Issue 1 Downtime

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:00 am**

‘Roland’ sat in the cafeteria sullenly pushing food around on a plate. She wasn’t nearly as hungry as she thought she had been when she walked into the cafeteria 20 minutes ago. “This fucking blows…” she grumbled into her plate of congealed spaghetti.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:06 am**

"Yeah, look at it from my perspective."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:08 am**

"Can we at least trade phones then? How do you use this piece of shit?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:10 am**

"I was going to ask you the same question. These things DO still make calls, yes?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:15 am**

"You tap the big button with a phone on it," she said sliding his ancient phone across the table and taking hers, and showing it off practically without looking.

"So...uh....what the hell are your powers anyway? Other than being really old."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:17 am**

"I don't have any powers. I just don't die. Useful. Means I don't have to worry about you getting in over your head."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:21 am**

"Well, as far as I can tell, I can die just as well as anyone else, so be careful while you're driving me, Prof." she grumbled.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:23 am**

"How do you know unless you try?" he said, flashing a grin.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:32 am**

"If you screw up my body, you crazy old man..."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:33 am**

"Trust me, I'll return it to you in better condition than you found it."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:37 am**

This seemed to sort of reassure Haley for the moment.

"....so you break anything with my brain yet?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:38 am**

"No, but I give you a bit of credit for the small amount of attention you CAN pay in my class. Being in a room full of horny teenagers can't be good for your concentration," he grumbled.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:43 am**

"See? I'm not stupid..."

That paper was way better than a C. I worked my ass off

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:48 am**

"I beg to differ. You could stand to work out a little more -- though maybe that's just the difference in training showing."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:56 am**

"Jesus Christ, you *and* Regan? Am I really that fat?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 1:58 am**

"Fat? Eh, nah. You're attractive enough, but you're like a lot of twentieth century people -- a bit soft around the edges. I keep myself cut, y'know?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 2:06 am**

"....I guess you don't really *feel* like you're really old."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 2:07 am**

"Well, that's part of the whole deal. You become immortal young enough, and you handle yourself well. Makes it a bit hard to deal with other people getting older, but you manage."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 2:17 am**

"...I never really thought about that. LIke. Other people and stuff..... did you ever marry again after that wife that was...well...on the ship we sunk?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 2:23 am**

"No, that was the only time. Could never really bring myself to do it again."

A pause.

"Lots of casual sex, though. At least, I think that's what you call it now-a-days?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 2:57 am**

Haley, much to her dismay, blushed a bit "....you are the strangest teacher I have ever had."

...but that's actually sort of cool...

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 3:00 am**

"I don't think I'm cool. I've seen cool people, I'm not one of them."

Really hard to stay up with the fucking times. By the time I noticed disco, it was already dead.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 8:40 am**

"....you'd think I'd be more used to that. You're listening to me think."

Haley took a drink of water and finally set down the fork that had only been used to push around the food on the plate.

"If you sort of like....keep an image of someplace that makes you feel really happy and secure in the back of you mind all the time, you might do that less. It's sorta how you make a shield."

Haley frowned a bit.

I almost kinda miss my powers...

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 4:52 pm**

Roland laughed a humorless laugh. "THAT one would be difficult."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 5:02 pm**

"Out of all those years of memories there's nothing that just like...sticks with you, makes you really happy... content?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 5:15 pm**

"Nothing in particular...."

A rather explicit mental image of a swarthy Arabic sailor in...let's say 'action'...might belay his words.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 7:36 pm**

Haley's eyes widened a bit. "So. Yeah. Uh. That would work I guess. And...uh...just in that happy place, it'll kinda...shield your thoughts from sending shit out...and...eavesdropping so much."

Haley trailed off, distracted by how vivid that image was.

"I dunno. Professor Asters or McManus are way better at explaining it. I can...sorta do it, but I'm not that great."

Another pause.

"Uh. Who was that guy?"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 7:37 pm**

"Hrm? Oh...uh, that would be, um, Sinbad..." Roland said, blushing a little bit.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 7:43 pm**

"So I guess I should make sure I don't daydream too loud when I get back into my own body...that was...um. Graphic. Hopefully I haven't done that before."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 8:50 pm**

"Erm, not that I've...sorry."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 9:42 pm**

"It's okay. Guess we need to get used to weird shit for a while. We're going to see each other naked if this lasts for a while and we want to not be unshowered and gross."

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 9:47 pm**

That's not how I figured that would happen.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right"

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2013 11:46 pm**

"I hope to avoid it. Maybe it'll go away fast. God I hope so."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 12:05 am**

"We're in the best place FOR that..."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 12:16 am**

"I guess. Don't think this would happen many other places though."

She shook her head. "Seriously, what the fuck. Magic is real. I've been to another fucking plane. And now this."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 1:05 am**

"I've seen stranger. Women who had precious gems for eyes, giant snakes which dine on elephants, a village which only appears one day every hundred years...you get used to it.

Or you die. Most people I've met have chosen the latter."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 1:52 am**

"The hell...man. That's fucked up."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 9:51 am**

"Welcome to life."

Posted: **Sun May 05, 2013 10:56 am**

"I was talking about the first part...but I guess the second part sorta is too."

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2013 5:48 pm**

"Oh, there are still amazing things, if you know where to look."

Issue 1 Downtime

But I don't want to be an old man!

But I don't want to be an old man!

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