EVENT #15: THE NETHER - IC EVENT LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #15 - The Nether

OOC event plotting | settings info

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After a Conclave vote earlier this month, you're prepared to accept the formal request from the Nether for your assistance. By now, you'll know who the delegates are and that the dragons have suffered an illness from the rifts that opened this summer, due to the unfortunate actions of one of your fellow Summoned. Whether or not you agree with your Conclave's majority rule, the decision has been made.

The expedition will begin on October 16 and last 10 days. If you need to return home sooner, you can activate your portal stone at any point during the trip, but there's no going back once you do.

Though mysterious, the Draconae - or daemons, as others call them - are not elusive like the Fey. Anyone who's been to Nocwich will have seen a handful of them amongst the population, and some reside in the Free Cities or the outskirts of Thorne. The only nation they aren't found in is Solvunn.

Into the Heart

Your arrival to the Nether is a frosty one. The northern island is barren, save for a thick layer of snow, a few birds, and some hardy insects. Massive skeletal remains can be seen as you walk over the ice. Every few minutes, the ground trembles. The Draconae warriors greet you at the base of the volcano, including Orion, The Warden herself. Though they appear intimidating, they're grateful you're here and will clap you heartily on the back.

Entering the Obsidian Heart requires nerves of steel, but appearances aside, the narrow walkway is sturdy. As long as you're brave, you'll make it down without a problem. The less sure-footed are encouraged to ask for a hand. If they do, they'll be assigned a Draconum warrior who will cheerfully carry them down the winding path. You can also help each other, of course! Any Summoned who are capable can carry their friends, too.

As you venture down, the oppressive heat intensifies...until suddenly it stops. The moment you reach the fiery gates, the smell of brimstone fades from the air and the temperature eases into that of a pleasant summer's day. If asked, the Draconae will tell you this is how it is - a blessing from the two remaining dragons. Without them, the air would suffocate all life within.

Although the main purpose is to aid the dragons, the Draconae will invite characters to take breaks, participate in recreational activities, and explore the Nether. They want their guests to be comfortable, especially as the Summoned have arrived to help.

Around the City

At the center of the volcano lies the Obsidian Heart, where the Draconae reside. Made of stacking homes and stone bridges that spiral downward, it's a wonder how anyone finds their way. There are no maps, signage, or any form of direction. Their ability to navigate appears inherent. The most dangerous beasts lurk beneath the lava, so unless you intend to go swimming, you're unlikely to run into anything aggressive.

Doors and furniture are heavy and are made of iron, bronze, or steel. You might need to push or pull furnishings and doors with both hands and extra effort. Luckily, citizens are happy to help - as long as you ask. If you don't, they won't interfere out of respect for your autonomy. In fact, if they see you huffing and puffing, they might stop to watch and will sincerely cheer for you should you accomplish your objective by yourself.

Watch your sticky fingers. While petty theft is a minor offence in other places, the Draconae are highly protective of their belongings and treasures. Hands and heads have been lost over stolen trinkets.

The Hieran Wing

As a guest, you'll be invited to stay at the Hieran Wing. Named after Hierus, the oldest living dragon, the Hieran Wing is located in the eastern section of the Citadel. The rest of the Citadel is under heavy guard and inaccessible.

◎ The rooms are carved into the stone itself. Bedding is comfortable, if simple, with room to store your belongings. A curved stairwell grants you privacy even though many rooms have curtains rather than doors. The few rooms that have doors contain no locks. Your safety is assured, but if you're nervous, you can ask for a guard to watch you at night.

◎ The dining area consists of open-fire grills, pots, and raw ingredients - including spices and fiery hot peppers. As great believers in self-sufficiency, the Draconae will leave you to make meals to your taste and liking. You can hunt and fish your meat, as well. There are numerous lava pools where one can net jumbo shrimp, crabs, and flaming fish. For larger game, you can go after the Erymaes Boar or Petran Bison. Feel free to share your catch with your friends or offer to cook for the culinarily challenged.

◎ The library contains only fiction. You'll recognize several titles from your faction or Nocwich, suggesting they've brought back their favorite stories to read. Other titles are new, written by the Draconae. Novels and poetry span all genres, but the most common ones seem to be adventure, horror, and erotic romance - some of which contain surprisingly detailed illustrations.

Magma Pools

Outside the Hieran Wing, unusual cerulean magma pools are provided for bathing. Despite how they look, temperatures are equivalent to that of a steaming hot spring. The magma bubbles naturally from within the volcano and provides soothing effects. No soap or cleaning agents are required. These magma pools contain tiny frogs that leap and jump around. The Draconae consider them a tasty live snack. Don't be surprised if you see a local munching on them.

The Foundry

The Foundry has expanded over the past two centuries. A marketplace now circles the ancient forge. Observing the tradespeople inside and their secrets are off-limits. However, you can browse a selection of tools, clothes, accessories, and potions. Healing potions are common due to the Draconae's lack of healing magic.

You'll have the chance to request custom-made jewelry and purchase glass ornaments that are blown for you on the spot. Merchants won't sell the large weapons on display, but daggers and other small weapons are available. They'll also modify any pieces you own by adding jewels, altering the fit, or repairing nicks and faults...for a price. The Draconae deal in Abraxan currency if you have any, but they'll accept a vial or two of blood or saliva as payment.

Negotiations & Meetings (Rank 5+)

The first order of business is to present your Conclave's terms to the Inner Sanctum, the Draconae's governing body. If you've been voted as a delegate, you'll be greeted by the NPC meeting you (and your partner, if you have one). If you haven't been selected, you can still speak to some of the NPCs available.

A Place at the Table

Negotiations will take place in The Solar on the second day, a hall lit with a fiery orb of light. This is where the Inner Sanctum conducts all of its business. Tightly guarded, you're the first outsiders allowed inside in centuries. Here, you'll have the chance to present your terms and convince the Draconae to accept. You'll also have the first day of your arrival to gather a few details about the NPC you'll be meeting.

Only one meeting is required. The Nether will give you their final answer the following day.

Be sure to reply with the terms before starting the thread. Mods will approve or ask for revisions, so try to submit your points by OCTOBER 17.

Once approved, please TAG IN with your character under the correct faction heading.

Meeting the Inner Sanctum

Members of the Inner Sanctum who are not involved in diplomatic affairs are Aster, The Guardian and Anneth, The Flame. Additional descriptions about the two NPCs and where they can be found will be in their character comments below.

Characters who are Rank 5+ (negative or positive) and who are not acting as delegates can speak with one of the two NPCs above.

To do so, TAG IN with your character under the NPC you want to meet.

Runaway at Pyritean's Rack

Abraxan outsiders will whisper that Pyritean's Rack is a nefarious torture device created by the Draconae for their victims. This is true if the victim in question is delicious meat. The Rack, in other words, is a giant cooking area filled with grilling racks and pits. Shelves of ingredients and spices line the perimeter. Its most striking feature is the primary heat source, which uses magma rather than fire. Ingredients and meat unique to the Nether result in dishes and flavors not found elsewhere. Hot peppers are a popular feature.

The Draconae cook and share their food each night at the Rack. The station is always occupied. Locals take turns hunting and fishing, preparing ingredients, and cooking. Consequently, food is provided without cost. You only need to lend a hand.

Not everything goes smoothly, though. An escaped hatchling has infiltrated the Rack, and Khloris, the baby dragon, is eager to snatch and steal food throughout the week.

Earning the Torch

Impromptu competitions are frequent. They usually begin when one cook sees another outdoing them and makes a challenge. You can either issue a challenge or receive a challenge. Challenges can be between you and the natives, or you can face off with another Summoned. Judging is done by the crowd, which can be chaotic.

Not to worry! There's no downside to losing except your pride. Though the competition can grow fierce and heated in the moment - including vulgar insults and much jeering - once all is said and done, there are no grudges when the food hits the table. Sore losers are looked down on as being thin-skinned.

Winners will receive a jar of spice mix or marinating sauce from one of the many talented cooks. We won't be modding this aspect, so just be realistic with your character's cooking skills. Be sure to work things out with your thread partner if the competition involves another player character!

Escaped Hatchling

One young dragon has escaped its sanctuary at Dragon's Glass. Curious, it's drawn to the smell of food at Pyritean's Rack. As a result, it's disrupting competitions, breaking equipment, and stealing ingredients or even chunks of meat off people's plates. Desperate to get the dragon back before it causes more trouble - or worse, injures itself - the Draconae have asked you to catch the hatchling.

Of course, you'll need to contend with the dragon's unique abilities.

Khloris, the runaway in question, leaves behind small patches of grass. Its pollen dust coats nearly everything it goes near. When eaten or touched, the pollen causes flowers to sprout in your hair for a day or two. It can't fly far or very high, but it's prone to swooping down to snatch meat off the grill. The Flame informs you the dragon can be lured with gold trinkets or bright colors like red and yellow.

To see if your character can catch the dragon, submit for a roll HERE. Submissions will close October 18 at 11:59 ET. Results will be posted on October 19 so players can account for their success or failure.

Ailing Dragons

The two ailing dragons are Hierus, the Obsidian Drake, and Kruos, the Glass Serpent. Mated to each other, they're the only remaining adult dragons in the Nether and have been for decades. When you visit them at Dragon's Glass, their condition is worrisome. The dragons' scales have lost their luster and are grown over with painful white patches. They appear lethargic.

Those researching can offer the dragons healing potions or ointment to aid their symptoms while a cure is worked on. If you're not much of a healer or a scientist, you can feed them or simply spend time with them. The dragons are intelligent and appear capable of understanding you, though they can't communicate directly.

Characters have 3 avenues of participation, depending on their interests and strengths: gathering ingredients, researching the cure, and looking after the baby dragons and eggs. They'll have time to do all three throughout the 10-day excursion.

Finding a Cure

At first, you aren't sure where or how to start. The Draconae suggest the Ashlands may be a place to explore. It's dangerous, they warn, but they have a potion that'll help keep you safe. Due to the hazards, you're told not to go alone. As you travel through the deadened land, you notice an odd phenomenon: where you walk, the air around you clears, and the ground beneath your feet springs to life. You realize you don't need the potion to protect you.

The changes are temporary, fading behind you as you walk. Curiously, the effect you exhibit is similar to what the Draconae claim their dragons are capable of - though to a much smaller degree. Still, you have to wonder if you and the dragons share a similar magical connection to the Singularity. You can't help but notice that those of you who regularly interact with the Horizon and have been doing so for a while seem to affect your environment more. Your aura may be a little larger and the vicinity restored around you lasts a bit longer rather than melting away immediately - maybe even up to a minute or two.

Restoration and Gathering

Your ability to restore the land has unlocked a vital element. Ingredients once thought lost can now be gathered by the Summoned such as yourself, and they may hold the key to curing the dragons. Bring back these ingredients to your peers waiting at Dragon's Glass. The more you gather, the more they'll be able to research and experiment, so don't be shy about making multiple trips.

There are three sections for you to explore. Each one has its dangers and a specific ingredient to collect.

Due to its circumstances, Aetherie is only available on Day 9 of the event, shortly before the cure is finalized. The Draconae will seal the area once more when they realize what's happening. Cinder's Core and Featherhive are open for the full duration of the event.

◎ Cinder's Core

Filled with petrified trees and fossilized bones, the area that restores around you demonstrates its previous life as a flourishing rainforest: the humidity grows, the grass turns lush, and tropical flowers sprout under your fingertips. Although its sulfuric air won't affect you, you'll need to brave dangerous heights to reach the tops of trees and dried-up waterfall cliffs to retrieve the kydros fruit. The fruit smells like citrus and is surprisingly light despite its size.

Vines brought back to life can help you climb, forming ropes for you to climb and bridges that weave beneath your feet. They'll wither once more behind you, so you'll want to move quickly to avoid losing your footing. Height isn't the only danger - the ground below is littered with sharp skeletal protrusions and jagged trees. Beware of dangerous thorn bushes that will come to life in your presence and try to crush you in their spiny embrace as you ascend.

◎ Featherhive

The air here is too toxic for the Draconae to breathe in for long. Luckily you're unaffected. Scattered across the ground are the remaining husks of birds' nests. A dragon's skeleton curls under a rocky overhang. Use your restorative ability to journey deep into Featherhive's heart. Pushing aside the thick overgrowth reveals a small clearing covered in bright crystals for you to harvest.

Although Featherhive poses no physical danger, the land is haunted by shadow birds, ethereal spirits connected to the dragons - and you. As you pass through, they flutter around you and parrot familiar lines to each other. Their movements are jerky and strange. Quickly, you realize the birds are mimicking your memories. They might replicate an entire scene or echo a phrase or two that's plagued you all your life. Or, if you're lucky, they're merely repeating your grocery list. Shooing them will cause them to dissipate into smoke, but they'll soon return.

◎ Aetherie

The loss of a dragon released a noxious gas through this village without warning. Escaping villagers were forced to leave behind those they could not save and seal the doors. The Oblivion is a painful moment in history for many, and none have set foot near the area since. Near the end of your stay, the Draconae request you use your ability to venture where they can't and gather Anoix pods, powerful healing seeds from a plant that only grew in Aetherie. They believe the abandoned huts will contain pouches of the pods on shelves and cabinets.

Entering the village, you expect a tragic scene of corpses. Instead, you find something far worse. The dead have mutated into grotesque arachnids, limbs fused to bulbous abdomens. They show no signs of recognition or awareness and attack you on sight. Hidden in the depths of the purple haze, rat-sized spiders scurry forth. Their venom causes painful sores that will fester and spread if left untreated. Multiple bites may result in temporary blindness or paralysis of a limb. Luckily, this will clear up within 24 hours to a few days, depending on the severity.

Grab the pods if you can or flee if you're overwhelmed. When word reaches The Warden, she'll rapidly send her people to reseal the abandoned village and come to aid any who need it. If you're injured, The Flame and her apprentices will tend to you at Dragon's Glass.

Research and Magic

Dragon's Glass is a glass-domed temple said to be forged from the fires of Kruos. It's located in the Spiral, which is outside the Obsidian Heart. Here, the two remaining dragons reside while ill, along with their clutch of eggs and a few precious hatchlings.

Anneth, The Flame, will invite you into the temple's alchemy labs, where you can apply your skills and knowledge to create the healing elixir that cures the dragons. Doing so requires you to experiment with key ingredients found in the Ashlands. You'll have access to basic alchemy books and apprentices at the temple. Use any additional tools, supplies, and knowledge you possess, and take advantage of the resources donated by the factions.

How you approach your research is up to you, but each ingredient comes with a set of risks - so be careful while you work!

◎ The kydros fruit contains seeds that will explode when heated, causing a chain reaction like popped popcorn. The explosions aren't large, but they might scorch your supplies. Crushing them in the open air results in a similar chemical reaction. However, soaking them in water makes them soften into mush, allowing you to turn the seeds into a paste that could be useful. The fruit is similar to grapefruit and is excellent for a sore throat.

◎ The crystals come in three colors: red, blue, and black. Extended contact will dye your skin that color. The stains are extraordinarily stubborn, so your clothes may not recover. These crystals resonate with a strange hum that suggests they respond well to magic spells. Combining them with a liquid will give off a foul-smelling smoke, so you may need to find ways to neutralize the stench before combining it into an elixir.

◎ The Anoix pods must be used sparingly, as no more can be gathered from Aetherie. They possess strong healing properties, but each pod is very delicate and must be split open with care so as not to damage the soft seeds inside. In addition to researching the cure, you can also attempt to help the Dracaone grow new Anoix plants using the preserved seeds.

The final cure will use all 3 key ingredients. Don't worry too much about continuity! As long as your character participated, you can assume they made a valuable contribution.

However, to assist with coordination, we've provided a RESEARCH DISCOVERY section where you can present any findings your character would share with others in-game.

Hatchlings and Eggs

While curing the adult dragons is a priority, the hatchlings and eggs aren't to be neglected. Baby dragons are active troublemakers, and without their parents to keep them in line, they've become especially unruly. The apprentices at the temple can only do so much. The Keeper has even made rare appearances in Dragon's Glass to lend his assistance.

Meanwhile, the eggs are beginning to show signs of affliction. The shells are beginning to weaken, and the feathery growths appearing on them will suffocate the hatchling inside if left untreated.

Babysitting the Dragons

If you have a spare moment, you can look after the baby dragons. Keep them out of trouble by reading their favorite stories, singing songs, and playing with them. They'll also need to be fed, watered, and their bedding changed or fluffed. The hatchlings are mischievous but friendly. They're eager to bond with the Summoned for reasons unexplained, as if they feel something resonating within you.

Many are attracted to shiny objects and bright colors and will attempt to steal them. Conversely, they might gift you a trinket that they've pilfered from someone else. The local Draconae would appreciate it if you returned any missing tools or jewels.

Hatchlings you'll encounter in Dragon's Glass are:

◎ Okenus spouts water instead of flame. Bearing fins instead of wings, this sea dragon is vital to bringing lakes and rivers back to the Nether. Currently, it can only make tiny puddles and rainclouds. Watch that your belongings don't get wet. Standing near the dragon might cause a small storm cloud to spawn over you and rain down on your head. A simple spell will make the cloud disappear, but if you don't have any magic, you might have to bring an umbrella.

◎ Epeius can form miniature gusts of wind beneath its wings, but it doesn't have firm control and frequently spawns them when excited. These small dust devils and whirlwinds will follow you around. Though they aren't powerful, they can be a nuisance, knocking over cups, blowing away hats, and sending papers flying. The other hatchlings will find your misfortune a source of amusement.

◎ Ledas can help salt deposits form in the shape of large salt crystals. Salt is important to the Draconae, which the hatchling is aware of and thus takes great pride in its abilities. The crystals can be eaten as is or crushed into granules. Ledas will strive to impress you with the largest crystals that it can make...which occasionally results in the structure collapsing, littering the ground with salt. You might find yourself sweeping often around this dragon, but at least you'll never be short on seasoning.

◎ Anthusa is a very special hatchling that creates bioluminescent algae. The algae grow on its scales, forming a symbiotic relationship. Unfortunately, without a proper habitat for this algae in the Nether, its glow has dimmed in recent years and the hatchling has become languid and sickly despite its youth. Nonetheless, Anthusa is friendly and curious even if it struggles to keep up with its siblings. You can help Anthusa play by lifting it to heights it can't reach, and carrying it back when the dragon is too tired to walk.

Weakened Eggs

As noted, the eggs demonstrate signs of suffering, too. Three eggs are waiting to be hatched. Whether all of the eggs survive is dependent on the decision that each faction Conclave made regarding resources found, as well as the help provided by you and your fellow Summoned.

The eggs can't be cured until the dragons are cured, but you can help slow the growths by gently scraping them off and wiping the eggs regularly with a clean cloth. They must also be kept heated, so check the magma frequently and refill any magma basins. The growths can be donated to those researching for additional study if you wish.

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Comments

so sorry for the delay!

[thedreamer]

Oh, lovely things, those! Tattoos, I mean. So many species out there with their own variations, endless forms of self-expression. Humans seem particularly fond of them, and you're really endlessly inventive with them. Well done! But as we've established, no, this book is not about a particular proclivity for tattooing. Shame, would have been a delight.

[ A quick glance at a few other titles has him curious, though what the younger man says draws his attention back. ]

Swords and magic — yes, absolutely I'm with you, all the makings of a good story. Less so the excrement [ shit ], but easily forgiven if it's not a main feature of the overall plot, and I don't judge.

[ Is he joking? Is he not? Hard to say, when he immediately does a little spin towards the bookshelf, closes his eyes, and picks another book, holding it up right away without even looking at the title. ]

What does it say and what do we think? Any guesses what it's about? See how close we are.

no worries! delay apologies right back at you tbh...

[satanicpanics]

[ Even if he isn’t joking, he still gets a good laugh out of Eddie. For his inability to not slip in a joke whenever possible, Eddie may as well have been a court jester in a past life, and the Doctor gives off very similar vibes.

He squints at the book he's pulled from the shelves and snorts at the title. ]

Fireball Foes? Yeah, that one can probably go one of two ways, but I'm gonna say it's pretty straightforward. Draconae rivals, probably best friends once until one turned to the dark side. Now the other has to deal with the guilt of fighting his best friend. A tragic, gut-wrenching tale.

[ But he could be wrong!

Still, he didn’t miss the fact that this man has excluded himself when discussing the human race. Eddie lost his ability to be shocked ages ago. That ability started to slip way before he even left home, but his time here has just further cemented it. He’s met angels and vampires and bipedal shark men—and as human as he looks, he’s well aware that the Doctor could still be (almost) any of those. ]

So, uh…at risk of sounding rude, what are you if you’re not human?

it's all good!

[thedreamer]

Oh well done, writing the beginnings of a story as you go, thinking on your feet! All the makings of a real can't-wait-to-turn-the-page sort of thing.

[ He scrunches up his nose a bit. ]

...Page-turner? Ah, there we are. More succinct. Yes, anyway, bit of talent there you should put to use if you haven't already.

[ He shelves the book, reasoning out that the younger man's assessment of the actual plot is more than sufficient apparently. ]

That's us sorted with that one! We should do a collab! Probably not while we're here, though. Other things to tend to, and — ah, what gave it away?

[ Oh. Right. He did. ]

I love questions, do keep them coming, and rest assured this is low on the rudeness scale. I'm a Time Lord, actually. Humans and Time Lords might look the same, but we came first. And we have a few other bits humans don't have, like two hearts.

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie isn’t sure if this frantic sort of energy reminds him more of himself, of Robin, or his Hellfire freshmen back home. Either way, he likes it and respects it. That’s the type of energy he can really play off of. ]

Yeah, that’s kind of my thing—making up a story as you go. You ever played D&D? I run a campaign every month out of the Horizon.

[ Is that an invitation? It very well might be…But he digresses— ]

Oh, you know. Keen eye and a lucky guess.

[ He snorts, because yeah, the Doctor gave it away himself. ]

Alright, if you insist—

[ The book gets tossed aside. Eddie steeples his fingers with his elbows balanced on his knees, and begins to fire off a handful of questions: ]

Where is a Time Lord? Where do you come from? And, uh, how can you tell a Time Lord from a human without a full dissection? Because you look pretty human to me.

[thedreamer]

I haven't had the pleasure, but easily rectified! I'll absolutely be joining you.

[ That's really all the incentive and invitation that he needs, whether it was entirely intentional or not. He's used to just inviting himself along often enough.

As for the questions — he has plenty of real answers he won't give, secrets he won't divulge. There's much that he keeps locked down and if asked, he would divert and change the subject. But questions like these, surface level questions, are easy enough. Even if he won't entirely give full answers. He doesn't have to say Gallifrey, doesn't have to get specific, but he can give enough to keep up appearances, keep some mystery intact. ]

Good of you to think of avoiding dissection, I do prefer that. [ He smirks easily enough, finding humor in the suggestion more than anything else. ] Easiest way to tell a human and a Time Lord apart is checking the pulse. Two heartbeats. And I'm from a place a long way from Earth, in the constellation of Kasterborous. Out there in the stars — big and beautiful and vast. [ He assumes Earth as an easy point of reference. ]

[satanicpanics]

Well, alright.

[ He grins, and from the way he leaves it at that, it’s clear that it was very intentional. He’s always trying to get more people interested in his campaigns. There’s something pretty meta about going from actually facing dragons and other things that can kill you to playing a game where you do the exact same thing, but it hasn’t lost any of its enjoyment for him. ]

Hey, just being polite. I wouldn’t want to be dissected either.

[ He tilts his head as the Doctor answers his questions, and while vagueness isn’t lost on him, he doesn’t press for more definite answers. His eyes are wide and he’s interested enough in what answers he is getting. ]

So you’re an alien?

[ Technically they’re all sort of aliens to Abraxas, but that’s not really the definition he’s shooting for here. He’s going for “little green men from space”, barring the fact that the Doctor isn’t particularly green. ]

So, uh...be honest. No one's really coming up to take your pulse, right? So how many of you are just...out there? Living among humans?

[thedreamer]

Alien. That word. [ He smirks a little, the brightness never really leaving his eyes. ] Alien from outer space, yes, I am that. By the strict definition of the word, we're all alien! I'm just a bit cooler. No offense, my fine storytelling friend, but I do have a ship so that automatically qualifies me as cooler.

[ He does, at least, recognize what definition the younger man was going for with alien and it amuses him. But he has to boast about the ship because it is cool and he misses his old girl. ]

Oh, they do, that's the standard greeting where I'm from. Wave hello, check the pulse, carry on your way. But that's why I'm an alien! [ Cheeky wink. ] If you must know, another way to tell us apart is that humans — with rare exceptions — absolutely do not have the same appreciation for bow ties that Time Lords have.

[ Thank goodness Hilda had managed making some for him here, and he tugs on his now to emphasize it. Catastrophe otherwise! Is he also vaguely and non-seriously implying that all bow tie wearers might possibly be Time Lords? Perhaps. ]

The others never really liked living among humans, but I've been fond of Earth a long while now.

[ Another attempt to skirt around a straight answer there, though he wasn't careful enough not to use the past tense referring to the rest of his species. ]

[satanicpanics]

That’s what an alien would say.

[ He rolls his eyes, though his grin doesn’t falter and he doesn’t deny that the Doctor is probably correct about being cooler. He’s not human and he has two hearts and he’s willing to play along with Eddie’s jokes, so he’s already got a good head start.

The bow ties are a strike against him, though. ]

Oh, yeah, I’d know you in an instant. No human willingly wears a bow tie. Those are reserved for like—dead grandmothers’ funerals and weddings for family members you don’t really like.

[ Not that he would know. He’s never been to a grandmother’s funeral or to a wedding, but he does know that he has never worn a bow tie and he doesn’t intend to start wearing one. Doesn’t intend to wear a normal tie either. ]

You’ve never been to small town Indiana, then. Man, you’d swear off earth all together. Shitty weather, shittier people.

[ That is…only partially a joke, but you wouldn’t know by the way Eddie grins and carries on without missing a beat. ]

What makes you like it so much? Earth, I mean. Not Indiana.

[thedreamer]

Bow ties are cool! All the rage. [ — somewhere. Definitely. There's a planet of bow tie wearers, he's sure of it. ] Other civilizations agree! The Bow Tie Brotherhood of Artux V, for instance! Stellar devotees to the cause.

[ He may or may not have made this up... ]

Okay, fair point on Indiana, only in that I haven't been. Why are they both, well, what they are?

[ Shitty. He means shitty. You don't want to hear him try to say it, though. ]

As for why I like Earth so much — when I first started traveling the universe, I was quite different. We all are, though, aren't we, as we age? It was humans who showed me more of myself, the sort of Doctor I wanted to be. I learned from them and I've never really stopped. For all it gets wrong, humanity gets quite a lot right and when they don't, you lot keep trying in one way or another. Brilliant, you are. I've put a lot of work into it, too! Always come back.

[satanicpanics]

You know, I’m pretty sure you made that up.

[ Yeah, he’s catching on really quick to your stories, Doctor…you definitely have to be an alien to think bowties are anywhere near cool, but he’s not buying that there’s an entire civilization of bowtie fans. ]

I dunno, man. They just are. Cold winters, you don’t see sun for weeks on end, and good luck even existing if you’re the slightest bit different or people recognize your family name in the not-so great way. Oh! And Jesus Christ, don’t even try switching lanes driving anywhere near Indianapolis.

[ Okay, so he’s clearly had some not-so great experiences back home. Sometimes he feels guilty for not missing it, and other times he feels guilty for missing small parts of it, like his uncle, and his friends, the little record store downtown, but the list of people he’d like to see again isn’t very long. And he isn’t bitter; he doesn’t stay awake at night thinking about all the people who wronged him or wanted him dead. In hindsight, he’s just…kind of shocked that he managed to live twenty years in that hellhole without totally losing it.

It makes for an almost hilariously stark comparison to the way the Doctor speaks about the people he’s met. ]

Yeah, you have definitely never been to Indiana.

[ For all it gets wrong, humanity gets quite a lot right and when they don't, you lot keep trying in one way or another. That strikes a particularly loud chord, because he’s never thought about it that way. Earth is kind of a mess when you get right down to it, and it can be ugly when it wants to be, but humanity doesn’t stop trying. The human race always gets back up on its feet and tries again. ]

But hey, that’s honestly kind of beautiful, man. I guess humanity is either incredibly stubborn or incredibly stupid. I guess it makes us interesting.

[thedreamer]

I'd absolutely remember a place where switching lanes near Indianapolis seems its own tale of horror. I'm not the switching lanes sort, really, no patience for it. Mine's what you might call the path of least resistance.

[ Is he spoiled by being able to go anywhere and everywhere with relative ease? Undoubtedly. Is he also going slowly a bit more mad being trapped here without that particular mode of travel? Most certainly. Though, he understands he's not the only one. ]

And from the sound of it, they thought you the slightest bit different. No secret, they think that of me, too. Well, not the people from Indiana, though I'm sure they would. Point is, you're in good company and we'll make our own way, eh?

[ Said with an easy smile. ]

Like all things, humanity is a bit of everything along with being terribly interesting, but don't let it go to your head! Oh, forgetting myself a bit, but I don't think I formally said — I'm the Doctor.

[ He'd alluded to it, in any case, but official introductions and all! ]