R1 DEADLAND PT2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

[lockdownmods]

[it’s strange, for the people who were already dead, the shift in scenery is sudden and complete. For those who have just arrived? It’s like you’re back where you left?

How strange.

But if you ever need her, you can always reach out to the guardian of this place.]

LOCATIONS
Note: locations lag a week behind the living counterparts

Comments

[starswink]

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...

[lovedanime]

[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...

[starswink]

[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...

[lovedanime]

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...

[starswink]

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...

[lovedanime]

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...

[starswink]

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.

[lovedanime]

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

[starswink]

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

[lovedanime]

[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?

[starswink]

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

[lovedanime]

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.

[starswink]

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...

[lovedanime]

[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.

[starswink]

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...

[lovedanime]

[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.]

[starswink]

[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.