The Bahummiest of Humbugs

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Sender: Seto Kaiba
Subject: Regarding Christmas

I'll never understand what all the fascination is with one day that was arbitrarily chosen to be significant.

Don't hand me those lines about it being a time to show "good will" and "appreciation" for your fellow man. If people truly believed those ideals were important they wouldn't need to adhere to a schedule to be reminded to extend that gratitude, nor would it lead to the near-riots at limited time sales. Nothing says "Peace on Earth" quite like elbowing someone else out of the way so you can grab the last product off the shelf for yourself.

It's all a marketing ploy.

Believe me, I should know... I wonder what the sales figures look like this year.

Comments

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Now this was more like it. Sure, Kaiba had actually enjoyed throwing a few written barbs back and forth with the rest of the rabble but seeing someone else brimming over with negative sentiments matched his mood perfectly. Although his reasons for said mood might seem counterintuitive to his initial rant.]

That's because that's precisely what it is.

The logistics alone are maddening. There's absolutely no one on Earth that could circumvent the globe in one night, while transporting gifts to every household. Some years you just consider yourself lucky if Fedex doesn't discard your packages into the nearest abandoned field...

What good does it do to instill children with thoughts of magic and hope when all of it is a lie? It doesn't prepare them for the harsh environment that is reality.

[Says the man that runs an amusement park that offers discounted rates for the underprivileged and totally has people parading around in costumes to give the illusion that they are in fact the monsters they represent... But no one here, knows he's a hypocrite... Except Ann... if she recalls Kaibaland]

This is the first sensible reply I've read since the initial transmission.

[And it comes from an unexpected source.]

[herewardbound]

On the one hand you aren't wrong

on the other hand the bullshit I was talking about is the systemic crap that the concept itself reinforces, plus the notion of enforced buying shit or else being a dick.

I have sad news for you if you don't believe in magic, though.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Don't misinterpret my response, your point wasn't lost on me. I was merely adding to the ever-growing list of why this holiday is overrated.

[Shipping and handling is a real problem ok.. especially when you deal in international sales. Each country has it's own system, taxes and levies. It can be a nightmare...

IE. Kaiba is wayyyyy too invested in business matters to spend much time on the philosophical ramifications.]

If I had a dime for every time someone tried to convince me that magic exists... I'd be even richer than I already am. Believe what you want, but I'm not buying into it.

[He's even got a few running theories about how the whole persona thing works... so.. yeah... he's most skeptical]

[herewardbound]

What.

Sir you are literally in a world of dream magic based on emotion. How-

No, you know what? This needed to be investigated.

For the sake of clarification and because I feel like we've hit a stumbling block-

What is it, exactly, that you mean when you use the term 'magic'?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Baffling, isn't it?]

I know the term is used to cover a broad spectrum of anomalies but my definition can't be all that different from yours.

[Still, he'd humor the guy]

The power to manipulate the environment around you, influence events, summon objects or creatures via supernatural forces ignoring the natural laws.

[herewardbound]

Surely. Surely not.

An... interesting position to hold, but I suppose you wouldn't be the first. I suppose any phenomenon, no matter how apparently esoteric, is part of the functioning of the world and therefore has an explanation- even if our current model of natural laws doesn't account for it.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

That's what I've been saying this entire time.

[At least someone seems capable of understanding Kaiba's position on this subject, even if his own opinion on the subject differs.]

Realistically, Magic is just one of those topics I should avoid here. Most people are only too willing to believe in that nonsense and it always becomes a thing.

[herewardbound]

I had to be sure. I've certainly interacted with enough people who insisted that perfectly mundane things happening right in front of them were impossible, let alone things that our current model of the universe doesn't account for. But no, that's a fairly reasonable position to take. Even for events that, on the surface, appear to be entirely chaotic, at the macro level form patterns that we'd never observe over human timeframes. It stands to reason that anything we'd call magic has to operate by some predictable ruleset.