ratherbelocky | .006 Δ ["Anonymous" Text]

[Or, well, actually, this text isn't anonymous. It's simply that the ID number it displays doesn't match anything in anyone's previous contacts--as if someone's perhaps got his meddlesome paws on a brand new 'Gear.]

So there's a thing I've noticed, in the months I've been here. These anonymous posts, the ones asking for advice? They get a lot of answers. Seems we've got a lot of folks willing to help out around here, or at least to talk and commiserate, but it always seems to be a one-off deal; the person who's anonymous, most of us don't get to hear from them again, see how they're doing, and if we're anonymous ourselves, they can't contact us, either. It's like dancing some kind of intimate foxtrot and then never seeing your partner again.

But I found out something interesting. If you go to any Pokémon Center or PokéMart and tell them your Gear's broken or missing, they'll just hand you a new one free of charge. And if you happened to be lying, well. Then you've got an extra Gear unconnected to your main one.

What I'm saying is, there's an easy way to maintain privacy and anonymity on both ends while still checking in with someone you've spoken with before. Obviously, this is great to know for prank calls - and you're all welcome in advance for the April Fools idea - but I'd like to pose another option to those guys who want to help:

What if there were some kind of system in place for people to just talk about what's eating them multiple times with the same person, without ever having to know who's on the other line?

Now, I'm by no means a professional - not in this field, anyway. I'm not qualified to be a therapist and I haven't yet heard of anyone here who is. That's not what I'm suggesting we do here. But there are people willing to just listen, and to share their own experiences without judging, and that can be real useful to people who are working through tough things.

Here's how I'm imagining it'll work.

1. Folks who are interested in doing the listening contact me here by filling out the form at the bottom of this post. I vet them, and if it seems like it'll work out, then they grab an extra Gear, send me the number, and come up with their own codename.
2. I make a list of who's available and their numbers.
3. People looking to be listened to without exposing themselves, they contact me anonymously, and I'll redirect them to one of the folks on the list. After that first contact, they can just get to their listener directly without going through me as a middleman.
4. Conversation happens, everybody profits.

"But, mysterious and probably handsome anon," I hear you ask, "why do the people interested in helping have to out themselves to you? Who are YOU, even, to ask that and put yourself in charge of this whole thing?" And my answer is, there's got to be some accountability here when things this heavy and private are on the table, and I'm willing to be that guy. I'm also happy to reveal my identity privately to anyone who asks; I'm only maintaining anonymity here for those who don't want to know who they're talking to, for whom talking is easier like that.

Anyway. If listening to other people's problems sounds like your calling, I'd like you to fill out the following little survey:

If there's enough interest, I'll set something up within the week. In the meantime, let me know what you guys think.

And I guess you can call me Nathaniel.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. I've seen people talk about getting some kind of thing like that set up for new people...but I guess it's gonna take a lot to actually get it started once everybody's on board, yaknow?

That sucks.

[Not that he knows what an AI is, but form context he can gather it's kind of like possession. Either way. Benign or malevolent, not fun.]

Sorry you ended up going through all that. Just goes to show how bothersome war is.

You really set it up.

Thank you.

Don't thank me yet. It'll be a minute before I've got something workable up and running.

But I had a feeling folks would be interested.

Funny how these things work out, huh? Truth be told, I wouldn't have figured six months ago I'd be using a spare identity for something like this.

"Bothersome" is one way to put it. And you?

If you test it out, let me know, okay? I wouldn't mind a friendly match against someone who won't kick my ass without mercy.

[Not that he doesn't love his bae.]

I feel like the main obstacle to getting physical handouts started is that there's nowhere to stay in New Bark. We can predict when newcomers come in, generally, but if there's no base available, it's hard to coordinate.

Will do. My team's pretty tough, though. You might have trouble.

[Is that a challenge? It might be.]

You may have a leg up on me as far as time here goes, but don't worry. I've got a few aces up my sleeve, too.

[Bring it, Tobias. Bring it.]

Maybe we should try it out even before I get a gym set up, huh?

[It's been way too long since his team had a proper challenge, anyway.]

We could. I usually got a little more free time on Mondays. When's good for you?

Monday's good. I can drop by in the afternoon and we can head out to the park or something. I wouldn't want to bust up your lawn.

Edited 2016-03-23 12:30 (UTC)

My lawn appreciates the consideration. Monday afternoon it is. I'll bring snacks and soda.

Snacks would be great. I'll have just come off my shift and Pokemon Centers don't always have the best snacks.

[Sure, energy bars were fine, but not when you just want junk food that doesn't smell vaguely stale.]

Still. There really are a lot of people here who need to talk. If this works it'll help so many.

And it'll help me. So I'm incredibly grateful.

Then...that means we just gotta have someplace built there, right? Like a little hotel or something. I mean, every other town has them, so why shouldn't New Bark?

[Probably an old mechanism to get people to travel, instead of staying at mom's house forever.]

Using a different identity is something I've gotten used to. This is nothing new.

[It's a little longer before this response comes in (and he's a slow typist in the first place) - it takes a minute for him to decide how much he's comfortable sharing, and then to set the connection to private (he's studied the 'gears, technology is incredibly similar to magic when you look at how it's set up, once you learn the syntax it's easy for a magic genius like him), and then how to even phrase it - but he eventually decides to go this far.

After all, this world isn't home. And it's only fair, after asking himself.]

I don't really talk about it, except sometimes with Sion because he knows it all already, and a couple of my Pokemon know. But I was an orphan who was basically raised in the military academy, even though I made sure I sucked at all of that stuff. They only kept me around because they wanted to make sure their pet monster stayed on a tight leash and didn't run away to help another country instead.

All I've ever wanted was to be able to sleep in peace, you know? But aside from a few people who can see past what I am, I've never had a lot of friends, so I'm kind of used to being alone.

Don't worry, I'll be fine. My support is extremely reliable!

They won't know who I am, trust me! I don't spell my name with a little line!!

[He means the hyphen, but...dogs.]

[York feels that, bro. Don't ask him about military rations. Don't ask him about military rations in space.]

See you then. You better bring your best game, Sport.

Hey, that's all I need to hear. That it'll help one person.

Got any perspective to offer from your side of things? Most of the responses I've had so far are from people more invested in the listening side of the equation.

Think we could get a construction permit for that? Who should we ask?

Amen to that. Just applying it in a different direction, I suppose. Or some of us are, anyway.

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