[Hey, more cool sci-fi stuff! Natsuno taps the dome, knocks on it with a fist and presses him palms against it. The barrier holds - would it be like Jade's holy bottles? Rita doesn't seem to be familiar with human-looking monsters, and yet her world's technology still recognizes him as a monster? For a moment something vague and sullen settles in the pit of his stomach.
He's quick to push it away, though. If that's how things are, it's only natural, and there are more important things to test. Natsuno continues to struggle against the barrier, trying to increase the power behind the blows gradually. First like a human would, then like a jinrou who isn't trying very hard. Finally, he steps back against the back "wall" and swings back and worth to build momentum, dashing at full speed to slam his shoulder against the barrier.
Much to his surprise, the barrier just stops resisting altogether and Natsuno pretty much flies through it, crashing on the deck in a totally dignified way.]
[Admittedly, she's a little surprised to see that the barrier's initially repelling him. He really doesn't seem all that different from a human. A barrier like this couldn't have worked on Estelle, surely...but Rita's reminded of the sphere she'd been trapped in, and how it may not have been so different from a reverse barrier, despite some alterations to the formula--
Oh, wait, there he goes, spilling very elegantly onto the deck and snapping Rita out of her thoughts. She heads over and crouches next to him--not worried, because all he did was fall over, really.]
Hmm...that was pretty weird. Looks like he thinks you're close enough to a human.
[Ow. Natsuno sits up, wincing slightly, rubbing the bruised shoulder.]
You were expecting that, though. [He did use to human, not to mention that jinrou like him were built to blend in. Maybe if the item wasn't holy, it wasn't as effective...] It can be a problem if you try using him on the captain, though.
[...and there it is again, another crack in the wall of vagueness. Maybe he should just walk around with "I'm a vampire" t-shirt and get it over with.]
Used to be humans. [A shrug. His face is impassive as usual.] Then we changed.
[Well, that's one way to explain it. Blunt and effective! Even if Rita's going to take some time to really process this, for now, she's just going to kind of stare in shock at Natsuno.]
A...what? How does...
[Look, biology isn't anywhere near her specialty, but she's pretty sure diseases don't normally work like this?!]
How does getting sick change someone that much? That means you didn't have those regenerative powers before, right? What the hell kind of disease was that?
[At the time, he thought the adults in the village were idiots for not seeing the truth, but now that he has to come up with a convincing excuse - "a blood disease" is pretty accurate, isn't it? And Dr. Ozaki was very thorough in his research, enough for Natsuno to sound convincing with second-hand medical terms.]
It attacks the red blood cells. Usually, it just destroys them... but sometimes they change into something else. [A shrug.] I don't know how it happens, but that's what it is.
The line...? Ugh, I don't know--who cares enough to even think about that?
[Scientifically, there's probably a line, but she's not interested. Estelle is human. The Krityans have long ears and antennae and some odd powers, but they're also humans.
More importantly, she's giving him a considering look, because despite what she just said...it's starting to seem pretty obvious to her who might care.]
Why are you so insistent on calling yourself "something else"? Did that change bother you that much?
Of course. Just because some of it is useful here, doesn't mean I like it.
[Did he want to die repeatedly by a falling sign, magic spears and burning moon boss magic? Of course not. Does it make him feel like a monstrous freak every time he walks off something any other passenger would never recover from? Yes.]
I'll never get old. I won't die of natural causes. You think I want to stay fifteen forever?
[Part of her is getting skeptical. He has no reason to lie, though, so she's trying to roll with it...even as it's sounding really weird as a disease outcome. Other worlds just seem to be getting weird in general...
Would Rita want to be fifteen forever? Maybe--there's always so much to study and learn, a single lifetime could never be enough to discover everything the world has to offer--but she's never thought about it either, since it's always just been a simple fact that people age.]
How long have you been like this? If you don't actually age, does that mean you're really an old man?
Maybe, [he agrees, blandly.] but that's my business.
[He doesn't expect her to understand. An emo teen he may be, but even Natsuno has his limits, and he's certainly not going to keep flaunting his tragic backstory for sympathy points. If anything, he respects Rita's bluntness.]
[Alright, that's enough gross friendship stuff for now. They have to keep it to small doses, after all--so, Rita stands up from where she was crouched next to him.]
Anyway...thanks for helping. He seems to be functioning properly, even if the barrier probably won't work on the captain the way it's calibrated now.
[And yet, she says it in a tone that makes it clear she isn't totally against the idea. She just tries not to think about what happens if he does get bored.]
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neverleave) wrote2022-03-03 11:35 pm
no subject
He's quick to push it away, though. If that's how things are, it's only natural, and there are more important things to test. Natsuno continues to struggle against the barrier, trying to increase the power behind the blows gradually. First like a human would, then like a jinrou who isn't trying very hard. Finally, he steps back against the back "wall" and swings back and worth to build momentum, dashing at full speed to slam his shoulder against the barrier.
Much to his surprise, the barrier just stops resisting altogether and Natsuno pretty much flies through it, crashing on the deck in a totally dignified way.]
no subject
Oh, wait, there he goes, spilling very elegantly onto the deck and snapping Rita out of her thoughts. She heads over and crouches next to him--not worried, because all he did was fall over, really.]
Hmm...that was pretty weird. Looks like he thinks you're close enough to a human.
no subject
You were expecting that, though. [He did use to human, not to mention that jinrou like him were built to blend in. Maybe if the item wasn't holy, it wasn't as effective...] It can be a problem if you try using him on the captain, though.
no subject
The captain's something else entirely. I wouldn't even know how to start calibrating the barrier...
[She frowns a moment before focusing back on Natsuno curiously.]
I wasn't expecting the barrier to work on you at all. It's almost like...he couldn't quite decide. Are shiki related to humans?
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Used to be humans. [A shrug. His face is impassive as usual.] Then we changed.
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[Rita's face remains blank for a moment--before she does something like a double-take. She's never heard of anything like this before.]
--Wait, what? You...changed? How?
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There was a plague in the village I lived in. Most of those who got sick died. [And some of the dead rose.] I changed.
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A...what? How does...
[Look, biology isn't anywhere near her specialty, but she's pretty sure diseases don't normally work like this?!]
How does getting sick change someone that much? That means you didn't have those regenerative powers before, right? What the hell kind of disease was that?
no subject
[At the time, he thought the adults in the village were idiots for not seeing the truth, but now that he has to come up with a convincing excuse - "a blood disease" is pretty accurate, isn't it? And Dr. Ozaki was very thorough in his research, enough for Natsuno to sound convincing with second-hand medical terms.]
It attacks the red blood cells. Usually, it just destroys them... but sometimes they change into something else. [A shrug.] I don't know how it happens, but that's what it is.
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[It sounds pretty weird to her, really.]
I mean, the way you've put it just makes it sound like you're a human with some weird blood.
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Something else is something else. Where do you draw the line between "human" and "not human"?
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[Scientifically, there's probably a line, but she's not interested. Estelle is human. The Krityans have long ears and antennae and some odd powers, but they're also humans.
More importantly, she's giving him a considering look, because despite what she just said...it's starting to seem pretty obvious to her who might care.]
Why are you so insistent on calling yourself "something else"? Did that change bother you that much?
no subject
[Did he want to die repeatedly by a falling sign, magic spears and burning moon boss magic? Of course not. Does it make him feel like a monstrous freak every time he walks off something any other passenger would never recover from? Yes.]
I'll never get old. I won't die of natural causes. You think I want to stay fifteen forever?
no subject
[Part of her is getting skeptical. He has no reason to lie, though, so she's trying to roll with it...even as it's sounding really weird as a disease outcome. Other worlds just seem to be getting weird in general...
Would Rita want to be fifteen forever? Maybe--there's always so much to study and learn, a single lifetime could never be enough to discover everything the world has to offer--but she's never thought about it either, since it's always just been a simple fact that people age.]
How long have you been like this? If you don't actually age, does that mean you're really an old man?
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It's been several months, including the time I've been stuck here.
[His second life lasted barely a month. Somehow it feels much longer.]
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...So it hasn't even been a year and you're already brooding over the lonely destiny of an immortal, or whatever? That was awful fast.
[Look...this is all a little strange and she's temporarily forgotten the part where most of the people he knew may have very well died already...]
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[He doesn't expect her to understand. An emo teen he may be, but even Natsuno has his limits, and he's certainly not going to keep flaunting his tragic backstory for sympathy points. If anything, he respects Rita's bluntness.]
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[Since they are...kinda sorta friends, though...she follows up on that with some embarrassing sincerity while looking over at the blastia.]
...But I'd say that who you are matters way more than what you are.
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I'll try to keep that in mind.
[A little embarrassing sincerity of his own.]
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[Alright, that's enough gross friendship stuff for now. They have to keep it to small doses, after all--so, Rita stands up from where she was crouched next to him.]
Anyway...thanks for helping. He seems to be functioning properly, even if the barrier probably won't work on the captain the way it's calibrated now.
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No problem. Let me know if you need help figuring out how to calibrate him [It's him now, his name is Wilhelm forever] the right way.
[He would totally put a stupid stunt at the bridge for that.]
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I will. But...it's not like the captain's going to just sit still and let me keep testing until it works.
[At least she doesn't think he would.]
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No way of telling when or how he gets bored of it, though.
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[And yet, she says it in a tone that makes it clear she isn't totally against the idea. She just tries not to think about what happens if he does get bored.]