soul_campaign | thirteenth dazzle | July 29, after dark

[Takuto doesn't look sad for this appearance on the network, but he doesn't look characteristically happy, either. He just looks... tired. Maybe it's just that the only light is the glow from the communicator's screen itself, but he looks far more tired than a seventeen year old boy obsessed with singing out his youth and being a source of metaphorical radiance has a right to look.

He sighs, turning the video feed away from himself, into what appears to be total blackness.]

...Some of them are missing. [The darkness of the image focuses in and out of a blurry gray before slowly resolving into tiny pinpricks of light. Stars. There's the sound of a heavy sigh once again.]

I know it's not a thing that's particular to this city or this world or the situation we're all in. People can leave for reasons much worse than a magical device's whim. But all this leaving is exhausting me. People coming and going and coming and going.

[He pauses, recollecting his thoughts as the images blurs, refocuses. The stars twinkle, distantly, silently.]

I think life is a string of people coming and going no matter who or where you are, but… but here, this… I’m getting tired of it.

BREW sent Yuugi away.

[text | private to Yako]

I'm on my roof and I would like some company.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She considers the statment for a moment. It sounds like he's saying the person was already dead or dying when they arrived. In which case BREW gave them a temporary reprieve. Which was more than pretty much anyone ever got.]

Then you should celebrate the extension BREW gave them and the opportunity you had to have them impact your life.

[She puffs out a sigh because she's not completely heartless or anything.] I am sorry for your loss.

Thank you.

[She might be surprised by how many heartless people there actually are here in Death City, though. Though more likely she wouldn't. He sighs.]

It feels a lot like going to a funeral, though. It's much easier to celebrate life when people are still alive.

So have a memorial service with those who knew and cared about the person and give yourself closure. [This seems perfectly logical to her.]

... Maybe.

[It's actually a decent idea, but he can't help but think how awful it would be to drag Shinji to a memorial for Kaworu. And he's not sure how many people actually knew Kaworu had no time left if BREW sent him home. He doesn't want to be the person to say that someone is dead when people were blissfully thinking he'd just gone home.]

A man should make up his mind.

There are a lot of things a man should do.

Indeed. It is not as easy as growing older.

I don't even think growing older is easy.

All you need to grow older is time. It involves no effort. Living through that time might be complicated but the physical aging is quite simple.

It still seems to be a thing that some people do well and others don't do very well at all. [A pause.]

But I think I'm too young to really know for sure.

[That just means the people who are bad at it, are out of the gene pool. Bianchi is ok with that.]

Perhaps so. [She looks at the video screen thoughtfully. After a few long moments she nods her head.] I will leave you to your thoughts.

thirteenth dazzle | July 29, after dark | video

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]