10 - [Video]

[biwinning]

[So Sollux thought it'd be a good idea to see what Earth movies are like. And with Crank as his only basis thus far, he's 1. not impressed, and 2. confused on a few things.]

Hey.

That movie that was shown last night, used a lot of words I don't know. Human vernacular ith really stupid and weird. Tho everyone should tell me all the thwear words they know and what they mean. There were like twenty onesth I didn't know in that movie, and I thtill don't get what they meant. Thith ith for educational purposes, of course.

Comments

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

A decommissioned system ith removed from attachment to the ship and displaced through an airlock.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

I know. And I'm saying they won't do that. You're too important to them, they want to have power over you. So, they aren't going to let go of you. If you ever showed up there without your wires (which won't happen), then they'd just put the wires back in. You're...

[Sigh.]

Worth too much.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

There ith no way to put wireth back in onthe they are removed. Not the main wire portth.

[Auxiliary wires, sure, he has scars running up and down his arms and back from where auxiliary wires have been implanted and then removed and implanted again, but the main wire ports are one-way only. They are implanted; they are never removed.]

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

... Fine. We'll remove only, but all of the auxiliary wires.

[There has to be a lot more of those, than there are main wires.]

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

No.

Why doeth user Sollukth not understand? System doeth not want other biowireth removed.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

You just think you don't. You're brainwashed. You don't know what you really want right now. I do.

[And yeah, he really does believe that. He's used to this sort of thing. His lusus, the Bicyclops, was always out of control and without guidance. The lusus didn't think about it's long-term either, and so Sollux had to take care of him, more than the beast took care of the troll. Sollux knew what was best for him, and Bicyclops accepted that.

Asserting control is how Sollux knew best to take care of someone who couldn't take care of themself.]

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

[The irony here is that within his own narrow parameters, the Helmsman is very competent and capable of taking care of himself. The trouble occurs when he's put into a new environment and treated like he has actual autonomy.]

System knowth what ith best for system.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

You don't. You wouldn't eat, if you weren't forced to. You wouldn't talk, if you were told not to. You wouldn't do anything, if not made to.

That's not you. I know it's not. I'm trying to bring the old you back.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

There ith no "old me." System ith a system, system hath alwayth been a system, system will alwayth be a system. There ith nothing to change.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

And thith ith why you should just listen to me and not question it. Because you're wrong, and everyone else knows you're wrong. It's like when you look at the sky and everyone goes "oh yeah the sky looks purple" but you're the asshole saying it's green. Who'th the wrong one here, logically, statistically , everyone elthe, or you?

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

Only lowbloodth are telling system thethe thingth.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

Feferi ith the highetht blood there ith, and she'th on my thide. Kanaya'th a midblood, and I'm sure she'd agree too.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

[Dammit.]

... system doeth not want to lothe all system'th wireth. System ith... afraid.

Pleathe.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

...

[He's feeling that ever so slight twinge of pity again. But no. He needs to stand firm on this. He sighs.]

Fine. It'th okay. We'll thee how you feel after the removal, and go from there.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

.... thank you.

[Really, the removal of five wires is quite a step forward.]

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

Yeah. Jutht... don't worry about it too much. Thingsth will be okay. I promithe. I'm not... going to let anything bad happen to you.

[He can't really make that promise. He knows, better than anyone, that if something bad is going to happen- it WILL happen. He can't stop it, no matter what he does.

But the truth isn't going to help Helmsman recover any faster.]

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

[The Helmsman doesn't scoff, or say anything disparaging, but he doesn't believe Sollux. Things haven't been okay for him for as long as he can remember; he sees no evidence that they're about to change now.]

Yeth.

User Sollukth will talk to user Equiuth?

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[biwinning]

Yeah. I'm gonna talk to him now.

heavily, beautifully filtered;

[maiinframe]

System will wait to hear more.

[Having nothing else to say, he disconnects.]