Game 36 - Copper Rose

[teamposts]

Comments

[dichotomize]

It isn't a lie.

[thankyouverymooch]

[ okay not laughing anymore and he's just looking at him puzzled ]

... aren't you always insulting humans?

[dichotomize]

I hate them too. Well. It's not all their fault, that they're hopelessly terrible.

[thankyouverymooch]

Really... you're making things way too complicated.

[dichotomize]

[?]

Is you're idea of loving something to be blind to it's flaws?

[thankyouverymooch]

Of course not. But we aren't talking about "someone", we're talking about humanity. If you claim to love and hate it and to want to wipe it out, I think it does count as a bit of a complicated relationship.

[dichotomize]

I guess it's normal for me.

[thankyouverymooch]

It's not normal at all.

And you still avoided listing any good quality.

[dichotomize]

Loving everyone is pretty good. Most people can't manage that and they hate humans far less than I do.

[thankyouverymooch]

I don't want to accept that as your quality.

[dichotomize]

Hmmmm. Oh, I'm a very understanding fellow too, aren't I? And I don't hold grudges long.

[thankyouverymooch]

Much better. I'll accept these two.

You could take those as a start to a path of self improvement.

[dichotomize]

I'm not interested.

[thankyouverymooch]

I think it'd be a creepy image if you took it seriously.

... but I'm surprised, regardless.

[dichotomize]

Because villains don't have any redeeming qualities? All humans are at least a bit of a villain, though.

[thankyouverymooch]

[ sighing, and shaking his head ]

Because if you say something like "I love all humans equally", it hits a little too close than I would like.

I don't believe in redeeming qualities, anyway. An awful action is an awful action regardless of what motivates it. The only reason I asked you that is because I wanted to see if you could even see yourself in a positive light at all.

[dichotomize]

It was certainly an interesting experience. I don't really bother with that sort of thing... But it sounds like we have a lot in common.

[thankyouverymooch]

My love is much more limited.

But shut up anyway.

[dichotomize]

I'm not such an unusual fellow, you know. My life may have gone... ah... a little extreme after a point. But at the heart of it I'm the most ordinary sort of person.

[thankyouverymooch]

Most people don't take pleasure in torture and murder, Ticky.

[dichotomize]

Hoh. Maybe not when they have to rip out the heart themselves. But when a king taxes the people into starvation, does he not enjoy his power? And are those who suffer not being tortured? When someone edges out the competition, even if it means crushing their spirits, don't they feel triumphant? When a soldier slays the enemy, isn't he proud?

No, I know it isn't quite the same, but it's the same sort of thing. I'm a worse person than most but my sins are still that of a human.

[thankyouverymooch]

Humans aren't as bad as you think they are. A king who taxes people into starvation is no king at all. That sort of person is also a monster. A soldier slaying an enemy feels pride for protecting his country, not for killing someone else. Triumph doesn't necessarily mean enjoying the suffering of others, either.

[dichotomize]

It's easy enough for you to say he's no king at all, but that doesn't really mean anything, does it? You mean he's a bad king. A hated king, even. Which isn't even always true but the point is, he still has the power, the pleasure, his people still suffer. And I'm not convinced that having pleasure despite their suffering is much better.

[thankyouverymooch]

It means that you're describing exceptions like you. A true king lives to serve and protect his people. Rulers like those exists.

Just because some humans are just as bad as you are doesn't mean it's normal.

[dichotomize]

It's true, most people never have the chance to be that cruel. Humans are limited by how weak they are.

I'm not weak.