video ; @thundaga

[astraphilia]

[ the video opens up on a shot of the pool—the shallower one, not the deep one with the diving board. Reno reaches down to stick his fingers in the water, swishes them around a little bit, and then flicks the water off of his fingertips back where it belongs.

the angle changes as he stands from the edge of the pool, and the video swaps to the front camera so Reno can address it, the blue of the pool still visiible over his shoulder. although he's fully dressed, the eagle-eyed may notice that the tips of his hair are a little damp, like he'd been in the pool not all that long ago. ]

Yo. I'm Reno. [ a brief two-fingered salute, before he gets to the real meat of his question. ]

So, anybody tried out our brand spankin' new swim facilities? Specifically this one right here.

[ he gestures back over his shoulder. again: he's talking about the shallower pool! not the deep creepy monster-infested one, he isn't even looking at that one. fuck that one. ]

I'm collectin' anecdotal evidence. If you've taken a dip, mind sharin' how it made ya feel? No wrong answers.

Comments

video; @TeslaCoils

[codenametesla]

You went in there??

[Cue a VERY incredulous Althea looking exasperated in a hurridly turned on video. He may not have been there as long as she had, but he had to be getting the idea that going into new places as soon as they opened was bad, right?

And it was WATER! Eugh!]

I guess you didn't get horror movie'd in there, though... are you asking for a reason? Did something else weird happen?

[astraphilia]

Bzzzt. Sorry! [ that's the "wrong!" buzzer noise for you, Althea! he did indeed get horror movie'd—just not in the pool he's currently asking about.

to make that point clear, Reno flips the camera again so he can stretch out one hand and point emphatically to the diving board and the deep, creepy-ass water below it. ] The horror-movie-ing took place there, since ya asked.

[ aaand back to him. ]

I actually had a great time in the shallow one. So great it's makin' me a little suspicious.

[codenametesla]

[Hah... hahah... she looks absolutely horrified at that knowledge, and if there had been any chance of her testing out the pool, it was GONE now.]

I'm... wow. I'm glad you're alright but what the hell? I would already have been suspicious of even the shallow one but that would definitely make it worse. You'll have to keep an eye on yourself in case there are effects that happen later.

[astraphilia]

[ always glad to take the L so somebody else doesn't have to. (just kidding, he's not glad about it, but it does seem to be his lot in life sometimes...) ]

So far so good, but I'm keepin' an eye on it.

[ little does he know it's only because he showered before leaving the pool. good hygiene will get you so far in life. ]

Now I'm tryin' to figure out if it's just me or if other people have similar stories.

[codenametesla]

[We appreciate your service, Reno. o7

She sighs and shakes her head.]

Well there is NO way I'm going near that now, but I'll keep an ear out for other people swimming in the shallows. Are there.. signs that warn for the deep or is that something we're just going to have to spread the word on?

text | un: AbyssalBlade

[alloriginalheavenlypillar]

Are people here idiots? As pristine as that water looks, it stinks with a terrible odor that anyone could smell a mile off. One may as well take a bath in acid or poison and be done with it.

[astraphilia]

first time encountering chlorine, I take it?

[alloriginalheavenlypillar]

Is that what you call it? It reeks.

[astraphilia]

it's no bouquet of roses, that's for sure. it's a chemical, it keeps the water sanitary.

[alloriginalheavenlypillar]

Sanitary for what? Drinking? Swimming in?

Just boil it like a sane person.

Or are you microdosing poison to build an immunity?

video; @cyclops

[laserguy]

I tried the other pool, accidentally. Wouldn't recommend that one.

[Maybe Reno wouldn't, but Scott figures to just throw that out there anyway. Almost drowning isn't an activity he recommends.] Had a better time in Pool Number 1?

[astraphilia]

Oof. Yeah—had a great time in #1, terrible time in #2. Pretty much one after another, too.

[ a real rollercoaster of an afternoon! ]

I can't rightly say a pool that messes around with your emotions is all that much better than a pool with monsters in it, but at least it's less likely to kill ya.

[laserguy]

[One eyebrow visibly lifts above his visor.]

What I'm really hearing is 'don't go into either pool.' Got it.

[astraphilia]

I mean, I aint' gonna tell ya how to live your life...

[ but yes, it's obvious from Reno's disdainful expression espescially re Pool #2 that he agrees with this assessment. ]

But I wouldn't exactly recommend either, that's for sure.

video; un: yesod

[wordchain]

[ While Yesod hasn't ventured to the brand spanking new swim facilities himself, let alone considered undressing in a public place to explore them personally for science, strange locations suddenly becoming accessible are a topic to follow. ]

I take it that you've experienced its effects?

[astraphilia]

Oh yeah. It was a real treat.

[ the worst part is he's only halfway being sarcastic, because actually the dip in the shallower, less-horrifying pool had been really pleasant.

which is part of the problem as far as Reno's concerned. ]

The shallow one was real nice. Like floating in there took all my worries away, y'know? The deep one's the one you gotta look out for.

[wordchain]

Could you elaborate on both? For example, did the first simply result in physical and mental relaxation or do you believe that prolonged exposure to the water would have an impact on your memories?

[ As pleasant as the shallow pool may be, it's possible that even this isn't without its consequences. ]

[astraphilia]

The deep one's easy—there's definitely somethin' living in there. It's strong, most likely not human, and wants to yank us down to our watery demises. Got me good by the ankle.

[ and only by the grace of Prompto had Reno managed to emerge relatively unscathed, although there's still some remnants of a scrape along his back and arm from where he was dragged on the pool deck. ]

The shallow one... [ here he pauses, more to organize his thoughts than anything. ] It wasn't about memories, least not as long as I was in there. Felt more like... bein' in there just made everything easier. All my normal thoughts, worries—none of it mattered.

video; un: hythlodaeus

[nomoresharks]

I had been thinking about it, but now I'm not so sure.

[People don't just ask questions like that for no reason, after all.]

'Tis as if every leisure activity comes with some sort of catch.

[astraphilia]

Hey, if it ain't my party trick friend. I was meaning to send you a message.

[ the message was unrelated to the pool, but the pool has been a pretty distracting event, as it turns out. between healing up the related injuries and just... wondering what the hell's going on in those waters... ]

I'm learnin' my lesson quick about going into buildings that just opened up. Thinkin' there might need to be a cooling-off period before they're safe to visit.

[nomoresharks]

That... makes a surprising amount of sense, actually. Perhaps whatever force creates them needs time to stabilize.

How concerned should I be about the pools?

[astraphilia]

Very about the deeper one, with the diving board. I wouldn't even walk near it if I were you. [ Reno shudders theatrically. ] Somethin' grabbed me and yanked me right in. Almost died.

[ the drama in his retelling is there to mask how genuinely horrifying this experience was, even though it wouldn't be the first time Reno's almost died. thus he's happy to change the subject: ]

The shallower one's more interesting to me. Nothin' in it as far as I can tell, but spending time in there felt... good. Like forgettin' all my worries, just enjoying the moment. [ wryly: ] That ain't something I'm usually all that good at.

audio; username: mr. chandler

[lupusintus]

[ Oh. That. ]

Yeah, I've had the pleasure, but didn't stick around long enough to feel anything but disgusted by the smell.

Other one's worse.

audio ; @thundaga

[astraphilia]

Disappointed to report that me'n the monster in the deep end are well-acquainted. [ almost drowning is such a drag ] But that one seems pretty straightforward: we got somethin' living in the water. The shallower one's a bigger mystery to me.

Although I can't say I recommend you tryin' it out just to see what I mean.

[lupusintus]

I had to save an angry little cat from drowning, afraid I was paying more attention to her than monsters of the deep. [ Sorry Ayano ]

Way ahead of you, couldn't pay me enough to take another dip.