Phase: Macha

Looks like a cat cause her creator used her to gaslight a teenager. so like, awkward 

since she’s a digital cat she dont know shit about cats vs dogs so she’s got nothing against dogs

speaking of dogs, she doesn’t have any smell to her. she’s 1′s & 0′s bro. she doesn’t have a sense of smell or taste either 

oh yeah she’s an artificial intelligence

she can only speak in text via vidya game chat boxes, which, btw, the boxes can be touched & interacted w/ (lightly, or they’ll dissipate)

bc she aint in vidya game no more her current form is more or less like steven universe’s gems: projection with mass 

she can levitate (but only for 20 mins). that’s her most comfortable position; in canon she’s near never seen not hovering 

this kitty’s about 3″5′  

despite her size &, looking like a cat, mentally she’s an adult 

((Apologies for the radio silence! Things have been busy IRL, mostly money problems & my mom’s recent nose surgery. I’ll be trying to get back into the swing of things & get some replies going in the next week or so 

Thank you everyone for your patience!))

Pale King’s head lowered, foregoing the tap of the screen to speak freely. He reasoned that it took nothing away from him to explain to this creature what marriage was and his own would be excellent example. 

He reasoned but it was not his true intention.

❝Marriage is… It is a metaphorical union of two or more beings into one. Usually finances and belongings become shared between the parties.❞ His mouth twisted into a fine line, visibly distressed even as he continued on, one free hand lingering over the spot below his throat where the Kingsoul had once sat. ❝And when it is over, when it tarnished from years of neglect and… Well. It is easy to feel alone, uprooted, when someone you have spent decades with is suddenly gone from your life.❞

Eyes sliding shut, Pale King stood in silence for a moment longer before he looked at Macha, gaze steady once again. ❝We will give those two for free.❞   

This admission seemed to cause the other great pain. Not physically, she knew now, but mentally, emotionally. She’d heard the phrase, ‘Died of a broken heart’ before, but hadn’t understood it in its true context until she’d come to this city. It was not about the physical, beating organ within some creatures, but the emotional heart. 

She appreciated his use of language. ‘Uprooted’ painted a picture in her mind of a tree being blown over in a storm, and the pain it might feel being torn from miles and miles of roots. 

        CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT, A STATEMENT which comes to mind. though barret would never wish to seek harm on the animal, even if she’d prod and pry into matters more PERSONAL ( such as how such an arm came to be ) but for someone who seems UNFAMILIAR with such a weapon, she’s not stupid.

and neither is he, for his gun’s safety is COMPLETELY in check.

❝mm hmm, that’s righ’. if your world has bows or slingshots, it’s a SIMILAR principle, just … typically more EFFICIENT.❞ typically, for it doesn’t matter the weapon as much as who is using it. ❝'course there’s likely a few archers who could take the piss out of me, but who knows.❞

She appreciated his kind and candid nature. Many others recoiled from her poking. 

📚  Dortin chuckles lightly as Macha pulls him along, allowing her to do so without the slightest hesitation or resistance. After all, he does trust her and he is likewisely excited to  spend time in the university with… a friend.

“Yes, we’re going to have fun together, I am sure about that.” Of course he’s leading her to the library of the university first. His favorite place out of the entire library. “We still have some time until the lecture I picked starts. You’ll see, they have great readings here about the underwater worlds. I’ll show you the entire university and gonna have lunch at the cafeteria!“

Lectures. Libraries. Books. Lunch at the cafeteria. The only thing this day is missing is rain. Nothing goes over a studious day in the university on a rainy day. But nonetheless, this is something Dortin feels great comfort and join about.

“Underwater worlds?”

She had not been aware of such things in this city. Water was something she was mostly unfamiliar with, safe the strange time she had being hopped from island to island. In ‘The World’ there were puddles occasionally, and little ponds but nothing so grand as to be a whole world. 

A thought came to her. To get to know someone better and, to grow closer as friends, one should ask them questions about themselves. She remembers the many chat logs she read in ‘The World’ that all were variations of, 

“My name is ____, I work doing ___”, and through that they’d find their common ties. 

  Of all the situations he could have been placed in. Several years trapped and he’s seen more than his fair share of oddities unfamiliar to those even stranger at home. But a Cat that seemed to create floating boxes? In English of all things? Try as he might, impatience has his attention held only for so long - skimming along sentences, only catching shorter words with a quirked brow. Something was probably said… Or maybe not. Would he have paid attention either way? Of course not! That wasn’t very KINGLY behavior!

“ I’ve no recollection of seeing any animal-fellows, let alone ones of the mare-y variety… No harm in continuing this obscure search of yours. ” A light chuckle slips, entertained by the lone  thought of a cat riding on the shoulders of a horse-man, parading around for who knows what reason.

“ Have you thought much on trying to add some oranges to your attire? ”

This was not a man, this was a brick. She sighed internally. It was obvious that words wouldn’t do her any good here. Even if she had a voice, it was doubtful he’d listen! 

The next course of action to learn more? Invade his space. She floated just above his head level, then dropped down to sit on his shoulders. 

Usually when someone tried to catch him, he could just easily fly out of reach or duck back down into the screen of his drone. It was a surprisingly common occurrence - sometimes people were curious or thought he was a toy - but after spending five years on the run, Ai had very fast reflexes… If he could see it coming.

What he didn’t expect flying this high up was something landing on top of him.

“AH!WHAT’SHAPPENING?GETITOFFME-”

-he couldn’t help but yelp in surprise. Normally, this would be the part where he’d hide in the drone’s screen, but whatever had jumped him was squishing him against the body of the drone. He turned his head around and was surprised to see a large, strange cat clinging to him.

Having fallen a couple feet when the cat landed on him before the drone evened out again, he figured a drop from this height wouldn’t hurt the animal and moved to try and push them off. To his utter surprise, when he touched the furry body, he immediately began to read advanced code through his hand. Not through a metal body into code, as most A.I were made, but a body made of code much like his own.

Not wanting to invade her privacy, he stopped reading her code immediately, but was too stunned to move his hand. As far as he could tell, she wasn’t attached to any sort of technology, unlike the restrictions placed on his own body. He was filled with questions; attack on his person completely forgotten.

“You’re an A.I? Can you speak? What’s your name? How are you here physically without any sort of tech?” Based on their advanced coding, he could probably assume she was capable of free thought, but he wanted to hear her answer to the question: “Do you have free will?”

She tilted her head, brows raising in surprise. She hadn’t expected such questions. Actually, she hadn’t expected any questions at all; she’d assumed this was some sort of aircraft being controlled by someone on the ground, or their captors. Instead, there was a being within it.

This day was turning out far more interesting than she had anticipated. 

Hubert’s brow raise slightly as he reads the text quickly above the creature’s head. He smiles, slightly amused at this turn of events, and folds his arms across his chest.

“Then my interest would be piqued,” he says evenly. Nothing like this exists within the Adrestian Empire, nor had he heard of it in other lands. Therefore this interests him more – but he’s not one to openly question an obviously sentient being’s existence. Time will tell of Spirale’s strange mysteries, he has so many questions already it seems foolish to waste answers on less pressing matters. Instead, he tils his head and nods towards the stern.

“Are you interested in exploring, or are you planning on collecting more splinters in your hand?”

Macha couldn’t help but smile; this person was sassy, which she quite liked. Nice was nice, but sassy and witty was interesting. 

(Transcript)

oh, talk to it? that sounds easy, though they’re not sure it’ll actually work. they turn back to the screen.

‘hello? machine thing? i need your help so i can talk to people!’

the screen changes from a bunch of words to a line that jumps up and down rapidly in time with their voice. it’s a little surprising, but they think it means that the machine is listening. good! after a few seconds of silence, the line disappears and is replaced by more words.

Hello, MEW. Thank you for visiting the Spirale Marketplace. Please peruse your options below.

a soft, feminine voice speaks up from the machine, and mew cocks their head. is it reading what’s on the screen to them? how cool! they look at their friend, then back.

‘i guess i can buy stuff? but i don’t think i have any money.’

there are pictures and words on the screen. mew doesn’t really know what all of the items do, but one of the pictures jumps out. it’s a very familiar collar, and mew begins tapping at it repeatedly. with each tap, the voice begins to read off the description again, cutting itself off each time before mew finally stops and allows it to finish.

Galactic Companion Translator – 300 Stars A collar-type translation device. Attach it to your pet and finally figure out what they’re screaming about at 3 a.m.!

well, mew certainly isn’t a pet. but if it’ll work for a silly dog, it’s gotta work for them, right? they don’t know what stars are, but it isn’t telling them no, so they’ll see how far it takes them.

there are two new icons on the screen, each below the description of the collar. one is green and looks like a check mark, and the other is a big red X. that’s an easy enough choice, right? they tap the green check.

a weird spinning shape appears on the screen. they cock their head sideways to watch it, the rest of their body following the motion until they’ve gone in a complete circle.

finally, there’s a pleasant chime. the shape disappears, and the voice begins to read again.

Your funds have been verified. Your item will be delivered to GOLDEN 305 the next business day.

Please check back now and again. New items arrive often.

Your patronage is appreciated. Have a wonderful island day. :)

… huh? did it… work?

but they don’t have money – oh, whatever! they’re getting their translator tomorrow!!!

they descend back to level with their friend, wrapping their arms as much around her torso as they can reach.

… they pull back and look up at her in confusion. ‘what’s golden 305?’

Macha had been listening along. When the other chirped at her in a tone that sounded like confusion, she tapped her chin, thinking over what part they didn’t understand. 

It occurred to Macha that it might be the housing bit, where the translator was to be dropped off; Macha only went to her assigned housing to investigate the lives of the others who lived there. Mew, likewise, probably had no need for a common person’s house. 

She took Mew’s paw lightly once more, waiting to make sure she wasn’t dragging the other along. They went here and there about town until a large billboard was found. 

It was a map of the whole circular city. A helpful little arrow said, ‘You are here!’. Macha pointed at it, then at where they were standing. They were currently in Cotes Ward. From the ‘Here’ arrow, macha drew a line across the map with her finger, to the Golden Ward, and tapped the spot a few times with her finger, giving a smile. 

 She is offered space, and visibly relaxes when Macha steps back. Not by much; she’s still partially questioning if this is some weird dream knitted together by fragments of imagination & other brain activity, and doesn’t look entirely comfortable with the interaction. 

   The creature doesn’t seem as though it means her any harm, however. Max lowers the polaroid back down, tapping at it gently with her index finger. “Um, this is a camera,” The same finger makes a circle around the lens, then moves down to the eject slot. “It takes a photo of you. Like so…”

   She brings it up again.

   Click. The photo slides out, and she presents it to Macha for no more than a second before it’s tucked away. Max signals towards the skies and a building lit-up by the sun beating down on the city. “It’s too bright. A photo needs complete darkness to work, otherwise you can’t see anything on it,” She pats her bag. “You can see it in a few minutes, if you want.”

She moves forward to try and grab at the thing, but stops once given the explanation. Macha nods frantically, her curiosity at peak amounts. To show her patience, she sits on the ground, looking up at the woman. 

              Damn, Dortin! Why does there have to be such a cave in first place? Volcan is really not willing to go into a cave somewhere around here while knowing very well they won’t find anything anyway. Time to retreat while he can.

              “You mean, right now? Unfortunately that’s not going to work. I just remembered that I was going to meet someone today. You know, a very important meeting which I can’t just postpone. It’s with a heavy heart that I’m leaving this to you.”

Ah. He thought he could run now, even being so thick in his lie? It was almost admirable, the level of deceit he was willing to conjure. 

(Transcript)

Really she was using people’s typical thoughts on robots and A.I. against him; she did not have to do anything, after having broken Morganna’s control over here, she had free will. 

Dragon? Not a creature he had heard of before and he stared at the textbook in thought. For him, Wyrms were Higher Beings along with Roots and others he had not committed to name. Perhaps, for Macha, it was a type of great creature though he frowned at the description of ‘smaller’. He had been no such thing, great and roiling and horrific; his vitality relied on an imposing form.

Onto another anecdote. Tapping his fingers against his arm, he entered another 100 Dust. ❝Our Kingdom was meant to last Eternal until an infection from the Old Light….eradicated most of the population.❞ He frowned and moved on to the next tidbit, unwilling to linger on such a sour note. ❝We were married to another Higher Being, a Root, our White Lady. We miss her dearly.❞

There was many things she could have asked further on; the infection, the Old Light, but, the draw of learning more about feelings was too great. 

@phasemacha​

What a strange looking cat. Mirae finds herself wanting to pet them, but she should probably ask first, huh? “Are you fluffy like a normal cat?” That’s what she decides to ask instead.

The question gives Macha pause; while she understands that different things have different textures, she’d never considered her own. Inside ‘The World’ they were all two dimensions, art rendered to look hard, or cracked, or soft.

Macha tilts her head, big eyes looking at the girl. Her chat box pops up above her, and she points to it. 

this is starting to get… boring. they like having a new friend, but they aren’t really doing much, and it doesn’t seem like they’re any closer to understanding each other outside of chalk drawings. maybe in a few blocks, they’ll say goodbye for now?

they note her dismissive reaction and are about to keep moving on when she perks up out of the corner of their vision. their eyes widen, and they let out a joyful shout when she confirms it. finally!

following closely behind, they rise to reach the screen and watch her intently, then mirror her and tap the screen.

it comes to life with a pleasant tone as words and icons appear, and mew trills appreciatively and looks back to their friend.

‘this thing can help?’

Macha wiggles a hand at them. ‘Maybe’ is what she’s trying to say. Sure, Macha can read what’s on the screen but she can only hope that there is a way to type their request. She cannot speak vocally, and her friend cannot speak the language.

Unless, of course, the machine can understand them. It was worth a try she supposed. She points to her mouth, then at the screen, and lastly, shrugs. 

Clive is a Wavemaster. 

His Wave Symbol is Fire. He’s placed these symbols on the hands of his avatar.

Despite first glances, Clive is a dangerous player. Wavemasters are usually considered support classes and aren’t too threatening on their own, being the weakest physically. 

(Wavemasters are the mages of The World and wield rods). 

However, if one were to cross paths with Clive and rub him the wrong way, you might find yourself PKed by him. Unlike other Player Killers, this aspect of him isn’t his whole experience in The World though. 

Waka is a Heavy Blade. 

His Wave Symbol is Earth. However, he’s placed the symbol on his avatar’s back, where it cannot be seen.

 (These symbols give elemental boosts and look like tattoos).

Heavy Blades exclusively fight with large, double-handed swords or katanas. Waka only fights with katanas. 

Waka is a player that is on the edge of being banned from the game, however, System Admins have yet to have concrete evidence to do so. 

mew flits backward a little to allow their friend the space to draw again, eyes following the chalk intently as it scrapes across the concrete. it looks like… some kind of boxy machine. is that what they’re looking for? can that help?

their friend reaches out to them, but they spend another few seconds squinting at the drawing before setting their own chalk down and grasping her paw firmly. they must be going to search for the machine!

as much as they want to dart off and begin searching on their own, they keep their pace slow enough to match the other’s. besides, they don’t even know exactly what it is they’re searching for. every time they float ahead to show their friend a machine that looks vaguely like the drawing, they’re disappointed. turns out this machine is harder to find than they thought.

they aren’t sure about this next potential machine either, but they point at it questioningly anyway.

Macha almost dismisses this following machine, having already had to pass on a dozen others. But, giving it a double take her ears perk up and she looks to the other with furious nodding. 

She points to the screen and gestures, pretending to put her paw on it. Unlike the simple ATMs that know who you are based on a card you give it, this one was blank until prompted.