video but mostly audio (LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME WE WERE NSFW)

[collegedropout]

[Happy V-Day, everyone! Sam has been unfortunately busy this weekend. You know, working at the bars, getting convinced by certain stoner semi-angels to partake in a quick bar-hop. Or three. Or five. Also, what the fuck was in that Space Race drink? Because he felt just fine after the first hour, but then he went down like a sack of potatoes.

The black screen leaves a lot to the imagination, so far. Sam gives a tired, hungover groan and slaps around for the built-in alarm he'd set in the communications device, which is probably murderous on your guys' ears at first. When he grabs for it and peers to look at the time listed, the broadcast gives a good look at him in all of his glory -- who knew someone could have so many hickeys at once?]

Wha...

[He stares up at the ceiling, blinking wearily. This isn't... the ship...

But surely nothing crazy happened, he thinks. Just drank a little too much. He's usually super chaste and all, and it's not like he'd...

And then three blue arms reach out from the right side of the bed, curling over his chest.]

Awake already, gangly human...?

[And another copper-skinned arm reaches to pet his hair from his left. A few interesting memories resurface from the night before.]

Surprisingly durable to make up for your poor tolerance to alcohol, mmhmm.

[Sam's eyes widen rather comedically as he shoots up from the bed, dropping the video feed flat on its face again. The sounds of him shuffling back sounds close to the microphone, and there are quite a few giggling ladies, and it really makes you wonder how many are actually fitting in that bed. Judging from the way Sam is tripping over his words, he's probably floundering. Let your imaginations be your guide.]

Jesus -- what the -- I, um, sorry. I -- Wow, right. I should, should really be -- ohmygod, uh. You guys were all great, seriously, but I... Have a shift in three hours... I should...!!

[More giggling at the sound of rustling pants.]

Wow, Sam, you've gone so red; I didn't know humans could change colors! What a fascinating species.

[One of the human girls in the crowd laughs aloud.] Nah, he just goes from animal to nervous school boy in one morning flat.

Thank you for your time, ladies--

Don't you want to stay for breakfast? I know how to make pancakes!

That's really nice but--[He's just about now realizing that the feed is going, and he's too distracted to notice that he's about to trip right over someone's body on the floor.]--OOF!!

[The video THUDS, pointing at a wall. This is the most PG feed detailing a NC-17 night ever. A familiar voice -- the source of Sam's tripping -- smacks his lips while a background cacophony of the gals and guys littered around the room gossip and giggle and exchange ship names. Sam is dumbstruck.]

How many people are there?!

Ah. Morning, Sam.

Cas!?

Slow your roll, buddy, there's plenty of time for round two and three--

Ugh... Not this again...

--or four or five...

M'gonna be sick...... What was in that Space Racer...

[This is the worst.

Happy Valentine's Day.]

Comments

[grounds]

[Any mounting irritation on the mom thing is quickly dispersed when he brings up the older brother thing.]

No, it sounds pretty universal, but it's hard for me to judge. Back home, we were the only siblings I know of. Having two kids was illegal where I spent most of my life.

[collegedropout]

... Illegal. Jesus. A country on earth does that, too. [Well, it moved up very recently to two-kid limits, but whatever. He speaks thoughtfully and softly on the matter.] To try and handle high populations, anyway. China's a pretty inflated place, with people stacked on top of people in the cities; not much room to go around.

Is that what your world was dealing with, too?

[grounds]

It was, sort of. [There's a definite bitterness in her voice throughout the following explanation.]

Like I said, Earth was nuked. For the past hundred years, what we thought was left of humanity lived in a space station-- the Ark. With really limited resources, and no way to get new ones, they had that law. Since I had an older brother...

[Octavia exhales sharply, almost like a huff.] I never left our family's quarters until I was sixteen.

[collegedropout]

So basically, you're already a space baby.

[But he's quiet when he says it, thoughtful. That sounds horrible. A miserable kind of life. That's how it is for a lot of people here, isn't it? Nami's lost mother to pirates comes to mind quickly. His own childhood wasn't anything special, was pretty depressing in its own way, had a lot of lonely moments where it was just him and Dean, or just him, but he at least had the open road, however tethered he was to his father and his tunnel vision that had often left his kids suffering out of the picture. He had school, best of all.

Being forced to stay by yourself, though... That's terrible.]

I'm glad you got to get out, Octavia.

[Seriously.]

You been playing catch-up, then?

[grounds]

Illegal space baby. Big difference from the regular ones.

[It's for the best she's not mentioning the whole living under the floor thing. She gives a dry, humorless laugh in response.]

Bet I'm happier about it. And yeah, something like that.

[collegedropout]

Well, considering you've had a hell of a time, I'm betting your options in food have been pretty limited? Ever have a cheeseburger and fries? Onion rings? Maybe fried ice-cream? Because there's this place — does a really good job replicating earth foods.

[FORGET FOR A MOMENT THIS IS AN AWKWARD SITUATION.

HE NEEDS TO TALK DINER FOOD.

... WHICH HE USUALLY HATES, but Octavia is more like his brother than him, probably. From what he can tell so far, anyway. Or maybe more... like Sam was, before his life went to hell. Uh. Literally.]