Perfectly Normal: A Slice of Life Sim

"Aaaaand we're live. Hey everyone! Good evening! It's me, Minami."

"And me, Weitao. Welcome to News 39's Weitao Report: All the news you didn't know you missed."

"If you're just getting off work, take a load off! You deserve it!"

"And if you are about to enter a night shift, I commend you for your work ethic. But please take care not to fall victim to overwork."

"We've got a lovely program for you tonight, with plenty of stories to share! Some good, some bad, but it's hard not to be optimistic as the first week of classes comes to a close. Ohh, to see the kids relaxing on the weekends with smiles on their faces…"

"Indeed, Minami-san. And speaking of optimism, in international news, the Amberrish project to restore the 'United States' is progressing steadily. Diplomats recently reached a breakthrough regarding terms for freedom of movement and goods between the constituent states of the proposed union: Under the current agreement, which no faction has objected to thus far, interstate border controls will remain "fluid," with terms enforced by a federal, airborne police force accountable to the local authority."

"How interesting! This must be a big victory for the Sovereign Republics."

"Unfortunately, the process has not been without roadbumps. In fact, a recent altercation between Congressman Ramsey Welder of the Sovereign Republics and Representative Dorothy Dagney of the New England Reconstruction Authority nearly resulted in a violent confrontation. Security personnel had to restrain both statesmen to prevent a fistfight. Apparently the argument got rather heated."

"Goodness, Weitao-san! What were they fighting over, again?"

"Legal protections for trade unio—for, erm, mutual labor-organizing associative bodies, I believe."

"Well. As always, we at News 39 are hopeful for a resolution that makes all parties happy. Such matters need to be handled delicately, after all. And if things fall apart? I suppose it can't be helped..."

"In domestic news, MiiChat is abuzz with videos of the high-yield explosive demonstration at Fumawari Naval Station yesterday afternoon, where a six-and-a-half kiloton bomb was lowered into the ocean and detonated to an audience of thousands of onlookers."

"I was there, Weitao-san. It was such a big plume! You could feel the heat from the shore! It was… kind of unsettling, actually. Ahem. I'd prefer it if we kept having airshows, to be honest. Wingcraft demonstrations are pretty, and one doesn't have to worry about… dredging up old memories."

"Perhaps. And the demonstration certainly wasn't uncontroversial amongst City Councilors and military officials alike. In a press statement released just this afternoon, Councillor-General Chisaki Takahashi condemned the demonstration as a 'peacockish, metalheaded display of arrogant belligerence.' This comes after months of broiling tension between the Reform Bureaucrats and the leadership of the Self Defense Forces; tension that does not seem close to abating."

"Yes, well, the Reform Bureaucrats have always made their disdain for the SDF rather clear."

"Mhmm. The debate over the purpose of the Self Defense Forces continues, as it always has. But this isn't the politics channel—this is News 39! Whatever the political repercussions of this event, we cannot deny that what the Navy has done will mark a new era in Miyaoan naval tradition."

"Speaking of! The Miyao Merchant Marine has reported that traffic between the East and West has been at the highest it's ever been, bringing goods, tourists, migrants and more! Truly, the world has become so much smaller. So much more… international! You might have noticed the prices at your local supermarket trending downwards recently, and according to many municipal economists, this is no temporary dip! But to explain this better than I ever could, here's the chief economist of the Miyao Merchant Marine (Triple-M) association, Lee Makihisa. Makihisa-san?"

Silas has gained a habit.
Attentive Listener - (1/6. On completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma. Silas will begin to take an interest in writing.)


Silas groaned, fumbling with the sheets of his futon as he tried to block out the sound of his alarm clock. Beep, beep, beep. It was intruding on his peace. He wanted it to go away. He cursed the sun for rising, cursed his futon for its shitty mattress, cursed his own self that got carried away last night and forgot to go to sleep at a good time…

His eyes felt droopy. He looked over to his digital clock, and saw that it was almost thirty minutes before he had to catch his train.

He buried his face in his pillow. He didn't want the day to start.

Bang bang bang. "Silas?" Bang bang bang. "Silas?! Are you in there?!"

In his delirium, something stirred in Silas's mind. That was strange. Why was Big Sis banging on the door? She… she didn't need to do that. She could just walk in, if she wanted to. She never needed to care about locks before, she was always there, right there…

"SILAS!" it was louder this time. "I'm coming in!"

Silas heard the door latch click, followed by footsteps. His eyes fluttered open. Big Sis—no, Sera-nee—was standing above him."Miku preserve me—Silas! It's almost six-thirty! Get up! Get up!!"

And then she reached down, grabbed him by the hand, and pulled. And he felt it.

"Come on, Silas. You need to take a shower. Did you prepare your uniform? Is it folded?" she walked him to the door to his bathroom and glanced at his school uniform. It was currently lying in a crumpled pile in the corner of the room. "Oh, goodness… go! Take your shower! I'll take care of it."

"Wha-?" Silas had so many questions. This… this didn't make sense. Something in this didn't make sense, but he wasn't sure what.

"No think! Just get in the tub!" She shooed him inside and closed the door to the bathroom. "Make it quick!"

Silas emerged from his bathroom several minutes later smelling like vanilla and lilac, wearing only a towel. As he stepped out, barefoot, he saw Sera-neesan furiously going over his blazer with an iron. "You didn't even wash this, Silas! I had to spray it with something so it wouldn't smell awful! Did you forget?!"

"I—"

"Come over here! Come on, I'll help you get dressed! Hurry, hurry."

Underwear. Dress shirt. Dress pants. Tuck the shirt underneath. Belt. Fiddle with the shirt some more. Blazer on top. Unbuttoned. No, seriously, it's fine if it's unbuttoned. Tie. It took a lot of wrangling, but with Sera-neesan's help, Silas managed quickly enough. He checked the time. It was fifteen minutes till he had to catch his train.

"Alright. You look handsome, Silas." Sera-neesan smiled wearily, and handed him his schoolbag. "Come on… let's get to the train."

"C-Can't we slow down? My head is sp-splitting..."

"Slow? We can't go slow! We need to always keep moving, or—"

"It's only a sev-seven minute walk to the station!"

"So? There could be delays. The train could be late, or early. Really, Silas, you need to perk up."

"I'm just… I-I need a moment—"

"For what. For what?" Sera's face was turning red. "Why can't you just… listen! Listen and obey! It's not that hard!"

"I know it's n-not that hard!" Silas was shouting. His voice felt hoarse; unfamiliar. "You don't need t-to remind me! I know! I know, I know, I know!"

"Then why can't you do it? I'm trying… I'm just trying to help."

Sera glared at him, even as some of the color drained from her face. Her face… had color. "Argh. Fine. Leave whenever you feel ready. I… have to go. I already know I'm going to be late to start my day." She paused. "...you shouldn't be too, Silas."

She quickly collected her things, smoothed out her blazer, and fixed her tie. It was very methodological. As she turned to leave, she looked over her shoulder. "See you tonight, little brother," she said.

"...bye, nee-chan," Silas said, meekly.

Silas stood, alone, in his apartment for a minute or so. His head… his head was already hurting. When would the blaring stop? He wanted to fall back down and go to sleep.

He went on going regardless, though. At this point, inertia was sustaining him. But for how long?


"...so, it's cold in the ocean, right? And it's a lot colder the further down you go, right?"

"Right."

"So what's the one thing a bomb makes when it explodes?"

"Shrapnel?"

"Well, that's a big one, but… underwater. We're underwater. Ignore the shrapnel part for now, Yoshi-kun."

"Well, no, we can't just ignore shrapnel. Even underwater, the bomb produces refuse. That's… half the point of a bomb, right? It's not always the impact that hurts, it's the stuff that comes flying out. You know. Volume expansion."

"Okay, well, fine. What other thing do you get from a bomb? Think physics."

"Energy?"

"Bing-bing-bing! Energy! In other words, heat! So they send the signal to the charge, and the explosive heats up all the water around it. And what do we know about hot stuff?"

"...well… when water heats up, the atoms or whatever speed up, so it becomes less dense. If you have a lot of hot water all of a sudden, then I guess…?"

"Yeah! It wants to go in exactly one direction: Up! So we've got a bubble, sort of, of hot water and air picks up speed and travels to the surface of the water in less than a second, and when it reaches the top!"

Clap.

"BOOM! And all that heat that was trapped in the water escapes into the air, and you feel it on your skin! That's Miyaoan engineering!"

Silas had watched, almost transfixed, as Aomori-san regaled her classmates about the airshow. He had almost forgotten about it. Now, he was starting to regret missing out. She had a thing for storytelling, he had noticed. There were even some students here he didn't recognize, forming a captive audience. He figured they must be from other classes.

At that moment, Class Rep Inoue appeared at the door. She clapped her fingers. "Alright, it's five minutes till first bell. We should all return to our seats. If this isn't your class, you should get going now."

"Aww, come on. Can't they stay a bit longer? They aren't being intrusive," Mikado retorted.

"The rules are rules."

"Lighten up, Aomori-san. It's Monday. We could use a little slack today. Evil Monday, Foul Monday..." He shrugged. "Besides, it's so early in the semester. You can be strict when we have midterms and exams to worry about."

"...alright." Inoue-san nodded. "After all, you wouldn't get me in trouble by being late for the bell, would you? I'd hate to have to start volunteering people for after-class cleaning duties. You know how Mona-sensei is."

"Ohh yeah," Aomori-san said. "You can always count on bitch-sensei and her bullshit appointments…"

"Please do not call her that, Aomori-san."

"It's true."

"We do not go around throwing insults just because they are true."

"We should!"

"Maybe. But not here, within the walls of Yamaha Senior High. While a member of the Student Council could be listening." Inoue-san sat down. "So anyway, you were telling us about the show?"

"Yeah, yeah. Aomori-san, tell her about the show from the beginning," Mikado smiled. "Maybe skip the boom, though. I doubt Inoue-san wants to hear about that."

Class started not soon after, but Silas couldn't help but think about the dynamic between the three people in his class: Mikado, Inoue, and Aomori. It was weird. They weren't quite friends, he didn't think. Maybe Aomori-san and Mikado-kun. But nonetheless, the three of them could reach a sort of… truce, with each other, despite their differences.

It was funny. He was used to a more hostile environment. He always thought that, when two people didn't like each other, that conflict became a blood feud that transcended chatrooms and forums. And time. Not so, here.

How did they do it? Silas's head was already swimming with… something… just trying to imagine it all. To be honest, it was starting to get worse, actually…

Silas spends the week trying to understand people better. What lesson does he internalize?
This may or may not affect the result of the next action (Talking to Ibara)

[] It's important to be forceful and headstrong, like Aomori-san. Say what you mean, and own it, and he'll never be misunderstood. (+Proud)
[] It's important to be curious and persuasive, like Mikado-kun. If everyone's on friendly terms, there's no need for conflict, right? (+Concilliatory)
[] It's important to be calm and intelligent, like Inoue-san. Be mindful, invoke respect, and he'll ensure he's always in the right. (+Shrewd)