driftfleet | can you spot the drama queen

Entry tags:

can you spot the drama queen

Who: Mattias Larnaca
Broadcast: video; fleet-wide
Action: marsiva so NO ONE
When: 2/17

I don't understand. [The screen is black, the voice is ragged, raw. Wet with sobs that gasp and hiccup out of him. The comm scrapes against the floor of the ship and a glimpse of space can be seen ] I-it's dark. She-[He chokes, splutters, coughs.]-She's gone. Is this... [A deep, bedraggled breath. The screen brightens, adjusting to the color of fluorescent lights and a young man's weary face, wet with tears. Despite his appearance, he's smiling. The kind of smile seen at births, marriages, a baby's first step. He's overcome with emotion, excited and battling it, fighting disbelief in order to confirm that this, any of this is real.]

This is a communication system. I don't-[He swipes a hand across his face, wiping his eyes clear.]-I don't know how I know that but... [muttering:]... it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Whoever's out there-[He chokes again, this time laughing.]-Goddess. I really am. Above the clouds. In her domain. I never-[He swallows, trying to contain his excitement again.]-I never thought this would happen. I could never even imagine it. Not like this. Not-Goddess.

[Falling back to one hand he sighs, pulling a hand through his tired hair, loose waves spilling between his fingertips. After a few minutes, he seems to remember that he's broadcasting. Eyes glimmering with elation, he leans forward, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.]

Please. Anyone. Tell me. [He turns the comm quickly and presses it against the glass. The screen fills with the void of space, stars glittering in their myriad.] Has night finally come?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah... Bizarre, isn't it?

[he continues on as if nothing weird happened. totally didn't say anything creepy.]

Let's start with the basics. Will you tell me a little of your Goddess? I'm afraid I'm not familiar.

Ah, my goddess. Yes. [It's strange that this guy doesn't know but, well. At least he asked him politely.] Nocta is the goddess of night and all that lives beneath it, though she was exiled years ago by her brother, Orphoros, the god of the sun. Supposedly, she usurped his seat of power while he was absent, but that's about as believable as water being breathable. [He laughs, but it's humorless.] She was weakened when she was exiled, torn in two and sent to the surface of the world, trapped in the desert. No one knew where to find her and as such night has been lost for centuries. Only the oldest records hold accounts of it.

But I-[He takes in a deep breath.]-I found her. I, uh, incubated her, let's say. And now... [He leans back against the glass, pushing his hair back.] Three moons. I never thought she'd get that strong.

Interesting...

[he takes a moment to process all of that, really commit it to memory... this man seems very generous with his words, but he's already doubting he'll take to scientific truth very well. their mindsets are very different... but, ah, a little thought sticks out to him in particular.]

You really love her, don't you?

[The question startles him, embarrasses him. He blushes again, if lightly, looking down to his hands.]

Not like that. The way it normally is. It's not-it's not romantic. That would be... improper. But yes, I suppose I do love her in a certain way. I've lived my life for her, after all.

No, that's good. I understand. Serving out of love is far better than serving out of...

[there's an odd pause on his end, where he puts his words to work on his own life and realizes he has very recently failed to follow them... But he picks up right where he'd left off a moment later.]

...Obligation. So, how's your understanding of outer space?

[He hesitates, gnawing on his lip.] It's strange. Somehow, I know of it. I have the information. But... I'm not sure I have a good understanding.

Is it true there's more than one world? Just how can that be?

[good, good. that's more then he would have asked for.]

There's not an easy way to explain, but... Ah, think of it this way.

[leaning back, gesturing to help illustrate--]

The sky that you see, on your world... That goes on forever. A bird could fly upwards until the day it dies, and never once reach the end of it. The ship you're in now can fly higher, but we are still nowhere near the edge of the sky.

Meanwhile, your world is finite. You know how buildings look smaller when you're far away from them? If you get far enough from your world, it would look like a little round sphere hanging in the night sky, just like the moon looks. Hundreds of these exist in this space, along with other things...

I couldn't say just how these worlds all exist--as that's an unsolved mystery. Could be Gods, could be space particles and basic physics. Could be something else. It's hard to prove anything, this far out.

[Mattias listens intently, nodding in the spare intervals. He leans forward as Robin leans back, hovering between excitement and confusion. New facts clashing against old beliefs.]

It makes sense. [He rubs at his chin before letting the hand drop.] But I never imagined... To think there were other places... Other moons.

[Does that mean a hundred Noctas? Or just the one? Just how far did the goddess' territory expand? It's a good thing Mattias is sitting. His legs feel too weak to support him. It takes him a few moments to realize he's holding his head in his hands.] This is all so much.

How's this for a trip? Once you get transferred to a smaller ship, you can visit the surface of those moons. Walk around. There are whole cities on them.

[maybe Robin just wants to watch his mind be blown. maybe that's what he's going for.]

[Mission succeeded. Mattias' expression falls, caught between awe and disbelief. Breath escapes him and his shoulders slump, as if, with that little fact, he was reverted to an infant, wholly new to the world.

In a way, he was.] Whole cities...

[He repeats it, stunned. Trying to imagine it. So stuck had he been in his own world that the sheer thought of more than two cities seemed... breathtaking.] Amazing. [There's a few more minutes of stunned silence before he snaps to, scrambling forward eagerly.] And they're not forbidden? We're allowed on them?

[it's exactly what he wanted. he likes this guy. he likes his vivid reactions to things. he's filled with a kind of excitement that Robin knows well--he's admittedly getting excited just to be sharing it. his smile splits into a wide grin.]

We are! Well--one of the three has very strict rules about not looking too dressy or unusual while you're there, but the worst they'll do is throw you in jail for a while. No executions or ritual sacrifices or anything.

That's good. I've had enough of religious sacrifices. [He laughs but it's nervous. He's not joking.] What are the other two like? Have you been?

[he'll just. file that nervous laugh away for later.]

I have, to all three... One of them is very laid-back, absolutely no violence allowed. The third moon has a very knowledge-oriented culture. I think you'd like it there. As long as you don't drink or say anything too stupid, you'll be welcome among them.

[His nerd senses are tingling.] Knowledge, you said? Then what does it have? A library? [Or-] Librariries? [The thought excites him. But, ah. He pauses to think.] Or, no. No. The tomes are foreign, there's no telling if I could read them.

[He looks up again.] Are the people accepting? Or, no, rather-would they answer? If I asked them questions? Do you know?

[no, no. he starts counting responses off on his fingers.]

One, it's libraries, two, all of the places we've been so far seem to share a common language that we can understand, three, the people are kind of... [his counting turns into a wibbly-wobbly so-so gestures.] Eh, depends on who you talk to, how you ask. They're a bit stuck-up, on the whole.

[Libraries. Goddess save him.]

How disappointing. [He sighs, a bit dreamily.] Then the books will do. I've always preferred them, anyway. It's convenient that we can understand it. I wonder why. [Something to research. The mere thought sends a shiver up his spine. He smiles.] It'll be nice to return to something calmer. I've missed the smell of books.

[what a cutie... his expression doesn't really change, even though he's moving on.]

I can answer the "why", I think, but it means I'll have to give you some scary news.

"Scary"? Why? What makes it so bad?

It's invasive. Not fun to think about in too much detail.

[so, very calmy:]

But you should know--you'll find a bump on your neck, just under your skull. This is called an "augment". Do not try to remove it. It's the reason you know so much about space and this communication device. It's also very likely the reason you and I can understand each other, since I highly doubt we'd be speaking the same language otherwise.

[His fingers rise and his eyes go wide, rounding completely when he feels the bump.] An augment.

[Over and over he runs his fingers over the bump, expression rising rather than falling.] Are you sure I can't remove it? [He leans back, fingers lingering over the lump.] I'd love to see how it works. I know of a similar system but it wasn't nearly so advanced. Are there any side effects?

Mostly sure. No one's been successful. The one instance I've seen of someone trying to forcibly remove it ended with them curled up and whimpering on the ground--and they've normally got a very impressive fortitude.

Side effects haven't been noted until recently... [he taps his foot playfully while he talks, even though it's not in the frame. he can hear it.] It sounds like we passed through some kind of a field that interfered with whatever they do. They've been causing... Behavioral oddities in some people? The most obvious cases have been rapidly spiking and dropping energy levels.

[AND UNUSUALLY GOOD MOODS but he's not going to mention his own problems, that would be silly. he is, funnily enough, in too good a mood.]

What's the system you know of? I'm surprised, this is usually a very new concept to people.

["Very impressive fortitude". That sounds like a challenge. He survived two Joinings, how much worse could this be? All he'll need is to find a scalpel.]

It's a controversial practice due to problems similar to what you've said. Side effects. A person's personality changing. Energy levels fluctuating. The method can also be addicting. [Not unlike the Decay. He forces that thought down.] But it has its benefits. Some can cure diseases, end starvation. There are other uses too-enhanced strength, appearance enhancement but those... [He frowns, voice trailing off.] You'll have to forgive me, the culture I come from disapproved of the practice and while I don't agree with the reason there are... parts I find discomforting.

[Personal reasons. He shifts, adjusting himself.] You see, where I'm from we consume demons. Minor ones. They feed off different things, be it conceptual or physical. So, for example, to fix starvation, one would eat a demon that feeds off hunger. The problem comes from their growth. The more they eat, the more they grow. The more they grow, the more they want to eat. The personality fluctuations come when a demon's grown too large. They start to feed on one's sense of being.

[He shrugs slightly.] And, they're rare. That makes them expensive. I find it too... unwieldy.

[he looks at the screen for a little bit... thinking... very seriously, perhaps, since his smile fades and he presses his fingers to his mouth.]

That sounds like a terrible idea.

As I said, it's controversial. My... home [he says it reluctantly, with lingering distaste.] marks it illegal. As heresy. But, still. Other places see its benefits. It's convenient, I suppose, when it's the only way to contain a plague.

Hm...

[that's fine guys just stick a ghost in your body and see what happens. what could go wrong. he's got very strong opinions about that kind of thing, but it's not like his world hasn't done its own fair share of questionable, morally grey things. he wonders what their "demons" are like. he wonders what other monsters they have. he wonders about those "augments", hm, and what happens to a person if their demon grows far beyond what it should.

putting that behind questions about his Gods, the way he says "home" with so little joy, the part where he was stabbed... he finds himself smiling again, sitting up in his chair.]

Tega, I'm going to be talking with you until early morning, at this rate.

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