middaeg | Now my head's exploding and time is standing still

Yosuke really couldn't stay to hear Labrys crying. Her story was incredibly sad but... it was also relatable. Something that he had a feeling the others in the room couldn't. Well, he wasn't sure about Aigis, he didn't know her very well. He pulled down his headphones and bit his lip.

"Um hey... Labrys?" He walked up to the kneeling android. "A while back, a girl I liked was killed. It was painful and sad. And it was frustrating. I thought there was no way anyone else could understand what I was going through."

Labrys turned and looked over her shoulder, meeting Yosuke's eyes who smiled a little.

"But y'know, I'd only convinced myself of that," He reached out a hand. "And maybe you have been alone up until now but if you've got friends. You can overcome anything!"

He knew Aigis and Rise were still at his side, watching. Labrys looked at them too and then back at Yosuke. She shook her head. "B-But we can't a-and I'm a weapon... and I ain't even human..."

She was trying so hard but Yosuke wasn't going to have any of it. Aigis smiled behind him, as if she knew what he would say.

Yosuke could also give her an exasperated smile, eyes softening. "Are you saying... we can't be friends?"

It's what she needed to hear. Big fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she took his hand,a big watery smile on her face.

"Of course we can."

[ This is from the Arena manga, found here and was already agreed upon with

izanyagi that this was the canon route! ]

[Connor isn't sure what he's seeing, really. Only that someone is crying, claiming they aren't even human. Some kind of android? He watches, silently, as Yosuke holds a hand out to her. And it makes him smile too, seeing that kindness.

He never had anyone reach out to him quite that way, himself. But Hank did in his own way, in the end. Perhaps when he most needed him, even. Maybe you'll be the ones to make the world a better place.

Connor looks for the dream's owner, curious to meet him. Maybe he can ask what is happening here.]

[ ooc: probably should have included a picture haha, this is what Labrys looks like. Her android status isn’t well hidden. :3 ]

[ Yosuke was standing off to the side. He wasn’t wearing his Yasogami High Uniform and his hair was a touch shorter, he also lacked the headphones around his neck. He was leaning against a console in the PA room, arms crossed as he watched with a small smile on his face. Labrys was a great girl and friend. It didn’t matter to him that she was an android. He could probably admit, to himself, that he had a little crush on her. But her friendship was most important to him, second really only to Yu’s.

He realized that he wasn’t quite alone in watching. He wasn’t even sure why this was happening, walking into a mirror in a dream and watching a rather nice memory from only a few months ago. But what he didn’t realize was that others could see it, like this guy here. His cheeks turned a little pink and he lifted a hand to rub the back of his head. ]

Aw, jeez... you saw that? Super sappy, right?

[ He laughed in embarrassment. The moment had been right for the time but as an outsider looking in, it probably looked super sappy and embarrassing. He was never used to showing his emotions like that, let alone anyone watching. ]

[Connor shakes his head, glancing off to the scene again.]

A little, but... it was nice. Who is she?

[He approaches Yosuke, who may notice the blue LED on his temple now that he's closer.]

Ah... her name is Labrys. She’s an android like Aigis, uh the blonde one. It’s kinda complicated but she was... trying to come to terms with what she was after spending most of her life being made to kill her friends, other androids.

[ She and Aigis were more than androids, they were Anti-Shadow weapons, right? But there was just a lot about that he didn’t know. So he didn’t elaborate. He pointed to the double of her that was laying on the ground, silent and with eyes closed. ]

That’s her Shadow. Something we all have, emotions we try to suppress and don’t want to accept. That’s why she was having trouble accepting what she was, this place isn’t real. It was made to look like my school and she tried to act like a student in it. But it was just something she made up to cope when she was thrown into the TV.

[ He paused and grimaced. ]

That’s kind of a whole other story. But yeah, that’s kind of the gist of what’s going on here. Labrys is doing much better now, I guess I must have been missing her to have a dream about how we met, huh?

[ That’s when he noticed the LED light on his temple. He tilted his head. ]

What’s that?

[The LED goes yellow as he tries to process the information. He feels sorry for her. He knows what it's like to be created to hunt your own kind.]

I'm glad she's doing better.

[He means it, genuinely.]

This is my LED. Back home, androids have these in order to tell us apart from humans.

[Easily removed, but Connor hasn't bothered.]

It's kind of funny that I'd see this memory of yours, considering.

O-Oh! You're... oh, I guess that... makes sense.

[ Not really, they brought androids here too?! He supposed it didn't really matter in the end. If this guy was anything like Labrys, then he had emotions and stuff too. What they were made of likely didn't matter, huh? ]

Heh, you know, now that you mention it... um, I'm Yosuke, by the way. What's yours?

My name is Connor. Nice to meet you, Yosuke.

[He glances at Labrys again.]

It's always interesting to see androids from different worlds. In comparison, I guess I'm pretty plain.

[He doesn't mind, though.]

I dunno, I think the fact that like you look pretty human is cool. Not that Labrys or Aigis don't even if it's a lot more obvious what they are, but, still.

I'm glad you think so.

[It's nice to be appreciated for what he is.]

I look very different with my skin deactivated, of course.

...how different?

[ Was it creepy? ]

Wait, how does skin get deactivated?

Different enough.

[He holds up his hand, the skin disappearing there to show the white and grey plastic that makes up his body.]

My skin and hair are made of a fluid that coats my plastic and can be deactivated and reactivated at will.

It had been frustrating to have been locked in those walls. Even if Yu knew the overall story of what had happened, seeing it was something else entirely. There was a brief connection due to their bond, and Yosuke would feel a large amount of pride radiating from Yu.

"So that's how it all went down. Good job, partner."

He couldn't help but press his hand over his chest, where he felt the warmth the most. His cheeks reddened in response and he laughed, looking away slightly in embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah, well... not like you wouldn't've done the same," He said softly.

He was surprised to realize that Rise hadn't been broadcasting the whole time. But now he was kind of glad. Even if Yu was now witnessing the touching moment, it was something he wasn't sure he wanted all the others to see. It was bad enough they all heard what his Shadow said.

"Hmmm," is his reply, a small shrug before he grins and then shakes his head. "No...my message would have come out differently. I think you told Labrys exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. If it came from the leader of the Investigation team, the message would have been different."

You can't argue with that logic Yosuke. Just try.

"How so?" Yosuke wasn't trying to argue it, but he was confused. It always felt like Yu knew what to say in any given situation. Yosuke hardly ever did. He had no idea how he even lucked out with this one, but it wasn't like he was going to take back what he said to Labrys. It had been a genuine question. And he gained a new friend for it. "What would you have said?"

Yosuke's confusion was cute, even if Yu didn't say that part out loud. There were, however, heavier explanations that he wasn't sure he wanted to go into. After all, even if Yu did have a loss at one point - Nanako - she didn't die. Yosuke had that pain between them that would make him understand Labrys a lot more than he felt he did.

Explaining that to him might reopen old wounds, so he hummed briefly to think of what he could say without prying them too open.

"I'm not sure what I would have said," he finally admits, stroking his chin in thought. "But think about it...she knew I was the leader...in a way they always expect the leader to have the right words." A weight he's felt happen more than once, honestly. "But since it came from you..."

It felt more unique. More personal. Not just a leader being a leader.

It probably helped that, while they couldn't actually hear each other's thoughts, they were still able to feel some of their emotions. It was still a bit difficult to piece all that out, a bit weird in general. But Yosuke eventually realized what Yu was trying to say.

"It felt more real to her," Yosuke finished. Genuine and personal. He supposed he could get behind that. He leaned back against the console, tilting his head in thought. "I mean, I guess that's true but... even if it's coming from a leader who just knows what to say, it's not like you're lying about it either. But I guess it doesn't really matter if the perception is there, huh?"

See Yosuke, this is why he likes you. Even if they can't quite hear each other's thoughts, they have a semblance of what the other might be thinking. He nods and leans against it as well.

"Yeah."

Simple and to the point. The because he can, he gives him a playful rib.

"Plus you have to admit you looked pretty cool doing it, partner."

Yosuke scoffed lightly, head tilting back even as he tried to fight the smile. "Oh, stop, you know as well as I do that was super sappy as hell." He pointed a finger at him. "Cheesy things are supposed to be your thing!"

He was supposed to be the straight man (no pun intended (no really)) in this comedy duo.

Don't fight it, embrace it.

"You should do it more often, it suits you." Then he just smiled back tiny fangs and all. "You know that sounds like a good idea. Maybe I can see if I can get some cheese tonight and make a dish with it."

...Yu that has nothing to do with the conversation. There's the strange to Yosuke's straightness. ~~Too straight if Yu's being honest.~~

"Maybe we should find a way out of here, unless we'll just wake up soon."

"Oh my God," Yosuke pushed himself off the console with his legs as he rubbed his face and then proceeded to take Yu by the shoulders so he could turn him around and lead him out. "You're the worst and I don't even know why I'm friends with you. I really, truly, don't."

Lies, Yu would be able to tell even without the bond as Yosuke steered them to the mirror that they came in from. "Probably just have to wake up by the way we came in. I think it was around here."

Enjoy the time when you are still able to do that, Yosuke. Yu is polite enough to let himself be lead, but the Cheshire Cat smile is an indication that he feels he made the right choice in his comments despite Yosuke's tsundere protestations.

"It's cause I cook the best out of the both of us."

Of course he HAD to throw gasoline into the fire.

"That makes sense. Good idea."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't'cha," Yosuke grumbled, eventually letting go so they could both make their way back out somehow. "You know I could always try and learn so you're not the one always stuck making our meals."

Yu briefly stops as one could imagine a little light bulb going up in his mind.

"That could be fun. I think I could be a good teacher and we could start with your favourites."

He just really liked to cook a lot.

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dj_jiraiya - 2020-04-27 15:02 (UTC) - Expand

Now my head's exploding and time is standing still

But I ain't even human...

obviously i gotta do this one

Hee!

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