Anonymous text after the Taurus event

[trainwrecking]

[No way is he showing his face to Hinoto-Ri: not now, not soon. Time heals all wounds, and time is exactly what he needs to work through the aftermath of the event.]

The government announcement and star sign "sickness" —

Will this happen to us a lot? Is this just how it works here? What can we do to... stop it?

...

I'm sorry.

Comments

text;

[skyofreverie]

I don't know. Seems all we can do is keep fighting those big monsters until someone tells us what we can do to help.

permanon text;

[trainwrecking]

Someone to tell us what to do. . . Like the Masked Man, or the government?

What if there's something we're all missing here?

[skyofreverie]

Or that guy who helped us out during the fight. He seemed to know some things.

We probably are.

[trainwrecking]

That guy that helped... What guy?

I wasn't able to see. . .

Text

[acapriciousthing]

It's happened at least once before.

[She wasn't there, but she talks to people]

permanon text;

[trainwrecking]

The Scorpio event?

I read something about that. . .

Re: permanon text;

[acapriciousthing]

Yes. The zodiac seems to have power here.

[trainwrecking]

I. . . don't know much about the zodiac signs.

I'll read back in the network log or check for a database somewhere. Is there anything else you've noticed?

[otakuro]

...Maybe we can't. The last time was six months ago, and we didn't make any headway on preventing it in between. We were busy, but... I'm sure someone would have thought to work on it if they could.

Where do you even start...? Does anyone even have any experience with mind control or brainwashing or psychic powers or anything?

permanon text/private;

[trainwrecking]

Maybe they would, but maybe not. If people thought it might be a one-time event, or if people were trying to get back to their lives after--

Wait. . .

Mind control, brainwashing... Like hypnotism, right? What if someone did have experience with something like that?

[otakuro]

Aw, come on. We're brought here to defend the city; hoping it won't happen again isn't a good excuse. I mean, it's not like I did anything of any practical help, either... Predicting the signs doesn't mean anything if you can't stop it.

If someone knows how to fight these things, they should probably speak up.

[trainwrecking]

Yeah, but just because we were brought here to defend doesn't mean that everyone does. And some visitors are new and had no idea what was going on. Predicting when these things happen is at least a step ahead of where we are now. . .

I don't know how, but I knew someone who taught himself hypnotism. There must be a way to learn something like that. . . If we learned, maybe we could teach ourselves to combat it—

or at least have a higher tolerance for brainwashing. Any defense is better than what we have.

[Text]

[eyewillprotect]

I don't know if this will continue to happen, but...

For now, I think we should focus on trying to prevent it if it's possible. That, and try to do what we can to repair the damage that was done.

video/private;

[trainwrecking]

[When the name "Aoi Misato" pops up as the sender, Otonashi hesitates. She's another Taurus event victim who must know exactly what this feels like. He switches the feed over to video after carefully ensuring that it will indeed be private.

He still looks rather nervous.]

... Misato. Are you... are you okay?

video/private;

[eyewillprotect]

[Her eyes widen at first with surprise as she realizes who it is, but they soon become filled with concern.]

...Well, I've been better. [It's an attempt to lighten the mood slightly, and also make it clear he shouldn't worry about her. True to what she had said in her text, she would rather focus on trying to fix whatever could still be salvaged instead of remain bound by a past she had no control over.

It still hurts, but... She has to stay strong about this.]

What about you? Are you alright, Otonashi?

video/private;

[trainwrecking]

Ah... yeah. [It's a flat, short acknowledgement, but understanding nonetheless. In the interest of not sounding too dismissive, he sits upright. Based on the background of the video, he appears to be in an unlit room.]

I'll be fine. I want to keep busy... I want to see if there's something I can do about this. If this is something I... can't change, I... should at least be informed.

text

[hetried]

Yeah, like everyone else said, it's happened before. It was a while ago last time though. And other people got messed up last time too! Like one of my friends went crazy before, but he was fine this time. So it's kind of weird. I don't really know what's going on.

Why are you apologizing?

anon text; 1/2

[trainwrecking]

Is that the only other time? Six months ago. . . ? I'd like to find out what's happening if I can.

. . .

[He hesitates. "Why are you apologizing?"]

anon text/private; 2/2

[trainwrecking]

I hurt people I care about. I'm always talking about morality and respect, but when it really counted. . . I hurt innocent people instead.

Your friend that "went crazy" . . .

Are you still friends?

text/private

[hetried]

Yeah, that was it. I'd like to know too, but honestly, I have no idea.

Yeah, of course we're still friends! He may have done all that stuff, but it wasn't really his fault. That zodiac stuff just made him go crazy I guess. He felt bad for it afterwards.

It sounds like it's the same with you.

text/private

[trainwrecking]

I don't either, but I want to start somewhere. I'll research astrology if I have to. . . Or give myself up for zodiac research if it would help. Anything is better than not knowing.

. . .

I haven't spoken to anyone I hurt. I wonder if everyone knows by now that it was the zodiac? I'd say yes, but I never seem to know what to expect. Either way. . .

It's good to know that people make it out of this all right.

audio;

[leadthebeats]

[ She doesn't care that some anonymous person is using text. Not at all. She's going to reply, and she's going to be blunt, damn it. ]

Why the hell are you even apologizing for? Whatever happened wasn't your fault.

anonymous text;

[trainwrecking]

[Hers is not the voice he expected to hear blaring out of his bracelet in response to this. It catches him off-guard, driving him to check his settings to make sure, absolutely sure, that no audio or video is enabled. He hesitates; the recollection of Yuri's story comes to mind. More importantly, the obvious guilt she carried -- or once carried -- strikes him. One would have to be blind to miss it in the little ways she used to blame herself.

Otonashi wonders if she doesn't still sometimes think of herself as a "terrible leader," or by extension a bad big sister. Is that the part of her that's speaking to him, or is it clearer and less complicated than that?

No use wondering. He had his heart set on making a difference to heal the damage left by the "zodiac insanity."]

Even if we weren't ourselves, people still got hurt because of us.
I can't say "I didn't mean it" and have that be the end of it, I have to do something

anything

audio;

[leadthebeats]

[ Yuri's going to be a lot calmer now. Sure, she doesn't want to be a complete ass to this person, but hey, there's no way she's going to let her guard down and act friendly to someone she doesn't know. Or seemingly doesn't know, anyway. ]

Look. If you're going to do something, then don't just sit around typing things like an idiot. Do it. And if you're going to apologize for something, do it in person.

Sure, people got hurt, but that doesn't mean they won't forgive you for it. It wasn't entirely your fault. And I promise that I'll get those idiots back for what they did.

[ Not for you, anonymous, but for herself. And she takes a deep breath and continues, speaking in a serious voice. ]

Just don't beat yourself because of it. It's stupid. And useless. And it won't help anybody, either. Especially not yourself.

anonymous text;

[trainwrecking]

[Ouch. That stung, but he didn't want to hesitate for too long.]

I did this for a starting point, and now I'm using it for direction and personal record. I'm not doing it just to "chat" or type. . .

It's --

unreasonable to think people wouldn't feel bad after that. This has all happened before from what I've found.

And what "idiots" are going to pay? [He's mostly asking because with Yuri, the word "idiot" is basically synonymous with "person" or more specifically, "person who isn't me or who doesn't think like me." She could mean literally everyone in Hinoto-Ri.]