4th lookup | Text, anonymous

[decideformyself]

To those of you who participated in the Milgram Experiment yesterday in the role of the questioner, I have two questions of my own. Did you choose to shock your partner for any incorrect responses they may have given? And why or why not?


[ Filtered to Yui Kiriyama, not anonymous ]

How are you feeling?

Comments

[decideformyself]

Is it your view, then, that to be deemed "human" a person must be willing to suffer pain to the point of death to save another? [ He's pretty sure that that is Shotaro's view. He just wants to make sure. ]

[tanteiotaku]

Being human is not causing that kind of pain to someone else just because you can. That it ended in me dying was just because of how it was all set up.

[decideformyself]

[ "Empathy" again. What a strange concept. ]

I see.

[tanteiotaku]

I can understand if someone got scared. This is a scary place. But a hard-boiled detective can't let his decision be clouded by fear.

[decideformyself]

A hard-boiled detective makes his decisions through logic and practicality, correct? In which case you don't sound very hard-boiled at all. Your rationalization comes across as, to continue the metaphor, undercooked.

To put it in other words... "half-boiled".

[tanteiotaku]

Dammit, Philip, where the hell are you?

[decideformyself]

[ oops ]

Who's Philip?

[tanteiotaku]

Don't give me that shit. There's no one else that talks like you!

[decideformyself]

You've mistaken me for somebody else.

[ Deliberately swapping his boku out for watashi now, but... otherwise speaking exactly the same. Yes very believable. ]

[tanteiotaku]

Don't bullshit me. Where the hell are you?

[private, non-anonymous]

[decideformyself]

Why do you ask?

Re: [private, non-anonymous]

[tanteiotaku]

You'll find out when I see you.

Re: [private, non-anonymous]

[decideformyself]

[ Sigh. ]

I am in the common room. [ Significantly public enough that he can probably avoid another punch, he figures. ]

Re: [private, non-anonymous]

[tanteiotaku]

[Keep dreaming.]

I'm on my way.

Re: [private, non-anonymous]

[decideformyself]

[ Whatever.

He goes back to the book he's reading -- A History of Videotape -- and decides to wait. ]

[Action]

[tanteiotaku]

Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? [Shouting on his way across the room.]

[Action]

[decideformyself]

[ Philip just rolls his eyes. He doesn't respond, or even look up. ]

Re: [Action]

[tanteiotaku]

[Hobbles his way over to him. Grabs him by the shirt and tugs him up out of the chair.] Just what do you think you're doing?!

Re: [Action]

[decideformyself]

[ He shoves Shotaro away. ]

What does it look like I'm doing, Shotaro?

Re: [Action]

[tanteiotaku]

[Grabs hold of him.] First? You called me half-boiled. Second? You insulted me by doing a piss-poor job of covering yourself after I called you out. That's two insults against not only me, but the Boss too.

Re: [Action]

[decideformyself]

[ He doesn't bother to push away this time. If Shotaro keeps coming at him he'll probably wind up falling flat on his face at some point. ]

Sokichi Narumi has nothing to do with this.

Re: [Action]

[tanteiotaku]

He has everything to do with this! He left his legacy to us. He died saving us. If you're going to push that aside so easily then maybe I did make a mistake in choosing my partner.

Re: [Action]

[decideformyself]

[ There's no mistaking the brief flash of pain that crosses Philip's face when Shotaro says that.

He's not sure when he became so attached to Shotaro, but if it weren't for Shotaro he'd have basically nobody. A few acquaintances here and there, sure, but they aren't the same. Shotaro is the one who saved him. ]

And am I to believe that you're all right with the fact that he's dead, Shotaro?

Re: [Action]

[tanteiotaku]

Like hell I am! I get to see that night again and again every time I go to sleep! I get to watch myself make the same stupid decision every single time! [And all that hot anger fades, he lets go of Philip and his arm drops to his side.]

Re: [Action]

[decideformyself]

[ He takes a step backward. ]

Your reasoning is not without merit. After I accidentally took a shock meant for Yui Kiriyama, I became unsure of whether I could inflict that pain on her again. But all the same, Shotaro, I...