Band Geek

She easily found the rows upon rows of books on history and geography, though many of the titles appeared irrelevant. She wasn’t looking to learn about foreign cultures - she wanted to know about this city. A slim volume tucked away between books about worlds she had never even heard of caught her eye. It looked fairly new in contrast to many of the dusty, worn spines aligned on the seemingly endless shelves.

"What’s this?" she muttered to herself. It described Hive City’s sectors and districts as well as more recently discovered areas, which explained why it looked so new. There was, unfortunately, no information about the scientists or their motives, but the girl was not about to underestimate the importance of learning a little more about her surroundings and their history. She hastily scribbled down tidbits she found interesting before replacing the book and moving along.

"The newspapers of Citta Alveare only date back to a few years, meaning this place is fairly new. However, we do know that Citta Alveare used to be a regular city before it was taken over. It seemed to be rather peaceful, and there is no news of the annexation of the city. Most of the news about the current Citta only includes culture, such as festivities and the discovery of certain new areas."

He took a deep breath.

"There is no actual information on the scientists, and no one knows who publishes the newspapers. However, I have been able to analyze papers from other worlds, other universes. It is possible that these scientists use time magic. I could go on."

"Well, I’ve never heard that insult before, so I guess you get points for creativity. It’s still a crude thing to say to a young lady, you pervert."

All right. Back to business.

"All right, whatever you say." She had a bad feeling about this guy, and not just because he was a talking plush bear. After all, she had seen weirder things both back in her world and in this city. Well, looks like she was stuck with him, just as he had said.

"All right, here’s what we’re going to do! I’ll go here and look through the history and geography sections. You’ll look through the newspapers. If you find any information that you deem useful, write the name of the article, the date it was published, the name of the newspaper, and a summary of the article. I’ll make a similar chart for my research. At 6:30 - that’s in five hours - we’ll reconvene here and discuss what we found. Remember to note where you left off." The girl paused a moment and tapped her baton against her chin. "We should probably find somewhere to get food at that time. Working on an empty stomach isn’t very efficient."

"Understood," he said, unmoving. He brought the foreign object up to his face and inspected it further. It was made of a clear tubing that had some sort of ink in it. He pulled the cap off and realized it looked much like a pencil, but it smelled different. The blue ink was somehow kept in the clear tube and didn’t come out when he shook it. How interesting.

He nodded to Nonon before heading off to the newspaper section. As he looked at the day’s paper, he realized that they stated the most mundane things. A sale at the market, someone being injured in so and so district… No politics anywhere.

He turned to look at other papers, but they seemed to be telling what was happening in completely different worlds. He didn’t find much to write down, but he did take a fair look at each paper’s entertainment section. As he finished them, he looked for older papers. Maybe he could go far enough to find how this place was created.

She easily found the rows upon rows of books on history and geography, though many of the titles appeared irrelevant. She wasn't looking to learn about foreign cultures - she wanted to know about this city. A slim volume tucked away between books about worlds she had never even heard of caught her eye. It looked fairly new in contrast to many of the dusty, worn spines aligned on the seemingly endless shelves.

"What's this?" she muttered to herself. It described Hive City's sectors and districts as well as more recently discovered areas, which explained why it looked so new. There was, unfortunately, no information about the scientists or their motives, but the girl was not about to underestimate the importance of learning a little more about her surroundings and their history. She hastily scribbled down tidbits she found interesting before replacing the book and moving along.

"Ehhh? ‘Make space’? Why are only specific people chosen, then?"

Nonon drew her lips into a pout. This “experiment” was becoming more nonsensical by the minute.

Have you always wanted our muses to meet, but didn’t know how they would first interact? Send me one of the following ice breakers so we can embark on our roleplaying adventure!

"Good morning, sorry I’m late!"

"I’m not late am I?"

"I don’t think we’ve met before…"

"You look familiar, have we met?"

"Do I know you?"

"Sorry! You dropped this!"

"Oh, sorry I thought you were someone else, I didn’t mean to hug you!"

"Watch where you’re going!"

"Are you okay? You didn’t fall too badly did you?"

"I should have said something earlier, I’m-"

"I’ve seen you around, I’ve just never had the guts to say hi."

"You must be new…"

"Do you need a hand?"

"Have you just moved in?"

"If you want me to show you around, I don’t mind helping."

"I saw you from across the room and I had to say hi."

"I wouldn’t buy that if I were you."

"Do you need some help?"

"Is this yours?"

"Sorry, I’m not from around here, do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?"

"Hey, have you got change for a note?"

"Want some gum?"

"Ah, sorry. I’ll move my bag, this seat is free."

"Careful!"

"Not every day you meet someone with such a smile!"

"Thanks for holding the door open for me!"