[ Murphy feels a hundred yard stare settle on his expression. It's good that he has his mask on to avoid showing his hand too much. He honestly doesn't fully understand the tether situation, but he has heard the quickest way would be to engage in sexual activities with a person.
His eyebrows furrow as he glances toward Gorgug - and all his rock glory. A part of him flinches, but he soon shakes his head and refocuses his stare. ]
It's ... well, I dunno about special... just having an emotional connection with someone seems to be enough to create a tether with them and you.
[ That is the response of somebody trying to sound like they get it. It's that simple. Just have an emotional connection to make a psychic tether?
Gorgug creaks his head to the left, creaks it to the right, the sound like the grinding stone that it is as it rubs against the lower one that makes up his neck. He kind of wants to ask for tips, but that sounds like asking for help in a way that would make him look dumb, and he isn't here for that. Which leaves Gorgug empty, with nothing else but to... be here, he guesses. Stay safe.
His head turns back to Murphy, his black mask facing staring at him with its dot white eyes. ]
Then, I guess... I'll find somewhere to live and-- do that. Make a...connection. [ And then, thinking about it for a second more: ] Sorry you're turning into a fish person.
[ It feels like something nice to repeat. Sympathies, his condolences. ]
[ Murphy decides to say that much since he at least gets the tone of the response. It barely makes any sense why anything works, but it's one of those things he feels like he should've tried instead of focusing on surviving. Both are equally important --
-- he rubs the back of his head, messing up his hair. ]
But yeah, thanks... [ About being sorry that he's turning into a fish. ]
I think the tethers are... well, caring about someone deeply and having them let you care about them... to connect you to them so that you feel like you can find them if you need to do it... the idea that the person you care about is always close by. [ His shoulders do a quick jerking shrug. ] At least, I think that is what it is.
[ So tethers are just something that happen. Gorgug isn't sure why Murphy expanded on it (his confusion was surely not so obvious!), but if it is just a thing that happens, then it isn't something he needs to worry about, right?
It's just a thing that happens. Just like everything else currently going on: where you're on your vanboat one second, and in the next you're here, stuck in a city of bickering exes who happen to be gods, surrounded by rubble. ]
I...can do that, [ he says, a little uncertainly--not because of the ask from making a tether, but just because...it's still strange. Still odd. Here are the new rules of life to abide by, here's the new laws for living. ] I got good at making friends recently.
[ So he should be okay, technically. Maybe. He's still a person-shaped pile of rocks with a mask acting as an expressionless face, but that's what he has to be now. This is where he is now. This is what's happening.
He will attempt to sound understanding about it, like he's got this. It doesn't sound like there's much else for him to do. ]
It is good that he has the gas mask to cover up his momentarily confused expression. However, he shakes his head and decides not to read into that bit. ]
Yeah, me too. [ It took him a long time to be able to acquire his first tether, and he's slowly opening up a little more the more time spent in this strange place. ] Anyway, I think the two of us are ... friends, right?
[ More of a half-statement, half-question than anything else.
But he takes a step back, indicating his intent to leave. ]
Anyway, you know how to get a hold of me? [ Murph's a man who has to go see a pond - and thankfully, Central Park isn't that far to dunk his head into a puddle. ]
[ Can a teen be friends with an adult? .... well, this adult was a confused knight with him, so maybe that can indicate a bond. Good thing Murphy doesn't need an answer about that from Gorgug! (Even if he would say yes, just to be supportive...) ]
I think at you. [ Now that's one question he can answer, and he tries to tap at his forehead, like he has an actual real forehead he can do that with, but he ends up knocking his mask halfway off his face. ]
Noo nononono... [ He does manage to catch it, fortunately, and he fixes it back up, nothing behind on the rock where it sits. How? Who knows. Gorgug just doesn't want to lose it. ]
[ Murphy starts to say that Gorgug got it but pauses when the mask the rockman's wearing almost is knocked off his face. His head jerks toward where it is falling and his hand reaches out - but it's already caught, and he pulls his hand back. ]
I'm glad.
[ It's a lame response but he isn't sure what he should say. ]
Hey, is your mask fragile? [ Looking it over, he was hoping that it wasn't something that'd just shatter if it fell. But probably not! He just is sometimes a worrywart for no reason other than sometimes it's nice to worry. ]
[ He stares at the mask on Gorgug's face and wonders if there is a better way to fix it on the rock. His mouth works side-to-side beneath his own mask as he tries to mull over what to do. ]
-- well, I wonder if more straps might be the answer.
[ And he starts looking on his person to see if they can't come up with a makeshift solution. ]
Straps would be good. [ You know, it probably wouldn't be bad to make it harder to lose his apparent face. But he's also noticing the way Murphy is moving around, and: ] Do you carry straps around?
[ Is he the Strap Man? Is that why he thought about straps--!? ]
No. I'm thinking we'll have to make some makeshift ones for now.
[ Which would probably be ripping some pieces of clothes into straps until they could find something better. Does he have a knife or anything? No, but he does have webbed hands that are slowly turning into sharp claws. Cool? Not really.
He's trying to figure out how to rip his sleeve. Probably from the cuff down, yeah? Probably? ]
This wasn't where Gorgug was expecting this to go. Why not just be the strap guy who happens to carry around straps? Gorgug's watching Murphy, confused at first as the claws come out and then he's... measuring out his arm? Wait-- ]
You don't have to... [ It's not really a rushed protest. Gorgug, admittedly, isn't sure how to take what he thinks is happening. Be touched? Embarrassed? He kind of is embarrassed, actually. He doesn't want to lose his sight (and hearing, and means of speaking) while walking around, and it's not like he has better alternatives.
It's just awkward. ...and sure, it might be nice, too, but.
Gorgug doesn't know what else to do but to stand there, motionless, his emotions only evident through the sound of his voice, and perhaps the way that he's constantly connected to the murmur through the mask. ]
[ His chin drops a little as he tilts his head in confusion. Of course, he isn't sure how much of that confusion comes out in his body language and tone of voice - most of which continues to be muffled by the mask itself. ]
This is just a stopgap until you get something better.
[ A tilt of his head in the opposite direction before he does tear long strips off his own sleeve. It's not the most even of cuts, but hey - one does what one can as he rips off the material. He makes some noises as he looks it over - all right. ]
I wouldn't want to leave you without something, anyway.
Which is a moot point, now. It's been torn into, ripped, and Gorgug isn't going to fuss at this point about it. ]
I'll take care of it. [ You know, his strap of shirt. But if Murphy is going to remark on it like that, he'll treasure it as much as one can a random slip of cotton shirt! ] Also, not to-- can you also put it on? I think I will-- I'll definitely knock my mask off if I try that.
[ He's already thinking about trying to bend his arms in a new way he hasn't tried yet, and-- yeah. That'll go bad. ]
Well, it is important. [ The mask. ] But I think you already got that --
[ Anyway, he's got the straps of fabric so going to try to wrap it around the forehead(?) of the mask and around the back of Gorgug's head.
And, this is why it's good to have more than one makeshift strap so that he can try to use another piece of torn fabric to wrap around when it seems like the first strap isn't holding it as well as he would like. ]
I can still see. [ That's good. ...and about all he can judge about it when he can't feel anything, so trying to tell how secure it is isn't an option.
But he can turn his head left and right, to see if it falls off! Not very quickly, since he doesn't have good mobility for that, but--
Murphy, are the straps coming undone? Can you tell? Do they look secure? ]
Thank you. I don't know why I can't have eyes, or-- eye holes? The golems I've seen, they have sight in their heads. I'm pretty sure the last one I fought could see from its head.
I think because Sleep doesn't want us to be without our masks... it is also attached to the Murmur. It means we're always connected to one another.
[ His shoulders give a small little shrug. ]
But you've fought golems before? Actual ones? That's... [ He'd like to say crazy but more insanity will be coming. ] ... I'd like to think it'd prepare you for what is going to be headed our way.
[ Well, it sounds like he'll have to keep the mask on, then. ...even if he doesn't really have a choice! ]
If golems start attacking us, we'll put together a team and do our best not to die. [ Was that what Murphy was trying to say? Regardless, even with his mild-tone, there's a hint of confidence in this plan. It's what him and his friends always do!
...though, maybe he should ask: ] Have you ever-- fought monsters before?
[ He thought about asking 'have you ever been in a fight before?', but he does look like the guy who might've punched another guy. This is different. ]
Yeah, that kind of feels how things are here, too.
[ Everyone coming together to survive. It feels like that is about what it's like in this city. Of course, it's rougher than all that - still, one can't argue with results. ]
... but yeah, I've fought monsters before.
[ A pause and huffing laugh. ] Killed one with a brick once. More than once.
Nno... there's monsters in the woods. Or outside town. [ Well. ] That is, monsters can end up in backyards, but-- it sounded like, you have a monster problem, sometimes. But you didn't take fighting classes to deal with them.
[ You know! He's just a normal guy! With a brick! ]
No, I was just in a weird town that was crawling with monsters.
[ He waves his hand like that makes sense, but it doesn't. Clenching his fist, he feels the irritation roll up in him, but it's -- ]
I had to just kind of use whatever I came across to survive. [ Which sounds less funny now that he says it. One shoulder slumps but he smiles slightly. ]
Anyway, I'm glad that there weren't any monsters too close to you... but with rock skin, I suppose you'd be mostly safe? Maybe? I dunno... sorry, that sounded insensitive.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2026-04-23 06:56 pm (UTC)His eyebrows furrow as he glances toward Gorgug - and all his rock glory. A part of him flinches, but he soon shakes his head and refocuses his stare. ]
It's ... well, I dunno about special... just having an emotional connection with someone seems to be enough to create a tether with them and you.
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Date: 2026-04-25 05:01 pm (UTC)[ That is the response of somebody trying to sound like they get it. It's that simple. Just have an emotional connection to make a psychic tether?
Gorgug creaks his head to the left, creaks it to the right, the sound like the grinding stone that it is as it rubs against the lower one that makes up his neck. He kind of wants to ask for tips, but that sounds like asking for help in a way that would make him look dumb, and he isn't here for that. Which leaves Gorgug empty, with nothing else but to... be here, he guesses. Stay safe.
His head turns back to Murphy, his black mask facing staring at him with its dot white eyes. ]
Then, I guess... I'll find somewhere to live and-- do that. Make a...connection. [ And then, thinking about it for a second more: ] Sorry you're turning into a fish person.
[ It feels like something nice to repeat. Sympathies, his condolences. ]
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Date: 2026-04-25 05:45 pm (UTC)[ Murphy decides to say that much since he at least gets the tone of the response. It barely makes any sense why anything works, but it's one of those things he feels like he should've tried instead of focusing on surviving. Both are equally important --
-- he rubs the back of his head, messing up his hair. ]
But yeah, thanks... [ About being sorry that he's turning into a fish. ]
I think the tethers are... well, caring about someone deeply and having them let you care about them... to connect you to them so that you feel like you can find them if you need to do it... the idea that the person you care about is always close by. [ His shoulders do a quick jerking shrug. ] At least, I think that is what it is.
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Date: 2026-04-25 07:19 pm (UTC)It's just a thing that happens. Just like everything else currently going on: where you're on your vanboat one second, and in the next you're here, stuck in a city of bickering exes who happen to be gods, surrounded by rubble. ]
I...can do that, [ he says, a little uncertainly--not because of the ask from making a tether, but just because...it's still strange. Still odd. Here are the new rules of life to abide by, here's the new laws for living. ] I got good at making friends recently.
[ So he should be okay, technically. Maybe. He's still a person-shaped pile of rocks with a mask acting as an expressionless face, but that's what he has to be now. This is where he is now. This is what's happening.
He will attempt to sound understanding about it, like he's got this. It doesn't sound like there's much else for him to do. ]
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Date: 2026-04-25 07:39 pm (UTC)It is good that he has the gas mask to cover up his momentarily confused expression. However, he shakes his head and decides not to read into that bit. ]
Yeah, me too. [ It took him a long time to be able to acquire his first tether, and he's slowly opening up a little more the more time spent in this strange place. ] Anyway, I think the two of us are ... friends, right?
[ More of a half-statement, half-question than anything else.
But he takes a step back, indicating his intent to leave. ]
Anyway, you know how to get a hold of me? [ Murph's a man who has to go see a pond - and thankfully, Central Park isn't that far to dunk his head into a puddle. ]
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Date: 2026-04-25 08:06 pm (UTC)I think at you. [ Now that's one question he can answer, and he tries to tap at his forehead, like he has an actual real forehead he can do that with, but he ends up knocking his mask halfway off his face. ]
Noo nononono... [ He does manage to catch it, fortunately, and he fixes it back up, nothing behind on the rock where it sits. How? Who knows. Gorgug just doesn't want to lose it. ]
I'm fine.
[ Nothing to see here!! ]
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Date: 2026-04-25 11:03 pm (UTC)[ Murphy starts to say that Gorgug got it but pauses when the mask the rockman's wearing almost is knocked off his face. His head jerks toward where it is falling and his hand reaches out - but it's already caught, and he pulls his hand back. ]
I'm glad.
[ It's a lame response but he isn't sure what he should say. ]
Hey, is your mask fragile? [ Looking it over, he was hoping that it wasn't something that'd just shatter if it fell. But probably not! He just is sometimes a worrywart for no reason other than sometimes it's nice to worry. ]
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Date: 2026-04-26 03:22 pm (UTC)I don't know, [ he admits, and there's a beat of silence before, also: ] I can't see anything without it, so I don't really want to find out.
[ That would be bad? That would be bad. ]
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Date: 2026-04-26 06:13 pm (UTC)[ He stares at the mask on Gorgug's face and wonders if there is a better way to fix it on the rock. His mouth works side-to-side beneath his own mask as he tries to mull over what to do. ]
-- well, I wonder if more straps might be the answer.
[ And he starts looking on his person to see if they can't come up with a makeshift solution. ]
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Date: 2026-04-30 06:53 pm (UTC)Straps would be good. [ You know, it probably wouldn't be bad to make it harder to lose his apparent face. But he's also noticing the way Murphy is moving around, and: ] Do you carry straps around?
[ Is he the Strap Man? Is that why he thought about straps--!? ]
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Date: 2026-05-04 02:28 am (UTC)[ Which would probably be ripping some pieces of clothes into straps until they could find something better. Does he have a knife or anything? No, but he does have webbed hands that are slowly turning into sharp claws. Cool? Not really.
He's trying to figure out how to rip his sleeve. Probably from the cuff down, yeah? Probably? ]
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Date: 2026-05-04 08:20 am (UTC)This wasn't where Gorgug was expecting this to go. Why not just be the strap guy who happens to carry around straps? Gorgug's watching Murphy, confused at first as the claws come out and then he's... measuring out his arm? Wait-- ]
You don't have to... [ It's not really a rushed protest. Gorgug, admittedly, isn't sure how to take what he thinks is happening. Be touched? Embarrassed? He kind of is embarrassed, actually. He doesn't want to lose his sight (and hearing, and means of speaking) while walking around, and it's not like he has better alternatives.
It's just awkward. ...and sure, it might be nice, too, but.
Gorgug doesn't know what else to do but to stand there, motionless, his emotions only evident through the sound of his voice, and perhaps the way that he's constantly connected to the murmur through the mask. ]
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Date: 2026-05-06 04:15 am (UTC)[ His chin drops a little as he tilts his head in confusion. Of course, he isn't sure how much of that confusion comes out in his body language and tone of voice - most of which continues to be muffled by the mask itself. ]
This is just a stopgap until you get something better.
[ A tilt of his head in the opposite direction before he does tear long strips off his own sleeve. It's not the most even of cuts, but hey - one does what one can as he rips off the material. He makes some noises as he looks it over - all right. ]
I wouldn't want to leave you without something, anyway.
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Date: 2026-05-06 05:07 am (UTC)Which is a moot point, now. It's been torn into, ripped, and Gorgug isn't going to fuss at this point about it. ]
I'll take care of it. [ You know, his strap of shirt. But if Murphy is going to remark on it like that, he'll treasure it as much as one can a random slip of cotton shirt! ] Also, not to-- can you also put it on? I think I will-- I'll definitely knock my mask off if I try that.
[ He's already thinking about trying to bend his arms in a new way he hasn't tried yet, and-- yeah. That'll go bad. ]
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Date: 2026-05-06 05:33 am (UTC)[ Anyway, he's got the straps of fabric so going to try to wrap it around the forehead(?) of the mask and around the back of Gorgug's head.
And, this is why it's good to have more than one makeshift strap so that he can try to use another piece of torn fabric to wrap around when it seems like the first strap isn't holding it as well as he would like. ]
-- how's that?
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Date: 2026-05-06 11:27 am (UTC)But he can turn his head left and right, to see if it falls off! Not very quickly, since he doesn't have good mobility for that, but--
Murphy, are the straps coming undone? Can you tell? Do they look secure? ]
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Date: 2026-05-06 11:42 pm (UTC)[ So he says making another knot. ]
That should tide you over until we find some actual straps for the mask, at least.
[ He lets out a long sigh. ]
I'm glad you're able to still see, too. It'd kind of be pointless otherwise.
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Date: 2026-05-07 03:58 pm (UTC)[ It was just slow! And very big. ]
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Date: 2026-05-08 12:53 am (UTC)[ His shoulders give a small little shrug. ]
But you've fought golems before? Actual ones? That's... [ He'd like to say crazy but more insanity will be coming. ] ... I'd like to think it'd prepare you for what is going to be headed our way.
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Date: 2026-05-08 08:34 pm (UTC)If golems start attacking us, we'll put together a team and do our best not to die. [ Was that what Murphy was trying to say? Regardless, even with his mild-tone, there's a hint of confidence in this plan. It's what him and his friends always do!
...though, maybe he should ask: ] Have you ever-- fought monsters before?
[ He thought about asking 'have you ever been in a fight before?', but he does look like the guy who might've punched another guy. This is different. ]
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Date: 2026-05-09 01:13 am (UTC)[ Everyone coming together to survive. It feels like that is about what it's like in this city. Of course, it's rougher than all that - still, one can't argue with results. ]
... but yeah, I've fought monsters before.
[ A pause and huffing laugh. ] Killed one with a brick once. More than once.
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Date: 2026-05-09 05:57 am (UTC)...were they in your backyard?
[ Did he just... pick up a brick because they ended up outside his house? ]
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Date: 2026-05-09 04:08 pm (UTC)... were yours?
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Date: 2026-05-09 04:18 pm (UTC)[ You know! He's just a normal guy! With a brick! ]
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Date: 2026-05-09 04:35 pm (UTC)No, I was just in a weird town that was crawling with monsters.
[ He waves his hand like that makes sense, but it doesn't. Clenching his fist, he feels the irritation roll up in him, but it's -- ]
I had to just kind of use whatever I came across to survive. [ Which sounds less funny now that he says it. One shoulder slumps but he smiles slightly. ]
Anyway, I'm glad that there weren't any monsters too close to you... but with rock skin, I suppose you'd be mostly safe? Maybe? I dunno... sorry, that sounded insensitive.
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