maskormenace | 1 ♡ audio (backdated to 11am, 2/14)

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1 ♡ audio (backdated to 11am, 2/14)

There's a number of new faces around here. But, in a way, we're all relatively new faces to this neighborhood. Maybe it would make more sense to say, this is a new experience for some, and an old for others. Isn't that right?

[ The voice speaking is a level, feminine voice: teenager, middling pitch, with words that are well-enunciated. While there is an accent—noticeably not American—it's caught in a threshold between others, and difficult to place.

It's hard to tell if she sounds bored, or if that's just how she naturally talks. ]

To get everyone on the same page, I thought it would be best to tell you how we came here, and what came before. It's something of a long story, though, and I'm not the best person to tell it, but better something than nothing. Right? Though, if you're not interested, you can skip the rest of this broadcast.

The "world before" this one, the one people mean when they refer to "the City," was Earth. Another Earth, similar enough to this one, and to the Earths you may have known—"the City" was their name for "New York City," if that means anything to you. At some point, a teleportation device was built, and on October 10th, 2008 by its calendar, and by this one, the "Porter" was activated, and brought the first "imPorts." At that time, it was controlled by an artificial intelligence in a suit of armor, but that being was later destroyed by the artificial intelligence of the Porter itself.

She calls herself Lachesis. Like the Fate.

For five years, she controlled our lives there. She determined who was imPorted, who was exPorted; who would return there with their memory intact, and who would not. If they would come back the same, or from some different history than the one we knew. She determined who was raised from the dead, if we died, and whose soul never came back. She could change the powers we were born with, and she could take them away. She could change our species, as it suited her. She's capricious, a fan of practical jokes and snide cruelties, and chess. Hers was the voice that welcomed us as "heroes."

Two years after it all started, she changed that world. Countries emerged, fully realized, emerged from nothing. The history of that world was rewritten; the memories of its inhabitants, too. The damage done by her enemies, erased. Those of us who were there could remember what the world was like, before she changed it, but we're the only ones who could.

After that, our shared enemy was Vulcanus. Others can tell you more about them, but they wished to take what made us powerful and use it to their own ends. Kidnapping, torture, genetic experimentation—that sort of thing. [ Though the content of the statement is serious, "torture" may as well be synonym for "toothbrush," for the easy, careless way she says it. ] But, when they could not... that is to say, "beat us," the way things were, they sought to gain power on other worlds, other dimensions. And we would follow them. Not by choice, and not with any sort of plan, but for months and months, you couldn't trust that placing one foot in front of the other would land on the same ground.

We're rather weary of traveling, I think.

In one of those worlds, we met her "sister", Clotho. But the third of them... you may have already heard. She destroyed that world, were we lived before. I don't... I'm not sure how it all happened, in the end, but in rescuing Lachesis, she saved us. Brought us here, to this world.

I can't tell you much about the state of this world, but there's two things I do know. One, large gatherings will almost always end in some chaos, so you should be prepared for that. And two, you can't trust people to act in anybody's interest but their own. The people of this world will not be kind to us for kindness alone.

[ There's pause enough that it might be mistaken for the end of the broadcast, before: ]

We should decide on names for all of these different worlds soon. This sort of thing will only get harder to explain later on without them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No... Not as much as we seem. Human action comes from motive, and motive often comes from feeling.

If you know which seeds are planted, you'll have a better idea of what flowers will grow than you will from staring at the dirt. Maybe not every one will bloom, but the ones that do won't surprise you.

Yeah, but even still --

The ones that you thought would bloom, that don't, or the ones that do that you hadn't intended...

There's always going to be something that you can't quite count on with people. Not like with numbers. [ Or machines. ]

Even still.

Nothing comes from nowhere. Human, monster, or machine.

Sure, but with some things, the causes are distinct. Cause and effect is quantifiable, and simple to locate.

With people? Not so much.

Don't act so certain.

Nobody's ever done something that you couldn't predict?

The way you talk, it seems you imagine nothing about people can be predicted.

If that's the case, is it because you're bad at assessing the feelings of others, as individuals, or because you think yourself immune to prediction?

[ rude
she didn't even answer the question. ]

[ GET OUT RUKA!!! ]

It's more that I think people have a way of surprising everyone. I've seen people you'd never expect do goddamn amazing things, and some that I thought would come through fall to pieces.

Sounds like you have low expectations.

No, I believe in people.

I'm just also pragmatic. I can't rely on the wrong people in the middle of a crisis.

[ she can't get out this is her post, god, you get out!! ]

I didn't say you don't. That doesn't change it at all.

Where I come from, I'm often making decisions that effect lives. I suppose you could say that yeah, I don't fucking trust people unless I know that they will come through explicitly.

That speaks for your perspective. [ kanye shrug. ] How much trust you can afford to give, that's no measure of human nature. It's only a measure of yours.

You think?

I don't think so. People can disappoint you at any turn, Ruka. They don't always come through, no matter how great they are. It's just life. It's best to rely on what you know they can do.

[ Wow so he's talking about how he can't manipulate people every time, good job mitch.... ]

Hah. When did I ever say they wouldn't?

Understanding people, that means understanding just how deep those pits of disappointment can be. Nobody is who they pretend to be. Nobody wears their true heart on their face for the world to see. That's predictable.

It's better to rely on what you know they will do.

Shit, that's kind of depressing, don't you think?

I mean, from a practical standpoint, yes, but on a personal level, it's entirely different.

[ SAYS MITCHELL FUCKING HUNDRED. ]

Getting sentimental?

We're human, we're allowed to be.

Mmm. I don't think there's anything depressing about it.

Well, I can't tell you what is and isn't depressing to you -- especially since you're a teenager, but I can tell you that form where I'm sounding, it sounds pretty fucking depressing.

So, Mister Pragmatic finds himself let down by an honest assessment of human nature?

Is that what you really think, or does it only depress you coming from someone like me?

I think the fact that you haven't hit thirty and you're that jaded is what's more depressing.

There's nothing jaded about empathizing.

It sounds like you might take the empathy a touch too far -- then again, if you're an empath, I shouldn't be surprised.

[ w e l p ]

Better me than someone else.

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