PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

[ricksybusiness]

INTRODUCTION. It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months. Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775: Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around. It's time to get to work. OBSERVATION. Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right? Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up. People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height. 82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough. [ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

Comments

[headlining]

How does asking about robot butlers make me a nerd in any way?

[He almost looks like he wants to pout.]

Do you do this to everybody you meet?

[heavyhitter]

The saddest part is how you don't even know it.

[ She laughs, mostly to herself, and her smile looks genuinely fond when it finds him again. ]

But yeah, definitely. Don't worry, it means I like you! [ it means she likes him, it means he'll see more of her, it means she'll be tough to get rid of... all sorts of unfortunate things. ]

[headlining]

Well, I'd like to think I'm above such a childish term...

[Come on, Keats, you're fooling literally only one person here: yourself.]

Strange way of showing you like people. [But there's a small smile on his face as he turns back to the telescope.] I guess the punching in the leg means you like me, too?

[heavyhitter]

[ That doesn't even deserve a real reply, she just snorts. He can keep living in that denial if he wants to. ]

Oh, yeah, punching is basically a proposal. How's your Tuesday look? Good for a wedding?

[headlining]

Oh, I'll have to look at my schedule. I'm a rather busy man.

[He can't hide his grin as he glances over at her.]

Pity you didn't get me a ring, though.

[heavyhitter]

Oh! Shit, hang on.

[ She shifts up into a kneel to dig through her pockets, making a face the more she digs. Man, there is like nothing useful in here. ]

How about some twine? I could just tie it around your finger, it'd look nice.

[headlining]

Twine?

[There's a brief moment when he just looks at her with a look that seems to be so serious, like he's about to say something snippy about how that is a ridiculous, dumb idea and that she should know better, and that her even suggesting it is quite an offense...]

[Before it suddenly goes away, leaving a look of a man who couldn't care less about anything. He shrugs.]

Sure. Maybe it'll help me not to forget the date, given the old adage about memory and strings around fingers.

[heavyhitter]

[ Her smile is back again when she does manage to pull a short length of twine from her pocket (way too long to be just a ring, despite 'short length'), triumphant. ]

Got it! The wedding is on.

[headlining]

Oh, good.

[It's easy to joke about this, for some reason. If she had offered to kiss him, he'd retract back into his shell and have a grumpy fit, but just chatting nonchalantly about getting married doesn't do anything of the sort. Probably because he isn't taking any of this seriously.]

Are you sure that isn't going to be a necklace, instead? I'm not sure if I want a ring that will cover up my entire finger.

[heavyhitter]

Come on, like I can't shorten twine. It'll be a gorgeous ring.

[ She holds up the length of it, gives a satisfied nod, then balls it up to toss it to the side with a quiet laugh. ]

Maybe next Tuesday, actually. There's all sorts of people I'd want attending and none of them are here, so.

[headlining]

Better than a big fat diamond, at any rate.

[His attention is now fully on her - he hasn't even looked in the telescope for the last several minutes.]

Oh? And who are these people? Family?

[heavyhitter]

Yeah.

[ Her smile dims a little. Is there a way to bring up family without it being depressing? She's not sure. She's not sure she wants to try, either. So instead: ]

How about you, who are you gonna invite to our wedding?

[headlining]

[There's a long pause. His amused expression fades, replaced with something more distant. He places a hand on the telescope, staring down at the wires and metallic frames interlacing beneath his fingers.]

I don't know. I don't really have anyone to invite. [Another pause.] But, well, a smaller wedding would be better than a big one, I suppose...

[heavyhitter]

[ oh god, now the whole thing is derailed into something less cheerful. why did she do this.

Still, though, with attention on Keats: ] You don't have anyone you'd invite? There's gotta be someone. Everyone's got someone.

[headlining]

[He's now frowning. There's something very uncomfortable about having to think of people that are close to him, mostly because he knows for a fact that there's no one that even belongs to that category. He's always been by himself, as long as he can remember.]

Maybe my coworkers from home, but then again, I was never close with them.

[He lets out a short huff - actually, there may be one person who comes to mind, even if she is practically a stranger.] Maybe I'll invite Ellen. She's sentimental enough for such things.

[heavyhitter]

[ this is like the saddest thing she's ever heard. He can't possibly be that grumpy, can he? ]

Okay, so there's Ellen. No family on your end, I guess?

[headlining]

[Unfortunately, the depths of his grumpiness are a practical abyss.]

[Again, there's that feeling, that almost prickly feeling that something is off. Something is wrong. He has to have had a family at one point, and yet, he doesn't remember their faces, or their names.]

None. [His hand resting on the telescope trembles, and he shoves it into his coat pocket to hide it.]

Enough about me. [His tone is sharp, his eyes obscured by his glasses.] Tell me about your family. Is it big? Small?

[heavyhitter]

[ There is something off, no one has no family. Sure, maybe they've all died or gone off somewhere, but doesn't that usually come with a mention of it? Could be a touchy subject, though, with that quick redirection. That definitely gets noted, though.

She shrugs, finally turning her attention away from him to stare at nothing in particular. ]

It was pretty small, yeah. Now pretty much all immediate family's dead, but I still got some good family-category friends. [ a tiny smile creeps back in ] I was on my way to go see 'em again when I showed up here.

[headlining]

Ah, but none showed up with you when you were taken by ALASTAIR? That's a shame.

[It's easy to fall back into focusing on the people he's talking with - maybe that's why he's a good reporter: he's comfortable with putting the spotlight off of himself and onto others.]

None of them are nerds, are they?

[heavyhitter]

[ It is a shame, but not one she feels like thinking too hard about. It's easier to fall back into a familiar good humor, because she might even start feeling it soon if she keeps it up. ]

Yeah, one of them is. He's the worst. This huge beefy guy that you just can't peel away from technology. Like, where did he even get all those muscles? He doesn't do anything. At least you're not that bad.

[headlining]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

Not that bad in terms of being a nerd, or not having a lot of muscles?

[heavyhitter]

The first one. [ She gives him a thoughtful, deliberate once-over. ] You'd look good buried in muscles.

[headlining]

[That gets her a huff in reply.]

Well, I'm more fit than I look, so I've got that covered, somewhat. [He isn't even being facetious. He shrugs, pushing up his glasses with a finger.]

I'm still not a nerd, though. [YOU KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT, KEATS.]

[heavyhitter]

[ she looks skeptical, but it lasts just a little while before she shrugs it off. ]

They say the only thing worse than a nerd is a delusional nerd.

[headlining]

[I heard that Keats has an 8 pack. That Keats is SHREDDED.]

Delusional? Me? [He lets out a laugh at that.] I'm stubborn as hell, I'll give you that, but I'm not delusional.