[Sounds about right on the money for what he could expect coming from Dave- both the squeezing and the explanation, actually. And that's a weird thought. Falling asleep and going off to explore other people's dream states? Like a neural network of thoughts for the dead and the living. Weird, a little dark, but also relatively sad.]

Dead players, huh... Sorry, man. That musta been rough.

[It makes him somewhat uncomfortable to think about, though. The idea of something happening to Dave has crossed his mind so many times since being on the station and having to deal with a constant, real threat that the next thing that happened to them could have been the last... the idea of of this not happening right now- Dave being nuzzled up in his arms- it's pretty unacceptable.]

Just... fallin' asleep and bein' able to talk to people you'd never see otherwise. I guess it's better that you're dealin' with regular weird dreams instead, or somethin'.

[His hand eventually lowers so that it's just resting against his back, keeping him nice and secure against him.]

Gotta wonder, though, if that's really how it goes down. Everyone believes in different shit about the afterlife. Us Japanese people... it's either Shinto or Buddhist. You die and your spirit goes down into some sorta underground cave and gets recycled into all the other spirits, or you get stuck being born again to get a second round to do it better than the last. Eh, I don't really put a lotta stock in either.

But shit, if I was reborn and that was actually how it happens, all I know is that I hope I'd get to see you again.

[Ryuji...]