[ximilia] :// inbox

[spikedbats]

// harrington

TEXT • AUDIO • VIDEO

XIMILIA

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text. un: 🕷️

[construing]

〈 after their return to the station: 〉 Still kicking?

text; un: harrington

[spikedbats]

So it would seem.

Is that a typical mission or did I just get especially lucky for my first one?

[construing]

I want to say they’re different flavors of that? It’s all bad, but how much depends on what buttons of yours are getting mashed.
My first: we show up in cowboy town except, surprise, everyone had been killed a year before and the only survivor had made a deal on the orb that brought them all back so long as he didn’t remember what happened.
He remembered. So now he has to live with it forever.
Not a figure of speech, btw. The orb made it so he cannot die.

[spikedbats]

Jesus. That's a hefty burden. I can't even imagine.

[ And then he pauses, as he thinks of his own nightmares, and sends a follow up message. ]

Alright, that's not entirely true. But I guess it's one thing to dream about it and wake up and realize it's just your mind screwing with you, and everyone's still alive.

action;

[bossily]

[On account of his being the new guy and her being keen to get her garden into shape, she doesn't waste time once they're back from the mission. She's seen him around and although they haven't officially met, it doesn't stop her from cornering him one afternoon in the sunlight room and cornering him into helping her.

Her hydroponic garden is a point of pride for her now, different seeds from the various planets they've been to now growing all with the help of water and artificial sunlight.

Steve is a surprisingly good assistant, and Clara takes her time showing him exactly how she likes things to be cut and pruned. Maybe she's extraordinarily bossy, but Clara can't tell if it bothers him or not. She likes to think that it's possible he just thinks she's delightfully precise.

Which is exactly how she thinks of it herself, as she keeps herself busy with picking things that are ready to be brought to the kitchen, and taking stock of seeds and available space in the containers.]

So, do you regret agreeing to come over here with me yet? [She teases, eyebrows arching as she points a pair of gardening shears in his general direction.] Don't think I should point out honesty is always the best policy with a woman holding a sharp object. But here I am, reminding you anyway.

[spikedbats]

[ With the psychological toll that the mission brought him, Steve was all too eager to be volunteered into helping with something so simple maintenance for a hydroponic garden. Would it have been something he would have done back in Hawkins? No. But since his arrival, he has seen the benefits of teamwork firsthand and a little bit of distraction is always needed.

Especially when being forced to face some of his greatest fears again. He shudders as he forcibly pushes aside the memories that churned to the surface, the nightmares that just never seem to stop, even when he's awake. If he weren't so certain that Vecna couldn't reach him here in space, he would almost believe this was his doing. ]

Regret? Pfft. Absolutely not. [ He laughs as his eyes hone in on the referenced sharp object and raises an eyebrow. ] Surprisingly enough, this isn't the first time I've been on the dangerous end of a weapon being wielded by a...what's the phrase...strong independent woman?

[ Images of Nancy Wheeler pointing a revolver at him and urging him to leave the Byers' house come to mind. He much prefers those to the Vecna-adjacent nightmares. ] No seriously, though. It helps take my mind off things.

[bossily]

I know the feeling.

[Her tone is warm and amused, but not in a mocking way. The entire reason she took up this project was because she needed a way to take her mind off of the stress she was feeling. Of course, she also felt it was one of the ways she could be useful to the people here. By nurturing and providing as best as she could, just in case there was a time they ran out of supply drops.

So far that hadn't happened, but it doesn't mean it won't one day. It's best to be prepared.]

It's easy to be lost among all the far more capable people that're here. Gardening is a way to lose yourself in a way to be useful. Even when you feel like you're not.

[spikedbats]

[ It should probably be stranger, to be surrounded by people who know all too well the types of things he's been through. Maybe they haven't exactly experienced the terror of the Upside Down and the drive to keep a group of teenagers alive because that's all he views himself good for these days, but they know what it's like to constantly have to check your six, sleep with the lights on, and feel like no matter what they do, those monsters are going to keep coming back.

In some ways, this project of Clara's is perfect for Steve, who with zero superpowers often feels like he's barely of any use to the team. Sure, it's not nearly the same as being the one responsible for finding and obtaining an orb, but everyone has their place here on this ship, and maybe this is Steve's. A support role, a way to help make sure that people have a little bit of greenery and a little bit of reprieve from their own stress. ]

Yeah, that's a nice way of looking at it. [ And then, a beat passes, and he can't help but let out a soft chuckle. ] Shit, if my dad could see me now, he'd be furious. We Harringtons aren't exactly known for our gardening skills, I'll just put it that way.

action (kinda);

[heroooic]

[Finn walks up to the box, squinting down into it thoughtfully. Apparently, gift giving was the custom around here. A human custom, as far as Finn could tell. The thought gives him a weird fluttering in his stomach as he focuses on one of the new people he's met -- human or not -- racking his brain for what they might want...]

Okay, so... Steve really did me a solid. [He shifts a little from foot to foot, feeling a bit awkward about that. It's weird, owing someone for something you didn't even really want to admit you needed. This gift had a lot to accomplish.] So I mean... it's gotta be a sword, right? What's a better gift than a sword?

[Finn certainly couldn't think of one.]

He can hang it on the wall if he doesn't wanna use it, so it's like a housewarming gift too. Can you make it a cool one, though? Maybe good for a beginner...?

Later...

[This month's supply drop has arrived and with it, a little something special for Steve. He'll find a long thin box wrapped in crimson paper with and a small glittery gold tag with 'From Finn' printed on it. The wrapping job is too neat to be from Finn himself, clearly created by the ship's replicator based on his gift request.

Inside the box, he will find a wooden training sword. It's not quite what Finn had in mind, but perhaps Viveca knew Steve a little better than Finn did.]

christmas morning.

[construing]

〈 the penultimate stop on santa gwen's trip is steve. something thwips past his amazing head of hair and to the wall behind him. (the sender herself cannot be found.) from the web hangs a gift bag. inside, a baseball mitt and ball—to go with his bat according to the message that accompanies it—and one over-large and brightly colored movie ticket to how the grinch stole christmas, 2000's jim carrey version, later that same day. 〉

text | un; mal (after they get mission info)

[tochnyy]

meet me in the simulation room later today if you have time. i am doing survival training.

text; un: harrington

[spikedbats]

[ mal's message doesn't come as that much of a surprise. at one point in his life, steve might have protested, his ego getting in the way.

but, after the trials and tribulations of the last couple of missions, he's come to the stark realization that he could definitely use survival training, lest he always be reliant on others. ]

give me an hour and i'll be there

[tochnyy]

don't rush, i'll be here.

i have a list of herbs that may be useful if you get hurt and can teach you how to make fire or weapons.

text » action

[spikedbats]

[ after firing off a quick and cheeky yeah, yeah, i'm on my way steve wraps up what he's been working on, namely a little something for clara's hydroponic garden, and heads to the simulation room. it used to feel strange, navigating his way around this station, and now it's about as second nature as roaming around his own house.

even more so, because he can't fight the feeling like the station feels even more like home than his own house ever did.

never one to half ass something (or be able to not rush, even when told not to, because he can't help it, everything feels like a rush to him now, after everything) he bursts into the simulation room, and tries to collect himself at once. maybe if he relaxes a little and lets go of the tension in his shoulders it won't be completely obvious that he did, in fact, come here with haste. ]

I've been told I'm not a great student, so. Good luck? [ he offers a small smile in an attempt to play it off as a joke, even though it appears he might be just a little bit serious. ]

text; un: raddude5000 | sent during the aldyhion mission (part I)

[heroooic]

[Occurs concurrently with this thread.]

dude. you gotta help me.

text; un: harrington

[spikedbats]

[ The incoming message comes as a surprise, but as soon as he recognizes it's Finn, he drops everything he's doing to respond.

Literally.

Which does result in him stubbing his toe, and a small delay in his response, so maybe it's a good thing this is a text and not audio. ]

What's going on, are you okay, are you hurt?

text;

[heroooic]

[Know that Finn would appreciate the grave urgency.]

no, not hurt. everything's cool. except also not at all. how close are you to the elindes mountains?

[spikedbats]

Not too far, I could probably get there pretty quickly.

But wait if you're not hurt, then what's wrong?

Note + Gift Left at Steve's Door After Mission. :)

[groupiedrifter]

(click present to open gift.)

text; un: harrington

[spikedbats]

[ If it took Steve a while to reply, it's mostly because he's been agonizing over what to say. Hardly anyone in his life had taken such great pains to pay attention to even the most obvious things that he's mentioned as being interested in, as wanting. It had always been Steve being the one doing these little gestures for everyone else.

So needless to say, he's deep in his emotions right now. ]

Hey man, I got your note and your gift. Just wanted to thank you, that might be the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me?

Also I'd love to do some birthday bowling. I guess whenever the sim room's free? I don't have much on my plate right now, so just let me know when and I'll meet you there.

text;

[groupiedrifter]

[Aw, dude, don't get so emotional! He's already sensitive enough himself here.]

Hey, don't even sweat it! Everyone deserves something good for their birthdays, that's just a fact. Even if it's a little, uh, late! But late than never is what's important. You just give me a time and day, and I'll be there ASAP.

As busy as I USUALLY was, I'm currently working on robot fish, so you can imagine I've got oodles of time compared to when I was stopping an alien invasion in a 2-man science crew.

[spikedbats]

[ You spend enough time coming to terms with the fact that your birthday is rarely ever observed and it just becomes expected. So maybe Steve could get used to this becoming a new tradition. ]

Not that time really means as much around here between missions and all, but uh, tomorrow maybe? Seems like an afternoon kind of thing.

Wait, robot fish? Alien invasion?! [ Steve's gonna need a moment here. ] I'm gonna need you to elaborate. I guess over bowling?

text | un: iris | during mushroom planet, day after the festival

[inventure]

steve
how do you know if you've overdosed on seeds

[spikedbats]

on seeds?
how many did you HAVE?!

[inventure]

like? TWO




but to be fair they were two really big ones
like
watermelon-sized