1

[looselips]

Characters: Shinji Matou & OPEN
Setting: Dormitory Floor 2; Cafeteria; Library
Format: Action preferred, but I'll try to match.
Summary: Shinji tries to puzzle out his situation.
Warnings: Man idk, I'll update this as things come up.

dormitory
[There is a small, (probably) unfamiliar child in the dormitory today. He doesn't seem as frightened or upset as a child perhaps should be after waking up in a strange place and being informed that his world has been destroyed. Instead, he's seated in front of one of the network terminals, his heels resting on the stool's legs.]

[It's hard to say what he's doing. He isn't touching the device at all, only staring at it really, really intently. Then, abruptly, he makes a noise of frustration and kicks it.]

—Ouch!

[Oops. He must have kicked it too hard, or hit his leg on it as he did so, as he immediately reaches down to cradle his knee.]

[This isn't the first terminal he has tried to do...whatever it is he's trying to, and it probably won't be the last. He might even venture to the first and third floor dormitories to see if he has better luck there.]

cafeteria
[So, after completely failing at what he wanted to do, Shinji has gone to the cafeteria. Maybe things will go better if he has a little food in his stomach? Maybe. Being in a less irritable mood should definitely help, at least.]

[Except the only thing he's given to eat is plain oatmeal. Obviously, this offends his eight-year-old culinary sensibilities. He hasn't touched it yet, and is instead just glaring at it like it's the source of all his problems where he sits at one of the tables.]

library
[...Yep, he's right back to his fruitless efforts with the terminals. This kid is tenacious, even if only in the way a small, loud terrier might be.]

Comments

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko looked pretty puzzled.]

...Don't you care about whether or not your friends and family are safe back home?

[looselips]

Who cares about those assholes? I sure don't.

[tohko_amano]

Why not?

[looselips]

None of them appreciate me, so why should I worry about them?

[tohko_amano]

Well, they might like you a little more if you acted a bit nicer. And just because some people don't like you doesn't mean you can't like them. In fact, tossing them aside because they don't like you isn't going to help your relationship.

[looselips]

Or maybe I would act a bit nicer if they were worth being nice to. [He rolls his eyes.] I'm not going to waste my time trying to befriend idiots who aren't worth my time, so give it a rest already.

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko sighed.]

And what makes you think people aren't worth your time? People aren't chess pieces, you know. Just because you can't use them for something doesn't mean you have the right to treat them badly.

[looselips]

It's not about using people like chess pieces. Some of us are just born better than others.

[Like him, obviously.]

[tohko_amano]

That's not true. Some people are better at certain things, like singing or drawing, but even those people have flaws that other people might not have. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We're not born better than anyone else.

[looselips]

That's just something no-talent losers tell themselves to feel better about how they weren't born special.

[tohko_amano]

And that's the thing..we're not born 'special'. Some of us have difficulties being born and some of us have it a bit smoother..but there are always good points and bad points to any situation.

You, for example, were probably great with computers back home, but you were probably terrible when it came to making friends and playing with others.

[looselips]

Wrong. I was born with something special that normal humans don't have. That's all there is to it.

[Though, yes, she's right about him not having friends or playmates. But he's never (allowed himself to admit that he) wanted them, anyway, when he's a special person set away from and above the common trash that surrounds him.]

[tohko_amano]

Maybe..and maybe not. I don't know enough about your universe or you to say whether or not you're right. However, I do know that you seem to be lacking something that most humans do have.

[looselips]

If you say something about empathy or manners or whatever else you think I should feel guilty about, I'm going to spit in your eye.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko couldn't help but chuckle at that.]

I guess this is something that you've heard before, huh? However, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I'm trying to prove my point.

[looselips]

They're two totally different things. [He informs her loftily.] I can have those things and not use them. They'll never be able to have what I do at all.

[tohko_amano]

I don't see why you choose to not use them or develop them then. And while they may not be able to work with computers as well as you, they're probably able to do something else much better than you can.

So, in that way, you're equals.

[looselips]

It's not just "being able to work with computers," you bimbo. Most people aren't even worth the effort it takes to be nice to them.

[tohko_amano]

[Kid, do you want to get smacked again?]


My name isn't 'bimbo'! I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl! It's not hard to get it right. And you shouldn't base whether or not you should be nice to someone on their abilities. That's pretty cruel.

[looselips]

What, is "book girl" part of your name or something? That's a pretty lame title, so I'd see if I could get it changed if I were you.

[He's dropping the other topic entirely, because she's obviously an idiot who doesn't get it.]

[tohko_amano]

It's not part of my name! It's just my title! And it's not a lame title. It suits me pretty well. I wouldn't want it changed.

[looselips]

Yeah, I guess it does. You're just as much of a boring loser as I'd expect someone with that title to be.

[tohko_amano]

[That earns you another smack on the head. You do not insult her title or the fact that she holds it.]

I am not boring or a loser! Books are wonderful things, full of hope, fights, chases, escapes, miracles, darkness, depression, and light! They're not boring at all!

[looselips]

[GDIT, lady. He rubs his head again.]

Yeah, you're right. I'll take it back. [He waits just long enough for someone to think, "Wait, really?" before continuing.] Books aren't boring — but the kind of person that would use "book girl" as their title definitely is.

[tohko_amano]

How so?

[No, really. She's puzzled about that.]