i_speak_softly | Forty-Ninth Theory [Action/Voice]

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Forty-Ninth Theory [Action/Voice]

[Don has never been to an ocean before, and last time he was at an amusement park he had to electrify the roller coaster to defeat an enraged colony of nanobots.]

[He is determined that this excursion will be one of pleasant discovery.]

[To that end, he takes the teleporter to the beach on Thursday morning, and spends the next two days exploring the park, the waterfront, and as far out into the ocean as his own limbs can take him. (Or farther, if anyone is kind enough to offer him the use of a boat.)]

[At some point during the two days, he opens his journal and leaves the following message:]

Researchers, experimenters, tinkerers, inventors, curious people of all kinds... join the "Scientists, Hypothesizers, and Engineers of Luceti League". I'm starting it right now and everyone is welcome.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[He smiles shyly.] I'd like that.

As would I... I think you would be a good candidate to watch anyway, because of how well-trained you are.

... Though most of my combatant friends are... exceptionally well-trained. [Daisy definitely comes to mind there.]

You should come in the back room sometime.

Would I not be too much of... a deterrent? [He doesn't know the mysterious things that go on in there; he'd rather not be a distraction...]

[Don smiles fondly at his underconfident partner.] More like an incentive, I'd say.

In that case, I would be glad... [Robert smiles up at Don happily.]

... I have admittedly been curious for some time, so it would be a good opportunity to see for myself.

[Don stretches his arms over his head and looks around.] Do you want to do anything else?

[And the human's gaze follows Don's.] I would have suggested the arcade - I went there with Ms. Daisy before.

... There was... a rather fascinating game console there.

[And by fascinating Robert means "really awkward to play".]

I thought you didn't like video games? [Not that Don has anything against this development. He doesn't mind playing a few rounds himself on occasion.]

I am not used to them being so... violent.

[This is the main reason he doesn't like the ones in Luceti.]

And this one was... rather violent. But... interesting, because...

... Well, it was based on yourself.

[The first part makes sense. The second part, not so much.]

Robert, what are you talking about?

... It is a game where you are a... playable character, labelled as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time".

[Yes, it sounds kind of ridiculous when phrased that way.]

... The console should still be there, if you... want to see it.

I have to see this. Do you know where it was?

Yes I do. Please, follow me.

[And Robert begins to thread his way through the amusement park, his steps as practised as Daisy's when she led him there. It doesn't take long for them to get to the arcade, as bright and colourful and noisy as ever - although significantly less so than it was when he was last here.

The aforementioned console stands empty, currently running through a demo reel of the game. Little sprited turtles, undeniably mimicking the ones Robert saw - and in Don's case, touched, loved - run across the screen.

He doesn't approach it, at first. Just stares.]

[Don stops short too, watching the video on the screen. He's hardly ever even seen a picture of a Turtle, so to see an animated image of one, however simplified and cartoony, is quite amazing. In a broad way, it's like how he felt during that experiment last March, when he laid eyes on a Turtle who was not one of his brothers.]

Wow.

[Robert slowly approaches the console, standing slightly off to the left of it as he does. He doesn't know if Don wants to play this game, but...]

... I do wonder... how much this has to do with you.

...

I did not get very far in... the game. [The unspoken part is that he couldn't.]

[Don moves up to the controls. He's never played an arcade console before, but it's pretty self-explanatory. In a moment he's exited the demo and selected himself as a character.]

Hm.

[Now this is just surreal.]

... Does this... remind you of anything? [Said so very awkwardly.]

Um... That didn't look anything like April. [Oh, he gets to play now. Excuse him while he figures out what the button combinations do.]

I wonder why everybody is so... distorted. [Even the sprites aren't very accurate... the style is obviously supposed to be cartoony, of course, but even with that in mind, there are some differences. And now that Robert's paying somewhat more attention... doesn't this look like the one guy in the Hall of Personas...?]

It looks pretty old. [He squints at the grainy images.] Why are the enemies exploding?

I have... no idea whatsoever. [Seriously. Is this common to all video games here?]

It is... rather ridiculous...

[Already distracted from that question.] Come on, how do I - [He jams the buttons harder, as though this will cause his avatar to fight differently.] Spin it, stupid!

[It's really pathetic when your in-game avatar won't do the things you would actually do...]

... There really is no command for that? [Just... so boggled. Robert thought it was ineptitude on his part or something.]

I can't find one. Who programmed this?!

[He resumes yelling at the game, absentmindedly slipping into Japanese as he does so - though since he isn't shielding, Robert will just hear it as a slightly odd cadence to his words.] The knees! Strike at the knees, you idiot Turtle! Do you call that ninjutsu? Somewhere offscreen your sensei is crying pixellated tears!

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