[Video]

[la_belle_rogue]

[Rogue doesn't look happen when she turns on the feed. In fact, she seems grim and pensive. She's sitting at the island in her kitchen, arms folded across the counter top, leaning over them heavily. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts before she starts speaking.]

Ah wanna talk about choices for a minute. This place is very unique, in that it offers up an option that should be the hard choice, and makes it look like the easy choice.

Killin' someone should never be considered the right thing to do. Sometimes it's the necessary thing. Sometimes it's the only thing we can do, when faced with an extreme situation. Life or death. Kill or be killed. But the Barge warps that into an easy go to and it shouldn't be. Not every option is life or death, kill or be killed.

Sometimes we find ourselves between rocks and hard places. And in those times our choices are either bad or worse. But just because a choice might not be a good one, doesn't mean that it's not the better one. Just because a choice leaves a mess behind, doesn't mean it's not better than the alternative.

Now before ya'll start in on how death isn't permanent here, let me just say this: Ah. Don't. Care. Wardens are here ta help people get their lives back, and actin' cavalier 'bout takin' someone's life is pretty counter productive ta that, from where Ah'm standin'.

We've got a lot of extraordinary people here, who can do amazin' things, but we have become frighteningly dependent on one lone miracle. We're treatin' death like a time out. Death should be the hardest choice we make, no matter what world we're from, no matter how many reset buttons the Admiral is willin' ta press for us. It never should be treated lightly. Even in a place where it doesn't stick. And we certainly shouldn't get angry at someone when they choose not ta take a life, no matter what mess comes with that choice. Don't ya see how backwards this is? And we've been doin' it for a long time here. Ah imagine a lot longer than Ah've been around, and Ah can honestly say Ah'm ashamed for not payin' attention t'it sooner and speakin' up about it before now.

[She shakes her head, sits back. What else can she say on this?]

That's all Ah've got ta say.

Comments

[la_belle_rogue]

Ah'm sorry, darlin', Ah'll never agree that sparin's someone's life wrong. This is a mess, but it can be cleaned up. But as offensive as this is t'ya, Ah feel the same about casual killin'. And it's done in situations that wouldn't result in somethin' as drastic as changin' someone's personality without their consent.

[to_dust]

You don't believe I'm arguing that killing is always the right choice, do you?

But there is a line. My line. Where sparing them to live broken in a convenient way is wrong.

[la_belle_rogue]

Of course not. Ah understand where you're comin' from on this. How ya feel about it isn't wrong. But as ya just said, that's you're line. Mah line is when all options are removed, all hope for change, for betterment gets thrown out the window, by someone else callin' the shots.

For you, yer line is strong and clear, and ya'd never choose that path if the results would be somethin' like this particular example. But for me, death is the end of hope. And hope is everythin' ta me. Ah've begged for the life of mah enemies, who would kill me if they had the chance. Sometimes worse.

Ah'm not tryin' ta convince ya that you're wrong and Ah'm right. But Ah will say that bein' a warden, Ah'd expect wardens ta try ta choose hope every time. Until that option doesn't exist anymore.

[to_dust]

And I would pray that if a warden ever had the choice between killing me or 'fixing' me, they don't think like you.

[la_belle_rogue]

If that's how ya think Ah feel, then Ah think we've been havin' two separate conversations this whole time.

Ah don't think it's all right what happened between Dillion and Dr. Lecter. But Ah won't say he was wrong that his knee-jerk response was not ta kill.