something's got to give

CW for like unreality and disassociation and shit.

Sel did not know where they were. It was dark, and it was quiet, and a moment prior they had been speaking with a friend. They had been telling Mit about this article about a new diet, it doesn't matter to us, because now Sel was here, wherever here was. The sudden silence was startling, Sel and Mit having been walking downtown.

Before Sel could really take in the void, their friend was back in front of them. The void was replaced with the same city as before, and Sel prepared to resume the conversation, not thinking much of their brief lapse in reality. Or rather, they would have, but something was off. Mit was looking away. They were turned to the left, and the side of their head was... off. It didn't look right.

It was flat.

Sel stood, for a moment, waiting for their eyes to refocus, for depth perception to return, but what was confusion turned to a fearful conclusion. Mit was gone. This, whatever it was, was some projection of where Sel just was. Inspecting the image, panning their head, Sel tried to keep their calm. Sel sent all manner of rationalizations forth to make what was deeply unnerving and bizzare not that big of a deal.

And then the camera panned back, and there stood Sel. Not our Sel, of course, but someone just like them. The bustling city ambiance returned, and Sel, our Sel, covered their ears in shock.

The flat Sel began to speak.

The flat Mit spoke back.

It seems Mit was considering the diet, at Sel's insistence. And yet, our Sel had not spoken a word. They sat there, watching the rest of their day play out, and at a certain point broke down into tears.

"What is this!?" wailed Sel.

"Was it all fake? Was my life all fake?" they continued.

As they curled up, lit by daylight of the projected sky, a voice interrupted.

"It's worse than that," it said, with a calm tone, and Sel froze. The last thing they had expected in all of this was company.

Through shallow breaths, Sel managed, "How."

"It was real. It was real, and vibrant, and alive. Not 5 minutes ago it was as real as either of us. You had a lovely world, Sel."

Summoning the little sternness they could manage, Sel asked, "What do you mean, had?"

"I'm sorry, you're what's left."

Sel gave no reply, besides sharpened breathing.

"There is no way to say this lightly, but you've been a victim of the God."

Sel remained silent.

"I do not know why it picked you for its wrath, but you, and the video before you, are all that remain."

Finally, after a long pause, Sel turned to their visitor.

"I'm all that remains," Sel spoke, neither a statement nor a question.

"The only one," came the reply.

It's 4 AM and I don't feel like finishing this. There'd just be Sel begging to go back, the visitor being powerless, etc. Eventually Sel leaves the whatever God complex (pun intended) with the other half of their world, and I don't really know where to go from there.

I want to go into more detail on the video itself, cause I think that different victims get different sorts. Sel lucked out with some art house shit with long shots of people doing very little, cause it means they'll get a pretty comprehensive window to everyone they will always be missing.

Maybe others like Sel resent them for this, but this can't be a phenomena more widespread than like 100 people galaxy-wide every decade or it would be more well-known to the public.

Ofc every planet this happens to gets erased from the databases and memories and shit of everywhere that isn's being erased.

I think some of that could be well-exposited with a Wheatley-type character joining the visitor at some point? but idk.

Anyways, wanted to write some of this idea before I forgor. I'm gonna sleep, it's almost 5 AM.