fandomhigh | Game of Chance, Monday

"So, today we're actually going to talk about risk and reward," Atton said.

As was evidenced by the fact they were in a normal classroom, for once. "We've had a chance to try out a few card games, we've had a chance to try out how you'd act in a real world situation. And we'll go through many other scenarios like this in the future. But it all starts with the same question: when do you take a gamble? How much are you willing to gamble? And what are you willing to gamble for?"

He watched the class.

"I have a pretty good gut feeling," he said. "I've had to develop one. There are risks worth taking, but risking your life-- that should be a choice you think about. A lot. And so for a very long time, I decided that risking my life was the one thing I wasn't willing to do. Before that, I'd been a soldier. I'd thought that fighting and dying so my people could live-- that was the right choice to make. Because what was the stake of my life, really, in the face of potentially billions of more deaths?" He snorted. "Of course, I was a teenager, so I also thought I was immortal. At first. I got over that pretty quickly."

He sat down. "After that, I decided to say screw it. The war had been won. There was nothing left to do but survive. I had nothing to stake my life for, and so I figured what I should be doing was making sure every gamble I took was one that would make my life a little better, at the risk of making it a little worse. That was all. It worked. Again, for a while. Turns out I'm still not good at saying 'no' when universe-saving is on the menu, especially if the menu is being served by a pretty girl in her underwear."

Go figure.

"This week's class will be our first discussion class," he said. "I want you all to pitch in on this question. Argue with each other if you have to. The question is: what would you risk your life for? What's worth that kind of stake?"

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Life or death!

Ada Miller

Faith Connors

Ahsoka Tano

Mara Jade

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not_every_mage - 2016-09-19 19:44 (UTC) - Expand

era_two_triangle - 2016-09-20 01:04 (UTC) - Expand

Atton's had a Life, all right.

Under what circumstances would you be willing to put your life on the line? How universal do you think that is? Should other people follow your example?

"I think it's sort of hard to draw the line at what constitutes risking your life," Faith said slowly. "Pretty much anything can be life-threatening on an unlucky day."

"Sure, but I think by context you can figure out we're not talking about tripping over your own feet and cracking your head on the pavement, or driving your vehicle into something by mistake," Atton said, rolling his eyes. "I'm talking serious, you-know-you-could-seriously-die-if-you-do-this life risking."

"Yeah, well, not everyone gets to opt into that kind of risk taking," she said, scowling. "Back home it doesn't take a lot for the K-Sec to shoot you. Not to mention that most of the poor kids with nowhere to live wind up in a very physical line of work where cracking your head on the pavement is a lot more likely. It's not about risking your life for some principle."

Re: Discussion: Life or Death

suitably_heroic - 2016-09-19 16:13 (UTC) - Expand

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"It would be a pretty short list," Mara said cautiously. "I like being alive."

"So what would be on it?" Atton asked. "If it's so short."

"If I don't have any other choice," Mara said. "If it's me or them, I choose me."

Mara was a lying liar.

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suitably_heroic - 2016-09-20 16:25 (UTC) - Expand

Ahahahahaha...the opposite list would probably be shorter.

"I guess if I beleived it was the right thing to do," Ahsoka said, as if she certainly didn't have examples of times she already had to point to if she needed to.

"And what would be the right thing to do?" Atton asked dryly. "Saving baby nexu? Stopping bullies? Getting rich?"

"Probably not that last one." Hondo.

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"Lot of what I do is risky," Ada admitted freely. "I've seen cousins crushed while unloading machinery, or lose limbs 'cause they got caught in something, or die from a fall. But t' actually put m' life on th' line knowingly? It'd have t' be something where it's not just me as a cog in th' machine. Where 'm th' only one who can actually make th' difference, an' it's for a substantial reason."

"What kind of difference?" Atton asked. "What type of difference would be important enough to you?"

Ada chewed her lip for a moment before answering. "Family," she said simply. "You can't not take th' risk for family."

Peridot kind of looked like she was at a complete loss, here.

"... I suppose... putting myself in danger would have to be for the sake of something that I strongly believe in," she said, slowly. "But I can't currently think of anything worth the risk of my being shattered."

Spend all eternity trapped in a hundred fragmented shards of her own eternally screaming mind? Yeah, no. Sorry. Not happening.

Atton nodded. "You don't have those kinds of strong beliefs yet?" he said. "Or you think they're not strong enough?"

There was a frown now, as Peridot carefully considered the question.

"There are things that I believe in," she said, slowly, "but I don't believe I'd ever be in a position to be shattered for them. And if I was, I'm not entirely certain I would choose to do so. I would be expected to, if it came down to me or one of the Diamonds, but that isn't the same as choosing to put myself in that sort of danger. Not really."

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RE: Re: Discussion: Life or Death

era_two_triangle - 2016-09-20 13:30 (UTC) - Expand

That's what Hyacinthe's here for, after all.

Who might be in an okay enough mood to share more stories about the past.

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