[AUDIO]

[kingtyrantranger]

Guys, just ignore them. The more you respond to the anons and get angry at them, the more they're getting what they want. Just don't give them any attention and go about your usual stuff.

You matter to them more than their opinions should matter to you.

Comments

private audio

[walkingballpit]

[ He has to think about that one. Because it's not a black-and-white issue. They're not talking about whether or not it was right (it was wrong).

So Robbie takes a few seconds, mentally pulling up all the people he's hurt and what stopped him from going too far, if anything. He's never struck a killing blow, but... he's brought people very close to death. Sometimes, he can point to exact moments and know "here, here's where mercy kicked in." Here's where he cushioned the impact at the last moment or stopped himself from causing further damage.

But sometimes - even after the Stamford disaster, he's been sloppy. He's trusted other people's strength to let them live through it, and Robbie knows that's risky. He has no excuse for it, none whatsoever. He values life more than that.

Thinking outside of his own sphere - pick any news broadcast he's seen in his life. Any newspaper in New York, on any given day. There's really only one conclusion, isn't there? ]

I think everyone wants to believe it's hard to do. I think it's harder to not do it.

[ He's probably breaking some Legion rule, but Robbie doesn't care. ]

I don't think that "never killing" should be a rule. I think that every last precaution should be taken before that level of violence becomes an option, but I don't think some idiot gets to come before you on whatever superhero hierarchy of worthiness they're trying to work with. It's supposed to go civilians, you, stupid bad guys. That's it. That's the whole hierarchy.

[captainbuzzkill]

But that still means there's supposed to be that conversation in your head.

Where you think about what you're doing while you're doing it. Like even if it's hard to do the whole mercy thing or whatever, there's supposed to be a moment where your brain puts the brakes on so it's actually a choice.

...right?

[walkingballpit]

Oh, that one. Sometimes, I have that one. Adrenaline does funny things to your brain, and you can have entire Ayn Rand monologues in your head in the time it takes to knock out a man-beast.

[ That Dipper mentions mercy, when Robbie was thinking about mercy, makes him be a bit more tidy with his surface thoughts. He's pretty sure Dipper is like Vance - telekinetic only - but all the tele powers go together. ]

I used to act without thinking a lot more than I do now. It... wasn't an easy habit to break. I put Rich through a couple of walls once.

You can train a lot of the necessary thinking out of it, so you'll just know to prioritize people who can't save themselves.

[captainbuzzkill]

I know that part.

[His time in Gravity Falls had definitely helped cultivate a sense of helping people that couldn't help themselves -- largely because most of them had been pretty bad at helping themselves. When the town sheriff was cowering in a corner while you tazed a man-bat, you learned pretty quickly that you were It when it came to defending people from the supernatural and the weird.]

I guess that's why I'm trying to figure out if how I think is messed up or something. Protecting innocent people is like...instinct, I guess. I usually do what I'm supposed to, because I'm used to people needing my sister and I to protect them.

[Something he doesn't even realize is messed up, that a whole town looked to two children for protection, but there it is.]

But when it comes to all the moral stuff with bad guys I should probably be thinking about...I just don't. And even when I do think about it, like right now, I don't feel bad.

I thought people were supposed to feel bad, though.

[walkingballpit]

Hey, I don't take anything for granted when I've got my serious conversation hat on.

[ He isn't wearing a hat, but he manages to not turn it into a joke. ]

I'm more the "I feel bad about things I could've done better" guy. I guess that means I feel bad about stuff I've done, but enh. It's not how you mean it. I don't regret things that were done as a defense. I don't - I don't always regret some things "they" would be disgusted by.

Regret isn't universal. Guilt isn't one size fits all. I don't have a matching memory that tells me what I'd have done, so I don't have answers. Just - don't ever let them tell you how you should feel.