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

this post is war god bait

[fursuit]

[ Which is to say. A new presence slips in, but it’s one Hayame certainly encountered not long before this, even if she’d ignored it. Fine with him, and he wouldn’t take offense if he knew, but he can’t ignore this. It’s a bold declaration, cocky even, but he adores it right away.

His impression in Communion might be unsettling, and especially to Hayame’s pushed down instincts. He’s deep dark, an impenetrable smoke, a feline predator skulking in the dark. But he’s absolutely excited to make her acquaintance. ]

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! I was wondering’ if this was the shittiest set of armies there’s ever been! You- You actually talk like a warrior that can put their money where their mouth is.

[ Too bad they’re not on the same side, he thinks. But he’s sure that his Meridian counterpart has already laid “claim” to this one. He’ll kick Set’s ass personally if he hasn’t. ]

Well, Hayame of Echigo, I appreciate your resolve. They’re big words, so personally, I hope you can match ‘em. Would bum me out otherwise.

locked to meridian

[hauntedking]

[ He knows some of that is aimed at him, but he has his own determination, his own set of ethics, his own values. His concern now is less a debate about what to do next and more that he knows exactly what they have to do next if he wants to end this as quickly as they can. ]

If we need a course of action, I believe we should seize Alenroux and smash their cornerstones there; cut off their food supply and we can end this war quickly. They were worried about that vulnerability before. It must surely still exist and it is one we can exploit. And it will be one of the quicker ways to end this.

[ There's a pause. ]

...and we will need to smash their base of power in Kowloon. We cannot allow them to continue to use the people of the undercity as their pawns and soldiers. If we can secure our flank and deprive tthem of the resources they need, they will have no choice but to eventually capitulate. And it will cost us less than a direct assault against their base of power.

[baltimores]

[ There's a blink of surprise as the anger suddenly cuts through to his mind. It's just a blink, though, before Amos settles back to listen, so passive his presence might not be registered at all.

At least not until he speaks, at which point he offers a curious question, and nothing more. ]

So, deal's off then?

[a_noble_flame]

[... Alice really did arrive at a tumultuous time, didn't she. At home the war is done even if the conflict isn't over but here it's the spark that sets off the powder keg that only begins the whole downfall.

She's used to anger though. She's felt this sort of burning, righteous anger herself. Yet this -- this world, this situation -- is familiar and foreign at once.

She debates for a bit. She has to answer, must say something and yet she must make herself perfectly clear when she does. She has no wish to belittle anyone's well founded anger at an unjust and cruel act yet...]

I apologize for arriving so late into the battle, Hayame of Echigo. The tolls of this struggle are already so heavy and I am afraid they will only become heavier. I understand my words mean little to you and to many others here who have endured what comes with being in such a conflict.

I offer only advice for yourself and nothing more. I do not seek to sway your sense of justice in this matter. Please remember however to not let your anger to overtake you completely. Those who have wrong you and others will pay but they can't do so if you let your anger consume you.

[She pauses there a moment. Her communion at least is warm like a comforting hearth, calling for others to rest a moment. It's even more so now that this conflict has begun in earnest.]

You have my sword should you need it.

[appeale]

[ she probably shouldn't respond to this at all, but it's annoying, and one of those comments was so obviously meant to be directed at her. it's absurd how alike Hayame is to every petty, upperclass bitch that Ruby has ever known, even while claiming to be something better. ]

... Okay? This didn't do anything to change my mind. I'll remain Set's priestess, and I'll be protected by him, and I won't involve myself in someone else's war. Talk to him if you have a problem with that.

[ in the space of Communion, the ground that she stubbornly digs her heels into is one of red sand, warming her feet. after last time, she won't pretend to be ashamed about this anymore. ]

And if anyone else wants to complain about how I live my life, maybe keep it to yourselves.

[cyfaredd]

Are these tiresome screeds a weekly thing in this place? Please, someone tell me I can take my name off the mailing list. No?

[ There is a long, drawn out, intentionally exaggerated sigh. ]

I see you're another Iconoclast, too. What a charming introduction.

[kaientai]

[ Ryouma accepts that there are a few areas Hayame touched on where they will have to agree to disagree. He knows he no longer has the luxury to consider the possibility of neutrality, but he doesn't have the Counter Force pushing him to leap directly to extremes either.

He wants to believe that he can maintain just one line that he refuses to cross, but it's impossible to weigh one's principles against the fate of everything. A hero is someone who can seize the opportunity when the time is right, after all. Still, his resignation hangs over the Communion, muting it somehow. ]

I would rather put someone through the cycle of rebirth a hundred times than wipe them entirely from existence. That's an option I will try to avoid if I can help it. No one should rush to sink to Silco's level, in my opinion.

Taking someone out of play by Dissipation is strategy, but at the end of all this, I'm fighting for everyone's chance to go home.

[ So he can at least be counted on to do that much, although he isn't thrilled about that either. This is not how he'd hoped his efforts here would turn out, but maybe his mistake was expecting things to turn out differently. Ryouma only has himself to blame for that. ]

That being said—... [ the mental equivalent of a sigh. ] I can't promise I won't keep working towards the most bloodless Meridian victory I can hope for anyway, but I also know that sometimes kindness is not an option. I expect the worst and hope for the best.

[ He knows, but knowing doesn't make it feel any better. ]

[dreamflowers]

As tempting as the suggestion is, I haven't done much farmwork since I was a child, and I'm well out of practice.

[Plus, she'd probably just kill whatever crops she attempts to sow on accident. Because Jade is just Like That.]

At any rate, I hadn't been around long to have made a decision before all that shitshow went down, and I don't make a habit out of committing to some war until I have all the facts first.

[And with damn good reasons, too. But suffice it to say this one was probably not one of the ambivalent numbers Hayame was directly addressing.]

That said, I'd hate to be on whatever side you're opposing. [Even more so in the likely event that they ever meet in person, because damn.]

[faceripper]

Well, you know my opinion on the matter, but I may as well state it publicly for any other craven lunatics that think there is peace to be found. Hayame is correct, of course. Unless you're the sort of insane person that can strike down Zenites while still claiming to be their friend, don't waste your time even getting to know them.

[ As always, Fane's words are brusque and rude to the point of being almost cruel... But that last little piece of advice might be personal. For each Zenite he learns more personally, it is harder for him to imagine having to face them down one day. He will. He must. But he won't enjoy it. It's better to have never cared in the first place. ]

[ But after that, his focus narrows. He speaks for Hayame alone as he sends her a more private message. ]

...You're brave to state your stance so boldly. I see it's not being taken well by the mewling masses.

locked to meridian, at least

[furibund]

[ The last time she had seen Hayame was... Well. She should have expected such ferocity from this response. She can't say she entirely disagrees, even if her belief in killing is different these days. She sees herself in it, how quick and eager she would have once been to crush anyone who stood in her way — ]

[ — but then she would have been on the opposite side and she wouldn't give a damn who died along the way. She tries not to think of it as she listens. It is not a feeling of approval or rage that accompanies the presence that is Nebula, only firm understanding and determination. ]

[ And a breath of relief she can't fully contain. ]

See you're well enough now.

[twohand]

Well announced, Hayame of Echigo. I understand where you stand, quite clearly.

[ He is not a Zenite that falls under any category she voiced, as someone who firmly believes Meridian is ( for lack of better term atm ) on a suicide mission that will take them right back to their end. He's not going to argue with her, though. She is incendiary, and he cannot deny that he believes in her assessment of some of his allies. ]

Will you let me know which Zenites fall into the category of "sick thing"? They are ones I wish to handle, most of all.

[umurice]

[Hayame, you make Meridian sound just as worrying to join. Not that he blames her after what happened. He's more or less decided on who to join, but the problem is actually taking that last step.]

Food supplies are always the first to target when you want to win a war. Anyone who chooses that path is at a bigger risk than allying oneself with either group.

... No, that wasn't what I wanted to say. Did you get hurt in the conflict?