Dr. Norman Osborn II (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
certaininequities) wrote2022-01-31 08:43 pm
certaininequities) wrote2022-01-31 08:43 pm
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IC Inbox for Ryslig
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[Back2Formula] regular anon * [Pierglass] trolling anon * [LutinVert] Goblin/Alton Mode * [EpigaeaMemoriam] Support Group anon
huh! go fig. one more reason I need to watch this dang canon
[Norman purses his lips, quiet and thoughtful for a moment. 'not used to others understanding' - he could tell Giorno some tales of cruelty, for sure. but he doesn't want to give the Goblin a place at this table. not when the conversation they're having should be proof that he doesn't want that to be a part of his life, anymore: that he intends to be better. do better. take responsibility for himself and care for the people around him. step up, for real, instead of being all bluster and ego while everything else either simmered under the surface or got left by the wayside.]
The trouble, I think ... [he starts slowly, wagging a finger at nothing in particular] ... is that everyone is capable of acts of amazing cruelty. Those of us who recognize that in ourselves, who square with that and still make the choice to deny it ... they can move forward and not take the bait. Not start the fight, just ... keep on moving.
It's the people who indulge that cruelty for its own sake and the people who are in denial over what they're capable of that make the worst conflicts. The self-righteous who see a mirror held up to them and say "no, that can't be me", and throw a rock at it.
no subject
[He holds himself with serenity by default, at every given opportunity, but that truly stills him, freezes him in place as though he's frozen in time. Is that really the key? Know yourself, know what you're capable of, and refuse to give up. What a precarious balancing act. And exactly what he's committed to a life of long before he came to this place.]
It's one of the few ways to stay sane in this place, I think. Recognizing what you're capable of, what Ryslig is pushing you towards, and standing firm in what you know is right. It's not simple or easy. But . . .
[Briefly, his expression shutters. The trouble is, really, that if he'd been asked two weeks ago who was the last person in his immediate circle to go off the rails like this, he'd likely have said Atem. Which is troubling on a number of levels, but mostly because, he thinks, it indicates the vampire's level of self-deception. To be able to continue acting as though everything was fine while this was going on behind the scenes — that's disturbing.]
[So what are they to do about that? The people who throw stones at their own reflections in private, then wear their same old face out on the street? Letting this happen again over and over doesn't seem like an answer, but he certainly doesn't have a better one.]
. . . I prefer those aware of their own cruelties. People who lie to themselves convincingly are the most dangerous. To others and to themselves.
[He blinks, seeming to come out of whatever headspace he'd fallen into. He hasn't, not really, but — he can lie to others, at the very least.]
There are things you can do, you know. To help. There's a certain mindset that to do so is deluding yourself, that assisting and supporting humanity in this place is just hypocrisy. But they live in a war zone. All of them. We have no idea what it's like to be purely human in this place. I don't consider empathy to be delusional.
no subject
[he shakes his head, holding up a hand, silent apologies in his gaze]
There's so much that needs to be done, so many different ways to help. For me, honestly, I think the biggest problem is just choosing. I got a job working at McGucket Labs, helping develop things, but ... what I really want is to save up enough to start my pharmaceutical company here.
Develop things to help people cope with the pain of the changes, the stress, the anxiety. Start with simple things like that, you know?