Edward's first thought when he'd seen the lounge was that the bar looked like it'd make for good cover in a firefight.
His second thought was that if he was lucky, it wouldn't come up.
Usually, when Edward wants a drink, he also wants quiet. But there's something to be said about people watching -- Or, not even that, but simply sitting in an area absorbing the ambient social energy. It's what he's in the mood for tonight, and isn't against the idea if someone comes up to chat. So instead of settling in with a beer and a book in his cabin, Edward makes himself comfortable on a stool with a lowball of bourbon and sits facing the rest of the lounge, with that sturdy bar at his back.
Iris, on the other hand, never wants quiet, and she's had an eye out for opportunities to talk to the passengers she hasn't met yet. Edward has made a good first impression on the network, and she grins when she sees him. Then she brings herself and her gin sling to come and sit beside him.
"'Ey Edward. I'm Iris, I work 'ere - the Barge, I mean, not the bar. My inmate does that. You settling in all right? 'Ow do you like it so far?
Paying attention the way he is, he notices the small woman making his way towards her. Her face isn't familiar, but he nods to her in greeting all the same as she approaches, and turns her way a little in his stool when she sits next to him. But once she speaks, he recognizes her instantly. Her voice is distinctive, and Connor cited her in his graduation document.
"It's good to meet you, Iris." It's a casual social setting, so it's easy to ignore the urge to offer a handshake. Still, that's not enough to stifle the reflexive politeness: "Well enough, thank you." And it's an answer that works for both of her questions.
"I'll admit there are parts of the job I'm still unclear on, but aside from that, I don't have any complaints so far."
A noticeable thing about Iris is that she, too, is paying extremely close attention. Edward's face makes it tricky to read expressions, but on the other hand his condition gives him a stripped-down effect that makes posture and muscle shifts much clearer. She likes that, as she likes the open friendliness in his body language and the flash of amused recursion when their eyes meet: watching you watching me watching ad infinitum.
Her own body language is reminiscent of a friendly Golden Retriever, as if she might at any moment either climb into someone's lap or take off after a ball; though for the moment she keeps her hands busy with her drink.
"That's sort of baked into the design, actually. I mean, the unclarity. It's sort of the point of this place that we 'ave to work out for ourselves exactly who we are and where we stand. It's a lot of why it attracts the people it does: they're either the ones that really need to learn that urgently or the ones that know it in their bones. You look like option two to me."
Edward prefers to form his opinions on someone over time, based on information and personal experience. But he can already tell there's a good chance he's going to like her, just based on that silent mutual acknowledgment of each others' attention. Her reaction was amusement and curiousity, not the typical wariness. He likes that.
And he likes the direction of her answer. It's different information than he was expecting.
"I like to think so." There's a steady confidence in that statement. But since arriving here, he's found himself with more personal questions than he expected, so he knows he should keep himself open to the idea of re-evaluating. "So you think that's the distinction behind graduation?" At the very least, it's a useful approach, and one he likes better than any kind of moral posturing.
She has a way of catching fire with enthusiasm; her eyes sparkle and she illustrates every thought with vivid hand gestures.
"That's the biggest part of it, aye. Our inmates come from a lot of different circumstances, and mostly they've become who their environments forced 'em to be. They're often very good at it - sometimes the best there is - but there's often a deep disconnect between that and the people they really are."
She takes a gulp of her drink and looks at Edward's hands.
"The Barge gives us a wide variety of stresses. You've been told about the floods? Well, they're mostly not awful: they're weird or fun or inconvenient. Last year we spent a week physically glued to each other in pairs. It's like life only turned up to eleven, but it's broad and no one 'as to deal with it alone. It's calculated to show you who you are, to strip away the lies everyone tells themselves. When you know that, you know what to work on."
Yeah. 'Good chance he'll like her' has already cemented into 'he definitely likes her.' Her speech reminds him of something Leia mentioned when they'd first talked, and makes something click.
"Interesting way of looking at it. Makes more sense to me than any other way." A beat, then, he decides to go ahead and say what he's thinking. "Sits better, too. I haven't exactly been... comfortable, with the idea of a more... morality-based approach. But this, this I can work with."
Edward pauses to take a drink. "Sounds like you've been here a while, then?"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the lounge // for iris
His second thought was that if he was lucky, it wouldn't come up.
Usually, when Edward wants a drink, he also wants quiet. But there's something to be said about people watching -- Or, not even that, but simply sitting in an area absorbing the ambient social energy. It's what he's in the mood for tonight, and isn't against the idea if someone comes up to chat. So instead of settling in with a beer and a book in his cabin, Edward makes himself comfortable on a stool with a lowball of bourbon and sits facing the rest of the lounge, with that sturdy bar at his back.
Re: the lounge // for iris
"'Ey Edward. I'm Iris, I work 'ere - the Barge, I mean, not the bar. My inmate does that. You settling in all right? 'Ow do you like it so far?
no subject
"It's good to meet you, Iris." It's a casual social setting, so it's easy to ignore the urge to offer a handshake. Still, that's not enough to stifle the reflexive politeness: "Well enough, thank you." And it's an answer that works for both of her questions.
"I'll admit there are parts of the job I'm still unclear on, but aside from that, I don't have any complaints so far."
no subject
Her own body language is reminiscent of a friendly Golden Retriever, as if she might at any moment either climb into someone's lap or take off after a ball; though for the moment she keeps her hands busy with her drink.
"That's sort of baked into the design, actually. I mean, the unclarity. It's sort of the point of this place that we 'ave to work out for ourselves exactly who we are and where we stand. It's a lot of why it attracts the people it does: they're either the ones that really need to learn that urgently or the ones that know it in their bones. You look like option two to me."
no subject
And he likes the direction of her answer. It's different information than he was expecting.
"I like to think so." There's a steady confidence in that statement. But since arriving here, he's found himself with more personal questions than he expected, so he knows he should keep himself open to the idea of re-evaluating. "So you think that's the distinction behind graduation?" At the very least, it's a useful approach, and one he likes better than any kind of moral posturing.
no subject
"That's the biggest part of it, aye. Our inmates come from a lot of different circumstances, and mostly they've become who their environments forced 'em to be. They're often very good at it - sometimes the best there is - but there's often a deep disconnect between that and the people they really are."
She takes a gulp of her drink and looks at Edward's hands.
"The Barge gives us a wide variety of stresses. You've been told about the floods? Well, they're mostly not awful: they're weird or fun or inconvenient. Last year we spent a week physically glued to each other in pairs. It's like life only turned up to eleven, but it's broad and no one 'as to deal with it alone. It's calculated to show you who you are, to strip away the lies everyone tells themselves. When you know that, you know what to work on."
no subject
"Interesting way of looking at it. Makes more sense to me than any other way." A beat, then, he decides to go ahead and say what he's thinking. "Sits better, too. I haven't exactly been... comfortable, with the idea of a more... morality-based approach. But this, this I can work with."
Edward pauses to take a drink. "Sounds like you've been here a while, then?"