#E(E(X)) = E(X) can be disambiguated in two ways

[loving-n0t-heyting]

Garnering accusations of witchcraft and heresy from my rationalist roommate after denying the conservation of expected evidence

[pyrocicle]

{ Ribbons }

Tap, tap, tap. Soft but distinct footsteps echoed across the antivoid. She didn't really need to walk, but it helped her feel more connected - unlike the first version, she wasn't immune to the disassociation caused by the emptiness of the whiteroom. It'd taken a while to find who she was looking for; there were any number of Errors, but only one Null.

"you're a difficult one to track down."

{ with guest star @errorinjudgment }

Null's hanging by his ankles when she locates him, swaying forward and back on his bright blue threads of magic with an absent, almost blissful look on his face. Something about that particular type of movement aids him in maintaining his calm, which is entirely necessary when he keeps finding himself back here without explanation. He doesn't want to be here, and has taken dissociation into the realm of meditation.

"h-h-hello." He chimes in that pleasant-if-not-so-distorted tone of his. "that is intentional." An eye cracks open for a good look at his latest guest, first traveling up and down the whole of her form, then settling on her face and staying there almost challengingly. "familiar. do you know crow and dove?"

Ribbons tilted her head at him, liquid-looking eyes seeming to splash with the movement.

"hiya! I know them, yes, though they don't know me. that's intentional, too." She laced her fingers together behind her back, rocking back on her heels, then up to her toes with the snarky grin so common to them. Short, dark green hair bounced with each movement. "a little birdy told me you've been having problems."

"problems? my wh-whole existence is a problem, lady." He lowers himself down onto the imaginary floor then gets to his feet to stand a respectful but already rather comfortable distance from the somewhat familiar woman. Her eyes hold his interest for a while then drift back down to what she's wearing, now commiting her appearance to memory. 

"i ta-take it this is a business call, then?"

"I feel for you, glitchbean. friendly business!" She held out a hand. "you can call me Ribbons, for disambiguation. I'm... mm... here with proposal. not that kind, of course." Black coat, gray pants, cool, dusty green shirt and fur. Black boots with spiked soles. The pendant Dove wore had a bright red gem in it for Ribbons, and the lovely, complicated bow tied around her neck mimicked her eyes, the colors on it seeming to splash about like a liquid. She's small, and both sturdier than Dove and less squishy than Crow. A happy medium, perhaps. Her style certainly was a happy medium between the two!

"heh. gl-glitchbean." The use of the term of endearment is enough that Null feels comfortable brushing off his remaining paranoia. Ribbons has put him at ease, an advantage gained simply by being who she is and knowing what she does. He takes her hand and gives it a firm shake like a proper businessman, his hand radiating that same dry warmth her lesser alternates are familiar with. 

"oh, not that kind of proposal. wh-what a shame. nevertheless, i am l-listening."

It's soothing. She's icy cold, fingers as short and stubby as ever. She tilted her head to one side with a giggle, another familiar gesture that proves she's who she appears to be, squeezing back firmly. 

 "keep sweet talkin' like that and it might turn into that kind." She stood up straighter, eyes focusing onto his. "you and I are beings with purpose. destruction's in your nature, salvation in mine. but we both know that there are some places that just can't be saved. all the LucK and determination in the multiverse couldn't set things right. and denying our nature is... unpleasant."

"you're c-cold." He notes aloud, shuffling closer to her upon realzing that he rather enjoys that contrast. His eyes match hers, focused and a little stubborn, comfortable but still rather serious. "your flirt game is just as st-strong as theirs, i see. you are correct. denying it has been... painful. are you asking me to destroy something beyond sa-sa-saving for you?"

"I'm always cold. you're warm." She scootched closer to him in return, resting her shoulder against his. With a jacket that thick and floofy she should be overheated, but she's just... icy. "well someone had to start the trend~"

Her expression changed from playful to grim in a blink. "I am. there is one that has become... painfully obvious. so much so my little Dove's flown the coop."

"i do believe that de-destruction can be an act of mercy." He tries to look grim, but fails. As much guilt as it comes with, he can't help smiling. What a confused monster, or glitch, he's become. "if there's really no helping them, why not give them a quick and pa-painless end? all the better if they're..." His eye socket twitches. "i-insulting to start with. you already know how i feel about the e-extent of widespread deviance."

"I do, yes. I don't always agree, but I certainly understand the sentiment and it's been known to factor into the choice to mark a timeline." She grinned back at him. "the proposal is for a partnership, in fact. I've uncovered a number of timelines where it would be more merciful to give them a clean and painless end. the little Doves can only do so much, if there's no hope then... why leave them to suffer?"

"y-you send dove to repair broken timelines? tha-that is admirable, and explains some things about her. if only i had the patience for it myself." He laughs a little. There was a time that he too would have preferred the route she's taken. Perhaps he'd still prefer it, were it not for his unique affliction.

"the answer is... ye-yes. i would love to help you. this is just the justification i need to stop putting off the inevitable. i know that i can't resist forever, not with this anger threatening to boil over every moment i spend pretending to be a pa-pa-pacifist."

Ribbons grinned broadly. "bingo, bingo, bingo! give the bean a prize!" she giggled and clapped. "good! excellent! far better to put destructive proclivities to a productive use than allow them to affect that best left alone, yes?"

"ye...-yes." He had to pause for a moment there, expression very thoughtful and slighlty pained. It's not easy to accept that he might not be entirely in control of himself if he fights too hard for too long, but such is life. He'd always been particularly good at going with the flow prior to his accident.

"would you care to give me the details on this world you want wiped clean?"

Ribbons smiled kindly, patting his shoulder lightly. "we all have ugly sides. alright, let me see..." She pulled out something that vaguely resembled a pair of short chopsticks, until she pulled them apart. Ribbons, like the one around her throat, stretched between it, before changing to an image of that particular world's Load Screen.

At the top left corner is a universe designation; below are profile pictures of the inhabitants. Dove is a question mark. Asgore's been Xed out, Sans and Papyrus have a green border. The others have red borders. There are five SOULs on the screen; Dove would have replaced Justice, and Chara hasn't fallen yet.

"wh-what in all the worlds..." The Error squints at the page. Asgore is gone that much is obvious at a chance, and Chara still isn't present? Toriel a single mother? And why the green border around himself and his brother? He shakes his head, trying not to think of it that way, trying to tell himself that he's not Sans anymore.

"interesting. please explain?"

The Patch giggled at his confusion.

"this is a universe designation. tells us what sort of variant it is, in this case, a 'swapped fell' timeline. that means Asgore's taken on Toriel's usual role, Mellow," she tapped the Sans, "has taken Papy's, and so on. The X means that she failed to befriend Asgore, the green borders mean she befriended Mellow and Papy. I believe... mm, yes, she'd reached Waterfall but gone no further. You see how there are only five souls? Dove was meant to replace the Justice child, but her soul is... unstable. I'm sure you've noticed. She needs a chance to heal before she dies, or her soul will simply shatter rather than being able to be collected. Evidently that wasn't possible here."

"i'm familiar with the variant and generally... not fond of the i-inhabitants. that explains why asgore is the first out of the picture." Predictably, he looks pleased, grin spreading and eyes brightening a touch as he looks and listens, piecing her method of illustrating the timeline's variables together. "fell and swap... two of the most abomination-prone iterations of our world. this will be rather fun."

"I think you'd rather like this one, but given they have no hope left... best to let them have a peaceful end. perhaps you'll get to see a happier iteration later." She looked grim, but managed a smile in return. "shall we, then?"

"no." He mutters, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "let me think this way. otherwise, i w-won't be able to do it. let me fuel my hate." And just like that, he's right back to the act. Is it an act? It's hard to tell and at this point in time even he's not entirely sure how he feels about this. "i'll consider it a te-te-test, on my part. i need to understand what's going on with me, and i... well i can't do that if i never try making a more. it's e-e-experiment time."

He clasps his hands together in front of himself and draws a deep breath. "we shall."

"fair." She nodded, taking a deep breath. They have to think different ways, but that's alright. It'll keep them more balanced if they're not simply an echo chamber for each other. "excellent. an experiment is just what the good doctor ordered." She clasped the... tablet? ribbontop? back together and returned it to her jacket, then held out her hand again.

Null takes her hand and gives it another firm shake before using it to pull her into a hug, complete with a soft, warm sort of laugh. He hadn't realized that he'd missed her half as much as he did. Well, he'd missed... others hers. Close enough. "tha-thank you. this should be beneficial to everyone involved. call me when you're ready."