A-Qing (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
spikelet) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
voidtreckerexpress2020-06-04 12:47 pm
spikelet) wrote in voidtreckerexpress2020-06-04 12:47 pm
Open - Fiddlesticks and Grasshopper catchall
Who: A-Qing and YOU
Where: See prompts
When: Fiddlesticks Day 17 onwards
What: 1. first morning, sneaking back into 1-E | 2. mix and mingle, out and about | 3. sticky fingers and bad decisions | 4. what if she just lived in the cinema | 5. wildcard
Notes: If you prefer prose/action, switch to the format you want and I'll match. She will never be in a carriage or space by herself. If you want to amend a prompt or do it differently, i.e. confronting her for stealing after the fact, go for it.
Warnings: Threads may include discussions violence or death, these will be marked.
1. New Game+, Day 17 Morning, closed to 1-E
Unaware of the effect that should have had her in her bunk by now, just minutes after the morning alarm, A-Qing slides open the door to her room as quietly as possible. Her breathing is light and fast, confusion and exertion taking their toll. Having discarded and defaced her uniform, relieved that someone had at least pointed out to her that the little scraps of white fabric sewn into the seams had her name on, she'd had to grab a damp towel from the laundry and wrap it around herself. They'll get over it, she decides.
She hopes they're all still asleep, she has no idea what time it is, or why she woke up in a bag, clothes covered in dried blood but her own body completely clean and unmarred. She just wants to crawl into bed and never come out. But first, new clothes. If she can just unzip this bag with fingers starting to shake.
2. Safety in Numbers, OTA
For all of his threats, she knows that guy isn't an idiot. He wouldn't go after her in broad daylight - trainlight, whatever - so that means that as much as she wants to just hole up in her room and never come out, she should be safe to move about. And should, because now her mission to have him dealt with is back on.
Carefully, though, only going from one carriage to another when she can slip in with someone else, but exploration has begun. Without a cane to tap as a prop to make people move out of the way, she braces herself and starts casting her hand about in front of her, fingers flitting from surfaces, edges of tables and tracing along walls; she's sure she'll have to bump into a few people who don't notice... But without knowing who's on his side, she can't risk losing the element of surprise. Even if it's just someone who knows she's faking it, because he's told them - that's vital information.
Every so often, she spots someone she 'knows', and asks the nearest person, "Excuse me, I'm looking for...". Either loud enough to get their attention, or at the least to get herself steered in the right direction.
3. Bad Habits and Misplaced Retribution, OTA
Stealing is wrong. A nice tenet, for people who have anything. They've given her a bag of clothing, of soap, paper and writing implements and a ticket that she's told has her name and location on it. And, apparently, three 'points', that can be used like coins to buy anything she wants from the 'vending machine'. But while she doesn't know the prices of things, she does know that, for example, a live rabbit is thirty points, and can work backwards from there. Enough to have a solid idea that her three points won't buy her anything important.
So she looks over shoulders and from around corners at people using the ICPs or the vending machines. She's studied her own ticket enough to know which words on the 'roster' are the name or 'cabin', so by process of elimination, the points value is either of the numbers on either side of the 'cabin'.
Looking for the biggest number, she realises with disappointment that she's going to have to risk it, because most people only have one big number and one small. A few people have both numbers high, but they're mostly in Red, same as that guy, and look severe or busy, the worst kind of person to steal from. While she'd love to, maybe just to punish them for not figuring out that guy's deal or for being his friend, she won't risk it. Regretfully, she aims for someone younger, and hopes that the number on the right is points.
A bump, a stammered apology, and she goes for their ticket with a short lifetime of skill.
[OOC: Conditions for being stolen from: 1. your character has a large number of points, at least in the triple digits, and 2. their ticket is accessible, i.e. she's seen them take it out and then put it away somewhere she can pick it from. She will NOT steal from anyone wearing red. If she is successful, she will buy a 3p snack from the vending machine and then reverse pickpocket the ticket back onto their person. ]
4. [Merry Little Voidtrain theme on haunting repeat], OTA
It takes her some time, but eventually she follows a group of other passengers into an open, dark room full of seating. A large, intricate production is unfolding on a screen at one side. Entranced, she sits among them, curls up with her knees tucked up into her hoodie. Rests her chin on her folded arms, and, ironically, takes in the 'movie' without seeing it.
Sat next to any of a certain smaller selection of people, she might allow herself to follow the screen, vision fixed on the colours and movement of another world, a story told in breathtaking detail, like it's happening right in front of her.
Either way, she'll end up invested, breath catching at suspenseful moments, protesting out loud when a villain seems to be getting away or a character she likes is being mistreated... She's not a quiet viewer, and doesn't know or care to change that.
5. Wildcard
[ Choose your own adventure! ]
Where: See prompts
When: Fiddlesticks Day 17 onwards
What: 1. first morning, sneaking back into 1-E | 2. mix and mingle, out and about | 3. sticky fingers and bad decisions | 4. what if she just lived in the cinema | 5. wildcard
Notes: If you prefer prose/action, switch to the format you want and I'll match. She will never be in a carriage or space by herself. If you want to amend a prompt or do it differently, i.e. confronting her for stealing after the fact, go for it.
Warnings: Threads may include discussions violence or death, these will be marked.
1. New Game+, Day 17 Morning, closed to 1-E
Unaware of the effect that should have had her in her bunk by now, just minutes after the morning alarm, A-Qing slides open the door to her room as quietly as possible. Her breathing is light and fast, confusion and exertion taking their toll. Having discarded and defaced her uniform, relieved that someone had at least pointed out to her that the little scraps of white fabric sewn into the seams had her name on, she'd had to grab a damp towel from the laundry and wrap it around herself. They'll get over it, she decides.
She hopes they're all still asleep, she has no idea what time it is, or why she woke up in a bag, clothes covered in dried blood but her own body completely clean and unmarred. She just wants to crawl into bed and never come out. But first, new clothes. If she can just unzip this bag with fingers starting to shake.
2. Safety in Numbers, OTA
For all of his threats, she knows that guy isn't an idiot. He wouldn't go after her in broad daylight - trainlight, whatever - so that means that as much as she wants to just hole up in her room and never come out, she should be safe to move about. And should, because now her mission to have him dealt with is back on.
Carefully, though, only going from one carriage to another when she can slip in with someone else, but exploration has begun. Without a cane to tap as a prop to make people move out of the way, she braces herself and starts casting her hand about in front of her, fingers flitting from surfaces, edges of tables and tracing along walls; she's sure she'll have to bump into a few people who don't notice... But without knowing who's on his side, she can't risk losing the element of surprise. Even if it's just someone who knows she's faking it, because he's told them - that's vital information.
Every so often, she spots someone she 'knows', and asks the nearest person, "Excuse me, I'm looking for...". Either loud enough to get their attention, or at the least to get herself steered in the right direction.
3. Bad Habits and Misplaced Retribution, OTA
Stealing is wrong. A nice tenet, for people who have anything. They've given her a bag of clothing, of soap, paper and writing implements and a ticket that she's told has her name and location on it. And, apparently, three 'points', that can be used like coins to buy anything she wants from the 'vending machine'. But while she doesn't know the prices of things, she does know that, for example, a live rabbit is thirty points, and can work backwards from there. Enough to have a solid idea that her three points won't buy her anything important.
So she looks over shoulders and from around corners at people using the ICPs or the vending machines. She's studied her own ticket enough to know which words on the 'roster' are the name or 'cabin', so by process of elimination, the points value is either of the numbers on either side of the 'cabin'.
Looking for the biggest number, she realises with disappointment that she's going to have to risk it, because most people only have one big number and one small. A few people have both numbers high, but they're mostly in Red, same as that guy, and look severe or busy, the worst kind of person to steal from. While she'd love to, maybe just to punish them for not figuring out that guy's deal or for being his friend, she won't risk it. Regretfully, she aims for someone younger, and hopes that the number on the right is points.
A bump, a stammered apology, and she goes for their ticket with a short lifetime of skill.
[OOC: Conditions for being stolen from: 1. your character has a large number of points, at least in the triple digits, and 2. their ticket is accessible, i.e. she's seen them take it out and then put it away somewhere she can pick it from. She will NOT steal from anyone wearing red. If she is successful, she will buy a 3p snack from the vending machine and then reverse pickpocket the ticket back onto their person. ]
4. [Merry Little Voidtrain theme on haunting repeat], OTA
It takes her some time, but eventually she follows a group of other passengers into an open, dark room full of seating. A large, intricate production is unfolding on a screen at one side. Entranced, she sits among them, curls up with her knees tucked up into her hoodie. Rests her chin on her folded arms, and, ironically, takes in the 'movie' without seeing it.
Sat next to any of a certain smaller selection of people, she might allow herself to follow the screen, vision fixed on the colours and movement of another world, a story told in breathtaking detail, like it's happening right in front of her.
Either way, she'll end up invested, breath catching at suspenseful moments, protesting out loud when a villain seems to be getting away or a character she likes is being mistreated... She's not a quiet viewer, and doesn't know or care to change that.
5. Wildcard
[ Choose your own adventure! ]
no subject
... Nita's pretty sure there are worse excuses. But, more importantly, now that she has A-Qing's attention she can recognize the girl's face.
And the fact that there'd been a heart next to her name on the Passenger Roster this morning.
She's surprised enough to drop the slightly-angry staring, and instead asks, almost instinctively,
/Are you all right?/
In the Speech, even; Nita wants to be sure this is true, that A-Qing is alive.
no subject
She doesn't want to think about why it might be genuine, she's been so careful.
"I'm fine! Why do people keep asking that?" She knows she has no defense, so she brings her hands up, at least hoping to catch a blow or be able to duck away from a grab.
The machine spits Nita's ticket back out with a whir.
no subject
And ask repetitive questions, frankly; Nita can't deny that.While Nita's switched back to English (well, 'English' - whatever the SCA is supplementing for those on the train), she's still off-guard enough to swear without bothering to self-censor.
"Look, was all you wanted another bar of chocolate? Because I wouldn't have minded buying it myself for you, it's really not a problem!"
Should she scold A-Qing for stealing the ticket - which Nita absently notes is now on the floor? Probably, but what would be the point in that, really?
Social norms on a train, they're like doing order of operations. What comes first? For Nita, right now, that's making sure A-Qing isn't in immediate danger.
no subject
"Nothing's happened! I'm just stuck on this train, same as the rest of you. I don't need..."
Ugh. "I was just testing it out, okay! I heard that you have a lot of points, so you wouldn't miss three. Keep the-" a pause, to recall what she'd called it, "-the chocolate."
If she can get her angry, she can get that look off her face.
no subject
"That's fine. Though, uh, do they have Braille, or whatever, on these things? Kinda seems like an oversight if they don't..."
Since Nita missed the actual ordering, for all she knows A-Qing ordered it using the voice-command function, but making sure the train's not overlooking people's needs is something Nita can do, in the face of- well, all this.
no subject
no subject
However...
"Fine, I will. But- look, I know we both have more important things to do, but if someone comes after you again? Most of us know how to fight off people like that."
This isn't about the candy now, and Nita's not sure how A-Qing's going to take it, but:
"So, speaking as someone who's had close calls? Those kinds of people can be dealt with. Ask around, and people will offer to teach whatever they've got. That goes for me, too."
no subject
And besides, it doesn't matter if most of them know how to fight. It only takes one who doesn't. Her voice is light, thin with fear-as-annoyance.
"Thanks, but I don't know what you're talking about."
She makes to duck past Nita, ready to skitter further away if she needs to.
no subject
"... Only one person on this train's died before; it happened on a mission, but when they came back after, there was a little heart by their name. There should probably be Braille for that too, honestly."
A-Qing can probably connect the dots; that there's a heart by her name as well, that people have seen it.
no subject
"Good," she mutters. Good that only one person has died. It means that he's not done anything until now.
It means he's only going after her. She can use that. "Thanks, for letting me know."
The door to the next carriage slides open as someone moves through from the other side, and she darts forward, slipping through before it closes again.
no subject
But, if it's helped her somehow-
"Anytime," she says, quieter than she wants, though maybe that's how A-Qing would prefer it.
As a council member, Nita has her work cut out for her.
At least she's not the only one on the case?