![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Shhh. Men are talking. [Action, mostly closed]
When: Y'know...an appropriate time
Who: Ted & Ronan (and others if they want); Ted & Ike
Where: Sheriff's office and wherever Ike does sword training shenanigans
What: Discussion on policy and belief, respectively
Ted couldn't hide it; he was a little nervous. He'd made a big, heartfelt speech, and hoped that would be enough to win everyone over. What would he do if he lost? Didn't think about it. Still, what excitement in the air! He suspected the election had something to do with why Ronan the Reticent called for a talk. Which was weird, because Ted thought women were the talky ones, and yet none had ever proposed a 'Ted a tete' before. How strange! He was looking forward to it anyway.
"Ronan! You wanted a word?"
Later on that evening, as Ted was getting roughed up with wooden swords, he used a break in practice to talk about something Aqua had put in his mind for a good while now. Or, try to talk. Ike had about one word to say for every dozen of Ted's. His mouth was as immovable as himself, apparently. He could put his brain to work and try to think of a clever, amicable way to broach one of the deepest topics known to man.
Or jump right in. "Ike, what do you believe?"
Who: Ted & Ronan (and others if they want); Ted & Ike
Where: Sheriff's office and wherever Ike does sword training shenanigans
What: Discussion on policy and belief, respectively
Ted couldn't hide it; he was a little nervous. He'd made a big, heartfelt speech, and hoped that would be enough to win everyone over. What would he do if he lost? Didn't think about it. Still, what excitement in the air! He suspected the election had something to do with why Ronan the Reticent called for a talk. Which was weird, because Ted thought women were the talky ones, and yet none had ever proposed a 'Ted a tete' before. How strange! He was looking forward to it anyway.
"Ronan! You wanted a word?"
Later on that evening, as Ted was getting roughed up with wooden swords, he used a break in practice to talk about something Aqua had put in his mind for a good while now. Or, try to talk. Ike had about one word to say for every dozen of Ted's. His mouth was as immovable as himself, apparently. He could put his brain to work and try to think of a clever, amicable way to broach one of the deepest topics known to man.
Or jump right in. "Ike, what do you believe?"
That Talk
That ball, unfortunately, was in Ted's court. He slid Ted's office door shut before he nodded in response to his question.
"Yeah. So, about this ban on necromancy. Why?"
Re: That Talk
Seems Porrim had yet to show him The list. Oh well, he'd sum up.
"Being a fellow believer, you know as well as I do that it's evil. Of course, we don't ban every sin under the book, or there'd be a lot less television on the air. What made it actionable was the harm it caused. The phrase 'souls in jars' comes to mind."
That Talk
He breathes a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, boss. The point is, it's killing your campaign. We're going to have to compromise, or we may as well start packing."
Re: That Talk
"Death magic? Well there's creating undead, controlling undead, raising the dead, talking to the dead, desecration, soul manipulation, curses...none of it good, is the pattern here. You really think condoning all that is worth a campaign?" Ted was being tougher than he was; he really cherished the makeshift family he'd gathered, and would hate to see them be scattered to the wind for anything.
That Talk
He looked thoughtful for a moment, grasping for a way to complain. "You're American, right?"
Re: That Talk
"Mhm. Born and raised."
That Talk
He crosses his arms.
"People are slaughtered in mass shootings all the time. Has anybody actually banned guns yet? No. Because we love our guns, and anybody who tries to take them away from us is going to pay, right?"
Re: That Talk
"Sure. The difference being guns aren't abominable."
That Talk
Re: That Talk
"Oh if the dead just happen to be walking about, it's fine I suppose. I meant along the lines of conjuring them up and disturbing their eternal rest, like the witch of Endor. And why aren't God's standards universal, exactly? He's the author of all life, last I checked, and I'm sure he's equally vexed whenever any of it is profaned. "
He gathered his hands and looked at the table, trying to think. He knew what Ronan was going for, but appeals to moral relativity were too base. How could what's right for a city ever deviate from what's right for a soul? Any soul.
The only argument Ted could see was an appeal to overreach. As the Old Testament says, laws do not make men moral. And it's not the government's job, whatever power it had, to enforce everything. Was it? Back on Earth they outlawed prostitution, after all, though the effect was marginal. Was there any good example of something condoned, wrong and yet healthy to allow under the auspices of society itself? One came to mind.
"Do you think divorce is wrong, Ronan?"
Re: That Talk
He was caught off-guard by Ted's question, but shook his head. "No. There are a lot of times I've thought I'd probably have been better off if my parents had looked into it. Why?"
Re: That Talk
Ted collected his recently acquired knowledge of enthymemes, courtesy of Aristotle. Ronan's argument seemed to flow like this.
But, as Ronan said, he was new and probably hadn't seen first hand the harm it caused, as Ted had. He'd be lying if there wasn't a moral thrill in enacting God's will on the heathens, but if he wanted to go that far he'd just make church attendance mandatory.
Now Ted had to think how to maneuver it into more fruitful territory. It wasn't something he'd do lightly with the other deputies, being girls and thus incapable of wielding logic over emotion. Winky face.
"Well, I mean wrong as in 'socially undesirable.' An ideal society wouldn't have any divorces,would it?"
Re: That Talk
"No, I think the opposite's true if you think about it. An idea society wouldn't need a bond like marriage to keep people faithful in the first place."
Re: That Talk
He laughed at being short-circuited. These rhetorical paths he wanted to walk people through had a way of never working.
"Ah. 'In heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage.' Fair enough. How can I best summarize...
Well, you'll have a Sisyphean task convincing me necromancy isn't evil. It clearly is, by just about any morality you can bring to bear. Especially our Lord's, the most important. What you might do is argue that, like divorce, it's a necessary evil. like when Moses issued it for the hardness of people's hearts. It might be possible that necromancy has got itself into dark magic so bad, that they need hairs from the dog that continues to bite them. That dark spells must be broken from whence they came.
See what a pretty line of argument that is; I'm glad you made it. As it happens I've been thinking along those lines. The mayor, perhaps, might better educate us on whatever uses necromancy has, and then we might make allowances."
Re: That Talk
"Yeah, okay. Negotiation's your ballpark, boss, not mine." His experience with the owner of the pest control shop should tell Ted that. Ronan threatened. He didn't negotiate. "But how fast can you make that happen?"
Re: That Talk
"Probably not soon enough to matter. Bit late in the game for any walk backs; it'll seem pandering, won't it? Though it'll probably be a good tack to take should we enjoy another term. Unless you think I should do so now?" Ted was pretty obedient when it came to stuff he wasn't 100% committed to. If someone wanted him to change course, even if it was merely days before the election, he'd do just that.
That Talk
"I'm not a politician, but I think something needs to be done about it, yeah."
Re: That Talk
"Ah. Well, after the election then. No use getting hot and bothered if it's likely to be someone else's problem."
That Talk
Re: That Talk
That made him laugh. "All right, very well! I get the hint. I'll put somethings on the comms right away. Anything you'd like to include, or shall I make it out of whole cloth?"
That Talk
no subject
He let his hand fall as Ted asked his question, though. What does he believe? That's a broad question.
"What do you mean? In what way?" Ike wanted some more clarification. As it was, he couldn't answer that question.
no subject
no subject
"I'm just a mercenary. Why would you ask me about such things?"
no subject
I was talking to Aqua; the girl blue-haired swordsman. The one that materializes her blade out of nothing. We got to talking and she said that having more than one trainer was...well, not done. When I asked her, hypothetically, how one is to choose one, she said one with matching beliefs would do.
So, now I'd like to know your beliefs."
no subject
He took another swig of water. "I'm a pretty simple guy. I don't like waxing philosophical about gods, or about faith, or how the world should be. I like to stick to more familiar ideas.
"Like honesty. I will never sell my services to a liar. Or a cheat, a thief, or a murderer. I feel that each person has something they can do, something that gives them purpose. And they should pursue what they can do and seek to be as good as they can be at it as possible -- just as long as they don't go cutting down innocent people trying to find their own way in life."
no subject
Ted was disappointed in the meekness of Ike's vision, or lack thereof. Granted, there was something to be said about someone who takes little, humble virtues and sees them to their utmost. Smaller things than that have made men saints. Compared to Ted's grand, romantic ideas about everything, he felt underwhelmed.
The bigger feeling was contemplating switching masters. Even if Aqua's vision burned bigger and brighter than Ike's, and thus was more suitable to Ted, he would feel unfaithful to simply drop his teacher for the sake of abstract gossip. Couldn't hurt to inquire.
"Speaking of mercenaries, have you gotten settled, job-wise? Any promising jobs come up for you?"
no subject
"I picked up a job as a professional bounty hunter. There's always bounties to be had in this world, so work's been steady. It's not unlike what I used to do back home, what with clearing bandits and thieves out from towns they were holding hostage."
no subject
Ted smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." Bounties were the most sensational crimes in the cities, so having someone dedicated to clearing them out would be a big help. He then paused for a moment, considering. Was it really so important to have the best master he could? Just how much could a good sword arm add to his powers of protection?
Ted, being human, fell back on human tendencies. It's said that people feel loss twice as much as they long for gain. This is especially true in Ted's case, when it came to people. He couldn't bring himself to let go of Ike; how could he know that the sacrifice would be worth it? The world already seems poised to take and take; maybe it was for the best that he held on to what he had.
Ted shivered. "All right, I'll stop gabbing. It's getting too cold to do much more of it. En garde!" He hefted his sword, ready to continue.
no subject
"If you say so. Begin."