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[ctrl_z]

"This is Ekko. Get back to you when I can."

Comments

[anashthetic]

My intentions are as follows: the two of you clearly have history, and I'm interested in hearing what it is. No more, no less.

Choose to disbelieve it, if you'd like, but that's really all it is.

[This is what happens when she tries to be straightforward!! It looks like she's scheming!! She can't help it if she's just... naturally given to seeming like a schemer...

...Also, Jinx is telling her plenty in the other simultaneous text conversation she's got going on at the moment, but getting both sides would be a lovely bit of additional context.]

Would it salve your paranoia if I offered to answer a question of your choice?

[ctrl_z]

[Better. He could choose not to believe her, of course.

For now, he'll reward supposed honesty with honesty.]

we were real young when our worlds flipped upside down. not much older than tots.

i lived with my dad, she with hers, her sister and two boys.

we clicked because we were the most similar in age and interests. the techies.

honestly, for the undercity, it was about as good as life could get. stability. loving, protective parents.

still, there was a hunger for something more. something better than our toxic, sunlight-deprived city.

[anashthetic]

That sort of hunger makes for the best ambitions. And the worst, admittedly; it'll drive you, but not always to the wisest of places.

What'd you make of it?

[ctrl_z]

we rebelled against the upsiders in any way we could.

for her, she and her gang stole from them. i was the messenger.

[something he chooses not to elaborate on for the moment.]

but it seemed like fate lined up in all the worst ways for us.

over the span of a few days, my dad was killed. jinx's too, along with the boys.

we thought her sister died, too. she got shipped off to piltie high-security prison, so she might as well have been for most of those years.

honestly, i thought jinx died. come to find out, the man responsible for killing my dad? took her in.

so yeah.

we've been through some shit.

it took unbelievable effort to not start this tag with 'that's rough, buddy'

[anashthetic]

You've had a rough string of luck, haven't you? Impressive you've both managed to come out of it comparatively coherent at your age.

And I did say I'd answer a question in exchange.
So.
What would you like to know?

you should've tbh

[ctrl_z]

the undercity makes for some pretty resilient kids, i guess

just why you wanted to know.

really dig deep for it.

[Is he serious, or just pulling her leg? It's difficult to tell with text.]

ashton's 0.025 brain cells of tact briefly activating to prevent it

[anashthetic]

As I said: curiosity. Really.

When two or more people arrive from the same world, typically they know each other. That much is just pattern recognition. And I like knowing everything about everyone! Which is not a realistic goal, but I do what I can.

Also, Jinx did publicly claim you on the Network once, which was very entertaining and also raised quite a lot of questions.

such a display of strength and self-control, i weep

[ctrl_z]

[g o d]

that post is going to haunt me until the day i'm off this ship.

and probably after then, too.

but alright. if you really mean no harm, i'll take your word for it.

it does help that you and jinx seem pretty chummy with each other already.

[anashthetic]

She's a very easy girl to make sense of.

[Those are certainly words that someone could put in that order!]

[ctrl_z]

[i'm sorry what]

sure.

[what the fuck else could he say to that. takes one to know one??? (affectionate)]

[anashthetic]

What's that supposed to mean?

[ctrl_z]

no hidden meaning
just glad to see her making friends is all

[ash might be a questionable one, but still!]