Chocolate-flavored Dessert Cream on the House

[thespaceopera]

[The bunks are filling up, but the new faces just keep appearing!

Are you a travel-weary passenger having trouble keeping your crew roster straight? Perhaps you are a fresh new recruit, finding themselves dumped into a new (and much less shiny) home. Or, maybe you've been around for a little bit and just haven't bothered meeting the other weirdos on this ship yet--what is their problem, anyway?

Well, this is the place for you!

All new passengers from the last few Shuffles, especially those who haven't met their crews yet, are welcome to post starter-comments here to invite those living on and visiting your ship to come and interact. Newbies could be just arriving on the ship, busying around where others can find them, or you can offering multiple options for interaction--however you'd like to set up your thread is fine. Just make sure to include the name of your ship in the header, so your crewmates can easily find you!

Everyone else-- go meet those newbies! Whether they are new to your own crew, or on ships you frequently visit, now is a great time to bump into them.]

Comments

[astrobleme]

[Huddled against the door, his knees glued to his chest, Shinji clasps his hands together to stop them from trembling. These hands, a pilot's hands, were supposed to change the world for the better. They were supposed to do that. They have no reason to hate you, but the crew might find out what he did or what he could do to them. Unprovoked, even against his will, he could ruin everything for them. He has so much blood on his hands already. He scrubbed as hard as he could, but it wouldn't come off. His cuticles are raw and picked apart.]

But then you'll get to see how gross I am, [he replies, speaking more to his knees than to Kaworu.] And if you see that, I don't know what I'll do. [But his self-loathing can't hold out against the breadth of his loneliness.

Seconds later, there's a meaningful click of the door being unlocked. Sort of weird. Shinji doesn't remember reaching for the latch, but that doesn't really matter. The door opens to reveal the belittled, fearful bundle he's made of himself. No unsightly green splatters, at least. He looks up at Kaworu through a cold, still-dripping fringe of hair.]

[paraclete]

[Like this, Shinji is properly observable, which feels a little better for Kaworu. There's still that messy feeling in his insides, though, that comes with seeing Shinji reduced to this. Kaworu examines him, but doesn't allow himself the pleasure of sighing. Moments pass, and he can't relax. This is a state of emergency for the heart. It desperately needs a remedy, but any chance Kaworu had at being amazing died with him. He's supposed to know what to say, and what to do. He's supposed to know everything. He never knew anything at all.

It borders on sinful to place himself higher than Shinji, so Kaworu kneels until they’re level. Like before, like on the Marsiva, he reaches out and takes Shinji’s face in his hands. It would be a stern gesture if not for his gentle touch. But it's clear that he's being dead serious, with a strength in his face that opposes his usual smiles.]

I will never see you as anything less than my closest friend. [He's looking right into Shinji's eyes as he says this, only inches away. There's something uncompromising about him right now — he refuses to let Shinji succumb to self-loathing. But he draws back a little, softening his intensity, features smoothing out. ] It's fine if you don't want to see me. But I'm concerned for you. I want to help you. That's what a friendship is, right?

[astrobleme]

[Shinji can't say for sure what friendship is, but he's well aware of what it is isn't: an act of negligent homicide. He's never going to get over the sensation of Kaworu's hands, solid and unmistakable, in contact with him. Aside from their cool quality, there's nothing to indicate his best friend is supernatural. Shinji hasn't explored the whole Angel revelation, and he doesn't know if he'll get around to it. There are some things that stopped mattering when Kaworu died. Kaworu could be a bloodsucking vampire and Shinji would still--]

I think-- [He cringes around the taste of stomach acid.] I think I want to find some... somewhere to lie down. [Not the bathroom floor. Even with a plugsuit, the idea of that is completely unacceptable.] That's how you can help me. That's all I need right now. [Other than what they've set in stone, of course. It's a promise he won't breathe again for how sacred it is.

He has been awful about taking advantage of Kaworu's kindness. He's doing it now, too, when he tilts his head against Kaworu's palm. It isn't as if he can hate himself more for this.] Hey, which ship were you assigned to...? [Probably useful information to have. He assumes that Kaworu will leave him after enough time, indebted to another faceless crew. There are so many people around here--not only on the ship, but on the network, and stuff. Kaworu is certain to meet people leagues better than Shinji could ever be.]