[Open] Farming Club Shenanigans

[nedofpies]

Who: The Farming Club! Also open to anyone who wants to come by and harass them.
What: Agricultural avengers assembling to till some soil, plant some crops, water the ones they've already got, and converse amongst themselves in a lively fashion.
Where: A large patch of open space between House 11 and the edge of the woods.
When: Day 79-81 (please indicate which day in the thread header!)

Ned's not really one for leadership, but it isn't quite so daunting when he knows he's just acting as a kind of deputy. Erik was the one who said he should get everyone together, and so get everyone together he shall. He put out a message on the network the previous evening, naming a time and place and politely (and a little awkwardly) requesting that everyone whose name is on that trusty list for farming duties show up to help get some more things planted.

They won't be able to accomplish it in one day. Some things will need to go in other places with different soil types (according to Lydia, anyway), and some things will need to wait for the greenhouse to be built. But in the meantime there are plenty of things to be done. Grass needs to be cleared, to give them a larger plot to plant in. Someone mentioned irrigation systems. He thinks there are other things - ways of regulating sun and shade, of keeping the crops safe from birds or other dangers. He hopes he'll have enough willing hands to help do them.

Ned's brought all the tools he can find - shovels, trowels, gloves, seeds, and assorted other items. He has also set up a wobbly table that he found in the church basement, with a few pitchers of cold lemonade and a dozen or so glasses on top. There is a social component to this too, he knows. It's part of all of them working together, against the people who brought them here, looking into a future in which they aren't starving and at one another's throats, but dependent on one another to keep all this going.

Comments

[bluesrat]

To him, jumping halfway across town in a heartbeat seems like a pretty big thing all by itself, and he's grateful to have been along for the ride. The smoke might have overtaken him otherwise, and that's a slow, painful way to go.

He's surprised to be invited inside, but nods and follows. "I think all the houses are occupied right now, so that limits where I can scrounge for supplies. The pipes were a lucky find, even if I did almost break my back carrying them."

[bluesrat]

That lemonade looks awfully good right now, and he takes it with a nod. "I was supposed to be helping out in the woods, but mostly I just got caught in the smoke when everything went up in flames..." He takes a grateful gulp of the drink. "Balthazar saved me."

[magnets]

Of course he notices Zatanna. It's kinda hard to not notice Zatanna, outfit like that. Catches her out of the corner of his eye more than a few times and thinks about saying hey, but he doesn't end up for a while. Just, you know. Checks her out.

But he's done a little digging, he's met a few people, and it's while he's taking a smoke break that he watches her at the table - doesn't even notice the drink change at first, sorry - and he takes his last drag, throws the spent cigarette underfoot and stamps it out in the grass before he sidles - almost literally sidles - right over to the table and sets his hands down on the surface.

"So that's your gardening outfit, huh?"

[hexappeal]

If there is one thing she is used to even more than being stared at on occasion, it would happen to be being checked out. That's what happened when you looked like she did, dressed like she did, and had a fanbase that could occupy an area larger than the state of Texas and Alaska combined.

She does notice the swagger and takes note of it. He seems to be trying to look nonchalant. "It's my everything outfit," she replies over the rim of the glass, taking a small sip and savoring for a brief moment before setting the glass on the table beside her. "You're the not-yoga guy." She recognizes how he speaks more so than his voice. She holds out a hand. "Zatanna Zatara, we've spoken before." One has to wonder why she was being camera shy.

[tryingitall]

"Are they really? I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. I mean, it's good that people aren't dying, but if other captives keep coming in, we're going to have to budge up, aren't we?" He leads Rat through the door and into a kitchen that looks like the flood is going through minor remodeling.

"Careful not to trip over the rough patch there. I'm still trying to work out what to repair it with."

[enchangement]

Normally River would say that she talks too much but perhaps this isn't true; either way it's interesting, to interact with someone she's unsure is trustworthy while not wanting to use her voice at all. She's also not sure she buys the entire idea of 'only speaking when it's important' because people make a lot of noise and a little sense (her included, she believes) but it's ...an interesting reaction instead of being weirded out.

Which he is, kind of, but that doesn't seem to stop him from attempting. Kudos for that Jesse.

"River," she says calmly, clearly, but not so loud as to draw anyone else's attention. "Not for, uh, for gardening."

A knowing headtilt.

[magnets]

There's a bit of an immediate shift on Jesse's face, almost guilty - there's that cognizant kind of tone to her voice, like she knows what he's up to already. Some little girl he's never seen before. "No, for gardening!" he replies in a bit of a low tone as well, innocently. He nods along and taps that finger against the table a few more times.

Well, maybe not- very orthodox gardening.

He pauses and glances around, takes a step closer to River and confides, "Got some seeds from home, ya know? Was thinkin' of, uh. Makin', like, my own little project." A beat, and then, "I'm Jesse."

[magnets]

Nonchalant is what he's aiming for. Of course, when 'cool' and 'suave' are also mixed in with what he's aiming for, the nonchalant doesn't exactly work out too well.

"I'm," and he laughs a little, nods along, "the not-yoga guy, yeah. SO that makes- you the one who could saw me in half, right?" His grip is carefully gauged when he takes hers, more familiar than all business-like.

He looks a bit impressed by the name - it's... different. "Jesse. Jesse Pinkman. You know," he gestures to her before he starts to pour himself a glass of lemonade to match, "you don't gotta just stick with the phone. I mean, you gotta nice voice'n all, but, uh." Well, he could've seen you earlier, probably.

[enchangement]

River smiles. "Seeds," she intones with seriousness - she's not buying it, Jesse, but again. She's not going to stop him either. She might not even be getting the right idea, or the wrong one. She might be dreaming in the corner after coming out and being around so many people.

Then again maybe not. Probably not.

"I know." She looks away, cocking her head as if listening to some other sound on a different frequency. Eye contract in these times is not the easiest thing. "Take care, with your little chemistry seeds."

[magnets]

She knows? "Yeah? Ya heard about me before or somethin'?" He's been on the network, it's not like it's a long shot.

But then she's bringing up chemistry and all that - why chemistry? if it's just planting? - and he feels a need to defend himself, not sure what kind of reputation is getting ahead of him here already. He holds up a hand, lowly, and, "Yo, it's just- you know, weed. It ain't, like, anything bad." And yet he keeps his voice down.

[enchangement]

"Cass knew you, and there are two with the name Jesse. Met one, now the other." Plus the network, but that only counts so much.

River blinks in non-comprehension because why would anyone grow weeds on purpose that is just the silliest thing she's heard all day. Then realization dawns on her. "Oh." Thinking. "Should try tobacco. To give or barter."

Another beat. "Should tell the gangsters too, they'll help."

[magnets]

A fleeting kind of a grin on his face for a moment. "Yeah? You knew Cass?"

But that's beside the point. He sighs a little frustrated, his hand rubbing over his head as he glances away for a moment. "Tobacco'd be nice 'n all, yeah, but I don't got no tobacco seeds. Hell, ain't like there wouldn't be a big market for it'n all. Shit, we got smokers up the wazoo here."

The gangsters, though, yeah. "Like Meyer?" He sniffs and nods, scratches a thumb up against the side of his nose. Yeah, he and Meyer were already working something out. Teaching him to cook crystal and all, it was a good thing, but he didn't know how much was gonna come out of any of this. "It'd be a while before we could do anythin' with it. Plants've gotta grow first."

[nedofpies]

It makes sense to Ned that superior technology, without understanding, would seem like sorcery to the people Wallie is talking about. When the people who are keeping them here changed them into monsters, when they interfered with people like Elizabeth's powers so that she couldn't escape, it seemed like magic, to him and to others. But he believes it is only because they lack the knowledge and technology to understand how the scientists are accomplishing it. He thinks about that term, 'the scientists', that he uses sometime to mean whoever is keeping them captive. He could as easily substitute in 'sorcerers' or 'gods' and mean much the same.

Interesting the way Wallie says he couldn't have killed the sorcerers. Does he mean that he lacked the skills, or that he morally would never do such a thing? Ned isn't really sure. Still, he feels a bit easier for it. He knows killers, here. Is one, himself. But it's nonetheless reassuring to him that Wallie wanted peace, made peace instead. When he comes to the end of his story Ned looks up to give him a wry, lopsided smile.

"None of us do."

Whatever force had brought him here was stronger, then, than whatever protection he might have been given by the grateful gods and inhabitants of, as he called it, the World. It doesn't surprise Ned. They can pull in people from other universes, from across time. If they wanted someone they took them, no matter what.

"We've all had our lives disrupted," Ned continues, but he adds, "though I suppose some of us had less to leave behind." Ned thinks that he must miss his wife, and the world where he played such an instrumental role to political stability. It was a bit different for an unattached piemaker.

[nedofpies]

Jesse's mention of a different first meeting with Kenzi piques his interest. "Differently how?" he asks. Hopefully he's not being too nosy, but Jesse brought it up in the first place, after all.

Ned shakes his head at his question about whether he's from the future. "2007," he reassures him, with a little smile, "ABQ is Albequerque, right? That's clever. I hadn't heard that. I'm from no place you'd have heard of - tiny little town, middle of nowhere, you get the idea."

There is a steady rhythm to the digging that sets him at ease, makes the talking feel more natural and less like an excruciating effort to overcome his inclination towards shyness.

"But Jesse - I mean the other one - says I must be from a kind of parallel universe to him and Kenzi and Galen, even though the years are almost the same. Something about the technology being wrong. He was talking about… phones you carry around like walkie talkies or these things-" he taps his wrist communicator, "-and, uh, stalking people with… my-tube?" Ned knows that isn't right but he can't for the life of him remember what the actual name had been. It was some days ago and neither Finch nor Kenzi had been in the best frame of mind to actually explain, "Something like that. Apparently computers are a big thing where they come from."

[nedofpies]

Well that's…more than a little terrifying. Ned had known there was a fire but not that any particular person set it. He'd assumed a short circuit from one of the mechanical monsters that roamed the woods. He pauses in his work to stare at her with horror marked out clearly on his face.

"Did anyone get hurt?" he asks, strain in his voice. He doesn't think anyone had died, he'd have probably heard about that, but people tend to keep themselves to themselves here about the smaller stuff. He includes himself in that category: it isn't like he goes around announcing the injuries he gets. Everyone knows that living in this place is dangerous, that people get hurt all the time. No need to send out little reminders to all the other people lucky enough to not find themselves injured on that particular day.

"Did he… he didn't know, did he? That there were people who would be trapped?"

[voliere]

Hee, she pauses to cover her mouth to stop herself from smile-giggling at what he says.

"I've never had to garden anything before. I was brought all my meals," Elizabeth says, tilting her head a little. "But I've never had zucchini, how does that taste?"

[voliere]

Ooh, that just makes her bristle again, the fact that Rat was caught in the smoke. Dilandau makes her blood boil, and that's hard to do. In any case.

"Balthazar?" A beat. Oh, right. "Ah, he introduced himself to me the other day. He seems to be a good sort of spirit. I'm glad that you're safe. I had... worried, that I was to be responsible for a large number of injuries."

[magnets]

Oh yeah. In her tower thing, right? Jesse's face shifts a little bit, almost something guilty, but he doesn't call attention to it, just waves a hand at her again. "It tastes like- y'know, it tastes like- Like, zucchini." How do you even describe-

He's distracted from his intended task for a bit. "What other stuff have you not even had? Like, a burrito? Do you know what a burrito is?"

[magnets]

"She, uh," and Jesse pauses with a bit of an ironic laugh under his breath, scratches a thumb at the side of his nose before he sets in on digging again. "You around for that whole- hallucination whatever stuff? When everyone was goin' nuts? She had some shit goin' on, tried to save me. Tackled me, right? Straight into the ground, she's like a fuckin' linebacker. Tiny linebacker." He shakes his head. "Yeah. Welcome to Cape Kore."

2007, huh? Not too far behind him. It's comforting, when he finds the people actually from around when he lives. Makes him a little less agitated about all the weird going on in this place. "Yeah, yeah, you got it. City, though, ain't like no small town." He's curious, though: "Hey, waddya even do in places like that, huh? Ain't no arcades or nothin'."

He listens to Ned carefully about the technology, nose carefully wrinkling as he goes along, like he doesn't quite get it. They've got gods, they've got angels, they've got green people and fucking robot bears in the woods. Now they've got alternate universes? This place was too Twilight Zone for him sometimes. Shock to the system. He shrugs a shoulder, but lets out a bark of a laugh when Ned says it, 'my-tube', and looks up at him. "It's, uh," a half a grin, "it's Youtube. Yeah, I got all that shit too - you- you seriously don't got computers or nothin'?" He pauses a beat. "You got, like, TVs and crap, though, right? -Kinda like here, like house phones and radios and all that shit?"

No cell phones. How did he function?

[reluctantsword]

"Yeah." Wallie sighs again, shaking his head. "I can't claim to be the only one upset about that. Not fair of me." He flashes a smile but his heart isn't in it, and it's more than a little bittersweet. "You probably have things you've left behind, yourself. We all do."

What's less? Anything at all is hard to have torn away from you. Sometimes he thinks of little Vixi, and wonders how much bigger he's grown since Wallie's left.

"What about you?"

[bostonhowler]

Brigid can smell his horror. It offers a tang to the air that hadn't been there before. She wants to reassure him, tell him that everything will be alright. But the moon - only four days away - tugs at her, and pulls at the wolf. She grits some of it back, but some still leaks around the edges.

She yanks out the stone and tosses it to the side. "I don't know if anyone got hurt. And he knew very well that we were still in there. He just didn't care." Brigid lowers her eyes, in case they flash. She doesn't want to out herself so quickly, with an alpha here.

"He admitted that much to me and then told me to quit whining because I was unscathed." She yanks up the hoe again to begin working.

[nedofpies]

"Not really," Ned says. He thinks of Digby with a pang of sadness, but other than him, what did Ned's life really have going for it? His shop? Was that all his life had been but silence and isolation, exhaustion and a kind of hopelessness that he had gotten so used to that he didn't see it any longer, even when it was wrapped around him like a shroud? His small smile is rueful and he shrugs. It's easier to see how empty his life before had been, now that it is starting to fill.

"My story's nowhere near as exciting as yours. No gods or swordsmen or wars with sorcerers. Just owned a little pie shop. Lived with my dog. All very simple. Wouldn't make a good summer movie."

Of course, if Wallie has been here as long as he said, chances are he knows it's a bit more complicated than all that. Then again, Ned hadn't spoken to him at the time: perhaps he hadn't heard? It seems a longshot, but not entirely impossible.

"If it weren't for the cameras and the food shortage and people disappearing and getting experimented on, I might even like it better here."

He knows it's perhaps a worrying thing to admit, but perhaps Wallie will understand, as someone who already went from one life in one world to a different one in another.

[reluctantsword]

"That," Wallie points out, "is how the summer movies start."

He pauses for a moment, because his hair is coming down and he has to pause to clip it back into his ponytail. By this point in his new body, it's almost second nature.

"I... understand, though. I was never unhappy in Edmonton, but I was... unattached. The World is far from perfect, but I found some roots I'd never had before." He shrugs. "There are easier places to be happy, but who am I to judge?"

[nedofpies]

"I wasn't here yet but I heard about it." Ned is supremely glad he'd missed that particular party. Who knows what he would have seen, would have done? It's dangerous enough for people like Kenzi to lose control over their judgement, but for him, it could prove fatal to those around him. Yet the image of Kenzi - tiny as she is - tackling a full grown man is pretty amusing. He doesn't laugh, but the corner of his mouth does twitch into a smile. Quite the welcome.

When Jesse asked him what there is to do in small towns like Coeur d'Coeurs, he shrugs, "Not much." Then again, even once he'd moved to a larger city, he didn't end up doing much. Perhaps the problem isn't the places, but him, and the way he lived. "But even boarding school or small towns are interesting compared to here." Except when things get too interesting - like with the hallucinations, or out-of-control forest fires, or that kind of thing. Ned doesn't think that kind of thing should count, though.

"Yeah, youtube, that's what I meant." He is less embarrassed about it speaking with Pinkman, even though he's laughing just as hard as Kenzi and the other Jesse had. "Computers exist, they're just… not the sort of thing your average person has. I worked for this guy a couple years ago who invented stuff, he had one." He doesn't brag about having used it once to Pinkman though - he doesn't want to make himself a complete object of ridicule. "We had TVs and phones and radios and cars. It's not the complete stone age."

[nedofpies]

Ned doesn't see anything out of place about Brigid's anger; he's outraged (in his tightly-contained way) on her behalf, and on the behalf of everyone else who had been in the woods. He remembers what River had said about the fire, how it had frightened her, and frightened the people near it and frightened her even further through their minds.

"You said his name was Dilandu?" Ned makes a mental note to stay the hell away from him, says warmly, "Well he sounds like an unrepentant psycho if you ask me." If it had been an accident, if he had apologized, Ned's position would be different. But the deliberate indifference towards life, the lack of apology or atonement after - he can't fathom it. It doesn't surprise him, but he doesn't understand, either.