maskormenace | 014 ♍ VIDEO

[ 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.

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[ An additional clarification occurs to her, and maybe it's a bit too honest and revealing, but she hates having lived behind so many walls these past few years. She'll take awkwardly revealing.

Still, it is a bit awkward, so her eyes widen and glance off into the distance, tilting her head to the side. ]

...Some more thoroughly than others.

[Van regards the grub and Kanaya both, his expression understanding but also apologetic. This position isn't one he'd wish on anyone. While he's grateful she understands, he's also sorry that she seems to be able to relate.

But then his attention is drawn away from that fact and to a more startling point.]

Your universes died?

[How is that even possible? Van's never had to worry about galactic-level calamities before, much less universal.

A beat, and then awkwardly he adds...]

I'm sorry, I'd understand if you didn't want to talk about it in detail. I shouldn't have asked like that, it's just...alarming to hear.

It's, well, just the way things work where I'm from. Cosmological propagation. The parent dies as it births the child.

[ It's a basic concept on Kanaya's planet, where families just don't exist, trolls only hatching from parents who've been dead hundreds of years. Or how Kanaya had to cut Ashiah's egg from the corpse of her mother. Legacy always came with sacrifice on Alternia. ]

Though, I guess it helps to understand it when you've seen a universe from the outside. When you can perceive them as living beings, rather than abstract concepts of Space.

You mean everything out there is alive where you're from?

[He glances away from the camera as if to indicate everything beyond the scope of this planet.

It's difficult to imagine something so vast as being alive itself and not simply pulsing with the life it contains. Difficult...but not impossible. In fact, for all that the birth of the child means the death of the parent where Kanaya is from, Van finds himself fascinated. Does she value her existence all the more knowing what was sacrificed for her to come into being?]

Is what happened to your universe the reason you and Ashiah are on your own?

I don't know if quite everything is living. Planets are still big chunks of rock with living things on them, but I suppose that doesn't rule it out. Though I wouldn't expect them to be sapient. I'm not quite sure even Bilious Slick himself was sapient.

All I know for certain is that everything in the universe was a part of his body, or at least a resident within. Any overarching consciousness within the that space would thus be his.

[ It's weird to think about, she was never aware of it while she actually lived within a universe. She just bred him.

She shakes her head. ] No, it isn't. I haven't always been alone, you know. The Porter isn't bound by time, that a world or a person is dead now doesn't mean she couldn't being them anyway.

I suppose, perhaps, she's simply grown bored with most of us.

She?

[A beat, and then he adds...]

Do you mean Lachesis?

[He doesn't know much about the so-called Fate, but he's glimpsed mentions of the name in various documents that circulate for imPort benefit. What little of them he could read, anyway.]

You make it sound like we're here for...for amusement. Do you really believe that?

[ Got it in one, Van. ]

I don't know, maybe not exactly. Her motivations have always been opaque, but there was always a sort of whimsical tone in the way she would speak to us.

Back when she would still speak to us.

What did she have to say?

Mostly, she would make fun of us for doing things wrong. I heard there was some incident with horns she played over the communicators for no discernible reason, but I wasn't around for that.

We're probably better for not hearing from her.

That...sounds like something a kid would do.

[Which only supports Kanaya's opinion that they're probably better off not hearing from Lachesis. Still, it's bizarre to think about.]

An omnipotent, petulant kid, yes. I suppose it's no mistake that our circumstances tended to be so much worse when she had an active hand in them.

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