/takes the huntress out back and buries it (jan mingle pt. II)

[scrubscrub]

Who: Anyone on the SS Huntress! Crew and visitors.
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Huntress
When: More of January! We got three new crew mates and it will be messy.

IT'S ANOTHER MINGLE FOR OUR EVER-EXPANDING SHIP.

Also, we need an update on how well Koala is doing at pinball.

God, help this ship.

Comments

A)

[mikangirl]

Hey.

[These are two heeled feet coming to a stop right in front of you, Ling. Nami looms, arms crossed.]

I need to talk to you.

[avaricious]

[He was so close to achieving a kind of inner peace separate from all those wailing souls but - well, interruptions. It was impossible to find alone time on this ship.

He lets out a sigh and speaks up in a voice altogether unlike Greed's.]

Yes? Is there something you need me for?

[mikangirl]

[With the hot mess your ship is, man, you may never get alone time again.

Nami hasn't spoken to Greed long enough to spot the difference, at least not straight away. But though abrupt, she's not particularly mad at him or anything. Just... well, their last conversation ended on a sour note, and this is important.]

Yeah. You need to tell Koala she needs to relax on the pinball thing.

[avaricious]

[Ling only takes it in stride. He's not terribly worried about Koala given the utter magnitude of everything else that is going on, but he's been observing enough to agree with her.]

I think it's become a bad habit for many members of this crew.

[Ling speaks of Greed - his counterpart has spent way too long with that game.]

[mikangirl]

[That isn't the kind of response Nami was expecting. He's way laid back. She blinks, peering down at him.

...maybe she caught him in a bad mood the other day. So she's a little softer.]

People like us might get caught up in a game, but that's our own fault. She used to be a slave. The poor kid thinks if she doesn't get a score you approve of soon you're gonna toss her out the airlock.

She's playing until she almost passes out. [Probably not almost.]

[avaricious]

[Ling tilts his head with evident concern.]

Well that's unfortunate. She seemed really eager to play the game. It's a shame she's only playing out of duty.

[Yet he somehow manages to make it sound like it's completely out of his hands.]

[mikangirl]

Whether or not she likes the game, she's overdoing it! [Hey look, the snap is back in her voice.] Slaves in our world are killed out of hand for even the slightest perceived wrongdoing!

You can't give her orders like that even if you mean well. If you're really worried about her welfare, fix it.

[avaricious]

I really don't think my say will matter much here.

[Just being honest here. Greed's gonna do what Greed's gonna do, you know?]

[mikangirl]

[omg be more obvious ling god]

You're the one who gave her the order!

[avaricious]

... no I wasn't.

[Girl, you best check your facts.]

[mikangirl]

So Koala's lying? [Sweetly.] She mentioned you by name and everything. You are "Captain Greed", I presume.

[avaricious]

... no?

[mikangirl]

[Eyetwitch.]

How odd. You sure look like him.

[avaricious]

Well obviously. This is the same body.

[Duh.]

[mikangirl]

[............

Yeah she's just gonna stare at you with eyebrows raised. Really.]

[avaricious]

My name is Ling Yao. I thought it would be obvious that I wasn't Greed.

[Sure it's the same face, but that's the only similarity!]

[mikangirl]

Oh, totally obvious. You look and sound the same!

[SHE DOESN'T BUY IT. Though he's a lot more laid back today, so...]

[avaricious]

I feel that his voice is more of a deep baritone. I'm a tenor.

[Again, feeling very attacked right now.]

[mikangirl]

[Nami opens her mouth. Shuts it. Can't work out if you're trolling the fuck out of her or on the level, but lbr the former is more likely.


...fine.]

Does Koala know the difference?

[avaricious]

No. I really haven't had that much to do with her. She's Greed's responsibility, not mine.

[Which he realizes does himself no favors in the way it sounds. But there are bigger things on the line for him than a little girl's feelings.]

[mikangirl]

Wrong. She's your responsibility as well, if you're the captain. I don't care if there are two of you in there. If you can't assume the same responsibilities as Greed, neither of you have any business being in charge.

[avaricious]

You are more than entitled to feel that way - but this is neither your decision to make nor your ship. [He at last leaves his meditative position to stand up and look her in the eye.] I'm sure you can find your way back to your shuttle once you're done here.

[mikangirl]

[oh you did not

temper nami, hold it. But she stares at him for a good few seconds in disgust before she smiles again. Cheerfully.]

First off, you being captain is an arbitrary decision made by the Atroma and I don't feel particularly inclined to honour it unless you've earned it. But leave that aside.

Second-- are you telling me you really don't give a damn if there's a little girl so desperate to win pinball to gain your approval and not be killed that she's passing out at the machine? On your orders?

[avaricious]

[He's not the victim in this - he knows this. But his patience for having to take so much flak for Greed's decisions and personalities has begun to wear thin on him. The continued dismissive attitude of his own individuality is a sticking point for himself, despite whatever else he might feel about Koala.]

You continue to conflate my decisions and my presence with Greed. If you must know, I find it very concerning that she took his orders too such an extreme. But those were not my orders.

[mikangirl]

[The more he talks, the more she thinks he might have been on the level. That whole spiel just then, especially. She takes a breath, trying to calm down. If he is sharing a body (???) then yeah she's being unfair. But nonetheless.

She needs to think of Koala having to live with what happens here.]

I'm not gonna apologise for not knowing your circumstances before coming in here. [Good, that was nice and even and free of temper.] But fair enough. Do you think Greed intended for her to be like this?

[She's not being sassy on that last question; it's genuine.]