✧ — passionfruit green tea.

[boba]

Comments

[oversea]

Mm. I'm not the best at deescalating.

[ his version of deescalating is to just fight everyone... but he needs to learn to do it with words instead? what is this. ]

[transmit]

What'd you end up doing?

[ his hand finds its way to thorns' upper back and offers it a pack before settling against it. oh, thorns… ]

[oversea]

Just ended up searching rooms. Someone was accusing the other of stealing, and––

[ he explains the situation... ]

I've broken up fights before, but it was the first time I had to deal with one that was more than just a drunken brawl.

[transmit]

It's a lot easier when you can just beat someone up and call it a day, isn't it?

[ he gives thorns another few pats. ]

I'm pretty sure if you asked yourself a few months go if you could imagine yourself doing this, you'd say no. Give yourself more leniency. [ a laugh… ] Did you end up hanging the other guy upside down?

[oversea]

No, since it's not like he was trying to frame the other one. But I did say if anyone makes any false accusations like that in the future then they'd definitely be trouble.

[ the patting feels nice... ]

Anyway, what have you done?

[transmit]

Yeah, you do have to put your foot down at some point…

[ rubs circles… ]

I spent most of the time trying to understand the system you're using to keep track of everything. There were a few things I wanted to talk to you about, actually, before going any further with it—so I figured I'd walk it off until you seemed free.

Word spreads fast. I heard a good amount about your situation just from doing that.

[oversea]

Don't they have better things to do?

[ well, it's not a surprise. the atmosphere has been mostly positive lately, so this being the first real dispute since everyone mutinied against juana means people would get excited... ]

Do you want to talk work now?

[transmit]

I'd say it's both a good and bad thing it's getting around. They know what it means to get the captain involved. Did you know you're more diplomatic than the Señora?

[ he finally takes his hand off after worrying about being excessive… ]

It'll be easier if the books are in front of us when we talk. Let's give it… a few more minutes?

[ the night sky isn't as beautiful as it was yesterday, but he wants to cherish this moment between them regardless. ]

[oversea]

That's fine.

[ once again he's amazed at how much work elysium is putting into this, and how he'll need to figure out some way to repay him for it later.

getting elysium to accept that is another story, however. ]

... Hopefully being more diplomatic won't mean they think they can walk over me.

[transmit]

They'll just have to see what happens when they cross that thredhold, won't they?

[ he looks down over at thorns… smiles…

hehehehehehe ]

We should cook up something extra special for the first guy that does.

[oversea]

Oh?

[ thorns should not be humoring this... and yet, he is. ]

Do you have anything in mind?

[transmit]

Have you made anything fun in your lab recently? I'm talking a true Thorns-exclusive. It should be concoction no one else besides you would ever be able to make. The ones you use on people when they're being annoying!

[ he is

perhaps getting a little too excited ]

[oversea]

[ help

he just looks at him for a moment. ]

Do you want to help me tomorrow?

[transmit]

Can I?

[ purgatory did so well in managing to tear thorns away from his lab… ]

[oversea]

[ apparently the answer is to give people horrible migraines... ]

Yeah. Who else would help me? Everyone else is incompetent.

[transmit]

Right. You're so right.

[ it is never a good thing when elysium looks deep in thought. ]

Have you ever thought about adding hallucinatory effects?

[ ghost… real!!!!!! ]

[oversea]

I was thinking about it back at Rhodes, but any time I tried, Dr. Kal'tsit would just appear.

[ she noticed the weird shit thorns was ordering and knew something funky was about to go down. ]

... I guess I wouldn't have that problem here.

[transmit]

[ he grips thorns' hands. if anyone thinks it's manic it's their imagination. ]

We can do whatever we want now. But I'll still be supervising, you know?

[ it's just

his tolerance for bullshit may be exponentially higher than kal'tsit's. they may be doomed in both timelines. ]

[oversea]

[ elysium supervising is the same as having no supervisor for him... yippee.

he nods his head. ]

Alright. I'll just make sure I have everything I need first.

[transmit]

If there's anything you might need through Rhodes' channels, I can hook you up.

[ this is how they get kal'tsit smiting them through the boundary of distance somehow. ]

Let's head back and get everything else squared.

[oversea]

Yeah, let's.

[ they can return to thorns' room, since all the paperwork elysium wants to show him would be there...

he notes that it is nice to walk back with elysium instead of them splitting up though. ]

[transmit]

[ friendship is magic…

anyway, it'll just be elysium trying to suggest a more efficient system of keeping track of inventory. it pays to have your fingers in so many pies… he will be so useful and helpful thorns will never want to get rid of him. ]

[oversea]

[ OKAY. elysium solidifying his place by making himself more useful than everyone else on the ship.

thorns takes notes. he points out anything that may not work out in the long run just due to how the ship operates, but it's very few adjustments he has to suggest overall. ]

And you thought of all of that in a few hours?

[transmit]

[ when rhodes explodes and elysium is sent to russia the ely-shaped hole needs to be felt…

well. that's what he would be thinking if he were crazy. instead, he's responsible enough to document everything in advance, making sure any absence is as painless and as unremarkable as possible. if anything's missed, it should only be his winning personality and him being easy on the eyes. ]

Should we start talking about how you picked up captaincy in the span of several weeks?

[ thorns better not start this ]

[oversea]

I'm sure it's something you could have done if you tried.

[ ... ]

Or wanted to.

[ elysium does seem happier as a second in command kind of guy. ]