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[versusnurture]

Who: Abigail Hobbs and u
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Starstruck
When: 9/23, eveningish

[All things considered, this is actually a pretty good witness protection program. How are the police going to find her in space? And she didn't even have to die this time. It's probably the best kidnapping she's ever experienced.]

[Admittedly, she did spend some time wondering if this was the same thing again, if, somehow, doing what needed done had sent her back to the Barge, qualified her as an inmate again. But those were very fleeting concerns - first, because she knows what she did was just, and second, because this is nothing like the Barge, which looks disorganized on the surface but pulls together in crisis. The Fleet looks quite organized, with its shiny ships and perfect synchronization, but she has a suspicion that when shit hits the fan, everything falls apart.]

[That remains to be seen. The point is that she's learned from the last two times; she neither presents a face immediately nor gives herself away immediately, choosing instead to spend her time on the Marsiva and her first few days on the Starstruck settling in, going over the comms, gathering what information can be gathered. Only then does she step out into common spaces.]

[She pays particular attention to the cargo hold, where she deliberately and conspicuously practices some of the flashier moves Harvey taught her - although flash does not preclude precision, because she is very good at what she does. She also spends a lot of time in the kitchen, hanging out but also inspecting; she doesn't like the processed nature of the food provided, and she spends some time looking for an ingredients label before giving up.]

[When she eventually sets up a broadcast, it's in the kitchen, as well, futuristic cabinets lined up behind her head as she seems to focus somewhere slightly off-camera. For the record: the giant scar on her neck is totally visible, as is the fact that she only has one ear.]

It's sort of funny to me that when people come to a place like this, they either introduce themselves with a lot of questions or a lot of yelling. If anybody wants to answer my questions, that would be pretty hospitable of you, but I got tired of answering them after a while, so. It's not compulsory.

If anybody would rather perform an exchange, I can do that, too. Quid pro quo. My name is Abigail Hobbs. I come from Earth - Bloomington, Minnesota, originally, which I bet none of you have ever heard of - and I spent a couple of years in a place sort of like this, only not at all. My hobbies are hunting, fishing, cooking, and reading poetry. Once I wanted to be a psychiatrist.

The rest of it, you have to earn.

Comments

video.

[truthvalue]

Minnesota ... that's America, right?

[Souji's at least heard of that.]

[versusnurture]

Right. In the Midwest. You get one point.

[She's, like, 75% joking.]

[truthvalue]

[Well, he just smiles good-naturedly, because that's what he does.]

I think I remember ... something about lakes, right?

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[oh, this is different. it's not all that unusual to find smart people in the fleet, but it is rarer to find someone who presents their wits as a game... so he shows up on the video feed, leaning forward in his captain's chair in quiet excitement.]

Welcome to the program, Abigail Hobbs. My name is Robin Redbreast, just like the bird.

[he's very pale, handsome, but has kind of a funny smile. it's not dishonest--maybe too much of the opposite.]

I'm from a place called Gratia, though I doubt you've heard of it either. I spent a couple years in places very different from this--but also sort of the same.

My hobbies are gathering stories, writing music, and people-watching. I once wanted to be a King. [he tilts his head, copies her syllables like they're unusual to him:] What's quid pro quo mean?

[versusnurture]

[She would claim that "Robin Redbreast, just like the bird" is not a name; she would state her knowledge of the term ex gratia, "by favor," and ask him what, exactly, the favor was - or possibly the grace.]

[But she doesn't do either of these. Instead her attention snags on people-watching, and she smiles, a very normal smile from a very normal girl.]

It means "something for something". An exchange. All conversations are exchanges really, but sometimes it helps to make things more formal, you know?

[Her gaze goes a little distant then, her smile a little softer.] I used to know someone who told all kinds of stories.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Oh, that's like... Avo eui'ta mil, where I'm from. It means "a balanced scale".

[he likes this already, nodding a little in silent agreement. structure is good. mutual understanding is better. fact for a fact, eye for an eye.]

I hope you liked that person, otherwise I've already made a mess of my introduction.

[video] im.... sorry

[noncriminal]

[Quiis- Squid proque k- Quiproko-

Yep, those are definitely words that probably have some kind of definition. But he doesn't really care about answering her newbie questions because he barely knows the answers himself. There's other people for that, and anyway she's been on a ship before. Ino said most of the people here wouldn't have seen one before this fleet, so it does make Abigail pop off the page.

Among other things. The scar's one, but. His fingers play innocently (or vicariously, who knows) at the cuff of his ear.]

Warm welcome and a sneak peek at the bio, wow. We're just so... happy to have you 'ere.

[Despite the dryness and the fact that he was just pronouncing H's a second ago, it's not untrue.]

are you??? i'm not sure u r

[versusnurture]

[Wow, what a clever jokester we have here. She has definitely never heard that one before, ever in her life. A few years ago it would have made her skin prickle, made her feel small and too-seen, but now it's just - sigh. Well. This again.]

I try to be accommodating when introducing myself to a new pool of kidnap victims. It's only polite.

[Dry as a brittle bone in the fucking desert. And, just for good measure, she turns her head earless-side-first towards the camera, pulls her hair back. It was actually a pretty neat incision, and it healed up well, so there's just . . . a hole there, and some scar tissue.]

Jealous? I get it. A lot of people are.

i'm only not bc it took me 20 minutes to come up with even that lame joke.. i worked for that pun...

[noncriminal]

[Ask and ye shall receive. There's the clear shot he was honestly hoping to see, and uncanny as it is to think about an actual hole in the side of one's head... it's kinda cool to look at.

Probably less cool to actually have, so he won't ask the hows.]

Yeah, well, that's 'cause we can all got ears. You can still hear each other - gets real old. [He pauses.] Can you? Still hear outta that thing?

action

[lord_wizard]

[Quid pro quo is a sentiment he's heard before, though it makes more sense when applied to more concrete subjects like math and science. When it comes to people, there's always a way to lose more than you were counting on, because how did you really quantify them? Besides, it was an exchange that could always...always...be manipulated.

And while it's tempting to ignore her based on that uncomfortable thought, she is in his kitchen, and giving crewmates the silent treatment is hardly the way to make friends.

I see you're a fan of cutting right to the point.

[versusnurture]

[While she's been reclusive up until now, she greets him as though she hasn't - bright smile, soft eyes, sitting up straight in her chair. She doesn't know his name yet, but she more or less understands his function on the ship, and so she half-stands and extends her hand to shake, if he wants to.]

Abigail. Should I not be?

[lord_wizard]

[While he's apt to ignore social niceties when it suits him, he's not rude enough to ignore a gesture like that from someone he has not quarrel with, so he moves forward to offer her a slight shake of his hand.]

Felix. And I didn't mean to imply you shouldn't be, just that most people have a habit of dancing around the subject.

[Video]

[misterprongs]

[ -- hm.]

James Potter. Earth, England, currently residing in Scotland. I have heard of Minnesota, though I've never been. I abhor hunting, poetry is beautiful -- but as for my own hobbies, I prefer sports, hiking, and the occasional death defying leap. I haven't graduated school yet, but when I do, I expect I'll join ranks with the government.

[That translates Quidditch and becoming an Auror into muggle language, more or less, right.]

Mind sharing with a psychiatrist does, exactly?

[versusnurture]

[I abhor hunting. I expect I'll join ranks with the government. Her expression doesn't change perceptibly, but she's a little annoyed. More by the latter than the former. But neither is really great.]

A psychiatrist treats people with psychiatric disorders. Depression, anxiety, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress, et cetera. Some treatment is through talk therapy, some is medicinal. And there are other, less-traditional techniques, too.

[Like psychic driving, for example.]

Why do you abhor hunting?

[misterprongs]

Admirable.

[He's being honest -- James surely isn't built for things like that. He's too much of a pushover when it comes to his friends and, honestly, he's a bit too self-centered to focus on someone else's problems outside of his own and his friends and family. That takes quite a lot of skill.

And as for the hunting, James offers a slight grin.]

I'm one of those "I get along with wildlife" types -- I've got no stomach for it.

[Venison kind of looks unappealing once you figure out you can become one in your spare time.]

video;

[geonomy]

Ooh, quid pro quo! Awesome. And classy sounding. [Very Silence of the Lambs, too.]

I'm Clay Terran. I also come from Earth - Los Angeles, California. I've definitely heard of Minnesota - do I win anything for that? I'm an astronaut, so I've been trained for this kind of life, only... you know, not this kind of life. My hobbies are stargazing, building things, flying ships, drawing, and bike riding. I've wanted to be an astronaut all my life, but when I was a kid, I wished I could turn into a bird.

[versusnurture]

You only win if you know where Bloomington is. [She raises her eyebrows, a good-natured challenge - do you? But she's curious about the rest, the astronaut part especially - the only real astronaut she ever met was Aeryn, and she was sort of a special case.]

What kind of bird? And what do you build?

[video]

[pain_train]

[Bright pink hair, sunny disposition.]

Hi, Abigail, my name is Wrath! I come from the planet Zeus and I lived in the city of Proles. And not, never heard of anything but plain old Earth. My hobbies are painting, watching movies, and sex. I used to punch people and do sword work but I'm not allowed to do those any more. I was a soldier and I was really good at my job but I guess I'm an artist now?

And. Um. I have a pet fish! His name is Maine. [Brief view of the fish in its little bowl. The fish is white and glows.]

[versusnurture]

[Wow, this is so much. Abigail isn't great at cheerful people, so she has to take this a little bit at a time.]

. . . I didn't think sex counted as a hobby.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena stops short in the doorway of the kitchen, hand on the frame to stop herself from stepping in too far because she's noticed that Abigail is talking over the network. She glances back into the hallway, like maybe she should head back and come in again later, before looking at Abigail again. Elena's eyes trace over Abigail's scars briefly before she steps in. It's her ship, too, and it's not like she's really interrupting, right?]

[Abigail can just as easily ignore her.]

[versusnurture]

[She's determined already that Elena doesn't remember her. All it took was one look, one time. There was no recognition there, not even a little bit. And that's - sad, but not unexpected. The multiverse is a huge place; it's incredibly unlikely that they would find each other after all of this time and space.]

[Still, she cuts off the feed when Elena steps into the kitchen and gives her a smile, careful not to make it overly fond.]

Sorry. Am I in your way?

video;

[heresyandlace]

[and, oh... just when he'd begun to pick up interest in not sleeping weeks of his life away at a time, a shiny little reward dangles in front of him. he likes what he sees, finds it interesting... but likes even more what he hears in the undercurrents of what she's not saying.

it's lovely, really.

and she'll have a smiling face appearing on her feed-- just a little bit too pretty, and not quite colored right for something human.]

...Is it a trade that you're offering, or is it a game?

video;

[versusnurture]

[Well, it doesn't shake her too much. She's seen plenty of inhuman things by now, one more isn't much; she can smile back at anything, even a monster.]

It can't be both?

text;

[mortalcoil]

[he used to talk like that, back when he could, and it was always to those who were smart enough for it. family, usually.

and though he hasn't thought about it for years, he very suddenly finds himself remembering exactly when the last time he'd had such a conversation was, and who with. and this fact is upsetting.

he thinks about it for a long time before he answers. there will be quite a long delay, with the other replies rolling in and out, before she finally receives a text--]

is the rest of it interesting?

text;

[versusnurture]

[That's a good first question. In her opinion, it's the first question everyone should have asked. There's a sharp respect for him already, just from six words.]

[Her reply comes quickly.]

Interesting always depends on who's asking. For me it was confusing and strange and scary sometimes and amazing sometimes. But in retrospect, in sum, yes. It was interesting.