etraya | text, un: hawkeye

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text, un: hawkeye

so is pass and fail just a judgment on our performance, or do we reckon it's gonna come back and bite us in the ass in the future?

aurora said she missed us, by the way. ( those are not the words she used. ) she also said that she and eos are free to run their cities in whatever way works for the people under her care, as long as we're well-taken care of.

but, thing is, she gets to define that. says she gets to learn from her actions and inactions in relation to us.

which is something to keep in mind when we're acting as a group or not acting as a group and trying to get answers, or choosing which rules are okay to break and which rules are okay to stretch.

because between here and moorecroft, right now i'd say we've got the better end of the deal.

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she's open to discussion. compared to how we started off, she's grown.

( so have they or, more accurately, so has he — he wasn't particularly amenable or gracious or fair shortly after arriving. )

nah.
aurora's the cool younger sibling.

okay, that's cool. i think the other place had the rule about curfew for safety reasons. but it wasn't clear and i think people were made too scared and used to punishment to question it. the bots killing people didn't really help.

so i think if there's something bad and we know it's bad even if she can't give us all the details, it makes a difference. even if we try and break the rules anyway. some of us are going to

( mm. clint has NOTICED that etraya doesn't feel quite the same since they've come back, but he's not quite sure if that's paranoia (slash paranoia-adjacent because he wouldn't, precisely, describe himself as paranoid), if the place has changed, or if they weren't the only people (things?) to come back from moorecroft.

but it's just a feeling and gorgug hasn't specifically asked about it, so clint's just going to slide right on past that little nugget.

and, honestly, more importantly— )

"the bots killing people didn't really help"?
are you aiming for understatement or does it just come naturally?

but aurora's agreed to give us some grace when it comes to making decisions she might not agree with, or don't make sense with her idea of "keeping us safe and comfortable". i don't know how far it's gonna extend, but it's a start.

sorry. i wasn't trying to downplay people dying.

[ :( ]

( ugh, don't make him feel bad—. )

it's fine.

( clearly, it is not fine. )

it's just, i've spoken to some people here that figure that just because we don't stay dead, it cheapens death, like it doesn't matter.

and that's not how it works.

...and that's before we get on to the topic of anyone that jumps to killing people as a means of managing their problems has some major problems of their own. killing people doesn't solve anything.

i don't think it's unimportant if you die, even if you can come back and there isn't a cost to it (i heard you lose memories here?). it sticks with you, or it can. for some people. i don't know a lot of experiences.

[ He only knows his own, but he doesn't want to throw out a blanket statement about such a personal experience. People are weird and scary. ]

what do you think about us having to fight each other or other cities? someone talked about it happening on the network. they didn't know if it was to the death.

one of those that's different for each person.

not real big on fighting for fighting's sake, even less of a fan of fighting to the death. ( or: he won't. ) not especially inclined to do it just because someone's telling me it's the thing to do, either.

kinda makes you wonder on just how they make it seem like saying no's not an option.

thinking your universe and your friends and family are on the line if you say no helps. there could be other incentives too. i didn't ask people in moorecroft about their past missions enough.

[ He got distracted... with breaking curfew.... ]

we're meant to be both allies and enemies. so eos said.

sure, but i always prefer to take my problems with my friends and loved ones being threatened to the people that are threatening them.

enemies is a strong word to use for someone i have no reason to dislike.

targets, then? um. not that you want to go after anyone anyway.

are you saying we should focus on echo and taking them down?

hey, i'm not saying i'm not willing to fight, i'm just selective.

she's the one that brought us here.

that's true. but it's hard imagining getting access to them without playing along with what they want. she was the one who brought us all here and has a say about planets being destroyed? that feels like she can do whatever she wants.

but i've never been in this position before. have you?

more or less everything. there's gotta be a reason as to why she's chosen to do it like this, with bubble cities and ai. some of it's probably "because it's fun", but i'd bet money there's more to it than that.

everyone has limits to what they'll play along to.

not exactly like this, but saving the world's pretty much the day job.

i think our limits are supposed to decide what happens to us and our worlds. if everything isn't a lie.

but you think there's something off about the cities and ai set up? i thought it was just easier to manage groups of people

call me paranoid but i don't think anyone in the business of kidnapping groups of people from their worlds for the express purpose of judging them is inherently trustworthy.

in this situation, being paranoid isn't a bad thing. you've said some things that i haven't thought about as possible. not a lot feels possible to me right now except deciding my limits.

i don't know that i want to decide my limits.

you're either going to have to take the time to choose them of your own volition, or you're going to be forced into deciding them at the worst possible time.

i'd recommend taking the time to think about who you are and what you want your limits to be.

[ There's a small delay before: ]

yeah. you're right. i should.

( a pause that manages to be a little longer, and then— )

how old are you?

[ uh oh he's getting asked his age. ]

17

( well, that explains one or two of the responses. )

look, it's not like you need to figure out everything all in one go, but it's good to get a feel for what's right by you.

and what's right by you at 17 isn't necessarily what's going to be right by you in another 15 or so years.

i think it gets complicated when your friends and family are on the line. school was hard but i had a good idea of who i wanted to be and what i wanted to do.

but if any of this is true then i could be putting them in danger. and getting another world destroyed for mine. but i know that there's a chance i can't make a difference no matter what i do?

it could all be a lie. but it would help if we could see what the truth is or a possibility to change it.

[ He doesn't want to hurt his friends in the long term, his parents. What's the right answer? Could he be ruthless if that's what it took?

For all his thinking, it's very hard to do. ]

we've all got friends and family on the line, kiddo. i know how complicated it can get.

if we're being told the truth, then they're gonna be in danger regardless. if it's not you representing your world, then it's going to be someone else. but having been in a boat that looks just like this one more than once, i can say there's always another option. it might not be obvious, but it's always there.

[ ... ]

okay, i'll keep that in mind. i want to believe it.

( so does he. )

name's clint, by the way.
if you ever need a sounding board for figuring things out.

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