taxonooc | Not Quite Hamsterball Material

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meme

Not Quite Hamsterball Material

Hi, Taxon! I meant to make this post yesterday morning, but I've been languishing with The Headache since then -- but since I cried off work sick today, I'll take a minute to put it up now, and I hope you'll all take some time to chime in. This isn't meant to upstage the official check-in post below, so please answer that one before you tackle this one. <3

One thing that's been weighing on my mind recently, is how do other characters actually feel about the Taxon experience? I think we kind of blanketly assume "okay, well, no one likes being imprisoned, duh," but this isn't just any prison, and the reality is that people are more complicated and have more things going on in their psyches than that, and there are plenty of reasons why individual Taxonians might have more complicated feelings about their present circumstances than that. Do they actually all hate it here? Are there some aspects they like?

So, in hopes of each of us learning more about what other people are exploring with their characters, the following little meme:

How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

These questions are very freeform -- I put a lot of leading thoughts in there to try and draw out some of the complexities of the questions, but feel free to answer as briefly or as lengthily as you want, or to talk about any other aspect I didn't cover.

There are no right or wrong answers -- whether 95% of all characters have the same exact answers, or every single character feels entirely different, both of those are awesome in the end because it means we have a unified group of people (awesome) or a group of people who are bound to get frustrated with each other and bicker like hell (also awesome). I just figure we should talk publicly sometimes about what's in our characters' heads, not just what they've been up to -- so I thought, what the heck, I'll ask.

TL;DR HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER LIKE BEING IN TAXON, GO

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?

In general? Nnnnnnyeahno. It's complicated - but that's why I love this sort of thing. On sheer principle, Wyatt hates the concept of being held prisoner. This harks back to the O.Z civil war and all the horrors he lived through (like the particularly cruel punishment meted out for his particular kind of zealous resistor). He doesn't cope well with knowing he's stuck in a hole in the ground, and he doesn't cope well with the tedium of every day life in a gilded prison cell. He's also recovering from PTSD and depression. ...but he is coping. On most days, he likes Taxon. On most days, he kind of secretly, guiltily loves it. More on that further down. ;)

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Door number 3, please. Cain has gone from being very anti-Taxon and wanting nothing more than to get back home to actually fearing it: he left his now-growed-up son behind, his land in shambles and he wanted in on the rebuilding. In crises, people come together and help each other out - and he'd be the first one to give a hand wherever he could. He wanted to get to know his son, whom he hadn't seen since he was seven or eight or nine years old. He had a void to fill, a life to get back to or start over, and he could not believe how complacent his two fellow O.Zites, Glitch and DG, had become.

But that was two years ago. Two years going on/swiftly approaching three years. Now, he's mostly recovered from his PTSD and depression. He still has issues, he's still damaged - but he feels useful. He feels like he's contributing, be it by greeting newcomers or growing edible plants in the now-burninated greenhouse or being a broad shoulder to lean on. He's made Taxon a home. He's made friends, lost them, and has ultimately come to appreciate living in the here and now. He worries about his past (large bits of which he doesn't remember), and the future, but he tries to stop. He knows worrying doesn't help anyone - you got to be prepared, and you got to stand up for each other, and if you can help someone in any way you damn well do it.

Taxon is home. He doesn't want to lose that by "going home". He doesn't even entirely believe that that's where people go when they up and disappear from Taxon. He's seen it happen before - last summer, when 9 out of 10 Taxonites disappeared from the city proper and didn't come back until a month had gone by. Who's to say anyone gets to ever go home?

...and if they do, do they remember? That's his biggest fear, as strange as it may seem. But, see, a lot of his issues and insecurities and scars stem from not remembering the important stuff. He has memory blanks already and he hates not knowing. He goes home, and he doesn't remember Taxon or the man he's become in the years he spent here? That would be like another violation of his mind. He doesn't want to forget what he's been through, or the people he's met, who've shaped him into the man he is today. He can't.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

One of the major reasons Wyatt wants to stay in Taxon, that I haven't already gone into, is fairly simple. Love. He met Paul Smecker roughly a month after he first arrived in Taxon, and they became fast friends for a number of reasons, one of which being the common ground of Law Enforcement. Paul's the guy he can let down his guard with, always has been; Paul's a leader and a genius and he's got initiative and he always tells it like it is. They clicked on a lot of levels even in the early days - and over a period of eight months or so, their friendship turned into a buddies with benefits sort of thing, and then it morphed into a shhh-no-we're-not-a-couple-what-are-you-talking-about, into something more approaching functional relationship.

At one point during the last Big Snow plot, Wyatt even not!proposed.

His main reason for wanting to leave is equally as simple (and equally as complicated, because when is life ever easy?): love for his son. He misses him like you wouldn't believe. He misses his family like you wouldn't believe, and will do so even more now he's the only Ozite left in town. He misses his late wife. He misses friggin' Oz.

...but he doesn't want to go home if it means leaving anyone behind. Especially not Paul.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

At first it did - but by now he has seen it all ten times over. Yes, he misses home, but if Taxon wasn't what it is, he wouldn't be the man he is today. No matter how jaded you are when you Arrive, you have to grow up fast once you're stuck here.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

Aside from his family (most of which he isn't even sure is alive)? He misses the air, and the people, and the food and the music and the dancing. He misses his culture and the folklore. He misses his dad's muglug (take-whatcha-got stew-soup, basically).

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

Wyatt's actually been around long enough that the Extras are darned close to lifelike these days, from his perspective. Way back when, they barely even had faces, let alone lifelike-or-thereabouts personalities.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Wyatt is SO not a city dweller. He's a farm boy and a ranger and he greatly misses the vast open spaces of his home. Plus he's claustrophobic, so there ya go. Every chance he gets he's hiking through Taxon Forest.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Are you kidding? He's getting paid to enjoy his hobby! IT'S FANTASTIC!

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Again, Wyatt's been all over the spectrum. Nowadays, he just doesn't want to know. Taxon, as horrible as it is at times, is still a better devil (to paraphrase) than the one you don't know.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

He's always likened Taxon to a giant ant farm. He's not seen much evidence to dissuade him of that notion.

1) In general, do they like it here?

In general: yes. Paul certainly doesn't like the occasional dangers to life and limb, and he can never let himself forget he IS in a prison, but it's fair to say he is actually happier in Taxon than he was in the last year of his life in the real world, for a lot of reasons. Which I think I'll be expanding upon in some of the other answers.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Paul should be dead, in his world. The last memory he has of life on Earth was bleeding out in an alley. He is fairly sure that if he were returned to his world, he WOULD be dead, so.... life, even in a prison, is preferable to that.

Even aside from the 'dead' bit, Paul was a man at his wits' end before coming to Taxon. Bad life choices had gotten him into a no-solution situation that was a constant ethical struggle for him. Taxon has largely freed him from all of that, and even the occasional responsibilities he takes on in Taxon are less stressy than where he was at before coming to Taxon.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

See: strong odds of being dead in his own reality (and if not dead, probably imprisoned in his own reality). Aside from that, there's this jackass cowboy running around whom Paul has grudgingly developed feelings for, so, you know, he'd miss ~~him~~ the sex. (Sure paul just the sex uh-huh.)

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

It's less 'Taxon' than it is the other inhabitants of Taxon. Paul has made vast strides in being able to accept people with superpowers/vampirism/magic/everything else, as compared to what he was like when he arrived, but... he's still an Earthling from a 20th century, mundane, earth. He's very aware that he is physically outclassed by like 2/3 of Taxon, and that, Taxon being Taxon, people sometimes attack other people for no good reason, like that time a vampire!Dawn bit his fuckin' throat. So there's a bit of low-level instinctual paranoia just in terms of safety, but also a big... gap between how he regards the world, and how people with superhuman abilities regard the world. I think no matter how jaded Paul gets, there will always be a part of him that misses a world that operates on the physical laws he accepts as 'normal'.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

Lots of things, although Taxon probably has pretty good pizza by now. :P

-His ex-wife, who was also his best friend. It's a 25-year friendship that he deeply prized, and not having her here to call up and bitch to is a Thing.
-Connor and Murphy, with Mixed Feelings there. He's relieved as hell to not be dealing with them anymore, and feels guilty he's relieved, and still actually misses THEM, if not the ways they made his lives hell.
-Live opera
-Being in a genuine city that feels like a city, which Taxon does not to him; it doesn't have a nightlife the way Boston or NYC does/did
-Having cases to solve. Oh god does he miss that. He spent a 20-year career being really good at detective work and being a workaholic, and while, sure, Taxon is a mystery too, it's a completely different sort, and so far it's one he hasn't been able to solve, where many of his traditional skills are useless.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

Like Wyatt, Paul remembers when the Citizens were a lot worse. He's still intellectually aware they're not QUITE real, but they've gotten a lot less jarring and puppet-like. I think he probably prefers them to being a real populace that he would then feel somewhat ethically responsible for. As it is, there's a small pool of people he feels needs 'protecting'.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Paul is a city-boy through and through. Taxon is not really City-like enough for him, even when it was much bigger. Organically-built cities have hubs and neighborhoods that make sense, they have rhythms and their own little ecosystems, kinda. Taxon is all wrong to his instincts, regardless of its size, but he's gotten used to it so it doesn't grate on him as much as it once did.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Paul was bound and determined like hell to never get a Taxon job and steal whatever he needed. There was no way he was going to 'buy into' the prison economy. He was content to fortify his survivalist fortress with nothing more than stolen goods and the survival allowance, and say a big FUCK YOU, HAMSTERS.

The aliens promptly decided to pay him for fortifying the Birdhouse, so. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

He's not so dedicated to his FUCK YOU, HAMSTERS that he isn't going to USE the money they've given him, especially after he got 'arrested' once for shoplifting. There are limits to even his pig-headedness.

But he still regards the entire conceit of the 'economy' as a psychological way to get the prisoners to play along, so he dislikes it on principle.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Paul's still, at heart, a detective, so yes, he's interested. But he goes in cycles of feeling it's pointless, and then getting back interested again. He also doesn't really want to 'escape', because of the whole 'does that mean I'll die permanently' thing.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

Paul's observed that the aliens seem to draw people that he thinks of as 'dramatic' for lack of a better term-- either because of their personalities or their abilities, and sometimes both. Everyone in Taxon has a hell of a story, more or less. He is, of course, on the money with this, but has never made the connection (and likely never will) that they are all fictional people. He just believes the aliens essentially channel-surf between realities for 'interesting' people and then pop them in here.

1) In general, do they like it here?

Ehhn. Long likes many things about Taxon, and dislikes many other things about Taxon. I would say on the whole it ends up being a middle-of-the-road wash for him.

He likes: so many interesting people and the chances to have conversations with people from such different worlds. Also he got to learn Klingon.
He dislikes: the feeling of being at the mercy of other beings, and their penchant for embarassing him. THEY MADE HIM RIDE A MOTORCYCLE NAKED. This can never be forgiven.

Long is in something of a unique position in some ways: he believes his life is governed by a personal prophecy, and he has interpreted words of this prophecy to include the presence of his existence in Taxon. So, he matter-of-factly believes he is Meant to be here, and that Taxon represents a necessary pit stop on his way to Enlightenment. He is here to learn some lesson or another, and presumably, once he learns that lesson, he will move on to the next stage of his existence. But in short, he is (mostly) patient with the fact of his imprisonment in Taxon, and very placidly resigned to it.

Except for the riding-motorcycles-naked thing.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

See above. Long assumes he will move on from this place when he has learned what needs learning. In the meantime, his hotel is extremely comfortable and he spends every day surrounded by books. Could be worse.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

He has made several friends in Taxon... but they keep vanishing on him. Gwen Raiden, Glitch, Party Poison, Fred Burkle... he is trying to wrap his head around this and whether this is a cosmic lesson on 'loss'. He has other friendships in Taxon that would be his primary reason to stay, but he is trying to embrace the concept of a lack-of-attachment. Look, he has Enlightenment to reach, he can't let friendship get in the way of that! Or something.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

Long says 'define my home reality'. Prior to Taxon, he lived in San Francisco; prior to San Francisco, he lived in China as a human, and prior to that, he lived in China as a dragon. Each of these has been a very different experience. Adjusting to life as a human in China was considerably more of a culture shock than adjusting to life as a human in Taxon.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality?

Not... really. Occasionally Long ponders why nearly everyone else (of the Real People) in Taxon is White, but skin color is still a relatively minor thing for him compared to the fact that he's, you know, an entirely different species in the wrong body. He misses hearing other languages than English spoken as a routine thing.

He used to miss good food, but Taxon's food has vastly improved, so he's mostly happy with the cuisine now.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

Long is thoroughly dismissive of the Extras. They are There. He doesn't consider them to have souls/existences as spiritual beings. He is polite to them out of habit. Except when he was Vampired into Spike's body. He probably ate some of them then. But, you know, politely.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Long is occasionally homesick for the Chinese wilderness, but that's something he had already been missing for 6 years before getting sucked to Taxon, so again, this isn't really a Taxon-dependent thing for him. As long as he has his library, he is 98% content.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Long is, not-so-secretly, an enormous hedonist. He is probably too vain to work, say, Taxon fast food, but the library meets all his desires and needs for a) 'lots of money to buy nice things for myself', and b) 'work that is really very little work, and much more just indulging my hobbies'. He considers it all fairly pragmatically: if he wants A, then he must do B, and of the options for B, option C is the least distasteful to him, so he does option C, and he 'works'. If it can be called that.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Long's innate intellectual curiosity is somewat at war with his philosophical beliefs. If, as he believes, Taxon is merely a cosmic lesson towards enlightenment for him, then what is it for everyone else? Is Taxon perhaps a spiritual testing ground for everyone?

It's not that he doesn't believe the 'aliens' exist; he does. He just doesn't really care about them. To his thinking, their captors are also simply tools of the universal goal of enlightenment-- whatever their captors do or do not do to them is serving a greater purpose, which their captors may not be aware of.

This is how Long reasons it out to himself in his mind.

In his gut, Long is often incredibly annoyed with their captors, and wishes to have stern words with them, which so far has done him absolutely no good.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

Spiritual graduate school. :P

1) In general, do they like it here?

Jeremy does not like it here, but you might not get this vibe from him aloud? He doesn't really see the point of complaining, so when he talks about Taxon, it'll be either in (apparently) light-hearted bitching, or in over-the-top exclamations of how awesome things are.

Truthfully? Taxon really scares him, especially if he lets himself think about anything too hard, so Jeremy does his best to NOT think about it, and not think about how out of his depth he is, and not think about how much he desperately wants to go home. Hence... the joking as defense mechanism, etc.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Oh man he wants to go home. Does he ever want to go home. He misses everything about Las Vegas, from easily-obtainable weed, to his best friend Charlie, to his cat, to knowing he can call the cops if he gets in serious trouble. Again, Jeremy won't often openly talk about how much he misses home, or if he does so, he'll wrap it in a protective veil of humor, but he's wandering about in Taxon in a hidden semi-daze desperately hoping that Someone Else will solve it so he can go home.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

Much as he cherishes the friendships he's made in Taxon (primarily Sherlock and Metody), they don't really hold a candle to his friendship with Charlie, and if he had to choose he'd take home over them in an instant. Probably with some guilt pangs, but yeah. Ideally, he would take Sherlock and Metody home with him, much like the moron in the joke who makes the wish to the genie that his friends were back with him.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

Yes.

Really, I could expand on that, but.... Jeremy is a non-violent guy from Earth-standard who's been thrust into a world where people have claws and fangs and the environment tries to kill you. He is coping about as well as can be expected, but that's still 'poorly'.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality?

I foolishly answered those already. Charlie, weed, cats, structured society, family, Vegas's over-the-top but harmless craziness (as opposed to Taxon's over-the-top but harmful kind), his guitar, etc etc etc.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

It definitely bothers Jeremy more than any of my other characters that the people aren't 'real'. He's someone who spends an awful lot of time in crowds anyway, but out of personal preference and as the way he makes a living. The fact that he can't REALLY interact with the people en masse makes him feel even more disconnected and out of his depth. Sure, he can make the crowds laugh, but it feels scripted, and Jeremy is keenly aware what it feels like to be on a script. It makes him depressed, and makes him feel like a rat in a maze.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

A little like Paul in that Jeremy is aware of what a city is supposed to feel like, and Taxon isn't really it. He has no complaints about the climate.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Taxon is doing something strange for Jeremy in this sense: it's making him appreciate working. For a guy who has had such a lackadaisical approach to work in general, this is a bit surreal. It's one thing to know that if you WERE working hard, you would do pretty well for yourself, and to choose not to. It's another thing to realize it legitimately does not matter how much work you put in, the result is going to be the same.

He does like having the minimal bills met, though.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Aside from getting home, Jeremy doesn't really care. He's not even 100% sure yet that this isn't some hallucination-- the longer it goes on, the harder it is to maintain that thought, of course, but it's all still really hard for Jeremy to take seriously without at least one level of mental self-deception in play. He's vaguely curious, but... the goal is to go home.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

A big video game scenario with lots of cool characters, and himself programmed in by mistake.

1) In general, do they like it here?

Not really. Sherlock doesn't haaate it here--as prisons go, it's a pretty comfortable one with a reasonable number of things to do and poses an interesting number of unsolved existential mysteries. That being said, it's also small (compared to the London metropolitan area, much less the UK or Europe or Planet Earth) and stultifyingly boring on a day-to-day level. Aside from the existential stuff, there aren't many puzzles to be solved, aside from idly working out things about new arrivals: which isn't always possible from so little data, and is more like a party trick than anything else at this point.

It could be a lot worse, but it could be a lot better, too.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Unless they come from a war zone or post-apocalyptic wasteland or some other form of abject misery, Sherlock can't really understand why anyone would want to stay here. He's not dying to get out on a moment-to-moment basis, but there's no way he could be kept prisoner and not want to leave. He is surprisingly patient about biding his time, but he wants out and he means out.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

The possibility of death isn't a big deciding factor for Sherlock--he's obviously not dead right now, so either his body didn't physically die or it did and he's being given some false simulacrum of life as a comatose or dying person, in which case he'd rather have the plug pulled.

He misses his family and friends (countable on one hand combined) as much as anyone abducted from loved ones who may not know whether they're alive or dead. Maybe a little more, considering the circumstances of their parting.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

Yes. The world is huge and brimming with people and possibilities. Taxon is tiny and populated by a few people and a lot of simulacra. Whatever was wrong with Sherlock's life wasn't wrong with the world per se.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

Just about everything! Sherlock never appreciated how much he liked having a variety of people, places, and things to choose from until he lost them.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

See above.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Indifferent. A hollow replica of London would be no less hollow.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Not having to worry about money is admittedly fairly nice and the life of a Taxon busker is a bit better than the life of a real one. Still, if he'd wanted to be a violinist, he'd have become a violinist.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

I take it a 'yes' will suffice? :P

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

The Matrix. Some kind of VR construction with more advanced technology than anything he's ever heard of on 2012 Earth. Purpose unknown.

Edited 2013-07-31 03:37 (UTC)

1) In general, do they like it here?

Hell no. This may not be that apparent since Johannes doesn't really seem to like anything all that much, and Taxon probably just registers as another apparent nuisance on a long list of nuisances. It bothers him a bit more than he lets on, though. Having had no existing desire to go to prison, genteel magical transdimensional prison is not much of an improvement. And Taxon possesses all of prison's worst attributes in his opinion: cruel and arbitrary wardens, weird food, scary cellmates, and, well, imprisonment.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Would be out of here like a bat out of hell given the option. As the option doesn't appear to be materializing, he supposes he'll bide his time until it does. Too personally offended by being abducted and held prisoner to have mixed feelings.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

There is the tiny matter of his formerly dead brother, with whom he never reconciled before it was far too late--which isn't actually a tiny matter at all. It's not so much that Johannes thinks Horst is an acceptable sacrifice to go back home as it is that he figures that if resurrection is possible, and it seems it is, somehow, then he'll bring him back one way or another. Whether it takes taking him with him or going back for him or what. Something. He'll figure something out. He always has before.

Back home there's not much: mostly mom and girlfriend, and girlfriend has a bit of a big asterisk next to her name. Then again, so does Horst. He'll figure something out.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

It's a paper-thin attempt at simulating a real city with real people, but that's more or less expected from a pocket dimension, so that's no better or worse than anything else about it. The tech level and apparent alternate history throws him for a loop, though, and is more dissonant and alienating than he entirely realizes.

On the other hand, washing machines.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

Even bad men love their mommas. But to be perfectly honest, Johannes does not miss his momma as much as he misses his gun and his books. ;__; Webley we hardly knew ye ;____;

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

The Extras' foremost shortcoming is that Horst can't eat them.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Being trapped in one stupid little pocket dimension for the rest of eternity opposed to another isn't much of a distinction. Admittedly, though, fluent or not, having to speak English for the rest of eternity sounds pretty unpleasant. If they were going to stick him in a pocket, they could've at least made it pocket Germany.

As before, some form of the 19th century would also have been a lot more comfortable, but that's on a more subconscious psychological level. He ought to appreciate technology, after all.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Indifferent. The worst thing about the verdammt Taxonian economy is verdammt Taxonian gun control.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

It'd be nice to know, sure--especially to know what arsehole put him here in the first place and what they want with him. But not that nice. He'll take a one-way ticket out of here first, finer points of metaphysics notwithstanding.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

Pocket dimension, obviously. Whoever created it has some purpose for gathering them all here and it'll be revealed sooner or later. ... closer to 'or later,' apparently. Johannes has gone from "I'll wait around to find out in short order and then deal with it" to "you know what, I don't actually care."

1) In general, do they like it here?

Jason does not like it in Taxon. ~~Jason does not like it anywhere.~~ It has some pros over his 'real world', but many more cons. A lot of things Jason tried to think of as pros in the beginning have become cons the longer he has stayed.

(Etrigan doesn't give a shit, a prison is a prison is a prison.)

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Jason would prefer to go home, yes, although that's not out of any great fondness for the DCU particularly so much as all his stuff's there. He really misses having his full magical repertoire, le sigh.

Also, Taxon is damned small. Jason is, among other things, a habitual world traveler who has difficulty staying in one place for too many consecutive decades. To have not even a world to wander but one small bottle city is more irritating to his psyche than he really likes thinking about. It means he can't leave: he can't just pick up and go and abandon whatever relationships he has or has not nuked lately. He can't start over. He's stuck with the others in Taxon, and they are stuck with him. And Etrigan.

Etrigan doesn't give a shit, a prison is a prison is a.... Ettie doesn't like being 'imprisoned' in Taxon anymore than he likes being imprison in Jason, but he does find it morbidly amusing to watch Jason be imprisoned.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

Not really. Originally, Jason tried to tell himself that if Etrigan got loose in Taxon, the potential damage was capped by, if nothing else, the fact that there's only a dozen or so sentient souls in Taxon, as opposed to a world full of potential collateral back home. The mathematical logic of this is sound; the emotional logic of this is, of course, quite faulty. Guilt is still guilt, and knowing every single person in the city makes it harder to shrug off the consequences.

Etrigan.... look, he's a demon, he no curr.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

Kinda, but that's just... expectations, I think. Jason's native reality is full of many super-people, so none of the Taxonites faze him with powers (hell, he's often considered one of the club), but he's used to having a better grasp of who does what and whose loyalties lie where. In Gotham in particular, he's used to being around Batman, and Batman is a pretty good Etrigan-contingency if you're gonna have one. Mr. Super Prep and all. He's used to the dynamic he has with Batman, which he doesn't exactly have with anyone in Taxon, and he's used to knowing that if Batman is not available, there's Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and about a hundred other 'heavies' who can be relied upon to stop an Etrigan rampage.

That's not to say that Taxon doesn't have its heavies-- of course it does, as the recent plot just indicated. :) But Jason has much less history with them, and less context for their actions and personalities than he does back in the DCU.

(Ettie sez: My home reality is hell, bitches)

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality?

Jason has a number of people he misses without really phrasing it that way to himself. Bruce would be one of them! There's also his ex-girlfriend whom he should never have been dating in the first place but heyo, and their daughter (can you miss someone you never actually met?), and Harry Matthews the Living Pillow, and basically, a whole collection of friends he had who have been either leaving or being driven away as his life has gotten shittier.

That said, Jason misses many more dead people than he does living people. Oh so many ghosts.

Ettie: Ettie also misses Batman. He's just the funnest!

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

Jason no curr. Taxon people have no souls. They are filler to him, aside from being something he doesn't have to worry about as regards Etrigan. Ettie thinks they taste terrible, and wishes they were way more entertaining.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Jason is largely indifferent, but he liked living in Gotham for various reasons, including its canonical place as a hub of demonic activity, and he's not crazy about not having the usual resources available to him. Gotham was a place where it was much easier to 'let off steam' -- to let Etrigan forth to prowl the streets for someone suitably morally decrepit, and thus sate Etrigan with 'acceptable' sacrifices. In Taxon, Jason cannot do this. Yet.

(Ettie says everywhere is way too cold and boring.)

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

I'm imaging Jason being asked this by a reporter, linefacing, and walking off because he has shit to do.

Eh. Jason's been rich and Jason's been poor, and to quote Tallulah Bankhead, Honey, let me tell you, rich is better-- but he doesn't consider the financial situation to be more than minor annoyance. He thinks his having to go work in a 'shop' to earn 'money' is patently stupid, but the energy he would spend in trying to buck this system is better used for other things, so... he just does it.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Jason would seriously like to know exactly what sort of entities are capable of imprisoning, not him, but ETRIGAN, so thoroughly. This is relevant to his interests. (In case it's not patently obvious by now, Jason approaches all aspects of life through the first initial question of 'how does this impact my situation with Etrigan'.) So methodology would be of interest to him, for sure, but beyond that.... Jason lives in a world full of supremely weird shit. Hell, Superman keeps people in a bottle city. People get sucked to alternate realities or time travel or imprisoned by alien madmen every Tuesday. He cannot get jaded by Taxon because he is already jaded by 1500 years of living in over-the-top comic-book land. He is like, This is irritating, may we go back to my regularly scheduled existence please, before I/Etrigan kill someone for good? --but beyond that desire, his curiosity into Taxon itself is fairly low.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

He has not entirely dismissed that it is a sub-pocket of Hell or one of the Limbo planes, but thinks that Etrigan would be able to tell if it were. He has no theory he is entirely sold upon, other than 'sealed pocket dimension' of some sort.

1) In general, do they like it here?

No. Like the amenities are okay and no one's actively tried to kill her for a few months which puts it a few points above Storybrooke on Trip Advisor, but still. No.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Emma wants/needs/has to get out of here she has so much shit going on back home you have no idea.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

The few acquaintences she'd made have been interesting and again, no one's tried to kill her or throw her in prison or make her eat a poison apple turnover for a while so the peeps here are okay.

But see # 5 below.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

She's still trying to come to grips with her home reality, and where exactly that is. Her first instinct is Earth but she spent a good chunk of time in the Enchanted Lands and started getting used to that nonsense. Compared to the latter Taxon's pretty mundane, but she can roll with it.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

Her son, her newfound mom and dad, her son, her car, Ruby, Granny,her son, her son's father after a fashion even if he's a wacky lying dickhead, and her son some more. Also the ability to run far and fast when she needs to ~~with her son~~ she misses that.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

The Extras are creepy and weird (also she sort of side-eyes the fourth wall a little because Extras) but more of an annoyance than anythign else. Also they need to tip better. She was a loner for a really long time so she's used to being pretty solitary, but hanging around Storybrooke's kind of broken her of that. Basically she's ambivalent.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Other than the eight thousand feet of snow they got that one time it's pretty much like home...actually creepily a lot like a more urbanized Storybrooke. She's lived everywhere from Phoenix to South Bend to Memphis to Tallahassee so she's cool with how it is aesthetically.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

She's another one who accidentally a job, but tending bar's hardly the worst occupation she's had. It's something approaching normal in this place full of weird shit, and she likes a steady income.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Will solving the mystery get her home? Then cool, let's do that.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

Until her canon bump she was pretty sure it was another of Regina's curses but now she's sure it's a pocket dimension and I suddenly have an idea for a post THANKS JEFFERSON.

Edited (EDITING. FOREVER.) 2013-07-31 14:32 (UTC)

...yes I dropped him whatever. LARGER SAMPLE SIZE also sort of a post-mortem.

1) In general, do they like it here?

Short answer: objectively, whether or not he liked it depended on the ~~time of~~ day and present company.

Long answer: because of Glitch's unique memory issues, Taxon was normal, it was the most familiar environment he'd ever experienced, and the only place he felt he had continuity. Three and a half annuals of clear recall vs. forty-something annuals of mostly shattered uncertainty? Yeah, if not for Cain he might've started thinking the aliens planted the O.Z. in his head and he was some sort of prototype advanced Extra or some nonsense like that.

Since he didn't go down that road he felt he had a duty to try and protect the city, to maybe be an advocate for the other prisoners but stick an optimist in a hopeless situation long enough and he stops seeing the point. Basically the town fucked him up but good.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

I He never ever thought he'd ever get out so vanishing would come as something of a shock (if he remembers, mmmhm). This was a mix of resignation and futility on his part, plus a weird sort of egotism that made him think he was ~extra special~.

Did he want to leave? Of course, even if the place was, more or less, home. The only way he'd have wanted it to go would have been on the condition that EVERYBODY got to go home (if they wanted) or if they were doomed/from a crapsack world they could tag along with other people. Glitch figured he'd be able to bargain for this somehow, he'd already struck one deal with the aliens and he'd provided them with endless entertainment over the years, they owed him.

Sorry buddy.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

He'd've stayed for his friends and his family and all that, of course, but it's so complicated because of the "I'm either never leaving or I'm going to be the Great Savior" thing. He'd lost literally DOZENS of people, people he'd been ridiculously close to (a not!daughter/kindred spirit, a handful of not!nieces, close friends, people he'd have followed to the crack of doom, Azkadellia, DG) and expected every day to lose more. He existed in a sort of flux between clinging hard to those he cared about and pre-emptively mourning them--

Shit I accidentally turned him into the fucking Tenth Dcotor kill me now.

ANYWAY. His frets were similar to Cain's re: taking several bajillion steps backward once he got home. Even though he'd gotten MORE depressed and PTSD'd than he was before, it's about different things. The brain mess, the identity shenanigans, the lack of self-worth, that had mostly all been sorted out and peace had been made. Plus despite how much knowing and losing all these people hurts he'd rather know they'd been out there, and they'd found each other and valued and comforted and disagreed with and laughed and loved and all that.

(He is DREADFULLY WORRIED about what would happen to Bagoas and Paul shush when they go home and yes he does firmly believe that people go home thanks a lot Fitz. He is also DREADFULLY WORRIED that he and Cain won't bond the same back home because there is so much shit that will be going on and thet're going to forget Taxon because again thanks a lot Fitz. Interestingly he is DREADFULLY RELIEVED by that last thing re: DG because that would be awkward.)

What is this answer. What. YES HE WOULD/WILL MISS PEOPLE AND THINGS YES HE DOES HAVE MASSIVE RESERVATIONS LONELY GOD I'M SORRY I'M SO SORRY.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

For all intents and purposes Taxon was his home reality. The only thing that still occasionally bugged was the one sun and also the ocean. Otherwise he'd long gone totally native.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

See above, though hilariously his second to last IC action in game was to mope about DG. He missed thinking of home as home instead of some abstract pretty place with waterfalls and monkeybats and endless virgin woodlands and jackbooted thugs who wanted to beat the crap out of him.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

The Extras were REALLY, REALLY lifeless (and had only existed for a couple months) when he arrived in the city, so by the end he basically thought of them as people and they were totally normal. They also made for good punching material when he got redline frustrated.

What freaked him out was the lack of "real" people since he remembered a time when there were dozens, scores, upwards of a hundred actual folks running around town. The sharp decline had him paranoidly thinking The End Was Nigh for a while but then he even got used to/resigned to that. He was a gregarious sort but the "they're-all-going-to-leave-me-behind" thing meant he stopped trying to get too close for a long time.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

It took adapting to since he was a hobo in the wilderness for so long but again, it had all become normal to him, even the sudden and drastic alterations to the landscape.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

He was around when the economy was introduced and remembered when everything everywhere was FREE and if you could imagine it you could just have it. Good times. That said he loved his shop, the very first proactive thing he did in town was get it established. It was a combination of business and place where he could figure himself out, test his limits, invent wacky things, work with DG and Kaylee and later Bagoas and really some of his happiest memories in town was of time spent at Langwe and Gales's.

Getting paid for it so he could go out and buy awesome coats was just a bonus. His personal view of the economy was that you could find something you love, do it, and the aliens would reward you, which was the kindest thing they ever did. He never considered the service industry jobs people tended to fall into to be very imaginative and sort of Judged You if that's where you immediately went (unless it was the Dodgy Jammer, he loved that place too).

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

In fits and starts, mostly in the interests of finding a bargaining chip to get everyone home. There was also scientific curiosity, after a fashion, because he recognized heavy duty way-beyond-anything-he-understood-as-possible when he saw it.

And Glitch was a guy who made a gizmo that stopped celestial bodies from moving so yeah.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

A scientific/social experiment-cum-entertainment venue for a group of highly advanced but highly childish alien beings. Mostly ebcause they more or less told him this yes he's from a time in-game where the OOC/IC knowledge barrier was non-existant. He was also told that he was very inspirational, gave good pathos, and had made aliens "cry" when he got grievously injured. He also knew that they record everything and broadcast it.

tl;dr Glitch was a hot mess and Had To Go.

How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?

How would you like it surrounded by insects and curs? :P

No, Nuada is not a happy camper - even if he did relish the opportunity to fight a demon. Boy did that come back to bite him IN THE ARM. Ahem. He is currently focusing on simply healing, but even now he's ridiculously bored.

So bored he's gonna up and teach people proper fighting skills. Mhmm. Try saying no to him, I dare ya.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?

Well... Nuada was on a mission when he was snatched away. A Very Important Mission to save the planet. He's the lone crusader defending Mother Earth - and instead of doing that ~~by eradicating the human race~~ he's stuck here playing nice with a bunch of ingrates and ignoramus-es-in-plural-how-do-you-even. So, no. He'd rather not be here at all.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?

Not at present, no.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?

Not...bother. Nuada doesn't care enough that he would be bothered, as such. He gets frustrated that he's cut off from home. He finds the safeguards set in place, like the invisible barriers and such incredibly annoying, but they don't bother him, if that makes sense. He tested them, he got a result, and that's that. I think on one level, he's exceedingly clinical about Taxon as a whole. On another level, I would just like to paraphrase BBC!Sherlock:

BOOOOOOOOORED!!!!!!!!!!

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)

He misses Mr Wink. There's no denying that that ugly-dorable troll was his de facto family for aeons. Losing him isn't something he'll get over anytime soon. The same goes for his father, even if he killed him with his own hands Because He Had to Do It.

His sister. He feels hollowed out without her.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?

Would fully sentient Extras make a difference? Not really. Depending on the day, he either considers them to be vermin, or a frog leap above the human race. They're polite, they do their job, and they're not corrupting the environment. Can't say that for most of the 'real' people around.

Nuada can socialize - but not in a cozy schmoozy elbow-rubbing way. XD

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?

Again - Nuada can't really be bovvered. He's got the forest, and the sewers, and he's got his mostly abandoned industrial building with floor-to-ceiling windows. It'll do.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?

Money is a man-made concept (which may or may not have been influenced by goblins, but mum's the word). He doesn't care for it, other than as a trick and a lure for greedy humans.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?

Nope. Nuada doesn't particularly care. At all. But long-term, he just might start. We shall see.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?

A fish bowl. Read: not bovvered.

SOFIE. I know this isn't a plotting thread but: how do you feel about a Sherlock & Nuada post-Ettie-plot thing? I think Sherlock may feel like he owes Nuada something considering his arm, and, well, we know about oweing fairies things. :3

Why yes please! Let's do this thing.

AND WHO SAID WE CAN'T TOSS PLOT IDEAS AT PEOPLE ANYWHERE :DDDDDDDDDDDDDD SHHHHH!

Nuada says Sherlock already owes him for cutting him down from the damn tree.

Twice over then. Oh, this'll end well.

O :3

I would be more coherent if it was not very nearly midnight, but we'll plot this out asap. With your thoughts re: structure and aim of scenes in mind, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I love me some direction in a thread.

1) In general, do they like it here?
In general, Remus loves Taxon. It's much quieter than home and with less persecution.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
He will stay as long as he's allowed. As cowardly as he thinks it is, he doesn't want to go back.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
Covered by the whole "Not wanting to go".

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
He feels guilty that he's left the War, but that's about it.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality?
He misses his students. He misses messing with and rattling Severus. He misses butterbeer.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
Remus' life was so empty that Taxon is positively bustling for him.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
He's fine with it. He loves his cottage and garden and the forest.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
He doesn't have a job, so that doesn't worry him, really. There's no jobs that would tempt him, because the jobs he wants would involve teaching or gardening or animal care.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
He doesn't care. At all. It is what it is. God he's boring.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
Powerful extradimensional beings of some kind running this place as an experiment.

1) In general, do they like it here? Like it? Not really but she'd been worse places. This beats Genosha with a stick, for instance.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way? Maddy is a little torn on 'wanting' to go back home. She's a little unclear as to what things would be like once she got there. Still, she doesn't like being kidnapped and held against her will.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance? Well, she's not entirely certain she's truly alive at home. Then again, she's not entirely certain she's alive here. That's part of that whole died once was a clone to begin with issue she's got going on.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality? Sometimes. She misses her friends. She misses the little bit of her family that she'd been talking to before she was pulled into here.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.) Nate. Her son Nathan. She's not sure about anyone else since, well, she's not sure that they want to talk to her. Scott being here was a revelation but home is still a little scary that way.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way? Oh yes. The robot thoughts of the Extras here is frustrating. It is worse than normal thoughts since with normal thoughts all of the irregularities of the thoughts tends to even out into a standard white noise. Here, there are patterns to thoughts and they are maddening in how similar they all are. It is like a record caught on a skip.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them? The city is nice enough for a city, all in all... She's not a particular fan but she likes the little house she found.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind? Maddy likes having her plane. It gives her something to do, even if she's put it together and taken it back apart about a hundred times at this point.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape? Hrmmmm. Maddy would like to figure it out but would, because of home, assume that figuring it out would lead to escape. She isn't entirely certain what she would do once she escaped. A lot of it would depend on what was on the outside of where they escaped to. It could lead to a dungeon full or traps or something for all she knows.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is? Some sort of horrible science experiment. Though there is a small part of her that is expecting Arcade or someone something to start monologuing any moment now...

Edited 2013-08-01 04:29 (UTC)

1) In general, do they like it here?
No. Spike doesn't like it here.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
Spike would like to go home and figure out what comes next. There are stories there that he's a part of and he'd like to continue to be a part of them. That and, well, he's awkward here. The charm doesn't seem quite as charming.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
There are people he'd wonder about, of course, but no one that he'd not leave for if given the option. When Buffy was here, he'd have considered it but, then again, Buffy's back home too, isn't she? He wants to figure that out too.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
The lack of demons is actually rather pleasant. The lack of reliable food is decidedly not pleasant.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
Buffy. Dawn. Dru. If pressed probably also the rest of the Scoobies and ... maybe... Angel... maybe. Nancy boy.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
Oh yes. Preferably if they were food. Well, it would be best if the animals were food but people would be nice. He could be a proper 'bad guy' for awhile and that would be rewarding in its own way.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
Spike is not a nature person, so the city is preferred. There are some nice things about this city but he hasn't found a place that serves hot wings like he likes them yet.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
Spike will take what he wants most of the time no matter what. It is nice not have a to break the law, he guesses but it doesn't really bother him either way. He's not a 9 to 5 sort.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
Spike would like to get out. He throws himself at the barrier every once in awhile. Not as often as he did when he first got here but he still does that from time to time. He's not as curious about the mystery in general but he's been a part of figuring out mystical mysteries in the past.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
Hell dimension. It has to be.

1) In general, do they like it here?
No. She might have learned to like it while Tony was here and before the Sheriff thing but since then, no. Not a chance.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
Selina doesn't like cages of any kind, even if they are generally comfortable ones.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
Not yet but she is pretty fascinated by Sherlock. He's a bright and shiny somewhat familiar toy.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
It is a little relaxing without the Clown but the thing that bothers her the most is her inability to break into a number of different places and then... Then there is that Sheriff.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
Bruce. Holly. Ted. Maybe Dick and Barbara. There are a few bars and museums she misses very much.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
The robot people are boring and they don't really react well. She misses people, she misses running from the cops and stealing cars. Extras react, sure, but it isn't at all the same.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
The climate is fine. She likes buildings. They're fun and full of exercise potential.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
Selina's a thief. The jobs thing is totally wacky and she would have a hard time caring less.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
Selina would like to get out of here. She's /love/ to be able to work on the locks, to work on figuring out how to get out of here. In a large part that's because she likes figuring out locks. The mystery itself is not that big of a deal but the trap and getting out would certainly be.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
Currently? She thinks that this is somewhere in her own head induced by Scarecrow fear toxin or Ivy plant spores or something similar. Next week she might go back to thinking it is some elaborate prison that has been constructed for her and others, though some of these people are thrown in here just to make it more complicated or strange.

THERE'S STILL BAGOAS, RIGHT? I STILL STAND A CHANCE OF BEATING BAGOAS TO THE FINISH LINE.

How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?
Rosalind just got here, so she's currently neutral-to-positive on Taxon. She's tried out a lot of realities, and this one's new and interesting and still a mystery, and that's exciting. She hasn't managed to locate her missing other half yet, but she has yet to start really worrying about that. As someone who doesn't fully acknowledge the bars of their cage, and who has no home reality to return to, Taxon's as much her home now as anything might be, and she's still exploring it.

2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
Rosalind's main deciding factor on whether or not she wants to leave will be what's on the other side of the door, and if it's more interesting, or has a greater number of Robert Luteces than this reality does. What she does want, however, is to find the door itself, so she can peek around the other side and decide whether or not to stay.

3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
Rosalind's just gotten here, so no, there's nothing yet that she'd miss -- except perhaps her own programmed possession, Lutece Labs, but she has no home reality to return to, so that's not a consideration.

4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
Hahahaha no. Back when her home reality existed, she lived in a floating city full of evil cultists. But she's become quite used to adapting to new realities, so for her, reality-surfing is like backpacking through Europe.

5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
Rosalind misses her double, Robert, profoundly, or at least she will. She also grudgingly misses the pathetically endearing Booker Dewitt -- and she misses the 30-foot marble statue of herself, commemorating in the form of a public monument her remarkable scientific achievements.

6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
Rosalind hasn't usually spent much time talking to people who aren't herself, but being absent the version of herself that she's accustomed to talking to, she now finds herself with more things to say than she has listening ears to say them to. She doesn't think of the lack of intelligent Extras as being a big annoyance in Taxon, but it's much more of an annoyance than she realizes.

7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
There's always a city. This is one of the constants between realities that she's come to expect. It would strike her as odd if she wasn't in some kind of city, and this one is as good as any other.

8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
If Rosalind can get paid to spend her time running experiments/research in her laboratory, then she'll be perfectly fine with it -- thrilled, in fact, to live in a universe where she can get funding with so few strings attached. If she has to take some other kind of job to get money, she'll be miserable about it.

9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
Rosalind is more interested in solving the mystery of Taxon than she is in trying to escape. Whether or not she can escape is, to her, a forgone conclusion -- she's certain she can -- but he question of what Taxon's deal is is still full of so many delicious and exciting question marks.

10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
A controlled city in a reality where alien beings can pull things out of other realities and contain them, but she doesn't see how any of that's a theory, as it seems to be fairly common knowledge. She assumes they have a quantum contraption of their own by which they accomplish this -- that part is her own theory. Perhaps Taxon is a city composed of an alien's souvenir collection.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not Quite Hamsterball Material

first of all, excellent initiative :)

seconding the 'great idea' thing

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Will I be the last to answer my own survey? MAYBE