[CALL | Video | un: monokuma ]

[disjunct]

[ A stuffed animal sits center of the screen.

The room he's in harbors just a chair, and looks isolated enough to be an interrogation room, if not for the dusty slats above him pouring in some light. It's a basement somewhere remote, but nonetheless, he seems to wave at the camera. However, his motor functions seem limited. ]

Hello! Good evening! Good morning! Whichever one you're feeling right now.

[ A slight, curious cock of the head. Once again, the mechanics seem off... and the voice doesn't seem to be coming from the stuffed animal. Someone is speaking for him behind the camera. ]

I think the best way to get to know everybody is to toss out a fun little icebreaker! Lesser-known facts! No one likes being the shut-in at a party. So...

[ "He" clears his throat. ]

Do you know what they did in Paris in the 19th century?
Oh, they definitely painted a lot of paintings and baked a lot of bread. But I mean... for fun?
Back in those days, 'fun' would count a lot on how much money you had. But resourceful Parisians could find it in other ways. For free. There was a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity that anyone in the city could get a ticket punched into! To be the star, or the audience. That's right! I'm talking about...

[ A brief pause. ]


... The morgue!

You see, life was so boring back then that people would line up to walk through the morgue just to see who croaked last night! The more grisly the victim, the more people came to visit!
People were excited to try and recognize the victims! Of course, this was originally just so people had access to claim the deceased, but it was a theater attraction of its own!
Upupupu...! Can you imagine if you didn't have the things you had today, what you'd resort to for fun?
The gawking joy that it brought people... but still, we slow down for car crashes today, don't we?

Hmm...


Do you think humans are really different from back then? From the public executions, to the public display of bodies, to the now?

I wonder about it a lot. I can't say I know for sure, because I am a bear. Would anyone like to try and guess?

Comments

un: attar

[digiorno]

[This is a delightful thing to wake up to. All things considered, though, he's heard worse. At least there's an implicit thesis statement here and not just pointless rambling.]

[Oh, well. He sighs and leans back a little. Better this than talking about Pretty Woman for the seventy-first time.]

Humanity is consistent through time, as is human society. Curiosity leads to great scientific and artistic accomplishments, but also to the exploration of the morbid and horrifying.

Still, you're only discussing half of the issue, don't you think? Like walking around with one eye closed. Certainly people did horrible things back then, and still do, and some of them did those things because they wanted to — because nothing made them happier than other people's misery. But plenty of others did horrible things because they had no choice. Economic unrest and instability have a tendency to choke the lower classes, squeezing the joy and the life out of them until they seek excitement in the only ways they know how. Sometimes those ways are simple schadenfreude.

And yet even from the most basic functions of humanity come great discoveries. For example: I'm sure you've heard of Étienne-Jules Marey? A Frenchman. He perfected — some say invented — the technique of chronophotography, the predecessor of film technology. Which you're using right now to describe how human nature is inherently vulgar and base, and yet in 1882 Marey was hard at work inventing a tool you surely use every day.

I hope you're not comparing yourself to a car crash.

1/2

[disjunct]

Huff... I wasn't expecting such an educated response... that's what you get going from teaching a high school to a more college course... I'm going to have to get a flask for my coffee!

[ He dabs his forehead with a hankerchief, and you can practically hear the whirr and click of his arms. ]

He rings a few bells! He's the man with the theory that proved the theory that at one point, a horse has all hooves off the ground... but that's just a novelty compared to everything else he did, right?

[disjunct]

But that's not important right now! We could go toe to toe talking about how that technology was eventually used for the vulgar and obscene as soon as 1896! But the truth is, I'm not a college professor! I'm just a bear-y good headmaster!

In the end, what's important is the basic question!

[digiorno]

And I've answered it. Humanity can't be reduced to good or evil. It's too complicated, too dualistic for that. You'll never win a mobius strip argument, docente.

[disjunct]

Hmmmm... I suppose hope and despair are two opposite ends of a coin. I've admitted as much in the past! If I went back on my word now, I guess that'd be hypocritical.

I guess rephrasing the question-- what do you think people have the greater capacity for, when faced with the opposite?

[digiorno]

People are set in their ways. Those who are used to winning can find hope in despair; those who are used to losing find despair in hope. And yet those who are used to losing who are struck with one moment of hope will scrabble for it in the dirt until the sun goes out.

Humanity is greedy. Every person wants to survive first and foremost. The prospect of survival is hopeful; the prospect of survival is inherent in every human being; therefore, humanity has a greater capacity for hope.

1/2

[disjunct]

... ah?

Even though you advocate for hope, you have to admit that's a bleak answer!

[ He puts two paws on his belly and laughs. The machinery's whirr is more obnoxious than ever-- this is clearly a dying robot, repaired in shambles. All it can do is act out its owner's instructions until it fails. ]

You get 2 points for that answer! Mark it down in your notes!

[disjunct]

But I believe that despair is more formidable than hope could ever be!

[ He looks as threatening as can be, in his poor condition-- he used to look state of the line, after all. ]

Humans can choose, you know? So someone with enough hope could definitely inspire the hopeless, but someone filled with despair could do damage past the point of all hope. In the game of tug-of-war, I think despair has an edge.

[digiorno]

No, despair has to do more damage to make a difference than hope has to inspire one to change. I'm not saying it's impossible for someone to break past the point of repair, because that's obviously a naive outlook. But if people were more inclined to allow themselves to be brought low than elevated, then . . .

[He waves his hand vaguely, a gesture intended to illustrate his point.]

We'd never have come down from the trees at all. Which might be preferable to you, who knows.

1/2

[disjunct]

Hmmm! I see, I see... another 2 points for an impressive comparison, and 4 for adding thoughtful insight to the class discussion...

[disjunct]

BUT EIGHT POINTS AIN'T ENOUGH TO PASS MY CLASS, KID! YOU'RE GONNA NEED THE WHOLE HUNDRED!

[ Suddenly, this ridiculous bear toy is fuming, steam literally popping out of its ears-- probably not intentionally! He jumps up in down in his little chair, looking more comical than threatening. ]

Despair has to do more damage, you're right! It's like your HP bar in a video game-- easily replenished before it gets too low! Little pick-ups bring it back up to speed! But what if the boss shows up with a mega-ton mallet and knocks you down to zero?!

[digiorno]

[Goddamnit, you shitty bear — he can't help but giggle. It's a little like being menaced by a very old, very grumpy turtle. Actually less intimidating than that. He has personal experience. No, this is just silly.]

Well, in that case . . .

[give him a minute]

If there's someone that overpowered in either direction, I suppose it's a moot point, isn't it? If there's someone with a "mega-ton mallet" of either variety, if it can knock you down to zero hope or zero despair no matter how powerful you are, the question is answered before it's even asked.

But. [He holds up a finger.] The despair mallet would still have to be bigger.

[disjunct]

Upupupu! That's right! At the end of the day, it's people who control hope or despair, how it comes and goes, how it impacts us. Celebrities petting kittens can give us hope, and crazed politicians can plunge us into the depths of despair!

But even then... it'd have to be more than a mega-ton mallet. To bring every person on the planet that far down, it'd have to be a giga-ton. Or a tera-ton. Or a peta-ton! Pe-ta-ton! It even sounds like the whack of a mallet!

[ Inquisitively, he puts his paw to his chin. ]

Do you think someone like that exists?

[digiorno]

[This, he takes into consideration. Serious consideration, because as ridiculously as it's being presented, it's important. If someone like that existed, he would have to know. It would be his duty to know, to provide a counterbalance to them — or to destroy them.]

[But really, it's a foregone conclusion. In a way, as much as he tries to search for an alternate answer, he knows the true answer before Monokuma is done asking the question. He isn't even ashamed of it. No; in a convoluted way, he thinks he might be proud.]

[When he shakes his head in the end, it's with the slightest, tiniest hint of a smile.]

Not anymore.

[disjunct]

Why do you know?

[audio; un: ghostprince]

[shootaro]

No, thanks. I'll take a theater of the macabre instead. [Either one's fine, Parisian (or Kalosian, technically, in his world) or Japanese.
—that was a joke (he sounds entirely too young for that sort of thing) and you can hear the smirk in his voice, there— but the rest of his speech is very gruff.]

If it's just for the thrills, we can get those without hurting anyone for real or disrespecting the dead. That's what fantasy is for, isn't it? That's basic. Humans are resourceful. Even if it's for things like finding a way to enjoy something evil without hurting anybody.

[If you can train a Ghost Type that feeds off human souls to feed just off the dead, indulge its nature within boundaries, without fully rejecting it, then you can certainly do the same for human beings!

... besides, he's had to see a dead human body this past week and honestly? Just one is more than enough to last him a lifetime, that was disgusting and terrifying and he's in zero percent hurry to see anything like that again for as long as he lives, thanks.

(He gets the feeling that's a bit of a naive hope in a place that draws in this many people, but he can't help being a little naive right now.)]

[disjunct]

But the need to still have it is still there, right? Artificial or not, when someone yells 'Night of the Gorefest: The Bloodening is out in theaters!' we all turn our heads and look!

[ That sounds like an awesome movie to the girl behind the curtains, but she's also seen it played out in real life... so who knows, maybe sitting in a theater for two hours of Freddy vs. Jason antics would end up pretty boring? ]

I think we all enjoy that kind of suffering. Artificial or not. I wonder what that switch is, in your human brains that gets all excited when it sees a skull cleaved open?

un: amicus

[malignans]

[Anyone with eyes can see that this is not just a bear. Dio might normally gloss over something like this, but it seems there's a point amid the rambling. There's some form of commentary being made on the state of humanity despite its presentation as a question. He doesn't respond, however, for a long time because he's watchful of the conversation between Giorno and this . . . "bear."]

If you would like a simple answer, no. They may dress themselves differently and behave according to societal rules they rewrite every other generation, but their evolution is not so rapid that they've abandoned their desire to live their short, meager little lives.

So long as mortality persists within them as a species, so too will their enjoyment of the macabre, and particularly the suffering of others. But it's of others that remains the most important to them. The moment it intersects with their own lives, it loses its entertainment value because it no longer stands as a testament to their continued existence.

Re: un: amicus

[disjunct]

Upupupu... that's fair! Despair is only fun at arm's length, for most people. Sometimes it needs to be as distant as a television screen, or a friend of a friend. A shocked gasp! A curious need to pry for information... even when it's intimately causing someone pain, we need the deets!

[ The bear seems... content? For now. He's not displeased with your answer, Dio, especially not when it's that well put. He puts on a voice of slightly higher pitch, as if he's imitating a strawman. ]

'Haaa, your cousin died? But he was so young! How? Car crash? Suicide? Asphyxiation? Drug overdose? Aneurysm? Homocide? Had a nice trip, saw you in the fall down the stairs?'

[1/2; probably a bad idea to let them talk]

[shootaro]

Sounds a little cheap, but yeah. [Straight-up slashers are kind of boring...]

Never denied it. Anyone who thinks human beings are inhetently good is naive, that's basic.

...?

[But there's a bit of a lapse in logic there, like she's fishing for certain answers... but hr'll take the bait, he isn't so different and cruelty excites him too.]

Hm, I think it's fear of it happening to them. And disgust. But when it happens to someone else, it's having control over that idea and fear. But it's also a thrill to witness violence, you know? Gives you an adrenaline rush, excites you. Makes you feel alive. Same reason why the people who love rollercoasters enjoy them. Feeling your stomach drop, senses heightened, some sort of instinctual... something takes over.

[2/2; probably a bad idea to let them talk]

[shootaro]

The thrill of the hunt, maybe, the same instinct that keeps us alive and makes us run and hide from prey. Hide-and-seek. The fear of being found, the excitement of the seeker tormenting the, um, encouraging them to get out. Isn't that just sadistic? They won't, of course, but hearing that voice makes their hearts beat fast, makes them hold their breath, curl up to hide better... the point is to scare them, torment and intimidate them into exposing themselves in fear.

[Darkly:] That's just kids being kids.

We know what it's like to be scared, but when the roles are reversed, we enjoy wielding fear over someone else. Isn't that messed up?

Who knows, maybe it is human nature.

are you kidding it's a great idea

[disjunct]

Upupupu... upupupu! Forty points to this guy! He really gets it! In my classroom of two people right now, you're valedictorian!

[ The bear chuckles a little, red gleaming in its robotic eye, even if it's prone to a flicker or two. ]

Humans evolved from spaces where you either kill, or be killed. Of course it's still hard-coded in our brains to go nosing around for it! Humans have only been around for such a short time, too... of course we haven't gotten rid of those urges yet! That's just science!

[ The puppeteer thinks for a moment before the bear makes its gesture of standing up in its chair. ]

Besides, we all know people have a lot to gain from the despair of others! Whether it's money, fame, or just the sweet, gentle reassurance it isn't you yet. Humans are such a riot!

an appropriate bad influence has been found

[shootaro]

Who said you're my teacher? [But it's mumbled a bit, almost shyly. He doesn't really get complimented or praised much, so it still has a profound effect on him! In his world, talking like that or acting based on his cynical beliefs just get him labelled as cruel or earn him a weird lecture about reaching out with pure hearts or whatever.]

You're the smartest stuffed toy I've met, smarter than most humans even. Or at least, more honest than they are.

... hey, can I—

[He wanted to ask to see the puppeteer's face, but... he didn't show his face on the network either. If she's more comfortable staying hidden, that's fine.]

Never mind. [Just a little disappointed. But there's a smile so wide, you can hear it in his voice.]

dw monokuma is the best of bad influences B)

[disjunct]

No, you cannot!

[ His voice is stern, like a teacher's, and he pretends to adjust glasses that aren't on his face. Puffing up slightly with pride, he begins again. ]

Your job is to say 'Teacher, may I?' Grammar's important, kid! I can't let you walk out with a diploma without it! A headmaster's only as good as his students, yannow? So... let me guess...

Was it 'may I ask you a question'?

un: galeas

[fivenareff]

I'd be more interested in hearing your thoughts. I can guess, but maybe I'm wrong. Do you think all humans are so petty and eager for violence, or just a portion of them?