ioduanlogs | Fear is the brightest of signs

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Fear is the brightest of signs | February Catchall; open

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: Throughout February
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Pepper and Devin are both exploring the city and getting jobs, albeit in very different fashions. The vampire continues to be snippy.
Warnings/Rating: None yet; will add as needed.

A. [Pepper] Verdant Sentry | Early February | Open

Now that things are settling down, Pepper needs to find a job. She's naturally drawn to law-enforcement, and while the Verdant Sentry has some aspects of it that are definitely militaristic, they still remind her of SHIELD (minus some of the more problematic aspects). For the time being, at least, they're definitely where her skill-set is most applicable. They don't seem immediately convinced by her resume, even when she tells them about the power armor. Still, they're not turning her down for joining, but skipping some training she already has may not be happening.

It's possible that she shouldn't try to help out on every patrol she sees. The eagerness gets tamped down some after the first week of February, and Pepper settles for studying how the Sentry operates as well as hitting the books.

B. [Pepper] Dreaming Bridge/Opara Core | Mid February | Open

So, Pepper is a natural phone user, and the yimo is absolutely awesome. Aifaran doesn't quite have the internet, but things like Xa Xa and the other aspects of the Lae Shunjai are super cool, and she wastes no time in trying them. She even snaps a few shots from the air when she's in her armor, which are suddenly hugely popular.

And then, mysteriously, her Xa Xa account seems to have disappeared, which is a Problem. She spends a little time trying to figure it out before going to ask for help from the Dreaming Bridge staff, who will probably just tell her to contact tech support. It's not a bad idea to know where the Opara Core is, anyway, so even if she doesn't need to attend to the issue in person, she's going to find a map and figure out how to get there.

C. [Pepper] Aifaran Cafe | Early February | Bakura

In Keeliai, Pepper and Bakura had a few favorite locations to get food, like one that made crepes. Now in Aifaran, they don't have any favorites anymore, and testing out places to try new food seems like a great way to learn the city. There's no shortage of cafes, and they got some recommendations from the Dreaming Bridge about where to go. Until they both have jobs, they'll have to be especially considerate about spending, but they could go somewhere casual.

"How's your roommate working out?"

D. [Devin] Central Ioduan Academy | Early February | Open

Devin is glad that the city he's ended up in this time is larger. Not as big as some, and not as large as he might like, but it's big enough that he can blend in more easily. It will make it simpler to disappear when he feels like it, even if departing entirely is ill-advised. He has certain needs that smaller settlements may not be able to support - or would simple refuse to, not that he would blame them. Staying here means he needs to find a job, however, and he's not interested in law enforcement again. Too busy, too structured. He's been in the military before, and he's not in the mood. The only thing he really enjoys is books, so he heads to the most sizable one in the city, at the Ioduan Academy. He doesn't expect to be given a high ranking position; that's not important. The rest of the Academy looks interesting, too, so he spends a little time exploring the campus.

E. [Devin] Aifaran Piers | Throughout February | Open

Devin is brooding. There's really no other word for it. As little time as possible is spent at the Dreaming Bridge, because he'll have to deal with his roommates. When he's not working or wandering the city learning its streets, he's found an old pier by the water that no longer sees commercial use. The wood is weathered and beaten, but still sturdy enough to support pedestrians. Someone set up a bench at one end of it, and Devin can sometimes be found there taking notes in a journal or reading a book. He may or may not be up for conversation.

(OOC: Let me know if you want a specific starter or feel free to write your own!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, well, I can't really fault that one. Books are a lot quieter. [Said with the tone of someone probably entirely aware Devin was seeking peace and quiet in coming out here.] That's a good idea. It's pretty rare for people like me to forget things, but there's a lot of new information to keep track of, huh?

[That and if they lose any pieces here, it could definitely help jog their memory. It's sounding like a better idea the more they consider it.]

Yes, they don't interrupt you when you don't want to be.

[Books also didn't hurt you or abandon you, but stating that aloud was too personal. Devin gives the Gem a slightly annoyed glance before returning his gaze to the paper.]

It's a blank slate, even for those of us who have been to this world before. Not everyone considers that a good thing.

[That just makes Padparadscha laugh a little.] Ah, well, I find leaving people to their own devices can lead to unexpected things a lot.

[It doesn't mean they intercede very often, but it does mean they're keeping an eye out for this sort of behaviour when they can, especially in the wake of what happened with Phos.

As for whether it's a good or bad thing, they just shrug.] Since I wasn't here before, I don't mind the blank slate, since it's less of an advantage to bridge. But losing that advantage must feel a little annoying, right?

[The idea that his roommate is somehow checking up on him is not especially pleasing. He hasn't exactly given the Gem a reason to care.

The pen pauses over the journal.]

Not exactly. I don't mind getting to know a new city in principle. No, I was simply rather busy in my native world, and I had asked to leave this one. [The vampire gestures around them.] Yet, here I am, back again. I don't have time for a vacation.

[And yet, he's taking one forcibly anyway, until the turtles see fit to send him home once more.]

[So, another one dissatisfied with being returned here. Padparadscha's been hearing that opinion a lot lately, enough that they don't seem at all surprised to hear it again. A slight smile pulls at their mouth, but there's something musing about it.]

There's a lot of you like that, isn't there? I wonder what the significance of it is, that you've all been brought back around to this place after just a little while gone.

[Whether they mean the five hundred years that passed in this world or whatever time did for them in their own worlds, it's hard to tell, but the result is the same.]

[Devin's eyebrows go up, and he finally raises his head to look at Padparadscha.]

A handful. Twenty or so, not more. I wouldn't call more than five hundred sixty years a 'little while', either - most people would be dead many times over in that time.

Tu Vishan got us lost in the Dreaming, somehow, or the Dreaming decided to yank us around once more. We'll probably never find out why it spit us back out just now. Trying to figure it out is a waste of energy.

Ah, right. A long while, then. [Padparadscha doesn't sound particularly convinced of that, but for the purposes of a peaceful conversation - and because it probably is a long time for living things, they're just not used to it.]

What is "the Dreaming", actually? It's obviously why they call us Dreamfolk, but I haven't really heard anyone talk about it like that.

[Tu Vishan they have heard mentioned, so they don't chase after that particular bit of information.]

[Time is relative depending on your lifespan; given how long Devin is probably going to be around, 500 years may not seem all that long someday.]

It's one of the three planes that makes up this place: Life, Death, Dreaming. The Dreaming is how we get here, and it's responsible for some of the weirder things that happen in this world. [A skeptical look.] Did they not explain that to you at the Dreaming Bridge? Someone needs to do a better job of onboarding.

[Padparadscha listens closely to that - obviously death is much more significant here than it was in their world too, if it's an entire plane of its own. When he makes the comment about the Bridge, though, they just laugh a little and shrug.]

I had a few other more pressing things to ask about first, so it was probably lost in the explanations. This world is almost nothing like mine even in the basics.

[Devin gives the slightest of hmphs, but it's not disagreement. He'd been pretty distracted himself upon his arrival.]

You seem to be dealing with it alright. [He scribbles something in the journal.] Other than the preponderance of living things, what's so different?

[There's a shade of academic curiosity in his tone. If Padparadscha is going to insist on interrupting him, Devin may as well learn something.]

[Padparadscha can recognise that much, at least, and they give a faint smile.] Well, start with the fact that where I lived was only a small island. We could cross it within about half a day, or maybe less. So a city this big says that there's much more of a world out there to learn about than what I once knew.

[It's more than just that, but the matter of scale is still a good start. Even the moon colony hadn't seemed this large.]

[That does put things in perspective somewhat.]

It's quite large, yes. This is actually small, as the continents go. Or went. Some of them haven't fared well over the past few centuries. [He frowns slightly in thought.] Did you have no way to leave the island? Was that the only landmass on your world?

As far as we knew. We had enough troubles there, so it was safer for us to just remain where we were. [Nobody had ever indicated the existence of other land, especially since the ocean had taken over the planet after the last comets fell anyway. It seemed safe to assume.]

I don't regret it, but it means something like this is a bit of a shock to the system. But you say there are larger ones still?

Yes, although the best living example is currently in between the planes, so it would be difficult to point him out, [the vampire remarks dryly.] The turtles that make up the archipelago are relatively young. A few of the continents that haven't been beaten all to hell are bigger, too.

[He's not sure how well they've been surveyed over the centuries, seeing as the barrier surrounding the archipelago was only dropped for short periods of time.]

You'll get used to it, or you won't and you'll find ways to deal.

Well well, maybe I'll get the chance to meet him one day too. [If things like to appear and disappear between planes here, it's not unreasonable to think that this largest one might one day appear again.] But that's a lot of change for such a short amount of time.

[Incredible, really, to someone like them. 500 years can pass with almost no change to the world they know, and yet this one seems to have undergone much more.

As for his last remark, they laugh heartily.] Oh, I'm sure I'll do both. Eventually. I've barely been here the blink of an eye.

You may disappear in the blink of an eye, too. This place isn't known for Dreamfolk arriving and departing with convenient timing, [the vampire complains. It is as much an argument against settling down as for it.] That's one thing that certainly hasn't changed in over 500 years. At least the people here are accustomed to us coming and going like the Dreaming is a revolving door.

Ah, well, I'm sure that won't be much of an inconvenience. [They've barely been here long enough to call themselves adjusted to the place, let alone forming true connections or gaining the knowledge they need. And they do have things to return to in their own world as well.]

But it seems like something nobody will know until it happens, so we may as well live on the assumption it won't, right?

[Devin shrugs.]

That's one philosophy. Most of us do seem to just live lives until there's no more time left, but to a certain extent that's an unavoidable consequence of meeting needs like eating and sleeping.

Job-hunting is a tedious but absurdly normal process, I must admit.

Is it? I hope your existence would be a little more fulfilling than just meeting your needs and nothing else. [For such a short one, it would be a shame to waste it on just the necessities and nothing else.

That last thing makes Padparadscha hum as if they've just remembered something, though.] Right, in a place this big, people wouldn't be given their roles to serve, would they?

It usually is, but what each person considers fulfilling is different. Being here, however, is not like being in our home world - some people have used this as an opportunity, and others see it as an aggravating delay of important business. Sometimes, just meeting needs is all that's desirable, when someone doesn't want to properly settle down.

[They would all go home someday, or so they were told. Everyone seems to eventually. It's hard not to get used to this place, however. Devin frowns slightly at Padparadscha.]

No. It's usually a choice, or what's available. Are you just assigned positions, where you come from?

Well, not everyone agrees on anything, huh? People are like that. [There's something musing about Padparadscha's tone, as if they're thinking about something entirely different, but they don't open up about whatever it is. The matter of Phos' choice back home, after all, isn't one anyone can do anything about.

Padparadscha stretches their arms, considering how to answer that question.]

If we're good at a certain thing, then that becomes our job among our people. A lot of us are sentries, because we're difficult to break or good at fighting. Others make weapons, or clothes, or arrange our knowledge. Or fix us.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fear is the brightest of signs | February Catchall; open

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