Thirteenth Flake [Text]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Normally, Elsa doesn't care for making text posts. Video helps her be more open people, and even after over a year here, she could always use more help with that! But there are still rare occasions where she just... doesn't trust her emotions to stay under control. So text it is for those days.]

For those of you who have been here for quite a while now:
Is there... any good way to cope with people from other worlds leaving?
I know that, when people from your own world leave, you can be comforted in the fact that you'll see them again when you return home.

But... what about those from other worlds?
They're gone, and unless you remain here for long enough that you return, you'll never see them again.
And if they're important to you, just as much as the people from your own world...

How can you get over the disappearance of someone like that?

Comments

[doitrockapella]

Usually, I try to consider the notion that, if it was possible to find my way into this world, then theoretically speaking it should be equally possible to find my way into others.

I'm not sure if that's necessarily a good way of coping. But I find comfort in the thought that it's not inherently impossible for me to find them and see them again someday, if that's what I choose to set my mind to.

[defyingfrigidity]

That... actually is quite a nice idea, isn't it?
From what I've heard, her world would be quite an adventure to explore.

But... in all the years that some of us have been here, we haven't been able to find out what exactly it is that brings us here. How can we harness that ability for our own if we're still in the dark about it?

[doitrockapella]

The same way any other world-changing discovery might come about, I'd imagine: the willingness to try and fail a thousand times in pursuit of a single success, and the discipline to learn from those mistakes, and the initiative to seize any opportunity when it arises, before it's gone. Plenty of talented minds in history have done great things for mankind with just those tools in their toolboxes.

That's what I choose to believe, at least. I've been told I'm sometimes an idealist, because of it — but the world takes all kinds, don't you think?

What was her world like, your friend?

[defyingfrigidity]

... You do have a point there.

It's a world where magic is extremely common. They call it "bending", but it seems to work the same way as magic. And I come from a world where such a thing is so rare that most only believe it's a thing of fairy tales and legends, so...

It would mean a lot to me, seeing such a world for myself.

[doitrockapella]

It's interesting; quite a few worlds that people hail from around here seem to share that similar theme. I've heard different names for it, and some call it magic while others call it science, but generally speaking Johto does seem to be a magnet for the fantastic.

It almost makes you wonder — in a world where magic is commonplace, does that make scientific innovation the "fantastic"?

[defyingfrigidity]

I wouldn't think so?
Speaking as someone who's been able to use magic to manipulate nature itself, I don't see science as something "fantastic".

Science is used to study the natural world, yes?
Magic is supernatural. They're very different things, and studied - and improved - in very different ways.

[doitrockapella]

That just begs the question of whether something can really be called supernatural in a world where it occurs naturally. But that's a question of semantics.

I can't claim to be any sort of expert in magic, though. How does one go about studying and improving magic?

[defyingfrigidity]

I can't call myself an expert either, due to magic's rarity in my world, but...

For me, it was all about reading fairy tales. Old legends. Seeing the sort of things gods and mages in stories could do and see if I could do it too.

[doitrockapella]

Trial and error, in other words. Drawing inspiration from outside sources and experimenting to refine your own skills.

[defyingfrigidity]

Precisely.
It... didn't always work, especially when I was younger.
I wound up figuring out a lot of important things a lot later in life.
When it was... almost too late to reign that power on.

[doitrockapella]

Mm. If it's some comfort — some people like to say that almost doesn't count, but it sounds like your circumstances were one of the exceptions. There's a very distinct difference between "almost too late" and "too late".

I'm glad you arrived at your important things, even if the timing could've been better.

[defyingfrigidity]

It's... somewhat comforting, yes. But the line there was a very thin one.
I was already unintentionally hurting my entire kingdom.
If it wasn't for my sister, I wouldn't have been able to do anything.