Text; ID: End of the World

[bridalrose]

If it cannot break its egg's shell, a chick will die without being born.
We are the chick. The world is our egg.
If we do not crack the world's shell, we will die without truly being born.

Smash the world's shell!
For the Revolution of the World!

Comments

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[monster_san]

And what do you think is on the other side of the shell?

text

[bridalrose]

I haven't the slightest idea! Perhaps nothing at all. Or perhaps eternity...

Which would you rather have?

Re: text

[monster_san]

Is "a long and fulfilling but finite life" an option? Eternity is rather a long time.

[bridalrose]

Isn't that a bit dull? People usually seem to like more grandiose ideas.

What do you think is beyond the world's shell, then? What do you hope?

[monster_san]

I really don't know. I'm too used to thinking of the world literally--what's beyond it is the Moon, and Mars, and the Milky Way. Here, maybe it's some kind of extradimensional space that the human mind can't even conceive of.

What do you think is there?

[bridalrose]

I don't know. The way we're brought here, dragged from other worlds, the way all of these worlds are connected... It's a crowded multiverse out there, it seems.

It might actually be nice if it's nothing at all.

[monster_san]

There is a great deal--it's strange how little our universes have ended up making contact with each other since, as you say, there seem to be so many.

An eternity of nothing sounds like it would get lonely fast.

[bridalrose]

And eternity of something is already lonely. I suppose it doesn't matter one way or the other, if you don't find someone to trust and live alongside.

Do you have that here?

[monster_san]

I do. Even though my friend from home was sent back there, I still have that.

Have you been able to find someone here to trust? I remember you saying this summer that Miss Porter sent someone back to your home.

[bridalrose]

Ah... No, I'm afraid not. Utena is a very unique person.

There are people here who are very interesting, however.

[hatestrashcans]

K.

[bridalrose]

Kk. Thank you for your acknowledgement.

[audio]

[viciousmaukery]

I’d really rather not be reborn, thanks. [Been there, done that, got the claustrophobia to show for it.] Bit of a strange analogy to make considering there’s other people besides us on this world.

[bridalrose]

[ She'll answer in kind, via audio, but it's not her own voice that she uses. She's using her brother's moniker, and here, she'll borrow his voice... It's deep and easy-going and a many-layered lie. ]

Do they matter, I wonder, to the God that's supposedly coming to claim us? It's a cruel thought, maybe, but it's difficult to imagine the position of a being such as that, wouldn't you say?

May I ask about your being reborn?

[viciousmaukery]

No, you can't. [A shrug.] Suffice it to say it's a long story.

The god that's coming here to claim us doesn't matter. They're not the one living here, they don't have a claim here. They don't even have a claim on us if you think about it, we just got dragged here. What matters is that there are people here, on this world, right now, and we have to make sure they don't get utterly fucked over.

[bridalrose]

I'd say that a god probably doesn't care whether you think she has a claim or not, but... I suppose we have been provided with a potentially-credible workaround. How nice to have such an opportunity.

Usually, the speech above is metaphorical. It just seemed apt. Ever since I got here, I've wondered about the possibility of outside worlds. You don't think it'd be interesting to see beyond this world, as well?

[viciousmaukery]

I know at least one cleric who'd say otherwise.

...we're already from beyond this world, unless you're talking about the afterlife. In which case, let's maybe not race ahead there. [There's a breath.] This world's interesting enough, I'd say, without having to see beyond it. There's no real need to start poking at outside worlds, because then, apparently, we end up accidentally kickstarting the end of the world we're standing on.

[bridalrose]

Yes, I've heard it's happened before.

You don't suppose that's an inevitability of our kind? A consequence to our being drawn to another world? I wonder if this phenomenon wasn't set into motion the moment the first of us was drawn here, and to the last world like this one.

If so... That's still powers beyond our control, isn't it? I'll be very impressed if we can overcome it.

[viciousmaukery]

...right, the—the world before this one.

[He shakes his head.]

No. No, I don't. Honestly, we were doing fine before the OTO started fucking with other dimensions, Jeopardy showing up out of nowhere aside. [And he's not sure if that's just not something that happened because of the OTO, frankly.] So whoever set this shite in motion, it wasn't us. We had years of coming into this world without seriously damaging the fabric of reality before this mess, after all.

[A tired sigh.]

I think overcoming it might be our only choice at making it through this alive.

[bridalrose]

Well. That, at least, has been made fairly clear to us.

I wish you luck, but I wonder if you aren't just delaying the inevitable.

[viciousmaukery]

Aren't we always? It's not as if the inevitable can't wait a little longer, after all.