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  "description": "Simon has been sent somewhere by a mysterious green figure! Where could he have ended up? And why does he feel so protective over whatever this thing that got thrown at him is?!",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Simon has been sent somewhere by a mysterious green figure! Where could he have ended up? And why does he feel so protective over whatever this thing that got thrown at him is?!</span>",
  "writing": "The air felt weird.\n\nSimon was sitting in a field, with a clear plastic ball in his lap, staring up at the sky. The sky looked weird too. He couldn't quite place his finger on why. As he brought his eyes back to ground level, he once again noticed the complete lack of structures anywhere around him. Lots of trees, though. Very natural-looking, completely unmaintained trees. He could hear birds singing of in the distance, as well.\n\nHe must have been transported outside of the dome, he reasoned. He was taking this entire situation surprisingly calmly. He did always like being outside, and this was probably about as outside as he'd ever been...\n\nThe plastic(?) ball in his hands was vibrating. He looked down at it. It was about the size of his torso, and filled with an off-white, slightly silvery inky substance. It was surprisingly light, despite its size. He peered down into it... then jumped as a dull green sphere started to rise up out of the inky whiteness.\n\n“...That's an inkling. I have no idea how it's still alive,” said Fortis.\n\n“Wh-what do you mean?!” Inklings could [i]die[/i]? This was news to Simon!\n\n“Oh. Uh. It doesn't have a host. We can't really... exist without hosts for a long time. Not in this universe,” Fortis responded sheepishly. It sounded like this was a topic Fortis really didn't want to talk about.\n\n“Then we have to-”\n\nSimon was cut off as the sphere buzzed again. It didn't make much of a noise, but Simon could feel it through his hands. With a brief application of Fortis's power... The buzzing resolved itself into a small, quiet voice. “-hungry...”\n\nSimon stared at the poor Inkling inside the sphere for a moment, then began to frantically search around it for any way to pry it open – controls, or a seam, or anything... “How the heck does this thing open?!”\n\n“This... this isn't a good idea, Si. You can't really... handle two Inklings. You're really drained already-”\n\n“I can't just sit here!” Simon began to tap at the apparently-plastic sphere. “I have to help her!”\n\n“...Her?”\n\nSimon flicked his finger against the bottom of the sphere. The faint vibration spread throughout the entire enclosure, increasing and enhancing more and more as it bounced around against itself, focusing in the top of the sphere – then with a sickening [i]crack[/i], the containment exploded outwards, shards of plastic flying directly up into the air!\n\nSimon panted. Shards of probably-plastic showered down after a few moments of suspension, while he peered into the half-destroyed container, at the inky mass of off-white fluid within. A small tendril of fluid slowly extended out of it, seeming almost tentative.\n\nSimon's head swam. Oh wow why was he suddenly so tired-\n\nSimon flopped to the ground.\n\n* * *\n\nWhere the heck were Jason and Kelly? They should know that leaving him and his sister alone at a party like this just made them feel anxious and nervous. Simon hated going to parties, but it was... someone's birthday. He couldn't remember whose, exactly, although he knew it was someone important that he liked.\n\nMaybe it was his sister's birthday? Although the way she was half hiding behind him, instead of being surrounded by all the friends he knew she must have, sort of made him question that idea.\n\nWho were her friends anyway? He couldn't see any of them in the crowd. Although... actually, he couldn't really remember what any of them looked like. Wow, he must be the worst older brother...\n\nWas everyone looking at him? He glanced around, and noticed all eyes were pointed right at him. [i]Why[/i] was everyone looking at him? He shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his feet. Oh God he just wanted to go home...\n\nThe girl behind him – his sister, not just a girl – clung slightly closer to him as a boy approached. He looked to be around Simon's age... in fact, he looked exactly like Simon, although his eyes were an odd bright pink colour.\n\n“Get the hell away from him!” came a sudden shout. Simon jumped – the boy was shouting! Wait, was he angry? Those huge cartoony eyes were making it really hard to read his expression!\n\n“I'm not... hurting anything...” his sister mumbled, pressing her own cartoonishly simple face against the small of Simon's back. “He's fine... I-I don't wanna hibernate again...”\n\nThe boy – Fortis, that was Fortis – faltered. Simon took this opportunity to shift slightly to the side, trying to hide his... his sister from... wait, what was going on?\n\n“..Fortis? Are we dreaming?”\n\nAlmost immediately, the party vanished, seeming to almost shatter like glass. Everyone except Simon, Fortis and... his sister? - faded out, until they were all standing in a silvery-white void. Simon couldn't tell if he was still standing on some sort of invisible floor or if he was now floating in the air. It didn't matter either way, really.\n\nHis sister(?) was now standing a bit apart from them. He could see, now, that she seemed to be composed of the same inky stuff as Fortis and those weird zombie things – although she was an off-white colour. She looked very much like Simon, although about a head and a half shorter than him. Her mouth and eyes were a pale green colour, with the same lack of features as Fortis and, he assumed, every other Inkling.\n\nFortis put his palm to his face. “Yeah. We're dreaming. 'Cause you passed out from that thing latching on and sucking you dry!”\n\n“Th-that's not what happened!” the off-white Inkling complained. “He's fine! [i]You're[/i] the one who almost drained him to death!” She crossed her arms. “You're lucky you ran into me. I know when my host has had enough.”\n\nSimon barely made out the muttered “apparently”.\n\n“Can't you... can't you feel it? His prana is...” the whiteish Inkling trailed off for a moment. “We all have special powers. Right? The ones of us who aren't all boring and grey? You do... something about vibrations, and.. I think...” She frowned. Fortis looked visibly agitated, as far as Simon could see. Simon inched a bit closer to the smaller Inkling, just in case... he had to intervene.\n\nOh gosh he hoped he wouldn't have to intervene.\n\n“I-I think... whatever it is, whatever I can do, it's helping?” Simon was rather lost at this point. He could barely pay attention to what she was saying, his surroundings starting to feel... sort of fuzzy. He could feel the pressure of the ground on his side, and something warm in front of him. Fortis turned to say something to him, but he couldn't hear it over the chirping of birds and... the sound of someone eating?\n\nSimon woke up.\n\n* * *\n\nThe air was hot. Simon could feel a a blanket pressing down on him. He was on his side, laying on something much softer than the grass he'd collapsed on earlier. There was something hot and bright in front of him, shining through his closed eyelids.\n\nSimon opened his eyes, and immediately squinted them mostly-shut again. Something bright and orange was right in front of him, contrasting so strongly with the blackish-blue hue of the night sky that it was difficult to make out anything else.\n\nSimon sat up. The orange light was a [i]fire[/i]. Instinctively, Simon edged back away from it, sitting upright and bringing his knees up to his chest. He couldn't help but stare into the flames, even though he was slightly alarmed at just seeing naked flames out in the open like this... Even the smoke smelled sorta nice. It was... complex, nothing like the smoke you got from burning fuel.\n\n“Hey. You're awake, huh?”\n\nSimon nearly jumped out of his fur on hearing that voice, looking around wildly for a moment before finding its source. A grown man sitting by the fire, broad-shouldered and rather tall, wearing a suit of creepy-looking plastic and metal... armour, Simon supposed. The armour was articulated around the joints, and didn't appear to have any gaps.\n\nThe helmet had a face on it that reminded Simon rather strongly of old movers about the Metal Men...\n\nHonestly the only reason Simon could tell he was a man was from his voice.\n\n“Haha! Did I startle you?” the man barked jovially. “My apologies!” He reached up to his helmet, flicking open the two metal fasteners on the side and opening up the helmet like a book. The faceplate just hung off to the side, revealing the man's face. The face looked... rodent-like. And oddly familiar, although much older than anyone Simon could think of having met in the past.\n\nAnd then Simon noticed the man's squirrel tail.\n\n“It's not often one runs into a member of one's type outside of one's family, is it? Now, may I inquire what such a young man such as yourself is doing so close to Grenlock Coast? This is a rather dangerous area, you know!”\n\nGrenlock Coast. That name sounded... so familiar to Simon, although he couldn't really place it.\n\n“...No? Very well. Your reasons are your own, of course. If you were headed for the ruins, I shall accompany you – I have business there as well.” \n\nSimon continued to sit there in silence, eyes slowly taking in his form. He looked... sturdy. Powerful. Like a good protector. Even though Simon didn't know him at all, he couldn't help but feel slowly more and more relaxed. There was just something about the stranger than made him feel... safe.\n\nSimon had always liked being around larger people, truth be told. He liked to ride on people's shoulders, sometimes, or be lifted up off the ground one-handed and held up in the air. Something about climbing instincts, he supposed.\n\nWow this area was so peaceful. So quiet. Simon could hear the sea off in the distance, and knight birds hooting. There was a tree nearby, old and gnarled, grown into a shape that would have been frightening had it not been clearly illuminated by the fire. Nothing like the sort of tree you'd find in a city. Simon liked it. He felt like he could just sit here and listen to the sounds of nature all night...\n\nThe older squirrel frowned a bit as Simon continued to stay silent. “Oh! I haven't even introduced myself. How rude of me! My deepest apologies!” Simon jumped a bit, snapping his eyes back to look at the broad-shouldered man.\n\nThe man slowly got to his feet, with a clanking of metal and plastic and a few faint pops of old joints. As he stood up, Simon noticed the weapon at his hip – a sword, resembling an oversized box cutter, attached somewhat haphazardly to some technological gubbins that Simon couldn't identify. At the end it had a purple tassel of frayed cloth.\n\nThe man brought his right fist up to his chest and bowed. “Knight-Protector Bedivere, at your service!”\n\nSimon stared. “...What.”\n\nKnight-Protector Bedivere laughed. “Looks like you have a voice after all!”",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>The air felt weird.<br /><br />Simon was sitting in a field, with a clear plastic ball in his lap, staring up at the sky. The sky looked weird too. He couldn&#039;t quite place his finger on why. As he brought his eyes back to ground level, he once again noticed the complete lack of structures anywhere around him. Lots of trees, though. Very natural-looking, completely unmaintained trees. He could hear birds singing of in the distance, as well.<br /><br />He must have been transported outside of the dome, he reasoned. He was taking this entire situation surprisingly calmly. He did always like being outside, and this was probably about as outside as he&#039;d ever been...<br /><br />The plastic(?) ball in his hands was vibrating. He looked down at it. It was about the size of his torso, and filled with an off-white, slightly silvery inky substance. It was surprisingly light, despite its size. He peered down into it... then jumped as a dull green sphere started to rise up out of the inky whiteness.<br /><br />&ldquo;...That&#039;s an inkling. I have no idea how it&#039;s still alive,&rdquo; said Fortis.<br /><br />&ldquo;Wh-what do you mean?!&rdquo; Inklings could <em>die</em>? This was news to Simon!<br /><br />&ldquo;Oh. Uh. It doesn&#039;t have a host. We can&#039;t really... exist without hosts for a long time. Not in this universe,&rdquo; Fortis responded sheepishly. It sounded like this was a topic Fortis really didn&#039;t want to talk about.<br /><br />&ldquo;Then we have to-&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon was cut off as the sphere buzzed again. It didn&#039;t make much of a noise, but Simon could feel it through his hands. With a brief application of Fortis&#039;s power... The buzzing resolved itself into a small, quiet voice. &ldquo;-hungry...&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon stared at the poor Inkling inside the sphere for a moment, then began to frantically search around it for any way to pry it open &ndash; controls, or a seam, or anything... &ldquo;How the heck does this thing open?!&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;This... this isn&#039;t a good idea, Si. You can&#039;t really... handle two Inklings. You&#039;re really drained already-&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;I can&#039;t just sit here!&rdquo; Simon began to tap at the apparently-plastic sphere. &ldquo;I have to help her!&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;...Her?&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon flicked his finger against the bottom of the sphere. The faint vibration spread throughout the entire enclosure, increasing and enhancing more and more as it bounced around against itself, focusing in the top of the sphere &ndash; then with a sickening <em>crack</em>, the containment exploded outwards, shards of plastic flying directly up into the air!<br /><br />Simon panted. Shards of probably-plastic showered down after a few moments of suspension, while he peered into the half-destroyed container, at the inky mass of off-white fluid within. A small tendril of fluid slowly extended out of it, seeming almost tentative.<br /><br />Simon&#039;s head swam. Oh wow why was he suddenly so tired-<br /><br />Simon flopped to the ground.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />Where the heck were Jason and Kelly? They should know that leaving him and his sister alone at a party like this just made them feel anxious and nervous. Simon hated going to parties, but it was... someone&#039;s birthday. He couldn&#039;t remember whose, exactly, although he knew it was someone important that he liked.<br /><br />Maybe it was his sister&#039;s birthday? Although the way she was half hiding behind him, instead of being surrounded by all the friends he knew she must have, sort of made him question that idea.<br /><br />Who were her friends anyway? He couldn&#039;t see any of them in the crowd. Although... actually, he couldn&#039;t really remember what any of them looked like. Wow, he must be the worst older brother...<br /><br />Was everyone looking at him? He glanced around, and noticed all eyes were pointed right at him. <em>Why</em> was everyone looking at him? He shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his feet. Oh God he just wanted to go home...<br /><br />The girl behind him &ndash; his sister, not just a girl &ndash; clung slightly closer to him as a boy approached. He looked to be around Simon&#039;s age... in fact, he looked exactly like Simon, although his eyes were an odd bright pink colour.<br /><br />&ldquo;Get the hell away from him!&rdquo; came a sudden shout. Simon jumped &ndash; the boy was shouting! Wait, was he angry? Those huge cartoony eyes were making it really hard to read his expression!<br /><br />&ldquo;I&#039;m not... hurting anything...&rdquo; his sister mumbled, pressing her own cartoonishly simple face against the small of Simon&#039;s back. &ldquo;He&#039;s fine... I-I don&#039;t wanna hibernate again...&rdquo;<br /><br />The boy &ndash; Fortis, that was Fortis &ndash; faltered. Simon took this opportunity to shift slightly to the side, trying to hide his... his sister from... wait, what was going on?<br /><br />&ldquo;..Fortis? Are we dreaming?&rdquo;<br /><br />Almost immediately, the party vanished, seeming to almost shatter like glass. Everyone except Simon, Fortis and... his sister? - faded out, until they were all standing in a silvery-white void. Simon couldn&#039;t tell if he was still standing on some sort of invisible floor or if he was now floating in the air. It didn&#039;t matter either way, really.<br /><br />His sister(?) was now standing a bit apart from them. He could see, now, that she seemed to be composed of the same inky stuff as Fortis and those weird zombie things &ndash; although she was an off-white colour. She looked very much like Simon, although about a head and a half shorter than him. Her mouth and eyes were a pale green colour, with the same lack of features as Fortis and, he assumed, every other Inkling.<br /><br />Fortis put his palm to his face. &ldquo;Yeah. We&#039;re dreaming. &#039;Cause you passed out from that thing latching on and sucking you dry!&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Th-that&#039;s not what happened!&rdquo; the off-white Inkling complained. &ldquo;He&#039;s fine! <em>You&#039;re</em> the one who almost drained him to death!&rdquo; She crossed her arms. &ldquo;You&#039;re lucky you ran into me. I know when my host has had enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon barely made out the muttered &ldquo;apparently&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Can&#039;t you... can&#039;t you feel it? His prana is...&rdquo; the whiteish Inkling trailed off for a moment. &ldquo;We all have special powers. Right? The ones of us who aren&#039;t all boring and grey? You do... something about vibrations, and.. I think...&rdquo; She frowned. Fortis looked visibly agitated, as far as Simon could see. Simon inched a bit closer to the smaller Inkling, just in case... he had to intervene.<br /><br />Oh gosh he hoped he wouldn&#039;t have to intervene.<br /><br />&ldquo;I-I think... whatever it is, whatever I can do, it&#039;s helping?&rdquo; Simon was rather lost at this point. He could barely pay attention to what she was saying, his surroundings starting to feel... sort of fuzzy. He could feel the pressure of the ground on his side, and something warm in front of him. Fortis turned to say something to him, but he couldn&#039;t hear it over the chirping of birds and... the sound of someone eating?<br /><br />Simon woke up.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />The air was hot. Simon could feel a a blanket pressing down on him. He was on his side, laying on something much softer than the grass he&#039;d collapsed on earlier. There was something hot and bright in front of him, shining through his closed eyelids.<br /><br />Simon opened his eyes, and immediately squinted them mostly-shut again. Something bright and orange was right in front of him, contrasting so strongly with the blackish-blue hue of the night sky that it was difficult to make out anything else.<br /><br />Simon sat up. The orange light was a <em>fire</em>. Instinctively, Simon edged back away from it, sitting upright and bringing his knees up to his chest. He couldn&#039;t help but stare into the flames, even though he was slightly alarmed at just seeing naked flames out in the open like this... Even the smoke smelled sorta nice. It was... complex, nothing like the smoke you got from burning fuel.<br /><br />&ldquo;Hey. You&#039;re awake, huh?&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon nearly jumped out of his fur on hearing that voice, looking around wildly for a moment before finding its source. A grown man sitting by the fire, broad-shouldered and rather tall, wearing a suit of creepy-looking plastic and metal... armour, Simon supposed. The armour was articulated around the joints, and didn&#039;t appear to have any gaps.<br /><br />The helmet had a face on it that reminded Simon rather strongly of old movers about the Metal Men...<br /><br />Honestly the only reason Simon could tell he was a man was from his voice.<br /><br />&ldquo;Haha! Did I startle you?&rdquo; the man barked jovially. &ldquo;My apologies!&rdquo; He reached up to his helmet, flicking open the two metal fasteners on the side and opening up the helmet like a book. The faceplate just hung off to the side, revealing the man&#039;s face. The face looked... rodent-like. And oddly familiar, although much older than anyone Simon could think of having met in the past.<br /><br />And then Simon noticed the man&#039;s squirrel tail.<br /><br />&ldquo;It&#039;s not often one runs into a member of one&#039;s type outside of one&#039;s family, is it? Now, may I inquire what such a young man such as yourself is doing so close to Grenlock Coast? This is a rather dangerous area, you know!&rdquo;<br /><br />Grenlock Coast. That name sounded... so familiar to Simon, although he couldn&#039;t really place it.<br /><br />&ldquo;...No? Very well. Your reasons are your own, of course. If you were headed for the ruins, I shall accompany you &ndash; I have business there as well.&rdquo; <br /><br />Simon continued to sit there in silence, eyes slowly taking in his form. He looked... sturdy. Powerful. Like a good protector. Even though Simon didn&#039;t know him at all, he couldn&#039;t help but feel slowly more and more relaxed. There was just something about the stranger than made him feel... safe.<br /><br />Simon had always liked being around larger people, truth be told. He liked to ride on people&#039;s shoulders, sometimes, or be lifted up off the ground one-handed and held up in the air. Something about climbing instincts, he supposed.<br /><br />Wow this area was so peaceful. So quiet. Simon could hear the sea off in the distance, and knight birds hooting. There was a tree nearby, old and gnarled, grown into a shape that would have been frightening had it not been clearly illuminated by the fire. Nothing like the sort of tree you&#039;d find in a city. Simon liked it. He felt like he could just sit here and listen to the sounds of nature all night...<br /><br />The older squirrel frowned a bit as Simon continued to stay silent. &ldquo;Oh! I haven&#039;t even introduced myself. How rude of me! My deepest apologies!&rdquo; Simon jumped a bit, snapping his eyes back to look at the broad-shouldered man.<br /><br />The man slowly got to his feet, with a clanking of metal and plastic and a few faint pops of old joints. As he stood up, Simon noticed the weapon at his hip &ndash; a sword, resembling an oversized box cutter, attached somewhat haphazardly to some technological gubbins that Simon couldn&#039;t identify. At the end it had a purple tassel of frayed cloth.<br /><br />The man brought his right fist up to his chest and bowed. &ldquo;Knight-Protector Bedivere, at your service!&rdquo;<br /><br />Simon stared. &ldquo;...What.&rdquo;<br /><br />Knight-Protector Bedivere laughed. &ldquo;Looks like you have a voice after all!&rdquo;</span>",
  "pools_count": 1,
  "title": "Simon Says, Track 5 - Call Me Maybe",
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  "type_name": "Writing - Document",
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