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[hasitsthorns]

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[sometime late december; gift]

[tinflower]

[ Hello, Rosie. Outside your apartment one day will be Gorgug, to pass onto you a box! There's something called Moonar Yulenar in his world around this time, he will explain, and you give gift to friends. So, he got something for Rosie.

And her dog.

Inside the box is a ball, as well as a small remote attached to a wristband. The ball is a good-sized one for Smokey to pick up with his mouth, and that remote? Has a button that can be clicked--to make the ball jump!--and also be directed to decide which direction the ball will jump in. And it can be made to continuously jump to the point of turning into hops.

It's basically a means of making a ball run around more so you don't have to as much as your pup.

(ooc: i don't mind threading this out, but also fine with handwaving! 🤍) ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ Christmas, for her, is less important than New Year's. She's been preparing for that - making noodles, mochi, and other treats - but isn't expecting any guests before then. It's not Christmas for Gorgug, exactly, but the ideas seem similar enough.

She - and Smokey - are more than grateful for the gift. While he plays though, the woman will rush around her apartment kitchen (a mess) as she finishes his return present. ]

-I have something for you too! [ she says, like she didn't just throw it together on the spot. She didn't, actually, and was planning to deliver it to him on New Year's but- He can have it early! It's a bento box wrapped in a cute little cloth. The box itself is black with faint, golden gears painted across it.

Inside, it comes with a depiction of Gorgug made out of rice (and dyed green, for authenticity!) on the top layer and toshikoshi soba in the compartment underneath. The broth is in a little container to separate it. So are a couple of mochi bites on the side. ]

It's the best I could do with what we got here, but-! I hope you like it. You can keep the box, too. It's a nice lunchbox for the future!

[tinflower]

[ Gorgug will play with Smokey while Rosie mysteriously wanders off, to do whatever it is she's doing--not that Gorgug will press for an answer if she gives one or not. He's got to see too if the present works well. Smokey, how high can you jump?? Smokey, don't jump into the furniture!!!

Actually, it's not that easy to practice with indoors but, you know. Gorgug will stop once Rosie returns, slipping off the band and its remote when she holds out the box. ]

Thank you. I'll use it. [ He's looking at it, with its cute cloth wrapping.... ]

Do I eat it now or wait? I can-- put it in the fridge. [ ... ] Does it go in the fridge?

[ He's gotta be polite!! ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ It's too late for that, Gorgug. The furniture belongs to Smokey as much as Rosie at this point. She doesn't have the heart to tell him to stay off. Also, who could deny her the joy of a fluffy buddy sleeping next to her? The cold floor was no place for a dog, a warm bed was! ]

It can, if you don't want it right now! Or finish it. But you don't need to eat it right now, just- I can't do much, y'know? So I wanted to do, like, at least this for people here.

[tinflower]

No, I like it-- I like trying new foods. And...I like food.

[ In general. He decides to undo the cloth, tucking it under the hand holding the lunchbox. Ready to open it so he can look in, but Gorgug looks at Rosie first. ]

You do enough for me, you know-- I feel like... I can't do a lot either, but I appreciate that you're around. And we're friends. And if you ever want to make me food, I'd eat it. And it would mean a lot to me.

[ Getting sappy about food... as you do... ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ There was that saying, wasn't there? The quickest way to someone's heart was through their stomach? Rosie isn't entertaining any ideas about truly getting to Gorgug's heart or anything- But, hey! If it's at least a gift he appreciates, that's all that matters in the end. ]

Well, good! I promise that despite what happened in Moorecraft, I can cook. ... Japanese food, mostly, but it still counts! [ So, he doesn't need to worry about any of the bento being burnt. That'd just be sad. ]

I'd be glad to make a meal for you anytime though. And just... be around, since. Well, yeah. I like being friends too and I'm glad that we are. [ Look at her, saying the things! Actually trying. Maybe even getting a little vulnerable, when she tacks on: ] Even if I do enough now though, I still always want to make sure that stays true.

[tinflower]

[ Well, look at that vulnerability! It does make Gorgug admit himself: ]

Me, too. I worry about that too. [ So Rosie isn't the only one. But there's more than that agreement that it inspires, something learned from his time with the Bad Kids. Things that are good to give or to offer, if a person likes them. And Rosie does seem like she might be the kind of person to like them.

So: ] Do you like hugs?

[ Because Gorgug's ready to give his pal Rosie a hug if so! This is prime hugging time! ]

Private Text from Loki

[abit_ofboth]

Hello,

I hope I have contacted the correct contact, but I do believe I owe you an outing as thanks for your help with a certain possible date. Might you be available some time for lunch? We could try the place you suggested, if that suits.

-Loki

[hasitsthorns]

Oh, heyyyy!!
You do, in fact, have the right contact!
I'm available tomorrow, if that works for you!!

[abit_ofboth]

Excellent. Tomorrow works perfectly. Are you available at 1?

[hasitsthorns]

I sure am!!
I'll see you then

during train mission, un: gorgug, text

[tinflower]

hey rosie? can i ask you a hypothetical

[hasitsthorns]

[ She's just lounging about in her personal cabin when ding!- A message from her bestie? ]

for sure, dude!!
what's up?

[tinflower]

okay, so... i actually don't know how to start off this hypothetical, but...

[ Give him a bit to text out, then delete and try another way to do this hypothetical. ]

say we found the king and it has something to do with navigating the train to a new planet. but our mission is to remove it from the train

what would you do?

[hasitsthorns]

[ Oh, that's-

Oh. ]

uhm
So HYPOTHETICALLY
what would removing it from the train mean
Because my first guess is probably nothing good

[tinflower]

well... i don't know what the king does. but i know there's a fail safe for it that was found with some maps

so there's a possibility the king is stopping the train from finding a planet? or it could help the train find a planet. totally guessing here

but in this hypothetical, we'll say that removing it means there's no way for the train to find somewhere new. and you find this out when you find the king

[hasitsthorns]

and finding nothing new means
these people are stuck on the train, maybe
forever
or until it breaks down
Either way, that's not... great

[ People aren't happy here with the caste system. Somewhere new might give some of those in Dreg society a chance to start again, like she did- Denying them that opportunity feels cruel even if their mission is supposed to be retrieving the king. ]

I don't think
Hypothetically
I would remove it
It seems too risky or just... not right to make that decision for these people?

But I wonder why it hasn't found anything in all this time either, actually

[tinflower]

if the king is malfunctioning, it could be failing to find anywhere. or....there's nowhere to find if one planet died. like all the rest are gone?

i could be bringing up a bad situation that won't happen
but i was speaking to someone who wanted to keep the maps and the king from the people on the train
and the thing about these missions is...not everyone trusts everyone
i'm the same way
so a few of us make the decision for everyone else if they're the ones who find something
and i don't know what to think about that
except it makes me think about what we're doing. trying to save our own planets while others get destroyed

[ He's rambling. He's spewing.

And it's because he feels bad. What does he do? Is his own inaction telling on itself? Is accepting a mission objective without caring about what it means good? Is this simply what missions are: do the thing, and succeed?

Removing the king could be a good thing. But will it matter at all if it's bad?

It's us vs them. And it includes them from Etraya, too. ]

un: gorgug, text

[tinflower]

hey rosie. new mission coming up. do you think you need anything?

[hasitsthorns]

there sure is!
i'm not sure what to expect, but
uuuhh survival supplies, it seems like?
so food, water, all that- I can bring it, but I won't say no to anything else you might think of

need to find a pet sitter too
who doesn't mind an octopus

[tinflower]

you don't want to leave your octopus with aurora? she usually offers to take pets

[hasitsthorns]

well, I could!
but also
do you know how difficult an octopus is to keep in one place
this thing is a little escape artist

[tinflower]

[ Calculating....

Calculating.... ]

do you need a cage

[hasitsthorns]

I don't know that even that would keep him
I tried to like
bar off the top of the tank he's in?
but he figured out how to slide it off
and I found him in my bed

[tinflower]

[ ................. ]

that's the one you got from the egg?