Lieutenant Ari Tayrey (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
astrogator) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-11-23 06:04 pm
astrogator) wrote in come_sailaway2022-11-23 06:04 pm
To infinity...and beyond? (Semi-open)
Who: Ari Tayrey + willing CR + anyone else who wants in
What: Mini-plot: an expedition to determine what kind of infinite this store really is
When: 25-29??? November
Where: The Infinite Tommy Bahama
Warnings: None yet
Notes: First prompt is a text message sent to Ari's friendly-ish CR - replies are welcome even from people who don't want to take part! Other prompts are open but please note that participating characters will potentially be in the store for up to 4/5 days. Party post rules are fine, start your own toplevels and tag people other than Ari if you like. ((I checked with our lovely mod about what would happen if they tried this!))
1. Texting
I have a plan. I want to see just how infinite this Tommy Bahama is. Multi-day expedition for data collection? It could be informative. Maybe fun, too. Interested in coming along?
- Tayrey
2. Preparing
Even people who don't know Ari well may notice that something is up. It's not often that people walk into Tommy Bahama wearing backpacks full of supplies. There's some last-minute preparation going on here, as well as a last-minute opportunity to join the expedition. Expect Ari to want to check and make sure everyone has all the essentials with them. She's used to preparing for trips to uninhabited and potentially hostile planets, and it shows. Don't mind the fussing. She wouldn't do it if she didn't care.
3. Exploring
Despite all the promises, the expedition is - well, boring might be an accurate description, unless you're really invested in the outcome. There's a lot of walking past the same racks of clothes, over and over and over. Infinite length doesn't mean infinite variety.
Ari's fascinated, and she'll be chattering about loop programming to anyone who will listen, and attempting to measure the distance between one rack of garishly-patterned bikinis and the next iteration of that very same rack. She'll encourage tests, too - what happens if you completely destroy one of the displays? Is the destruction repeated? (Spoiler alert: no, it's not that kind of loop, but let's try it a few times anyway and make sure?)
Maybe you give up and head back after a few hours. Maybe you have a run-in with the Bahamanal. Maybe you join in with Ari's ridiculous spacer song singalong - she is in a good mood. It's Tommy Bahama, anything could happen.
4. Relaxing
Ari pushes the pace on the first day, because it comes naturally to do so, and possibly, subconsciously, to weed out anyone who isn't serious about this and is going to cause them problems once they're a long way in. Eventually, though, it's time to stop for the night. There's not a campfire, but it's a fine social occasion just the same. Ari's brought some Serena Eterna branded playing cards, and she's up for a little gambling. Maybe you have some other entertainment ideas. Don't stay up too long, though - see if you can't make a nice nest of clothes to bed down in. There's plenty of walking to do tomorrow.
5. Emerging
Plenty of data has been collected about the repeating displays, but there's no end in sight to this store. Is it really infinite? If there's a way to answer that question, this expedition won't do it. It's over two days in when the group realises that they're over halfway through the supplies they brought. Time to turn around, whether that leaves you disappointed or delighted.
Unfortunately, there are no tricks of perception or proportion here. It'll take just as long to walk out as it did to walk in. Look on the bright side, at least you're carrying less weight? Finally, on the fifth day, the intrepid explorers who stayed the distance catch sight of the store entrance up ahead. Who saw it first?
6. Wildcard
Anything else you want to do! (Just let me know if I need to add warnings to the header :) )
What: Mini-plot: an expedition to determine what kind of infinite this store really is
When: 25-29??? November
Where: The Infinite Tommy Bahama
Warnings: None yet
Notes: First prompt is a text message sent to Ari's friendly-ish CR - replies are welcome even from people who don't want to take part! Other prompts are open but please note that participating characters will potentially be in the store for up to 4/5 days. Party post rules are fine, start your own toplevels and tag people other than Ari if you like. ((I checked with our lovely mod about what would happen if they tried this!))
1. Texting
I have a plan. I want to see just how infinite this Tommy Bahama is. Multi-day expedition for data collection? It could be informative. Maybe fun, too. Interested in coming along?
- Tayrey
2. Preparing
Even people who don't know Ari well may notice that something is up. It's not often that people walk into Tommy Bahama wearing backpacks full of supplies. There's some last-minute preparation going on here, as well as a last-minute opportunity to join the expedition. Expect Ari to want to check and make sure everyone has all the essentials with them. She's used to preparing for trips to uninhabited and potentially hostile planets, and it shows. Don't mind the fussing. She wouldn't do it if she didn't care.
3. Exploring
Despite all the promises, the expedition is - well, boring might be an accurate description, unless you're really invested in the outcome. There's a lot of walking past the same racks of clothes, over and over and over. Infinite length doesn't mean infinite variety.
Ari's fascinated, and she'll be chattering about loop programming to anyone who will listen, and attempting to measure the distance between one rack of garishly-patterned bikinis and the next iteration of that very same rack. She'll encourage tests, too - what happens if you completely destroy one of the displays? Is the destruction repeated? (Spoiler alert: no, it's not that kind of loop, but let's try it a few times anyway and make sure?)
Maybe you give up and head back after a few hours. Maybe you have a run-in with the Bahamanal. Maybe you join in with Ari's ridiculous spacer song singalong - she is in a good mood. It's Tommy Bahama, anything could happen.
4. Relaxing
Ari pushes the pace on the first day, because it comes naturally to do so, and possibly, subconsciously, to weed out anyone who isn't serious about this and is going to cause them problems once they're a long way in. Eventually, though, it's time to stop for the night. There's not a campfire, but it's a fine social occasion just the same. Ari's brought some Serena Eterna branded playing cards, and she's up for a little gambling. Maybe you have some other entertainment ideas. Don't stay up too long, though - see if you can't make a nice nest of clothes to bed down in. There's plenty of walking to do tomorrow.
5. Emerging
Plenty of data has been collected about the repeating displays, but there's no end in sight to this store. Is it really infinite? If there's a way to answer that question, this expedition won't do it. It's over two days in when the group realises that they're over halfway through the supplies they brought. Time to turn around, whether that leaves you disappointed or delighted.
Unfortunately, there are no tricks of perception or proportion here. It'll take just as long to walk out as it did to walk in. Look on the bright side, at least you're carrying less weight? Finally, on the fifth day, the intrepid explorers who stayed the distance catch sight of the store entrance up ahead. Who saw it first?
6. Wildcard
Anything else you want to do! (Just let me know if I need to add warnings to the header :) )
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"Hell yeah. I always liked the idea of wings but... oh sweet mother of--someone, someone on this ship has to have these, right? You can't torture me like this, Erin. What did I ever do to you?"
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"It's been a while, I don't know if I can accurately quote it..." but he knows the scene she's talking about and it isn't making him any less suspicious.
"What's this really about? What's the request?"
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Did she just compare John to Gollum? Yes. Does she regret it? No. Will she be telling John that? Fuck no, fuck the hell no, good God can you imagine?
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"From me, it is. You don't..." He runs his hands down his face. "You don't get it. He took Arthur over and he made Arthur kill his own partner. He made Arthur have to live with that and I... I know what that's like. I know what it is to live with some asshole in your--"
Shit.
He freezes in place with a look of terror in his eyes that far surpasses any worry over having the future of the Hobbit cinematic universe spoiled for him.
no subject
Lets him freeze. Thinks it over. She does Crichton the courtesy of looking away and letting him get his composure as much as he can before she says, still in that soft voice: "Given the option between joining me to scout ahead or ending this conversation there, what's your pick?"
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"I'll scout ahead with you."
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An open door back out of the conversation; an excuse for Crichton to stop short, if he needs to. Erin moves on ahead.
He'll start talking when he's ready.
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He does stay quiet for a time, thinking of how he wants to start, realizing he's about to spew more vitriol and closing his mouth around it instead. Fine. Maybe she'll understand it better if he takes it from the beginning.
"Remember when I told you about that heist at the party? How my worst enemy wants something from me and he'll do anything to get it? I do mean anything. This one is... one of the bad stories."
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"...But...I do understand about needing to get a bad story out. If that's what you want."
cw: torture/body implants
"First time I met Scorpius, I was infiltrating his Gammak base. His base of operations. He was trying to create a weapon, and the base was dedicated to researching that. I didn't know or care about that, I was only there because I needed a tissue sample from a genetically compatible match to save my crewmate Aeryn's life. Peacekeepers and Humans look alike, so I dressed up like one and used a stolen Identity Chip to bluff my way in. I almost got away with it, until Scorpius caught me."
He starts out in a slow monotone cadence as he tells this, flat and emotionless because that's the only way he can possibly recount the thing he's had nightmares about ever since.
"He thought I was a spy trying to steal his tech. He put me in his... chair. It reads memories. Rips them out of you if you fight it. We were maybe an hour in when it...hit a barrier. A mental wall hiding something. I didn't know. I didn't know that an ancient race I ran into earlier had gifted me with the knowledge he wanted. The entire point of his whole operation and it was stuck in my head." That last part starts to sound heated. A cruel laugh crackles in the back of his throat because... wouldn't you know it? What a cosmic joke. He walked right in.
"The moment Scorpius realized what I had locked in my brain, it was over for me. God, I went round and round in that chair..." He closes his eyes and swallows hard against a sudden rise of bile.
"But he couldn't get to it. I couldn't give it to him even if I wanted to. Those Ancients locked it down hard. So, he did the next best thing. He put a chip in my head. Neuro chip." He taps his temple. "Containing him. A clone of his damn personality that was supposed to secretly live in my head worming its way in and trying to unlock the secrets. I wasn't ever supposed to know about it. But... somehow...I gained access to it. It glitched or, something. Suddenly, I was seeing and hearing Scorpius like he was right there all the time. I can feel him. I can talk to him. Hell, I even named him. Harvey! Harvey the invisible frelling rabbit. And he's still in there! I tried to cut him out. After what he made me do to Aeryn I..." His voice cracks and he catches himself on the edge of a sob. When did tears start leaking down his face?
"The chip is long gone but he's still... he still whispers to me. I thought, when I woke up here, I thought it was the same as Arthur. I thought maybe he was gone. Didn't get ported over with me. But he's... I think maybe he just wants me to think that."
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She reaches her hand out and squeezes Crichton's shoulder.
"...It's never easy, when your own mind's not a safe place to be. I'm sorry." Shaky breath in. Hold it together, Erin, it's...well, no, it's not okay, but you can play being okay on TV here. He doesn't need you losing your shit out of sympathy. "The voices in my head aren't always the friendliest. Not...to that extent...but. Well. You probably get it."
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Erin sighs. "The thing is, Crichton, that I'm a monster too. Not as a judgement, though uh. Probably also that, but...I have thoughts and needs that aren't human. And I'm. Protective of others who are like that. I'm not here asking you to kiss and make up. His victim is here and he's got shit to settle, for that. All I'm asking, as your friend, is the most half-assed peace you can muster."
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He blows out a long, long sigh, that makes his sound like a slowly deflating balloon. "I'll leave him alone if he leaves me alone."
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She doesn't finish that sentence but the end that isn't there is 'maybe you're treatable'.
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"He said it was mental bleed. Chip was in there too long, got too mixed in with me. I already had to lose a chunk of memories just to have that done. I don't know if I can... afford to lose more."
He rubs at the back of his head, still picturing the slimy tendrils that had webbed themselves all over his brain. He's really not in a hurry to let anyone else back in there.
"In theory, now that the chip is gone, Harvey can't take the wheel. All he's done since I got here is yell at me when I'm about to die. He isn't talking to me otherwise and when I go looking for him, I can't call him up."
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(Aren't you glad you just have us?)
|Don't rope me into this.|
Y'all remember the Blackbirds saying the singular pronouns were a bad sign right? We all remember that, right?
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"He used to pop up to offer unsolicited advice more often and I can't say I miss that. But his loyalty was never to me."
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His expression is one of renewed pain when she goes in on how bad the live-action Hobbit really must be. How could they get away with such a crime?
"I'll take you up on that advice. I've had enough things ruined for me already. For once, I'm going to leave well-enough alone."