un: sparky

[electricalburn]

Hi! I'm Ike!

I know some people here are from worlds that are a lot more technologically advanced than Nippon. If you brought your phone with you, it's probably dead by now, right?

I can charge them for you!

I'm a Thunder eleman, which probably doesn't mean a lot to any of the people here, but I can create and control electricity! It's the only way I ever charge mine.

I know some people would probably like having pictures or messages from home, or an easy camera, even if that's all they can be now. And after everything that happened earlier, I thought it'd be a nice way to get to know more people.

Comments

[electricalburn]

I think it's less a girls and boys thing and more of an eleman versus non-eleman thing...

[He'd say "human" but hey, it's rude to assume!!]

I-I don't know what okayu is, but-- I definitely won't turn down food! But it's related to-- well, this. [He gestures with his hands.] It's an autoimmune thing, so sometimes I get fevers, too.

[Despite his usual nerves, nothing about this comes out like a lie -- it's the one he's used his whole life, after all.]

[shutter_hime]

It's sort of comfort food. It can be a little bland, but I usually put in a little bit of miso and scallions. Nori, if I'm feeling spicy. Anyway, it's best to eat when you're sick, so you have something to help you get better.

[Kokoro nods decisively; feed a fever, starve a cold, right? At least her fingers have stopped tingling.]

What's an eleman?

[electricalburn]

Oh-- th-that's what I am! I'm a Thunder Eleman, which is why I can create electricity like this. But there are other types, too! Like Flame, Aqua, Wind, Garden... I'd never even met a human before until I came here, since they're pretty rare on our side of the world.

[The culture shock is Real.]

[shutter_hime]

Huh...

[Kokoro looks up thoughtfully at the sky.]

I guess that makes it easier to sort people into groups. Is there a lot of in-fighting, or are things pretty normal?

[electricalburn]

[Cue the nervous laugh of someone trying to think of how to answer without making their world sound bad.]

There's... a lot of infighting, actually. The Aqua elemen have it worst, since they've been at civil war for a long time. And the Flame elemen cities are big on military expansion. But it's not so bad where I'm from.

[shutter_hime]

[Kokoro wrinkles her nose in sympathy.]

My world sucks for that too, everyone fights and no one actually talks. Or, in my country anyway, everyone is lowkey passive aggressive and being aggressive-aggressive isn't polite.

[She's so sorry, she can't help herself, Ike,]

So are you saying all was fine until the fire nation attacked?

[electricalburn]

[Alas, this beautiful reference goes over his head.]

Something like that. The Flame cities have always been pretty aggressive-aggressive... my cousin lives in the capital, Stendrion, and she's always complaining about the politics there.

[shutter_hime]

[A Shame.]

That sounds wild. And kind of scary. Like it's a nation full of Americans, but also they can do fire things.

[Her prejudice was showing, but seriously, Americans tried to murder her last semester!]

[electricalburn]

Well... I don't know what am American is, but the flame elemen themselves aren't that bad! Their government is the one at fault. My cousin has more freedom now, but that's because she joined the military. Normal citizens aren't even allowed to leave the city without special permission, so most of those who live outside it had to escape at some point.

[He's forgetting the implication he's making by calling a flame eleman his cousin -- but he doesn't get a lot of chances to talk about Lunia, so it's not something he's as used to lying about.]

[shutter_hime]

They're a people in a different country from mine. Kind of loud, and really like guns? At least, that's how it seems to be in every movie I've seen from there.

[Kokoro shrugged.]

So... normal citizens there can't just decide to go on vacation? That's... kinda weird to me. I can go wherever I want if I wanted. No offense, though. I'm sure there's a good reason for it.

[electricalburn]

I don't know if "dictatorship" is a good reason... Lunia's different from most Flame elemen, since neither of her parents lived in the capital, but a lot of them just... don't see a problem with it. Or if they do, they don't know what to do to change it. And their capital is in the middle of a desert filled with monsters, so even if they want to leave, it's not really feasible without the government's help.

[They definitely got the short end of the stick in picking where to settle.]

But-- I'm from Jet City, and it's really nice there! As long as you don't mind the weather. Too many Thunder elemen in one places means it's pretty stormy most of the time.

[shutter_hime]

Storms are really good to take pictures of, though. There's something kind of awe-inspiring about how little you are in the grand scheme of things. What made the Flame elemen choose to settle in the desert?

Like, I know there's people that live there on Earth, but it's really a different kind of person who goes out and chooses to live that way.

[electricalburn]

Oh, I'm sure it was because of the climate! Flame elemen have a way hotter body temperature than most elemen, at least 120 degrees. Whenever Lunia visited, she'd always complain at us to turn the heat up in the middle of summer.

[Which is also why Ike is pretty bundled up, given his own higher body temperature.]

Ah, but-- you know, if you ever want to take pictures of storms, I can create them! It just has it be a little cloudy. That's why it's always stormy in Jet City -- put enough Thunder Elemen together, and they just kind of happen, whether we mean for it or not.

[shutter_hime]

Ah, see, I'm the opposite. Heat really wipes me out these days. I got really sensitive to it. But! I can run around in winter in a miniskirt, so it really all works out.

[Perspectives, after all.]

Sooo, next cloudy day, we can get together and take pictures?

[electricalburn]

[Ike, fighting the urge to space out and picture her in a miniskirt--]

Oh-- I-I'd like that! But we'll have to do it outside the city. I don't want to risk any lightning strikes hitting a building.

[He may have a fair amount of control over the storms he makes, but of all elements, lightning is one of the most unpredictable in its natural form.]

[shutter_hime]

Gotcha. It should be okay-ish out there.

[Though, it would be sort of funny for the clouds to buzz off because of a timeloop. Kokoro keeps that thought to herself.]

You're like, the first person I've hung out with, so I'm pretty excited.

[electricalburn]

[Or worse-- the same lightning strike just keeps happening over and over because of a time loop.]

Really? I-I guess you are for me, too!

[Don't mind him just aggressively sparkling over here--]

--oh! Your phone is done charging! [Gonna cut the electricity off -- and he holds it back out to her.] If it ever starts getting low, bring it back to me, and I should be able to charge it a lot faster next time. It's easier to top it off than to charge it from zero.

[shutter_hime]

Ah! You're the greatest! Thank you, Atalanta-kun!

[She fiddles with her phone camera and sits closer to him.]

You get to be my first, official selfie here. Put your hand here on my hip, lean in, and say, "cheese!"

[electricalburn]

[SUDDENLY SELFIES and also wow a hand on her hip? So scandalous.]

Eh? A-Ah, cheese!

[shutter_hime]

[There's the sound of a shutter, but just a second later there's the image two of them are side by side, Kokoro grinning happily and... Ike looking flustered.]

Ah, it's pretty cute. I'm a little out of practice, though, so I can make better shots later.

[electricalburn]

[Ah, they do look cute together... even if Ike is a little more embarrassed now, seeing how red his face is.]

Well, now that your phone works again, you can practice all you want!