un: jaycetalis | video

[hexcope]

[If anyone hasn’t seen Jayce within the past few months, he looks quite a bit different. His hair is longer, he has a beard, and doesn’t seem quite as full of energy as he might have in the past. He’s also not dressing as uptight as he used to— a lack of vest and tie, exchanged for just a simple button up shirt. The background is once again S.T.A.R. labs, although he’s not trying to hide it this time.]

Hey, Etrayans. For those new to this whole thing, welcome. I’m Jayce Talis. For those who came from Pollux, also welcome. I can say with full confidence Aurora’s better at this than Castor is.

[Aurora probably won’t appreciate that comment, but whatever. He stands by it. But that aside…]

I’m putting out a call for fellow scientists to come together and work collaboratively on research involving what we know about Etraya, and more importantly, what we don’t know. This could also include strategizing developments to improve our lives here, and solving problems with our understanding in our respective fields. 


Something that we have here that we lack in our own worlds is the variety of perspectives. In my world, some of our greatest achievements are beyond what’s possible in other worlds, but we don’t have plastics or microwaves. Think of this as an opportunity for all of us to better ourselves, in this… transient existence we’re all stuck in.

Meetings would be here, in S.T.A.R. labs, every Thursday morning. No requirements if you want to participate other than an open mind, and a good attitude. No shooting down suggestions without hearing things out, and if you happen to have some sort of grudge against any of the participants here, you leave it at the door when you come in, or you’re not coming in.

[OOC: Feel free to threadjack around if you'd like!]

Comments

[maellum]

Even when warm inside with a hot chocolate? Or coffee, if that's your poison.

[hexcope]

Warm inside with snow outside is totally fine. I assume this is leading toward some sort of cafe visit.

[maellum]

Yeah. There's the one by the apartments unless you like another.

[hexcope]

Corrine's, right? They're good. I'll see you there?

[maellum]

That's the one. I'll save us a table.

[As if the place is ever bustling with people.]

action;

[hexcope]

[When he arrives, he's absolutely bundled up. Excessively so, when it's not even currently snowing. Hat, earmuffs, scarf, huge puffy jacket- the works. It'll take at least ten minutes to get it all off when he finds Maelle at the table she's saved for them.]

Hello, Maelle.

[maellum]

Hello, Jayce.

[Maelle, on the other hand, is dressed in only a coat and jeans with a pair of sturdy boots. She has gloves, but forgot them at the apartment, and by the time she felt the chill in her fingers she was practically here and figured she'll be drinking something hot, anyway.

She gives Jayce a sympathetic smile. No judgement, but...]

You weren't kidding about hating the snow.

[hexcope]

I don't hate a lot of things. Snow's in the top five.

[Earmuffs first, and then scarf, as he starts to take a seat. The metal brace on his leg gives a squeak as he sits down.]

Do you think they do hot chocolate with coffee here?

[maellum]

This is like my third time seeing snow, ever. I think it's great. To each their own, though.

[Earmuffs. Intense. Maelle didn't even know those were an option. The squeaky leg might be some influence on her next words, red ponytail swishing along with her as she nods towards the counter.]

Want me to ask? And if not, we can just mix it together ourselves. For science.

[hexcope]

It's personal for me. Snow, in itself, is... fine.

[Reluctantly admitted. He'll take her offer to pick up drinks, because the cold really does make his leg hurt more.]

I'll leave the mixology to the experts. If not, just a regular hot chocolate is fine. Thanks.

[maellum]

[Personal and complicated, no doubt. Maelle gets it, hopping up from her seat and heading to the counter to cheerfully converse with the companion bot there. She looks back to give Jayce a thumbs up, which could by for any number of things, but by the time both drinks are in her hands and she's returning, it's clear why.]

Your request was not a problem. I hope it's good because I got the same thing.

[Once seated, she lifts her mug.]

Cheers?

[hexcope]

Cheers.

[He takes his mug and clinks it to her own before taking a sip.]

So you want to be nosy, and I agreed as long as it was in person. Any burning questions you want to start with?

[maellum]

I guess... just... what happened?

[She just kind of motions to all of him with her drink. Very helpful.]

[hexcope]

So. You remember my hammer.

[Probably hard for her to not, considering he nearly killed her with it.]

It usually has magical anti-gravity runes at work in it, which makes it easier to pick up, swing, etcetra. It's still heavy, even with the magic, but it's not impossible for someone with enough strength to carry. What you saw was a depowered version- so it's just a pure heavy metals. I'm sure you can imagine what happens if someone is stupidly running with it over their shoulder, trips, and falls down a two-hundred-at-least ravine with it.

To make it clear: it landed on my leg.

[maellum]

[Oh, yeah. She remembers that hammer. To be fair, a lot of things have nearly crushed or killed her, so bygones are bygones. Everything was fine--but he's clearly been through it.

To put it lightly, by the end of his last sentence. Maelle's eyes are wide with concern, imagining how much worse it would be to catch that hammer with a limb rather than be taken out all at once.]

I probably wouldn't want to be near any sort of hammer ever again after that. So... then what? You found yourself here... again?

[hexcope]

After some time in the ravine. I tried to count the days. By my estimate, I'd been in there around two months, but there were days when I would just sleep to conserve energy... could have been longer.

[It was closer to four.]

One day, I'm back here again. I thought it was another hallucination brought on by food poisoning, and the fog sure didn't help.

[maellum]

Months?

[It sounds horrific. Maelle's read enough expeditioner journals and seen the aftermath of bad falls and crushed bodies. Jayce was very close to joining them, be it worlds apart.]

No kidding. You were a mess, but at least now it makes sense. [For the record--] You do seem a lot better, now. Yeah?

[hexcope]

I'm not carving math equations into the walls, so I'd say I'm doing better, yes.

[That was... an attempt at a joke. As soon as it leaves his mouth, he makes a face like he realizes it sounded worse than he intended, and takes a long sip of his drink.]

So. Your turn.

[maellum]

[The joke... doesn't quite land, but his expression makes her laugh. Maelle stifles it with a quick sip of her drink. Nothing about what he experienced was funny.]

My turn to be interrogated?