"You have reached Solus zos Galvus. I fear I am unavailable at the moment, but should your query be of an urgent nature, pray leave a message. I shall endeavor to return it anon."
These some few who have arrived, are they villains to you? Allies, perhaps? Are you seeking my possible moral counsel on that which has been brought into doubt?
Oh, yeah, no, they're absolutely not villains. One's absolutely an ally and the other...
[She actually sends that and waits a few minutes before returning to it. That's a problem, that's hilarious.]
The other's actually my dad. It's less an issue of them being here, because them being around is nice at the very least, it's more an issue of, I guess, looking at how we ended up how we did and the circumstances of us ending up here.
I'm pretty sure I did the right thing in the end, but it's starting to feel like that's not the case the longer I think on it. Like, maybe there was something to the whole situation where us not existing would have been better off for everyone involved.
[He waits for her to finish her thought, even with the incomplete text. He figures this must be something difficult, it's not like people just do that over nothing. And he would be right.
What an interesting situation.]
I see. Indeed, this is not a simple matter. Much do I know the existential dread that coincides with being among the living, what moral dilemmas our decisions and personal beliefs can inspire. A world like the one we are currently in certainly does just that.
Tell me, what would the opposite have achieved? You speak of it being better off for everyone, but what quantifies this better quality that your existence potentially hampered? And, if I may, while it might seem hard to do so, be objective with your answers. Perspective does have its place, but little does it when we speak of objective fact on a potentially grand scale.
She's just taking some deep breaths to keep herself calm and luckily she's alone for the moment to do so without needing to explain anything.]
The long and short of it is that my family basically pissed off a dude who became a vampire and swore to end the whole family line. He got a lot of other people involved via nonsense, my dad kind of killed the bastard but he had a real devoted follower of his that wanted to make the world in the image he wanted? Dude was kind of odd, being a priest but being involved with a vampire? I dunno how to explain that one, honestly.
And, like, the end result of going after him for the things he did both to my dad and just what he was going to do was not okay. He wanted to reset the universe, basically, in whatever image he wanted. Which also would mean cutting out my entire family line, I... assume, anyway.
We didn't really fail but if I hadn't decided to go after him after getting dad back to fairly normal a lot of people wouldn't have been killed in battle. Including myself. And some of the Stands involved involved other people who weren't even aware of what was going on, so it just feels like a lot could have been solved if I had just stayed in my lane.
Do you think this world or reality that would be created in his idealized vision would have been one of lesser tragedy? Or, simply without those specific losses that you might be supplying a higher value to simply because you are personally effected by the loss? Versus the potential that might have been lost in this equally potential world? Think on it.
If you were to ask my opinion on the matter, it matters little what personal loss there is, but rather simply that the loss does not outweigh the gains. Certainly our own feelings of grief can taint what might otherwise be considering a victory, what otherwise might be a net positive, blinding us of a larger scope of the events. This is why we must need reflect on such matters with clarity, removed of our personal biases. This is a difficult feat to achieve, so do not worry if it seems impossible, very few can do so successfully.
With this in mind, my question for you is thus: is there any proof that would suggest such erasure of your world and your family line would guarantee a world without equal loss to that you and yours suffered?
The guy he was so intent on was literally a vampire that gave no fucks about anyway, as far as I'm aware, so I'd think with that knowledge in mind things would be worse without anyone there to be able to stand up to him?
While others got hurt in the crossfire and lives were lost, that was due to what he and his were doing and not direct effects of what we were doing. Like, I guess that's the thing.
I've done my time, I tried to do what was right, and what I got in the end was everyone around me dying except for one person who... evidently handled the situation.
Sometimes, when the world is faced with oblivion, great sacrifice must be made. Ever do we hope such remains a topic of fiction, of speculation, but more oft than not I have found such dire events are unavoidable, regardless of what reality one might be from.
In those moments, one can only do what they believe is right, what will be the best course for all. If this madman was bringing about the end with ill-intentions, if what evidence you and yours possessed lead you to understand that his would be a twisted world that would like as not usher in naught but despair and anguish, then such loss to preserve life and stay misery was merely the price to pay for the greater good.
These decisions weigh heavy on our souls, and the sacrifice we make in order to achieve such can taint our view, embitter us to the good we have guaranteed the world. But we must not lose focus on the true objective. Your losses were great, but the current and potential life you and yours saved in such heroism should not be discounted.
Considering he wanted to make it a "perfect world" in the vision of a vampire, I'd... say we were in the right, yeah. It still sincerely sucks, though, since the entire world still had to suffer what was essentially time speeding up. Including how people aged and... such. I can't imagine it was pleasant for anyone involved.
I guess? In the end I don't feel like I really did anything, I still died. The whole world thing kept going. I didn't even know the outcome of it until the one who did manage to fix things ended up here and let me know what was up.
God, sometimes I can still feel it. A lot less than in the beginning, but it's still bullshit.
I too believe you were in the right. Such depravity could never make a perfect world, I would know. However, we cannot always know what the outcome of our good intended actions will be. All we can do is act with what we understand in the moment, do the best we can in any given situation. There is a comfort in certainty, but it is increasingly rare that anyone can truly claim it.
This may not be that which you wish to hear, but sometimes the best course is not always an ideal one. Often such victories can feel hollow. Such feelings of insignificance in the grand scheme of things is quite common, and while I do not know the full extent of the role you played, I hesitate to claim your contribution as minuscule, despite what you might feel.
I will not tell you to not grieve your loss. If any has earned that right, it would be you. However, I would advise to not allow such to blind you of the better future you and yours sacrificed for. Regardless of the state of the world, it is better than what it might have been. Even if your actions were not the turning point which guaranteed your victory, you and yours acted with noble hearts, and that alone should be celebrated.
Too oft do men sit in idleness, unwilling to do that which is difficult, that which requires sacrifice. Do not despair over your willingness to act.
[Perhaps it's better that this is text, given that huff of a weak laugh she'd just managed.]
Would you believe me if I said this all started by being put in prison of all things? For something I didn't do.
It's not as if I could go back even if I had the ability to do so, I couldn't know or see what happened. What we ended up dying for. All I can do is hope that it was worth it and that things don't somehow go tits up again. While... trying to make the best of the situation here.
Honestly, it's been a better time here than it ever was back in my world. Peaceful, mostly quiet, "crime" being pretty petty and small at the end of the day. It's nice. And yet somehow I keep feeling like there's something looming in the background ready to strike the moment everyone lets their guard down. Dunno why. But I know I hate it.
Might be a bit... personal, but did you happen to die before coming here? I'm just curious if weird phantom feelings are common or if it's just me.
Finding comfort in faith—whether for a desired outcome or something else entirely—is not a foolish thing to do, and if you can find hope within yourself, do not dismiss it. Hope is rare and finite. A precious feeling few have access to. If aught at all, harness it, cherish it, let it lessen your burdens.
Perhaps take this world as your reward for your deeds. I know not the true intention or meaning of this strange reality, but if it can afford some aching souls succor from their otherwise tragic existence, then I see no fault in doing so. You have earned your rest, your peace. I have not much to offer about the lingering feeling of doom, though I do understand it. Perhaps a consequence of the turbulent life you lived, an instinct forged in the fires of adversity.
Never is it unwise to be prepared for the worst, but so too can such thoughts ruin what peace you may yet be offered. Perhaps in time peace will find you.
To answer your question: I did not. I have yet to complete my duty, and ill can I afford to perish ere such completion.
I... suppose that's all I really can do, at the end of the day. I'm here, there's little I can do about that, and with nothing to return to this is all I can rely upon.
A do-over, I guess, to fix the mistakes I'd made along the way and find some more positive methods of working through things. More positive uses of my time than I'm used to. Maybe fix a relationship or two since I've been given the chance to do so where there's little else to occupy my mind.
Indeed. A second chance like this is all but impossible for most. Do not squander this—never is it a poor decision to reflect and learn from the past, but it should not weigh you down. It is but a guide for our future, even if our future is fated to be in a world as bizarre as this. Not an ideal concession, to be sure, but I do suppose it could be worse.
Yes. I suppose the simplest way I could describe it is we did not stop our madman from resetting the world. As such, it falls to me and mine to correct the mistakes of antiquity.
[Which is a very flat and biased way of explaining it, but look.]
At least one of the things that got me in trouble doesn't exist here, so it shouldn't be that difficult of a thing.
[Hard to be in a motorcycle gang when they don't really exist, right?]
Could be worse. Here it's quiet, got some weird notoriety, enough money for a good while, plenty of avenues for more if it's needed, and a relationship I can rely pretty easily on. Probably better than "could be worse", in hindsight.
Shit, that sucks. Guessing whoever your madman is is a powerful bastard despite your best efforts?
[It's not like she knows any better, it's probably fine.]
Well, more of a madgod, so I do believe that might put Her power into perspective. Either way, it is an unfortunate fact of my situation, one I cannot simply ignore so that I may treat this world as a vacation, or second change, or whatever the case may be.
Little do I judge any who might, particularly those in regrettable situations as you have come from, but it is merely something I cannot abide for myself.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Text]
These some few who have arrived, are they villains to you? Allies, perhaps? Are you seeking my possible moral counsel on that which has been brought into doubt?
[Text]
[She actually sends that and waits a few minutes before returning to it. That's a problem, that's hilarious.]
The other's actually my dad. It's less an issue of them being here, because them being around is nice at the very least, it's more an issue of, I guess, looking at how we ended up how we did and the circumstances of us ending up here.
I'm pretty sure I did the right thing in the end, but it's starting to feel like that's not the case the longer I think on it. Like, maybe there was something to the whole situation where us not existing would have been better off for everyone involved.
[Text]
What an interesting situation.]
I see. Indeed, this is not a simple matter. Much do I know the existential dread that coincides with being among the living, what moral dilemmas our decisions and personal beliefs can inspire. A world like the one we are currently in certainly does just that.
Tell me, what would the opposite have achieved? You speak of it being better off for everyone, but what quantifies this better quality that your existence potentially hampered? And, if I may, while it might seem hard to do so, be objective with your answers. Perspective does have its place, but little does it when we speak of objective fact on a potentially grand scale.
[Text]
She's just taking some deep breaths to keep herself calm and luckily she's alone for the moment to do so without needing to explain anything.]
The long and short of it is that my family basically pissed off a dude who became a vampire and swore to end the whole family line. He got a lot of other people involved via nonsense, my dad kind of killed the bastard but he had a real devoted follower of his that wanted to make the world in the image he wanted? Dude was kind of odd, being a priest but being involved with a vampire? I dunno how to explain that one, honestly.
And, like, the end result of going after him for the things he did both to my dad and just what he was going to do was not okay. He wanted to reset the universe, basically, in whatever image he wanted. Which also would mean cutting out my entire family line, I... assume, anyway.
We didn't really fail but if I hadn't decided to go after him after getting dad back to fairly normal a lot of people wouldn't have been killed in battle. Including myself. And some of the Stands involved involved other people who weren't even aware of what was going on, so it just feels like a lot could have been solved if I had just stayed in my lane.
[Text]
If you were to ask my opinion on the matter, it matters little what personal loss there is, but rather simply that the loss does not outweigh the gains. Certainly our own feelings of grief can taint what might otherwise be considering a victory, what otherwise might be a net positive, blinding us of a larger scope of the events. This is why we must need reflect on such matters with clarity, removed of our personal biases. This is a difficult feat to achieve, so do not worry if it seems impossible, very few can do so successfully.
With this in mind, my question for you is thus: is there any proof that would suggest such erasure of your world and your family line would guarantee a world without equal loss to that you and yours suffered?
[Text]
The guy he was so intent on was literally a vampire that gave no fucks about anyway, as far as I'm aware, so I'd think with that knowledge in mind things would be worse without anyone there to be able to stand up to him?
While others got hurt in the crossfire and lives were lost, that was due to what he and his were doing and not direct effects of what we were doing. Like, I guess that's the thing.
I've done my time, I tried to do what was right, and what I got in the end was everyone around me dying except for one person who... evidently handled the situation.
[Text]
In those moments, one can only do what they believe is right, what will be the best course for all. If this madman was bringing about the end with ill-intentions, if what evidence you and yours possessed lead you to understand that his would be a twisted world that would like as not usher in naught but despair and anguish, then such loss to preserve life and stay misery was merely the price to pay for the greater good.
These decisions weigh heavy on our souls, and the sacrifice we make in order to achieve such can taint our view, embitter us to the good we have guaranteed the world. But we must not lose focus on the true objective. Your losses were great, but the current and potential life you and yours saved in such heroism should not be discounted.
[Text]
I guess? In the end I don't feel like I really did anything, I still died. The whole world thing kept going. I didn't even know the outcome of it until the one who did manage to fix things ended up here and let me know what was up.
God, sometimes I can still feel it. A lot less than in the beginning, but it's still bullshit.
[Text]
This may not be that which you wish to hear, but sometimes the best course is not always an ideal one. Often such victories can feel hollow. Such feelings of insignificance in the grand scheme of things is quite common, and while I do not know the full extent of the role you played, I hesitate to claim your contribution as minuscule, despite what you might feel.
I will not tell you to not grieve your loss. If any has earned that right, it would be you. However, I would advise to not allow such to blind you of the better future you and yours sacrificed for. Regardless of the state of the world, it is better than what it might have been. Even if your actions were not the turning point which guaranteed your victory, you and yours acted with noble hearts, and that alone should be celebrated.
Too oft do men sit in idleness, unwilling to do that which is difficult, that which requires sacrifice. Do not despair over your willingness to act.
[Text]
Would you believe me if I said this all started by being put in prison of all things? For something I didn't do.
It's not as if I could go back even if I had the ability to do so, I couldn't know or see what happened. What we ended up dying for. All I can do is hope that it was worth it and that things don't somehow go tits up again. While... trying to make the best of the situation here.
Honestly, it's been a better time here than it ever was back in my world. Peaceful, mostly quiet, "crime" being pretty petty and small at the end of the day. It's nice. And yet somehow I keep feeling like there's something looming in the background ready to strike the moment everyone lets their guard down. Dunno why. But I know I hate it.
Might be a bit... personal, but did you happen to die before coming here? I'm just curious if weird phantom feelings are common or if it's just me.
[Text]
Perhaps take this world as your reward for your deeds. I know not the true intention or meaning of this strange reality, but if it can afford some aching souls succor from their otherwise tragic existence, then I see no fault in doing so. You have earned your rest, your peace. I have not much to offer about the lingering feeling of doom, though I do understand it. Perhaps a consequence of the turbulent life you lived, an instinct forged in the fires of adversity.
Never is it unwise to be prepared for the worst, but so too can such thoughts ruin what peace you may yet be offered. Perhaps in time peace will find you.
To answer your question: I did not. I have yet to complete my duty, and ill can I afford to perish ere such completion.
[Text]
A do-over, I guess, to fix the mistakes I'd made along the way and find some more positive methods of working through things. More positive uses of my time than I'm used to. Maybe fix a relationship or two since I've been given the chance to do so where there's little else to occupy my mind.
Your duty?
[Text]
Yes. I suppose the simplest way I could describe it is we did not stop our madman from resetting the world. As such, it falls to me and mine to correct the mistakes of antiquity.
[Which is a very flat and biased way of explaining it, but look.]
[Text]
[Hard to be in a motorcycle gang when they don't really exist, right?]
Could be worse. Here it's quiet, got some weird notoriety, enough money for a good while, plenty of avenues for more if it's needed, and a relationship I can rely pretty easily on. Probably better than "could be worse", in hindsight.
Shit, that sucks. Guessing whoever your madman is is a powerful bastard despite your best efforts?
[It's not like she knows any better, it's probably fine.]
[Text]
Little do I judge any who might, particularly those in regrettable situations as you have come from, but it is merely something I cannot abide for myself.