entrancelogs | + The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to You +

Entry tags:

+ The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to You +

Who: EVERYONE!
Where: EVERYWHERE!
When: Saturday, May 19th - Wednesday, May 23rd.
Rating: PG-13, warn if you're gonna go higher!
Summary: A catch-all for the Kyln / Sierra Madre event!
The Story:

For the duration of this event, the entire mansion will be part space jail, part apocalyptic wasteland desert with an abandoned hotel/casino. On the third day an escape route not previously discovered in the Kyln appears and breakouts can be planned...

...Only for everyone to find themselves walking through a large glass prison toward the toxic gas filled wasteland of a desert, the Sierra Madre. Does the prison look better than the toxic cloud outside? If you're stuck in the prison after dark beyond day 3, you'll be forced into and locked in your cell for the night. But at least locked away, nothing from the outside can hurt you. If you try to brave the actual elements in the desert it might be a little hard to breathe. The air has pockets of toxic gas and even a few seconds of exposure could prove deadly. And watch out for the Ghost People.

Inside the abandoned hotel/casino you'll find shelter from the gas and ghosts, but beware the holograms that are 50/50 with their attitude. Prison beatings, a beating from the holograms, which one Would You Rather? And whatever you do, don't try on the collars lying around unless you like to explode. Literally.

[ This is a catch-all for all your prison/desert needs! Please mark your threads clearly in the subject line with your character's name and either a cell number or just a location if you didn't feel like randomizing it or you're making a top level for a public place (like the dining hall or wandering the hotel/casino). Here's the plot post if you need it!

Have fun! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sunburst doesn't have a retort to that comment because his mouth is rather busy, but he casts Rip a look that says everything he needs it to. Sure, he'll do you a solid buddy an not mention it.

Unless Peggy gets mad, then he's absolutely throwing you under the metaphorical bus. Sorry, buddy, but Peggy is considerably more terrifying than you. And with that, off he trots with his tray of food. Good luck, Rip.]

[ sunburst catches our rather surly patient in one of her more rebellious moods. then again, to be truthful, every mood has been a rebellious mood since she'd sustained her injuries. her independence chafes under anyone's care -- and it would seem rip hunter in particular has put her in a surly state.

she's sitting up, but it looks as though she very recently wasn't. she's red in the face with an unsuccessful effort to slip out of her cell for the rest of the day. at least until curfew is called. but as the blood rushed to her head and a stab of pain bloomed along her ribs, peggy had been forced to sit back down. and heavily -- huffing and puffing curses under her breath. she grips the side of an uncomfortable prison bed and wills herself to stay seated rather than succumb to an urge to lay down.

peggy is still fuming when starburst trots into sight. for both their sakes, she's blissfully ignorant of why he's here or who sent her. interesting, though, to see him actually carrying something. ]

Somebody is a long way from the mess hall.

[ it's time to look a gift horse straight in his mouth. ]

[Sunburst pauses at the entrance to the cell, taking in the look of her for a moment. He's far from an expert on humans (he's still learning the basics of what they even are) but he's pretty sure they shouldn't look that colour. Or that sick.

He moves over to her bunk, in order to put the tray down on it and free up his mouth. He is smart enough to take a step back though. Give her some space. ]

I guess I just wandered in here, got turned around. [That's a blatant lie and he knows it. ] I heard you weren't doing so well. I was worried.

[ what's visible is her face: a split lip, by now already darkened into a bruise. the discoloration continues along her jaw. peggy also looks tired. worn thin. but, unsurprisingly, she doesn't look weak. if anything, there's more fire behind her eyes than usual. of course, there's also what isn't visible -- the cracked rib she holds, tenderly, with one arm tucked against her body. as if anything short of proper bandaging could help it heal.

her head turns. she eyes the tray. and then, with a pinched expression that might be pain but might also be suspicion, she glances back at sunburst. ]

Well. I don't know what you heard. [ that's a telling turn of phrase, isn't it? she doesn't so much as scoot in the direction of the food tray. ] But it's nothing I can't handle. Which means there's no reason for you to be worried.

[ just a touch too forceful. ]

[He already regrets coming in here a little. Peggy is a formidable woman, and if there's one thing you learn when you come from a land where all strongest warriors and leaders are of the female persuasion- you do your very best not to cross them.

Still, she's his friend, and he wants her to heal up. He's aware he looks damn tired himself, but he tries his best to mask it.]

I don't doubt that you can't handle it. I'm fairly certain you can handle anything thrown at you.

[He sends a pointed look towards the tray. ]

But I haven't seen you line up for food. And that's my big worry.

Just about.

[ anything, that is. she can handle just about anything -- although wonderland has proven itself exceptionally skilled at finding that line that's blurred between what she can and can't take. but she's always been a dab hand in an interrogation and she can already feel out a bit of inconsistency in what sunburst is telling her. first, he heard she was laid up; next, he's talking about not having seen her in the queue.

so if she reaches for the food tray (without yet sampling any of its dubious contents) then it's because she knows better than to rebuff an opportunity before it's been seized. still, she watches him. ]

How have you been handling things?

[ there. let's not talk about her for a little while, she decides. ]

Edited 2018-05-31 11:43 (UTC)

[Sunburst has never been, nor will ever be, a good liar. He just hasn't got the knack for it. It makes him nervous and he just flubs through everything. Still, he decides that because she hasn't said anything, she might just be buying it. Maybe. ]

I'm fine.

[He's not fine. The colours of his pelt are muted, and he look visibly drained. Which, of course, he actually is. His eyes remain on the tray, waiting, seeing if she eats. ]

Nothing that won't go away once we get the magic back, anyway.

Quite.

[ conversation can have a disarming quality to it. and the more she gets sunburst talking about things unrelated to her own situation, the less emphasis she puts on that line of inquiry, the more profit she might make from returning to it at an unexpected moment. ]

I'd heard from a cellmate that there was something buggering up the magic. [ ... ] I'm not certain which of you looks worse for wear because of it. Why don't you stop and rest a while?

[ so polite! so considerate! surely this can't be the same woman who'd thrown a food tray at rip hunter's head. ]

[He keeps his guard up. The Female of the Species, and all that. Besides, he knows Peggy well enough to know she'd probably not let any slight go- real or otherwise. ]

There's not much that can be done to help me, I'm afraid. This is just how unicorns in my world react when our magic is taken away. Neither resting nor eating would make much of a difference until I get my magic returned to me, paltry as it is.

[He offers a smile. ]

But if you don't mind my company, I can stay a while.

[ well, that's a shame. it's one thing to come across 'enhanced' individuals whose superhuman abilities are toggled off for the duration of an event. quite another to realize someone (someone she likes) is being actively hampered by that restriction. truthfully, it goes a long way to helping her understand why sunburst is so hung up on his magical abilities -- or his lack thereof. those abilities seem to function almost like something close to an immune system.

she digs the tip of her tongue behind a tooth -- a bad habit, one that surfaces only when she's thinking and doesn't mind her current audience to see so. ultimately, she decides to pick up the tray even if she doesn't yet consume a mouthful. ]

Please do. [ she hums. ] Provided you can stay without turning fussy.

[ if one more person frets over her she's going to erupt. ]

[This is what happens when your entire species is utterly dependent on magic. Suddenly not having it is asking for trouble. Worse still, for unicorns, who become so reliant on magic on the regular day-to-day that being without it is like being without a limb.

He smiles, seeing her pick up the tray. It's a good step in the right direction. ]

I can promise you that I'm not fussy in the least.

[Not really a lie, either. If Rip hadn't pointed out her condition, he probably wouldn't have noticed on his own. ]

And yet it's rather fussy to come this far carrying a tray of food between one's teeth.

[ she taps her fingernails, their polish long since chipped, against the tray's edge. but peggy still doesn't eat. there is an unspoken ransom in her posture and in her behaviour: perhaps, yes, she'll eat -- provided sunburst proves himself cooperative. she proceeds as though he's the one being unreasonable.

not her. ]

Especially if it's only because you saw me missing from the mess hall. Are you certain you're not a little bit fussy?

I have to carry it like that, on account of having no magic currently and also no hands. Not all of us can be bipeds, Peggy.

[He waggles his forehooves to show off their not-handness. He's not going anywhere, though. He grew up with Starlight Glimmer. He knows exactly how to sit through a standoff - largely by pretending he's not doing it at all.]

I'd call it more concern for your well being than being fussy. Just making sure a friend who can't get around as well is getting some food in her, is all.

[ a friend.

peggy doesn't glance up from the gruesome-looking food tray. what would her brother say, if he knew? friends with a ruddy unicorn. like the old stories, the one they used to play out in the back garden, coming true. she exhales. she banishes all thoughts of michael. it's a diversion, a distraction, one designed to distance herself from the fact that sunburst just called her a friend.

she fidgets. somehow, such an implication has her looking more uncomfortable than the injury itself. rip makes it so much simpler to spurn away his worry. he makes himself into her target. again and again, a lightning rod.

it's harder to toss a verbal bolt or two at sunburst. ]

Who told you? [ she snaps some tough tasteless dry cracker (or cracker-substitute) in two and offers a portion to the unicorn. there is a price to pay for her cooperation, it seems, and that price is that sunburst will break bread with her. ] You said you heard. Heard from who?

[She can let that friend concept settle in, nice and cosy, because Sunburst sure as hay isn't going anywhere.

He looks at the proffered cracker and realises what it means. He guesses meeting her half-way is better than an impasse. He leans over to awkwardly take it from her with his mouth, sweet Celestia, he misses his magic. He chews it, trying to take his time - running over possible answers in his head he could give her, but ultimately knowing she'd probably spot a lie a million miles away. He swallows, sighs. ]

Rip. He's very worried about you, as am I.

[Sorry, buddy. It was you or him.]

[ an indignant huff. peggy isn't surprised -- not in the least. but she is disappointed. she feels an argument brewing in the back of her throat. if only rip was here to receive it. no matter, she can nevertheless slander him in his absence. ]

Rip Hunter, [ she wags her half of the miserable wannabe cracker, ] is altogether too dramatic. And he should know better than to spread gossip.

[ gossip! as if that's all this is. her bruises, her cuts, her cracked ribs are mere malicious exaggerations. ]

And you should know better than to let him convince you to come here in his stead simply because he's too frightened to face me again.

[ sure, yes, this is exactly what's happened. ]

[Well, that went about as well as he thought it might. He lets out a worried little whinny, waving his forehooves in an attempt to defuse this before it becomes A Situation. ]

Oh, no no, he didn't send me here.

[Just heavily implied it. ]

He was looking so exhausted, I'd originally taken my food for him. He clearly wasn't getting enough. I was worried. Then he told me about you, and seen as he wouldn't eat it, I decided to see if you would.

[He gives her a rather pointed look. ]

Because I hoped at least one of you would eat something.

[ my dear unicorn! this is, without a doubt, already a situation. sunburst has unwittingly and unluckily trotted into hotly contested territory. but because he's such an obliging informant, because he's the one giving her the intel, peggy does indeed start to eat. the food is disgusting -- but if it placates sunburst then perhaps she'll wring a bit more information out of him.

after an unpleasant mouthful: ]

He washed his hands of your concern and set you on a path that brought you here instead. Simply by mentioning me and my injuries, I'd wager. [ peggy's shoulders slump; it hurts too much to keep her posture stiff and proper. ] I doubt he did so by accident.

[ but, but, but. peggy's expression crinkles with some other emotion. she hasn't seen rip since she chased him out early this morning -- almost immediately after the cell doors had sprung open again. ]

What do you mean -- he was looking exhausted?

I don't really mind, either way. I'd be concerned about you no matter which way I learned about it.

[So there. He examines a forehoof in the same manner a person would their fingernails.]

Hmm. I doubt he's been resting much. He's very worried about you. I may not be the greatest at picking up social cues, but I can figure out that much.

Perhaps I expect too much of him.

[ -- peggy announces with more flinty annoyance than genuine disappointment. she sits (miserable) and laments the lack of any utensils to help choke down at least a portion of the prison food sunburst had brought her. all because rip had successfully managed to deflect the pony's concern off him and onto her.

bastard. ]

He's normally better at keeping something to himself. More discreet.

[ yes, because that's the problem here -- failing to keep a secret. as if anyone walking this far couldn't see her sorry state for themselves. ]

I think there are certain points where discretion isn't the best option, and I'd say accepting help from the people who care about you- when you really need it, is one of those times.

[A little weakness is allowed, sometimes. And he'd rather that than Peggy and Rip struggle out of their own bloody-minded stubbornness. ]

[ jarvis once gave her a rather similar little speech. and she'd been hardly capable of deflecting it then, too, and she'd only had a minor gash on her thigh! this hurts so much more and leaves her feeling a whole different kind of vulnerable. it isn't just the injury; it's also everyone's affection. and rip's, chief of all.

hard to bloody swallow. ]

I'll keep that in mind. [ she perseveres with her hardheadedness. but she is at least eating. ] For when I really do need it. Fortunately, now isn't one of those times.

[He casts her a rather pointed look, because in his opinion, this is absolutely one of those times. But she's eating, and he doesn't want to undo any of that. Or have a lunch tray launched at his head. ]

Hmm. Well, I'm glad you'll keep it in mind. I mean, what are friends for, but to help you when you really need them right?

[Well, they're for lots of things, but he never said he was a friendship expert. ]

[ -- there's that word again. her expression pinches. deflection, disappointment, and maybe a touch of discouragement all swing from the furrow in her brow to the grimace on her lips. peggy does have friends! honestly! but they are so few and far between that she stays visibly uncomfortable when once again confronted with the notion that sunburst should so easily affix the description to the two of them.

perhaps she's been too nice, too kind, too friendly. perhaps she should have kept better distance. ]

Friends, [ she picks her way around the word, ] aren't who I go asking for help. Allies are.

[ friends (with one or two notable exceptions) she keeps far far away from the kind of trouble she attracts. ]

There's a difference?

[It's a lot simpler in Equestria. The lines are more blurred. It's easy to have an ally simply be considered a friend. ]

I mean, friends are generally there for you no matter what. That's kind of the point, right?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject