first puzzle | first level; east meridian (also second level, if necessary)

[scotopic]

[There's a thin, disheveled-looking man wandering about the east side of the city in a particularly odd, hunched manner. Every so often, he stops and picks up a coin from the ground in front of him.

He won't visibly seem to notice anyone who approaches, but he is watching, out of the corner of his eye.]

[[ooc: permissions reminder!! c:]]

Comments

the most helpful reply---which I then edited to be at least a little so

[meddlefussyfang]

[A human with unruly hair and a bizarre preoccupation with objects littered on the ground. Gamzee comes to mind.

Kanaya slows and watches the man pass, contemplating whether he seems likely to space out and walk into nearby walls.]

n__n

[scotopic]

[B doesn't look up, but he does see her, and he begins speaking to her even though he appears to still be staring at the small collection of coins in the palm of his hand.]

Do you happen to know what these are?

[meddlefussyfang]

[Continuing her impression of similarity to Gamzee, the human is now addressing the objects in his hand. Unless he is simply not bothering to indicate who he's speaking to. She approaches to see what he's holding.]

...Small metalic discs.

[scotopic]

I believe they're coins. [Here he finally cranes his head to look up at her, holding out his hand for her to inspect the contents.] But they're unlike any coins I've ever seen before.

[makaracles]

[Here's another thin, disheveled looking guy ... though he's more slouched than hunched, and it's pretty much there that the similarities end. He's wandering around with what looks like a coffee mug, maybe? Full of some thick green gunk that he's spooning out with with his fingers and absently eating and ... singing? Sort of. To himself.]

One two three we gonna turn it out
And make you feel the miracles and then scream and shout
We gonna hit you with the shit we got here
We gonna blow your miiiinnnd ...

[scotopic]

[A chant of some sort? Interesting. B takes his handful of coins and tosses them at the stranger's feet.]

[makaracles]

[Gamzee grinds to a halt and leans all the way over, so that his hair is nearly brushing the ground, peering at the coins. He doesn't seem to realize where they've come from, and he touches each in turn with the tip of a clawed finger.]

Woah, my little disc brothers and sisters. You are looking mightyfineshiny today! [This is murmured, as though the coins are small animals he doesn't want to startle.]

[scotopic]

[Curious! Must investigate further. B shuffles on over to join Gamzee in examining the coins, albeit from not quite so pronounced a stoop.]

Are you able to commune with them?

[irrationaling]

[ ... Well. There are rather curious kinds of humans trapped in this place, right? Not that Alice is very much surprised by his looks - she would look rather dishevelled too if she were trapped here in her regular form, after all.

Yet she can't help but watch him from a little distance. ]

[scotopic]

[It seems B has a captive audience. Without looking up or acknowledging her, he changes course and shuffles over toward her, picking up one more coin on his way over and delicately holding it out to her.]

Do you know what this is? [Here he finally tilts his head up to look at her directly with wide, dark-rimmed eyes.]

[irrationaling]

[ She lifts an eyebrow, almost curiously, when he holds out the coin to her. She doesn't recognize this world's currency, obviously, but it's not that much of a change across worlds. ]

I suppose it's a coin.. Do you have never seen one before?

[scotopic]

Not one like this. Have you?

[grimented]

[Harry's been exploring lately, and he stops when he sees this man, vaguely wondering if those coins are why he seems to be permanently hunched over. He looks around, and then approaches him.]

Excuse me...do you need any help?

[scotopic]

[B glances up and stares, unblinking, at the boy for just slightly longer than what's usually considered polite or necessary.]

With what?

[grimented]

With...whatever it is you're doing.

[He glances around awkwardly and finally stoops down to pick up a coin.] Did you drop these?

[scotopic]

No. I found them. [He holds one coin up to a squinted eye.] I've never seen these before.

[smellyoudie]

[The resemblance to Gamzee is striking. And also the sense that he's not really paying attention to it, too- it's a Seer of Mind thing.

The good thing about being blind, though, is that she can pretend not to notice, and then keep her attention on him without being obtrusive about it. You can't accuse a blind girl of watching! She's blind!

But she's definitely watching him back. Just sitting there doodling with chalk on the walls, like she hasn't noticed him at all.]

[scotopic]

[What's most curious about the girl drawing with chalk on the walls isn't her odd appearance, or the fact that she's drawing with chalk on the walls, but the fact that even after B's been able to get a good look at her face, he doesn't see the usual name or numbers - something that should be there, but wasn't. B finds this anomaly almost alarming, in fact.

That doesn't mean he isn't going to poke at said anomaly. Quite the opposite, in fact. He gradually shuffles his way over to her and holds out one of the larger coins to her.]

You dropped this.

[smellyoudie]

[Her face slides easily into a shark's grin as though it was made to sit there, wide and sharp and unsettling.]

No I didn't.

[scotopic]

[... Yeah, OK, B isn't easily unnerved, but that's definitely a little more weird than he's used to, coming from someone other than himself. He might even raise an eyebrow, if he weren't so solidly entrenched in this outwardly blank persona. As it is, he merely tilts his head a little to one side and begins to nibble at the tip of his thumb.]

No? Odd, I was sure I saw you drop this. [He shrugs, and pockets the coin, then selects another from his small pile and holds it out to her.] Perhaps it was this one?