[ Khun's words are a differentiation between them that distorts the reflection of himself that Kurapika sees whenever he looks at Khun. It ruins the illusion a bit, bringing him back to the reality before him—Khun is the kind of person Kurapika is afraid he'll become.
The kind of person he hates.
And yet... and yet, he can't bring himself to dislike Khun. It's why he regards Khun with a calm gaze, one that remains unfrozen in the face of such icy sharpness. ]
You're right. We're different. Is that a bad thing?
[ even if he can't see the gaze given his positioning, he can still feel it. quietly, but firmly, not warm, but not frigid. ]
I'd say it's a good thing. [ for all the lies he makes and all the deceptions he weaves, he's not one to avoid the truth when it's actually important. khun's under no illusion that anyone should actually be like him, especially someone like kurapika.
[ he flops over on his back again once the spells washed over him with a quick thanks. ]
What do your words mean? [ if they're going to just Talk about things tonight, might as well go for broke. and he's been curious about everyones words, really feeling the lack of his Pocket's universal translation. ]
[ It's easy enough for Kurapika to reveal, and he's usually inclined to leave it at that, allowing others to make their own assumptions.
Khun, however, will get more from him. It's only fair, isn't it? After all, Kurapika doesn't think Khun goes around telling everyone about his own family. ]
As the sole survivor, I do everything in the memory of my people, the Kurta Clan, who were all killed a few years ago. The only reason I was spared is because I wasn't there.
Clan conflict...guess that's another thing that's ubiquitous no matter where you go. [ he's familiar, given his family but on the other end. family both means nothing and everything to him. ]
That makes sense, it's who you are. Just like mine, "to control". That's what I do and that's what I'll keep doing to become the Khun family head.
[ They really have too much in common, don't they? It's odd—and a little unsettling—to know someone with the same resolve. ]
I wouldn't call it clan conflict, not exactly. They were targeted for something valuable that only the Kurta Clan possesses, the same thing that caused us to be isolated in the first place.
[ Normally, he would stop here. However, Khun has divulged more than enough to him, so Kurapika feels almost like he owes a favor. Oddly enough, though, this isn't one he minds owing at all. ]
Scarlet Eyes. When members of the Kurta Clan feel an intense emotion, our eyes turn red. The color is said to be one of the most beautiful colors in the world, so much so that it's coveted by a types of people.
[ huh. not what he was expecting but it's not entirely out of left field--people covet all kinds of things, and undoubtedly there's people who try to marry into the 10 families not for their status, but for their unique traits like the pink fire of the Yeon family.
though he has to wonder, and he's going to wonder aloud because that's the relationship they have. ]
If it was a problem to be identified that way, couldn't you have just worn contacts?
[ Kurapika doesn’t mind the question, because it’s a completely valid question.
So much so that he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little contact carrying case. ]
We did, and I have since. Though it didn’t really matter. Our eyes were already well known and our location was found, despite our moving around and choosing remote places. We may have lived in the forest for my entire life, but it wasn’t exactly easy to get there.
[ hmm... if it was khun, he'd probably opt to hide in plain sight given what's he's heard so far. but he doesn't have all the variables, and there's no point in belaboring what's already been done. ]
That sounds like the work of a traitor, or an exceptionally gifted scout or guide. I take it your enemy is either someone in a position of power or another clan itself? [ he assumes that if it was just a few people or someone not that powerful, they'd be six feet underground a long time ago. ]
[ It's a good thing this manor isn't teeming with spiders, because otherwise Kurapika would have been spotted killing them with unnecessary aggression. ]
They're a powerful group that steals and kills whatever and whoever they like. It's possible a scout or a guide found us, given they were after the Scarlet Eyes. There was a lot of money to be made selling them to the black market, so the effort would have been worth it.
The King of the Tower collects Princesses as "shoes in a showcase" that can never be worn, and this sounds about on the same level as that. At least they choose to become princesses though...
[ he's just trying to find anything to compare this to, because yeah people will collect anything but that sure is weird even to him. ]
It's not all they do, but it's what they're valued for.
[ He has a feeling Khun will ask, so he'll just go ahead and continue: ]
When our eyes turn scarlet, we're in a state of heightened strength and agility. It was easy for me to take down a group of adult men as a young child. [ So, you know. It has its benefits. ] For me, specifically, it allows me to become a Specialist that can harness all aspects of Nen, which most in my world are unable to do.
That seems like a mismatch in priorities to me. [ sure it being attractive is a plus but the power bit seems way more useful? though he knows that really doesn't matter to some people, and he thinks of his father again. blecht.
he can make some assumptions on what Nen is, since it sounds like Shinsu, but before he voices that- ]
Teachers tend to be some of the worst people around, or at least they are in the Tower. Doctors doesn't surprise me much either given that a good chunk of them are inclined towards some amount of experimentation, human or not.
[ Back home, extensive collections are a sign of power. Gathering the rarest of the rare and displaying it is a symbol of the lengths one is willing and able to go to. It's a different breed of ruthlessness, but ruthless all the same. ]
I don't know any doctors that would ever do such a thing.
[ He'll concede on teachers, but not on doctors. Not when all he can think about is the goodness in Leorio's heart.
Ah, but that question distracts him momentarily. ]
A lawyer is someone that is supposed to help civilians navigate the legal system and ensure that the cards aren't stacked unfairly against them. [ ... ] I have a feeling the Tower doesn't have those.
Maybe not the ones you've met, but some of them are definitely into that kind of thing.
[ we do not want to talk about the Workshop. ]
Yeah, we don't have. There are enforcers and a council depending on the floor and the administrator's system, but ultimately everything is ruled by the King and his court. The easiest way to ensure some degree of fairness in the Tower is to cheat yourself.
[ It's at least the magic system from his world. ]
Nen is your life energy, which you can harness to develop an ability unique to you. There are a lot of aspects to Nen, but there are five main types: enhancement, transmutation, emission, conjuration, and manipulation. Knowing someone's type can give you insight into what they're able to do, even if you don't know their ability.
Specialists are outside of these five types, and have advantage in being generally unpredictable.
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The kind of person he hates.
And yet... and yet, he can't bring himself to dislike Khun. It's why he regards Khun with a calm gaze, one that remains unfrozen in the face of such icy sharpness. ]
You're right. We're different. Is that a bad thing?
[ He doesn't think so. ]
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I'd say it's a good thing. [ for all the lies he makes and all the deceptions he weaves, he's not one to avoid the truth when it's actually important. khun's under no illusion that anyone should actually be like him, especially someone like kurapika.
funny how that works. ]
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He does know one thing, however, and it's that they're both similar and different enough that they get along. ]
Pro populus meus.
[ Have a healing spell sent your way, Khun. ]
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What do your words mean? [ if they're going to just Talk about things tonight, might as well go for broke. and he's been curious about everyones words, really feeling the lack of his Pocket's universal translation. ]
cw genocide
[ It's easy enough for Kurapika to reveal, and he's usually inclined to leave it at that, allowing others to make their own assumptions.
Khun, however, will get more from him. It's only fair, isn't it? After all, Kurapika doesn't think Khun goes around telling everyone about his own family. ]
As the sole survivor, I do everything in the memory of my people, the Kurta Clan, who were all killed a few years ago. The only reason I was spared is because I wasn't there.
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That makes sense, it's who you are. Just like mine, "to control". That's what I do and that's what I'll keep doing to become the Khun family head.
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I wouldn't call it clan conflict, not exactly. They were targeted for something valuable that only the Kurta Clan possesses, the same thing that caused us to be isolated in the first place.
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[ though he doesn't ask it directly as he would have pretty much any other time. it's a deference if kurapika wants to take it. ]
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Scarlet Eyes. When members of the Kurta Clan feel an intense emotion, our eyes turn red. The color is said to be one of the most beautiful colors in the world, so much so that it's coveted by a types of people.
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though he has to wonder, and he's going to wonder aloud because that's the relationship they have. ]
If it was a problem to be identified that way, couldn't you have just worn contacts?
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So much so that he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little contact carrying case. ]
We did, and I have since. Though it didn’t really matter. Our eyes were already well known and our location was found, despite our moving around and choosing remote places. We may have lived in the forest for my entire life, but it wasn’t exactly easy to get there.
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That sounds like the work of a traitor, or an exceptionally gifted scout or guide. I take it your enemy is either someone in a position of power or another clan itself? [ he assumes that if it was just a few people or someone not that powerful, they'd be six feet underground a long time ago. ]
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[ It's a good thing this manor isn't teeming with spiders, because otherwise Kurapika would have been spotted killing them with unnecessary aggression. ]
They're a powerful group that steals and kills whatever and whoever they like. It's possible a scout or a guide found us, given they were after the Scarlet Eyes. There was a lot of money to be made selling them to the black market, so the effort would have been worth it.
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...wait, "selling them"? Did they sell your people off as slaves or their actual eyes?
[ kurapika said they were dead though. so... ]
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[ Which sure puts Implications on the slaughter itself, but Kurapika is quick to gloss over it. ]
After death, their eyes were gouged out to be sold as decorative objects.
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The King of the Tower collects Princesses as "shoes in a showcase" that can never be worn, and this sounds about on the same level as that. At least they choose to become princesses though...
[ he's just trying to find anything to compare this to, because yeah people will collect anything but that sure is weird even to him. ]
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[ Though for the living... he can't imagine a life like that. ]
You'd be surprised at who collects them too. Doctors, teachers, people who are known for doing good in society.
[ Or... maybe Khun won't be surprised at all. ]
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[ sorry, he has to ask one more time. ]
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[ He has a feeling Khun will ask, so he'll just go ahead and continue: ]
When our eyes turn scarlet, we're in a state of heightened strength and agility. It was easy for me to take down a group of adult men as a young child. [ So, you know. It has its benefits. ] For me, specifically, it allows me to become a Specialist that can harness all aspects of Nen, which most in my world are unable to do.
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he can make some assumptions on what Nen is, since it sounds like Shinsu, but before he voices that- ]
Teachers tend to be some of the worst people around, or at least they are in the Tower. Doctors doesn't surprise me much either given that a good chunk of them are inclined towards some amount of experimentation, human or not.
[ a beat. ]
What's a lawyer?
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[ Back home, extensive collections are a sign of power. Gathering the rarest of the rare and displaying it is a symbol of the lengths one is willing and able to go to. It's a different breed of ruthlessness, but ruthless all the same. ]
I don't know any doctors that would ever do such a thing.
[ He'll concede on teachers, but not on doctors. Not when all he can think about is the goodness in Leorio's heart.
Ah, but that question distracts him momentarily. ]
A lawyer is someone that is supposed to help civilians navigate the legal system and ensure that the cards aren't stacked unfairly against them. [ ... ] I have a feeling the Tower doesn't have those.
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[ we do not want to talk about the Workshop. ]
Yeah, we don't have. There are enforcers and a council depending on the floor and the administrator's system, but ultimately everything is ruled by the King and his court. The easiest way to ensure some degree of fairness in the Tower is to cheat yourself.
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Cheating is certainly underhanded, but... it's necessary. From what you've told me of your home, that doesn't surprise me.
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[ though even if kurapika didn't and judged khun for it, he wouldn't be offended. ]
So what can you do with "Nen"? I'm assuming it's similar in a way to magic.
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[ It's at least the magic system from his world. ]
Nen is your life energy, which you can harness to develop an ability unique to you. There are a lot of aspects to Nen, but there are five main types: enhancement, transmutation, emission, conjuration, and manipulation. Knowing someone's type can give you insight into what they're able to do, even if you don't know their ability.
Specialists are outside of these five types, and have advantage in being generally unpredictable.
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