corru.fear: a TMA (Somewhere Else)/corru.observer story!

Synopsis

A man, Igashi, discovers a strange orb with biology not known to Earth. With sufficient enough tools, he finds that the orb functions as a computer- except not only is it alive, it houses other organisms within, known as thoughtforms. This includes a thoughtform assistant known as Funfiend, who rudely manages the orb- cyst, as it is called. Through helping with repairs, it is revealed the cyst personally belonged to Meekuhatschuna Qou Notpyrc, who is a part of an alien species known as the Obesks from lightyears away and arrived to Earth both to investigate a signal emitting from the planet- and to find the origin of some cassette tapes, discovered on the aliens' home planet. All two-hundred of them, apparently belonging to a human institute known as the Magnus Institute.

As Igashi investigates further, questions arise: who was Meeku? What happened to her and the other Obesks on Earth? How was the existence of the Obesk covered up and forgotten by everyone? Along with Funfiend, Igashi will also meet other sentient thoughtforms, including a group of thoughtforms representing the eldritch beings Meeku and her team were researching, along with a few intruders who know more than they let on...

General Plot

Essentially, this is a story centered around my Obesk and cyst thoughtform OCs, with Igashi being something of an audience surrogate investigating the cyst (not to say Igashi isn't his own character/involvement in the plot though!). This AU has its own COLLAPSE does have parallels to the original corru.observer's, but with different motivations, antagonists, etc.

The Fears

This AU also takes place in a Somewhere Else-esque world, in which the Fears now populate. Except how they populate it is similar to Regular Fish in a Large Pond AU, so they're not nearly as much of a threat as they were back in the original TMA-verse. In fact, the Fear thoughtforms found in the cyst, while influential to the cyst and their former host Meeku, they coexist relatively well with other non-Fear thoughtforms despite reflecting phobias.

In Obesk culture, the Dread Powers are either called Fear Parasites or Fear Secri, with Meeku, her team, and her cyst's thoughtforms referring to them as the latter. Before the corrucystic revolution, the Fear Secri terrorized the Obesk as they did to humans in their home world, though much less easy than before. The corrucystic revolution only served to further cripple them, as they can no longer affect them physically. Though their newfound intelligence allows them some influence, it is much harder than before.

At some point, after the corrucystic revolution and long before the Obesks travelled to Earth, a box was discovered by surface runners, eerily untouched by the unforgivable weather on Obeski. What this box was full of was 200 cassette tapes and a tape recorder, each bearing the initials 'TMA'.

Meekuhatschuna Qou Notpyrc, the Obesk that discovered the boxes, manages to figure out how the tape recorder works, slowly learns of the Fears existence, eventually managing to figure out a timeline/order of the tapes. Her curiosity of the Fears has her digging too deep and has her nearly bringing about another Fear-pocalypse. Luckily it does not occur, but it leaves her home-city in near-ruins and Meeku shackled with guilt. Life goes on, and eventually the Obesk started the search for the human's home planet, but it wasn't until the Signal that they manage to find Earth. Another important detail that's important to why the Obesk were interested in the Signal besides it calling to them: it contained traces of the Vast, a Fear Parasite that mysteriously vanished from the world, as if it never existed.

Embassy (and Collapse)

Overall this story's Embassy+Collapse plays out similarily to the original game- three memories of the events leading up to the Collapse, and the Collapse itself begins with a lot of corru technology going haywire. Hell, the primary antagonist will also do a Dull Ceremony, same as Vekoa. But there will be a different antagonist with different motivations- and who can be understood by the others. More on that in the next section.

Characters

Main Characters

Goro Igashi- The central protagonist, a researcher for an organization dedicated to the paranormal. In this story he's moreso a lens to view the story, but he does have significance in my other worldbuilding shit. Very curious, driven, and loves his wife.

Funfiend: Funfriend, but EVIL!!! ...Not really. Definitely more aggressive than the original, more well-versed in bright cousin/human language (meaning he swears frequently) but he cares in his own way. He actually didn't start out like this, but rather was forcibly modified by Meeku to make sure she's reminded of what she's done. In general a lot of Funfiend's arc centers around what I really want from Funfriend in the og game- mourning over their respective Obesk, the one they were made to assist, and slowly accepting they have their own life to life. Do note the only description I have for Funfiend is that he looks like Funfriend with a pair of angry eyebrows.

Meekuhatscuna Qou Notpyrc: A tir qou obesk and the former owner of the corrucyst Igashi comes across. The founder of the Magnus Institute tapes, she is probably the most informed on the Fears- possibly too much, given that she nearly caused another Fear-pocalypse. Luckily it never came forth, but it shackled her with a lot of guilt, believing what she did could never be forgiven, despite evidence on the contrary. Sent to Earth to find the origin of the Signal, she ends up in a conspiracy involving forces unfamiliar to her.

Significant Obesks

Moeki: A rather boisterous vel qou who is rarely seen without a smile. Despite her gadfly attitude, she's very perceptive, able to tell her fellow comrade's state through a simple twitch of a receptor. Easily adapts to any situation, and rarely ever loses her cool, not even during the Collapse

Renki and Linki: Twin jut qous. Renki is very energetic and chipper, always eager to do whatever, while Linki is more quiet and thoughtful, only brought out of his shell by the others. Both are skilled engineers, loving to tinker with any kind of technology. Renki is notably the only archive team member missing from the Collapse, with Linki unable to contact her.

Keako: A cheerful tir qou who loves to spout as many theories as he can, no matter how outlandish they are. Despite how loopy his thought processes can be, he's actually the most level-headed of the Collapse crew during those events. He's primarily the one to calm down Lukvak as she begins to lose it.

Lukvak: A calm kiv qou who tends to be stoic, almost cold, to her colleagues. It's not that she doesn't care for them, but she rather keep everyone at arms' length. Meeku has a crush on her. Notably loses her cool when the topic of Atlasva comes up, especially when he comes into play during the Collapse. In fact, she undergoes some sanity slippage in general during the Collapse.

Atlasva Jut Emptoni: