InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Drink Me."

being_alive35 (being_alive35) wrote in chaos_cube,
@ 2008-04-01 20:44:00

Current location:	The Indoor Pool
Current mood:	angst
Current music:	The splash of water as he swims...
Entry tags:	dawn summers, robert o'brien

Waiting for the Other Shoe - OTA
Who: Robert O'Brien and anyone who wishes to poke him gently with a stick.
When: Just before the seasons change.
Where: His tortured mind - I mean, the indoor pool.
Rating: I have no clue. We'll go with R, because this is John Barrowman in swim trunks... ;)
Summary: Robert might be slowly going mad...

The water swallows him as he dives to the bottom of the pool, and he waits until he's almost out of air before kicking off from the bottom and breaking the surface, gasping for air. He's alone at the indoor pool, for the moment. Outside, the weather is changing, and soon he'll be able to swim in the other pool or the lake, for that matter.

Right now, he's uneasy, and he doesn't really know why. It's like that proverbial 'other shoe'. He's Here, so now what? He's gathered that there isn't really anything other than that. There is no big plan or deep plot. People are brought Here, and that's all.

He swims to the edge of the pool, flips over and does the front crawl to the other end.

Maybe he's slowly going mad...

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

(Post a new comment)

teh_keyness
2008-04-10 01:47 am UTC (link)

Dawn entered the indoor swimming pool, mostly because a nice swim that didn't involve books, or trying to figure out answers to Here, or worrying about what was happening back home. Faith and Buffy have totally killed each other. She thought with a sigh, knowing that it was exactly the case.

"But you're not going to think about that, remember, Summers?" She muttered under her breath as she noticed the man that was already in the pool. She stopped, watching him for a moment before she reminded herself about Murphy and grinned a bit to herself.

Not wanting to be rude she said, "Mind if I join you?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-04-13 10:06 pm UTC (link)

Robert paused during the front crawl, hearing a voice. He turned as he tread water and saw a young woman near the pool. He realized that she was asking if she could join him, which he thought was a bit odd, as it was a public space.

He dragged his wet hair back with one hand and sank a little lower in the water. He gave her a Broadway smile.

"You want to swim? Sure. I'm... just doing laps -" And apparently so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice you arrive "- so I shouldn't get in your way."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

teh_keyness
2008-04-21 06:52 am UTC (link)

"Thanks. It's a habit; I hate being in the way." After five years, you'd think I'd be over that, but then situations like this crop up and I feel like I'm fifteen interrupting Slayer business again, Dawn thought to herself, even as she gave the man a smile.

She dropped her towel onto the nearest chair and walked over to the edge, sitting down. She waited a moment before she took a deep breath, telling herself to relax, and slid in.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-04-22 04:21 pm UTC (link)

He smiles at her broadly. "Not in the way, I assure you."

He is a little tired, so traces of his New York accent are probably coming through a bit. Hoping the swim will help him relax - and maybe sleep better - he doesn't mind the company. He watches her take her time, getting used to the temperature of the water, he guesses, before she slips into the pool.

"I'm Robert, by the way." He doesn't want her to feel nervous at all, since he's a stranger to her and a male and let's face it, this place has some unusual people in it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

teh_keyness
2008-04-23 04:24 am UTC (link)

She let herself dip below the surface before she rose to breathe, pushing wet hair out of her face. She smiled at his friendliness, the grin just that bit more real than it was before.

"I'm Dawn. Nice to meet you," She answered, letting herself bob in place for a bit, before she took a deep breath and dived under the surface.

Maybe she was weird, but doing things like seeing how long she could stay underwater without needing to take a breath was relaxing. Or there was that one time she decided to scare the crap out of Buffy for being more interested in a British guy than their girls' day out and 'drowned' herself. One minute, thirty-two seconds made a new record. Buffy hadn't found it all that funny, unsurprisingly.

After about fifteen seconds though, she came up for air, not wanting to worry Robert; it really wasn't a great first impression, seeming insane.

"So," she started, "Where are you from?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-04-27 03:10 pm UTC (link)

He waits for her to surface, noting through the water that she's still moving despite being under for quite a while. He's ready, just in case something happens and she's down there way too long. Mind you, he's encountered enough people from different planets and universes and so on, and many of them have unique abilities.

Maybe she likes it at the bottom of the pool...

She seems fine when she comes up for air and asks a perfectly normal question.

"New York," he says, turning onto his side and kicking a little to stay floating. "Brooklyn, to be exact, though I've worked a lot of that out of my voice. How about you?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

teh_keyness
2008-05-02 05:00 am UTC (link)

"New York, I've always wanted to go there for a while." she said. "That depends. I was Cleveland when I ended up here, but I was living in England. I'm originally from California." She answered, not having to fight the desire to mention that it's only a technical 'originally' and not an actual one because she doesn't really know where she's from Key-wise.

Can't you just do one day without thinking about it? She thought to herself, though the question was obvious. Not really.

"What about when? I know it sounds crazy, but sister is here and she's totally from five years ago for me."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-05-09 07:37 pm UTC (link)

"Well, New York is still there, as far as I know," he said, his expression a little wistful, then he brightened. "I haven't been to Cleveland, but I have been to England and California." He slowly tread water, thinking about his family and friends and wondering what they were doing right about now. He'd disappeared, without a trace, and that wasn't like him at all. They probably think he fell into the Hudson or something...

"When? Uh, the year was 2007... and that must be very strange for you and your sister..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-05-13 06:53 pm UTC (link)
	"Do you miss it?" Dawn asked, thinking of what Spike had told her of the city as turned on her back to float. "Yep. I'm pretty sure she's from 2002, but I'm from 2007. It kinda limits the topics we can talk about, because I'm paranoid and ninety-nine percent sure I might say something she shouldn't know about the years in between." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-05-13 08:06 pm UTC (link)

Robert, being your average guy - except for the small amount of fame which came with being a successful person in the theatrical world - had never dealt with temporal problems before. I just... wasn't an issue.

Other than, maybe, wishing he was twenty-one again...

"I can see how that might be awkward," he says. "I've read enough science fiction - no offense - to know that messing with time can be problematic. That's... probably an understatement, isn't it? I'm sorry... about your sister being from a different time, that is."

He sighed. "What did you do in your 2007?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-05-13 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	"It's totally fine. Weirder things have happened," Dawn said with a grin. "Thanks, though." She took a breath. "I was a student at a university in England, though I helped with an organisation my sister helped run when I was needed. You?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-05-14 10:38 pm UTC (link)

Robert raised one eyebrow.

"Weirder things? I'm almost afraid to ask... And at a university in England, huh? That must've been interesting. I studied over there for a bit." He rolled until he was floating on his back, and stared up at the ceiling, watching the reflections of the water there. "What sort of organization did your sister work for?"

He chuckled. "Me? I was pounding the boards on Broadway."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-05-18 09:58 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah, that's a good instinct, being almost afraid," she says with a wide grin. "I was close to graduating," she said. "This year, in fact. As for where my sister works - it definitely involves those weirder things." Interested, Dawn's eyes widened in interest. "Really? What was it like?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-05-23 03:26 pm UTC (link)

He laughed. "Weird and weirder? Okay, I'm going to have to ask about your universe, I think..."

Robert blinked at her question, legs lazily kicking in the water.

"What was 'pounding the boards' like? Amazing. It's my life." He stopped then, uncertain how to proceed. He didn't want to bore her with his career, so he simply said, "Broadway is quite the experience. I... miss it. A lot." But he smiled, so she wouldn't think he was preoccupied with not being in New York.

Even though he felt a hole where that life had been.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-06-10 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	"Um." Dawn paused, "Are you sure?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've been called crazy. Mostly, I think they're right." She continued to bob in the water, nodding in response to his answer. "Yeah, I totally get the missing home thing." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-06-15 10:14 pm UTC (link)
	"Am I sure? Probably not. Would I like to know anyway?" He shook his head. "I don't know if anything can shock me anymore." Robert sighed. "New York could be a million miles away or next door. With this place, there's no way to tell. Doesn't matter. We can't seem to get out..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

teh_keyness
2008-06-16 02:24 pm UTC (link)

"I warned you," She said in a sing-song voice, a smile on her face for a moment. "There are vampires. And witches and demons. But mostly vampires. Asnd the wo'rld nearly tends a lot. It's all very fast-paced...sometimes."

Dawn frowned a bit, wondering for a moment if maybe she could one day try out her Keyness...well, if she was still all glowing green energy on the inside. "Yeah."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-06-17 08:34 pm UTC (link)
	He thought about it for a moment, then asked, "And... does everyone in your world know about... vampires and all that? And the world ending and... so on?" It sounds like Halloween run rampant, only much darker... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-06-20 02:32 am UTC (link)
	Dawn shook her head. "Funnily enough? Nope. It's really kinda like...hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-06-20 04:35 pm UTC (link)
	"Ah," he said. "The 'head-in-the-sand' approach to life." He smiled slightly and sighed. "Never a good idea." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-06-24 10:12 am UTC (link)
	"Getting bitten always cures that," Dawn said with a bit of a smile. "Well, almost always. Sometimes people are just stupid." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-06-26 08:38 pm UTC (link)
	He swallowed and absently reached up to touch his neck. "That sounds like a very... permanent wake-up call. Think I'll pass." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-06-27 12:06 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm right there with you." Dawn said in understanding. "My sister, though, she's dated two. It's weird. They're weird." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-07-04 01:01 pm UTC (link)
	Robert blinked at that and straightened against the side of the pool. "Pardon me? Your sister did... what? Dated... vampires?" Just when I thought it couldn't get stranger... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-07-12 08:11 am UTC (link)
	Dawn smiled slightly, in a bit of embarrassment for her sister. "Yeah. Only two, though. And they were...atypical." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-07-14 03:29 pm UTC (link)
	"Should... Should I ask what an 'atypical vampire' is, exactly? I mean, not that I know a lot about the lore, but aren't you either a Human or a vampire?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-07-19 08:46 pm UTC (link)
	"They had souls. Well, Angel did for a while and then he and Buffy did the horizontal and it disappeared for a while so he was evil, but he got it back. And, uh, Spike, didn't have his while he and Buffy were involved but he got it later." Dawn frowned a bit at that. "The point? Vampires don't typically have souls. They did. Do. Did-do." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-07-22 05:47 pm UTC (link)

Robert nodded a few times while Dawn elaborated on the circumstances and pursed his lips in thought. He said, "Oh, really?" and "Uh-huh" and wondered if his lack of comprehension had anything to do with him being over thirty.

When she paused for air - or ran out of words, he wasn't sure which - he gave her a tentative smile.

"So... the two vampires your sister dated... had souls - have souls... and they're not... evil now..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-08-02 12:03 pm UTC (link)
	"Basically." Dawn gave a bit of a shrug and then grinned. "I think it's sort of confusing when you think too hard about it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-08-04 10:07 pm UTC (link)

"Ah," he said. "Well, I'll... try not to think about it, then."

Robert shivered. The pool was a nice temperature, warm, actually, but a shiver went through him, anyway. Perhaps it was the thought of vampires, being real in some universe or other.

"Well, I should... probably get going. I was here before you arrived, so... I'll be a prune if I stay in much longer..."

He didn't want to be rude, but he had been in the water for a while. Maybe he needed a rest...

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	being_alive35 2008-08-24 12:03 pm UTC (link)
	[[ OOC: And no rush, as I know you've been very busy, but did you want to wrap this, as the game has staff and so on now? They're both probably starting to wrinkle from being in the water so long, too... ;) ]] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-09-07 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	{ooc: sorry for not replying earlier, but I'm definitely okay with wrapping it up.} (Reply to this) (Parent)

	teh_keyness 2008-09-07 06:12 pm UTC (link)
	Dawn nodded in acceptance, a half-smile on her face. "Yeah, I think I'll stay for a bit more. It as really nice meeting you, though." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

being_alive35
2008-09-11 06:45 pm UTC (link)

"Nice meeting you, too, Dawn. The people who've been brought Here really do come from all over, don't they?"

Robert smiled a dazzling smile and placed his arms on the edge of the pool, pulling himself from the water. He reached for a towel and the bath robe he'd brought down from his room and headed for the exit.

"See you around," he said brightly and waved as he left.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teh_keyness 2008-09-11 10:19 pm UTC (link)
	"They definitely do," Dawn agreed, smiling in return as she watched Robert climb out of the pool. "You too!" she replied, waving back quickly. Once he was gone, she returned to swimming alone in the water. (Reply to this) (Parent)