driftfleet | ...And also these.

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...And also these.

[ Calibration Rooms ]
( for N-Z characters )

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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - Q

Nami

Nux

One

Phèdre nó Delaunay
de Montrève

R - U

R. Daneel Olivaw

Rapunzel

Remy LeBeau

Riku

Robin Redbreast

Rogue

Santanico Pandemonium

Shawn Hunter

Stefan (Alesci) Salvatore

Steve "Orion" Rogers

Steven Quartz Universe

Souji Seta

Stiles Stilinski

Syeira

Tadashi Hamada

Tekhetsio

V - Z

Wrath

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He gets the hint, though the particulars are still incredibly fuzzy. He's at least starting to grow increasingly certain of her resemblance to the small girl in the memory he'd experienced.

"And do you represent a nation or a group that curates this library?"

[arranged along a prominent shelf is the rather conspicuous collection of crowns. they are impressive-looking, but of course they're heavy with possible symbolism and meaning. in the case of the first crown in the line, it's literally dripping with it--resting in a puddle of murky liquid coming from nowhere.

each crown is completely different from one another in both style and material, ranging from the humble vines and carved wood of the first crown, to one with spires of knuckles and bone, and one that seems to be actively on fire.

they each rest on their own short pedestal, until the end of the line... where another pedestal sits empty and waiting.

not suspicious at all.]

Thanks. It's really just the three of us. Me, my big brother Damon, and my kid sister Olette.

[He peers at the contents of the box now, smiling as he realizes the wedding announcement is there too.] And uh, Bonnie. She hadn't married Damon yet, but it was a matter of time.

We didn't always get along, but I'd still do anything for them.

[it's all right. by the time he gets his words out, something in the room has changed.

it's hard to say what it is. perhaps it's only Robin, who's grown still and quiet and seems like he will stay that way until an uncharacteristic little sniffle escapes him. and that's followed by another sound, and another, because he's crying, really meaning it this time--eyes welling over to join everything else that's dripping, his face finally imperfect and blotchy as he bites at his lip.

because he's trying to hide a smile. a wonderful smile. his shoulders shake with it, and his arm sloughs away from the tiled wall, strings falling away in dissolving, disgusting clumps--all so he can cover his eyes and cry and laugh, lightheaded, giggling in confusing relief.]

I can't believe-- [he chokes out, full of heart.] --I'm glad, I'm really glad...

[ah, two little birds have appeared on the lip of the sink. they're both finches, clever little things, and despite how little sense it makes for them to be in a horrible room like this, they seem like they belong. one of them chirps at Robin, quietly encouraging, and the other seems to look curiously at Caesar from right next to her sister.

...sisters, that's a funny thought. where did that come from?]

[People keep crying on him . . .]

[People keep crying on him, and when they're little people, child-sized, he knows exactly what to do. He picks them up and holds them tight and shushes them and wipes their tears, rocks them back and forth until they wear themselves out and fall asleep.]

[He doesn't know how to talk to people. Adult people, real people - he doesn't know. So he just does the same thing with them that he does with children, usually, and - sometimes it works. It must. Because Robin's crying, but he sounds - happy? Crying and laughing at the same time, and Caesar wants to pull away to look at him in confusion, to peer at his face and discern what's really going on.]

[He should be able to identify what it's like to feel too much all at once. But sometimes he's a little stupid, so he doesn't. Instead he wraps his arm around Robin's shoulders, pulling his just-freed arm in close to his body for, come on, it really is a hug at this point, why not just admit it? The kind of hug you give someone when you're worried they might fall off the edge of the world.]

I didn't mean to upset you.

[But his voice comes out a little distracted. The birds catch his eye, and he glances up at them, and for a moment his grip tightens protectively around Robin's shoulders but then he realizes that's silly, of course they belong here.]

[Sisters. He looks at the one looking at him, uncertain - he's the interloper here. Does he need to go?]

[Beverly grins and her eyebrows go up suggestively.] Oh well now, I wouldn't mind if you were asking like that. But yes, I have been known to dance.

[Jazz competition winner in St. Louis several times over, but let's not talk about her dancing doctor days. Flirtatious smirking aside, she is actually quite embarrassed about it.]

[Robin curls easily, happily, into the hug. he is still a tangled mess, but he can turn and hide where it's warm and safe--all of the things this room isn't.

the bird looking at Caesar clearly shakes her head, despite that being a rather unbirdlike thing to do. she and her sister exchange a little look, a nod, before the both of them hop cutely back against the counter, tucking themselves just under the mirror. they snuggle up close, leaving the tub full of emotional boys alone. maybe they just wanted Robin to know that they're here.

ah, he finally has it in him to say something else--pulling away from Caesar enough to talk.]

N-No, it's... Nice, it's really nice. I only ever ruin things, so I just...

[he can't believe he listened, and that he found someone. even if the rest is still terrible, Robin helped something good happen, and he can't remember the last time that was true.]

It's nice to hear I helped a little...

[It certainly is mesmerizing, mimicking the energy and color of the dance floor behind him, but somehow in a more gentle way.]

It certainly is.

[He doesn't even have the faintest idea of what might be in it, which might be the perfect reason to let it be, but he's half certain this is all a dream. Under that circumstance, it doesn't seem all that bad to throw caution to the wind and assimilate a little better with where he's landed himself this time.

He smiles lazily at the bartender, then tips the glass back to his lips.]

Oh.

[Well. That's good, then. That he said something and it turned out all right. He's been getting better about that lately, he thinks, just a little bit at a time. Trying to be honest, trying to be good. Trying to find something to live for. Things like that.]

[He looks down at Robin as the surprise and concern drains away; then, after a moment, he nods and pulls him close again. Maybe . . . he could say more. Maybe that would turn out all right, too.]

. . . You helped a lot. I wouldn't have said anything at all if the ship hadn't been making me do strange things, but I think - talking that night, talking to you especially, made me realize that it wasn't bad to. Lean on people? Sometimes.

I think I might have learned more about myself talking to you that night than I have in . . . years, really. All the ways that I try to trip myself up, all the ways I hold myself back. And it's important. I think it's important, because I don't want to be in here all the time.

[He pauses, glances at the nestled-up bird sisters again.]

I mean thank you. That's what I mean.

Oh, you're fine.

[but, yes... he is happy now. thank you for asking.

his presence here has made an impression; he has once more nudged things toward something he likes better. he does these things to help--honest.

and while Robin stews in anger and discomfort, Tek shrugs off his jacket, and begins to unlace his boots.]

...A little water seems to be the least of your worries, doesn't it?

More than the sum of your parts.

[It's an instinctive answer, no hesitation behind it, followed up only by the slight jutting upwards of her chin -- because screw them, that's why. As if they have the right to define us just because we were in their control for a time.

They can make us, they can mold us, but in the end once we're out and we look back -- then we are more than their fingerprints. We have to be.]

Somebody like me? [That's an odd turn of phrase, and he wonders just who she thinks he is or who he might be in this dream, if that's what this is.]

I think I'm missing quite a bit of crucial context that might help me in this case.

Sure was, though he was way older when he was on the Fleet.

[Shawn's smile dims a little, and it may not reach his eyes anymore.] He's the best guy I've ever known. Always had your back, even if he was kinda loud about it.

Checkers.

[No, seriously, checkers. There's a board set up over by the window and everything.]

[ That's a good trick. Haruka laughs and hands the kid back his phone now that he has, y'know, the proper appendages for it. ] Don't lose this. Who knows when somebody's going to call for a change of scenery.

I suppose ya could call it that, mademoiselle, [No denying it because there really wasn't any point in it.] I normally just call it a job, but a rose be a rose 'nd a steal be a steal, no matter the name.

[Remy continued to eye Peggy, but more as curiosity of how long the desk would hold her. He felt a little bad he hadn't warned her, but it was short lived. It wasn't harmful, it wasn't dangerous, it wouldn't cause her pain once she stood up from it, and even then it was only the ache of sitting for so long than anything long lasting. It wasn't his favorite part of his room, but it was a certainly a place of loyalty for him, of things that had to get done and to tough through the negatives that came with it.]

...Checkers? [He looks confused for a moment, but then he smirks confidently. Sure, why not?]

Fine, you're on! Prepare to be checked!

[not to say that this looks like a terrible idea, but... it looks like a terrible idea.

crowns are a weighty subject on their own. he isn't particularly interested in touching the murky one, the one made of bone, or the one that is literally on fire. his eyes wander over them and then keep wandering in the hopes of finding something... a little less dangerous to look at.

which is how he comes upon the shelf of masks, in the other direction. he'll wander towards those instead.]

Then that works out rather well for us, non? Both have our own divine ladies to follow down their paths, I would hate to get jealous if mine favored ya over me. [Fate, or whatever it was, hadn't been kind to Remy, he held no love for it any more than he did for his old god. Luck was much easier to follow, especially if you could tilt it in your favor and things never looked too gloomy when it went against him because the next moment it could be back on your side.]

[maybe it's good that Caesar doesn't know how to talk to adults. the demigod takes complex, grown-up comfort and twists it into something tarnished and cheap and associates it with all the wrong things. being treated like a child feels much better, honestly, because childish gestures are honest and simple and he won't confuse them with hopeless romance.

Robin relaxes the more he talks. he settles, he calms. his hair appears more and more white, the dye disappearing in uneven blotches. it looks an awful mess, but most transitions do.

he doesn't pull away this time, talking into the other's shirt instead:] You've got a lucky friend, I think...

[and then, after another pause of his own:] You're welcome. I'm not going to leave you alone in here.

[the way that Tek huffs in amusement behind him suggests that he is entirely unsurprised that Robin would go for a mask before a crown, but he doesn't stop him or say a word. he'd said that Robin was free to explore, so... he doesn't interject.

Robin is can look over the array of elaborately-crafted masks as much as he wants. they aren't so varied in style or material as the crowns were, but are each of a very different shape from one another.

some are toothy and monstrous, and some are of beautiful, stylized faces. some seem male, some female, some without many identifying features of any kind. one of the simpler faces has a set of slashes carved over one hollow eye, while another has large, innocent eyes outlined with tiny, sparkling gems.

one thing that they all seem to have in common, however... is that the eyeholes don't seem entirely empty. it's hard to tell for sure with how they are displayed on the shelf, but it almost looks as if the bit of space glimpsed behind each set of eyes is tinged with a different color, as if viewed through tiny stained glass lenses.]

Oh, Daneel. [Empathy is written all over her face, as she remembers Dr. Reyga - and he and she did not even share the same sort of connection Daneel and Dr. Sarton did.] Did you find them, the person who did it?

[Robin slumps back down in his strings, but it's a touch overdramatic--at least part of it is played up for show.]

Yes... It's in last place, behind hypothermia and a growing concern for my physical safety.

[oh, it's a familiar snark. he peers up at Tek with... one eye, from under his bangs.]

[Yeah that's only vaguely reassuring.]

An exam? What sort of exam? And invasion... how old were all of you?

It's a test of practical skills. You know, to make sure you can handle the more dangerous missions.

[ She hesitates answering, mostly because she knows Beverly isn't going to like the answer ]

Ah ... twelve? We took it pretty early compared to most people, though.

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...And also these.

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wheezes quietly

oh my GOD ;;;;;;;

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I totally lost this in my inbox, I apologize

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