week 13 - probably monday

[refactor]

[ So at some point on Monday, Jason and Luke both will be getting a chat request from Jack. This is probably unsurprising in itself, but when the video flickers on (since I'm assuming they have video by now sweats), the bright, pleased smile on his face may not be a surprise, but the pride in his expression just might be. He's still without his mask, and behind him is a rather quaint looking cottage, but. Enough about that. ]

Ohhh my god, you guys did great!

[ That's nothing short of glowing praise from Jack, who doesn't actually give it that easily, but. He does add on after a moment: ]

Right, uh. How ya feeling, guys? Getting stabbed kinda. Yeah, it pretty much sucks. But.

Comments

[jackhole]

[ AND BEHIND JACK........ is a rhys!!! a rhys who is frowning but curious and --

and yeah, he's wearing jack's stupid sweater. that's probably noticeable immediately. he just squints suspiciously at both jason and luke and mumbles quietly -- ]

Why do you have so many friends?

[ does he not believe jack can have friends?? or is he being weirdly jealous. this is truly a mystery. ]

[baptizer]

[ And trying to stand between Rhys and Jack is the lackluster cockblock. Aka babysitter.

Liz has stopped wearing her jacket at this point since it's pretty gross - so corset it up, ya'll. They're making excellent fashion choices.

She's leaning over Jack's shoulder a bit to get a view - especially considering Luke and Jason are her favorite living boys atm. ]

Sucks? Er - no, that's an understatement! It's horrifying - Was there any serum left? Did you clean your bandages? Luke, make sure Jason cleans his wound properly!

[ And to Rhys: ]

It's a long story. I'm shocked too.

[antagonize]

Thanks. Your congratulations and concern are touching.

[There's no real bite in his tone, but the phrasing alone makes it clear Jack's congratulations are not completely welcome at the moment. He's tired, cranky, and feeling like scum. Also: shoulder wounds have gone down a rank or two on his list of favorite injuries to inflict.

Maybe someone should hit him with a crowbar again. Or not.

Either way, he's about to make a snide comment at Rhys before he registers Elizabeth's words.]

Wait— Why does Luke need to make sure I clean my wound properly? I'm the one with medical knowledge.

[He's so offended? He might also be slightly disorientated with a combination of blood loss from yesterday and way too many painkillers from today.]

[chiseler]

[In addition to Team Disaster, Luke also kind of feels like garbage. He gives a half-hearted grin to them, only vaguely surprised that Rhys is with them but not at all worried about it.

He doesn't say anything, though it's debatable if it's because he's not sure what to say or because the words are registering belatedly. But he winces slightly and nods in agreement.]

He's not wrong. I know how to clean wounds, sort of, but most of my knowledge is based in "keep fighting, nectar and ambrosia will fix whatever you break." [It's pretty clear that he's not too concerned about his wounds even though he probably should be.]

But yeah. Hurrah. The list was right, but now we're still stuck on this fuckin' ship for another week until we probably die anyway. [He's not entirely positive but it probably doesn't help he was awake all night either.] You guys doin' okay over there?

[refactor]

I have friends because I get shit done. Duh? Who wouldn't want to be friends with me?

[ Is this a sarcastic joke or completely serious? It's the game you always have to play with Jack, but. It's probably the latter considering his everything. His cheerfulness does at least shift to something more serious once Jason speaks, since it's clear that he's the most enthusiastic one here. Though it is kind of weird to Jack. And in that, it's why this role was so ironic and terrible to give to Jack of all people. Maybe he was able once, but he's certainly no longer capable of the sort of guilt that Jason and Luke are feeling here. ]

...But, yeah, no problems. It's... Man, like I said, it's weirdly boring? The most interesting thing about this friggin' place is chatting with you guys.

[ A pause, and then he adds: ]

Also, just because it's probably weirder for me to not say it, like. Also watching you. There's a weird stalker thing going on here too, so, uh, sorry about that? Not that we're watching anything weird.

[ that's just rhys ]

You've got the pessimism going strong, and I can't say I blame you, because, honestly? From what I've heard, miiight kinda be better to go with the pessimistic route here. Not thinking we're heading towards certain death, but, well, not my impression that we're exactly heading home either.

[jackhole]

[ hope you guys are ready to come face to face with jack and rhys' weird banter because rhys just bites back with -- ]

You just don't seem like a friend person, is all.

[ and then continues to listen to the rest of them. liz's cockblock fails because it. sure isn't helping since seeing jason and luke and hearing them speak makes rhys feel weird and when rhys feels weird, he gets weirder. which means he's stepping a bit closer to jack and curling his fingers in the back of his shirt, frown turning from curious to disapproving.

he's not even sure what he's disapproving. ]

So, kill yourself. Jesus, it's not like it's fucking hard. Then you cut out the rest of it and it's like "whoa, hey, here I am in fucking cottage paradise, until we like, escape into the fucking sun or whatever."

[ someone help rhys, he's a mess. he'll lift a hand then to scrub at his hair in a huff before going back to his weird hold on jack's shirt.

but hey, for once it isn't gelled. there's no hair gel in death, it makes things difficult for rhys. ]

Hey, who's left anyway? For aforementioned flying into the sun and dying terrible deaths again thing.

[ because also, rhys didn't pay any attention. again. he had other priorities, okay!! ]

[baptizer]

Then you look after his wounds and he can look after yours. You're both matching, may as well.

[ She has to clarify: ]

Yes, we're not watching anything invasive. Trust us.

[ Elizabeth is relieved that they're alive... that's what matters. They're alive and they have immunity. They can get through this, somehow. Her hand braces on Jack's shoulder and here Rhys goes telling people to kill themselves.

That earns a kick? What the fuck, Rhys. ]

The Nuwa's AI can't just sit by, can it? There has to be protocols to get them a way out - to save them after everything... Everything Perkins was preaching for was for the salvation of humanity, I doubt there aren't contingency plans.

[antagonize]

[Thanks, Rhys. What a pal. Jason is uncharacteristically void of any witty remarks. There's a lot of things to address, but between the events of the trial and the nightmares everyone experienced throughout the night, he's not in a talkative mood. Maybe later, once he's able get some proper rest. But for now, he holds up both of his hands, lifting his fingers as he lists the remaining survivors.]

Adam, Dave, Adrien, Clover, Yuno, Judar, Dorian, Grell... and Luke and I, obviously. [A small pause, as he stares at his fingers. He really shouldn't be lifting his arm, not with his wound.] That's ten.

[But at the mention of the Nuwa's AI and Perkins, Jason scoffs. He almost sounds offended.]

Perkins can preach for the salvation of humanity all she wants, but it doesn't mean shit. What part of this— of everything we've been through has been good for humanity? I'll answer that one for you: nothing. [He's. Okay.] The Nuwa AI was fine with blowing us the fuck up this week. Can't forget about that. And that eye, the souvlaki's queen, is still out there. There's no way she's not coming back for us. Not after we killed her "children".

[Because what kind of parent wouldn't go the distance to avenge their child, right? Right. He's not feeling optimistic, either.]

[chiseler]

[So okay. For a minute he's just staring at Rhys mostly before he shrugs very carefully because you know. Shoulder wound.]

Been there, done that. [And also not too thrilled because this is the second time he's been told to kill himself in two days, but Rhys is hardly intimidating. Instead he's interested in what Jack says and he tilts his head.]

If we're not going toward death and we're not going home...I mean how can you be sure of that? And I know you're all watching. Lavi told me a while ago that you've got some big security monitor or something. [He rolls his eyes to the ceiling, not thinking Jason's response is wrong.]

Sunny sat by and let us do everything ourselves. Has for a couple of weeks. [Luke why do you know that?] She can be reasoned with but it depends on if we give her a good reason. Not sure what that means for us now because Jason's right. You don't think that bitch is coming back for us? We didn't destroy her. We just temporarily stopped her. So unless we get everybody off of this ship or we find a way to circumvent the next attack, we'll probably be seeing you way too soon.

[refactor]

[ Jack sneers at Rhys and makes a stupid mocking noise, but at least they don't fall into a full-fledged, stupid argument. Because that is always a danger. Jack doesn't seem to mind Rhys clinging to him at all, and he actually smiles a bit more without meaning to when Elizabeth places her hand on his shoulder. It's subtle, but for a sharp eye, there's definitely an impression that Jack is loving this attention. It's masked by the more serious talks at hand, at least, because otherwise it would be both disgusting and obnoxious. ]

Well, being sure of anything around here is kinda a crapshoot but that's what Bull told me. Nuwa's done, been done, and they're not headin' home, apparently. So, presumably? Same would be true for us.

[ Jack pauses, and at least some of that gross preening fades, since he does grow seriously thoughtful as he looks away. He's pretty deep in thought, but he shakes his head. ]

I mean, a lot of that theory I told y'all, about the simulations? That ended up being true to some extent. Not quite, uh, Monte Carlo. Seems like the alien thing was actually an accident, but, yeah. Still trying to piece together that, but we're not exactly a bastion of answers over here in quasi-death either. [ He shrugs ] I mean, I'd give it a few days at least. See what the other ship's got planned, if anything. If we don't hear much of anything...

[ Jack thinks about it, then sighs heavily before he looks to Rhys, then back to the other two. ]

I mean, Rhys and I are the only ones that've got the know how to even think about starting repairs on the ship. Know the reason, but blowing out the fuel reserves kinda... Well, wish there had been a little more thought in that. Can always give directions, but, I mean, I'm a friggin' genius, but. Not for everything it'll take to get the ship back to running so you- we can survive long enough to set it on course to somewhere else.

[jackhole]

[ elizabeth kicks him and he hisses, eyes darting to where her hand lands on jack's shoulder and there's a weird, dropping motion in his stomach -- especially when he jack seems so damn satisfied about it. his hands curl tighter into jack's shirt for a moment before he immediately just. lets go.

he takes a step back, hands running through his hair as he tries to focus on what the four of them are talking about -- plans and facts and some sort of drive to figure out what's going on but holy shit, he does not care. nothing about this matters to him and instead it's a bunch of people he barely likes talking about things he doesn't care about and he -- he can't handle this. he thought he could but it turns out, he can't and he just sort of wants to be alone with jack again because jack makes shit less terrible but fucking elizabeth is here and she takes jack away from him and wait no, that's weird. don't think that, rhys. it's fine, it's fine, it's --

it's not fine. a kind of quiet gutted noise comes from rhys, low under the murmur of conversation here and he's just going to mumble here -- ]

I... have to go. Immediately? Far away. Ke-keep talking, it's fiiiiiine. Fine. Totally fine.

[ and then he sort of... very hurriedly rushes for the door of the stupid cottage, tripping over his feet in the meantime before dashing right out the door.

probably still in his freggin socks. ]

[refactor]

[ Jack is pretty deep in thought here as his mind quickly starts to racing about possibilities for how they could turn this to their advantage, what he could teach them through this stupid app, truly everything he can grasp all at once. Jack's quick thinking is what had led him to his success, but. Whatever he might have given, those thoughts are also quickly broken as Rhys steps away. Jack looks confused for a moment, since he doesn't quite catch the majority of the mumbling, but. There he goes. ]

Woah, woah, woah—

[ The datapad or whatever they're using gets shoved into Elizabeth's hands, and he gives her an encouraging pat on the shoulder before Jack just books it right after Rhys. He's pretty quickly out of frame, but they'll still here his charming, handsome voice yelling: ]

Where do you think you're going, asshole!?

[ leave room for jesus, liz ]

[baptizer]

[ Oh my god, this was a thing that's happening? Liz, being completely innocent, has no clue what just happened except for possibly the kick hurting too much? Or him not appreciating it...?

She fumbles with the datapad or whatever and is looking awkwardly off in the distance as both of them. Luke and Jason can definitely see how Elizabeth looks concerned and instead, she just... sits back down alone and uncomfortable. ]

Um... that certainly... happened...

[ An awkward 'sorry' follows. ]

What were we.. um.. even talking about...?

[antagonize]

[That. Sure happened. There isn't anything to do from this side of the murder game fence, so that's exactly what he will do. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Not that he wants to do something to help, anyway. Rhys and Jack can have their, uh. Relationship drama elsewhere. It's really not his problem.

So he gives Elizabeth a one armed shrug from his side of things. He's not even going to offer commentary on that little scene.]

Death. Dying. Being dead. Packing our bags and becoming full time Furry Crossing players once the queen comes for our blood, or the ship runs out of juice and we asphyxiate to death. [Waves... his non-injured hand dismissively.] Something about the Nuwa finishing their game already, too. But I don't care about the Nuwa.

[chiseler]

[Honestly if he weren't so exhausted from existing and everything about this dumb game he'd offer his own commentary on Rhys and Jack. As it stands, he watches them go before giving Elizabeth a half-hearted smile but it's quickly squashed when Jason continues.]

Yeah, well, some of us actually care about the Nuwa a lot. So I'd like to figure out what's going on there too and I'm not asking your permission. I need to find out what happened to them and where they're going next. [...] Also I think Rhys's guess is more likely. We never turned the ship around, did we? Maybe we really are flying right into the sun so we'll just burn to death instead.

moves this here bc i'm disgusted with myself

[jackhole]

[ there is definitely a yelp from rhys as he hears jack's voice but sorry HE IS GONE...... he's so gone. it's the long legs, they come in handy.

which means when jack gets out there, there's not really any sign of rhys until -- ]

Fuck!

[ going past the cabins and in the direction of the forest will find a rhys who, uh, apparently slipped on the grass and fell pretty hard on the ground. his! socks! ARE COVERED IN MUD! what the fuck.

he's just going to lay here covering his face now because seriously, what the fuck. ]

dammit rhys

[refactor]

[ Yeah, Jack is more of an endurance guy than a sprinter, so Rhys is probably well ahead of him. Not that Jack is stopping yelling, of course, as if that would somehow get Rhys to slow down or stop. Of course, Jack is just genuinely confused that Rhys had so suddenly run off, since he has no idea what even prompted this in the first place, but the confusion also gets masked much more by his temper at having to go run after Rhys.

By the time he hears Rhys yell, Jack's expression is already twisted up into a displeased scowl, but he slows his gait as he sees Rhys sadly laying on the ground. He switches from outright running to jogging until he slows to a stop, though ever empathetic, his first course of action is to lightly kick Rhys's arm. It's not enough to actually hurt him (hell, it might even be the metal arm), but it's just a kick for the sake of kicking Rhys. ]

Goddammit- What—

[ Jack does pause to give Rhys a better look to make sure he didn't crack his head open as he catches his breath a bit. However, this is after he's already kicked Rhys, and to be honest, Jack does just kind of have an expectation here that Rhys's head might be made of diamond with how often he hits it. So. Verdict? He's totally fine. Probably. ]

Mind telling me what that was all about, dipshit?

[baptizer]

[ It's pretty obvious she's worried about Rhys, back and forth - from the door to the viewfinder, she finally settles down. There's nothing she can do and she needs to accept that... ]

Those are all very much real possibilities, but -

[ Elizabeth's going to get serious. ]

You both need to stop focusing on that. We've come so far and what? Will everything be worth nothing? I hate to break it to you Jason, but I gave up a lot to assist you on this trial. I gave up - ... Nevermind, it's stupid.

[ She shrugs her own shrug. Guess what, Jason? She can use both arms to do so. ]

I haven't heard anything about the Nuwa that we haven't relayed to you. We broke through the barrier of communication but Perkins - we haven't heard anything else.

he's so embarrassing

[jackhole]

[ of course he's not surprised that jack followed him but he still doesn't know quite how to explain what's going on with the steaming turd that is his emotions. he's! an! emotional! guy! how many times does one need to explain that? so when jack kicks his arm, he lets out a huffy noise before pulling his hand off his face and looking up to jack from the ground.

his hands drop to the hem of the sweater, twisting around in the fabric as he frowns up at jack. ]

I don't want to be involved in this, Jack. I can't be with your group, I don't like them.

[ he's not... in a good place and this is just making him feel even worse inside. between how he's been treated on the ship since the beginning and fiona's abandonment -- he can't take hanging out with a group of people that are so firmly jack's friends, even if they'd never call themselves that. his own flip-flop of distaste for elizabeth is enough to deal with. ]

[antagonize]

If we hit the sun, it'll be less of a fire and more of an explosion. Any recommendations on how to ride that one out, Luke?

[Ah. There he goes, being a complete asshole about things. There is also a lot of hypocrisy, of course. It's too bad he simply doesn't give a hoot. Though he backs down slightly as Elizabeth begins to scold them, raising both eyebrows when she mentions giving something up. He wants to press it. He does. But he'll save it for later. Might as well retain some tact.]

Great. We're sitting ducks. You say we need to stop focusing on our deaths. But what else are we supposed to do? We're stuck in a broken ship, waiting for someone to find us. So unless we're able to find a way to avoid dying at the hands of mommy dearest and fast, we might as well be ready for the worst.

[refactor]

[ Jack looks down at Rhys with a pretty sour frown, and it seems like he's just going to let Rhys stew in... Whatever is happening right now without helping, but with an exaggerated sigh, he ends up leaning down to offer a hand to help Rhys up. ]

You're getting my sweater dirty, pumpkin. I like that sweater. You know how long I've had it?

[ It's absolutely more for the sweater's sake, but. Rhys is also wearing that sweater so it works?? ]

You don't want to hang out with them, eh, whatever. They're kind of dicks. That's why we get along. But still gotta ask here, you realize. What made you decide that? Because I'm pretty sure it's not exactly dickishness. You, well, you worked for Hyperion, kiddo, I know you can handle rude people.

[chiseler]

[His expression tightens just a bit but ultimately he ignores it. He's ready to pick a fight but Elizabeth does a much better job defusing the situation and so he falls quiet. A hand comes up to idly pick at the bandaging on his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

He'd had a conversation the day before that had changed a lot of things. That was before the reminder that the Queen was still out there and now...Jason's right. He also wants to ask Elizabeth what she gave up, press more about the Nuwa, but in the end he shuts up because he's thinking of something more specific.]

...if the ship's broken, why can't we figure out how to fix it ourselves? Isn't that kinda what happened with the AI program? There's gotta be a way we can put failsafes or something so she can't come back or...I don't know. Something. What do you think?

[baptizer]

Boys, the point is...

[ It's hard to be inspirational. It's hard to give them what they need to hear when she... has nothing to say. Lie? Will she lie to them to ease the situation..? No. ]

...Moping around isn't going to do any good. The only connection we have is with the Nuwa AI. Perkins shows... at random intervals, I'm afraid.

[ But, she gives a half smile, looking down. ]

I'll keep my ears open and you'll be the first to know.

[ Elizabeth shows some assertiveness to both boys: ]

You need to rest. You can deal with burnt bridges later - your wounds first and foremost. If you haven't stitched the wound, you need to. No amount of space medicine can assure fighting against an infection.

[jackhole]

[ it... definitely works! rhys will take that offered hand and also, uh, not let go when he's standing up and also step in closer towards jack so there's not a lot of space between them. this is embarrassing for everyone involved.

BUT FIRST -- ]

Way too long? You know you can get like, a billion of these if you wanted them.

[ rhys, don't deflect. you're the one who had the weird sad, gay fit here so. at jack's questioning, he grits his teeth and runs a hand through his hair, looking troubled. ]

... You're just going to mock me. Aaaaand now I feel like an idiot for running out like that, ughhh. [ he presses his free hand to his forehead, letting his head fall back in his frustration. ] Can I just -- look, how about I just go back to my cabin and I'll come back when you're all done with them?

[ he drops his hand, sighing, but his other hand is still holding jack's, brushing his thumb over his knuckles. ]

They're your team, anyway. Not mine. Ahhhaha... I don't even have a team anymore so, [ he shrugs. ] So, I don't need to be here. I need to take care of some stuff anyway, go on back to them.

[ a lie, tbh. rhys has nothing else to do except angst and jack. ]

[refactor]

Yeah, but it's not that one. We- I mean, shit, we've totally already been over this.

[ Jack sighs out in exasperation, because he absolutely remembers getting somewhat embarrassed over Rhys so blatantly pointing out his sentimentality. There's also an element of that sigh that's coming from how Rhys steps closer and lingers there, but that's more from the sort of sigh that comes with fondness, however twisted that may actually be.

Which, of course, Jack expresses in the only way that he knows how. Stupidly and aggressively. Jack listens with a partial scowl on his face, but before Rhys finishes, Jack shakes his head. The hand that Rhys isn't holding comes up to Rhys's face to pat him on the cheek a few times. It's almost the sort of gesture that you'd give someone to get them to wake up from a deep sleep, but it's just Jack being weird and physical... ]

Ah, ah, ah— [ His tone is almost warning with those syllables that go with each smack, but that's gone quickly as he continues. ]

Don't even start on that, pumpkin. Look, Liz can handle that. She's smart, don't worry about it. [ rhys was absolutely not worried about this, jack ] They're my team, but you're—

[ Okay, he still doesn't know what the fuck Rhys even is to him. Part of him knows that this is selfish and that this is just some kind of way for them to both have someone, something to cling to, but... It's not quite so simple that Jack's coldly divorced from feeling anything at all. So instead of trying to parse through that, he ignores it, as he has been every time that question comes up. That hand falls to rest on Rhys's shoulder, and he defaults back to the sort of nicknames (of a sort) that Jack tends to spout off without really thinking. ]

You're my guy. C'mon.

[jackhole]

[ there's a shrug here that basically means i know. yeah, yeah. he gets it but it came out anyway out of instinct. his... instinct to give jack shit all the time, obviously. but then of course jack is patting his face and rhys winces a little, feeling absolutely ridiculous.

he's talking about his team again and it makes that feeling swell up in rhys again, the reminder that he has nothing left -- that he is nothing. all he has here is jack and jack has... plenty. it's just confirmed, seeing him interact with his clique.

jack calls him his guy but it's easy to see the doubt in rhys' expression before he sighs wearily. he lets go of jack's hand to curl both of his hands in jack's shirt and pull him forward so he can... well. so he can kiss him, swiftly on the forehead. this is when the height difference between them really shows up more, honestly. when he lets go, he takes a step back, putting appropriate distance between the again before rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. ]

I know. Still can't be there so I'm... going to take a walk. I need some time to think, alright? And I'm no help anyway, none of them like me.

[ well, liz kind of does but he doesn't like her. it's weird. ]

An hour. Do your thing and then I'll be back, alright?

[antagonize]

We broke the fuel reserve. I'd like to think it's not impossible to fix that, but it would require having the necessary tools and knowledge. And the time. Which, uh, we don't have a lot of right now.

[He'll give optimism a try when he's not emotionally and physically drained, but Elizabeth's right. There's no use in moping around. Not even if the future is uncertain at best.]

You do that. We'll see what can be done from this side, too.

[Which, admittedly, won't be much until they come up with a game plan. He very, very purposely keeps his face expressionless when she brings up all the bridges they burnt, and nods. Alright, team mom. Alright.]

Sutured them after last night's shit show. Would have already bled ourselves to death if we hadn't, y'know. We're reckless, but not that reckless.

[chiseler]

We didn't just break it, we lit it on fire and obliterated it. Even if we worked around the clock it might take a few days. But Sunny said we have a week. You'd be surprised what can happen in a week, I almost destroyed Manhattan and Olympus in a day. [Shut the fuck up, Luke.]

Our wounds are fine. This is more about getting everything else fixed than that and if the stitching busts we'll fix that, too. I don't think we have a rest option right now. Or at least I don't...how often are you in contact with Sunny anyway?

[baptizer]

If we can get the fuel reserve back, we can surely discuss the coordinates of the other ship...? I doubt it'll be easy - impossible, most likely but... it's better than nothing.

[ She's thoughtful, thinking of the alternatives and what that means to the living... they need to get their resolution taken care of before the power goes out - definitely. ]

...Luke, I - ... I'll ask later...

[ Or never, god damn it. ]

I trust you both, despite my harping, you know. But - no, I haven't had conversations with Sunny. It's almost always Perkins when she shows up. Even then, it's mostly been following her orders... last time I did that I ended up dead in the Pygmalion again. My luck, hm?