Gus: Well, I think aside from maybe the police officers among us, and Dawn and Vern of course, most of us had to wait till the Petflix documentary to have the...option of seeing that...Kartakka Beating Tape...
Joel: I'm just going to tell you right now...like...I sold off my old Hoo-man's collection from when I was a cria after watching that special.
Gus: Geeze...well I guess we know your stance on humans huh?
Joel: Don't get me wrong, I like humans...I mean, I don't think they are like...inherently evil or anything. Lots of different mammals did lots of extremely evil things since the dawn of time...it's just...I couldn't look at those stupid figures and cards anymore without...seeing Marcus...his father...*shudders*
Megumi: I felt the same way. It was...the cuteness was lost...they were...what is the Anamaglish word....Retro...retrotract-?
Joel: Retroactive?
Megumi: Yes! Retroactively ruined by harsh reality. The Hoo-man toy lines had goofy villains, and rarely ever had true...meaningful threats. Reality though...
Gus: Reality is always significantly less cutesy and cuddly than the real deal.
Broomie: To be fair though, Humans weren't a reality until what...like six months ago? Up until that point, Humans were urban legends...a fantasy race in B&B...
Melanie: Did you watch the special Dylan?
Broomie: I did...but since I had fair warning about the beating part...I skipped that portion. I just...I didn't have the stomach for it. I mean, we've all met Marcus...I can...I just...
Gus: Relax Brooms, nobody here is judging you.
Broomie: Did you and Mel...?
Melanie: *Sigh* We did...we...we wanted to know what Marcus really went through...to see it from as close to his perspective as we could...and it....it was ghastly...I just...I was just crying quietly the whole time it was going on...and it just felt like it was going on forever...
Gus: Me and Melly were just sorta huddled on the couch, holding each other during the bulk of it...It was...rough to say the least...
Joel: Megumi was practically strangling my neck she was gripped so tightly to it...not that it mattered, I could barely breathe or swallow anyway...I felt like I was one errant gulp from throwing up Pandese food all over the coffee table.
Judy: I....honestly...I thought I was more steeled for that kind of thing going into it...but I...gods I was clutching Nick's tail and just burying myself into it every time they raised that lash...
Nick: I'm not proud to admit I managed to watch the whole time...but I'm paying for it now...it feels like it's imprinted on my eyelids...every time I close my eyes I see that poor kids face...I hear the disgustingly excited chants from the crowd, the jeers feeling as though they were entirely deafened by them.
Judy: My parents didn't believe in physical reprimand when it came to raising me and my siblings, they never raised a paw to us. It was always groundings and taking stuff away, or just the silent treatment. *shakes head* every time my Mom refused to talk to me, I'd crumble and bawl like a kit begging for forgiveness...and though I've seen dramatizations and true crime stories featuring this kind of stuff...seeing the real, raw footage...I just couldn't take it.
Val: You guys are nuts, why would you even subject yourself to watching literal kit-abuse? Did you just want to kill a little piece of your soul on purpose or something?
Gus: We wanted to better understand what Marcus endured Val...
Val: The kit's told us enough about what he went through, I didn't need to see it.
Melanie: I take it you didn't watch it?
Val: And I'm not going to...like I said. He knows what happened, we know what happened. He's happy now, and I'm sure the kit just wants us to move on. As long as he doesn't feel the need to talk about it...we shouldn't be burdening him with it.
Gus: I mean, that's fair. That's a fair take.
Melanie: Regardless of who watched it and who didn't, we'll all be there for Marcus if he needs it...not that we've gotten to know him all that well compared to Dawn and Vern.
Gus: And we certainly won't see the kid any different than we already did see him. Just a bright young boy trying to live happily with his new family...my feelings on humans though...er...
Melanie: Mixed...as much as I'm ashamed to admit...
Gus: Exactly...I feel the same way.
Judy: Oh come on guys, not all Humans are like that Kartakkan mob...or Marcus' Dad.
Gus: I know, I know....it's just...y'know...sometimes I see a human out and about in the city, or one shows up in the store and I...I look at the-them...*Shakes head* And I can't help but see some of those...faces from the crowd...
Melanie: Or Marcus' Dad's own face...
Gus: We're trying to work past it but...it's not something we can get over overnight, y'know?
Megumi: I can understand that...I feel a pang of small fear every so often when I see one since the video...and then I feel ashamed.
Nick: Despite sitting through that mess of a scene...I've largely been okay with my human interaction...sure...sometimes the video does...pop into my thoughts, but I'm...pretty good at burying it back down into my subconscious...
Broomie: As someone who skipped that part entirely I've been alright...I mean, there are more cities, ones that weren't failed states or dictatorships, I mean they were in the documentary. Joel was right, it's not as if any one species has clean hooves. But...I imagine I might struggle a bit had I seen the lashing video...and I'd especially feel just a little weird seeing Marcus now...Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to make him feel like some kind of alien...but it's just like...I wouldn't even know what to say I think...
Val: Just ask him about Nerd stuff...I'm sure you'll synch up on something...by the time you've been talking his ear off about whatever comic series you're currently binging for half hour the kid will be looking to get away from you rather than the other way around.
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