One fish, two fish...

[theboogieman]

Who: Crew of the S.S. Bad At Feelings S.S. Red Fish and visitors!
Broadcast: Optional!
Action: All sorts!
When: Around the Drifting Week.

---

[if the worlds really are watching, they must just be chomping at the bit to find out what's going on aboard this ship full of misfits and sad-sacks! with one crewmate reportedly dead, another recently missing, and now this thing about a hacking device planted in the communications system--what could possibly happen next?

stay tuned, audience!]

Comments

[theboogieman]

[well, he's not about to get his feelings hurt. on the contrary, his hand drops and his head perks up as he looks at her again, seeming for the first time like he actually wants to engage.

he's never learned how to analyze himself very well. it's a coping mechanism; things that he considers vital to his identity would unravel if he started giving them more than a moment's thought. he's always depended on Mother Dearest to tell him what to do, be, and think. for a second, Asuka seems to step forward and fill in that hole parental guidance should have been.

she's right, of course. it makes appealing sense.]

What would you do.

[probably meant to be a question, but again. tone.]

[interstices]

Take it out on someone else.

[It's honest, at least, even if it's not a good solution. Her rages always spiral and shove outward at the nearest, meekest target. Ever since she was little.]

[She's older than him. That's what he'd said.]

[Her mouth twists, teeth grinding slightly behind her lips. She's strong, too strong, but out of practice. Her fights, brutal and bloody and mind-wracking as they've been, have always been within the cockpit. Moving so Eva will move, gripping and choking and smashing the cores of Angels. Psychic battles that still left her bruised and covered in blood.]

It's more satisfying that way.

[theboogieman]

[oh, but that's just the problem. he's always been outwardly violent, since before he even knew that vampires were real. at home, he has dozens of undead to wage his wars against whenever he wanted. he was known to kill the ones on his side at the drop of a hat just because he didn't particularly feel like letting them continue living.

but you can't do that with people. humans don't deserve it, not like vampires do. as much as he'd like to smash Arthur's face in, for example, he knows he can't really justify it. he would kick Coil around on any other day, but right now he's already worried about the kid's injuries to consider it.

and he could maybe try fighting Asuka--the thought does cross his mind--but it wouldn't be something he would want to put her through. he likes her. she doesn't need to see that ugly side of him, the one he's already taken off his facepaint to try hiding.

so his answer is to shake his head.] Not that kind of fight.

[interstices]

Then what kind of fight do you want? [Asuka doesn't have that usual impatient tilt to her tone, for once. She's not smart about dealing with people and never has been good at comforting anyone, but she's making an effort, as brash as it might come across.]

Just don't give yourself too much time to deal with it, or then you'll really get screwed up.

[theboogieman]

[he wants to crush someone's skull under his boot. he wants a chase--no, a hunt. he wants fear and suffering. he wants it to really hurt.

but you can't say that to other people. Momma would tell him not to be rude. he closes up again, his posture hunching up as he shakes his head a second time. he finally drinks some water, extremely hesitant to stay a part of what's going on.

maybe she'll leave if he doesn't talk. maybe. he doesn't know if he wants that, but as discussed--he's not exactly good at knowing what he wants in general.]

[interstices]

[She looks at him disdainfully. Silences are weapons, too, ones she's accustomed to being used against her, frustrating because it's so stupidly difficult to figure out what they conceal, or if it's even worth the trouble more than half the time. Puzzles make her impatient.]

[She scuffs her shoe against the floor, making a slight squeaky sound, before she says anything else.]

Whatever. I can't tell you how to handle it.

[theboogieman]

[he's aware that he's ruining something, but it only serves as one more obstacle between his brain and his mouth. he's frustrated, exhausted, not sure whether to apologize or tell her to knock it off.

he says nothing, for a moment, holding very still. his gaze is now solidly down on the floor.]

It's... good of you, to try. I'm sorry. [the prior side wins out after all, because of his own disgust over his state of mind, if nothing else.] They're just... ugly things.