two: text

[drubbings]

1 H4V3 S3CUR3D 4NOTH3R POK3B3AST
TH4NK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT 4LL YOU WHO SCHOOL3D M3 ON TH3 1MPORT4NC3 OF C4TCH1NG MOR3 POK3MON
1T H4S B33N 3NL1GHT3N1NG 4ND 1 C4UGHT 4 C4WB34ST
SH3 1S FL4WL3SS 4ND NO ON3 W1LL 3V3R B34T H3R
4LTHOUGH SH3 1S 4 L1TTL3 SK1TT1SH 4ND H1D3S
W3LL WORK ON TH4T
4NYW4Y TH1S M3MO H4S 4 PO1NT B3S1D3S TH3 BR4GG1NG!
1T H4S COM3 TO MY 4TT3NT1ON TH4T 1 4M HOP3L3SS OUTSTR1P3D BY MY FR13NDS 1N T3RMS OF POK3MAST3RDOM
SO WH4T 1 PROPOS3 1S TH1S: 1M GO1NG TO T4K3 MY B4D S3LF ON 4 JOURN3Y
DO TH1S TH1NG PROP3RLY 4S 4 R34L TR41N3R WOULD
(th1s h4s b33n k3pt 4 s3cr3t you c4n und3rst4nd why 1f youv3 3v3r m3t k4rk4t)
1 W1LL GO FOR THR33 MONTHS 4ND R1GOROUSLY TR41N FOR TH3 DUR4T1ON
1T W1LL B3 TH3 BOMB >:]
SO 1 PUT FORTH TH1S QU3ST1ON F3LLOW POK3M4ST3RS
WOULD 4NYONE L1KE TO T4K3 TH1S JOURN3Y W1TH M3?
1 COM3 W1TH TWO POK3B34STS
4 GR34T S3NS3 OF HUMOR
4ND SOM3 W31RD R3D H41R
PL34SE R3PLY 4S4P TO TH1S!

Comments

[drubbings]

Why, yes it is! It's my blood colour. Or was. I guess it's mutant red now. But it use to be teal when I was normal.

[schachmeister]

So trolls have teal coloured blood?

[This is going into his big binder of troll facts.]

[drubbings]

No.

[ God, this is so much more Karkat's territory. She will not do her culture justice. ]

We have a spectrum. A 'hemospectrum' if you will. A delicious rainbow of various blood colours. Your blood colour determines your rank in society. I had it pretty good being a teal blood. Someone more blue would be higher than me. But someone greener would be lower. I'm in the middle.

[schachmeister]

[Karkat would probably get too distracted going into the details of troll romance.]

On- on blood colour? Not on something like personal ability? So you would always be outranked by another troll with bluer blood than yours, even if they were completely inept?

[drubbings]

[ The truth. Stay away, KK. ]

Sadly, that has happened. If I grew up as a troll I would have taken a very specific path in life because of my blood. It was what wanted though, so it might not have been bad.

[schachmeister]

What path would that be? If you don't mind me asking.

[drubbings]

I wanted to be a legislacerator. Laying down the law. Hanging criminals. It would have been a good life.

But that's all ancient history now.

[ She sounds a little melancholy. Destroyed worlds and all that. ]

[schachmeister]

[Armin doesn't hold much of an interest in the law himself, but that is still a pretty noble dream in his books. Laying down justice, making sure the innocent go free.

(Armin doesn't understand butt-all about troll law.)

Still, Armin doesn't really know what to say. He's never had a natural flair at comforting, and there is little he feels he can offer her in that regard, especially knowing what little he does know about her world (it went boom). Instead he switches tack.]

Have you decided where to go yet? About your journey, I mean.

[drubbings]

[ She rouses herself a little. Maybe it's the (no diamonds) feeling jam she had with Dave that's making everything seem heavy. But that's not who she is or wants to be. So she gives a wicked grin and shifts the gear. ]

Yes. I will backtrack to New Bark Town and hopefully by the time I get there I will be drowning in Pokemon exp. So much exp, Armin. I will have asstons of it.

[schachmeister]

I don't think that's an actual value of measurement...

[drubbings]

In troll culture it is! Are you trying to insult me?

[ It's said a little too bombastically to be serious. ]

[schachmeister]

That's not my intention at all...

[Though he is pretty certain she is messing with him.]

Maybe once you've travelling to New Bark Town and feel you need even more training, you could head for the Sevii islands next? That's where we are going.

[drubbings]

Hmmm! That is a tempting offer. Who is 'we'?

[schachmeister]

Me and my friends from home. There's five of us in total. We've been really fortunate that we've all ended up here together.

I can't speak for the others, of course, but I don't think they would mind if you wanted to meet up while we are there.

[drubbings]

That's quite lucky! A lot of my friends are here too. They live in a house together in Goldenrod. I feel a little restless, though. I wonder if that's normal.

[schachmeister]

I think feeling that way is normal. I don't think I could end up in a new world and not want to explore it. It feels like we've been offered an unique opportunity to explore a completely new world. Not taking advantage of that feels... wasteful.

[But then Armin has a lot of Feelings and Thoughts about travelling and exploration.]

[drubbings]

Exactly! I was stuck in the same place for three years. It was dreary and boring. And then I died. I need to see a world. A real one. That is what I will tell my friends.

[schachmeister]

[Armin makes a soft noise of understanding. He hasn't died, but he knows a thing or two about being stuck in a stagnant place with no chance of seeing new things. His voice is slightly softer, almost but not quite confessional.]

...seeing the world was the reason why I joined the military back home.

[drubbings]

Joining the military is optional? Did you get to see your world?

[ Sweet, sweet, ignorance. ]

[schachmeister]

You are not forced by law to join, but I'm not sure if it is entirely fair to call it optional either. There is a lot of pressure to muster on if you are from the outer districts. For many, it's the only way to receive a steady daily allowance of food.

I take it it's different where you are from?

[drubbings]

Very different! Everyone had to join Her Imperious Condescension forces once they pupate! To run away or do something else would have been suicide. We all had to serve her when we became adults. It's just the way things were.

Was your planet under war?

[schachmeister]

[Pupate? Of course Armin is familiar with what pupation is. As a young boy he had spent hours laying on his stomach in the grass, watching caterpillars devour leaves before spinning a cocoon and finally emerging as butterflies. Had Terezi undergone something like that? Does she normally have wings? Was she once similar to a fat caterpillar devouring everything in its path? He makes a mental note to ask her later.]

I suppose--

Where I am from, humanity has been nearly completely eradicated by creatures we call titans. We are told that 100 years ago, our ancestors managed to construct three walls behind which the remaining humans could live safely away from the titans. But five years ago, the titans broke through our outer most wall and humanity lost one third of its land. I think that, yes, some people would describe our conflict with the titans as a war but--

[He is quiet for a moment.]

When a fox attacks and kills a rabbit is that war? I would not call it as such. It's merely the natural relationship between predator and prey. Our relationship with the titans... it feels more like that of a fox and a rabbit. To call it war would imply a goal... a structured intelligence and a reason why they attack us. But that is not true for most titans. They simply wish to eat us, nothing more.

[drubbings]

[ Yikes. That's a lot to digest. Terezi pushes her (brand new) red glasses up the bridge of her nose and frowns. ]

So, you are the prey of a greater predator. That is truly scary! My species is conquerers. We are the fox. It is us. I've only felt helpless exactly three times. I cannot imagine living that way.

Wait, what did your military do against these creatures?

[schachmeister]

[Only three times? Armin manages to squeeze in feeling helpless at least once a week back home.]

It depends on each different branch. There's three. The garrison, which is the most populous branch, has the main task of guarding the walls. This also includes operating the stationary cannons set on the top of the walls. In the event of another break-in, the garrison is expected to evacuate the civilians and engage the titans in direct combat.

The branch that deals most with the titans is the Survey Corps. They are the only branch of the military that is cleared to venture out beyond the walls to engage the titans directly on their territory. One of their main objectives is to try and collect as much information on the titans as is possible in the hopes we'll find something to help us defeat them. We know how to defeat individual titans, but they are so numerous it is practically impossible to defeat them that way. But we don't know anything about other weaknesses they might have or even where they come from.

[drubbings]

So, they are monsters that just came from nowhere? Sounds suspicious. Maybe they're aliens too.