retrospec | (no subject)

It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm afraid things are really quite busy here, and unfortunately our liaison has been compromised. Well...so have a lot of people, actually.

Are you still yourself if you're not the self you were? It's the kind of conversation we've had a lot of times, around here. I've always only been myself, but if I woke up tomorrow as someone else, would I still be me even if I wasn't?

I think rather than worrying about that the best thing I can do is focus on trying to sort things out as best I can. I'm a little worried, actually, but I think I can manage to give everyone a shot even if I can't fix things on my own or even with everyone's help.

But you can help! Or at least I think it will help if you think about what it means to be "you". It's okay if that answer changes or doesn't. Just hold onto that concept and don't let it go. And maybe tell other people what you think it means? Not like I'm saying you have to talk about that. I think usually you all just talk about anything, and I think that is also a good way to hold onto who you are and who you want to be. Sometimes I think it'd be fun, all those parties or little plans. I've never spent much time outside of these walls, did you know?

I don't have time to really ramble, though. Those of you who know what I mean, we're doing our best. Those of you who don't, you do your best too. Pay attention to the things you tell yourself, and I'll try to fix what I can fix.

Please take care.

Joanne Wiseman
Technician 2nd class
Retr

spec Incorporated

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And why's that?

I look forward to seeing if he ends up in a crushed state afterwards, then. Though, wording it like that makes it seem like I'm hoping for it. But you are right. We shall have to wait and see. :)

Is it?
That's right. Life should be about being as greedy as we can be in order to seek out our own happiness. A line I will say now and again, so please make sure I was smart enough to write it as our fictional school's motto.

It is quite a choice of poison.
But there's another poison to it.
One is without any stakes and one has elevated, overly dramatized stakes.
So which one would you choose, if I can throw the question back?

Cause you such at making anything else except the one thing.
You're only a master of the meal you won't poison someone with.
Could be the ultimate betrayal if you ever decide to surprise poison someone's meal.

[....maybe for her it'd be the ultimate betrayal. If someone poisoned her food or anyone else she cared about, there'd be hell to be paid.

But at his next statement over their school's motto, it may give her a bit of a pause as she is reminded of her parents. The family saying was fresh in her mind again. It was a good thing they were texting each other than speaking over audio or video.]

It'll be easy to remember since it goes well with my family's own version of it.
Well, regarding the way to view relationships, at the very least.

[Oh, another question to chew on. The principal really did like her to think, didn't he? Even when it isn't needed because she already knew the answer to it before giving it some actual thought.]

Life without stakes doesn't sound realistic to me.
Very few may be given the opportunity to live that way, but it isn't the same for everyone else.
I rather go for the latter version: one with elevated, overly dramatized stakes.
Only because the pay off in the end may be worth the struggles and will help the person grow.
Regardless of the outcome, whatever it may be.

How fascinating. I wonder if you have history of someone poisoning your meals? Still, even though you didn't ask me, I will say I have no intention of poisoning anyone with my food.

[ Though, his nephews may say otherwise due to how spicy he makes his food. ]

Oh? That sounds rather ominous, but we're not yet close enough for me to go digging into what that means. So just put a pin in it that I'm interested.

[ If they were in person, he may have actually applauded that answer. It's one that he appreciates, at the very least. Yes, no matter what, life has to have some stakes in or else a person is not living. ]

Then by object of elimination, we've chosen that our story is a Lifetime movie.
Congratulations.
The stakes shall be high and exaggerated.
But the reward at the end will feel like it is earned rather than given.
Certainly, there is merit in that regardless of how bad the acting may be.

None whatsoever!
As far as I know, anyway.

[If anything, she may have a history of tampering with her mother's coffee, but it's as far as she has ever gone.]

But good to know that you haven't, it'd be a problem if you did because you may go out of business in the worse way possible if word about it got around.
Try to figure a way around it, if simply practicing doesn't cut it.

[Maybe he could make a gimmick out of it, she thinks, but she supposes it'd be meddling on her part to make unwarranted suggestions. She may be majoring in business, but she's really doing it as a means to survive, nothing more.

At his next response, it will leave her thoughtful, finding it odd the other guy wasn't curious about it when he seems like the type to pry and meddle, but she supposes he didn't want to deal with whatever she had to say. Not that she cares all too much on other people's opinions whenever it comes to her parents and their personal philosophies.

She'll just move along....]

There is, but I'm not really into the whole idea of having someone else play a role I can easily do.
And better than them too.

[Now if she means by improvement in acting or being worse at it will be left in the air.]

What about you?
Would you be okay with someone doing a poor job at interpreting you?

No, no. I can go out of business with how the food is normally. There is no reason to speed the process up anymore than that. [ So he says, he has quite a few spice-fiends that come to the shop. There used to be some fans of his buff, good-looking employee, but since said employee has quit, they stopped coming. Such is life. ]

Oh?
Not the idle type, huh?
I suppose that it has to do with that motto of your family, huh?

[ No, he didn’t ignore it as so much attempting to ask sideways rather than straight on. Someone politely told him that he’s the kind of person that upsets others with his cutting words. It didn’t really bother him, but since she seems to have some idea of him, it wouldn’t be right to cut it down by being too cold-hearted. ]

I’d be fine with it, actually.
I find that no one really understands anyone completely and absolutely.
In someone’s eyes, I’m a villain. In someone else’s eyes, I’m a saint.
There is no wrong interpretation of someone, because that someone does not fully exist.
There is no true you and there is no true me.
There are interpretations of both of us, and what it is that we do, and even if we explain the reasons for them, they may only heighten the incorrect beliefs about us.
So, it’s fine if someone gets it wrong, because no one has the right idea about anyone, haha.

And there goes my earlier remark on allowing my guard to be lowered, I guess.

[Since this has become the being honest corner, she had to join in with her own feelings after reading his first message.]

Basically, yeah!
But even without the motto, I'd still be the type to do whatever I please.
It's kinda of an annoying quirk you'll find in tennis players and all!

[Well, in real tennis players, not the ones who have allowed their sponsors to pamper them to the point they think they're actually good players when the reality is far worse.]

And welcome back! We're back to the philosophy corner, with your host Principal Shigaraki.

[Sorry, but she had to write that as a way to stall for a moment because...well, she didn't have any way of responding to his explanation about the self. In reality, she does agree with him since it's true. After all...]

Context is key to the perception other people will have about ourselves, is that the tl;dr version you were looking for?
If not, then I do apologize for not having the sufficient brain cells to figure it out.
Philosophy has never been my strong suit, so I may be the worse person to discuss it.

So it does. Haha.

Still, isn't that slightly different than a tennis player's desire not to be idle?
After all, you mentioned that it was related to how your family views relationships not one's desired occupation, right? :)

[ So he ends up chuckling. ]

Hello, everyone. It seems as though I was briefly missed, but now that the commercial break has finished let us get into the topic of "self." :) Somehow, my principal persona has gained a radio talkshow.

But you are more or less correct.
Context is the key to perception.
And no matter what -- we are fighting against an illusionary self that someone has imagined that we "are."
Whether it is an idealized person, whether it is a villianized, whether it is a dull and lackluster one -- we are always fighting against that "person" as we interact with others.

The long and short of it is: no matter what interpretation a person has of you, it is "right."
You're the only one who can think it is "wrong," but that won't change their minds.
There we go. Philosophy Corner over, for now.

[Continuing here]