caughtinanetwork | 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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[She frowns. Allie? That doesn't sound like Ilya at all!]

It's Ilya! Ee-lee-yah. You can't get something that easy wrong, right?

But... what do you mean, get a towel?

Well obviously I just did, Allie.

[English being one of his (many) weak subjects and all, forget about Russian names.]

Get a towel, get warm, find some place to stay, holy crap it's winter out don't catch a cold? It's the first thing people usually do.

[Ilya's already assigned the title of 'idiot'. Well, a dumb older brother won't do.]

Well, I know about looking for a place to stay. That's obvious. But what does a towel have to do with it?

[She doesn't really know what people 'usually do' in these kinds of situations. Is being plucked out of one's own dimension and plopped into an underwater bubble a normal thing in other worlds?

Plus, she does have winter clothes on her, so that's one thing done.]

[He's an only child anyway, he wouldn't know a darn thing about taking care of a younger sibling.

~~also sorry ilya you're going to have a hard time finding an intelligent big brother figure around here~~]

In case you're one of the just washed up and need to dry off ones. [He shrugs, it's not as though he's able to tell since the initial broadcast was upside down.]

You do seem kinna...not that worried about being brought here. Isn't there anybody from your own world?

[~~She's starting to get that impression already, no worries.~~

She does remember being wet upon arrival, but some kind person had handed her a towel and let her dry herself off. And that was her first encounter with the locals. Aggravatingly, they seem to love talking about anything but what people ask them.]

The world is full of mysteries. I guess I'm not that worried knowing that a possibility of me being brought here exists.

[She is a little worried about what's happening at home, but from here there is little she can do, especially since she doesn't know how to use the Second Magic anyway. She is designed to win the Grail and use the Third Magic... and that's it.]

I think I'd be even more worried if I saw other people from where I came here, so it's okay if I don't meet them.

[It's not like she knows that many people, anyway.]

Hmmm...well, that's your business.

[There's a better word for that. Yukari uses it sometimes. Pejorative? No, no, there was a G in it. Perigee? Drat.]

It still does a mighty bit of good to make some friends here, though! The locals are kind of...uhhhh...high?

[Okay prim and proper over here might not understand that, he shakes his head and tries again.]

They're really out of it is what I'm sayin'. It's better to ask another foreigner a question than a local. Sometimes they freaking pull you into some labor that you didn't ask for when you try to talk to 'em!

[Well, that's a piece of advice she could have used a little earlier. She tried asking some of the locals first about what this weird star-shaped thing is, and they gave some roundabout answer that really didn't say much...]

How do I tell if people are foreigners? I guess only foreigners have these... machines, but people don't wear them around or anything.

[It sounds like this guy has had his fair share of trouble with the locals, at least. They seem nice to Ilya, just very determined to say nothing of particular substance.]

And I like friends! Friends are nice too. What's your name?

[He might sound like an idiot, but he seems to know his stuff. That could come in handy?]

Uhhh...[how do you tell a foreigner from a local? He checks over any obvious physical differences on himself before finding his mark on his shoulder and showing that to her.]

Foreigners have tattoos like this, but it ain't always going to be an obvious place. Best rule of thumb I can tell ya for telling a foreigner apart from a local is, foreigners ain't benign in that unsettling Stepford way. They'll talk back to you, they'll answer questions...some of them might even pull attitude, so be careful there. There are some strong foreigners here.

[Stupid, yes, but he absorbs information and is always happy to share it. He grins and salutes the camera.]

Name's Junpei, nice to meet ya. Sorry about the name confusion before, I'm kinda...not that good with foreign names. You can call me a dumb name too if it'll make ya feel better.

[Stepford way? Ilya doesn't really understand what Junpei means. It must be some sort of popular culture reference from his world. But she gets the general meaning, given that her interactions with people who seemed like locals gave her the impression that those people are really weird.]

Junpei sounds kind of silly already, so I'll just call you that! It seems to suit you, though.

[She smiles. At least Junpei said sorry. That puts her in a better mood.]

How long have you been here, Junpei?

Hmmm...since July? Yeah, since July, so about five months now. Dang, time flies. But my friend Yukari has been here siiiiince...a year, maybe two.

So yeah, Vatheon kinda makes you stick around for a while. I hope you find a big brother or make a coupla friends, 'cause it can get lonely sometimes.

Lonely... I see.

[Well, she shouldn't be bothered by it. She's been lonely for years and years and years. But those ten days before coming here, she had other people, and before that Berserker was with her for two whole months. To go back to being lonely again is something she doesn't want.]

Was it hard for you to make friends?

[There's actually a brief pause of silence from him here.

Truth be told, he was so used to the company of the people from his world that he didn't really feel the need to go and befriend strangers like he usually would. So with their abrupt departure from Vatheon, his circle shrank quite a lot.

Rather than say any of that, though, he smiles.]

Nah! And it shouldn't be hard for you to make friends either, Eel--Iil--Ilya. You're super cute and most foreigners are really friendly here, you'll be sure to make a bunch of friends in no time.

Like me! I'm a friend, right?

[She giggles a little as Junpei tries to say her name. But he gets it right, which makes her happy too. It means that he's tried!]

You're... a friend?

[Not that she doesn't want friends - no, far from it! It just seems kind of weird to her that he already considers himself a friend without them having talked that long or anything like that. They haven't even really met yet.]

We're friends just like that?

[Then again, she hasn't known very many people in her life, so maybe it really is this easy...]

If you wanna. I know I move kinda fast for people, I'm just a friendly guy.

Oh.

[So it's just him.]

Okay! We can be friends then, Junpei.

[She gives a smile. It's nice to have a friend just like that. Plus, he seems to know a lot and is pretty easy to talk to - well, when he's not acting stupid. Ilya hopes that that's not the case most of the time...]