dinosize | anomaly 007 . post-fourth wall . spam, video

[ He's been worrying himself sick since the day came and went. Nick could be gone forever. He probably is gone forever. Stephen has been certain for weeks now that he never truly wants to go back to the ARC, but hearing that he will never see Nick again has gutted him.

He occupies himself cleaning and scouring his cabin. It doesn't even matter, does it? This is all illusion. But he does it anyway, scrubbing up every stain and erasing every bit of dust. ]

[ spam ]

[ Bags of trash gather out in the hallway on level 8, outside cabin 11, things from the closets and basement that he'll probably never use again. Old blankets, ripped clothes, broken equipment. Dusty novels. Eventually a nice smell spreads, like slow-cooking beef or venison, and a large pot of stew shows up on a potholder in the 8th level common room. ]

[ video ]

[ Just a brief post - ] Bit of stew out in the common room on the 8th level. I made too much for just me.

It's from those things like deer, last port.

[ private to friends. acquaintances? people he's starting to know. Later. ]

Are a lot of you dead?

[ He's a few pints down. Wishing he couldn't still think. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...sorry?

[ Not an apology, a request for clarification - I'm sorry, what was that? ]

There is a reason the kitchen has several layers of enforced safety precautions to ensure that no one induces anything intentionally harmful.

A communal, unguarded food source is likely to prove dangerous.

Thought that was so no one takes anything harmful.

It's all right. I'm keeping an eye on it. [ Which he was, but only because he didn't want someone walking off with it. He likes that pot.

He doesn't want to admit it, but he didn't really think about the other thing.

He doesn't think the people here are so bad, anyway. What's so different about him, that he's more trustworthy than they are? ]

That as well. It is a multipurpose system.

And you're from the kitchen, I suppose.

I am one of three warden supervisors, yes, sir.

Sorry I stepped on your toes. I'll just give it to friends, next time.

You are not st-...

[Right. Figurative. Ben breathes out slowly, subtly, and tries again.]

It is not a matter of purview, sir. Merely caution. New arrivals are especially susceptible to the less pronounced dangers inherent in this environment.

[ This, suddenly and unexpectedly - to Stephen, as well as, undoubtedly, to anyone watching - makes Stephen snap. What before was a relatively slow, if a little bit sardonic, tone, unbothered, now becomes abruptly sharp and raw. ] What dangers? Mad clowns? Death? It lasts for two weeks! What could possibly be worse than -

[ Than what's happened to Stephen already. What's happened outside of here.

He struggles to get himself reined in. ]

Nevermind.

I'll watch it, like I said.

[Ben is silent and still through the snap, features blank, eyes sharp and intent. He doesn't so much as flinch, weathering the abrupt display of temper as though it is any other part of the conversation.

His reply comes clipped and precise, but his voice neither rises nor lowers.]

You are absolutely correct, sir. Why take any manner of precaution when the inherent possibilities are so widely varied and unpredictable?