event } i always feel like somebody's watching me

[seeingyou]

WHO: Open to all passengers!
WHAT: A visit to Hama Vorcia, and your 15 minutes of fame.
WHERE: Anywhere on the megastation Hama Vorcia, or Navi.
WHEN: April 11 through May 2
WARNINGS: Add these to your comment subject lines as needed! And if you end up going too hard on one of those extreme challenge shows, please record deaths on the death page.

Hello, passengers! Hope you're all ready for an announcement, 'cause Navi's voice is getting beamed into your head right about ... now:

Attention, passengers.
We'll be docking soon at the megastation Hama Vorcia, where we will remain for approximately three weeks, local time.
Please stand by.

The notable lack of turbulence this time is probably a refreshing change, eh?

Upon docking and disembarking, passengers will find a bank counter just past the terminal, where your new windfall of Navigems can be exchanged for credits (the universal currency). Try not to spend it all in one place!

After that … the megastation’s ceiling is the limit. Have as much fun as you can cram into the next few weeks! Just make sure to pace yourselves - you wouldn’t want to get sidelined by muscle cramps, right?

Comments

Simon Reese | OTA

[bilocates]

This would be Simon's first visit to anywhere that wasn't Earth, and it wasn't even a planet this time! The whole thing was incredibly science fiction, and once again for more times than he could count he had to wonder if he hadn't just cracked and gone completely insane.

For the beginning he wasn't entirely willing to risk the cameras, it took a lot of work to stay hidden the way he liked so he spent a fair amount of time on the ship. Mostly hiding out and recovering from his injuries, occasionally slinking to the kitchen for a bite to eat. Eventually he'll have to leave and get himself some new clothes, but he's going to put that off as long as he possibly can. It's not like he's embarrassed to be caught in one of Alex's shirts.


[[OOC; IDK man hit me.]]

Re: Simon Reese | OTA

[imarealistnotacynic]

Shopping relaxes Richard.

Not that he will admit that to Alex, or anyone else, but he has a number of bags and several books to at least make himself feel better, to release the tension of the growing headaches in his head.

He doesn't collide with Simon so much as slam into him. There are people looking at him and it's exhausting being around people like this. Whatever abilities he's developed - or had smashed down - hurt.

[bilocates]

Simon does not like shopping. Maybe because he has no real experience, maybe because he doesn't usually have money. Or maybe it's just because of the people, the endlessly noisy people and overwhelming crowds. Add to that the cameras and...

You know he expected Richard might stop, evidently the man was feeling blind today. Simon definitely stumbles, doesn't quite end up on the ground but damn if Richard didn't nearly bowl him completely over. Simon was tall, sure, but the gangly malnourished type not exactly heavy nor sturdy. Strand was sturdy. He hissed a breath through his teeth, annoyed as he squared off against the man.

"Wake up, Dr. Strand." Come on, Richard, be the adult here would you.

[imarealistnotacynic]

"I'm awake."

Richard shifts his bags. He has a headache, a pounding headache that runs from his forehead down to the nape of his neck being around all these people. An eyebrow is raised, "Did I startle you? I was thinking. It's something people do upon occasion. Walk and think."

That said the young man does look knocked over, "...I didn't mean to knock you over. I apologize."

[bilocates]

Simon just gave him a look, one that clearly said 'are you?' He'd grabbed a snack somewhere along the way, some kind of food bar, and chewed on that thoughtfully. Not letting that strange unblinking gaze of his leave Richard.

He really shouldn't look that close the man was giving him a headache just looking at him.

"You ran into me," He pointed out. Startle wasn't exactly the reaction there. And yes, he is still absolutely wearing one of Alex's shirts. It doesn't quite fit right but it's getting the job done. As for the apology he studies Richard for a few moments, not saying anything, before nodding to himself and turning as if he's just going to leave. It's not a refuse apology, necessarily, Simon just doesn't think they're on especially friendly terms.

[imarealistnotacynic]

Alex died apparently. No she did. He could feel that and Simon was apparently in her good graces and so - time for the best that he could do.

"...How are you feeling after that attack?"

Is he going to just walk with him? Yes. Like he belongs? Yes. Because he does belong. they're from the same world and he has to stick with them so he can save them if needed. And it is needed.

[bilocates]

Alex's death was without question, how she came back was the real question. One Simon suspected had something to do with their current situation. The details were still uncertain, he'll figure it eventually.

Right now the more pressing matter was Richard following him like they're friends. Simon just cast him a wary look. What was he up to now?

"How do you think?" He countered, after Strand demonstrated his poor self control Simon wasn't quick to trust. Alex was the one he protected, he'd protect her from Richard just as quick as anyone else.

"How long have you been on this voyage, Dr. Strand?"

[imarealistnotacynic]

"A few months."

There's no pause, "I...apologize for my haste in applying the medical supplies. I was unsure and I did not want you to be hurt."

Until later. He shakes his head and focuses on him, "Are you enjoying shopping?"

[bilocates]

Not as long as Alex, still more 'awake' then he had been. Interesting. Probably still denying everything as usual.

Simon just leveled another look at him. "That's not the part you should be apologizing for." The fact Richard burned him with intent was the slight, not his panic. Still... Richard did save his life, so he'll play slightly nicer.

Simon turned to regard a camera, frowning. "Not really. But I need clothes." So he'll just suck it up.

[imarealistnotacynic]

"This place does have a selection. IT would appear you need something more...comfortable?"

That he can see. That he can see very very well. Shouldering his own bag, "Are you looking for something more professional or comfortable? I won't guess. There are a number of places you might look here I can point you at them."

[bilocates]

"Yes," He does smirk slightly, wondering how much it bothered Richard that Alex had loaned him a shirt. It was, of course, because his other had been destroyed in the fight with the goose.

"Comfortable, I don't wear suits." Could he? Maybe, probably, who knew? Growing up in a mental hospital didn't give him a lot of room for self expression or finding out. Although he did have to admit that was actually... helpful. Who are you and what have you done with Richard Strand?

[imarealistnotacynic]

It bothers him.

All of this bothers him but he is practicing yes, practicing, so he gestures, "Let me show you a few places. That way you can return Alex's property to her. And you won't be forced to ask her for such a generous favor again."

[bilocates]

Oh, he knows it bothers Richard. And Richard, being Richard, just had to speak it aloud in a manner that would let him know. The man hadn't yet learned that giving Simon information was not always the best course of action. He had a tendency to put it to use.

"I didn't ask. She offered." He quipped, lightly, knowing full well that'd annoy Richard even more than him asking for a favor. Annoyed or no, he will let Richard show him a place or two. Once he knew roughly where to go finding what he was looking for at a reasonable price shouldn't be too difficult.

[ungodlily]

It took Sharon some time to gather the courage to get off the ship herself, mostly out of an abundance of caution, and explore. At first, it was kind of fascinating. She felt like she was in some cheesy sci-fi film that just happened to have high production values. But it quickly became overwhelming. She tried to find her way back to the ship but in her mental fugue, she was too turned around.

Luckily, she recognized Simon. She'd seen him on the ship, though she'd never bothered to approach. This time, however, she waved him down, "Hey? You think you can point me back to Navi?"

[bilocates]

It was still surreal, like living in a dream. But walls were solid, physics still more or less worked the way it was supposed to and people were still people with all their noisy thoughts and obliviousness. If it wasn't reality Simon couldn't tell the difference.

This place, in particular, was easy to become disoriented. Everything was too close, too loud, with too many eyes. Fortunately Simon had taken a few ventures out, enough to find his way back without becoming horribly lost anymore. Not like this woman, whose name he didn't know but who he also recognized from the ship. Spotting her wave he paused, turning to meander over.

"I can take you." He offered instead, because pointing probably wouldn't help that much. There were still a lot of twists and turns and no real ability to orient themselves in this place with only the unfamiliar space station around them.

[ungodlily]

The offer seemed to have been unexpected but Sharon wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was pretty adept at adapting to new environments but those environments often were familiar--new city but the same planet. Even if he'd pointed her in the right direction, she knew she'd likely get turned around. Maybe even panic; she's never been this far from home before.

"I'd, uh, appreciate that, honestly," She admitted with a nervous chuckle, teeth peeking out from behind pink lips, a touch embarrassed at how easily lost she'd become, "I'm Sharon, by the way. Sharon da Silva." She doesn't offer her hand.

"I probably should have said hi back on the ship but I'm..." She trails off. Awkward. Not a people person. Still adjusting.

[bilocates]

Likely few of them could admit to being this far from home. An unknowable distance across the universe, or an entirely different universe altogether. Expecting to know their way around in a situation this vastly different from familiar would be absurd. As for how Simon managed to navigate without struggling with becoming too lost, well... He had a few tricks up his sleeve.

He nods, gesturing for her to follow. It wasn't like he was doing anything particularly important right now anyway. "Simon Reese," He did have the decency to offer that much in return. Though Sharon had found the one person on the ship with likely far worse social skills than her own. Her comment, and unspoken finish to her thought only earned a faint shrug from Simon as if to point out that he had also not taken the initiative to say hello or introduce himself.

"How long have you been part of this?" Instead he'd move the topic away from being awkward.

[ungodlily]

Sharon appreciates Simon's apathy towards her awkwardness and it further cements what she was already aware of: she couldn't treat this like home or the people like strangers from home. It'd be easier that way and she'd honestly prefer it but it just won't work.

"A couple of weeks, maybe two months," Enough that she's swallowed down the panic and denial of the whole situation but not quite enough to really deal deal with it, just stuff it back in the closet, "A goose snuck into my room and stole my shit."

[bilocates]

For better or worse they were all in this strange adventure together. Bonded by their shared experience, they might as well make the best of it. Or at the very least not make the situation more unpleasant.

Time is hard to track. "You're new, like me." The comment about the goose earned something of a quiet huff. "I had an... incident with that goose." Not a goose, he was tempted to say, but he has no stance to defend at the moment so he leaves it out.

[ungodlily]

Sharon was used to being 'new' at this point in her life, though she had hoped the last place she'd moved to was going to be her last time being new, at least for a time. Instead of a new city and a new identity to match, she was out on a space cruise that liked to make pitstops at places familiar enough to not totally throw her off but not familiar enough to provide any sense of comfort.

It kind of sucked.

"Color me curious." She said as she gave him a sideglance. Jack had mentioned that other people were dealing with the thieving space Not!goose, "What happened?"

[bilocates]

That was something they at least have somewhat in common, though Simon's issue was less of being "new" and more permanently displaced. This was simply another kind of displacement, though so far removed from what purpose he'd given himself was certainly disorienting. Not a fan, really, though he still wasn't completely convinced it wasn't a very vivid hallucination.

All in all, it definitely sucked.

Ah yes, Jack, who was very adamantly against violent measures to remove the goose. Simon had been thoroughly on the other side of the fence. "It didn't like us trying to remove it. It didn't hit like a goose."

[ungodlily]

Sharon stopped just a moment in the middle of traffic, earning some rude gesture as a passerby shoved past. She shot them a sneer, mouthing a silent go fuck yourself, but her attention didn't linger long. She knew it wasn't any normal goose but it hadn't come off as particularly aggressive to her, more of a minor annoyance in comparison to the current spacey predicament.

"...you didn't happen to be a part of that group that wanted to murder it, did you? Because I'd have hit you not like a goose, too."

There could very well be more to the whole story, it's not like she'd pressed Jack for information, much too worried about her vest than taking care of something she had only seen a mild inconvenience.

[bilocates]

Simon likewise stopped, though strangely despite his being equally in the way people seemed to flow around him like broken water, scarcely noticing his presence at all. He smirked faintly at the brief altercation between her and random passers by.

What was it with everyone determined to protect the murder goose, anyway? Simon shook his head in mild frustration. In typical Simon fashion he decides to absolutely not answer her question and instead redirect the conversation somewhere else. "Do you only believe what you see? That what something looks like must be the truth?" Because the goose that wasn't a goose was one of those things. And while it might have seemed harmlessly chaotic initially, it wouldn't last.

It wouldn't have stopped at petty theft, of this he was very sure.

[ungodlily]

The fact the crowd seemed to move around him as if they barely even noticed him—if they noticed him at all—didn't go entirely unnoticed by Sharon. Her eyes narrowed a fraction but it was pressed to the back of her mind, more important things to address.

Like that question. Immediately, she remembered the things she'd seen back home: normal people but when you can look just beneath the surface, you see the other things. The bad things. The men hidden in the layers of reality. Leonard Wolf.

She frowned instinctively and deadpanned, "No, I don't." It's evident she has no interest in elaborating and continued on.

"So, what was our not!Goose stowaway, then?"

[bilocates]

Simon does note her narrowed eyes, but refrains from asking. If she feels like pursuing the question he might answer, or he might not. Probably not, honestly. There were more important things to address than the way he seemed to be no more than a break in the flow of people, like a stick in water.

The subtle response was more interesting, her pause, her frown and deadpan. He didn't need to dig to understand she knew what he meant. At least on some level. Simon simply nodded, turning to continue leading her through the crowd, albeit slowly enough she can follow easily.

"Malice, hate, and destruction wrapped up in a feathery package." It's a vague answer but honestly the best he can give. It's hard to describe eldritch entities to those who can't see them for what they are.