driftfleet | ⌖Shot #1

Entry tags:

⌖Shot #1

Who: Percy and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide (part A)
Action: You bet, part A on the Marsiva, part B on the Red Fish!
When: Part A=Sometime before the shuffle; Part B=After being shuffled!

{Part A: Marsiva || video}
[This isn't the first--nor, he suspects, the last--time that he's woken up in a strange place without his weapons, nor is it the first time he's woken up feeling odd and chilled. It's everything else that followed that's a new experience and for a couple days, he's just been on auto-pilot. He's still not home. This isn't Witchy Willows. He may never know if something horrible happened there to bring him to this plane of existence or it was merely another accident. And he knows so many new things that he never knew before but suddenly does now, and that's just blown his mind.

Now that he's on the other side of a bad panic attack, Percival straightens himself out, back very much to the window displaying the vastness of space so he doesn't have to see it, and turns on the communication device.]

What happened to Vax? Where is he?? Where is Escha, Goofy, Ru--everyone?? Where the hell are my guns? [With each question, his voice rises, growing angrier.] Someone is responsible for all this!

{Part B: Red Fish || action/etc}
[With bits of confetti still strewn across his shoulders and stuck in his hair, he takes a moment to gather his bearings and stare at the plate of what he hopes is something edible and not something akin to a Scanlan surprise.]

Hello?

[He waits for a moment, grabs the plate (it doesn't seem inedible to him), and starts to wander around. His expression bears a note of wide-eyed confusion as his eyes fall on everything.]

Hello? Is anyone around?

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[Oh man, poor guy. Most people show up with a similar sort of attitude, but Zack's usually not too fond of being the bearer of bad news, so he tends to avoid the initial "WHAT THE HECK" introductions. The "gun" comment is a bit of a ping, though. He's not a fan of that particular weapon, but he can understand the fear of being unarmed.]

Easy there, buddy. You looking for friends from home?

[He makes himself take a breath, but the anger still stays, roiling in the pit of his stomach.]

It's a bit more complicated than that. Yes, one is from home, but the others were from other worlds other than ours. We've been stuck there for a few months.

Or rather...we were. [Very short pause.] I was, I mean.

[That... is a really confused answer. There's a moment's pause as Zack tries to work his way through the jumble before he gives up.]

Other worlds? So maybe you were in a place that's like this, then? It wasn't a fleet of ships, was it?

[He has so many questions.]

[He did say it was complicated!]

Yes, other worlds. Where we were...it was a quaint and actually rather beautiful city. [Now that he's away from it, he can think of it fonder than before.] My friends and I weren't natives to that world, and were effectively trapped there until they could figure out how to reverse whatever magical mishap that had occurred and send us back home. Vax and I were the only ones from the same world.

[But even that is further complicated by Vax coming from Percy's future but he's not going to go into that just yet; same with different planes. It seems enough to talk about there being other worlds...]

[Yeah he's not always good with complicated.]

Geez, how often does this happen to people in the universe? If it isn't one place, it's another...

...Anyway, if you've got any friends from home or that other place, they'll probably find you. This network's linked to everybody in the fleet. Hopefully you find your buddies, but if not, it's pretty easy to find friends here- most of us try to watch each other's backs.

I'd rather not find out, honestly, or even contemplate it. Not without a significant amount of alcohol.

[He sighs.] Unfortunately, I've gotten rather used to this kind of thing. It's never been quite so disorientating though.

[It is good to hear there is that sense of camaraderie amongst the other displaced people already around, but how many more times must he leave one family to form another?]

Weeell at least we can get you the alcohol? The Iskaulit's got a few bars.

[Zack no don't encourage alcoholism to solve problems]

I think the disorienting part goes away eventually, but 'til then you gotta roll with it. First step is to make some new friends! I'm Zack, by the way.

At least that's one consistent comfort in all of this plane hopping... [He smiles very faintly. Unlike last time, however, he hasn't immediately gotten drunk from information overload. Being absolutely sober has been far crueler.]

Charmed. I'm Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III--but my friends call me Percy. [He says all that easily and without hesitation and waits for the reaction to his full name since there is always one of some kind.]

[He is not going to be disappointed, then.]

Yikes, folks couldn't make up their minds with ya? I'll stick with Percy, if that's okay.

[He's already forgotten like half of it. Percy Fiddlesticks Costco--]

If you need a tour or anything, I could give you a ride.

[Velvet is alerted of the arrival of a new crewmate by the music, and heads out to greet him. And also clean up the confetti because a clean ship is a happy ship.

Though happy may not be the right word because this ship is full of grumps.]

Yeah. Welcome aboard.

[Considering his own mood is only being tempered by the current confusion, he's in good company!]

Thank you. I think. [A short pause.] I gather this is...normal? [He gestures with the dessert plate.] "This" being...well. Everything.

[She sighs. Velvet might be kind of brusque, but she knows being new is a pain.]

Yeah, randomly appearing on new ship is standard. It means you’re part of this crew now. How long were you on the Marsiva?

[Half to himself] Part of a crew again... Certainly not like that fishing boat.

[He snaps out of his thoughts, his brow furrowing.] I think it was a few days. I'm not exactly used to the passage of time here. I don't know if it's two in the afternoon or two in the morning, not without the aid of a rising and setting sun.

[She can't help but catch the first part.]

Well, we could go fishing if you want to, but it depends on the planet we're on.

[Then she focuses on the answer to her question.]

Yeah, it is pretty disorienting. You've been around long enough to know the basics of what's going on, though?

[Internally, he's grateful that that wasn't the part she chose to focus on.] I suppose... If we need to for supplies. [Planet though...?]

I--I've gleaned bits here and there, but it has taken me some time to sort out all this... [he trails off, trying to find the right word amongst all the questions he has bouncing around his head]...new knowledge.

Let me ask, what do you think are the most important things to know? Things I wouldn't know upon waking here.

[ Dude, your anger is 10000% understandable. Eithan wishes he had some better answers, but in lieu of that, he can at least try offering some help. ]

Yeah... Atroma's responsible for all this. But I can elaborate on that in a little bit - you, uh, just got here, huh? [ He's sympathetic, red eyes narrowed in shared anger. Ugh, he hates Atroma! ... He takes a deep breath. ] I... guess welcome to the Fleet, man.

[Atroma, Fleet... Things to research later now that he's getting his head back on, so to speak.]

If...I didn't have my watch, I would be unsure how long I've been here. [He clutches the blackened metal of the pocket watch Vax gave him for Winter's Crest.] I think I've been here a couple days. I've seen no one else. Just that damned night sky outside this window at all hours of the day as well as a strange celestial body that seems far too big for a moon, but what do I know of moons? They're only the size of my thumb and pinky knuckles back home, and the one where I was before now was a cross between the two back home.

[He sighs, letting out a long breath.] This is all still a bit much, but I do appreciate the welcome. I don't suppose any of those names rang any bells...?

[ Ah, not used to space, then... That definitely makes things worse. He remembers his own first few days, a year and a half ago. Geez... ]

I know it's a lot. And we've all been in the position you're in now. For what it's worth. I know it sucks. I don't mind answerin' questions though. Or just... talkin' about whatever you wanna know that I can actually help with.

[ He sighs, too, and shakes his head. ] Didn't recognize any of those names. Sorry. They're probably not here.

Thank you. [Percy falls silent for a moment, nodding to himself.] Perhaps...they were able to go home. Yes, yes that's what I can hope for them. [Even if for Vax...no, he won't let his thoughts go down that road. Not until he can be in private.]

If I may? How...long have you been here? How many others are there?

[ "Able to go home," "where I was before now"... ] You were stuck somewhere else weird before gettin' stuck here, huh? That's not what happened to me, but you're not the first person I've heard say somethin' like that. For what it's worth.

[ Probably not much. womp womp. But he can hope it helps even a little to know that he's not completely crazy?? ]

A year and a few months. [ He sighs again, crosses his arms. ] Feels like longer, so much has happened... And I think there are about a hundred of us? From all kinds of different worlds. And some have been here longer than me.

Well. That's all...reassuring. [He says, not feeling reassured. Absently, his hand begins to rub the back of his neck, his palm nudging the small bump behind his ear as he does it.] And did everyone happen to wake up with a vast amount of knowledge they didn't have before?

Ugh. Yeah. That's the augment.

[ He pushes a hand through his hair, fingers subconsciously lingering over his own for a second. ]

It's basically feedin' you just enough info to know how to work the basic stuff. Then, dependin' on what kind of augment it is and what job you're supposed to be doin' when you get to your actual ship, you'll know more about one area or another.

Just... don't try diggin' it out. I know it's temptin'. Trust me, I'd rip mine right the hell out if I could. But... it's been tried. And let's just say it's a bad idea.

[A pause.] As someone who's had plenty of bad ideas, you're got me curious. What would happen?

[ Oh no... Eithan visibly winces. ]

You, uh... you really wanna know?

[ He kinda suspects the answer is yes, so you can absolutely tell he's already poking through his device to find something, but he's not sharing without an absolute affirmative. fjsdkl ]

[Curious reaction... Well, why stop there?]

Would you rather I found out myself? I am quite bored here and am feeling a bit reckless.

As a fellow lover of bad ideas, still gotta talk you down from this one. Check it out, if you're so bored.

[ He sends a link - a recording of someone attempting to remove the thing, and how fuck-awful sideways that went: bleeding out, mental fuckery induced by the augment as a defense mechanism... it is Not. At. All. Pretty. And if Eithan knew what content warnings were, he'd be attaching them, for sure. Oh well. ]

Edited 2018-03-11 03:50 (UTC)

Just a moment.

[Somehow, he does figure out how to open it and watches it. When his attention returns to Eithan, he doesn't exactly seemed fazed. Mildly disturbed, but probably not as much as one should be.]

Well...that was...something. Is that the only instance or have others tried with similar lacks of success?

[ Oh good! He's one of the more seen-it-all-and-is-maybe-kinda-fucked-up-too sort of people. Noted. Eithan doesn't have to pull punches. ... That is both a good thing and a sad thing, admittedly. ]

Others have tried. Just either didn't make the network, or I haven't personally seen it so I don't have it on hand to send you. But, yeah, no one's managed.

I see. [Shame... He wonders what would happen if someone tried to remove it from the corpse of someone who also had one, but that curiosity will have to be fulfilled at a later time.]

My apologies. Here we are discussing such...things and we haven't yet exchanged pleasantries. My name is Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III.

[ I mean, that's a long name - longer than he's heard in a long time - but the only real reaction he has is just an amused smile.

And in totally subconscious reflex, once introductions start, his posture straightens a little and he gives a respectful nod. ]

Nice to meet you, Percival. Name's Eithan Paine. I'm on the SS Blue Fish, if you ever need anything. Or just wanna talk, or somethin'.

[It's not often he sees a reaction that isn't one comprised of a slow blinking processing nod at what he just said, and he appreciates that. He wonders if a name like his isn't the first of its kind that he's heard.]

Thank you, Eithan. And please, call me Percy. All my friends do.

Percy it is. [ He smiles. ]

So where were you before this? If you don't mind talkin' about it, I mean. I've heard other people talkin' about gettin' stuck in places other than their own worlds before endin' up here.

[ Unfortunately Eizen doesn't exactly greet the new arrival, per say, considering that some people have difficulty seeing and hearing him but he makes his way over regardless. Upon finding the new guy wandering around wide-eyed and confused he laughs, softly, before pulling out his device.

In place of a face to face greeting, Eizen's voice comes to Percy's own device instead. ]

Aye, a few of us are around.

[Percy's turned away to look at something else when he hears that. Already in a state of confusion, he freezes and takes a split-second to note that the voice has come from both the device and from somewhere behind him.]

A-Are you now? [Instinctively, his hand moves to rest upon where Animus should have been but upon remembering that it's gone, he reaches for the communication device instead. Things like this only remind him of how naked he is without his weapons from home.] Were you, perhaps, testing to see if I know how to use this? Thank you, but I've learned the basics about it.

[ooc perception check: Nat 14+9 in perception = 23!]

[ Even Eizen is taken aback when the newcomer actually addresses him, eyes going wide as he blinks a few times. He can see him? Huh. He shifts his weight, tapping his device off, and pushing himself off the wall. ]

Not exactly. [ How does he explain this? Does he even bother to? ] I didn't expect you to be able to see me.

[That...seems like a strange comment]

Is...that something that sometimes happens to people here? Not being visible somehow?

...Is Goofy genuinely someone's name?

[Because this is the important part to focus on, obviously. ]

[Oddly enough, the question is so specific and random that Percy's angry train of thought derails a bit.]

I--Yes. Yes it is. If it helps, he wasn't human. Bipedal, yes, but not human. [And now that he thinks of it, he doesn't think he ever got Goofy's last name...]

[ Congrats, Crowley, you did a thing.]

Well, not-human and bipedal counts for a good chunk of the Fleet. Could you be a bit more specific?

Fair. [He looks away, the sounds of rummaging through papers can be heard. Then he holds up a decent and pretty accurate sketch he made of Goofy.]

Certainly not the first non-human biped I've met, but certainly unique. Is that specific enough?

Um...wow. No. I've definitely never seen anyone like that here in the Fleet.

No one arrives here with their weapons intact. If you need guns, I can get you hooked up.

[Between herself, Max, and Tyrion, they could keep the fleet pretty well stocked.] What kind of world were you coming from?

I will have to take you up on that offer, thank you. [Especially since he wants to examine them with his own hands, not some implanted memory.]

Well...oh where to start... [He lets out a breath as he sorts his thoughts, then begins.] In my home plane of existence, I'm part of a group called Vox Machina, and we've saved the world from numerous threats like ancient dragons, demons, vampires, necromancers, and a race of underground...well, brain suckers is probably the most appropriate description for them. We've fought creatures that would give the people of the last city I was in nightmares for the rest of their sheltered, protected lives.

[A slight pause.] Yourself?

[She's already mentally running through her current stock to see if there's any firearm she could do without, but when they get down to it she could send him to Tyrion for custom pieces, and of course have Max give him a sniff for his opinion.]

My world was a broken, dying wasteland. My friends and I overthrew a despot. Nothing quite so ... fantastic.

[Ah yes, that's an understandable amount of anger.]

For what it's worth, we occasionally receive items from home and from what I understand that has included weapons in the past.

Not that it excuses anything.

Edited (POSTED BEFORE I MEANT TO) 2018-03-08 17:58 (UTC)

[His eyes go slightly wide.] So they're not truly lost? [He lets out a breath.] That...that is good news.

[Because it isn't just guns that he's missing.]

It may not excuse it, but it does bring some modicum of comfort. You have my thanks.

[Sayid nods at Percy's words of gratitude. It's really the least he can do.]

It may take a while, but our hosts are occasionally obliging.

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⌖Shot #1

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