text; @The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King;

[unrequite]

[ Four lines of text. ]

This is written in Victorian.
Kore wa Laterano-ji Higashi-go de kakareteimasu.
This is written in Higashinese.
This written by in Yanese. (Might be bad. Sorry.)

Please do let me know how many of these sentences you understand.

[ The first is in what would be considered Earth English, the second is what would be known as Japanese written in Romaji, but he's called it "Laterano-ji Higashinese". The third was written in Japanese, the fourth was written in some rather poor Chinese. He's called the languages themselves clearly incorrect names. What's more important, though, is that only the second one should parse as phonetic, and should only be understandable to fellow Japanese speakers. The rest are in whatever language is most understandable to whoever reads it. Funny, huh? This city sure is strange! ]

Comments

[coolerjunpei]

[Junpei will refrain from pointing out that Midnight could just lie if he gets it right, but-!!]

9

[unrequite]

3. There it is, then.

[ There is literally no reason to lie. Well, he could do so to save Junpei's feelings, but Midnight's not that much of a people pleaser. ]

that icon is making me insane

[coolerjunpei]

good. i don't want to read anyone's mind, no offense.

you're welcome: https://citynet.dreamwidth.org/7909.html?thread=1234917#cmt1234917

[unrequite]

Oh, I take grave offense. My mind is a lovely place to be.

[ Complete bullshit lying motherfucker hours 👍 ]

deceased..........,

[coolerjunpei]

well, save it for a special someone. it's really not you, it's me.

[unrequite]

Well, to be "a" special someone is quite different from being my special someone, if you understand my meaning. You can bear to be the apple of my eye temporarily, can't you?

[ 😔 sry ]

[coolerjunpei]

do i get another sticker?

[unrequite]

As many as you'd like, lad.

[coolerjunpei]

then sure, but i still can't read your mind. that a deal-breaker?

[unrequite]

It's heartbreaking, but such is life. I'll just have to give you running commentary. The greatest hits, as it were.

[coolerjunpei]

alright, hit me. what's gold star sticker-worthy in there?

[unrequite]

I frequently wonder if the people who brought us here are just terribly lonely and never learned to ask for company. That does happen, you know.

[coolerjunpei]

that sucks for them but that'd be a real disappointment after having to live here for this long, you know? at least make it something more interesting.

[unrequite]

Interesting as in you'd like their motivations to be more nuanced, or interesting in that you'd like for them to learn how to throw better parties?

[ He may not have been there for it, but that party sure did leave its mark, for better or worse.

[coolerjunpei]

the first one. if someone's going to jerk me around like this, they ought to have a better reason than being awkward.

people have already died. isn't that completely nuts? people die, people go missing like they were never here, and i'm supposed to take "the mastermind doesn't know how to make friends" sitting down? that's bullshit!

not that it'll be all a-ok, smiles, hold hands and forgive each other anyway, but it'll feel less like a slap in the face if there's a point to all this in the end.

[unrequite]

Understandable. It's comforting to know one's suffering is in service to something else. No one likes to go through the gauntlet needlessly.

[ ... There are some deeper thoughts here, too. Midnight holds them in his hands for a moment, measuring their weight. ]

When was the last time you've been out for a drink with someone? The wine debacle aside, of course.

[coolerjunpei]

sure. well, maybe after the fact? i'm not really into the whole noble suffering thing.

[But he has excused one kidnapping incident away in his private thoughts as being worth it in the end, despite how much it haunts him! So it's probably fine. After the fact.]

as for the drink... i dunno, 6 months? 7? not since i've been here.

[unrequite]

Neither am I.

[ Most suffering is stupid. Or, rather, Midnight's stupid, and the bullshit he puts himself through is stupid as a result. Like a stupidity agua fresca. ]

Let's put an end to that streak, then. Open invitation. We all need an excuse to unwind at some point, don't you think?

[coolerjunpei]

i unwind... i do activities.

[lol. But the real question is how many of his activities end in him talking about The Mysteries of this place, and it's most of them, so okay okay.]

i guess i could have a drink. where?

[unrequite]

Now? Meet me at town hall. There's a bar near there with a decent selection of vodka. Bring one of your "activities", if you're so inclined.

[ If the answer is "later", the instructions are the same, but scheduled in the future. ]

[coolerjunpei]

uh, if you insist. i'll see you there.

[And sure enough he will be there in a few, Activity in hand. It's a rolled up piece of paper and a pencil. Very versatile. Many Activities.]

[unrequite]

[ How very obedient. Midnight left as soon as he'd sent his last message, so he's either on time or early, as much as meeting "now" means anything here. He didn't bring any activities at all, so he nods in greeting, then inclines his head to get a better look at what Junpei's holding. Nosy. What is that? ]

Evening. I think it bears mentioning that I don't mean to take you from anything you've lined up for yourself. I know you're the type to keep yourself busy.

[coolerjunpei]

[He knows at heart that he needs to leave his crummy apartment more often for reasons besides The Mysteries. He's had piteously few outings for the sake of being out and around other people and he's starting to talk to his furniture again, so: here he is.]

Thanks, I had a block of staring at the wall lined up for after this. Here.

[Midnight can see the Activity, that's fine; Junpei shakes it out and holds it up, still a little curled from being rolled. It's a maze he's been drawing himself. It's neither complete nor especially polished, a lot of evidence of erasing and redrawing, but this is his Activity... behold.]

[unrequite]

[ If he's willing, Midnight will actually reach out and take it for a better look; if not, he'll give it a careful look before nodding and leading the way to the bar. Either way, he'll look back at Junpei, very politely concerned. ]

I'm no psychologist, but if your response to being trapped is to create more hypothetical labyrinths to escape... There's a bit to unpack there, you understand.

[ Like, he really is trying not to judge, especially if it turns out that Junpei is a professional maze maker or something, but... uh, you good? ]

[coolerjunpei]

[He can see it, Junpei will hand it over without a fuss. Midnight doesn't seem like he'll destroy this silly little maze just for giggles, so sure, enjoy a closer view of a few hours' worth of Junpei's time.

Off they go towards the bar, anyway, and...] Oh.

Uh, that's... a point. I never really thought about that.

[And now he is, so ohhh boy. Oh no.] Guess once you get kidnapped the first time, you never really feel un-kidnapped.