driftfleet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Allen Walker
Broadcast: Video!
Action: Blue Fish
When: Today, April 2nd.

[For those who've been here awhile, a familiar setting appears on the feed. Allen's standing behind a table in his lab, looking tired but positive! Timcanpy sits behind him on a shelf, wearing that looks to be a miniature gasmask fitted for the lower part of his face (?). ]

Hello everyone! If you don't know me, I'm Allen Walker, one of the medics in the fleet. Nice to see you all again.

[He clears his throat]

Anyway, a few announcements today! We'll be holding our bi-monthly blood drive next weekend! The blood donated will be kept in case of medical emergencies that require a blood transfusion - in other words, using scientific methods to help someone whose lost a lot of blood. If you are interested in donating, we will pay you in money or food!

So if you're interested and you're over the age of 16, please fill out the form attached to this video. [And what do you know, it's there] If you're interested in volunteering, please let me know. Vampires interested in volunteering will need to be able to have restraint around blood and will not be allowed to sample the blood. And like last time, the blood drive will be taking place on the SS Paisley. Thank you again for your warm hospitality, Paisley.

And of course, there will be cookies to anyone who volunteers or donates.

[Okay then, moving on, he'll smile at the screen-]

As for other business, our fleet has arrived at a moon that you've probably noticed is rather...polluted. So it's been asked by local authorities that I tell people the following advice to help you stay healthy:

[He clears his throat again and holds up what looks to be....a pretty lengthy list]

Please wear your gas mask at all times while outside. Please do not assume you are immune to toxic air. Please don't try to smoke with your gas mask on. Please don't wear a damaged gas mask. Please don't wear your gas mask over clothes, it will not work. Please make sure there's no leaks when wearing your gas mask. Please secure your own gas mask before helping others. Please don't store small animals in your gas mask. Please don't put your gas mask on animals it's not made for. Please don't set your gas mask on fire. Please don't eat while wearing the gas mask. Please wear your gas mask over your face, that is the only part of the body it will work. Please don't ask if there's a gas mask for other regions of your body. Please wear your gas mask on your face.

[He takes a breath, then...flips a page. Yes. We could be here awhile]

Please don't drink the water outside. Please don't bathe in the water. Please don't go swimming in any body of water. Please don't wash your dishes in the water. If you need to go in the water, please make sure you're properly covered. Please don't splash people with the water. Please don't attempt to give mouth-to-mouth CPR to anyone whose gone in the water. Please do not cook with the water. Please do not use the water as an ingredient for spells. Please don't go fishing in the water. Please don't attempt to put out fires with the water. Please don't light a match and drop it in the water. Please don't set the water on fire. Please don't microwave the water.

[Another page flip. And yes, he's still keeping that polite smile!]

Please don't eat the vegetation outside. Please don't eat the fake vegetation inside. Please don't touch the vegetation with bare skin. Please don't lick the vegetation. Please don't set the vegetation on fire. Please don't smoke the vegetation. Please don't snort the vegetation. Please don't inject or ingest the outside vegetation in any manner. Please refrain from engaging in intercourse on the vegetation. Please don't attempt to cook the vegetation. Please don't boil the vegetation with the water. If you can't recognize the plant, please leave the plant alone.

[Another page flip!]

Please don't eat the wildlife. Please don't attempt to cook the wildlife. Please don't wear the skins or furs of the wildlife. Please exercise caution when attempting to befriend wildlife. Please don't take any of the wildlife as pets. Please don't do anything to the wildlife that requires skin contact. If you think an action towards an animal might be illegal, please don't do it. Please don't lick the wildlife. Please don't use the moon's animals for taxidermy. Please don't cut open an animal and try to sleep in it. Please don't set the wildlife on fire. If you don't have the ability to talk to wildlife, and the moon's wildlife begins talking to you, please seek immediate medical attention.

[Page flip!]

If you find any slime or sludge, please leave it alone. Please don't touch the slime. Please don't lick the slime. Please don't dare others to lick the slime. Please don't eat the slime. Please don't drink the slime. Please don't wear the sludge as a way to trick infra-red. Please don't try to light the slime on fire. Please stay away from the slime.

[Another page flip. Oh thank god, it's almost over]

Please exercise caution when exploring the wilderness. Please watch out for mineshafts. Please always bring a non-flammable light source. Please don't go alone into a mineschaft. Please don't have intercourse in a mine shaft. Please don't light a match in a mineshaft. Please don't bring canaries into the mineshafts. Please don't climb an oil tower without climbing gear. Please don't lick the mineshafts or oil towers. Please don't set the mineschafts or oil towers on fire.

Most importantly...if you don't recognize, please don't touch it.

[FINALLY. He gives a sigh of relief and puts down the document.]

Well then- those rules seem easy enough to remember! Let's all...try our best to stay safe here, shall we? Shouldn't be difficult...

[We're all going to die. But!! He smiles brightly again]

That's all I have for today! Thank you and have a wonderful, healthy, day! [And with a wave, he cuts the feed]

[OOC: As always, the blood drive will be handwaved!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Allen takes off the glove on his left hand so he can feel his forehead for a temperature.]

Ah...at least your pun making ability wasn't damaged.

[But wait. His frown increases]

This happened yesterday? Why didn't you mention it then?

[There's a bit of a fever, yes, but it's not terrible. Meanwhile, Clay looks a little sheepish, and he rubs at the side of his neck.]

Because I was sleeping a lot and didn't want to get on the network? Dumb of me, I know, but I wasn't really thinking straight. I'll contact you about it if something like that happens again, promise.

[Not that he'll be leaping to do anything like that again, but accidents happen]

Right-

[It's fine, it's fine. It's a reasonable and understandable mistake, and he told him today. It wasn't like he was trying to hide it. It's fine. Clay wasn't one to break promises. It's fine.]

[And yet why didn't telling himself take the edge off the fear? Why does his stomach still feel like it's churning? Clay was going to be fine, and he looked fine, and yet when he pulled his hand away- it was shaking. He looked away and chewed on his lip, wringing his hands to try to cover up the shaking.]

And the medic said you'll be fine in a few days?

Yup. Totally fine. She even gave me some medicine for it; I can give you her name, maybe she'll give you some too. That way you can stock up in case anyone else gets sick.

[... But on to what's really happening here. First, Clay holds up both hands:]

First: I'm not contagious. It's not really a cold, just my body getting rid of the toxins and stuff.

[Now that that's settled, he'll reach out to take both of Allen's hands in his own. Don't think he's not noticing the shaking and everything else Allen's doing there.]

This is about more than just me being a little sick, right?

[Allen's only half paying attention to what Clay's saying. Something about a medic and some medicine to stock up on? He tries to listen, but his own emotions are making it hard to focus. What if's still nagging at his mind, and feeling of fear- all while trying to tell himself to calm down-]

[He feels his hands get taken into Clay's. A steady base to draw him back to the conversation.]

I... [He hangs his head a little, feeling horribly guilty] It's not that I don't trust you, I do. I'm sure you're fine. I just-

I actually don't know what it is. [Ugh] I'm sorry.

Hmm.

[Clay purses his lips, a bit at a loss as to what he should do here. He's sick, man; he's not exactly in a good state of mind to be taking care of somebody else. But this somebody else is his boyfriend, the guy he loves and cares for so much, and seeing him in this kind of state honestly hurts to see.

So he'll slowly and gently pull at Allen's hands, a silent invitation to get on the bed with him.]

Well, how about we start from the top? How do you feel?

[Truth was, Allen knew Clay was in no condition to look after someone. That even if he'd be fine, he was still sick and needed to recover. Which...made him just feel worse about how he was reacting. Here he was, the medic, the one who should be looking after his boyfriend...and instead he was freaking out over nothing. Ugh.]

Like a lousy jerk. [Is his first omission right after Clay poses the question. He moves to take up that silent invitation, moving to sit with him on the bed. His shoulders then slump as he actually thinks over the question]

I don't know...it's...it's like that feeling you get when something really bad's just happened, or you know something really bad is about to happen? It's...like that, even though I know things are fine.

[With Allen on the bed next to him, Clay sits up a little more, then wraps an arm around his shoulders while still holding his hand with the other. He still doesn't really know what to do, but maybe talking about it and giving him some physical contact will help.]

Okay... What makes you think something bad's happening? Or is going to happen?

Because it usually does?

[He shakes his head some. He's sure he's not making much sense. Hell, he's barely making sense to himself. But the physical contact (even if it's clammy yikes) makes him feel secure enough to keep talking]

It's...it's like I said before...Things go wrong for me. I let my guard down and suddenly- [Ugh. No. Be straight, not vague. He knows what scene is in his mind] My mind keeps going back to what happened with my last relationship. Things were going so well between us. There were a lot of terrible things in Paradisa, I was happy when I was with him.

But then one day I went to work because I needed the money. While I was gone, he decided to go on a patrol of the city by himself. He wasn't there when I went back to the house, and he didn't come back all night. [he swallows] ...A friend found him in a barn on the edge of town later that day, he'd been tortured and then killed.

In Paradisa, the dead come back after two weeks through the castle's magic, but..... he was never the same after that. [Who could be.] Everything ended up falling apart.

[But that story out of the way? He lets out a sigh and pinches his nose.]

Look, I know isn't the same situation at all. It's completely different, and I know she said you'd be okay. And I know you're careful and I know you did the right thing in going after your friend. I'm not mad at you. And I really do trust you. I just-

[He makes an aggravated huff at himself] It just keeps running through my mind, like some part's convinced it is going to happen again.

[... Oh. Well, that's... a gruesome story. One that sounds so impossible, with the dead coming back and all, that Clay has to squint a little and struggle to accept it. Usually, he's a lot better with just accepting the unusual with a shrug. You've got to in places like this. But right now, his brain doesn't feel much like doing anything in ways of thinking outside the norm.

But okay. That happened. It's horrifying and sickening, and he can't imagine being in Allen's shoes for that. He presses his lips together and tightens his hold around Allen's shoulders, tipping his head to bump it gently against Allen's. How do you deal with something like that? Coping with a death and a loss, things falling apart...

He leans his head back, enough to talk comfortably with him again.]

I'm sorry that happened. It... sounds awful. I don't know what it's like to lose someone like that.

[A parent, yeah. Not a lover.]

Thanks for telling me about it. I feel like I understand a little better now... [And with that said:] And it's not going to happen again. You're right; the situation's different, I'm careful, and the nurse did say I'd be okay. She's dealt with this kind of thing before, lots of times.

[He squeezes Allen's hand a little tighter] If it was any worse than that, I would've told you immediately. But I'm okay now, see? [He brings Allen's hand up to the side of his own neck, where he knows his pulse can be felt.] And besides, what did I tell you? Until the end? I'm not going anywhere, Starlight. No nasty sickness is going to stop me. [And with the way he clenches his fist and grins, you'd think he was just finished giving a shonen speech or something]

But... [And he relaxes that fist, his grin relaxing to a smile] I'm glad you know where this feeling's coming from. I'm glad you trust me, and I'm glad you know it's different. Knowing all of that, saying it to yourself - it helps more than you know.

Edited 2016-04-05 06:37 (UTC)

[Look he knows the coming back thing is weird, but he didn't want to give the wrong idea that it was "And then he died. The end" okay. Even if the guy did...die permanently later on- but that was after the break up! Okay? Okay]

[He picks up on the subtle gestures that Clay is doing: the bump of his head, the squeezing of his hand. He lets his hand be brought to Clay's neck, and he feels that pulse: beating strongly and steady. Just like Clay's words- strong and comforting.]

[Clay's okay. They're okay. This wasn't Paradisa. The demons were long gone- just echos in Allen's memories that could only reach him if he let them. And he was stronger than that, right? He been through so much, and he still kept walking. Others stumbled and fell around him, unable or unwilling to get up again- but he had found ways to keep going. Through force of will, through promises, through the loving embraces of others- he had found a way to keep going, like the heartbeat he felt beneath his fingertips.]

[The fearful expression starts to fade as he takes in Clay's words. They're a bit dramatic, and simplified- but they're sweet and comforting. He'll reach out and wrap his hand around that relaxed fist. He chides gently]

Please don't get yourself too worked up, Cowboy. You still need to rest.

[But there's still a start a smile on his face. A welcomed change from the expression before. Was he still feeling anxious from those memories? Of course. But he feels more grounded, they feel a bit more like distant memories than prophecies.]

Thank you. [For the words, for the comfort] I'm sorry I overreacted. You hardly needed that right now. [With you being sick and all.]

[Eh, he's sick. He's not thinking hard enough for his words to not be simplified.

But the way Allen starts to relax a little makes Clay start to do so as well. And hey, he even got a smile out of him! It makes him feel a lot better - well, not physically. Speaking of that, he'll go ahead and turn away to cough, as all those words kind of irritated his already irritated throat.]

I-It's fine! I didn't want to leave you feeling like - like that.

Yes, but the perk of having a medic for a boyfriend is supposed to be that you have someone to fuss over you when you're sick. [It makes up for the gross medical stories!!] Not be focusing on themselves.

[Like he'd been doing....ugh. Going to feel guilty about that for awhile. While Clay coughs, Allen takes his hand off Clay's neck to rub his back - falling into the mode of looking after others in a means to stop dwelling on those lingering thoughts]

So, is there anything you'd like me to do?

[Uuuugh, this cough is annoying. It makes him curl up a bit and his chest to rattle, his body giving a good effort to get the last of the poison out, but to no avail. He lets out a sigh after its over, then gives a somewhat sheepish smile to Allen. Yeah, his boyfriend is a medic, but it's still kind of embarrassing to look and sound so gross around the person he wants to look his best for.]

Uh... I dunno. Pamper me? [His smile turns a bit teasing - ] Tell me I'm as pretty as the stars even when I'm coughing up gunk?

[Poor Clay. Allen meanwhile thinks nothing of the embarrassment of Clay being seen like this. His own worries aside- being with each other until the end meant spending time when the other was looking less than flattering.]

[Still, Clay's remark gets him to smile a little as he continues to rub Clay's back]

Of course you are. You're as stunning as a sky full of galaxies, even now.

Ha, wow. You're - uh - getting a lot better at that.

[He rubs the back of his neck, flustered and touched. Man, if he wasn't sick, he'd totally kiss Allen silly for that.]

[He gives a very soft amused sound as he bumps his head affectionately against Clay's]

I might have done some reading on my own time.

[Gosh. He knew a while ago that Allen had done some homework on Clay's passions, but hearing about it even now still makes him feel this sort of joy that he can't really describe. He leans his head against Allen's in return, taking some comfort in the fact that his boyfriend's skin is a little cooler against his own.]

You're the best, you know that?

[Clay's skin did feel hot against his. Yep, definitely the sign of a fever. But he'll be alright, he reminded himself. He just needed a day or so of rest]

I wouldn't go that far yet. I still need to use a dictionary handy to get through it all.

[He lets out a soft, amused sound at that]

That's about how I was when I was first getting into astronomy. [Like... when he was a kid, but we all start somewhere, and it's not like Allen's nearly as passionate as he is about it. Speaking of that, though - ] Your medical stuff, too. I've been reading up on first-aid, and sometimes even the basic things fly over my head.

Edited 2016-04-09 05:15 (UTC)

[Yeah, he can guess that's when Clay was a wee little kid and not a grown man. But still, the sentiment is nice]

You have? [that honestly catches him by surprise] But I thought medical things freaked you out.

Oooh yeah, they still do.

[He leans back a bit, if only to face Allen easier like this] But I don't want the thing you're passionate about to freak me out, and it's a good skill to learn anyway. I'm always all for chasing your dreams, and I want to be part of those, too. Just like how you do some reading on astronomy and learn all these things on your own time - I'm learning this, too. [He shrugs a shoulder and smiles a bit, very aware of how much his freaking-out-at-medical-things can be a bit hindering to things] I've been, uh... getting better, I think? A little bit?

You...

[He watches Clay, yet again in awe. He had never expected Clay to learn anything about medicine, since he was very well aware of Clay's feelings about the field. And yet here Clay had been, facing those fears of his, because it was important to Allen and he wanted to be part of Allen's dreams...]

You're incredible, Cowboy.

[Without thinking, just caught up in the moment, he leans over to kiss Clay on the lips]

Edited 2016-04-09 06:15 (UTC)

[Though it's a short lived kiss, as his brain catches up with his emotions with a resounding UHHHH]

[And so...he pulls back suddenly]

Uh-

[...]

Ah...I just broke the rule about mouth-to-mouth, didn't I?

(no subject)

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action; 1/2

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action; 1/2

action;

action; 1/2

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;