audio;

[xudarlantern]

[The voice coming through the feed hasn't been heard much on the net, and sounds slightly flustered. In the background one could hear quite a loud chatter]

I know I'm still rather unfamiliar with the local species, but does anyone have any advice for dealing with these small, colored creatures? They are rather small and appear to resemble some sort of insect-vegetable hybrid.

They appear to be sentient so I'm hesitant to respond with violence, but they have swarmed the repair site I've been assigned and have made it nearly impossible to work.

I've managed to contain as many of them as I can, but I'm afraid their numbers make this a short term solution.

Any advice would be appreciated.

video;

[ceoqueen]

[ Hey, outsiders. It’s been a while. Maybe too long. Maybe Aria hasn’t been keeping as much of an eye on Zeta District as she should. Because while she’s been dealing with all the bullshit from Thessia, suddenly part of her station is infested by a bunch of creepy little animate beans. Sure, for now they’re in Zeta District, but how long before Aria starts getting trivia at dinnertime?

That’s just unacceptable. ]

So I hear you’ve got a pest problem down in Zeta District now. I don’t know what these things are or where they came from, but as long as they’re multiplying on my station, they’re a problem. A big one.

So I’m calling a quarantine. Whatever these things are, I don’t want them on the rest of my station. You got that? And that quarantine stays in effect until they’re gone. I don’t care how.

[ She smirks coldly, sitting back comfortably. ]

So if you enjoy venturing outside the neighborhood, I strongly suggest you get off your asses and do something about it.

video;

[shutupmarco]

[ Rachel's in the feed, looking a mixture of angry and upset and honestly, kind of grossed out. For once, she looks like she might lose her cool. Or might have lost it already. Either way, she's holding a grease-stained takeout box in her hand, her lip pulled back in disgust. ]

You know, it's bad enough that both of my roommates just up and disappeared. It's bad enough that I'm stuck in this crummy apartment all by myself, when the blue bitch in charge has just locked us into the neighborhood. But when my food starts talking to me? I'm so done, okay?

[ She opens the top of the takeout box to show to the omni-tool feed -- the indistinguishable heap of food in the box looks perfectly innocuous at first, until it starts...wriggling. And then a couple of black bean mameshiba pop their heads above the surface with a little whoosh of air. They stare at the camera with wet, quivering eyes for a long moment before one of them starts to speak in a tiny voice and heavily affected English. ]

Do you know? Most lipstick contains fish scales --

[ Rachel snaps the top of the box shut, and the mameshiba inside let out muffled cries of dismay. Never has a teenaged girl looked this angry over bad takeout. Seriously, if looks can kill... Well, at least Rachel's grizzly morph can.

Her nostrils flare, her jaw set tight, and oh yeah, she looks pissed. Pissed to cover up being scared and upset because she's alone, and the food is infested with weird little Japanimation beans, and she doesn't like it when the rug gets pulled out from under her. ]

It's been crap like that, nonstop. Creepy, disgusting trivia every time I open the stupid box. And it's all so weird! Who even knows this stuff?

[ Nerds, Rachel. Nerds know this stuff. And right now, that makes her so angry.

She leans forward, eyes narrowed, and pronounces with total, seething conviction: ]

This. Is. So. Gross.