mk. 07 (text)

[paraclete]

Who: Kaworu Nagisa and anyone else
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: he's off on his own, for now.
When: afternoon

It's curious to call a place the way this place is called. "Solace" is a deeply personal concept to any creature, I believe. What brings you that measure of peace is going to be different from what brings it to me. So there's a lot of confidence in naming this space Solace, because how did they know whether this has what you or I are seeking?

But isn't it a little nice, too? The people who created this place must have found their solace in it themselves, and they truly believed it to be a provision of peace for the average heart. Those people have long since passed, I'm sure, now dead and having scattered past all these clouds. But what they believed to be vital, what nourished their well-being, remains here as a beacon of their hopes and endeavors. You know, it's always that way: when anyone leaves the world, their personal truths linger on, a landmark of reality. To the founders of Solace, this was solace. So it remains, whether or not you or I find our peace here.

Oh, anyway, hey, what do you think of this thing?

[attachment: nice72.jpg]

Comments

[astrobleme]

Have you ever seen one of those before?

[They've been together for more than a year, as close as close can be, but Shinji still doesn't know all that much about Kaworu's life before meeting him...]

[paraclete]

In pictures.

[But he'd like to sound encouraging—]

I've seen mice! And rats. In different contexts. Also, birds and insects.

[astrobleme]

I remember everyone being obsessed with this movie series about a giant lizard called Godzilla. It would come and wreak havoc in Japan, but then sometimes it'd protect Japan from other bad guys. [...] I never really understood the appeal. [Angels were a hell of a lot scarier than a guy in a rubber suit, anyway.]

[paraclete]

Perhaps it's nicer, having a monster, when you can tell its story and be in control of it. And perhaps it's nicer to feel that at least a monster is there for you when you need it most, if you have nothing else. Despite everything.

Giant lizard, though, it seems neat.

[astrobleme]

[Oh no. More philosophy. It makes a startling amount of sense, of course it does, but it's also very uncomfortable to think about. Being in control...]

Maybe that's how it is. But then you'll remember sooner or later that you're not in control of anything in the real world... good and bad stuff just happens to you.

[paraclete]

That's how I felt, too. But when the good thing happened to me, I was pretty surprised.

[astrobleme]

[...]

What good thing?

[paraclete]

Oh, when I met you. See, I had no idea that would happen. I had no control over that. It was definitely the best thing ever, though.

[astrobleme]

[Should have guessed as much...

It's a little bit too warm under this blanket.]

You smiled at me like it was nothing. I didn't know what to think. Sometimes I still don't.

[paraclete]

[A lot of Ikari Shinjis have thought a lot of different things about Nagisa Kaworu's smiles and what they were and what they have become, but...]

Just remember that I like to smile at you. Just remember I am your friend. That's all you need to think.

[astrobleme]

You don't have to remind me. It's not like I'm going to forget or anything.

You should show me more nice things instead of listening to my melodrama.

[paraclete]

[Selfishly,] I hope you don't. [It's past the point where Kaworu thinks he might not be able to handle it if he had to restart from square one.]

I like listening to you, no matter what, but how about this...

[attachment: nice46.jpg]

[astrobleme]

[Not what he was expecting.

Then again, he doesn't really know what to expect.]

That's just making me thirsty.