Fandom This Is The World We Live In - Welcome To New Wirral!

[helloCanIGo]

Technically speaking, Lucille wasn't even supposed to be this far out of town, and he could see the docks from here. He couldn't help himself- wandering was just what he did.

Pale sand shifted beneath his worn out sneakers. It crunched under his makeshift cane as he dug it into the sand as he took heavy, slow step after step, scanning the beach for any sign of movement. One hand kept jumping to his pocket, hovering over his cassette player, before slowly laying back over his cane again. He'd be in trouble if he had to run, and although he wasn't all that great at fighting...

His attention snapped to a silhouette in the distance. Not plastic, nor a traffikrab, and certainly not a bulky old crate. It couldn't be a... person, could it?

All caution promptly forgotten, Lucy stumbled towards the figure. You could never be to careful- it was more than worth checking, right?

 

[Galateen]

Lucille would end up making his way toward the silhouette in this distance. It was difficult to make out what it was at first, but as he continued to get closer and closer, the more humanoid the silhouette looked until it was no longer a Silhouette, but a person. The individual who seemed to have washed up on a beach appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties. He seemed to be around 5' 10" in height and his build seemed to be rather average, maybe just a little skinny but that would be stretching it a little bit. He had blond hair and his clothing seemed to be worn out and dirty, consisting of a worn out black T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of filthy green Tennis shoes. His clothing was also soaked but that made sense considering that he appeared to have washed up onto shore.

This person was laying down on his back, his head looking up into the sky but his eyes were closed. He was currently unconscious but alive.

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy leaned on his cane and sighed. It dawned on him then exactly what he had stumbled into. This was... a hefty responsibility. Washing up was disorienting enough on its own, and this guy was completely unprotected- it'd be completely up to Lucy to get him to town safe and sound, and he himself was already injured.
With some effort, he crouched down, and nudged the stranger's shoulder, hoping to wake up him up sooner rather than later.
"Um... h-hey? Are you alright?"

 

[Galateen]

Once Lucy nudged the blond haired stranger's shoulder, it wouldn't take much for him to start waking up. The stranger would groan, as if he was forced out of a long night's rest and his eyes would begin to open. Once he opened his eyes, he would see someone crouched down beside him, someone he did'nt recognize either. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine... Just a bit dazed is all..." The stranger would slowly sit up on the sand. This was when he begun to realize something was wrong. There was debris everywhere. Metal Containers in the sand, wood. Mainly metal objects but they were scattered about the beach but it was defiently concerning to say the least. Despite that, Milo remained calm, turning to look at the person beside to him. "What is this place? I don't remember being here at all."

 

[helloCanIGo]

The stranger was weirdly lucid so far- deceptively so, maybe. It was still worth keeping a close eye on him, or he might hurt himself getting up too fast. That was pretty common, as far as Lucy had heard.
"Ah- so- well, there's quite a bit to explain- just take it slow, okay?" He checked over his shoulder, checking for any movement. The beach was still clear- aside from the garbage, of course.

"I'm Lucille, by the way- um... just call me Lucy. This is New Wirral, an island in the middle of... some ocean, or another. Pretty far from home, though, that's for sure. We're right outside a settlement called Harbourtown- it's safe there, tons of other people that can help you get settled and all... um..." he trailed off. That was all the important stuff, right? That's what he would want to hear.

...He wasn't any good at this, but it would have to do. He looked around again. Still nothing- still safe. Slowly, he propped himself up, stumbling back to his feet.

The stranger could probably see him a bit better now, having been awake for a moment. Lucy's clothes were all seemingly worn out. Dusty-gray, frayed jeans (that may have once even been jet black) were more cotton patches than denim, painted with faded acrylic paint and loose embroidery. His jacket was a similar patchwork, and way oversized, fitting loose over his awkward frame. His hair was a mess of black, wavy curls, and his pointed nose was slightly crooked.

 

[Galateen]

Milo wasn't really the person to take it slow when someone told him to. However, he realized that he must of washed up on some strange beach one way or another. He was also cold and soaked. Perhaps it would be best to take things slow for right now. "Alright, I will. So what's going on then?" The Blond stranger would cross his legs as he listened to Lucy, being patient and being sure to keep his eyes and ears focused on him as he explained the situation. Milo would end up raising on brow upon hearing him say that other people could help him get settled. He did not want to settle down, he know he just got here, but he knew he needed to leave. He had to earn his degree so he can officially become an animal Biologist, instead of just being one in training, he had family and friends to get back to. So settling down wasn't an option for him.

He would then proceed to stand up quickly despite being told to take it slow. Perhaps he was just excited to meet a new person. "It's nice to meet you Lucy, I'm Milo! I never heard of Harbortown but I'm afraid I can't stay here for long, though a change of clothes would be nice. I got to get back home y'know, I don't really have time to settle down, though I appreciate the offer." There was a smile on his face as he spoke, he was cheerful despite the circumstances. That was mainly because he currently saw his unfortunate circumstance of being washed up as a minor setback. He was sure that within a few days, he could return to his old way of living, right?

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy winced. He forgot that bit... did he really have to be the one to break the news?
He weighed his options for a moment, watching Milo carefully to ensure he was steady.
Finally, with a deep, sharp breath, Lucy began, "so... look. I know this is... sort of hard, but, there's- none of us have really been able to- I mean... um... there isn't a way back." He looks away, flinching. That was... awful, actually! Why did this have to be him? Maybe he should've gotten someone else instead-
"We're stuck here. Harbourtown was set up by people who crashed here a hundred years ago, and folks have washed up here since before anyone actually knows. There's no way back- someone would've found it by now."

 

[Galateen]

When Milo heard this information, his cheerful demeanor crumbled away, his smile vanished and the reality of this situation was finally setting in. "Wait, am I actually stuck here? I got freinds and family back home... I need to finish my degree... I... The stranger felt a mixture of emotions. Fear, sadness, doubt and so on. He felt defeated. The town was nearby right? Maybe he should go and ask someone over there. No, that wouldn't do any good either. He fell to his knees in defeat and a couple of tears roll would roll down his eyes. He was sad, and he felt lightheaded. This was so much to take in, and he was taking it all in at once too. He was scared, worried and he did'nt know what to do.

 

[helloCanIGo]

Great... just- great. He was crushed, and it was Lucy's fault.
Giving one more cursory scan of the beach around them for good measure, he thought for a moment.

"...I left a lot behind, too. Um, not on purpose, either." He turned towards Milo. Empathy, right- you were supposed to empathize in these sorts of situations?

"I sort of dropped out of college. I meant to go back, but, well..." he gestured around him, to the beach- the island. "All of us have our unfinished business, you know? Families and friends and... partners." He flinched- composed himself- crouched back down to meet Milo's eyes. "But there's plenty here worth making a life for. It's beautiful- really! This beach isn't a great first impression... so, look- we'll head over to town, and you'll see what New Wirral really has to offer, okay?"

He paused, thinking again about being in Milo's place- and about what had kept him busy these past few years...
"...And, hey, you know what? I bet we could find something you'd be just as interested in- what was your major? What were you studying for?"

 

[Galateen]

Milo felt crushed, he was cheerful earlier because he believed he could find a way back, but now that he knew that he couldn't, he felt hopeless, defeated. He did'nt know where to go from here. At the very least, he was willing to hear Lucy out. He would look at him, listening to him as he tried to cheer him up, to empathize with him. From what he said, it sounded like Lucy and everyone else here was trying to make the best out of what they had here despite having unfinished business. New Wirral also sounded like it was beautiful place. He just happened to be in the worst spot on the island, hopefully. "Okay... I'll give it a shot." He seemed to perk up a little when he heard Lucy say that she could find something he would be interested in.

"I was majoring in Wildlife biology, to mainly study the biology of animals, and how they affect the environment around them."

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy stared. That... worked out  perfectly.
"O-oh? Yeah? Hm... if you're not in a hurry... Do you want to see something cool?" He stepped back, looking over the beach. There was that traffic cone he had been watching. Sure, it hadn't  moved, but it hadn't been provoked, either.

This was stupid, and dangerous, and stupidly dangerous, but he could handle a traffikrab, of all things- and if there was any chance of cheering this guy up... well, he was a little desperate.

 

[Galateen]

Milo wasn't sure what Lucy wanted to show him but, he needed to get his mind off of things for a while. So he was down with seeing whatever Lucy wanted to show Milo. "S-Sure, why not?" The twenty year old would slowly stand up, brushing the sand off of his jeans before looking back at Lucy.

(Sorry it's so short, I'll be sure to make my resposnes longer within the next couple of posts.)

 

[helloCanIGo]

(Not every one of them needs to be a novel- whatever length keeps things flowing is good enough, you did just fine!)

Lucy nods, scooping up a plastic bottle from the beach. He beckons Milo to follow him a bit further from the shoreline, before stopping suddenly.
"Here, wait for just a second- try not to get too much closer."

Lucy takes a few steps forward, his eyes locked on the traffic cone. Two claws are nestled beneath it, as expected. He sticks his cane into the sand next to him and pulls his headphones over his ears, digging a cassette player out of his pockets.

His signature tape is already loaded in- his only tape, in fact. He usually leaves the rest at home, more worried about breaking them than hurting himself. Maybe it was slightly vain, but... after last time...

Without another thought, he hurls the bottle at the cone- it lands with a hollow thok!

Suddenly, the cone rises up, four legs sprouting from beneath it. It scuttles out from beneath a pile of trash, turning towards Lucille with an angry squawk. A brilliant red traffic light forms an eye, a bent piece of metal shaped like an eyebrow creating an annoyed expression, and two massive claws snapped rhythmically in front of it. The crab-like mass of plastic and metal charged at Lucy, who calmly clicked a button on his cassette player as if that was going to do anything at all-

And it did. A haze of static washed over him, and he rapidly morphed beneath it. It faded just as quickly, leaving an almost stranger creature in his place. A lanky blue amphibian with a long pink tongue poking out of a lilypad stood, leaves wrapped around its lower legs and draping beneath its head. It charged for the monster in front of it.

If Milo wasn't already having a weird day, this would do it.

(I tried my best describing Traffikrab and Frillypad. That's what I was going for, if I messed that up.)

 

[Galateen]

(You're good, I thought you did pretty well with both.)

Milo would follow Lucy closer towards the shoreline, stopping when he was told to wait a second. He would nod as Lucy would place the traffic cone. He kept watching him, unsure of what was going to happen. He did'nt really expected anything when the bottle hit the cone but then something interesting happened. The cone would rise, revealing legs and claws. It looked like a Crab of some sort, one made of metal and plastic. Milo looked at the thing, surprised a creature like that existed. It looked like a crab, a crab that was using the cone as a shell. It was odd but strange. He wasn't able to think about it for that long, noticing that it was charging at Lucy. "H-Hey! Look out!" Milo was tempted to try to take him out of this situation as well but Lucy ended up pulling out a Cassette player. Milo watched in confusion. He opened his mouth again, and was about to tell Lucy to run, but then Lucy pressed the button on his cassette player, and a few moments later, a monster of some sort, was standing in his place.

"Woah..." That was all he could say, he was speachless/. Milo was astounded by what just happened. Lucy used a Cassette player to become a monster. Was this what he wanted to show Milo? It must be.

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy wasn't great at fighting, but he didn't mind Milo watching- this guy was new, and disoriented, he wouldn't be able to recognize any mistakes. By the time he had the knowledge to analyze this any deeper, he'd long forget about this scuffle.

So Lucy focused on the Traffikrab. He didn't expend much energy on it- a quick jab, a failed dodge, another attack, and... soon enough, it scuttled off, realizing it was about to lose.
Lucy waddled over to Milo, looking up him for a moment, before mentally reaching out for the tape, and...

With a static hiss and that strange, wavering feeling, he was human again. His mind felt a bit fuzzy. He threw his headphones back over his neck, beneath the collar of his jacket, stuffing the player into his pocket. He swiped his cane out of the sand, leaning into it- huffing, slightly out of breath.
"So! There's monsters here, but cassettes let you turn into 'em and no one knows why. You kind of... just have go with it, yeah?"

 

[Galateen]

Milo watched Lucy's fight with the traffikrab with such curiosity and amazement. Lucy was fighting as a monster! And he seemed to be pretty good at it too. It wasn't long until the strange Crab scuttled away, fleeing to safely. The Human would watch the Frillypad waddle over to him. Lucy would notice that Milo seemed to be pretty curious about Lucy's new form. It was very interesting to him. He had so many questions about these creatures and the cassettes and no answers. Once Lucy turned human again, Milo was kind of surprised no one knew why people can become monsters with these tapes. It seemed to be a question that was going to be left unanswered. That was unfortunate but it was whatever.

"Y-Yeah. That is actualy kind of cool though. I'm glad you showed me that, thank you." The thought of becoming some creature like the Frillygator he just saw, along with the weird looking crabbed was interesting indeed. He wondered if it would be possible to study these creatures by using these Cassettes, and just like that, an idea formed in his mind. "Hey Lucy, do you think it could be possible to study these monsters by using these Cassettes?"

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy nodded excitedly. This was exactly the distraction Milo needed.
"Oh, definitely! Using a new tape for the first time can feel a bit off, but you usually pick up a monster's particular instincts and quirks super quickly- and there's all kinds of ways to influence the tapes to mimic their, um... behaviors? Special abilities and such," he said, shrugging. "Once we're in town, I'll get you a cassette player, and you can take one of my old tapes to start with- I might find you some blanks, too, so you can record some new forms... oh- and we've gotta find a room for you to stay in."
He trailed, off, considering. "I bet they've got all that at the café..."
He motioned for Milo to follow him. "Here, let's get moving- if you're feeling alright, anyway."

 

[Galateen]

Milo was starting to get excited. This seemed like something new and fun to try. He could become monsters with the cassettes, gain their instincts quirks, and mimic their behaviors. He also wondered if it would be possible to interreact with other monsters with these tapes other than simply fighting them, and he wondered how long he could stay as one for a period of time, that sounded like a lot of fun to him. "Sounds great! I'm looking forward to try out these Cassettes. I'll follow you to the town. I feel fine for right now." This was the perfect distraction for Milo, he could focus on getting Cassettes, a tape from Lucy and forms of his own, and take his mind off the fact that he was trapped here. He could also try to study these creatures. It wouldn't be the same as a Wild life biologist from where he was from but it would most certainly be interesting.

 

[helloCanIGo]

Lucy nodded, and started walking, with Milo not far behind.
Up a flight of concrete stairs, the two reach the top of the seaside cliffs, where the main area of Harbourtown quickly comes into view some ways to the east. More strange creatures watch from the distance- snakes and moths Lucy explains are carniviper and dominoth, respectively- playing in the soft grass.

Harbourtown itself is across a makeshift bridge, patched together from steel shipping crates that washed up some time ago. In fact, the entire town could probably be described as a patchwork- colorful concrete buildings of various styles, strung together with bridges and walkways, and townsfolks of all sorts wandering the narrow streets.

"Here- the Gramophone Café is just up ahead. You'll need a cassette player and a few blank tapes, and then we can sort out a place for you to stay- and if you've got anymore questions, that's the place to chat."
With that, Lucy leads Milo inside.

 

[Galateen]

Milo would make sure to stay closely behind Lucy, making sure to not stray far off from him. As the two of them walked, he noticed some strange creature. One appeared to be some sort of snake, and the other being a moth. The two appeared to be playing too, which Milo thought was kind of cool. Lucy explained to him what the creatures were called and Milo would look back, glancing at the creatures once more curiously before following Lucy to town. The two of them would arrive at their destination, once they crossed the makeshift bridge. As they arrived into town Milo would take a look at his surroundings. Everything looked as if it was patched up in some kind of way. The town had a certain charm to it that he couldn't describe. "Wow... This town is pretty." In short, Milo was impressed with this place, he did'nt what to have expected but it sure wasn't this.


"I understand. So does this cafe provide the Cassette player and the tapes we need?" He thought that it might but he just wanted to ask to double check.

 

[helloCanIGo]

(Apologies for the delay, got invested in a projected; responses might be a bit slow here and there)
"Um... sort of. We keep a lot of extra supplies on hand, and the café trades them for spare materials- ah, these ones will be free for you, since you're new.
A lot of shops you see here are the same way- just supply caches dealing in materials for stickers to enhance tapes," Lucy explains.

The café was thankfully pretty quiet. Lucy gestured to an empty table- "I'll get us some coffee, too, feel free to sit down,"- and explained the situation to the woman working at the counter.

The café was small and softly lit, with unfamiliar music playing from a gramophone- the building's namesake. It was a nice change of pace, a place to slow down and reflect.

 

[Galateen]

(You’re good, take your time.)
For a moment, Milo wondered if they would have to trade supplies to get the supplies they needed. Fortunately, the supplies Lucy planned on getting him would be free because he’s new here on the island. He was a bit worried if they would have to end up trading materials to get what they needed, so he was relived to hear they wouldn’t have to do that.

“I understand, so we usually trade materials when we need supplies right?” Milo would say in response. Though, a confused expression formed on his face when he heard Lucy mention that stickers enhance tapes. He was about to ask Lucy how that worked after a moment, but he told Milo to sit down in the meantime. “Alright, I’ll have a seat nearby. Oh, and if you don’t mind, it would be great if you could tell me about how stickers work later, I’m curious about that.”

With that, he would take a seat at the nearest table to them. He would look at his surroundings as he listened to the music, trying to get used to everything here.