route666radio | [Audio+Action]

Entry tags:

[Audio+Action]

Hello? Hello! This is Jack.

Um, I am in one of the back trailers in the second convoy. And I have found sewing supplies and more fabric, and I thought, well, some of us have been going through, erm, changes. These can be hard on our clothing or make wearing certain clothing difficult.

I am not the best tailor in the world, I cannot make a patch or mended tear invisible or create clothing from scratch, but I know how to mend very well if you do not need it to be invisible. Also I can probably take your old clothes and alter them to fit you better.

I will be down here all evening if you would like to stop by. I will try to be here most evenings after dinner but before bed in case anyone needs help fixing your clothes. Okay? Okay.

[And with that slightly distracted-sounding final note, as the sound of fabric rustling around marks him getting back to work, he signs off.

He will indeed be down in the shops section of the convoy all evening, working diligently to patch, mend, repair, and alter clothing for anyone who comes by. If no one comes by, he's working on his own clothes or trying to work out how to make a pattern so he can learn how to make clothes from scratch, preferably with as little wasted material on mistakes as possible. He has no idea if he will ever find more, after all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[V doesn't fidget much, though their right hand twitches, aborting an attempt to reach for their sigil.]

"I'm glad to see you are alright. The moon warp... it was rough."

[Both for them in particular, and for a lot of other people.]

It was.

[Jack nods at that, a bit more soberly. He pulls in a breath, bracing himself a little for the confession, then says,]

I had a form like yours even before I came here. Only with less of my mind. The moon warp activated it. I turned on one of my friends, when it happened.

[He's trying to be more open about his werewolf nature, now. They're all changing. Perhaps if more people know, he'll be able to help them, he thinks.]

[It's not fear V feels, but concern - which, almost paradoxically, helps quell their anxiety for the time being.]

Being- being turned against oneself like that - having your mind lost to it, I mean - that's what makes it hurt the most, I think.

[More quietly, they add:] I'm sorry you hurt your friend. Did they- stay by your side, during the Moon Warp?

[They're pretty sure the same thing happened to them. ~~They need to talk to Serph, it's just... the doing of it, that's the sticking point.~~]

I am used to it. I have been dealing with this for... well, for a very long time.

[Jack sounds weary when he says it.]

If I had known it was going to happen, I would have been somewhere safe, but I was behind the shields. The shields apparently do not affect my original curse.

[He shrugs a little, draws up a smile, and says,]

He did, though. He dragged me into a place that weakened me, and was able to keep me bound all night so I did not hurt anyone else. I am grateful to him.

[Funnily enough, Jack not stating his age outright does draw more than just curiosity from V - but that's not what they'd come here to ask about, anyhow.]

So what you're dealing with is twofold - not simply because of whatever brought us here.

[They're just stating the obvious aloud, but better to make it clear that they're understanding him.]

... I am glad to hear it. That you both made it through, I mean.

[That's about the bulk of it: Jack's got his original transformation, and now whatever new shit this broken moon is throwing at him. Hopefully that will be helpful to someone.]

I am, too. Now we are fast friends.

[Who share a bed with a demon-man. His life is so weird now. He shakes his head a bit, closing the shop door behind him.]

Enough about me. What did you wish to talk about?

[V backs up, gesturing that it's okay for Jack to walk alongside them if he wants to have this conversation on the move.]

That was the crux of it - the Moon Warps, and what being out in them did.

[If it wasn't for the whole 'stay human' undercurrent, V would be much more accepting of the Convoy's intent... but they sure understand it better now.]

I'm... afraid. That all we can do is hide from those effects, to have any measure of control over how we choose to be.

And that may be the case.

[Jack sounds serious when he says it.]

There was no cure in my world for what I am. I simply had to make do with it, take precautions. I had systems in place to keep the world safe from me.

[He looks over at V.]

At least here, there are people who are just like we are. We should all have... have partners. Friends. People who can help us if we lose control. There are things that work for my other form that may work for everyone else's, but it may also be that they simply have to stop us.

Community...

[True, that was no small thing.]

I bel- I want to believe that you are right.

[V notably corrects theirself on that one. No falsehoods.]

It is not so much the part of needing to be stopped that frightens me - it is that, somewhere, something running this deliberately incites the mindlessness, in addition to the transformations. This will keep happening to people, through means we don't know how to stop.

[They clench their fists.]

I can get by with new structures, new forms, these precautions of which you speak - even make friends, or so I hope - but I am very sick of enslavement.

[And there is no one to truly take that anger out on.]

I do not blame you for being afraid of it. Losing yourself is terrifying, I know. But everyone so far has come back from it. So you are only... hmm. Temporarily misplacing yourself?

[He reaches over tentatively to pat V's shoulder gently, aiming for reassurance. It had seemed to help when they had been the large cat-person.]

But so far, for the most part, our choices are our own. We are not slaves to this broken moon yet.

[He huffs a little sigh.]

I am hoping there will be answers when we reach this... Nirvana place. The person behind this convoy wants us to resist, so they will hopefully have ways to do that.

[V makes an uncertain noise - but that way of thinking of it does help them settle, relax their shoulders a little more at Jack's touch.]

No - being afraid of it, I shouldn't let that fear imprison me. Thank you, Jack.

... Though I hope we have a chance to learn more sooner. If it is only up to whoever is at Nirvana, they could choose to withhold important information.

[They'd rather not be fed only a portion of the truth.]

They probably will, and are. They haven not, honestly, told us very much at all. Maybe they cannot, maybe all we have here are simple recordings and this is a pre-programmed route. Or maybe there is a reason they do not want to share who they are and what exactly has happened here.

Or maybe they think we know already, because they believe we are natives like they are. It is hard to tell.

[He shrugs helplessly.]

Our only other option is to strike out on our own, and I do not like those odds.

The programming in these vehicles is minimal.

[If there's anything Wrong, it's damnably difficult to detect at this level.]

We would need a lot more power - and better ways to detect what's already out there, for sure.

[And sure, they all have motive power, but most of their vehicles and independent stores are too small to justify independent action.]

... If people have survived here, I strongly doubt they can do so alone.

[Even the monsters mostly hunt in packs.]

Yes, I am hoping that this Nirvana we are going towards is a city of survivors. Everyone has better chances together than alone, whether stationary or on the move. But especially on the move.

[Stationary can be a tempting target unless it's too tough to crack. Which is what he's hoping. The convoy's shield technology on a large scale.

He shakes his head a bit, and asks,]

Do you feel a little better now? Probably not a lot better. There is too much uncertainty. But a little?

[V thinks over the possibility, and the hope... resonates.]

Yes. We'll make do with what we have.

[They gesture back at the locked room.]

And speaking of - any other offers to scavenge?

Not yet.

[He hasn't specifically asked, though, either.]

Still, I imagine some people will find things and bring them in, now that they know what I'm doing. And I'll be looking. I am good at scavenging.

We could scout together sometime. If you would like that.

[Strictly speaking, it's also just a Good Idea, but V isn't going to insist on coming with Jack on every trip he makes.

They try and smile.]

None of us have to be alone.

[It feels good, to reiterate those words.]

[Jack turns a warm smile on them.]

Yes. Exactly that. I would love to have you with me the next time we spot a house or shop or something.

[He looks amused, then, and adds,]

SecUnit is very emphatic about us not going places alone, after all.

Indeed.

[V shares another small smile with Jack.]

It is very knowledgeable about what can go wrong otherwise, that is for sure.

[V can respect that level of protective exasperation on behalf of one's team.]

... I can also help repair or improve our vehicles, depending on what supplies we find.

[Jack can respect it, too. He literally called his best friend and favorite person "a pain in the ass who I have to save all the time". Love can come hand in hand with exasperation.]

I might take you up on that. I can do some very basic things. I can fix a flat tire or repair a hose or change the oil, but anything beyond that and I am not as good.

[V nods, becoming another notch more comfortable with it all.]

I can provide instruction, hands-on guidance. Or we can work more as a team.

[Triage and so forth.]

I do like learning new things. I wouldn't say no to you showing me how to fix more things in our cars.

It is appreciated, to hear you say that.

[It is sometimes alarming just how many people here don't know cars at all.

They could probably do more in the way of tutoring, really. Even if they are not the most social.]

[Jack pats their arm lightly, continuing the way down the hall, chatting at least until they reach the dining trailer for a snack before bed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Audio+Action]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Think it's alright if we wrap this one? Or is there something else these two should talk about here?

wrap is good!