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

[huaaaaagh]

[Kirito can't help jumping back a step at that, mostly because it's so startling. He's not going to turn and run or anything - he's faced way worse-looking monsters in SAO - but he's never seen one in such vivid detail. It's pretty different IRL.]

Ah... w-well... that's... not what I expected...

[stefanged]

[Shitshitshi- maybe being blunt wasn't the best approach.

Stefan ducks his head, involuntarily shifting back to "normal."] Most people don't - but uh, what exactly were you expecting?

[huaaaaagh]

[Honestly, "not that" is the best answer he can come up with, but it's insufficient. He struggles with it for a moment, taking that time to calm his pounding heart, and finally shrugs.]

I guess... well, no offense, but in nearly the stories, monsters are monsters. They kill, hurt, or use people because it's their nature. But you seem like a pretty normal guy, aside from whatever you just did.

[stefanged]

[He's kind of a monster, isn't he? Even though he survives on blood pills, there's always gonna be some small part of him that longs for warm blood straight from the vein - and it's hard keeping that guy at bay.]

You're right, though. I'm a pretty normal guy, right up until some blood's shed - and sometimes, I can fight the monster back. Sometimes, though, I can't.

[He'd shrug, but he's kind of holding a one-person pity party.] I can't exactly blame you if you want to forget this happened, or if you want to transfer ships or - figure out some way I won't run into you as often.

[huaaaaagh]

Mm...

[If he'd been attacked, it might be a tempting suggestion. After all, if monsters like this were real - and what he'd just witnessed basically verified that they were real here - he's physically ill-equipped to deal with them. Not only because he's missing his maxed out strength stat, but because he has no weapons.

But Stefan hadn't really given him a reason to be afraid. Looking creepy, possessing the capacity for violence... neither of those things are a crime.]

Do the others on the crew know about you?

[stefanged]

Not all of them.

[There's a pleading, "don't tell them" in his tone as he dares to look back at Kirito. While he wasn't planning on keeping this a secret from them forever, he's not great at volunteering this kind of information. Especially if it's out of his control.

Considering the guy can turn into a girl (or maybe he was a girl all along, Stefan's not judging), mind compulsion is probably out of the question.]

I'm not sure what worlds they come from, and considering what I'm hiding, I don't think it's right to shatter their worldview like this. [Plus, he's pretty sure James and Max are trying to hide magic and psychic powers from him, and he's gonna pretend he knows zilch.]

[huaaaaagh]

[That... okay, he has mixed feelings about that. Because on one hand, he totally respects a person's right to keep secrets. He'd kept plenty of them in his life, even as young as he is, and many of them were kept for kind of selfish reasons.

On the other hand, Stefan just admitted that sometimes he becomes a monster he can't control. And that's pretty crucial information when people are likely to come to him for injuries- potentially bleeding injuries, which is the very thing that could set him off.

It's a tricky situation.]

Why'd you tell me, then? You could've just lied.

[stefanged]

You didn't lie to me.

[He shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets.] You could've kept pretending you were some innocent damsel from another part of the Fleet, and I would've bought it, hook, line and sinker. But you didn't, so... I figure, if you're gonna trust me with your secret, I should trust you too.

[Seemed simple enough in his book.] That's... part of working together, especially in something as tiny as our ship.

[huaaaaagh]

...Fair enough.

[And with an honest answer like that, Kirito is able to make a decision. He's not entirely happy with it, and it's not like he trusts the guy - still too new, and he hasn't known him that long - but it's enough to keep his mouth shut.]

I won't tell anyone. But I think you should tell them before too long. It is a tiny ship, and if we're going to be a team, we need to act like one. That means knowing whatever weaknesses might cause problems.

[He's not going to mince words about it- the comment about losing it when blood is involved isn't something he's going to forget easily.]

[stefanged]

[The relief is as clear as day on his face. Stefan doesn't play around with trust anymore, not after this summer - but it's not like they've got a close enough relationship to openly admit this.]

I'll tell them when they're comfortable enough with their own secrets. [He manages a smile, though it's thin.] We're not exactly the only crew members with crazy powers - and honestly, I've survived two blood drives without going off the rails.

I'm not sure what Atroma puts in my blood pills, but it's working. [Nor does he want to know. Some things are best left alone.]

[huaaaaagh]

[Well that's. Comforting. The comment about secrets - and powers - piques his interest, though. He's seen their captain with her wand during the power outage, but not the others.

Filing that info away, for sure. He won't ask, though, since the whole point of this is not revealing secrets. It would be hypocritical to demand a full explanation after all that.]

Blood pills? Is that so you don't have to eat the real thing?

[Adding this to the list of conversations he never imagined having before coming here.]

[stefanged]

[Even if Kirito did demand an explanation, Stefan would hold back - their secrets are not his to tell. That, and he also doesn't know their powers; he's just assuming Max is psychic, when the reality is far more grim.]

Exactly. Considering the alternative, I'd rather take daily pills. [Shrug] I don't try to hide those, but I usually keep them in the lab in case someone thinks they're vitamins.

[Not because he's afraid his secret will be revealed; the pills aren't labeled as blood pills. Rather, he's not keen on humans consuming more blood than they have to.]

[huaaaaagh]

...Oh man, I hope everything is well-labeled in there...

[He does not want to think about accidentally taking a dose of blood supplement. Even if it might be harmless, it sounds really gross.]

Would anything happen if somebody else took it?

[stefanged]

You'd have blood in your digestive system?

[Stefan shrugs.] The dose's pretty harmless for humans, but it means less for me - and thus, a longer wait until it restocks itself.

[huaaaaagh]

Got it. Definitely could be worse, but it's better if we don't dig into your supply accidentally. I'm sure it won't be hard to keep that under control, especially with you being the medic and all.

[He makes a mental note to ask Stefan to show them to him later, though. Just in case.]

You should ask the others about the worlds they come from. You might be surprised by what they've seen there.

[He can't promise anything - not like he knows, either. But Stefan seems pretty worried about scaring them, and... well. He looks so normal.]

[stefanged]

Hopefully. I'm fine with people patching themselves up, but blood pills wouldn't do you much good. [beat] I'm still teaching you the basics later, right?

[Stefan's expression softens slightly. It's true that he hasn't given much thought to the worlds his crew have hailed from, much less what dangers they've faced - but monstrous vampires are almost a universal constant.

He'd like to sleep without worrying that someone'll stake him in the middle of the night.]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[huaaaaagh]

After today, I think I should definitely learn the basics.

[The bar fight from earlier taught him the merit of a) knowing how to deliver a punch IRL and b) how to take one. Definitely going to be feeling those bruises later.

He does hope Stefan changes his mind about the crew later. He can't really point fingers, since he hasn't decided yet how to deal with the avatar issue, but it seems really important, and a sadly sore spot for the guy.]

[stefanged]

[He stifles a laugh, his gaze shifting to where Kirito seems especially roughed up.]

Probably. In the meantime, if you don't have much else to do - lemme check you out and make sure you don't have a concussion.

[The med bay's tech far outclasses whatever exists on this planet, and well, Stefan's been itching to try out this herbal tea. He's a vampire; even if it's not the healthiest plant, he'll make it out fine.]

[huaaaaagh]

[Kirito takes another look at himself, rubbing the back of his head. He doesn't feel any blood or anything, but better safe than sorry.]

Thanks, that's probably a smart idea. At least it'll get me off the street.

[stefanged]

Yeah, plus I'm not sure if there's any internal bleeding. [He would've sniffed out anything external by now. Trust his dumb bloodhound nose when it comes to blood, he would know.]

I'd rather play it safe than sorry here.

[huaaaaagh]

You're probably thinking it's worse than it is, but I bow to your expertise.

[He's no expert on real-life combat, for sure, but he's fairly certain he'd have felt the effects of internal bleeding by now.]

[stefanged]

Probably. No one's had anything worse than a concussion so far.

[He is a paranoid panda, and he knows it.] Or if they have, they haven't exactly told me about it.

[huaaaaagh]

[It's a good trait to have in a medic, probably. At least it means he has certain expectations about how bad it can get.]

If it makes you feel any better, I managed to avoid getting hit in the head. Some bruising, a couple cuts- that's likely the worst you'll fine on me.

[stefanged]

[He sighs of relief.] Good. I'll have to show you how to keep side-stepping them, too.

Mystic Falls didn't have a ton of bar brawls, but I can count the number of peaceful weeks on one hand.

[huaaaaagh]

[He's starting to really look forward to these lessons, man. Seems like he's really going to need the practice.]

I'm used to a lot of fighting, myself, but... I'm not as physically built for it as I should be. Hopefully it won't always be like this.