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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. ]
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. ]
[video ; private]
[video ; private]
[She'll keep going as long as she has to, as long as he'll put up with it. She's taking the stairs and walking as she talks.]
[video ; private]
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For your information, I killed a lot of things there, including a lot of birds that looked like shrubbery.
[video ; private]
[video ; private]
It's a good way to learn about the ecosystem there.
[video ; private]
[video ; private]
[video ; private] -> [spam]?
[By now she's reached the common area where the stew is supposed to be, even though she keeps talking on her communicator all the same. It occurs to her she never even asked if Stephen was actually going to be there, or if he was just leaving the stew unguarded.
She hopes he is there, though. He better be.]
[spam]
The little green birds, for example, were fascinating. They ate this spicy green fruit, and so when they were cooked, they tasted like they were already spiced. And their feathers rotated so their wings could look like branches with leaves. That's not something any creature on Earth does.
[spam]
Not on Earth. But on that planet, it was. I heard there was supposed to be also a giant spider that tasted like lobster if you roasted it. Because, you know. Who couldn't think to try roasting a spider and taking a big bite?
[She puts her phone away and goes over to ladle herself out some stew, half looking at him and continuing to talk as she does. Just another normal night on the barge so far.]
[spam]
[ It's odd how he's different, this way. His body is more relaxed, but his mind seems aimless, drifting. He watches her; he watches the ceiling. He is only loosely connected to the world. ]
Wasn't as good as the bird.
[spam]
Bowl in both her hands she sits Indian-style on the floor near him, close enough they keep talking and more or less make eye contact without getting too weirdly crowded.]
What did you think of the natives? You know. The teddy bears with spears.
[spam]
If that's what Mickey wandered off from.
He ran straight into one of those birds. Shouted about a bush attacking him. Priceless.
The bears were all right.
[spam]
Just "all right"? They taught me and some of my friends how to throw axes and hunt with spears.
[spam]
[ He turns his head towards her, taking his gaze away from the ceiling. ]
I already knew both of those.
[spam] cw; vague references to eating disorders
[She looks down at her stew, poking it a bit out of habit. She doesn't intentionally starve herself or anything dramatic, but somehow being locked up for a time's given her weird issues with food.]
Well your hair isn't long enough to braid.
[spam]
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[spam]
...do you want a pint?
[spam]
[Yeah, she thinks she was right the first time. Something is clearly going on.]
[spam]
Oh. Not legal in the States, right?
...I don't really care.
[ The US has ridiculous laws. ]
[spam]
[She was super nervous about breaking the law before, and never wanted to risk it. Now after everything else she's seen and done, yeah, wow, she doesn't care the slightest bit either.]
[spam]
[ There. That was easy. No, it wasn't easy. None of this is easy. ]
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