Entry tags:
00 || "They don't even value their own lives." (trivial negative)
The Memory:
This is a bit taken from the beginning of Jay's CQ, before everything goes to shit! He's in Musette's house with the rest of the party, being briefed by her--there's a whole long conversation about plans of action and oh no people want to kidnap Shirley again, but the memory is just this snippet here:
Isabella: These particular assassins who've appeared on the Legacy are the worst kind.
Senel: What, some sort of special forces, like the ones in Vaclav's army?
Isabella: No, worse than that...They're ninjas.
Will: Ninjas...
Chloe: Ninjas?...
Moses: Ninjas...What's a ninja?
Norma: Are you serious, Red?
Moses: How am I supposed to know what a ninja is?!
Jay: Ninjas are assassins who hide in the shadows and act only for the sake of their mission. They cast aside all personal emotions and focus on nothing but the successful execution of their orders.
Norma: That's our JJ! He knows everything!
Jay: What makes ninjas so fearsome is that they don't even value their own lives. They'll sacrifice themselves without a second thought if they deem it necessary to complete their assignment.
Norma: Whoa. Seriously?
Isabella: Yes, what Jay says is true.
Jay: Ninjas are like machines. They're no longer human.
Norma: Jeez...
What He Learns:
- FIRST OFF, I AM BLOTTING OUT HIS NAME because yes.
- He's being briefed on a conflict by Musette and Isabella, with the rest of the party . . . a sense of working with the party and for Musette.
- Are (or were) they at war?
- Ninja lives are balls. Ninja are also balls.
- Okay, so background: Jay used to be a ninja! He worked for Solon, his master and teacher and ~everything~, etc., etc., that was his entire purpose, and then he was used as a decoy and left to die. We don't know exactly how things shook out after that, but when we meet Jay in canon he is a) working as an independent information dealer on the Legacy b) extremely resistant to ever working for Solon again c) dismissive and/or angry at anyone who treats their lives lightly in service of a higher cause. Some kind of transformation obviously happened there.
He won't get most of that off this memory, but there will be a low-level twinge of upset/bitterness/anger/contempt when the topic is first brought up, and . . . Jay isn't stupid! He can work out that there's something personal going on there, and "I used to be a ninja" is one of the more obvious explanations.
What This Means:
This is an interesting memory because it's kind of conflicted! On the one hand, he is working with his 'team,' and judging by Norma's familiarity with him, they have something closer than a business relationship. It's good to have people! On the other hand, there is . . . a sense of distance. Jay represses his feelings, and Jay is repressing hard, and determinedly not mentioning whatever personal connection he has with the ninja to the rest of the party. And all of them (he perceives) are coming from this position of ignorance and dumbfoundedness at the idea of people who sacrifice their lives for The Mission without a second thought. Jay is pretty big on THEY'RE ALL THE SAME I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S DIFFERENT I AM ~ALONE~, and there's some of that feeling in this memory.
Also, he's going to be pretty dismissive of people he perceives as not valuing their own lives, or who give themselves over to a Higher Cause. Or who are ninja! Which is to say, I am making it my goal to have him meet as many as possible.
This is a bit taken from the beginning of Jay's CQ, before everything goes to shit! He's in Musette's house with the rest of the party, being briefed by her--there's a whole long conversation about plans of action and oh no people want to kidnap Shirley again, but the memory is just this snippet here:
Isabella: These particular assassins who've appeared on the Legacy are the worst kind.
Senel: What, some sort of special forces, like the ones in Vaclav's army?
Isabella: No, worse than that...They're ninjas.
Will: Ninjas...
Chloe: Ninjas?...
Moses: Ninjas...What's a ninja?
Norma: Are you serious, Red?
Moses: How am I supposed to know what a ninja is?!
Jay: Ninjas are assassins who hide in the shadows and act only for the sake of their mission. They cast aside all personal emotions and focus on nothing but the successful execution of their orders.
Norma: That's our JJ! He knows everything!
Jay: What makes ninjas so fearsome is that they don't even value their own lives. They'll sacrifice themselves without a second thought if they deem it necessary to complete their assignment.
Norma: Whoa. Seriously?
Isabella: Yes, what Jay says is true.
Jay: Ninjas are like machines. They're no longer human.
Norma: Jeez...
What He Learns:
- FIRST OFF, I AM BLOTTING OUT HIS NAME because yes.
- He's being briefed on a conflict by Musette and Isabella, with the rest of the party . . . a sense of working with the party and for Musette.
- Are (or were) they at war?
- Ninja lives are balls. Ninja are also balls.
- Okay, so background: Jay used to be a ninja! He worked for Solon, his master and teacher and ~everything~, etc., etc., that was his entire purpose, and then he was used as a decoy and left to die. We don't know exactly how things shook out after that, but when we meet Jay in canon he is a) working as an independent information dealer on the Legacy b) extremely resistant to ever working for Solon again c) dismissive and/or angry at anyone who treats their lives lightly in service of a higher cause. Some kind of transformation obviously happened there.
He won't get most of that off this memory, but there will be a low-level twinge of upset/bitterness/anger/contempt when the topic is first brought up, and . . . Jay isn't stupid! He can work out that there's something personal going on there, and "I used to be a ninja" is one of the more obvious explanations.
What This Means:
This is an interesting memory because it's kind of conflicted! On the one hand, he is working with his 'team,' and judging by Norma's familiarity with him, they have something closer than a business relationship. It's good to have people! On the other hand, there is . . . a sense of distance. Jay represses his feelings, and Jay is repressing hard, and determinedly not mentioning whatever personal connection he has with the ninja to the rest of the party. And all of them (he perceives) are coming from this position of ignorance and dumbfoundedness at the idea of people who sacrifice their lives for The Mission without a second thought. Jay is pretty big on THEY'RE ALL THE SAME I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S DIFFERENT I AM ~ALONE~, and there's some of that feeling in this memory.
Also, he's going to be pretty dismissive of people he perceives as not valuing their own lives, or who give themselves over to a Higher Cause. Or who are ninja! Which is to say, I am making it my goal to have him meet as many as possible.