@moment | text

[elswhisperer]

We should assume communications are being monitored by our captors. Be careful what you reveal here.

[ Short and to the point, this is all Setsuna has to say. ]

Comments

[elswhisperer]

[ Huh. That's one disproportionately hostile response. Whoever this is is probably just feeling the stress and taking it out on him. Story of his life, but he doesn't mind. ]

People don't think straight in emergencies. Common sense gets forgotten. Some here may not be familiar with modern communicative technology either.

[pundemic]

（ ugh, not a rational, calm reply. she wanted to pick a fight with some stuffy idiot!!

this is quite possibly the worst thing that's ever happened to her, personally.

(no) ）

so your plan is just to hold everyone's hand until they figure it out?

[elswhisperer]

[ Try starting a war, Ellie, that's usually what it takes to pick a fight with him-- ]

No. Nobody learns that way. It's just in our best interest to look out for each other.

[pundemic]

（ just you wait until she's 19, setsuna, she'll start that war on a dime.

'and i'll fuckin' do it again' the common refrain. ）

assuming we're all on the same side.

who's to say the rest of us aren't just, i don't know

fucking with you, specifically?

[elswhisperer]

I doubt that.

[ He may be a wanted terrorist, but that would still be a little much as far as getting back at him goes. ]

We can't afford to be paranoid.

[pundemic]

（ can't afford to be paranoid, that's a rich one. ）

says you.

so are you some kind of authority on getting kidnapped to a weird empty city?

[elswhisperer]

I've survived things. That's all.

[pundemic]

buddy i hate to break it to you but if we're here we've all survived at least one thing for sure.

but if you want to be weird about it...

[elswhisperer]

[ There's no way this person doesn't know what he means. They're just being contrary.

...

...Is this a teenager? Setsuna was never a normal teenager, and never knew any normal teenagers, but teenagers are kind of famous for attitude, aren't they? ]

You can think that, if you want.

[ Internally he is just. Shrugging his shoulders. ]

[pundemic]

（ don't you read her for filth like that, smh!! ）

i'm just saying as far as credentials go, 'survived things' isn't really the selling point you seem to think it is.

（ she is going to batter at that calm like a moth trying to kill itself on a lamp out of sheer spite now. just watch her. this is 100 percent normal teenage behaviour and not weird and maladjusted at all. ）

[elswhisperer]

You have a point. And explaining more isn't something I'm going to do.

[ How does agreement feel, Ellie. ]

[pundemic]

（ like the hollowest victory of all time, tbh. she stares at her phone in vague frustration, and then: ）

okay.

so

you got a name? or are we just calling you mr moment.

[elswhisperer]

Setsuna F. Seiei. I don't care how you address me.

[ 'Setsuna' meaning moment.

...He's not the most creative guy. ]

[pundemic]

（ peep her trying to figure out how to say that aloud. 'setsuna' is easy enough, but 'seiei' gives her a bit of grief. sai-ey? sei-ey? she mumbles her way through several increasingly terrible iterations, and then finally: ）

wait, i could literally just call you 'Eff'?

[elswhisperer]

Sure.

[ Saying 'don't do that' seems like a good way to get called Eff anyway. ]

[pundemic]

ah, i'm just fucking with you.

setsuna's nicer anyway.

i'm ellie.

[elswhisperer]

[ They're actually making progress here! He's kind of surprised. ]

Got it.

[ Things like 'nice to meet you' don't really come naturally to him... ]

Have you given up on trying to get a reaction out of me?

[pundemic]

（ 'nice to meet you' whomst, tbqh. ）

maybe.

you're kinda boring, dude.

[elswhisperer]

I don't usually make small talk.

[ This man has managed to socially isolate himself for like two years despite being surrounded by people at all times. ]

[pundemic]

that's fine. smalltalk is pretty much my super power.

（ the last year of her life has been spent travelling with joel miller, of course she's good at it. ）

whaatttttt is your

fave color
biggest fear
biggest dream
ideal vacation spot
go-to meal when you feel crummy
'if i had unlimited free time' instrument you'd like to learn?


i got more, but i'll go easy on you and start there.

[elswhisperer]

[ He can almost hear Marina telling him to just go ahead and answer. Isn't this how understanding begins? ]

blue
failing something important
ending warfare
don't have one
hotdogs
never thought about it

[pundemic]

well

it's a start.

（ honestly, what a fixer upper. ）

okay let's see, uhhhhhh

（ why is she typing out exclamations? no clue. when you turn a feral child loose on the internet when she's only ever read about it in books or seen it in old movies, strange behaviour happens okay? ）

what shade?
what counts as important?
why warfare?
make one up!
what's a hotdog?*
you're thinking about it now, what's the answer!

*obviously this one's a joke, i know what a hotdog is.

（ but has she ever eaten one? no, no she has not. ）

[elswhisperer]

Vivid blue.
Missions where failure means casualties.
Because I've seen it firsthand.
An island beach.
Piano?

*What do you eat when you're upset?

[pundemic]

you're a soldier

（ the way that makes this trapped-rat feeling in her brain amp up the awful under-the-skin itching, hoo boy. she takes a breath, and then another, and it barely feels like she's breathing at all. she has to put the phone down for a second, because it's.

not fair. she knows it's not fair. not her circus, not her monkeys. but she can't help the purely physiological response, the fight-or-flight (and it's always fight with her, always —) impulse that crawls up her spine. ）

hey, me too. island beach. a+

piano's nice too. i kinda played one before.

（ haha, she is so completely normal about this!! ）

i really like curry.

[elswhisperer]

[ Even through the barrier of text, Setsuna can see that something is wrong. It's the soldier thing. Does she have a history with soldiers?

Is she a victim of war?

'No, the world calls me a terrorist' -- what kind of comfort could that possibly bring? ]

I'm not a soldier. But I fight.

[ And if to her that's just as bad, it's alright. He doesn't blame her. ]