Of course,

Subject: Of course,
Author: Neshomeh
Posted on: 2014-10-03 03:46:00 UTC

Jenni wouldn't be much good in her line of work if she couldn't tell the difference between "sincere but awkward" and "bluntly lying," and what she'd gathered of Doc so far gave her no cause to suspect he'd give her the runaround. Unless further evidence turned up, she'd take him at his word, so she nodded and smiled. "Good. Just as long as you're okay for now." She gave him a light touch on the upper arm, trying to get him to meet her eyes.

They rounded a corner, and the Nursery entrance came into view. Almost there, unless HQ decide to pull an infinite hallway trick or something on them.

(( D'you feel like setting the scene with Miss MacKinnon and the kids? ))

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"I'm hoping to arrange something with HFA." by Neshomeh on 2014-10-02 20:32:00 UTC Reply

"Or, failing that . . . " she grinned humorlessly, "I could always throw my reputation to the wind and hop an alternate universe with him." She glanced down at her ankle, but apparently the Sue-tracker felt it had ruined her life enough for one evening. She clamped down on her train of thought before it went any further, though, just to be safe. Thoughts of her alternate universe were at once too tempting and too painful.

Instead, she found a way to come to the point of what she wanted to say to Doc. She turned her head to look at him and kept her voice low, just between them. "Hey, speaking of 'that stupidity' . . . I hope this won't offend you, but I wanted to ask you to come see me for real sometime. You can think of it as a professional thing or just friendly chatting with tea, it's all the same to me. It's just that I don't think there was much in the way of closure for you here, and I don't like that."

(( I love the hint-dropping game. ^_^ ))

Doc smailed thinly. by doctorlit on 2014-10-02 21:23:00 UTC Reply

"Ah. You are FicPsych then. I thought I heard you call yourself a nurse just now. And since you mentioned giving bit characters personalities, I figured you probably meant FicPsych."

Doc faced forward again and walked on in silence for a few seconds. Up ahead, Vania had her hands on the back of her head, fingers linked and elbows sticking out to the sides. It was sort of weird for her to be keeping her distance like this, but Doc was too deep in thought to worry about it.

Finally, he turned to Jenni and answered her. "I don't know. I . . . I kind of feel like I just want to go on reading and doing regular missions again, and try to forget HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ever happened. And— well, you got me to talk a lot, today, but most of the time, I'm not much for going out and socializing. Um. No offense. Against you, or your job, it's just . . ." Doc trailed off, avoiding Jenni's gaze.

((Come to think of it, I unconsciously dropped another hint in this very RP, in the meal Vania ordered! >.> But that's all I'll say.))

She wasn't surprised at being rejected. by Neshomeh on 2014-10-02 21:47:00 UTC Reply

It still stung, but that was a personal problem of hers; she believed him when he said it wasn't intended as a slight against her. "Well, it's up to you," she filled in the silence. "My door is always open if you change your mind—or if it isn't, just try again in half an hour to an hour." She cast him a sidelong smile, this being by way of a joke. The fact was that whoever was at the front desk would stop anyone getting to her office if she were already with someone else.

"Oh, yes, certainly." by doctorlit on 2014-10-03 02:32:00 UTC Reply

Doc didn't seem to have caught the humor in Jenni's voice. "Really, seriously, I appreciate that. If I'm ever feeling like I really need help again, you'll be the nurse I look for." Doc blushed a bit. He was being sincere, but worried he was saying it too bluntly to sound believable.

Of course, by Neshomeh on 2014-10-03 03:46:00 UTC Reply

Jenni wouldn't be much good in her line of work if she couldn't tell the difference between "sincere but awkward" and "bluntly lying," and what she'd gathered of Doc so far gave her no cause to suspect he'd give her the runaround. Unless further evidence turned up, she'd take him at his word, so she nodded and smiled. "Good. Just as long as you're okay for now." She gave him a light touch on the upper arm, trying to get him to meet her eyes.

They rounded a corner, and the Nursery entrance came into view. Almost there, unless HQ decide to pull an infinite hallway trick or something on them.

(( D'you feel like setting the scene with Miss MacKinnon and the kids? ))

((Sure . . .)) by doctorlit on 2014-10-04 06:35:00 UTC Reply

((I'll leave bringing Henry into the picture up to you, of course. Since I haven't written the kids much yet, their personalities may be a little shaky yet, just so you know.

Also, in the chronologically next interlude I should write (not to be confused with the one I'm actually currently writing), I was going to have my agents give Miss MacKinnon their mini-Hound of the Baskervilles, which is now permanently pink due to Poison Joke exposure. Just so you know where the pink dog is coming from. :) ))

Doc got distracted when he saw Vania just inside the Nursery doorway, rolling on the ground with something bright and pink.

Her voice, spoken with a higher pitch than usual, carried out into the hallway. "Who's a pink puppy? Yes! You are the pinkest puppy! Good . . . um . . . I don't know your sex 'cause you're named after an apartment building, but you're a good something! Yes!"

The mini stopped playing with Vania to regard Doc and Jenni with its baleful, droopy-looking eyes.

"Oops!" said Vania. "We're blocking the doorway, puppy!" She got up to allow the other two agents access.

Inside, the Nursery's walls were their usual self: brightly colored wallpaper dirtied near ground level by smudges, crayon marks, hand prints and smears of food. The Nursery's foyer was a lot more open than most department entrances. The secretary's desk was off to one side, and the walls around the foyer had wide arches leading to the various sections: daycare, living quarters, classrooms, etc.

Standing a bit behind Vania and 221b baker street was Miss MacKinnon, in her pale pink dress. "And there's Doc," she said. "And Nurse Robinson, too! Welcome back, everyone!" Her grey hair done up in a bun made her look old, but whenever she talked, her clear voice showed how young she really was.

((I think that's enough new stuff for one post, so I'll probably hold off on introducing Ollie and Millie for this one.

I've made up a bit of geography, here. I don't think it contradicts anything previous, but I'll fix it in the final if it does.))

(( Heh. )) by Neshomeh on 2014-10-05 18:39:00 UTC Reply

Jenni looked down with bemusement at the pink hound. "Well, I bet the kids just love you!" she said. Then, in response to Miss MacKinnon, "Hello! I'm here for Henry, and these two are here to visit . . . ?" She glanced between Doc and Vania.

(( I hereby dub 221b baker street Tutu for short. Obviously you can take it or leave it, but it seems to fit. *g*

Short post is short. ))

((Well now you've gone and made it canon.)) by doctorlit on 2014-10-06 07:21:00 UTC Reply

((Also, I literally just now decided to rename Millie "Mollie" just to avoid another potential Zerenze situation. >_> "I'm soooooo changeable!"))

"Oh, yes," said Miss MacKinnon, smiling. "It's quite popular with all the age groups. Its full name is rather cumbersome for the little ones, so we mostly call it Tutu."

Doc spoke up. "We, um. We wanted to check on Mollie and Ollie again, if they're free."

Miss MacKinnon brightened. "Ah, wonderful! They're out of classes now; they were playing around here just a bit ago. Oh, I think I hear them coming again?" She glanced towards the classroom archway, where children's voices could now be heard, along with an irregular tapping sound.

"Surrender the crown, Minnie!" called a boy's voice.

"Not a chance, Hook!" answered a girl.

A moment later, two African-American-looking kids appeared around the corner, mid-swordfight. Well, one of the swords was made of cardboard, and the other was a plastic paintbrush, but, well, imagination.

Ollie curled the fingers in his off hand into a crude hook shape. "Captain Hook will be takin' that crown for me personal treasure chest, mouse!" He then made an awkward lunge towards Mollie.

She blocked the cardboard blade with her brush. "This crown belongs to Mickey! I won't let you take it!"

Vania nodded sagely, then turned to the mini-Hound. "This is better than a lot of fics I've read," she confided. The mini gave a tongue-flopping smile and wagged its tail.

"Children!" Miss MacKinnon called. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have some visitors!"

The kids stopped in mid-swing and glanced over, then gave big, toothy smiles—Ollie had a gap in his teeth that hadn't been there the last time Doc and Vania had seen them. "It's the guys!" he yelled.

"And some other lady!" Mollie added, quickly shoving the paintbrush into a pocket. They both rushed over to the agents.

Vania was already on her knees from playing with the mini, and Ollie ran straight into her arms. "Hey, kiddo!" she said as they hugged.

Mollie was heading for Doc, but slowed and finally . . . just . . . stopped. They looked at each other.

"Hi," said Doc, giving a little wave.

"Hey," said Mollie, returning it.

Vania glanced back and forth between them a few times. "Hey!" she said loudly and gesturing to the new face. "This is Jenni! Uh." She held up a finger. "Nurse Jenni."

(("Nurse Jenni" because I'm pretty sure my agents haven't heard her last name yet? I had to turn off my in-brain wiki to avoid saying "Robinson" there.

Oh, man. Writing this, it occurred to me I need to design outfits for the kids. My favorite thing. '~'

And, yeah, I decided a while ago to make the kids black, as the fic never gave them a skin color, and uh. So. DIVERSITY.

Also, I apologize if my writing voice sounds off, because I'm coming off two twelve-hour shifts in a row, and I get loopy as heck when I'm sleep deprived. Look forward to greater coherency in future posts.))

(( Yay, I'm influential! )) by Neshomeh on 2014-10-07 23:04:00 UTC Reply

Jenni, who had watched the kids' play with a big grin, gave them a wave and a bright "Hello!" She continued, "I'm Henry's mom. You might not know Henry, though—he's littler than you. I've been getting to know Vania and Doc this evening, though. You've got a couple of good friends in them." She looked particularly at Doc here, hoping to ease some of the obvious tension between him and Mollie.

(( Zerenze situation? Not sure what that means. Also, not to be difficult, but there's Molly the ferret to consider.

Ooh, ooh, I will totally TekTek the kids up for you if you want. Any excuse to play with it. ^_^

Speaking of busy... I am, for the foreseeable future. As you may have noticed already, my posting may be pretty erratic for a while. I'll let you know if anything drastic happens, though, so don't worry if I'm silent for a while, especially on weekends. {= ) ))

((Also:)) by doctorlit on 2014-10-11 04:58:00 UTC Reply

((Sorry for the confusion about Oracle's name on the wiki. Other than Ginger having a foreword to that story about the Lounge, I didn't find any obvious connection between Oracle and Lhachel. (Although this does explain the "Ori" Reria says will resurrect her if she dies.)

I was about to upload Reria's journal, but then I realized I should ask if you want to do it on Lost Tales instead, since Oracle was your friend. It's not very content-heavy, to be honest, beyond a lighthearted role play between Oracle and "WillaC2" (Dez and Gon's author), but we ought to have it somewhere. So, want me to send it over?))

(( NP. )) by Neshomeh on 2014-10-13 03:38:00 UTC Reply

I don't mean to imply any criticism when I make corrections like that. I don't expect people to know what names were used by random Boarders they've never talked to, but I figure I should fill in what I know when it comes up.

On that subject, WillaC2's Board name was Dragonlet. (I think the long form was DragonletJewel, but I don't remember if she wrote it exactly like that or with a space or an underscore or something.) She's one of the signatories of the original Constitution. {= )

Here, have some helpful deviantART accounts! Lhachel - Dragonlet - Blayzy (aka AuthorBlayze or just Blayze)

You should go ahead and host the journal stuff, I think. Some division of labor between story stuff and journal stuff seems like a smart strategy to me.

~Neshomeh

((Thanks for the info!)) by doctorlit on 2014-10-14 21:54:00 UTC Reply

((It takes a while, but I'm slowly piecing things together. Turns out Reria's journal wasn't deleted after all; I just lost the link.

Do you mind if I ask, is this Author Blayze the author of Sanguine, Lupeias and Nosferatu? I'm having trouble figuring that out.

Also, I don't know if you knew "Agent Twain" (the author of Agent Twain), but I wanted to share: she's a published author now! I didn't want to plug this on the main Board because, unlike Kippur, Twain doesn't have her PPC name attached directly to her works. But I figured it would be safe to show you, down in this little RP hole we've dug into Ozerboard.))

(( Yep, that's Blayze. )) by Neshomeh on 2014-10-17 03:12:00 UTC Reply

He had a whole host of characters, including those three plus Nazaruth (Nosferatu's partner at some point), Kip, and Beofre (who actually got her name during a chat I was in).

Ori and Hawky had a bunch of side-characters, too... some of them are on the List of RCs. I'm not quite sure what to do about that at the moment.

I sometimes think about posting the logs I still have from back then, but there's a lot missing, so they wouldn't make much sense, and they're a little embarrassing. Lots of angst and drama with canon characters involved. Couldn't quite get away with that sort of silliness today. ^_^;

I didn't know Twain, but that is super cool! I'll have to see about picking those up.

~Neshomeh, who will reply to the actual RP at some point, she swears.

((Aw, but surely by doctorlit on 2014-10-18 15:51:00 UTC Reply

a little embarrassment would be worth showing us ignorant newbies what it was like in the good old days? *pout* ))

(( Okay, ya talked me into it. )) by Neshomeh on 2014-10-28 03:33:00 UTC Reply

And you got me talking to Blayze, Hawky, and Ori again, too, cuz I needed them to sign off on it, so congratulations. ^_^

It Came from the Lounge!

I'd rather you didn't go linking to things, at least not for a while—it's still a work-in-progress, since I've only added what I've got up to the end of 2006 and I'm sure the navigation and stuff still needs tweaking. I really, really wish I had more... there are so many holes, and some of the best stuff is lost. {= ( But, you can kind of get an idea of some of what's not there based on later conversations—and more if you go looking back through our dA accounts, because we all drew a lot of Lounge pictures—so it's not a total loss. Enjoy the craziness!

Oh, and FYI, Nueva Paz is a Real Life friend of mine I dragged in, Nightsail is someone I know from a Farscape fansite way back in the day, and Phoenix is a friend of hers that she dragged in from other RPs. *g*

~Neshomeh

((Yay! *clapping*)) by doctorlit on 2014-10-28 04:46:00 UTC Reply

No worries; I'll leave the linking to you. Thanks so much for sharing! And I'm glad you got to talk to your old friends again, too.

Doc glanced at Jenni, then back to the kids. "Right." by doctorlit on 2014-10-08 18:04:00 UTC Reply

He got got down on his knees. "Guys?"

Vania scooted Ollie over to her partner with an arm to his back. Mollie saw Ollie coming over, and walked with him to get closer to Doc.

Doc took a couple of steady breaths, forced himself to look in Mollie's eyes, then spoke. "Kids. I want . . . I know the last time we saw each other, I said I was sorry. But . . . I want you to know that I'm sorry, not just hear me say it, and then see me disappear from your lives." He glanced briefly at Vania, then turned back to the kids. "I—Vania and I are going to make sure to take the time to be your friends. We'll come see you, we'll . . . check on you . . ."

Realizing that Doc's reserve of social energy was getting sapped pretty hard tonight, Vania stepped in. "Yep, check on your grades, make sure you're eating well, introduce you to all the good canons! We'll be like those irritating relatives from across the country who never shut up when they call!"

Doc picked up on Vania's energy. "And eventually, when you're ready, we'd love to be the ones to take you on your official training mission."

The kids were smiling big now. "Awesome!" yelled Ollie, jumping and pumping his fist in the air.

"Yeah!" Mollie said. "I know we'll be great agents, with you guys helping us!"

The kids jumped forward and each hugged an agent, and somehow, it morphed into a group hug. The mini-Hound tried to join in, flopping into the groove between its two former partners' backs.

"This is excellent," said Miss MacKinnon, who very suddenly had a stack of adoption papers in her hands. "And we can make it official if you just fill out—"

"No!" said the Floaters in perfect unison, twisting their heads out of the hug at a bizarre angle to glare at her.

((Zerenze was a character Herr Wozzeck recruited without changing the name. The original author somehow caught wind of the PPC and confronted Wozz over it. Ultimately, nothing came of it, but to be on the safe side, I would rather avoid the potential for drama altogether.

I don't think there will be much confusion between the two Moll-s. They're spelled differently, and my Moll- doesn't tend to bite so much. :)

I appreciate the offer, but I feel like I should spend the time to work on my own characters' designs. Physical description is always the most difficult part for me, because it's the least interesting in my mind. So I need to get better at that.

And no worries. My weekends turned into doubles this month, so writing then is difficult for me, too.))

Jenni watched... by Neshomeh on 2014-10-23 21:53:00 UTC Reply

Jenni watched the scene with a little pride in herself for having helped bring it about, but more in Doc and Vania—especially Doc, for finding the strength to right his wrongs. ... Which felt a little grandiose even in her head, but still. Not everyone bothered to face up to things like that, and it was nice to see.

At the agents' reaction to Miss MacKinnon, she had to chuckle. The woman was getting a reputation for being pushy about getting kids formally adopted, which Jenni supported wholeheartedly. And that reminded her. "Speaking of adoption, how's Ian? Any takers yet?"

Ian was a boy about Henry's age whom Ilraen had brought back from a mission. Ilraen wasn't in much of a position to be a child's guardian, no one could argue with that, so Jenni had taken an interest. She wasn't sure she could really support two kids—not without a significantly larger response center, to start with—but she could at least try to keep an eye on him in a "Mrs. Henry's Mom" sort of capacity.

(( The answer to the question is "no," more's the pity. Background on Ian if you want it: Rescue(1) (2) and last year's Halloween RP, particularly the exchange between me and PoorCynic descending from that Nursery post.

I really have no idea how to get from here to Henry. >.< ))

Miss MacKinnon frowned and shook her head. by doctorlit on 2014-10-24 01:53:00 UTC Reply

"I'm sorry to say, children from better-known continua are far more likely to be adopted than kids from rare fandoms." She held out her arms in a wide shrug. "You know, I don't . . . I know not every child here will be adopted. Even if every agent team rescued only one child in their career, I know they still wouldn't all get parents. Too many agents have difficulty keeping themselves sane.

"Still, I try to adopt out whenever I can. I come from a very dark society, and if there's one thing I can thank my author for, it's giving me a sense of respect and caring for others that I wouldn't have had if I had simply been canon. That love of children is a part of me now, and that is something I can be proud of, something I can use to be the best caretaker I can."

Miss MacKinnon glanced around at the people watching her. The two kids looked most awkward at all, exchanging glances with wrinkled mouths. Doc and Vania smiled politely, Vania nodding encouragingly.

The woman coughed. "Well, then," she said as the regular secretary arrived. "I believe we were going to visit the daycare?"

((Huh. Random MacKinnon monologue. It just kind of came to me, although I don't know how well it fits. *shrug*

Actually, would you prefer to take over MacKinnon for a while? I've already got four characters without her, and otherwise you'll only have one until we reach the daycare.))