I'm sorry, brother, but I want to live.

( @lenore-simon-ironlung )

(Ooc: I’m too tired to do the transmission dormant so bear with me TvT )

Simon nearly jumps out of his skin.

The grip is physical, present, unless he's really losing his mind this time — though that might almost be preferable to– to something actually inside the sub with him. He whirls around, moving to pull his sleeve away from whatever has hold of it, but– No, that—

[—you were so young, and yet the blood already had its teeth in you—]

Startled, he loses his footing, ripping his arm quickly away from the creature apparition kid now standing there, in the center of the small space. He steadies himself against the wall, trying to keep as much space as possible between him and—

Her eyes wander

They’re a pearly white

Cataracts.

She can’t see

God, that really is a kid. A kid who's probably blind, judging by the eyes. The fact that she's seemingly half-fish doesn't matter all that much right now, considering she seems much more scared of him than he is of—

– .. Damn. She's scared of him.

Her hands are trembling as she speaks and holds her arms close to her chest

“I- I don’t even know where I am!”

He exhales harshly, anxiously running his hands through his hair. This is not an easy situation to summarize, especially to a child who's scared enough already. He makes a valiant attempt to take any remaining bite out of his voice before speaking again.

"We, uh– We're in a submarine. At the bottom of... somewhere we definitely don't want to be. We should be okay in here for now, but."

He makes a somewhat strange sound, trying to avoid swearing again.

“The…the SM-13?…”

She fidgeted with her fingers

There's an extended pause, then, as he thinks about what she'd actually said. Knowledge of the SM-13, the way she randomly appeared— "my dad" and "Eden." The pieces click into place painfully slowly.

"Oh. Okay, yeah. So— You're really not supposed to be here, huh? That's..."

– Not great, objectively. Not only is she stuck in the sub, down here, with him, but she'd also seemingly been displaced. As if this situation wasn't overwhelming enough before. He slides down to a sitting position as best he can, head back against the wall.

“He told me that he doesn’t want me believing in that stuff…”

She felt around the area trying to find somewhere to rest.

Zealous. Deadly. Deluded. Choking on false hope and cyanide. Killers and followers of nothing at all.

[caretakers and brothers-in-arms. familiar. family.]

".. crazy, and dangerous. Eden's definitely not somewhere you want to be, if you can help it. Especially—"

As she stumbles, Simon freezes. He catches himself tensed, ready to move, and intentionally tries to relax. No sudden movements. He's trying not to scare her any more.

“That’s what he said too.” She sighed

"Right. Okay. Um– Here, let's see."

“Thank you…”

He steadily makes his way back to the pilot's chair at the console and sits as well. When he eventually speaks again, his voice is still quiet.

“That- it’s okay…” the girl shrugged “it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been in one of these things…”

"Holy shit. You've been down here before? How old even are you? Sorry, but– no, that— You do know that's worse, right? Fuck, I—"

He runs his hands through his hair, exhaling sharply.

“S-sorry…I shouldn’t have said anything…I- fifteen..? Uhm…I don’t…I don’t know- I…” she curled up setting her knees to her chest

"Worse for you, I mean. I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at them. Why the— Why would they send you here at all? What's the point of leaving a child down here?"

He tries very pointedly to avoid thinking what this new information might imply about her being seemingly half-sea-monster. It doesn't work very well.

[no, you can't be scared, you're—]

Simon cuts himself off when she mentions a headache. He glances around the sub, as if he'd suddenly, miraculously, have anything to give her that might help. It could just be the stress of literally everything catching up to her, obviously, but if it's not...

"Are you okay? Do you, uh–"

The voice is feminine, hurried and clearly pissed, but it's not Ava's. In fact, it sounds a lot like the nurse who deemed him ready to be allowed down here.

“Convict? Answer if you hear me!”

— @coi-infirmary-wing

You–

[what the fuck. turn towards the speaker, signal blinking amber-orange. that's... a voice he should recognize. someone else with the c.o.i., probably. he's at a disadvantage, down here — he's definitely much better at recognizing people when he can see them.]

[something she said wasn't making sense. they'd lost contact with the captain... but they wanted to pull him up? what was the point of that? she's worth more to them than he is, clearly. plus, if she's really just in another sub, wouldn't she already be hooked to the chain and winch?]

( @lenore-simon-ironlung )

(Ooc: I’m too tired to do the transmission dormant so bear with me TvT )

Simon nearly jumps out of his skin.

The grip is physical, present, unless he's really losing his mind this time — though that might almost be preferable to– to something actually inside the sub with him. He whirls around, moving to pull his sleeve away from whatever has hold of it, but– No, that—

[—you were so young, and yet the blood already had its teeth in you—]

Startled, he loses his footing, ripping his arm quickly away from the creature apparition kid now standing there, in the center of the small space. He steadies himself against the wall, trying to keep as much space as possible between him and—

Her eyes wander

They’re a pearly white

Cataracts.

She can’t see

God, that really is a kid. A kid who's probably blind, judging by the eyes. The fact that she's seemingly half-fish doesn't matter all that much right now, considering she seems much more scared of him than he is of—

– .. Damn. She's scared of him.

Her hands are trembling as she speaks and holds her arms close to her chest

“I- I don’t even know where I am!”

He exhales harshly, anxiously running his hands through his hair. This is not an easy situation to summarize, especially to a child who's scared enough already. He makes a valiant attempt to take any remaining bite out of his voice before speaking again.

"We, uh– We're in a submarine. At the bottom of... somewhere we definitely don't want to be. We should be okay in here for now, but."

He makes a somewhat strange sound, trying to avoid swearing again.

“The…the SM-13?…”

She fidgeted with her fingers

There's an extended pause, then, as he thinks about what she'd actually said. Knowledge of the SM-13, the way she randomly appeared— "my dad" and "Eden." The pieces click into place painfully slowly.

"Oh. Okay, yeah. So— You're really not supposed to be here, huh? That's..."

– Not great, objectively. Not only is she stuck in the sub, down here, with him, but she'd also seemingly been displaced. As if this situation wasn't overwhelming enough before. He slides down to a sitting position as best he can, head back against the wall.

“He told me that he doesn’t want me believing in that stuff…”

She felt around the area trying to find somewhere to rest.

Zealous. Deadly. Deluded. Choking on false hope and cyanide. Killers and followers of nothing at all.

[caretakers and brothers-in-arms. familiar. family.]

".. crazy, and dangerous. Eden's definitely not somewhere you want to be, if you can help it. Especially—"

As she stumbles, Simon freezes. He catches himself tensed, ready to move, and intentionally tries to relax. No sudden movements. He's trying not to scare her any more.

“That’s what he said too.” She sighed

"Right. Okay. Um– Here, let's see."

“Thank you…”

He steadily makes his way back to the pilot's chair at the console and sits as well. When he eventually speaks again, his voice is still quiet.

“That- it’s okay…” the girl shrugged “it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been in one of these things…”

"Holy shit. You've been down here before? How old even are you? Sorry, but– no, that— You do know that's worse, right? Fuck, I—"

He runs his hands through his hair, exhaling sharply.

“S-sorry…I shouldn’t have said anything…I- fifteen..? Uhm…I don’t…I don’t know- I…” she curled up setting her knees to her chest

"Worse for you, I mean. I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at them. Why the— Why would they send you here at all? What's the point of leaving a child down here?"

He tries very pointedly to avoid thinking what this new information might imply about her being seemingly half-sea-monster. It doesn't work very well.

[no, you can't be scared, you're—]

"Hello. Do you have time to talk?"

- @avathemultiverseexplorer

(Ooc. If this dosent match the narrative/ is too overwhelming you can always just be added to the archive without needing to roleplay with this Ava.)

[it sounds like the captain, but... no, that doesn't make any sense. what would be the point of cutting him off so many times, just to turn around and ask if he has time to talk? not only that, the signal light was wrong. is this really what he gets, for asking about it? he takes a step back, towards the console, ready to move if necessary.]

[... oh. oh. fucking obviously.]

Um. Kind of? What's— I mean, is there specific criteria for that?

[K and joanna seemed to be from outside his universe, but as far as he knew, they were here, now. this... alternate captain, too, though he really had no way of knowing where she was. "someone outside your universe" almost seemed to imply messages literally coming from outside, not just stray radio signals from various displaced travelers. he hopes he would remember something like that-] [-he retraces his last few steps, away from the controls. hoping he doesn't actually need them.]

["not already in my universe" is the phrase, though he can't quite bring himself to say it. he's not sure why the words seem to fight him so much, or what implications he might be avoiding. he pushes past the feeling and moves on.]

"Its a list of questions to answer not a life story. Unless you really want to tell me yours. I have all the time in the universe."

... Wait– "Transport yourself here," how? You can come here, to— to my universe, and then– what, just. Go home afterwards, no problem? How does that work?

"Suppose it easier to show you, if you are ready to have me enter your submarine."

I– You know what? Yeah, okay, fine. I guess if you're willing to actually— you know, come down here, then go right ahead.

[And with thouse words the screen showing the pictures of what is in front of the submarine started to glow with a dull blue light. Ava steps through it. She looks like you remember Ava looking through the glass window. Except she isent wearing the C.O.I. badge and are holding a clipboard.]

"Hello again, Simon."

"... Hi. Ava, you said?"

It becomes immediately obvious that the SM-13 has seen far better days. Nothing is actively flooding, but there is a concerning amount of blood dripping slowly down the walls and leaking through the break in the port window. Discarded scraps of paper litter the floor, remnants of dead-end tunnels drawn over and crumpled up.

The space is a mess, and frankly, so is Simon. His hands and forearms are tightly bandaged, though it's difficult to tell what patches are red from the injuries underneath and which are simply external stains. The Eden pendant he'd found hangs loosely from his left wrist, glass cracked cleanly down the center.

[Ava nods towards the stacks of crumbled paper. Seemingly not disturbed by anything. Like this is a normal day at work.]

"Right. This is the where you fill out your entry to the archive."

[She taps the clipboard with her finger and hands it to Simon. A pen is attached to it and the following is written on it:

Name/aliases:

Affiliation:

Occupation:

Species:

Universe status:

Notes:

Affiliation: ███████ [seems like he did write something there, but very intensely scratched it out]

Occupation: being executed currently under Prisoner

Species: Human

He stares at the next question for some time. It's hard to tell what kind of answer she might be looking for — something about the Rapture? That would imply that maybe she's been places without it, like K's home. He's not sure how much he believes that. If he'd found something like that, he's sure he would've never looked back.

[are you?]

Does she want him to say something about his universe specifically? All he can think of is the way people seem to keep appearing, but apparently that might not be unique after all. Something about the fact that it's random, that so far no one's decided to do it? How would he even go about explaining that?

Universe Status: Open, apparently

[Ava moves to retrieve the clipboard. As she does it starts to glow with a dull blue light and the answers Simon just wrote dissappears from the paper.]

It's hard to tell if he's upset or simply exhausted. Again, his eyes track the light as it fades.

( @lenore-simon-ironlung )

(Ooc: I’m too tired to do the transmission dormant so bear with me TvT )

Simon nearly jumps out of his skin.

The grip is physical, present, unless he's really losing his mind this time — though that might almost be preferable to– to something actually inside the sub with him. He whirls around, moving to pull his sleeve away from whatever has hold of it, but– No, that—

[—you were so young, and yet the blood already had its teeth in you—]

Startled, he loses his footing, ripping his arm quickly away from the creature apparition kid now standing there, in the center of the small space. He steadies himself against the wall, trying to keep as much space as possible between him and—

Her eyes wander

They’re a pearly white

Cataracts.

She can’t see

God, that really is a kid. A kid who's probably blind, judging by the eyes. The fact that she's seemingly half-fish doesn't matter all that much right now, considering she seems much more scared of him than he is of—

– .. Damn. She's scared of him.

Her hands are trembling as she speaks and holds her arms close to her chest

“I- I don’t even know where I am!”

He exhales harshly, anxiously running his hands through his hair. This is not an easy situation to summarize, especially to a child who's scared enough already. He makes a valiant attempt to take any remaining bite out of his voice before speaking again.

"We, uh– We're in a submarine. At the bottom of... somewhere we definitely don't want to be. We should be okay in here for now, but."

He makes a somewhat strange sound, trying to avoid swearing again.

“The…the SM-13?…”

She fidgeted with her fingers

There's an extended pause, then, as he thinks about what she'd actually said. Knowledge of the SM-13, the way she randomly appeared— "my dad" and "Eden." The pieces click into place painfully slowly.

"Oh. Okay, yeah. So— You're really not supposed to be here, huh? That's..."

– Not great, objectively. Not only is she stuck in the sub, down here, with him, but she'd also seemingly been displaced. As if this situation wasn't overwhelming enough before. He slides down to a sitting position as best he can, head back against the wall.

“He told me that he doesn’t want me believing in that stuff…”

She felt around the area trying to find somewhere to rest.

Zealous. Deadly. Deluded. Choking on false hope and cyanide. Killers and followers of nothing at all.

[caretakers and brothers-in-arms. familiar. family.]

".. crazy, and dangerous. Eden's definitely not somewhere you want to be, if you can help it. Especially—"

As she stumbles, Simon freezes. He catches himself tensed, ready to move, and intentionally tries to relax. No sudden movements. He's trying not to scare her any more.

“That’s what he said too.” She sighed

"Right. Okay. Um– Here, let's see."

“Thank you…”

He steadily makes his way back to the pilot's chair at the console and sits as well. When he eventually speaks again, his voice is still quiet.

“That- it’s okay…” the girl shrugged “it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been in one of these things…”

"Holy shit. You've been down here before? How old even are you? Sorry, but– no, that— You do know that's worse, right? Fuck, I—"

He runs his hands through his hair, exhaling sharply.

"Hello. Do you have time to talk?"

- @avathemultiverseexplorer

(Ooc. If this dosent match the narrative/ is too overwhelming you can always just be added to the archive without needing to roleplay with this Ava.)

[it sounds like the captain, but... no, that doesn't make any sense. what would be the point of cutting him off so many times, just to turn around and ask if he has time to talk? not only that, the signal light was wrong. is this really what he gets, for asking about it? he takes a step back, towards the console, ready to move if necessary.]

[... oh. oh. fucking obviously.]

Um. Kind of? What's— I mean, is there specific criteria for that?

[K and joanna seemed to be from outside his universe, but as far as he knew, they were here, now. this... alternate captain, too, though he really had no way of knowing where she was. "someone outside your universe" almost seemed to imply messages literally coming from outside, not just stray radio signals from various displaced travelers. he hopes he would remember something like that-] [-he retraces his last few steps, away from the controls. hoping he doesn't actually need them.]

["not already in my universe" is the phrase, though he can't quite bring himself to say it. he's not sure why the words seem to fight him so much, or what implications he might be avoiding. he pushes past the feeling and moves on.]

"Its a list of questions to answer not a life story. Unless you really want to tell me yours. I have all the time in the universe."

... Wait– "Transport yourself here," how? You can come here, to— to my universe, and then– what, just. Go home afterwards, no problem? How does that work?

"Suppose it easier to show you, if you are ready to have me enter your submarine."

I– You know what? Yeah, okay, fine. I guess if you're willing to actually— you know, come down here, then go right ahead.

[And with thouse words the screen showing the pictures of what is in front of the submarine started to glow with a dull blue light. Ava steps through it. She looks like you remember Ava looking through the glass window. Except she isent wearing the C.O.I. badge and are holding a clipboard.]

"Hello again, Simon."

"... Hi. Ava, you said?"

It becomes immediately obvious that the SM-13 has seen far better days. Nothing is actively flooding, but there is a concerning amount of blood dripping slowly down the walls and leaking through the break in the port window. Discarded scraps of paper litter the floor, remnants of dead-end tunnels drawn over and crumpled up.

The space is a mess, and frankly, so is Simon. His hands and forearms are tightly bandaged, though it's difficult to tell what patches are red from the injuries underneath and which are simply external stains. The Eden pendant he'd found hangs loosely from his left wrist, glass cracked cleanly down the center.

[Ava nods towards the stacks of crumbled paper. Seemingly not disturbed by anything. Like this is a normal day at work.]

"Right. This is the where you fill out your entry to the archive."

[She taps the clipboard with her finger and hands it to Simon. A pen is attached to it and the following is written on it:

Name/aliases:

Affiliation:

Occupation:

Species:

Universe status:

Notes:

Affiliation: ███████ [seems like he did write something there, but very intensely scratched it out]

Occupation: being executed currently under Prisoner

Species: Human

He stares at the next question for some time. It's hard to tell what kind of answer she might be looking for — something about the Rapture? That would imply that maybe she's been places without it, like K's home. He's not sure how much he believes that. If he'd found something like that, he's sure he would've never looked back.

[are you?]

Does she want him to say something about his universe specifically? All he can think of is the way people seem to keep appearing, but apparently that might not be unique after all. Something about the fact that it's random, that so far no one's decided to do it? How would he even go about explaining that?

Universe Status: Open, apparently

[Ava moves to retrieve the clipboard. As she does it starts to glow with a dull blue light and the answers Simon just wrote dissappears from the paper.]

It's hard to tell if he's upset or simply exhausted. Again, his eyes track the light as it fades.

...Hello? Is... anyone there?

....

Please...? Simon? Is that you?

....

Captain? Ben? Anyone? Jackson???

I'll even take Captain Isenhardt!! Please?

Anyone?

Hello...?

....

Don't leave me alone... I want to go home...

[the audio quality is rough, but that makes a certain amount of sense. what use were comms when no one was supposed to be on-board? irrationally he takes a step closer to the radio— as if there were a button he needs to press. some way to force the connection to hold.]

K? Is that you? Are you okay?

[the ensuing staticky silence does nothing to ease his nerves. it has to be them, they have to be alright. he collapses back into his chair and puts his head in his hands.]

> Im– Im okay I think

> Im okay

> Im sorry

> I dont

> I dont know

> All I remember is panic, fear, terror

> I just wanted a nap

> just wanted to close my eyes

> I was so tired

> I dont

> I dont know why Im down here

> I dont know how I got down here

> you– you cant even unlatch the sub inside!

> I just woke up, in front of the controls and—

> Nothing

> I

> I dont know how

> I dont know where I am

> Im scared, Simon

> Im so fucking scared

> Im sorry

> I didnt want to come down here

> and I know I promised I wouldn't

> But I swear on my old partner

> that I dont know how I got here

> I dont remember how I got here

> Simon

> Im scared

You know what– K, can you do something for me? Put a hand on your chest, just at the base of your neck. You want to press your thumb down into the dip at your collarbone. Try to keep your other fingers as flat as possible against your chest. Can you do that?

[he mimics the motion himself, mostly as reassurance that he's explaining it correctly.]

Do you feel your pulse there, under your thumb? Try to match your breathing to it — in for four beats, hold for four, out for five. It's not going to feel even, but the point is the counting. Focus on it. When you inhale, your pulse speeds up, and when you exhale, it slows down. Every next breath carries on some of that slowness to help your heart rate even out. That change means it's working. Your heart and lungs are working. Everything else is secondary. You're going to be okay.

[the assurances are second-nature, at this point. he takes the time to think over the situation at hand instead. that they "just woke up in front of the controls" is... worrying. it's really starting to feel like there's no such thing as coincidences in this fucking place. if they really did get pulled even further into this bullshit, he only has himself to blame.]

> ...

> sorry

> I

> I dont know what came over me

< their voice was softer now, calmer, yet quiet. they kept their eyes closed, even as they spoke >

> a..anyways

> Thank you for that

> People tend to leave me alone when I panic and I...

> No matter

> Just

> thank you for not leaving

> How are you?

> How are you doing?

> Are you okay?

> I

> I would try to get to you

> but I'll be honest when I say I don't know how to control this thing

> it barely reads anything around it through the blood

> I think Im stuck?

> I

> I could change it back to remote mode but I dont know how much that would help if Jackson cant hear me

> ...

> fuck

> ...

> okay

> okay

K, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. There's definitely something we can do. I'm sure of it.

Uh– shit, okay. Stay where you are for now, I don't want you to crash. What was the original plan to bring you back up? Or— your sub, sorry. Is it on a chain as well? I mean— I'd kind of hope if it was that they would've already done that, but at this point, I guess anything is possible.

> I'll stay here

> Umm..

> A chain? No

> The sub can be pulled back up by a magnetic field but I think the blood is so thick that Jackson can't pull me up unless I'm on the surface of the ocean...

> So unless I can find my way up, I don't think I can leave yet.

> ...

< K has a look around, eyebrows pulling together. Nothing looked like it was leaking, but considering how long this sub had in the ocean, K didnt think they would last long. They shake their head before realizing with red cheeks that Simon can't see them. >

> This sub doesnt exactly have windows.

> It was not designed for people to be in it long so they never put windows in

> so I think I'm fine until uhh

> until the sub gives out

> nothings leaking either

> ...

> Simon what exactly is in this ocean?

< K glances at their radar, frowning a bit as they see little red dots all over them. Maybe it was the walls, or maybe it was something else. They don't know and it scares them >

> why uhh

Just– I-It's not— You just don't. Okay?

[it sticks to you, refusing to be washed away, seeping through your skin until your veins carry other people's names more often than oxygen. it is unforgettable. it is everything. it is you and I and your peers and your enemies and-]

[he glances down at his bandaged hands, balling them into fists again. when he speaks, his tone still sounds strained.]

> Try to remember that

> okay... the blood is bad

> avoid at all costs

< K stares at the terminal, a little confused. they didn't know what to make of the situation at hand. They felt out of place because, yes, they were. they were in the one place they told everyone they'd never go into, get here they are. >

> Um

> I don't know

> maybe?

> I don't really know how far I went down or where in the ocean I am

> like I said

> I woke up in front of the subs console already at the bottom

> our scanner for the sub can't pick anything up

> on the sub anyways

> the one on the ship has a better view and, we'd probably be able to navigate that way

> but I can't connect to him or the ships

> so im stuck unless we can get back into contact with them

> ...

> are you able to?

> get into contact with them?

> you're still connected to the SS Luna

Piece of shit sub can't do anything on its own. Probably on purpose, though.

[a pause, taking a moment to glance over his piecemeal map. tilts his head to the side, thoughtful.]