Back on Temba | OTA

[crystalmaster]

WHO: Radley and everyone
WHERE: Temba and Glitter Food
WHAT: Making food, mostly
WHEN: February
WARNINGS: None, probably

Radley decided to go back to Temba. Everything has gotten too complicated for him and he’s growing frustrated and discouraged with the increasing number of issues. He hates to think that everything they’ve been doing on Temba is for nothing in the end, and that they’re no closer to getting home than when they started. He hopes that going back to Temba will make something make sense again.

Which, it really doesn’t. If anything, it just makes it even more discouraging, seeing all their hard work and wondering if Temba will never even be inhabited by anyone who would be using all the buildings.

But he bottles up his feelings, as usual, and keeps working at the diner, smiling and greeting anyone who comes in and making sure there’s always food ready.

He does go back to the ship sometimes too. So many decided to stay on the ship or even the Agrii ship and he gets lonely. He was already pretty sad about so many disappearing, and seeing Temba even more deserted than usual is depressing. Sometimes he just stays in his room on the ship, staring at the ceiling as he lays on his bed or playing CDs and DVDs he found at the space station.

Usually, however, he tries to keep busy with food-related things. At least food is always something needed, so he never feels like he’s doing something pointless there.

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Okay, that wasn't as effective as Tommy had hoped. So he grits out the plain and simple answer that is on his mind.

"It's better not to get attached to people here. They disappear."

[crystalmaster]

Radley sobers at that. "Yeah, I know. A lot of people have disappeared that I liked a lot." He sighs. "But I don't wanna be all alone. I still want to be with who's here for as long as they or I'm around."

[doubled_speed]

That's... a horrible way to put it. Good of course. Reasonable too. But Tommy's always one that met pain with anger and lashing out.

"Maybe I'm not that strong."

[crystalmaster]

Radley smirks a bit. "I'm not sure if it's strength so much as selfishness. I've always tried to surround myself with people ever since a time when I was forced to be alone. I hated it."

That said, Radley is more unselfish than he likely thinks he is.

[doubled_speed]

God, Tommy knows what that's like. To the point where he looks away in fear of being seen, understood. What else were all the parties? The always eating out? The being loud to have eyes on him.

"Yeah, well here you'll always end up alone."

[crystalmaster]

"Hope not," Radley says. "I don't know how the Agrii would get home if I ended up the only one left."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, that's a fair point. Tommy sighs.

"This isn't their home," he says at last, pretty definitively. He'd seen the stuff. Heard some people talking. "This is the plantkin's home."

[crystalmaster]

A sigh. "Yeah. And the plantkin don't need all this stuff we've been doing."

So what's it all been for?

He keeps that thought to himself. At least it's helped all of them while they've been living here....

[doubled_speed]

It's been for their own survival. And at least some of the plantkin seemed amused.

"Hey," Tommy says, "it's okay."

[crystalmaster]

Radley nods. "Yeah." He tries to smile again. "We'll figure it out."

Somehow.

[doubled_speed]

Somehow. Though hey, Radley did his best to calm Tommy down. He was doing impressively well at it.

[crystalmaster]

Radley is happy to see Tommy is calming down.

"So, I've got some late-night food going," he says. "You want some?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, I guess I should eat," he mumbles as he walks further in, head bowed. He's so tired, and he hasn't been eating enough, clearly.

[crystalmaster]

Radley has definitely noticed both things. He dishes up some of the food and sets it before Tommy. "Here you go, the day's special." Which is some kind of stew.

[doubled_speed]

"Stew," Tommy sighs. He doesn't have a problem with stew, really. He's just so tired of not getting a real spread of food. "I miss burgers. Even vegetarian ones."

He misses his brother too. He misses malls. Clothes. Clubs. He misses his life.

[crystalmaster]

Radley sighs and nods sympathetically. “I could probably figure out how to make some,” he offers.

[doubled_speed]

Tommy frowns.

"Why? It's not like it helps anyone to have them?"

Says the guy that tries his best to make sure other people get things like home.

[crystalmaster]

"You just said you miss them," Radley points out. "Me too. And I'm sure others here feel the same." He smiles. "We figured out how to get pizza because we all wanted it. Why not burgers too?"

[doubled_speed]

Tommy's fingers curled through his fingers and he sighed.

"We couldn't typically replicate enough meat. and people get upset when I suggest using Glownies for meat."

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, we might have to stick with veggie burgers," Radley admits. "But if they have the right-tasting toppings, they're usually pretty good."

[doubled_speed]

"Glownies taste nice," Tommy grumbles to himself. But yeah, he supposed he could deal with it.

"We have plenty of toppings here to work with."

[crystalmaster]

Radley doubts he'd have the heart to kill the Glownies even if other people wouldn't get upset.

"Yeah, we do. So it's mostly a matter of figuring out the right combination of veggies to make a good imitation meat," he muses. "I know back home soy and peas are big ones. And I think some people make them with garbanzo beans...."

[doubled_speed]

Hey, don't doubt his ability to outsource.

"What the hell are garbanzo beans?"

They sound like that muppet character. The one with the weird blue nose.

[crystalmaster]

Radley has to laugh. "They're round and tan-colored," he said. "Maybe you know them by their other name, chickpeas?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, those I know. Okay. I don't have any of those growing."

But he could probably replicate a shit ton of dried ones.