expiationnet | (anonymous user) don't give theater kids cameras

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(anonymous user) don't give theater kids cameras

[In early July, before the glitches become more frequent and noticeable, a newcomer greets the network. He's hiding his ID, despite appearing in the center frame on camera. Light pouring in from the window casts his face in the shadow of his deep hood.

If it feels a bit like he's staged this shot, it's because he has.

The hooded man waves.]

Greetings, my fellow Chosen.

Pray allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Fandaniel.

[He twirls a hand before himself and bends forward in an elegant bow.]

That is, I am the man sitting the Seat of Fandaniel on the Convocation of Fourteen.

[Slowly, he rises again, lips pressed into a grin. He speaks of his title with pride, mustering all of his thespian experience to make the pride seem genuine.

It isn't. He doesn't feel any real attachment to his Seat. Now, as always, it's a means to an end.]

I do not expect those words to mean aught to any of you. Know only this: My title is that of the Assayer of Extant Phenomena and Overseer of Life. I am the Observer, a task I take to quite well, I must say! Why, I studied life before I ever inherited my position.

[The smirk fades slightly as he taps his chin and starts pacing.]

Consider me the one who watches. Now and always. Do not be alarmed, 'tis all in the pursuit of knowledge. To that end, you will find a survey attached to this message. Please do fill it out at your earliest convenience and be honest in your answers. Remember, this is for science. If you decide to toy with me in your responses that would break my poor heart. And why would you ever wish to do something so cruel?

[The pacing stops and his smile returns.]

I shall be eagerly awaiting your replies. Ta!

[He claps his hands and the feed ends. Attached to the video is a small file...]

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You do realise that saying you're always watching and then immediately saying that people shouldn't be alarmed by that is kind of counterproductive, right?

[ .. though, given all of the other dramatics surrounding his initial message, Ange feels like it's probably just a part of said dramatics in the first place.

What normal person otherwise even says something like that, after all? ]

Oh, you people...

If it would help, consider me something of a ...mmm... cultural anthropologist. What you do in your daily lives is of no concern to me. What you do as a population is.

I am hardly the watcher to be worried about, anyroad. Have you thought at all about your current situation? Do you truly believe that no great power like, say, one with the ability to reach across worlds and accuse you of a crime, is not watching?

I am of no consequence!

Those Who Were There, however...

Oh, no. I'm fully aware I've probably been watched for the better part of the year I've been stuck in this place by now. By some sort of group of celestial perverts, no doubt.

[ She sounds pretty calm about it though. Not really happy, but more like she doesn't feel anything at all in particular about it. Her tone is truly too flat to express any other sort of emotion here. ]

But at least they don't bother to announce it to everyone over the network like this. You do realise it makes you look like a creep, right? Are you that determined to ruin your reputation here right off the bat?

The point of this endeavor was to get to know you as individuals and watch your movements as a whole. In my watching, I'd hoped to find the pattern that would help me unravel the mysteries of this world. I stated my intention plainly in the hope of understanding.

A hope, it would seem, that was foolishly misplaced. Oh, hope, such a fickle, useless emotion, hmm?

I can see now that my approach was ...not well planned.

Lying and obfuscating my intent shall have to be the way of it going forward if I am to see any results.

...Which is so much more work! 'Tis truly unfortunate you lot couldn't let me off the hook on that. Ah, well.

[ The more he speaks, the more Ange feels like he's just a true theatre kid.

Wouldn't be the first though in this place. Not even the first she's spoken to. For some reason there just seem to be worlds out there that are full of these people - such a contrast compared to Ange's own very low-key attitude. ]

Yeah, sorry for forcing you to lie.

[ Flatly.. It's mostly just meant as a deadpan sort of joke, judging by the words. ]

It's not that easy to figure anything out about this place though. I've been at that for about a year already now, and though I guess I know more than I did when I first showed up here, it's not like we've broken the code behind this place entirely yet. Not enough to find a way out, anyway, which feels like the most important goal of that investigation.

My ultimate goal in this line of questioning is to discover how and why we were brought to this world.

In finding that information, I feel certain I can follow the thread to an escape plan.

...I've little doubt that this world hides its secrets well but I am told I can be particularly relentless in my pursuit of answers.

[ Without missing a beat: ]

Oh, I don't doubt that.

[ Is that.. a compliment? An insult? Who even knows, considering how flat Ange's tone is. It could mean anything in regards to him saying he's described by others as relentless.. ]

But if all you wanted was to share in the information we have gathered about this world, you could have gone without the weird creepy speech. A lot of people would be willing to just share, but being a weird voyeur can be a huge turn-off to a lot of people.

Yes, yes, I am a creepy voyeur who mustn't be trusted or somesuch nonsense.

I should have chosen my words more carefully, perhaps.

[A rattling of fabric and chains as he leans away from his tablet.]

Now that we have established that, might we move past it to the more important matters at hand?

I am a man of talent who would like to liberate us from our planetary cell. Help me do that.

The problem is that it's not that easy.

[ Hence why she was harassing him instead of giving any more serious answers. If she truly believed he could do something about their situation, she would have laid everything out right away.

But Ange doesn't have that much faith. Not even because of anything personal, but just-- ]

Far more powerful people have tried it and failed. There have been people here who were.. I don't know, creators of entire worlds or something. [ It had been kind of too complicated to wrap her head around, but she's pretty it had been something along those lines. ] They couldn't do anything either. The best you can probably do right now is pay attention to the ways it sometimes seems like this world is falling apart. Maybe we can tug on those strands to see if it turns into some escape opportunity.

Great power does not guarantee victory.

[Fandaniel clicks his tongue.]

Far from it, in fact. It can make one arrogant and blind them to true possibilities. I am hardly the most powerful of my kind. To a few of my compatriots, I was a half-broken minion, easily discarded.

Yet... I outlasted them all.

[There is another shifting of chains.]

If there are threads to pull at and unravel the fabric of this wretched reality I shall find them. Of course, it seems I shall have to do so without knowing aught about the worlds my fellow Chosen have come from. So finding the mechanism by which we were brought here may not be how we break free. Such a shame.

[ She huffs. ]

If you really think you're going to find some grand common thread that explains how we specifically all ended up here, there's no way you're going to find it.

[ Mostly because Ange has been digging into the same stuff for a year already now. ]

My own situation was pretty similar to this one, but I have only met one other person who seemed to come from a similar situation as well. Most other people were living lives far away from even the knowledge of the existence of different worlds and beings that can pull a person from one world to another. [ Look, Fandaniel! At least Ange is passing on some information here, even if it's.. in her typical Ange way.. ]

Whether I do or don't find a common thread I could not say. But it had been my intention to at least look.

And look I shall!

Let us start with you. You say your previous situation was similar to this one. If you are quite done mocking me and telling me my efforts are for naught, might you share your tale?

I don't know, can I still mock you along the way as compensation?

[ It's said a little dryly, so it's hard to tell just how serious Ange is about that one..

Though maybe not that serious - or she's determined to mock him whether she gets permission to or not! - since she continues on without even waiting for an answer. ]

It's not like you need to know everything about me. What's important is how my situation is similar to this one, right? It's similar in the sense that there are powerful supernatural beings in my world, witches, who do the same stuff that our captors seem to have done here with us. They grab people from all sorts of places and times and throw them together into some locked-off world, putting them through all sorts of dumb events and torture. That statement exactly describes our current situation as well.

[He falls silent, considering Ange's words.]

The similarities are intriguing... However, since so many of us hail from places much different from Expiation, I do not believe your tale is our connecting thread.

...In terms of why we've been targeted, at least.

Have you any reason to suspect that whatever beings governed your star are responsible for this one as well?

[Another pause, then, with a small giggle.]

Oh, as for your mockery, if you must mock then go ahead. As long as I also get information I care little.

Ha! A story in exchange for comedy. A fair exchange, yes?

[ Well, hey, if he doesn't care about being ridiculed, then this is just fine with Ange. Especially since he at least seems to be kind of serious about the information he's taking in here, which the girl does think is an important quality in people.

It at least makes her likely to provide more information. Such as-- ]

I'm not sure at this point. I was convinced of it at first, but at this point the entities in charge here could be very different from the witches I'm used to. I can't deny that the way they do things seems to be entirely similar, but I have heard people speculate that this place is some sort of simulation.

[ A slight pause, as if she's overthinking that as well, before she adds: ]

Which would be very different from things back home. The things those witches did were all very real, not a simulation at all. A simulation almost implies that whatever is in charge here has less power than those witches.

Less power but means of subjecting us to torment all the same. Not that I have direct experience of such things. Not yet.

Mmm...

[A low, thoughtful hum.]

The simulation theory does have merit. I was immediately struck by the unreality of this place. The local people seem to flicker in and out and their awareness of me is fleeting, almost as if they are not truly there at all. Physics itself also appears to be just slightly broken. And then there is the matter of aether, and this star's distinct lack of it.

If it is indeed a simulation, it is a well-made one though not stable enough to prevent the feeling that everything exists just six ilms to the left of where it should be. Do you know what I am talking about? 'Tis difficult to put into words.

No, I think I know what you mean.

[ It helps that Ange isn't very technologically inclined, which means she can actually follow his explanation better than she might be able to follow any explanation that digs more into the technological side of it. Besides, she's heard people talk about aether before, so that sure helps to put it all in a little bit of a more clear context. ]

It's actually been getting worse over time. [ She even helpfully provides, considering he seems on the right track of thinking about this place. ] When I first showed up, that unreality didn't really exist. This just seemed like some sort of regular old-timey place where sometimes kind of weird things happened. But I guess something must have broken somewhere along the line, because a few months ago this city changed from looking like some quiet medieval town to what it looks like now overnight. There have been things looking off and suddenly disappearing and then reappearing all the time ever since that happened.

Oh?

A city that changes overnight...

[There is a soft creaking sound as he drops backwards on to his bed and folds the tablet against his chest.]

That is fascinating... Did anything happen before this great change?

It technically changed two times. Nothing prompted the second time, but about a few weeks before that, when it changed for the first time into something much more modern than it used to be, this place wiped all our own memories and put fake ones in its place.

[ Concerning news, Ange knows.

On the other hand, with the way Fandaniel talks about everything, Ange feels like he can probably take it. Maybe that's why she speaks of it so calmly, not really bothering to soften the blow of the bad news. ]

It made us believe that we had lived here in this city all our lives. Very convincingly. I don't think I've seen a single person who could resist the memory wiping at first. All of us fell for it, which means that the people in charge here have full control over us. [ Especially if they can just reconfigure their brains overnight like it's nothing. ]

Mmm...

[If they can alter memories, what else? Are the people in charge able to alter their perception as well? If so, how much of this city is a mass hallucination? How could...

He's getting ahead of himself.

There's a soft rustle of chains as he sits up again. A playful lilt rises in his voice.]

Magicks and technology that tamper with memory are potent indeed but, in my experience, never permanent. What a mind may forget a soul remembers.

Death is a sure way to undo it! Upon death, the soul is purified and memories once forgotten return.

So...the solution to that particular conundrum is quite simple! Should people find that their memories feel...off...all they need do is die!

[He says that last bit with a cheerful chirp.]

Edited 2024-08-07 13:51 (UTC)

[ As dryly as possible: ]

Sure, Your Edgy Highness. I'll make sure to tell people that next time around. I should have imagined you'd say this.

[ At least she doesn't sound grossed out or anything. Ange can handle death talk easily at this point for an entire variety of reasons. If anything, the girl sounds more bored than actually annoyed or grossed out by his talk.. ]

Death isn't so easy here though. That's also something controlled by the people in charge here, you know. You shouldn't be relying on it because of that. I imagine they'd find it fun to bring us back in worse and worse shape if we'd try abusing a system like that.

Ah, that is the fun part!

Should we truly die, our souls will be purified and even if this miserable city brings us back we will return with our memories fully intact.

[Although purification involves aether, which Expiation doesn't seem to have. Eh, details.]

It is worth a try, at least.

Do we know how they keep bringing us back?

Well, definitely not the same way you're thinking of.

[ .. not that Ange has any idea what specifically he's thinking of.

But she's pretty sure that it's not likely to be the same method in this weird, weird place. ]

You shouldn't assume anything here is the same way it is where you come from. That's only a great way to set you up for potential dumb misunderstandings. As far as I've heard, our worlds are all so different that it's unlikely this place operates by the rules of any one of our worlds.

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(anonymous user) don't give theater kids cameras

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