ataraxion | 001 ✖ video

[ When the video clicks on, the Network is greeted with the face of a man in his late twenties — five o'clock shadow, hair mussed in a way to look absolutely careless, a bemused smirk on his face. When he tilts his head and realizes the device is recording, that smirk spreads to a smile that shows teeth, charming and beatific. For a guy who's just been through the ringer of a nasty space-time anomaly, he seems fairly good shape. Or maybe he's just good at taking things in stride. (Or maybe he just likes pain.)

Whatever the case maybe, when he tilts his head he lifts a hand and waves. A lazy, unaffected wriggle of his fingers before he puffs up his cheeks and gives a kind of blow-hard sigh. ]

So. Anybody out there feel like helping a guy out and cluing me in as to who exactly is in charge here? [ A simple enough question, punctuated by the exaggerated lift of his eyebrows. He moves to switch of the device and then thinks better of it, leaning back again to add: ] And if you're gonna say Ward, I'll stop you right there, cause I've already done some of my homework. [ A beat, a tiny shrug. As if to say well, kinda. ] I'm not looking for the guy whose on the nameplate of the bridge. I'm looking for whoever's actually in charge.

Capiche?

[ ooc; Ladies and gents of the Tranquility, meet Vepar, one of the OCs for the demon plot! Unlike the possessed passengers, he was already well-settled into his host 'Evander' before coming on board. For more information on him, see his profile while he tries to get a lay of the land ~~and maybe stir up a little strife in the process~~. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Kirk thinks he is. It's pretty cute, really.

Speaking of cute, did your hair come like that or is it an after-market kind of deal?

[ Hello there, little lady. Unlike so many of the other demons that are floating around the Tranquility, Vepar is old — old old — but that still doesn't mean the guy can readily spot another one of his kind over the devices. For now, she's just another pretty face.

Friendly, though. Vepar can work with friendly. ] Au naturale, all the way. [ His smile is beatific, unrepentant. ]

Kirk. Part of the welcoming committee, right? [ Evander scratches the back of his head, like he's considering something. ] Pretty sure I heard his name floated a couple of times, but wasn't sure if he was just popular, or The Guy, you know?

[And what a smile it is. She's going to flash one right back, and if it's a little toothier, a little meaner than what everyone else here is used to seeing from Heather... well, it's been a rough few weeks.]

Oh, come on now. When are those two ever not exactly the same thing? I don't know what he's supposed to have done around here. It could well be just a case of folk tripping over their own asses to get to him because he's got a shiny smile and a good voice for radio, but let's be real - if everybody thinks you're the leader, you're the leader.

[ A little toothier, a little meaner. It's not enough to clue Vepar in to the bigger picture, but it does make her that much more viable. ]

And what about you— [ He asks in a way that's not loaded at all, that doesn't seem anything beyond a curious guy asking a friendly question. ] —what do you think he is?

Other than shiny, cute, and with a killer voice.

Me? Oh, I'm hardly qualified.

But if pressed [oh, press her, go on] I might say he's naïve. Seems pretty keen to put an awful lot of trust in people who've done the exact opposite of earning it.

[ Evander does his part in looking skeptical. It wouldn't do for him to simply accept what she has to say at face value, would it? Nope, better to see what else dirt there is to dig and while there are other people out there that can see it dug.

That's the way Vepar works — other people's shit aired by other people's talk, other people's bombs massacring other people's civilians. Potato, pot-ah-to. ] Now that sounds like gossip to me.

[well, he's in luck, because this is so her jam. Finding the shit and stirring it up, and she's lucky enough to have found herself meatsuit who has an opinion about everything and can't seem to be induced to shut up about them for love nor money.]

Gossip, yes. Idle gossip, no.

Here's the scoop, new kid: A while back one of the passengers went all nosferatu and started snacking on the others in a manner non-consensual. Kirk and his pointy-eared playmate know who, and have taken it upon themselves to decide that Mister Bitey needs name suppression, and to Hell with the rest of us.

To Hell with the rest of us? [ Evander intones, sounding wounded though his expression remains contrite at the jab. Warm, warmer— the phrasing's not lost on him. ] That's not very nice.

And— everybody was okay with that? I mean, if the guy's in charge, then the guy's in charge. He and his playmates — pointy-eared or not — can make those sort of calls if they've got the power to.

Go directly. Do not pass Go, do not collect Salvation.

[she smiles again, the tip of her tongue poking pinkly between her teeth, and winks.]

Well I'm pissed about it.

[reckless, maybe, the curious emphasis on I'm, but maybe she's just inflecting weirdly. Or maybe she's probing.]

Near as I can tell it's not so mich that he's in charge as he started telling people how it's gonna be and nobody thought to say boo. Kind of an election, I suppose, but is it fair if nobody knows they're voting? 'course, if it's up for grabs and somebody's got the sense to just take it, maybe they really are the best for for the job.

Leadership's funny like that, wouldn't you say?

[GOD HEATHER.]

[ Evander's expression changes. Just a moment, just a flicker — there and then gone again. You just said the magic words; welcome to the team. Behind the set of Evander's face, Vepar wonders how old the demon he's speaking to is and how long they've been on the ship. What advantage knowing them would afford him.

Questions, questions. ]

Foresight. Initiative. Moment of opportunity. These are the things a leader make, more often than not. If he's got the backing of the crew, or the majority of it, that's all a guy really needs. Some people are still toting Ward, though.

Kinda amazing, what a little word like 'captain' can do for a guy's credibility. Even when he's not around.

Yeah, well. Words are power, blah blah blah. Although it takes a special kind of special to back someone most of us have never seen, even if blind faith is so much easier than trying to think for yourself.

[She's young - too young to have much raw power, but on the flipside, eager to make a name for herself. To impress. And if this guy is what she thinks he is, she'd very much like to impress him.]

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