animus_network | [002 ★ text ★ crazy backdated to before the moving event]

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[ou] willow rosenberg

[002 ★ text ★ crazy backdated to before the moving event]

Someone told me that all of the trolls are having trouble sleeping here. I think I can help.

I've made sleep satchets before, these little things that you put under your pillow and guarantee pleasant dreams for a couple months before they run out. The problem is that I only came with so many spell ingredients in my trunk, so unless I can find a way to replace some of this stuff, I can't make these forever.

Not that asking this question will necessarily result in anything resembling the truth, but: does anyone need one more than anyone else?

Asking all this out of the goodness of my heart and preferential treatment, I promise.

[filtered from wwaterboy]

And now to the other part of this post. Also to trolls, sorry. If someone could explain how this matesprit thing actually compares with the human concept of romance, that would be seriously of the good, because I don't know what I'm doing here and I think I need more than the ten second summary if I am going to be doing this.

Which, let me repeat, since I don't know what I'm doing, no judging or yelling at me! I will yell back. That is so not what I need right now. I'm trying to do the right thing and honor my feelings and not stay all hung up on people that have died, which is difficult! But I've never done this "oh, and he also hatesexes someone regularly, but that's not cheating" concept before, and I want to get it right.

It seems bitchy to ask him to explain this stuff to me himself, so... advice. Please? And if you could honor the incredibly obvious filter, that would be great. Don't make me go hacker on you.

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That's him. I know their hemospectrum is different from everyone else's. [Willow is having some mixed feelings about this conversation. On the one hand, he isn't saying anything outright offensive... but he does seem cold, distant, and almost self-involved, maybe. She's reserving judgement for now, but anyone that doesn't immediately reach out and validate her feelings (!!) makes her wary.]

Okay, okay, defensive toned down. If you're not interested in helping, why are you asking about it? What's your stake?

[he's suspicious of everyone... romantically, at least. his stake is both entirely selfish and superfluous.]

Nothing of your concern.

aLRIGHT,
hMM,

[Well he... doesn't understand what 'blood related' could possibly mean. Maybe something like... they're close to everyone who has the same blood color as them? That sounds like a lot of people though... He could ask of course but uh... he is pretty firmly against learning anything more about human families ever since finding out they grow their wigglers inside themselves lkasdjf So, he'll start... here: ]

wELL, uH, fIRST i GUESS,
oNE OF THE QUADRANTS INVOLVES TWO OTHER PEOPLE,
bUT THAT ONE IS MOSTLY, tO PREVENT CHEATING ON YOUR KISMESIS,
sO YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT TOO MUCH,
uH,
cHEATING IS, nOT WHAT YOU'RE DOING WHEN YOU HAVE BOTH A MATESPRIT AND A, kISMESIS,
iN CASE THAT, wASN'T CLEAR,

[Another pause... Only kind of gets the human friend thing. Hearing the way everyone else talks about their friends like they're something important and good gives him something of an idea what they mean, but the thought is still pretty foreign to him, so it might confuse this flushed troll of hers too... Just trying to fill in gaps, excuse the rambling]

pROBABLY IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO MENTION THAT,
wE HAVE, fRIENDS TOO SOMETIMES,
uSUALLY THEY AREN'T A GOOD THING TO HAVE, fOR US THOUGH,
sOMETIMES THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, bUT THAT IS THE GENERAL RULE,
aLSO, i GUESS KIND OF IN THAT TRAIN OF THOUGHT,
wE CONFUSE OUR QUADRANTS A LOT AS WELL,
eSPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE YOUNG, iT'S, uH, hARD TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN,
sAY,
fLUSHED PITY, aND CONCILIATORY PITY,
aND SOME PEOPLE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS THAT FLIP, bETWEEN RED AND BLACK FOR A LONG TIME,
bEFORE THEY SETTLE ON ONE OR THE OTHER,
oR, uH, sPLIT UP, iF THAT IS THE BETTER SOLUTION,
i GUESS i SHOULD SAY, eVERY RELATIONSHIP IS UNIQUE,
sO, wHILE YES, wE DO HAVE RULES AND LABELS, aTTACHED TO EACH QUADRANT,
dIFFERENT PEOPLE STILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, wHAT WORKS FOR THEM, iNDIVIDUALLY,
i THINK POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE, iT SOUNDS LIKE,
iS THAT WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT, wHICH QUADRANT SOMEONE FITS INTO,
bECAUSE THE, fEELINGS INVOLVED IN EACH ONE ARE USUALLY, pRETTY DISTINCT,
aND WHEN THEY GET MIXED UP, pEOPLE CAN GET HURT REALLY BADLY,
wHERE AS HUMANS ARE APPARENTLY, oKAY WITH THEM MIXING,
bECAUSE THAT DOESN'T CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS FOR THEM,
wOULD THAT BE A, uH, cORRECT THING TO SAY,

[...wow this is harder then he expected lkjsdf And okay, he really doesn't know what to say about people who have more then one 'significant other' thing... but that doesn't seem to be a thing she's interested in anyway, so he'll just... store it away to ask about sometime later... Also, wait, now that he's done trying to compare romances for a second, what is this that keeps coming up]

aND, uH, yOU'VE SAID THOSE FOUR THINGS BEFORE,
bOYFRIEND GIRLFRIEND HUSBAND WIFE,
bUT i DON'T REALLY, kNOW WHAT ANY OF THEM ARE,
sINCE APPARENTLY THEY AREN'T QUADRANTS,
aND ALSO TWO OF THEM ARE SPECIFIC TO GENDER,
wHICH SEEMS WEIRD, tO ME,
iS YOUR POTENTIAL MATESPRIT, gOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS, tO YOU,
oR MAYBE ALL OF THEM,

[Five different labels for the same concept seems kind of excessive to him though. Ehhhhhh, confusion everywhere]

And defensive right back up.

Are you seriously not going to tell me after I just answered your intrusive personal question?

I am seriously not going to tell you.

Who are you? I need a name to rue for rudeness.

Hardly. I only prefer honesty.
Orphaner Dualscar.

That's auspisticizing, right? Did I spell that correctly? Someone else was clearing all that up for me. I think he was kinda offended that I implied having both a matesprit and a kismesis was cheating, but I get that it isn't like that for trolls. Totally different feelings, he said. [Not that she knows how to feel about that herself yet or anything.]

Whoa, why wouldn't friends be a good thing? I'm starting to think I need to make a PSA explaining human friendship to all of you.

But okay, getting things confused and needing to work it out for yourself is something I understand right away. Sometimes humans are okay with them mixing, but sometimes they aren't supposed to and it ends with jealousy and your best friend's girlfriend falling through some stairs and getting impaled on a pole, so I don't recommend it, generally, at least in terms of romance mixing. (Friendship is never romance for humans, by the way. That is a big no no.) But a lot of the time... yeah, I get what you're saying, and I think you're right.

As for the last thing... Significant other means the person you're dating. Almost every human you meet will want to have just one. Also, we can only reproduce with a male/female pair, so biology and society strongly encourages male/female dating-- that's why they're divided by gender. Boyfriend/girlfriend are unmarried, and husband/wife are married, with both of those being male/female. Marriage means you've committed to someone for the rest of your life, and intend to never date anyone else aside from them your whole life long.

The human sexuality lecture is a long one, though. Just because heterosexuality is the accepted norm (male/female) doesn't mean gay stuff doesn't happen (male/male, female/female). Heck, up until yesterday I thought I was only into the ladies, but based on Eridan's reaction to that, I'm not sure trolls can really appreciate the idea. [And she was aching to talk to a plain old human about her sexual self-identity mini-crisis.] Anyway... I'd think of him as my boyfriend if we were going out, yeah. I just use your new-fangled troll terminology because it's convenient when talking to all of you.

I got news for you: honesty can be plenty rude. For the record, I'm Willow Rosenberg.

Also, could you possibly sound more like a pirate with that name?

So you wwould prefer to be lied to, lest your feelings get hurt.
Yet another instance of human wweakness, I suppose.

Our names describe only wwhat wwe are, nothing more-- apparent design or not. Do not mistake me for criminal trash; I'd enjoy nothing more than making examples of them.

yES, bOTH OF THOSE THINGS ARE CORRECT,
aUSPISTICIZING, tHE ASHEN QUADRANT,
aND THE TWO FEELINGS ARE DEFINITELY, cOMPLETELY DIFFERENT,
wHICH IS WHY, rELATIONSHIPS THAT REACHAROUND USUALLY DO NOT END WELL,

uH, fRIENDS ARE NOT GOOD BECAUSE,
hM,
wELL, iDEALLY YOU ONLY HAVE YOUR QUADRANTMATES,
aND THEN ANY PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS ARE SECONDARY,
fRIENDSHIP, mUDDLES THAT UP,
sINCE THEY ARE NOT REALLY PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS,
bUT THEY ARE ALSO NOT ROMANCE,
tHEY ARE, uH, pEOPLE WHO CAN BE, cONFUSING FOR LOYALTIES,
jEALOUSY CAN BECOME A THING, pRETTY QUICKLY, aMONGST YOUR CONCILIATORY QUADRANTS ESPECIALLY,
aND VERY OFTEN, tHE FRIEND WILL END UP HURTING YOU IN A WAY THAT, mAYBE, yOUR MOIRAIL CAN'T HELP WITH,
aND THEN PROBABLY EVERYONE INVOLVED GETS CULLED FOR, eMOTIONAL INSTABILITY,
aND FAILING TO BE, pRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY,
sO FRIENDS ARE NOT REALLY A THING, tHAT PEOPLE USUALLY WANT,
iN MY EXPERIENCE,
bUT i THINK IT'S DIFFERENT FOR HUMANS, sINCE YOU SEEM MUCH MORE WILLING TO,
hELP EACH OTHER,
wHICH DOESN'T GENERALLY HAPPEN TO US, eITHER,

[Trust is really a thing only given to quadrantmates, and it is hard won even then. Adding another person to the usual five is really just a good way to make yourself vulnerable to betrayal and emotional pain which... well, trolls are not especially good at dealing with. This seems obvious to him even if maybe he doesn't think about it in terms of trust...]

bUT, uH, aNYWAY,
i'M GLAD THAT, yOU AGREE,
pROBABLY YOU WILL HAVE TO TALK WITH HIM, tO FIGURE IT OUT,
bUT i THINK YOU WILL BE FINE, aS LONG AS HE IS ALSO, oPEN MINDED,

[And now there is a long... long... pause... Because WOW those entire last two paragraphs are filled with a whole lot of Weird Human Shit That Doesn't Really Make Sense]

i,
uHHHHHH,
bUT, wHY WOULD YOU ONLY, bE INTERESTED IN WOMEN,
wAIT, wHY CAN YOU ONLY REPRODUCE,

[NO STOP. HE DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HOW HUMAN WIGGLERS ARE MADE!!!! IT'S NASTY ENOUGH WHAT HE DOES KNOW]

i MEAN,
bUT,
wAIT, wHAT IS MARRIAGE,
dOES THAT MEAN, yOU CAN STILL HAVE OTHER ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS,
aS LONG AS YOU AREN'T MARRIED,
tHAT MAY BE A, uH, pROBLEM,
sINCE MATESPRITS, aRE SUPPOSED TO BE TOGETHER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE,
aND THERE ISN'T ANY, pRELIMINARY, tESTING PHASE, oR,
wHATEVER, a BOYFRIEND IS,

[????????????????]

Yes, I expect that must have been strange...though honestly now, I just think I've had so many forms that it's mostly not such a big deal.

[Her expression lights up in understanding as she explains vampires]

Oh, you mean rainbow drinkers! Kanaya's always really loved reading about those. Though, I expect she wouldn't so much if she knew about the badly-dressed part.

[She gives a soft, knowing smile] I think it's in the nature of all living things who are aware enough to understand these things to try and escape what they don't like. But often, the mere act of trying to avoid fate is the trigger for that future to happen.

And you just go instantly for the insults. You really don't read a word I type, do you?

Are you like troll Elmer Fudd or something?

I do, actually, howwevver much of a wwaste of time they consistently provve themselvves to be.
I do not knoww wwho that is.

Kinda didn't think you would. Besides, who made you the arbiter of unwasted time? Cause it sure wasn't Warner Bros.

As long as you're okay with it, [she says in conclusion, if a bit doubtfully.]

Kanaya has? I guess I'll talk to her about it. --Some of them aren't too badly dressed, but sadly the stereotype exists for a reason.

[As for fate and destiny... well.] See, I get that part, but in my experience what you end up with from resisting fate is still better than what you'd get if you didn't. Prophecies are always, and then she dies fighting the Master, but if you don't take that lying down, it turns out she comes back to life after. Just because prophecies have to come true doesn't mean we can't affect the parts that aren't in it.

Sounds harsh. You have a major thing about trusting each other, don't you? It sounds like there's a lot of troll vs. troll, and okay, there's a lot of human vs. human, too, but if we get threatened by something else we're pretty quick to turn that into humans vs. the world. We do tend to work together in groups and trust each other, even against ourselves.

He seemed like he was being open and patient. I feel sorta skeevy talking about it all behind his back... I definitely need to talk to him about it soon.

I'll spare you the reproduction details. Suffice to say humans aren't raised to be bisexual, and most of them actually think it's a bit weird (not that I do! I very, very much don't). I don't know if I can really explain it in a way that makes sense.

It's different for everyone (again). Some people think of boyfriends and girlfriends as a preliminary testing phase, and some people might as well be married to theirs. Marrying someone is kind of like a public declaration? It's a lot more hassle to break up with your husband or wife than your boyfriend or girlfriend. But you still just have one at once! So that shouldn't be a problem, I don't think?

[She gives a slight, playful smile] I'm okay with a lot of things.

Oh, yes. I'm sure she'd be fascinated to hear about your version of rainbow drinkers.

[She listens intently to Willow's comment, the undercurrent of personal experience clear but not something she wants to pry in]

That's certainly true enough. I dare say there are things we've all done that weren't what we were "supposed" to. But time can be a tricky thing to manage and paradox space is pretty unforgiving about offshoot timelines.

[pause]

Or maybe that's just our universe.

I knoww wwhen I havve better things to do, for certain.
Anything more of unimportance you'd like to add, before I disconnect?

Rainbow drinkers is a funny way to put it—- oh, cause they drink all the blood colors, I get it.

I've never had to worry about paradox space before, so I wouldn't know. [Willow can't help but raise her eyebrows a little at the thought.] Sounds complicated. We've had to deal with a lot of wacky hijinks, but it's never been time travel.

Nope, go ahead. I'll keep my unimportant bits to myself.

[She nods]

Kanaya's the one to ask about them, really. I only know what I've been able to glean from her.

That's probably for the best. It can get pretty confusing at the best of times. A simpler universe might actually be quite nice.

[welp.

then... doing as he said he would akjfljk]

We'll have to chat, then. I've talked to her before-- she seems sweet. And good at exposition.

Simpler maybe from a time travel perspective, but I don't know if I'd really call it simpler... We get a lot of other dimensional stuff, aside from the destiny thing.

Yes, she certainly knows how to use her words.

Oh really? How do those work, then?

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[002 ★ text ★ crazy backdated to before the moving event]

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filter - I do!! it was delicious B)

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filter - yesssss tl;dr food of the gods

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