There must be a future that we can choose

[iamtetsuo]

WHO: Tetsuo and YOU
WHERE: Nonah
WHEN: Plot Pull Plot
WHAT: Open Log for said plot
WARNINGS: Spoilers


[Those who know Tetsuo typically know him as a young man with black hair, typically dyed white with blue-frosted tips these days. Large forehead, very intense eyes when focused.

The kid wandering around now, lost and more than a little dazed, is most of these things. He's the exact same (entirely unchanged) height, if a little more muscular. He's also a silvery blue all over.

And he seems a lot more vacant than before, distracted by the weirdest things. Sometimes, he'll catch sight of his hand, and clench it closer to his body. Sometimes, he'll seem to just watch someone, most likely Kaneda, with a more mature kind of sadness than he should know how to feel. Sometimes he'll forget stuff about eating just because it's been a while since he had his body. His mind's just as easily miles away as it is in the moment. When he talks, he sounds humbler than he does even after death.

And when he first gets here.. he probably won't have clothing, so he'll need to borrow stuff.]


a; Wandering in a park.

[Light and life press down on him, overwhelming compared to the vast quiet.  This isn't Neo Tokyo- too green, too friendly, and yet it feels so jarringly dissonant that it's impossible to not immediately tell this is somewhere he's not supposed to be. Tetsuo stands still, a statue despite his small stature, marveling at the sensation of cold wind wrapping around him.

It's been a long time since he felt cold. He doesn't seem to care, reaching one hand up to catch a branch through his fingers - he has FINGERS now - eyeing a new leaf on it.

He can't see it now, but his head knows there's patterns there, intricate shapes woven together deeper and deeper through this leaf. He can't see it now, but the wind blowing it out of his grasp holds infinite possibilities, uncountable variables... but just one path it can ever take. He can't see any of this now, the way he's come to understand a world. And that's normal, he figures, this is how he should feel. No one's supposed to know what this tree is, anymore than the rocks or the sky.

He lets his hand drop, head tilted upwards to watch clouds drift lazily in scattered patches across a stretch of blue.

It's not enough, somehow.]

America... huh?

b; Nonah 05

[He's around less than usual, but Tetsuo's still claimed his spot here. If he's not sightseeing, he could be anything from lying on the couch with his eyes half-closed, mind a million miles away, curiously poking around as if he's never been here before, lying down in the back yard, or checking over his bike all over again for the novelty of it. Or messing around with rocks in the yard, levitating them in weird patterns for Tetsuo reasons.

One thing he's not doing is playing video games, or poking around at his comm. Actually, has he even touched his comm? Is he aware of how it works?]

c; Exploring

[Compared to so many other revelations in his life, this one barely seems weird. He's human. He's got a form. He can act again on a planet, instead of be. And you might find this weirdly spacey blue kid wandering the streets, checking into businesses just to see what they are.

Or you might see him getting waylaid by extremely interested natives with a million questions, or comments, and doing his best to get rid of the flock of people. Pushing through them doesn't seem to work. Telling them he's not interested also doesn't. Telling them off in harsher tones ALSO does nothing. Walking away ... nah. Taking off only gets phones trained on him.

He lands on a roof, or over the building to duck into the first place he sees just to be left alone.]


WILDCARD - feel free to throw up more starters or ask for a specific one.

Comments

[amadaman]

No, that's not it.

[It's a thought Ken had to grow into, himself. It's not one he's been good at understanding quickly. But now, he thinks he understands.]

They grow.

With time, people grow. You and Kaneda-san, too.

[iamtetsuo]

[Hell, it's a better way of looking at whatever happened to Kaneda to make him someone not only tolerable, but ... genuinely, weirdly affectionate. Self evaluation's never been Tetsuo's strong point, but even he has to admit...]

Not all growth is good, you know.

[Take it from someone who knows. Even when it's been prefaced by a definition that cuts out monstrous, uncontrollable agonizing growth of a keysmash-inducing nature.

He looks at Ken, then. This kid, holding his hand like that's a normal thing people just do to Tetsuo... it's true, that he has no idea what their history really is. Nor would he be all that surprised to learn it. But right now, he can take it as some sign that things could, in fact, be better somewhere.

If it's always still him, then ... a little more hope goes a long way. Sure, Kiyoko says stuff like that, but Kiyoko says a lot of stuff.]

I guess it's not all bad, either...Listen to me. Used to be, I wouldn't be caught dead saying stuff like this.

[Or holding some kid's hand whose name he just re?learned.]

[amadaman]

Of course it isn't. The universe always finds a way to balance itself, but that doesn't mean an equal part of everything.

[Probably, when Tetsuo goes back to his original time, he wouldn't want to be caught like this with Ken either. Is it pointless to hope that some of this might survive the change back?

Time will tell. Time will always tell, and Kala-Nemi ticks evenly to confirm it.]

It's impossible to stay the same way forever, I think. But it's possible to shape the way you grow, too.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo nods along, then huffs what could be a laugh, or a sharp exhale.]

No kidding it balances itself. I found that out the hard way. Anyway... it'd have to be. This place proves that - it doesn't have to be the same thing.

[amadaman]

Yeah.


Even if you don't remember after this is over, that doesn't mean that everything will go back to being the same. If you have anything you want to tell Kaneda-san... this is probably the time to do it. He'll remember. I'm sure he will.

[iamtetsuo]

...

[By the way his eyes widen, he hadn't really thought about that yet. And who could blame him? He's been so busy adjusting to this, it's hard to sort his mind out.

But he has to admit; that's a very good point.]

There is something. ... They got paper, where we're going...?

[Two days and he already isn't leaving this to chance, or trusting himself to remember or say it. Two days and using a comm doesn't even occur to him to try.]

[amadaman]

I mean, if you want to write on the back of a receipt. They might have a section for office supplies, though, now that you mention it. We can take a look.

[If they were home, Ken would've lent him something from his room, but the store's just around the corner anyway. They walk through the entrance to the friendly electronic beep of the sensor, and the sleepy looking man behind the counter glances up once from his magazine before going back to it; two kids with wild hair at midnight? none of his concern, as long as they're peaceful.]

[iamtetsuo]

Not a receipt. I need something better...

[And.. they are peaceful. Tetsuo fans out, inspecting everything. It's a familiar concept, but wildly different area - there's little of the standard things he expects to find here. Curiosity outweighs judgement, unlike last time; he'd poke through the entire store just to see what the hell half this stuff was if he didn't have a mission.

Which is to wander around, looking for stuff that looks acceptable to this cause. It may be easier if he could read any of the signs above. It'd definitely be easier if Ken knew exactly where they were going and just took the lead.]

[amadaman]

[Except Ken does. He lets Tetsuo wander, but it's not long before he catches up to him, trotting down the aisle and holding out a few items once they're together. A notepad, as promised, and a set of erasers and a mechanical pencil, extra lead included. He even snatched up a cheap plastic clipboard so that they have a surface to write on. An important mission like this, it was better to do it as soon as possible.]

We can use these. Do they work for you?

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo barely even has to look those over before nodding. Fortunately, he's not picky; anything that's of the 'blank paper' variety would suit him for this. Even if it's the most important letter he's ever written. It's not what it looks like, after all, but what it says.]

Yeah, those'll do fine.

[amadaman]

... All right.

Then I'll go pay for these. Do you want to get something to eat still?

[iamtetsuo]

Huh?

[Alarmingly, there's a blank look at 'pay'. But it's gone in a moment, right. That's something that.. most people do, isn't it?

That's probably not how his life goes anymore. Now THAT'S a weird realization in itself...]

Oh, yeah... sure. But I didn't see anything I recognize around here yet.

["anything edible?" he's not quite asking.]

[amadaman]

That's what you said the first time, too. I guess it makes sense -- it's America.

There's potato chips?

[iamtetsuo]

[He frowns a little at that. Great.]

Huh. Okay. I'll eat those...

What else did I say, anyway? No sense repeating myself.

[amadaman]

You grumbled here and there, and then you complained about Kaneda-san. And then I gave you some candy from Japan and you complained about Kaneda-san some more.


[not an inaccurate summary]

1/2

[iamtetsuo]

...

[This must be what it's like to really look back at your ...let's say less mature self.]

2/2

[iamtetsuo]

Never mind. Forget I asked.

[And cringe a little. Because ... he can't say that's not exactly what he'd probably do.]

1/

[amadaman]

Ah...

[And this time it's Ken's turn to be speechless for a few seconds, too, staring at him, mouth open, as if about to say something]

/2

[amadaman]

[Then, there's a small pffft, like air leaving a balloon.

Followed by another.

Then another, and another, until Ken is holding back laughter, giggling quietly into his hand]

[iamtetsuo]

Yeah, yeah. [Siiigh.] It all seems so stupid now...

[But by then it was too late to do much about it. Hell, all there is to do now is just internally wonder - did he really come across as that obsessed? Was he that bad at the time? It'd all made sense then...

Yeah, probably.

God dammit.]

[amadaman]

[It takes a while for Ken's laughing to settle down. It's still not completely gone before he starts walking again, gesturing to Tetsuo to lead him toward the aisle of potato chips and other snacks.]

They were all pretty legitimate complaints.

[iamtetsuo]

Legitimate, not... It made sense at the time. That's all I know.

[One by one, each item's given a fairly critical evaluation before the most likely candidate to be deemed palatable lifts itself off the shelf and pulls through the air, right into Tetsuo's raised hand. Here, he inspects it even closer, turning it around halfway just to see the writing all over it that he can't read at all.

Sure, he's learned some extremely harsh lessons about using that too much, but ... some habit die off hard.]

[amadaman]

... That one was right in front of you...

[Did you really need to use your power for that.]

That's the original salted chip.

[iamtetsuo]

[Yes. Yes, he did. Absolutely, 100% necessary power use.

Okay maybe 89% necessary, but necessary nonetheless.

Tetsuo tosses the bag once, almost fumbles catching it, and makes the prompt decision to not fidget with it further.]

Is that what it says? In that case, I'll take this one.

[amadaman]

[He'll take the bag with a nod, then, turning to carry their purchases to the cashier. A few words, several beeps, and an exchange of money later the two of them are back out on the street. Their errand is over, and now it's time to go home and write the letter, or write the letter and go home.

The former will probably be best, but Ken offers the bag to Tetsuo, leaving the decision up to him.]