thisavrou_log | All I Can Do (Open!)

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guilty gear: venom

All I Can Do (Open!)

Who: Venom and YOU!
When: Nov. 4th and going for the remainder of the month
Where: Throughout the Moira, focusing on the garden, the lounge, and the library.
What: November's catch-all has Venom doing his best with his new life on the ship and putting the past to rest. Bats are somehow involved.
Warnings: Possible Revelator Spoilers

A. The Garden

[Working in the garden is a nice change from washing windows. Venom's developing his own way of handling tasks, such as watering, maintaining light, checking on growth, and paying special attention to the tree. Most of the plants are self-sufficient, but Venom still keeps a sharp eye on them.

Then there's the best reason to work here: Mayor Bartholomew West, his companion flying fox. The large bat appeared to him while he was exploring the mini-colonies. The name came from a random book in the library, and whenever the book character misbehaved, he was known as "Bad Bart". Occasionally, it seemed to fit the bat as well, especially when he would drop things on visitors. But he appeared to obey only Venom, swooping down and happily munching on fruit whenever it was feeding time.

If you're coming down to see the garden, be aware of the naughty bat.]

B. The Lounge

[About a month ago, a man informed Venom of a stolen pool table in the lounge. Cue case in hand, he investigated. And sure enough, there it was. It had seen better days, but it was something. The grey felt and black lacquer finish gave it a classic look, but closer inspection revealed nicks, stains, and other flaws that broke the former assassin's heart. Either way, he racked up the balls and began to train.

It's been forever, but Venom shoots and banks like he was born to play. He hadn't really picked up his cue since his final mission, and thoughts of that night cloud his mind. He keeps going, casting a cue ball into the mix to make sure his skills remained sharp.]

C. The Library

[Venom made the mistake of reading the books he was given, and outside of the Hitchhiker's Guide, they were quite forgettable. His romantic side could kind of forgive some of it, but the rest was just too sappy and unbelievable for his tastes. He was glad the ship had the library, because otherwise he would go insane. He can be spotted every now and again, reading in the same corner, sipping on some water or tea.]

D. Wildcard!

[Feel free to find him elsewhere. He might be looking for new hobbies or hangouts!]

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[Eggsy spends about an hour a day in the garden, but the last few weeks his trips have been spread out or non-existent. He’d let emotion get the better of him and that cause him to slack off when it came to his job. After a good kick in the arse, he’s back at it, and the garden is the first place he goes.

He’s on his knees in front of the small bonsai kitten tree, fingers pulling out weeds in the dirt around it. Eggsy checks the pods to make sure they’re doing all right and then starts collecting kittens.]

Hey, bruv. You seen any of these runnin’ around?

[He lifts an extremely small bright orange kitten up in the air.]

Usually it produces a lot more, yeah? Should be some wonderin’ around.

[Venom had noticed the strange pod tree but hadn't gotten around to learning how to care for it. He kept an eye on it and watered it with the other bizarre plants... and then the pods began to open... producing... kittens...

So when its apparent owner came to collect, Venom's both relieved and full of questions. Now the kitten that appeared earlier made more sense (and why Bartholomew was screeching a couple of minutes ago).]

I believe so. Did it have a grey tabby pattern?

[He shouldn't be shocked by a kitten-producing bonsai, really. What with all the space ants and space bats. He puts down his clippers and goes to a nearby bush.]

I saw it last in this area.

[Eggsy stands up quickly, moving to the area that Venom mentions. He hits his knees and begins shuffling around in the bush carefully.]

Not really sure what it looked like. That thing makes all sorts.

[He glances up, smiling at the other man briefly.]

'M Eggsy. Moira Vet, at your service.

[He'd offer up a hand but he's digging around for a palm-sized kitten. Eggsy feels a little bit of fur brush his fingers.]

See the tree showed up almost a year ago now. Started dropping kittens off of it. I try to come by and scoop them up so they don't get hurt.

[He watches as the other man pulls out a small grey kitten. Bartholomew screeches a bit more, not happy that HIS area is being invaded by plant cats. Venom huffs at him and offers out his arm, allowing the large bat to swoop down and cling to him.]

A pleasure to meet you, Eggsy.

So you care for all the animals on the ship?

[Venom plucks a piece of fruit off of a tree and offers it to his companion, quietly wondering about the kittens. Where do they go once harvested? Does this Eggsy adopt them out, perhaps?]

[Bartholomew has Eggsy's attention now, and he stands, turning to face them both.]

I try. We've got quite a few down there, yeah?

[He shuffles the kitten around until it's situated comfortably in his arms.]

There's more than we really need. Ain't many people lookin' to take any.

[The giant bat munches away on his fruit while hanging upside down from Venom's arm. It's tiring, yes, but Bartholomew only does it occasionally. Maybe he's showing off for Eggsy.]

That's unfortunate. How many animals are aboard this ship? All I've seen are the kittens, my bat, and someone who has ants, apparently.

[The ants and bees conversation will never be forgotten, no matter how hard he tries.]

Well, I've got two pups. Quite a few of 'em here. At least seven, if not more now. There's a horse, fish, and I'm pretty sure some dragons, yeah?

[Possibly more, but Eggsy only knows of some of them. The crew don't stop by as often as they should, honestly.]

So, who's this lil' fella? [Eggsy wants to get closer to the bat, but he doesn't want to freak it out either.] He's yours?

[They're allowed to keep dragons here? That's a bit reckless, in Venom's opinion. Dragons are such dangerous creatures...]

This is Mayor Bartholomew West. I acquired him after being assigned to explore a mini-colony. He's my first companion.

[The bat gives Eggsy a look and continues munching.]

Like the name, yeah?

[Eggsy sticks his hand out, offering his fingers up to the bat for examination.]

He doin' alright? Handlin' ship livin' and all that okay?

[The bat looks at Eggsy, and then his hand, and then back at Eggsy. Doesn't seem like a bad human, mostly because he's leaving HIS fruit alone. He sniffs but doesn't do much else.]

So far, yes. He has enough room for flying, plenty of fruit and water, and he stays near me when I'm working. I feel the tree provides him a few good roosting spots.

[ Leonard's trips down to the lounge have been a lot less frequent as of late, with his responsibilities as a department head and trips down to the mini colony eating into whatever time he normally takes to visit. But with the ship back on track, and Adrien to watch over the bay, he finds himself with an opportunity to swing by. Maybe play a round of darts or pool, even if it ends up being by himself.

He doesn't bother changing out of his uniform after his shift, he just goes straight up from the medbay, tossing the lab coat off on his way out the door as an afterthought. When he arrives, he hears the familiar sound of billiard balls and looks over, a little surprised to see Venom there. ]

Uh, hey. [ He offers dumbly, whenever the other man notices him. ] Don't mind me.

[Ah, another one of his dance partners from that evening. He's seen the good doctor in passing but never said anything. And his last trip to Medbay involved Adrien and not Leonard.

Still, it's nice to see a familiar face. He nods in acknowledgement.]

Hello, Doctor. How have you been?

[He stretches a bit as he's been hunched over the table for a bit too long.]

Oh, I'm just peachy. [ The way he says it makes it sound like he's been anything but. His trips down to the mini colony weren't the most pleasant ones, with the jobs he had to do to pay for Jim's birthday party, the vampire he stuck his neck out for so no one else would have to. He's been keeping that all to himself, though, so before Venom could ask him to elaborate, he follows up with an observation, his head nodding toward the pool table. ]

Looks like you already punched out for the day.

Edited 2016-11-10 22:33 (UTC)

[The doctor certainly didn't sound "peachy". Venom could tell there was a lot on the other's mind, but it's not about to pry for more details. Maybe he was here to blow off some of that "peachiness"?

He notices the nod and responds.]

Ah, yes. I've been working on building up a new regimen after my shift in the garden. I feel like I haven't trained in years.

[That doesn't stop him from sinking two billiard balls at once.]

Edited 2016-11-11 06:31 (UTC)

[ Jim has been in the garden for a while now. He'd finally had a bit of time, and found something that he knew the Moira had to have. Back in the day, space boomers called it the "sweet spot", and it's a place on the ship where gravity gets a little---off. In more technical terms, the artificial gravity field ends up inverted, so one might find themselves flying smack right into the ceiling.

When he was a kid, he was on a freighter heading far away from Earth, and the only friend he made on that lousy ship had shown him this. It had been one of the few, happy things from that time of his life. Something that he needed to take his mind off of things that he couldn't change, and things he hadn't yet brought up with his best friend. ]

Seems like your friend only listens to you, huh?

[ Yeah, that voice came from above. It came from where Jim is sitting, yes sitting, on the ceiling. Hi. ]

[Normally, Venom could sense another's presence. He thought he had felt something, but there was no viable areas to hide in his vicinity. So when he looks up, he's quite surprised to see Jim sitting on the ceiling.

Bartholomew makes a noise and flaps off to hang from the tree while Venom turns his attention to his friend. Though the term "friend" is starting to have a blurred meaning to him.]

He does. He's well-behaved as long as I'm present.

How are you, Jim?

[ Considering what it was that Jim found here now, he didn't expect anyone to automatically notice where he was hanging out until he revealed himself. ]

I'll remember that. I don't think you've introduced me to him yet.

[ It also makes sense that Venom might not notice cause his bat friend would probably avoid this particular area, because of the effect of the grav-generator. ]

I'm doing ok. [ A grin. ] How about you? Tell you what, don't answer that yet. Why don't you join me first, and then you can tell me?

Not yet, no.

Jim, this is Mayor Bartholomew West.

[Bart makes another noise and flaps his wings while Jim invites Venom to join him on the ceiling.]

I can do many things, Jim, but I can only defy gravity for short periods of time. I'm not sure if I can sit up there like you.

[He didn't even know Jim had such an ability.]

Mayor, huh? [ He laughs heartily in amusement at the introduction, and watches Bart flap his wings at them both. ] It's nice to meet you, Mayor West.

[ A sly grin overcomes his features when Venom insists that he would not be able to sit up there with him. ]

It's my turn for a magic trick. Come on up here, I'll show you.

His name is a reference to a book I read in the library. It was an interesting story, and his personality matched the character's.

[And that character also resembled Lord Slayer, but Venom doesn't go into that. Bart responds by flying to another branch that has more shade.]

You're a magic user now?

[Venom summons a ball above him, teleporting to its location. As predicted, he just falls back to the ground. No floating on the ceiling for him.]

You'll have to show me that book sometime.

[ And he'd love to hear more about Venom's world. He might not agree with all of it, but he's amazed by it still. And by what Venom is trying to accomplish. ]

Not quite, but if I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise.

[ Only Venom tries to teleport, which Jim didn't know he could do, and so wasn't expecting, and it fails spectacularly. He gasps in shock, concern coming over his face. ]

Oh! Venom, are you ok? No, I meant---you have to climb up here with the terrace. [ Jim points it out, eyebrows still raised into his hair. ] You never said you could teleport.

I'd have said something first off.

[Other than the ground being a bit hard...]

I'm fine. I was hoping to not have to climb.

[He hasn't done much climbing since he was a standard assassin. His regimen kept him in shape as his magic does the rest. So takes a ladder that's the closest to Jim, climbing carefully towards his new friend.]

So how do I make it over?

[There's quite a gap between the top of the ladder and where Jim's sitting.]

[ Yeah, ouch. He's really very sorry about that. ]

Sorry to disappoint you, but I promise that it is worth it.

[ Jim waits patiently for Venom to reach the top of the terrace, and grins. ]

Okay, you trust me, right? [ A wider grin. ] Put your hands on either side of the ladder like this---[ He demonstrates from where he is sitting. ]---and push up.

[Jim says that now. Venom rarely trusts anyone who isn't named Zato-1 or Robo Ky, so when the other man demonstrates what to do, he grimaces. Fortunately, it's hard to see with his hair blocking his face.

Venom's quite familiar with gravity and physics considering his training, but this... He huffs and summons a few billiard balls as a precaution before pushing off the ladder. He's about ready to teleport as needed when he suddenly starts floating.]

Jim? Is this supposed to happen?

[His voice is calm despite being confused and mildly panicky within.]

[ Well, then call it a leap of faith. Or, float of faith? Something along those lines, but that doesn't matter. Jim doesn't know that about him, so he's just hoping his friend is going to come up there and join him. Luckily, he didn't catch the grimace.

Jim watches the billiard balls form, as what he assumes is a precaution, but doesn't bother with trying to talk the other man out of it. Once he's floating, he laughs in absolute delight. ]

Yeah! You did it! Okay, but you have to maintain your center of gravity, cause you're about to flip. Then you'll land up here.

Got it?

[Yes, his center of gravity. Venom's going to concentrate on that now that he's afloat. The flip comes, and he lands on the ceiling near where Jim's sitting.

Huh.

And because of the wonky area of gravity, Venom's hair isn't quite covering his face like it was before. It's rather clear how annoyed he is with it as he moves a bit closer to Jim.]

This is rather interesting.

[ Jim is still grinning ridiculously wide when Venom manages to stick the landing. ]

You did better than my first time. I flailed and fell flat on my stomach.

[ Then again, he was a kid, and he'd never been off-planet before. ]

It is. Most ships, at least ones like this, tend to have them. Space boomers call it the sweet spot. Gravity ends up inverted like this, but only here.

A sweet spot...

[What a strangely romantic name for this anomaly. Venom continues to focus on his center of gravity and manages to sit next to Jim, his hair going a little haywire in the process.]

How did you know this "sweet spot" was here?

[He looks over the garden, curiously examining everything from his new angle.]

[ Well, it could be construed a couple of different ways. But so can a lot of engineering parlance if his Chief Engineer Scotty is anything to guide off of. He knows more references to more ship systems in ways he never wanted after meeting that man.

He doesn't regret it in the least though. ]

When I was a kid I went off planet for a while. We were traveling on a freighter to get where we were going, and my best friend showed it to me. We used to play there to get away from being stuck on a ship all the time.

Off-planet...

[That still strikes Venom as bizarre. The whole concept of space travel and transporting cargo off of planet earth. Anything space-related was relegated to the library in Venom's world. A century-long war will do that.]

It's an interesting way to pass time. I can certainly see the appeal.

[He's quietly making mental notes about his health while he's up there. No nausea or headaches. It's just like sitting on the ground, only upside-down.]

Yeah, where I come from, we have what we call the United Federation of Planets. Hundreds of worlds.

[ Even if it may strike the other man as bizzare, if he has questions Jim would love to fill him in. ]

Well, it was better than sitting in cramped quarters all the time. Still, we were glad to get off that freighter when we got there.

[ Even if that didn't last for long. ]

[To think that Jim's world managed to unite with others. It honestly impresses Venom. He's glad that they were able to pull up and explore as opposed to fighting.]

Did you disembark on a different planet?

[ Well, they didn't have an easy go of it in the slightest. Fighting the Xindi, and the Romulans---they lost a lot. Nearly everything more than once. But that's a history lesson for another time, and the history lesson they are bordering on is---difficult for Jim.

Still, he manages a wan smile. ]

I did. A little colony.

[Venom can sense a bit of discomfort, but doesn't address it. He's rather captivated by the story as a whole.]

So humans live on outside colonies in your world?

[It gives him a vague comfort knowing that humans are thriving in other worlds. That they aren't being threatened by extinction due to war.]

[ Well, if Venom isn't going to address it, then Jim likely isn't going to bring it up, and that's fine. ]

They do, yeah. Some even live with other species on their home worlds.

Incredible...

[Being able to co-exist with other beings gives Venom a bit more hope. As the Guild leader, he wants to ask more about the effects of prolonged space travel, the other beings, settling in, and the like.

But the more curious side of him was just fascinated with Jim and his travels. In a way, Jim reminds him greatly of Lord Zato before his untimely passing. It's mostly the striking blue eyes, but there's also the air about him. That air of confidence.]

Did you go out into space often?

[ They don't always manage to co-exist with everyone, but that is the dream. The end goal. A unified Federation. Living in peace with the rest of the quadrant and the various species and amazing new worlds and frontiers they find.

Being here he has the opportunity to explore a whole new galaxy. Universe, even. His confidence, ego, has nearly cost him. In fact, it did briefly cost him his ship, before all hell broke loose for them over three years ago. He's learned a lot, since then, about the burden of command. Learned to respect the chair he sat in. ]

As a kid, no. [ He's more than happy to answer Venom's questions, not just because it is polite, but because he's come to enjoy the other man's company. ] I only went to the colony for a few months, and then I had to come back home.

It wasn't until I joined Starfleet that I started going off planet regularly. Before I came here, we were actually on a five year mission into deep space. Uncharted areas.

[The feeling of friendship is mutual, and Venom's not sure how to handle it. Everything's been professional and not casual, and frankly, he likes these moments of talking like a normal person.]

I take it Starfleet is some kind of exploration program?

[Going into uncharted territory is admirable, especially when space is involved.]

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All I Can Do (Open!)

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