Hajime "panty king" Hinata (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hopefragment) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
reverielogs2018-05-17 06:28 pm
hopefragment) wrote in reverielogs2018-05-17 06:28 pm
[open] network/action; pew pew pew
» WHO? Hajime Hinata and NERDS
» WHEN? anytime after 5/17
» WHERE? the observatory OR the bar, either place
» WHAT? come play copyright-infringement-free galaga with him
» WARNINGS? none??? please i hope we don't need them he just wants to play vidya
[A text goes out over the network from username hinatahajime, sometime midmorning of the 17th.]
hey, uh, i found my gamegirl just sitting in the cafeteria earlier. the only game in it was my copy of gala omega, but if anybody's as tired of staring at the walls as i am, you're welcome to come play it with me. i'll be in the observatory for a while, but i might head to the bar later
[When he gets tired of sitting on the floor, that is. Either way, he can be found in one of those places playing his totally-not-a-gameboy. He called it Gala Omega on the network, but it's clearly Galaga.]
» WHEN? anytime after 5/17
» WHERE? the observatory OR the bar, either place
» WHAT? come play copyright-infringement-free galaga with him
» WARNINGS? none??? please i hope we don't need them he just wants to play vidya
[A text goes out over the network from username hinatahajime, sometime midmorning of the 17th.]
hey, uh, i found my gamegirl just sitting in the cafeteria earlier. the only game in it was my copy of gala omega, but if anybody's as tired of staring at the walls as i am, you're welcome to come play it with me. i'll be in the observatory for a while, but i might head to the bar later
[When he gets tired of sitting on the floor, that is. Either way, he can be found in one of those places playing his totally-not-a-gameboy. He called it Gala Omega on the network, but it's clearly Galaga.]
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Yeah, it's working like normal. I left the charger in my room; that part's a little weird since it plugs in here instead of a normal wall socket from back home, but...
[He holds it out for her to take a look if she wants. It sure is a blue Nantendo Game Girl Advance, with Gala Omega paused on the screen. (it's galaga)]
Here, take a look.
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...That sure is Galaga. One of those games she knows of the existence of but has never actually, personally played because she is a dirty dirty child of the 00s.
She flips the console over and studies its labels and ports, then hands it back.]
It looks normal. Are there wear marks you can tell it's yours from, or something?
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[He nods as he takes it back, flipping it over to show a scrape along one corner.]
I dropped it... I don't know, it must have been a couple months ago. Plus it has all my save data on it. I don't know how it would have ended up here, though.
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[For all her frenetic conspiracy-boarding about VR and AR and spacequakes and implants on the network, she's neatly avoided thinking about that subject. It brings up uncertainty and bad feels and that sensation of being found crying on deck 6 a little under a week ago.
...Yeah, still not comfortable to think about. It sets off a gross feeling in the pit of her stomach.]
Just the one game, huh?
[On to lines of conversation that aren't serious business probing analytical shit, for fucking once.]
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[It's weird that something that's his would just materialize out of nowhere. What's stopping anything of anyone else's from showing up at random? Why hadn't he found, say, Chiaki's Game Girl? Or anyone else's?
Disquieting.]
Yeah, just this one. It's the last game I had in it, after all. I was playing it with-- someone.
[He finishes lamely, because there was a breath before he could say my friend, but just saying 'Nanami' isn't a name Erika would recognize. Can he even call Chiaki his friend? Is he worthy to stand beside her? All signs point to no.
So 'someone' it is.]
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It's too bad there's just one. Two-player mode would be a lot more graceful. [...whoops] Not that I mean to complain. Just comment. Hopefully any kind of entertainment will keep tensions down.
[Interpersonal or otherwise. Bad thoughts like to breed in empty heads.]
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[He huffs through his nose in wry resignation, tapping his fingers against the console.] Nanami and I would play two-player mode. She'd beat me every time, but... I guess that's to be expected from the Super High School Level Gamer.
[He taps it again before giving Erika a smile. It's a slightly sad smile, but he tries to mask it with a soft laugh.]
I guess it's okay if we just switch off, though. You can try to beat my high score.
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The what?
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[A blink, then he remembers. Right. Nobody else here even knows what Hope's Peak is, let alone its students' titles.]
Nanami's the Super High School Level Gamer. It means she's the best person of high school age at video games. That's her talent.
[Again, this is all rather matter-of-fact. This is all very normal? Why are you questioning him.]
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if this were someone else, you'd get some kind of cagey leading question or something, but it's Erika, so,]
That's weird.
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[Said defensively. This is his entire way of life you're being flippant about, Erika!!]
High school students who are the very best in their field are scouted for their talents for Hope's Peak Academy. That's how they get that title. They're the very best at what they do.
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Here's the sticking point:]
Okay, but what does being good at games have to do with education?
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It doesn't have anything to do with education. It has to do with talent. Hope's Peak is incredible... it can research something as broad as that. I mean, I'm sure the Main Course has regular classes, too, but their main priority is improving their talents. They're the kind of people who... really make a difference in the world.
It's not just gaming, there are talents like... nursing, mechanics, swimming... even luck. Even something as vague as luck can be a talent, if you have it. People who go to Hope's Peak and graduate are set for life. They're like celebrities, or superheroes.
[His tone is a little curious, though, like he can't decide between admiration and bitterness. It's both, really.]
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Of course, she's drawing lines. Hinata had said some frankly weird things at the meeting, and she has suspicions now about the train of thought that leads there.]
When it's more productive skills it makes more sense. I wonder just how effective it is to develop talents in isolation from a normal working environment, though.
[Thinkin' 'bout Kowloon. Thinkin' 'bout hacker teams. Not thinkin' 'bout how frustrated she is again that she never got to go to high school. Fuckery. Are there ways to sneak questions to Hinata about it without inviting questions back? Probably not. The answers would probably be weird because of this whole evaluation system that apparently exists in his world, anyways.]
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[Oh, yeah, that's definitely bitterness right there. Is he thinking about how he got beat up by the head of security? You bet your ass he is.
But he tries to shake it off, goes for a somewhat crooked smile.]
I mean, it's obviously worked out for everyone who's graduated. Government leaders and really important scientists, artists, musicians... they've all had a huge impact on society.
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This is highly awkward.]
Hmm. [She is not equipped to steer this conversation the way she ideally would like to steer it.] Finish up that level and let me play a round. [So, like, that works too.]
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See how many stages you can clear. The controls are pretty simple; left, right, and fire.
[He'll show her which buttons. I don't know which buttons they are but they sure are buttons.]
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The first level is fairly simple. By the second, Erika seems to have found a pattern she likes - favoring the left side of the screen, clearing it then using it as a safe zone - and sticks to it, picking off enemies carefully and precisely.
She fumbles on the third. Careful and precise doesn't agree with faster enemies that ignore the idea of safe zones; she dodges one shot straight into the path of another, notices her mistake a moment before it hits, and makes a startled noise of exclamation and/or a swear.
Then looks a little annoyed, though whether with the game or with the fact that she was made to show a feeling against her will is all up in the air.]
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He's kind of just watching her screen upside-down, resting an elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. It's nice watching someone normal play games -- he'd gotten used to Chiaki's flawless performances. It's definitely different, but not in a bad way at all.
He can't help but laugh quietly at her annoyance, tapping the screen.]
It's kind of frustrating, right? Don't worry, you'll catch the pattern before you know it.
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[To put it delicately, they're shit.
Second time goes better. Just like she said, it took a loss, but on the do-over of level three she knows what to expect and baits the roaming enemy without much fuss.
...And on level four another fast new pattern drops into play, breaks her stride, and vaporizes her, to her muttered exasperation.]
Show me how far you can get. [She kind of shoves it back into Hinata's hands.]
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[But he huffs another quiet laugh and takes the console back, starting a new game and being sure to hold the screen so she can see. It'll... be a bit. He was able to go toe-to-toe with the Super High School Level Gamer, after all!! And lose every time but shhh.
His brow furrows in concentration, fingers tapping the buttons in a quick pattern as his score keeps climbing and he keeps clearing stages. But-- he's kind of nervous, trying to do well in front of someone he'd like to think is a friend, so he makes a few stupid mistakes, too. Around stage 30 he tries to clear them too fast and gets his ship blown up. Whoops.]
Aaah... not my best run.
[Not even close to his high score at the top of the screen, but still.]
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[She seems to mean it, not frowning or grumbling and, per usual, not feigning enthusiasm. And she learned some things by watching, which is less frustrating than having to lose yourself! A hand went to her chin at some point in all this, and she doesn't look up from the console once Hinata's done, staring at it in thought.]
...I wonder how hard it would be to port it to the communicators. Set up multiplayer.
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[And then he freezes, lips parting slightly. It's obvious it never occurred to him, but now that it has... is this what they call "hope?"]
W-what, really? Do you think you could do something like that? I mean, it's a pretty old game. It used to be on the old arcade machines and stuff, so there can't be that much to it.
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[Rubs chin more.]
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[Even if she can't do it, the fact that's thinking about it... it means a lot. He smiles, drumming his fingers gently on the table to get her attention.]
If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. If you can do something like that... that'd be really cool.
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