compnetwork | [video] WARNING

Entry tags:

[video] WARNING

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!

"If you come across a big object that looks like this," she holds up a photo of what looks like a drum on feet with strange symbols engraved on it, "DO NOT APPROACH IT. I'm serious! These things are dangerous!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Dangerous? How so? What is it?

[YOU'VE TRIGGERED YAMATO'S SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY]

It's an Amala Drum. I found it in Scorpio. That means there is at least another one somewhere in the city. It can teleport people to other drums pretty much instantly... but you can get stuck between drums.

[So it was a transporter...]

Stuck between drums? Hmmm...

[If they tried that with the transporters they had in their world, that would kill them...perhaps the 'drums' worked differently?]

These drums are... how should I say. I said teleport, but it's more transport, because the drums are access points for the Amala Network. Normally you kinda whiz through the Network from one drum to the other, but sometimes you can get stuck inside the Network, which is a maze and a pain in the ass to get out of.

A Network? So it is something similar to slipping between dimensions to get to another location?

[An amused smirk]

You know this from experience, don't you? The getting stuck part.

Something like that, yes. It's a place where magatsuhi flows.

*She groans.*

Don't remind me. Getting out nearly drove me insane and I had someone helping me from the outside!

[Yamato chuckles - but thankfully leaves it at that]

Magatsuhi?

Life energy. Human emotions are the main source of it, especially negative ones. In my world though, there ain't many humans left, so it's harvested from a human-like race, the Manikins. They're tortured and enslaved to make them feel pain and despair.

*The strength of her resolve was plainly visible when she spoke next.*

I've sworn to free them.

Ah. Yes, old summoning rituals usually used the strength of one's will and emotions as a fuel source. I didn't realise that it had an actual name.

[Yamato didn't seem all that concerned about a race enslaved to be tortured. He mostly seemed curious]

Manikins, are they something like a homunculus then?

What's a homunculus?

Ah, a homunculus means 'Little Man'. How to explain...

It is the concept of a miniature, fully formed human body. It is a term primarily used in alchemy, but in our current context, a homunculus is any scale model of the human body that, in some way, illustrates physiological, psychological, or other abstract human characteristics or functions.

[Yup, he totally did just recite that textbook definition from memory]

In short, an artificial human.

*Shura ponders the answer for a minute.* They might be. Manikins are the strong wishes or emotions of humans who died when the world ended. They gathered in a sacred place in the Vortex World and merged with the black clay of the river's shore, taking human shape there.

How fascinating...

[The thought of one's dreams and wishes taking physical form after death was intriguing indeed. Was it in an attempt to continue in their dreams, even after death? What a show of great willpower]

What are the manikins like? How humanoid are they?

Well, it depends. They're all human shaped, so from a distance they all look human. They don't have eyebrows, though. Some have hair, some don't. There are men, women, children, even an old man. They all have muscular spasms every other minute that makes them shake. They have human intelligence and they can speak. They're suspicious, because they're being hunted down to be enslaved, but they were not hostile to me when I met them in their hideout. One even helped me continue on my journey. They don't have names, though. I only know of two Manikins with a name to call their own.

[Yamato logs this away. Well if they were fake humans, born only through wishes or dreams, they probably didn't have the substance to have names. The muscle spasms sounded strange, but as they were made out of clay, perhaps it wasn't versatile enough to promote smooth movement...?]

I wonder, with the show of foreign creatures from other worlds, manikins will appear here too?

Uh... I don't know. Manikins aren't supposed to be able to live outside the Vortex, so I sincerely hope they won't appear here just to die. That'd completely break my heart.

How disappointing... I wanted to examine one. By the sounds of it, they mimic some incomplete form of resurrection.

If one appears here and survives, I'll bring him or her to you. Maybe it'll be my girlfriend...*Even if Futomimi's situation was complicated, she had more chances to survive than a simple Manikin.*

[That makes Yamato side-eye]

...I wasn't aware that they were capable of sexual recreation. I thought you said they were made out of clay?

*Shura pouts a bit. She didn't think you'd jump straight to sex, though she and Futomimi have done it before.*

It's like... they're like fleshy but clay like at the same time? Their skin feels smooth and flesh like, but underneath you can feel the clay.

And yes, I think they are capable of "sexual recreation", as you call it. My girlfriend has a kinda ascetic lifestyle though some it's not like we were doing it constantly.

[Sorry, but his basic knowledge of 'girlfriends' and 'boyfriends' is that they're together romantically and have sex apparently]

I see.

[Too much information. Yamato looks mildly grossed out]

That sounds... like something.

*Shura shrugs slightly and grins, going pink at the cheeks a bit just thinking of Futomimi.* I just love her. She has a beautiful mind.

I'm sure she does.

[Yamato's coming across a bit awkward here. This is not territory he knows how to navigate well]

A-anyway, yeah. The Amala Network is a pain in the ass.

[Oh thank god]

Ah, yes. Right. Thank you for the warning. I would like to examine those drums, however.

[video] WARNING

text

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]