(no subject)

[serialized]

[ Hey, check it out, a second person chain-smoking all over the podium. Nate kind of looks like he needs it, though. He's got one arm tucked tightly against his chest and the elbow of the other resting on top of it, so the cigarette doesn't have to get very far from his mouth. And he's not real big on eye contact right now, though to be fair, impromptu public speaking in a piazza full of masked hooded figures can do that, plus: hangover sunglasses. ]

Looking for some vacation suggestions. Needs to be not on the North or South American continent, should either be a densely populated city or somewhere difficult to access. Like a seafaring cult cruise ship. But not... a seafaring cult cruise ship.

[ Excuse him while he million-mile-stares into the distance. ]

I don't think I'd like that.

[ Another moment of hollow-eyed contemplation of the air. ]

Also I need to leave like, now.

Comments

[threnodic]

[ how not okay are you right now, buddy. some mild concern, but it stays at only mild so far. ]

Neapoli, in Greece. Or somewhere in the Faroes, if you really want remote and difficult to access. South Africa has a few places like that, too, like Tristan da Cunha. Svalbard, in Norway.

[ she always has a list of places to escape to at the drop of a hat. ]

[serialized]

[ Maybe she can see the gratitude through the lenses. His face isn't super expressive. Useful answers, right away, my god, 4 stars yelp review nobody ruin it. ]

How's, uh, the language situations for those? The only language I can really handle other than English is German, which.

[ Desultory gesture with his cigarette, acknowledging its uselessness in the aforementioned locations. ]

[threnodic]

Ummm. [ she has to think about this. usually she just wings it wherever she goes. ]

You'd probably be fucked in Neapoli; it's not one of the big tourist-y places. Everybody in South Africa speaks English, as far as I know. Most of the Scandinavian places like the Faroes speak English, but I dunno about written stuff.

FYI, if you robbed a bank, all of these places have extradition treaties. Morocco, Bosnia, and Cyprus are better, in that case. But Cyprus is full of rich morons.

[ she does not really think or care whether or not he robbed a bank, it's flippant. ]

[serialized]

[ It gets him to crack a smile. Not a great one. Something a little stronger than self-deprecation. ]

And Cyprus would be expensive, wouldn't it. I'd probably end up wishing I had robbed a bank.

What about... [ He bites the inside of his lip for a second. ] Sorry, I don't mean to treat you like wikipedia. I haven't done much traveling.

[threnodic]

Nah, man, it's okay. I've done a little — wandering around, put it that way, but I don't get to go anywhere these days. May as well put what I know to good use.

Where'd you have in mind?

[serialized]

Thanks. No offense to the internet but you're a heck of a lot more reassuring.

I was wondering about the Tristan da Cunha place you mentioned.

[threnodic]

They say it's the most remote archipelago in the world. It's tiny, though — population in the 200s or 300s, don't recall which. If that's too countrified, Saint Helena is nearby, and almost as remote, but it's more of a small city. They'd probably have better accommodation for strangers.

Mild tropical climate. Not too inhospitable. Both places have internet, functioning societies, don't get me wrong, it ain't even close to roughing it, but you do have to get there by ship. They don't have airports.

I liked the sound of both, honestly.

[serialized]

Yeah, it sounds. It sounds good.

[ So that's the voice of someone trying not to be relieved because he's afraid it would be premature, or jinx it. ]

Saint Helena... that'd be Constantine's mother, right?

[threnodic]

Oh, yeah, I think that's right. Patron saint of archaeologists and, uhh, difficult marriages? Which is a hell of a spectrum. I dunno the details, I'm not Christian.

[serialized]

Me neither. Until you said archaeologists and difficult marriages I was getting hopeful about it being a "sign."

[ Dry, vocal-only quotation marks there. ]