subnautica | monolith revisited

Entry tags:

monolith revisited | mingle

One fine morning, a boyish voice broadcasts to everyone around base:

There's a lot left to explore inside the Monolith, so I'll be visiting it today. If anyone else wants to come along, feel free.

Once all interested parties are assembled and traveling arrangements sorted out, they're off to the Monolith! Given the length of the journey, this will be a real time investment. A one-way trip takes nearly two hours by flight. Traveling in silence? Boring. How should they occupy their time? Travel games? Joy rides in the Seamoth? Maybe even some old-fashioned chit chat??

Once they arrive, there's plenty to explore. With some sniffing around, they'll find a map revealing that the Monolith contains a cafe and common area, crew quarters, lab, med bay, and "special alien containment" room. However, it'll take some ingenuity to actually reach each area. And by ingenuity I mean bombs.

Which is why the group will need a demolition crew! Get to blasting those walls in logical places. Or illogical places. No one ever said it had to be a good demolition crew. With enough willful destruction, surely all of the the Monolith's secrets will be laid bare in no time.

(( Here are the full details on what can be found in the Monolith! Create your own topics and go nuts. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Jake does join, sitting with his head propped up in his hands.]

Oh my goodness gracious no, no, that's not me. I mean, I care a lot about hope! Because boy do I need it. But it's nothing I'm obsessed with? It's just, uh... [How do you even explain an aspect jesus.] ...I guess it's just representing me? But I could be a Page of Denial or Page of Movies or something like that! Page of Guns would've been neato...

[He doesn't think those are aspects but still they represent him?? Oh! More important than his weird hope stuff.]

Dirk is Heart, though. Isn't that swell? [Jake continues to think Dirk is sweet and has the perfect aspect.]

We don't necessarily embody our aspects. Jake might, Pages are a formidably ambiguous class. [He glances at Jake. He knows what he's thinking.] Some other classes don't.

Either way, the game is over. Our roles are theoretically no longer our fate, in that we no longer should be held to any fate once we were let outside the boundaries of the game. [So the coffee. And the movies. And all the rest. Dirk and Jake were given destinies and powers and a purpose for their existence. What they want now is to live an ordinary life.

He considers his coffee.] That dude you know sounds fucked up. Embodying anything is more than any person should be burdened with.

A game, huh...?

[It sounds like something out of a bad manga. Kids with crazy god-powers being trapped in a game, given classes and fates.

But for some reason, he doesn't think they're lying. Sure, they could both just be playing a trick on him, might just turn around and start laughing about how gullible he is, to believe something ridiculous like this. But he doubts that's the case.

Instead, he's the one who laughs, a kind of disbelieving, unamused snort.]

Hah, yeah. Komaeda's... obsessed with hope, and talent. He doesn't even care about creating despair himself if it meant... seeing the Super High School Levels combat it and rise above it.

...

[He pauses and rubs a hand over his eyes, shaking his head again.]

Sorry, that... doesn't matter here. More importantly... what do you mean, his aspect is Heart?

[Looking to Jake, because Dirk hadn't elaborated himself, and Jake seems more likely to answer.]

[Wow he does sound fucked up. Even Jake thinks so. That's just weird. But he likes the topic change from how he brightens up.]

Oh! It means he has a great big old heart. [Hinata why did you ask him he has zero understanding of how the game worked and he likes Dirk.] So he's a kindly fella who's always fretting over his pals even if he acts like an asshole sometimes. Truth is he's the sweetest frog in the pond. Also he has cute poofy shorts. They're neat.

Fucked up and incredibly awful, then. [There's that phrase: Super High School Level. He'll ask about that—

—No he has something to correct. What the fuck, Jake.]

It does not mean that. The game gave me the domain of Heart, which could be better translated as the soul or sense of self. The Heart is what makes a person who they are. As a Prince player, I'm a destroyer class. The title essentially breaks down to 'one who destroys the soul or self, or who destroys with the soul or self.' The colloquial sense of heart as emotions or caring doesn't apply.

[So stop that, Jake. Goddammit.]

The poofy asshole pants are terrible.

Edited 2016-08-01 01:46 (UTC)

[Hajime's expression twists into a bit of polite disbelief at Jake's explanation, because, well. It's Jake's explanation, and while Hope is perfectly legitimate to have as a talent, something like Heart the way Jake describes it just... doesn't seem to fit.

...Dirk's explanation, while more difficult to understand, somehow makes more sense. Or at least sounds more plausible if he's supposed to accept they were somehow playing a real-life game using the god-mode cheat. Or... something.]

I can't comment on the pants, [both because he's never seen them, and also because he can't imagine poofy shorts that actually look good on anyone,] but... that's incredible. Both of you guys are incredible.

[Somehow Jake is just amused by Dirk. Mostly because it's funny to him when Dirk really feels the need to correct something. How a monotone can sound so sassy who knows.]

I don't know about that but... after that whole rigmarole, we're glad to be rid of the old towel. [He realises saying that sitting in spaceship ruins sounds weird.] Kinda? We're more out of it than we were. And... honestly I like normal things like this better.

[Jake is right, at least about this. Normal is better. Getting out of it is better. Living their own lives... That's what Dirk wants to do from now on. Live his own life, with his family and friends.]

Jake didn't ask to roleplay a barista alternate universe for no reason.

[He looks at Hinata behind his shades, curious now.]

That's the second time you've mentioned something about 'Super High School Level.'

...Yeah, I understand that. Wanting to go back to your everyday life, or just... start a new one, with less absurdity.

[it's why he didn't really mind playing in Jake's barista AU. Sure, it was mostly because he couldn't disappoint a friend, but it's so refreshingly normal compared to an undersea base, a wrecked spaceship, a murderisland...

He pauses, glancing to Dirk as his lips part in surprise. That's right... that's not a common phrase in anyone's vocabulary here except his. And then his lips press tightly closed again, a muscle in his jaw tightening.]

Oh, it's... sorry, I keep forgetting that not everyone's from where I am. It's the title given to people who are scouted by Hope's Peak Academy for having amazing talents. It's a government-funded high school with no entrance exams -- you can only get in by being scouted by the school itself. The two requirements are that you have to be a current high school student, and are at the very top of your field.

[His voice is quiet with the faintest, easily-missed edge of bitterness. He seems to be reciting something from memory rather than thinking about his answer.]

Super High School Levels are... top students recruited to inspire hope, and shape the future. That's the kind of people they are.

[And there it is again, "hope."]

Edited 2016-08-01 02:52 (UTC)

[As the patron of Hope, Jake feels a little bad.]

Boy if I had that drilled into the old think tank everyday, I wouldn't be too keen to hear 'hope' ever again. [Though that really explains why his friend(??) is so hope crazy. Sounds like the whole school kind of is.] It sounds frightful to have so many expectations on you.

[This is a hilarious statement on so many levels.]

You mean it's Super High School Level Fucked Up.

[That definitely explains the weird kid with the despair-hope fetish thing. That edge of bitterness—Dirk isn't sure about it. He doesn't want to test to be sure. He has already made Hinata unhappy enough.

He also decides not to ask what Hinata is. They talk about Hope and Heart, but sometimes there are things that you don't want to bring with you. If Hinata doesn't want to bring his high school life along, then that's fine.

Dirk is also refraining from tearing the entire part of scouting talented students and bringing them together only to spit them out after years of educational training. Sounds like an ideal plan for controlling and manipulating key players from an early stage to him.]

What?

[Hajime jerks back as if he'd touched the hot plate of that coffee machine over there, eyes widening with surprise.]

N-no, that's wrong. You don't get it. Hope's Peak is an amazing school, full of incredibly talented people. Any kid who wants to be somebody wants to go there. There's nothing wrong with the school itself.

[laughtrack.mp3

If he sounds defensive, it's because he is. Whoa now, insulting Nagito "I don't mind if you kill me" Komaeda is just fine, but when it comes to Hope's Peak? Hope's Peak is the best.]

It's just... Komaeda's idea of hope that's fucked up. Being willing to create despair just to try to foster a stronger hope is the problem, not... just trying to inspire hope by being the best you can be.

Edited 2016-08-01 14:43 (UTC)

[Oh. Well apparently he really likes this place despite... how bad it is? Or, well, he doesn't think it's bad? Hmm. Jake think it might be bad though. It sounds like too much pressure.

Jake is trying to get better at this whole conversation thing, though, and Hinata likes the school, so he deserves the chance to say a nice thing about it.]

So everyone else, do they have cool titles? Can you be a Super High School Level anything? Could I be... Hmm, a Super High School Level Gunslinger? And Dirk can be... Super High School Level Hipster?

[Even so, Dirk wants to say. Even so—The school doesn't ask people to be the best they can be, they ask them to be better than everyone else. It produces a sense of the elite; its very nature gives those people more access to power and opportunity than others. Choice is concentrated on a narrow few, and what's the fuck is the point of 'hope' if all it is is being led around by people who are treated as superior? Hope is fortitude, but a system like this breeds passivity in those who aren't selected. Why bother trying if they can never be the best and being the best is the only thing that's valued and rewarded? That isn't spreading hope. That's sowing despair.

—Dirk doesn't say any of it. Because Dirk is trying not to be an asshole, so Dirk looks to Jake and tries to follow his lead.]

Super High School Level Sick of Your Indiscriminate Taste, you mean.

[He is not a hipster, Jake is just tasteless.]

[Hajime latches onto the change of subject gratefully. He knew if he could just explain it well enough, the other two would understand. Hope's Peak is such a good school. Anyone should dream of going there.]

Hah, you'd be surprised at what can be considered a talent. Super High School Level Gamer, Super High School Level Gymnast... there's even the heir to the largest crime syndicate in Japan, the Super High School Level Yakuza.

[Because yes, that's Good and Normal. He exhales through his nose, looking a little wistful as he rests his chin in his hand.]

But... as extraordinary as Super High School Levels are, they're... not like gods, or anything. We can all still be friends and create a strong bond together, and that's... I think the best kind of hope I can imagine. Maybe that's wrong.

[And he glances to Jake. Maybe the actual God of Hope has some better ideas? Mostly, he's just looking for reassurance that no, he wasn't mistaken, and he can still be friends with people who are literal gods.]

[It's considered a talent to be in a gang? Whoa, his world sure has an interesting law system. Not that Jake knows jackshit about laws but he knows from movies, things like "organized crime" tend to be, well, crimes. Criminals. They're all committing crimes.

It sounds like a movie now. That's so cool. But his focus shifts at friendship talk and he sits up, smiling shyly.]

Aw, applesauce! I think... well, um, someone asked me what I thought hope was once! And I said it's about being friends with people. That's how I stay hopeful. My friends are why I keep going so um... I mean, I'd like to be friends with you.

[Oh god he's nervous. Dirk help. How do you friendship. USE THE POWER OF HEART.]

[That is NOT what Heart does, Jake. Possibly that's what Blood does? Look, no one understands Classpects. Either way, it definitely isn't Heart, because Dirk doesn't know what he's doing.]

From my perspective, any labelling of that kind is arbitrary antediluvian labelling. The opportunity to not be alone is more worthwhile than any kind of institutional function for division.

[Sometimes he can't help himself.]

[No, Jake, THE gang. And while the yakuza are far from good people, they're SHSL complicated.

But while he'd like to just agree with Jake, even nodding to the other boy with a smile, Dirk's wording gives him pause.]

Ante... diluvian?

[That word doesn't directly translate properly in Japanese, so enjoy his Engrishified attempt at repeating.]

What do you mean, an "institutional function for division?"

Edited (when u decide to redo a tag when it's not 3am) 2016-08-02 12:53 (UTC)

[Jake groans.]

Don't get him started. Something something being from the apocalypse means I don't have to participate in reality's insipid categories and functions or something.

[The shades briefly angle towards Jake. Then they angle back towards Hinata.]

'Antediluvian,' in this context, means before the flood that cinched the deal of me and Rox being the last humans alive on Earth. I use the term to denote cultural constructions that don't necessarily have to be carried through now that we have the freedom to determine our own sense of what being human means. [Can monotone be pointed? Maybe. It's pointed at Jake.] Basically, it's shit like gender or class that shouldn't have any control over us now that everyone is dead.

Hope's Peak, as an institution, would be one of those antediluvian systems. It functions by first defining its elite by the parameters you described and then dividing them both conceptually and structurally from those who don't fit into those parameters by setting them into a special course.

[Jake was right. Don't get him started. He can go off on a philosophical rant about it so easily.]

From a postapocalyptic position, being the best at something doesn't matter when you're selecting out of two. One of us being better than the other in some category would immediately qualify us for Hope's Peak by its own parameters, even if we weren't really any good at whatever it was. And that's ignoring the fact that Hope's Peak wouldn't even exist from out perspective even if it once did. From my position, the only thing that matters or gives hope is survive and knowing you aren't alone.

[He drinks more of his coffee. This really is nice.]

...

[Okay, well his first question is if Dirk and Roxy were the last people on Earth, how does Jake factor in? Also how the hell they were lucky enough to be the literal last two people on Earth, and also become gods, and what caused the flood, and also what the fuck is Homestuck.]

In your hypothetical situation, you're right. There's no way Hope's Peak would be able to function, because that's... not talent. Having talent means you're the best, but... people don't have multiple talents. There's something about them that stands out to be better than anyone else, something not everyone has. And that's what Hope's Peak is looking for. The philosophy falls apart.

[Is what he says, but whether or not he believes it..? The real q. Instead he just exhales through his nose, holding his coffee loosely in both hands without bothering to drink from it.]

But... I agree with that. Being able to survive and not being alone... if that's not hope, I don't know what is.

[He can't even debate him on it ugh. Since he can't debate him, he tunes out most of it until Dirk gets to his main point and then he'll tune back in.

In the meantime he enjoyed a montage about Gwen Stacy. Why didn't they make movies about other people in the Spiderman universe honestly? Miles would have been cool, too. There's a severe lack of exploration there despite Thor and Iron Man and X-men getting a larger exploration overall. Peter Parker is just the most recognisable? Like how everyone thought there was only one Robin when they voted for him to die even though that was actually Jason Todd and not Dick Grayson. It really is tricky to reconcile these sprawling universes when it comes to casual fans versus devoted fans.

He sips his coffee.]

Well, I guess I'll agree on that.

[Goddamn it, Strider.]

[HE KNOWS YOU TUNED OUT, JAKE. He knows.

He considers what Hinata is saying. He isn't going to debate him about Hope's Peak in itself. It doesn't seem like it has any point. But the main thing that he was trying to say—that of course Hinata can be his friend even though he's a god because that'd be stupid otherwise?—was expressed and agreed on, so that's good. Probably.

Now to get back at Jake.]

So everyone agrees I'm totally right about all of that. Thanks, especially to Jake, for listening to my something-something-being-from-the-apocalypse-means-codswallop-golly-gee-Mary-Jane-sure-has-a-pair-of-knockers-on-her talk. [He bets his day dream was about Spider people. Goddammit, Jake.]

[Maybe someday! Maybe someday, after Hajime's had more time on his own to process what Hope's Peak means. But for now, he just shakes his head, not exactly conceding the point, but recognizing that there's no point arguing any further.]

Uh...

[Follows... Dirk's gaze to Jake. Assuming Dirk is even looking, since shades and all. What did he miss...]

[Jake chokes on his own breathing and he can't believe Dirk just did that in front of gun friend?? Don't stare at him with these false accusations??]

Consarn it, Strider, I was not thinking about any bosoms! I was pondering the fact that Spiderman's universe isn't fleshed out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so I didn't wallop you with the fact that you were still reared on the teat of Hollywood as much as I was so all this pretentious bullshit about being above our standards is a bunch of soft soap.

[He huffs, embarrassed.] I don't think about ungentlemanly things in the company of friends.

monolith revisited | mingle

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