the frost, it looks like dust, settled on the world —

[misshuang]

Who: Miss Huang + YOU!
What: general arrival catchall / event-related threads to be added in later.
When: December - January.
Where: Milton for now, may add more later.
Content Warnings: None explicitly, but themes of her canon content warnings may make an appearance in my introspection for her.

Note: I did have Miss Huang on a previous TDM; however, I've apped her in now from a later canonpoint. For that reason, I'll be clean-slating that TDM arrival and bringing her in fresh for new interactions!

Comments

[misshuang]

[ She's been very confused why her being a child would be strange to people (having grown up in an environment where children work just like adults! it's fine!), but from her previous experience with the Macrodata Refinement department, it seems to be a thing. Fortunately, she can assuage any concerns. ]

Don't worry! I have plenty of training and have been specifically chosen for this task.

[ Concerns assuaged, right?

There's a pause as the woman refuses to address her by title, and it's not ideal (she'll have to report this as soon as she finds the people she's meant to report to...) but she's not here to make enemies with her fellow workers. Miss Huang smiles, patiently. ]

If that's easier for you, then I suppose so. And what is your name?

[cactusy]

Shaw.

[A last name for a last name, purely for the sake of principle. Though the first part of the kid's response does give Shaw pause: she was chosen for this task? Is she from this world, like Methuselah and Enola and--

Better not to suspect that she's an agent of the Darkwalker, at least not in absence of actual evidence. But the possibility lingers all the same.]

You're from here, then? Seems like you're just buzzing around playing customer service; are you Methuselah's helper?

[misshuang]

[ Miss Huang realises that this must confirm she isn't speaking to an innie; they wouldn't format their names like that. The woman must be an average Lumon worker, then. It makes sense why she wouldn't feel like using the "Miss" title; she knows Miss Huang is not her manager.

But she was explicitly told not to use her first name, and until she hears otherwise from a supervisor.... she'll go by Miss Huang — or, it seems, simply Huang. Equals. She realises she feels some satisfaction in this, and gives a bright, fresh beam to the woman. ]

It's my privilege to work with you, Shaw. No, I was brought here from the town of Kier itself. It's part of my training, [ she adds confidently, even though she isn't very confident that this is the full truth. ] Soon I'll be transferred to Svalbard.

Where are you from? Kier, too?

[cactusy]

New York.

[She says it slowly, her features settling further into confusion. Kier? Svalbard she's heard of, vaguely, and she knows enough to know that it has to be well north even of where they are now. Not to mention across quite a bit of water.

-- Wait a second.]

You didn't come in on that creepy ship, did yoU?

[misshuang]

[ The girl pauses in thought for a moment, frown etched between her brows. ]

No, I didn't come from a creepy ship. I got here from a company shuttle that drove me.

[ At least... she thinks she did. Did she? How did she go from her seat on the bus to here? She has no memory of ever stepping off of it... but if there's one thing she's been taught, it's not to question Lumon and its decisions for her. Instead, she seems much more interested in something else. ]

What makes the ship creepy?

[cactusy]

[It's the mention of driving, of all things, that clues Shaw in to the fact that this girl probably isn't an NPC a native: ain't nobody driving shuttles around here, company or otherwise. On what roads?

All the wary guardedness falls away from her face, replacing itself with a distinctly unimpressed expression.]

You don't actually have a clue where you are, do you.

[misshuang]

[ Miss Huang finds herself almost a little sullen at the question, and the way it's asked. The truth is that no, she has no idea where she really is — "Canada" might as well be completely meaningless a word to her. It doesn't fit the plan she was on, the place she was told she'd be going next.

She has no idea what she's meant to do, and she's never been without some kind of direction, even if it was Mr. Milchick's oftentimes confusing guidance. ]

I know this is Canada, [ she says, lifting her chin, expression a bit more severe now. ] What else is there to know?

[cactusy]

Well, you're not going to Svalbard anytime soon.

[Shaw isn't great at doing sympathy, but she at least doesn't sound cruel here, nor dismissive; she's quickly shifting into matter-of-fact mode.

Maybe this kid, of all the weird kids in the world, will appreciate it.]

You're also definitely not here for training - you're in the same boat as the rest of us. You got any real-world survival skills?

[misshuang]

[ Miss Huang eyes the woman, unsure. She seems to speak with authority on things, but there's also a lot of conflicting information at play, here.

What stands out the most is when she says she isn't here for training. Miss Huang pauses, smiling fading fully from her face. She attempts to keep her expression even and controlled, however. She'll answer the question about survival skills, but first— ]

Do you mean to say that you're being punished? That's why you've been sent here?

[cactusy]

We've been sent here.

[It's a light correction, and she doesn't linger on it; as soon as she's said it, she's moving on.]

And no, I don't think we were sent here for punishment. All signs point to it being an accident; anything malicious here definitely doesn't want us around. It was just--

[She exhales sharply.]

A glitch in reality.

[misshuang]

[ An accident? That... can't be right. Lumon doesn't make accidents. Kier doesn't make accidents. The girl eyes the woman with another dose of scrutiny, confused. ]

Reality can't glitch. It's reality.

[cactusy]

[It can if it's not really reality to begin with...

... is what she doesn't say, because there's no sense in giving the kid a complex when she's genuinely just trying to explain the situation. The fact that the situation isn't really explainable is regrettable, but she'll keep trying to middle through anyway.]

Yeah, uh-- then think of it more like the laws of the universe not working the way we thought they did. Better?

[misshuang]

[ The girl blinks at that, more confusion bleeding through. A little less sharply, she offers: ]

The only one who could have that kind of influence is Kier himself. In his writings, he talks about shaping the environment, about his actions paving the way for the rest of us to follow. Nothing else could be capable of that.

[ Yeah she's definitely in in a cult. ....Beat, as she thinks of something, eyes growing a little wider. ]

Do you think Kier is influencing things here, right now? I haven't read anything in my training about this town before...

[cactusy]

Okay, this is the second time you've mentioned Kier. He didn't name the town of Kier after himself, did he? You ask me, in my experience, the only people who do that are dictators.

[Or cult leaders? This is starting to sound like a cult leader situation to her.]

[misshuang]

He— he did, yes. Kier is where I live. And I'm privileged to do so, [ she adds, not quite defensively, more like she's trying to make sure it's known. Because if she's being watched right now — or if this woman is the one observing and reporting her behaviour directly — she has to make sure that Lumon knows that. ]

He named it after himself so that all of us would be reminded of everything he'd done. Everything he accomplished, [ she adds, eyes widening with a sort of quiet reverence. ] He did that for us. It's a gift.

[cactusy]

[Oh god, yeah, this is a cult. Who the hell dragged this literal child into a cult?

Without getting up, Shaw leeeeeeans forward, a bit more into Miss Huang's space - and while her intention isn't to come off as threatening, that might just be an unintended side effect. She really isn't good at doing things nonthreateningly.

Clearly and deliberately, without breaking eye contact, she says:]

Your parents are failing you.

THE funniest tag I've ever gotten thank you so much for this gift.....

[misshuang]

[ Miss Huang stares as the woman leans forwards like that — completely and wholly breaking the poised, respectful posture that Lumon employees are expected to maintain.

Once again, she's reminded of Helly R., her mannerisms. (And her penchant for refusing to adhere to company norms.) Even the way the woman speaks is like that, vaguely menacing. If she is an innie, then this behaviour is completely unacceptable.

Miss Huang stares at her, and then she smiles, slow and even but no longer friendly. This woman needs a sterner touch, clearly. ]

You seem to be confused by company policy. Maybe you could read the manuals again.

lmao i'm glad, Shaw is a savage dick

[cactusy]

See, this?

[She points her finger at Miss Huang - not directly in her face, not in a way that's meant to be intimidating, but the way someone does when they're punctuating a point.]

This is what I mean. Can you actually think for yourself, or did they stamp that out of you? Do you know how to do anything but parrot the party line?