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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ 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.

[ Keigo smiles, he isn't of course. ]

I guess so? I don't know. It's just who I'm supposed to be. Who I am doesn't actually matter, it's all about how people see me. [ He's not a person so much as a product. ]

I'm more interested in what's in your head anyway.

(He's not secretly judging or plotting to murder them.)

Show me the restaurant.

(Chris wants chicken and pie.)

Ha! For that you have a front row seat, apparently. Sorry about your luck.

[ Hey, Keigo's more inclined to keep a cheerful outlook. He's clearly not mad, more confused and intrigued than anything. ]

This way. [ A winding turn down an alley and there's an entrance. It's not a bakery, but it is a restaurant over one of the usual dive bars. ]

You only say that because you don't know how much worse everyone else's thoughts are.

(They would rather deal with the chicken loop than ...a lot of other things they pick up on in people's heads.

And well, they're happy to follow him until...)

Huh. (They didn't know this was here.) How'd you find this place?

I can only guess. [ He often has to try and think how other people might be thinking and it's exhausting and probably far more often than he would be. On the other hand, he's pretty hungry. ]

I saw it from above, the chicken was calling my name.

[ He gets the door for them. ]

(And they'll walk in. Then the smell hits them. Utterly delicious... and utterly overwhelming.

Their stomach does a somersault, but they remain steady and look around... is this a find your own spot to sit place or a wait to be seated place?)

Smells good.

[ It's probably the latter but Hawks has been here enough times that he just smiles and waves and grabs a seat like he belongs there. Maybe he does. ]

Yeah, this is definitely one of my favourite places. You can get whatever you want on me, I've got money.

[ Some bounties pay well and he never buys anything. ]

(They follow and sit down across from him, swallowing back the awful churning feeling)

...Alright.

(Not gonna fight it.

They'll look at the menu.)

[ Keigo's in a decent mood, everything aside and now that they're sitting there, he's definitely thinking about chicken on a loop. ]

They have both savoury and sweet pies.

Think I'll start with coffee.

(It's deeply uncharacteristic of them, especially since they're the one who suggested getting food, but they just... is it their body reacting to suddenly being alive again? Stress? No medical literature on something like this, they think.

The farm might have revived them--and killed them again--but that was a different sort of death.)

Works for me, I'm not in a rush.

[ He doesn't exactly have a set schedule in this place. ]

I'm going to definitely probably have chicken. [ There's a surprise. ]

...Thanks.

(No questioning why the sudden hesitation. No impatience.

They ignore the way their stomach twists and churns and instead listen in on Hawks' chicken thought loop. It's soothing. It is also making them hungrier despite everything.)

Sure, but I don't need to be thanked for that. [ He could go for some chicken liver, but they don't have that, even though that's one of his favourite things. Roasted chicken then that seemed good.

He orders that, and a coffee for himself because he's very addicted to his caffeine, even with nothing special to do in this world. When the orders are placed, he hums. ]

Do you have any idea what a tattle tale Angel is? Ratted me out constantly!

So what you're saying is ...I should buy him more treats.

(A smirk. Man, they could really go for some chicken pie and some strawberry pie... but in a few minutes, when hopefully their stomach calms down a bit.)

I don't think you should reward him for that! Every time I tried to sneak out, he'd bark and Richie would show up.

[ He's pretty weak to doing what Richie wants. ]

That's the point, idiot! You're supposed to rest!

(There's not any particular heat behind this exclamation.)

You wanna avoid being out of commission for months, you're gonna have to learn better self-preservation. (Says the hypocrite who got themself killed.)

I'm alive, I have plenty of self-preservation. [ He quips, not really thinking about it because, well, for Keigo that's enough. ]

I've rested plenty, I definitely would've been back at work by now, weeks ago.