three paintings burned

[thehangedrose]

[If you ever went back in time and told Garry that one day, he would be partly responsible for someone's death, he would probably feel disgusted that you could say such a thing about him.]

[But after the events that happened in the gallery, that's now a brutal truth. He was responsible for a death. Not a death of an actual person, but still, a death nevertheless.]

[He had tried to forget about it, trying to convince himself that what he had did was necessary- after all, hadn't Mary wanted to kill him and Ib, or, at the very least, hurt them to the point where they could never escape? It was self-defense, that's all. But the image of her burning up like a piece of paper can never quite leave his mind. And then that book they found in her room...."How to Make Friends"...she was just a kid, a painting child who didn't know how the human world went around things.]

[She was just lonely....but then the image of that palette knife in her hand, aimed at his chest and quite ready to taste blood, returns to his mind.]

[He feels utterly conflicted about the whole thing. Which is why he finally clears his throat and asks a question that has been sitting in his head for quite a while:]

...

If you had to destroy someone because they tried to kill you and the people you care about, would...would that make you a bad person?

Comments

[mom_to_us_all]

[Written:]

I don't think it would.

[thehangedrose]

Yeah, but...

[He almost wants to argue, say that he must be a bad person for doing what he did, but he reconsiders it and lets out a sigh, instead.]

I mean, destroying someone is a bit too extreme, isn't it? I mean...what if the person in question didn't understand that what he or she was doing was wrong...?

[mom_to_us_all]

The fact that you feel bad about something so extreme as destroying someone, makes you a better person than you'd think.

Do you think there was another way to solve it?

[thehangedrose]

...

[He doesn't know what to say to that. He doesn't feel like a better person for what he did.]

Well, perhaps there was. I definitely think there was...I mean, what I did, it was something very drastic, and I mostly did it out of fear for my life.

I don't know. I mean, I think if I were in that situation again, I would act the same way...but that doesn't mean I'd feel any better for it, knowing what I know now.

dictated;;

[wheatdos]

Well...

That's... that's the only way to go about it, really.
If you don't get them, they'll get you again eventually.

dictated;;

[thehangedrose]

I guess, but...what if the person you destroyed wasn't necessarily bad?

[wheatdos]

She wasn't.

[And at that he pauses... laughing nervously. Don't mind his tone. It seems strangely distant.]

Self preservation's all it was.
S'all it was.
It-it depends. Very fine line, you know. I- you just have to... have to make sure what you're doing isn't for the wrong reason I suppose. Only way to go about it.

[not_mafia]

Usually... there's another way. You can defeat your enemies without destroying them.

[But that's not always the case. Not one hundred percent of the time.]

... if you've tried everything, if you really made an effort to protect your friends without killing your opposition, and you're sure that's the only thing that will work-- then, no, you're not.

[A brief pause, and then:]

As long as you don't forget them.

[thehangedrose]

[He's silent for a while.]

I mean, I understand that. I never wanted to destroy that person in the first place, just keep away...but then I just reacted without thinking. Because...I was afraid that I'd be dead.

I don't know what I could've done besides that. If I had waited, I might have put my friend at risk. So...it was a spur of the moment thing, it really was.

[And he sighs.] Trust me, I don't forget people easily. Not at all...

[not_mafia]

[Quietly:]

A life should not be taken without consideration.

[A pause.]

.. just make sure that next time-- if there is a next time [which there probably will be]-- you're prepared to make the decision.

Written

[imalwaysright]

[He thinks about saying it. But... when it comes to this kind of stuff, it's better not to. At least for him.]

It wouldn't.

dictated

[thehangedrose]

But isn't hurting someone else like that a bad thing to do...?

Written

[imalwaysright]

They tried to kill the people you cared about.

dictated

[inafadingcrown]

I think not. [If it did, it would make almost everyone she knows a bad person.]

dictated

[thehangedrose]

If you think so...but why do I feel so bad about if it wasn't a bad thing to do?

dictated forever

[inafadingcrown]

You have empathy and compassion, it is as simple as that.

To take life is no easy thing, even when it is necessary and just. I would worry for you if you did not struggle with it, in truth. Even the finest soldiers may be haunted by what they have seen and done.

[psych0p0mps]

[terezi is this you]

no

[thehangedrose]

[GOSH DARN IT HOW DID YOU KNOW]

And why no? Isn't destroying someone a really bad thing to do...?

sa;fjdk omg i laughed so hard when i first saw that (also sorry for late)

[psych0p0mps]

no i dont think so!
if you and your friends need to stay alive and that persons existence prevents you from doing so
then you just do what you have to do
thats probably something i would classify as self defense to be honest

[asseenontv]

No.

[He manages to resist adding 'under Earth law it'd even be /legal/']

[thehangedrose]

And why do you think so?

[asseenontv]

They were going to kill you and those you cared about. If someone who was allowed to kill - a police officer, say - did it, would you call them a bad person?

dictated

[hvic]

No.

[thehangedrose]

How can you be so sure, though...?

[hvic]

Kill or be killed. Don't feel bad for doing whatever you could to save yourself.

You can't change the past.