extermination oo2 // voice

[taijiya]

[Sango doesn't waste much time once she gets the feed on.]

A few things.

First... I would like to have some sparring partners and some teachers. While I'm good with my own weapons, it's pretty clear that they're not advanced enough to take on the UE's technology. If someone would be able to show me how to use something more effective, maybe some sort of gun, I'd be grateful and would do something in return. I think other people have already offered, but I'm also open to instructing in swordsmanship and related combat things.

Second, I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have been concerned or helped me out lately, both in arriving here and in... well, recent events. It means a lot.

Third. [She hesitates, wondering how to phrase this.] Say that someone from your world, who's... from later in time, tells you something bad happens in your future. You don't trust the person who says it, but they don't exactly have a good reason to lie about it at this point. What...

[Where is she even going with this? Sango stops abruptly and her frown is nearly palpable on the feed.]

You know what, never mind. Just sparring partners and teachers and thank-yous are all, I guess.

Comments

[Audio]

[taijiya]

That's... confusing. Possible, but... [Sigh.] That's sort of upsetting to think about, too, isn't it?

permaaudio;

[strategic_guile]

Depends on what the future is. What I've seen of mine is... give or take good and bad.

[taijiya]

But you just said that there could be more than one, so how do you know it's yours?

[strategic_guile]

I don't know. Something happened with the time machine when we went on a mission one time and for a few days I was the future version of myself. Twenty years into my future. It's possible those things won't happen, but for the most part it was good.

[taijiya]

So... you know everything that's going to happen to you in the next twenty years?

[strategic_guile]

Not everything. A lot of the major events I remember, but the day-to-day things that are routine? You tend to forget those because it's so ordinary, and so my older self didn't pay it much mind so I don't remember that stuff now.

[taijiya]

Wow. Did... did the UE cause that event?

[strategic_guile]

Not directly. It was a malfunction of the time machine, but the reason we were going back in time was because the UE was attacking at the time and we had to go find some random thing to change history.

[taijiya]

I see. So the Initiative's mistake again.

I guess that in any case I'm glad that you have a pretty good future.

[strategic_guile]

Their mistakes have gotten a lot more deadly lately.

[A brief pause] Is the future you were told not good?

[taijiya]

Well, I only arrived in May, so I don't have any less deadly mistakes to compare them to.

And I wouldn't be making an embarrassingly anxious post about it if it were very pleasant, you know?

[strategic_guile]

Well, that's a good thing. You can't pine for the quiet days.

[A soft noise of 'oh right my derp'] True. I forgot you said it was bad, but just because they told you that one thing doesn't mean it outweighs the good. They could only be telling you the bad things and skipping out on the positive things that happen.

[taijiya]

The combination of who told me and what they told me kind of assures that there's not a big possibility of the good outweighing the bad.

[First of all, dying kind of outweighs most good. As if that weren't enough, if Kagura's correct, then Sango will die while her arch nemesis is still alive and well and her brother is still under said man's control.

Not really a great track record to go with.]

[strategic_guile]

Then I'm going to hope that it's from an alternate reality to your own.

Not sure if it's good news to you or not, but when you go back home you'll forget about everything anyway.

[taijiya]

I've heard both of those as arguments... that it might be an alternate reality, that I won't remember. Either way there's not much hope for trying to change it unless we find a way to go home purposefully and without forgetting.

[strategic_guile]

If we go home and don't forget things might turn out better or worse. If there's anything I've learned here, it's that time travel is tricky and dangerous.

[taijiya]

That's true... and there's always the possibility that things will be exactly the same even if you want to change them.

[strategic_guile]

It might turn out the same because you were trying to change your future and ended up doing all the things that made that future come to pass. If that makes sense.

[taijiya]

Um, yeah. And it's rather disheartening, isn't it?

[She gives a faint chuckle.]

[strategic_guile]

Yeah... it is. Try not to think about it.

[taijiya]

Anyway... I'm Sango.

[strategic_guile]

I'm Blaine. Good to meet you Sango. I wish it was under better circumstances.

[Pause]

Did you have a time you wanted to train?

[taijiya]

Not for a few days... I've got some eye problems clearing up.

But other than that, my schedule is fairly free. I prefer mornings, though.

[strategic_guile]

Mornings suite me fine. We can set a date or you can ping me when you're ready. Either way works for me.

[taijiya]

I'll contact you, I think. Thank you.