yougotbamboozled

Luckily for Octane, his first few shifts had actually been pretty slow. It likely was less luck and more so that his bosses had very little faith in him and had scheduled him during lighter shifts.

He is actually pretty decent at chatting up tables and earning good will and half decent at remembering orders. The issue, of course, is that he's far too easily distracted to be anywhere close to efficient. That, and he tends to break things while entertaining his tables.

Speaking of, there's an audible pop as one of the thick beer steins he'd been balancing in a tower on his chin topples off and hits the table, narrowly missing one of the patron's plates. With an apologetic laugh, he quickly grabs it and hustles back to the bar to rid himself of the evidence before the boss can see and then quickly hops to a new table to avoid the crime scene.

"Hey, what's up? Welcome to Original Sin. What can I get you, compa- Whoa! Mirage!? No mames! When did you get here?" Octavio immediately swivels one of the empty chairs around to take a seat in it backward. He's without his usual goggles and mask - his bosses had expressly told him they were 'too alarming' to the patrons' - and is sporting a toned down pair of green-tinted glasses and a mask with a nice happy w on it.

Elliott hadn't really known what to do with himself in the city, they told him about gems, monsters, gods and... touching? Sort-of? And sent him on his way. It wasn't... awful. So far. But it surely wasn't the city he was used to, wasn't the comforts of Solace he had adapted to-- or even the hellscape that was some of the planets they hosted the games on.

So he tried to head toward what was familiar; and that was bars. Not that he was a heavy drinker, even if he could put down a few, it was more a comfort thing. He'd spent years of his life working away in a bar. and it was a decent place to socialize. If he had thought a new planet with people he knew was stressful, being in some strange gem-world with strangers was much worse.

Which probably amplified his surprise when he heard a familiar voice. He didn't believe his ears at first, but it's hard not to recognize that shock of green out of the corner of his eyes that puts the pieces together. "Oct--" The name chokes in his throat for a moment, head on a swivel as his companion sits, and for a few seconds he's stunned but it does nothing to damper the smile that comes after. "I didn't think-- they got you too?"

Part of him feels guilty about being happy to see him, because that also meant that they were both stuck in the same kind of situation. "I got here this morning, same as you I'd imagine?" It'd make sense, considering he had seen Octavio the day before.

"Got me?" Octane just laughs, grinning, "Hermano, this place is a vacation. And, like, not even that boring of one. You can find stuff to do."

Not everything had been sunshine and rainbows but most of the bad stuff had either been interesting or his own fault. Suffering through withdrawal from running out of Stim from home and desperately trying to find a half decent replacement had been the worst of it so far.

"This morning? Oh! No, no, no, I've been here for months. I don't think time moves the same. I got here after Revenant. Hound and Caustic are here, too," Just in case he hadn't run into them yet, which seems fairly likely since he thinks Octane had arrived with him.

"You, uh... doing okay? With all this."

Something falters in his expression, briefly, a micro tug at the corners of his mouth, at his brows-- but as soon as it's there it's gone. Whatever it was, he buries it with ease, instead letting out a faint laugh as he nods. "It... looks like a vacation. Yeah." Their idea of a vacation would probably differ in a lot of ways, all things and limbs considered...

"Months." He swallows. So there was something off about... time here? He wasn't really sure, but it didn't sound crazy, not when he had been so close to Renee after all. His cheek sucks in slightly as he grinds it between his teeth, using the slight ache to keep himself grounded from the ever-growing pile of strangeness this new place contained.

"Oh, great, all my favorite people." There's no missing the sarcasm; though Hound wasn't so... worrying, the others. Well. Maybe he'd avoid them if he could manage to do that. The last thing he wanted was to be murdered one day into some sort of dumb time-traveling kidnapping-based-vacation.

"Oh-- yeah, yeah, I'm doing great. I love a good kidnapping. Second, only to getting shot, you know?" And he laughs, but there's not enough warmth to it, because he really doesn't find it funny, but he laughs anyway. Like a tic, or coping. When it stills he leans back in his chair, eyeing his friend for a long moment before cocking a brow. "Months, huh? No way home?"

Consciously, the little flicker of a frown doesn't register but Octavio doesn't fail to pick up on something, something just a little off, though he'd never be able to pinpoint it. He cocks his head a little, especially when Mirage doesn't sound like he agrees with him.

"Yeah... four... I think?" There'd been one month in there that had been pretty terrible and it threw off his sense of how much time had passed but he's pretty sure he'd been here more than three months now. It isn't until now that he realizes he never really asked anything in regards to timeframes to anyone else who'd arrived. It just hadn't really ever been on his radar of things to commit braincells to.

He breaks into a knowing smirk at Mirage's reaction to his current company but shrugs.

"It was kind of just nice to have anyone familiar here. But. Yeah," His smile falters a little, gaze unfocused, as he thinks about how much he's missed Che's company these past few months.

"Well, I haven't gotten shot at since I got here," He pauses, thinking, and then nods to himself, needing to think a little harder to make sure he isn't just forgetting about getting shot at. Sadly for Mirage's lackluster attempt at humor, it doesn't get a laugh from Octane either.

"Not that any of us have found or heard about. People do seem to disappear here and there though... which probably isn't great," He swishes his lips, uncertain, "Uh. But, hey, so, Syncing is a big thing around here and, like, I'm sure you totally won't need any help but, uh, if you needed someone to Sync with, you know, I could help you out. I wouldn't mind helping you out. If you wanted to."

His tone is devoid of embarrassment or even hesitation, he just really isn't sure how to put the offer into words in any way that might be eloquent.

They aren't the answers he wanted, even if they were the answers he expected. Not that it's Octavio's fault, or anyone else's as far as he knows, but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow. The lack of bullets was one thing, but getting shot was a voluntary thing on his part-- not that he missed it. That wasn't the part of the games he really enjoyed.

So he let himself just swing to the next conversation because it was pointless to keep harping on his worries. There weren't going to be answers, most people had made that obvious, even if he had a hard time accepting it. "Oh." He paused as he let out a long breath, furrowing his brows a bit. "What?" There's a lingering moment where he just stares, something that might have made things awkward if it weren't for the fact he looked like he was processing things rather than being offended.

"People keep mentioning that to me--" A little huff leaving his chest as he finally sat back, arms crossing as he pursed his lips. "Always in this kind of-- vague way." A hand lifts, waving the words off before his arms cross again, eyeing Octane like he might get some answers out of looking at him. "Through all this flowery language I'm really not sure about--

"It's sex, right? Fucking?" And maybe he says it a little too loud for a bar, but he doesn't seem concerned with it. "No one wants to just... come out and say it." He could see why, but if there was anyone he could ask about it, it'd be Octavio. He'd at least get a straight answer.

Octane purses his lips in an exaggerated expression of thought as he figures out how to answer Elliott. In the very least, it implies that Elliott's guess isn't completely correct.

"That's part of it. I mean, you get the most manna and money when you just hook up with someone," He shrugs nonchalantly, as loud and unabashed as usual, "But you can Sync with, like, as little as holding hands or like, leaning up against another person while watching TV. Friend-syncing is totally a thing.

But, like, if you're gonna hang out and Sync why not get the most bang for your buck. Literally. Banging. I meant sex, if that was your actual question. But other people might not mean that if they offer."

He smirks a little before he remembers something, eyes widening, "Oh! I should give you a heads up though. When you Sync doing anything, you get this... connection. It's hard to really explain but you'll know what I'm talking about once you do it. When the connection... connects, you both feel what the other is feeling. So, if you have a secret crush on someone, it's probably not gonna be so secret anymore if you Sync with them. Comprender?"

"So, you might as well just tell me now," He grins, giving Elliott a teasing wink.

Edited 2021-08-01 21:36 (UTC)

"Wild." Is all he can get off of his lips for a second, the idea of making some money and-- manna?-- by just chilling and holding hands seemed like an easy proposition on the surface. Enough that he might have taken it for a prank if no one had mentioned anything similar to it to him before now. Not a very great prank, but harmless-ish as far as hand-holding and cuddling went. At least for most people.

A hand raises and he rubs it against his chest, a sort of nervous gesture like he might release some of the pressure there. It doesn't help, it never does, and yet it's something that was burned into him, a habit of sorts. His breath escaped slowly and he just nodded. It didn't feel as insurmountable as everything else, in a way. Maybe because being kidnapped to a magical-gem land just tended to override the "little" idiosycracies that might have been bothersome in a normal place.

"I guess I'll just have to give up my position as the leader of your Fanclub before I hold your hand." There's an impish flicker to his gaze, a slight squint of amusement as he teased back-- that was a lot easier than the other thought that was suddenly eating away at his brain like some sort of worry-borne bacteria. He can't ignore it though and realizes he needs to know an answer before he even takes another two steps.

"Is it just-- stuff about the person you're 'synching' with, that they know? Or... everything?"

Octane's grin grows a little wider, eyes glinting with barely contained energy. 'Wild', indeed. It is pretty crazy, thinking about how much money he's earned by, well, hooking up with people. Oh, right, and cuddling. Yep. Definitely some cuddling. Platonic cuddling.

"Ay, I knew it. I had my suspicions, you know," He continues with the dumb bit. He can practically feel the tension that had been building in the air around Elliott begin to dissipate slightly.

He tilts his head a little at the question, an eyebrow raising slightly though he decides not to dig. Just an answer.

"It's all in the moment. You feel like... emotions and... um, desires. Whatever thoughts sort of trickle in," Octane does his best to put the experience into words, "It's not really like 'stuff' but more like 'feels'. And, yeah, it's only the person you're synching with. You don't pick up how the dude who is walking by as you're holding someone's hand feels."

"Was it all the posters in my room that gave it away?" He leers for a moment before it softens into a playful smile. He liked to play at the idea of being the center of the universe, but it wasn't as genuine as he tended to present. There was something fun in turning that on someone else, if only occasionally. He allows one arm to stretch and roll before he drapes it over the back of the chair, turning a little more in his seat to keep his attention on Octavio as he speaks.

The mention of emotions, desires, and all that being spread just makes him feel like he did when he first arrived: sick. But the assurance it was just feelings was mostly what he was concerned about, and that makes him look visibly relieved. "Good." The last thing he needed was fucking to let someone root around in his brain for whatever secrets may or may not be there; and all the same, he had no desire to pry like that. Mostly.

"I meant-- it's more, feelings than thoughts, right? Memories?" He quests again, like he hadn't picked up on the subtleties of what he's said, but a small part of him was just happy to listen to Octane talk instead of yammering on for once, it was a small reminder of home when he really needed one. Even if he wouldn't admit to it.

"Pffft, please, there's no room on your walls between your own posters for my merch. Obviously you're pining in secret," He counters. Even in this ridiculous alternate dimension some things were still too ridiculous.

"You seem pretty worried, amigo," But he's just teasing and gives him a real answer after a faint shrug, "Yeah, from my experience it is. It's all feelings. I guess, maybe, if you were thinking super hard about something maybe you could like shoot that into someone else's brain but usually you're kinda distracted with other stuff anyway."

He smirks, obviously implying Elliott and his partner will likely be focused on more carnal matters.

He snorts before he can stop himself, the laugh ripping out quickly following that even though he tries not to look too sheepish. "Oh, yeah, in secret." He muses, the laughter dying down to a fond chuckle, rubbing a palm against his chest with a little puff of a breath.

"Worried? Me? No." He answers more instinctively than anything else, but he pushes an easy-going smile because it's the best response he's got for Octane at the moment. "Besides, I'm already incredibly distracting with my clothes on, I hardly imagine anyone's gonna be probing these thoughts once I've got them off." He gestures vaguely to the whole of himself with one hand, as if he was a prize on display, or if that would somehow exemplify the faux-point he was making.

[In Mirage's Glittr inbox is a video message of a blond man who came out with his entire arsenal: wide doe eyes that look ridiculous on a man his size and a hand over his heart (and incidentally, his huge chest).]

By Olympus, my beating heart is helpless before a ravishing sight like you! Could I ask if you are a 'top'?

[ Is assuredly the sort to look, a little approvingly and a little insecurely. After all, there was always a mild sort of threat in people looking more attractive and that seemed to be happening in spades in this place. Life wasn't fair-- ]

A top? [ He pauses for a minute, fingers scratching at his beard before he shrugs a little. Ignoring the fluster he feels at the complement he just rambles at the mouth per usual. ] Oh yeah, sure-- I'm at the top of my game, like always. Not that you don't look tough, or whatever, but it is what is. [ Yeah, he has no idea what it means. ] N-not to brag or anything.

[It only takes the first word of affirmation for Theseus to start to tune him out - to him it sounds like he's hit it off with a resounding success already! Whoever said he was bad at this technology thing? Well they were all wrong.]

Oh I knew my senses wouldn't fail me! So what do you like, conquering your acquisitions by force of will? Proving your domination through combat?

[ He's really willing to take any compliment to his martial prowess, so he doesn't really take things too seriously. ]

I mean-- cobat obviously. Force of will doesn't really work too well when you're dealing with guys with guns. But you know, they don't call me a trickster for nothin'. What about you? You're a pretty uh... [ Word-- ] swole looking guy?

Indeed, my heart swells with glorious pride! No one compares to my martial talents.

[When Theseus doesn't know what words mean he'll just make assumptions.]

No one? Really? [ Cue him actually being kind of curious because-- what? ]

You fight a lot of people or is this jus' some kinda assumption? [ How has he never seen this guy before? Alternate dimensions are strange... Still better than ghost robots. ]

One cannot begin to count the number of battles I've fought with my spear, in Elysium or wherever else!

Why, in the Arena I still reign undefeated.

[He's just going to leave out his matches against a certain godling because those weren't fair.]

Inbox

@ original sin

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

unfortunately they were both idiots

Fortunately, imo.

no subject

no subject

no subject