Aqua's response was disappointing, but not unexpected. Lea shook his head. "Hurricanes and berries and sunlight don't 'choose' to do what they do," he said. "And unless we're talking something like Vexen creating Xion, parents don't 'choose' to conceive either; they can decide to try, but after that it's basically a biological dice-roll. Things like life and wind and sunlight don't have intelligence or will; they just exist. If someone or something has the ability to choose, then they also have the responsibility to respect the lives and choices of others. You don't get one without the other, so if Keyblades actually do choose, then they're not exempt from that, no matter how powerful they are. In fact, if someone or something is powerful and has the ability to profoundly affect people's lives by the choices they make, then it's even more important that they have consent before doing what they do. Saying we should just accept it is basically just making an excuse for them."
"As for Xion and Roxas, they're kinda bad examples when talking about anything nature related, given how they were born. But again, you're equating Keyblades with something that's mindless and doesn't actually do any choosing. Barring weird cases like Xion's, someone's hair, skin, or eye color, or whether they were a mutant or not, is just a genetic dice-roll. There's no choice involved in the process, theirs or anyone else's."
"If someone abuses someone else like that or is bigoted towards them for any reason, it's wrong and that's indeed the fault of the abuser or bigot and they should be held accountable. But if someone or something deliberately chose to to put them in that situation, then they need to be held accountable too."
Lea sighed. "Xion in particular though is... complicated. The only reason she was created was basically to be a walking Keyblade that the Organization could control. There was never meant to be a person there. Obviously that's not how it worked out, but she has pretty much the exact opposite problem to the one you described; she thinks that the Keyblade is the only thing that gives her value. That her only worth is what she can do, because that's what the Organization taught her. And I've been trying in every way I know how to convince her otherwise and teach her better, as have the few other people she's managed to open up to without much luck. She's so terrified of changing that as long as the option to fall back on the familiar exists, I don't think it's going to happen."
"Having a Keyblade is... not healthy for her. Any relationship she might have had with it was poisoned from the beginning. It needs to end, and she needs to learn to stand on her own, without a Keyblade to fall back on. That's why if I can figure out a way to remove Keyblades from people entirely, so much the better, but if I can't, I want to at least remove her from the life that comes with Keyblades as much as possible. She doesn't need training, she needs a chance to just be a normal kid, at least for awhile. She needs a life that's not defined by her abilities, and I'm gonna do my best to give it to her."
Lea made no attempt to move away as she discussed anger, but nor did he respond until he was sure she was finished. "Too much of anything is toxic. Even normally beneficial or necessary things like water. But I actually thought about that too. Why did I fly off the handle the way I did? Who or what was I so angry at? And you now what I figured out? It's injustice. It's people and things who need to be held accountable for their actions and haven't been."
"Xehanort needs to be stopped and to be held accountable for the stuff he's done, and hasn't been, so I'm angry at him. The first generation of Auradon's rulers need to he held accountable for what they did regarding the Isle, and haven't been, so I'm angry at them. Even Keyblades, assuming you're right about them doing the choosing, while they've certainly done good, have also done serious harm, and aren't being held accountable for it by the only people who reasonably could, namely Keyblade Masters, so I'm mad at them too. And if it's not the Keyblades themselves doing the choosing, then I'm mad at the Masters for taking children and using them to perpetuate their system, even if it wasn't done out of malice, because they need to be held accountable and haven't been."
"But I'm not mad at Vexen and most of the others who were the Organization's original members anymore, despite the fact that they hurt me more personally than maybe any other person has. Why? Because they stepped up, held themselves accountable for what they did, and are trying to make amends as best they can. I'm not mad at the Voidtrecker Express, because even though it basically kidnapped me and Xion and caused a lot of trouble, it and eventually the Void Ministry stepped up, took responsibility, and tried to make things right."
"Injustice ticks me off. Lack of accountability ticks me off. Seeing people suffering because of the words and actions of others ticks me off. And that's not gonna stop happening as long as more fuel keeps being added to the fire. If it hurts, that's because it should. Pain is a signal that something is wrong and needs to be addressed, in your body or in the world at large. I can't not be angry when I see things that are worth being angry about. Because it's that kind of anger that's part of what makes me want to change things for the better."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-02-08 09:59 pm (UTC)"As for Xion and Roxas, they're kinda bad examples when talking about anything nature related, given how they were born. But again, you're equating Keyblades with something that's mindless and doesn't actually do any choosing. Barring weird cases like Xion's, someone's hair, skin, or eye color, or whether they were a mutant or not, is just a genetic dice-roll. There's no choice involved in the process, theirs or anyone else's."
"If someone abuses someone else like that or is bigoted towards them for any reason, it's wrong and that's indeed the fault of the abuser or bigot and they should be held accountable. But if someone or something deliberately chose to to put them in that situation, then they need to be held accountable too."
Lea sighed. "Xion in particular though is... complicated. The only reason she was created was basically to be a walking Keyblade that the Organization could control. There was never meant to be a person there. Obviously that's not how it worked out, but she has pretty much the exact opposite problem to the one you described; she thinks that the Keyblade is the only thing that gives her value. That her only worth is what she can do, because that's what the Organization taught her. And I've been trying in every way I know how to convince her otherwise and teach her better, as have the few other people she's managed to open up to without much luck. She's so terrified of changing that as long as the option to fall back on the familiar exists, I don't think it's going to happen."
"Having a Keyblade is... not healthy for her. Any relationship she might have had with it was poisoned from the beginning. It needs to end, and she needs to learn to stand on her own, without a Keyblade to fall back on. That's why if I can figure out a way to remove Keyblades from people entirely, so much the better, but if I can't, I want to at least remove her from the life that comes with Keyblades as much as possible. She doesn't need training, she needs a chance to just be a normal kid, at least for awhile. She needs a life that's not defined by her abilities, and I'm gonna do my best to give it to her."
Lea made no attempt to move away as she discussed anger, but nor did he respond until he was sure she was finished. "Too much of anything is toxic. Even normally beneficial or necessary things like water. But I actually thought about that too. Why did I fly off the handle the way I did? Who or what was I so angry at? And you now what I figured out? It's injustice. It's people and things who need to be held accountable for their actions and haven't been."
"Xehanort needs to be stopped and to be held accountable for the stuff he's done, and hasn't been, so I'm angry at him. The first generation of Auradon's rulers need to he held accountable for what they did regarding the Isle, and haven't been, so I'm angry at them. Even Keyblades, assuming you're right about them doing the choosing, while they've certainly done good, have also done serious harm, and aren't being held accountable for it by the only people who reasonably could, namely Keyblade Masters, so I'm mad at them too. And if it's not the Keyblades themselves doing the choosing, then I'm mad at the Masters for taking children and using them to perpetuate their system, even if it wasn't done out of malice, because they need to be held accountable and haven't been."
"But I'm not mad at Vexen and most of the others who were the Organization's original members anymore, despite the fact that they hurt me more personally than maybe any other person has. Why? Because they stepped up, held themselves accountable for what they did, and are trying to make amends as best they can. I'm not mad at the Voidtrecker Express, because even though it basically kidnapped me and Xion and caused a lot of trouble, it and eventually the Void Ministry stepped up, took responsibility, and tried to make things right."
"Injustice ticks me off. Lack of accountability ticks me off. Seeing people suffering because of the words and actions of others ticks me off. And that's not gonna stop happening as long as more fuel keeps being added to the fire. If it hurts, that's because it should. Pain is a signal that something is wrong and needs to be addressed, in your body or in the world at large. I can't not be angry when I see things that are worth being angry about. Because it's that kind of anger that's part of what makes me want to change things for the better."