trans_9 | What is Love? [Valentine's Date Event]

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What is Love? [Valentine's Date Event]

It's shaping up to be another average day on the Transmigration 9. Crew members are going about their business as usual and all is (to most appearances, at least) about as "well" as things ever are on the ship.

Some crew members are going to be stopped out of the blue by impact with a force field.

"Attention Crewmen: You have been chosen to participate in an experiment!" GLaDOS's voice informs. They're not alone, someone else that was nearby is also caught within the same narrow radius. "Participation is mandatory. Please try to relax and enjoy the experience, as this will improve the quality of the test results."

Clearly this is going to be a wonderful day for science.

"You and your new scientific partner are now on a date," GLaDOS goes on. "As it would be detrimental to our study of the date experience if you were to be separated, you must remain close to your partner for the duration of the experiment. This will be enforced with the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field. Prolonged exposure to the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field may have unexpected side-effects. While any side-effects encountered will be documented and your desire to offer yourself to science is commendable, it is not a necessary part of this experiment."

"You will be informed when the test has been completed. We would like to thank you in advance for your full cooperation in the experiment and failure to attempt to foil it in any way."

"The experiment has begun, so you may begin dating."

[OOC: The exact details of your characters' confinement are up to players' discretion. Being trapped in a sensorium or other stationary place is a possibility, as is being stuck in a sort of roving invisible force field hamster ball that only affects the two of you. How far partners can move apart is probably subject to whatever's fun but they ideally shouldn't be able to sit on opposite sides of a room ignoring one another the whole time.

ICly the "test" lasts for a few hours and you are free to godmode GLaDOS telling them the experiment is finished.

If you would like a few tags from GLaDOS herself in your thread, ping me on this account or plurk or AIM or whatever is most convenient for you. :)]

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"I'm NO-well, ok, maybe I am a little," Kaya said. "I guess its just a little guilt and a little sadness. I feel bad that Matt is almost a memory, and worse that...the bus used to be so full of people, and now its almost empty."

"He's sleeping in the pods. It's not the end of the world unless an AI sics her goons on them again."

"There are a lot of people in pod sleep I wish weren't," she said, sighing. "But there you go. How's Orc?"

"He's...Orc. You saw him when you met him, right? That's basically his baseline." Howard tries to sound thrilled that Orc's around but it's clearly feigned, shot through with worry. "He's mostly drunk."

Anyone could see that it bothered Howard that Orc was so out of sorts. She was wiling to bet that was also what Orc did back where they lived.

"Then it might be time to talk to him, make him see there has to be more than drinking. It's a fun activity to do with friends, but if he's drunk more than actually functional, its not going to do anything except hurt him."

They hadn't talked much, but knowing this made Kaya sad. There has to be something that happened with Orc that made him how he was. It was things like these that made Kaya realize the harsh reality that was the Fayz, and how Howard had actually been one of the lucky ones.

"I don't know. Maybe it's better that he stays drunk. It seems to keep him from thinking too hard." And if Orc stops drinking Howard's going to have to find a new carrot and stick routine for him. "It's complicated."

As much as Howard is concerned about and afraid of Orc's alcoholism, he also doesn't know how he'd manage their relationship without it.

Kaya was quietly thinking about this. She was pretty sure that Howard did NOT think that was probably the best idea, he just didn't know what to do about it.

"I don't doubt its complicated. Orc seemed very confused when he came onto the ship, and that will probably get worse. But at the same time, it isn't fair to him if no one prepares him for the worst. With all the things that happen here, he'll need to have his wits about him more than ever."

She sighed. It was something she inherited from her first teacher, Katara, to raise a fuss and be sensible. That didn't mean she always liked doing it.

"'For the worst'? Look, Bubbles, the worst Spacey Stacy throws at us is half as bad as anything ever got back home." It's not entirely true - recovering from the FAYZ sometimes seems as bad as living in it was. "No, it's my job to keep him away from trouble here. Same as back there. He doesn't need to use his wits. He doesn't got any."

"Sometimes, Howard. And that's the thing: we never know what we're going to get when we live in Stacy. But its more than that that bothers me. Someone that drinks all the time is not someone who really wants to do better than feeling hazy and uncoordinated all the time. You say the FAYZ might be worse and maybe you're right. In that case, why is Orc still just squandering it drinking all the time?"

"It's really none of your business why Orc wants to drink, Bubbles." Howard's suddenly defensive, body language closed off, shoulders tucked and hands in pockets.

"I don't have have to know why, I just have to know he is," Kaya said, not deterred by Howard's sudden hostility. "And why exactly are you defending him drinking? I could understand maybe why in the FAYZ, but now, here? Even if you left him alone, eventually word will spread about a kid who's always getting drunk, and then THEY will deal with it. Won't it be better if you were the one that eased him out of it, not some stranger who knows nothing about Orc?"

"It'll be better if people just leave us alone," he snaps. "They don't know anything about the situation. No one does but us. And if Orc's going to cope with booze then I'll make sure he can do it safely."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Kaya said, looking stern at having the tone by Howard, "but weren't you the one really angry about people keeping secrets? Like, the kids that turned into animals, or the dragon in the City? What will happen if Orc hurts someone when he's drunk, and it gets traced back to you knowing all along?"

"The fact that Orc's a drunk isn't a secret. If it was, it'd be the worst kept secret in the history of ever." He glares at her. "And doesn't it say in our laws here that what happened before we arrived on the ship doesn't matter? I'm saying, leave it alone. It's no one's business why Orc drinks as much as he does."

"Ok, I'll let it go," Kaya said angrily. "Jeez, its not like I go out of my way to try and fuss over people! I just want to make sure that they're happy. But if you think drinking all of the in your world is a good thing, more power to you."

She sighed. "We're still together, so there's still some of this date left. What do you want to do now?"

"I'm not saying it's a good thing. I'm just saying it's no one's business but Orc's and mine, and that's that."

With the mood of the evening definitely deflated, Howard shrugs. "We could go hang out in Hydroponics."

And for his sake, she seriously hoped it stayed that way. But it was one thing to have something on the FAYZ be accepted, and another for it to be the same on Stacy. After all, people had a tendency to complain about things way before they tried to understand it.

"That's a good idea!" She said, maintaining a smile. She hadn't exactly gone there since the robot attack because...well, it brought back some prety bad memories.

"We could race again, if you want." He shrugs. It's something that requires minimal talking and he's feeling awkward again.

Kaya thought a moment. They were on a date, and at this point it sort of needed saving, thanks to topics that were better left not discussed. That, and at this point they needed to get their aggression out.

"Better idea," she said, giving him a wink. "Why don't we race around in THOSE?"

Obviously she was referring to the bumper cars, what else?

A wicked grin sneaks over Howard's face. "Sounds like a deal."

Now that was more like it. They had argued (which was their way, apparently) when they were supposed to be having fun. Kaya instantly flipped herself into the car, ready to attack!

Only...

"Um, how do I do this?"

Howard's over by the console outside the ring, breaking it open. "I have to turn it on first! Usually there's someone turning on and off the power..."

The cars budge and jerk. "There we go!" He hops in.

"Oh good!" Kaya said, glad to be saved. She was immediately turning the wheel...which in turn sort of moved her in a slow moving circle, especially when she was't really keeping her foot pressed down.

"This could be a problem."

Howard doesn't bother to explain to her how to operate the car, instead just ramming hers with his a few times and then driving around in a circle. "Having fun yet?"

Kaya grimaced. She shoud have remembered this part about Howard: just because she was nice enough to not shove her abilities in his face did not mean he wouldn't take full advantage of that. This was the same thing he did in the race.

So she took a look at the controls, then put her foot on the pedal to start. That got her moving. Good start. Now she started to use the steering wheel and found it was actually not as hard to move about as she thought.

Payback time.

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What is Love? [Valentine's Date Event]

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