/takes the huntress out back and buries it (jan mingle pt. II)

[scrubscrub]

Who: Anyone on the SS Huntress! Crew and visitors.
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Huntress
When: More of January! We got three new crew mates and it will be messy.

IT'S ANOTHER MINGLE FOR OUR EVER-EXPANDING SHIP.

Also, we need an update on how well Koala is doing at pinball.

God, help this ship.

Comments

[beardstrokes]

It is simply the philosophy I follow.

[ He doesn't expect any kind of acknowledgement from it. ]

[nerdeology]

Well.

[Not like he's going to argue about someone else's religion or whatever. With how he was raised, it's never really mattered to him.]

Either way, it looks like it does grant you limited resonance, so it must be useful. This ship is full of surprises.

[beardstrokes]

[ Who else would be able to see him? . . . Greed, perhaps. Undyne for sure. ]

Yes. I'm sure there are many more with the ability to perceive you with no difficulty.

[nerdeology]

[No, and yes.]

Just enough. Though the communication device is capable of conveying my voice to everyone, ignoring resonance entirely.

[It's still very weird.]

[beardstrokes]

Technology. It has its uses. Communicators can be extremely useful that way.

[ He's not surprised, though it is new. ]

[nerdeology]

We don't have anything like it where I'm from. If bridging the gap between humans and seraphim is this simple, I know a lot of people who'd be pretty angry to hear it.

[beardstrokes]

It must be quite a wide gap then, if people aren't interested in bridging it.

[nerdeology]

Humans can be fickle. Years ago, seraphim would grant their blessing to the land in exchange for the thanks and good will of the people who lived there. But over time the people forget, taking that gift for granted, and the blessing is weakened. Eventually the seraphim are forced away, or they'll be corrupted by the malevolence that humans create.

When there's no interaction between our kind and theirs, resonance is impossible.

[It's a sad fact that history has repeated those mistakes over and over again.]

[beardstrokes]

[ He can understand that point of view. It's hard to reestablish a bond that has degraded over the years. ]

A lot of things are fickle, I'm afraid. But what is forgotten isn't necessarily lost and can be found again.

[nerdeology]

That's true. There are still those who remember us, and how important it is to bring back the connection we used to have. Some humans are alright.

[He has a certain bias, mind you.]

[beardstrokes]

Well, if some of them can be, perhaps there is hope after all.

[nerdeology]

There's definitely hope. It's just going to take a lot of work. But we have a way to accomplish it now, so I'm certain that it'll be fine.

[beardstrokes]

Excellent. I look forward to the fruits of your hard work.

[ He doesn't have to know or understand a different world to wish it a better outcome. ]

[nerdeology]

[This guy is kind of absurdly nice.]

You'll have to meet Sorey, then. I have a feeling you two would get along.

[beardstrokes]

Sorey? One of your friends from your world?

[ Huh, maybe they came together. How interesting. ]

[nerdeology]

Yes. He's also the Shepherd- the one who's going to bring seraphim and humans together. Singlehandedly, if that's what it takes.

[Remember that slight bias? Yeah.]

[beardstrokes]

That is quite the task for one person. Why does he have to do it alone?

[nerdeology]

[That... is actually a sobering question, and something he doesn't like to think about.]

Some would say... it is the fate of one who chooses to be a Shepherd. The path of purification is lonely and full of pain.

...He's not alone, though. Both seraphim and squire can pledge themselves to him. They share his goal and his fate, and in doing so, share his burden.

[beardstrokes]

[ Ah. Obi-Wan looks away, briefly. ]

It is never easy for those who are chosen.

[nerdeology]

No, it isn't.

[And those who care about the chosen one are constantly stressed about whether or not they're okay. Chosen ones are often quite fragile.]

You seem like... you understand.

[beardstrokes]

My student is considered to be the Chosen One for a prophecy long foretold. I do believe it and yet, I would not wish those burdens on him.

I'm afraid, though, that it is out of my hands now.

[ And the damage is done. Anakin will never be a normal Jedi, like the rest of them are, like Obi-Wan. He will always possess that odd stigma and burden of being both Chosen and outsider. ]

[nerdeology]

[Prophecy... that's not great. As bad as Sorey's path can get, at least he's always been in control of his own choices. As soon as some pre-arranged fate is involved, things can get sticky.]

Out of your hands? Are you saying you can't help?

[beardstrokes]

I'm saying I've done what I can. I am only a teacher. I can help, advise and even guide. But I cannot control another person's destiny.

[ That's semantics, but it is true. Obi-Wan would never exert that kind of control over a person. ]

[nerdeology]

I see.

[Talk of fate aside, it only means the one chosen has to make their own decisions. That's familiar, at least.]

If you stick by him, maybe something will come up. Even fate itself can be fickle.

[Only history is set in stone, in his mind. The future can do all kinds of things.]

[beardstrokes]

I doubt I could change my decision to keep an eye on him.

[ No matter what he hears, that much won't ever change. Obi-Wan is Anakin's teacher, friend and brother. ]