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

[biwinning]

ii know.
they expect they 2tiill have the 2ame priiviilege2, and riight2 they had before.
the 2ame expectatiion2 of the government, of people, that they had before.
half of them ii'm 2ure don't realiize that thii2 ii2 a war.
ju2t becau2e we aren't liiviing on the battlefiield doe2n't mean we aren't iin one.

[heartsink]

Right. Even that besides, no matter if it's dressed up in noble robes, or if whatever situation we left was less than idyllic, it's still kidnapping. Keeping us alive in something above squalor doesn't change that.

Our neighbors in confinement aren't much more trustworthy, even if we share this situation.

[biwinning]

ii'd 2tiill tru2t the iiniitiiatiive before ii'd tru2t the other tran2port2.
wiith liike 2 exceptiion2.

[heartsink]

Oh? What makes you say that?

[biwinning]

ii have looked iintwo earth hii2tory of the land of au2traliia.
2iince we've made two vii2iit2 there iin partiicular.
iit'2 apparent oriigiin a2 a "country" ii2 that iit wa2 e22entiially a land of random criimiinal2 dumped iinto one place and ba2iically told two 2ort iit all out for them2elve2.
that ii2 e22entiially where we are now.
we are a bunch of uncoordiinated 2urviivor2 brought two thii2 land wiith nothiing two do but follow the people who proviide for u2.
we range from lawful good two chaotiic eviil.
and iif ii had deciided two go on a rampage, there are few that could 2top me.
ii would tru2t the dumba22e2 who brought u2 here by acciident more than ii would tru2t the a22hole who can and would blow up a buiildiing wiithout a 2econd thought.

[heartsink]

Hah. Fair enough.

[biwinning]

...really?
mo2t people that hear me 2ay that u2ually 2ay "you're beiing paranoiid."
or
"we can't tru2t them eiither."

[heartsink]

Really.

It's sort of a, caught between Scylla and Charybdis situation. On the one hand, a giant monster that will kill and eat you, and probably most everyone else stuck in the same boat as you. On the other, an inescapable whirlpool that will sink your ship and kill everyone on board.

Choosing one over another isn't a case of "safe" and "unsafe." Rather, it's "unsafe" and "a different kind of unsafe." Just because you would trust one person in a situation before another, that doesn't mean you truly trust either of them.

But then, I'm surly, uncooperative, and paranoid, and I would sooner throw myself overboard than choose either.

[biwinning]

ii don't get the exact reference of the metaphor but ii get the poiint and you're riight.
but ii gue22 ii'd be the guy who'd piick the whiirlpool than the mon2ter.
ii iintend two 2tay here, once the war ii2 over.
ii have another certaiin death waiitiing for me where ii belong.
ii u2ed two look forward two iit but
not now.

[heartsink]

You know, people keep telling me that it's random, who the Initiative manages to bring here.

But it seems so improbable in light of something like that.

[biwinning]

iit ha2 two be random.
why would they piick 2o many u2ele22 people iif iit wa2n't.

[heartsink]

Nobody is completely useless. You can make anyone useful with enough effort.

But the potential for loyalty, for a cause like this, in a situation like this? I'd say that's a much rarer quality.

[biwinning]

no.
tru2t me.
there are a lot of completely u2ele22 people here.
ii took a tally, month2 ago.
they have no miiliitary background, no phy2iical or mental 2trength, no abiiliitiie2, no knowledge of anythiing of value iin partiicular.
that ii2 u2ele22.

my loyalty two them ii2 rare, ye2, but iit'2 only thiird on my priioriitiie2.
fiir2t two my quadrant2 and my friiend2.
2econd two my2elf, for the pre2ervatiion of the fiir2t.

[heartsink]

Military skill is covered by the mandatory training sessions; having fewer people with a previous military background reduces the risk of a successful strategic coup, and lowers the chance of having soldiers with a more firmly entrenched loyalty elsewhere.

Physical strength can be trained; mental strength ends up with people asking more questions. From what I can gather, everyone is given "abilities" through their Weapons.

It's easier to turn a canvas into the picture you want if it's blank of anything that would hinder you. Why do you think so many of the people brought here are adolescents?

[biwinning]

...

[Congrats Haruka, you have made him speechless with thought.]

then why bother wiith people who have 2trength at all.
there are a lot of people here wiith miiliitary traiiniing already, who are loyal two theiir re2pectiive armiie2 already.
and 2ame for one2 wiith mental 2trength.
they couldn't...
plan that none of u2 would betray them.

[heartsink]

[ (´///^♡) well, she DID confess to being paranoid... ]

Maybe not.

But then again, setting a group against one of its own for being an outlier can inspire greater loyalty too, can't it?

Maybe it's only the impression I've gotten, but don't most Transports look down on the people who are actively against the Initiative? If that's true, why?

suddenly a million times more private

[biwinning]

[It's less the paranoia that got him, and more the he didn't think about that reason.]

yeah...
thii2 ii2... all true.
and ii don't know.
the... feeliing that we owe them 2omethiing.
at lea2t that'2 how ii feel.
ii don't have a2 2hiitty a liife here a2 ii u2ed two.
ii have relatiion2hiip2 here ii diidn't u2ed two.
ii... fucked up.
ii attacked the UE once becau2e ii thought iit wa2 funny.
and people here were bombed.
people probably diied.
and ii wa2n't punii2hed.

heck yeah private city

[heartsink]

[ This did not go in the direction she was expecting. Go on about how trust is a sucker's game → receive confessions about getting people killed?? So it takes a little bit longer for this response to send. ]

With it like this, there's no shame in preferring the better circumstances. At least, I don't feel so. I may wake up resenting being here, every single day, but I know what the opposite is like, too. Feeling lucky to have what you do.

That's part of why I can't believe this is random. There's so many people here that would return only to a grave in their original world. This is their second chance—their only chance to continue on. Maybe it's a genuine mercy, maybe it's only strategy. I couldn't tell you.

As for what you did, I only have your word to go on; I wasn't here for any of that. And though I can hypothesize reasons, why you weren't punished, or weren't in a way you could see, they'd only be theories. Even for me, that might be too callous.

[ Spoilers, even with the jaded uncaring exterior, she is still a gooey-hearted empath when it counts. ]

priva-city

[biwinning]

maybe that lack of punii2hment
wa2 theiir mean2 of keepiing me loyal two them.
takiing advantage of how guiilty ii feel.
...
yeah wow fuck thii2 got heavy liike really quiick 2orry ii don't try two dump my feeliing2 on people ii've never talked two before often.
uh yeah can we ju2t liike.
forget thii2 happened.

priva-city

[heartsink]

I don't mind the heaviness of it, so you don't have to apologize. Catching feelings is familiar ground for me. I'll never breathe a word of it to anyone.

You're free to change the subject if you like, or not.

priva-city

[biwinning]

ii
don't know what two change it two.

priva-city

[heartsink]

[ ruka think fast
what's a good topic to distract someone from angst ]

Hm...

You used a term I'm not familiar with, earlier. Your primary loyalty is to your "quadrants" ?

priva-city

[biwinning]

oh.
well ii'm an "aliien" two you.
a22umiing you're human riight.
anyway.
that'2 our... mean2 of relatiion2hiip2.
where we actiively pur2ue all four quadrant2.
only two are really "requiired" of u2.
but haviing all four ii2 a de2iired accomplii2hment.
♥, mate2priit, ii2 the clo2e2t two your human kiind of datiing.
although piity and love iin human language mean diifferent thiing2, they mean the 2ame thiing two troll2.
♦, moiiraiil, ii2... hard two de2cribe two human2.
iit'2 ba2iically, 2omeone you rely on for emotiional 2upport.
two put iit iin mo2t 2iimple term2.
♠, kii2me2ii2, ii2 concupii2cent, liike the ♥, but iin2tead of piity iit'2 ba2ed on hate and riivalry.
♣, au2piice, ii2 ba2iically when there'2 a potentiial ♠ relatiion2hiip, but there'2 no matiing fondne22 iinvolved and iin2tead you ju2t really want two riip theiir throat out, 2o a thiird troll get2 iinvolved two paciify the two 2o no one diie2.

and 2o, ii have ♥♠♦ relatiion2hiip2 2ettled and ii'm pretty good wiith that.
ii've triied my hand at ♣ and iit wa2 awful 2o fuck doiing that agaiin.

priva-city

[heartsink]

[ This is
so much more to the point than movie-night ramblings that last for three freaking hours
or PSAs with diagrams and annotations and community examples
she doesn't even need painkillers for this. ]

Yes, human.

The spectrum's a little wider than I'm used to, but these four relationships (Or is it five? Since ♣ involves two others?) constitute the people most important to you, yes?

Which two are the "required" ones?

priva-city

[biwinning]

[Poor Haruka got stuck with the Karkat Explanation, didn't she.]

♣ ii2 weiird a2 hell and ii don't even know, iit'2 CON2IIDERED four but iit really ii2 fiive but ii gue22 the poiint ii2 that you rely on the paciifiier there rather than the other guy you don't want anythiing two do wiith.
but yeah they're the one2 you care about mo2t 2uppo2edly although ii'd rather have a be2t friiend iin2tead of a ♣.

♥♠ are the two requiired one2.