driftfleet | Sponsor Drop!

[An unexpected video feed opens on Furiosa enjoying a quiet meal. Once she's aware of the malfunctioning device streaming her meat and potatoes, she turns it off. The black screen lasts a couple moments, before flipping on again. Furiosa huffs as she turns it off again. It almost immediately flips back on.

She looks at it for a long moment, and then lets out a defeated sigh and finishes her mouthful.]

Fine. Fine. [She turns the view slightly and there's a big metal box on the table . Sponsor Drop!] I guess this is what you want to see.

[She's talking more to the device itself and Atroma, but looks like you're part of the audience now. She pops the top and pulls out a note.]

Furiosa,

Congratulations on your third anniversary! I hope you enjoy the contents, I made them all by myself from natural ... uh, no I'm not saying that word outloud. Those letters don't go well together. Here's to many more years, you're my favorite!

Signed,

Daxa, age 105

p.s. sorry about your friend, okay I don't need to read the rest of that.

[She sets the letter aside. She's not excited about sponsor drops (not since she got a giant useless box of makeup and hair gels a while back), but the note was a nice touch.

She's not expecting much, but as she looks into the box there's a shift to subtle surprise on her face. She pulls out a sweater; something noticeably hand-made with skill and love. It also has an extra sleeve, apparently someone was confused about human anatomy, and the yarn looks more scratchy than cozy, but she seems pleased by it. Rooting through the box, there's a few more flashes of color and fiber.][Furiosa pulls on one of the sweaters, which as much work went into it is ill-fitting and lumpy, and looks at the feed.]

Happy anniversary to me, I guess.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Third anniversary? Geez. Shiro knows there are some people who have been here for an old time, but it's still quite a thing to hear it put in numbers like that. So he's suspicious of the box like she is, but then... aw. He offers a little smile.]

At least you got something nice and useful? Daxa seems nicer than Atroma.

True. Atroma once gave me a box of makeup and hair-care products. [Says the woman who's idea of painting her face is wiping grease on her forehead, and haircare is shorn on a semi-regular basis.]

It's ... almost hard to think I've been here that long.

They probably thought they were being funny. [Which is a big irony coming from Mr Morbid Sense of Humor over here, but even he doesn't approve of how Atroma thinks. It's just cheap tactics for the sake of ratings.

A nod, eyes and tone full of understanding.] Space makes it extremely easy to lose track of time - here, it gets worse when we're sent home or put to sleep for days at the time, even a whole month.

That's happened to you, you've been sent home?

[He nods.] Me and my team, all together, although one of them fell asleep instead of leaving the ship. We spent months back home, I'd say even a year, but here it was only a week.

[She hmms thoughtfully.]

Time doesn't really make much sense here.

Looks itchy.

[ And, well, the arm thing, but blah blah stating the obvious. ]

You really been here three years?

It's ... not the most comfortable. [Itchy, yes. But then she's not one to complain about something as small as that.] But it'll keep me warm.

Guess it's the thought that counts.

[ Yeah, ok, it's a cliche, but he's not sure he can come up with anything else when they're not even the right shape... ]

I've heard that one before.

[She smirks.] Nice to have something soft like this, though.

[Soft, of course, being relative.] You get any drops? Gifts from grateful fans?

Nah. Don't think I got any.

[ Honestly he hopes not. The idea of people watching them is creepy enough, he doesn't want to think of being noticed. ]

Edited 2018-08-12 17:55 (UTC)

Hit or miss, I've found. [More miss than hit]

Does make it hard to forget we're being watched.

Guess some assholes'll watch anything.

[ It's got to be ninety percent boredom, right? ]

[Furiosa huffs a small chuckle.] Pretty much.

My world used to have stories, entertainment. I wonder if they had anything like this. [Watching other people like this, just living.]

Probably. Cheap laughs.

[ Except time was, the people on those kind of bullshit shows had at least some clue of what they were getting into.

But not everyone had the option of watching reality TV, which he's reminded of at least half as often as he makes some sarcastic crack about it. ]

Used to? What happened?

The men of my world killed it. Poisoned it, broke it. It's a barren wasteland where things shrivel and die. I didn't know what it was like before then, but I've heard stories, and I've seen ruins. Sometimes I wonder if it was like any of the civilizations we've passed in this Fleet.

Jesus.

So maybe three years here ain't so bad.

It's had its benefits.

Sponsor Drop!

[Video]

[Video]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;