Tuesday DE: One step

[bjornwilde]

If your pup were to take a step onto the dark path (or the light path) would they remain on that path or would they be able to turn back?

Comments

[alongfallfromgrace]

In Wei Wuxian's case, I think he'd be overjoyed to go back to 'normal' or 'good' cultivation... but you know. That'd require some things that he doesn't think he can have (turns out he can, it's just complicated, and there's multiple deaths involved). He could, technically, just stop doing demonic cultivation before he died, but... you know, that'd mean his little Wen family would have gotten killed, and probably him too when people decided to come get the Yin Tiger Seal, and then the Jin would have it and that wouldn't be good for anyone... So, choices, he didn't really have them. But he does want to go back. Though sometimes it's super helpful to be able to whistle up some vengeful spirits, no lies.

Klaus just wants everyone to stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to

For Cecil, if the Cecil-Kevin split suggests that they can't really change once they're committed, but... look, being a community radio show host is a very all-encompassing job, okay?

Jon says everyone has choices in life. Just ignore the snickering coming from the shadows.

[yinyangwizard]

YT may be on her way to becoming a Mafia boss, but in her world the Mafia is a more trustworthy and benevolent organization than the U.S. Government, so…it’s complicated.

Uh. This question is one of those things that keeps Abe no Seimei awake at night.

Murderbot has already been on the bad path. It has done some horrible things. That was before it had people who cared about it. As long as it has people around who care about it, it should be okay, ethically speaking.

[bjornwilde]

Ahsoka, I feel, has taking a step or two into the edge of the Dark Side but will always come back to the Light. It's just in her nature.

Jess walks the line so often it's hard for her to see where the line really is. She depends on her friends to pull her back to the light and she will always return.

Alustin can step into the dark and will claim the ends justified the means.

I am honestly not certain light or dark works with fae ethics. I think Tybalt would call the dominant morality of the Divided Courts (power makes right and/or royal title is the law) a dark path and I am not sure how he could follow that. Maybe he could go the route of Blind Michael, becoming an immortal monster to terrorize the Divided Courts, but that would take extreme circumstances, imho.

Ben would have to be pulled into a dark path by Klaus at this point. In life, I don't see him being stuck on a violent or killing path, though that certainly is what Hargreeves seemed to want to encourage.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato does briefly go meandering down a dark path in 01, when forty episodes of building up to a breakdown finally come due and he just snaps. For the very brief period where he's sort of anti-heroic, and stops deliberately fettering himself, he's terrifyingly effective -- but it doesn't last, and he ultimately comes back to the light path the moment he feels like he can.

And that's sort of the mode that most of Digimon Adventure is in: Human characters tend not to be irredeemably evil -- Ken, Oikawa, and Menoa all eventually see the error of their ways and redeem themselves, and while Maki never gets the chance she is presented to us as reluctantly villainous at worst -- so the answer tends to always be 'they can come back.'

For Crestbearers, there's also the complicating factor that there's always two versions of themselves occupying the same body, the human incarnation and the deific presence, and they might not always agree. When Ken is the Emperor, his Crest openly rebels against him and eventually orchestrates his downfall, because Emperor-Ken is cruel and it's the Crest of Kindness. Meanwhile, while Yamato thinks his brief stray to the dark side was unforgivable, his Crest cheerfully and enthusiastically supplies him with all the power he needs during that turn, because it's the Crest of Friendship and he still loves his friends.

[canttrickmeanymore]

i think if either of them stepped into the 'dark side' - it would take EFFORT to bring them back, b/c it would take a pretty strong 'something' to send them over