User:Thijshijsijsjss/Human Parser/About YOU

Meta. Annotation detailing the fiction / game of this text, by introducing the 'I' and the 'YOU'. This is an immediate dive in the deep end, and by making this the first annotation after the 'intro', I am trusting the reader's generosity, trust and patience. But that is something I want to do with this text -- I believe it will reward that generosity.

Dear READER,

I am THIJS. I am writing this text for YOU. I need you to read this text, desperately, for only by your reading I am alive. In fact, by the time you read this, I am no more.

With 'I am no more' I don't mean no more alive -- THIJS lives on beyond this text --, I mean that 'I' has split of from me. In my present, the moment I'm writing these words, I'm still very much in harmony with the 'I' that's written down. But after the performative act of presenting this identity, we (myself and this presentation) no longer coincide. THIJS lives on, but 'I' is left behind in this text. 'I' is an artifact of that past me, a fragment of me when I was writing, a capsule that suggests my lingering presence, and a vessel for us to understand each other with. Without 'YOU', dear READER, 'I' is on the verge of becoming obsolete.

In being human, YOU and I both assume roles constantly. It can be confusing to distinguish between these fragments of ourselves, and to distinguish between YOU and I. It is a spectacular feat of humanness that we keep trying to figure ourselves out. The dance of understanding, a dance we dance together. In this text, I hope that you will dance with me. This is an adventure in text for YOU to explore. Just like I is an artifact of me, YOU is an artifact of you. It is not something that can be determined for you: you will have to navigate YOU yourself. In this way, this is a manual in reverse, not dictating you instructions, but instead inviting you to instruct it.