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

[lovedanime]

[Mitarai knows he's being hostile, but he'd genuinely forgotten that it would seem freakish to an outsider and without that proof reflect badly on himself for bringing it up. He clutches his can with both hands.]

Oh, it sounds like their chats were about something else for once? That's amazing! Max must be so happy!

[Nervous sip... Mitarai should have known better than to judge other people. He has no right to judge. He's the class scum.]

[starswink]

[?????? What do you mean for once? What? This is annoying.]

I don't know what they talked about with Max...! I'm dead!

[lovedanime]

I'm sorry! [Mitarai holds up both hands - he should have realized being separated from Max was going to be a sore point for Yoosung.] That is seriously the only possible reason to not know exactly - and, and I'm afraid I do mean EXACTLY - how much they see of each other, and I'm just so-so-so-so glad they finally listened to Max about keeping it under wraps for two seconds - but, I'm sorry!

[starswink]

I don't... know anything about that but...

[Yoosung finally puts his spoon down, totally unimpressed.]

You realize Kurusu is probably in huge trouble right now, right? Why does this matter.

[lovedanime]

Because he always—

[Mitarai furrows his brow at the spoon. His multiple attempts to paint Kurusu as an untrustworthy playboy, night and day from the trustworthy hero Yoosung and Mishima describe, have failed. Why didn't Mitarai lead with the sketchier material about killing to avenge each other or something? To be fair because the worst statements in that vein came from Tsukasa, with Kurusu just complicit. Starting from the basis of trusting society at large and getting a heroic impression of Kurusu, of course the development of a relationship would seem completely innocuous. And... weren't other pairs almost exactly that affectionate without doing the group truly wrong anyway? Despite Mitarai's open suspicions?

He's starting to realize this isn't exactly what Terra would want him to do in this situation. But at that point, the only thing he can do in a timely manner is admit that, not figure out what Terra would actually want him to do.]

Oh, this is no good... failing to see the good in a person again... I'm so sorry... I-I'll "stop"—

[starswink]

[Yoosung sighs at that, failing to see the good in him, he must really dislike him to say that... he doesn't get that at all, but he's at least willing to listen if it's not about something stupidly petty. He rests his elbow on the table and puts his chin in it. Now he's really thinking about this again.]

I mean, Kurusu probably faked his death, if something worse didn't happen... It's not like I think he can do no wrong. If you thought he was the spy, I'd listen why. But we're really upset about all this, so I can't understand why you're trying to bring something like that up... He's dating Tsukasa? I had no idea. The guy's practically a stranger to me.

[lovedanime]

[Mitarai looks at this tableau with great caution. He really thought it would be socially demanded that he stop altogether. That Yoosung trusts him enough - or maybe just is nice enough - to hear him out is staggering and he's tempted to just transfer in all the data but he has to honor that respect in return.]

The reason I've been less certain that something bad happened to Kurusu... It isn't because he's such a bad guy I can only see him working against the group, or anything like that. It isn't even because of Kurusu not being here. It's because there's no person who harmed Kurusu here - the way Tsukasa said in public, he'd kill to avenge him, or all sorts of vows that serious. And they sleep in the same room. If they're not working together - I know, that would be really extreme - it seems likelier Kurusu slipped away on purpose instead of someone taking him from such a fearsome witness.

I know it's not proof at all, and it's based on all these things that happened after you were gone... If I seriously thought it's what all the evidence definitely told us, I would have said something sooner for everyone's sake. I just assumed that you'd already heard this somehow and was so surprised.

I really do... Trust him much more from what you've been saying now. Even though I'm sorry you had to hear outright that I distrusted him all that much in the first place... And get stressed out probably...

[starswink]

[Yoosung just... takes that in. At least he goes back to working on finishing the rest of his ramen while he listens.]

At this point, I want to think that he did slip out.... it's not knowing the reason why that makes me really wonder how much trouble he's in.

But if I really did change your mind, thanks. And... I mean, we're all stressed, I guess.

[Mitarai still did help with the computer room and everything... and well, it looks like he was stressed just from all of this cooking.]