Private communications

[foolishjustice]

Moshi moshi!

Comments

[makejapangreat]

[Shido stops dead in his tracks at those words and at the tone of his voice, and he looks around and stares for a moment at his son...

His son, who... actually... seems to be disappointed that Shido's leaving prematurely?

He blinks a couple of times, then turns to face him fully.]

I... didn't expect you'd want to.

[foolishjustice]

I'm...a little torn, but, well...

[He tugs awkwardly at his bangs with one hand.]

We do have a lot of lost time.

[makejapangreat]

[Here's something you've never seen in all your years of knowing your father, Goro.

Shido's eyes lighting up like it's Christmas.]

Of course! Of course. [It seems he's trying to rein himself in a bit, but isn't... completely succeeding? In fact, he's smiling and... honestly just seems... really happy?]

Is there anything in particular you had in mind?

[foolishjustice]

[It's a strange sight, but...not necessarily in a bad way?]

Well, at your age, I doubt you even know what a video game is...we do have some board games around, though.

[makejapangreat]

[A slight scoff.] ... you'd be surprised. [Something flickers in his eyes... perhaps just a hint of... pain? The smirk he gives is a touch wry.] Though it has been a long, long time since I last played.

[foolishjustice]

[Blink. Blink. Good call on him being surprised, Shido.]

I wouldn't have even thought you'd be the type to have been interested in them.

[makejapangreat]

[The reaction is immediate... Here's another new for you, Goro: Shido suddenly blushing to his ears and nearly down his neck... The look in his eyes is... almost vulnerable? He opens his mouth for a moment, then closes it, and his brow pinches in frustration as he looks away...

For fuck's sake, he's not an awkward, bumbling teenager anymore...]

[foolishjustice]

[He blinks again, just at how...surreal it is, seeing Shido looking ashamed of something. But. Well. It's not like he doesn't understand being embarrassed by your own hobbies...]

I'm not judging you for it, I just...well, I guess I'm so used to you being so absorbed in practical things, I never even thought about you having hobbies to begin with.

[makejapangreat]

[... well, surprisingly, that reassurance actually goes a long way in calming him? He takes a deep breath, though, honestly... Goro was the one to suggest it in the first place, so why...

He holds a blink for a moment and shakes his head, shakes himself out of the past and back into the present, before he looks to Goro... and that wry smirk is back.]

... shocking, I know, that at one point I was actually more man than machine.

[foolishjustice]

Well...I do have some video games here that are good for venting stress.

...There's also the dancing game upstairs, but I think you'd be at an unfair disadvantage with how long you've spent chained to your desk.

[makejapangreat]

[A scoff as he crosses his arms!] I'll have you know that I've been working on my stamina since I arrived here. [He glances away.] ... not that that wouldn't make look utterly ridiculous attempting a game like that.

[foolishjustice]

And, honestly, I'm feeling a bit too sluggish for it right now. But, I do have an old fashioned platformer you might at least recognize the style of.

[makejapangreat]

In that case, lead the way.

[Even the embarrassment wasn't quite enough to dispel the joy he feels from spending time with his son... from knowing his son wants to spend leisure time with him.

This... is so, so much more than he ever dreamed. How is it that he had such an incredible kid right next to him all this time, and he never even realized it...?]

[foolishjustice]

I usually play video games in the annex, since the androids added the A/V room.

[And off he goes...spreading his wings a little as his feet lift a few inches off the ground.]

[makejapangreat]

[... ah, well, hm. He certainly is just. Floating along, isn't he... that's fine, he's just.. going to awkwardly keep a bit of distance from Goro.]

And what do you normally play?

[foolishjustice]

...Back home, mostly slightly older games. I don't really have the budget for new releases, and I don't have a lot of time to play, in the first place.

Here, it's whatever I can find. I was playing a particularly long RPG, but I finally beat that a little while ago.

[makejapangreat]

"RPG"?

[foolishjustice]

Ah...right, those weren't really common back then, were they? It's short for role playing game. They're video games that have fully fleshed out worlds, and you play through a storyline with a specific character or group of characters.

[makejapangreat]

Interesting. Like an interactive movie.

[foolishjustice]

Mhm. Only better in some ways, because you can interact with the setting in contexts a movie would leave out as not important to the main characters or the plot. They can also tell longer stories, because they're designed for players to take breaks between scenes, rather than sitting through the entire thing at once.

[makejapangreat]

I see, so there's much more detail to be discovered, if you so choose it. You only need find it.