the_isle | You're From The Isle If Anybody Asks

First Awareness

Those used to this by now probably knew what it meant when they felt their magic return for a moment. For the rest, suddenly their powers were back. Just for a few minutes, but a lot could be done in a few minutes. If the person even noticed their powers were back, that is.

Of course those on the shore might have seen the hazy indistinct shape through the barrier coming closer, might have seen the moment the hole in the barrier opened. Might have seen King Ben leading people down a gangplank through the barrier with crates of supplies....

Unions, Re And Otherwise

Once the supplies were unloaded, the barrier was sealed up again. King Ben seemed to be in charge during the unloading, Once the barrier was closed again, by the green magic streaming from the Queen's finger, it was Mal who seemed to be in charge.

"Alright, listen up. We have 2 hours and the clock is ticking. I'm not FG but we're keeping to a deadline anyway. If you want to come to Auradon or know someone you want us to bring back, you have 2 hours to convince us. You and everyone else, sharing the same 2 hours. Along with anyone who has a supply request for our next visit, or updates. Those of you bringing supplies to the school, time to get cracking. Two hours passes faster than midnight at the ball."

Those Who Left

(Please TL Here for boat and Auradon Shenanigans. TY)

Those What Remain

Once those going back to Auradon had left and the barrier was back in place, it was for those who remained on the Isle to sort the supplies and figure out how to get done everything that needed to be done with the people that remained.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh, is this floor still a little slippery? Sorry about that! I can try getting it again...." He crouched, looming closer in doing so, and extended a big hand... maybe Ian would like a bit of help back to standing?

Foulques had the courtesy not to laugh, but he did give an amused smirk. Most mammets in the lancer's own world were very similar to what Ian was thinking, but Sun was nothing if not unique. And no other mammet he'd seen had half as much personality, for better or worse. He wasn't sure which of those this qualified as, but it was definitively funnier for it.

"The floor is just fine, Sun," Foulques said. "I believe Ian was simply... surprised at your appearance."

"Not to sound like Roger or anything but... you look familiar." In perhaps the worst possible way. Creepy as anything but not in a Dark Souls or Elden Ring way but then... wait... why was their mind fixated on video games? Help from the subconscious?

Maybe it was a creepypasta story! Could've been creepypasta, right? .....Right?

"Oh! Do you have small kids, maybe?" He tilted his head, spinning it just a few degrees in place. Why would a creepypasta robot be asking about little kids? That couldn't be good, right?

"Because if you've ever been to the Pizzaplex...."

Now, now, Sun and the other bots could hardly be held responsible for their creator's sense of design aesthetics. Or lack thereof, depending on your point of view.

But regardless one's personal taste, Ian claiming Sun looked familiar caught Foulques' interest. Perhaps they were from the same world? "Sun and a number of his fellow mammets lived and worked at the establishment he mentioned. Judging from what I saw in the visions some time back and what Sun has described to me, it's a sort of indoor carnival, with all manner of games, music, shops, and amusements, all bright lights and gaudy colors. Sun in particular worked in the daycare, looking after some of the Pizzaplex's youngest guests. And doing so quite well, by all accounts, though no thanks to the useless louts who were meant to be working with him."

Edited Date: 2025-04-29 12:22 am (UTC)

"Pizza...plex.... Oh no. Please tell me you're not from a Five Nights at Freddie's game..." Ian said, a little pale. What a time to learn they had wasted their time on things like work when it turned out playing more indie games could have saved their life....

"No, I'm from the Daycare. And I haven't heard of any games anywhere in the whole Pizzaplex that last past half an hour, let alone five nights." He paused slightly. "Or... days? Wouldn't that have to be days? The place isn't open to the public at night." He was still confused, rays sinking a little bit back into his head.

As much as he'd gotten a bit of amusement out of watching Ian's initial reaction to Sun, that comment and the way Sun wilted a bit at how frightened Ian seemed rather soured the joke. He cleared his throat in the somewhat pointed way that one did when they wished to gently call attention to themselves and shift the focus of the conversation, stepping forward to offer Ian a hand up himself. "Might I remind you of what I said a few moments ago?", he said, his tone still mildly pointed. "Those who you meet here are people, not characters, however similar they may seem to those you know of."

The point hopefully made, his tone softened slightly. "There is no need to fear; Sun is quite harmless, I assure you, even if his appearance can be rather... surprising at first. The issue is with his counterpart, Moon; unlike Sun, Moon is... unstable, to put it mildly. He is why we need help from someone with your expertise."

"Yes, sorry it's just... A lot." Ian pushed to their feet. "Sorry. Just... back home there is a game called Five Nights at Freddie's about a kid that gets trapped in a pizza place or something and all the animatronics try to kill him, or something. I never played myself, but picked up some through cultural osmosis. Sorry."

Sun took a step backwards, pulling his hand away and settling into his usual crouched stance once more, since his help clearly wasn't needed. ...A bit lower than his usual stance, even, his eye level a bit under Ian's, rays settling at being about half inside his head. Imposing? Him? nah, he was staying down low, letting the two in the room with him have the height-advantage, if subtly so.

"Why would someone make a game about that? People make up awful things enough as it is, and then we're the ones they--" He cut himself off at that, giving a sighing sound and glancing down for a second. He pretty clearly made an effort to set that train of thought aside, making an effort to go back to his original cheerful tone. "No one's interested in hurting anybody."

He seemed to hesitate, but then didn't voice whatever thought might've crossed his mind there.

"I don't know," Foulques admitted to Sun. "It doesn't sound especially entertaining to me, but to each their own, I suppose."

"In any case, perhaps I should introduce the two of you properly. Ian, this is Sun. He's the mammet I spoke to you of on the way inside, and it's largely thanks to him that much of the school is now free of trash; as he's not especially suited for outdoor work, he's busied himself tidying up inside, and has been quite diligent at his work. Occasionally a bit too much so, to the point that he sometimes doesn't come back to recharge in a timely fashion." And by sometimes, he meant most times, but he didn't want to embarrass the mammet.

"Sun, this is Dr. Ian Wright. They're an expert on technology and programming, and will be staying on the Isle for a time for the purpose of trying to restore proper lines of communication with the mainland. While they're here, however, they've also agreed to lend their aid with regards to Moon's situation. How much, if anything, can be done remains to be seen, but given the crucial task the young King as entrusted them with, I believe it's safe to say we may have every confidence in their skills."

"Sometimes it is fun to play a scary game to make real life feel less bad. Very few people can get hurt in real life from a computer game. So it is a safe way to experience all sorts of things. Like riding a roller coaster to feel a thrill, even though you know you are reasonably safe. Scary games are like that. I mean I never played that one, but there are few things less heart pounding than soloing a From Software game."

"And yeah, I'm happy to help so long as you're not trying to kill anyone."

"Yeah." He was quiet again, not keeping up the fake cheer so much after all. Those rays around his head hadn't really come back out yet, nor was he standing up any taller. "I-- ....yeah." Yeah, that was really the point, wasn't it? Also hopefully not enough of a chicken-and-egg situation as to make things trickier than they needed to be. This Ian person was already associating him with scary games, and... yeah. Yeah, he'd just have to keep his big mouth shut, wouldn't he.

"...I'd appreciate it." A slight pause. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

Foulques made a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement. "Mmm... as you say," he said to Ian "Though perhaps I'm the wrong sort of person to appreciate such things. My world is quite frightening and dangerous enough by times that I've never felt the need to seek out imagined dangers on top of it."

As for Sun's awkward offer, he suggested, "Perhaps you could help Ian set up their equipment?" He glanced between the two of them to see if either had any objections to the idea. "You'd certainly be of more help than I would at such a task, and it would give the two of you a chance to get acquainted." And leave him free to pursue other tasks that needed done before the boat left.

"Ah... sure. And while we get things set up maybe you can tell me more about what I am expected to fix...?"

And hopefully this will give Ian a chance to calm down and let their heart resume a regular pace. It really was a shame Ben wasn't here, Ben was the one who was good with all of this.

"Well...." He looked down a little, barely steepling his fingertips, sinking another inch. Those rays might've been trying to hide just a bit more. "....It's Moon. I mean-- I'm Moon. Or I'm supposed to be...? Like if you wore a different shirt, you'd still be you. Except... now? Ever since I went to look for someone that shouldn't have been hiding out in the bathroom while the Pizzaplex was closed... and it hurt for some reason... something's been wrong, and now... it's like Moon's not me any more."

He hesitated briefly, fidgeting, lowering his gaze more to his hands as he rubbed at some little spot of dirt on the back of one of his fingers. He quieted a little more. "...And it scares me. And I know Moon scares everyone else now, too. I'm not supposed to be all scary. Not unless someone's been bad. Like, gotta call security kinds of bad."

The way in which he barely moved his head was the only thing that gave away that he'd probably only done so, so that he could peek up at Ian to see their reaction to that. "...And I don't know how to fix myself. Not when it's something like this. Or I would've done it already."

Edited (accidentally a word) Date: 2025-05-01 06:14 am (UTC)

Foulques stepped up beside Sun to rest a supportive hand on his... well his upper back, giving him an approving nod and a slight smile. It must have been very difficult for him to say all that, especially to a relative stranger. "When he confronted the intruder, they attacked him, likely to keep him from raising the alarum," he said, elaborating a bit on Sun's explanation. "And whatever they did resulted in his current state. Were he human, I'd say a blow to the head might be the culprit, but I'm not certain what could cause such a thing in a mammet. That the intruder was able to, however, indicates that they were no common thief."

"Given what we saw in the visions and what we've learned in other ways, it seems that the half of him that is Moon has been rendered unstable. Dangerous not necessarily because he intends harm, but because he can't distinguish friend from foe and interprets mundane presences as threats. He also seems to be unaware of his own strength and unable to focus on anything beyond his primary tasks of looking after children and cleaning."

"Several of the visions were seen through his eyes. The information scrolling by may as well have been ancient Allagan to me, but nearly every other line it seemed began with 'error'. Thanks to Sun's excellent short term memory, he was able to note down what we saw, in hopes it may be of use in a situation just such as this. Once you've settled in, I'll see that you get those notes."

"Honestly, computers are a lot more sensitive than most people give them credit for. An impact could actually have this effect, though it isn't the most probable cause. A rift into a secondary personality sounds like the culprit more likely was a hacker. Now generally hacking is Jenn's wheelhouse, but luckily repairing the damage is in mine. Those notes would be helpful. And it sounds like I should be working on this before working on the communications array. So the sooner we can get started, the better." That was said to both of them, but then Ian turned to Sun specifically. "I am sorry that my reaction hurt you. Having the context I now know why it did. I promise I'll do my best. I can't promise that I won't get startled if you keep looming like that when I don't expect it however. Though the past several months I've been getting a lot of practice trying to work while people loom over my shoulders demanding status updates. So who knows, might feel like home," said dryly.

"I'll try not to," Sun said, tone softer. He was still fidgeting a little, but his rays were slowly coming back out. "And... seriously... if there's any way I can help... please let me know? I'm just... going to be cleaning otherwise, mostly. Oh! I could show you around later, maybe?" He was starting to look over the boxes of things that'd been brought in, though he didn't make any move to touch any of it yet, merely tilting his head as he leaned it a little, to get a better view of where they were all set. "...Should I start setting up something here...?"

Foulques nodded, but frowned. "That was hardly the only injury he suffered," he said to Ian. "But the rest I'm less certain of it being relevant to Moon's situation, so that can be gone over later." Like when Sun wasn't around to downplay it. "We still need to discuss what you know of Chara as well, so both can likely be done at the same time."

"For now, though, I shall leave you both to it, if you have no objections. There are other matters I need to attend to before this visit ends."

Ian nodded to both of them, responding to Foulques first because that was easier. "Alright, please let the King and Queen know that I may need more time here than originally estimated." Then they looked to Sun, running a hand through their hair.

How would Ben handle this? Never mind, a hug might lead to blindness and way too many openings for Jenn to make jokes at their expense about flying too close to the Sun. Fine. How would Magic handle this...? Ah.

"Actually, if you have been doing cleaning around here, would you be the one to ask to help me find supplies that might be here, but might have been overlooked?"

"Oh! Yeah, probably!" That seemed to perk him up a little -- something he could do! A task to keep busy with! And those rays were ever so slowly sliding back out again around his face.... "I've been sorting everything I've been cleaning up, in one of the other rooms here... we could go look through it, and see what you might be interested in?"

He nodded. "Until later then," he said. "If either of you are needed before the boat leaves I'll come and fetch you."

And with that, he headed back out. So much to do, and so little time...

Edited Date: 2025-05-10 08:03 am (UTC)

Ian nodded to Foulques as he left, then looked to Sun. "To start if you could find me any small screw drivers, a soldering gun, and any spare wiring you could find. Capacitors might help as well. And a penlight flash light if they are available."

"I'll see you later!" He turned back from Foulques to Ian again. "And... I can try," he said, seeming more hesitant again, rays once more sinking into his head. "What's... what's a soldering gun look like?"