(OPEN) Gregor Samsa's no good, very bad week.

[blattella]

WHO: Gregor (blattella) & you! you! you! you! you!
WHAT: having a bad time around the city, exploring, being a menace.
WHERE: all over the city! City Hall, the train tunnels, and anywhere he can find clothes, namely.
WHEN: 17/07 onward.
WARNINGS: insectile body horror's the big one! bugs, body horror, buggy body horror.

Comments

[blattella]

...Honestly, I'd take most people's word over my own gut these days. When you want everyone to be your friend, you can't trust yourself to sort folks out by appearances and words alone.

And what's it matter if someone tries to snap my neck here? I don't know, I guess...It's more lax, what I'd consider not trusting someone for. And my gut instincts are going off for no reason, too. So hey, if you got any recommendations for someone not to trust, I'll take them for now.

[bemist]

Not to trust? Pretty much anyone. When it comes down to it, the majority will place themselves first, and they're not necessarily wrong to do it.

[ A sigh. ]

And especially don't trust anyone who asks too many questions without talking about themselves in return.

[blattella]

Yeah, ain't that true. No one looks out for you like you do, right?

[He pauses. Is that a train coming, or just the tinnitus ring sounding different? Hm...Ah well, not like it matters. Onwards!]

Thanks for the tips, though. Guess I take it for granted that most folks are cagey about what they cough up about themselves, if they have any sense, but it's the asking questions with no equal weight, not the caginess itself, huh...

You trust anyone here? If I might ask. I got co-workers, so I trust them to at least try and have our collective best interest at heart, like I do, but. [shrug.]

[bemist]

There's some guy named Midnight who I don't exactly like, but I can at least tell he's sincere, which is more than I can say for most people.

[ She says it with an air of weary exasperation, of course. If Gregor's met Midnight, he probably knows why. Gebura isn't fond of being fawned over. ]

Got a coworker, too. Roland. [ She pauses (verbally), footsteps echoing along the length of the tunnel. ]

I'd trust my back to him, but I don't think that guy completely understands where he wants to point his weapon at yet. He's more of a blur when it comes to intentions than he acts.

[blattella]

Oh yeah, Midnight. I like him. Definitely seems genuine, if not a bit much sometimes. Nothing wrong with that. [After all, Don's A Bit Much too, and he thinks she's neat!

Roland, though.

Gebura's evaluation of Roland, though. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM INCHRESTING BABES]

You're City folk too, then? I'm with Don, Sinclair, and Vergilius. ...Must be an impressive Library you guys work at, for all the stuff Roland comes out with sometimes. I can't peg him, either. I want to trust him, he seems solid, but--

That blurriness. I get it. I don't like it.

[bemist]

Oh, so you're with the Red Gaze and that company. Quite a few of you showed up here, huh?

[ Is she envious of that? Not really, no. More Librarians meant more people she had to keep an eye on, and those are her People, even more than Roland is. And those People would definitely be a handful here. ]

But yeah, we're fellow Librarians. And personally, I think it's fine not to like it. Most people in the City only have a certain degree of trust for each other, anyway. And they keep their secrets close. In that sense, Roland's pretty much the epitome of a City-dweller.

[blattella]

Mm, just the four of us, myself included. But it's a bigger group than most others, I think.

[He Does Not Mention Kromer. But then, Gebura looks like she could easily take Kromer in a fight anyway, doesn't seem like the sort to take shit, so he's not especially worried on that front.]

...Mm, I guess I was kind of forced into trusting my co-workers more than I'd have liked, right off the bat. Extenuating circumstances that we're all signed up for. Probably also why I'm a little more invested in Don and Sinclair's welfare, even though they're grown and capable. [And why he doesn't really know what Roland's up to, in the first place. But that's probably not something Gebura wants to hear.]

Don't think anything's going to happen down here, y'know. But it helps to know for sure.

[bemist]

Just from what I've noticed, Don's a little too idealistic for her own good and Sinclair seems to be pretty brittle, which could go one way or another. Which isn't to say they're not capable, but I can see why you'd be worried about them.

[ As a retired Fixer, she can definitely see where there would be points for concern. ]

Also, even just verifying there's nothing down here is important. Might as well make the best use of our time, right?

[blattella]

Yeah, you're not wrong. But I've seen Sinclair push past his own brittleness and come into his own bit by bit, and even if Don causes so much trouble for the company, it's comforting to think that someone has an idea of justice, even if it's just something out of fairy tales and stuff.

They've come a little ways, is what I mean. But-- isn't it natural to worry about people younger than you, and to not want 'em to go through as much stuff as you have? Roland seems to think I'm doing too much, but I don't know...Can't get myself to stop. And asking them about it would probably be embarrassing, so...Sorry, you have to hear all of this, hah.

[It's nice to have another point of view, especially from someone who's grounded in reality without...Reeking of pure selfish pragmatism. He wants to trust Gebura already, that is, and have access to that solid nature when he's far too mushy and weak.]

[bemist]

I'd tell you if it was bugging me. [ Pun not actually intended. Gebura idly swings the baseball bat off her shoulder, letting it hang at her side for a moment. ]

Though I'm not exactly the best person to ask for advice or to just hear you out. One of our youngest Librarians has far more sense in her little finger than a lot of our older ones, and I'm probably past the point of looking after too many people myself. [ She'd been reluctant to bring in the kids from the Outskirts, even though there had been no guarantee they'd even get involved in the experiments until Enoch had volunteered himself without a moment of hesitation. ]

At some point, you can only stop them from doing so much and just hope they live long enough to learn from the experience. After that, they're a little more willing to listen. [ Probably. Bot always. ] Or I guess if you're really worried, just keep that eye on them and step in if you have to. That's your choice.

[blattella]

Heard loud and clear; I'll stick to coming to you to make sure I'm not completely insane, is all. It's good to have a perspective check now and then, especially in situations like this. You lose sight of the main goal, over all the inter-personal stuff...

[Like the killing, and the growing attached, and the dying, and the trauma, but that's standard City shit anyway. Standard enough to simply get waved off with a soft, out-of-tune hum.]

In the end, all I can actually do is tell them my thoughts on their plans, and they'll do what they will with it. I can't step in any more than they could, and I know I can't stop them. If Don's determined or Sinclair's angry, I don't think even someone like you could, y'know?

whew sorry for the delay

[bemist]

[ Gebura snorts a little, tone just a wee bit lighter, despite the cigarette-roughened rasp of her voice. ]

As someone who once had to be stopped myself before I smashed up a facility and who had to stop someone at the very height of his completely understandable anger... I think I could probably stop them. But I'd like to think it won't have to come to that. I'm not exactly cut out for babysitting or the equivalent, especially for people I hardly know.