voyagers | [ota] i am a super srs rper

It... is. I've had drinks before, but I've... never gotten drunk before.

[john never let himself before. there was too much responsibility. and the responsibility is still there, but... he just got kicked out and was lost, and he ended up there. it's something he is really starting to regret. he grew up around it even before ultra after all. there were times he hated alcohol. he blinks after a moment, looking over at her at the question

and then shaking his head.] No. Not in... awhile.

[he can't remember the last time. it was kind of a really busy day, and whenever that happens, it's hard to remember to do much else. by the time the business stopped, he... well. things went to hell even worse than before, and he... had no more home and nowhere to go] ...why? Are you gonna cook something?

I think it would be best for everyone if I didn't.

[ a wry smile touches her lips as she looks back at him while simultaneously closing the fridge. taking a few steps over to him, she sets the cool, bottled water in front of him before she motions back to the kitchens. ]

The food replenishes by itself. Some of it you have to cook, but some of it's just ... already made. Like it's waiting for you.

[ sometimes, it even seems to be sentient if you have a certain craving and that craving appears. no one ever said this ship wasn't ridiculous. ]

...that bad of a cook?

[john smirks a bit when he sees that wry smile on her face, and he leans against the counter. he picks up the bottle of water gratefully, glancing to look sideways at her.]

Kind of creepy. Are we sure there's no one in charge of this ship?

[because he can see how a telepath could easily figure that stuff out, what someone was craving, and there are people with all kinds of powers here, maybe several working together-- his brain is not in a good place to try to create theories about this ship since it's still... swimming in alcohol

so he just takes a long drink fro the bottle of water.]

Let's just say it's a work-in-progress.

[ by which she means, yes. elena is not going to be winning culinary awards any time soon. she can fend for herself if it comes to easy things, or some old family recipes of hers, but gordon ramsay would have some choice words for her if he ever tried any of her (burnt) dishes out. ]

As far as we know. At least, not that we've seen. I've looked, but ...

[ elena sighs as she retrieves a water bottle for herself, as well. ] Most of the questions I've tried to answer only lead to more questions.

...that bad.

[john fills in with a tiny smile even in his drunken state as he takes a long drink from the water in his glass. he leans against the counter as he looks at her.]

But if they are powerful enough to steer a ship in the middle of nowhere and pull people into it from all kinds of different worlds?

They're going to be more than powerful enough to not be found too. [which is scary in and of itself. what's the point of this place? what does it or them get out of their being here?]

[ elena will not dignify that with an answer, john!!! ]

Probably, but there's strength in numbers. [ which is what she said to cora. ] There has to be something, and sooner or later, we're going to find it. [ at least, elena plans to. if she's going to make sure that damon never gets sent back to the world he came from, then she needs to get her hands metaphorically dirty.

so, y'know. she's getting her hands dirty. if there's something to be found on this ship, rest assured elena will find it. ]

[which is enough of an answer all on its own ;)!!!!!!]

That is inspiring and everything, but it is also a little vague. I also get the impression that when you say we, you mean I and you have this tone in your voice like you're determined and have some kind of plan. [john takes a long drink from the glass in front of him. and well, he is really good at reading people even when he is not trying to pick up any thoughts from them.

also, no, elena, don't do the thing! damon already decided he will do the thing so neither you and stefan will do the thing!!!!]

[ shhhhhh. ]

I don't ... have a plan, exactly, but I am determined to figure things out. It's important. [ beyond the damon factor, they have to know what they're up against. there's no way of knowing where they're heading, or if it really leads anywhere. there's no way of knowing where that red door could lead them at any moment's notice.

shut up, damon. you don't tell stefan or elena what to do, that includes the thing!!! ]

[uh huh. ;)]

Exactly? It is important to figure things out, but if there's strength in numbers, wouldn't it be better to come up with a plan all together? Whoever is here? [john takes a long drink from the bottle in front of him, and then he slides a hand over his face.

no, but he can do the thing before either of them can do the thing!!!!!!!!! then see what happens :|a.]

[ ugh, john. stop making so much sense. ]

There's ... someone here who would try to stop me if they knew it's what I planned on doing. [ so she's just been trying to figure things out on her own. of course, whenever she gets close to coming up with something, she gets sent back to wherever she is and everything gets muddled again.

she's not sure that's a coincidence. AND GET OUT OF THIS TAG, DAMON. ]

Edited 2014-08-04 05:28 (UTC)

[no, john will not. there is a reason he is a leader of a small group of people (okay, a reason he was a leader-- ukw details).]

...why do they want to stop you? Also, it wouldn't be what you planned on doing. It would be a group effort. You said yourself we're stronger in numbers. [even drunk he can figure this out, okay? then the microwave dings, and oh there's a warm sandwich in there... with chips. way to be creepy, ship. john's just gonna stare at the microwave like he isn't sure if he wants to eat it. but at the same time, he really does.

U DONT GET TO TELL HIM WHAT TO DO EITHER, ELENA.]

[ ...okay, fine, he's kind of got her there. ]

Because they're a little over protective. [ and that's honestly putting it mildly. ] It's not that I want to go doing it all on my own, I'd just rather not have anyone stop me. [ since there's no telling what could happen if they go poking around, and she's aware of that, it just wouldn't ... stop her when the stakes are that high.

elena opens the microwave and surely enough! there's his favorite type of sandwich with chips right there. elena slides it in front of him. whether he eats it or not is his choice. ]

And they stop you by... overpowering you? [because he's gotta kind of side eye that into next damn year.] So we all do it together, and I don't let anyone stop you. How's that? [john understands the necessity of needing to choose, needing to have choices. he has been manipulated and used for most of his life. almost all of his life.

it's not quite the same thing, but he knows that if he'd-- if he hadn't been made into what he'd been made into, he never would have killed--

he never would have signed up all to make jedikiah proud. john glances down at the sandwich with the chips, and he reaches out to pick it up. it smells really good, and he honestly can't remember the last time that he ate.]

No, it's not - it's not like that.

[ elena shakes her head, even if sometimes it is like that, but the last thing she wants is someone else boarding on the damon hate train. mostly because whenever that happens, there's always the threat of him being actually thrown overboard, and no one knows what happens if you are. in fact, elena would rather damon never met any of the people she is befriending - at least not until some progress has been made where they are concerned.

these are still rocky waters.

elena hesitates, watching him as he eats, noting he probably hasn't in a while, so it's good that he is. ] What exactly would we be doing? [ she is all for suggestions here. ]

Whatever it is like, no one's going to stop you.

[john makes that promise, and luckily for damon, he swore to himself he would never kill again so he wouldn't throw him overboard. he might suspend him in the air for a little while but he'd let him down again. and unless you're jedikiah, it is pretty hard to push his buttons to that point. he has been trained on how to not react, how to set up those walls so he could be the best agent that he could be. doesn't mean things don't get in, people don't get in somehow even so. doesn't mean he doesn't somehow manage this warmth, because he does.

it just means that he has been taught opening up means... pain. flinching means showing a vulnerability, and he doesn't do that.

john takes another bite from the plate before he chews, swallows, looks across the table at her again. he shakes his head.] Starts with a journal entry to... everyone. Find out who else wants to get to the bottom of things, figure out what skills they have, how best they can be used. There have to be a few locked doors around here.

[and john can teleport.]

[ remind elena to add to her to-do list:

never introduce john and damon. they can be kept separately and on their respective corners of the ship. though it's reassuring to know he would never kill anyone on the ship, even if he had good reasons to. and well, damon is good at pushing buttons if he's in the mood to lash out and self-destruct. still, elena doesn't think damon's a terrible person.

just someone that often makes really, really terrible decisions. ]

That's a good idea, actually. I've hesitated making a journal entry, because I'm not sure if it works like how I'm used to, and it potentially means anyone could see that entry, including whoever's watching. [ if they're watching, and it would give them an opportunity to foil their plans. ] But we can test that out with each other at some point.

[ preferably when they're both a bit more sober. :') ]

[this obviously means that they will meet one day soon. :')

granted, john swore this to himself back when he was much younger, and he broke that promise not once but twice in the last few weeks (has it really only been weeks since his whole world exploded, and he stopped being able to hold on to anything? he knew it was coming, but--

but part of him had almost hoped).]

Well, it's smart to be hesitant about it, but if they can apparently read our minds to know what we need when we need it, I don't know that there's any amount of keeping that information from them. I know how to block people out of your mind, but... it seems like they're this other level of powerful. [and john doesn't know if stopping them from seeing is even possible. it doesn't mean he won't try, doesn't mean he doesn't have his walls up inside like always.] That'd be a good idea. Testing it out. ...how are you used to those journals? Were they at the place you're from?

[ well. ... yes.

elena is nodding along to everything he is saying - they will have to be careful and this does seem like a whole other level of powerful - and she only stops once he asks how she's used to the journals. she opens her mouth, and promptly closes it. it's always been difficult to explain. or maybe not difficult, but complicated. ]

Sort of? [ she wrinkles her nose a little. ] There's where I'm from originally and where I ended up three years ago. It was a place that had this ... supernatural magic network? Which sounds crazy, I know, but ... everyone that ended up there got a journal, too. You could lock it to specific people, and lock it away from dangerous ones.

[ it could be incredibly useful, and as far as she knew, it was pretty much unhackable. ]

[john looks up at her with confusion when she does try to explain it all, and he shakes his head after a second.]

...you're from two different places? [he slides a hand over the back of his neck as he takes a bite out of that chip. he knows they're referring to actual worlds here, and he doesn't even know how that happens or that that was a possibility beyond this temporary ship that only seems to keep them for a little while at a time

(for now at least which is why it's important to figure things out).]

How does that happen? [there's curiosity and also some concern there in his expression.

wow, john, being concerned about a stranger? WHO DOES THAT. SO SURPRISING. ahem.]

[ ...this is probably not the best conversation to have with someone that's still sort of drunk, oops.

(and wow, john. WHO DOES THAT INDEED.) ]

It's ... sort of a similar situation to the one with the red door? One moment you're where you've always been, and the next you're somewhere else altogether. [ that seems like a nice way to start things. ] Except it didn't take me to a boat, it took me to an alternate Chicago, and instead of a red door, they called it a rift.

These cracks in the universe we fell through.

[ it says something about her life that she can say all of that with a completely straight face now. ]

[it is okay. john is starting to get a bit more sober at the moment as he slowly makes his way through this delicious sandwich.

(wow he has NO IDEA certainly nothing that he would know about........)]

They're cracks in the universe, and if they're not a door, it means-- [he stops, because he knows what it means. john can put it together even before she's said it. the thing about doors is the doors can be open again eventually even if they have no control over the when. it means there is an entrance and an exit.

cracks imply falling through again without a choice, but you can't just open up another crack and fall back, hope you land in the same spot.

his voice is quiet.]

There wasn't a way to get back one you were there.

[ there's a small pause, followed by the slow shaking of her head. ]

They called it a one-way ticket to Chicago. [ as opposed to a round trip. elena hasn't seen home-home in years. she doesn't know that it would feel like home if she were ever to go back. she feels so displaced from mystic falls and who she used to be, the girl that was meant to die in the bridge. that life feels like a museum to her, something that exists in another place and time. ] There was more than one rift. A lot of them, actually. Too many of them.

[ the last part is said quietly. she's never really talked about it, beyond caroline. and even then, elena glossed over how brutal those last two weeks really were, and how much she still clings to a world that's gone now.

maybe she always will. it's what she does, and it's so stupid. to cling to what's gone. ]

[john lets out a slow breath at what she says, and he shakes his head half in an inability to understand what that must be like. as much as his world has its troubles, he can't imagine being torn from it so suddenly with no way back to it (oh, john). the structures, the rules, the danger is almost a comfort to him because he knows where he belongs in those things

and to have to relearn how the world works--

his expression is grim before he lifts his head again to look back up at her, meet her gaze.] Too many. The world wouldn't be able to... handle that.

[he notes the quiet way that she says it. his sandwich is almost finished, and john pauses for a brief moment before his hand rests against her arm.

john looks at her face with that concern intensely in his expression.]

...what happened?

[ (oh, john. give it this month...)

elena only looks up once she feels the weight of his hand against her arm. it seems like he pieced it all together, but she can also tell he doesn't want to assume. for someone that was so confused about elena's own concern about a near-stranger, she almost has to smile at the fact he's doing the exact same thing. or she would, if the conversation hadn't taken such a grave turn. ]

The rifts started to collapse in on themselves. There was a lot of scientific jargon, most of which I didn't understand, but all it meant was the world would start eating itself from the inside out. When the time came, you either found a rift to step through, or ...

[ well.

you'd get swallowed whole by the blackness, too. ]

[(

)

john's hand remains against her arm as he looks at her face. he can't imagine the things that she is describing or how difficult they must have been to see, to live through, to get to the other side of that. he shakes his head after a moment, much, much more sober than he had been before for multiple reasons now.]

That... sounds terrible. I wouldn't even be able to imagine watching the world eat itself from the inside out like that. [how horrifying that must have been to see it be ripped apart, swallowed whole. people must have been screaming, buildings taking in chunks. he tries to imagine what he would do in that situation, and he doesn't... know.] I'm... sorry.

[it sounds like another home lost.]

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