[ by now shoma has realized there is some fucky shit going on and it means that when he rounds the corner with roboji and enters diluc's vicinity, the first emotion he'll feel from the boy is agitation. who did this. who allowed people to feel so much and let their feelings be know? why!!
but he does at least seem to register who this is, and after a moment there's a brief nod of hello.
wonder if his bird ever got its sandwich...
roboji also waves, and shoma realizes he's lingered too long to not get away with speaking up. so. ]
...at least there's more room for everybody now? Easier to stretch out. [ small talk is not his strong suit. ]
[ oh. never mind thoughtshare is actually kind of great because he picks up on that and there's a tiny laugh in spite of himself. ]
The glass is really clear up there, right? I...wasn't sure if I believed we were really in space before we got access to the deck, but it's harder to counter that now. But it must be driving her crazy she can't explore further.
For better, and for worse. [ the clear glass, he means. great for them! terrible for birds. ]
...It's truly remarkable, seeing it all for the first time. I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like a fish out of water. [ his thoughts very quickly blip to sidon before blipping back to the conversation. ]
[ the ship lands, but unfortunately due to the jostling he's just stumbling and crashing right into diluc.
or, rather, diluc's legs. sorry about that, it was probably unexpected. he's on the ground for a few seconds before he shakes himself off and immediately bounces back to his feet. ]
Diluc! The ship doors opened. Have you looked at the planet yet? [ outside? outside for them??? ]
just kidding it looks like shoma's already on his feet again... wao, youth!! i'm gonna assume they're both already suited up and raring to go. diluc is testing his gear to make sure they're functioning properly, and nods to shoma. outside!!!! ]
Looks like it. Shall we—
[ vennessa immediately swoops past them in the direction of fresh air. (she's got a little respirator fitted over her beak as well. it's very dark though so she'll probably just be circling the area above the ship, which i assume is illuminated.) ]
[ finally, vennessa is free to fly about! while the sun is at its highest, anyway. meanwhile i'm putting the two in the bazaar, diluc's studying the leather goods and hand-carved trinkets. ]
...I'm finding I prefer this to the concourse.
[ which is perfectly fine, it's just that this feels more familiar to him. ]
You think so? [ he has the opposite problem here, but he's no less interested. he actually seems to be in good spirits, and without really noticing as he's curiously peering over a set of wood-crafted knick-knacks two lil kitty ears sprout, flicking a little. ] I think I'm still finding my footing but a lot of the stuff looks pretty well made.
[ THE KITTY EARS...!!!! diluc just stares at them. he obviously wants to pet them so bad but is trying to be polite. (meanwhile, his hair is on fire.) ]
They seem quite skilled at their trade, yes.
[ he picks up a leather-bound notebook or some such, admiring the pattern etched into the grain. ]
Though I wonder if these will have much use on the ship.
[ wow hi everything is!! so terrible and shoma really did just have to witness another (extra) gruesome execution!!!
anyway i'm putting them at the bar, but shoma is probably the only person in their crew diluc wouldn't serve booze to. fortunately for him, diluc favors non-alcoholic drinks anyway. he makes him his best approximation of wolfhook juice (berry-flavored). ]
[ everything is terrible!! everyone really had to witness two girls and their issues bleed out in front of god and everyone!
so they are at the bar, and while he kind of does eyeball the drink diluc's made he isn't going to say no. juice is fine.
he considers downplaying it like usual, because nobody really needs to know how much garbage resides in his head at any given moment, but sometimes things happen to you that change your perspective on life. ]
...probably about as good as everybody else? Maybe a little worse. It's hard to say. [ because he liked both of them, and he didn't think either of them deserved this. ] The ending...really escalated really fast. It was hard to be ready for that.
[ though. ] I feel like I should be asking you that as well. We were all there.
but also, yeah. it feels dishonest trying to avoid what's paraded in front of them on a weekly basis.
and, both girls were closer to shoma's age. diluc imagines he'd been closer to them—he knows shoma had specifically been with shouxue thursday ngiht. ]
I'll admit I wasn't prepared for it, myself.
[ and he is not unacquainted with death. ]
...I'll be all right. Though... it's difficult to accept right now. It was never right before, but it feels especially wrong, now. Does that make sense?
[ I'M STILL GONNA RESPOND TO SUNDAY THREAD, also backdates this for us, wherever they are shoma will see the following memory:
you were born to the highest station of status and wealth in mondstadt—the ragnvindr name, an uncrowned bloodline in a country without a king. you have lived your life in service of your city, and endeavored from your earliest memory to fulfill your father's dream, passed onto you.
and you succeed where your father had failed. you are blessed by the seven, granted a pyro vision at the age of 10—a mark of divine potential, even ascension to godhood. you then earn the title of cavalry captain of the favonius at the age of 14, a mere four years later—the youngest ever in the ranks of the ordo.
even as a child, you work tirelessly to the bone for the merest scrap of your father's praise, for the glory of the knights. it's all you've ever known, and you foolishly believe, heart and soul, that it is your righteous calling. you burn ever brightly, and you burn true.
your father dies because he dared to defy the gods, and wielded a heretic power at a severe cost. you do not know how he obtained it, and you did not know he had it to begin with. he dies in unbearable agony, and you take his life with your own two hands to free him from it. you can feel as he stills in your arms, as he draws his final breath.
blood continues to bloom across his waistcoat. rain falls.
anyway this is a lot. there are a lot of things he does and does not find familiar in this memory, and as it plays out in front of his eyes he finds a strange tightness in his chest at the sense of wanting to make a father proud, and then finding your father hasn't quite been truthful with you.
there's a fight, and there's danger, and there's a man too foolhardy who thinks he can do better than fate allows and the feeling of confusion and anguish and uncertainty all wrapped up in this. and the decision to end it...it can't have been an easy one.
so when he comes out of it, he pauses, staring at diluc quietly like he's debating how to talk about this. ]
...what a shitty birthday present. [ just. just saying. ]
[ 🥺 babyboy... diluc smiles back at shoma. vennessa can be perched on his shoulder today, thank you to all of my cr who remembers her because i never will ]
It's hard to miss. Shall we head over?
[ i will say he was on the way, heh... ALSO I FEEL LIKE SHOMA IS A BIT TOO OLD FOR DILUC TO HOLD HIS HAND LIKE A CHILD, but he does still put his arm around his shoulders and tucks him close to his side as they walk... affection week 🥺 ]
[ i am legally obligated to remember most pets because sometimes your character would like animals more than people in other circumstances. but he nods! also it's fine, he does not seem to mind this? maybe even leaning in a little. affection...it doesn't hurt that he already likes diluc a lot. ]
It sort of feels like it's gonna take a few hours to look at the whole thing, but I don't really mind. It's...nice to have after everything. [ fake-ish nature is still nature. ]
[ preservation biome time!! diluc is trying to take pictures of the animals and plants here on his IRIS, but, there are so many... they could really spend an entire week here and not even see everything there is to see. ]
...Hold still.
[ he's going to take a picture of shoma and a small colony of nearby meerkats, hehe ]
[ WE ARE FASTLY IGNORING FLESH FOR CUTE ANIMALS. he finds it extremely endearing that diluc's taking so many pictures though, and it means he listens and stays still. all of the meerkats and shoma really are just 🧍♂️ for this picture, but once that's done he's moving to let one crawl up into his arms. ]
It's about half an half. There's a ton that're from Earth, but I keep finding new ones I never would've even thought of before. It's kind of the best part about the biome.
[ THE WAY I WROTE ALL MY STARTERS AND THEN THE FLESH HAPPENED NOOOOoooo
yeah they can ignore it. diluc has been ignoring flesh for like two weeks, what is a little more...
this is a cute picture tho, diluc will smile and let shoma see before their new friends scamper off. he really has "old person with new technology vibes" here. ]
Half is still impressive. Sidon and I discussed documenting what wildlife we could find, but I wouldn't even know the names to most of these.
...Still, it's fun to look.
[ their little safari (the tesseract is missing) their little safari!! ]
[ thank you for the support. he will stand up in a second, but hgggggh. ]
If anything like this happens on Earth, I'm officially quitting. [ the tone is light though, and obviously a joke. ] ...it's funny. We did so much work and planning this week but it still didn't all feel real in the moment itself. I'm just glad it worked out.
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w0 tuesday
but he does at least seem to register who this is, and after a moment there's a brief nod of hello.
wonder if his bird ever got its sandwich...
roboji also waves, and shoma realizes he's lingered too long to not get away with speaking up. so. ]
...at least there's more room for everybody now? Easier to stretch out. [ small talk is not his strong suit. ]
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she probably had too much, actually.
and it's okay they can both struggle and communicate via accidental telepathy...!!!!! ]
Mhm. Vennessa agrees.
[ she's still mad about flying into one of the windows in the observation deck earlier, though. ]
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The glass is really clear up there, right? I...wasn't sure if I believed we were really in space before we got access to the deck, but it's harder to counter that now. But it must be driving her crazy she can't explore further.
[ just like the rest of us. ]
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For better, and for worse. [ the clear glass, he means. great for them! terrible for birds. ]
...It's truly remarkable, seeing it all for the first time. I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like a fish out of water. [ his thoughts very quickly blip to sidon before blipping back to the conversation. ]
Yes. Caged beasts are rarely content.
[ overblown metaphor but u kno how he is ]
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w1 monday
or, rather, diluc's legs. sorry about that, it was probably unexpected. he's on the ground for a few seconds before he shakes himself off and immediately bounces back to his feet. ]
Diluc! The ship doors opened. Have you looked at the planet yet? [ outside? outside for them??? ]
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just kidding it looks like shoma's already on his feet again... wao, youth!! i'm gonna assume they're both already suited up and raring to go. diluc is testing his gear to make sure they're functioning properly, and nods to shoma. outside!!!! ]
Looks like it. Shall we—
[ vennessa immediately swoops past them in the direction of fresh air. (she's got a little respirator fitted over her beak as well. it's very dark though so she'll probably just be circling the area above the ship, which i assume is illuminated.) ]
—Ah. Do you have your torch?
[ onto the nest! ]
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except there's vennessa, zipping overhead. be free, bird. ]
Yeah. [ he has the torch! it is. probably kind of awkward to hold but he has it. ] Should be good enough to at least explore and see what's out there.
[ to the nest! ]
It's a lot darker than I thought it'd be, even knowing it was a nocturnal planet.
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W2 MONDAY
...I'm finding I prefer this to the concourse.
[ which is perfectly fine, it's just that this feels more familiar to him. ]
See anything you like?
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They seem quite skilled at their trade, yes.
[ he picks up a leather-bound notebook or some such, admiring the pattern etched into the grain. ]
Though I wonder if these will have much use on the ship.
[ it's like he's never heard of retail therapy ]
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W2 SUNDAY
anyway i'm putting them at the bar, but shoma is probably the only person in their crew diluc wouldn't serve booze to. fortunately for him, diluc favors non-alcoholic drinks anyway. he makes him his best approximation of wolfhook juice (berry-flavored). ]
...How're you doing?
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so they are at the bar, and while he kind of does eyeball the drink diluc's made he isn't going to say no. juice is fine.
he considers downplaying it like usual, because nobody really needs to know how much garbage resides in his head at any given moment, but sometimes things happen to you that change your perspective on life. ]
...probably about as good as everybody else? Maybe a little worse. It's hard to say. [ because he liked both of them, and he didn't think either of them deserved this. ] The ending...really escalated really fast. It was hard to be ready for that.
[ though. ] I feel like I should be asking you that as well. We were all there.
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but also, yeah. it feels dishonest trying to avoid what's paraded in front of them on a weekly basis.
and, both girls were closer to shoma's age. diluc imagines he'd been closer to them—he knows shoma had specifically been with shouxue thursday ngiht. ]
I'll admit I wasn't prepared for it, myself.
[ and he is not unacquainted with death. ]
...I'll be all right. Though... it's difficult to accept right now. It was never right before, but it feels especially wrong, now. Does that make sense?
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W3 TUESDAY
and you succeed where your father had failed. you are blessed by the seven, granted a pyro vision at the age of 10—a mark of divine potential, even ascension to godhood. you then earn the title of cavalry captain of the favonius at the age of 14, a mere four years later—the youngest ever in the ranks of the ordo.
even as a child, you work tirelessly to the bone for the merest scrap of your father's praise, for the glory of the knights. it's all you've ever known, and you foolishly believe, heart and soul, that it is your righteous calling. you burn ever brightly, and you burn true.
and then you turn 18.
and your father dies, on the night of your birthday.
your father dies because he dared to defy the gods, and wielded a heretic power at a severe cost. you do not know how he obtained it, and you did not know he had it to begin with. he dies in unbearable agony, and you take his life with your own two hands to free him from it. you can feel as he stills in your arms, as he draws his final breath.
blood continues to bloom across his waistcoat. rain falls.
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anyway this is a lot. there are a lot of things he does and does not find familiar in this memory, and as it plays out in front of his eyes he finds a strange tightness in his chest at the sense of wanting to make a father proud, and then finding your father hasn't quite been truthful with you.
there's a fight, and there's danger, and there's a man too foolhardy who thinks he can do better than fate allows and the feeling of confusion and anguish and uncertainty all wrapped up in this. and the decision to end it...it can't have been an easy one.
so when he comes out of it, he pauses, staring at diluc quietly like he's debating how to talk about this. ]
...what a shitty birthday present. [ just. just saying. ]
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so, shoma's comment comes as a complete surprise. he's actually startled into laughter, though coming from him, it sounds like a snort. ]
Mhm. I don't recommend turning 18.
[ literally the worst day of his life. watch out, shoma, that'll be you in a few years.
...diluc is still tense from having to relive his father's death for an umpteenth time, but it's easier to relax with a bit of dark humor. ]
...I'm sorry you had to see all that.
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w4 monday
Did you see we got access to a park? The place is huge. It'd be good for spreading Vennessa's wings without taking her off-planet.
[ is this an excuse to see the bird? hang out with diluc? both? it's possible. ]
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It's hard to miss. Shall we head over?
[ i will say he was on the way, heh... ALSO I FEEL LIKE SHOMA IS A BIT TOO OLD FOR DILUC TO HOLD HIS HAND LIKE A CHILD, but he does still put his arm around his shoulders and tucks him close to his side as they walk... affection week 🥺 ]
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It sort of feels like it's gonna take a few hours to look at the whole thing, but I don't really mind. It's...nice to have after everything. [ fake-ish nature is still nature. ]
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W6 SUNDAY
...Hold still.
[ he's going to take a picture of shoma and a small colony of nearby meerkats, hehe ]
Do you recognize most of these creatures?
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It's about half an half. There's a ton that're from Earth, but I keep finding new ones I never would've even thought of before. It's kind of the best part about the biome.
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yeah they can ignore it. diluc has been ignoring flesh for like two weeks, what is a little more...
this is a cute picture tho, diluc will smile and let shoma see before their new friends scamper off. he really has "old person with new technology vibes" here. ]
Half is still impressive. Sidon and I discussed documenting what wildlife we could find, but I wouldn't even know the names to most of these.
...Still, it's fun to look.
[ their little safari (the tesseract is missing) their little safari!! ]
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w7 saturday
honestly wherever the hell diluc is, shoma's just approaching and kind of faceplanting into his back with a grumble. ]
Dude. I'm definitely not cut out for combat. [ HE'S SO TIRED, HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO THIS. ]
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You did well today. Hopefully there's no more on your horizon for a very long time.
[ they just nuked a planet... LET SHOMA REST!!! ]
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If anything like this happens on Earth, I'm officially quitting. [ the tone is light though, and obviously a joke. ] ...it's funny. We did so much work and planning this week but it still didn't all feel real in the moment itself. I'm just glad it worked out.
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