- 90 [Action]

[fortunefail]

[Yuan had headed to the general item store early in the morning, with the intent to search for new gadgets and appliances. Over the past year, he's taken quite a liking to tinkering with otherworldly technology, especially the electrical kind. He doesn't do anything too grand with it- he just finds it oddly therapeutical to take things apart and then put them back together, drawing blueprints of them as he goes. His trip was rewarded when his eyes fell on this little beauty, complete with batteries and a special adapter that could plug it into electrical outlets. Yuan's not entirely sure why you'd need two different power sources, but that's just another thing to examine when he takes it apart. There's just one problem.

Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to try it out in the store, to see what exactly this thing does. He found a cartridge with the word "Tetris" on it, which fitted perfectly into the slot on the back. One thing led to another, and five minutes later he found himself completely absorbed in the game.

How much time has passed since he started playing? He doesn't even know. He does know he decided to take a seat on the ground at some point, to make himself more comfortable. He also knows he needs to beat this level.]

Left... Left... Now turn! Good, now I just need- No! There is no place for a square! Damn, damn, damn!

[Yes, there is a grown man playing Tetris in a corner of the item store, now completely blind to his surroundings.]

Comments

[fortunefail]

[Really, Kratos. How long have you known Yuan?]

Did you honestly expect to get away with those little jabs? You're basically ridiculing me. [He's heading back into the dining room now, plate in hand.]

[shiningbinds]

You're being defensive over nothing. [And isn't it better than the awkwardness that's been looming over them for the past few months?]

[fortunefail]

[Well. Kratos is being an asshole and fully expects to get away with it. Some things never change.]

If you think it's nothing, then we can just drop the issue.

[shiningbinds]

[Sighs.]

You take even the most mundane things too seriously. [Says the pot to the kettle.]

[fortunefail]

I said drop it.

[Just let him eat his dinner in peace, that's all he wants.]

[shiningbinds]

...how was the rest of your day?

[fortunefail]

Uneventful. [A couple of people proved to be better than him at a video game, and that's about it.]

And yours?

[shiningbinds]

Uneventful as well. [...] I suppose we should be grateful.

[fortunefail]

[Hm... The chaos of an experiment or the dreary routine of everyday life in Luceti... That's a tough decision.]

The previous experiment got to you that much? [It was troublesome for Yuan, to end up in peculiar places from time to time, but it wasn't harmful.]

[shiningbinds]

...I encountered Mithos. [Initially in their bathroom, of all places.]

[fortunefail]

[Oh. He can see how that would complicate things.]

How much trouble did he give you?

[shiningbinds]

He gave me the amount of trouble that's to be expected, but not exceedingly much.

[fortunefail]

[... That was a very ambiguous answer. Now Yuan's getting a little suspicious.]

Meaning?

[shiningbinds]

Meaning that considering how wrong everything could have gone with the experiment in effect, he was not any more difficult than usual.

[Except that Mithos was really getting upset with the trees.]

[fortunefail]

... Right. [That still didn't tell him much.]

You still have all your limbs, so I can only assume things didn't escalate into a fight.

[shiningbinds]

No, it didn't. I took him back to where he was supposed to be, though our detour through the forest was less than desired.

[fortunefail]

Thanks to all the trees, I suppose?

[shiningbinds]

[He can only nod.]

[fortunefail]

[Sigh.] As if things weren't idiotic enough without all the gossip.

[He's going to take a bite of his stew now. Ugh, it's already gotten a little cold. Was he really that late?]

[shiningbinds]

At least that experiment is now over.

[fortunefail]

Indeed.

[Stupid trees and lava floors and upside-down rain and doors leading to odd places...]

[shiningbinds]

And how did the previous experiment treat you, Yuan?

[fortunefail]

Not too badly. [He got stuck in his room for a while thanks to his floor turning into lava. It's not that he couldn't cross it, it's that he absolutely refused to try.]

[shiningbinds]

That's fortunate.