I'm not going to live like a dead rat anymore just because you find my existence offensive. If you want to beat me for that, fine. Just don't pretend it's anything other than taking your own personal issues out on a civilian. You're so self-centred that you think everyone should adhere to your standards, and everything is a slight against you.

[ it is not mere bravado; when Ruby says she won't flinch from a beating, she means it. though she doesn't speak it aloud, her Communion reflects a numbness born from familiarity. I'm used to enduring pain, after all. ]

I'm not the one making an issue, Comandante. All I've ever asked is to be quietly left alone, and that's all I'm saying now, to everyone. Not just you.

—Your kind recommendation of staying Unharmonised doesn't actually work, by the way. The Unharmonised can't clear Discord; they'll just turn into monsters, sooner or later.