two text posts for the price of one

[inordertobelieve]

▶ A. UN: anonymous123
[ Mikami is not okay. Granted, he hasn't been okay for 10 days now and most of that is not the fault of the strange alien planet he has suddenly been brought to, but being here isn't exactly helping either. He's gone through all the arrival procedures like sleepwalking and now he's spent a day or two just sitting in his apartment staring at nothing. A part of him still expects that this will all go away and he will finally fade into nothingness as he righteously should--- but that's not happening. He's still here, he's still breathing, and all of it is so so utterly wrong.

Mikami has never posted on the internet for advice before. That has always been the kind of lost and pathetic that happens to other people. He thinks about how low he's sunken and hits 'create account' on Prismagram. ]

I am dead. I have been made to understand that this is not the status quo. Why am I here then?

[ ... yeah, a very helpful post. He may be convinced to come off anon over the course of conversations, but that's a case-by-case thing. ]

▶ B. UN: mkmtr
[ Some time after that existential crisis is aired to the public, Mikami sits down and makes an actual personal account that he intends to use if needed be. He's not much of a social media person, never has been, but it seems useful to have in a place that is entirely unfamiliar. ]

Good afternoon.
I have recently settled in Lunatia after my initial arrival procedures. While I have been able to gain a wealth of information from officials and don't require immediate assistance, there are questions that I feel are better answered by other 'Moonblessed'. If you have a moment to spare, I would be grateful.

How well have you found your education from your old life to be valued in this city? For obvious reasons, we are without our certificates and cannot prove whatever degrees we may have obtained in the past. How would one go about having their academic status recognized?

Naturally, most knowledge would not carry over one on one, but there is still merit in being able to cite experience.

- T. Mikami

▶ C. [in person option]
[ There is a guy in a suit slowly exploring Lunatia Level 2 and visibly cringing at every bit of colorful decor or bubbly pop music. He looks like he hasn't slept well in many days. He also looks kind of lost. You may approach him in any manner you see fit, just wildcard me. ]

Comments

[machiavel]

[ seimei cants his head sympathetically, and he realizes a moment later that mikami is eyeing his ears. by now, seimei understands that things don’t work the same here as they do at home, so he’ll just come out and say it— ]

These are natural.

[ he gestures around his head. ]

Not a fan of cats?

[inordertobelieve]

Oh, no, that's not it.

[ He shakes his head immediately and maybe a little performatively, because the assessment is also not entirely wrong. Most of Mikami's feelings on cats are an absence of feelings on cats. They technically inhabit the same world as him but their paths never cross. Also they have too much hair. ]

I'd just been wondering if this was something this place caused in you, since it's a rather unfamiliar sight to me. I somehow hadn't expected that other worlds would have humans with such minor trait deviations.

[machiavel]

It never occurred to me until I came here that people would find it odd.

[ seimei admits this with an unusual sort of honesty. he means it. when you’re born with cat ears, you tend not to anticipate that people will think anything else of them. ]

Though, when I fell under the effects of the moon a week or two ago, I grew another tail. Isn’t that silly?

[inordertobelieve]

Another...?

[ Mikami doesn't laugh or smile because that's very hard to get out of him, but he blinks in genuine and unconcealed surprise at the concept. Two tails... ]

And your ears remained the same? At least I would hope so, the auditory effect of four ears might be a little hard to handle...

[machiavel]

Six ears.

[ seimei moves one of the tufts of hair on the side of his head just out of the way enough to show that he’s one of the types of catboys that has a pair of human ears as well. please do not ask him about the biology of it. ]

But I have to say, I don’t know what it’s like for people who don’t naturally have this kind of thing. You might be unluckier than I’ve been. [ a beat. ] Oh, not to scare you.

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami WANTS to ask about the biology of this. He wants to ask so badly. It's burning inside him, it's written all over his face. But that would be rude, wouldn't it? He can't do that. He can't just ask someone if they hear on both their pairs of ears. Even though he wants to. The sheer bewilderment is starting to actually make him feel alive again.

But at the comment, he shakes his head, willing himself to move on. (His head is not quite moving on). ]

I don't think it's possible to unsettle me any more than I already am. Whatever is coming my way, I am at least trying to face it with resigned apathy.

[machiavel]

[ seimei can at least see that he desperately wants to ask, and he appreciates that the question doesn’t form. maybe when they’re closer. ]

Then the question following that is… what animal would you like to be?

[ he asks it as if it’s the question it seems like—some kind of ice breaker, something impossible to lighten the mood. unfortunately for both of them, in this world, it’s remarkably relevant. ]

[inordertobelieve]

[ This is the kind of question he'd scorn people for asking because it feels like they're just out to waste his time, but now it's not so easy to dismiss and he frowns in displeasure with the overall situation. ]

It pains me that 'none' isn't an acceptable option.

[ Time for some more black coffee, like that's going to help. ]

I suppose a dog wouldn't be that bad. They are generally considered to be rather intelligent, are they not?

[ He avoids dogs as much as he avoids cats and all other animals, hence the extremely boring answer. ]

... ah, you don't have issues with dogs, do you?

[machiavel]

[ there’s a moment where he doesn’t understand the connection. it’s nice that mikami would ask, but—oh. right. seimei’s ears twitch as he remembers them and the old stereotype, which miraculously still exists in his world. ]

I love dogs. If I had my way, I’d have a pit bull.

[ he smiles. ]

They’re cute, aren’t they?

[inordertobelieve]

[ That's not the dog breed he'd have envisioned Seimei with even if he didn't have cat stereotypes preventing him from imagining him with any type of dog at all. ]

Oh, yes.

[ Said in a very non-committal tone, because his opinion is nonexistent in reality. ]

What prevented you from having one so far? Apartment rules?

[machiavel]

The biggest problem is that I’m dead.

[ is he… joking? it’s impossible to tell, since he delivers the line with the same cheerful smile he invited mikami’s commentary on dogs.

he leans back in his chair a little, shoulders straight. ]

Oh, and my mother hates the idea of pets. But I guess I could get one here.

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami's surprised expression at the admission makes clear that whether or not it had been a joke, Mikami is taking it completely seriously. He's just taken aback to hear it stated so casually and without regret or shame. ]

You're.... you, too, I see...

[ Everyone on the network did say there were more dead people here than you'd think, but to run into one of them in town at random...?

Mikami has not been nearly as forward with his dead-or-alive status, but believing himself to be in the company of one sharing the same fate, he eases off on the secrecy a little. ]

[machiavel]

[ oh, oops.

seimei doesn’t let his mistake show on his face. after all, there are plenty of people at home who still think he’s dead. the police, for example. in the eyes of the government, he hasn’t told a lie.

he’ll keep going with it. as if sharing comfort with a friend, his expression softens. ]

Your secret is safe with me, if it’s something you want to keep a secret.

[inordertobelieve]

It's... an open secret, I suppose. It's not something I would put on my business card, is all.

[ 'Teru Mikami, Zombie At Law'. Yeah, it just doesn't have a good ring to it. He takes a long sip of coffee and as he finishes, he seems considerably more composed again. He's never been a good liar. Valuing truth and justice means that making even the smallest of excuses is a little taxing. It's weirdly relieving to just have this out in the open and (presumably) understood, even if he feels no desire to really elaborate on it. ]

I was certainly not planning on dropping it on you at random, but seeing that we share this situation... Well, I'm sure you can understand it caused some initial anxieties. I'm getting used to it though.

[machiavel]

[ yes… as long as it’s necessary, seimei will pretend he does understand. it’s not like there are many people who know he faked his death. even better if they come from ever earlier times. ]

It’s strange, isn’t it?

[ unlike mikami, he’s an excellent liar. ]

You wander around like a ghost, trying to find some meaning in your renewed existence. [ a pause. ] Would you like another cup of coffee, Mikami-san?

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami certainly feels understood. To say he trusts Seimei to be a decent person would be a massive overstatement because Mikami trusts nobody, but he certainly doesn't feel any reason to be more on guard than usual. It's as close as he gets to feeling at ease with a person. ]

... that sounds nice, yes.

[ Drown your sorrows in intense amounts of caffeine, we're coping like adults here. ]

As for meaning... I'm starting to almost consider it fortunate that this city is so deeply flawed. It is not hard to see what work needs to be done.

[machiavel]

[ seimei will gladly order mikami another cup, then, effortlessly conducting himself in the cafe while mikami’s sanity barely holds itself together. no harm done. ]

“Deeply flawed” is quite the judgment!

[ but he’s laughing, so it doesn’t seem like he takes it as a personal judgment. ]

What’s your plan?