[ he stares at his phone for a long, long time. he's more or less gotten the hang of it now, though he knows he's fortunate enough that the learning curve for him hadn't been so drastic. he wishes he had the excuse of being completely inept with it to justify why it's taken him so long to reach out but...
he's not sure what happened. one day, he's newly arrived, and then the next he's been here for over two weeks, rotting in bed because it seemed the better alternative to — literally anything else.
eventually, he gets out of his own head enough to remember he'd more or less made a promise to be a better friend. a better person. it's clearly coming with a lot of bumps along the way but... better late than never, right? ]
[ She almost deletes the text, because she doesn't immediately recognize the name. But it's been a busy weird few weeks. She definitely wasn't totally herself that first day or two.
And...maybe he was in trouble. Weird things had been happening. ]
Hey Everything okay? Did you need help with something?
hey that was really nice of you it's definitely been a busy few weeks. i've been working out a lot to try to deal with...the shifting thing. I don't know how you're dealing with that, but you're welcome to join me sometime if you want
[ That's a quick way to figure out if he's actually being friendly or creepy, and it's public sooooo win all around.
It would honestly be nice if he's not though. It's...getting lonely here without her friends. ]
[ oushi, by nothing short of a miracle, still hasn't shifted. he's been doing everything in his power not to even think about it, in all honesty, and he all but flinches when tifa brings it up first. ]
i'm not dealing with it i mean
[ which must make him sound like a coward, but it somehow feels worse to pretend he's handling any of this okay. ]
i'm not much of a gym guy... does it actually help?
[ This does line up entirely with her skills and interests. She just...has never actually liked the spotlight...
I definitely have some ins for at least food distribution, and areas that need support the most. I have some trust in the lower income areas, though I do want to be careful not to damage it.
I'd be interested in talking about it at least.
Does that mean you don't want me to go out with Eli? He seems like he definitely needs a partner.
I'm not sure if he does need a partner. He seems pretty interested in being headstrong and independent. But either way, I can deal with that.
I've got lots of people with skills that match up with his.
Your skills are rare, among the Augmented. Finish up your current outing with Eli, then switch to this project.
Food programs, gathering and distribution, like Palamedes said. I want you to work with him. He's got some other projects that are distracting him, too, so I'd actually like you to take a bit more of the lead on this and let him support you with his bureaucratic skill.
Definitely don't damage your trust in the lower income areas. You ask really smart questions and have good ideas, Tifa. Trust yourself and take charge of this project in whatever way you think is smartest. Let me know what additional support the two of you need, and keep me updated. [ From what he's seen so far, Tifa is a good person to have in charge, but her fatal flaw is that she too easily lets other people sabotage her good ideas. Therefore, hopefully, she just needs some encouragement to stay in charge, and Gojo will do his best to keep tabs on her project solely for that purpose. He can easily act as a manager for the purpose of enabling her to do her best. ]
That's what I mean. I think he needs someone to keep an eye on him, point him in the right direction.
He might be happier with more of a strike team though, I agree. I'll let you know how this mission goes and what I'm feeling, but I'll get in touch with Palamedes.
I will do my best, but I'm just a gal from the slums. I really appreciate you believe in me, I just don't want to set the expectations too high.
I'll loop back after we talk. But -- thanks for caring about this. I do want to help as many people as we can.
At the moment there isn't a strike team. None of the teams are strike teams because at the moment there hasn't been anything to fight other than a bare handful of sad humanoid mutations in the swamps and a bunch more unnerving but harmless animal mutations near the cenote.
We shouldn't need the same connection and communication on the bridge as we did in the swamps. Theoretically less likelihood of someone dying from being sucked down into a bog.
The vanguard team is meant to be scouting fast but not looking closely. I want a team scouting more thoroughly in case there are hostile mutations living out there on that bridge. If there's anything horrible lurking on that bridge, I would now very earnestly prefer that Eli be the one to find it.
But I'm kind of expecting that there won't be anything more horrible than the sad humanoid mutations. In which case you're more valuable feeding people, and he's more valuable on a strike team. Once I have one of those. I have assured him that I will let him know first if I find anything that needs to be struck.
Well, that's a leg up from my last team operation. I don't. Do you have tips for doing that? I wasn't sure how we were feeling about accounts and being tracked...but Patho-Gen doesn't seem to have anything against us helping people.
actually it might all just be centralized through the syntrofos network ... so you might not need a separate account. well, we'll leave figuring that out to palamedes the bureaucrat, he'll tell you if you need a separate account. i'll just transfer the numis to you through the syntrofos i think i can do that ...
[ idk man. anyway the money gets transferred in whatever way money transfer works! please enjoy this working capital! he sends her an amount of numis "value equivalent to six months in a modest residence, or three somewhere fancy." ]
trusting you to put it to good use. keep me updated on how it goes.
[ He's not sure exactly how this happened, but somehow Buck's found himself sitting on a log in the middle of a clearing, a fox in his lap giggling and trying to lick him as if it's a dog. ]
Slow down, buddy. Not the face! Anywhere but the face!
[ He seems to draw the attention of other animals, too, and he's not sure how he does it, but when he looks up again, he sees Tifa in the distance and waves her over. ]
Hey, hey Tifa! Come here, they're really friendly.
[ This wasn't what she was expecting. In fact, she's in a bit of a trance at the luscious meadow, the peacefulness of plants and animals. After so much being tainted and miserable -- here and at home -- it feels like the promise of what Gaia was supposed to be, what this place was supposed to be too.
She's so lost in her own thought that she doesn't quite register Buck's voice. It feels like a dream as she turns toward him, half expecting to see Aerith there, which makes her heart clench.
But she does smile when she sees Buck, relaxed with a bundle of fur in his lap. She approaches slowly, not wanting to startle it. ]
They must be able to sense your gentle soul.
[ She meant his, but with the Natural Soul, maybe it was two. ]
[ Buck wasn't expecting this either, between all the eye stuff and the ghost town, this place was turning into a real horror show. He's both waiting for the other shoe to drop, and also taking this moment to really love petting these animals. If it's a trap, so be it at this point. ]
Gentle?
[ He smiles up at her, genuinely. No one's really called him gentle before, but he does suppose he was very much so with her after they'd both woken up in a lab. How else was he supposed to be? ]
And don't worry, buddy, this is Tifa. She's friendly. You'll like her.
[ He says this to the fox, who turns to sniff Tifa's hand, and then deciding she's a good person to extoll pets from, headbutts it. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text | un: AHHHHHSHIOKI
he's not sure what happened. one day, he's newly arrived, and then the next he's been here for over two weeks, rotting in bed because it seemed the better alternative to — literally anything else.
eventually, he gets out of his own head enough to remember he'd more or less made a promise to be a better friend. a better person. it's clearly coming with a lot of bumps along the way but... better late than never, right? ]
hey
tifa?
it's oushi
i'm just checking in
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And...maybe he was in trouble. Weird things had been happening. ]
Hey
Everything okay?
Did you need help with something?
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no i'm good
more or less
like i said i was just checking in
[ he wants to put his head through a wall, or perhaps a meat grinder. ]
i just figured i should
since we're friends
if you're busy tho don't worry about it
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hey that was really nice of you
it's definitely been a busy few weeks. i've been working out a lot to try to deal with...the shifting thing.
I don't know how you're dealing with that, but you're welcome to join me sometime if you want
[ That's a quick way to figure out if he's actually being friendly or creepy, and it's public sooooo win all around.
It would honestly be nice if he's not though. It's...getting lonely here without her friends. ]
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i'm not
dealing with it i mean
[ which must make him sound like a coward, but it somehow feels worse to pretend he's handling any of this okay. ]
i'm not much of a gym guy...
does it actually help?
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I get that
I've been through some other tough stuff or I would not be handling this as well
It does help me, but I've always used physical activity to help calm my mood.
Walks can be nice too, or any kind of hobby. My friend gardened.
[ Has she immediately fallen into the mom-friend role and not realized it? Sure has.
Also hasn't realized what a comfort it is to feel useful to someone else. ]
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end of semester grading ugh
un: treeleaf
🌳🍃！ 👧🏽🐎
へあｌｔｈ？
un: starshower
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Try again???]
🌳🍃！ 👧🏽🐎
🗣️ 👋☺️👋
🥩🍚😊？
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Tree...leaf? Horse girl. Horse girl! Is she the cute centaur?
Hi Hi...get...food together? ]
👋
👊👧🏻
🍚...👍
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👊?
👧🏻👊 👧🏽🐎?
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Hey. This is Tifa. Does this work?
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text; un: infinity
[ He attaches a copy of this voice conversation including a link to the network post with the prompting question. ]
You'd be good at this. Interested?
un: starshower
I definitely have some ins for at least food distribution, and areas that need support the most. I have some trust in the lower income areas, though I do want to be careful not to damage it.
I'd be interested in talking about it at least.
Does that mean you don't want me to go out with Eli? He seems like he definitely needs a partner.
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I've got lots of people with skills that match up with his.
Your skills are rare, among the Augmented. Finish up your current outing with Eli, then switch to this project.
Food programs, gathering and distribution, like Palamedes said. I want you to work with him. He's got some other projects that are distracting him, too, so I'd actually like you to take a bit more of the lead on this and let him support you with his bureaucratic skill.
Definitely don't damage your trust in the lower income areas. You ask really smart questions and have good ideas, Tifa. Trust yourself and take charge of this project in whatever way you think is smartest. Let me know what additional support the two of you need, and keep me updated. [ From what he's seen so far, Tifa is a good person to have in charge, but her fatal flaw is that she too easily lets other people sabotage her good ideas. Therefore, hopefully, she just needs some encouragement to stay in charge, and Gojo will do his best to keep tabs on her project solely for that purpose. He can easily act as a manager for the purpose of enabling her to do her best. ]
Got it?
wow he read her for filth
He might be happier with more of a strike team though, I agree. I'll let you know how this mission goes and what I'm feeling, but I'll get in touch with Palamedes.
I will do my best, but I'm just a gal from the slums. I really appreciate you believe in me, I just don't want to set the expectations too high.
I'll loop back after we talk. But -- thanks for caring about this. I do want to help as many people as we can.
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We shouldn't need the same connection and communication on the bridge as we did in the swamps. Theoretically less likelihood of someone dying from being sucked down into a bog.
The vanguard team is meant to be scouting fast but not looking closely. I want a team scouting more thoroughly in case there are hostile mutations living out there on that bridge. If there's anything horrible lurking on that bridge, I would now very earnestly prefer that Eli be the one to find it.
But I'm kind of expecting that there won't be anything more horrible than the sad humanoid mutations. In which case you're more valuable feeding people, and he's more valuable on a strike team. Once I have one of those. I have assured him that I will let him know first if I find anything that needs to be struck.
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I'll send you some money. Do you have a bank account already?
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[ idk man. anyway the money gets transferred in whatever way money transfer works! please enjoy this working capital! he sends her an amount of numis "value equivalent to six months in a modest residence, or three somewhere fancy." ]
trusting you to put it to good use. keep me updated on how it goes.
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for the event, in a field somewhere
Slow down, buddy. Not the face! Anywhere but the face!
[ He seems to draw the attention of other animals, too, and he's not sure how he does it, but when he looks up again, he sees Tifa in the distance and waves her over. ]
Hey, hey Tifa! Come here, they're really friendly.
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She's so lost in her own thought that she doesn't quite register Buck's voice. It feels like a dream as she turns toward him, half expecting to see Aerith there, which makes her heart clench.
But she does smile when she sees Buck, relaxed with a bundle of fur in his lap. She approaches slowly, not wanting to startle it. ]
They must be able to sense your gentle soul.
[ She meant his, but with the Natural Soul, maybe it was two. ]
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Gentle?
[ He smiles up at her, genuinely. No one's really called him gentle before, but he does suppose he was very much so with her after they'd both woken up in a lab. How else was he supposed to be? ]
And don't worry, buddy, this is Tifa. She's friendly. You'll like her.
[ He says this to the fox, who turns to sniff Tifa's hand, and then deciding she's a good person to extoll pets from, headbutts it. ]
See?
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She takes a seat beside him, holding her hand out to the fox like it was a cat or do, giving a breathy laugh as it headbutts her. ]
Okay, are these common pets where you're from? Is that why you're good at this?
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Not at all, and the state I'm in now doesn't even allow them as pets.
[ The fox seems a little overwhelmed, trying to extoll pets from both of them, and licking both of them too. ]
I think maybe this guy's just friendly. Or really likes humans.
I think he even likes you better, and I can't be mad.
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