retrospec | (no subject)

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Has anyone seen this woman/is this woman in their memories?

[ the picture in question is a rather beautifully made sketch of the woman in front of an old victorian mirror and brushing her hair as the drawing; some might recognize the art style. ]

I just remembered this a little while ago and it isn’t mine, there’s no familiarity to it like the other ones and it’s a completely different person.

I don’t know how much of a problem this could be from Retrospec’s part, so has anyone else gotten memories from more than one person, or memories that aren’t from the same ones you’ve been getting?

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The last time I tried to trigger something on purpose it didn’t really go well. Maybe if we use wording?

I was NOT suggesting that you attempt to trigger them. What hap I should think trying to pay attention any other memories that may come will be good enough.

[ . . . whoops. ]

I’ll do that.

[ Do you want to talk about it? ]

Yeah. Eren? Do you have memories of other Retrospec users? I don't think I've asked you that before.

[ not if it ruins his reputation to mr. hughes . . . ]

No. That was what I thought this was. Someone mentioned that it happened once to a few users a eight months back, but it was a confirmed app glitch. It never happened again after that.

[ Probably not going to ruin anything. Sometimes, talking through it with more people is good, though. ]

That is good to know. Although I was asking more about memories that are yours but also have other Retrospec users in them.

I’m good at interpretation today, sir.

[ which is to say, he’s sucking at it! deep breaths jaeger, you’re nervous. ]

No one, yet. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Have you?

That's all right. I'm asking a lot of questions and they can definitely be taken either way. Thank you, for paying attention. I think I might. Though the memories I've gotten this far are kind of short and vague.

[ It's all right, he'll get a clear memory soon, but still. ]

How about memories of people not on the app?

My mom and dad look the same as the ones I had in my memories, if that’s what you mean? My . . . Grandfather too. They just don’t have the app.
And they’re a little different, but that’s expected.

Yeah, something like that.

[ Yeah, he noticed the hesitation about his grandfather but has no idea right now what that means, and possibly text is not the best place to ask about it. ]

Expected?

Different circumstances. That changes people, somewhat.
Sometimes you’re forced into things you wouldn’t want to be in.

[ ... all right but ...

Andrew sure hopes Retrospec thinks to get some professional mental health help, because this may be text but Eren is nineteen and sounds like he's lived through much of what people get diagnosed with PTSD over. That just ain't right. ]

Eren. I do regret that you have to remember all those - circumstances.

[ welcome to attack on titan where eren won the jackpot and got 20+ years worth of war/death/misery memories not including his own!

but— he actually remembers something with this that he can agree on. eren, for a few moments, takes to himself to ponder the memory, pretending to be doing something else because this is text, people could take breaks. sitting on a bench of a hospital court, talking to a young boy— they talked about war. eren was right, the other eren; people wouldn’t throw themselves into war if they knew they’d come back broken, crippled, torn from freedom and stricken with horrors for the rest of their lives, if they didn’t die horribly.

but there’s something that makes some of those people still keep going. they’ll only find out what’s beyond that if they keep going. what’s waiting for him? why’d he join the air force, anyway? it wasn’t to be drafted, his thoughts on war were so distant he never really thought about it. his views were romantic at best.

he hated his other self for this last month. he thought he was starting to get it, but now that he was in his head . . . he feels repentant for him. for every one stuck in that chain of events. how old is eren even sounding right now? either way, this took longer than expected to reply to, and eren has a lot to think about. ]

I do too. For the other Eren though, not for me.

What made you quit the AF?

[ Well, this was not the question Andrew expected. Perhaps he should have? He's not sure, since his focus was firmly on the new memories during the conversation, the previous existence memories, and being brought back to that was like ... getting frostbite? Something like that. He's not the one good at poetry.

For a moment, he considers dismissing the question. He can. He possibly should, for the very same reason that he never hinted to Zack that there was something to look into. Something about it could whither to the core the faith in the institution, even with a heavily sanitized version.

But it also wouldn't be honorable, with all that Eren's told him. All that Eren's shared of himself. Would Andrew be protecting Eren, after all, or himself?

It's possible that the delay in his own answer will belie the deliberate lightness in the next text. And if Eren doesn't pick up on the paranoia that even private texting is not safe, well, probably for the better. ]

Not much of a story I can tell you. Still, probably better over a cup of coffee.

[ His discretion bought, at least as far as he knows, human lives. He can't risk them, not even within the confines of software run by a company that probably didn't have even passing acquaintance with government snooping.

On the other hand, Eren will even so get at best a very heavily edited version of the answer. Might not even be worth getting around to wherever they meet...

Good thing he already sent the text. Can't back down now. ]

[ eren’s a sharp young man that can get many things thrown in the air. he’s human, he can miss or make mistakes on gut instinct, but this happens to be one of those things.

it’s something eren wants to talk about. not just because he wants to hear andrew’s story— he’s already having thoughts he hadn’t imagined himself getting, of all things to be reconsidering, and he needs someone to talk to. it couldn’t be elliot right now. it couldn’t be one of his friends closer to his age. he needs higher guidance before he starts becoming unhappy with something he was sure was his dream, and more time to think it through. it could just simply be a passing crises. ]

It’s been a while anyway.
When can you?

[ Andrew sighs, a little. He's both relieved that it wasn't taken as a rebuff - Eren sounds like he can use some not being rejected, not when it's something like that - and saddened. What he has to say, even heavily edited, will not be easy to hear, for someone looking forward to being part of the Air Force.

Still. Still... perhaps it's better to not go in blind. ]

It has been. Today or tomorrow afternoon?

Can it be today?

Yeah, I'd like that. How's the Tea Kettle sound?

[ Might as well suggest a play, and that one can be quiet at some parts of the afternoon. ]

I’ll see you there.

[ at X time!!! ]

Yeah. Take care, Eren.

[ Just then. ]

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