[ there's a quiet huff of breath at that — amused, for all intents and purposes, though not without an edge of disdain. he'll readily admit that — particularly after the day previous — that each denizen of the network has his or her use, but that use may be found in a lack of competency. even the foolish and the misguided have their strengths if one knows how to use them and pick them; nevertheless, one certainly couldn't say that the network, by and large, had succeeded in forming a competent community at this point.
(he doesn't particularly care for that, either. he doubts that whatever will come of this in the end will be as black and white as is being painted at present, and he's freely amused by the idea that they've all been painted as heroes. as the good guys. he imagines it's because it's easier than imagining that one has been forced towards a position that sits poorly alongside so-called morals, but morals themselves are often loose and changeable.) ]
There doesn't appear to be a criteria. [ the coffee is partway to his lips before he speaks and afterwards, he blows softly onto the drink in an undoubtedly vain attempt to cool it (some people add a dash of cold water, but he's always found the idea unpalatable and, regardless, prefers to drink his coffee hot) before taking a sip. ] When one lacks honesty and accountability, the hero is the victor, and for as much as it's easy for us to say that our [ a beat and his lips quirk slightly; the term has always struck him as overly dramatic. ] enemies are committing wrongs, we don't know why. I imagine they believe that everything they've done has been necessary, that everything they'll do will also be necessary; heroism calls for actions that others wouldn't take, does it not?
[ another pause and a loose, light shrug. he's not bothered about clinging desperately to the idea of them being right, of morality versus immorality — he's aware he's selfish and ultimately self-serving, and he doesn't shy away from that but in appearance and action when it's necessary, and any claims as to a deep-seated desire to do good would, perhaps ironically, feel distasteful. ]
Though I do feel as if the network could do with a little less navel gazing. What one has [ received; found; been given; woken up with— ] matters less than what one does with it. And if yesterday is anything to go by. [ he doesn't so much trail off as simply not bother to add the obvious: it ought to be obvious, implicitly understood that regardless of whether the sage had been telling the truth about anything else, he had been right when he'd said they were under- and unprepared. ]
no subject
(he doesn't particularly care for that, either. he doubts that whatever will come of this in the end will be as black and white as is being painted at present, and he's freely amused by the idea that they've all been painted as heroes. as the good guys. he imagines it's because it's easier than imagining that one has been forced towards a position that sits poorly alongside so-called morals, but morals themselves are often loose and changeable.) ]
There doesn't appear to be a criteria. [ the coffee is partway to his lips before he speaks and afterwards, he blows softly onto the drink in an undoubtedly vain attempt to cool it (some people add a dash of cold water, but he's always found the idea unpalatable and, regardless, prefers to drink his coffee hot) before taking a sip. ] When one lacks honesty and accountability, the hero is the victor, and for as much as it's easy for us to say that our [ a beat and his lips quirk slightly; the term has always struck him as overly dramatic. ] enemies are committing wrongs, we don't know why. I imagine they believe that everything they've done has been necessary, that everything they'll do will also be necessary; heroism calls for actions that others wouldn't take, does it not?
[ another pause and a loose, light shrug. he's not bothered about clinging desperately to the idea of them being right, of morality versus immorality — he's aware he's selfish and ultimately self-serving, and he doesn't shy away from that but in appearance and action when it's necessary, and any claims as to a deep-seated desire to do good would, perhaps ironically, feel distasteful. ]
Though I do feel as if the network could do with a little less navel gazing. What one has [ received; found; been given; woken up with— ] matters less than what one does with it. And if yesterday is anything to go by. [ he doesn't so much trail off as simply not bother to add the obvious: it ought to be obvious, implicitly understood that regardless of whether the sage had been telling the truth about anything else, he had been right when he'd said they were under- and unprepared. ]