novelraw Chapter 114 114
Chapter 114 114
"It's new, there is no comparison for it until you make enough of it. In other words, until you decide you are done, there is always something new."
Kaito takes his tea then, and adds, "Perfection is like beauty, always subjective."
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"Monk Giatsu always said that you should let go of the idea of perfection. And that there's beauty in everything," Aang says. Something seems to have been knocked loose in him. Katara hasn't heard him speak that name since… that time at the Eastern Air Temple.
"In some ways, I agree. But Aang, if there's beauty in everything, and beauty is a thing of comparison – so we call beautiful what we find beautiful in comparison to less beautiful or ugly things – so if it's in everything, doesn't that take away the meaning of beauty?"
"Not if you don't compare it."
"Hm," Kaito says, and Katara sees him hide a smile behind his cup. "Beauty is just beauty, eh? No need to compare?"
"Yeah."
"Now, that is a beautiful way to think about it," Kaito says, and he means it, but Sokka laughs which means Katara groans and-
This is good.
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KAITO
"We lost Appa because we were looking for information about the spirits in the Earthkingdom. You know, the ones like Tui and La in the North," Sokka says, miserable and well into his cups. "I thought if Aang could connect to them again, it might help. Not just with his earthbending – because that's going slow – but with the war as well."
I brought the rice wine because I thought it might be nice for Sokka to unwind a little. Katara too, but she wouldn't hear of it and retired to bed with Toph and Aang. Very sensible of her. I'm not sure why she didn't want it, not even to try, but I suppose it doesn't really matter.
Now that I see him, in his lamentation, I can't help but wonder if it wasn't a mistake to get Sokka drunk, after all. He has no tolerance, as is the case for most people who don't regularly drink. A good thing, really, not to poison oneself regularly.
"We've already asked for Dionu's help with the search for Appa. You've managed to trace him this far, haven't you? You'll find him," I try to reassure him. I don't think anything but finally finding Appa again will help. We could ask some more people to look. Ask at the school and one or two trustworthy nobles at the university to keep an ear out.
Sokka's head, still on the table, rises a little to glare at me. Well. Then I won't reassure him any more, I suppose.
"What did you find in the library, then?"
He frowns. "There wasn't much before we were kicked out and the stupid owl moved the library back to the spirit world."
"But there was something?"
"Yeah… no name or anything, but it's said in old legends about Ba Sing Se's crystal caves, that there's some spiritual presence there. But nobody really knows what form it takes."
"Interesting. What kinds of legends?"
"Oh, it was a load of crap about the ruling family here that was meant to show how chosen they were and such nonsense."
"Anything that stood out to you?"
"Yes," Sokka, "It was all about how the first King was trapped there unjustly and the crystals changed shape to show him a way out."
"Hm," I say, thinking that it also could have been a clever bender. But what does it really matter? It's worth a shot to get Aang down there.
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AANG
Aang doesn't want to get out of bed. Normally, he likes getting up with the sun, but today…
He's sad. He misses Giatsu like a hole in his heart, like the palms of his hands are missing. Anything he touches reminds him of Giatsu. It this how Giatsu felt when Aang's previous incarnation died? They'd been friends then, too.
He burrows further under the covers.
Sokka will surely try to get him to get up soon.
But Sokka never came back from the common area. Aang peeks out from his blanket and sees that Sokka's bed is untouched.
Strange. He hopes Sokka's okay. Aang should really check.
But just when he's about to get up, he can hear Sokka's voice screech from the common area. "JAURGH!"
Maybe Momo bit him again.
...
KAITO [Moral considerations.]
Values are chosen. That is the key: values are chosen. Even when you grow up with yours, you choose them every time you decide something with their guidance. But they are to be put into practise, not exhibited rarely. It is not the museum of life within which you act, but your every day environment.
Choice is part of what freedom is. To make a choice is to actualise one's own freedom. To make a choice is to influence one's world. To make a choice is to realise what is important and pursue it, realise it within the world – that is, yours and the world of others. To make a choice is to see your power and actualise it.
The problems start when you realise that there are powers, forces in the world which set limitations to your freedom. If you think of freedom like an area, which encompasses all your capabilities – from imagination to trespassing on private property – then that area is limited. It might be limited directly by a person showing you their boundaries and defending them. It might also be limited by something like a law that you recognise, which is also enforced by perhaps a police or military force. (Trigger Warning: Sometimes they might even be to suppress your freedom to the point of shooting you in the head for demonstrating against military dictatorship, as they are doing in Myanmar.)
It becomes even more complicated when it is not about freedom from something, but freedom to do something, be something etc.
Aang is the Avatar. At first, this only gives him more power than the average person has. It also, through stories, legends, traditions and expectations, delivers upon him responsibility.
Morally, one should not be obliged to save another person's life if that act puts oneself in danger. It cannot be demanded.
That is why we call those who do put themselves in harm's way to help others are called heroes.
It isn't right to demand that of a child, no matter their powers.
And yet, Aang feels responsible. He's been told he is. He has trauma involving running away from that responsibility and losing everything he loved to that escape – in the sense that had he been there, he likely would have died with the Air Nomads. His presence likely would not have done anything to help them in the long term, even if he might have fought with them. If they did fight, that is.
He's eleven. He's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It shouldn't be his responsibility. In my eyes, it isn't. It's every single person's. Unfortunately, having it seem like everyone is equally responsible has the effect on people that someone else could, and therefore each person won't. 'Someone should really do something about that.' That that someone should be us, me, rarely occurs to the person saying that. We are all equally responsible. No politician, no leader is more so just because of their election or power. They may have more power, but the responsibility towards others, towards oneself, is the same. Any politician is just another person. They may have access to information more directly or sooner than others, but they are only people. They are expected to fell decisions for the citizens with other professions. That doesn't mean that those citizens cannot determine what is right on their own and follow those rules.
If one wants to act morally, there's a lovely guiding sentence that has stayed with me even into this second life. It doesn't matter who said it, if it is taken as standalone. (But for those interested, you will have guessed it: Kant, the racist, sexist who failed to understand his own moral theory correctly by being a racist and sexist.) My vague recollection of it:
Act in such a way that if one formulated that action into a demand or even law, every single person could be commanded to act in this way.
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