relinquishing | [Video]

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[Video] - 003 ☼

[Once the journal opens, this entry starts out pretty casual. The animals have been walked and fed and cleaned up, and this particular blond is now plopping down onto his bed, pulling off his gloves as he starts up his first question.]

Good morning, everyone. If anyone out there has got an itch for some hard work, let me know. I'm looking for a helper or two for a construction project. Nothing too big, don't worry.

Just ask for Guy over at House One if you're interested.

[One would think the entry would end there, but it doesn't. He grunts a little as he kicks off his boots, letting the pause sit for a moment.]

So, I'm still seeing a little bit of talk about what happened last month. Valentine's Day, right? I'm sure some people would rather forget. Or maybe it was actually a nice change of pace - who knows. Whatever the case, it's still always a big surprise to get caught in a change like that.

It got me thinking. Whether it went well or not, a lot of people have just moved on. Some have accepted it, some just choose to ignore. It's a Shift. Shifts happen in Luceti.

Like rain. Or New Feathers. Being manipulated for a day or two is a constant.

Right?

[He lets that hang for a long moment, his tone not quite so casual anymore. He's questioning, a quiet undercurrent of disbelief.]

So, Luceti. Is it alright to just accept Shifts as a part of life?

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Mmm, why not? After all, it is.

And you're just fine with that?

Am I okay with breathing air? I don't know, I can't think about it.

Can't, or don't have to?

In the case of air, I'm going with can't, after all, my head's up in the clouds, so I'm a little above all that!

[ and he laughs at his own joke ]

[That was awful! But whatever, man.]

Not gonna lie, I'd be impressed if you could say otherwise.

Could you really compare the two, though? It sounds like a bit of a stretch.

Mmm. Maybe on any other planet, but I'm told - and seen - outside of this barrier, the Shifts come harder and stranger, with far more chaos and a primordial sort of mystique to them. So then, when they aren't controlled, how do you think the people inflicting the "shifts" we experience think of them?

If it means getting to stay here, yeah, I can accept shifts. They'e bit messed up but... it could be worse.

Mind if I ask why?

Don't mean to pry, but it's not every day you meet someone that wants to stick around Luceti. [Unless they are dead. Which he will keep in the realm of possibility.]

There was a plague at home. It killed most people.

And then the people who'd died, their bodies got up and they starts trying to eat you.

Eat you?

[The tone of those two words speak loads: are you pulling his leg? Still, it's enough to get a wince from him.]

...Pretty sure corpses couldn't do anything but rot, last I checked. How in the world does a disease like that even work??

[Sam snorts softly.]

Yeah, everyone said that at first. Of course, if they bite you, you get infected too, and a day later you're one of them.

Well... I dunno. I'm not a doctor. I mean, even the doctor at the township doesn't know exactly. But we know it spread across the world within a few days.

[Don't answer, Asch. Don't talk to him. Just ignore it, ignore him, you'll be much happier and better off, there's no need to go back and make things awkward and uncomfortable all over aga-]

Stay here long enough and you'll probably drive yourself mad if you don't accept them.

[...Goddammit. How pathetic is he?]

[And here he was hoping Asch would take the bite.

There's a bit of a chuckle at the response. He's tempted to turn video on, but thinks better of it. Whatever this tense distance of a "friendship" this is isn't made much easier through facial contact. Or at least, it wouldn't have in the past. Now he's really not sure what's bound to scare Asch off.

Like figuring out a different person. It's kind of unsettling, and frankly, not what he'd ever expected to do with Asch, of all people.]

I can't imagine. Though, I'm sure it depends what you consider as "accepting" something like that.

[And here Asch was hoping Guy would say something dismissive or rude and give him an excuse to flounce this whole conversation before it even began.

Dammit.]

Tolerate, then. It's not like any of us welcome these forced changes on our bodies or personalities.

[He said he'd try. Kind of hard to try when the person you're "trying" to function with goes and runs away. Really, he has to bite his tongue not to be intentionally irritating right now.

He'll have plenty of chances to do that later, anyway.]

And yet they keep playing with us and throwing us back, ready to change us some more.

I'm surprised more people don't speak out against it, if that's really the case.

Edited 2014-03-26 03:55 (UTC)

Obviously you haven't been here long enough to see it. People have spoken out. It's just that most of us have learned by now that no one's listening.

[And what good has pointless complaining ever gotten anyone? He learned years ago not to bother speaking out when no one cares.]

May I ask what happened last month?

You may.

A whole bunch of people here in the village were... how do I put it... living an alternate life for a few days. People woke up with these little devices, and the whole time, everyone was incredibly... aah, friendly. Giving out things to random strangers, chatting up people who they might have disliked - sometimes it was outright flirty, if you can imagine it.

Plenty of embarrassing stories to be told, but nothing too harmless, in theory.

That's... really disturbing. Even if it was just temporary, what's the point of faking those kinds of feelings? Do shifts normally affect us that much?

[Because talking in person is for squares, Ion is totally responding from his own room on the first floor.]

I don't think it's a matter of it being right or not. It would be difficult to go on living here without learning to accept the shifts for what they are. And dwelling on them too much might make you miss out on the life you have here.

[Because Auldrant strives for excellent communication skills, we practice appropriate behaviors like lazy journal conversations here in House One.]

So it's more of a matter of ease of existence, then. Am I understanding that right?

In that case, would either extreme really be an undesirable thing?

That's one way of putting it, yes.

[He stops to think for a moment.]

I suppose that would depend on what you believe those extremes are. Accepting shifts as a part of life doesn't mean you're surrendering to them. It just means accepting the fact that sometimes things may happen here that are outside of your control. To try and deny that would only let them get to you, and make living a normal life here more difficult.

[He can't help but think of a few prominent examples in his own life that would follow that logic -- even a few involving Valentine's Day.]

The longer one stays here, the more accustomed they become to these shifts. They may become easier to accept.

But all in all, it is a matter of choice. It is neither right nor wrong to accept the shifts as a part of life.

Could I ask for your reasoning? Some might say it's a pretty stiff choice to make.

Edited 2014-03-26 03:10 (UTC)

Perhaps. But there's no sense in fretting about things that we cannot change. While we do take action when the opportunity arises, getting worked up otherwise will do us no good.

[That doesn't stop him from worrying about Myrrh on occasion, however.]

I take it you see plenty of validity in an attitude of tolerance, then.

Is a little worry really that bad, though?

I hate to say it but I don't think we have a choice. But that doesn't mean I'm going to like being treated like someone's guinea pig and I will fight back given the opportunity.

Choice or not, it doesn't mean you have to be in favor of it. Certainly sounds like you aren't, at least. Would it be worth it to put up a fight for the sake of choice? Pride, maybe?

How about for the fact that we're being held here against our will. It's better than doing nothing.

I guess? As they don't seem too bad. Then again, I haven't been here long enough to know if they get any worse.

Sounds like you're already having second thoughts, though. But maybe that's just me.

Does it matter what the content is? What's bad for one person might not be bad for another, after all.

You do have a point there. Though I believe the content does matter when it affects a rather large group of people in a severe, negative manner.

[Yeah you have fun with your little construction project. Jade will abuse the journal as usual and talk to you from his cozy workshop.

And he sounds particularly flippant.]

Why shouldn't we? They influence us in ways beyond our imagining. It's beyond our power to go against the shifts, so why try to rebel? After all, by this point in time, they've become such a natural part of our everyday lives.

[There's a gleam in his glasses.]

Haven't you missed living with something like The Score?

[Talking in person is for losers! He could always just bang on the ceiling and yell at him, but that's really disruptive to everyone else.

Besides: for a moment, you actually understand him, Jade. That's kind of frightening. He responds with just enough sarcasm to meet the older man's bite, speaking plenty in his tone where his words fail (or refuse) to touch.]

Yeah, well. I'd like to think that people aren't so simple around here.

Anyway. Rebelling is one thing. Education is another. You could say I'm just surprised that neither really come up more often.

[Jade takes pleasure in both being frightening and in having a deep understanding of others.

In truth, he certainly has no respect for the shifts, with what they've done to him so far. But he also understands that his dislike of them amounts to a simple principle: he can't control them. That's what bothers him most of all.]

To be fair, they don't make for topics of idle dinner conversation. [He says dryly, but the point is neither here nor there. He won't refer to the locked network, where that Kakashi figure has been organizing forces with the potential to rebel.]

And such an education must seem like a waste of time and energy in a place like this, where those who listen could end up back at home the next day. [He's not making much in the way of actual points, just some simple prodding for now.]

[ Oh look another one from House One who is responding from the journal instead of in person ]

... I was led to believe when I first arrived that Valentine's Day was not a holiday but a monster formed by a Shift. In comparison to what had actually happened I'm not sure what to think. But I haven't been here long so it would be unwise for me to actually offer an opinion on the matter.

[We're all so good at communicating. We are the absolute best.]

To be fair, the change of atmosphere takes some adjustment. It's not Auldrant in the least, even without the Shifts. So I'd say to have doubts is pretty understandable.

That said, I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts about it. Sometimes a fresh mind has a better look on things.

[ Can't beat House One's communication efforts. ]

I'd have to agree. With such a change of atmosphere even I found myself taking some time to adjust.

From what I have experienced and heard I don't approve of them. They may be a way of life here but it does not mean that I must change my opinion on them. I do not expect myself to do so by any means.

I'll help out! What do you want to build?

[It takes him a moment to respond - that voice is..... eerily similar to his own. But a prodding memory reminds him that this was an issue the last time he was here. Better not think about it now.]

Oh, nothing too complex. New roommate, though, and our space is a little crowded. So, I'm looking at maaaybe a bunkbed, if we can manage it.

I've never built a bed before, but it can't be that hard. I mean, it isn't anywhere near as big as a building, so it shouldn't take too long. You're just making a frame for the mattresses to go on.

[Huh, this guy's voice sounds kind of like his. That's weird.]

I'm not much of a carpenter, I'm afraid. Are you building something in the house, Guy?

[Because there are Shifts to do that for him and he won't have to rebuild the whatever every time the house falls down...which happens less, these days. But still.]

[But using Shifts beats the purpose of having a discussion about Shifts! Okay, no, he's just in the mood to work on something. Call it leftover energy from Luke's arrival, but he's getting a little stir crazy for something to do.]

Sort of. I was just seeing if we could free up some of the space in that corner bedroom. Luke and I are fine sharing it, there's just not much room with two beds.

I was thinking we could bunk them.

It's hard to believe we don't have enough room in this house again. [After it felt so empty for so long that they hardly even used the second floor, too.] Have you thought of trading one of us for a larger one? I doubt Jade would be willing but someone else might.

[Asbel remembers the name Guy. Peony mentioned it in their conversation. Maybe this is that same Guy? Guess only time will tell. But for now, to address the topic.]

I don't know if I'd call it "accept", but... I guess I "acknowledge" they're something that's going to happen here whether we like it or not.

They are what they are, aren't they? I think it would be more detrimental to try and ignore them. [Not to say she's okay with how they meddle with their lives, there are a number of Shifts she knows she could have done without.

And there's others that she just can't bring herself to hate, because of what they resulted in.]

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[Video] - 003 ☼

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[voice] oh hello

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[voice] guy's actually willing to behave himself let's see if asch ragequits

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[Voice] I'm so excited for this thread okay

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[voice] I assume this is over journal? Let me know. :|a

[voice] yes this is like texting someone in the same room :|b

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