raianet | video ↪ un: crowe (cw for mention of policework/real world current events)

（ the image opens on sam, obviously pretty comfortable with being on camera. zoom calls will do that to a guy, even the one who'd prefer by far to be an absolute luddite. ）

Whoever got to bring their Jaeger, text it, I'm mad jealous. Do you do ride-alongs?

（ the gundam. he's talking about the gundam.

of course, he wouldn't have wanted his car here — poor old blue isn't built for offroading, and it's not like this place has a gas station just around the bend. ）

I'm new. Trying to get the lay of the land. Was wondering if anyone's done a headcount yet? The better we're looking after each other, the less likely anyone will slip through the cracks. Somebody goes off and falls down a well, no Lassie to warn us, could be a bad time. This goes double for anyone who doesn't know how to use the comm devices.

I understand not everyone's going to be on board with announcing themselves or handing over their name — that's fine. I don't need anyone to tell their life story or even their real name, just basic identifiers so we have a rough idea of how many people should be here. You also don't have to tell me, but — if there's someone here you think you can trust, let them know if you're going out on your own. Call it a personal favor.

（ sam's spent years working with at-risk kids, he knows how to gentle himself. his tone is mild, his body language is open. not a threat. ）

Name's Sam. I'm from Earth, for the familiar, year 2021. I'm a detective with the Chicago PD, which I know isn't going to make me the most popular guy around — ACAB, trust me when I say I get it. I also served with the 75^th Ranger Regiment, 2002-2009. I know a thing or two about a thing or two, but alien planets are a little out of my wheelhouse.

（ a bit of a crooked smile. magic and the like? werewolves? vampires? sure. all that, he can handle (which he wouldn't announce anyway) but the rest? yeah. ）

That said, if anyone needs a second pair of eyes on patrol or someone who can lift heavy shit and doesn't care if I bitch about old football injuries, I'm your man. Peace.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No way; I haven't used excel in almost 3 years and I don't intend to change that now.

All right, all right. Friendship's back on the table.

So, you're clearly from Earth. Excel tells me probably 2000-something.

（ the name means probably a white guy, but he's not going to say that one outloud. unless it's just someone obsessed with lances, which then could be anyone's guess. ）

And you've definitely been to Chicago, but probably don't live there. City guy?

Mostly right, except I've never been to Chicago; I'm just terribly judgemental. I live in Washington DC.

Already missing detective work?

Fair's fair. That's okay, I'm about to judge the shit out of Washington, DC.

Not the investigative aspect of it.

（ juvenile crimes are 99 percent paperwork and hard, heavy topics. things that make him go home feeling sick and tired and full of rage that has no home. he can't in good conscience say that he loves his work, but it's important, and he wouldn't do anything else. ）

I haven't taken a vacation in about a decade, so maybe I'm just falling back on old habits.

Go ahead, it probably deserves it.

Those sorts of jobs have a way of making it hard to step back. But if you weren't in it for the investigative aspect, what's the draw?

[Investigating and solving things the most fun part of Lance's FBI work, so he's definitely curious about the answer here.]

Juvenile Investigation Division. The sort of kids that have run-ins with the law really need people in their corner. That's the draw.

（ he very rarely meets bad kids — there've only been two in all his time with the division that stand out, that really made him think they might be past saving. most of the rest of them are just kids in bad circumstances, kids who don't know any better, kids who've been so abused and mistreated so long that their instinct is to lash out.

doing investigations does help people, sure. but it's the actual people that pull him in. ）

[That's definitely an unexpected answer, not necessarily for the sentiment of it--it's a good cause--but because--]

Most people who want to help kids like that go into social work, law, or psychology; it's pretty unusual to see someone in law enforcement advocating for them.

[It's an interesting choice, and he wonders if it was a purposeful one or a cause that was found during the course of his career.]

You kinda just hit on why I don't like most of my coworkers.

（ he walks a fine line at work. he calls out what he can. but he's also a few strong words away from being fired on a technicality, too, and knows it. ）

The earlier someone comes to the conclusion they can't trust cops, the less likely they are to go to them when they really need them. You get back what you give with these kids, tenfold.

That must be incredibly frustrating.

[The FBI is a bit different from a police department, but it's still law enforcement and therefore some of his coworkers are still incredibly obnoxious to work with. But it must be many times worse at Chicago PD.

He's not completely convinced that teaching kids to trust people who might end up utterly failing them when relied upon is the best idea, but then again it's something. Something is always better than nothing, and it's not like social workers or lawyers or even psychologists haven't been known to abandon people who need them the most.]

Yeah. Just being there for them can make a huge difference in their lives.

[No matter what job title lets you do that.]

（ some people like to talk about themselves. some like to listen. lance has already been evasive enough in answering things that sam's pegged him as the latter, but that statement rings with the sort of oddly hollow validation that you get from bartenders and shrinks.

it's not investigation, it's just — professional curiosity.

(it's splitting hairs, and he knows it.) ）

What year was it for you?

[Not only is Lance indeed the evasive type, but this is somewhat of a personal subject, and so the distant, professional answers are safe. They're difficult to read into, at least not in a way he cares if someone reads into, so they work for now.

The question about the year is an easy one, though, and he doesn't mind offering a response there.]

2014. I'm told things get interesting in a few years.

['Interesting' being 'horrifying', but who knows if Sam's world lines up with what Dean told him about his so he won't get specific just yet.]

（ thus turning it back on him again.

you know, he'd almost be impressed if it wasn't almost exactly how he talks to people at risk of learning anything of note about him. ）

Depends on how you define 'interesting', I guess.

（ which parts of it people find interesting also say a lot about them as a person. ）

What've you heard?

[Bit of an evasive answer there, though Lance's first guess on why would be the subject matter itself, and so--]

Mostly political things, but if you're not volunteering I'm not going to ask. Discussing politics is even worse than demanding the use of excel in terms of ruining potential friendships.

Edited 2021-07-09 19:45 (UTC)

（ he actually just. laughs. ）

I'm past the point of wanting to be buddies with anyone on the political right, so if that's the way you lean we can call it here.

（ just to make that plain. he has to put up with that shit at work, he's not going to deal with it on an alien planet thousands of light years and hundreds of years away from his own time, thanks. ）

[That's a pretty vehement response, which is noteworthy enough on its own, but it isn't just the intensity but that he's willing to share his stance so readily. It says some things.

Lance's response is more reserved, having zero interest in actually getting into any detailed politics, but still hopefully making the important part clear enough.]

It won't be an issue. Is the whole situation that bad?

More or less.

Let's just say, on record, that 2020 was pretty shitty all around.

Good to know what I've got to look forward to.

[Or not, since dead and all, but he's not getting into that. Besides, maybe it's a blessing in disguise that he won't see the mess that is 2020.]

So, aside from being unfamiliar with alien planets, how are you adjusting?

Can't complain.

Been a lot of places, seen a lot of things. Always happy for a change of scenery. Seems like we could help these people out, too.

It is pretty cool from the experience standpoint. The idea of anyone setting foot on an alien planet any time soon was a total fantasy at home, with the possible exception of getting to Mars.

Yeah, I hope so.

video ↪ un: crowe (cw for mention of policework/real world current events)

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cw: child abuse

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cw: american... politics...

the escapism has gotten too real

lmao i was just like DAMNIT AMI...

look blame em for having dean tell lance about this

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