maskormenace | Duel 01; Video

[There aren't any questions about what this place is or what it's like. Utena's already gotten used to all of that. She does, however, have a question about something else that's been on her mind: employment. She flops on her new bed and turns on her device, and the network will see a zoomed in image of her eye before she stretches her arms and raises her communicator, showing her from the shoulders up]

So. The government gives us these jobs when we get here, right? But what do you do when it's something you're not cut out for? Like...

[Okay, recording like this isn't very comfortable after all. She stops and rolls over on her side, and adjusts the camera so it's focusing mostly on her face]

I'm supposed to be a teacher, sort of. Or maybe instructor is a better way to put it? ...anyway, I'm supposed to give fencing lessons now. And it's not that I'm bad at it, but...

[She bites her lip and glances away for a moment, uncertain of how much she should (or how much she even wants to) explain about the duels.]

Well, I'm not really used to "standard" fencing matches. I mean, I've fenced before, but the last time I did the rules were kind of weird, and as soon as I got used to it the game would change again. The only real advice I could give is, "hey, don't get stabbed," but that's not really good advice, is it? I mean, that's what swordfighting is all about, I guess, but...

[She sighs, and flops back on her pillow]

I'm not really sure what I should do about this. I still need to talk to them - the people who run the lessons, not the guys who gave me the job - but... I guess I'm just worried that they'll expect more from me than what I can give them. That they'll expect me to be some master fencer from a movie or storybook or something like that. Has anyone else had to deal with that? With their bosses expecting them to be something they're not, I mean.

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Huh! And I thought a year was a long time in this place. I bet you get a lot of people asking you about... well, everything. Unless there's someone who's been around for longer, I guess.

There's more places like that than you'd think. I know there's a bunch of museums here, and every city's got a library in it. Heck, you could even stay home and watch tv if you'd like - there's almost always some history special or documentary playing. But I was thinking of something a little more fun.

[She's practically beaming at the end of it, but soon her smile starts to soften a bit.]

Though you know, this makes me wonder... what really makes someone a grown-up, anyway? Like when do you realize that you're actually an adult and not some kid?

A library? How wonderful! And I've never been to a museum. That sounds lovely. I have no idea what "TV" is, however.

[She smiles.]

Oh? Like what?

I think it's just a matter of identity. If you think you're an adult, then you're an adult.

[Ohhh, she hasn't figured that out yet. Okay, change of plans.]

Actually, I have a better idea. Do you see that big box in the living room? The one with the glass screen and the tiny legs.

Well, yes. I can't figure out what it does for the life of me. It makes a terrible mirror.

[Up next: young woman yells at cloud.]

[Remote, remote, where are you... aha! There you are]

Well, you don't use it to look at yourself. You use it to look at everything else. Here...

[And bwoop! She turns it on, just in time to catch a... commercial break. Ooh, exciting.]

Wait, another-

[She stops herself and shakes her head]

...nevermind, forget I said anything. But it's really just you guys? That doesn't really sound like a fair fight, even if you do have a bunch of alien spaceships.

[Okay, but seriously, what is it about space that makes people go berserk???]

[Now this conversation reminds her of one she had the last time she was here, and she breathes in as a question enters her mind]

...hey. How many of us do you think deserve that? Deserve to be called heroes, I mean.

[so why doesn't anybody stop the

She stops typing that sentence before she can finish, and backspaces immediately, deleting everything. Instead, she starts with a new question]

and what would it take to make them stop?

[She's finally starting to understand what he said earlier, when he said that protecting people meant hurting someone else.]

[ ... ]

It has a very board definition, doesn't it? What makes someone a hero. In my world, giving blood would make you a hero; saving a child from a fire. Or killing a ghoul. [ one thing is not like the others ]

If it's just someone who uses their inhuman powers to help people, some imPorts will fall under that, certainly. But that doesn't mean they will never do bad things, does it? [ you can be a hero and murderer, Kaneki has learned that ]

[Cinders jumps slightly at what happens, watching the screen curiously.]

Why is that person so terrible at pouring that beverage?

[Kids these days.]

If by "them," you mean the leading political figures of both countries, there are two things that usually change people's minds: one, money, and two, death. Unless you have enough money to offer them in exchange for peace, I would write that option off for you.

The second would require a swift removal of those responsible for the growing tensions. But surely you don't mean that, because that would be implying you would support political assassination on a public forum.

Edited 2017-05-18 18:00 (UTC)

[Her anger starts to fade into a wary sort of curiosity. He knows more about her than she gave him credit for, but the way he's saying it, the way he's presenting it so clinically is unnerving. Still, he can't know everything-

And then there's that last comment, about friends]

That- that's not what it's like at all!

Edited 2017-05-18 18:55 (UTC)

[One of his eyebrows raise. All the forms of teenage denial he's witnessed, and she responds with that? It would be charming were it less insultibg.]

Oh. I'm wrong, then?

[He begins scratching under his chin with his fingers. He knows he isn't.]

Another--?

[Oh right. She said to forget it. CHANGE OF SUBJECT THEN.]

It definitely isn't fair most of the time, but we handle it pretty well. We've won a few fights...managed to take down some strongholds too. I guess Allura is having us focus on liberating some people under their rule--makes sense though, gets people willing to get on our side.

Oh, they're around. [ But he's a lot friendlier than them, most of the time. He's not going to say that, though. ]

But I think I invite it a little more. In that I, uh, literally invite it! [ He laughs a little, a soft sort of sound. ] People were nice enough to answer my thousand questions when I came, so I figure I might as well pass it on.

I don't think they'll let me go in the back doors at any other zoo.

[Lapis...Lapis. that is not the point.]

I work for a morning show, and, from what I gleaned from my job, I'm going to be expected to travel sometimes.

So, you're just passing it on, huh? It makes sense, though - I mean, we're all stuck here together, right? It makes it easier on everyone if we can help each other out, even if it's just a little bit.

I don't know... there's plenty of people who think that they're one thing, but they really aren't. Like people who think that they're nice, but treat everyone around them like dirt. Or people who think that they're really smart but they keep making dumb mistakes. I'm not sure how thinking that you're a grownup would be any different than that.

They aren't - they're just acting. At least, I think they are? Anyway, you'll see why in a secon.

[And suddenly, there it is! A marvelous new invention, the likes of which have never been seen before! It's... a sponge. A miracle sponge, that can clean up messes like nothing else, or so the commercial claims]

They're just making a big deal of it so they can show off what they're trying to sell. Like the bigger the mess-

[The commercial is apparently on the same wavelength, and a booming voice interrupts with THE BIGGER THE MESS, THE BIGGER THE SPONGE, before showing off different products on the screen]

...okay, that was a little creepy.

Well, maybe not, no... but you can still see them from the outside. You know, like the other guests.

[she squints a little, considering all of this information.]

Do I have to wear one of those funny hats from the gift shop?

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