scien [spacecoast]

[verminous]

meme later

Comments

intro saturday

[verminous]

Guess at least we know a little more about all this.

[that was. informative! in some ways more than others, but you know what? he'll take it, honestly.

he does give scien a curious look, though, adding:]

Say, I was wondering. You said you don't really see people my age who look it, so... what are you used to people looking like?

[egodist]

[me copypasting a note into my threads bc it's going in all of them: scien's changed back into his rumpled outfit except it's probably more obvious than ever than he doesn't have his left arm because the sleeve is just floppily trailing next to him. on that sleeve, there is a new bloodstain on it like it was used to wipe something. help!

but he'll answer plainly because gregor was polite enough to endure his interrogation:]

No one on Apréchéle lives past the age of 23.

[verminous]

No one-?!

[wait a sec.]

Hang on, buddy, isn't that about to be a real problem for you?

week zero, monday

[egodist]

[so here's scien, minding his business, playing suika on his I.R.I.S. the way that his man genuinely enjoys puzzle really kicks my ass. but there's this moment where he does it, he gets a watermelon and his points surge—

and even though there is a hint of amusement, of delight, it is muffled. it's like it's been put through a filter, the emotion dissipated into something that isn't quite there. a facsimile of happiness

when he looks to gregor, he tilts his head]

You. Does your world possess games such as this?

[verminous]

Oh? Let me take a look.

[affable enough, as usual, though through the emotion transfer there's definitely a background sort of wariness as he peers at the interface.]

I've seen a couple like this. Not something I've usually had my hands on, though.

[egodist]

It's the best thing about this place.

[HELP ME SCIEN NO!!!!! the feelings of amusement and joy continue though, which is so funny, even though they're all still slightly off-kilter.]

Is your wariness for me, or for the situation as a whole?

[he's not kind enough to turn a blind eye to it! he's curious!]

week zero, friday

[egodist]

[please run over akipixi for me please thanks anyway

if gregor wanders to the observation deck that's where he'll find scien!! for once, he's up. no longer lounging on whatever the closest surface is, instead moving to inspect the different doors and vents that might be in the area. he's more unkempt than usual, his usual braid nowhere to be found, clothes even more rumpled as if no one's bothered to fix him. or no one's around to anymore. even then, his expression seems as unbothered as always except

once you get close enough to him, there are those broken, not-quite right emotions are at play again. normally, any type of feeling coming from him would be a rare thing. but right now they seem to be playing out without his permission. bewilderment, dissatisfaction, frustration, and this slow, building sense of anger. as with earlier in the week when he felt it from someone else, every time that feeling grows too strong it seems to stall and suddenly disappear—

but this time it comes back. a loop of slow-building fury. because this time, that strong, burdensome feeling is his own. it plays in the background, grinding away at all other feelings.

when footsteps approach, he's direct, gaze sharp and message to the point:]

You. Find anything?

[verminous]

Got nothin' so far, beyond what we probably all do. Official response was more or less 'yep, they're dead, no, we don't know what happened'.

[fuck.

there's a brief thread of unease at the oddness of scien's emotions, mostly just because he's not really used to that; overall, he just feels frustrated, with a sense of something that's-- not resigned, exactly, but more 'of course it's like this'.]

[egodist]

[there is a bigger spike of emotion then - just absolute fucking disdain - or. something close to it.]

Of course.

Because they can't have even a single moment of competence despite their rank.

w0, saturday

[verminous]

[i'm lashing out i'm lashing out

anyway.

he'll come by, later on; this may not be a designated smoking area, but the cigarette in his mouth was already lit before he approached. he does not care about smoking areas right now.]

...'made to', huh.

[egodist]

[hehehehe

well scien is

horizontal again i'm sorry this man is really splayed out on the ground looking at the ceiling. his emotions are still in that tight little box bundle, but the strongest one that leaks through is this sense of being lost.]

I—

[there is a pause, and then a flash of violence, as if being relived. he blinks in response to the emotion, as if processing it as well but]

... I did it.

week 4, post-mini event

[egodist]

[does the embed once and never again because i'm lazy. it's pixel shu unless i say it's not pixel shu.

though it's a little funny to share voice actors? since you know. hosoyan and all. if gregor isn't looking directly at him, the tone and cadence sound a little bit more like someone he hasn't heard from in a long, long while.]

And so? What were the results of your auction, Mr. Popular?

[verminous]

Ah, I don't want to think about that auction...

[help. why THIS.]

Rodya outdid 'em all, though.

w6 monday

[verminous]

[we're at the observatory! because why not.]

I didn't think we'd still be able to see any stars, from here...

[he's not sure if he wants to look at space much, but maybe it'll be nice sometimes?]

[egodist]

[wow prime date location gregor]

I don't expect intestines to have stars, but I didn't expect it to have rats either.

week 6, thursday

[egodist]

[yeets out me starters with reckless abandon.

but scien will be actually found in the gardens instead of any lab! he's found something comfy to wear, and his hair is down and damp again—but at least it's not because he drowned. a blanket is already settled on his shoulders (thanks dahut) and in his sweater pawed hand he has a mug of hot cocoa.....

his gaze fixates on a particular patch of flowers, as if searching for something among them. when he hears footsteps, this time he actually turns his head]

What happened after we got back?

[tell him how you killed everybody gregor]

[verminous]

Well, nobody ever went over the protocol so they just started telling me they needed to die. Took care of Dahut, Dion, and Sheba.

[he's still scraping blood off his arm, probably.]

w6, friday

[verminous]

[he's still in the pillowfort tbh. comfy.]

That's-- it looks like a good sign. Right?

[egodist]

[scien, completely horizontal, head pillowed away]

With all the information we've gotten, I'd be surprised if we still lost someone.

Though there have been worse surprises.

week 6 sunday

[egodist]

[deposits pc on you

but auction items are unlocked :) which means that in the stasis bay, where scien had been spending a solid amount of his time, he's looking at the now glowing, active, awake reliver machine. it thrums with a foreboding energy and scien is at one of the monitors, running a diagnostics check. whenever gregor wanders in, scien will look up briefly]

I'd appreciate if you don't get weird at me about my tech. If you will, kindly leave.

[verminous]

Scien, bud, I don't know nearly enough about it to get weird at you.

[that would be a faust thing. yi sang too, probably.]

You got it running and everything?

week 7, monday

[egodist]

[scien has been back two days and in those days, he first lost an arm and then he regained one. that's right! somehow scien already had both arms back! that much is probably obvious from how he's walking around (somewhere. anywhere. void.) messing with the IRIS with one hand and eating a piece of bread with the other.

but that's not the only thing. nearly two months ago, one might remember that scien's emotions were... not quite right the last time people could share feelings. echoes of what they should be. never that strong. more like small little bumps rather than the highs and lows of true feeling. that's what it meant to be a reliver.

they're getting trapped in a void - ugh memshare! gimme!! - but there is also one very, very immediate feeling in its strongest form: annoyance.

. . . but that's still a real emotion, isn't it? (anyway gimme a memshare or tell me you want one mwah)]

[verminous]

-Scien!

[he blinks, eyes a little wide-- gregor definitely remembers what those feelings were like, before, and now it's-- well, he almost might not have known he fell in this rift with scien if he hadn't seen him first.

but absolutely i will hand you memshare. before he can ask, they both end up seeing this, running to 1:32:04.]

endgame

[egodist]

[that was so much. scien is in the medbay, still hard at work. there's a few different plates of food and glasses that have been brought to him since he's truly just people's pet hamster now

but he'll look up when gregor approaches]

Saying your goodbyes?

[verminous]

More or less, yeah.

[the speed of the callout]

Still busy?