Some do not change so easily

[stupidhonor]

[1]
I said I need not protection. I saw sure I saw through the Nemeian Killer's weakness. I knew how to exploit it. And yet...

And yet sometimes that is not enough, is it?

[The broken form of Sielje's Knight's Arm being proof of that. Soon enough it will be whole, but for now its user looks very displeased with herself.]

[2]
What is a 'WMD' anyway?

[One quick browse for information later.]


... Oh.

I suppose we were very fortunate to have reacted so quickly then. Yes, fortunate indeed.

[She puts a hand on her stomach, suddenly feeling not too good.]

Comments

2

[majestic_keiki]

Yeah. And far too many of the people we've had to fight like using them.

[stupidhonor]

Is this the weapon of a sore loser? Incapable of winning in the field, but as a final act of defiance...

War on Earth is worse than I imagined.

[majestic_keiki]

Mostly it was used to try to scare your enemy into not attacking. But when more people have them, uses become more chaotic.

[stupidhonor]

This is what the machine said too. Those weapons are not meant to be used, they are there for deterrence.

But it looks like the men of VIPER had a different idea.

[majestic_keiki]

Lots of people have...

1

[empress_without_a_throne]

If it were... unfortunately a lot fewer people wouldn't bother fighting because they'd lose for sure.

Still, you did good out there. You and Jen really do make a good team.

[stupidhonor]

It is not just Jen I am trying to fight alongside. The Unity Group is there as a whole.

But still...

[empress_without_a_throne]

... You're not worried you don't fit in, are you?

[stupidhonor]

It is a matter more complicated than just that.

As an Ankaian, I fight to prove myself. For achievement and glory. But as a human, I stand alongside Unity Group and fight to protect all - not just one person I happen to know more than others. Everyone.

But as myself... I still look at my efforts and feel disappointed. Disappointed and... scared. Scared of how close I was to dying.

[totallyhonest]

The thing is, it's not enough to see enemy's weakness.

[stupidhonor]

No, it is not.

[totallyhonest]

Here, I'll show you what you're missing. You're good at hand-to-hand combat right? Care to have a spar with me?

[stupidhonor]

What are you saying?

[Sielje looks up and down Grace.]

Are you sure this is a good idea?

1

[a_monetized_mind]

You know, she would have killed me if you didn't take its arm like that.

[stupidhonor]

I managed to almost kill myself, instead.

I said I do not need protection, but I made you worried anyway. My apologies. That was embarassing.

[a_monetized_mind]

[Jen doesn't say anything, though her face speaks volumes.]

[stupidhonor]

Ah.

I am doing this again, am I not? I am sorry Jen, it is just that...

We were so close to our mutual demise.

2

[dolorous_sensei]

Are you sure you're thinking about WMD? You might be actually thinking about WebMD

[stupidhonor]

Web... MD?

What is it, to be even worse?

[dolorous_sensei]

Hmm... I'm not sure about it being worse, but...

Let me tell you the legend of the village of grisenwald.

A long time ago, there was a village who was tormented by werewolves. Werewolves are terrifying creatures who turn into monstrous form at night and eat the unsuspecting villagers, while turning back into human form at day. The villagers are gripped in paranoia, because they don't know who amongst them are werewolves, while since the werewolves are in a pack, they know who each others are.

In paranoia, the villagers turned into the only recourse they can think. Lynching. The werewolves are defenseless in their human form at day, and the werewolves can't risk to help each others at day, so every day, the villagers gather in a mob and point at each others who to lynch that day, hoping that they can kill all the werewolves and end their terror, while the werewolves try to subtly influence the villagers to kill the innocents, since they just want to kill and eat everyone in the village.

But, the villagers might have a saviour. They know that one of them is actually gifted by supernatural power. That person is an oracle, every day they can scry a single person and deduce whether that person is a werewolf or an oracle. Nobody knows the oracle's identity, and the oracle obviously don't want to disclose their identity, because that will make them obvious target for the werewolves.

Now, the thing that relate to the topic is this. One of the villagers, is a fool who thought they're an oracle. The fool sincerely believe that they can scry a person's identity, but he actually can't. The fool just make random guesses.

You can imagine the problem this fool make, can't you?

That's what WebMD is. It's a site that turns people into a fool.

[stupidhonor]

To think that Earth has such things...

[Sielje listened to the story with attention. It sounds dreadful indeed.]

A place that turns people into fools? Is it real, even? We would do best to avoid it.

2

[lostamigo]

Welcome to Earth's nasty side.

Doesn't Ankaia have WMDs as well? We stopped one together, after all.

[stupidhonor]

No, not weapons. There are very powerful beasts... and sometimes, men that control them.

But in the end they are only one and can only bring ruin to less lives in more time. It is enough to destroy a whole village, but...

[lostamigo]

A whole planet, in some cases. But I see the difference, yeah.

Why'd you have to look up what WMDs are anyway? I thought you have a universal translator.

[stupidhonor]

The reason for it...

To know a word is one thing, but the meaning behind it is another.