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

[interstices]

Are you British? [Winchester sounds British to her, at least. She tilts her head, squinting with her good eye, before really starting to answer him.]

Somebody I knew back home was assigned to a different ship. [God, that sounds pathetic. Like an elementary schooler whining about assigned groups. She takes a swallow of the offered tea and sits back down. A year of being stuck someplace like this-- well, that sounds terrible; she'll ask him about it later, probably-- figure out if that's a recurring thing-- but for now, she'd probably be better off explaining herself. For a minute, she worries that she can't trust Sam, but then again, it's not like they aren't in the same boat, ship, whatever. None of the crews seem to have real, huge amounts of authority about what goes on.]

He wasn't doing great before, but that idiot's a basketcase right now.

[collegedropout]

Ah, no. American, actually. From Kansas, but I've been just about everywhere growing up.

[He's quiet as he listens, though. Well, it's still a bit dramatic, but he can at least understand wanting to be near the people you care about. Seems to him like she has a distinctly more Dean-esque care about her, in that she aggressively loves people on many an occasion. Or something.]

Having issues relating to home, then? Do you know what ship he was sent to?

I've been getting familiar with a lot of people around here. Could ask a friend to keep an eye out on him, make sure he's okay. If I know anyone well enough from that ship, anyway.

[interstices]

My father was American. [She doesn't exactly perk up as she says it-- she hasn't seen her father for half her life and hasn't cared to see him for longer than that-- but at least that's some familiarity. Sort of. Asuka's resigned herself to not having any commonalities with anyone, but maybe that was premature.] I've never been to the States myself. [Or what's left of them.]

He's on the Heron. Shinji Ikari. [Issues related to home is such a massive understatement that Asuka's mouth briefly quirks up before settling back into its usual thin, straight line.] He's just a kid. If he screws anything up on his ship, I can take responsibility.

[She's blurting more than she meant to already, but Sam's so amiable she can't yet seem to help herself. Being treated seriously is a rare thing for her, and while it's not eliminating her temper, it's keeping it at a controllable simmer instead of a boil.]

[collegedropout]

[You're in luck, then, because Sam talks to most ages the exact same way — he knows very well that teenagers are often more grown-up than they should have to be. He was one of them, and he was spoken to as a man since the day he ran into a burning building, when he was just twelve years old and scared of the flames then.

He nods thoughtfully behind his cup.]

I get the need to take responsibility for your people, but it'll be alright; those aboard the ship'll make sure things are kept running smoothly. [He's trying to picture this Shinji, and so far it seems like she's implying he's a colossal fuck-up. Sam's familiar with that breed. He's a little bit of one himself, sometimes.]

Your augment's... pilot on the roster, right?

It's a good position to be in; you've got all the information on how to pilot a shuttle in that annoying bump behind your ear.

[interstices]

[Colossal fuck-up might be the most accurate description of Shinji Asuka's never heard. That's not to say she hasn't made more than her fair share of poor decisions. It's just that most of them begin and end with piloting Eva, and, by extension, associating with Shinji. Like the fact that piloting Eva's left her physically stuck at fourteen when she's really twice that. Like the fact that Eva's directly responsible for her mauled eye. Asuka can't push all that out of mind, but she can busy herself elsewhere.]

If you're sure. [Asuka takes another few swallows of green tea, staring at the cup. This place isn't run like a real fleet at all, then. Not that she hadn't realized it before, with the show aspect, but it's a relief and a disappointment both. She'd hoped for more structure, more order, the way she was accustomed to.]

So I really could just do it? [Asuka quirks an eyebrow even though she knows he's right.] I've been a pilot my whole life, but never a shuttle. I-- what's your augment?

[collegedropout]

[It's all good, Asuka, he's like... over 200 years old, sort of. He gets you. Or would if he knew, anyway. He sips on his tea for a moment, reaching over to stack the few books he's had on the table; one is a sign language book, the other few just dusty obscure titles and a handful of fresher books from kind souls who lent him some.]

That's right; it's a little like muscle memory. Except, you know. Flat out memory.

I'm communications. So, you know - telemetry, signalling protocols, scans and teleportation, and communication device repair. Among other things. I guess one could call me a glorified telephone, but that's the most basic idea.

[He nods toward the bathroom.]

But getting to a station could wait. Bath, right? The shampoo and any other soaps we have are in the compartment near the mirror. If you're still feeling up to wandering after, just let me know, I could give you a rundown of the FS Starlight.

[interstices]

[Asuka looks as if she might be about to protest, or ask him a few more questions, but she ends up nodding.]

You've taken this pretty well.

[There's not really any rancor or sarcasm in her tone. Either he's just resigned to the weird reality show situation, or he's simply chill in general. Then she nods briefly-- she'd almost forgotten about the bath. The water's probably gotten cold.]

Yeah. I'll be back in a few minutes. [So much for an extended soak. She drains the rest of the tea in about two more gulps before setting it down.] One other thing. You have a washing machine here, don't you? [Otherwise, she'll just soak her plugsuit in the bathtub and hope for the best. She's not changing into those terrible excuses for other outfits unless she has to.]

[collegedropout]

I'm just used to this kind of weirdness, is all. It comes with the territory.

[Boy, is that the most accurate statement he's issues so far here. As he collects her cup, he makes a motion with it in the general vicinity of what she's asking for.]

And we have a washing machine, yeah. Take your time; I've sure got nowhere to be right now.

[He's done his shift at the bar today, and he's dug through a ton of things in the datary, and he's not about to waste any of his credits on anything frivolous, so. Have no fear, he's ready for tour guide duty just about whenever, ma'am.]