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Entry tags:
TDM 001
TEST DRIVE MEME 001 ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore.
Please note: FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS AFTER 'HATCHING', CHARACTERS WILL FEEL WEAK AND ANY POWERS THEY HAVE WILL NOT WORK.
Test drive meme threads can be considered game canon for players who are later accepted and wish to keep their CR. The rescue mission prompt will be a TDM-exclusive, but the other prompts that you see here will also appear on our first game log. There will, of course, be more going on that week.
Please reserve questions about consequences for altering or meaningfully investigating the setting for the first log of the game, where we will have a Mod Questions thread at the top of the log. On this test drive meme, please reserve this thread for clarification and setting questions.
On the first day of reserves (May 10th), only players who participate in the TDM will be allowed to reserve. You must link an AC-length thread from the TDM for early access. Starting on the 11th, any prospective player may submit a reserve. Our hope is that this will avoid overwhelming our reserves.
Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.
Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.
The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?
Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.
The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.
A few notes:
Please note: FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS AFTER 'HATCHING', CHARACTERS WILL FEEL WEAK AND ANY POWERS THEY HAVE WILL NOT WORK.
Test drive meme threads can be considered game canon for players who are later accepted and wish to keep their CR. The rescue mission prompt will be a TDM-exclusive, but the other prompts that you see here will also appear on our first game log. There will, of course, be more going on that week.
Please reserve questions about consequences for altering or meaningfully investigating the setting for the first log of the game, where we will have a Mod Questions thread at the top of the log. On this test drive meme, please reserve this thread for clarification and setting questions.
On the first day of reserves (May 10th), only players who participate in the TDM will be allowed to reserve. You must link an AC-length thread from the TDM for early access. Starting on the 11th, any prospective player may submit a reserve. Our hope is that this will avoid overwhelming our reserves.
❀ HATCHING
Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.
Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.
The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?
Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.
The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.
A few notes:
☆ Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning.
☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?
☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!
☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. The mods will not facilitate escape-plots/etc on test drive memes. However: if you app and are accepted you are more than welcome to chat with us about the possibility of having escaped or attempted it.
☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?
☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!
☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. The mods will not facilitate escape-plots/etc on test drive memes. However: if you app and are accepted you are more than welcome to chat with us about the possibility of having escaped or attempted it.
❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP
On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.
Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?
You're being allowed to mingle with the others. The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.
You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.
Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?
(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)
After a meal — it's hard to say which one you'd call it, since the whole crew is on rotating schedules — you may decide to wander the basecamp. Folks in every department could use a hand. Those willing to help out may get friendlier reception than those who play the tourist. For more info on what else you might find, check out the LOCATIONS page.
During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.
A few notes:
Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?
You're being allowed to mingle with the others. The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.
You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.
Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?
(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)
After a meal — it's hard to say which one you'd call it, since the whole crew is on rotating schedules — you may decide to wander the basecamp. Folks in every department could use a hand. Those willing to help out may get friendlier reception than those who play the tourist. For more info on what else you might find, check out the LOCATIONS page.
During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.
☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything they see that seems 'human made' will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.
☆ PCs will be warned about going beyond the shade of the dragon's wings. For the sake of the test drive mods will not be facilitating plots that deal with characters going further; we ask that players with an interest in exploring this wait until the game is fully open.
☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything they see that seems 'human made' will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.
☆ PCs will be warned about going beyond the shade of the dragon's wings. For the sake of the test drive mods will not be facilitating plots that deal with characters going further; we ask that players with an interest in exploring this wait until the game is fully open.
❀ RESCUE MISSION
"There's no time to waste," the woman says breathlessly as she grabs your arm. She pulls you to an augmented reality sand table and you will find yourself standing alongside some of the others you may recognize as having 'hatched' with you. There are murmurs by the Adamant's survivors as they pour over data. Maybe you remember Captain Childe from the stern interrogation she gave you a few days ago, but in any case but she's standing at the edge of the sand table looking at the distance scaled between the enormous huddle of HUD badges — the Adamant's survivors — and a tiny pocket of pulsing green some fifteen kilometers away.
"They knew better," Captain Childe says, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "They should have been back hours ago."
"Fucking scientists," says a man with a faintly French accent. He is scarred and battle-worn, and looks properly pissed off. He's also sporting several fresh injuries, one of which seems to have warranted the use of a crutch. "They'd lose their heads if they weren't attached. Let them wait out the storm."
"No," the captain says. "They're too close to the Rat Nest. We don't need a repeat of —" she trails off, as if seeing you for the first time. She looks you up and down, and then: "You've been told by now that everyone here has to pitch in. If you know how to fight, be ready in ten minutes. You're our rescue squad." She turns and walks out, and there's an awkward moment where everyone present is looking at you to make a choice.
Ten minutes really isn't a lot of time to get ready to walk into danger. Or maybe you aren't a fighter. Maybe you just don't care. But either way, there are people looking to you. To see how you'll react. To see what you'll do. To see if you belong.
What'll it be, hatchling? Fight or flight? Maybe you ought to start coming up with a plan.
FIELD WORK
There's a cadre of scientists cut off by acid rain. From their last transmission, they were driven into the Rat Warrens — and you've been tasked with rescuing them. Too many members of the Security Team are themselves injured, and none of the remaining ones have experience leading a fire team. Let's hope you do — or at least that you can fake it.
Maybe you've hand-picked your team. Maybe you're just stuck with whoever else was closest. Either way, your companions are some of the people you might recognize as fellow 'hatchlings'. If you know them already — good, you've got a head start on what they might be capable of out in the field, and you can chat about the little things. You know, like the weather. Acid rain, gotta love it.
Either way. You're given few small slabs of surprisingly lightweight alloy that has a sheet of — is that hide from the Leviathan? — stretched across them, to divide up amongst your team. "Helps with the rain," Ensign Porter says, trying to sound cheerful despite the grim set to his jaw. "Just come back in one piece. I kinda feel responsible for you guys, you know?"
Before you know it, you're outfitted for the trip. Weapons (if you didn't have your own) and maybe some medical supplies, handed over with a grimace by Doc Sunya.
So then it's just you, your tiny team and a fifteen kilometer hike. Oh, and the acid rain. Luckily, the shields seem to be keeping it off, but it's hard to hear anything over the impact of the drops. Anyone want to play I never?
Or maybe you think you should make a break for it. This is your first time being outside the Leviathan unsupervised. You've got supplies, and other people with as little to lose here as you do. Maybe you should talk.
THE RAT WARREN
You've made it to the last transmitted location of the scientists. What you find doesn't bode well — one of them seemed to have an arm torn off — at least, you think it's an arm — the way it's been disintegrated by the rain makes it hard to tell.
One thing's certain, though. There are bloodstains leading into the nearby maw of a hole in the ground. There's a putrid odor wafting from it, and the sound of frantic scrabbling.
You have an idea of what might be down there. 'Giant rats with tentacles', Porter had said. Don't let the tentacles grab you, they leave chemical burns that usually result in amputation if they can't be treated immediately. But there's a chance the scientists are still alive, and you need to make your choice.
If you and your small team venture down into the darkness, what happens next is up to you. You'll be encountering hoards of these monsters. The scientists are still alive, but will they stay that way? And more importantly, can you get them back to the Leviathan in one piece?
PCs versus the local fauna, round one, FIGHT!
A few notes:
"They knew better," Captain Childe says, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "They should have been back hours ago."
"Fucking scientists," says a man with a faintly French accent. He is scarred and battle-worn, and looks properly pissed off. He's also sporting several fresh injuries, one of which seems to have warranted the use of a crutch. "They'd lose their heads if they weren't attached. Let them wait out the storm."
"No," the captain says. "They're too close to the Rat Nest. We don't need a repeat of —" she trails off, as if seeing you for the first time. She looks you up and down, and then: "You've been told by now that everyone here has to pitch in. If you know how to fight, be ready in ten minutes. You're our rescue squad." She turns and walks out, and there's an awkward moment where everyone present is looking at you to make a choice.
Ten minutes really isn't a lot of time to get ready to walk into danger. Or maybe you aren't a fighter. Maybe you just don't care. But either way, there are people looking to you. To see how you'll react. To see what you'll do. To see if you belong.
What'll it be, hatchling? Fight or flight? Maybe you ought to start coming up with a plan.
FIELD WORK
There's a cadre of scientists cut off by acid rain. From their last transmission, they were driven into the Rat Warrens — and you've been tasked with rescuing them. Too many members of the Security Team are themselves injured, and none of the remaining ones have experience leading a fire team. Let's hope you do — or at least that you can fake it.
Maybe you've hand-picked your team. Maybe you're just stuck with whoever else was closest. Either way, your companions are some of the people you might recognize as fellow 'hatchlings'. If you know them already — good, you've got a head start on what they might be capable of out in the field, and you can chat about the little things. You know, like the weather. Acid rain, gotta love it.
Either way. You're given few small slabs of surprisingly lightweight alloy that has a sheet of — is that hide from the Leviathan? — stretched across them, to divide up amongst your team. "Helps with the rain," Ensign Porter says, trying to sound cheerful despite the grim set to his jaw. "Just come back in one piece. I kinda feel responsible for you guys, you know?"
Before you know it, you're outfitted for the trip. Weapons (if you didn't have your own) and maybe some medical supplies, handed over with a grimace by Doc Sunya.
So then it's just you, your tiny team and a fifteen kilometer hike. Oh, and the acid rain. Luckily, the shields seem to be keeping it off, but it's hard to hear anything over the impact of the drops. Anyone want to play I never?
Or maybe you think you should make a break for it. This is your first time being outside the Leviathan unsupervised. You've got supplies, and other people with as little to lose here as you do. Maybe you should talk.
THE RAT WARREN
You've made it to the last transmitted location of the scientists. What you find doesn't bode well — one of them seemed to have an arm torn off — at least, you think it's an arm — the way it's been disintegrated by the rain makes it hard to tell.
One thing's certain, though. There are bloodstains leading into the nearby maw of a hole in the ground. There's a putrid odor wafting from it, and the sound of frantic scrabbling.
You have an idea of what might be down there. 'Giant rats with tentacles', Porter had said. Don't let the tentacles grab you, they leave chemical burns that usually result in amputation if they can't be treated immediately. But there's a chance the scientists are still alive, and you need to make your choice.
If you and your small team venture down into the darkness, what happens next is up to you. You'll be encountering hoards of these monsters. The scientists are still alive, but will they stay that way? And more importantly, can you get them back to the Leviathan in one piece?
PCs versus the local fauna, round one, FIGHT!
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to put player characters 'in charge' of the planning/logistics phase. If another PC tags into your thread, you and that player can decide which PC will be 'leading the charge'.
☆ Your character will have: a mini-railgun, a spear (if they don't have their items/weapons from home), a first-aid kit, the acid rain shields, ration bars (that are essentially condensed protein bars — they do not taste good) and one of the smartwatches, which will have a mini holographic HUD displayable on its interface. If your character is the sort to request other things, feel free to assume they received them (within reason — please remember that resource scarcity is the name of the game — feel free to be creative here!).
☆ There are fifteen kilometers to cover. If your character has an ability like superspeed/etc, please keep in mind it will work, but you also have your allies to consider. Normal walking time over this distance, given the difficulty of the environment (steep hills, acid rain, unknown territory, etc) would translate to several hours to an average person.
☆ Feel free to use the NPC scientists however you'd like. If you want your character to find some dead, you can. If you'd prefer they be rescued, that is also acceptable. These are essentially 'your' NPCs that you are using to facilitate the story at this point — the sky is the metaphoric limit!
☆ Your character will have: a mini-railgun, a spear (if they don't have their items/weapons from home), a first-aid kit, the acid rain shields, ration bars (that are essentially condensed protein bars — they do not taste good) and one of the smartwatches, which will have a mini holographic HUD displayable on its interface. If your character is the sort to request other things, feel free to assume they received them (within reason — please remember that resource scarcity is the name of the game — feel free to be creative here!).
☆ There are fifteen kilometers to cover. If your character has an ability like superspeed/etc, please keep in mind it will work, but you also have your allies to consider. Normal walking time over this distance, given the difficulty of the environment (steep hills, acid rain, unknown territory, etc) would translate to several hours to an average person.
☆ Feel free to use the NPC scientists however you'd like. If you want your character to find some dead, you can. If you'd prefer they be rescued, that is also acceptable. These are essentially 'your' NPCs that you are using to facilitate the story at this point — the sky is the metaphoric limit!
❀ BOOZE
A week. You've been here for a week.
By now, you might have tried to venture out of Basecamp Leviathan and experienced firsthand the acid rains that the security officers warned you about. Or you might be teaching the kids at the schoolyard how to gamble. In any event, Thorkil seems to take pity on his disoriented new friends and taps his distillery for a little help.
Invitation passes by word of mouth to meet at the memorial wall. Moonshine of questionable quality is passed around in tin cups — hope no one's afraid of germs — as Thorkil explains the great relief it is to be gaining people instead of losing them. This settlement isn't big, and they aren't overburdened with hope or supplies, but there's been a lot of loss in the past three years. Some people might be willing to look at the arrival of these newcomers as a sign that things are turning around.
Bottoms up, hatchlings, and ... Happy Birthday?
A few notes:
By now, you might have tried to venture out of Basecamp Leviathan and experienced firsthand the acid rains that the security officers warned you about. Or you might be teaching the kids at the schoolyard how to gamble. In any event, Thorkil seems to take pity on his disoriented new friends and taps his distillery for a little help.
Invitation passes by word of mouth to meet at the memorial wall. Moonshine of questionable quality is passed around in tin cups — hope no one's afraid of germs — as Thorkil explains the great relief it is to be gaining people instead of losing them. This settlement isn't big, and they aren't overburdened with hope or supplies, but there's been a lot of loss in the past three years. Some people might be willing to look at the arrival of these newcomers as a sign that things are turning around.
Bottoms up, hatchlings, and ... Happy Birthday?
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to turn this into an impromptu party. Maybe you're celebrating getting all the scientists back alive! Maybe it's something like a wake to remember them in the sad event of their passing. Either way, many of the engineers and other NPCs may join you in this moonlight drinking session, as well as whatever PCs you tag out to or are tagged by.)
❀ OBLIGATORY NETWORK
Welcome people of all kinds to Basecamp Leviathan! I'd give you a hand moving in except...
I have no hands.
Because I'm an AI.
Get it?
It's a joke.
My name is Cartagena. But anyway, this isn't about me or the Adamant for once. This is about all of you. So if you would kindly fill out the following questionnaire to get to know each other; it would also be very helpful for my systems.
NOTE: Participation is MANDATORY.
That was another joke. It's all voluntary. You people and your free will.
1. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What's your favorite smell? Please describe it as you would to a person without a nose. Because I do not have a nose.
4. If you could be any animal in any world, what would you be?
5. How old are you?
6. Did you enjoy this questionnaire?
Thank you for your participation! Please enjoy the rest of your stay here at Basecamp Leviathan.
I have no hands.
Because I'm an AI.
Get it?
It's a joke.
My name is Cartagena. But anyway, this isn't about me or the Adamant for once. This is about all of you. So if you would kindly fill out the following questionnaire to get to know each other; it would also be very helpful for my systems.
NOTE: Participation is MANDATORY.
That was another joke. It's all voluntary. You people and your free will.
1. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What's your favorite smell? Please describe it as you would to a person without a nose. Because I do not have a nose.
4. If you could be any animal in any world, what would you be?
5. How old are you?
6. Did you enjoy this questionnaire?
Thank you for your participation! Please enjoy the rest of your stay here at Basecamp Leviathan.
no subject
[He acknowledges with a small sigh as Ian points it out, busying himself with messing with his drink.]
I'm just... In the habit, I guess.
[Of choosing his words carefully. And that's something he's not at all pleased about realizing, because it says something about the state of mind he's in, and has been in for a long time now; he'll just add that to the list of things he's aware of but also ignoring.
But that's way more than enough sharing and being honest from him, so it's time to steer this conversation.]
Desperation can cause people to engage in behavior that they wouldn't normally, so it made sense for people to be kind of terrible in Hadriel and--from what it sounds like--your world, but I don't think most of the Displaced realized just how good their situation was. It's hard to give them desperation as an explanation, let alone excuse, for their behavior.
no subject
( He huffs, curling both hands around his cup and thumbing at the rim.
The last of the tension has been efficiently muted, the panic scratching at the back of his mind drowned out to nearly nothing. He's back to being loose, radiating a little calm and chill like's spent so long reinforcing in himself. It's enough, and there's no pressing urge to suck down the rest of his drink — it's definitely not about getting drunk drunk. It's not about going until he's well and truly blitzed.
It's just about...
Managing. Maintaining this for the rest of however long it takes until the anxiety seems to have gone away. His drinking is a marathon rather than a sprint. )
You'd hear people complain about... fake meat. Not having enough space to... train, or whatever. Too many people in a crowded city. Shady corporations. It's all— it was just first world problems. Maybe a little worse than things were back in, like, 2015 or whatever, but still. There wasn't the same...
( His lips press together, and he shrugs like he doesn't know how to finish the sentence.
He does, but this is where he starts to hit his communications-struggle threshold. The point where certain words feel like they're giving too much away, or giving too much insight.
There wasn't the same stress, need, constant fear, hunger, hopelessness. )
no subject
It was so frustrating to Lance, who couldn't go home and had spent time in Hadriel, and it must've been even more so to Ian who'd had to watch his own world change so completely.
The inability to finish the sentence is a very familiar tell about how Ian is feeling, because it's exactly the same thing Lance does when he can't or doesn't want to find words. So it's very clear to him even though he tries to pretend like it isn't, though that's mostly in hopes that Ian won't feel scrutinized.]
It was all very petty, and the fact that they felt they could afford to let those sorts of things slow them down made it pretty clear how unimportant being there was to them. Too many people treated it like a vacation, or like a game, and not an opportunity that they couldn't waste.
[And he'd had that argument, once, with the Kyna that had been in New Amsterdam, but he doesn't think she ever quite understood what he'd meant.]
no subject
( It's less of a word and more of an exhale, a muted but enthusiastic agreement. It's un-fucking-believable, especially now in hindsight.
He'd talked to Nate about living there, as in making a life there. About how even if they found a way to send everyone home, Ian planned on staying. Hell, it just started becoming his home. He's nowhere near confident or adjusted enough to being in a relationship to suggest that they'd move in together -- not even a hypothetical discussion about it -- but all the same he'd been hoping they'd be able to do that; to stay together. Put down matching roots somehow. A forgone conclusion that just kind of felt settled.
And now they're here, and a traumatized voice in the back of his head keeps reminding him that the likelihood of long-term survival has significantly plummeted.
But let's all focus on the social media presence of our unwilling collective. Jesus Christ.
A beat, and then a wry shift: )
How long do you think it'll take before you piss off the person in charge?
no subject
Like, two weeks max. I think that was about how long it took to get Gaby mad at me; I can't remember exactly when it was in Hadriel, but maybe a month? So at that rate maybe I should be guessing tomorrow.
no subject
Don't drown on your moonshine, friend. )
That is... a startling exponential trajectory, and yet... still somehow feels so accurate.
( Behold the wonderment in his tone. )
no subject
For now he scrunches his nose at the comment, although it's hard to even bother pretending to be annoyed.]
I can't tell if that's an insult or a compliment, but I'm going to take it as the latter.
[But just slightly more seriously--]
And to be fair to me, it was only less time with Gaby because I wanted to see how far she'd go, and the easiest way to do that involved pushing back.
[As opposed to playing nice, which he'd tried in Hadriel and had only gotten him even more trouble.]
no subject
You got her to show her true colors, I'll give you that.
no subject
I wish there'd been nothing to show, but any time there's a chance to have power over others, someone will step into that role if allowed to.
[It's just an unfortunate fact of life. Most people may be good, but there's always someone who isn't quite as much so.
But that aside--]
I'm going to try not to attract attention quite as fast this time, though. It's kind of exhausting.
[He says it half as a joke, with a faint smile, but he means it. Unless there's something he really can't abide by, he's going to try keeping a lower profile.]
no subject
Nia's the best example of a good leader Ian's ever seen. God help New Amsterdam if she'd have been there, they'd have solved the whole mystery in six weeks and she'd start issuing network bans way before then because nobody has time for that shit. She'd probably decide something to the effect of: if you can't effectively communicate with others and it's demonstrated in constant heated network arguments, you either need a break or you need to be going through somebody else who can manage your points in a more level-headed way.
Except she'd word it with way less padding and even Ian would feel a little ashamed of himself probably. )
Yeeeahhh...
( That one has his whole-ass agreement. )
I didn't engage half as much as you and I still needed a wine bath to get through it.
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But with that topic wound down, and the two of them having drank enough to feel it a little, Lance decides to do a little gentle prodding after all; it's not as pointed as he'd prefer to be, but the more general the better right now.]
A silver lining of being here is that we don't have to deal with that anymore, at least. But it's still a lot to adjust to, especially with having to basically start over.
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Less extreme, but still.
He inhales slowly, exhales audibly. Settles his forearms on the table, and nods low enough that his hair winds up in his face for a second. )
Yeah, really gonna miss that apartment. Also... infrastructure.
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[Lance doesn't really miss his own in new Amsterdam--he'd actually started to dread being home a bit--but Ian's place was great. And as much as he doesn't miss his own apartment, he kind of already hates the situation here; he doesn't like being around so many people, especially the whole communal sleeping situation. Awful.
But he's trying to cheer Ian up a little, not complain, so he won't mention that. Instead--]
But this place has paper and coffee, so I'll trade the bus system for that.
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After a beat, he veers in another direction instead. )
Hope you're still optimistic after a few nights sleeping in a public hammock.
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That's why the coffee matters.
[He's actually somewhat dreading the whole sleep situation, but he's trying not to think too much about it.]
But for me, that'll probably be the worst thing about being here.
[He doesn't directly ask Ian what his worst will be, but the question is implied just like so many conversations they have go.]
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Instead: )
Yeah, I've actually... already been thinking about that.
( For several reasons, some he probably shares with Lance — needing somewhere to retreat, needing that introverted privacy to keep from going insane, but also...
He has tried to have sex in a hammock. He cannot have sex in a hammock. Both him and Nate are over six feet tall and made of muscle. Hammock is not... gonna... do it. )
I'm gonna work on something. I'll let you know when I iron it out, but I think I can help.
( Because why deal with your issues when you can get way too invested in a new project and devote every ounce of your mental and emotional energy to it, am I right? )
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Yeah? That'd be awesome.
[And that said--]
If you're getting that sorted out, then that's one problem down. What's the next most pressing thing?
[Don't mind him here with the new angle at figuring out what Ian might be struggling with.]
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Lance please.
Lance stop looking at him like that. Does it seem like he's regressing a little? Because he's not, that's all in Lance's head and everything is fine here. )
Probably getting involved in the engineering corp. Figuring out where we're struggling. Weapons shortages, housing shortages, food shortages. Figure out what the biggest threats are so I can start thinking about what to do about them. Just... finding the problems and solving them, I guess.
( So... everything. He's thinking about everything, immediately, all the time, so much. )
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And... Yeah, that's a little much, so after a moment he starts messing with his drink again; he doesn't look at Ian, so as not to make him feel too called out, as he says--]
That seems like a lot for one person to be solving.
[Especially when the people here have been here three years and haven't fixed those problems themselves, which means they're not easy to solve. Even with Ian's power, that's a lot to try taking on, especially right away.]
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He remembers the good old days when he didn't have real friends. Nobody ever made him Do Things like Talk. )
Well, there's a whole...
( He gestures vaguely at nothing in particular. )
Department of people here. It's not just me.
( Which is to say, he's still going to overextend himself getting involved in all of it, probably. )
Plus, I don't think any of the rest of them can...
( Blue glow. Glass flex. You get the point. )
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Lance gives a short hum of agreement, though it's the kind that says he doesn't actually agree, the statement is just factually correct. And, predictably, he follows it up with a comment.]
Still. It's even easier to overextend yourself if you feel you're the only one who can or will--or should--be doing something.
[He's speaking from experience here, and Ian's power will no doubt be incredibly useful here, but there's still a limit especially if he ends up feeling overly obligated to use it.]
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He'll feel like an asshole for it later, but it's not even a thought now. )
It's not a matter of-- should, it's just...
( It's a matter of you never know what small thing could save someone's life later. That one clutch thing that could have been that thing. An extra gun. A little more shelter. A thicker wall. Leaving a Volkeswagon covered in cans and glass bottles and anything else that makes noise parked about a hundred and fifty yards away from where you're sleeping at night so you get a warning alarm.
Another shake of his head. )
I just need something to do. I'll be fine, man, you can make sure I'm not sleeping on my desk after Quidditch practice and stuff. Don't worry about it, seriously.
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Fine. I understand needing something to do.
[But he'll be taking Ian up on that checking in on him thing, and will be very obnoxious about it. And after a few more seconds of silence, he does have to add--]
I know you're probably not interested right now, but if you do want to talk about all of this, you can any time.
[The offer's always open, and that there's an issue in the first place is not in question, so don't even bother denying it.]
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I know, man. Thank you. Maybe some other time.
( He is appreciative. He's also just...
Repressing. Hard. A lot. Which means no talking about it.
He likes the company, though, so he'll stick around shooting the shit about anything else until they both decide to pack it in and... maybe shower off... all that rat hole dirt. )