eachdraidh | video | open to both courts

[ John is in a stranger position than he's usually in when he makes broadcasts. Sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, locket in front of his face, he looks- not relaxed, but at the very least less active than he usually is. On his back rests the head and front paws of his female saber-fanged cave lion, her toes flexing every once in a while as if she's kneading his back.

There's a loud sigh. ]

God damn, but this place makes me feel old sometimes. I'm in my thirties and here we all get triple the lifespan -- I'm way too young for this. Don't know how you elves and other long-lived people do it.

[ Granted, with his enhancements, John may very well be long-lived even without the lifespan boost of the Drabwurld... but that's not the point. ]

Of course, this could be part of what happens when you join the military at seventeen and see several lifetimes of war stretch out in front of you. Not that I assume the life expectancy for most shardbearers is that high...

[ And he's being morbid. He grimaces- and then swears again. ]

Buttercup, watch your claws!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, just the whole thing. Everything but Buttercup. Unless you're thinking too much about that, but I don't see how you could be. [ She's such a great cat-thing, after all. Luckily, through years of long experience, Bolin has learned that one cannot make a brooder or overthinker any less a brooder or overthinker. Mako raised him. He's familiar.

But sometimes a strategic application of positivity makes the load a little easier to bear. ]

This was like a whole line of thought straight into lifetimes of war and how shardbearers will probably die. But I dunno, I don't think it sounds too bad? If you're thirty-something now and your lifespan triples, that's just like ninety-something, right? Maybe a hundred?

[ Positivity and unwitting idiocy. ]

[ If there is a way to overthink Buttercup, John will surely at some point find it. ]

... No, Bolin, that's not how math works.

[ Paaause. ]

It's not?

[ i like how it took me like two days to post this quality reply ]

I'm in my thirties, but that's not- the average lifespan for a healthy human male.

[ He has to sit up to talk science, one moment. ]

That's closer to 80 years. So- eighty times three. Two hundred and forty. And that's not including my enhancements.

Oh. [ He could probably show shame or something about that right now, but ehh. Bolin's just gonna try to own it. ]

That. That definitely makes a lot more sense. Talk about egg on my face, huh? Because I mean, I didn't want to say you were overreacting? But I was kinda thinking, "what's so bad about a solid ninety?" Don't worry, I think we're back in line there, John!

So yeah, sorry, now I can say you're officially thinking about everything too much.

[ Didn't go to a math class and also didn't make the thinking level rules. That's just the way it is. ]

What? How?!

Well, you think math is interesting enough to sit up for, first of all. And then your own math proved you were thinking about how people might die in the next two hundred years or so. Including yourself, but not including your enhancements.

It was pretty easy to figure out.

There's a huge battle coming. People are going to die.

Yeah, I kinda noticed. Everyone's kinda noticed. I'm not saying it's not... serious or important. [ He kind of has to hesitate after that, though, the corners of his mouth pulling firmly downward. Partly because it's a fair point, and that huge battle is definitely looking to be huge.

And he's partly also hesitating because it's hard trying to get across the idea of what he thinks he's trying to get across. The way he sees it, thinking ahead and about pragmatic survival stuff is great. It can be really great. He wouldn't be alive without it. But by that line of belief, thinking ahead isn't always necessarily for the best.

He's pretty sure that Mako wasn't born so suspicious and sharp around the edges, after all. Jeez, John probably wasn't, either. ]

Uhh. Okay. Okay, so, I'm guessing you probably haven't gotten a chance to hear a lot about old-school earthbending philosophy since you started meeting benders here. Am I on track thinking that, or...?

[ Okay, now John feels bad. Bolin's right -- he's being depressing. It's hard not to be, sometimes, he's just- tried not to show it so much. And Bolin is usually pretty good about cheering him up.

There's something like a grimace on his face, but then Bolin mentioned earthbending philosophy and he's sufficiently distracted. ]

Yeah, you're on track.

I thought so! Not that I'm big on it in the first place, if I'm totally honest. I never really had a traditional master or lessons about mentality or whatever else people can go in for. But there was something that fit in with pro-bending really well. [ And Toza was nothing if not one heck of a pro-bending master to pick things up from. ]

See, a lot of people think about earthbending and I guess they figure it's all stubborn confrontational stuff. Like the whole "firebenders have bad tempers" thing. But that's obviously not always gonna be true. Especially in the ring! I mean, if an earthbender just stays rooted and throws stuff at the other team without thinking about it, they're basically just a sitting turtleduck making a mess, right?

[ When in doubt, sports analogies... classic jock. ]

Nothing wrong with innovation. But traditions can be good, too.

[ John listens intently, at least. The stereotypes make sense, and are also basically the opposite of what he knows; Mako is far more stubborn than Bolin nine times out of ten. ]

Right. Just a big target that'll get worn down eventually.

[ At least John can follow them. He doesn't even blink at things like "turtleduck" anymore. ]

Yeah, exactly! Or mostly, at least. I mean, when you're in the ring, you've gotta keep moving. Stay light on your feet until you see the right opening. Since spending all your time trying to push back at everything that's coming at you isn't really practical.

So the best plan that's not "stand your ground" is to wait until buckling down will get you the best results. You know, a little endurance! Taking a few hits before you find your opening doesn't usually mean the match is over or anything. Unless it's the final round, but you either don't know it's the last round or you already kinda know how it's gonna end.

[ Let's be real though... is this an attempted outlook lesson via pro-bending terminology, or an attempt to start training John for a future Drabwurld pro-bending league. ]

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