004. video/spam

[wildguardian]

[He settles himself on a sofa in a corner of the common area, along the very base of the tree, and lifts his wrist to a comfortable level to smile at the camera. He's done this before. It's performative as fuck, and he doesn't enjoy it, but it's past time that he got over his sulk and started getting people motivated here.]

Good morning, Clipper! Some of you I know and some of you are strangers, but we can welcome one more lovely day on this new boat together regardless. To the strangers: Zhao Yunlan! Formerly of the Barge, and even more formerly of Dragon City's Special Investigations Department.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk to all of you about happiness. Peace. Indeed, justice itself -- because I'm sorry to say I think our dear Nurse's head is not in the right place on those topics, and we could all get some better results with just a little change of perspective.

Anger, you see, is the natural response to injustice! Think back to the last time in your life you got real peeved -- what caused that emotion? I bet you were thinking, That's just wrong, or You can't treat me like that, or How could you do that?

It's a powerful feeling, and don't get me wrong, it sure as heck can be misdirected and cause some real harm in the world.

But the true cure for anger is to gather the strength to go after injustice. Not listening to happy music and putting on a smile. You know it as well as I do! Don't you feel that anger lingering in your heart as long as the wrong goes unfixed?

[He grins at the camera, sharp.]

Who ever repaired a wrong just by saying they were fine?

[And with a grand gesture of his free hand:]

I open the discussion! How do we make a better world? How can we improve this good ship?


Spam

[Zhao Yunlan spends most of his first week either moping in his room or moping generally around the ship. He'll participate in his assigned shifts, but he's hopeless in the kitchen and hopeless at custodial work, outside of the truly unskilled tasks like emptying garbage cans and hauling buckets of soapy water.

Once he's gotten his week of uselessness out of his system, he's choosing to become aggressively involved. Expect him to plop down next to you on the couch and strike up a conversation, Barge transfers and Clipper natives alike. He'll volunteer to tell stories at storytime, and launch into tales of war or murder investigations past if he's able to take the mic. He'll... be stuck washing dishes on every kitchen shift, because he doesn't seem to have the least idea of which flavors can safely go together and which ones will create a heart-rending abomination of a dish.

Sometimes, after the evening storytime but before it's late enough to sleep, he can be found leaning on the railing and staring up at the treehouse and the useless, opaque ceiling above it, lollipop stem jutting aggressively from his lips, expression very far away.]

Comments

[talkstofungus]

You can do both, you know. Help people. Take out injustice.

Without letting it make you all - uh - jaded and grumpy.

[wildguardian]

Do I look jaded? Grumpy?

[He spreads his hands] But I confess, my friend, I can get mad! And I think that's a good thing.

[talkstofungus]

[Luigi doesn't actually know what jaded means, only that he's heard it before, so he can't really answer that question. He moves to the next statement.]

You can get mad! It's just about what you do when you're mad, you know?

Kitchen

[why_me]

[ Garion doesn't answer him in the network, but given his own standard scullion duty, they have plenty of time to talk in the kitchen. Which is why he offers the man a wry smile the next time they're on shift together. ]

You're trying, I'll give you that.

[ Garion is a large man, though certainly not to the scale of his ancestors: no bullneck here. Though he's got a decent enough iron grip. He washes dishes like he breathes, just as easily. ]

Re: Kitchen

[wildguardian]

Oh, I always try.

[The completely casual way he's running the sponge over the plate in his hand before he gives it a dunk in the rinse sink cannot possibly be described as "trying." There's still visible gunk stuck to the plate. He hands it across to be dried anyway.]

Re: Kitchen

[why_me]

Same here.

[ He'll take a moment and clean off the gunk with a few well-placed swipes before drying it off. ]

Garion. Demoted a couple years ago.

evening

[packhound]

[Mikodez did manage to watch the whole video, in one go even, though he hadn't seen any good to replying. Be careful what you say anywhere, but especially when it could be recorded! The older of his mother's had told him that, and she usually gives wise advice.

But he's not really thinking of that when he sees Yunlan leaning against the railing. He's mostly just thinking about his quest to meet all the new people.]

Hi! Zhao Yunlan! [Mikodez definitely doesn't look anywhere near being ready to sleep, that he's also managed to find a lollipop probably doesn't help.]

Re: evening

[wildguardian]

Hey, kid. You know me, but who are you? [His eyebrows are soaring; he tucks his lollipop into one cheek, turning to lean his back (and both elbows) on the railing as he considers the enthusiastic child headed his way.]

Re: evening

[packhound]

You said your name on video. [He wraps his hands around the railing, managing to look like he contemplating something about it.] My name's Vauhan Mikodez, but everyone calls me Mikodez. It's probably social engineering. [If he puts his feet against the railing and leans back, could he catch himself if he let go...]

Spam

[hisblueskies]

[While Alfredo personally does his best to stay off the Network, much as he can't opt out of it, he does offer a soft 'Thank you' into the feed, before falling back into listening again.

Later, however, they're both stuck at the sink, Alfredo drying and dutifully stacking dishes as they come. He's no real cook himself, after all, and he's still thought of as closer to the 'too short' side of things.

He's humming something, though it's not too clear what.]

Re: Spam

[wildguardian]

[The morning singalongs have killed Zhao Yunlan's will to sing annoyingly along with damn near anything, but the ambiguous humming the blond kid's doing does eventually get into his head. He finds himself humming along, and tries taking a few harmony lines for entertainment's sake.]

So what's your name?

Spam

[wastedluck]

[Sometimes, despite how anthropomorphised you are, you gotta just go with your base instincts. Or maybe he's just a dork, who knows

Either way, Yunlan is gonna find Oswald bouncing shamelessly between the couches, getting really good air time with each spring, turning each audible sproing into some ridiculous show - like a swan dive, or a dramatic pose, or a triple somersault. Other Patients are giving him a wide berth, but it seems more like for safety's sake, because sometimes he bounces without warning onto a random cushion or shelf nearby, ricocheting off it with the sound of a pinball bumper and back onto the couch.]

Re: Spam

[wildguardian]

[Yunlan was planning to sprawl out on one of those couches, dammit.

But whatever the hell the bunny (he's got long ears, he's a rabbit, right?) is doing, it sure looks like the couches are full. Or hazardous. Or both, depending.]

Ten out of ten from the Russian judge! Can I have one of those couches to sit on?

Video;

[discerp]

[She tilts her head, listening quietly before she lets out a giggle before she can stop herself. She Immediately cringes and shrinks back]

Ah, s-sorry! I didn’t mean to laugh out of nowhere! I, um— [She fidgets and chews on her bottom lip]

You sound like someone I know… But I’m not sure the answer to your questions are that easy…

Re: Video;

[wildguardian]

Of course they're not easy! These are complicated questions. Right at the heart of social philosophy and all that, you know?

Who's your friend? -- And, for that matter, who are you? We haven't been introduced.

[consolidator]

[ You know what, he appreciates the enthusiasm. There's a weary, bitter edge to his grin, but it's still warm with genuine approval. (He's much less free with feigned pleasantness on the Clipper, largely out of spite.) ]

Passionate appeals to compromise aren't a bad start, generally speaking, but I'm afraid beings like the Nurse tend to be set in their ways. Immortality does that to people.

There's always revolution, but omniscience makes that a tad trickier than usual.

[ Which definitely means he's given up on it. Yep. Nothing to see here. ]

[wildguardian]

Aaah, I figured as much, but it's still worth a try, you know? I've only just gotten here. I like to give it a little time before I work my way up to futile calls for revolution.

[Or, you know, active sabotage attempts. Which he might already be discussing with one or two people. But not on the network, he's not that dumb.]

[fork_off]

Stubbornness helps, to start. Not just giving up and letting things happen.

Also, just helping where you can. Not ignoring people.

[wildguardian]

Sure, being stubborn and not giving up is important, but what are we being stubborn about here, Blanky? What's our goal?

Specifics, I want specifics!

Video

[just7seconds]

[Cloud's bullshit quota has been surpassed by at least 500%.]

Anyone thinking they need that much control over other people could realize that's a personal problem. Not everyone else's.

[This is a guy who doesn't plan to do a single thing on this ship's Graduation Checklist.]

Or maybe the "Nurse" could hurry up and realize they picked the wrong profession and the wrong people to kidnap.

Re: Video

[wildguardian]

Technically I guess we're more like high seas salvage here, but I really wish we could've gotten our butts salvaged by a different ship.

Have you heard about the "check-in" angle yet? Because I just heard about the check-in angle.

[qingofcats]

[Continued from here]

Da Qing comes charging across the room, over the back of a couch, and springs from there directly onto lao Zhao's lap where he's sitting on the couch opposite. He props his feet up on lao Zhao's chest, sticks his face directly in his, and then yowls at the top of his lungs. "Butterfly whiskers said that Ye-forking-Zun was on that other ship with you, and he graduated, and he's doing some kind of mind-sharing bullshirt! Are you sure he's not just mind-controlling all of you?!"

[wildguardian]

"Watch the volume, darn cat!" Yunlan grabs him by the scruff, scowling. "He's not sharing my mind, for one thing. Will you calm down?"

[dragonwithagirltattoo]

You can start by letting us curse. I have a few four-letter words that have been building up behind my eyeballs.

[wildguardian]

Isn't that just the forking truth, kiddo! Some way, any way to get out our feelings.

Maybe we could schedule a four-letter power hour, huh? Get out the bad feelings, get those smiles a little bit more sincere?