NIETZSCHE; DEAD PHILOSOPHERS' INBOX

[explosivecombat]

[TEXT; LOCKED TO doitrockapella]

The offer for conversation is always open, should you desire to take me up on it; I can't guarantee that I'll respond immediately, nor will it necessarily be the response you want, but I'll always respond in some way.

In the name of enlightened discourse.

Comments

[doitrockapella]

I could say that, but it wouldn't tell me anything of relevance.

If you weren't ordered into this mood, something had to have set it off, and I doubt it's a vendetta against the prehistoric Pokemon about.

[explosivecombat]

No, but their presence was highly convenient for me. It gives me something to focus my energy on; I suppose it's been pent-up for a while.

[doitrockapella]

Don't tell me, then.

If I entertain you with stories of my victories and battles, will you at least stop for the duration?

[explosivecombat]

Yes.

I'll even tell you stories of my own, if you like - not involving the battlefield, but on any topic you want. I think you've heard enough about war from me for the time being, anyway.

[doitrockapella]

That's fine with me.

Where you're from, do you have the story of Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf?

[explosivecombat]

...We do, actually. I don't know if the details are the same, but we do have the story.

[doitrockapella]

A girl goes walking in the woods and meets a wolf; it comes back to bite her in the end, literally and figuratively.

I was told once to be afraid of the woods. That's what my nightmares were about tonight.

[explosivecombat]

Have you already met the wolf, or are you concerned about what will happen once you do?

[doitrockapella]

Both.

If I didn't know better, it might make me wonder if I'm just most at home in the company of wolves.

[explosivecombat]

Either that or you can't resist the draw of the forest.

[doitrockapella]

Sometimes going walking there is the only way of getting anywhere.

And sometimes stopping to talk with a wolf keeps him occupied enough that he's not out eating someone else.

[explosivecombat]

Did I really scare you that badly tonight?

[doitrockapella]

No. But you weren't pleasant to wake up to, either.

[explosivecombat]

That happens, from time to time; my superior officer still isn't used to it, and he's been working with me for quite some time now.

[doitrockapella]

You told me once not to be afraid of you. What you can do, yes, but not of you. Most wolves aren't nearly so considerate.

And most psychopaths aren't nearly so adamant about staying true to their promises.

[explosivecombat]

Breaking one's word without valid reason to do so isn't something I believe in.

[doitrockapella]

What would constitute a valid reason? A direct order?

[explosivecombat]

That depends on the circumstances, and it's not anything you'd have to worry about, besides.

After all, it's difficult for my superior officer to order me to not warn you about something if he doesn't even know you exist, and it's likewise difficult for him to order me to not warn anybody because as far as he knows, that isn't something I'd do in the first place.

[doitrockapella]

You can't fault me for seeking reassurances. Not on a night like tonight.

[explosivecombat]

I don't recall saying that I faulted you for it.

[As far as he's concerned, she needed reassurances and he's giving them. Take the favor; he doesn't do this for everyone.]

[doitrockapella]

[And there he goes again, eliciting that utterly creepy juxtaposition of friendly consideration amidst the underlying horror of what she's imagining.

Sometimes, her wild imagination is a good thing. Other times, it's an enemy as bad as any of her tangible ones.]

Will you humor me for one more, then?

[explosivecombat]

I don't see why not.

[doitrockapella]

[If there's a pause here, it's only because she's paying very careful attention to how she phrases this.]

What would you feel if you were ordered to kill me?

[explosivecombat]

I would never be ordered to kill you.

The arrangement between my superior officer and I exists because we have common worldviews, and because we have common goals; we've got our sights trained in the same direction, so it makes very little sense for us to not ally with one another. The instant he tries to use that arrangement to force me to do things that I would only do against my will, then the arrangement is over. In the best case scenario, I would cut ties with him; in the worst, I'd kill him. So even if my superior officer knew about you, he wouldn't issue that sort of order simply because he knows that even in the best case scenario, I would never forgive him for it.

He knows better than to order me to kill those that are important to me.

[doitrockapella]

Important to you?