driftfleet | the white noise is deafening silence

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the white noise is deafening silence

[In the very early hours of January 20th, as the Marsiva and her captives drift nonchalantly through the depths of the universe, there is a call. Every single personal communicator and console springs to life, spitting out a stream of indecipherable static and showing only gray snow on screen. It continues like this for a few seconds longer, going black and then going staticky, and then the signal switches to the encrypted channel generally used for speaking to the Interceptors when something big goes down.

This is a little more successful. The voice may be familiar to some, at least through the static.]

Zhade here! I trust I ███ your attention? I'm having some ██▓▓ble ██tting through. Some of the ░▓██▓█ are missing. I can't ░▓▓▓ read on their loc█████ns. [A particularly long burst of static.] ███stening. I'll s█▓▓█ more inf██▓▓▓▓▓█ I get it.

Stay sharp! [There's the sound of someone actually doing the fingerguns wink noise, and then static.

Any messages sent back won't get through, and Zhade isn't there to answer.]

[ A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. The style of decor resembles that of the Marsiva's Hospitality Deck, if any passengers should remember what that's like. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well, all clean and chrome.

Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers. It's time for round three of calibrations. ]

[ This mingle will cover all non-calibration room interactions. Please continue to come back to it for the duration of the plot! You are, of course, free to post any other mingles/posts/etc. that you'd like. ]

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Your loss - it was great.

[Up until it wasn't.

Up until Glamour Springs.

The thought of it floods back unbidden and Taako shivers a little, turning the motion into a yawn, stretching up into the air to dismiss the bad thoughts as quickly as they came.]

Well, whatever you say there, Stalkerlicious. Either we have the weirdest serendipity on the planet or one of us- [He makes a pointed look at her, the Red Robe.] -is tellin' a little fibby-fib. Doesn't matter either way.

Can't sue you here, remember?

Nope. And I keep spending all my money on pointless escape tactics, apparently, so you'd never get anything out of me if you did win.

[She lifts her hands in a casual shrug.]

Buuuut if we ever manage to collect the whole Horny Boy trio, you're welcome to Zone of Truth me for it.

[She'd suggest bringing it up with Magnus, but things are probably still... awkward, there, particularly when it comes to memories. And she doesn't want to cause any rifts between Taako and the people he actually does trust.]

I don't need money here - maybe I'd sue for that hella nice skirt.

[He's not serious about it though, because if he was, he'd just steal the skirt. But he knows how much she likes it so it's a good teasing threat.

As for Merle showing up here?]

Also? Please don't wish Merle on us. Mags and I are already in a fierce debate over who is going to have to stop him from trying to fuck all the alien plants.

Oof, you'd be in for one hell of a custody battle for that baby.

[He has enough cute clothes as it is! He has to let her have this.]

Anyway, why stop him? Knowing our collective luck, one of 'em will try to eat him and he'll learn his lesson eventually.

[....Well, maybe he wouldn't learn. That might've already happened during the century he forgot.]

It isn't a good court battle unless you have a nasty custody war over something important, right?

[Like the custody war of "not it" that would ensue over whoever would pull the short straw on taking care of Merle. He might be the oldest of them, but gods be damned if he wasn't the one Taako worried would beef it the most after himself.

And if Kravitz was to be believed? Merle had died waaaaaaaay more than any of them for whatever reason.]

But Merle never learns. The old man's died a billion times and is still getting himself into trouble. Fuck, Mags had to cut his arm off because the idiot listened to "Pan" and decided to touch the crystal we were literally told not to touch.

[She giggles behind a hand, leaning back into the plush of the couch and kicking her feet up. She's abandoning the spell for the moment, she just can't focus on it.]

Fuuuuckin' Highchurch. So inconveniently pious at the most random of times.

[She can't really help the subtle affection that she feels thinking about it, though. He can be a dumbass and a little shit as much as the rest of them, but that doesn't mean he isn't family, too. He just happens to be like that weird uncle you have to learn when to steer clear of and when to get close to.]

And then he'll turn around and suggest we murder some train dude for no reason.

[Even Taako hadn't been behind telling Tom Bodett to go throw himself in front of a train while Charmed. It'd been hilarious, don't get him wrong, but sometimes the two knuckleheads got a little too kill-happy at the weirdest times.]

But I guess it goes with his whole weird... [He waves a hand absently in the air, as if he's gesturing to Merle.] ...thing. How we haven't died with him in our party is beyooond me. Probably because Maggie's built like a brick shithouse and can take a beating.

Maybe dwarves just love the occasional random murder.

[She says it with sarcasm, mostly to mask that she just didn't get Merle a lot of the time, and talking about the problem with Taako would be weird because she shouldn't know him, at least not well enough to be bothered about it. Doesn't help that her experience with dwarves (particularly his family!) hasn't been great in the last decade.

Then again, he'd been the first to admit that they're turds.]

You guys have pretty good luck when it comes to surviving sticky situations. Though don't you owe some of that luck to some people and/or objects that you can name?

[/insert competent women joke here]

Now if only this dwarf would love the non-occasional healing.

[He lives to rip on Merle even if the cleric isn't half as bad as he makes him out to be. He's useful definitely (sometimes, when he remembers to be) and (begrudgingly) fun. Guy's got like a million party points if nothing else.]

But yeah, we're lucky as shit. No idea why except maybe that Lady Istus has some weird thing for us. And everyone around us is like, even halfway decent at their jobs.

[He snorts]

Except for Kravitz when it comes to collecting our souls. Thank fuck.

I mean, that's good for you. Not so good for him or that goddess of his, but those of us with wacky death counts can at least benefit from it.

[And apparently he's chummy with at least two liches in the future and capable of making some kind of deal with her and Barry despite everything. He's a strange, complicated man, but that's fine with her.]

Oh definitely. I mean, not complaining, and I guess the RQ ain't really complaining either since yours truly and the bonehead squad didn't get dragged to Casper's Unfriendly Jailhouse.

[But hey, little bit of perception here. Did she just say "us?"]

...

[Taako glances over at Lup for a moment, then slides his gaze over to people who are now actively staring at the shimmering globe of force keeping them from the control panel.]

So you got a bounty on your head, too?

[....

Oh, right. Slip of the tongue, there. She shares his glance, the smile slowly slipping from her expression as she considers a response. Before too long she looks away and reaches back to start twisting her hair into a loose braid, giving her hands something to do and avoiding his eyes.]

You should know that much. Remember where you found my Umbra Staff?

[Y'know, the abandoned cave with a corpse?]

[He snaps and nods.]

Riiiiight, forgot about that whole thing. Kinda shitty way to go.

[Not that it seems to have stopped her any. He always forgets that there was a skeleton with the Umbra Staff, the red robe it was wearing only now clicking into place.

He suddenly also realizes that what he said sounds incredibly callous and he blinks, looking away.]

Better'n getting eaten by a giant purple worm though. Oof, I'm glad none of that stuck. Taako is sooo not cool with being digested.

[She hums, quiet as he works his way through it; she's very obviously not offended by his comment. She's died too many times for it to truly bother her at this point. The issue for her was being trapped and left alone with it for a decade, and the fact that they're not leaving their plane and she has no way of getting her body back the way they used to. And those aren't things she can discuss with him.]

I dunno, at least being eaten is quick. Poison's an ugly way to die.

Heh yeah I--

[Poison's an ugly way to die.

His heart constricts as his mind catches up to what she said. And while he knows he should probably throw some meaningless consolation about how she's right, it's not a fun way to die. He can't. His hands clutch into the fabric of his pants as he stares at the control panel beneath the shimmering bubble of Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, seeing nothing.

You fed them their death.

His mouth goes dry as a dream half-remembered bubbles up, memories bright and clear as the day it happened. The kid that looked up at him asking for seconds. The sound of people choking even as they yelled for help. The feel of the wagon floor jolting underneath him as he cowered in the back while Sazed peeled out.

He doesn't notice how his leg starts bouncing, his fingers white knuckled against his knees. He just knows he needs to start talking and fast or she's going to notice something is wrong.]

Heh yeah. [His voice's pitch is off and he clears his throat, trying for casual and maybe doing alright at it. Or failing miserably. He isn't really paying all that much attention.]

Poison's some shit, huh? Yep. But uh, you're doin' well now despite all that, so no harm no foul. Done's done and all that jazz.

[/rolls perception

That's... a weird reaction, and for a moment Lup is confused until it clicks: that response has nothing to do with her, does it. It's not like she's dying in front of him or anything. What was it? The battle wagon racer, the one who'd been poisoned by the Gaia Sash? Or something else? Something that happened while they were separated?

She hesitates in responding, indecisive and waiting until he works through it on his own, her brows tightly knit. He'd probably just get more evasive if she asked, or worse, more upset... still, it's hard to just shrug off. For someone like Taako who takes so much in stride, the reaction had been surprisingly visceral, even with his attempt at subtlety.]

...Yeah... that's true. I guess we're good at that part. [Another pause, and then-] Sorry. That was shitty of me.

[He can interpret that however he likes.]

[He laughs a little, his octave just slightly off, then coughs to cover it up. He has to get his shit together or she's going to ask questions he doesn't want to answer. He could barely tell Angus what had happened, and even then it'd only been in the vaguest of terms. He still hadn't told Magnus or Merle and he knew, knowing him, he never will. It's his life, his business. It's his problem that he'll eventually need to come face to face with if he ever sees that sleazeball Sazed again.

Hopefully he never does.]

Psshaw, naw, just a grim-ass topic. Forgot you could go all goth with the best of 'em.

[He almost sounds convincingly nonchalant now. The bouncing has stopped at least, and he pulls his attention around to a more banal topic. In an instant, he latches onto the sight of people groaning as yet another round of the song starts up.]

But hey, more importantly? I think the general populace is starting to notice what we did.

Edited 2019-02-23 15:58 (UTC)

[For a moment she considers poking the bear, even just a little, but she thinks better of it before long and just finishes her braid, flinging it over her shoulder and sitting up in her chair to try and very casually watch the growing chaos around his sphere.

Next time, maybe.]

Hah... so they have! That took a lot longer than I thought it would. I wonder if they were just playing it cool or just unobservant.

Little of A, a little of B. Maybe they didn't realize it wasn't just one really long song until now.

[Taako hides his grin behind a yawn, settling in the seat and getting comfy. He has to top up the sphere's magic pretty soon, so he watches for the moment when the bubble is about to pop. The change of subject is a relief and Taako is glad Lup is letting him get away with it.]

I mean, it is a little repetitive.

Repetitive? Perish the thought, I hadn't noticed at all.

[She hums a few bars alongside the chorus in the background - the very repetitive one - and leans her elbow on the arm of the chair, head tilting as she watches someone smack the sphere.]

Oooh, buddy, don't break your hand...

[He snorts as he watches the person bang on the sphere. It's not going anywhere. As long as Taako times it perfectly, there'll be a moment of hope followed by endless despair as the bubble pops and reforms in the blink of an eye.]

Eh, if they do, that's their own fault for not appreciating these fine musical arts.

[And there it goes. With a grin, he watches as the person looks surprised as the bubble winks out. The momentary hope bubbles to the surface and he immediately recasts Otiluke's, the rainbow barrier shimmering back into place as the hope bursts like a child's soap bubble. He has to bite his lip to keep from laughing aloud.]

I am so glad the Atroma enjoy suffering as much as I do.

[Lup has to hide another giggle as the sphere vanishes and reappears- the poor sucker's reaction is too good. Even when they notice, she merely smiles and claps encouragingly in their direction. Go on, try again! Surely it'll work the second time.]

You think that's why they gave you a few components?

They gotta amuse themselves somehow, right? Either that or they knew if they didn't, I'd spend my entire time here setting shit on fire or trying to transmute the walls into, fuckin' I dunno, sausage or whatever.

[Not that it would have worked. Nothing seems to work here when it comes to damaging the Marsiva and it doesn't exactly make calm his nerves any. He still remembers Thor talking about attacking this place before, the feeling and sight of something living inside it.]

Probably wanted to keep me distracted. And it's working.

[He motions to the poor sap trying to slap the sphere into submission.]

This shit is hilarious.

Fair. That's probably why they didn't give me components- most of my spells are for blowing stuff up.

[There's a few she can piece together with what's available here, and others that don't require components at all, but for the most part she's empty-handed. Not even her silly spoon focus. It suuuucks.]

Yeah, s'what you get for being a fuckin' powerhouse, you dumbass.

[Taako smirks and fiddles with the ends of his hair. Time to trim it up, he thinks. The shampoo here is shit and he's going to start getting split ends soon.]

Taako went and made them think I'm stupid, so what's the harm in giving me a few components here and there, right? Worst that can happen is I'll blow myself up again and that was probably amusing as fuck for them.

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