Going Swimmingly

[palmerthing]

 *Palmer has found a lake today and is giving it an uncertain kind of look. Not only is such a large outdoor feature a bit unexpected when there appears to be nothing in particular dividing it from the couches and chairs in the main area of the nexus, not only would he probably start turning into something aquatic on automatic as soon as he tried swimming, but he's fairly sure that he saw Gollum from The Lord of the Rings swimming in there and that's just too much weirdness for him. Not that he has any room to talk, but he's not up for that meeting yet. So he sits on the beach and watches the waves. Hopefully there won't be any merfolk or cartoon fish, one fantasy character at a time is bad enough.*

Comments

[save_us_alice]

Oh, definitely. I bet a lot of movie-makers would kill to have someone who could shapeshift into any sort of monster they needed on their set.

I guess we won't really know then unless someone else from your world comes in. . .which I know is not an ideal situation for you either, but at least you'd know your territory then.

[palmerthing]

*A grin.* Hopefully not literally, I've had enough of that.

I don't think I care enough about what happens to my universe for that.

[save_us_alice]

I think the anti-violence field would keep it from being literal. If not, we need to have a word with whoever set up the field.

Well, so far so good, right? No news is good news?

[palmerthing]

I wonder how it decides what violence is, anyway. What's the threshold?

No news is very good news.

[save_us_alice]

I've heard that it will drop for people who really want to fight, but I've never tested that theory, and don't particularly care to. I'm pretty sure poking someone would be allowed, but throwing a punch probably would be stopped?

Heh -- I think that's how Victor treats his world these days. He seems a lot happier to be free of it.

[palmerthing]

I'm not planning on testing that either, man. Not with the way fighting me is likely to end.

Hopefully I'll join him on that one.

[save_us_alice]

Yes, exactly -- for the best if that particular theory does NOT get tested in your case. Fortunately most people don't seem to be interested in trying to start a fight here.

Hopefully -- you seem to be doing all right so far.

[palmerthing]

Yeah, things seem pretty alright. *He grins. It's a nice change.*

[save_us_alice]

[Alice smiles back, finishing off the last of the ice cream before daubing Chester's face with a napkin] It's nice when things are all right for change, isn't it?

[palmerthing]

Yeah. Strange, but definitely nice.

[save_us_alice]

It'll stop feeling strange eventually. [she smirks] Most days.

[palmerthing]

Only most? Damn.

[save_us_alice]

Well, I'm basing this off my own experience, and I admit -- some days, for me, it does feel weird still that I've ended up in such a good place.

[palmerthing]

Good enough I guess.

[save_us_alice]

It is -- it's a good weird. Better to be weirded out that you're in a happy place than by any of the alternatives, right?

[palmerthing]

Oh, much better. And I have the fun bonus of being one of the weirder people here, so that's nice. Not many of the creatures around here are gonna scare me, you know?

[save_us_alice]

Oh, I do know. You're probably the most prepared out of all of us for anything. Granted, it's been much quieter here in recent years, but -- you never know when something unusual might pop out of a door. Or the sky. Or the ground. Or -- you get the picture.

[palmerthing]

Well yeah. I'm something unusual.

[save_us_alice]

[laughs] Quite so. Again, reasons why you'd be the most prepared out of all of us for anything.

[palmerthing]

God, the stuff I could tell you about . . . I mean, you've seen the movie and shit, you can probably start to imagine what kind of creatures we've encountered before Earth.

[save_us_alice]

Mostly "lots of teeth" and "very weird bendy limbs," yes. I imagine in general Things have had a lot of adventures through the cosmos.

[palmerthing]

*He laughs.* Those tend to be rather useful, yeah. And I'm not sure if it's adventuring so much as getting picked up by unfortunate explorers and ruining their lives, but I suppose the difference isn't that big.

[save_us_alice]

Depending on environment, yes. And right, good point -- it's adventuring in the sense of the adventure is taking over everything in your path once someone finds you.

[palmerthing]

Yeah. Which is . . . kinda a sucky adventure, don't you think? I mean, man.

[save_us_alice]

[distracting a bored Chester with the spoon] It is rather, isn't it? Have you -- ever tried to talk to whoever you've come in contact with before? Or has it always been "infect as soon as possible?"