Heroes of Light Anonymous Board Part 2

[21stcenturyguy]

[In the Residential Area, there is a bulletin board for the Heroes of Light to post on. While they could, in theory, choose to sign anything they pin to the board, most respond anonymously. And since Santa hasn't had anything to do for a day or two, and since trolling passes the time he is clearing off the old, worn pieces of paper and revamping the board. Have fun!]

HEROES OF LIGHT MESSAGE BOARD

ASK FOR ADVICE, DISCUSS CURRENT EVENTS. POST BELOW. SPAM WILL BE REMOVED AND POSTERS PUNISHED BY THE MIGHTY FUNYARINPA.

HAVE FUN!

Comments

[acceptedoblivion]

Is this about the whole aftermath of the battle?

Because if so, agreed.

[needsteaplz]

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt but now I'm not so sure.

[acceptedoblivion]

Let me put it this way:

We have 0 leadership. No organization saved a few small cliques among us that bicker and complain. It took us far too long to come up with an answer on what to do re: the potato. Something that should have been decided upon before the confrontation. Had it been stalled any longer, there wouldn't have been a choice.

Might be the worst person to say this, but we need to plan ahead better, or what we try to do will likely fail.

[needsteaplz]

I absolutely agree. We need to accept that a bloodless victory is slowly not an option anymore. I honestly doubt the Calamity will sit down with us over a cup of tea and do what we ask for it if we ask politely. And now that we don't have our safety net, we do need to come to a consensus or some sort.

[acceptedoblivion]

Sentient world-devouring forces of destruction never do.

[umslay]

So we agree: kill the Calamity, kill Garland. It should be a simple set of instructions, but as we've seen recently, there's a fair number of us that can't wrap their heads around it.

[This one has different handwriting from the angry message upthread.]

[jadethenecromancer]

I agree we shouldn't count on any mercy from Garland. There's no peaceful route to be found there as far as I can see.

Killing the Calamity isn't that straightforward, though. It's not a living creature to begin with -- how do you kill something that's not alive? We can't negotiate with it the normal way, that much is true. However, I think we can find a better solution than brute force. Having the conviction to claim a life is a necessary thing, but it can't be mindlessly applied to every situation.

As for our potato... I don't disagree with above posters. That said, the stalemate did lead to new information being revealed. We can both count our blessings and resolve to handle things with more grace next time. Let's not get too stuck whining about this, shall we?

[umslay]

[A small slip of paper stuck right next to Jade's message.] Why are you calling her a potato?

[Yuffie used to call him that, and he could use fewer similarities between himself and Palitutu.]

[jadethenecromancer]

Just following the other poster's example. I'm not really comfortable with how public this bulletin board is, and it's as good a code name as any.

[acceptedoblivion]

Exactly.

This is far too public for my tastes as well, and while it may mostly be Heroes and Moogles that come through here, I didn't want to leave it to chance that someone native to this world would catch on so quickly.

[im_pancake]

You're right. We do have zero leadership.

When Ashe was crystallized, Jack wanted someone to take over as an unofficial leader and we were even discussing making a committee. I'm seeing that that is not the way to go. We need a leader that knows that we must put down a threat when it poses itself yet someone who isn't bloodthirsty and willing to kill everything in their path. As well, we need someone who is willing to make peace with someone when it is needed but not one who will refuse to fight even the toughest of threats in a misguided attempt to stop a fight.

I... Would offer myself as this, I admit it, but I don't know if you all would want to accept me. I now know that trying to stop someone can't just be talking to them and holding them back, but... Well... Princess of Friendship. I'm certain some people will want me to just make friends here.

[zodiac_brave]

Who, then, would you propose?

[im_pancake]

That's just it: I don't know.

I'm not certain who here who would be trustworthy enough for that role. We need someone moderate, someone who can walk that fine line between sparing people and having to put them down.

[lostwisdom]

Hold on. There may still be a merit to this "committee" idea.

Every leader needs an inner circle. A group he or she can trust with their life. That even if they may disagree, a consensus could be formed in the absence of their leader.

[damn_juicebox]

I agree, a committee would be best, not just one solitary leader and decision-maker. It should be formed of people with different opinions willing to consider the opinions of others; we cannot afford people who wish their opinions to be considered before all others with threats and ultimatums should the vote be against their favor.

I believe Cid must approve of every member as well, as he is the ruling regent, and we must respect his decisions and authority.

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

I did nooo such thing. I think you're thinking of that shady information broker instead.

If you're looking for leadership, you realize the Lady Ashelia is back among us?

-Jack

[im_pancake]

My apologies. You humans look so alike, I swear.

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

If you care what I think, I'm going to advocate for things staying as they are though. We've got just enough loose cannons that'll listen to no one that it makes leadership obsolete. Either somebody cracks down on them and tries to get the Heroes under "control" and looks like a tyrant and splinters the group further.

Or, we keep communicating but we also don't limit anybody's initiative.

A leader might have, for example, decided that the Lunar Gate project was not the right place to reactivate? Or, used other resources in a way that we dont like.

Keep talking, by all means keep arguing this out. But the idea that somebody can get everybody to be on the same page is just not going to happen at this point.

[jadethenecromancer]

I think Jack may have the right idea. Most of us are not soldiers and we don't have the time to start training everyone in matters of discipline even if we managed to decide on a leader. A loose committee of people who have shown they can take initiative, stay on top of things and keep everyone else informed... That could work. Too many grabs for control and it'll fall apart before long.

More importantly, I think we all need to take a step back for a moment. The truth is, we have successfully come together several times. We saved Esdham when it was under attack. We rescued Cid and the captive Heroes in the Heran Research Center. We managed to survive the assault on Aqures Ixen against all odds, and again protected the city during the Night of the Thirteen Moogles. A single act of goodwill by a group of our more idealistic Heroes secured us an alliance with the remains of the Empire.

And although we left the Rift in low spirits, consider -- we defeated the Ultima WEAPON and Palitutu, a feat that was supposed to be nigh impossible, and we didn't lose a single Hero in the process. We came back with precious resources from our worlds, and thanks to the Gold Crystal, effectively doubled the time we have left before all of Crystallis is lost. Regardless of where we stand regarding the fate of our prisoner, the last month was far from a failure.

If I had to pinpoint a weakness, I'd say it's our inability to act calmly and rationally under pressure. Some clashes are going to be inevitable, but there's time and place for those. We all have our reasons to believe what we do. This can be a strength if we use it correctly. The world is too unpredictable for any one person to have the right answer to everything, but I believe with sufficient communication and willingness to listen and think, we can keep achieving good results.

Let's not lose perspective just because we've had some setbacks, hm?