[Open] Arrival of a traumatised gay nerd

[lenivy]

Who: Dylan Lenivy and YOU
What: Dylan has just arrived, after a night of unbelievable trauma, and is still kind of in denial about this whole thing being real. But he's here to make friends!!
Where: Cabin, Windjammer Buffet, Hurikane Bar, Playback Arcade
When: July 6th for first one, then throughout early-mid July
Warnings: Just standard Dylan warnings, which is possible discussion of werewolf attacks and impromptu amputations. Also he definitely has PTSD. There's a panic attack scene in the Jinx thread.



1. Cabin surprise (for Darcy)

At this point, Dylan has been awake for... like 30 hours, probably? Depends what you count. He did technically wake up here, but he didn't actually feel like he'd slept. He's running on fumes at this point, and it's the bright middle of the day here. Like the worst kind of jetlag.

He does manage to shower, even as it is a rather uncomfortable experience. No matter what temperature he sets it to, it low-key feels like it's ice-cold and also scalding at the same time? But not in a temperature way, just in a sensation way. Like he's gotten allergic to water. There's also the fact that suddenly having no left hand is making everything a lot trickier than it should be.

Still, he does manage to get the blood out of his hair and wherever else it was hiding, and then he dries real quickly. He puts back on the pineapple-print boxers he'd recently "bought", and he goes to pass out in bed - which is still stained with blood from his clothes from when he woke up here.

He passes out more or less immediately.



2. Stress eating (multiple welcome)

After two months at camp, it's really nice to be able to eat whatever he wants, and Dylan has taken full advantage of this. He can often be found having big lunches at the buffet, with plates filled with basically a little bit of everything.

Bacon, scrambled eggs, shish tawook, sausage rolls, fries, devilled eggs, roast beef, cheese naan... There's a couple pieces of broccoli and carrots there too, just cause his stomach gets grumpy if he doesn't have at least a hint of vegetables.

He hasn't been able to locate any earbuds for his phone yet, so it's easy enough to get his attention.



3. Stress drinking (hopefully)

Dylan would say acquiring alcohol has never been this hard, though he'd be lying, because he's been a camp counselor all summer and there was definitely no drinking until after camp ended. But this is still pretty fucking difficult.

He thought that maybe a weird-ass cruise ship manned by ghosts might not be able to tell he's not old enough to be legally allowed to drink, or maybe they just wouldn't care. That turns out not to be the case.

But he's felt like he's seconds away from an anxiety attack literally all day today, and he just wants something to chill him out just a little bit! Arguing this at the bar does not actually help, and he's getting more frustrated by the second.

"Can somebody please buy me a drink?!" he yells to the bar at large, to whoever might hopefully be able to hear him. The ship seems to have extremely few passengers, but someone must be around, right?



4. Arcade games solve everything (multiple welcome)

Dylan is in desperate need of entertainment on this ship. Well, mostly he's in need of distractions. There are way too many horrible things that seem to want to occupy his brain at any given time. He definitely needs some therapy.

And what's a better distraction than video games! ...Alright, so they don't have video games, but they do have what's basically the low-tech forerunner of video games. And Dylan actually likes things low-tech and retro.

That said, it takes him a little while to find something he can actually play while missing a hand. A lot of them seem to have joysticks for the left hand. He could probably mash some simple buttons with what remains of his wrist, but a joystick might be asking too much.

Pinball, though. Pinball he can do. It's just the one button. He has to stoop a little bit more than normal, especially given his height, but it does actually works. Eventually he gets pretty good at it, too!

Comments

02.

[opheliac]

(truthfully, jinx would be doing the exact same thing if her mind wasn't filled with a lot of things. and not only her mind had been racing for quite sometime, she hadn't been feeling quite up to speed, either. really it's just congestion stuff -- sniffling with her eyes watering. but if one isn't up for eating, they should at least keep their fluids up. thus, this is why jinx is here and decides to drink something other than just water when she truly should.

with a can of spicy beverage in hand, she spots dylan at the table from afar -- hunching over and eating.)

Hey, hey, Dylan! How's tricks?

(she calls out while making her way over.)

[lenivy]

Dylan looks up at the familiar voice, and raises his hand in greeting, his mouth full of food.

"Oh, you know, about the usual for living on a haunted coma dream cruise ship," he answers flippantly once he's swallowed. "How about you?"

[opheliac]

(so he still believes this is a dream, how unfortunate. but she isn't going to be the one to tell him this is all real. surely, someone who is better with words can explain it better than she can ever can. so, she'll just leave someone else to do that as she takes a seat across from him.)

Oh, y'know, a lil' sick? Been sniffling all day.

(jinx leans back in her chair and putting her legs on the table; feet crossed (but making sure they are clear away from his food, of course). she brings the can beverage up to her lips to sip some and then lets out an "aah!" cause delicious.)

Sheesh! — You really know how to pack 'em. Almost as bad as me.

[lenivy]

Being told it's real will do literally nothing to convince him anyway. That's just a conclusion he'll have to come to himself. (Part of him has, he just isn't ready to acknowledge it yet. He can at least pretend to be in denial about it, even if the denial is starting to waver.)

He shrugs and smiles a little at her comment. He's a growing boy! Well, not really as much anymore, but. That can be his excuse.

"You shouldn't be drinking soda if you're sick, you should get some orange juice. Or something warm with honey," he says. "And, you know, probably stay in bed so you get your rest and don't infect others with your cold," he adds.

Yeah, months of being a camp counselor, and having a younger sibling. He's got the occasional mom friend tendencies.

[opheliac]

(she pouts over to him and then hangs her head off the top railing of her chair. )

Uuuughh! But staying in bed is soooooooo boring!! 'Sides, everyone will be fine. Just stay away from me. It's THAT simple, duh.

(jinx looks back at him and returns the shrug.)

Being a lil' sick is nothing. I've dealt with worse things. Like havin' a minor setbacks whenever my bombs didn't go right and they blow up on me.

[lenivy]

She's saying this to a guy with only one hand. Clearly he doesn't think 'having dealt with worse things' is an excuse to not take of yourself when you're sick.

...Except he'd totally be doing the same thing if he was in her shoes. It is totally boring.

"We could have a movie night or something, that way you could stay in bed and still be entertained. Do they have movies on the TV here?"

[opheliac]

Movie night? OH! You mean those moving picture things on a box, right? I like those. Rin and I sometimes watch this thing that he likes.

(she removes her feet from the table and sits up right now and correctly; sniffing just a bit.)

We got those boxes in our cabins. I dunno about the movies part!

[lenivy]

Dylan sits back a little to stare at her curiously. So TNT is commonplace, but movies don't exist? Wild.

"Yeah, it's like the best thing to do when you're sick. Just put some dumb shit on and let it entertain your fever-ridden brain with zero effort on your part," he says. "Not bored, but still resting. And then your mom brings you snacks and juice and stuff. It's great."

[opheliac]

Huuuh...

(she trails for a moment as she tries to think back; idly nibbling on her lower lip.)

I guess my mom might have done that. Y'know, the snack and juice thing. I can't really remember. She died a long time ago so it's hard to think back what she did.

(despite saying this, she doesn't seem sadden or upset talking about the death of her mother. it's like jinx is treating it like a casual conversation.)

Aaaaannd my old man isn't the type, either. He's all about the business. Gotta make sure everythin' is going according to plan and all that. But he took care of me when I was alone so I can't really be mad at him for being all focus.

[lenivy]

"That sucks, I'm sorry," he answers quietly when she says her mom died when she was little. He doesn't make a big deal out of it either though, since she doesn't.

He is enjoying learning more about her though. He nods as she talks about her dad. "Yeah, I get that. My dad's not big on the bonding thing or stuff like that either. You got any siblings?"

[opheliac]

(that's when jinx falls quiet as if she is pondering whether or not she should answer that question. but... she figures why not. although naturally, she chooses her words very carefully and speak in some truths and leaving certain parts out.)

I have a big sister. She and I... use to be close. But then stuff happened and she left. (a pause.) I haven't heard from her in so long that I thought she was dead for the longest time. — Then suddenly? She sorta sprouted outta nowhere. Apparently, she'd been locked up.

(jinx clicks her tongue a little before resuming on:)

But we don't exactly get along anymore. We're just two different people now, y'know? Aaaannd she doesn't necessarily approve who I became. I mean, her loss, anyway. If she can't accept who I am then I don't know really need her.

(now that's out of the way, her tone switches more onto a lighter note.)

On the other side of things, I got a lil' sis!! She's not exactly my real lil' sis. — But there's a girl here that well, I ended up really caring for and I asked if she wanted to be sisters and she said yes.

[lenivy]

Dylan is a fairly attentive listener, although he's still eating at the same time. "She got locked up, and she didn't approve of who you became?" Dylan asks, and then tuts. He's all about the 'screw the people who won't accept who you are'. Well, theoretically. In reality he's a bit more desperate for approval.

"Aww, that's sweet," he says. "I've got two siblings as well, one older brother and a younger sister. Haven't seen them in a couple months though, I've been away all summer."

[opheliac]

(that gives her a smile -- sure she is leaving out so much details but regardless, having someone who gets where she's coming form and not "oh well, maybe there's an explanation" is refreshing. jinx chuckles a little. )

Eh heh heh. Well, it's more so she doesn't necessarily approve the things that I do. I've been makin' bombs since we were kids. — And I guess she was fine with them then 'cuz they never worked. But those years apart, I focused a lot more and worked a lot more. Decided to look into engineering waaaay more. And just...y'know, gotten really good at makin' 'em. That and I learned how to make other weapons, too.

(she then waves her hand in a dismissive matter.)

Okay, yeah I might have blown up a building or two but how else am I suppose to know if they work or there's some sort of defect? And I guess ask, do your siblings bug you just as much?

[lenivy]

Dylan pauses his eating to squint at her as she mentions blowing up a few buildings. "Um, yeah, that's the point of siblings," he quips.

BACK TO THIS WHOLE WEAPONS THINGS THO.

"Y'know, there's cool stuff you can make that doesn't require blowing up buildings or making things that can hurt people," he points out.

[opheliac]

But those are cool stuff. 'Sides, it's not like I shoot people whoever crosses my path. I have standards. It's mainly for protection aaaannnd whoever looks at me funny.

(she takes another sip of her soda like beverage.)

Now a days, I don't really use 'em for anything. It's simple pickings here with bullets and all that. So only when I feel threaten, I'll shoot.

(a pause.)

— OR if I get insanely bored and make myself a shooting gallery with some bottles. I did build my hideout here, does that count for anything?

[lenivy]

Dylan is looking at her funny right now as she's talking about standards. But presumably not the kind of funny she's referring to.

Shooting at bottles is just fine though. He does actually think guns are pretty cool, he just couldn't imagine ever shooting a person with it. Bears Werewolves however, that is a lot easier to imagine.

"Ooh, you have a hideout?" he asks curiously.

[opheliac]

Yeah! It's not exactly hidden but it's a pain for anyone to get to. 'Less you know how to fly or can jump really good.

(which sadly, this place is filled with magic users so a lot of crewmates can get to her deck. but luckily, a good bit of them don't browse around all willy nilly.)

[lenivy]

"Damnit, and I skipped leg day," he quips. (He's never done a leg day in his life.) "Wait, can you fly?" he adds suddenly. He thinks he saw her like, zip around all weirdly earlier but he thought he'd just like, hallucinated or something.

[opheliac]

I wish but no. I've done a lotta jumpin' and quick maneuvers in my day. Hoppin' from one building to the next. It's a fast way to travel in Zaun.

[lenivy]

"Like.. parkour?" he asks curiously. He'd ask for a demonstration, but if she's sick then he wants her to take it chill. He pushes a plate of fries in her direction in case she's hungry. She should definitely eat something too. Plus the salt is nice when he feels sick at least.

[opheliac]

Yeah, like that!

(jinx practically beams at the gesture and happily takes a fry or two and munches on them. she wiggles in her seat in a silly manner as she resumes on:)

Buuuut I should probably make another way up in case I wanna have company over.

[lenivy]

"Preferably something I can do one-handed," he points out. "And with minimal amounts of parkour. I'm not a sports person or anything." He's in alright shape, and he participated in gym class, but that's about as far as it went.

[opheliac]

Well, you're in luck! 'Cuz I've decided to make you one of my favorites. As in, there's a lotta whackos here on this boat and you so far, aren't a whacko.

(a grin as she wipes another fry from his plate to munch then a sip of her drink.)

— So congratulations...! You'll have access to my hideout. I'll make some stairs for ya.

[lenivy]

The more he gets to know her, the more he worries about being one of her favourites. She's fun and she's nice, but she also seems - and he can't believe he's thinking this - kind of immature. Coupled with her passion for making explosives, it doesn't seem like the safest combo. But hey, if he's her favourite, she'll probably be careful not to blow him up.

"Sweet. You can make those kinds of like... Like, fire escape stairs? That descend, but you can also lift them up," he suggests. He has no idea how advanced this hideout is, but hey, if she's already making stairs.

"What kind of whackos have you met, by the way?" he asks. He feels like it's good to be aware of who he could bump into here.

[opheliac]

(should he be worried about being one of her favorites? yes and no. no because it would mean she will look after and even protect if something wild happens. but yes because she tends to...stalk her favorites while she lurks into the shadows. to make sure they don't betray her, leave her or lie to her. but she takes what he says into consideration, humming quietly as she thinks. that would be a good thing to make when it comes to stairs, yeah.)

Hmm... — I like that. Good idea! See? I knew havin' you around is a good thing. And as for the whackos, didya know there's a talking and walking skeleton?