01:00 | video

[netscreens]

Who: Cress
Broadcast: Video
Action: around Marsiva's hospitality deck
When: a day or two after the initial intro/arrivals

[ of course, for cress, the first few hours after waking up (after the initial oh my gosh what is happening where am i is this real life) had been spent poking around the curious little communicator they'd all been given. the type isn't something she's familiar with, but it's neither too archaic nor too advanced. it's strangely familiar enough that it doesn't take her very long to figure it out, inner workings and all, though it's tough to say how much of that is her natural skill and how much of that is thanks to the handy little communications augment currently nestled behind her left ear.

the point is that she'd snooped, which means she may or may not have heard all of your previous conversations. oops!

but anyway. sometime after that, cress will finally turn on the video function of her comm. she holds it at arm's length as she aimlessly wanders around the deck of marsiva, so her background may actually be quite familiar to most. she makes quite the sight — long, unruly mess of blond hair, large blue eyes, and a dress that is a touch too small with a few singe marks here and there. when she finally addresses the network, her eyes are wide wonder. ]

What did she mean "the worlds are watching"...?

[ #priorities. ]

Comments

video

[heresyandlace]

[oh! this one seems terribly interesting, so Tek goes leaning towards his screen for a better look.

dear Cress, have an absurdly pretty man with lavender eyes smirking at you from across the network.]

...Well! It means that you're a star now, didn't you know?

video

[netscreens]

[ absurdly pretty and absurdly close! cress, once more, leans back out of habit, seeming to shrink in on herself while her large blue eyes stare back with morbid curiosity. ]

A star? [ she very nearly asks if he means literally, because they are back in space now and, certainly, stranger things have happened—

but thankfully she catches herself in time to realize what a dump idea that is. ]

A star of what?

[heresyandlace]

[he moves back a little when he catches her shying away]

A show! A game! There are entire worlds watching you now.

[or so he's been told.]

[netscreens]

[ cress just takes a moment to process that. after spending the last seven years locked up in a satellite with only a small handful of people to even know she existed, the idea that now suddenly entire worlds could have their eyes on her...

well it's a little overwhelming.

so please excuse the sudden shaky scenery; her knees may or may not have suddenly buckled beneath her. ]

No... I'm sorry — there has to be some kind of mistake. [ that other world she'd found herself in, the world under attack. it had somehow made more sense that this. ]

I think they have the wrong person...

[heresyandlace]

[he... laughs, quietly. muffled into his hands. give him a moment.

and one they've both composed themselves--]

It's hard for you to believe, is it?

[netscreens]

[ she quiets a little at that laugh. normally, she would have been happy to hear another person laugh (she was tired of hearing her own voice, even one she'd programmed herself), but there was something about it that didn't... strike too well with her.

maybe she's just paranoid, though.

but when she speaks again, she certainly sounds a little meeker. ]

I'm not really "star" material...

[ for all her daydreaming, she knows she's really more like the supporting character. of a supporting character. ]

[heresyandlace]

Neither are half of the people here. But we're all in the same boat anyway, it seems.

[which almost sounds like he's being reassuring. if he wasn't sort of confirming her fears.]

[netscreens]

[ it's. comforting in a not-comforting kind of way. like, she's sorry that everyone else has to be the unwitting subject of some kind of drama show...

but at the same time, it is nice to know she's not alone in this feeling... ]

But how? Are there hidden cameras?

[heresyandlace]

Your guess is as good as mine.

[though, he does rap on the screen with a knuckle]

Though these panels seem like a likely culprit.

[netscreens]

[ a pause.

and then she gasps suddenly, one hand flying to her mouth. ]

They're watching us right now?! [ her voice has dropped to a comical stage whisper, as if that might help matters at all.

she looks mildly scandalized... nevermind that she totally just used the comms to "spy" on everyone earlier, erm. ]

[heresyandlace]

[it takes such an effort of will not to laugh again. instead, he nods seriously and also lowers his voice.]

Right now.

They probably watched as you woke up.

[netscreens]

[ another sharp gasp, brows furrowing in worry now as she imagined what a fright she must have looked — what a fright she still looks like...

until she realizes something. ]

Wait, but that's not very interesting...

[heresyandlace]

You don't think so?

[really, by this point, he's been so utterly entertained by everything that has come out of her mouth, he's looking forward to hearing her opinions on anything]

[netscreens]

[ cress hasn't seemed to notice yet. ]

No? I mean I think I wake up like any normal person does. [ she pauses suddenly, then looks mildly guilty. ] Then again, I guess not everyone here is the same in that regards anymore... Oh, that was probably really insensitive of me.

[heresyandlace]

[okay, he has to laugh again. at least it doesn't sound quite so mean this time.]

See? Maybe you're extremely interesting to something that doesn't sleep, for instance.

[netscreens]

I guess that is true... [ she takes a moment to consider that.

then she turns back to him with even wider eyes, bright and full of curiosity. ]

Have you met anyone like that here?

[heresyandlace]

[ah, you know. as horrible as he can be, he's kind of a sucker for that look. curiosity is pretty great.]

I know someone who can stay awake for weeks on end... and then can fall asleep for even longer than that, if they choose.

So, total sleeplessness doesn't seem outrageous in comparison.

[netscreens]

[ she seems utterly fascinated, but then again, who wouldn't be after seven years of little to no interaction with anyone outside of one person of her supposed race. the universe outside her little satellite had always seems so huge, and she ached to explore every inch of it.

now here she was, with the very chance to. it's a good thing she's already on the floor, otherwise her knees would have surely buckled once more. ]

Are they here? Can I meet them?

[heresyandlace]

They are here.

[his grin gets downright conspiratorial then. oh no he's having too much petty fun...]

And do you want to know a surprise?

[netscreens]

[ her eyes widen a bit, breath catching. cress likes surprises, she thinks. ]

Yes, please.

[heresyandlace]

[he leans just a little closer to the screen. enough to emphasize the surprise, but hopefully not to startle her like before]

...You have already met them.

[netscreens]

[ a slow blink, the curiosity in her eyes slowly giving way to something uncertain. ]

I don't get it... Do you mean — [ a gasp. ] Do you mean it's you?

[heresyandlace]

You got it!

You're so clever.

[netscreens]

So when was the last time you had to sleep...?

[heresyandlace]

Sometime last week, I think.