Er, yeah. You know, chewing through the walls of the ship. Turns out they really like the taste of metal. Which seems like everything here is made of metal!
I don't think there is much we can do. I might try to come by later, but I don't really want them chewing holes in our room, either. You see... the sort of like me. Er, metal arm and leg and all.
Near the med bay, was trying to help clear some of that out. Needless to say, it didn't work. We can trap them but it's hard finding stuff that isn't metal on the fly!
I'm sure they do. I'm still trying to catch up on all of this stuff. It's pretty far advanced from my world. I can help some -- repair holes and things like that but the wiring? The lights are flickering a little, some doors don't work.
[ he's just down the corridor from the med bay -- there are a few lifeless robots that he's speared through -- oh right, might be worth mentioning the fact that he's made a long spear out of metal with his alchemy. Ed is ridiculous. ]
Yeah, they do but it's better than them eating my arm or leg!
[ he grins a bit back at Ginko. ] And they're more likely to chase this when I throw it, so I can make a little bit of a getaway, you know? They'll leave me alone once I'm away from the huge group. There are just so many of them!
[He's done all his shopping for people by this point, so Mettaton has made a point of sending all his parcels. He is a Media Distribution Officer after all, he can distribute whatever he wants!!
So Ginko can expect a small plant in his mail, carefully placed into the boy's mailbox. A note has been slipped into the bamboo spiral as well.]
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME WHEN I WAS ILL. THIS HARDLY MAKES UP FOR IT, BUT I THOUGHT A BIT OF NATURE WOULD BE NICE. :) I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!
There is a silence. A really long silence. An interminable, night-unending, ridiculous silence. The kind of silence that, in this case, is caused by Kaworu trying to understand the question and thinking about it for an unreasonable amount of time. A length of time occupied in no small part by an attempt to understand what age 'feels' like--when he himself has never "felt" the effect of age at all.
It's so much longer than before... he knows that for Ginko and Frisk and everyone around him, it must seem like a relatively short period of time. But it's been several lifetimes to him. Lifetime after lifetime without anything to make it worth living. The wait has been interminable. And yet--]
[He's had an idea for a while that something is up with Kaworu beyond what he already knows, but he's never been sure what. This seems like it might be a link to more of an explanation.]
[Even Kaworu has enough awareness to lag before answering--he's not sure how to explain this, or if he even wants to. But he came to Ginko, not the reverse.]
[He's quick to reassure Kaworu, biting his lip as he thinks over how to handle this.]
Uh... Maybe just keep in mind that people're gonna assume stuff. If they don't know how long you've actually been around 'n doing stuff, they'll probably just kind of... assume that it's as long as you look like you have.
[Ginko can't see Kaworu blink--no one has ever tried to reassure him before, so to Kaworu, it's a weird response.]
.... I know.
[He... knows they'll assume that. That's the point of him being like this. Just like they assume he's human--assume he has the same feelings and hopes and flaws that they do.
What does it mean to them that he does not? He's certain he doesn't want to know.
But even if the lie holds up even without him doing anything, it doesn't hold up well. He's going to have to make a decision.]
[This is... not going exceptionally well. Ginko kind of feels like he hasn't accomplished anything.]
...Maybe just tell people the truth? That you're still kinda new at stuff, and you don't really... know what you're doing yet. Sometimes that works for me.
[This is the third time in his life Kaworu has encountered someone who has something in common with him. He had once believed such a thing was only possible with te First Child, Lilith's soul taken the form of a human child. Then he met Frisk. A human child aware of the flow of time, and familiar with its role as a vehicle of fate. Now, a third.
Ginko.
Each one is further and further from him, like moons in distant orbit around a new planet.
That is who you were before, and it is who you are now.
[This is something Kaworu knows. That humans worry and struggle so much with it is proof of their flawed, fragmented nature. But it is true for them as well; above all, humans must be themselves.]
[There's a long pause before Ginko responds. This time, though, it's not because he's scared of how Kaworu will react, or too horrified to think of an answer. He's just... kind of stunned.
He can't recall anyone ever putting it like that. His lack of memories had been treated like an inconvenience, a problem. At best, it was just a matter of 'that's that' and nothing more. Something to resign himself to.
Something about the way Kaworu puts it makes it sound like it's not so much of a problem to contend it.]
...yeah.
Thanks.
[He can't be sure if Kaworu will understand that, but. He might as well say it.]
backdated; voice;
Hey! Ginko! Sorry, just wondering. You haven't seen any of those... little things around have you? Those robots? In the room?
[ he might sound a little out of breath, maybe a little worried! ]
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Robots...? I don't think so.
...Is something going on?
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[Oh no. Ooooh no. He stands up abruptly, frowning intently at his MID's camera.]
What... what should we do?
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[GONNA HELP and hopefully not make things worse somehow.]
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It's pretty weird, they don't have any interest in organic material, just... metal. Have you seen something like this before here?
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He shakes his head slightly.] No; this is pretty new.
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[ these things are coming from everywhere, and he can't afford to let his arm or leg get damaged. ]
Nothing like this, then? Seems pretty bad, I don't know how they're gonna fix all the damage.
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[He manages not to add that technically he can only provide one additional eye.
Ginko starts down the hallway, thinking over the layout of the halls to remember how to get to the med bay.]
Sounds like it... but they've gotta have machines and... materials and stuff that can, right?
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[ he's just down the corridor from the med bay -- there are a few lifeless robots that he's speared through -- oh right, might be worth mentioning the fact that he's made a long spear out of metal with his alchemy. Ed is ridiculous. ]
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Yeah, there's-- lots of, uh, electrical stuff that could. Could be a problem. [He frowns thoughtfully at Ed's spear.] D... don't they try to eat that?
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[ he grins a bit back at Ginko. ] And they're more likely to chase this when I throw it, so I can make a little bit of a getaway, you know? They'll leave me alone once I'm away from the huge group. There are just so many of them!
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[he may not have thought this through????]
backdated to mid-June
So Ginko can expect a small plant in his mail, carefully placed into the boy's mailbox. A note has been slipped into the bamboo spiral as well.]
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME WHEN I WAS ILL. THIS HARDLY MAKES UP FOR IT, BUT I THOUGHT A BIT OF NATURE WOULD BE NICE. :) I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!
--MTT
[SOUND ONLY] September 2
audio
Um... I dunno.
What age do you feel like you are?
[As soon as he says that he realizes there's a good chance that Kaworu literally won't be able to come out with an answer.]
[SOUND ONLY]
There is a silence. A really long silence. An interminable, night-unending, ridiculous silence. The kind of silence that, in this case, is caused by Kaworu trying to understand the question and thinking about it for an unreasonable amount of time. A length of time occupied in no small part by an attempt to understand what age 'feels' like--when he himself has never "felt" the effect of age at all.
Finally, Ginko gets a one-word answer:]
What?
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Never mind. Um...
If it comes up, I guess just... tell them you haven't actually been around for that long? I dunno what to do if it doesn't, though...
[That might be a tough thing to work into casual conversation.]
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[In a way, he's been around longer than Lilim... even if he died, it's not like he ceased to exist.]
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[Suddenly he's not so sure that he has any idea what he's doing.]
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Oh, I see.
It must be short to you.
[So... maybe?
It's so much longer than before... he knows that for Ginko and Frisk and everyone around him, it must seem like a relatively short period of time. But it's been several lifetimes to him. Lifetime after lifetime without anything to make it worth living. The wait has been interminable. And yet--]
But it's not the first time.
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[He's had an idea for a while that something is up with Kaworu beyond what he already knows, but he's never been sure what. This seems like it might be a link to more of an explanation.]
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....no.
[Even Kaworu has enough awareness to lag before answering--he's not sure how to explain this, or if he even wants to. But he came to Ginko, not the reverse.]
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How many times have you... done this, then?
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...don't know how to answer that.
[He sounds pathetic. A little confused.]
Does it matter?
[Does he really need a number? Why does he always have to quantify everything?]
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[He's quick to reassure Kaworu, biting his lip as he thinks over how to handle this.]
Uh... Maybe just keep in mind that people're gonna assume stuff. If they don't know how long you've actually been around 'n doing stuff, they'll probably just kind of... assume that it's as long as you look like you have.
[THAT'S something he knows about.]
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.... I know.
[He... knows they'll assume that. That's the point of him being like this. Just like they assume he's human--assume he has the same feelings and hopes and flaws that they do.
What does it mean to them that he does not? He's certain he doesn't want to know.
But even if the lie holds up even without him doing anything, it doesn't hold up well. He's going to have to make a decision.]
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...Maybe just tell people the truth? That you're still kinda new at stuff, and you don't really... know what you're doing yet. Sometimes that works for me.
[Except when it goes horribly wrong.]
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[In fairness to Ginko, that is not an uncommon feeling when talking to Kaworu. Most things become circular if you think about them too much.
Or at least they do if you let him guide you.
On the other hand...... sometimes it leads to moments like this.
There's a palpable pause.]
...what do you mean, it works for you?
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[Briefly, reflexively, he hesitates. Like he said, it works sometimes. Others, it doesn't go over so well.
But this is Kaworu. Somehow, perhaps paradoxically, that makes it seem a little more likely that this won't go over too badly.]
I'm... probably around twelve, but I don't actually remember most of it. I can't remember anything from before around two years ago.
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[Kaworu is silent again.
Ginko doesn't know it, but that sounds familiar.
Not that he's saying Ginko died and his soul was salvaged into a new vessel. But.]
You don't remember?
[A brief, shorter pause.]
...
Are you sure it even happened?
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[He frowns a little, staring down at the floor of his room. Maybe he'd be more certain if he'd ever met anyone who had known him before, but...]
But Suguro told me that it was probably a mushi that took my memories - Tokoyami. So there must have been something to take.
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Ginko.
Each one is further and further from him, like moons in distant orbit around a new planet.
He wasn't expecting it. But, also--]
It doesn't seem to trouble you.
[It's not an accusation. It's an observation.]
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[If it doesn't seem to bother him, that means he's doing something right. But if he's trying to be straightforward about this...]
Sometimes I... do wish I had some kind of memories from before. That I knew who I was.
But it's not as if I can do anything about it. So there's not much reason to worry about it.
[Except, you know. He does anyway.]
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This?]
You are yourself.
That is who you were before, and it is who you are now.
[This is something Kaworu knows. That humans worry and struggle so much with it is proof of their flawed, fragmented nature. But it is true for them as well; above all, humans must be themselves.]
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He can't recall anyone ever putting it like that. His lack of memories had been treated like an inconvenience, a problem. At best, it was just a matter of 'that's that' and nothing more. Something to resign himself to.
Something about the way Kaworu puts it makes it sound like it's not so much of a problem to contend it.]
...yeah.
Thanks.
[He can't be sure if Kaworu will understand that, but. He might as well say it.]