shellphones | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(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?

I'm not really familiar with it, it's not a quirk I've encountered in any way. [ Says the guy with telekinesis. ]

I could eat. If we're going out, just let me grab my swords. [ He might feel comfortable wandering the Conservatory unarmed - barely - but if they're going out to eat that's not going to happen. ]

Yeah. I figured your world didn't have telepaths because otherwise you'd be trained to block us.

(Pretty much everyone who is a spy or working with sensitive info has anti psychic training in their world.

Huh. It makes complete sense that Hawks wouldn't want to be caught without a weapon, and yet they're still slightly suprised.)

Alright.

Yeah, probably. [ He got trained for just about everything else, so that seems to make sense to him.

Keigo moves to retrieve them, only thinking about it because they're planning on leaving, but there's an undercurrent of fear there. He doesn't like to be unarmed. He never feels safe enough to not be, so the three blades are secured, two on his hips and one on his back. One of them is a back up because he only has two hands, another sign that this is on some level paranoia and discomfort rather than an actual necessity to arm himself. He doesn't like feeling vulnerable. ]

(Look, he'd probably frown at some of the shit they've been keeping on themself out of paranoia, so they really can't judge.)

I'll keep an ear out.

(He won't have to worry that his lack of feathers will lead him to not noticing something crucial. They'll be listening in on nearby minds.)

I appreciate it. [ He smiles and now ready, tilts his head to encourage Chris to join him as they walk. ]

This is taking longer than I anticipated as it is.

(And they will join him and walk alongside him, allowing their telepathy to fan out and sense whatever is going on around them. Probably stuff like random intrusive thoughts, boring worries, the general sense of life they get from creatures too simple for complex thoughts, and ...whatever is going on in Keigo's mind, probably?)

You are regrowing an entire set of limbs.

[ Keigo's mind is perhaps surprisingly blank. This isn't the kind of blankness that comes with somehow shielding his thoughts or inner peace, it's more like he's shutting down his thoughts, putting them away for later. It's also likely tenuous, there's things not far under that surface that are just out of reach because he doesn't want to think about them right now. ]

Yeah, and it's annoying. I can't remember having to do that before. Even the Commission's not that cruel.

Didn't expect you to be so good at shielding.

(That's a lie, it's one of the big reasons they haven't told him about their powers.

Not even taught, and they'd have to make an effort to read what's in there. He's not their focus now, though.

...Everything in their surroundings seems fairly boring for now. Good.)

If it helps, you can also try to focus on a mental task like trying to remember all the lyrics to a song you heard, or reciting math formulas. (Might as well explain more if he's going to be shielding anyway.) Song lyrics tend to be better, since the words will bring up other associations and make it even harder to find anything specific.

I'm not really trying to be good at it? I don't know what I'm doing.

[ He's just terribly good at shutting down his emotions. Not exactly the best coping mechanism, but it's an approved one. ]

I don't know any songs. [ Yep, he really said that. Music isn't part of his life at all. ] Or math formulas. I know...what restaurants have the best chicken dishes in two worlds.

Wow that's depressing. Didn't the Commission think it'd be odd if you didn't know at least the popular music?

(Given how rare it is for people not to listen to music, it seems like a pretty stupid oversight.)

Chicken restaurants work. Know any good ones around here?

I don't spend much time talking to people. Conversations are pretty much hi, nice to meet you, of course I'd like to sign that, thank you for supporting me, I like whatever you have there...[ It's surprisingly easy. ]

And if I need an answer for interviews for my public profile, I already have those memorized.

[ It's as vapid as it sounds. ] Three, actually. What kind of chicken are you in the mood for?

Manufactured personality for the press?

(Makes sense. They put on a lot of masks back in the day.

Even now, they hide a lot of themself. Pretend to be a person.)

Any of them also serve coffee or good bread? (Chicken is good, but Chris is all about caffeine and sugar and carbs.

...They did say that bread was a reward back when they belonged to the Directive. Hawks can probably guess why their favorite place that sells food is a bakery.)

Coffee, rolls and pie if you like that kind of thing, I know a place.

[ Keigo smiles and moves along, gesturing with a hand to indicate where they are going. ]

Mm, my personality was decided on by committee and it's Commission approved. [ He offers a slight half a shrug. ]

Really though, I'm more of a quiet person at heart, which I guess doesn't fit in with my persona at all.

(They grin.)

You sure you're not also a telepath? (It's teasing. They know he's not.)

So like a deepcover mission that never ends. (They frown.) They never used us for the long term ones.