#xrumon things

[trolloled]

Accounted For

(Toyhou.se version here)

"Pain in my ass, making me do this..." Xrumon complained, pausing to take a few breaths in his stroll. The perigees spent recuperating after his surgery were helping quite a bit, but it would take a very long time before his endurance would ever return.

He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead as he focused on his breathing. He was a ways out from the closest bus stop - pauper's graves were never located in very convenient areas. He was thankful, at least, that the mannequins seemed to have not caught up to him yet.

Amprus had disappeared a few weeks ago, well, he was pretty sure they had disappeared. They didn't answer him when he called out to them, didn't seem to be pranking or annoying anyone at the clinic either.

The path to trying to track down wherever the hell they had gone led him to the city he'd visited before when trying to get information on them. It hadn't taken long to notice the trolls in pinstriped suits and the abundance of hemo-anons suddenly present. A sure sign that the Grey Mob had moved in while he was gone. He'd kept his distance from the ones in suits, the 'made men.' If he was recognized as a known associate of Ullane, he might get pulled in for 'questioning' about some of what she'd found out.

Fortunately though, he instead managed to hunt down some of the remaining members of Amprus's old gang. Most people weren't willing to talk, but some people recognized him from his last visit - sort of. It took an annoying amount of effort to move past the topic of why he wasn't made of metal anymore.

From the remaining of their friends, he learned one of them - Leriot - had made the stupidest possible decision he could. A vocal, final stand against a hostile takeover. Without any backup or routes of escape planned. Found dead not a week later, fingers worn to frozen nubs in the back of a meat locker, ground flecked with shreds of skin and blood.

'Accidental', of course, body treated to ensure there weren't any signs of foul play involved. The story running was that he'd gone in to grab some food for some reason, without realizing the freezer door had broken by the end of last shift. It was all on official record. The restaurant in question had a notice from a worker signed to the manager about it, a warning posted above the door.

The legislacerators had been run out of town long ago by the Marked, or maybe they never cared enough to bother. Now it came back to bite them. The Mob barely even had to try to cover their tracks, although Xrumon doubted the teal-force would have tried all that hard for a lowblood anyway.

So now he was out here, on the city outskirts, barely any clouds in the sky to spare him the moonlight, ambling towards where his body had been tossed. The city had marked a place for anyone without their own land to be buried. Pauper's graves. Endless rows of simple markers with a name and date of death on them, mounds in the dirt with nary even a speck of grass to cover them.

Xrumon limped forward for some time more, combing the rows for the name. It took around half an hour, but he managed to locate it. The ground was still freshly turned and the marker was the least eaten away by time and weather.

The tealblood stopped in front of it, glaring down at the grave. If Amprus was here, they weren't saying anything. He sighed, taking a second to kneel down to the ground below. He ran a hand across the dirt, the other grasping his cane to keep himself steady. Even now, the feeling of dirt under his fingernails was a curious one, his nerve endings only barely remembering what it felt like.

"Idiot," he said, wiping the dirt on his trousers as he looked to the marker. "Damned idiot. Getting yourself killed like that. Now look at you. Look at what everyone has to deal with, without you."

He could feel his bones creaking as he removed two caegars from one pocket. He laid the pair of them at the bottom of the marker. "Two bits for the ferryman. You can have it on me."

He groaned as he stood back up. There were several small cracks as his vertebrae slid back together and he rolled his neck. He looked up into the sky, chewing on his thoughts.

"We've still got work to do. Don't go being a bigger idiot than usual," he said aloud. There was no response, not that he really expected one. "I know you're pissed. And sad. And torn the hell up, thinking shit like 'Oh damn it, fuck me, I could have done something if I were still alive.'"

He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to pick his words with some amount of care. "It's shit. That's all it is. Nothing anyone could have done."

He looked on the verge of saying something else, then shook his head and picked a different train of thought.

"I'll be at the clinic. Try not getting exorcised, would you?" he finished, turning to leave. There wasn't a sound that followed him aside from the soft step of his feet and shoes on the ground.

He made it away from the graveyard, barren as it was, when he at last saw something new that wasn't the occasional bird circling overhead. A dark figure was walking towards him, and as the two approached each other, he could see it was 'dark' because it was wearing a full on robe. There was some sort of red pattern stitched onto it, but he paid it little mind.

It only took a few more minutes before both trolls reached each other. Xrumon came to a stop, glaring ahead at the other figure. He couldn't see the person's horns or face under the hood of the robe. For their part, the troll kept their hands neatly folded in front of themselves, skin only moderately less pale than Xrumon's.

"Xrumon Arigah," the troll stated. His voice was surprisingly pleasant sounding. It was strong but soft sounding, like something a preacher might have for classes after a sermon.

"Do I know you?" Xrumon asked rhetorically, moving one hand to his side in case he needed to draw his strife.

"You might. At the very least, I know you," answered the other troll.

"What's your name? Maybe it'll jog my memory," the teal continued, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Had the Mob found him after all?

"I have a few names, but... you know. It's a shame. I can't remember any of them."

Silence reigned for several moments.

"Is this guy just fucking with me?" Xrumon thought to himself. He continued aloud, "Okay. What are you doing here?"

"Keeping up accounts. I'm a... bit of an accountant, you see," the troll answered, a hint of a smile in their voice.

"At a graveyard?" Xrumon emphasized incredulously.

"Even the dead still need to have their accounts accounted for," they answered. "Don't worry. I've done this for a long time."

"So where the hell do you know me from?" Xrumon pressed, feeling like he was losing his sanity faster than his patience. "I don't know any accountants."

"I know you from a lot of places. Well, I know you from all over, but I was especially fond of the work you did in the Ingvald Estate," they answered coolly.

"The- With that church? Are you a-?" Xrumon started, drawing a knife from his pocket in a sad display of self-defense, but the figure shook their head.

"No, I am not affiliated with them. You remember Gellie Halvad?"

"Who?"

"Yellowblood, liked to explore old hives. 'Urban exploration', I think. Broke a window to get into a hive one night, the place was abandoned you see."

Xrumon felt sweat beading on his brown, cold seeping down under his arms.

"They swiped a few things worth selling, nothing more than a rich person's trinkets. Decent looking sort, at least until their neck was tilted at an angle and their eyes were just about popped from their skull," the person continued as easily as if discussing the weather. The hood of their robe barely even moved. "Then they were burned in an old incinerator, their items collected in an old unmarked box that you put in the far corner of the basement, along with the thirty or forty odd other boxes you'd built up over the sweeps."

Xrumon didn't respond at all, taking a shaky step back as he raised the knife. The figure began walking forward.

"Who the- What the hell are you!?" Xrumon demanded loudly as his pulse raced hard enough to make his chest feel weak.

"I told you. I'm an accountant," the person explained again as they came right up to the tealblood- and then walked past him. "And we're very grateful for your help," it whispered as it passed.

Then it was past and gone, heading towards the graveyard. Xrumon's hand, shaking mightily, dropped the knife as he half-stumbled, half-very-poorly-jogged back to the bus stop.

[cloudbattrolls]

Local doctor worried that man she loves won’t be the same again even if he lives, rest in pieces

[goddesstrolls]

Unnecessary Measures

Cipher drummed their fingers on the counter in their lab.

Thrixe had been gone for a good while, and no one had descended upon them with any desire to dissect. But, no one except Cheran knew what they were. As far as they knew, of course. There was Ullane’s psionics, and Xrumon’s sensors...

It was a ticking time bomb, and they had no protection now. Not with Thrixe gone. They’d trusted him to maybe, just maybe, protect a fellow freak of nature, if it came to that.

Damn him for leaving. Cipher liked it here. They liked Friday quite a lot. Not that they’d ever really admit it.

Cipher puffed up their cheek and went to the filing cabinet, unlocking it and pulling out all the paper files. They sorted through it, carefully removing any hints of their personal work, not that they did much of that at the Clinic. They tidied the pile, organized it neatly, packed it up into a perfect stack, and left it on the counter.

Then they checked the digital copies, though they were extra-careful about those as a matter of course. There was nothing to remove, nothing they felt unsafe with leaving.

They’d already cleaned their lab for the day, but they did another purging just in case. Removing a few of their pet projects that had no use to the Clinic and would just be extra cleaning.

They reset the door’s security to the factory standard, and wrote the code (Which was just a string of 1′s) on a note, plopping it on top of the files before assuring the door was left unlocked, and stepping out of their lab.

It was late. No one was in, or if they were, they were all sequestered away in their own hiding spots and wouldn’t come across them on their way out.

They left the Clinic quietly, hoping this would be the last time they saw the place. They didn’t want to leave any reason Ullane or one of them would have them dragged back, any debt or stolen equipment or research. Worst thing they were doing was not giving any sort of notice for quitting.

Oh, and the fact that the address they’d given wasn’t somewhere they could actually be found. Just a small empty apartment in the city. Even Rotavh wouldn’t have any real means of contacting them, just trails leading to dead ends.

As a final measure, they stopped at a creek near the Clinic. They manually deleted any remotely personal information, reset it to factory settings, dissected the thing, broke all the little chips, and scattered the pieces in the creek.

These were things they did as a matter of course, when working in these sort of places. With these sorts of people, who weren’t quite right in the head. Who might hunt them just to sate their curiosity. Who’d wonder what they had to hide. It wasn’t much, really.

Cipher was just a very, very private person.

[ase-trollplays]

Amprus, talk about Xrumon and Leriot?

What can I say ab•ut him that I haven't already? He's a pr•sthetics genius, he's witty and clever, he's funny even th•ugh he's usually n•t trying t• be, and he's th•ughtful, h•nest, and l•yal. He'll deny basically all •f that, but he kn•ws it's true.

I'm g•ing t• be s• fucking upset if Ullane fucks up the surgery and he bites it. He deserves a sh•t at a n•rmal life with•ut that stupid suit. It'll take a l•ng time f•r him t• get there, but I have t•tal faith in him.

I still c•nsider Gavey• my best friend, but Xrum•n has definitely reached that level, t••. He deserves s• much better than what he's been dealt.

As for Leri•t... N•t g•nna lie, I was crushing hard •n him in ashen. I kinda wish I'd t•ld him bef•re I g•t killed. He's a paran•id assh•le with a permanent chip •n his sh•ulder and pushy as hell, s• he's a magnet f•r min•r feuds with pe•ple. Y•u w•uldn't believe h•w many times I had t• step in because he was starting shit. Kind •f funny that he never g•t a pr•per kismesis. Hell, maybe he actually has •ne n•w. It's been a while since I checked in.

He's a g••d guy, th•ugh, if a little ann•ying because he h•vered •ver me like my lusus. He was always extra grumpy and paranoid about things happening to me as if I was the •nly •ne risking life and limb t• keep •ur neighb•rh••d safe. I miss it.

I w•n't say he was a best friend •r anything, but I liked him a l•t. Despite everything, he’s l•yal, reliable, trustw•rthy. I guess I just have a thing f•r assh•les.

Send “Talk about-” and a name for my muse to talk about that person!

[raitrolling]

ashe and velour have some similarities that can make them difficult to write at the same time, given that they’re both anxious trolls who can put on a brave face when required to step up to a task, have similar speech patterns, and are both very positive and try to uplift others to the best of their abilities. but they do have some key differences

velour’s ‘brave face’ is essentially just a facade. it’s well-practiced and very rehearsed, and he’ll write scripts and re-record his performances to ensure there’s no traces of his anxious true self present. he never acts spontaneously and refuses to make public appearances / do interviews if he isn’t given the exact schedule and list of questions so that he can prepare as much as possible. 

ashe is just one of those people who flourishes in high-stress scenarios. he can stay calm if there is an important job for him to do, and knows that he simply cannot be anxious if there are people relying on him to assist them and do whatever is required of him to do. but as soon as that situation is over and the emergency is dealt with, he crashes hard when all the anxiety and apprehension hes been suppressing comes back in full force.

ashe will uplift others when he recognises that they need to hear something positive and their actions should be encouraged as much as possible, but he’s also not afraid to tell someone if their behaviour is unhealthy and needs to be changed. 

velour will turn a blind eye to unhealthy behaviours and instead double down on encouraging positivity, which is how he can be friends with multiple murderers and still act like they’re decent people because they have some good qualities (and their behaviours don’t personally affect his reputation so he can easily ignore it). 

velour’s actions are also motivated by the fact that he’s stuck in the past and unable to move on from his mistakes that ruined his friendships with liiore and mikiel. he’ll forgive people he’s friends with easily and put more effort into trying to fix things than he rightfully should, because he’s afraid of repeating his previous mistakes and losing yet another friendship. he’s also obsessed with his own reputation, and thinks that being critical or rude to someone will put him in a bad light.

ashe’s fatal flaw that motivates his actions is his stubbornness when it comes to wanting the best for other’s health. he can very easily cross the line from regular stubbornness to genuine self-righteousness, and it pained him to be called condescending by xrumon that one time because he knows he wasn’t wrong about that. he doesn’t intend to look down on others, but if he feels like his good advice isn’t being listened to he will talk them down until they relent.

[bastsoldtrollblog]

> sel needs a cybernetic eye but is too scared to go through getting one bc he doesn’t want the press finding out

> considers him going to the crown clinic bc he figures yeah, they can keep things under the table

> he has to talk to xrumon as their cybernetics expert.

[trolloled]

There's something inside you It's hard to explain They're talking about you, boy But you're still the same

[trolloled]

"/\/\annequins crawling all over ╪he ci╪y now. You hear abou╪ i╪ in ╪he news, people ╪hink i╪'s so/\/\e ho╪ new prank for ╪he sweep, se╪ up /\/\annequins ╪o scare people."

"Now I'/\/\ hearing abou╪ an increase in /\/\issing people, so/\/\e sor╪ of /\/\assive plague ou╪break in ╪he ass end of nowhere, and god knows wha╪ else. /\/\oving shadows nex╪?"

You limp over to a small shelf now set up in your long-term hospital room. You turn on an aging husktop and navigate through a few programs, fingers respondingly sluggishly still despite the perigees of physical rehabilitation you've been going through. It may be many sweeps yet before your body fully recovers from the trauma it suffered.

You activate a voice-to-text dictation program and text document, speaking your thoughts down for notation.

"One of /\/\y /\/\any ini╪ial /\/\is╪akes was designing ╪he sui╪ for use by a person. ╪he idea was decen╪, in ╪heory. Be╪╪er longevi╪y for people in ╪he field, plus i╪ was en╪er╪aining ╪o ╪hink abou╪. However, clearly, as de/\/\ons╪ra╪ed, ╪he use of any such severe survival ╪echnology can have disas╪rous effec╪s on ╪he wearer."

"I now consider whe╪her i╪ /\/\ay be wor╪h ins╪ead designing so/\/\e╪hing si/\/\ilar ╪ha╪ could be handled re/\/\o╪ely. Safe╪y guaran╪eed for ╪he user, where even in ╪he even╪ of ca╪as╪rophic failure, ╪he pilo╪ will /\/\erely be safely released fro/\/\ ╪he driving progra/\/\. ╪he use of servan╪ au╪o/\/\a╪ons on scou╪ ships is dubious a╪ bes╪ due ╪o ╪he increased weigh╪ ╪hey pu╪ on in╪ers╪ellar ╪ravel, no╪ ╪o /\/\en╪ion ╪he logis╪ics ╪rain necessary ╪o keep ╪he/\/\ s╪ocked on repair par╪s."

"However, I believe ╪his issue can be /\/\i╪iga╪ed. Scou╪ing ships and o╪her long dis╪ance ╪ravelers have ╪o s╪ock food and /\/\edical supplies for en╪ire crews. Wha╪ if we could replace crew /\/\e/\/\bers wi╪h re/\/\o╪e drones? One ╪o ╪hree crew /\/\e/\/\bers using one or ╪wo re/\/\o╪e drones could replica╪e ╪he work of a full ╪en crew scou╪ ship. ╪he drones could u╪ilize in╪erchangeable ╪ools and would be able ╪o work ╪irelessly and wi╪hou╪ risk ╪o ╪he wearer, bu╪ s╪ill re╪ain ╪he skill and knowledge of each pilo╪."

"Of course ╪ha╪ s╪ill leaves ╪he issue of weigh╪, i╪'s a cons╪an╪ ba╪╪le for space and fuel considera╪ion on long dis╪ance ju/\/\ps. So/\/\e people will argue ╪ha╪ any saved by less crew is ou╪weighed by ╪he cos╪s of ╪he drones, or perhaps ╪ha╪ ╪he drones can'╪ ge╪ as /\/\uch work done as a nor/\/\al crew. All ╪hings ╪o be discussed in a design phase."

"Anyway, ╪o /\/\y original poin╪. ╪here is ano╪her considera╪ion being fac╪ored in. Odd shi╪ keeps happening on ╪his plane╪, and i╪ is clearly eviden╪ we canno╪ rely on people ╪o handle ╪he clean up. For one ╪hing, ╪hey are highly vulnerable ╪o said odd shi╪ ╪ha╪ keeps happening. Second, ╪hey can be u╪╪erly inco/\/\pe╪en╪ and in fac╪ cause said shi╪ ╪o keep happening."

You take a deep breath in and out before continuing. Even now it was still fairly infuriating what had occurred, but you needed to move on.

"Fielding any╪hing wi╪h au╪ono/\/\y is ou╪ of ╪he ques╪ion for now ╪o deal wi╪h ╪his. I canno╪ i/\/\agine ╪he progra/\/\/\/\ing needed ╪o ╪rain an ar╪ificial in╪elligence on how bes╪ ╪o deal wi╪h as /\/\any si╪ua╪ions as occur in co/\/\ba╪. A re/\/\o╪e pilo╪ed drone, however, is ano╪her s╪ory. I could safely use i╪ wi╪hou╪ risking /\/\y bones being snapped in half or /\/\y brain being ╪urned ╪o /\/\ush. /\/\uch safer for ╪es╪ing ╪ha╪ way. ╪he only issue is /\/\oney and ╪i/\/\e."

"Scouring ╪he junkyards for spare par╪s is going ╪o ╪ake a lo╪ of ╪he la╪╪er, ╪hough i╪ saves on ╪he for/\/\er. I╪'ll be /\/\uch ╪ougher ╪o convince anyone else of ╪he use of i╪ all."

"Bu╪ I s╪ill feel par╪y responsible for so/\/\e of ╪his shi╪, for wha╪ S╪eve is doing. I can'╪ face i╪ wi╪h /\/\y broken body, bu╪ hands /\/\ade of s╪eel jus╪ /\/\igh╪ survive. Any╪hing is be╪╪er ╪han sending /\/\ore doo/\/\ed idio╪s back in╪o ╪ha╪ hive."

You turn off the dictation program and browse through a few concept blueprint files. You can still remember the design for your old suit. The Golem, as you've taken to calling it. However, that name… Golems were not inherently bad things. You click a few times and rename the most recent version of one of your theorized blueprints.

PROJECT GOLEM flashes into place in the file name. It was a start.

[trolloled]

Frankly I shouldn'╪ be around people in general, le╪ alone wrigglers.

[trolloled]

Hey xrumon, it's been a while since I checked in on ya- how's the healing journey going? Any new activities or foods you can do/eat again? Still rooting for you to get that cheeseburger!!

Abou╪ as slowly as fucking possible. I can s╪ill feel /\/\y bones grindnig on each o╪her.

I guess if you wan╪ progress, I can walk al/\/\os╪ an en╪ire block wi╪hou╪ beco/\/\ing exhaus╪ed now. We've /\/\oved up ╪o very ligh╪ salads and sandwiches for food. Apparen╪ly /\/\y s╪o/\/\ach is convinced any╪hing heavier is ╪rying ╪o kill /\/\e.

God forbid I ever ea╪ proper /\/\ea╪ again. I have ╪o ╪ake fucking supple/\/\en╪s and vi╪a/\/\ins s╪ill.

[trolloled]

Steve has been out of control ever since Xrumon had to leave that hive. Would moving back make it calm its tits?

How ╪he hell should I know? You're assu/\/\ing wha╪ever i╪ is opera╪es according ╪o logic you can co/\/\prehend.

...Bu╪ i╪ defini╪ely woke up af╪er ╪ha╪ indignora/\/\us, Glasya, sho╪ ╪he shi╪ ou╪ of i╪.

Have we ruled ou╪ feeding ╪he/\/\ ╪o i╪?

[trolloled]

Finally a halloween where xrumon isn't in his suit. But he still dislikes it anyway, even now that he has a proper job and people won't mistake him for a costumed way-too-old-for-this trick or treater.

Because he can only have the most lightly sweetened of candies for now, too much sugar at once is bad for his heart. He has to even avoid particularly strong teas

[trolloled]

All the patience and kindness of your friends, weighing you down.

The love and compassion of your guardian. A distant comfort.

You threw it all away. You let life beat you.

You let misery win.

It will keep beating you, every night, until you die.

Or

Overcome it.

(Toyhou.se version)

(Ft. characters belonging to @raitrolling @ase-trollplays and @cloudbattrolls , see if you can spot them all!)

[trolloled]

Contrary to any concerns about some silly (xrumon’s words: batshit moronic) ‘FNaF’ scenario with the now empty suit, it is completely inoperable without a body inside of it.

So it’s just sitting in a storeroom after Yarrex sprayed it with a power washer for a hour or two to get the rivers of teal blood out of it. He put a padlock on the door and left a camera trained on it. It’s fine.

[trolloled]

Auto-Generated: Medical Report - Surgical Operation XA-01

Prognosis:

Patient vital signs unstable. Patient continues to suffer from maladies:

Mild vision damage

Gastrointestinal issues (stomach ulcer)

Weakened cardiovascular system

Atrophied musculature system

Severe nutritional deficiency

Severe weight deficiency

Mild neurological damage

Neurological chemical instability (Diagnosis from prior mediculler: Clinical depression)

Operation Notes:

Repeated attempted intrusions of operating room by unidentified individuals, handled by Y. Fissaa.

Addendum: Intrusions became violent after beginning of operation upon the designated item ‘Breath of Life System’. Y. Fissaa sustained severe bruising. Intruders reportedly taped to wall with duct tape for incapacitation.

Patient lost all vital signs for a period of three seconds after system designated ‘Bloodflow monitor’ was removed. Patient recovered successfully upon use of psionic ability to restart failed heart.

Patient suffered severe blood loss after removal of ‘Breath of Life’ system. Emergency measures needed to remove blood preventing breathing even with already utilized measures.

Recovered foreign objects from Patient:

One (1) bullet fragment, left near to patient’s left kidney.

Outcome:

Patient did not awaken from anesthesia. Attempts to awaken patient have failed. Brain activity still registered.

Recommendation:

Patient may recover after some time. Place in long-term care ward. Re-examine after one perigee.

[trolloled]

By God, the underdogs did it...

Absolutely nobody in the local bloodball rec league saw it happening folks, but the underdog team from the Crown-Ashell clinic(s) managed it! They’ve won the local championships and only had one possible fatality!

Art commissioned from my friend Silvy, please check out her other work and consider commissioning her the next time she has slots available!!!

Ullane, Thrixe, & Friday belong to @cloudbattrolls

Ashell, Linnae, & Katrin belong to @raitrolling

Amprus & Hannah belong to @ase-trollplays

Cheran, Cipher, Rotavh, & Helios belong to @goddesstrolls​

Xrumon & Yarrex belong to me!

Alt. version under the cut

It’s like looking in a mirror