text ↪ un: weaverville

[wittingly]

Hey so

I've been screwing around with the network connecting the communications devices a little. I know there's no Spotify here, no internet, not a lot of music, which sucks. My MP3 player came here with me, so I figured maybe some people might like to have at least a few options. It might not necessarily be to everyone's taste, but it's better than nothing (probably).

I've uploaded the contents to the database, you should be able to access it or send/receive songs at any time.

Turns out they already had some music on there too, so you can poke around theirs and see if you find something you like more. I haven't gotten to go through it all, but at least some of it looks like 21st century Earth stuff.

Sidenote: you're welcome to criticize the contents of my MP3 player, just know that I've never felt shame in my life & I can and will sing all of these karaoke style to your face. IDK if you really want to live through that experience.

( feel free to threadjack as you like )

Comments

[wittingly]

( He clicks his teeth a little, shakes his head slowly. )

It's not... really about what he thinks as much as it is about what he doesn't think. It's-- the shit we had to do...

( He chews the inside of his cheek for a second, muting his frustration back down again and collecting his thoughts before he picks back up. )

We didn't make it out of the city for six weeks. We were on the road for more like six months, moving around just to find places to... survive for a couple days, because we had nowhere to go. There were-- they had these ships that kind of acted like giant magnets, they're quiet right up until they aren't. They use them to rip entire buildings up out of the ground and compact them for transport. It took months to find Crater Lake, and it's not like everything was just magically fine after that. Everybody still went on runs. Everybody still had to go out every week or something, and... deal with all that shit. Patrols that would sweep in and drag you off to a work camp if you got caught, the building you're in maybe getting ripped up before you can make it out, other people- other humans being fucking... crazy.

( As humans are wont to do.

And, yeah, now he knows what he was trying to work toward without yet being able to articulate it —)

My point is, I dealt with stuff way worse than this and I did it without either of you guys, and I was fine then. I know how to keep it together, unpredictable feelings or not. That-- this-- was normal for me like three times longer than I've known you. I'm more used to this than New Amsterdam. Neither of you guys need to worry about me as much as it seems like you are.

[lifetothefullest]

[He's taking in the information and laying out a little mental timeline, as this is all good to know and fills in a lot about Ian's situation, but he's not too impressed with the conclusion of it all. He considers calling Ian out directly on how no one ever says they're 'fine' if they're actually fine, but he decides to be less direct.

So instead, as he reaches for his drink again, he offers gently--]

Knowing how to deal with something doesn't necessarily make it any easier to do so.

[Just because he can live like this doesn't mean it's good for him, just like it's not good for Lance, or for Nate, or any number of other people here. Experience, especially when that experience is traumatic, doesn't make it suddenly okay to be going through something similar again.

But he has the feeling Ian is not really open to being pushed on this any further, considering how firm that doubling down was, so he follows up with a lighter comment in case Ian wants to let the conversation shift.]

Except for the terrible food. You do get kind of immune to that after awhile.

[wittingly]

( He's not sure why he's half expecting that Lance will be annoyed with him after the pretty direct opposition, the firm stance on a point he's being stubborn about. Maybe because his only real frame of reference for something like this in the last decade has been with Kyna, and it seems like every time he stood his ground with her it wound up devolving into something... Weird.

But there's no tension in Lance, there's no hurt or offended look being leveled at him, no indignation, nothing that makes him feel guilty about it. It shouldn't be a surprise, those things are all pretty well outside of Lance's typical demeanor. All the same, a few muscles in his shoulders and back relax slightly. )

Yeah, that...

( He agrees with weary enthusiasm. )

That one does eventually stick. On the bright side, in like six months when we happen to find an alien box of Cap'n Crunch, it's gonna blow your fuckin' mind.

( Speaking from personal experience over here. Getting stoned and eating sugary breakfast cereal for the first time after a long and shitty winter was like a transcendental experience. )

[lifetothefullest]

[The turn to lighter conversation is fine with him, both because they've each been a lot more honest than usual and that's exhausting, and because it's a process. A little bit of progress is enough, and pushing harder right now won't do any good.

He's glad to see Ian's posture relax just a little, and so does his own as he shifts out of his intensely engaged countenance and into his more casual one.]

Ephemera brought me eggrolls like my first day in the safehouse, and after Hadriel that blew my mind too. I'm pretty sure he thought I hadn't eaten in a week.

[He's only slightly exaggerating, but wow had that been good food even without real meat in it.]

[wittingly]

( He sighs nice and slow, wistful and pained, utterly beleaguered. )

I'd suck dick for some eggrolls.

( And thus they have officially exited Serious Conversation territory. Thank you for your contribution, Lance. )