ximilialog | [OPEN] An OTA for any post-mission threads! And Movie Night.

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[OPEN] An OTA for any post-mission threads! And Movie Night.

CHARACTERS: The crew!
LOCATION: The Mess Hall
DATE: After the mission / Movie Night, the day after the mission!
CONTENT: Feel free to use this log as somewhere to play out closed starters or what-have-you for any post-mission needs! There is also a movie night (sorta) in which the crew can contribute to it, as Newton is going to be out sick for this one.
WARNINGS: Nothing severe! But mark your comments if needed.

Upon returning from the mission, things need to take a real breather, huh? Not only have some of their folks returned home recently, but the witnessing of two crews getting gobbled up by pissed off dragons is also a thing. Not that a lot of the crew would probably contest the outcome wasn't somewhat deserved — caging living creatures to steal away from their families would definitely fall under 'stupid games, stupid prizes' that Americans love to say. Or whoever invented that (it was definitely not Tom Clancy, despite what some people say).

Anyway, everyone's back to mingling into the station, tired and victorious and maybe a little put-out by the overall murder and maiming. Business as usual, right?

So, Newt does what he usually does! Attempt to set up the mess hall for another typical movie night.

Only, he has fallen actually sick.

So the movie night is gonna have to rely solely on the crew, this go-around.

Upon entering the mess hall, many will find the usual things half-heartedly strewn about: the movie projector with the DVD player, sitting unused on one of the tables. The white cloth used to project on, half-hung and abandoned, looking like the world's worst sheet ghost on Halloween. Stacked dinner and snack plates with nothing on them are still in the kitchen, not yet moved around. In fact, the only thing that seems to have been fully supplied is a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor and one bag of 5 lbs., unopened sour patch kids on a chair.

Newt, it seems, has been put down for the day with his pirate-world-flu. Pirate Flu?

(It's not scurvy.)

Anyone stopping in will have to fend for themselves and provide any movies, music, food or additional goodies for this movie night, while Newton Geiszler is forced into bedrest by Chishiya and Yujin (who have the patience of saints in this situation).

Leave a comment HERE to let us know, so people can include the goods in any top levels.

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[...It's not the worst thing Ryunosuke has seen the sim room do. Not by a long shot. It's been nearly a year since it showed him and Professor Mikotoba that ghastly vision of the wounded old man, and then tried to lock them inside to suffocate to death. Time has NOT made him forget about that.

In fact, that the sim room is acting glitchy at all is more than enough to get him feeling jumpy and anxious about being in here... He tries to deflect from the thought, not wanting to be seen as paranoid.]

I still don't understand why a bunch of maids had you so worked up. I mean... Mrs Garrideb is a frightening and powerful woman, I'll grant you. But putting her aside, the others seemed quite normal.

[You know. Aside from being obvious simulations.]

Those things are not normal!

[ He closes the distance between himself and the table with chess set on top of it. Idly, he reaches down and brushes the tip of his finger against the top of the knight piece. It's a comfortable, familiar movement. ]

You try coming home one day to these things greeting you! They're not only designed after real people, but my mother got the absolutely wonderful idea to give them voices, too. Her voice.

[ He grimaces. That just makes the whole thing creepy!

Creepier.

He waves his over hand toward one of the lounge chairs. ]

You can sit.

Unless a closet is more your preference. Mine is big enough to actually sleep comfortably in. [ Awful, terrible joke. But this is the peak of his "humor." ]

[Ryunosuke is trying to process having the information dropped on him that those maids are… Normally like that, even in their original context? He just assumed the flickering was a glitch in the sim.

He’s distracted from asking follow up questions by Yzak being a little shithead, which earns him a vaguely withering look from Ryunosuke.]

I already told you, that was just practical! It’s not as if I have some kind of closet fetish! Good grief… [He goes and takes a seat in one of the chairs, glancing around.] Does that mean… This is your house, then?

[ Hmm sounds fake. He doesn't say anymore, though, because he's not Like That. He does give Ryunosuke a little Look, but that's about it, and he drops it easily enough.

Because now it's time for him to lift his chin up a bit, proud. ]

This is my and my mother's residence on Aprilius One, our homeland's capital. I work in the main office here for now, since I no longer need to be on the frontlines. My home home is in my hometown of Martius City, one of our other colonies. [ A nod to one of the windows, and Ryu can see, with the big, bright blue Earth as a backdrop, plenty of other hourglass-shaped colonies lined up in nearby space. ]

[Ryunosuke's eyes follow where Yzak indicates, and he startles backwards when he realizes what he's looking at.]

No... Is that--? Surely not--

[He's seen planets from space before. Sort of. Barely glimpsing them through his fingers while he had his hands over his eyes, on shuttle trips between the planets involved in that one extremely long mission they had a few months back. If you count that.

This is the first time he's seen Earth from this perspective, and it's enough to take his breath away. He walks over to the window, transfixed.]

It's so beautiful... I never imagined... I mean, I know this is just a simulation, but... You really have a view like this?? All the time?

[ The surprise on Ryunosuke's end surprises Yzak - he tends to forget how amazing the view seems to be to others when it's just been something he's seen for his whole life.

The reaction also causes his heart to thump against his chest a little harder for a few beats, something fond and familiar but painful. The Earth had been so important for Blue who'd never gotten to see it - his Terra he'd say. He'd seen it in Yzak's simulations and dreams, too, just as captivated. As someone who never gave much of a shit about the Earth because that was where most Naturals lived and the Earth Alliance was his enemy, it even rubbed off on him - where he'd even dreamt of bringing Blue there one day.

Yzak shakes his head, willing his heart to calm before it begins to hurt too badly under the weight of shattered dreams. He turns himself from the chess set, taking a few steps toward the window, staring at the sight that Ryunosuke drinks in with such awe. ]

I was born on PLANT. So for my entire life.

Which is why it probably just seems like any other view, compared to how people like you tend to react who've never seen it before. [ Of course, then it dawns on Yzak that while others have seen perhaps photos of Earth, Ryunosuke isn't from a time where even that was possible, huh? ]

I haven't really been down there much. Just for a time during the first war. And even that didn't lend much time to really do or see anything aside from where I was assigned.

[Yeah, Ryunosuke had never even seen a photographic print until he wound up in court and on trial. The best his time can do for depictions of the Earth is globes and maps. This... Is life-altering for him. He's still speaking in a sort of hushed tone, his eyes wide.]

It's sort of funny how little of it you actually get to see, when you spend your whole life down there... It feels a bit pointless to comment on how big it is, but. For 23 years of my life, I never even left Japan. And now to see it all like this...?

[He can't imagine ever getting sick of it. Also? He is looking for Japan right now, curious to see if the real thing matches up to what he knows from maps.]

I'm curious how this "PLANT" place compares. I'm not sure if you've ever really talked about it.

And Japan's landmass compared to the rest of the planet... [ Sure enough, Japan is viewable from where they are right now, a crescent that for sure wouldn't feel small, but compared to everything else around it, seems so from this point of view. ]

It is pretty huge. Though at the same time, with our technology and means of travel, getting from place from place doesn't take much time and even that aside, sometimes it feels smaller than it looks.

[ His eyes drift from the Earth to the clusters of hourglass-shaped colonies, some close, some far, too many to properly count from where they stand. There's an edge of nostalgia in his eyes. He hasn't seen this view in reality for such a long time now. Even the stars that dot the background are beautiful amazing to the few faint glimmers one can see from the station windows. ]

Size-wise? We have one-hundred-and-thirteen colonies, each of which have two sections on each end that reach 10 kilometers in diameter. But the population varies in each "city" - which is a cluster of ten spanning twelve sectors - for most of them. [ That adds up to 120, which is NOT the 113 that Yzak just said. Hence the mostly. But Ryunosuke is aware of his reason for being on the Ximilia, so that shouldn't come as a surprise. ] Some specialize in education so are more dense, some are more agricultural-based or engineering-based, so need more room for that.

Still, that means we're roughly half of the population of Japan when you compare.

[Japan's population in Yzak's time, or Ryunosuke's? There's probably a pretty big difference there, not that Ryunosuke has even the slightest of how to compare. He doesn't exactly keep track of census results, or anything like that.

What he DOES recall is the details of Yzak's regret, and it's only now that he puts together the relation between what he sees out of the window now, and what he'd heard in his cabin that day. So... Each station represents a large population... And by working on the Ximilia, Yzak is trying to save several of them? Yikes. But also? Impressive. He can only imagine the weight of such a responsibility.]

What are they like on the inside? Are they anything like the Ximilia? All... Close metal hallways, and artificial outdoors?

[ In Yzak's for sure, but one can still compare the percentage and just apply it to their own Japan. Either way, A LOT FOR SURE, but still not when compared to the entire planet. ]

Absolutely not. On PLANT you would barely be able to tell the difference from being on Earth. Cities and countrysides where the people live...

[ He points to the night sky from the window. ] If you look closely, you can make out parts of the walls that the city is held in. The view of space is very real, because they're a bit like windows. [ Sure enough, there are very faint lines one can see if they look into the sky, not all too different from the frame of a window. Only, you know, large. ] In the day time they change just enough so the sky we see is blue. The sunlight is real, we have mirrors that reflect it so we have a proper day and night cycle. That means our trees, fields, gardens, all of that is real, too.

Our weather is controlled, but it emulates that of a planet so we get clouds, rain and, rarely, snow. The upside to that is that we don't get extreme weather. Hurricanes, floods, blizzards, things that would compromise the very structure of the colony.

[Ryunosuke boggles, trying to get his head around all that. He supposes it's probably not that different from the technology on display in the Sunlight Room? Though it is on a far grander scale.

He glances at Yzak, frowning slightly.]

...I'll admit, that's beyond impressive. But I can't help but wonder... Why? Why go to all the trouble of living up here in the first place?

Because we didn't have much of a choice.

When Coordinators started being born, not everyone liked the idea of humans with genetic enhancements. Monsters, "patchworked," you get the idea. For a time after the first few Coordinators revealed what they were, it was illegal for any more to be born at all. Once that changed, it eventually turned into more dangerous rhetoric from groups about wanting a blue and pure world.

So although the first group of PLANTs were built to primarily be production and research sites, they quickly became home to Coordinators who were leaving the Earth for their own safety.

But that's... Awful!

[Yzak why does your world sound so terrible? It's making Ryunosuke VERY nervous about the future in his own world.]

I mean, I don't know much about, erm. Genetic enhancements, or what have you. But the way I see it, no one deserves to be called a monster, unless they've actually committed monstrous acts.

[ Yzak has never liked being considered as much himself. Younger and more hot-blooded and all-around shitty, he simply had nothing but disdain for the Naturals who were clearly inferior and just jealous of his people. He still probably wouldn't enjoy being called something like a monster now. Now, though, part of him wouldn't call it completely undeserved; after all, he's committed monstrous acts.

His gaze lingers out the window in that moment. To the view, to his home, what he's put his life to use for even with those sins always on his back. ]

Well, it's not like plenty of Coordinators didn't see themselves as superior in their own way, either. That is essentially why we've been through two wars now.

Ah... Right. Point taken...

[He wonders if he should follow up on that. Ask more about the wars. But honestly? The very idea of war on a global scale like that, with all this futuristic technology available? He's afraid to hear the extent of it.

He sighs.]

You know... It's silly, but. I'd sort of imagined that humanity would have grown out of such bigotry, this far into the future. But I suppose some things never really change...

I know it's a bit of a pessimistic thought, but considering how many alternative worlds I've come across here on top of my own ... I agree with you. Humans in general are easily scared, whether or not you chalk it up to just wishing to protect themselves. But fear too easily turns to anger and hatred and paranoia, and even small differences, much less very unfamiliar concepts and things, can instill those feelings.

It'd just be nice if that shit didn't always end up escalating into war and killing and wasting all of our time.

[ With that small and yet probably futile wish, the silence lapses around them briefly.

Yzak breaks it by peering back over his shoulder to the door. ]

I wonder if those fucking things are gone, yet.

[It's a heavy thing to contemplate. One that Ryunosuke is sort of glad for the distraction from, to be completely honest.

He turns away from the window partway, glancing back in the same direction as Yzak.]

You mean those maids? [He obviously has no idea if they're gone or not, but. WOW does Yzak really seem to hate them.] What exactly are they, anyway? You mentioned that your mother created them somehow, but...

[He's not even sure what question to follow that up with. The obvious one is "why", but surely it's just a simple matter of needing servants around the house...? It seems self-explanatory.]

For me? They're god damned torture devices!

[ Maybe he's a little overdramatic here. But.

He heaves a low sigh. ]

Like I said before, they're based off of real people. [ His voice dips into something more repulsed. ] Specifically, candidates to become my wife.

[Ryunosuke jerks back slightly in surprise.]

Your what?!

[It's not like it's surprising that Yzak would be of a marrying age, or anything like that. There being 'candidates' for the role isn't particularly odd by Ryunosuke's standards either. But...]

So they're like... Replicas? Of those particular people? To what end?!

Yes.

[ He sounds annoyed - not at Ryunosuke of course, but at having to think about this at all. ]

I'm an extremely busy man at home as much as I am here! So I didn't have the time to meet any of the women my mother wanted me to - daughters of friends of our family and old coworkers of hers who are still involved in the government. Ones that I likely had enough of a genetic compatibility with to bear children.

And I admire the traits I've inherited from my mother, obviously, but her impatience and her insistence on the matter are the reasons she got the insane idea to make those! [ The pitch of his voice heightens some, as it does when he rambles and gets worked up about something. ] According to her, perhaps if one of those holographic monstrosities caught my interest, it could streamline the process some.

Although I sympathized with her concern about the danger of my work and the fact that I'm the only son in our family, I think she just got bored since she's recently found herself with ... a lot more free time, and decided to invest a lot of it in my personal life..! But those things are way too much!

[Hooo boy. He's really opened a whole can of worms here, apparently.

Ryunosuke grimaces and tries to to his best to listen politely and sympathetically, nodding and making affirming noises when appropriate, wincing slightly when Yzak's voice pitches up, and full on grimacing by the time he's done explaining everything. He looks utterly baffled by the end, scratching his head scrunching his nose confusedly.]

Honestly, I think the worst thing about all of that is knowing the purpose behind those things, and then knowing that they also sound like your mother. Even if her idea made a lick of sense at base, that... Seems like a rather hefty flaw in the execution...?

No shit!

[ He flusters despite himself. ]

Why would anybody think something like that is a good idea... it has Oedipus complex written all over it. And then what's the first thing that's going to cross my mind if I'd actually met any of those women in person!?

[Ryunosuke decides he is going to just pretend he has any idea what an oedipus complex is, instead of asking any questions. He can probably take a guess based on context, anyway. He wilts, eyeing the door warily, as if he expects one of those maids to come busting through any second now that they're being discussed again.]

Right... Yes, I can see how that might amount to something actually torturous. Haaahhhh.

The whole god damned thing is torturous. She's even tried to get my hours at my worked changed!

[ He grumbles, shifts uncomfortably. And then his shoulders slump a little, his own gaze straying from the door, the fuse lit inside of him dampening a bit.

It's been quite a long time since then, hasn't it? And even looking back now... ]

I probably I could have made time for it. [ Said with that air of 'I could absolutely have, actually'. Really, anyone who knows Yzak and what a busybody he is knows that if he wants something done or has something important to get to, he'll make it happen.

The lightest touch of guilt sneaks into his voice when he continues. Born of old habits and future apprehensions, a son disappointing his mother and a life so entrenched in duty. ]

But I guess even back then, I didn't really want any of that.

And after coming here ... I don't want it at all, anymore.

[It's a struggle, figuring out what he can even say to all that. Ryunosuke's relationship with his own parents had already soured long before any conflict could have arisen over his love for Kazuma, but he can still very easily imagine the struggles that might happened if it hadn't. He was raised to act with the utmost respect for his elders, after all... And he can't even begin to guess if they would have approved.

Unlike Yzak, he was at least lucky enough to have siblings... So the onus of continuing the family line was never firmly on his shoulders alone, anyway. Considering how fleeting and inconsistent his interest in women tended to be, that was always a relief while he was growing up... Ryunosuke's chest aches now to think of how much pressure Yzak must feel, if his interests (or lack thereof) leaned the same way.

At an uncharacteristic loss for words, he finds that action feels like the only suitable response here. Cautiously, gently, he places a hand on the Major's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, his dark grey eyes reflecting quiet and respectful sympathy.]

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