nexus_sages | The Season is over, time to pack it up and head home.... Or I guess not?

[Due to the extent of his injuries, Shino was supposed to be taking it easy. Due to his stubborn and helpful nature, Shino was not taking it easy, and was in fact, doing one of the most important tasks on the Isaribi; delivering lunch.]

[It was fiiiiine. He only had a minor head wound, a couple broken ribs, and some torso bruising, it's no big deal. He can walk without falling over, he can lift the lunch sack with only mild discomfort, and if he sat around "recovering" for any longer, he was going to go crazy! He could absolutely handle carrying the lunch bentos to the hanger without any stress. Sure, Yamagi will probably yell at him for it, but the engineer got snippy with him for a whole lot of things. It was just how he showed he cared.]

[Except the door he just walked through didn't lead to the hanger, it lead to the Nexus. He barely took two steps past the threshold before the big metal door slammed shut behind him, causing him to jump a foot in the air. There was an audible clicking of locks as he spun around to face it, thick yellow and black tape snaking its way across the door.]

Huh, what? [He slid his bag of bento boxes off his shoulder and set it on the floor just as a "Closed for Maintenance" sign popped into existence] What? Closed for maintenance, what does that mean?

Hey! [He raises a fist, pounding on the door as hard as he can] Hey, hey, guys! Someone open this door for me! This isn't funny, guys! Guys? Guys, come on! Someone open the door, guys, come on! [he stops his pounding to try rattling the door handle, to no avail.] Shit.

[For a moment, he stares hard at the door. Then he takes a few steps back.]

[Then a few more.]

[And a few more.]

[He gets about fifteen feet back before he goes charging at the door, bellowing loudly the whole way.]

[Naturally, the door doesn't budge an inch when he slams into it, but Shino crumples to the floor like a sack of bricks and lies there, curled on his side and groaning.]

[Sharpest tool in the shed, this one is not.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No. No, she will not like that at all. You know it's bad when the misanthrope thinks it's going too far.

Nobody promised feelings were always going to be useful, and if they did, they were lying. And she knows it's entirely screwed up that he's comforting her. That's just. Well. If that's what he wants to do, she'll listen quietly and nod at the end. "Okay. I'll try."

She's not sure what he's fighting yet, or why; that would help. Maybe. Maybe not. But before he gets out of reach she gives one of his arms a little pat. That's okay? They're already at the 'comforting touches' part of their acquaintance so that must be okay.

"Pink is a great color. If it's what makes you happy, then that's the important part. It used to be the color of princes, you know. Where I'm from, anyway, because red was the color of kings."

[Physical contact is always okay. He lives with 1000 or so other guys, physical contact is sort of what they do. Granted, it's mostly in the form of hitting each other and wrestling, but there's also a lot of aggressive affection too. He gives her another smile for the pat, then puts his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out proudly]

The color of princes, huh? I'll have to tell that to Eugene, maybe he'll stop giving me a hard time about it. [He laughs, because Eugene will just find something else to give him shit about. That is how friendship works.] But I definitely think I have what it takes to be a prince, don't you?

[He gives Verity a grin and a wink, flexing one arm] I'm tall, galant, and I've got an impressive steed. All I need now is some fancy clothes!

Ver smiles and curls a hand under her chin, pretending to consider it while she looks him over. Her sweeping gaze is brief and doesn't linger anywhere, so don't get any ideas. "You could be the prince in disguise, off on a quest for something."

She's been studying stories and how they work. It's still hard for her to read them, but literary theory is much easier on her. And it's kind of interesting, seeing all the ways people can vary a theme. Of course, to her, there's only two kinds of stories: 'this happened' and 'this did not happen'. Fiction is all variations on the theme of being a liar.

"Have you met any princesses in your travels? Or witches?"

[His only idea is to keep up the "gallant" pose, which to be fair, is something he'd do for just about anyone. He's not all that fussy about who he shows off for.]

[Then he mimics her poses as he considers the question. He doesn't know much about literary theory, being mostly illiterate, but fairytails have always had a strong oral tradition, so he knows what kind of things a good story ought to have]

Well, there was the Young Miss... [He muses, tilting his head to the side] But she prefers to be seen as a Maiden of Revolution rather than a princess. She decided she was going to bring peace and equality to the people of Mars, but the corrupt Gjallerhorn group was trying to kill her! So Tekkadan, that's the company I belong to, took on the job of escorting her to Earth!

It's fitting for fairytales to have an oral tradition still. Loki would approve. (They can work on the 'illiterate' thing if he wants to, when she finds out. It might come in handy when he goes home again.)

"That definitely sounds like a hero's journey. And you got her safe to Earth now?" The rest of it sounds interesting but she lacks so much context she can't say much about it right now. "That's when... you got hurt?"

[Miss Kudelia taught a lot of the younger boys how to write, during their journey from Mars, but the older boys like Shino didn't really have the free time for lessons. Shino's not entirely sure he needs it, since most of his responsibilities can be handled without it, but hey, if he's going to be stuck here for a while, it won't hurt, right?]

Hero's journey, I like the sound of that. [He nods in agreement, cupping his chin in his hand] Of course, Mikazuki and Orga are probably the main heroes, but still! I wouldn't say no to being a hero!

We got her to Earth safe, yeah, but it turns out getting her there was the easy part. We'd been mostly avoiding them in space, but after we reached Earth, Gjallerhorn really came down on us hard. We lost Biscuit then... [his expression turns serious and he looks away, folding his arms over his chest. Losing any of the others was hard, but Biscuit was practically a brother] Well, after that, we had no choice but to face Gjallerhorn head on, didn't we? They weren't going to let us back out peacefully, and even if they would, we wouldn't be satisfied with that.

[He unfolds one of his arms, looking down at his hand solemnly.] I didn't get hurt like you saw until the final battle, but it sure wasn't my first. Gjallerhorn set up a blockade keeping us from getting Miss Kudelia to parliament like she needed to, and because they're government, they really had us out-manned and out-gunned. But we had to break through somehow, not just for Miss Kudelia and her ideals, but for Biscuit and everyone who lost their lives along the way. Me, Lafter, and Azee, we were a distraction. We had to keep the mobile suit troops busy so they couldn't go support the main line.

[He looks up, a small, but proud smile on his face] We were doing really great, you know! Right up until that weird suit showed up and smashed us all to pieces. I really thought I was going to die then - the pilot wanted me dead super bad for some reason. I don't know what happened next; I think Mikazuki must have showed up, right in the nick of time like he always does.

Verity listens with her usual quiet care; she's taking it all in, but has little to say. Sometimes she's just not a talker. Anyway, interrupting storytime is rude, and he doesn't want sympathy.

"It sounds to me like you're all heroes." That should be safe. "I hope your Miss Kudelia can do what she's trying to do." Or something worthwhile instead of ending up a puppet of the corrupt state. "Will you and your friends be continuing to provide her security detail?"

Haha, I guess! [He shrugs one shoulder, tilting his head to the side with a smile.] I know we're at least heroes to Miss Kudelia.

[He shakes his head at her question] She's under the protection of the parliament now, and the leaders of Gjallerhorn have been arrested, so she should be safe. We have to get home; we left a whole lot of Tekkedan on Mars, and we have to tell Biscuit's family what happened...

[he grimaces, rubbing the side of his head. They joke about who's going to be the one to break it to Miss Sakura, but only because no one wants to be the one who has to do it.] Argh, I'm probably going to miss the funeral too! That's going to suck, Yamagi makes the most beautiful ice flowers.

"Are you a hero to yourself?" Maybe not the best question to ask, given how many crazy supervillains are the heroes in their own minds, but also maybe good to know. (Sorry, Shino, but she views things through a very particular set of filters.)

She has a number of other questions, but glancing past him to the door that's determined not to open, she decides it's kinder not to ask right now. "What are ice flowers?"

The Season is over, time to pack it up and head home.... Or I guess not?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

And now you know the plot of Mobile Suit Gundam: Ironblooded Orphans!

And also kinda Gundam Wing, and I'm gonna guess, a lot of other Gundam series.

...Close enough?

They all end up being very much the same a decade after watching them. :P