humanity is overrated

Ryder Edevane. 21. Survivor. Increased Hearing & Scent..."Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind." -William Shakespeare

[ryder--edevane]

RYDER & LAKE·:

[AS SOON as that finger is in his belt loop he KNOWS he’s in for it. He just KNOWS and he thinks to himself DAMN IT because Ryder is and has always been such a freaking shark and Lake is and has always been totally helpless to it. 

But it does feel different now. Like, before, however many years ago, he was just this like, insecure shy kid in awe of some dude in a leather jacket playing the guitar. But now? Well… now he was still kinda a lot of those things. But now he’s been through everything, with Ryder, and in general, and he’s growing a beard and he’s stronger, wider in the back and—well, he’s OLDER and things are different. Worse, in some ways, like, NWRF ways, but also better. Better because things have kept going, after D-Day, and life has kept unfolding and they’re all still… here. Learning and changing and growing, and somehow they’ve all made a life of this left over world, and sometimes they can even forget about things long enough to enjoy it. Like at the bonfire on Halloween. 

Anyway… he is probably the oNLY person who can get like, angsty and ~deep~ when someone is sucking on his neck, but there it is, Ryder’s mouth on his and his tongue on Lake’s neck, and his breath on Lake’s ear and Lake is SUFFICIENTLY distracted from whatever train of thought he’d just been on.

The plan totally worked (Lake actually forgot it was a plan until there’s an awkward clearing of a throat behind them and the guard like, backs off and turns sideways, so he can still see them in his peripherals, probably, so he’s still, like, TECHNICALLY doing his job, but is also simply, suddenly really taken by a crack in the wall right there…

Lake grins, and looks back at Ryder, dazed, still lingering close to him, enjoying how their bodies press gently together.

And in this exact moment, Lake knows a lot of things. He knows a lot of things he has been hella unsure about, since the time that he was obsessing over River’s Boobies, and London’s Eyeliner and Chloe’s Perfect Face and since he had that dream about Grumpy JR, and since he was like, kinda infatuated with Pryor and since Mouse kissed him and since he has kinda, always, totally been a completely fond sucker for his idiot best friend in the world. The one currently looking at him with sexy eyes, mouth all half-open and porny. 

He knows things, and maybe it’s part of growing up, because he feels like he knows them as if he’s always known them, only he’s just figuring it out. He wants to like, shout on top of a mountain (or like, you know, a chair, because there are no mountains on the island), that he is SO INCREDIBLY queer and that it’s OKAY that he has feelings for his best friend and that he lost his virginity to a boy and that he STILL REALLY LIKES BOOBS. And he also wants to throw confetti and sparkles and shout ‘I’M PRETTY POLY, IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW’ because he honestly didn’t know it either, like, in so many words. Except now that he does know, feels like he does know, anyway, he feels like in some ways he’s always known. Because standing here with Ryder, like… he knows he’s always felt this way, and that nothing with Mouse has changed that. And that nothing with Ryder has nullified how authentically he cares about Mouse. Or how truly infatuated he’d been with Chloe. How much he simply enjoyed holding her hand, being beside her, watching her blush. 

All of it was perfect, and special, and none of it made the other bad. And so he knows, now. And it’s maybe the first time he’s said yes, ‘I know something about myself’ and it’s a really freaking awesome feeling. 

Suddenly, he’s like, smiling like an idiot in Ryder’s face, cupping his jaw with his hands and kissing him back. Because he can and he wants to and because it’s OKAY.] 

[It’s probably like…  more passionate than it needs to be, or like, should be in a hall like, where anyone can see them and a guard is trying really hard NOT to watch, and secretly like, Lake is thinking how grateful he is it’s a DIFFERENT guard than the one that had been on the roof with him and Mouse because like, HAH he would think Lake is a slut. But he’s not, he’s just… REALLY happy to be out of his cell and with Ryder again and like, ready to like, SAY things. Good things. And maybe… maybe Ryder won’t take it so well but. Well. Lake is stubborn and he knows Ryder isn’t going anywhere. Also because Lake is a Koala who will cling to his leg and never let go because he has no chill. So like… it’ll be fine. Not chill, but fine. 

When he comes up for air, he’s still smiling.] Alright, jerk face. You did the thing. You distracted BOTH of us with your sexiness, but like, listen. I gotta tell you some things, okay? Some things you probably won’t like because you HATE EMOTION and you’re a sexy robot, basically. Well, actually, I know you’re not, but you pretend to be. Anyway. Firstly? I’m just gonna say it. like. I love you. Like, I mean, the thing is you probably already know. Like, I love you like a bro and I also just like, love you. And I know you’re freaking emotionally constipated but that’s okay because I accept you anyway and you don’t have to say anything. But I just need you to know because it’s true and I feel like it’s always been true and I feel like you knew that already. So I’m just sayin’ it. 

And there’s more, but like, I need to breathe because I’m talking too fast. So you take a turn now, kay? Or don’t. Just.. don’t walk away or freak out because I said the L word because like, you’ve known me for like 5 years and it’s the 2160s and being afraid of emotion is so pre-D-Day, kay? 

[The look on Lake’s face is a familiar one, and despite the fact he’s memorized it, he finds something new to appreciate about it each time. This time it’s those eyes, glinting as the sun hits them like light flaring off of water, sparkling and dazzling and so damn alive. When did Ryder become one of those people? Those people who see beauty in things so small and seemingly unimportant? When did he become one of those lovesick suckers whose heart skips too many beats just being around that one person? In his case, that one person is Lake.]

[It’s a sickening feeling, one that thrums under his skin like something is growing in his veins, threatening to pop out from underneath, ruin him in one fatal blow. It has a buzz all its own, one that’s impossible to ignore, one that howls in Ryder’s ears like winds in a hurricane.] 

[It’s vengeful, fighting to be noticed— or rather it makes itself impossible to be ignored. With how many times Ryder’s pressed it down, kept it tied tightly and compactly within the confines of his own stubbornness. It’s writhing now, working against the constraints and threatening to break free.]

[And then Lake does that, demands Ryder’s attention the same way the feeling in his chest does, clasps his fingers around Ryder’s face and pulls him closer. Lake coaxes his tongue into Ryder’s mouth, and that move is very familiar, the way Lake’s tongue twists under his own and pulls just far enough to whorl against Ryder’s own. Ryder’s pretty sure that’s one of his own moves, and the fact that Lake is learning from him is not only flattering it’s... Well, it’s something else that makes his chest swell. And maybe that’s enough to free that thing tied in his chest, because it slams into his throat without Ryder even realizing. He emits a little noise, something between a groan and a gasp, something breathy and excited that almost doesn’t sound like Ryder at all. He would be more frightened by it if he wasn’t so thoroughly enjoying himself. But maybe he doesn’t have to be... not with Lake. Not with this dopey guy whose smile is contagious, whose laugh is even more so, whose eyes sparkle and whose voice runs through five different inflections every sentence he speaks. Who Ryder doesn’t think he can live without. And that thought is far too dangerous to voice in his head, much less out loud.]

[Lake pulls away, and Ryder practically feels a chill that’s left by the absence of Lake’s lips. The tip of his tongue slips out, presses against his pursed lips as if it’s a substitute for the feeling of pressure against them.]

[And surprise, surprise, Lake is talking again. But not before Ryder can catch another glimpse of that smile that makes his stomach twist. But it twists pleasantly. Ryder’s not exactly sure how that can be, but just this once he doesn’t second guess it.]

[Then there’s that word. Ryder’s stomach starts to twist in a few different ways, each one contradicting the other. Now it’s not just in his stomach, it follows his spine up and up and up until it’s taken over the space behind his ribs, and it stiffens his neck, climbs into his skull until he feels it at the backs of his eyes like sleep deprivation, melting his brain and pulling down.]

[He doesn’t say anything, because he can’t. He’s not familiar with frostbite, but this has to be a similar sensation, the way he’s frozen in place, practically shivering with the way ice laces his skin.]

[He exhales, the breath a shaky and broken thing as it forces its way passed his lips. And Lake is right— normally he is about these sorts of things— but Ryder feels so utterly filthy. He isn’t sure why that is, specifically, whether it’s for loving or for being loved. He can’t say it back, though something inside of him desperately wants to. Those three words have been exchanged so many times between so many people, and Ryder hasn’t uttered them to a single person, not to friends, not to family, not to anyone. He can only look back up at Lake with something between fear and sadness in his eyes, a vulnerability he wouldn’t allow with anyone else. And maybe that is his way of saying those three simple words he can’t force from his throat through the choking sensation he feels now.]

Pre-D-Day, [he says, barely mustering up a snort as he averts his eyes to his feet, drags his shoe against the ground. Then he sighs, crosses his arms over his chest.] Yeah, maybe it is. [He looks back up, feels a little sicker, and swallows.] I’m trying, Lake. To... navigate all of this. Truth is, I am fucking terrified. Of emotion, and everything I feel... towards you? It’s... I don’t really know what it is. But it’s... a lot. And I’m trying to figure it out, it’s just gonna take me some time. I—... [he can’t say those three words, but he can think of two. Two that are nearly just as rare for him to say, but at least they’re words he can muster up.] Thank you. For being patient with me.

[Another shaky breath rattles free from his lungs, and he presses his arms against himself a little tighter, maybe trying to hold himself together.] What’s the "more” stuff?

[ryder--edevane]

no sin unpunished | fallout: exile

[ryder--edevane]

RYDER & LAKE·:

[He nods, eyes widening dramatically.] You are CORRECT sir—at least I wasn’t doing it for a BEAR. Because I thought I could FIGHT ONE. With my HANDS. Yes, yes, I remember that, and damn right I am going to throw it back in your face until the end of time. Idiot. 

[He grins, and then it softens at Ryder’s comment.] Thanks, man. You’re nice. [Now he’s teasing again. And it’s nice that Ryder’s here. He feels better with his company. More restful. LIke he might actually BE ABLE TO SLEEP in this stupid stinky hell hole.

He shoves gently at his shoulder.] Okay cutie. You should like. Scat. Or whatever. You know, go rest or like, distract yourself, or do all the things that I can’t while I’m locked up in here. And I’ll be out soon I’m sure. And if I’m not… well… you can come visit me tomorrow, right?

[Ryder rolls his eyes. Mostly because he doesn’t have an argument for that one. That’s two points for Lake. Ryder feels like he’s going soft. This whole worrying thing is doing a number on him.]

[The breath he’s holding falls out of his mouth in a ragged sigh, shoulders deflating like the air in a balloon as he glances over Lake one last time. He claims to be fine, and Ryder should let that statement be enough to salve the anxious burn incinerating the back of his mind. He should, but he can’t. Though he knows there’s only so much time he can spend lurking around before he’s dragged away by the guards prowling like lions on the hunting grounds. Seriously, what were they feeding those people anyway? Muscles like that didn’t just happen.]

Yeah, I guess so... Don’t do anything else stupid, alright? It would be nice to get you back in one piece... And, y’know, I hear prison makes you horny, and you kinda need to be in one piece if I’m gonna screw you.

[alexander-donovan]

Exile | Open

[ryder--edevane]

RYDER & ALEX·:

[Alex rolls his eyes, but his smirk lingers up near a cheekbone, subtle though it may be.] Very funny. Well, believe it or not, given someone takes the time to actually get to know me, they generally find that I’m not all robot. Not that I blame you for the misunderstanding. 

Just remember, if you send me in for repairs then my attitude is all on you. And you don’t get to complain when you asked for it. [He takes a few steps back, feeling somehow lighter than when he started this conversation—which, he has to admit, is not a common after effect of talking to Ryder. Usually the experience is a cyclical, frustrating and exhausting experience that leaves him ready for a fucking nap.] 

[Ryder has to watch Alex a little more closely, surprised at the way he so carelessly smirks, plays, jabs and prods in a way that makes him... human. It shouldn’t shock Ryder, and he knows this, but at the same time he can’t help but think the world might be scheduled to end again.]

[He squints a little, studying this new side of Alex with a fragile kind of hesitance. He blinks once, twice, then he stands.]

I’m gonna go... read something.

fin.

[ryder--edevane]

ryder & orson:

[Orson frowns; the thing about being soft-spoken, is that people often mistake quietness for naivety. But Orson is not naive. He’s not really that gullible, either, and he’s trying to decide if this Brink is, and just doesn’t look the part (speaking of judging books by their covers) or if he’s not, but just thinking that Orson is. It’s likely the latter.]

I mostly figure I’m sick and tired because we train more than we sleep, I’m an insomniac, and it’s the apocalypse? So, I don’t know… seems logical. [A bit of sarcasm from Orson at this time of day is certainly not unheard of for him. His “therapists” would know that, though many who others don’t necessarily know to expect it of him.] And anyway, I…doubt that. I mean, they are injecting us with stuff—vaccines, health shit. It could secretly be something else, I guess. But then they usually have a needle or two for me when we’re doing the tests… don’t they do that to you? You’re Infected, right? Ryder? Haven’t I seen you doing the hunting rotations with some of the others? 

[Now that Hunting is only an Increases Senses thing, it’s slower. Much slower. Orson hasn’t had red meat in months. And though he’s never cared much for it in the first place, he still can’t understand why even the NWRF would see fewer hunters as a good idea.] 

[The sarcasm doesn’t quite surprise Ryder, but it does amuse him enough to earn a muffled snort from the back of his throat. It’s a defense mechanism he knows well, though this mousey, smarter-than-he-looks stranger doesn’t seem to be defending himself. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, and Ryder supposes he deserves it.]

[Ryder stays silent through the entire explanation, no more than quirking his brow. He isn’t quite sure he believes it’s “health shit” so to speak. Maybe he just doesn’t believe anything helpful can come from the NWRF. And if it was helpful, why wasn’t everyone in the Colony receiving such beneficial care?]

Yes, I am, and yes, you have. I mean probably, I assume. Sure do spend a lot of the time doing it.

[He scans the other’s face, his frail body that this supposed training hasn’t seemed to do much for.] And you’re... [he trailed off, knowing he should know at least the first letter of this man’s name. But, he is Ryder, and he’s as good at remembering names as he is being pleasant company.] No, I won’t lie to you— I have no idea.

[ryder--edevane]

ryder & clayton:

[The route he’d taken had been intentional, so to see the back of another, to hear him speak, revealed that his efforts had been in vain. He’d specifically wanted to be alone.·

Clayton swallowed. He was grateful that the other’s back was to him. It bought him time. In which he quickly rubbed at the underside of his nose with the rough, over washed cuff of his sleeve and blinked fitfully in an attempt to shake away any of the moisture he could still feel clinging to his lashes. He’d not seen himself in a mirror yet but he knew he was an ugly crier. Had the kind of eyes that held onto emotion for far too long.·

God, he truly hated testing.·

He’d chosen to take himself away, wanted to sit alone in the quiet so no’one was awarded an opportunity to see him express himself in this way. Clayton didn’t really cry, not unless he could really help it. He remembered the mocking, the cruel insults that came from the men in his family, specifically one, when word spread of his hysterics when his guinea pig had passed when he was eight years old. Other than maybe once, maybe twice, he couldn’t remember another time he had. Until he arrived here. The waterworks were embarrassingly frequent these days.·

_Clayton purposely lowered his voice, used the rasp that came from a tight throat to make what he said hit the ear in a way that was all the more cutting.] _Well,given it’s a lab. I can only assume something science related is going down. Wouldn’t kill brain cells over it.

[There’s a scraping sound, one in which Ryder decidedly has no interest. But the wet snivel catches his attention. Not because he’s sympathetic by nature, no, of course not, but because he is curious. He turned around to a strange face made even stranger by the dew drops clinging to long, spidery lashes. He quirks a brow, the movement sharp and standoffish in nature.]

[As is his next move: a long and exaggerated eye roll. Did the latest Colony mandate demand everyone be a total buzzkill as well? He should probably read that thing again.]

No one likes a smart ass. [He’s fully aware of how hypocritical he’s being, though he ignores it in lieu of being a dick. Big surprise.] At least there’s some excitement to killing brain cells over it. Just because we’re living in a monolith doesn’t mean we have to completely sacrifice our sense of adventure.

[Then the awkward puffiness to the man’s eyes and the wetness still clinging to his face becomes a bit too much to ignore. And Ryder is never one to ignore the questions in the back of his mind.]

Alright, humor me. What’s got you so down in the dumps that you have to go raining on my parade just to make yourself feel better? [Again, he’s being a hypocrite.]

[ryder--edevane]

andreya-roche:

They’ve clearly done their homework on autocracies. [It’s only a half-joke. The sad part is the truth of it, that this is how the beginning of genocides and internment camps started in ancient history. The less sad part is that they’re already showing their cards. They’ve been figured out – even if there’s more lingering backstage, waiting to reveal itself, some horrible plan or movement or law that will do something unspeakable, at least the Infected and those who have allied themselves to them will be better prepared.] I guess the question becomes – what’s standing in our way of organizing en masse and refusing to live this way? We have a perfect opportunity to reconstruct the way humans live forever. We shouldn’t let them decide for us.

[He gets her to smile – to laugh – because it’s so much easier to laugh at herself than at any situation they’re in. She has been known to mope, in spite of everything bright and sunny about her. Sometimes stewing is the best way to work through and ultimately disband a bad feeling.] Don’t forget the hump that forms on my back and the way my one eye twitches when someone says something that offends my honor.

[She straightens up on purpose, rolling her shoulders back and shaking the kinks out of her neck.] I think… They can’t punish all of us, or there will be none of us left. But getting everyone together will be a feat. Maybe… A little rebranding is our next best move.

What’s standing in our way is everyone being too fucking terrified to act on it. [He sounds exhausted, his jaw clenching after the words leave his lips. He takes to staring at the ground, maybe hoping it will focus his thoughts for him. Rage pulses in the back of his mind, throbbing like an open wound. Then it begins to hiss and whistle like a kettle left on the stove for far too long.] They’ve backed us into a corner, and now everyone feels like they’re being watched too closely to breathe, let alone retaliate.

[He manages a thin smile this time, but the grimness of the situation has sunken far below his skin, and it’s suddenly much harder to pretend.] Wouldn’t be able to if I tried.

[He sets his hand over his chin, nodding as he turns the thought over in his head.] I think you might be right. This whole thing... It’s been painted to look like a few bad apples, y’know? Some outliers trying to break the chain, but if we can be more blatant about it, show them it’s bigger and stronger than they think, maybe we’ll stand a chance. The more attractive we make ourselves, the more likely we’ll get some feedback.  

[theironman]

[ryder--edevane]

roy--walters:

[Roy nods.] Good point… [he looks at the door.] It’s probably used for some sort of kinky shit, though. Because like, they gotta do something with all that pent up frustration, right? [ ‘Maybe it’s where they kick kids who don’t listen, Roy.’ Okay, you could just, like, shut the fuck up, alright?] 

Yeah. It’s all just creepy. Like, they know our imaginations are just gonna come up with weirder shit than it actually is, right? What’s so secret about lab work? What do they think we’re gonna do, look at their test tubes? So either it’s super weird shit that’s going on back there… Or they’re trying to hide the fact that they have no fucking clue what they’re doing, and nothing’s getting done.

[Ryder can’t help that laugh that creeps out of his mouth, a hissy sort of whistle as tickles passed his lips. This guy, he decides, is one of the entertaining ones. And they came so few and far between that Ryder decided he would allow himself to be the least bit more friendly.]

I have a feeling what you’re saying is scarily accurate... A sex dungeon, though... Sounds like it might be kind of fun. [A smirk splits his lips and finds himself fumbling for a cigarette he shouldn’t be smoking. With the press of his thumb, he lit the end and pulled in smoke.] You smoke? You up for one? [He was never so liberal with his cigarettes, but with the tension plaguing the Colony in recent days, it almost felt critical to survival.] 

[ryder--edevane]

lake-valentine:

[Okay, so…. this was it. Today is the day. He’s DOING IT TODAY. He’s going to talk to Ryder, no ifs ands or butts. (HAH, ‘butts’. He means ‘buts’ actually, but anyway). There is no getting out of this time. He has to talk to Ryder about this Mouse stuff now, because like, he can’t keep putting off and for the love of God, like, Ryder keeps going AWOL on him right when he’s about to try to talk to him about important things, and sometimes Lake wonders if he does it on purpose because he like KNOWS that Lake is going to Get Real™ with him, and he senses it, and that’s not really Ryder’s jam, never has been.

So he comes up to him practically at a jog, and skids to a stop beside his friend, taking him by the arm.] 

Okay, listen hot shot, I don’t care about your bad boy mirror-peering stuff right now, okay? I have missed you because I have been IN A CAGE and now is a much better time to be dramatic about it when I actually have access to a washroom. Now, I’ll admit, it’s problematic because I have a guard on my ass like, 24/7, but as soon as I tell Mr. Heavy Breather that we’re gonna have a talk and it will probably involve making out, he should back off. Hopefully. You might have to get gross. Lick my face, or some of that weird shit you do. 

[Whoa. Okay, arm grabbing. Ryder was almost sure it was someone ready to throw him in the same holding cell the band of misfit Infected were in until he hears the beginnings of a trademark Lake rant.]

[He lets out a breath as Lake vaguely insults him, the fact that his best friend is getting more and more ballsy with the thin threats and harassment both exasperating and intriguing, somehow. He pulls a blank expression, but listens to the jumble of words all the way through.]

Weird shit I do... [he muses, sounding like he had to think back into the depths of his mind to retrieve a distant memory.] Well, let’s see. [He slipped his forefinger around the belt loop of Lake’s pants, leading him closer until their lips met. And once he was close enough, Ryder lifted his hand to push against the nape of Lake’s neck, twisting his head, pulling deeper, pressing harder. When he pulled away, he nipped at the crook of Lake’s neck, pressed a kiss against the forming bite mark, then dragged his tongue across the length of Lake’s neck before pausing to whisper into his ear.]

Not exactly your face but... that might work.

[ryder--edevane]

no sin unpunished | fallout: exile

[ryder--edevane]

lake-valentine:

[He snorts.] Dude, if you actually thought your dickishness wasn’t going to rub off on me after all these years, you were hella wrong. [He grins.] And a little dumb. [Okay, NOW he’s teasing, but Ryder deserves it, and usually this kind of stuff is the stuff that makes him smile most anyway. Because he’s a weirdo. Lake grins at him cheekily.] 

Not as bad as Colony 4? What do you mean? Do you mean with like… the NWRF? They weren’t a thing when you were there, were they? Oh wait, were they? Ugh, I can’t tell days from years anymore. [He winces, rubbing a hand over his brow.] 

Look… I just wanna say that like. It’s sweet that you’re worried about me. And you now I worry about you too. And I like… appreciate it. That you like… give a shit. I don’t want you to think that like… I’m blowing it off or anything, because I’m not. And I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. That I’m in here and like… you’re having to deal with that. And yeah. [He steps a bit closer, hand touching Ryder’s on the bars again.] 

[Ryder cuts a sharp look at Lake’s mocking before that stupid grin brightens up his face. Then Ryder can’t help the thin smirk that blossoms into a smile. Then he rolls his eyes, deciding not to comment any further. He would let Lake have that round.]

It’s kind of all over. I mean they’re calling themselves different things, I guess, but the principle’s all the same. Someone wants dominance over the Infected no matter how you look at it. [He looks back up at Lake, catching him run his hand over his forehead. Ryder frowns a bit deeper, then tilts his gaze to the cold floor of the cell.]

[He looks back up when Lake’s hand rests on his, but he shakes his head. The contact is strange, but not all bad.] Don’t apologize. You’re not the first one of us to risk their neck. [In all honesty, Lake’s risk was a little more justified than any of Ryder’s.] You don’t have anything to apologize for. Not to me and not to these pricks.

[ryder--edevane]

bear-little-loss:

[Generally he’s made a point of not paying too much attention to the labs, especially the ones he’s not forced to enter one to two times a week. As an infected, there are select rooms he reports to on a weekly basis for ‘testing’—all of which is uncomfortable, unnecessarily long and seemingly pointless. He feels like every week he’s doing the exact same thing, undergoing the same tests and giving the same answers, and he has a hard time understanding what the fuck new information they could possibly be getting from him. 

But these labs.. these are the ones no one with a red mark enters. And he doesn’t like to think what goes on beyond them. For all he knows, it’s more of the same nothing.] 

I’m usually too sick and tired to be curious, if I’m honest. Probably just more pointless tests that don’t tell them anything real. 

[Ryder can’t help but frown at the uninteresting response. His face looks a little squished when he does it. Then he turns fully to his company: this guy who looks like a baby deer someone accidentally drafted into a nuclear war.]

[Ryder straightens up a little, not quite so casual. He told Lake he was officially paranoid, and that would remain the truth for a while. Not one to socialize, there are too many people in the Colony he hasn’t cared to talk to, and for that reason he can’t assess who has a big mouth.]

Haven’t you heard the phrase “everything’s not what it seems?” Hm? [He arches his brow pointedly, as if the movement alone is accusing the stranger of something. Then he twists his head back to lab, pursing his lips up against his teeth in thought.] Ever wonder why you’re sick and tired all the time? Maybe they’re injecting you with somethin’. [Alright, now he’s screwing with the poor dude.]

[call-me-wes]

buzzkill; fallout | open

[ryder--edevane]

call-me-wes:

Who says they haven’t? [he drawls.] All you know is they haven’t succeeded. [And it’s almost a purr, in all its cheeky and arrogant glory.] 

Oh, forgive me. Your twenties. That’s totally different. So you are far more aged and wise and experienced by far. How horridly ignorant of me. [He rolls his eyes, his tone dripping with dry and bored sarcasm.] But I’ll tell you what, I will promise to be only as big of a dick as you are. So if you clean up your act, I’ll be forced to as well. I know that might be a challenge for you, but can I presume you’re up for one? Being the cocky and proud twit that you are, that is? And don’t take too much offence to that, by the way—it takes one to know one, after all, so.  [He shrugs—the rest goes unsaid, because it can, because it’s obvious: he is also a cocky and proud twit, but not too proud to admit it.] 

Ah! [Ryder starts pointedly, raising a finger in an attempt to stop the force of momentum that came from from Wes’s sarcasm.] I didn’t say that I was old and wise or sagely or none of that horsecrap. Nor was I trying to point out any level of maturity, I was just catching you on a technicality. [Because they both knew how often Ryder enjoyed proving Wes wrong, as rarely as it may have happened.]

[As Wes continues to smirk, proudly as a cobra snake, and press a little closer, Ryder can’t do much more than glare. Mostly because the bastard is right. He sucks in a shallow breath, the hiss faintly whistling behind his teeth.]

Fine [he exhales, looking back at Wes and realizing he himself was the one broke eye contact first. Damn.] Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow. Now why don’t you do us all a favor and go find that rat before it contaminates our diminishing food supply?

[alexander-donovan]

Exile | Open

[ryder--edevane]

alexander-donovan:

[Alex has never made it his business to wonder about people’s personal lives anymore than he has to. If it’s not applicable to his work, their progress is training, or the safety of others, he knocks it neatly from his list of priorities. And so he’s never thought too much about why Ryder is the way he is, why he seems to put on such a front—why it is he has to be such a “dick” to get through each day. 

But what he does notice, and he thinks about now, is how he is likely far less unlikable than he thinks he is, and one thing Alex wonders is if he has figured that out yet—or if he’s still too young, too blind, and has too much growing to do still. 

He smirks a little.] Oh, on the contrary, Edevane, I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anyone. 

[Okay, this is getting a little freaky. Ryder has to stare a little more closely to finally decipher, no, Alex has not been possessed. But he examines the other all while a smile splits across his face and a faint chuckle rides on the edge of his breath.]

[Are they having a moment? It feels a little like they’re having a moment. As if just the most basal of bonds is forming, a foundation for a silent kind of mutual respect.]

Okay, I officially think you’re broken. [he says, voicing his thoughts, but this time without a scowl on his face.] We’re gonna have to send you back in the shop to get repairs if you don’t start returning to your Elite Robot act soon. [He smirks a little, winking just to add to the jab.]

[ryder--edevane]

roy--walters:

[Roy’s just wandering. His guard a few yards back, far enough that he’s barely got eyes on Roy, probably annoyed at the pointless laps he’s been taking around the building. But he’s bored. As he passes near the laboratory, he sees someone who looks like he’s trying to listen through the door or something. Roy can’t tell. He also doesn’t really care. But, when he says something to Roy. He contemplates it.] Probably nothing productive. I’d say the chances of it being some freaky sex-dungeon are higher than those of actual scientific discovery going down behind those doors.[he glances at the sealed doors.] But, yeah, I’m definitely curious what they do in there all day. I mean, it might not be ‘sex-dungeon’ stuff, but it’s gotta be weird, right?

[Honestly, the dude kind of reminds Ryder of a wet rat, all stringy and skittish. Or maybe his eyes are just kinda beady. But then he speaks, and Ryder laughs, and Ryder decides the guy’s alright. He crosses his arms over his chest amusedly and tucks his tongue away in his cheek for a moment.]

Y’know that would not only be fucked up, but it would also be a total waste of potential. If you’re gonna marginalize an entire group of people just to force them into sex slavery... I don’t know, that just seems like an incredibly elaborate practical joke.

Oh, yeah. Definitely weird. If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t be putting up such strict perimeters around it, y’know?

[elsa--copland]

Are we done yet?|Rebel’s Window| Open

[ryder--edevane]

elsa--copland:

[His emotion suddenly changes and she wonders if she completely misjudged him. Fantastic now she looks like a spaz. Elsa took a deep breath and exhales to calm herself. She might have overreacted but in her defence this guy has some weird energy going on and it was easily misinterpreted. It didn’t help that he pissed her off and she was already in a shit mood. She should at least attempt to smooth things over and if he continues to be awful she’ll just walk away. 

With that resolution, she steps closer.] Sorry if I misread something…I didn’t mean to get totally defensive, I’m just a little on edge, and it makes it intensify everyone's emotions, and then filtering through the good and the bad becomes an utter nightmare with everything all mixed up, so when you stomped over here, which by the way seemed all hostile like,  it freaked me out a bit. [She takes a breath pausing before continuing with her nervous little rant.]

Also, I’m not worried about being implicated, I wasn’t involved but I don’t want the people who were to get in any more trouble. I know it was their choice and all that but… I don’t know if they’ve been acting differently recently but a lot of the reformist people I’ve come across have been angry bundles of contempt and frustration lately, even more than usual and I don’t know I could be reading into things, it’s just, unsettling.   

[Well... shit. If Lake was preparing Ryder for anything with his incessant rambling and anxious spiels, it was this chick. He honestly feels a little dizzy after that whole thing was over, and it takes him an extra few seconds to remind himself that his feet are still on the ground.]

Yeah, okay... [he starts, hands raising as if they would ward off another onslaught of verbal destruction before it came barreling towards him.] Look, you don’t owe me an explanation. And if you don’t owe me one, I don’t owe you one, and we can totally just break even, mmkay?

[She makes a point though. Fuck, her worry is making him worry. And that’s making his brain go a little haywire, and now he’s worry about his friends. Okay, friend.] 

Okay! [He snaps, without thinking, feeling like there’s bee stings running down his spine at just how anxious this woman is making him. Fucking empaths.]

Okay. I get it. Really, I do. But I highly doubt there’s anything we could be doing or saying to make things worse for them. We’re all worried about them, but I don’t see what us talking about is gonna do.

[ryder--edevane]

no sin unpunished | fallout: exile

[ryder--edevane]

lake-valentine:

[Honestly? Ryder kinda seems, like… more bent out of shape in this whole mess than Lake is. Which is saying something, because Lake is basically an overlord of being Bent Out of Shape. And yeah, he feels pretty Not Great right now, but compared to how Ryder seems to be reacting, he’s like, peaches and cream. 

Or something. ] 

Oh, so, you’re saying we got ourselves locked up in here and so it’s our fault you guys feel like, vulnerable or whatever? Gee, thanks Ryder, you’re so good at this comforting thing. [He rolls his eyes. It’s not like he should be SURPRISED or anything.

But then he’s like… practically seething, and threatening people who haven’t even done anything yet. Like, who is ‘They’? And why would they hurt him? Like, sure, the Reformists or whatever locked him up, but he DID, like, do something illegal, so there’s that. They’re probably just, like, all stuck up and feeling poopy about being disobeyed because they have nothing else interesting in their lives.] 

Woah, man… [he starts, keeping his voice low. He lifts his hand to rest it over Ryder’s on the bars.] Relax, okay? I mean, I appreciate the concern. You know I do. Makes me feel all, like, loved and fluffy on the inside. Gives me the warm and fuzzies. But no one’s going to hurt me, okay? I’m fine. Everything is fine. I mean, it’s not, like, GREAT, obviously. Because it like, stinks in here and it’s cold and I have to pee. But, you know. Other than that. It’s all groovy, gravy. So no… tearing off faces. [He grins.] 

[Ryder can’t help himself. He’s missed too many opportunities, and if he doesn’t do it now, he never will. He uses his speed and agility to do the one thing that seems like an appropriate response to Lake’s sarcasm: he reaches out and flicks Lake on the top part of his ear.]

Don’t be a dick... That’s my job.

[He wishes he could be as naive as Lake sometimes. Maybe Lake is less naive than everyone gives him credit for, but he’s still so blindly optimistic sometimes— it’s exhausting. But then again, maybe he has a point. The NWRF are trying to make a statement. Maybe that’s what they were planning all along: keep the trouble makers tied up so everyone on the outside can drive themselves insane with worry.]

[Ryder lets out a long breath through his nose, grabbing onto a bar and leaning his head against his hand, but looking a little less defeated despite what the slump in his shoulders suggested.]

Guess so. I think it’s just the not knowing that’s driving everybody nuts. But at least you don’t look too bent out of shape. [He purses his lips, feeling a little sheepish for having barged in so aggressively. Not too sheepish, just enough to make his stomach slosh a little.] I guess it still hasn’t gotten as bad here. Not as bad as Colony 4, at least, so that’s somewhat promising.

Okay, fine, I admit it. I’m officially paranoid.

[alexander-donovan]

Exile | Open

[ryder--edevane]

alexander-donovan:

[He’s not sure what he’s said, but something disarms the boy for a moment. He seems briefly distracted, but it’s not in his usual, cocky or cheeky manner, so Alex can’t quite place it.

He raises his brow stoicly at the ‘big ol’ softie, which he has a few thoughts about, but Edevane is retracting it before Alex can speak to it. At the kid’s smirk, Donovan mirrors it, giving a bit of a snort.] Well said, [he intones.] But at least you know it. 

[He looks away briefly, pensive.]  I don’t know why people seem so fixated on my being stoic. You’d think they’d never met a serious cop before. [A beat, and then he turns a slight smirk Edevane’s way, because that was a joke, and he’d told it intentionally. And then he moves on.] Or at least that they’d be used to it by now. I dare say I’ve been here four years and I’ve hardly changed. 

[Donovan does this kind of chortle thing in the back of his throat, and Ryder is pretty impressed with himself, because that may as well have been half a laugh. The ends of Ryder’s lips curl upward for just a moment.]

Why, were you planning to do something about it if I didn’t? [Ryder laughs a little sarcastically, swirling some food with his fork subconsciously.]

[Ryder has to stare at Donovan for a second, because now the man is making actual jokes. And he feels like he’s entered some alternate universe for a second. It kind of gives him whiplash. But then his face breaks and he laughs a little in return, shaking his head back and forth.]

Mm, I can confirm that— you haven’t. [He gives Donovan a quick quirk of his lips.] People just expect other people to be emotional off the bat. Which is why people are so fuckin’ mind blown by your lack of emotion. The same way people are shocked when I speak and they find out I’m a dick. If you ask me, people expect too much from strangers.