I'm not a liar, because this is technically not an omake! It's a... extended Dwarf Fortress reference!
(I'm an immigrant from Bay 12, sue me)
"These Foundation guys are like, bad, okay?"
Silas 'VAMPIRE BAIT' McYamigawa has been worried lately. He is worried due to a family member's absence. In the last week, he was pleased to make a new friend. He was relieved to rescue a friend from danger. He felt bolstered with courage by the presence of Yumika 'Make me a trader' McMatsuoka. He was relieved to not be yelled at by a superior. In the past season, he was frightened by the Student Council. He was horrified to see someone anesthetized. He was horrified to almost be anesthetized. He was horrified by the actions of a friend. He was content eating fine bread. He admired a fine table. He is a casual worshiper of Rikuriku. He is a Citizen of Mihoku. He is a Student of Yamaha High School. He is a Member of the Superpowered Entities Liberation Federation. He is the Leader of the Superpowered Entities Liberation Federation. He is seventeen years old.
He has a thin frame with some fat on it. His eyes are slightly sunken. His hair is blue. His eyes are sapphire. He has an angular chin. He is clean shaven. His skin is pale. He is a coward. He is pathetically weak.He has a talent for making friends.
He likes anime and manga, science fiction, scientific research, drama, vocaloids, electronics, computers, Artifical Intelligences for their matronly conduct, and magical girls for their frilly dresses. When possible, he prefers to consume rice, tacos, and manufactured sweets. He absolutely detests insects in general, and bugs in particular. He has a great intuition and appreciable music sense,but has a poor attention span and cannot connect properly with others. Like others in his culture, he holds hard work to be among the highest ideals and admires fine craftsmanship, admires honor and swordcraft, appreciates anime, and respects authority.He personally sees friendship as a highly valuable quality, and commends loyalty.He dreams of having a romance one day.
He dislikes forceful discussions and prefers not to debate. He cannot abide grandstanding. He sees AI as deserving of rights, and dislikes those who disagree with him. He finds anomalous people as deserving of rights, and dislikes those who disagree with him. He finds anime and manga to be a relaxing pastime. He is twitchy and jittery. He cannot help his stutter. He trusts in his family, and will follow them into hell itself. He considers his closest friends to be family members, and will sacrifice much for him. He finds it difficult to sympathize with less agreeable people.
A medium creature fond of creativity and innovation. Beware their large nuclear stockpile!
"I wish those two would just kiss already..."
Yumika 'Make me a trader' McMatsuoka has been disappointed lately. She is disappointed that her friends' romance is not growing quickly. She is disappointed Silas 'VAMPIRE BAIT' Yamigawa can't take a hint. She was pleased to sleep in a fine bedroom. In the last week, she was interested near a fine table. She was interested near a fine chair. She was interested near a fine drawer. She was exasperated by overbearing parents. She was pleased to spend time with family. In the past month, she was pleased by a family member's survival. She was relieved to see her brother. She was relieved to yell at her brother. She was terrified to hear of an accident. She was interested near a fine table. She was interested near a fine chair. She was interested near a fine drawer. She is a casual worshiper of Cthulhu. She is a Citizen of Mihoku. She is a Student of Yamaha High School. She is a Member of the Superpowered Entities Liberation Federation. She is an enemy of the Secure Contain Protect Foundation. She is seventeen years old.
She has a lithe frame with solid muscles. Her bust is small. Her eyes bulge slightly from her head. Her hair is flaxen. Her eyebrows are thin and arched. Her eyelids are heavy. She has long eyelashes. Her hair is tied up in twintails. Her fingernails are painted. Her chin is sharp. Her nose is thin and long. Her lips are full. She is not like other people.She has a talent for making friends, and a talent for understanding people. Her personality is indomitable.
She likes sweets, wheat bread, fine embroidery, acting, drama, anime and manga, and noh players for their impassive masks. When possible, she prefers to consume rice, chicken eggs, and manufactured sweets. She absolutely detests snakes. She has a great intuition, acting ability, interpersonal sense, kinesthetic sense, and memory. Like others in his culture, she holds hard work to be among the highest ideals and admires fine craftsmanship, admires honor and swordcraft, appreciates anime, noh theatre, elegant clothing and respects authority.She personally sees friendship as a highly valuable quality, disloyalty to be a great offense, and commends loyalty.She dreams of owning a theater one day.
She cannot abide harm coming to her friends, and will die to protect them from harm. She keeps secrets well. She holds her secrets close to her chest. She is slow to trust. She is quick to make new friends. She is a boisterous person. She has little concept of personal space, and is quick to touch others. She is kind and quick to make concessions to stop a fight.
A medium creature fond of creativity and innovation. Beware their large nuclear stockpile!
"It's not like that, Yumika!"
Hana 'DEFINITELY a vampire' McShinohara has been embarrassed lately. She is embarrassed by the prodding of a friend. She is pleased to have talked with a friend. she felt sated after a small meal. In the last week, she felt sated from a large meal. She felt horrified to witness someone in lethal danger. She felt horrified to have put someone in lethal danger. She felt relief to have been forgiven by a friend. She felt happy to have made a friend. In the past month, she was sated by a small meal. She felt sated by a small meal. She felt giddy after consuming conflict. She is irreligious. She is a Citizen of Mihoku. She is a Student of Yamaha High School. She is a Member of the Superpowered Entities Liberation Federation. She is an enemy of the Secure Contain Protect Foundation. She is seventeen years old.
She has a thin frame with a little fat. Her eyes are sunken. Her hair is deeply black. Her eyebrows are thick. Her eyes are naturally wide. She has long eyelashes. Her hair is tied up in rearward twintails. Her fingernails are painted. Her chin is round. Her nose is very small. Her lips are thin. Her mouth naturally settles into a slight frown. She is not like other people, and possesses little talent for making friends.She has a talent for understanding people.
She likes fear, scrambled eggs, sheep wool, writing, drama, horror movies, and likes Stephen King for his skill. When possible, she prefers to consume terror, fear, and sugar. She absolutely detests crackers. She has a wonderful sense for emotion, and is quite good at storytelling. Like others in his culture, she holds hard work to be among the highest ideals and admires fine craftsmanship, admires honor, appreciates anime, elegant clothing and respects authority.She personally sees friendship as a highly valuable quality, disloyalty to be a great offense, cowardice as sympathetic, bravery as admirable, and commends loyalty.She dreams of being normal one day.
She is poor at keeping secrets. She is slow to make friends. She is twitchy and nervous around new people. She worries often, and is somewhat neurotic. She is prone to resisting her nature. She fears scientists, and her nightmares often include laboratories. She rubs her mouth when nervous.
A medium creature fond of creativity and innovation. Beware their large nuclear stockpile!
Note: Literally none of this was passed by LuciD and everything here is sheer speculation unless stated otherwise. I suppose it can stand as a testament to what I thought these three were like at this moment in history.
He likes anime and manga, science fiction, scientific research, drama, vocaloids, electronics, computers, Artifical Intelligences for their matronly conduct, and magical girls for their frilly dresses.
Would Big Sis be jealous if we installed a frilly wallpaper on the flipphone?
Eh, she isn't in any immediate danger seeing how at the moment we need to buy a phone and design a companion app from scratch, first. But one day...
In the past month, she was pleased by a family member's survival. She was relieved to see her brother. She was relieved to yell at her brother. She was terrified to hear of an accident.
Seems to imply a story behind it.
Come to think of it, she has a pretty big family: Marion, Izumo, Kuroko (and where is Akiko?), but we never hear anything about them. We know more about Reizei's family than hers.
Can anyone tell me if the names Izumo and Marion have a gender associated with them?
Is it the same table Silas seems to be so fascinated by?
But more seriously, what is an interest 'near' tables, chairs and drawers supposed to represent? In DF, and in the Omake specifically. Especially a repeated one.
She has a great intuition, acting ability, interpersonal sense, kinesthetic sense, and memory. Like others in his culture, she holds hard work to be among the highest ideals and admires fine craftsmanship, admires honor and swordcraft, appreciates anime, noh theatre, elegant clothing and respects authority.
Kinesthetic sense? Probably refers to her being a little handsy? Not that she does that to Silas often...
Also, craftsmanship, honor and swordcraft? Craftsmanship is more or less a necessity for her obsession with theater and changing roles at a whim, but the latter two are harder to place. Her aggressively protective nature, maybe?
But then Silas is described in the same words, and he doesn't have any of those qualities. Unless he admires Yumika. :lol
'She was horrified by an errant article ruining her figure.'
Unless it's deliberate (since her chin is described as round, too), but then where would the fat come from if she doesn't consume much in terms of normal food?
Like others in his culture, she holds hard work to be among the highest ideals and admires fine craftsmanship, admires honor, appreciates anime, elegant clothing and respects authority.
Alas, when Silas tried to find some common ground when he met her for the first time, and went on how a horror movie had been adapted to an anime, her reaction was pretty much 'wut?' Sadly, I do not think she shares our protagonist's hobbies... which makes it a perfect opportunity to induct her!
None shall leave the RikuRiku event unenlightened!
But the most pertinent question is, when did the three got their hands on a nuclear stockpile? Did Big Sis leave the Emergency Satchel without supervision again?
But more seriously, what is an interest 'near' tables, chairs and drawers supposed to represent? In DF, and in the Omake specifically. Especially a repeated one.
Its just a log of mood modifiers. Dwarf Fortress dworfs get small mood improvements from high quality items, so its basically walking past and "dang thats a fine table-kun"
Basically what Veekie said. Dwarf Fortress dwarves are rather famous for their robot-like appreciation for fine furniture and weird emotional spikes; there's a pretty common meme over on bay 12 among forumgoers that a dwarf with a masterwork table can have his family slowly ground into paste in front of him by a giant sponge (most dangerous creature in the game lately due to bugs with how damage is handled), all his friends lit on fire, his eyes torn out of his head and room filled with the rotting corpses of the ugliest goblins, and still be "content" or "interested".
This was particularly egregious in older versions, before Toady tuned how the game weighted different things. Masterwork objects are way easier to get than the bonus they can apply en masse is to overcome, so experienced players quickly figure out how to fill all their dwarves rooms with masterwork objects and other valuable things to try and prevent situations like tantrum spirals, where one dwarf snaps, punches another dwarf in the face, who snaps, then breaks a legendary table, depressing the stonemason, who snaps... And then fifteen minutes later everyone is throwing a tantrum and they end up breaking the gate mechanism or something and allowing goblins inside the fort.
DF has a tendency to describe people in such a clinical way that they seem uglier than they are. So it's not saying Silas or Hana are quite as fat as you're imagining. Or that Yumika's eyes are bulging out of her head. Just that Silas and Hana have similar "shut-in" builds.
Would Big Sis be jealous if we installed a frilly wallpaper on the flipphone?
Eh, she isn't in any immediate danger seeing how at the moment we need to buy a phone and design a companion app from scratch, first. But one day...
Seems to imply a story behind it.
Come to think of it, she has a pretty big family: Marion, Izumo, Kuroko (and where is Akiko?), but we never hear anything about them. We know more about Reizei's family than hers.
Can anyone tell me if the names Izumo and Marion have a gender associated with them?
Izumo can be either male or female, although there's a female spelling with different kanji so if LuciD gives us the kanji we might be able to tell if Izumo is a girl. Or not.
Marion appears to be exclusively female, though.
But yeah. Felt like implying a small story there. Even if it was canon though I doubt it would have any impact, seeing as nothing much came of it. I actually considered throwing in a couple of very subtle DF-style references to her being the vampire (vamps in DF change their names but their nicknames tend to stay the same, causing weirdness an attentive player can spot) but people here don't play enough DF and I wanted to keep things mostly accessible.
Kinesthetic sense? Probably refers to her being a little handsy? Not that she does that to Silas often...
Also, craftsmanship, honor and swordcraft? Craftsmanship is more or less a necessity for her obsession with theater and changing roles at a whim, but the latter two are harder to place. Her aggressively protective nature, maybe?
But then Silas is described in the same words, and he doesn't have any of those qualities. Unless he admires Yumika. :lol
DF assumes you at least respect the things your culture says you should unless otherwise reported, so I guess Yumika is down with the samurai. Seems like something she'd think was great fun, anyway - I could totally see her in the shell armor, massive katana in hand, flag on her back, running down a hill towards a very unfortunate instance of Ichiro.
Yeah she's definitely our most secretive friend, although credit to her that she manages to make us forget it sometimes. She seems really open and cheerful but we still have basically no information on her Mystery besides what Shinohara told us, and Shinohara told us basically nothing. I expect it will come out around Good Friends status, but who knows how long it will take us to get there.
And when we do we may have more important things to worry about, like the egregious naval combat Hana shippers and Yumika shippers will have to have at that point.
'She was horrified by an errant article ruining her figure.'
Unless it's deliberate (since her chin is described as round, too), but then where would the fat come from if she doesn't consume much in terms of normal food?
Sitting around can make you rounder, and Hana is the quiet type like Silas who probably spends plenty of time in her room shacked up with a couple copies of Saw and The Cabin in the Woods. Which I just had the hilarious revelation is probably her idea of the food channel. If Silas wants to really ruin her next movie night all he has to do is quietly ask her if Jigsaw is her idea of Guy Frieri (or cultural equivalent). "Do you want to go to Flavortown?"
I figure a lot more of her roundness comes from bone structure though. Like, as in, she just naturally has a rounder face than Yumika or Silas does. Something of a foil for Yumika's thinner, more noble features. A soft "girl-next-door" to Yumika's more gymnast sort of build.
Alas, when Silas tried to find some common ground when he met her for the first time, and went on how a horror movie had been adapted to an anime, her reaction was pretty much 'wut?' Sadly, I do not think she shares our protagonist's hobbies... which makes it a perfect opportunity to induct her!
None shall leave the RikuRiku event unenlightened!
Oops, I actually meant to remove the anime bit, because I did recall that part of her. She didn't seem like she hated it though, just that she preferred real people.
But the most pertinent question is, when did the three got their hands on a nuclear stockpile? Did Big Sis leave the Emergency Satchel without supervision again?
That's actually the general human description. The nuclear stockpile is just a gag because DF would 100% be warning you that you're about to get fuckin' nuked if you screw with them (them being humans in general, thus the linebreaks between the racial description and personal description).
It works quite well for Silas, because I can readily imagine him admiring a table, a floor, a ceiling, or whatever it is that lets him avoid looking the other person in the eye.
I was trying to think of a way to combine the love for artificial intelligence and frilly megucas into one True Passion. Big Sis is a bit too old for it, plus she is kind of a mother figure. Little Sister, though, now that's a whole another story.
Or would she be more like a mascot, the source of supernatural powers? Does it make Nanami a magical girl?
I was mostly going for a bit of low-brow humor, but sure, that works too. Although I don't know about her being 'secretive', per se... that's an actual trait some of our classmates share, but Yumika doesn't appear to have it. It's more like she is more used to being supportive, and less to being supported, so she really doesn't want to trouble people with her problems.
Hmm, now that I think about it, she does sound like an eldest kid in the family.
And when we do we may have more important things to worry about, like the egregious naval combat Hana shippers and Yumika shippers will have to have at that point.
Sitting around can make you rounder, and Hana is the quiet type like Silas who probably spends plenty of time in her room shacked up with a couple copies of Saw and The Cabin in the Woods. Which I just had the hilarious revelation is probably her idea of the food channel. If Silas wants to really ruin her next movie night all he has to do is quietly ask her if Jigsaw is her idea of Guy Frieri (or cultural equivalent). "Do you want to go to Flavortown?"
Hmm... but doesn't that mean she'd have to watch those films in good company, or in movie theaters, rather than alone in her room? Otherwise who would she syphon the fear from?
"The hopelessness on the girl's face - her actor really knows how to do despair! How she tried to cling desperately to the chair, but it was no use; the tendrils of the tentacles were too strong! They dragged her in… sloooowly… and she screamed and screamed but there was nothing she could do!" Shinohara slapped her fingers to her cheeks. Her expression was ecstatic. "'HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME!' Hahaaha, oh god, that was funny! 'GET AWAY FROM ME I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NO, NO NO!!' Hahahhaa… hahah... ahaah… hah… ha…"
[...]
"Oh! Sorry, Yamigawa-kun!" Shinohara seemed to be trying to wipe her face of emotion entirely. She was still beet-red, though. "You weren't supposed to… I shouldn't have… I should… yeah."
Something tells me there is some kind of aesthetical appreciation on a different level than simple nutrition. Or maybe I am just misunderstanding how the whole Bakemono business works. I always imagined it functioning a bit like Changelings and Glamour do in WoD.
Edit: almost forgot... why is Yumika tagged as 'make me a trader'?
I was mostly going for a bit of low-brow humor, but sure, that works too. Although I don't know about her being 'secretive', per se... that's an actual trait some of our classmates share, but Yumika doesn't appear to have it. It's more like she is more used to being supportive, and less to being supported, so she really doesn't want to trouble people with her problems.
Hmm, now that I think about it, she does sound like an eldest kid in the family.
I mean, the good part of a good lie is all the questions you never get asked. Can't detect a lie if you never speak it, right?
I'm 1100% convinced Yumika has a Mystery, but I have no clue what it could be. That's pretty exceptional, considering we've spent as much time interacting with her as with Big Sister over the course of the quest. We really, really ought to know more, have bolder hints, but if LuciD's given us anything we've missed it entirely. I'd say that makes Yumika a pretty good liar.
Something tells me there is some kind of aesthetical appreciation on a different level than simple nutrition. Or maybe I am just misunderstanding how the whole Bakemono business works. I always imagined it functioning a bit like Changelings and Glamour do in WoD.
Like I said, food network for Dream Bakemono's. People watch the Food Network all the time to just look at good food, nothing says Hana doesn't do the same with horror movies. For her, I assume, the connotations must be similar to a foodie watching a professional confectioner go about making sweets.
Well, minus the manaical laughter. That's a bit odd. Maybe someone already mentioned the Jigsaw=Guy Fieri comparison and now she can't help but imagine it? It was her mother, wasn't it? Dammit, Mom!
High social skills? The nicknames are really just a nod at players using dorf nicknames in DF to make sure migrants go where they're supposed to without having to check the skill list 60 times. I usually end up renaming their profession directly ("archer", "builder", "woodsman") and use the names as markers of who's new and who's been here long enough that I don't have to worry about them. If they're named after an anime character, I know they're not flooding the edge of the map with old clothes and shit.
So since Yumika would have a load of social skills she'd make a good trader. Since Shinohara is shady she's marked as a vampire. And since Silas is useless he's designated vampire bait. Also serves as shipping. Efficiency!
Omake: The Perfectly Normal Immigration Checkpoint Booth
A/N: I'm going to be upfront and brutally honest with you guys.
This whole omake is one giant, unabated, shameless spat of self-indulgence for me. It's sort of like what happens when you lock me in a room with nothing but a keyboard and a word processor out of spite for me not writing on a regular schedule, threw a phone that only plays vaguely Communist-sounding music in there, and told me to write whatever came to my mind or else I would be forced to watch the people I care about be murdered in horrible ways, like some sort of creativity-obsessed Saw with a God complex. *click* Not that uh
Not that that actually happened. Of course.
... *chk chk* So uh… I apologize in advance! A regular update will be coming within seconds of you having read this Author's note, if you're reading this as soon as it comes out. If not, then congratulations! The regular update is already out, you can go ahead and read that now! Till then, enjoy this… thing!
Before you go over-analyzing this, I will say upfront that nothing is chronologically correct about anything in this mindblowing clusterfack of tangling plotlines. None of the events mentioned have happened, none of these people have actually ever visited Pravdustan. Okay, maybe a few have. But not all of them. So uh… keep that in mind.
Sometimes I write just to relieve stress, and usually what comes out is a bit gibberishy. This is a product of that mindset. I think. Maybe. I don't know.
The metal door clanged shut behind the her. Stretching her arms outward, the Inspector let her hat, her scarf, and her surcoat fall to the ground. Her office was looking quite nice and orderly today; as was to be expected of a Border Inspector under the employ of the Ministry of Admission.
She went through the morning routines quickly. Time was money, after all. The Inspector deftly pressed several switches and levers in her booth, causing the weight sensor's gauge to spring to life, the CCTV monitors to tune in to the cameras outside and - most importantly - the space heater to start functioning. The booth was warmer than the outside, but not by much. The new space heaters, therefore, worked wonders on the body and mind.
She certainly didn't envy the guards who had to stand out in the (beautiful, Pravic, yet harsh) snow.
Tentatively, the inspector pulled on a chain next to her desk, allowing the shutters to rise. In front of her was a glass window with a small slit, and behind that, a concrete wall with a height measuring tape hastily scribbled onto the side. And, of course, a few ceremonial plaques. The Ministry rewarded Excellence, after all - and she was most excellent at her job, indeed.
The Inspector double-checked to make sure the compartment where she stored her rifle was locked - she never knew when she would ever need to fire that. Then she went through the rulebook to refresh her memory, and glanced at the Ministry's Daily Bulletin - thankfully, no drastic policy changes. Leaving the bulletin off to the side of her desk, and making sure to position the photographs of today's Wanted Criminals to be just in her peripheral sight, she took a deep breath, tapped her microphone, and spoke:
"It is six o'clock A.M. The border is now open. First entrant, please enter the booth."
Her voice rang out over the grounds. She heard the shifting of feet as a giant mass acknowledged her words; voices rising, cloth fluttering; until, finally, the door to the border was open, and a single entrant was allowed to enter into her booth.
A small girl with twintails, a vaguely easterner-looking complexion, and a goofy-looking smile walked in. "Heya!" she said, doing a little polite bow.
The Inspector greeted her: "Papers, please."
"Right! Here you go…" The girl plopped a few documents - hopelessly out of order, to the Inspector's chagrin, on her desk. The inspector quickly grabbed the Mihoku passport and glanced at the details.
IMP. REP. of MIHOKU Mykatsuma, Okamui
DOB. 1045.3.29 SEX: F ISS. Miyao City EXP. 1075.11.1 Issuing city checks out… The Inspector gave pause. ...but I've never seen an expiry so late before. Oh well. Nothing worth denying over.
"What is the purpose of your visit?" The Inspector pulled up Miss Mykatsuma's Entry Permit and scrutinized it carefully.
"Just visiting!" Mykatsuma smiled again. "I have a friend here. Haven't seen her since last year!"
"How long do you plan to stay?"
"Two weeks."
The Inspector nodded. Purpose and length match… passport numbers match… names match…
The Inspector then switched to the I.D. supplement. Weight matches… description seems okay… height…
The Inspector coughed. She took off her spectacles, and then rechecked Mykatsuma's height with the number on her Identity supplement.
They didn't match.
Come to think of it, the entire Identity Supplement was completely at odds with the picture on the passport, and the picture on the passport didn't match the girl's face, either.
"You do not match this description," The Inspector said, curtly. A bubble of suspicion was growing in her gut.
"Is that… good or bad?" the entrant's mouth curled into a nervous-looking smile.
"Take this." The Inspector pulled a little slip with five empty dotted boxes from her drawer - in order to verify her identity, she would have to conduct a rudimentary fingerprint test. While the entrant fiddled with the slip, the Inspector quickly typed up a M.O.I. Information request to the offices downtown. With stunning efficiency, they responded by faxing her a fingerprint copy of a "Mykatsuma Okamui," along with aliases.
"Now I have ink everywhere…" the entrant giggled. She handed the fingerprint slip back, and immediately the Inspector noticed the discrepancy.
"I cannot verify your identity," she said. "These fingerprints are not the same."
The entrant only looked mildly shocked. "I know nothing of this. You sure you got it right? I'm pretty sure I'm me, after all!"
The Inspector sighed irritatedly. "The fingerprints tell a different story."
"It's a natural difference?" a thin smile played on the girl's lips.
"Fingerprints don't change with age."
"Perhaps I am wearing different shoes?"
"I - what?" The Inspector had to choke back a laugh. "You know I am legally obligated to detain you now. Yes?"
"Whaaaat? No you doooon't…" The entrant was positively beaming, for some reason.
"Impersonation of identity is very serious crime," The Inspector said evenly. "More serious than most. Some things I can forgive. Identity theft or impersonation, I cannot."
"Well, yeah, but it's not like Mykatsuma was a real person, anyway. The whole person's faked, all the way up to the fingerprints."
The Inspector nearly guffawed. How would - why would… what kind of idiot is this girl?!
"Ah, well… you really, really must forgive me, Miss Inspector! I guess my little prank went a little too far, yeah? So just… ah… stamp me a RED one, and send me on my way, like the misbehaving child I am. Is that agreeable?"
"You think this is game?!" The Inspector felt her forehead heating up. Her finger edged towards the button to alert the guards. "You miserable little - "
Suddenly there was a two-hundred credit bill sitting on her desk.
That was enough to buy food for the next six months. And maybe even rent, too.
The entrant whose real name was not Mykatsuma winked. "I have more, too." she whispered.
The Inspector sighed. She was a loyal, hardworking, patriotic citizen and a representative of the Ministry of Admissions.
But she also had a mother to feed. Oh, how annoying…
She reached for the red stamp and forcefully plunged it into the entrant's visa.
1062.12.26 ENTRY
DENIED
"Don't come back."
"Oh, I won't. I promise." The entrant smiled again, handing another three - three! - hundred-credit bills over the counter as she scurried away from the booth.
The Inspector watch her go. Strange girl… she thought absentmindedly, before returning to her work. She had the odd, dreadful feeling that today was going to be eventful.
"Next!"
~~ Seven entrant later ~~
IMP. REP. of MIHOKU Tachibana, Kei
DOB. 1047.3.12 SEX. M ISS. Miyao City EXP. 1063.1.2
"What is the purpose of your trip?"
"I come for vacation." The boy before her fidgeted a bit.
"How long do you plan to stay?"
"Just a few weeks."
"Hmm…" The Inspector glanced through his documents. "...this Entry Permit was forged."
"I-I'm sorry?!" Tachibana looked indignant. "That's… that's not possible. I know nothing of this."
To make a point, the Inspector showed him the seal on his document. "Official M.O.A. bureaucratic seals are red, with pale shield in middle, yes? Your shield is slightly off center. And the decorative plate is incorrect. Your forgery skills are so amateur, you are not even worth arresting."
"Wait, I didn't - "
1062.12.26 ENTRY
DENIED
"Come back when you have the right documents."
Drooping his shoulders, Tachibana saw his way out. "Wow… that was… wow. Nice one, miss."
"I do my best," the Inspector smirked, waving him away.
"I need to get better at this… Kirino-chan'll be so disappointed if I can't - "
Whatever words he was saying were abruptly cut off by the door slamming shut behind him.
"The purpose of my trip is for transit, comrade-pal-buddy-friend!" the boy (she assumed he was a boy, at least) named Hanamura said, beaming. "I'll be staying for half a - "
"No no, no, your Entry Permit and I.D. Supplement are correct, to my knowledge, but…" the Inspector scratched her head. "...but, I do not believe that 'Japan' is a real country, sir. And this passport is completely erroneous. Why do you not have gender? Why are these dates several hundred years off? What is a 'Kyoto?'"
"Whaaaat?" Hanamura touched his lower lip with his index finger, pouting his lips. "That doesn't make any sense! Can you check again, oh-friendly-comrade-friend of mine?"
"I'm sorry, I don't believe this is a M.O.A. approved passport…" the Inspector sighed. "I will have to deny your entry…"
"Now wait a minute! Err… perhaps this passport will suffice?"
"You have two passports?" the Inspector raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! Dual citizenship! Never heard of it?"
Hanamura reached for his parka and extracted another passport.
=AKIBA= Adventurer's Passport - This document grants conditional access to all affiliates, allies, and holdings of the AKIBA ROUND TABLE
Hanamura, Chihiro DOB. 1.1.1 SEX. F ISS. Akihabara City EXP. 10.3.11
"..." Dear Katyusha, there are so many things wrong with this boy's passport…
The Inspector didn't quite know what was forcing her to break protocol and not immediately deny this boy's entry. It had become quite obvious that all of his documents were grievously faked. Still… she could not deny him, not yet. Was it curiosity? Was the cold finally getting to her?
She sighed, again. Maybe she could get him to clarify some of this junk. "What is this 'Akiba round table?'"
"It's an association of combat guilds, production guilds, and others! A mutual beneficiary meant to prevent abuse and exploitation!"
Guilds? What is this, Pre-Revolution Era? "Yes, yes, like all governments. But Guilds have not been around since - "
"Oh, so you're not convinced of my credulity - is that the word? Yes, yes it is, credulity - with this passport, are you?" the boy cut her off. "Well - no fear! I have several more!"
"Why?!"
"Cross-citizenship, never heard of it?"
"It is not possible to be citizen of more than two countries at once under international law!"
PRINCIP. OF GALLIA "Valkyria, Valkyria
May the bloodline live forever
Valkyria, Valkyria Bless and protect our fertile land"
Hanamura, Chihiro DOB. 1885.7.11 SEX. M ISS. Hadleigh EXP. 1900.1.1 -Citizen's Passport- KINGDOM of HOSHIDO
-ARTSTOTZKA-
"What is this bullshit… 'Gallia'? 'Hoshido'? 'Artstotzka?' Last one does not sound like name, even! What kind of joke is this?!" The Inspector demanded.
"Cross-citizenship, Inspector-senpai!" the boy named Hanamura made innocent puppy eyes at her. "Cross-national, cross-universes, cross-timelines, crossdressing… cross-everything! I can personally assure you, every single one of these documents is valid!"
"You have a different gender for each one of these!" The Inspector raged. Exasperatedly, the Inspector showed him his 'Hoshido' passport. "This one has an expiry date before your birthday!"
"Weell…" Hanamura grinned awkwardly. "Maaaybe not that one. But the rest are valid in their respective countries and calendars, I swear!"
"Why - ?!"
Suddenly, her radio crackled to life: "Inspector? Ma'am? What is holding the line so much? The entrants outside are getting antsy. We had to suppress an attempt to scale the walls just now. Hurry up in there, will you?"
The Inspector let her fingers drop, causing the radio to fall away from her ear. She heaved a heavy sigh. "You are costing me money, friend."
And so the strange entrant promptly took his things and left… through the wrong door.
"Hey! You! You were denied! You go that way!" the Inspector yelled, pointing in the opposite direction.
"I'm sorry what was that?" Hanamura laughed, opening the hatch and making his way across the border.
The Inspector's eyebrow twitched.
"Security, arrest that man."
"Of course, Inspector."
Within moments, Hanamura was back in her booth, being dragged forcefully by two tired-looking guards dressed in gray and velvet. "Woahhh! Don't touch me there, bud! What are you, some kind of pervert?"
"Shut up, mudak, or I will have you thrown into the snow."
"I dunno, I kinda like snow! You're gonna have to think of a better – OOOF – "
Hanamura's inane ramblings were suddenly and definitively silenced as one of the guards smacked him on the side of his head with the butt of his rifle.
The guard responsible turned to her. "Prison?"
The Inspector hesitated. Pravic prisons were shitholes. The Inspector firmly believed that only those on the level of human traffickers and enemies of the State really deserved that kind of punishment.
But then again…
"Yes. Have him sent there immediately. I'll file a report later this week. Or maybe at the start of next month. We'll have him stew in there and think about his crimes against the State for a bit," the Inspector grinned wickedly.
"Just as well. This fucker is annoying," the guard responded dutifully. He saluted. "Glory to Katyusha, Inspector."
"Glory to Katyusha."
As the guards disappeared into the snow outside the border booth, the Inspector sighed contentedly, glad she was not privy to tribunals capable of investigating her for abuse of power.
She was an Inspector of the Ministry of Admissions, after all.
"Next!"
~~ Three entrant later ~~
IMP. REP. of MIHOKU Nakagawa, Nanako
DOB. 1045.12.27 SEX: F ISS. Miyao City EXP. 1063.1.2
"What is the purpose of your trip?" The Inspector peered at the young, blonde-haired Nakagawa, and then to his documents. Description matched, height and weight were fine… the only thing left was the Entry Permit.
"Visiting. We have a performance." The boy, compared to others, seemed really calm and composed. Though she could tell he was uncomfortable here. Not like she blamed him.
"How long?" The Inspector asked.
"Just a few days."
The Inspector raised an eyebrow. "Your length of stay is different."
"Wha - oh, right. We're staying for a whole week. Sorry."
The Inspector nodded. Between the biometrics and description in the ID supplement and the Entry Permit, she could find no discrepancy. Thus, she reached for the green stamp… but she stopped as she glanced at the passport.
"...Are you a man or a woman?"
Nakagawa seemed confused. "The passport is correct. Obviously. What kind of question is - oh, wait. Waaaait. Um… can I have that back, please?"
The Inspector suddenly had that bubbling of suspicion again. "Why?"
"Those are my sister's. She left her passport and shit with me and I always mix our stuff up and - "
"You do know that creating false information on a passport is a crime against the State, correct?"
The boy blinked. "...what? You can't honestly think that I forged this thing…"
"I'm not saying the document is forged. I am saying that the information is incorrect. I cannot let you through."
"But those aren't even mine! I told you - they're my sisters! Here, let me give you my real pass - "
"Sorry. M.O.A. policy means I should be detaining you right now. You are lucky that I have no reason to believe this was done with malicious intent. Put the correct gender on your document next time."
"Wait, I'm serious, we're twins, it's not like - !"
1062.12.26 ENTRY
DENIED
The Inspector slid the documents back across the counter. "Goodbye."
"You can't do this!" Nakagawa bared his teeth. His fist clenched up. "I have a fucking - "
"Would you like me to send for the guards?"
This, thankfully, seemed to pacify the boy. Grumbling, Nakagawa left the booth, practically kicking the door outside open. The Inspector frowned, slightly remorseful.
But then again. It wasn't her problem. Her job was to enforce the law, after all.
…she glanced tepidly at the stack of hundred-credit bills on her desk.
Okay, her job was to enforce the law or not relative to the amount of bribe money the entrant was willing to give her.
The Inspector chuckled to herself, silently glad that the M.O.A. had decided not to implement Total Surveillance in her workplace. Probably due to her shining work record and efficiency and patriotism.
"Next!"
~~ One entrant later ~~
Sylvester Cherney
DOB. 1045.12.27
SEX. M
ISS. FGS Neue Hoffnung
EXP. 1063.1.2
--OZZETCH REPUBLIK-- Now this is an interesting one, the Inspector thought to herself. The document was tattered and old; Ozzetch passports, while valid, were very, very rare, mostly because the Ozzetchian continent did not dock on the mainland often.
"What is the purpose of your trip?"
"I am seeking asylum," the timid-looking effeminate boy pushed his documents into the counter.
"I am going to need your fingerprints," the Inspector said, handing the fingerprint slip to him.
"O-Of course." Cherney took the slip while the Inspector made the information request. Soon, the Inspector had the entrant's fingerprints and the M.O.I.'s fingerprints on her desk, and immediately she noticed the discrepancy.
Frowning grimly, the Inspector said, as she reached for the red button, "Your fingerprints do not match."
"W-What?! Wait, wait, that can't be right…"
"I am sorry, whoever you are. But we will have to detain you for questioning; faking one's identity is a serious crime. Come quietly and you may not be bodily harmed." She reached for the big red button under her desk.
"N-No… c-can you check again? I'm… I-I'm sure that Big Sis couldn't have gotten the p-prints wrong… I-I checked with her! So many times! T-T-There must be some sort of m-mistake! Please don't m-make me go b-back…"
The Inspector hesitated for just a second, her finger lingering over her DETAIN button. A small, fleeting part of her hated this part of the job - it was the same part of her that knew, instinctively, that about half the people she detained day-by-day were detained not due to criminality, but due to some sort of bureaucratic incompetence, or corruption.
Her heart seemed to fall for a moment. Just a moment. Then, all was good - she readied the DETAIN button. Though she could wait a bit longer before subscribing the poor, shivering boy to his fate.
It was just as well - for at that moment another message from the M.O.I. arrived via her fax machine.
PLEASE FORGIVE. PREVIOUS RECORD WAS INCORRECT. THIS IS CORRECT FINGERPRINT SET.
Underneath that text was another set of fingerprints. Curious, she compared the new set with the entrant's fingerprints. And, to her astonishment, they were complete matches.
And then, another message:
THERE WAS LAST MINUTE DATABASE CHANGE. FORTUNATE AND SUPERFLUOUS THAT I WAS PRESENT DURING THAT INFORMATION REQUEST. GOOD LUCK OUT THERE. - M.O.I. Agent B.S.
Well, the Inspector thought. I've never had more a reason to grant entry than this, right here. An omission from the Ministry itself! How rare.
1062.12.26 ENTRY
GRANTED
"Cause no trouble."
"Oh… t-thank you! Thank you!" Mister Cherney wiped a bunch of tears from his cheek, wettening his entire arm. "I-I won't forget this! Thank you, ma'am!"
"You're holding up the line. Move, already," The Inspector replied dismissively.
Cherney sniffled. "T-Thank you again. I-I'm so glad… haha… so glad…" he turned to the door, the door that faced the country, not the outside border, and stepped away.
The second he left, the Inspector let out a deep sigh. That was… strangely emotional. For some reason, a small part of her was glad that the M.O.I. reacted as quickly as they did.
She made a mental note to pull aside her friend from the M.O.I. agency after work today and tell him that he and his Ministry did good work. And to buy him a vodka with her new bribery money from today.
Make that two vodkas.
"Next!"
~~ Nine entrant later ~~
<U. S. A. R.> Republik flag flies oe'r the meign,
Oe'r fair-flung fields of Amber plain.
Pinemount, Mika DOB. 1045.3.29 SEX: F ISS. New Lincoln EXP. 1075.11.1 Ambernian? Ugh. What do they want now? "What is the purpose of your trip?"
"My presence was requested."
The Inspector's upper lip twitched. She didn't like this woman's tone. Something about her made her feel incredibly suspicious.
She prepared to thoroughly examine her documentation.
After a few long minutes of scrounging, the Inspector, victoriously, discovered the discrepancy she knew would be there. She took the supposed diplomat's Diplomatic Authorization form and showed it to the entrant: "I am afraid you have the wrong diplomatic seal, ma'am. Ambernian seal is eagle with star, or eagle with letters. Eagle with blue stripe is not a valid seal. That is part of Mihoku diplomatic seal. Come now; you need to get better at your forgeries."
"What is this? Are you accusing me of forging my own Diplomatic Authorization?" the entrant raised an eyebrow. "Check with your superiors."
"In this booth, I am the superior," The Inspector sneered.
1062.12.26 ENTRY
DENIED
After handing the passport back, the entrant actually looked confused. She fiddled a bit with her pigtails, which she had tried so hard to hide behind a cap. The Inspector smiled. "The only reason I am being lenient is because I know that is you, "Mykatsuma," or whoever you are."
"Oh - Oooooh." The entrant dropped her serious facade immediately and broke into a huge grin. "Saw right through me, didn't you?"
"You had me convinced, but you need to learn how to conceal hair better."
"Yeah, these tend to give it away…" the girl giggled, twiddling with her pigtails. "Welp. Can't be helped."
"Next time you show up here, I will call the guards," the Inspector warned. "Just because you amuse me does not exempt you from the law."
"What if I bring more credits?"
"..." The Inspector sighed. "...get out."
"Righto! Seeya!" And then the girl scurried away. Again.
"Next!"
~~ Four entrant later ~~
IMP. REP. of MIHOKU Takahashi, Yuuko
DOB. 1047.9.10 SEX. F ISS. Miyao City EXP. 1076.2.17
"I come for - "
1062.12.26 ENTRY
DENIED
Before Miss Takahashi had even finished her sentence, angry red ink was spilling onto her visa.
"...what…?"
"Passport numbers do not match."
Miss Takahashi shifted her feet awkwardly. "...it must be a typographical error…?"
"Nope. Number on passport is 115DL-33HWM. Number on Entry Permit is 1I5DL-33HWM. Is a forgery, but a clever one. Please do not return."
Miss Takahashi numbly collected her papers, and stepped back, hesitantly. "Aren't you… aren't you going to arrest me?"
"Prisons are full," the Inspector lied.
"Oh...." Slowly, Takahashi took her documents and started for the door. Then, for some reason… she laughed. "Kei-kun was right." Her light and airy voice sounded… hollow. And dangerous. "You people run this border very well."
And then the door slammed shut.
The Inspector stared at the spot were Takahashi was before confirming to herself that, no, that wasn't another bomb threat. She really needed a break…
"Next!"
~~ Two entrant later ~~
IMP. REP. of MIHOKU Mikado, Yoshi
DOB. 1045.5.6 SEX. M ISS. Miyoa City EXP. 1064.2.21 So many Mihokujin people today… the Inspector thought absently. "What is the purpose of your trip?"
"I am in transit." The boy spoke confidently.
"How long will you be staying?"
"Just a few days at most."
The Inspector ran through his documents, making extra sure to double-check the Identity Supplement. On it was written the words: Painfully average look, brown eyes, black hair.
Well, she thought to herself. That's certainly a helpful description. It's not like every male foreigner from that land of fireworks and video games matches this look, or anything.
Just to be sure, she peered into the boy's eyes, ascertaining the color was correct.
His were a very cool, almost hazy shade of brown. Like cinnamon, she thought immediately.
…
Why am I blushing? This is unnatural. The Inspector quickly slapped her cheeks and hastily went through the rest of her documents.
Finally, content with their validity, she spoke: "This looks good to me."
1062.12.26 ENTRY
GRANTED
"Cause no trouble."
"Ah. Thanks, ma'am!" Mikado slid his documents into one of the pockets of his jacket. "That was faster than I expected. I must be lucky today," he laughed.
He lifted the exit door open with his mittened hands, and stepped outside. As the door slowly slammed shut, the Inspector eased her microphone to prepare to call for the next entrant.
And then, the unholy sound of the citation machine breached her peace. Disbelievingly, she ripped the citation slip from the machine to stare at its contents.
M.O.A. CITATION
Protocol Violated.
Invalid Issuing City.
WARNING ISSUED - NO PENALTY
Some, small, reasonable part of the Inspector's brain wondered aloud how and why the clerk creating her M.O.A. citation was able to figure out she had processed an entrant incorrectly within seconds of him having left the booth. It was drowned out by an other, more reactionary part of her brain that was screaming for that foreigner boy's blood. Which, in turn, was drowned out completely by the fluffy part of her brain which couldn't stop thinking about that boy's cute eyes. Or his nimble, unassuming face… or his adorable, messy hairdo…
"Alexei." Her voice was level. "The boy who just left the booth. Is he still there?"
A short pause.
"Negative, ma'am. He broke out into a run as soon as he left. But his paper was stamped green, so we let him go."
The Inspector sighed. "Understood. Please… ah… create an arrest warrant for a 'Yoshi Mikado,' of that face and profile. I simply need to talk to them about a small discrepancy in their documents. Make it an infraction charge, not a felony."
"Of course, Inspector."
The Inspector sat in her booth for a few minutes, telling herself, repeatedly, that she was doing this because of her duties as an Inspector. She couldn't, however, stop blushing, herself.
"Next!"
~~ Three entrant later ~~
==PRAVDUSTAN==
Cherney, Reina DOB. 1045.1.1 SEX: F ISS. St. Havsburg EXP. 1063.1.10
==PRAVDUSTAN==
Finally. A citizen.
"Welcome back home, friend," the Inspector said. She relaxed visibly in her seat.
"It was a long journey," Miss Reina spoke in such beautiful, beautiful Pravic. After having to listen to foreigners mumble all day, it was a wonderful change of tone. "But I made it. I hope the Ministry has been taking could care of you?"
"We get paid more for every entrant, now. New Minister is a Man of the People."
"Ah! That's good. That's good." Reina laughed. "Hopefully soon Katyusha will reunite the districts. And then we can all get pay raise."
"Haha!" The Inspector laughed alongside her. "True, that would be an excellent windfall for us citizens." Glancing at the document, the Inspector asked, "How long have you been gone, again?"
"I left almost as soon as I had the passport renewed."
"Ah. Then, I should tell you that it's not called 'St. Havsburg' anymore. Our dear Katyusha has renamed it to 'New Havs City.' It is part of the glorious Modernization Initiative, as it were."
"Interesting. I did not know that. I hope this does not mean my passport is invalid."
"Me? Invalidate a citizen's passport? Ha! Haha!"
1062.12.26 ENTRY
GRANTED
"Glory to Katyusha." The Inspector said proudly. "Be safe, friend."
"And you, Inspector." Reina deftly collected her documents. "Oh… and by the way. Did… did a short, young-looking boy with silver hair like mine pass through the checkpoint earlier today? Name of Sylf, or something?"
"...Sylvester? Same last name as you?"
"I suppose, yes."
Technically, it was against Ministry policy to talk about the confidential information regarding other entrants. But, this is a citizen, so…
"Then, yes. He passed through with an Asylum Grant. Everything checked out. Why?"
Reina sighed in relief. "I am to be his guardian. Or maybe stepsister. Or something."
"Oh?"
Reina waved her off. "Western country is a horrible mess, as always. My family is just trying to keep distant relatives safe from the westerners and their barbarism."
"Hmm…" Now the Inspector was feeling even more glad she had let the poor boy through. "Well, treat him well, then. We are all brothers and sisters and Pravdustan, after all."
Reina smiled. "Very true. Thank you, Inspector."
And she disappeared behind the closing booth gate. The lingering feeling of comfort and warm familiarity faded as the Inspector remembered she still had a crowd of foreigners to process before the day would be over.
She hoped she would get to meet Miss Reina again some time. She seemed like one of the few well-minded people in the country.
"Next!" she barked, and the crowds outside begun to move and shift once more. She still had plenty of people to process today...
Part two will be made available once the appropriate paperwork has been filed.
Until such time, you may reread this file for your enjoyment.
Failure to meet sufficient levels of enjoyment will be met with disciplinary action.
[X] [SOCIAL] CHAR: Plan an outing with a friend: Shinohara Hana and Matsuoka Yumika
-[x] Intended Turn: this AS Turn
-[X] Location: The hypermall
"...gress reports that Amberrish First Citizen Adam Fryling just made a scathing denunciation of the Amberrish Intelligence Agency after an internal review…
"...decades-long plot to arm well-known guerrilla terrorist organizations abroad, such as the dreaded Red Dogs and the Pravic Citizen's Vanguard. The report, which was authored by Auditor in Chief Javert Tokoshuma…"
"...And now for national news. Diet Members remain largely quiet over the issue of the national deficit as the treasury slowly dwindles to rec…"
"...ean, yeah, it's simply natural of Mihokujin to want to hunker down and wait for better times, trusting in those above us to rise to their duties. But as a nation, it is important to realize that complacency is the enemy of pol…"
"Goood morning, Miyao City! The time is 6 o'clock. Hope you've bundled up, because it seems that a sudden cold snap has enveloped the city! We're expecting light to moderate snow flurries later on this week, just in time for the RikuRiku festivals - so make sure you're nice and warm while you're out celebrating! If you're lucky, it'lll be a proper Snow Riku out there! On a related note, Local News 9 would like to remind you that heavy snow is rarely a reason to not come to school or work - Miyao's robust and autonomous transportation network can operate even during natural disasters. Make sure to check with your employer and/or principal if you believe the elements are going to prevent you from leaving home. Anyway, this is Morning Reporter Minami, wishing you all a happy work-slash-school day!"
Six… o'clock? When does school start, again? Silas rumbled around in his futon, droopy eyes giving way to a blurry single-person apartment block. Squirming around for a few seconds, he eventually found his phone, putting it up against his nose.
"It really is… six o'clock…" Silas mumbled. He yawned. He needed to get out of bed.
Without Big Sister.
Then he'd get dressed. He showered last night already, so no need for that. He'd need to make sure his bag had all the stuff he needed for today.
Without Big Sister.
He needed to eat breakfast. Grab a coat. Head out the door, walk into the wind.
Without Big Sister.
Okay, well, maybe not the breakfast part. After all, Big Sis, always made him his breakfasts… still, though…
Silas yawned, again, rubbing weary eyes. He glanced at the television screen - had he fallen asleep to cable news? Or was that Big Sister checking on him?
Which one of those options is more unnerving? He thought to himself as he pushed the blankets away. He tried his best to put the bad thoughts in the back of his mind. Today was a new day, after all…
Without Big Sister.
Silas felt numb throughout most of the morning motions. He smeared that too-sweet abrasive-enhanced fluoride mixture onto his teeth and blinked away last week's contact lens to replace them with two silvery new ones. He buttoned up his undershirt and threw on his blazer, making a token attempt to straighten out his collar. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes, trying to figure out if he looked presentable - then he decided that he didn't care, so he sauntered back into his main room for Big Sister's breakfast.
It was a delicious breakfast in sight and smell - buckwheat noodles and chicken floating in hot, miso-flavoured water. Little bits of cabbage and spice dipped up and down in the porridge. Classic Chicken Ramen; a Western staple. It was amazing that it was still warm. He read somewhere that this was supposed to cure the cold. He nibbled at it a bit, then, checking his watch, grabbed his winter coat and started for the door.
He forced it open, ready for his pervasive monotony to work his way throughout his entire day. And then, a frigid, icy draft of air rushed in.
"Cold…?" Silas whispered, voice still weak and cracky from morning sickness. Hesitantly, he stepped outside, letting more of that icy wind to grace the exposed parts of his coat.
"Yeah, I - ACK!" Silas spun around, nearly falling over backwards. "Big Sis! Isn't there, um, something important you said you had to do?"
Big Sister was peeking out of his television screen at an awkward angle. But still; it was Big Sister. She was there. "I can spare five minutes. Besides, I wanted to make sure you were awake. I am glad my worries were unfounded."
Silas felt his heart glowing. "Err… thanks!"
"I hope you like the cold snap, by the way. I had to kill three scientists to achieve enough control over the Mihoku Weather Control Station to make that happen!"
"Oh, really? Thanks, Big Sis, that's - I'm sorry, what?!" Silas's heart immediately started to dive. "Big Sis! That's not - "
"I am joking. Calm down." Big Sister's avatar smirked. "That kind of collateral damage is far too reckless, even for me."
"O-Oh... " Silas sighed. "Y-You're doing that more often now, Big Sis, making jokes… haha…"
"I have gotten better. Observing your surroundings and your classmates has given me a lot of material to work with. Your classmates are morbid." Big Sister's avatar glanced away, making the all-too-implicit implication that there was something pressing that would take her attention soon. "So… I hope you will have a good day, Silas. Remember, Big Sister is watching."
"T-Thanks, Big Sis!" Silas beamed.
And then she was gone.
Silas shivered a little, letting his brief ecstasy wash away into his fingertips and toes. That uneasiness was starting to creep back again. Still, it was a delightfully frigid, and Silas didn't want that good feeling to go to waste; so, with a spring in his step, he decided to make his way to his bullet train stop, talking his time so he could soak up the wonderful cold.
Status Update: IT IS STILL FALL This week, Silas feels DREAMY, but NERVOUS
DREAMY - Anything involving creativity gets a small boost. Any action of a nature or in a setting that reminds Silas of home gets +30 to ST. NERVOUS - All social interactions suffer from -6 ST.
~~~
"Onii-chan, why is that boy so happy?"
"Maybe he got a girlfriend? I don't know."
"No one is allowed to be happy in this cold! Onii-chan, can you do something about this?!"
"Come on, Niko-chan. I need to take you to school already… Oh, come on. Stop pouting. I know you're pouting back there. Sheesh…"
~~~
"W-W-Whatever imbecile called forth this cold weather d-d-deserves to be tried and e-e-executed for t-treason against the State! This is so cold it borders on magic!"
"Sheesh, I know, right? Sometimes I wish we still burnt oil… maybe a little global warming wouldn't be so bad after all…"
"Come again?"
"N-Nothing, Taro. C'mon, let's get inside, it's freezing out here!"
"H-H-Hey, there's a boy coming this way." the older Mihokujin boy noticed Silas walking slowly up to the main door. In truth, he'd been waiting for them to disappear so that he could come in alone... "Hey! Boy! Do you wish to get frostbite? Get in here!"
"Oh, uh - " Silas froze in place for a bit, but then decided to hurry to the gate. "S-Sorry for holding you up!"
"Silas, aren't you even a little bothered by this cold?" Allen asked, rubbing his gloved palms together to generate a smattering of heat from the friction.
To that, Silas actually laughed. A little. Very, very quietly. "Oh - haha, err… n-not really. I'm used to it! It's… comfortable, almost."
"Comfortable?!" Both of them said in disbelief. The main door shut closed behind them.
"Yeah…" Silas looked sideways. "I… I like snow. And cold… comes with snow? So yeah."
"That's such bullshit." Allen spat.
"Heresy," Yamaguchi confirmed, scowling. "We should burn him at the stake."
"I agree! Tell me, Silas, do you prefer kerosene or just some dry wood and a match? Or maybe a long rope?"
"You can't use that to burn people."
"Never underestimate the creativity of an Amberrish lynch mob!"
"Oh, so we're an Amberrish lynch mob, now? I never agreed to that. I much prefer the superior, morally-upstanding Mihokujin lynch mob."
"W-Well!" Silas said loudly, edging away. "Um… nice seeing you… guys… I guess? I have to go, and - "
"Wait a moment, boy." The tall Mihokujin boy held a finger. The way he spoke made Silas gulp. Yamaguchi inched closer, only exacerbating their height difference. Silas felt like a mouse beneath him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Oh, we're um…" he squeaked, "w-we're in the same class. 4-1. Yama… Yamaguchi-kun, am I right?"
Yamaguchi nodded. "Yes," he said. Silas silently thanked Big Sister he had such a good memory.
"Yep! That's Taro's name. Glad you remembered it!"
Silas glanced between the two. They seemed relaxed around each other. Out of curiosity, he had to ask: "E-Err… you two are on first-name basis?"
"No, this… this foreigner simply refuses to acknowledge the social customs of glorious Mihoku."
"Yeah, and this Westerner refuses to acknowledge my God-given Amberrish right to shit all over your glorious customs," Allen added, punching his chest with his fist and grinning wildly. "God bless the Founders!"
"Uh... " Silas's brain wasn't quite catching up to the conversation. This… this sounded vaguely like what happened on the chatboards when two patriotic nationalists of different countries got into a fight… but… it seemed almost like they were playing it off as a joke. But were they? "So you two are friends, or…?"
Yamaguchi immediately cut him off. "Absolutely not."
Allen continued: "Yeah no. We hate each other."
"We're rivals of the highest animosity."
"He almost killed my brother."
"He successfully murdered my grandparents. In cold blood, too."
"He's also a racist."
"I am not. If anything, you are the racist, Amberrish scum."
"He also likes to deny being racist."
"And he likes to add race to every conversation because he thinks it's, how you say, 'edgy.'"
"Well, he thinks he can silence my unbiased and factual opinion. Typical fascism."
A long, awkward silence. The two of them were completely straight-faced, too, as if this was completely serious, normal, not-weird-at-all dialogue that two normal, functioning people would have. Silas raised a finger, making an oval with his lips; and then he gently put his fingers down, allowing his mouth to shut flat.
Allen was the first one to crack. He snorted; his chest started to vibrate, and he covered his nose with his mouth as chuckles forced their way through his throat. Yamaguchi followed up by exhaling loudly and cutting off his laugh with his fist before it could manifest.
The two just stood there, with goofy expressions on their faces and fingers trying to cover up giggles.
"Taro," Allen wheezed, still laughing through his nose, "I think we broke him."
"Yes. I agree. He's shattered. Devastating Defeat."
"I have no idea what's going on," Silas said for what he felt was, for some reason, not the first time.
"Oh don't worry about it. This is normal!" Allen explained, still wearing that amused, goofy grin. "Right, Taro?"
"Absolutely," Taro nodded.
Consciously, Silas took a step back. Again, he tried to disengage. "Well! Um… I'm just gonna… go now. Um… yeah. See you…"
"We're going the same way, aren't we?" Allen asked, raising an amused eyebrow.
"Well yeah, but um…" He didn't have an excuse not to go with them, which was the primary problem. Is this what my diplomats feel like when I send them off to the fictional Pravic territories in Akataiyo? "I mean… I-I guess...?"
"Okay." Allen shrugged, and motioned to Yamaguchi. "Let's go. Don't be a stranger, Silas."
"Oh… okay…" Silas said quietly, falling in line behind the two. Almost immediately, they started breaking into a fit of idle bickering interspersed by laughter.
Silas watched them argue with a certain fascination - to him, it sounded like a whole load of gibberish. Either they were having a spirited debate about favorite historical figures or arguing over superheroes; he couldn't tell, because they jumped between topics seemingly at random. And that besides, a lot of their conversations sounded like they were blatantly insulting one another, but somehow neither of them seemed to… care? Who were these people?!
Thankfully, Class 4-1 wasn't too far away from the front entrance. Making haste, Silas quickly said his goodbyes and made his way to his classroom.
They didn't seem to notice him as he quietly slipped away.
Character Sheet Updated. Silas knows a smidge more about Allen and Yamaguchi now. And he thinks they're weird.
~~~
"Oh, you wanted to talk to me? Why, Silas, I'm so flattered!" Chihiro was positively jubilant. "Sooo… what's the talk of today, huh? International politics is a good one! We could do something about moral philosophy, too! Do you like video games? I like video games. We have so much in common - "
"Hanamura-san," Toyotomi-sensei called sternly, blowing his whistle, "You and Yamigawa-kun are lagging behind! Keep pace with your classmates!"
"S-Sorry, sensei!" Silas panted. "Hanamura-kun… haah… can we… haah… can we continue t-this some other time?! I can't… haah… I can't breathe…"
"Whatsthamatter, Silas-kun? The cold gettin' to you?" Hanamura laughed, breathing cold moisture particulates into the chilly air.
"N-No… I just… I just can't run like this… haah…" Silas breathed. "Or… at all… haah… really…"
"I'm actually just walking, Silas-kun," Chihiro pointed out. "For I, too, am a conscientious objector to physical exercise!"
Silas cried out, realizing for the first time that Chihiro was right - while he thought he was jogging at a good pace, in fact he was barely keeping up with Chihiro, who was walking leisurely. "T-This… haah… this world isn't fair…"
"It's better than most!" Chihiro replied cheerily.
"You two!" Toyotomi-sensei was calling again. "Hurry up! If you want to come back inside, you have to - yes, Kamasaki-sensei? What? I can't - argh. Everyone, halt!"
Like a detracked train, the students running in a line instantly fell apart, some falling to the pavement, heaving deep, heavy breaths. A distressed Allen was curled into a ball, looking even paler than normal, and a number of people Silas recognized from his Debate Club were nearby, screaming bloody murder about injustice and... fascism. Even Class Representative Maeda was sprawled upon the ground, looking miserable. Silas watched, through his frozen sweat and (admittedly) a few icy tears, as several teachers approached Toyotomi and started arguing rather angrily, making wild gesticulations and pointing accusatory fingers.
"Hoo-whee… I think Toyotomi-sensei's in trouble…" Chihiro laughed.
"H-H-Hanamura-k-kun…" Silas stuttered, "Do you… do you h-h-happen to know how cold i-it is outside t-today?"
"No, why - "
"It's negative-ten Celsius," Silas cut him off. "S-Survivable. L-Liveable, even, i-if you have a coat. B-But h-h-having students like us in t-this cold in our g-g-gym shorts runs the risk of actually g-g-giving some of us frostbite…"
"Hahahaaa!" Chihiro hooted. "Gendo's Goatee, Toyotomi-sensei is screwed! I love it! Hey. That sounds like a good plot point for one of my fanfictions… hmm… teacher gets everyone stuck out in the weather as some sort of plot device. Brilliant!"
"I wanna go inside…" Silas mumbled, not heeding Hanamura's strange off-the-rails tangent. "The cold's only fun if y-y-you're dressed for it…"
~~~
"I'd like to apologize on behalf of the school. We truly had no idea it was that cold outside."
Silas had never seen their Principal before. For some reason, he expected a sharply dressed foreign woman with a quick tongue, or a bulky, heavyset Yakuza-type character badly-hiding a submachine gun under his surcoat, or maybe an unassuming pale guy with indoor sunglasses, a three-piece suit, and a wire headset, with his loyal Student Council members flanking him.
However, the principal of Yamaha was none of those things. By no means meek, he wasn't particularly dangerous-looking, either. He had the face and the appearance of a Diet Member, sans any of the signature smarminess or condescendence. He was even shorter than a number of students.
...it was weird, how absolutely boring he was.
"Anyway, nurse Kurata tells me that none of you have any… lasting injuries," the Principal cringed slightly at those words. "Which is a great relief."
Classes 2-5, 3-2, and 4-1 just groaned in response.
"Also, I've personally placed Toyotomi-sensei on administrative leave. In case any of you were worried about having to go back out into the cold again. Please; take as long as you need to get warm and return to your classes when you are able. I'd like to thank Miss Kanezawa from Class 3-2 for taking initiative and seeking out a member of staff. Kanezawa-san, I promise you Toyotomi-sensei will bear no ill-will to you from this incident."
The girl in question just nodded numbly.
"Well…" the principal clasped his hands together. "I believe that wraps things up. Again; I am sorry that this happened to you all. Enoshima-san, Sora-kun, Maeda-san, I'll trust you three to handle getting everyone back into their classes. Uh… Good day."
Hesitating slightly, as if deciding whether or not he should say something more, the Principal bowed, then turned on a heel with a strange, military precision and walked away.
"T-That was actually a little fun," Silas was smiling goofily as the last of the adrenaline seeped from his body. All around him, his classmates' voices started to rise and meld into each other. People seemed generally confused, but relieved to be out of the weather. "I-I mean, no one really got hurt…"
"Yes! Exactly! Finally, someone understands my sense of fun. Say, Silas-kun, do you want to go fake-rob a bank later? Since no one will get hurt, it'd be a great experience!"
"T-That's not what I meant…" Silas rubbed his forehead, sighing. "…Hanamura-kun. Why are you so weird?"
"Because! Just because," Chihiro mused. "And besides, if you really want to ask me that question, first, you should ask yourself if you really prefer normal!"
"I prefer normal."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Agh! So stubborn! My poor, aching pride!" Hanamura laughed. "I can't believe it! How can you look at this boring, regular old world and not want to shake it up like a snowglobe? I mean it's not like it matters, anyway. And besides, chaos is awesome!"
"I-I mean, I guess, but…" Silas looked sideways. "P-Personally, I kind of just… I like it when everything goes right… I guess?"
"Haha, Silas-kun, you're so adorable! Like milquetoast!"
"Alright, everyone!" Silas looked up; Maeda was directing people towards one of the hallways. "We're getting back into class! If you're in Class 4-1, please come with me."
"Haaaiii!"
And thus, started started funneling into the too-thin exit door. In spite of his best self-preservation instincts, Silas chose to follow closely by Hanamura as they were led back to class, the crowds squeezing everyone uncomfortably close together.
"I f-feel like a sardine…" Silas muttered.
"I woulda gone for 'sausage,' but eh. Whatever floats your boat, Silas-kun! Anyway, so glad I get to talk to you, completely normally, without any weird shit going on! I've been waiting for the chance! It's pretty difficult, you know? Things always seem to be getting my way; I feel like I'm disliked by God or something, haha!"
Silas just chuckled, softly, and then talked idly with this weird, blatantly perverted anarcho-nihilist jester for the rest of the trip back.
Hanamura Chihiro: +4 REL Character Sheet Updated. Silas knows more about Hanamura now.
Silas has discovered Hanamura's trait: Joker. Joker – Hanamura doesn't really seem to care about much about class, or the sensibilities of his classmates, or his grades… Instead, he lives for jests, laughter and absurdity. He doesn't even seem to take himself seriously, much less his friends. (Hanamura likes making things more... interesting.)
~~~
"Now remember, Shinohara-san, you have to memorize these sentence structures for next time. Okay? I do not want to have to fail you…"
"Nnn."
"Would you like some practice now, during lunch?"
"Not particularly…"
A short pause. Kamasaki-sensei cleared her throat. "Shinohara-san, sometimes I feel like you don't like my class."
"It's not that, sensei, it's just… I mean... Sai-kun?"
Shinohara turned her head to face him. Sensei's eyes quickly followed. Silas waved awkwardly at the two. "Um… hey. Sensei. Hana-chan."
"Ah… Yamigawa-kun!" Sensei's face brightened up. She turned her whole face over to him. She had slightly baggy eyes. "And the rest of your class has arrived, too. How are you? Are you and your classmates feeling warm now?"
"Oh, uh, err - " Silas stammered. "Yes. I am. I c-can't speak for my classmates but um... yeah. Thank you."
"That's good to know," Sensei nodded. "Goodness, that Toyotomi-sensei... anyway, I hope Homura-sensei was a good substitute?"
"W-We had a substitute last week?"
Shinohara snorted. Sensei's smile drooped into a frown. "Yamigawa-kun! Don't tell me you didn't notice I was gone?"
"E-Err… I… sorry, I really didn't. I don't mean disrespect - "
"Ugh!" Sensei melodramatically wiped invisible sweat from her forehead. "Sensei is so underappreciated. Youth these days!"
Brushing her hair aside, the middling school teacher stormed off in the direction of her Class Representative, her heels clipping authoritatively against the floor.
"Sensei…!" Silas felt his cheeks burn. "...I-I'm sorry…"
"You're going to be dwelling on that for a while, aren't you?" Hana's voice startled him; but only slightly. She was still grinning.
"Yeah…"
"It seems like I missed something... fun..." Shinohara glanced at the rest of her classmates as they filtered into their homeroom. "What happened out there?"
"It's cold enough to induce frostbite," Silas explained.
"Ahh..." Shinohara chuckled softly. "That sounds awful. I wonder what it would have been like to be out with you guys... u-um, anyway. Have a seat, Sai-kun."
Silas sat down comfortably on a nearby student's chair, pulling out his lunch for the day. He nibbled from his taco rice meal, wondering if Big Sister was watching him. Hana, in turn, poked sporadically at her instant ramen, sometimes taking a sip from a bottle of ramune.
It was one of those content, calm silences that followed. As students took their seats and started up the usual chatter, turning the room's ambiance into a sea of voices and laughter, Silas and Shinohara sat in their small part of the room, nary a word passing between them. It may have been a small thing to most others, but to Silas, sitting with Shinohara meant the world.
Sitting with her, Silas felt he finally belonged somewhere.
After a particularly drawn-out gulp, she muttered under her breath, "Tasteless…"
Silas gulped, himself. He decided to take the momentary brake from their comfy silence to bring up his plan. "Soo… um…"
In an instant, Hana's ears perked up, and she had him at rapt attention. "Mhm?"
"...eep." Silas's cheeks burned. Again. "W-Well, um, you know, I… there's this thing, that I want to do, and I… uh…"
Silas's mind numbed, and he started waiting for Hana to prompt him to continue. When she didn't, he tried to regain his own momentum: "Y-You… and I… I wanted to… you know… err…"
"Is this a confession?" Hana asked suddenly, looking slightly amused.
"No! A-Absolutely not!" Silas exclaimed. Between everything else he was juggling, he never really had time to think about Hana in that way...
"Well…" Hana made a circular motion with her fingers. "Get to the point. I don't bite." She paused, putting her index finger on her lower lip, then looked sideways and coughed. "Though… I might just take a nibble. Heheh. Sorry. Bad joke, Continue?"
"Okay! So…" Silas was mentally slamming his head into a wall. Why was this so difficult?!
Absentmindedly, he peered at a nearby news screen. Of course; there was nothing there.
"...So I w-wanted to… um… you know… get you and I together some time this week, so that we could… I dunno… just hang out, I guess?"
Hana tensed slightly. "I don't like going out that often…"
He'd assumed as much. Still, it didn't help that awful uncertainty eating away at his stomach. "I-I know, but… I-It's important. To me, I mean. I'm… uh… I-I kind of wanted to meet at the Hypermall…"
"During RikuRiku season?" Hana looked even more unsure. "That's… a really high concentration of people, in a really small amount of space." She started to purse her lips. "Is Yumika-san putting you up to this, or something? This doesn't seem like something you'd propose…"
"No. I swear, I… I just wanted to meet somewhere, and… the Hypermall just sounded… l-like a good idea?" Silas squirmed a little. "I mean… it seems like a… a normal option. A-And besides, I really like RikuRiku."
Hana hesitated. For some reason, Silas could hear his own heartbeat. But he wasn't freaking out. He wasn't freaking out at all. No. He was perfectly fine. This was normal. He was okay. Everything was fine.
"I… I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Just this once," Hana finally concluded. "I mean, I still think it's weird you're suggesting this, but still, if it's that important to you, I can go along. Besides… it's not like I hate Syntheti…"
"Great! Thanks!" Silas breathed. "E-Err… after all, it's not like I just want to do this for fun, either. I thought it would be good if we could… compare notes? Yeah. Like an information network."
Wordlessly, Hana nodded. She didn't think Silas noticed, but her eyes darted in Maeda's direction before flitting back to him.
Silas decided to try his luck. "Can you try to get Yumika-san to come with us, too?"
"Hmm…" Hana tapped her chin. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. Having her around should help calm my nerves out there," Hana shuddered. She looked at him meaningfully. "...in case you couldn't tell, I'm not the best around large groups of strangers. It's ah… tempting. Heheh." She made one of those scary, evil-sounding giggles again, before immediately shutting herself down and blushing deeply. "Ahem. Sorry about that. Once I get ahold of her, I'll tell her that we plan to meet. What time?"
"Either this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon. Maybe, u-um… five, or something?"
"I'll figure something out with Yumika-san," Hana replied. "...so it's a plan?"
"It's a plan."
"Alright. In that case, can you give me your phone number? Just in case we need to change something last-minute."
Silas blanched. "Oh. Um… I… I can't do that."
Hana blinked. "Why not? It's just a phone number."
"I… I don't have a phone. Anymore. I lost it."
Her one eye that was visible through her hair twitched. She looked genuinely dumbfounded. "Then… what's that thing, then?" she asked, pointing at the rectangular shaped bulge in Silas's pocket.
"It's a really old handheld communicator," Silas tried to explain, "The… uh… the only person I can talk to with that is Big Sis. The n-network chip is screwy. Or something."
"Well…" Hana started rummaging in her pocket. "...Sai-kun. If I give you this, will you promise not to look at any of my personal stuff?"
"Eh? N-No, Hana-chan, you don't need to do this for me…"
"I have had too much bad experience with last-minute planning, especially when Yumika-san is involved, Sai-kun," Hana pulled out her MiiPhone. It had a simple purple-striped insulated case. She looked him in the eye. "So, I want to trust you with this. I… I don't think you'd be the kind of person who'd be a dick in this kind of situation. That's… that's what I think, at least. Do you think you can restrain yourself?"
Silas, tentatively, let Hana drop her phone into his palm. "Y-Yes. I think so."
"Good." That alone seemed to satisfy her. "There's an internet browser, some navigation apps, and some games, if you want. I'll take this back when we meet up at the Hypermall, whenever that'll be. Check MiiMessage often. It's not locked."
"Okay…" Silas stared at the phone. A small part of him refused to believe that Hana just… trusted him like that. She'd only known him for a few weeks, after all.
In time, they'd finished up their respective lunches, said their pithy but friendly goodbyes, and let the toll of the bell draw them back to their proper seats. Silas hadn't noticed before, but Yumika had actually been absent all morning. Again. He was wondering where she could possibly be when he felt the light tapping on his shoulder.
"Excuse me. Yamigawa-kun."
Silas gulped. "S-Sensei? Yes?"
"Ah… forgive me, but can I ask a favor of you?"
"Okay…" Silas replied, suspiciously. "What kind of favor?"
"I just…" Kamasaki-sensei glanced over at Hana's desk."I noticed you two seem close. Forgive me if it seems like I am intruding on your personal lives, but, if you have the time, could you help Shinohara-san in her studies? Perhaps over the weekend?"
"That's… t-that's a strange request, sensei, but… okay."
Kamasaki-sensei seemed relieved. "Thank you. Don't think I'm pressuring you, by the way." She gave him a small, honest smile. "Really, this year, it seems like this class has been getting more and more crazy… I don't want to have to worry about Shinohara-san, too. Oh, but what am I doing, rambling like this? Sensei has a class to run…"
The middling teacher hobbled over to the front of the room, and, dutifully, Maeda rose to call everyone to attention. Silently, Silas slipped Shinohara's phone into his pocket.
Kamasaki-sensei would appreciate it if she saw a visible improvement in Hana's Foreign Language grades next week.
~~~
Silas felt his body sway with the bullet train as he rode home. The train was unusually crowded today, filled with well-dressed salarymen and snappy-looking foreigners. Silas was turning his friend's phone around and around in his fingers.
Something felt… wrong, but Silas couldn't quite place what that was.
He reached for the a nearby handrail as the bullet train skidded to a stop, reaching another elevated platform. A large number of passengers started to board; almost all of them were adults in business suits. As the train became more and more crowded, Silas started to feel more and more uncomfortable.
It really was strange that so many people were on his train at this time. Silas wanted to ask if one of the other lines was down or something, but he didn't want to get up and actually ask any of the people here. Adults were intimidating.
He was contemplating texting Big Sister when Hana's phone buzzed in his pocket.
Yumika: Is this Sai-kun?
Silas freed his other hand and started tapping a response onto the thin glass screen.
Hana: Yes. Hi, Yumika. Yumika: lol where are u? Hana: Uhh… riding home. Why? Yumika: … Yumika: plz tell me ur joking Yumika: plz, or my heart won't be able to take it Hana: I don't get it, did I do something wrong? Yumika: Drama Club, Sai-kun Yumika: You have a Drama Club meeting today (๑´ㅂ`๑)
Oh… Silas looked around. It occurred to him that there wasn't a single student his age around him. Oh… oooooohhhh…
Hana: Oh god im so sorry Yumika: LOOLL Yumika: HOW DID U EVEN LEAVE SCHOOL?! (ᗒᗜᗕ)՛̵̖ Yumika: oh wait the Empress changed the whole mandatory club thing Yumika: But still! u should have attracted suspicion or something Hana: I'm in a bus surrounded by adults and no students i should have picked up on this faster Yumika: im sorry gimme a moment Yumika: im laughing so much right now Yumika: Sai-kun is master spy (ノ＞▽＜。)ノ Hana: I'm so, soooo sorry. Yumika: nah its fine, u didnt miss anything. We just squabbled over Mikados theme choice for a whole hour and then sensei brought us cookies so we got nothing done Yumika: I'll tell you about it when we go to the RikuRiku thing this evening Hana: Thanks for understanding, again I'm really sorry Yumika: nah im just glad you werent nabbed by metropol or the Student Council or something Yumika: Like I said, Sai-kun is master spy (ノ＞▽＜。)ノ
God, why did I…? Silas scratched his head. How could I have forgotten something so important?!
SILAS FORGOT TO GO TO THE CLUB TODAY AAHHHH PANIC +1 Favor owed to Yumika
Silas couldn't help but nervously scratch at his hands. Technically… technically, because he was in a Club, and then went home for no reason without attending that club today, technically that meant his teachers could put him in detention the next week. It was national school policy. Eep. He glanced around; thankfully, none of the adults were people he recognized. But that didn't help stop the horrible feeling that, at any moment, one of them would come up to him and start questioning him and oh god this is so bad why is my memory so awful how am I supposed to survive if I can't make it a whole day without forgetting something like this without Big Sister and -
Yumika: oh and about the thing you wanted to go to this evening Yumika: since its RikuRiku, tho, can we bring Renji-kun and Riku-nee along? Yumika: Renji-kun might not look like it, but he's really into Syntheti Yumika: and riku-nee is uh Yumika: well you know Hana: Yeah I know Yumika: lol is it that obvious? Hana: heh
...and now he had a problem.
Silas had gone into this hoping he'd be able to trade information exclusively with Yumika and Shinohara. But Yumika wanted to bring a few more people along…
On one hand, it wouldn't be too intrusive to invite those two with them, but… if he brought them along, he might be obliged to share to them what he wants to share with Yumika. And Silas didn't want to drag more people into his web if he didn't need to…
On the other hand, this was a social event, right? And he didn't want to snub Yumika on the day he didn't show up to her club meeting...
Silas needs to make a decision regarding the upcoming event.
[] [Event] Stay with the original plan.
Politely ask Yumika if just she and Shinohara can come along. Try to explain indirectly that he wants to create an information network between them, and that this is important to him. (Event proceeds as normal, Yumika will probably be upset.)
[] [Event] Acquiesce to Yumika.
He already missed a club meeting, it would be rude to turn Yumika down on one of her offers… right? Besides, he's never hung out with those two before. It could be fun. (Favour owed to Yumika is instantly repaid. Reizei and Rakuyama are brought along to the event.)
[] [Event] Bring along Drama Club, too.
Go a step further. For missing a club meeting, Silas wants to pay Yumika back by inviting all of Drama out to RikuRiku. (Favour owed to Yumika is instantly repaid. The entire Drama Club is invited to the event. Attempts to form a Federation will almost certainly be jeopardized. But it'll be fun.)
[] [Event] Go all out.
Maybe keeping secrets isn't such a good thing? Invite Drama Club and rope everyone in to the conspiracy - err - Federation. Silas is sure they'd like to know exactly why none of them, except for him, can remember perfectly the party from two weeks ago. (Favour owed to Yumika is instantly repaid. Drama Club is invited to the event. Federation will be expanded to include all Drama Club members.)
[] [Event] Actually no this was a horrible idea what was he thinking.
Maybe Silas could plan something like this another time… (Silas cancels the event. Silas doubts either Yumika or Shinohara would mind.)
Choose TWO [AS] actions.
Favors owed:
Kei Tachibana: 2
Matsuoka Yumika: -1
[] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
[] [AS] Study Alone (SKL +0.5)
[] [AS] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[] Anime, music, "culture!" (CRE +0.25)
-[] Forum scrolling! (CHAR +0.25)
-[] Tale of Merika (???) (Silas really wants to do this.)
[] [AS] Visit a location.
-[] Walk around the city. (Random events, ???)
-[] Stay afterschool (Meet students, learn more about the school.)
-[] Visit the Hypermall
--[] Market Plaza (Buy Things)
--[] Cupcake Sensei (Meet people)
[] [AS] Watch people at the Yamaha Courtyard (Learn more about students' relationships. Be accused of being a stalker.)
[] [AS] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[] [AS] Talk with Big Sis (???)
-[] Try again to recreate that lost AI unit. Surely, a second time's a charm, right?! (Progress)
-[] Help her fabricate a new phone. (Starts Phone+ Track)
[] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
It had been a full week since Maeda had come last. Nanami's heart ached a little, knowing that Maeda seemed to have forgotten her, of all people… Still. Maeda was safe and happy, and it was sort of because of her. So there was that, right?
Her little confinement chamber was now feeling almost homely. Paperwork and clutter hopelessly scattered everywhere, a cheap futon that has been left perpetually unmade, and weird stuff just sort of lying around for no reason, like those two pens she might have accidentally stolen from two Student Council class reps while they were busy arguing over something.
That, and there was the billboard with picture after picture after picture she had taken of… well… basically everything. Scenes of her classroom... teachers, staff, the school grounds... Even before the entire world decided she didn't exist, Nanami always had a penchant for pictures. Her camera, which she'd filched from her room the other day, hung from a tack on the board.
Sooo… it basically home. Just… without the people. Alone.
Wait wait, no no no, Nanami tried to force herself to stop thinking so dour. You've got 8Bit!Silas, right?! You're not alone… Not alone...
She slapped her cheeks. The stinging sensation faded quickly.
"Hey, 'Silas.'" She turned to her companion, who was resting on the table beside her.
8bit!Silas made a virtual glance in her direction. "Yes, Big Sister?"
"What was that room, anyway?"
"The Literature Club," 8Bit!Silas responded curtly. "...weirdly enough… I-I don't think this school has a Literature Club. N-Neither do I believe that that particular room exists. Nor the h-hallway the room resides in."
"You're making no sense."
"I don't get it either. I'm sorry…" the virtual Silas sighed. Virtually. "If it helps, the imperception and information-erasure effect seems to be very similar to whatever is affecting you, Big Sister."
"...really? Huh… So why was Maa-chan in there…?" Nanami felt her brain overexerting itself already. Lots of things started to not make sense once she thought about them too much. She usually tried her best to just not think about it, but...
"Tentative hypothesis."
"...what?" Nanami glanced over to 8Bit!Silas.
"I have a tentative hypothesis."
"What? What's a Tentacle hipp…? Oooooh. Right. Right." Nanami smacked her forehead. For once, it was a good thing Saa-kun wasn't around, or that would have been stupidly awkward... "Um - yeah. What do you think?" Nanami picked up the phone to get a better view of 8Bit!Silas's avatar.
"I've been wandering into communications channels that your 'Maa-chan' uses," 8Bit!Silas started to explain. "You remember how on Wednesday, I told you about how the Student Council was an organization that called itself the - "
"Yeah yeah, Foundation, something about monsters, what's the new stuff?" Nanami brushed the recap aside.
"Well… according to their inter-communications, I believe that there is a of the subdivision of this Foundation called 'Memetics.'"
"...Internet memes?" Nanami asked, only half-serious.
"Memetics. A pseudoscience defined by the study of how memes, defined, broadly, as units of information, spread from human host to human host, maturing and evolving in the process, as well as having an indeterminable effect on the human hosts affected by them. Students who claim to be associated with the "Memetics Division" say that their job was to contain and study such phenomena that were dangerous - usually because these phenomena had dangerous effects or had a very high rate of transmission between hosts."
Nanami blinked. "...so… Internet memes."
"S-Sort of?"
"...cool! So... how does Maa-chan fit into all of this?"
8Bit!Silas hesitated. "...imagine, Big Sister, what you think the opposite of a meme is."
"Opposite of a meme…?" Nanami tapped her chin. "...I don't think I understand."
"Think, Big Sister. What does a meme do?"
"It… uh…"
Nanami thought back to that time Silas showed her that super-deformed image of RikuRiku holding a giant stick of celery like a wakizashi and screaming 'banzaaaaai!' on his phone. 'It's art someone posted on Yoochan.net!' he had laughed. 'Doesn't she look adorable?'
Nanami didn't remember what she said in response. She did remember she casually mentioned the odd picture to Maa-chan, who laughed it off. A few weeks later, while she was idly doodling RikuRiku on top of some implacable calculus worksheet, some of her friends in the Capital texted her that same picture - she never even remembered showing it to them. A week after that, the image was featured on an Imperial Broadcasting Network night-time talk show her father was watching. The host was laughing hysterically, commenting that 'It's both funny and strange what the nation's youth do in their free time, isn't it?'
The next day, there was this big commotion online when some obscure RikuRiku cover, 'Sunset Rainbow Sakurai Excalibur,' inexplicably topped some Internet music review aggregate's charts. She remembered that day, because, for whatever reason, all her friends would text her was that same RikuRiku image, with different captions or dumb little edits. It was a fun day because none of her teachers could get anyone to do any work; everyone was too busy gushing about or talking about RikuRiku, or interrupting the normal classes by inserting RikuRiku into the lesson.
"It's…" Nanami gulped, hoping what she was about to say didn't sound stupid. "It's a thing. Like a picture, or words, or whatever. It's a thing that makes it hard to forget itself. It… digs into the back of your mind? It does whatever it can to make itself present. And it makes you spread it around, even if you don't think about it… and it stays with you forever..."
8Bit!Silas's tiny little avatar nodded affirmatively. "Now, reverse everything in that statement."
"The opposite? Okay…" Nanami closed her eyes. She found that she could think better when she closed her eyes. "...the opposite of a meme… is… something that's… impossible to remember. It sort of… reverse-spreads itself? Like… a self-keeping secret… it'll erase any memory - imprint? - of itself, anywhere it used to exist… ugh. My brain huuuurts..."
"Wait…" A bad feeling was bubbling up in her stomach. That... that sounded a lot like her.
"Your Maa-chan might be part of something called an "Amemetics" or "Antimemetics" division, that, should it exists, should deal with whatever the opposite of a memetic effect is," 8Bit!Silas went on. "So, w-we could assume that's true, we can further assume that she might have some ability to perceive opposite-memes, like that room."
"...or me…"
Nanami shuddered a little.
She took 8Bit!Silas into her fingers, bringing his virtual face closer to her eyes. "...Anyway, 'Silas,' just… thanks. Thanks so, so much. You're really smart, you know that? If you weren't around, I'd probably be doing stupid things right now…"
"Like what?" 8Bit!Silas queried.
"Probably punching people…" Nanami giggled. "...anything to get anyone to notice me. I wouldn't have any kind of direction. I'm pretty bad at plans that don't involve brute force or hugs… eheh…"
"A-Ah… truly? Much appreciated, Big Sister! I'm g-glad to know I've been useful!" 8Bit! Silas's avatar did that thing where he made a tent with his two index fingers by pushing them together, coupled with an awkward grin.
Omigod 8Bit!Silas is so cute. Nanami did her best to keep her smile from widening too much. She made a mental note to, once she found out who Silas's Big Sister was, run up to her and hug the everloving fuck out of them. And, you know, ask Silas why he never introduced her in the first place, and how he has a personal AI of himself that she didn't know about, BUT PRIORITIES!
"Speaking of usefulness…" Nanami felt her heart thumping. She was ready to get some stuff done. For Silas… and for her. "'Silas,' are you up for some… uh… what did Saa-kun… oh, right! Ready for some cloak-and-dagger junk, 'Silas?'"
"I'm always happy to wield my abilities at intrigue! Anything for Big Sister!" 8Bit!Silas responded.
Nanami felt like she just might get used to her little MiiPhone companion.
Suddenly, Nanami felt the wall rumble. She glanced sideways. That noise sounded like it came from her door… was somebody coming in?
Thwack! A tiny protrusion appeared in the side of the door. There was a piece of metal lodged in between the door and the hinges.
Nanami's heart stopped. "'Silas.' Who's…"
Thwack! Thwack! THWACK!
Centimetre by centimetre, the door opened, screeching horribly as it scraped against the floor. When the gap was larger than an inch thick, it started letting a cool intake of air rush inside. A pair of gloved human hands appeared, operating the crowbar.
"'Silas.' Who's that?" Nanami whispered urgently.
"I don't know. Wait… uniforms match Metropolitan Police, but I don't recognize the insignia. M-Maybe some sort of special investigations unit or…?"
Nanami heard a hissing sound, and then the door violently toppled over. She heard what sounded like a few young men cursing. A flashlight clicked on.
As light from the outside flooded the room, Nanami had to shield her eyes for a second. When she reopened them, three uniformed police officers wearing gas masks were standing in her doorway, marveling at their surroundings.
"U-Um…" Nanami's voice quivered. "H-Hello…? Welcome to my home! My name's - "
"Bingo. Strange that this place doesn't exist on the official building map." His voice, muffled by the dark-tinted contraption on his face, sounded vaguely like the protagonist of a cop drama during a high-stakes stakeout. He walked forward. For a split second, Nanami could have sworn his gas-masked eyes were staring her down - but she stepped away, and he practically walked through her to get to the drawer behind her. "...lots of nothing here, though. You'd think someone who went through the trouble to erase this room's existence and then conform the building plans to its nonexistence would have something important to hide…"
"H-Hey, don't…" Nanami had a hand outstretched and tugged on the officer's sleeve, but he didn't heed her. She watched helplessly as he swiped across the drawer, toppling over mounds of her personal belongings.
"...not a lot of dust, though. Maybe it's been used recently?"
"I was using that!!" Nanami screeched. She quickly moved to gather her stuff scattered on the ground.
"Atmosphere readings?" one of them, still standing in the doorway, turned to the other, who was holding some sort of PDA.
"Atmosphere? W-What is this, space? Hahah… ha…" Nanami tried laughing, but it didn't quite work. They continued to ignore her. She went back to picking up after the first officer.
"Normal. The air's twenty-point-oh-one percent oxygen, rest is mostly nitrogen, carbon dioxide, that sort of thing."
"So this isn't some sort of secret chem lab or gas storage. Guess the masks were a waste," she said, starting to remove their mask. After awkwardly fiddling with the straps on her gas mask, the thing fell to the ground. She had a young face, but a striking, pointed chin. Spitefully, she kicked it. "I always hated these things…"
"Wait, we can breathe chlorine, right?" the man next to her asked.
"WHAT? FUCK NO! GIMME MY MASK, GIMME MY MASK, GIMME MY FUCKING - " the mask rolled helplessly away, kicked by her own movements, and the officer collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
She stayed there for a full half-minute, taking ragged breaths that eventually slowed to calm, angry exhalations. After a long moment of silence, she spoke: "...you're a disgrace of a human being. I hope you know that."
"Yes, I know." The other one smirked, and removed his own mask, revealing a crop of blonde hair and a cheeky grin - Furai-senpai! Nanami recognized him!
"We should have just killed you and your country off when we had the chance," the girl pouted.
"Because it's not like you needed us to drive of the Pravs, or anything. Is that right?" Officer Furai smirked.
"What are you talking about? Mihoku ingenuity and superior tactics would have certainly won us that fight if we hadn't been so busy fighting you!"
"Are you two done?" The third one said abruptly. Nanami glanced back at him - he was searching through the drawers in a pretty odd way. It seemed like he was trying to lift the wooden base of the drawer, as if he expected there to be something underneath.
Officer Furai and the uniformed policewoman stepped forward. "...the hell are you doing, Yagami-san?"
The officer named Yagami chuckled. "Heh… sorry." He closed the top drawer and opened the second one, proceeding to rummage through it, as well. "...just a habit I have… hey. Make yourself useful and check everything else in the room, why don't you?"
"Is… that an order?" The female officer sighed.
"Yes, in fact. It is." Yagami smirked. "Have at it, you two."
"I don't get paid enough for this."
Between the three of them, it only took a few minutes to thoroughly search through every crevasse and container in the small room. Nanami watched them all avidly, moving frantically around the room to stop certain objects from falling over as the idiot officers carelessly pushed her possessions off of high ledges. The nerve!
After a long half-hour, the three officers seemed to have exhausted their searching targets. There was nothing left for them to see.
"Useless. Why have a secret room back here if there's nothing in here to even keep secret?" Officer Furai moaned.
"Maybe it was one of those weapon stashes the Mihoku resistance established everywhere during Occupation?" The woman mused. "I mean, last I remember this school used to be a forward operating base, did it not?"
"Something like that…" Furai-senpai sighed. "Let's just write this off on our report and start snooping around the Student Council's offices next. You up for it, Yagami?"
Disappointedly, Officer Furai and the woman started heading for the door. However, their friend, Yagami, paused just before the doorway. He scanned the room. His eyes seemed to linger at each individual thing in the room for only a second, looking for some kind of relevance in the random assortment of items laid out before him.
Nanami thought his eyes lingered on her figure for longer than they were supposed to.
"...let's go." He said gruffly. He turned to the woman. "Make sure to repower the electronics once we leave. And try not to make it look like we've tampered with it."
"What, you thought I was going to forget? Are you questioning my abilities and natural talent?" She shot back, unamused.
The three police officers disappeared behind the door, and, with a very sudden hiss, the hydraulics in the cell sprung back to life and forced the door to its default closed position, causing the room to echo with a sharp clang of metal.
"...huh. They seemed nice." Nanami said, absently. She pushed her fist into her heart - the rapid beating had stopped.
"Miyao Metropol Unusual Incidents Task Force." 8Bit!Silas said suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"E-Err…! Sorry for jumping in so randomly, but… I just did a biometrics check and found those p-people on the NCID. They belong to a relatively young Metropol task force with a very… broad and undefined jurisdiction and mission. They seem to have a v-very vested interest in investigating the Student Council."
"Wow… lots of secret stuff goes on around this school, huh?" Nanami giggled nervously.
"Q-Quite. I'm sorry that this is the state of affairs…"
"As if it's your fault, 'Silas,'" Nanami snickered. Mentally, she went over all the ridiculous and stupid shit that was happening to and around her. Student Council is some sort of shadowy organization that fights monsters…? Check. Creepy lolicon policeman currently sticking his nose in said Student Council's business…? Check. Superintelligent A.I. apparently exists in Silas's smartphone? Check. I apparently don't exist, and no one remembers that I used to exist, up to and including my teachers, my childhood friend, and my crush? ...and even Mom and Dad…?
Check.
It was almost enough to be disheartening. Almost. But then again…
"B-Big Sister? You mentioned something a-about doing the 'cloak and dagger'?"
Nanami felt her grin widening. "...why yes, 'Silas!' I did! Now… let's see what we can do to make things better. I might not exist apparently, but that doesn't mean I can't do what a Nanami does! Huehuehue."
Nanami wants to do something useful! She decides to…
[] [-] Keep trying to contact Maeda.
Maybe if she's lucky… (Nanami will spend the next week attempting to force Maeda to perceive her, possibly affecting some of Silas's actions.)
[] [-] Try to contact Yumika and Friends.
Getting closer to Silas's new soon-to-be friends should be important, right? (Nanami will spend the next week attempting to force Yumika and friends to perceive her, possibly affecting some of Silas's actions.)
[] [-] Watch Maeda.
Maybe it would be good to help Silas out in talking to her, too…? (Silas magically gets a bonus to all interactions with Maeda next week. Nanami will learn more about Maeda and her friends.)
[] [-] Screw with the police.
If the Metropolitan Police were to get involved with the Student Council, things would only get worse… right? So, naturally, the only logical position should be to make their lives living hell! (Nanami actively hinders the police investigation, delaying their discovery of the Foundation.)
[] [-] Try messing around with her nonexistence.
What can she get away with? ...what could possibly go wrong? (Nanami spends the next week 'experimenting' by stealing relatively harmless things and screwing around with stuff in the school. This may grab the attention of some people. Or not.)
[] [-] Try messing around with 8Bit!Silas.
Press a button or two, maybe unravel the phone case and poke the circuit thingies, or interview him to see what he can do… what could possibly go wrong?! (Nanami spends the next week discovering just how bad her technical skills really are, but she may figure out how to use 8Bit!Silas more effectively. Or break him.)
I'd update the Information Sheet now, but I have a friend's birthday to attend tomorrow, and uh... it is already tomorrow where I live right now.
So I'll try to get the information sheet updated by tomorrow afternoon! PLUS, I also need to add the old version of the information sheet I promised @veekie I'd make... last month... :<
Right, not gonna vote right off the bat here. However, I want to propose that we bring the Drama Club in. They've all been amnesticized, if I recall correctly, meaning that we might be able to trigger their memories or at least tap into subconcious feelings of distrust/suspicion towards the student council. Also, it seems to be the best option non-conspiracy wise. Yumika isn't unhappy, Shinohara might be unhappy (But it'd be a chance to get to know Drama Club outside of Club, plus, Yumika to stabilize her), and it allows us to potentially up our connection with Drama club in general due to the special (kinda related to Drama) event going on! I'm not going to pretend this plan has no downsides (imagine if we roll poorly/Drama Club just flat-out doesn't believe us) and without Big Sister, it's going to be a challenge. However, this is probably our best chance at bringing in quite a few people with an already-existing connection and a space with which we can plot. Anyone have any opinions?
"Agh! So stubborn! My poor, aching pride!" Hanamura laughed. "I can't believe it! How can you look at this boring, regular old world and not want to shake it up like a snowglobe? I mean it's not like it matters, anyway. And besides, chaos is awesome!"
"Now… I'm not exactly one for accusations, but you didn't know something like that would happen, right?"
He knows he knows he knows he knows "-W-What? No… I didn't…"
"No no, Silas-kun, you're fine!" Hanamura beamed at him. He had unnaturally white teeth. "I'm not talking about you. I'm talking to you." he jabbed his finger towards his chest - no, past his chest, and his eyes scrunched up and his mouth drooped low into a scowl. Silas tried backing even further against the wall, feeling against the rough surface. Hanamura want on talking, "I want to know if you planned something like this. 'Cause if you did, you and I might start having some problems… you know? I dislike it when people disrupt my peace."
I fucking knew it, Hanamura is a Chaos Insurgency spy! Can we transfer schools? I'm sorry Hana-chan, you're cute, but we need to get the absolute fuck out of dodge.
Actually
[Q] Grab Shinohara in a princess carry and flee the school and Mihoku as a whole to live in Pravdu as eloped peasants who have never spoken or heard of Hanamura or the Chaos Insurgency in their life
-[Q] Have three beautiful children and a dog and a white picket fence and wow I don't actually feel as scared any more
-[Q] flip shit when Hanamura moves in next door with a Japanese Passport
But seriously, what the actual fuck is wrong with this guy. I don't trust him, and the way he talked about Chaos makes me think there's some very bad implications and we should stay as far as fucking possible from him until Silas is equipped with heavy military weapondry AND Big Sister owns the whole goddamn Mihoku military because fuuuuuuuck
Also Hana an absolute cutest and a tease. She did sound kind of interested in Silas being interested in her, which means Ship HanaSilas has wind in her sails and sails ahead! Take that YumikaSilas shippers! Avast ye! She also gave us her phone and told us not to look at her collection of illicit Yumika duckface snapchats, which was cute and while I'm really tempted to do it, I also don't want to betray her trust. Mostly because she's a CUTE but also because she might eat all our happiness and leave us a broken shell of a man, and that's just by rejecting Silas' confession! Imagine what she can do with her powers!
Right, not gonna vote right off the bat here. However, I want to propose that we bring the Drama Club in. They've all been amnesticized, if I recall correctly, meaning that we might be able to trigger their memories or at least tap into subconcious feelings of distrust/suspicion towards the student council. Also, it seems to be the best option non-conspiracy wise. Yumika isn't unhappy, Shinohara might be unhappy (But it'd be a chance to get to know Drama Club outside of Club, plus, Yumika to stabilize her), and it allows us to potentially up our connection with Drama club in general due to the special (kinda related to Drama) event going on! I'm not going to pretend this plan has no downsides (imagine if we roll poorly/Drama Club just flat-out doesn't believe us) and without Big Sister, it's going to be a challenge. However, this is probably our best chance at bringing in quite a few people with an already-existing connection and a space with which we can plot. Anyone have any opinions?
I dunno. More people, more problems, and more chance of something going explosively wrong - remember, one of the kids, Mikado, has a crush on a known Foundation member. That immediately makes him a liability, because if we tick him off somehow he'll have an easy in not only with the Foundation but also with his crush if he tells on us. I really don't want to bring Mikado in, because he's just got too much motive to nark and not nearly enough NOT to nark.
RakuReizei I'm more on the fence about. On one hand, Rakuyama is probably a SCP herself - I've mentioned this theory before - so she would be an obvious expansion to the original group, and Reizei comes with her as a package. Neither would nark without the other, so we hopefully wouldn't have to worry about that unless we completely bomb the social roll, and even then hopefully Yumika can help. On the other hand, they're not good friends of Silas, and we don't know they have a Mystery(s) between the two of them. We know Shinohara has a Mystery, and Yumika's skillz are so goddamn impressive that she makes sense even without the suspicions she has one of her own. Reizei and Rakuyama, though, aren't as certain, and might not be as interested in the Specially Empowered Liberation Foundation. If they turn it down, we now have a security breach that could get back to the Foundation, depending on how effective the SC's feelers are. Or worse, get back to Hanamura.
I think we should try to slip Yumika some idea of what the meeting will be about, and let her make the decision. She's known them for longer, and she's way more sociable besides, so she might be privy to their Mystery, or at least have a better idea on if they'll be interested or not.
[ ] Defer to Yumika
-[ ] We actually wanted to speak about the Mystery we brought up to you a few days ago. We wanted to... Well, conspire and stuff
-[ ] We don't really know Reizei and Rakuyama too well. Does she think they would be interested even? Trustworthy?
-[ ] There were a couple more secrets we wanted to air out, but at least one isn't really ours to tell, if she doesn't know it already
How's that look? The more coded we get, the safer we are, but by the same token, the information needs to get through. We could use weird capitalization or emphasis on certain words in a otherwise mundane conversation, but the Foundation is probably looking for that, so it's probably best to be open that we're sneaking secrets so that it just looks like us talking to our female friends about a teenage crush or something. Or trying to overtake the teachers. Or just avoid homework. I'm not actually all that good at codes like that though.
I am beyond tired and have been up for over 32 hours, but I want to say hello to everyone and express that I'm happy to be back to the thread after some personal stuff
also, Morning Reporter Minami? Maybe the trouble we're getting into is that our Childhood friend already has a version of her in this universe that she's trying to overlap but can't.
[X] [Event] Acquiesce to Yumika.
[X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
[X] [-] Try messing around with her nonexistence.
She also gave us her phone and told us not to look at her collection of illicit Yumika duckface snapchats, which was cute and while I'm really tempted to do it, I also don't want to betray her trust. Mostly because she's a CUTE but also because she might eat all our happiness and leave us a broken shell of a man, and that's just by rejecting Silas' confession! Imagine what she can do with her powers!
[ ] Defer to Yumika
-[ ] We actually wanted to speak about the Mystery we brought up to you a few days ago. We wanted to... Well, conspire and stuff
-[ ] We don't really know Reizei and Rakuyama too well. Does she think they would be interested even? Trustworthy?
-[ ] There were a couple more secrets we wanted to air out, but at least one isn't really ours to tell, if she doesn't know it already
Looks good to me. Maybe don't ask about their trustworthiness. I'm sure Yumika can read between the lines, so asking whether they would be interested should be enough.
Also, Big Sis isn't around much this week, right? How are we going to introduce her? Just have her pop up for an hour or so for the conversation?
"I woulda gone for 'sausage,' but eh. Whatever floats your boat, Silas-kun! Anyway, so glad I get to talk to you, completely normally, without any weird shit going on! I've been waiting for the chance! It's pretty difficult, you know? Things always seem to be getting my way; I feel like I'm disliked by God or something, haha!"
This seems to be directed at the hivemind. Is there anything we want to say to Hanamura? Last I checked, we were assuming that he didn't want us to stir up trouble (like with the student council), so I'm not sure what we actually want from him. Maybe make some small talk?
[] Hi, Hanamura. How is your day going? We're totally not planning to declare war on the student council, so there's definitely no reason at all to snoop on us.
As far as the massive Nanami spoiler tag at the bottom of the post, @LuciDreamer, I like the explanation of memetics and anti-memetics. As someone who hasn't read much/anything about the Foundation, it was useful. One suggestion I have is would it be possible to make those kinds of sections smaller or more broken up into multiple spoilers or something? On mobile it was difficult to copy and paste everything in order to read it, due to the length. I think it might be easier if it was composed of multiple spoilers instead?
For everyone else, any ideas on what to do with Nanami? Trying to contact Yumika and friends might get her in touch with our new group if we're lucky, and then we could start figuring out how to undo the anti-meme thing. Or just how to contact her.
It had been a full week since Maeda had come last. Nanami's heart ached a little, knowing that Maeda seemed to have forgotten her, of all people… Still. Maeda was safe and happy, and it was sort of because of her. So there was that, right?
Her little confinement chamber was now feeling almost homely. Paperwork and clutter hopelessly scattered everywhere, a cheap futon that has been left perpetually unmade, and weird stuff just sort of lying around for no reason, like those two pens she might have accidentally stolen from two Student Council class reps while they were busy arguing over something.
That, and there was the billboard with picture after picture after picture she had taken of… well… basically everything. Scenes of her classroom... teachers, staff, the school grounds... Even before the entire world decided she didn't exist, Nanami always had a penchant for pictures. Her camera, which she'd filched from her room the other day, hung from a tack on the board.
Sooo… it basically home. Just… without the people. Alone.
Wait wait, no no no, Nanami tried to force herself to stop thinking so dour. You've got 8Bit!Silas, right?! You're not alone… Not alone...
She slapped her cheeks. The stinging sensation faded quickly.
"Hey, 'Silas.'" She turned to her companion, who was resting on the table beside her.
8bit!Silas made a virtual glance in her direction. "Yes, Big Sister?"
"What was that room, anyway?"
"The Literature Club," 8Bit!Silas responded curtly. "...weirdly enough… I-I don't think this school has a Literature Club. N-Neither do I believe that that particular room exists. Nor the h-hallway the room resides in."
"You're making no sense."
"I don't get it either. I'm sorry…" the virtual Silas sighed. Virtually. "If it helps, the imperception and information-erasure effect seems to be very similar to whatever is affecting you, Big Sister."
"...really? Huh… So why was Maa-chan in there…?" Nanami felt her brain overexerting itself already. Lots of things started to not make sense once she thought about them too much. She usually tried her best to just not think about it, but...
"Tentative hypothesis."
"...what?" Nanami glanced over to 8Bit!Silas.
"I have a tentative hypothesis."
"What? What's a Tentacle hipp…? Oooooh. Right. Right." Nanami smacked her forehead. For once, it was a good thing Saa-kun wasn't around, or that would have been stupidly awkward... "Um - yeah. What do you think?" Nanami picked up the phone to get a better view of 8Bit!Silas's avatar.
"I've been wandering into communications channels that your 'Maa-chan' uses," 8Bit!Silas started to explain. "You remember how on Wednesday, I told you about how the Student Council was an organization that called itself the - "
"Yeah yeah, Foundation, something about monsters, what's the new stuff?" Nanami brushed the recap aside.
"Well… according to their inter-communications, I believe that there is a of the subdivision of this Foundation called 'Memetics.'"
"...Internet memes?" Nanami asked, only half-serious.
"Memetics. A pseudoscience defined by the study of how memes, defined, broadly, as units of information, spread from human host to human host, maturing and evolving in the process, as well as having an indeterminable effect on the human hosts affected by them. Students who claim to be associated with the "Memetics Division" say that their job was to contain and study such phenomena that were dangerous - usually because these phenomena had dangerous effects or had a very high rate of transmission between hosts."
Nanami blinked. "...so… Internet memes."
"S-Sort of?"
"...cool! So... how does Maa-chan fit into all of this?"
8Bit!Silas hesitated. "...imagine, Big Sister, what you think the opposite of a meme is."
"Opposite of a meme…?" Nanami tapped her chin. "...I don't think I understand."
"Think, Big Sister. What does a meme do?"
"It… uh…"
Nanami thought back to that time Silas showed her that super-deformed image of RikuRiku holding a giant stick of celery like a wakizashi and screaming 'banzaaaaai!' on his phone. 'It's art someone posted on Yoochan.net!' he had laughed. 'Doesn't she look adorable?'
Nanami didn't remember what she said in response. She did remember she casually mentioned the odd picture to Maa-chan, who laughed it off. A few weeks later, while she was idly doodling RikuRiku on top of some implacable calculus worksheet, some of her friends in the Capital texted her that same picture - she never even remembered showing it to them. A week after that, the image was featured on an Imperial Broadcasting Network night-time talk show her father was watching. The host was laughing hysterically, commenting that 'It's both funny and strange what the nation's youth do in their free time, isn't it?'
The next day, there was this big commotion online when some obscure RikuRiku cover, 'Sunset Rainbow Sakurai Excalibur,' inexplicably topped some Internet music review aggregate's charts. She remembered that day, because, for whatever reason, all her friends would text her was that same RikuRiku image, with different captions or dumb little edits. It was a fun day because none of her teachers could get anyone to do any work; everyone was too busy gushing about or talking about RikuRiku, or interrupting the normal classes by inserting RikuRiku into the lesson.
"It's…" Nanami gulped, hoping what she was about to say didn't sound stupid. "It's a thing. Like a picture, or words, or whatever. It's a thing that makes it hard to forget itself. It… digs into the back of your mind? It does whatever it can to make itself present. And it makes you spread it around, even if you don't think about it… and it stays with you forever..."
8Bit!Silas's tiny little avatar nodded affirmatively. "Now, reverse everything in that statement."
"The opposite? Okay…" Nanami closed her eyes. She found that she could think better when she closed her eyes. "...the opposite of a meme… is… something that's… impossible to remember. It sort of… reverse-spreads itself? Like… a self-keeping secret… it'll erase any memory - imprint? - of itself, anywhere it used to exist… ugh. My brain huuuurts..."
"Wait…" A bad feeling was bubbling up in her stomach. That... that sounded a lot like her.
"Your Maa-chan might be part of something called an "Amemetics" or "Antimemetics" division, that, should it exists, should deal with whatever the opposite of a memetic effect is," 8Bit!Silas went on. "So, w-we could assume that's true, we can further assume that she might have some ability to perceive opposite-memes, like that room."
"...or me…"
Nanami shuddered a little.
She took 8Bit!Silas into her fingers, bringing his virtual face closer to her eyes. "...Anyway, 'Silas,' just… thanks. Thanks so, so much. You're really smart, you know that? If you weren't around, I'd probably be doing stupid things right now…"
"Like what?" 8Bit!Silas queried.
"Probably punching people…" Nanami giggled. "...anything to get anyone to notice me. I wouldn't have any kind of direction. I'm pretty bad at plans that don't involve brute force or hugs… eheh…"
"A-Ah… truly? Much appreciated, Big Sister! I'm g-glad to know I've been useful!" 8Bit! Silas's avatar did that thing where he made a tent with his two index fingers by pushing them together, coupled with an awkward grin.
Omigod 8Bit!Silas is so cute. Nanami did her best to keep her smile from widening too much. She made a mental note to, once she found out who Silas's Big Sister was, run up to her and hug the everloving fuck out of them. And, you know, ask Silas why he never introduced her in the first place, and how he has a personal AI of himself that she didn't know about, BUT PRIORITIES!
"Speaking of usefulness…" Nanami felt her heart thumping. She was ready to get some stuff done. For Silas… and for her. "'Silas,' are you up for some… uh… what did Saa-kun… oh, right! Ready for some cloak-and-dagger junk, 'Silas?'"
"I'm always happy to wield my abilities at intrigue! Anything for Big Sister!" 8Bit!Silas responded.
Nanami felt like she just might get used to her little MiiPhone companion.
Suddenly, Nanami felt the wall rumble. She glanced sideways. That noise sounded like it came from her door… was somebody coming in?
Thwack! A tiny protrusion appeared in the side of the door. There was a piece of metal lodged in between the door and the hinges.
Nanami's heart stopped. "'Silas.' Who's…"
Thwack! Thwack! THWACK!
Centimetre by centimetre, the door opened, screeching horribly as it scraped against the floor. When the gap was larger than an inch thick, it started letting a cool intake of air rush inside. A pair of gloved human hands appeared, operating the crowbar.
"'Silas.' Who's that?" Nanami whispered urgently.
"I don't know. Wait… uniforms match Metropolitan Police, but I don't recognize the insignia. M-Maybe some sort of special investigations unit or…?"
Nanami heard a hissing sound, and then the door violently toppled over. She heard what sounded like a few young men cursing. A flashlight clicked on.
As light from the outside flooded the room, Nanami had to shield her eyes for a second. When she reopened them, three uniformed police officers wearing gas masks were standing in her doorway, marveling at their surroundings.
"U-Um…" Nanami's voice quivered. "H-Hello…? Welcome to my home! My name's - "
"Bingo. Strange that this place doesn't exist on the official building map." His voice, muffled by the dark-tinted contraption on his face, sounded vaguely like the protagonist of a cop drama during a high-stakes stakeout. He walked forward. For a split second, Nanami could have sworn his gas-masked eyes were staring her down - but she stepped away, and he practically walked through her to get to the drawer behind her. "...lots of nothing here, though. You'd think someone who went through the trouble to erase this room's existence and then conform the building plans to its nonexistence would have something important to hide…"
"H-Hey, don't…" Nanami had a hand outstretched and tugged on the officer's sleeve, but he didn't heed her. She watched helplessly as he swiped across the drawer, toppling over mounds of her personal belongings.
"...not a lot of dust, though. Maybe it's been used recently?"
"I was using that!!" Nanami screeched. She quickly moved to gather her stuff scattered on the ground.
"Atmosphere readings?" one of them, still standing in the doorway, turned to the other, who was holding some sort of PDA.
"Atmosphere? W-What is this, space? Hahah… ha…" Nanami tried laughing, but it didn't quite work. They continued to ignore her. She went back to picking up after the first officer.
"Normal. The air's twenty-point-oh-one percent oxygen, rest is mostly nitrogen, carbon dioxide, that sort of thing."
"So this isn't some sort of secret chem lab or gas storage. Guess the masks were a waste," she said, starting to remove their mask. After awkwardly fiddling with the straps on her gas mask, the thing fell to the ground. She had a young face, but a striking, pointed chin. Spitefully, she kicked it. "I always hated these things…"
"Wait, we can breathe chlorine, right?" the man next to her asked.
"WHAT? FUCK NO! GIMME MY MASK, GIMME MY MASK, GIMME MY FUCKING - " the mask rolled helplessly away, kicked by her own movements, and the officer collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
She stayed there for a full half-minute, taking ragged breaths that eventually slowed to calm, angry exhalations. After a long moment of silence, she spoke: "...you're a disgrace of a human being. I hope you know that."
"Yes, I know." The other one smirked, and removed his own mask, revealing a crop of blonde hair and a cheeky grin - Furai-senpai! Nanami recognized him!
"We should have just killed you and your country off when we had the chance," the girl pouted.
"Because it's not like you needed us to drive of the Pravs, or anything. Is that right?" Officer Furai smirked.
"What are you talking about? Mihoku ingenuity and superior tactics would have certainly won us that fight if we hadn't been so busy fighting you!"
"Are you two done?" The third one said abruptly. Nanami glanced back at him - he was searching through the drawers in a pretty odd way. It seemed like he was trying to lift the wooden base of the drawer, as if he expected there to be something underneath.
Officer Furai and the uniformed policewoman stepped forward. "...the hell are you doing, Yagami-san?"
The officer named Yagami chuckled. "Heh… sorry." He closed the top drawer and opened the second one, proceeding to rummage through it, as well. "...just a habit I have… hey. Make yourself useful and check everything else in the room, why don't you?"
"Is… that an order?" The female officer sighed.
"Yes, in fact. It is." Yagami smirked. "Have at it, you two."
"I don't get paid enough for this."
Between the three of them, it only took a few minutes to thoroughly search through every crevasse and container in the small room. Nanami watched them all avidly, moving frantically around the room to stop certain objects from falling over as the idiot officers carelessly pushed her possessions off of high ledges. The nerve!
After a long half-hour, the three officers seemed to have exhausted their searching targets. There was nothing left for them to see.
"Useless. Why have a secret room back here if there's nothing in here to even keep secret?" Officer Furai moaned.
"Maybe it was one of those weapon stashes the Mihoku resistance established everywhere during Occupation?" The woman mused. "I mean, last I remember this school used to be a forward operating base, did it not?"
"Something like that…" Furai-senpai sighed. "Let's just write this off on our report and start snooping around the Student Council's offices next. You up for it, Yagami?"
Disappointedly, Officer Furai and the woman started heading for the door. However, their friend, Yagami, paused just before the doorway. He scanned the room. His eyes seemed to linger at each individual thing in the room for only a second, looking for some kind of relevance in the random assortment of items laid out before him.
Nanami thought his eyes lingered on her figure for longer than they were supposed to.
"...let's go." He said gruffly. He turned to the woman. "Make sure to repower the electronics once we leave. And try not to make it look like we've tampered with it."
"What, you thought I was going to forget? Are you questioning my abilities and natural talent?" She shot back, unamused.
The three police officers disappeared behind the door, and, with a very sudden hiss, the hydraulics in the cell sprung back to life and forced the door to its default closed position, causing the room to echo with a sharp clang of metal.
"...huh. They seemed nice." Nanami said, absently. She pushed her fist into her heart - the rapid beating had stopped.
"Miyao Metropol Unusual Incidents Task Force." 8Bit!Silas said suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"E-Err…! Sorry for jumping in so randomly, but… I just did a biometrics check and found those p-people on the NCID. They belong to a relatively young Metropol task force with a very… broad and undefined jurisdiction and mission. They seem to have a v-very vested interest in investigating the Student Council."
"Wow… lots of secret stuff goes on around this school, huh?" Nanami giggled nervously.
"Q-Quite. I'm sorry that this is the state of affairs…"
"As if it's your fault, 'Silas,'" Nanami snickered. Mentally, she went over all the ridiculous and stupid shit that was happening to and around her. Student Council is some sort of shadowy organization that fights monsters…? Check. Creepy lolicon policeman currently sticking his nose in said Student Council's business…? Check. Superintelligent A.I. apparently exists in Silas's smartphone? Check. I apparently don't exist, and no one remembers that I used to exist, up to and including my teachers, my childhood friend, and my crush?
...and even Mom and Dad…?
Check.
It was almost enough to be disheartening. Almost. But then again…
"B-Big Sister? You mentioned something a-about doing the 'cloak and dagger'?"
Nanami felt her grin widening. "...why yes, 'Silas!' I did! Now… let's see what we can do to make things better. I might not exist apparently, but that doesn't mean I can't do what a Nanami does! Huehuehue."
Nanami wants to do something useful! She decides to…
[] [-] Keep trying to contact Maeda.
Maybe if she's lucky… (Nanami will spend the next week attempting to force Maeda to perceive her, possibly affecting some of Silas's actions.)
[] [-] Try to contact Yumika and Friends.
Getting closer to Silas's new soon-to-be friends should be important, right? (Nanami will spend the next week attempting to force Yumika and friends to perceive her, possibly affecting some of Silas's actions.)
[] [-] Watch Maeda.
Maybe it would be good to help Silas out in talking to her, too…? (Silas magically gets a bonus to all interactions with Maeda next week. Nanami will learn more about Maeda and her friends.)
[] [-] Screw with the police.
If the Metropolitan Police were to get involved with the Student Council, things would only get worse… right? So, naturally, the only logical position should be to make their lives living hell! (Nanami actively hinders the police investigation, delaying their discovery of the Foundation.)
[] [-] Try messing around with her nonexistence.
What can she get away with? ...what could possibly go wrong? (Nanami spends the next week 'experimenting' by stealing relatively harmless things and screwing around with stuff in the school. This may grab the attention of some people. Or not.)
[] [-] Try messing around with 8Bit!Silas.
Press a button or two, maybe unravel the phone case and poke the circuit thingies, or interview him to see what he can do… what could possibly go wrong?! (Nanami spends the next week discovering just how bad her technical skills really are, but she may figure out how to use 8Bit!Silas more effectively. Or break him.)
Agreed, and I'm sure Yumika in duckface qualifies as horror!
But more seriously yeah I'd guess it's horror movie screenshots, weird fan-fiction, and embarrassing selfies. Which wouldn't be worth breaking Hana's trust in letting us have her phone.
That doesn't mean we can't do something cute, like text ourselves "thank you" alongside an image drawn in some app featuring Hana and Us being smiley and friendly and stuff. She seems dreadfully resistant to Tomatoing, given how well she handled Silas' accidental confession, so we need to step up our game if we want to see her red and stuttering.
Looks good to me. Maybe don't ask about their trustworthiness. I'm sure Yumika can read between the lines, so asking whether they would be interested should be enough.
Also, Big Sis isn't around much this week, right? How are we going to introduce her? Just have her pop up for an hour or so for the conversation?
She doesn't need to dedicate a whole hour to the conversation. We don't even need to have her there at all - Hana consumes emotions, by that token Big Sis' Mystery is practically mundane. Besides, Hana and Yumika are both our friends, so we only really need BS there is Rakuyama and Reizei are being inducted too.
This seems to be directed at the hivemind. Is there anything we want to say to Hanamura? Last I checked, we were assuming that he didn't want us to stir up trouble (like with the student council), so I'm not sure what we actually want from him. Maybe make some small talk?
[] Hi, Hanamura. How is your day going? We're totally not planning to declare war on the student council, so there's definitely no reason at all to snoop on us.
[/QUOTE]
[H] More like you're a spooky guy, particularly to those of us who are used to being nothing but shadows and flies on the wall.
-[H] But in any case, we just wanted to get Silas in touch with people skilled in computers since he's going to need to code a lot soon
-[H] That and warn you that that peace you talked about might be in the way of our objectives and that we'd prefer a respectable struggle to two people freaking out in a room because they accidentally touched, but that doesn't seem to be an issue any more?
[X] Defer to Yumika
-[X] We actually wanted to speak about the Mystery we brought up to you a few days ago. We wanted to have a good plan for it.
-[X] We don't really know Reizei and Rakuyama too well. Does she think they would be interested even?
-[X] There were a couple more secrets we wanted to air out, but at least one isn't really ours to tell, if she doesn't know it already
[X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
-[X] Remember that the best stealth is in your enemy's head
-[X] Do your best Yumika impression and ACT like a kid who's conferring with a female friend over a crush
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
-[X] Make sure to set a timer before you begin to make sure you can get to the Hypermall on time.
[X] [-] Try to contact Yumika and friends
-[X] [-] If You're the antimeme, maybe someone who doesn't know you anyway wouldn't be as badly effected.
-[X] [-] How well did you know Shinohara-chan anyway?
I'd love to see the Nanami plotline and the SELF plotline collide, even if it might be a disaster.
[] Hi, Hanamura. How is your day going? We're totally not planning to declare war on the student council, so there's definitely no reason at all to snoop on us.
[/QUOTE]
[H] More like you're a spooky guy, particularly to those of us who are used to being nothing but shadows and flies on the wall.
-[H] But in any case, we just wanted to get Silas in touch with people skilled in computers since he's going to need to code a lot soon
-[H] That and warn you that that peace you talked about might be in the way of our objectives and that we'd prefer a respectable struggle to two people freaking out in a room because they accidentally touched, but that doesn't seem to be an issue any more?
[] [Event] Go all out.
Maybe keeping secrets isn't such a good thing? Invite Drama Club and rope everyone in to the conspiracy - err - Federation. Silas is sure they'd like to know exactly why none of them, except for him, can remember perfectly the party from two weeks ago. (Favour owed to Yumika is instantly repaid. Drama Club is invited to the event. Federation will be expanded to include all Drama Club members.)
Mikado has a crush on a SC member. So yielded.
By going to her with this information, he will have discarded his friends for someone who is probably going to mind wipe him anyways. Oh and probably sentenced Silas to termination.
How can we make sure he understands this? Begin the federation discussion by describing what happened on the movie night. Everyone in the club deserves to know that at least.
[X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku. I would go with Karne here but I have no idea what the stealth thing is.
[] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
-[] Make sure to set a timer before you begin to make sure you can get to the Hypermall on time.
I would like to vote for studying with Shinohara. but we have till next week so we should be good.
and of course
[] [-] Try to contact Yumika and Friends.
Getting closer to Silas's new soon-to-be friends should be important, right? (- will spend the next week attempting to force Yumika and friends to perceive her, possibly affecting some of Silas's actions.)
Another reason not to invite the whole Drama Club at once is that the roll will be proportionally harder. Again, Mikado is crushing hard on Maeda (understandable), so if we tell him that she's EVUL he's going to disbelieve us at best, or seek confirmation at worst. I don't trust him not to ask her about the Foundation, or snoop on her and fuck a roll, or something else like that.
I'm okay with Reizei and Rakuyama but I don't think the whole club should be there for the founding. We need to keep the initial number of conspirators small to minimize leaks in this early, vulnerable state. The last thing we need is the Foundation finding out we're telling people about them.
I just don't think Silas' word has enough weight with Mikado to make him trustworthy right now. We need real proof, so unless Shinohara is willing to feed right then and there or one of the others has a painfully obvious Mystery that they're willing to share, we're more likely to shove our foot in our mouth than prove anything.
I'm still a bit nervous assuming Yumika knows about Hana, I don't want to have found out her big dark secret just to ask her to blab it to the whole damn club. At least Hana and Yumika are close friends!
[X] Defer to Yumika
-[X] We actually wanted to speak about the Mystery we brought up to you a few days ago. We wanted to have a good plan for it.
-[X] We don't really know Reizei and Rakuyama too well. Does she think they would be interested even?
-[X] There were a couple more secrets we wanted to air out, but at least one isn't really ours to tell, if she doesn't know it already
[X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
-[X] Remember that the best stealth is in your enemy's head
-[X] Do your best Yumika impression and ACT like a kid who's conferring with a female friend over a crush
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
-[X] Make sure to set a timer before you begin to make sure you can get to the Hypermall on time.
[X] [-] Try to contact Yumika and friends
-[X] [-] If You're the antimeme, maybe someone who doesn't know you anyway wouldn't be as badly effected.
-[X] [-] How well did you know Shinohara-chan anyway?
"I hope you like the cold snap, by the way. I had to kill three scientists to achieve enough control over the Mihoku Weather Control Station to make that happen!"
Status Update: IT IS STILL FALL This week, Silas feels DREAMY, but NERVOUS
DREAMY - Anything involving creativity gets a small boost. Any action of a nature or in a setting that reminds Silas of home gets +30 to ST. NERVOUS - All social interactions suffer from -6 ST.
"H-H-Hey, there's a boy coming this way." the older Mihokujin boy noticed Silas walking slowly up to the main door. In truth, he'd been waiting for them to disappear so that he could come in alone... "Hey! Boy! Do you wish to get frostbite? Get in here!"
"Wait a moment, boy." The tall Mihokujin boy held a finger. The way he spoke made Silas gulp. Yamaguchi inched closer, only exacerbating their height difference. Silas felt like a mouse beneath him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
I'd like to thank Miss Kanezawa from Class 3-2 for taking initiative and seeking out a member of staff. Kanezawa-san, I promise you Toyotomi-sensei will bear no ill-will to you from this incident."
I've been waiting for the chance! It's pretty difficult, you know? Things always seem to be getting my way; I feel like I'm disliked by God or something, haha!
"Probably punching people…" Nanami giggled. "...anything to get anyone to notice me. I wouldn't have any kind of direction. I'm pretty bad at plans that don't involve brute force or hugs… eheh…"
Good job voters, we've managed to avoid turning Nanami into a serial sexual harasser that'll never be caught.
---
Right, now votes...
[X] [Event] Acquiesce to Yumika.
The entire drama club is out unless you want everything to become bogged down in a Chuuni mess.
Aborting isn't a great move, the favor would still be owed anyway.
It shouldn't be impossible to still find some private time after Reizei and Rakuyama go off into their own world at some point, so I'm fine with a straight vote here. [X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
-[X] Make sure to set a timer before you begin to make sure you can get to the Hypermall on time.
Fairly straightforward options here. Subforum is still on fire-ish and making money to then spend at the mall on friend/date activities is fine.
[X] [-] Try messing around with her nonexistence.
-[X] If she only thinks she's good at hugs, then hugs are what she can give out!
If Nanami is going to devolve into an impossible to catch predator, it'll be only by our own direct action!
The omake was entertaining, and I think it gave us a few hints about some of the characters. For example, Renji's sister has a different last name than he does. Curious. Additionally, it looks like Reina might not actually be Silas' biological sister, but rather some kind of secret agent keeping an eye on him for... reasons.
I'm also really entertained by how Mikado is described as being very plain looking, yet the ladies seem to find him irresistible. He's like a harem protagonist. Heck, that's probably his superpower. come to think of it, Maeda did say he was a ladies man, and there was an earlier reference to him wanting to make her an apology dinner. Maybe his harem protagonist powers got him in trouble, and now he's trying to straighten things out?
This is really interesting, especially paired with how much Silas loves the cold and his passport in the omake. Silas earlier mentioned that he was half Ozzetche, and I'm now getting the impression that he was actually born in the Ozzetch Republic and later moved to Mihoku, presumably for reasons related to the disappearance of his parents. Come to think of it, there is a whole lot about Silas' own past that we really don't know anything about. As another side note, we also learn from his getting ready for school montage that Silas wears contacts. Who knew?
I really, really don't like the idea of bringing the rest of the club in on the whole Student Council thing. It's an unnecessary escalation that is probably going to tip off the Council that there has been an info leak, which will probably prompt another round of memory wipes, which we might not escape this time. The concerns about Mikado have already been brought up, but there are other issues. Renji has been noted to have anger management issues, especially when Rakuyama's safety is involved. If he learns the truth about movie night, I don't really trust him not to do something stupid. And I'm not sure how well I trust Rakuyama and Kuroda to be discreet about this either. We have a lot of strong personalities in the club, and if we let them all in on the secret, one of them is bound to go off and do something unpredictable with the information.
[X] [Event] Stay with the original plan.
[X] [AS] (Event) Visit the Hypermall with friends to celebrate RikuRiku.
[X] [AS] Work at DreamerLuci's Subforum (+¥????)
I am not sure what that one is about. I am pretty sure they aren't twins, with Nanako being older by a couple years, so I wonder if their likeness to each other goes beyond that of what you'd normally expect from siblings. Unfortunately, we don't know that much about Renji.
No, beautiful Pravic snow too good for you. Off to the catacombs with you! The ones with heating, so that not a single snowflake would grace the window.
That will teach him!
"Ah. Then, I should tell you that it's not called 'St. Havsburg' anymore. Our dear Katyusha has renamed it to 'New Havs City.' It is part of the glorious Modernization Initiative, as it were."
Indeed. It has been long known that the fastest way to get rid of a problem is to rename it.
Vault City prevails, Citizen. Er, I meant, 'Glory to Katyusha', Inspector!
Hope you've bundled up, because it seems that a sudden cold snap has enveloped the city! We're expecting light to moderate snow flurries later on this week, just in time for the RikuRiku festivals - so make sure you're nice and warm while you're out celebrating! If you're lucky, it'lll be a proper Snow Riku out there! On a related note, Local News 9 would like to remind you that heavy snow is rarely a reason to not come to school or work - Miyao's robust and autonomous transportation network can operate even during natural disasters.
Interesting. For heavy snowfall occur in the beginning of October, either the climate on Alt!Earth is much harsher, or Mihoku must be a northern country... well, significantly more so than its Japanese counterpart. Although in-Universe Mihoku stretches as far as Chuutou-ken and Nonnatochi-ken prefectures on the mainland, located roughly where China is, the quest takes place in Miyao-fu, located on an archipelago, and I believe such weather would be atypical there by our standarts.
It's a minor curiousity that Silas is said to be comfortable with the cold. At first I was thinking it was yet another nod to his possible augmentations, but now that we know - from an Omake, no less - that Ozzetch is a Republic that is separate from the mainland, Amperstand's hypothesis makes a lot more sense. Although where would that put the country?
"H-H-Hey, there's a boy coming this way." the older Mihokujin boy noticed Silas walking slowly up to the main door. In truth, he'd been waiting for them to disappear so that he could come in alone... "Hey! Boy! Do you wish to get frostbite? Get in here!"
[...]
Yamaguchi inched closer, only exacerbating their height difference. Silas felt like a mouse beneath him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"W-W-Whatever imbecile called forth this cold weather d-d-deserves to be tried and e-e-executed for t-treason against the State! This is so cold it borders on magic!"
We have three applicants lined up for you. Be advised that torches and pitchforks are not provided by the State, and you should bring your own rope.
My /pol/ sense is tingling. Listening to the two, I can't believe they don't have accounts on local AH boards. Perhaps next time we are moderating those, we should keep an eye out for users extolling the virtues of glorious Mihoku steel culture and Ambernian superiority over the backwards Westerners.
"It seems like I missed something... fun..." Shinohara glanced at the rest of her classmates as they filtered into their homeroom. "What happened out there?"
Hana, in turn, poked sporadically at her instant ramen, sometimes taking a sip from a bottle of ramune.
[...]
After a particularly drawn-out gulp, she muttered under her breath [...]
I am with Karnewarrior on this one. We need to overturn the situation, and start teasing her for once. I demand a good lengthy Tomatoing session!
Alas, with her seeing right through us and our emotions it will be hard to catch her off guard. Still, we can not give up.
Yumika: Renji-kun might not look like it, but he's really into Syntheti Yumika: and riku-nee is uh Yumika: well you know Hana: Yeah I know Yumika: lol is it that obvious? Hana: heh
Yes, he does look like he is into Syntheti. Or into a Syntheti.
Wait, what's that about Riku-nee? We don't know. Does she mean that she is inseparable from Reizei, or does she imply something else? What is it that is obvious even to Silas?
'cause if she means a certain infatuation, it is far more obvious with Renji than with Riku, who kinda laughs everything off instead of blushing furiously.
