Oooo, was that a seadweller?! What an interesting place for a seadweller to come – many, Psykgi was sure, were certain that everything that they did was right, and resistant to any ideas that could make them more effective leaders and more efficient top-crust parts of the great war machine of Alternian society. It was a frustration that Psykgi knew that she couldn't express, of course – trolls of all castes had the potential to be better trolls, didn't they?
Well. She should really go and encourage this one!
”Hello, hello!” she said to the... ah... rather ugly seadweller with metal arms and very intense teeth, ”And are you enjoying the journal exercise, mm?” she asked, hands behind her back and her most pleasant smile on her face. Ma'am scuttled warily nearby – seadwellers were good news and bad news and the swarm had yet to decide what this very threatening seadweller was.
Natash looked up from her journal, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her fin and taking her pen out of her mouth. She saw a redblood, and grinned widely. Finally, another person her age! So far she had seen the place was practically empty aside from the orderlies, and she was so lonely. "Hi!" she said to the swirly-symbol'd troll. "Um, well, it asked about the rebellion and I never actually met them...? So it was hard to answer very well," she said, looking at what she wrote."I'm hoping for a better journal assignment next time!" Natash said.
Her eyes wandered as she spied the white beetles crawling around. "Is that your lusus!?"she exclaimed suddenly, closing her journal and jumping up. Her eyes sparkled with delight and she grabbed the redblood's shoulder with her cold fingers. "Can I hold it? What kind of bug is it?"
Then she looked at the clock. It was almost time for her to go on to her next activity! Angel would be displeased with her if she shirked her responsibilities at the rehabilitation center. "Oh, do you wanna come with me to see the scheduled presentation? It's just in the main hall."
Wow, that was quite a grin! ”Gosh, well, you should let them know! I'm sure they'd love that sort of feedback!” Psykgi certainly noted it down for later – asking about the rebels was all fine and good, but honestly, did they not screen their prompts? Obviously a seadweller wouldn't even be approached by the rebellion unless one or both were seriously pathological in some way. It seemed very stupid.
”Why yes!” Psykgi said, surprised as the seadweller grabbed her shoulder, ”She is!” Delight was not an emotion she was used to getting from other trolls at her lusus. Disgust, terror, horror... these were all normal emotions when faced with a swarm... ”Cockroaches. They're cockroaches.” Psykgi said, happy to oblige. She picked one off her shoulder and gently guided them to Natash's metallic hand. ”And sure, you can hold her!” Psykgi said, as another roach took its perch, wiggling its antennae at the seadweller, ”And don't worry about hurting her – there's many more.” Already, she was intrigued.
”I'd be happy to come with you!” she said. She didn't work here (not yet) but it would be good to act as though she did, help out a little. Surely, they wouldn't boot her out on her a** for being helpful in getting patients to express themselves? In making them better members of Alternian society? Of making them the best they could be, inside themselves? ”Have you been here before?”
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 6:59 pm
Gnash admired the little cockroach lusus in her pink palm, patting her gently on the head with one metal finger. Oh how sweet and small she was! How jealous Gnash was! Her own lusus was a huge terrible monster, and definitely not a massive hoard of buggies! Or, well, cockroaches. But they were very similar and still very nice. She looked up in time to see the second roach climb onto the redblood's shoulder. "You have more than one? How wonderful! I collect buggies, you know. Trolls who already have them as their lusii are super lucky."
Natash grinned again. This redblood wasn't scared of her, and she had several buggies for a lusus! She was perfect friend material, and she could prove Angel wrong about the lowbloods, and show that her way really was best."Oh um, I'm Natash, but you can call me Gnash! That's what my lusus likes to call me at least," she said, sticking her tongue out briefly. It was probably to make her sound scarier, but she thought she could make it sound friendly and cute if she just said it in a friendly and cute way all the time!
"Yay!"she said when the redblood agreed to come with her. She picked up her things with one hand, and placed the cockroach lusus on top with her other. Then, she grabbed the redblood's hand and led her to the hall, talking to her as they walked. "No, I only got here a couple of nights ago! My lusus dropped me off. It's been kinda fun playing without her! Are you here as a patient?"She really hoped so, because then she'd have a friend to help her!
Gnash found a place to seat in the hall where the presentation was. Already she enjoyed the buzzing noise provided. It reminded her of nights in Four Fronds, looking for bugs! But, the images played on the screen weren't as nice. And the presenter was quietly clicking the button to make the slides go by. Still, she watched intently, focusing on the pictures. Images of Old Hemisect, which was destroyed by the rebellion, and other crime scene photos were shown. This... was kind of boring. Like a history class, but they didn't even talk about it. "Oh..."she whispered to Psygki, hoping the orderlies didn't think she was being disruptive. "Um, I thought it would be a little bit better!" It was in the main hall, which was where most of the nicer fun activities seemed to be, besides the courtyard where they could play games.
DraconicFeline
at least it wasn't a presentation they normally get strapped down for lmao
”Oh gosh! Well, She's a swarm, so I technically have one, but she's many!” Psykgi said... so many. ”Well, Natash... or Gnash... both are lovely names, by the way, so it's really up to you... I'm Psykgi, Psykgi Mentha.”
Interesting... so the seadweller's lusus had dropped her off here! Well, that was good, wasn't it? Always good when a lusus had their troll's mental health interests at heart, right? ”Oh, goodness no! I'm just a concerned Redblood who wants to see everyone be their best, right?” she walked into the presentation room and sat down next to Natash, absolutely delighted.
And she was slightly less delighted at the slides.
… Well, Psykgi wasn't sure why someone would want to show off pictures of Old Hemisect on fire and in the process of being destroyed. Well, of course, it was to paint the rebels in a terrible, horrible light, as they likely deserved, but really – Psykgi thought they might have missed the point a little... In fact, it was a little boring, all told. Ah, well, but if Dr. Resmem thought this was the way to go... Well, perhaps she had some information that Psykgi wasn't aware of. Still...
”Yeah, well...” said Psykgi, still smiling, even as she ducked to avoid a stray dodgebal... very stray, considering that they were in the main hall. Some orderlies went to deal with them, though, and Psykgi didn't worry – if she worried about every damn thing flying at her head with intent to do harm... She leaned over.
”Ooo, actually, that used to be my hive.” she whispered, pointing at the latest slide, a ruined multi-hive complex in what had been a pretty good part of Old Hemisect, ”It was a nice Hive, but all the chaos of the battle... well, it just ended up a mess.” she figured she'd make it interesting, ”My new hive is lovely, honestly, but that hive...” Psykgi smiled, remembering her bitty wigglerhood in her old hive... those had been different times, before Resmem and everything else... Somewhat boring times. ”Well, it had character. It's a shame, the way it went...” There. Infinitely more interesting than a slideshow... Psykgi watched Natash sidelong, curious to how her little story would go over...
Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
9Total: 9 (1-20)
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:13 pm
Civisect Rehab Center
Civisect Rehabilitation and Counselling Center
Name: Ganyma Callow Caste: Teal
Reason for Participation: Voluntary confession to partial mental relapse since previous rehabilitation
I accept responsibility as a participant of the Civiesect Rehabilitation and Counseling Center’s Voluntary Cognitive Restructuring Program and that my potentially limited capacity for recovery is not a reflection on the Alternian Military or its associates.
Signature:Gan
Old Hemisect was Civisect now. And the Center was more populated, more bustling. Those were the main differences. Something had picked up after the experimental opening of the center. Somehow, someone had paved the way for this success. Ganyma’s lip twitched. Maybe it was him.
He set foot in the Center for the second time, this time of his own volition. He was prepared, he was settled and clear of mind. There was no forcing him into this position – he simply couldn’t live with himself if he wasn’t straight. The ALG could wait; he would avoid another execution match with a fresh start. He would re-center himself, and come out better and stronger. He had before. This time he had another purpose: the moment in the swamp.
He would never forget it. Quiet fright and loss, but clarity. He might never see Milieu again, but she was a tealblood. Perhaps she could re-establish herself in society. The only thing Ganyma knew for certain at this point was that he would nurture what they shared. He would speak her language. And as far as he was concerned, nights weeks, or even Perigee’s in the Rehabilitation Center were worth it if he could learn in peace. Everything was too fast and too loud. Time to slow down, quietly weight train and balance. His head still rang with explosions. Loud noises made him jump and tense, his blood pusher racing, his vision spitting fire. Ganyma was the most worn down novice in the arena, and he was damn well ready for his comeback.
The tealblood slid the clipboard back to the receptionist and began his so-called “mental health journey”.
The first task was a journaling assignment, about what else but his lusus. His jaw tightened, and Ganyma began to write.
"My lusus was cross with me as a kid. I didn't have much. I felt like I always had to be someone more. Still do, but since getting in the rebellion I don't know about that any more. He lives alone now. I left him after I could take care of myself. He's happier without me he says, but I know it's because I failed. I don't know if I could have ever done better. I don't think it matters. Being against the crown... Sealed that deal. I'd take it back. Maybe not for him. But for me. For everyone I hurt."
He paused, and then gently put the pen back down.
Patient Score: 1
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12Total: 12 (1-20)
Sypon Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:27 am
Your participation in the Civiesect Rehabilitation and Counseling Center’s Voluntary Cognitive Restructuring Program is indicative of sound individual judgement, which proves promising for your ability to succeed within the Program. Comparatively, when have you shown instances of poor judgement? Were the decisions yours or the fault of another? Have you been pressured into dangerous thoughts and actions by a similarly misinformed individual?
Ganyma's short stint at the previous journal station was repeated shortly after. He already needed a break. Retying his hair into a messy tie on the top of his head, Ganyma got up to head to the ablution block.
Drones, orderlies, there was always someone watching. He casually nodded to one of the workers as he entered the stale, sanitary-smelling room. Ganyma looked at himself in the mirror and turned on the faucet, letting it run. He braced himself on the sides of the sink, splashed his face and wiped himself off. Ganyma took note of the pictures in the hallways on the way back. Drawings that hadn't been there when he had - lots of burning houses, lots of lost lusii and friends. OHC fall-out, mostly, which wasn't a surprise. The corners of his mouth twitched. He made it back to his station and sat back down.
"I trusted the rebellion. I decided to go along with a plan I didn't know anything about and I made bad choices and hurt a lot of people. I made friends with people who sold me out and then I had to hurt, too. Last time I made a bad choice was when the people I still called my friends were in trouble. But more importantly when someone I hated was trying to hurt people I liked. I turned my back again because of my emotions."
Ganyma put the pen down and went to get some juice from the nutrition block.
Psygki... that was her new friend's name! Natash tried her very best to commit it to memory, even if she wasn't a patient. They could still be friends! If she was interested in seeing everyone do their best...
She glanced up when Psygki mentioned one of the slides used to be her hive. "Oh, how horrible!"Her own hive was unaffected, for whatever reason. A little too far into the ocean maybe...? But that was so sad, that she had lost her hive because of the rebels. She frowned, and then covered her mouth self-consciously. Her frowns were very ugly, and she didn't want Psygki to think she was upset with her. Still, her story made these boring slides more interesting, putting context to the destruction! Trying to be supportive, she reached out and patted Psygki's hands. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, even if your new hive is nice! I couldn't imaging losing my hive," Gnash said cheerfully.
Activity – Tonight the folding chairs in the main hall are arranged in a wide circle. You’re planted in one of the chairs and told tonight’s activity will be about rebuilding communal ties that may have been severed via rebellious activity. You’re told to tell each other why their continued support of the empire is important to not just their physical safety, but their improvement as a person.
Soon after the slideshow presentation ended, the chairs were rearranged into a circle. Some more fun things were bound to ensue. Natash turned to the redblood and grinned. "Well, you being here to support the patients is helping the empire, right!? So that makes you a pretty good troll, I would think. You won't get culled and you're making a positive impact. Now do me! Even though you're not a patient!" She nodded sagely, eagerly awaiting some praise from the lowblood. She took a quick glance at some of the other trolls. It really was probably best to support the system that helped them the most!
Still, she couldn't help but wonder if this truly made her a better troll, to sit night after night in these chairs. Didn't Angel know she was trying her best? Gnash picked up the tiny cockroach lusus she'd been given earlier and sighed. She hadn't meant to be a rebellious child! And she did nothing but try to foster better relationships between lowbloods and highbloods, hadn't she? Crushing the bug when she thought Psygki wasn't looking, she hid the tiny body in her pink fist. She could be angry here.
DraconicFeline
hup hup after this i'll probably try and get her to connect with ganyma! an actual patient lol
purplerosesbeauty
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Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
18Total: 18 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 1:20 pm
Patient Count: 3
The chairs in the main hall are once again arranged in a circle. Someone has decorated the area with paper streamers and various Alternian flags and military crests pasted along the walls. Tonight everyone is to discuss ways in which Alternia is not only great, but how its greatness may be increased through the efforts of its people. There is a tray of pink and green frosted sugar cookies available to those who have particularly good points.
This time, Ganyma mostly listened. He sat back in his plastic chair with his arms crossed against his chest - not defensive, just the most comfortable position. He wasn't particularly feeling patriotic, but at the same time the discourse in the hall was somehow inspiring. From his view, it seemed that all trolls in the room wanted to make a difference. They spoke up with their concerns and were rebutted with confident views and suggestions. He was impressed.
Ganyma did offer some sympathy to a troll who had lost it all during Old Hemisect. "Hey, man... I'm real sorry. We gotta, as Alternian people, pull together. This stuff can't happen. Transparency 'n helpin' people like you an' me pull together towards a same goal. I think is what we need..."
He was given a cookie. Ganyma placed it on a napkin and put it in his lap. After the meeting, he wasn't sure what to do with it.
The announcement system pinged. "Ganyma Callow to 34B. Ganyma.... Callow.... to 34B." Curious. Ganyma considered what could possibly be asked of him so early in his rehabilitation. Had he broken a rule? Did he need to eat this cookie?
He wanted to move, but looking down at the cookie on his lap he found himself hesitant. In his experience, unexpected meetings with higher ups in sanitary spaces was not necessarily a good thing. Fortunately, though, the blocks in the B unit typically denoted visitor or meeting spaces. They weren't shipping him off to solitary or something fun like that. Ganyma picked up his cookie, got out of his chair and took a bite out of the pink frosting. His nose scrunched up as he tried to swallow the very dry, chalky texture. Discarding the remainder in a trash receptacle, Ganyma headed out.
30B, 31B, 32B, 33B. Here we go. He opened to door to see what could possibly be inside...
Hivestuck
owo
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:43 pm
The door opened to a fairly plain office. There was a desk placed in front of a window, and two high-backed chairs positioned facing the desk. The ocean could ever-so-slightly be glimpsed out the window between the buildings of Civisect.
”Ah, there he is. Very good to see you Mr. Callow!”
To the right of the door was Dr. Resmem herself, standing next to a filing cabinet and picking through one of the drawers. She positioned the file she’d pulled into her left hand and extended her right in greeting to Ganyma.
”Pleased to make your acquaintance, personally, that is. You’re a familiar face around these parts.” She gave Ganyma a wry smile and tapped her free hand against her file, indicating it was none other than Ganyma’s. ”That’s what I called you here to speak with you about, naturally.”
Resmem tilted her head like a curious bird. Her glasses glinted under the fluorescent lighting. She continued to smile pleasantly.
”Oho, you’re not in any trouble, of course. Trust me you’d know as much if such was the case. No, you’ve been doing quite well under the Center’s watchful eye. However! However, that’s very much the point. As your treatment progresses you will—ideally—no longer be required to meet with us under our roof. While your complete return to full societal immersion is our goal, we’ve prepared steps to make the transition more… gradual.”
Resmem drifted over to one of the wingback chairs and laid her hand on its side. ”To that end, the Civisect Rehabilitation and Counseling Center has arranged a respected member of the community to check in with you at regular intervals as you readjust to your normal life. Consider them your personal social safety net.”
A troll stood up from the chair beside Resmem, turning to face Ganyma.
”I suppose that’s my cue to introduce myself, isn’t it? Sorry for not saying anything earlier. I didn’t want to interrupt. My name is Sinter Heilig. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Sypon
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 9:24 pm
Ganyma might have fainted had he not known that Sinter was alive. The mere sight of the redblood was like seeing a phantom, appearing prim and well-groomed in front of him like a ghost of his checkered past to trick him to some horrible demise. His jaw dropped open slightly, and after a few double-takes – from Resmem, to Sinter, back to Resmem again – Ganyma finally remembered his manners.
However, he could simply not remember what to say. “Sinter! I…! Hello! I’m – you’re alive! I’m seeing you again!” He coughed out. Immediately, Ganyma’s face flushed teal. He had spent so long preparing what he was planning to say to this individual who had impacted him in his childhood – and then had disappeared. He didn’t know him at all. Sinter didn’t even know he was a part of the Old Hemisect Battle – or did he? What had Resmem told him? He fretted. For the first time, Ganyma felt such embarrassment in meeting someone new that he could hardly look at him. Instead, he idly fidgeted with his fingers. “I’m, uh… I’m Ganyma. I mean, you know that.” Ganyma winced and screwed his eyes shut. He did it again!!
With a quiet exhale, the large troll cupped his hands together and straightened his back. “Sorry! About that. I just, uh… We met previously! During Bloodfest, a long time ago. You probably don’t remember.” Ganyma flushed hot teal and scratched at the side of his face. He promptly remembered to thrust his hand out to give Sinter a handshake, eyes occasionally flicking to Resmem for approval.
Hivestuck
seekingCylem
idk if i should just quote the mule or Hwat
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 9:40 pm
Sinter didn’t know how to react. Thankfully for him at least, Ganyma seemed to have been handling it even worse. Sinter took the opportunity to calm himself and smooth out his jacket while Ganyma stammered. At the offered handshake, Sinter’s eyebrows raised and his expression relaxed considerably.
”Ah! I thought- I didn’t want to assume, but yes. Yes, I remember you.” Sinter accepted Ganyma’s handshake with both hands and smiled warmly. ”Granted I doubt I would have recognized you on the street, though. You’ve grown quite…” Sinter’s eyes widened, ”Tall. You, um. We were both kids after all.” Sinter released Ganyma’s hands, sweating slightly from the quick recovery.
Resmem continued smiling off to the side, but made no move to interject. She was quite content letting the boys flounder in their small talk.
”Um… As I understand it, I’ll be checking in with you regularly to make sure that you’re continuing to, um, feel alright after your stay here at the rehab center. We can set up specific d-dates and locations later or whenever you’re comfortable. I live out in Chittentown myself, but I’m not averse to travelling as long as you don’t live up on the peaks of Busthind, or, or the middle of the swamp or something.” Sinter chuckled uneasily. ”G-Good thing you’re not a seadweller, right?”
Ganyma put his hands in his back pocket. “That sounds good… Yeah, this’ll be good. It’ll be nice to have someone to talk about all of this crazy stuff, uh…”
He trailed off and a pleasant thought occurred to him. Perhaps this would be the perfect opportunity after all. Since discovering Sinter’s identity at Rasali’s, he’d been meaning to meet with him… But when? How? What would they talk about? This was clearly the best solution to all of his problems. So long as Sinter knew about the whole treason thing. Ganyma would bring that up later, he decided. Less out of practicality and more out of continuing the (now slightly more pleasant) discussion they seemed to be having.
“Oh, uh! No, I’m in Four Fronds. We can go wherever. I uh, I actually work as a gladiaterror in training, uh. Gotta check in with Traian to see if I’m still on the books or if I need to, uh…” Ganyma fumbled around with his pockets. He didn’t bother to finish the “complete another execution trial” part of the sentence, fortunately. It simply slipped his mind. Ganyma procured his wallet from his back pocket and opened it up. “Yeah! Here’s my card. Little flashy but, uh, what can you do.”
The card was a plain business card on the front. “The Mercurial Wall” was written in black and teal font, with smaller font underneath claiming Ganyma’s modest rank and Four Fronds address. The back boasted a beauty shot image of Ganyma in his wrestling gear. “That’s me if you’ve ever seen me in a fight. I don’t have headliners or nothin’, I’m a low ranker right now.” He smiled. The fond talk of his job brought warmth into his eyes.
“But, uh…” He paused and his grin broadened. “I’m real happy to have someone helpin’ me through this.”
