LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ohhh, noice! Interesting use of gradients. Very white hat hacker esque. I like it!
Perfectly Normal: A Slice of Life Sim
- Thread starter LuciDreamer
- Start date
- Original Modern
-
- Tags
- original modern slice of life
Huh, whazzat?
also, thankey!
EDIT: Ah wait, you mean she looks like a white hat hacker, gotcha. Am tubelight lmao
Last edited:
Week 1 | School Actions: Settling In
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
After some more trivialities, their sensei finally took control of the class. And, as it turned out, the first order of the day was physical education. So almost as soon as Silas had gotten settled… it was time for them to head down to the locker rooms.
Silas changed quickly, and followed his peers out onto the track. Their P.E. teacher was a tired-looking man with wrinkly features, wearing a visor hat and sunglasses, who quickly got everyone into neat rows and started to bark at them to begin group exercises.
Once he got into the rhythm of it, he found it surprisingly easy to follow along with everyone else. Group exercises, he figured, were kind of like monkey-see-monkey-do game. It was pretty hard to mess up there.
Things were relatively easy for a while. And then, their sensei guided them over to the track.
"For the rest of our time, we'll be jogging. Not walking and talking with your friends, jogging. Once you hear the whistle, I want you to keep the pace until I blow the whistle again. Then you can walk. We'll go two minutes in, one minute out. Twenty-seven minutes total. Time starts now. Go!"
A screeching whistle rang out over the field.
Silas had been caught in the middle of the group, so he had no choice but to properly get moving. He was… mostly used to moving his body. He actually thought he was doing rather well, keeping up the pace with everyone else.
And then he started to feel it. It started in his lungs, and spread to his heart, and then up to his throat. His body wasn't used to enduring this kind of stress for a long time. Back on Miko Street, he always had plenty of time to take a break.
But here, he had no chance to stop. He was surrounded on all sides. And there was… a social expectation. He had to keep going. There was nowhere to go but forward.
Second by second, it got worse. His breath got ragged. He started to taste something metallic on his tongue. His eyesight got dizzy. And… he realized that, in spite of his best efforts, he was falling behind. The rest of the students in his class were passing him by.
He started sucking air beneath his clenched teeth, just trying to keep moving… and moving…
Endurance Check! (Physique)
1d20 = 8 + 1 (Attribute: Physique) + 1 (Moodlet: Exercising) = 10 vs 10
Bare Success!
Eventually, he fell so behind that it was only he and another student, trailing at the end of the class. He, like Silas, was already drenched in his own sweat, huffing and puffing, eyes hazy as he stared down at the track, as if he were deadly focused on keeping his feet from tripping over themselves.
He seemed to notice Silas was going at his speed. He turned his head, grinning. "Haah… Yo! Hey, new-kid-san."
Silas could barely form the words in his mouth, but he responded: "Ha… ha… Hello…"
"This sucks… haah… am I right?"
"Yes… " Silas squeezed out the words. "Yes it does…"
"Yeah… haha… why are you… struggling… though?" the boy asked. "You're… skinny. Only… chubby guys… like me… suck at running."
"O-Oh?" Silas looked down at himself. Yeah, he was kind of skinny. "I'm… haaah… I'm out of shape… in a d-different way… I guess…"
"That's… fair."
The instructor's whistle blew out for the second time. "That's two minutes! Walk, but keep a brisk pace!"
The two sighed as they allowed themselves to slow down. The other boy stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath, but returned to walking very quickly. "Heheh… first one's always the worst." He wiped his forehead. "It's nice not to be the only one struggling back here. I noticed you weren't really paying attention during self-intros. Do you remember my name?"
"H-Huh?" Silas shook his head. "Sorry… haah… no. I don't."
"That's okay. I'm Yoshi. Mikado Yoshi. You have a cool name, Silas-kun."
"Oh? Thanks…?" Silas was still trying to gulp down saliva that was forming in his throat. "How so?"
"It sounds kind of like the Amberrish word for silence. Like your name is the codename for a spook from CominSec. Master Spy Silas is on the case. Eh?" He laughed.
"Y-You think so? Thank you. I t-think you're… cool, too. Yoshi-kun. Also, you aren't chubby." Silas looked him over seriously. "Y-You're just… a h-healthy eater, probably…?"
"You don't need to lie just to make me feel better. I know what I—"
The whistle blew out. "Aaaand jog! Come on!"
"Ahh, shit…"
They went on like that for what felt like an eternity, forcing themselves to jog when the teacher said jog, and making small talk during the vanishingly short moments they had before the next run.
Silas swore their instructor was making their breaks shorter…
He was relieved when their instructor blew the whistle for the final time, even though he looked like an absolute mess.
Because Physique > 0, and thanks to a decent roll, Silas has survived PE without needing to be remanded to the infirmary! That would have been embarrassing, huh?
Objectives updated!
When they returned to the locker room, Silas started to undress (really, it felt more like he was peeling his gym clothes from his skin, with how hot and drenched his body was), and when he went to open his locker, he noticed something.
He had no towels.
He stared at his locker, frantically thinking back to earlier this morning. He cursed his idiocy. His towel—he'd left it in the bathroom, hanging from the door. He must have been in too much of a hurry to leave.
"Hey! Dude!"
Silas jumped as Yoshi came up from behind him. "Thanks for sticking with me. It sucks being in the back with no one to talk to." He seemed to notice Silas's wild-eyed expression. "Are… are you good, man? I didn't scare you, did I?"
"U-Uh…" Silas froze up.. He tried to speak, but his lungs were already tired and sore, and he couldn't quite find the words to say. Instead, he gestured feebly at his empty locker.
Yoshi-kun blinked. "...nothing to dry yourself with, eh?"
Silas shook his head.
Yoshi-kun pursed his lips. "I didn't bring any spares… hey! Kel-kun!"
The other student appeared from the row of lockers. "Ayo?"
"Yamigawa-kun needs a towel, you have any you can lend him?"
The kid snapped his fingers, and pointed at Silas with both of his hands. "I gotchu, fam." He disappeared behind the row of lockers, and emerged with a bright pink towel. "Catch!"
"A-Agghh!" Silas's vision blurred, but he caught it. The fabric was soft and warm to the touch. It felt like fresh laundry to hold. As he pulled it from his face, he saw cute little hearts and patterns embroidered on the side. "T-Thanks?"
"Give it back to me tomorrow morning, eyy? If you need to buy a towel from the school commissary, I can spot ya." He then left.
Silas stood there for a moment.
"Kel-kun's pretty cool, right?"
"I g-guess…" Silas stared down at the towelette, and, after a moment's hesitation, he buried his face in it. It smelled nice. "Ahh… soft… is this… s-something his sister made for him, or something?"
"No?" Yoshi paused. "Why do you ask?"
"No re-re-bleaugh." Silas coughed out some phlegm in his throat. "Reason. A-Argh. My voice s-sucks…"
"Hey, dude, it's okay. I'll see you back in class."
"Y-Yeah. Thanks…"
New characters discovered!
Silas trudged back up the stairs, already starting to feel some of the strain on his limbs. His feet were aching. He hoped every day wouldn't be like this…
Class was a confusing flutter of movement and unfamiliar sensations. He felt dizzy just trying to navigate his way through the little groups people formed as they talked to each other. It was all so… foreign.
Like him, sort of.
Hmm. There was a metaphor in there somewhere. Was this how poets and songwriters came up with their more abstract ideas? Was this the Sublime? Just… realizing something poignant about something mundane, and making it sing?
He wondered, even as he navigated his way back to his seat. It was perhaps because of this that he didn't really notice that someone was talking to him until he'd sat down.
"—ey. Hey! It's rude to ignore people, you know!"
His head felt like it was spinning. There was a very angry-looking girl staring at him. "W-Wha—?"
"Look, if you aren't interested in the airshow, you can just say so!" The girl glowered at him exasperatedly. "You don't need to pretend I'm not there! Honestly! Who raised you?!"
"I'm sorry?" Silas felt himself sinking back into his seat. "What are you talking about?"
"The airshow! Echo Squadron is gonna do tricks over the Sound and the MS Reiwa is gonna do a demonstration of one of its kiloton depth charges. Come on, pay attention! We're all Miyaojin, aren't we? It's important to show your support for the Self Defense Forces!"
"Uh…" Silas frantically racked his mind for something to say. He needed to express… an opinion.
God, that was hard.
"Especially us!" She was still talking. What was her name, again? "We're the future of the city, you know? We have a duty to Miyao!"
"Err—don't you think that's…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the girl cross her arms, but she wasn't saying anything to cut him off. Actually, she seemed to be gesturing for him to continue. "...k-kind of an oversimplification of things?"
"Hardly!" She straightened her posture. "Just because we're young doesn't mean we should shirk our civil duties. Our parents did it, our grandparents did it."
"...there are other w-ways to do that…"
"Fair enough. I suppose you went to the Color Day festivals the other day? That's a different kind of civic pride, I guess! But the MSDF is important too! Without the Navy, we'd be—"
"Aomori Tammy-chan." Their Class Rep, the girl named Inoue-san, had snuck up behind her while she was ranting. "Please. You're disturbing the peace, and you're probably bothering Yamigawa-kun over here. Try to be respectful to your peers. Not everyone is as enthusiastic as you about this."
"Ugh." Aomori-san turned away. "Of course you wouldn't care."
She stormed off.
Silas watched the Class Rep close her eyes, take off her glasses, and pinch the bridge of her nose. She exhaled sharply through her teeth. As her eyes fluttered open, she quickly placed her glasses back on her face.
"Apologies," she said, her face maintaining a stoic, neutral expression. "Tammy-chan is, err, eccentric."
"She…" Silas hesitated. "She s-seems not to like y-you… that much."
"Really." The Class Rep snorted. "What could possibly have led you to that conclusion. Anyway, Sensei had a talk to me about your status as a student. I'm supposed to give you this."
She placed a few stapled papers on his desk.
"The school just wants to make sure that the… circumstances of your education prior to coming here… have not placed you at the incorrect curriculum level for your grade. This is a basic assessment for mathematics, social sciences—you know, that sort of thing."
"Oh. Do I have to… d-do this now?"
"Oh, god no. This is too much to finish in an afternoon, even for me. You are free to take this home, and hand this in to me by…" She tapped her chin. "...the end of the week. Yes. Obviously, don't cheat. This isn't a graded assignment, anyway. The school just wants to know if you need advanced classes or academic assistance. It will only hurt you if you try to cheat us."
"I see. T-Thanks, uh... I... Ino...?"
She grinned. "'Inoue-san.' It's okay. Nobody remembers names the first time around. Are you… well? You're kind of… zoning out."
"Oh?" Silas blinked. "I dunno… I… I-I was thinking about… poetry… or something."
"Oh, uh…" She glanced at him, quizzically. She seemed slightly at a loss for what to say. "...cool. I guess I will see you around. Good day, Yamigawa-kun."
"Yes." Silas paused. "...uh. Good day t-to you too."
New Characters discovered!
Insight Check! (Imagination)
1d20 = 18 + 1 (Attribute: Imagination) = 19
Good success!
Silas leaned back in his chair, and took a moment to watch the students of his class—his classmates, now that was a weird thought—go about their day. People seemed to be in a sociable mood today. They were certainly taking advantage of the fact that their Sensei hadn't arrived yet.
Mikado-kun sat near the back, by the window. He was fiddling with his headset wire as he stared at the screen of his smartphone. He seemed intensely focused on some sort of video. Silas wondered what he was watching.
Ibara-kun was nearby, face scrunched up in an expression of frustration. He was… doodling? It looked like it. His fingers moved at an almost manic pace, and every now and then, he would bite his lip, grab a little rubber eraser, and scratch something out.
Aomori-san paced the room restlessly, staring down at her phone—it was a really old model, one of the fliphones from last year—and typing something rapidly with her thumb. She seemed to have talked herself to exhaustion, but it was like her body was refusing to settle down.
Finally, Inoue-san was the only person who seemed to be actively preparing for class to start. Her desk was organized, and her materials were spread out across the table, and she was writing something into her planner.
There were many more students, of course, but… Silas was already having trouble recalling their names. Maybe… maybe he could learn more about them, eventually.
Hmm. He never really cared so much about people before.
Because Imagination > 0, and thanks to a lucky roll, Silas has demonstrated a bare amount of interest in his classmates, and knows a bit more about them now! He's even memorized their names! That could be useful for the future!
Objectives updated!
Insight gained! Character Database updated!
Yoshi Mikado seems to be a bit of a Geek, but he's also Friendly. It might be easier to talk to him if Silas builds his Intelligence. Silas thinks it will be easier to get along with Mikado-kun than most.
Kel Ibara seems to be a Creative person. Silas might be able to approach him more easily if he is able to reciprocate Ibara-kun's Imaginatinative way of looking at the world.
Tammy Aomori seems to have a very Argumentative personality. It will probably be rather hard to get on her level unless Silas learns to be more Charismatic.
Sara Inoue is very Studious, but she seems a bit Reserved. It will be easier to get along with her if Silas tries to be more conformist(?). Silas thinks it will be easier to get along with Inoue-san than most.
Truth be told, things were going really well today. It was still early… way too early… and Silas was starting to feel drowsy already. He caught himself yawning more than once. But, more or less, he was alert, his wits felt sharp, and he felt ready to start today.
Then their mathematics teacher opened his mouth.
"Alright, class. Settle down, please." The projector whirred to life, and the teacher started to write on a little pad next to his podium, his text appearing on the screen as he wrote. "Let's talk about functions. Suppose we have a bin that currently contains fifteen apples. Above it, there is a conveyor belt that is depositing three apples into the bin every second. Can someone tell me what kind of function represents the number of apples in this bin with respect to time, in seconds?"
Hands went up almost immediately. "Aomori-san?"
The girl responded crisply, "f of x is equal to… fifteen plus three-times-x?"
"And what is x?"
"...seconds? 'Cause… we don't know how much time has elapsed. We put that number in. I guess we could use a 't', instead…"
"Very good."
As he talked, he drew a graph on the board. Silas noticed that his classmates were copying him; he decided to follow along.
"Now. Let's suppose that all we care about is the rate at which apples are entering the bin. How would we derive that? …hmm. What's your name? You, with the gray hair."
Silas felt his breath catch in his throat. "U-Uh—"
"His name is Yamigawa Silas-kun, Satou-sensei. He's the new student," Inoue-san said quickly.
"I see. Yamigawa-kun—"
"I can answer this question," Inoue-san interrupted.
"There's no need. Yamigawa-kun, how would we derive the rate of this function?"
"Uh." Silas swallowed. He… he knew the answer. It was easy. It was… the simplest kind of relation. Like a graph that showed production statistics. He saw it all the time when he was plotting expansion plans for his factory in Gosho II. "...it's… it's just three."
"Correct. And why is that?"
"Why…?" Silas racked his brains. Why indeed? "...because that's what the eq-equation… means?"
"Alright. What if we had a different equation? What about something like…" The teacher wrote: f(x) = x^2 - 1. "...this? What would the rate be, then?"
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Silas darted his eyes towards the teacher, and then the equation on the board, and then back to the teacher.
"...I d-don't get it," he finally admitted.
"That's alright. Aomori-san, I see your hand is raised."
"That's a bad question, sensei. The rate is gonna be different depending on where you are on the graph," the girl said.
"Ah! Very good." The teacher started to draw out the last function. Silas scrunched his eyes as he tried to copy him. That was… an exponential relation, right? The kind that goes up and up?
Wait… no. No, he was thinking about asymptotes. The kind that doesn't exist at a certain value of… no wait. Exponential graphs and asymptotes… they looked kind of similar, but…
Or maybe he was thinking of one of the trigonometric functions?
"As we can see, at x equals zero, our equation has a very different rate than at x equals one. We could find this rate by using a ruler, but that is not precise. Today, and for the rest of the next week or so, we are going to explore a few ways we can derive the rate of a function algebraically, rather than geometrically. In Calculus, we call the rate of a given function its derivative."
He wrote 'DERIVATIVE' in bold letters on the board. Silas felt an odd, sinking feeling in his stomach.
"We'll start with something simple. Yamigawa-kun, why don't you define the term 'linear equation' for us? If you can remember?"
"Now, the Saisei Era was a massive flowering of culture, religion, and artistic styles and technologies once thought lost to prehistory. That's why it bears the name, Saisei; meaning, reborn. But does anyone remember what it was called before we started using the phrase, Saisei? Yamigawa-kun! I haven't heard you speak at all today! What do you think?"
"U-Uh… it… it was the Reiwa Era, right?"
"...not quite, haha! That's where we are right now, silly! Saisei was several hundred years ago. Remember, we were still naming Eras by Empress at the time. You remember the names of the Empresses, don't you? It starts with Hatsune-no-Hatsune, then Hakurei-no-Kekkai…"
"You probably don't remember this from last year's introductory physics—we only briefly touched on the general equation for gravitational force—but what is Big-G? Anyone? Come on, now. I won't bite. Mikado-kun, put your phone away. No cheating, heh. You in the back? Yamigawa-kun?"
"Six… W-Wait, I think I know this! Six-point-oh-two times ten to the power of negative twenty-three, uh… per mole!"
"Ooooh! You have the wrong number! You're thinking of the Zhanmei Constant, which we use for atomic calculations in chemistry. You're kind of in the right ballpark, though. Very impressive that you memorized the Z Constant down to the unit. Care to try again?"
"Hey, yo, Yamigawa-kun, what a first day, huh?"
"..."
"...hey dude? Me and Tammy-chan were planning on heading down to the Yakitori stand by the station. Hey, are you there?"
"He's just doing that thing again, where he ignores you, probably."
"Hell do you mean, 'that thing'—"
"Stop pestering him, you two. He… looks tired. Why can't any of you recognize when a person just wants to be left alone? Jeez. Hey… Yamigawa-kun? Class is over. You can go home now. Have a nice night, okay? Okay?"
"...we're gonna clean up here soon. You need to leave, Yamigawa-kun."
By the time the day was over, Silas was slumping through the train ride back, with barely enough energy to notice anything going on around him. He… wasn't sure why. He really wasn't sure why.
Things were moving... kind of slowly. Where was he?
…oh, right. This was his station. Yamaha South… he needed to head out. There were… noises all around him. He couldn't… make any of them out, though. His senses felt… dull. His head felt like… it felt like raindrops sliding off an umbrella. Like a sphere rolling on a wooden surface. Like a malfunctioning radio dish transmitting static.
When he finally made it to his apartment, he collapsed into bed, and was out like a light.
Because Intelligence == 0, Silas is totally unprepared for the academic side of school, and has fallen into a deep stupor because of it. He doesn't even get to roll!
Objectives updated!
Silas has partially failed Objective: Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!
This has had some consequences.
All moodlets have been cleared. Temporary Charisma granted from Sociable has been removed.
Silas gains a moodlet:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Silas has discovered one of his own traits:
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
Things didn't get better as the week went on. Eventually, the teachers stopped calling on him for questions, but still, Silas felt overwhelmed by a kind of… intense frustration at himself.
He knew the answers. He knew he knew the answers. And yet, when the time came to write it out on paper, or speak it aloud in class… sometimes, nothing would happen, but mostly, he'd have a confused, jumbled mix of half-thought recollections of things he had studied. Definitions and equations and relationships melted together into a thick slurry of total incomprehension.
Was it because he was getting too exhausted during morning exercises? Was he focusing too much on the wrong things? Had he not studied enough? He tried to go home on that first day and review all the things he had missed, but… he wound up just staring blankly at his practice problems until his eyes forced him to sleep.
Suffice to say, he wasn't feeling great about his performance when he turned in the assessment to Inoue-san. He couldn't even look her in the eye. She probably said something to him, but he wasn't paying attention.
He couldn't pay attention to anything, really.
The rest of the week went by in a blur.
It was Sunday… morning? Silas glanced at his clock. No, it was the afternoon. It was Sunday afternoon when Silas finally regained some of his senses. He was lying on his futon, staring up at the ceiling. Saturday seemed to go by in a flash. He… he probably got Big Sis to order something indulgent, like a pizza or Western takeout. He couldn't really… recall what else he was doing yesterday.
He felt… kind of empty. But not, at the same time. He couldn't recall most of what he did this week beyond the first day, but he knew it was bad. He probably screwed up a lot in the exercises and such they had to do. He's probably a laughingstock at 4-2 now.
He didn't want to think about it. But class was still tomorrow, and he'd have to face it all again.
In his near-vegetative state, something stirred in his heart. He had to… get up. And do something. He didn't want to lie down and just… stop moving. Not again. Never again. He stumbled around his apartment, trying to regain his bearings. His stomach… was kind of hurting, actually. Did he eat anything yesterday?
There was… something emanating from the balcony. A sound. A kind of… low-fidelity radio, scratching out a song.
"Sunday morning, vacant doorway
Wipe the sunlight from your eyes
And trace your favorite constellation
On their skin
Overwhelmed by the emotion
Watching cogs turn in your mind
You sort of wonder where this wonder
May have been.."
He followed the words outside.
Big Sis was a kind of… ambivalent presence in his life. Sometimes he could see her, sometimes not, but she was always there. She seemed to like to remain in his peripherals, always slightly out of his frame of vision. Probably preferred things that way. Sometimes she acted out certain household chores, like cleaning the dishes or folding laundry or sitting in a corner with her laptop. She was kind of like a ghost, in a way. Which was silly, because ghosts weren't real.
And today, she was laid back in a comfortable position, having set up a little chair on the balcony. Her head bopped rhythmically listening to the music from her radio, and she was holding some sort of silvery mirror to her face. She seemed to be… trying to tan herself.
In her suit.
She turned her head, and Silas could feel her eyes on him, through her sunglasses. "Hey," she said.
"Hey." Silas took a seat next to her.
"How was your week?"
"It sucked," Silas said.
"Ah." Big Sis set down her mirror, took off her sunglasses, and moved to power off the radio.
"Scan lines on a CRT look like HD when you're—" with a short scrtch, the music died.
"Mine did as well," Big Sis responded, eyeing him meaningfully.
"Oh? How's that?" Silas asked.
"I am not sure." Big Sister made an unhappy face. "I still can't quite reckon with who I am. I'm… a rational being, yes? I should have… a good conception of the self. I know I can think. Cogito, ergo sum, no? But it's all… hazy."
"...yeah." Silas grumbled. "It's hazy for me, too."
There was a short silence. Somewhere below, an ambulance's sirens flared up.
"You're going to keep going to classes, right?" Big Sis smirked. "I'll haunt you if you don't."
"I… will. Yeah." Silas nodded stubbornly. If nothing else… if nothing else… he had to keep going to Yamaha.
"Good. Then things should be fine, then. I'm sure… we'll both get better. Eventually." She sighed. "You should go do something tonight, Silas. It can't be good for you if you're… moping all day, like you are."
"I'm not m-moping."
"You are. Now, leave your Big Sister alone for now, okay? She needs to work on her tan."
"...I'm pretty sure you need to… t-take your clothes off for that to work," Silas noted.
Big Sis looked at him scandalously. "Oh, little brother. That'd be too inappropriate, don't you think? After all, you live here, don't you?" She chuckled, and put her feet up. She was still wearing her dress shoes.
"...okay." Silas went back inside, his head feeling a little less fuzzy than it was before.
He heard the radio start up again as he left.
"'Cause you're always in between
Stuck behind the TV screen
In somebody else's dream
Tryna let you know..."
[] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
-[] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
-[] He could use a nice distraction. There was this commercial MRE at the bottom of his pantry he always wanted to try and prepare. Maybe he could find the instructions online.
[] No. He needs to focus. He rested a lot yesterday already, didn't he?
-[] His mathematics and science skills are obviously behind. He can spend the rest of the evening re-reviewing the equations, and trying to match them to their meanings.
-[] Apparently, grand strategy games were a poor substitute for actual history education... Silas needs to review most of Mihoku history from before the 20th century. And he needs to unlearn all of the Alternate Universe timelines he'd memorized up until now...
-[] His Amberrish enunciation sucks! He needs to get rid of his damn stutter! A little bit of spoken practice could help... At least in the privacy of his own apartment, he didn't have to worry about being overheard.
Silas changed quickly, and followed his peers out onto the track. Their P.E. teacher was a tired-looking man with wrinkly features, wearing a visor hat and sunglasses, who quickly got everyone into neat rows and started to bark at them to begin group exercises.
Once he got into the rhythm of it, he found it surprisingly easy to follow along with everyone else. Group exercises, he figured, were kind of like monkey-see-monkey-do game. It was pretty hard to mess up there.
Things were relatively easy for a while. And then, their sensei guided them over to the track.
"For the rest of our time, we'll be jogging. Not walking and talking with your friends, jogging. Once you hear the whistle, I want you to keep the pace until I blow the whistle again. Then you can walk. We'll go two minutes in, one minute out. Twenty-seven minutes total. Time starts now. Go!"
A screeching whistle rang out over the field.
Silas had been caught in the middle of the group, so he had no choice but to properly get moving. He was… mostly used to moving his body. He actually thought he was doing rather well, keeping up the pace with everyone else.
And then he started to feel it. It started in his lungs, and spread to his heart, and then up to his throat. His body wasn't used to enduring this kind of stress for a long time. Back on Miko Street, he always had plenty of time to take a break.
But here, he had no chance to stop. He was surrounded on all sides. And there was… a social expectation. He had to keep going. There was nowhere to go but forward.
Second by second, it got worse. His breath got ragged. He started to taste something metallic on his tongue. His eyesight got dizzy. And… he realized that, in spite of his best efforts, he was falling behind. The rest of the students in his class were passing him by.
He started sucking air beneath his clenched teeth, just trying to keep moving… and moving…
Endurance Check! (Physique)
1d20 = 8 + 1 (Attribute: Physique) + 1 (Moodlet: Exercising) = 10 vs 10
Bare Success!
Eventually, he fell so behind that it was only he and another student, trailing at the end of the class. He, like Silas, was already drenched in his own sweat, huffing and puffing, eyes hazy as he stared down at the track, as if he were deadly focused on keeping his feet from tripping over themselves.
He seemed to notice Silas was going at his speed. He turned his head, grinning. "Haah… Yo! Hey, new-kid-san."
Silas could barely form the words in his mouth, but he responded: "Ha… ha… Hello…"
"This sucks… haah… am I right?"
"Yes… " Silas squeezed out the words. "Yes it does…"
"Yeah… haha… why are you… struggling… though?" the boy asked. "You're… skinny. Only… chubby guys… like me… suck at running."
"O-Oh?" Silas looked down at himself. Yeah, he was kind of skinny. "I'm… haaah… I'm out of shape… in a d-different way… I guess…"
"That's… fair."
The instructor's whistle blew out for the second time. "That's two minutes! Walk, but keep a brisk pace!"
The two sighed as they allowed themselves to slow down. The other boy stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath, but returned to walking very quickly. "Heheh… first one's always the worst." He wiped his forehead. "It's nice not to be the only one struggling back here. I noticed you weren't really paying attention during self-intros. Do you remember my name?"
"H-Huh?" Silas shook his head. "Sorry… haah… no. I don't."
"That's okay. I'm Yoshi. Mikado Yoshi. You have a cool name, Silas-kun."
"Oh? Thanks…?" Silas was still trying to gulp down saliva that was forming in his throat. "How so?"
"It sounds kind of like the Amberrish word for silence. Like your name is the codename for a spook from CominSec. Master Spy Silas is on the case. Eh?" He laughed.
"Y-You think so? Thank you. I t-think you're… cool, too. Yoshi-kun. Also, you aren't chubby." Silas looked him over seriously. "Y-You're just… a h-healthy eater, probably…?"
"You don't need to lie just to make me feel better. I know what I—"
The whistle blew out. "Aaaand jog! Come on!"
"Ahh, shit…"
They went on like that for what felt like an eternity, forcing themselves to jog when the teacher said jog, and making small talk during the vanishingly short moments they had before the next run.
Silas swore their instructor was making their breaks shorter…
He was relieved when their instructor blew the whistle for the final time, even though he looked like an absolute mess.
<><><>
Because Physique > 0, and thanks to a decent roll, Silas has survived PE without needing to be remanded to the infirmary! That would have been embarrassing, huh?
Objectives updated!
Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Objective 1: Survive (the first week of classes)
Objective 1a: Don't embarrass oneself during self-introductions Success! Result: +1 to ??
Objective 1b: Have the basic ability to follow along during class activities
Objective 1c: Make some connections with one's peers
Objective 1d: Be able to do P.E. without dying of exhaustion Success! Result: +1 to ??
Reward: ???
Total ??: +7
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Objective 1: Survive (the first week of classes)
Objective 1b: Have the basic ability to follow along during class activities
Objective 1c: Make some connections with one's peers
Reward: ???
Total ??: +7
<><><>
When they returned to the locker room, Silas started to undress (really, it felt more like he was peeling his gym clothes from his skin, with how hot and drenched his body was), and when he went to open his locker, he noticed something.
He had no towels.
He stared at his locker, frantically thinking back to earlier this morning. He cursed his idiocy. His towel—he'd left it in the bathroom, hanging from the door. He must have been in too much of a hurry to leave.
"Hey! Dude!"
Silas jumped as Yoshi came up from behind him. "Thanks for sticking with me. It sucks being in the back with no one to talk to." He seemed to notice Silas's wild-eyed expression. "Are… are you good, man? I didn't scare you, did I?"
"U-Uh…" Silas froze up.. He tried to speak, but his lungs were already tired and sore, and he couldn't quite find the words to say. Instead, he gestured feebly at his empty locker.
Yoshi-kun blinked. "...nothing to dry yourself with, eh?"
Silas shook his head.
Yoshi-kun pursed his lips. "I didn't bring any spares… hey! Kel-kun!"
The other student appeared from the row of lockers. "Ayo?"
"Yamigawa-kun needs a towel, you have any you can lend him?"
The kid snapped his fingers, and pointed at Silas with both of his hands. "I gotchu, fam." He disappeared behind the row of lockers, and emerged with a bright pink towel. "Catch!"
"A-Agghh!" Silas's vision blurred, but he caught it. The fabric was soft and warm to the touch. It felt like fresh laundry to hold. As he pulled it from his face, he saw cute little hearts and patterns embroidered on the side. "T-Thanks?"
"Give it back to me tomorrow morning, eyy? If you need to buy a towel from the school commissary, I can spot ya." He then left.
Silas stood there for a moment.
"Kel-kun's pretty cool, right?"
"I g-guess…" Silas stared down at the towelette, and, after a moment's hesitation, he buried his face in it. It smelled nice. "Ahh… soft… is this… s-something his sister made for him, or something?"
"No?" Yoshi paused. "Why do you ask?"
"No re-re-bleaugh." Silas coughed out some phlegm in his throat. "Reason. A-Argh. My voice s-sucks…"
"Hey, dude, it's okay. I'll see you back in class."
"Y-Yeah. Thanks…"
<><><>
New characters discovered!
A student from Class 4-2. Self-conscious about his weight. Seems to be friendly and talkative. He runs some sort of computer club?
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
A cool guy from Class 4-2. Likes cute things, is kind of aloof. He reminds Silas of a protagonist from an Eastern railroad drama.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
<><><>
Silas trudged back up the stairs, already starting to feel some of the strain on his limbs. His feet were aching. He hoped every day wouldn't be like this…
Class was a confusing flutter of movement and unfamiliar sensations. He felt dizzy just trying to navigate his way through the little groups people formed as they talked to each other. It was all so… foreign.
Like him, sort of.
Hmm. There was a metaphor in there somewhere. Was this how poets and songwriters came up with their more abstract ideas? Was this the Sublime? Just… realizing something poignant about something mundane, and making it sing?
He wondered, even as he navigated his way back to his seat. It was perhaps because of this that he didn't really notice that someone was talking to him until he'd sat down.
"—ey. Hey! It's rude to ignore people, you know!"
His head felt like it was spinning. There was a very angry-looking girl staring at him. "W-Wha—?"
"Look, if you aren't interested in the airshow, you can just say so!" The girl glowered at him exasperatedly. "You don't need to pretend I'm not there! Honestly! Who raised you?!"
"I'm sorry?" Silas felt himself sinking back into his seat. "What are you talking about?"
"The airshow! Echo Squadron is gonna do tricks over the Sound and the MS Reiwa is gonna do a demonstration of one of its kiloton depth charges. Come on, pay attention! We're all Miyaojin, aren't we? It's important to show your support for the Self Defense Forces!"
"Uh…" Silas frantically racked his mind for something to say. He needed to express… an opinion.
God, that was hard.
"Especially us!" She was still talking. What was her name, again? "We're the future of the city, you know? We have a duty to Miyao!"
"Err—don't you think that's…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the girl cross her arms, but she wasn't saying anything to cut him off. Actually, she seemed to be gesturing for him to continue. "...k-kind of an oversimplification of things?"
"Hardly!" She straightened her posture. "Just because we're young doesn't mean we should shirk our civil duties. Our parents did it, our grandparents did it."
"...there are other w-ways to do that…"
"Fair enough. I suppose you went to the Color Day festivals the other day? That's a different kind of civic pride, I guess! But the MSDF is important too! Without the Navy, we'd be—"
"Aomori Tammy-chan." Their Class Rep, the girl named Inoue-san, had snuck up behind her while she was ranting. "Please. You're disturbing the peace, and you're probably bothering Yamigawa-kun over here. Try to be respectful to your peers. Not everyone is as enthusiastic as you about this."
"Ugh." Aomori-san turned away. "Of course you wouldn't care."
She stormed off.
Silas watched the Class Rep close her eyes, take off her glasses, and pinch the bridge of her nose. She exhaled sharply through her teeth. As her eyes fluttered open, she quickly placed her glasses back on her face.
"Apologies," she said, her face maintaining a stoic, neutral expression. "Tammy-chan is, err, eccentric."
"She…" Silas hesitated. "She s-seems not to like y-you… that much."
"Really." The Class Rep snorted. "What could possibly have led you to that conclusion. Anyway, Sensei had a talk to me about your status as a student. I'm supposed to give you this."
She placed a few stapled papers on his desk.
"The school just wants to make sure that the… circumstances of your education prior to coming here… have not placed you at the incorrect curriculum level for your grade. This is a basic assessment for mathematics, social sciences—you know, that sort of thing."
"Oh. Do I have to… d-do this now?"
"Oh, god no. This is too much to finish in an afternoon, even for me. You are free to take this home, and hand this in to me by…" She tapped her chin. "...the end of the week. Yes. Obviously, don't cheat. This isn't a graded assignment, anyway. The school just wants to know if you need advanced classes or academic assistance. It will only hurt you if you try to cheat us."
"I see. T-Thanks, uh... I... Ino...?"
She grinned. "'Inoue-san.' It's okay. Nobody remembers names the first time around. Are you… well? You're kind of… zoning out."
"Oh?" Silas blinked. "I dunno… I… I-I was thinking about… poetry… or something."
"Oh, uh…" She glanced at him, quizzically. She seemed slightly at a loss for what to say. "...cool. I guess I will see you around. Good day, Yamigawa-kun."
"Yes." Silas paused. "...uh. Good day t-to you too."
New Characters discovered!
A loudmouthed student from 4-2 who won't stop talking about the military. Seems like a person with many passions.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
The resident Class Representative of Class 4-2. A relatively calm seeming person who seems to be a stickler for properness.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
Silas knows almost nothing about this character.
Insight Check! (Imagination)
1d20 = 18 + 1 (Attribute: Imagination) = 19
Good success!
Silas leaned back in his chair, and took a moment to watch the students of his class—his classmates, now that was a weird thought—go about their day. People seemed to be in a sociable mood today. They were certainly taking advantage of the fact that their Sensei hadn't arrived yet.
Mikado-kun sat near the back, by the window. He was fiddling with his headset wire as he stared at the screen of his smartphone. He seemed intensely focused on some sort of video. Silas wondered what he was watching.
Ibara-kun was nearby, face scrunched up in an expression of frustration. He was… doodling? It looked like it. His fingers moved at an almost manic pace, and every now and then, he would bite his lip, grab a little rubber eraser, and scratch something out.
Aomori-san paced the room restlessly, staring down at her phone—it was a really old model, one of the fliphones from last year—and typing something rapidly with her thumb. She seemed to have talked herself to exhaustion, but it was like her body was refusing to settle down.
Finally, Inoue-san was the only person who seemed to be actively preparing for class to start. Her desk was organized, and her materials were spread out across the table, and she was writing something into her planner.
There were many more students, of course, but… Silas was already having trouble recalling their names. Maybe… maybe he could learn more about them, eventually.
Hmm. He never really cared so much about people before.
<><><>
Because Imagination > 0, and thanks to a lucky roll, Silas has demonstrated a bare amount of interest in his classmates, and knows a bit more about them now! He's even memorized their names! That could be useful for the future!
Objectives updated!
Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Objective 1: Survive (the first week of classes)
Objective 1a: Don't embarrass oneself during self-introductions Success! Result: +1 to ??
Objective 1b: Have the basic ability to follow along during class activities
Objective 1c: Make some connections with one's peers Success! Result: +1 to ??
Objective 1d: Be able to do P.E. without dying of exhaustion Success! Result: +1 to ??
Reward: ???
Total ??: +8
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Objective 1: Survive (the first week of classes)
Objective 1b: Have the basic ability to follow along during class activities
Reward: ???
Total ??: +8
Insight gained! Character Database updated!
Yoshi Mikado seems to be a bit of a Geek, but he's also Friendly. It might be easier to talk to him if Silas builds his Intelligence. Silas thinks it will be easier to get along with Mikado-kun than most.
Kel Ibara seems to be a Creative person. Silas might be able to approach him more easily if he is able to reciprocate Ibara-kun's Imaginatinative way of looking at the world.
Tammy Aomori seems to have a very Argumentative personality. It will probably be rather hard to get on her level unless Silas learns to be more Charismatic.
Sara Inoue is very Studious, but she seems a bit Reserved. It will be easier to get along with her if Silas tries to be more conformist(?). Silas thinks it will be easier to get along with Inoue-san than most.
<><><>
Truth be told, things were going really well today. It was still early… way too early… and Silas was starting to feel drowsy already. He caught himself yawning more than once. But, more or less, he was alert, his wits felt sharp, and he felt ready to start today.
Then their mathematics teacher opened his mouth.
"Alright, class. Settle down, please." The projector whirred to life, and the teacher started to write on a little pad next to his podium, his text appearing on the screen as he wrote. "Let's talk about functions. Suppose we have a bin that currently contains fifteen apples. Above it, there is a conveyor belt that is depositing three apples into the bin every second. Can someone tell me what kind of function represents the number of apples in this bin with respect to time, in seconds?"
Hands went up almost immediately. "Aomori-san?"
The girl responded crisply, "f of x is equal to… fifteen plus three-times-x?"
"And what is x?"
"...seconds? 'Cause… we don't know how much time has elapsed. We put that number in. I guess we could use a 't', instead…"
"Very good."
As he talked, he drew a graph on the board. Silas noticed that his classmates were copying him; he decided to follow along.
"Now. Let's suppose that all we care about is the rate at which apples are entering the bin. How would we derive that? …hmm. What's your name? You, with the gray hair."
Silas felt his breath catch in his throat. "U-Uh—"
"His name is Yamigawa Silas-kun, Satou-sensei. He's the new student," Inoue-san said quickly.
"I see. Yamigawa-kun—"
"I can answer this question," Inoue-san interrupted.
"There's no need. Yamigawa-kun, how would we derive the rate of this function?"
"Uh." Silas swallowed. He… he knew the answer. It was easy. It was… the simplest kind of relation. Like a graph that showed production statistics. He saw it all the time when he was plotting expansion plans for his factory in Gosho II. "...it's… it's just three."
"Correct. And why is that?"
"Why…?" Silas racked his brains. Why indeed? "...because that's what the eq-equation… means?"
"Alright. What if we had a different equation? What about something like…" The teacher wrote: f(x) = x^2 - 1. "...this? What would the rate be, then?"
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Silas darted his eyes towards the teacher, and then the equation on the board, and then back to the teacher.
"...I d-don't get it," he finally admitted.
"That's alright. Aomori-san, I see your hand is raised."
"That's a bad question, sensei. The rate is gonna be different depending on where you are on the graph," the girl said.
"Ah! Very good." The teacher started to draw out the last function. Silas scrunched his eyes as he tried to copy him. That was… an exponential relation, right? The kind that goes up and up?
Wait… no. No, he was thinking about asymptotes. The kind that doesn't exist at a certain value of… no wait. Exponential graphs and asymptotes… they looked kind of similar, but…
Or maybe he was thinking of one of the trigonometric functions?
"As we can see, at x equals zero, our equation has a very different rate than at x equals one. We could find this rate by using a ruler, but that is not precise. Today, and for the rest of the next week or so, we are going to explore a few ways we can derive the rate of a function algebraically, rather than geometrically. In Calculus, we call the rate of a given function its derivative."
He wrote 'DERIVATIVE' in bold letters on the board. Silas felt an odd, sinking feeling in his stomach.
"We'll start with something simple. Yamigawa-kun, why don't you define the term 'linear equation' for us? If you can remember?"
<><><>
"Now, the Saisei Era was a massive flowering of culture, religion, and artistic styles and technologies once thought lost to prehistory. That's why it bears the name, Saisei; meaning, reborn. But does anyone remember what it was called before we started using the phrase, Saisei? Yamigawa-kun! I haven't heard you speak at all today! What do you think?"
"U-Uh… it… it was the Reiwa Era, right?"
"...not quite, haha! That's where we are right now, silly! Saisei was several hundred years ago. Remember, we were still naming Eras by Empress at the time. You remember the names of the Empresses, don't you? It starts with Hatsune-no-Hatsune, then Hakurei-no-Kekkai…"
<><><>
"You probably don't remember this from last year's introductory physics—we only briefly touched on the general equation for gravitational force—but what is Big-G? Anyone? Come on, now. I won't bite. Mikado-kun, put your phone away. No cheating, heh. You in the back? Yamigawa-kun?"
"Six… W-Wait, I think I know this! Six-point-oh-two times ten to the power of negative twenty-three, uh… per mole!"
"Ooooh! You have the wrong number! You're thinking of the Zhanmei Constant, which we use for atomic calculations in chemistry. You're kind of in the right ballpark, though. Very impressive that you memorized the Z Constant down to the unit. Care to try again?"
<><><>
"Hey, yo, Yamigawa-kun, what a first day, huh?"
"..."
"...hey dude? Me and Tammy-chan were planning on heading down to the Yakitori stand by the station. Hey, are you there?"
"He's just doing that thing again, where he ignores you, probably."
"Hell do you mean, 'that thing'—"
"Stop pestering him, you two. He… looks tired. Why can't any of you recognize when a person just wants to be left alone? Jeez. Hey… Yamigawa-kun? Class is over. You can go home now. Have a nice night, okay? Okay?"
"...we're gonna clean up here soon. You need to leave, Yamigawa-kun."
<><><>
By the time the day was over, Silas was slumping through the train ride back, with barely enough energy to notice anything going on around him. He… wasn't sure why. He really wasn't sure why.
Things were moving... kind of slowly. Where was he?
…oh, right. This was his station. Yamaha South… he needed to head out. There were… noises all around him. He couldn't… make any of them out, though. His senses felt… dull. His head felt like… it felt like raindrops sliding off an umbrella. Like a sphere rolling on a wooden surface. Like a malfunctioning radio dish transmitting static.
When he finally made it to his apartment, he collapsed into bed, and was out like a light.
<><><>
Because Intelligence == 0, Silas is totally unprepared for the academic side of school, and has fallen into a deep stupor because of it. He doesn't even get to roll!
Objectives updated!
Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Objective 1: Survive (the first week of classes) Partial Failure. See below.
Objective 1a: Don't embarrass oneself during self-introductions Success! Result: +1 to ??
Objective 1b: Have the basic ability to follow along during class activities Failure! Result: +4 to ??
Objective 1c: Make some connections with one's peers Success! Result: +1 to ??
Objective 1d: Be able to do P.E. without dying of exhaustion Success! Result: +1 to ??
Reward: Certain Social Actions are now available to Silas. The Week will now be divided between the Weekday actions and Weekend actions. Unfortunately, Silas is not exactly having a great time of things...
Total ??: +12
Silas just wants to make it through the week without dying, causing an incident, or alienating the entire school. He can manage that, right?
Reward: Certain Social Actions are now available to Silas. The Week will now be divided between the Weekday actions and Weekend actions. Unfortunately, Silas is not exactly having a great time of things...
Total ??: +12
Silas has partially failed Objective: Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!
This has had some consequences.
All moodlets have been cleared. Temporary Charisma granted from Sociable has been removed.
Silas gains a moodlet:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Silas has discovered one of his own traits:
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
<><><>
Things didn't get better as the week went on. Eventually, the teachers stopped calling on him for questions, but still, Silas felt overwhelmed by a kind of… intense frustration at himself.
He knew the answers. He knew he knew the answers. And yet, when the time came to write it out on paper, or speak it aloud in class… sometimes, nothing would happen, but mostly, he'd have a confused, jumbled mix of half-thought recollections of things he had studied. Definitions and equations and relationships melted together into a thick slurry of total incomprehension.
Was it because he was getting too exhausted during morning exercises? Was he focusing too much on the wrong things? Had he not studied enough? He tried to go home on that first day and review all the things he had missed, but… he wound up just staring blankly at his practice problems until his eyes forced him to sleep.
Suffice to say, he wasn't feeling great about his performance when he turned in the assessment to Inoue-san. He couldn't even look her in the eye. She probably said something to him, but he wasn't paying attention.
He couldn't pay attention to anything, really.
The rest of the week went by in a blur.
<><><>
It was Sunday… morning? Silas glanced at his clock. No, it was the afternoon. It was Sunday afternoon when Silas finally regained some of his senses. He was lying on his futon, staring up at the ceiling. Saturday seemed to go by in a flash. He… he probably got Big Sis to order something indulgent, like a pizza or Western takeout. He couldn't really… recall what else he was doing yesterday.
He felt… kind of empty. But not, at the same time. He couldn't recall most of what he did this week beyond the first day, but he knew it was bad. He probably screwed up a lot in the exercises and such they had to do. He's probably a laughingstock at 4-2 now.
He didn't want to think about it. But class was still tomorrow, and he'd have to face it all again.
In his near-vegetative state, something stirred in his heart. He had to… get up. And do something. He didn't want to lie down and just… stop moving. Not again. Never again. He stumbled around his apartment, trying to regain his bearings. His stomach… was kind of hurting, actually. Did he eat anything yesterday?
There was… something emanating from the balcony. A sound. A kind of… low-fidelity radio, scratching out a song.
"Sunday morning, vacant doorway
Wipe the sunlight from your eyes
And trace your favorite constellation
On their skin
Overwhelmed by the emotion
Watching cogs turn in your mind
You sort of wonder where this wonder
May have been.."
He followed the words outside.
Big Sis was a kind of… ambivalent presence in his life. Sometimes he could see her, sometimes not, but she was always there. She seemed to like to remain in his peripherals, always slightly out of his frame of vision. Probably preferred things that way. Sometimes she acted out certain household chores, like cleaning the dishes or folding laundry or sitting in a corner with her laptop. She was kind of like a ghost, in a way. Which was silly, because ghosts weren't real.
And today, she was laid back in a comfortable position, having set up a little chair on the balcony. Her head bopped rhythmically listening to the music from her radio, and she was holding some sort of silvery mirror to her face. She seemed to be… trying to tan herself.
In her suit.
She turned her head, and Silas could feel her eyes on him, through her sunglasses. "Hey," she said.
"Hey." Silas took a seat next to her.
"How was your week?"
"It sucked," Silas said.
"Ah." Big Sis set down her mirror, took off her sunglasses, and moved to power off the radio.
"Scan lines on a CRT look like HD when you're—" with a short scrtch, the music died.
"Mine did as well," Big Sis responded, eyeing him meaningfully.
"Oh? How's that?" Silas asked.
"I am not sure." Big Sister made an unhappy face. "I still can't quite reckon with who I am. I'm… a rational being, yes? I should have… a good conception of the self. I know I can think. Cogito, ergo sum, no? But it's all… hazy."
"...yeah." Silas grumbled. "It's hazy for me, too."
There was a short silence. Somewhere below, an ambulance's sirens flared up.
"You're going to keep going to classes, right?" Big Sis smirked. "I'll haunt you if you don't."
"I… will. Yeah." Silas nodded stubbornly. If nothing else… if nothing else… he had to keep going to Yamaha.
"Good. Then things should be fine, then. I'm sure… we'll both get better. Eventually." She sighed. "You should go do something tonight, Silas. It can't be good for you if you're… moping all day, like you are."
"I'm not m-moping."
"You are. Now, leave your Big Sister alone for now, okay? She needs to work on her tan."
"...I'm pretty sure you need to… t-take your clothes off for that to work," Silas noted.
Big Sis looked at him scandalously. "Oh, little brother. That'd be too inappropriate, don't you think? After all, you live here, don't you?" She chuckled, and put her feet up. She was still wearing her dress shoes.
"...okay." Silas went back inside, his head feeling a little less fuzzy than it was before.
He heard the radio start up again as he left.
"'Cause you're always in between
Stuck behind the TV screen
In somebody else's dream
Tryna let you know..."
It is the Weekend!
Silas is feeling a little bad. Does he try to make himself feel better?[] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
-[] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
-[] He could use a nice distraction. There was this commercial MRE at the bottom of his pantry he always wanted to try and prepare. Maybe he could find the instructions online.
[] No. He needs to focus. He rested a lot yesterday already, didn't he?
-[] His mathematics and science skills are obviously behind. He can spend the rest of the evening re-reviewing the equations, and trying to match them to their meanings.
-[] Apparently, grand strategy games were a poor substitute for actual history education... Silas needs to review most of Mihoku history from before the 20th century. And he needs to unlearn all of the Alternate Universe timelines he'd memorized up until now...
-[] His Amberrish enunciation sucks! He needs to get rid of his damn stutter! A little bit of spoken practice could help... At least in the privacy of his own apartment, he didn't have to worry about being overheard.
Silas Yamigawa
Some kid from nowhere. Gray hair, skittish, and more than a little absentminded. Barely has two brain cells to rub together at any given time.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Z3iwpFQeg
Four in the morning, but we're having such a lovely time~
Mad as a hatter with a dagger and a dollar sign~
Aristocrat, tip your hat and break your mother's heart
And when the sun comes up
You find a brand new god.
Attributes:
Charisma: 0 (Temp Charisma has been removed)
Smarts: 0
Imagination: +1
Physique: +1
Statuses:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Habits:
Daydreaming - Silas spends a lot of his waking hours imagining things: fantastical plots, military engagements, spaceships, tetris blocks, mahou shoujo… that sort of thing. (+Imagination)
Takes Walks - Silas likes to spend his free time pacing his neighborhood… just because. It helps calm his nerves. (+ Physique)
Traits:
Tabula Rasa - Silas is extremely maladjusted for a person of his age. He's gonna have trouble with… pretty much everything.
Stutterer - Silas punctuates his sentences with awkward mumblings and repetitions. (-1 to social checks)
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
???
Relationships:
Big Sister - Silas's Big Sis and legal guardian. Her real name's Seraphine.
Some kid from nowhere. Gray hair, skittish, and more than a little absentminded. Barely has two brain cells to rub together at any given time.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Z3iwpFQeg
Four in the morning, but we're having such a lovely time~
Mad as a hatter with a dagger and a dollar sign~
Aristocrat, tip your hat and break your mother's heart
And when the sun comes up
You find a brand new god.
Attributes:
Charisma: 0 (Temp Charisma has been removed)
Smarts: 0
Imagination: +1
Physique: +1
Statuses:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Habits:
Daydreaming - Silas spends a lot of his waking hours imagining things: fantastical plots, military engagements, spaceships, tetris blocks, mahou shoujo… that sort of thing. (+Imagination)
Takes Walks - Silas likes to spend his free time pacing his neighborhood… just because. It helps calm his nerves. (+ Physique)
Traits:
Tabula Rasa - Silas is extremely maladjusted for a person of his age. He's gonna have trouble with… pretty much everything.
Stutterer - Silas punctuates his sentences with awkward mumblings and repetitions. (-1 to social checks)
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
???
Relationships:
Big Sister - Silas's Big Sis and legal guardian. Her real name's Seraphine.
Silas no Mirai
Silas is having trouble… conceptualizing who his older sister is as a person, rather than as just his Big Sister. A fog settles in his mind whenever he tries to force himself to recall just these simple things. Perhaps he just needs a new perspective. Or an old one?
Objective 1: Gain Base Imagination +3. Base Imagination is increased by building positive habits, and not through Traits.
Reward: Big Sister becomes an interactable Character, more Objectives.
Silas is having trouble… conceptualizing who his older sister is as a person, rather than as just his Big Sister. A fog settles in his mind whenever he tries to force himself to recall just these simple things. Perhaps he just needs a new perspective. Or an old one?
Objective 1: Gain Base Imagination +3. Base Imagination is increased by building positive habits, and not through Traits.
Reward: Big Sister becomes an interactable Character, more Objectives.
Character Database (Current)
-
Neighbors and shopkeepers.
- Eryk Nillis
- Miyuki Nillis
-
Fellow Yamaha Senior High School students
- Yoshi Mikado ("Mikado-kun")
- Kel Ibara("Ibara-kun")
- Tammy Aomori ("Aomori-san")
- Sara Inoue ("Inoue-san")
- Whom?
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LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Whew! Sorry about the wait! I got caught up in a few things for university.
Note that the Character Sheet, Objectives Table, and Character Database appended to the end of every update is always gonna be up-to-date for that update. This is so you can track the world state over time! Also helps me with administrative stuff. And it might be useful for when I start lying to you through the interface.
As always, if you notice anything wrong or missing, please feel let me know, and I will be happy to fix it, if indeed it was an error.
Note that the Character Sheet, Objectives Table, and Character Database appended to the end of every update is always gonna be up-to-date for that update. This is so you can track the world state over time! Also helps me with administrative stuff. And it might be useful for when I start lying to you through the interface.
As always, if you notice anything wrong or missing, please feel let me know, and I will be happy to fix it, if indeed it was an error.
Last edited:
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
Dysfunctional status makes it seem like the study options won't really help? Also depending on his exact issues with the material self-study might have its limits. Probably best to go out and get some air. Probably.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
Dysfunctional status makes it seem like the study options won't really help? Also depending on his exact issues with the material self-study might have its limits. Probably best to go out and get some air. Probably.
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well damn. Not only is he awful at life, his own mind stops him from getting better.
... Which is very realistic, honestly.
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
While jock Silas is a fun image, listening to music may improve imagination, which may allow us to actually interact with Big Sis in a substantial manner, which is probably a decently big deal (even if only to ask her to help us with our many deficiencies).
... Which is very realistic, honestly.
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
While jock Silas is a fun image, listening to music may improve imagination, which may allow us to actually interact with Big Sis in a substantial manner, which is probably a decently big deal (even if only to ask her to help us with our many deficiencies).
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- Location
- Somewhere North of south
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
Man... being hazy all week is going to hurt our ability to make friends... shit... well I guess everything didn't go wrong...
Since we can't study due to the effects of the failed rolls going for a walk is the best option since it increases our chances of a random encounter, builds a habit and maybe if we're lucky improves fitness...
Nanami get!
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
Man... being hazy all week is going to hurt our ability to make friends... shit... well I guess everything didn't go wrong...
Since we can't study due to the effects of the failed rolls going for a walk is the best option since it increases our chances of a random encounter, builds a habit and maybe if we're lucky improves fitness...
Nanami get!
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
Saddos.
-[X] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
Saddos.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Could never understand people who talk while jogging. How do they do it? It ruins the breathing and with it, the ability to maintain a steady pace.
If you aren't struggling, maybe. But if you do, it'll only make it worse.
...what is the point of burying your head in a towel without showering first? Unless it is to sniff it.
Is Silas in a habit of sniffing out other people's personal belongings? Are we going to start working on that Stalker tag?
Kids these days. Last year's model is apparently "really old".
The mother of all leading questions.
Don't they study derivatives in the second year, a year before graduation? It's a fictional setting, of course, but I'd like to be reminded how it correlates with our own.
Is this subject to Dysfunctional?
[x] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[x] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
Big Sis always fascinated me as a character, and I'd like to know her better.
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LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, I studied derivatives in 11th grade, but I don't believe my experience tracks with all students everywhere, since I was taking AP classes at the time. From what I understand, the typical high school experience ends with learning the prerequisite math for students to start taking Calculus in earnest once they go to college.
For the setting, you can think of it like this: Last year, Yamaha students in Silas's class were learning Algebra, Geometry, and advanced Trig. They know how functions work, but have not yet learned about the relationship between functions and wider mathematical theory.
You can always try to take the action and find out.
[x] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[x] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
-[x] Maybe he could set up next to Big Sis, plug in some music into his headphones, and stare at the city for a while. It is kind of pretty, after all.
Tayta Malikai
200% Space Whale
- Location
- Australia
[X] Yes. School can go screw off for a little bit… Silas wants to do something on his own time.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
My experience tells me that trying to study through brain fog does not usually lead to good things.
This is also to counterbalance against the Big Sister vote.
-[X] Silas feels like maybe the lethargy could be solved by taking a nice walk. He could try going down to 8th Avenue. Just… to see some new things. Jog his brain a bit.
My experience tells me that trying to study through brain fog does not usually lead to good things.
This is also to counterbalance against the Big Sister vote.
Votes Closed~
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Week 1 | Home Actions: 'Cause I'm Always In Between...
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Tokyo Dreaming [Lofi / Jazz Hop / Chill Mix]
Silas never really liked being out on their balcony.
He couldn't help feeling so… exposed. At least down below, in the tight suburbs and streets, there weren't so many open slightlines. There were corners and obstructions. He could at least… suppress that sensation in the back of his brain that screamed at him that he was being looked at.
But up here?
Their tower was big. Not the biggest, but… there were an impossible number of angles from which people could be staring at him. He could imagine it: People with high-precision cameras or civilian drones or telescopes. It made his skin crawl.
It didn't help that the noises in the back of his head were a lot worse out here than they were in his apartment. The static. The white fuzz. It was aggravating. Not even the Greenhouse was this bad.
So… it was something of a blessing that Big Sis was here, too. He could feel safe if she was around. And Miyao really was pretty at night. So he decided he wanted to take advantage of this chance to watch the sun go down.
Big Sister seemed to have given up on her impossible tan when Silas re-emerged from the balcony sliding door. She was lying back, hands behind her head and limbs stretched out, sipping from a brightly-colored drink in a glass that shimmered in the sunlight.
…hmm. Strange. Silas couldn't remember ever owning glassware.
"Oh? Come to spend some time with your Big Sister, have you?" She chuckled, covering her mouth with her fingers. Was that… fresh nail polish? Since when did Big Sis care about her appearance?
Silas shrugged in response. He struggled to drag a folding chair from the wall towards the center of their balcony, straining his arms in the process. His body still felt kind of sore from the physical exercises they had been doing all week, but he managed well enough. He would have a good view from here.
He settled in, putting his feet up. There was a faint chill in the air today.
The Miyao Metropolitan Area was almost infinite. It stretched in every direction as far as he could see. There was almost nowhere untouched by her boroughs. Only the distant Fujisan, the great mountain of Miyao, broke with the urban skyline. It was strange to think that this place was a preindustrial military garrison attached to a market port less than a century ago.
Cities were wondrous like that, Silas supposed. Maybe that's why he liked them and hated them at the same time. If only you could have a city without all the people…
…well, but then, there wouldn't be anything wonderful about it at all, Silas supposed.
He closed his eyes, and tried to pretend he was floating on air. The sun touched the skin on his face like a warm blanket. The music from Big Sis's radio sounded in the back of his skull; an echo that drowned out the incessant whining of radio transmissions and TV protocols.
The noise died down, and Silas Yamigawa felt at peace.
"Hey, Silas?"
"Hmm?" Silas opened his eyes.
"I wonder… do I sound… normal, to you?"
Silas chuckled. "W-What could you possibly mean, Big Sis? Big Sis is Big Sis. Anything you do or say is perfectly normal. It has to be."
"You say that like it's a definition, and not a fact…" Big Sis sighed. "I don't know, I just… I feel like I've changed, somehow. My manner of speech feels so much more… flighty? In a good way. Like I am more free to speak my mind. Do you understand me?"
"No," Silas said, honestly. "B-But… if you're happy… then it must be a good thing. Right?"
"Ahh, haha. You really are my Silas. Hahaha…" Big Sis wiped something from her face. "Maybe you're right. I suppose I can't help asking, though, since… since I can't seem to be capable of asking anyone else."
"Oh? Why's that? Why can't you ask your friends?"
"..." Big Sis turned her face to the sky, not quite looking at him. "...I don't think I have any. Actually, no. That's not right. I'm sure I do. I… I work in cybersecurity, for Miku's sake. It's a tight-knit industry."
There was an odd edge to her voice.
"I can… grasp at names, see the ghosts of faces, but nothing comes to mind. It's honestly kind of aggravating. I… there was a girl who was into cryptography. Or was it photography? It was… it was early in the morning when she—
[segmentation fault: core dumped]
—and of course there was… my department. I… I work for the Peace Bureau counterinsurgency division…"
She paused.
"No… no, that's wrong. Peace Bureau? Why would I work for the Peace Bureau? They're… they're the bad guys. I'm one of the good guys. I was… I'm… I was a fixer for GOZO. Anti-corporate espionage division. But then I was picked up by a subsidiary of the 4-Moons-gumi and I… I…"
Big Sister was starting to sound manic. Silas started to feel worried. Big Sis never acted like this. She was always… calm. In control of herself.
"Silas?" Big Sister looked to be on the cusp of mania. "Please… please remind your Big Sister who she is. Jog my… jog my memory, please. I'm…"
Silas interrupted her at that moment. For some reason, the words that followed felt… right.
Which statement is true?
Say it, and make it so.
[] [Choice] "You work for the Peace Bureau, Big Sis. But you're a double agent, too, passing along information to CominSec, and they're none the wiser. You've always told me about how awfully gullible they were."
[] [Choice] "You're just an intelligence spook for the Miyao Self Defense Forces, Big Sis. You've got a lot of friends in the military and the City Council. Remember?"
[] [Choice] "You're a corporate fixer, Big Sis. You work for GOZO, and you protect their proprietary algorithmic patents from theft, or… something. I think you might also work for the mafia? But you'd never tell me about that…"
[] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
Big Sis took a deep breath, and another. Her hands stopped shaking. She loosened her grip on her drink, and took a second to stare at her arms, and then at her legs. She clenched and unclenched her fists. She stretched her ankles. A strange look came over her. Like she had just realized something important.
"...you're right," she said. She sounded breathless. "Oh… how could I be so silly! That was… I'm not sure what that was. I must have forgotten to… take my vitamins or something this morning. Or maybe it's this Smirnoff? My brain is on the fritz. Oh, please forgive me for speaking so thoughtlessly, Silas…"
"F-Forgive? For what?" Silas flushed red. "I just… you were acting weird and I… it's nothing, Sera-neechan. I'm… h-honestly confused about this whole conversation."
"You know what? Me too!" Sera-nee took her glass and downed its contents to completion. She sighed, contentedly. "It's not right for your onee-chan to drag down the mood like that. You're up here to relax, aren't you? Why is it so hot up here, all of a sudden? This suit feels so heavy…"
She got up, stumbling. "I think I need to… go change into something more comfortable."
Silas tilted his head. "I... n-never see you outside of your work attire. What do you even have to wear?"
"Not sure. I guess I'll decide at my… apartment." She blinked. "I... I have an apartment. Of course I do. I couldn't... share a whole studio with you. Where would I put my work computers and my confidentials? It's... just down the hall. Yes."
"Oh… okay." Silas paused. "Will you... come back?"
"Oh, well I was going to…" She touched her lower lip. Then, she grinned. "Of course, Silas. I'll be out in a bit."
Silas nodded. He closed his eyes, and grinned to himself. His chest felt a little light, for some reason. Maybe it was just the weather.
Silas and Big Sister's bond has strengthened!
…but Silas isn't sure by how much. Maybe he needs to fulfill the Objective: Silas no Mirai before he starts to realize what Big Sis really means to him.
[] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[] [Focus] Lectures and note-taking. The basics. (Unavailable due to Moodlet: Dysfunctional)
[] [Focus] Letting his mind wander.
[] [Focus] Physical education classes.
Does Silas take an action?
[] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[] MIKADO YOSHI (INT social check. DC 0?)
-[] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
-[] TAMMY AOMORI (CHA social check. DC 5?)
-[] SARA INOUE (CHA social check. DC 5?)
[] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[] One of the TEACHERS OR FACULTY members. (INT social check. DC 10?)
-[] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
[] [Action] No action. Silas will spend his time resting. (???) (Silas has not yet discovered a reason for why taking it easy might be a good thing.)
Silas never really liked being out on their balcony.
He couldn't help feeling so… exposed. At least down below, in the tight suburbs and streets, there weren't so many open slightlines. There were corners and obstructions. He could at least… suppress that sensation in the back of his brain that screamed at him that he was being looked at.
But up here?
Their tower was big. Not the biggest, but… there were an impossible number of angles from which people could be staring at him. He could imagine it: People with high-precision cameras or civilian drones or telescopes. It made his skin crawl.
It didn't help that the noises in the back of his head were a lot worse out here than they were in his apartment. The static. The white fuzz. It was aggravating. Not even the Greenhouse was this bad.
So… it was something of a blessing that Big Sis was here, too. He could feel safe if she was around. And Miyao really was pretty at night. So he decided he wanted to take advantage of this chance to watch the sun go down.
Big Sister seemed to have given up on her impossible tan when Silas re-emerged from the balcony sliding door. She was lying back, hands behind her head and limbs stretched out, sipping from a brightly-colored drink in a glass that shimmered in the sunlight.
…hmm. Strange. Silas couldn't remember ever owning glassware.
"Oh? Come to spend some time with your Big Sister, have you?" She chuckled, covering her mouth with her fingers. Was that… fresh nail polish? Since when did Big Sis care about her appearance?
Silas shrugged in response. He struggled to drag a folding chair from the wall towards the center of their balcony, straining his arms in the process. His body still felt kind of sore from the physical exercises they had been doing all week, but he managed well enough. He would have a good view from here.
He settled in, putting his feet up. There was a faint chill in the air today.
The Miyao Metropolitan Area was almost infinite. It stretched in every direction as far as he could see. There was almost nowhere untouched by her boroughs. Only the distant Fujisan, the great mountain of Miyao, broke with the urban skyline. It was strange to think that this place was a preindustrial military garrison attached to a market port less than a century ago.
Cities were wondrous like that, Silas supposed. Maybe that's why he liked them and hated them at the same time. If only you could have a city without all the people…
…well, but then, there wouldn't be anything wonderful about it at all, Silas supposed.
He closed his eyes, and tried to pretend he was floating on air. The sun touched the skin on his face like a warm blanket. The music from Big Sis's radio sounded in the back of his skull; an echo that drowned out the incessant whining of radio transmissions and TV protocols.
The noise died down, and Silas Yamigawa felt at peace.
"Hey, Silas?"
"Hmm?" Silas opened his eyes.
"I wonder… do I sound… normal, to you?"
Silas chuckled. "W-What could you possibly mean, Big Sis? Big Sis is Big Sis. Anything you do or say is perfectly normal. It has to be."
"You say that like it's a definition, and not a fact…" Big Sis sighed. "I don't know, I just… I feel like I've changed, somehow. My manner of speech feels so much more… flighty? In a good way. Like I am more free to speak my mind. Do you understand me?"
"No," Silas said, honestly. "B-But… if you're happy… then it must be a good thing. Right?"
"Ahh, haha. You really are my Silas. Hahaha…" Big Sis wiped something from her face. "Maybe you're right. I suppose I can't help asking, though, since… since I can't seem to be capable of asking anyone else."
"Oh? Why's that? Why can't you ask your friends?"
"..." Big Sis turned her face to the sky, not quite looking at him. "...I don't think I have any. Actually, no. That's not right. I'm sure I do. I… I work in cybersecurity, for Miku's sake. It's a tight-knit industry."
There was an odd edge to her voice.
"I can… grasp at names, see the ghosts of faces, but nothing comes to mind. It's honestly kind of aggravating. I… there was a girl who was into cryptography. Or was it photography? It was… it was early in the morning when she—
[segmentation fault: core dumped]
—and of course there was… my department. I… I work for the Peace Bureau counterinsurgency division…"
She paused.
"No… no, that's wrong. Peace Bureau? Why would I work for the Peace Bureau? They're… they're the bad guys. I'm one of the good guys. I was… I'm… I was a fixer for GOZO. Anti-corporate espionage division. But then I was picked up by a subsidiary of the 4-Moons-gumi and I… I…"
Big Sister was starting to sound manic. Silas started to feel worried. Big Sis never acted like this. She was always… calm. In control of herself.
"Silas?" Big Sister looked to be on the cusp of mania. "Please… please remind your Big Sister who she is. Jog my… jog my memory, please. I'm…"
Silas interrupted her at that moment. For some reason, the words that followed felt… right.
Which statement is true?
Say it, and make it so.
[] [Choice] "You work for the Peace Bureau, Big Sis. But you're a double agent, too, passing along information to CominSec, and they're none the wiser. You've always told me about how awfully gullible they were."
[] [Choice] "You're just an intelligence spook for the Miyao Self Defense Forces, Big Sis. You've got a lot of friends in the military and the City Council. Remember?"
[] [Choice] "You're a corporate fixer, Big Sis. You work for GOZO, and you protect their proprietary algorithmic patents from theft, or… something. I think you might also work for the mafia? But you'd never tell me about that…"
[] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
Big Sis took a deep breath, and another. Her hands stopped shaking. She loosened her grip on her drink, and took a second to stare at her arms, and then at her legs. She clenched and unclenched her fists. She stretched her ankles. A strange look came over her. Like she had just realized something important.
"...you're right," she said. She sounded breathless. "Oh… how could I be so silly! That was… I'm not sure what that was. I must have forgotten to… take my vitamins or something this morning. Or maybe it's this Smirnoff? My brain is on the fritz. Oh, please forgive me for speaking so thoughtlessly, Silas…"
"F-Forgive? For what?" Silas flushed red. "I just… you were acting weird and I… it's nothing, Sera-neechan. I'm… h-honestly confused about this whole conversation."
"You know what? Me too!" Sera-nee took her glass and downed its contents to completion. She sighed, contentedly. "It's not right for your onee-chan to drag down the mood like that. You're up here to relax, aren't you? Why is it so hot up here, all of a sudden? This suit feels so heavy…"
She got up, stumbling. "I think I need to… go change into something more comfortable."
Silas tilted his head. "I... n-never see you outside of your work attire. What do you even have to wear?"
"Not sure. I guess I'll decide at my… apartment." She blinked. "I... I have an apartment. Of course I do. I couldn't... share a whole studio with you. Where would I put my work computers and my confidentials? It's... just down the hall. Yes."
"Oh… okay." Silas paused. "Will you... come back?"
"Oh, well I was going to…" She touched her lower lip. Then, she grinned. "Of course, Silas. I'll be out in a bit."
Silas nodded. He closed his eyes, and grinned to himself. His chest felt a little light, for some reason. Maybe it was just the weather.
Silas and Big Sister's bond has strengthened!
…but Silas isn't sure by how much. Maybe he needs to fulfill the Objective: Silas no Mirai before he starts to realize what Big Sis really means to him.
How does Silas pass the rest of his time?
[] [Habit] Silas grabs some headphones and an old cassette player and leans back in his seat as the music and the light of dusk puts him to sleep. He'd never had such an appreciation for music before… (Begin to work on a Habit: Music Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)[] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
The week is starting soon.
How will Silas be focusing his attention during the school week?[] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[] [Focus] Letting his mind wander.
[] [Focus] Physical education classes.
Does Silas take an action?
[] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[] MIKADO YOSHI (INT social check. DC 0?)
-[] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
-[] TAMMY AOMORI (CHA social check. DC 5?)
-[] SARA INOUE (CHA social check. DC 5?)
[] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[] One of the TEACHERS OR FACULTY members. (INT social check. DC 10?)
-[] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
Silas Yamigawa
Some kid from nowhere. Gray hair, skittish, and more than a little absentminded. Barely has two brain cells to rub together at any given time.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Z3iwpFQeg
Four in the morning, but we're having such a lovely time~
Mad as a hatter with a dagger and a dollar sign~
Aristocrat, tip your hat and break your mother's heart
And when the sun comes up
You find a brand new god.
Attributes:
Charisma: 0
Smarts: 0
Imagination: +1
Physique: +1
Statuses:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Habits:
Daydreaming - Silas spends a lot of his waking hours imagining things: fantastical plots, military engagements, spaceships, tetris blocks, mahou shoujo… that sort of thing. (+Imagination)
Takes Walks - Silas likes to spend his free time pacing his neighborhood… just because. It helps calm his nerves. (+ Physique)
Traits:
Tabula Rasa - Silas is extremely maladjusted for a person of his age. He's gonna have trouble with… pretty much everything.
Stutterer - Silas punctuates his sentences with awkward mumblings and repetitions. (-1 to social checks)
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
???
Relationships:
Sera-neechan - Silas's older sister and legal guardian. She works in cybersecurity. Her full name is Seraphine.
Some kid from nowhere. Gray hair, skittish, and more than a little absentminded. Barely has two brain cells to rub together at any given time.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Z3iwpFQeg
Four in the morning, but we're having such a lovely time~
Mad as a hatter with a dagger and a dollar sign~
Aristocrat, tip your hat and break your mother's heart
And when the sun comes up
You find a brand new god.
Attributes:
Charisma: 0
Smarts: 0
Imagination: +1
Physique: +1
Statuses:
Dysfunctional - Due to recent failures, Silas finds it difficult to focus on trying to improve himself. (-5 to all Smarts checks. Silas is incapable of taking actions that will allow him to increase Smarts. Requires external assistance to remove. Does not expire naturally.)
Habits:
Daydreaming - Silas spends a lot of his waking hours imagining things: fantastical plots, military engagements, spaceships, tetris blocks, mahou shoujo… that sort of thing. (+Imagination)
Takes Walks - Silas likes to spend his free time pacing his neighborhood… just because. It helps calm his nerves. (+ Physique)
Traits:
Tabula Rasa - Silas is extremely maladjusted for a person of his age. He's gonna have trouble with… pretty much everything.
Stutterer - Silas punctuates his sentences with awkward mumblings and repetitions. (-1 to social checks)
Mercurial - Silas hates it when things don't go perfectly the first time around. It starts to bother him until it's the only thing he can think about… (Intensified, and usually counterproductive, consequences for experiencing some sort of personal failure.)
???
Relationships:
Sera-neechan - Silas's older sister and legal guardian. She works in cybersecurity. Her full name is Seraphine.
Silas no Mirai
Silas is having trouble… conceptualizing who his older sister is as a person, rather than as just his Big Sister. A fog settles in his mind whenever he tries to force himself to recall just these simple things. Perhaps he just needs a new perspective. Or an old one?
Objective 1: Gain Base Imagination +3. Base Imagination is increased by building positive habits, and not through Traits.
Reward: Big Sister becomes an interactable Character, more Objectives.
Silas is having trouble… conceptualizing who his older sister is as a person, rather than as just his Big Sister. A fog settles in his mind whenever he tries to force himself to recall just these simple things. Perhaps he just needs a new perspective. Or an old one?
Objective 1: Gain Base Imagination +3. Base Imagination is increased by building positive habits, and not through Traits.
Reward: Big Sister becomes an interactable Character, more Objectives.
Character Database (Current)
-
Neighbors and shopkeepers.
- Eryk Nillis
- Miyuki Nillis
-
Fellow Yamaha Senior High School students
- Yoshi Mikado ("Mikado-kun")
- Kel Ibara("Ibara-kun")
- Tammy Aomori ("Aomori-san")
- Sara Inoue ("Inoue-san")
- Whom?
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LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hello! I changed some of the threadmarks to conform to a style, so sorry if that has caused some minor confusion.
If you've noticed anything odd, as always, please lemme know.
If you've noticed anything odd, as always, please lemme know.
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] SARA INOUE (CHA social check. DC 5?)
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] SARA INOUE (CHA social check. DC 5?)
[X] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
[X] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[X] [Focus] Letting his mind wander.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
[X] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[X] [Focus] Letting his mind wander.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Now you are thinking with portals!
One order for a neutrino bomb coming right up, courtesy of Sera-neechan!
Somehow I can find that believable. Even though I have no idea what the bureau is or does, someone with the moniker Big Sister working for it would be telling.
[x] [Choice] "You're just an intelligence spook for the Miyao Self Defense Forces, Big Sis. You've got a lot of friends in the military and the City Council. Remember?"
I want friends on the City Council if I can't have them in the Student one!
I think you should lay off the vitamins that have those funny memory effects!
Of course she has an apartment right across the hall. Silas just never happened to come over.
It probably even appears to be lived in... if she can have ten minutes to set everything up.
Tell me... who do you see in the photo?
[x] [Habit] Silas grabs some headphones and an old cassette player and leans back in his seat as the music and the light of dusk puts him to sleep. He'd never had such an appreciation for music before… (Begin to work on a Habit: Music Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
Silas is, and always will be, a Vocaloid geek in my mind's eye.
[x] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[x] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
I will not be denied SELF-INTRODUCTIONS.
[x] [Focus] Letting his mind wander.
You don't get to be "that weird kid" if you do not work on your reputation.
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[X] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
[X] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
[X] [Habit] Silas just… stares at the skyline for a bit, watching as the colors change and the city completely changes character when the night falls. He finds it kind of inspiring… (Begin to work on a Habit: Art Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Smarts, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
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[X] [Choice] "You're a white-hat hacker, Big Sis. You're real notorious. Wasn't it you who told me about the cryptocurrency crisis you solved last year? The one where you had to patch a big vulnerability in the validation infra… whatever it was called?"
[X] [Habit] Silas grabs some headphones and an old cassette player and leans back in his seat as the music and the light of dusk puts him to sleep. He'd never had such an appreciation for music before… (Begin to work on a Habit: Music Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[X] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
[X] [Habit] Silas grabs some headphones and an old cassette player and leans back in his seat as the music and the light of dusk puts him to sleep. He'd never had such an appreciation for music before… (Begin to work on a Habit: Music Enthusiast (0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Social graces and just… trying to act normal.
[X] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[X] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
OTOH, maybe Silas is the real hacker.
Tayta Malikai
200% Space Whale
- Location
- Australia
[X] [Choice] "You're just an intelligence spook for the Miyao Self Defense Forces, Big Sis. You've got a lot of friends in the military and the City Council. Remember?"
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Physical education classes.
Build those muscles, build those habits!
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
[X] [Focus] Physical education classes.
Build those muscles, build those habits!
[X] [Action] Silas wants to SOCIALIZE with someone. This will increase social bonds on success.
-[X] KEL IBARA (IMA social check. DC 0?)
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- Location
- Somewhere North of south
[X] [Choice] "You're just an intelligence spook for the Miyao Self Defense Forces, Big Sis. You've got a lot of friends in the military and the City Council. Remember?"
It's good to have friends in high places
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
Let's turn Big sis into a real Girl!
[X] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[X] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
SELF-INTRODUCTION!!!
Let's get this ball rolling... I have a bad feeling about next week for PE... here's hoping we can nick our friend's intelligence for study! (not that we have any right now...
NANAMI GET!
It's good to have friends in high places
[X] [Habit] Silas spends the evening talking with Big Sis about anything that comes to mind. She's quite the conversationalist, as it turns out! Silas finds it a bit queer, but it's nice to listen to her tell her stories about her work. (Begin to work on a Habit: Attentive Listener(0/6). Upon completion: ++Imagination, +Charisma, ???)
Let's turn Big sis into a real Girl!
[X] [Action] Silas wants to try to INTRODUCE himself to someone. This will add detailed information about a new character to the Character Database on success.
-[X] One of his CLASSMATES. (CHA social check. DC 10?)
SELF-INTRODUCTION!!!
Let's get this ball rolling... I have a bad feeling about next week for PE... here's hoping we can nick our friend's intelligence for study! (not that we have any right now...
NANAMI GET!
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Hey, you forgot to put the X here.