video, un: j.k. [post-butterfly effect]

[aeturnus]

[ On the screen is one Cain, also known as Romulus, commonly known in the city as Jacob Kane. He looks normal. Normal as he's ever looked, really, but the confidence that he lacked during the recent event is back in full force and he's very nonchalant about it all. He's at a flimsy-ish table with a laptop off to the side where the camera is obviously his propped up phone instead. ]

Hey! Long-time no talk, Riverview Quarantine. Just a few things. If you met me over the last week and a half or so, that was... technically me but not. You know that thing that was going on? Yeah, that. Don't worry about it. Forget about all that.

Quick catch-up for those who have (or haven't!) met me, I go by Jacob Kane nowadays. [ Not Romulus. Nope. This total 180 is completely normal considering he hardly looks any older or different at all. ] My job while I'm here is designing phone apps. I've been here for about two months now and I think this is my first actual post on the network. Anything interesting happen while I wasn't looking?

to Doom; Still good for lessons?

to Shai; Thank you. For everything you did.

to Natsume; Seen anything like our colorful friend lately?

Comments

[aeturnus]

Jacob is fine.

[ There's a big difference in their ages now, but it doesn't really look that way and Cain isn't much for formalities anyway. If Natsume wants them to feel more comfortable, that's a different story, but being respectful because manners say you should instead of actually respecting someone is... weird for him. ]

I wasn't about to ditch you or anything. So, have you found any other good teas here?

[mingling]

[Conversely, it feels weird to Natsume not to address an adult with clear cut respect. Even Natori-san is... Natori-san. A big goof, and frequently exasperating, and someone Natsume treasures, but... Natori-san, regardless.

Natsume lets out a little bit of laughter, on a short breath. It's a light touch of anxiety and it's relieved, both at once.]

I haven't come since that day with you. I don't do things like that by myself very much. But last time, there was this peach oolong on the menu, and I thought it sounded good... [He lowers his eyes, both fond and bashful.] I drink a lot of tea at home, usually barley tea.

[aeturnus]

[ That's something he understands, and Cain doesn't intend to push it. Either way, he laughs lightly in return and shakes his head. ]

Peach oolong sounds interesting for sure. When we were here last, I couldn't exactly read the menu so I'll have to see what else is on offer.

[hellshot]

Cowboy and Ninja-shaped.

[You fucking wish this was a joke--but as Jacob would already now know, Reaper's honestly not at all the joking type--at least not when he's dead and crabby as he currently is.]

Don't want the weird strangers who share this place eating it, either.

[He might not mind so much if Wikus eats anything, but...]

[aeturnus]

Is there another one besides the cyborg?

[ Yeah, he's taking it at face value as ridiculous as it all seems. Maybe it's a future thing? Who is he to judge??? ]

Well, I'm glad you either don't consider me too weird or too much of a stranger. One of those.

[hellshot]

Yeah. The cyborg's brother. He's more likely to put an arrow in your eye than the cyborg is, so watch yourself.

[At least someone can take this sort of talk with a dose of salt. Most others would pile him with questions like are you making this shit up.]

You're weird.

[Don't get too full of yourself there.]

But you're tolerable. That's the difference between you and most people I've met here.

[scholiast]

Curfews, certain ways we had to behave. Sometimes worlds were uninhabited, but others were home to people who ran their lives according to rules we weren't exempt from.

It... makes sense. We were staying on their planets after all, so it made sense to abide by their laws. But... sometimes it was hard, and boring.

[alchemyfreak]

I can imagine.

[He can relate to the idea of not wanting to revisit a certain period in one's life, but he certainly had no scope of reference for what Cain had been through. No sense in dwelling though, and Ed is just as quick to sweep uncomfortable things under the rug so his last statement rings pretty true in the blond's opinion.]

What's designing phone apps like?

[Sound boring, he has a basic concept of what that means but like most things that don't interest him, he's always sort of brushed it off.]

[aeturnus]

Great. Eye injuries are always fun.

[ Ha... At least Cain gets to make stupid immortal humor with someone. He knows it's not quite the same situation between them, but how often would they get to joke otherwise? ]

Well, the tolerability is practice. I'd get nowhere in life if I didn't tone myself to the people I'm talking to.

[aeturnus]

Did you ever check out the other countries? Or different cultures?

[ He finds it hard to believe that so many worlds in the vast universe would only have one culture per planet. Surely not...? ]

[aeturnus]

Pretty boring overall, but the coworkers are nice. Gives me time to do other things, at least.

[ Nothing but brutal honesty when it comes to this. Cain's used to having as much money as he'll ever need, but when right now he just wants time and the ability to learn and explore, he doesn't feel an urge to try and climb up some inconsequential corporate ladder. ]

[alchemyfreak]

Coworkers?

[Not exactly the direction he expected that response to go in. He was thinking more about the actual process of the whole thing.]

That's ... good, I guess. I mostly do things on my own, even when I work with other people.

[Four years in the military with basically no one but Al, doing repairs in Purg was a one man gig until his brother showed up, and even when he did work with others he tended to keep to himself, it certainly made him a pretty easy going boss at the General Store. Lang was different, but he'd focused more on repairs than working at the Casino, and when he was there he tended to only focus on the few people he actually knew outside of work, like Allen.]

Freelance work is usually how I get by in these places.

[scholiast]

Sure. But we had to stay closest to wherever the light fell, so. We'd be in more or less the same place for the entire cycle, unless we didn't see it fall at all.

(Those were the worst cycles.)

[greyjane]

[That warrants a slightly skeptical look.]

Can't imagine it's any more problematic than any other place in the universe.

[She's been to so many different worlds, it's just... the way of things. Everyone's in the shit, whether it's social, economic, or otherwise. There is no such thing as paradise.]

[aeturnus]

Never figured out some kind of radar for it?

[ Ouch. ]

[aeturnus]

They're nerds like me, so it helps. Not that I always go in to work, either.

[ Telecommute is a blessing, for absolute sure. ]

What kind of freelance? It's so organized here, I kind of wonder how well that works out.

[scholiast]

Nope. Not for lack of trying, though.

I'm hoping we can figure out a way to track it more reliably soon.

[aeturnus]

Probably not. You'll probably hear more about ours just because of sheer numbers, though.

[ Yeah, Cain isn't so self-centered as to think other worlds would somehow be better for it. People tend to make problems and the more people, the more problems. It's just that he has a pretty intimate knowledge of Earth-related ones. ]

[aeturnus]

Maybe you could use some of the time here to figure it out. Did you ever record any of the readings?

[ What with her journal-keeping and all. ]

[scholiast]

I did, but...

(She frowns.) I only had one journal with me when I crossed over. The rest are on the ship.

[aeturnus]

Ouch. Think you could remember any of it?

[ He's trying to help??? ]

[scholiast]

Probably, if I sat down and dedicated an afternoon to it.

(If she closes her eyes real tight and thinks, she can remember her journals spread out in front of her in her quarters on the ship. Hopefully she can glean something from that.)

I really should start looking into a way to have all my information with me at once.

[aeturnus]

Oh, that's not too hard. We should get you a laptop or tablet or something. They've even got ones you can write on that will convert it to plain text...

[ Now he's thinking about it. ]

It'd basically be like a journal with thousands of pages and none of the bulk.

[scholiast]

Oh, like– is this another electronic thing?

(She's a bit confused, but the whole thing sounds very positive.)

That would... that would be a real game changer, honestly.

[aeturnus]

It is. We can take a look around later for one you might like, see what prices come out to be. I'm sure it'll help.