audio } un: panoptes

[sisterswitch]

[hey look, it’s jack. on a video feed, which is pretty unusual, come to think of it? she’s set up at a table in the kitchen, frowning in concentration as she gathers her thoughts.]

Where I’m from, people like to say that the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different result. I will be pretty mad if it turns out I’m insane for doing this again, because last time I made this offer, I sorta got my head ripped off. Not literally, although I’m sure some of those jackasses would’ve done it literally, if they’d been able to find me. Too bad Jane’s not here anymore, she could tell you all about it.

[and jack rolls her eyes, because yes, she’s still holding a little bit of a grudge about all of that. the expression is short-lived, however - she shakes it off and continues:]

Anyway, remember that weird stalkergram video we saw the other day? That wasn’t some performance art piece. I know who sent it. See, before I ended up here, I spent a few years in a city called Dualis - real neon hellscape, right out of all of those cyberpunk movies you know and love. It was run by a self-aware AI called Mindseye, and Mindseye had this bad habit of killing literally everyone in the city, and not in the Skynet “drop a nuclear bomb on everyone” kind of way. This thing wiped out the entire population it was created for with a virus, and then started kidnapping people from their own worlds so it could study them and make robot copies of them. Murmur was there too, so ask him if you don’t believe me.

[sorry angel frand, you’re apparently a more trustworthy adult authority figure compared to jack.]

Back during that weird time when we were all wandering into each other’s dreams, there was this one dream about some things that happened in Dualis, and I couldn’t figure out where it came from. I thought maybe it was some kind of mental transfer from one of us who’d been there, but it wasn’t from a person’s perspective - it was Mindseye’s memory of what happened. That’s what Mindseye was talking about when it said we were all connected. Oh - right, I should’ve mentioned - Mindseye escaped from Dualis. Uploaded itself right into all of those robot bodies it built and skipped town. And it sounds like it landed somewhere in this part of the final frontier.

[and that’s worrying! for obvious reasons!!]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not keen on being hunted throughout space by a homicidal AI. Now, I was able to fly under the radar in Dualis because of this tattoo I have. It’s a sigil I created for making myself invisible to surveillance - long story short, I’m a witch, I used to do a lot of meatspace activism when I was in college, and getting arrested isn’t anywhere near as fun as it looks on TV. Fool me once, et cetera. Point is, the sigil is magick, and it works, and I am willing to share, but I’m asking to trade something for it. Nothing big like a firstborn child - just a story. I want to hear about a time you did something unjust and got away with it. That’s all. That’s the offer, and you can certainly refuse it, but I’d take it as a personal kindness if you’d not be a dick about it.

[aaaaaand that’s all, folks!]

Comments

returned private.

[sisterswitch]

Nah, just part of my charm. Maybe my personality? I wouldn't say it's a hobby, at least. I was told I'd make a good lawyer, though, but don't even get me started on the prison-industrial complex. The day I become a bootlicker for that bullshit is the day you know I've been Stepfordized or body-snatched.

[oooh, that admission is interesting, and something she's suspected since seeing him in action with strand. now she gets to dig a little for details, right? he brought it up first.]

I thought there was something about you ... but you're not Kin, I can tell that much. What are you?

[oh my god jack you can't just ask people what they are.]

[bilocates]

[While Simon's not sure he'd agree with the idea of her being a good lawyer, he doesn't care about that particular subject enough to comment on it either. No more a fan of the prison-industrial complex than she is he just lets out something of a dry, rueful laugh. Oh yeah, he knows very much what a crock all of that is. Even if he did murder his parents, there wasn't any real evidence. Without a shadow of a doubt indeed.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[He did bring it up, and he wouldn't have if he weren't willing to at least divulge a little. It wasn't that he was even necessarily secretive about it, he just didn't feel the need to volunteer information to just anyone. But she is a friend of Alex, and from what he can tell those claims are true. Not a cover up for something else.]

What do you mean by 'kin'? [He has the right to ask his own questions after all.]

Human, [For now.] I just have certain... abilities.

[Sure you can! At least, you can with Simon. He's not very good at social graces anyway.]

[sisterswitch]

Oh, not kin like otherkin. That's just what we monsters call other monsters. We're all descendents of the Dark Mother, so that makes us Kin - family. Distant cousins, you could say.

[and yep she did just casually mention that she's a monster. time to see if simon takes her as literal or suggests she's delusional.]

But you're human, with abilities ... like a mutant?

[bilocates]

...Otherkin?

[Simon, sadly, missed out on most of the internet adventures having only been eleven when he was put in a psych ward forever. It didn't help having cultist parents. The comment about the Dark Mother gives him a wary pause, followed by a long pregnant silence as he considers his words.]

So that's what you are.

[No accusations of delusion, nor even any expressed disbelief. He isn't Richard Strand, Simon isn't afraid to acknowledge what he sees. What she was he didn't recognize, but he knew he wasn't looking at someone strictly human anymore.

But, rather than answer her question about what he is directly, he has a question for her instead:]

Are you familiar with Alex Regan's work?

[sisterswitch]

Trust me, you’re better off not knowing. What’s been seen cannot be unseen.

[otherkin are just a whole new level of yikes.]

That’s what I am, yep! Eshmaki, if you want to get technical, but most people’ve never heard of us, so I usually keep it simple with “monster.” And yes, a little bit - Alex mentioned she was following a cult that had some really fucking stupid ideas about Tiamat.

[she actually seems personally offended by that, with how much her tone suddenly shifts to disgust.]

Wait - you’re not one of them, are you?

[bilocates]

[Simon just looked confused by her sudden elusiveness. He'd take words like those to be some horrific truth uncovered by the occult and yet that really didn't seem to be what she was talking about.

Ah well, if she wasn't going to elaborate. He also wasn't familiar with the kind of monster she identified herself as, though that was much easier to follow than whatever it was she was talking about with Otherkin.

Then she goes on to mention the cult, and their ideas as being stupid to which he just had to smile. It was awkward, strange, maybe even a little creepy.]

No. [One of those long, thoughtful pauses he does before he continues.] But, I was chosen to be.

[sisterswitch]

[suddenly, there is so much about this weirdo that makes a lot more sense. jack frowns.]

So ... are you saying you were groomed or kidnapped or something? Brainwashed? That’s a thing cults do, so I’ve heard.

[bilocates]

No, not kidnapped or brainwashed.

[That left the final option of "groomed" unspoken but heavily implied. And if he weren't kidnapped then she could likely guess who the responsible party or parties were: His own parents.]

[sisterswitch]

[yeah, it's not hard for jack to connect the dots here. and she is not pleased about it. her expression darkens further.]

How did you escape? I'm assuming you did, since you said you're not part of the cult.

[bilocates]

I killed them.

[Simple enough.]

[sisterswitch]

[she doesn't even blink at the murder confession, but she needs a little clarification on what he means.]

The entire cult?

[bilocates]

My parents first. Then others. They are... many. Too many, but I'm finding them.

[Alex's show was helping. There were more than the ones she'd just caught wind of, of course. Simon just wasn't going to volunteer specific details lest they get wise to his methods.]

[sisterswitch]

[his parents. oh, that hits a nerve, and for a moment, something passes through jack's expression, something dark and inhuman. a child's betrayal by their parents is an injustice she cannot tolerate, because it's too close to her all-too-human heart.]

Good.

[she all but hisses the word. his methods don't matter - the fact that he is carrying out justice and punishing those who deserve it is what's important. she takes a breath and the tempestuous rage fades, leaving her more familiar easy-going facade in its place.]

I'm glad you stood up for yourself and got out. A lot of people in that kind of situation don't.

[bilocates]

[Now the motives and strange behavior have fallen into place, haven't they? He had a feeling she might understand. Like Alex, she knew he was right. They deserved it for what they do to the children, for what they did to him.]

Most can't. They start so early. When you're still in a crib.

[What hope did any of them have to escape? Simon was lucky to be so defiant by nature, most weren't.]

[sisterswitch]

Unfortunately, that's true. Standard procedure, right? Get 'em while they're young and impressionable.

[disgusting. humans can be so awful to each other.]

I wouldn't say you did anything unjust, though. Looks more like the exact opposite to me.

[bilocates]

Exactly.

[Indoctrination is most effective when you know nothing else.]

They got what they deserved. [He won't dispute that he felt it was just.] Some might disagree.

[Some did, they put him in a hospital after all.]

I don't know what else to give you.

[sisterswitch]

Some people have really shitty opinions.

[like if you disagree that people who harm children shouldn't pay a hefty fine for it? your opinion is invalid. sorry, that's jack's rule.]

You don't need to give me anything else. It sounds like you've had more than enough taken from you already.

[bilocates]

Yes.

[Simon agrees quite a bit with that sentiment. Offering your own child up to a demon to serve is, in his opinion, deserving of murder. What else could they have expected?]

Then... we have an arrangement?

[Because he'd really like in on that anti-surveillance tattoo. It sounds incredibly useful.]

[sisterswitch]

Yeah, we do. Let me know whenever you're ready and we'll get you all inked up.

[bilocates]

My schedule is open.

[Not much going on while they're in transit after all.]