deadtention | R1 DEADLAND PT2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

[Wow... he's not used to having this thought about someone instead of the other way around, but it's like he's a puppy or something.]

Yeah, yeah... um, I always make meals for everyone in the cafeteria, so you can just ask me then.

O-okay! I'll see you there, Kim-kun!

...

[For a second he looked pretty wistful, thinking about how happy Terra might be to see this. That'd just get the mood down, though, because Yoosung and Terra are in separate and comparably poor circumstances. Mitarai fiddles with his chopsticks. He was thinking of going back to the japchae for something to do now that the songpyeon is done and the baekseju is losing its appeal, but maybe he needs to save his energy for tomorrow. His priorities are seriously upside-down.]

No problem~

[It looked like he was about to say something just then. Yoosung tilts his head, waiting to see if he does, but when he doesn't, he decides he should find somewhere to sit if he's going to keep nursing this drink. He already fell on his ass once, and he's not interested in having it happen again. So he just nods after that, and comes over to sit with him. He might as well after they've been talking about things.]

...Well, um, is there anything you want to talk about... like the living? Or anything really.

[He's sipping away. Pick your celebration topic, Mitarai.]

Sure... [He was really expecting that Yoosung might take advantage of this decent stopping point to fuck off and go to bed. There's a boyish part of him immensely curious whether - Yoosung has ever seen anime, or what video games he's been playing. These little fun friendly things like he would do with Terra. But what he also did with Terra was copy his actions as much as possible, so "the living" will do fine enough for Mitarai for now.]

Is there anyone on your mind? Since I know here you haven't been able to see anything for so long... [He looks up at the stars.] Terra might be looking at this in the Astronomy Lab right now. He's always loved stargazing - there's virtually no light pollution where he comes from.

Yeah, there weren't a lot of electronics where he came from. He didn't know what the internet was when I first met him...

[Though the sentimental value of 'looking at the same sky' wouldn't be true, huh. Well, maybe they capture an image of the sky or something...!!]

Terra's my friend, so I'd definitely like to know how he was doing. He was ... probably looking out for you, I assume. He does that.

[fondly said as someone who has also been baby sat.]

That explains so much. He didn't even know what walkie talkies were! [Extremely wistful smile.] We got a matching set, since I wanted to be there for him during the third motive when he lost his emotions.

We would hang out all the time. Sit together at lunch... Party games... He really acted like a best friend to me. The idea was to "show me the way".

Of course, he was very, very upset by those recent events... For so many good reasons...

[Mitarai looks down and takes a single bite of japchae. He doesn't want to downplay his betrayal of Terra but he would also like this to be about Terra and not him.]

Everyone teases Terra a lot for being so, you know, so earnest... He's even taken to thoroughly investigating the rooms that unlock. And he's still close with everyone from your entrance exam, but many of the others too now. Like, like Orga, who's been reaching out to the group a little more lately.

[Yeah....... how bad of Mitarai, when what he did was clearly not "the way." But he would also rather talk about Terra, so he lets it pass, but not without a solemn expression.]

I'm glad he's not letting it break him. He has such a big heart.... I heard that Orga's really smart, so I'm glad they're getting along too. Hank said he's leaving the trials up to Orga and Kurusu now that the police are gone, hehe.

[Shows a lot of faith Hank had in everyone, but he was right, so... good job Mitarai....]

I really do hope he can hang onto that smile like a lantern that never goes out...

[Coincidentally, when the name Kurusu is uttered, Mitarai finds himself too forcefully closing his chopsticks around the noodles in this japchae, repeatedly squishing each one he tries to pick up into separate pieces, until finally he gets himself a chunk of meat and eats that.]

Deep down Orga misses his comrades a lot, I think, but he's worth however many of them there are on his own! He asked questions that... Well, actually, thoroughly caught me and 2-D both... [HE'S SO IMPRESSED BY ORGA AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS!!!??? That's the tone Mitarai tries to convey to Yoosung.]

Edited 2018-09-28 07:06 (UTC)

Lanterns guide you in the dark. I guess that's how he saw his friendship with you. Too bad... you aren't gonna get to see it anymore.

[Terra can never die, he's not allowed. He's even drinking to that.

When it comes to Orga, he just nods.]

Good. I'm not over what 2D did! Dumb bastard... wish I coulda help catch him...

[Mitarai feels his entire body tense up. He thinks, 2-D didn't do anything - even though Mitarai has met him and seen his apologetic responsible demeanor, overall that just cements Mitarai's impression those were completely aberrant behaviors directly forced by the Administration. But for the first time... Unlike at the trial where he fought this point... Another emotion is present to counteract his twisted sense of justice. Because he really does wish Yoosung had helped catch him.

What was it Mom used to say? People without anything nice to say shouldn't say anything at all. She usually meant it in reference to bullies. Has Mitarai??? Become the bully??? The social dynamics don't fit, he's still the odd one out in the middle, but...

Mitarai starts on his baekseju again after all. This should make the shift in topic look natural.]

Max really likes the arcade we got let into recently... Almost everyone does. I really wish I had any more good news about her though... She's, well, mostly in more and more pain...

[When Yoosung isn't drinking, that's what he thinks about 2-D as well. But he still killed Maya, and for that there's a grudge he can never let go of in his heart. One thing Mitarai will never have against him is hurting Yoosung's friend. There also isn't any other outlet for his justified anger when the administration is still out of reach. Luckily, he is as easy to distract as Mitarai had hoped.]

Oh. Poor Max... I wanna play games with her again but that's not... good...

Edited 2018-09-28 16:04 (UTC)

Kim-kun...

[Mitarai makes an anguished empathetic face. Poor Max, and poor Yoosung who has to miss Max, and poor Max who misses Yoosung specifically.]

It's okay...! [That Yoosung feels that way, Mitarai's inflection makes clear; obviously the situation overall is not okay and sucks.] You know it's not quite good, and that's what matters... [Hey, since the AIs can go back and forth to an extremely limited extent, it's not inconceivable that they could possess an arcade machine... but Mitarai is not going to bring that up, for reasons.] Um... Pole position, uh, was one of the games she would play, you know... It would probably also be possible here to, too...

Oh... so if I played Pole Position, there might be a chance that she's playing it too?

[He hasn't played that game yet, but if it's there, that might be nice. He could at least feel connected to a friend by knowing what games she likes.]

Wonder if there'd be a way to tell...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

[Mitarai picks up one of the halved glass noodles. Presumably he's thinking about this question.]

Unfortunately it seems like our machine and her machine are two separate items...

That's what I thought, but we were able to share the simulation room... it would be useful if we could get into their other electronics. I think.

Oh, really? What are some other electronics you think could be useful?

Haha, I dunno.... I just wanna crash the generator again. Vivi said it's okay cause our power source is separate!

[Getting worked up - not angry at Yoosung, just his interest thoroughly piqued by this]

Then the first generator in the school has an internet connection anyway?

When we found it the first time there was a weird puzzle....

That reminds me, I've never actually seen it...

[Mitarai looks up at the sky. There are a lot of things he hasn't seen.]

Maybe, maybe I should get a look before we talk about it more. While the full moon is still out and everything.

Yeah, that's probably good. There's not much we can do about it now.

[He flops back and looks up at the moon again.]

It's still pretty, even if it's a simulation...

[Mitarai has begun to gather up his things, so his posture more naturally brings his eyes towards Yoosung than that presumed backdrop.]

Without a doubt. As a digital artist I'm moved, even under the unfortunate circumstances.

As an artist, huh?

[Ah, he's going... well that's fine, they didn't really have much to talk about in the end. Yoosung was content hearing about Terra and Max, since he figured Mitarai wasn't close with the other entrance exam 'students.' Either way, Yoosung hadn't really thought about the simulation as art. Part of him had even wondered if they just patched in the visual data from cameras and then warped their perception to smooth the rough edges. The idea of someone animating the sky and all of the little details of their world, was ... well, with an actual animator in front of him, he couldn't help but imagine him doing it. He remembers that page he'd held up with the rough keyframe and thinking of their existence in terms like that makes him feel pretty small. He's never been hit so hard by the realization that they're all just a bunch of tiny bits of data in a computer.]

...

[He pulls his legs up onto the bench to hug them once Mitarai's stuff is all off of it.]

This was crazy enough to appreciate as a gamer...

[Mitarai is biased. He sees Vivienne building a dollhouse to precise specifications, entirely like his delusions of artificial peace on a universal scale. But he also was already specifically focused, more than Yoosung at this particular time, on the assets that happen to be hardest to delegate to a computer, that can't be completely rendered without a reference from life: the people. The simulation has shown him sights and sensations he knows he went all his life never feeling. The warm arms tightening around his back, that crooked smile. Without the server, its dataset limited yet large, fundamentally the same as the world outside of anime, he'd never come to this moment...

...and he wouldn't be here without Yoosung, either. The continuity is more salient than ever as they consider their respective talents once again. This time, Mitarai gets to personally witness the reiteration of Rika's desire to make someone's life even a little bit happier, the preservation of his life alongside Mishima, and he feels a specific sentiment about that as his fingertips press down against the plate surrounding the remaining sliver of songpyeon.]

Thank you for showing me your "answer".

[It's an allusion to the big question of "the void". While Mitarai has his arms enclosed around his belongings, Yoosung is wrapped up all alone in the bench. He might even still be suffering from earlier. It's really for the best that Mitarai leaves.]

Good night, Kim-kun. [He gives a farewell nod.]

[It is difficult in this moment, to think about art without thinking about the cursed knowledge he'd just gained. So for now, it's probably best that he doesn't know if Mitarai would have liked to be the one to trace out his digital body and soul beneath the pen. Yoosung finally lowers his eyes and looks back at him with a parted mouth, about to ask why he is being thanked even though he couldn't grant his wish yet, or maybe just to ask him about the crescent he left on the plate. But the farewell came first, so he closes it and listens before putting on another small smile. This really is probably enough for now.]

Yeah... good night.

Edited 2018-10-01 20:33 (UTC)

R1 DEADLAND PT2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

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