explosivecombat | 020. [Text/Action for Vermilion City, and one other thing.]

020. [Text/Action for Vermilion City, and one other thing.]

[TEXT]

This seems to be a time of loss for many; while there are several who have joined us in Johto, there are several others who have left us. Some may have come as a shock; from what I understand, many had been here for years.

My advice to you now is to mourn, but not stagnate; acknowledge the loss without allowing it to define you or your actions. If this is the first time this has happened to you, take this experience and know that while it may be repeated, it is bearable. If you've lost many during your stay here, know that you will continue to survive, as you have in the past. Draw your strength from previous experiences.

This world won't stop for you, nor will it stop for those who are gone from it. Move forward, but don't forget. Never forget; the most insulting thing you can do with the memory of those you care about is to ignore or defy it.

And yet moving on is essential. Those you have lost can no longer have an impact on this world, nor will they be able to until the day that they return. The best thing you can do to remember them is continue to affect the world in their stead.

[ACTION]

[Kimblee can generally be found at the docks today; he seems to have given up on training for the time being, despite the fact that he's kind of in a tournament-deciding match tomorrow. He seems calm enough for the time being, though there are some signs of tension if you know him well enough; he's shivering once in a while, despite the weather not being nearly cold enough to warrant that, and his gaze is strange and unfocused - he's looking at the water but not seeming to see anything in front of him.

There's also a Pokéball he pulls out once in a while, for the sake of toying with it; he has no idea why he received this particular one, but it's been weirding him out. It's something he's wanted for a while, species-wise - the ball contains a high-leveled Magmar - though he has to admit the source surprised him; it seems his original assessment of this "Minnie" woman was entirely accurate, and she really was too giving for her own good.

However, for the time being he's content to not dwell on it; he'll just be relaxing(?) by the ocean today, trying to keep himself calm in preparation for tomorrow.]

[PRIVATE TEXT TO RYUUNOSUKE URYUU]

I trust you're prepared for tomorrow?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I believe I asked you something similar, a while back; interesting how these things come back around.

Although I'm going to ask you to clarify, before I answer for you - what aspect of it are you wondering if I've experienced? Loss in general? Periods of mourning? Having someone I was close to taken from this world? There are many aspects of it to touch on, you know.

Having someone you were close to taken from this world. The others are a little too open to interpretation for this particular line of inquiry.

In a manner of speaking.

One man that left a few months ago was my rival of sorts; we never agreed on fundamental issues and have had problems with one another for years, but he provided a challenge for me, intellectually. We had just decided to put aside our differences long enough to solve some matters that were important to both of us when he was returned to our own world.

One was my rival's best friend; he knew me back in our world, and he was aware of everything that I've done there, good and bad. Despite this, he treated me with kindness and dignity, and he was the first person to attempt genuine friendship with me with no ulterior motives at all; I respected him very much, have done so for years - his leaving was more than a bit of a shock.

Another was the first person I trusted in Johto with sensitive information. Yet another was a young lady I was mentoring, who considered me a surrogate for her teacher back home. One was a young man I spent a good amount of time with, doing reasonably normal things; he was good company when it was needed. Someone else was the second person I met here, whom I didn't always agree with but just always seemed like a constant because he'd been here so long. There was another who didn't know me well at all, but she showed me large amounts of hospitality when I was a complete stranger to her, simply because she didn't want to see anything negative happen to me.

My best friend is still here. So is my significant other. So I haven't lost anyone that most would consider truly close to me. However, I've lost several that I was fond of, several that I trusted, and several that I just came in contact with every day and may never see again, and that's not exactly something that can be shrugged off easily.

[She has no way of proving any of the remarks he's made here, and she does take a moment to consider that it could all be a fabrication. Coming up with such an elaborate lie would be complicated, but not impossible, and Carmen of all people certainly knows that there's a difference between the two. Still...there's something that rings sincere about it, and that's. Hm. That's complicated in itself.

A best friend and a significant other. It's like committing the atrocities he does is a day job.

(And granted, that's not an entirely foreign concept to her, either, given her approach to thievery — but no, she's different, it's not analogous at all.)

In the end, she resorts to the simplest inquiry, since she's still processing the others.]

Your significant other?

Am I to assume you weren't expecting me to have one?

We've been seeing each other for a bit over seven months now.

I'm wondering if congratulations are in order.

Do you keep your extracurricular activities a secret?

Yes. I've kept many things from them, actually.

You should be careful. Secrets have a way of getting out.

I'm aware of that, and honestly, I would be more surprised if this individual didn't find out about this one day. They certainly aren't stupid, and I don't intend to treat them as if they are; I don't believe that I can lie to them forever.

What will you do, if they find out? Have you anticipated losing them?

It wouldn't be the first time they found out about something horrible that I've done; I betrayed their trust once before - a year or two ago, depending on whether you consider time spent here to count - and although my motives were quite different back then, the fact remains that this would be a second betrayal. I imagine they'll hate themselves for trusting me again; they'll want to hate me but ultimately will be unable to, because that's how they work. I say this not because I'm using it to my advantage - I have yet to do anything of the sort, and I have no intention of starting now - but because it's simply the way things are. Everything is very internalized with them.

Have I anticipated losing them? Of course I have. I would be greatly surprised if I didn't lose them, when all is said and done. But I'm not acting against them in any way, nor do I intend to directly stab them in the back; for the time being, the relationship is pleasing to both of us, and I plan on keeping it that way for as long as I can.

I presume it hasn't yet occurred to you to simply stop doing horrible things. Forgiveness tends to go easier when it comes in response to an honest attempt at change.

But if it's a relationship you're pursuing from a completely utilitarian perspective, then that might not be a concern of yours in the first place.

And why wouldn't it have occurred to me? It's a perfectly logical conclusion to come to; I'm not going to try to argue that there's no sense in it, because there rather undeniably is.

At the same time, these horrible things you're mentioning are part of a professional arrangement; I've never been one to allow my personal thoughts to interfere with my work. After all, I would hardly get anywhere that way, given what it is that I do.

[Oh, well. That...could potentially change things, hmm.]

Have you ever considered a career change?

I admit that I haven't, but whether I have and whether I'd ever be willing to are two separate things. It depends on what I'm being offered, but I don't double-cross my employers or abandon my job unless I'm presented with a very good reason.

And any future employer, if they were wise, would be wary of any employee willing to double-cross his present place of hire to facilitate a transfer to a new one. After all, once it was complete, they'd be the present employers — and who's to say history couldn't repeat itself?

Have you ever heard the fable of the scorpion and the turtle?

I've heard it, yes - an expression of the concept of innate nature, if I'm not mistaken?

The scorpion stings the turtle as they cross the river, and they both drown.

Don't mistake that for an analogy — I'm not making any suggestions about your nature. I'm only musing on the scorpion's perspective, and whether it might've considered stinging its work, too.

And yet I'm sure some scorpions have learned that the best way to solve the conflict between one's work and one's survival would be to wait until they've reached the other bank.

What if waiting can't resolve the conflict? Which one wins?

In my case? Survival.

Would that be an example of a very good reason, then?

Of course.

There are other things that I've considered "very good reasons" in the past, but the value I place on my own survival is quite high indeed; death in battle is one thing, but I'm not one to sacrifice myself for someone else's cause.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

020. [Text/Action for Vermilion City, and one other thing.]

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