death_calling: [Commisioned icon/ please do not take] https://commiss.io/junk (1 death)
Olivia Moore ([personal profile] death_calling) wrote in [community profile] nexus_crossings2020-11-29 10:31 am

Dying for a bit of change

 

The Nexus has a weird way of dragging people into it, yet alone choosing weird people to introduce to it. Olivia was heading to lunch when this whole ‘magical dimensional portal’ appeared in the supply closet. This must be a common thing, because there seemed to be a lot of other confused people looking for their doors when she exited hers. Instead of making the situation worse, she’s going to live with it for now. 


It doesn’t take long for her to figure out basic locations in the Nexus, such as the Grand Library, but she’s sticking to the shopping district this time around. It’s impossible to keep track of time here and after spending money on interesting used books and having a surprisingly authentic bowl of Japanese ramen, she’s now doing what any responsible adult would do: taking it easy instead of trying to find a way home. 


In front of one of the shopping district's furniture stores, she’s laying on a clean display mattress, oddly positioned like a dead corpse. Hands over her chest, legs compacted together as if she’s trying to look ominous. Her choice of attire, a three piece suit pulled straight from Don Draper’s 1950’s closet, only adds to this creepy pose she’s decided is comfortable. Her hair is pulled back nice and neat, and occasionally she lowers her hand to make sure that the large assortment of shopping bags she’s been carrying around aren’t gone.  


It’s apparent that she’s either paid the owner to let her do this, or maybe vice versa in a strange twist of fate. What better way to advertise an excellent mattress for sleep than to make puns about sleeping peacefully like the dead. 


“Okay, the whole Multiverse concept is intriguing, but I have to wonder...how does time work here? Am I going to go back home and find I don’t have a job because an hour here is ten days in my world?” As if to emphasize her point, she pulls back one sleeve to reveal her watch has stopped working. “It’s strange because I’m able to use my credit card on interdimensional purchases without anyone giving me issues, but my phone clock and watch all bit the dust when I got here. Is that normal?”


There’s a tiny hint of concern in her voice, but the comforting mattress and relaxing nature of the Nexus makes being stressed nigh impossible. For now, at least.  

chiaro_oscuro: (8)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-29 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've never seen that happen before, but I'm not the kind of person who carries a watch. Maybe you could find a replacement here?"

Olivia is approached by a young man in black clothes and hair that matches it. There's a gloomy look to him, even though his expression isn't particularly dark. He thinks over her question, a free hand tousling that thick black hair.

"I can't answer completely, since it doesn't work the same way for everyone. I know people who come and go regularly - and they've told me that barely any time passes between when they come and when they go. They can spend a month here and when they come home barely any time's passed at all. It's very interesting, really. The Nexus is my home, but I've noticed that time passes differently in the worlds I have friends from."
chiaro_oscuro: (7)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-29 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"You might find something at the 13th Hour. There are older items for sale there, and it stocks a wide variety of things," Ben explains as he looks at the clock. "Wouldn't be surprised if there are some clocks and watches there. It's worth a look." Most of what Ben knows about Earth culture comes from the Nexus. It's as alien to him as he's sure things from his galaxy would be to Earth residents.

"I'm a permanent resident to the Nexus. Not by choice, but, well, it's an improvement over being dead back home." Ben laughs, with a hint of bitterness to it. He accepts the offered hand, trying to brighten a little. "Ben Solo. You can call me Ben. I spend most of my time in the downtown area, but I do go shopping sometimes."

Everyone needs to shop, even former darksiders. Ben's not as awkward in public as he was when he first came, thankfully, and he's grown used to the Nexus over time. It's a change that people here aren't scared of him. Granted, he's trying very hard to give them no reason to be.

"The Nexus isn't a bad place to live, but it's very, ah, exciting. And unpredictable. I've only been here for almost a year, and it's certainly something else. It sounds as if this is your first visit, Olivia."
chiaro_oscuro: (4)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-29 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
"I see. It is a beautiful watch." Ben nods, dropping the topic. He's not usually a sentimental man with objects, but there are things he values for sentimental reasons as much as practical. "I'm not particularly fussy, but you can call me Ben." He's not picky either way, but he's grown used to the sound of his real first name the longer he's lived here. It feels good, and it's something he's grown used to. It's been years since he was regularly called by his real name by strangers.

It's awkward, being dead, though Ben's not the only person here who died in his world. It's happened to a few people. He has a few theories about his own particular case - maybe the Force decided to give him a second chance, maybe the fact that Rey was still alive and their bond still existed tethered him to existence - but he can't confirm any of them.

"Not...exactly. People have died in their home worlds and come back here. I'm one of them. No one knows how it works, but this isn't any kind of afterlife, since other people can come and leave freely. All I know is that when I died in my home world, next thing I know I'm flat on my back in the Wilds, injuries healed."
chiaro_oscuro: (Default)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-29 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"You'd be right, especially on their first visit. Usually it's a matter of finding the way you came in - people often pack up a PINpoint to come and go more easily. Even though I can't return to my home universe, I have friends and contacts who live in other worlds, so they still have their uses."

Ben finds himself drawn into the conversation, too.

"You study death, then? It's certainly one of life's great mysteries, and one that everyone's been touched by. I would have said it's one of the things that everyone and everything who's ever lived has had in common, but there are immortals here." Ben's familiar with death, both as a dealer of it and as someone who's died. "That rule doesn't apply to them for obvious reasons."
chiaro_oscuro: (7)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-30 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
"A worthy thing to do. I don't travel often, but there are some worlds I find myself in to help some of my friends. In the Nexus and out of it. There are angels and gods proper, living here. The Guardians of the Last City can come back from death so long as their Ghosts are still intact."

Ben nimbly reaches into his robes and pulls out his own, showing it to . It's a slightly older model, and he's had no need to replace it.

"The Nexus is anything but boring. There's a lot of businesses here that offer services to visitors and residents - mechanics, hospitals, restaurants, lodging. There's a villa where the fallen angels live. You'll probably bump into them eventually. There's also the Wilds, which is good for sightseeing, but you have to be more careful there. The anti-violence field isn't so strong, and there's dangerous wildlife."
chiaro_oscuro: (4)

[personal profile] chiaro_oscuro 2020-11-30 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"The Nexus probably is more accepting. It has to be, and not just towards death. Many different species and cultures are represented here, and somehow we make it work. I'm impressed, honestly."

Not that there haven't been bumps, and obviously not everyone gets along, but the whole system comes together more smoothly than expected. It's in everyone's interest, mostly, for the society here to work.

"That's a good question. Sometimes people are called monsters because that's what they look like. The Nexus has plenty of those. And other times monsters are what people become, and those are both more dangerous and harder to spot." Ben still considers himself a monster, but one that's trying to be less monstrous. "The Grand Library's a good place to visit. I go there often, and you have a good chance of finding what you're looking for."

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chiron_survivor: (not sure about that)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2020-11-30 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
The young woman passing by the furniture store startles a little when she hears the question. Perhaps Olivia had been too good at lying still on the mattress. Adia turns to look at her and smiles tentatively.

"Um... it's been a long time since I came here via portal and not PINpoint, but I've found it's usually the other way around, that time here passes faster relative to your world. But you probably shouldn't stay here for too long, as portals disappear sometimes."

She doesn't want to scare Olivia, who seems to be handling her first trip to the Nexus with aplomb, but she'd hate for her to get stuck, either.
chiron_survivor: (that's good news isn't it?)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2020-12-01 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, it's fine," Adia says quickly, waving a hand. She's gotten used to all sorts of things due to her years visiting the Nexus, but none of that experience has made a dent in her startle reflex.

Her brows draw together a little in concern over the fact that Olivia needs to find her portal. "Well, um... I can help with that, if you'd like. You know, when you're ready to go back. I've helped a couple people find their portals before." Adia wouldn't go so far as to say she's an expert or anything, but she'd feel bad if she didn't at least offer. "Sure, ask away."
chiron_survivor: (reporting for duty)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2020-12-01 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Adia looks a little relieved that Olivia decided to stand up, because the other option was for Adia to take a seat on the mattress. Her initial impression of Olivia is that the woman is incredibly put-together. Adia's glad that her days of dirt-stained clothes from life on New Caprica are long behind her.

"Adia Costas," she replies, shaking Olivia's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Olivia. Just Adia is fine." Despite now being over thirty, Adia is unused to being referred to as ma'am, and there's no need to be so formal in the Nexus, anyway. "And honestly, I'm more than happy to help you find your portal, you don't need to compensate me for anything."
chiron_survivor: (thoughtful but hopeful)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2020-12-04 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"You can get me a hot chocolate," Adia suggests, because she doesn't want to be rude, either, and refusing someone else's generosity more than once veers into that territory. But keeping it to a token compensation makes Adia feel better about the entire exchange.

The direction Adia takes is towards the Plaza, as that seems a good place to start their search. "It reminds me of that, too. I guess with people from so many different realities interacting, it's kind of inevitable. What's your world like? Are you from Earth?"

She's curious what Olivia does for a living, too. The woman is dressed so well and speaks so formally that she must be some sort of professional.
chiron_survivor: (I see you)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2020-12-06 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
"There are a lot of places I like," Adia replies thoughtfully. Once she was able to afford something other than the vending machine drinks in the Plaza, she made it a point to try all the various cafés that she could. "Crossroads Café is right in the Plaza, though, which makes it the most convenient."

Adia does not seem as concerned about theft, the cross-strap of her messenger bag leaving her hands free. As they pass the vending machines, she points them out and says, "If you want to visit the Nexus again and don't want to rely on a portal, I'd recommend getting a PINpoint. It's a little teleportation device so you can travel between universes."

Olivia's description of her home state might be considered a little too cut and dry for some, but it makes Adia smile with something akin to nostalgia. "You know, when I first came to the Nexus, I did a lot of research on Earth. I was fascinated by how so many cultures and environments could exist on just one planet. When I read about the Midwest in the United States, it reminded me a lot of my home... I don't remember reading about Missouri specifically, but what you just described sounds an awful lot like Leonis."

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eumenis: (Default)

[personal profile] eumenis 2020-12-05 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
The woman passing by barely spares a second glance at the figure lounging on the mattress, at least until she stirs and speaks. Other people might find a corpse relaxing in the Nexus odd or startling, but Furiosa has seen plenty less tranquil ones in her own world, and she's perfectly willing to assume that if the stranger is a dead body, she belongs and is quite all right where she lies.

She does pause when spoken to, though, and gives her a curious look. It's hard to imagine more of a contrast in dress style between the two of them. Furiosa is dust-worn and sun-brown, in stained and patched clothing, with a left-arm prosthesis that's nothing short of a dieselpunk monstrosity.

"I don't think there's any solid formula. Time in my own world runs about the same as here, but a lot of other people I've run into find it's faster here, and I've known at least one or two who have time in their own world stand still while they visit this place. You may not know until you go back and return again."
eumenis: via malagraphic (23)

[personal profile] eumenis 2020-12-07 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
She's so polite! You'd think that would be a given in a place where people are generally here to make connections--at least that's Furiosa's perspective on why visitors come to the Nexus--but surprisingly, it isn't. And she is hardly easily offended, herself, but there's something charming about the neat, black outfit and the manners of the woman it's attached to. A glimmer of what the old world was like before the wars and the nukes, maybe.

"Time seems to move forward in a linear fashion for nearly everyone," she says wryly. "But aside from that, I wouldn't count on anything."

"I've been coming here for trade for several years." She looks thoughtful. "Probably the best advice I could give is don't take anything for granted. Not people, not the place itself. It looks calm and orderly right now, but it can turn into something else in the blink of an eye."

"And with people, you never know if you're talking to a human or a six-billion-year-old god from a galaxy you've never heard of. That's always a fun surprise." She rolls her left shoulder in a shrug. "I'm getting tea; if you want to come with and talk, I'm game."