15. Text/Action for Goldenrod City

[ardent]

[TEXT]

I have what might be seen as a weird question; I don't really know, because I've never tried asking anyone before, but it's something that's been troubling me lately and I'm wondering if any of you might know.

[Well, at least he's trying to keep this from dissolving into immediate trainwreck, with damn near palpable effort.

That said, it's been a little while since he's been on the network, so hello there. No video today, it seems, but at least that comes with the benefit of him having to actually look it over before he sends.]

Assume, for the sake of argument, that you have a way to improve someone's life. Factually speaking, I mean. Their life would be better with what you're offering, because it would relieve their suffering in some way. But the person doesn't want it because they believe they're better off without it, even though objectively that isn't the case.

Is it better to relieve their suffering anyway, even if it goes against their wishes, or to respect what they want even though "what they want" is going to hurt them?


[ACTION]

[Well, outside of making Text Posts That Certainly Are A Thing, it seems that Ishimaru has the day off today.

He's been scarce ever since he and Naegi returned from Kanto; it's not in the same way that he goes scarce when something has gone wrong with him, he hasn't been avoiding people per se – it's just that his life has mostly been work and sleep and very little else for the last several days, and it's a bit hard to say whether that's because he's off inside his head again or because it's a routine and it's comfortable and socializing has simply...slipped his mind as something he should actually do once in a while.

But! Today he has the day off, and he's wearing that damn hoodie Naegi gave him last year and as usual there's a small Meowth camped out in the hood (sleeping, more often than not), and he's in Goldenrod City and wanting to blow off some steam, so his options for the time being seem to all revolve around "stupid amounts of physical activity"; thankfully, there are a few ways to do that, though the one he eventually chooses still strikes him as a bit unorthodox – he admittedly still doesn't see the point of doing things just for the sake of doing them, and doing exactly that seems to be the point of spending time in an arcade, but Kirigiri introduced him to something a while back that is at least...halfway worthwhile.

Namely, at one point she got this man on a DDR machine, and he has been determined to memorize the entire damn machine ever since.

So today that is where he will be, and he is not opposed to company either in the arcade or outside of it; this is just something for him to do with himself today, clearly. At least it keeps him from being idle.]

Comments

[text]

[ajustcaws]

yeah i REALLY have no idea why people do that, i mean some people hate fun and i don't get that either!! maybe you just need to frame it right and they'll like it!!

yeah, that's it! use a little panache and razzle dazzle them!

[text]

[ardent]

[..."SOME PEOPLE HATE FUN" ASIDE...]

...I have no idea what you mean by the "razzle dazzle" thing but I'll assume that's negotiation! So you think I should convince them to take it? I guess that's a compromise, but what if I can't? Say we just argue and it doesn't get anywhere.

[text]

[ajustcaws]

well, that's what i mean! it's all about presentation!! you need to figure out how to make it seem AWESOME, not just good for them!! i mean, no one can argue with awesome, right??

[text]

[ardent]

...There are actually a lot of arguments that can be made against "awesome", but I think I see your point.

I'm not sure what I'm thinking of can be framed like that, but maybe it will be worth a shot whenever the time comes.

[Text]

[dressofheaven]

Sometimes the pain is important. Sometimes you need to suffer, want it even. It's hard to explain, if you haven't felt that sort of thing yourself, but that might be what your friend is feeling. So it wouldn't really be a favor to "help" them.

[Text]

[ardent]

No one "needs" to suffer. There's a difference between growing through adversity and indulging in pain that isn't necessary or beneficial.

[Text]

[dressofheaven]

You'd be surprised how many people disagree with you about that.

Maybe you're going after the wrong problem. If they think that way too, it's no wonder they're resisting. You'd have to convince them to change their minds on that first.

[text]

[lieutenantantichrist]

There's one of the facts of the world for you. Sometimes you have to make people do what's good for them.

Take a junkie, for example. Skin and bones, living in an alley by a dumpster, life wrecked to hell. Think about all the people involved there. The girlfriend who got him started, the dealer who keeps jacking up the price and cuts it with fucking floor cleaner, the cartels who run whole towns south of the border and murder anybody who gets in their way. All these people helping this guy kill himself. You know who he hates?

Me, for making him stop.

I'm not going to lie and say whoever it is will thank you later. But you know what's right.

[text]

[ardent]

[And that...actually makes a lot of sense, doesn't it.]

Thanks, Lieutenant Blake. I think I needed to hear that, because it does make sense and I'm willing to accept the personal consequences for what I do.

It just feels sort of strange, making that decision for someone else when I know it's not what they would want.

[text]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake gives a lot of advice, usually unasked for. He rarely gets thanked for it.]

Anytime, kid.

What kind of thing is it you're trying to do for them, anyway?

[Blake that is a thing to ask first]

[action]

[fauxtographs]

[Lately, Emmy has been spending her time wandering around Goldenrod City, and taking everything in. She knows she really needs to get on the road to Violet City, but at the same time...it's like she can't bring herself to leave, now that she's back. Everything about Goldenrod is so different to London, and yet there's still a sense of comfortable familiarity about the place, that sort of vibe that all large cities share.

Today, she's found herself down a street on the other side of town to where she's been frequenting lately, and it's all rather exciting! Mainly because she's stumbled upon a rather odd establishment. They have 'arcades' in London, but nothing to this extent...all the games and machines look so fascinating, and she's not quite sure which one she wants to try first.

...that was before she spotted the SHSL Dancer on the DDR machine, however.

...

...hopefully you won't mind a rather enthralled spectator there, Ishimaru. Or, well, two of them, because she's got a strange floating metal...thing hovering around her head.]

...that's incredible! You're so quick at it!

[action]

[ardent]

[...Ah.

That actually gets him to startle a little - despite the fact that he'd gotten started on this by watching Kirigiri for a good amount of time before just suddenly announcing his presence, it somehow hadn't really occurred to him that people...watch this sort of thing.

Thankfully the song is more or less over with and so he can turn around without sacrificing anything; catching his breath is also very okay, so really, thank you Emmy.]

Ah, thank you! I've been practicing for a while now, so I'm better at it than I was - still not as good as I could be, though, but that's why I'm here!

[...because apparently "fun" is still kind of a foreign concept, or at least it's not one he's going to admit to as being a primary motivation for doing anything.]

[action]

[fauxtographs]

[Running her eyes over the machine, Emmy gently bats her Beldum away from Ishimaru's head, where he's trying to hover. That's rude, Jean! Especially since this boy is being so polite! She really should have waited until he'd finished the song before she butted in...although he doesn't seem very bothered, at least. Excellent!]

So is it a game, then? You tap the arrows in time with the music...?

[...

this is her kind of puzzle]

Is it terribly difficult?

D(DR) - PARKER POPS UP BEHIND HIM

[nostabbing]

[Popping up behind Ishimaru isn't a particularly new phenomenon by any means for Parker, so when she does so at the arcade today (having spent a while trying to find him after discovering he wasn't at work), it's really nothing so unusual.

What is unusual, however, is what ultimately gives her presence away, because for once it isn't Parker herself — it's the passenger in her arms, who thinks all the lights and flash and sound of the DDR machine are absolutely fascinating, and apparently wants to sing along with some yowling of its own.]

[ardent]

[OH WOW HELLO THERE that certainly is a yowling thing - ]

Aneki!

[While he's rather visibly startled by the interruption, he doesn't seem to mind in the end; it's not like he couldn't use the break, mid-song or not.

However, his gaze is quick to dart to your, uh...

...

oh no it's cute]

Is this one of the new ones?

[nostabbing]

Hi, Ishimaru!

[She would wave, but it's hard to do that with an armful of lion, so she settles for making the lion wave instead.]

Yeah! These ones showed up a while ago. They look like lions, right? Grrrrar!

[TEXT]

[sadisticwarfare]

There are a lot of things to take into consideration in a situation like this. Is what they're doing going to cause them physical harm or emotional harm? Is it something that they can be convinced out of in some other way, or is this something they're dead-set on regardless of what anyone might do to try to help? Sometimes people will refuse to take advice from you, but will take the same advice from someone else.

[Maybe it's because the other person isn't an asshole about it, Archer.]

Is there a specific situation you need assistance with or is this a general question?

[TEXT]

[ardent]

[...Ah. Hello there, Colonel.]

...It's actually a specific situation, but it's kind of personal and I'm not sure if it's something I should discuss openly. What it comes down to, though, is that it's something that's causing emotional harm, and the emotional harm may lead into physical harm if it's left unchecked. I don't think they'll be convinced into letting me help with it because of experiences they've had in the past. I can see where it's awkward situationally, but it really is for the best, so I don't know what to do.

[sadisticwarfare]

It's quite alright, you don't need to go into specifics. I was just curious whether this was a hypothetical situation or not.

The next thing to consider is what will happen if you do intervene. Are they going to take that badly and refuse to interact with you or is it something that will blow over in a few weeks? From the sound of it, it isn't something that will be taken lightly, or you would have already done it without seeking assistance.

[berkthorn]

I don't know what it is that could be forced on another person for very long... But I come from stubborn stock, I have to admit.

In my experience, unless you can show them actual evidence there's no way you can change their mind. Even then, they still might reject you. The more you try to force it, the angrier they'll become, and it's like trying to get magnets with the same polarity to stick together.

[ardent]

So what are you supposed to do, assuming that they can't be convinced? You're still left with the choice of defying their wishes for the sake of their own good, or respecting them to their detriment.

[berkthorn]

All you can really do is keep trying... Little things like "look how happy all these others are" or "look what we can accomplish now". That could take forever, though.

It's hard to say, since I don't know the situation, or how the other person would react. I prefer compromise over conflict, but sometimes that's unavoidable to those around you, no matter what you try. Is letting them continue as they are harmful to anyone but them? Will they learn any lessons from getting hurt?

[text]

[beholdmydemons]

My gut says respect their wishes, but right after that it wants to know the whole story before making a decision like that. Not that I'm saying you should air your sordid secrets, but that just one answer won't feel right in every case. The way you put it, it first makes me think of something I'm sure you're not talking about. [because surprise fucking surprise nobody here cares as much about not caring about religion as Walter does and it only took about a year to start to grasp that.]

What are you calling "objectively" better or worse?

[text]

[ardent]

[...you keep saying you "don't care about" something that makes you super-mad, i do not think that phrase means what you think it means]

It's objectively better to not be injured than it is to be injured, isn't it? It's something like that.

[text]

[beholdmydemons]

[precisely]

I can think of a few instances where it would be better to be injured, as long as you don't hold that the point of life is to live longer before all else.