video; un: shiro

[shiro2hero]

[Local man sits at his kitchen table, arms folded and a coffee mug in front of him. He looks... worried. Concerned. And is clearly preparing for a Speech.]

My name is Shiro.

I'm one of the Sleepers who came here from Deerington, the dream world. I don't actually know how many of you out there are in the same boat anymore, so... with a choice like we've been given, I don't know how many of you remember the last time we had one like it.

[He means the vote that ended the dream.]

That vote ended with Julia Sodder's death.

I want to think it's because a lot of us didn't fully understand the consequences. I want to think it was because a lot of people were hurt, afraid, and thought they were doing the right thing. Or they just wanted to protect the people they knew. Regardless, Julia Sodder died. The people she'd brought into her world to save her... they let her down.

[Deep breaths Shiro, because it really sounds like you were trying to say I let her down, there. He folds his hands, and props his chin up in them.]

You can probably see where I'm going with this.

I'm not saying don't give this Pthumerian your opinion. At this point, inaction is probably the worst idea we've got. These beings - they're a part of this world whether we like it or not. They have been for longer than we can probably realize. [He grimaces.] Aside from one...

[Friggin Mother Mercy/Superior.]

We should be careful, I think, to do anything that cuts them off from their world. Even if we think it might help the people we care about. Protect them. We could end up doing something we really regret.

[There's a long pause, Shiro debating his next words.]

Like always, I'm open to explaining anything to people who have no idea where I'm coming from. I'm more than happy to talk about what happened in Deerington. The way I see it, maybe that will help us understand this world.

Comments

voice; @anonymous

[wrenchedup]

[ This situation hammers at his trigger button so god damn hard its amazing he hasn't exploded yet. Wrench chooses to speak, for once. Cause he's actually too activated to type worth a shit right now. Though the voice, mechanical sounding as it was, didn't give as much emotion beyond sounding a little restrained. ]

Humans from my world have managed to oppress and control those "lesser than" to the point where you can't fucking sneeze without it going on record for some reason. You could argue this 1% are gods in their own right and they certainly act like it. Doesn't fucking matter, dude. It's not right and it's not okay. Just because Pthumerians are a part of this world doesn't mean they can or should hold power over the people who wash ashore.

[ One very big grounding breath, and a few moments later: ] Tell me more about the last time this happened?

[shiro2hero]

[Whoof. That's uh. That's something to unpack there. He pauses for a while before responding, trying to choose his words as diplomatically as possible.]

From what you've said, I can see where you're coming from. But at the same time, it's always seemed to me like they're part of this world as much as ... a season. Or a thunderstorm. Maybe some of them really do lean into the whole "god" aspect, I can't argue that.

But then there's patrons like the Argonaut. Or Cloverfield. Who really don't seem that way. Not to mention the Moon Presence - but that's a whole other story.

I just want people to be careful with this. That's all.

[But hey, he can talk about this part.]

Basically, we were given another choice, back then. Choosing the fates of the Guardians - basically Pthumerians in their own right - of Deerington, the dream world. And the one who created it. We didn't have a whole lot of information then, or someone to ask about it, and people...

Their votes ended up killing Julia Sodder. And sending Mother Superior to this world - one Pthumerian who definitely saw herself as some kind of god.

(VOICE) — UN: BOMBSHELL

[opheliac]

( as of late, she's been keeping all of her conversations private. but given this is such an important matter, maybe she should make herself known. just for a little bit. )

Eh heh heh. The bomb's really tickin' for us, huh? I wonder how long we got 'till we find out if it'll pop or not.

[shiro2hero]

Judging from what Hali said, I don't think it's going to end up being a "bomb" situation.

At least, that's... definitely not the impression he gave off.

Video: UN - Runeseeker

[onerthes]

Oh, I remember. Her fate still haunts us both, I imagine...

[She breathed out and sighed, shaking her head and looking to the side as she did so, uncomfortable.]

I would like to believe that this ... Hali is more forthright in his offer than the Moss King was. He certainly seems to wish us to have an informed decision, so this might be one of those few times there are less strings attached. Not no strings. There are never no strings.

but I agree. This isn't a decision to make lightly.

[shiro2hero]

"Choice" is important to him. That's what I got out of talking with him. It's a genuine offer, but...

[There's always a 'but'.]

... we don't know what the outcome would be, either way. We have the vision, but we're really flying blind. Would things deteriorate without a Pthumerian tied to the outpost? Would it be more vulnerable to corruption?

They're such a part of this world, I don't know if I can vote to cut them out completely.

( video | un: burton )

[rocinantes]

Seems like this is bothering you.

( amos hasn't really paid it too much thought. )

Think history will repeat itself?

[shiro2hero]

I don't know. I hope not.

We don't have a solid way of knowing how either way is going to turn out. But ... I just worry that cutting off any Pthumerian influence is going to have consequences we can't see from a vision.

video; un: naruhodo

[convene]

I'd like to hear more since you're willing to share.

[He's heard some, but not really much about the choice they've made. He doesn't think he's heard the name Julie Sodder before, so he may as well ask.]

Who was Juile Sodder? [A pause, a beat before--] It sounds like you might regret the choice that was made.

[What he doesn't say is the choice you made, but he can't know for certain if Shiro made that choice or not.]

[shiro2hero]

Julia Sodder. She... was an attempt at making a god. That was it. That was her whole reason for existing. She was a kid born with a Pthumerian parent and a human one. The Moon Presence? [He nods his head upward, to indicate it.]

That was her mother.

What basically happened was no one taught her how to use or control the power she was born with. She could pull things, people, from other worlds into the town, and was never taught how not to do it.

So... they locked her up in a coma. In a laboratory.

private voice; un: ushiromiya

[entreats]

[ There are a few odd responses to Shiro's post. It's like there's some recordings of nothing but faint air, like someone wanted to post a reply, thought better of it, but didn't fully delete it. It happens a few times, Ange struggling with responding to this when she only just turned back to normal and is still struggling with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

It makes this matter suddenly being shoved into her face exceptionally poorly timed. Is she even allowed to say anything on this, given what happened when she got corrupted?

.. Shiro would understand, she likes to think, but there's still a part of her terrified of his rejection. So even once Ange finally manages to send a proper response, her voice sounds weak. Almost weirdly meek by Ange standards, like she's afraid of speaking. ]

.. you must think I'm really stupid then, huh..

[ Because even though she thinks Shiro's words weren't directly aimed at her, they sure hit hard coming right off her trying to cut off the Pthumerians herself. ]

I know I am.

private

[shiro2hero]

[Oh Ange.]

[You should know better.]

[Because the moment he hears her speak up, the actual topic of this post is abandoned. Yes, it's important. Yes, he wanted to reach people. Get them to think and be careful, but - this is the first he's heard since the whole Other World situation. So - ]

Ange! Are you - are you all right? [And there it is. Immediate concern. No judgment here.]

What happened? Is Ruby all right?

video | un: graham crackers

[possessum]

I remember. The.... choice. ( Peter offers a little smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. There really aren't many of them left from the Dream before, and.... it's a shared ache for the ones left. The voting. The stress of it all, the uncertainty, the— horror when they realised what they'd done. What happened to Julia.

Peter hasn't been able to talk much about it over these past couple of years. The ache runs deep, personal in layered ways; he flinches from it, a wound that never stops leaking. Julia wasn't the first little girl he failed to save. )

....I don't know what to do. This time. ( The confession feels odd to voice aloud; his voice feels distant from himself. ) Last time, nothing was what it seemed, so.... I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to make the wrong choice.

[shiro2hero]

At least it's not just me.

[That part, at least, is meant to be mildly humorous. The look on Peter's face is enough for Shiro to try. Try to put on a braver face, make a little joke about something that isn't as serious as Julia Sodder's fate.]

[But he sobers up, quickly. Even as his expression remains sympathetic. The guilt still feels fresh to him, too. That last meeting with her...]

If it helps, I spoke to Hali - the Pthumerian offering the ritual. And the choice, at least, is sincere, I think. When he talked about it, you could tell this was something he cared about - us choosing one way or another.

Hali, at least, I don't think has any strings attached.

video, username: mariathope

[givetheslip]

I haven't decided what I think of all this yet. But for whatever it's worth, I appreciate that you've shared a perspective that I doubt many could.

[shiro2hero]

Hey, it's not a problem. Sharing information was something we tried to do back in the Dream as much as possible. I figure we should keep up the habit.

And thank you, for taking some time to decide. That probably sounds weird, but thanks.

voice | un: hoody

[theflyingone]

For the sake of the theoretical exercise: What harm is there is allowing one small enclave to be free of Pthumerian monopoly? They have the rest of the land to roam. It is not as though this decision determines this world's fate as the last one seems to have done.

[shiro2hero]

[See, this is what they need to be doing - they all need to be talking things out like this instead of doing it all alone.]

It's not a bad point. Maybe nothing would happen. We only saw a glimpse of the outcomes, after all.

I wonder what the long term effect would be, though. Especially for the people there. Is there something we don't fully understand about their influence? They seem to be so integral to life here.

un: GoldenFlowers, text

[the_obedient_servant]

Your guilt and blame is misplaced, at least partially.

You failed her. But you did not create her, and you did not profit off of her suffering and death. The Pthumerian Patrons carved an empire from her dying screams, and the dying screams of everyone in this world. They've created a playground from the corpse of the world which they used her to destroy.

Getting rid of them unbalances the playground.

Is that a bad thing?

Are you really so eager to be twisted into a doll for their amusement?

Why do you hate Mother Mercy? For hurting Julia? For hurting you and yours? Or is she just the only one you think you can comprehend?

[shiro2hero]

Not all of them. Not all of them profited from losing her. Moon Presence didn't - releasing her was a different decision entirely.

[Shiro: firmly on Team Sodder since Forever. Even though it takes him a minute to type that out. Julia and dying screams feels horrible to think about, on so many levels.]

[Yeah. He did fail her. At every single turn.]

I don't know if it's good or bad. Hali seems absolutely genuine in his offer, and his insisting on our choice. But I worry what the long-term effect would be. On that city, on the people who move there. That's what I'm worried about - how it might go for people cut off entirely.

We don't know as much as we should about how their influence works on the world, on us.

[Deep breaths Shiro... don't rage type. Do not--]

Mother Superior tortured a child on camera for everyone to see. To teach us some kind of messed up lesson about how powerful she was, how powerless we were. She sent her followers into town to hunt us. She cut off our supplies until we had no choice but to enter a death match to stay alive.

She mocked us at every chance she got, and she would have killed us if Cynthia - if the Moon Presence, hadn't stopped her.

I hate her for everything she's done, on behalf of everyone she's hurt. And everyone she continues to hurt while she's here.

Action

[glitchinthesystem]

[ Glitch is watching the message a few times. What has he missed since he left? He's never been that involved in the goings-on of Trench because it was a lot to deal with. Though when Shiro brings up Julia he does freeze a little. When he had made his vote for that he thought he was ending her suffering, not proving she was a monster. It was one of the worst choices he ever made and he still wants to throw up being reminded from it.

Flashes of home come to mind of the forest and the days of hunger and the horrible thoughts that came with it.

He has to shake it off though because he can't talk about this on the network and he really shouldn't be letting Shiro know he's back on a chat. So he left to go to Shiro's place and hesitates for a good twenty minutes before he finally approaches the door. He gives it a few hard knocks to try and make sure he's heard and just stands there just looking a little subdued. ]

[shiro2hero]

[He's put his face into his hands by this point, tiredly. Maybe he should have had someone listen before he went and made this post. Proofread his speech or something. Or made it clearer all he wanted was for people to think, not to kneejerk vote. Then again, he should have known it wasn't a popular topic. Not All Pthumerians indeed.]

[The knock makes him drop his head onto the table for a heartbeat. Okay, who's here to argue with him in person?]

[But he drags himself up, and over to the door, looking a little more haggard than usual. The fact his hair's gone straight white by now - thanks to his brush with Beasthood - probably doesn't help any. He opens the door, his hand pushing through said hair, bracing for the worst, and...]

[?????]

... Glitch?

[ action ]

[tempredmental]

[Keith listened as Shiro said his piece, waiting until he closed the connection. Then, he stepped closer, into view.]

Do you really think that our opinion will actually matter? What if this is all a ruse and they just do what they want anyway?

[shiro2hero]

If it was a different Pthumerian, I'd be more wary of it.

[He sighs, and props his elbows up on the table, leaning his forehead on his hands.]

I spoke with Hali. After the visions. He was really insistent on choice, on how it was important we have one. I think he's sincere. [He'd believe the Moon Presence, too, though.] What the others think of it, I have no idea.

... I just don't want this to backfire. I just - want people to think before they jump to a vote. [Again...]

Video; un: darkness

[survivalthroughhate]

Pretty words. But that's all they are. I doubt they'll help anyone make the right decision again. No one ever listens to the truth, they just warp it to suit their own selfish needs.

[He'd tried to warn them all in Deerington to save Julia. Maul had seen it was the best decision. But no, no one had wanted to listen to a murderer and Deerington's eternal troublemaker. They didn't think he was capable of knowing how to show mercy or how to know when sparing a life was the right choice.]

[shiro2hero]

Your opinion is noted.

At least I'm trying.