LOW ACTIVITY? UNACCEPTABLE. HAVE A SRS BUSINESS CAT DERPING IT UP.

[mewandimproved]

Who: Mewtwo, Open
What: Trying out these gosh darn terminal things. :[
Where: The Observatory
When: Whenever Morning? :V

Comments

[alwaysdolledup]

Alice wasn't one to concern herself with others' activities if they didn't concern her first, for the most part. In fact, she wasn't always one to notice what other people were doing in the first place. This individual drew her attention, though -- not, in her case, because of his appearance, but because of what he was doing.

After all, she was still more or less in the exploration phase, still getting used to the Void. There was little in this place whose purpose or functioning she knew. Here in the Observatory, the telescope was unusual in that she had a vague awareness of it; similar things had found their way into Gensokyo once or twice, she thought, though never nearly so elaborate. The terminals, on the other hand, had a relatively obvious use. Alice understood the writing on the screens -- a little to her own surprise at first -- and from there it wasn't exactly a stretch to guess about the keys. She just hadn't worked around to trying to actually use them. And she couldn't see a need to write anyway.

In other words, Mewtwo had managed to gain an audience that knew even less about what he was doing than he did.

Unfortunately, she was also an audience somewhat lacking in social consciousness. Alice hadn't quite decided whether his activities concerned her, but her curiosity was stirred more and more. Without really thinking about it or even intending to, she began to watch silently; the doll hovering nearby did the same with a more open expression of interest.

[mewandimproved]

Mewtwo continued to type for several minutes, either not seeing or ignoring the stranger behind him. It wasn't until he had finished the paragraph he was working on that he stopped and turned his head slightly, watching the girl.

Mewtwo, no better equipped to deal with a social situation than she was, waited for her to make the first move.

[alwaysdolledup]

Once he turned his eye on her, Alice realized what she was doing. "Ah. Excuse me," she said. And, when that seemed a bit inadequate in the face of this person's -- it was definitely a person, right? -- cold regard, added, "I've been wondering about these things myself."

She looked past him for a moment, running her gaze briefly over what he had written. Thoughtful, she asked, "Is it so difficult?"

[mewandimproved]

Mewtwo rose from the ground and turned to face her properly, his eyes lingering suspiciously on the doll. So, this one wasn't an ordinary human.

"It wouldn't be if these humans had come up with a system that makes sense," Mewtwo said, his frustration colouring his telepathy slightly. "Most of it is quite simple, but some aspects will take a little more time understand."

[alwaysdolledup]

Just for a moment, ever so slightly, Alice's eyes narrowed at the 'voice' in her head. No matter. She responded normally. "Here I was hoping it wouldn't be too different from writing. Leave it to them to complicate things, I suppose. In that case, what's the advantage to using these at all?"

[mewandimproved]

Mewtwo ignored her reaction to his 'voice.' Irritation and worry were common responses to his way of communicating. "They are useful for leaving a message to be read at the recipient's leisure, I suppose. I am learning to use them in case we are contacted once more by someone from outside."

He intercepted the obvious question with one of his own: "What did you mean by 'them?' Are you not human as well?"

[alwaysdolledup]

Alice shook her head. "I'm a youkai. A magician," she said slowly; her mind was on the rest of what he'd said, sure enough. She needed the moment to choose her words. "What do you mean 'contacted'?"

[mewandimproved]

A magician? He scrutinized her as he answered the question. "We received a message on this system from a person called Fredrick Wilkinson proposing an exchange of resources. It seems that there is a group of people who are able to travel here but who lack some of what we possess."

He itched to ask what exactly it meant to be whatever she was, but he was willing to answer her questions first.

[alwaysdolledup]

"So there is a way in and out. I can see why you'd want to be prepared." Admittedly, Alice didn't completely grasp what he was doing; obvious though some aspects of the BBS terminals may have been, the concept of electronic communication was beyond her guessing. She thought she understood the general implications, though, and they were more important than splitting hairs just now. Raising a cynical eyebrow, she added, "What on earth does this place possess that anyone would need? Do they love ramen that much?"