005 ♍ video

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya's in the garage again, but the door's open, sunlight pouring through it. she's in a green tank and black leggings, a bandanna tying back her hair, various paint splotches on her arms hinting at what she's busying herself with today. on her workbench is a brush and easel, all of the colors monochrome and drab.

unlike her previous addresses, she's already put out her cigarette rather than in the middle of it. that should cut down on unwanted lectures. though the content of her message may bring them in an entirely different form. ]

You see, this is something I will never quite understand. Here we are, sitting at the brink of war, and all anyone can talk about is voting rights. Very typically American of you. [ not that some of the people loudest about it are even american. but america, democracy, she tends to conflate the two. ] The question shouldn't be why unsettled imPorts can't vote, but why can the registered? I am a registered imPort, but I'm not an American citizen, I'm not even a citizen of Earth! Merely a resident.

Think about this, we are temporary immigrants to this world. When more permanent refugees come to live here on escaping their native lands, they have long, complicated processes to undergo before they are allowed the benefits of citizenry. Should any of us be given better treatment of those? Should I be allowed to make decisions that may affect this nation's future when these are not allowed it, when I may not even be here to experience the full consequences of those decisions? I don't think I should, neither do I think any of you should. Wherever you have come from, we are all of us aliens to this world. That isn't something we should be forgetting. You should get used to the fact that you don't belong, like some of us have always known.

I'd much rather our attention be directed to the blockade threatening Alaska. The rest of this is little more than a distraction.

But if distraction is what you're after, as the world must continue should it not abruptly end, we are all aware of the season upon us. Ghastly ghouls are all about these days. So, should we not have all died by the time Halloween is upon us, perhaps you might join us monsters at the Devil's Nest in Maurtia Falls to celebrate.

[ she gets up to move the camera, and it shifts as she holds it, spinning around to face the wall. stretched out across it is a massive sheet of paper, painted simply in grey brick, only half dingy. she's still detailing. on the floor are a few paint cans and rollers. ]

I'm working on the decor now.

Drinks are 10% off, should you arrive in costume, and there will be a drinking contest with a $100 prize, for those who pay the $10 entry fee. But just imagine how much you may potentially get from that $10, even if you shouldn't win!

[ she turns the camera back around, in a sort of awkward selfie angle. ] Our hours will be 3pm to 6am, so come early and stay all night, as you please. We hope to see you there on the 31st.

Good luck in the meantime.

Comments

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya's been around democracy long enough to understand it, but she still doesn't see the point in it. ]

And that makes the whining about it only more pointless. Even if our votes were allowed, we aren't of a significant size where "the imPort vote" would hold any sway. It's no more than a drop of oil in an ocean.

[isaytheeneigh]

I'm not disagreeing. I think it's more that they're buying into the political platform of it all.

[He doesn't know why, exactly.]

Maybe they'd rather talk about this than whatever else is going on.

[glowsferatu]

I wish I could really believe that it was being discussed as a deliberate deflection on the part of ours. But some people really are unfortunately passionate over things that don't even matter.

[isaytheeneigh]

If they have that much energy to channel into it, they should be looking at the other things. I'm not used to a world where we even have a say in the government, so I don't understand what they're up in arms about. It's like they suddenly realized they were taking something for granted that they didn't have in the first place.

[glowsferatu]

That's a more likely phenomenon than you perhaps realize. [ "mr. soldier" ]

But that misdirection of energy was my point, yes. However likely confusion is to occur, I'll always be present to point out how deluded it is. For as long as I'm present, at least.

[isaytheeneigh]

It's a valuable skill. I'd be doing the same if I knew half the shit about this world that I'm meant to know. So many things are questionable.

[It's a weird statement of respect.

Jean can understand that mindset. Hell, that's what he does best.

He even likes it in Kanaya ... when they aren't arguing on opposite sides.]

[glowsferatu]

[ it's actually a little odd for her, finding something they agree on. which is partly a shame, because he's so funny when he's offended. but she'll take it for now. ]

I have been on this Earth and another like it for much longer, so it isn't unlikely that this knowledge will come with time. You just have to know which questions most need asking.

[isaytheeneigh]

Half the time the answers come ridden with biases.

[Which means that he's not always comfortable asking for them.]

[glowsferatu]

Well of course they do! But once you're more familiar with the actual realities of the matter, you're better at sifting that from what's actually worth listening to.

[isaytheeneigh]

And most people are idiots.

[See: biased.]

[glowsferatu]

[ she snorts, there's something really funny about hearing that from him. ]

And where does present company fall in that?

[isaytheeneigh]

You don't bother with idealism, so that at least saves you. For the most part.

[glowsferatu]

Idealism is probably a white or a light blue. What flows my veins is pure jade, and my attitude reflects it.

But yours isn't the only present company I was considering. [ if only she could project her elbow across space directly into his ribs. well, actually, she can. but that would be weird. ]

[isaytheeneigh]

[Hold on a second.]

What do you mean "pure jade" in your veins?

[glowsferatu]

Precisely that. I bleed green.

[isaytheeneigh]

Heh. You learn something new every day.

[What else was she saying? Oh, well, he can go on about people being idiots, and how he's not an idiot, but eh. This is more interesting for sure.]

[glowsferatu]

[ besides, they're having an almost civil conversation. he wouldn't want to get her laughing at him again. ]

Yeah, it goes with the whole "alien" thing. You know, despite not looking it most times. [ and however many times he might've seen that human guise over the network, he's at least seen her as a troll in person once. but speaking of powers... ]

Which reminds me, at that meeting we had, you neglected to list your powers. Actually, reviewing my notes, very few people did. Which means I'll have to make calls.

[isaytheeneigh]

[The alien thing is curious to him.]

How do most people define aliens? To someone from a society like mine, the biggest aliens were the titans. [The past tense there is on purpose.]

As for my powers ... I can do healing, but I feel what the person is feeling while I do it. And I have limited flight. It largely works well with the specialized gear I used to fight titans. [Though they've been ... adapting it here.]

[glowsferatu]

See? That's useful. You should have mentioned it before. Not that you'll be fighting any titans here.

[ she says it with a pointed look. because sorry jean, if it comes down to it she'll probably take annie and reiner's side. ]

But are titans foreign? If so, they may fit the strictest definition of "alien". But with more known about the planet in this modern age, it isn't a phrase that's typically used for other residents of Earth.

More for people like me, inhuman species from other worlds altogether.

[isaytheeneigh]

I wouldn't say they are, but for a long time, I think that's what people wanted to believe.

[There's an irritated sound before he goes on. It's obvious that's changed, and Kanaya probably knows some of the reasoning for that.]

But that makes more sense, different species. [What the titans are is up in the air, and that much is clear.]

[glowsferatu]

Extraterrestrials of a different species. That's an important part to remember. Some might even drop the "different species" bit, as long as they are still extraterrestrial.

I've met some who look more like you than me, but were just as alien still.

[isaytheeneigh]

Yeah?

[He considers that.]

Well, what would you say to us all coming from different worlds no matter what? Or should we not broaden it that much? Because this Earth is alien to me.

[glowsferatu]

I think we aren't alien in the same way, but your displacement is extreme enough that you similarly won't make the mistake of thinking you're meant to be part of this world.

The intrusion is far more obvious to some of us.

[isaytheeneigh]

Kinda brings us back to your original point. Maybe that's why they're shocked by all of this.

[glowsferatu]

Well, that's Americans for you. They're always so wrapped up in their own spoiled definitions of freedom, anything that doesn't match that exact ideal may as well be tyranny!