open

[testcase]

Who: Ryoko and you!
Where: The Gardens
When: October 15th
Rating: PG
Summary: Ryoko exploring the gardens!
The Story:

Today, Ryoko can be found outside, strolling around the gardens with her notebook open, writing down her observations and notes about it. She thinks she should have had notes on this place, but there's nothing in her book. There's some notes about a flood during a prior event, so maybe they were lost then?

Or maybe she never wrote anything down beyond that the gardens existed. Most of her notes about Wonderland's geography pertain to inside the mansion, so she must've thought this place wasn't important. It had nothing to do with her.

But she did write that she was going to try and not write things off as having nothing to do with her as often as she used to, and yes the note's old, but since she noticed it again today, she's trying to correct what was probably an oversight on her part.

So she'll be spending most of her day out here, this way when she forgets about this place again, she'll at least have her notes to fall back on if she decides to visit this part of the grounds again.

Comments

[testcase]

With no one talking to her, Ryoko had gone back to taking notes, so she's just sort of lost in her notebook while the bear walks up. She hasn't noticed it, it has nothing to do with her at all. So when she looks up? It takes her a moment to kind of process what she's looking at.

Because that sure looks like a bear. And then she looks back down at her notes, and there's nothing about a bear in the gardens. Why would there be a bear in the gardens? That doesn't make any sense. But there sure is a bear. No matter what her notebook says, the absolute truth of things is that there's definitely a bear in the gardens. It might not have anything to do with her, but it's there and nothing she reads will change that.

So this is the part where she starts screaming and running because please don't eat her, she probably doesn't taste good and being eaten by a bear definitely has nothing to do with her.

[hairdont]

It's definitely the screaming that tips Josuke off that something isn't quite right. It doesn't tell him what the issue is immediately, but it doesn't take long for him to look around and realise --

"Where's my bear?!"

Fortunately, it takes him less time to realise he should follow the screaming to find his missing bear, and he breaks into a run. Unfortunately, the bear only gives chase because Ryoko ran away, so in true Wonderland fashion, it's a god damn mess.

"Hey! Hey! Stop!"

[testcase]

"Stop?"

She just runs right past him, not really slowing down, let alone stopping.

"Um, I'd like to but I'm being chased by a bear so I can't stop so long as it's chasing me."

Or unless she forgets she's being chased, but then the bear would catch up and that would be bad. In fact, she'd like for that to not happen at all, so if Josuke looks closely as she runs past, she's actually...writing in her notebook, trying to write down the bear's movements, occasionally looking behind her and writing at the same time.

How she doesn't run into something is anyone's guess.

[hairdont]

Josuke could explain, but that would take precious time and he's not entirely sure the bear won't eat Ryoko. So, he does the natural thing and throws himself between them. With sheer force of Jojo will, the bear stands down after a stand off and sits down on its haunches.

"Don't do that again," he mutters as he scratches the top of the bear's head.

"You can come back, he's not gonna hurt you!"

[testcase]

Wow, Josuke. With animal training skills like that, you'd be a shoo-in for the SHSL Animal Breeder.

“I can?”

She'll look back, while still running and since the bear's stopped, she'll stop.

“Oh good.”

She'll start walking back over towards the bear, relived that whole mess is over. Now she doesn't have to worry about being chased by a bear, or eaten by a bear, or her notebook being eaten by a bear, or any other number of unfortunate bear related fates that could befall her today.

“Thank you for stopping the bear! I'm not sure why there's a bear though. Maybe it's an event.”

Because of course she forgot about her last run in with the bear.

[hairdont]

He's not weird enough to take the title from its current holder.

Now that there's no bear to calm down, Josuke gets a better look at Ryoko and tries to remember where he recognises her from. Not quite yet, but, his brain is working slowly.

"Nah. He's my pet."

Wait. He remembers now.

"Aren't you my neighbour?"

[testcase]

Are you sure, Josuke? Having a pet bear is definitely weird.

"Your neighbor?"

She'll think about that one. What she says next would normally sound like a joke, but she's genuinely confused and unsure about it.

"I don't remember. Am I?"

[hairdont]

It's not like he wanted the pet bear.

Josuke isn't privy to Ryoko's memory issues so he has no idea whatsoever what, exactly, she means by that.

"I think so? Second floor, room... four?"

[testcase]

That doesn't ring any bells, but she'll check her book and sure enough, that's right. After all, her notebook never lies.

"That's right! Sorry, I forgot. Um, I probably knew you had a bear, but I forgot, sorry for running from it like that."

[hairdont]

Well, Josuke definitely notices that. Is it rude to ask why she has to check her notebook? ...He's gonna do it anyway.

"It's okay. I'd run if I was you, too."

How to do this tactfully?

...

Wait. He doesn't know what tact means.

"How come you need that notebook?"

[testcase]

It's okay. She's used to it. Or she would be used to it if she could remember.

"Because without it, I can't remember. I have a condition that makes me forget everything, so I use my notebook to write down anything that seems important."

Like being chased by a bear, for example.

[hairdont]

Josuke frowns because man, that sounds really confusing and annoying for Ryoko. Wheels begin to turn in his head.

"So there's something wrong with your brain?"

Like... something he could fix?

[testcase]

"That's right. I have a neurological condition that keeps my brain from retaining new memories."

Josuke, are you going to punch her brain back to its original ingredients?

[hairdont]

...Okay wow, Josuke has no idea how to respond to that. Because what the hell, that's awful.

"Are you being treated by anyone?"

[testcase]

Give her a second while she checks her notebook to find the answer to that one.

"I have a neurologist back home, but I don't have anyone like that here."

[hairdont]

Josuke frowns, because really? Step up Wonderland. There has to be at least one doctor -- okay, he and Claire don't really count because she's from the past and he isn't actually a doctor -- here who can help.

"What about people with magic?"

[testcase]

Magic, magic, magic. It's Himiko's curse. Let's see, has she written anything about magic?

"Um, I know Wonderland has it, and some people do, but I don't think any of them have offered to help me."

[hairdont]

Josuke can only kind of stare in disbelief, because really? Way to go, Wonderland.

"Really?" He thinks for a moment, and nods. "I might be able to help."

[testcase]

"You might? Are you a doctor?"

Because you don't look like a doctor.

[hairdont]

If she says it's the hair....

"Nnnnno, but I have, uh," well this is awkward. "A gift."

[testcase]

Okay, to be fair, her doctor doesn't really look like a doctor either, but she doesn't remember that.

"A gift?"

And you've lost her Josuke.

[hairdont]

Did he ever really have her in the first place?

"I can help people. Fix them, sorta."

[testcase]

No.

"Fix them how?"

She's curious at least. That's something.

[hairdont]

Didn't think so.

"Are you hurt at all? Besides... your brain thing."

[testcase]

"I don't think so."

She'll check her arms and legs just in case she's forgotten some sort of minor injury. Nope, nothing.

"Am I supposed to be?"

Because if she is, she really has no idea.