aterat | Story Event

Entry tags:

Story Event - Nomes

Who; Mono and anyone! Open to all!
What; A Network Story and a Log for the event!
Where; All around Aterat!
When; Early August
Warnings; None to start, but if something comes up I will update.
Note; So I'm thinking this could provide some options. The network could be a fun chat story time, the log for after-story experience, or we could mix it up and people could reach out to Mono via the network if they come across Nomes and the log doesn't grab you. You are also totally welcome to do your own thing with Nomes if you want. Also if you want something personal written up, I’m happy to do so! My plotting post is over here

The Mystery of Nomes - Network Video - Open

[ Mono is not known for doing posts on the network on his own unless it’s strictly necessary. Not that he’s anti-social or anything, it’s just that the static feedback caused by his own abilities gets annoying and a bit hard to explain.

However, here he is with a slightly confused little scrunch of his nose. ]

Anyone ever hear of Nomes before? They’re these little things in my world, at least I think so. They’re a little smaller than me, and they got pointed hats that cover their faces… Kinda like those funny capped mushrooms you see sometimes? Or those hats they make kids wear in school when they do bad, I guess.

Um… Anyway, you see them in pictures and stuff around the pale city. But… I think I saw one once, maybe? It’s kinda fuzzy. I think it happened before a long time ago-

[ By which, the boy means a long time ago. Which is odd coming from someone who looks to only be about 12 at best now. But Mono is far older than he looks, and there are so many cycles he’s been through. ]

Back when I was exploring the hunter’s cabin, there was this little guy that hurried out of a drawer I had pulled out. It was really surprising, ‘cause of all the other stuff I saw in the cabin... So I followed it up to a different part of the attic. It made a funny almost squeaking sound. Seemed really scared, but I guess that’s fair since being little is scary sometimes and I’m bigger than them.

Its shadow was kinda weird, though. 'Cause didn’t match the shape of the nome, right? But other than that, it looked just like the picture I saw! Guess you don’t see shadows in drawn pictures unless someone draws them though, so that makes sense.

I dunno if it really happened or not, could’ve just been a dream too, I guess.

[ And the boy falls silent, tugging the brim of his cap a little lower and rubbing at an eye with a sleepy little yawn. ]

Dunno why I remembered them now… But I guess I was just thinking about stuff.

You get Nomes! And you get some Nomes! Nomes for everybody! - Log - Open

Mono hadn’t thought much beyond the weird need to share the story about the Nomes on the network. He put the tell-phone away, took a nap, and then tugged on his mail-carrier cap and grabbed the bag he used to carry the messages for work to head out the door. The boy almost misses the raspy squeak coming from somewhere in his bedroom, but maybe it’s one of the cats… They make funny sounds sometimes!

Plus, he doesn’t want to be late to the delivery service, so he glanced over his shoulder curiously but kept walking. Mono did stop long enough to grab the little lunch Ignis usually had packed on the kitchen counter before hurrying out the door for the day.

What he hadn’t expected, perhaps what no one expected, was that the day would entail far more than carrying mail. Either interrupted by texts asking more questions about the nomes for good reason, or being stopped on the street when someone recognized him and needed help with their newfound guests. “Huh? What do you mean you saw one? They aren’t here, they might not even be real in my world??” He started, but stopped when he realized this was Aterat and just about anything seemed possible here…

So colour the boy curious as he eagerly hurried to follow and see.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Were you now..." how curious indeed. "Do you think you summoned them?" It wouldn't be the first time Aterat had decided to bring things from someone's world to this place. Was that the game this time? Tell a story and summon what you were talking about? That would fit with everything.

"Towards the movie theater." Because why wouldn't Dummruut go off towards that place and try to make everything more difficult for them both? "They're not allowed to make friends." That seemed like it would be a disaster. Unless...unless it meant that it distracted them...

Wait maybe this could be a good thing.

"Are these nomes good friends?"

Summon them? Mono shook his head, though his tone was a little uncertain. “I never summoned nothing before, and I don’t think that’s something the other me could do either?” So the boy is reasonably sure he didn’t do it on his own if he had something to do with it. “So if my story did, then it must be something weird going on here again?” It had been a while, and that seemed pretty likely. “Talking about it was weird in the first place, since I still don’t like using the tell-phones much, it kinda seemed like I had to?”

The movie theater… At least he remembered where that was, even if he hadn’t really been there since the movie night. “They’re not? I think they’re okay friends, as long as you don’t let ‘em do stuff they’re bad at doing.” Which, to be fair, was a lot of things to Mono’s knowledge. “And I dunno about the nomes being good friends. I only met the one I think… But maybe? It could’ve gotten me into a lot of trouble at the hunter’s lodge if it let him know I was there. So they’re not mean or anything.” Mono couldn’t remember any art or pictures of them doing bad stuff either, not like the porcelain bullies around the school.

“So I think they’re probably okay friends, better than some people even, I bet…” He ended with a little frown. Honestly, both the imps and the nomes seemed like okay options for friends. At least they didn’t go dropping you into an abyss and abandoning you. “Maybe Dumb rot wanted to show it all the snacks. They were pretty good at picking out snacks at the movie night.”

"They've taken things from people's homes in the past. I still remember the creature that was like the Demon Bear from my world." Maybe this was something like that? She frowned and sighed. "Had to? So it was a compulsion to tell that story..." How weird. "Then this place must have summoned or created them based on that. But why?" It was a question more to herself than to him. Why would anyone want to force people to tell stories and then make them real?

"Which is almost everything." If he wasn't going to say it, she was. "Then at least they won't be worse influences on them." Could anything really make one of the imps worse? If anything they might be a terrible influence on the poor nomes. All she could hope was that Dummruut wasn't trying to teach the nomes how to destroy things. Or how to make things, which would be about the same as destroy for them.

"Snacks! That's probably exactly where they've gone, to get food." Curse them. "Do you want to come look for them with me?"

Ohhh… Mono thinks he heard about the bear before from a few people, so maybe it was a little like that after all. On the one hand, he was kind of excited to know that the Nomes really were here. He wanted to see one again! But… On the other hand, there were a lot of other scary things from his and other people’s worlds that could be a problem. “Yeah, it was like something in my head felt kinda funny till I told it.” He tilted his head slightly. Why would something in this world want to do that in the first place, though? “I dunno… Maybe this world thinks it needs more kinds of creatures like it needs more people?” There didn’t seem like there were many things aside from some of the creatures in the sewers or the chocobos… And normalish animals, of course, but they seemed logical to have around.

Although doing it this way meant there could be a lot more bad ones, instead of just harmless things like Nomes.

Mono had definitely been trying to be slightly nicer about the Imps… But he couldn’t deny that it was right. At least they couldn’t get into too much trouble, though, if they were just getting food… right? No, Mono does not know the full level of shenanigans they got up to recently during the wish situation… Her question is met with a solid, enthusiastic nod, though. “Yeah!! I always wanted to see nomes again for real if I could, and since I kinda told the story, I should make sure they’re okay while they’re here!”

"Mind control of some sort maybe..." her nose scrunched up in slight irritation at that thought. Nobody got into her mind unless she wanted them to. "Or a compulsion." Both were similar enough to each other to make her more than just mildly irritated. Sometimes this place really got on her last nerve. "Wouldn't they want productive creatures, not these things and whatever else someone might tell a story about?" Everything to her pointed more towards the idea that they'd screwed something up again.

Illyana would insist that the imps didn't need nice things said about them. Despite their seeming incompetence they actually had strangely large egos. "Then lets get going." She started walking in the direction that her imp had gone in, towards the movie theater "I'd teleport us but I don't want to miss it." Who knows what mischief they might be getting up to before getting to the theater?

“Neither of those sound good.” He mumbled, shaking his head a bit. “It definitely felt weird. I’m just glad I talked about nomes instead of other stuff.” Because that would have had the potential for some very bad situations for Aterat… And Mono really didn’t want the bad stuff from his world making things bad here, too. “Maybe creatures don’t gotta be productive? I don’t think the stuff in the sewers is productive either. It might just wanna have more creatures in general?” Or maybe they were hoping for something very specific, but it couldn’t just make those ones happen. Maybe it just had to hope it came across someone telling the story about the right one?

It was probably for the better that Illyana didn’t insist. Mono could be very stubborn after all.. And he liked the imps! But the nomes were also a point of concern, because who knew what both imps and nomes would get into together! “Yeah, if we just teleport ahead of them and they see us coming, they might go another way.” Because if the Imp thought they were going to spoil the fun, he could see the imp changing plans.

At least it shouldn’t be too hard to spot an imp and a nome. Neither of them blended in with people very well!

"They're not. Anywhere else and I'd be able to protect myself from things like that." People only got into her mind when she allowed them to. Alas, it seemed ineffective on the powers that existed here, much to her eternal frustration. "True enough. You only summoned something minorly inconvenient." She couldn't deny the fact that it would have been a lot worse if he'd told a story of the tall man he'd spoken about.. There was so much she didn't know about his abilities that it made her a bit uncertain about her confidence in winning against him. Not that she wasn't confidant in her own abilities, it was more so that she was less confidant in the unknown.

"I guess we'll see if they stick around." Or if they leave like so many things did.

The closer they got to the theater the more obvious it became that something had come through this area. Flowers had been dug up and tossed on the side, a few buildings seemingly had been drawn on with strange demonic symbols, and fruit had been tossed at both buildings and the ground. "They've been this way." Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the mess.

"I'm not cleaning this up."

One day, they were going to have to talk a little more about the man, if only because it might help him refine his own abilities and… Well, it wasn’t bad to know more about a potential problem down the line. Mono didn’t want to ever see the day that it was a problem, but it couldn’t be denied that it might one day. Either if he had another weird trip back to his world and then back here, or that odd reflection in certain mirrors. He tried to not think about either of those options, though.

“I wouldn’t mind if they stuck around. They’re kinda cute.” And it was nice to think there might be more creatures that weren’t dangerous or scary. Like chocobos! … Only he did still try to exercise a healthy amount of respect and caution around something that much larger than him.

Mono eyed the messes as they passed them. It was definitely imp-handiwork at it’s finest… And probably a little nome assistance thrown in if it was trying to learn from its new best friend. The boy hoped not, as much as he liked the imps… He didn’t think they’d make good teachers.

“I guess I could later. I don’t think the imps are good at cleaning up.” Probably doubly so if it’s their own messes.

One day. Illyana was so content to not talk about things herself that it often ended up spreading to others as well. She was terrible at asking questions, particularly when it came to things that could be relatable to her. That man and the darkness surrounding it was something she could relate to, it was also something she wanted to know more about. Yet at the same time she was also mildly afraid of it hitting too close to home. Or that she'd ask the wrong question and make things worse for him. It really was so much more complicated to have a soul.

"Do they do anything useful?" She was tempted to throw out a 'more useful than the imps' but she at least kept that to herself.

"They're cleaning it. I'll make sure of it. Maybe your nomes could help." She sighed as they reached the theater and then out of the corner of her eye she spotted something moving quickly. It had a little pointed head and was seemingly being followed quickly by an imp that might have been attempting to chase it down.

"Is that them?"

That largely depends on what Illyana considered useful, really. Even Mono has to think about it before he answers, because they just seemed like funny little guys to him, more than anything, and that seemed like enough in a world of horrors. But he looked up quickly with a slightly tilted, but eager, smile. “Yeah! The one I think I met lead me to a hat after I played with it a bit. It looked just like the one it wore!” That’s totally useful, in his opinion, because you never turned down a new hat.

“Maybe? Nothing ever really gets cleaned where I’m from, they might not know how.” But he would help the imps himself if it came down to it, because that just seemed like the right thing to do to him.

He looked over in the direction Illyana was looking curiously. “That’s gotta be them! That looks like kinda nome I saw!!” and the boy takes off a little run himself, because he wants to catch up before they disappear into a crowd or something. Illyana would have to follow, though it probably isn’t hard for her.

"A hat, oh boy," she said with a tiny chuckle. Had it been anyone else at all that had said that, Illyana's tone would have been full of sarcasm. Not Mono though. With him her tone was teasing, but not sarcastic or cruel. More amused than anything at all. "Think they'll find us some hats here? I could use a new one." It wouldn't really be a new one, more like her first and only one. But he didn't need to know that part, right?

Illyana chased after him as they approached the nome and her missing imp who was dancing on the side and pointing forward towards the direction of the snack stand.

"Snacks for us, snacks for both, show you snacks!" It chanted in what was evidently supposed to be a song. At least it had a sing-song edge to it's voice. Illyana looked at it with a deadpan expression and then at the nome that looked as though it was contemplating if it should run or not.

"You want to get the nome...snacks?" wait, had it actually intended to show the nome a movie with snacks? That was...pretty harmless.

“Maybe!” He agreed, since they really didn’t know what the nomes were going to do around here. Maybe they did know where hats were, and maybe they’d share if they were nice to them. He titled his head slightly. “I dunno if I ever saw you wear a hat before, so it could be your first hat.” Because yes, the boy was observant enough to comment on that. “You could use a really cool hat, right?” What kind of hat would Illyana look cool with, he wondered, getting a little off track with his current line of thought? He just… really liked hats.

He drew to a halt, skidding a little since he’d been running so fast, as they came upon the imp and nome. His expression curious and just slightly skeptical at the funny almost song it was chanting at the nome. “Hey, I guess they are trying to make friends.” He murmured quietly, keeping an eye on both of them. The nome had edged slightly behind the imp since there were two new people and it currently trusted the imp more than the much bigger people. “The imps did do really good at the movie night, so maybe it wants to do the same thing again with a new friend?”

"First hat hmm, I guess if you find one you think would look good on me, I'll wear it." Only for him though. Only for him. The tone she used there was actually shockingly earnest too, meant to let him know that she actually meant it. If he found her one, she'd wear it no matter how silly it looked. "I've worn headpieces before and crowns." But those weren't really the same as hats, were they?

Turns out they actually were having some fun in becoming friends. That wasn't exactly what Illyana had really expected. Nor had she expected for her to feel guilty at the nome hiding behind the imp. She took a step towards both of them, cautiously, and then knelt down to be at a closer size to them both.

"Alright, come over here. Both of you. Promise I'm not angry." Well, not too angry. She was kinda angry with the mess.

“Yeah?” He chirped, sounding more than a little excited by that challenge. “I’ll find a really good one then!” Which meant Illyana was absolutely going to get a hat one of these days, a very carefully picked out hat… Mono would have to put a lot of thought into it, perhaps by Christmas he could save up enough money from running messages for a super cool, stylish hat!

The nome was still a touch hesitant, but since the Imp seemed to know Illyana… It carefully crept forward with a cautious, raspy squeaking sound, hat covered head turning from the imp, to Illyana, and back to the imp.

"Can't wait to see." That she did sound just a bit less enthusiastic about. This was probably destined to be an absolute disaster, but she'd give it her best attempt at a grin and bear it when the time came. Maybe she wouldn't end up looking too stupid in a hat....maybe....

She sighed as the nome crept forward. The imp stayed behind for his part until the nome looked back at it. Then it came forward too, almost as if it were in some sort of solidarity with the little nome.

"You two left quite the mess behind you." She was looking at the imp though when she said that. Something told her this little nome couldn't possibly be responsible for it all.

That cemented it. Mono was going to get Illyana the best hat for Christmas. He would have to ask around for a little help, maybe, but he was going to do it!

The little nome seemed to duck its head almost like a kid with its hand caught in the cookie jar (its faint shadow more so, perhaps), even if it hadn’t been all on it, it seemed to know that making a mess was not smiled upon. Sure, the Imp had been way better at the art of making messes. The Nome definitely was a little responsible for trying to copy its new friend! It gave Illyana a pitiful, raspy little squeak in return. Was it sorry? Hard to say, but it could be taken as an apology.

Mono crouched next to Illyana to look at both the imp and the nome with a nod of agreement. “It was kinda impressive, since you’re both so little. But we gotta clean it up. I’ll help.” He added, knowing it was probably better to have someone supervising them, having seen what the Imps could do when left on their own.

Something like pity and sympathy flickered across Illyana's face, that kind that a parent gives when their child gives them the big sad eyes. She hated to admit it, but children and childlike things really were her weakness. "The imps could learn a thing or two from you," she said to the Nome. The imp on the other hand stomped his foot in a pout as if it were annoyed that it was being shown up. "On second thought, don't teach them anything." The imps didn't need this kind of power.

"Don't tell them it's impressive. That's just going to encourage them." She sighed. "They usually say the smallest packages can cause the biggest messes...." and evidently they were right. "You can help by watching them, but no actual helping with the cleaning. They need to learn on their own."

The imp only squeaked back, almost like a surprised chirp at the suggestion that it could teach the imps something. It was almost comical as its hat covered head turned to look at the imp and then back at her. Only to let out another slightly more serious, raspy squeak in reply as she changed her mind. Hopefully that meant it took the hint, otherwise she was going to have an imp with too much power on her hands to deal with by the time the nome disappeared.

“Oops, that’s probably right.” Mono responded with a sheepish tone, glancing at the two little creatures again cautiously. The boy was trying to be a good influence on the imps still. He should reserve encouraging them for when they actually got something right! But he tilted his head slightly. “I dunno who they are, but they must’ve met the imps ‘cause they're right.” He responded thoughtfully.

“So like a supervisor.” He responded, having learned about supervising at work. Sometimes people needed someone to watch or coordinate! … But Mono’s head tilted back at Illyana with a skeptical little look. “You sure we should let ‘em do it all? The imps don’t seem good at cleaning.” They might be there forever, if the imp and nome somehow made a bigger mess just by cleaning up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Story Event - Nomes

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject