paradisa | twenty-third snare

[Filtered Away From South Dakota]

I've been here a long time. Long enough to know everyone comes from really, really different places. And I'm glad we get a chance to see some of them, like... Like we just did. Even if some of us forgot that we hadn't lived there our whole lives, it was.... an experience. And the more I see, the more I understand some of the people we live with.

But.... there are still things that won't change. I'm still from my homeland, no matter how long I've been here or how many places I see. I still have my own history to account for, and it shapes how I think and how I feel. .... But it's so different from so many other places. Normally that's not a problem, but....

[he sighs, an echo of the wind through leaves that can be heard over the journal]

I've been friends with someone here for a long time, now, and recently she told me some things that made me realize that ... If she lived in my world, or I lived in hers? We'd hate each other. ... But I don't want to hate her. I like too many things about her... I don't want our worlds to get in the way.

But I'm afraid we feel too strongly about them for that to happen. I ... I guess I need some advice.

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[This voice belongs to a teenage boy, a little softspoken.] In this place, we are not bound by the politics of where we come from. We have the opportunity here to be free of ideologies because they do not matter, for the most part. I would say you should not dwell on this.

Normally I'd agree with you. ... But freedom is a pretty basic thing. What happens when someone disagrees with you about that, and you can't understand why?

[Oh. Huh. Well, there's a bit of a pause here.]

Then you must decide whether either of you are willing to compromise.

It... She's really stubborn about smaller things than this. It would have to be me. And.... I'm not sure if I could. Not.... Not about this. [he sighs again, heavily]. I mean... I know every story has two sides. I know she has her reasons for hating people who rebel against their governments.... But my reasons for defending people's right to fight back are just as strong. If compromising means telling her she's right to think I'm ... some kind of whiny ungrateful peasant? .... I can't.

....And we haven't even spoken before, have we. Ugh. I must be making one hell of an impression. Name's Gale.

It can be difficult. I stick to my beliefs, even if they don't coincide with my friends'.

What happened?

Well, you could always not tell her, have it eat at you for weeks or months until you finally explode down the line.

Or you can discuss your separate views mutually, and see where you stand then. If you can't agree, well, that's just too bad. From what I gather most people, if they mean all that much to you, will see past the things they don't like for the sake of their friendship.

[Look at that, Gale. He likes you enough to actually offer decent advice and not be a dick about it. Be honoured. He gives a sigh] Sometimes, I swear you humans honestly enjoy making things harder for yourselves.

If you're looking for advice I can help you with that. I was an advice columnist back home- I give advice for a living.

Strange, isn't it, that circumstances can create unlikely friends? I suppose the advice I or anybody else can give is highly dependent upon the issue, however.

Edited 2013-08-08 23:31 (UTC)

Meh,I hate all my friends. What's the big deal with having to agree with your friends about shit anyway?

If you like her and you don't want to hate her then what's the big problem?

[He just patiently listens, actually understanding this situation really, really well. But he doesn't say that.]

I do not think we have, no. I am Connor.

Do not worry about first impressions; this is a difficult situation and it is understandable you would feel strongly about it.

Thanks, Connor. ... She ... She's been staying with my friends and I for a while, now.... I can't just pretend she's not here, that would just be rude and weird. I've had times when I couldn't really talk to a friend, before, but that was at home, when there was a whole village for us to move around in, and a forest, besides. Here, it's a little harder to get space to think.

See, that's why I like you. .... Problem is, this difference .... She's admitted to killing people for it, at home.

It's ... Before we woke up in Hogwarts, I had a conversation with South. .... It didn't exactly go well.

I'm out in the forest, at the glade. [she'd know the one: the spot where he dresses and fixes his traps]

All right. Talk to me here, or in the woods?

[Because she knows either way could open some ugly wounds for both of them... but maybe Gren is right. Maybe it is time to open those wounds up, and live instead of just survive with them.

[wow. of all the people he didn't expect to hear from... it takes him a moment to respond, both because he's surprised, and because he needs to take in what was said]

Normally I wouldn't have a problem talking to her.... But this? Basically, if she were from Panem, she would have been a Peacekeeper. And she wouldn't have had any problems with punishing me for being against the Capitol. At all. ... I didn't think she was that kind of person at all....

[to Gale, it seems like a strange way to make a living, but Paradisa has certainly taught him that it takes all kinds]

Thanks for the offer. My name's Gale....

It actually has to do with the war, the one I told you about at the clinic....

Turns out it's something she'd probably kill me over if I was from her world. It isn't a small difference, like a favorite color or what we do in our spare time...

I'm in the glade, if you want to come.

[ she doesn't answer -- instead, silent as usual, she appears by his side a minute later. she lets out a small sigh -- to let him know she's here -- before placing a reassuring hand on his arm. what's bothering you, bb? ]

Yeah but you're not in her world are you... you're here.

I mean people kill each other for all kinds of stupid bullshit they convince themselves is important... but do you think she's going to kill you over it?

If so, then yeah I guess you have a reason not to like her anymore.

Otherwise, why let bullshit get in the way?

I'm coming.

[And she's off and running from the woods, not caring if she's scattering good hunting. She hasn't heard Gale this upset in a very long time. So when she clears the glade, he can hear her coming.]

[She slows, when she finds him, and when she sits down next to him she does so like they always did. Shoulder to shoulder.]

All right. What was that about?

There is still a large amount of forest here, even before the Dead Zone starts. If you worry there will be tension between you living in the same house, I do not think distance will hurt until you both have had time to consider your positions.

What are your friends' opinions on the matter of freedom? Do they agree with you or with her?

I can't say I'd get along with her very well, either. The wizard world's government was very corrupt, and my friends and I openly defied them.

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twenty-third snare

filter forevs

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Gale

[Gale]

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This person

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Hermione

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This woman

Dr. Tam

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Katniss, to end

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Gale / action

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Gale