I'm not saying that it's aliens - TAKE A LOAD OFF, LOG 2

[libraryassistants]

Who: Readers and Actors
What: Beta Story final log
When: November 28 - December 11
Where: Woodhurst (UK) and the SS Radiance (in space!), 2019
Content warnings: Please tag warnings in comment headers!

In Woodhurst:

There is quite a bit of confusion in the village as the weeks pass by- by now it is clear that some people are very much not themselves, and there are multiple theories as to why. Aliens, obviously- the really weird bit is that it’s not just certain edgy teens purporting this theory, but since there’s been some (alleged) activity previously, maybe they’ve come back! Some tourists (and perhaps some locals) have made signs of the ‘Take me with you!’ variety, mostly loitering in the town square or in the park, whenever they get chased out of one or the other.

Suffice it to say, those people aren’t being taken seriously by those in charge- though even they have to admit that something strange is going on. Prevailing theories amongst officials are ‘gas leakage’ and ‘water contamination,’ neither of which are suitable explanations but no one seems to want to think too hard on it. As a result, the friends and families of those acting out of sorts are in a strange position. Do they try to seek medical help? Wait and hope it sorts itself out? Or do they join the crowds bidding welcome to their potential alien guests, demanding their real loved ones return?

Visitors of all stripes might find themselves a bit more scrutinized, as a result. Didn’t a bunch of weird people show up just as people seemed to start changing? Readers and aliens alike had best be on their most normal behavior, or it’s possible they’ll get cornered by someone asking what’s happening, or… a fanatic who wants to be taken up into their spaceship. Some of whom have some weird questions about probes. Good luck figuring out what that’s about.

On the IMW Group Supply Ship: Radiance

Things are not all well further up in the atmosphere, either. The staff have had to deal with much more pushback than they were expecting, including some people who seemed to not enough understand the concept of mental health (which was not in the briefing- shouldn’t they have at least heard of it before?). A few cases also seem to be quite severe, involving a level of intervention that they weren’t really prepared for- but of course, they’re here, so they’re going to do the very best they can to get all the humans the help they need! Hopefully legally.

Most alarmingly, however, it seems there have been some kidnapping attempts! …Kidnapping attempts that didn’t involve them! Someone, or multiple someones, have managed to get the patients off the ship without first filling out their discharge paperwork, and that simply will not do. As a result, security is ramped up on the ship… sort of. There’s very little in the way of a security crew, after all, and it’s not like they can call in reinforcements. So mostly this means that there are some very tired counselors who have been put on hallway shifts, and everyone has been assigned a little name badge that they MUST wear at ALL TIMES.

(There are actual people guarding the shuttles now, but again… there’s only so much security. The real question is, do you really want to beat up the aliens who are just trying to help?)

To their credit, the various Group members are trying to listen to the concerns of the patients who are here… less than willingly, and are beginning to filter some cases back to the planet by request. But they are going to do it properly, which means the proper forms. A wrap up visit with their counselor, a form agreeing to be finished with treatment, a politely worded request to maybe not tell people about the aliens (it’s not an NDA, because the Group has never needed those, it’s really just a form asking if they’re going to talk about it so management can figure out how badly this is going to go). Oh, and would you mind filling out this survey about your experience?

Of course, not everyone is in a hurry to leave- or at least needs something to do while waiting for bits of paperwork to approve. All the regular classes and sessions are still going, and they even retrofitted one of the spas to have water instead of… whatever it was before. Now certified safe for humans!


[Information on what's available on the ship is in the first log; info post is here.]

Comments

Kaiisteron | Actor

[bashasasdemon]

SS Radiance - Office

Kaiisteron, like most people, hates paperwork. Unfortunately, it's important to document everything in this line of work, especially who is even supposed to be on the ship. He had a lot of concerns going into this excursion, but people getting kidnapped- rekidnapped? unkidnapped? - off the ship in front of one of his more... exuberant subordinates was not one of the things he expected. He knows full well the 'tightening' of 'security' isn't going to do but so much good, so he's just trying to get the people who actually want to be off the ship off as easily as possible.

Unfortunately, that means paperwork. Lots of it. Discharge forms and surveys and divine knows what else. Which means that any free moment he has is in his office trying to review and approve them as quickly as he can while still being accurate. "No, I'm not done yet," he says when the door opens, because whoever you are, he can promise that even if he was close to being done, interrupting him will not help. (He might even push yours back out of spite. Maybe.)

(Of course, there are also some... less documented things he's working on. Don't worry about it.)

Therapy

Of course, he does have actual therapy work to do as well, and even if it's hard he much, much, much prefers it to the mountains of paperwork waiting for him. He's not going to think about that. As before, there's a chair or a lounge for patients to sit or lay on, and he offers a (perhaps tired) smile. "Hey. How are you feeling today?"

Woodhurst

The situation here isn't as bad as he feared it would be, but it's still not good. And Kaiisteron has found himself trapped in a conversation with a very enthusiastic alien fanatic explaining to him exactly what a variety of probes could be used for and he is desperately looking for a way out. Help???

nothing illegal here, no

[starandhope]

She walks into Kai's office with a purpose in her stride.

"If we take him while he's en route to or from his workplace, we can easily make it appear that he abandoned his family," she says without preamble.

"I think we could both use a break from the paperwork, don't you?"

And a chance to really help someone. At least one person, before they're chased off this planet.

office, again, you can't get enough of your favorite Revanian

[angel_of_baal]

Tsang is so upset that its human costume is fraying, its antennae and emotive spines flapping in agitation as it bursts into Kai's office.

"Something TERRIBLE has happened!"

Please. It's not its fault.

Hikaru Aozora > Michi - Mitch? Akira! Tsukuda (Actor)

[extrasaltypotato]

1 - Therapy - Let's Get Down To Business
Despite her... them?self, Michiko - Mitch - has started, if not looking forward to the various forms of therapy, then at least feeling a lot better afterwards.

Being listened to about how much they resent being forced to do all the girly crap her parents and a large swath of the other adults around her insist upon and having authority figures agree that it was always a pile of kuso, grande sized, is a new and altogether relieving sensation.

So addition to talking to Min'a, they - he? - started doing yoga and tai-chi to get back in touch with his body, availing himself of the massage services, doing art. He's not bad at aping the styles of his favorite manga artists, does some Quintessence card token mockups, starts on an Ad Terra commbadge.

He's surprised to realize that when the others agitate to escape that he's not ready to go.

2 - Woodhurst - Did You Give Me Daughters...
Lumat'aru is not having a great time pretending to Michiko down at Woodhurst. In her defense, the briefing was wrong in ways that couldn't have come out until the subject had therapy - holy mother of stars, what kind of backwards planet assigns gender at birth? - but it really stings to know that Michiko's parents almost certainly weren't fooled. She can feel their active fear and resentment of her presence through her antennae all the time, no matter how hard she tries to play up typical female behavior in the local culture.

Then, at some point, it changes... at least a little. Her parents relax, and while they aren't exactly thrilled to have her, they no longer seem to actively hate her.

She finds out why later: "Patient has contacted his parents with our permission. He will be discharged soon. Maintain role for a fortnight. If you are comfortable doing so, ease the others into his new role." So she relaxes into it, a little, lays off the makeup and nail polish a bit, experiments with Michiko's old leather jacket (so cool).

It doesn't help. The bullies are back in force, and this time, they taunt her with:

Hey, if it isn't the space alien who replaced Mitsuko!

She knows that this is a taunt and not indication of belief, but her blood still runs cold, and she freezes in place and can't stop the tears from coming. And this time, bursting into tears only encourages them.

Lookit her bawling like a baby! They shunt up your nerve, too? Haw!

Someone who hasn't been slurped up, save her?

3 - On The IMWSS Radiance, Post Escape Attempt - But You Can Bet, Before We're Through...
Siobhan did manage to rescue him, bless his crazy renaissance girl, even if that didn't involve physically removing him from the ship. "Hikaru" was almost, but not quite, perfect for him... but he just figured out what he could to with that thought.

He had a few last things to do before discharge, and one was making a few special requests of the doctors and the recordkeepers on the ship.

And then, to his friends and the therapists, he screws his courage up, and says the magic words.

Please call me Akira. Akira Tsukuda.

4 - Woodhurst, Post-Discharge - I'll Make A Man Out Of You
It's a watch party night when Akira returns home, by way of arranging it with poor Lumat'aru who had taken his place.

He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.

Her mother answers, and stand there in stunned disbelief for a second. Her protests are cut off with a little judiciously used Japanese:

"Hontōni wata... ore da yo, okāsan. Tadaima."

"O... okaeri," she returns, then - to his shock, his mother actually hugs him in public.

He doesn't fight it.

After going through much the same with Dad, he makes his way up to his room - still with the flowery "Michiko's Room" emblem - then opens the door to everyone gathered there, including the one person not surprised to see him. And Lumat'aru says:

Oh, thank god you're here. How the hell do you put up with those creeps at school?

1-ish?

[hellandbackpack]

It's only been a few days, but the routine of the ship is plain enough. And something about the air of the aliens makes it seem almost mean to mess with them too much. Not to say Charles isn't keen to find his friends and make sure they're okay, to get back to Earth, but he has come to believe that they're fairly genuine in their claims that they'll be sending the humans back soon.

That doesn't make therapy any less harrowing. After the rather distressing first session, he's noticed that they don't dig too pointedly at his homelife or family any more, even if they often tend to come at it a bit sideways. He's not sure what their goal is with that, but it leaves him feeling a bit sensitive all the same when he manages to scoot free of the one-on-one therapy sessions. At least during the group sessions and activities they seem to not push at that at all. It means he's a bit more willing to go with the flow for the moment. Even if he feels a bit tired in the moment.

That feeling flees him almost immediately when he spots a familiar face from across the common space he wandered into, whatever he'd been thinking of doing fleeing his mind immediately as he lets out a relieved little shout and all but rockets across the room to fling arms around his friend.

"Oh my god, there you are!" His voice pitches, cracks a bit like it always does when he's trying to play it cool, like he's not about to have himself a little meltdown from some sort of emotion- relief in this case, clear enough in the tight grip he has on that hug, face smacking against their shoulder with a breathless little laugh. "You're okay? Like... really okay? I've been... feels like I've been goin' mad, first that weird copycat alien, then here, not knowin' where you were-"

1 probably?

[starandhope]

Despite much of this mission going completely pear-shaped, Min'a has had a few wins. She has only ever wanted to be useful, helpful to others. And, difficult as this experience has been and continues to be, she does feel as though she's been a help, if only to one or two of her patients.

This is one of them.

"Good afternoon," she offers a smile. "How have you been? Did you enjoy the yoga?"

4

[terraboo]

... Seriously. They need to be escalated at.

[Laina sighs. She feels like she's been... Utterly superfluous to the situation, knowing what she now knows.]

... You okay?

[Perhaps shocked, but...]

Min'a Mu'rray (Actor) | OTA

[starandhope]

i. ss radiance: stepping up security;

Min'a, for the record, certainly doesn't want to keep anyone aboard the ship who really, truly doesn't want to be here. The whole kidnapping part of this plan never sat right with her to begin with, but there hadn't been any other way and it was always intended to be temporary. So sending some of them back before they were originally slated to go back? Is fine. She wishes she could've helped more of them, but these things can't be forced.

Still, they can't just leave without proper authorization. So despite being tired, despite the dark circles under her eyes, she is doing a patrol of the ship, her name tag prominently displayed, her antennae quivering at the slightest sense of anyone feeling particularly sneaky.

"I don't like the paperwork either, but this is a little ridiculous," she mutters.

ii. ss radiance: therapy part deux;

Are you in a follow-up session? Have a grievance you need to air? Min'a is continuing therapy for those still aboard the ship.

"How are you doing today?" she asks, attempting her usual pleasant and neutral smile. She's a little worn around the edges, however, and it might be showing.

iii. Woodhurst: take me to your;

The town just generally feels more hostile now than when they first landed. That is not at all what Min'a was hoping for. Still, she's happy to continue to assist in bringing their patients back home - or maybe she's here on a more clandestine mission. Hard to say!

i

[hellandbackpack]

The dynamic here is a little odd. He'd been a bit caught unprepared the first session for the track that Min'a took with her questions, but after? He seemed to be better prepared to dodge and avoid. Not that he was as resistant and sullen as he'd been initially about it, masking behind his usual cheery, chatty facade instead, but she definitely wasn't getting the same sort of emotions out of him as he'd displayed before. Probably for the best though- as she'd noticed, Charles' biggest impediment to a happy life wasn't something that could be fixed in a therapy session at this point. He'd speak with her at least, participate in thought exercises and the like, even if he made sure to keep to the lighter side of things. And no, it absolutely wasn't because he was noticing how tired she was starting to get each time they spoke. Surely not.

Outside the confines of therapy, he tended to avoid interacting with most of the counselors if possible, Min'a included. He was never mean or rude about it, just making himself scarce when they were around, his typical uncertainty and unease around authority shining through. So it was likely a bit surprising to have him approaching Min'a while she was on her designated patrol, looking for all intents and purposes like a boy on a mission.

ii

[obeir]

Those worn edges are indeed noticeable enough even to someone wholly unfamiliar with her, and it tempers the dry sarcasm of K's response into something more earnest instead.

"Mostly confused," he admits as he's taking a seat, "about why I'm here." Might as well be honest. Therapy for an android is a patently absurd concept when he isn't considered a person to begin with.

His posture remains straight and stiff even once he's seated, very much with an air of someone expecting to receive orders.

ii

[closeness]

It's typical Finn for him to go with the flow, from experimental therapy to yoga. He has been able to blend in well enough, even if he had been caught several times sticking his nose in places where he shouldn't be, attempting to find a way back to the Library if he couldn't find a way back home. It had been increasingly alarming to him that he hadn't been able to locate his boyfriend in the new setting, each passing day leaving his feathers more and more ruffled.

Being on land was just as strange as being in space — none of the plants seemed to respond to him. He couldn't even have their comforting presence in his life? It didn't seem fair.

He greets Min'a with an uncertain smile, fussing with the frayed edge of his sweater. "I am unsure, to be honest!"

i. ss radiance: stepping up security

[wontforbidtherain]

Ap'rah had been doing clerical work for most of this, and is now finding out after looking up from her paperwork, that there is even more paperwork and concerns about how this was handled such that they now need to discharge so many people quickly and figure out what is happening on the ship. "Definitely ridiculous," she agreed. "After we finish on this planet, I think I'll need some mental health treatment."

I

[codeswitchcraft]

Hey Min'a, how do you feel about young humans stalking around your space ship with a bow and arrow?

Siobhan seems slightly less immediately hostile and paranoid than she was before meeting up with Michiko/Hikaru, but she's not exactly in a *good* mood either. Mostly because, having bullied her way onto the ship, she's now unsure how to leave and has been spending the last few days attempting to find hidden sleeping places and stealing food from what passes for the ship's mess.

When she sees Min'a, she finds herself staring at her. Since when did Mina have antenna?

Murderbot | Reader

[ugh_emotions]

i. SS. Radiance - rescue time
When it saw what counted as 'Security' for the aliens, SecUnit was outright offended.

Name badges? Fucking name badges? While they just stand around in a hallway, not even doing any kind of real patrol pattern? That's what they call Security? Fucking hell. They were even worse at Security than humans were.

So, it was laughably easy to avoid the aliens and start tracking down each human on the ship, one by one.

"This is a rescue," it says, as it barges in on whatever space a human happens to be occupying.

ii. Woodhurst - alien impersonation time
Meanwhile, in Woodhurst, one hapless alien had been assigned the task of impersonating someone called 'Rin'. There wasn't a lot of information on 'Rin'. They didn't seem to be someone who'd spend a lot of time in Woodhurst. Probably a tourist.

To anyone who has never met 'Rin', they were probably actually a pretty convincing human tourist. But to anyone who had spend more than 10 seconds in the presence of SecUnit, it would be pretty damn clear that something was up.

Because suddenly, 'Rin' was smiling. They were making eye contact. They were engaging with people in friendly and pleasant conversation.

And they didn't run off and hide in an out-of-the-way enclosed space. Not even once.

I

[shelloflight]

It's the one from the media merchandise store. They've started wearing heavier clothing - a jacket - and are wearing their hair shorter; they have on a plain shirt with the logo of a hollow blue equilateral triangle with another smaller one inside, pointing down.

Depending on Murderbot's tastes, it may or may not recognize they emblem as - ironically enough - the symbol of an alien who uses his immense strength and other abilities to help people on Earth as the caped superhero Paragon, from the various iterations of the Vanguard franchise.

"God, they got you, too -"

And then they hear it, and rise up to their booted feet at mention of a rescue.

"I'll help," they say. They seem to be deliberately downpitching their voice. "Don't want to leave yet, but I'll help anyone who does."

Dean Winchester | Reader

[pieously]

Woodhurst

In the village of Woodhurst, things have gotten a bit strange lately, with some residents acting really unusual. There are all kinds of theories about why this is happening, including the popular idea that it might be aliens. Tourists and locals are even making funny signs like "Take me with you!" and hanging out in town squares and parks. It's nothing that Dean hasn't seen before. "This story is getting really old, Chuck!"

While village leaders aren’t taking the alien talk seriously, they can't ignore the odd behavior. They’ve suggested possibilities like “gas leak” or “water contamination,” but nobody really believes those. Friends and families are left wondering whether to seek help, wait it out, or join the crowd welcoming these mysterious visitors.

Visitors to the village are definitely under more scrutiny. After all, didn’t some unusual people show up just as things started changing? Everyone needs to keep a low profile to avoid awkward questions—or being asked about that probing stuff!

Whatever! Dean is just standing there, his jaw clenched and looking incredibly pissed off.

Therapy

Meanwhile, on the IMW Group Supply Ship, things aren’t going smoothly. The crew is facing unexpected resistance from people struggling with mental health issues, and some cases are serious enough to need extra attention. Plus, there have been attempts at kidnapping patients off the ship without proper paperwork. So, security is being tightened, with counselors assigned to patrols and everyone required to wear name badges.

The Group members are doing their best to listen to patients and have started sending some people back to the planet, but all the right forms need to be filled out first. And not everyone is in a rush to leave—there are classes and activities to enjoy, and they even made one of the spas safe for humans!

Dean, still looking mildly pissed off, a definite improvement, he thinks. He is pacing the lounge like a caged tiger.

"Me? I'm just peachy, Doc. How are you?"

Therapy

[angel_of_baal]

Oh, are we playing word-association? It's not Tsang's specialty, but it will try. "In what way do you feel like a peach? Fuzzy? Sweet?"

It's not delighted that so many of them who CLEARLY need aftercare plans are lining up. It's doing the best it can to expedite the paperwork process!

Randolph | OTA

[dreamquestion]

I. People-watching

Outwardly, Randy doesn't seem particularly bothered by it all. When he does leave his shop it's with a look of bemusement on his face at the people with signs out, asking to be abducted, as if it were an ideal and not a completely different situation if you were willingly going into it.

And if he's approached, knowing his reputation for being the town kook, he'll take it in good humour for what it is; functionally a weird joke that he wasn't brought in on earlier.

II. Off Hours

Behind closed doors, however, he's a bit less relaxed.

He doesn't like that the crew that's made their way back to Earth is so flippant about security, enough that people have worked it out. Because it puts him at risk, if anyone got too nosy about the weird old guy with the apparent obsession with aliens and a locked basement (not that anyone knew that part besides the kids, and even then it was a reasonable precaution. A man is due his privacy).

But the teens especially, or anyone that happens to catch him off-guard in the bookshop, will find his perpetually pleasant demeanor a little tested at the moment.

For the Bride

He's not used to being followed. He was deeply paranoid about it some twenty years ago, but these days the only people who come stomping around after him are his flock of teenagers.

But today he can feel heavy footsteps, an unfamiliar tread, staying some steady ten yards behind him, that followed him since he left the shop in the morning to go grocery shopping and trying to pretend that she - because he's glanced back, multiple times, and seen a tall, imposing woman trying to hide her face and be anything but - isn't following him. And so he sighs, and ducks into the alleyway behind the row of units that his building is a part of; there is a back door to his house, but mostly it's away from prying eyes as he pretends to put his shopping backs down and fiddle with the lock to give her time to try and approach him properly.

II, post-discharge

[shelloflight]

Here comes once of Randy's best customers, who had been avoiding this place for weeks.

To say she(?) looks different is an understatement.

"Sorry I haven't been by," the young Tsukuda says, with a very definitely deeper voice. Deliberately so, it seems; it still seems awkward, artificial. "I've just... been on unexpected holiday. Found out a few things about myself."

Tsukuda takes a deep breath.

"Such as - no, that can wait. Anything interesting come into the sci-fi section while I was away?"

[angel_of_baal]

SS Radiance

No, no no no no! Something had gone very wrong down there and there was a very bad person. It was one thing if he only wanted to hurt Tsang, but he had stated he intended to go after Tsang's friends.

This was a disaster. It could not let its friends come to harm.

First stop would be Kaiisteron's office. It was already rehearsing what it could possibly say.

But also, anyone Tsang ran across would hear the warning. "There is a Dangerous Person who has discovered us! We have been breached!" Hopefully that would help.

Woodhurst
The best disguises are the ones that no one reads as a disguise, so Tsang has donned, because it is raining, a trenchcoat and fedora. It does not feel 'safe', but at least almost invisible, as it tries to find the scary person. If for no other reason than to save someone else.

It's very definitely not walking alone into the woods this time, but hanging around the coffee shop and doing some street sketching to try to soothe its shattered nerves.

Don't notice that most of its sketches somehow have a tall shadowy looking creature lurking in there somewhere. That's called sublimation.

Woodhurst

[flantastic]

Whoever could the "scary person" Tsang was looking for be? Truly this is a mystery. Many people have been unhappy with the way things have been carried out. Rakia is comfortably back in his very tall human form, wearing his favored floppy hat and a somewhat flowing jacket. He's not really dressed for the rain, and so he'll take a cup of coffee and take a nearby table from which he can scowl at the rain. "This sucks." He's looking out the window, not at the coffee. The coffee is...fine? Passable? Easy enough to drink to nurse while passing as a perfectly normal human. There's a glance over at Tsang and its sketches. He feels like he may have seen this person before, but he cannot place where, or how, or when.

Charles Rowland | Actor

[hellandbackpack]

I. Sarcasm counts as emotional regulation

Charles was, for the moment, playing along. So far, nothing had been nearly as harrowing as his admissions in his first session with Min'a- he was generally cooperative but also unable to be serious overlong. After a not-so-casual suggestion that he try yoga, undoubtedly in an attempt to burn some of his ridiculous energy for mischief, the teen was settled on one of the mats amongst the class. Was he doing the stretch being described? Absolutely not- he'd chosen something silly and ridiculous that he'd seen in some movie or another once, pretending at serenity as he was wobbling dangerously one way then the other on one foot. That peaceful expression was ruined by one eye peeking open as he offered a grin towards another student as he barely keeps from overbalancing and eating floor.

"If you laugh at me falling, that counts as therapy progress," Said in a cheerful sort of stage whisper, Charles only straightening into the correct pose when the instructor is coming down the rows, and the second their back is turned, he's back to a silly sort of balancing act, brows screwing up in playfully exaggerated concentration. "They called this one Warrior Two, but I'm more a Slightly Startled Civilian. What about you?"

II. Don't tell the stars I'm afraid of the dark

It had been over a week now on the ship. Charles' behavior hadn't shifted especially- he still laughed and joked like nothing was wrong, got into whatever mischief he thought he could get away with, dodged gentle probing questions about feelings as well as he was able in the group sessions. He wasn't quite so evasive with Min'a but even there he was cautious about what he said now that he had a bit of a better idea what to expect.

But that didn't stop something being off. Anyone who spent time around him might notice the signs of something bothering him. More fidgety than energetic, the way he would often rub at the back of his neck, or jog a foot when left still long enough. The way his smiles edged a bit too bright, faded a bit too quickly. Laughs that shaded a bit too long. And while Charles was naturally chatty, especially when he was looking to be a bit of a menace, there was something about how he was chatting lately, as if to avoid letting silence linger too long.

Not that he was about to admit anything was wrong. No, at the moment he was settled on a console table near the wide window that showed the view of the stars and Earth, munching on some weird alien granola as he peered out at the view.

He looked nearly contemplative a moment, surely pondering some deep important thought after his last session-

“Did you know this tastes like nothing… but also slightly like everything? D'you suppose that's on purpose?”

Or not.

III. If being late counts as an art form, I’m a master

It had taken longer to get back to Earth than some of the others, Charles had noticed. Plenty who had been picked up at the same time as him, or after had gone back before he had. Min'a had assured him that he'd be let home soon enough, that they just needed to make the proper arrangements. Paperwork and the like.

By the time he was considering sneaking past 'security' and trying to figure out a shuttle, he was finally sent home, only to find... a lot had changed. His double had seemed to avoid his father well enough, and hadn't roused any suspicion in his mother- it seemed he'd spent most of his time out in Woodhurst proper when he wasn't required to be home. Safer that way, and it eased something in Charles. He still thought the aliens were ridiculous, but he didn't want the poor sod hurt because he'd been mistaken for him.

But... Paul Rowland was gone. He'd packed up a suitcase and swanned off after a shift apparently, without so much as a goodbye. His wife was devastated. Charles was... conflicted. Did what he could to comfort his mother, before giving her space to go through the motions. Calling Paul's friends, relatives, anyone she could think of who he might have spoken with before leaving, anyone she could think he'd go to stay with. But Charles was fairly certain she wouldn't find him.

Charles had a feeling that his da hadn't just left town like everyone was sure he had. And he wasn't sure how he felt about the relief that washed through him as the concept settled in, really sank in.

Normally on a day like this, when everything at home was calm and peaceful, he'd be home. Spending time with his mum. But there was a part of him that was afraid that she'd see the relief in him, would realize what had happened. Or at least that he wasn't sad about his da. Not really, not like a son should be. But then he hadn't been a proper father. But Charles didn't trust his ability to keep that emotion under wraps while his mother was still caught in that mix of emotions of her own, so he lurked around town instead. Not nearly so furtive as he sometimes was in his rambling, but there was still something uncertain in his gaze as it slid across the area, as if keeping watch. And maybe he was- it would take some time for the idea that his da was really gone to sink in properly.

Anyone who knew him would recognize that tension in him, the uncertainty to the little glances here and there when someone new moved into his field of vision, or a car rolled by.

IV. Wildcard

((Want to do something else? Feel free to poke me either at atomic_kiwi, or  Atomic_Kiwi and we can plot something!))

III (we've had first thread yes, but what about second thread)

[shelloflight]

"So he's really gone."

Akira Tsukuda - but you can call him Mitch, old friend - rolls up in his motorcycle, helmet under one arm.

"Do you really think he blasted off on his own, or..."

Konrad Curze - Reader. OTA.

[curzed]

The sun sets rather early this time of year, allowing Curze.. some measure of freedom in passing through town without it being long after everything's shuttered and locked for the night. He'd found a small store earlier, which did not appreciate the fact that he had neither shirt nor shoes, only a battered black trenchcoat and equally dark jeans, and thus should get no service, but when he'd left he'd taken with him a familiar deck of cards and left approximately the right amount of money behind to pay for it. It's not in thrones, but the local coinage wasn't hard to figure out.

And then the smell of food behind one of the other shops he didn't recognize had led to getting caught by the workers there, who ... did not act as angry as expected. They'd been unexpectedly sympathetic in fact, and he wasn't entirely ... certain ... why.

Nor did he expect to get herded inside and offered a meal. A simple fare, recaff of some form and some meat filled bread and a little cup of soup. By the time this happens he's fairly sure he's been mistaken for something he is not. He'd relocated with his free meal to the darkest spot a Starbucks has to offer - which is admittedly not much, everything is much too well lit for his tastes - and ... failed to actually eat it in favor of going through the deck of cards one at a time, frowning.

It is very similar to the lesser arcanoi he favored, but some were very much NOT familiar and going by number alone he can guess at what they're supposed to be, but it's still .. strange. The box calls them 'tarot', so maybe it's just a local variation.

For the past twenty minutes or so he's been shuffling the deck and laying out the cards one by one in the same six-card spread over and over, and every. Single. Time it's the same cards set out.

Probably he should eat his free meal before it gets too cold.

[ooc: wildcard: still skulking around town hunting aliens and keeping tabs on the actual humans, many options exist.]

[holiestlove]

Jonathan had never been much of one for coffee unless Mr. Hawkin's was the one to place it in his hand. Tea had always been his favorite, and that was what brought him back into the Starbucks. He had been told it was the best place for any drink earlier in the week.

Maybe it was the shirtlessness with the coat. Perhaps it was the lack of shoes. But with the paper cup of tea in hand, he had started to go before the brunette haired version of Jonathan Harker, in his strange modern clothes, moved over to stand near the other. Pushing his sunglasses up into his hair, he spoke in that same voice as before.

"I feel like I know you, sir. Have we met at the Library?" It worked with others, he wanted to see if he was right.

Siobhan Greenwood | Reader

[codeswitchcraft]

Radiance

It's one thing to promise Michiko-Hikaru that she'd get back to Earth to tell his parents what happened to him. It's another thing to actually go there. Unfortunately, it turns out that Thorne has no more idea how to pilot a shuttle than Siobhan has and a few days later they're still stuck on the spaceship. Unfortunately, trying to bully the bodysnatchers to taking her back is not working nearly as well as it did to bring her to the ship, especially given they want her to fill out paperwork before they take her back and has she considered a counseling session first?

(Siobhan has no idea why the bodysnatchers think she'd be willing to consider their counsel, but they do seem to be rather foolish and arrogant sorts in general. Michiko-Hikaru was right about their minds being filled with yoghurt and granola.)

So yeah, she's been spending the last few days trying to avoid patrolling bodysnatchers, while sleeping in hidden nooks (mostly supply closets) and stealing food from the mess hall. She still keeps her bow and arrows with her just in case, even if she's not waving them in people's faces anymore.

Woodhurst

So. Just because they're free of the bodysnatchers now doesn't mean that Siobhan particularly wants them to snatch up any of the people she cares about again. Especially not Akira, since he's still not his usual self yet and hence doesn't have his magic to defend himself with.

But that's fine. Siobhan still has her bow and arrow after all. And while Akira's parents aren't very keen on the idea of her sleeping over in his room, he was able to talk them into letting Siobhan sleep in the house's 'guest room,' which he says used to belong to his older sister before she left home.

Unfortunately, following another teenager around as a personal bodyguard while armed is definitely not normal behavior and is almost certainly going to get her questioned. She extremely not happy with anyone who implies that she is an alien--or as she insists on calling them still, a 'bodysnatcher.'

Woodhurst

[shelloflight]

Akira is so not questioning the crazy brilliant girl who can and will kiss him deciding to move in and gallantly defend her. Barking mad in the best way.

But when the bullies start to call her a space alien, hoping for a brawl, he intervenes, mouthing I got this and stepping up.

"Think you're hard, then? Or do you just get hard from taunting girls and talking about what you hope they do to your dad?"

There is a single glorious moment of pure astonishment on the bully's face as he stands frozen in place that gives Siobhan a perfect opening.

[bestofall]

Woodhurst

There's a hue and cry in the streets, or at least there's a youngish man doing his best to start one. On a street corner, Festival stands atop a literal soapbox (where did he get that?) holding up a crude cardboard sign that reads I WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS AND THERE WERE FEWER PROBES THAN ADVERTISED.

"--And they called it a hospital of the mind! Beware the abductors, for they come bearing glitter--see how I am afflicted!"

He is, indeed, quite infested with craft glitter.


Radiance

Somehow, Festival has managed to be kidnapped for the third time in a week. It's entirely possible he magicked himself invisible to sneak aboard a shuttle, actually, as he rather insisted on being kidnapped again--but ask him and he'll insist it was yet another true blue kidnapping carried out against him.

Regardless, he's here (again) now and he's discovered that there's paperwork afoot. And so, he's snuck into an unoccupied office and is furiously shuffling through patient files, swapping pages between them and scribbling in his own notes at random.

Radiance

[hellandbackpack]

Charles, naturally, could only play along so much. It was clear that they were stalling with him for some reason- he was fairly certain he knew why, so wasn't nearly as stressed about that as he would be otherwise. But it didn't stop him being antsy. Everything here was designed for serenity, relaxation. Absolutely not meant for an energetic teen with mischief on his mind.

So Festival would only be alone in that office for so long before the door was being opened and the teen was sneaking in, stopping dead as the door slid shut behind him as he saw that he wasn't the only one in there. Oops? But it looked like they were... up to something? The furtive posture over the files definitely didn't look like he was supposed to be here.

"...Find anything interestin'?"

The Bride | "Doctor Lanchester" - Actor

[monstrous_bride]

The Manor

Now, now she can kick things into high gear. She is certain, the signs are all there, and she will soon be able to prove it, given the evidence she's gathered. And so all the machinery comes out - the big detection equipment that has a lot of dials, so very many shiny, blinking lights...and produces a lot of visibly arcing voltage.

It's loud. It's running all day. And she might - might - be causing brown outs in the village during the day.

But she's certain she's on the right track. She has them now. It's just a matter of time.

The Town

...A fact that she is currently trying to make clear to the townspeople. With a megaphone. Standing on an actual soapbox at the edge of the village green.

"They walk among us!" she says, balancing precariously. She's not great at this part, admittedly. "I need you for empirical data! You've seen people acting strangely! You've seen unusual things! If we collate all the data, we can come to conclusions the powers that be can't deny! That they cannot possibly hide! Let us gather all the possible data together!"

As rallying cries go, probably not the most...inspiring one.

CYA?

[OOC: Sorry for the delay on this one - as always willing to toss some spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks, drop me a line and we'll see what's up!]

the town?

[angel_of_baal]

It was time for *stealth*. With the knife-wielding maniac around, someone had to find out how big the danger was to the crew, and Tsang couldn't let Kaiisteron bear all the burden of it. It felt responsible, in a way for the whole thing.

So what better way to find out than to infiltrate this group. "I have heard they mean no harm and are only here to help!" Someone has to stick up for them!