Airlocked CMO

[daughterofthemark]

For all your random Champion Sovereign needs.

Comments

[ratherdoweddings]

[Arianna might wander into the computer room today, where Yurika is clicking through the Airlocked! tag on Newplanets. Yurika groans and looks over at Arianna.]

This game is messed up...

[The game in question: something called Air Locked Sim Date RPG.]

[daughterofthemark]

[Yurika why are you doing this? Haven't you learned your lesson?

Arianna scurries over, curious.]

If it is not functioning correctly, I am told that "rebooting" can...

[...

What is she looking at here]

[ratherdoweddings]

Somebody made something... a little strange. It said "15 different routes," but it doesn't really live up to "sim," "date," or "RPG." So far, Xander-san is in the hospital for alcohol poisoning and Pyrrha-chan smashed a coffee cup over her own head.

[daughterofthemark]

And I appear to be... using my skirt as a parachute? Is that possible?

[nobody let arianna up on the roof anytime soon]

[ratherdoweddings]

I think I've heard of it happening once in the olden days, but your skirt's armoured, and you'd probably still break a leg besides...

[daughterofthemark]

[Parachute Skirt: Evade all attacks for one turn. Inflicts leg bind on self.]

Is this what school looks like?

[ratherdoweddings]

Usually! Especially on TV. You're not usually allowed on the rooftop nearly as often in real life.

1/2

[daughterofthemark]

So this was the sort of place where Rii-san lived.

2/2

[daughterofthemark]

[And suddenly, a chilling thought.]

Is Rii-san in this?

[ratherdoweddings]

I don't know! I haven't seen her yet, but... Is something wrong?

[daughterofthemark]

If she saw herself depicted in such a manner, she would be very upset...

[ratherdoweddings]

That's true. That's why we weren't going to tell her about the itasha, but, well...

[daughterofthemark]

In particular, she might be upset with the two of us.

[ratherdoweddings]

You didn't make it! And neither did I!

[daughterofthemark]

But you are playing it!

[ratherdoweddings]

It's not nearly as bad as some of the other things...

[daughterofthemark]

I am not certain she will see it that way.

[ratherdoweddings]

Are you sure? She's seen how much worse the fans can get.

[daughterofthemark]

I don't believe that is a risk worth taking.

[ratherdoweddings]

...she can be pretty scary. You're right, let's, uh, just not mention it ever.

[daughterofthemark]

[...]

Is she in this?

[ratherdoweddings]

I haven't seen her, but they did say fifteen routes.

[daughterofthemark]

...I am somewhat concerned.

[ratherdoweddings]

Now I have to find out just in case, so we know whether or not to tell her!

[click click click... click...]

...We're not telling her anything.

[daughterofthemark]

We must delete the browser history.

[...at least her technical knowledge is improving?]

Perhaps destroy the computer, just to be certain.

[ratherdoweddings]

That's a little over the top! Are you sure she'd even look?

[daughterofthemark]

We cannot be certain that she would not.

[ratherdoweddings]

But distracting her must be easy, right? I mean, she notices everything!

[daughterofthemark]

...I have never attempted it before.

[ratherdoweddings]

Probably football and chess players won't work.

[daughterofthemark]

Indeed, I don't recall Rii-san ever expressing particular interest in either.

even your mudergame downtime, foe!

[serrata]

Any particular interest in either what?

[ goodness rii-san where did you come from all of a sudden ]

they're gonna be dead soon, f.o.e.!

[daughterofthemark]

Ah!

[HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE]

Rii-san!

[JUST... PLAY IT COOL...]

...good afternoon!

[ratherdoweddings]

Yuuri-chan!

[Yurika flails and gets up to try and block the screen.]

Football or chess! For... no particular reason!

[serrata]

... I'm not particularly opinionated about either of them?

[ The upturn at the end of her sentence makes it sound like a question rather than a statement and she's trying to peer around Yurika. ]

What's going on?

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna makes a very deliberate and obvious effort to stand in her way.]

We are... considering activities! For the group!

[ratherdoweddings]

Right! Like group recreation! After all, just doing long-distance running would probably cause a mutiny, wouldn't it?

[stitch_in_time]

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

[The computer room sure is popular these days, isn't it? But whenever Arianna wanders in, the Doctor is sitting at a terminal, surrounded by pages of scribbled notes- which he is currently ignoring in favor of some kind of news blog with an aesthetic best described as "90's Spacecities".]

Wrong. Wrong- oh, this one's half right, it was Martian, not Venusian. And it's just a hair dryer.

[Approach and see what he's complaining about, y/n?]

[daughterofthemark]

["Just a hair dryer," he says, as if the gun that shoots warm breezes was not Amazing Future Technology.

Nevertheless, Arianna is intrigued. What is the Space Internet so wrong about? And... how could it be wrong on such a page with such a pretty background and so many little animated pictures?]

Sir Doctor? What is it?

[stitch_in_time]

[Oh Arianna, the space internet is wrong about so very many things.]

Ah, Arianna. Armchair historians is what it is.

[He gestures at the screen, still frowning.]

I've been tryin' to work out where exactly this universe's history diverged from ours- well, mine, anyway- an' stumbled across this.

It's... there's this theory on my Earth that people from other planets've been visiting for years, all through human history, see? And that's right, but people go too far an' say that all kinds of old technology and architecture must've been made by the visitors instead of just figuring out how it was actually done. Turns out that's one more thing our worlds have in common, looks like.

[daughterofthemark]

Ah! Like the theory that Yggdrasil came from another world in pursuit of a great evil.

[yeah about that]

Then, you know the history of all these places?

[stitch_in_time]

Could be, a bit, yeah.

[Doctor please, Caledonia is one of the worlds you really DON'T know the history of.]

I know what their histories are in my universe, yeah. I'd be a pretty poor time-traveler if I didn't.

[l o l]

[daughterofthemark]

Do you suppose they are all the same here? It does seem many things are constant between all our worlds.

[For instance, all of them are apparently full of bisexual people.]

[ratherdoweddings]

[Yurika's been cleaning and sorting things all week. She waves at Arianna, folding clothes into a box.]

Hello! Are you cleaning for New Year's, too? Oh, I never asked if they do that where you're from.

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna is also carrying some clothes, coincidentally.]

Oh! Is that a tradition in your land? I was merely working on laundry.

[ratherdoweddings]

It is! Out with the old troubles, that's the idea. To be ready for the new year! Well, years work differently on different planets, but we all just used Earth's.

[daughterofthemark]

I suspect our troubles will continue to plague us for some time, but that is an intriguing tradition nonetheless. But no, we have nothing like that in Caledonia. We are busy with the Summoner festival at the beginning of the new year, after all.

[ratherdoweddings]

Oh, that sounds interesting! What do you all do for that?

[refusedtoleave]

[Whenever she's not doing what Natsuhi normally does, she can be found reading. It's normally somewhere relatively quiet. She'll read all kinds of things, some times she borrows from someone else.

Like this time. Where she's calm, almost happy with her reading glasses on.Then she turns the page, spends a good thirty seconds squinting.

Then yelps and tosses the book across the room.]

[daughterofthemark]

--Dame Natsuhi?!

[RUSHING IN. THAT SOUNDED LIKE VIOLENCE HAPPENING OR SOMETHING.]

[refusedtoleave]

[She is fine, maybe? She's hunched in the chair covering her face with both hands.

...The books still spread pages down on the floor the over side of the room.]

[serrata]

[ It's been a good long while since Yuuri promised Arianna a sleepover – about two months, now, if she's been keeping track right – but nowadays, Yuuri's got a much better track record for keeping promises. There's been all sorts of things getting in the way, the usual comings and goings of moving in and settling down made all the more complicated by the logistics of settling down in a new world and a new time. But then one day, the stars align. Yuuri's not busy, Arianna's not busy (and Junpei's not busy, which means he can keep an eye on Ruu-chan for the evening) and they've got the time to split off and go around Tokyo before meeting back at the apartment.

Yuuri obviously has a bit of an advantage – she knows Tokyo and its fashions better than Arianna does – but it's still a fun little adventure, coordinating their shopping so they don't run into each other and ruin the surprise. Arianna even beats her back to the apartment, but Yuuri just takes that as an opportunity to pick up an extra something for them on her way back.

She's so ladened with bags that she has to ease open the front door with her elbow, but there's a satisfied smile on her face when she steps inside and calls out to Arianna. ]

Can you believe I got lost on the way back? Really, I should be ashamed of myself.

[serrata]

[ So summers in Tokyo aren't... exactly the coolest. Even a mild day still has the air conditioning running on overtime and Yuuri's just glad she's used to it. And really... she can't complain about beautifully sunny weather like this. It's just a matter of aiming for one of those aforementioned mild days when you want to get out on do something.

So it's lucky that one of her days off, one of Arianna's days off and one of Ruu's days off all happen to fall on a nice, breezy day that happens to be just pleasantly sunny enough to enjoy. Not one to miss an opportunity for an outing, Yuuri rallies the three of them, gets a big bulky bento packed and off they go for a little outing, to enjoy the sunshine. ... or at least, they'll be enjoying it once their train gets to the station that lets off near their park, at least. And at least their travel time gives them a chance to appreciate the blessing that is modern air conditioning. ]

So, I was thinking we could find ourselves a nice spot under one of the trees and just settle ourselves down on a picnic blanket. And instead of eating all at once, we'll just make our way through lunch at our own pace. How does that sound?