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[sonicstriker]

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text | un: AHHHHHSHIOKI

[ashioki]

[ 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? ]

hey
tifa?
it's oushi
i'm just checking in

[sonicstriker]

[ 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?

[ashioki]

[ instantly, he feels stupid for even trying. ]

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

[sonicstriker]

[ oh. he was serious about that? ]

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. ]

[ashioki]

[ 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?

[sonicstriker]

[ Tifa hasn't either, and she'd like to keep it that way. ]

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. ]

[ashioki]

[ oushi... has very quickly realized just how different he is from the rest of the augmented. he didn't come from a world with powers or abilities, where even superheroes were the stuff of fiction. his world wasn't dying, or on the verge of being overtaken by an evil mastermind or corporation, and modern enough he had grown up more or less in absolute comfort.

the only hardship he's ever really faced in his life was suffering through a broken heart... and even then that was all entirely of his own doing.

he's completely out of his depth here, and every day just further cements how in over his head he is. with little else to distract him, it's really all he can think about. ]

makes me wish i had more of a hobby back home
all i ever did with my free time was play video games

[ not exactly something he can easily indulge in now. ]

i'm not completely out of shape though
we could go for a run together? if you're into that

[sonicstriker]

[ Honestly, they're probably closer to each other than some of the other worlds. Until the last six months, Tifa's life hadn't been that crazy, and her "superhuman" abilities were pretty much entirely from years of hard work.

She did have an unfortunate pile of trauma, though. ]

Never too late to start one!
I wasn't a big video game person myself, but I get the appeal.

Honestly, that sounds great. It'd be good to get some fresh air.

[ashioki]

yeah i'll have to find something sooner or later
too much sitting around doing nothing
or waiting for the next stupid task
is probably gonna just drive me crazy

[ but that's depressing stuff to talk about, and that's probably not what tifa wants to hear right now. ]

it's good to go out in pairs or groups anyway
so if you ever feel like going out for a walk or run, just hit me up

[sonicstriker]

I mean, my schedule is wide open and I prefer not to be idle
You want to go this afternoon? It's not supposed to rain
Sounds like you could use the distraction too

[ashioki]

yeah, i guess there's no better time than the present
wanna meet up towards the entrance? around 2?

[sonicstriker]

I'll be there!

[ And she is, dressed in a sports bra and high-waisted leggings. She knows the people here are a lot more modest, but she's not passing out from being dressed wrong for a workout. ]

[ashioki]

[ oushi, meanwhile, opts for the standard fare of an oversized t-shirt and basketball shorts, leaving only his forearms and his legs from the knee-down exposed. the stipend they've all been afforded allowed him to acquire a decent amount of clothes to fill his otherwise empty closet; he'd never been an overly fashion-forward kind of guy, so he had opted for things that were more comfortable than they were particularly flashy. honestly, he's just glad the style here is familiar. ]

Hey...

[ he lifts a hand in greeting as he nears. in his other is a waterbottle he'd filled up along the way. his eyes do make a brief, unconscious sweep over tifa — and while he doesn't blush outright or anything like that, the way his gaze skitters away in afterthought has him looking almost guilty. don't worry, his thoughts aren't full of anything unpure; he had more or less gotten used to the fact that everyone else here was drop dead gorgeous in varying ways. but tifa's chosen outfit made her particular beauty all the more pronounced and oushi is, sadly, still a man with functioning eyes. ]

You wanna start with a walk first or just go right into running?

[ "running." more like light jogging for him.............. ]

[sonicstriker]

[ Her smile is bright, and if it falters when he checks her out, it's only for a second. It's not that kind of attention she minds; it's if people are weird about it. And she's trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. That was the whole point of this.

She, too, had noticed how many people here were eerily beautiful. It made her feel better, honestly, like she wasn't sticking out in this way she'd never understood. But...it turned out it was only the Augmented, and that she still gets strange eyes on her. Oh, well; she'd rather be seen as a monster than as a romantic option, at least to strangers. ]

Let's warm up first. [ She could use jogging to cut the conversation short if she needed to. ] There's a loop I do sometimes that goes out by a park.

[ She starts that direction, her own water bottle in hand. If this goes well she wouldn't mind eating lunch with someone, but she knows better than to get ahead of herself. ]

[ashioki]

[ the look he gives her is briefly confused, which really just goes to show how out of his depth he is here. when was the last time he'd willingly engaged in any kind of strenuous activity that didn't involve helping his sister move apartments? too long, honestly; to the point he didn't even remember a job required any warming up. does she mean stretches? she probably means stretches........ but then what's the loop for? is warming up just walking???? god help him. ]

Uh — right.

[ he follows her lead, hovering uncertainly beside her. the pace she sets is a leisurely one, for now, and he wills himself to simply relax and focus on the steps.

after he counts to the thirty-fifth step, he feels compelled to break the silence and blurts out, ]

Is it a lot different from this place? You world.

[sonicstriker]

[ Maybe...he's just awkward?

He's not trying anything, which she appreciates. But she does wait, to see how he'll initiate. It takes a little while, but -- okay. She can work with this. ]

I think they're similar. I lived in a big city too, on the poor side. Our technology was similar, though we were denser. We had a big company doing research and experiments on people and monsters, but...they were evil, for sure. And kept a lot of their research secret. [ And the world was ending. ]

What about you?

[ashioki]

[ no that's pretty much it — he's awkward. ]

Yeah, mostly. [ he shrugs, the gesture itself sort of dismissive. ] I mean the look and feel of it is probably the same — we have cities, we have buildings. The people all look like... people, and we had phones and stuff like this too.

But I'm not aware of any group that can do the things these Patho-Gen people can do. That kind of science is.. pretty beyond what the science in my world is still capable of.

But, uh. Did you say monsters? What were they like?

end of semester grading ugh

[sonicstriker]

That's nice at least. Some people come from way earlier times historically. That has to be hard, you know? Suddenly the materials are different, electricity exists...I don't know if I'd like that.

[ She doesn't notice it, but she's relaxing. Moving her body helps, and easy conversation helps. ]

It's pretty new on my world, as far as I know. There weren't monsters when I was a kid. Then they installed the mako reactors, and a mix of the energy seeping out and secret experiments meant they started to appear in the area and attack. I moved to the city after my town became uninhabitable. They weren't there at first either, but toward the end, they were literally everywhere.

I guess...you could tell they were animals. Most of them anyway. I didn't mind those as much. The ones that looked like someone had spliced them together from parts...and some of them had been human before...those give me nightmares, honestly. [ Her voice has gotten quieter, tighter. ]

un: treeleaf

[lumberlady]

🐇🏃🏻‍♂️💨👨🏻？

🌳🍃！　👧🏽🐎

へあｌｔｈ？

un: starshower

[sonicstriker]

I'm so sorry. This is new to me and I have no idea what the little pictures mean.

[lumberlady]

[Uh-oh… She should have considered the possibility of getting back a bunch of words… What… should she do…

Try again???]

🌳🍃！　👧🏽🐎

🗣️ 👋☺️👋

🥩🍚😊？

[sonicstriker]

[ Oh. Okay?

Tree...leaf? Horse girl. Horse girl! Is she the cute centaur?

Hi Hi...get...food together? ]

👋

👊👧🏻

🍚...👍

text; un: infinity

[mrblueeyes]

Tifa, is it important to you to stay on the exploration teams? Because I might have a job for you inside the city that I think is higher priority.

[ 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

[sonicstriker]

[ 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.

[mrblueeyes]

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. ]

Got it?

[mrblueeyes]

OH RIGHT ALSO YOU GET FUNDING.

I'll send you some money. Do you have a bank account already?

wow he read her for filth

[sonicstriker]

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.

[sonicstriker]

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.

[mrblueeyes]

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.

[mrblueeyes]

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.

[lumberlady]

[... Is she getting punched???]

👊?

👧🏻👊 👧🏽🐎?

[sonicstriker]

Got it! Looks like it is linked -- that's convenient at least.

[ Sorry her world's tech is about two decades behind this one. Cell phones were still new. ]

Will do. I have someone else in mind who might be eager to help.

[sonicstriker]

Sorry. I wasn't meaning to question your leadership. Where I just came from, everything was a strike team. I've lost people, so I just worry.

I guess I should be upfront that I'm also a really skilled monster hunter and strike team member, but, yeah. I'd rather be helping people than hurting things.

I hope you're right on the mutations. It was sad constantly having to fight fucked up corrupted creatures, and worse having to fight people.

[sonicstriker]

[ Someone else showed Tifa how to send voice ]

Hey. This is Tifa. Does this work?

for the event, in a field somewhere

[3point0]

[ 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.