[ video | sabellad ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ The feed opens up to a man dressed in green and black leathers, clearing his throat and slicking his hair back with his fingers. ]

This is to inform you that the library is currently under my management. Any books returned with creases or stains will suffer a fine. I haven't decided what it will be, but rest assured, if you plan on borrowing books, there will be a contract for you to sign. Please check the fine print.

Your recommend reading for the month is this. Enjoy.

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

Nonsense. This is a non-judgement zone. Why would anyone stop you?

[hasitsthorns]

They haven't yet, so that's a valid point. Even in Eudio, people were pretty lax...

[dothelokimotion]

Eudio?

[hasitsthorns]

Oh, right- I forget, you're not...

[ 'The Loki that was there,' she almost says. She had known of a couple, talking with one once. ]

You're not one of the ones that came with us from there. Uhm, it was an island. Nicknamed 'cuddle city' and was all about intimacy.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Flatly. ]

Cuddle City.

[hasitsthorns]

Yeah, Cuddle City. Basically, we were told that we could have anything we wanted but... there was a catch. We had to provide energy for the city in the form of intimacy.

[dothelokimotion]

And . . . you believed that?

[hasitsthorns]

I mean... Yeah? I saw it at work, honestly. Seemed pretty real to me.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He's curious now. ]

How did it work?

[hasitsthorns]

Pretty much how it sounds. Intimacy was converted into usable energy! I never saw the facility myself, but... I think Amanda did? She could probably tell you more.

I just know I saw when it went on the fritz. We couldn't actually be intimate with each other or else stuff went haywire. It was kind of funny, in hindsight.

[dothelokimotion]

I'm still lost on the idea that intimacy is a form of energy.

[hasitsthorns]

Yeah, it was weird. But, hey! It worked. It seems like here's kind of similar, honestly? Like, not as obviously but... F.A.T.E.S. collect intimacy energy for some stuff, I think.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Huh. ]

I thought it was odd we have so many parties.

[hasitsthorns]

Yeah, that's kind of why! Getting people to be intimate and chilled out helps save the multiverse, apparently.

Who knew.

[dothelokimotion]

I certainly did not.

And I'm still struggling to believe it.

[hasitsthorns]

Well, you can ask a couple other people that were there! Amanda, Vanyel, Vex, Kavinsky... All of us were in Eudio before this.

Don't have to take just my word for it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Huh. He mulls this over. Rafa had mentioned it too. ]

How is it you all hailed from the same place and came here?

[hasitsthorns]

[ Honestly? ]

I'm not sure. I mean, we were all obviously there when it went to Hell, but- In my case, I went through a portal with someone and while we ended up here around the same time he'd apparently gone home for a while first without me. It was really bizarre.

Also, there were some other people I knew there that didn't arrive here so it just seems like we were the lucky ones.

[dothelokimotion]

[ The lucky ones. He wonders what happened to the unlucky ones. ]

What happened to it?

[hasitsthorns]

[ Another good question. It's hard to say, but- ]

It fell apart. The things that collected our intimacy energy went on the fritz and then... Earthquakes, fires. A lot of natural disasters but they happened too frequently and too violently to eventually be more than just Mother Nature having a fit.

It started to tear the world apart and then we were being evacuated. I was supposed to end up with Vanyel in Tamriel but the portal spit me out here instead. ... At least it let me keep my dogs.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Then it lines up with what they've heard so far. Unusual, but not unexpected. ]

My apologies for your loss.

[hasitsthorns]

Thanks, dude. I mean... I got out with everything I actually really cared about from Eudio, so.

I can't complain too much.

[ She was luckier than Vex or Kavinsky or even Rafa when they first arrived. She had both her boyfriends and her pack of dogs (plus one cat) in tow. ]

[dothelokimotion]

No, I suppose none of us do.

[ They're alive. Which is more that can be said for many others. ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ Yeah. Rose doesn't like to think about that. At least Caleb had left before things went south, but- She doesn't like to entertain the idea that others might not have gotten out alright. ]

At least we can make a difference here? That's kind of nice.

[dothelokimotion]

How can you tell?