{EVENT #3} ADVERSITY 1665648.6754

[expiationmods]

INTO THE DESERT

MOD NOTES: Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation. You can find the OOC poll here. Please pick from the corresponding options with the appropriate character journal. If you use a personal journal or a journal not part of Expiation, your votes will not be counted. Remember that if your character did something different than what is in the prompts given, leave a comment in the OOC poll entry and link to your comment in the option made available. We will provide an IC post in exactly one week with the results of the poll that will wrap up the event. You may mingle on it if you like, but the most important purpose is to share the effects of character decisions on this event. The various prompts are, of course, optional.

FOLLOW THE FAIRIES

     

On the morning of the 14th, Chosen will wake to the sound of loud clanging outside as what seems like a band of fairies has arrived to town. Most of them don’t talk, they simply stare expectantly as they float above the ground and gain the attention of the Chosen. If a character tries to speak to them, most will roll their eyes or shake their heads—some possibly using rude gestures to get their point across. They seem like they’re waiting for something, and their stubborn silence might be a problem for some of the more impatient Chosen. Characters who are nice to them might get some sass, or some eye rolling. Characters who are more impatient and try to yell, fight, or harm the fairies might find themselves… afflicted. They might not be able to hear for a while, they might not be able to see—maybe they’ll be floating in the air as if in a bubble, not able to move one way or another besides squirming and yelling at the cranky fairies. It could be a lesser affliction, too—maybe your allergies suddenly act up, or you have a massive cramp in your legs so that you can’t go anywhere. These effects don’t last long, though, only about ten or fifteen minutes. Their purpose isn’t to harm anyone, they’re just trying to tell the ruder Chosen to kindly fuck off. Other lesser status effects might happen—but the intention is never to harm, just to distract.

”Good grief, how did I end up with this job today…”

A larger fairy comes flying up, and the others surrounding him roll their eyes in even more exasperation than anything the Chosen would’ve gotten out of them. He sighs in an exaggerated way, before putting on what seems to be a fairy’s sort of version of a Customer Service Smile. When he speaks, he’s smiling but he sounds bored out of his mind:

”Today, we’re taking volunteers to a blighted area that needs to be recovered. You may keep whatever you find there… probably. And before you ask, we can’t do it ourselves. So, if everyone’s ready–”

The fairies behind him make a motion, almost like they’re unzipping a zipper. With a sound of tear, a hole appears in the air behind him, almost as if the scenery itself has been torn. A couple more fairies pull and stretch the tear until it’s big enough for the Chosen to walk through. If the Chosen to look through the tear, they can see that there’s a desert on the other side of it. It looks to be some kind of ruins, actually—but don’t wait too long.

”Please! We don’t have a all day.”
Mr. Expedition isn’t too happy with hesitation.

**NPC will be available for interaction at this point!

JOURNEY TO THE DESERT

When the Chosen step through, they find themselves in the middle of some desert ruins. There’s not much on the horizon to see other than sand, and an oasis that looks like it’s off in the distance. If characters try to exit the city and go further out, they’re stopped and find themselves teleported back somehow. The fairies give a little chuckle when it happens, so maybe it was them? They can’t go further into the desert than where they’re at right now. There are stone buildings, but there are also metal remains of structures scattered around the area—just about the size of Aldrip. There’s remnants of businesses, restaurants and houses. Some are standing, and some are only remembered by a single dining room table sitting in the middle of the sand.

"Well ? What are you waiting for? Go on, do your… thing. Be tourists! Snoop! Investigate! Engage! Or… whatever it is you do. But I’d be ready when it turns dark. Oh! You might come across people – wait, I meant beings that don’t seem quite right. They are harmless enough in the daylight, but at night? Well, I’d be careful, if I were you."
**NPC will be available for interaction at this point!

I. THERE'S SAND IN MY SHOES

     

Chosen who wander the ruins may note that it looks like some of the buildings were left in a hurry. Some of them look like people just disappeared from the inside— everything remains intact, as if nothing has been moved or taken out of the building. Plates out, covered with dust and sand, as if waiting for a lunch that’ll never come, or at the bar with liquor still in smaller shot glasses. Twinkies that have been unopened and are, somehow, inexplicably,, still good—

The remnants of the interiors are covered in thick layers of dust, but when they look inside, everything is painted. Everything is treated as a mural, from the inside walls to the outside. From religious figures, partial landscapes, and even some cartoon-looking characters—there’s a little bit of everything painted. Nothing seems to be just plain, almost as if the people who had lived there had considered everything a blank canvas. There may still be buckets of paint that characters find still hanging around, dried up from disuse, but still there. Beneath piles of rubble, the Chosen can find canvases, easels and other art supplies, most in various states of disrepair from age.

Besides paper used for art work, it doesn’t look like there’s much in the way of books or newspapers.Instead, they’re able to find something that looks almost like a smartwatch: sleek, with minimal interface, but when touched, they activate a few seconds of what looks like decayed hologram log.

We have to work together! We can’t let them separate us—

The hologram disappears. The Chosen can fiddle with this device and try to restore the hologram, but it just repeats the same distorted words over and over in a loop.

Besides the watches are what look like datapads that are found around the buildings as well. Touching them will cause the screen to flash in and out, almost as if there’s something wrong with their wiring. But words on a screen can be found intermittently—

Those bastards, they left us THEY LEFT

But wait… You feel a sudden chill down your neck. Are you being watched? Was that a shadow moving from the corner of your eye? You look, but don’t see anything. No, that’s silly. Mr. Expedition is the one watching you. Of course. That’s all it was

Of course.

II. LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED

     

The Chosen are a thorough bunch, aren’t they? As they continue to investigate the ruins, they’ll be able to access places like pantries, drawers, closets, and basements that are still roughly intact. Kind of. There are various things in these nooks and crannies: characters will be able to find various sundries like money, or sheer metal, or old dilapidated clothing. Jewelry boxes may still have earrings or necklaces, tool boxes may still have tools inside, things like that. A lot of it is personal, tucked away in storage, waiting for owners who have seemingly not returned. Some of it is useless junk: broken toys, half-disintegrated candy wrappers, and the like.

”You might want to keep those items for later.”

Mr. Expedition says this over the Chosen’s shoulder, but when they turn around, he’s gone again.

What he doesn’t warn for… are the traps. There’s tripwire, and devices on the doors to ensure that they’re not messed with. What kind of traps?

Well, they’re mostly harmless.

Most of the traps are just pranks: trap doors springing open beneath a character's feet, a loud burst of firecrackers upon opening a drawer, pie-in-the-face pranks with pie shells that have long since dried up. There is an endless variety, and nothing causes more than light bruising or startling. What will the Chosen pick up? What traps will they end up springing? Well, that's up to you.

---

THOSE WHO COME AT NIGHT

As Mr. Expedition mentioned earlier, there are some… people hanging around. Or are they people at all? Sometimes it can be as simple as a shadow, a trick of the light...others look as if they’re merely ghosts. Whether the Chosen try to talk to them or not, they don’t say much.

Why me?
Why us?
Why why why why why

It’s nothing that really makes sense to the Chosen… so maybe it’s not that important to interact with them. Right?

As the day gets darker and it turns to night, the figures become more tangible. Their forms become clearer, now: what looks like people with strange but possibly familiar markings running along their skin. They’re probably unnerving enough, with their incoherent speech that just gets louder and louder.But they're not the only concern here: the bigger problem is that something else is becoming more tangible, too. These creatures might have been humanoid, once: they seem to have two arms, two legs, and what looks like a head…but all of them look fuzzy, almost like they're half-there, with indistinct features and black holes where their faces should be. Even if they don't have mouths…they still scream when they attack.

III. DESERT'S HAUNTED

     

These creatures see the fairies—and anyone who might be accompanying them—as a threat, and they react accordingly. The marked humanoids ("Oh, ew, Infected!" Mr. Expedition will hastily explain, if asked), who had barely paid attention to the visitors earlier, turn more hostile at the sound of the screams, almost as if the shadowy mutations are encouraging them to join the attack. Curiously, their markings become more prominent at the sound of the screams, as well. They all seem averse to light, which might be why Mr. Expedition has encouraged the Chosen to stay close to camp. The campfire provides refuge from all of the hostile creatures, but for those enterprising enough to try exploring at night…well, good luck.

"Ah, yep, there they are," Mr. Expedition ponders aloud, ducking behind a group of the Chosen. "Now, let's see. What was I supposed to tell you about them? Hmm…something about 'the attack'." And then, just like that, he's gone again.

How helpful.

Chosen who attack the Ghosts will find this to be a futile effort: weapons, magic, and objects lobbed at the creatures are absorbed in the black void of their bodies. Physical attacks with fists and the like are repelled: the Chosen will find themselves thrown several feet away after trying.

The Infected, as Mr. Expedition called them, do not seem to be invulnerable. The Chosen are able to attack and push them back with weapons, magic, and physical attacks, which can prove fatal to them. When they die, their bodies disappear from the field moments after they're struck down.

Both the Ghosts and the Infected are able to hurt the Chosen, tearing at them with claws. The wounds caused by these creatures seem normal enough, but are invulnerable to magical healing, and take a strangely long time to heal…

IV. KNEW THAT'D COME IN HANDY

     

"Aha! I got it!" Mr. Expedition cries, reappearing over the Chosen a few minutes later. "Be nice! Remember the attack! And items have power!" He bows, as if he's made the most helpful announcement in the world, and then disappears again.

So…what does that mean? And why did he wait until now to even say anything?

Chosen that are able to think quickly may remember his words from earlier about holding onto some of the personal items they found in the ruins. They might also remember how some of their ranks had been Branded before, and how selfless acts helped them overcome those struggles. The Infected may stand down when they're held back from hurting others, or given a possession that someone found earlier. If given a personal item—any personal item—from the ruins, they pause their fighting, their faces going blank for a few moments. The markings begin to face, and they collapse on the ground. they're still alive, but unconscious.

The Ghosts are more formidable. They don't have the same reaction to the personal items, but they seem to be strongly affected by acts of protection. Witnessing the Chosen exhibiting these acts of kindness is what ultimately gets a Ghost to stop in its tracks. These creatures are too far gone to revert to a humanoid form, though—if their tastes are met, they simply fade away.

---

THOSE WHO STAYED BEHIND

We get it, not everyone trusts fairies. Those who choose not to go on the expedition to the ruins might find things eerily quiet in Aldrip. There are a few fairies who stay behind and continue to coax the ground back to life, of course—and just as before, they encourage the Chosen to help them do so.
But if they're paying attention, the Chosen might notice that something is amiss. Parts of signs on buildings have blinked out of existence. Some of the local residents of Aldrip act as if they're lagging. Some even flicker in and out of existence…but that's fine, right? Nothing to worry about.

Right?

V. IT'S NOT A BUG, IT'S A FEATURE

     

For those who have stayed behind, there's plenty of work to do in Aldrip and the surrounds. Buildings still sit in disrepair after the last event—haven't the locals been working on that? no? what have they been doing all this time?—and decayed wood and underbrush need to be removed from Pessiria Forest.

Now would be a great time to begin working on building up new things, too: plenty of Chosen have been talking about building homes or dorms to ease the pressure on the Inn, and some of the locals still whisper concerns about what happens if refrigeration fails again. Do they have enough crops to feed everyone, after that giant monster withered so much of the area? Where are you going to put all that debris, anyway? And what about the paths between towns that still lie in disrepair?

Unfortunately, the Chosen are almost entirely on their own for this. The people of Aldrip seem particularly helpless in the face of change, and some even seem to freeze up at the thought of helping out…wait. Are they actually frozen? They're not blinking. Or moving. …Oh, they're fine now.

This is fine!

VI. FUCK IT, WE BALL (WILDCARD)

     

Just because there’s not a prompt for it doesn’t mean that your character’s actions aren’t acceptable. If you wish to do anything that hasn’t been directly addressed by the prompts, leave a message for the mod team to say what your character would do. If you choose to go down this path, note it as a comment on the OOC poll when it goes up, and leave a link to your threads so that we can take all actions into consideration for the next State of the Game.

Comments

Nikolai Gogol | Bungo Stray Dogs

[quizpersona]

LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED

a. [ Giving up the opportunity to do some sanctioned stealing? Not likely! Although the fact that it is dubiously permitted by flying little humanoids from fairytales makes it slightly less appealing. For a man who has been caught stealing for seemingly no reason besides for ones that are purely philosophical Gogol spends a lot of time stalking through the abandoned buildings without having taken anything yet.

With so many investigators traipsing through it means he encounters someone else eventually. Focusing his gaze on the a line in the dust on a counter he draws with his index finger, he decides to pose a question to that person. ]

What makes a good souvenir good? Do you have any thoughts?

b.

i.
[ The traps? Oh those are a blast. It only took falling for the first trap door to learn most areas are booby-trapped. The comical shriek the clown of a man releases early on in the day might've been something that could be heard throughout the abandoned settlement. Embarrassing mishaps aside he reserves part of his day for enforcing good WSIB safety and prevention practices. Which means into the shadows Gogol goes! Until he sees someone else about to fall victim.

There's liberal use of the Overcoat. For the tripwires he teleports his hand to flick whoever is about to step on it on the forehead or at the side of the head before they do. For the dried up pies he pulls the victim partway through the floor boards so the pastries fly over their heads-... leaving them stuck there from the shins up. ]

Who~opsie-daisy.

ii.
[ The firecracker drawers however are a different matter. Humming a cheery tune he sidles up to the first person he witnesses moving to open one of the safer ones. ]

No no, you definitely won't want to open that one. Go for the one below it!

[ For the record: that's exactly the one that has firecrackers in it. ]

CLOWN'S HAUNTED

[ Unlike the jovial disposition during the day the Gogol that catches sight of the familiar brands is entirely different presence. He watches those shambling bodies bereft of all but heightened emotions with a uncharacteristically blank expression. The inner thoughts are unreadable at that point; but the intentions are clear. Despite being accustomed to combat he's clearly keeping his distance this time. ]

leave no stone unturned - a!

[entreats]

I'm pretty sure the focus of this entire thing was on investigate.

[ Still, even though the content of Ange's words clearly contain some pushback, there's nothing that intense in her voice. If anything, its tone is very flat, practically devoid of emotion. At best there's a tiny hint of sarcasm in it, but not much else, as Ange's gaze slowly moves over towards the other 'explorer' she just encountered.

She seems to observe him for a moment, but then one eyebrow slowly rises on her pokerface. ]

Why would you need a 'good' souvenir anyway? If you want to take something back, does it really matter what it is?

[quizpersona]

[ She's not the first to give him push back for his disposition and she certainly won't be the last. That is to say when the criticism comes Gogol doesn't wilt; he perks up at the prospective conversation partner. He turns fully to face her, with more twirl in the movement than is strictly necessary. ]

That's because it's a trick question and the truth is it doesn't matter!
But! Since this is a investigation... Let's turn that question around on you.

[ An old hairbrush is plucked from the counter. Gogol flips it once, catches it, and then uses it to point at her. ]

Is it boring if the item you chose has no personal meaning attached to it? Is it meaningless?

[entreats]

[ Some people might say this isn't the right time and place at all for such conversations - stuff that is almost more philosophical than anything else.

Not Ange, though. After all, this entire thing feels strangely familiar. Being thrown into a different place all of a sudden, talking with people who are just a touch too dramatic, asking philosophical questions.. It's basically exactly the same as everything she's gone through back home, fairly recently.

It's why the girl doesn't even do as much as blink, like all of this is totally normal to her. ]

That depends on the item, right? [ Ange shrugs a little, letting her gaze fall on the hairbrush for a moment before said gaze rises back up to meet Gogol's own. ] I'd say that hairbrush is pretty meaningless to you or me. It's even too old and dusty to really do your hair with. Would you be happy if you took that kind of thing along with you?

[quizpersona]

Not at all! Abandoned by its previous owner as it is, it's little more than litter to people like you or me. But! But for someone else it might be evidence that someone once went through every day living life.

[ Gogol tosses the brush into the air as one would start with a juggling ball. He doesn't catch it—but it doesn't crash down o the age warped floorboards either. A shimmering yellow portal catches it a scant few inches from the ground before it disappears entirely from sight.

It's at this point he smiles knowingly. ]

Watch any recordings recently?

[entreats]

[ .. huh.

It'd be going too far to say Ange looks outright surprised at seeing that display, but that has far more to do with the fact that the girl just doesn't outwardly emote that much in the first place.

Still, it makes something shift in her pokerface when she watches the object disappear like that. Raising an eyebrow is already quite a bit by Ange standards - it's what makes it obvious she didn't quite expect that little trick, even if she's used to seeing magic.

Maybe she focuses on it so much for a moment that rather than answering his question directly, she stares at Gogol like that and bounces it right back as: ]

Well, I'm definitely watching some magician tricks right here and now.

[quizpersona]

[It certainly won't go unnoticed that his question went redirected. Simultaneously, he'll take the redirection and play with it. He looks left, and then right, and then leans in forward with his hand pressed to his mouth. Gogol is no stranger to those who have micro-expressions at best, so, as he sees that raised eyebrow he smiles behind that hand.]

Woah~ are you? What are you seeing? I want to see it too.

[ Featuring gaslighting as a pastime activity. ]

[entreats]

[ Okay, now there's definitely a different micro-expression altogether. In fact, this expression is way less micro, since Ange gives the other a quite open 'are you kidding me?' sort of look. Not actively annoyed, but definitely more than just a little bit exasperated.

She takes a step backwards, too, even if he might end up leaning back again. Like she treasures her personal space. ]

I can do magic too, you know.

[ But apparently she was a little interested in his powers all the same. After all, she wouldn't have started about it otherwise just now, right? ]

[quizpersona]

[ He chuckles, satisfied, and he does indeed straighten back up. A picture's been painted of this person's personality. ]

Another magician you say? You could show me what you can do. We could share notes.

[entreats]

Is this really the moment for that? I thought we were supposed to be investigating.

[ .. not that she's dropping the entire topic all at once, though. Even though Ange does start to look around her again after saying that, when she speaks up, it's like she returns a little bit to what they were talking about all the same, with: ]

Unless you're saying you're the witch behind all of this. [ He's definitely not.

.. okay, maybe 99% certainly not. But even though Ange's voice is flat, she is kind of interested at least to know whether he is like the witches from back home, or just something else with powers entirely. ]

[quizpersona]

Aw! All work and no play. How long does it take to investigate something that was clearly a tragedy?

[ Always such a fan of throwing out rhetorical questions out at other people with no intention of letting them answer. With that (weak) accusation Nikolai points to his own chest with a expression of exaggerated shock and horror. It becomes rather petulant quickly. Even when for a moment there he almost sounded serious about discussing tragedies. ]

It wasn't me. It couldn't possibly have been me. 'Cause I'm clearly a clown, not a witch. Hey, now I'm reversing your accusation. It wasn't you was it? I can't believe you could do this~

[entreats]

[ Out of all things he could possibly say, a clown isn't something Ange was prepared for. Still, her pokerface is good enough that her surprise doesn't really show up in her facial expression.

Instead it's mostly expressed in the way she's quiet for a moment, like her brain needs a moment to process this, before she dryly speaks up with: ]

You've got to be the first person I've ever met who's actually admitted to being a clown.

[ ANGE..!! Be nice.. Even to the odd clown stranger.. ]

But sure, sure. I guess neither of us are behind this. [ Obviously. ] But then why did you come out here in the first place, if you didn't want to investigate? You could've just ignored those weird fairy things.

[quizpersona]

[ Hey, hey, listen. That's exactly why he said it. The line-faced non-nonsense response wins a wicked little giggle from him. This too is an amusing response to his murder clown LARPing, he finds. ]

That's a shame. It's polite to warn you ahead of time.

[ In truth, Nikolai had come to investigate everything at least a little bit. But despite claims that would say otherwise things are never truly simple nor straight forward when he's involved. ]

Why did I come here? Well that's simple. It's 'cause it seemed fun!

CLOWN'S HAUNTED

[fatalism]

[ how sweet it is to watch the deep wounds nikolai carries be put on display. fyodor is not kind. he has never been and he can't really allow himself to be so. still. he is but another silent watched, keeping a close eye on gogol.

it is both self-preservation and making sure to preserve his assets (allies, really) that keep him nearby. he's not tried his ability, he has no desire to do so, and as such is relaying on other people who are more inclined for combat to do this. ]

[quizpersona]

[ Ah yes, there's his very dear and very mean little rat skulking around in the periphery of his vision. One moment Gogol will be acknowledging the attention with a cute little wave as he passes behind a tree.

In the next moment he'll have Overcoated over to Fyodor's side with a razor sharp grin. ]

What will you do, Dos, when something nasty comes over to get you?

[fatalism]

[ nikolai is such an amusing person; the sound of the overcoat familiar, like the sweep of bird wings as the other uses it to close the distance between them. there is a moment in which he wonders whether gogol would enjoy shoving him into the crowd, see what would happen then. ]

Befriend it of course, that's what I did with you.

[ ...which, not really but yikes fyodor. ]

[quizpersona]

[ Clutching his pearls! He's clutching his imaginary pearls. ]

That easy?! Oh, as I thought, it really is that easy for you to make friends out of monsters. If you don't mind, then, I'm going to hide behind you.

[ Really really, he shuffles behind Fyodor because Gogol knows he had witnessed his earlier aversion and this is a play at that. Moments after slipping in behind Fyodor for "cover" he pokes his head over the man's shoulder to send him a sly grin. ]

That way if you finally find something you can't rationalize with I'll have a front row seat.

[fatalism]

[ is calling kolya a monster not more palatable than calling him human? human and with his sentiments tying him down and keeping freedom away from his grasp. very slowly he takes off his beloved ushanka and folds it neatly.

behind him gogol could stab him, he could do anything being in his blindspot; fyodor isn't worried. this would be too easy and too boring for someone as meticulous as kolya. if he's going to set them free he will make it a full-on affair.

he turns slightly, and offers his hat. ] Would you be so kind as to hold this?

[ oh he gonna do something in a second. ]

[quizpersona]

[ Slow blink. ]

Hm? Oh, sure.

[ Keeping the hat neatly folded he reaches over to take it into both hands. Unsure of what Fyodor is planning he watches him with heaps of unguarded curiosity. A much better person probably would've at least asked why?. Instead, Gogol stands there with one leg crossed in front of the other, and with both of his hand occupied with holding the folded up hat. ]

1/2

[fatalism]

[ a brief smile, like the edge of a knife and fyodor steps away from gogol directly into the path of a wandering ghost. ]

2/2

[fatalism]

[ this man is not strong. he is stronger than apparent but that's not much compared to someone more built and capable like gogol.

still he swats at the ghost, hand going through it like butter. there is a pause and then he's being yeeted through the air like he weighs nothing.

just as planned, of course. ]

[quizpersona]

Ff-yod— !

[ The cry chokes into silence as his entire state of mind snaps to catching Fyodor in the Overcoat. Nikolai pounces into action to catch him as he pops out through and into his opened arms. Then he's stumbling to stop the momentum from catching another fully grown man after being thrown.

In shock and shuddering from the adrenaline pulsing through him, his mind begins to catch up to the flurry of action as he cradles his friend to his chest. Enjoy this moment of speechlessness Fyodor. It's likely not going to last.

That smile... was a warning but not one he was granted enough time to process until after. ]

[fatalism]

[ it was a risk, a calculated one. even if this hadn't gone as planned, fyodor is a little more sturdy than expected, bruises and scrapes wouldn't kill him. but he finds himself safely caught in the grip of his fellow decay member.

fyodor looks up at nikolai, the smile returning--this time twice as savage and sharp. his hands settle on the familiar creases of gogol's outfit. ]

Thank you, Kolya.

[ because polite. ]

[quizpersona]

[ Oh Fyodor. Surely you knew he knows manipulation when he sees it? Or is that all part of the game?

A first clue comes when Gogol frees up both hands by placing the ushanka on top of his own head without saying anything. The second clue should be how with a low and humourless laugh rumbling up from his chest he twirls Fyodor out from the safety of his arms with a flourish... and right back through the Overcoat. He reaches backwards into the fabric to grab the man by the ankle to dangle upside down five feet from the ground. ]

Haha hah, Fedya? You're so welcome! But, well, how should I say this? I have a question just for you.

[ So saccharine. But his jaw is clenched and his breathing still not entirely calmed. All clues point to one thing: anger bubbling up under the surface. ]

[fatalism]

[ that? that is he face and sounds of someone who has absolutely no regrets of what he has done. he titters, five feet from the ground and upside down. honestly, he sometimes misses when kolya was better behaved but this? this is so much more interesting--fyodor is invested or he wouldn't have tried such a open handed manipulation just to make kolya react.

the anger he can see; feels it settle coldly on his stomach. what fyodor wants...is complicated. ]

Mmm, did you say something? Terribly difficult to follow what you're saying.