caughtinanetwork | I // [video]

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I // [video]

[The screen flickers slightly before revealing a smiling young face, red eyes wide in wonder as she stares at the camera. The girl looks very excited, or at least eager to see what this device does. There's almost a sense of pride emanating from her - after all, being in a family of magi meant that they avoided contact with modern technology as much as possible. So getting this thing to work is quite the accomplishment, and she looks around for a few moments around the edge of the screen - checking things, probably - before looking back at the camera.

Unfortunately, she doesn't notice that it's upside down.]

Hello everyone! I'm Ilyasviel von Einzbern, but Ilya is fine. I'm new here, so I'm looking for someone to be my older brother!

[She smiles again. It's not in her intention to further explain what an older brother entails, since the best older brothers would already know what to do without her telling them. Ideally, the older brother would be someone who's actually older than her, but if they act and look older than her, that's fine too. All things considered, that really shouldn't be too hard...]

I guess a big sister would be okay too... but a big brother would be better. So, someone come play with me, okay?

[Her eyes wander off to the sides of the screen again. A few moments pass by as this continues, and the girl mutters a barely audible 'how do you turn this off?']

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[Are these things really so difficult to use? Newcomers, what can you do with them.]

Uh, you might want to just flip your SFC a little.

...anyway. I'm not sure you understand how siblings work any more than you do that device, but what would you actually need one for?

[The screen rotates slowly until it's set in the right direction. A brief look of surprise passes by her face, but it goes away quickly. Anthropomorphic animals are... uncommon, but she figures that (at least where she came from) anything could exist.

Now, to his question...]

Well, they could help me out with everything! When I'm stuck on something or when I can't do something, they would be able to show me how.

[The list could go on, but Ilya stops before it sounds too much like an amalgamation of a teacher, a maid, a cook and a friend. Of course, most importantly would be the fact that the person would love her unconditionally...]

Really? Because that sounds like something that any friend could do.

[She never really had friends, which is probably another part of why the thought never occurred to her before.]

I guess. But an older brother feels better to have.

[Friends don't have the same kinds of relationships as siblings have, right? It's kind of like how her relationship with Shirou is special.

Although, even if she does find another sibling here, they wouldn't really be her sibling. Again, Shirou is special.]

If you say so.

[Tech isn't convinced, but he's certainly not going to argue with a child.]

Still, maybe it's something you should work your way up to. Outright asking someone to be your "brother" is a rather high request.

Why should I settle for anything less than what I want? I think that a good big brother will already know what a brother should do.

[She's okay with not finding her ideal. It's not like she's been fortunate enough to have these kinds of things for most of her life, anyway.]

[He rubs at his chin. Splitting semantic hairs is nothing new, but even Tech feels off about having this sort of discussion with some child. Much less one that he just met.]

Well, I don't think it's a matter of settling. Do you really expect someone to simply agree to your terms with no prior relationship?

[Getting lectured by some wolf guy isn't exactly Ilya's idea of conversation, but it's certainly a new experience. She probably could have done without it, though.]

Someone could, couldn't they? And we could talk about it.

[Never mind that her idea of 'talking about it' would consist of some attempt at coercion. Hey, an Einzbern Master is not one to mess with, and they would learn if they don't end up agreeing.]

They could, in that it's not a logical impossibility. But, taking your approach into account, I'm not sure that this is ever actually going to happen as you seem to be imagining it.

[If she were to be honest, she doesn't really think so, either. That's okay with her. She's used to having dreams that don't really manifest. Why should being mysteriously transported to an underwater bubble change any of that?]

That's okay. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen.

[Besides, she's met lots of people like this. Maybe some of them are a little more inconsiderate than others, but she doesn't think that any of them are necessarily bad people, so that's a good thing.]

[Of course. In the context of a grail war, mysterious underwater bubbles must seem positively mundane.]

If you say so.

[She's not sure how to take his statement - was it meant to be condescending or treating her like a child? Then again, she does look the part for the latter. In the end, she decides not to comment.]

So, what's your name, mister?

[It only just occurs to her that she doesn't know his name.]

[Right, of course. Proper introductions are a thing that people do when they meet.]

It's Tech. Tech E. Coyote.

Tech? That's a weird name.

[Apparently, there's no shortage of weird-sounding names around Vatheon.]

Does it mean something where you're from?

[It's not that weird. Right?]

You could say it's a family name.

Oh, I see.

[Well, kind of. Einzbern isn't exactly the most common of surnames, either. Although magi put a lot of pride into their family names, so if it were common it would be pretty bad.]

Where's it from, Mr. Tech?

Acmetropolis. It's a city-planet, if that term means anything to you. My homeworld.

[The thing about inter-dimensional conversation is that it's really hard to appreciate the other person's standpoint. Unfortunately, the only thing Ilya can think is that this is one strange name for a city.

Does everyone there get acme a lot?]

I've never heard of a city-planet. What's that?

[That's not surprising. It seems to be a novel concept for most everyone in the city. Tech taps his chin.]

Well, it's more or less what it sounds like. The entire planet is industrialized to the point of composing only one, globe-spanning city.

[She nods, although she doesn't really know what Tech is talking about. Years of living in isolation away from the modern world can do that to someone. Well, she's not completely isolated, but trying to imagine what Tech just described is proving to be pretty hard.]

So... it's either a really really small planet, or a really really big city?

Well. It is a small planet, relatively speaking, but that's hardly a necessary quality for this distinction.

Is it nice there?

[Ilya wonders how it's like to live in a large city. Fuyuki isn't really all that big, all things considered... and Acmetropolis sounds pretty big.]

Yes, generally speaking.

[Not that he has any sort of a basis for comparison. There's Vatheon, but that's decidedly low-tech. Not exactly his dream city.]

[She nods slowly. Matters of personal preference are usually hard to compare...]

And do you like it here? In Vatheon?

[Maybe Tech could tell her a little more about this place. It's certainly strange.]

It's certainly a fascinating place--and would be on the basis of physics alone. Aside from that it straddles the fine line between peaceful and dull, dipping into a little of both from time to time.

[There are the curses of course, but those are so infrequent that it doesn't really compare to his old lifestyle.]

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