Bend 'Til You Break [[Closed]]

[wheresmysuit.livejournal.com]

To say that 'Nate' wasn't in a positive mood would probably be understating it. If you'd asked him, he would have told you that he didn't rightly know how he felt. For the past few days, or at least, for what had felt like the past few days, his emotions had been swinging from angry, to frustrated, to depressed and back again. His homeworld had been destroyed. His parents. His friends. Everyone he had ever cared about was gone. Except for a girl, a girl he barely remembered, a girl whose face he saw in his dreams. A girl, who was with that twisted shadow of himself.

As he walked toward the Sensoriums, the thought of Cassie with that...thing made him stop, slamming a fist against a fleshy wall, he gritted his teeth against the spike of anger. How could that machine dare to wear his face? Dare to pretend that it was human? Taking a long, slow breath, he shut his eyes, shaking it off and trying to focus on something else, clear his mind like he'd been practicing during meditation times. It didn't work.

Stalking into a Sensorium, he stood for a long moment, looking up at the empty room before speaking.

"Stacy, could you project a simulation from me memories? A simulation of my old school."

Stacy's main AI must have been busy elsewhere. Because the simulation began wordlessly. Looking around his old classroom, he almost smiled, moving to take his seat beside her. His teacher walked in, set her books down and turned to write on the holo-board. He remembered this lesson. It was about the Superhero Civil War. The Death of Captain America.

But he hadn't paid attention back then either. He knew all this already. No, he'd only come to school because of her. Standing up, he moved to her table, touching her on the shoulder gently. She turned, casting those big, brown eyes up at him, and he swallowed. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. A smile spread across her face as she saw him.

'Hey Nathaniel. Do you need something?'

"No...I just." He shook his head. This was stupid. Was was he even doing? "I just wish I'd told you how I felt about you when it still would have mattered. Shut it down Stacy."

Everything faded away, and for a moment he saw her face, frowning at him concernedly before it vanished. Moving to a corner, he sank down against the walls, pulling his knees up to his chest and cradling his head in his hands. "What am I even doing here?"

Armor Maintenance [open]

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief's not usually one you see poking around in engineering, but today's a special case. The Spartan's out of his armor, which is also unusual. This is because it's spread out on the lab table in front of him at the moment in various stages of disassembly.

He hasn't had time to properly maintain this suit since receiving it at Cairo Station what feels like centuries ago, and it needs some work. And cleaning. There's an unpleasant mess of bio foam residue and dried blood in there and some of the ports for vented hydrostatic gel need cleared, damage from battle aside. At least Stacy does in fact have the correct tools for breaking down a MJOLNIR suit on hand so he doesn't have to improvise. It's a complicated piece of equipment and the Mk VI's an upgrade, but the Chief's been in and out of a MJOLNIR suit for most of his life. He's faster than a tech. It's good work. It gives him something to do besides pace while he thinks, and the Chief has a lot of thinking to do.

He'll probably notice you if you come up to him, but just to look at him he seems absorbed in his work.

Trying To Cope [Open]

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie is struggling. The zombie attack of the city, the death of B5, the news that the crew were the survivors of doomed universes - it's a lot to take in. He's been trying to distract himself with other things, trying not to think about everything. But on some level, he knows that he needs to find some way to deal with it. So he heads to the Sensoriums. But he's not looking to fight monsters from his past. He just wants something that reminds him of home - some place where he can find some measure of peace.

As he steps into one of the empty rooms, the blank walls waver and reform into the control room of the TARDIS. It hasn't occurred to him that he could recreate his friends here, but some hints of them are still present. There's a chair, with the Doctor's coat hanging off it, and a small chest with a book labeled '500 Year Diary' resting on top. There are also other small things pulled from Jamie's memory, making the place seem more like the home he remembers.

Jamie stands there for a long moment, feeling strangely disconnected, not entirely convinced it's there. Then he steps forward, reaching out to brush the handle that controls the doors. It feels real and solid under his fingers. He rests both hands on the panel the handle is on and closes his eyes, finally letting himself feel the guilt and grief he's been keeping locked away.

Unfortunately, it also hasn't occurred to him that the Sensoriums aren't really the best place to go to be completely alone...

Relaxation Time (Open)

[savin-ur-data.livejournal.com]

After everything with the bridge team, the zombies, and the big reveal, Mei Ling needed a bit of time to herself and reflect back on this ordeal. And by this, she meant not thinking about it and focusing on something else entirely to keep her mind of all of the bad feelings seeping through the ship at the moment. Mei Ling's constant optimism was upheld by her simple choosing to ignore the sheer enormity of the fact that her entire world was gone and... it was actually working out pretty well so far.

Instead of moping around, Mei Ling distracted herself. She immersed herself in what she loved most, technology. She has spent the past several hours leaning over several disassembled communications devices she had pulled out of weapons and possessions next to her own comm ring, which may look broken, but she totally knows how to put it back together. Trust her.

She was incredibly focused on her work, she may or may not notice anyone walking in.