Crash Test Dummy (Literally) >> Audio ;

[justamobster]

[ The post goes up on the network a few minutes after touchdown planetside. The speaker is quite obviously trying to catch his breath, and there’s an undercurrent of laughter in his voice— sharp with both disbelieving amusement and a bit of panic. ]

The er, emergency landin’ system on the ships, yeah? That?

S’workin’. Just thought folks’d wanna know.

[ GUESS WHO ALMOST JUST DIED? This guy!

For context and any in-person concerns, see Prompt #1 here! ]

Comments

[justamobster]

[ Ladon visibly tenses, the result of years of having to keep his wits about him in violent circumstances, but he's also very much impressed and intrigued. Gear like that could give Frid and Lorne a run for their money, even fully wolved out.

He's definitely not the only one keeping things hidden, but in ways he's jealous-- whether on purpose or accidental, the Edicts that brought them here have kept him both stuck in this human body and have taken his lightning away. Seeing someone else with a means to both defend themselves and keep it hidden sticks in his craw. He's going to need to have a talk with whomever is in charge, and it's not going to be a pleasant one. ]

Eddies, huh. Heard that from 'nother fella here. S'impressive, regardless. You're the real deal.

[mikoshi]

[ Be a lot more impressive if Vincent had access to all the enhanced abilities all this chrome is supposed to provide. As it stands, he's nothing but a skeleton in (nearly) indestructible wrapping. Which is nice, yeah, but stings in comparison to what it could do not that long ago.

But if they took his chrome away, he'd be, what, a quadruple amputee? No, even worse than that — he'd be dead. Most of his original body no longer exists, the earliest being both of his arms back when he was a teen. ]

Johnny, I'm guessin'. But it ain't. Trust me, it ain't.

[justamobster]

Yeah? They take you down a few pegs when you turned up here?

[ It's still impressive. Ladon cracks his own knuckles, missing his claws a little more than usual. The harder outer layer would be nice to have in this kind of climate, instead of these squishy hands. ]

[mikoshi]

More than just a peg — they're just prostheses now. [ Which is, again, fine. But the lack of noise, the electronic feedback of beeps and hums... disquieting.

Hears his heartbeat, blood rushing to his ears, but little else. Isn't sure what to think of it, a hyper-awareness of missing natural sounds other people still have. ] Still, glad I got to keep 'em, at least. Wouldn't be walking, or talking — breathing — if didn't.

[justamobster]

Hard to be a fuckin' space errand boy without breathin'. [ He grumbles. ] You ain't alone. My piece ain't the only thing they took. But from what I heard, we got ways to earn it back.

Helluva racket they got goin'. [ There's a combination of sarcasm and respect there. Business isn't anything if not manipulation in one way or another. ]

[mikoshi]

Might make a neat party trick though — peeps piss me off enough, might peel off my face and show off the chrome underneath. [ He smiles, a bit manic. ]

Racket's a good term for it. While I'm thankful they brought me Johnny, not sure I'm lookin' forward to babysittin'.

[justamobster]

[ That gets him to snort. ] Spare parts'd be good for sendin' a message. Some unlucky fucker finds a finger or two in his mailbox, is checkin' the hands of everyone he knows.

[ He shakes his head. ] Yeah, not gonna promise I ain't gonna cause more trouble. You and Johnny're from the same place, I'm guessin'. [ Must be the other guy he had a good conversation with over the network before they came to this planet. ]

[mikoshi]

Be my whole fist. The knuckles and fingers, they're one piece. [ He shows off the black segment on his hands, pops one off like knuckle dusters. ]

Not the kind of babysittin' I'm referring to. Lotsa people 'round these parts who have a stick up their arse, come from softer worlds. Dunno if a merc like me should be talkin' to the kids, ya know? [ Or maybe the problem is them, their world. ] Yeah. Know each other pretty well.