Letter to All

[gorgeous_sin]

[This letter comes elegantly written in beautiful cursive, obviously the sort of thing scribed by someone who writes a great deal.]

I have a philosophical question for many of you, if you would not mind indulging me with a little personal information. I understand many of you could be considered selfless, perhaps even altruistic. Have you ever sacrificed yourself for the sake of someone or something else, or made the attempt? What drove you to do this? Is it an instinct for you, or was it something you chose after thinking it over?

Of course, if you wouldn't consider yourself to be the selfless type, I'd like to know if there was ever something that caused you to reconsider your priorities.

If you wish to know why I ask, I don't mind telling you. But I would prefer to hear your answer first.

Signed,
~L

Comments

[bloodypast]

[This'll come back via the usual mognet channels for now. Clear hand-writing, practiced. The person likely has experience with filling out paperwork and forms from the neatness of the printing.]

What if we would prefer to here why you would ask, first? Some of us aren't inclined to answer personal inquiries on a whim to a stranger.

~V

[gorgeous_sin]

V,

Are your secrets truly so precious? I wasn't aware.

If you must know, then my request stems from a desire to understand humanity. It boggles the mind just how readily some people will make sacrifices for the sake of others at their personal expense. I wish to know why they behave in such a manner.

~L

[bloodypast]

Secrets told are not secrets anymore are they? Privacy is precious, and some of us keep things much closer than others. Your inquiry was rather direct, after all.

Altruism is the quality you're looking to understand. It can have many reasons, often masquerading also as the most basic form of enlightened self-interest. I.E: "Doing something good for another feels good to me." Others might be altruistic out of a deep sense of Empathy, or Sympathy. (The two actually are different entities though often used interchangeably.) Compassion may lead to it as well, although that is also not a well-understood trait.

If it helps, having it boggle the mind is not unique solely to one trying to understand humanity. Only those who would make that choice or sacrifice, can offer what their individual reasons are. The more broad general reasons can be traced back to whatever motivates their sense of altruism.

-V

[gorgeous_sin]

V,

An interesting response, if a bit on the technical side. The choices and actions some people take for the sake of another are, at times, rather astounding. Perhaps it relates to the law of equivalent exchange after all -- to gain something, something of equal value must be given. What leads to confusion is when they give something without hope of gaining anything.

I suppose careful observation is truly the only way understanding may be reached.

~Lust

[bloodypast]

~~Lust (is there an appellation you would prefer, such as Mr. or Miss?)

It's more I believe such acts are motivated by emotion, and emotion rarely bends or behaves according to logic. The idea that confuses you, that one might give or sacrifice without hope of gaining anything else... It is often that the person who does the sacrificing feels no need for any recompense. For them--and it is a deeply personal decision--it is often enough that the cause they are sacrificing for is enough.

For example, in the case of those who sacrifice happiness for another, it is often enough for the person who does the sacrifice, to know that the person they are sacrificing for, will be happy. Or might live on, if giving up one's life, if that were the case.

Again, the motivation is emotion--Love, many times. Or Compassion. Occasionally guilt, where one is prompted to sacrifice or give because it is a form of atonement. You might not ever fully understand until and unless you find yourself in this type of situation.

~V.

[21stcenturyguy]

[This return letter is messy, but legible, with blocky letters and ink stains where the writer paused with his pen. There's no signature.]

Look, you don't gotta be a bleeding heart, saint-type to risk yourself for someone else. Some people are just worth sacrificing for. You just know it, that they're better than you are, and that they deserve happiness. You don't have to think about what you're doing or what you're risking, because you know, instinctively, that if they were gone, there'd be no point in you still being alive.

If you gotta ask, then you don't have a person like that. And you'll know it if you find one. So until then, don't fucking worry about it. We've already got enough shit to deal with without wasting time on psychological musing.

[gorgeous_sin]

Some of your assumptions are correct. Others are quite removed from the truth. But I admire your passion on the subject.

[And that's the honest truth.]

Perhaps we may speak on the matter further, if you're so inclined. I don't mind meeting in person if that is your wish.

[21stcenturyguy]

No way! I don't give a shit either way, and it's none of your fucking business about what I think is worth sacrificing for. I was just trying to get you to stop whining about your forever-aloneness via spam mail. It was getting embarrassing.

[gorgeous_sin]

Again, you presume far too much about me. I wonder why that is. Is it your aim to provoke hostility, to cover up your own vulnerabilities? There's nothing to be afraid of. My questions are purely for the sake of enlightenment. I have no pressing desire for the company of others.

~Lust

[21stcenturyguy]

[[Lust won't get a return letter. Santa snorts angrily and balls up her letter after reading it.]]

[jenovite]

[It's a strange letter to receive so soon after being selected to stay, not die like the others he'd come here with. He nearly doesn't respond, either, but doesn't discard the letter. Finally, he has his new moogle friend send a response.]

You missed an option. What if someone was created to be sacrificed so someone else could live? What if that was their only purpose? Of course they'd do it. Is that what life is all about? Finding your purpose and fulfilling it?

K

[gorgeous_sin]

[...Interesting. There's a touch of madness in the words, but the passion and conviction is strong. He's got her attention.]

K,

Points worth considering, indeed. And yet, I can't help but wonder. 'Of course they'd do it?' What if the person they're allowing to live is someone they can't abide? Perhaps that person is considered to be a monster, selfish and cruel. Is that purpose still worth fulfilling?

I envy your unwavering confidence.

~Lust

[He seems like the type who won't quibble over her name, so she gives it in full.]

[jenovite]

If the person is called a monster, it isn't by them. Everyone has enemies, and those enemies always see a monster, because it's easier to fight a monster than it is another person. If you make someone a monster, killing it doesn't hurt later.

[The idea he's getting across is guilt, but that feeling is so new to him, he doesn't quite grasp the concept just yet.]

There was once someone who was to fulfill a purpose, but others who labeled him a monster ripped him apart, and his Mother fashioned remnants from his pieces to bring him back so he could finish what he started. They called him a monster, but he only wanted to serve his Mother. To the others, he was selfish and cruel, but it was only because his Mother's best interests weren't theirs.

Kadaj

[gorgeous_sin]

Kadaj,

Ahhh, so it was you. This does make matters somewhat more clear. In most cases you are correct; monsters are usually labeled as such by others. But I'm fully aware of what I am, and I'm comfortable with the notion of being a monster. I see no reason to deny reality. In truth I've had more trouble convincing others as to what I am. Mikleo seems quite insistent in his contrary beliefs, however. Silly boy.

[But she's fond of him just the same.]

So what role did you play in that story? I'm curious about you.

~Lust

[jenovite]

I never did play my role. Mother gave us form, and we couldn't even find her. I did, eventually, but I never got the chance to fulfill my purpose.

I was brought here instead.

K

[gorgeous_sin]

If it never happened, then perhaps that was not your true purpose. I wonder what you'll choose to do here now that we have been set free to decide our own paths.

~L

[jenovite]

I don't know.

[And the rest is on another line, as though it was all he was going to send, but someone else urged him to say more.]

I don't know what to feel.

- K

[gorgeous_sin]

Emotions aren't something you choose to feel. There is also no shame in feeling nothing.

But you can choose your actions.

~Lust

[jenovite]

You're right, but not everyone sees it that way.

Sometimes I feel nothing and they call me cruel.

- Kadaj

[gorgeous_sin]

Did you kill anyone? Humans do seem rather touchy about murder after all.

~Lust

[She writes this tongue-in-cheek of course. But after allowing her Moogle to carry the letter away, she wonders if humor can really be conveyed through the written word. ...Oh well.]

[jenovite]

Yes, but we were on an important mission and couldn't be delayed. They were standing in our way.

- Kadaj

[And he'll just be answering honestly, okay?]

[gorgeous_sin]

Then you failed to grasp the meaning of cruelty. Feeling nothing is not cruel. Slaughtering people for trivial reasons, however, is considerably so.

Not that I'm judging you, mind, but I'd abstain from your former hobbies if you'd rather not be hassled by the locals and the other Heroes.

~Lust

[jenovite]

My brothers and I didn't slaughter anyone. We threatened, because asking nicely didn't help.

- Kadaj

[line_piece]

Yeah. I have. The reason was easy. I did it because of hope.

-C

[gorgeous_sin]

C,

A straightforward answer. I admire that. Would you care to expand a little on this 'hope' you value? What is it you were hoping for in the end?

~L

[line_piece]

L,

I carried on the hopes of my father and his friends - the hope for a better world.

-C

[neverfirstclass]

There's someone who I would sacrifice myself for if it came to it. I made a promise and I plan to keep it. But I wouldn't just lay my life down without trying to find another way through. It wouldn't be fair to that person to make them carry guilt for what I did. And if I went in with the goal of sacrificing myself I might be too shortsighted to see all the options.

If you're going to do something to create a chance for others then you need to do your best to still be standing there with them when the dust settles.

That's what I think anyway.

Cloud

[gorgeous_sin]

Cloud,

Then you're saying any sacrifice you make is premeditated, and not instinctive? I wouldn't wish to assume otherwise, if that isn't the case.

~Lust

[neverfirstclass]

Lust,

I'm not sure I can say that any sacrifice I'd make would be instinctive. That's what makes them instinctive. But there are definitely people I'd do everything I could to protect.

Cloud