[text/video] un: @skull

[ryuji]

[A few days after gravity is restored to the station, Ryuji returns to the mess hall from Haru's garden to find a small robot flipped upside down, panicking through a series of morse beeps and boops, which- okay, that's kind of cool, and quickly figures out that the paneling and suction entrances of the little guy means it's probably meant for filtration and cleaning.

Looks pretty study, looks... waterproof, maybe? He lends a hand to get him right side up and it starts slowly moving forward. Ryuji takes out his communicator and immediately films this as it happens, because, why not?

He posts two videos on the network- the roomba moving down the hall and one, a few hours later in the fitness center as it crawls from the edge, and dives right in.]

Oh shit! Are you supposed to do that?

Whoa, whoa- I don't know how to fix you if you--- WHOA, COOL.




Hey, sup?

Just lettin you guys know the pool looks crystal clear now. All thanks to this little dude.

I figure I should give 'em a name but uh

Everything that comes to mind is kinda lame

Anyway, I think it's good? Anyone wanna give it the first try?

[Complete with file0033.png - a picture of crystal clear water.]

Comments

[ryuji]

Yeah, I'm about to give it a test drive myself! It's pretty nice, now that all the crap's been cleared outta it.

[Okay, but he's going to be unintentionally rude about it, and he hopes he's not bordering along offensive, but his curiosity is getting the best of him.]

So...





Are you part fish?

[aequoreal]

( it's not entirely offensive, but that's because kaldur is hard to offend. )

No. But I am Atlantean.

[ryuji]

Like... From the lost city of Atlanta?

[I'm sorry.]

[aequoreal]

Close enough.

[ryuji]

Whoa. This is definitely a first for me. Uh... hey, sorry for the awkwardness? Either way, it's up and running now, so you can chill out in there. Hinata recommended a buddy system in case... well, the gravity gets all sorts of effed up again, but I'm guessin' you'll be pretty okay?

[Laughs, scratching the back of his head. Man, he feels mighty dumb right about now.]

So if you want some time to swim and relax and stuff, I can head out.

[aequoreal]

I can breathe underwater, if that is the concern. But a buddy system is not a bad idea regardless. Are you already implementing it?

( is there someone there with you? are you swimming? )

[ryuji]

[He was one of the kids who found Rogue's body in the fitness center, along with Akechi and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. It'd be a downright lie if he said the place wasn't... well, difficult to be in emotionally, but at least Hinata's right about that- nobody should swim in here alone. Maybe the job roster posted last month to their smartwatches should've had lifeguard listed on that.]

Oh. Awesome. You'll be pretty safe then. [There's a sound of relief in his voice at that-] You mean like, right now? Uh, well, no. Nobody's here at the fitness center but me. I dipped in for a second to check in on Simba- er- the pool roomba, but then I got a few texts so I've been drying off since then.

[That probably makes him look really irresponsible, though- and he realizes it, adding on--] For the record, the buddy system idea came up after that. That ain't. Excusin' anything, but. [He's probably talking too much again.]

[aequoreal]

I will be there in a moment.

( too short a message for all that ryuji said, maybe, but it comes from a place of caring: ryuji shouldn't be alone right now because kaldur may be able to breathe underwater, but hardly anyone else will be able to and they do not know whether the gravity will remain on, whether the station will keep functioning as it is now. whether something worse will occur, if some of the messages of what kaldur assumes were past passengers are an indication. )

[ryuji]

[He wasn't entirely expecting company, so the statement, and the proceeding video blackout, catches him by surprise. Ryuji's sitting there, in the fitness center, at one of the chairs by the pool, his foot extended and heel rolling back and forth against the edge of the water's end. There were still some things to figure out; like, whether or not the roomba could be used in a multi-faceted sense; providing filtered water for the plants, or where else indicated as a useful little guy.

And... he'll leave all that engineering stuff to people who are smarter and better than him than this stuff.

He'll wave when Kaldur enters, feeling slightly sheepish and dumb at the fact that he's still in his INDUSTRIAL SPACE ARMY ISSUED UNDERWEAR, but he's not about to get back into his jumpsuit when they're still wet. Sorry, man. No one should have to see that.]

[aequoreal]

( kaldur takes safety seriously. that especially holds for the safety of those he perceives to be civilians. and he's been working and living with a whole group of other teenagers since he was sixteen; ryuji in underwear isn't that different from robin at the beach. )

Hello. ( he gives a nod in return of ryuji's wave. ) Do not let my presence disturb you. ( whatever you were doing. he's just here to make sure you don't accidentally drown yourself if the gravity goes off again. )

[ryuji]

[For the most part, Ryuji was just watching the little pool roomba have a field day with the dirt and grime of the pool. Truth be told, he's kind of excited to meet Kaldur, ever since seeing him on the video feed, but it's only made more tangible, more real, that he's here in person.

In the flesh, even. Or gills. That seemed pretty neat. He wanted to learn so much about a sunken civilization under the sea, but it was probably culturally insensitive to go and barrage him with questions so quickly.]

Nah. You're not disturbin' much of anything here. Just a loser watching his new robotic, aquatic friend suck up the shit at the bottom of this pool like a pleco.

[He looks over the edge, nodding.]

What a good guy.

[And then- turning to Kaldur-]

You wanna go for a swim?

[aequoreal]

I would.

( kaldur doesn't know ryuji well enough — or at all — to know of a good way to protest him describing himself as a loser, but it does not go unnoticed. )

If you would not mind.

[ryuji]

Hell yeah, man! It's great. The temperature's like... damn near perfect.

[He gives the other a thumbs up. In a totally un-lame way.]

I think this calls for... [Putting his hand to his chin, a habit formed from watching his friend do it way, way too many times. What method of entry would be best?]

A canonball? A dive? A pencil? I mean, anything but a bellyflop, to be honest.

[aequoreal]

That is good to hear. ( though as an atlantean, kaldur is far less sensitive to cold water. it is heat that his body cannot cope with. he offers a slight smile at ryuji's considerations, but doesn't respond immediately.

after a moment: ) I will dive, if you do not mind. Please do not feel rushed in your decision-making.

( annnnd excuse him while he strips down his jumpsuit. he's wearing the same standard underwear as ryuji. without the jumpsuit and the magboots on, it becomes clear that there's webbing not only between his fingers, but between his toes, too. that there are tattoos running from his arms down his back, stark and black. that he is either magical or very used to physical exercise or both, chest and shoulders wide, waist narrow, muscles well-defined. )

[ryuji]

Doesn't matter to me much either way. Your style is your style.

[And as he considers pondering how he wants to make entrance into this chlorinated pond, he adjacently thinks about the way Kaldur speaks and wonder if him and Yusuke would get along.

Which changes pace pretty rapidly as he starts to take his clothes off. Here Ryuji is, a scrawny Japanese ex-track team member, all of 17, completely dimmed in comparison to someone that muscular. He'd been working out for nearly a year and hadn't seen much progress. It's not jealousy on his behalf, but admiration. Guys who could get that sort of structure typically took really good care of their bodies.

His hands are webbed. And his feet. Holy shit?

Kaldur shouldn't meet Yusuke. He'd ask to paint him. In the end, he winds up not just canonballing straight in, but rather, taking a seat at the edge of the pool and letting his legs dangle freely in the water.]

Ever try out for a swimming team or you think that'd be illegal?

[aequoreal]

( kaldur does spend a good amount of time training, but it isn't out of vanity. it's because his missions, the work of the team — that's physically taxing stuff and his physiology gives him some advantage, but not nearly enough to rely on that alone against the villains they face all too frequently.

stripped of his clothes, kaldur dives into the water. it's a clean dive, barely a splash to it, and he stays underneath the water for a long while, diving the length of the pool, turning beneath the water and diving back before coming back up near ryuji's legs. )

I have not tried. I did not go to school on the surface.

[ryuji]

[Oh no. It's like verbal diarrhea at this point- he feels it deep down his vocal chords as it rises up, spreading out of his mouth like a bullet that can't be deflected or slowed down.]

You mean like, a school of fish?

[And as soon as he says it, he realizes what he's done, and covers his mouth. He doesn't have to be shamed, he does it himself.]

A-nyway.

[aequoreal]

( kaldurdives again so that he doesn't have to respond immediately. he doesn't quite feel the urge to roll his eyes, but he wouldn't want ryuji to see the rueful expression he wears for a moment.

his mentor had been made fun of, on the surface. kaldur knows this. )

Atlanteans developed from humans. ( he says when he emerges again, a little further from ryuji. )

[ryuji]

[He has this way about him that naturally seems to push people away, something he's always been pretty regretful of. Where most people had a brain to mouth filter, Ryuji was completely dependable for saying what was exactly on his mind at every given moment, which was... probably tiring for most people.

He smiles from his seated position, albeit sheepishly, when he moves his hand down from his mouth.]

Sorry, I didn't mean nothin' by it. You're completely cool to just go "Shut up Ryuji" whenever you want. You probably should. I talk way too much anyway. And I'm a sucker for really bad puns.

[Right. He should steer this someplace else.]

What's it like? Your home, I mean.

[aequoreal]

( ryuji does talk a lot. it reminds kaldur of wally. it's a comparison that brings grief with it, but kaldur is skilled at hiding that. )

It is all right.

( a beat. he shifts onto his back, drifting. ) My Earth, or the city I grew up in?

[ryuji]

[Ryuji wishes he could run as fast as Wally. Even at his best, when he was still a track star and before his leg broke, that still would be impossible. But measuring up to his cut of parlance? Probably possible. Sorry, Kaldur.]

Whatever you wanna talk about.

[They had time, right? Endless amounts of it. Time to learn about all the worlds everyone had come from, time to learn about all the futures they each saw themselves in. That much was definitely on their hands. Ryuji leans forward, fingers circling in the water as he contemplates jumping in after all.]