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]

[ it's a paranoia based on a few mistaken assumptions. but it's not an uncommon one for new arrivals. ]

they didnt take you and neither did they change you
we were thrust upon them the same way theyve been thrust upon us
it isnt the government doing it
just the porter
and the fighting itself is really more figurative
few of us would really make effective soldiers

[kinesia]

[ This, he doesn’t believe. It sounds like more of their lies, the lies they’d told him when he arrived. His eyes narrow at this message, distrustful. ]

if they did not do it

why did they have the file that knew everything about me ?

including the power that they put in me . that wasnt in me before .

[glowsferatu]

all these "theys"
they did this they did that when none of it is actually true
you dont know that they did anything
all you know is that it was done
power was put in you that was previously nonexistent and a file was produced
you dont know how so it must be them
but it wasnt
it was more her than they
the machine
she isnt bound by their wills and doesnt act to their agenda
she brings us empowers us and makes her little files about us
she has been doing so since long before they were involved
and then we have to cope with being here and they have to cope with hosting us
honestly providing you the file is a courtesy
they didnt have to do that
they didnt have to do any of it
but we are all trying to make the best of a situation that is far from ideal

[kinesia]

you trust them too easily .

[ He’s seen it before. He’s seen it in the people who lived in the front carriages, in the voices of the children who’d sung for Wilford. So many people, putting blind faith in an authority because it worked for them, not caring about how little it worked for anyone else. That’s what her speech reminds him of, what all of this reminds him of. ]

what --she-- are you talking about ?

[glowsferatu]

you think i actually trust them
sunshine this isnt a line they fed to me
as i said before this has been carried out since before this government was involved
before even this universe was involved
the powers i have were given to me by the porter three years prior to my arrival here
the only reason we came here at all is because that world died
and this is where she sent us to make our escape
so i know all of this not because some propaganda machine has brainwashed me into compliance but because i personally experienced it
try learning something before you assume to be an expert
you only look like a twat otherwise

and i already told you who she is
its the porter lachesis
the machine responsible for everything you blame on the government

[kinesia]

[ He thinks she believes what she's being told, yes. Her insistence otherwise doesn't really faze him. Either she's deliberately lying, or she's wrong. What seems more likely, that a machine could be alive and doing all of this on their behalf? Or that the government are operating the machine? The second scenario is the only one that makes any kind of sense to him. ]

the government want to use us and our powers
they want us to be registered heroes

is that a lie ?

[glowsferatu]

[ of course, "on their behalf" is the main problem. if it was for their sake, the government would probably have preferred if she left well enough alone. ]

not a lie so much as a misconception
they do want us to be registered of course
but the use they put to us and our powers has been incredibly minimal
what they want is to minimize an inconvenience
this has only become abundantly more clear in the months between my arrival and yours

[kinesia]

so you think we should be grateful for what we have

and not expect to be equal ?

[glowsferatu]

be grateful or not as you like
and i certainly dont think you should trust them
but i do think we should be aware of the situation for what it is and what it can be and not think its something it isnt
they really could have done so much worse

i will say again that we are not and cannot be equal with the people of this world
we are not a part of them and pretending otherwise will do us a disservice

[kinesia]

you are wrong

[ He means about the last part, in particular, but he's not sure that he agrees with very much that she's said at all. She seems too compliant, too accepting, too trusting. Grey has never really had to be polite before. He has no real concept of that. He writes what's on his mind, with no more decorum than that. ]

we should be equal . this was not our world

now it is the only world .

[glowsferatu]

[ compliance isn't really her strong suit, but she doesn't see the point in wasting energy on needless defiance. survival is more important to her than freedom. ]

im not wrong
you just havent been here long enough to know anything
if this was the only world than there wouldnt be any new arrivals every month
this is simply the world we are on for now
like i said this isnt the first one ive been through this on

[kinesia]

none of that means we should not choose our leader

this is the only world i have left

[ He can't go back to the Train. Even if the way was open, which it isn't, he died there. He would be dead again. If he can't belong here, then he can't belong anywhere. Already, it feels like too tall an order. ]

[glowsferatu]

[ ah. that's shitty for you, grey. unfortunately, it's also life, and one kanaya's known for a very long time. ]

then you have my sympathies
but losing your world doesnt mean the new one will accept you
we can integrate to the best of our ability but it will be no less a square dowel being fitted to a round notch

maybe it will be easier for you if youre human
but that doesnt mean it will be easy

[kinesia]

[ Well. That raises an important question, doesn't it? ]

are you not human ?

[glowsferatu]

as i said
i am a resident of earth
but i have never been the planets citizen

[kinesia]

[ He has absolutely no concept of politeness, here. ]

what are you ?

[glowsferatu]

[ and hers is, at best, strained. ]

very tired of that question

[kinesia]

[ Well, in fairness, how else is he suppose to know? ]

if you answered it i wouldnt ask

[glowsferatu]

[ she's not always wild about being known, at that. ]

and maybe im not terribly inclined to answer if thats how you intend to ask

[kinesia]

[ Strangers are confusing. ]

how should i ask ?

[glowsferatu]

dont be rude for one
and dont treat it like you are owed the knowledge
i dont feel like telling it today so youll just have to wait until you feel like being more polite

[kinesia]

[ He doesn't know why it was impolite. Mostly, he thinks she's strange. And also wrong. His jaw tightens and he puts the phone down, deciding that for now, there's nothing more to say. ]