Public opinion on superhumans shifted a lot over the years, and not always in the same direction... To be fair, sometimes we manipulated it for our purposes too.
[ She's sure Jiro never completely forgave her for that. ]
Before I came to the Foundation -- about half a year before that -- a propaganda film came out that depicted Jiro and the rest of us as evil monsters intent on destroying the country.
[ To add insult to injury, the actress playing her wasn't very attractive, but that's neither here nor there.
She shifts her position to lie on her stomach, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her cheek against them. This is probably too much, but if he doesn't jump in to cut her off, she's going to keep going. ]
Some time after that, a plan was devised that was supposed to save our world from its energy crisis. They were going to use superhumans as a fuel source by breaking us down over and over, harnessing the energy produced every time we disintegrated and regenerated. But not the ones who were like humans -- just the undesirable beasts and the monsters like me.
[ She closes her eyes and exhales softly. ]
I ended up at the Foundation just before I could put my plan into action, but I saw it there [ and on blu-ray ] -- how everything turned out. I killed the man behind that plan and took over his city for my own people, and Jiro and I declared war on all the humans and the superhumans who sided with them, even some of our old allies.
[ Eyes opening again, she gives a smile. ]
All that to say... if you think you're the only real villain left on this game board now, I can at least promise you you're not.
[He listens raptly, eyes a little round with growing questions, but surprisingly -- he doesn't interrupt. There's a little more animation to him now that he's properly engaged, but he seems content to listen, perhaps strange for someone like him.
There's a little bit of quiet after she finishes her tale, like he's digesting or turning things over, because there's a lot there for him to take up and ferret into. What does end up coming out first is--]
Eh, but that's not villainous at all, is it? You totally saved the superhuman race from the crazy propaganda and the people who wanted to use them to power... whatever. Did they really want power for their weapons or something?
[He looks kind of like he'd like to sit up and keep pelting questions, but he pauses.]
So when you said you knew humans pretty well before...
[There's a faintly admiring tone there, and something else with it that's not-quite-discernible.
He's never made a secret of his admiration for Nirrti and her ways, after all.]
Hmm. Most of the world is stupid, then, and sheep, if they can't see past whatever their fuel overlords want. [he says this totally emphatically even if all the context he has is from that little narrative, it's fine] But I'm glad we're kind of villains together.
Well, it was designed by Master Ultima for his Superhuman Expo as a prototype for his energy plan. It was an artificial island that could either float on top of the water or sit on the ocean floor. Since it was originally an event site, it was pretty showy and futuristic, and had big statues of some of the "good" superhumans, like Earth-chan and Master Ultima himself.
[ She left him impaled on a statue of himself. It was good. ]
I don't really know what it was like after we took it over, since I could only see as much as the videos at the Foundation included. We intended it to be a nation of our own for monsters and beasts to live in peace, though.
That sounds like a pretty cool place to visit someday... even if it was built by some weirdo named Master Ultima. That's not even a dignified name.
[He is on board to drag this dude even though he only knows his name and his master villain plan, it's fine.]
I mean, you know yourself, and you know Jiro, and you're a team, right? So I bet it would have turned out the way you thought it would. [he's still watching her, eyes a little brighter] I think... I wanted someplace like that too. Just a place that was mine, and where nobody else could interfere.
I've never been to America, but I've heard it's a real different country from Japan. Everyone there raises eagles and wears stripes, or something.
[He seems vaguely interested in stripe solidarity?? Where is he getting his information.
Emi gets a quick glance when she asks her question before he sinks into silence again for a little while -- there's something hesitant in it, though less than when he was stumbling through everything earlier. A little talking works wonders on roadblocks like that.
Finally:]
... I used to think that. That I had to destroy everything and everyone before I could find a real path for myself. I decided not to, because apparently there are infinite worlds, and that would be too much of a pain.
[It's not quite sincere, the rationale, but it's not quite not sincere, either. There's just more here, somewhere beneath the surface. A small sigh.]
But I still kind of want my own Fragment or something. Where I could only deal with the people that are worth dealing with.
[ ...She's. Not going to correct his America misconceptions at the moment.
"Destroying everything" is somehow still a little darker than she would have expected from someone who always seems to find so many things to take interest in, but after today, it's not entirely shocking either. She doesn't agree with it -- she might be willing to tear down all of humanity, but she wouldn't put herself above all of her own people -- but it's not incomprehensible. ]
That does seem like it would be a lot of effort. You might have ended up destroying a few good things you weren't aware of, too.
[ Given whose room they're in, the implication there is probably pretty clear. ]
Having a place to escape to when you wanted to would be nice, though...
Do you have any idea what kind of path you might want to find now?
... I didn't think they were real. The good things.
[That's very nearly a whisper, halfway to himself.
It's as faint as the words, but there's confusion there, and a little awe, and something a little lonely, too. He scrubs a hand across his face and turns to face the wall instead.]
That's as far as I got, though. Finding a Fragment and living there for a while... I don't want to go back to the Foundation, and I don't want to go home, so...
[...]
It's a lot harder to build things than it is to destroy them, huh?
[He shifts briefly, because he heard that tone -- it crinkles the jacket he's wearing in one big rustle and then he settles again, turned halfway. One bright red eye glances at her for a moment.]
I don't know yet.
[He says that, but judging by earlier... he's already made that decision for himself.
Maybe he just doesn't want to acknowledge it twice in the same conversation. He's dumb like that.]
I still wouldn't mind seeing your place, I think. If most of the ones on your side are like you.
Well, they don't have to be exactly like you. Just a little bit is enough.
[The important parts, he means.
He looks back over at the wall at being called a friend, but at least he doesn't try to contest it. Maybe he's just sort of. Absorbing it. People have called him that here a few times now.
Also, he'd totally want fisticuffs with Godzilla so maybe that's for the best.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ She watches him, quiet for a while.
Stripes, huh...? ]
Do you mind if I tell you a few things about my world?
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There's a small nod when she speaks again.]
Okay. What's it like?
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[ She's sure Jiro never completely forgave her for that. ]
Before I came to the Foundation -- about half a year before that -- a propaganda film came out that depicted Jiro and the rest of us as evil monsters intent on destroying the country.
[ To add insult to injury, the actress playing her wasn't very attractive, but that's neither here nor there.
She shifts her position to lie on her stomach, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her cheek against them. This is probably too much, but if he doesn't jump in to cut her off, she's going to keep going. ]
Some time after that, a plan was devised that was supposed to save our world from its energy crisis. They were going to use superhumans as a fuel source by breaking us down over and over, harnessing the energy produced every time we disintegrated and regenerated. But not the ones who were like humans -- just the undesirable beasts and the monsters like me.
[ She closes her eyes and exhales softly. ]
I ended up at the Foundation just before I could put my plan into action, but I saw it there [ and on blu-ray ] -- how everything turned out. I killed the man behind that plan and took over his city for my own people, and Jiro and I declared war on all the humans and the superhumans who sided with them, even some of our old allies.
[ Eyes opening again, she gives a smile. ]
All that to say... if you think you're the only real villain left on this game board now, I can at least promise you you're not.
no subject
There's a little bit of quiet after she finishes her tale, like he's digesting or turning things over, because there's a lot there for him to take up and ferret into. What does end up coming out first is--]
Eh, but that's not villainous at all, is it? You totally saved the superhuman race from the crazy propaganda and the people who wanted to use them to power... whatever. Did they really want power for their weapons or something?
[He looks kind of like he'd like to sit up and keep pelting questions, but he pauses.]
So when you said you knew humans pretty well before...
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Mm, I know them and what they're capable of.
[ For that part, she can't fault Nirrti. ]
I do think I did the right thing, and I don't have any regrets about it, but most of the world didn't see it that way.
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[There's a faintly admiring tone there, and something else with it that's not-quite-discernible.
He's never made a secret of his admiration for Nirrti and her ways, after all.]
Hmm. Most of the world is stupid, then, and sheep, if they can't see past whatever their fuel overlords want. [he says this totally emphatically even if all the context he has is from that little narrative, it's fine] But I'm glad we're kind of villains together.
What was it like in the city you and Jiro made?
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Well, it was designed by Master Ultima for his Superhuman Expo as a prototype for his energy plan. It was an artificial island that could either float on top of the water or sit on the ocean floor. Since it was originally an event site, it was pretty showy and futuristic, and had big statues of some of the "good" superhumans, like Earth-chan and Master Ultima himself.
[ She left him impaled on a statue of himself. It was good. ]
I don't really know what it was like after we took it over, since I could only see as much as the videos at the Foundation included. We intended it to be a nation of our own for monsters and beasts to live in peace, though.
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[He is on board to drag this dude even though he only knows his name and his master villain plan, it's fine.]
I mean, you know yourself, and you know Jiro, and you're a team, right? So I bet it would have turned out the way you thought it would. [he's still watching her, eyes a little brighter] I think... I wanted someplace like that too. Just a place that was mine, and where nobody else could interfere.
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[ (Fuck America tbh.)
There was still a lot of fighting, but she hopes they did get to enjoy it together at least a little, in the short time they had there together. ]
It's nice that way, if you can be yourself without having to worry.
[ She's watching him in turn, still with a gentle expression in spite of everything. ]
Do you mean nobody else at all, though?
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[He seems vaguely interested in stripe solidarity?? Where is he getting his information.
Emi gets a quick glance when she asks her question before he sinks into silence again for a little while -- there's something hesitant in it, though less than when he was stumbling through everything earlier. A little talking works wonders on roadblocks like that.
Finally:]
... I used to think that. That I had to destroy everything and everyone before I could find a real path for myself. I decided not to, because apparently there are infinite worlds, and that would be too much of a pain.
[It's not quite sincere, the rationale, but it's not quite not sincere, either. There's just more here, somewhere beneath the surface. A small sigh.]
But I still kind of want my own Fragment or something. Where I could only deal with the people that are worth dealing with.
no subject
"Destroying everything" is somehow still a little darker than she would have expected from someone who always seems to find so many things to take interest in, but after today, it's not entirely shocking either. She doesn't agree with it -- she might be willing to tear down all of humanity, but she wouldn't put herself above all of her own people -- but it's not incomprehensible. ]
That does seem like it would be a lot of effort. You might have ended up destroying a few good things you weren't aware of, too.
[ Given whose room they're in, the implication there is probably pretty clear. ]
Having a place to escape to when you wanted to would be nice, though...
Do you have any idea what kind of path you might want to find now?
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[That's very nearly a whisper, halfway to himself.
It's as faint as the words, but there's confusion there, and a little awe, and something a little lonely, too. He scrubs a hand across his face and turns to face the wall instead.]
That's as far as I got, though. Finding a Fragment and living there for a while... I don't want to go back to the Foundation, and I don't want to go home, so...
[...]
It's a lot harder to build things than it is to destroy them, huh?
no subject
[ There's a tinge of sadness in those words, too, though. ]
I'd invite you to come see my world if you wanted, but...
[ It's already been established that it was not great. ]
Well. Maybe it will turn out better next time.
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I don't know yet.
[He says that, but judging by earlier... he's already made that decision for himself.
Maybe he just doesn't want to acknowledge it twice in the same conversation. He's dumb like that.]
I still wouldn't mind seeing your place, I think. If most of the ones on your side are like you.
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I can't say they're all much like me... Youkai are very diverse. I'm sure they'd happily accept anyone I called a friend, though.
[ Not necessarily the beasts, but you can only ask so much from Godzilla. ]
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[The important parts, he means.
He looks back over at the wall at being called a friend, but at least he doesn't try to contest it. Maybe he's just sort of. Absorbing it. People have called him that here a few times now.
Also, he'd totally want fisticuffs with Godzilla so maybe that's for the best.]