kai-un dorm

[parttimesoldier]

Who: kai-un + visitors
When: post-arrival
Where: kai-un dorms
What: surely having a good time after all of THAT
Warnings: tba???

[So that was fun! Surely they have earned some time to rest. Surely.]

Comments

[parttimesoldier]

Uh, hey.

[A quick glance behind him, double-taking at one of those stupid dolls flickering in and out of sight down the hall. Ugh. Eyes right back on him, though.]

You said you're with Kin'un? [Asked as she opens the door further and steps aside a little. Come on in, dude.

He might notice that in the other hand at her side, she's holding a pen in a well-practiced reverse grip not unlike the way one might a knife... Look, she had to make do with what was around. Can't be too careful.]

[ratiocinations]

[Yes, those dolls. Holmes is pointedly ignoring them, as they have dogged his step down the hall, but right now his vision is doll-free, so hooray.]

I am. [He steps in.] You may call me Mr Adair.

[Aha, and... yes, his glance flickers down to her hands, and that just-so turned pen.]

Prepared for the worst, I see.

[parttimesoldier]

I've had enough of being caught off guard today.

[It sucked!!!

It's not until she closes the door behind him that she really relaxes any.]

[ratiocinations]

No doubt.

[The dolls and strings, though they do not seem to cause physical harm, the mental toll they induce is less innocuous.]

I suppose your military training did not quite equip you for this.

[This is a deduction of his, anyway.]

[parttimesoldier]

Uh. [A surprised blink.] A little less formal than that. But yeah. Usually it's just other people I have to worry about.

[She holds up the pen as she continues.]

Doubt this'll do me any good against a ghost, but better than nothing, y'know?

[ratiocinations]

We don't know if ghosts are our only concern, so it's wise, all the same.

[Okay, he must ask before they move on-]

Less formal?

[parttimesoldier]

[That's kind of what she's banking on, if she's being honest, because this would be so much easier with something she could actually fight back against.

As for the prodding, her response comes with a strained smile.]

Think... something more guerilla, and you're on the right track.

[Yes, she is going to be cagey about this, judging by her tone.]

[ratiocinations]

Guerilla. I see.

[Rebel force? Civil war? Hired gun? It's clear, however, from her strained smile that this is not something he will be able to inquire further about without risking a loss of hospitality, so he leaves it at that for now.]

More skilled than some of us here, all the same! Honestly, I do feel a bit left out.

[parttimesoldier]

[Some of that tension does leave her shoulders when he seems to step away from that topic, sure enough.]

Well, hey. We've all got to play to our strengths, y'know? Think it's been kinda proven that trying to fight our way out of this might not get us anywhere.

[ratiocinations]

Perhaps you're right. And that is, indeed, why I am here now. Not to simply-[be annoying when people are trying to rest] -check on the state of things and others, but to also play to my strengths.

[Of investigation.]

Of asking questions. You'll humor me, won't you?

[parttimesoldier]

[The strength of asking questions... Well, there's only one way to start piecing together the puzzle of this mystery, and that's probably it.]

Sure. Fire away, Mr. Adair.

[ratiocinations]

[It's a good strength to have! ... Generally!]

Firstly, if you'd like to tell me a bit more about yourself? I am trying to understand if there is any criteria to us, specifically, being chosen to be brought here.

[parttimesoldier]

[Oh, right. That's the logical place to start, huh? Trying very hard (and not fully succeeding) to hide the way that makes her grimace. She might be leaning toward the ghosts theory everyone seems to be going all in on, but she's not fully unconvinced yet that this isn't some elaborate new form of torture from her actual enemies.

So. Caution is warranted.]

Uh, well. I'm eighteen. From Japan.

[Very enlightening!]

[ratiocinations]

[She is... clearly reticent to share. Perhaps reticent to trust? It is early, and he cannot blame anyone for feeling thus, but Holmes prods all the same.]

Eighteen, from Japan. What else?

[parttimesoldier]

And I... was working part-time at a CRT repair shop. Kinda good with fiddly old tech, I guess.

[A very normal thing to do! Please forget about the guerilla warfare thing, Mr. Adair.]

[ratiocinations]

[He will not. But first-]

Sorry, "CRT"...?

[parttimesoldier]

Cathode-ray tube televisions? Y'know, the big, blocky old ones.

[Mimes making a cube shape with her hands.]

[ratiocinations]

[the what ray what visions]

...I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.

[Cube-miming or otherwise.]

[parttimesoldier]

[victorian man, meet future girl.]

Wait, so... you've never heard of a TV? They're just boxes you can play films and stuff on wherever.

[She's got a couple theories why there might be a disconnect here, and she likes one way less than the other.]

[ratiocinations]

"You can play films and stuff on wherever." [Help. Thank you.

STRAINS HIS SCIENCE BRAIN, which does settle on something that runs... somewhat parallel, thankfully. After all, why would one need a tube for the sake of playing "stuff"? He suspects it's because-]

Electrons [a new-ish concept in his time!] emitting from the cathode to... somehow display images in the confines of a box. Is that what you mean?

[parttimesoldier]

[See, her explanation was perfectly helpful!]

Yeah, you got the gist of it! That type's been falling out of use, but they're still around.

[Thus the job. Her brows furrow though.]

If you've never seen one... Can I flip this around and ask you a question?

[ratiocinations]

[hooray he smart]

I suspect I may know what it is, but yes. Go ahead.

[parttimesoldier]

[suzuha continuing the trend of hanging around smart people]

Alright. What year is it?

[ratiocinations]

The turn of the century, a time of innovation and new futures. [He says this with an ironic twist, because clearly, it isn't compared to her experiences.] We've just crossed into the 1900s.

[parttimesoldier]

Wow, that far back, huh?

[She seems less surprised and more worried about it, with the way her expression shifts.]

That's a big leap from 2010, it doesn't make any sense...