agogelogs | WILL YOU WALK INTO MY PARLOR

WILL YOU WALK INTO MY PARLOR—

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? BASE training, between investigating the fish.
WHEN? Still outside time and space, in the aether between dimensions.
ANYTHING ELSE? Please warn for anything besides physical violence and move to a personal journal if it's beyond PG-13.

I want to wring out your evil thoughts;

I want to eat out your bitter heart

READ THE JHASHCH INFOPAGE.

OVERVIEW

A couple weeks into exploration, recruits receive a bulletin on their BCEs.

@SCOUT | @ALL

report to the foyer at 0600 hours tomorrow for a briefing; it'll be a couple weeks yet, but you're headed to jhashch, circa 382.92

you'll receive a datapack that goes over the location in detail, but we're still acquiring location-appropriate clothing. you'll receive your equipment in full before departure. until then, you've more than a little training to accomplish.

the commander will lay out your regime tomorrow. don't make her wait.

Anyone who arrives early will catch the end of an argument between Grothia, Chiron, and Young. Or, more accurately, Grothia and Young.

If you listen carefully to Grothia's raised voice and Young's collective jeer over Chiron's calm, placating tones, you'll learn Grothia and Young are required to attend this summit, in a show of good faith. And it's a matter Grothia has only addressed with your scout now. She storms from the room in a flurry of white feathers and the crows sulk for the rest of the day.

Needless to say, she is furious. She is not a fan of spiders.

THE MAIN FOYER

The foyer has been overhauled. The walls are dark and impersonal; while not terribly different from their usual steel, they're slick and clean in a way BASE is not, so polished you can see your distorted reflection. And this sterile surface is only a backdrop to architecture reminiscent of the height of the Baroque period: decadent, dark, and sometimes pointlessly opulent.

Many of the rooms are only gently lit, leaving long shadows, and sometimes you might spot movement out of the corner of your eye. It's dark and cool, almost like a cellar, but by no means even a fraction as musty. It's as well ventilated as BASE can ever be. And, while some rooms simply acclimate you to your upcoming surroundings, others serve clear purpose.

Much of the furniture is odd in shape, casting swooping silhouettes and made for creatures much larger and rounder than humans. But what is meant for human use is just as opulent, decked in rich fabrics and carved wood.

A few rooms along the foyer's rim are bright, with large "windows" (high definition screens, much like the ones in your rooms) that display the rusty landscape of Jhashch. It's possible to see various lifeforms wandering the jagged terrain, hyper realistic, though the images will loop if you watch long enough. Sometimes, you might even spot an undisguised Aranean.

Welcome to your training grounds.

TRAINING

All recruits must train extensively in each of the following categories. This is emphasized and revisited again and again, until it is drilled into memory. But this time, it isn't like the shooting and running of the Great War. This is a little more...refined.

However, it's not as easy to tell when you've messed up, so COST has repurposed some Dactly droids. Each recruit will have one droid assigned to follow them; when a mistake is made, it will hurl a glitter bomb at the person and cheerfully inform them, "You have been consumed." 🎊 The glitter is just as difficult to remove as you'd expect.

ETIQUETTE

Etiquette is split into several key elements. Recruits are repeatedly reminded: if your etiquette is poor enough, an Aranean may eat you, diplomacy and goodwill be damned. They take poor form deadly serious.

» POSTURE

Araneans see power in perfect posture, whether sitting or standing. You are always expected to be at your tallest and most intimidating, with shoulders straight back and hands placed in your lap or on your glass or cutlery. It's poor form to turn your face down or away when someone is talking to you; Araneans favor eye contact. It is advised to look at the largest, middle two eyes of an Aranean.

» CONVERSATION

Be interesting; this is no place for wallflowers. Speak with authority on topics you know or, at least, can fake. What matters is confidence, aggression, and dominating the conversation. Recruits will compile three topics that they can speak of confidently at length.

» ENTERTAINMENT

Characters should choose a skill to hone into something presentable in the Court. This can be anything, whether art, music, shooting, sword fighting, etc. Something they can show off and demonstrate, that they're sure they'll dominate in. And note: While dominance and cruelty are powerful in their own right, there's something to be said for anyone who can distract and charm another to their doom.

However, don't go in swinging your hardest. Always keep an ace up your sleeve, just in case.

» DANCE

Like most warrior cultures of the past, Araneans are obsessed with dancing as much as appearance. Their whole purpose is an intricate display of steps and motions and memorization of positions. For people with fewer than eight legs, it is mercifully a little easier.

A little. You still have to learn at least three common dances to satisfy your Dactyl droid.

» DINING

Meals are taken very seriously by Araneans, with a set order and customs that are observed almost obsessively.

SKULGA: All meals start with a glass of alcoholic drink, chosen carefully by the hosting family. This is to ensure no drink or glass has been poisoned. As such, all meals begin with every guest skulling a glass.

CURATH-MIR: The first person to eat is always highest in rank. To eat at the same time is to challenge them and attempt to take their place...or that of the food on their plate.

LAMBRAT: A napkin of sorts, but one you bring to match your outfit. It is tied to the left wrist and used during the meal like a typical napkin. They are usually of very expensive and boldly colored material, which you can use to motion servants without looking at them. You don't want to break eye contact with your conversation partner.

COLPATHA: A dish that is the first course of every banquet. It is raw meat of a choice cut and presented in a bowl over open flame on hot coals, with appropriate utensils. You have to cook the meat yourself. It is also expected to be something of a spectacle, by doing tricks with how you cook.

CUTLERY: There are no forks here; only a series of intricate, specially curved knives. And no, you can't use your hands.

» BOWING

Spiders are prone to display. For an Aranean, bowing involves extending all limbs of their upper body and bending at the main knee of their legs, all whilst keeping the upper body stiff and face forward; after all, eye contact is still key. It's somewhat reminiscent of this little spider, though with the raised limbs spread wider, like a ballerina.

For humans, it's more difficult to execute; we have fewer limbs, after all. Instead, both men and women step forward, extend the dominant leg back, lift both arms and bend at the knees. It is, quite possibly, the most precarious balancing act you've done in a while. For men, only one arm is lifted and the other tucked behind the back. For women, well...

» DIPLOMACY

Recruits are encouraged to help each other grasp the art of backstabbing; COST understands it is a nebulous art and carefully honed with time. Better to allow the experts to educate, than to muddle along without that spark.

That said, if you encounter diplomats from other groups, you're expected to conduct yourself as you would around an Aranean...which, unfortunately, includes the Regency.

GROOMING

Araneans are obsessed with appearance, grooming, and presentation, if the etiquette wasn't enough, so it's time for COST to take a ~spa day~. At least here you won't get lice.

Another series of repurposed droids are now your hairdressers, manicurists, and personal groomers. It's nothing truly dramatic and mostly intended to get everyone up to standard, with optional courses in makeup and hair-styling for full banquets and other occasions. Hair can be styled to taste, as long as it's neat and isn't too labor intensive; recruits are expected to maintain it and the rest of their appearance afterwards.

From here on out, no one comes to breakfast or dinner without a shower, their hair done, or nails cleaned. Presenting yourself as a mess is disrespectful and will be similarly as punished.

Also, COST is far too broke to get you actual maidservants, so it's important to remember what is realistic for a single person to accomplish.

LANGUAGE

When conversing with humans, Araneans will speak in a language the BCE can translate, but names will remain as they are. Aranean custom doesn't attribute meanings to names, since so many children are born in a single clutch of eggs. But it's impossible for humans to make the sounds necessary for their language, so Araneans will tolerate screw-ups—to an extent.

There are recordings of Aranean names, pronounced by an Aranean speaker (it sounds like a series of hisses and clicks) and then the nearest approximation by a human, which is middling at best and involves a pale imitations of those sounds.

Here are some examples of what human-spoken Aranean sounds like, to give you a vague idea: Jhashch, Thsh, Chch, Shai, Aythy, Shch.

Also, you should always use a spider's title. Whether a noble lady or lord to the High Queen herself, failing to use a title is a sign of wanton disrespect...or a challenge. Either option is inadvisable when COST is trying to garner respect and curry favor with the royal court.

COMBAT

For general combat training, the gym and armory are open and available. A large mechanical spider sits in the former; Chiron has activated it for the recruits' use. Roughly the size of a male Aranean, its armor is reminiscent of Aranean plate and possesses similar weak points. The most striking of these is the abdomen and their comparatively fragile joints. The robot is unintelligent, but moves as an Aranean does, with agile leaps and viciously quick strikes.

It also fires lasers, which is less than accurate, but pay that no mind.

» DUELING

The rapiers recruits receive serve a purpose. It's time to learn renaissance-style fencing, as they are the standard dueling weapon for the Aranean people. Unlike the stamina building exercises of Gallipoli, everyone will train for agility and precision. This will cover everything from sprints, lunges, when and how to strike human and Aranean opponents, and—most useful of all—how to maintain your balance. Training lasts for three hours every morning after breakfast. It's heavy on leg and shoulder work.

It becomes very apparent why some people spend their whole lives devoted to the sword: This isn't a skill you pick up overnight. Characters who know a different style of swordwork will be better off than those who have never trained before. A poor man's weapon this is not.

Then there are the duelist courtesies and rules:

To issue a challenge: strike your opponent lightly with an open palm across the cheek.
To accept the duel: strike your challenger back in a similar fashion.
To refuse the duel: bow and step backwards.

When a duel begins, the duelists will meet at an agreed time and place. After meeting in the center of the room, they will hold their weapons up with two hands, so their opponent can see no one has tampered with the weapons; after the inspection, they take three steps back while still facing each other, before turning back to their starting position.

Matches last until the first serious injury, rather than first blood. The ideal is to in some way incapacitate your opponent. The droids will be the judge of that in training; they'll shower you in glitter should you lose and cheerfully intone, "You have been grievously wounded."

At the end of a duel, both sides will bow (if able) and then be led—or carried—off the floor, holding their weapons in front of them.

» RITE OF SUCCESSION

There's also the bare-handed brawl, which is the peak of Aranean dueling. However, bare-handed brawls are matches to the death and an absolute way to settle a dispute without killing a whole family. As such, it's the usual method of succession amongst family members.

» GAMING

There are lectures on video games as fine art, famous Aranean gamers and game designers, and pioneers of different genres. But besides thorough education on common terminology, game training mostly consists of, well, playing video games. There is an entire room dedicated to the art, with multiple screens connected to consoles of all types.

The ultimate goal, in the briefest of terms, is to learn not to suck.

For veteran gamers, practice is encouraged and experience with genres you ignore in favor of your favorite titles is all but demanded. Spiders have it all, from shooters to rhythm games to role-playing to virtual reality. As long as it's got that extra bit of violent spice and has a clear winner or loser, it's all good.

So don't be a scrub and play the damn games.

FIRST AID

First aid features a crash course in toxins popular in the High Court. These are primarily neurotoxins; the most popular variety is imported from the people of the Fafnirian System and known as Drip Venom. It is almost always fatal to Araneans, but requires a higher dosage to meet the same effectiveness on humans; if you find yourself poisoned by it, you may very well survive if you administer an antidote quickly enough.

Necrotoxins are primarily used when the goal isn't to kill, but to maim. They're intended to destroy the receiver's beauty and social standing.

Characters will learn how to use the antitoxin injectors in their inventory by practicing with an empty shell and simulating injections in their thighs. The nanites contained within the injectors are powerful and will neutralize most varieties of toxins. They will at least help counter male spider bites (females can inject much higher quantities of venom, which may make a single injector relatively useless) and extremely mild Ymir poisoning.

HIERARCHY

All recruits have their place in the Aranean hierarchy and will learn to weaponize it to the best of their ability. However, since COST is lacking in Aranean senses, this training relies on the identity recruits claim for themselves (though, if needed, you can assume Grothia told them to train in a specific category; she won't have anyone jeopardize the mission).

It is also stressed that there is no guarantee that anything you do or say on Jhashch goes unobserved, whether by Araneans, their servants, or their spies. To an Aranean, everything is about power and displays of power. To be complacent is to be weak and, consequently, prey.

Using the Araneans as a guide, now might be a good time to adopt a false hierarchy you can fall into when "alone" with other COST members. In this framework, female characters of artificial origins rank at the top and male characters of magical origins sit at the bottom, but there are likely more than a few gray areas for members of COST.

But better safe than sorry. In the High Court, there is no such thing as being too paranoid, because these are apex predators who always hunt the weakest first.

READ THE JHASHCH INFOPAGE.

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's something wrong with the phrasing, something Meliorn hasn't been able to pick out until the other's finished with his smooth and flashy idea. It's enough that he frowns and stops walking, head tilted to the side, light catching gold marks on his face near his scarring. ]

How do you leave behind an idea? [ Or repair a process, he thinks, and: ] Do you steal objects, or is this something magic?

[ Right so, this is the tricky part isn't it?

Clearly Meliorn is sharp, so he isn't too worried about losing him along the way in a description. It's still so odd to talk about the PASIV without wondering if the government is finally come cracking down on his head.

So he opts for blunt honesty. ]

It's a technology that allows multiple people to share a lucid dream. Essentially you interact with the target's subconscious directly.

[ Blunt honesty is something Meliorn appreciates more and more when it comes to words. There's none of it back home, at least not with Seelie - plain and brutal honesty is far more of a Werewolf thing. He's never enjoyed the smell of wet dog so he tends to avoid them when he can, unless Luke, but Luke is more of a police officer than he is a wolf.

None of that matters, though, because while Meliorn keeps his hands behind his back, standing straight, his mind is fluttering with the information handed to him. ]

And in the dream, you can convince them to do what they want. Correct?

If you've setup the right scenario and got the right questions, for the most part yes. Other times it can be absolute chaos. The subconscious is defensive and in really paranoid people, it's downright hostile.

[ He thinks about Fischer's projections and how they just wanted them all out. How their whole team nearly ended up in limbo; comatose upstairs for the rest of their lives. Arthur suppresses a shudder, mouth thinning. ]

Generally, extracting information is easiest. The rest get tricky very quickly.

And you deem yourselves worthy to meddle in the affairs of realms beyond your complete understanding?

[ Meliorn's gaze is passive, his tone neutral. He's quite good at masking himself - there's confusion if one reads him well enough, and a whole lot of wariness. A simple twitch and thinning of his lips as he looks over the other.

This is a Lot. ]

Perhaps the hostility should be treated as a sign you shouldn't do it at all.

[ Well Ok, that came out of left field. If he's reading the question right at any rate. Arthur's brow creases a bit, the only real indication that he dislikes the phrasing. ]

Yeah, why not? Each subsequent job gives us more information, more understanding. Technology is supposed to broaden our horizons, not limit it.

[ He might be on the more criminal side of things, but he still believes there's something to be gained from the PASIV and dreamsharing. Sure the money is great, but he would probably still do it without the allure of a six figure paycheck. ]

You're going to get stuck in a dream one day. [ His voice is flat and sure of himself, and while he's not quite angry there's clear disapproval in his voice. ]

Why do mundanes constantly push into things that are simply beyond their control in an attempt to govern them?

Maybe. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

[ He's also careful, because that's what running point is all about. Well, as long as Cobb isn't involved. The more he thinks about it the more he knows he had too many blind spots on the Fischer job. Not knowing the mark was militarized, not having all the facts about the sedation from Yusuf, the list goes on. They made it out by sheer luck, something he'd rather not repeat. ]

Why let something remain a mystery out of an illusion of safety? Innovation doesn't come from playing close to the chest.

Because it may be protected for a reason. [ He's not talking about thoughts here - it's the broader scheme of things; the bigger picture. ]

I realize we're in different worlds, but is dreaming not a realm of its own?

[ It's a sore spot. Mostly because Seelie guard alternate universes, and this is sounding an awful lot like just that. ]

What, like some kind of wildlife conservation?

[ The dubiousness is clear in his voice. Ok so dreams are personal, technically they are to be protected— that's what militarization is all about. But they aren't some kind of completely off limits thing. ]

Maybe. Won't know unless we keep testing the limits.

The human spirit. [ Even if he doesn't approve - which he Definitely doesn't - the fact that Arthur is somehow an unyielding optimist when it comes to this particular view point such a strange thing for him.

Perhaps optimism isn't the right word, but Meliorn is yet to find the word that does fit. ]

Where I come from, different planes of existence are not meant to be trifled with. That includes dreaming. For you to walk right into someone's consciousness, it's... jarring.

Edited 2018-04-23 05:41 (UTC)

It's gotten us great things. As well as enormously shitty things, but I guess it's a balance.

[ He shrugs, because while humanity as a whole really has done some ducked up stuff, they've also done things like go to the moon. Built a space station. Cured diseases.

(Atom bomb, world war, fracking).

Checks and balances, as much as he hates looking at it that way. It feels clinical; those downsides shouldn't exist. ]

Even if it isn't a different plane where I'm from, it's still pretty jarring to step into a dream. Took some time for me to get used to it, when the PASIV was first developed.

[ A balance. Hearing the words like that, he can see how appealing it is - how someone could charge so recklessly in.

But that is the human spirit, isn't it?

Arthur is a strange one, perhaps even by mundane standards, and Meliorn finds himself genuinely enjoying his company, for all of the annoyance he felt - and is still feeling, to some degree. ]

What was it first like? And you'll have to forgive me, but I'm unsure of what a 'passive' is.

Like trying to walk through quicksand. Dreams collapsed most of the time, the chemical hangover from the Somnacin was awful, you'd be sick as a dog for a few days at a time.

[ He's listing off all the bad qualities, but there's an edge of nostalgia to his tone. The first days of dreamshare were simultaneously awful and wonderful. So much had been discovered; extraction, building, totems. ]

PASIV, it's the technology we use to create the dreamshare. It used to be much bigger when the military developed it, but since the advancements, it's about the size of a briefcase now.

You were there for the very beginning. [ He can't help that curiousness in his tone, and there's just a bit of delight. To be there at the beginning of some form of creation is astounding and very much a thing he wishes he could witness. Meliorn is old, yes, but not that old.

He actually finds that he has to remind himself not to appear too eager. He doesn't approve, after all. ]

Do you have one? A PASIV.

Nearly, yeah. I was there in either the third or fourth round when the military decided it was alright for human consumption. Someone I knew pioneered the technology and brought me in once I was old enough to enlist.

[ It'd been his goal anyway, to go into the military. Growing up he had anger issues he could never quite work through. There was also the matter of him not knowing what the fuck he wanted to do with his life. His thoughts on the US armed forces have shifted over time, but he's generally thankful for what it gave him. A more even temper and dreamshare. ]

I do. Not the latest iteration, but close.

You must owe that person much. [ Maybe Arthur works in debts and debts repayed. Maybe he doesn't. Either way, it's enough for him to press on. ]

Have you used it here, yet?

Something like that.

[ Originally it was Miles who did the theory legwork in the beginning. And then Cobb joined in with his engineering practicalities, helping to push the technology into reality. Their first efforts had been short intervals; 5 seconds, 10 seconds, slowly growing as the chemical compound was refined. It hadn't been for the military, but that's who paid the most for it. They're still keeping hold on their somewhat proprietary device, but their grip loosens year by year as the underground market expands. ]

Twice. Once to show someone how it works. The other time to check that it worked at all. Didn't trust COST's acquisitions when they gave it to me.

And the person you used it on still trusts you? [ It's an actual question, not an assumption - because even with his own knowledge, he's not sure he trusts technology like that in general. He's never been a stickler for tradition no more than any other Downworlder, although Vampires tend to cling to their own ways more - Meliorn's a fan of edm and attends raves occasionally, but that's a different time of technology.

This is something else. He visibly shudders just thinking of it. ]

It was my dream, my projections. The military funded a lot of the research, but building non-extraction dreams is still completely possible.

[ Not everything has to be about extraction. Or inception, for that matter. Yusuf's dream den was concrete proof of the matter.

(And so was whatever the Cobbs dreamed, whatever had taken Mal away). ]

We took a stroll on the beach and I built some Penrose stairs. No harm.

[ Of course it's the military. It always is - it's military, and Americans, and MEliorn is very much allowed to harp on that because he's not technically american and the Seelie army is far more superior.

In his humble (and very right) opinion. ]

One wonders if a beach has any special meaning to you, or if it's just easy to construct.

Not really. I built it from a memory, mostly because I could. It's a fairly stock build, something I use for introducing basics, if necessary.

[ It was one of his first constructs, but he's refined it over time. Technically it isn't good to build from memory, but it's more of a conglomeration of memories and information from over the years. Then again, he'd also built it before. Well. Before Mal.

Before building from memory was warned against to the highest degree. He hasn't done it since. ]

[ It's all interesting, even if he doesn't approve--and he doesn't, but it's not like Arthur would stop just because someone thinks it's dangerous. If anything, Arthur might just do more of it out of spite.

He'd make a great Shadowhunter. Maybe not the most diplomatic, but he's only met a handful of those. ]

Perhaps one day, should you be able and willing, you could show me.

Seriously?

[ He's honestly a little surprised. Ok maybe more than a little. Because everything Meliorn had been saying earlier made him think he disapproved. Like some old person stuck in his ways and resistant to change.

The fact that he wants to try it is boggling. ]

I mean, as long as we're on base, it's doable.

[ So basically in five minutes if he wanted to. ]

I don't like it and I think you're meddling in things beyond your understanding. [ It's right said right away, short and clipped as he glances over, jaw jutted out slightly as he continues. ]

However, to purposely choose not understand how something as powerful as that works would be a disservice.

[ He's not commenting on whether or not he wants to dream now. That will take time. ]

WILL YOU WALK INTO MY PARLOR—

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