deernet | video; un: shiro

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video; un: shiro

[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.

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[ 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?

( 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.

Edited 2023-04-09 15:05 (UTC)

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.

Edited 2023-04-09 16:51 (UTC)

Seems like this is bothering you.

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

Think history will repeat itself?

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.]

[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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

Well, that's just boring and less fun. —'Least I can still be entertained by watchin' everyone else squawk their heads off as ya'll debate.

Wouldn't surprise me.

( there was precedent, after all. )

And I'd assume that cutting something that powerful off is gonna piss them off too. Even if they are cut off from a power source.

[ 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.

Considering how they are? I think perhaps it's better to say "Choice" is who he is. Much like Argonaut is "Hope." So, it wouldn't surprise me if his intention is legitimate, that we are to have a Choice in the matter in the most absolute of senses.

Let us assume, dangerous as it seems, that his visions are accurate? It didn't seem that the people of that community were more vulnerable to corruption or less. But their lives were harder without aid. The dangers might be greater in some ways, though. I got the feeling there were more monsters to defend against.

I will definitely agree. We should be careful what we cut out of the picture. I haven't decided how I feel quite yet on this.

[ Sorry, Shiro. It's A Thing that makes him super angry. Generally speaking anyone who holds power over others is on his shit list. Standby. He's in the process of Cooling Off and also trying to decide whether he wants to be private or not. This was probably important enough to not be. And just figuring out how to think properly again. You know. ] There's gonna be stronger opinions than mine, probably. It's a pretty impacting decision and I don't doubt it's gonna have unfavorable consequences either way. Large decisions usually do.

[ This is his way of saying hey man, I'm sorry someone died but sometimes people die. Par the shitty course of having to make shitty choices. Fuckin sucks, bro. But it happens. ] So let's lay it out, then. What do we know— guess this is also a question to any snooping ears, too. [ Brief pause for quick humor with a cute little "Haaii ~" before back to scheduled programming: ] Did you ask anything?

[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?

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.

I'm not corrupted anymore. Neither of us are.

[ But to call them 'alright'.. well, that's another matter entirely. Especially when Ange thinks that Ruby is doing even worse than her, and that it's her fault. Ange's fault. If she hadn't caused any of this, Ruby wouldn't be suffering either.

It makes the question unbearable to answer any more than she did just now, her throat feeling thick as she swallows, like there's something stuck in there. ]

Something bad happened that snapped me out of it. Then I helped her.

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.

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.

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?

I'm sure there will be. There always are, one way or another.

[And he really can't fault people for it. He's not going to get anything across, make any headway, if he's running around blaming people and getting angry with them. As long as they all just think their choices over, then that's mission accomplished.]

[You can't force people to do anything.]

I did. I asked if there was a similar ritual that could be used to keep a Pthumerian out of Trench itself. Hali told me that was impossible - the way the Tower and others are bound to the city is different than anywhere else.

No opinion on your end?

It's possible, yeah.

But something about Hali offering - a Pthumerian offering - makes it seem like this would go over better than us doing it on our own.

If that makes sense?

That's something...

[Deep breaths. An exhale. He's honestly, sincerely relieved to hear it. And, yeah, he gets that. He gets not being "all right" after something like that. How could you be? He wasn't. And he hadn't dragged Adam into it.]

I'm glad you're back. [She doesn't sound good. This is Ange, and this kind of emotion in her voice is worrying.] Can I do anything for either of you?

[Forget the vote, forget this whole matter - he has friends to try and check in on.]

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