An Anicorem Adventure [I speak, therefore I am]

[Wessolf27]

> Let's just reason with them for now.

[Sam B]

> Tuck that paper into your ribcage and tell the female voice that it isn't the boss of you! If you have a tongue, stick it out for added effect.

[Woodledude]

> Drop the piece of paper; stand your ground.

> Let's just reason with them for now.

> Tuck that paper into your ribcage and tell the female voice that it isn't the boss of you! If you have a tongue, stick it out for added effect.

Not able to decide whether to tuck the paper away somewhere safer or to simply drop it, you clutch it tightly in your hand. You face the oncoming female figure and take a deep breath, bolstering yourself for a confident, robust retort...

When the male comes up behind you and lifts you by the wire back of your head.

"Wha- HEY! Let go!" You kick at him with your stronger leg to see if you can free yourself, and you hit a sturdy steel plate.

"Oy, he's a lively one, Shink!" He shouts, evidently so that the female can hear him. "He dented me apron..."

The female, apparently called Shink finally gets over to the two of you, and immediately doubles over panting. "A'right ya... Ya fahkin' gremlin... Guh..." She takes a deep breath, then stands up, puffs up her chest, and holds out her hand, demanding, "Hand it over!"

"I was just curious," you say as you oblige, holding out the roll of paper to her. She snatches it from your hand.

"Oh, yeah? Well, curiosity killed the... The..." She thinks for a moment. "Ben, what'd curiosity kill again?"

"No, Shink, I think yer thinkin' a' Chaos, an' 'e killed EVERYTHIN'," the male corrects.

"Really? I was sure curiosity killed somethin'," she replies. Wad'nt it like a lion or somethin'?"

"Shink, I told ya, tha' was Chaos."

"But..." She looks at you. "Hey you, din' curiosity kill somthin'?"

"I don't know!" You reply.

Ben lifts you to his face, examining you thoughtfully. "Hey, I jus' realized, we ne'er asked who ya are, did we?"

"Yeah, who are ya, anyway?" Shink chimes in. "An' where'd ya come from?"

You never though about who you were. You thought about WHAT you were, but you never really identified yourself. So, who exactly ARE you?

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FINALLY, I get around to an update! I'm sorry it took so long, but here it is! I'll see what I can do about getting diagrams for these two up. And as always, thank you for your time, and tell me what you think!

EDIT: My apologies, I only just realized that there's no reason editing a post should be a viable manner of producing an update. Sorry!

[Wessolf27]

>You'd hazard that you're an artifact. Though you're not really sure who made you as you are, you really just want to find a place to get away from a lot of this right now.

[Sam B]

> Well obviously, you are Anicorem. It's right there in the title!

[Wessolf27]

> Well obviously, you are Anicorem. It's right there in the title!

Changing vote to this.

[simon.clarkstone]

> Ask them for a name.

[Woodledude]

Okay, so I have to admit, I'm having trouble getting the update out. In addition to me being lazy, I seem to have stumbled upon a bout of writer's block. This is pretty common for me, and I apologize for that. I get hung up on the smallest things, and it snowballs into delays like this. Furthermore, I'm veritably awful at dealing with things like this, so the adventure may be on hiatus for a bit. Again, I apologize, and this typically happens to me a lot. In fact, I started this adventure to see if it would help with that... So yeah, my apologies, and there may be a long delay while I try to get off my lazy butt and update.

[Kíeros]

It's okay; just take your time and get back to this whenever you get over that block.

[stagnantAntler]

Oh wow, yeah writers block. That shit is nasty, it eats away at your soul I tells ya. Just dont worry bout it, you don't have to keep up a regular schedule for people to enjoy your work. Looking forward to the next update

[Woodledude]

> Well obviously, you are Anicorem. It's right there in the title!

> Ask them for a name.

"Um... I..." You try to make sense come out of your mouth, but apparently all you can muster is filler and pronouns. Great.

"Ah, come on, lad, spit it out," Ben demands gently. "What, cat got'cher tongue?"

"More like a Ben got 'is flippin' 'ead," Shink interjects. "Put the poor pile of scrap down, ya big oaf. Yer prolly scramblin' his thinkin' like that."

"Oh, m'pologes, mate," Ben says, putting you down. "Is that better?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks," you mumble.

"A'right, now who are ya?" Shink demands. "Ya don't get any excuses this time, ya hear?"

You take a moment to gather your thoughts, clutching at your head absentmindedly, and tentatively reply, "Listen, I don't know who I am."

"Whadya mean?" Shink inquires. Both Shink and Ben seem to have renewed interest in you, and they stare intently. It actually makes you a bit uncomfortable.

You take a deep breath, and begin your story. "I... I woke up, not too long ago. I didn't know who I was, where I was, what I was, or anything. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that I was a... a piece of paper."

"You were a what?" Ben asks.

"How's that supposed to work"? Shink inquires after him.

"It shouldn't, right?" Ben further questions.

"Hey, if you're going to ask me for my story, let me tell it!" You demand.

"Anyway, I found out I was a piece of paper. I didn't really know where I was, or who I was, I just... Was. So I tried doing things. I mentally reached out into what was beyond me, and I eventually discovered that I was in some creature's lair."

"What kind of creature?" Shink asks tentatively, her expression* a mix of curiosity and mild awe.

"I think it was a large serpentine creature of some sort, I didn't pay attention to much else. But anyway..."

You continue to tell your story, and Ben and Shink seem very intrigued. Shink stops you when you mention where you got your Voice.

"'Ey, 'old on, do you remember what they looked like?"

"Not really, I could barely get my eyes open," you explain. "Why?"

"Ah, no reason," She replied, looking away. Ben cleared his throat.

"Right," you continue, "So it wasn't long after that when I met you guys."

"Wha', tha's it? Tha's yer life story?" Shink asks. "Ya 'aven't done too much, 'ave you?"

"Oy, off 'im nae, Shink, i's not 'is fault," Ben interjects. "Ye was fresh from tha 'ammer once, too, ya'know."

"Ah, shu'it, ya big bozo," Shink callously retorts. "Anyhow, ye ought ta get back ta tha forge. I'll take Sissy McDead-Leg here to see tha boss."

"Hey!" You object, to no avail as Shink moves to place the piece of paper you took back where you found it.

"Ah, dunnae worry 'bout 'er," Ben says, "She's jus' teasin' ya." With that, Ben turns and starts walking back to the corridor you passed not too long ago, and Shink passes him and grabs your arm, shoving you away from where you came. While you pick yourself up, she steps around you, and starts heading towards the tower you saw earlier.

You begin to follow her, trying to decide what questions you want to ask her, or even if you want to speak to her at all, when a thought hits you. Shink seems very intent on her destination, and while you're not too great at stealth, you might be able to devise some method of getting away from her if you put your mind to it, and you had a reason to. After all, who knows where she's taking you? The notion of outright murdering her briefly passes through your mind, making you shudder.

1. [BOLD]Follow Shink.[/BOLD] (I'm being ridiculous. Why would I try to make enemies out

of friends? Now, what to ask...?)

2.[BOLD]Abscond.[/BOLD] (Screw you guys, I'm going to... Somewhere. I'll figure that part

out later.)

3.[BOLD]Kill her.[/BOLD] (It was an unknown Anicorem, in the Cave, with a...)

WORLD NOTE:

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*Anicorem do not typically have very well articulated faces, so "expressions" as perceived by Anicorem are entirely spiritual (and/or intangible) projections of emotion, which are received by other Anicorem and interpreted as the same. Just like our facial expressions, Anicorem sometimes have very little control over their spiritual expressions, though practice can yield very convincing false and/or hidden expressions.

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Well, it's been a while since I left you guys, but the way I was writing this update before, it was going to have to be really big, and it was just a little... Discouraging. It's a lot shorter than I intended originally, but this does give you an opportunity for more choice. Also, thanks to Nighzmarquls for the shout-out. :) Now, thank you for bearing with me, I have a ways to go with my writing skills, and this is the first time I've come back to a project like this after this amount of time. Hopefully I'll be able to stay motivated and give you guys more updates sooner, and not have this happen again. And as always, thank you for your time, and tell me what you think.

[Kíeros]

> Follow