Let the games begin!

[thespaceopera]

[several days late, as has been the trend lately, the Shuffle's transmission plays for the Fleet.

...or, it tries anyway. the music doesn't even make it--just a punch of static with sad, scattered pieces of musical notes trying to struggle their way through.

when Diamond's voice is finally heard, it's only intelligible in three little bites.]

--Three disappearing from-- ... --new faces, so-- ... --Captain Halliwell--...

[and then the music blends strangely with other sounds, like someone flipping idly through broken radio stations. it takes some time for anything to come in clear, and every frequency turns up the same interference. it isn't until several minutes later that one signal suddenly stutters into clarity, and music begins to play.

wherever you are, they are playing your song! and if there are multiple people in the room, maybe the speakers nearest to each person are playing different songs, each specific to the closest passenger. and after the signal connects, the speakers will continue to play whatever song they started with, even if different passengers move toward or away from them, and will only play something else when the controls are messed around with. and the signals and machinery will continue to behave in this way sporadically, all through the month.]

ooc: the musical madness has begun! feel free to use this post as a mingle for interactions relating to shuffle day and the ensuing musical chaos. if you have any questions, please post them to the January ooc post!

→ Shuffle ooc post
→ January system ooc post

Comments

[alwayscomeback]

So am I. Lucky for me that's still not the craziest thing I've lived through.

It's close. But not quite.

[blindoptimism]

[really? it's not like she's had a calm life, but his life sounds like a special brand of crazy]

Ah... I think I'll be constantly surprised by how adventurous your life has been.

[alwayscomeback]

[That gets a laugh out of him.]

Probably! I'm still constantly surprised by how adventurous my life had been.

[blindoptimism]

If you had to pick a most outlandish adventure, what would it be?

[alwayscomeback]

Are we talking spooky outlandish or wacky outlandish? I need to narrow it down a little.

[blindoptimism]

Mm... [GIVING THIS SERIOUS THOUGH]

Wacky.

[alwayscomeback]

Well, there was the time we got kidnapped by guy who ruled this Earth Kingdom city. He stuck me and my sister in crystals and made my buddy do all these crazy quests for him. Turns out? The old king as my buddies best pal a hundred years ago.

[A pause.] My friend was trapped in an iceberg. It's a long story.

[blindoptimism]

[oh geez. She can't help looking slightly distraught at the idea of being stuck in a crystal! D:]

But if he was a friend, why would he trap you both?

[alwayscomeback]

We didn't know he was a friend at the time, and he was just messing with us.

Because of the crazy part.

[blindoptimism]

J-Just messing with you... [oh lordy]

That seems uncalled for. But... I suppose if it worked out alright in the end, that's what matters.

[alwayscomeback]

I've met a lot of crazy people. It happens.

Sure, and he's a valuable ally now, so we can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[blindoptimism]

[she has quite a few things she could say to that, but she bites her tongue. Apparently they're friends now, and she's in no position to give advice on a situation that she barely understands]

Would it be too late to ask about the spooky situation?

[alwayscomeback]

Not at all!

We were once in a swamp- no wait, that's a sad one.

Okay, so we went to a village! Yeah! A village! With a lake!! A polluted lake.

[blindoptimism]

Oh... how bad was the lake?

[alwayscomeback]

Really badly polluted. Like, people were starving. Anyway, they believed this spirit, this Lady of the Lake would save them. Suddenly, she began to show up, every night, giving them food and leaving them medicine and all that stuff.

[blindoptimism]

How lucky. [...] It seems like a bit of a coincidence that she began helping right when your group arrived.

[aka: hmmmmm I wonder where this story could be heading???

[alwayscomeback]

Exactly.

Turned out it was my sister, dressing up, all along. We ended up making a big stand against the Fire Nation and their factory before we moved on.

[blindoptimism]

[aw... she smiles a little. What a person to arrive at some random town, and work in secret to help them.]

Your sister sounds amazing.

[alwayscomeback]

[He smiles. Soft and honest. She's his entire world, he'd be nothing without her.]

That's Katara. She's always looking out for other people.

[blindoptimism]

[that smile speaks volumes. Her heart twinges-- it feels like something sweet and painful for a moment, but she is genuinely happy for him]

Is she older, or younger?

[alwayscomeback]

Younger.

We've been looking out for each other since-

[His smile falters, for a second, before it returns, a little more strained.]

Well, for a long time.

[blindoptimism]

[ah... when you've experienced the same thing, it's springs to your mind as a guess, a reason for that expression. Her mouth opens for a moment as if she's about to say something, then closes. If her guess is right, then the similarities grow. Although her heart aches to say more, she settles on this.]

Siblings are wonderful in that way, aren't they? A light to depend on when everything seems so dark.

[alwayscomeback]

[His smile softens. Without Katara...everything would have fallen apart. She'd kept their family together. She'd kept him together.]

Yeah. I'd be lost without her. [He is lost without her.]

[blindoptimism]

You'll see her again. [she says it with confidence. This farce of a show will end, and for better or worse they will return to the place where they belong. And after their last talk... Well, Sokka has a lot on his shoulders. She hopes he feels as confident of a happy ending as she does]

[alwayscomeback]

Yeah. No matter what, nothing's gonna keep me from her.