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terra e: tony asuka

open to all | a trip

I’ve been thinking [ wow ] about all those worlds we saw.

[ it sounds as if he’s gearing up to gloat about the zenith victory, as if that isn’t old news compared to the upheavals they’ve all experienced since awakening, but that’s actually not what’s on his mind today. ]

Space is massive. I know those were dreams, but there’s no reason that some of those places couldn’t exist in fragments like the hunks of rock we’re stuck on now. It’s just that if you went looking for one, you’d never come back.

[ the vibes in the communion are unusually placid for the contention he’s previously presented. he even briefly seems yearning, with that last bit—but he quickly shakes himself out of it, eager not to seem too in his feelings on the psychic broadcast. ]

…anyway, I wanted to offer seeing the world from above. I don’t care what side you’re on. I can take you to look at the stars, and you’ll be able to breathe as long as you’re with me, so… just ask.

[ pause. ]

Oh, but if you’re annoying, I’m leaving you there.

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I WANNA GO!!!!!!

[ hey, tony, maybe you want to rethink that thing about annoying people— ]

[ tony Felt every single one of those exclamation points like a hammer to his brain. ]

You don’t have to yell!

This is... pretty generous of you.

[ he is trying and completely failing to hide the puppy-eager tone here. ]

[ it is pretty generous, isn’t it? tony feels appropriately buttered up, even if it wasn’t strictly necessary because it’s his weird on-off friend, chrono. ]

Yeah, I know. The world has changed a lot, but I’m still the only person who can go up there.

My, my~

And we won't even need helmets... ?

You just have to stick with me. I could explain why, but you probably wouldn’t get it.

[ she always makes him feel kind of stupid, so he’s just dishing it back!! ]

It wouldn't have something to do with manipulation of the atmosphere or some sort of barrier magic to bring oxygen with us... ?

[Wow, what's it feel like to be kind of stupid... Never met her...]

I think it'll make you pretty popular for a while. Were you feelin' lonely or something?

[ which wouldn't be surprising given the awkwardness of their long sleep and the bizarre, isolated feeling all those world fragments had caused. still, surprising for tony, probably. ]

Hah, no.

[ it’s a better guess than tony wanted her to have; if he was being helpful, he would admit that she’s pretty close with that first one, but… he doesn’t want to be helpful, so there. ]

The point is, no, you don’t need a helmet.

But you’re yelling too!

[ unfortunately, flat doesn’t realize the fact that he’s the one that started it, nor the fact that this is not because tony is as excited as he is. ]

Besides, it’s awesome! Space! I’d love to see the next frontier for humanity with my own eyes! Even if it’s just seeing it through your eyes! Please!

[ bro you can’t just say that ]

I’m not lonely. It’s just that it’s getting stale down here, and it’s harder to see the stars than it used to be.

I'll just have to see it for myself, then ♡?

[Who doesn't want to look at stars closer if they had the chance?]

Just because I can hold my breath for a long time doesn't mean I have to show it off every time, I guess...

[ flat is so excited that tony sort of wants to rescind the offer just to be contrary… unfortunately, flat occupies a unique category of “friend despite everything” in tony’s mind, even if he would never use the F-word out loud. ]

You’ll see it with your own eyes, if you can stay still. Remember when I carried you before? We’ll just be in space instead.

[ GOTTEM ]

Huh. Well, y'know, I'd kinda like to see that. I'll try not to be annoying, promise.

I’ll stay still, I’ll stay perfectly still!

[ there’s a feeling of genuine, unadulterated joy coming from flat’s end of the communion.

if he could, he would hug tony. ]

You’re the best! Even under your prickly exterior, you’re a really kind guy! I’m so glad we’re friends!

How high up do you go, exactly?

[ Color him (cautiously) curious. ]

That... sounds nice, actually.

Are you sure? You're probably going to get a lot of requests.

[Tony was asking for annoying people right? that's what that last bit is?]

Ain't a star just a big ball of gas or something?

[what's the big deal with that]

Pretty high. I can go as far as I want, but it’s probably better not to pass a certain line if I’m taking someone else along.

[ it’s not like tony will be weaker for having a passenger, but he wouldn’t be surprised if someone he was carrying freaked out about how high they were going. ]

Air gets pretty thin after a point, yeah? Makes sense enough to me.

[ So says the thoroughly ye olde who's only flown by way of wyvern. ]

It’s fine. I like going up there anyway.

[ he did try to explore it properly when he first arrived, but something about shooting up above the scattered fragments of the world kind of freaked him out. in theory, however, he likes space. ]

[ telling chrono that he wasn’t being considered as a potential annoyance is too soft, too fluffy, so tony simply doesn’t say that. ]

I’ll take you whenever you want. [ surprisingly cool in his delivery, since it’s in his mind. ] The weather doesn’t matter.

Soon, for sure.

[ guy who had been basically a hermit since the great awakening finally leaves house for space. ]

I guess your powers keep the temperature even as well? Goin' through rainclouds sounds kinda gross if it's gonna be freezing up there.

[ perhaps because tony is particularly psychically attuned, even without the shards embedded within them allowing them to commune, but he can feel flat’s enthusiasm as if he were hugging tony after all.

ugh, affection. ]

Okay, I get it! I already said yes, so you don’t need to keep flattering me!

[ he actually hadn’t said yes yet, but that’s just proof he was never really going to turn flat down. ]

Yeah, and? They’re pretty.

[ your point, stupid little earthling??? ]

[ her natural flirtatiousness makes him feel strangely on edge, and the idea of being alone with her in space is bizarre, intimidating.

but if he turns her down, he’ll sort of look like a chicken, won’t he? ]

Yeah, well… if I let you.

[And you don't want to be a--- a rooster, now, do you, Tony... ?]

Oh, dear. Am I seeming a potential annoyance?

I could ask nicely if you prefer.

Stars from so close seems worth it.

Sure, I guess.

[with the inflection of someone who kind of forgot that people care about things being pretty, and also thinks it's a weird reason to do something.]

But it's not like we can't see them down here. Are they that much better up there? Are they bigger or something?

[do they blow up?? he'd like that.]

I’m not flattering you! If I were, I’d try talking about how pretty your eyes are or I’d ask you to have dinner with me.

[ you know, like actually try to woo him? ]

I’m just really happy because I’ve always wanted to see space— and now that we’re friends we can actually see it! Oh, man, we should look for a star chart!

Right. There are a lot of things that work differently here, but I don’t think that’s changed.

[ tony is just discounting the assistance of magic entirely, since everyone seems to have different spells anyway. he certainly doesn’t have the magic to just make more oxygen. ]

Can you fly?

You’ll be fine. Mu are able to manipulate the space around them to account for things like that.

[ in theory, they could live on any planet regardless of atmosphere, but the problem of food prevents that from being a practical reality. instead, their powers are put to use by traversing space without the need for ships.

he kind of wants to keep bragging, since chrono always responds well to it. ]

It’s especially easy for me, since I’ve got some of the strongest psionics of my kind.

Are you stupid?

[ it’s not the first time tony has thought this about yusuke, and it probably won’t be the last. ]

It’s totally different when you’re observing without the interference of a planet’s atmosphere.

So you can manipulate the space around other people if they're close enough. How many normies like me do you think you could bring up at once?

Who cares about the stupid atmosphere?!

[He might be stupid (he is), but at least he's not BORING!!]

So, what, you go all the way up there and it's less dusty or cloudy or something? There's no way it's that much different.

If I've got a wyvern handy, sure. Otherwise it's just a fanciful idea, where I'm from.

[ Oh the joys of living in a place that's purposefully kept in the dark ages. ]

...Suppose a catapult would work too, but no one'd survive that flight.

No, I—

[ and she’s not, not really. annoying isn’t the word tony would use. ]

Just… ugh! Just don’t say anything weird when we’re up there.

For something like this? Just one.

[ it will be an intimate moment with tony among the stars for anyone who asks to go, but tony doesn’t want to push himself by trying to take a ship full of people—metaphorically speaking, that is. unfortunately, as things are, he’s quite literally bound by whoever he can carry in his arms. ]

If it was something important, I could probably manage a few more, but I don’t feel like it.

I suppose I could try my best.

[Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?]

For the stars, of course. ★

So you're not runnin' a tour bus here, got it.

[ ... ]

How was waking up? I was kinda worried about you.

[ ??????

flat is so weird. what he’s saying now reminds tony a little bit of artella, since she’s also always talking about how pretty his eyes are, and he’s just as baffled by her behavior as he is flat’s now. ]

I think I can find something like that. Don’t they have astronomers in Springstar? Or whatever they’re calling it now.

[ tony doesn’t know how to describe space to someone who seems determined not to see the beauty in it; this must be how he sounded to the other mu when they were yearning for the blue skies of terra. ]

It’s not just clear. It’s all there is around you. I think even a monkey like you can understand why that would be different from looking up at the sky!

[ yusuke is definitely an animal in his mind… but the only animal tony has personal experience with is rain, and it would be insulting to the little rodent to compare him with yusuke. therefore, monkey it is. ]

About me? Why?

[ they haven’t spoken since everything went down, but tony tells himself that doesn’t mean anything. there’s no reason for them to talk, right? they’re on different sides, and nothing proves that more than an oracle.

…unfortunately, it’s really not that easy, or else tony wouldn’t have extended this unique opportunity to anyone interested. he worries, too, even if he’ll never admit it. ]

Huh? It's normal to worry about... people you know, ain't it?

[ he doesn't call them friends, but the hesitation says it for him. he doesn't mention that it's because two of the other people he'd have hesitated less on labeling so were suddenly gone, and he was too scared to reach out before now. ]

It's been difficult.

[ tony is grateful for the hesitation. it means they’re in the same place, and tony doesn’t have to make any decisions one way or the other. they’re just two people who know each other, casually planning to take an intimate trip into space after going to the end of the world and waking up a century later. ]

…yeah. This stupid place really doesn’t want us catching a break. That’s kind of why I wanted out for a little while.

[ they’re still under the thumb of whatever is killing worlds, even in space, but it doesn’t feel so immediate. he can clear his mind when he’s not surrounded by people constantly talking about war. ]

[ it's just a casual hangout between acquaintances in space it doesn't have to be weird. don't make it weird!! ]

It's probably not great that this level of out seems way more comfortable than anything else right now, yeah.

[ there's a deep tiredness in that awkwardly worded statement, one which chrono tries quickly to divert from. ]

How long was your hair when you woke up, anyway?

[He's been called much worse things than a monkey before ("cockroach" is a popular one. because he's a pestilence on society and also because he simply will not die, you see), so it barely even seems to register with him. Tony can think he's stupid if he wants! He is stupid!]

How am I supposed to understand it if I've never been up there before?! Maybe I'd get it more if you were better at explaining it!

Fragments like the islands here, or like... literal hunks of rocks? 'Cause if it's the second one, it's just kinda depressin' to see that, ain't it?

Well, I'll gladly take you up on that kind offer, then.

[ she wouldn't have done so, before. fearful of putting her life in his hands for something so frivolous. but it doesn't matter anymore. ]

I think it would be nice to see the view without any people around.

[ tony gets it. the tiredness feels like it could have come from his own soul; it’s hard to muster any sense of victory between zenith and meridian when dread is weighing over them all.

that’s why he tries to meet chrono’s question with a shade of humor. ]

Curious? I was too, so I measured it. You can’t imagine what waking up with an extra fifteen meters of hair felt like.

[ he had honestly considered cutting it short, but the people who had attended him during the repose seemed to mourn the idea. out of gratitude, and definitely not guilt, he decided to just restore it to the way it was when he fell asleep. ]

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open to all | a trip

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