OPEN PSL ❖ fragment space

[moes]

"Welcome to the S.S Phoenix! We hope you enjoy your stay!"

You open your eyes feeling a little stiff. The last thing you recall is seeing your planet get destroyed before a hand reached out to you--Captain's hand. You were then greeted with the same introductory phrase before receiving the keys to their brand new dorm, a device--you're told it's called the Babelfish, something that allows you to interact with others through the interdimensional network--and perhaps an extra thing or two.

You are then ushered into the onboarding area, where you can see your fellow passengers. Some foreign faces, perhaps even some familiar ones. Before you are given any time to think, however, Captain, at the head of the room, speaks up.

"Once again, welcome new guests, to the S.S. Phoenix! You may call me Captain. Today is your first day of onboarding, where you can get to learn more about us and your fellow passengers.

We are part of the Interdimensional Galactic Coalition, a system that was created to keep order and peace amongst the multiverse. This ship that you're currently in is now your new home. Consider the card that you have obtained your citizenship. However, staying here comes with a price.

As you already know, your worlds were destroyed. And we are here to help restore those worlds into proper order. But in order to do that, you must obtain Fragments. These mysterious Fragments will then power our ship's Revival Program. Those can be found in various worlds.

Now, if you have any further questions, now is the time to ask."

And she opens up the floor for questions--any questions.

[ OOC: Welcome, everyone, to a long form PSL in the form of Fragment Space! The premise of this is that your character's universes have been destroyed -- player's choice on the how -- and they have been rescued by the Captain to adventure to various worlds.

This PSL will very much be an exploration/mystery setup, with various types of settings that I will work with players on.

Locations for the S.S. Phoenix can be found here, and current NPC information can be found here.

In terms of moving things along, I will try to make sure that things move smoothly at least once a month. If you need to contact me for any questions/comments/concerns, please ping me either on plurk (tsundereban) or Discord (tsunderebans)! As this is an open PSL for my timeline, characters who participate may also interact with each other if they'd like, or keep things separate. I'm willing to run with things either way. ]

Comments

[moepcs]

[ Good news!

It is a classroom.

There's a table with chairs, a couch with "Ritsu" sitting down, tapping away on what seems to be a laptop... ]

Maybe I should ask Anais for a haircut.

[teheperinko]

[...she doesn't want to bug "Ritsu" too much, but hearing her talk about her hair for a moment... it makes her stop in place for a bit. Then, barely above a whisper, not that her size helps any,]

But I like your hair being worn this long...

[RUKA.

...anyway, it's probably best that she got going. Maybe if she squeaks around the classroom for a while she'll see something valuable looking she can flip through...]

[moepcs]

[ I mean........

There's a table. And a couch - which "Ritsu" is sitting on at the moment. There's a bunch of plushies in the right corner, atop of a cabinet.

And a bookcase on the left.

For Ruka, though, she'll also notice that there's a... poster??? Of a pro-wrestler - The Undertaker?? ]

1/2

[teheperinko]

[...wait wait wait WHAT-

Ruka stares for a while. Then stares some more. And stares even more.

Then the only thing that could possibly come to mind gets through an already busted filter.]

Tombstone Piledriver...

[Why does she know what that is????]

[teheperinko]

[...while the bookcase is clearly of interest, she can check on that later. Right now, there's a plushie pile she wants to get a better look at. Thankfully, her deflector's still in working shape, and she hasn't ruined it by recklessly popping up everywhere.

But it's probably better to see if there's a way up there that'll minimize her teleporter usage. So, first things first--

She teleports onto the table. Once again not looking before she leaps, she's probably found her way into "Ritsu's" field of view.

Whoops?]

[moepcs]

[ just


barely??? She's a bit too preoccupied with one thing: ]

Ah, shit, almost forgot my timer-- Google, set timer for one hour.

[teheperinko]

[As soon as she realizes what could have happened, Ruka panics and dives for the nearest bit of cover. Being a plush, she barely makes any noise, but that doesn't change just how close she is to getting, well. Chucked out of the room for trespassing.

As soon as she feels the heat's off her, though,]

--geeeeeeeeh...!

Any more and I would have gotten german suplexed out the door... [And it's not going to take her much to just get yeeted...

...more importantly, maybe she can find that place she can teleport to the plush pile from. After making sure she's not about to be found, Ruka gets back up to get a better view of the room.]

[moepcs]

[ The room's pretty normal, at least? Although the window is odd - it shows an actual outside rather than space, like. It looks like a school courtyard from out there.

"Ritsu" speaks aloud: ]

So far, I've had two visitors... well, at least one of them was reasonable.

[ She stretches out a bit before curling back into herself; a loneliness seen in her eyes. ]

... I wish you all were here, but it can't be helped. [ She laughs. ] Maybe now that I'm not playing Cupid, you two are dating by now. It wouldn't surprise me, I guess.

[teheperinko]

...

[So there's people she misses dearly too, huh. And by the sound of it, maybe she's hoping she never has to deal with the idea of falling in love... never mind the idea of having friends around her.

That really isn't a way to live. How could she force herself to live like that to begin with? But... she doesn't want to say too much and give herself away. Not after that heated argument they had earlier. So she puts thoughts of how to talk about that aside for now, opting to focus on what she was doing.

...now that she has a way up there, she teleports over. Maybe something about this plush pile has clues for her...]

[moepcs]

[ I mean, it's just a plush pile, I don't know what you want from me????

But hey, it's a good place to blend in and listen some more. ]

Well, there's no use feeling like that to begin with.

[ There's a coldness in her words as she taps away on her computer before closing it. ]

I just need to find a way to get rid of the stupid crap that Captain put on me... at least in this imitation of the CRC clubroom, I can be the real me. I don't have to deal with that curse that makes me spew out that nonsense...

[teheperinko]

[Ruka's idea of 'good clue source' is not the same as everyone else's idea of it.

...at least this is giving her a lot of insight into what's going on in Ritsu's head. If they had that, then maybe she'd be more willing to take their help... But more importantly, those walls are raised especially high. She's shuttered off, cold in a way that's closer to the husks she described to her when they ran into each other. It's... unpleasant. It makes her want to get out there and tell her she shouldn't be killing her feelings.

But that's not what she wants to hear right now, is it? No, what she wants is something that will prove they're not troublemakers in anyway. It's just a matter of figuring out the means to that end that won't get people hurt...

...maybe she'll linger for a bit. Make sure she's heard everything there is to hear, before setting off to that bookshelf.]

[moepcs]

[ She stares up at the ceiling, laughing in a way that feels hollow. ]

Ha... it's ironic, isn't it? I understand now, what it's like to be you. Being unable to be the 'real you', having to search for it...

[ She curls in on herself a little more and buries her head in her knees.

There's a sniffle and her words start to come out a little watery. ]

It hurts, and I can't do anything. I'm just their little puppet, outside of here... the only thing I could do was to cause this ruckus and at least allow people to see the truth.

BLANKET SPODLER WARNING FOR GLOBAL HBR

[teheperinko]

[...it's not the same, technically. But there's something very raw about the idea that she can't ever truly find herself.

Ruka still remembers the frustration that she'd thrown at Tezuka the day they were handed the truth. Like glass on a mirror being broken and scattered across the floor, leaving only jagged shards to tread on and cut away at the things that they thought were real, she'd screamed her heart out. She can't bring herself to recall the words precisely; all that she needed to remember is that it filled her with anger. They were merely tools to protect the vestiges of a dying people, a duplicitous existence born from the lives of those who died. Mere fakes, really.

And with the memory of that comes Megumi's struggle of self. The way she left. The way she and Tama watched her leave. The mutual tears they shed. And though Megumi's with them again now... it still feels like a crooked, broken note to her ears, to think about it. No -- it's like her song was irrevocably damaged and nothing could be done to amend the lost notes.

...Ruka sighs, looks up to the ceiling for a moment to calm her thoughts -- you're cool and unaffected by these things, don't let it swallow you -- before teleporting to the bookshelf.]

[moepcs]

[ Her head is lowered, so she doesn't exactly see Ruka, but she does hear the sound of the teleportation, even if it's low. It's enough for the girl to wipe her tears with a sleeve and whip her head back up, looking left and right as she gets up from her seat. ]

Who's there?! I know you're there, so you better come out while you still can, or else!

[teheperinko]

[GYAYAGRAYYYYYYNONONONONONOOOOOOOOOH--

crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap SHE MISJUDGED THE DISTANCE SO BADLY IT ISN'T FUNNY. IF THEIR HOMEROOM TEACHER WAS AROUND SHE WOULD INSTANTLY FAIL MATH CLASS. And on top of that, SHE BLEW HER COVER.

This is the absolute worst possible scenario. It's so bad, in fact, that she flails around mid-air for a bit before falling straight onto the table.]

I'M ON A HIGHWAY TO HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL--

[moepcs]

...

[ She just gives Ruka the flattest of looks. ]

Why are you quoting a song.

1/2

[teheperinko]

[Mercifully, she manages to put out a yarn replica of her deflector and break her fall, but she nearly falls flat on her face anyway.

That could have been bad...]

At least that still works, but-

[teheperinko]

[...and then Ritsu's question registers, and she has to look up awkwardly.

Uh.]

I thought I could fly and ended up nosediving like a paper plane?

[moepcs]

Idiot.

[ That's all Ruka gets as she sighs, circles around the table and heads towards the door to close it. ]

Toys don't fly, they fall with style.

[teheperinko]

I guess I can't be as cool as Buzz Lightyear just yet, huh.

[moepcs]

Well? How long have you been in here, anyway?

[teheperinko]

I kinda lost track after I swung the door open and fell on my face trying to get inside.

[Ruka.]

[moepcs]

[ She sighs. ]

Well, whatever. You're stuck here with me now. Whatever you want to say or ask, you're free to - nobody else can hear you here.

[ And she's going back to the couch to take a seat. ]

[teheperinko]

[The little plush girl ponders for a moment as she waddles up to get a view of the couch.]

...well, first off...

[moepcs]

...First off?

[ She raises a brow. ]