014 ♍ VIDEO

[glowsferatu]

[ Kanaya is sitting at her desk, with Ashiah laying down on it in front of her. The little grub keeps glancing around in various directions, while her mother's gaze and smile is fixed on the camera. ]

I've been thinking recently about the cross-section of the imPort community who aren't human, perhaps most particularly since the ambassador elections last month. There are a sizable amount of us, not a large group, but significant. I've spoken with many of you on individual terms, and while the resources Governor Kang and SELF have provided to those of us with more unique needs have been invaluable, I feel there is still something missing in our collective socialization. We live the imPort experience in a way that many others won't fully appreciate, and I think we could benefit from sharing those experiences with each other.

[ At this point, Ashiah tries to wander off camera, but Kanaya suppresses a giggle as she puts a hand on top of her and scoots her back into place. ]

I'm unsure exactly what form that would take, but putting us all in a room to share our stories would be at least a start. If anyone is interested, please let me know, and I'll see about renting some space. Of course, if you have any special dietary needs, in terms of snacks, I would like to hear those as well.

This is generally something I'd prefer to save until we're in person, but... [ She's interrupted as Ashiah turns around and nuzzles into her chest, then tries to climb up her shoulder. Kanaya stops and laughs to herself, then plucks her off and cradles her, despite all her fidgeting. ] Anyway, for those of you who I haven't had the pleasure with yet, my name is Kanaya Maryam, and this is my daughter, Ashiah. I'm an Alternian troll, specifically an awakened jadeblood, which basically means I'm a vampire. She's a Daughter Grub from the same planet. [ She raises a finger, shaking her head. ] And before you ask, no, she isn't a troll, and she won't grow up to be one, either. Once she finally pupates, she'll become a Mother Grub. They acted as gestational surrogates for trolls, while the jadeblooded caste were their caretakers and midwives. It's all a bit complicated, this is just a general summary.

So, hopefully we'll be able to put something together moving forward, and I'll be able to hear all of your stories, as well. I'll be looking forward to hearing from each of you.

Comments

[23wishes]

Shinji... I forgot they were friends. It's hard to imagine how. They're nothing alike at all!

[But she just thinks of quiet, moody, stoic Cloud and laughs to herself.]

Or maybe that's why it works.

[glowsferatu]

Only in as much as it's hard to imagine Kaworu being another person's friend! [ Having a friend is something wholly other, and Shinji can be a bit of a doormat, at his worst. Maybe like she was with Vriska, though she was also a passive-aggressive lovesick fool back then.

(Okay, no, that isn't his worst. His worst is much scarier.) ]

But there's a lot of history there, I think. It's a bit odder to think of from the outside, only having seen them separately. If we were part of their world, I'm sure context would fill in the gaps.

[23wishes]

You're probably right. All of my friends were pretty weird, too. None of us fit together at all.

[Bratty Yuffie, stoic Cloud, mopey Vincent, loudmouths Barret and Cid... Actually, no, Barret and Cid would probably get along fine even if their world ending hadn't brought them together.]

[glowsferatu]

I think that's typical in many groups. If it were all homogeneous, life would be incredibly dull. The same was true of my own group, back when we had one.

Believe it or not, I was the boring one among us.

[ Because hey, when you're all thirteen, someone has to be the adult. ]

[23wishes]

I don't believe that at all! You're one of the most interesting people I know!

[glowsferatu]

Oh, now maybe, but you don't really have anyone else to compare me to! The most sensible troll can still look vicious and strange surrounded by humans.

Besides, that was when I was thirteen. I've done plenty of growing up since, I've lived more, defined myself better.

[23wishes]

Wait, are you saying you've been here since you were thirteen? That can't be right.

[She's been assuming they were about the same age...]

1/2

[glowsferatu]

Well, not here strictly, and I was nearer fourteen, but.

[glowsferatu]

[ Her brows furrow as something occurs to her. In all her focus of disclosing certain parts of her life, she might've missed another important one. ]

You do know I've been an imPort for over five years, right? I have mentioned that. ...Haven't I?

[23wishes]

[Had she been drinking something this exact moment might have become a spittake.]

What?! No! I know you've been here for a long time, but-- No!

[WHAT THE HECK.]

[glowsferatu]

[ She spreads her hands, making a face somewhere between a grimace and a grin. A grinace? ]

Surprise!

[ She laughs, a little nervously. ] I can see why you're surprised, though. There isn't a very high percentage of imPorts from longer than two years ago. Fewer who were ever in the City.

It's odd to think there are only three who have been around longer than I have.

[23wishes]

[Surprise??? Well, yes, but-- Isn't she being a bit too casual about this? But maybe it's just something you get used to after a while...]

The City? Who else has been here as long as you? What was it like before?

[glowsferatu]

[ This has been her life for five years, she can't think of any way to be about it but casual. Except extraordinarily bitter and alone, and she's trying not to be either of those these days. ]

Well, my friend Peter, for one. He used to be a photographer at a fashion magazine I worked for. Then Mitchell Hundred, the one running for Senate. But, now that Ruka's gone, I think Tony Stark is the one who's been around the longest.

[ Wait, that's not right. Or it's too right, respecting secret identities is always a headache. ]

Oh! Maybe four, I forgot Spider-Man. I think he and Peter may be dating, or. Or something. Maybe it was his brother? [ You know, basically the same thing. ]

[23wishes]

[Somehow, the reveal about how long Kanaya has been here wasn't the most important thing Aerith learned. Surprisingly, Kanaya is a terrible liar. Aerith's never seen anyone backpedal so fast.

Luckily for Kanaya, though, Aerith doesn't care about the finer details of the identities of some superhero she doesn't know, and so she just nods along with a smile on her face.]

... There's no pattern to the people that stay and the people that disappear, then?

[glowsferatu]

[ She's gonna be really embarrassed if Aerith ever meets Peter, with or without the mask. ]

Well, those who make strong bonds with the world and with a wide selection of others tend to stay longer, especially if those others have also made strong bonds. Though once your strongest bonds are gone, sometimes you will be, too. And then, sometimes you're me.

It gets a little less clear once you surpass a certain point. After two years or so, it's mostly luck of the draw.

[23wishes]

That's... sad. I don't know that many people who have gone home yet, I think. Rick. Kagari...

[She's been lucky so far.]

Honestly, I want to stay here. Or at least... I don't want to go home yet. A while ago, Riku theorized that maybe the Porter can be hacked or something, so we can go wherever we want. Even to each other's worlds. I'd like that most of all.

[glowsferatu]

With all due respect to Riku, it's been tried. Every person who crosses the Porter's threshold eventually comes to believe they have the answer to reining the Porter, to send us home or ensure our future here, or whatever we feel like doing with it. There have been multiple people naive enough to think that maybe we could just ask nicely.

[ She holds up a finger, something stern and bitter sneaking into her voice. ] Not one has ever succeeded. We are talking about an entity that can bind gods without breaking a sweat, a little hackjob won't get you anything but a dip in the Atlantic.

She may not talk anymore, but she's still fully capable of defending herself.

[23wishes]

[Wait, wait, hold the phone.]

She? It's alive?

[glowsferatu]

[ This is the problem, when fewer people are around who remember how things started. No one tells the new arrivals anything. ]

You didn't think the Porter was merely a machine, did you? The entire setup makes less sense when you don't know that much, how small a hand the government has in any of it. They're just working damage control, trying to handle a situation that's been thrust on them as much as it has been on us.

Lachesis is the one who controls it, the Porter is merely her abode. She shares her name with an ancient Greek deity, presiding over fate. Her sisters would weave the thread of life, or sever it at its end. She measured its length, as she does with our time as imPorts.

She's been much less sociable since we lost the last Earth to her older sister. But I've never had a moment's doubt that she's still in there.