05-22-2017, 08:18 AM
Because he could. Murderer of many, destroyer of worlds, et cetera, et cetera. Because he could.
It did make sense in part. There weren’t really any other reasons Dane could conceive for such a conquest. Not that doing something because you can was considered much of one. It was akin to a parent saying “because I said so” to a child, and slightly worse than the reasoning of “because it’s the right thing to do” or “because it’s wrong”. Obviously, if you’re doing something, you’re probably not thinking “I am doing this because it’s the wrong thing to do”; you thinking your actions are right can be implied, making the answer completely worthless. Yes, in subtext you could be implying, “I am doing this to help you despite it putting me in a disadvantageous situation” or something similar - but Dane still didn’t like the phrases. A logical reason was better than an emotional or arbitrary one any day. And someone who chose to give poor reasoning when they clearly had the time to provide an explanation was thus resented by Dane.
Yes, a full justification of one’s actions usually wasn’t needed. But when one person genuinely wanted to know the reasoning you'd give, brushing off their enquiries was an insult to their intelligence.
“Stop reading books and go to bed Dane.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Why? Why do you say so?”
“Because I am your mother, and you will go to bed as I say, because I said so.”
Needless to say, Dane was never an obedient child.
Because he could. It was still a dumb reason, if anything. Not something to be proud of. He could become a grandmaster at chess. He could have spent his time improving the quality of life in his existing empire. He could kill himself. There’s plenty of things Axemerax could do. Why world domination? Perhaps, Dane thought, a better reason might have been because he couldn’t. The end goal no one could ever be expected to accomplish. The challenge. Getting the highest land owned, in a lifetime. Power. Just an instinct to do things, just to see if you can do them, which was relatable in part.
“Can I use magic without mana?”
“Why can’t I?”
“Can I do anything about that?”
“Can I do what I want without magic?”
All were common thoughts Dane had had revolving around attempting to do something he couldn’t. Being in a new environment with potentially new powers brought back their relevance, but that could be considered later.
Axemerax’s comments on Dane were ignored. They were wrong. He never wrote for fame. His texts made a difference. People read them, and if they couldn’t read, many non-theory sections had diagrams and pictures. Axemerax couldn’t know anything about what Dane specifically knew. Tactics, magic, science, agriculture. All the alien knew was Dane was essentially from the past, albeit an alternate one. The claims were baseless, and even if not, given Dane’s situation he believed his plethora of information was quite well formed and noteworthy. And no, he did certainly not have brain damage.
But Dane was guilty of the same. He’d assumed many things about the alien. Some were probably wrong. But the guy was lucky, regardless of what he thought. Anything that relies on too many others might as well be down to luck, and Axe’s aims required a lot of assistance. He put in time, and work, and probably risked his life. Literally none of that mattered now. Dane still had everything he’d worked on somewhere in his head; Axemerax just had the tools he brought with him - his empire gone. Given the nature of Axemerax and his conquest, Dane found it slightly amusing. He’d have laughed right there and then if he was in a more defensible stance.
But he wasn’t. And getting in a fight right next to what seemed to be a universal spawn point probably wasn’t a great idea. Anyone could come by, and join either side. It was too unpredictable, and Dane didn’t want to test the alien’s patience - for now. Not that he doubted the victor. His swords infused with magic would cut Axemerax, and his opponent’s only weapon was biology. The claws, and the toxins dripping from his maw, and maybe teeth. All of which was shorter range. Dane could outspeed easily, and he had a good metre of steel to add to his arm length. He could fight Axemerax. He could win; initiating the fight just because he could. He might even earn himself some respect.
This wasn’t a loss. Dane just had better things to do. He wasn’t conceding to the alien. He was leaving now before his time could be wasted any further. Bragging about that, or pointing it out, would only make the opposite seem more true. Thus, he was limited in the comments he could make - not that making a grand exit was a skill Dane possessed in the first place; entrances maybe, but leaving first always felt awkward. He could be formal. Informal. Just turn around and leave. But that was boring. He had to leave at least some impression. Throwing his short sword and running would do that, but he liked that sword. And as fun as running from a big fat alien was (and it really would have been fun), he really wasn't feeling it today.
The itchy hat however, not that Dane would admit it was anything but perfect, fit nicely. Dane backed away reflexively to give himself some space, sheathed his shortsword with his left hand, and reached up to tip his hat slightly forward. “I’m touched that you think so highly of me. But I guess I’ll take my leave now.” He flicked his left wrist, sending the straw hat flying forwards like a frisbee, heading straight towards Axemerax’s head. Before Dane could see the outcome, he swiftly turned around and ran. "You're welcome," he called over his shoulder, dragging out the syllables.
His three-minute summon could have been torn to shreds, bounced off, landed on a head or claw. He didn’t know, nor did he look back to find out. He did, of course, did still imaging Axemerax standing there, frozen and shocked, with a cowboy hat perfectly on the top of his head. The unexpectedness of the situation made for sheer hilarity in his mind. It was beautiful. The collection of clicks, gurgles, and grunts he faintly heard as leaving informed him that Axemerax probably did not agree with his assessment. Or maybe he did. All the alien words sounded the same to him.
It did make sense in part. There weren’t really any other reasons Dane could conceive for such a conquest. Not that doing something because you can was considered much of one. It was akin to a parent saying “because I said so” to a child, and slightly worse than the reasoning of “because it’s the right thing to do” or “because it’s wrong”. Obviously, if you’re doing something, you’re probably not thinking “I am doing this because it’s the wrong thing to do”; you thinking your actions are right can be implied, making the answer completely worthless. Yes, in subtext you could be implying, “I am doing this to help you despite it putting me in a disadvantageous situation” or something similar - but Dane still didn’t like the phrases. A logical reason was better than an emotional or arbitrary one any day. And someone who chose to give poor reasoning when they clearly had the time to provide an explanation was thus resented by Dane.
Yes, a full justification of one’s actions usually wasn’t needed. But when one person genuinely wanted to know the reasoning you'd give, brushing off their enquiries was an insult to their intelligence.
“Stop reading books and go to bed Dane.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Why? Why do you say so?”
“Because I am your mother, and you will go to bed as I say, because I said so.”
Needless to say, Dane was never an obedient child.
Because he could. It was still a dumb reason, if anything. Not something to be proud of. He could become a grandmaster at chess. He could have spent his time improving the quality of life in his existing empire. He could kill himself. There’s plenty of things Axemerax could do. Why world domination? Perhaps, Dane thought, a better reason might have been because he couldn’t. The end goal no one could ever be expected to accomplish. The challenge. Getting the highest land owned, in a lifetime. Power. Just an instinct to do things, just to see if you can do them, which was relatable in part.
“Can I use magic without mana?”
“Why can’t I?”
“Can I do anything about that?”
“Can I do what I want without magic?”
All were common thoughts Dane had had revolving around attempting to do something he couldn’t. Being in a new environment with potentially new powers brought back their relevance, but that could be considered later.
Axemerax’s comments on Dane were ignored. They were wrong. He never wrote for fame. His texts made a difference. People read them, and if they couldn’t read, many non-theory sections had diagrams and pictures. Axemerax couldn’t know anything about what Dane specifically knew. Tactics, magic, science, agriculture. All the alien knew was Dane was essentially from the past, albeit an alternate one. The claims were baseless, and even if not, given Dane’s situation he believed his plethora of information was quite well formed and noteworthy. And no, he did certainly not have brain damage.
But Dane was guilty of the same. He’d assumed many things about the alien. Some were probably wrong. But the guy was lucky, regardless of what he thought. Anything that relies on too many others might as well be down to luck, and Axe’s aims required a lot of assistance. He put in time, and work, and probably risked his life. Literally none of that mattered now. Dane still had everything he’d worked on somewhere in his head; Axemerax just had the tools he brought with him - his empire gone. Given the nature of Axemerax and his conquest, Dane found it slightly amusing. He’d have laughed right there and then if he was in a more defensible stance.
But he wasn’t. And getting in a fight right next to what seemed to be a universal spawn point probably wasn’t a great idea. Anyone could come by, and join either side. It was too unpredictable, and Dane didn’t want to test the alien’s patience - for now. Not that he doubted the victor. His swords infused with magic would cut Axemerax, and his opponent’s only weapon was biology. The claws, and the toxins dripping from his maw, and maybe teeth. All of which was shorter range. Dane could outspeed easily, and he had a good metre of steel to add to his arm length. He could fight Axemerax. He could win; initiating the fight just because he could. He might even earn himself some respect.
This wasn’t a loss. Dane just had better things to do. He wasn’t conceding to the alien. He was leaving now before his time could be wasted any further. Bragging about that, or pointing it out, would only make the opposite seem more true. Thus, he was limited in the comments he could make - not that making a grand exit was a skill Dane possessed in the first place; entrances maybe, but leaving first always felt awkward. He could be formal. Informal. Just turn around and leave. But that was boring. He had to leave at least some impression. Throwing his short sword and running would do that, but he liked that sword. And as fun as running from a big fat alien was (and it really would have been fun), he really wasn't feeling it today.
The itchy hat however, not that Dane would admit it was anything but perfect, fit nicely. Dane backed away reflexively to give himself some space, sheathed his shortsword with his left hand, and reached up to tip his hat slightly forward. “I’m touched that you think so highly of me. But I guess I’ll take my leave now.” He flicked his left wrist, sending the straw hat flying forwards like a frisbee, heading straight towards Axemerax’s head. Before Dane could see the outcome, he swiftly turned around and ran. "You're welcome," he called over his shoulder, dragging out the syllables.
His three-minute summon could have been torn to shreds, bounced off, landed on a head or claw. He didn’t know, nor did he look back to find out. He did, of course, did still imaging Axemerax standing there, frozen and shocked, with a cowboy hat perfectly on the top of his head. The unexpectedness of the situation made for sheer hilarity in his mind. It was beautiful. The collection of clicks, gurgles, and grunts he faintly heard as leaving informed him that Axemerax probably did not agree with his assessment. Or maybe he did. All the alien words sounded the same to him.
Quote:--Exit Dane--
He's off to a random area I'm rolling for. You can do your wrap up if you want. Thanks for rping with me, it was fun.