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[willing_sheath]

[A standard pre-recorded message starts:]

Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. [There are a few long moments of dead silence before someone draws a breath speaks in a stiff, uncomfortable tone:] Himura Tomoe... [and another long few seconds of silence where she apparently didn't realize how to stop the recording.] is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up or press one for more options. To leave a callback number, press five.

[BEEP]



[ooc; for action spam to be counted as log activity feel free to comment to my annual log under the appropriate month]

Comments

[willing_sheath]

I will remember that as well.


[You've just been adopted, Knives. Even if you can be creepy. Your stuff is creepier]

[arkfall]

Have you met my other submissive yet? The name I gave him is Legato Bluesummers.

HELPS IF I REPLY TO YOU INSTEAD OF THE POST

[willing_sheath]

[Damn it Knives, why you gotta call her out like this?]

I have.

[Fucker was stalking me BEFORE we were outed on the network. HOW DID HE KNOOOOOW????]

[arkfall]

What's your impression of him?

[willing_sheath]

[Can she decline to answer this?]

He is unsettling.

[Granted, she might not have quite the same opinion if their first meeting hadn't been punctuated by him phishing for information about Vash--later to basically be confirmed by Vash warning her about him.]

[arkfall]

Yes.

He was raised to be so.

[willing_sheath]

I see.

[arkfall]

It's a better life than the one he would have had otherwise.

[willing_sheath]

Is that so?

[arkfall]

Yes. When I found him he belonged to slave traders.

[willing_sheath]

[I wish she knew Kenshin had been in a slave caravan so bad right now]

You saved him?

[arkfall]

No. He saved himself. I killed everyone in that caravan and would have killed him too had he not used his powers on me. He was only a boy at the time.

[willing_sheath]

[That... sounded more in line to what she was expecting...]

[There is a part of her that is horrified by the information... and there is the part of her that has seen and spoke to him here. She... really needs to work on her survival skills more...]

He mentioned his abilities but not in specifics. How did he stop you?

[arkfall]

The Legato who is here is different than the one I know from home. He's stronger and his abilities function differently. I'm not sure I'll go into specifics here.

Still, he remains the only one who has ever been able to stop me from doing something. Other than Vash, of course.

[willing_sheath]

Understandable.

I see.

[arkfall]

I would avoid crossing him, if I were you.

[willing_sheath]

I have no intention to.

[She also keeps trying not to even cross his path, but it's like the fucker is FOLLOWING HER OR SOMETHING]

[arkfall]

Yes, but you're already at a terrible start. You're human, after all.

[willing_sheath]

There is little to be done about that.

[arkfall]

I know. That is the curse of being what you are.

[willing_sheath]

Perhaps.

But it isn't so black and white.

That would make it easy.

[arkfall]

You don't think so? Explain to me how you see it.

[willing_sheath]

[Her reply takes a while, partially because she has a lot to say and partially because she wants to be sure the wording conveys exactly what she means.]

Nothing is black and white. There are only varying shades of gray, some darker, some lighter, and still constantly changing. There are no good sides and bad sides, only people. There are truly good people out there and truly bad people. But then there are good people who do bad things and bad people who do good things. And then there are just people who coast along, neither good nor bad, just trying to live their lives as well as they can with what they know.

Labeling entire groups by the actions of a few makes it far too easy. 'Us' and 'them'. It makes it easy to hate. It makes it easy to rationalize terrible things. I am sure it is part of what lead to the creation of your sisters, this notion of 'us' and 'them'... As I am sure it is how you were able to do everything that you did in your world as well...



I won't pretend that I always had this view. If you had asked me this four years ago I would have given a very different answer, but four years ago I hadn't experienced civil war. I hadn't been caught between the sides of said war three times over. I hadn't died because of it then brought back to life to dwell on it every second I still breathe here.

Black and white is too simple. With black and white there is no room for error, change or forgiveness.

[arkfall]

You sound like Vash. There always will be an 'us' and 'them' when we're speaking of two different species, one of which was made to be exploited. Excusing that behavior by saying 'well they're not all bad' while every single one of them benefits from the exploitation ignores the suffering of my siblings.

[willing_sheath]

Do I?

I don't necessarily disagree with you. If anything that just strengthens the point that it isn't simple.


But we aren't in your world. Your siblings are thankfully not here to be exploited and the people here have likely never even heard of a Plant, much less benefited from one, so that argument doesn't really apply here.