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."

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"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.

"We all have our talents, I'm sure," she replied frankly. He was right that she wasn't quite willing to elaborate on the subject. She never had much of a problem admitting to her abilities, but given the particulars of their discussion here she wasn't quite sure if it'd be the wisest choice of elaboration. Something about him also made her wonder if he might not be made a bit uneasy by the idea of a telepath studying him.

"I suppose it would make sense that natives would be affected easier. Do you know how connected they are to this world? I've experienced a few places with planets that had considerable control over their residents." Because the planet itself had been an entity of it's own.

“Mm… That’s true, of course.” He responded with a small hum of agreement, willing to let it go at that. She was right, of course, to guess that he’d be uneasy by the idea. Which was probably why he wasn’t poking too much into the subject as he might normally. Especially since, as discussed earlier, he’d had something in his head before. So there were a lot of reasons why he’d be less than enthused to allow for such an experience again, even for a demonstration.

“I feel confident in saying they must be connected to some extent, given they seem to change with it and simply act as though new things to us have always been known to them. But how greatly they may be exactly? I'm not really sure. These things are a little outside my realm of expertise.” He rubbed the side of his face lightly. It was something worth learning more about. A recent conversation with a friend had suggested a new way to look at it, though. “And it was hypothesized that they may be becoming more whole themselves as the world changes and grows, which puts a little weight behind the idea that they’re more connected with the world than we may have originally considered.”

"I wonder if there's any importance to it," she aloud, despite it clearly being a question that had no real answer. It was entirely possible that it really didn't matter at all and they were chasing answers to the wrong questions. "And there's no knowledge of what happened in the world before our arrival to caused them to be less than whole?" Somehow that seemed like the real important thing to wonder about.

“None that we’ve found so far?” He responded, shaking his head a little. It was rather frustrating. “I asked the curator of the historium and he doesn’t really remember it, and couldn’t say if there were any surviving recordings of it when I wondered if we could learn more about his origins.” Since that seemed to be shrouded in mystery too…

The detective hummed, though. “One of the few things we’ve learned was through someone with a particular talent for communication.” He mused to himself, not entirely sure how to explain what Aerith had said she could do. “But they say that this world is incredibly young and new… Doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be yet, or something like that?”

"How easy is it to locate the curator? Is he always there?" Not that Betsy would just try to read his mind, but that was definitely exactly what she'd try to do. That all depended on how easy he was to locate though.

"That makes some sense given other things you've said. I wonder if that means the planet before this one was destroyed by something or someone."

“He can always be found at the historium? I… sometimes I wonder if he can’t leave it, really.” At least he’d never seen the man outside the building. Part of him wondered if he was contained there like the spirits had been, only with a modicum of more freedom. “Far easier to talk to than some, and he does try to be helpful in locating what one might be looking for.”

Nodding slightly, Llewellyn tucked his hands in his pockets. “It seems as likely as any hypothesis, really… And there are a particular people who live in the forests beyond the city who seem concerned by our presence? I sometimes wonder if they know more than the city does. A friend and I only managed to find a note written by them, though, never really managed to have a conversation.”

"That's good to know, thank you. Maybe I'll be able to get something out of him." Though she more than likely wouldn't just approach him out in the open to do so.

"That's interesting to note about those others. What prevented an actual conversation though? Did they refuse?"

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