98.5 - got more to give than you've got to prove (broadcast)

[hard_talker]

[the usual Leonard Cohen tune plays for a little while ... and then is interrupted by the crackle and buzz of radio static. a moment later, it's replaced by this album, which Mark lets play underneath as he broadcasts]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd here it is, Monday night, time for the latest edition of what's goin' down here in questionably beautiful Castle Wonderfuck! I'm sure you all enjoyed the nice little festival we've had the past few days, learned a lot about some pretty badass heroes ... I know I did, even if today ended on a really fucked-up note. Anyone know what the deal with that giant wolf thing was? I saw it outside the window and decided I'd just be a spectator, today ...

And hey, before I get to the meat of this week's food for thought, let's give a nice Monday night welcome to Senri, Edward Elric, Wheatley, Yukiko, Connor, Murphy, and Christina.

Okay, people, we've got some serious business to get down to tonight. It's come to my attention that we ... don't actually have a set system of rules for this place, and people've taken their sweet fucking time deciding on one because of ... I dunno, political bullshit about everyone's worlds being different, and some having magic, and some not, and some being in these really awful wars where some stuff's easier to get away with and ... you know, bla bla bla bullshit city. So yours truly has decided to do you a nice little public service and get the ball rolling. You might not agree with all of 'em, and I might'a missed something, but it's a fuckin' start, which is more than I can say we've had in the year and chump change I've been here. Ladies, gents, and critters, I give you....

The Ten ComMarkments. [told you he'd do it, Maladict. he's got his journal open, too, so that the words are dictated in as he reads them. once they show up, he'll add the proper embellishments]

1. Thou Shalt Not Kill Or Maim Other Residents.
(Your ass will get locked up like Fort Knox. If you don't know what that is, look it up.)
2. Thou Shalt Not Help The First Gens Fuck Shit Up.
(They're assholes. We don't care if you hate the castle as much as they do, just don't fucking take it out on us.)
3. Thou Shalt Not Use Magic To Fuck With People.
(It's right up there with killing and maiming and will also get your ass locked up.)
4. Thou Shalt Not Use The Microwave For Other Than Its Intended Purpose.
(Just because you don't know what you're doing doesn't mean you get to deny people the chance to eat Hot Pockets.)
5. Thou Shalt Not Wreck Shit In Town.
(People who live there work there, you know. How would you like it if someone fucked with your shit?)
6. Thou Shalt Not Harrass The Townspeople.
(Really, what did they ever do to you?)
7. Thou Shalt Not Use Thy Losses As An Excuse To Be A Dickhead.
(If you honestly couldn't help it, we get that, but seriously, people. Don't fake it, either.)
8. Thou Shalt Not Compromise the Safe Zones
(.... But why would you really wanna do it?)
9. Thou Shalt Not Steal.
(Nine times out of ten you can wish it up, anyway, and if you can't? It's probably okay that you don't have it to begin with.)
10. Thou Shalt Not Help Anybody Break The Other ComMarkments.
(It's just not cool. And you could probably get locked up for that, too.)

And there you have it! C'mon, discuss! Let's turn this into somethin' we can all actually use!

Comments

damn, I don't have the icon I want here. :(

[hard_talker]

[and just like that, just as his anger is building to the boiling point where he'll usually shut the journal on someone -- it snaps, and something else clicks into place.

she's not just wailing on him, she's ... giving him reasons. it's like a debate with less manners. and he ... well, he wasn't completely listening, was he? he sighs, letting it sink in, and rereads her words once more]

Okay, look --

[yep. okay, a lot of that is still bitchy and horrible and full of what-the-fuck. but he can see valid points amid it all, too - and it's all very ... well, it's REAL, which is more than he can say for some of the shitheads he's argued with]

-- I'm not gonna just lie down and agree with you on this. Both of us care too much about it to do that, obviously. ... [he runs a hand over his face]

But ... I'm not tryin' to lead everyone, I just ... wanna help it make sense. I know I ain't God, but -- I talked to Him a good bit while He was here, and He seemed to think I was on the right track, even if I ain't perfect like He is. So ... I'm gonna keep tryin'.

Maybe one'a these days I'll get it right.

[in the meantime? ... while he's thinking about all of this? he's going to put this on, just for you, and let it play out]

JESUS CHRIST DAVID GUETTA'S FACE ON THE SIDE OF THAT VIDEO

[molotov]

[Molotov is quiet for a while listening to the music, and when she finally speaks again, as the song fades out, her voice is markedly softer.]

The castle makes perfect sense, you know. The problem for you and those like you is that it does not make sense from the perspective of rigid rules and laws and your personal moralities.

But that is not what the regular world is either, at least not the Earth that I, and I'm assuming you, come from. So many people here have never gone out and experienced the real world, the world where morality is only what you can bring yourself to do and not do to keep your own blood from spilling. There is no greater good, there is no "because it is right". There is just you against everything else.

I have done that. Paradisa, under the shiny veneer and the wishing, is nothing more than "the everything else". We cannot trust the castle and yet we have no real alternatives, not unless we wish to take up with the First Gens.

The rules you want are nothing more than an extension of a world that is not where we live anymore. You have to accept that and try to build a new world. "Do not kill" is a pleasant enough rule, but where does it end? Do you, by virtue of that being the norm in your world, have some sort of authority over someone whose world relies on death? The vampires, what of them? Does any one person in Paradisa have an innate right to tell someone to fight their nature? At what point does the personal comfort and happiness of the Peace Patrol outweigh the lives of others?

I disagree with all of your rules, except for the magic and the microwave. [Because she hates magic, and she likes the microwave.] Rules and laws do not remove the "bad", they just make them illegal. Take it from someone who specializes in these things -- everywhere needs light and dark. Everywhere, even here.

After all, if you did not have these things to prattle on about, your little radio shows would be much shorter.

confession: I had to Google who he was

[hard_talker]

[there's a pause as he lights himself a cigarette and gives himself another moment to digest that. it's kind of a heavy thought]

I get what you're saying about balance, I do. But ...

... Did'ja ever think that you couldn't have that "real world" you're talking about without the world that I'm used to, too? That you can't have that sort of lawlessness without some form of rules to be broken?

I guess what I'm saying is ... it goes both ways. And I wish there were some way to make everyone happy, but ... there isn't. I wish there were some way to keep everyone safe, but ... there isn't.

I'm always gonna be pissin' somebody off. And it's a hard fuckin' thing to have to sit here and decide who.

[molotov]

Well, that is not true at all. Making a rule about something does not make the "something" exist. Most people do not break laws simply because the law is there -- it is something they would have done anyway.

Balance is necessary, of course, but you cannot boil it down to such simplicity. Safety and happiness come easier when people do not feel preached at and lectured. The population here is so small, and incidents are so rare, surely it would be wiser to deal with things on a case-by-case basis?

Anyway, someone who plans to kill another will not change their mind because you told them not to. Take it from someone who breaks the law for a living: you are fighting a worthless battle. Fix the rest of the system, and the rules become even more unnecessary than they already are.

[hard_talker]

It doesn't make it exist, but ... maybe it makes people more aware that it does. I mean, case in point: I've had to explain the First Gens, microwaves, Fort Knox, and the word "dickhead" since this went up.

[and he'll just quietly file away the fact that you admitted to being a lawbreaker... shh]

[molotov]

[Okay, well, technically you're a lawbreaker too, Mr. Underage-Smoking-and-Pirate-Radio-Station. Don't get too comfy on your hypocritical high horse, there.]

I fail to see the relevance of Fort Knox and the word "dickhead".

[hard_talker]

[yeah, he knows. everyone's a hypocrite if you dig deep enough]

It's a matter of comprehension. [he chuckles] But still ... it does kinda have a sorta symbiosis if you think about it...

[molotov]

[There's a sigh and a shrug, not that he can see the latter.] If you wish to write rules, perhaps you should use language that people from ancient times, or other worlds, can comprehend.

[hard_talker]

Yeah, I'm ... getting help with that. A couple of the people I've been talkin' to said they'd help me. Trust me, I know I ain't doin' this alone. S'why I put it out there...

[molotov]

I still think it is useless. But as long as you are getting help...

[hard_talker]

Nothin's useless as long as someone thinks it's worth fightin' for. I think I remember readin' that somewhere.

... But thanks.