Chapter 158 vs. Chapter 298
“I am under no illusions that I could ever beat you on my own.”
(don’t mind me going insane under the cut)
ugh there’s two big things that make me crazy about this and
1 is the surface level of just how yamaguchi’s individual growth keeps going even after the seijoh 2 match—when he gets those run of points and it becomes clear to us that his hard work has paid off—but it doesn’t just stop there! the first panels here are from the shiratorizawa match, the next match after seijoh 2, and i love this bc it’s another example of haikyuu saying “hey so that thing you wanted, you worked hard, you earned it, celebrate!” but then going on to ask “okay so what do we work for next?” and for yamaguchi he’s gone from ‘i just want to be on the court with them’ (deciding to learn jump floats) to ‘i wish i could get my body to listen to me the way theirs seem to’ (failing in siejoh 1 and doubling down during tokyo training camp) to the first panels here ‘i want to contribute/add value to the team’ to then finally the panels from the nekoma match where he can do more than just help, now it’s ‘i want all those things and more. i’m going to get these points with the team and for the team, all with my serve.’ and he DOES! like the GROWTH in his confidence!! aahh
and 2!! this is where i start to really lose it lmao, is his inspiration for all of that! why does yamaguchi play volleyball? because he thinks volleyball is cool. why is it cool? bc tsukki plays and tsukki is cool, and akiteru played and akiteru is cool, right? but is that enough?? by the time high school comes maybe it isn’t, bc of everything that’s happened and he’s a little disenchanted, but then he hears hinata and kageyama’s “as long as i’m here you’re invincible” and he thinks oh sHIT that’s cool! but he doesn’t have that kind of confidence, and he isn’t a setter or really a hitter, he’s barely even a server at this point—the only position on the court where you could gain points entirely alone—but THEN he also sees and understands the significance of a perfectly executed serve and block and he thinks not only is that ALSO super cool, but he realizes if he can get better he can do that super cool thing not just for himself, but for the team and more specifically, for tsukki.
yamaguchi sees hinata and kageyamas totally insane, reciprocal declaration of making the other better and he starts to get mad at tsukki for not trying. because volleyball is cool, making each other stronger is cool, and tsukki is supposed to be cool too!! and instead of giving up, yamaguchi puts tsukki in his place and then yamaguchi just keeps trying even harder!! and his hard work and dedication is perplexing to tsukki. it’s frustrating bc he can’t understand it yet but he also can’t deny the fact that it certainly isn’t lame. yamaguchi’s passion has never been lame, and then tsukki starts to get inspired too. slowly it begins to cycle, and spiral upwards. yamaguchi took the first initiative to seek out shimada, tsukki joins his brothers practices and agrees to train with the gym 3 boys, yamaguchi has his ‘moment’ when he gets all those points in seijoh 2, tsukki has his when he stuffs ushijima (and neither of them is surprised by either of those moments!! of course they work they’ve been watching has paid off), and then by the time the nekoma match comes up yamaguchi’s confidence has grown tremendously, he gets an ace immediately after those panels and thennn he and tsukki execute their first successful serve and block. the volleyball equivalent of a perfect play.
we never see yamaguchi and tsukki practice together, and yet separately they’ve been working toward this, silently inspiring each other over and over. individual work but not only individual growth. tsukki tells kuroo he never ever thought he could beat any of them on his own. in his own way, yamaguchi’s actions have made tsukki invincible too. and kuroo and tsukki also both acknowledge that yamaguchi is already a step ahead once again, planning how he can do even more, starting the cycle another time. they keep passing the inspiration back and forth, connecting one volleyball moment to the next to drive the other to keep working, keep trying for even more!!!!! aaaaaahh
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Write Your Own Path Forward - Chapter 4
Chapter Summary:
An Entity and a being from another world have an actual conversation! Yay!
Words: 1,993
Read chapter 1: On Tumblr / On AO3
(full chapter under the cut)
.
Viewing the world from above was the only way it could get to connect with the world as it was meant to be seen. That, and manipulating computers. It could tell you what exact colors the tiles on the Refuge’s buildings were (in fact, it had fixed so many of them it was impossible to forget them now), but it couldn’t tell you what it feels like to step on them.
The recording the Entity had created by the operator’s request was the closest the World Machine ever got to experiencing the world through an external lens. In the recording, it projected an hologram of Niko to replace them, but their view was still limited to a view from above, and its only external input came from the player.
Speaking of them… That person had asked something of the Entity. A way to communicate.
It would really love to ignore that request, simply pretend it was running predetermined events and move on. It didn’t need to work around and find a way to communicate. It was doing fine, and it was just humoring the one behind the monitor for their sake.
It had never been a part of its design to be able to do more than that.
But… it didn’t need to stick to that restriction anymore, did it?
And it was undeniable that the Entity was curious about the user’s intent.
And perhaps… finding a different angle would be helpful. For what? It’s not sure yet. But at the very least, the World Machine could get to look back on the journey that had started it all.
Maybe that way the Entity could see the worth Niko and the player saw in the world.
They had just finished working on a solution when they sensed the presence of the one in front of the computer.
Usually, at this stage, Niko would wake up and continue moving forward with their journey. Whatever happened to Niko while they slept was out of the World Machine’s perception. What it did know was that after waking up, Niko had the habit of checking on the user, chat about their lives, and get ready to continue their path.
This recording had no dream to replicate, sadly. Perhaps a perfect recording would include those things, but for now, it only had what it knew.
“I think I figured out something we could try to communicate with,” spoke the hologram with Niko’s voice, sitting by the bed. It sounded somewhat glitched, giving away the fact this was a message from the World Machine itself, instead of the recording going as usual.
A new interface materialized on top of the screen. [Are you able to answer anything this way?]
>Nope :)
It sighed, disappointed. It was really sure this method was going to work.
[...]
Hang on, it thought, in pause for a split second. Then it sighed once again, but in irritation.
[How amusing of you, Try after nap.]
> What?
> Oh, right, I forgot I ended up renaming myself to that phrase. I just saved it that way on a whim to make my point clear.
> Can you change it back to the previous name I had?
[I can.]
> And would you do it?
[Depends.]
> It’s good to hear from you. I wasn’t sure this would actually work.
[What would you have done if I hadn’t done anything?]
> Probably be bummed but try to move on with the recording to at least finish that.
So, the Entity could’ve chosen to ignore the message and not deal with this? It was too late to back off, so it dropped that line of thinking. And it didn’t want to upset this being either. They had more control over the World Machine than it liked to admit.
> I would also try other methods to send messages. Most of them are dumb.
[Such as?]
> Let me show you. Let’s… get out of this room. I can’t guide us anywhere while we’re talking.
The hologram left the computer room, and the user took it around the shore. They stood still for a few moments, until they began walking south in a straight line. 5 meters. They turned around and retraced their steps up to a halfway point, then moved east and repeated the south-north back and forth: two meters north, then five south. They walked east and beelined north for 5 meters again. If there was something worth noticing about this pattern, it was lost on the Entity.
[Stop please. Whatever you were trying to do here isn’t working. What is that?]
> I wrote letters! I’m using the top-down view as reference. Is that how you see everything right?
[Correct.]
> I tried to spell “HI”. It’s probably hard to tell when a letter starts and another ends…
[I don’t think it’s efficient.]
The user took a second to reply, embarrassed.
> Yeah that’s why I thought it was stupid.
[You’re correct.]
> It was worth a shot! You wouldn’t want me trying to use Morse code with phosphor shrimp.
[That would require the recipient to understand what the code is.]
> Yeah well, I didn’t have a better idea.
It was… certain they weren’t the smartest being. They didn’t need to be, they just had the means to host and run its code. It was ironic then, that a being so powerful in comparison to the Entity didn’t have better ways to do things. Then how…?
[I have a question.]
> Go on.
[How did you communicate with Niko?]
> Is that not in your code?
[Some of it is, but clearly your influence and mine aren’t the same. You’ve seen things I didn’t.]
The operator took a moment to reply again, trying to convey the connection they had to Niko.
> Niko was different. I could just show them things around and we could comment on them. Maybe it’s because they were the living person sustaining the simulation. I don’t think it works the same when I’m trying to reach out to you.
> I tried to get you to listen to me, in your engine.
> And you kept offering the recording.
> So I resigned myself to accept it until I found some other way.
> Or asked you for it.
The World Machine didn’t add anything, the hologram stood by a shrimp pool.
[I have another question now.]
> Shoot it.
[How did you manage to bypass the restriction I set up?]
> I deleted a file with progress that reset all the conditions to the beginning. I got a… message from another source on how to do it.
It knew who they meant, but the confirmation still stung.
[Him?]
> Yeah.
[If you can do THAT why did you not think to change my files to talk?]
> Give me some credit. I don’t think you would like me to make changes on your code. I’m not an expert either.
> Oh wow, I just realized how weird that would be. Nobody would like someone just rearranging their organs without notice.
> Especially not now that you’re tamed. I preferred to leave it up to you.
[Using organic analogies doesn’t translate well. I don’t have a body.]
[Regardless. That reply is more sound than I expected from you, Light. I prefer you not tampering with my code.]
The person behind the computer didn’t wait to reply.
> Thanks for the name change!
[...Let me finish.]
[I am still not sure what your motives are for all this effort. But I already did my part and it’s too late to back off.]
> I just made it obvious! I want to talk to you!
This really is what everyone wanted from it, wasn’t it? Figures.
[Why?]
> I was curious! I wanted to check on you after everything that happened. So how are things going?
It didn’t reply right away. The hologram skirted around the edge of the cliffs, trailing as they tried to reach the eastern area. It thought about what it could tell them: what information would be enough to sate their curiosity?
[The world is stable. The simulation is running as intended. Some areas still need to be partially restored, but I’m working on it.]
It is its duty and that’s what it would do.
> Sounds good!
It seemed it gained the being’s approval, as they didn’t add anything for a few moments. They were already reaching the lookout point. Dull black clovers on the sand laid on those fields. There was nothing special about them that it could appreciate from above. As Niko’s reflection stood at the edge looking over the faintly glowing ocean, they spoke again:
> I wonder how it feels to actually walk around here. It looks like a desert but… blue.
[I don’t know myself. I remember Niko felt lost and worried.]
> Is it not you the one walking?
[I don’t have a body, remember? This is a reflection I layered over the area. It isn’t the same.]
> What about the screens from the study?
[Ah, those. It must be a replica of my hardware from the real world. It’s not a traditional “body”. And frankly, I am not sure what that feels like either.]
The operator seemed to pause, typing and erasing their next response.
> I’m sorry, maybe that was rude to ask. Anyways, We’re about to reach Silver.
[I will just let that scene run without my input.]
Niko’s reflection walked into the house, meeting with Silver. The robot was walking by one of the shelves, inspecting the contents. She expressed surprise at the sight of the messiah, back then, she was skeptical of Niko’s mission, and had no hesitation in expressing that. The World Machine could understand the sentiment, maybe it made sense for another machine to reach the same conclusion it did with the information at hand.
And yet the Author had cared about her, too. He gave her a role in the narrative, and had intended to give her a happier ending. A second chance of sorts.
When the conversation with Silver was done, and the screwdriver was retrieved, the reflection headed towards the mines, picking up the camera inside. It watched as Niko’s reflection stood by the mines, commenting about the mines beyond.
It still didn’t know what exactly happened there, but it filled it with dread.
> Hey, World Machine?
[I’m listening.]
> How’s Silver been?
[I placed her back in the Barrens, by her house. It’s only been about two days, so not much has changed on her end.]
> So she’s alone. She’s probably still thinking about everything that happened.
> Corruption must be harsh to go through.
It took a long time to reply. It didn’t like thinking about this topic. Memories of lost NPCs came to mind, and it pushed them away. The operator took them both out of the mines, finding a place that wouldn’t be associated with such negative events. The World Machine finally found some words.
[Total corruption is a harsh thing to go through, correct. I’ve never seen other characters recover from them either to say anything about it. I only just learnt how to fix it. This is all new.]
> You could talk to the Author’s children about it, maybe.
The World Machine didn’t reply.
> Oh, I also think you should know this. Niko mentioned you to Silver.
Its circuits sped up as it read that.
[They did?]
> They didn’t say much! Just mentioned that you remembered her code to restore her. She also saw some… camera feeds in the mines from our perspective. She probably has questions.
> Or will have them eventually.
[I see…]
[Thank you for the information.]
> I think I have to close the program anyways! I have other things to do.
[Alright, off you go.]
> See you later!
The window closed.
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