gocirclegogo | (no subject)

It's disgusting, isn't it? It'e even worse when you realize it's an exact replica of my bedroom back home.

It was waiting for me like this when I finally relented and moved in with a terrible person I call my brother. He's a pretty disturbing individual. I bet you two would get along really well.

You'd be surprised. Sometimes terrible people hate other terrible people. It might be hypocritical but who isn't a hypocrite?

Of course, having said that, I haven't met this person you call a brother.

[Yep, catching the wording and repeating it back just so he knows.]

I'm sure you'll meet him eventually if you keep visiting Mikado the way you are now.

[Kida catches that but doesn't comment]

[Scratching her cheek lightly in thought.]

...An observer type, right? That's why he did this. To see your reaction. How passive of an observer, though? This sort of set-up alone says he isn't but it could be a whim.

I don't know. I try not to think about him if I don't have to. [sighs and rolls over to flop on Erika] Do you want me to introduce you to him?

No thank you. If I meet him, then I do. If he's that type, it probably wouldn't be good for me to be around him anyway. [And then pouting.] If you're going to lay on me, keep giving me attention. I'm a very needy stray.

I'm afraid that's my line. [continues flopping]

That isn't very gentleman-like.

[But oh well. Erika sighs.] Are you going to try to stop me from seeing Mikado?

I'm not a gentleman. I'm an annoying brat.

[resting his head on her shoulder] Not yet, I don't think. If I warned him about you too much he'd probably fly straight into your arms. He has a dangerous sense of curiosity.

Edited 2011-11-18 04:19 (UTC)

[She doesn't actually mind. She shifts a little to rest her head closer to his but the whole cat thing, it's hard to take it as meaning anything.]

Someone would have to be especially dense to miss that. Having an inquisitive nature and a natural curiosity is a good thing but... if he could avoid becoming completely consumed by it, that would be nice.

You like him a lot, huh?

[She thinks about it for a moment. Ugh, she needs to practice this honesty thing, so...]

...Everyone has nightmares here, so I shouldn't need to explain in depth what they do to someone as unstable as I am. I killed a cat after I woke up one evening. I must have sounded ridiculous. ...If you want the truth, I was crying and yelling at it. But it was obvious I had done it. It was raining and all that fool did was hold an umbrella over me and worry about how wet I was getting. Even after I pointed out several times I had just viciously killed that cat, he worried about me.

[Another sigh.] That sort of kindness is the worst. Of course I like him. And like you, though with more irony, I'm going to worry about what sorts he gives that kindness to.

Would you remove yourself from his life for his own good?

[it's not malicious or accusatory, just curious]

That type of action isn't as simple as it sounds. At least as we are, he has a fair level of caring for me. Removing myself might cause him to react badly. It can be difficult to predict. If removing myself caused him to do something stupid, then in the end it's more harmful than if I had stayed.

[A beat.] Of course, I wouldn't want to but as far as the objective view goes, it would depend. If I hurt him, I have no problem breaking off contact but that type of person rarely take it personally when you hurt them and insist on staying with you.

He's stupidly loyal like that. I wonder if it's up to the other person to remove themselves for him, since he's terrible at letting people go.

But if it isn't a mutual decision, then part of him will break. Think about a garden. When you first plant a flower seed, it's easy to remove. But once that flower has grown large and the roots deep, you have to yank and the ground is broken. It will heal in time but...what about until then? What becomes of the space left and what will fill it?

[She laughs in a soft, self-aware way.]

We all talk like this... But don't you think that's true? The deeper you care for someone, the more torn you'll be without them and who's to say what will form in that void?

We?

Oh, everyone from our world.

It must get hard to keep up with. It sounds like the kind of line you'd find in a visual novel or a manga.

We like stories. Stories are a way of communicating to another person. They're messages.

[She was going to let him slide but three strikes and you're out.]

Don't tear out part of Mikado's heart without his permission. It's obvious you already have. Fix it or don't. But if you're surprised later by what the void becomes, then you missed the message in your own story.

The only problem is you're not the type of person I really like communicating with at all. I'll be warm and energetic and engaging because Mikado likes you, and I won't say anything bad about you in front of him. Just don't confuse that with me actually liking you.

[it's all said cheerfully and brightly.]

It's annoying how horrible people sometimes have a point though. Every time I learn a life lesson from a terrible person, it always feels hollow. What kind of person needs to get advice on how to be a good guy from a villain?

Don't worry. I'd be more confused if you liked me.

[But she shakes her head at that. Leave it to an Umineko meta character to feel the need to talk about this.]

Actually, it's a very common narrative device for the hero to learn an important lesson from the villain. It's because it feels hollow and like a slap in the face that it becomes meaningful. Of course, there are different common paths from that point. One is that the intention of the author was to parallel the similarities between the hero and the villain. You know, the whole "we're not so different" angle. From there, the hero sometimes turns into an antihero or has to take a journey of self-discovery to become worthy of being a hero again.

Another is that the hero has already become an antihero or even villain by that point. This is usually considered a wake-up call moment where the hero realises he is worse than the villain in some way. That leads to sub-path two from the previous example.

Sometimes it's actually to garner sympathy for the villain. The reader realises the villain may be cruel and terrible but that there's a person under there. Naturally, the hero realises this as well. Then conflict of morals and emotions can be had as the hero debates what their quest really means and what their goal against the villain will actually do.

One last example is that hero blindly refuses the villain's advice and ends up causing some sort of tragedy because of it. This is usually used to humanise the villain and also provide a moment of reflection for the hero. Often times this specific device is used when the hero has a habit of repeating rash actions and mistakes.

Do you understand? That is to say, even if I'm the villain and you're the hero, it neither makes you bad for listening to me nor makes me good for giving you useful advice.

So whichever way it goes, if I don't take your advice I'm doomed.

Oh, not necessarily. Those were just examples when the villain is right. I don't think it's arrogant of me to say that I am, however, right in this case. My only ulterior motive is the same as the surface motive, meaning his happiness.

If it's difficult for you, just think of it like a story, got it? The villain is cautioning the hero and the hero has to decide what to do with that.

That's assuming I'm a hero-type in the first place. I could just be another villain in Mikado's path, or a side character that gets sent away on a bus eventually only to be replaced by the hero Mikado was looking for in the first place.

(no subject)

intellectualrapist - 2011-11-19 00:04 (UTC) - Expand