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[ And so LILITH treated ELISE to a play-by-play of her coolest moments in the Jetblack. Fighting a lobster, a freaky lizard, a couple of robots as well as another, much more threatening robot and, of course, an even MORE threatening robot. Funny how that ended up. ELISE was engaged the whole time, jotting down ideas- and even taking a selfie together for good measure. ]
[LILITH]: …but, of course. i did end up losing my last round to jon. i’m not too worked up about it though, he had a good showing and so did i. either way, i’m happy with how far i got.
[ELISE]: Yeah! You did get really close… it’s a shame you ruined it all at the very end though.
[ LILITH snaps out of her storytelling mindset. What did she just say? ]
[LILITH]: …ruined? how does losing one match ruin it?
[ELISE]: Well, you had a great streak going, still in winners, coasting along. Then you lost to, what? Some stupid cartoonist themed to the 80s? Maybe you were just having a bad day and didn’t have time to prepare or whatever, I’m not insulting you. I’m just saying if you prepared, trained, whatever… didn’t make the mistake you did, then, y’know… you could have won.
[ ELISE laughs to herself. ]
[ELISE]: I mean, how embarrassing, right? Getting that close, only to fail miserably. I can’t imagine what I would do if that were me. Though, mainly that’s just because I can’t imagine myself losing at all…
[ LILITH gives ELISE a look of exasperation. She… can’t be serious, right? ]
[LILITH]: i didn’t ‘fail miserably’. i lost by a reasonable amount, and it was to a good friend of mine, so i don’t think-
[ELISE]: See, that’s probably why you didn’t win, then. I have a TON of friends, but I would never let them enter a competition I was in unless they agreed to forfeit if we ever had a match. It’s only fair.
[LILITH]: that’s like. the definition of unfair.
[ELISE]: Clearly you would think so, huh?
[ELISE]: Anyway, can you tell me more about your robots? I was thinking of having my dad order me a drone for my moveset…
[LILITH]: what? we’re not just. dropping the topic. you can’t just say that to someone.
[ELISE]: I mean, it was just a little advice between friends. Sorry if it was a bit too critical but, that’s just how I see it.
[LILITH]: that’s how you see it? that no matter what, any challenge or whatever, you’d never lose? and i should be embarrassed for simply not winning?
[ELISE]: I mean, yeah? Look at it this way:
[ELISE]: My tournament so far has been a bit of a dumpster fire, because of how disjointed and stupid the hosts are. Even in my first match they just, totally ruined the whole challenge we were doing, leading to someone who would have never won in the first place somehow getting the ‘victory’. [ She gives air quotes, which no one can see. ]
[ELISE]: But ever since then? It’s been as perfect as it should be. I beat a farm girl with ease, and even got to see my partner for a little bit.
[ELISE]: Not to mention all the competitions I’ve won before this one even started.
[ELISE]: If it was a call on the host's side or whatever I’d totally understand, god knows I’m already aware of how dumb they can be, but you said it yourself, that you lost, so…
[LILITH]: well what if i had FUN, even if i lost? what if i enjoyed being with friends, instead of worrying about some dumb competition. i’d say that’s a better use of my time than complaining if things don’t go my way.
[LILITH]: you’ve been in your tournament with the farm girl for- what? probably a while, right? do you even know anyone’s name there? do you not have people to hang out with?
[ELISE]: First off, of course I do. They’re practically begging to hang out with me. But also, I don’t care about focusing on hanging out, because that’s not what I’m there for.
[ELISE]: Why even join the competition anyway if you’re not even trying to win? That’s like, the only reason anyone goes to those things, to see the winner?
[ELISE]: I’d only ever join things if I knew I was going to end up on top. Sometimes, I get kidnapped and taken to a competition that I didn’t want to join, and I still could easily beat everyone there if the hosts had any sort of common sense.
[ LILITH stands from her seat. She stares at ELISE with cold eyes. ]
[LILITH]: i’ll let you in on a little secret, elise.
[LILITH]: no one votes on how well you do the little event. in fact, they’re usually told to do the opposite.
[LILITH]: it’s always on external factors. factors that relate to you, sure, but. no one watches you swing a selfie stick around and then votes based on that.
[LILITH]: it’s all popularity.
[LILITH]: the simple, base you. you as a person, an idea. your name and what’s attached to it.
[LILITH]: and you can’t control how people feel about that. about you. no matter how hard you try.
[LILITH]: no pushups. no practice tournaments. no social media campaigns. that’s up for them to decide.
[LILITH]: …so i’d suggest you let go of the idea that you can’t lose. the idea that only winning is good. it’ll only hurt you later on.
[ LILITH starts to pack up her things, her robot rabbit looking between her and ELISE anxiously. ELISE stands there, silently, before… ]
[ELISE]: WOW, I see how it is. You’re trying to tell ME what to do? What, so I can get to the finals and lose then too? So you won’t feel so lonely?
[LILITH]: elise. i know you’re lashing out because you don’t want to hear that, but-
[ELISE]: Right, I shouldn’t act at all, why should I care about ANYTHING, really, right? If it’s all based on some… popularity contest? If it’s ALL out of my hands?
[ELISE]: Newsflash, Lilith, I AM popular, okay? I have tons of friends, tons of followers, and a family who LOVES ME.
[ELISE]: And hey, maybe this popularity thing IS true. And that all my life is simply out of my invisible hands, and all I can do is float along and coast and really really hope that things go my way.
[ELISE]: That’d just mean that instead of actually giving us reasonable events to conquer, those two hosts were simply choosing who they liked better between the two fighting.
[ELISE]: That’d just mean that those two would have picked that- puppet FREAK over me.
[ELISE]: That’d just mean that those sunglasses wearing idiots wouldn’t know genuine talent and poise even if it broke every bone in their body with a stick.
[ELISE]: …and I simply can’t believe that.
[ELISE]: So yeah, I don’t think I need your advice, but thank you anyway, okay?
[ ELISE’s snappy comment is said to no one. LILITH had left a while ago, using her robot bunny’s ears to helicopter away from the invisible girl.]
[ ELISE stands alone in the jetblack. Making no attempt to go and run for her, or for someone else. Hours pass, with her barely moving, the only sound being a soft wind blowing off in the distance. ]
[ She’s not in the vacation mood anymore. ]
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