#ging freecss is also an acceptable answer

[antisocial-author]

everybody who thinks leorio is the pathetic man of hunter x hunter is wrong. he’s the only character in the series who actually has his shit together. kurapika, on the other hand-

[icharchivist]

I just saw your shalnark was a kurta answer and didn't the spiders leave a note saying "we accept everything so take nothing from us" at the leader's corpse. Why would they do that?

Heyo! :D 

huuuh this is hard to exactly say. 

“We accept everything, so take nothing from us” is a saying from Meteor City. According to what we know, we know that, people can dump anything they want to Meteor City, even living people, but people shouldn’t steal from them, or kill Meteor City’s people. Last time someone killed an habitant of Meteor City, the killer was killed with the note “We accept everything so take nothing from us.”

On a surface level, for sure, we know it’s therefore a saying that is close to the heart of the Troupe members, since most of them grew up in Meteor City (Chrollo, Pakunoda, Machi, Feitan, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Phinks are the main ones I can think about). 

As it is, the page we have about the note is everything Kurapika had heard over the massacre - which I think is therefore more of a way to sign the massacre as being from the Troupe. It’s the only way Kurapika might have realized it was the Troupe who did those murder, by linking the saying back to Meteor City and therefore, to the group orginitating from it.

Now then as for why…. It’s up to theories. 

The simplest theory would be just that it was left there as a way to sign their murders, nothing more.

The more conspiration theories would tell you the Kurta did something to the Troupe, stole something maybe, and that was a payback.

I… honestly hate this version of the theory. As far as we know, the Kurta were killed because of their eyes. It’s also to notice they were killed 6 weeks after the incident in which Kurapika showed his red eyes to the townpeople, and therefore confirmed that the legend of the “red-eyes monsters” wasn’t a legend. The timing is rather tight, it could be the reason the troupe learnt about the village and planned their robberies.

I personally have another theory, that we discussed in private with @killua-no once. 

We think it’s also possible that it’s the book Sheila brought with her and gave Kurapika and Pairo that might be the cause and may have been stolen from the troupe. 

Now this is a theory, don’t take my words too seriously, but i suppose it has as much weight as thinking the Kurta did something to the Troupe (after all, why people who had been closed of for over a century, would now get the wrath of the Troupe? What could have happened now to get the Troupe’s attention?)

in Kurapika’s past we see an aspiring Hunter, Sheila, who got hurt nearby their village. Kurapika and Pairo took care of her until she was back to health, and to thank them, Sheila gave them the book she had of D-Hunter. From this book, Kurapika and Pairo learnt a lot about the outside world, until the Elder of the village took it away from them to “not give them foolish dreams”. As far as we know, Kurapika and Pario never saw this book again.

The interesting thing is that, we heard of this book in Kurapika’s chapter, only a few chapters before we learn that there are two really important books regarding the Dark Continent, written by Don Freecss. We know one of the book had been found, but the second one seems to have disappeared. 

From the descriptions we have of D-Hunter, it could be that it is a book about the Dark Continant, therefore, a much more important book that it would look like. 

The thing would be that, even if it’s not the book by Don Freecss, if Sheila (accidentally or not) took this book from Meteor City, or from the Troupe, it could be that the Troupe would just be seeking back what was theirs, and the Kurta just happened to be in the way and their eyes bring their attentions. (also the fact the note was found next the leader’s corpse could also be since he was the one who was in possession of said book. But since he was the Elder, this might be a reach and it was just because he was the most important guy of the village.)

It would explain also why the Troupe don’t remember much about the Kurta’s massacre aside from the fact they thought the eyes were pretty. If they came to the village with other motives than to steal the eyes, and realized on the way that the eyes were interesting, it could go in that direction. As something they didn’t plan when they arrived in the village.

Now, one last detail, take it or not, if the book is from Don Freecss and considering Ging has access to the other book or its knowledge, it would make it a fun coincidence if Chrollo and Ging both had access to said book, since they are the two people we see using books as a way to collect powers to use later (Chrollo’s ability and the Books from Greed Island - Even more considering Ging seems to be able to understand Nen technique and reuse them later (which would be the theory of how Greed Island’s cards work anyway)). It was a similitudes that had been bothering Killua-no and I for a while until we started to talk about the Don Freecss’s books and the possibility of the Troupe being linked to one of those books.

When it comes to Shalnark being a Kurta or not, the theories would be that he either asked to be spared in the massacre, or joined the troupe beforehand, and if that later, could have given them information on the village. But I don’t know what it would imply exactly, and we don’t have nearly enough information for it to be well dug in. Besides, with Shalnark’s current situation, I don’t think the story will explore much about it.

And from writting all of this, it does seems like I’m trying to find any reason to not incriminate the Kurta themselves. Ngl, I would be kinda disappointed if it turned out that the Kurta did something actively against the troupe and “got back what they did” kind of way. I find it far more tragic that the Kurta were attacked seemingly for shallow reasons as such as just aesthetics.  I don’t want a “actually the Kurta were really gray” explaination, but I might be too biased and involved in this storyline to think clearly about it.)

This Book theory might be far fetched, and asks a lot of “if”, but considering also how Kurapika’s past chapters are right before the begining of the information about the Dark Continent, the importance of the Don Freecss’s books, and the fact the Troupe gets involved in the search for the Dark Continent, I dare to hope maybe we’re not completely wrong. 

Therefore, the Meteor City’s saying would be used like its original purpose, as the way Meteor City’s citizens use says words. As in “Someone took something from us and we took it back. You are punished for taking it away from us.”

Otherwise, I would believe it’s just a way to sign their massacre as being from them. Coming from Meteor City and in a way, still going by its logic (not to mention that it was at least 4 years before the begining of the manga, so who knows for how long the Troupe had been active at this point. Maybe it was still during the time they were making a name for themselves and therefore would sign their crimes which they wouldn’t later.)

So, I can’t say for sure, I have my theories about it - do what you will with it!

Take care nonny! I wish you well!