text; un: romano

[badlydisarmed]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello Etraya, a few of the newest arrivals are originally from wherever we told you we're from, but before coming here we were in Etraya's sister city, Solmara. Solmara has overthrown their AI and is ruled by a woman named Alrys. She sent us here on a recon mission to steal supplies, and while some of us were considering it, upon arrival we decided not to.

I can't speak for the others, but I know for a fact if Alrys got wind of what this place is like, she'd start a war. I'm not interested, not because I'm kind and noble (I'm not) but because making two whole cities miserable would be stupid.

Aurora has been informed of everything, but in the interest of transparency I'm letting the rest of you know too.

We will be answering questions but only if they're not stupid and you're super nice about it. Keep in mind we're probably gonna get tortured then killed then tortured again for snitching. 😃❤️🥳👍🚀🦈

PS: Any magical healers out there?

(The PS is not included on the things we will be answering questions about)

Comments

[godkaru]

I just don't think fighting someone without understanding them is a good thing. So I try to ask questions first.

[She told herself she'd never do that again.]

[badlydisarmed]

If someone comes at you with a bat, understanding why they're doing it isn't gonna stop you from getting your head bashed in.

[godkaru]

No, but I can defend myself and figure out what's going on after they're disarmed.

[badlydisarmed]

What if the bat isn't aimed at you first? What if there's a trail of people with their heads bashed in? How does understanding the aggressor help any of the victims.

[godkaru]

You can stop the cycle and keep others from happening, and maybe bring some peace to those that already got hurt.

[badlydisarmed]

Nice theory. Never seen it work in practice.

[godkaru]

I'm sorry you think so.

More importantly, you say you'll probably get tortured. Is there any way to directly help you so that doesn't happen?

[badlydisarmed]

I only get tortured if I get caught.

[godkaru]

Then we'll work together to make sure you don't get caught.

[She's confident in that at least.]

[badlydisarmed]

That's very sweet of you, but I'm gonna be real selective about who gets hurt for my sake.

[godkaru]

That's good.

I mean, I think it's really good that you care about others being hurt for your sake.

[badlydisarmed]

[ WHY IS THIS CHILD HERE ]

Yeah yeah, caring is my #1 hobby.

[godkaru]

[Becomes sometimes a goddess comes in tiny packages]

That's a good thing! It means a lot to hear. I know everyone appreciates that too.

[badlydisarmed]

Do you have a trusted adult you can show this conversation to?

[godkaru]

[Uh.

John did say from the start.]

I do but it's all right.

Is there a problem with the conversation we were having?

[badlydisarmed]

Show them anyway, hopefully they'll have opinions about it.

[godkaru]

[It takes her a second to realize the situation.

It's kind of annoying. She's had far more serious conversations about war and world destructions before, but it's not like she's going out of her way around here to share that. It only makes sense she's underestimated.]

He probably would. I'm sorry you don't have faith in others around you to help, but I think everyone would try if you asked.

[badlydisarmed]

Except the people threatening me, I assume?

[godkaru]

[It takes a second for this one to come through. ....................................Probably. probably except those people.]

Yes.

[badlydisarmed]

You seem like a nice kid, so here's a piece of advice: You gotta start seeing things for what they are rather than for what you wish they were.

[godkaru]

I think it's possible to do both. You can't make change without wishing for something better.

if you merely accept things for what they are and nothing else, nothing will get better.

[badlydisarmed]

And you can make generalized statements such as "everyone would try if you asked" but doing so makes you a liar.

Some people are mean and unhelpful, you can't make anything better if you don't learn that first.

[godkaru]

[Something Caldina did at least teach her is that everyone has a price, and everyone has something they're willing to fight for no matter how mean and unhelpful they seem.

She will always want to believe in the best of people.]

It sounds like even before all of this, you had a really hard life and a lot of bad experiences. I'm sorry that happened, but I will do whatever I can to help. Even if it's just me, then that's at least one person.

[badlydisarmed]

Don't make assumptions about people. It's annoying.

[ Unfortunately Robert is the unhelpful person he's warning her about. ]