The gangly young man sitting on a rock in Esfirâs front yard looked perfectly ordinary by Terran standards. All of the requisite parts were there to form a mundane humanoid. This particular one had a pair of stalky arms and legs, pale white skin, and messy red hair, hanging in his eyes and sticking up at various angles like a terrible case of bedhead. He was not quite young enough to pass for a teenager, but his boyish face made it difficult to determine how old he actually was. He sat cross-legged, a crinkled brown bag of fast food in his lap and a cup of pop on the ground nearby.
Around twenty minutes ago, heâd walked up from the path winding through the woods, plopped down on the stone, and stared directly at the House. Once heâd made himself comfortable, he proceeded to pull a huge, triple-decker burger out of the bag and began chowing down. Occasionally his eyes wandered elsewhere, but invariably his gaze would meander back to the front door and the windows, flickering across them like heâs looking for something or waiting for someone. When the first burger was done, he balled up the wrapper and chucked it at Esfirâs porch, landing several yards short of the front steps. Judging by the heft of the bag, he was likely to have at least two more burgers in there.
Esfir peeked out one of the windows on the second story, making a warm, thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. âInzo,â She didnât look at him right away, still peering through the little space left between the spice-orange curtain and the glass. âI trust that in our past several months of friendship you have learned I do not issue ultimatums, as a general rule, and take this one seriously as a result: Do not go outside under any circumstances.â She let the curtain fall shut again and shook her head, glancing sidelong at her magitech friend with a terse smile on her lips - like the ultimatum, a rather unusual occurrence. âThat unfortunate young man is not here for good reasons.â Fully expecting her âmom voiceâ to be sufficient (probably her biggest mistake), she hurried down the hall, clearly in a hurry to get somewhere that she didnât disclose to him.
In the meantime, the guy on the lawn stretched and then let his arms and shoulders collapse again, wearing old jeans and a baggy t-shirt featuring a skeleton scarecrow wearing a top hat, planted in the middle of a barren field. Despite Esfirâs stern, solemn directive, he didnât look like a threat. If Inzo happened to look outside, heâd see the other guy reaching back into the bag and pulling out a second burger.
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âHow many doors did we peek through last year?â Esfir wondered aloud, addressing the question to Inzo as she slowly walked down the winding familiar-yet-unfamiliar hall. Lending logic to her words, the hall is full of doors of all shapes and sizes. Some are painted, some are plain; some are brand new, some seem barely solid; still others have been formed out of unfamiliar, occasionally even organic materials that donât seem to belong on Earth at all.
She knew this hall - or at least, sheâs fairly certain she did. There were little end tables scattered throughout, occasionally decorated with little pieces of art or knickknacks or figurines. Thereâs just enough of her touch in there to make her think that she had taken the time to furnish it, once. One caught her eye down the hall: tall and austere metal with a fogged over window that revealed nothing of the location beyond. âAha!â She quickened her pace, the floorboards creaking as she hurried to take a closer look. âThis one looks promising, donât you think?â
Esfir paused, blinked, and then pivoted back around to look at Inzo directly, considering him as she often did. âUnless youâd like to visit somewhere more local today?â A cold wind leaked from beneath the doorway, carrying the hint of something sharply chemical and bitter to the taste. Not all of Esfirâs doors led to safe places. Most of them didnât, if she was being honest, but that was simply peachy in her books.Â
Life was dangerous. Learning was dangerous. The universe did not care if you were safe or even if you explored it - but there was something magical in the act of discovery. She couldnât imagine surrendering that feeling for anything else.
I don't know if this is in the spirit of the ask, but: What if they went to a concert for a band they really like?
Send me âWhat Ifâ scenarios for my muse to answer.Â
Vince
âA band? I donât.. know bands here.â      Â
Itâs been some time since heâs even thought about that. Music is something he hums to himself, or maybe hears through windows or down the street, not something to listen to while crowded shoulder to shoulder with strangers. Concerts arenât a useful place to be. There is no time for that.
âHad a-a friend, she played music, though.. used to try to be there.â
Is that an excuse? It isnât the answer they wanted. Say something else.           Say something ELSE.
He has to justify himself with an addition of âI-I do like music though! I do.â
Tolya
âMy favorites? Hah. Dead by long, mostly. I never. Thhought of seeing them.â
Hm. They really hadnât. The more they think on it though, the more amusing it seems to take Vellsick out for a date to some sort of concert. Something quiet, maybe? Something unique?
âWonder if Vell could be the type for it. Even just a-s-something small in the village. Or something flashier, even..? If itâs too l-loud, we can go. Too little, we can talk through it instead. Think I like this! Think Iâll ask him.â
OC Interview: 9 (guilt by proximity?), 10 (mass deaths for positive change), 16 (contemplated killing someone), 19 (are you wrong or the world?), 24 (what do tears mean?)
Interview with a Gestalt
9. Can people be held accountable for things people close or related to them did or are they innocent?
How absurd! Quite unreasonable to punish someone for the misdeeds of those in proximity unless there is reason to suspect they were somehow involved! Short of telepathic abilities - and I feel reasonably secure in saying most of humanity has not breached that particular barrier - it simply is not possible to fully know or comprehend the people we accompany through life. It is therefore entirely likely that those near or related to you have taken many actions of which you are unaware; isnât it distressing to think you might be punished for their behaviour?
Knowledge & subsequent decisions are the most important factors. Why, if we were guilty by association, we would all be remarkably guilty, donât you think?
10. If a lot of people, possibly innocent people, have to die in order to make a real change, is it worth it? Can you live with their deaths even if it helps people in the present?
That depends very much on where youâre standing when catastrophe strikes, ducky. Â
Personally: abhorrent. Practically: Bo-ring. Show me a person who says that mass murder is absolutely, positively the only solution and Iâll paste their photo in the dictionary next to âuninspired.â
I will tell you this: Murder is a sloppy, impatient severing of potential - both for good and for ill - and there is almost always a more effective answer. It is so easy to be caught in the currents of the moment that sometimes it may seem as though this is the only way out. I would propose that people who think so may be too close to the situation to think clearly.
Ach, but Maaike is only getting louder and she assures me she will shatter my teapot if I do not admit I am lucky enough to have not been in a position where I felt someone deserved to be murdered in this lifetime. I will concede that point.
Thank you for leaving the teapot intact.
As to the second question, I frankly wouldnât have much choice in the matter. I must always live with my decisions, no matter the consequences. Short of some cosmic interference or perhaps that fool Entropy catching wise to me - and believe you me, that is always a possibility - itâs entirely possible some fragment of me will live until there is no more living left to do. Exciting!
16. Have you ever contemplated killing someone? Who and why? Would you ever act on it? Are you frightened you might?
In other lifetimes, I have not only contemplated it, I acted upon it. âIâ being relative, naturally. The reasons vary: for revenge; for personal gain; accidentally; self defense; a misguided sense of justice. I look back upon these memories and I wonder who they might have become, if I let them go. I wonder how many other lines would have been scribbled into their family trees.
If I decided to kill anyone this time around, it would be my choice, so it doesnât scare me. I would have to be afraid of myself - hah! If that means I am capable of murder, despite my distaste for how it ends the growth of others, then I must be aware of it. Iâd like to know myself, Iâm my only constant, so I ought to be on good terms with me!
In the name of honesty and my teapot, I suppose I must again mention that I am lucky to not have a reason to feel murderous towards anyone, unlike previous iterations.
19. What is more likely a thought to you â that this world is wrong or that you are wrong?
Hm. Quite a box youâve created here. But frankly, if youâll excuse an old woman her foibles, I am more likely to be right. Itâs just the truth! If there are such things as absolute facts, then the person with the greater depth of knowledge, experience, and variety has a better shot than someone whoâs only ever seen one planet or dimension. Thatâs nearly always going to be me.
Donât - I donât know the phrase, hold on-
Oh, right! Donât salt me. Itâs only that Iâm older than you and weâre playing a numbers game. On a long enough timeline with the same gifts, youâd have me on an equal footing.
And statistics be damned, there is always that spark of genius and wonder that lets people shoot beyond whatâs âlikely.â Itâs exciting to be proven wrong! That means there is something new to learn! And who KNOWS what else you donât know? Thereâs so much of it! Youâll never run out! Isnât that wonderful?
24. How do you feel about tears? Are they cowardly and weak? Do you cry? Would you consider that shameful?
No, never shameful, not in a thousand years, not from anyone. It only means that you must be feeling something very strong, so strong that youâre physically moved. I certainly cry! And weep and wail and gnash my teeth, when the situation calls for it.
I do find I donât cry as often as I once did. Larger hurts turn into deep heartaches as Iâve gotten older. I donât think it is a sign that Iâve grown stronger, only that the further across the spectrum youâve felt, the more other pains are put into perspective. Itâs a little harder to cry over skinned knees when youâve broken an arm, n'est-ce pas?
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FRIENDS.  childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  otherÂ
ROMANCE.  childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  otherÂ
FAMILIAL BOND.  sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  / guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  otherÂ
ENEMIES.  dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  otherÂ
Generally, from the vibes Iâm already getting, Esfir definitely hits my âmentorâ type buttons for Inzo more than anything else. I canât really ever see her becoming too terribly angry with him or turning on him in their present friendship, but I could definitely see her stepping far enough wrong to really tick him off - saying the wrong thing, pressing her âwisdomâ at an unwelcome time, or overstepping somehow. Mostly? I think sheâs level enough to avoid that and she really likes her adventuring buddy! (And although she doesnât talk about it out loud - largely because she doesnât want Inzo to get defensive - she feels very protective and is always .05 seconds away from switching into grandma mode.)
