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Holy, Virtuous, Melancholic Melody (Open)
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 21, 2016 4:24:19 GMT
Dissonant, hollow breaths of a wind instrument had invaded Rick's dreams an unknowable time ago. The discord of the melody had lead him through the realm of sleep and into what seemed like Heaven, albeit an incredulously advanced one. After some time of wandering, the tamer found that his memories were too lucid and time was too rigid for this to be, in fact, a sort of dream. By this time, he had already picked up the basics of his residence in attempts to challenge his mind to construct an elaborate reality - this was the Digital World, the dimension lying between the binary. What he had assumed was his mind's attempt at an index of this world in replacement of a phone was also revealed to be a Digivice, an instrument whose inner machinations escaped his knowledge (Rick had met a few others with similar devices, though his was different than theirs, more angular and defined. The more experienced ones ignored him, always saying something like "figure it out" or "find your own way". Also, he was apparently supposed to partner with one of the apparitions around him, but Rick simply refused to). Still, he was able to discover some basic functions, at least. Annoyingly, though, sometimes when he walked around the city, the haunting melody that brought him here would play from the device, but he couldn't figure out the trigger or source. He tried to avoid certain areas or expose himself especially to others, in order to see if it was geographically aligned, but so far its playing and duration seemed random.
Rick had taken a day-care job, looking after a flock of Moonmon for six or seven hours each day in return for some local currency, a bed, and two meals at the end of each shift. He found there were ways to return to the waking world, but honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to (not to mention that those paths were expensive), at least not yet. It was a rare opportunity for exploration, and isolation wasn't exactly a temptation he wished to return to. Here, it was easier to not be as introverted because... well, he didn't have a choice. It was that or starve.
After a particularly boring day of babysitting, Rick was out exploring another section of town when the melody began playing again. In frustration, he drew the Loader and looked at the screen, which was a dead-looking black, but the sound playing from it was alive and vibrant. He looked around for environmental factors. Nothing. Just the same calm, peaceful city with a quiet that seemed to laugh at his ignorance. He looked to the sky in frustration... and...
Rick felt so dumb. He always looked around, but never upwards. A faun-looking digimon was sitting atop one of the buildings ahead, playing away at a pipe. Though it was too far for him to hear directly, each breath matched the tempo playing out of Rick's Loader. Apparently, that was supposed to be his partner, if anything the tamers from before said was accurate. Reserved, he put away his Loader and thought about his course of action.
Did I even want a partner? If I'm not leaving, I might want to make an alliance in order to provide protection for myself if I'm ever to explore outside of the city.
Rick was disappointed that the digimon ahead had no wings or flying apparatus. If he did leave, he would have to turn over most of his savings to take a lift downwards. Awesome.
Just as the thought to move crossed Rick's mind, Aegiomon's eyes met his own and it jumped from its perch, landing gracefully onto the ground and reaching the chubby human within a few long strides.
"You're pretty slow, huh? Took you long enough to notice me." The satyr spoke with impatience but an almost light-hearted tone.
Stunned, it took Rick a moment to react. "Sorry. I didn't know anyone was waiting for me." He said matter-of-fact-ly. Aegiomon closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in a dismissing way, turned, and began to walk. Only a look backwards met with a quizzical look unfroze Rick and prompted his movements.
"I'm Aegiomon. Call me Gio."
"Rick. Rick Sandlow."
That was the end of talking for a long time. Finally, they reached what Rick had come to know as the Town's Square, and the awkward union was completed by a demand.
"Buy me some food, Rick. I'm starving."
Reluctantly, they took a seat in an open-area cafe and ordered something to eat. When Gio's came, though, the digimon rudely spit it out and pushed the plate to the floor, loudly breaking it.
"As someone who will pretty much eat anything, this soup is AWFUL. Not only is it cold, but it's chunky - I shouldn't have to chew my damn soup!"
Tension shot through Rick's muscles. Not only had Gio's loud mouth drawn severely unwanted attention to Rick, but a small storm cloud of worry began to form in his mind. He had seen how delinquency was handled here.
"Aegiomon, calm down! You know how they treat crime here, and I'm pretty sure you can't just break pla-"
"THIS FOOD IS THE ONLY CRIMINAL THING HERE." The digimon interrupted Rick's warning and yelled right over it, stomping his ambition to be unnoticed. Everyone in the square had the chance to look at the Digimon storming out without paying. Placing an appropriate amount of money and a gracious tip on the table, Rick hoped that would be enough to satiate the law. Capital punishment here was commonplace.
Rick caught up with Gio, who kept going on about the awful food and causing the human to shrink in anxiety. He hoped the digimon would calm down before anyone took special interest..
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0 
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 21, 2016 6:08:37 GMT
Luminas, huh? What an interesting place to be. No trace of taint or disorder in the city, almost as if it were... bleached, for the lack of a better word. Even without memories, Haley could sense that this place was probably among the most eerie she had been too, and that was kinda... distressing, in all honesty. She knew she was probably safe in this place, but the price of that safety seemed to be being forced every and all the norms of this place to the last comma.
It was creepy, and while this place gave her a bad feeling, at least she wanted to get through a good portion of it before departing. Otherwise coming to this place would've been kind of in vain; not to say slightly cowardly. Anyhow...
The city was as bland as it could be, really. Probably there wasn't anything of significance for her due to the place's sheer ability to inflict the most crippling boredom in her. A waste of time... and it'd probably be better if she just were on her way out of this place.
At least, until a certain event piqued her attention; a digimon ranting about something while a human nervously followed. Were they newbies? Causing a ruckus in this place was probably as ill-advised as it could.
And that sounded like lots of fun, to be honest. She had to check that out.
Approaching the human, she asked him the most simple of questions, even though she was really blunt about it. Not like they looked like they'd mind, though..
"So... what made him angry? He looked pretty pissed off." She made a pause, realizing the obvious right after. "Oh, by the way. Name's Haley; pleased to meet you."
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 21, 2016 7:29:31 GMT
When he heard the voice, Rick had the initial thought of Ugh, someone noticed.
When he saw Haley, though, his already slightly rosy cheeks morphed into a brighter shade as the idea evolved into Christ, a girl?! Ricky was not the best at dealing with members of the opposite sex. He had a couple of girlfriends in the past, but he was never able to emotionally connect to them (or anyone, at that), so he was distressed at the challenge, especially with Aegiomon causing such a scene. Out of reflex and embarrassment, he clasped his hands over the Digimon's mouth and muffled his cries.
"Sorry, he didn't like his lunch. And I'm Rick-OW!" Pain pushed it's way into Rick's senses as he felt Gio sink his teeth into his hand, pulling the tender flesh away as the Digimon huffed in annoyance. At least he had stopped the insufferable ranting of the faun. And the pain seemed to distract him from the normal, crippling anxiety.
"And I'm Aegiomon!" The digimon exclaimed, beating his chest proudly, as if trying to impress any onlookers (much to the dismay of Rick).
"Will you be quiet? I'm pretty sure you're disturbing the peace." The words came out as little more than a mumble, but those near him could hear Rick's plea.
...! (Lightbulb Dings)
"Hey, Haley," Rick fished out his Loader and presented it ", are you a Tamer, too? The few other humans I've encountered haven't been as helpful as I would like, honestly. I was hoping you could help me understand this Digivice's functions, and maybe their purpose? This thing kind of just, I don't know, showed up when I got here. All I can get it to do is light up, and for some reason broadcast Gio's music." With any luck, Rick would be able to learn a bit more about the Digital World and feed some of his curiosity. It was tortuous to feel useless, but he was far too wary to leave Heaven when he was unsure how to combat potential demons below. Sure, he had Aegiomon, but the human doubted the partnership would last. They were already tense and almost sick of eachother, and they had literally just met!
Suddenly, Rick felt imposing. A feeling he usually didn't experience, due to never imposing anything on anyone, not even a half-decent impression. Plus, the eyes on him began to burn holes through his body.
"Do you mind if we go somewhere else to talk, though? I can buy you some lunch if you're hungry, I didn't really have a chance to eat bec-"
Aegiomon wound up and took a light swing at Rick, landing a solid hit on his face. The human was knocked onto his behind, and a dull pain radiated from his rump. Rick was hurt and confused, but didn't verbally contest Aegiomon. The little goat-guy hits pretty hard, as it turned out.
"Because the food was garbage, so pick somewhere swanky, alright?" A toothy, honest smile came from the God Man Digimon, anticipating a delicious-sounding response.
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 21, 2016 18:38:50 GMT
Flustered, huh? The girl wasn't entirely sure of it, but she had the vague idea that this kind of reaction from a grownup was probably... overdoing it a bit? Oh, well. Nothing that a smile and some teasing works couldn't fix.
"No need to react that way, really! I'm totally~ harmless. Well, I think I am, at least:"
She giggled a bit at how Rick-OW got bitten by what Haley assumed was his partner. The two seemed to be a fun duo, even if the goatboy seemed to be a bit of a troublemaker, as he soon confirmed.
"You two look like you have a lot of fun together. Even if this place isn't the most adequate to have fun. At least as I've seen thus far."
Rick's question took her a bit off-guard, in all honesty. Was she a tamer? In all honesty, she had no idea.
"Well, I like to think I am. My partners kinda... haven't hatched yet, so there's that and..." She made an awkward pause, because... "I'm not sure if I'll be of much help, since I'm probably newer than you on this regard, but I'll be glad to help. It's not like I'm completely ignorant, but I'm far from an expert, so maybe we can figure this out between us? If not, we can always search for somebody more experienced than us. This... doesn't seem to be the best place to do that, though."
If he was fine with that, sure, she'd accept his invitation. Not like free food was something she'd refuse.
"Sure. Just pick the place; fine with anything, really! In fact, feel free to lead the way."
To be honest, she didn't know how to react to the Aegiomon's aggressive demand, but guessed that that also depended on how Rick himself would. Such a unique pair.
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 21, 2016 21:56:10 GMT
Part of Rick wish he could have redacted his invitation, but he understood that this part of him was being selfish. Haley apparently wouldn't be as big of a help as Rick would have prefered, but what's done was done. Without answering Aegiomon, the human stood and began to walk to a nearby Italian-Themed restaurant (who knew they had stuff like this in the Digital World??), particularly because it was an indoors establishment and the owners were most likely to have missed the scene before. Haley would be prompted to follow by Gio looking at her with eyes that seemed to say 'hurry along now', as if the goat would favor the role of shepherd.
Taking a seat regardless of who accompanied him, Rick ordered some pasta with white sauce and some bread for the table. In the much calmer atmosphere, he was able to collect his thoughts and think them more clearly. He now realized that Haley was probably younger than he assumed at first glance, after hearing her voice and dwelling a bit more on her features. His fluster was replaced by shame, thinking himself stupid for even feeling flustered in the first place. She was just a child! How could he have mistaken her for an imposing female?
Looking over at Aegiomon, Rick realized that his mind had been a bit occupied during her arrival. He would wait patiently for the rest of his companions to order, if any had followed. If Haley accompanied him, Rick would follow up.
"So, uh, how long have you been here, in the.. Digital World?"
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 21, 2016 23:37:15 GMT
Italian food, huh? That seemed to be kind of a nice choice on Rick's part. Haley didn't recognize the place, but if its front gave any clue about the quality of its food, it probably was pretty good. Well, hopefuly it'd be.
She didn't need the digimon's gaze to follow suit, pretty happy to be treated food by someone she had just met and that seemed friendly enough. Why he seemed to be so bossy? No idea, but that attitude would probably not bring him anywhere unless he could also back it when he got called out for it.
Entering, finding Rick's table and sitting across him, her dish of choice was spaghetti with parisienne sauce and some water. She wasn't all that confident on the drinks that'd be served in this place. Or in the Digital World at all, to be honest.
His question was a bit expected. How helpful she'd be perceived was probably directly correlated to how much time she had spent in this world.
"To be honest? I have no idea." She answered naturally, not bothering to mask the truth. "I kiii~nda lost my memory recently, so I'm not sure how much time I've spent in this place, but at least I can tell you that It's been like... two or so days since I woke up without memories? So that's the minimum."
She made a pause, before returning his question.
"What about you? How long have you been in this world, and in this city in particular? I arrived here today, and I gotta say that judging by your partner's attitude, he seems to be rather new... or unruly."
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 22, 2016 1:49:18 GMT
As Aegiomon munched away at some ravioli, Rick listened carefully and sighed when she was finished.
"Amnesia? That's an odd condition, but I guess anything's possible in a world like this. Speaking of, what exactly do you remember? The human world, your past, or.. is it just a blank?"
Rick actually knew a bit about amnesic individuals, having knowing a friend in his childhood who fell down some stairs and hit her head and another he met on a theater trip. Both could remember objects and their purpose (they could even drive), but had no memories concerning relationships with friends or family met after a certain point. He wondered if Haley's amnesia was different in some way, and where the cut-off point was (if she had one). She might not even remember the human world at all.
Taking a drink of the bubbly liquid he ordered, which was kind of similar to soda, Rick took a napkin and wiped his mouth clean. Even though he was hungry, it was hard to focus on the sensation while his curiosity was burning wildly. Embarrassment returned as he realized his own curiosity had shrouded the questions she had posed to him.
"Oh, uh, I've been here in the city for a couple of months. I kind of just woke up here, honestly. And I met Aegiomon here minutes before I met you."
A satisfied sigh came from the Digimon in question, followed by a loud belch.
"Even though I was trying to get his attention for months. I think this one's a little dumb, my dear Halo." The digimon said the pet name through his teeth as he began to pick out some food that got caught in his gums.
Ricky shot Haley an apologetic look for the crass behavior, and awaited a response.
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 22, 2016 7:48:09 GMT
What she remembered... Haley couldn't but stare at Rick somewhat intently as she thought about that question. A difficult one.
"Well... I kinda remember some places I think I've been, but those are mostly blurry images, and I can't exactly nail where they really are. I also seem to remember random bits of information every now and then, but... that's all. I don't know where I come from, or any specific memory about my past; heck, not even general ones. I don't know if I should be worried about that or not, but... I guess I'll eventually figure that out. Who knows, maybe my partners will know something about it when they get to hatch; hopefully."
Some clarity would be nice. Or at least a clue of who she was; but that was a matter for another time. For now, she happily ate some of the dish she had been served. It was pretty good, she had to admit.
She couldn't deny that she was surprised when Rick told her that he had been in this place for months, though. She'd have probably been bored to death after the first week in this place.
"Two months?" She parroted after cleaning her mouth, befuddlement obvious on her face. "I don't know how you survived this place for two months. It's just mind-numbingly boring."
Aegiomon's comment just made her giggle and shrug towards the teenager's apologetic look. He undoubtedly was a piece of work.
"Any reason why you remained in this place, though? Two months is a lot, so I guess you must have a plan or something? What is it? Exploring the world? Going to an adventure? I'm sure it'll be pretty great!"
Or at least that's what she hoped.
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 22, 2016 22:45:33 GMT
Rick looked at the fugued girls face and felt a tear of pity. Her situation was definitely scary, being in a different world while being so young and without any memories to find solace in. Or maybe it wasn't - this was all she knew, so maybe it was just... odd. Finishing his food (he was a bit of a fast eater), he left some on his plate out of habit from living in Japan. Back in the states he would just scarf down whatever he could quickly, mainly because he was always on the road.
Then, he thought about her statements and questions.
"Well, the boringness is safe and predictable. As long as you follow the law, I figure you're as safe here than you could be. Everyone's to afraid to violate, ya know? I have a job taking care of Moonmon, and that makes me pretty happy. I love kids." Rick couldn't help but smile thinking about all the trouble those little rascals got into. They called it a day-care, but it was really an orphanage. Rick had actually made pretty good friends with Mama Babamon, and valued her company. Looking at Aegiomon, the human sighed.
"With him showing up, though.. who knows?"
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 23, 2016 2:33:41 GMT
Getting through some of her food, Haley thought a bit about Rick's situation, and concluded that it didn't make much sense. Safe and predictable? She wasn't no expert, but she was pretty sure that those words weren't the best ones to describe this world. At least when compared to the Human World. Once finished, she addressed him.
"Why are you in this place, if it isn't because you want to go on an adventure, then? That's a first timer for me, at least. Not an expert, and definitely not right now, but I'm pretty sure that the you'd be safer on the other world. Unless you have another reason, that is."
Whether his current lifestyle would change or not was a question. However...
"There's only one way to find out, I think." She looked at the Aegiomon too before her own question. "I guess you have at the very least a plan to make your partner go through, right? Mind sharing the details?"
It wasn't hard to guess that the digimon would be the one in charge of this relationship, in all honesty. Unless Rick went through a radical change on his personality, that seemed to be the most obvious conclusion. Hopefully the goat guy wouldn't turn to be too abusive, though. Rick seemed to be a good person.
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 23, 2016 23:24:01 GMT
Did she just have a breakthrough in her amnesia?
Rick pondered this while she described the safety of the other world.
I thought she didn't know where she came from?
The young man slouched in his chair, a habit that had impacted his posture somewhat. He sat there, unsure how to respond with anything but silence. He had no idea why he hadn't at least started to find out if there was a way home, and she made it sound like it was easily done. But then again, he couldn't really call her memory reliable.
After maybe a moments too long of Rick's silence, Aegiomon spoke.
"Plan?"
The goat munched on some bread for an obnoxiously long time, and made an exaggerated swallow.
"We're gonna do big, big things, trust me." The satyr lied through his teeth. He had truthfully never really thought of a plan, or even what it meant to be a Tamer's partner. He just thought it would be fun to mess with the guy by playing on his flute, and when Rick finally looked up, the words just felt right. But he wouldn't like like a mook in front of this broad, no way, gov'.
"You know, Herc here is still pretty cowardly." Aegiomon pointed to Rick, and then stuck his thumb to his chest. "But I'm gonna make him a hero." The goat boy made his best efforts to look cool and impressive by sticking his chest out and making a very serious face.
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 24, 2016 4:23:17 GMT
Haley took Aegiomon's words with a grain of salt. Big things sounded awfully general and unspecific. But who was she to call him for that. He boasted at any chance he had anyway.
"Sounds like a carefully though plan." She said with a smirk. "I'll look forward to the big things you'll do. Especially once you train 'herc'."
Who, so he thought of himself as the second coming of Phil. That was a fun thought, in all honesty. But who knew, maybe Aegiomon's "training" would work and Rick become someone more... direct? Bold? Hopefully they'd be good qualities and not bad ones. Anyhow...
"So, you said you needed help on stuff, right?" The redhead asked again. "You're free to ask me. Who knows. Maybe I'll suddenly remember something at your questions. That'd be pretty great, to be honest. Otherwise, we can just kinda chat about whatever, or I can just left if I'm bothering you. Yooour choice, really!"
This conversation wasn't really going anywhere, so she just figured she'd go straight to the point. Or something; she kinda wanted to know what were Rick's intentions or... Aegiomons. Even if Aegiomon seemed to be really easy to predict. His behavior seemed to be too basic.
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 24, 2016 6:09:34 GMT
The restaurant was beginning to feel too constricting to stay, but RIck pressed on.
"Well, you know, anything would be helpful, honestly.Where is this place, for starters? Why does it exists? It's called the 'Digital World' - are we data? Is this like a virtual reality simulator, and if so, do we age? Do we even need to eat?"
These questions and more had been drilling away at Rick lately. How did this whole thing come to be, and to what end? He felt like eyes were always on him, like he was a competitor in a gladiator's match. Is that why other Tamers were so harsh towards him - keeping the enemy in the dark? They might have not been able to be as aggressive as they normally would have been outside the City. This was one of the reasons Rick had been weary to relocate.
He also wasn't sure how to respond to Aegiomon's declaration. All of a sudden, Rick was supposed to be some sort of Hercules? The teenager definitely didn't feel like hero material, that was for sure. And why?
The goat was becoming increasingly suspicious. All the while, though, he sat there with a look in his eyes. It was almost like a fire burning, or a spiral unraveling. Plots were forming like worry in the faun, undoubtedly.
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Mana
In-Training
Posts: 0
OOC Name: Yuu
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Post by Mana on Oct 24, 2016 15:05:50 GMT
Rick's questions were interesting, to say the least, and while Haley didn't have all the answers, at least she could answer some of them.
"Helpful is kind of a big word, but let's see..." Thinking a bit, she proceeded. "This should be the Empyrean Skies, one of the many areas of the Digital World; as to why it exists, what's the point on that question? A world exists because it exists; unless you've asked yourself why Planet Earth exists too, that's kinda pointless. No idea about that last question, though. I just know that Digimons are made of data, even though they're surprisingly... advanced, as you can see."
Shrugging lightly, she had expected way more different questions, to be honest. Metaphysics weren't one of her strong pointes; well, she really saw then as an utter waste of time and effort.
"As to why we are here, I think that's way more interesting as a question. Getting dragged into a parallel world is an... amazing experience, for the lack of a better word. Being linked with another being that lives here is also really interesting, despite the goals of that partnership being unclear. Well, at least for me; Aegiomon seems to be really hyped to do stuff with you. That's awesome, isn't it?"
She couldn't resist that harmless joke. Rick and Aegiomon were an interesting pair, and she couldn't but wonder how they'd look in a month or two.
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Post by smileybomber on Oct 24, 2016 21:58:19 GMT
That was just it - Rick DID think about the purpose of the 'other world's' creation. Seems like he was stuck in between two universes of entropic natures, or maybe that nature was his own. He would have sighed, but the last thing Haley said actually made him laugh a bit.
"Ha! If I could trust him." He responded, smiling lightly. Then, he caught himself. It had been a while since he had a reflexive smile: normally, he smiled out of habit or to make others feel at ease. It was nice to have it just... come to him.
But Rick looked at the apparently-determined satyr, becoming increasingly at unrest when he thought about the look in the Digimon's eyes.
"You don't have to trust me, you just have to believe in me." Aegiomon said, standing and moving quickly towards the exit. Rick instantly felt a bit bad; the goat-boy looked wounded. But he didn't really want to chase after him again. That dance was already getting tiring.
"Wow, he's more sensitive than he appears, huh?"
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