Chocolate-flavored Dessert Cream on the House

[thespaceopera]

[The bunks are filling up, but the new faces just keep appearing!

Are you a travel-weary passenger having trouble keeping your crew roster straight? Perhaps you are a fresh new recruit, finding themselves dumped into a new (and much less shiny) home. Or, maybe you've been around for a little bit and just haven't bothered meeting the other weirdos on this ship yet--what is their problem, anyway?

Well, this is the place for you!

All new passengers from the last few Shuffles, especially those who haven't met their crews yet, are welcome to post starter-comments here to invite those living on and visiting your ship to come and interact. Newbies could be just arriving on the ship, busying around where others can find them, or you can offering multiple options for interaction--however you'd like to set up your thread is fine. Just make sure to include the name of your ship in the header, so your crewmates can easily find you!

Everyone else-- go meet those newbies! Whether they are new to your own crew, or on ships you frequently visit, now is a great time to bump into them.]

Comments

[bigvessel]

Well. That's unsettling. [Because he's not paranoid enough already, let's mention that some insane murder spree could be a possibility in the future.]

Do they not have televisions here? You'd think a place focused on running one would have some TVs available.

[And while he considers himself somewhat of an expert with movies, reality tv is a different beast entirely. But he does at least understand the genre. So. He's happy to share.]

Well, late '90s this damn genre just suddenly exploded. Survivor was the big one. They threw a bunch of volunteers into the wilderness and made them compete for cash and prizes. And every week they eliminated someone-um, like they kicked them off the island, they didn't actually murder anyone. And at the end there was one sole-survivor. It was...kinda huge. People apparently like watching other people cheat and sneak and struggle and overcome obstacles. And it was cheap to produce, too. They didn't need script writers, they didn't need actors. They just needed to throw a little money at people to make them feel like it was worth doing."

[lord_wizard]

[He could have lied to assuage the fear, but part of him still think that Atroma is building them up like a pile of sticks, only to be knocked down later, and he'd rather not contribute to that.

He listens, however, with quiet interest, then reaches for a second glass to fill.]

Hm, that is the thing. Other than the screens on the Marsiva, I have seen no evidence that the show even exists, other than the fact that the hosts tell us we are.

[He walks over to the table, depositing one of the glasses in front of the other man before taking the seat opposite. It's just water, but it's clean and it's cold and the only comfort he can really offer.]

Neither have we had to play any games. People disappear from time to time, which I suppose could be evidence of being, ah...eliminated. Although Atroma has been quick to refill their spots on the ships, and then some. Speaking of which, I believe with your arrival we now have more personnel than bunks.

[bigvessel]

[He definitely prefers the truth. And honestly, anything less than the answer he got wouldn't have been believed anyway. He's seen too much shit to believe any better in humanity.

His brow arches in surprise at the glass, but he takes it with an appreciative nod, inspects it carefully before he takes a sip. At least it taste like water. And he has to consider they have better means to drugging or killing them than poisoning the water supply.]

You think it's all a lie then?

[For right now he just shrugs about the bunking situation. It'll be a priority when he's calmed down.]

[lord_wizard]

I consider it a distinct possibility.

[He's not ready to commit to the notion completely, but it's worth considering. His eyes, which some people find unnerving or mesmerizing (or both), watch FDR carefully, trying to get a sense of the man. He sees dispassionate, but part of that is simple weariness. Knowing you're trapped in one thing, but finding the strength to get out of it is another entirely.]

[bigvessel]

[He sighs at that and leans back a little bit as his fingers drum on the table. Honestly, he doesn't have that big of a problem with being watched. He's used to an eye on him or a bug in his ear. He doesn't have the humility to care.

Being kidnapped though, that kind of pisses him off. He was in the middle of a bet! He can't win if he's not there.

Still...he eyes his new crewmate, one brow arching at those eyes, but with colored contacts, it's not the strangest thing he's seen.] Got any other conspiracy theories as to why they've got us all then?

[lord_wizard]

Sadly, no. [He smiles as he says it however, because over time the tragic starts to become funny] Just a few years of finely honed paranoia speaking, but nothing you might consider evidence.

[bigvessel]

Well, that's just...great. [And his fingers tap on the table with a frustrated energy.] Alright then. So, what do you do?

[Nothing to learn about his location, the next step is obviously learning about the people he's stuck here with.]

[lord_wizard]

[There were times in the past when he'd have delighted in being the least helpful as possible, but not so much now. In this case, there's really nothing else he can do about it.]

I gather you mean, on the ship? Alleged cook, though don't hold your breath for anything gourmet. I will take no offense if you choose to dine elsewhere. [It saves him work, for starters.]

[bigvessel]

[His brow arches at that.] Yeah. I'm sure you won't. Is that...the augment they gave you? [Because if so, that's pretty lame, man. And he considers himself already a little luckier.]

So, what'd you do before the ship?

[lord_wizard]

[He sighs at that reaction, because yes, it's super lame.] Yes, that would be it.

I imagine it has something to do with the fact that my skillset didn't lend itself to operations of a contraption such as this. [And here's where the subject gets thorny. With people of an obviously magical or 'other' kind of nature, he's not at all shy about the 'W' word, but with other people it's something he'd rather work his way up to, for fear of them labeling him as either 'crazy' or 'dangerous'] I was previously a member of the Curia - an advisory council to the Lord Protector. Politics, I suppose you could say.

[bigvessel]

Yeah well. [He's never exactly flown before this either, but...but admitting that is a blow to his cover. So.]

I have no idea what any of that is. Though, I do get politics. [And he can't help the slightly sharp smile that accompanies that. Because his experience with politics is usually...shooting someone ordered by someone else.]

[lord_wizard]

[He notices that smile, going by the slight hitch to his eyebrow, though he isn't sure what it means.]

I didn't think you would, unless I'm mistaken in the assumption that you aren't from my world. Politics, however, are something that at it's heart is always the same, no matter where you come from.

[He gives FDR a thoughtful look] You've had an unpleasant experience with it? [That's his only guess.]

[bigvessel]

Your world, huh? That's a really strange thing to consider. [But, aliens are pretty much living breathing proof of that.]

Uh. No. Not...really. I wouldn't call it unpleasant. Let's just say I've seen the messes politics can create.

[lord_wizard]

[He makes a small, flourished shrugging gesture with one hand as if to say 'that's fair'. He was also one of those messes himself, which is why he was exiled, but details...]

Very well. And what is your current and former occupation?

[bigvessel]

You weren't one of the messy ones were you?

[Just a curiosity.]

I uuuh, I guess I'm a pilot. Back home I was a cruise ship captain. [He wasn't. But it's his typical story.]

[lord_wizard]

[To his credit, he manages not to flinch, but he does glance down at the table.]

I made some enemies.

[He has the experience to be able to put a picture to concept of a cruise ship, and that's far more cringe-inducing than the rest of the conversation. Boats. He hates boats.]

I imagine that puts you within the same sphere of skill, at least.

[bigvessel]

[His head cants to the side curiously at that. He knows a guilty look when he sees it. And the answer confirms it. Still, he's not interested in judging. Nothing is black and white, after all. He kills people and still considers himself one of the good guys, so.]

Any of them follow you here?

[And he grins, shrugging casually. Well, in theory it totally should.] You'd think, right? [And he's just going to leave that alone.]

[lord_wizard]

[Felix's status as a good person is a process of continuing debate, mostly with himself. Plenty of people have called him decent, but those same people weren't at home with him. Still, he smiles wryly at the idea. There is really only one that worries him, and he's confident Crowley would deal with Malkar should he show his face]

Thankfully, no.

[He mentally brushes the former away and breezily answers the second question] And actually, I have no idea. My world wasn't what you would call the most advanced. It was just a guess.

[bigvessel]

[Well. Guess that's a bonus point for him anyway. Granted, he's never been in space, but he knew it was possible. He gets the reality TV aspect, he gets the machines and the comm devices and thanks to the augment he gets how to handle the ship.

He can only imagine it'd be a much harder transition for some of these people who comes from more basic times.]

Oh yeah? So, space and travelling in it are new things to you, are they? Didn't make you freak out when you woke up here?

[lord_wizard]

I did, actually. [He glances away again, but this time it has more to do with embarrassment than avoiding the truth.]

But not entirely for that reason.

[bigvessel]

Yeah? For what reason? [And he leans forward a little bit, because as much as he likes getting a grip on the situation and the place they're in, he's always been kind of fascinated with people.]

[lord_wizard]

[He smiles amicably despite the topic] That's a long story, but in essence this isn't the first time I've been pulled out of my own world, and you may soon discover I'm not unique in that aspect among the fleet. I spent five years in that other world and was given a chance to leave and return back to my own world. Except, when I finally took that chance...I arrived here instead. I assumed it was another of Paradisa's tricks rather than a new place entirely.

[bigvessel]

...You've just been yanked out of your homeworld before? Another reality show? This is just common shit? [God, and he rolled his eyes so often at all those 'i got probed by alien' hicks. Maybe they really did get picked up for a alien porn show.]

[lord_wizard]

Common might be overstating it, given the relative population of the many, many worlds represented here, but...my story is not a unique one either. Paradisa wasn't a reality show, no, and there are others here who were once there and remember it. I've heard that there are others here who have likewise been taken by other places. Feel free to ask around if you doubt me. All that tells is is that there are many powers in the cosmos that are beyond our comprehension.

[bigvessel]

Ah, man. I don't have any reason to doubt you. But to be honest, the places other people come from? Don't really mean shit to me when we look at the big picture. Other things to worry about, you know?

[And he really really would rather not think about an all powerful cosmos. Control issues.]