[homophonic] catchall for jonas

[dendroculi]

JONAS

code

Comments

week 0, sunday ... 1

[dendroculi]

[jonas is just sitting on the ground somewhere, and when nahida spots him, she walks over and takes a seat next to him.]

...hello, Jonas.

[westedge]

[ he looks up from where he's staring blankly at passing cars, blinking a little to focus more when nahida greets him. ]

Nahida, hey. Did you meet our new...overlords, or whatever?

[dendroculi]

Yes. It's... given us all a lot to think about, I'm sure.

[she was hoping for more information, but not like this.]

[westedge]

That's one way of putting it. [ sigh. ] So...what do you think? Which one did you talk to?

[dendroculi]

I talked with Kiichi and Ruby. You spoke with... I think she said her name was Aika, didn't she?

[...]

They were a little different from what I expected.

[westedge]

Something like that. I talked to Ruby a little, too. I'm going to try and catch Kiichi tomorrow when things are less...this.

[ but yeah. there's that. ]

I think a lot of people were expecting them to be more...I don't know. Dangerous? Powerful? Older? Or a combination of the three.

[dendroculi]

I was prepared to be angry with them, but... it felt a little hard to be angry once I saw them in person.

[westedge]

Yeah. I think a lot of people felt that way, too. It's different when it's someone we can see and when it was pretty obvious they're just doing their job.

[dendroculi]

I wonder if that's why they were appointed to oversee the Game... because if they weren't the ones who chose to bring us here, most reasonable people wouldn't take their anger out on them.

If the person who did choose it showed up, it would probably be easier for all of us to be angry with them.

[westedge]

And it'd end with a lot more fights and probably a few broken limbs. [ he just comes out to say it. ] Even now I wouldn't say all of it ended on a great note though.

[dendroculi]

I'm just glad it didn't end with any broken spines...

[she says, wearily]

But... I have to agree with you. I don't think most of us got the answers we were hoping for.

[westedge]

[ "not yet." he is still not confident things will stay this way, but that's just jonas's own bias talking. ]

We got answers which is more than some of us expected. [ him included. ] But it sounds like we might get even more a little later. There's...a lot of waiting in this game.

[dendroculi]

Yes. This game seems to be the sort where you learn by doing, rather than by being told how it works.

[westedge]

Trial and error, or something like that? I don't mind as long as this isn't going to backfire on us somehow. A little guidance would be appreciated but I guess it wouldn't be a competition otherwise.

[dendroculi]

Yes... most things involve some degree of trial and error, so I suppose it isn't unexpected, but the consequences of the errors here have the potential to be severe. It's a little unsettling to think about, but if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is. We may wish it's otherwise but we have to plan around the reality.

[westedge]

How do you get a group of people who're still ready to fight each other to think about planning around reality? [ dryly. ] It's...there's a certain amount of luck that could help us out, but we should probably be a little careful anyway.

[dendroculi]

I'm not sure. People are... complicated. I'm still learning to understand them.

[people are so, so complicated.]

[westedge]

[ ??? ]

Have you not been around them very much to try?

[dendroculi]

I spent a long while on my own until recently. My people skills are a little rusty... but they're getting better every day!

[westedge]

[ ah. well...yeah, he gets that. ]

I don't know if it means much, but I never would've guessed until you said something. So I think you're doing okay. Don't feel too bad either. Pretty sure even people who always deal with people don't understand them all the time.

[dendroculi]

Oh... it's a relief to hear that.

[she learns something new about interacting with people each day. if it's harder to tell that she feels a little awkward or that she doesn't quite understand the people around her, that just means she's retaining what she's learned.]

Thank you, Jonas.

[westedge]

[ there's a little confused smile. ]

Sure, but what are you thanking me for? [ he was really just out here saying whatever he thought needed to be said. ]

[dendroculi]

You reassured me when I was feeling uncertain, and I appreciate that.

[westedge]

Oh. [ yeah he did do that, but it just made sense. ] Don't thank me for stuff like that. It just...felt like something you should know.

[ a little embarrassed...but pleased anyway. ]

[dendroculi]

[so he's the type to get embarrassed when he gets thanked... she sees.]

Hehe.