[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

Hello, everyone. [Though overwhelmed when he first returned, now Armin is calm and composed - nearly solemn, almost military in the way he goes about this. He doesn't enjoy this task, but he takes it very seriously.] I'm sorry it took longer than usual, with everything that happened. [Being sent on a different jaunt, not knowing if he'd see any of his friends ever again.] But... I have the list of people who vanished over the course of the last jaunt and haven't come back.

[He takes a deep breath, then begins the list - slowly and clearly, with a small pause between every name.]

Damian Wayne. Jason Todd. Neria Surana. Lucina. Ryuunosuke Ibuki. Sanosuke Harada. Connor Graham. Labrys. Nick Burkhardt. Phèdre nó Delaunay. Oona. Ken Amada. Junpei Iori. Yoon Yoorae. Chizuru Yukimura. Inigo. Takakage Kobayakawa. Janos Audren.

...

I'm sorry. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Comments

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

I say, has anyone noticed there's a distinct trend in ethnicity here?

[purseownerisme]

What do you mean?

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

The majority of the names called have a rather Japanese flavor, wouldn't you say? Is that a bit of a trend in the population here? I'm afraid I haven't met most of the inhabitants.

[purseownerisme]

I don't usually think about it. But more than likely there's no reason why that happens. Then again a few of us don't really care for the Trumps in general.

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

[rather arch tone] You think it likely that there's no reason for a particular trend in a world that is completely controlled by the thoughts of those in charge? If you say so, darling.

[purseownerisme]

...please don't call me that.

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

Call you which?

[purseownerisme]

Darling.

[She just feels weird with it.]

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

Ah, of course. As you like, love.

[He ... may possibly be screwing with her. That, or he really does use the words so frequently he barely notices when they slip out of his mouth.]

[neverfeltthatway]

...Ethnicity? [There's genuine curiosity in his voice. Guess who's never made that distinction? Because - for the most part - it doesn't exist in his world. Not for the last 100 years, anyway.]

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

Yes, sort of a cultural majority, rather, at least in that list of names. About half are Japanese, what. I've only met one fellow from Japan here, myself.

[neverfeltthatway]

Hmm. I suppose many of them were from Japan.

So... your ethnicity refers to the country - or I guess the culture - that you come from? I thought that was called your nationality.

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

Nationality is the country you belong to, ethnicity has more to do with cultural and genetic background. I, for example, am English. The most English person here. But there are fellows who claim British nationality, but who's ethnicity is, for example, Nepalese. The Gurkhas served in the British Army for decades, and some chose to emigrate with their families after their service. Their children would be born as British citizens, but their ethnicty would be considered Nepalese.

[Which is much more than Tick-Tock usually explains, so hopefully you caught all that, Armin.]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin bites his lip, still confused.] Isn't Nepal a country too? How... how do you tell when the name of a country is being used for nationality and when it's used for ethnicity?

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

You guess, or you ask. It can all become a big muddle, honestly. But quite a few of the names here are ethnically Japanese - I wouldn't know if they were also part of the nation of Japan unless I asked, and since they've all popped off somewhere, that's quite tricky to do.

[neverfeltthatway]

...I see. [He's quiet for a long moment, frowning.] It seems like there should be a way to differentiate which one you mean. A different suffix for nationality, or something.

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

That would hardly work - with all the different languages at play, everyone would have to agree on something, and we don't even call countries by the same name, I'm afraid. It would all get rather needlessly complicated.

[neverfeltthatway]

Oh. [That brings him up short.] I guess I'm still not used to thinking of a world where people speak different languages. [He sounds a little embarrassed.]