#💥 ┊ ❝ TRANSMISSION RECEIVED ❞ — 。ANSWERED

[nosheath]

As the Lung enters her office, she might just catch onto the sound of flowing water fading out of earshot. Regardless, the more obvious attention-getter is located square at the center of her desk. Two tickets to a D.D.D. club party sit atop a pair of scaled down replicas of her blades, each the size of a ruler and wrought of blue and turquoise sea glass. The blades sit crossed over one another.

A simple black vase stands behind the tickets and blades... It's empty. There is no card to indicate the sender.

...Rather, the sharp tapping of footsteps behind her leads to one (1) hornless Lung sauntering his way inside. He's holding an unmarked sky-blue envelope in one hand and a viscaria in the other.

"Happy birthday, you dumb dragon. What do you think? It took forever to find enough sea glass to use to make those." Grinning, he tosses the card past her to land on the desk before holding the flower out, petals forward.

"More importantly..."

"Would you like to dance this weekend?"

although her tail twitches at the sound , ch'en doesn't look up from her work. it's another report detailing down to the last expenditure of of her last mission. it's a successful one , just like any other, or she wouldn't have made it back so soon. one might say she's got back so early, even if she's still stuck in her office a few hours later again with that pile of never ending work.

what catches her eye are the movements leading between the papers before the report she's working on and - were those toy swords? ( she moves them aside to pick up the oddly thick paper beneath. ) tickets?

who -

the door hisses open , and , even before that stupid lung made his way into the room , she recognizes him. everything clicking in , just like the way his steps sharply tap against the floor.

the tickets are set back down just in time for her to catch the letter before it settles on the desk.

lips curl into a frown , more so due to how long it taken her to notice , and the odd realization that her heart's not on edge , as though she's long grown accustomed to his interruptions , even when they've both been gone for some time.

"idiot."

the little wrinkle on her brow furrows at the silly greeting before she looks back at the letter , and then the flowers in his hand. she doesn't reach for the flowers. thanks to auntie's teachings , she knows just exactly what these means , and judging by that stupid smirk of his , she knows he does too.

only pride keeps her from letting that super annoyed furrow from leaving , knowing her ' annoyed ' expression has changed into something far more forced than intended. because she's definitely not amused at his overreaction to a silly little day in the middle of summer.

"it's something, i guess, but you didn't have to get me anything."

even now , she lets out a little huff , so very obviously not touched in the slightest , knowing how difficult it must be to find enough shards just matching the same colors and - she doesn't even want to remark on the professional craftsmanship. just where in the world does he get the time to do silly things like this?

"anyways..."

she stands , placing a hand on her sword as she moves away from her desk. then , she pushes the flowers back to him , the forced expression gone , replaced with a sharp grin.

"you can keep that, but we can dance."

one can only hope the implication was clear or riptide was in for a surprise this weekend.

[nosheath]

" it's another year with you , " amiya can't hide the fondness in her voice . it's very clear how much ch'en matters to her at this point , maybe the true nature of her feelings are unclear ; some like to tease and joke with the ceo under vague notions . " happy birthday ch'en . " she holds up two tickets for an art exhibit from the city rhodes was docked at . " it's a local event , and the previews seemed lovely to see in person . it'd be a nice opportunity to unwind from this week .. but if you have someone else in mind to take , the tickets are all yours ! "

a gentle breeze cools off these summer days into nights. it wraps itself around the lung more than the coat she wore. goosebumps settle across her skin but she chooses against walking back inside. it's a feeling she's long grown comfortable with after all her traveling under the company of rhodes island.

it's been a long time , though it doesn't feel like it. none of it feels real , but she knows she's changed since back then.

the same for lungmen.

even now , she knows exactly where it is , briefly wondering how the others there were doing. despite their differences , ch'en knows swire's more than competent to replace her. with hoshiguma at her side , there's no doubt in her mind that they'll be fine.

same goes for that pesky rat.

like her , they've all moved on , but she doesn't feel an ounce of regret.

there's things that still needs to be done , and this is the best place for it. she's learned so much over the years here with rhodes island and made plenty of new friends - some she knows have become irreplaceable.

she hears the steps of another , slowly trailing after. their gentle but confident steps ring against the steel dock of the landship. ch'en turns, holding out a hand close to her face to keep the wild strands from whipping about , having long slipped out of that messy now single tail.

she drinks in the sight of rhodes island's leader. that coat long filled out , not longer awkwardly hanging off her form and her confidence became more refined. she'd heard w whisper once of how much amiya reminded her of the sarkaz king.

"amiya," the lung starts , pausing slightly at the tone. the warmth fills her chest , and it earns a small smile. although she never cared ( or tried to say ) about her birthday , it leaves her touched all the same. "thank you. " she says quietly , staring at the tickets.

gingerly , she lifts one of them, smothering the eagerness lurking beneath her voice.

"then ... when are you free?"

[nosheath]

( insert amiya curiously petting ch'en's tail )

Lying flopped on the couch, the Lung's tail swishes languidly. There's a slow exhale, as she settles, face rubbing into one of the couch cushions. The long journey back to Rhodes is tiresome as always, but there's nothing better than this soft feeling. It's why she doesn't blink nor turn towards the door when she hears it hiss open gently.

Instead, her eyes close, and she lets out another, this time, slow and steady breath. She imagines they'd leave when they'd get bored enough.

In fact, she's nearly entirely gone when there's the barest touch on her tail. She rouses, if barely. The slightest crack peeks through and she catches the sight of something brown before they close once more.

Her tail gives another lazy wave, followed by another touch.

"Mhph..."

She mutters sleepily.

Then, she flops to her side, getting a better look at whomever was disturbing her. Smothered crimson narrows slightly, then relaxes once she realizes it's Amiya of all people.

Much better than that stupid feline.

No wonder it doesn't bother her too much.

Very few people are that gentle.

... now that she thinks about it, it leaves a nice feeling.

No, she's not going to say that aloud.

However, she will be going back to sleep.

[nosheath]

There was many things that drew the Lupo towards the Lung, from her appearance, her steely gaze, the demeanor she gave off...her weaponry, but what had her attention now? Simple: her tail. The lupo's ears flicking as she quietly watched Ch'en for a but a moment, chewing on a snack bar.

Flickering back and forth, Ch'en's tail is very whip-like. It's perfect for keeping balance in high speeds like she always had, yet she's staying in place at this very moment. So, just why is her tail wagging so quickly?

Blame Shirayuki and that message from 'home.'

Hopefully, it's not enough to call the Lupo's attention. They're not like a dumb feline, right?

[nosheath]

“ see? this is what you want. ” — riptide to ch'en

cheeks flushed , the battered lung looked up at riptide , calluses hands curled into fists by her sides. ruby irises fierce as the heat against her cheeks. she could bearly move , the danger from last night's mission having taken its toll. the bandages across her waist strained against the stress, threatening to rip.

"n-no!"

another very characteristic huff , ever followed by another harmless insult.

"idiot."

she didn't move any further - she couldn't.

with his hands at either side of her head , and his legs over her own. it's difficult to keep still as it was to move. the air between them was still , yet ever charged. the sounds of their breathing was all that could be heard.

ch'en was the first to pull away , turning her gaze to the wall. the knotted brow more for her pride than the excitement boiling beneath. the heat gone for her cheeks , only kept at her ears.

"... if you're going to do anything, don't keep me waiting."

[nosheath]

“ i think i have a solution. ”

as a torrent of bullets flew above their heads , ch'en clicked her tongue. they were pinned down. their only exit had been blocked , debris from the last explosion collapsed right before it.

briefly , as she placed her hand on chi xiao , she wondered if she could simply run through them with her arts , making use of her enhanced speed to evade any and all attacks , but it would leave the medic on their own. could she guarantee her distraction would be enough to draw the attention of all their enemies? it would be worth trying , better than having them close in on them as they lingered here.

she lifted her hand off chi xiao , knowing it was a foolish notion to try. this wasn't the kind of battle that would wet its teeth , so it wouldn't've listened. then , she placed her hand on one of the raythen swords instead.

letting out a sigh , she looked over to the liberian medic.

"what do you have in mind?"

[nosheath]

𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒  - Doctor Kramer (@studentshaul)

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃   "  𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒  “   𝐅𝐎𝐑   𝐌𝐘   𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   𝐓𝐎   𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑   𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘   𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒.   𝐍𝐎   𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃  .

"She's not irritating like the others."

"Smash -- if I wasn't sober."

[nosheath]

Smash or Pass — Beatrix

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃   "  𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒  “   𝐅𝐎𝐑   𝐌𝐘   𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   𝐓𝐎   𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑   𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘   𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒.   𝐍𝐎   𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃  .

"I'll smash that mouth of hers."

[nosheath]

Hoshi scoops up Chen into her arms and carries her off bridal style away from the booze. Someone hit their limit and wasn't going to take the L in this drinking contest. Again.

Bile gathers at the back of her throat as hands pile onto her mouth. She forces it back down with sheer willpower and determination. With her mind distracted, she doesn't notice the oni lifting her until her feet are long off the ground, along with that firm hand pressed against her bottom.

She doesn't struggle; she's somehow managing to keep herself from throwing up from all the moving and all the alcohol that's swishing around in her stomach. That sheer stubbornness that's driven her this far keeps her from relenting and accepting the usual fate of all prior incidents like this.

The blast of fresh air as they leave the bar hits her at an instant, washing away the disgusting nauseating feeling. Although she's hardly in the right frame of mind to keep afloat, she's no longer clutching at her mouth nor puffing her cheeks at the idea of emptying her stomach. Instead, she's tugging at the closest source of warmth, Hoshiguma, and dragging her face across the woman's bosom. Goosebumps rising from the cold, and, as always, she's hardly dressed for the weather -not while she's kept in such a stagnant state.

Ask her in the morning what went on, and she's certain to forget.

[nosheath]

... okay but do Ch'en and Riptide sink or ship, might sad well get the Coffee Opinion for 2022

Send me a ship for my muse and I’ll say if I Ship it or if I Skip it.

>:| Skip it. Riptide sinks. Stinky Infected Lung. Who needs him!!! < - Ch'en tsuntsuntsun.

srsly? Ship it. Their interacts are very fluid and aren't forced. There might be plenty of teasing, but it's all in good fun and snaps away rightly when the situation calls for it.

[nosheath]

hands ch'en a mooncake, hands ch'en a mooncake, hands ch-

eats a mooncake, eats a mooncake, eats a mooncake, eats a m-

[nosheath]

Smash or Pass — Riptide, who's looking particularly annoying today (even if he hasn't said much more than a 'Hello', we all know it's in that snarky smile of his)

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃   "  𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒  “   𝐅𝐎𝐑   𝐌𝐘   𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   𝐓𝐎   𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑   𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘   𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒.   𝐍𝐎   𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃  .

"Smash."

She brandishes her sword.

"Riptide, it's time for a spar."

[nosheath]

Smash or Pass — That jug of wine Hoshiguma just slammed on the table.

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃   "  𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒  “   𝐅𝐎𝐑   𝐌𝐘   𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   𝐓𝐎   𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑   𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘   𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒.   𝐍𝐎   𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃  .

"Smash, obviously."

[nosheath]

Riptide levels the barrel of his gun to Ch'en's temple. There is no witty comment, no trademark snark from the taller Lung. All that can be seen in darkened golds is a hint of madness.

He pulls the trigger...

...And from the orange-tipped muzzle, a stream of cool mist sprays onto the Guard's face, marking her as the first casualty of the office water gun fight.

She doesn’t flinch. She stares directly at him, wordlessly daring him to pull that trigger, and she’s ( mostly ) confident in her actions.

Although, that subtle eye twitch says otherwise.

He wouldn’t dare. He wouldn’t fucking---!

There’s a high pitched scream that erupts from the LGD head’s office, followed by a growl. Everyone who knew better ( everyone except for this dumb Lung ) scampered away from the warpath of Ch’en’s ... water gun?

[nosheath]

Ship - Ch'en and Hoshi! I'm curious about your thoughts on that.

Send me a ship for my muse and I’ll say if I Ship it or if I Skip it.

Ship It. The first ship with Ch'en I had with Ch’en tbh. Their interactions were very organic in canon to the point Ch’en didn’t realize what she had. If it were to be done on tumblr, however, I’d like it to be as fitting and with understandable growth on ch’en’s part. 

[nosheath]

The landship and Ch'en. Ship or no ship?

Send me a ship for my muse and I’ll say if I Ship it or if I Skip it.

No Ship. It's time to leave again.