Ethics [Tuesday, March 2, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

"Welcome back," a very tanned Anakin said from the front of the classroom. "Today we talk about wrath," he said. "There's something very human about giving in to our temper," he said. "It's freeing, uncomplicated."

He paused. "At least at that moment. The repercussions are always waiting."

He waved a hand and the holoprojector flipped to life. The blue alien from two weeks ago . "Remember him? As a Padawan who wasn't prone to following the instructions of my master," his eyes met each student who had also made that choice, "I was captured aboard Krayn's ship, enslaved, and set to work in his spice refining plants on Nar Shaddaa. My master escaped, and I didn't see him for almost a month. The intervening time was not pleasant."

He looked around the classroom making eye contact with every student before continuing. "Wrath is very, very tempting. It urges you to listen to that dark little voice inside of you--to cut loose, live without consequences."

He pointed at the holo again. "There are always consequences. At the end of this story, I faced Krayn in combat, ignored the advice of my master again," which would be a theme in Anakin's stories, yes, "and stabbed Krayn through the chest with my lightsaber. I was thirteen. That decision shaped much of my training as a Jedi from then on."

Anakin stopped pacing. "What would it take for you to get to that hazy edge? And more importantly, how do you stop yourself from giving in?"

Comments

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "When you can get angry on behalf of someone else?" he guessed.

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[puppy_fair]

"Sometimes, if I don't get angry for them, nobody will," Zack replied, and then heaved a sigh, shaking his head. "I don't know. It's not that my heart isn't in it, but being angry is... It's tiring."

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[sith_happened]

"It is," Anakin said, "though I knew someone who spent the better part of twenty years in a fury."

That someone had been him, but details.

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[puppy_fair]

"I don't think I could do it," Zack admitted. "Even if I wanted to. I got angry enough once to throw someone against a wall, and then I yelled."

And punched his mentor in the face, but he didn't really need to share that with the class.

"But if it's serious enough to get a reaction like that out of me, I tend toward wanting to cope, before long."

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[sith_happened]

"And how do you cope?" Anakin asked.

Skywalkers generally preferred "repression" as a technique.

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[puppy_fair]

So did Fairs, actually.

Zack gave his shoulders a shrug.

"Work, I guess. It's better to get out there and do something productive, instead of losing my head over things that... That I can't really change."

Like how Angeal's mom was already dead, before Zack had punched Angeal in the face over it.

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[sith_happened]

Anakin's smile was surprisingly sympathetic. "Does it work?"

Re: Answer the discussion questions [3/2]

[puppy_fair]

Zack looked at Anakin for a moment, and then shrugged again, his gaze shifting downward a bit. But not before he offered Anakin an almost thankful little smile in turn.

"It has to."