(no subject)

Who: Everyone
When: July 1 and onward. See this post for info.
Where: Kauto + Chioni + Ingress Complex
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label warn-worthy content in your subject headers.

There's a burst of light in the sky when the Ingress breaks, a final flare followed by a shuddering that only those in the facility can feel. A flurry of panicked activity in the complex follows, ushering new arrivals to where they need to go in a hurry, with little time to give them the needed information, much less answer questions. The lights remain on, but dimmer now, life functions still operating but little else. On Kauto and Chioni below, the sky fades into an early twilight, followed by night, and day does not come again.

nerds save the world

Before the end of the day, all TABs receive an emergency broadcast notification outlining the situation. The speaker, a lead Savriite Ingress technician, does not invite panic but nor does he mince words. The Ingress is broken; their best efforts have failed to restore it. The time has come to turn to anyone who can help: scientists, engineers, those who have worked with advanced technology on any world. Formal qualifications don't matter when it could be the end of everything.

"Help us. Before it is too late."

Those who come will have the run of the complex and full access to the Ingress, as well as whatever tools are available and as much coffee as they can drink. People are encouraged to work in groups and share ideas, and a small number of young and nervous technical assistants will be on hand.

the land below

As Thisavrou is denied light and warmth, the weather becomes brisk and descends into bitter cold. Chioni is evacuated due to the effects on the already-harsh weather cycles there, although a skeleton crew of scientists remain behind. On Kauto, the arboreal Region Three and pastoral Region Two suffer the most from the temperatures and the snow that eventually begins to fall. Many crops are frozen over, and refugee citizens are driven from their homes to the Regions One and Five, where stored energy will keep dwellings warm. Save for those who choose to leave the underwater facilities, Region Four remains largely unchanged, but there are unverified accounts of strange aquatic animal behavior near the surface.

Overcrowding, limited supplies and a pervasive fear presents the opportunity for both heroism and foul deeds. Many come together to share resources, supplies and fellowship in what could be the end of worlds, while others take what they can from the unwilling or exploit the desperate. Sentient evacuees are followed by fauna from Region Three and unsettled lands beyond, in search of warmth or food or merely confused by the change in habitat. Some are unthreatening herbivores, while tanglesnakes and clownbees are more troublesome. Others are poisonous hunters, while still others are small, but dangerous when faced as a pack.

Just when all seems lost, light returns to the sky. The Ingress begins to function once more.

the coming days

As the temperatures rise, many demand answers, but most turn to the rebuilding of their lives first. Damage has been done that isn't so easily fixed, and even in the least-affected areas, remnants of the crisis show in the lack of fresh food, in the increased signs of criminal activity. Those who can help others through their own efforts of by organizing assistance are needed, but those with impure intentions are more likely to go unnoticed.

Eavesdropping on the streets may reveal a desire for vengeance. "Those intruders from last week. They're responsible for this, aren't they? What's being done?" But don't listen too closely, or a suspicious eye may be turned on you. "Aren't you one of the refugees from the Midway Hub? You should return to where you came from! All the trouble began when your people showed up!"

Life goes on. But life does not go on unchanged.

[quick ooc note: the Region 4 search & retrieval mission/RNG fight will be posted in a separate log.]

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[ Venom still thinks about it— about his 'relationship' here with 'Solid Snake'. A lot of the debate surrounding whether or not his generation of homeworld comrades can change their respective futures seems irrelevant whenever he sees this young man (comparatively) and the way he holds himself.

All of it is a lot of self-serving platitudes, at the end of the day. This Snake, the one that Venom can interact with in there here and now, won't benefit from any of the efforts that they're all supposedly working towards. He'll still live with this, whatever 'this' is.

Still, the only respite Venom can offer is civility. His fingers sift through Jaegar's fur, slow and methodical, before he stands up and whistles for his new dogpal to follow him around the expanse of the living room. ]

We've all got matching sets of dogs, huh. [ Who knew that Snakes were such dog people??? ] They're good companions to have.

[ Simple, uncomplicated, and straightforward, not to mention honest. ] Good lesson in reading nonverbal cues.

[ If only Venom were to make some of those thoughts known. Ever since Snake had first heard about Miller's ideas for changing the future, he'd been skeptical. He doesn't think they'll be able to pull it off, and even if they did, he's not convinced he'd want that. The life he's lived is his, for all of its faults, and he's made something of it. It shouldn't be up to anyone else, friend or foe, to take that away from him.

But it's something they can talk about at another time, maybe.

Snake hears Ahab's voice (and the jingling of Jaegar's collar) as it carries from the adjacent room, while he prepares a pot of coffee for them. For all that this place isn't well-equipped, Angela had made sure that he had this much, at least. ]

I took care of a pack of them, back when I was in Alaska. It's been a while since I was stationary enough to have one, though.

[ It's nice, is the unsaid sentiment there. ]

[ It's—

—well. Venom hesitates to think of this as 'nice', because it's hard to set aside the burdens of their fates to appreciate anything that they tentatively build as positive. But there's some peace in how Snake presents himself, with the same bluntness and no-nonsense straightforwardness that Venom's come to value in people.

They're both just two people figuring out how to live with themselves, at the end of the day. Snake moreso than Venom. ]

Didn't think of bringing one or two of them with you in the field?

[ Of course Snake didn't, though— there's something in him that seems to be inherently kind.

It makes Venom turn his brows down in the privacy of his small crowded corner, tucked against the wall with Jaeger's dense fur between his fingers. ] Guess you didn't need combat buddies for what you were doing.

[ Snake's aware that Ahab has taken DD into hostile territories with him here, and while he might not approve of it himself, he's well aware that dogs have been used on battlefields for years. But it's true, he has a soft spot that won't allow him to do that kind of thing. Not to an animal who doesn't really have a say in where they're going, much as they might want to help.

With the coffee set and in the process of brewing, there's not much to do until it's ready, so he heads out into the living room to join Venom, sitting in a chair a safe distance away from him. Jaegar seems conflicted on who to look to for attention, but Snake makes a small motion with his hand and the husky stays with Ahab.

He shakes his head. ] I had them when I wasn't on active duty. They weren't meant for that. And the sorts of missions I took on wouldn't have been suited to bringing them along anyway. I mainly infiltrated facilities, urban environments... not so much the jungle or the desert.

[ It's a safe enough topic for now, especially if they speak more generally like this. Ahab doesn't seem like he wants to push too hard for details, at least not yet, and that's just fine by Snake. ]

[ More than anything, Venom dwells on the admission that there was a time when Snake wasn't on active duty. He'd ask, but it still feels strange to get into details that are too personal: did you stop fighting after you killed Big Boss is going to be awkward at best, coming from a man who's wearing the legend's mantle.

So he steps over that landmine for now, offering his knee for Jaegar to rest his chin on. He draws a line down the bridge of the husky's long nose with an index, and the dog sneezes into Venom's palm.

Cute. It's difficult not to look fond, even if it only manifests in the slightest narrowing of his single eye. ]

The urban jungle, huh. Sounds like that's where the future of war is. [ A little jarring, to be talking about conflict with a handful of dog, but that's the way it is. ] Doesn't give you much in the way of breathing room.

[ At least Venom had long stretches of time to himself out in the desert. That's not the sort of thing you can do when you're holed up in a warehouse, listening for incoming footsteps.

—Which means that the little Something he brought for Snake might not be very relevant, but. Oh well. ]

[ Snake attempted to stop fighting after he killed both of them, actually, but it's definitely not something that they need to discuss. He imagines it would only make Venom feel guilty in some weird way, because as far as Snake can tell, he's that sort of person. Which makes the situation that much worse, but he'd had no way of knowing the truth back then.

At least Venom had known what he was getting into.

Jaegar's taken to Ahab in no time at all, but that doesn't surprise Snake. He's been treated well since he was a puppy, so there's not much reason for him to mistrust anyone new. And Ahab has a strange sort of gentleness about him, too. ]

Guess I'm used to it. [ He shrugs a shoulder. ] We've made advancements in technology that make it a little easier. Soliton radar, AP sensors... [ It meant that if he was being careful, he didn't have to worry about getting spotted unexpectedly.

He watches Ahab, who's still more focused on Jaegar than anything else. That makes it easier for both of them; the dog's a good buffer. ] You said you had something for me? [ He's honestly at a loss for what it could be. ]

[ Paying closer attention to Jaeger instead of David is something that skews towards survival instinct. Kind of in the same vein as Big Boss and his tendencies to cut the conversation short before it becomes too much to deal with; not that Big Boss is here right now, at this juncture, but.

Not important. David is posing a question, and it reminds Venom of the cassette that he's stashed in his pocket for safekeeping. ]

—Yeah. Give me a second.

[ He whistles to Jaegar to get out of the way, then stands up to unhook his cassette player from his belt. That's followed by him fishing the 'gift' in question from his pants, and sliding it into the open compartment to set everything up for David's perusal. ]

...Thought you might want some music, if you're gonna be cooped up in here.

[ Quiet benefited from it, when she was confined— he'd hear her before he saw her, blaring "Maneater" through the grated ceiling.

A twist of his wrist, and he's making an offering. Does Snake dare to press Play............ ]

[ When Jaegar moves away from Ahab, Snake snaps his fingers to bring the husky over to him instead. The dog dutifully rests next to his chair, out of the way for the moment so that the two Snakes can come together.

Snake stands up when Ahab does, because somehow that feels like the right thing to do, crossing the room to meet him halfway and take the cassette player.

Despite Venom's concerns, Snake is a fan of listening to music when he gets the chance. It helps calm him down, even in the middle of a mission, assuming it's safe to have one earbud in as he sneaks around. Which isn't always the case, but...

He stares down at the device in his hand. At this point he's more used to an MP3 player, but there's something quaint about this too. He glances up all the same, wearing a slight frown. ]

But... this is yours, isn't it?

[ The device is obviously worn from use, chipped in the corners from rough rides and scratched where terrain'd met plastic. It feels a little personal, to give this up. Like Venom's handing a segment of his soul over for Snake's perusal. ]

Give it back to me when the weather clears.

[ Because, yeah, he can't part with his cassette player for good. There'd been something profoundly alienating about waking up and missing a decade of the world's comings and goings; music'd filled that gap in when words weren't enough.

Venom's expression eases— a silent don't worry, I'm not trying to indebt you to me— and tips his jaw like an expectant dog. "Well?"

(There's no tracklist, but you bet that the first song is Rick Astley's Greatest Hit.) ]

[ When the weather clears. Right. Ahab's only loaning it to him, a bit of company since he lives alone, save for Jaegar. It's a nice gesture, one he isn't at all convinced that he deserves, and he'd like to know where it's coming from. What's inspired Venom to do this?

Snake looks down at the cassette player, all the dings and scratches. It's well-used, well-loved, and his grip tightens on it a little as he nods. ]

Will do.

[ He says it in a straight-forward sort of way, but there's a promise in it all the same: that they'll both survive this mess.

Since Ahab is eyeing him somewhat expectantly, Snake shifts his thumb to push down on the play button. There's a little bit of give, but it turns on, and he's serenaded with Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.

There's a few seconds of tense, confused silence, and then Snake starts laughing — a low, throaty, unexpected sound. ]

[ Maybe this is just a truce, a sort of futile attempt at balancing out the grimness of their future by providing examples of success stories. It's no consolation for the weight of the death that Venom placed in Snake's hands, but maybe there's more to remember of their unlikely encounter here than the sound of a gun going off.

Maybe that's just Venom licking his own wounds, though. Contrary to popular opinion, Venom Snake is by no means blameless or unselfish.

But back to the here and now— listen to that sweet-ass drum intro. Venom's bionic fingers drum against his knee for the first rolling beats, gearing himself up for the sweeping synths to take them all to Rick Astley Church, hallelujah and amen.

We're no strangers to love, he starts mouthing, when he notices that Snake is.

Laughing.

Some part of him is perturbed (you stop laughing right this instant and respect this 80s hit, young man), but a greater segment of him is inexplicably inclined to laugh right along. Bemused but Amused, like he can't believe what he's seeing. ]

...Yeah, I know I'm behind on the times. [ this whippersnapper is laughing at his musical taste ]

[ If nothing else, the fact that Snake feels comfortable enough to laugh in the first place is kind of a Big Deal. It's still surprising when Venom joins in, neither of them sounding entirely natural with such mirthful sounds coming out of their mouths.

(They're meant for growling, grunting, yelling in pain or anger; not for laughing.)

The laugh has something to do with Venom's musical taste, less to do with the age on the song (who doesn't appreciate a good classic?), but the majority of it doesn't even come from that. How to explain?

Once his laughter fades off, Snake makes an attempt. ] In the future, this song is sort of an inside joke. People will send it to each other pretending it's something else, kind of like a prank. [ Look, he managed to do that without using the word "meme." Someone should be proud. ] So I guess you just sort of unintentionally did that to me. [ Hence, laughing.

The song, meanwhile, is still playing, and Snake hits the stop button, figuring that he can discover the rest of the mix later on, when he's only got himself and his dog for company. ]

[ Once the laughing starts, it becomes easier to continue— like revving an engine or winding a clock. Venom finds that his chest tightens with the understanding that they've found a shared moment of respite, and for the first time since meeting Snake, he knows that the strain between his ribs isn't attributable to guilt.

(he wonders if it's fine to be happy for someone, if that notion isn't inherently patronizing.)

Snake is a person that's lived a life and a future that Venom will never know. Something about that is oddly comforting, in a sense; to become aware that Snake has laughed and lived over customs and cultural references that are untainted by the people in his past.

He guesses that he ruined this particular joke by getting in on it, but also...

...how absurd. ]

Sounds harmless, as far as pranks go. [ Who doesn't want to be told that someone's never going to give them up? Venom can't stop looking dryly amused by this, sue him. ] ...I'll keep it in mind.

[ Implied: this might happen to Snake again in the future. ]

[ Snake wouldn't consider the joke ruined. It's not as if he's even thought about it in years, and if anything, a reminder of something so mundane from home brings some lightness to his chest too. It's harder than any of them want to admit, being away from home for this long. Nothing around them is familiar, save for a handful of people, and Snake would rather avoid half of them.

Maybe not Ahab so much, anymore. Maybe this is what they needed to put the metric ton of baggage behind them. Or at least to start that process.

But... he'll "keep it in mind"? Is Snake going to have to be on the alert constantly for rickrolls now? Maybe he does regret this after all. ]

Let me go check on that coffee.

[ He sets the cassette player down on a side table with the appropriate amount of care, then disappears back into the kitchen.

A few seconds later, his voice carries from the other room: ] Cream? Sugar?

[ This is how two people start getting to know each other: by knowing how they have their coffee. ]

Sugar, no cream.

[ And, honestly speaking, Venom can spend all day like this. Not talking about the wars that shaped them, or the bunkers that they've hidden in. He can spend the rest of the day not talking at all, content to let a dog sleep by his feet and to watch a young man finish his daily grind.

Speaking of dogs, though. Venom gets up, if only to crouch by the ground and get up in Jaegar's space. Hand in his pocket, fishing out his TAB.

This is how Snake's going to find Venom: on his knees on the carpet, snapping photos of his cute dogson. For posterity. ]

[ This does allow Snake to see a side of Venom he never could have before. Given that he hadn't even known of the man's existence or origins until they were both yanked from time and placed out here in space, they have to start somewhere.

Snake doesn't see it as pointless, to learn more about a man who's marked for death. He's alive now, one way or another, and that seems to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Ahab likes sugar in his coffee. Not like most soldiers (including Snake), who prefer to drink it black. Snake walks out with a steaming mug in each hand, pausing near the doorway when he realizes what Ahab is doing.

He's taking pictures of Jaegar. Snake tilts his head at the scene. It's something he's never thought to do himself, but Ahab's wasted no time. ]

Hope he's being a decent model for you.

[ He sets Ahab's mug down for him to grab whenever he pleases, then settles back down into a chair to sip from his own. ]

[ The easiest thing to do would be to continue orbiting each other like moons and satellites, casting shadows on their surfaces without ever interacting. For Snake's peace of mind, maybe that should be the extent of Venom's interactions with him: a vague presence instead of a real one, just the bare outlines of a man that should've been, could've been.

It's wrong to give credence to a man who never existed, but it's too late for that. Snake knows now that Venom likes sugar in his coffee, that he listens to bad 80s synthpop, that he has a penchant for cataloging events because he can't trust himself to recall his fond memories if he doesn't memorialize them.

He smiles like a man who knew how the expression worked, once upon a time. It's rusty, with hinges creaking, but it settles on his features and stays until Jaegar gets tired of modeling and trots back to his owner. ]

...Have to bring Kaz back some proof that I came over.

[ He rubs at his jaw. The gesture might've been sheepish, in another life. ]

So that's your excuse, huh?

[ Snake doesn't believe it for one second, not that there's anything wrong with taking pictures, particularly if it's of something as mundane as someone's dog.

They've definitely already passed the point where Snake could look at Ahab and simply see him as a copy of Big Boss, as a stand-in meant to fool him. (And he had, when he'd been so much younger and known nothing.) He's definitely his own person, no matter how much his face might resemble someone else. Snake hadn't known Big Boss as well as plenty of other people, but even he can see the differences clear as day.

Jaegar walks over to where he's sitting and Snake leans forward to give his dog even more pets and attention. He's really getting spoiled today.

There's a few more seconds of silence while he sips his coffee, and then he glances back up to Ahab. ] He's named after a friend of mine. [ His gaze is somewhat testing. Will that name mean anything to Ahab? ]

[ Learn enough about Big Boss and Venom Snake, and their differences become evident. Incidentally, this is also a testament to how little people really care to look into their idols: nine times out of ten, the myths are far more appealing than the man.

Venom takes the coffee that Snake made for him, puts his mouth to the rim, and mulls over the question. As a man who's more of a construct than anything else, the effort to recall something that he May Or May Not Know is a challenge that renders him silent for longer than necessary. ]

...'Jaegar'?

[ Finally, that silence breaks into a question. Or, well. Just a repetition. Breezy and noncommittal to an untrained eye, but look closely and the trepidation is simmering just under that placid pokerface— "am I supposed to know who this is?" ]

Not sure if he'll be happy to share a name with a dog.

[ "I don't know who this is", essentially. ]

[ It's subtle, but there's something about the way that Ahab's brow furrows, the way that his one eye goes out of focus as he searches in his memory banks for something that fits what he's just heard. Snake doesn't know the exact year that Big Boss first met Fox, so it's possible that this was a futile effort in the first place. Or maybe it isn't, and Ahab's implanted memories are simply limited.

Snake doesn't know much about how it was done, but it seems like they would only be able to give a doppelganger a basic outline of the life he was meant to view as his own. With that many gaps in his memory, how long had it taken him to realize the truth?

None of those questions are ones he can feasibly ask. ]

I don't think he would have taken it that wrong way, but... can't ask him. Here or back home.

[ Another sip of coffee. Snake realizes he hasn't revealed much about himself, and "I named my dog after a dead friend of mine" isn't the best place to start, but at least he's making an effort. ]

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