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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( 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.

[ Oh. ]

i would like that, thanks.

my name's gorgug. can i ask you more about your time here in etraya and what you've done? in private?

sure, kid.
( wait. )
gorgug.

send me a message, or else i stay at that brownstone you can see across the way from the cafe.
top floor, apartment with the 'H' above the door.

[ He was thinking through the network, but--maybe in person is good? He doubts it'll make a difference to anything (he's not sneaky, not paranoid enough to look at an in-person meeting as a positive), but... ]

i'll visit. thanks.

[ Padme told him to get to know people. It's good. It's good speaking practice, too.

So he makes the travel from one set of apartment buildings to another (possibly having to deal with the fact there's no bridge connecting to the two isles, BUT THAT'S OK HE HAS FANTASY JUMPING BOOTS), half-cursing the way everything is laid out in Etraya, but he's committed himself to the journey, and anyway: he's been given a lot to think about in the conversation with Clint. Things that had already been roiling in his head, but even more so.

He wants to be optimistic. He desperately wants that hope. He should change his frame of mind, and make it easier to carry.

At least he can be glad that nobody (hopefully) witnesses him navigate an apartment building that doesn't seem full, lively (nothing ever does in Etraya), lost and awkward in that way one is anywhere new that they're not sure they should be. Making his way up, always feeling out of place, but being sure not to let himself slouch as he finds the door with the H above it, knocking carefully on the door, or pressing the buzzer if it has one.

And if Gorgug hasn't landed in an alternate universe or just been very unlucky, Clint will hear a sound, and be able to open his door to a 6'6" half-orc dressed in the most teen fashion of a hoodie and jeans, yellow eyes set against black sclera with crow's feet wrinkles beside them, and a half-wince that's aiming to be a smile against tusks protruding from the sides of their mouth.

Please no dumping him in an alternate universe on his walk over, Etraya.... ]

( clint, too, hates the way everything is laid out in etraya. it's inconvenient in every which way except for the one that means clint is forced to keep up-to-date with almost every change to the city, simply by virtue of there being no other means of traversal.

(maybe he'll ask aurora for his skycycle one of these days, or else one of the motorbikes he used to own—.)

he's not doing much of anything when there's a knock at his door — in truth, he hadn't expected gorgug to come so soon, but logic dictates it's not bobbi (she wouldn't knock) and it's not kate (she might knock, but she'd also walk in immediately afterwards, making the process of knocking all but pointless). no, when the knock happens, clint is all but sprawled out on his sofa, mindlessly flicking between watching one of the movies repeated every day on his tv, and the network.

it's enough that he's startled when the knock occurs, enough that it takes him a moment to register than no-one's stepping inside and therefore, he needs to get up and answer the door. when he does, whatever he'd been expecting from gorgug, what he gets clearly isn't it.

surprise, clear and obvious and lightly questioning, sits in his expression, although it soon gives way to realisation. (oh, right—). it's not often clint has to look up at anyone, even if there are only a handful of inches in it, but it's the thing — aside from the green — that takes most of clint's immediate attention. )

Uh, hey. ( a breath of a pause. ) Gorgug, right? ( where gorgug is TEENAGER, clint embodies MID-THIRTIES. dishevelled, mussed blonde hair, a subtle air of TIRED accompanied by a lingering smell that suggests he drinks a lot of coffee; a t-shirt — purple — and a pair of cuffed cargo pants that suggest he's wearing them both for utility and comfort. he waves his hand, loose and dismissive, before turning to head back inside. )

C'mon in.

( the interior says that this wasn't something that aurora came up with on her own, says that this is probably clint's. (hence, perhaps, the 'H' above the door). it's an open-plan loft apartment, with walls that are a pale, pale lavender, a bow on the wall above the sofa, a couple of well-used targets in front of the windows (featuring, naturally, purple curtains).

on the kitchen island is a (purple) mug of half-finished coffee that clint gravitates towards, picking it up purely out of habit before turning back to gorgug. )

Don't worry about shoes.

Edited 2024-08-17 19:05 (UTC)

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