(no subject)

[unbridles]

Who: John Laurens
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit, specifically Space Bar
When: Right the heck now.



[John can be found, as usual, in the place where alcohol is served. He's all about that. Today he's also all about something else -- specifically, drawing. He picked up a notebook planetside, and he's idly doodling things from home. Some pages are torn out and sitting beside him -- a Southern plantation house, a picture of a young dark-haired man in a Continental army uniform, flowers, turtles, all sorts of things. He looks a little wistful as he picks up the nearby drink and takes a sip.]

Yo. So maybe it's cause I'm feelin' a little homesick, an' I figured some of y'all might be too. If anyone's around, come an' tell me about your homes! Or do it here, too, I ain't all that picky. What you miss, who you miss, all that. I feel like I should get t' know more people.

[There's a beat.] Oh yeah, an' since I didn't really introduce myself when I first got here--name's John Laurens, lately of South Carolina. Pleased to meet all of ya.

Comments

voice;

[monolike]

Hi John! Nice to meet you, I'm Sorey.

Is South Carolina the name of your country?

[unbridles]

Nah, my country is the United States of America. [If he sounds a little proud of that -- well, independence is still a fairly recent occurrence for him. He has good reason.] South Carolina's one'a the states in it, though. Where're you from?

[monolike]

[Well that sounds cool, like a club or something! But with countries. Or states, rather.] I'm from a little mountain village called Elysia that's not really even part of the kingdom, let alone a whole union of kingdoms.

[unbridles]

Never heard of it. But I haven't heard of a lotta things around here, so. [A little shrug, though he's still smiling.] The thing about my country is -- we ain't a kingdom. At least, not anymore. Fought a war for our independence an' everything, though it's mostly over now.

[monolike]

Oh! You wanted to become your own nation! [Bro that is such huge amazing history, and guess what this kid loves] That's amazing, what happened? Why did you want to be independent?

video;

[cloakand_danger]

Right now, I think what I miss more than anything is wide-open skies. Outdoors on an asteroid just isn't the same; I hope the next place we stop has its own atmosphere.

video;

[unbridles]

....Yeah. I miss trees. My pops' house was just outside'a Charleston, there were tons of trees.

video;

[cloakand_danger]

That must have been nice. There weren't many trees in the part of the city where I grew up - it wasn't until I joined the army that I was able to get out and see more of the world. ...I remember the first time we camped out in the forest, I don't think I'd ever seen so many different kinds of life in one place.

video;

[unbridles]

You were in the army too? I mean, I didn't see a whole lot 'til I went to study in England, but I used to walk in the woods all the time back home.

action;

[ahappylie]

[It isn't often that Okita goes to the bars, but...well. He's lost a lot of people recently - people on his crew and those on other ships. He doesn't like to drink, but he does like to be near people and here he is today. He's drinking tea at the bar when he hears the call come through the network.

Looking around, he finds the person who was just making the announcement and slides on over, taking a bit of a long way around the bar until he can come up behind John and look at his pictures.]

You're very good. Are those of your home?

[unbridles]

[John looks up and gives him a slight grin and a nod.] Yeah. Thanks, but it's nothin' much really. [He's being modest. They are pretty good, especially the ones of certain plants and animals. They look like they might belong in an old botany book.]

Well, the picture of the house is my home, at least. The others're just. Doodles, mostly.

[ahappylie]

[Dang, son, you were rich.]

Oh, then these ships must be a large step down for you in terms of size and space.

[He steps a little closer and starts really admiring the man's handiwork. The drawings are quite lifelike, and obviously done with great care.]

If these are your doodles, I wonder what your paintings will look like. Are you an artist in your country of "South Carolina?"

[unbridles]

[He sure was. Or his dad was. Whatever.]

Eh. It's not much worse than lodgings durin' the war, but it's definitely different.

[He laughs a little, and shrugs.] Nah. I studied law, an' I'm currently a lieutenant colonel in the army. I just like drawing.

action.

[briste]

[ he's been trying to spend a little more time off the bishop lately, though that tends to mean coming to the iskaulit and wandering around, or simply sitting at the space bar and having the beer he owed hunter but never managed to get to him before hunter got sent back home.

maybe hunter was right. maybe offending everyone was the way to get back home. seemed to work for him! but anyway.

he hears the broadcast as he approaches the space bar, quickly realizing that the voice isn't just coming from the device but in front of him as well. so instead of replying to the broadcast he slips the device back into his pocket and instead orders himself a beer and takes a seat near the man with the notebook. a shipmate who he never really did take the time to get to know.

he's been trying to change that too, his not knowing much (if anything) about the people he actually technically lives with.

simmons would be proud ] I just saw your broadcast but realized you were just right over here so I figured I'd come over. It was John Laurens you said? [ he points to himself ] Hi, um, I'm Leopold Fitz. Just Fitz is fine though. Originally from Scotland [ because the accent isn't a dead giveaway ] though I moved to the United States some years back. Been there ever since. Until now, I guess.

action.

[unbridles]

[It's okay, John's kept to himself a bit lately too. He gives Fitz a grin, though, and immediately perks up when he hears where he's from. Yes, tell him more of his future country, please.] Are ya? Where do you live? Pleased to meetcha, sorry, I just like hearin' about -- how we turned out. [Because the waistcoat and breeches didn't give you away enough, John.]

[briste]

Where? I guess technically there's no one place in particular. [ though he did spend plenty of time at the academy, but as for now? ] I live on a plane that spends most of the time in the air above the country. [ and others ]

Though we have touched down in various States. For work, mostly. [ he spins his drink around in front of himself and there's a small smile there ] Never would have gotten the opportunity to do the work I do if I'd just stayed at home with my mother. Moving to the States gave me a lot of good things.

[unbridles]

...So kinda like this place, I guess? Aside from not bein' in space. [That's weird. But okay, bro.]

What kinda work do you do, livin' on a plane?

action }

[supertardiness]

[Can Barry get drunk on space booze? That is the question.

So far it seems to be up in the air, but he's - slowly - taking the time to try it and hoping he doesn't make a fool of himself.]

I'm from America too. But more the Missouri area than the East Coast.

[He doesn't have any superhero friends on the East Coast, he should fix that.]

action

[unbridles]

[Well, John can, but he's a normal human, so. It doesn't taste the same, but it still works.]

Missouri. [He squints thoughtfully.] Yeah, I think that's French territory for me still. If I'm rememberin' correctly. [But he'll raise a glass to a fellow American, in any case, and does just that with a grin.] Pleased to meetcha.

[supertardiness]

Really.

[He can't help the curious look as he raises his glass in return. He knew Atroma grabbed people from different universes, but he didn't realize that different points in time are there as well.]

So wait ... are you ... Revolutionary War John Laurens? That's not just a funny naming coincidence?

[unbridles]

[He looks a little amused, taking a sip of his drink.] Didn't know I was all that famous, but yeah. That's me. [It's still a little weird to be recognized. He's pretty sure he doesn't deserve it, at least, though recognition from other military guys it at least understandable.]

video

[bi_otic]

Hi John. Pleased to meet you too. I'm Kaidan Alenko, late of Vancouver. Though, at this point, I'd say I miss Earth in general. And my folks.

[His smile is bittersweet as he mentions the last]

[unbridles]

Yeah. I ain't seen even a tree in months, it's real strange when I came here from a riverbank. [He looks a little thoughtful, taking a sip of his drink.]
Vancouver? Where's that?

[bi_otic]

[Kaidan can't help but be mildly confused that the name doesn't register]

Uh...Canada. Your friendly neighbors to the north, you know...

[unbridles]

[After his time, sorry Kaidan.] ....I mean, I dunno if I'd call 'em friendly, but I'm a little biased. Never been to Canada, though, a couple of my good friends went up that way.