leires | Ship Stuff

Mm? Is it weird that we do?

[ She lowers her board finally as she looks back at him, slowing their pace to a more leisurely walk. ]

The faster you can get to where you need to go the better, right?

It's less weird and more...I guess I'm just not used to it? You have to remember, the height of technology back home is a horse and carriage...

[So anything going faster than 25 mph at MOST is a lot for him to handle.]

I was able to make a few modifications once, but it was uh...dangerous. And a little too fast. Not really sustainable like cars and trains are here, either...

Mmm… that’s fair, I think. Makes sense that it would be a shock to you.

[ She tilts her head up as she thinks. ]

I suppose for us… once we find a way to overcome our shortcomings and make our lives easier, we just keep refining it over and over. Make it better than before - in our minds, there must always be some way to make it better.

[ She stops at the escalator to leave the platform and looks back at the train speeding off, the air within the tunnel screeching as it blows through. ]

What you see now took 200 years to get to. Places in the country that used to take days or even months to get to now only take a few hours. It takes time, but if people keep working then anything is possible eventually.

[ … ]

—Ah. Sorry. I was a rambling a little, wasn’t I?

...huh?

[Sorry, Varian was just completely enraptured by what you were saying there, Rina. He's only just now realizing how hard he was hanging on every word when she's the one to break the conversation off suddenly.]

Oh- no no, it's okay! That's...that's fascinating, Rina-chan...I could listen to you talk history all day...

[ She stares at him a moment.

And then puts one of her smiling faces up before pulling him along onto the escalator. ]

Is that because of the subject matter? Or because of me?

Mmm...both, both...mostly you though.

[UUUUUUUUUGH do you regret dating him yet]

[ APPARENTLY NOT if that giggle is anything to go off of. ]

I’ll have to make sure to talk about lots of stuff then, if I’m going to have all your attention like that~

[ You kids… please.

This station is a lot bigger and has more stuff in it than the other one but when Rina gets to the stairs to leave she stops for a moment. ]

Ah— we have to walk the rest of the way but would you mind a little detour?

A detour? No, I don't mind. What is it you want to show me?

[Because he knows there must be something, if she wants to go a different way.]

Hmm… [ heading up now ] It’s a little difficult to explain. And I don’t want to give you the wrong idea like with the dragon thing…

But it’s pretty famous here and just a five to ten minute walk so it’s not too far.

[Jiiiii...]

You know, all you have to do is just say you're not tricking me this time.

[ Okay that gets her to put up her pouty face. ]

Buuu… that’s not what I mean. But it isn’t a trick!

It’s just easier to explain when you see it!

[ Which speaking of seeing uh

They’re coming to the entrance of the station and going outside now and google maps street view has taught me that apparently you see the sky wheel FIRST THING AS SOON AS YOU EXIT THE STATION so there’s that. ]

[OH THAT

THAT SURE IS JUST THERE ISN'T IT

In that case, Rina doesn't even have to explain. Varian can see it, and he has to crane his neck to look up at it because it's so big.]

Woooah...woah, woah Rina-! Rina what is that??

[He's taking her wrist and trying to get her attention, as if she can't SEE it right there in front of them.]

[ She was about to keep walking but his reaction gets her to stop. ]

Hm? Oh.

[ She lowers her board and cranes her head up to look. She’s lived here so long now that she sorta… didn’t forget necessarily but didn’t realize it’d catch his attention right away. ]

It’s daikanransha— or the “giant sky wheel”. It’s a Ferris wheel, they’re like… an attraction you ride on at amusement parks and stuff.

[ She points at it and starts circling her hand to imitate the way it moves. ]

All those little things hanging off it are gondolas that carry people as it goes around. The view inside is incredible - you can see all of Tokyo from the top and sometimes even Mount Fuji if the weather’s nice enough.

Wow, that...that's amazing! I've never seen a machine so...big!

[He's leaning up on his tiptoes as he says that, as if doing so might get him closer to get a better look at the wheel.]

And they seriously let people get up in that? Wh- ho- can we go that way? Er, I mean, are we going that way-?

[He doesn't want to disrupt her tour but FERRIS WHEEL...]

Mmm, well… it’s not the way I was originally going to go but um… it is uh… it’s really popular with couples especially so uh… if you want w-we can…

[ She starts fidgeting nervously and ends up putting the board back up.

Yeah.

She clearly wants to go on it too. ]

However… it’s even nicer at night… this one lights all up in a rainbow and the bridge to the mainland is also lit that way too. And all the other city lights… they say it’s really romantic, so um…

W-We could go now or l-later on our way home… i-it’s up to you…

[OH...now he gets it.

Varian smiles, dialing his unbridled enthusiasm back a notch as he shifts his grip on Rina's wrist down to her hand instead.]

Let's save it for later. When it's all lit up, you know?

[ She lowers the board just below her eyes, looking down at his hand in hers before adjusting her hand as well. She nods, lowering the board the rest of the way to reveal a slightly bigger than usual smile. Damn you REALLY made her happy with that, V. ]

O-Okay!

Um… sh-shall we continue on then…?

[Look...after what he'd done to Rina? After what he put her through? He's in the business of making her happy. In as many ways as is possible...he'll do it.

It helps that the things that make her happy make him happy, too.]

Yeah! I'll follow you cause I uh...have nooo idea where I'm going.

Nooo problem. I’ve got this.

[ Still holding his hand she takes a turn right and starts heading away from both the station and the sky wheel, heading down a path through a section of park area. ]

Though… if that’s the way you react to the sky wheel, then I’m really excited to see what you think of our “detour”.

[ Because somehow that WASN’T it. ]

[Rina, you do know this suspense is KILLING him, right?]

Oh boy- just how am I supposed to handle all of these surprises?

[ THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT!!! She just giggles again. ]

Won’t be many more after this, at least~

[ She turns her head a moment and looks out at the Tokyo bay in the near distance. ]

…Have you been liking it here by the way?

[He follows her gaze as she looks, sticking close by but also giving himself a chance to actually observe the scenery without coming unglued like he had with the skywheel.]

Well...it's nothing like Corona, first off. But that isn't a bad thing.

[He toes at a pebble as he passed by it, watching it bounce away into a culvert.]

Japan is so...big. Everything about it is big, and there's so much to see and do...I feel like I could spend several lifetimes here and never actually do it all.

But that's what I like about it. The possibilites are truly endless.

Really? I’d never thought of us that way before… we’re actually a lot smaller compared to other countries. But I suppose in comparison to a place like Corona we would be pretty big…

[ She looks away from the bay and back down at their hands entwined. ]

Hopefully in the future we can experience even more of it together. There’s a lot of places outside of the city I’ve never been but always wanted to go see myself.

I mean, if it helps? Corona felt big to me. I grew in Old Corona, on a farm. I'm probably not the best litmus test for things that are big.

[He snorts, shaking his head a little.]

I'd like that, though. Anywhere you want to go, I'll go with you.

That makes me happy to hear.

[ She smiles a little and squeezes his hand. ]

Not just Japan though. I want to go to all sorts of places in your world, too.

So long as I’m with you, I’d be happy anywhere.

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