Video | welcome, hallo, buenos días, ohayō, etc, etc! | UN: Newt

[groupiedrifter]

[Newt comes shuffling into view on the screen, holding a cup of coffee in his hand with a bag of what seems to be Sour Patch Kids harrowingly hanging out from beneath the pinky finger of the very same hand. Disheveled but more than happy to provide his services after dragging himself out of bed, he taps his knuckle on the chalkboard beside him — one that used to be Hermann Gottlieb's, may he rest in peace (in a not dead way — may he rest in peace on a beach or something while wholly alive and thriving).]

Noticed an influx of new and kinda-new faces over the last few days or weeks or whatever.

So here's my handy dandy welcome board! Recently updated, to keep with the times.

Read it over and get a feel for how this place goes; I'm gonna finish off this coffee before I take any questions.

[As he takes the world's most obnoxious-sounding sip and burns his tongue, here's the board in question:]



[And then, after a bit of time, he turns the board over to the other side:]



[No worries, current crew, if you can't get one of those introduction papers in person!

Because he's attached them in file format, too.]



[And in case you wanted a text format copy:

Name:
Age:
Birthday:
Favorite color:
Favorite food:
Favorite subject:
Favorite toy:
Favorite animal:
Favorite candy:
Favorite activity:
Favorite place:
Favorite book:
Favorite TV show:
Favorite movie:
I am good at:
I want to learn:
Least favorite subject:
Place I want to go:
If I could make one wish, it would be:
If I could have one superpower, it would be:
This is what I want my teacher to know about me:

(Have at it — threadjacking is encouraged).]

Comments

audio; un: y.mikotoba

[softshoes]

[another Japanese person aboard, exciting!! He intentionally switches to Japanese for the occasion:]

Welcome, Fujiwara-san. No one's made sukiyaki on the station for a little while-- no time like the present to have some all together, eh?

audio ↪ un: songbird

[windsongs]

[ Oh, another Japanese person on the ship? How weirdly reassuring! A bright soprano voice comes through the feed, as she answers in kind. ]

I'm just really happy somebody knows what that is! I mean, it's not hard to explain, but even still. You think we can find a pot big enough to feed everybody here? [ A beat. ] I take it you're from Japan too? Or did you learn Japanese somewhere else?

[ It's entirely possible that he learned through family or some other source, but let her hope for a minute here. ]

[softshoes]

We might need to ask Miss Viveca for a bigger pot. Or make a few batches.

[As to the question, he responds warmly:]

And yes, I'm Japanese. My name is Yujin Mikotoba; I'm one of the doctors volunteering in the ship's infirmary. [Funny how he's fallen right back into it, after years teaching and doing research alone.] There are a few other Japanese aboard, so you are in good company.

[windsongs]

Mm, do you think she'll be okay providing us with one? We'd probably need a bigger burner too, unless you think there would be something like that on board.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Yujin-sensei! Glad to know I'm not the only one here--not that that's a problem, obviously! It definitely makes the transition from Tokyo a little easier. [ A beat. ] But I should probably apologize ahead of time, though. You and the other doctors might be seeing a lot of me...

[ Hibiki? ]

[softshoes]

She's plenty accommodating, so long as it is a reasonable request. [This might not be reasonable. Uh. THEY'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.]

Ah-- I'm sorry for switching the order, I'm just too accustomed to using English these days. Mikotoba is my surname. [But it's so nice to hear 'sensei' from people who aren't Ryunosuke and Kazuma...]

As for seeing you often, do you... [hibiki] have a condition, perhaps?

[windsongs]

[ It's fine! Probably! Maybe if they ask nicely, she can figure out how to fulfill their request? ]

Ah, sorry, I should have figured that was the case! That's embarrassing... Mikotoba-sensei, then.

[ It's hard to tell if the sudden, awkward laugh is due to that or what she says next. ]

Nothing physical! [ ... ] I just get a little too carried away sometimes with my training. I'm used to taking care of bumps and bruises myself, but sometimes you tumble wrong or a block or a throw doesn't go quite how it should. You know how it is.

[softshoes]

It's no trouble at all, Fujiwara-san. [And the only reason he actually bothers to correct her is because she's Japanese enough to know it matters; at this point, he's just kind of accepted he'll get called by his first name sometimes here.]

Do you, now. [Yujin sighs. She's not the first person he has known to get... rough, sometimes.] Well, I hope you'll try to take care, of course, but we're all here in the event you don't. I'm used to seeing those sorts of injuries, in particular, so you can always come to me.

[windsongs]

[ Why does she feel like he's lecturing her? Talk about awkward, she's only just met the guy... ]

I do, I promise! This is just something that happens with any form of martial arts. It'd be weird if I didn't get injured from time to time. But I appreciate having somebody I can go to who won't make a big deal out of it. [ Bold to assume he won't, but okay Hibiki.

Aaaaand shifting topics, to try to take some of the heat off her. ]

So, where in Japan are you from? And how long have you been here?

[softshoes]

[Sorry, he can't not be a dad about it, it's a fatal flaw.]

Oh, of course. My daughter practices a little, too, actually. [Glossing over the fact that he also knows a bit; he's out of practice and feels it isn't worth mentioning.] I'm at your service either way.

At any rate. I've been with the Ximilia for more than half a year now. Closer to a year, really. I'm originally from Tokyo, though possibly not the Tokyo you remember: tell me, what year is it in your home?

[windsongs]

[ Whelp, time to toss another father figure on the pile. You're not going out on a permanent smoke break, right Yujin? ]

Oh yeah, what style? I've been doing aikido pretty much since I could walk. My poor mom probably would've gone crazy if I didn't have something to burn off all that energy, and you'd be surprised how a lot of the things you learn can apply to everyday life.

[ Almost a whole year... Does that mean she's in for the long haul, too? ]

2022. February, to be specific--not that I think it matters. [ She's clever enough to pick up on the context clues here. ]

[softshoes]

[hahahhahahah let's not talk about his 6-year trip to buy milk that one time hibiki]

Judo. She picked it up from a former colleague of mine who knew. [he says, smoothly, with no trace of the messy history he's continuing to step over.] Susato is a voracious learner-- always eager to try new things-- so I'm glad she was able to learn. Like you said: it does come in handy.

As for the year... seems I've guessed correctly. Most orbers are from the 21st century, at a minimum. On my Earth, we're merely on the edge of the 20th.

[windsongs]

[ At least you came back, right Yujin? That means you're way better than her deadbeat dad. ]

Sounds like her and I would probably get along! I've always wanted to try out judo myself; there's some overlap with aikido, but it's a lot more... not aggressive. Hmm. [ She pauses to think about this. ] Less focused on avoiding a fight, you know?

[ Hibiki falls silent when he talks about the time difference. A whole century different... No wonder his name seemed a little old-fashioned. She lets that fact sink in. That would put him in the Meiji period, right? Or possibly Taisho? ]

...That must be hard, getting used to the change between where you're from and here. Is there anyone else from your time here, or is it just you?

[softshoes]

[He's an Ace Attorney deadbeat dad in recovery, he's making An Effort.]

She's a sweet girl, very easy to get along with. But I suppose I'm biased. [he chuckles warmly-- never miss an opportunity to brag about the daughter.] But she can stop the fight before it really starts with a single, well-timed toss.

[The Meiji era's right. Luckily, it's been long enough that he's adjusted... mostly. He certainly knows much more enough about modern medicine now, anyway.]

Naruhodo-kun and Asogi-kun were students at my university, and mentees of mine. [A gross oversimplification of the relationship he has with his foster son, but it's something he holds close, especially since Hibiki is Japanese. Those nuances might still matter to her.] Naruhodo-kun and I were even on the same ship before we arrived, traveling back to Japan with my daughter.