Thursday DE: One molecule of justice

[bjornwilde]

If we were to boil your pup down, until there was nothing left of flowery or noble words, what would their base motivation be? This is the very last thing that keeps them going. An example might be Steve Rogers' hate of bullies.

Comments

[vexingmesmer]

Lan Zhan + Zenigata are boiled down to justice. They want thinks fair and right, with a side of mercy. Neither are cruel and they are not one-size-fit-all justice type of men.

Zuko goes down to compassion, not honor. He wants to care for and nature his people and heal a nation's wounds. He was banished because he asked for mercy in his father's presence, and punished for it. In truth, he's a good, kind man who was emulating his abuser for a very long, but cruelty and rage isn't really the core of his nature.

Vex boils down to survival. He was hunted from an early age and became cruel and ruthless to survive. If there's anything Vex is, it's his refusal to lay down and die like the world would like.

[inlovewithwords]

Lois: Truth--and whether it is right or wrong to share it.

R2-D2: fight for the beliefs and causes his family has held dear and taught to him.

Anakin Skywalker: ................. I'll get back to you.

Desiderius: Alera/lives of those he feels responsible for, which is everyone, and creating the better world for it.

Tavi: As ever, bit complex. While he starts out with his motivation clearly being his family, and his family providing continued motivation throughout... but at some point along the way he really stops distinguishing between his family and, well... Alera and the lives of those he feels responsible for, which is everyone, and creating the better world for it.

(The House of Gaius in general has baseline motivation of "Alera" and some shade of "preserve lives they feel responsible for," but how that expresses is radically different across individuals and generations, including which people are willing to sacrifice lives, how much, whose lives, who and what to sacrifice for it, and whether that's "progress" or "maintain stability" or "enforce order" or whatever. They all to some degree do also equate their family with Alera, for Many Different Reasons.)

[forceimbalance]

Thank you to Debi for sharing a line from a Dessa song:

"Anger is just love, left out, gone to vinegar"

That about sums him up.

[bjornwilde]

Oh, that is perfect.

[acertainpov]

*starts writing a list*

*realises the answer for all of them is "Love and/or guilt"*

Welp.

[from_the_outside]

For Sharon, it's duty, although it doesn't always manifest as her actual job-related duty. It's more often her personal sense of wrong and right and her duty to do the right thing no matter what.

For Zinda? She needs to be useful. Whether it's as a pilot, a friend, a soldier, or whatever, she needs to be doing something and that something has to be productive in some kind of way.

[bjornwilde]

Ahsoka: I think it's a sense of adventure. Later canon this is tempered somewhat, but it's still there, imho.

Sabine: I want to say something like problem or puzzle solving.

Viv: Curiosity or compassion.

Jess: Rage at a world that allows horrible things to happen.

Alustin: A drive to know.

Tybalt: I'm going with love. His royal duty to his people is tempting but I think that stems from his love of them.

Ben: Love for his family and specifically Klaus.

Wen Qing: Duty and love to family.

Bonuses since thinking on some new pups inspired this:
Sally Tsung (Shadowrun): Freedom, both of self and of magic.

Jessie Cook (The Irregulars): Compasion.

[acertainpov]

Yes, I was thinking with Bea it was familial love, but it's also compassion.

[bjornwilde]

I decided on compassion with how she treats the monster of the episode once they've solved the case. I was also tempted to offer shenanigans as a joke. :)

[beaing]

Romance and shenanigans! Romanigans!

[oldmancreed]

For Tess it's survival. That's how she defines herself, as a survivor.

Kylo, it's his own sense of right.

Creed it's probably comfort. He doesn't do anything that makes him uncomfortable (for the most part).

For Wanda it's a sense of belonging, which she lost for good when Pietro was killed.

[childofrebellion]

Cassian: wanting justice, hope, anger, guilt
Quentin: loyalty, duty
Charles: compassion
Sameth: creativity, that's not exactly it, a desire to make things better
Demeter: love, life
Moist: desire for more, cleverness
Will S.: loyalty, love of home
William: love of family, anger
Ivan: loyalty
Tumnus: loyalty

I think I have a type.

[death_gone_mad]

Spite

[undead_radish_seller]

Teja: his people
Hannibal: wind them up and watch them go
Margolotta: getting the world in shape because it's a mess

Ragnar: finding exciting new things, and getting those bastards to leave his family alone
Galen: inventing exciting new things, and protecting the people he loves
Harman: protecting humanity from vampires

Wen Ning: his family & Wei-gongzi
Jin Guangyao: doing his mother proud in the afterlife
Tang Fan: eat all the good things, and share them with his found family

Ye Baiyi: Ugh, do I have to?

[canttrickmeanymore]

Peter: good or help - he does good or helps people.

Harry: erm... kinda the same, really? More help than good - maybe 'right' - he wants to do the right thing

[magic_by_accident]

Sherlock: knowledge
Vision: hope
John: regret

(As Steve's former typist, I would argue his driving force is more the desire to protect than hatred -- remember he doesn't want to kill anybody.)