expiationnet | 003 | text (dated post-event)

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003 | text (dated post-event)

Afternoon everyone. This is Goro Akechi speaking.

We have come to find ourselves from a quite troubling situation. All thanks to acts of those from Rumpitur. I have heard the talk around the town about what should we do with them. Some of the people of Aldrip seem to be advocating for revenge, while others forgiveness.

Normally, I think the wisest choice of action would be leave the situation behind us and not to get involved in the politics of this world. But this is different. This wasn't a random attack or act of a beast, but carefully planned and intentional action against us. If we hadn't been successful in our rescue mission our numbers would have depleted no doubt. Who knows, the kidnappings could still be ongoing.

[He doesn't really care much for most of you. But this time they had hit where it hurt.]

What do you think, my fellow Chosen? Stay still and leave them be, potentially risking another attack. Or retaliate? Although, I believe it is important to remember that we still don't have all the details. Making this whole ordeal seem just more suspicious.

As for what I think? I believe something needs to pay for this.

[ooc: this post is inspired by december sotg. please! feel free to threadjack and everything! let's get the madness going.]

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I didn't expect you to be so political about this.

[ .. granted, maybe she should have, given what she's seen from Claude.. But she didn't know the politics extended this far, really. His entire text reads like something you'd see a prime minister read out on TV. ]

I agree that there has to be some sort of retribution, and I also agree it shouldn't be death.

In that case, wouldn't it be best to find out what would hurt them to find out what adequate retribution would be in this case? Leaders stepping down never solves anything. They just get replaced with similarly shitty people.

[ Yes, Claude, she's actually asking you because she respects your opinion, okay. A rare favour only extended to a few. ]

Someone has to be! Everything about this has suddenly become very, very political.

I don't think they always get replaced by more of the same. For all we know, there's been a power struggle this entire time. But I'd have to know more about the culture over there to know for sure, and we don't have the luxury of time on our hands.

In any case, the leaders are the most public figures they have, and can be made example of, right? Whatever punishment they face should be publicized, enough that they know that this sort of behaviour will come with consequences. Payment and labour are usually safe bets, with both paid to those who were most impacted. Additional oversight from us and a representative of Aldrip to make sure that they're on the straight and narrow and that they actually communicate to others when a man-eating monster is in their midst.

That's what I would start with, anyway. What were you thinking?

Well, I'm not the one with an apparent political science degree here.

[ In regards to his last question, obviously. Even if it's the kind of deadpan that might go at least half over Claude's head, given the obvious differences between the places they come from..

But it's so perfect that Ange can't pass up on the remark, sending it over all the same. ]

I'm mostly afraid that we might go with the weird majority opinion we've got going on right now, with people saying we should just kill the monster and move on. I can't imagine painting a bigger sign to show the people here we're a bunch of total suckers than that.

Grandfather paid handsomely for my education. I should hope it's come in handy.

[ He's joking too, a little, but... well, this is what he was trained in. ]

I was hoping it would be more split than that. But to be honest, I'm a little surprised so many people have settled on radical mercy. Not that I don't see importance of compassion myself, but there's a big difference between someone being held at knifepoint and being forced to sacrifice people and knowingly kidnapping people from their beds, targeting only outsiders, preying upon one's spiritual beliefs and sailing out to an island to provide them as live sacrifices to a monster. They didn't even kill them first to save them the pain and fear they were met with.

I'm preaching to the choir, I know. But this is a sight worse than self-preservation. Not only does this make us look like pushovers, but it sends the implicit message that their actions were understandable and just. And do those who cry for mercy really think people capable of those actions are capable of leading their people? Those are the kinds of leaders that will fill their tables and leave their people starving.

Why do you think it's the majority opinion?

That's the part I'm trying to figure out, especially when trying to change their minds on what to do about this situation seems to be difficult, if not straight up impossible. It made me figure I might as well use my energy on figuring this part out. It feels genuinely difficult to me to figure out where it's suddenly coming from, especially since so many people just love spreading chaos whenever it's just us in Aldrip.

But now they're suddenly all on the side of this cult here.

Honestly? I'm not sure. It's almost enough to make me believe that they have no legal system where they're from whatsoever, or if they do, it's far more lenient than any one I've ever heard of. Different backgrounds could be a part of it. I think even more of them are just being reactionary against the few people who believe that the entire village must pay for the misdeeds of the few and have decided that instead of finding a middle ground, only the two extremes exist.

Or... they believe that they would do the same thing in the Rumpiturans position. I hope that's not truly the case, or else we're more deserving of our criminal brand than I thought. I'd rather lay my own life down than resort to that, and I'll have you know that I treasure my neck. My favourite part about it is the fact that it's intact.

But it's the last thing I had expected, after so many died. Why do you think it is? You're more tapped into people here than I am.

[ Usually Ange would argue that last statement, resenting its very nature, but.. well, it is true that she's been staying on top of the reactions to this entire thing, if not just because she herself is so invested in it.

So rather than arguing over something dumb, Ange is good here, just replying to Claude's question. Especially since he's taking this entire thing seriously too. (Well, you know, there's some tiny jokes in there.. but Ange is willing to put up with that when his general message is a lot more serious.) ]

A whole lot of people seem to say that anyone would do what the Rumpiturans did in their situation.

That's the main thing I can think of, so.. sorry to shoot down your hope. It's kind of surprising to me too. I didn't think that the other people here with us were all so cowardly.

If they're so eager to tell on themselves, then they cannot complain when we keep a close eye on them from this point forward. The beast is still out there. If they see fit to sacrifice us, or others, to it, we have ample evidence on our hands.

I wonder if it is less that they'd really do such a thing, and more radical empathy. People think that being understanding makes them good. And it does, to a certain extent. But in circumstances like these? It just makes you weak. There is no way to forge a path forward if you try to understand everyone, no matter how unpalatable their deeds.

[ He doesn't say it outright -- but with Ange, he sees fit to make a list. ]

I wonder if you can really call it radical empathy when they're practically dismissing the feelings of the people who got kidnapped.

[ It's not her real point here though. Not the important one, anyway.

No, it's just a cover - to cover up the private part she sends next, which she makes sure is private. ]

Are you really noting who is arguing for that?

[ She doesn't know exactly how literal his words are, after all. But.. she's curious enough to ask, especially with the relative level of trust she has in Claude. ]

Not physically. I've got a good memory.

But am I paying attention to precisely who's arguing for that sort of thing? Yes, I am. It's not a complete damning thing for them to say, as far as I'm concerned, but it's worth bearing in mind.

You are too, aren't you? You don't strike me as the kind of girl to just forget about that sort of thing.

Wait, are you telling a girl that she looks like she carries grudges? That's so rude.

[ She is not serious about that in the slightest. Maybe a little bit harder to tell across text, lacking tone, but considering Ange's personality.. It's probably pretty obvious she's being deadpan here.

Especially since Claude is actually spot on. Grudge may as well be Ange's middle name. ]

I am just trying to see which of these people will be useless to us in the long run. It's good to know who you can't or can count on.

Oh, absolutely. I have to be careful about what I say around you. I don't doubt that if I say something particularly stupid, you'll remind me of it at the most inopportune moment.

I think that's a wise choice. And pretty much along the lines that I'm thinking of too. You need to know about people's values before you throw your lot in with them. And if it does come down to punishment, I'd like to know the people who will try to stand in its way.

This sort of saved correspondence isn't very common where I'm from. I wonder if people think about the fact that what they've said is preserved forever, accessible by all.

[ Dang, Claude. Reading her for filth here!! ]

They absolutely don't think about it. Not even for a moment.

[ This isn't even coming from any experience at all with the internet, or just any place that has comments that will be publically saved.. After all, computers only just started becoming a widespread thing in Ange's time back home, and considering her own particular situation, she didn't have anything like that. She has no idea what the internet is like.

And yet she already understands its core anyway, because humans are at its core. And humans - in Ange's eyes - are always the same. ]

People care too much to have their crap heard to really think about its eventual consequences. If there's anything I've learned about people, it's that fact.

How'd you get so smart, anyway? I know what my whole deal is. I'm a politician. This is what I was born to do.

So, what stops you from just shooting off at the mouth like everyone else? Just natural aptitude, or a life spent suffering fools ungladly?

Do you need a reason to be smart nowadays? I'd figure those people might instead need to provide a reason as to why they're so dumb.

[ .. apparently Ange couldn't resist the opening for that one, though it's not like she's going to completely deprive Claude of a more serious answer. A moment later this arrives: ]

I guess I'm just used to having my words scrutinized wherever I go. Even if that isn't true in this place, since no one knows who I am, it's just habit by now.

Of course you need a reason! Being smart isn't the default, you know.

[ Claude, are you saying most people are stupid? Don't read too much into that one. ]

That makes sense. Is it because you're from a noble family? I seem to recall something like that.

Not noble, technically.

But if I'm reading the cultural difference between our worlds right, it's probably the easiest comparison.

[ Her family had been incredibly in decline way before Ange was ever even born, after all.. If it wasn't for the fact her grandfather produced all that gold out of nowhere, they definitely wouldn't have the sort of status they do now. So it's more new money than an important old name.. ]

And when you're one of the two survivors of a mysterious incident that killed the entire rest of the family, people tend to talk about you. Watch you everywhere. It's that sort of thing.

[ Well, shit. That wasn't what he was expecting her to say at all. ]

Hell, Ange. I didn't realize it was anything like that. I'm sorry. For the scrutiny, and for the loss. I can imagine how many eyes are on you.

[ That explains the smarts more than anything else. She's had to be independent from a young age. ]

You must have had to fend more or less for yourself.

Well, it's not like I was out on the streets. [ She wouldn't want him to get the idea that she had it worse than she actually had it.

.. even if reality was bad enough, but it's not like Ange was homeless and stealing food to get by as a kid. ]

My aunt also survived, and she inherited the entire family fortune because of it. She was forced to take me in, so she had to at least keep up the appearance of feeding me and letting me wear expensive clothes and making sure I didn't die, but that was about all she did. She otherwise just went off on me all the time. I guess I was just my family's property, you know? Like the way you'd treat cattle you own.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter here. It's just that it's kind of nice to be somewhere I can introduce myself and not have people immediately have ideas about me because of my last name.

I didn't think you were. That would be bad for appearances. I know a thing or two about how wealthy families work.

[ What she describes is familiar, even if it makes Claude uneasy. He's in the fortunate position of the favourite child, even if he is the least favourite brother (and nephew, and cousin, and stepson...), and knows that he'll never want for anything. But he's seen how families treat their children when there's a favoured son, or perhaps when the child had done something to earn their ire, whether that was through their birth or through their disobedience.

Ange doesn't deserve that. He doesn't think any of them did. ]

It's a different kind of cruelty. Still, I'm sorry that you had to go through all that. In many ways, being left on your own would have been a lesser evil. You'd have to get pretty good at assessing your situation just to get through to the other side. I'm glad you can have a taste of ordinary life here too. For a given value of ordinary.

And for what it's worth, judging you on your own merits and not the merits of your title, I happen to think you're pretty great.

[ .. P.. Pretty great?

It's one thing to read the rest of what he says. It's easier to read it when she places it within the context of her realisation that he must know what she's talking about, to some extent. There are definitely people who would never be able to relate even slightly to her past and position, after all.

But that last part? Pretty great? That's 100% where Ange's brain gets utterly stuck. ]

Are you trying to flatter me since you feel bad for me?

[ Is that it? Surely no one would have any other reason to call her pretty great. ]

Don't be ridiculous. Everyone here has a story that would make people feel bad for them. Nobody's had it easy.

But you don't see me going around complimenting them. If anything, I think we've been doing the precise opposite.

[ Dammit.

Why does Claude have to have a point there? For once Ange wishes someone made a little bit less logical sense, especially when it comes to this specific topic. Now she can't even escape the compliment anymore, and Ange has no idea whatsoever how to deal with that. ]

You're such a big weirdo, Claude.

[ ONLY FALLING BACK ON JUST.. THE MOST MATURE WAYS OF DEALING WITH THIS...

She's not flustered, you are!! You are!! ]

I pay you a compliment, and you call me weird? There's no justice in this world!

[ Awww. She's embarrassed. ]

Lucky for you, my ego is big enough to soak up such blows.

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003 | text (dated post-event)

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going private halfway through!

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cw: mention of family death

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cw: child abuse

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