network audio/actionspam [OTA]

[citizendetective]

[network; audio; immediately after arrival; being a cliquey bitch in front of god and country]

Hello - roll call, please! The Authority wouldn't tell me anything; did we all make it? Did we all get chosen by the same ship? Pagan--

[Her voice quivers a little when she says her warden's name, and so she makes herself stop and breathe for a second or two, until she can sound smooth and airy and cheerful again.]

I'm an assistant now, so if you need anything - favors or perks, or, um, requests - I have clout! I think it goes without saying that we should all stick together as much as possible.

[actionspam; first few days after arrival]

[Misty's feelings about all this are deeply ambivalent, to say the least. On the one hand, she has no real attachment or loyalty to the Barge as an institution, and her prospects as a Clipper assistant seem much better than her prospects as a Barge inmate had been: all she has to do is graduate a patient and keep them on the straight and narrow for three months, and she can go home! And that should be the most important thing.

But on the other hand, there are people that she worries about; people that, already, she misses desperately and can't stand being universes away from, without any warning. Even beyond them, there are people that she thinks and wonders about - far more than she would have expected. The Barge residents hadn't been her team, but they'd been something, and to have all that ripped away throws her off-kilter.

So, naturally, she backslides immediately, making herself feel better by indulging in her worst habits of light stalking and petty power-plays. She patrols the circular hallways, keeping an eye on patients, enjoying the feeling of having power that she can use however she'd like. During at least the first few days, she participates fully in the morning and evening group meetings, and makes careful mental notes of who does and doesn't do the same. She'll dole out kindnesses and favors to those who treat her well, she decides, and to those who don't... well. She'll just have to see.

She spends quite a lot of time ensconced in the assistants-only treehouse, where she uses the binoculars to spy on people for hours on end: sometimes aimlessly looking around the whole visible space, and other times picking a person at random, dedicatedly following them until they exit the panopticon area and leave her sight. And when stalking people who are mostly strangers stops being enough, she retreats to her cabin, where she watches her saved security camera footage of Natalie, Shauna, and Taissa, thinks about how she doesn't even have a photo of Pagan, and - in private, out of the public eye - allows herself to cry.

She always carefully cleans her face and puts on eye makeup before leaving her cabin, wiping away tear tracks and concealing any puffiness. But whenever she spots anyone that she recognizes from the Barge, her public facade drops a little.]

Oh, my god--

[She'll say as she rushes over to them, uncertainty and anxiety clear on her face.]

You're here! This is crazy, right?

Comments

network

[lonelinessloop]

[ That... is 100% a face Misty has seen before. Extensively. In lots of pictures on Kiryu's phone.]

Hello, Miss! Welcome! My name's Haruka! It's nice to meet you and I'm so happy I get to work with you.

[ A little softer. ]

But you shouldn't be so closed off to new people on the network. That could lead to people feeling alienated or left out. I'm sure you'll find some of your old friends but you'll also find new ones here! And we all try to work together to make this place as nice as it can be.

network; 1/2

[citizendetective]

I'm not closed off, I just--

[Crap, can she get demoted for this? This place does seem a little hair-trigger.]

[citizendetective]

I'm not trying to alienate anyone. Honestly. I'm talking to you, right?

It's so good to meet you, Haruka; I'm Misty Quigley.

[lonelinessloop]

[ She nods emphatically and gives Misty a bright smile to make sure she knows she accepts that.]

I didn't think you were. I assumed you were just trying to find the friends you've already made and make sure that they're all right. I just try and look out for new people since I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

[ Like the Nurse. Haruka has her own ideas about this place but all of them are firmly in her head.]

It's so nice to meet you, Quigley-san. I'm one of your new coworkers. Is there anything I can do to help you get settled in?

[citizendetective]

Oh, sure! How do I contact the other ships?

[You guys know about the other ships, right

right]

[lonelinessloop]

[ She can't help that her confused face is actually very very cute.]

Other ships?

Hmmmm.

[ She frowns as she considers how to answer this, but it's still a very cute frown. This is, after all, a healthy show of consternation as they try and problem solve together! Right?]

I don't think we were told about any other ships, Quigley-san. And we don't have the capability to contact any of the other ships. But you can certainly ask Nurse-san about it if you want, since you're an Assistant. I'm sure that if it will help you with your work, they'll be happy to give you what you might want.

[citizendetective]

I'm from a ship called the Barge. I'm not-- well, I'm not completely opposed to being here, but the whole process left a lot to be desired.

"Nurse-san" is the one in charge?

[lonelinessloop]

Yes! I think most people just refer to them as the Nurse, but I try to be respectful, since they are my employer.

[ There's a few nods. ]

And I'm sorry that it seems like your transition wasn't very smooth. I'm sure all of the Assistants here will do everything they can to help you all get adjusted to how this ship works so you can all be very successful here.

Is there anything else I can help you with?

[citizendetective]

Yes! You haven't actually helped me at all!

[She makes herself stop, again, to take a big, calming breath.]

... No offense. Look, why don't we meet up in person?

[lonelinessloop]

I know.

[ Soft, gentle. She means that. ]

I was trying to find something I could do for you.

We can certainly meet, however. Where would you like to meet?

[citizendetective]

You can come to my cabin. Floor 4, number 15.

[lonelinessloop]

I'll be right there.

[ And true to her word, there'll be a knock. ]

[citizendetective]

It's open.

[She calls out. She's curled up on a very ornate-looking chair that's completely at odds with the rest of her room's decor. And when she sees her in person... it finally clicks.]

Wait - you're Kiryu's Haruka, right?

[lonelinessloop]

[ That is not a name she expected to hear, and certainly not from this woman. She startles, full body, and stares at her for a flat moment, trying to sense any lie or deceit or trick to the words, to see if she'd read back on the network to see any mentions she might have made of people. When she's sure that isn't it, when she feels like that isn't it-]

How do you know Uncle Kaz?

[ And then immediately, immediately she's darting forward to get closer, to watch her face, as she asks more.]

Was he on your other boat? Is he all right? Was he a Patient or an Assistant?

[citizendetective]

[A sharp spike of bitter irritation cuts through Misty. What right does this girl have to hear news about her people when she can't tell Misty anything in return?]

He's a warden, which is-- like an assistant. He has pictures of you on his phone.

[lonelinessloop]

[ She gives a small, still feminine grunt of approval at that; of course he could. She knows how he feels, what he wants, what he cares about. He didn't do what he'd done to hurt her or because he wanted to. She's known that since she was told he'd 'died'.

She hadn't believed it for a moment.]

But he's not here? He was sent home?

[citizendetective]

I don't know where he is.

[She says, her voice strained.]

Like I said, they wouldn't tell me anything.

[lonelinessloop]

[ She pauses... and nods, putting her hands down, calming herself and after a moment, she has enough of a mind to wince at what she'd done.]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry your friends are missing. I'm sorry you haven't found anyone yet. If you tell me what they look like, I'll help you look.

[ Because clearly, she was one of Uncle Kaz's friends or she'd never have seen his phone. Never have seen her.]

[citizendetective]

I don't have pictures of them.

[She says, her voice a little choked. She swallows it down, wholly unwilling to let herself get visibly upset.]

I never took pictures of people on the Barge.

[lonelinessloop]

What about names?

[ She's trying to be gentle, but she's also trying to help her pull out of despair. She's been there. And this place... doesn't allow for it.]

I don't mind asking, and I know who was here before you all got here.

[citizendetective]

Um, Pagan Min, Iris Wildthyme, Sweeney, Nadja-- not all these people have surnames. Let's see, who else - Zhao Yunlan? But if they're here, they just got here, like I did.

[lonelinessloop]

I haven't met any of those people. I did meet a Givens-san; is he a friend of yours?

[citizendetective]

Raylan? He-- yes, sort of.

[Enough that she looks relieved, at least.]

[lonelinessloop]

He's here. He's a Patient, though. Apparently, he thought he was going to be an Assistant, so he was upset.

[ She considers it again.]

Oh! And I think Norton-san was new too!

[citizendetective]

And he's an assistant, even though he was an inmate on the Barge, like me. Maybe we're all swapped? Inmates are assistants and wardens are patients?

[While she's giving names, Misty pulls out her phone and, very predictably, shows Haruka one of the pictures that she does have.]

What about them? Have any of them ever been here?