Ganyma seemed to be taking this all in stride, which helped to ease Sinter’s nerves. He perked up at the mention of gladiaterror training. ”Really, now! That’s very impressive.” He resisted the urge to add “and not surprising.” He took a moment to admire the slick design of the business card before flipping it over to view the other side.
Sinter’s face (and bloodpusher) froze at the image of Ganyma in his ring gear. Very carefully he tucked the card into his breast pocket and unclenched his mouth. ”Aha… I’m afraid I don’t carry business cards of my own. I really should start… But the center should put the two of us in contact soon enough.”
Ganyma seemed nice. As nice as Sinter remembered him, even. Sinter expected the warm feeling in his face to dissipate, but it never did.
”And I’m happy to help. As far as government assignments go, this really seems to be the most pleasant I’ve encountered. I’ve been considering visiting Four Fronds—to see it at least once. It’s nice to have an excuse to make a proper trip of it.” Sinter’s smile came easily.
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 11:23 pm
Any awkwardness was entirely missed by Ganyma. He chuckled cordially, his shoulders finally loosening as the tension started to slip. That embarrassment earlier must have clearly been a flub. Maybe it was just coming off of that terrible cookie that caused him to sputter so badly…
“That sounds okay.” Ganyma agreed. “Any, uh, paperwork? Or something? I guess you’ll probably just let me know, huh?” He asked Resmem. As imperceptive as he was, something told Ganyma that they had his number and his whereabouts. He wouldn’t be in danger of missing an appointment with Sinter. Nor did he want to! Ganyma pocketed his wallet.
“Ohh. Yeah, it’s a beaut, but, uh… A bit… Reconstruction-y now that there was that big Spaceship Accident. Don’t know if you heard about that or nothin’. But!! I know some nice places in the area that weren’t rubbled as bad.”
Ganyma had only vaguely heard from Rasali via telephone. She had to move, but she couldn’t talk – even when he had offered to help. The thought made the corners of his mouth sag, but he soon picked up a bit when he had a realization. “Hey, but in the meantime I’ll show you around! Have you had a tour?” He offered. “Then you can split if you’re real busy. Dr. Resmem, that seem okay?”
seekingCylem
Sypon Vice Captain
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Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-20)
Sypon Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:00 am
Patient Count: 5
((Oops I posted this too early. I'm going to take the roll but post the RP after Sinter gives a response, especially because it's one of the Visitor "off-limits" ones.))
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:48 pm
”Of course, of course. It’s our job to be up-to-date with your circumstances after all, Mr. Callow.” Resmem replied. ”We will be sure to provide you with Mr. Heilig’s contact information upon your dismissal from the inpatient program.”
Sinter gave a slow nod to Resmem’s information. To say they were on top of things around there was something of an understatement, especially when he’d never given them his contact information to begin with. It appeared the center had access to the files of all those involved with the Old Hemisect to Civisect transition… or whatever it was they were calling it. The clinical-yet-chipper atmosphere of the building made Sinter a little afraid to ask.
Four Fronds was a more pleasant subject to focus on. ”It’s still difficult to believe that even happened.” Of course he’d heard his fair share of intel from Tamiya, least of all the other agents in the field. The memory of his call from the former was still enough to make his skin crawl. Ganyma seemed upbeat considering he lived in the area, which gave Sinter some solace.
”Um, that sounds ni-” ”Ah, Mr. Callow. I believe you’re scheduled for a presentation in the theater tonight. Wouldn’t want to miss the previews!” Resmem rolled down the papers she’d had flipped over the back of a clipboard. Sinter looked too confused to be properly indignant. Resmem paid him no mind.
”Mr. Heilig will be in touch with you soon enough. I’m pleased to see the two of you are already hitting it off. I have high hopes for your recovery! In that vein, I’d hate for you to be late to your next appointment. I’ll go over the details of Mr. Heilig’s assignment in the meantime. See you soon, Mr. Callow.”
Resmem strode behind the desk to lay out her papers. Sinter gave Ganyma a small smile over his shoulder, apologetic that he wouldn’t be accompanying him on a tour. However, there appeared to be business to attend to. He turned back to Dr. Resmem.
“Yeah…” Gan frowned. Now wasn’t the time for memories to come rushing back. He adjusted his sweatshirt and looked up with anticipation when Sinter spoke next, but found the conversation soundly rerouted by Dr. Resmem herself.
“Oh! Yes, of course… I hope it’s one of the happier ones,” he exclaimed. The theatre was new in the center from his previous stay – before they just had projection screens akin to some kind of odd shadow puppetry. He wasn’t sure if he should be excited or not.
“Well…! I, ah… It’s really great to meet you, Sinter! I’ll talk to you soon, I’m sure.” He smiled. Ganyma walked forward to shake hands with Sinter, which ended up turning into a classic Ganyma hug. After the brief moment, he stepped back and gave a quick wave before excusing himself.
Ganyma was walking on air. He left Resmem and Sinter and left to be on his own… With the other orderlies, of course. Ganyma didn’t even notice the theatre’s seatbelts until they were secured around his waist. He was lashed down. Ganyma’s blood pusher began to rise, and by the end of the emotionally whip-lashing film he was in a completely nervous state of shock. Even the door to his own temporary block made him jump when he closed it, and in returning to his own ways he had to obscure his face to calm down. Happy place, happy place… Think about Luxara and the moonlit treetops, think about Rasali and the warmth of the hot springs, think about… Sinter.
seekingCylem
Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
20Total: 20 (1-20)
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:52 pm
Patient Count: 6
Today there were no activities scheduled for Ganyma, shockingly. He could really dig into his studies. Visiting the sparse library for patients resulted in a surprisingly lucky find: as it turned out, there was quite a need for Alternian Sign Language studies with the destruction of Old Hemisect. Enough influential trolls had signed off on pamphlets instructing communication with the language, and while there were very few copies in circulation on the planet for once in his life Ganyma was in the right place at the right time. So, he'd begun to learn. Slowly - surely. He wasn't quite quick, but Ganyma was nearly a professional of memorization. Day after day he spent his free time exercising and carefully studying the signs. It was restful, really... After his experience in the theatre and the constant discernment of the atmosphere he felt as though the study gave him some direction. He just hoped he could see Milieu again. If not, perhaps he could translate for some of the less fortunate patients in the clinic. Old Hemisect had done a number on lowbloods who seemed to be permanently institutionalized for their lack of hearing. Ganyma tried to keep the thought out of his head and kept studying.
After a while, he stuffed the pamphlet into his back pocket and went for a brief jog around the recreational area. From the basketball court he could barely hear a tinny speaker in the distance: "Ganyma Callow to Dr. Resmem's Office."
Psykgi smiled at the cold metal tapping her skin. ”Thank you!” she said, honestly grateful for the sentiment. Imagining it was not quite as bad as living it, but it was probably pretty bad. She was about to tell Gnash to not imagine it too hard, because really seadwellers weren't supposed to have empathy for a rustblood like her, but she stopped herself. Actually, that sympathy – for a OHC dweller – was good. It meant that she would be less likely to sympathize with its destroyers. Which was the point of Gnash's visit, wasn't it?
Although not a patient, Psykgi joined the circle and listened to Gnash's praise. ”Thank you!” she said. It was always nice to be appreciated, especially when so many trolls considered what was done here to be 'weird' or 'bunk'. So of course she would give her something in return.
”You just being here, right now, is helping the empire!” Psykgi said enthusiastically, ”You're balancing your mind early, rooting out dissent before it even becomes an issue, and I know that that's hard, and I appreciate all the work that you're doing here.” she put a hand on one of Gnash's robotic limbs – ignoring the red ichor that seeped, hidden, nearby. That was okay – there were always more of Ma'am. ”Coming here, being a patient... well gosh, you are setting such an excellent example for all of us - an inspiration to us all - and it improves us all! Which helps the empire oh so much!”
Quote:
You just so happen to read the charts of a patient as you pass by a vacated counter. Who knew “Penchant for garish, mismatched socks” was a symptom of rebellious thought patterns?
Not that she always agreed with some of the diagnoses they made here, but it was a new field. If they felt that garish mismatched socks were a symptom of rebelliousness, then she'd let the center test that theory, at least until a Juggalo insisted - in some typically strong or bloody way - that they were a symptom of capriciousness...
Natash kicked her legs excitedly as Psygki spoke. Praise was so nice! She could probably get more, especially if more people thought the way this troll did, and less like Angel. Anything that was not like Angel, really. "You really think that?" she asked, still a bit unsure. There was a chance she was lying, but she didn't want to believe that, especially here where everyone was supposed to be honest! That was how you got treats and extra play time, at least.
And now, it was time for her to do some arts and crafts! She stood up and wiped the remains on the cockroach on her swim dress. "Time for the next activity, if you still want to come! It's a drawing thing, about um, places." Nailed it.
She did enjoy the art projects, even though she sometimes had bad control over her arms and would break the crayons into tiny pieces or got too much paint on her stuff, and couldn't do very fine details usually. She wasn't very good at drawing maps, but she thought of something like that! When she thought of places that made her lusus say she should come to the rehab center, she thought of her hive first. She drew the large underwater room where she lost her arms, and drew a little doodle of a stick-child with no arms and a sad face and an angry fish looking thing, and put a lot of pink and purple in it with the crayons. Not a very good map, but they probably wouldn't be going there or anything.
]
She thought of other places, where her lusus would get really mad at her. Gnash drew a little street, where a little Gnash doodle was smiling at a weird yellow blob (maybe it was supposed to be a troll too?). Her lusus always hated when she tried to make friends with lowbloods. She added some yellow to the white fish thing that was supposed to be her lusus.
Gnash frowned. She didn't think she enjoyed this kind of art. At all. She broke the yellow crayon in her hand, and stood up. She picked up her two drawings and started to tear them apart. Her hands shook but she was firm, scowling and angry."I don't wanna do this anymore!" she wailed, throwing the pieces of her drawings. She kicked over her chair, and knocked all her crayons to the floor. The purpleblood knew she'd get in trouble, but she didn't care. Angel wasn't here and they couldn't do anything worse to her.
”Of course I do!” said Psykgi encouragingly. She rarely lied, and she wasn't even embellishing the truth – true inspiration came from the top, and that only happened if the higher castes addressed and balanced their minds. It was good of course to fix the deviations of the lower castes, but if highbloods were aided by the rehabilitation center... why, that would trickle down the castes and that could only help everyone. ”You're really inspiring!”
”Sure!” Psykgi was all too happy to come along! She wanted to help this seadweller with her patient activities... and make her own independent assessments. That was how one learned any craft, let alone the art of the mind. Art wasn't her thing, though – it was more Azrael's thing. Psykgi made a doodle of her own, or she tried to – she had some trouble doing activities like this herself. Truth be told, she was putting more effort into looking at other people's works and analysing them... like Natash's, for instance.
Natash's art was very interesting. Psykgi didn't even bother to pretend she wasn't interested – she'd tried that before, and it just hadn't worked. Deception was all well and good, but she was just too interested in other trolls... she figured, long ago, that she might as well not hide it. Pretty it up a little, cloak it in niceties and go about it in a roundabout way... but not hide it. Why should she hide who she was?
And, it seemed, that Natash had many things deep down. Psykgi watched her draw with interest, keeping out of the way, of course, but maintaining an encouraging, interested grin. It was good that Natash was doing this. It was good that Psykgi was watching, it was...
Psykgi frowned, briefly and sympathetically, as Natash broke her crayon and began to fuss. ”Natash, is everything all...?” she began, her eyes bright and eager and searching, though her expression was schooled into something concerned, something caring and open and friendly. But the seadweller had stormed out, leaving a broken crayon and the scraps of her very interesting drawing behind.
With a quick glance to the orderlies – who were discussing a very interesting picture on the other side of the circle, having only been momentarily distracted by the rampage – Psykgi carefully picked up the pieces of the pictures and folded them into a little makeshift envelope with her own meaningless doodle. She looked at the door again, thoughtfully. That had been interesting... she would have to talk to the seadweller again, at some point in the future...
Quote:
The Center’s designated dining block is small and sterile. The apple juice is watery and the cookies are frosted with white and pastel icing in the form of Alternian fauna and flora.
For the moment, though, Psykgi decided to retreat to the dining block to fill her stomach. She picked up some weak juice and weaker food and offered some to her lusus, who was not picky. Ma'am ate most things, though the swarm did like fruit based things. A puddle of spilled juice on the floor caught their attention, and Psykgi watched the feeding idly, sipping her juice.
Finally, hunger somewhat attended to, she took a look at the scraps of paper – not putting them together, not yet, though she would certainly do that. However, she needed a safer place than this dining block to do it, and tape... both things in relative abundance at her hive.
She finished off her lunch and then stretched. She was reluctant to leave so soon, but there were errands she had to run, so she left the rehab center for the time being...
But she would be back. She was always happy to come back.
”Nice to see you again,” Dr. Resmem spoke as soon as the door to her office was opened. At least she had the decency not to say “Long time, no see.”
Resmem’s personal office was different than the one she used with “official” meetings—usually those dealing with trolls not enrolled in rehabilitation programs. This must have been a small enough issue for her to have not prepared a separate meeting place.
This office was much darker than the others in terms of paint color and furniture varnish, the room was a deep brown. The potted plants (not fake) added some much-needed liveliness to the otherwise oppressive atmosphere. Perhaps medical professionals like Dr. Resmem found antique medical diagrams to be charming wall décor?
Resmem looked up from the numbers she was logging into her husktop and shut the lid gently.
”I’ll do my best not to take any more of your precious time than I already have.” The desk lamp by Resmem’s arm was the only noteworthy light source in the room, which was causing her horns to cast deep shadows across her face.
”I’ve procured Mr. Heilig’s contact information for you.” She used the tips of her left hand’s fingers to push a note card towards the edge of her desk. In narrow, blue pen strokes it detailed Sinter’s address, phone number, and even the specific hex color of his blood. “Tamiya Aiguma” was listed beside a label indicating them as Sinter’s moirail and emergency contact.
”A bright young man, that one. The picture of an upstanding lowblood youth. Do go easy on that one. Types like him are in short supply.”
Resmem was speaking offhandedly as she turned her attention back to a pad of notepaper.
"Ah!" Ganyma mumbled. He retrieved the note card from Resmem, a bit of a stutter on his lips. He couldn't forget about his newest contact. Resmem excused him, and Ganyma dipped his head in thanks. "Have a good day, Doctor. Thank you."
He walked out of the room and smiled, tucking the note in his back pocket. He was scheduled for (ironically) the same film he'd watched the last time that Sinter had visited. If he knew better he might suspect that the Rehab Center was trying to condition him -- but, Ganyma simply braced himself for the film to come and thought of Sinter through it. Any change in routine meant something to look forward to - and this particular thing was a refreshing one.
So, he speculated. Thought, practiced his signs the best he could when his hands were strapped down. He just wanted to be back in his room.
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Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-20)
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:10 pm
Patient Count: 8
(What the ******** this is the 4th time I've gotten a 4)
By this point, Ganyma had practically memorized the content of the propaganda film. He sat quietly, looking dazed at the screen, practically desensitized to the flashing mutant colors and horrors that occasionally popped up for sheer shock value. It was old hat - but was it working? Ganyma hadn't realized that Byakko herself was a mutant. Mutants were...
Untrustworthy troublemakers at best, and hateful abominations at worst. He couldn't support the Phoenix Initiative before, and he especially couldn't now. It was just too much to deal with. The OHC conflict with this information seemed to come into perspective and further solidified his views. The war shouldn't have happened. They didn't even know who they were fighting it for.
When he left the theatre, Ganyma immediately headed to his room to practice signing, only leaving to grab a tray of whatever grain product they were serving in the nutrition block.
She'd ignored her one friend here already, in favor of returning to the main hall. She found they were playing the same slideshow about the old hemisect city that got bombed, and she thought of the redblood's hive, which was one of the pictures. She held her knees and she curled into the chair. It wasn't a particularly comfortable position, but who cared. Natash closed her eyes and listened to the droning buzz that played underneath, letting it clear her mind.
She was allowed to get angry here, but she probably shouldn't throw so many fits. They wouldn't hurt her because of her blood status and willing admission to the facility, probably... but, she wanted to make friends, and no one liked ugly deformed looking seadwellers who were pathetic and mean.
Gnash opened her eyes in time to see the presentation had finally ended. She stayed in her chair, fiddling with her anklets and chipping painted toenails. The next event would be soon enough.
purplerosesbeauty
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Sypon rolled 1 20-sided dice:
20Total: 20 (1-20)
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:49 pm
Patient Count: 9
Ganyma met with Resmem again. The meeting was less tense than his previous ones (he'd acclimated to her nature and the center was practically his second hive). His experiences with Sinter had been wonderful so far - and he was quick to report this. Everything was going according to plan. Whether it was her plan or not, it was warming up the tealblood quickly to society. Here was a troll following the rules who was by no means dangerous but had a knack for advancement. He was realistic but had ideals, and his ambition was clear. Ganyma envied his nature. At the rehabilitation center he'd identified how much he overcorrected in his affiliations... But Ganyma was still at a loss as to his direction. Hopefully this younger redblood would give him some guidance. He'd allow it at least for now. Since Sinter was so nice, and all - not to mention it was his job right now.
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