2023.06.21 Rooftop Debate
| 2023.06.21 Rooftop Debate | |
|---|---|
| Shinju, Hannah, and Xiu debate ethics utop the roof court | |
| IC Date | 2023.06.21 |
| IC Time | Night |
| Players | Shinju, Hannah, Xiu |
| Location | Rooftop Court |
| Spheres | Mage, Kuei-jin |
"As long as I keep true to the Fivefold Way and to the tenets of my Dharma, there is nothing shady about me Priestess." Hannah says to the single voice that had been hidden before continuing her attention on Xiu. "There are nuances of Kuei-jin society that the Lightning People may disagree with. One of them being that Uri's kind are property to the vampire that claims them. They are born and bred to serve and those that are unfortunate enough to be born and forgotten are either re-educated when they are found alone or destroyed outright." Spoken as if it was a fact of life for the busty and lusty undead. "If nothing else, she will belong to either me or my sister if we can agree on something for once in our lives. Though I have a feeling that my sister may object to the mainstream understandings of our kind."
Hannah appearing to hold the 'traditional' values of her kind, just shrugs. "Whether anyone objects to how we view them... being owned protects her from potential ownership to someone less kind than either my sister or I."
"Hello, Shinju." Xiu says, without really looking started by the sudden voice of the priestess - she gazes in that direction, before her eyes find the other, and she smiles softly. "My own perspective does not matter in that regard." she adds, a bit enigmatically there, before she falls silent. And tries to pokerface. Though a subtle giggle gets stiffled after Shinju's words, her eyes finding Hannah there for a moment. "Mh. So..Uri is from a certain family?" she wonders there, for a moment, taking a half-guess there of interpreting Hannah's words. "Interesting. Does she *know*?" she wonders. "About...well, everything."
`From what I've seen, you're not that fr alpng in your allegiance to your Dharma... so assuming you're always followin' it to the letter would be like assuming I'm always actin' like a hoighty toighty head preistess should... also know as being a -fool-` Shinju says with a long drag of her pipe afterwards. `Always acting to impress Elders who aren't even -here-. Protect her from being owned by somebody worse? How about we just, y'know, protect her as a community... like communities -should- do for their own? Saves her from being someone's little pet... now -that's- a nice thing.`
"We may protect her as a community but that doesn't change the fact that the Wan-Kuei are still different to the other Shen. I do not and will not ever criticize your ways that I find strange and unethical just as I would appreciate the same considerations from you two." Looking back at Shinju from her seat next to Xiu. "And I am still Koa. Very young and only granted the freedoms I do have /because/ I hold to 'impressing elders that aren't here.'" Rolling a shoulder and relaxing in her seat.
"What do you even know of my Dharma? If you're as savvy as I think you are, you would know that we do not hold the barbaric belief that we should cling being human. We are not the Kin-jin that cowardly repress their P'o in the misbegotten notion that being human is how one should live. We are cut from the Maya and the only way forward on the Road Back is knowing you are above the cattle and chaffe that are mortals and those Chih-mei who cannot fend off their P'o when you return from Yomi."
"Hah. Be wary of generalizing the 'Lightning People'. As I told somebody else recently.." Xiu murmurs softly.. "..we are all so very different from each other at times. The best advice I can give is to treat all the Lightning People as individuals first. Then consider their similiarities second.." That she just quips as an aside, though her voice carries that certain tone of said words being important. She eyes Shinju there for a moment, before her eyes find Hannah, listening to the dragon speaking - taking mental notes here and there. After all, she herself is still learning about these strange undead. "One should always live out their nature. After all, if you cannot be true to your nature, you cannot be true to yourself." she muses - and pushes herself up into a standing position. She pases along behind Hannah's back, and brushes fingers over the other's head as she does so "Be right back.." she murmurs, before she ventures to her clothes sitting on one of the chairs - and she reaches into her hoodie, before se pulls out three pieces of something, before screwing them together. Shinju would immediately recongize what it is. A kiseru - dark wood, simple (if gold or faux-gold) metal. The three pieces are screwed together casually, before Xiu retrieves a matchbox and a small leather bag before she ventures back towards that ramp.
Shinju nods at Xiu's words. `Yeah, you keep saying 'lightning people' but I don't think you know what that means. Me n' Xiu have, frankly, not very much crap in common... but she's cool, and I like cool people.` Her eyes trail back over to Hannah, thinking, face partially shrouded in the white smoke. `I'm not criticizing as much as I am scrutinizing. Yeah, you can do whatever you'd like to yourself... booze, drugs, whatever. But everybody's their own spirit... they gotta make their own way. If Uri -wants- it, sure, that's her right. Just treating people like they're not even a full person against their will... that's not what we should be about... sounds like somethin' these 'barbarians' you always mention would do. You really wanna be like them?` Shinju glances over at Xiu, grinning. `Good, you have a proper pipe.` She gestures with her own long black-and-gold kiseru, somewhat matching her sword.
"Are your people not one cohesive family that separate into Dharma? I may not understand nor care to understand a Devil Tiger or a Crane but that does not mean that they are not part of the great family of the Wan-kuei." Giving them perspective of how her kind view each other, even if they fracture into different belief systems. "Are you two not of same or similar Dharma just different sects?" Hannah had zero understanding of Mages though she looks to Shinju. "They may be born and bred for servitude but they at least give it freely to their chosen masters. Kin-jin..." The racism Hannah holds for her western counterparts might be /felt/ with that one word. It drips with vitriol. "they bind their slaves to their addictive blood. Force upon humanity a P'o they did not have prior to their enslavement. The damn a mortal into an eternity of dependence. Free will cannot exist if you are bound so tightly. Dhampyr are honored servants, not blood addicted slaves."
"So, Gyuri is a dhampyr?" Xiu arches an eyebrow. She has no idea what a dhampyr *is*, but in her ears? It sounds like she is, indeed, something special. She settles down on the ramp next to Hannah as she asks this, settling down into a *proper* cross-legged sit without using hands - showing that the little asian amazon is also damn flexible. And then, she begins to fill the head of her kiseru (or at least kiseru-like on closer inspection) pipe with...green. That ain't tobacco. "And...well.." she says, hesitating for a moment as she considers how to describe the struture of mages - especially those *without* structure - to Hannah. "Well. There are, you could say, 'families', but they are merely a formal arrangement. Which exists for certain old, old reasons and out of necessity. And yes, there are groups, and smaller groups, and 'Wu's and what-not.." she translates a bit into Hannah's terms. "But that is by choice, not by rule." She shrugs. "Simply for community or protection. Even within those groups, we are so very varied, that it is simply...convention." She brings her pipe to her mouth, and lights it with one of the matches. A strange looking match, but it is hard to tell why, as it burns, and Xiu takes a long drag, holds it...and then sÃlowly exhales, closing her eyes. "I have been a lone wolf for most of my years, and I rarely meet a witch that really comes close to my duties, and lifestyle. I have a few close sisters, but even then you would not *really* mistake us for one another." She grins, eyeing Hannah. "We all walk our very personal path. We just share our times with those whose paths come close." is how she finally puts it.
`Addictive blood. I'll have to keep that one in mind...` Shinju mutters, letting Hannah mire in her scattered vitriol. `But I won't say anything more about your 'honored servants' right now. I'll talk around more, see if I can get a better idea first.` The priestess takes another long drag of the kiseru, letting Xiu speak. `Yeah. There's some groups more like Dharmas, but there still isn't much of a code unless they're -really- strict. They kinda just take in any wayward weirdos to help 'em deal with the dangers. Give 'em a sense of belonging at the least. I just made myself known so I don't get unnecessary heat on me... though less of a concern with me than most because of Ryu's meddling.`
"I will admit that Ryu is rather adorable~" Hannah teases the priestess with a small smirk. "As much as I need to snort a few lines of coke or eat some shrooms to understand what the fuck he's saying." With a giggle and a small tip of the tongue being stuck out at Shinju before looking between the two. "That sounds... confusing." The word carrying significant chasm of loss. "Dragons are few outside of the Golden Courts so I understand the whole only running into my sisters occasionally."
"Oh, you would not get any 'heat' on you, Shinju. Or much of anything else..." Xiu murmurs, and takes another long, slow drag of her pipe, before she exhales. And she sounds...a bit grumpy as she says it? Weird. Another drag, another slow exhale, and she turns the pipe around, taping it to make the ash fall out and drift on the wind. She smiles. Good weed. "Mh....speaking of, now that you mention it.." The primal witch lifts her head, her slanted eyes opening a bit wider, as she *grins* over towards the priestess for some reason. "Hello, Ryu. I hope the night finds you well." She seems content with having said that, as she begins to refill her pipe's small head - before she offers it to Hannah. "You might want to try some of this, then." she offers. Because Xiu very well knows, this is really, really, *REALLY* good weed. Cheech and Chong would be proud.
`They're sleeping right now. I'm enjoying it. If you wake 'em up then my foot's going in someone's face.` Shinju says flatly, glaring between the two at their comments towards Ryu. She then pushes herself off the chimney, landing softly and walking away from the others. `Sure you'll be Hannah's best friend after giving her that... but I should be going. Just stopping by to see what you two were up to....`
"If you have good weed I might have to take you and put you to work in my basement making said weed for me~" Hannah winks at the witch as she takes the pipe and sucks in a long drag of it, holding her breath in before speaking and handing the pipe back to Xiu. "Enjoy the rest of your night Shinju. Try to make nice with your adorable dragon~" Giving the woman a finger wave.
Xiu lifts her head a bit, watching Shinju drop onto the rooftop - and she smirks at that first comment regarding *spontaneous violence* if Ryu should wake. "Yeah yeah, understood..." she simply says and subtly grins. Lifting her head a bit more she calls out. "Have a safe trip to the shrine! I shall visit again one of these days. Somebody has to water the plants." Uh oh. Having said that, she watches Shinju depart before her sitting posture relaxes a bit more, again, and she glances at Hannah as the other takes a pape, and that long drag. It is not yet apparent, of course - weed takes a bit to take effect. But Hannah is in for one intense weed buzz. "Ah, yes. See? I knew you had a meth lab in the hotel basement, as expected."
