driftfleet | (no subject)

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Who: Ahsoka + Obi-wan and YOU
Broadcast: No
Action: Planet-side
When: 10th of Jan

[ As promised, in a few days time, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan make their way to the markets. They dress warmly, Obi-Wan procuring a thick cloak for himself. It's hard to feel like a Jedi Master without one.

He watches as Ahsoka flits from stall to stall as he lingers behind her, to correct her on her "bargaining" technique. In a way, they resemble a teenager, saddled with a wiser all-knowing uncle. He strokes his beard in light amusement. This is probably what he needed right now, a reassessment of his priorities, the here and now. ]

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Maybe through a storage space and some kind of variant on a teleport spell... That would burn through MP fast, though.

[She's going to just keep muttering to herself now, distracted by this puzzle. She may have forgotten Obi-Wan entirely.]

I'll leave you to it then. The only things I need are what I can hold with my hands.

What- Oh, right.

[Talking to her is enough to snap her out of it, at least.]

... Really, nothing else?

[ He rubs his beard lightly. ]

Jedi don't own possessions. It is not necessary for us to. Life can be lived simply without them.

... No possessions at all? What about the gun you're looking for?

We own a lightsaber. And quite frankly, I rather pass the gun along to someone else who might need it than to keep it for myself. A bo staff will do just as well.

The Jedi aren't against arming yourself, when the situation calls for it, but a lightsaber is really our only requirement.

Oh- You use staffs, too?

[That catches her attention.]

That still doesn't seem like much of a life.

The principle is similar.

[ Ah, the "you must be deprived" train of thought. ]

Because it doesn't conform to the norm?

Because I spent a very long time not allowed to have any possessions besides things for my studies, and it wasn't much of a life.

But do possessions really validate your life?

I do not know if you were offered a choice to pursue your studies or not, though. The Jedi do not allow, perhaps, but they certainly do not enforce it. It is a realization one needs to come on their own. Teaching can only do so much.

When possessions merit the value in a life, then I would worry. Because life should come first, in all things.

Possessions do validate your life. Not specific ones- Obviously life is more valuable than objects. But desires are a basic cornerstone of identity. Being able to own something is... basic dignity.

And what of being owned? Like having pets for example. Don't they deserve the dignity of choice?

[ Qui-Gon never approved of pets. While Obi-Wan dismissed them continuously as "pathetic life forms", ownership of even the most open-minded or congenial of animals is still, imposing your will on another. ]

I do not believe dignity extends to ownership. To extend your identity to what you own instead of who you are seems like an identity that can be easily taken from you. To own something also means you must be prepared to lose it.

I do not own anything but my lightsaber. No one can destroy me, my identity and my dignity.

I picked one that wanted to come with me.

What I own isn't part of my identity. But wanting things is. And having the basic dignity of being an adult means I can own things if I want to.

You don't have to lose everything you own.

Does he or she have a family? Did they choose you from lack of other choices? Is a spaceship the best place for any animal? One where we are essentially prisoners?

[ He highly doubts that owning things isn't part of her identity. ]

No, but you can lose it. As I said, it invites that possibility to exist. Wanting things is normal. Everyone has them. To assign dignity to them is a bit much, I find, but to each their own.

If you'd like, you can meet Stratus and ask for yourself.

[She's ignoring the last bit, too annoyed to argue further.]

I could. But it's your responsibility, not mine.

She is my responsibility, yes. And I'm taking care of her. I may not be Wren or Sparrow, but I've picked up a few things.

[ He sighs. This is normal, so explaining a Jedi point of view of owning life, no matter how well you treat it isn't going to get anywhere. ]

Is it better to be cared for by someone else or to have the ability to choose? You may provide the greatest care in the galaxy and it may never want to leave your side.

But is it equal? She cannot leave. I do not know how long we plan on lingering on this planet and when we do depart, she can never go home. Surely, you cannot believe she chose to be captured and sold.

That is my point. I'm not trying to accuse you of wrongdoing. You did what was normal. But I cannot agree with it.

... She's a fox. I get what you're saying, but you're assuming a level of sapience that doesn't exist.

That . . . is not entirely true. Jedi can communicate with animals and they certainly possesses deeper train of thought than most are aware of.

So I'm not assuming. I know. It does and has always existed.

Edited 2016-01-10 10:11 (UTC)

... My teammate, Wren, can communicate with animals, and control them. Another teammate, Sparrow, raised monsters and could battle them, and once tamed an otherworldly cosmic horror with pastries. Another, Bluebird, could directly communicate with birds, and often translated for the rest of us.

I may not be a Jedi, and I may not have those skills, but... I have picked up a few things. I know how they work.

Do you think they'd agree with you, that animals lack sapience? Because it does not sound like they would.

It sounds like, from their skills, that they became friends and forged bonds. And I believe that.

... Sparrow got her monsters by defeating them in combat and then capturing them. I think my way is a bit better.

Like I said, I'm not them. But I can expend a couple of MP and get the general gist of things from her.

[ Slightly ]

Your methods are your own. This just goes back to my original point. I simply will not agree with it. Laying any claim on any lifeform is anathema to me.

[She's biting back several responses, but...]

Agree to disagree, then?

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beardstrokes - 2016-01-10 10:24 (UTC) - Expand

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