CATCHALL: Rosamund

[solesuccess]

Comments

w0 monday

[solesuccess]

[ today, shoma seems to be heading toward the simulation room mostly out of lack of anything to do. he's walking along and minding his own business, but there are stray thoughts bouncing around.

seriously, are we just supposed to...wait around? they said that we can go back to the time we left, but what's happening in the time we're here instead?

this seems to be occupying his brain and it means he's not really paying attention. roboji, however, is following along and is more alert than shoma and it means the robot reacts to her presence with a cheerful wave. hello! ]

[rosebleed]

[By now she's getting the feeling that her thoughts and sensations are sometimes not her own. Not quite the same as a Message spell, either, it more seems to come in passing, like eavespeeping at a locked door, or overhearing strangers in a marketplace.

When this newest line reaches her she immediately turns to the nearest living soul. She puts on a smile and drifts over.]

Hello again. [Said cheerily, and first to the robot. Which has yet to speak, but seems to think just fine. Though she's willing to bet its the young boy she's hearing now. Rosamund cants her head and bends slightly to the side, trying to catch his eye.]

You look awfully serious today. Is something the matter?

[solesuccess]

[ the nice thing is that her addressing the robot first means that his own emotions level out into something more at ease. ]

Oh, hey. [ he can do polite. that's fine. but there's also a little flicker of surprise with the question. ] I think I always just look like this.

[ it's maybe a joke but it's also self-aware. shoma tends to err on the side of serious when faced with a lot of uncertainty, and, well, this is a very uncertain set of circumstances. ]

It's been a long couple of days.

WEEK 0: Second Sunday

[rosebleed]

[Dinner tonight feels as suffocating as a funeral. It rather is, she supposes, though no one's made a move to have any kind of ceremony. She fetches her tray shyly and moves with meeker posture than usual.

Yet she still smiles when she draws even with Shoma.]

Hey. You did very well yesterday.

[solesuccess]

[ a lot happened yesterday. and a lot happened this morning, and he's not entirely sure what to make of most of it. people had a lot of complicated feelings on the matter, and it was hard to decide what feelings were appropriate in times like these.

and speaking of feelings...he hears rosamund alongside him, and he offers her a short somewhat tired smile. this weekend has been a disaster, but he figures the best they can do is try to pick themselves back up and move ahead again. as much as he doesn't want to. ]

You think? [ a little sheepish. ] I was just doing what made the most sense for us. Nine hours really isn't a lot of time. We were all under a lot of pressure.

W1 Friday

[solesuccess]

[ somehow, even having the feeling something like this would happen again couldn't exactly prepare him for what greeted them friday morning. the decommission report was more depressing than anything, and it has once again sent shoma's brain into overdrive.

it's why he's not entirely paying attention to where he's walking, but he notices at the last minute to swerve from crashing right into rosamund. ]

...hey, Rosamund.

[rosebleed]

Hey.

[She might have missed him herself, lost in thought as she was. The bow and arrows are back on, though at ease instead of in hand. At least now she knows better than to waste her time scouring the place for clues.]

You on your way somewhere?

WEEK 2: Thursday

[rosebleed]

[Once things have settled some and she knows it's his turn in the med bay, Rosamund slips in with a box of cookies in one hand and a small collection of books in the other.]

Hi, Shoma. [her smile is sheepish and more than a little uncomfortable, but it stays on.] I brought you some things for while you wait in here.

[solesuccess]

[ he's sitting here in the medbay and he's extremely spooked about this chain of events for today, but he does look up when rosamund enters and gives her a slightly and equally uncomfortable smile. ]

...you didn't have to do that. [ but it's a nice thought? ] Sorry. That...must've been really alarming for you guys. [ he says this but he's probably still beaten up so it's fine. ]

w2 sunday

[solesuccess]

[ WOW THIS ESCALATED QUICKLY.

but he does go to find her, and he seems to be carrying...tea? yeah. for some reason he has two cups of tea, and when he approaches her he offers one to her. ]

You seem like you could use this. [ everyone's nerves are rattled, so maybe this can help. ]

[rosebleed]

[She blinks at him. Then starts to laugh.]

Are you reading my mind? Or just copying me? [From her pocket she pulls out a bag of gummies.] I was just looking for you.

w3 monday

[solesuccess]

[ you find yourself in a television studio. the lights are bright, and you know there's an audience even if you can't see them. this...feels more like a dream than anything, but let's play along, shall we? you're behind a podium and there's a shadowed silhouette of a host, a peculiar-shaped fellow with a rather square head and features you can't see.

the lights above you flash with the name of the game: FAITH TO FACE.

will you play? or would you like to explore the studio a bit? you may hit the buzzer to start the game or you can wander and look at the equipment, lights, etc. pretend stuff is there i only have one image but its like cameras, podiums, screens, etc. ]

[rosebleed]

[She has very little concept of what this is.

Though, it does appear stage-like. And she's got enough dim awareness now of the magic of cinema (no thanks to The Human Centipede) that she can gather all the context clues. There's an audience, right? Some sort of ringmaster, a platform from which she can speak.]

Um...hello?

[She looks out blankly. Then taps the buzzer, just to see what it does.]

WEEK 3: Wednesday

[rosebleed]

[Hits Shoma with an UNO REVERSE.

The light in this strange plane is dim, evoking candles and lanterns even if none can be seen at all. The walls are eternal shelves of books, and the floor underneath is leathery parchement. There's a theme going on.

Before Shoma, six tomes have fallen to the floor. They each have an allure to them. Home and comfort from Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, cleverness and secrets from Puss in Boots. The Frog Prince has a lordly and romantic calling, then there's the punch and flash of Pinocchio, or the wild and dangerous Little Red Riding Hood.

The sixth is perhaps a standout for only one reason: the illustration on the cover. In wood-etched ink there is a lovely princess, whose long and curly hair splays out on a stately pillow as she slumbers. Sleeping Beauty it's called. Her face though, even through the abstraction of ink it sparks a familiar tingle.

Or he can ignore the books. There's a door up ahead, and no sure sign of what may lay beyond it.]

[solesuccess]

[ well. there sure is a theme here. he pauses, looking at these books and for a moment he lingers on some of the others. he observes them without opening the pages, taking note of how each seems to portray themselves.

but sleeping beauty seems to call for him, and so he steps forward to pick it up. can he open it? what's the shape of the book itself? ]

w3 thursday

[solesuccess]

[ he does give her time. he gives her time to slip away and get her bearings and treat any wounds she has, but after that he's on the hunt for a princess once again with some tea in hand. where be she? ]

Re: w3 thursday

[rosebleed]

[Trying and failing to hide. He catches her attempting to slip into the last place she knows she can lock behind her: her room. Now devoid of a roommate, too.]

Oh! Shoma! [The smile turns on instantly.] Hello! What's that, are you setting up for a nice night of light reading?

w4 monday

[solesuccess]

[ today, out on the planet...shoma is wandering! there's a lot going on here, and it's overwhelming almost in the best way. he's busy taking in everything, but he finds someone familiar and immediately gravitates toward her instead while they linger outside of a casino. ]

This place is probably really different for you, huh? [ and yet he's weirdly relaxed about it, practically bouncing in place to keep moving. ]

[rosebleed]

[This icon has changed my life

She's similarly ecstatic, brightening even more when she spots him.]

Shoma! Hello! Don't you look handsome today!

[She nods at the question, tucking a hair behind her ear.]

The closest I've seen is that vampire planet, but this is so much brighter. It's exciting!

Do you want to see what kind of games they have going in there?

w4 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ well. he will enter the medbay, mostly keeping to himself but he does have yet again another cup of tea in a to-cup paper cup that he will set down by her before giving her some space. ]

...thought it might help your throat after all that.

[rosebleed]

[She's still laying down, even if there's no need for it. She's conscious and no damage has been done, really. The cut on her shoulder was already scarred over from Diluc's heal gun, and now it's disappeared completely into the ink of her tattoo. Modern medicine is such a miracle.

Her head turns slowly to face him. She looks utterly drained.]

You didn't have to do that.

w6 saturday

[solesuccess]

[ once the excitement has settled a little, he does go to seek her out. and, as usual, has a to-go cup of tea for her. ]

Settling back in okay?

[rosebleed]

[Absolutely melting at the sight of him and his tea. She'll take it, thank you, but in return she passes him a pack of Reese's pieces.]

It's very strange, but...I mean. [There are no words. She shrugs, laughing.] Sometimes you ride a crystal rat back to the world of the living.

WEEK 7: Saturday

[rosebleed]

[Meet me in the void

First they hug though!]

I can't believe it. I've never shot a cannon in my life!

[solesuccess]

[ HELP. that makes him laugh, and he's returning the affection fairly easily. ]

I think all of us have experienced a lot of things we've never done today. I'm kinda impressed we did this well. [ it was looking questionable with our dice rolls, but it's fine. ]