heron october mingle

[rednecking]

Who: The Heron crew & visitors!
Broadcast: n/a
Action: The Heron
When: Month of October

[so . . . Some Stuff happened last month, didn't it. But it's a new month now! Whatcha up to, Heron?]

Comments

[rednecking]

See, you're takin' it literally. Guess callin' an artist Picasso ain't a common thing for ya, huh.

[both eyebrows shoot up] I kinda know what that is. Might've read about it once. Name's Sawyer.

[pain_train]

Oh. Sorry. I... sometimes have a hard time understanding people when they don't say exactly what they mean. It's because my brain is full of holes.

Nice to meet you Sawyer! Oh, right, you're the other security person on the ship. That's great.

[rednecking]

It's fine. Would it sound weird if I say I'm used to people not understandin' half of what I say? [wait a minute] Your brain's full of holes?

That I am. The more the merrier, right?

[pain_train]

I... guess not? People don't get a lot of what I say either, so maybe that's just normal. [Erm.] Like... I've had a lot of head injuries? And then um... I mean, I don't really remember this, but people I trust told me I got my memories wiped a shitload of times and that kind of fucked things up in my head too.

Means we can be an effective team when something needs to get its head kicked in.

[rednecking]

Huh. [both eyebrows shoot up in surprise at how forthcoming she is, but that's as much surprise as he has, honestly. He's seen some shit, heard some shit - and memories getting wiped hits close to home] Had my memories wiped once. Dunno if it's done anythin' like that to me, though.

[he offers her a brief salute] Yes ma'am. Though I prefer punchin' to kickin'. can't get my leg up that high.

[pain_train]

If it's just the once you're probably okay? Like if you haven't noticed short-term memory problems or anything. I think it gets more fucked up if it's like a bunch of times and they do a lot of recode grafts because you just end up with all these... loose fragments that don't mean anything.

Well, you gotta work how you can. But I can help you with some stretches...

[rednecking]

I bet it does. [what in the world is a recode graft and does he even want to know] Only had it done the once, so I'm probably good. Who knows, I'm gettin' older and memory loss kinda comes along with that.

[a snort] I was jokin' again. . . . mostly.

[pain_train]

Does it? Wow, that really sucks. Though you're not even that old, are you? [He doesn't look old.]

Oh. Okay!

[rednecking]

I'm forty. Dependin' on who you ask, that's practically ancient. [someone has spent a lot of time around kids]

I'll try to tone done the jokes for ya.

[pain_train]

Oh, that's really young. I think... um. I'm forty-five? That's what my medical record says. [She just only remembers about a quarter of that with any clarity, so...]

Um. It's okay. I just don't get stuff sometimes, but it doesn't bother me. So don't worry about it!

[rednecking]

Good to know I ain't the only one 'round here. [y'know, adult. Physically, anyway. Mentally is still left to be desired at times]

Well if I ever say somethin' you don't get, just ask. I'm used to explainin' it.

[pain_train]

45 is like barely middle-aged anyway! [That sure makes two of you.]

Okay, I'll definitely ask. That's nice of you. [She's been asking less and less at times just because it gets awkward, so total permission is awesome.]

[rednecking]

Ain't there a saying about age being just a number? I sure as hell don't feel my age. [nope, he feels much older]

Don't mention it. Sometimes I forget not everyone's from Earth or - man, I ain't even sure what year it is back home, but you get what I mean.

[pain_train]

Something like that. It's all... relative. Like you're more the sum of experiences and that doesn't directly um... what's the word. Correlate? With age. I think that's it.

[And if a lot of your experiences have been taken from you, well...]

Oh yeah, definitely not. Like... I only met people from Earth when the Immune started showing up in my city. It's gotta be cool to be from Earth though!

[rednecking]

Correlate sounds like the right word. It's all fancy and mathmatic-y. [he knows it's the right word, he's just being himself]

. . . Immune? Do I wanna ask? [he knows better, after all] I dunno about that, my Earth ain't all that great. Lots of whacky shit normal folk don't ever find out about.

[pain_train]

Yeah, my friend Delta talked like that all the time. He was super good at math. [She misses Delta.]

Um, they were people from like other worlds and times that somehow got brought to the city? It was weird and complicated. But they were immune to the dysthrophe and we weren't. They weren't happy to be there, though.

What kind of wacky shit?

[rednecking]

Back home I ended up surrounded by nerds. Didn't do the math talk so much, but other stuff that sounded like that got tossed around every now and then.

[there's a distinct change in his interest - she had his full attention before, of course, but now it's a little different - more business-like] You came from a world like this one? Where other people would end up there and shit?

Polar bears on exotic islands, for one. Crazy conspiracies. Stuff I can't even explain cuz it sounds so ridiculous.

[pain_train]

Yeah, kind of? I guess so. Huh. But I mean... it was a little different cause people here can do some crazy shit, right? No one could where I'm from. Like they'd say they could shoot lightning bolts out of their ass back home, but no one could in my city.

Well I mean... conspiracies aren't crazy if they're true, though.

[rednecking]

Yeah? Were they blocked from doin' it, or they didn't remember how? [...] This ain't my first rodeo, but the place I went to, they didn't remember how to do it. They had to fight and earn back that memory.

Good point. Then let's say crazy shit that sounds like a conspiracy.

[pain_train]

I think they were blocked? Cause like everyone knew what they should be able to do and stuff, they just... couldn't.

Huh. That sounds like what Erik and Charles talked about kind of. [Saying this more to herself, though she's not really thinking that Sawyer probably didn't know those friends of hers] Losing your memories is scary.

[rednecking]

That sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. Think even after people got their stuff back they were limited, too. Never asked 'bout it much, though.

—Charles? [well, that name sure rings a bell. But he hasn't heard it in a while, now] English guy on wheels?

[pain_train]

Guess different shitty places work their shit in different shitty ways.

[She brightens--she misses Charles, but it feels good to have other people around who still remember him. Makes it all seem more real for someone who's always doubting her own thoughts.] Yeah, that's him! He was my friend.

[rednecking]

That don't surprise me at all. It's all a bunch of shit.

[they're both so eloquent.

Her friend? How long ago was he here? And was that asshole boyfriend of his with him, too? What the hell, he missed a mini-reunion] We were on the same team back in Kyriakos.

[...] He doin' all right?

[pain_train]

[Her smile falters. She misses Charles, so much it hurts. And Erik too. She'd finally stopped feeling like he hated her.] I mean... he was okay when I last saw him. But he's been gone for a while I guess.

[rednecking]

That's good, I guess. [...] Figures he goes and leaves before I get here. He was on his way out when I popped up in Kyriakos, too.

[pain_train]

Bad timing, I guess. He was... really great. Too bad you didn't get to know him. [Some day she'll stop feeling sad. Not today, though.]

[rednecking]

I got to know him all right when he was there. Who knows, maybe he'll roll on in again. [he doesn't believe that, but she seems down, so why not try to put a positive spin]

[pain_train]

I really hope so! I mean, unless he went to a nicer place. But I even worry about him if he went home, because... I don't know. It sounded like he didn't really have anyone to tell him not to be a shithead and that it's okay to have feelings and take care of yourself.

[rednecking]

[he can't help but snort] Why ain't I surprised he's shit at that? I'm sure he's got someone.

[someone not Erik, but details

(someone doesn't forget biases)]

[pain_train]

I hope you're right. But like... it took me and Winter and Hank to try to wrangle him here and he didn't have his whole school expecting him to be perfect. Ugh.

[rednecking]

Hank? That tall kid from his world? [he has no idea for sure, it ain't like he ever bothered to talk to him because playercest is a bitch] If he's got any sense to him he kept it up back there.

[pain_train]

Yeah, that's him. But Hank's just one guy, and he's got his own shit to deal with so... I worry about him too. Though not as much as I worry about Charles.

Hank didn't have nearly as much of a hurfdurf problem as Charles.

[rednecking]

I'll take your word for it. Who knows? Maybe everythin' you did had an effect. Charles didn't seem the type not to take that kinda stuff to heart.

[pain_train]

I really hope so. Cause like, what the fuck else can you do?

[rednecking]

I'm sure it'll work out fine. I wouldn't worry too much.

[pain_train]

I try not to most of the time. Worrying gives you wrinkles anyway.