[ You know, political upheaval. Weighing in on straight-up revolutions that don't actually involve you and possibly the mass murder of the rich. Belatedly, ]
[ They're mutants. Scott's an X-Man. This is what they do. ]
We haven't had a mission like this before. The mission before you arrived, we prevented a civil war. But that only required that we give the leadership possible solutions, and make sure they lived to execute them. Not radically transform a foreign government.
[ He hopes that's what David means. There's a bit of delay, where Scott fights with himself over whether or not to actually express this, but— ]
To be honest, I've been anticipating that there would BE a mission like this, sooner or later.
[ That's a dumb question. He literally signed up to join a team that flies around the universe meddling in other people's affairs; this shouldn't be a surprise. ]
Yeah, it does. It's definitely not as much like being a superhero as I thought it would be.
[ There's meddling and there's meddling. Scott wanted to help. He didn't want to make people's decisions for them. ]
I think that it would be easy to jump off the slippery slope and just force a solution on them without taking into account the actual people who have to live with that solution. And I'm really afraid that's what's going to happen.
Yeah, but we don't have to let it happen. Isn't that what all the discussion is for?
[ Discussion he hasn't really stepped into. He's got opinions, but he's also becoming acutely aware of what he doesn't have — experience, mostly. He didn't even vote in local elections. ]
What's the deal with that, anyway? Deciding which plan we go with. Majority wins?
Well, the discussion was spear-headed by Loki, so he probably did it as much to cause trouble as actually contribute.
[ If he's being honest. Which isn't to say that it wasn't helpful in its way, or productive. Get people thinking proactively. Expose where they might have trouble working as a team. ]
Last time it was a diplomatic mission and we could propose any number of solutions to the Empresses to solve their civil war. This isn't a diplomatic mission. I don't think any of us really has any idea what will happen when the time comes to move. I don't think half of us even knows what that moment looks like. So I've got no idea whether we end up putting this to a vote or what.
[ He's got experience, but not experience trying to wrangle 50+ people with no clear leadership or hierarchy into all pulling in the same direction. ]
All I know is I don't intend to let it be a bloodbath, or replace one tyrant with another tyrant. If I have to argue down half the team to make that happen, then I will.
[ They've 'met', sort of. It's still just very weird, though his deadpan skepticism would probably translate better if they weren't talking via text. There's a long pause as he considers Scott's very admirable morality and conviction, and tries to figure out why playing god had seemed like a completely viable solution back home when it feels so awkward here. What happens if the locals want a bloodbath? Is making them chill out overstepping, or... ?
Too heavy. Time to change the subject and deal with the impending revolution tomorrow. ]
Good luck. [ Speaking of text. ] Seriously. I'm not just being an ass.
[ Some part of Scott still recognizes it as weird, but he can't allow himself to dwell on it. He doesn't have time to be constantly preoccupied by all the bizarre pieces of his life. He needs to stay in motion. ]
I don't know about easier. It was just different.
[ But that's not quite a real answer, is it? Scott hesitates, and if Daivd were to poke at his mind, it's a deep chasm of conflicting feelings. Thoughts upon thoughts upon thoughts. ]
I knew my team. I knew my friends, I could count on us all being on the same page with the same goal working towards the same solution. I didn't have to worry about trying to convince them to do the right thing. I knew the players and I knew the board, or at least, I was more confident about my ability to know them well enough to make good plans. I was learning how to be the hand that moved instead of one of the pieces.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
un: cyclops; slides into ur dms
slamdunk.gif
[ You know, political upheaval. Weighing in on straight-up revolutions that don't actually involve you and possibly the mass murder of the rich. Belatedly, ]
Hey. Thanks.
no subject
[ They're mutants. Scott's an X-Man. This is what they do. ]
We haven't had a mission like this before. The mission before you arrived, we prevented a civil war. But that only required that we give the leadership possible solutions, and make sure they lived to execute them. Not radically transform a foreign government.
[ He hopes that's what David means. There's a bit of delay, where Scott fights with himself over whether or not to actually express this, but— ]
To be honest, I've been anticipating that there would BE a mission like this, sooner or later.
no subject
Doesn't it kind of feel like we're playing god?
[ That's a dumb question. He literally signed up to join a team that flies around the universe meddling in other people's affairs; this shouldn't be a surprise. ]
no subject
[ There's meddling and there's meddling. Scott wanted to help. He didn't want to make people's decisions for them. ]
I think that it would be easy to jump off the slippery slope and just force a solution on them without taking into account the actual people who have to live with that solution. And I'm really afraid that's what's going to happen.
no subject
[ Discussion he hasn't really stepped into. He's got opinions, but he's also becoming acutely aware of what he doesn't have — experience, mostly. He didn't even vote in local elections. ]
What's the deal with that, anyway? Deciding which plan we go with. Majority wins?
no subject
[ If he's being honest. Which isn't to say that it wasn't helpful in its way, or productive. Get people thinking proactively. Expose where they might have trouble working as a team. ]
Last time it was a diplomatic mission and we could propose any number of solutions to the Empresses to solve their civil war. This isn't a diplomatic mission. I don't think any of us really has any idea what will happen when the time comes to move. I don't think half of us even knows what that moment looks like. So I've got no idea whether we end up putting this to a vote or what.
[ He's got experience, but not experience trying to wrangle 50+ people with no clear leadership or hierarchy into all pulling in the same direction. ]
All I know is I don't intend to let it be a bloodbath, or replace one tyrant with another tyrant. If I have to argue down half the team to make that happen, then I will.
no subject
[ They've 'met', sort of. It's still just very weird, though his deadpan skepticism would probably translate better if they weren't talking via text. There's a long pause as he considers Scott's very admirable morality and conviction, and tries to figure out why playing god had seemed like a completely viable solution back home when it feels so awkward here. What happens if the locals want a bloodbath? Is making them chill out overstepping, or... ?
Too heavy. Time to change the subject and deal with the impending revolution tomorrow. ]
Good luck. [ Speaking of text. ] Seriously. I'm not just being an ass.
Was being a superhero easier than this?
[ a nice light topic instead yes ]
no subject
[ Some part of Scott still recognizes it as weird, but he can't allow himself to dwell on it. He doesn't have time to be constantly preoccupied by all the bizarre pieces of his life. He needs to stay in motion. ]
I don't know about easier. It was just different.
[ But that's not quite a real answer, is it? Scott hesitates, and if Daivd were to poke at his mind, it's a deep chasm of conflicting feelings. Thoughts upon thoughts upon thoughts. ]
I knew my team. I knew my friends, I could count on us all being on the same page with the same goal working towards the same solution. I didn't have to worry about trying to convince them to do the right thing. I knew the players and I knew the board, or at least, I was more confident about my ability to know them well enough to make good plans. I was learning how to be the hand that moved instead of one of the pieces.
It's not like that here.