elswhisperer | citycenter inbox

[ Neil sticks around until after the meeting is done. It's been good getting to know people a little, a small glimpse at the group they have to work with for the foreseeable future. There are quite the characters among them, but that just makes it feel a little like home. Nobody in Celestial Being is normal either.

But the most noteworthy, most impressive thing here is Setsuna himself. When it's only the two of them left, walking towards their apartment complex, Neil pats Setsuna firmly on the shoulder. ]

Good job. Never thought I'd see you grow into a real team leader.

[ The warm gesture puts a smile on Setsuna's face. If there's any upside to this situation, it's meeting Neil again.

He's wanted to become a person that could make Neil proud. ]

I learned from your example.

[ Setsuna's holding onto three cookies wrapped up in a napkin, courtesy of Aziraphale. He offers them to Neil. ]

Here. You can have these.

[ That's another thing about this older Setsuna - he smiles more easily, now. The amount of times he's seen Setsuna smile while he was still alive can probably be counted on one hand, but now... It's the kind of change that is disorienting but good. It makes Neil feel like everyone really is going to get over his passing and be fine.

Learned from his example, huh? It's nice to have been good for something. ]

Not big on sweets? Maybe we can cooperate with the nice gentleman next time and get a more varied menu.

I can take them or leave them.

[ Which is true, but more than that, he really just wanted to give them to Neil after, well... all of the extremely difficult revelations he had to listen to.

It doesn't change anything about the situation, but little gestures have meaning, too. ]

I get the feeling he'd enjoy that. He said this was the most hopeful he'd felt in days.

[ Neil feels pretty much the exact same way about cookies as Setsuna does - including the part where he'd rather give them to someone else to give them a bit of joy. Funny, he didn't know they had much in common.

Looking at it from that angle, Neil decides refusing is a dick move and grabs a cookie to bite into. They are really good. ]

Mhm, and he's really got a knack for this.

[ And food is good for bonding. Aziraphale made Neil remember as much after he feels like he'd forgotten. ]

'Hopeful' is a nice word.

Yeah. It is.

[ Gathering his thoughts, Setsuna stares off up at the sky, as if looking for something there. ]

When I first saw the Gundam, I felt hope. I believed for the first time that our twisted world could be changed. That kept me going. It's why I'm here.

[ In other words: a little hope goes a long way. ]

[ What an odd scene to think about, now that Lockon has heard all about Ribbons Allmark and the context behind this experience. It feels like tainted false hope to Lockon. If he were in Setsuna's position, would he have turned bitter over finding out the truth? Would he have discarded what the original memory meant to him? He may have.

In many ways, Setsuna is simply a better person than he is.

What an odd thing to think about a former KPSA member. The world is a strange and twisted place indeed. ]

Mhm. I think I get it. When Celestial Being first recruited me and I first heard of the existence of Gundams... Maybe that was the first time I believed I could change the world for real and not just die trying.

[ But the truth is that Neil did die, and the world only changed for the worse.

Does the existence of the Gundams still bring Neil any hope? ]

Right now, this is the world we need to change.

One set of scones at a time, it seems.

[ Neil still means what he said at the meeting - it would be easier if there was an enemy to fight. A source of distortion to go up again. He's been fighting an enemy for as long as he can think and here...? There's nothing so concrete. It's unfortunate.

They're almost at their apartment building now, so a new thought comes to Neil. ]

Speaking of, do you want to come over for dinner?

[ A person like Setsuna seems inherently unsuited to anything as normal as what amounts to going to a friend's house and eating dinner with them. That these apartments are a far cry from anything resembling a true home does little to shake the dissonance of the mental image Setsuna conjures up.

This is not a scenario in which he belongs.

But it's not an invitation he can bring himself to turn down.

He's been cloistering himself away from the people that care about him for so long. It has to stop.

He's finally met Neil again, when he was never even supposed to.

He nods. ]

...It's been a while since I've eaten dinner with anyone.

May I ask a possibly personal question? I've been wondering about the significance of your username. Why "moment"?

[ action; ]

[ Midnight's writing this from the meeting place in the park at 9 am. He's in his running outfit again, a small belt bag slung over his shoulder, a water bottle in his other hand. If nothing else, the regular running schedule checks out. ]

[ To keep their exchange looking as mundane as possible, Setsuna types a brief reply before heading to the park. ]

It's what Setsuna means.

[ action; ]

[ As promised, Setsuna arrives at the designated meeting place in less than a half hour. He's wearing a scarf again, this time a cream color. Seems he's got a fondness for them. ]

Midnight.

[ Repeating people's names to them is just how he greets people... ]

You found a route?

[ Ah, so it is. Midnight looks up from his phone with a nod, then unzips his bag, removing a copy of the map he'd found at city hall. ]

Good morning, young sir. To answer your question, several, but I've narrowed it down to this one.

[ He unfolds it and spreads it out on a nearby bench, revealing a neatly annotated map. ]

I started by finding central service areas — those are the green marks — and made sure that they were accessible to at least two living accomodations each. I circled each service area in yellow. Magenta is the route that was the simplest to navigate, starting from where I live.

[ He's pointing at the map as he goes on with the explanation. ]

I have a couple of alternate routes should new obstacles arise, but those are back on my map at home. My only concern is this housing up north in red. I couldn't find a way to add another drop-off location without making one of the others a bit obsolete or "crowding" another location, as it were. I'm very willing to make a personal stop for whoever lives there, I just wanted to run the whole map so far by you first.

[ Midnight put a lot of thought into this map, but he's very matter-of-fact about his process. He expects for this to be just the first step of several. ]

[ Setsuna looks over the annotated map carefully. Save for the housing in red, it's a good, clean route. Even without saying anything, it's pretty apparent he thinks Midnight's done a good job. ]

...We may have to accept some redundancy. Whoever's living in the northern housing might object to lacking a dedicated drop-off location of their own.

[ He pauses, thinking. ]

Don Quixote should see this too. As another runner, we need her input.

[ Midnight nods again, then pulls another folded map from his bag and hands it off to Setsuna. It's effectively the same map, clearly marked in the exact same way. ]

This copy has a key for the marks I made. I brought a third one, just in case we needed to plan a new route, but if we can somehow hand it off to Miss Quixote, that's its task fulfilled.

[ At mention of the redundancy, Midnight spreads out the second map, takes another highlighter from his bag — this one cerulean — and quickly makes some adjustments. ]

A route that includes these two points and eliminates this one covers all housing locations in the shortest amount of time. It's about a ten minute increase to the total route on my average run, but if the aim is to be thorough, then I think this is the best route. It's not too different, but...

[ He proceeds to draw the adjusted route in blue. It does indeed make the leftmost house a bit of its own trip, but it's much shorter route than trying to reach the topmost house on its own... Midnight made sure to personally check. ]

[ He examines the adjusted route. ]

It's good.

[ Thorough indeed, and a ten minute addition could certainly be worse. ]

I can handle getting this to her. How did you get these copies?

[ If there's a copy machine around here somewhere, he won't have to write a whole bunch of fliers by hand again... ]

[ Midnight nods, opening the third map and copying the adjusted route. He'll pass both maps over to Setsuna when he's done. ]

Well, these copies are proper originals, although I may have taken more than my fair share from town hall.

[ Midnight inclines his head as he speaks, mild amusement coloring his words. He's done a bit more thievery in the past few weeks than he's done in his entire life. ]

The copies I used to plan these routes at home, though... I found a copier in one of the office buildings. Here—

[ He takes a plain black pen from his bag and marks the block with office building with an X, labeling it neatly with the word "Copier". ]

I can walk you there too, if you've the time, but I'm sure most offices in this place will have one.

SER SETSUNA
I HAVE RETURNED HALE AND WHOLE AS PROMISED
AND AS SUCH CONTACTED THEE AS I HAVE SAID I WOULD

[ hey buddy ]

[ Well he'll be damned. She really did come back.

...He's relieved. There was a precedent, but no guarantee. ]

Good.

Did you learn what you were hoping to learn?

I HAVE!
THOUGH I MUST CONTACT SER WUFEI TO ENSURE MY THOUGHTS ARE CORRECT
IF IT IS AS I THINK THEN HE WILL BE SUFFERING DIFFICULTIES IN SPEAKING REGARDING THE INCIDENT, AND PERHAPS BE UNABLE TO RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO STAND BEFORE HIM
VISUALLY
ONE MUST SPEAK SLOWLY AND CONSISTENTLY IF THEY HAVE HOPES TO EARNING HIS UNDERSTANDING, ADDITIONALLY

[ she sure does know some particulars about it.

... ]

MY HESITATION WAS THE THOUGHT OF THAT BEING THE CONSEQUENCE WHICH I WOULD BEAR

[ that she wouldn't be able to recognize the person in front of her, because if she'd come out and she didn't recognize sinclair the way he hadn't recognized her at first--

it'd felt alarming, uncomfortable, but she'd steeled herself for that. whatever others may assume, this didn't come without thought. but she doesn't want to linger on it, so! ]

I DO NOT REMEMBER HOW I FELL
NOR WHOM WOULD HAVE DONE IT, IF I DID NOT HAVE PROOF OF OUR CONVERSATION NOT AN HOUR BEFORE IT HAPPENED
WHAT DO THEE MAKE OF IT?
IT WOULD BE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS FOR ONE WHO WAS SEEKING TO HARM OTHERS IF THEY DID NOT HAVE PROOF OF A PRIOR ENGAGEMENT TO LEARN WHO HAD STRUCK THEM DOWN
THERE IS ALSO THE MATTER OF WITNESSES

[ Wufei ended up being the one to do it after all...

Maybe there's a universality to the nature of a Gundam pilot; a willingness to shoulder sins and consequences to spare others the weight of them. ]

The victim's amnesia could be the city's way of preventing a revenge-killing.

If the perpetrator struggles to speak of the murder, it's as if they're being prevented from confessing.

And if there are no witnesses, the rest of the city's residents remain ignorant to what took place.

Maybe that's the point.

Did anything happen to the witnesses?

[ a beat. she thinks to the text she received from one such witness, though one she doesn't necessarily trust. ]

ONE WHOM WISHED TO SEE IF I HAD RETURNED MENTIONED THAT THEY HAD HAD A MOST DREADFUL NIGHTMARE THE SAME NIGHT
AND THAT WHENEVER THEY WOULD SLEEP, THEY WOULD HAVE IT AGAIN
TWAS, APPARENTLY, THE MOMENT OF MY DEATH MOST VIVIDLY SEEN AND FELT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE
OR AT LEAST AS IF IT WERE THEY WHO WERE STRUCK

HOWEVER, I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS A COMMONALITY, OR IF IT WERE SIMPLY AN INDIVIDUAL'S DISTRESS

[ no way it was the latter actually. not from that particular woman. ]

[ Hm. That puts a wrench in his theory about the city trying to sweep murder under the rug. ]

We'll need testimony from other witnesses before coming to any conclusions. But if that's what the others experienced... is it a punishment?

[ For watching and doing nothing? Just for seeing it at all? ]

What about you?

Can you tell if you've forgotten anything?

IT MAY BE
AS THEY WERE PRESENT, BUT DID NOTHING TO STOP THE ACT FROM HAPPENING
A YOUNG MISS ALTHEA MENTIONED SOMETHING LIKE THAT PERHAPS WAS POSSIBLE

AS FOR MYSELF
I CANNOT TELL WHATSOEVER

[ mostly because she doesn't have a point of reference of what she should be remembering... if it's something significant then it'd be upsetting to lose, but how does one know where to begin? that woman's had been by chance, after all... ]

I SHALL KEEP THEE INFORMED SHOULD THAT CHANGE

[ Losing a memory without knowing it is a more than unsettling thought. He hopes the prospect doesn't trouble Don too much. ]

If it turns out you've lost something and these are punishments, I don't understand why the victim would be punished for having been killed. How is that right?

Edited 2023-07-22 10:04 (UTC)

[ if she doesn't think about it it won't trouble her. and she is very good about not thinking things. ]

I AGREE
THERE IS NO JUSTICE IN THAT
A VICTIM IS A VICTIM AND OUGHT TO BE TREATED AS SUCH, WITH SEEKING THE ROOT OF THEIR ISSUE VERSUS PUNISHING THEM FOR IT

[ ... ]

PERHAPS TIS NOT A PUNISHMENT
BUT AN EXCHANGE?
TO RETURN TO LIFE, THOU MUST GIVE UP SOMETHING IN RETURN?
I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH SUCH AN IDEA [ because the sinners don't give up shit so far it's all on dante ] BUT THE CITY I HAVE HAILED FROM DOES WORK ON SUCH A PRINCIPLE
FUNDAMENTALLY

[ So that's a perspective they share. It interests him to see where their senses of justice overlap, and where they diverge.

Not a punishment, but an exchange? That sounds more reasonable from an ethical standpoint, and -- it just makes sense. Of course it would be an exchange. ]

A price that must be paid, because nothing comes without a cost.

That's what being alive means.

[ Peace, happiness, survival: something is always lost in pursuit of them. Sacrificed.

Then...

What price did Neil pay to wake up here, alive?

Was it paid in advance? His chance at revenge long gone, his reason for being meaning nothing here...

Did this city take even more from him? ]

Your city. How is this principle applied?

Edited 2023-07-24 03:23 (UTC)

IN MUCH THE SAME WAY
ONE CANNOT MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT LEAVING SOMETHING ELSE BEHIND

[ ... so even she has, at some point, done so. whether there's still pain that resides in her heart because of it is a moot point since she won't linger on it, won't think back, because the nagging fear of having forgotten what she left overrides the curiosity of what she has, but-- ]

MANY OF MY COMPANIONS HAVE CHOSEN TO LOOK AHEAD AT SUCH A COST
BE IT FRIEND, FAMILY, OR SOMETHING ELSE
IT IS SIMPLY THE WAY OF THINGS, AS THOU HATH SAID
NOTHING COMES WITHOUT A COST

[ a pause, because certain things should come without a cost -- somethings will always have a cost, something that must be done to ensure that the result can remain, but in an ideal world... ]

NONETHELESS!!!!!!!!!
IN TERMS OF DEATH, ONCE ONE HAS DIED THEY REMAIN DEAD WHENCE I AM FROM
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE DEAD MAY DIFFER AMONG THE POPULACE, BUT THAT CAN BE SAID FOR WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE AS WELL, NO?

Looking ahead in the face of loss is what it takes to keep going.

[ Maybe it's not only Don's city that works on this principle. Maybe everything does, one way or another. ]

You're right.

People can live as though they're already dead. And they can live on after they die in the memories of those left behind.

[ maybe everything does, one way or another.

what an odd constant. not bad, though. it'll sort of give her the same feeling that heine does later. ]

IT WOULD SEEM THE LANDS FROM WHICH WE HAIL DO NOT DIFFER MUCH IN THAT WAY
HOW IS IT, THEN, THAT THY JUSTICE AND MINE OWN SEEM TO?
PERHAPS NOT SO MUCH THE BELIEF IN IT BUT THAT WHICH DEFINES IT

[ That's a good question. He takes his time answering. ]

It's because we've lived different lives.

I believe it's that simple.

Our experiences shape our senses of justice.

A person who grows up in a war zone fighting to survive and a person who grows up in relative safety may both detest violence, but they'll probably have trouble seeing eye to eye any more than that.

The one who knows only war might think diplomacy is useless.

The one who knows only peace might think all violence is wrong, no matter what.

[ the past that led her here...

... is not one she thinks back on often, and so she does not now; the present, the future, have more to offer than that which lies behind. if what sinclair said was true in that basement, then her time is to come sooner or later, drawn by the whims of fate towards a golden bough

but not here, and so she doubles down on it mattering not. ]

I SEE THY POINT
WHAT HAS THINE BEEN LIKE?

I've always been fighting. For a long time, it was the only thing I knew how to do.

[ The child who grows up in a war zone and dismisses diplomacy because peace talks didn't stop the slaughter -- that was him. ]

Because of that, my fight is to change the world. So that there are no longer victims of war... or people like me.

IT IS A STORY THAT IS RATHER COMMON AMONG THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE BACKSTREETS IN MY CITY
THERE IS A COMPANION OF MINE WHOM THEE WOULD GET ALONG WITH
WHO HAS LIVED A LIFE SIMILAR TO THEE, AND WHO STRIVES FOR THE SAME IN HER OWN WAY
THOUGH I DO NOT KNOW IF THEE WOULD AGREE WITH HER METHOD
MUCH AS THEE DO NOT AGREE WITH MINE
BUT MISTRESS RODYA HAS A KIND HEART AND A DESIRE TO ENSURE THOSE AROUND HER DO NOT WANT FOR ANYTHING
THAT THEY DO NOT FEEL IT NECESSARY TO STRIKE AGAINST ONE ANOTHER
NOR EAT ONE ANOTHER
SIMPLY TO SURVIVE THEMSELVES
SHE IS MOST ADMIRABLE

There's something I've become sure of since I've arrived here.

There are people in every world who are trying to help those around them, doing their best with the tools they have, following the values they earnestly believe in.

[ People want to do good, and that matters. ]

Tell me about her method.

IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT SOME PEACE TO HER STARVING NEIGHBORS
WHOM HADN'T ENOUGH MONEY FOR EVEN A MOMENT'S WORTH OF PEACE
SHE STRUCK AN AXE THROUGH THE HEAD OF AN OLD WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN KEEPING THEIR MONEY FOR HERSELF WITHIN A SAFE
A TAX COLLECTOR WHO WRUNG THE BONES OUT OF THE PEOPLE SHE LIVED ABOVE
IT CAME WITH CONSEQUENCES, FOR THE COLLECTOR'S SISTER WAS OF IMPORT IN THOSE BACKSTREETS
BUT FOR A MOMENT
MISTRESS RODYA AND THE OTHERS HAD A TASTE OF WHAT A QUALITY LIFE WAS
OF WHAT ALL DESERVE TO HAVE

I CANNOT CALL WHAT SHE DID AN INJUSTICE
IF THERE IS UNFAIRNESS IN THE SYSTEM, IT MUST BE ROOTED OUT

I feel the same.

[ Find what it is that makes the world twisted, and destroy it.

He's been living by that principle since he first saw a Gundam. There's no circumstance under which Setsuna could condemn what Rodya did. ]

[ ... heehee. ]

THEN THEE WOULD GET ALONG WELL
IT IS WHY SHE AND I DO TOO
ALONG WITH HER BEING A VERY GOOD FRIEND, WHO IS EASY TO SPEAK WITH AND IS PERHAPS THE MOST EASYGOING OF US ALL
IT IS NOT A TOPIC SHE WILL SPEAK ON HOWEVER
THOUGH I THINK IT ADMIRABLE OF HER MYSELF
MANY OF US ARE LIKE THAT, AND FEEL THE SAME AS SHE

wanna talk to you about something. meet me here [ picture uploaded to provide location. somewhere outside. remote enough. away from potential cameras. ]

[ Anonymous, huh. The same one from the network? No way to tell for certain, though it's likely. ]

I'll arrive within twenty minutes.

[ Setsuna's keeping his guard up as he reaches the designated place, as a remote meeting location is a double edged sword. ]

[ Same one from the network. There were a few anonymous popping up every now and then, but. Anyhow, he wasn't sure he liked how often he was coming out of his shell here. Though he did have another layer of Anonymous. He could always fall back to Reggie if he needed to. Not that... he wanted to. Complicated.

Moving along. Wrench was there, and maybe someone recognizable. Didn't stay long at the meeting, sorry about that. Wasn't in a good headspace. But here they are and he flicked a wave to the man as they approached. ] Never said thanks for organizing that meeting by the way.

Junpei told me you were the one responsible for holding last month's meeting.
My name is Angela. I'd like to know if you have any schedule for these, or if you're hosting them when it becomes relevant to do so.

citycenter inbox

action; after the city-meeting

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text; The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King

text -> action

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sorry about the delay, lost the tag!

no worries! i'm slow rn anyway

Same :')

text, 07/16 aka revival day; @DONQUIXOT3

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@anonymous | encrypted

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>>> action

text from @librarian ; midmonthish