(no subject)

[hot_mess_express]

Who: anyone
When: day 38, after noon
Where: in and around the train

[A gentle breeze keeps the afternoon cool. It seems peaceful around now, with the malice pushed back so far, unless you're heading to the island of concentrated malice of course.

It's a good day to relax and daydream.

Distantly you might sometimes hear the tick ticking of clockwork? Or it might be your imagination.

Speaking of imagination, if you think about things too hard you may find your thoughts and feelings shared with those nearby. Or even if you don't think hard at all.

At the mildest this might simply be like your thoughts and emotions being understood by others next to you, either in a vague or explicitly detailed way, but at the most extreme you might project shared delusions. Something like others getting to watch your own memories. Or fantasy sequences. Or inner monologues. Or maybe even blending you delusions with another's.

Whether it goes that far or remains a more telepathic/empathic thing is very random.]

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

No, more like Akako's attempt to gaslight you.

Kind of entertaining though, she absolutely wasn't prepared for that turn around.

[bluediligence]

You're thinking too hard about it. She's got a crush, that's all!

It was pretty cute, seeing her get all flustered like that. I don't think it happens very often.

[schrodingerscockroach]

That just explains why she was gaslighting. She feels threatened easily.

Most people don't counter gaslighting with concentrated adorable. She probably expected hostility or submission, not genuine compliments.

[bluediligence]

But ... But she wasn't gaslighting me.

[ That's a silly idea, don't be silly, Dusk. ]

[Bond]

[schrodingerscockroach]

.... [reaches over and ruffles her hair.]

So was that the kid who taught you about cards?

[bluediligence]

[ Meep! Ducks her head some, though not so far that it would actually dislodge his hand. ]

Ah, yeah! That's Kaito. He's an idiot. [ And yet, despite the insult, she sounds (looks) fond. ] Guess we've known each other for a long, long time.

[ It kinda explains the bickering. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Fluff, fluff, fluff the hair.]

Most friends are. But looks like. You know, he would probably have had fun skiing with you anyway.

1/2

[bluediligence]

[ nooooo, her hair … ]

[ bats at his hands! kinda playfully, she doesn't actually mind this at all ]

Dusk, my hair-!

[bluediligence]

[ But then she shakes her head, laughing. ]

No, it's better that we didn't. I'd have made him look bad.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Its cute fluffed out.

So? Sometimes its more fun that way. Who skis well in a costume anyway?

[bluediligence]

It's already as fluffy as it needs to be!

[ Honestly. Tries to smooth it back down, to no avail ... and with the other hand, she tries to reach up to mess up his hair. ]

If anyone can ski perfectly in costume, it's Kaito. Probably Akako-chan, too, if what I saw was anything to go by ...

[schrodingerscockroach]

There is never enough fluff.

[He'll let her fluff. Hair is pretty short, he eventually got that haircut.]

Eh. Between how they were holding themselves? Kaito is going to be a lot more skilled than most of the people there. I'm kind of surprised you were bad, you have a pretty good sense of balance.

[bluediligence]

[ Fluff, fluff, and then she tugs very lightly on his bangs. ]

It's like that first memory, the one where I was stuck in that weird puzzle dungeon place with the jerk. It must have been a couple of years ago. I might be better now ... or, uhm. Less completely terrible.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Moving with the tug.]

A few years can make a world of difference. Especially if we trained together.

[bluediligence]

[ She lets go after a second, huffing a laugh. ]

Still wonder how we even met in the first place. Time travel?

[schrodingerscockroach]

You're positive space travel isn't a thing for you?

[bluediligence]

[ Opens her mouth. ]



[ Slowly closes it, frowning ... ]

It kind of is? It's not not a thing ... I'm pretty sure that the furthest manned space flight was to the moon.

[schrodingerscockroach]

....on one hand, I want to say time travel would be ridiculous.

On the other hand, I had to soulbond with a teammate so he didn't disappear into the ether, existence is weird.

And there is a lot of alien tech that does god knows what. [It was enough to accept Glassing then let the Covenant have it.]

1/2

[bluediligence]

[ Uh. Huh ... Rubs her chin with her clockwork hand, head tilting. ]

Souldbond ...

[bluediligence]

It's never a boring moment with you, is it? [ BEING YOU SOUNDS EXHAUSTING ]

Sounds like I missed some of your memories.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[IT TRULY IS. This is why he always needs a nap.]

Yeah. Figured I'm at the very least hard to kill and it's not like I'm using spiritual energy for anything else.

You did. Rean watched with me pretty late the other night. At some point I had an AI implanted in my head, I was shipwrecked on a planet in a civil war with my people divided between the two sides, and I remember fighting aliens when....I don't think I was much older than you. It was before the augmentation.

[bluediligence]

[ She might have asked more about the spiritual energy thing, but, uh. That? That is distracting. Very distracting. ]

... What?

[schrodingerscockroach]

My life is crazy.

[bluediligence]

Like a space soap opera!

[ ... ]

... Did you really fight aliens?

[schrodingerscockroach]

I fought aliens after being temporarily put in charge of a whole base because I was the best bet for a siege scenario. I was awake almost the whole four days.