When We're Rollin Through the Wild Wild West

[geonomy]

Who: Everyone! EVERYONE!
Broadcast: IF YOU WANNA
Action: Everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
When: Mid-September - Mid-October

[How's your ship doing, pardners? Is it still pretty damaged? Is it glitching out hardcore? Well, there is one place to land to take care of all that, and that's on a dusty old moon in front of a planet that no one wants to go to. On this moon, you'll find a civilization that looks a lot like one's stepped into a wild west movie, hardened cowpolk and mutant horses and all. Will you become a vigilante, hunting bounties and stopping gangs from doing their dirty work? Will you go exploring planetside, with a cowboy hat and a stalk of wheat in your mouth to complete the look? Good luck with that; there is no wheat. This town ain't big enough for all you flooters, but make it so! For the ratings!

In other words, it's a planet mingle! Get 'er done!]

[September Planet info here]

Comments

a!

[stefanged]

[Maybe he hit the bar at the wrong time. Stefan folds his arms, glancing over at the array of drinks (specifically, he's looking for anything non-alcoholic) and then back at Riku.]

Uh, sure.

[It's definitely not his place to pry, so he'll focus on his initial question--] You've still got non-alcoholic stuff here, right? [He could always head back to the ship, sure, but half the point of being on a planet is to indulge in what they have.

And for God's sake, a place like this ought to have root beer.]

[limitstorm]

[ hmm... he looks like an adult. riku's kind of thrown for a loop before he shrugs and nods. ]

I can make you something without alcohol. I've been doing that for a few people off the ship.

[stefanged]

That'd be great, thanks.

[He is very much an adult - a hundred and sixty six, if he's gonna be exact. Or twenty three, depending on who's asking.] I'm not much of a drinker, and I'm kinda afraid to find out if I'm a lightweight or not.

[limitstorm]

[ he can laugh a little at that. ]

I'm not really allowed to drink where I come from, but I don't think they care.

What kind of drink d'you want? There's sour red, sour yellow, sweet purple. I think there's a sweet blue, but it looks weird. [ a shrug. ]

[stefanged]

Hm, let's go with... sweet purple with a bit of sour red? If you think that's remotely edible.

[He's already rummaging his pockets for his credits, which he hands over.] Drinking laws are pretty weird, honestly. It's a religious thing for me, but the actual age limit varied a lot. It was 21 in one country, 18 in another, and then not-even-thought-of in one place because of religious laws.

[Shrug.] As long as you know your limit, I can't judge.

[limitstorm]

[ he gives a nod, taking the credits before going to work pouring the juices into a boston shaker. ]

What kind of religious laws are there about drinking? We don't have anywhere where I'm from.

[ scooping up ice into a tall glass, he sets it on the counter while he pours in a few syrups. he flicks his index finger against the inside of the shaker, and the outside of it freezes over lightly, like it'd been sitting in a freezer for a while. he puts the top on and shakes it, the noise quiet amongst the murmur of the saloon. ]

[stefanged]

A lot more than you'd think.

[The ice trick is pretty cool - it distracts Stefan long enough to take a close look!] Uh, in general, some religions don't let their followers drink because they're afraid people'll get too drunk and make fools of themselves, while others only forbid it during religious holidays. Most people tend to ignore 'em.

Is it okay if I ask where you're from? I don't know many places like that. [Without religious laws regarding drinking, he means. Even America had Prohibition.]

[limitstorm]

Uh... it's just a little string of islands off the mainland. They're called Destiny Islands.

[ not worth saying it's another world. it's probably unspoken. ]

We're not that big on religion, just tradition, I guess.

[ when it's nice and combined, he pours the drink into the glass with what looks like some sort of red lime wedge on the rim. ]

Here you go.

[stefanged]

You wanna know a big secret? Religions are a bunch of different traditions anyway. Every time they're introduced into a new culture, they take on some of those cultural traditions - and so it's never practiced the same in two places.

[Sometimes, it even starts a war, but Stefan's not. gonna mention that right now.]

Thanks. [He grins, accepting the glass.] I can't say I've been there, but I'm sure you learnt some great traditions.

[limitstorm]

[ aha, that gets an awkward laugh. riku would really rather not recount some of the traditions, since he kind of wanted to get the hell away from them. ]

You're welcome.

What kind of traditions do you know about?

[stefanged]

Depends on what you're interested in.

[He finally takes a seat, realizing he'll be here a bit longer than he expected.] Like, for example? Where I grew up, most people celebrated Christmas, but where I lived right before I came here.... not so much. Christmas was your average day, nothing special.

You're sure I'm not talking your head off, by the way? I'm a bit overinvested in these things.

[limitstorm]

[ when he does take a seat, riku remembers himself and flusters, looking a little guilty. shit, he's not supposed to just be chatting people up when they're obviously otherwise busy. ]

Uh--no, I... I've always been interested in the way life on other worlds are. I--I didn't mean to ask so many questions, though. [ he rubs the back of his neck, looking apologetic. ] Sorry to waste your time.

[stefanged]

[Stefan shakes his head, unable to keep a smile off his face. If anything, he looks almost relieved.] Don't worry about it. Honestly? I really love talking about this stuff.

If you hadn't said you were interested, trust me - I'd feel really sucky right now babbling my head off about things like Christmas.

[Which he doesn't even celebrate, so he has to laugh a little at himself.] I promise, I'll let you know if I have to leave. My crew's been pretty good about not getting themselves beat up.

[limitstorm]

[ riku relaxes, just a little, a shy smile coming to his face before he continues. it's like he's been refreshed. ]

So Christmas--do they still have Santa Claus where you come from, or is it something else? I got in trouble for ruining Santa Claus for my friends when we were little, I kinda hope people don't lie about it in other worlds.

[stefanged]

Kind of? I mean, stories about him exist, and they say he gives presents to everyone on Christmas, but I can't tell you if he exists or not.

[He leans forward, taking a sip of his drink.]

See, my family also never celebrated Christmas to begin with. I kinda grew up watching everyone else get presents from Santa.

[limitstorm]

What did you celebrate for Christmas?

[ he tilts his head. ] I don't know what else there really is, but I know there's Chinese New Year...

[stefanged]

Nothing, really. My major holiday, Eid Al-Fitr, moves with the lunar calendar so it was never tied to any specific season. Like this year, it was in the middle of July.

[He nods.] Right. There's also Hanukkah, Diwali, and sometimes Kwanzaa. Most people'll give gifts because Christmas is just that big, but stick to their specific tradition for the main rituals.

[limitstorm]

Oh--that's cool! [ he genuinely looks intrigued by this thought. ] I've never heard of it.

So... Eid Al-Fitr, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa. [ he repeats all with careful pronunciation. ] What's yours about?

[stefanged]

Most people haven't.

[Stefan can't even try to hide the wide smile on his face - no one's been this interested in his ramblings in a while.] It's kinda like Christmas. A day of feasting, celebration, gift-giving... the whole city shuts down, sometimes even for a whole week if you're not careful.

Depending on where you are, you'll celebrate it differently, but the whole point's to relax and spend time together with people you care about.

[limitstorm]

That's kinda like a festival we've got back home...

[ hmm, funny that they have similar holidays all across the worlds. ]

It lasts a whole week, too. That's pretty cool. It makes you wonder--what about all the planets we've been visiting? They've almost all got people, too. What kind of different holidays and special days could they have?

Our worlds are so small compared to everything...

[stefanged]

[Now that's a good question. Stefan hadn't given their faiths much thought, despite wandering around often enough to notice little things like how they prayed...]

They kind of are, aren't they? I know I saw a church around here, so they might have Christmas too. [Might being the key word, because gosh, he can't assume Christianity made it all the way out into space.]

If you're still working here later, you could always ask before it erupts into another brawl. Some of the locals've been pretty good about answering world-specific stuff.

[limitstorm]

[ he makes a face. ]

Ugh, don't remind me about the fights. I thought grown-ups were supposed to be mature.

[stefanged]

That's the big secret of adulthood: no one really knows what they're doing.

[He taps the edge of his glass thoughtfully.] Though the guys here might as well be perpetual teenagers.

[limitstorm]

[ he tries not to laugh, but it comes out anyway, and he ducks his head, covering his mouth. ]

Sorry--it's kinda nice to talk with someone with some sense. It's, uh... refreshing.

[stefanged]

[He laughs too, unable to hide the smile on his face.] Don't worry about it.

I've been on the Fleet a while, but sometimes? Feels like common sense isn't exactly so common.