stonebones | no. 002 [photos + audio from route 30.]

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no. 002 [photos + audio from route 30.]

[It's been two weeks and a lot of trouble for young Emil, navigating with his blindfold. The unfamiliar setting was hard enough, but with rain on top of that? At least he'd accepted the Sableye after a few days and had time in Cherrygrove to unwind. He's gone out again now, though the image he shares with the network shows him indoors and in dry clothes -- he'd had to change back into the clothes he'd arrived in, soaked as he was from the day's rain. It's a little blurry, definitely not something that would win awards, but it's still enough to show a Meowth egg settled in his lap and that was the idea. Well, that and testing out the 'gear's functions to see if he'd gotten it right and he really could attach a picture to his voice.]

So this...really isn't a mistake? This egg will really hatch into a cat?

[He makes a thoughtful noise, switching to a tone that sounds more like he's musing to himself.]

I don't really know how many things come out of eggs back home -- like this, I mean, with a shell and everything. Definitely not cats. But I look forward to it, if it's true!

[There's the soft clatter of glass being set onto a table before the feed abruptly cuts out, but it's only an hour or so before another picture shows up with the same voice accompanying it -- softer though, warmer. The photo shows the young boy eating and laughing with an older man that some might be able to recognize as Mr. Pokemon. Well, honestly the image is mostly table, like something small had taken the picture instead of another trainer. Emil might not have known Stilzchen was playing with the camera again, but...he's glad he did, if he gets to have this memory to share.]

It's been raining a lot, but...that's okay. People here are really nice. Nicer than I ever expected...

Even the friendly people back home were never this welcoming towards me. Is this just how other worlds are? I wonder... [He seems to remember then that he's not just recording his thoughts for himself and clears his throats.] They did have a good reason, so maybe it's just me. What were your worlds like for you?

[ooc: this is slightly forward dated to the evening, around suppertime!]

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You're thinking of rocks, right?

Well, you're not entirely wrong. It's pretty complicated, and I won't bore you with the details, but I'll leave it at that, at least.

[Emil can't help but giggle a little.]

I guess it's a little obvious, huh...

[He feels a bit better at her words, even if they're vague.]

One of my friends is a talking book, so you're not the first non-human I've talked to. He isn't here, though, I'm pretty sure. [rude as heck if he was tbh.] Are you...okay? Being human here?

A... talking book? How does that work?

[She sounds a little... unsure there. Because, well... inanimate objects that have sentience of their own? Gee, that sounds a bit familiar...

Her tone shifts when she speaks again, though, sounding very much like someone who's trying not to sound disgusted.]

I'm getting used to it. But sometimes it's still just kind of... ugh.

I'm not really sure. Weiss was always just Weiss, to me! He has really powerful magic, though I'm not sure which came first, talking or spells...

[Maybe he could ask the next time he saw him. Weiss always did like boasting about himself.]

...Mn. I kind of know what you mean. [Being human was natural for him, obviously, but to suddenly have yourself change... He flexes his fingers a little, grimacing to himself.] I'm sorry. It must be hard on you.

And you're sure he's just a book?

[yeah, she's not going to let this go just yet. Still, an ugh can be heard on the other end of the line as she turns back to their other topic.]

You humans leak too much. That's what I'm still having problems with.

Well, he'd probably be offended about being called just a book and not the great Grimoire Weiss...

[But as far as he knows, that's the whole deal, anyway.]

Leak? [If she's leaking that's kind of a weird probl -- OH NEVER MIND. There were a lot of things...that could be considered leaking...] Oh, I... I guess we do. Sorry about that.

[Emil what are you apologizing for, you did not design humans.]

[Whoops okay time to drop her whining about humans this whole book thing is really starting to concern her.]

No, I mean... are you sure he's always been that.... Grimoire thing? There could be a person in there.

[Emil goes quiet for a while, frowning to himself and thinking back on the conversations he's had with Weiss.]

I mean...he is a person, in his own way... He just doesn't look like what most other people would think. But I don't know if he's always been like that. He has been for a long, long time, I think, anyway...

You should ask him, next time you see him.

Magical artifacts like that, even if they seem like they're just what they seem at first, and even if they don't say otherwise, may not be all that they appear to be.

[yeah it sure does sound like she's speaking from experience here...]

...I will.

[It's something that's true for most beings, he thinks, but it wouldn't do anything to point that out. Probably also not quite what she means...]

Are you okay, miss?

I just... know how that feels. Being a thing, but not a thing. You know?

[She's not really afraid to talk about what was done to her, sometimes it's just... hard. A lot of bad memories of darkness and loneliness.]

[It could just be that she's not human, he tries to persuade himself, but even that voice inside him doesn't sound too confident in that. Her tone was different now, not the one of disgust from before, and she's more closed off.

Emil rests his chin on his knees, thinking. Finally, he decides he doesn't really want to press her for an explanation. Not now.]

...Yeah. I understand. [And for what it's worth, it sounds like he does.] I promise I'll ask, when I get the chance. Would you...want to meet him, if he comes here?

Good.

[It's not harsh. Because, hey, at least this being in the book has people who care about him... even if they didn't think of this, it sounds like he's their friend. Not a tool. It's different...]

... If he wants to meet me, then sure. I don't see why not.

[And if she can help him somehow... she definitely will.]

[Are you ready for a tonal shift, Lapis? Because Emil switches from that quiet, gentle tone to a more upbeat one.]

Of course, even if you are similar, he'll probably just start to argue anyway. He might be really smart, but "get along with others" must not be in his pages anywhere, with how he talks to Nier and Kainé sometimes! Really, I might feel bad if he shows up here on his own like I did -- for everyone else, I mean.

[Despite the teasing, he sounds affectionate.]

[Lapis laughs.]

The loud ones who like to throw insults around are pretty easy to deal with. Just wait for them to scream themselves out, then try talking to them.

[... Just... going to casually leave out the fact that she learned this after being fused with a loud jerk who actually, you know, hated her and wanted to hurt her.]

Oh, I don't think he'd scream himself out... Way too undignified for a guy like him. He just picks on others a bit because he thinks they're better than them.

...I'd say he likes us, though. Even Kainé, and that's who he insults on the most.

Well, even so. There's only so long before someone's anger tires them out, even if they're not yelling.

[AND THEN YOU TAKE CONTROL OVER THEM AGAI-- wait no wrong situation.]

That's good. Though if he picks on you and he likes you, I'd hate to see what he's like to people he doesn't like.

Yeah. Being like that would be way too exhausting. I like how everyone is much better, even when they don't always get along!

[He'd feel bad for your life if he knew, Lapis...]

That's why I'm hoping he shows up sooner rather than later. He still probably wouldn't be happy, but at least we could be together! Then maybe I could keep him from being so grumpy.

... You seem pretty optimistic about all of that.

[Geez, and she thought Steven's level of optimism was rare....]

If he does come here, though, you should probably try and get in contact with some other people who weren't human before coming here. It's... a big change. He probably wouldn't like it.

Mhmn. I think it's better to try and be positive about it. Things are how they are, aren't they? So make the most of it while working to change things if you can.

[It was a trait needed in their group of Everything Happens So Much, so that's what he provided in spades.]

I've...gone through something similar, if I'm being honest. I mean, I was born a normal human and everything, but a lot of things happened. [Which is putting it mildly.] So things like "here's what you have to deal with" might not occur to me so much, but...at least he'll know he's not alone, you know? I think that's important.

But you're still human. No offense or anything, but there are a lot of little, weird things that humans have to do that people who weren't human didn't, and it helps better to hear how to deal with that from someone who wasn't human before coming here.

Like do you know how weird eating and sleeping must be to someone who never had to do that? Or dealing with all the really gross things that come out of human bodies?

Mn...

[Sometimes he wondered.]

Yeah. I guess that's true, it must be really strange. And even if he's seen all us do that stuff, it wouldn't prepare him for all that himself.

Exactly. It's a whole different experience, doing something instead of just watching someone else do it.

He'd be lucky, though. I didn't even have that to go off of when I first got here! I had to find out everything from other people.

At least people were nice enough to help you out, right...?

[Trying to...steer this into a more positive direction.]

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no. 002 [photos + audio from route 30.]

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