wipesfaith | 03 [action/written] backdated to MONDAY 1/27

Entry tags:

03 [action/written] backdated to MONDAY 1/27

[When Jean wakes up on Monday, it is with the heavy sense that something is missing. (Isn't it strange, how lacking can weigh more than having?) The skipped days - going to bed on Friday night and waking up to Monday morning - aren't what hits him first; these, he won't notice until he open his journal to send a message that won't be read by its intended recipient for a while.

The bed on the other side of the room is empty.

He's the only one in their apartment. This doesn't fall too far outside the normal rhythm of the day, but it drags him back to a few months ago when things were knocked off balance and disappearing was Marco's favorite hobby. So he sends that message, raises an eyebrow at the date, and gets ready for the day while he waits for a response.

It doesn't come.]

[Action]

[In the morning, he scours the village, walking the length of every road and checking inside every public building. He tries not to think about the last time he'd walked through still streets unable to remember with any certainty when he'd last seen his friend.]

Marco? [Cupping a hand around his mouth.] Marco!

[At some point, he dimly realizes that school started a while ago, but that doesn't mean shit to him right now. Two options have long since sunk into his brain: Marco has either been kidnapped for experimentation, or he has gone home to hit a dead end. Still, through wanting to prolong the inevitable, through wanting to feel effective in some way, he doesn't drop his search. He takes it out of the village, winding through the woods on horseback.

When he finally returns, with nothing to show for his efforts but exhaustion, a tightened knot of anxiety in his stomach, and questions, evening has settled in. He opens his journal - still no response - and starts asking.]

[Written]

Does anybody know of any missing persons cases that happened over the weekend?

Is there anyone who can remember anything that happened between Friday night and this morning?

[Then, because he doesn't know how to lock messages to specific individuals, he adds:]

Commander Smith, Captain Levi. I need to speak with you. If you're in your quarters, I can come up shortly.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Pouring himself some milk, and copying her dipping technique.]

You dance? [He asks out of necessity of the conversation more than anything, but it does surprise him. In his mind, she's framed only in the context of the military, of fighting, a world in which something light and carefree like dancing feels far out of place.]

[Ginia nods. In a different life, in a different age, she was nothing more than a dancer, occasional piano player, and bartender. Her roles in life were defined, things were simple.]

I was in a dance company when I was younger, also worked with the local theatre group. Now, it's really only at parties and the like, though I guess there is a danceclub in town.

Didn't know we had something like that here. [...Actually, he's not entirely sure what that's supposed to look like. But somewhere to dance, sure. A short laugh that's more of a snort, really.]

I've never danced a step in my life. [He takes another bit out of the cookie.]

It's a new place. I'll also wager most people in the village haven't. But it's another place to hang out, get drinks and food, listen to music, have fun. I'm working as one of the bartenders.

Hm.

[See, wonderful company right now. Under less heavy circumstances he would be curious about it, might think it could be fun, but...

He's moving onto cookie number two, snickerdoodle.]

[Ginia doesn't mind. She knows he's in a mood and just wants to be around to make sure he doesn't dwell too much on things.

Also cute animal pictures. Ginia searches through her folder of cute animals, opens up a picture, and turn her laptop around for Jean to see.

...You really have a thing for animals, don't you.

[She might get more of a reaction if she started showing pictures of cute girls. But he's not about to say that, because not only is she a woman, but he realizes that she could be old enough to be his mother. Which is weird in itself.]

[Just because Ginia's a woman doesn't mean she doesn't have pictures of cute women on her laptop. But yes, don't suggest that because that would be weird and she's not sharing her porn stash with him. Go the library or something.]

They're cute, and they're a nice pick-me-up. But I also have movies, television shows, and music on here as distractions.

I'm just here to make sure you don't get stuck too deep in your head.

[Already done with cookie number two, which he chases with some milk. Maybe he should just let her do what she came over here to do instead of being an uncooperative ass. She is helping to take his mind off of everything, even if just a little bit. Which is all he can ask for, really.]

..."Television shows"?

[Movies he and Marco have already discovered in the Rec Room, so at least he doesn't have to be an idiot and ask too many questions. He wonders how she even has all of this stuff inside her device, but he figures he wouldn't understand how it works anyway.]

[Hmm... how to explain television shows. Though she notes he didn't ask what movies were.]

Do you know what movies are? I know they have some in the rec center.

Yeah, I've seen a few of those.

[Moving pictures that look incredibly identical to real life, yet show stories that are one hundred per-cent made-up - how could it not blow his mind?]

Television shows are like movies, but usually tell a continuous story or have a theme. Think of a movie as a novel or novel series while a television show is more like a newspaper.

[Ginia looks at her computer and scrolls through her collection of TV shows.]

How do you feel about science and explosions?

[He thinks he gets it. So it's the same thing, except the story continues in periodical installments.]

Don't know much about science, honestly. One of the movies we saw had a ton of explosions...made it pretty exciting, which is probably the point. [And totally did not scare the shit out of him at first.]

[Well, let's try an episode on for size. At the very least, it'll be something to keep him entertained for the next 45 minutes or so. Ginia pulls up an episode from her collection and turns the laptop toward him.

And if anything, the opening video certainly is attention getting. Explosions and hijinks ahead.

And let's pretend it's a clip show because here are some clips for entertainment.]

[It draws him in quickly - how could it not, with all those images flashing by? He watches with rapt attention, even as certain words, along with every pop culture reference, fly straight over his head; his lips twitch upward into the occasional half smile, or his eyes widen in disbelief as the wacky experiments are carried out. And, of course, dry comments will be sprinkled throughout.]

Yeah, that worked real well. [Snort. He reaches for his cup of milk again.]

[Ginia alternates between watching the show, chuffing softly and grinning, and watching Jean. Maybe when Marco's back they can have a movie night. There's probably cables somewhere to get her laptop hooked up to the television in the rec center. For now, she's glad the show is helping Jean take his mind off things.]

[His worries have retreated to the back of his mind, at least, while zany mythbusting antics give him something else to be preoccupied with. As the episode comes to an end, he throws Ginia a look.]

These guys have way to much free time on their hands.

Free time to some, a job to others. It's a pretty popular show, and they've done a lot of outreach too, drumming up interest in science and other topics. It's fun to watch too.

Yeah, not bad. [Shut up Jean, your eyes were practically glued to the screen.]

Hard to believe you can get paid for something like this.

Aren't there actors or musicians in your world? Writers? Some way of keeping people entertained and taking their minds off what's going on in the world for a bit?

I guess so... Just about everyone good enough to get paid for that stuff lives in the innermost wall.

[He scoffs.] The people there aren't the ones who need to take their minds off what's happening. Only reason they ever give a shit at all is because its their tax money on the line.

[Ginia gives a tiny 'ah.' A class divide she can understand all too well; the rich living off in their gated communities and guarded skyscrapers while everyone else had to find protection and make do their own way. She may have died with millions in her names, but she never forgot her roots.]

There are some similarities in my world too; rich getting richer, staying safe, living frivolously while everyone else has to do the best to survive. But entertainment is a big industry in my world. Everyone loves their distractions. And access isn't so bad; libraries let people borrow things for free, community events.

[...And of course, piracy.]

There are some things all worlds share, probably.

Must be nice, getting to escape whenever you want. Although, I guess you can do that here too. [This stuff is just new to him, and he doesn't see a reason to indulge all that often.]

We weren't living in walls, but there were still borders. Between countries, between regions. Some areas were easy to travel in, others required paperwork.

[Or bribes or fake IDs or knowing how to sneak past borders.]

Let me guess, the ones that required the most paperwork were where everyone wanted to be the most.

[His glass of milk has been drained by now, but he returns to the cookies. Just one more, sugar this time.]