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 Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:25 pm
a.k.a why Ripley hates Kuro's RP titlescontinued from here Ripley followed Ian dutifully as they left the pod rooms, looking around for any landmarks or room numbers that he could use to start creating his mental map of the place. It seemed large, if the size of the pod room was any indication...and he imagined it would take a good long while for said map to be any sort of help.
"This place is interesting. How long did you say you've been here?" Ripley was well aware that he had not given this information, but it was certainly a way to spark further conversation - though it seemed that it would be unnecessary, given how receptive his new acquaintance was.
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Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:58 pm
Ian may have looked like he knew where he was going but the truth was that he probably had no idea whatsoever and was making it up entirely as he went along.
"Not that long," he replied, sliding his hands into the pocket of his coat. "A few months, perhaps, maybe two or three. I've sorta lost track of the time."
He looked sideways at Ripley. "Planning on being here a long while?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 8:55 am
Confidence was key, and Ian had enough of it to make Ripley believe in his navigational prowess. How long that belief would stay was anyone's guess. Then again, after a couple months of being here, Ripley hoped that he would have had some knowledge of the place's layout.
"Indefinitely, yes. Yourself?" The young man flashed the other a grin, and went right back to looking at their surroundings. "What made you choose this life?" It seemed pretty final, the way it was presented to him; at the time he felt like it was a good out, but he wondered if that was a common thing, or if someone's story was different from his.
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 3:08 pm
Ian turned a corner and led Ripley down a hallway that ended in a grey door. "Sometimes it feels like I'll be forever," he said lightly, reaching up a hand to tug at a lock of his hair. "I'm pretty sure I will be, come to think of it; there's a starting gate, but there's no end of the track, if you know what I mean," he added, sliding a slight smirk towards the other.
He rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug. "Not that I particularly mind or anything, being here is better than being at home. I never liked that place much, never really got into anything there."
"Just do your best and you'll be fine."
His mother's words echoed in his ear. Ian pushed it aside with some annoyance.
Just because you do something doesn't mean you'll be fine.
What empty, meaningless words you spout.
He was thinking too much about this.
"Long story short," said Ian, as they arrived at the grey door. "I felt rather out of sorts there and I feel rather in sorts here, so I think I did quite well, wouldn't you say?"
He reached out, grasped the door handle and tugged.
It was locked. Ian gave it a slightly musing look.
"Hm. Well that's problematic."
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:15 pm
"I imagine you're right...but I think most futures feel like that, don't they?" You graduate college and you're at the starting gate of life, only to see it stretch endlessly out in front of you. "Well...so long as you have no regrets when it's your time to go, I suppose it doesn't really matter." He shrugged, and settled in to listen to the long-story-short of Ian's reasoning.
"So you joined to feel like you fit in? That's interesting." So the reasons were probably as different as he imagined they'd be. They had arrived at a set of doors, and the newly awoken young man stepped back to let Ian do his thing...only to find the door was locked? Huh. Gold eyes searched, looking around until he spotted something interesting, just to the left of the doors. He leaned in close, squinting to read the raised lettering.
"...This plaque says it's the Class entrance." Ripley offered helpfully, though he sounded a little confused.
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:21 pm
Ian considered this momentarily, and then said, with some amusement, "All colleges tell you that when you graduate you go out in the 'real world' and earn 'lots of money' and that you'll 'get a job' now that you have a degree. Which, as I've learned, is just a load of bull."
He followed Ripley's gaze to the door plaque.
"...well," he said lightly, after a long moment of silence. "Guess I went the wrong way."
Glancing around, Ian decided on a different direction, gesturing for Ripley to follow him. "I never really fit in anywhere I go," he said mildly, hands back in his pockets. "But I suppose that's just how life goes, isn't it?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 1:03 pm
"Guess that depends on your lot in life." The silver-haired trainee hummed thoughtfully, recalling his own schooling; he had the benefit of having a job before and after. It never paid much and never would have, but at the same time at least it was somewhat secure. Somewhat. Not even the Death Care Industry was recession-proof. A lot of his classmates hadn't been so lucky, nor were some of his friends.
"Guess so." Ripley agreed, though it was quite obvious that a mistake had been made. Still, he was at least good natured about it and moved to follow before he was even beckoned to do so. "So you fit in here. I can see how that would make all...this feel worth it." He really did see; it was difficult to not fit in, especially if that sort of thing bothered you. He had moments were he felt the exact same way, but he always managed to squash them with work.
"What's the strangest thing you've seen here? I mean aside from the tentacle in the ocean." At most he was picturing a large octopus that liked to wiggle around on the surface, which didn't seem too far fetched for him.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:46 pm
Ian meandered down another hallway, this one a little more well lit than the other, and paused every once in a while to peer into a few of the doors, trying to see if he was in the right place.
"I don't fit in anywhere," he corrected Ripley, his tone light, but there was something in his eyes that flashed momentarily before it was gone. "This just happens to be a place I don't fit into less, if that makes any sense."
He pushed open a door and made his way out of the first hallway and into the second, waiting for Ripley to follow him.
"Strangest thing..." said Ian thoughtfully. "Well, when I first got here I was put on a ship that turned out to be a ghost ship full of ravenous zombies that tried to eat us all. The ship sank, we all swam to the portal if we could, and well, here we are now."
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:29 pm
It did make sense. A little was better than nothing, which was understandable.
"Well, if it's all the same, I think you're a pretty great guy." He had only known Ian for, what, ten or fifteen minutes? Still, first impressions said a lot. Despite the snark Ian seemed to be a good guy. "I'd drink with you." He shrugged, smiling idly as he followed Ian through the door and to the second hallway, catching up to the taller man quite easily.
"Zombies..." The Dead were the Dead were the Dead. Ghosts he could understand - ghosts he had seen hundreds and thousands of times, but Zombies? Impossible. He kept this opinion to himself though, not wanting to ruin his chances with a potential new drinking buddy. "Huh. That's...something. Ghost ships and portals, huh? Guess this is some right Supernatural stuff." He wasn't sure what to think, or where to even start, but thankfully something came to mind.
"...Have you ever seen a fire being?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:46 pm
A pretty great guy.
The words surprised Ian, who was not at all used to such compliments (at least, none that were sincere, and Ripley sounded oddly calm about them) when they were not followed by a request of sorts. Ian flicked a gaze sideways at the other, studying him as though trying to figure him out.
{ He obviously does not know you well enough to make such determinations. }
Yes, thank you for your input, Naomi, Ian thought cheerfully, and continued walking.
"All right then," he said lightly. "Next time, we'll go out for a drink. That is, if we can figure out a place to actually get a decent drink around here."
A laugh escaped his throat, Ian shaking his head. "I'm telling you, Sammy, there are definitely some strange things around here, but it's a helluva lot more interesting than regular life, lemme tell you."
There was a slight pause.
"Fire being?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:27 pm
Ripley stared back for a moment or two to prove he wasn't about to split into a grin and laugh off the compliment, and then looked away to take in the sights again. There was a lot to look at, after all. "Cool. So, acquire booze first, got it." This time he did flash a grin.
"It's Sam." He reminded his 'older brother' again, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably. "Sounds like it. I swear if I hadn't seen some things, I'd've thought you were stone cold crazy..." At this and the question, Ripley looked down at one of his hands, flexing his fingers over scarred flesh.
"Yeah...like...a thing, on fire?" He was trying really hard to sound nonchalant, but it was hard to fight the insistent burn behind his eyes, or the cotton that grew in his throat.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:59 pm
"I wonder if there actually is a way to get booze around here," Ian murmured, half to himself, half to Ripley. He lifted his hands, linking his fingers together behind his head as he walked. "Would certainly lighten things up."
He couldn't stop the amused smile that crossed his face. Finally, someone who could keep up with him. The smile faded a little, the more Ripley spoke, and Ian tilted his head slightly, his eyes following the other's gaze to his hands.
"...not that I know of," said Ian, trying to keep his tone light, yet he couldn't deny the curiosity that made him lower his arms, deliberately staying as casual as possible as he slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Why do you ask?" he asked calmly, turning a corner.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 7:59 pm
"Someone on this island is bound to have some...I can't expect a group of adults in a prestigious job going without alcohol." It was a staple of the important and useless alike, and Ripley had his fair share of drinks to ease the stress of every day life. "Are we ever allowed to leave this place, even for just a day?" It also seemed ridiculous to think this place wouldn't allow some time off for mental health...especially considering things like Zombies and Ghosts honestly existed.
"My home burned down and took my family with it." Ripley closed his hand into a fist again, looking up from the scarred reminder of his failure to meet the gaze of a curious onlooker. "I could have sworn there was something there in the flames...I think it saw me just like I saw it." But he wasn't sure. How much of it was his imagination and how much of it was reality.
"But it's why I'm here, regardless."
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:21 pm
Ian smirked, waving a hand. "Besides," he said. "Having a relaxing drink after a long, hard day's work is usually the best way to just have some time off, isn't it? At least for me," he added. "And it's a good stress reliever."
Drinking helps me forget.
{ You should not forget. Remembering makes you stronger. }
Forgetting makes me better.
{ Forgetting merely prolongs the pain. }
Ian frowned slightly, Naomi's stern, reproving tone echoing inside of his head. He shook his head, just a little, as though to clear it, and said, "I think I heard rumors that we go off island for missions, but I'm not sure about leaving just for leaving's sake. I hope so, though."
He peered down a hallway before casting a slightly curious glance back down at Ripley, but the expression rapidly shifted, Ian slowing his steps a little.
"...I'm sorry to hear that," he said quietly, and he wasn't sure how exactly to go about comforting anyone, especially someone he had just met. Not for the first time he wished that he had the skills to talk to people normally, but seeing as how he had little to no idea of how to go about that, he merely reached out and gave Ripley's shoulder a quick squeeze.
"You're here," he said lightly. "I'm here. The question is what we choose to do with our time while we're here."
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:43 pm
"It is." Ripley agreed with a small smile. "It's a great stress reliever. Everyone needs to let loose a little bit every now and then...so long as you're responsible and don't do it often, what's wrong with a little fun?" Ripley had only ever gone out to get drunk maybe once every few months, but it was well needed.
Ian's steps slowed, and so did Ripley's. He stopped as his guide did, and followed the line of Ian's arm to his shoulder. "You're right...It's what we do and the company we keep that counts." The young man murmured, crossing an arm over his chest to rest his scarred hand on Ian's. It was clear to him that Ian wasn't the greatest at offering condolences or even the basic comforts, but the fact remained that the other man was trying, and that was what counted. It meant more to him than the words that were clumsily offered. "I think we'll both do just fine here. Thank you, Ian."
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