IC CONTACT | Mask or Menace

[animated]

"Hey, you've reached Charlie Maxwell. Leave me a message. Or just text me. I might get back to you faster that way."

Comments

[animated]

I own a bookstore back in my world. Have I not mentioned that?

[stealwithit]

Have you? [ She hums. ] Either way, books.

[animated]

I dunno. I forget what I've told to who sometimes, what with all the new people around.

Anything in particular you like to read?

[stealwithit]

I can see how that might happen.

I love the classics. And romances, mysteries, thrillers... That kind of thing.

[animated]

What qualifies as a "classic" to someone from the future?

[stealwithit]

A lot of the same things, actually. The truly timeless classics, plus a few more here and there from this century.

[animated]

Ah. I guess classics will still be classics, regardless of century.

Hmm. I think I've got mostly newer stuff around, but I'm sure I can find something you'll like.

[stealwithit]

I trust your excellent taste in pretty much everything, Charlie. I'm sure I'll like whatever you recommend.

[animated]

[ He gets up, moving around the room to shuffle through his various piles of books ]

If you want to cry your eyes out, I've got The Fault in Our Stars. I've also got Gone Girl, that's a mystery-thriller kind of a thing.

[stealwithit]

I mean, I could go with both. But I like that you're encouraging me to cry my eyes out when I literally just did that.

[animated]

Hah. True. Maybe we should hold off on the trauma.

[ And more shuffling through piles, eventually he comes up with another book and hands it to her. ] Read the back of that one. Tell me if I'm getting warmer.

[stealwithit]

[ She smiles up at him as he hands her the book, and gives the front of it a quick glance. ]

The Shadow of the Wind. Well, the title sounds promising.

[ And then she sets to reading the synopsis on the back, and her brow raises as she progresses through the text, until she finds herself reading the tail end of it aloud. ]

"...epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love." Forget warmer, Charlie. I'd say you just got very hot.

[ ~ d o u b l e e n t e n d r e ~ ]

[animated]

Only just? Darn, and I've been trying so hard for so long.

[ he smirks, and moves to plop back down on the bed ] Well, if you like it, it's part of a series, so let me know.

[stealwithit]

You're not trying for me, Charlie, and I won't fall to your charms.

[ She chuckles as he takes his place back on the bed, shaking her head. ] I'll like it. And I'm sure people would agree that reading this would be--[ she clears her throat ] A better use of my free time. Better than the alternative.

[animated]

[ he frowns a little, gaze turning sympathetic ]

I'm not gonna ask you to just stop cold turkey, but maybe try to spend more time in the present.

[stealwithit]

Yeah, I know.

[ A little sigh, here. ]

It's just... I never really saw the point before, Charlie. I didn't have much longer left to live, anyway, I thought.

[animated]

What do you mean?

[stealwithit]

Well...

[ She laughs softly and shakes her head. ] This is probably going to sound like it's coming straight out of a science fiction novel or movie to you, but--where I'm from, it was basically the coming of the galactic apocalypse.

[animated]

[ of all the things he was expecting, that sure wasn't one of them ]

... Seriously?

[stealwithit]

Yeah. If it sounds just a little bit ridiculous, that's because it is.

[animated]

What happened?

If you wanna talk about it, that is.

[stealwithit]

Depends. You got all night to listen?

[ A half-hearted attempt at a smirk. ]

But really, the details would just bore you. The short version is that a giant race of robots comes around every 50,000 years to wipe all sentient life across the galaxy, then they go back to whatever black hole they crawled out of until the next time. Just so happens we're just around that time, now.

[animated]

Jesus. I'm sorry.

Can they... can they be stopped?

[stealwithit]

We're... not sure. That's kind of what Shep and his crew have been working on, though. I've mentioned that he's kind of a big deal, right?

[animated]

You have.

... I hope they come up with something.