/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

[eyeforaneye]

Yes, it does.

I have no intention of splitting my focus.

[beardstrokes]

Even when your focus could benefit with some aid?

[ Gently. ] A vision can be shared.

[eyeforaneye]

I'm not so naive as to be unaware of that. But I need to find my own answers to the question of my world's future.

[beardstrokes]

Then you're naive enough to think all answers will come to you, alone, in the dark.

If you want an answer for how my war works, I can tell you this. It will not answer yours. However, I can try and help you . . . if you try and be more specific.

[eyeforaneye]

I don't expect to find the truth alone. I expect to need to examine it and weigh it with the lens of my own understanding alone, however, to formulate my own opinions.

I've spent far too long believing only what I was told. [ And trusting all the wrong people, leading to one minor to major tragedy after another. ] Now you're asking me to trust you when we've only just met.

[beardstrokes]

I never asked you to trust me. I asked you to let me help you. Ultimately, no matter what you choose, the decision is yours.

It is not my place to make them. For anyone.

[eyeforaneye]

Strange words coming from a general.

[ This is difficult for him, though, incredibly closed off in general but his new goal requires him to be more open, to fight that instinct. ]

How would you help?

[beardstrokes]

However you like.

If you need support, I will give you some. If you need a second opinion, I will offer it. If you need a question answered, I can help answer it.

[ The Jedi are here to serve. ]

[eyeforaneye]

Is that so?

[ His gut instinct is to be cynical, of course, wondering if this is how this man attributes value to himself. Is it self-serving somehow, or just because of his 'Order'? Maybe both. ]

In that case, answer another question for me. When do you consider someone beyond saving?

[beardstrokes]

[ Briefly his mind flashes back to Darth Maul, Maul who had killed so many people, people Obi-Wan had loved just to hurt him back. To turn him Dark.

But Maul was someone used as a child. He could see the truth as clear as day. ]

I . . . I wouldn't.

[ His voice is a little hoarse but unwavering. ]

I do not believe there is anyone beyond saving. But I also believe in the choice that we make.

I made the choice to reach out. The rest . . . is up to them.

[eyeforaneye]

So you would allow them to potentially continue to harm others, damage the peace you care about so much, instead of cutting them down early on when they'd crossed a line that you're unable to define?

[ Maybe he's asking for too much. ]

[beardstrokes]

[ Firmly. ]

You're mistaking my belief for chances as an excuse to let them do whatever they want. I am more than capable of cutting someone down or restraining them if the need arises.

Is that what you want? For me to cut you down when you lose your way?

[eyeforaneye]

[ What could be a threat is instead taken as something like a comfort, sharing a similar worldview when someone very close to him had for years exemplified the exact opposite.

And people had indeed died because Naruto hadn't taken action against him earlier. ]

No, that's no longer necessary. It sounds like you would've killed me a long time ago.

[beardstrokes]

[ He smiles faintly, tinged with sadness ]

I probably would have.

[eyeforaneye]

[ Well this has been cheery. ]

Then you're wiser than most people I know.

[beardstrokes]

I have paid for it. I have learned from it.

And you're digressing.

[eyeforaneye]

I'm following this thread of the conversation to its natural conclusion because it's interesting to me.

At what point would you take action?

[beardstrokes]

Probably any time before a life is taken, if I can act quickly enough.

[ He gets why Sasuke is asking all of this, but he's pretty sure his intentions are clear by now. ]

[eyeforaneye]

Do you make that decision yourself or do you address it with others first?

[ Obi-Wan's icons just go from Done to More Done. ]

[beardstrokes]

[ Hm. He strokes his beard. ]

That depends on how much time I have. I would ask the Council for their input, but if time is short, I would act on my own terms.

[eyeforaneye]

... do you have any regrets?

[beardstrokes]

At times. But I try not to hold onto them.

[ To hold onto regrets is not the Jedi way. It's easier said than done, but Obi-Wan has managed so far. ]

[eyeforaneye]

How incredibly convenient, you can duck around blame all you like with that kind of philosophy. [ A pause. ]

But that's a way of thinking that focuses on the self. If you see yourself as a tool or part of a collective whole then you don't have the time for unproductive guilt, I suppose.

[ Sasuke has time for his guilt, always, but he's also trying to move towards an existence that focuses on utility instead of feeling. It's a hard line to walk. ]

[beardstrokes]

You're confusing guilt for responsibility. I take the responsibility, but the guilt means that I'm thinking about myself, not on the situation. It's a cheap way of self-flagellation.

When people get hurt or die and I spend that time feeling guilty for myself, I reduce those people into nothing more than pawns for my feelings.

People deserve better than that.

[eyeforaneye]

I agree, but avoiding any internal expression of remorse has a similar effect.

You're reducing human lives to a chance to sweep back your emotions and in doing so there's a lack of touch with humanity itself. If you can't respect that emotions are also part of being human, how can you respect the humans that have been hurt as a result of your actions? You aren't above them.

Don't you think you deserve to suffer?