ellipsanet | video; un: futureplanner

[The video starts up on a new face, someone who's apparently found her apartment and original clothes and everything. She is very orange. She has also propped the phone up somehow and spread out across the table are a whole bunch of pamphlets -- pretty much every pamphlet it's possible to get when first arriving to this world -- and a notepad which, due to angle and distance, it's possible to see some writing in it but not to make out what it actually says.]

Allll right, everything seems to be working... Hello everybody!

[That smile is very wide and almost tangibly nervous. She bounces on her feet; a pen is in one hand even as she gestures them a lot as she talks.]

It is great to meet all of you, I am super excited to get to know more people who've been brought into all of this... From what I've seen, we have the responsibility of helping save this world, but we're also responsible for leading our own lives like normal people, needing places to stay, money, jobs...

[She picks up her notepad, eyes darting over what she's already written.]

It sounds like there are a lot of benefits to joining one of these Guilds, but I'd love to hear from anyone who actually has experience with them, good or bad... Or experience with other jobs or ways to help! And if someone happens to have any more questions, who or what is the best source of information in this city? After all, it's always safer to know what to expect.

--Oh! I almost forgot. I'm Anxiety!

[She sure is.]

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You plan to be homeless? [That draws Anxiety up short; she's obviously not sure what to think about it.] Wanting to give things away and help people who need it is really admirable, but aren't things more dangerous if you don't have anywhere safe to stay?

[Walker's nailed it, frankly, and she slumps when sympathized with, shoulders going down, even her hair wilting a little.] It was a lot. I-it's still a lot, but at first, with no one I know around -- it's not like I've ever been alone before, and I haven't been responsible for anything more than a single person before. It's so much pressure!

Oh! Maybe we can learn how Spring's powers work together, too.

[She's starting to perk up again, but at those final words, obviously meant to be reassuring or inspiring, she hesitates again. That is not something she would find soothing on a motivational poster.]

That's, um, definitely inspiring... Which would you say is the better thing to do? [Both seem like bad options!]

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have grown accustomed to sleeping under starlight. For many years, I was a nomad, and kept only what I could carry or manifest. [ He smiles faintly. ] It's kind of you to spare me your worry.

So this is something you have not yet practiced; being alone, with a burden of unusual responsibility. I have done this once myself already, so for me, it is familiar. [ And now it's clicking for him. He has to be for others what Mogo was for him; to pay forward that spiritual guidance and patience. But first: ] ...You have never been alone? Not once?

Do you have powers of your own, outside of the seasonal ones?

[ He laughs a little at the definitely inspiring. ] Sometimes I am dragged, when I forget what I'm doing.

Oh-- well, if it's something you like, I wouldn't try to talk you out of it. Even if I'm very good at worrying. But it might be good for you to find somewhere you can go in case it's an emergency. Actually, it might be good to find out if there are shelters in this city in general, just in case...

[She adds that last part more thoughtfully, and pauses to scribble down a note about it.]

I'm used to taking responsibility for other people, but this is a lot of it. A whole planet's worth of people is, um, definitely unusual. You've done something like this before?

[Then he is, after a moment, asking about her never having been alone, and how does Anxiety explain that to anyone? Everyone she knows just... knows what that means.] I'm an emotion! None of us are ever really alone, we've always had Riley, but I also wasn't the first one of my... class?... to form.

I don't think I have any powers, but I do have a lot of energy and I can move pretty quickly! And all of us are very sturdy, but I wouldn't want to test that.

[Anxiety frowns a little.] That doesn't sound good, but letting go doesn't sound like it would always be a good idea either.

If it will make you feel better, I may put some money aside to purchase a small tent. But my ring will protect me from the most inclement temperature drop; it does so in outer space, so I should have no difficulty here.

[ He watches her scribble, a faint smile coming and going across his face. ] What did you do before? [ He sets his phone balanced on a little shelf and then sits down, folding his legs under himself. ] I am the first of my Corps, and a sort of spiritual guide to those who would serve the Great Hope as I do, and to those who would find easier ways of carrying their own burdens.

[ He looks mildly confused. She's an emotion? Even with her name, that's a new phenomenon on him. ] Then, you are an incarnation of the feeling that is anxiety? From a specific person?

...How many of you were there?

[ Maybe a weird question to focus on. He nods. ] If you cannot let 'it' go, that means it is valuable to you. Will holding it protect you? Do you think there is more to learn from it? Are you punishing yourself with it?

When you know why you have it, then you no longer need it.

Oh, you should only do that if you want to... [Though Anxiety is definitely pleased he's taking her concerns seriously -- even if he hasn't quite landed on the extent of her concerns.] That's good to hear... But what if someone attacks you? Or, what if monsters can get into the city? They said they're out in the Segments but if they invaded the Segments, that means they might be able to get into Nightwake, and I'm not sure how much a house or walls would help with that but being out in the streets could be terrible...

Wait, your ring? How does your ring protect you?

[His "Corps" and "the Great Hope" are definitely confusing, but she tries gamely to understand that explanation. Her smile is obviously turning questioning, though.] What kind of Corps is it? It sounds like you really try to help people...

Yes! I help Riley deal with scary and dangerous situations and plan for the future. There are ten of us, but Nostalgia isn't due to join the rest of us at Headquarters for another ten years, and it's always possible other emotions could be created. Riley has been growing and changing a lot.

[And she is so fond. For a moment she really misses Riley, but she tries to push that aside to re-focus.]

I'm, um, not sure really important goals are things we don't need if we understand them. Like, saving this world might be impossible, I don't know yet, but just giving up on it feels terrible.

A tent may be useful if it rains. I think perhaps you put great emphasis onto forward planning. [ Definitely that's it, based on the next bit about being attacked. Oh no. ] I am no stranger to combat, my sister? [ That's a gentle inquiry, in case pronouns are needed. ] I merely dislike it, but that does not mean I will refrain from it forever.

Ah! The Blue Lantern Power Ring. [ Capital letters and all. Walker takes the ring in question off one ~~far too humanlike~~ finger and holds it up. ] It is a gadget with many uses, including interspecies communication, although I am told the phone will also translate our languages. Hope manifests as a blue energy, a light and force that can be channeled, shaped, and manipulated at will.

[ And when Anxiety explains that, suddenly it all makes sense. ] Such an incredible multiverse, with such beings in it. You sound very proud of her.

[ Maybe it's time to try a different tack than koans, though. ] What would you do, if you had only one second in which to save this world?

It's always safer to know exactly what might go wrong and be able to prepare for it! [Except if you get carried away with that... Anxiety was trying to strike a balance but wasn't great at it yet. And she doesn't even think anything about the questioning little spin on "sister"; she doesn't see any reason not to accept that!] Oh, I am. It's good if you can protect yourself, but I hope you don't have to if you don't like it.

[Anxiety squints at the ring Walker holds up, interested in that. It's technological? A little like how their phone could turn into a watch? Even Walker is making the comparison, kind of.] So it can use hope as energy, the way the seasons and elements here can be used for magic? That sounds really useful.

[Anxiety's expression, her smile, softens at that. Very proud of her.] I am. She's amazing -- just the way she is.

[...Buuut now the stress is back.] One second? How would I even know what to do, what could anyone do in one second? What would even be putting in danger? I- I don't know what I could do!

Edited 2025-02-09 21:23 (UTC)

Do you find that some of the things you worry over, don't happen? Or do you choose them more carefully so that they do? [ Walker smiles at his screen, because her sentiment is very sweet. ] Thank you. If I must, I will, but I prefer to talk and to listen. I find that many problems can be resolved before real danger.

That is so, yes. It draws on my belief that all things will be well. And I will never stop hoping.

Much as it sounds that you believe in Riley's potential. I'm glad to hear she has someone like you to think of her best interests.

[ He lets the stress emerge without censure, watching with a kind of empathetic curiosity. ] I think you would do your best, no matter how much time was given. But the suffering caused by uncertainty amounts to the same thing. We cannot see enough of the future to completely remove uncertainty.

video; un: futureplanner

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