aterat | I [ Video ]

Entry tags:

I [ Video ]

Who; Betsy + OTA
What; Network Post + continuation of TDM threads, if it's your turn feel free to move it here if you'd like to continue it!
Where;Network and around
When;backdated to 4/19
Warnings;None
I. Network Video

[ As far as new faces go, Betsy's happens to look about as unbothered as anyone possibly could. She's sipping a cup of tea and any glimpses of the room probably make it apparent that she's in her assigned housing. ]

I was given a recommendation by a man named Watts that there was a tailor here of highly praise worthy skill. With how much he talked them up, I have some high expectations. [ She already had high expectations for the quality of clothing. ] He gave me directions to the location, but I'm more used to making appointments for things like that. It seemed more polite to try to make a first contact through this since. Less of a chance for us to waste each other's time. [ And it's definitely not an attempt to fish for information about people here and how well they know each other and get along. Definitely not. ]

Fair warning, I'm particular about what I'm looking for.

II. Watts thread continuation

"I see," she looked over his example that he was showing with scrutiny and then shrugged. "I'll keep them in mind." It seemed more promising than trying to find something premade in this place. Then again she hadn't exactly seen much of this place.

"That makes things easier," she said with a quirk of her lips. At least she hoped it'd make things easier, nothing in his tone or body language gave her any indication he minded mutants. "What can you tell me about the ones you met?" Who else had been here? None of her direct team was here, that had been one of the first things she'd checked for upon arriving here, but that didn't stop her from being curious about who he'd known.

"I did, but I'm not sure how much of that I actually believe." There was absolutely no reason to believe anything they'd been told was the truth. It sounded like some sort of canned speech from people who wanted them to believe something specific. She listened carefully and patiently to his explanation of the first world he'd been in and shook her head. "It sounds like neither of these goals made much sense. At least I always understood my job in other realities, even if I didn't know when I might be able to leave. I appreciate having more concrete goals to work towards."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“Oh- you know of her then.” Llewellyn smiled a bit, well that was convenient. “She’s told me a little of Limbo, it’s definitely an interesting topic… Though, I can’t help but think it doesn’t sound like the nicest place to be.” But if Illyana ruled there, he supposed she handled it well enough… Aside from the imps, but he suspected she let them follow her around for a reason.

The subject of putting the pieces together gets a long sigh, blown through puffed cheeks as he tried to at least think of something… positive to say on the subject. “I wish I could say that it was going well… But we really only have scattered theories, and very little to go on. The only thing that I believe we can say is confirmed is that this world is very new, practically in its infancy, and that it’s still figuring itself out. At least according to someone who had the ability to find out as much.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly. There really hadn’t been much progress.

“Mm… That would be an understatement, honestly.” Llewellyn responded awkwardly. “The headache wasn’t worth it, nothing it dumped into my head translated to anything understandable.” Knocked him on his ass, is what it had done. He’d just been lucky he was at his office and not out and about. He tilted his head slightly though at her comment, though. “So you’ve some experience with similar worlds? Perhaps you’ll be able to provide some new angles we hadn’t considered before, then.”

"We work in the same circles back in our own world." That was by far the easiest explanation she could think of for just how ridiculously complex the X-Men's branching teams often became. "I worked closely with her older brother for years though." They'd even faked their own deaths together, it'd been an interesting few adventures. As had just about all her experiences involving Limbo. "Most of the dimensions associated with hell aren't particular kind places." Then again, quite a lot of the nexus and splinter dimensions were just plain awful despite having no connection to any type of hell.

"It's still figuring itself out? Is it sentient?" It said so much about her life that she'd experienced sentient planets and islands before.

"I'm sorry," she said to him sympathetically. "Even when prepared it can be overwhelming to have information dumped into your head." Usually she was the one doing things like that, but she understood how it felt. "Limbo is one of them." Though she really wouldn't be surprised if Magik had left that out or twisted the truth here and there. "But yes, I have far too much experience with it all."

So she knew Illyana’s brother better than Illyana herself, it seemed… It was rather interesting to hear, really. From past conversations with the woman, he knew that the siblings had a very awkward relationship, and that Illyana could probably stand to connect with Piotr again. Though… he knew how complicated siblings could be. “She’s spoken of Piotr a few times, though he’s never been here.” Llewellyn responded with a small hum. He almost wondered what would happen if the siblings were both here.

“I can’t say that it’s something I understand fully, myself, but yes… Or at least something close to it, based on the way it was explained to me.” Llewellyn tended to puzzle over it, even if he trusted and preferred referring to the experts on matters like this. It was just… interesting… And he hoped to understand it properly one day, but for now he was stuck on the fact that this world was both ‘rebuilding’ itself from a disaster, but also being brand new in a way.

He waved off the apology. It wasn’t necessary, and he wasn’t particularly comfortable with apologies in most situations. “It uh- was a lesson in not letting one’s temper getting the better of them and demanding answers without thinking about how they might be provided.” He responded with an awkward shrug. He should have considered the risk at the time, considering how it communicated with everyone through the link in their heads… But he’d been frustrated and desperate for answers.

“Limbo is?” Llewellyn’s attention shifted rather quickly. No, Illyana had not mentioned that… Or at least not in a way that it had stood out to him… “As unfortunate as it is to have the experience in many situations… I look forward to hearing your thoughts on all of this once you’ve mm… had a chance to settle.”

"How interesting. It sounds like this place holds it's mysteries closely," she said with a shake of her head. "If it wanted our help, it'd do better to be more open. Secrets just create confusion." That much she knew from her own very recent experience. Though, to be fair, it didn't mean she'd acted on the idea of being more open with secrets. It simply meant she understood they often caused problems eventually.

"A lesson I've had to remind myself of plenty in the past," she replied with a chuckle. "Sometimes it takes a few attempts to get it to stick." Or sometimes it just never did and one simply decided upon accepting it as how things went. That was her case.

"It is. Many of the smaller pocket dimensions are shaped by the emotions or thoughts of their ruler at any given time." She supposed it had something to do with how connected they were to the person that gave them order. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can, but I'm not sure how helpful I can be. Is there anything specific you're looking to learn about?"

“That it, really. Having so little to go on has made it rather difficult to actually figure this all out.” Trying to follow leads only seemed to go so far at the moment, if it didn’t lead to some rather horrible creature needing handling. “Though… I can’t help but think that it might be because those we could ask don’t know as much as they need to, what with the rather mm… bad things that can happen when they try to fix or change something.” They were, for a lack of a better way to put it, like abandoned children… At least in Llewellyn’s opinion. They meant well, and they were doing their best, but even they seemed to lack what was needed to deal with this place.

“You’re probably right, though I hope it’s a lesson that sticks, eventually. I rather like my head unscrambled.” He responded with a wry smile, even if she was correct. He’d undoubtedly do something as foolish again one day… He had a habit of slipping into trouble without meaning to.

“I see…” That actually made more sense than other things he’d heard before. The world changing on the whim or emotions of its ruler... It had seemed a lot like the Sphere was that way, especially when it… decided to put its experiment to the test.

Betsy's question gets a small laugh though, “I think I have, uh- a great many ‘specifics’ I’d like to learn about…” Too many things, really… Llewellyn hummed, though, and tried to narrow it down to the main two. “But these days I’ve been thinking more on the subject of if there could be someone behind the scenes that’s controlling all this, what with the Aspects uncertainty at times. There was apparently someone that guided them before that disappeared, so…” He waved a hand vaguely. Sometimes it made him wonder how gone the being that had been in charge really was.

“When I’m not thinking about that, I’m thinking of the people in this world. In the last world I was, the ‘locals’ changed depending on the situation they were in… We found out a few months before I left there that many hadn’t been real at all. Here the local community seems to not notice when new things arrive in the world. They act as though things had always been there. So… it’s worrying to think someone might be doing that to them.”

"Bad things? Such as?" That wasn't entirely unexpected for her either. "Middlemen always have a tendency to make a mess of things." Even when they had the best of intentions it seemed like they ended up knowing too little to do anything other than mess things up. It was interesting to note that this place evidently wasn't that different, at least in that regard.

"I might be able to help if it ever happens to you again," she offered. She wasn't quite sure why but she felt like this man would end up in trouble again. He seemed far too open to not land in problem situations.

“I see…” That actually made more sense than other things he’d heard before. The world changing on the whim or emotions of its ruler... It had seemed a lot like the Sphere was that way, especially when it… decided to put its experiment to the test.

"I see," she made a thoughtful humming noise as she listened to his explanations. "I take it there's not much you know about this someone that guided them then disappeared?" The answer was probably going to be no so she moved on rather quickly. "That is worrisome. Perhaps I could help with looking into that."

“Mm… There’ve been a few different things, but for an example? Shortly after I arrived, they attempted to… how did Athony put it? Redistribute power, cleaning out an issue with the graveyard and some trouble at the docks. But in doing so, a containment system in the historium that we knew as the ‘directory’ was destroyed. The spirits that had been contained within it could build themselves up with trash and refuse, then use an illusion to make themselves seem like someone you knew to lure you in to attack.” It had definitely been a mess, an unpleasant one… Exceptionally annoying given they’d been so sure that the entities that had been trapped for who knew how long in a spherical prison wouldn’t be out for blood when it was accidentally freed.

Llewellyn would honestly welcome the help if he did find himself in the position to experience something like had happened at the sphere… Because, undoubtedly, at some point… He would bite off more than he could chew again. “That’s uh- good of you to offer, thank you. I still hope to avoid it, but… You never know with these places.”

She was correct, of course… The answer was no. They hardly knew anything at all about the being that had left the aspects behind other than the fact that they’d existed. “It’s quite worrisome… Seems like the Aspects had a lot left to learn from whoever came before them. Your help would be welcomed by those of us trying to figure this all out, and them as well, I imagine.” And one more person working on the puzzle? Always good, meant for new ideas and theories that might push things forward.

"That's quite the mistake for them to have made," she said as she rubbed her temples. "Are their mistakes usually so dangerous?" As much as she wanted to judge them for making such a stupid mistake, it was difficult to do considering her own life choices. Too often, especially recently, she'd made a choice that had just caused more damage than good. The road to hell was paved with good intentions and all that.

"For your sake, I hope so as well. I know it's not a good experience." Some of the things she'd had dumped into her mind had definitely been the type of knowledge she'd never really wanted to hold onto.

"Are they still around? These Aspects?" Not that she thought talking to them would get her anywhere, she was mainly juts curious.

Llewellyn, unfortunately, would be delivering more headaches on the subject as he continued to answer her question. “I’m afraid that it’s certainly not an isolated case. Before I arrived there was also a… demonic bear? Or something of that nature that arrived when they tried to do something to the portal that brought us here. There are other things, of course, that I can’t say if they have had anything to do with or not… But as well-meaning as they are, they do make mistakes.”

He offered a smile with a tone was both appreciative and apologetic. It was nice that she understood, but it was unfortunate that she had experienced the unpleasantness as well.

Betsy got a quick nod to her question, though. “They are. Sometimes one of them broadcasts a message on the tell-phone network publicly to let us know things. If I can say one thing about them in the positive, they’re at least easier to get a hold of and talk to than the being that ran the last world I was in.” Even if they seemed just as lost as everyone else at times, and their answers could be vague? It was a step up from what he was used to.

Betsy frowned at the mention of a demon bear. "There's a demonic bear in my own world. It was native to it's own dimension where it fed on human emotion." Or some nonsense like that. The bear wasn't something she'd ever directly dealt with, though she'd heard tales of it from Doug, one of the New Mutants who had. If this bear was similar to that one...well, that was worrisome to think things from her Earth could show up here. "So, does that mean they can pull things from our own worlds here on accident?" Because there were quite a lot of things she'd really rather never see here.

"And you think that's genuine? Their apparent confusion over what's going on and what to do?" Or did he think they might be hiding something? Her first thought was that she wanted to try to figure that out herself. If someone from her own world was here they'd probably try to warn her about what a potentially dangerous idea that was, but luckily nobody was. Which meant Betsy was left to do what she did best: rush into things.

That was right, Llewellyn mused. If Betsy was from Illyana’s world, it made sense that she knew of the bear. “Yes, Illyana indicated that it was quite like the one from her world- er, both your world, I suppose.” It had been before his time, though, but it had sounded rather terrible, like most of the things that appeared when the Aspects broke something. “So… The answer to your question would be yes, I’m afraid…? They have no control over how we’ve been brought here and so they don’t have control over other things being brought here as well.” Which made sense in the worst way possible…

“Mm… I suppose that I’m not infallible, I have fallen for a lie once or twice before… But they do seem genuine, and it’s an opinion shared by a few people other than myself… That doesn’t mean I trust them exactly, but I have yet to find evidence to suggest they’re not being truthful.” Which he’d tried, of course. It was only that it seemed damnably hard to prove anything in a place like this. Though he hummed a moment later, rubbing the side of his face absentmindedly as a thought flitted through his mind. “And I would think that bringing in murderous creatures after bringing us here to help rebuild things seems a bit counterproductive.”

"This place sounds like a mess," she heaved an exasperated sigh. It sounded like the powers in charge had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Actually, it sounded a bit like this place in general had no idea what it was doing. "It sounds like an unstable nexus dimension." Which was absolutely the worst.

"I'll let you know if I find anything," because she definitely was going to look telepathically. She was like that. "If they have no control over it then they can't stop that, can they? So perhaps the real concern should be why they haven't figured out how to get control."

“I wish I could deny that, but uh- yup… Mess would be accurate.” Llewellyn responded with an apologetic tone. He wasn’t sure what a nexus dimension was… At least not that he could remember hearing before, but he was sure she was probably right, given she seemed to know more than a little on the subject.

Llewellyn nodded, though, “I’ll be grateful for anything you do find out, then.” Anything new would be good to add to the collection of information, given the stack of papers about what they didn’t know was still taller than the stack of things they did know. She rather hit the nail on the head, though. That was a pretty large concern. “Yes… Even if they’re trustworthy, their inability to control anything has proven to be quite detrimental in the past. Athony was rather… quick to dismiss my concerns when the containment in the historium exploded. I rather worry they’re afraid to admit that things aren’t alright to minimize the amount of people panicking when things like this happen.” Which was also somewhat understandable, but certainly maddening when you were proven correct to worry after the fact.

"Better to just be honest and accept a mess than try to deny it." Sometimes the best way to start cleaning up a mess was to simply accept it was a mess. It seemed like practically everything the X-Men got involved with was a mess to start with. It was also usually a mess when they finished up, but at least they usually recognized that and tried their best with their cleanups. That...counted. Right?

"People in power are usually loathe to admit they don't know what to do. Especially the ones that are more incompetent than not," and, no offense to these people he was talking about, they already seemed a tad bit incompetent. "The containment in the historium just...exploded?" Yeah, incompetent seemed like an apt description. "Attempts to minimize panic by hiding things only work if you can actually handle the problem." Spoken from experience.

“Some would rather not know, I think, but you’re right.” He responded with a shake of his head. It was still a mess though, and one she hadn’t asked to be dropped in. Not that anyone had asked to be in this world… Though Llewellyn was more than happy to stay, mess and all, compared to other people. Circumstances were a funny thing…

A huff escaped him, though. Clearly, he had experience with people who were wrong and didn’t want to admit it. “Unfortunately, that’s too often the case, makes for a difficult and awkward time for everyone else… But always so keen to uphold their reputations.” Yeah, he definitely had the experience there. “What’s unfortunate is that I’m sure there are plenty of people where with unique abilities and knowledge that would help if they were only given the chance.” Not him, he supposed, he didn’t have much to offer in that respect… But he darn well would like to see them start to learn better.

“And they definitely could not handle the problem- at least not right away.” He added with a frown. “It was only a few days after being told we didn’t have to worry that the spirits that were inside the containment started trying to take their revenge or something of the sort against those of present in the city. It was a rather unpleasant mess. If they’d had even an inkling of an idea that it might happen, it would have been nice for a proper warning to protect people.”

"Too many would rather live in ignorance or have other people handle it." Was there a hint of bitterness there? Perhaps just a hint though. Or maybe more than a hint. In some ways she couldn't blame the people who just wanted to hide away and not know the truth about a situation. The truth could sometimes be difficult to handle and it often meant accepting unpleasant things about yourself. Nobody was ever eager to do that.

"People put far too much weight on their reputations or family name." She let out a huff of frustration that matched his own. Her brother happened to be one of those people. There was no denying how much she loved him but...well, he certainly had a habit of dying on the hill of being right. Too often that also came along with a large dose of moral superiority.

"I've learned to start worrying whenever someone insists they have everything under control and there's no need to worry." Yeah, that was actually something she'd had some extreme experience with in the last fourth eight hours. Though she was loathe to admit she'd been the one insisting she had it under control until she hadn't.

"At least it gives you a clear picture of the situation here: we're on our own for the most part." And she was used to that.

“Seems foolhardy to put so much emphasis and weight behind something that can be broken or tarnished so easily.” He responded with a small shake of his head, and the Aspects themselves should perhaps realize that had sailed rather early as far as many were concerned. “And yet, they continue to…” Though, he supposed that might be why they were so closemouthed about things they might know or be worried about. Perhaps they were trying to salvage what little was there until they could put things to rights. Still, seemed like the only way things would get better is if everyone was on the same page and they worked towards figuring out what to do about all this.

Even being better prepared for these sudden changes would be nice.

At least, her unfortunate experience aside, she wouldn’t fall into complacency or be caught off guard when the aspects spoke next about whatever was going wrong. “Sad to have to default to such a mindset, I think, but uh… definitely necessary for survival here. Most of us end up having to learn that a little… too late, I suppose.” Though he’d been pretty lucky since arriving, getting out of that situation with a minor injury over death. He’d heard about a couple deaths, though, from friends who’d been here longer than him.

“That we are, well- on our own, as far as guidance is concerned.” He gestured lightly before continuing. “Those of us who’ve arrived at least tend to pass information back and forth, and team up based on our strengths. So, even if it’s not perfect, we manage alright.”

"When are men not foolhardy?" There was a hint of jest in her tone, but the question wasn't a complete joke. People seemed to be all too willing to double down on their ideas and personal morals even if it came off as foolhardy to others. Sometimes it actually just seemed like the real problem was a lack of self-awareness. That was what she liked to blame in her twins case, the fact that he just lacked self-awareness or the ability to put himself in others shoes for too long.

"Oh, I'm not denying it might have taken me a few unfortunate incidents to learn that lesson." Though she would deny that she hadn't learned the lesson, even if it wasn't exactly true. Now wasn't sharing time though, so she didn't include that tidbit of information.

"At least there are a few positives to hear. I'm glad people cooperate, I've seen a lot of situations like this where people don't."

A slight huff of amusement escaped Llewellyn at that. “I would like to say it happens more than we think, but I expect that would be a lie.” He responded with a small shake of his head. He certainly knew many who fit the bill and were more prone to foolhardy behavior than being sensible in the least. Even he could be accused of being as such at times, he knew…

“Ah, so we all have that much in common, then.” He responded with a small hum, good-natured in tone at her comment. “Or… Well, nearly. Sometimes I’m not sure how much the lesson sticks with some people.” Him included, but like her? He wasn’t really in the mood for sharing more than that. So he focused on the positives that she had moved on to. “Yes… In my world, there seems to be a rather large divide between people at times, but here? People seem to understand it’s better to work together.”

"If it's any consolation women can be just as foolhardy," her expression betrayed her amusement. There was no denying her recent actions had been...well, foolhardy actually seemed like a nice way to put it. Nicer than she might actually deserve all things considered.

"Some people lack object permanence to a frightening degree." They might learn a lesson, but the second the lesson was out of sight it really was a matter of out of sight out of mind. Honestly, it was sometimes frustrating just how true that was with various people on her own team. They were family but they certainly seemed to lack the ability to fully commit to lesson's they've learned. "In my world even the various teams don't get along, let alone the regular people." Which was pretty horrible when you considered they all had similar goals. Or you'd think they would have similar goals.

That got a clumsy, amused smile in return. “I expect it’s a human trait, more than a gendered one. Though I’d be wrong to say that it doesn’t seem as such at times.” He was honest, if anything. He appreciated her words and the levity that they brought, though.

“That is a good way to describe it, I think… At least based on some people I’ve known. They have a horrible tendency to repeat the same mistakes, no matter how many times they’re faced with the same kind of difficulty.” He mused, before shaking his head a little to hear how there were those who didn’t have it in them to get along for such situations. “Conflict between people or groups are… an unfortunate continued problem that seems to span most worlds.” He had so little patience for that kind of nonsense, really. Which didn’t always make things easy when people expected him to take sides. “But at the very least, I have seen little conflict here. At least aside from a few instances with the locals, but there were… odd factors that I believe had something to do with it.”

"It's a universal trait, I've met plenty of non-humans it applies to as well." She did chuckle at his statement though. "But I do wonder if males of a species are more predisposed to it." She's pretty convinced they are.

"Mm, I've certainly met plenty like that," herself among them. But not everyone was willing to admit things like that about themselves. She raised an eyebrow at his mention of conflict with the locals. "What sort of instances with the locals are you referring to?"

Llewellyn rubbed the side of his face lightly at the rather silly notion, “I expect a test would need to be done for definitive answers… But getting enough males willing to risk a less than favourable result cast on them would be tricky.” He commented with an amused tone, certainly knowing enough who would fit the bill and never admit to it.

“Ah… Well, there was last August where they started to display an unusual amount of paranoia and suspicion of those around them. Those of us who aren’t from here were regarded with mistrust and rather unkindly for a time. To be fair to the locals, it did affect some of us who arrived as well, to a degree.” It had really thrown him for a loop, but he continued with a small gesture around them. “There was a mold that had been spreading through the city, tied to some rather unpleasant plant life. It was all taken care of, though, and things went back to normal. But it certainly shifted the usually welcoming and helpful atmosphere that the locals present.”

"Oh, I wouldn't need them to volunteer if I wanted to run a test like that," she flashed a quick smirk but offered no further explanations. A woman had to have their mystery, right?

"Hmm, I see," she frowned at that. It was hard for her to generate a fair conclusion about what that may mean having not been here when it happened, but it certainly seemed like something to be warry of. "So, whenever things happen here they're just as likely to be affected as we ware?" Interesting.

Llewellyn’s brow furrowed a bit at that. “No? So you’re good at conducting studies without your subjects being aware?” He asked, but her smirk was one that suggested she had a secret that she wasn’t going to share. How curious… Something to learn of down the line, perhaps? Not that he liked the idea. Not because he was afraid of her findings. He knew how foolhardy he could be at times, based on people’s views. More because he wasn’t particularly keen to be studied without his knowledge or permission again after the last world.

“Oh- yes, at least from what I can tell. Perhaps more so than we are, given they were affected before we were…” And he didn’t like that in the least, didn’t like the idea that at some point the people here could change drastically again, perhaps more permanently. It was… not a good mental image.

I [ Video ]

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