shellphones | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Type: Accidental Video
Sender ID: 🖕nunya🖕(Sidestep)
To: Public
Subject:
Warnings: Mention of death and torture. Threads are likely to end up going deeply traumatic places.

(It's a typical day on Nogard, though many people who see this might be elsewhere.

Many have probably heard by now that Chris is dead. Has been dead for several days, in fact, after being captured and tortured by Ganon.

Except... they're not?

That's definitely a shot of a very panicked looking Chris running... somewhere, not paying attention to the shellphone clutched in their hand or noticing that it's recording.

Several people can be heard yelling in surprise in the background as Chris darts past them.

...The fuck are they even running from? It doesn't sound like they're being chased.

The hand holding the shellphone bumps into something, and the video cuts out.)

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You say that but I know you'll keep beating yourself up about it.

(Calling him out.

It's the best way to avoid having to talk about their own problems.)

I suppose you do. [ His tone is light. Keigo's not mad, he's confused about that, but in the end he's settled on he doesn't have an expectation of privacy the rest of the time, so he supposes he doesn't mind. ]

...Yeah. (Now they really are looking away.)

If it helps it's mostly just whatever is on the surface of your mind at the time unless I'm actively blocking you out.

So ...fried chicken and hating yourself, basically.

[ He could understand Chris' nervousness when they first met, perhaps, but these days they're friends and he doesn't think they would need to keep digging around in his head. ]

You can't help it though, right? So I can't really blame you. [ Although he has the grace to blush. ]

Ugh, don't have to call me out on my food obsession.

(They don't like telling people.

But he deserves the truth.)

For passive stuff, yeah. Active reading tends to be more ...noticeable.

(They snort.)

It's better than most of the shit in people's heads. Actually, with how hard you focus on it thinking about fried chicken is probably a good mental shield.

(Serious? Or teasing? How about both?)

Very funny. [ Keigo snorts, mildly amused by that. ]

It's a mutation side effect, believe me, if they could've fixed the food motivation they would've. As long as I ignore it, that's satisfactory enough. [ Would it have affected him so strongly if he hadn't been food insecure as a kid? He has no idea. ]

Me too, actually: Turns out the brain runs on sugar, apparently. The Directive used to make me drink these horrible flurries.

(They make a face at the memory. Ew.)

Commission meals run on some kind of balanced diet with protein powder enhancement. It's pretty awful. I cheat on it all the time. [ Because to his system that doesn't count as food. ]

As long as I don't gain too much weight they look the other way unless they're particularly pissed at me about something.

Balanced for humans ...or predatory birds?

(Hawks is both, but given his masters wanted to deny that part of him...)

The food the Directive gave us was probably better quality than what the paid workers got: real meat, locally grown vegetables... they wanted to keep us in good condition. It was all tasteless though. No texture, no spice. Re-Genes who behaved and did well on missions would sometimes get bread as a reward.

Yeah they're not that much of a fan of using flavours. [ It's boring, but it fills his stomach and some days when it's really a long shift, that's enough. ]

Probably for ordinary people, but I don't know. They claim it's good for me, I don't cook so I don't know.

It wouldn't surprise me. The Commission doesn't sound as knowledgeable or well funded as... any of the groups involved with Re-Genes.

(A big government and corporation artificial human manufacturing project vs a single well trained slave.)

I don't really know, I couldn't say. I don't know how they're funded. [ Not really, although certainly he must generate a good amount of income for them. ]

(They shrug.)

Yeah. I just know it's several million to grow a batch of us.

Yeah I don't know what they invested in me. A lot, probably. I'm sure if I thought of turning against them they'd have held it over my head.

[ They're gone. He needs to remember that. There's an uneasy feeling accompanying that, because he doesn't know how to exist without them. ]

(They snort.)

Sounds about right.

It's probably best not to really worry about it. [ Maybe not the best advice but in this case, it just might be. ]

Yeah.

(More quietly:)

I'm glad you're out.

Am I? I don't actually know. Could be temporary. Guess I'll see if I end up going home again. [ Dead people don't kill systems alone after all. They're all replaceable, haven't they taught him that? ]

Seems more likely than not. Mera's not one for micromanaging me. He doesn't have time for that. [ He's nervous. If his wings were fully grown out, they'd be trembling and betraying his anxiety. ]

Keigo, I...

(They sigh.)

To be honest, I don't think we have much chance of figuring out how to fix this, or doing anything about when people go home and whether they forget. But you've got friends who want to help.

Edited 2025-09-02 12:11 (UTC)

Yeah, I know we can't control that. [ Obviously, and he doesn't like that he forgot, because his mindset is different from what it was when he first got here. He'd never have expected this. ]

Anyway, my problems aren't yours though, you don't have to worry about them. Sorry you have to listen to them. I try not to think about them much.

Pretty sure our problems are pretty similar, actually.

(Considering they're both traumatized former slaves terrified of going back to a life in which they've never known love and all.)

So I'll probably worry about this stuff anyway.

[ He likes to think he's relatively well adjusted, actually, considering. ]

Yeah, I got that. Which is why I don't know what to say about it. There's nothing that can be said that will fix it. [ Because that's how he feels, he thinks they might agree. Keigo can't go back in time and change things. ]

(He's doing better than they are, but also he did just say he'd try not to think of his problems so he wouldn't bother them.)

Yeah, but... you really don't need to be trying not to think about this stuff just because you're worried about making me uncomfortable. I can teach you how to shield properly.

It's not just that, although that's another reason. [ Keigo doesn't really deny it, because he's soft-hearted like that. ]

I don't like to think about it.

Well, you should probably learn to shield anyway. I'm not the only telepath here.

(They frown.)

Wanna get something to eat?