exsilium | 001 ▹ video

[A curious young woman appears on the video as she stares at the tablet in her hands, somewhat interested in the new and different and technology and all--when she remembers that oh right, she'd planned on talking to people. Way to make an impression of being focused and prepared...

She clears her throat.] Er, hi there. My name's Shirley, and... These people--y'know, the Initiative and all--they're really not picky when it comes to people who end up here and all, huh? So I just wanted to clarify something: not everything has to be about fighting, right? I can't say I'm good with anything like diplomacy either, but it's a better start than something like shooting someone...

Sorry if it's a simple question. I just wanted to be absolutely sure; thank you for your time in advance.

... actually, there's just one more thing. [A pause, because this is a lot more awkward of a topic to bring up. Still, she can't help but be curious given her own circumstances.] This is probably gong to seem silly, but this isn't actually some kind of weirdly militaristic afterlife, is it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hahaha, yeah, it's rather boring for most people, isn't it? Ahahaha...

[ YEAH. WE'RE ROLLING WITH THIS UNTIL SHE CAN CHANGE THE TOPIC. ]

What, what are you interested in, then?

Oh, uh, y'know... Just the usual kind of teenage girl stuff I guess. [i.e. cheesy romance novels most likely but it sounds sad to admit that when someone else is regularly reading things like POLITICS and whatnot]

A-ah, ah, ah! What are those!? [ She doesn't know a lot of teenage girls. SHE MUST KNOW! ] Please tell me!

They're like, you know... [COME ON KOUGYOKU this is embarrassing!!] Romance novels.

Oh. ... I... I read those, too. [ and it's not a lie. of course she'd read something like that. ] Especially the ones with charming men that sweep you off your feet.

That's normal.

Right?

Yeah, of course! [COMMON GROUND...!] It's just a shame that guys aren't usually like that in real life, huh?

[ Kougyoku remains silent for a while. ]

I have met such a man before...

--wait, seriously? [mO_Om] No kidding, he was completely the real deal?

He's tall, handsome and he knows just what to say to make a girl weak in the knees... He has a slight drinking problem, but he's kind and smart and so charismatic--he's a king, too! But I would have fallen for him even if he wasn't...

[ tl;dr kyaa sinbad-sama ]

What's one problem compared to a hundred, right? [She's looking at you Lulu BUT ANYWAYS.] He really does sound like a character out of a book. You must be one lucky girl.

[ for the record, his autobiography is a bestseller... ]

I am lucky to have met him, yes.

But I've already given up on him.

No way! How come?

Um, well... It's just... It's impossible! He has more important things to do than waste his time on a little girl. He may have a way with words, but even I can tell that he never loved me.

... Sorry, I started talking about something personal...

It's alright, I don't mind! [she just hopes she doesn't seem nosy wanting to talk about stuff like this] But how can you be so sure? After all, you never know until you try.

Mm! [ She shakes her head. ] It's better this way. At the very least, I won't lose face.

[ Princess and all. ]

Um, wh... what... about, you? What about you?

Lose face? [Maybe her reputation was really important and all... Though she couldn't imagine something like that damaging it. Then again she wasn't a princess BUT ANYWAYS.] But alright, if you say so.

Hm? What about me? [Oh no is she going to have to talk about her own experiences THEY JUST ENDED IN TRAGEDY YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW MAN!!]

Yeah... I told you about myself, so... It's only fair that you - that you tell me as well! [ plus, this was one step to becoming friends with someone. right? ]

You got me there... [DAMN she's been cornered. She lets out a sigh though; how does she go about explaining things like "I'm in love with the terrorist who indirectly killed my father" or "there's someone I love but then I died and ended up here except somehow he's here too"?!

... yeah maybe she'll just skip those parts. At least there's a universal starter for something like this.] There's a boy I like, yeah.

[ It's not her story, but Kougyoku's blushing anyway. It's different when someone else admits it. It's almost like a friend is confiding in her. ]

What's he like?

[without even a pause--] He's a failure of a human being.

[ UM???? ]

Even for someone you love, that's too harsh!

But it's true! He gambles, sleeps in class or outright skips it, doesn't have a single athletic bone in his body, hangs up on me while I'm talking to him, kisses me without ever explaining why only to date hundreds of girls at once! And to top it all off, he thinks he can make it okay by giving me a dress. Even for him, that was ridiculous!

How awful! [ that's not something someone popular would do... but shirley...! ]

Then... why do you love him?

[Shirley's silent as she mulls over it. She knows why of course, but... There were a lot of reasons why. She just didn't really know how to put all of that into words.]

Because he's kind.

[ It sounds like a very silly reason but to Kougyoku, that's a good enough answer. She chuckles in amusement. ]

Love certainly does make people do crazy things sometimes. Am I right?

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