mingle log | the quad and elsewhere | we were young and drinking (coffee) in the park

[lamiaceae]

Characters: Gansey and whoever shows up
What: Interpersonal interaction! Meet each other face-to-face while nothing is on fire
Where: the quad, unless elsewhere seems cool to you
When: loop 1, day 10 (6/10 irl)
Content Warnings: nothing yet. please use and check thread subjects

It's a pleasant day outside. There's a nice breeze and the sun is doing its best. At very least, it's not raining and warmer than it was yesterday. This is, statistically, likely to bring college denizens out of their dorms and offices since rain seems to often be on Newcomb's horizon. Fall in not-at-all-New England is lovely that way.

Gansey, for his part, can be found throughout the day in several places! He likes hanging out near the clocktower to study, since he's found time works best there (at least for him). It's nice to have a watch that's doing something vaguely akin to timekeeping for once.

But he's an explorer at heart, so he can probably also be found in the library, the computer lab, and wandering the grounds. Gansey isn't sure he's interacted with anyone outside a classroom or on Fermii since the train crash, so he's more likely than usual to strike up conversation instead of waiting for it to come to him.

The real question is this: where's everyone else hanging out today?

[ i'll be throwing gansey at anyone who doesn't note that their tag is closed. please mingle! ]

Comments

cw: momentary hallucinatory flashback

[lamiaceae]

"I think we're getting to the edges of 'what I would expect' at this point. But it's just guessing instead of investigating, which will have to change if we want to understand. I don't personally know much about raw data collection; my interests were mostly in the realm of 'ancient'." Not that he's entirely convinced that Newcomb isn't some very weird sort of ancient. 'Modern technology' is far from universal, and there's nothing to say that they're not in the equivalent of a millennia forward from what Gansey considers 'now'. These are the kind of thoughts that keep company with his insomnia. "Have you met the AI?"

"Yes, you were probably very lucky." The concept brings a vivid memory to the forefront, and for a moment Gansey's perception of reality is subsumed by the utter darkness of underground, the burn of a rope between clenched hands and the ominous sound of insectoid buzzing. He blinks rapidly until he's back in the quad, rubbing one of his ears against his shoulder like a nervous tic.

Well. That isn't promising at all.

Re: cw: momentary hallucinatory flashback

[beingawesome]

"See, that's where you're in luck. I've done more than my share of database creation and management. Sometimes it's not so much knowing what's out there to find as being able to put your hands on where people have already done the work," Claudia said, grinning. "Cassandra might be useful for that. If you trust AI. Some aren't quite what they seem."

But she agrees with luck, but can't help noticing that he goes off somewhere, so she snaps her fingers in front of his face to catch his attention. "Hey, you back with me?"

[lamiaceae]

"I like you more and more." Gansey grins; accidentally finding someone who has the skills he doesn't is its own kind of magical thing. "Well, we can access the archives, it's just that there's nothing there. I haven't encountered an AI before, just a lot of human librarians and administrators. She acts like a person, so that's how she gets treated." People are fallible and have their own agendas, he means.

He startles when she snaps, his eyes fixing on her fingers. A few more blinks and he's definitely back, looking sheepish and running a hand through his hair in the wake of rubbing each of his ears against their respective shoulders. "Sorry about that. It hasn't happened here before."

[beingawesome]

"Timestamps must be a total bitch to keep track of," Claudia mutters.

"It's okay, I've been there. Well, had my own experiences that involve not quite being settled in the here-and-now."

[lamiaceae]

"Oh, I didn't even think of that. Damn." How have all the computers not exploded? "I wonder if the network has the proper date recorded anywhere we could access. My phone just says it's October 10th, no year." Or day of the week, he realizes, which could be used to at least get a ballpark on potential years. The whole headache of a time loop reverting things every thirty-one days probably doesn't do anything good to computer systems.

"It didn't feel like a new experience, so hopefully I'll remember my coping mechanisms before I walk into something that triggers it worse." Then his expression brightens and he pulls something out of his pocket. "At least now I remember what this is for." It's an epipen, the label slightly scraped from being carried in a pocket. "Severe allergy to hornets. I've always got one on me." He's not sure why he's telling Claudia this other than that it's important for somebody to be aware, since he's unlikely to be able to use it on himself. This is Important, but he pushes the rising memories down. One flashback in a conversation is enough.

[beingawesome]

"I expect they were able to brute-force some basic stuff like how to keep continuity. Time and space reset, but some things have to continue or what's the point of this? Groundhog Day only works if you can make changes to try to affect the loop," she says, her brow wrinkling a little as she tries to consider just how messed up it could get.

"I wonder if that's part of why we're all having memory trouble. Part of having to adapt to a place where things are so messed up. It's not gone, just disrupted in some fashion that we're getting back in bits.

"And it's a good thing you remembered before you needed it. Although I hope it's a little too cold for them with it being October and all." So strange to know it will always be October for the foreseeable future. A thought occurs to her, and she can't help sharing it.

"Hey, there won't be any consequences for pulling dumb pranks on Halloween, at least."

[lamiaceae]

"And a solution that's not quite complete would potentially have cumulative side effects like the time distortion. Or maybe there's no way to avoid the side effects." He nods in agreement. "If we're all that weatherman guy now, there aren't nearly enough mental health professionals available." For all that movie is a comedy, it gives Gansey a case of existential dread.

"That makes sense to me as well, if something is messing up our sense of linear time." He huffs. "It would be great if I knew why it makes sense." If only bullying your brain to cough up memories worked at all.

"There's farmland here, which means some kind of pollinators." He shrugs as he shoves the epipen back into his pocket. "No sense in taking stupid risks when there's other stuff to do. If you want to carry a spare in case anyone else has serious allergies, I have a couple." Claudia seems like she might be one of those people who carries useful things for as many unlikely situations as possible in her pockets or bag.

Shaking off the concept of hornets in favor of Halloween pranks seems like a very good idea, so he does. "We have about 20 days to come up with some good ones."

[beingawesome]

"If you think you have enough. Might also leave them around places you frequent if you can keep others from messing with them," Claudia says. She doesn't mind being an emergency backup. It feels kind of familiar.

"And if we're stuck, there's always next month," she adds. "So, how do you feel about something in keeping with the school mascot? I think this place clearly feels there are never enough crocodiles."

[lamiaceae]

"Mm, I don't have enough extras to leave them lying around. There's probably a deus ex vending machine wherever the campus clinic is hiding." Gansey should potentially not be allowed to nickname the on-campus oddities that keep Newcomb's residents provided with their basic needs.

"Not sure I love the implications of 'never enough crocodiles', but the ones I've encountered have been chill about wandering humans in their territory. There are so many Florida Man jokes waiting to be made."

[beingawesome]

Clearly neither is Claudia, because she approves wholeheartedly with that name.

"Yeah, but just imagine the Egyptian-themed parties one could have at without much expense. Sobek on denial and so on."

A pause. "Can it still be Florida Man if we're probably not in Florida?"

[lamiaceae]

"Oh my god." The laugh Gansey lets out would be called cackling if it was any higher pitched. "Sobek beats out a toga party any day." He shakes his head. "A sufficient amount of reptile can make anyone an honorary Florida Man regardless of geography. Besides, the internet at large isn't here to criticize our choices."

[beingawesome]

"Loincloths are easier to tie, anyway," she adds, grinning.

"So what are you hoping Florida Man does around here? Anything in particular, or just general shenanigans?"

[lamiaceae]

"And less likely to get tripped over," he agrees.

"There must be ways to make our mascot into an aesthetic without bothering the living ones. Statues? Like the happy Buddhas in front of Asian groceries, but without the religious iconography." Newcomb has too much undefined something hanging around to discard the possibility that it could get offended.

[beingawesome]

"Can you imagine little chubby bronze crocs with polished bellies from all the love?" She can't help laughing at the very idea. "I'm not much of an artist or sculptor, but surely someone has talent in that direction!"

[lamiaceae]

"That's exactly what I can imagine." He laughs and pulls out a notebook, opening it and beginning to sketch in the margin. Judging by the amount of doodles on the pages he skimmed through it's something he does a lot, and the buddha-bellied crocodile takes shape quickly. It has a very crocodile quantity of teeth and a very non-reptilian belly button. "I'm sure someone can help bring this vision to life."

[beingawesome]

"Ok, that? Is absolutely adorable. But we'll need to get all the angles if we really want to work them up in three dimensions. Bet there's probably some cold-cast resins we can use to fake metal for a prototype if we can get it sculpted and molded," Claudia says, a mischievous grin already crossing her face.

"If they're easy and light enough to mass-produce, just imagine all the places they could pop up."