[voice, ota]

[rebells]

Hello there.

This is Jay. If we haven't spoken yet, I've been with this "coven" more or less since its beginning, and I helped coordinate defense during the first Uvi raid. Feel free to ask me any questions you don't want to bother Genette or Brie with; a more informed group benefits us all, after all.

I'm talking to you all in interest of that, actually: a number of us have expressed that a comprehensive listing of everyone's abilities, particularly those granted us by Qri, would be useful to have. If you'll come talk to me about yours, either over telepathy or in person, that would be much appreciated. Genette should know about your Qri-granted power, if you don't.

I'll be in the house we're staying in for most of the day. Please do take care of yourselves, and be careful not to get shocked.

[Indeed, Jay can be found at a table near the entrance to the coven's house, with a stack of papers that read:

NAME:
CAN YOU FIGHT?:
QRI-GRANTED POWER:
OTHER POWERS:

He'll be handing them out to anyone who passes by, although what you do with yours is of course up to you.]




((a thing for you to fill out))

Comments

[splinten]

We'll travel to a world where lyrical virtuosity and respect for the spoken word is the major cultural mode. We'll interact with rough uncertainty, but slowly come to understand the population. Unfortunately, there will always be an issue of resources. We try to get them through bartering and an exchange of services, but they just aren't buying it. The only way to win is through the greatest rap-off in the history of the multiverse.

[rebells]

[ . . . he laughs. It's a short laugh. But a laugh.]

Do you fantasize about this?

[splinten]

[straight faced]

Every spare moment.

[rebells]

I suppose it's not totally out of the question. What a life you lead.

[He straightens a little, toying with the cap of his pen.]

How are you? I haven't gotten the chance to ask you what you think of-- [He shrugs expansively.] recent happenings.

[splinten]

[There's a pause, and Dirk's expression doesn't really change but there's a small shift in his posture. Thoughtful, maybe?]

You ever wonder if Qri might throw us away if we're not useful to her?

[rebells]

[He frowns.]

That's a good question. If we cost more energy to keep here than we're giving her in return, I don't see why she wouldn't . . . unless "throwing us away" would have some sort of consequence she'd like to avoid.

[Does he want to be "thrown away," if that means going home? As bitter as it is to admit, Qri is a more palatable 'master' than Solon so far, the mysteriousness of her motives aside. He glances away.]

What about you? Is that something you've been thinking about?

[splinten]

Where we're from, we're dead or worse.

[His shoulders raise, a shrug.]

So yeah, I've been wondering if maybe pissing her off might not be in me and Jake's best interests.

[Dave and Rose and John are already gone. But John at least is gone to fix things, and Dave and Rose will have the dream bubbles. Dirk knows Jake should too, but he doesn't think he'll get that.]

Not that it necessarily decides my choices. It'd just be dumb of me to ignore it as a possibility among the many annoyingly vague variables we're operating with here.

[rebells]

[He's--surprised, not least that Dirk would admit that so easily: he's been tight-lipped about his own home world situation--about himself in general--and he sort of expects Dirk to be like him in that respect.

Also, his social graces don't extend to "knowing what to do when someone tells you they're dead." He rests his chin in his hands and is silent for a long moment.]

It makes sense to consider all possibilities, certainly. [A hesitation. He looks away again.] I . . . wonder how common that is. To be brought here in a situation where you wouldn't want to return "home." If I were Qri I might try to ensure it.

[splinten]

[Fortunately for Jay, Dirk doesn't really need social graces in those circumstances. It falls into the same category as, 'yeah, everyone is dead,' or, 'nah I decapitated myself' (although he does tend to leave that one out to avoid people getting mad at him?? Jane and Jake overreacted, really) and doesn't expect sympathy. It's just what things are.]

It'd be strategically advantageous, although we're assuming that she's capable of selecting us with that level of precision. The exactitude of her powers are as much of an unknown to us as anything else about them, to add further to the huge pile of vague bullshit yet to be answered. There are at least a few people who have implied a desire to get home as soon as they can, for whatever that's worth in our explanations.

[rebells]

[He nods along with what Dirk is saying--that's pretty much what he reasoned out himself. Dirk gets a small flash of a smile on 'vague bullshit.']

I've met at least one person who thought she had something important to get back to, although that doesn't necessarily mean it was a good thing. I doubt it's a universal tendency, anyway. Very little seems to be.

[And--he hesitates, because they've come back to 'what are we supposed to do, if defying Qri means she might send us back,' and that brings up all sorts of feelings and questions.

(He really doesn't want to go home, he realizes. Not back to Solon.)]

. . . what are you planning to do? About the bones.

[splinten]

I haven't decided. [Honest, and not ashamed. It's why he didn't participate in the vote. He hadn't made his call.] It would be nice to believe in Qri, and by nice I mean damn convenient. Gather up the bones, hand 'em over, go back to avoiding crabs and stupid bullshit. Weirdly, going along with vague and mysterious authorities that give unclear directives has at times really worked out for me. As far as we can gather, taking the bones won't actually hurt the Palai or this world, so as long as there aren't any objections from a cultural standpoint, there's no reason not to take them.

With that settled, the only part of the equation with variables is the giving them over. Un-fucking-fortunately there are more variables than we can work with. We don't even know the full-scale consequences of being wrong. The thing about vague and mysterious sources that can't give you all the information is that you have to have a sense of who they are as people. They might be a kind-hearted nerd who just wants to help out, or they could be a fucking asshole with fucked up kinks hellbent on sororicide. To figure anything about Qri out we'd need to be able to chat her up, because right now we don't have the context to make any sense of her actions.

So yeah, that's my sagacious decision. "I have no fucking clue."

[How did he ever think he's be the mastermind? He's such a damn idiot.]

[rebells]

That's part of why we wanted to hold the bones back, you realize. To force her to tip her hand.

[But he says it matter-of-fact, not really annoyed: they aren't going to be well-organized enough to manage that anyway, and he does--in the end--understand Dirk's reluctance to push her.

That speech also brings up all sorts of questions about Dirk's life up until now, but he decides to leave them for the moment.]

Honestly, I don't have any more of an idea than you do. Just a healthy suspicion of people who kidnap me. [He taps his pen against the table, frowning into the distance.] We can keep pressing, trying to find ways to get Qri to interact with us. That's what I'd suggest, in fact. But we're unlikely to get more information before we have to make a decision about the bones.

[splinten]

Yeah. I don't know if I trust it'll work.

[Because life sucks and he kind of expects them to get fucked over hard here.]

I guess I'll make my call after we find out how the Palai feel about bone theft.

[rebells]

[A nod. Leaving it up to the Palai makes some sense.]

. . . she probably will get some bones. From Brie and Genette, at least. Moon, probably. That may not be the worst thing. To have her receive some power, but not a great amount, while we figure out what to do next.

[splinten]

I love when what 'the worst thing' is is up in the air. That's always fucking awesome. [This situation really, really sucks.] Back at base, my sylladex will go back to non-existence. There's no way I can horde the bones in an existence out of reach.

[rebells]

Having them out of reach by anyone until we get to the next "high-frequency world" might not be the worst thing, either . . . . [But as it's hard to see how that would do anyone much good, he moves on.]

Depending on whether we find anything behind the barrier, it may be best to leave the Palai some amount of the bones anyway. To power a means of getting back up there.

[splinten]

I misspoke. They wouldn't go out of reach. They'd just pop out of my sylladex with everything else in there and make a huge fucking mess.

[WHICH WOULD BE BAD.]

And potentially to power those shields 9S and Jude were working on.

[rebells]

[He makes a face. That would indeed not be great.]

That's right . . . the Uvi are gone now, but there's no telling what else might be out here. Behind the barrier or elsewhere.

[splinten]

So leaving at least a defensive measure might not be a bad idea. There might be a lot more than just one island out there.

[rebells]

Not to mention I trust them not to misuse the bones more than I trust Qri. [A sigh.] Which brings us back to our original topic, I suppose. We need more information. As it is, we're essentially flying blind.

[splinten]

That's my favourite thing.

[It's more than frustrating.]

I'd prefer to take a few and keep them back as insurance. Maybe Minato can bead them for us.

[rebells]

I suppose it's that or stuffing our pockets. [A beat.] I'd be interested in seeing what we could do with them, anyway. One of the others was talking about studying them.

[splinten]

We'll likely lose power on them when we hit the hub. Though I've wondered if the reason they work as a power source for Qri is because they're constant. Finding out that alone is a good reason to hold onto at least one.

[rebells]

[He nods.]

I'd certainly like to know that. As well as how she uses them, but I'm not placing bets on that happening any time soon.