inbox / purgastory.

[transmit]

HELLO

"You've reached Elysium! Lost? Need an ear? I'm your guy! I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

inventory bc i don't know where else to put this:

cursed chihuahua papers

Comments

[tindery]

[ okay?

tobari will follow the smell of cookies... ]

For some reason I didn't think baking was on your list of skills.

[transmit]

[ :) ]

Tons of things are on my list of skills! You don't just know a guy after one night, do you? C'mere. [ waves him over eagerly. ] Test these for me.

[ More specifically, he's baking Mantecados. ]

[tindery]

[ impressively domestic hobby... well, he won't say that out loud. but he'll wander over and reach out to pick one up. monch monch...

is it any good ]

[transmit]

[


It is. This is why he's annoying… to make up for him being good at things for no reason.

He dabs a tissue at the corner of Tobari's mouth, where a crumb totally is. ]

[tindery]

[ not the tissue. he was about to compliment him but now he pulls back and half-heartedly clicks his teeth in a chomping motion toward the outstretched hand ]

I have hands.

[ he can wipe his own face! ]

[transmit]

Pfft. You were cuter two days ago.

[ His bottom Tobari content… ]

So?

[ he asks how they are despite knowing full well how they are ]

[tindery]

I liked you more two days ago.

[ to the point that he was down to bottom on the first night. whoa. but without a love curse he's less prone to indulging someone's whims...

but he does still like elysium enough to check on him now ]

They're not bad.

[ so not bad that he's going to take one more ]

[transmit]

But you've had two more days to get to know me? Impossible.

[ Flicks Tobari's nose.

—But then he turns to finish his last batch. ]

I'm just using these as excuses to bother people later. Some of them need the extra lubricant——you know how it is.

[ like bribing feral animals ]

[tindery]

[ tiredly: ] I think you got too familiar with touching me.

[ the nose flick... but he'll endure it otherwise. like a slightly irritated cat. wrinkles his nose after. ]

Your friend doing alright?

[ he doesn't know thorns—doesn't really know anyone who came back from cyoa, but the concern was pretty obvious. they were all in bad states nonetheless ]

[transmit]

We're buddies. Get used to it.

[ The mention of Thorns makes him pause, just for a fraction of a second. It's barely a blip before he carries on. ]

Mm. I threw him in the river, yeah. It heals up injuries if you haven't had the chance to check out that one notice. Figured he'd want some time alone to process, so that's another part of the reason why I'm here.

[ so he says, but elysium unilaterally decided to book it. anyway. ]

[tindery]

Interesting word for it.

[ buddies with benefits? well, it was probably just a one time thing unless something comes up. tobari thinks this place is insane though and he keeps kissing people unexpectedly so his expectations are low.

he's nice enough not to mention the blip. though he's a little confused, ]

... you were that worried about him, and then you left him anyway? Is he the type of guy who needs that much time to himself?

[transmit]

What, you want us to be something else?

[ A joke with no real weight to it, even if it's accompanied by a wink. ]

But we don't really have the kind of relationship where we dig into stuff like that. I'm there when he needs me and vice versa. We've just known each other for a while now, is all.

[tindery]

Wishful thinking.

[ this isn't that kind of love story

but tobari just nods, looking thoughtful. it makes sense to him. sometimes you don't dig into things with people. of course, this has bitten him in the ass before, and it's why he's wondering if it's healthy. it's still barely his business. ]

I guess you'd know him best. [ still, ] Are you holding up okay then?

[transmit]

Is it that wishful? —Just kidding.

[ He's spiraling with someone else…… ]

And more or less. [ He's humming now. ] I'm surprised you're asking me that when there are three others who came back from a harrowing experience. Something about brothels and murders.

[tindery]

I haven't talked to three out of four. [ he missed them because it's cyoa week... ] More invasive if a total stranger comes up to you in your most vulnerable moments and asks for your summary, right? It'd be different if I thought they'd be left alone but...

[ everyone was fussing, so he just doesn't want to add to the emotional weight. he's a busybody, but not to the point of overcrowding ]

[transmit]

So you're redirecting all your concern to me instead? Funny. I'll be sure to pay it forward.

[ Cookies from Elysium, ft. taste tester Tobari. Now that the final batch is in, he settles his weight against the counter. ]

But that's a pretty wise move. Everyone save for Yuma probably wouldn't take all well to that, yeah. Still, I think that guy specifically could use all the support he can get if you feel like flagging him down. He's a soldier, through and through, with all the baggage that comes with it. It's pretty concerning.

[tindery]

You're expecting all of it? Don't be greedy.

[ okay now it's his turn to be a bit teasing, though it's short-lived ]

... there's probably a weight with that that I won't quite understand, but I can get responsibility and feeling like you need to fulfill a role. [ soldiers leave a bad taste in his mouth by default, but he's trying not to make a snap judgment. ]

[transmit]

Who else do you have to give it to?

[ something something needing the last word. ]

But add living your entire life for a single purpose on top of that and not being able to live with any individualism and you've pretty much got it. Can't say I know the exact way to approach it either, but if his answers at the bar earlier were indicative of anything, then surface-level support might be all we can do.

[1/2]

[tindery]

[ yes they can talk about yuma but tobari looks like he's really thinking about the first question? not with any actual seriousness, but mostly out of spite: ]

Rafayel?

[ sorry to namedrop you at random king fuck you elysium ♥ ]

[tindery]

[ anyway tobari will lean back against the counter, letting his gaze rise up to the ceiling. yuma's answers... ]

... so he's actually seven?

[ don't focus on that ]

[transmit]

[ Just for that, Tobari is getting pelted with a marshmallow. Do these cookies need marshmallows? No. But Elysium's been snacking on them all the same.

Don't just name his au self like that… jk. ]

I'm going to be so real with you. I think he might be.

[tindery]

[ okay he rolled a 6 so it nearly gets him in the fucking eye. annoyed: ] Don't make a mess.

[ DON'T WASTE FOOD. he'll pick it up from wherever it fell so it isn't forgotten... fallen soldier

anyway, ]

How the hell's that supposed to work?

[transmit]

Haven't you seen how these places reset? It's like they go back to never having been touched at some nebulous part of the day.

[ So he says, but he is demure and mannerly and still makes sure to clean up after himself… he would've picked the marshmallow up. ]

I wish I could tell you. The more you talk to him, the more you'll just get it. All he has is his work. I asked him what he enjoys doing, and the answers were along the lines of the same: work and training.

I tried suggesting some hobbies. [ a slow roll of his shoulders. ] I'm pretty sure pushing any harder would have been counterproductive.

[tindery]

Doesn't matter.

[ stay demure and mannerly! but hm... yuma... sweet yuma and all that you've gone through... ]

It's probably something better to experience instead of just suggest in theoretical. Guys like that won't deviate unless you literally trip them into it, and then they realize an hour later they might've actually liked it.

[transmit]

True, true. It's like how someone's room can tell you a lot about them. How they live doesn't necessarily affect you, but it speaks to their character all the same. But you sound experienced in dealing with these people. Or rather, I get the sense that whatever you do back home has you interacting with all kinds of people on a regular basis. Am I wrong?

But yeah, the most effective way to get him to engage with anything would be to frame it in terms of progressing his shard, I think. For better and for worse.