azume | ⚔ // stress in solitude

⚔ // stress in solitude

[Once Saturn had left, Ignis took a slow breath to steady himself before standing and speaking again.]

I think we have a fair amount of things to discuss, after that. But we'll also need to rest and recover here; We may be able to take it at Saturn's word that he won't alert Cyrus to us, but overstaying our welcome by more than a couple of days is unwise--that means we need to take advantage of this as much as we can.

[Strategy was easier. The words came naturally, and he was able to hold focus.]

If anyone needs me or wishes to assist, I'll be in the kitchen. I'm aware we just ate, but I presume we'll all be more comfortable if one of our own makes breakfast in the morning.

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[ She tilts her head ]

Why so? You had watched the proceedings... what is your take?

You're probably gonna get mad at me if I tell you about it. You want to be mad tonight? Serious question.

[ . . . She considers, bringing her hands up together over her chest in that familiar prayer position. She glances at the water's edge, and... ]

As long as I am not frustrated. [ . . . ] I know my anger is not terribly intimidating, but I do dislike the sensation of being useless.

You're not useless.

[That leaves his mouth immediately after it pops into his head; he doesn't regret it any, nor does he dwell on it, he just shrugs and moves on.]

...I just don't feel like we should be giving that guy a pass just because he realized he fucked up after he got dicked over. He's part of the reason the world's like this now, yeah? A major part of it, if he's been doing all this "re-integration" bullshit.

I guess it's...sad, or something, that his boss didn't give enough of a fuck about him to leave his Pokémon alone? And I get that he's fucked up, but...I don't know, I don't like it.

[ ah. That's...

Honestly it makes sense, and she nods a little, trying to understand Jake's perspective the most. She frowns, but it's hard to frown a little bit because I mean. She was approved of by him that's great? ]

In truth, we do not have an option to punish him at the moment.

[You know what, that's better than he thought he'd get out of this.]

...Yeah, I guess that's true.

It is. That is the absolute fact that lies before us.

[ . . . ]

... I cannot deny that I spoke what I saw as truth back there. Given the option, I would spare him and I certainly would end the suffering of all of there... of all the people taken in by Galactic. I have not faced Cyrus or Mars or Jupiter, so I cannot know my response to them.

[ . . . ]

... But you are not wrong. He admitted complicity in terrible crimes, the sort which he shall need to spend a great deal of time in any new world to seek forgiveness for.

[...]

...I don't have a whole lot of patience for people who try to end the world. The knowledge that they're people, with feelings and problems and shit, doesn't change anything. I've talked to you about that shit.

You have, yes.

... Since then, I have tried to think of it in my own understanding. If I could speak with Ganon, if there was anything left of whatever man it was once, would I? I believe the answer is no.

[ She closes her eyes. ]

... and yet, I know I would for the Yiga, who chose to side with the Calamity, had they repented. It is a ... hypocrisy I can recognize in myself.

...No, I get that much. I'd talk to one of our world-enders that I know of back home. Probably not the other ones.

[...]

So Ganon was a man once, huh?

So it is said. ... Thousands upon thousands of years ago, he was a man - a Gerudo - who sought the Triforce for evil ends. Though he was defeated, he has returned again and again, such to the point that what personhood it once had is long since forgotten. By the world, and by the Calamity.

[ she says it all academically, but she does frown. During her hundred years of battle, she was close to the creature and to the Malice. To its dark powers. She could feel shreds of its - his - personality. The hatred. The need for vengeance. And sometimes, other little things. ]

...One of the guys that tried to end the world wasn't really a person either, by the end.

He had a special...thing going on with his body. Those viruses I told you about? They didn't do anything to him. He could be infected with all sorts of shit and he'd never get sick. After a while he figured out that he could use it to his advantage and change things about himself. He took on a bunch of mutations caused by the viruses, while never actually dying from it. He still looked human, but other than that everything about him - his insides, the stuff his body was made up of, everything - was completely different. His personality apparently got pretty fucked up in the process.

In the end they think the viruses eventually got the better of him. He overused his power, he overloaded himself, however you want to think of it - all the mutations took over his body and he became a monster. He died when a former friend of his had to put him down.

[ Man.

Calamity Ganon was the greatest evil she's ever known. She doesn't think anything will ever supplant it in her mind. But every time she hears more about Jake's world and it's circumstances, it just seems so... cruel.

The cruelty lingers with her, and she sort of rocks in her seat somewhat. ]

... Why? Why do those people - any of them - want to end the world?

[That's the thing about his world, really; there is no great evil force, no Malice. But the cruelty... The cruelty adds up, and there's no shortage of it once you find a source of it.]

Ada was doing it because she hated the world. She didn't want to rule it, she just wanted to watch it destroy itself. The guy I just told you about, though... He wanted peace.

[...]

Some people say he was probably experimented on. That maybe he was brainwashed by the group of people that raised him. Maybe he was just crazy. Most people are pretty sure he didn't really know kindness, from some of the writing he left behind. But the point is that he wanted peace. To get rid of all the war and abuse people do to each other. He thought the best way to do that was to kill most people, and control the rest.

[He falls quiet after that, though, eventually shrugging to indicate that he has nothing else to say. Either way, talking through it has helped with a few things, the most important being why he can't make himself understand or forgive Saturn for anything he's done.

It's too close to what he's heard of Wesker; he knows more than anyone that being told you resemble that man isn't a compliment.]

[ That's so...

To hate the world so completely. She wonders if perhaps Calamity Ganon, back when it was a man, had a thought like that. She wonders what drives a person to that sort of hatred. She can't comprehend it. To her, the world has always been something to give her all to protect. Everything about her was... meant for that. Destined.

She nods, and ... ]

... Thank you for telling me, Jake.

[ For trying to explain things, she means. It's... enlightening, and helps her put things into perspective. ]

I do... [ . . . ] No, perhaps I am... still a little naive.

[Oh, that's...]

Don't mention it, it's fine. Were you going somewhere with that...?

[ No? Yes? Not really? She shakes her head. She's not sure. It was something to fill the silence for one, but ... ]

My whole life... [ . . . ] the fortune teller foretold the return of the Calamity when I was very young, before I can truly remember. The name I have, Zelda, is a name which is passed down to many princesses of Hyrule, and reminds all who bear it of the destiny they bare. All I have done, for much of my life, was in preparation for the coming of the Calamity, to defeat it, and assure Hyrule's peace. It may narrow my understanding of many things.

[Mm.]

I've never really been one for bloodlines and legacies and destiny and all that stuff. Probably because mine wouldn't say anything all that great about me.

I think you're doing pretty great, though. Your head's on right, and you seem to be pretty okay with not knowing everything as long as you've got a chance to learn about it eventually. It's pretty cool to watch, actually.

Destiny is something I was born into, I can barely imagine a life without it.

[ And it honestly sounds great, to not have that long, long, long period of failure. It still eats at her. But she smiles regardless because... that's nice to hear. ]

That, though, you can probably attribute to my love of scholarship. Gaining knowledge is... I do love to learn.

Trust me, I have seen enough crazy-ass scientists to know that not everyone's going to go about that in a good way.

[It's easy, though.]

[ It's true, he had said his world seemed to be dominated by those viruses- the diseases that there weren't answers for. Scientists and researchers might be able to make more, right? ]

... I suppose so. In that regard, I was blessed to have many friends who would be supportive of my research, and help me find the answers I sought. [ Even when he father didn't ]

Good to hear it.

I've never been the research sort, myself. I guess I could be if I wanted to, but it's never really been something I like doing.

To me, it was always both a passion and... I confess, a bit of an escape.

[ It's just something that suits her. But she knows it isn't for everyone. She can barely imagine Link being that much of a nerd, for example. Let alone Revali or Daruk. ]

[He...wonders, then, if it was like that for his dad, too - something he liked, something he could use to get away from the world for a while - or if it was just a means to an end.

He wouldn't be surprised, either way.]

I've had a few things like that, at least. Escapes, not so much passions. Good things to have when everything's going to hell.

[ She smiles and, ]

Link enjoyed cooking. ... I don't know if I can even say he was truly talented at it, he just enjoyed the experimentation.

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