thebastion | (no subject)

Who: Colin Starfury, any meddling kids
Open: Open as the plains
When: Day 267, late morning and early afternoon.
Where: The Farmland
What: Doing another survey for more development
Format: Anything, can match
Warnings: Colin IS a warning

As far as plans went, this wasn't how Colin had wanted to spend this week. There were a lot of things that needed doing even before the plight of the Ura reared its head. But Colin was an engineer, and he knew well that the universe had plans of its own and it really didn't care one little bit of the plans of individual people.

The day before this had been spent doing research, and helping Rob build his new cart. That had taken a fair amount of time on its own, but it was work that needed to be done if they wanted to set up a supply line. Now that the transportation was done, it was time to set up the facilities that would give them the supplies down the line.

So here he was, setting out more stakes and flags, taking more measurements, and generally making it apparent that SOMETHING is going to be going up in this area soon. And if the layout of the flags and stakes are any indication, it's going to be something BIG.

Anyone care to bother the engineer at work?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"No problem. Just let me know when you're ready and we can go get them."

He's quiet for a moment before speaking up again. "How do these farms work? Not like regular farms, so...?" And no advanced science words, please, Colin. Or as few as possible.

"Lots of science," Colin replies, laughing quietly. "Basically, rather than soil, they feed the plants special meals to ensure they grow their best. No ground needed."

"Oh. That's really cool. I've never seen anything like that in my world. I guess my world's stuff must look kind of dumb compared to the stuff from your world."

"Just older," Colin replies, giving Ryu a warm, understanding smile. "We've had a lot of time to develop new stuff. Couldn't get there without older methods that people from your world are still honing. Everything has its time and its place."

He doesn't think poorly of undeveloped societies. Every race has to start somewhere, and it takes a long time for any race to hit the warp age.

"Yeah. And I'm starting to think about something. I mean, if - when - we manage to fix everything."

He picks his words slowly and carefully.

"Maybe... maybe my world doesn't need gods anymore. I mean... if I'm supposed to be the Dragon of the Future... doesn't that mean I get to pick? If I'm strong enough... I want to get the Endless to leave. ... Relying on us isn't going to help anyone."

Colin looks at Ryu, his expression growing serious. "For everything that I feel the gods don't do right, there's plenty of things that they do," he says gently. "Mere mortals will always want to believe in something greater. Gods, heroes, things they can aspire towards."

He smiles slightly. "I can't change your course, but I can make you think," he tells Ryu. "A good god, looking out for his or her people, is a wonderful thing. Some people won't appreciate it, some people will. But there will always be people who want to believe in something greater. Never forget that."

"... I know. But I feel like... if the Endless are around, then people will just try to use us for war. The Empire tried, and they ended up messing up the summonings really badly. We're not even from the same world."

He crouches in the dirt, drawing patterns in it. What if things go wrong again? There's too much danger...

"Besides... it's not like we can do much anymore, I think. If the war can end, if I can bring peace... then maybe it'll stick. I don't... want people to get hurt anymore. Look at this world - people hating each other so much that they'd do anything to hurt each other. If you take away the biggest weapons... doesn't that mean they can't hurt each other as much anymore?"

Maybe it's a simple way to look at it. Maybe it's childish. But if they could stop fighting, if they could just sit and stop hating, then maybe things would be okay.

"A person can hurt another person just as much as their mind can comprehend," he says gently. "Often, even moreso. Gods don't have anything to do with that."

He gestures off into the distance, giving a sad smile. "It's up to man to steer their own course," he says. "A good god can direct his or her followers to peace. But they can only direct them. It's always up to a person to steer their own course."

"... I guess. I just... want to remove the biggest weapons. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I don't want to give anyone the chance to use that kind of power. If I got mad enough... at home there's not really anyone who could pin me down. I could wipe out a city pretty fast if... if I lost control. And that can't happen. I won't let it happen."

"Okay, Ryu," Colin says in a gentle, understanding tone. "But hang on just a moment. You're approaching the problem from a benevolent perspective, which is good... But you're also not thinking it through."

He sympathizes with Ryu's dilemma, but he can already see the major flaw in his reasoning.

"You want to do this. Now... imagine you were someone else. You've worked hard to build up your life the way you like it. You've provided for your family, you've protected your family, you've generally led a fruitful, wonderful life," he says, gesturing with his hands as he speaks to represent sizable gains and a fruitful existence. "Now... imagine that someone you don't know in the slightest, someone all powerful, comes along and says to you 'Hey, you need to give up what you've used to protect the people important to you. Don't worry, I'm going to make sure nobody can hurt anyone ever again.'"

He pauses for just a moment, letting it sink in. "Remember, you don't know this person at all, and he's asking you to completely disarm and assume that everything will be peaceful in the future," he says. "Would you believe him and do as he asked?"

"But most people don't use them as weapons. After the Endless set up things initially, they just... watched. It's just me they're after. The others... don't do anything."

Being chased... it's terrible.

"I don't know all of what Fou-Lu did, but whatever he did didn't work, and I think it's because they couldn't summon him right. I don't want him to be used as a weapon anymore. I don't want to be used as a weapon anymore. I don't... transforming is useful, but I can't control one of my forms and I don't want to just be unleashed on an enemy."

... Maybe it's a little selfish, but the idea terrifies him.

"No more killing. I don't... I don't want to kill anymore people."

He sits down in the grass and pulls his knees up to his chest, shaking. He's been holding this in for a while, but it's finally spilling out.

"And if anyone comes after you, I'll glue 'em to a wall," Colin says, moving to sit beside Ryu and give him a hug. "Nobody says you've gotta kill, that's a choice for YOU to make, nobody else."

"I don't have all the answers, but I can tell you this," he says gently. "So long as people don't hurt other people, they should be allowed to live their lives however they want."

Ryu leans into Colin, sniffling a little. It's hard to hold things back. People expect him to be the happy one, but he's got things he worries about, too.

"Th... thanks, Colin."

"I'm here for you, Ryu," Colin tells him, and he squeezes his arm around Ryu's shoulder. "You ever need someone to listen to you or give you a hug, you just come find me. If the world isn't ending again, I'll give you all the time you need."

He turns his head to give Ryu a reassuring amile.

"Thanks. ... I never really talked about that kind of stuff with the others. It's... different when you're in the middle of things. But now that I've had time to think about it... it's really messed up."

He counts out on his fingers, before looking at him again. "I think I've been here longer than I was around there."