Station 72 >> Mental Link

[otrazhenie]

COMPASSION never lose it	GRIEF
BLOOD	KATHERINE i look like her

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

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[otrazhenie]

[ Okay, now he's confused. Does he really not know? Has this very important piece of information passed him by? The confusion should come through loud and clear for Shinji as she answers his question. ]

( Because I'm a vampire and she's spent her life killing vampires. It doesn't seem to matter to her that my kind are different from the ones she's known, or that I'm still a person despite the fangs. )

[ It's progress for Elena herself to think such, though. She's a little proud of herself for it. ]

[extradite]

[ Ah. That suddenly old story. For the sake of her shame, he'll let her have this moment of silence, so she might review and reconsider her position before he has to once again point out the obvious: ]

( Vampires don't exist. )

[ It wasn't just Misato in sore need of the reminder, after all. ]

[otrazhenie]

[ Uhm. Okay. That... isn't what she expected. ]

( You seriously haven't felt my cravings? For blood? Gildor was almost sick from them earlier. )

[extradite]

( Anyone can have a strange diet from time to time. Especially in stressful situations. )

[ Isn't this like Misato's choice to devour two, three small packs of crisps after a terrible briefing? Misplaced anger, overwhelming nerves The stomach is a tricky thing. ]

[otrazhenie]

( This isn't because of a 'stressful situation', Shinji. I died. Two weeks ago. I'm dead and the only way I can survive now is to drink blood. )

[ She could understand someone not believing when they first found out if they couldn't feel the blood cravings, but shouldn't that be enough? That's not exactly a normal thing! ]

[extradite]

[ He should help himself, he should, he should, he should — ]

( ...right. You're dead. That's why you're talking to me right now. Because you're dead. Honestly... )

[ — he doesn't. ]

[otrazhenie]

[ She is so incredibly tempted to track him down and just show him how much of a vampire she is. But that would be a bad thing, right? ]

( We've all been implanted with aliens in our heads and you're seriously doubting that vampires could possibly exist? )

[extradite]

( It's not an alien. It's probably a neural sync path. I don't know the... biophysics of it, but. It's just science. )

[ Trust him, it's his second go at it. There are men and women armoured in pristine lab coats who'll tell you so: this is normal. ]

( Vampires are make-believe. Why would it be blood a normal body needs to stay alive? Are you bleeding out from anywhere? )

[ ...oh. Oh, no. Oh, wait. ]

( More than... girls... )

[otrazhenie]

[ Elena is legitimately having trouble processing this conversation. He can't be serious. There's no way someone can deny something like this. Vampires, sure, but aliens? Come on. ]

( Shinji, we're surrounded by aliens. Why is it so hard to believe that they've put one in our heads? )

[ Yes, she's sidestepping that second part right now, for both their sakes. ]

[extradite]

( I just know how systems like these work. )

[ A horrible, most trying moment, when Ikari Shinji knows better than the average man. ]

[otrazhenie]

[ She doesn't say anything for a moment, just contemplates the various options available, and finally settles on perhaps not the best one, but hopefully the one that will get the job done. ]

( Can you meet me in the morning? In one of our tents, so we can go without costumes for a bit? I'd like to show you something. )

[extradite]

( Will you be hurting yourself? )

[ It's out before he can refrain himself, vicious and ironic and disruptive. Quaint, by adult standard. Lakshmi's heritage of vitriol. ]

( I've already been shown that lesson, thank you. )

[otrazhenie]

( No, neither of us enjoyed that demonstration, trust me. What was Lakshmi trying to prove with that, anyway? )

[ That she's some sort of badass? Message received, let's move along now. ]

[extradite]

( That she can hurt me until I agree with her. )


[ A lesson for adults to teach and children to partake of. He knows the rites. ]

[otrazhenie]

( Well, that's a shitty lesson. )

[ There's no love lost between her and Lakshmi at this point, so she's not going to sugarcoat her feelings toward their broodmate when she's talking with Shinji. ]

[extradite]

( That's not for me to say. )

[ But yes. Yes, it was. Wretched and abrupt and inefficient. Something none of them would want to relive, given the choice.

But you don't criticise an adult's choices so easily. ]

[otrazhenie]

( Yes it is. You're not just some kid here, Shinji. You're part of this brood and we might not have chosen each other, but we are stuck with each other. If you have something to say, to any of us, then don't hold back. )

[ Lakshmi's a bully, plain and simply. If Elena has anything to say about it, she won't be letting her push Shinji around again. At least, not until he's confident enough to push back. ]

[extradite]

( ...right. )

[ Enthusiasm takes precious seconds to build and somehow still falters at the last moment. He only has the one bone to throw her: ]

( I don't believe in vampires. So I won't try to kill you. )

[otrazhenie]

( I can work with that. )

[ Hopefully one of those she'll be able to get out of him before long. ]

( So will you meet me in the morning? )

[extradite]

( Do I have to? )


[ Welcome, Elena Gilbert, to teenage male petulance. Misato sends her regards. ]

[otrazhenie]

( If you don't, I'm just going to keep bugging you about it. )

[ She has a teenage brother with attitude and drug problems galore. Shinji might win a battle or two, but there's no way he'll win the war. ]

[extradite]

[ This is terrible. Girls are terrible. She should go back to kissing strangers. ]


( Tomorrow morning, then. )

[otrazhenie]

[ Success. ]

( Sleep well, Shinji. )

[ She'll try not to bother him too much with her internal agonizing over said kiss. ]