[Video | Public]

[otakuro]

Hey.  Looks like I've got this working.

[Atsuro's face appears on the network under somewhat inadequate lighting.  An astute guess would place him in his room illuminated only by the backlight of his laptop.] 

Everyone get out of that first mission OK?  I can't speak for anyone else, but geez, I think I slept for a few days straight there.  If they, uh, wanted a report or anything, the research labs are fine.  ...Probably.

[He stifles a yawn before continuing on, the camera zooming out slightly to reveal a lot of bedhead and a conspicuously absent trademark floppy hat.]

Hnn...  Sorry.

So!  Anyway.  I've been thinking a lot.  About what they've told us and about... what they haven't.  Hah, I'm still surprised this place isn't some weird hallucination.  It's a little unreal, right?  Like they're asking us to act out a game or a fantasy novel.  But... even if it seems like it might be fun to stick around, I think we need to find out what it is we're really getting into.  ...There's something I want to say about all this.

You've all run into the monsters by now, right?  They talk, they cast magic, they do tricks.  Not all of them are bad, but they're things we've heard of in myths and stories from different cultures all across the globe - Cerberus, the hound of Hades.  British pixies and kobolds.  Nekomata and other youkai from Japan.  So... what gives?  What're they doing here?

...I'm not gonna get into details, but I should say that these guys - the exact same identical demons - have popped up in at least two other worlds that I know of.  And both times.... they showed up because the world was about to end.

I'm not saying this place is the same way, but... maybe that's why they need our help badly.

[addendum a few minutes later]

Ah, someone reminded me - if you guys want to see a database of all the demons I've ever met, you can drop by my room.  Libra 5-07.

Comments

[endears]

Well hey, from Aoba's perspective, Atsuro's managed to be both supportive informative, helping to deal with his confusion and working to lighten the mood whenever things got a little dark. That's trustworthy, right?

Or maybe he's just been brainwashed by society to think well of his upperclassmen.

"I don't know; I like how relaxed you can be about this! It helps relieve the tension, I think."

[otakuro]

Atsuro pauses. ...His humor was largely a coping mechanism, but he wasn't self-aware enough to realize the extent of its necessity, nor did he really want to torpedo the mood any further.

"Hah... Well, I mean, it's been a few weeks already. I can't spend the rest of my life having nightmares about these things, right?"

He probably would, but...

[endears]

He nods, for whatever reason being taken in by Atsuro's words.

"Y... yeah. It's important to keep a positive mindset about these things, right?"

In truth, he's never felt the need for such things. A more logical perspective has always done him well.

[otakuro]

"Anyway..." He shrugs slightly. "That's that. You can take as much time as you want looking through it. Let me know if you've got any more questions."

On his part, Atsuro slides off the bed and heads for his TV in the corner. Now which of his six game consoles to turn on...

[endears]

Aoba nods curtly, turning his attention to the compendium.

... Or so he'd like to, but the aesthetics of the room are seriously way too distracting. Yes, that's his excuse.

"Are... these all yours, Kihara-kun?"

[otakuro]

Alright, so one was a DVD player and two were from past generations he couldn't bear to give up. Atsuro has the shame to blush slightly as he turns back towards Aoba with a nod.

"Y-Yeah... I'm kind of an... enthusiast."

Obsessive hikikomori.

[endears]

Yeah, he's... definitely not thinking about any of this in a negative way. Not at all.

"Well... you must be quite an enthusiast. There are some things here I don't even recognise!" That's something to be proud of, right?

[otakuro]

"It'd be pretty weird if you did!" Atsuro's blush is fading as he sees that Aoba seems to be receiving this in stride. "Different worlds, right? I bet you've never even heard of gems like Super Electrician Bros., right?"

Hopefully, this was another dumb joke.

[endears]

He honestly isn't sure how to take that. Different worlds, right? Kihara-kun's idea of entertainment could actually be completely different compared to his own!

"... What's the gameplay like?"

[otakuro]

"It's like a job simulation! You sit around waiting for a few hours until you get a call, then you navigate the social interaction - kinda like a dating sim. Everyone starts off trying to rip you off and wanting you to work for them for free, though, so it's hard making any progress."

Atsuro flips on the console and turns back around to grin at Aoba.

"...It's a platformer. You jump on mushroom people."

[endears]

"Uwaa... that sounds pretty old-school."

It's the first thing to mind when he hears that, honestly. He leans over, now ignoring the list of demons altogether in favour of the console.

"Does it have a high replayability factor or something like that?"

[otakuro]

"...To be honest, the last five games or so have been pretty much exactly the same." Atsuro shrugs. "But it's famous, and we love it, so... There's that. Don't fix it if it's not broken."

[endears]

"Ah, so it's something like that..." He grins, leaning over. "So, did they ever get around to adding multiplayer in those last few games?"

[otakuro]

((Sorry to keep you waiting! I've been out of town on hiatus for the last week. Feel free to drop if you'd rather not go on.

Actually, I think I'll try and wrap this one up.))

"Hehehe..." Atsuro's cheerful grin suddenly looks a bit sinister as he turns towards Aoba. "Of course! I think they did a pretty good job with it, too. ...Here, I'll show you the ropes..."

As the game finishes loading, Atsuro turns back to the screen as a man in red, a man in green, and two diminutive creatures with unusually shaped heads appear...

The remainder of the afternoon is spent picking up Aoba's character and tossing him into pits accidentally-on-purpose.