Act IV - [Video]

[crapbearer]

So, imPorts, what are your thoughts on destiny?

[ Max is in his work uniform for the Museum of Folklore, framed by the charming backdrop of a cramped break room, soda in hand. ]

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a lit nerd back home, and a lotta stories out there start off with a prophecy. Modern stuff, too, but even then it's usually in an old timey magical setting.

A little bird once told me destiny is equal parts chance, free will, and necessity. Prophecy, divination, time travel... has anyone back home dealt with that kind of stuff? Knowing what's supposed to happen before it does?

Comments

[ video ]

[enucleation]

Not back home.

But I know what will happen to me once I return, even though I haven't lived it.

[ video ]

[crapbearer]

Good things, I hope?

text;

[lvless_soul]

i have. it's nice sometimes. but also not very good.

[Boy, does Frisk know a lot about hopping around timelines.]

text;

[crapbearer]

Does the good outweigh the bad?

[video]

[timecapture]

[Destiny is... a really touchy subject for Max. She takes a few moments to mull it over, her expression darkening slightly.]

Something you can't get rid of.

[Not without horrendous consequences, anyway.]

And... yeah, I've dealt with it.

Re: [video]

[crapbearer]

[ Max winces slightly at her change in expression. Looks like the Max Duo is two for two so far. Just wait until he learns about his time travel powers back home. ]

Not happily, I take it.

[resipiscent]

I... don't know how to feel about that kind of thing. The things I was told were supposed to happen didn't happen, for me.

video

[crapbearer]

Sometimes the prophecies in stories don't talk about thigs that will definitely happen. Sometimes it's stuff that could happen, if certain circumstances are met.

Sucks if you missed out on a good thing, but on the bright side, you had control over the outcome, right?

Video

[bindsthedead]

Of a sort. Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

Video

[crapbearer]

Is the Chosen One chosen because they were great, or were they only great because they were chosen?

text; comm tag is "Tadashi"

[tadeadshi]

Admittedly I didn't experience time discrepancies until I ended up here. But I've definitely gotten more interested.

text

[crapbearer]

yeah? did you get time powers or something?

[ video ]

[disorder_heaven]

Destiny is a guideline. You can choose to kick its legs out from under it, if you really want to.

[ video ]

[crapbearer]

Judging by the answers I'm getting here, it can be a hell of a struggle trying to steer it off course.

Did you manage it?

[voice]

[thesmartone]

I've dealt with it before, but I can't do it. At least not like how you're talking.

[voice]

[crapbearer]

Yeah? Did you try to change something about the future?

Private; Video

[orions_shadow]

Think you can keep a secret?

Private; Video

[crapbearer]

I know I can. What's up, dude?

video

[glitterateur]

I did some time travel! No prophecies, though.

video

[crapbearer]

Is that what you and your brother do back home? Time traveling twins?

Because that could totally be a book series or something. Got that alliteration and everything.

Audio

[mammal_robot]

Don't be ridiculous. Time travel is impossible.

Audio

[crapbearer]

How about prophecy? Divination? Ladies at renfaire with fake accents?

video;

[superposition]

[STRONG HUNCH that he's not asking this purely out of curiosity.]

I don't believe in destiny, personally. Or inevitability in general.

video;

[crapbearer]

Well, there comes a point where some things are inevitable. Like, I drop something heavy, it's pretty inevitable that it's going to go down.

But yeah, I get what you mean. Leaves room for a lot of uncertainty, don't you think? I know some people aren't too comfortable with that.

[melavasomniar]

Time travel, that's a fun one. [That was definitely sarcasm.] Also puts quite the dent in the idea of destiny.

[crapbearer]

I dunno about that. I mean, if you time-traveled and saw a future version of yourself, do you think that'd be your destiny? Or could you change it?

text;

[mathemagier]

Probability. The future, to a degree, can be charted. Science can predict a great number of events- from volcanic eruptions to the death of entire celestial bodies. Humanity as a whole can be rather predictable- waging wars every century like clockwork.

But individuals are inherently unpredictable creatures, as there are far too many unknown factors to draw any sort of certain conclusion from. To use a rather tired cliche- the future is what you make of it. If you want to be a doctor, you will probably put forth the effort to be a doctor and likely achieve it. But these are self-realized prophecies of a sort, so they could hardly be called destiny, although it's possible your friend wasn't far off that mark.

text;

[crapbearer]

[ It actually physically hurts to read this.

Not because of anything specific Hermann says, mind you. It all makes sense to Max on some level, even if that particular brand of mathematics is a bit beyond him in practice. But reading the text, Max has to keep glancing at the sender's name just to be sure. Damn it, he's talked to Hermann before, he knows who this guy is.

Even so, Max has to wipe away a tear by the end, feeling an ache in his heart. Though he wasn't sure if it was the subject matter, the dramatic poetry, or some combination of both, for just one moment Max believed with all his heart that he was talking to Virgil.

He drags himself back to reality, digging his nails into his palm to keep focused on the moment instead of drifting back into painful memories of the last time he saw his friend and mentor. He almost doesn't want to respond at all so as not to shatter the illusion, but that would just be rude. ]

Wow, not a lot of people out there who can turn math into poetry.

So in your case it's less about "changing" destiny and instead just beating the odds, right?

[oathkeeping]

I'm not sure if destiny exists like things are guaranteed to happen a certain way. But some people can make their destiny happen.

Sometimes they make it happen to other people, too.

[crapbearer]

I suppose in hindsight, I can call everything that's ever happened to my my destiny. Because it happened, right?

Sometimes those people are your destiny, too. No matter what the odds, there are some people we just find and become a part of our lives forever.

[Text]

[inchesofevil]

I might not have any experience with prophecy or time travel, but I've resurrected enough dead people to have an opinion on inevitability.

It doesn't exist. Destiny isn't a thing. Those are concepts people use to make themselves feel better about not having the means or knowledge to change the course of events.

[Text]

[crapbearer]

I suppose that would explain a lot about someone I know back home.

Still, destiny or not, a lot of his predictions are scarily spot-on.

permatext

[hypnotherapy]

Time travel causes more headaches than it solves, or so I've heard.

And as for the other things...I'd say your little bird is right. Destiny is what you make of it, after all. And letting what you think might come descend is just as valid a destiny as turning aside.

permatext

[crapbearer]

[ It's good advice. It's the advice Max would give himself, really. You can choose to ignore what you're destined to do, right?

"But this is his destiny. He cannot walk away from that."
"Oh? I did!"

...and look how that had turned out for Hanuman. ]

Kinda comforting, in its own way. Knowing you've got a choice.

Though it gets hard when there's people out there who make those choices for you, whether you want them to or not.

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[flowerette]

[ It's like this post is just made for her. ]

I'm familiar with destiny, clairvoyance, and what have you. Really, it's been what's guided my whole life back home.

But the better question is: what are your thoughts on fate?

video;

[crapbearer]

You know the story of Oedipus, right? Not the part Freud made famous, but the other stuff.

King Laius heard a prophecy that his son would grow up and murder him. So he tried to have baby Oedipus killed, instead of... I don't know, striving to be a good father regardless. Anyway, Oedipus survived, was adopted and raised never knowing who he was until that junk had already come to pass.

It was the very act of trying to stop the prophecy that made it come true. How screwed up is that, right?

The way I see it, I mean... I'm not sure what I feel anymore, honestly. But I'll keep doing what I think is the right thing. If it happens to line up with a prophecy, then, well... good for the prophecy, I guess.

Video

[timeshares]

Destiny? It's not worth fighting.

Video

[crapbearer]

I wouldn't go that far.

not here; open to action with res #035 roomies

[manofmanylegends]

[While there's nothing wrong with genuine curiosity on certain topics, Norman feels troubled seeing the Mighty One post about something like this. It's not because he doesn't believe in Max—nothing could be further from the truth, in fact—but because each person has his or her own purpose to fulfill. Small or great, the chips will all eventually fall into place, and destiny will happen.

But the Mighty One's destiny is to overcome the ultimate evil, Skullmaster; the fate of the world is in Max's hands. There is a great deal of flexibility and free will involved in Mighty Max's decisions, though it's all balanced out by the sheer weight of results and consequences of the choices Max makes. It's quite the burden for such a young boy.

As much as Virgil complies with destiny, he also struggles to shape and correct its flaws in his own way, and that is his choice. (Is it really?) How many people here would agree with his prophecies? How many would argue that he's wrong?

Meanwhile, fate has commissioned Norman time and again to become a hero, whether he wanted to become one or not. Time and again, fate has just as quickly abandoned him to tragedy: the stories of Samson and Delilah, Hercules and Megara, Lancelot and Guinevere, to name a few. Destiny had pit Norman alone against whole armies, deities, and his very own codes of duty and honor. Fate, or destiny, whatever one may call it, always caught up with Norman. Whatever will be, will be. He has no advice to offer, he has no place attempting to change or even influence fate, so he doesn't.

What he does do, however, is sit and scowl on the couch in the living room and contemplate what he's seeing in the responses to Max's post.]

[inchesofevil]

[Duncan is on his, what, seventh cup of coffee? look he doesn't have a problem ok. he can actually drink seven cups without getting jittery and hearing colours now, that is the opposite of a problem.

Anyway, he has to pass through the living room on his way between his room and the kitchen, which means passing by the couch Norman is sitting and scowling on. Duncan's dad has always been a stoic type, so he's got a good eye for when the resting scowl turns into an active one. He can tell something's up.

On his way back from the kitchen, he stops to lean over the back of the couch, forearms resting on the backboard, coffee mug in his hands]

What's up, big guy? You look a little surlier than usual today.

Voice

[runningstart]

IT'S BULL. Trust me kid, there's no such thing as a predestined path for anybody. Anyone who calls chance and free will and opportunity 'destiny' is just trying to glam it up for the layman.

Voice

[crapbearer]

You sound pretty sure. Not that I'm necessarily disagreeing or anything. Something you dealt with back home?

text;

[matadorable]

back home
i saw a book that contained everyone's life story

it had everything that happened
to any given person
and everything that would happen to them
in the future

but my pages were totally blank

text;

[crapbearer]

sounds to me like you had the best outcome of all of them.

Get to fill 'em yourself.

video foreverr

[askedtobe]

Pretty sure destiny's about half of what i've dealt with back home. And I think it's got more to do with free will then people give it credit for. Because prophecy doesn't mean anything when you try to change it.

[crapbearer]

Or when changing it is actually part of the prophecy, because it knew you would try.

It's a weird thing. On the one hand, you should always try to shoot for the best outcome, right? On the other hand, if someone has knowledge of a prophecy involving you, don't you have a right to know about it?

video;

[angelfire]

Yes. What would you like to know?

video;

[crapbearer]

[ Well hello there, Actual Satan. Forgive Max if he takes what you say with a grain of salt because, again, Actual Satan.

That said, he's not going to dismiss him outright, either. His tone is still pretty cheerful, despite a few more emotionally intense moments earlier.]

For the record, I'm not asking for a fortune telling or anything.

The general consensus I'm getting here is that destiny is pretty malleable, if it even exists at all. But I'm getting the sense that it doesn't work exactly the same in every world.

You had a front row seat to a good chunk of creation on your world, right? How's the destiny thing arranged where you come from?

video;

[bloodpressured]

Yes. More than any one person should ever have to deal with that kind of stuff.

I don't know about chance, free will, or necessity. Having had a lot of time to look back on all of it and really mull it over, I think what it comes down to is that it's all a hot solid mound of shit.

video;

[crapbearer]

Someone grab me a soda, because I can drink to that.