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May. 4th, 2023 12:06 pmDUONET ID: meryl.stryfe
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"This is Meryl Stryfe. Sorry I missed you! If this is about a scoop, let me know a time and place and I'll meet you in person!
If not, then just leave me a message, I guess, and I'll get back to you!"
no subject
Date: 2023-05-05 10:25 pm (UTC)[Worlds may vary and cultures may differ, but teenage petulance is universal.
Fukawa skulks inward. And it is skulking: her hunch and scuttle are better suited to slinking along lines of shadows than crossing open floor. She sets her books on a counter, tugging the hardcover tomes out and refolding the shopping bag for later use. She tucks it into a kitchen cabinet, tossing glares over at her new roommate.
"Meryl", was it? Or should she use "Stryfe"? What a foul thing to call yourself. Was it some edgy online persona was trying to slip into the waking world? If so, it's pathetic. This woman was way too old to be pulling that shit.]
F-Fukawa. [Said curtly. No honorifics used or given.] Not that you'll remember it. What mess are you making over there? S-some kind of grocery list?
no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 03:59 am (UTC)and maybe she's right in that assumption, because this girl doesn't seem all too fond of her, right off the bat. she's barely done anything but give her name. this might be an uphill battle, meryl notes to herself. ]
Fukawa, then. It's, um, nice to meet you. [ she doesn't comment on whether she'll "forget it", instead just making sure to remember it so that it doesn't become a problem. meryl's a trained professional when it comes to journalism, and that includes speaking to others. she can be rough around the edges, but in a situation where it matters, she'll do her best to be cordial.
at the mention of her papers, she glances down at them, and then back at fukawa. ]
Oh, these? I'm trying to take notes on everything I've experienced here so far — so I can look back over them later.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 01:57 pm (UTC)Notes? [Her nose wrinkles.] Oh. Y-you're not a detective, are you?
[It's not that she despises her old classmate Kirigiri. It just that she was such a fucking show off. All those brains and not a lick of tact, always shoving herself into the spotlight, stealing her beloved Byakuya-sama's thunder.
Still...if there was someone who might prove useful in this situation...
She steps even closer.]
What do you have so far?
no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 02:24 pm (UTC)[ it's an invaluable skill, in her profession, and one she's studied and put into practice alike. she takes pride in it, actually. there are a myriad of skills that go into being a successful journalist, and, being that she graduated at the top of her class, she can rightfully claim she's got them down pat.
experience and knowledge of the wider world beyond textbooks, however? now, that's still a work in progress. don't worry about it.
she's not secretive about what she's taken notes on, either, so she moves her papers so they're a little more visible, moving her hands out of the way and leaning back in her chair so that fukawa can properly come in close, if she chooses to. ]
Just what I've seen. I'm not done writing it all down yet, though.
[ there're notes about the basics of the VR world, about where things are, how people react both on and offline to specific things... more specifically for meryl's interests, there are notes about the abundance of water here, the non-wormlike creatures she's spotted, and the distinct lack of plants. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-08 12:47 am (UTC)At least she recognizes the invitation for what it is. Fukawa edges closer and peers at the meticulous scrawl. She's careful to keep a measured distance just the same, even if it means she has to squint. From here the spine of her books peek over the folds of her sleeve: No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai, The House of Spirits, Isabelle Allende, The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough, and two slimmer paperbacks about Crane City itself.]
Hmm... [Her lips begin to twitch, mouthing the words Meryl's committed to paper. Her brow furrows suddenly.]
Water? Worms? [She looks at her curiously.] Th-there was all kinds of worms on the sidewalk after it rained last month. What kind of half-baked observation is that?
no subject
Date: 2023-05-08 05:44 am (UTC)she's woken out of this little observational trance when fukawa speaks again, sounding strangely judgmental with that last sentence. ]
Wait, what? What do you mean, it "rained"? [ they uhhh don't have that where she's from. ] I just got here, but I haven't noticed any worms anywhere! Flying around or otherwise! [ she doesn't want to think about otherwise. they can get too big. ] And what's wrong with writing about the water? There's tons of it here, and I haven't seen a single Plant! Where's it all coming from?
[ ....... this is going to get confusing. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-08 12:07 pm (UTC)[On the left end table, as a matter of fact. It's a juicy jade plant too, one that looks better cared for than any of the house residents might bother with. More magic no doubt, which is absolutely galling to a girl who grew up without any.
Of course her impatience breaks as she remembers where she is: another world. Same as Meryl.
Fukawa draws a deep breath in through her nose, eyes closed. Then she sets her books on the bare end of the table and claims a seat of her own.]
All right, wherever you come from is some kind of despicable hell hole. "Flying worms." [Said more to herself, and with no small revulsion.] Magical horseshit aside, this place is p-pretty close to my home. So...
[Her brow furrows. Where to start?]
There's tons of water. Probably three q-quarters of the planet's surface. And it's in the atmosphere too, which is why it rains.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-09 12:16 am (UTC)luckily, fukawa seems to want to humor her, so meryl doesn't have to end up arguing with her or anything. she's not keen on arguing with an apparent housemate right off the bat. ]
You're not too far off. [ is all she says about the despicable hell hole thing. there are... some nice things out there? but for the most part, it's a difficult place to survive, and no one in no man's land is disillusioned into thinking otherwise. ]
Three quarters? No wonder there's so much of it. [ a pause, considering she should give some context to her thoughts here. ] That's why I wrote that down — all we've got is sand, sand, and more sand. I've never seen this much water in my life. [ tacking on: ] And worms do fly, where I'm from. They do all sorts of things. [ mumbling: ] Like eat you alive...
[ uuuuuuugh. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-09 04:28 am (UTC)[Some cultures made paradises in deserts of course, several of her favourite novels were set in there. But Fukawa can only imagine wastelands and heat, and the grit of dirt and sand wedging into every inch of your body.
No thanks.
Her face contorts as the woman goes on. Carnivorous, winged worms that feasted on human flesh. Okay. Wow.]
Eugh, disgusting. Just keep that to yourself! Obviously that doesn't exist here either. [She pauses, pursing her lips.] Well...not in this part. That crappy virtual world, they had giant sp-sp-spiders.
[A shudder quakes her from head to toe, and she grips at her elbow to quell it. A new sight to frequent her nightmares! What a fun fucking video game! Great for the whole family!]
So, maybe there'll be something similar there. But it's all f-fabricated anyway, so you can't take any creatures they make up too seriously. The real problem lies in the effects it has on your brain. [Here she leans in, tone lowered.] There was some kind of giant disaster in that game world, and they insisted this hackneyed ritual was the only way to fix it. And one of the guys who volunteered for it lost his m-memories completely.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-09 05:28 am (UTC)that last part, though? that's a whole different kind of fear — the world messing up her brain? what?? ]
H-Hold on, you mean he forgot everything because of it? And he volunteered to do it?
[ you're scaring her, fukawa!!!! ] Sh-Should I be worried about this, too? No one's going to force me to do something like that, are they?
[ she doesn't know much of anything about this world, other than the fact that it's totally, completely different from hers. so anything is possible right now. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-09 08:18 pm (UTC)They just might. [Fukawa tuts, a touch haughtily. After all, it's Roland's own damn fault he's in that mess.] This time it was something you volunteered for, and they p-preyed on the self-righteous instincts of the players. If you're told you're going to save lives, even if the people there aren't real, it's easy to forget the risks.
Next time they m-might not be so subtle. [She sets her elbows on her knees and threads her fingers over her mouth. Her sharp stare hits some middle point in the air between them, brow cinching into a pensive knot.] There's p-plenty of ways to motivate people into destroying themselves. Or falling under the sway of s-some psychotic bitch.
[Whoops.]
Mastermind. [She wets her lips and hurries along.] They might start threatening your l-loved ones, or offer money, or use blackmail. Already this place has used some kind of crappy magic to force our hands. This isn't a normal house.
Surely you've noticed that by now. You'd be a pretty shitty reporter if you hadn't.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-10 02:36 am (UTC)still, it's information for her to consider. she knows full well of vash's tendency to do these things as well, and honestly she's more concerned about him than she is herself. ]
O-Of course I've noticed that! [ her tone is offended there, but then she glances down, her tone more even, considering. ] None of this has been "normal" from the start.
[ shutting her eyes for a moment, letting the exhaustion of the last couple days of her life wash over her for a split second in a sigh, before she regains herself. ] This has been a lot, but... I can't just ignore all that, either. [ so, picking up her pencil again, she starts jotting down notes on what fukawa just told her — under a new bullet point she's just written, "risks". ]
I won't let any of what you told me go to waste, I promise. [ there's a look of concern still on her face, but also renewed vigor.
the last thing she wants to happen again is to let people slip through her fingers in front of her. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-11 11:24 am (UTC)Well, good. At least there's someone around with more than festering m-mold inside their skull. [And she means it. For the moment, at least. She can respect the diligence of a fellow writer, a rare thing to find among her usual peers — even rarer in a world gone horrifically awry. Though she finds journalism to be a limited field, one where too much creativity is a dangerous drawback, it does imply a sharp eye.
Let's see how this woman makes out in a few weeks. Virtual realm excepted, this may be the least obviously life-threatening place she's had to live in so far.
That hardly means it's without risks.]
I suppose it's w-worth asking if you've got any hackneyed "superpowers" or crap like that. [Fukawa rolls her eyes.] Seems to be a running theme around here.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-11 11:33 pm (UTC)[ that sure is a compliment(?) to be given. meryl isn't the type to think of everyone else as having "festering mold inside their skulls", but she's not about to argue that sort of thing either. this girl has something awkward about her that she's just not quite sure how to deal with yet, hence the need to lace some of her polite professionalism into how she approaches this.
at her last statement, meryl only puts her hands up in front of her. ]
Superpowers? Nope, nothing like that. I'm just your average journalist. You're saying that's common here?
[ it takes all of her effort just to keep up with vash... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-12 08:32 pm (UTC)[Spare her the protagonist energy, please. She's had enough. She's done with genki do-gooders.]
Think about it. If you were r-running some kind of psycho mindgame and could pull people from all across the universe to play in it, are you going to settle for some completely average twat? Th-that's going to make for a boring story.
If I've learned anything, it's to expect the worst. They only p-pick people who can do exceptional things or who have survived in exceptional circumstances. [Herself being in the pitiful latter category. Never by choice, and never happy about it either. Why should she be stuck in the company of ninjas and witches and shonen anime sprung to life, just because she has the world's shittiest luck?
It's infuriating.]
So watch out. Be c-careful who you piss off here, unless you want to end up as a s-smoking corpse in the gutter.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-13 09:24 am (UTC)[ but the rest of what she has to say... makes sense to her? like, she gets where she's coming from with all that, and she doesn't have much to argue against it. in fact, she's very squarely in the latter category herself — meryl is not even remotely exceptional in her physical abilities. she's tiny, she's weak, and she's just doing her best to keep up with those around her. it's her heart and mind where she shines, unable to take no for an answer or lie down and let something come to pass.
the last memories she has before coming here prove that tenfold, and it stings to have it bubble to the surface like this. she'd been pushing it down as much as possible, trying to move forward in this place. vash is here, and he's okay, but — that doesn't mean she can just forget about what happened in that room. or what happened before it, even. she was practically useless, only able to watch things happen around her or be protected from them.
she gets quieter, resting the pencil back on the table and placing her hands in her lap, for the time being. ]
... I'll be careful. [ she means it. ] You don't have to believe me, but I really don't have any "powers" like that. [ and if this place is as dangerous as she implies, she'll get her proof of that at some point. ] But — you're right about one thing. I've made it through some situations that I probably shouldn't have.
[ a beat, her hands curling softly into fists against her legs. ]
I heard dumb luck is important for a journalist to have. Makes sense, right?
[ hey meryl it might be a good idea to back out of this path your brains going down. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-14 05:24 pm (UTC)Too bad Fukawa sucks and rather than empathize with the somber shift, she feels a prickle of glee. Good. Someone was listening to her. Taking her warnings seriously for once, instead of dismissing them or calling her ugly or stupid or bopping along with a pitchy whistle and a spring in their step.
Finally, someone with a lick of common sense.]
Th-that's good. I don't either, before you get any weird ideas. [Which she should be able to sus out logically: if she were trying to hide something she wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. What secrets she does have, while wild and dangerous, never sprung from a supernatural well of might. So technically, she's not lying! If Syo makes herself a problem later she'll deal with it.]
I guess... [It's probably the only reason Naegi's still alive. Luck and luck alone.] What do you p-plan do with yourself now? Have you found any leads?
no subject
Date: 2023-05-15 02:15 am (UTC)breathing in, she picks up her pencil again and taps at the paper, peering down at her unfinished notes. ]
Not enough to make any concrete conclusions yet, so I'll need to do more investigating. [ mmm, she's only just arrived here, and there's so much new information that it's been overwhelming. it'll take her some time to get her thoughts together. ]
You're welcome to help, if you like. But I'll want to see anything important with my own eyes, just to be sure of it.
[ she's happy to take info from people, but some things will need to be seen to be fully believed, as people are prone to twisting things. not that she doesn't trust fukawa, just that she's trying to keep her information accurate. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-16 01:46 pm (UTC)I d-doubt I'll be much use to you. I'm a novelist. My p-primary research is on the h-human heart itself. [Though admittedly, she has to pour over tons of information about setting and society and career specifics, psychological causes and effects. But she holds fast in her assumption.] We m-may both be writers, but conflating the two fields is a huge mistake. I'm not arrogant enough to think I can do your job, and you b-better not think you could do mine!
[Then there's the second asterisks under her name: being forced to solve insane mysteries to survive. Not something she's going to confess out the gate, the specifics aren't important here and they certainly could paint her in a bad light. Or worse, get her sappy looks of pity, maybe get mistaken for heart-felt bonding.
Absolutely not. She's here to tell people not to trip into a plot hole and die.]
But...if s-something important comes up... [She looks visibly pained. This is killing her.] I guess I'll tell you...
no subject
Date: 2023-05-18 05:40 am (UTC)N-No, no, it's nothing like that! I just think that it's helpful to have more eyes on things — you might see something I don't, you know?
[ hah... meryl knows she's a writer in the sense that she can weave together articles, but she doesn't fancy herself as a novelist or anything like that. her primary objective with her writing is to obtain and spread information for the good of humanity, however that takes form.
she sighs a little in relief to herself when fukawa seems to go along with the idea, though, and lowers her hands back down to the table. ah, thank goodness. ]
Yeah, you don't have to do a lot. I'd welcome any help you can give.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-18 01:41 pm (UTC)Fine. I'll let you know if anything r-really important pops up.
[Please bask in her infinite generosity.]
As l-long as you don't hold out on me, either.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-19 03:52 am (UTC)Deal. I'll let you know if anything comes up on my end, too.
[ she's smiling now, leaning her elbows on the table and looking a little more comfortable in this situation. she feels kind of glad to have won fukawa over... it was a little rocky at some points there. she's not looking to have bad relationships with people right off the bat. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-05-19 05:00 am (UTC)Okay.
[Silence. Her glare narrows.]
Bye then.
[She swoops out of her seat and scuttles away, thrusting her phone against the e-lock and slithering through the bedroom door before it's even popped open in full.
One pale hand slides it back into the frame, and then the foul air dissipates. Fukawa is gone.]