Application Download | un: thecapn

[finalfrontiersman]

[ On the morning of the first of July, a new pop-up greets everyone who logs onto the main network: ]

NEW APPLICATION DOWNLOAD: ADOPT-A-PET

PURPOSE: PET ADOPTION APPLICATION

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ALLOW DOWNLOAD? Y/N

[ Once you have hit download, the app will load itself onto your tablet, and a new message will greet you: ]

Hey everyone, this is Jim Kirk. Welcome to Aldrip's shiny new Adopt-A-Pet app! These lovely puppers are looking for good homes; all adoptions will go through Kakashi. Please reach out to him if you have an interest in any of the dogs you see here. We'll update periodically as dogs are adopted/new dogs taken in; please @thecapn in the help tool to alert me if you notice anything glitching with the application itself.

ARIEL

Shepherd mix

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Ariel is hoping to become "Part of Your World". This sweet pupper is ready for her next adventure. Ariel knows sit, down, and takes her treats gently.

CELESTE

Retriever

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Meet Celeste, the 1-year-old Chocolate Lab/Husky Mix. She is currently working on skills like "off, "sit, and "touch. Celeste likes to settle down with a nice chew after her training sessions.

SCHNITZEL

Maltese

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Schnitzel is an energetic Maltese mix looking to find his forever home. He's a goofy boy who loves squeaky toys and tennis balls. Schnitzel is also very affectionate and will lean in closer to you to get more cuddles.

code

[ ooc: feel free to make up any dog you want, the above is just an example of what the interface of the app looks like! ]

Comments

[finalfrontiersman]

That's so interesting. What's your favorite thing to feel that someone else might not notice?

Remind me never to play poker with you. [ Half a jest, though when he finds out she's in charge of the casino, it'll all make sense. ]

It's as exciting as advertised maybe...30% of the time? [ Jim chuckles self-indulgently. ] But the crew keeps themselves entertained. We should have you over sometime, I'm sure Spock would love to help me recount the greatest hits.

[ The grin in his voice definitely says, I'll air Best Of: Spock Edition to his secret friend, no hesitation. ]

[fieldtrip]

[ Toph likes this question; it's perceptive and respectful of her experiencing the world differently. Her voice lightens. ] There's so much happening underground all the time. One time I found these crystal caverns underneath a lake - it was really cool. [ Sure, there was a lot going on at the time so she hadn't exactly had a chance to really appreciate the caverns, but it was still cool.

Then she grins. ] No kidding. I clean up at poker. Not that I even know what hands anyone's playing. [ Ah reading, her cursed limitation she can't overcome. ]

Oh yeah? Does Mr. Snarky tell stories, or does he just over-explain all the parts no one cares about? [ Toph definitely has his number. ]

[finalfrontiersman]

That's incredible. You can sense that far down? [ Jim doesn't bother hiding his interest, genuinely intrigued by the concept. It's so far removed from anything he would have thought about - and isn't that why he signed up to Starfleet in the first place? To meet new people, to discover new ways of seeing the world?

That gets a laugh out of Jim; he can picture it, a disgruntled poker table getting cleared out by a blind thirteen year old. ] Clearly it's not that important a component to the game, so long as you know what you have. Do they have ADA decks around here?

He does, or at least, he's capable of it; the over-explaining happens when there's something he doesn't want to tell you. But listening to the things he doesn't say is the best part.

[fieldtrip]

If I'm paying attention, sure. It's not like I'm putting that much thought into it all the time, but if I stay sharp, it's basically impossible to sneak up on me. ... Except from the air. [ That's a little grumpy aside. Toph knows her weaknesses and is highly miffed by them. ]

It's better if I lose a few times anyway, so even knowing what I have doesn't really matter. And I have no clue what 'ADA' means.

[ Toph smirks a little, which maybe comes through in her tone, but she's sincere when she observes, ] You guys sound really close.

[finalfrontiersman]

Duly noted. Have you tested how far you can sense, distance wise?

Lull them into a false sense of security. I like your style. [ Toph would be an absolute menace at the bars nearest the Academy, with cocky cadets making illegal bets left and right. Ah, weren't those the days. ] It stands for Accessibility Design Administration. They set standards for accessibility; like elevators having raised lettering on the buttons, or consumer products - like a deck of cards - having options for differently-abled people.

[ It used to be an American organization - a product of the Americans with Disabilities Act of the late 20th century - but when country lines ceased to matter, the organization had been elevated to global status. ]

He's one of my closest friends. [ This is definitely oversimplifying the matter, but at least they're talking via voice chat and she can't hear his heartbeat. He doesn't want to know what it would say about him. Somehow, he has the impression that she's seeing through him anyway. They're roommates, but he's also conveniently leaving out the fact that they share a bed. Shh it's fine. Don't @ him. ] Tough to get to know, but worth it, in my humble opinion. Jokes aside, it's nice to know there's someone else who sees that, too.

[fieldtrip]

Tested it? No, but it's pretty far. Now I know why you're friends with Spock.

[ Of course they test things together. Toph somehow knows this is a sappy shared activity for them. Gross. ]

You have whole organizations for that? [ she asks in dubious surprise. It's very hard for her to picture, coming from a society that doesn't really believe in a concept of disability to start with. Not in the sense that other people should make things easier for her just so she can live her life. That kind of help usually comes with pity attached. Toph is used to proving she can do things entirely on her own, or saving her requests for assistance only for friends she really trusts. ]

... That's cool, I guess. For all the blind people who don't have super awesome earthbending sensory powers.

Yeah, yeah. Most people like things to be as easy for them as possible. Not me -- I like a challenge. [ Implying befriending Spock is a challenge? Yes. ]

[finalfrontiersman]

What? You're not even a little curious?

[ Hey, he can hear the derision! Science is cool. Alright...maybe he is a bit of a nerd, kind of hard to deny that when you're a member of Starfleet. ]

Yes, we do. Equal access is a basic humanitarian right in our society. [ Jim understands that it might not be, in other places and times; yet still, sometimes, he's surprised by the depths he's confronted here in Aldrip. His time is a product of a post-War world, and though they have their own challenges and tragedies, some of the more avoidable and quote "medieval" are indeed behind them. ] It is. They help a lot of people. When I was a kid, they gave me this machine - I called it an allergy wand - that I could use on food to determine if it was safe for me to eat.

[ Free, of course. Credits were mostly recreational, not spent on things people needed in order to survive. ]

Putting your mind to it is most of the battle. He likes to put up a good front. [ Oh, doesn't he know it. Befriending Spock World Champ over here. ]

[fieldtrip]

I'm the one with the senses, why do I need to have some number that says how far it is? [ she points out reasonably. Toph isn't against testing it if it'll make him and/or Spock happy, but for her own part it's not something that would occur to her.

She sees a chance to leave the topic of institutionalized disability accommodations and jumps on it. ] You had that when you were a kid but not now? Seems like the kind of thing you should keep with you, nerd guy.

He can have his front. [ Toph's easy acceptance of this maybe explains why she's so far been successful in befriending Spock. ] I can't have all my friends be goody two-shoes heroic types that give friendship speeches and devote their lives to world peace. I'd go nuts.

[finalfrontiersman]

So you can gauge distance? Strategize and extrapolate based on that? [ Jim can think of a hundred reasons why it would be useful, but he's also a strategy nerd in addition to a science nerd, so it's not that surprising. They're so fun at board game night, he swears.

(And they would totally love to test it, if they can lure Toph into STEM.) ]

It's not something I needed on a ship, where all my meals are pre-determined. Also not something I carry with me on duty. [ Would sure as hell be handy here, though, she's not wrong. ]

You're spared the friendship speeches, but devoting his life to world peace... [ Jim laughs, unable to help himself. ] Kind of in the job description. Sounds like you have a way of pickin' them.

[fieldtrip]

[ Real world situations and the corresponding need to strategize on the fly appeals to Toph a lot more than theoretical conversation. So she sounds more understanding as she answers: ] Oh yeah, I do that all the time. Until pretty recently we were in a worldwide war, so it's not like I was sitting around running numbers.

[ Also it sounds boring, but that's the adrenaline junkie in her. ]

Can't you just make another one? [ she points out in a 'duh' tone. Technology is all a big mysterious black box to her, so hey, why can't he? ] Don't you have a club for that? [ something something science ]

You're kidding. [ Toph can't help it; she half-groans through her laughter, a genuine expression of long-suffering amusement. ] That's how I got dragged into the war in the first place -- my best friend is a pacifist monk. [ And it's exactly a funny a combo as Jim might be picturing. ]

[finalfrontiersman]

This might be a dumb question, [ At least he's prefacing it before he asks? But whether or not it was dumb, Jim thought it was worth asking for his own edification, if nothing else. ] But your powers seem connected to the earth - obviously, I know, bear with me - but you also bent that metal in and out of shape. If metal projectiles are coming towards you, is that part of what you can sense?

[ The words worldwide war should phase him more, but half the kids here seem to be child soldiers from the dark ages... ]

We don't quite have all the parts we'd need. [ Jim laughs good-naturedly, shrugging helplessly. It's true that he and Spock could build a lot with their future knowledge, but they were still somewhat limited by the technology of Aldrip's supposed time. If he were here for a while he might be able to crudely program something...but hopefully he wouldn't be here that long. ]

A pacifist monk? [ That doesn't seem like it suits Toph's style, but doesn't it, though? ] How did a pacifist monk pull you into a war?

[fieldtrip]

By trying to end it, of course. It's kind of his job to keep the balance between the elements, and if you're Aang that means telling everybody to get along.

[ Toph sounds sarcastic, but also long-sufferingly fond. It's pretty clear that she'd gotten suckered in but still retains a sense of humor about it. She definitely had not set out to pursue world peace; she'd just been trying to exert her own autonomy and kick some ass. But once she makes a friend, she keeps them and doesn't look back. ]

Anyway, yeah, I can sense things in the air if they're made of earth. You're talking about bullets. [ Thanks to Caitlyn - and to a lesser extent, Vash - Toph is pretty familiar with firearms. ] It's tricky when they're moving that fast, but redirecting something is a lot simpler than stopping it. Why d'you want to know?

[finalfrontiersman]

Doesn't really seem like that concept jives alongside planet-wide war. [ But what the hell does he know, when people can control the elements with their mind? He's also envisioning Toph befriending some ancient monk dude, so God forbid he ever meets the 12 year old menace. ] Did he succeed?

Bullets, swords - hell, someone throws a refrigerator at you. [ Don't ask him how he knows. Experience is a helluva drug. ] Well, I'm not planning to shoot at you, but these things are good to know, strategy wise. Something that may be a challenge for somebody else might not be with your skillset. It's important to know who to call.

[fieldtrip]

It really doesn't, [ she agrees emphatically, ] especially one going on for a hundred years. ... But the spirits probably picked Aang for a reason. He did stop it.

[ Toph truly carries immense respect and affection for her friend, even if she feels obligated to take the piss out of him on the regular. ]

You can call me. [ She means it in its full simplicity. Lest this is taken for a friendship speech of her own, she adds: ] I like to be where the action is. Just, uh, it can get a little challenging if it's flying or on the water. But if it's touching the ground?

[ Toph smacks a fist into an open palm, the noise audible. ]

Haven't found something I couldn't take yet. [ It should be a boast, and it is, but it's also just true. ]

[finalfrontiersman]

That long? [ Jim blinks, not having expected that. A hundred years? A war, ravaging a planet for that long…wow. ] This era of peace must be new for you.

Duly noted. [ Jim’s tone betrays his amusement at Toph’s not-boast, but he takes it at face value. He’s already seen her Earthbending make putty out of hard metal, and it’s not rocket science to extrapolate how effective it would be against enemies on land. ] You’ll be one of my first calls whenever we find a good fight.

[ Which is not something Jim typically has a problem with, but then, Aldrip was full of surprises. ]