( ley line )

[rotomphone]

 So, random thought: do you think this place is listening to us talk to each other like this? I mean, something here is alive, right? You suddenly get magical veins pulsing everywhere that somehow give us telepathy, plus the fact that there's a bloody beating heart underground!  I don't know about you, but I bet it's all connected somehow. It's got to be!

[ he sounds certain, but just as quickly as his thought ends, another, more lighthearted one follows. this doesn't have to be a Pepe Silvia situation, and he doesn't want it to be. ]

...Either that, or I'm going completely mad. But on the off chance I'm not and my natural genius is leading to some wild breakthrough, humour me for a sec - what would you want to say if you could talk to it directly? [ and before anyone has the chance to answer, he adds- ] And no "Take me home!", 'cuz that's too obvious. 

[ everyone wants to go home. he's pretty sure that's been made abundantly clear by now... or at least he hopes it has. ]

(( threadjacking is encouraged as long as all participants are cool with it, as are ota replies! )) 

Comments

[selfloveable]

Oooh! I'd ask Kyo-chan what their favorite song that Leo-kun's written for them is.

( extremely important, raihan. )

I'd love to gossip about other people's thoughtversations too... Like, if they've been listening to all of them, then they've totally gotta have a treasure trove of deets!

[rotomphone]

"Kyo-chan"? Is that what you're calling it? [ there's the sound of a chuckle over their connection. he hadn't thought of naming it anything other than "the void" like everyone else, and even then, it's an unorthodox name. ] I wonder if it could actually have an opinion on that sort of thing.

[ maybe there's a song that's been playing on the jukebox more often than others? sure, the world has figured out what music is, but discerning taste is something different altogether. ]

I like the way you think! Without my social feeds, I'm dangerously lacking in any buzz to follow - consider yourself seconded.

[halloflamer]

Alive?? ....I really don't like where this is going.

[Not that he necessarily disagrees, but it's not something he's wanted to dwell on, considering the implications. Blue sounds more queasy about this than annoyed, but he pauses to think about the second question.]

Do requests count, you think? I'd want a proper day and night. This weird time schedule still messes me up.

[rotomphone]

It doesn't have to go anywhere, technically. It's not like we know anything for sure - I'm just throwing it out there. For all we know, I'm completely wrong!

[ it wouldn't be the first time! the plus side to having unshakeable confidence in your public persona is that it's harder for people to tell when you don't know a damn thing. ]

Sure, why not? The stars are nice, but I sort of miss looking up and seeing the moon. And the sun.

[starshower]

[Ah...

He has posed an interesting question indeed, but inquiring mind or not, Tifa is a little uncomfortable considering the possibility that the Void really is listening to them, or that it's alive.

Which is why her obvious discomfort is audible in the thought that passes through in response. She'll humour him in a moment, but first:]

... Are we sure we wanna be telling or asking it things?

[rotomphone]

[ he had thought about that, but he had more or less dismissed the worries that came from it - or compartmentalized them, at the very least. without any answers to refer to, what do they have to lose with where they are right now? ]

If we sit around doing nothing, it'll probably just go about it's business without rhyme or reason like it has been this whole time. If it is listening, maybe we can try to sway things in our favour a little.

[ ever the optimist - it's better than waiting for things to happen, at least. he's getting a little bored of that, and slightly more anxious with some of the more upsetting things the world has produced when left to its own devices. ]

[forwearemany]

We consider this highly likely.

(They heard it screaming. It possesses some level of awareness of what they say and do. It appears to share many qualities with life.)

We are uncertain we have a "home" to return to. We wish to know the status of our allies. We also wish to know the source of this world's damages.

[rotomphone]

Glad I'm not the only one. It just makes too much sense, doesn't it?

[ he feels a bit validated knowing that he and Legion share the same opinion, at least. as for what other questions they have... that's where things get more interesting. ]

Hold on. Did something happen to the world you're from?

[kimihiros]

So that's what's hiding in there. I only went down a few floors, but not the entire thing.

I'd ask for my powers back, but I think that is also a given, isn't it?

[rotomphone]

I've only seen it once, but I try not to go in there unless I have to...

[ he'd taken a peek when the ley lines appeared and got a firsthand look at the carnage of the sliced tunnel walls, but couldn't bring himself to stay for long. it was tough to look at, to say the least. ]

I'd file that under the same tab as "take me home", yeah. [ he'd love nothing more than for his Pokémon to be able to battle again... it would definitely make things more interesting. ] C'mon, something else!

[memorate]

If "this" has been listening to us the whole time, then I'm pretty sure it already knows what I wanna say.

[ His complaints about the unpredictable nature of this world haven't gone unvoiced after all. ]

Better question - what do you expect it to tell you if it could talk back?

[rotomphone]

Hah, fair enough! I think most of us have had our share of that at some point.

[ himself included, of course. he still has no clue why Hammerlocke was brought the way it was, or those differing visions of how it got destroyed. there's nothing he'd like more than an explanation about it. ]

I dunno... I get the sense it'd ask a lot of questions. If things don't make sense, maybe it's because it doesn't know any better.

[obsessiveness]

[ normally izumi puts this mental discord server on mute for a peaceful life, but he's fortunate to have tuned in to a discussion that he might actually give a shit about? ]

I just want to know everyone's doing back home, I guess. Bet they're total wrecks without me there.

[ and leo, and arashi... ritsu and tsukasa sound like a disaster in the making. unstoppable force meeting an immovable object and whatnot. ]

Also, ew? I don't want to imagine that we're living in some guy's body this entire time? Even if that were true, it'd better grow a goddamn brainspace soon because this place is still topsy-turvy.

[rotomphone]

Yeah... same here. I'm the kind of guy that'd leave a hole in people's hearts!

[ he's sure that everyone's getting along just fine, but he'd like to think that he's at least being missed by fans, friends, and colleagues alike. that doesn't say anything about his lack of social media presence, of course - he knows the internet is much more dull without him around. ]

Maybe WE'RE the brain! And there's so many of us that it can't figure out what to do!

[bluecastleace]

How about ‘fuck you’?

[simulatio]

Crass, but effective. I'd second that.

[rotomphone]

Oi! Watch your language.

[ what if the void is a baby! there's no need to result to profanities; he is a good and wholesome content creator. ]

Not that I don't sympathize, but I don't think cussing at it is gonna help any.

[bazooker]

That is a one way to express your concerns.

[pinwheels]

[ It's a good question, and goes back to something that Rinoa was considering not too long ago herself. Usually, she'd be quick to chip in with a reply, but she's quiet for a while, listening to what others have to say before she ventures her own thoughts: ]

I wanna know how people back home are doing too.
And I kind of wanna ask why we're here, too, you know? There has to be a reason.

[rotomphone]

Those are big ones, I think. At least some word into what's going on back where we came from would help ease the tension a little.

And why bring us specifically, anyway? I'm a pretty amazing guy, but even I didn't think I'd be important enough to get swept into some weird empty world.

[bazooker]

What to ask? I suppose what do they think of us so far. If they are listening to us, we need to figure out how to get along right?

[Or at least, just enough where everyone can work together and figure out why they brought people here.]

[rotomphone]

Hm... yeah, I wouldn't mind hearing what it thinks of us. You think it's picking favourites?

I'm not really sure if "getting along" is gonna be seamless, though.

[ he's had a few less-than-pleasant interactions with some people here so far, despite being friendly with most others. it's only natural that a group of given people don't always see eye to eye on things. ]

[pragmatism]

I would think that it has already been listening to us since the beginning. The places and objects here are all taken from our memories of our homeland.

[ If the Void had a way to respond, it would have done so already. The mind of a world must be very alien compared to that of a mortal. ]

It lacks a suitable medium with which to transport its thoughts to us.

[rotomphone]

When you put it that way, it sounds more like mind reading than "listening".

[ which... is somewhat less preferable to just dropping into conversations through ley lines, but it's not as if they can do anything about it. the world has already proven that it doesn't exactly know what to do with the information it's colelcted. ]

A part of me was hoping that these magic veins would be enough, but I guess not. You think there's something else it could use?

[wouldntglidingbefaster]

The "bloody beating heart" would be news to me, ahaha... [sounds kinda spooky...]

I think I'd most like to know what we're here for, exactly... but, failing that, I'd propose an expansion of our fine selection of alcohol! Oh, and maybe liven up the place a bit. That last party wasn't the worst one I've attended, but it certainly left a lot to be desired!

[rotomphone]

Yeah... it's not pretty, to say the least. You might be able to get a glimpse of it if you use the trains, but I wouldn't recommend going down there at all right now.

[ he had only observed from the higher floors at a distance, but it was obvious that the world was in pain. travelling through it in such a state feels like it would be asking for trouble. ]

What, the stuff at HB isn't doing it for you? [ he chuckles; he can respect that sort of honesty. ] I might actually be with you on that one... I'm not a huge drinker, but I wouldn't mind at least having a Galarian draft on tap.

[ his region might not be known for their cuisine, but it's definitely known for its drink. being able to sample things from other worlds sounds like it would be a fun time, too! with all the weird stuff going on, some real partying would be nice break every once and a while. ] Maybe that's the trick to it - start with trying to get small things to happen, and work our way up.