pc catchall | superhell | four

[engineers]

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week 0, tuesday

[engineers]

[ good afternoon four!!

lu bixing is in the common area of the dorm this fine day, with... a giant stack of books. when he realizes someone else is there, though, he perks up - and offers four a genuine, warm smile. ]

Hello, Four! How's the new space treating you so far?

[forefall]

[ this catchall image hurts me.

four returns the smile although it's a big more restrained. ]

Hello. I'm slowly adapting. I'm not used to most of the things offered to us.

[ outside of how things are out of her time, hell quality is hell.

she moves closer to the books. ]

I see you've taken a great number of books.

[engineers]

[ uwu*

that's good to hear, at least - four looks better than the last time lu bixing saw her, which was! screaming! so this is impressive. he makes no effort to hide, even letting her see his pile of books.

they look to be mostly textbooks - the ones that have been graffiti'd on. that doesn't seem to stop him, though: there's great works of english literature, there's instructional analytical chemistry, a magical introduction to spells, there's a historical treaty on the eden system by lu bixing set to the side away from the others... and a couple of books, including king bileygr, which is in front of him currently. ]

And I have! No better way to pass the time, I think, than reading.

[ he pats the chair nearby! come, come sit! ] And this place is strange in so many ways, isn't it?

week 0, friday

[engineers]

[ on this fine friday morning (?) lu bixing is hurrying around good ol hell with a Purpose - and in fact, when he spots four, he looks a little relieved. ]

Four - good, you're okay. [ fussy... ] Did you see the message this morning, too?

[forefall]

[ four is visibly distressed. She didn't think you can get murdered if you're already murdered. ]

It could be some silly but terrible joke message, right? Poor demon or Hell humor in bad taste?

[engineers]

[ GIRL SAME!!!!! ]

It could be, but - I don't know, I looked for him and haven't found him anywhere, and, then, with everything strange that happened last night...

[ weh. he looks her over just to be sure, fussy. ] Was there fire for you last night, too? You aren't hurt or anything, are you?

week 0, saturday

[forefall]

[ four is sitting somewhere lbx will go, looking something between incensed and pitiful. she's holding her head in her hands before lets go to punch the ground.

she lifts her head. ]

He only made things worse.

Re: week 0, saturday

[engineers]

[ oh, four. :( lu bixing comes to sit down beside her, basically immediately. ]

...He did. [ his voice is soft, brows knit together. ] It was like gasoline on a fire, what he said at the end.

[forefall]

[ she's trying so hard to repress her nervous energy. ]

It almost guarantees someone will try what he did, doesn't it? Most people want their lives back.

week 1, tuesday

[forefall]

[ four has realized by this point that there is something wrong happening this week, and her emotions aren't exactly as under control as she's used to.

that's why, the moment she sees lu bixing, she does a heel turn and tries to walk away.

(aki voice) fastly. ]

[engineers]

[ HELP THIS MADE ME CHOKE ON MY COFFEE

lu bixing is minding his business drinking shitty d*nkin donuts coffee this fine morning when he sees four. he opens his mouth to say hi, raises his hand

and then watches her turn away

hello ]

... Uh, Four...?

[forefall]

[ she raises her hand even as she keeps walking fastly away. ]

It's nice to see you today, but I remembered I have something to attend to. Please excuse me.

week 1, thursday

[forefall]

[ hello, cyoa returns are so worrying?? four is going to run and look for him after a moment. ]

Lu Bixing!

[ she's distraught. ]

Are you all right?

[engineers]

[ hello sweet baby. it doesn't take her long! he's just kind of sitting in the common room, king bileygr sitting on his chest, eyes closed and head reclined back. but!! when four calls his name, he sits up, and looks at her - and gives her a smile, gentle. ]

Hi, Four. I'm okay.

[forefall]

[ she crouches by the couch or wherever he decided to recline, so he doesn't have to look up. ]

Are you? [ the look she gives him is (unsure). sounds like something he would say because he's him. ] It did look like you were luckier than the others. Was whatever happened hellish?

week 1, friday

[forefall]

[ much like he was yesterday, four's sitting in the common room. her knees are up, and her arms are hugging them. ]

Is the same thing going to happen again?

[ she's doing a bad job of hiding her distress at the thought. ]

[engineers]

[ it has been a very, very rough couple of days. lu bixing sees four when he comes back in - when she calls out to him, and after a moment, makes his way over and sits down beside her on the couch without any hesitation.

right now, four needs him, and right now, he'll be there. still, there's a soft sort of sadness on his face, the empathetic worry and concern that comes from the heart.]

I think it's likely. [ which is the worst. ] ...I don't know. I wish we could solve it, and not jump to the extremes of Sunday. I want to know what happened to her, but not with any of the dog and pony shows.

[forefall]

[ she sees his sadness, and her brows furrow. he really does care so much, doesn't he?

she stifles a sigh. ]

It's quite the spectacle, isn't it? Too much work for so little gain.... I'd like to do away with it, too. [ she shifts to face him a bit more ] I'm sorry, Lu Bixing. You usually had her book with you, didn't you?

week 1, saturday.

[engineers]

[ looking at my own pc image and just feeling so much rage

anyway. it doesn't take too long for lu bixing to come find four. he shuts the door to Jail quietly, letting it click shut behind him, and when he comes in, even despite everything, he still has a small, tired smile for her, voice soft. ]

...Hi, Four.

[forefall]

[ so sorry your daughter is a murderer, lbx. she has no smiles despite laughing however long ago. she's seated on the bed in the cell. ]

Hello.

[ her voice could make paint peel. ]

[engineers]

[ this is fine. he doesn't seem too bothered - if he is, he sure as hell doesn't show it. but, he just comes and sits down cross legged in front of the bars. ]

... I know you don't believe it. But I want to listen to you.

week 7, monday

[forefall]

[ she isn't really looking for anyone she hasn't seen in weeks, but lu bixing is embarrassing and her luck dictates that she'll run into him sooner or later, so when she does end up seeing him, she just stands there.

:person_standing: and hoping that now that everyone is out of baby hell that voice messages go out into the void and aren't delivered.

lu bixing has ten seconds to notice her before she runs away. ]

[engineers]

[ thank god because uh he's looking for four like, immediately. like right away!! the first deda he is looking for!!!

and when he sees her, lu bixing makes this soft, sharp, surprised noise, and - ] Four!

[ sorry he's HURRYING over. could he always move that fast? it's fine, don't worry about it. the expression on bixing's face could be best described as achingly relieved and gentle and happy, all at once, as he hurries through the crowd. he's also at least 40% worried she's going to run away. ]

week 7, sat

[engineers]

[ what a day

after the party's cleared out, lu bixing sort of disappears, but it's not really on purpose. it's because he's gone to work, and that becomes blatantly obvious if four happens to pass by the home biome at any time, mainly because it's a cute little house, today! with a white picket fence and a sign over the door that says the home of engineer 001 and commander lin and a bunch of other silly things, including two robots that quite literally do a little dance when she approaches.

the door's open, though, and it becomes obvious that bixing is there. there are like. fifteen computer screens projecting from his personal device, and he is working, fingers flying over a keyboard, occasionally mumbling to himself and switching to a stylus pen and drawing something out on schematics. there's an energy drink on the table.

Work Mode TM ]

[forefall]

[ even as she's slowly become more modern and learned about so many modern things, this is almost a culture shock in more than one way. the robots, the picturesque home with too many screens.

she treads slowly. it's hard for her to take it in in some ways. how peaceful it looks, how peaceful he looks at work.

just how peaceful it seems in general. ]

.... Can you be interrupted?

[ it's asked so quietly, as if she doesn't belong. ]