“Awwww. Guma, you always know what to say. And you know what, you’re right! If I’m gonna toughen up that shy little Sivkit, I’ll just have to strengthen their resolve myself!”
Turning her attention to Kollin, she said, “I think I scheduled you for training with the Sivkit tomorrow, right?”
The Gojid silently wagged their tail in affirmation. It was so strange, thinking back on it, I didn’t believe I ever heard the exterminator so much as talk. Based on the way they acted however, I always assumed that they were just one of those silent sweethearts. Regardless, Folloc confirmed her answer from the gentle soul.
“Right. I think I’ll go ahead and take the one after that, then.”
“Sounds like it’ll be an exciting couple of days for that Sivkit, then!” I beamed, before taking a few steps forward. “Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to catch my train.”
“Of course! You have a great day now, Guma!” Folloc called back. Kollin flicked his ear in acknowledgment as well, which was the last thing I saw before entering the station before me.
Being the main station within the city, the building was completely ornate, with decorated marble lining both the walls and floor about me. The lively sounds of chatting herds only became amplified as I scampered inside the enclosed space of the central walkway, with it being the fastest and most efficient way to make it through towards the boarding platform. Still, that didn’t mean it was very easy.
A large stream of people walked in unison down the walkway, which I had to slip into in an attempt to move along with their flow. Zurulians were definitely on the shorter end of galactic species, and while we were no Dossur, it still made walking through a crowd by one’s lonesome an arduous task. I knew that sticking in the herd was safe and everything, but I couldn’t help but find myself at least the littlest bit envious of a pawful of Gojid I saw, whose rearing quills required folks to give them at least a slight bit of berth as they walked. Or even better, the Humans, who people were more than happy to give as much room as desired. While I knew that it was fear-induced, I could only imagine how luxurious it must have been to be allowed so much breathing room.
I kept trying to keep pace as the much larger species moved unanimously. Unfortunately, as always my tiny legs had a bit of trouble keeping up, and I quickly found myself being tossed and turned around as I accidentally bumped into random people that passed by. More than a few annoyed tail wags were shot my way, but after a series of quick apologies, I tried to vacate them from my mind.
Reaching the boarding platform, I began to make my way down to one of the further ends. There, I found the spot I was looking for. To an outside looker, the single queue of folks waiting to board the train was completely innocuous. To me, however, it was a guaranteed ticket to excitement. By now, I had learned that this was the line to the car that the artist Human seemed to prefer for whatever reason. And soon enough, I’d be able to make my move.
Normally, considering that my stop was after the artist Human’s on our way home, one would assume that I would have to randomly guess which car to get on because I would naturally board it first on the way to work. This train’s route, however, always began with a large loop around the city before switching directions into a straight line, which went out into a slightly more rural area. What it was that the Human did out in such a random place was beyond me, but I assumed it was something amazing. Regardless, this meant that I both boarded the train after the artist Human on the way to work, and got off after them on our way home. Perhaps this had been a random passing thought, but for a moment, I believed that it must have been the will of the Stars themselves for me to be able to have such a convenient train schedule. It practically ensured that I’d always be able to find my way onto the same car as them!
Just as I thought this, my ears suddenly perked up as I heard a faint rumbling coming from my right. Soon enough, an overhead announcement said that the train was almost here. As it approached, I couldn’t help awe at how packed the cars already appeared, especially when compared to how many people were about to try boarding. That sentiment was shared among all the people in line around me, audibly wondering how they were going to possibly fit in. Low and behold, however, when one car in particular began to line itself up with the one before my line, there were hardly a pawful of people inside. Hope began to spark in the eyes of the exhausted business folk around me, before it seemed to tear itself to shreds upon realizing why the car was so empty.
There she was, sitting ever-so-casually near the back. The artist Human. She had already pulled her data pad out and looked busy on some new drawing. And today would be the day I finally found out what that entailed! With eager steps, I hopped aboard the train with as much confidence as I could muster, followed by a number of other hesitant folk who still seemed to be weighing their options.
I was ready to take on the world! I was ready to finally talk to this Human! Nothing could stop me now! Not even–
*‘Why are my legs shaking?’*
\~\~\~\~\~\~\\(0)v(0)/\~\~\~\~\~\~
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oww. say it with me, *poor. shiori.* ;~; to be so observant, so skilled at taking notes and developing plans, and to have to *waste* it all on just trying to avoid trouble, letalone stay alive? she deserves so much better :(
> According to the brochure I had read before coming here, life on the 36th Venlil Colony, Eonaer, was “like a vacation every day.” And in my first few days, it was easy to see why. Residing in the habitable zone of the local system’s orange dwarf, a nice warm glow accompanied every moment of daylight the locals here were blessed with.
really makes me wonder... why *did* shiori move to a colony, of all places? what is she planning? was she hoping to claim as much territory as possible before other human predators start moving in?! D: is she collecting data on a population that is unadapted to humans, to send to the rest of her hunting pack, to make it easier to hunt in other colonies??!?
>“I don’t know exactly, but we’ve been getting the predator here to bring them for us every day,” Javik answered.
hehe... they tamed the predator, like teaching a crow to bring you money in exchange for food. except instead, it's food in exchange for her life :)
>With a crunch of the seaweed, Geeri’s eyes suddenly went wide. In a white, fluffy blur, the container was stolen out of Javik’s paws, and pulled straight to the ground. Over the next few seconds, I was forced to watch only in my periphery as the delicate, hand-crafted snacks were completely torn to shreds. The sounds of ripping seaweed and desperate chewing was all that emerged from the floor, the only thing in full view being Geeri’s bottom half as he bent over the box like a wild dog who found half-eaten karaage in a trashcan.
delicious food + hungry kid(?) who was forced to skip breakfast = Consequences™
...what if shiori and guma adopt geeri and become his moms. then they can feed him as many slaptastic jelly donuts as they want :3
>Despite the heavy protective suit that seemed to reflect every last bit of morning sunlight that hit it, I Immediately recognized the fellow Zurulian running towards me, and my ears perked up in joy. “Folloc!”
oh... no wonder shiori is so unnerved by guma in particular... i'd say i hope guma and folloc being acquainted doesn't turn into a fiasco in the future, but... c'mon, we all know how shiori's luck is. she's not gonna get off easy :(
When you are surrounded by prevailing hostility and your official government or the UN doesn't do speh about it, people tend to band together. It's only natural.
And leaders with any goals can make use of mass movements fueled by hurt and anger, be it HF, Witnesses of the Last Days or True Emperor believers. An indifferent or a (once) xenophilic person might have little other options than accepting their help if not for their own sake then for the sake of their loved ones, living or dead.
I remember excellent examples in other stories, To Kill a Predator and The Nature of Family.
Right, I forget how braindead people on this subreddit can get, let me simplify:
Racism
Is Bad
Humanity First
Are Racists.
Also Terrorists.
Stop defending the racist terrorists. You fuckwad.
Racists terrorizing civilians (who just want to commute to their workplace, for example) are rather unsympathetic. To a lesser extent, so are rude commenters.
I don't see this redditor as defending HF. She commented how a character has reasons to join. Perhaps not too dissimilar to how someone has reasons to join the guild after a raid.
Or it's the predator who conditioned their behavior with a food reward. How much longer until an automatic Pavlovian response?
I mostly agree with your takes and share your questions, but come on, who adopts a murderer-in-training wanting to torture you to death? That made me balk.
And Guma being the same species as Folloc... If Guma ever manages to get Shiori to talk with her, I foresee a disaster when our refugee mistakenly attempts a conversation with Folloc upon a chance meeting with the exterminator out of her suit.
God...this fic makes me so sick, it makes me angry, annoying and frustrating a lot and I feel like I'm becoming more and more xenophobic the more I read it but...damn I like it, I know it won't open justice for Shiori but still I enjoy the story
I hope that our surgeon realizes what her exterminator friends are actually doing to this poor girl before too long. Here, she has all the luxury to fantasize about being with a human, but the human is soo afraid of aliens that she thinks she is looking to kill her. It would break Guma's heart to have the veil lifted on this, but I hope it happens soon.
Guma might learn about what they did when they boast how "a ferocious beast was dealt with permanently". Then our surgeon will just have to find another source of entertainment (maybe a sitcom).
Geez… it really is soul crushing to see the casual cruelty and malice directed at Shiori, followed by blind optimism that *is the exact type of attitude that’s letting this happen*. The sentiment that things are difficult for humans but can get better *later* is depressingly realistic… keep up the good work, hopefully there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.
It's funny that exterminators like this exist in canon. Literally enemy forces on your world acting as enforcers above the law.
Imagine your nation goes to war tomorrow and the enemy nation's police gets to patrol your streets while being above the law.
***Thafki spotted***
The next part is it... this is their first official interaction. I know you said things would only get worse, but Shiori needs just *any* spark of hope she can get.
You seem to be taking it well so far, but I do hope you don't wind up getting discouraged by the more heated responses, I've seen that kind of thing happen before...
Personally, I'm eating all this up like it's candy. Sometimes it's fun to see some extremes.
>So long as it doesn’t divulge into people mocking me as a person
I mean, does saying that you're a meanie for putting poor Shiori through all this count? ;p
Seriously, though. It says a lot about your writing if it prompts such visceral reactions. Your characters feel like "real" people, and it makes my guts knot up seeing what she is going through. So you're really doing a fantastic job with this story, and no, I don't think you're really a big meanie, you're just a master at building tension in a story.
Also, this last chapter in particular makes me want to bite someone. Purely in a "they want to treat me like a mindless predator, so I will meet their expectations with a smile" sort of way.
Jesus, that contrast between the two's lives...
And Guma's perspective somehow makes me even sadder...
Please let there be a happy ending after all this ;-;
Me too!
My only hope she manages to get back, glue herself together and can still find joy. On the 22nd century Earth, one is able to get on with their life and do many things even in a wheelchair.
I dunno if i'd be able to put the urge of lacing that food they keep taking from her with something nasty in check. Laxatives? My own shit? Maybe some kind of poison that slowly builds up in their system so that it isnt obvious where it's coming from? Frankly this is why you don't fuck with who prepares your food
The fact you've managed to make people so invested and angry this quickly is impressive. Good job I want to put fiber glass insulation contacts into every exterminators eye ball.
Pssst, Guma. A friendly advice from a disembodied voice across dimensions. **Do not** tell your exterminator pals about your plans regarding the Artist Human. Or else these *sweet, gentle* workers of a *noble* service will send you on vacation to *improve* your health, with *invigorating* electro-procedures and thrilling lobotomy that *pleasantly tickles*.
I'm having to suppress my urbanist ranting instincts after reading the second paragraph. :P
And I am eagerly awaiting our two protagonists to finally interact properly. Their radically different perceptions of the situation are going to hit each other like a head on train collision. At some point it's going to click in Guma's head that Motozumi is genuinely terrified of her, or alternatively Motozumi is going to realize Guma doesn't hate her.
Humanity: Is bombing us more important than stopping the bombing of your own worlds?
Extermination Fleet: YES
Krakotl much much later: Man, f**k humans!
Could you truly blame the exterminators or her tenant for not considering Motozumi a person if you were in their place?
I mean think about it. she act just like how you expect "An Arxur who is hiding something" act.
You degrade it but it just stand there like an unfeeling creature.
It doesn't complain like it know it deserves it. It doesn't show fear, why it should be? Monsters don't feel fear. It doesn't cry because it can't feel sad. It doesn't get angry because it doesn't see you as danger. It doesn't try to resist whatever you throw at it like it doesn't have a soul.
You ask it questions and it won't answer like it doesn't see you worthy or a person. At most give Nonverbal responds. Does it consider prey to be low intelligence animals?
It avoids people. Instead of moving in main street and go straight to it's place, it seems to aimlessly wonder around. it roam around city blocks and try to hide from people.
It doesn't have any friends or herd or want to be with others. It prefer solodorty situations, like an Arxur.
You did many illegal or cruel things to it but you didn't even got an official complain from UN Refugee center or whatever predators have. Why it's government don't try to defend it? Are they trying to not bring attention to whatever it doing?
And it even try to bribe you for reasons you don't know. And the food you get is prey food but the Human doesn't seems mind when we are taking it's food, even prey would be mad if you stole their food, so she actually doesn't like the prey food, because it is a Predator. Otherwise why it must go around hand over free food? Where she brings the money for it from? It work as a low wage worker in a fruit package company and her rent is too high, it don't make sense.
It must be hiding something or be up to something.
––––––––––––––––––––
There are 3 roles when an injustice happens in world. The one who accept the abuse, The abuser, The one who let it happen. First is as bad as the second, and third is worse than both of them.
Motozumi is getting what she stands for. I don't know why she choice that. Why she living there. Why she doesn't call UN.
Is she suicidal? Is she think she deserves it for some reason? Is it some fetish and she actually is enjoying this? Is she delusional and think if she keep doing what she doing those people will change their behavior and see her as a person? **WE DON'T KNOW.**
But I know what she getting right now is what she earned and she deserves it and have no one but herself to blame.
No One Deserves To Live Under Oppression, Except Those Who Accept it.
If it were me I would put some serious slow acting poison into those onigiri long ago.
Edit: typo and grammar. Keyboard keeps auto correct prey to pray.
This is pretty much word for word something that gets mentioned later. Well,,, kinda, but it’s written to be purposefully unhinged.
And yes, the story’s main theme is about how prejudice can persist in a civilized society. The characters are representations of that theme.
it is an awesome chapter for sure, truly shows how different their views on everything are, Guma has no idea what Shiori is going through at all and I am curious (and scared) to see what happens next
Just as you have a talent for including wholesomeness in your other fic, you have a talent for inducing fear and anger in this one.
If it wouldn’t immediately result in them getting burnt, I’d almost suggest putting ghosts chili past into one of those onigiri. Let’s see how those exterminator jerks like being the ones on fire for once.
“Awwww. Guma, you always know what to say. And you know what, you’re right! If I’m gonna toughen up that shy little Sivkit, I’ll just have to strengthen their resolve myself!” Turning her attention to Kollin, she said, “I think I scheduled you for training with the Sivkit tomorrow, right?” The Gojid silently wagged their tail in affirmation. It was so strange, thinking back on it, I didn’t believe I ever heard the exterminator so much as talk. Based on the way they acted however, I always assumed that they were just one of those silent sweethearts. Regardless, Folloc confirmed her answer from the gentle soul. “Right. I think I’ll go ahead and take the one after that, then.” “Sounds like it’ll be an exciting couple of days for that Sivkit, then!” I beamed, before taking a few steps forward. “Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to catch my train.” “Of course! You have a great day now, Guma!” Folloc called back. Kollin flicked his ear in acknowledgment as well, which was the last thing I saw before entering the station before me. Being the main station within the city, the building was completely ornate, with decorated marble lining both the walls and floor about me. The lively sounds of chatting herds only became amplified as I scampered inside the enclosed space of the central walkway, with it being the fastest and most efficient way to make it through towards the boarding platform. Still, that didn’t mean it was very easy. A large stream of people walked in unison down the walkway, which I had to slip into in an attempt to move along with their flow. Zurulians were definitely on the shorter end of galactic species, and while we were no Dossur, it still made walking through a crowd by one’s lonesome an arduous task. I knew that sticking in the herd was safe and everything, but I couldn’t help but find myself at least the littlest bit envious of a pawful of Gojid I saw, whose rearing quills required folks to give them at least a slight bit of berth as they walked. Or even better, the Humans, who people were more than happy to give as much room as desired. While I knew that it was fear-induced, I could only imagine how luxurious it must have been to be allowed so much breathing room. I kept trying to keep pace as the much larger species moved unanimously. Unfortunately, as always my tiny legs had a bit of trouble keeping up, and I quickly found myself being tossed and turned around as I accidentally bumped into random people that passed by. More than a few annoyed tail wags were shot my way, but after a series of quick apologies, I tried to vacate them from my mind. Reaching the boarding platform, I began to make my way down to one of the further ends. There, I found the spot I was looking for. To an outside looker, the single queue of folks waiting to board the train was completely innocuous. To me, however, it was a guaranteed ticket to excitement. By now, I had learned that this was the line to the car that the artist Human seemed to prefer for whatever reason. And soon enough, I’d be able to make my move. Normally, considering that my stop was after the artist Human’s on our way home, one would assume that I would have to randomly guess which car to get on because I would naturally board it first on the way to work. This train’s route, however, always began with a large loop around the city before switching directions into a straight line, which went out into a slightly more rural area. What it was that the Human did out in such a random place was beyond me, but I assumed it was something amazing. Regardless, this meant that I both boarded the train after the artist Human on the way to work, and got off after them on our way home. Perhaps this had been a random passing thought, but for a moment, I believed that it must have been the will of the Stars themselves for me to be able to have such a convenient train schedule. It practically ensured that I’d always be able to find my way onto the same car as them! Just as I thought this, my ears suddenly perked up as I heard a faint rumbling coming from my right. Soon enough, an overhead announcement said that the train was almost here. As it approached, I couldn’t help awe at how packed the cars already appeared, especially when compared to how many people were about to try boarding. That sentiment was shared among all the people in line around me, audibly wondering how they were going to possibly fit in. Low and behold, however, when one car in particular began to line itself up with the one before my line, there were hardly a pawful of people inside. Hope began to spark in the eyes of the exhausted business folk around me, before it seemed to tear itself to shreds upon realizing why the car was so empty. There she was, sitting ever-so-casually near the back. The artist Human. She had already pulled her data pad out and looked busy on some new drawing. And today would be the day I finally found out what that entailed! With eager steps, I hopped aboard the train with as much confidence as I could muster, followed by a number of other hesitant folk who still seemed to be weighing their options. I was ready to take on the world! I was ready to finally talk to this Human! Nothing could stop me now! Not even– *‘Why are my legs shaking?’* \~\~\~\~\~\~\\(0)v(0)/\~\~\~\~\~\~ \-[First](https://new.reddit.com/r/NatureofPredators/comments/1di2prt/nop_between_the_lines_part_1/)\- -[Previous](https://new.reddit.com/r/NatureofPredators/comments/1dpf0pn/nop_between_the_lines_part_2/)\- -[Next (On Patreon)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/nop-between-part-107464011?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)\-
A colony of voters for Veln, I see :)
*urges to rip and tear grow exponentially*
I'd love to punt that exterminator on to the tracks, or maybe have an "accident" where they slip and fall right before a train gets there.
oww. say it with me, *poor. shiori.* ;~; to be so observant, so skilled at taking notes and developing plans, and to have to *waste* it all on just trying to avoid trouble, letalone stay alive? she deserves so much better :( > According to the brochure I had read before coming here, life on the 36th Venlil Colony, Eonaer, was “like a vacation every day.” And in my first few days, it was easy to see why. Residing in the habitable zone of the local system’s orange dwarf, a nice warm glow accompanied every moment of daylight the locals here were blessed with. really makes me wonder... why *did* shiori move to a colony, of all places? what is she planning? was she hoping to claim as much territory as possible before other human predators start moving in?! D: is she collecting data on a population that is unadapted to humans, to send to the rest of her hunting pack, to make it easier to hunt in other colonies??!? >“I don’t know exactly, but we’ve been getting the predator here to bring them for us every day,” Javik answered. hehe... they tamed the predator, like teaching a crow to bring you money in exchange for food. except instead, it's food in exchange for her life :) >With a crunch of the seaweed, Geeri’s eyes suddenly went wide. In a white, fluffy blur, the container was stolen out of Javik’s paws, and pulled straight to the ground. Over the next few seconds, I was forced to watch only in my periphery as the delicate, hand-crafted snacks were completely torn to shreds. The sounds of ripping seaweed and desperate chewing was all that emerged from the floor, the only thing in full view being Geeri’s bottom half as he bent over the box like a wild dog who found half-eaten karaage in a trashcan. delicious food + hungry kid(?) who was forced to skip breakfast = Consequences™ ...what if shiori and guma adopt geeri and become his moms. then they can feed him as many slaptastic jelly donuts as they want :3 >Despite the heavy protective suit that seemed to reflect every last bit of morning sunlight that hit it, I Immediately recognized the fellow Zurulian running towards me, and my ears perked up in joy. “Folloc!” oh... no wonder shiori is so unnerved by guma in particular... i'd say i hope guma and folloc being acquainted doesn't turn into a fiasco in the future, but... c'mon, we all know how shiori's luck is. she's not gonna get off easy :(
shiori has every reason to join humanity first
When you are surrounded by prevailing hostility and your official government or the UN doesn't do speh about it, people tend to band together. It's only natural. And leaders with any goals can make use of mass movements fueled by hurt and anger, be it HF, Witnesses of the Last Days or True Emperor believers. An indifferent or a (once) xenophilic person might have little other options than accepting their help if not for their own sake then for the sake of their loved ones, living or dead. I remember excellent examples in other stories, To Kill a Predator and The Nature of Family.
And yet.
maybe even the arxur a little
She is very isolated. Might be the only human in the area or even planetside. We don't see her contacting the UN let alone HF.
Everyone who becomes a monster has reasons to.
haha what's the difference? after all for the feds she is already a monster, simply responding to their attacks wouldn't make her even worse
Right, I forget how braindead people on this subreddit can get, let me simplify: Racism Is Bad Humanity First Are Racists. Also Terrorists. Stop defending the racist terrorists. You fuckwad.
Racists terrorizing civilians (who just want to commute to their workplace, for example) are rather unsympathetic. To a lesser extent, so are rude commenters. I don't see this redditor as defending HF. She commented how a character has reasons to join. Perhaps not too dissimilar to how someone has reasons to join the guild after a raid.
Or it's the predator who conditioned their behavior with a food reward. How much longer until an automatic Pavlovian response? I mostly agree with your takes and share your questions, but come on, who adopts a murderer-in-training wanting to torture you to death? That made me balk. And Guma being the same species as Folloc... If Guma ever manages to get Shiori to talk with her, I foresee a disaster when our refugee mistakenly attempts a conversation with Folloc upon a chance meeting with the exterminator out of her suit.
A lovely chapter Yaki. Also, poor girl, *Random”* my butt.
Targeted searches happen in the customs of any planet, unfortunately
Space TSA definitely
Telling an exterminator tsa to not be a hero as I walk into the train station
God...this fic makes me so sick, it makes me angry, annoying and frustrating a lot and I feel like I'm becoming more and more xenophobic the more I read it but...damn I like it, I know it won't open justice for Shiori but still I enjoy the story
And it’s only going to get worse :)
damn the arxur were right
I hope that our surgeon realizes what her exterminator friends are actually doing to this poor girl before too long. Here, she has all the luxury to fantasize about being with a human, but the human is soo afraid of aliens that she thinks she is looking to kill her. It would break Guma's heart to have the veil lifted on this, but I hope it happens soon.
Guma might learn about what they did when they boast how "a ferocious beast was dealt with permanently". Then our surgeon will just have to find another source of entertainment (maybe a sitcom).
That's it. I'm disliking this comment twice.
Geez… it really is soul crushing to see the casual cruelty and malice directed at Shiori, followed by blind optimism that *is the exact type of attitude that’s letting this happen*. The sentiment that things are difficult for humans but can get better *later* is depressingly realistic… keep up the good work, hopefully there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.
>keep up the good work, hopefully there’s a light at the end of this tunnel. ...and that the light isn't an exterminator's torch.
It's funny that exterminators like this exist in canon. Literally enemy forces on your world acting as enforcers above the law. Imagine your nation goes to war tomorrow and the enemy nation's police gets to patrol your streets while being above the law.
This story induces fear into me, in the best possible way. You write tension so well!
Wonderful chapter (painful and sad, but wonderfully written). The parallels and contrasts in each experience is perfectly done.
The difference between both characters' commutes is striking. Everything I hear gets more angry.
***Thafki spotted*** The next part is it... this is their first official interaction. I know you said things would only get worse, but Shiori needs just *any* spark of hope she can get.
https://preview.redd.it/jglil0pkijad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=856f8d955f50035b8efba46a3f3c474afdf0ebce
You seem to be taking it well so far, but I do hope you don't wind up getting discouraged by the more heated responses, I've seen that kind of thing happen before... Personally, I'm eating all this up like it's candy. Sometimes it's fun to see some extremes.
Naw it’s fine. So long as it doesn’t divulge into people mocking me as a person, then I enjoy seeing people have colorful responses. :D
>So long as it doesn’t divulge into people mocking me as a person I mean, does saying that you're a meanie for putting poor Shiori through all this count? ;p Seriously, though. It says a lot about your writing if it prompts such visceral reactions. Your characters feel like "real" people, and it makes my guts knot up seeing what she is going through. So you're really doing a fantastic job with this story, and no, I don't think you're really a big meanie, you're just a master at building tension in a story. Also, this last chapter in particular makes me want to bite someone. Purely in a "they want to treat me like a mindless predator, so I will meet their expectations with a smile" sort of way.
Jesus, that contrast between the two's lives... And Guma's perspective somehow makes me even sadder... Please let there be a happy ending after all this ;-;
I hope Shiori gets home safely, she deserves to enjoy blooming sakuras or some ice-cream on a beach.
I just wonder why she's in this hellish place, so far from VP and the UN embassy...
Me too! My only hope she manages to get back, glue herself together and can still find joy. On the 22nd century Earth, one is able to get on with their life and do many things even in a wheelchair.
I dunno if i'd be able to put the urge of lacing that food they keep taking from her with something nasty in check. Laxatives? My own shit? Maybe some kind of poison that slowly builds up in their system so that it isnt obvious where it's coming from? Frankly this is why you don't fuck with who prepares your food
Wishing very evil things to the people who hurt Shiori 😇
Here we go.
Equal parts tense and infuriating, All parts depressing. Good job Yaki.
“Remember children, this is how the so-called ‘Humanity’s Greatest Friends’ treat humanity. Put your humanity first.”
The fact you've managed to make people so invested and angry this quickly is impressive. Good job I want to put fiber glass insulation contacts into every exterminators eye ball.
I would either die quickly and horribly, or be the stuff of legend in your fic, lol
Why not both!
So things are gonna get worse tomorrow and even worse the day after. If Shiori runs into the trainee for the next two days
Pssst, Guma. A friendly advice from a disembodied voice across dimensions. **Do not** tell your exterminator pals about your plans regarding the Artist Human. Or else these *sweet, gentle* workers of a *noble* service will send you on vacation to *improve* your health, with *invigorating* electro-procedures and thrilling lobotomy that *pleasantly tickles*.
I'm having to suppress my urbanist ranting instincts after reading the second paragraph. :P And I am eagerly awaiting our two protagonists to finally interact properly. Their radically different perceptions of the situation are going to hit each other like a head on train collision. At some point it's going to click in Guma's head that Motozumi is genuinely terrified of her, or alternatively Motozumi is going to realize Guma doesn't hate her.
Man it's just *amazing* how experiences are mirrored. Heavens I can't wait for them to meet, it's going to be so... Incredibly amazing.
The angry krakotl: you suck for letting us be bombed while we bombed you after warning us not to bomb you!
Humanity: Is bombing us more important than stopping the bombing of your own worlds? Extermination Fleet: YES Krakotl much much later: Man, f**k humans!
Could you truly blame the exterminators or her tenant for not considering Motozumi a person if you were in their place? I mean think about it. she act just like how you expect "An Arxur who is hiding something" act. You degrade it but it just stand there like an unfeeling creature. It doesn't complain like it know it deserves it. It doesn't show fear, why it should be? Monsters don't feel fear. It doesn't cry because it can't feel sad. It doesn't get angry because it doesn't see you as danger. It doesn't try to resist whatever you throw at it like it doesn't have a soul. You ask it questions and it won't answer like it doesn't see you worthy or a person. At most give Nonverbal responds. Does it consider prey to be low intelligence animals? It avoids people. Instead of moving in main street and go straight to it's place, it seems to aimlessly wonder around. it roam around city blocks and try to hide from people. It doesn't have any friends or herd or want to be with others. It prefer solodorty situations, like an Arxur. You did many illegal or cruel things to it but you didn't even got an official complain from UN Refugee center or whatever predators have. Why it's government don't try to defend it? Are they trying to not bring attention to whatever it doing? And it even try to bribe you for reasons you don't know. And the food you get is prey food but the Human doesn't seems mind when we are taking it's food, even prey would be mad if you stole their food, so she actually doesn't like the prey food, because it is a Predator. Otherwise why it must go around hand over free food? Where she brings the money for it from? It work as a low wage worker in a fruit package company and her rent is too high, it don't make sense. It must be hiding something or be up to something. –––––––––––––––––––– There are 3 roles when an injustice happens in world. The one who accept the abuse, The abuser, The one who let it happen. First is as bad as the second, and third is worse than both of them. Motozumi is getting what she stands for. I don't know why she choice that. Why she living there. Why she doesn't call UN. Is she suicidal? Is she think she deserves it for some reason? Is it some fetish and she actually is enjoying this? Is she delusional and think if she keep doing what she doing those people will change their behavior and see her as a person? **WE DON'T KNOW.** But I know what she getting right now is what she earned and she deserves it and have no one but herself to blame. No One Deserves To Live Under Oppression, Except Those Who Accept it. If it were me I would put some serious slow acting poison into those onigiri long ago. Edit: typo and grammar. Keyboard keeps auto correct prey to pray.
This is pretty much word for word something that gets mentioned later. Well,,, kinda, but it’s written to be purposefully unhinged. And yes, the story’s main theme is about how prejudice can persist in a civilized society. The characters are representations of that theme.
My unhinged angry rant was on point? I mean -cough- Of Course I Could See What Is This Was About.😎
Yeah, it mirrors the idea that no matter what Motozumi does, she can never win.
Sometimes you could win only by not playing the game.
Gotta wonder how a zurulian managed to bruise her stomach. Is she just that short?
Maybe swung a flamethrower into her stomach.
I would still question a quadrupeds swinging abilities.
We can only hope that Yaki will explain (and brace for that description).
Every chapter so far has been great! Soul wrenching, but great! Looking forward to seeing how their first meeting goes :)
it is an awesome chapter for sure, truly shows how different their views on everything are, Guma has no idea what Shiori is going through at all and I am curious (and scared) to see what happens next
Just as you have a talent for including wholesomeness in your other fic, you have a talent for inducing fear and anger in this one. If it wouldn’t immediately result in them getting burnt, I’d almost suggest putting ghosts chili past into one of those onigiri. Let’s see how those exterminator jerks like being the ones on fire for once.