shoma [spacecoast]

[verminous]

child.

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intro saturday

[verminous]

[sup, kid. after that orientation, wherever he comes across shoma next:]

Is it... legal for you to have signed anything?

[solesuccess]

[ he's here with roboji because the robot just follows him at this point, and his headphones are on. for a moment it seems like he doesn't actually hear him? he keeps walking, actually, glancing around the ship curiously.



but he does eventually answer. ]

According to the senior crew, since it's my signature it's legal enough. [ it isn't quite what they said, but the gist he got from them is that it still counts, age or not. ]

w0 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ do you ever just hate being trapped in a room for nine hours and want to run the fuck away so you wander aimlessly? that's the mood right now. that is shoma, wandering alone without roboji and without the eudora jacket from earlier. he doesn't seem to have a destination in mind, and the emotions floating off of him are more thoughtful and uneasy. hello, gregor. do you approach or avoid the child? ]

[verminous]

[on catching sight of him, getting a feel for the emotions floating off him and the uneasiness...

well. after a murder just happened the other night, he's not gonna avoid the child, though he does speak up before approaching so he doesn't startle him.]

Hey.

[and with his presence made known there-]

...feels like we could use somewhere to walk besides the halls. It's not really built to be comfortable that way, is it?

W1 Friday

[solesuccess]

[ he's probably in the middle of leaving omegamart as soon as the announcement drops, and that makes it much easier to say: ]

So much for this being a standard jump. [ hi. he angy. ]

[verminous]

Yeah, so much for that. Too much to hope last week was a one-off, eh?

[maaaan. he's already pulling a cigarette out of his pocket.]

w1 sunday

[verminous]

[he's in the sim room, as promised, sitting in the seat of a bus. the engine sounds more like a train? don't worry about it.

when he catches sight of shoma, he breathes out a quiet sigh.]

-hey. Sorry 'bout yesterday.

[solesuccess]

[ oh. we are on a bus. okay. he will enter the sim room and have a seat nearby. ]

...it's fine. We were all just doing what we had to in order to solve the case, right?

w2 thursday

[verminous]

[hey our fucking CHILD.

yeah of course gregor is gonna check on him later.]

Shoma-? You get any healing in yet?

[solesuccess]

[ hello. he is here. he still has a metal arm, but he looks a little more cleaned up less bloody at least. his wounds are closed, though there are a few bandages slapped on as precautions. but he does nod slowly. ]

Just enough to close everything. I didn't want to spend more time there since Throné and the Captain will probably need way more.

w2 friday

[solesuccess]

[ today, in the void, shoma is sitting on the ground probably outside of the armory and gently disassociating. but at least when he hears someone pass by he (and roboji) look up. ]

...hey. [ he will at least try to be chill. ]

[verminous]

-hey, Shoma.

[sliding down to sit by him. he's got a hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, but he's not as fully covered as he was monday, at least.]

Still sore?

w2 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ we are once again on the floor somewhere because shoma once again has not actually done the painkiller thing like an idiot because he (and i) both forgot. he would simply like to nap for, like, sixty years, but he's propped up against the wall and occasionally shaking the eight ball. ]

...do you think it was better or worse that we got both of them like this?

[verminous]

[sliding down to sit by him.]

To be honest? Worse. It'd be fine if we'd just known and hadn't ended up with both of 'em getting the votes.

w3 monday

[solesuccess]

[ you start in what looks like a normal doctor's office. it's quiet here, maybe a little too quiet. you know out in the hall there're all kinds of monitors and tubes and files and doctors running around, running their own tests and checking on their own research.

and here you are, lying on a cot and waiting for your own doctor to come back. you're twelve years old, and you've...had a bad feeling about this for a little while now. like maybe something's really wrong.

you've been coming to this institute for a while now. when they first told you that you had a genetic disease that would take your life in a short time, you were terrified. you would've done anything to save yourself. you're in elementary school and your life's been so short. the idea of dying was scary.

but being here has been kind of scary, too. you've been taking the medicine the doctors tell you and they've been recording results, but you've never been allowed to ask questions. you're starting to wonder if you should just take them for yourselves.

the room is full of medical equipment, the cot you're on, and your doctor's desk. what do you do first? ]

[verminous]

[hey fun fact gregor does NOT like offices like this so we're going to be having an Experience later.

but-- not being told anything is almost more terrifying than the rest. shouldn't the person whose life it is know more? shouldn't he get to know what else he needs to be afraid of-? what if something just happens, and he had no idea--

it's also hard to just act on that, though. that... probably means trouble, tempting as it is; to begin with, he waits.]

w3 thursday

[solesuccess]

[ is your blood back inside your body. he's going to be hunting down gregor first in the medbay and if he's not there. well. why not. he's going to be stalking around the ship until he does find him aaAHHHHHH. ]

[verminous]

[HE'S IN THE MEDBAY WHY ARE ALL OF YOU ASSUMING HE WON'T BE

but yeah, he's been in a pod already; his voice is still rough, but his throat wound has healed enough that it's not at risk of reopening.]

Hey, Shoma.

w3 friday

[solesuccess]

[ well. eventually shoma comes across gregor during his wandering. this...two is still a lot, but this wasn't the worst outcome either. ]

Did you stay in the medbay last night with Yuri?

[verminous]

Yeah. Me, Yuri, Rodya, then Amalthea and Io. I figured more'd end up there, but...

[a little shrug.]

...didn't feel like relocating.

w3 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ listen he's just facedown on a bench in the observation bay. ugggggggh. but he hears steps and he turns his face just a fraction to eyeball gregor. ]

...your evidence thing really helped. I thought for sure the gun was related to the other case.

[verminous]

[MOOD. flopping down by the bench because his injuries hurt.]

Yeah, so did I.

...sorry I didn't say anything. I know you know why, but.

w4 tuesday (dropoff)

[verminous]

[left at shoma's door is a little package containing the following:

-a miniature nanoblock set
-an assortment of different sizes and shapes of LED lights

and a note:]

Not a bad stop this week, right? I wanted to try and get you something useful, but I realized I don't know nearly enough about machines to know what actually would be... so I figured maybe you could use these either for your bot or your room, at least.

The little guy's from Rodya, by the way, she's been helping me out.

Hey, and... thanks, Shoma. For everything you've been doing here.

-Gregor

[solesuccess]

[ a little while later on tuesday gregor gets a picture message. it is a bunch of the lights hanging from different parts of his and yuri's room and lit up, and the instruction manual and opened box for the nanoblock set sit on--the kotatsu?? from his memory?? don't worry about that. ]

i don't mind things that aren't "useful"
thanks gregor 🤖

w4 friday

[solesuccess]

[ sometime after the morning announcement, he bumps into gregor again. he's probably on his way to the food court to get coffee given our galley is closed, but he just frowns a bit. ]

...you think two per week's gonna be the standard now?

[verminous]

Sure looks that way, doesn't it.

[the mood is bad, definitely. that was his fuckin roommate.]

w4, saturday

[verminous]

[hi shoma. he's in the sim room, maybe a little sweaty from exertion, but he doesn't have it set to anything like that at the moment; it's the interior of mephistopheles, right now, where gregor is just sitting in his usual bus seat, watching random drab scenery go by out the window.]

[solesuccess]

[ here again, huh? he was actually going to fire up a sim room himself, funny enough, but when he sees one is activated and takes a peek he changes his trajectory a little to board the bus and go and have a seat next to him. also looking out the window. ]

...guess you really can't force people to talk until they're ready, huh.

w5 monday

[solesuccess]

[ actually yeah sets us at the water park. shoma's here, seemingly just hanging out near the entrance and giving the place a once-over like he's mostly exploring for the sake of exploring. currently, he does not seem to have any signs of physical injuries? so that's...nice...for now.

but he does hum to himself. ]

You know, one of these things isn't like the others. [ what even are the locations this week. ]

[verminous]

No kidding. This is a weird set...

[greg, on the other hand, is very rusty right now. like, all over. the t-shirt he's wearing because of the heat just shows that off further.]

w5 wednesday

[solesuccess]

[ he's leaving the tea shop at some point, wandering the hallways at a leisurely pace. he does not seem to have a new destination in mind, sipping on some sort of purple drink (taro-flavored boba) but he pauses when he comes across gregor. ]

So. How hung over were you yesterday? [ lmao. ]

[verminous]

[aaaa. he's groaning and covering his face with a hand at the reminder.]

Not very, actually, but... unfortunately that means I still remember most of Monday.

w5 friday

[verminous]

[you know what let's just still be in the park.

gregor is pacing idly, out here. fuck.]

...none of our group this time, but-

[...shaking his head.]

[solesuccess]

Doesn't make it easier, right? [ he's just scrolling through iris to look at the decommission reports again. ] This pattern of two a week is really getting old.

w5 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ eventually wanders his way to jail and just stops in front of gregor.

drops into a sit outside of the cell.

stares at him. ]

...you know, I imagined that when I came to find you this weekend you'd be on this side of the brig instead.

[verminous]

...so did I.

[he says, quietly. his bug arm is restrained behind his back.]

w6 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ dog park. we are hanging out outside just because he wants to have some space and air, but he does give gregor a grin. ]

One-week turnaround. Not too bad.

[verminous]

Pretty good, for death.

...don't know how much more of being split up I could've taken, though, I'm relieved it was only about that long.

w6 thursday

[verminous]

[this took me forever help

anyway gregor is back inside the ship, at the park; he's just stretched out in the grass somewhere, away from the animals, chilling and smoking. taking a break. emotionshare is what's currently active with him, a decidedly content air coming from him despite everything.]

[solesuccess]

[ we also timetraveled back to w6, no i'm not telling you until after i send this tag, it's funny.

anyway here on w7 thursday, shoma has made his way into the park just to finally take a break from another brainstorming session with the crew at large and a break from his own personal projects. because it's gregor, he does not bother to even wait before approaching and just gingerly dropping down on the ground next to him, tipping over to lay on his back and stare at the sky. ]

Is this the part where I say there's irony in you smoking in one of the only places we have with "fresh air"? [ the vibes say he is 100% joking at least. ]

w7 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ he hasn't done this in a while, but once again while gregor is out and about he will find that shoma is sitting on the floor in the hallway somewhere. or, more accurately, starfishing. he's dead, jim. ]

Why did today feel so long...

[verminous]

Long, but worth it, wasn't it?

[flops right down by shoma though because WHEW. long fucking day,]