001 ❖ video/action

[uncorrupts]

--why are you taking your hands off the steering?

--because I have to get a good angle for my viewers! Duh.

[introducing your host, gamer girl extraordinaire.]

Listen, this isn't the time to be doing that. We need to reach the base on this radar, and we need to work together.

--she's working on her blog! Oi, listen to him!

[the video feed turns to focus on the other two aboard the ship; one’s a toothy young redhead who seems to be wearing nothing but swimming jammers for some reason, and the other is an older guy in some power rangers suit of sorts. welcome aboard S.S. Inappropriately Dressed]

--excuse you, it’s not a blog! It’s called a livestream! Anyway, the name’s D.Va, and the older guy to my left's not a bad pilot. Ignore the guy behind me.

--you're judging other pilots right now!? I’d give you a 0 out of 10! We almost just hit that reef, holy shi --

--rude! Seriously, chill out for a second, will you? I'd like to see you do better!

I'd like to see you do better too!

The two of you, stop! [shiro, the older guy, seems to have had it with their bickering, pulling the steering handle upwards to avoid a cluster of mushroom trees likely to ruin their ship] The seas are rough as it is, we need to work as a team right now. You can go at each other's throat once we're out of this!

Ch, if we get out -- fine, what do you want us to do?

You, in the back, buckle up. You’re going to get thrown about and hurt.

...A-ah... [a guilty click... safety first yo]

And you, D.Va, is it? Concentrate on piloting. It’s hard to see and the seas are pushing us around as it is, so try and keep the ship as stable as you can!

-- ...Okay, fine.

...I can livestream your stupid piloting if you want from back here.

-- If you know how to set it up, be my guest!

Hey, to your right!

[it seems like a crash, the lights going red on board, and the visual feed spinning as the ship spirals out of control under their hands. good thing shiro told you to buckle up, huh, rin? amidst this mess, some shouting and ordering about, the stream cuts off. will our heroes live another day?]

[yeah, they do]

-- ot it all. That was actually some really amazing piloting, both of you... [someone sounds a little starstruck... what sugoi he has witnessed, the world will never know, because rin did not in fact record that shit]

D.va, well done. That was really impressive--I have to say I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you. [turning around, he smiles at the redhead teen, even if wtf? at your lack of clothes, homie] Doing alright? Name's Shiro, by the way.

-- Rin. -- It's a girl's name, but I'm a guy.

[shiro gives him an odd look. d.va definitely does the same.]

-- Aww, you’re so sweet, Shiro! [d.va flashes a grateful smile at him, also thoroughly impressed.] Honestly, it was your quick thinking that got us out of trouble. I usually don't like being ordered around, but I'll let it slide. [she then turns to rin, sitting behind her--and he better have recorded all of that!!] See? Told you we'd be fine!

[shiro offers a smile at them both. thumbs up with his mechanical arm.]

Let's get out of here and see who we can find in the base. They might be able to help us out.

[little did our heroes know that upon opening that door into the base, they would be greeted by the sickness apocalypse. moans, groans, sniffles and hacks. what’s worse, the ocean going nuts outside because of a hurricane, or the dribbly-nosed zombies in the only place considered safe from the elements?]

...after all that, is this place haunted or something...? E-eh --

You guys might want to stand back--

[...was that your burrito of death our triumphant trio has just trampled, like those wildebeests over mufasa? remember... remember...]

Comments

[splasher]

[he's not sick, really. he's just going about base, hugging colourful sweaters to give to anyone's who's feeling cold, a few drones with fabulous cozies following after him to help him in his quest.]

[he stops his mid-trot down the hall, pauses, settles onto this feeling of "i just saw something," and walks back to where the hallway turns right, turning on his feet to face it.]

[is that--]

Rin?

[gnasher]

[it's a familiar voice in an unfamiliar place; it takes Rin a moment to place it, red hair flipping around stupidly while he looks for the source]

Yeah, Matsuoka Rin, over here -- ?

[???]

[aaand turns]

[gnasher]

Makoto!

[his face betrays him, lighting up instantly. so his friend signed up for this crazy adventure too...? that's nuts!]

Yo!

[gnasher]

[he tempers the expression down, though, catching himself being embarrassing]

Uh, what are you doing here...? You never told me you were signing up for this.

[splasher]

[don't worry about embarrassing; everything here has been so much, and makoto barely registers himself one-arm hugging rin, sweaters squished between them.]

[and when he pulls back and realises, he's back to sheepish laughing makoto.]

[he has SO MANY things to tell you!!]

I don't really know why I didn't tell you... [but it's been two long months] You just arrived? In this weather?

[gnasher]

[Rin's a bit stiff in the hug, but it feels good, and he returns it briefly; this has been such a completely weird experience so far. although Rin prides himself on being open to new and exciting experiences, he has to admit, a familiar face soothes some anxieties in the pit of his stomach (maybe especially Makoto's familiar face, because -- well, he's Makoto)]

[the sweaters are given a brief skeptical look before]

-- Yeah. It was crazy... [he thought he saw -- nevermind what he saw. nightmares about the sea's monsters were for another time (or, maybe, never)] ...But we made it alright, thankfully.

[who would have thought, a Matsuoka surviving a storm at sea? maybe Rin really is a golden boy after all]

[splasher]

We?

[looks past rin's shoulder and-- oh, yeah, there's gamer trash and geriatric power ranger.]

Did they come with you?

[and he realises that he's holding sweaters, and rin is just wearing his swimming jammers. so, with a startled 'ah!,' he grabs one from the bunch (a blue, cotton one), and hands it over.]

Here! This will have to do for the time being. Hajime-chan has been making some clothes with this machine called the Fabricator, and I've been helping her out. We can go to her later if you don't have clothes to change into.

[but, look at him. he can't keep himself from smiling just because he has a friend from home here.]

[gnasher]

[Rin takes the sweater (only seeing that it's b l u e, and not what's on the front of it with a bemused look]

Thanks, but I've got a bag of spare clothes, and honestly, it didn't seem that important, with what everyone keeps telling us. Floods, and everybody being sick, and the infrastructure issues...

[he's not trying to scare Makoto; he may or may not be trying to avoid mentioning the storm too much. he was shocked that Makoto was even going to the ocean, back home; how the hell is he okay with being under it, during weather like this?]

[splasher]

Yeah, it's been pretty bad, with the hurricane... URSULA went offline earlier, a few hours ago, and it was--

[faintly remembers something painful reaching through his chest, and the ghost of a feeling there. but, he can't put his memories in the right place concerning it. it's easier for him to walk away from that fear, for now, at least, and keep himself busy and helping others out with what he can.]

[a rub to his chest, he considers how rin might need adjusting to the situation.] We've been working on the kitchen, but the base is pretty sturdy so far. Everyone worked hard on sheltering it before the storm hit.

I was about to check on some friends who are sick. Besides, these guys are helping me out.

[points at the drones behind him]

[gnasher]

[a glance at the drones -- the tech here is impressive -- and back to Makoto. Rin's expression becomes a bit sharper, like he's trying to read between the vague words, puzzle out the arrangement of mouth and eyebrows like a sudoku]

...It sounds like you've been here a while.

[splasher]

Kind of? About two months, I think...

[oh! that's right!]

[(just like that, his odd expression disappears, replaced by a smile and an excited look in his eyes)]

I've made some friends, though! You've definitely got to meet Chiaki, and Hinata, oh, and Hajime-chan, of course. There's a bunch of other people, too! I think you'll get along with them!

[gnasher]

[for a moment, there's something that feels like empathetic stress that twists in Rin's gut, because two months was a pretty long time and this place did not seem particularly comforting for somebody like Makoto. But that moment passes, because quite typically, Makoto is more concerned with talking about other people than himself. Rin supposes it's good, that he's made many friends here -- maybe that's made those two months less of a struggle]

If you like them, I probably will.

[Makoto liked nice people, after all, because he was a nice person. -- With the exception of Haruka "Pisslord" Nanase of course (and maybe Rin himself, if he's being honest)]

This place seems pretty weird. Take good care of us, right.

[Rin are you at your new summer internship? Stop being a weirdo]

[splasher]

[rin's kinda mad about the general appearance of the place, and makoto doesn't blame him. it's a bad time as any to arrive to base. makoto's caretaking instincts take over and despite rin saying he's got extra clothes, makoto urges him to put on the sweater.]

It's kind of cold. The sweater is really soft, it'll make you feel better.

[it sucks feeling like it's his fault this place 'seems pretty weird' in rin's eyes.]

[he even falters, before asking,] Do you... want to come with me, or would you rather explore on your own?

[gnasher]

[the effect of Makoto's urging about the sweater a) makes him feel about five years old, and b) embarrasses him enough to actually tug it over his head, even though he's not too chilled. the silly cat on the front is still unnoticed]

[mostly because Makoto's floundering, which makes Rin flounder a bit. they've grown closer in the last two years, but sometimes Rin feels like he's just a few misspoken words from losing everything again. usually, he feels that way with Haru, but Makoto's strained expression proves there's nothing he can't screw up]

[Rin blurts, messy, but earnest at least;]

Oi, of course I'll come with you. Who'd be better to show me around?

[the sweater is really soft, if a bit large on his frame. Rin rolls up the sleeves a bit, to his forearms, and then slings an arm around his friend's shoulders, huffing]

[splasher]

[and just like that, he feels better about where he stands, despite the clear, obvious disarray of rin's arrival and makoto's technically more sufficient understanding of how this place works.]

[(we're not here to swim, basically. not in the training sense anyway.)]

Well, the base isn't that big, to be honest. We've suffered some damage in the kitchen, and most everyone is sick, but I'm sure there's a few empty rooms we can try to lay claim to.

I just got to hand these sweaters over to some people first, though.

[and he's not even phased by the silly cat on the front; hajime-chan is so talented!]

[splasher]

Would you like to say bye to the guys you came in with first?

[because, in the end, makoto worries about this kind of stuff; interpersonal relationships and leaving others to know that they're valuable to one another.]

If you want to, I can wait for you here. ...you'll see them around a lot, though, so, whatever you prefer doing, Rin.

[gnasher]

[wishy-washy, Rin thinks to himself, in a voice that sounds suspiciously like Haru's, though with maybe a fonder timbre]

Yeah, I'll tell them where I'm going. Gimme a sec.

[he pats Makoto's shoulder as he separates, ever-tactile, and returns to Shiro and D.Va, giving them the news of his good (?) fortune. a few moments has him coming back]

Alright, where to? Sweater delivery, right?

[splasher]

Yup.

[and then, despite the storm and the sick people and everything, makoto motions back towards shiro and d.va (and because he actually thinks they're cool--) as they walk down the hall before asking:]

Do you think you could introduce me to them sometime? They seem pretty cool...

[DON'T JUDGE HIM]

--wait, how exactly did you get in here?

[gnasher]

They drove me. Through the -- to the base.

[and he gives Makoto a kind of odd look, cutting himself off; he doesn't want to talk about the harrowing journey through the storm, which was... frankly quite an adrenaline rush for him, but would probably be perceived by Makoto as something out of a nightmare]

Their names are D.Va and Shiro. The girl's a pain in the ass, but kind of fun. Shiro's alright.

[glowing accolades from Rin, he's probably described Nagisa and Rei similarly; he nudges Makoto in the side, not too hard (don't want to drop those sweaters), teasing]

It's not like we're close, but if you want to talk to a cute girl...

[splasher]

Don't tease me like that, Rin.

[he's not in any way upset about it, as the comment is followed up by a crooked smile and guilty glancing from side to side. he's way too obvious, and cute girls will always potentially catch his attention on that fact alone.]

[besides, he can't remember ever talking girls with rin. kinda embarrassing.]

[so he shuffles along down the hall, until they reach a door which he opens for the other to go in first.]

There's kind of a lot of cute girls here, to be honest. Not that that's all I think about when I'm with them, [really embarrassing] but you could say the guys here are, too. Fun.

[hmm]

This is one of the rooms available for us to sleep on. Everyone's been kind of avoiding them to avoid being with others who are sick, so it's kinda empty for the time being.

[look at them air mattresses]

[gnasher]

[Rin expects Makoto to trail off into a sheepish laugh, and when he doesn't, Rin's head fills with static and his cheeks fill with colour. once again, Rin has started something he can't finish -- and he just grows more and more embarrassed as Makoto fills him in on all the cute girls and ??? fun guys ??? aboard the base, what the fuck, shut it down. there's a reason he doesn't talk romance (get a grip) with the guys from Iwatobi (or Samezuka, or with his family, or -- anyone), and it's because it's all just too god damn embarrassing (and a couple other reasons)]

[have some extended silence, until the miracle of air mattresses are revealed, and wow, these are the most important air mattresses in the world -- wait, air mattresses? are they serious?]

Are you actually able to get any sleep on these...?

[how gruff; but he adds]

Which one's yours?

[gnasher]

[and then;]

Ah! It's that one, isn't it.

[guess how he knows?]

[splasher]

[makoto laughs, knowing exactly what rin just did--what with trying to avoid the topic of conversation. his held-in laughter is all that will clue rin in to makoto doing him a solid here and keeping mum about it all.]

I put on my headphones and I try not to think too much about it.

[he denotes, still smiling]

[(this is nice; it reminds him of a more familiar home setting)]

[the bed rin motions to is the one with a couple of books, a green backpack, headphones, and hella comfortable looking pajama pants with happy clouds as its pattern]

Yeah. It's not too bad, in the end. My new pajamas have really helped out in the whole sleeping process.

[gnasher]

[thos pjs tho...]

Other people see those now... there's such a thing as being too un-self-conscious, you know.

[walking into the room beside Makoto, Rin drops his bag beside that obvious bed, and his own un-inflated bed next to it]

Is it single sex or co-ed?

[splasher]

Well, it's better than sleeping on my jeans and wearing them every day without giving them a rest...

[you know he's right]

Anyone can crash here. I just didn't put my mattress away before I got out of the room.

[legit]