ru5t

[ru5t]

open.

  “I grow without roots,” she mutters, just barely above something utterly unintelligible, “float without wings.” A wire twines between her fingers, up and over and around in a pattern both purposeful and aimless. “The more I become, the less you'll see.”

[ru5t]

Mad girl is always correct though she is rarely heard. She talks and talks, she talks until she screams. Until she talks

until she starts again.

— Phoebe Stuckes, from “Cassandra,” Platinum Blonde

[ru5t]

The Important Questions - for Gem

The Important Questions & Answers That May or May Not Elaborate

Is she comfortable teasing them? Does she expect them to understand it's teasing? would she explain it if they asked?

Sometimes. Though I think it’s less a question of comfort and more… when dealing with tech types she gets to lean more into tech talk, which is a different but similar kind of vibe in terms of when and why she tease people. Something something insider language. Jargon of the close(r).

Would she build something for them unprompted? Would she build something if they asked?

Unprompted... maybe not. If asked, yes. (Y'know, depending on what it is what it's for etc. etc. nuance.)

If they pushed her about her boundaries would she push back? or retreat?

.........Push back? She's definitely not afraid to give Gem a piece of her mind, but there's also. There are concerns and uncertainties and while a direct shove might get a return shove it also might... not. I'm not sure?

Would she be able to sleep if they were the only two people in the room?

Eventually, I think so yeah. She'd put it off and put it off and put it off and fib and deny and stall. But in the end she could, yeah, as soon as she stopped being stubborn about it.

When they have tech problems does she just fix them or wait for them to ask? (or make them plead/bargain something?)

I expect resistance to this from Gem's side(?) Nothing more annoying than being an expert who has to ask another expert for help because you know it's going to be something silly or obvious that you overlooked and Tech is. unfortunately a nightmare who loves to poke and tease.

Are riddle games on the table? How many layers deep? What happens if they can't figure out the answer(s)?

Hm. Maybe? I don't think she completely expects correct answers but not figuring it out might still kind of.. feel bad.

When she gets overwhelmed with touch, does she try to tell them gently or go straight for the harsher warnings/demands?

Mix and match.

Does she think Jack trusts them?

N/A, these parts of her life haven’t really crossed paths. I think we’re idling at the ‘he probably wouldn’t immediately distrust her’ anyway.

(Does she think Kobra trusts them?)

.

Can they call her a nickname that isn't Tech/Techie (or Maddy)? Can they call her Madelyn?

No immediate objections to any of her common nicknames. I can’t think of a reason for Gem to know it but her full name is in fact off limits.

Would she seek them out as someone to keep company with in order to sleep?

I don’t think so.

If they got in a fight about something and hadn't yet made up, would she still reach out to them for help if she needed it?

Incredibly dependent on the nature of the help needed and what they’ve been arguing about. Little scuffles are no big deal, she’d ask if she needed it. Some of the more… complicated things tangled here would keep her away.

Is she bolder/more confrontational when they're nearby to back her up?

I wouldn’t want to be on the opposing side of a subject they agree on, anyway.

Does she believe their word when she's panicked or having a flashback (etc.)? Does she trust them to ground her with touch?

Variable. Sometimes trusts her, sometimes can’t drown out the more anxious and jealous side of her thoughts to make space for trusting her.

Are they allowed to apologize to her directly?

No but also she’ll be mad until it happens. Suffer.

Would she drink alcohol with them?

……..I think so?

Could she leave Glitch with them?

Nope.

[ru5t]

open.

  She's in a something. A mood, or a fit of some kind, that makes her unusually confrontational as she crowds in -unusually close, especially for her- front of them, her little face wrought into an all over frown. She studies for a moment. The shape of their brows and the color of their iris. The flex of the pupils as they focus themselves to the world. As apt a time as any to ask.

  “Did I turn invisible?” and she waves her hand, determined to have the truth of the answer via blink or flinch or re-focusing eyes, if nothing else.

[ru5t]

  “Yeah. Your boss. My warden.” As in jailer as in one word and I could go in a box in one of those deep dark holes no one's ever heard of. Just in case he's forgotten the technicalities. If I'm not scared, why are you? She shrugs— “What could go wrong?”

  Next in her endless list of facetious ideas, she leeeeeaaaaans. Inches to the side like she means to scoot around Ollie and continue on her quest. Which hadn't been much of a quest before, admittedly, but she's got twice the number of pressing question as she'd started her walk with and triple the intention to get at least a few answers. Worst case scenario, at least one.

"Well 'm not mental. He's my boss. And he's not scary scary but he can be a little proper scary when he's pissed off, yeah?" Sometimes he's the last in on subtext, or the last pick up on someone's poor mood, but he's got enough braincells to rub together to know better than to poke that bear.

... He gets a sense of... something. ... "What?"

[ru5t]

The Important Questions

The Important Questions & Answers That May or May Not Elaborate

Is she comfortable teasing them? Does she expect them to understand it's teasing? would she explain it if they asked?

Not… the way I was imagining when I posed this question to myself. So we can go with “no”. Which sort of makes the follow-up questions moot but you know I don’t think Tech expects Mazie to understand anything about what she does and says at this current juncture.

Would she build something for them unprompted? Would she build something if they asked?

She already has / it would depend on what the thing was and how it got asked. Why it got asked.

If they pushed her about her boundaries would she push back? or retreat?

This has proven… variable but tending toward retreat. There are … things happening that she didn’t expect (that I didn’t expect) cropping up into their interactions that make answering this complicated.

Would she be able to sleep if they were the only two people in the room?

Right now, no.

When they have tech problems does she just fix them or wait for them to ask? (or make them plead/bargain something?)

Well that depends. Did she try turning it off and back on again?

Are riddle games on the table? How many layers deep? What happens if they can't figure out the answer(s)?

Yes but like the teasing, not the way I was thinking when I posed this question to myself. The layers are so many. She does not currently expect correct solutions.

When she gets overwhelmed with touch, does she try to tell them gently or go straight for the harsher warnings/demands?

Skipping straight for the loud stuff, so far. I’m not sure it’s a conscious choice right now.

Does she think Jack trusts them?

Unclear. This is very vexing.

(Does she think Kobra trusts them?)

Lol. Lmao even.

Can they call her a nickname that isn't Tech/Techie (or Maddy)? Can they call her Madelyn?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII don’t currently know of any objections to nicknames but I don’t know that there’s been a lot of exploration in this arena. Not opposed so far? Mazie most certainly would Not be welcome to use Maddy or Madelyn though and Jack needs to shut his stupid face and stop saying it where people can hear him.

Would she seek them out as someone to keep company with in order to sleep?

No.

If they got in a fight about something and hadn't yet made up, would she still reach out to them for help if she needed it?

No.

Is she bolder/more confrontational when they're nearby to back her up?

Not to do this a third time in a row but. No.

Does she believe their word when she's panicked or having a flashback (etc.)? Does she trust them to ground her with touch?

Well you know so far Mazie’s low key been the one (unintentionally) causing them whenever they’ve happened with her nearby and otherwise I think Tech would probably be attempting to conceal them, so. Ideally she either wouldn't notice them or at least wouldn't be pointing directly at them. Absolutely no touching.

Are they allowed to apologize to her directly?

What if we just avoid this being a possibility. Like idk what if we simply did not have situations to be apologizing about, at this juncture. Crazy idea let's just not find out, right now.

Would she drink alcohol with them?

In a group setting, maybe.

Could she leave Glitch with them?

Nope. He'd eat her color pencils anyway.

[ru5t]

sometimes i think about everything-is-the-same-but-some-people-in-the-zones-have-powers kinds of vibes. of the scifi variety. maybe kind of like a xm.en lore blend. something something bli's genetic fuckery.

[ru5t]

lovely retro futurism CGI model Commodore HX-64 by Cem Tezcan

[ru5t]

  “Mm,” she hums very seriously. Incredibly specific, not a good one. She rocks side to side a little, idle itchily over her incomplete pursuit. Everyone's so cagey. Little mice fleeing in front of a great big shoe. She's been a mouse. Didn't care for it much. “Completely avoiding him sounds like a great way to figure it out.”

  Her eyes don't narrow so much as flicker. Head shoulders knees and toes. He's got a longer stride, but is he faster? They've run together, but haven't raced. Hmm...

  Well- "Not a good one." Isn't that obvious? His own perception of the gravity of Duke in a bad mood outweighs his exasperation. "Usually when the other team's back like this he's happier." The others just seem to be steering clear of their lieutenant (Singh had, in fact, explicitly advised him to do the same) but Oliver's worried. "I dunno what's going on."

[ru5t]

  She draws up short with a little gesture that vanishes quickly, hidden by her big yes-you-have-my-attention-hi eyes. Then she crosses her arms, resting her weight on one leg.

  “Everyone's in a mood every day,” she informs him neatly. “If we were mood-less we'd all be rocks. Which mood?”

@ru5t || dwbi we're following some vibes with this one

"Maddy." Ollie hisses her name out with urgency as he darts out from the common room. He moves to intercept before she can get all the way to ... well, he'd assumed she'd been heading to Duke's office, though he hadn't waited long enough to see.

"Maybe best not," he cautions. "He's in a mood today."

[ru5t]

@calithal //> Where She Stops. . .

+ joint dislocation

  It doesn’t make sense to Maddy that a shoulder should matter at all to walking. That’s all legs and feet, right. Maybe your middle, for breathing and that stitch you get when you run as hard as you ever have. But a shoulder? What the fuck could it have to do with anything? Cradling her arm helps a little, but even still -no matter what she does- every step reaches up and pulses through it. Pain pain pain pain pain. Not enough to make her cry or anything so stupid, but it hurts. Even lying still to catch hadn’t helped. Nothing is comfortable. So she might as well keep going.

  She draws up on one of their less known corners. The places too small for the nastier of the isle’s inhabitants to find so easily. And it seems she’s earned a bit of luck.

  Maddy dodges CJ’s greeting —“It’s me.”— and slides down the wall to sit down directly on the ground. Cradling her arm still. “D’you know.. What t’do about this?” Stupid useless painful arm. There’s a word for it, she’s sure, but either she never learned it, or she’s forgotten. There’s a few like that, words she knows she’s forgotten, but it’s hard to know what causes it. Disuse? Something else. She shakes her thoughts — so not the point right now. “It feels. I dunno, wrong.”

[ru5t]

fading light in the desert

nev.in.color

[ru5t]

i think some transmitters have t-9 as their typing interface would be really funny

[ru5t]

ok the transmitter post has been updated and i am going to go do something that requires far less brain power for awhile

[ru5t]

The Important Questions! (For Richie, Ollie, and Midnight >:3)

The Important Questions & Answers That May or May Not Elaborate

Richie

Is she comfortable teasing them? Does she expect them to understand it's teasing? would she explain it if they asked?

There is a definite banter element. I don’t know that she would specifically always be teasing him so directly, maybe poking fun at some of his more poke-fun-at-able traits/habits, or at least griping about them. I doubt he misses any of it but I doubt he’d ask even if he did to be honest. Like she might explain but I simply do not think he’d ask to begin with.

Would she build something for them unprompted? Would she build something if they asked?

It’s hard to imagine, if only because when their paths are crossed she’s got such limited access to things that even her little doodads are probably off the table. If (if?) they keep some kind of contact at a point where she’s not under eyes all the time I could see it.

If they pushed her about her boundaries would she push back? or retreat?

I think push back but I’m not sure how likely he is to push to begin with. Pros and cons.

Would she be able to sleep if they were the only two people in the room?

Yes.

When they have tech problems does she just fix them or wait for them to ask? (or make them plead/bargain something?)

First he has to apologize for accusing her of causing it.*

Are riddle games on the table? How many layers deep? What happens if they can't figure out the answer(s)?

I don’t think so. It’d only annoy him. Or he’d annoy her, refusing to play along. Whimsiless >:[

When she gets overwhelmed with touch, does she try to tell them gently or go straight for the harsher warnings/demands?

This is my own phrasing but I think it’s a secret third thing where she doesn’t have to kiddie gloves but she doesn’t have to get loud either I think just a flat clear stop of some kind. He's not the kind to take thing personally just because it's not in a friendly tone of voice, so I feel like she doesn't have to play nice or panic.

Does she think Jack trusts them?

I think they’ve never met and I think they never will but I think she thinks Jack would, yeah.

(Does she think Kobra trusts them?)

His name is Jesse in this verse and I’m very sure they’d hate each other.

Can they call her a nickname that isn't Tech/Techie (or Maddy)? Can they call her Madelyn?

Kit, and I expect “Magson” though it’d be less a nickname and more a professional thing in certain situations. Maybe could get away with Kid or Kiddo if he was inclined, because he reminds her of her brother. If he fullnamed her she would think she was in trouble but it’s not a Forbidden thing. (If there was a situation where he called her Maddy I think it’d probably mean he thought something horrible happened/was happening(?))

Would she seek them out as someone to keep company with in order to sleep?

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaybe. Maybe.

If they got in a fight about something and hadn't yet made up, would she still reach out to them for help if she needed it?

…Probably?

Is she bolder/more confrontational when they're nearby to back her up?

Unfortunately for everyone, yes.

Does she believe their word when she's panicked or having a flashback (etc.)? Does she trust them to ground her with touch?

Usually trusts his word. They’re working on the touch thing (him knowing to offer it, her being okay with it.)

Are they allowed to apologize to her directly?

Nope. Shut up. Fuck off.

Would she drink alcohol with them?

I feel like the only time this would come up would be in a “well. There’s a solid chance we’re fucked, why not” kind of thing. It doesn’t really feel like they’d be crashing each others’ social moments you know? So. In that context, sure. As said, why not.

Could she leave Glitch with them?

Absolutely not.

Ollie

Is she comfortable teasing them? Does she expect them to understand it's teasing? would she explain it if they asked?

She is and I fear she generally does not expect him to understand. At least not at this juncture. She’ll explain some of the time, but the rest is more of a ‘nevermind don’t worry about it’ kind of vibe.

Would she build something for them unprompted? Would she build something if they asked?

As with Richie, limited access to things. But she’d build him a rocket ship to the moon if he asked, though.

If they pushed her about her boundaries would she push back? or retreat?

I don't get the sense he'd push? This may be a moot question. Perhaps we need to rattle them more.

Would she be able to sleep if they were the only two people in the room?

I think so? But she wouldn’t want to. If only to not freak him out.

When they have tech problems does she just fix them or wait for them to ask? (or make them plead/bargain something?)

Bust out the puppy eyes, buddy.*

*Unless, of course, this is something that comes up in middle of a combat situation/other mission thingy, in which case obviously she’s just going to fix it. That’s her role, watch her back.

Are riddle games on the table? How many layers deep? What happens if they can't figure out the answer(s)?

Not really.

When she gets overwhelmed with touch, does she try to tell them gently or go straight for the harsher warnings/demands?

Trying so hard to be gentle and polite and patient. Trying sooooooooooo hard.

Does she think Jack trusts them?

They haven’t met (yet?) but she believes Jack at least wouldn’t immediately distrust him. Which sounds like a dig but is a good thing I promise.

(Does she think Kobra Jesse trusts them?)

Ohhhh maybe we. Cross that bridge if we come to it and otherwise not make eye contact with it :)

Can they call her a nickname that isn't Tech/Techie (or Maddy)? Can they call her Madelyn?

He has “Kit” permissions but I suspect he mostly uses Maddy when he’s talking directly to her. Kit might be more of a comm call to him(? I am asking, I do not know why I have this vibe). “Madelyn” wouldn’t be bad but it would be… really weird.

Would she seek them out as someone to keep company with in order to sleep?

Probably not seek him out on purpose, no. Not at this juncture.

If they got in a fight about something and hadn't yet made up, would she still reach out to them for help if she needed it?

Yes.

Is she bolder/more confrontational when they're nearby to back her up?

Hmmm. Remains to be seen.

Does she believe their word when she's panicked or having a flashback (etc.)? Does she trust them to ground her with touch?

Words a little shaky -I think she thinks he’d tell her what he thinks she wants to hear, not necessarily the truth- but touch secure I think.

Are they allowed to apologize to her directly?

If he must.

Would she drink alcohol with them?

If it wouldn’t get him in trouble (yes and they’re keeping it from Richie. She is almost certainly the bad influence here.)

Could she leave Glitch with them?

…… To be determined.

Midnight

Is she comfortable teasing them? Does she expect them to understand it's teasing? would she explain it if they asked?

Absurdly so. Endless old man jokes aren’t exactly cryptic, so I doubt he’d need to, but if she ever aimed for something a little more off the wall I think she wouldn’t mind (trying) to explain it to him. Mostly he seems to get her gist even when she is saying things (not just jokes) he doesn’t get, though, so I’m not sure he’d need to ask. Good enough is good enough.

Would she build something for them unprompted? Would she build something if they asked?

Would and has, I’m sure, though I’m not completely sure what at this particular juncture. Might have -if he let her- upgraded his radio. Maybe helped him set up something with a wider net and/or stronger protections for his little shack. If he asked her to build him something she’d be a little surprised, I think -he’s so off-the-grid in so many ways- but wouldn’t hesitate.

If they pushed her about her boundaries would she push back? or retreat?

Usually push back. Definitely nonplussed about giving him a piece of her mind.

Would she be able to sleep if they were the only two people in the room?

Easily.

When they have tech problems does she just fix them or wait for them to ask? (or make them plead/bargain something?)

If he’s ever had any, she doesn’t know about them. If he asked she might needle and poke to learn more because if he’s having problems in this area that raises soooo many questions she didn’t know she could have been asking, but she would eventually help him out yeah.

Are riddle games on the table? How many layers deep? What happens if they can't figure out the answer(s)?

Mmmm sometimes. Usually not on purpose, though. We’re back at good enough is good enough but if he was really stumped I think she’d give up. Find something else to talk about.

When she gets overwhelmed with touch, does she try to tell them gently or go straight for the harsher warnings/demands?

I think, generally speaking, she’s more likely to seek out forms of physical reassurance, from him, than to run into a situation where she’d need to ward it off.

Does she think Jack trusts them?

Yes.

(Does she think Kobra trusts them?)

No (lmao)

Can they call her a nickname that isn't Tech/Techie (or Maddy)? Can they call her Madelyn?

Yes, though mostly in a we’re-not-gonna-talk-about-it kind of way. She would not… hate if he used Madelyn, I don’t think, but she’s not going to be the one to tell him so he’d either have guessed it or been told by someone or something else in that vein so it would at the very least be incredibly surprising.

Would she seek them out as someone to keep company with in order to sleep?

In certain circumstances.

If they got in a fight about something and hadn't yet made up, would she still reach out to them for help if she needed it?

Someone else (Mouse, Marcos, Omens, maybe binary anon(!)) would have to give her the advice to.

Is she bolder/more confrontational when they're nearby to back her up?

Sort of? She does try not to drag him into too much of her nonsense most of the time, they’ve got pretty different like… the circles and communities they need to work adjacent to for the work they do are pretty damn different, so it’s broadly not a good idea to mix all of it up I think, at risk of making things complicated and/or dangerous. But she would feel safer if he was around, backing her up! She just tries not to put him in the position of having to, lest it ruin something he’s got going of his own.

Does she believe their word when she's panicked or having a flashback (etc.)? Does she trust them to ground her with touch?

Yep.

Are they allowed to apologize to her directly?

No(t usually.)

Would she drink alcohol with them?

No he’s a boooooooooorrriiiiiiiiiing old man who’d kill the vibe

Could she leave Glitch with them?

…Maybe? … Yeah, maybe. Mouse would check in on them both.

[ru5t]

  This has not been going well. That is, every time she thinks she's made sense of it, the reasons Mazie stayed and the way the others hold that or their distance and the measure of every exchange, something else happens. Something new. Or something like this. Where she whirls and whirls, no grip on the world, until someone else steps in and sweeps her behind his back.

  At first she thinks it's Jack. But the frames don't match and the tread is soft, but too dense, so it must be— her hands nest for gravity. Tech hides her face in Midnight's back, clinging like something means to drag her away from him. Someone? Nothing. Her eyes are closed - is it helping? Or making it worse?? What is it? She feels sound in her throat but whether it shapes words or wordlessly shapes nothing but noise is lost somewhere in the distance between her ears and whatever within is asking what is it?

  ( “I don't know.” )

  What happened? What happened? That must be the question. It's always the question, what happened that happened? But she's too small to answer. Lost in the woods. No breadcrumbs, no baskets, no capes. Crossed wires and smoke. She glances backwards but gets only spots and a nauseating twist for it, not even a sense of what's behind, so she closes her eyes again and buries her face and clings all the tighter. Hunted– “What do you want?”

Midnight mostly tries to mind his own business when he finds himself in the Haven. He's not part of this crew, isn't privy to the ins and outs of dynamics and interactions. But he can't help but keep an eye on the ones he's got stronger ties to. It's why he finds himself pausing to take stock of a conversation Tech's having with the Haven's newest addition.

And then Tech flinches back, and the interaction goes from a passing interest to a point of focus. It... looks oddly lopsided, the way the situation is devolving. He's already moving to engage when he catches sight of Tech rearing back. Fleeing in a way he doesn't see from her with much frequency.

Midnight closes the distance with wide strides. A reach across Tech's body puts his hand on her far arm to tuck her behind him in one fluid pull. Put another body between them, diffuse things some. It's the plan, anyway.

Hands curl into the back of his shirt, her shoes bumping his as she shuffles in closer behind her. He made the right call to step in, then.

"That's enough." He meets Mazie's gaze evenly and without malice. He's heard about her, there was a passing greeting when he got in, but this is the first time they're having a meaningful exchange. "Think maybe some wires got crossed." Warning though it may be, his tone remains that of casual observation. Just making conversation, no need for hackles to go up.

[ru5t]

@hvndredbattles ( Rhys ) //> Blood, Blood

“Let's get you cleaned up.”

  Singh must have ripped someone a new one. Or just firmly reminded the powers that be how things were supposed to go. Either way, it’s all starting to sort out. To look familiar and make sense again. Rhys's address is the first one that hasn't startled her into the ceiling, though she still sits up fast enough to make herself wince lightly.

  She knows what he means. Cleaned up; clothes that are clothes, a decent meal, maybe a real hair brush. Still, she glances down, half expecting to see dirt and blood. Sweat and tears and rips and tears. It's just plain scrubs borrowed off a nurse, drawstring pulled so long she'd almost had enough to loop around her waist a second time. They hide most of it.

  She can’t bring herself to move yet. Just stares at him for a moment, counting both their breaths and the beeps of the machines in every corner of this cold place. Thinking he -all of them- should be sitting bedside, and she should be. Somewhere else. A place that isn't here. Out of the way. She pulls her arm off the bed, tracing the edges of the tape and bandaging.

  “D’you have to ask questions too?”