PC: Tama 💀

[resumed]

Comments

[ballies]

Yeah! You don’t have a karaoke bar where you’re from? You get private booth ones everywhere in Tokyo.

[ will nico experience the highs and lows of karaoke this game? ]

[resumed]

They probably have some in the city but it's not like I've ever been. I'm not exactly musically inclined. [ haha. ] Let me guess...one of the things you want to experience now that you're yourself?

[ let tama sing frankly, i don't know if the ending is real. ]

[ballies]

[ she’s like the only one that can other than kizuna… ]

Yeeeeessss? I hadn’t thought about it, but now there is one…

[resumed]

[ he thinks perhaps he should not have spoken, but...he gives her a half-smile. ]

...we can go look. No promises about staying, but it doesn't hurt to at least go look. Really quick.

[ ...yeah he's curious. ]

[ballies]

Oh.

I'm not letting you take this back, you know. Come on, come on.

[ he is being Dragged. ]

[resumed]

I said just looking! I want that on the record! [ but he lets himself be dragged, following her into the building and probably one of the rooms? they can vibe for a little while, the secret really is that he would let tama do whatever she wanted. ]

[ballies]

You can look from inside one of the booths, it's fine! It's like a guided tour.

[ yeah he can't escape now. but luckily for his singing skills or lack thereof, they walk right into a memory

wow. ]

[resumed]

[ wow! there's a lot to unpack here! the memory causes him to halt and he watches this play out. it's not hard to hear the worry in her tone, or see the way she's trying to balance giving ryuki what he wants and what he actually needs. when it's over, he watches her quietly like he's deciding if he has the right to say anything.

he wants to know a lot like what the hb case is or who shoma is, but mostly there's something that kind of resonates too strongly with him.

"I have to do this." even at the expense of his sanity. ]

...did he go like he promised?

[ballies]

[ wowee! memories. ]

He did. Technically. I did tell him he had to go to the hospital not stay there, so he did do as I asked in the end.

[resumed]

[ there's a nod. sure. technicalities are a real thing. ]

But did it help? [ he is thinking not, given how ryuki sure does seem scrambled, but...who knows. ]

[ballies]

Hospitals don't exactly work like an RPG healing potion.

[ ryuki has so many isuses. he's just a little guy. ]

[resumed]

[ he shrugs. ]

Haven't exactly been to a hospital for years, Tama. Maybe medicine works different for you guys. [ ... ] ...does it scare you when stuff like that happens?

[ballies]

...

Always. I trust myself enough to be able to help him, but-- there's limits, here and there. I can't help him here if he goes somewhere I can't follow. And I can't help him back home because I can't physically intervene and take him somewhere if he's in a vulnerable place.

[ ... ]

And I can't see what's going on in his head.

[resumed]

[ he can only imagine being on that side of things, because he's hearing her words and thinking about how they apply to someone else, too. ]

I'm sorry. It must be really hard when it feels like you should be able to help and protect him, but you don't know how to all the time. And worse when you can only watch the aftermath. [ he. uh. remembers tama's response when they found ryuki's body (?) thursday. ]

But he trusts you doesn't he?

[ballies]

[ she sure had a time. ]

Yes. But— he takes everything on himself and he doesn’t ask for help.

[ frowns. ]

[resumed]

[ .... ]

It's not easy to ask for help sometimes. Especially if you have something you feel like can only be accomplished by you. Or something you feel like you have to do yourself to make up for something that's happened. [ ... ] It's easier to burden yourself than others usually, especially if you have a perspective of how you can handle things. Skewed or not.

I guess the best is just reminding him constantly that you are there to help him and he doesn't have to take it on by himself. Even if he doesn't listen and even if it's frustrating.

[ballies]

Trust me, I do. I've called him out on his habits before as well. It's just...

[ she sighs, a little heavier. ]

It's easier to make sure he tries to rely on me, and know what he's doing when I'm my regular self. Even if he does do something reckless, I can try and support him. Make sure he doesn't get hurt.

[ and, well. they all saw what happened last week. ]

I don't know how to explain it. Like I gained and lost limbs at the same time.

[resumed]

[ he won't pretend he fully gets it because that's not fair to tama. but he can listen and try to empathize and try to understand. so he's quietly mulling that over. ]

An adjustment period, but always feeling like if you don't adjust soon enough it might be too late. There are things you can do now that you couldn't before, like touch him. But you can't do other things he might need, like scan him for what might be wrong when he can't fully recognize and articulate it. [ ...he bows his head then. ] I'm sorry. I know it's not my business it's just...hard on both parties, I think.

[ballies]

... Yeah, that's kinda nail on the head territory.

[ remember when they were just going to karaoke? those were good, cute moments. ]

It's going to be weird for him too. Normally we can just talk to each other without another listening in. Neural link.

[resumed]

Which makes it harder to be honest sometimes when you never know who's listening. [ shaking his head, and his hood wiggles. ] Does the neural link have something to do with being an ai-ball?

[ let's keep walking, maybe. maybe they can salvage this day. they won't bc im giving a mem next tag or so but still. ]

[ballies]

Well... that can happen too, if you're talking around other agents. The neural link's like a channel. Public, but private if you choose to keep it private. That's usually a conscious decision.

And yeah. You can't just stick an AI-Ball in your socket and expect it to work. You need connections and links to communicate. It's all in the waivers that agents sign when they join up.

[ them: maybe we will have a nice day.
the memory: bitch you thought ]

[resumed]

Sounds like a lot of networking and routing to make sure things go where they need to go to function. Or at least a lot of consent on all sides. I think it'd probably drive me a little crazy having to figure out which of my thoughts are filtered to who all the time.

[ but alas. ]

...but I can see an argument for the other way, too. It's always worse to have to decide what you can and can't share in public.

[ which, like, speaking of, it's a funny time for them to walk around a corner and have a comic panel pop up. ]

[ballies]

That's why there's so many waivers. A lot of ABIS agents were missing an eye or had damage to their left eyes in the first place -- so it wasn't much of a loss, you know?

[ ... ]

Ryuki chose to have the surgery. [ it was for his dream, but sometimes it's just... nice to think about and know he chose this, even when they're arguing or not having the best time. they're both there because they want to be.


but.

ah.

(me voice) baby shaaaame. ]

...

Nothing I'm hearing or seeing from you is really endearing me to a lot of those gods, you know. Although that Titan seems like a good guy.

[resumed]

...chosen partners then. [ there's something that's almost like a smile because that's...kind of sweet, in theory.


and then this happens and he's immediately frowning exasperatedly. ]

Nyx should never been endeared to, for one thing. But...Bob's a friend. He's someone Will and I had to save no matter what it took. And we did? Like...maybe a day before we came to Oceanside.

[ haha. ]

[ballies]

Well. Assigned, but— he chose to have an AI-Ball, so it counts.

[ oh, oof. ]

Oh, that’s unfortunate timing. Did you at least make it out of there before you came here…? [ did bob and also very importantly the only one that matters here, SMALL BOB? ]