S2 E7: Prism Problems

Tatiana Gefter:

Hello, everyone, my name is Tatiana Gefter. I use she/they pronouns and I am playing Alma of the Vale with The Gravedigger playbook.

Michi Zaya:




Hi, my name is Michi Zaya. I use any pronouns and I am playing Fletcher, The Witch.

Jenine Florence Jacinto:

My name is Jenine Florence Jacinto. I use they/them pronouns and I play Hoku Bayana.

Octa Delgado:

Hello, my name is Octa. I go by they/them pronouns. And I will play Neu Threestrings from The Weaver playbook.

Harper Sage Pettit:

Hi, my name is Harper Sage Pettit. I use they or she pronouns and I will be your guide for this season of queeRPG, Of Kith and Pen.

Kenzie Tartaglione:

The content warning for this episode includes emotional manipulation, physical assault, unconsciousness and unresponsiveness, and ghosts and spirits.

Michi Zaya (Fletcher Agaar):

Hi, Mom, I don't know what color I'm writing this in which is really scary but I'll get to that later. Have you ever heard of two Portsmore gods called Tor and Gren. They're missing. I don't know how much I'm supposed to write in this letter but I am in Porstmore right now. It's going okay. It's very rainy. It's really hard. But since we got here it's been crazy. As soon as we got to town everyone was freaking out and well, we met their serval named, Birch, and they sent us out and I went to their spirit island. And it was really, really weird because there were two druids and they were doing some dance or something and afterwards we were talking to them and they told us that one of them, Teller, had a vision that The Lastings cracked and sunk and it was really scary. And right behind them there was this big orb of growing energy called a thoughtsmore. Neu thinks it's called a memory weaving but I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway I touched it and I saw the gods. It was really strange, everything was blue and weird and there was a big crack sound and I saw that thing that was described as a human when we were kids. It was big and purple and got really mad at the gods and took them away. And it felt really sad and weird and I don't really know what to think of it. What I was told was that there was a lot of grief and big emotions left in these thoughtsmore things and that they’re memories, but I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it and I was wondering if you or mom know anything about this. But, Alma’s ship is broken. It’s being repaired by lizards and I just I'm kind of freaking out because a lot of weird things are happening. There were some books that were stolen here. One’s like about the Great Uprising. I’m not very good at history. And the other ones in some ancient language that no one can read. Also Loren stole some books - actually no Lauren didn't steal any books, sorry, that was me lying. But someone stole some books from Zelle and Loren broke up with me. Sorry I haven't told you guys, I know I need to write more I'm sorry. But yeah all of this happened and now color is gone here. Is color gone there for you? I really can't see anything and it's really hard to tell what potions are what in my pockets and I don't know what's going on. There was a big gray cloud and it came from the island where we saw the thoughtsmore thing and I don't know. I really miss home. I'm really confused. Please tell me about everything's okay over there. Okay, bye.

 

Harper Sage Pettit (Guide):

We pick up with everyone on the Flying Dutch-kith just after this kind of wave of gray washed over the land of Portsmore. Kalix and Birch are still there with you. The fabricators are still there, they've stopped working. And the city is very, very quiet as you look out at this like wash of gray. And Birch just looks around and says,

 

Harper (Birch):

Uh, do you all know what's going on here?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

No!

 

Tatiana Gefter (Alma of the Vale):

No, not at all. We should go to the - to the - to the right? To the island, yeah?

 

Jenine Florence Jacinto (Hoku Bayani):

Yeah, island.

 

Harper (Guide):

Kalix speaks up,

 

Harper (Kalix):

You might also want to go to the crystal shrine to speak with Teller. The high caretaker of gleam, the god of prisms and rainbows. They might know what's going on.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Not to jump to conclusions here but with a lot of gods going missing and since you all have a god of prisms and rainbows, I have a feeling we have another god that's gone missing.

 

Octa Delgado (Neu Threestrings):

I think that maybe we may find another thoughtsmore there.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

You're right.

 

Octa (Neu):

If that happens when gods are plucked out of their duties.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

It’s a pretty major event. That makes sense.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

So should we go to the shrine first or spirit island? Or are they the same place? Where is the crystal shrine?

 

Harper (Kalix):

The crystal shrine it's not too far from here. I can show you how to get there. And in fact, I feel like, if it's all right with you Birch, I might accompany them for a while.

 

Harper (Birch):

As long as you ask for me back to the town hall I think that would that would be fine.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah you're definitely gonna need an escort, I think.

 

Harper (Teal):

Hey what do you want me to do?

 

Harper (Guide):

And you see Teal, standing close by.

 

Harper (Teal):

Should we continue to work on this?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yes, yeah, please. We shouldn't put a hold on everything just because everything's gone gray. I'm sure it'll all be fine. We should just keep - not panic and keep going on as normal. We'll figure it out just maybe focus on this for right now.

 

Harper (Teal):

That makes a lot of sense.

 

Harper (Guide):

And Teal, turns gives like a high pitched whistle and all the little lizard workers turn to them.

 

Harper (Teal):

Alright you heard them! Let's get this back going.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they kind of like scurry about and start fixing things back up.

 

Octa (Neu):

So I remember that you said that this more was getting fainter and smaller as time when by in spirit island. If we do wanna try and catch it or preserve it with weavings or through some other sort maybe to bring it back as proof or to maybe try and dive deeper into it, maybe we should go there before we go to the crystal shrine.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Also if there is - because it could have been fresh and over time the gods were gone - if the colors are gone now, maybe there's a new bigger thoughtsmore at the shrine that is already there. Maybe we can split up and try and catch both if possible. I don't really know how magic works. I'm more of a stars kind of a kind of a kitch. This feels a little out of my element.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah ghosts are my thing not, you know, spells

 

Octa (Neu):

So my mentor taught me a little bit about these things. Let me just go back real quick to my loom, I've got some notes in there. Maybe I could figure something out if we want to try and catch it.




Tatiana (Alma):

 

Yeah for sure.

 

Octa:

I was thinking now trying to try and use the - to get some tokens maybe - because it seems like we are gonna start getting against some things that are gonna be more difficult to deal with, so in Wanderhome right, we can get tokens if for example we inconvenience ourselves to help someone else. And I was thinking maybe the only option to capture this things is to have like a lot of equipment. And I was maybe we need to carry the whole loom up there or –

 

Tatiana:

The would be very inconvenient.

 

Octa:

Or something to that effect?

 

Harper (Guide):

I don't think I would be able to give a token out for doing that. I see the inconvenience yourself like to go out of your way to help somebody else.

 

Octa:

Okay, so kind of like acts of selfishness - of selflessness that leaves you a bit more –

 

Harper (Guide):

Uh-huh.

 

Octa:

Yeah, okay. got it. So Neu will still go back to their loom,ruffle through notes and paper and old designs and try and see  if there's anything escaping their mind on how to potentially try and capture and preserve mores.

 

Harper (Guide):

Go ahead and give me an instinct role.

 

Octa:

Seven.

 

Harper (Guide):

So you find in your notes vague instructions from your previous teacher of weaving that detail how to do this but it's gonna take time. Probably figuring it out as you go, you will only have time to preserve one of the thoughtsmores.

 

Octa:

Neu will just rush all the way back up from and the loom.

 

Octa (Neu):

Okay so I think I maybe fell asleep during the class or I got distracted so I don't have a like quick way of doing it. But I have - there's a way. But it will take quite a bit of time. So what you were saying –

 

Octa:

And just like looks at Hoku.

 

Octa (Neu):

Hoku,  I think we should go to the fresh one. Plus, I mean, colors, that's more important than just water.

 

Jenine:

Is it still raining?

 

Harper (Guide):

It’s still raining.

 

Jenine:

When Neu says that Hoku  comes up to them and just gives a nice little hug because Hoku can see that there's a little bit of stress especially with the loss of color at this moment.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Okay, what can we-  is there anything we could do to help you in this?

 

Octa (Neu):

I'm sure I will probably fuck up at some point. Just be there if magic gets maybe out of control. I wouldn't want anything even worse to happen.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Okay.

 

Tatiana:

I'm just gonna pat Neu on the back and just be like,

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Don't worry. I'm sure you got it. I trust you.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

To the shrine?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

To the shrine!

 

Jenine (Hoku):

To the shrine.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I guess we should escort Birch back home first, huh?

 

Harper (Birch):

That would be really appreciated. I'm pretty nervous.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Well don't let them see that. You gotta hold your head up high here, captain.

 

Harper (Birch):

I will try.

 

Harper (Guide):

And he sort of like takes a deep breath and like grounds himself, takes a power stance and says,

 

Harper (Birch):

Alright, let's do this.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Would you like a piece of candy?

 

Harper (Birch):

Depends on what kind of candy it is.

 

Michi:

He can't tell what color things are anymore so it takes a while and then his pocket of candy for people, like he looks at the pile in his palms and he goes,

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Usually I know what flavor everything is, but you can just pick one from here if you recognize anything without their colors.

 

Harper (Guide):

They like reach in and grab something and they unfurl it pop into their mouth take a couple like sucks on it,

 

Harper (Birch):

Butterscotch. Not my favorite but it'll do.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh, sorry. Yeah I don't really label these.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

You  live in you'll learn right?  It's fine, let's go.

 

Octa (Neu):

Labels are overrated anyway right, Fletcher?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah.

 

Harper (Guide):

So, the six of you head out. Birch just kind of like crawls up Kalix, hops on his shoulder and basically just rides the whole way there. The city is again like torrentially downpouring and the streets are like pretty much empty and again just like very quiet. You do see people every now and then and Birch calls out to them as you pass by them,

 

Harper (Birch):

It would probably behoove you to go back to your place of residence until we can figure out a plan all right? We've got this.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Yes please, citizens, please return to your places of residence. We need order and calm in the streets at this time.

 

Harper (Guide):

And those folks would kind of all go away except one giant - kind of like a cow kith - walks over and says,

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Listen here, if you can't tell me what the heck's going on, I'm just going to keep doing what I want to do, all right?

 

Harper (Guide):

And they walk over to their cart of goods and start kind of walking down the street like ringing a bell.

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Goods for sale! Anybody needs some goods! Goods for sale!

 

Harper (Guide):

And Kalix and them walk over and try to like stop the person with the cart. And they're really struggling to get them to stop what they were doing.

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s  gonna walk on over there, you know, arms crossed her chest as she looks up at, you know, this pretty significantly large kith, and she’s just gonna go,

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Hey they're just trying to look out for you. Why are you being so combative to people looking after you?

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

I've got a living to make.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Well you're not going to be making much of a living if there are no customers out here to buy your goods because everyone's panicking.

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Well for me I'm panicking and this is the way I'm dealing with it.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Well you know, we all deal with things in different ways and I can respect that but, you know, the serval of your lovely, you know, nation is trying to keep everybody safe and if you're you know going against – it’s not that we want to stop you from doing what you want to do, its that we want to keep you safe and out of harm. And to be honest like we don't fully understand what's going on so until we figure out what's happening ,we just want to make sure that nobody gets hurt in the meantime.

 

Harper (Guide):

Go ahead and give me a heart roll.

 

Tatiana:

(laughs) Oh, so that’s two sixes and a two, baby, so that's a 14!

 

Harper (Guide):

Oh, heck yeah. So the cow just kind of like looks back and forth down the street and Kalix is like standing at the front of their cart, kind of pushing back against it as the cow was pushing forward, and they stop and say,

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Well I think it would just calm my heart to sell a good or two would you mind quote, unquote buying something from me?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

What do you sell?

 

Harper (Guide):

And you look down and it's just like a cart full of random like knickknacks. Like lots of like different trinkets.

 

Tatiana:

Oh, I love knickknacks. Is there anything in particular that might catch my eye?

 

Harper (Guide):

Go ahead and give me a d100 if you have it d100.

 

Tatiana:

That was a 49.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

You see a whistle that is seemingly made of bone. Like a miniature rod whistle, not like a coach’s whistle.

 

Tatiana:

Like a recorder!

 

Harper (Guide):

Yes but like really small.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

What about this? How much would this cost me?

 

Harper (Guide):

Honestly, we can just shake on it. That’ll be good enough for me right now.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Are you sure?

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Yes I just had to sell something, you know? That's kind of what calms me.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

All right well, um, let's shake on it then.

 

Harper (Guide):

Their hand kind of wraps around Alma’s much smaller hand because they're probably like close to like 7 feet tall. They’re a tall kith. And shakes your hand vigorously. Kind of shaking your whole body (laughs).

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s whole body like shakes.

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

Well, if you are needing any trinkets just come see me and let all your friends know as well.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah no for sure will do. Absolutely. We’ve kind of got to run right now because we're trying to fix this, but once we fix it, we know where to get our knickknacks.

 

Harper (Cow Kith):

I understand. I guess I'll be going home now, thank you.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Fantastic. All right well, have a good rest of your day. Let's go, gang!

 

Harper (Guide):

Birch says,

 

Harper (Birch):

That was quite impressive.

 

Octa (Neu):

Yeah, I think Alma really knows how to talk to people who try to continue carrying out their responsibilities in the face of chaos.

 

Tatiana:

What are you trying to say here, Neu?

 

Octa:

Neu holds it for like barely a fraction of a second then just like looks into their feet like, mmmm, I misspoke.

 

Harper (Guide):

So, you all carry on through the streets, turning people back. Birch giving them kind of calm reassuring messages that everything's fine, they're handling it. You drop Birch off at town hall and you head back over to spirit you head over to the crystal shrine. It's not too far from town hall actually and as you get past town hall, you can finally see it, off in the distance, again like power made of this sort of like crystally, see through material. Not like anything else around and it's also not necessarily building shaped. It’s more of like a giant crystal. And the closer you get, you have this this feeling like - again especially Fletcher - that like something is drawing you in that direction. And you get up to the tower, open the giant like crystal doors. Kalix leads you inside. You have to go up like this massive like winding staircase made of crystal. You get up to the top, there is a giant like prism shaped crystal that is like hanging from chains from the ceiling. On the ground, kind of in a lump or a pile,  kind of haphazardly laying there, is a stoat in a flowing robe, seemingly unconscious. And a stoat, if you don't know, is similar to a mongoose but smaller.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Kalix, is this person usually asleep over here?

 

Harper (Guide):

And as you ask that, Kalix rushes over and  yells back,

 

Harper (Kalix):

No! This is not like them.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they start trying to fidget with them, kind of rouse them, tapping them, shaking them a little.

 

Harper (Kalix):

They’re not waking up.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Do they have a pulse?

 

Harper (Kalix):

I don't know. I'm not a medical person. It’s not my strong suit.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Alma can you check? Oh my god.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah, okay, hold on, yeah.

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s gonna,  you know, walk over and kneel down next to the person and put her fingers against their neck to try and find the pulse.

 

Harper (Guide):

Give me, I think, an instinct roll for this one.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Okay, so that is an 11 total.

 

Harper (Guide):

Yes, they have a pulse. It's fairly strong and steady. But definitely just like knocked out cold, seemingly from exhaustion though.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

They’re fine! They're fine. They're alive. Looks like they just passed out from exhaustion. Here we can make them more comfortable but they're okay. They’ll wake up on their own. They just need to kind of recuperate their energy. But we can make them more comfortable for when they wake up so their back doesn't hurt.

 

Tatiana:

I'm gonna stretch this person out on their back and I'm gonna take off my jacket and I'm gonna wrap it up, bundle it up and turn it into a pillow and just put it under the back of their neck.

 

Jenine (Hoku):




Kalix, is there only one kith in charge of this site?

 

Harper (Kalix):

There tend to be a few more. They come and go. And they might be here in the tower somewhere but Teller is again, the head caretaker.

 

Octa (Neu):

Try to think when you saw the purple thing in the air, how would it look if it wasn't purple? How can we find the purple thing if we can't see purple?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well, it wasn't floating orb and it didn't have a smell.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

There was also a cold feeling with it.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh yeah!

 

Harper (Guide):

I guess just describe how you’d start looking for it in this kind of like a kind of circular room but like the rough jagged edges of a crystal as well. And again, at the center is this like massive prism hanging from a chain that goes all the way up to the ceiling which is about 40 feet up. It's a it's a pretty tall ceiling.

 

Michi:

Fletcher’s running laps. Trying to feel the cold. Running laps. Flaps fully out.

 

Jenine:

I think Hoku is just looking up because it was a glowing orb, which you know what glows in the sky? Stars. So I think Hoku is just keeping his head up to the sky and hoping that they'd find something up in the little rafters.

 

Harper (Guide):

You do eventually see a little brighter spot like a glowing spot about 20 feet above the prism, near one of the chains.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Guys, guys I think I found it! Is it – okay, okay, so if you do - if you tilt your head like this and look right at the chain it's right-  do you see it right there? Do you see - it's a little glowing  -

 

Octa (Neu):

The one that's like pretty small. It looks like it's glowing?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Yeah it’s up there so there's there - that's –

 

Octa (Neu):

I thought it was going to be bigger?

 

Harper (Guide):

It's actually not too small at this point. Like it's about the size of like a beach ball. It’s bigger than the one that you first saw on spirit island.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh, how did I miss that?

 

Michi:

He’s out of breath.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

So, how do we get it?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Are we allowed to climb this chain thing?

 

Octa (Neu):

Do we have a ladder?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

We could throw you.

 

Octa (Neu):

Alma! That’s dangerous!

 

Tatiana (Alma):

It’s - it's right - okay –

 

Octa (Neu):

It’s super windy!

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Fletcher has a built in parachute okay?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

This is true.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

You just give him a little boost and it's fine.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

You could throw me.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Fletcher’s literally fallen out of windows before! And been fine, okay?

 

Jenine:

Hoku is laughing. They’relike on the ground,rolling and laughing at this comment.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Is what I'm saying so - I feel like what I'm saying makes sense. I feel like I make sense.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

I think you make sense.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Like I mean how is it any more dangerous than you climbing up there and like slipping or something? Which is like very possible!

 

Michi (Fletcher):

I have done that also.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Fletcher I love you.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

I love you too.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

But dexterity isn’t your strong suit.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Like I can lift you, I don't think I can throw you. I can do like a little – like if we do a little boost…

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Kalix! Can you throw me, buddy?

 

Harper (Guide):

And you notice like Kalix is standing behind Fletcher kind of like hands ready and says,

 

Harper (Kalix):

I thought you would never ask.

 

Harper (Guide):

And picks Fletcher up, just like takes a running start and like throws Fletcher up. Fletcher give me a swift roll.

 

Michi:

Oh, man, okay.  

 

Harper (Guide):

And I think you can take a plus one from Kalix.

 

Michi:

Dice don’t fail me now. Oh! Twelve!

 

Harper (Guide):

Describe what it looks like for you to sort of soar up to the orb.

 

Michi:

For a moment Fletchers becomes a bit of a football, spinning through the sky. Fletcher’s POV, everything's very dizzy because there are no colors, it kind of all looks the same. And he loses a bit of sense of what is air, what is him, what is body, what's going on. And then for a moment he sticks his arms out and stabilizes a little bit. Fletcher’s gliding, it's beautiful. He’s doing a little shake and then he sees the thoughtsmore and stretches out his arms. This makes him more aerodynamic and we are zooming towards it.

 

Harper (Guide):

You almost would zip past it but you like grab onto the chain and kind of like spin around it a few times. And then you're there hanging on the chain, right next to the thoughtsmore.

 

Michi:

Fletcher touches it.

 

Harper (Guide):

You feel the cold as you can move fade into the sort of like void space again and you're no longer in gray anymore. You're in the tower and again it's kind of like purplish hue. You see, Teller, the caretaker, kind of like standing near where they fell. Arms stretched out, hands open, eyes closed, muttering something. And you see this like aura of energy around them and the giant prism. Inside the giant prism is a sort of like - I wouldn’t say undulating but it's kind of like a shifting like cloudy shape that every now and then takes the form of a giant peacock. And every time like shifts, it casts these different - or like you would assume - different colors around the room. And the perspective sort of shifts kind of to look around the room and you see that giant purple smokey entity. Essentially they are going on a tirade about Teller and how Teller’s weak magic won’t last much longer. And raises their hand, energy forms in it, and throws a beam at the sort of sphere of energy around Teller and the prism. That energy kind of cracks as it's hit. The being takes another hand, another crack, another crack. Two hands. The sphere shatters and Teller collapses on the ground. Then the entity walks over to the prism, reaches inside and pulls out the energy known as Gleam, the god of prisms and rainbows, and then disappears.  And then you're back.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Woah. Oh my God!

 

Michi:

Fletcher has to remember to hold on to the chain.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Are you okay?

 

Harper (Kalix):

You probably should have strapped yourself in.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

I saw the human again. It took Gleam and bullied Teller. There like purple smokey human ghost around.

 

Octa (Neu):

Like around here now?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well, it seems to be traveling. It was just here and it did something to Teller and it took the god of prisms and rainbows.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Like took? Guided? God-napped?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Reached into the prism down there and grabbed Gleam and vanished.

 

Octa (Neu):

The last time he kind of scolded the gods into following him, right? This time just straight up snatched?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well, I think Teller was protecting the god. Teller was doing some sort of magic and the purple human said that Teller was weak and that it wasn't going to work. And the god was inside the prison and then the human broke everything and then just reached in and grabbed Gleam!

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Where's Teller?

 

Octa (Neu):

So maybe it wasn't just exhaustion. Did you say he shoved some magic at it?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah something that was really powerful.

 

Octa (Neu):

Like a magic bolt?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well Teller was standing with their arms open and saying some magic and it caused an aura of energy but it cracked because the human.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Fletcher, this is a weird thing to ask, can you just put your ear on the prism up there and see if there's any noise coming from it?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Um… okay.

 

Octa (Neu):




Can you bring down the thing first!

 

Michi:

Can it be held and carried?

 

Harper (Guide):

It can't be held because every time you touch it, you kind of go into it and so like yeah you would try to touch it again and then like kind of go through the memory and see it again and then come back. For you it feels like a few minutes but for everybody else its just like a few seconds. But yeah you can't hold it.

 

Michi:

Does it move?

 

Harper (Guide):

Doesn't seem like with the touch it moves, but again you don't have to touch it very hard to like go into the memory.

 

Michi:

Fletcher’s gonna try blowing at it real quick to see if it moves.

 

Harper (Guide):

Give me a swift check.

 

Michi:

Ten.

 

Harper (Guide):

You take a big breath and like blow at it and it does start to like nudge a little bit.

 

Michi:

Using one arm to stay stable and use the other arm to like flap at it.

 

Harper (Guide):

With that you would like slowly work your way down, like flapping at it as it nudges down and eventually you're on top of the prism and the orb is close by.

 

Michi:

Can friends reach it now or is it just slightly more manageable?

 

Harper (Guide):

It's slightly more manageable but you're probably like a good like 10 or 15 feet off the ground still, on top of the prism.

 

Michi:

Can I put my ear to it now?

 

Harper (Guide):

The sound of like nothing - like it's not silence it's like the absence of sound is what you hear.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

It sounds like nothing. Like it sounds like something but like nothing.

 

Octa (Neu):

What do you mean?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

You know when you would put your head underwater and can't everything but like there there's all this stuff in your ears.

 

Octa (Neu):

Yes.




Michi (Fletcher):

It's like that.

 

Harper (Guide):

Kalix speaks up and says,

 

Harper (Kalix):

Maybe we should wake up Teller somehow. I don't know. I'm kind of useless with this stuff.

 

Octa (Neu):

Don't say that. You did really well on the Fletcher throwing.

 

Harper (Kalix):

I can throw things but I don't know magic and spiritual stuff.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

That's okay. You're doing great.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Thank you.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Kalix, no one’s ever thrown me like that before. I was like flying. In order to glide like that I usually have to jump off like the tenth bridge in The Lastings. Just so you know the tenth bridge is really high.

 

Jenine:

Hoku goes through their pockets and pulls out a little tin and it's their chai mix that they have from home and goes over and just goes,

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Is there like a kitchen possibly where we can get some hot water? This this tea is kind of something that keeps me up and wakes me up like right in the morning from The Lastings. Or I could just kind of like shove it underneath the nose and hope that happens but I feel like it should have a cup of tea.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Wait, if we're making tea can I come down there and join?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Yes we still need the orb.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh, yeah!

 

Michi:

Now that Fletcher is on the prism, can Fletcher try doing a double flap wind situation?

 

Harper (Guide):

With the double flap it just takes like two of them before the thoughtsmore is close enough to where Neu can start examining it.

 

Michi:

And then Fletcher will glide down.

 

Octa:

Neu will kind of look at Kalix and go,

 

Octa (Neu):

Hey maybe you could go down and see if Fletcher needs any help.

 

Harper (Guide):

And looks at you, looks over at Fletcher and,

 

Harper (Kalix):

I think they're – they’re pretty good - they know what they're doing right?

 

Octa (Neu):

Yes.

 

Octa:

And Neu walks toward the door, unhappy about the resolution.

 

Harper (Guide):

And then like you see Kalix pause and look off in the corner and then like,

 

Harper (Kalix):

Yes, I’ll - Fletcher can I join you and Hoku?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah do you want some tea?

 

Harper (Kalix):

I would love a good cup.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

That's great. Tea is so great.

 

Harper (Kalix):

It is. Do you have a breakfast tea or only that chai?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

I have all sorts of tea but I am kind of having trouble telling the difference between them right now without all the colors but I can smell them.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Sounds good, all right. Let's go find a kitchen.

 

Harper (Guide):

Just three very good friends gonna go make some tea.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Let's go make some tea!

 

Harper (Guide):

So as the three of them head down the stairs, Neu, I guess,l describe what it looks like to get your loom set up and start weaving.

 

Octa:

So, I brought most of the kind of like, the smaller pieces of it that I could need for this. One of them is a big weaving circle. And I'm going to try and weave a tapestry that is almost a net. It will have some holes, almost like a mesh situation and hopefully it's circular and big enough that we can use it almost as a satchel. And the design Neu’s going to go for is picking threads that Neu thinks they know what colors they are from one side and then on the other side, picking it threads of silver and black and white. Try and do a tapestry of this city as Neu aw it when coming in with the flying ship and it will be kind of like a like a ombre situation where it goes from colorful rainy blue to just black and white and just represent that in the satchel and try and cover it up. And see if that can carry the thing out while stabilizing the magic inside.

 

Harper (Guide):

So go ahead and give me a wild roll.

 

Octa (Neu):

So Alma, when you're trying to help people move on or when you trying to help spirits stay where they are? Maybe I could apply some of those principles.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Well the thing about you know people and spirits is that you can talk to them. It's really nothing special, most people just need to be listened to and you know be given the space to talk about their stuff like especially ghosts. ‘Cause, you know, not everybody gets to say everything that they want to say before they go so sometimes they just need that opportunity. It's about feeling, you know, loved and cared for.

 

Octa (Neu):

Alright, thank you, that helps.

 

Octa:

As Neu keeps weaving they will like every now and again to touch the and try and gather a color palette from there and try to listen to the memory as they try to cut through it. That’s a six and a three, so that's 10.

 

Harper (Guide):

Everything that you said kind of starts to take form. You start weaving this. I imagine Neu has like the instruction from the professor as well and like kind of going back and forth like getting the circle loom going. Following these instructions like doesn't make sense at first, but as you're doing it like it's just almost like you're instinct takes over. Magic and different things kind of like come around the weaving and out of the loom and that starts to happen and these like tendrils start to like kind of reach out from your loom and start grabbing like little bits of essence from the thoughtsmore and start like making it into another bit of thread that starts to go into the weaving. You said like white, silver, and black? You can tell that there's like a new thread in there that's like this shimmery purple - or would be this shimmery purple - amongst those threads as we're starting to weave this like circular bag that would be big enough to hold this thoughtsmore in its in state. But again this is gonna take a while and just as you're working on that, what are you doing Alma ‘Cause you see Neu kind of get into the zone and like fade out.

 

Tatiana:

Well it's been a while since I've gotten to just see Neu work and do their thing. So Alma is like watching the way that their hands you know move across the you know threads and weave something together. Number one it’s very impressive because Alma can't like see herself doing anything like that detailed. Like the most Alma works with thread is when she's using thread in like ritual practice and like sewing mouths and things shut. She’s glad to see something beautiful being done whereas you know she usually is doing something a bit more crude with thread. So she just kind of sits there and watches Neu work as a happy observer.

 

Harper (Guide):

So Alma you just took a moment to describe the – or take in the beauty and describe it to the table so I love that. So you have a token. While you're watching, observing, you maybe fidget a little bit and you feel that whistle in your pocket.

 

Tatiana:

Alma kind of like pulls it out and like kind of flips it around in their hands a bit. Kind of curious what this sounds like. She knows how most whisltes work so she just kind of brings it up to her lips and blows.

 

Harper (Guide):

You don't hear anything and you're kind of pissed because like this is like a not working whistle.

 

Tatiana:




Can I blow it harder?

 

Harper (Guide):

You blow it harder and still nothing happens. The air is going through the whistle like a whistle normally does and there's absolutely no sound besides just like the air going through it,

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s going to like shake it like next to her ear. Like is there something in there blocking the something?

 

Harper (Guide):

You shake it, you look in the holes, and it seems like everything's perfectly fine. No cracks in it. Just like a mouthpiece with that little scooped out bit and then like the tunnel or channel that the air would travel through and out the bottom. Bery simple like there's doesn't seem like there could be anything wrong with it. If you want you could give me an instinctual roll.

 

Tatiana:

I think I will! A seven.

 

Harper (Guide):

You're kind of putting it together that since this is made of bone that maybe it does have something to do with death or the dead or those who have passed on or still lingering but part of you kind of also realizes that maybe it's not working because, again something with the gods, something with magic and you might just have to test this out and in more places. But whatever it's supposed to do, it's not working here.

 

Tatiana:

She's just gonna you know slide it back into her pocket.

 

Harper (Guide):

We go down the stairs with Fletcher, Hoku, and Kalix. Hoku, you notice that Kalix is walking next to Fletcher and there's just the amount of space in between them for a sweet otter boy to make like a  three kith sort of like walking crew to go down the stairs together.

 

Jenine:

Hoku, will happily go step in that beautiful little space.

 

Harper (Guide):

You see a Kalix kind of like,

 

Harper (Kalix):

Oh hello there, Hoku? Are you enjoying the tower?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Yeah it's pretty cool. I'm assuming it's much more vibrant with color.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Oh it's absolutely stunning when the sun breaks through the rain clouds and hits this place. It's quite gorgeous. It can sometimes get a little hot but it's wonderful.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Good, good, good, good yeah well it’s a nice location. I didn’t say spirit island was also pretty cool too so yeah, this I,  yeah, this is a nice little adventure.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Maybe you and Fletcher –

 

Harper (Guide):

And kind of looks around.

 

Harper (Kalix):

- could come visit sometime after the colors are back.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Oh yeah that'd be cool!

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Things tend to be better with colors.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Yes they do. Fletcher and I were just talking about tea. I was letting them know that my favorite is a breakfast tea. I could do a green tea as well, but I prefer a good old standard black teat.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

You’ll enjoy the chai because it's black tea. There’s some nice tastes of like -  it's a very warm taste and it's very cool. It's a special blend that's only made on The Lastings.

 

Harper (Kalix):

That sound delightful.

 

Harper (Guide):

You all continue chatting as you get to like a middle level of the tower with lots of different like doors.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Maybe we should try these. I've not really done any exploring here just gone up to look at the the prism and commune with Gleam.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah, there's gotta be a kitchen somewhere here.

 

Jenine:




Hoku starts knocking on doors.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Hello?

 

Harper (Guide):

So the first one you knock at, you don't hear anything. Nothing in response.

 

Jenine:




I check if it's unlocked.

 

Harper (Guide):

It is unlocked. You open it up and it is a storage closet. Just like different supplies for taking care of this facility but also taking care of the prism to make sure it's nice and clean. So just like a lot of like cleaning powders and brooms and cloths and just different odds and end supplies like that. The next one you knock on you hear,

  Harper (Chicken Kitch):

Just a minute!

 

Harper (Guide):

And shuffling about and then the door swing open and you see a chicken dressed in a similar row to Teller and they say,

 

Harper (Chicken Kith):

Hello can I help you?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Hi, I'm Hoku. We're here –

 

Jenine:




Does this chicken realize that there is no color?

 

Harper (Guide):

Yes.

 

Jenine:

Okay good.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Hello so we are here to help bring gods back – hi, I’m Hoku! Actually we're kind of looking for tea to wake Teller up. Not tea - we're looking for hot water to make tea cause Teller is asleep upstairs but I don't think they're asleep because - actually hi, I’m Hoku!

 

Michi (Fletcher):

We saw a human.

 

Harper (Guide):

The chicken just is like so confused like with - just as any other like social interaction that Hoku and Fletcher seem to have, it does not make any sense. It does not flow in a way that typical kith will talk in. And they say,

 

Harper (Tawn):

Excuse me?

 

Harper (Guide):

And Kalix steps up and says,

 

Harper (Kalix):

I'm truly sorry. Me and my friends here are helping dealing with this color thing and Teller is upstairs passed out and we're hoping to make some tea for them.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Oh my stars! Teller, are they okay?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well we think Teller was using a lot of energy and then a purple human came in cracked the energy a bunch of times and now Teller’s asleep.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Alright I'm still not understanding everything but do you need my tea kettle?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh yeah that'd be great!

 

Harper (Tawn):

Alright come on in. My name's Tawn.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Hi Tawn, I’m Fletcher.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Yes it's very nice to meet you even though I'm a little confused. Who are you?

 

Harper (Guide):

Looking over at Hoku.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Hi I'm, Hoku. Really nice to meet you.

 

Harper (Tawn):

It's nice to meet you as well and we know each other.

 

Harper (Guide):

Looking over at Kalix.

 

Harper (Kalix):

Yes we've-  I've been here before.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Yeah so my name's Tawn.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they take you inside their like little apartment space. It's not a lot. It's again made of crystal and there's like a little small kitchen area there at the front and a living space with a cute little bed off in the corner and lots of little like plants hanging from the ceiling from different like twine chain. And like a little window with like lots of little plants on the windowsill.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Here I'll get it going.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they crack a few rocks together, some sparks fly and they get a little fire going over their tea kettle.

 

Harper (Guide):

So I'm one of Teller’s assistants. I'm not as skilled as they are magic but I've been learning.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

That’s great! How has your magic been since the color thing happened?

 

Harper (Tawn):

Well normally I could cast a little flame spell to start up the fire but I haven’t been able to do that lately which is kind of weird. But then the colors started going I was like, am I going crazy? And then I talked to my friend and they were like oh I don't see colors too. And I was like okay, thank the stars I'm not going crazy. I mean I'm a little crazy but not all that crazy. I should still see colors though.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

I have a question about color - what does purple mean to you?

 

Harper (Tawn):

To me, purple means like healing and respite. Rejuvenation. What does purple mean to you since we're asking?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Uh there, well - memory and cold.

 

Jenine:

And then like Hoku raises like essentially an eyebrow and sees if anything sparks with them.

 

Harper (Guide):

So seeing if talking about memory and cold triggers something with Tawn?

 

Jenine:

Yes.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Some people around here, especially people that can see those memory things think purple is kind of like sacred for kind of like the past and trying to commemorate or something like that. Yeah, but I just deal with colors usually. Colors, rainbows, crystals. Got a little knack for making plants grow. Hope I'd can keep them alive now I can't do magics but - oh I could do a little flame spell, you just have to trust me though.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Yeah. Yes, we trust.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

So you know about the purple things but you haven't seen them before?

 

Harper (Tawn):

Oh no not everybody can see them, just certain folks. I don't have that sight.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

How do you know about them?

 

Harper (Tawn):

My mammy did but I didn't get it.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Who can see the purple sphere memory cold things?

 

Harper (Tawn):

Honestly I've not done much research on it. When I talked to mamy about it, she said just some people had that gift or the sight as she called it.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

So how long have you known about these things in Porstmore.

 

Harper (Tawn):

My mammy was a lot older than me and she saw him so..

 

Michi (Fletcher):

When did your mammy see them?

 

Harper (Tawn):

Uh… I don’t know. Maybe I can talk to her. She ain’t alive anymore though. We need somebody who could do that. I can't speak to the dead usually as well. Again colors, plants, little bitty flame spell.

 

Jenine:

Hoku starts doing the little like patty pat at Fletcher ‘s shoulder

 

Jenine (Hoku):

(unintelligible excited murmuring)

 

Harper (Tawn):

Do you do you need to use restroom? It’s right there.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

No, no, no we -  Hoku means that we have a friend who can talk to ghosts and dead people.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Awww, shit.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Is your friend here?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah, just in in the prism room.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Aw, hell.

 

Harper (Guide):

Then you hear the tea kettle kind of whistling.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Sounds like it's time to make some tea and get upstairs. Here.

 

Harper (Guide):

They take the top of the kettle off.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Throw some leaves in there.

 

Jenine:

Hoku does some scoops of the tea.

 

Harper (Tawn):

You there, uh, big guy.

 

Harper (Guide):

Points to Kalix.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Grab these mugs.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they grab the tea kettle and just start walking out. So as y’all make your way back upstairs you get the tea poured out, cooled down enough to where you can start drinking.

 

Harper (Tawn):

I guess I'll do this.

 

Harper (Guide):

And I get down and hold Teller’s head underneath their lap and tilt it up a little bit and try to like slowly pour some tea down in their mouth.

 

Harper (Tawn):

That person seems like they're a little busy, I'm assuming you're the death talker.

 

Harper (Guide):

Points to Alma.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

What? Yeah, yeah, yeah that's me.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Can you talk to my mammy?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Uh yeah… whereabouts is she?

 

Harper (Tawn):

She's on my mantle.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

On your-  like on your…? Okay yeah.

 

Harper (Tawn):

She got cremated.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Oh yeah! No that's fine. That shouldn't interfere at all. Where is your mantle?

 

Harper (Tawn):

It’s downstairs you know like I've got an apartment down there.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Okay, yeah no, I can - why am I talking to this person’s grandmother?

 

Jenine (Hoku):

(mumbling) Sight! Being able to see the purple orbs.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Lead me to Grammy, I guess.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Well I need to finish up with this fellow right here. But as soon as Teller is awake I can walk you down there. Hey y'all got any good recipes? Been running out of ideas and getting a little bored of cooking. You cook anything good lately.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I made a cake recently.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Oh hell, I love cake.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

So today's actually Fletcher 's birthday so this morning when we flew in we had a cake before the ship broke down, need to get towed. It's a whole thing but the cake was good!

 

Michi (Fletcher):

It’s really good! It's my favorite.

 

Harper (Tawn):

What kind was it?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

It’s was a fruit cake.

 

Harper (Guide):

Is there any leftover? Can I have some?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I think there's some leftover on the ship. I can't vouch for it's quality given that it's been a few hours, but I'm happy to make a fresh one at some point.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Cake is still good after a day.

 

Harper (Tawn):

I mean cake is cake and I love cake. But also I do have a kitchen.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Oh! Oh, yes. I'm assuming that's where you made the tea.

 

Harper (Tawn):

That's where the tea came from. Well hopefully this works.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they continue to pour tea, a little trickle at a time into Teller’s mouth and eventually you do see that Teller starts to stir and raise their hand up, rub their eyes and look around kind of squinting,

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. Where's the color? Oh dear.

 

Harper (Guide):

They look over at the prism.

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh dear where's Gleam? Oh my god.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Hi little feller gotta calm down. These are my friends. That’s Hoku over there. That's Fletcher. Haven’t met that person, they're a little busy.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Oh, oh, I’m Alma.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Oh Alma. Yes, and then you know Kalix. And this kith just weaving away. I don't know them yet but –

 

Michi (Fletcher):

That’s Neu.

 

Harper (Teller):

What what – what  happened? What's going on?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Fletcher, you got this.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Hey do you remember on spirit island when all that stuff was going on?

 

Harper (Teller):

Yes.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah so right after that we went to our ship and then all the color disappeared and we came here and then there was another glowing thingy and you were on the floo asleep and I touched the orb and it looks like the big purple human took Gleam and knocked you.

 

Harper (Teller):

I don't know if we've met before… oh you mean - did you meet the to Teller who works on sphere island a lot? Is that – oh okay. Yes that's not me.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah Teller the seagull.  I guess you have the same name, I was confused.

 

Harper (Teller):

Teller is like one of the most common names for kith around my age here. Sucks because you feel like you're everyone else but then also there's a little bit of community when you meet another Teller.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Do you also have scary visions ‘cause seagull Teller had really scary visions.

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh no, I don't get visions. I tend to just enjoy colors and protecting them.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh well it didn't work. I'm really sorry. If you touch the orb, you can see the colors again but you'll also see yourself getting bullied and knocked out so yeah. Oh, right before you passed out, do you remember seeing a purple human?

 

Harper (Teller):

Yes I had never seen that before and it scared me so I tried my best to protect Gleam but I'm guessing that didn't work.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

No the human’s really powerful. The human also took Tor and Gren.

 

Harper (Teller):

I guess that explains the rain.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Yeah anyway we're gonna talk to Tawn’s mammy if you wanna join us.

 

Harper (Teller):

Talk to who?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Tawn’s mammy.

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh she's a wonderful kith. Yes I might do that, just give me a few moments.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Okay! Do you want a piece of candy?

 

Harper (Teller):

Yes what kind do you have?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Well I know some of this is butterscotch but I can't really tell.

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh I love butterscotch.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Okay, I think this one's a butterscotch.

 

Harper (Teller):

Oh, I really hope it's a butterscotch.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they take it from you unwrap it, put it in their mouth.

 

Harper (Teller):

It tastes like roses. It's not my favorite but it'll do.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh, I’m sorry.

 

Harper (Teller):

It's OK I'll try another.

 

Harper (Guide):

And they take another and put it in their pocket.

 

Harper (Teller):

I think the sugar is helping me though.  

Michi (Fletcher):

That's good.

 

Harper (Teller):

I'll try to stand.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Hey little feller, you need to like take it slow. Kalix, can you give me a hand?

 

Harper (Kalix):

Yes, right away.

 

Harper (Guide):

And Kalix and Tawn kind of slowly lift up Teller as they kind of gather their strength and the group starts to walk downstairs. Does anybody stay with Neu though while they're weaving?

 

Jenine:

Hoku stays.

 

Harper (Guide):

As y’all start to walk down, Kalix says,

 

Harper (Kalix):

Fletcher, I think we might need some help. Can you get the doors?

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Oh yeah. These doors are a lot bigger than me though but I can do it (grunts).

 

Harper (Guide):

And y'all are back in the apartment but I guess describe again what you do in this ritual to hopefully commune with mammy.

 

Tatiana:

Yeah so I'm gonna walk over to the mantle and I'm gonna you know kind of gesture at the objects on the mantle and be like,

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Is this? Which one is mammy?

 

Harper (Guide):

Yeah there's like lots of like jars of various sizes and Tawn like walks Teller over to the bed and Teller kind of lays back down looking at in the direction of the mantle and Tawn comes over,

 

Harper (Tawn):

Honestly I kind of forget sometimes, let me see.

 

Harper (Guide):

And then goes through like looking through them.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Nope this is just paper. Some sort of spice. This one.

 

Harper (Guide):

And it's the one at the center. It looks a little bit nicer than the other jars.

 

Harper (Tawn):

I should really start labeling things. Do you need like candles or anything?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

No, no, no, no, it’s fine. Don't worry, I got this.

 

Tatiana:

I take the urn and Alm’as going to sit on the ground and, you know, hold this urn kind of in her hands, in her lap. She’s going to hold it and she's going to close her eyes and she's going to kind of just reach, like mentally reach out, like into the other side using the urn and mammy’s ashes as kind of a focus to create a path to mammy, in her mind, through which to lead her to like corporealness in the moment.

 

Harper (Guide):

Go ahead and give me a wild check.

 

Tatiana:

That’s a twelve baby!

 

Harper (Guide):

It seems to take a little more work than usual. You do see kind of like the misty shape of an old tired chicken kind of off in the distance and you're trying to make this path and you can't seem to get there. And you feel that whistle in your pocket once again.

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s going to reach into her and she's gonna bring the whistle up to her lips and she's gonna blow.

 

Harper (Guide):

You use the ghost whistle. The other side did seem a bit more misty, foggy, clouded than normal. When you blow that whistle you hear like a high pitched sort of sound in the other side that cuts through that fog and the misty chicken off in the distance kind of perks up, starts to float in your direction. They arrive looking very stern and say,

 

Harper (Mammy):

What in tarnation is going on here.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Hello ma'am. Uh are you Grammy of Tawn.

 

Harper (Mammy):

No I'm not, I'm Mammy.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Mammy, my apologies. I'm here to ask you an important question. Things are a little bit rough back on the mortal plane and I'm told that you might have some knowledge that might help us.

 

Harper (Mammy):

I guess I can help you.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Thank you. Thank you very much.

 

Harper (Mammy):

You did wake me up from my slumber but I'll do what I can.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I heard tell that you might have some knowledge about glowing purple orbs. I think you call them thoughtsmores around these parts.

 

Harper (Mammy):

Yep, that I do.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

What can you tell me about them?

 

Harper (Mammy):

I mean they're just memories of things that happen. Most time very vibrant memories but yeah I can see ‘em.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Mm-hmmm. Mm-hmm. Is there something about you that makes you able to see them especially well?

 

Harper (Mammy):

I mean I was told I just had this sight and I could see ‘em, you know? Some people just have that connection. I guess the same as you who have a connection to the dead, those who pass.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Okay, yeah, that makes sense.

 

Tatiana:

Alma’s gonna like pop her head back into the mortal plane like,

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Hey guys, so I have Mammy on the phone.

 

Harper (Tawn):

She pitching a fit?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

She is very lovely, very pleasant woman. Was there something specific I was - other than about the thoughtsmore. PRrtty much she just said that they said she had the sight and that she said that like I have a connection to ghosts and the dead and the other side that people who can see the thoughtsmores just have a connection to the past.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Can you ask her why she’s seen them before and who made them and where it came from and if all the colors disappeared and if she's ever seen a human and –

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah, yeah,  yeah.  Yeah let's start - let's start there. I'll be right back!

 

Tatiana:

Alma goes back into the astral plane.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Hey okay, so when you saw them before was there like a particular reason why they showed up? Was there somebody who made them?

 

Harper (Mammy):

I mean from what I've known, what I was told is that they would show up when like big things happen you know? Like tragedies. Just lots of - like when kith have big emotion they can show up.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Okay so we make them in a way?

 

Harper (Mammy):

Yeah I guess you could say that. We can't control it but I guess they do come from us.





Tatiana (Alma):

Interesting. At any point in your life did the colors disappear?

 

Harper (Mammy):

The colors disappeared? No I got to the point where I couldn't see very well but colors never disappeared.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Okay, okay, okay. Last question. This is the big one. Have you ever seen a human before?

 

Harper (Guide):

And when you say that, they seem to change a little bit. They get really scared.

 

Harper (Mammy):

What do you mean? You’ve seen –

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I mean I – me? Me personally? No I haven't, I haven't. But I have some friends who touched the orbs and I guess they saw a like big human.

 

Harper (Mammy):

Oh gods, oh gods. Tell them, tell them to stay away. Do whatever you can to not go near it –

 

Harper (Guide):

You feel like she's about to say something and then you're just like back in the mortal plane.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Alma what’d she say? Alma? Alma did she know what the orbs are? Do you know where they came from?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Well, so um they said that the um the orbs, the thoughtsmores and stuff come from us. Come from the kith. Like pretty much if we have like really, really, really strong emotion. So we can't really control it but it comes from us. As for the colors no. They said their vision was getting pretty bad at the end of, you know –

 

Harper (Tawn):

Yeah Mammy’s eyes did go but her and her sass never left either.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

No that’s still very, very real. And that there was one more thing that they mentioned.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Did she tell you that nasty joke?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

I wish. I wish? I wish. No. So I asked about the he-mans and they got really upset about that.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Wait you asked her about humans?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah!

 

Harper (Tawn):

Yeah I should have warned you, she don't like them.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

See Alma, humans are real.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

They said stay away. They said get as far away as you can from the he-mans. That's what they said. What could they possibly know about he-mans we don't know also. What do you mean that she didn’t like the he-mans.

 

Harper (Tawn):

She saw one once?

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Like a live one?

 

Harper (Mammy):

No, while she was doing some seeing she saw one. That's what she told me and at least. She was never the same after that.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Did she tell you what she saw?

 

Harper (Tawn):

She would never go into details but it changed her.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Do your seers keep an archive of any of their visions?

 

Harper (Tawn):

You could probably find somebody to talk to you about it. Maybe go try the library maybe.

 

Michi (Fletcher):

Okay.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Here's your Mammy back.

 

Harper (Tawn):

Thank you.

 

Tatiana (Alma):




You’re welcome.

 

Harper (Guide):

So with that we pop back up to Neu. How's thewleaving going? What are some things that you're going through? What are you thinking about because you've kind of like gone into this sort of like magical space as you're weaving?

 

Octa:

Hoku, you start to hear Neu muttering under their breath as they are and weaving and they have a smile and they seem very involved in the process and just being like,

 

Octa (Neu):

Oh this is actually fun. I had forgotten – I had forgotten this feeling. Actually every time I touch this I get to see colors again. This is good. This is good.

 

Octa:

However Neu begins to get a little bit worried just by tapping into that memory again and again and again, on how like strong and powerful and scary that human is. And just continuing to expose themselves to it as they weave. And their enjoyment of it begins to like fade a little and then they begin to finish the touching bits and stop touching the orb. And begin to like try and fold the back around it and then as they start doing the final details on the closing, they regain a bit of that enjoyment.

 

Harper (Guide):

I would say that as you stop the weaving process to put it around the orb, when you come out of like this magical stupor, like you're again like covered in sweat now. Hoku, you notice Neu get up from their stool and they like start to like teeter over. And I'd say at this time like Fletcher and Alma are probably back up as well and you all have to help Neu like walk over and finish this process. And Neu, I feel like you get a token.

 

Octa (Neu):

Oh, yeah, guys, this is actually much wider and bigger than I anticipated. If you can grab it from the sides. Alma if you can go to the top in there, Hoku there and then I think between the four of us we can probably come together and close it at the top. My hands can't reach.

­­  

Tatiana (Alma):

Yeah, yeah, we got - we got this.

 

Jenine (Hoku):

Yeah, yeah.

 

Tatiana (Alma):

Alright, on three.

 

Octa (Neu):

On three. One, two , three!

 

Octa:

And Neu takes the last kind of like three needle stabs across it so that it doesn't like just open if we ever leave it down

 

Harper (Guide):

Neu, I imagine you would have woven some like handles for it too so you have like a little handles to like actually carry it. And the five of you, along with Teller and Tawn, stand there kind of basking in this moment where you have this thoughtsmore contained. And now that you have it, you can take it wherever you go. See if other people have had experience with them. And you know that like this is a step in the right direction for figuring out what's happening.

Kenzie:

Hey everyone! Thanks for listening. You can follow queeRPG on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @queeRPGpod. queeRPG is made possible by all of you who listen and share the show! If you like what you hear please rate and review. It helps other people find the pod. You can also support the show by signing up for our Patreon at patreon.com/queeRPG. If you’re interested in seeing transcripts for the episode, all of those from previous episodes and episodes to come can be found on our website queerpg.com! Until next time!