[Honesty] Amorality vs. Immorality (Hard Truths & Mooncake)

[Kitomyx]

It was just after noon and Hard Truths had decided to explore the library within Phony City. He enjoyed gaining new knowledge, after all, but aside from school, it seemed that most phonies around here couldn't teach him much. One by one they disappointed him with what he perceived as their foolishness and stupidity.

However, Hard Truths had not forgotten the little bookworm Flutter foals he had met on his first day exploring Phonyland. Paper Lantern hadn't seemed like anything special to Truths, but his brother, Moon...that one certainly could get riled up. Almost pityingly, the unicorn wondered what had become of the small phony. With expectations of the world being nice, he was almost certain Mooncake would be distraught with disappointment by now.

That was, if he would take his muzzle out of a book long enough to notice. Perhaps he had merely avoided the real world by losing himself in the fictional ones he read about. What a fool.

cursedandwandering

((If you want me to change anything, please let me know! sweatdrop Heh, I'm not even sure if Phonyland/Phony City has a library... But it could also take place in Mooncake's mother's (Kimono's?) bookshop if you preferred. I don't mind changing things.))

 

[cursedandwandering]

Kitomyx

Library is perfectly fine! biggrin Although would you mind with adding honesty to the title in parentheses since i'd like this to be for his element? >u<

Mooncake had managed to find his way into the library after exhausting his mother's book supply. Always thirsty for more knowledge, especially if it pertained to his interests, he had decided he'd start off in the children's section of the library then work his way up to the higher reading levels so as not to miss any stories he hadn't read before. He needed to be very thorough in his research and not miss a single tale, especially if there were any possibility that some of the stories were based on the truth.

Hovering by the second shelf in a portion of the fiction section, the little colt chose a suitable book. In his hooves he held a picture book titled The Girl Without Hands. The title seemed pretty gruesome, but he hadn't read it yet. Taking the book in his teeth, the little flutter made his way over to a comfortable corner to settle down with his book. The colt nudged the pages open with his nose and began examining an illustration of an old man standing in front of the mill with what appeared to be the devil.

Water colored paintings of each scene covered the pages, a small scrawling font telling the story at the bottom of each page. Mooncake read each page hungrily, devouring the words and the images. He gasped as it was discovered that the od man had traded his daughter to the devil for wealth. He cried when she cried after the devil had ordered her father to cut off her hands. The little phony was absolutely enthralled, unaware his peace was about to be disrupted by a certain phony.  

[Kitomyx]

"...You're awfully loud for a bookworm," Hard Truths spoke up, coming across the flutter colt in his corner. "What are you sniveling over? It's just a book." He, too, appeared to have been reading. A book at his hooves had a cover that read The Devil's Storybook. It seemed they had similar tastes, though neither appeared to be yet aware. Placing the book on top of the nearest shelf, he approached Mooncake. "I hope you're not hiding in here to keep from crying in front of other phonies again."

cursedandwandering

((Sure thing!))

 

[cursedandwandering]

Mooncake's face scrunched up into a scowl as his adventures in the world of reading were so rudely disrupted. The colt pulled away from his book, "clearly you don't know how to appreciate a good story or a touching character." He huffed, closing his book with a look of disgust. "You know, for a uni you certainly aren't pure or graceful. It'd make more sense if you were Sun-Wukong or some changeling in disguise to cause trouble."

Kitomyx

 

[Kitomyx]

"Well maybe that's because unlike some phonies, I can find enough miserable stories and characters in real life. Or is reality not good enough for you?" He blinked and sat back on his haunches when he was insulted. He certainly hadn't expected that. Instead of responding with his usual scowl, however, a wicked smirk crept across his features.

"Tsk, tsk. You're the one who went from six nubs to fairy wings and you're calling me a changeling?" he retorted. Suddenly he was frowning again, his gaze distant. "You shouldn't believe everything you read. Not all unicorns are like the stereotypical beings described in fairy tales."

Hard Truths paused a moment, considering something before looking back to the flutter. "Shortcake," he said, "Before, when you almost-but-not-exactly asked me to stay. That time when I was about to leave. Be honest - why did you do that?"

cursedandwandering

 

[cursedandwandering]

Kitomyx

sorry about taking so long to reply to this. I typed pretty much the whole response up yesterday and then boop just as i was about to finish safari crashed. -_-;

"The only miserable phony i've ever met is you and it certainly doesn't seem like you have any reason to be so. I bet you didn't eat pomegranate seeds that force you to spend half your time in hell, yet you're still the most cynical phony in existence." He sniffed and turned his head away, quite sure that he wasn't retreating into his stories as a form of escapism. What interested him about them was the fact that they were once believed like the religions of his own time to be true.

Mooncake's brow furrowed as his expression changed to glare. First this colt was insulting his brother, then himself, now his entire species. "It's called metamorphosis. Lots of insects do it. I'm not cruel like you are." He huffed and crossed his hooves. "I was joking."

"Don't call me shortcake. I'm normal size for my species!" He grumbled, once again not enjoying conversing with this foal. "Because I thought you would be sad if you got chased off."  

[Kitomyx]

"Miserable?" Hard Truths scoffed. "Whoever said I was miserable? Perhaps I come off as a little cranky to some, but that has nothing to do with how I'm feeling; that's just who I am." He huffed indignantly. "And stop using those ridiculous mythological references. Do I look like a Goddess of Spring to you?" Inwardly, though, Truths couldn't help being somewhat impressed with Mooncake's vast knowledge concerning myths and legends. Prior to now, he hadn't known how well-read the flutter was. Not that he was likely to mention it.

"So was I," he replied in response to Mooncake's claim to have been joking. "Call me what you will, but I do have a sense of humor, cruel or not." Settling down, he crossed his front legs. "Besides, you're the one who took it as an insult. I happen to find tricksters to be delightfully fascinating. Their deception and illusions demonstrate their cunning and cleverness. You never know what they'll do next." He glanced to the book that the other colt had been reading. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I act the way I do for a reason?"

With a wry, crooked smile, Hard Truths regarded the ginger-maned foal with his yellow-gold gaze. "Is that really the reason?" he inquired. "It had nothing at all to do with possibility that you merely felt guilty I might have been leaving because of you?" The unicorn adjusted his hooves, studying them. "Funny thing, you concerning yourself with how I might have felt after calling me a meanie. Especially when you were already so close to tears that we could hear the tremor in your voice."

cursedandwandering

((Not at all! Take as much time as you need. And don't worry about it! Gah, I'm so sorry to hear that, though; I hate it when that happens. XP *shakes fist* Google Chrome tends to save the thing for you even if it closes, though, so I haven't had that problem in quite some time, remarkably...))

 

[cursedandwandering]

Kitomyx

"Oh, i'm sorry. You just make everyone around you miserable." The colt scoffed, not particularly appreciating the request to stop making his references. He enjoyed relating real life to the stories, it allowed him to see the truth in the myth even when some things seemed impossible. Plus they were cool. Really cool. "I imagine the goddess Persephone to be considerably more attractive."

"Most people don't appreciate a cruel sense of humor unless it's self-deprecating." He crossed his hooves, scowling at the other phony. "Tricksters are evil and self-centered. Is that something you want to be?" He raised an eyebrow as he was challenged. "You act the way you do because you're a misguided pessimist, last time we talked."

Oh great phonies above, someone help him keep from yelling at this phony. Mooncake's eyes turned to the ceiling. "I would've felt guilty if you had left, because i thought you would have felt bad. Most people feel guilty when they make other people feel bad. Generally that's a good thing."  

[Kitomyx]

"I can't help it if others around me are overly sensitive. If I had to refrain from mentioning anything that might possibly offend someone, I'd be forever silent." He smirked. "As for Persephone...I sincerely hope so."

"Did I ask what 'most people' appreciate?" Truths inquired rhetorically. "Appealing to 'most people' is not my objective, as you have surely ascertained by now." He tilted his head at the other foal's comment on tricksters. "Are you serious? Don't tell me a mythological expert such as yourself actually believes that blarney. They may trick people, but that doesn't make them evil. That's black-and-white thinking right there." He looked the flutter up and down with a critical eye. "I guess I was wrong to think you would be beyond such close-mindedness."

"First of all, I'm not a pessimist, I'm a cynical realist. Second of all, I'm not misguided; I know exactly what I'm doing and why. Just because I don't choose to indulge everyone I meet in such knowledge doesn't mean I don't have my reasons. Thirdly," he continued, "tricksters are tricksters because they keep people guessing. They are morally ambiguous. If they seem self-centered, it's likely to cultivate the idea that they're amoral - that is, without morals and thus without a knowledge of right and wrong. Not to be confused with immorality, which is the indifference to right and wrong. There's a line between apathy and ignorance, you see."

He ran a hoof though his mane, pondering something as he spoke. Why was he bothering to explain all this to the foal? He'd never bothered to try to explain himself before. Then again, since when had anyone cared why he acted the way he had? Only this flutter had ever even seemed bothered enough to try to argue with him about it. It was actually kind of touching.

"On the other hand...a good deal of stories reveal tricksters to have more of a conscience than they or others realize," he said softer. "While they may not seem hurt or guilty on the outside, that isn't necessarily the case. I assume you of all phonies understand what is meant by the saying, 'things are more than what they seem'."

The unicorn seemed to be studying the edge of the book that Mooncake had been reading as if he found it to be terribly fascinating for whatever reason. "With that in mind," he said, not looking up, "I hope you can pardon any future behavior of mine that might otherwise upset you. I can assure you I don't do it for the sole purpose of being rude or earning others' dislike. And at the same time," he added, peering over at the purple foal at last, "I thank you for your consideration of my feelings regardless of how I acted toward you. It's not necessary, though."

cursedandwandering

 

[cursedandwandering]

Kitomyx

"Have you even considered that maybe it isn't that others are overly sensitive, but that you're unnecessarily rude? There's a saying 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.' I honestly don't know what prompts all the rude things that come out of your mouth. I don't look at someone and think 'they look scrawny' let alone say that." Mooncake glowered and rolled his eyes.

"Your goal seems to be a filterless jerk..." The colt huffed and shaked his head, growing tired of arguing with this uni. "So you're saying that the archetype of the trickster isn't characterized by malicious subversive behavior?" He raised an eyebrow, wings giving the occasional twitch. "Plenty of the well-known tricksters know exactly what they're doing."

He clapped his hooves together, getting quite excited as he recalled Lokasenna, in particular a specific line that he thought could relate to Truths here quite well. With a smirk on his face he recited what he could recall. "In the poetic Edda Loki says that he will go into the hall where the gods are feasting and that he would be inclined to stir up trouble amongst them. Eldir then tells him 'If thou goest to Ægir's hall, and fain the feast would see, and with slander and spite wouldst sprinkle the gods, think well lest they wipe it on thee.'" He looked quite pleased with himself, as he felt that portion of the story not only proved his point but should also be taken as a lesson to Truths.

The foal's next actions made him feel bad for his smugness. "I thought you didn't care if you upset others?" the purple foal's eyebrows scrunched together and he shook his head.  

[Kitomyx]

"...I've considered it," Truths affirmed. "And I've heard of that saying. However, the former isn't true because, as I said, I have my reasons. The latter I just don't believe in. Sometimes the hardest things to hear and say are the things that people need to hear and say the most. To be polite with someone is to remain socially distant from them. Why do you think it's okay for friends to tease and make fun of one another, but not strangers? And isn't it also said that those who quarrel more often have a better relationship and are shown to care for one another more?"

Chuckling a little at Mooncake's comment on his goal, he shrugged slightly. "If that's what you believe, then that probably means I'm successful at being morally ambiguous. At least outwardly." He continued to smile grimly.

"Perhaps they are submersive, yes, but I wouldn't necessary characterize them as 'malicious'. If you had no morals - and I know this might be hard for you, but try to imagine it for a second - and didn't know right from wrong, what would you do? Wouldn't you just do whatever you felt like, regardless of whether it helped or harmed others?"

He waved a hoof, gesturing. "They're selfish. I don't think that necessarily makes them evil. True, not having a conscience may make them a little more dangerous since they won't understand the consequences that their actions impose on others. However, that still means they're as blameworthy as a newborn infant."

"Not that I'm pleading innocence," he amended carefully, "as I obviously have a conscience like everyone else. But like the Tricksters in your myths and legends, I do everything for a purpose. Call them ulterior motives if you like."

Listening attentively as the flutter recited certain lines, Truths applauded slowly when the he finished. The unicorn heaved a sigh. "Yes, well...perhaps that's the price I'll pay, but my reasons for doing what I do are far too important for me to worry about that. I may be morally ambiguous, but I'm not amoral. I wouldn't get myself into trouble out of boredom or insult someone merely for my own entertainment, so no need to concern yourself with that."

"...Did I ever say those words specifically?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Another thing about tricksters - you should recall how fond they are of subterfuge, loopholes, and twisting people's words. The truth is the truth, but words are their medium and can be taken in a variety of contexts with multiple meanings. Implications can just as easily be planted ideas." He got up. "If repeat to anyone what I've told you today, though, I'll be sorely disappointed. I don't express my gratitude lightly, nor do I apologize readily. I can't have other phonies thinking otherwise."

cursedandwandering

 

[cursedandwandering]

Kitomyx

Mooncake rolled his eyes and sighed, "Oh? So you thought my brother and i needed to be told we were skinny?" With a scoff he glanced back towards his book, absentmindedly leafing through the pages. "It's because there is a difference in intent and also a familiarity. A friend will known what you will think is funny, but not hurtful. Someone you don't know won't and won't care because they haven't put anything into you that would give your feelings value."

"You can't argue that all tricksters are amoral, maybe you're right and some of them are, but some of them are very clearly doing things for the purpose of causing trouble and they enjoy it." He grimaced at having to admit this, as he didn't want to give Truths any satisfaction.

"Although now i'd like to ask you what you think makes someone evil then," he snorted, tossing his head.

The little flutter boy rolled his eyes at Truths response to his quote. "You're really arrogant." His nose crinkled and he couldn't help but laugh. "Why do you care?"  

[Kitomyx]

"Still harping on that, are you?" he asked, but he sounded amused. "Think about this rationally. It's just as you said. As a phony you just met, my opinion shouldn't have carried much weight with you. The only thing that insult should have done was have you establish me, as you so eloquently put it, as a 'filterless jerk'. That's why I figured you would simply brush it off like your brother. I didn't expect it might actually hurt your feelings, which wasn't my intention."

"The enjoyment of causing trouble stems from boredom, which is natural. As many tricksters are immortal, they can grow quickly bored with the passage of time and thus seek to entertain themselves by causing mischief. Compare them to teenage hooligans who end up joining gangs, stealing, and otherwise being stupid simply because they have nothing constructive to do with their time. Thus, 'doing things to cause trouble for one's enjoyment' would still be considered an act of selfish amorality. It's as simple as that."

He pulled the book out that he'd put on the shelf previously, The Devil's Storybook, and pointed to the red figure on the cover. "Even this fellow here...I think he just may be a scapegoat of sorts, disregarding his actual goat features." Thinking for a bit, he pondered Mooncake's question. "Real evil...that's tricky. I expect my definition would involve a being willfully committing a wrongful act with malicious, hateful intent toward their victim and/or for themselves while being void or otherwise incapable of empathy, mercy, or guilt."

As an afterthought, he added, "But I don't think that any living person could truly be evil, just as I doubt that there's actually any perfectly good or completely amoral beings in existence. I know people can commit immoral or moral acts, but that doesn't necessarily say anything about them as a person. Black and white characters like those are for comics, stories, and general fiction. That's why I find real people to be so much more interesting."

"That I will not argue with," he answered the comment on his arrogance with a sneer. "As for why...when did I say I ever cared?" Something in his voice almost sounded playful as he contradicted the implications of his prior warning to the flutter foal. "Why should I care about what anyone thinks of me? The truth is what matters, after all." The unicorn gave Mooncake a grin as he re-shelved the book. Skimming the spines of the others he placed it alongside, he murmured under his breath. "You're an intelligent phony. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

cursedandwandering

 

[cursedandwandering]

"Ugh." Mooncake scowled as their first meeting was brought up. "I wasn't upset because of what you said. I was upset because Paper wasn't backing me up when i was backed him up." He scoffed and crossed his hooves, quite sure that that's what siblings should do.

"I don't see how hurting others for your own entertainment isn't a bad thing..." The colt sighed and shook his head. "If i stole from someone because i thought it was exciting that's still a bad thing to do. It hurts whoever i stole from and my family if it's discovered."

"Anything is possible," Mooncake shrugged and cast a wary glance Truths' way. "You say you don't care and then you say you do..." He snorted and shook his head. "Fine, whatever."

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Fin