Cracks knuckles time to break this game in

[remainingtwin]

Who: Mio & U
When: The day of arrival
Where: main promenade & atrium
Summary: Post-orientation, Mio feels distinctly disoriented.

[Main Promenade]
[Alright, well.

Alright then.

Following the orientation video she spent a few dazed minutes just staring around the area and the people, feeling like they all must have similar 'is this for real?' question going through their heads as she does. She wants to cry and she wants to scream, but mostly she just feels so baffled by the suddenness of anything that she can't do any of that.

She glances at the duffel bag and frowns at the suit inside--granted, it's still better than her own clothing (torn, dirty, splattered with what suspiciously looks like...blood?? A lot of blood. Concerning) but still. Space suit.

Mio turns away, fully prepared to just leave the little group and go off on her own, but only gets a few feet away as she starts looking at her other bag that's come with her.

--And promptly tosses both bags away from her with a yelp of panic. As they hit the floor, out from the smaller bag she'd brought with her tumbles an antique camera and a certain charm, but it's the camera that seems to have her attention most. For a moment Mio looks like she's either going to start hyperventilating or maybe kick the camera, but after a tense moment she slowly crouches down to start picking things up again with trembling fingers. She hesitates reaching for the camera though, with a look like she's half-afraid it might suddenly bite her.

Also aware that her outburst might've drawn some attention, she says a quick:] Sorry. [There, now no one will bother her and everything is Normal And Fine.]

[Atrium]

[Sometime later, Mio sits in the atrium, staring blankly at...nothing, really. She doesn't appear to be focusing on anything in particular, but there's a death grip on the antique camera from earlier as it rests on her knees. She's managed to find her way to her room to shower and change and have a bit of an emotional breakdown in peace; it had taken a lot of internal debating to finally drag herself out of the room to explore the ship a little more.

(What did it matter if she did or didn't? She should've just stayed in and maybe the'd forget about her and she could just...disappear. Somehow. Fade away?)

Mio got as far as the atrium before just collapsing on a bench and that's where she was currently and had been for the past half an hour, just. Staring. Once in a while her eyes scan the area without really seeing anything, but otherwise she hasn't really moved. There's a haunted sort of look about her and a peculiar set of bruising around her throat. It's butterfly-like, like... Well, sort of like someone's tried to strangle her. They look painful and fresh. That's normal.

After a few moments Mio looks down at the camera and slowly raises it to look through the viewfinder. Everyone around here was alive, right? Maybe? Hopefully?? After a few seconds of debating she goes ahead and takes a few test shots. Sorry if she accidentally gets you in the shot?? You'll probably be fine, provided you're not an spirit or something occult/paranormal/etc. Probably. Those sensitive to such things might be able to pick up that there's definitely some exorcism powers going on there though...

Otherwise enjoy your photo randomly being taken!]

Comments

[straycloud]

They like to keep count how many Sanzo priests we've been through, for some reason. [ They being the Three Aspects, of course, but he won't clarify. She doesn't seem to recognize the importance of the title. That is more than fine by him, and he grins genuinely at her. ]

It's a title that doesn't mean much more than what you see.

[remainingtwin]

[So it's a useless title then??

No that'd be mean, she doesn't even actually think that, but she is giving Koumyou a look like he's set himself up for a huge burn and he should really be thankful she's not a mean person at heart.]

It doesn't really mean anything in a place like this anyhow, right? ...Well, I guess they might still have Buddhism and other religions in the future. In space. [Future... space... Mio makes a slightly pained expression at having remembered that]

...This is too crazy...

[straycloud]

[ Entirely useless for all practical purposes. It's not something he'd set himself up for accidentally, after all.

But his smile doesn't give that away. ]

Anything only means what you make of it, right?

[remainingtwin]

[For a brief moment Mio just looks confused, then irritated, before she finally sighs and just shakes her head.] Now I can believe you're a priest. [Saying dumb things like that. Sheesh!!]

But you can't make something out of nothing. That's not how it works. Everyone brought in here like us is on the same page-- titles like a priest or a prince, there's no difference anymore. It's not recognized by anyone that matters.

[But then Mio frowns at him, expression almost accusing. Why was she arguing about this anyway? It's not like she cared.] ...Well. If you want to still carry the title or whatever, it's not like it's anyone's business either...

[straycloud]

[ What an interesting response. He wouldn't have expected not making sense to somehow make him more likely to be a priest. ]

Just so. [ It took her a while to get around to it, but she eventually made his point just fine. ] It's what you make of it. [ His expression softens into something particularly vague, kind but distant. ] As long as it matters to me, even that pointless title means something.

[remainingtwin]

Oh. [Somehow, it hadn't occurred to her that the title of being a priest might actually mean something to him. Having her own priestess status (and subsequent 'Remaining' status) shoved on her without her say had certainly soured it to her. The mark on her throat seems to burn.

She tilts her head back somewhat to regard him carefully. His words alone tell her that probably he worked hard for it, probably it was something he actually wanted out of life, and her callous judgement of it being useless and meaningless was unnecessarily cruel given the circumstances. Ashamed, she chews on her bottom lip and lowers her gaze, turning her camera over in her hands as a distraction.]

Sorry. I... [Mio doesn't really know what to say or how to explain herself.] Sorry. I was just-- [no that wasn't a good start.] I didn't mean to imply-- [No that wasn't right either. She sighs and peeks up through her bangs at him, at a bit of a loss.]

[straycloud]

I think... [ He sounds thoughtful and not at all offended. ] I don't know what you mean. We are just getting to "it's nice to meet you," aren't we?

[ His tone is entirely too patient and pleasant for a man that had just been insulted. The last thing he wants is for her to feel bad for seeing things from an honest perspective.

All in all, she hadn't been wrong. ]

[remainingtwin]

[Mio looks baffled a moment, openly shocked at the-- acceptance? She's not sure how to describe it to herself, but the smooth way he seems to offer forgiveness for her rudeness (thought 'forgiveness' might imply she's done something that needed forgiving anyhow, which he apparently doesn't and it makes Mio's head hurt a little trying to make sense of it all).

Her gaze lowers again, face red as she feels suddenly embarrassed for entirely different reasons] ...It's nice to meet you. [The urge to apologize again is still there, but she bites her tongue.]

You're... a weird sort of guy... [And yet she still insults him, nice Mio. She shakes her head a little.] But, that's not really a bad thing, I guess.

[straycloud]

Thank you. [ Because, really, why not?

His eyes crinkle slightly at the corners as he laughs, nothing but honest, harmless amusement in the sound. People tended to get used to him in time, and this is certainly a pleasant enough introduction for now. ]

It's nice to meet you, too. It is a strange place, isn't it? I've never been to space before today, I think. [ A pause. ] Probably.

[remainingtwin]

You think? Probably? [She echoes him in pure disbelief.] How do you not know? You either have or you haven't.

[Mio finds herself wondering just how actually sane he is, and how much of this is just an act. She also wonders just how much of her time will be spent wondering this exact thing. She has a feeling she could spend an entire lifetime studying it and never get any closer to an answer]

[straycloud]

How do you know?

[ It's a perfectly reasonable question. ] I like the trees you find in space.

[remainingtwin]

[She is not having this conversation. Why is this even a thing. She feels a little like she's going to explode from some overload of "what the fuck"]

From the space? [THAT'S HOW ONE WOULD KNOW.] It's--space! You'd know! There's... stars. And stuff! [She's can hardly articulate a proper answer here in her flustered state.]

[straycloud]

That doesn't seem very clear at all. Where does all the foliage fit in? [ Now he's just being difficult. ]

1/3

[remainingtwin]

[remainingtwin]

[She reaches out and pokes him-- his cheek, if she can, but she'll take is shoulder or an arm or whatever. Her brow furrows in a sort of accusing disbelief, like he's clearly hiding something from her here]

3/3

[remainingtwin]

You're so lifelike, but you can't possibly be a real person.

[this is a normal turn to a normal conversation]

[straycloud]

Ah, thank you.

[ After a slight delay, he frowns. ] I think...

[remainingtwin]

[She sets her camera aside to reach up and take his face boldly in her hands, squishing his cheeks together as she watches him with narrowed eyes.]

Are you a real person?

[straycloud]

[ His face is warm like faces ought to be, and his cheeks squish to a satisfyingly silly expression.

His words are somewhat distorted, but he answers honestly: ] I can't promise you anything, but I'll try to be.

[remainingtwin]

[She stares at him flatly for a moment, before examining where her hands meet his skin. She's curious, half-wanting to reach out with her abilities and see if she could find something, anything that would get her some understanding of this strange man. He is warm, and she realizes with an embarrassed start that she sort of misses that kind of warmth from another person.

A week. It had been a week of not seeing the sun or another living person other than Mayu, and even then Mayu had kept disappearing. She was starving-- for food, for the sun, for touch.

But he's not Mayu, and this was already bordering on lewd what with the random face-touching, she doesn't need her weird longings adding to it. Face turning red, Mio snatches her hands back like she's been burned and crosses her arms over her chest, half-hugging herself instead. Her throat aches again.]

...You either are or you aren't. [You can't keep insisting on taking a middle-ground, Koumyou!!] You're either real, or I really finally cracked after-- everything. But I guess it doesn't really matter either way anyhow.

[Nothing matters etc etc eat arbys]

[straycloud]

[ He can almost imagine what Goudai would say if he were here as well, scolding him for causing trouble. He drops his gaze briefly before looking to her again.

After a moment, he reaches out and pokes her cheek. ]

You seem real, so I must be, too. That's a relief for me.

[remainingtwin]

[She reaches up instantly to press a hand to her cheek where he poked, jumping in surprise. Her face turns a darker shade of red, expression flustered as she struggles with a response.

Who just went and said things like that? She doesn't understand why it'd be a relief, except maybe as a marker of his own sanity, but... it makes her feel warm all the same. Mio looks downward again.] Stupid. [She mumbles after a moment, her hand still on her cheek.]

...It is for me too, I guess.