01.

[undrowned]

WHO: Rover and you!
WHAT: Monthly log
WHERE/WHEN: Various locations throughout the month.
WARNINGS: Will update this as they come up.



01. Generic starters - throughout the month - various locations in Neo-Tokyo

[ rover is doing her best to get to know her location and the people in it! if you come across her during your wanderings, feel free to say hi.

some places she can be found in:

a. shrines - shinjuku wandering around and checking out the set-up in the temples. the set-up is much simpler than what she'd seen in the gorges of spirit with jue's memorial.

b. LILICO game centre she's good with any of the games that require strength - first person shooter, fighting games, that kind of jazz. rover is also into puzzle games; the area she's in is most definitely designed for seniors and younger players, but she doesn't care. she'll finish that puzzle game.

c. tokyo bay a fun, solitary place to drink boba in is the top of some debris while watching the waves come in an out of the bay. she's just staring off the distance, mulling over her thoughts. she half-expects the rolling clouds to bring in some rain, and even stares up at the sky now and then to see if it's going to happen; but it doesn't, so she just remains on her perch. ]


02. Generic base shenanigans - meeting with teammates, others, etc.

[ a. redemption meet and greet. say hi! rover doesn't sleep well, she'll be out and about in odd hours of the night or early hours of the day. you can find her in the cafeteria, greenhouse, or just catch her before she's headed towards her quarters.

b. random otherwise feel free to send her a text or give her a call to say hi. same with A, she'll be out and about during odd hours of the night or early hours of the day just in different places. ]

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03. Closed starters

[ in the comments with headers. ]

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04. Game event (15 July)

[ link to her toplevel; feel free to drop by. ]

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05. ETC. - other toplevels throughout the month that are OTA

[ feel free to tag. your character can assume they've come across each other during the downtime, had smalltalk, and at the very least exchanged names. rover is rather amiable.

- DATING LOG: toplevel
- HOT OR NOT: toplevel

if you want something custom, feel free to message me and we can work something out. ]

contact: PM or plurk @ ilium.

Comments

geto.

[undrowned]

[ it would be funny, she thought, on her way to the teahouse, if she were ghosted right now.

she wouldn't be surprised. it'd prove something, sure, but rover is just finding herself thinking why or to whom and coming up with nothing. she doesn't know him well enough to make assumptions. just enough to know he's miserable and maybe, just maybe, for far too long. if he had existed back home, he'd make for a strong enemy. or a worse ally.

but everyone's like that until proven otherwise. rover sets the thoughts aside for now.

she did eat. she had a look at the teahouse's menu online and decided none of those were something that'd fill her up. times like these, she really misses jinzhou. whatever passes as home for her. everything here is filled with noise and sound and it's even more unfamiliar than ever to her, and she can't say it doesn't make her feel lonely. not the first time for her to be waking up in a strange land, unfamiliar to her, but it's not easy. she thought she'd be fine. adjusting to distance is hard.

her company today is someone interesting. rover appears in her usual black outfit; heels and skirt. she doesn't know what else to expect, but at least, perusing the menu in advance means she can have the peace and quiet to enjoy what's offered if nothing else. ]

[gorb]

( He does consider it. Ghosting her. Like many things Geto does these days it is hard to attribute a point to meeting Rover for tea. His motivation to do much beyond fighting the kaiju is mostly absent, a stagnant well that has almost run dry. It would be simpler, he has no right to make friends, and considering he doesn't quite know her background it could all be for nought anyway. But something moves him either way, a spark of old. Geto used to pride himself on his politeness, and an invitation is an invitation.

So he steps into the teahouse a little after her, dressed this time in loose-fitting all black, a canvas bag slung over one arm - errands did actually take place, another point in favour of actually following through when he was here already. He's wearing the same sunglasses from the beach but he takes them off immediately, scanning his surroundings. It looks quiet, which is better than it not being, and it's easy to spot Rover. An almost smile flickers at the corner of his mouth and it's not long before he's taking a seat opposite her. )

You made it safely then. ( Politeness, tucking his back below his seat. ) How have you been?

[undrowned]

[ rover shrugs as she seats herself across him. ]

I'm alright. I'm learning about things as I go. I've met some of the people in my team.

[ they seem to be alright. people making the best of the situation they've been handed - isn't that the most anyone can ask for given the circumstances? and if the experience became more meaningful in time, then that's all the best for everyone involved. in that regard, being here was familiar to her. the rest of it was foreign. an infinite experience of colour and sound she has no name for.

she orders the house tea blend, whatever it is. ]

You? [ don't say you're alright, she almost says, mostly because, well, they've chatted long enough for that to be a fraught subject, but she'll leave it to him to start. ]

[gorb]

Surviving.

( Delivered with the mildest humour, his fingers hovering over the menu as he ponders his choices. It's easy to settle for something strong, the robot server whisking away on well-oiled wheels. He half watches it go, before focusing his attention back her way. ) What team did they put you in? Not brimstone, I presume, I would have noticed.

( Suspicious bastard that he is, but she doesn't exactly seem like the calibre of person he and his teammates are. It's a little funny that the teams are so obvious. )

[undrowned]

[ little better. it's at least honest. ]

I suppose each team has its own type and personalities cut out for it. That's rather useful for mission planning.

[ and she's not shy on being used. back home, jinhsi, the magistrate, was very honest in that regard, too, even if she would hesitate first to ask for her help, being her friend. rover understood the dynamics of factions, each one a different tool to be used depending on the lay of the land. she has no strong feelings about it, either way. a lesson she'd learned well in jinzhou. ]

I'm in Redemption. Room 14.

[ she'll throw that in there, if he wants it. ]

How long would you say you've been here?

[gorb]

It is.

( Or vaguely offensive, considering the calibre of Geto's. There's a flicker of a mild smile at the corner of his mouth as he replies, as if he knows the answer is either obvious or telling. ) Brimstone. Three. Though I tend to avoid lingering, the neighbours are terrible.

( The neighbour is Gojo fucking Satoru. )

And roughly about two months? Though it's hard to tell with all the moving about and the differences in time zones. It feels like longer. I was in the wave of recruitments just before yours.

[undrowned]

[ when their orders arrive, rover cradles her warm teacup gently in her fingers as she ponders his words. ]

What's wrong with your neighbour?

And where do you hang out then, if you're not in your quarters? [ does geto have a part time job? she can't imagine him hanging out. unless hanging out in question here means like ... going to something like a pub, he seems like that kind of guy, but then she remembers the restrictions he has on food and then she really wonders where he would hang out. is he a sports guy? he doesn't have the vibe.

... though who's to say she's wrong in that? two months in here since geto has told her he's dead in his world. maybe that's enough to change someone's perspective as to what they ought to do in their lives. but adjusting and learning about yourself is hard, and though their situations are different, rover does know a little bit about the hard work involved in finding yourself - she constantly has to do that with her lack of memories anyway. ]

Two months, with a lot of missions already. They're keeping you guys busy.

[gorb]

( He's suddenly reminded he needs to be a little more careful around Rover. She's quick, she picks up on things. But at least this one is not a secret and so he heaves a sigh that's bordering on dramatic. ) Brimstone has three other members of my world housed in its quarters. Two I couldn't care less about - ( Fuck you, Zenins. ) - and the third, well. We went to high school together. You know how these things go. He can't find entertainment anywhere else.

( It's the vaguest way he can find to describe what it is that he and Satoru have anyway. There's no room for anything else. Best friends to enemies and no point after that fits comfortably. Luckily he's less irritated about it today, he's managed to shake off being stuck in a van with him, the newly found space keeping him more sane. )

I explore, mostly. Neo Tokyo is both familiar and not. ( A polite way of saying he broods most days. ) Have you found anything to interest you yet?

[undrowned]

[ she stares at him as she drinks her tea, lost in thought. geto has a history. he has lived long enough to have something complete: school, a life with a childhood friend, possibly enemies? daughters, a death he's still reeling from. it doesn't even occur to her to put things into a timeline, poke holes on it a bit more: time is immaterial to her.

how enviable, even if he probably doesn't think so. even the prospect of death is enviable, though it's not something she'd actually wish for; just the idea that it's there. when he says "you know how these things go," there's a slight raised eyebrow at that which she gives in quiet response, mostly because she doesn't know what that would be like. with the limited amount of memories she has uncovered for herself, she doesn't remember. the best she could compare it to is how familiarity could breed a form of contempt, or dislike, which is how she feels with scar, to a more extreme angle; or perhaps, mortefi with some of the people he works with, though mortefi isn't as distrusting.

how strange how LILITH functions that people just appear here for no reason. she doubts he asked for them to be here, after all. ]

... I see. [ two months is ... a long time to still be exploring? what else could he be looking for ...? it doesn't make sense in rover's mind. maybe he's just running away from familiar faces. that makes more sense to her. ]

Everything is interesting to me. It's a new world, and very different from where I came from.

[gorb]

Have you been adjusting to it well?

( His own tea gets pulled a little closer, fingertips on the porcelain. That little raised eyebrow is curious enough, but he doesn't ask. He's well aware of how different the worlds are, just because hers is a familiar sounding one doesn't mean it is. Neo Tokyo is different from the Tokyo Geto knows after all. He's also met more than enough people that come from strange circumstances, he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Like always, questions crowd. He'd like to know who she is, what she is. They're concerns for the man Geto was before though, there's little way of finding out without revealing too much of himself. It's fine, he can stay mild. )

At least the people here are mostly welcoming in LILITH's company. I'm sure if you were struggling there'd be someone to help you out.

[undrowned]

[ she rebuffs him with her gentle voice: ] I've no complaints. And I'm not in a hurry to discover what things are like when it gets busy - I'm sure the opportunity will come soon enough.

[ so that leaves dead time in the middle for herself: to discover neo-tokyo, to make friends, to figure out how she wants to arrange this new life that she has. having no constraints means that she is the master of her time; easy enough to decide what's important and what's not on a day to day basis. it helps she's by herself and needn't bother anyone with her presence.

rover leans over the table, her chin placed over her hand. to her, he feels like a puzzle, stubborn in its own inability to be solved. she has to turn him over carefully. ]

What do you like here so far?

[gorb]

Fighting monsters.

( It's delivered with a smile, mild and unbothered. There's no real answer to her question. There isn't anything Geto particularly likes. He appreciates some things, maybe. He's not dead. But there's nothing he has enjoyed. It feels like too weighty a responsibility, this second chance, too much time with the things he's done and no way to move forward. If he had it his way he'd never have woken up here at all.

An end, snatched away.

But he's better at schooling his expression, he thinks. He's sure that reality doesn't show through. ) It's a little like what I would have done back home anyway. We didn't call them kaiju, but I'm used to protecting others. It feels good to stretch those muscles.

[undrowned]

That's quite the task. [ rover takes a sip of her tea and asks, ] What about your daughters? Did they help you, as well?

[ something is nagging at her mind with his words, a strange question that she can't quite situate at all. she feels like the problem is staring her at her face but she can't grasp it just yet.

best not to rush it, she thinks. it will come eventually. ]

I did notice your skill back at the beach. I would love to test that sometime, if you don't mind.

[ anyway, it's not like he's busy. ]

2a

[transmit]

[ Redemption crew and keeping odd hours: name a more iconic duo. This won't be the first time Elysium's encountered a newcomer either bright and early (read: 5am), or late at night (read: 12am-1am), aaaand it most likely won't be the last. It's a little like rolling gacha everyday, whether he gets to roll into someone or receive a dud; if he's meant to meet someone that day, he will, water off his back if he doesn't. I'll leave it to you which one interests you most.

If it's early in the morning: Elysium will be getting ready for his morning run and/or hike, emerging from his room with casual arm stretches. Sure, he's dressed for the occasion, but it's hard to say the same for the weather, donning both a techwear jacket and joggers. Won't he overheat…? Apparently! Not a concern.

Otherwise, if it's late at night: depending on the day of the week, he's either returning from one of his jobs in various uniforms (in something like a lab coat or bartending attire) or found in the recreation room, hitting weights.

Wherever they happen to encounter each other, he's more than willing to be the first to approach, or even accost her into whatever activity he happens to be partaking in. Just as well, she's free to have seen him doing all of the above and maybe she's curious? Anything goes! ]

[undrowned]

[ it actually surprises her how many people are up during odd hours. rover had thought that she would be an oddity in that regard, but no - there's almost always someone milling about and it's actually quite difficult to find a space to be alone on base. people, she thinks, just naturally gravitate to one another. that seems to be a fact no matter which world she ends up in.

that morning, she was full of energy to go somewhere not knowing where to go. regular day for exploring, which she's used to doing in jinzhou anyway until the war. now it's just a vibrating hum of energy, low, consistent. she wants to call to it the way she could, back in jinzhou, but that energy seems to have been taken from her during her arrival.

she meets him out for his morning run. she's seen him before; he goes the same time every time, and next time elysium goes out, rover approaches him. ]

Out for a run again? May I join you?

[transmit]

[ If she's been paying attention, she might notice that he sometimes has company, too. Some less reluctant than others, but company nonetheless, notably from other teams. Given the hours, it probably isn't a surprise that they aren't reoccurring guests… but he is alone today, and with her request, he slows to continue his stretches in one spot. ]

If you think you can keep up, sure. But as a forewarning? It won't be your run-of-the-mill straight and flat go around.

[ or so he says, with his grin as a flourish. But he's attentive and flexible enough to change routes on the go depending on who's with him, even giving her a onceover before he's jabbing his thumb in the general direction of his route. Does she have a pack on her? Because that's what his gaze will settle on if she does, lifting it soon after.

He's not against sharing his water, and he carries plenty of on-the-go electrolytes with him for when necessary. It's just a matter of considering of how long he can expect them to be out for—he'll always opt for company over a little of a longer or intensive run he can do anytime, anywhere. ]

[undrowned]

I can handle it.

[ rover does. the route starting is an easy one to clear; the rest of it she moves through with practiced movements, one who is experienced in the physical work of running and climbing. she's quick, not necessarily fast; she can be overtaken if one tries, but she's persistent enough to keep moving and knows enough to navigate the terrain with agility. she doesn't really run for socializing, more like running to have an agenda from start to finish. like it's a sidequest, or something.

moving up the hill, rover says, ] I'll catch you if you're quick enough.

[ disappearing between streets to move in between alleys and buildings in a race up. ]

[transmit]

Oh? It's rare that I meet someone who can keep up.

[ It's what he does, or did, for a living: travel, reconnaissance, stealth. Light and just as quick on his feet, his eyes shine at the display of parkour. Whether she intends to be flashy with it or not matters less than the fact that she's actually doing it, because for the most part, what company he has… simply wouldn't entertain it!

He doesn't mind the lack of conversation; rather, he finds the competition just as enjoyable. How far can he push her limits, and does it surpass his own? Something to test, certainly! Initially intending to lead her into the outskirts and a scenic route on its own, he's more than willing to pivot to scaling buildings. ]

Let's see what you're made of, then! Catch you at the top?

[ the top of where? oh, just one of the tallest buildings, nbd, from the direction his gaze and body faces. a casual, everyday, morning run…… ]

[undrowned]

It's not hard.

See you later.

[ it's fun to have a bit of competition in between. committing to having the work-out time as something more of a game, and a test of skills, is always more interesting to rover as opposed to something that's just straight training. monotony is boring; she's used to the novelty of things.

scaling buildings are easy enough: rover moves through the corners with grace, and at one point cuts through his route with a smile, just because she can. ]

not me accidentally pressing post before i finished

[transmit]

[ not hard, she says, and Elysium wonders just how seriously he should take that statement——

Only for him to be given the answer in the form of her utilising a shortcut seconds after the thought, fully transitioning it into a competition rather than a route jointly travelled merely to move one's body.

A grin, then, as he pulls up his hood; Elysium has the complete topographic map of Tokyo stored in his memory, self-defined with everything from known shortcuts, lesser known paths, to unbeknownst ones he'd discovered all on his own. So! In the spirit of it, he's splintering off to go on his own way, bold and with unfettered confidence even when it comes to traversing paths where one fall could mean death.

As for who ultimately wins: I used a random number generator and got a 7, but if Rover has any speed enhancements or whatever else, it probably makes more sense for her to! ]

l'excitement

[undrowned]

[ rover takes the only way she ever knows: over and up. higher and faster. she may not know the way, but she knows how to grapple with heights and move forward. she's used to mountains and cliffs. buildings and streets are simple and predictable. there are times, even, that she follows him closely like a shadow before departing easily, just to show him she can keep up.

she reaches the summit about the same time as he does, meeting him with a smile as she catches her breath - ]

- That was fun.

[transmit]

[ Stronger winds, thinner air. Elysium's laugh is diffused by their atmosphere, but it's unbridled all the same. He mills about the ledges without a concern for how high up they are, and holds out for her a flask of cool water.

little adrenaline junkie things. ]

Yeah? We should do this more often, it's nice. [ his gaze moves to the horizon, to the sun still rising in the sky. they're still in the city proper, but it's quieter, somehow. ] I don't get to see this view that often with other people.

[ not often, being at all. he imagines his usual running partners would consider it unhinged behaviour… ]

[undrowned]

If you want.

I'm happy to train anytime. Just send me a message.

[ she smiles at him the way he laughs excitedly at having reached the summit with her. it is quieter. the air feels cooler, and rover inhales a gulpful before exhaling slowly in the dark. one, two, three. ]

You've some talent. [ clearly not just someone who's training for a marathon or physically fit. a torture-running away specialist. ]

[transmit]

[ A soon-to-be* torture-running away specialist given he'd only recently got caught and didn't think anyone would be serious about it, help. Who knew that the psychopath who'd started the whole torture debacle would actually be into it? Wild. ]

I'm not much of a fighter compared to a lot of the guys here, but when it comes to building up endurance and stamina, I am your guy. Nothing like a little competition to push your limits.

[ with the flask untaken, he'll take a swig from it himself before stashing it away. ]

This does remind me that I never formally introduced myself. [ a grin at the word 'talent.' ] Operator Elysium. My specialties lay in communications and fieldwork.

[undrowned]

[ that just means it's ok to bully him. ]

A troublemaker, then. I see.

I'm Rover. [ one name. like madonna, or cher. ] I suppose the simplest way to explain my job is that I hunt monsters.

What does 'fieldwork' mean for you?