video; @ellie

[pundemic]

[So. Someone thought she needed a guitar, and she's got a pretty damn sneaking suspicion who.

And that he wouldn't appreciate a call-out. Instead, Ellie just pans the video over an acoustic guitar and a stack of books she'd found on her doorstep a few hours ago. What's visible of her bedroom looks pretty... normal, all things considered. She's put up a poster. Her bed's made (with neat, military hospital corners) and there's some laundry scattered on the floor. She's sort of right on the median line of 'neat' versus 'teenager messy'. Some days, neat wins. Other days... well.

Other days, her laundry goes straight on the floor.]

Hi.

[Great opener, Ellie.]

Um... so. My name's Ellie. I'm looking for some song recs, easy stuff. We're talking, like... 'a five year old with two left hands could probably play this one blindfolded'. That kind.

I don't care about the type or-- genre or whatever, or when it's from. Just as long as I can find it here.

[There's a slight pause. Then,]

Also, if anybody knows how to transfer music from a cassette tape onto something like... an iPod, that'd be great. Thanks.

Comments

@cjk [ text ]

[signifies]

How do you feel about country music?

[pundemic]

like there r worst things out there to listen to

but only just

[She is definitely 100 percent fucking with you, Clark.]

[signifies]

I thought you understood me :(

[pundemic]

yep. enough to know well have to agree to disagree

[signifies]

Or one of us admits the error of their judgement ;)

Do you want to learn from books or videos?

[pundemic]

that'll be u, farm boy.

books i guess? more familiar with those...

[signifies]

I'm in the library right now. want to join me?

[pundemic]

sure b rite there.

[signifies]

[ She'll find Clark walking towards the music section with Russian for Beginners tucked under his arm. The library is extensive, filled with books he'd never have access to at home.

Riverview doesn't need Superman, so he's always here if he isn't at the housing or his campsite.

Clark makes a beeline for her. ]

Hey.

[pundemic]

Hey.

[She always looks happy to see him, and she gives him a big bear-hug when he's close enough. She's gained weight and almost an inch of height since she first showed up here. Amazing what a month of good food will do to a growing girl.]

So... Russian?

[signifies]

[ Not many people do hug him let alone initiate it.

Clark hugs her back without reservation. He always looks happy to see her too. ]

It was this or Spanish.

[ At least he can talk to Illya in Russian. A gap of a half-century means words would have changed or filtered in to the language.

Besides, he likes learning. ]

This way.

[pundemic]

I know a little Spanish.

[Mostly stuff she picked up in weird ways. Brochure translations. Some books. Joel knew a bit, even though him imparting knowledge to her was like pulling teeth out of a bear. A few people spoke it in Boston, and Ellie liked learning more than she liked people her own age for the most part.]

What's Russian like?

[She says this as she keeps pace at his side, skipping every few steps to make up for how big he is comparatively.]

[signifies]

[ He gives her the book. ]

It's easier than it looks.

[pundemic]

[lmao easier said than done. she sort of stares at the Cyrillic and tries to sound out a word based on the symbols. This, of course, fails spectacularly when she fails to account for the fact that although certain letters look the same they are pronounced entirely differently. Who's the asshole that decided that H and N needed to mean the same thing, or B and V?

She looks up at him in abject confusion when she reaches a word that has Ж in plain view and just laughs.]

What the fuck is that supposed to be, a butterfly?

[signifies]

That's a zh. There's a theory it came from Hebrew.

[ Polyglots are unusual but Clark is a nerd and figures he can get away with this piece of trivia.

Even if he doesn't have to pretend around her he can't kick the habit. ]

[pundemic]

Hebrew, that's... Jewish, right? What does that have to do with Russia?

[Sorry, Clark, her grasp of the interplay of politics, religion, nationality and race are a little... stunted. When so much of the world's population is dead, you don't have a lot of folks left to learn from. So much has been lost. Before their escape from Boston, she didn't even know what a museum was.]

[signifies]

[ He understands why she's asking.

Clark's happy to fill in the gaps. ]

Europe had a sizeable population of Jewish people. A lot of them were in Russia.

[pundemic]

Oh.

[To her, it's just a place on a map. She's not even sure she could really point it out if she was pressed, it's so fucking remote for her. She digests that information a moment and then gives him a sideways glance. It never really occurred to her before that he would just... know things about the way the world was. The way it used to be.

Jewish people used to live in Russia. Okay. It's a starting point.]

You've been to movie theatres, right? What was that like?

[signifies]

I didn't like going when they were crowded. [ Too much background noise when he was young and no one asked Clark out. ] You could get snacks or drinks like we had popcorn the other day. Sometimes people left chewing gum on the seats. During the movie sometimes people will cheer at the action or laugh out loud at the jokes.

You usually went to the drive-thru if you had a date, the indoor ones have less space.

[pundemic]

[She knows on a fundamental level that things were different back then. That people didn't have to be careful, that they could be out in the open without having to watch their backs, guard against anything from Infected to Hunters.

The thought of it still makes her twitch, and that date comment sure doesn't help.]

Sounds fun.

[It's sort of a noncommittal answer, and she looks down at her hands.]

Anyway. Uh-- music, right?

[signifies]

[ Clark sidesteps along with her. Ellie has wounds and he doesn't want to pick at them. ]

Over here. The Beatles.

[pundemic]

I've heard of these guys. Yellow submarine, right?

[Some music was just... part of the public consciousness in a way that was impossible to get rid of. She trails her fingers along the backs of the album covers with obvious interest.]

[signifies]

Right. Have a look.

[ He takes out the relevant book, bending to pick out the the beginner's guitar he'd also looked up for her. ]

[pundemic]

[She takes the book from him curiously, and sits down with a whumph on a nearby beanbag chair. It's pictures and information on their tours back in the day, and she finds herself tracing over the pictures with the pads of her fingers.]

Worth learning from, I guess?