[ todomatsu is, for the moment, still in his stupid dirty white robe (though a box of clothes is on the floor next to him), rinsing a cut on his finger in the sink in the refectory kitchen because it is the least creepy place with plumbing.

he winces like a baby even though it's just water. ]

Ouch...

[ ugh. fuck blood rituals!!!! ]

[speaking of blood! she's changed into the dress she got from the swamp, which is basically covered in the stuff, along with being slightly torn. it would be a very pretty and formal white gown if it hadn't seen better days. she looks confused at his discomfort, though.]

What is it?

Huh?

[ looks over toward— YIKES WHAT IS GOING ON THERE?? is that blood hers? someone else's?? it's at least dried, right????? ]

Whoa!! What— are you okay?

[it is... drying! close enough. it seems dry enough that whatever happened was back home instead of here, at any rate.]

I'm fine.

[she's maybe moving a little stiffly, but she doesn't seem too bothered by that.]

You sounded hurt.

O...kay.

[ either way, that is soooo much more blood than what escaped through this little sliver in his finger that this seems embarrassing to even acknowledge now. ]

Ah, it's nothing! I just cut my finger earlier, since. You know.

[ the boxes hungered. ]

Oh.

[she also looks a little surprised it was just that, but she decides not to be rude and move past it.]

What did you get back?

My phone. Which... is great, except I don't have any service, and I don't think I'm going to be able to charge it after the battery runs out, so...

[...]

What's a phone?

[ oh. ]

You too, huh...

You've spoken to others who don't recognize it, I guess?

Yeah. Which is kind of surprising, because pretty much anyone with anything resembling a social life has one back home.

[ that distinction is necessary because he is the only one of his brothers who has one. ]

What do they do?

They let you talk to people across long distances in real time. And with modern ones like this you can also play games on them, take photos... lots of stuff.

Without having to send letters?

[immediately wishes her world had that]

How useful.

Yeah! Well, you can do it with text too, but that's also basically instantaneous.

Is that kind of technology easy to develop?

Mm, it was over a hundred years in between when basic ground line telephones were invented and smartphones like this, so probably not...?

Or, well... it takes a long time to get the groundwork, I think. But then each new advancement lets you reach the next one faster, and eventually you get to where new models are being released all the time, and the thing you just bought five years ago is already obsolete.

[ spoken as someone who was in elementary school in the 60s and 80s and high school in the 2000s... somehow... ]

...I see. Maybe I could at least bring back notes about it.

[thoughtfully]

[ sitting outside on the shitty doorstep of the clown theater at some point... he gives vin a little wave when she passes by. ]

So... two months of this, supposedly.

[ which feels like, almost equally as bad as the blood sacrifice part right now. ]

Supposedly.

[making a face, but.]

I'm not ruling out the possibility that we'll found a way out sooner.

I sure hope we do. I feel like it probably won't happen until pretty close to the end, though.

Why do you say that?

Ah...

[ BECAUSE IF YOUR PREMISE IS A TWO MONTH MINISERIES IT DOESN'T END AFTER THREE WEEKS ]

No reason, really... just kind of a weird gut feeling!

[tragically she is not genre savvy in this way so she looks a little skeptical]

...I see. Well, I suppose we'll find out soon enough.

[glancing his way as she passes by.]

You know how to fish?

[ oh! hi. ]

Yeah! I do it at home all the time. It's relaxing.

I wonder if there are any here... Have you caught anything yet?

[glancing out into the water]

Not yet, but I'm pretty sure I saw some fish shadows out there!

Would you show me how to do it? I'll make sure to repay you.

Edited (clicks the wrong icon like a champ) 2024-06-20 08:46 pm (UTC)