video; un: yomiko

[blackwaterchild]

[Miu appears lounging sideways on a chair, legs hanging over one arm. She's got some closed nail polish balanced on her stomach and she keeps critically eyeing her nails as she speaks]

Yeah, people are being murdered, but we apparently come back so it's whatever. Explains why there's no ghosts around here, which honestly has led to the soundest sleep I've gotten in years. Can't complain about that.

Anyway the important thing is that with no one here, I haven't been able to get my hair or nails done in way too long. Does anyone know how to do nails?

[She holds out her hand to present her nails for emphasis; her nails have plain nail polish on it and she doesn't look really happy with it. She pulls back and looks down at them herself, heaving a sigh]

This place is so boring... What are you supposed to do for fun here? Aside from murder, apparently. [She rolls her eyes, her tone sarcastic. Gosh, murder, sooo original.]

But important things first: I need my nails done.

Comments

video; private

[blackwaterchild]

[She raises her eyebrow when she notices the privacy settings, then shrugs]

Yeah, I'm fine. It doesn't worry me. I used to see ghosts all the time back home, so honestly I'm pretty used to death and things like that. It doesn't scare me or anything.

[She shrugs again] Besides, I'm not really worried about it in a place like this where death apparently doesn't touch.

I'm not interesting enough here for someone to want to stalk and kill or anything like that, so I'm not worried.

[miyagimagic]

I think that kind of thing can happen to you even when you don't think you are interesting enough for it. Sometimes it happens indiscriminately. Please be careful, alright?

[ Sorry, Miu. He just can't help it. The dad comes out.

At least he does leave it at that for now, instead addressing the other part that sticks out to him. ]

You saw ghosts though? Actual ghosts?

[blackwaterchild]

[She frowns a little, looking like she's not sure what the angle is here. What does he want her blood??? What is this 'dad' you speak of??

Instead she focuses on his next question, sitting up to lazily start putting away her nail polish and clean up]

Yeah. It started around when I turned 3? Most of them look the way they do when they died, so it could get pretty gross. [She frowns again, remembering, and shakes her head] But it's not like anyone ever believed me so I gave up talking about it.

But with all the weird crap happening here people might actually believe me now.

[miyagimagic]

[ .. god.

Well, that's a lot. Not that the entire experience of ending up here hasn't been a lot for Daniel in so many ways, but now hearing a teen say all of this? It feels like a lot all over again. ]

I'm sorry that no one believed you.

[ Not that he doesn't get it. He tries to imagine either of his kids telling him they're seeing ghosts, and.. well, he'd probably wonder if there was something wrong with them too. Get concerned over them. Ghosts aren't supposed to be real, after all.

But, you know, neither are strangely empty cities you just end up in out of the blue. So.. ]

Have you been seeing them here too?

[blackwaterchild]

[The apology is met with a shrug, indifferent.] I can't miss what I never had. [So she doesn't really feel bad about it.

She looks around as if to see if there are any in the room now, then shakes her head] I haven't seen any since I got here, which is weird. It just makes this place seem even less real.

[miyagimagic]

Maybe it's since there were no people here to begin with.

[ Not that Daniel claims to know how ghost-seeing powers work. Far from it, really. He doesn't even believe that sort of thing is real where he comes from, so it's not like he's ever had to think about it before now.

He doesn't think Miu is lying about it though, which means there must be some other reason as to why she isn't experiencing the same thing here. ]

You can't see anything dead if nothing ever died, right?

[blackwaterchild]

[She tilts her head, considering that]

I've been thinking it's something like that. Like it's a model city they're trying to fill with people now, or something.

It feels like we're an experiment in something, but I don't know what.

[miyagimagic]

[ The man considers that for a moment, but then a reply appears. ]

I don't think you're wrong about that.

[ Not that Daniel has any concrete evidence as to what's going on here, but.. it's strange. Even stranger than hearing about someone having the ability to see ghosts, honestly. At least that's straightforward. ]

Did you also get asked some strange questions back in the train? [ That's the part of it that almost feels the most like an experiment to him.

Especially considering the nature of said questions. ]

[blackwaterchild]

[She's quiet for a moment, blinking slowly like a cat as she regards him]

...Yeah. [She finally says, nodding as she thinks about the questionnaire thing. She hadn't really given it much thought until then, actually.]

It asked me what kept me awake at night, and some questions about my mom, or what I'd do if I was making a speech and a bunch of people started laughing at me.

[miyagimagic]

[ .. ah.

Even more like his own questions than he expected, huh. But whereas Daniel has a hard time feeling anger about his own situation, he feels more mad thinking about kids like her having to go through this too. ]

They seemed strangely personal, right? Mine asked me about what I'd do if one of my kids came home with a black eye.

[ It's more information than he'd usually share, but if Miu is being this open, he feels like he should do at least a little of the same in return. To show he trusts her. ]

I could be reading too much into it, but it felt like those questions were trying to get to us somehow. Trying to needle us.