fifth molotov cocktail made ☾ ( video ) ☾ how am i gonna be an optimist about this?

[mathematically]

[ lydia is sitting on her bed fiddling with what looks like a leash that isn't attached to the dog it's normally attached to. it almost looks like she's not paying attention to the feed being on before she looks up and smiles a tight sort of smile. ]

Assuming that more than just one or two people made it back from that really ill-advised trip to the bridge, I don't feel bad asking you all this question instead of crying about people dying. [ the smile becomes a little tighter then, like she already had cried before the jump. after a shake of her head it's gone like it was never there in the first place. ] Say you have powers at home and on this ship and they were working perfectly fine when you were at home and when you found your way on this ship.

[ she pauses, like she has to figure out how to word the rest of what she's saying before she continues. ]

Has anyone had their powers go from working perfectly fine on this ship to not working perfectly fine? Maybe even working in ways that are not even remotely how they're supposed to work in the slightest. I mean, it's a little weird and I'm looking for some perspective. Or a base to compare something to. [ she hastily adds: ] I'm not asking because of me. Mine— I'm just not asking because of me.

Comments

video;

[redhotsummers]

Mine work unless there is a door that we need to open. Like when we were locked out of our damn rooms. Or the bridge doors.

It's like--this place fucks with me so that I can't help when it matters the most.

video;

[mathematically]

Of course because that would make it useful, and that would silly.

[ Also maybe defeat the purpose of the ship being horrible to them. ]

It makes you feel like you might as well not have them?

voice;

[agna]

If my "powers", as you call them, were working perfectly, I would be able to go back home instantly. Furthermore, I would be able to send everyone home without much effort.

voice;

[mathematically]

Then you technically aren't the person I was talking about. See, unless when you first got here they were working and now they suddenly aren't, you're part of the norm or t least I'm assuming that's the norm. I don't tend to ask people about this. They just end up whining about them.

[ or asking everyone about them, same difference. a pause, because is she talking about teleportation or something else. ]

What even can you do?

video;

[deagle]

[ chris doesn't have powers and, all things considered, doesn't feel like he has room to comment on it. so he decides to check in on her instead. ]

Everything alright, Lydia?

[ it's legitimate concern. he switches the security on the conversation to private for this next bit however. ]

Can I ask you something?

video; private

[mathematically]

[ rather than try and maintain two separate conversations, one public, and the other private, she opts to just answer under his private filter. ]

Of course, Mr. Argent, why wouldn't it be? [ that's possibly a rhetorical question. ] Is this something I'm not allowed to talk to Allison about later?

[ that's still a yes though. ]

video;

[tumbleweeds]

Yes. I can't turn into anything too large, or anything... not normal. And the nanites always show up.

[ which is REALLY INCONVENIENT for a shapeshifter let her tell you ]

video;

[mathematically]

[ pause and a little eye narrowing. ]

Not normal I can guess but what even is the defined cut off point for too large? Because I know what you turn into sometimes. [ another pause. ] Are they in the same place?

( voice. )

[overthought]

Considering what the ship is capable of, I would not think it would be too much to consider that these changes are not strange, necessary.

[she's totally fine not talking about the bridge.]

( voice. )

[mathematically]

What I'm asking about isn't what I think is the norm. Most people have their— [what in the hell is she supposed to call it.] Most of the time when people have something going wrong with them, it happens right when they get here.

It being delayed and suddenly jumps after your first one it sort of comes out of nowhere? That's a little weird. Even if the ship makes things have a really skewed sort of thing when it comes to that.

video; auggielocked; all the threads.

[ex_question191]

Is this about Banshee stuff?

[ even though she said she wasn't asking because of her. he just. doesn't believe her. ]

video; auggielocked; every last one tbh.

[mathematically]

No.

[ the way she says it betrays how she's not entirely sure about that, but it's not quite enough to turn it into a no with a question mark. ]

To be honest, beyond screaming, I'm not entirely sure of the precise details of my Banshee powers. Unless I'm going by myth and— I'm not a hag, so that's out. [ a pause. ] I was asking more for Scott.

video;

[moonstruck]

[Yuri's a new face on here, as he's a new arrival, but learning how to properly use his communicator wasn't a difficult task. And after taking a short time to settle, the first thing he did was to browse the network for clues or answers as to just what on earth was actually happening around him.

The mentions of people dying are of concern, of course, but a little digging brings him to something concerning people stuck on the bridge of the ship. He can look into that further later. It would make more sense to respond to the question she was asking.

Of course there is the difficulty of him asking without revealing terribly much about himself. He'll have to work around that one.]

May I ask if this has happened to someone you know?

video;

[mathematically]

[ Lydia takes a moment to look at the number that's showing up on the communicator, just to make sure this isn't someone old who she hasn't met yet. When she sees that the numbers point to a new person, she relaxes just a little.

Of course, when she answers, it's maybe not in the nicest tone, though she does try and tamper it a little. It'd be bad to scare off the new people. ]

I did say I wasn't asking because of me, didn't I? [ That's not a direct answer, and she knows it, but she doesn't want to come right out and tell people she doesn't know that she's asking this for a friend. ]

video » locked

[arrowheads]

Are you asking because of Scott?

[ cutting right to the chase with that one. ]

video » locked

[mathematically]

[ gdi allison. ]

Is it that obvious?

[ so yeah, she is. though maybe half for herself too. you never know. ]

video.

[oikodomae]

You want to elaborate?

video.

[mathematically]

On this whole thing?

[ being difficult with annabeth, oops. ]

video;

[a1]

[ teresa isn't going to pretend she knows exactly what lydia is talking about, but she can at least sympathize. her own telepathy has been ... tricky to figure out here. ]

Consistency is something this ship is lacking lately, so I'm not surprised. Things aren't exactly functioning properly. Maybe it's messing with some of us, too.

video;

[mathematically]

[ sympathy is close enough. truth be told, lydia's almost thankful she doesn't know exactly what's going on with the banshee powers of hers because if they don't work, it doesn't hurt too much. ]

That's what bothers me about it. Even if like the ship goes insane, that was supposed to be the one constant. You have powers, they're liable to be messed up from the get go. Not as an afterthought. [ she pauses. ] That might make sense, though. Ship goes from it's natural order to just messing with people randomly.

video;

[cogere]

[ elijah appears thoughtful, expression pensive, if largely neutral. he's not a helper, generally speaking, but he can spare a few words for a potentially useful (and likely innocent) young lady with supernatural abilities (or so he assumes). ]

Perhaps those experiencing trouble here are losing touch with their source of power. Folklore, mythology, superstition, the like — many mention beings whose abilities are intrinsically linked with locations, celestial bodies, rituals, even spirits.

[ offhandedly, almost as an afterthought. ] I would assume one's mental state is also a significant factor. The deterioration or evolution of the mind greatly affects the ability to perform simple functions, let alone control "powers."

video;

[mathematically]

[ hello new guy. lydia listens with a surprising amount of focus at what elijah's saying because it's interesting, but perhaps more accurately it's also potentially really useful to her in particular. ]

What if a version of the source of their power is here? Maybe it's not identical to what they have at home but it's not extremely different?

[ because the moon is still technically here and— well she can't speak for herself beyond knowing she's here and she's the only source she knows. when he mentions mental states though, her grip on the leash tightens for just a moment before relaxing. ]

If you're stressed or say— losing your mind I guess, it would have an effect just as much as being away from the source of powers would be. [ it sounds like she's asking for clarification, but that's not entirely accurate. ]

You know a lot about this sort of thing.

visual » locked

[unparental]

...so, do I need to even ask or can I just make that one face?

[ you know the face lydia it's a mom face she does it a lot ]

visual » locked

[mathematically]

You mean the face where I'm supposed to be a mind reader and see what it means?

[ she doesn't like that face go away with that face jenna. ]

Both is also an option and one you're missing.

video;

[lockwood]

I haven't heard of anything like that but I also wouldn't be surprised to hear it happening. The ship is an asshole.

video;

[mathematically]

[ Oh hey, Tyler, one of the very few people who might actually have some insight into this. Just who she wanted to see. ]

I hadn't noticed. [ Sarcasm thy name is Lydia Martin. ] But you haven't heard of it happening. So if it is happening, it's just the lone person having that problem.