spaceman

"They don't. At least not to most people," Even when she could hear them, they didn't speak English or any human language. It was more...their brain could interpret the absent antennae twitches, sense the hormone secretions...all of that, now lost. Priscilla looks at the little robot that must get input from...something? "I guess it's like you and..." They point at the acting voice box. "Is...this new for you too?"

He listens intently, waiting until the latter finishes before he starts. “It’s actually been the opposite for me.” He admits, “Like a weight that’s been there all my life’s been lifted off my shoulders.” It’s a strange experience, being one of the few that actually changed into someone better. “But a lot of people I care about feel like you… It’s either they’ve been watered down or changed for the worse.” Maki pauses to give them a concerned look. “Is it like that for you too?”

"Really?" They look surprised; they had always loved their mutation, and assumed everyone else had as well. If they didn't love it then they at least saw how it could be appreciated and draw some use out of it. "Have you...lost something or gained something? Or gained something new?" She tries to ask. "I feel like I've lost a whole half of myself. I don't feel like myself at all right now."

"Wait," Miray can feel her eyes widening in disbelief, "Are you saying that you miss being able to hear those creepy little things?" A shiver flows down her spine at the mere thought of being able to communicate with them. "Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I do," Priscilla admits. "I know a lot of people think they're creepy, or gross. But they're just part of life. They all have their place and their role to play, just like we do. And I..." They couldn't exactly call bugs her friends; most of them did not live long enough for that. But they had looked forward to their little conversations all throughout the day. "Imagine if you woke up one day, and your best friend was right there, but neither of you had any way of communicating with each other anymore. You know that they're there... but neither of you can do anything about it. That's what it's like."

"You mean a lot of people aren't into night clubs?" Ren asks for clarification. This wasn't the first time today that...ah...this had happened; nearly everyone he spoke to just started...agreeing with what he said. Which was a nice change, as far as Ren was concerned he was nearly right about everything anyway and it was about time everyone started agreeing with him. Had something changed in the water, or had everyone just gotten to their senses? "Oh, that's okay. I sort of...know the owner," He didn't have a better way of explaining. Would Seth give him a family members discount, or make him pay more? Maybe it would be better to let his in be another party. "I haven't even decided if I wanted to go yet. Isn't it just a bunch blaring music? How are you supposed to hear anyone over that?"

"I don't think I'm going to fall over," Ren assures. At least...he's fairly certain. He'd been feeling strange all morning...like his movements were...lighter? Nothing had seemed heavy. And...everyone had seemed more willing to do whatever he asked, even Judy in the financial office. "...If I were to ask you for your work credits right now...how willing would you be to give them to me? On a scale from one to ten."

"I have to try something," Selene insists. "Have you seen my teeth? They're already sharper," She tugs on the corners of her still fleshy lips to reveal sharp canines. "I can smell things yards before I see them. I'm craving raw steak. I've seriously considered going out in the wastes and trying to...to hunt for something. At the rate I'm going, I'll wake up with a tail tomorrow. Or feathers. Maybe a beak or a horn."

❝ More like a test, but close enough, ❞ Lana shrugged, trying to downplay her crime, but found she needed more effort in retrieving her own hand from the lizard person’s scaly grasp. Any normal person, human or mutant, might find the touch repulsive, mostly the ignorant ones who believe all lizards will stick to you, but Lana has been touched by worse things. At least this one was a woman. ❝ I’ve never been invisible before, so I thought I’d give it a try. Seems like it has a short duration. Or maybe I just need more control, ❞ she rolled her eyes at the thought, the wrist that was grabbed now being massaged by her free hand. Being told to control herself, restrain herself, has always been one of her pet peeves. Lana has always found it too much effort, and too boring, to control herself, make her small and such. Being invisible is just another way of making her small, she supposed. ❝ What kind of lizard are you, anyway? A killer crocodile? Or a wall-crawling gecko? ❞

"Never been invisible before and your first instinct is to go around and pickpocket people?" If she were honest with herself, pickpocketing things would be high on her list of things to try in the world where she were to randomly become invisible. Though, Selene likes to think she'd practice more before risking it in front of real people. "The best pickpocketers don't even need to be invisible," She doesn't say to get better, but does it really need to be said? "I'm not a lizard," Selene scowls back. "At least...I wasn't yesterday."

“Oh, uh… Okay.” They immediately pry their eyes away, trying to be respectful of the latter’s wishes. “Why’s that? Are you feeling sick?” Maki utters after a moment of shared silence. “The whole city got all messed up. I think it’s a pretty normal reaction all things considered.”

"I do feel sick" They agree. She wished she could crawl under her bed until this all blew over. Unless it didn't blow over? And if their mother found out her behavior, that would be a whole other nightmare..."Are you feeling sick too? Or like...part of yourself's been cut off? It's like...I have a stuffed nose. I know a lot of people can still breathe like normal, and the air's all there for me to breathe, but I just...can't."

Priscilla doubts that anyone had come up with either an excuse or a cure; they were certain that, in the instance that were to happen, it would have been all over the news. Or at least spoken about in her social circles and gotten back to her. "My bugs," They sigh. "My little rollie-pollies. My beetles and moths, even the roaches and bed bugs. I can't hear them anymore."

"Woah, woah," Ren raises both hands in the air; he didn't mean any harm in the matter. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize," He insists. With the bear snapping at him, Ren finds his back pressed against the wall. "Uh...I'm not really big on nightclubs, actually," So what was he doing at the Lady? Well, that was an even longer story. "But a fuzzy little bear promoting bear night would have me...intrigued, I guess?"

Priscilla looks from him, to the little machine, and then back up again. "Not really," They admit. What was there to talk about? Their bugs were gone, and Priscilla wasn't sure when...or even if they'd ever come back. "I just want it fixed. Hasn't someone figured out what's happened yet?"

"--Uhm," Miray looks around, taking in all of the people around them. The ones laughing or talking on the communicator at an annoyingly loud volume. "I think that depends on what you mean by," she makes air quotes, "Quiet."

"The whole city's gone quiet," Priscilla complains with a rather loud sigh. Others might take it in stride, if thousands of tiny voices suddenly quieted. But to them, it felt more like an extra limb had been removed. "The bugs. I can't...I can't hear them anymore. I'd think they're just upset with me, but most of them don't live long enough to remember personal slights."