unrooms

[unrooms]

Thought I would share this here because it's definitely unrooms-flavored, lol. Not in the same universe or anything, but if you like the unrooms, you might enjoy it :)

Here are the results of Ghost Jam 2025!

The results can be viewed on the event's website, please check it out!

Congratulations, everyone! 🥳

[unrooms]

In case any of you have disposable income, here's my commissions info :3

COMMISSIONS OPEN!

Pixel Art:

$40 100 x 100 pixels or less

+$5 per 100 pixels wider and taller, (eg. $45 for 200 x 200), up to 500 x 500

$15 32 x 32 or less

$5 Get your own little guy!!

Regular Digital Art:

$60 Fully rendered

$40 Line art

$10 Sketch

Other Info:

I won't draw:

-NSFW

-Anything promoting hate or otherwise offensive

-Anything involving real people who haven't consented

-Some gore is okay, ask about specifics

I WILL draw:

Lots of stuff! I've set out prices for common stuff I could think of, but I also like doing game sprites and (simple) animations! Ask me about anything you're interested in, I'm happy to answer any questions and come up with prices any time :)

!!SPECIAL LIMITED TIME DEAL!! 'BUY ME DELTARUNE' DISCOUNT

$25 for anything that would be $40 or less

Order before June 3rd!

Earn my eternal gratitude! No seriously I'm so autistic about this game you will forever be in my heart I mean it I'll remember yo[cut off]

[unrooms]

Have you considered releasing a pdf version of this? Something that will survive past tumblr's final death?

That's a good idea! A friend of mine has also suggested making it into an ebook; idk much about how that works, but I might look into it. A pdf shouldn't be too hard though. No promises on when, but I'll get that for you guys. I might also post it on Ao3, which feels significantly more stable than tumblr, lol.

[unrooms]

Fuck, I don't know if this will make it through, but I have some guesses to what void is and how to get it. It seems that things that **think very hard self-referentially** have more void. Void can probably also be found in the parts of the world that are the way they are **because**, the things that stem from paradox instead of tautology. The random noise we see might be part of that. Another guess is that void is something like raw magik energy: directed intent. It's hard to say where you'd find these things, but I think it's a good start. In the meantime, I'll see if I can build some void myself.

Never got a suggestion outside of the month before, but I guess I'll post this anyway? No word on whether it'll reach its intended recipients, though ;)

[unrooms]

Hey! I meant to say this earlier :P but, thank you all for being such a great audience this past month! I've really enjoyed doing unrooms both times so far, and it wouldn't be possible without you guys <3

I've got some interesting ideas for what I might do next time, so, there's almost certainly going to be a next time. Maybe earlier than next March, maybe not; it really depends. Either way, hope to see you then :)

[unrooms]

...Chat doesn't like the mind-changing idea. That's fair; you don't like it a lot either. Especially because you can tell Ella really doesn't want to do it. And chat has ideas- wow, a lot of ideas- but they basically depend on what the two of you want to do. What your goal is.

...The thought has crossed your mind, between everything. Do you even want to go home? Does Ella? But you haven't gotten around to talking about it. Maybe because you're kind of afraid of the answers. If you go back to Earth, will it be possible to keep this body? Even if you could, there'd be problems, for sure. You... really don't want to be human again. You didn't realize how suffocating it was until you were able to escape it. You feel so much freer- safer- more confident like this. Happier. ...But not as much happier as Ella makes you. You'd choose to stay with her, you just... don't want to have to make the choice between this body and her. Maybe you don't have to? But, unlike you, Ella has people she's close to- family- back on Earth...

...You should really just talk to her. You know that. So you shake your head, steel yourself, and ask her.

"So... are we, I mean. Are we trying to go back to Earth?" She winces slightly, like maybe she hasn't been looking forward to this conversation either, and your heart sinks. You pad over and sit in her lap. She laughs a little as you awkwardly make yourself comfortable; you haven't had enough practice cuddling in this form. (You'd like to have more practice.)

"...Well... I can't just not see my mom and my sisters and brother again, you know? Or Evan or Miles..." She says quietly.

"I know..."

"But," she says, surprising you, "I don't know if- I mean, this world is so... we have so much more power here. And I don't wanna make you give this up..." She gestures at your whole body, then lets her hands fall into your fur. "I know we had plans for our future on Earth, but maybe it'd be better here? I- I don't know. If we could- make sure we could go back and forth, would you want to stay here- most of the time? Make a life here?"

You lift your head to look at her seriously. "I- I, yeah, I would, but- would you? Really?" You nudge your snout under her jaw. "I don't want to stay if you'd be happier on Earth."

She actually laughs, though, and puts her arms around you. "No, no- honestly, I think I'd rather stay here. Mostly. You know. I think there's things I still want to do on Earth, and I definitely want to see my family and friends again, but... yeah."

"So... so we want the same thing."

"Seems like." She smiles at you and you let out a relieved sigh.

"...I was worried we'd- I mean. I don't want to split up, not ever, but I'd hate to have to be human again-- -is that- okay?" You suddenly feel a wave of anxiety and shame. You're not normal, you never have been, and you know she likes that about you, but even so, is this too much? She's taken it in stride, but maybe--

But she just ruffles your fur playfully. "Of course it is. Like I said, I love you for you. And this is you. So I love it."

You grin helplessly and duck your head. You're so, so lucky to have her.

"...How would we go back and forth, though?"

"Easy. If we can get the void to go back at all, then someone here- the flesh, probably- can always summon us back. If we get enough to connect a phone here to Earth, too, then we can go back whenever we want. Otherwise- set a schedule, probably, so it summons us back at a certain time."

"That... makes a lot of sense. Okay. Yeah."

The flesh speaks up; "I'd certainly be happy to help you with that. Perhaps, even- you could find my friend Tyler, as well? If possible- well, I would love to see them again." It goes quiet at the end.

"Well... there are a lot of Tylers on Earth, so I don't know if it would even be possible, but, I'd certainly be happy to try." You nod in agreement and the flesh smiles a slightly dimmer smile than its usual one.

"Thank you. I'm still not certain where you can find enough void for it, though..."

"Well-" you say, "-There is one place, maybe. That we know of, I mean. Two if you count the grand knowledge-seeker, but I don't know why it'd give us any void- but you said that your parent summoned Tyler, and sent them back, so we know it can do that-- maybe if we talk to it, we can figure something out..? Chat has some thoughts about that."

"...Hm. I don't suspect it would give up its void, but it might agree to transport you, if you played its game? Still, it wouldn't be ideal for consistent transportation..."

"Might be worth trying, though," Ella says. "Tell me what chat's got."

"Mm, it's a lot." You reach out to connect instead, and she accepts it easily. You offer up the bundle of ideas from chat- you don't usually get so much at once, or anything so complicated, but it's still clear. Just, a lot to sort through, relatively. You're kind of surprised they can send so much information.

"-That is a lot," Ella says aloud for the flesh's benefit. "Uh..."

Just go transfer it to it directly, you think to her. It'll be easier than trying to use words.

So she does. You still don't really want to do telepathy with anyone other than Ella, but it's useful for figuring out your plans, so you settle on a system where Ella switches back and forth between the two of you to deliver thoughts. You're aware the flesh is still getting more of your thoughts than you might like this way, but it still feels better. You don't mind it too much.

The three of you think through all the ideas chat sent you and carefully piece together a plan. It involves you and Ella splitting up for a bit, which you don't like, but you'll still be able to talk over the phone.

"...Do you think this'll really work?"

"I think so. It's a good plan." Ella says. The flesh nods in agreement. "-But, you know- even if it doesn't, we'll find our way back to each other." She puts her hand in your fur.

"Okay. ...Yeah." She's right. You trust her, and you trust yourself. Even if it doesn't go to plan, you can handle it. "Let's not wait any longer, then."

You set off in opposite directions; Ella in the wagon heading toward where the stone-spiked helper left towards, and you and the flesh running back toward the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them. (Running is good. You're fast now.)

As you get closer to it, you start to realize just how big it is. The generally cubic structure you could make out at a distance reveals itself to be rooms- at least, room-height- and that means that it's at least like 6 stories tall. And it's wider than any building you've ever seen, taking up a vast stretch of the landscape. It's all the same blackish, shimmery material, kind of like obsidian. At least on the outside.

Just as you get close enough to make out the shape of a door in the black wall, the flesh stops you.

"-No nearer than this. Otherwise, it can trap you."

You come to a halt next to it. "Really?" You're still a good distance away.

"It could still trap you from here- but it will be slow enough to evade, at this distance."

"Oh. ...Can it hear us, from here?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, alright..."

You take a deep breath. You didn't really think about how to start this conversation. Also, its name is long and hard to remember. And weird to start a sentence with.

"...The walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them... hello. I'm Ro. I know you want me and Ella to come do your puzzles- and, we have something we'd like. So, I want to ask if you'll give us a specific prize. -That being, transportation between here and our home on Earth. That's to and from Earth. We want to be able to go both ways. Is that- something you'd be willing to do?"

There's a pause, and you wonder if it's going to answer at all. You did get the sense from the flesh that its parent isn't very... conversational, or the type to make deals. But after a moment, huge words fade into existence on the walls before you, in a stark white material you'd call marble, if you were sure it was something you'd seen before.

"THE GATE CAN BE OPENED WITH THE FRUITS OF FOUR TRIALS |

FROM YOUR HOME, A CALL TO RETURN TO THESE HALLS SHALL BE ANSWERED"

After a moment to translate the cryptic wording, you grin. "I guess that's a yes. Alright. Thank you. We'll... be back."

That's not necessarily true. You'll try to find a source of void first, to avoid potentially being stuck, but you don't see any reason to tell it that.

The words dissolve back into black, and you move a good distance away (still in its shadow, though) and check your phone.

One thing you figured out while planning is that you can use void to block someone from seeing certain information in your mind while you're connected- if you're careful and precise. You can't make up false information to show them- well, you can, but it's... flat and easy to tell that it was faked. So, the plan was for Ella to hide the knowledge of the internet that you suspected would let you 'find' it until she had confirmed that the grand knowledge-seeker intended to keep its word on an agreement. And the best way to confirm that would be through direct mental connection. Ella promises to help it gain the internet's knowledge, it promises to leave you and the rest of humanity be, they show each other that they're being honest, and the deal can be struck. That was the idea, anyway. It might not agree at all.

You agreed to call each other if anything went wrong, assuming you could, so you know she's probably fine. But you're still worried. You can't help it. You don't expect a text either, but you have to check. There isn't one. You type a quick text letting her know that your side of the mission worked out.

"No news from Ella yet," you inform the flesh with a sigh.

"Back to the meeting point, then." Which is what you planned, so you just nod and start running.

It's maybe a ten-minute run. After around seven minutes, you hear the distinctive sound of your phone dinging, and quickly slow to a stop. The flesh stops next to you.

"What is it?"

"Ella sent a text... lemme see."

Anxiously, you open the text.

it agreed!!! were in business!!! ive helped it set up a phone. part of the deal was i also told it how i hid stuff in the telepathy but hopefully thats fine? it really wanted to know :/

You let out a breath and read it to the flesh.

"Excellent!" it says, and you don't know why, but hearing it use that specific word surprises you, "You both succeeded, then."

"Yeah, I- I guess so."

You send Ella back a quick text congratulating her, and telling her you'll be at the meeting point soon. Only a few minutes after you get there, the wagon appears on the horizon, and you run over to it before it arrives, unable to wait.

"Hi!" Ella laughs as she climbs out to meet you. "Good job! That's a couple problems off the list, anyway. Big problems."

"Yeah." You can't help but grin back. "So... now we've got some freedom to look for void of our own, huh?"

"Yup... where do we start?"

"Well," the flesh interjects, "if you like, I'm sure you would be welcome in my group. We help keep each other safe, and we share information, so perhaps we can help you find a clue on where to find void? Of course, that's only if you wish."

"Huh..." Ella looks to you.

"Um, that sounds like it would be a good idea. If you also want to?" Ella nods.

"Yeah, we can always change our minds, right?"

"Of course."

"I guess it's decided then. Thanks, flesh."

Ella stares out at the horizon, and you sit next to her.

"I'm feeling good about the future," she says decisively, and you can't help but laugh quietly at her matter-of-fact tone. "What about you?"

"...Yeah. Me too. We've got each other, after all. And we've got a handle on this world, I think."

"Yeah." She grins back at the landscape which is starting not to feel so strange anymore and pets you absently.

---UNKNOWN ERROR: CONNECTION TERMINATED---

---ATTEMPTING RESTART---

---RECONNECTION FAILED---

[unrooms]

A. First, I’d like to gently convey my concerns about weaponized empathy(?) to Ro, for one. (To people who missed it, it’s a bit of a ramble on the prev post)

Then, I see a few possible endings to angle for:

Ro likes being a creature. They must cease being a creature to go home. Ella seems to want to go home. Does Ro WANT to go home with Ella? Because if they can find more void, they can potentially keep in touch via phone and also send Ella home. It probably takes less void to send one person than to send two.

If they both want to stay, they’ll need to find a way to do so safely. A way to reduce attacks, a way to live happily among profoundly alien creatures who don’t seem to packbond like humans do.

If they both want to go home, do they want to be able to RETURN to the unrooms eventually? Is there a source of void on Earth that the powers that be in the unrooms want to acquire?

If Ella wants to return, but she wants to bring Ro (who does not want to return), things might get thorny! Would Ella want to leave temporarily, with the intention of coming back for Ro in another round?

Those are the only endings I can think of based on the story’s trajectory thus far. My vote would be for 4, since it’s dramatic and sets up for a sequel, but my second choice is, well, the 2nd choice. Making a life in an alien world. Not much of a ‘conclusion’, I guess, but potentially very interesting.

Which leads me to…

B. I want to suggest that Ro and Ella communicate about what their goal is. Exploring an alien planet? Going home? Are they in agreement, or do they have conflicting desires?

Their answers will make a big difference!

C. Based on which goal they have, I have different suggestions.

(Acquire more void to stay behind while sending Ella home, keeping in touch via voidphone) Ro should meet with the walls all around while Ella meets with smartypants. We can keep in touch via phone while negotiating. Offer for smartypants: with sufficient void, we can give them access to the internet for knowledge of all things (including false knowledge, which they’ll need Ro’s assistance to divine). Send Ella home safely (with free communication between us), and we will help them learn all things known by humans by teaching them how to assess sources, etc. Offer for the walls: we will perform puzzles in exchange for void as a prize to gather enough to travel between worlds and visit one another.

(Make a new life in a magical land without hunger or a need for homework) Go together to meet with smartypants. Offer knowledge in exchange for safety, but explain the greatest knowledge can be acquired with the use of some void. (The internet, with caveats. They’ll need us to discern truth from fiction. The void isn’t the price for our cooperation; it’s necessary to access the data.)

(Go home together) Ask smartypants what they want. See if it’s possible to retain this elemental magic on Earth (or to bring anything made here to Earth). Would smartypants like to do an experiment to seek knowledge not yet held by anyone? Well, what if they helped us go home with a Star Trek replicator? Would it actually create a post-scarcity society? Would it cause violence and corruption? Would such a thing even successfully function on Earth? Etc. Either way, we could probably make them an unwiki phone to organize their knowledge. Wouldn’t that be a nice thing to have in exchange for sending us home?

See (1), above. With more emphasis on doing puzzles to create a path for Ella to take WHEN SHE WANTS to come back with things from Earth that might intrigue the powers that be.

How do those sound? (I’m exhausted lol)

.

[unrooms]

Chat gives you a set of ideas of what to do about the stone-spiked helper. Ella's kind of in charge of dealing with it, so you brush up against her to connect and give her the ideas. You're getting a lot more used to the whole telepathy thing- it's kind of uncomfortable, in how much of yourself you have to show, but the convenience is wonderful. You don't have to struggle to translate your thoughts into words. ...You still don't want to do this with anyone but Ella, but you trust her.

Ella pauses to think about chat's ideas. She isn't sure that telling the grand knowledge-seeker that humans won't give up information if it tries to force them to is likely to entirely work- it could still study/observe humans, or run experiments on them, and if it doesn't have a sense of empathy that could still be pretty bad.

Even if it only summons one more person, but it puts them through bad stuff- I don't want to let that happen, you know? And if it gets to Earth, that problem would just be even worse... I don't know...

You feel her uncertainty, and you see her point. You're still really not sure what else to do, though.

I guess it probably won't hurt, at least, and I'm not sure we'll get much more out of the stone-spiked helper anyway, Ella concedes. She goes back over to it and starts telling it about human nature. You decide she has this covered and go back to thinking about the problem you're facing.

...That is, until another chat idea comes through. You wander over to the flesh to ask:

"...Can you... I don't know, this sounds silly, but chat wants to know. -Can you not lie in Song..?"

"Oh, no, you can certainly lie. It happens quite often, I'm sure."

"I thought so. Not sure where chat got that idea. But I guess it's good to be sure."

You close your eyes for a moment, and the next chat idea comes to you right away. They want you to mind-connect to the flesh- for nice reasons, but you still don't really want to do that. ...You can always explain stuff to it out loud, though.

So, you tell the flesh about sleep and dreams (both concepts which it has a lot of trouble with), and then about other necessary human body functions, and wonder aloud about how much of that actually still applies to you. It doesn't know, either, of course.

You interrupt your conversation to watch the stone-spiked helper retreat after Ella releases it, and then the other two, who don't seem to know any more than the stone-spiked helper, and also agree to leave without trouble now that they know you can beat them in a fight. With that done, you, Ella, and the flesh gather for a meal. The flesh explains that the other fleshes in its group don't really care about eating in the way it does, so it's just you three.

Ella's happy to share some memories of food with the flesh, and it's excited to try a bunch of different things (pancakes, chicken noodle soup, ice cream, jam pastries, and more). It also specifically requests more chocolate. So you end up with quite a spread of dishes in front of you. (The flesh likes all of them a lot.)

With a full belly, you feel satisfied and sleepy. You yawn.

"...We need to deal with the grand knowledge-seeker, but maybe that can wait a little? I think I'd think better after an actual full night's sleep. Flesh- can you guys occupy yourselves while we get some rest?"

"Mm... the others have been getting somewhat impatient. They know it's important to me to help you two, but their own goals are waiting. Perhaps... let me talk to them."

It returns after a minute. "We've arranged to meet later; I'll stay with you, and they'll go work on their other projects."

"Will you get bored while we sleep?" Ella asks.

"I don't mind waiting. Not if it's for something important to you."

"Thank you." She smiles.

The flesh climbs on top of the wagon to keep watch while the two of you curl up inside it again. You put an alarm on your phone, just in case like- being in this world makes you not wake up on your own or something? But you set it for longer than you expect to sleep. You want to be properly rested when you tackle this problem for good.

Maybe even literally tackle. Fighting was- well, it made you feel strong. You didn't ever really feel strong before you got here. Ella was always the one who protected you. You're glad you can protect her, too, here.

...Falling asleep might be making you sappy.

You wake up slowly, warm and comfortable. It takes you a few moments to realize that Ella is sitting up against your back; you guess she woke up. You stretch languidly.

"Awake?" Ella asks quietly.

"Mm-hm. Mm... barely." She giggles, but when she speaks again she sounds serious.

"I've been thinking about something... I woke up a little bit ago, and- well, I have an idea, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. Or if it would even work. It would make it simpler, if it didn't..."

You sit up and nose her jaw; you can tell she's anxious. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Mm. Well. If you can transform other people's bodies, and change things on such a, a fundamental level- can we change people's minds? Their- natures? I don't know, maybe it's not possible, but... But, I mean, if we could just- give people empathy. I don't think many of the people here are really hostile, I mean I don't think they have malice. They just don't have the same drive to care about other beings that we do. If they did, if the grand knowledge-seeker did, we wouldn't be worrying about this. But that's such a drastic thing to do. Messing with someone's mind. But then, I mean, I think it would stop it from harming people, so would it be better overall? Ugh. I wish I hadn't even thought of it..."

"Well... I think it might not be a bad thing to do. But I see what you mean, so maybe we don't have to use it even if we can? We'll call it a last resort and try to figure something else out, and if negotiations or whatever don't work out we'll consider it..?"

"Mm... Yeah, okay, that makes sense." She sighs and rests her head on your fur. "Maybe we'll ask the flesh and it'll say it's completely impossible anyway."

"Maybe."

Over another meal, you ask the flesh about it; it's never heard of anyone doing something like that.

"But," it says, "void is quite rare. I don't have a good idea of everything it can do. So it's possible you could." You don't miss Ella's frown.

After a proper rest and another meal, you feel energized, but you still don't have a good idea of what to do and the weight of your situation- stuck between two powerful beings with goals that are at odds with yours- is heavy on your mind, and the fact that Ella's clearly anxious doesn't help.

...They might be more powerful than you, but there's gotta be some creative way to solve this. Outwit them. You know for certain you can lie now, for one thing. And they might know a lot, but humans have ages and ages of stories and tactics about how to trick each other. And you have some amount of reality-altering powers; that's gotta be something that could come in handy, even if you can't straight-up overpower these particular entities.

...What now?

[unrooms]

The update'll be late again, sorry guys. Thanks for your patience!

[unrooms]

I think we should go see the grand knowledge-seeker soon. If the other entity trying to summon us is the walls, the floors, the ceilings and everything within them, I don't trust its nature to be helpful to us with its penchant for making puzzles.

I propose we do Moya's first three suggestions, then get ready and go find the grand knowledge-seeker right away.

(On a meta level, there are only a few updates left this month, let's see if we can get this story to a satisfying place.)

.

[unrooms]

Oooooh, so we COULD make smartphones that connect to Earth with enough Void… That is something I want to do if we can find more Void, lol. But how did these guys shapeshift without Void? I thought it was Void that let us shapeshift. 🤔

Well, we made our promise, and I think we should keep it…to a degree. I think we should release Spiky (sorry, am sleepy, have forgotten real name) after learning where Smartypants wanted us to go. I don’t think we should follow Spiky; we’ll meet Smartypants when we’re ready.

Actually… I think we should add that it is in human nature to resist when ordered or attacked. We only share information when we can meet as equals. (Torture has a terrible success rate on returning accurate intel; positive reinforcement is leagues better than punishment.) So Spiky should tell Smartypants that forcing us to do anything will, by our nature, make us extremely uncooperative. Since it seems like maybe this is not something Smartypants knows, based on these tactics.

Also, is it possible to initiate a thought transfer with my beloved the flesh and impart knowledge of sleep and dreams? I think it might enjoy knowing that. Also knowledge of food, because we should eat something, and maybe the flesh could pick from our memories. It’s only had sweets… there’s a world of flavor out there!

We may not need to eat, but I think it would be good emotionally to have something yummy.

Summary:

Inform Spiky about human nature (we are contrary beasties)

Ask Spiky where to meet Smartypants

Release Spiky to tell Smartypants to stop attacking us or else we won’t share information.

I get the feeling Song doesn’t allow for lies—or that deceit just isn’t a thing here? We should confirm, though. With the flesh, probably.

Info transfer with my beloved the flesh. Teach it about sleeping and dreaming and how humans on Earth die if they don’t sleep. Also, what would it like for breakfast?

Eat breakfast to feel better.

Song name ideas for Ro to consider (just for fun): Fang-Claw-Friend (I never read Warrior Cats—too old—but it has the vibe my students had when playing it on the playground), Loyal Conduit (loyal because wolf, conduit because they can hear us), Second in Command/Knight/etc (that’s the vibe I get beside Protector-Artist Ella), Forward Movement/Momentum (row row row your boat…)

.

[unrooms]

You stretch. It's an unfamiliar movement, a little awkward; you guess you still have to build up muscle memory for this body. Just because you've thought about what it might be like before, doesn't mean you're actually used to it.

It's really nice to learn how this body works, though. It feels so right.

Chat is giving you a strong... eh, not desire- intention? (It's weird, how it just feels like something you decided yourself to do, but you can pick it out now by paying attention to the line of reasoning behind it. Chat's is vaguer- at least to you- and isn't the way you usually think.) They're giving you the strong intention to tell Ella about them. Which, you really already were planning to do.

You eye the flesh. Chat said they knew the flesh, so maybe it'll want to hear about them too?

"Uh, so..." You turn to Ella. "There was something else I was gonna tell you, before the attack." You swish your tail anxiously. She just turns to face you, attentive.

"There's something, like. In my head? Giving me ideas for what to do. I'm pretty sure it's been there since we got here, but I didn't really realize what it was until they, uh, sent me a message. Well. Got me to write it..."

You show her and the flesh the message. Ella looks concerned; the flesh politely informs you it can't read, and you snort, breaking the tension a little. You read it the message, and it visibly brightens.

"Oh! I do know them." It tilts its head; you're not entirely sure what that gesture means on it. "I know they may be a bit uncomfortable to host, but they did help Tyler. From what I know of them, I believe they're entirely benevolent."

"...What do you think about it?" Ella asks, still clearly a little worried.

"...I dunno. I might be warming up to them?" You flick your ear. "It's a weird feeling, but yeah, they have been helpful... Still don't like the idea of having something in my head."

"Well, I guess it's not a big problem for now, at least?"

"Yeah. We can figure out how to evict them later. Or... maybe they'll even leave on their own? But they are helpful for now."

The next idea chat gives you is... interesting, actually!

"Oh, they think I should make smartphones for you guys," you say to the flesh. "So that we can contact each other at a distance, I guess? And... maybe we can connect them to Earth?"

"Ohhh, that's a good idea!" Ella exclaims. "Let me get some material." She hops out of the wagon. She seems pretty energized already; you still feel a bit sluggish and tired. Less than before your nap, though.

She returns with a lump of stone and offers it to you. "Wanna do the honors?"

"Sure."

When you try to transform it, though, it feels- different, from the other transformations you've done. It... needs something physical from you, you think. Reflexively, you abort the transformation. You didn't know you could do that- it all happened very fast, but it was still a little slower than the usual instant transformations.

"Uh... I think... it needs void, to do what we want it to..?" You explain how it felt. "...I don't really want to give up any void for this."

"Mm, yeah, we kind of want to hold on to that..."

You pull out your own phone and try to modify it (carefully, you don't want to mess it up) to connect to Earth. That feels like it would require a lot more void, more than you have. You tell them about that, too.

"Well, I guess that kind of makes sense, if it takes a lot to teleport people there..." Ella says thoughtfully.

"Information's different, though, right? I mean- I don't really know how it works, but it's not like it's nearly as much mass as us, right..?"

She shrugs. "Either way, I guess we'd need to get more void for it."

"...Chat's other idea about phones was like... a wiki app for this world? To give us information, I think."

You hold up your phone and try to modify it again. This time, it feels like it works; you check and, in fact, there's a new app with a nondescript icon. Unwiki. You're not sure where that name came from- chat, probably, you guess.

Opening it reveals a simple interface that does look a lot like wikipedia. Ella leans over your shoulder to look. With a little poking around, you do find out that it has some information... but only on things you've already seen, with information you already knew.

"Figures," Ella says, though she does sound a bit disappointed. "I can't even imagine what the implications would be if we could just- get information like that. Like, where would it come from? Either people's heads, which is creepy, or just- nowhere, which is creepier..."

"Yeah," you sigh. "...I guess this is a good way to keep track of things, though."

After a quick check, Ella confirms that a few things she knows aren't in there- so it only pulled from your knowledge. She carefully modifies it to add her knowledge before handing your phone back, and she adds the app to her own phone as well, with your input. The flesh also adds its knowledge to both your phones.

That done, the three of you leave the wagon. The rest of the group- well, it's hard to read body language or even the subtle cues in speech with these guys, but you feel like they might be a little impatient. You guess you would be too, if you couldn't fill the time with sleep.

The three creatures you trapped earlier are still there, thankfully, still encased. The one closest to the wagon- the spiky one- is emitting loud birdsong, like you heard earlier during the fight.

"That one has been asking to be released," says the tall artist, leaning over the spiky statue. Its voice is high and surprisingly pretty. "It says it will leave without a fight. I thought you might want to talk to it first, however."

"Oh, um- well, yeah maybe?" You look at Ella. You're not good at- people. Talking. Diplomacy? She's better at it than you.

She nods. "I think there's a few things we'd like to hear from it."

"I don't believe it knows English," the flesh says, "and I doubt you know Song, do you?"

Ella shakes her head. "Song?"

"Song is the most common language and form of communication. Not all fleshes know it, but many do. Perhaps most? Though, perhaps it is specific to this area. I do not know."

You blink. "Wait- how do you know English? I hadn't even thought of that..."

The flesh grins. "It is rather a niche language, here. I learned it through the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them. It had... visions, you might call them, of Earth. I still do not know how or why. But that is how it learned English, and I learned English from it, and I have given English to several other fleshes, now. We like to use English, sometimes, due to its complexity. It allows more detail than Song."

"What do you mean, you gave them English?" Ella sounds bemused. It is an odd choice of words, you guess.

"Through touch." At her blank expression, it seems slightly taken aback. "-Is that... not something you can do, on Earth?"

"Um..."

"...Here." The flesh puts its hand on her shoulder, and her eyes widen. You shift in slight concern, but-

"Oh! Oh, wow." She looks at you. "It's like- you can transfer- ideas, like, thoughts." She moves away from the flesh, who steps back, and offers you her hand. You brush up against it with your flank, and...

Oh, damn.

You can feel all of her mind, right next to yours; you can see what she's thinking and feeling. It forms a near-instant feedback loop, since she can see yours, too. It's kind of weird and a little unnerving, but well- there's no one you'd trust more to be in your head. She trusts you too, just as much.

But- we've definitely touched since we got here- you think, and almost immediately you see from her why this hasn't happened before; it has to be intentional on both sides. It's very hard to hide things once you've made the connection, but you can't connect by accident, or by force, if the other party doesn't want to. You see this information in her mind, and the memory of the flesh giving it to her, and her awe at the ability, all at once. It's- kind of overwhelming.

We'll stop in a sec, then. I just want to give you this. She pulls up into her conscious mind what she now knows about Song. Despite the amount of knowledge you get all at once, that doesn't overwhelm you as much- it's not full of emotions that aren't yours, for one, and it's neat and ordered, almost like it was made to be shared easily. You get the vague idea that maybe it was, but that's gotta be at least several transfers back, and the process isn't completely lossless, not indefinitely. -You don't even know where- who- that knowledge comes from, but it feels certain.

Ella breaks off the connection, but keeps petting you.

"Wow." You take a moment to process. Then- you can't help it- you test out your Song knowledge. You kind of have to modify your vocal cords a little, but the knowledge of how to do that also came with it. "-I want it to be that easy to learn... everything." You would have said, 'to learn other languages', but Song doesn't have a concept of other languages, or a word for 'language'. Just 'Song'. It really is a lot simpler than English, and it seems focused on talking about danger and goals more than emotion or abstract ideas. Kind of practical.

"Well," Ella sighs, "let's question this guy."

The spiky creature has fallen silent by now. Ella kneels next to it, and you hover over her protectively.

"Attacker. What is your title?"

It hesitates for just a second. "I am the Stone-spiked helper. You have proven yourselves more dangerous, I will not attack if you release me. Please release me."

"I want to know why you attacked us. My title is..." She takes a moment. "...the protector-artist." That surprises you a little, but it makes sense for her, you think. Now you're wondering what title you would take on in Song; it doesn't really have room for names that don't have meaning... You never liked Rose, even if roses were a literal concept you could convey in Song. Since you gained the nickname, you've never felt the need for any name other than Ro, so you don't have anything else to work off of... Well, it doesn't matter right now. The stone-spiked helper is responding.

"The grand knowledge-seeker is the one I help. It wants to know about you. It asked us to bring you to it."

Ella exchanges a glance with you.

"And what does it want to do with us?"

"It wants to gain all the knowledge you have."

"Why does it want this knowledge?"

"It is its nature."

That simple statement suddenly makes something click about life here- the word 'nature' in Song carries an understanding that a creature- or a plant, anything really- will act in its nature; that its nature is its ultimate motivator. If a being's nature is to- to kill, for example. It won't feel bad about killing; it won't even cross its mind to feel bad about it. Humans have a lot of things built into them, good and bad, but nothing is a given with creatures here. It just- suddenly makes you realize just how alien these creatures are. Well, the flesh does seem rather human- with a desire to help people and be around its friends- but you have no idea if the rest of its group are all that way.

...If the grand knowledge-seeker wants knowledge, you might not be opposed to that. But if it doesn't care about not hurting people, even if you don't get hurt by it- it wouldn't be good for it to keep summoning people, or worse, for it to go to Earth itself. Which it might be able to do. You have no idea. It would hurt a lot of people, simply because that's the most efficient way to get what it wants.

Ella's about to say something else, but you quickly lean into her shoulder and transfer all those thoughts.

Ohhh, she thinks, I see what you mean. You feel the same concern that you're starting to feel fill her.

At that moment, you feel a thought from chat come through- basically, that you should meet the grand knowledge-seeker on your own terms, rather than waiting for it to find you or send another attack. Since you're still connected to Ella, she sees it too.

Oh, that IS weird. It's so... unobtrusive. But they might be right.

It gives you another thought, though, and Ella catches it and asks the stone-spiked helper:

"-Why did the grand knowledge-seeker send you? Why didn't it come to find us?"

The stone-spiked helper pauses. Hesitates, maybe. "..I will not tell you."

Ella sighs under her breath in frustration and thinks for a moment. Well, you both think about it, bouncing ideas off of each other at the speed of thought; it makes it easier. This doesn't bother you as much as it did earlier, maybe because you're focused on one thing?

"...If you tell us, we will give the grand knowledge-seeker our knowledge. It is not against our natures, and we want not to be attacked again. But we want this information in exchange."

You're not sure you're going to go through with the promise, but it seems like the best way to get this guy to tell you what it knows. And since it doesn't want to tell you, it seems important.

There's another, longer pause. Then, "...I agree. The grand knowledge-seeker cannot leave its current location. It is trying to summon you, but someone else is also trying to summon you. I do not know who. They have both been trying since you were first summoned."

...Huh. Neither of you are certain what to think about that.

...So if it stops trying to summon us, I guess we're gonna end up somewhere else, you think. That makes things more complicated.

If someone else can stop us from being teleported by trying to teleport us somewhere else, maybe we can like... try to teleport ourselves to where we already are..? No, even if that would work, we don't have enough void...

-This is probably why we didn't end up with the grand knowledge-seeker to begin with. We got- intercepted.

You're right.

Then you think of something the flesh said, back when you first met up, about how if it wasn't its parent that summoned you, it didn't know of anyone else who would. And obviously there could be more beings out there that it doesn't know about who would want you, but you also ended up not so far from the flesh's parent.

Good thought.

So Ella decides she's finished interrogating, and the two of you explain what you learned and what you're thinking to the flesh (the rest of the group seems to only partly be paying attention). It actually takes you a second to switch to English, from either Song or pure-thought communication.

"Well, it could very well be the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them..."

"If it is- what do you think it wants with us?" Ella asks.

"It summoned Tyler to play a sort of game with them. Well, a game for it. Tyler did not enjoy it. They could have been stuck here, if they had lost. I do not fully understand my parent's nature, but it is not social like I am, and it is quite powerful... I don't believe it would eat you, but it might very well trap you."

You sigh and start pacing. (As it turns out, pacing is more satisfying with four legs.) There's a lot going on, and you don't have nearly as much power as you thought, not relative to the other people involved here.

"...If we absorb void from any of these guys, will it hurt them seriously?" You ask the flesh.

"Well, no, but I don't believe they have any void. If they did, I suspect they would have freed themselves."

"Damn."

...What do you do about this? What is there to do? Maybe it would be better to avoid the grand knowledge-seeker, to avoid getting summoned elsewhere, but it could always decide you're a lost cause, and you're still worried about the idea of it summoning more people or going to Earth...

...What now?

[unrooms]

Gonna be a bit late tonight, but I'm getting close to done, so hopefully it won't be too long. Thanks for your patience!

[unrooms]

Ok definitely Ro needs to tell Ella about Chat, keeping secrets like that cannot lead to anything good plus the Flesh might remember us from when we helped Tyler and could help assure Ella that we’re good folks, we’re here to help :3

As far as where to go next, I think we gotta find this ultimate smarty pants dude. Clearly they want to see us anyway but I think it’d be way better to meet on our terms than theirs given the attack. If we can meet them on at least even ground, we might be able to find out more about this place and ultimately how to get home.

Whether or not Ro goes home is up to them, can’t imagine it’d be appealing after getting a taste of shapeshifting, but it still seems to me like Ella very much wants to go home and we should do everything we can to make that happen

.

[unrooms]

Show Ella the chat message + explain what’s been happening.

Make smart phones for my beloved the flesh and its friends. Try to make them able to contact Earth/the internet magically. And try to imagine an app that’s like wikipedia but about the unrooms.

To test the Earth bit…it would be cool to try to have the flesh try to contact Tyler. But we should emphasize we only did our best and don’t know if it’ll work. I don’t want the flesh to be too disappointed if we fail.

To test the wikipedia app (unwiki?) we could show whatever we get (if we get anything) to the most knowledgeable among us to see if it’s accurate.

If these modifications work, add them to our phones.

Also show them youtube videos we like if the internet thing worked lol. (If possible, uh, magically curate their youtube algorithm so they don’t get exposed to the awful stuff on there or become Cocomelon iPad babies? If we can’t curate that, maybe warn them instead)

If we have time for anything after my hijinx, ask the flesh whether it would be a good idea to try to absorb the void from the spiky guys, or if that would kill them in some way. How do they usually handle attacks like this? What are these guys capable of? Etc.

Hope suggesting hijinx is okay lol. Imagining the flesh facetiming Tyler got me excited. Imagine Tyler’s phone lighting up with THE FLESH (VIA CHAT).

I want to deal with the spiky guys after knowing a lil bit more about them. To be safe. 😅

.

[unrooms]

1. Tell her about the chat pls 😭

2. Set alarms for sleep and food breaks. Even if it's psychological, meeting our psychological needs will keep us in better metaphorical fighting form for whatever this world throws our way. Put a timer on one of our phones and leave it with the fleshes so they don't get too worried.

3. Box in one of the grand knowledgeseekers' creatures and then unfreeze them so we can ask them about the questions we have? Probably the box needs a hole for us to touch to unfreeze and for them to speak through. Or would they be able to transform the box.

.

[unrooms]

A surge of ideas comes to you all at once. The first thing you think is shit, of course, I should've grabbed my spear. But now it'd probably be faster to make another one, anyway- and then it occurs to you- you can be a weapon. Is now the right time to figure out how shapeshifting works? Maybe not, but- well- you want to be out of this helpless little body, you want to be in a strong, foreboding one, you want to fight. You want to be able to fight.

You haven't thought much about how to do this, and what exactly you want to become, and you don't have much time to think about it. You decide that from everything you've seen so far, it seems like things react to your intentions and desires in a very intuitive way, and so if you focus not on the details but just on the- the vibes, it'll probably work out.

"Okay, Ella, I'm gonna try it, don't freak out!" You yell in warning.

And then you change.

It feels wonderfully natural, like... like the freeness of stepping into a lake and feeling weightless. You just shake yourself out of the one fixed shape you've always had and into another. You absorb your clothes as they stop fitting. You gain sharp tooth and claw, thick fur, strong limbs- and for once, you feel confident.

The spiky creature moves back slightly, away from you and towards Ella. "Oh no you don't!" you growl, and then you pounce.

You try to tear it apart with your claws; pulling one spike from the next. -But when it figures out what you're doing, it just shifts its own form around you. Right. It's a shapeshifter too. On top of that, you can feel it trying to absorb you where you touch it. You're resisting, but you don't think that your defense is perfect.

You bite down hard on one of the spikes, and that does some damage. It didn't shift out of the way in time, so you manage to snap off a mouthful of it. It's hard and, now that it's broken, jagged, so you don't want to swallow it- instead, you realize you might be able to absorb it yourself- and you can. You feel a little of the strength of the creature flow through you, reinforcing your own body instead of its. The second bite is a little less effective; it's expecting it now.

"Ro!" Ella calls out. "Try transforming it!"

Oh! That's a good idea. You would've thought of it, probably, if you weren't in the heat of the moment. ...You don't really want to transform all of it, because you feel like that'd basically kill it, and you'd rather not do that if you can help it. Besides, it's a little too big to transform all at once. But what you can do is transform the outside layer of its body, trapping it inside. You try to make it as strong and unbreakable as possible.

You step back, watching it warily. The new shell wobbles, but after a moment, you're satisfied that it's not going to break soon, at least. You easily jump over it to check on Ella- she seems fine. She's grinning at you, eyes bright with pride. You nuzzle your side into her briefly while looking at the rest of the fight.

There are fewer enemies than before, and a couple seem to be fleeing, significantly reduced in size. You pounce on one of the remaining ones and trap it the same way as the spiky one, and you trap another before the last couple see what you're doing and decide they'd rather run.

"Thank you," the flesh says politely. "I don't have enough void to do that."

"Of course." Your voice is pretty much the same, just a little growlier. You weren't thinking about it, but you like this.

Ella comes over to the rest of you, and you collectively catch your breath. You take the moment to admire how nice this body feels to be in.

"What was that about?" Ella asks.

"They said they wanted you- 'the humans'-- that they wanted to take you to someone else..." The flesh's tone is as serious as you've heard it.

"I suspect," says 'most-knowing of us' slowly, "that they may be followers of the grand knowledge-seeker."

"...Who is that?" You ask, and some of the others seem to have the same question, so you figure it's not just because you're not from here that you don't know about it.

Most-knowing of us explains that it met the grand knowledge-seeker once, and exchanged some knowledge with it, since they were both knowledge-seekers by nature. Apparently, the grand knowledge-seeker is called that because it has the most power of all knowledge-seekers, both in the form of a fair amount of void and of sheer mass, and many knowledge-seekers follow it in the hopes of gaining more knowledge themselves, either from observing it, or by convincing it to give them some of its own knowledge.

"...I didn't realize knowledge was so sought-after here." You say.

"Well," says the flesh, "each flesh's nature is unique, and there is much variation. Few desire knowledge as its own end. But in the same way most of us want to keep existing, for the sake of fulfilling our other goals if not as its own goal, gaining knowledge is also often useful regardless of your nature."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. I never thought of it that way."

Ella speaks up; "If all that's true about the grand knowledge-seeker, then it might have been the one to summon us, right? And sent people after us because..." She trails off.

"But why wouldn't it have just come after us itself?" You say, completing her thought. She nods.

"I don't know." Says most-knowing of us.

There's a silence and everyone thinks about this. Why wouldn't it just come find you, especially if it knows where you are? ...Why not just teleport you to its location in the first place? Actually, what the flesh said earlier seemed to imply that you should have appeared near it, so why didn't that happen..?

You're not sure what to think, and you're starting to feel pretty tired, which is making it harder. A lot has happened, and it's probably been long enough that you'd normally be asleep by this point in the day. You rest your head on Ella's lap with a sigh.

"...I think, whatever the case, maybe the two of us could use some rest." Ella says, voicing your thoughts. You're grateful to her for being the one to say it.

The fleshes agree. It seems like they don't have to deal with getting attacked by such a big group usually, and they could use some calm. For them, though, that seems to involve more game-playing and storytelling than sleep, so you and Ella retreat to the wagon for a bit.

Once you're comfortable, Ella quietly asks how you like this body, and says she's proud of you for trying it. You smile and tell her you like it a lot. She seems to appreciate your fur for the purposes of cuddling, and you quickly get very warm and sleepy.

Just as you're on the edge of sleep, it occurs to you that you still haven't told her about chat. ...But you decide it's okay to leave that for later, and drift off.

You wake up to the flesh checking on the two of you after what doesn't feel like long enough at all, but apparently, on checking your phone (which you have to alter your claws a bit to do. opposable thumbs are good for some things), was a couple hours and long enough for the fleshes to get concerned. Apparently, they don't have a concept of sleep.

You yawn and stretch, and consider whether you actually still need sleep or if it's just, like... psychological. There's a lot of ways you're different from native fleshes and you're starting to wonder much of it is real. Either way, you kind of feel like going back to sleep, but you're a little wary of another attack. And you don't really want to leave the flesh and their friends to wait for several more hours. ...And, now you're awake enough to think about it, you're getting antsy to figure out what you're even going to do next. Ella seems a little restless, too.

...It feels a bit strange to still be in this body- like, you shouldn't keep it when you don't need it? But you want to keep it. So you do.

...What now?