maskormenace

[ Kitty's voice is a little strained. ]

Right, so...Hullo, Kitty here. And we've already had a bit of input on glorious-war and glorious-war-but-do-be-careful-about-it-because-the-Russians-are-a-bit-scary, and at this point everyone's probably like shut it won't you. But for anyone who's still out there and still listening, just...

This is hard for us. We've lost our friends. That's scary. But remember that no real harm has been done yet. They've been kidnapped, but no one's been killed. The situation right now is not that bad. But it has the potential to get so much worse if we let loose our anger. Remember, the weapons in the Russians' possession - and in the Americans' - can scorch the earth. Kill everyone. Everyone. It won't just be us who go if we escalate this war: it'll also be the little kids in the school down the street from you, and the girl who always remembers your order at the malt shop, and the bloody...puppies in the animal shelter.

So those of you who are thinking that it's time to go burn down Russian cities, or join up with the army as they march to destroy our enemies - close your eyes and think of the entire baskets of puppies and kittens that'll get scorched into nothing but atoms when this war gets stepped up and the bombing starts. Okay? So instead, maybe let's give thought to negotiation. Forgiveness. Stepping down the violence. Some of the kidnapped have gotten word out - I bet you anything they'll agree.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They haven't negotiated anything yet?

[ Hostages are one of two things as far as she knows: leverage or a source of information. ]

[ A shrug. ]

Again, we can't know for sure. Perhaps they have.

[ This nonchalance is wearing her out. Now that Reggie's interjected as well and riled her up... ]

They would have told us something, I'm sure. Why tell us our friends have been captured, but not anything else?

[ She doesn't fully trust the government, but that's too critical information to leave out while people are running around trying to figure out what to do. ]

[ Her answer is frank. ]

To stir up fear. Their goal since day one moment one was to get us to join up, wasn't it. To join their army. That's the point of registration, why they lean on us so hard to register. Now they get to say - look, a personal attack against you, by the Russians. Aren't you scared? Join up, and you can help bring them back. And for the first time, we're answering, and joining up. Why would they want to interrupt that? It's exactly what they've been hoping for.

They didn't do this, though. The Russians did. They're the ones stirring up real fear now. Our friends must be so scared.

[ Which probably works in the US government's favor, if she thinks about it. She hasn't seen any talks about Registration, however. ]

If you don't want to join, that's fine. But it's not... it's not really fair to tell us "it's not bad" and we should do nothing. I'm worried they'll think we don't think our friends and family are worth saving... that they're expendable.

Edited (oops missed a word) 2016-01-24 19:44 (UTC)

But I'm not saying we should do nothing.

[ She shakes her head. ]

I'm saying we mustn't get violent. That's a very different thing. When I say it's not that bad, I mean to point out that they've not been harmed yet. They're being treated with civility. And that means that they can be recovered with no real scars. Unless the Russians start feeling inclined to scar them. If all we do is engage in negotiations, go for gentle solutions, then they'll be less likely to hurt them.

Ahhhhh!!

[ Hands up in the air. She tugs her hair in frustration. ]

Being a hostage isn't civil! I don't want to hurt them, but they have very much tried to hurt us before. Please don't forget that! One of those spies from the shuttle incident tried to murder me! Weren't there mechanical sharks once?!

We should at least be prepared in case something terrible is on the way!

[ Again, a shake of her head. ]

I'm not saying it's okay they're being held hostage and we can just ignore it. I'm not saying we can't prepare ourselves, either. All I'm saying is that if we react like we want to react, they can scorch the earth and kill us all. Might they anyway? Sure. Do they hate us? Sure. But if we get violent, violence is guaranteed. And death will follow.

You're not very good at explaining... I'm not the smartest person, but it didn't sound like that before. You even told someone else it's better to surrender, but... I'm sorry, I really don't think we can afford that. Not right now.

And I'm just... not sure it's really fair either to say your opinion is probably correct, but anyone else's isn't. [ She runs a hand through her hair, looking uncomfortable. It's not always easy for her to find her voice on some matters. ] A lot of us have seen war or been a part of it. There's too many possibilities, yeah?

[ You're not very good at being polite, growls an irritable inner voice, but Kitty quashes it. Patience isn't something she's good at, but patience is something she need to show. Her fiery temper isn't going to get her anywhere good - especially not when she's the one putting out a call for tolerance and understanding.

Tolerance and understanding aren't qualities that come easily to her. ]

Honestly? Yeah. I think it would be better to surrender than see the world burn. Remember, this isn't our war. It's America's. And we got dragged into it because America claimed us. So yeah, I'd actually quite like to see America surrender. Our people would most likely be released if this war ends - and I don't give a damn which side does it.

Anyway. [ A shrug. ] That's the nature of opinions, isn't it. We all think ours are correct. You think I'm wrong, I think you're wrong. We just don't bite each other's heads off over it, which is what makes us better than the Americans and the Russians.

If we surrender, then the people of this country suffer, don't they? There's a lot of good and innocent people here who don't deserve that.

[ Now it's Sasha's turn to shake her head. ]

I don't want to be right. I hope I'm not... [ But... ] I don't know. I don't think fighting is the best option, but waiting around isn't good.

[ She doesn't want to get her hands bloodied again, but she can't shy away from the call to arms either. ]

... I'm sorry, I'll stop wasting your time...

[ She feels embarrassed now, that she can't articulate exactly what she's feeling or thinking. So she disconnects in a hurried movement. ]

[ And Kitty - doesn't want to leave it like that. Especially when she worries that it was her little burst of ugly temper that scared the girl away. So she sends a text to her, just...hoping it won't sound mean: ]

You weren't wasting my time. I liked talking to you.
If you do your own thing, I really really hope it works.

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