately.

The question gives him pause, although it's only a matter of deciding which 'dream' to talk about. "Where I come from, there's someone who can make people dream. And he pushed me under, until I literally thought I was someone else. It was-" His eyes narrow slightly. "-difficult, realizing the truth. But better in the long run, I think."

He realizes he's been looking at the ground and looks back up to meet the warframe's...eyes? He's not entirely sure, but the humanoid appearance has to be there for some reason. "Are you worried you've forgotten yourself?"
termineur: (Default)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-06 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah."

Sylar nods, a small frown on his face. As far as he's concerned, that's all that needs to be said.

"I'm sorry. It'll probably take a long time to work through everything. Took me years, honestly." He gives the warframe a small, apologetic smile. This is going to be tough for them. "But things did, eventually, become clear. I was able to separate what I wanted, who I was, from everything that'd been done to me."

Considering how mixed up he'd been (even before the 'forced dream,' really), he's hopeful for the person in front of him.
termineur: (Discussion)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-15 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
The question gets a pause out of Sylar, too. He tilts his head to the side and thinks for a moment.

"I had to find an anchor." He sticks his hands in his pockets, a tic he's picked up recently whenever he's feeling nervous. "Something that I knew to be true, that would readjust my perspective and center my reality, whenever it slid out of whack. I- well, I didn't exactly do well with that, at first. It might take you a few tries to find something- or someone- you can rely on. It'll still feel like you're fumbling around in the dark, but- it helps."
termineur: (Talk)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-19 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"It can be something physical, if it means enough to you," Sylar replies. "It helps if it's something symbolic of what broke you out of your dream. I had a snow globe for a little while."

He shakes his head. He has no idea if this entity would even know what a snow globe was. "But if you're lucky enough to find a person willing to help you, someone you can even remotely trust- that'll help more."
termineur: (Pleased)

[personal profile] termineur 2022-03-22 10:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"A lotus," Sylar repeats, a small smile on his face. He doesn't know the significance of it, but he knows that it is significant to this person. He looks up, thoughtful, and taps his chin. "It depends on whether you want the real flower, or if you want something less delicate. The first you should be able to find at a flower shop or gardening store- I saw one around here a couple days ago."

Taking care of a live plant probably has some therapeutic benefits, too, going by one of the books he'd been reading recently. But who knows if this is a situation where one can take care of a plant? "There's also jewelry shaped like lotus flowers, if that won't work. Pendants and crystal paperweights, things like that. Any of that sounding like it'd work for you?"
desertpowered: (02)

[personal profile] desertpowered 2022-03-19 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dreams?" She's approached by someone who looks like a teenager, and in fact is, though there may be a maturity and intelligence in his eyes that doesn't quite mesh with that. "What kind of dreams are we talking about?"

A way of both establishing himself, and suggesting a line of conversation without giving too much away to someone he doesn't know well. But the mention of dreams has drawn the attention of Paul Atreides. He surveys the warframe, trying to work with his own frame of reference to determine what kind of being he's looking at. With his universe's history with intelligent machines he should be scared of them, but he's aware of Exos and Cybertronians.

"I always thought the danger of dreams was mistaking them for the real world...but some dreams are special."
desertpowered: (09)

[personal profile] desertpowered 2022-03-20 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Special dreams that let you see what will happen in the future...or what could happen." Paul reads the message, curious. So, this must be how this being communicates, though they don't seem to have any trouble understanding his speech.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, not to be rude, but who are you?"
desertpowered: (17)

[personal profile] desertpowered 2022-03-21 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
Paul bows a little in reply, politely. He decides to introduce himself.

"My name is Paul Atreides. You're a traveler. Most people are, here - don't live in the Nexus. I only visit."
desertpowered: (18)

[personal profile] desertpowered 2022-03-21 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Not visions, then. Paul tries to think of how to ask the stranger what kind of being they are without being rude, but decides to ask something else first.

"What do you mean by 'very real'? They feel realistic? You aren't sure where the dream ends and the real world begins?"
hybriddino: (eye)

[personal profile] hybriddino 2022-03-22 05:56 pm (UTC)(link)
The Indoraptor sits, hunched. This stranger looks - very superficially - like an Exo, so he thinks for a moment he's dealing with one of Blaze's people, but he decides otherwise quickly. In a place like this making assumptions is a bad idea.

He scribbles on his whiteboard. What kinds of things do you dream about?

His own dreams involve hunting. Stalking prey. But he knows humans dream about different things - and he's kind of interested that a machine being like they are dreams as well. He knows Blaze has a human mind inside, so he might be talking to someone similar.
Edited 2022-03-22 17:56 (UTC)