Intro Overflow: May

[moustre]

Intro Log: May, Overflow

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[tinyfood]

"A sun," Entrapta repeats, intrigued, urgently taking notes. "No, it's just Etheria and the moons out there. Some surviving First Ones relics mention stars, but -- well, we only have hypotheses about what they were or what happened to them!"

[alienwear]

"Stars," Peridot swears weakly in this, the most confusing possible moment to use that exact phrasing. No sun, no stars... A life supporting planet somehow thriving off somewhere so deep in dark space that the residual light from other celestial bodies isn't even visible from there? They had stars, but then they disappeared? Did they all blink out at once?

She shakes her head, promptly moving on. "Your moons must be geo-luminescent in some manner, if they're capable of producing photons without there being a sun to reflect them from," she murmurs, rubbing her chin. "Or perhaps they have some quality that allowed them to store up light from a time when your system did have a sun, back when the planet and it's satellites were still in their primordial state."

Either way, an entire moon made up of naturally occurring light producing rocks? That would certainly be very useful to Homeworld. Good thing Peridot is no longer of a mind that's pro-colonization.

[tinyfood]

"Hmmm," says Entrapta, "If you're right and that's not their natural state, then it could be something the First Ones did... I'd love to get up there to examine them, but the energy you'd need would be immense..."

Her brow creases briefly as she looks down at her notepad, then back at Peridot, eyes bright. "So this 'sun' you're talking about, that's... the word for when a planet orbits a star? And you think Etheria must have been that close to one when the First Ones were around?"

[alienwear]

Peridot sighs, finally resigning herself to the fact that this is just how this conversation is going to go. Apparently she's just going to have to explain basic astronomy to this human? Alright. Sure. At least it gives her an appropriate excuse to show off how smart she is.

"'Close' is always a relative term when you're discussing Space. For example, the distance between the planet Earth and it's sun is still a sizable distance of about 92.96 million miles... But with the mass and power of a star that size, that's the perfect orbital distance to provide the ideal amount of heat and light required to support the variety of life that qualifies it as a complex biome. That's why what you're saying doesn't really make any sense. I've never heard of those conditions being achieved without a star being present to provide the necessary energy."

[tinyfood]

Entrapta taps the end of her pen against her chin.

"Etheria definitely doesn't have any issues supporting a complex ecosystem... So I think we can conclude that either the fundamental laws that govern life itself are completely different in the world you come from and the one I come from, or," she's taking notes vigorously again at this point, "the extent to which the First Ones altered Etheria goes beyond even my most extreme theories – maybe both."

[alienwear]

"Ktcch," Peridot starts, making a derisive noise in the back of her throat, fully prepared to brush anything Entrapta says off as the pointless ramblings of someone who doesn't know what a sun is. But then she actually thinks about it for longer than a second, and...

"That's... A intriguing theory, actually," she admits.

[tinyfood]

"Yes!" says Entrapta eagerly, completely disregarding Peridot's initial derision. "I mean, look at it, if it's true that the way magic works is different in every world, which so far seems to be the case... why not, well, all the other stuff, too?"

She flips over a page, a little breathless, and looks back at Peridot. "Of course there's no way we can verify any of this yet except with what people report about the worlds they've come from, but if we're all here now like this there must be some way to tap into whatever linked all these different worlds, which would be incredible, imagine the potential--!"

[alienwear]

Peridot just watches and listens while Entrapta goes on, quietly bemused. Honestly, she's downright chill by comparison, which is kind of impressive.

"Yeeeeaahhh, that's all very exciting, but frankly? The potential I'm most concerned with is using it to get back to my own world," she says finally. "No offense. I mean, this place isn't not interesting but, I was just starting to really delve into the many mysteries of organic life on Earth!"

[tinyfood]

"Oh," says Entrapta, deflating a little – only a little, though. "Well, I mean, sure, I was making some pretty big breakthroughs back on Etheria before I wound up here, but – the ramifications of what's happened here go so far beyond anything I've ever seen before!"

[alienwear]

"Mmmm... It is rather intriguing, when you put it like that," Peridot agrees reluctantly. "You're really not even a little bit concerned about going back to this Etheria place, though?"

[tinyfood]

"Well, yeah..." Entrapta fiddles with the stray lock of hair at the side of her face. "But, if I'm gone for too long and my friends have forgotten about me again then! There's nothing I can do about that!" She laughs awkwardly. "So I figure I should just focus on what I can learn here and then maybe I won't even mind if I can't go back so it'll be fine."

[alienwear]

Peridot blinks at her. Yikes that statement sure was hoisting a lot of baggage.

"Wow. I've never heard anyone say anything that's so admirable and pathetic and defeatist at the same time," she says point blank, with her usual sense of brutal honesty. "I mean I get the idea of making the best of a bad situation, but. You can't just ignore the situation. Also why would your friends just forget about you?"

[tinyfood]

"Look, ah, I don't really wanna talk about this," says Entrapta. She's twining that lock of hair around her gloved fingers now, diligently fussing it against her jawline.

[alienwear]

Oh of course, now she has something she doesn't want to talk about. Peridot frowns, brow furrowing slightly before she decides to be respectful and just drop it.

"Alright. Well... You seem like an interesting enough person, and not completely insane. You should come hang out with me and my Pumpkin and my friend Steven some time, as long as we're all still stuck here."

[tinyfood]

"... Wait." Entrapta blinks. "Really?? I mean – sure!"

[alienwear]

"I mean. Yeah, why not? We can sit down and I can properly answer your numerous questions about space, keheheheheh."

[tinyfood]

Entrapta beams. "Yes! I have so many questions. When can I come ask them??"

[alienwear]

"Hmmm... Come find me at the coven tomorrow," Peridot decides. "My schedule is kind of wide open."

[tinyfood]

"It's a date!" exclaims Entrapta, clapping her hands together delightedly. "I'll see you tomorrow, I want to get a hold of more of these runes."

[alienwear]

Peridot nods and hums in affirmation. "I should probably go look for Steven anyway. Let me know tomorrow if you find out anything interesting about those runes."