omegafriends | (no subject)

A
[audio post]

Ah... So, in a competitive system where each individual begins with the same opportunities and outcome is influenced only by skill and motivation to succeed - but success is necessarily attained at the expense of others - what characteristics would disqualify an individual from competing altogether?

I ask out of curiosity, as the conditions of a certain ongoing contest seem to parallel those of the world at large. People tend to characterize those who fail to participate in society as lazy or degenerate, but in reality it is the collective that decides whether an individual may compete - and that decision generally has little to do with ability.

My hypothesis is that human beings are not actually comfortable with participating in such a system, but must be convinced and trained to do so. Rejecting those who, for whatever reason, do not fit the competitive model is part of that process.

B
[ action post, later, at the Gold Mill ]

Sherri didn't go much for dancing, but he did enjoy orchestras and jazz music. More than that, the jazz club was a good place to sit and think about recent events with just the right amount of distraction. In any case, the atmosphere seems perfect for slightly-melancholy contemplation and being mysterious while wearing a snazzy suit. If anyone approaches him they will find that he is quite open to company, though.

C
[ less mundane action post, even later, anywhere in the city ]

Someone might have taken that audio post as an invitation - or perhaps they just really wanted to offer some intellectual criticism in the form of punching. Hopefully they won't forget to keep their crit (re)constructive!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ah... well, I was actually referring to Slade's contest. It does have some, ah, interesting parallels with capitalism, which I wished to draw attention to because I think it might shed light on his motives."

He was not actually sure whether that had been a request for clarification, but he suspected that it was as close to one as he was going to get. It seemed to him that they were having some communication problems that were not entirely on his end - but also that it would be easier on everyone if he acted as though they were.

"Apologies for any miscommunication, but, ah... English is not my first language."

"He is likely just trying to create conflict and trick less aware heroes. It is unlikely he will pay if anyone is used to taking contracts like that. Contracts paid for situations like that are just traps. English isn't my first language either. I grew up in Southern France, but my first real language was a bit more alien."

She had been requesting clarification for a while now.

"I was gifted with a bit of an omni-glot though from my... adoptive family."

She stopped talking for a while after that, seeming to have some trouble with this now.

Sherri muttered to himself: a low rumble that would likely not entirely be picked up by the mic, let alone recognized as speech. He didn't necessarily mean to be weird, but it was a much more natural expression of private skepticism than shaking his head.

"Ah, most sentient species are... opposed to entropy. Humanity, however,... seems to abhor it. Most individuals lack the cognitive capacity to truly understand the concept, but they respond to it emotionally with an intensity that I, ah... unfortunately cannot properly describe. From a scientific standpoint it... inspires awe."

He paused, apparently to collect his thoughts.

"The, ah, probability of a human seeking disorder as an end goal seems so small that, ah... to consider it would not be efficient."

If Samus was uncomfortable talking about her past or linguistics, Sherri did not particularly have a response for it. The number of Skrell who are aware that humans even have multiple languages numbers exactly one: himself, and even then it's not something he quite understands. Being an omni-glot, however, did not particularly increase her likelihood of being able to hear into the sub-sonic range, nor of being able to make syntactical sense of a multi-tonal series of notes, croaks, and clicks.

To be honest, she didn't care.

"Do you speak in anything other than faux-philosphical narration?" She took a moment before smiling. She decided to get snarky with him.

"Let me translate to speaking normal. Most people are opposed to chaos, humans even moreso than rest. That's not true in the least and even I have a just a modicum of understanding of basic human culture. As for the rest just seems like your fascinated with humanity. Regardless, I never said causing conflict was his end goal. Just that chaos is likely beneficial to the cause he has. Though he could always be an anarchist for all we know."

She had to admit, him seeming to treat humanity as a quaint tourist attraction was something that did irk her deeply. She had a lot of ire for this man. Whoever he was. Fascinated by humans like a quaint tourist attraction and he talked solely in purple prose.

He didn't care what she thought of his attitude towards humans. What was starting to bother him was her sheer arrogance - she had just waltzed into this conversation, somehow managing to act like she knew everything while simultaneously demanding that it be explained to her. It had been one thing when she was just doing it casually, but now she was actually being rude about it.

"Pardon my indiscretion, but am I unknowingly speaking to royalty?" he asked. "That no one has pointed out to you the fact that you seem to speak without putting any thought into it - others must think you above reproach."

Most people couldn't tell when he was being sarcastic, but it was a lot easier to get past that barrier when he didn't care about offending the other person.

"It seems that we are having some difficulty communicating. When you said 'chaos' I thought you meant... ah, the destruction of the entire concept of civilization? But it seems that you actually meant 'a distraction.'"

She just listened to the first part and just kind of stared blankly at the fact he was being sarcastic at her. Then the latter part there. "Yes. Since I know how to communicate in the language of humans, I can do so without thought and without confusing everyone around me with speech that sounds like I just found out what big words are."

"Ah... well, at least I've successfully learned them." He smirked slightly. "If I met another Skrell who misused language the way you do, I would assume they were mentally deficient."

"Words in human languages have multiple meanings and being able to derive their actual meaning from context is quite key. You seem incapable of doing even that most insignificant concept that human children have mastered, I imagine most humans you've met would consider you an idiot."

Hearing all of this come over his watch while he was trying to patrol the rooftops was starting to get a little tedious, so Darkwing stopped to perch on a fire escape and switched on his own audio, before commenting dryly:

"Congratulations, you both have big dictionaries. Sheeeeeeez. Put a collective cork in it! Some of us are trying to work, here."

"Indeed. Ah... Hunter, was it? If you'd like to waste any more of my time, I could give you my cell phone number."

"How about we just find out where that transmitter before get annoyed enough to break your watch."

"Threats? Is that how civilized people conduct themselves?"

"I generally am making sure civilization isn't attacked. That requires some... violent urges."

"Make whatever excuses you must, I suppose."

"Blah blah."

Darkwing raised an eyebrow at his watch. This was worse than when Quackerjack and Megavolt woukd start bickering mid-battle. "......yeeeeeah. Okay. You crazy kids have fun. I'll be over here actually working."