queenofheartsrp | [action/video]

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[Jessica's recovered slightly from the horrible failure that was her first attempt. Now it's time to show the gardens she means business! With the aid of a lot of dirt and a small pile of draft paper.

[First up: three more towers, with windows all around, for lookout. Internal elevators, so people can easily get to the tops. Then, a keep below, fortified and with plenty of rooms for storage and living and doctoring. A high, thick wall encircling, wide enough to walk on, with occasional guardhouses for supply storage. Fortified entrances at each cardinal point. A clear plastic roof stretching over the rest of the complex to shield from aerial attacks. And, once the basic shell is there, something she's been wanting for a while: interior plumbing, plus a sprinkler system just in case.

[She stands back, observing the result with satisfaction. Once she's inspected the area, she opens up a mirror on the vine.]

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I've finished the fortress I was planning. If anyone who's an actual fighter or has, y'know, experience with this stuff wants to check it out and make sure it's up to code, that'd be great. Mostly I just want people to know where it is for the next time we get overrun with things trying to kill us. Just look for the towers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That would be the sensible place for them. [She heads toward it.]

[Sephiroth considers. This kind of fortress is archaic to her, though she is familiar with Fort Condor.] The main doors should be adequate, as they're well spaced. Too many exit points create too many points that need extra defense. But are the doors easy to open and close from within, even for a single person?

Is there a bunker of some kind, underground? [She glances up.] I'm not sure about the effectiveness of your overhead barrier.

[Aww, Jessica.]

They should be pretty easy, yeah. I tried to design them so I could use 'em, so unless there's someone around here who skipped more phys ed than I did...

Didn't think to set up a bunker... [She frowns slightly.] That's... kind of a Thing. For me. Someone else might, uh, have to do it. sorry.

What's wrong with it?

[She's made of science! And badass! And logic!!!]

Easy to open from within, but not from without? Good.

[In response to Jessica's discomfort with bunkers, she nods, not seeming to judge her for it. She also does not ask why.] Nothing is wrong with it, precisely, but in the event of aerial attacks or shelling, bunkers are the most effective means of defense. I know it's not your primary concern, so I wouldn't say it's necessary, but I thought it worth considering.

Yeah, I'll... [~~Have to take her chances in that case~~] see if I can get someone else to make something, then.

I can make a bunker, if needed. Perhaps you should also keep an emergency supply of the magic soil here, in case some unforeseen problem arises and you require more specialized defenses? I can think of no more useful precaution than that.

That sounds like a really, really good idea. Assuming it doesn't expire or something.

[She smiles.]

It could be an interesting experiment. We can continue to test the continuing efficacy of the dirt by making small things with it periodically. If its power does fade over time, we can gather more.

[She can set up charts! And graphs! GLEE!] It certainly seems like a worthwhile project. I'm surprised nobody's tried it before. Or if they have, they never mentioned it.

[Sephiroth, smug? Well, maybe just a little.]

I haven't heard of anyone researching the matter, but it does seem like a logical thing to test. Magical items on my world don't fade in power when removed from their source, but this is a different kind of magic.

I have no idea how magic works, but if it, uh, "keeps," that'd be great.

Thanks again for all your help. Really, you're... I couldn't even do half of this stuff without you, I bet.

I'm still of the opinion that what we call magic could simply be forces that are not yet understood, but it is easier to use the term "magic".

You're welcome, Jessica. [She sets down the chest at last, having reached a suitable place for it.] You've done much on your own, but I think it's important for us to cooperate here.

[She pauses.] May I ask you a question?

Everything's forces that're not yet understood. But yeah.

Yeah, I'm all about... well, I mean... I dunno. [She looks at her hands.] I just don't really want to bother people, I guess.

[Glancing back up] um... I guess it depends on the question. I mean, you can ask...

Except for those forces that are understood. I was referring to the fact that people tend to view such forces as mystical. [She shrugs.]

[Sephiroth is unsure of what Jessica means by "bothering" people.] It seems that no one is bothered by your efforts. You are trying to help.

[She pauses.] Perhaps it's an odd question, but do you feel any different here than you did at home? Either physically or mentally, in a way not related to the stress of being abducted.

Oh, yeah, I guess? I always just assumed everything had some kind of reason behind it, just not one we get yet. The idea of some other... Thing, doing stuff just for- for the "lulz" seems... I don't really see it.

Yeah, just... [She spends a moment trying to shape what she means out of the air with her hands, then gives up, unable to force "different and stricter social rules apply to me just because" into a coherent thought.] Nevermind.

"Different." Hm. [This is given careful thought.] I feel like a lot of people here are easier to get along with than at home? But that might just be because there's some kind of goal. I don't feel very different otherwise. It's hard to tell, just because it's such a different situation.

Your attitude is a sensible one. I agree. Others seem to believe there is another power at work, like a god or spirit or simply something--magical, as if that is enough of an explanation in and of itself.

[She looks curious at Jessica's "never mind" but doesn't press.] It's true that our shared goal unites us and brings together the kind of people who might have no contact otherwise.

So you feel nothing other than that? No strange sensations?

Yeah, I'd want to know why the thing is doing that, and... y'know, what's sustaining it, how it does it... unless I can get that information, it's not a good explanation.

What kind of sensations? Is this a... [she searches for a word and ends up with a rather pathetic] Thing?

[She nods with a small approving smile.] No, it is not a good explanation.

[Sephiroth considers. She has felt something odd here, but it is difficult to explain.] I was wondering if this place had any kind of slow, cumulative effect on its captives.

I'm not referring to desire or affection. [She has heard that that is one of the Queen's goals, but she has experienced nothing of the kind here yet.]

Well, I'll pay more attention, but I don't think I've felt any changes that can't otherwise be explained.

Thank you. I'd appreciate that. I was wondering if we were being affected in some way other than the obvious. [It seems Jessica has not experienced anything similar, but it is no great matter.]

[Sephiroth moves on, bending to open the chest.] I can quickly show you the different items I created, if you'd like.

Have you had... I dunno, problems? Weird stuff?

Oh, yeah... yeah, that'd be good.

I have experienced an unfamiliar physical sensation. It's difficult to describe. I don't know what it is. [She tries to think of what to compare it to.] We feel cold or hunger because we need warmth or food. It's like that. I feel a need for something, but I don't know for what. [She doesn't sound too concerned, only curious.]

[She pulls out the first of the items in the chest, a small, round brown and bronze container.] This is an antidote. You ingest the substance inside to cure poison.

Huh. That sounds... slightly worrisome? Maybe... uh, you're missing something from your home?

[The notebook and pencil come out once the item tutorial starts up] Antidote, right.

Wait, like any poison?

That could be it. The snakes provide me with one substance I need, but there could be another--not necessary, but one which I'm so used to that I feel its lack. That's my current hypothesis.

[Sephiroth nods.] There might be some very specific poisons that it won't work on, but it works on most of them, yes. It's like the immune system, in a way, only it identifies and neutralizes poisons rather than pathogens.

It wouldn't work on something purely mind-altering, like the psychoactive chocolates.

You know what it is? Do you get, like, headaches? Brain zaps? Dizziness? The shakes?

Man, what we'd give for something like this back home...

No, it's nothing like that. It's not painful. More of--a yearning.

Antidotes are quite useful. On my world, there are many monsters that can poison humans.

[She next pulls out two vials: each contains a kind of bright sphere. One of the spheres is purple, and one is golden.] These are potions. You apply them to injured areas to cure them. The purple is for minor wounds, and the gold for more severe injuries. If you have internal injuries, they should be ingested.

If one isn't enough, you apply more potions until you're healed.

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