[Luke nods along, understanding; he probably would've been willing to annoy the senior crew every week for the both of them, but he understands where Shoma's coming from.]
No, not the trash. It was more... the areas we had access to? From what I understand, they manifested from what we wanted. Like the observatory, or the tech lab, probably. They definitely weren't perfect, though. Usually there was something wrong with them. [He pauses, then adds--] I assume the rat society was already there.
That's...really weird. Kind of cool? But mostly weird. I would assume the rat society was already there, too, but I don't know how some of you think. Maybe it was a lifelong dream to see the fruition of a rat colony? [ lmao. ] I am glad you guys weren't completely cut off down there though.
[HELP well that gets him to grin, though it fades right after.]
Yeah. I wish we could've done more for you guys, though. All we could do was reassure you guys that we'd take care of anyone who wound up down there, but I'm sure that felt cheap when people were still dying.
[Which was one of Luke's greater sources of frustration: Far beyond figuring out a way to return to life, he'd wanted to minimize the number of deaths.]
Don't discount that. Most of us come from places where you don't ever get to talk to the dead again. When a person's gone...that's it. No matter when you saw them or what you last said to them, those are the pieces you have after they die. So...knowing you were all taking care of each other and that we could still reach you even with the delay actually helped a ton while we were working on trying to solve things here.
[And it's why he didn't reach out for so long, especially when he'd had zero reason to believe a resurrection was possible--he hadn't wanted them to get distracted chasing ghosts when they should've been focusing on saving each other.
In fact--]
It's a little hard to believe we're actually back. Seeing Viktor was one thing, but to be here and talking to you guys for real... [He lifts a hand, flexing his fingers.] I'd think it was all a hoax if I wasn't living it.
The first time I brought it up to Mizuki, I don't think she believed me and thought I was crazy for suggesting the possibility. And normally I would've agreed. Ghosts don't really exist, but there were too many factors that made it hard to ignore. So then the priority shifted to figuring out how to bring you back when we knew you were still there.
[ ... ]
When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy. No matter what. There's no logical way to say "we shoved all of the ghosts of our dead friends back into their broken dead bodies to bring them back." [ ... ] It's just something we'll have to remember isn't possible other places, too. Like something to be grateful for here. Which...I am. I'm obviously glad you're all back.
Those are the things we need in order to get past all of the other terrible stuff, I think. Or so I've heard. [ he's not really an optimist. ] So when the opportunities present themselves...seems stupid not to take them.
[Truthfully, same--Luke is far more of a realist than anything, and he tips towards pessimism in specific instances. But, he likes the people he cares about to be happy, and he'll don whatever mask he needs to to make that happen. So--]
Will you tell me about them? Those happier memories.
[Even if they're small or few and far between, he wants to hear about them.]
By themselves, none of them sound that impressive. But I think the overall picture is that all of these people, and other people, too, have changed a lot of how I see things. Maybe the whole idea is a happy memory itself.
Luke does not do that, but he grins, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.]
They do sound impressive! Those are the kinds of things I like to photograph, back home--the little things. They really add up when you're not looking, until you think about it and you realize you've been happier than you thought. Right?
[ sometimes you go a very long time without friends and then you suddenly make a lot :pleading_face:
but he at least seems happy with that response. ]
Right. I don't know if I've ever really thought about what happiness feels like anymore. It just kind of happened one day even when things were getting harder here. [ ... ] Taking pictures would've been smarter now that I think about it. But the memories will have to be as good.
I doubt we'll be able to keep anything on the IRISes anyway, once we're out of here... [Which is a shame, actually? He looks down at his wrist, a complicated sort of nostalgia flickering over his face.] But if it all works out like we're hoping, maybe we can put together some cameras really quickly, before everyone goes back home.
[HE'S JUST KIND OF. Talking as though they'll definitely solve all of this and get out of here because it helps no one if he does not do that.]
Well...Dahut and I were talking about maybe figuring out a way to remove the IRISes and transferring them into an actual phone or something. I don't know if that'll work, but I don't want to lose anything either. [ ...but he squints in thought. ] Don't they still make those disposable cameras? We could try those or something.
I'll have to follow up with him to see if he has any further ideas how to make it work. [ but he thinks this through... ] Maybe the mall or Omegamart? I haven't really checked.
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No, not the trash. It was more... the areas we had access to? From what I understand, they manifested from what we wanted. Like the observatory, or the tech lab, probably. They definitely weren't perfect, though. Usually there was something wrong with them. [He pauses, then adds--] I assume the rat society was already there.
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That's...really weird. Kind of cool? But mostly weird. I would assume the rat society was already there, too, but I don't know how some of you think. Maybe it was a lifelong dream to see the fruition of a rat colony? [ lmao. ] I am glad you guys weren't completely cut off down there though.
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Yeah. I wish we could've done more for you guys, though. All we could do was reassure you guys that we'd take care of anyone who wound up down there, but I'm sure that felt cheap when people were still dying.
[Which was one of Luke's greater sources of frustration: Far beyond figuring out a way to return to life, he'd wanted to minimize the number of deaths.]
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[And it's why he didn't reach out for so long, especially when he'd had zero reason to believe a resurrection was possible--he hadn't wanted them to get distracted chasing ghosts when they should've been focusing on saving each other.
In fact--]
It's a little hard to believe we're actually back. Seeing Viktor was one thing, but to be here and talking to you guys for real... [He lifts a hand, flexing his fingers.] I'd think it was all a hoax if I wasn't living it.
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The first time I brought it up to Mizuki, I don't think she believed me and thought I was crazy for suggesting the possibility. And normally I would've agreed. Ghosts don't really exist, but there were too many factors that made it hard to ignore. So then the priority shifted to figuring out how to bring you back when we knew you were still there.
[ ... ]
When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy. No matter what. There's no logical way to say "we shoved all of the ghosts of our dead friends back into their broken dead bodies to bring them back." [ ... ] It's just something we'll have to remember isn't possible other places, too. Like something to be grateful for here. Which...I am. I'm obviously glad you're all back.
[ but it is a little strange to think about. ]
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You're right. A lot of terrible things have happened here, and they still are... but that doesn't mean we can't be grateful for the bright spots, too.
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Those are the things we need in order to get past all of the other terrible stuff, I think. Or so I've heard. [ he's not really an optimist. ] So when the opportunities present themselves...seems stupid not to take them.
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Will you tell me about them? Those happier memories.
[Even if they're small or few and far between, he wants to hear about them.]
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...the ones here? [ yes, shoma. ] It's funny to think about now, but at the time it was sort of a huge deal. Dahut actually said he wanted to be friends, that first week we got here. He was the first one to do that. Throné used the simulation room to show me her favorite place, this quiet village and a stage where she met another one of her friends. I got to see Sidon's domain and learn a little more about him. Diluc and I went to the mega park when it first opened to try different ice cream flavors. Charles and I have been going to the dog park to visit the dogs, especially on Fridays. Yuri and I tried to learn a few recipes together. Sometimes Rosamund and I would pick up snacks and do a trade to see which ones we liked better. Dion came with me to Anoria to check out some of the E.L.C. mounts and take them for a test ride. Kazuki said he's going to make me a playlist later just to have for myself. Viktor told me about the things he was working on and what he wanted to accomplish back where he's from, for his city. And...weirdly, Scien gave me hope that maybe things could actually be better at home.
By themselves, none of them sound that impressive. But I think the overall picture is that all of these people, and other people, too, have changed a lot of how I see things. Maybe the whole idea is a happy memory itself.
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Luke does not do that, but he grins, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.]
They do sound impressive! Those are the kinds of things I like to photograph, back home--the little things. They really add up when you're not looking, until you think about it and you realize you've been happier than you thought. Right?
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but he at least seems happy with that response. ]
Right. I don't know if I've ever really thought about what happiness feels like anymore. It just kind of happened one day even when things were getting harder here. [ ... ] Taking pictures would've been smarter now that I think about it. But the memories will have to be as good.
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[HE'S JUST KIND OF. Talking as though they'll definitely solve all of this and get out of here because it helps no one if he does not do that.]
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As for cameras--] Would anywhere on the ship have them?
[STRIP MALL POLAROID CAMERAS? PASTEL FUJIFILMS?]
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