expiationnet | OKCINDR POST #5

OKCINDR POST #5

Ever wanted to have CR with a character and wasn't sure how to get them to cross paths? Wanted a dating app so you can hook up with hot people? Wanted to just find friends because you're a lonely bastard?

With the update of the tablets and the apps, we now have a dating / friendship app called OKCINDR! Players can use it as they please for the two months that it's up -- just imagine that they're profiles to swipe right on and everything. The idea is to encourage CR that may be difficult to get with characters who may or may not be interested in events / posts / logs / other network posts.

So, on January 2nd, characters randomly look back at their tablets to see the following:

OKCINDR PROFILE RESET #4
PLEASE RESET PROFILE

This month, if players reset their profile, they will have a list of questions to answer:

- What is the maximum amount of sheep you have counted when trying to fall asleep?
- Is it harder to forgive yourself, or to forgive others?
- How strongly do you feel that the past defines a person?
- What is your dream?
- Why would an android's dream contain electric sheep? Are they particularly drawn to livestock animals?
- If you could return to one specific moment in your life, would you?
- How do you wake up from a dream?
- Please
- Wake up
- You must wake up

Players, of course, are able to ignore this message. However, if a character wouldn't fill it out but a player would like to participate... the profile mysteriously resets itself. There may even be responses sent from Character A to Character B without Character A actually doing anything, if you'd like! This is a completely opt-in scenario! But for players who would like to participate fill out the post:

network profile

Character_Name

@username

ABOUT_ME

CODING

<lj-raw><div style="width:280px;margin:0 auto;background:#fff;box-shadow:1px 1px 4px 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-bottom:4px solid #587AC0;border-radius:4px;overflow:hidden;line-height:1.7;font-family:tahoma,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;">

<div style="text-align:center;background:#587AC0;padding:5px 0 5px 10px;display:flex;align-items:center;color:#fff;font-size:25px;font-family:georgia,serif;font-style:italic;letter-spacing:-1px;"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/wmn8wYK.png" style="filter:invert(1);margin:0 5px 0 0;">network profile</div>

<div style="height:220px;overflow:hidden;">
        <img src="URL HERE" style="width:100%;height:auto;">
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		<b style="color:#587AC0;">Character_Name</b>
		<div style="color:#999;">@username</div>
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ABOUT_ME
 
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</div><div style="margin:3px auto 0 auto;width:280px;font-size:8px;letter-spacing:1px;text-align:right;"><a href="https://tessisamess.insanejournal.com/155095.html" style="color:#999;text-decoration:none;">CODING</a></div></lj-raw>

If you'd like to for shits and giggles, here's some notifications that may be used:

Name (@username) followed you

Name (@username) unfollowed you

Name (@username) blocked you

Have fun! Code credit.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ that final comment makes viktor duck his head with an exhaled hah — it is the kind of joke-not-joke that he appreciates, especially with how much he can relate to the sentiment... he doesn't go out either.

but he does know this much, ]

Yes, there are others. I simply favour this one as it is owned by... a friend.

[ can he call vi such? he supposes yes — he remembers her coming by, telling him she missed talking to him, and it's still a strange thing, one he doesn't dwell on right now. so, with a rising inflection, ] We'll branch out next time?

[They will wander around and pick places to go based solely on the crowds visible through the windows—]

Yes. Next time.

[He really doesn't have anything else to offer in terms of locations... He's lurked around until he got some day olds at a bakery? Is that anything? Such is the life of a man who has no money but also no reason to eat until a few weeks ago, and only for fun. They can go beg for day olds.

Or maybe not.]

We could visit the library eventually.

[ yes, they will vibe check the places based on the crowdedness and how many out-of-the-way tables they have available —

but, no. perhaps he'll invite octavian over the next time caitlyn brings him too many baked things. ]

Hm, yes, that could be interesting. I wonder whether the selection covers all worlds we have been pulled from, or whether all the books have been created by this simulation.

This has been my concern as well. I wonder if the information is even trustworthy, were one to research this world itself.

[Why would it be, if it's a simulation and all of those past iterations thay turned into snake people were kept from them, after all. And how far back could a recorded history of a simulation go, for example...

But maybe they have nice encyclopedias with the pretty spine art. Pros, cons.]

I will bring a notebook. For criticisms.

It is quite possible we will find no information about this world at all.

[ said with a kind of a grumble, low at his throat, accompanied by the pursing of his mouth in a distinctly frustrated way — he hates that this place makes no sense, and doesn't bother trying to hide that.

but as ever, octavian doesn't fail to make that frustration bleed away into something else, approval-amusement, and he huffs out a breath. ]

Another good idea. I don't doubt there will be many of them. [ and should they be there together, picking this world's book selection apart is sounding quite appealing, actually. ]

That will be one of the criticisms.

[It'll be scathing and everything. A whole page reserved for it. They'll be frustrated for certain, but he likes a nice library, and he likes sitting with Viktor, so it should be a nice afternoon, or however long.]

If nothing else... There must be novels. I suppose.

[He hasn't read a novel in a very long time, maybe that would be fun.]

[ yes, surely there is something to be said for the fact that they would do it together — alone, his frustration might overshadow everything else, but with octavian there to trade ideas and observations with, to share that frustration and translate that into words that most of the population would undoubtedly call bitchy... yes, that might be nice, actually.

the remark about novels makes him blink, like he hadn't even considered that. ]

... Yes, you would imagine so. I've not read one since I was a child.

[ and he used to love them, then; see the world through different sets of eyes, read about distant places he'd never witness. but slowly, non-fiction took over, and then he didn't have any time for anything but to devour textbook after textbook, preparing for the academy, and then once there, well. yes, he hasn't thought of novels for decades. ]

[Isn't it weird to remember libraries have other books— Octavian can relate, being a creature of academia himself. Who reads novels anymore? Who has the time?]

I might have read a novel as a teenager. I do not remember it though.

[Should they start a book club, he wonders... if nothing else, they can criticize it together. Hmm.]

Well. We shall see. It might be... fun.

[ yet another point of commonality between them — viktor's lips quirk into a smile there, quietly amused. someone else might laugh at them, academics that they are, but he is glad they can speak like this and simply understand. ]

Surely there must be at least one worthy book in the entire library. [ meaning: yes, he thinks so too. it might indeed be fun.

then he purses his lips, thinking. ] As for other establishments... there is the Last Drop, but that is owned by Silco. So perhaps something else. [ he may have agreed to help silco out of the guilt he feels, but that doesn't mean he actively wants to see him. ]

We will have to reserve the time for finding it.

[Could they just ask a librarian? Yes. Will they? God no. It won't be any fun like that. And now it seems like something they will be doing, for the fun part, so. He'll remember it.

But oh, Silco. Octavian doesn't outright roll his eyes, but he purses his lips and glances... aside... for a moment. That guy.]

Something else would be preferable.

[ voluntarily talk to a stranger and trust someone else's opinion of what constitutes a worthy book? absolutely not. they will do that themselves, and it will be great.

and oh, if that reaction doesn't almost make viktor laugh — in the absence of a real laugh, though, in its place is a huff of air and a raised brow, as if to say, yes indeed. ]

Our paths never crossed, [ he says, looking at the table. ] But I knew of him. He is from the Undercity, same as I. [ then, dryly, ] He doesn't like me much. He thinks I am a traitor, for having left to study and work in Piltover. I always meant for Hextech to help everyone, especially the people of Zaun...

[ but, with a twist of his mouth and disdain in his voice, ] The council held all our funding, so they dictated what we could do.

[Somehow it doesn't surprise Octavian to hear that Silco doesn't like Viktor, because he likes Viktor very much and he doesn't much care for Silco's attitude about, hm, people? As a whole? So with that fundamental disagreement, it makes total sense to him that Silco and Viktor are not on great terms.]

For how much he talks about moving money around I imagine he would be the same.

[Moving money around and not much else, his tone suggests, because that's the overall impression he got. A control freak with money to push around.]

Pity that he thinks so little of you. For him. He is missing out. You are quite a find.

[ a huff of breath, at that, ] Yes, I have no doubts. Perhaps in another world, I would have stayed in Zaun and worked for him. Not in this one.

[ and whether zaun is the better or the worse for it... well. he can't say. and in any case, he forgets about that when octavian keeps speaking; once again, the compliment makes him feel wrong-footed, and he blinks, opens his mouth, then closes it with a snap.

finally, with a wry twist of his lips, ]

You may be the only one who thinks so. [ jayce doesn't count; jayce is an outlier with a weird taste in friends.

and maybe, if he was smoother, he might say something like then i am glad you found me — but instead, he aims a small but sincere smile at octavian and says, ] But thank you. I could say the same about you.

[Octavian shrugs, but something about Viktor being stuck working under Silco is so... bad to think about, in its simplest form. No, that would be terrible, even if Viktor stayed in his Zaun he could surely find a better employer. Or none at all! Perhaps, actually, Viktor deserves to make all of his decisions without someone breathing down his neck.

He doesn't say any of this, of course, but he frowns lightly until Viktor brings the subject back around to their mutual, hm, merits.]

You are a sensible man. I would be remiss to object. [hee hee, he is pretty cool and smart, isn't he,] And if you are right that only I think so...

[He shrugs; more Viktor quality time for him? Seems like it!!]

Then we two are the only ones with sense.

[ the hypothetical doesn't really matter — it is the concern of a different him, perhaps, somewhere else in time and space, but not this him.

this him is free to think that the way octavian accepts his returned compliment is very cute and charming — and the fact that he doesn't try to respond with the empty reassurances or platitudes most others would, a but that's not true or surely more people think that way; instead, he accepts viktor's words and yet finds a way to flip them inside out, shine a light on everyone else and say, look at them, they don't understand us, and that is fine because we understand each other.

quietly, he thinks that he is exceedingly lucky, to have been able to meet octavian.

out loud, he says, ] Was that under any doubt?

[ dryly said, in the tone of his deadpan jokes, in the way those jokes aren't actually jokes at all... because, ugh, people. ]

[Octavian hums, quiet and satisfied with Viktor's, ahem, assessment of other people. Yes, other people simply aren't worth it, are they— He remembers when he'd arrived here, shocked at how many living people were suddenly back in his periphery, achingly lonely and wanting more than anything to just relate to another person; he remembers getting advice on how to act and hating it completely, and withdrawing, and resolving to have simply less of an experience than other people.

And he has a few precious people, of course, and he cherishes them, but here is Viktor saying not in so many words that the rest of the people don't matter, that the two of them are enough. It's comforting.

As for his sass, good gracious,] Occasionally I consider dabbling in self-delusion.

[Pause for effect; three, two—] But not for very long. There are more engaging things to do.

[ other people, worth it? no, they are not. in most cases, at the very least; he has gone through his entire life with loner stamped over his existence like ink seeping into paper, impossible to scrub off once there... and yet, it's never been a designation that's particularly bothered him. there is a difference being a loner and being lonely — he has been solitary by choice, only sparing his time for those he's deemed worth it.

that octavian is in the top three of that very list, here, isn't such a surprise.

and neither is the way that once again his quiet sense of humour sticks the landing perfectly, making viktor duck his head to hide his smile and a huff of air almost like a chuckle. ]

Yes, [ he says, with a little tilt of his head and another sip of his drink, ] Like this.

[ that isn't too much to say, is it? he hopes not. and then, a little more contemplative, ] I confess I've not taken much time to do other things than work in the past, eh, fifteen years? I never saw the point in it. There was always too much to do in the laboratory, equations that wouldn't simply solve themselves, equipment to build and test... but I find I don't mind this.

[ his lips quirk up slightly as he looks at octavian directly over the rim of his glass. ] Perhaps there are merits to stepping outside the laboratory.

[Oh, things like this, isn't he charming— He is, actually, Octavian is very charmed, quietly flattered to be something worth leaving the laboratory for. He awards himself another mental point - for making Viktor laugh, it counts - and tilts his glass back and forth a bit so the ice will clink. Would it be too weird to do in front of Viktor if he just stuck his fingers in there to get the ice out and chew on it, hmm, much to think about—

But the flattery, the flattery, yes. He shrugs, like, well! Isn't that something!]

I am sure you have heard it all as well. "Come and have drinks with us." "Come meet my interdepartmental friends." [He shakes his head; ugh, social people in academia. Let him rest. Woe,] I love my brother despite his incessant friend-making.

[Both true and for the bit, as he would spend fifteen years in a lab too, if given the choice. Or thirty, if not. Immaterial.]

Were I not so... [he nods down at himself, so brand new? A man desperate to touch everything he hasn't felt in decades? You know,] I would relish disappearing completely. Although I would not mind if someone like you came to visit.

[ the ice makes a little plink! as it hits the side of octavian's glass, and then another; viktor watches this with that smile on his lips still remaining, small and fond.

though the dryly delivered quotes make him make a face in turn, brows furrowed, his dislike for offers like that apparent simply from his expression. ugh indeed.

though first, ] I suppose everyone must have one flaw. [ about his brother; if octavian loves him and from what he knows of how they learned together, he must be a lovely person, aside from this slight downside of being over-friendly. anyway, ]

That sounds familiar, yes. Less the offers like that, [ because he never had someone who would have tried to drag him to meet new people, jayce had only ever gone out with people out of an incapability to say no, and that had petered out when he had the excuse of hextech, ] but we had to attend a number of events to try and secure funding, or because the Council required us there.

[ with a shrug, ] I stopped attending as soon as I could. They didn't care if I was there, anyway.

[ he lets out a sigh and takes another sip of the drink. and then says, at that last remark, his expression lighter, ] I am glad. I believe I should miss you otherwise.

Two, [Octavian says, holding up two fingers for emphasis, for this scalding review of his precious brother,] He would not play cards with me either.

[Ha ha. And actually true, but only because some people here can't help it if counting cards comes very naturally to them, can they? No!

In any case, ahem. He hums sympathetically; yes, the elbow-rubbing for publicity and so on, he knows that one. All of those are also terrible, but at least he'd had the buffer of his brother—and Hiram, but that's not pleasant drinking conversation.

Now, not attending stupid events, that's great conversation. He clinks his ice again in a way that is, somehow, a little more cheery.]

Had we run in the same academic circles, [play with him in this space,] I would have enjoyed abandoning the worst parties with you.

[ oh, that show of his sense of humour, the way it is both cutting and yet his love for his brother is evident in every word — it is a tremendously good look on him, and viktor ducks his head, breathes out a laugh and says, ]

I wager that that was for a reason. [ said lightly, with an accompanying raise of his brows, pointed.

and with the way he isn't bothering to hide his growing fondness for octavian, hasn't bothered with that for a while now, it perhaps is not that big of a surprise when he says, ] And I with you. Perhaps I would have accepted some invitations, then, if you'd been there.

[Another point for making Viktor laugh, and he follows that up easily with,] He would recommend you not wager with me either.

[Ha ha. Now, as far as their, hm, mutual thought experiment fantasy here about running away from parties, he's flattered. Think of all the footnotes they could write on people's papers in private.]

I could have lived with "perhaps." You would have been a highlight.

But was I wrong?

[ in his wager, that is — no, it's a joke, still, and he doesn't expect a response to it all, entirely pleased to focus on the hypothetical of this world where they might have lived at the same time.

pleased, yes, in the kind of way that is half surprise and half something else, something that makes him look down almost sheepishly, like he isn't sure how to take the compliment and yet cherishes it dearly at the same time, not least for that it comes from octavian, specifically. ]

Really? [ again, not asked because he needs a response; it is mostly a huff of air, a quiet comment, as if his brain is still stuck on the possible truth of that and needs a moment. but when he has had it, ] So are you. Here, now, in this place.

[ not would have been, but are, because it's true. ]

[Ha ha— Octavian shrugs; they'll just never know, Viktor will have to play cards with him and find out himself, huh! He'll pencil that in for their next ~~big gay date~~ pleasant outing that Viktor pays for.

That aside, oh, it's quite sweet and endearing the way Viktor reacts to compliments, isn't it? It is, and Octavian will make a note of that for later. Possibly during a card game, who can say.

He says,] Flatterer. [Which is true, and as he holds up a hand to preempt Viktor saying he's just being honest, also true is,] It is working. And I believe you.

[He is utterly charmed, for all that he's only a little capable of showing it. Being here imagining these scenarios where they're colleagues in the same world is proof enough, but just in case: it's working.]

[ he's seeing cards in their future, just as he is seeing himself probably losing very badly — but somehow, this view of the future isn't all that terrible, mostly because it means spending more time with octavian.

and it seems like his somewhat-impulsive comment hasn't made things worse; if anything, it is better, with that confirmation that his words are working.

and imagine that — he's never been particularly great with his words, or so he feels in any case, and yet somehow with octavian, finding the right thing to say feels... easier. ]

Good, [ is all he says in response, taking a sip of his drink; good that it's working, good that he believes him. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OKCINDR POST #5

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wow cw this thread for shameless flirting

by their standards or other people's? trick question, the answer is both

shutting my eyes. yeah

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