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[When the video starts, Mewtwo is wearing the drab brown cloak that he uses to obscure his features when in public. The hood is pulled up over his head and obscuring his face, though his cave is rather clear in the background, lit by a few shafts of light. He wanted this question to be uncolored by what exactly he was, though the shape of his head beneath the cloak made it clear he wasn't human.]

Some time ago, I came across a youth that called himself a "Faunus." After much thought on the matter, I would like to know more about this term. The history of Faunus, and their relationship to humans in their world are rather interesting to me.

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Faunus...? I've never heard of those before.

It is not something that is common among worlds, so it is understandable that the term is foreign to some. Put simply they are some sort of human/animal hybrid. Apart from that, I am... unclear.

Oh... [Like that girl he talked to a while ago] Like a Laguz?

I honestly could not tell you, as I am unfamiliar enough that the terms bear no real meaning for me at the moment.

Ah...I'm sorry.

Yes, it seems that even though somehow, individuals from different worlds whose cultures are so alien to one another as to be a point of conversation all speak a single language, it would seem that whatever compels you to do so is not... complete.

Mm, I guess so. It's too bad, life would be easier if people could try to understand each other more.

[ that — something about the shape of this person (being?) was familiar, but zuko couldn't quite place it. ]

I don't know much about the history of Faunus and their relationship to humans, being that I am not from their world, but from what I understand, Faunus are humans with animal attributes. Someone from Remnant ought to be able to answer your questions better than I could.

[Ah, yes. Azula's "handler." Mewtwo subtly shifts the pitch of his mental voice. Nothing too noticeable but enough to make him sound different.]

It was my hope to speak with one or more of the Faunus that are here for clarification.

[ azula's handler. that's... not inaccurate. zuko's often the voice of reason standing between azula and a potentially messy situation, nevermind the angel on her shoulder urging her to do the right thing instead of the fire nation thing. ]

There are several that I know of here, but I'm hesitant to name any of them in case that's something they'd rather not be publicly known.

[Mewtwo is actually... surprised at Zuko's discretion. He'd assumed the whole thing about him taking the berries was primarily because Mewtwo wasn't human. Huh.]

I would much rather they come forward voluntarily rather than be "outted" as it were.

[ zuko would take issue with stealing whether it was done by a human or someone who wasn't. his family and nation have had a nasty history of discriminating against those who are different and not like them for far too long. he's determined to ensure that history dies with ozai and doesn't continue with him.

he nods. ] I wouldn't out them. That's not my information to share.

You show surprising discretion for a human.

Thanks? I guess.

You are welcome.

[ On one hand, explaining all of that is kind of a hassle and putting effort into things he doesn't really care about sucks. On the other hand, this guy's not a human - that's got his curiosity piqued, and the only way he may get to see what's under that disguise is to humor him. Alright. Game face. Don't be a dick. ]

Hope you're not looking for a feel-good bedtime story. In a word, the relationship between humans and Faunus is "strained".

... or "awful".

"Violent" works too.

What I'm getting at is, it isn't pretty.

[Mewtwo takes a moment to think before answering. He had expected something along those lines but... the gradually deteriorating descriptors were... not expected. Part of him wonders if that is meant to imply a decaying relationship between humans and the Faunus, or simply a mannerism of Mercury's.]

As seems to be the lot of any not born human... If one thing has remained universal among all worlds I have encountered, it is that humans are quick to hate and revile anything that is not them.

[ A lazy shrug, doing very little to betray his feelings on the matter. ]

Yyyyyep! Humanity pushed the Faunus, and now many Faunus are pushing back with force. It's getting visibly worse day by day. It's practically escalated to the point of being a war.

[Mewtwo furrows his brow beneath his cloak. He wants details, Mercury. Not vague statements.]

What kind of "pushing" prompted this?

[ Mercury, unfortunately, is extremely good at not giving people exactly what they want. Infuriatingly so, even. ]

Oh, you know. "These people have animal ears! They must be less human than us! Let's refuse to grant them the same rights and keep them beneath our heel! Surely they'll never consider the fact that they have claws and heightened senses to use against us! What could possibly go wrong?"

Something like that.

[So, in other words, even when he's trying not to be a dick... he's still a dick.]

[Mewtwo considers again, attempting to parse the sarcasm from the truth.]

Then it sounds like humanity is simply reaping what it sewed.

[ The times when Mercury isn't trying to be a dick are few and far between. A blue moon is a more frequent phenomena. ]

Can't say I disagree! But from the sound of things, humanity's still got a pretty distinct upper hand - manpower, technology, resources... It would take some pretty dramatic changes to mess up the power imbalance.

[ Not that Mercury would know anything about those "dramatic changes" that may or may not be in play.

Nnnnnnnnnnnnope ]

All it takes is for one with enough charisma, power, or combination of the two to cause such changes. I do not envy the humans of your world should that be the case.

[Considering Mewtwo almost wiped out humanity with a storm of biblical proportions, he's all about "dramatic changes."]

Which one did you talk to? It looks like Mercury already covered a lot of it. I'd probably guess the reason none of them came to talk to you is most of them don't want to drag their issues here. It's a war we could all do without.

[ And there's no way she's involved at all in any of this war. Not doing her part to fan the flames one bit, nope. ]

Edited 2014-11-18 21:50 (UTC)

[Sorry Emerald, but Mercury's talk and the fact that you aren't readily identified as a Faunus has him a tad on the defenses. The use of "their issues" didn't help matters.]

I do not see how the identity of the one I talked to is of any relevance to the matter at hand. Still, it is a battle that I have fought myself. While my cloak may hide the features of my face, I doubt it obscures my ears that set me aside as decidedly non-human.

I was just curious who you talked to. If you don't want to share, it's no big deal to me. I'm just a concerned citizen trying to be helpful.

[ "Their issues" separates her from the matters though, which is what she wants. Mewtwo's allegiance isn't high on her list unless Cinder says it is. But getting to know him could be useful later, even if he doesn't trust her right away. ]

There are plenty of people who fight that battle in every world for different reasons, I'm sure. It's important and far be it from me to want to squelch rights movements. It seems to me this place is pretty peaceful, but I could be wrong. I'd be happy to learn about the downsides since all people seem intent on telling me how great it is. It seems to me like you're the kind of individual who might know about them and I can appreciate a cautious guy. [ She assumes that's what the cloak's for, anyway. ]

[Beneath his hood, he just arches an eyebrow. "Concerned citizen" huh? Mercury seemed to take responsibility for the consequences being levied at humans but didn't seem to care much either way about the plight of the Faunus. Perhaps Emerald is different...]

The simple fact that I am broadcasting from a cave wearing a hood to conceal my face as opposed to broadcasting my identity from a safe building should say much about the state of things here.

[ She briefly wonders if it wouldn't have been easier to just make a voice or a text post if he was really trying to conceal his identity.]

Who drove you there?

[ She's just better at this than Mercury is. ]

[You try pressing small buttons with massive deformed ball fingers. Besides, the cloak is equal parts obfuscation and marking him as non-human.]

Those that would deny me the means to feed myself. Let us leave it at that for the moment.

[ It isn't like she's noticed his fingers. She'll get him a stylus for Christmas. ]

That's a right everyone should have no matter who or what they are.

[ Emerald is actually being honest about that one. Starving on the streets- or in this case, a cave- isn't her cup of tea. ]

[He doesn't do tools. He could, he just... doesn't like to.]

And yet here I am, denied every avenue I've attempted in order to gain access to the necessary resources, forced into petty theft to survive.

[ Nothing wrong with a little petty theft, Mewtwo. At least Emerald doesn't think so. Not that she'll readily admit it because seriously, that'll get you caught. ]

You have to do what you have to do, especially if there's no other option. No one can blame you for that.

I'm Emerald, by the way.

[He waves his hand barely in frame, a bit of his deformed fingers coming into view as he attempted to send a telekinetic pulse to the button that switches things to a private feed without breaking the device. Once that's accomplished, he reaches back and pulls down his hood.]

That is not a sentiment shared by those in this place, especially in Fayren.

You may call me Mewtwo.

[ She watches. The fingers kind of gave her a heads up, in conjunction with the ears, about what she was going to see, so at the very least she managed to look a little surprised but not scared or anything. ]

Nice to meet you, Mewtwo. I'll admit, I was expecting something more Faunus-like, the way you were talking.

[ At least she doesn't sound like it bothers her so much as she's just really not sure. ]

[He shakes his head some.]

There are none like me. Even in my own world I am an... anomaly. In my world, there are creatures known as Pokemon, beings with abilities far beyond those of humans. Small rodents that generate enough electricity to power entire households on their own, to creatures that have the look and consistency of sludge. Humans work and train alongside Pokemon for a mutual benefit. Humans gain access to the strength and power of the pokemon, while the pokemon gains experience needed to grow and evolve.

I was created as a clone of the legendary Pokemon Mew, genetically altered and mutated to be the strongest Pokemon to ever live, simply so I could be a slave to a human that would use me to conquer.

When I found Faunus that were both human and not human, I was... intrigued... especially given their relationship with humanity.

A lot of humans do tend to focus on conquering more than caring about the people they step on to do it.

[ Like you can talk, Emerald. What's your group doing with the White Fang again? ]

That's probably true in all worlds. Our world has a huge company called Schnee Dust Company that basically enslaves the Faunus instead of paying for labor. They manage to keep it hidden from authorities when under investigation, but there is a lot of evidence stacked against them by normal civilians and an activism group known as the White Fang. They get violent, which is why many humans are against them, but that doesn't make what the humans do right.

[ Frame it in a way that tells the truth with a focus on humans being the problem. That should appeal to what Mewtwo seems to be looking for. ]

I don't know about Pokemon, but that treatment is not fair for you or the Faunus.

Hmm... this White Fang... are there any representative here that I might talk to?

I wouldn't know anything about that. Unless you've got a very obvious Faunus trait, it's hard to get ahold of them.

[ Sorry, Mewtwo, but Emerald isn't going to out herself to a stranger as working with them. But she'll definitely mention his interest to Adam once he figures out where the bull-headed one is. ]

[Have a bit of a look. For the moment he's equating "Faunus" with "non-human" and he's not sure how much more obvious he can be.]

Right. I suppose I will have to fall back on my own methods should seeking them out through the network fail me.

Good luck with that.

Unless your world has some means of completely blocking psychic energy, I shouldn't need luck.

You never know.

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