#starstide

Patience ; sometime Prime and the older segments have more of than Beta himself does. But he's not unfamiliar with the necessity of it. EXPERIMENTS TOOK TIME. Usually he'd occupy himself by either working on a side project or assisting the other segments with something. None of which seemed particularly viable at the moment with the others not currently in the operating theater and his own side projects having lost their appeal to him. ( Sometimes it would come back, sometimes it wouldn't. )

THERE IS STILL ONE TARGET.

Beta crumples up a rejected funding request until it forms a paper ball - and promptly throws it at Ajax's dozing form. They've been asleep for a long time and were rapidly approaching the threshold where further sleep would counter the benefits of sleep and cause more problems instead. So really, Beta was doing them a favor. He was also curious if Ajax would sense it or if it was about to smack them on the head. EITHER OUTCOME WAS APPEALING.

♢  — @starstide said: ❝  there is a response to such an insult. but it would not be appropriate here.  ❞ - ajax EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS: BALLROOM DIALOGUE PROMPTS

" Would this response happen to be one that is dealt with in CARNAGE? " Dottore asks, lips curving upwards into a sharp-toothed grin the oozes ruthless amusement at the idea. " I for one would not be opposed to such an idea. "

IT IS A DECLARATION THAT WOULD BE UNSURPISING TO ANYONE WHO KNEW THE SECOND HARBINGER. Nor likely even to those who do not know Dottore personally. Rumors alone offer no indication that that second harbinger would find any delight in mingling with people of any sorts. They whisper of nightmares and experiments, of sterile labs and eerie glowing accessories, of madness and genius dancing together in a deadly tango. They do not speak of silver-tongued words and champagne glasses, or noble chats and conversation with the citizens or business markets. Dottore's attire fits the occasion, but the man himself DOES NOT. Even now he does not hold a glass of champagne to give the impression of being involved the way other guests who are not dancing are pretending.

That's what this all is ; smoke and mirrors for appearances sake. PLAYING PRETEND FOR BENEFITS. This is an event far more suited for some of the others among the harbingers than Dottore.

His head turns towards Ajax as the other lingers beside him closer to the wall of the grandiose ballroom, frosted in eternal ice and illuminated by bright lights. Undoubtedly trying to avoid a potential interaction with an interested party - though Dottore has not actually seen her or her family. Perhaps an illness or other matters has rendered them unable to attend. Maybe they weren't invited at all if this were Fatui only. Dottore doesn't quite know WHO was invited, nor did he care. The music and partying atmosphere do nothing to entice him, and only royal decree has him bounded to a demand that he appear lest he place her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, in an UNFAVORABLE LIGHT. An act that, though he does not care about, would undoubtedly work against him. As would what Ajax implies his response would do.

Dottore heaves a sigh upon further contemplation of the situation. " Though I suspect that you are quite right in the fact it would not be an appropriate response in the present situation. " WHAT A SHAME. " I would still quite like to hear what this particular response would have been. Later, naturally. " He is curious, of course he would like to know. More than that, it is an invitation. AN INDIRECT ONE, but an invitation nonetheless. ( And if one suspects a direct invitation from Dottore, they would likely be left waiting for quite some time when the man prefers to be anything but blatant about those matters beyond immediate work. )

♢  — @starstide said: " hypothetically, how long can one last without sleep? " have they been up for far to long? yes, obviously. ( aka ajax not sleeping again ) EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS: UNPROMPTED ASKS - ALWAYS ACCEPTING !

" I'm impressed you managed to even form a COHERENT SENTENCE given your present symptoms. " Dottore scoffs ; hypothetically does nothing to conceal that which lies bared and exposed before him like a fresh autopsy on stainless steel. Ajax is not, by any regard, doing much to conceal their present state of sleep deprivation. Whether they THINK they are is another matter. Slowed cognition exponentially increases after the 24 hour mark alongside the increase in sensory hallucinations. So there is a possibility that Ajax truly believes themselves to be doing more than they are to hide their state of being.

The question, however, makes it all the more apparent what their state is.

DOTTORE HUMORS THEM NONETHELESS. For what reason? None ; but a reaction should be interesting to observe.

" Roughly between seven to ten days is the general maximum for the average person. Of course, some die far sooner, and the odd EXCEPTIONAL outlier may last longer. " His response is factual, recalling the information with exceptional ease. " However, cognition declines rapidly after the 24 hour mark for many, sometimes 32 for those more familiar with. At around the 48 hour mark, patients begin to experience hallucinations. " Dottore rattles off the information without pause or hesitation. MORE DETAILS THAN WERE ASKED ABOUT ; but that was always a risk when it came to posing a question to the doctor. " These can range from auditory, visual, or even physical hallucinations. Auditory are generally the most common to start with. Though interestingly enough, visual is more common when one is caught between sleep and consciousness "

Dottore strides closer, a hand grabbing the back of Ajax's coat and tugging them to sit up properly in the chair they were slouched in while he peers down at them from beneath the relentless metal beak.

" But you aren't curious about that. You're after information in regards to yourself. " His voice leaves no room for question nor challenge to the conclusion he has made. HE DOESN'T NEED IT. Any attempt would be to do so in vain ; no different than pleading to the unyielding nature of this world. " Fortunately or unfortunately, your durability will skew far more heavily towards the further side due to your abyssal aspects. I SUSPECT that you have already been experiencing auditory hallucinations? Thinking your name was called, footsteps, something sound like it was shuffling about or moved? "

ㅤㅤThe sun beats down on them as they wrap up yet another round of sparring.   Phainon laughs as he wipes his brow and rests his sword in the ground.   “ Not bad !   I dare say you've improved since last. ”   And he sincerely meant it— no empty words or minor encouragement to butter him up.   It was difficult to find someone who could aptly keep up with him, and he felt it had to be much the same for Ajax.   Both were at a level far above the norm.   That meant there were fewer to pose any real challenge.   It's why the swordsman seldom turned down the request to test their skills.

ㅤㅤ“ What say you to a break ?   I could go for a snack right about now. ”   And a drink.   His throat was starting to feel a bit parched now that he took a moment to relax and just breathe.   Yeah…  Yeah a break would be fantastic.

♢  — @starstide said: they often find his research going over their head .. at least until it was broken down and better explained to them. they did always try to latch onto what was being said however. dottore's research may not be something that they are exactly into but .. they do have a fascination with the more morbid side of some of it. " .. you know , it reminds me of a fungus that can be found in sumeru. it thrives in hot climates .. it can infect the body of certain smaller prey. the prey then begins to act out of character .. because it is no longer alive to have control of itself. it can not survive in human bodies however , we run far to hot -- which i suppose is not a bad thing. " a pause, they lean back to look up at him with a grin. " nature can be .. terrifying when it wants to be, da ? " have an ajax .. being a nerd about some of the science facts they know ( aka me being a nerd about the science facts i know ) EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS: UNPROMPTED ASKS - ALWAYS ACCEPTING !

Naturally, Dottore knows exactly which fungus it is that in being spoken of. Namely because a few strands are a little more known than others. But even so, IT'S NOT GENERALLY CONSIDERED COMMON KNOWLEDGE. And certainly not so far away from the land of which is applies to. Did one of his younger segments mention it? Was it something Ajax had just HAPPENED to come across? It ultimately made no difference the information was sourced from, so long as it was correct. And thus far, everything uttered was, in fact, correct. Impressive. Did the youngest of them possess an interest in fungi? Or perhaps infectious diseases?

" I must admit that I didn't take you for the type to be interested in fungi. " He says after a moment, turning away from the tissue samples that he had been sorting to let his attention fall fully upon the other. " Did you know that there is also a parasitic protist that doesn't kill the host, but does MODIFY THE BEHAVIOR to encourage the host animal to be consumed by the protist's true target? Not that it harms the target so long as they're healthy. The old and the young are, of course, exceptions as they almost always are. "

TERRIFYING, hm? The Doctor ponders the statement, expression hidden beneath the mask beyond the steady line of his lips. It is a sentiment MUCH of the world possesses. He does not. " I am inclined to find it fascinating more than terrifying. Terrifying is only a matter of perspective. What is terrifying to us and terrifying to butterflies for example are different things. Caterpillars completely dissolve into a sludge before they reform. Proposing that idea to a human would be terrifying, but to the caterpillar it is NATURAL. Meanwhile, humans endurance is terrifying to animals yet normal for us. " He folds his arms in thought. " I like to look at it in terms of efficiency. " He's starting to ramble. He clears his throat, catching himself BEFORE he launches into a tangent - ( or more than he already has. )