golisolation | 💀 MoM IC INBOX 💀

[how can he be so sure? if his world was so different, so less broad... Lucina's brow knits as she presses her lips into a thin line once more, her eyes flickering over toward the sound of Mightyena and Crobat's strange, interspecies chatter.]

...I don't know, Guzma. [she says at length, looking back.] I only know that...I wouldn't be myself if I gave up trying. I don't want to give up on anyone, or...any chance there can be greater peace for everyone here. Even the smallest chance counts for more than nothing, I think.

[it can be too idealistic, too fanciful...but it's very much ingrained in her. she is her father's daughter, after all, and common sense never stopped him from pursuing what he believed in, either.

she pauses for a beat before offering the basket to him.]

Here. They're all for you and your friends. I think you'll know better where to plant the extras, so they'll have plenty more to follow.

[It's far less that he is sure, and far more that he can't afford putting that sort of trust in people anymore. To compromise, is to allow anyone else some form of power. It's to pretend to be equal, when he knows no one truly wants that. They'll say it, they'll pretend it, for the sake of biding time, but anyone who has power is not going to give it up without a fight. No one wants to be taken down from their lofty position of superiority, and they certainly don't want to raise anyone else up to join them.

He watches her as she says her piece, unsure what to make of it. Unsure what to make of her, honestly. Towards the end, he looks away for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before the gesture catches his attention. He stares at the basket, then to her, before taking it. Again his eyes fall to it, looking over the contents—there's certainly a good amount, she didn't stiff him at all.]

...They'll appreciate it, bunch of bleedin' hearts, tch...

[He does too, but he won't say that. Even if Golisopod is giving him a knowing look. Guzma ignores it. It almost seems like he's going to drop the previous topic entirely, but then he levels a conflicted sort of stare at her.]

Tell me. [There's an uncomfortable pause, as if he's really considering his next words carefully.] You want peace for everyone, or so you're frontin'—but how honest is that, huh?

What about those who're like me, do we truly fit in with your "greater peace"? The ones who don't quite play by your rules? Do you actually want peace for us, or are you assuming we all have the same idea of "peace"? Are we just another problem to fix, just more people to beat into submission so the rest of y'all can chill, never givin' another fuck about us loud and angry assholes ruinin' your perfect paradise?

[she shakes her head at that last bit.] There is no perfect paradise, Guzma. Only the effort to find better. [an endless climb. it's sometimes so impossibly far as to be disheartening and too heavy to hold, but at other times the greatest source of inspiration there is... and never either of those things forever.

Guzma definitely could've let her fall to her death that time. or not bothered to cooperate with her and the rest of Aegis at the OTO base -- instead wreaking havoc to suit his own selfish pleasures. that, in some ways, is compromise of choice. more is possible. there has to be, because that's what life lived among others demands.

she turns partly away from him, stepping more toward the cluster of Pokemon, but keeps her talk directed his way.]

I remember my father telling me once...that all people, no matter where they're from or what they become, want happiness. The shapes that happiness take are what make all the difference between cohesion or conflict. Sometimes I forget that...but it is true, isn't it? So I can't take things so lightly.

[at that, she does turn away from him, holding her hand out for Mightyena to pad over and smush his nose against.]

But if someone's happiness comes at the cost of lives...it can't be that way. So I'll put my happiness aside to make sure others will be safe to find theirs. And if that means being one of those people stood up front to take the brunt of people's anger against it...so be it.

[He gives her a flat look at the start of her response. He's well aware of there not being a perfect paradise, and how that's a fantastical pipe dream. Doesn't change the fact people think they can achieve it, that they'll ignore and shun any that mar the shallow surface of that deluded fantasy. That any who aren't able to fit into their role, who can't pretend that everything is right and perfect, are cast aside and forgotten.

Living proof of a society's mistakes, yet it isn't the society, nor the people who perpetuate such an absurdity that pays the price. No, it's people like Guzma, people like Team Skull who bear their scorn. Who suffer, and continue to suffer, as they're ignored and treated like strangers in their own home.

As she begins to talk about her father, Guzma's eyes fall back to the berries. He attempts to make it look casual, more like he's not interested in what she's saying, than the fact hearing her mention her father made him think about his for even a second. The thought pressed far from his mind not too long after, and he's glad that her attention seems to be on the Pokémon and not him for that momentary discomfort.

His eyes flick back to her when she mentions sacrificing her own happiness for others, a scowl appearing on his face. Even if Mightyena is being way cute as he does indeed smush his nose against her hand, it's not enough to distract Guzma from his irritation.]

I've never got that, yo.

What's the point of givin' up your own happiness so others can be happy, huh? What about you—why is your happiness less valuable than the rest? Ain't you deserving of it?

Or...is this some self-important high-and-mighty way of thinking? Like you're righteous and better 'cos you're doing some grand display of being a martyr, and you're gracious enough to allow people their happiness?

[Guzma shakes his head, shrugging with annoyance.]

Your old man ain't wrong—happiness comes in all different forms and shapes, and sometimes your happiness don't fit, and it never will. Or maybe it ain't the happiness that's a poor fit, but you. Hate to break it to you, princess, but some people are meant to be miserable and spiteful their whole lives, 'cos what they need ain't ever gonna get met. So, the best they can do is fight for it, take what they can, and crush any who stands in their way—and even after all that, who's to say they're even gonna get it—but you gotta do what you gotta do to survive, right?

[Happiness, being a trial captain, belonging in a society that you so loved at one point... to Guzma, those things were one in the same, and all were certainly denied to him because he wasn't a good fit. He was too angry. He was too damaged, and the damage wasn't even his fault, but it's the ball and chain the keeps him down and holds him back.

Again, and again, and again...]

So, it must be nice, huh? To actually have the choice to give that up. Sure wonder what that's like, tch...

[He might be getting a little riled at this point, and it's far less because of anything Lucina's done. Well, the topic has kind of kicked up some thoughts, and some bad memories. His mind wanders to Kukui, his face scrunches with annoyance and distaste, before he looks away. From not only Lucina, but the Pokémon as well, his gaze settling on nothing of note. Childishly, he just doesn't even wanna look at her right now, or his temper might get the better of him.]

Are you saying you have none?

[she looks over her shoulder, frowning deeply, looking at him as if he were some kind of cubist painting. all his accusations of superiority rankle in a familiar way, but they're not the focus she wants -- not when he talks so much more about being condemned to misery.]

Even here. In this world? You have no choice at all?

[or is he mired in resentments from his own world? miseries dragged like weighted chains...to even suggest she'd relate at all would doubtless have him throw a fit, so she won't even bother. this isn't about her.]

[Her question does catch him, and he glances at her for a second, before shrugging his shoulders indignantly.]

What choice do I have, huh?

[Turning to face her more fully, he gestures with the hand that isn't holding the basket.]

Lay down and expose my belly? Trust y'all won't gut me should the mood strike—hope that I won't be stepped on, crushed, and forgotten? That, maybe, this time I'll be worth something in anyone's eyes?

Tch... ain't no one got time to be that blindly optimistic, not when life is as wack as it is. I've seen how ugly shit can be, and ain't nothing or nobody gonna make me forget life's true face.

What are you saying?

[now she looks at him like he's a cubist painting that's contracted chicken pox. turning back toward him, even with a hand still lingering on Mightyena, her brow knits as she tries to follow this very...fatalistic view.]

Guzma, you...in this place, you have...more than so many have right at the get-go. Work, if you choose to take it. Money, if you choose to accept it. A place to live, if you choose to stay there. And so many people to offer help! If you choose to ask...

[there's a bit more fire in her tone, just out of sheer passion to convey the value she sees in her points. it's like trying to communicate in a broken language, almost.]

This place is almost nothing but choice and chance. This whole world, it--it's still alive! It... [her eyes wince a little.] It still has a future. And with so many people, so many places...so much can be done or undone, just on how people assert themselves. Or don't...

[it's a 180 from what she had been pulled from, where even a goddess herself looked down at Lucina and just shook her head and told her there was nothing left to save.]

[In return, Guzma just glowers at her, like what she's saying is some absurd notion—bait to a trap that he can't allow himself to take. Even if he can't see the wire, can't see any evidence of the trap he thinks the bait is attached to. He's been hurt too many times, that he'll sooner imagine danger when there is none, than to assume there's none when there is.]

And you just trust it all? Just like that?

[With the raise of both their voices, now all the Pokémon are looking at them, some expressions more worried than anything, while Scizor's is still stoic and unmoved—staring Lucina down now.]

You honestly think there ain't a catch? There ain't nothing sketch about this whole thing? Being brought here unexpectedly, handed all these consolations to appease us—so we'll be complacent? So we'll be content, not ask questions, and play along with whatever they want? Tch!

[He lets out an annoyed grunt, snarling a bit as he continues to glare at her.]

Maybe I ain't got room to talk, but god you're fuckin' stupid if you believe this ain't nothing but a gesture of good will. They really pulled the wool over your eyes, huh?!

Y'all the fucking same, can't see past the fronting, all y'all care about is what's at the surface, nothing deeper.

That isn't true. Whether you want to believe it or not, it isn't. [she tempers herself, pausing for a moment just to press her lips into a line to steady.]

None of this is a game. The history behind this...it's more than what one can study and dissect in a sitting. But it doesn't change the fact that we're all here. We can still choose to move forward, because everything is whether we want it to or not. For all the hurt and friction it can cause, it...it only seems fair to try and seek some peace!

[she huffs out a breath, dipping her head for a moment and just combing at her bangs for lack of productive things she can do with her hands in a situation like this. the fall to her sides in the end anyway as she shoots him a strained look.]

A lot of those appeals...they're made out of fear. Yes. For what horrible things have happened here? The irreparable damages, disasters... [she hesitates.] Yes. It's a compromise. A bargain to find some means to appease unknown threats. And I don't wholly blame them being in place as they are. Maybe you do, but...no one is forcing you to bend. You choose. Everyone here does.

Whatever comes of it all...it's not a foregone conclusion. It's not. There'd be no point to doing anything one way or the other if it was.

Who said anything about this being a game? The history don't matter, it's fucked up, and we're stuck in this mess. The rules are the same as they are everywhere else: conform or die.

[He puts his free hand on his hip, as he leans forward with a sneer.]

They offer dough, they offer a crib, they offer all sorts of crap, so long as you do what they want, what they demand. So long as you follow their rules. You don't get that unless you agree to be a slave to their system. What kinda choice is that? How is any of that a compromise when we ain't never asked to even come here, huh?!

A place of choice and chance... Really? Do or die—ain't what I'd call choice and chance, yo.

Edited 2019-09-07 02:08 (UTC)

Is that really all you see to it? Really? [she looks pained.]

Guzma, there's more nuance to this than that! If there wasn't, then you'd not be roaming as you please right now, right? If there wasn't, I'd never be given the choice to take arms with Aegis. There would be no imPort businesses. No hospital in De Chima. No ambassadors, no choice!

[she finds her hands have lifted in a strained gesture, fists clenching and unclenching for lack of real, tactile knots to grasp and pull at. she draws back again, another effort to keep her passion for this at bay despite a want to do more.]

I don't know what the world before here did to you. To others. So I know I'll never truly see with your eyes, but... [she hesitates, her expression wincing. she can't reason so easily on the fly, not with a dozen other impassioned thoughts buzzing through her head.

another huffed exhale. she shakes her head, shifting her weight to lean somewhat away as she looks past him.]

There's so much more to all of this. It doesn't have to be wholesale...thrown aside.

Is there—or have they got you so fooled you can't see through the shit?

[Her passion is certainly something, but it just emboldens his own. He's been tied up and held down by the constraints of society for too long to think this is anything different. At the end of the day, the men at the top stay there by lifting themselves on the backs of those unwilling to destabilize them. The ones who get heels dug into their faces, and give thanks and gratitude for it.

He tilts his head, that aggressive sneer still on his face as it twists with frustration.]

Aiight, you got Aegis—but you gonna tell me that Aegis is completely detached from the government here? That there ain't no one y'all answer to? Ain't no one keeping tabs on what y'all doing? You act completely freely, and ain't playing by nobody's rules but y'all's own?

[He shakes his head, his hand clenching the basket's handle getting so tight, it starts to break and snap.]

Don't get me twisted, though.

I ain't sayin' they're putting a gun to our heads and saying we gotta do it or be shot—nah, that shit gets too much attention. It's too obvious, that sorta shit gets an equal reaction. What they're doing? That shit is wicked insidious, it's sneaky and honestly pretty damn clever, I admit. You can't go tellin' me it ain't just as cruel to rip dudes from all over the place, bring 'em here, and then if they ain't agreeing to their terms, they kick 'em out to fend for themselves in some unknown world!

Hell—even their own ain't taken care of by 'em, and you expect me to just trust all this?

No.

[red-faced, plainly frustrated herself, she can't just deflate and give up. it's not her nature to leave something so half-done, even if it hurts.]

Aegis was designed to work in tandem with the government. That was Jacob's will from the onset. Not to be separate, above, or below. As even a ground as one can have, when everything is so unstable. It's not perfect. It can't be. But it's an effort to help level the field for everyone -- imPort and natural-born alike!

We try. We make headway. We...we fail. And then we get up and we try again. Because that's part of living and, and living together. The things that are bad? We don't want worse. So we try to help. And it's not easy, and it's not fair, but we'll do it so no one else has to suffer the same way.

No one asked for this situation, Guzma. Not that government, not the imPorts. And if they did? That was so long ago. And you don't care about the history, so what would it matter if they did?

[she stops, having to mindfully relax her shoulders, quiet her tone.]

It's worth trying. Believe otherwise if you want, but it's still worth trying. Otherwise, everyone languishes in bitterness, blind to the chance to find a better day.

[she hates how much she can hear Fortunato's despair in her thoughts, still seeded and knotted in her heart. this is not helping. she's not helping. she swallows, shakes her head, and turns away, starting away.]

Enjoy the berries.

[He could let her go, he could let that be the end of it, but he's too riled, too angry at her stubbornness. At how she seems willing to be blind to the truth of it all. He doesn't even like her! Because of her he had to watch his Pokémon disappear, he had to experience their non-existence for too many days, too many moments, and he shouldn't give a shit that she's just playing along, like a puppet that can't see its own strings.

Maybe this isn't about her so much as she just reminds him of all the faceless Alolans who blissfully followed the traditions, regardless of who they hurt to maintain some idea of peace and order. Even if they themselves weren't truly happy, they hide behind a mask so no one would suspect a thing. They did the motions, forced themselves to believe the talk, and continued to perpetuate the problem.

She, Darin, Aegis... all of them are feeding into this, and they wanna act like they're helping anything other than the government who have slapped the yoke around their necks.

Calling after her, it's fortunate that he's naturally a loud person:]

That's it, huh?!

Just gonna say all that, get your boy riled, and walk away—is that what you do? Shit gets too tough to hear and you run like a coward, tail tucked between ya legs!

[Now he grins, but there's no amusement in it. It's far more a jaded expression than anything else.]

Shit gets too real, and you check out. Good to know you're all talk!

[the right thing to do is just shut down conflict and let him be, yes? the Pokemon now have their snacks, the task she set out to do done. anything else, she's not keen or quick or eloquent enough to maneuver, because she's a fighter first and a diplomat well after second. yes.

yet her eyebrow twitches.]

What. Do you want? Guzma! [she has stopped in a stomp, shoulders drawn up, turning on her heel and shouting back before she can stop herself. gods dammit.] I have other things to do besides you telling me how stupid I am all day!

[Well, that's certainly a reaction. Seems he's gotten under her skin, and the way his eyebrows shoot up certainly display his surprise at just how much he's dug into her. Maybe some amusement does twist into his expression—after all, he loves reactions. He loves attention, and she's giving it to him, instead of just leaving like most others would.

Scizor approaches Guzma, and he glances to him for a moment, but the mantis offers to take that basket with its broken handle that's only been held together by how tightly he's been gripping it. He hands it off, knowing Scizor isn't like Pinsir, and won't eat the whole damn thing in one sitting, before he turns his attention fully back to Lucina, strolling up to her with an inappropriate level of casualness.]

Maybe for you to prove you ain't.

[He shrugs his shoulders, his hands are in his pockets, and if she remains where she stopped, he'll be in her personal space, looking down at her with that smug grin.]

You wanna sell me on this shit. About you trying and not giving up, but you sure haven't convinced me you ain't nothin' but a sore loser.

[there is a very strong want to pinch his nose, the way she would Owain's or Cynthia's when they were getting too rowdy off on their Justice Cabbal adventures as kids. it just means her fingers get curled into her dress while she scowls back up at him.]

More's my shame, then. I don't know what you need to be convinced of anything, and I didn't come here to guess.

[He sure seems to be courting that fist with his face, huh? He doesn't back down or back off, just looming over her, with that arrogant and oppressive presence of his—well, it's not only his presence. After all, he's pretty ticked off, even if he's grinning at her, and so she might be feeling a bit odd with that nullification aura around him.]

I ain't asking you to guess. Ain't expecting you to, neither.

[He tilts his head, eyebrow raising.]

Show me you can think deeper about all this—that you ain't just grasping at the most optimistic sounding option there is. 'Cos, hate to break it to ya, Princess, but shit ain't always what it seems.

If even that numskull Darin can learn a thing or two from the big bad boss, I'm sure you can too.

[the uneasiness that comes from strength waning only makes her more impatient.]

Show you? In what way? [to stand here and let him browbeat her about how everything she believes is stupid and wrong? he better think twice.]

[It probably doesn't help having this behemoth of a man towering over her too, not that Lucina hasn't toppled bigger enemies, but... he shrugs his shoulders, pulling a hand from his pocket to poke his index finger just above her chest as he speaks.]

By not running away when you hear something you don't like, for one.

[He's really pushing his luck with this, but he can't help but being a total shithead when he's this riled—even if he's not actually going for a fight. It's just... how he is.]

[she is unmoving, save for the slight flare of her eyes. he just wants her to grab and throw him by his finger, doesn't he?

after a long beat:] Say your piece. And don't touch me.

[He does like to see how far he can push people. That flare to her eyes and that challenge doesn't do anything but knock him from his own course. And not in a good way, because now he's too tempted to push her, than to actually make his point. Oh how easily he can be distracted by his need for conflict.]

Or what?

[And as if to challenge her further, he aims to poke her again.]

[she steps back to avoid it.]

Or I leave. Because if you cannot be trusted to respect my wish for that much, then you can't be trusted to honor your intentions. Dialogue is not a one-way street.

[His eyebrows raise at her reaction, and maybe he shouldn't keep goading her. Maybe he shouldn't do a lot of things.]

Where was that self-control earlier when you tried to ditch, huh?

[He saw that fire in her eyes, he knew he was asking to be burned, yet she didn't pummel him when she could have.]

But fine, you want me to say my piece? Question everything, yo.

If you blindly jump into something, without looking at it from more than just your perspective, you're gonna miss the bigger picture. You're gonna miss who's really suffering, who actually needs help. Y'all of Aegis wanna be the good guys, y'all wanna be heroes, yet all I've seen is y'all acting no different than me: crushing anything you don't like, anything you don't agree with.

I'm the bad guy here, not you, right?

[she remains still as she can, despite impulse to puff up, something. because this isn't fair! were he talking down to somebody else in this fashion, it'd be unfair...

when he's said his piece, she huffs through her nose, still bristled.

she wants to spit out take your own advice in protest to his assumptions, but what good will it do her? she's only going to make things worse.

some olive branch this is.

instead of what she wants to do, she just keeps her glare fixed.]

...I hear you.

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