-005- [Audio]

[me_first]

[There's a long silence - long enough that one would be easily forgiven for thinking that this post was a mistake. Finally, though, a quiet voice speaks up.]

My... home, my world... Cloudbank, that is... was a place of... unimaginable beauty. Or rather, if you could imagine it, it could be made. This place... it's not the same, not the same at all. There's... well, it's big, but it doesn't have the same streets or people or... ease of change.

I don't mind it not changing, not really... but it's different.

The past is... a strange thing, strange indeed. You can't quantify it, you can't... break it down into variables that make any sort of sense. It just... goes. It's there and then it's not, like a leaf carried by the wind, or a cloud.

[There's another silence, but it's shorter. A breath, followed by an inhale and a pause, before he speaks again.]

... Cloudbank's like that, too. Gone, I mean. The physical structure is... still there, probably. You could walk around it... for a while. Until you were wiped out, I mean. Like everyone else... gone to the Country. The 'afterlife', some people might call it, though it's another life. Quiet, from what I hear. Though the Country inside... well. No one's ever been really sure if you get to the Country everyone else is in from that one. Not even me, and I made it.

[A quiet chuckle, before a sigh.]

This post has no point, I suppose. People found others from their worlds here... no one showed up from Cloudbank. Not that I saw, at least. But I did have a... a question. A poll, I guess, though the results don't really mean much. I was wondering how many people have... no home? Not anymore, I mean. Not one they can go back to because of... death, or the imminent threat thereof when they get back.

... And for those of you wondering... dying's not so bad.

[There's a pause, like he's going to say something else, but then the audio just clicks off.]

Comments

[voice]

[twinsanity]

[It takes Alfred a moment to work out how to answer this, but he'll answer eventually.]

How "not so bad" it all is depends on how you go out in the first place. In my circumstance the leadup was exactly that bad. Though the actual process wasn't, I'll grant that.

[...for fuck's sake. Hi, Royce, clearly it's a great time for a first impression.]

[voice]

[me_first]

Well... the actual shutting down of the body, I mean. Pain's... pain. There's few ways to make that easier.

[Oh, clearly. Hello there.]

[voice]

[twinsanity]

Oh, believe me, I know.

[...okay, you're practically begging the question here.]

So were you "wiped out" as well?

[voice]

[me_first]

Ah... I was. With something I made, in fact.

[voice]

[twinsanity]

...Why are you asking us about this? I doubt a question like that has no point behind it.

[voice]

[me_first]

There were... people from various worlds who joined us, as I'm sure you noticed. More than... usual. And... I was wondering if... well. If anyone else had no home to return to.

[voice]

[twinsanity]

[Well, at the very least it...doesn't calm him down any, but at least he seems a bit less supremely pissed off, which is a rare thing in and of itself.]

It likely goes without saying that I don't. I was shot.

[...That's the extremely abridged version.]

[voice]

[me_first]

Unfortunate, very... unfortunate. A nasty way to go...

[voice]

[twinsanity]

So I take it you're missing this Cloudbank of yours.

[voice]

[me_first]

I am. I... built so many things. So many things, that never got... appreciated. Now I'm... well, I'm an artist without a canvas, or a paintbrush.

[voice]

[twinsanity]

You can talk to me about it if you want. It's not like I'm going anywhere.

[voice]

[me_first]

I suppose neither of us are. I... was an engineer. An architect. Where I'm from it's... a simple matter, very simple, to put designs into practice. Everything about the city can be changed, as long as you know how. No waiting, no mess.

... People, though. They... want everything to change all the time. All the time. They just... don't take time to stop and appreciate things. If you put up a statue, they wanted a... a pond the next day. A business center into a park. A park into a restaurant. No chance to... appreciate what went into making it, who did the work, why the artist chose what... they did.

Audio

[a_sin_for_him]

I'm...sorry for the loss of your home.

[Compassion, she's slowly getting the hang of it!]

I can't return to mine, either, but I don't consider that any great loss.

Audio

[me_first]

[It's okay, he's not good at human-ing either.]

... I see. You weren't... fond of it?

Audio

[a_sin_for_him]

There was nothing left for me there. I was ready to be done with it.

...I wasn't ready for this place.

Audio

[me_first]

I don't think... anyone is ready for this place, to be fair.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

...I've never had to wonder that.

[Video]

[me_first]

Some people... might.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

People who haven't died, I suppose.

[Stupid people that haven't died yet. Come back when you have and join the club.]

[Video]

[me_first]

You... have?

[He fiddles with his cigarette a little.]

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Yes, a few times. None of the times were very fun, and every time I got brought back.

[The stitches on her face made a bit more sense now, didn't they.]

[Video]

[me_first]

... I see. That must have been... very unpleasant. Being brought back, I mean.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

....Uh, not really. Being brought back is usually okay.

...I mean, dying hurts like hell. You have no idea how much it hurt when I was tore limb from limb.

[Video]

[me_first]

Mm. I was mostly... bludgeoned.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Ah. That hurts a lot too, probably.