video.

[livedtwice]

[There's a lot Harry can say here, and a lot that he doesn't want to speak about, because he's at the point where comfort is frustrating. If he apologizes, he might hear that it's not his fault. But if he doesn't apologize, he won't feel as if he's made any effort. It seems best to begin there, anyway.

He has an idea of how to do it.]

There are a couple things I'd like to say. The first thing is very important, but I'd like the chance to not really speak about it. Talking about it isn't really ... helping, you see. It's not that I don't appreciate what everyone's said to me, but I think I need time. And honestly, I feel a little bad for that. Sorry.

[There's a noted pause.]

Like the others, I was infected by Thiazi. I'm sorry for the damage I did. You can personally blame me for what happened to the hospital and library. [And his father.] But I wasn't infected for all the things I said, so I'm sorry for that, too. Sometimes you don't need to be turned into someone else to see the worst parts of yourself. What it told me, though, is that we might need to be more active in finding out the problem. I've learned a lot about Thiazi since I got here, but as a group, we might want to ... attack more. If that's feasible.

[The proactivity is the best he can come up with. A part of it is because he's so upset over what's happened to him.

Harry knows that there were other things motivating him. He knows that he was filled with rage because of the same outside influence, that he didn't need to black out to have that, but he doesn't care. Looking back, he still feels somewhat like himself.]

Which, er. Speaking of that. I have something for you Ellie. [He pulls up a vase from off-screen, and it has flowers in it.] I'd heard you liked these, so this is what I'd like to be able to give you soon. If that's all right. [He looks and feels a bit foolish. He puts down the flowers before anyone gets any ideas.]

—So, um, moving on from that, I had a plan after the attack on the city—the one with the giants, rather than our bracelets. We were all without our bracelets, and it isn't fully functional for battle purposes yet, but I've opened a courier service. I got my owl Hedwig back, and the two of us will be working together to deliver packages. The idea is to have a messaging system that doesn't rely on the bracelets. Because while I trust Loki, I don't trust Thiazi not to attack us again somehow. I guess that's even more appropriate now, yeah?

[He feels like it's the time to smile, but he can't quite muster it up. So, for a moment, he looks like he's straining for one.]

Anyway, the business is called the Owlery Courier. [Or, well, it's longer than that, but he figures the shortened version is fine.] It's located in Heimdall, but I've set up boxes in every district. I'll be checking them every evening. There will be a note if I've already checked for the day. If you'd like to use it, the fees will be available on the boxes. And if you'd like to work for me, I promise above average wages, but I'm only looking for two workers right now.

Right, well. I think that's enough for today.

Comments

[necrowmantic]

Wasn't it fun, though? I bet you worked off aggression you didn't even know you had!

I totally agree we should go attack stuff more often, though! But I'm sort of surprised you'd say so, especially after everything ya did. But the taste of a good slaughter is pretty addicting, can't blame you for wanting more of it!

[livedtwice]

If someone is an enemy making me hurt people, I'd rather be on the offensive than the defensive. Er, eventually.

[He's going to ignore the rest. He isn't interested in fighting with Henry over it, even if he has a feeling Henry will be less up for a fight than before, too.]

[necrowmantic]

Oh, sure. It'd be silly NOT to attack in that case! So that's what it takes to switch ya from the defensive, huh?

Sorry about laughing over your dad, though. Crazy times!

[livedtwice]

[He considers that.]

I don't think I've ever really been on the defensive. But we might see 'offensive' differently. [A beat.] No, we definitely do.

And ... er, at least you know to apologize.

[samantha_grey]

Why would I blame you? I blame Thiazi. She was tearing into your head. It wasn't actually you that bombed those places. But you're right. Looking for ways to take the fight to them, beyond just getting Freyr back, is a good idea.

But you need weapons. Ever thought about Dragons?

[livedtwice]

I remember it all.

[It's as simple as that. Harry's own rationale for accepting the blame is because he knew the knowledge still had to come from him.]

And what about dragons?

[samantha_grey]

Yeah, that's the torture of that crap. [She grunted sourly and glanced away.] Look, take it from someone who's been dealing with this shit for years. You want to learn to forgive yourself for letting her get to you. It's what you have to do to sleep at night.

That, or you'll be putting flowers on graves for the rest of eternity of people you never actually killed.

[She sighed and shook her head.] I was thinking about this [Along with her own plans] The dragons are either a source for scales, weapons, blood and tools if we kill them, and reduce walking siege engines they can use.

Or, if we could find a wild one not on her side, we could always try to convince them to work with us.

[necrowmantic]

You told me though that you'd rather defend people than kill guys- or something like that, anyway. Counts as defensive to me!

...Geez, I'm not that bad, Harry. Or I am, but not in that way.

[livedtwice]

[Harry doesn't answer that he has dealt with this, but unlike with Voldemort, he is actually the one that acted. With Voldemort, he frequently had to remind himself that just because he had the vision didn't mean it was him who actually did the act. The crime.

Even if he could feel himself doing it.

This is different. He remembers his fingers dipping into his father's blood, after all. He remembers the writing on the wall.

So since he doesn't answer with that, he focuses on the dragons. He knows it's obvious, but he can't help it.]

I think there are people who wouldn't like that we just killed a tonne of dragons.

[Alice comes to mind.]

What if we communicated with them? Can we?

[livedtwice]

Yeah, it's definitely different. I don't want to go out and kill anyone, but I do think that in order to protect everyone here, we have to be more aggressive. Offensive doesn't just mean, er, killing.

[Even if he understands that Thiazi does have to die. He doesn't say it. But she's why his father died early. It was with his hands, but just the same.]

I know that. I—lost sight of you for a while there. But I do know that. I even defended you to someone. [Before Henry dripped blood on his face, laughed about his father's death, and everything in-between. A lot had happened. It's nice to return to this. Somehow. He likes Henry this way.]

[necrowmantic]

How can you be offensive without killing? That just takes the fun out of it!

But don't worry about it! I wasn't totally myself either, though I can't blame you for thinking otherwise. ...And huh, really? Why'd you do that?

[livedtwice]

You've been in fights that don't end in death, haven't you?

[Harry doesn't point out that their recent fight technically was the same, after all.]

And—er, I don't think they saw all the sides of you that I have. That's all.

[necrowmantic]

Not for lack of trying!

--thanks, I think, but I don't really have sides! Unless murdering folk in a bunch of different ways counts as sides.

Video;

[tonsofpun]

[... flowers. On the network. From a boy. Even Ellie has read enough comic books to know that someone's gonna take that shit out of context.]

Did you really get me a "I'm sorry I was an asshole" present?

[madcuriosity]

Ah... [It wasn't that Alice hadn't heard the rest, more that she was focused on...]

Are you courting Miss Ellie, Mr. Harry?

[She'll speak to him in person about the Thiazi thing privately. Seems he's feeling horrible about it too.]

text

[windbreak]

[Most of that spiel sounds either kind of heavy ("worst parts of yourself"...?) or kind of like something he'd get punched for prying into, which he'd rather postpone until after getting to grips with all of this stuff - but when it comes to the last part, Yosuke can't help himself.]

why owls
did you just have them lying around

[Video]

[cursedtosleep]

[Aurora listened to the young man and frowned. All the people who had stayed behind... she wish there was something she could do for them, especially when guilt seemed so heavy on their shoulders. She listened and wondered if at all she should offer something to the young man before her. But what could or even should she say to someone she didn't know? Perhaps she should start on his lighter subject.]

You have an owl as well? What does she look like?

[becauseichooseto]

[Having heard about the possession (and having a few bouts of it himself), Irving's a little concerned about the young man's seizing of responsibility. His guilt is his own business, of course, but declaring it to all and sundry would seem a risky prospect.]

I'm new here, so forgive me, but do you consider what the others did under the influence of this... Thaizi, their fault? [He deliberately chooses to use an academic tone here. It validates Harry's action without agreeing with it.]

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

You use owls to deliver packages? [Well, it's true Archimedes has done that for him a few times before. Maybe it's actually normal eleswhere.]

If you need more of them for your business, I still have, erm, some that stay around the house.

[A pause, then he adds a bit too casually:] So what are the flowers for?

[samantha_grey]

[They all dealt with their stress in their own ways. she wasn't going to press the issue.]

Probably a few. The dragons especially. As for talking to them, I got the impression Thiazi made a deal with the ones on her side, so they can be talked to.

I've never tried. They were a bit busy breathing fire at me.

[pushesgently]

Like the others, you are not to blame. Though I imagine knowing that does not change how it feels.

[It didn't for Alastair. But right now Altaïr is more curious about what Harry has in mind for striking back.]

What do you suggest people do to act against Thiazi?

[livedtwice]

Well, I was thinking, and I think people with more experience—and hopefully the gods—can come up with something here. But I was thinking: in my experience in going after someone like her, in order to do it, I had to ... break down the things that kept this individual strong before I went after the source itself. There are usually those things, I imagine. So it'd take research to find them, and then go after them. Freyr's soul couldn't have been the only thing.

[He hesitates and then continues.]

Thiazi has done it to us. She's taken down the bracelets and attacked Loki, and additionally, she's used that to hurt us. She knows what means to use to make things harder here, and right now, I think it's undeniable that Asgard is experiencing a setback. I think it's only smart to use it in return.

[livedtwice]

We might have to find someone who can speak to them, then, even without any abilities.

Henry comes to mind. And Alice has a pet dragon that she drew, but they might be unimpressed with that.

[Video]

[livedtwice]

Everyone in the wizarding world does, actually. It's helpful, especially since they seem to just know where to go.

[Harry has figured out that that's mostly training and not magical means.]

I could use some more, though. Definitely. Hedwig could show them the ropes. [It's an unusual statement, but Hedwig seems like she'd be able to help.]

And—er, I was not very pleasant to her after my father died. Someone said she liked them, because they aren't ... something she has a lot.

[livedtwice]

No, that's not it at all.

I consider what I did. The others are different, but mine had some very specific circumstances caught up in it.