Catchall log for mid-Merriment, OTA!

[subcircuits]

Who: Devero and YOU
Where: All over the train
When: Merriment 17 through 21
What: Devero potters around the train, catching up on things and pretending he's not still really, really worn out from the mission.
Warnings: Recreational drug use in the luggage car prompt.


In the days following the platform, Devero is relieved to find that he's recovered enough energy to be able to stay awake for most of a day, and even to concentrate on projects again! The lassitude is hanging on to him longer than most, so he's still not quite is robust self, but he's present and working again. Between Merriment 17 and 21, he can be encountered all over the train.

Where does your character find him?


In the lab car?
Wait, since when is Devero glowing purple and semi-transparent? Come into the lab car on the right day at the right time and you'll find this specter moving about. Perhaps he's fiddling with a door latch, or you find him in one of the labs, picking things up and putting them back down again. There is absolutely neutral, lifeless expression on his face if you happen to catch sight of it, and-- Wait, is that some kind of glowing core in the middle of the shape?


In the training car?
Devero knows how to shoot a gun. Really. He swears. But if you happen in on him practicing his marksmanship with a sleek, futuristic rifle in his hands, it sure doesn't seem like it. He's visibly frustrated as he misses another shot, dropping the gun down from his shoulder and turning his back on his target. (Claudette tilts her head and chirrups. Does this mean the game is over?)

"Rust and ruin," he swears, shoving his wrap-around tactical Interface up on his forehead. "I'm never going to get the hang of this thing. I'm sorry, Entrapta."


In the library car:
Several weeks ago, Devero had snatched down the slip of paper that he'd tacked up in the standard car, the one advertising lessons in GSL-- Global Sign Language. The day of the platform, he'd tacked it back up again. Find him at the advertised time in the library, staring into the screen of his usual Interface. While he waits to see if anyone's going to show up, he's talking to himself.

You know, with his hands. How else? This is meant to be a sign-language lesson, after all!


In the music car:
As crowded as the train's been getting, the second floor of the music carriage is still a good place to slip away to if you're looking for (relative) privacy. Today, however, Devero's beaten you to it. If you don't notice right away that he's in here, though, that's understandable-- there's no music, no sound save for the whisper of his feet on the stage, the rustle of his clothes, and the occasional audible breath.

Despite the apparent silence, Devero is dancing. He's practicing alone an energetic routine for two, but there's no mistaking the precision and grace in his movements as he performs them, even without the partner.

Do you stay and watch, or leave him to dance in solitude?


In the luggage car?
If you've been on the train for longer than a few weeks, you may already be acquainted with this particular odor: it's savory, herby, as if someone's over-toasted spices in a pan prior to cooking with them. Were it a strong odor, it'd probably be sour and unpleasant; as mild as it is, it's mostly unobjectionable.

The source of it can be easily traced to the obviously hand-rolled cigarette smoldering between Devero's lips. That's right, it's future-weed hours here in the luggage car, folks. And if you look at him twice, you'll find him holding his joint out in your direction. "Want a hit?" he asks amiably.


Somewhere else?
Devero can feasibly be found all over the train: prepping vegetables or washing dishes in the kitchen; soaking or doing yoga in the spa car; working out in either of the gyms; sleeping through a movie in the cinema; or even just traveling up and down the train. Yeah, they have transgates now, but walking (or hoverskating) the length of the train is an easy way to keep his condition up while he's still recovering from the last mission. He's not nearly as exhausted as he was before, which means it's working. Really. He swears! He didn't fall asleep here, he was just resting his eyes!

Feel free to find him wherever you want, if one of the prompts above doesn't tickle your fancy.

Comments

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou squeezes Devero and tips his head up to give him a smooch on the cheek. They're fine, everything's fine between them.

"...I noticed," Koumyou huffs, amused. "He woke me up from a nap to demand training, didn't even give me his name. I definitely gave him the standard bad impression, I think."

But what else is new? Devero is the weird one for not immediately thinking Koumyou is too weird, or stupid, or insert-other-disparaging-quality-here, when they first met.

[subcircuits]

Devero's eye close in cat-like appreciation as Koumyou smooches him, and he tilts his head to smile that brilliant, sort of incredulous smile down at him after.

Devero can't help himself, he laughs at that-- well, the first part anyway. "That sounds about right, as far as I know him," he says, but then he lifts his arm and strokes his hand up and down Koumyou's back.

"You say that like you don't try to give people a bad impression," he says, his voice gentle but his point kind of blunt.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"It's going to happen anyway," Koumyou points out, "so I may as well get to have fun with it."

[subcircuits]

Devero doesn't respond to that assertion verbally, but he does frown and look away. He doesn't stop rubbing at Koumyou's back, though, and after a moment says, "And you said Siebren asked you too?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou rests the side of his head on Dev's shoulder, arms still looped around his waist. "Mmmhmm," he confirms, "I'm not sure how much of what he told me is private, but. He has good reason to want... individual help on the matter."

The priest sighs.

"He's been there for me in the past, for... whatever reason. So I... I'm still worried about teaching, but."

But he wants to help the guy.

"As for Vegeta... I don't know. I feel a little obligated, I don't think there's anyone else on the train who can do what I can? And it's been such a problem... but I don't know him at all. I was hoping you might know him better; help me decide."

[subcircuits]

"Siebren's a good man," Devero says. A good man who had seemed very different when Devero had encountered him on the mission. Could that have anything to do with his reasons for seeking Koumyou's tutelage?

He doesn't press. He's acquainted with Siebren but doesn't really know him personally; he's not entitled to the man's privacy.

He thinks for a moment about Vegeta. What Trunks has told him; the encounters he's had himself with this older version of Vegeta here on the train. Finally, he speaks: "I think when he sets his mind to something, he'll achieve it. If he wants to learn this from you, he'll be a diligent student.

"But he's... angry. Even when he's not angry, he's angry. You can..." He gestures with his free hand, that way he does when he's grasping for something that he's having trouble or hesitant to articulate. "You can tell," he says finally. He lets the hand fall.

"He'll probably be a difficult student as well as diligent," is his concluding assessment.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Siebren tried to take care of me when I was in the stores room after... the fight."

The fight, no need to elaborate on which one. He leaves his head on Devero's shoulder, eyes shut.

"I don't know why he bothered, but he did."

So Koumyou especially doesn't want to leave him hanging, battling his own... musical demons.

The priest thinks about what Devero has to say about Vegeta, then says, "...Well, angry probably means I can't accidentally push him too far. Although it occurs to me, you might be able to teach him."

Devero knows the guy a lot better than Koumyou does, and his performance on the last mission proves how well he's taken to the lessons. He's not an expert, of course, but he's possibly advanced enough to lead someone else along the path?

[subcircuits]

Probably because Siebren's a good man, and Koumyou had been in acute distress, Devero suspects, but he doesn't think it would be helpful to point that out right now. "I'm glad he did," is all he says instead. He snugs Koumyou a little closer and leans his cheek on his hair.

He jerks right back upright following Koumyou's suggestion. "M-me? Teach? I'm still just learning myself!"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Sure, but you have the basics for illusion-breaking down well enough you had to break me out, last mission. More than once!"

Koumyou gives his waist a squeeze.

"You're picking it up super well, Dev."

[subcircuits]

His immediate instinct is to downplay that. He even goes so far as shaking his head, but stops the motion when Koumyou squeezes him. Instead of protesting, he just asks softly, "...You think so?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I do," Koumyou picks his head up from Devero's shoulder so that he can look at him, "If you ran into something more advanced than I've done with you, you could still bring me in."

The more he thinks about it, the more he likes this idea. And not to get out of teaching, either. It seems like just the thing to prove to Devero how well he's absorbed the lessons thus far.

"Siebren needs an expert, he has... complications. But if you think you can handle Vegeta's general..." he quirks a smile, "intense personality, I think it would be good for you."

[subcircuits]

Up until the very end, Devero is ready to politely but firmly demur. Then Koumyou says a set of magic words: 'it would be good for you'. He's done more than enough instruction in his time training recruits to know that Koumyou has a point.

His intention to refuse crumbles. "All right," he says with a huffed laugh. "You've convinced me. I'll give it a shot, at least."

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou leans in to smooch him on the cheek again, smiling.

"You can always tag me in if you need to, okay?"

Devero doesn't have to do this alone, especially if Vegeta absorbs the lessons quick enough to out-pace Devero.

"Speaking of, I alluded to my big... fear of teaching, with Siebren. He had a good suggestion; when we start doing stuff that's more dangerous, we might want to invite a..."

What, supervisor?

"...Referee, of sorts. To make sure I don't do something stupid. If we can find someone that could do that without thinking everything I do is too much, anyway."

[subcircuits]

He takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay," he says. Privately, he's sure he'll have to tag Koumyou in pretty much immediately, but he doesn't share that pessimism.

"Oh," he says with a blink as Koumyou relays Siebren's suggestion. "Hell, that's brilliant!" And you know what? He knows exactly who could do that for Koumyou. He bumps the priest with his shoulder. "We should ask Trunks, I bet he'd be willing."

He turns his head and presses a kiss to Koumyou's hair. "Not that I think you have anything to worry about," he adds softly. "You've been perfectly appropriate with me."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I... suppose?" Koumyou's not entirely sure about that pick, but then again, if including Trunks would make Devero more comfortable, then...

"I haven't interacted with him directly since the day I arrived, but I know you two are close. If you think he's sensible enough to know the difference between useful pushing and... 'Koumyou doesn't know what normal is and is going way too far'."

Without just, you know, assuming everything Koumyou does is going way too far, which would be less helpful than not having someone there at all.

The priest gives Devero a sidelong glance, "So far, for the basics. If you want to learn chi manipulation, it's going to get more... complicated, as we go."

[subcircuits]

"He's trained under his father," Devero says, his voice very dry. Gonna let Koumyou infer what that might have been like based on his brief encounter with the other man and Devero's description. Less pointedly, he continues, "Trunks is used to people who have a lot of power, so I think he has a pretty good baseline to figure out what 'too far' is. And we've been training and sparring together for a while now, so he's got a pretty good idea of what my limits are, too."

Devero catches that glance, and frowns slightly. "I have faith in you," he murmurs, squeezing Koumyou again. Simple as that, despite the fact that they're simultaneously discussing having someone chaperone their lessons. Devero knows that's as much for Koumyou's peace of mind as his own safety.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Alright... we don't need him yet, but you may as well ask."

Koumyou glances over again at the squeeze, then sighs quietly. "At least one of us does. Outside of killing, I'm pretty..."

Useless.

"Bad at everything."

[subcircuits]

"No," Devero says, immediately and forcefully. "That's bullshit. Because you know what you're not bad at?

He doesn't give him a chance to answer. "Being a father."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I may have passed over the bar that's sitting on the ground, but that doesn't make me good," Koumyou argues softly, looking away. "I still failed him in the end."

And then there's poor Buttercup, who had to deal with his parenting in the fake lives they now have memories of. Is she even going to want to see him, after that?

[subcircuits]

"You made sure he was fed and loved," Devero says insistently. "You protected him, and you taught him enough that he survived. You said it yourself, Koumyou: he made it. Maybe you weren't a perfect father, but you were a good one."

And it's not just Genjo he's thinking of, either. He pulls away from Koumyou, turning to sit facing him, folding one leg up on the bed. "Did you know Buttercup came very close to skewering me at the end of the mission? Came at me with a knife. Do you want to know why?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

Fed and loved and protected are all things Koumyou -- Houmei -- had lacked.

The priest folds his hands in his lap when Devero pulls away, looking down at them and feeling very... old. Brittle.

He doesn't know if he wants to know or not, but... he probably should.

"Why?"

[subcircuits]

He leans forward a little, intent. "Because she didn't want to wake up from a dream where she was your daughter, Koumyou."

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou doesn't even realize he's about to cry until a few big, hot tears roll free and splat against his hands. He clenches them together harder, feeling his bones creak, and says nothing, not trusting his voice.

[subcircuits]

Devero reaches out to him, gently enfolding Koumyou's clenched hands in his own big, warm ones. "She wanted to be Buttercup Sanzo," he says gently. "And she wanted your family to remain together, you and her and Genjo."

He presses Koumyou's hands lightly. "If you haven't talked to her yet, I think you should."

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou's hands can be felt grinding the prominent, sharp joints between Devero's gentle hold on them. "I... haven't dared to."