felinguistic | (no subject)

I tell people the truth. [ Even if they don't want to hear it. ] You tell me. She's got quite the temper on her for someone so determined to pretend to be an archetypal demure ladylike wife-type.

The whole truth? Or a condensed version? [Do not play this game with him, cat-man. He'll get back to talking about Tamamo in a moment.]

You’re quite specific about this. Trouble with liars in the past?

[ But he waves a hand. ]

As in if someone is being unreasonable, slow off the mark, or not doing enough I don’t have a problem telling them. That sort of truth. Surprising how many people get worked up about it.

[He doesn't answer, predictably.]

A bluntness then. People don't like having their flaws pointed out to them. That's hardly a surprise. [Junpei's included in that but it's fine.] But that's a kind of truth we'll need here, I guess.

[ Shocking. ]

Of course they don't. But they like it even less when they find people talking about them behind their backs. So I'll just tell them to their face, it's more direct and they can improve themselves if they have the desire to.

["Spoken like someone who knows people talk behind his back..."]

Then...if you have something to say to my face, go ahead and say it. [A slight grin.] Unless this was really just about what you think you heard.

[ Everyone talks behind Shiraishi's back. It's fine, they have fun and rant away. ]

Oh it really was about what everyone thought they heard. And to warn you about your wife. You move fast, by the way.

If I want to tell you something, I'll lead with it. [ Hmm. ]

Good to know. [He'll have to keep that in mind.] Let's just say I know a good thing when I see it.

Interesting description for petty, easily angered and hard headed. But I can’t fault her for that determination and confidence to follow a dream.

[ He sounds completely serious. ]

Neither can I. [He sounds equally serious.] You'd think most people would do anything to get what they want, wouldn't you?

That's a scary statement to make. Anything can be anything.

Yeah. What's so scary about that? [No he's 100% serious here.]

How far would you go for something you wanted? Cheating? Blackmail?

Would you hurt someone?

Would you kill someone?

[Ah. He doesn't answer immediately, but...]

Are you giving me examples, or are you asking me specifically?

I wonder.

[ He's still smiling. ]

Guess we'll have to hope it doesn't come to something like that.

I know you're not stupid, man. [He shakes his head.] But sure. We can hope for that and see what happens.

[He just doesn't believe it won't come to that. That's how these games go.]

I’m not.

[ And that’s probably your answer there. Are you going to commit murder, Junpei? ]

I’m not optimistic.

A realist, or a pessimist then? You can't be both.

There usually a crossover between the two though, don’t you think? Someone might call you a pessimist but you’d probably say you’re a realist. Or something along those lines.

[ Been places. Seen some shit. That kind of guy. ]

[Fair enough, especially when he can't refute it.]

The idea of pessimistic tendencies comes from people who don't want to see the world for what it really is. So sure, there's a crossover but that doesn't mean it's real all the time.

Oh I think a number of things out there are just as bad as people think. So maybe the pessimists among us are the smart ones.

If anything, they're at least the people among us who might get something done whenever optimism fails.

[...not that optimism fails all the time. It's a hard balance.] Where do you think most of the people here fall? Optimistic, or pessimistic?

There are few who just exude wide eyed optimism. Either through nature or just because they're idiots.

But I'd put a quite of few of us as "realists". [ He doesn't say pessimists. But you can almost hear the quotation marks. And can definitely see the grin. ]

It'll make things more interesting when we find out the real reason we're here. [A bunch of realists in one place who'll approach things pragmatically and perhaps ruthlessly? Bad.] You've still been studying everyone then. Who have you studied the most?

And you haven't?

[ He leans in, a little conspiratorially. ]

I'd say the ones who think they're all swords could be dangerous. If only because they probably wouldn't see what was wrong with acting dangerously if someone told them to.