I Thought What I'd Do Was... [Open]

[standalonehuman]

When: 2/10 and onwards, night time.
Where: Togusa's office or apartment.

Togusa has been, for lack of a better term, jumpy. Not only is he suffering from the dual-sided effects of whatever this new effect is? But now, he is trying to avoid people. Difficult when he is being driven to be as helpful as possible. But every time he looks up at someone, he will flinch, at first, looking at their face, before he can focus on them.

It's driving him to be even more reclusive at night time, picking his office most often to hole up with his notes. Or sometimes going home to spread out across his coffee table. The extra copy of Catcher In The Rye is always open, nearby, to a specific page.

Part 25: "Just so people didn't know me and I didn't know anybody. I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes."

He needs to talk to James. And to Mariko. But how does he bring this up to Mariko so late? She has her own problems to deal with right now.

Whenever he stops paying attention, a certain image keeps getting doodled onto whatever piece of paper is nearby.

Comments

[standalonehuman]

Hilariously, that idea leads to a personal note. Togusa details that Yoon-Sung the self-proclaimed rich jerk hacker cracked his cyberbrain's security. The resulting prank was a harmless one, but it showed Togusa that he could be hacked. (He follows it up with a note that Yoon-Sung has installed a firewall of his own company's design to prevent this happening again.)

But it's brought up a lot of questions. If the micromachines can send a signal out, someone could track Yamaguchi with them? Can someone send a signal in? And literally change what you see and hear? There is a note of it happening to androids in the other Togusa's world. But only guesses that it could happen to him.

[thesettingsun]

Shuji makes a mental note to punch Yoon-Sung if he ever meets him. That one he's not writing down.

android brain not too different from human brain
signals firing cause feelings and thoughts etc etc
if signals can go out, signals can theoretically go in

signal blockers already exist here
(receptor antagonists I think??)
micromachines just more complicated versions

other togusa vulnerable to hacking + signals
if memory of seeing logo everywhere
then current togusa sees logo everywhere

That seems like a reasonable theory, at least for tonight. Now all he has to do is stick around and make sure Togusa doesn't try to get up and back to work.

[standalonehuman]

As time passes, Togusa settles into a deeper sleep, his body finally winning the fight for rest, sinking into relaxation into the couch. Was it enough that somebody did the work, even if it wasn't Togusa? Perhaps that was one answer.

When Shuji finishes his theory, the book flips itself closed, as if it was just brushed closed by the rush of air from the heater turning on. Togusa lets out a gentle snore shortly after.

Boof. Daisuke's ears are perked up, and he looks between Shuji and the table.

[thesettingsun]

It's a victory that Shuji will take, no matter how weird it was. He doesn't know that this is the correct answer, but it's an answer, and it's put Togusa to bed.

With his note-taking done, Shuji takes the time to give Daisuke some pets. Good boy. Best puppy.

[standalonehuman]

Daisuke is the happiest puppy, rolling into all the attention. Eventually, he will get back up and head towards Togusa's bed, his own favorite sleeping spot, open if Shuji is intent on staying the night.

Normally, Togusa is an early riser, but not the next morning. He stays passed out straight through, past the odd pseudo-eclipse of sunrise, into the morning. Daisuke starts to take action again, going over to the couch to nose at Dad. If I'm hungry, you've got to be hungry, too.

[thesettingsun]

Shuji steals a pillow from Togusa's bed and takes a nap on the floor. It's not the most comfortable place to sleep, and he does wake up earlier than normal, but this way he'll know if Togusa gets up in the middle of the night.

Or if Daisuke tries to get him up. Shuji picks Daisuke up as soon as he can and carries him to the kitchen. He'll feed you breakfast, so don't bother Dad, okay?

...He just has to find the dog food first, but it can't be that hard to locate.

[standalonehuman]

Daisuke lets out a single whine before he is resigned to his fate and dramatically flops into Shuji's arms. It turns out everything is easy to find in Togusa's kitchen, he is as organized here as he is at the office. Daisuke has a whole setup in the corner of the kitchen. Doggie dish and water bowl and a bag of jerky treats on a shelf out of reach. Daidai isn't the most mobile dog, but for those treats? He'd try it.

The cans are easy to find with a doggie food-radar in hand, who stretches out and starts nosing at the pile of dog food tins.

There is plenty for both dog and human, while Togusa stays passed out for a little longer.

[thesettingsun]

"Good boy. Since you helped so much getting Togusa to stay in bed, I'll reward you."

Shuji fills up Daisuke's food bowl first, then gets down one (1) jerky treat and holds it out for him.

"Don't tell Dad I gave you this, okay?"

Not that Daisuke can actually understand him, but still. Shuji will consider him sworn to secrecy.

[standalonehuman]

Boof. Agreed. If he tattles on Shuji then he can't puppy eyes Togusa when he wakes up to get double treats. Daisuke stretches up to lick the treat out of his hand before he starts chewing on it, and both paws come to play with it. Treat first, then breakfast.

[thesettingsun]

Eat the treat first to dispose of the evidence. Solid plan.

With the pup looked after, Shuji returns to the table to wait for Togusa to wake up on his own.

[standalonehuman]

It doesn't take long. Tired as he is, Togusa does still work on a regular schedule. Eventually, one breath is deeper than the last, and Togusa's head rises up off the pillow. What a good sleep, but why is he on the couch? He blinks a few times, confused, before stretching.

Togusa's eyes widen when he sees Shuji. "Shuji. You- you stayed all night?" Concerned, but the smile on his face is very touched.

[thesettingsun]

"Of course I did. Had to make sure you didn't wake up in the middle of the night and try to go back to work. ...Plus your dog would've woken you up early if I didn't feed him."

Dogs truly are some of the most relatable animals.

"I took some notes on your notes, I hope that's okay?"

[standalonehuman]

"Shuji.." Togusa smiles more, and he feels like he can't emphasize this enough. "Thank you." He reaches out a hand towards him, to put on his hand or shoulder. "Anything's okay."

Not everybody would have done this. Another deep breath and Togusa rolls his shoulders out. "Can I at least treat you to breakfast? I feel. Really great. Better than weeks."

[thesettingsun]

Shuji takes Togusa's hand to give it a squeeze. "Breakfast sounds great. No talking about theories and memories until after breakfast, sound good?"

[standalonehuman]

Togusa nods firmly. "Mm. Breakfast first." He stands up to go to the refridgerator, because he is pretty insistent on making breakfast, if Shuji helped him out so much last night.

He grabs a few eggs and some rice, a quick stir fry for breakfast, then sets up the coffee maker. He is followed through the kitchen by a very hopeful Daisuke, staring up at him.

[thesettingsun]

Shuji will allow him to make breakfast by himself, just trailing behind rather than insisting on helping out. He doesn't think Togusa would let him anyway.

"Daisuke was very helpful last night getting you to stay on the couch."

Daisuke is now Shuji's second favorite after Isamu.

[standalonehuman]

Togusa peers down at Daisuke. "Was he now?" Boof! With a happy tail-wag.

"Somebody's going to need a treat, then, if he can wait until after I'm done here."

Daisuke sits down patiently, staying in one spot to watch Togsua putter around the kitchen.

"Coffee or tea? I've got.. a lot of tea." A lot a lot. The top shelf of his cabinet is filled with all different kinds of boxes.

[thesettingsun]

Daisuke is a lucky dog indeed.

"Tea sounds fine. Something green."

There are people who prefer other kinds of teas, and they are wrong.

[standalonehuman]

The same water getting set up for coffee can get repurposed for tea. Togusa grabs down one of the boxes and sets aside a bag for Shuji, before he starts to busy himself at the frying pan.

Cooking doesnt take long, Togusa keeps around a lot of already cooked rice for his breakfasts. He brings out a few mugs (Togusa's favorite, oddly, has a pair of craft googly eyes stuck to the side of it?)

"There we go."

[thesettingsun]

That's clearly the best mug and Togusa has good taste.

"Smells fantastic. I haven't prepared tea for myself for a while..."

Coffee is more convenient, cheaper, etc. etc.

[standalonehuman]

Koutarou’s fault

Togusa smiles gently. "When I have the time, it's a luxury I can enjoy. There's a lovely tea house in the city if you're in the mood for full service and have a lot of time to spend." The owner is no longer with the app, but Togusa still enjoys the place.

Breakfast doesn't take much more time to make, and Togusa sets it out for Shuji. "Go on, dig in."

[thesettingsun]

Even when business owners leave, their businesses are still available - sometimes. If Recolle doesn't merge businesses again.

"Thank you, I will!"

It's delicious, and Shuji ends up finishing off his plate before he knows it.

"...Kind of sad to be finished..."

Because now he actually does have to talk about theories and things that are less fun. But maybe he'll help Togusa calm down a little.

"It's hard to decide where to start, you know?"

[standalonehuman]

Togusa doesn't quite realize how hungry he really was until he has food in front of him, and the plate vanishes faster than he expected. He can wait to clear everything away, though, and when Shuji signals that he's ready to move into business, Togusa sits forwards, wrapping both hands around his coffee mug.

"With any luck, I can actually start to pay attention now." He does look a lot more refreshed with a full night of sleep in him.

"Start at whatever makes sense to you," Togusa suggests. "I'm sure we'll be all over the map eventually." Conversations between the two of them do tend to wander.

[thesettingsun]

They can't keep on the same subject because they're nerds who want to talk about everything.

"So, android brains aren't that different from human brains - neurons firing and sending signals about what you see and hear, it's just transfer of data. Blockers already exist in this world, antagonists that keep your brain from receiving signals, so micromachines are just a more complicated version of that. It's definitely possible to screw with signals and make you see something that isn't there."

"So, if theoretically someone had hacked past Togusa to see that symbol everywhere, then you might see that symbol everywhere. Or, if past Togusa just stressed himself out enough over the case, he might see it everywhere without outside interference." Shuji considers whether to chide Togusa for working too hard, and decides against it.

"If the Laughing Man is the boy in the wheelchair - hiding from society with a disability and putting the hint to it in the Catcher in the Rye quote - then it's completely feasible that he might replace his own face in your perception with the logo - the Laughing Man story has a major theme of masks. Or, it's possible Togusa was hazy those details because he'd associated the Laughing Man with the logo for so long and obsessed over it hard enough that the logo was clearer to him and more important."

"If he kidnapped the micromachine company owner, he would have access to micromachines. He could have used those to monitor past Togusa's partner. If you're monitoring the person who's trying to solve your criminal case, you're much less likely to get caught."

"Salinger's work, especially Catcher in the Rye, has a pretty strong theme of going against society or authority. I don't know how correlated a micromachine company would have been with either of those...?"

Here Shuji pauses to let Togusa fill him in on the details.

[standalonehuman]

Togusa stays sitting with his hands clasped and watches Shuji attentively, every part the obedient student that he has been at many times in his life. He is, for once, quieting his own thoughts, and giving Shuji the same consideration he would Ardyn or any of his other teachers.

He nods along with Shuji's first point. They have already proven that normal things that impact a brain's neuronic functioning still seem to work on Togusa. Anasthesia and painkillers still did their jobs but good in the hospital, and the caffeine he is clinging to with both hands still has the desired effect. It's good of Shuji to point out that there could be an alternate explanation for the symbol's appearance, though, and he hadn't considered the residual stress effect. Something to put in his back pocket for later.

"I am pretty sure that it was an active manipulation. That the Laughing Man was using that logo as a mask, as you said, in line with the story he takes his namesake from, and the story he takes his quote from."

He puts one hand to his chin. "Something doesn't quite add up, though. I'm not saying it's impossible that the boy in the wheelchair is The Laughing Man. But I would like to know how he orchestrated a kidnapping from that state."

Pause. "Unless." Has he forgotten the quote already? "I thought what I'd do was.. pretend." That lights up a realization in his eyes. "It was him! The boy was the Laughing Man! And he was pretending a disability so he could hide! Maybe he'd been hiding there the whole time!"