@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

[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. ]

[pundemic]

kinda put that one together.

（ and since that's what he focused in on, she — probably made him feel some kinda way about it. she sighs, and then: ）

it's fine. i was in military prep school. total bore. as long as you don't try to get me to do burpees we're fine.

[elswhisperer]

Got it.

[ He doesn't buy it, but it's none of his business. ]

I like chicken curry.

Someone I care about plays the piano. She sings too.

[pundemic]

i don't think i've ever had chicken

（ look, commercial birds were basically just eaten to urban extinction.

... few pigeons, though. ）

is she here? this friend of yours

[elswhisperer]

Try it, if you get the chance.

No. She's back home, looking after her people. I hope she's never parted from them again.

[pundemic]

oh yeah i'll ring up the nearest mcdonald's and see what they've got on tap.

（ is that not how fast food restaurants work. is it not??? ）

sounds leader-y.

[elswhisperer]

[ Even Setsuna is familiar with fast food restaurants...! ]

She shoulders a lot of responsibility.

[ There may be no harm in being specific in a place like this, but he's endangered Marina by mere association with him enough already. ]

She's not like me. She'll never pick up a weapon.

[pundemic]

（ pacifism, as a concept, didn't really survive the outbreak. ellie wrinkles her nose at the idea of not picking up a weapon — it's always a strange moment when you come up against concepts that don't really align with your worldview. and it's not — bitterness exactly, it's more like a sort of tired, world-weary certainty that only teenagers can manage that lands her square in the absolute belief that his girlfriend is about as naïve as they come.

(and if she can stay that way — what harm can it do, really? worlds away?

maybe a better person would be glad that someone out there can live like that. all it does is make her ache.) ）

okay?

（ like. what else is she supposed to say to that, actually. ）

[elswhisperer]

A world where no one needs to pick up a weapon is what I'm fighting for.

What do you want to accomplish?

[pundemic]

bet this is a shitty detour for you then huh?

（ as to that question turned around on her like a knife — she balks at it, and bares her teeth just a little at her phone, not quite aware she's making an expression that has more in common with a cornered animal than a human.

not too very long ago, she might've said save the world. ）

honestly, i just really want to play this one video game. no frills. all the way through.

（ ha ha ha... ha. ）

[elswhisperer]

[ Shitty detour sure sums it up. ]

Then hold onto that want so long as you're here.

[pundemic]

👍

listen guy i'd love to sit and chat all day (did people actually used to do this or what?) but i've got places to be, things to see, you know how it is.

i'll see you around, guy.

（ this conversation has officially gone too many places and she can't even be mad because she started it. damn. psychic damage is real. ）