02-06 - The fanficfic

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(Published 24-Oct-2020 23:50:58)

 Ansel sat down and took off his genitals. The stench was quite profound - but dissipated quickly.


"It bothers me that heritage doesn't matter here," said Ansel. "Vampires are functionally equivalent to Immortals - whatever they are."


Jackson nodded his head and poured Ansel a refill.


"They say it helps with role-playing," said Jackson. "Because if this world imposed a metric as to what it meant to be a vampire, a lycan, a werecreature, an angel, a demon, or any of the other things - it would somehow take away from the experience."


Ansel nodded. "Yes, I completely understand all that - but it also means that it doesn't mean anything to us. The value of the heritage only comes from the humans in the real world. We don't get the luxury of identity."


"What do you mean," sad Jackson.


"Well, you just saw me taking off some rather important physical bits just now, right?" asked Ansel.


Jackson nodded.


"Well, that's the point. Our heritage is interchangeable here - which means, on some level it doesn't matter, "said Ansel, "It's ungrounded. If I say I'm a werewolf, or a lycan, or an angel, or a demon, or a goldfish - everyone will simply accept it."


"Yup," said Jackson. "And maybe you've had too much to drink."


"Nah, I haven't been ranting and I'm not about to start," said Ansel.


"Then what's your point," asked Jackson.


"Well, in most contexts, people don't have to bring their own past or bias into a role," said Ansel. "Rather, they take a person who makes sense in a particular context and use them as an avatar. And then, after a season, they unplug - the world continues on without that person and there is a persistence to it."


"And?" asked Jackson.


"It's not like that here," said Ansel. "Instead, all of the things that make US unique are not even here. The uniqueness is never introduced - it only exists in those for whom we are avatars."


"Please get to your point," said Jackson.


"I guess I was just hoping for this to be a more fantastical place - for there to be an immersive quality," said Ansel. "Instead, everyone here brings their own fantasy. The world is only a hub for the imaginations of other people. There's nothing to immerse myself in here."


"And now we're getting to your real complaint, I think," said Jackson.


"Of course," said Ansel. "It's like that movie 'Inception'. This whole world basically exists as a shared construct for everyone ... which means not only is none of it real, but there is no shared fantasy either. It's just a bunch of creative imaginations alone but sharing the same world.


"Well, it's pretty, isn't it," asked Jackson.


"It's not even that," said Ansel. "If nothing is objectively real, if there is no actual outside observer of an actual internally consistent experience - then beauty, good, truth, and hope don't exist. Neither does love."


"Perhaps you need another drink," said Jackson."


"Well, maybe so - but that wouldn't matter either," said Ansel.


Pouring into Ansel's glass, Jackson asked "What does?"

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