Make the Clock Reverse (Day 22 Jelly)

[voidtreckermods]

Make the Clock Reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.

On the evening of Day 21, before it goes dark, any Voidtreckers who look out of the windows might see the void is a little more chaotic than usual. There's a little bit of turbulence. Nothing too bad, nowhere near how bad it got during the void storm, but noticeable all the same.

It doesn't last long, and the night continues. Those who are not early to bed may see the odd golden flicker out of the corner of their eyes, darting away and vanishing if pursued.

Strange...

Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates' design.

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day twenty two of the month of Jelly." The morning announcement wakes everyone up as usual, and they awaken in their own beds.

Though, for some passengers, those beds may seem completely unfamiliar: a strange room full of people they don't recognise. For others the room and people are perfectly normal, just... bigger than they remember them being yesterday.

Or it might be that they feel healed, old scars faded. The changes might be small, sporting their embarrassing teenage hair cut; or drastic, their whole body younger.

Either way, it is clear that something very strange has happened on the train.

(OOC: All the information about this event is Here. All changes will reverse the next night and passengers will wake up normal on day 23.

Update: In early afternoon the dressing carriage cupboards will open and animal onesies will be available in child size.)

Comments

Food Security

[forleaving]

Adam might have been oblivious to some things, like when someone was into him, but he was incredibly observant about other things. For instance, he'd noticed the first, the second, and third sandwiches. He also had the feeling that V had no intentions of stopping at three, and that was probably a problem. Sometimes, people didn't know when enough was enough, or they'd been hungry for long periods of time in their life. Adam had read the historical accounts of people who'd eaten themselves to death after being rescued from terrible situations; he knew it was A Thing.

"You might want to take a bit of a break," he said, tone gentle. "Take a deep breath, give it some time. You might make yourself sick if you don't."

[bodyoftheseus]

Talk about hitting the nail on the head. As Adam spoke V's hackles stared to raise. Everything about his demeanor grew defensive as he looked to the person speaking to him. There's an aggression on V's face that is absolutely a cover for some other emotion.

"I'll stop eatin' when I stop bein' hungry." Which was... exactly the problem. Who knew when that would be.

[forleaving]

"That doesn't mean you can't take a break. The food will still be there." He was pretty sure no one would take food away from someone else here. He certainly wasn't going to. "Breaks are good. They're healthy."

[bodyoftheseus]

That actually made V hesitate. It was a good point, one he couldn't argue against. Not without clearly arguing for the sake of picking a fight, anyway.

"What's it to you? Why do you care?"

[forleaving]

Adam shrugged. "I don't like seeing people in pain. Even if it's just-" he gestured vaguely. "-food related." Temporary. Whether it was a stomach ache or puking or whathaveyou. Also, selfishly, if it reached the last part, he didn't want to clean it up.

hm, used the wrong icon last post, whoops

[bodyoftheseus]

What he said was more or less antithetical to V's overall life experience and there's just doubt across V's face.

"'n you just feel that out've the goodness of your heart, huh?" There isn't quite such an edge to his voice, as if he's losing steam in being overly defensive.

oops

[forleaving]

"Is there something wrong with that?" Adam wasn't upset in the slightest; his tone was even and quiet. He knew it was sometimes hard to believe that people were nice just for the sake of being nice, because they didn't want others to suffer, but it was true in his case. The only times he'd wished ill against someone, they'd deserved it.

[bodyoftheseus]

V's gaze grows harder at the question as he seems to try to punch holes in how genuine he was by stare alone. He could recall that time with Jackie after he'd just gotten back from Night City, the two of them being thrown out after a good beat down from some cops, Jackie dragging him over to the place he shared with his mom, having lunch. He was a good man. Good men existed. The bravado deflated, though his expression still had a hardness to it.

"...No. Just not used to it. Good people're rare where I came from. Kindness gotcha killed." Or could. Didn't always. V often went above and beyond his own contracts out of a certain kindness, but he'd always written it off as excellent customer service. If a merc could have that.

[forleaving]

Adam's gaze was patient and unwavering, and he waited as long as necessary in the silence.

"People are assholes; I get it." He nodded. "Not everyone is, though." Even if it was sometimes detrimental to your health to be a nice person. "Where do you come from?" he asked curiously.

[bodyoftheseus]

"Place called Night City."

V started to put away the things he had taken out, taking his time as he did so. It looks like it hurts to move and moving too quickly causes a flash of discomfort to cross his face. He apparently didn't feel the need to comment on people being assholes. V knew he was right, but keeping a distance and assuming they were was easier.

"If you're from a place with America in it, Night City's right on the border of North 'n South California. Between Los Angeles 'n San Francisco. It's on the north side of the border, but it's an independent city." It's at this point V glances over to see if he seems to recognize the name. Night City had a reputation that preceded it and really did speak for itself, but V was prepared to go more in depth if needed.

[forleaving]

"I've never heard of it," Adam said, watching V almost subconsciously, noting the discomfort. He didn't comment on it, though. "But that's not really too surprising; I've never been far from Virginia. What's it like?" Besides full of assholes, apparently.

[bodyoftheseus]

"Must live'n a reality without it. Night City's infamous." There's a pause as he tucks things back into the fridge where he'd found it, trying to keep things organized.

"City'f, eh, 7 million? Been told it's voted worst place in America to live." He snorted at that, then winced at the pain from the sudden movement.

"There's nowhere else like it. Spent some time in Atlanta and it fell woefully short. Had to go back home." A pause. "You got all the huge megabuildings and skyscrapers, the corpos with their hands 'round everyone's necks. You got your gangs 'n their turf wars 'n petty crime. Neon everywhere in the city proper so even at night the world's as bright as day, awash in pink 'n blue 'n green 'n purple. Got the greatest of the greats walkin' pass the homeless in the streets..." V closed the fridge and paused a moment, blinking as he thought.

"Night City's got everything. I know that in the old days America liked to talk of the American Dream'r whatever, but..." He smiled a little, mostly out of nostalgia, looking over to Adam. "But that's really Night City's whole thing. It's a city of dreams. You can get anywhere you wanna be. Night City's the kinda place that'll chew ya up 'n spit ya out if ya don't got legs under ya to stand. Hone your skills 'n you can become a legend."

[forleaving]

Adam listened quietly, not interrupting or speaking up until V was finished. "I don't think I'd have what it takes to live there; I'm not tough." And he didn't think he had much going for him aside from his intelligence, and even then his top choice college had rejected him.

"You must be, though," he added. Another time, talking about different realities would've been enough to give him pause, but he was, strangely enough, starting to get used to the fact that a lot of people were from different worlds.

[bodyoftheseus]

V shrugged a little, shaking his head.

"Wasn't born tough. Learn it when you grow up with it. Else ya don't last long." There's a shift in the way he spoke, a withdrawn detachment creeping into his voice. "Lots of kids go missin'. Don't learn how to run fast or be clever or be tough and you don't get to my age." He meant 28, but 16 was true enough too.

"In Night City you either hit the ground runnin' 'n carve out your spot, sell your soul to a Corp, or you leave. One way or another." By bus or by death, he meant. V's view is likely pretty biased, given his own history and the life he lived.

"So where are you from where you think you're not so tough?"

[forleaving]

"I'm sorry." Not just for V but for everyone who had to struggle in that city. It didn't sound like a fun time, and the loss of human life was always heartbreaking, especially when it came to children.

He shrugged a shoulder. "A little town in Virginia. The only thing I had to fight for was money to go to school." It was a partial truth, at least, but he'd fought for a lot more than that.

[bodyoftheseus]

"Sorry for what, exactly?" There's a bite to the question. He's holding back a series of bitter questions as he bristled again, but it's in good will that he stops there.

"Virginia, huh? Further north'n west than I've ever been. Hear it's real pretty up there though." He fidgeted a little, rubbing the back of one hand with the other.

"Fightin' over money's more'r less all we do in Night City. Corps jus' figured out how to make it part'f life." Granted the way the other spoke Night City might have taken it to an extreme, but similar if even on some small level.

[forleaving]

"That so many kids go missing," he clarified. Also, that V had to live in a place like that, but he knew a thing or two about not liking to accept pity, so he didn't add that part.

"It's beautiful. Lots of forests and mountains. Not much happens, but that's alright with me." He still managed to have enough excitement for a lifetime.

"People shouldn't have to fight over money." Adam shook his head. "But if everything was easily affordable, the rich would lose out." He was bitter about that; the rich kept getting richer, and the poor continued to struggle.