locked to meridian + ota

[warmare]

[Hayame had plenty to say about this disgraceful farce the moment she had regained consciousness... But she waited. She waited, so that her emotions would be as locked down and as under control as she could manage. Until only harsh anger and the burn of judgement come through- at least, for now.

First, she addresses only Meridian.]

I hope you are proud of yourself.

Those of you who have been too weak to commit properly to this cause, content to let those with drive and will do the winning of Oracles on your and your world's behalf.

Those of you who claim allegiance to Meridian but have been content to play "neutral" and hide like a weak little bug in the shadow of those more powerful than you.

Those of you who could not draw a single line in the sand and loved playing friend or whore too much to break off relations with people working to ensure that the lives of everyone in your world are snuffed out permanently.

Those of you who have refused to shatter the shards of our enemies, whining about the sanctity of a soul, even though that is the only way to kill someone properly in this twisted world.

Mourn that sun goddess for the power she possessed that our faction has lost. Mourn the kindness she showed you, if you so wish. But I will impart a lesson unto you- If someone is kind to everyone, then their kindness means absolutely nothing. That empty-headed fool of a woman had her shard shattered by the very man whose shard she protected, after I and another killed him in the labyrinth of the Harbinger Oracle trial. If she had given that foul thing back to us so that I might crush it beneath my hoof, then she would be alive today.

That is what kindness of that nature will reap you. A disgraceful public execution at the hands of a wizened, corpse-gnawing gaki barely managing the veneer of a man.

If you wish to dedicate yourself further to the actual cause you claim to serve, or if you wish to train and empower yourself, I will gladly help you. It would be my honor.

But if your plan is to continue living the sort of shameful existence that helped allow for the assassination of Springstar's Tribune at his own godsdamned home, then either purge yourself of that treacherous weakness... or I will try to find the time in my days to do it for you.

[Maybe this is where she could stop, take a breath... But she does not. The rest, cold and hateful and roiling with anger, is said to everyone, Zenite and Unharmonized alike.]

To all those who still claim allegiance to Zenith... I will not waste breath trying to convince you of anything at all, let alone now, after what your faction has wrought upon countless innocents. Whether you are a poor thing who would abandon every life in your world simply because you were treated badly, whether you are a pathetic thing who cannot muster the will to hope for anything but that sacred bitch on high and a committee of degenerates making a new world for you to exist in, or whether you are a sick thing who delights in watching worlds burn and people die... I, Hayame of Echigo, do not care, and I will not show mercy to one any more than the other.

Unlike, it seems, the many dishonorable among you, I say this to you plainly and clearly.

I will disable you if I see you step foot in Springstar.

I will hunt down your cornerstones and smash them to pieces.

And I will kill you if you put yourself between me and the possibility of returning to my world and my duty.




... Ah, yes. To those of you who have still not chosen a side, even after seeing what has occurred this moon... My advice to you is to stay Unharmonized, to pick up a hoe, and to go tend crops in Alenroux. You obviously lack the determination required for this conflict... and the people require food. Go on.

If you need a recommendation for a farmer looking for labor, I know plenty. Do you fancy turnips, or buckwheat?

Comments

[cyfaredd]

Apparently. [ mental communion shrug. ] Which in itself is not so shocking... I just wish they'd spare me the lectures.

[escardos]

They’re really loud, aren’t they? Their feelings and voices are on stereo.

[ listen, he’s doing the mental equivalent of putting it on as low volume as possible, but even that’s not the same as muting.

he sighs, laughing awkwardly. ]

She sounds pretty convinced about it. It kind of makes me want to keep my opinion to myself!

[cyfaredd]

Never underestimate the value of staying out of things, Flat. Not because you may say the wrong thing, but because in some situations, there's no "right" thing to say. And it's never worth it to try, in those moments.

[ Howl also has a tendency towards weaponized incompetence sometimes, so. ]

[escardos]

Yeah, that's usually where I'd run my mouth and say something stupid.

[ incredible! howl has learned that flat is self-aware ]

But in this case even I can tell that this woman is scary. What's the point of getting mad at your own allies?

[cyfaredd]

Well, you see, she can't control what the rest of us choose to do, or how we feel about what we've been tasked with here. Not just her, but the other militants. So without any authority to force us to fall in line, all they've got is to get mad about it.

It'll work on some people. Perhaps even most of them. But not on me.

[ If there's one thing Howl can be relied upon to do, it's weaseling out of any kind of difficult task or inconvenient responsibility. And he does this very intentionally. ]

[escardos]

That's right! Escape from any boring responsibility you don't want to do!

[ he sounds so EXCITED about that. ]