heart and soul

[soldieronwards]

The ground falls out beneath you. You're in midair, you're surrounded by swirling clouds, and there's nowhere stable to put your feet. The space between your body and the turbulence around you feels poorly defined as well; where do you end and your surroundings begin? Is there a stable you in the first place?

But eventually--

[ Join channel #nobodystaysdeadincomics on IRC. ]

Comments

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

Which one?

They're a set of how-to manuals. "How to Kill a Person in Six Ways with Your Bare Hands" is one; "How to Smile When You're Feeling Scared and Angry" is another. Both of those have seen more use than the remaining one, which is, "How to Talk to Girls."

Re: START

[glorious]

[................]

["How to Smile When You're Feeling Scared and Angry"]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

It mostly has pictures.

Re: START

[glorious]

[looking over each of the pictures carefully and makes a note of which ones correspond to which emotion, before setting the pamphlet down and looking at "How to Kill a Person in Six Ways with Your Bare Hands".]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

It has alarmingly detailed instructions and diagrams.

Re: START

[glorious]

[...well, making a note of those too before moving on to "How to Talk to Girls."]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

It's mostly blank, except for some question marks and smiley faces.

Re: START

[glorious]

[...]

[pulling a pen out from his inventory and writes "Approach a woman and say 'Hello'. Allow the conversation to continue normally, then ask her to partake in a romantic activity with you if you believe you've made a good impression."]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

?!

Re: START

[glorious]

[...]

["If you don't know what could be considered a romantic activity, do further research on your own or ask a (trustworthy) friend for advice."]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

There's no response save for the faintest distant sense of bemusement.

Re: START

[glorious]

[I'll assume that I helped then.]

[picking up a deck of playing cards to see if there's anything special about them]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

The design on the back is a star in red, white, and blue. Most of them seem normal, but two in each deck are a little heavier and thicker than the others.

Re: START

[glorious]

[pulling out those two to look]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

They're the king and queen of hearts. The former depicts a blond man wearing red, white, and blue, and the latter a redheaded woman wearing black. On closer examination, they aren't normal playing cards at all, but keycards, with a magnetic strip on the back.

Re: START

[glorious]

[...going to pocket those and then head over to the electronic devices.]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

It's the size and shape of a large brick. A small screen on its side reads ARMED in blinking red letters. There's a port next to the screen as if for something to be plugged into it, and absolutely no other controls. It seems to be bolted to the floor and walls.

Re: START

[glorious]

[I have no idea what that thing is but I can extrapolate from 'ARMED' that it is probably explosive and not for poking.]

[what sort of 'plug' is it?]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

It's a USB port, basically. Sorry, fantasy character.

Re: START

[glorious]

[...so I have no idea what it is but I can probably...look for matching parts, maybe.]

[heading back towards the grate to open it and head out to the corridor]

Re: START

[soldieronwards]

Out you go.