[OPEN LOG] Come on in, We Haven't Slept in Weeks

[serialskiller]

Who: Murderbot and You
When: Back end of January
Where: The Serena Eterna
Summary: Someone's actually feeling alright, right now
Warnings: None yet

1. But five minutes looking in his eyes [Drones]
As January progresses, those around the public areas of the ship may note two things about the drones that constantly patrol all decks:

1. They now each have at least two, but in some cases up to five, tiny googly eyes that rattle quietly as the drones move about the decks.

2. They're a little bit more intrusive now. Rather than hiding up near the ceiling, the drones bob about near eye level, and seem to come close to 'check in' on people, especially those who know the SecUnit already. It seems someone's concerned about everyone's well-being after the trial and making a point to make its presence known.

Perhaps you're familiar enough to wave or say hi. Or maybe you're newer on the ship and these little flying orbs, no larger than a centimeter in diameter, are confusing to you.


2. And we all knew he was broken pretty bad, so we gave him what we had [Promenade, Hoodie Library]
Murderbot has an absolute fucking abundance of cute sweatshirts, but at some point it's a.) more than a single individual really needs and b.) more than will easily fit in a closet in one of the ship's cabins. So it decides to hang out near (not in, but near) the Tommy Bahama with some of its extra Modokawa hooded sweatshirts, to see if anyone would like to borrow one. Of course, they're all cutely oversized on MB, so they'll kinda engulf most people.

But is that really a bad thing?


3. We cleared a space for him to sleep in [Adult Pool, 2am]
The number of people who Just Don't Sleep at night on this ship is a bit of a thing. It's impossible not to notice. So it spreads word that it's going to be at the adult pool projector, playing something for those who are awake at 2am and need something to do.

It's not a movie. Or rather...it's not a proper movie, not with plot and themes and characters. It's drone shots from the previous excursions, the peaceful ones. The desert at night under the stars. The forests of summer camp. The snow-covered mountains of the resort. The island and the ocean surrounding it, full of life. Clips thoughtfully edited, and paired with music it's received as a sundries gift, mostly instrumental electronica like Jean Michel Jarre or Tycho.


4. And we let the silence, that's our trademark, make its presence felt [Wildcard]
darkersolstice or Discord to talk.

Comments

1

[lightconductor]

Watson, for a moment caught off guard, stares at the googly eyes on the drone, and then laughs, delighted. "SecUnit, you've gone and decorated your drones with faces now? I rather like it, though that's rather more than the usual number of eyes, isn't it?"

He is not judging. Far from it.

[serialskiller]

The voice through the drone speaker is tinny, but perhaps carries its own amusement.

"Sundries gift. I decided not to pull them off the drones."

[lightconductor]

"They're delightful."

But hey, right now, he'll take all the goofy silliness he can get. It's good for the soul, in a terrible time like this. "I haven't seen you -- well, so to speak," because this only sort of counts, "since before everything happened. How are you?"

2.

[decrypter]

She's moving through the Promenade after looking for something in the Tommy Bahama out of curiosity, and happens upon its set up. Really, all of these hoodies will drown her if she borrows one. There is no escaping that simple fact, but they're soft, and nice to touch, and that's enough to linger with.

"You have quite the collection of sweaters accumlated. It's as if someone worried about you getting cold."

[serialskiller]

"I've always preferred hooded sweatshirts, when I'm not wearing my armor. You've felt what my elbows are like. I don't like them exposed. People get weird about seeing my inorganic parts."

It moves to beside her. "The one to the left of the one you're touching has some special features on the hood."

[decrypter]

What kind of special features can a hooded sweater have? Intrigued, she lets her touch run up to the hood and finds an odd tab of cloth, then one on the other side. Two tabs, just equally so....

"It's got ears on it."

Will the future never cease its wonders?

3

[busball]

Klaus can't sleep. It's not really new. They've been having the worst trouble sleeping. He's found a way to avoid the bars as best as he could. He stops short of the pool, spotting the images playing. He doesn't know all of these images, but he knows a few of them.

The music is definitely nice and calming and he stands very still for a long moment. "Are these all your images?"

[serialskiller]

"Yes. Anytime we go somewhere, I fly my drones, getting the lay of the land." Murderbot stands behind Klaus and sort of. Just sets its chin on their shoulder. "From enough of a height, the scenery almost looks real."

[busball]

Klaus smiles a little at the feeling of SecUnit standing behind him, chin propped on his shoulder. "Yeah. Doesn't look like someone made up some trees and stuff based on a basic understanding of them." They just sort of watch for a minute. "How are you doing?"

3

[inhairently]

Sleep hasn't really been Steve's friend for a long time, but it's been worse since the winter excursion and it's not unusual for him to be up and wandering at this hour. Barefoot, dressed in shorts and the hoodie Pratt and Sharky had given him, he looks the part of some regular kid on a regular vacation as he slumps onto one of the pool chairs. He's definitely not feeling it though.

In fact, he initially feels nothing but revulsion when he realizes what SecUnit is playing. He almost gets up and leaves, but something stops him. The slightest shift in his attitude, perhaps -- he's not about to admit that these places look pretty, no. Not by a long shot. But he can acknowledge that if not for the fucking awful associations he has with the island and the resort, they would be.

"They almost look like nice places when you see 'em like this," he remarks.

[serialskiller]

"I considered whether to show these or the planets I saw before arriving here. Maybe tomorrow night, I'll do those instead."

Either way, it's places where it wasn't free. It's never really been free, truly. But this is closer to freedom than being property leased out by an insurance company.

[inhairently]

"Oh yeah? Maybe I'll stop by," he says. Then he pauses, considering for a moment whether what he says next might be rude. It's hard to tell around here, sometimes. There are just so many different people from so many different places.

In the end, he decides to just ask.

"You don't have to sleep?"

1

[millay]

Maeve is out for a walk when she spots a drone, looking up and waving before nearly laughing at the eye-like things on them. "What are those?" She's never seen googly eyes before, so she doesn't know what to call them. "When did the drones get eyes?"

[serialskiller]

“Right after we returned from the excursion. I haven’t bothered trying to peel them off. What do you think?” The drone spins in a bit of a circle as though demonstrating.

[millay]

Maeve smiles a little. "Well, they are at least fun to look at. Are these things from your world?"

1

[makesomedeals]

[He watches one for a few moments, swatting it away if it gets too close to him.]

Yes? Do you want something?

[serialskiller]

I'm here for fashion advice. [Hear the snark?] No, seriously, how about a status report. It's been a bit since we've talked.

[makesomedeals]

Hilarious.

[ He rolls the diodes of his eyes, inadvertently mimicking those googly ones on the drones.]

Situation normal. Some people died, others got in fights, everyone is divided on what to do next. The standard fare around here.

[takethatnature]

Something in the air catches Wilson's eye; first he locks eyes with it, then bobbles his head side to side like a bird to triangulate it against the background. "What is that?"

He attempts to snatch it out of the air, wishing he'd brought a bug net or at least the spider silk he'd need to make a bug net.

[serialskiller]

And the drone darts and dodges, as if it's playing with him, clearly not a normal bug, those don't have the intelligence to tease.

[takethatnature]

Smart little thingy. It glints metallically as it passes through a sunbeam, unlike a butterfly or a gnat or a firefly but quite a bit like one of the mechanical automatons he's run into in the Constant. He stops his wild arm flailing and holds still, waiting to see if the robot bug does the same thing.

1

[pineapplesalmon]

César blinks at the little drone at eye level, makes eye contact with the googly eyes, and then starts laughing. "Eye see something has changed?"

He needs a bit of this silliness.

[serialskiller]

"You know how some Sundries gifts feel more like pranks being pulled on you? Yeah." The drone bobs in the little lemniscate pattern that Murderbot uses to communicate a shrug.

2

[originalshen]

Shen Qingqiu wasn't currently looking for new clothes or anything, but when he passes by a guy standing outside the clothing store with a pile of...well he's not entirely sure what he thinks of the style, but either way it certainly catches his attention.

"This is certainly an interesting collection of garments you have." They look comfy, but the style is...no actually the style is fine, considering what they've generally got available around here, but. Anyway, he's not touching any just yet, only looking. "Were you hoping to offload these on the other passengers?"

[serialskiller]

"Lend them out at least. They're warm and comfortable." And huge. The cyborg construct is nearly six and half feet tall and built like a military recruitment poster, and the sweatshirts are comfortably oversized on it.

"Are you interested in any of them?"