[the last voyages] ic inbox

[onlyhearmusic]

[a lyrical hum cuts in, almost as if someone didn't know what they were doing]

"Leave yer message."

[oh. no, he knew. he just didn't care. the beep comes after another brief humming stops.]

Comments

[tinstar]

Not a bad range. Only one I'm not sure about is gothic romance, but I suppose the genres have evolved over the time between us. I'm more in the Crime Mystery, Sci-Fi kinda stacks. Magic now too, I suppose, but there ain't much of that around.

[His head tilts a little, eyes narrowing fractionally. His was already a 'squinty' kind of face, so it wasn't much more than a subtle tightening.]

How're you feelin'? Got everythin' you need?

[onlyhearmusic]

[He definitely meant the original meaning behind the term 'gothic romance'. He would be offended by modern society's attempt to fit in their version of it into the genre!]

Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Shelley. Not sure I want ta know what else ya think I mean. [He paused, considered, then decided he didn't want to point out that he enjoyed true crime testimonies and other crime mystery novels.] Do ya mean science fiction? I do like a good Jules Verne novel. They call his work that now, don't they? 'Science fiction'. Cute term.

[You'll have to forgive him. The term is only a few years old in his time even though some of the earlier works considered that genre are a little older.

He soured a bit at the question.]

Don't go askin' questions ya don't really want tha answer to.

[tinstar]

Poe gets 'Romance'? [Gothic sure, but surely gothic Horror. Shelley did Frankenstein (though it was the only piece he knew of hers), and Hawthorne didn't register at all. Sorry Nathaniel.

He shakes his head a little and lifts a shoulder in a faint shrug as he answers the second question.]

Sure, Jules Verne, Science Fiction. No one's come close to 20,000 Leagues under the Sea yet; most everyone's put and kept their eyes on the stars, robotics, dystopias, but he still kicks around in conversation.

And I don't ask questions I don't want the answer to. Kinda defeats the point of askin' 'em if that was the case.

[onlyhearmusic]

If ya think 'romance' only refers ta star crossed lovers, someone didn't teach ya right.

[And what a pity that was. He considered the rest.]

Hm. Like this ship then.

[He sighed at the end.]

Trust me, ya don't want tha answer.

[tinstar]

[Raylan didn't argue that because, quite frankly, Collins was probably right on the first account.]

You say that hopin' that the polite society in me will take the hint and stop pokin' you about it. While I appreciate the effort, you're not gonna talk me into not wantin' an answer.

The point of my questions isn't to dig, it's to determine if there's anythin' I can do to make things easier for you. This place ain't a joy ride down an interstellar highway and regardless of what you think of the institution or the Wardens or the Admiral, I personally don't much care for lettin' people suffer if I can help it.

[onlyhearmusic]

Well I would feel better with someone to throttle to death.

[He said as he--finally--looked up at Givens with a pointed stare.]

[tinstar]

[Raylan was unflinching in the face of the confession and the stare, the unmovable mountain that he was, unbothered by it.]

Unfortunately, best we can offer is an illicit fight club, if it's still runnin', or a rumble with me up on deck. [But the last one wasn't an option because of the restraints on Collins and Raylan's intelligence enough to not remove that one.]

None of which are actually gonna help the situation you're findin' yourself in.

[onlyhearmusic]

[That reminded him: he still needed to kill Kiryu.

You asked how I was feelin', and that's yer answer. Ya know how many people I killed before this place? Plenty of jobs fer me out there. And I'm stuck here, missin' out on all those opportunities.

Nothin' ya can do about that. Nothin' ya can do ta make me feel better. So quit askin' useless questions.

[tinstar]

Yeah, must really suck to not get to bleed people out in the streets for the hellva it. [A hint of sardonicism behind the faint furrow of his brow. Uhhuh.]

But that's the metric - that answer. Can't know if it moves without askin'. [The Questions will continue.]

Johann givin' you anymore trouble?

[onlyhearmusic]

I'm usually more quiet than that. [He said with a tone of his own.

From the look of him, Collins was wishing he could strangle Givens right about now. He fell silent and got back to work with the books.

Then:] No, he isn't.

[tinstar]

Right. You're a closet kinda guy. Bet you got a thing for crawlspaces too. [It almost sounds like a tease. He was familiar with the look on Collins face; it was the kind of thing that made him get outta bed in the morning.]

That's somethin'. Suppose we oughta hope that's the last of the daggers aimin' at your back for now. [Until Collins kills again. Raylan smiles politely.]

Anyway. I'll let you get back to your day, return these books to where they belong. You know the deal, you need somethin', open your mouth and we'll see what we can do. [He tips his hat before stepping back. Be seeing' ya tomorrow.]