Hey, Ryuki— c’mon, I need you here, not wherever you’re going now.
[ it’ll
take a moment, as focused on this as she is. but the fact she’s standing in front of him and could literally reach out to him hasn’t crossed her mind yet ]
This isn't right. We don't live in a medieval society. It's not like Mika committed something that vile. It's manslaughter.
I don't know if it would even count as manslaughter at all.
[ I don't know what the punishments are for killing an animal unwarrantedly by Japanese law but it's probably not an executable one. Unless? Still don't be racist Ryuki. ]
[ ok well that’s not a totally out to lunch reaction, but — ]
We’re not back home, Ryuki. I don’t like any of this, but the people in the crowds see this as normal. A hero does something “evil”, they pay the ultimate price. Like knocking a idol off their pedestal just to drag them back down to earth.
[ she’s starting to think that’s all heroes are here. people held to a standard that’s nearly impossible to uphold, like they’re not real. ]
They can get away with it, because they’ve never been challenge that it’s wrong. Or they don’t care.
[ ryuki don’t be species-est. ] It does. Regardless of whatever Rocket was, he was capable of all the same thoughts and emotions we’d expect a person to be capable of. She should’ve been tried for accidental murder and had a more lenient punishment.
But... why? Isn't that just weird how quickly they wanted to blame us when we were the ones brought in? When we were basically "kidnapped"? And right when the city was all destroyed by something too? It's almost like the goal of bringing us wasn't to actually get us to do heroics at all.
[ ... ]
Why am I being roped up into something like this again? I don't want...
well. she does, almost on autopilot, reach out and grab his hand. kinda like she’d want to do normally, but her hands would phase through his in nothing more than an empty gesture. this time though, here, she’s able to take one of his hands in hers and squeeze it tightly.
weird that she’s done this with so many other people, but with ryuki where she’s so used not to being able to touch him the realisation she can doesn’t fully stick. ]
Hey. I’m here too y’know, you’re not going through this all by yourself. Just like normal, right?
[ it’s them, always. they’re a team. ]
I don’t know why we got roped into this. I don’t know what they want from us. But we’re good at figuring stuff like this out.
[ Hand-hold... his eyes flicker a bit and he doesn't really know if he wants to pull back or not, strictly on the grounds of that this is so bizarre that she's solid -- but in a way, it does feel right and familiar. Probably because she's always been trying to do it all of the time, but in a verbal format which has occasionally been just as effective. ]
But we didn't.
[ Figure it out. He doesn't want to think about it, doesn't want to finish the thought because it'd require bringing it closer to the forefront of his conscious, but it's a stray thought from what he knows is true. ]
It wasn't like I was doing anything special... just paperwork. Jobs you do on foot... like knocking around and asking about witnesses.
[ He sighs, and certainly not without a hint of both resentment but heavy resignation: ]
Kind of like a beat cop.
[ To be nice to you I basically wrote off Ryuki's six-year interim as him being assigned to back-end work like filing and generally 'tamer' activity still aligned with ABIS because again he still somehow works there first off, and secondly I guess they can't just let him go after they fucked him up this way and Tama also presumably refuses to leave him. ]
What are you talking about...? I mean... she did try to bother me about tailing me when I went to knock on doors for a robbery case? Something about wanting experience...
But you were there, so I don't know why I'm talking to you like you weren't.
[ Just incorporates mine and Anais's short psl in here (if Anais is seeing this as mod lite then hi). It's convenient. ]
she's quiet for a moment, before she strokes her thumbs across his cheeks. like she's pre-soothing him. okay, if he doesn't know, how much does she want to say? how much will rattle him?
... ]
I think... maybe, I have a few more memories than you do, Ryuki. You working the desk was a little while ago for me, like a few months. What's the last date you remember?
[ honestly he could have a nap, she would just keep holding his little face. she doesn’t actually stop the soothing thumb motion — although it does falter very slightly when he says the date. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ He doesn't look too hot. Distinctly almost nauseous, and obviously extremely upset. ]
Why...?
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Hey, Ryuki— c’mon, I need you here, not wherever you’re going now.
[ it’ll
take a moment, as focused on this as she is. but the fact she’s standing in front of him and could literally reach out to him hasn’t crossed her mind yet ]
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I don't know if it would even count as manslaughter at all.
[ I don't know what the punishments are for killing an animal unwarrantedly by Japanese law but it's probably not an executable one. Unless? Still don't be racist Ryuki. ]
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We’re not back home, Ryuki. I don’t like any of this, but the people in the crowds see this as normal. A hero does something “evil”, they pay the ultimate price. Like knocking a idol off their pedestal just to drag them back down to earth.
[ she’s starting to think that’s all heroes are here. people held to a standard that’s nearly impossible to uphold, like they’re not real. ]
They can get away with it, because they’ve never been challenge that it’s wrong. Or they don’t care.
[ ryuki don’t be species-est. ] It does. Regardless of whatever Rocket was, he was capable of all the same thoughts and emotions we’d expect a person to be capable of. She should’ve been tried for accidental murder and had a more lenient punishment.
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[ ... ]
Why am I being roped up into something like this again? I don't want...
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well. she does, almost on autopilot, reach out and grab his hand. kinda like she’d want to do normally, but her hands would phase through his in nothing more than an empty gesture. this time though, here, she’s able to take one of his hands in hers and squeeze it tightly.
weird that she’s done this with so many other people, but with ryuki where she’s so used not to being able to touch him the realisation she can doesn’t fully stick. ]
Hey. I’m here too y’know, you’re not going through this all by yourself. Just like normal, right?
[ it’s them, always. they’re a team. ]
I don’t know why we got roped into this. I don’t know what they want from us. But we’re good at figuring stuff like this out.
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But we didn't.
[ Figure it out. He doesn't want to think about it, doesn't want to finish the thought because it'd require bringing it closer to the forefront of his conscious, but it's a stray thought from what he knows is true. ]
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that makes her pause though. ]
…
[ ? ]
Well, we had help but we were just about to put the final pieces in place — I know it wasn’t easy, but it was all finally coming together.
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You don't get it, Tama... I screwed it up. I screwed everything up so bad.
I couldn't tell you because he was going to destroy you. I can't... I couldn't lose you like that.
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but also help. ]
…
Ryuki, what’s the last thing you remember?
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[ Sorry this was just so non-specific it made me laugh. ]
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Nooo, I can probably guess that one. [ dummy. ] Before we came here, what’s the last thing you remember from back home?
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[ He sighs, and certainly not without a hint of both resentment but heavy resignation: ]
Kind of like a beat cop.
[ To be nice to you I basically wrote off Ryuki's six-year interim as him being assigned to back-end work like filing and generally 'tamer' activity still aligned with ABIS because again he still somehow works there first off, and secondly I guess they can't just let him go after they fucked him up this way and Tama also presumably refuses to leave him. ]
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…
she just gently puts her hands on the sides of Ryuki’s face and tries to coax him into looking at her. ]
Everything over the past six years. I know, but— you started investigating again. You don’t remember that? After Mizuki came and talked to us?
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What are you talking about...? I mean... she did try to bother me about tailing me when I went to knock on doors for a robbery case? Something about wanting experience...
But you were there, so I don't know why I'm talking to you like you weren't.
[ Just incorporates mine and Anais's short psl in here (if Anais is seeing this as mod lite then hi). It's convenient. ]
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she's quiet for a moment, before she strokes her thumbs across his cheeks. like she's pre-soothing him. okay, if he doesn't know, how much does she want to say? how much will rattle him?
... ]
I think... maybe, I have a few more memories than you do, Ryuki. You working the desk was a little while ago for me, like a few months. What's the last date you remember?
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...
[ He's quiet enough for a moment that you can almost believe he really did. But -- ]
February... 7th.
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…
February 15th.
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[ Yeah, like, that's in a week. ]
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That’s the last date I remember.
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[ she’s still doing the thumb circles. calm.. calm… ]
Maybe both are true? It’s just— memory, too much or too little, that’s the problem?
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Two things like that can't be true at once. Subjective things can, but not the date...
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