video;

[sketchycharacter]

[Nate's face looks unusually serious when it appears via TAB today. Not sad or upset or grim, just like he's feeling unusually contemplative. Shut up, he's allowed to have a moment once in a while.]

You know, when I first came through the Ingress, I actually thought I was dead? I'd been flying in my best friend's plane and suddenly I was in bizarro land, so I figured we went down and I'd just blocked out the fiery death. And then they gave me a job and I knew I was in Hell.

[He's mostly kidding, but only because the teaching gig had turned out to be surprisingly fun.]

Space isn't the worst place I've had a rude awakening in, and I figured okay, we're on a ship, we're going somewhere with a way to get home, it's just a matter of time. And then the ship crashed but we found that place anyway but actually getting home depends on a bunch of science bullshit I don't understand.

And then I took a closer look at the local calendar and, near as I can figure out, it's been almost a year. [He holds up a hand.] Yes, okay, we also spent a year back on party planet, but I try not to think about that so it doesn't count. Makes me wonder how long it'll be—how much time will people spend passing time before deciding to actually live their lives?

Honestly...I'm not sure it makes a big difference with me. There's stuff I want to get back to, sure, but passing the time with some of you guys hasn't been too awful. [He grins.] Hey, to mark the anniversary, I'll do free sketch portraits for anyone who comes by to find me on the front steps of the big museum in Region 1.

[action option: he's a dude sketching in a journal on the front steps of the museum. Whoa, didn't see that coming.]

Comments

[tearsinajar]

You don't recognize the hustle and bustle?

[ Her TAB pans around to show the stalls, the vendors. ]

[sketchycharacter]

Yeah, because there's one place to go shopping.

[tearsinajar]

If you want food in the cupboards, this is the place to be. And what a lonely place it is— I can't hold and swing hands with the thin air.

[ Her TAB passes over a vendor that should be familiar and contains brightly colored orange-like fruit. ]

[sketchycharacter]

[Ah, the usual place. Good thing he was actually headed in that general direction anyway, despite his words.]

That's more like it. Getting anything good for dinner tonight?

[tearsinajar]

Maybe. Maybe you'll have to wait and see.

[sketchycharacter]

Ooh, a surprise. I like the sound of that.

[The background shows he's on the move. And probably bumping into a few people, since he's paying more attention to the TAB.]

[tearsinajar]

Surprises are nice.

[ Don't mind her here, looking amused. ]

You should pay better attention to where you're going

[sketchycharacter]

[She's cute when she's amused. And every other time.]

I pay attention to the important things. A pretty lady giving me phone time is always one of those.

[tearsinajar]

[ Cavity alert. ]

You can't use that line on me when I know you've used it before on others.

[sketchycharacter]

[Brush nightly.]

Oh please, you don't know anything like that.

[tearsinajar]

You're a charmer. You totally have. Besides - I know you.

[sketchycharacter]

Aww, you think I'm charming.

[tearsinajar]

Doesn't erase the fact that you started out as a fraud.

[sketchycharacter]

A handsome fraud.

[tearsinajar]

I didn't know that. You could've been two hundred pounds over with a sweating problem and sausage fingers.

[ Did he catch the shudder? SHUDDERS. ]

[sketchycharacter]

That's what the meeting before the trip was for, right?

[tearsinajar]

It was more to see if you were legit. Mostly because my parents had warned me about boys like you.

[ She's pausing to add some fruit to her bag, paying the vendor and thanking them before casually moving on. ]

[sketchycharacter]

[Once she moves away from the vendor, he rolls up beside her and slings his arm around her shoulders.]

And what did your parents tell you about boys like me?

[tearsinajar]

[ Elena jumps, almost losing her hold on her one bag of goods before holding it to her chest with both arms.

Huffing out, just a teeny cross that he'd scared her, she elbows him. ]

That they're creeps who like to sneak around and should never be trusted.

[sketchycharacter]

[Because he's a good husband, he doesn't smirk about surprising her and lets out a little 'oof' at the elbowing to give her ego a boost.]

They're right about the second part. I knew they were smart people.

[tearsinajar]

[ The TAB gets pocketed. No point having it out when he's now here. She tips her head back against his arm and purses her lips for a smooch. ]

You're a sneak and should never be trusted? Yes, I'm well aware.

[sketchycharacter]

[Smooch is happily deposited.]

That's right. I have other qualities that make up for it.

[tearsinajar]

[ She begins to lead them about the semi-busy marketplace. ]

I'm listening.

[sketchycharacter]

[He keeps his arm firmly around her shoulders as they go.]

I'm handsome, I'm a good artist and I leave little drawings around for you to find, I go down easily...

[tearsinajar]

You're all right. And that you do, all it takes is a poke and down you go. Sometimes you even whine.