０１．action / etc

[emblazes]

[The juxtaposition of unstable wormhole becomes underwater fiasco and mechanical lion being replaced with his hoverbike isn't nearly as jarring as it ought to be. He's been quasi-prepared for this since shit decided to hit the fan, or he's convinced he's prepared himself as much as he could possibly prepare? Things have been spiralling out of control for what feels like ten thousand ticks, there's some consistency to be had there. His hoverbike turned underwater sea-doo (who even knew this thing could work underwater? He's from a desert. It probably shouldn't.) only fares well against the current at first. He's knocked sideways at the water's urge, propelled forward and rendered helplessly unable to slow himself when he's in the crossroads of some coral growth.

He clips it, and the whiplash isn't something he could've imagined. Everything's supposed to move slowly underwater...or something. Right? In his defense, Keith's been far too busy with the Galaxy Garrison, conspiracy theories and following that tingly sensation until you come across a robot-lion's den to be preoccupied with Shark Week or River Monsters. His grip goes slack, he's ultimately thrown, and without a rider, the bike whorls, sinks and settles against the coral, only swaying with the upsurge of current. Keith's stuck in his own way; his bent elbow's trapped within an inlet of coral lined with barnacles and the like; it's comparable to a Chinese finger trap, except it isn't at all but if he had the time to consider how completely asinine this has been since noticing this underwater hamster tube house, the level of shame would be proportionate.

He's got approximately zero time to consider anything, though, because he's stuck by his elbow, underwater, and totally alone. At least his helmet's keeping the water out. That's about all it's doing. If anyone needs him, he'll be trying to flail his way out of some cleft coral that's undoubtedly trying to swallow him whole.]

Great. This is just what I needed.

[Is that some unbeknownst telepathic brooding you're hearing or are you going crazy?]

Comments

[uncorrupts]

[listen, he's trying to have some coffee in peace, when there's a disturbance in the force.]

[he stops, and narrows his eyes. keith? that was definitely keith's voice. but he turns around, and there's no one else that resembles the red lion pilot in this room. he hasn't tried out the telepathy thing yet, nor figured that it's a thing that works. his only experience with it was an invisible someone who was right in the same room as him speaking to him.]

Maybe I'm going crazy.

[coffee sip]

[emblazes]

[And Spidey senses too. Keith goes still at the echo in his brain. It's distinctly Shiro, he's...

Obviously losing oxygen. Why did it have to be that, though? At least the crazy Shiro voices could be giving him some last-minute advice.]

Not yet.

[But the last...five-or-so chain of unfortunate events aren't leaving him as convinced as he psychically sounds.]

[uncorrupts]

[???]

Keith?

[he nearly spills the coffee on himself, turning around again to look about the room, even though he just did a second ago and there was no sign of the red paladin]

[okay, so what's if this is in his head? takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. weird shit can happen in weird planets.]

Hey, Keith, is that you?

[emblazes]

[That's definitely Shiro's voice. It's calming as much as it's making his heart race. Not like dokidoki, but his adrenaline's peaking all over again.]

Shiro?!

[He pulls his legs up onto the coral, bending his knees and tries to literally rip his arm out of the crevice he's stuck in. How the hell was it so easy to get stuck like this, and why is it so difficult to undo this bullshit?!]

--Shiro, where are you?!

[Figments of his imagination shouldn't be able to hold flow. Please don't be a figment of his imagination...]

[alienates]

[ at this point karkat is just Tired of all these shenanigans. between the corridor to the showers collapsing on itself yesterday and. well, literally everything else, he is fucking #done with hurricanes. and done with everything else.

basically, his mood is terrible at the moment.

so when he hears keith, his mood does not really improve. ]

Really? Was that really something that had to be shared telepathically? You just had to make sure we all heard that? Fucking unbelievable.

[emblazes]

[It could be worse. Karkat could be stuck in a replica of The Great Barrier Reef, for (theatrical) example. Keith's properly startled, looking here, there and everywhere for the source of that voice. It could be coming from the crack, but it's far too dark and the opening's much too small to see anything in there.]

Who said that?!

[It's kneejerk. His only reassurance is that the...space within the coral can't be all that big. Nothing capable of swallowing him whole could be living inside there.]

[alienates]

Uh. It's Karkat, you dumbass.

[ even though karkat has not officially spoken to everyone on base yet, he thinks his voice is distinct (loud) enough that everyone surely can recognize it by now? or at least, not sound that shocked when he responds? weird. ]

Wait. Oh my fuck, do you not know how to use telepathy yet? Typical.

[emblazes]

Is that supposed to mean something?!

[Telepathically says the guy who asked in the first place. Anybody'd be feeling a little edgy after what he's endured -- and being called a dumbass for it..!]

And why would I know how to use telepathy?

[Don't make him think about this too hard.]

[gnasher]

[your first mistake was not paying enough attention to Shark Week. it's an international holiday, you space heathen]

[this is actually the first intrusion of psychic thought into Rin's brain, and predictably, is a resounding, perplexed;]

What the fuck?

[he's just standing in the kitchen, brewing up tea for all the dead burritos again. what?]

[emblazes]

[Maybe now, things will be different. Moreover, why is everyone busy drinking coffee and tea when a defender of the universe is getting his ass handed to him by aquatic plantlife? Moreover, why's there a totally unfamiliar voice narrating his predicament? What the fuck. That's all.]

Is someone there?!

[Because this can't be a feigned thing, though he can't see anyone anywhere. Hopefully they're not trapped under his bike? Then again, how could he even...hear someone trapped under his bike?

Spooky. This is worse than when Sendak took over the ship with his brain.]

[gnasher]

[everyone's drinking tea because It's None of Their Business........ you're gonna die out there boy]

[jk Rin looks around like a startled cat and walks away from his candy striper mission immediately]

Hello? Who is that?

[isn't it cool how you can't hear that]

Am I standing in a ghost again?

[emblazes]

[You can either be Kermit's muppet ass or Oscar's, not both.]

If you're near me, then you're in the ocean.

[And he simultaneously hopes this guy is somewhere nearby and not nearby at all, because everything is weird as hell at the moment.]

[pomaded]

[Maybe if Josuke weren't feeling kind of- a lot- out of it, he'd be paying more attention. The whole telepathy thing, as bizarre as it had seemed to him at first, is one of the few things he'd managed to take to immediately but, somewhere between the fatigue and the dizzy spells, he's somewhat lost the knack for it. And his impulse control.

As Keith's voice echoes in his mind, something clicks and, completely unbidden, something from the corners of his memory creeps out and automatically responds. Somewhere in the base, clutching at a cup of steaming hot coffee and trying not to fall asleep, Josuke is humming to himself and it looks like he's going to have to listen to it too.]

... I guess you're just what I needed... just what I needed...

[Well, he might not have been any help whatsoever but at least now Keith's underwater crisis has a classic New Wave hit to lighten the mood. Sort of.]

[emblazes]

[It's fine, they can both be reckless with their telepathy. Except, once he gets any sort of grip on it, he's going to assume the oceanlife can read his mind. He's reaching for his knife when he receives that response, freezing in place, internally taking a moment to question the purpose/origin. It...likely has to do with that hamster house. It's the only thing he can perceive down here.

But he can't quite see anyone from his position. The would-be city or..whatever may as well be wreckage from something. Something Galran-related, possibly. Whatever it is, he's sure it's not just his brain/the fact that he might be losing his mind. He's tense, trying to get a good scope of his surroundings but there's literally nothing worth noting.

Aside from what he already has, but the current's not much help.]

Just what who needed?

[It's belated, but strong enough for conveyance...without a single idea as to what he's even doing.]

[pomaded]

[And, just like that, it stops- partly because he's realised what he's doing and partly because he nearly dropped his mug at the sound of Keith's voice cutting into his daydream. Thanks for that brief interlude, Ric Ocasek, but it's back to business for the time being.]

Shit- sorry, man, did you hear that? I was totally out of it, I didn't even realise I was... [He trails off, embarrassment ebbing away as he snaps his brain back to the more pressing matter of what whoever he's talking- is that even the right word?- to and their current situation. Right. What was the problem again?] Is everything okay? You sound kind of freaked out.

[emblazes]

[...Maybe it's a fish. Or the rock. If the rock's talking to him, this could either mean something extremely favorable or something infinitely more terrifying than he could've imagined. He swallows a bit of nothingness, eyes all over the place.]

Anybody would be freaked out right now...

[His brain's racing too much for him to relay any particulars about his circumstances.]

Where, or...what are you-?!

[mythbuster]

[ Some bored boy's voice answers back: ]

What happened?

[ Loki doesn't recognize this guy's voice, which makes it a worthy investigation. He could be a regular old newcomer like everyone else around base, or it could be someone who actually belongs in this universe. No harm in finding out. ]

[emblazes]

[Maybe it's a helmet malfunction, but that monotone is enough to get him to pause in his panic and offer a look of incredulity skyward -- what he thinks is skyward.]

I fell.

[To make a long story short.]

Who's there-?

[He probably should've reversed those replies, but.]

[mythbuster]

A kind and benevolent Samaritan whose precious attention is being showered on you. You're welcome. You can call me Loki.

[ His voice continues to lack all urgency. ]

Do you need help?

[goafk]

[ Sorry Keith, have another loser who's not yet familiar with telepathy. Except she's even more of a loser probably because she's lying down on a couch in the library, playing some Candy Crush instead of being useful, when the telepathy channel opens. ]

Yeah, this extra life really is what I needed to get through all of this game's bullshit. I'm not paying real currency for this shitty excuse of a--wait.

[ That voice from earlier isn't what she sounds like in her own head. Yeah, definitely not. It gets her to sit up for the first time in an hour and look around the library from her seat, but nobody's in here, what? ]

Look, if you're trying to talk to me and you're invisible, at least tell me where you are so I know I'm not hearing things! Geez!

[ And that's shared both telepathically and in-person, huehue ]

[emblazes]

[Interrupting Candy Crush with this breaking news...

The ocean will never not be totally mysterious to him, apparently. Because the waves, or the fish, or maybe it's the coral? Something's reacting to him and it's completely jarring.

Fortunately, or unfortunately? Telepathy comes with minimal effort. He swallows hard, eyes coming the immediate area to no avail.]

I'm not invisible.

[He very nearly sounds offended.]

I'm in the ocean. By some rocks.

[Overlooking the fact that he's stuck (and not just casually hanging out, as implied), and that this voice is totally unfamiliar to him and that he really ought to be more weirded out than he is. Something about wacky space adventures desensitizes a guy over time. Marginally.]

[goafk]

[ the fuck is happening

And yet again, D.Va's entirely confused, checking her device to see if that's where the voice is coming from, but that's not happening either. He's literally talking in her head, seemingly reading her thoughts--or is he hearing her voice? ]

Are you psychic or something? How are you even talking to me right now?

[ There are definitely all kinds of people here, she knows that much, so maybe she's not far off the mark? ]

And why are you out in the ocean now?! There's a storm happening, y'know. Unless this is your way of saying that you need help getting back into the base?

[imsorey]

[Sorey was just in the middle of making himself something to eat, slowly but surely trying to dig through their food supply for something that sounds appetizing, and knee-jerk responds to the commentary.]

I know, can you believe it? I can't find the vegetables anywhere.

[And then he pauses to take a look around the kitchen, registering that it was definitely a new voice he heard in his head. So he does a bit of follow-up.]

Uh, unless you weren't thinking about that. Hello?

[emblazes]

[Kneejerk responses seem to get across with ease. His brows knit, replaying the feedback in his brain once or twice. He's probably going nuts, lack of..fresh air. Who cares about vegetables? A waterlogged brain. No wonder why Lance acts the way that he does.

But then the voice returns, he wills himself to settle.]

I was thinking about being stuck in the ocean.

[It's a relatively, unquestioning, simple response. Just in case he's going crazy.]

[imsorey]

--You're in the ocean?!

[Sorey looks around again, but this time he's looking past the kitchen and out through the glass and into the ocean, trying to see if he can spot anyone swimming around. When he doesn't immediately spot anyone he makes his way towards the exit, keeping an eye out as he goes.]

You really shouldn't be out there. Hang on, I can come and find you. Can you see the base? Uh...Can you describe where you are? Landmarks or anything?