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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, sorry, I don't think I've ever been there. But it's kind of impressive that you were able to start your own place, though. Did anyone help you out?

Not really. I just have been here for a long time. [ and he doesn't eat so he has a ltot of money ] It's easier for imPorts to open their business as well.

Huh, really? That explains all the imPort stores I've seen, but... I don't know. I know that we're popular with a lot of people here, but it doesn't really feel like they trust us, either.

What do you mean, they don't trust us? [ kaneki thinks they trust them far too much ]

Well... maybe not everybody, but there's some people in Heropa who stare at you like you're going to go off any minute. And the news isn't much better, either. Honestly, it's hard to tell if people here love us or hate us, sometimes.

It's a bit of both. [ he has seen plenty of people against imPorts, but general population is still far too obsessed with them. ] We do a lot of damage. [ so naturally they aren't always happy ]

But we are still called heroes, regardless.

[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.

[ ... ]

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 ]

[She's nodding along as he lists examples. It all sounds pretty normal so far. Giving blood, saving children, killing ghouls - wait, what? Her eyes go wide as she realizes what he just said, but she shrugs it off quickly. It's just some kind of monster, right? That's pretty normal by this place's standards, right?]

I guess...

[She furrows her brow, thinking]

Or...hmn. You might want to help someone, but it's not always easy to tell what people actually need, is there? So you could just end up making things worse by mistake.

[She may or may not still be talking about imPorts at this point.]

[ yup, just some kind of monster. ]

... that happens to everyone, even "non-heroes". That's just life.

But we don't really start off as heroes, do we? I guess what I mean is, the problems we had before we got here aren't going to just go away now that we're away from home. If someone had trouble being a hero before they got here, then getting new powers isn't always going to make it easier for them.

"Being a hero"... most of us don't wish to be one anyway, never did.

And I think most of us realize we aren't cut out to be heroes at all.

Didn't you ever think about it, though? Not even once?

[There's a difference between fantasizing being a superhero when you're a kid and having an active hero complex, Utena. Chill.]

Hmm- no. I just wanted to be normal, always wanted that.

I suppose you don't feel the same.

It's not really about being normal or being not normal. It's more like... hmn. It's like in old stories, where there's always a princess who has to be saved. I know a lot of girls want to be a princess like that, but that's not the kind of life I want - I'd rather be the prince. The one that people can depend on, instead of the other way around.

Duel 01; Video

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