▶ TDM .001

[prismods]

Cybernetic dream, something like you've never seen

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"Michael Sembello - Automatic Man (original music video)" (Watch on YouTube)

▶ Lisa Frank's LSD Fun House
anytime, anywhere on the moon Iris | top

Everything is darkness except for dim lights sparkling in the distance, a faint gleam that greets you as you start to unfurl from your dormant state. Your body is hemmed in by shards of crystals, gently sparkling and possibly pricking your skin. The surrounding landscape is dyed in the pinks and purples of the dusk filled with crystals protruding from the ground, some as large as a skyscraper. Throat parched and skin dry and aching, you grope your body in alarm to make sure your possessions are still in place. This is far from home— perhaps a dream? You pinch your skin and slap your cheeks, yet nothing seems to do the trick. Searching for answers only rewards you with an endless expanse of purple dust as far as the eye can see. You have four options: one, panic; two, soil yourself; three, admire it all then soil yourself; or four, go into survival mode. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.

A ⬤ As you traverse the near-barren landscape, you feel something sting your skin. It's small and subtle at first, then you finally catch sight of it: an elegant, crystalline mosquito buzzing around from the corner of your eye. However, a pest is still a pest. After a while, marks near your welts begin to form strange patterns on your skin, mimicking ancient runes. Each rune has with it a particular side-effect that may hinder you on your journey:

✾ The Mark of the Enchanter: Hallucinations, hallucinations galore. Your character will see everything and anything their imagination can conjure and will have difficulty separating reality from fiction.
₪ The Mark of the Destroyer: Limbs start to cease their function, causing you to stumble or try and get around one-handed. Other certain body parts may be affected as well. Look at the bright side: you can stop worrying about jiggle physics and hiding your fear boner.
⍢ The Mark of the Sinner: Your hunger, your thirst, your fatigue and your desire are at an all-time high. Your impulses are rabid and uncontrollable. Maybe you experience only one of those symptoms. Maybe you experience them all. All you know is that you want relief now.

These effects will eventually clear up with a bit of accidental or purposeful physical contact with another person, making you wonder if there was anything wrong with you at all.

B ⬤ Hunger starts to gnaw at you vigorously. Perhaps you consider hunting the moon's creatures to sate your hunger. That's when you see it: a thick, meaty, juicy meal on legs. No, we're not talking about Alex Louis Armstrong. A wild silver-white pegasus runs across the purple landscape, its hair billowing in the wind as its hooves smack loudly against the ground. Try and shoot it, and you may find your efforts curtailed by its legendary rage. Eyes aglow and wings beating up a storm, this pegasus is no dainty horse. Two thousand pounds of pure muscle swoop down and charge at you, all blades and ammunition deflecting off its impenetrable skin. Taming appears impossible; it will buck anyone away and leave a sizable horn- or hoof-shaped hole in them for their efforts. Hunting it, however, should be easier. Relatively.

C ⬤ Or you may decide that you'd like to take a drink in the prismatic waters. A small pond can be found just a few miles away from where you first awoke, but gazing into it reflects what appears to be a window into your own world. You see the faces of loved ones or at least someone very close and familiar to you gathered around your prone body, shaking it frantically as though to try and rouse you, yet your image lies frozen and unresponsive, not even a whisper of life running through you. Did you die in your world? Is this your afterlife? The questions start to pile up along with the gnawing dread that you may never return home again.

▶ Camp Nowhere
anytime, anywhere on the moon iris | top

Time moves strangely when you're trapped on a moon with no sun to guide you. Hours feel like days, and days feel like weeks. Travelling has rendered you weak and tired. Luckily, a few crystal formations in the shape of a cavern may offer you a small place refuge as you decide to nap. You notice a few artifacts left over from previous explorers.

D ⬤ A comm unit abandoned within the cavern will display the former owner's idol obsession. As you tap the buttons indiscriminately, a holographic screen will appear, and you will see a fabulous recorded concert featuring three bubbly young ladies in animal print, singing to you about something called Cordis, a cat, and a bag of gems. Does this make any sense to you? Probably not, but the beat is catchy. You may even find yourself tapping a foot along to it. Don’t worry. We know it’s plastic love.

E ⬤ There's a small cooler-like container of preserved powdered food bags labeled with only the word “Edible” that can be safely consumed. Although the powder tastes as bland as you’d expect, it’s oddly filling, sating either hunger or thirst. But who will be the first — and the bravest — to try eating them?

F ⬤ A strange, pointed instrument is among the effects found in the cavern. It's silver, long, and thin with a curved end and a light. When you grip it with warm hands, it seems to vibrate enthusiastically and comes in three settings indicated by a frowny face, a neutral face, and a happy face. What could it mean exactly? No one knows, but you can fiddle with it to your heart's desire. Just don't ask yourself where it's been before. You don't want to know.

▶ Interstellar Action Force Assemble
prisma, iris | top

Over a day has passed when a group of people find you worse for wear. Some are full of uncertainty and fear while some are full of curiosity and excitement. They claim that they are scientists from the planet Prismatica here to investigate the sudden appearances of rainbow crystals in the skies. That means you and the others they’ve located within the area. You are all a surprising find to them, and they are quick to load everyone in their transport vehicles for examination and questioning.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Why are the pegasi so ill-tempered? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They do have questions on their own, so it’s only fair to trade. They tell you about their world as they poke and prod you, trying to understand what you are and how you came into their land. If they’re not trembling in fear, some of them may ask you odd and invasive questions in return, such as what the rate at which your body achieves thermoregulation is, how long your refractory period is, and if you would be willing to submit various kinds of body fluids to them. It's up to whether you wish to comply or protest.

G ⬤ If you react violently, you will be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. They came prepared, so have fun with that! In any case, conscious or not, you’ll be brought into one of the transport vehicles. If you choose to peacefully cooperate, you’ll be provided any necessary first aid and a refreshing drink to help you recuperate after the rough time you had for the past few days. Each transport vehicle has a few small rooms to rest in, but due to the limited space, you’ll have to snuggle up with someone else on that bunk bed. Unfortunately, the moonshine fruit the ship is also carrying in its cargo has an extremely sweet smell that’s been permeating through certain areas of the ventilation system… Taking a whiff of it may inebriate you for the rest of the trip.

H ⬤ It’s a bumpy ride as terrain vehicles draw over various crystal formations until you see a large dome-like structure up ahead. Within its confines lies the seat of the Prismatica's government, Prisma. It’s a bureaucratic wet dream: skyscrapers practically touch the upper surface of the dome, windows glimmer with a prismatic sheen as daylight hits them, and small ships can be seen flying to and from its spaceport. The scientists, members of the Lunar Scientia, usher you into their facilities for tests. Arrivals are likely to twitch, tremble, and panic as Lunar Scientia fellows take and broadcast every embarrassing, unfiltered detail about you — height, weight, age, strange odors, estimated frequency of sexual activity —- to one another. These scientists will ask you politely to undress, too, but understand if you don't want to. They're especially fascinated by the readings of pure Chroma inside you, whispering among one another excitedly about the possibility of the new arrivals being a new moon species. What should they call them? Moonborne? Moonblessed?

I ⬤ At long last, the questions and physical examinations are done. They’ve decided to call the arrivals as the Moonblessed. They’ll take you under their care until they understand more about you. You're allowed a very refreshing hot shower and a warm meal for your efforts. Don’t worry, the meal was imported from their planet. “Planet?” you might ask, but you won’t need to wonder for too long. The ships are preparing for their next destination: the nearby planet Prismatica, where you will be dwelling for the time being. You're free to explore the government center until then.

▶ Wildcard
Lunatia, Prismatica | top

It only takes a couple hours for the ships to reach their home planet. The ships drop the characters off at the city of Lunatia, where they will be given their communication devices and a plastic card they can present to certain landlords at any residential district for their subsidized (read: absolutely free) lodging. Officials at Prisma instructed the newcomers to await further instructions from the government, but you have a lot of time to kill before then. Why not explore in the meantime? Learn the ins and outs of the world, get a job, transform under the full moon, and discover the many mysteries of planet Prismatica!

TDM OVERFLOW can be found here!

Comments

soldier 76 | overwatch

[mylawn]

i. lisa frank - arrival

[76 comes out swinging.

Not immediately swinging, but close enough. The crystals prove to be no match for someone with an enhanced physiology, and he tears them apart with ease. When he gains his bearings he doesn’t exactly take it well. Survival instincts kick into overdrive, and all he can think is that somehow he’s been captured or compromised. The good news, he supposes, is that all of his gear seems to be intact.

Suffice to say, the instant he happens upon someone else, he reacts very poorly.

If you’re fast, you might be able to catch him (or duck) before he swings  before he swings a punch or puts you in a hold like you are now his hostage and/or human shield. If you’re not, surprise!]

Don’t move.

[Is that a gun? It’s definitely a gun, and it is pressed up against you.]

ii. camp nowhere

[Who knows how you ended up traversing this nightmare landscape with this guy, but here you are. The good thing, at least, is that what he lacks in conversation (and, well, a face, currently hidden behind a red-tinted visor), he makes up for in tactical gear and survival skills. 76 moves quickly and efficiently, like someone with training, and you might find that it’s a chore just to keep up with him. Does he ever get tired? Survey says: probably not.

When he happens upon the cave, he enters with the muzzle of his rifle, first, half-expecting to be set-upon by some manner of horrible moonbeast. When that doesn’t happen, he takes a few tentative steps inside, scanning the area with his visor.

A cursory inspection yields what seems to be rations, which would be a positive development if not for the fact that 76 refuses to trust anything, least of all old supplies found in a cave of a moon that looks like this. Still, he’s going to need to eat eventually, and he turns the package over in his hands before offering it to his current companion (that’s you).]

Feeling lucky?

[He sure as hell isn't. Maybe you're hungry enough to chance it.]

iii. action force - moonshine

[Somewhat predictably, 76 doesn’t take the inquiries well at all, to say nothing of being rounded up. His first instinct is to react violently, which lands him a good shot with the neurotransmitter, rendering him mostly useless before he’s deposited in one of the small rooms on the transport. To his credit, he puts up a hell of a fight.

Whatever they shot him with, it leaves him disoriented and numb, unable to do much but be angry and impotent on one of the bunk beds. Anyone who dares to enter the area he’s been dumped in is immediately made to feel unwelcome, responding to any intrusions with an outright snarl.]

Get out.

[Unfortunately, the agent hasn’t quite worn off yet, so all he can really do is try unsuccessfully to look intimidating (hard to do on a bunk bed), nearly falling off the mattress entirely when he tries to reach for his gun.]

iv. wildcard

[I’m pretty much game for whatever. Drop me a line! If you're interested in playing around with moonblessings, 76 is sanguis (snake flavor) for the purposes of this TDM.]

Camp Nowhere

[unsheather]

I was born unlucky. [ Despite saying this, Yuri takes the package, opens it, and pours a little bit of powder out into his hand. Like...he's proven to himself the pegasi are huntable and edible? But if he has one benefit as a travel companion it's that he's the unpickiest man ever when it comes to eating. Sure, he prefers to cook himself rather than put up with anything less than edible, but he'll eat whatever without complaints.

He brings his hand to his mouth to taste the Mysterious Powder, before shrugging and offering the bag back. ]

Tastes like crap, but I don't feel particularly dead or anything.

[ A truly inspiring review. ]

If we're voting on what to eat, I vote the apparent pegasus population remains food source number one.

[mylawn]

[76 can't help but raise an eyebrow, visible right at the top of his visor. Maybe this guy is so unlucky that he feels he has nothing to lose. Either way, he can't complain when Yuri doesn't object to a taste test, even if the assessment has him wrinkling his nose a little.]

Give it time.

[Most poisons aren't going to hit right away, after all. And if the food is just expired or otherwise spoiled, it's likely they won't find out until a few hours from now.

He's seen the winged horses, of course(s), but as of now he's too busy wrapping his mind around the existence of such a creature to even consider them a food source. 76 drops to a squat, combing through the rest of the ration packets.]

You want to go hunting, be my guest.

[Says the guy with the huge gun that is, presumably, great for hunting.]

[unsheather]

[ More like Yuri's willing to take the hit over someone else doing it...a protagonist problem. He doesn't really seem to mind that 76 doesn't seem enthused about the hunting thing - it's not like he was asking for help. ]

You staying here, or moving on?

[ While he goes to kill questionably innocent flying horses, he means. ]

[mylawn]

[76 gives Yuri a long look up and down, as if sizing him up and considering his next course of action. It's safer to stay in the cave, presumably, but they aren't going to be able to make camp here forever. Nothing about this situation is especially sustainable.

He heaves a long-suffering sigh.]

I guess I should make sure you don't get yourself killed.

[If he's so unlucky, that is. 76 most certainly works better alone, with a few glaring exceptions, but Yuri is one of the only people he's found out here, and in a place and situation like this, he can't deny that there's safety in numbers. He does, however, seem extremely begrudging as he gathers up his gear.]

i.

[experientialwordrumpus]

[There are plenty of trolls Galekh's age who could have effortlessly dodged that grab. Galekh, on the other hand, spends all of his time in his private bookhive and believes that suits make good casual wear. He's tall and broad-shouldered enough to be imposing by most human standards, even setting aside the grey skin and orange, christmas-tree-shaped horns, but he's not nearly light enough on his feet to get out of the way.

He freezes as he feels the weapon his only movement glancing around, trying to figure out where his lusus is. The goat must have wandered off for the moment. He's not sure if that's a good thing or not.]

I believe there has been a severe misunderstanding. I do not know who you believe me to be but I promise I did not intend to threaten or insult you in any way and would very much prefer not to be held at gunpoint. If you lower the weapon perhaps we can discuss this like civilized beings.

[mylawn]

[Yeah, he's never seen anything or anyone like this before, and that just makes his reaction worse. He's close enough now to see this isn't makeup or an elaborate costume (not that he's sure why someone would be wearing a costume out here), and for someone who's mostly dealt with humans and robots and the occasional talking gorilla, he's not exactly ready for aliens.

Galekh's stature doesn't seem to intimidate 76 at all--the fact that he's in the hold at all means he's got little leverage, though 76 is of course cognizant of the fact that this kid might be hiding some kind of unseen strength or fighting prowess. Suffice to say, he's not about to comply with requests to lower the gun.]

Start talking.

[Galekh's fate clearly rests in whether or not he says something 76 likes. Isn't that fun!]

Then we'll see about the gun.

[experientialwordrumpus]

[He's got an indigoblood's considerable strength, but Galekh has always been squeamish about getting his hands dirty, and he's pretty sure the older man - fuck, that's an adult, isn't it? - can probably pull the trigger faster than Galekh can figure out how to get away. He really doesn't want to find out what that weapon's capabilities are.

Talking, he can do. Maybe not keeping his voice steady, because he's not getting any less freaked out, but if there's one thing Galekh can do under pressure it's talk.]

My name is Galekh Xigisi and I have no idea what is going on but I assure you I had nothing to do with our current predicament. My method of dealing with it is simply less weapons-based than yours appears to be - I apologize if that sounds flippant, I am sure it is a reasonable reflex, I simply do not typically go heavily armed. I would not expect aid from similarly stranded individuals but neither am I carrying anything worth looting. Unless you have a use for an unedited and incomplete literary manuscript, I suppose.

Additionally, my lusus naturae is somewhere in the vicinity and while he likely would not pose any real threat to you he is liable to respond aggressively if he believes I am in danger and I also do not wish to have my custodial guardian gunned down in the middle of an inhospitable alien wasteland.

[He pauses, just enough of a beat that it seems he may have run out of things to say, before adding a very earnest afterthought -] Also, I am grateful not to have been shot already. I feel I should make that clear.

[mylawn]

[Well, that's certainly talking. For the first few moments, 76 feels like he's getting somewhere, but then Galekh devolves into rambling, and it takes a concentrated effort to process all of the information that's suddenly provided. The takeaway seems to be that Galekh is a stranger to this place as well--and though 76 is loath to trust anyone, he seems fairly sincere.

That does not, however, mean he has plans to lower the gun. He'll loosen his grip at least, if only a little.]

Your what?

[He zeroes in on the one thing that sounds like a threat, but the implication is that 76 will have to provoke it, first.]

I'm not gonna shoot unless you give me a reason to.

ii guess who. (it's sam.)

[mikilomorphae]

[look. she's been through worse. a hell of a lot worse. so traveling with an old fart of a soldier is made even better when he's not one for small talk, and with her heightened agility thanks to a little deal with a demon, Miko has no trouble keeping up.

but hey. when you can turn into a giant demonic spider at a whim, and with the hellscape of what had become of Japan and much of the world back home, you really can't afford to waste your time being finicky and afraid.

so as Soldier76 enters gun-first, Miko enters as she would any doorway, hands at her hips, making a sharp, disapproving sound between her teeth, and soon enough they're looking over some kind of food.

left alone in a cave.

not sketchy at all.

but the old guy's offer reads as a bit of a challenge, so making another tch noise conveying her irritation, she snatches the packet from her hand.]

Not really. [but still, she opens the rations like a bag of chips.] But why the hell not.

heh heh heh HEH HEH

[mylawn]

[He tells himself at various points on this expedition that he shouldn't be wasting his time with other stranded people--that any energy he puts towards keeping other people alive is less he can spend on himself. If he wants to get through this technicolor wasteland and to the bottom of whatever's going on here (even if it's just a hallucination), then he needs all of his faculties.

But old habits die hard as always, so when he ends up with traveling companions, he finds himself instinctively taking the lead, checking the caverns for anything dangerous, and generally keeping watch in his periphery. He's far removed from the man he used to be, but he still thinks he'd react badly if someone died on his watch.

Because she is, effectively, on his watch. He doesn't really know anything about giant demonic spiders.]

Let me know how it tastes.

[Bad, he guesses.]

[mikilomorphae]

[she glares at him from over the open bag. mainly because it's more or less her default look ever since her change from second-best track star to second-best devilman. but, this guy's not backtracking on his offer, and to her the challenge still stands, so

here goes nothing.

she upturns the bag into an open mouth, downing the powder all in one go. which, honestly, was a bad idea.

Miko coughs, sputtering a bit as she accidentally inhales some of the leftover particles, hand to her throat. but after a moment or two of catching her breath she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.]

It tastes like dust. [but then, she plops to the ground, reaching forward in the cooler to take another packet, tearing it open.] But it gets the job done.

[though for someone like her, one packet of flavourless powder isn't going to cut it. she's found it increasingly difficult to be satisfied.]

It's not going to kill you.

[mylawn]

[He opens his mouth to protest eating so much but she’s too fast—upending it all into her mouth, which is honestly a bad idea. Still, too late now, and 76 supposes he should just be thankful that it’s not instantly poisonous. Doesn’t really matter if it takes some time to do its work, but at least she seems fine in the moment. There’s no water to offer her, so she’s just going to have to cough it out.]

I didn’t mean all at once.

[But 76 takes the offered packet and peels off a glove, dipping his hand in it and sneaking a taste under his visor. She’s right—it does taste terrible, and he puts his visor back in place.]

I think I’m all right for now, but we should take these with us.

[He’ll be hungry eventually. Not even a super soldier can keep going forever.]

( arrival - eyes emoji )

[infiltrar]

[Seriously. Seriously? Soldier, what do you expect to happen when you hold Sombra at gunpoint? Cry for help or start bargaining for mercy? I mean she could do that still, but she doesn't enjoy being cornered by pesky weapons. Lucky for her she'd set up a translocator in a hidden away spot high atop one of those towering crystal formations which allows her to easily just kind of disappear her way out of his hold.]

Oops, I moved. [Her voice can be heard from up above, cheerful and rather cheeky.]

Easy compa. It's not like I'm here to kill you. Today.

zooms

[mylawn]

[Oops, she moved. 76 certainly does not expect that to happen, though any surprise is hidden behind the visor. He stumbles a little at the sudden disappearance of her weight, but it's not long before he's pinpointed her new location, training his gun on her all the same.

He sounds fairly unamused--then again, he always does.]

As opposed to other days?

[Not exactly the best way to great someone--not that 76 can talk, what with the attempted stranglehold and the very large gun.]

[infiltrar]

moved here!

i.

[webshoots]

[ peter's still not entirely sure what's going on: he's considered this is something to do with mysterio, that would explain the purple sand, the crystals, the lack of clarity about anything, but he's trying to avoid jumping to conclusions.

and then he feels it — the low grade tingling of his spider-sense, the kind that he's learnt through trial and error have a tendency to escalate into stop! do not pass go, do not collect $200 issues. he ducks out of instinct, jumps backwards, and—

—eyes narrow. he doesn't recognise this guy, there's a quick thought — is he from here? how has he survived? — he holds his hands up, palms facing outwards: empty. beneath the mask, his lips quirk into a wry smile. ] Sorry. [ a breath and a glance up. (crystals). a glance back at 76. curiously: ] You know the cyclops thing's taken, right? Copyright—. [ thwip. webs shoot up and peter moves with them: he's done it enough times that he doesn't think he'll get shot, but he doesn't know how quick this guy is or what he's capable of. ]

[mylawn]

[76 is no stranger to individuals with various enhancements. Hell, he’s one of them, but he still manages to be a little surprised when his potential hostage escapes his initial attack. He hasn’t thrown so much of his weight into the lunge so as to overbalance, but he does stumble a little when there’s suddenly nothing but empty air where there wasn’t a moment ago. 76 turns to see where his quarry has gone to and growls, managing to look extremely displeased even with most of his face covered.]

Funny.

[A joker, huh? Unfortunately for Peter, he does raise his overly-large gun and shoot—76 seems to be a little trigger-happy after all. He does not, at least, shoot directly at Peter. Instead, he aims for the crystals nearby, aiming to either deny him another handhold (web-hold?) or catch him off guard entirely as the stone shatters.]

[webshoots]

Did you just growl? I’m just saying — if you want to be successful at this villain schtick, you need your own look— —gck.

[ 76 is successful: peter knows that something’s coming but not what — he's startled as the crystal shatters, the shards sharp and fine enough to cut into his suit (ouch), though there’s a part of him that manages to take note of and appreciate the fact that he wasn’t shot at. but as the grand saying goes: intent isn’t magic and peter falls.

it manages to keep him quiet for the second, two seconds it takes him to look for an alternative crystal. —aha! he continues talking as he shoots a web towards the new crystal. ] —Your own identity. Something to separate you from the pack, because at the moment, you just look a little confused. [ he rests against the side of the crystal, attention fixed on 76; the comment's punctuated by a pause as peter catches his breath, and it occurs to him that 76 is probably going to shoot this crystal, too. ]

iii

[raisedbybirds]

...

[How predictable that she would get ushered into a room with someone very angry and impotent in it. She doesn't even need to scan him with her visor to determine he'd been uncooperative to the point of needing to be drugged, which already tells her a lot about him.

Samus highly considers taking his words to heart and just walking right back out, but she knew space was very limited on this transport vessel and if anyone could handle someone like this, it would be her.]

If I could have my own room I would have taken it.

[Instead she ignores him, mostly, and her helmet cranes towards the gun he was attempting to reach. It's far more interesting to her, being quite the aficionado for such weapons.] A Pulse Rifle. [Meanwhile she also quietly calculates the risk of movement between both of them and his gun and what she could do to make sure he doesn't pull the trigger, if his fingers worked well enough for it anyway.

For now, orange pharah stands quiet and still in the doorway, also effectively blocking anyone else from coming in for now (for the best).]

Manual or Automatic?

[mylawn]

[76 squints a little, trying to make sense of the figure that’s appeared before him. Though he’s still fairly certain all of this is a hallucination, he’s starting to come around to the fact that this might be real, which means he’s been compromised and kidnapped by one of his enemies. Despite that, however, he has no idea which of his enemies would do something like this.

But then there’s a woman in powered armor standing in the doorway to his room (cell), recognizing the pulse rifle that he’s currently trying to reach for and identifying it by name.]

Raptora?

[Though he’s never known anyone who wears a Raptora suit to paint it such a color. The safety orange is not subtle at all, but then again, he doesn’t think any of those agents have the ability to kidnap people to a technicolor hell planet, either. Still, 76 has to couch this experience in what he knows, and he only knows of one company that sends their security guards out in powered armor and may or may not have a vested interested in the gun he stole from them.]

If you’re with Helix, you can fuck off.

[He stole this gun fair and square! You weren’t even using it!! It’s his now!!!]

[raisedbybirds]

[Samus gets mistaken for a lot of things but usually not someone else specifically. Raptora conjures images of, well, a raptor so she can't say she immediately minds the bird-like association. It is however also uncanny for that same reason. Her eyes narrow under the visor.]

Not affiliated with Helix. [Risky gamble to keep engaging in that subject since it seems to be a source of hostility for him. She doesn't press further into the room right away, though her helmet is still canted somewhere warily between him in and his rifle.]

Do they pay well? [Not a serious inquiry but she's betting he'll have something to say about it.]

iii.

[rocketpunch]

Woah! Are you reaching for your gun, old man? That's pretty hardcore.

[Don't mind Precis F. Neumann. She might be a genius, but she's not smart. All she wants is a little place to rest, and while the sight of a gun should frighten her? It doesn't. Especially not with the fall to the floor that follows.]

Oh, wow. You totally just gave me this great idea for an invention. What if there was, you know, some sort of transmitter one could wear so if they fell in their own home they could summon outside help? I bet my own old man could use something like that. What do you think? I'd call it...SurvivalSiren™.

[She hops up onto a nearby crate of supplies or something. This is her room now.]

gasp

[mylawn]

[It would most certainly be more hardcore if 76 wasn't half-numb from being shot, which would't have happened if he hadn't tried to fight the people herding them onto a transport. It's embarrassing all around, really, and he grunts both in effort and extreme disapproval.]

I don't care.

[She's already making herself at home, however, so 76 knows he's already lost.]

And I don't need your help.

gasp!

[rocketpunch]

[It would be more hardcore if Precis weren't used to people trying to kill her, too. It's so hard saving the universe and all that jazz sometimes, you know? She makes herself comfortable and holds her pack in her lap, starting to look through her belongings.]

That's great, 'cause, like, I'm totally not offering you my help. It's more of a 'later' idea, you know?

[She pauses as she pats something inside her bag.]

Hmm. Looking at you, I kinda feel like I should set up a barrier. How much danger am I in over here, tough guy?