making your insomnia everyone else's problem [video]

[tr1xx]

[ It's late, like, super late. Like 'if any of us had a clock to go off it'd probably read 3am' kind of late. The stars are shining clear in the sky and the only light on the feed is from the Heartstone, not even a fire. Wherever Cammie's settled, she's not right next to anyone else in the group for some reason or another.

Cammie is also, notably, not on any watch rotation. Also also, she's totally human, aka: neither nocturnal, nor able to get by without sleeping at all. She's fastening her ears back around her ponytail, as the live feed starts, which means she probably at least gave sleeping a go—there's even some makeshift blankets wrapped around her shoulders—but she's awake now, looking tired as anything but perky, too. Only the particular observant may note the slightly haunted look beneath the teenage bravado and energetic way she speaks. ]

Christ, I'm bored. What's a girl s'posed to do around here when it's too dark an' cold out to go on a walk or somethin', eh? Call me addicted to technology all ye like, but the Ether's a blessin' when—

[ She coughs, does not finish that sentence. She admits she's up because of nightmares and precedent from home tells her someone will stage an intervention. ]

Anyway. Some of youse must still be up, aye? Anyone wanna play like— what did people play before the Ether... —2 truths 1 lie? Truth or dare? Hell, I'd say 20 questions but I think the multiverse makes that kinda complicated. Imagine someone picks somethin' only found in their universe. Practically amounts to cheatin' and ye might not even know ye doin' it.

...but, seriously, I'm goin' out of my mind doin' nothin' right now, surely I cannae be the only one?

[ There's a nonzero chance this broadcast wakes up people who weren't, actually, already awake at 3am, but Cammie's decided that's worth the risk right now. Sorry everyone. ]

Comments

[remaininghalf]

[Mio is awake as well, and she is kind of thankful for it despite the boredom. She has been developing an aversion to sleep lately. That's sleep curses for you. Not that she is going to talk about it, saying it would mean that everyone knows what she's done.]

I'm awake. I'd say let's go for a walk, but it might be dangerous, so...

[She thinks about the suggested games. Both involve truth, and inevitably she gets horrified at the idea of possible horrible scenarios. Of course, she believes Cammie is courteous enough not to ask uncomfortable questions.]

Let's...Chat, I guess?

[tr1xx]

Aye, I'd be up an' walking about if it weren't so damned dark outside. That's what I used to do back on the rig if I ran outta other stuff, just kinda... wandered the halls.

[ Which didn't exactly do anything to make her feel more at ease and get back to sleep, considering the rig wasn't the most welcoming place, but it was still better than lying there or risking waking Jaime up once he moved in. ]

Shame, really. The woods are a lot nicer than the rig ever was. Dinnae remember the last time I saw so many trees, or wild animals, or... well, anythin' like this.

[ Her world may be kind of in the middle of a climate disaster. ]

[remaininghalf]

Really? Are you a city person or is your world completely different?

[tr1xx]

Bit of a city girl, that an' military bases aren't the most luscious of place, but home's also just kinda... well. Uh.

Things are kinda bad, environment wise? Like. Really bad. We still got trees and shite, don't get me wrong, but...

[remaininghalf]

Ah. So global warming didn't get solved, huh? I've always thought they would solve it in the future, like, year 2000? 2000 sounds good.

[tr1xx]

[ Why does she keep ending up breaking bad history news to people... help... ]

2072, where I come from. Only got worse, 'least in my world. Cannae speak for anywhere else. Not long before I got dragged to the rig I was helpin' rescue people from one of the worst hurricanes on record.

[remaininghalf]

That's messed up! I hope those people are being taken care of while you're away.

[tr1xx]

We got folks out of that mess at least, we don't usually get sent out for that kinda rescue duty but turns out it's pretty handy to be 30-40ft tall and made of metal when it comes to saving people from flood waters.

So— rest of my team'll be handlin' things alright, I think. Won't be missin' much by not havin' me around to help, really.

[ She really, really hopes things don't keep moving back home when they're gone but she wants to be prepared for if they do. ]

[remaininghalf]

One pair of helping hands can really make the difference, sometimes.

[She wonders if she was too harsh. It's not Cammie's fault she got sucked in another dimension, and she doesn't want it to sound like she is blaming her.]

Which is why it's good that whatever mission we were recruited for apparently requires a large group. Unless it's a very weird mass sacrifice, of course.

[tr1xx]

If the hands know what they're doin', aye.

[ She may have some slight complexes about not being good enough for her team. ]

But, aye, lot better to have more people. Only got the five of us back home for a save the world slog, havin' a lot more than that should make it easier. Cover more gaps.

Dinnae think they'd go through all this effort kidnappin' folks if it weren't harder than throwin' us directly to the wolves as a sacrifice, either. So, there's that.

[remaininghalf]

I wouldn't bet on it. Rituals can be...Complex.

[She won't elaborate any further. But oh, she would know about rituals and sacrifice.]

[tr1xx]

[ Squint. ]

I wouldn't know, don't come from a place with ritual stuff. Except in games. No magic-y or supernatural stuff at all.

[remaininghalf]

Well, I wouldn't know personally either. It's just that my uncle works with an antropologist and according to him there used to be some very weird stuff.

[She gets overly defensive, as if she hasn't said publicly that she performs exorcism on ghosts with her camera.]

[tr1xx]

[ Cammie absolutely remembers seeing that talk on the mirrors and is squinting at you, Mio. ]

Riiight. Ye still less degrees of separation from the supernatural than me, if any of that's real, though.

[remaininghalf]

[Mio squints right back.]

What do you mean by that?

[tr1xx]

I mean, if rituals and shit actually do anythin' where you're from, whether ye have first hand experience or not, ye still way closer to the real deal of that than I've ever been before hoppin' universes, ye know?

[remaininghalf]

Well, I have met some ghosts that were fixated on rituals, that's for sure. I suppose that counts...Indirectly.

[Yes...Indirectly. It's not like she murdered her twin sister to appease the Gods.]

[tr1xx]

See, we don't even have ghosts. Unless ye count uh. Well, one of my friends is kind of a digital ghost, but— not an actual one. So, yeah, you're way closer to that kinda shite than I've ever been.

[remaininghalf]

Digital ghost? How does that work?

[Yes, let's change the subject, please.]

[tr1xx]

[ Luckily for Mio, Cammie's easy to distract, but she's going to remember this, Mio. ]

It's... complicated. The Holons, the robots we use to fight? We upload our brains into 'em, like, digitally. An' if you stay uploaded too long, ye brain changes too much and ye can't... go back? Into your body?

Chase stayed uploaded too long, now he's... just code. Can't go back to his fleshy brain.

[remaininghalf]

[Ah! It worked. Nice save.]

So what does your body do while you are operating the robots with your brain?

[tr1xx]

Kinda just lie there in a pod? It's kinda like our bodies go into a temporary coma, I guess. Still breathin' an' everythin', just... our brain's gone walkabouts elsewhere.

[ It means their bodies are kind of vulnerable whilst they're uploaded, but they're usually not close enough to the fight for it to matter. ]

[remaininghalf]

So it's like a dream state--

[Great, she triggered herself with her own statement.]

HUH. Interesting.

[tr1xx]

[ Well that sounds like it has some sort of specific meaning to Mio but Cammie files that away instead of commenting on it directly. ]

It's really cool, honestly. Doc Weller was a real genius, comin' up with how it all works.

[remaininghalf]

Yeah, it sounds very complicated. Maybe it was necessary.

[Unlike, say, coming up with the Camera Obscura. Fucking Dr. Aso bringing mayhem everywhere with his damn inventions. Makabe would not agree, then again, he wanted to take a picture of Hell, so that's on him.]