underwhelms | ( bootycall )

[ Nothing like traumatic VR experiences to bring people closer together! They aren't exactly friends per se, but JJ's left enough of an impression on her that she thinks to contact him once most of the chaos has blown over for the night. ]

How are you? Did you manage to get a tent set up?

riza?
oh god riza
[ Get ready for a retelling of the entire event, Riza. ]
i just woke up in that pod and
i had not idea what was going to happen
i just started praying
AND THEN THERE WAS A FIRE
but nothing exploded
i don't even know how to explain to you
but there are so many people here that look normal
but aren't normal
which is great
but i am normal
i mean i'm not normal but in terms of superpowers yknow
and it's so hard because it's like the vr room
but the simulation never ends
im just so tired
like more tired than i've ever been after practice
riza
yeah i got a tent set up
haha i went camping so often as a kid
but this place has nothing on algonquin
you don't think there are actually monsters here do you?

[ has he forgotten that she went through the same experience....probably. honestly she only gives the whole (very long....) message a cursory skim, largely because if he can type out all that in such quick succession, then he's probably fine.

she does, however, feel bad that he's being forced to go through all of this. ]

It's best to prepared if there are.

[ if he wasn't hoping for solid reassurance, then she's the wrong person to ask it from. ]

But it sounds as though you're handling yourself well so far. It must be a lot to take in. Have you found people to camp with?

[ Riza, if he can't count on you to lie to him then what are we even doing here. ]

be prepared??
i don't have any weapons
am i just supposed to hide behind other people???
i mean
i don't know if anyone here can fight any better than me
they're mostly skinnier than i am

except the robot
there's a robot

[ He still hasn't gotten around to asking her how she's doing though. What a stand up guy. ]

We can find you weapons, if you want to learn how to use them.

[ Normally she'd prefer to refrain from placing regular citizens into the line of fire and sticking sharp pointy things in their hands, but this is hardly a normal situation.

That said—]

A robot? Like a moving machine?

[ He hesitates when he hears that. On one hand, running around with a gun sounds really cool, but on the other...

A gun? The idea leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He's not police or military, those kinds of weapons have no place in his life. ]

yeah
a walking talking machine
with a giant flashlight head
its pretty polite
i'm not sure if it's a person or a weapon though

[ His lack of answer's noted but not questioned. Perhaps he got distracted, perhaps he just didn't care. Either way, if it's something he's truly interested in, he'll bring it up later. ]

Can it not be both?

[ Which seems almost cruel, in a way, but she considers herself both. ]

[ ??? ]

i mean i don't know
if it's an actual object or a person
not like how my smile is a weapon because it's so cute

[ jfc she's just not gonna comment on that ]

Do you think there's a person inside the robot? Is that why you're unsure?

yeah you ever seen iron man?
kinda like is this jarvis
is this robot gonna kill us all because robots are superior to humans
you know
instead of aliens

I've never heard of this "iron man". Is that what he does, destroy humans because he considers them inferior?

[ sounds real concerning, tbqh ]

well no iron man is human but the iron part is a robot
[ He doesn't actually remember the movies too well. ]
anyway computers take over the world
because humans... hm
they don't know what's good for them?

That's what makes us human.

[ for better or for worse ]

But I like to think we try our best all the same, even if it doesn't always end in the best results.

yeah i know
i'm an athlete
the only reason don't quit is because we know effort is more than result

but no one's going to die if i don't win a competition

i think some of the others here have killed people

[ lol...........................

she spends several seconds looking at his message, debating how much to reveal. how much he would be comfortable revealing. ]

Does that bother you?

i dunno?

[ He just kind of said it without really thinking about it, and he's not even sure where an observation like that came from. It's not like he knows if it's true, or that he's even seen anything that might make him think it.

The idea gets his stomach to churn, but he pushes it away. ]

i don't know if i'd believe it even if i knew it was true
it's still kind of hard to grasp all of this
what do you think about it all? about where we are?

[ Honestly? She finds it hard to believe. Her trust in organizations - though not people - has dipped to a low, and the fact that she is here while others are not leaves her feeling unsettled. ]

I don't like it. [ Who would, learning their home has been destroyed? ] But there's little else we can do other than do as we're told.

Darma seems kind enough, so far.

i don't get that

[ He wishes there were someone to deny all of this with him, even if it's futile. It's the acceptance that makes him feel so alone.

Darma seems nice? That's not—that doesn't make him feel any better. ]

how do you just… accept that this is your life now and move on?
you're just taking it really well

Edited (screams) 2017-07-20 16:15 (UTC)

[ Reassurance has never been one of her specialties. Better than the Colonel at least, but that's not saying much. ]

I accept that if I want to see my friends well and whole, there is no other choice than to do as I'm told.

We don't have any information besides what we've been given. If this is a lie or some type of elaborate ruse, there's little we can do until we find out more.

[ All the best-laid plans rest on a foundation of intel and reconnaissance.

Still. ]

I'm sorry this is difficult for you. [ It must, for someone so deep over his head. ] Would having physical company help?

i know
that what you're saying makes sense but

[ He can't get the rest of him to see it that way, the panic that rises up or the melancholy, or the completely irrational will to cooperate at all and just.

Stop everything.

And then he sits up in his tent a little, fingers hovering over the screen of his device. It's not like him to be uncertain. ]

would you come find me?

I would.

[ She doesn't make offers she refuses to keep. ]

[ That gets him to smile, and for a second he feels a little normal again. ]

ok
how're you going to find me?
ms. hawkeye
do we have gps on this thing?

( bootycall )

since none of us are ever going to top level; after the descent

what is this call out

i'm calling us all out tbh

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are you allowed to 4th wall like this spoon

these are an unrelated iron man and jarvis

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3/3 whoops

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this is the shortest tag, i'm sorry

drops you on wg

rude as heck tbh

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