Posted by maleperduis 13 years ago Report

Another gripping installment!

I have to admit, though, that even within the internal logic/morality of the story, that "It's your prey, the decision and responsibility is entirely yours" thing seems to be a bit of a stretch for the current situation. If he lets Tarik go, it'd be entirely for Lichthia's benefit. At the very least, no matter what decision Jaabir makes, it's going to say something about how he balances her life against his appetite, and there's not much he can do about that. I dunno, it seems unwarranted to put eating somebody, which is practically an everyday occurrence for somebody like Jaabir, on such a very high pedestal.

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Posted by JacktheRabbit 13 years ago Report

This is true ^^ and could understand that. I think for Jaabir, which might not seem too apparent in just the RPs I posted (there's a lot more that occur in between here that I havn't posted yet as well, as well as other RPs floating around on various chat places), is that he's especially gentle natured and really doesn't want to hurt anyone, well. . . aside from his anger-based moods. If he sees a good reason, he would actually feel internal peace at giving a rodent life, even if he meant he went hungry. . . he just can't do it as often as he might want, and so, really does appreciate when things are brought to his eyes he might not otherwise see: I think this is why Lichthia feels it her responsibility to point them out, least he be 'sad' later. "A fox can eat the berries of the field. A cat, can fish in the river. I'm a snake. . . I have no choice."

He is also very deeply connected to Lichthia now, regardless. Part of their relationship though, is focused on the fact that Lichthia would really rather, in many levels, that Jaabir not treat her any different, that he just eat her and not give her any special treatment. . . he just does, and she can't fight it. She knows 'giving up' the responsibility is a cop-out, but in many ways Tarik forced this path. There is also another RP that covers her psychologically 'becoming' a predator. Or rather, being so close to Jaabir that she is starting to think like one, sizing up prey and what not: It's something she is having to just now truly deal with, and actually broke down a bit with her 'It's a responsibility. . . I do. . . not. . . want!' when she realizes just how much of a burden it entails for someone who isn't meant to be a predator: The primal excitement predatory characters in this universe feel at terror and sadness in prey are now revealed to be a blessing and outright necessity.

While the decision to release Tarik would be to Lichthia's benefit. . . at the same time its to Jaabir's benefit because he wants what is best for her more than whats best for himself: It would quite literally destroy him at this point if something happened to his mouse. The other option, of just eating him and going to sleep, would also benefit Jaabir and well. . . also benefit Lichthia (She likes her python to be fed, and she would feel no true remorse in this situation for his life, as she would have with Jack).

It is a bit of a stretch. I think in the end, Lichthia just really really wants to feel like she isn't responsible, even if she does share much responsibility and even knows it. Jaabir, I think senses that as well, and happily takes the burden 'as predator': It's a burden a prey just shouldn't have. And at least from Tabatha and Jaabir's views, the act of predication is viewed as a right to them, not a privilege: the snake just seems caught up giving some life to others on occasion, while Tabatha abstains from the mess. 'Just eat 'em!'

The psychological change/'struggle' in Lichthia, could also be seen as a negative of going against nature. A python isn't suppose to love a mouse, or vise versa. Something Tabatha warned against.

So sorry for rambling and getting a bit off topic. ^^

Where was I again? . . .

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

Just to say first that while I'm very sympathetic to my character Licthia, her view points don't necessarily represent the truth. I usually have a deep feeling how my characters will respond to a situation, and I don't always understand at the time why they're doing what they do. Licthia has plenty of motivations, which include doing the right thing, but also include things like preserving her sanity in a really strange situation in a strange world where there are no ideal answers to the challenges she faces.

Licthia is a very smart mouse, who probably thinks about things more than is good for her. That's one of the reasons she's happy living with Jaabir, who's comparatively simple in his outlook, and follows his heart. One thing she grapples with his that a pred like Jaabir can never truly give life. He needs to feed, and if he lets someone like Tarik go, he's sentencing another creature to death in his place. Even if he refuses to eat at all, he's still taking his own life, which is as valuable as any other creature's. The idea of being a pred, of being able to play God, in having the power to choose who is worthy of life and who is not, is something that viscerally repels her. How could one ever pronounce one creature more or less deserving of life than another? It's literally playing God. While she's grateful Jaabir gave her her life, and took the life of an ill-tempered rat instead, she'd never be willing to say that this was a good thing, because she'd be saying on some level she was more worthy of life than that rat.

And ironically, even as the thought of being a pred with the power to choose who lives and who dies repels her, she does have exactly this power. She's fully aware that Jaabir would do nearly anything she asked; if she wanted, she could just tell him she felt sorry for Tarik and ask Jaabir to let him go, and he would.

And so she makes up rules for what she will and won't do, and she tells herself that in the end it's always Jaabir's decision, not hers. And she knows even as she does this it's at least to some degree a cop-out; she is to some degree in denial of what's actually happening. But it's a denial she feels she has to make for the sake of her own sanity; the idea of taking on the responsibility of a pred terrifies her.

That's why, by the way, she likes Jaabir to wrap her up and hold her tight so she can't move. Especially in a situation like the one in this story, she likes to feel completely helpless, completely powerless. Yet ironically, even as she's gripped tight, she's saying words that will eventually allow Tarik to live, and condemn some other creature she doesn't even know to death. She can't escape her situation. Even if she were to stay silent about her thoughts and feelings, that would be a decision with its own consequences. And so she takes the only path she can, being open about how she thinks and feels, but making it as clear as she can the ultimate decision isn't hers to make.

By the way, this is all a metaphor for the existentialist dilemma, human beings forced to make decisions about right and wrong in a seemingly uncaring world. Dostoevsky wrote in The Grand Inquisitor, "I tell Thee that man is tormented by no greater anxiety than to find someone quickly to whom he can hand over that gift of freedom with which the ill-fated creature was born." I think Lichthia would have understood exactly what he meant.

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

Oops. I see I was premature in referring to Jaabir holding Lichthia; Jack hasn't posted that part yet. Looks like I got confused about the order of events.

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

While Lichthia is thankful she was born a prey, and doesn't have to face the dilemma of deciding who lives and who dies, most preds she understands don't have this problem. Most preds are brutes; they're not sensitive enough to recognize that on some level prey are living creatures like themselves, worthy of respect and life to some degree.

There are three preds she's befriended who are sensitive enough to make this decision, and each of them has come to a different method of resolving the dilemma. This is something she's consciously recognized, and will discuss with the philosopher owl Morathi in a future rp.

The first of these three preds, Morathi himself, unashamedly takes on the role of God. He has no qualms about deciding which prey are worthy of life and which are not. Lichthia finds this attitude, which is the opposite of her own, horrifying, even as it caused him to deem her worthy of life on account of her intelligence, sensitivity, and courage.

The second of these preds is Jaabir, who chooses based on love. Jaabir will let a prey go if he feels a connection with them, and he's more apt to let prey go who express the characteristics of selflessness he admires. Jaabir being a comparatively simple creature acts on instinct and the urgings of his heart, and is not tormented by the concerns that plague Licthia. While intellectually Lichthia finds Jaabir's stand hard to defend, at the same time it doesn't have the arrogance of Morathi's stand, and she appreciates it's given her her own life.

Finally, there's Tabatha. Tabatha is about as perfectly consistent as a flesh and blood being could be, and has taken Lichtia's philosophical conclusions to their logical conclusion. That may be why she's the only one of these three preds Licthia actively dislikes; she doesn't like how her ideas look when manifested in flesh and blood. As Tabatha herself puts it, she never plays favorites with prey. She realizes that if she were to ever recognize even one prey as being special or worthy of life, she'd have to recognize the same thing of all and give up hunting entirely, and rather than admitting that, she carefully treats all prey as prey. If you're a mouse and you don't want to be her dinner, don't let her catch you when she's hungry; any appeals to mercy will be pointless, you'd have better luck pleading with the sun not to shine. She won't hunt Licthia because in her mind she already belongs to Jaabir, but if it weren't for that, she wouldn't hesitate to make a meal of her if she happened to catch her. In her mind, there's no such thing as a prey who's "special." Because of this, she finds Licthia herself disturbing, because she's obviously not at all like other prey. The existence of Lichthia is a threat to her world view, but rather than acknowledge this, she hides it in her "concern" for the damage Jaabir is doing to her by letting her live when she should have been taken. Tabatha is always polite and extremely polished, so it's probably not readily evident how she dislikes Licthia every bit as much as Lichthia dislikes her. A master at manipulating prey, Licthia is the only prey who can manipulate her in turn, calling her to live up to the predatory code she adheres to meticulously.

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Posted by maleperduis 13 years ago Report

Ah, that's very interesting. Thanks for such a detailed response. The impression I'd gotten was that while you may not agree with any of your characters, this setting had a sort of internal morality while Licthia, Jaabir and Tabatha were all more or less paragons of. People who follow it are rewarded- often, like Licthia, above and beyond what the moral code itself would dictate- and those who don't understand or accept it- like Tarik, are thought of as lacking or stupid in some way. It's interesting to read about how actually there's a bit more detail to this, and that in fact all of the characters deviate from each other in some ways.

I have to admit I'm not quite sure I understand how Licthia is a challenge to Tabatha's worldview. She already seems to understand that prey can be intelligent, sensitive and courageous, and still selects purely on biology. What is it about Licthia that goes so far above and beyond what Tabatha feels she can categorise under prey?

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

I do sympathize with my characters of course, and there's always a danger of confusing absolute morality with their views. Licthia in particular seems to live under a lucky star; finding the staff was rather dramatic after all.

Tabatha on the other hand I think of being adorable, but insane. One of the things I like about her, is that with her charm and her utter immersion in her world view, she can make her insanity sound utterly reasonable.

Tabatha is a dedicated (some might say obsessed) predator. She doesn't just hunt; she gets into her prey's mind and psychologically dominates them. She prides herself on understanding prey better than they understand themselves. Since meeting Jaabir, Licthia doesn't act like a proper prey should. She can tell, through a myriad of subtle cues, that Licthia isn't intimidated by her the way other prey are. And is if that wasn't bad enough, she does things prey shouldn't; like kill owls to feed Jaabir.

The one redeeming thing about Lichthia, In Tabatha's eyes, is she can tell the mouse is utterly devoted to Jaabir. She saw it the second time she saw the pair together and was moved, calling it "exquisite." She considers it something sacred. She suspects Licthia would gladly feed herself to Jaabir if he wanted her too, although even she doesn't know the full extent of her devotion.

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Posted by maleperduis 13 years ago Report

Oh, and just out of curiosity, how does Tabatha's somewhat binary pred/prey worldview fit into this setting? What would she think if Jaabir killed a fox for whatever reason?

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

She'd be uncomfortable if she found out Jaabir had eaten canines. She'd probably be ok, because they're feral. But I doubt she'll find out; I usually end up protecting the kitty and the simple world view from things that would upset her.

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Posted by Rajunsiv 13 years ago Report

Wait... there's a staff?

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Posted by JacktheRabbit 13 years ago Report

Yeah ^^ Hmm. . . that is something that requires reading previous RPs to really know about. Previous RPs that havn't actually been posted. . . 'whoops'. The long/short is that Lichthia seeks to get a solid stick as a weapon, after she meets Morathi the owl the first time (they meet again. . . and third. . . and maybe forth time before this RP). She goes looking for it with Jaabir and the rabbit (who starts staying with the two on the first few days after Jaabir's feeding cycles, putting him at absolutely no risk at all).

Jack starts digging while they are out, and he looks to find a root. Then the bunny thumps something hard. It was a bit unplanned, and we were actually thinking the first atempt to find something turned up fruitless, but it just felt right. They worked at it, and eventually unearthed an oak branch that Lichthia gave a final tug on (similar to a sword-in-the-stone type scene) and freed it. The stick/branch was oak, making it already very durable, but Lichthia would notice and comment that 'it seemed to of. . . grew harder under the earth', implying it was at least somewhat 'petrified'.

After she worked it down, the staff became her weapon.

The owl, morathi gives this remark in their second meeting:

Lichthia: “Don’t carry a dagger no more,” she’d say softly. Then taking a deep breath, she’d add, “Don’t think I ever will.” She’d smile and lean against her staff, not too upset.

Morathi: The wide yellow eyes would peer over to the piece of wood she grasp in her paws, “A weapon of defense. Not intended for harm. . . but to protect those around it.” He’d grin. “For you. . . it’s a better choice.”

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Posted by JacktheRabbit 13 years ago Report

Again before I finally get around to sorting out all these additional tales. They can be read here:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-lxmSAo6F4nMDIwMGY4ZjctN2U0NS00NDVlLTgxYWUtMmVlZWRhYTQ4YWRj

If you're brave enough to enter the unsorted and unordered stories ^^;'

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Posted by JacktheRabbit 13 years ago Report

Oh and, me and Tabatha actually post to google docs directly. Rather, that's where we RP. It streams live as we type. So. . . if you want. You could actually click 'The Rat' and view more. . . and actually watch us RP if you felt so inclined ^^; I don't think either of us really minds an audience. It's just that we've found google docs to be the best multiparagraph rping client to suite our ends of switching off to multiple locations durring the day, and it working with mobile devices such as iphone/ipad.

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Posted by Tabatha_Cat 13 years ago Report

Yes, there's a staff, as Tarik painfully discovered in his first encounter with what he took to be a defenseless mouse doe. It's what she used to brain him with in chapter one. Subsequently she tied him to it, so he wouldn't be able to twist and turn and perhaps undo his bonds. Jack described the origins of it above.

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