Rapt0r & Lacus

[killerwaves]

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[rapt0r]

[ The pick-up is instantaneous, for obvious reasons. The voice that comes through is a bit clearer than it was from the not!kitty bot, but the quality still isn't fantastic. ]

I don't really care either way. But no one has time to type out anything other than quick commands during raids.

But first, why do you want to know?

[idologue]

[ Is he playing a raid right now...? Given the topic of the conversation, she doesn't dwell on the question. She barely knows what a raid is in the first place... ]

I want to understand your perspective. Even if I am going to wind up disagreeing with you, it's pointless to dismiss someone based on a simplification.

The world isn't that conveniently sorted into categories.

[rapt0r]

Where I come from is, or at least it tries to be. That's part of why I want it gone.

[idologue]

[ There's a brief moment of silence on Lacus' end of the line as she takes that in. ]

I knew a man who hated the world for having given birth to him. He saw his own existence as proof that mankind was destined for endless violence, and he was going to prove it with his own hands by escalating conflict and killing all.

Is that the kind of end you also wish for? A void with nothing left?

[rapt0r]

I'd say we'd get along, but I've gone through enough "partners" that I know it usually requires one of us beating the other one.

[ A pause, perhaps a bit languid. ]

I wouldn't mind that, but that's not really what I'm going for either. The destruction itself is what's fun. [ Even with the garbled quality, this inflection is clear. ]

And I want to leave whatever my allies want to keep too.

[idologue]

[ Hedonism over nihilism, then... Lacus can't say she thinks that's better but it's an important piece for being able to understand the person on the other end of the line. ]

What's Ho-Oh, then? A partner or an ally?

[rapt0r]

You really couldn't tell?

[idologue]

Wouldn't it be rude to make assumptions?

[rapt0r]

So?

[ Being rude is fine! ]

He's a partner. The kind who wants to call all the shots.

[idologue]

[ She's an image-conscious young lady!! ...... who also likes to hear things straight from the horse's mouth, which was the bigger issue. ]

He does have a very over-serious personality, doesn't he?

[ The jury is very very much out on whom of them she likes better, but this much agreement is easy to give from the heart. ]

Does he also like to put people into neat categories?

[rapt0r]

That's a nice way to say he has a stick up his ass.

[ With a few exceptions, Rapt0r's words don't carry much weight. And though this isn't nearly as heavy as the weight of the word fun, there's just a glimmer of sharpness about it. Or maybe it's just the sound quality fritzing now and again. ]

He does. His categories are different from society though, at least the above ground kind. And anyone who actually lives in this era.

[idologue]

Well, that just reminds me... what is this era? I've come to understand we're all from very different places, so I can't even begin to guess what standards he is or isn't fitting.

[ Haro, from the background: ] Oh my!

Is space travel a possibility for you? Or him, for that matter?

[rapt0r]

I think there was a moon race a while back? No one really talks 'bout space anymore. Some people can probably go, but it's not a big deal.

[idologue]

[ Moon race...? Just how far back is this...?? ]

My, it looks as though my home is quite ahead of yours there! I live in a space colony, as it happens. It's quite normal to me.

Is Ho-Oh's time even earlier than yours, then?

[rapt0r]

[ Space colony... ]

He might as well be. He's the kinda guy who's living in the past no matter what he says.

[idologue]

That must be rather exhausting.

[ For Rapt0r, but also for Ho-Oh himself. ]

[rapt0r]

Yeah.

[ There's kinda of a shrug in this. ]

I was like that before, but it's different now. Not in the same way he was, cuz he's stuck in the stone age cuz he wants to be. In his glory days or whatever.

But with me I was stuck on the same level cuz I never cleared one of the first ones.

[idologue]

Moving forward is a difficult thing... Every step you take is a step you might find yourself tempted to reget at a later point. Unless you're resolved to accept the consequences, it's often more comfortable to stay right where you are.

But dwelling on the past can easily hurt both oneself and others.

I like your way of thinking about it. Clearing a level is not something one wants to take back, right? Wherever the path leads, a higher level is a good thing to reach.

[rapt0r]

Sometimes you can't either. First clear rewards and all that. There's no point in repeating something if it doesn't get you anywhere.

[ ... ]

You know—usually the people I gotta talk to about this don't like terms like that. Or they don't really get it so it's gotta be said all grand like.

[idologue]

Well, I can't say I know a lot about video games... I've watched my friends play sometimes, but I'm more of an outdoorsy girl.

But I get the basics! And if it's the words closest to how you really think, then why would I ask you to change them?

[rapt0r]

Presentation?

[ It's half a question. ]

Just look at Ho-oh and his stupid palm tree. He could've just used a bot too.

[idologue]

I'm a very formal person because I'm a public figure.

Speech like yours is a nice change of pace.

[rapt0r]

I think I'm pretty famous now too. But I'm gonna do what I want, my influence speaks for itself.

And suits suck anyway.

[idologue]

Some positions make that easier than others.

[ If she sounds vaguely resentful... that's probably just your imagination. ]

[rapt0r]

What do you do again?

[ He could check the profiles but eh. ]