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[polyphobic]

What made you believe this? That we're where they said we are instead of it being a dream?

( Or worse, though Claire's ideas of worse would probably not match up to anyone else's. That said Claire can't say that she really took in too much of what was being said to her, so she does need the confirmation )

What did you do? Or want to do?

( Because she doesn't know, not yet. There was considering going out from the Dollhouse and trying to find something but to end up in another world entirely? She doesn't know where to begin )

Comments

[warandpeace]

I don't think it's hoping so much as getting by with what you know and what you have.

[And trying to know more. But that part he doesn't say out loud, because he's paranoid enough to fear monitoring and bringing more attention to himself.]

[polyphobic]

What if you don't have anything?

[warandpeace]

You have more than you would expect. This may no longer be a crew but many brought here against their will have developed a communal mindset. If you need aid, it won't be hard to find. Plus you have access to impressive technology [impressive to him, at least] and even accessible items with extraordinary abilities.

[Who knows, she might have those. He should probably ask.]

It's a decent base of resources.

[polyphobic]

So join the community. Work and live.
That's what this is now?

[warandpeace]

In the sense that a group of people that usually don't tend to hate each other can act as any sort of group striving towards a mutual goal, then yes.

[Usually. Some people hate each other a lot.]

[polyphobic]

It sounds like it wouldn't take much to break it.

[warandpeace]

That doesn't mean that people here would refuse to help if you asked for it.

To be honest, I've had better luck with found families and found communities than the "real" kind. None of them have been perfect, but the former has been considerably better. This one isn't the most firmly founded and now it's spread pretty thin now that we've changed locations, but so far it works.

[polyphobic]

How many times have you had to find something? A family.

[warandpeace]

I've done it enough.

[He doesn't give any specific answers to that question, just because he doesn't want to provide his parents as any sort of bad example. Not even because he's had difficulty holding onto people. It's long ago but he's still filial and they had their reasons for what they did.]

Are you worried about debt?

[polyphobic]

No.
I'm not worried. I just haven't been in this situation before.

( She has, sort of. Somewhere in her memories Claire's made a family before - friends, moving for studies and then her job. Part of her wants to say no, it wasn't real, but whether or not it was real she's never been in a situation quite like this one )

[warandpeace]

You might be starting from scratch but it's not that difficult to begin accumulating. At least 80% of the people brought here seem to be willing to render their services for free, or at least for very cheap or for trade.

[People keep dying on him. Or he keeps being screwed over. It's impressive that he keeps trying that much, though he is deeply bitter and paranoid over the possibility of losing what he does have.]

[polyphobic]

And what services are those?

Sorry for the HTML bork up there.

[warandpeace]

I've requested things to be made for me before. Help getting particular types of food or constructing a device or acquiring healing items. Any number of things.

it's cool!

[polyphobic]

That's more help than I would have expected, but I don't really know what I should expect.

[warandpeace]

There are plenty of resources, so that usually encourages people. If it were a shortage, there's a possibility they might have been less generous.

But you're also in a place where some people don't need to eat food or sleep or are bothered by usual human hang-ups, so you would still probably be able to find something.

[polyphobic]

Apparently I'll find more than I bargained for.

[warandpeace]

It sounds like you've already found more than you bargained for. What was going on in your world when you left?

There's a variety of places people come from so far.

[polyphobic]

Nothing unusual. People just lived -- there wasn't anything remarkable happening.

[warandpeace]

Is it a world with Japan or the United States?

[polyphobic]

Yes.
Is yours?

[warandpeace]

Yes.

I'm from 1984. I've met people from around twenty-five years in the future from my same world. You should probably be warned that can happen.

[polyphobic]

I think it's just happened, or at least I'm from your future. I'm from 2009.

[warandpeace]

They could also be people that know you personally. [That part is wildly disconcerting.]

I hope your 2009 went better than some I heard about.

[polyphobic]

( She kind of hopes that there's no one here that knows her )

What happened in the others?

[warandpeace]

nano-machine enhancements gone wrong
viral plagues
the undead
alien attacks

Those are some of the more extreme versions.