You wanna meet in person and you can tell me about it? My, uh, my parents are tinkerers, but I never really thought I would make anything until the last year. I'm really still learning a lot all the time.
[ What's it like to be addicted to it your whole life? What does that even look like, even (or especially) under the setting that Peter comes from? Gorgug can't help but to be curious. It sounds like it could be interesting.
[ It's not really said any differently than how he usually speaks, but there's a little bit of conviction in there!! Also, it helps when you 1) have a van, and 2) live really close to the junkyard in the first place.
It's cheating, really. So unless you were nearby already, Peter, there's either going to be a blue van waiting at the junkyard!! ...or driving into the junkyard, if you're that quick.
But here Gorgug comes with his ride, beep beep!!! ]
... Peter will not be there yet, because you are close and have a van. But he does swing over as Spider-Man before swapping into his civilian clothes. If Gorgug is allowed the time to think about it more than a minute, he'd probably realize that there's no way he'd taken the tram and have showed up as quickly as he did.
Weird.
But the nerd is here, in all of his nerd glory! The collared shirt and sweater combo does not beat those allegations. With one hand on the strap of his backpack and the other raised, he offers a friendly wave.]
Hey, Gorgug! Man. I guess I should've known I couldn't beat a van.
[ Does Gorgug think? In his own special way. But does he even know where Peter started off at? No, other than Peter suggested the trip to the junkyard in the first place, and also tried to make a race out of it. Clearly, Peter didn't think about Gorgug's van or his close proximity!!!
But Gorgug isn't smiling when Peter shows up because he won this prize-less competition: it's because he's getting a nerd pal, and that's pretty cool. He's dressed himself in hoodie and jeans (his usual combo at all times), the van keys tucked away in his pocket, and the rest of him otherwise free, beyond the goggles on his head, the headphones he pulls down around his neck, and the fingerless gloves on the hand he waves back with. ]
I'm glad I got it before the layout switch up Aurora did everywhere. We got moved far out from everyone, and Fabian's dance studio. [ Hm. Does Peter know Fabian? Anyway- ] That's one of my teammates, I don't know if you met him.
Oh, I think I've met Fabian before. He seems cool!
[Easy peasy. The town population is so small, it's easy to even off-handedly run into each other.
Much to Spider-Man's suffering, anyway.]
It must be a real pain to get around like that, huh? Maybe we should offer ways to improve the speed of the tram or something. After the other stuff we're doing. The sky's the limit, right?
Making vehicles go fast is cool. [ How can Gorgug decline on that truth alone? ] You think the speed's the problem, or the-- how many trams are there? I heard they go around all the islands...?
[ Maybe it's a routing problem and lack of trams...? ]
Speed, or how many trams, or how many roads... I just feel like something's off somewhere, you know? It takes so long to get anywhere! Where I'm from, we've got bullet trains in the world that can go over 200 miles an hour.
[WE COULD MAKE SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED. FASTER!!!]
There's not a lot of people, but there's a lot of space with everything spread out. [ That seems to be a big problem. ] 200 miles per hour trains would be cool, but would it be a lot for just a hundred people?
[ No, what if, instead... ]
Teleporters would be cool. But not everyone likes them... [ ... ] But I would.
[He kicks absently at a can, hands in his pockets.]
I guess I have been needing a little of that. Socializing. [Not that he's not social. He just kinda lost all of his friends to amnesia back home, so making more here is essential; not that Gorgug knows that.] You think that's a net benefit enough to keep travel time a tiny bit longer?
[ Oh, is Peter lonely? That's what Gorgug takes from that--he can be perceptive, sometimes! Though he won't immediately jump on it, offering instead: ]
I don't know if it's the real reason she chose what she did, but, it could be a part of it... she left those Valentine cards around, and- they did something? People had to socialise with them, or they got funny in the head?
[ Gorgug so doesn't know...he avoided them like the plague! ]
Yeah. [ He sounds evidently glum even in that first word. ] Do you, have you heard about the Im'mari infection? Were you around? I got hit by that-- it was in me a long time.
[ He vanished? Something about that sounds familiar--he must've told him, Gorgug figures, and thinks nothing more of it.
Instead, he shakes his head lightly. ]
I-- I can tell you. Uh, if you were around when we went into the Moorecroft mission, they had that curfew at night? And it turned out there was something going around at night attacking people if they went outside. And the AI had their bots set to attack people, too.
[ But that's more of an aside. ]
Anyway, it followed us back to Etraya, and Aurora... she had a mission lined up, but when she tried to announce it, it got into her programming. She got shut off. [ He's looking ahead, but comes to a stop near a pile of miscellaneous metal and machinery that he would be going through, if not for the topic. ] I, uh-- I don't remember when I got infected? I think I know how, but... uh, there was this mirror that got cracked that I was working on to... people got stuck inside the mirror...
[ He's losing his place, and he squints as he recognises that. ]
F-forget that. Anyway, it got into Aurora and a few of us, and there was somebody it got inside first, and it was-- I don't know how it was for everyone, but it made you... I got really angry, sometimes, or, I thought I was... I thought everyone would think I was a monster, since I started... I tried doing a lot of bad things. [ He's got his head hung, he's fidgeting, rubbing one of his arms. But he looks at Peter, his brow wrinkled with the worried look he wears. ]
I wanted to make everyone feel... terrible. That's what the Im'mari wanted me to do, to spread it, so I-- that's what I did. But, um, I was watching out for the person who the Im'mari was... the most connected to. I wanted to protect her. [ Sheepishly, awkwardly. ] Other people figured out the connection too, and they came after her, and I guess they managed to take the Im'mari out from her, somehow.
[ It's easier, even though it doesn't feel it--even though there's an anxiety and shame that grips at Gorgug, doesn't make him feel very good at all. Gorgug isn't sure if he explained it adequately, isn't sure what details he's missing, and even shrugs after the fact. ]
I wasn't... I don't remember a lot about the end or if people found something out, but... it hasn't come up again since. I think we're okay.
[Peter looks caught off guard by the mention of Moorecroft. Because he defintiely remembers that, yeah. He certainly remembers the bots getting the drop on him and him getting shot — and after that, he'd had to put aside time to heal up a little. The idea that something was sneaking through the portal with them, and he wasn't aware enough to help? The guilt is immediate.]
I'm sorry. I had no idea...
[He would have tried to help, if he hadn't vanished not long after the Moorecroft mission. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, as they say... After a moment of studying Gorgug in all of his fidgeting and worry:]
[ He can feel the eyes on him, and if anything adds to his nerves, it's that. But--it's Peter, and Peter's been cool, and he said it was okay to ask this, so he tries not to let it show any more than it does.
...which is probably enough, but still. He thinks about Peter's question and then nods, his mouth pulled--not a grimace, but not really a smile. ]
I'm doing better. [ He doesn't avoid Peter's eye when he says it, expressed in a way that does get across he's in a better position than he had been, once. ] I, I asked Aurora to tell me if there's anything that'll mess with our heads, and my friends helped me out... it's kind of something that, you get over with time.
[ Now, he is grimacing. ] But I don't really want it to happen again. I was-- [ a pause. ] I was an asshole.
[Which was important to distinguish, especially here in Etraya.]
But if there's one thing that you can do because of it... it's noticing the warning signs in other people, right? That way, you can try to help someone else who suffered the same thing.
And that's not an assholish thing to do.
[He smiles slightly after, unsure if he's all that comforting. It sucks. To have had something happen, but you weren't there to do anything to help. But it sucks for Gorgug a hundred times more.]
Sure. [ So he hurries to agree, but even as he says that-- would he recognise if someone else was going through something weird? The expression he wears is complicated, and debating on it for a couple of seconds-- ]
I wanted to make a-- you know, something that'd recognise if that thing was in someone? Uh, but I didn't have anything I could scan. None of its data? Unless Aurora's got something still, I don't know..
[ He doesn't go around scanning things or people, but it would be way easier to notice than seeing the symptoms of someone affected from the outside. ]
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You wanna meet in person and you can tell me about it? My, uh, my parents are tinkerers, but I never really thought I would make anything until the last year. I'm really still learning a lot all the time.
[ What's it like to be addicted to it your whole life? What does that even look like, even (or especially) under the setting that Peter comes from? Gorgug can't help but to be curious. It sounds like it could be interesting.
He wants to see how much of a nerd Peter is. ]
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[Anything to stay busy and get out of the apartment is a win.
Especially among friends. :)]
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[ What if they find something cool while being nerds!! ]
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I'll race you there!
[HE IS NOT KIDDING, HOW FAST ARE YOU GORGUG-]
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I'll win.
[ It's not really said any differently than how he usually speaks, but there's a little bit of conviction in there!! Also, it helps when you 1) have a van, and 2) live really close to the junkyard in the first place.
It's cheating, really. So unless you were nearby already, Peter, there's either going to be a blue van waiting at the junkyard!! ...or driving into the junkyard, if you're that quick.
But here Gorgug comes with his ride, beep beep!!! ]
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... Peter will not be there yet, because you are close and have a van. But he does swing over as Spider-Man before swapping into his civilian clothes. If Gorgug is allowed the time to think about it more than a minute, he'd probably realize that there's no way he'd taken the tram and have showed up as quickly as he did.
Weird.
But the nerd is here, in all of his nerd glory! The collared shirt and sweater combo does not beat those allegations. With one hand on the strap of his backpack and the other raised, he offers a friendly wave.]
Hey, Gorgug! Man. I guess I should've known I couldn't beat a van.
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But Gorgug isn't smiling when Peter shows up because he won this prize-less competition: it's because he's getting a nerd pal, and that's pretty cool. He's dressed himself in hoodie and jeans (his usual combo at all times), the van keys tucked away in his pocket, and the rest of him otherwise free, beyond the goggles on his head, the headphones he pulls down around his neck, and the fingerless gloves on the hand he waves back with. ]
I'm glad I got it before the layout switch up Aurora did everywhere. We got moved far out from everyone, and Fabian's dance studio. [ Hm. Does Peter know Fabian? Anyway- ] That's one of my teammates, I don't know if you met him.
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[Easy peasy. The town population is so small, it's easy to even off-handedly run into each other.
Much to Spider-Man's suffering, anyway.]
It must be a real pain to get around like that, huh? Maybe we should offer ways to improve the speed of the tram or something. After the other stuff we're doing. The sky's the limit, right?
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[ Maybe it's a routing problem and lack of trams...? ]
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[WE COULD MAKE SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED. FASTER!!!]
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[ No, what if, instead... ]
Teleporters would be cool. But not everyone likes them... [ ... ] But I would.
[ Mini teleporters are cool!!! ]
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I think we kinda already have a 'too much' gene in Etraya.
[He rubs his chin.]
You think teleporters would be in Aurora's budget?
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[ If he were to consider what Aurora might think about teleporters, though... ]
She might have picked the trams so people get stuck on them and she likes everyone socialising. [ ... ] I don't think you can socialise teleporting.
[ That's kind of a goal with her, usually. ]
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[He kicks absently at a can, hands in his pockets.]
I guess I have been needing a little of that. Socializing. [Not that he's not social. He just kinda lost all of his friends to amnesia back home, so making more here is essential; not that Gorgug knows that.] You think that's a net benefit enough to keep travel time a tiny bit longer?
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I don't know if it's the real reason she chose what she did, but, it could be a part of it... she left those Valentine cards around, and- they did something? People had to socialise with them, or they got funny in the head?
[ Gorgug so doesn't know...he avoided them like the plague! ]
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Maybe... sometimes I think this place just likes to make us embarrass ourselves.
I'm just glad I didn't get some romance compulsion.
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[ Gorgug's making a rather anxious expression... ]
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[... He rubs his chin, looking a little worried.]
I think, anyway.
How about you?
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[ Not a fun time... ]
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[He hesitates, looking unsure if he should ask. But...]
What did happen, back there? If you don't mind me asking. If it's not too much to ask. I know a vague idea of it, but...
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Instead, he shakes his head lightly. ]
I-- I can tell you. Uh, if you were around when we went into the Moorecroft mission, they had that curfew at night? And it turned out there was something going around at night attacking people if they went outside. And the AI had their bots set to attack people, too.
[ But that's more of an aside. ]
Anyway, it followed us back to Etraya, and Aurora... she had a mission lined up, but when she tried to announce it, it got into her programming. She got shut off. [ He's looking ahead, but comes to a stop near a pile of miscellaneous metal and machinery that he would be going through, if not for the topic. ] I, uh-- I don't remember when I got infected? I think I know how, but... uh, there was this mirror that got cracked that I was working on to... people got stuck inside the mirror...
[ He's losing his place, and he squints as he recognises that. ]
F-forget that. Anyway, it got into Aurora and a few of us, and there was somebody it got inside first, and it was-- I don't know how it was for everyone, but it made you... I got really angry, sometimes, or, I thought I was... I thought everyone would think I was a monster, since I started... I tried doing a lot of bad things. [ He's got his head hung, he's fidgeting, rubbing one of his arms. But he looks at Peter, his brow wrinkled with the worried look he wears. ]
I wanted to make everyone feel... terrible. That's what the Im'mari wanted me to do, to spread it, so I-- that's what I did. But, um, I was watching out for the person who the Im'mari was... the most connected to. I wanted to protect her. [ Sheepishly, awkwardly. ] Other people figured out the connection too, and they came after her, and I guess they managed to take the Im'mari out from her, somehow.
[ It's easier, even though it doesn't feel it--even though there's an anxiety and shame that grips at Gorgug, doesn't make him feel very good at all. Gorgug isn't sure if he explained it adequately, isn't sure what details he's missing, and even shrugs after the fact. ]
I wasn't... I don't remember a lot about the end or if people found something out, but... it hasn't come up again since. I think we're okay.
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I'm sorry. I had no idea...
[He would have tried to help, if he hadn't vanished not long after the Moorecroft mission. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, as they say... After a moment of studying Gorgug in all of his fidgeting and worry:]
How are you doing now?
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...which is probably enough, but still. He thinks about Peter's question and then nods, his mouth pulled--not a grimace, but not really a smile. ]
I'm doing better. [ He doesn't avoid Peter's eye when he says it, expressed in a way that does get across he's in a better position than he had been, once. ] I, I asked Aurora to tell me if there's anything that'll mess with our heads, and my friends helped me out... it's kind of something that, you get over with time.
[ Now, he is grimacing. ] But I don't really want it to happen again. I was-- [ a pause. ] I was an asshole.
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[Which was important to distinguish, especially here in Etraya.]
But if there's one thing that you can do because of it... it's noticing the warning signs in other people, right? That way, you can try to help someone else who suffered the same thing.
And that's not an assholish thing to do.
[He smiles slightly after, unsure if he's all that comforting. It sucks. To have had something happen, but you weren't there to do anything to help. But it sucks for Gorgug a hundred times more.]
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I wanted to make a-- you know, something that'd recognise if that thing was in someone? Uh, but I didn't have anything I could scan. None of its data? Unless Aurora's got something still, I don't know..
[ He doesn't go around scanning things or people, but it would be way easier to notice than seeing the symptoms of someone affected from the outside. ]
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