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

[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.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight gives Junpei another one of his long looks, then continues easily on his way to their destination, which really is less than a block off. One of those smaller bars with set of narrow stairs leading down to it, revealing a place that sort of feels like a generic pub. (Some of the signs just say "Sign". That's fine, probably.) ]

Quite a few things have happened to me — I think many would argue that I happen quite frequently to other people — but I don't believe I've ever been taken against my will before.

[ He walks over to the bar and hops onto it easily, clearly intending to get at the vodka behind it in the most direct way possible. ]

Any tips?

[coolerjunpei]

[Wow, look at him go. Junpei watches him hop over the counter as he takes a seat normally, and he says:] You don't seem that bad to me.

[But tips for kidnapping sure is something to think about. He does think about it, taking a moment to put his maze down to the side and lean his elbows all over this bar. Hmm.]

I guess my first tip for getting kidnapped is... don't? And you know this is basically a kidnapping, right?

[unrequite]

Thank you. I like to think I'm a gift.

[ Midnight slips onto the other side of the bar and laughs, perusing the liquor selection. ]

Right you are. I was asking after coping mechanisms now that preventative measures are a bit of a non-issue. Would you suggest maze-making? I'm not much of an artist, but I could give it a shot.

[coolerjunpei]

Hmm, [as he gazes down sidelong at his little maze,] nah. I mean, it kills time, but that's about it.

[That doesn't mean he's going to quit doodling mazes, but he's already been called out on his complex regarding escape routes, so - don't emulate that.]

Honestly, I've got no idea what I'm doing. This one's been going a lot longer than the... last time. And the last time, someone literally came on a big speaker in the ceiling to tell us what to do.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight nods, thinking about that for a moment... then picks up a few flavored vodkas and sets them down on the counter without much thought to any specific game plan. ]

Well, on the bright side, that means you could probably run circles around our captors, were they to show their faces. You're here now, which means you got past people who were a bit more on the ball with regards to logistics.

[coolerjunpei]

Dunno, people'd have to listen to me first. You know what I said in the first week? I told everyone it'd only be a matter of time before we started killing each other if we weren't careful. Barely anyone took me seriously. And then, wow! Murder!

[He leans up just enough to do the world's shittiest jazz hands, for Murder, then slumps back down again. People have listened to him more than usual since then, but now he's in a Mood, so.]

So even if you're right, it's just going to be me storming the castle like a crazy person by myself.

[unrequite]

By yourself, huh.

[ Midnight thinks about that for a moment, then begins searching for the soda water dispenser. ]

You'll have to forgive me if you want a drink with more than two ingredients. Never learned how to mix more than that.

[ He'll come back around to what Junpei's talking about, he just is pretty sure that he's been kicking around that idea long enough for him to understand how miserable it is, and he doesn't feel like making it worse. (Also, Midnight's telling the truth, he doesn't know anything more complex than a rum and coke.) ]

[coolerjunpei]

[By himself! He shrugs; he always seems to find himself in situations where the people who claim to care about him the most are the people who refuse to give him the decency of basic honesty, or engage with him at all. Sure, in this city he's made friends, and a handful of them are weird enough to have his back in an emergency, but... well. Well! The sting of being an inconvenience does linger, despite new circumstances.

Anyway, rum and coke.]

Two ingredients is plenty for me. Usually I settle for just the one.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight shrugs, then starts setting up a bunch of cups on the counter, filling each with vodka, then spritzing them with the soda water dispenser. Time to try out flavors. ]

You're assuming you'd be going by yourself anywhere here. I think more than a few of us are seized by unwise bouts of curiosity. I don't think you're the only one unwilling to leave a stone unturned.