text | un: ectoplasmer

[hauhra]

Need a costume for that Halloween party you'll be going to at the end of the month, but can't come up with any ideas? Got too many ideas and not enough time to review them all? Then have I got the post for you! Tell this genuine ghoul your costume woes, and get expert advice in all things spooky back.

Of course, my expertise comes with a small fee of 100 Chroma for each costume recommendation. [ suspicious? maybe. ] But you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket, right? So come on! Give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Comments

[wearingguess]

Ah

So the lottery was only a metaphor.

[ and he's still no closer to knowing what tf a lottery is :( ]

Well
I suppose that sounds fair.
What kind of consultation is required?

[hauhra]

It's a lot easier to choose a costume for my clients when I know what kind of things they like, or what kind of impression they want their costume to make. Sometimes simply talking through those things can help them come up with ideas, too.

So let's start there: what do you like to do for fun?

[wearingguess]

I like meeting all kinds of people and see how they live their lives; trying new foods and drinks; developing and refining spells (particularly composite types); outdoor bathing; shopping; reading; exploration; indoor bathing; chatting with friends; enjoying familiar foods and drinks; playing with dogs, cats, alpacas, and other creatures; riding fast-moving vehicles; watching various types of performances; and going to the beach.
Oh, and moonlacing, of course.

[hauhra]

What? You actually like Moonlacing?

Why?

[wearingguess]

?
What do you mean?
Because it feels good, and it is nice to be close to and affectionate with others

Don't most people like it?

[hauhra]

Don't you think it feels a little less good when you're just doing it because you have to to survive, though?

[wearingguess]

Not in the slightest. In that case, wouldn't I also have to resent food, water, and shelter? The fact that something is necessary does not automatically mean it is unwelcome.

Besides that
I come from a world where the generation of life energy is
limited... in some ways. That scarcity leads to exploitation and suffering...
But here on Prismatica, there is no limit to how much we can generate, as long as we are willing to cooperate. I cannot find it in myself to dislike anything about that.

[hauhra]

Yeah, but I'd always thought that intimacy was something that most humans preferred to do with someone they liked.

Is that not always the case?

It's been a very long time since I've lived among the living, so my sources may not necessarily be the most reliable.

[wearingguess]

Ah! I see
Yes, you are correct. That is certainly the case for me.
But that has not proved to be a problem. I have met a great many people whom I like very much!

[hauhra]

Your optimism is admirable.

That's not something that many people hold onto when they've been exploited by others.

What is it that keeps it going for you?

[wearingguess]

Is optimism a requirement for liking people?

In any case, I was not myself exploited for magoi. That was something I came to witness in the country where I was studying
I probably acted far too rashly at first. As newcomers, there was much we did not understand and little we could do. I am sure there must be some kind of solution, but when I arrived here, I still had not figured it out...

[hauhra]

No, but it's certainly difficult to keep wanting to when you can't always see the good in them.

Do you plan to study this world's energy so that you can bring it back home with you?

[wearingguess]

I have considered that. I would be overjoyed to discover that such a thing is possible.
However, magoi and chroma, and the different means by which they are created and used—
They seem to be derived from the principles that govern their respective worlds. Like the laws of physics, they cannot be rewritten simply because they are inconvenient... or unjust.
Even so, it's not like I understand everything about it, so perhaps I'll discover something after all.

Putting that aside for the moment
Is it difficult for you to see the good points in others?

[hauhra]

An unjust government like that can easily be brought to its knees with the right people. I'm sure you're not the only one who has a thing or two to say about its corrupt policies if you really wanted change.

[ Go on, Titus. Don't invest in technology that could make things fairer for everyone, just start a revolution. Nothing could possibly go wrong! Definitely worked for this guy when he tried it. ]

And yes, you could say that.

[wearingguess]

I did attempt that, more or less
But it did not work as well as I had assumed. I cannot say I regret it, but we did not accomplish much of anything, either. At least not in the way of systemic change

[ frustrating tbh ]

Why do you suppose that is the case? Are you a little too cynical? Or... have you been surrounded by unusually bad people?

[hauhra]

[ what do you mean overthrowing autocratic governments isn't as simple as it sounds ]

It looks like you and I have a lot more in common than I first thought. I had tried to do the same in my world, and ended up paying the ultimate price. But like you, I cannot say that I regret it. Someone had to say something, to do something.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to say that the government I tried to throw is why I've lost my faith in human beings as a whole.

[wearingguess]

Ah! I also received a mortal wound for my troubles
Though, thanks to my friend who specializes in healing magic... and the intervention of one of our professors, who had us both taken to the academy's high-level healers... I was able to survive and recover.
I am sorry you were not so lucky.

Although
I still cannot quite understand.
Doubtless you cannot find much to like in the agents of the government that executed you...
But were you not fighting that government because of the way it was treating you, or those you cared about?
Do you not even see the good in the ones whose exploitation you wanted to end?

[hauhra]

[ That last question gives Bakura pause. It's clearly something that's never crossed his mind before, and he's grateful that this is a text conversation. No tone will come through either way, right? ]

Not all of the people I was trying to protect were good, no. But not all of them were evil, either.

However, just because some of them weren't evil doesn't necessarily mean that I should trust the rest of humanity... you learn a lot more about human beings than you ever wanted to when you've lived as long as I have.

[ He's making excuses, but he doesn't know it. ]

[wearingguess]

Of course. I do not mean to imply that you cared about them only because they were all "good people." I am sure you were not concerned with their individual saintliness when you determined that they deserved better than what was being done to them.
But that is why I think it is strange.
You could see, in those people, something that made them worth protecting. An intrinsic value, or dignity, or simply their rights as human beings

In the years you have lived since, and in the humans you have met
Do you no longer see it?

[hauhra]

No, because while some humans may be good, most continually repeat these mistakes even over thousands upon thousands of years.

[ "It would be better if they were simply eradicated." It's something he has to force himself to not send. His hypocrisy also goes amiss. ]

[wearingguess]

Then why don't you regret standing up for them in the past?

[hauhra]

Because the people I was standing up for in the past were my family.

[wearingguess]

I see...
I am truly sorry for your loss.

Are all other human beings the same to you now?

[hauhra]

Yes.

They've taken everything from me.

[wearingguess]

What, then, of the Prismals? Or those who come from worlds unconnected to your own?