crystal.

[byblow]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Alistair
RECIPIENT: All y'all
WHAT: Innocent and totally random question
WHEN: Now
NOTES: Threadjacking is cool, kiss kiss.

What's a reasonable amount of time to stay angry with someone?

[ There is a fairly obvious difference between Alistair's I have a serious question voice and I am trying to cause trouble voice, for those who know him, but in this case his tone falls somewhere between the two. ]

Obviously it depends on what they've done to make you angry, so let's talk about the full range. How long can I stay angry with someone for borrowing my sword without permission before I'm unreasonable?

Or what if they left everyone I cared about to die?

Just for discussion's sake.

Comments

[unbrokenoath]

Is this about me borrowing your sword, because I was gonna give it back, you don't gotta call me out like this.

[gatheringstorm]

Until the motherfucking end of time, for both.

...or just the latter one, I guess.

Sending crystal -- Private

[mactears]

[There's a moment when he considers shutting the damn thing off and stepping outside to go through some shield bash exercises. He decides against it; instead he sits at the rickety desk in his quarters with his elbows braced on the wood, his fist pressed to his mouth in thought.

He activates the crystal, but hesitates before speaking. The line is already open, he can't take that back; but the words he'd thought to share suddenly feel hollow and empty.]

[youwonscience]

Uh, are we talking about what's fair, or what's productive? Because there's probably no time limit on being angry, especially about the latter. No one's gonna blame you. But if you can get past it to some degree, it's physically better for you? Like, stress hormones associated with anger actually shorten your life expectancy in the long term.

As a wise woman from my world once said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." So.

[Of course Cosima is quoting Carrie Fisher. That's very helpful in this situation.]

[sunshinethroughgrey]

... Forever. You can be angry at those people forever if they are, say, an old Fereldan General who might or might not be in the city right now and who lead to the destruction of one's country, and village, and hundreds of innocent soldiers who trusted him.

[So. Much. Salt.]

[onlyhymns]

Who, um... who are you talking about? [Cade only kind of knows about Ostagar, being from the Free Marches and dealing with the typical Kirkwall garbage at the time.

He's also in a bad place and has no reason not to make sure Alistair isn't talking about him. He has no idea why he would, but that's why it's scary.]

private

[pinprick]

Alistair, stop this. Trying to turn the whole of the Inquisition against one of your Wardens is unacceptable.

Private

[justice_is_blond]

There are plenty of ways to make someone's life a living hell that isn't stirring up a mob against them.

[His voice is tight. Anders has heard several of these comments and now he's suddenly having to sympathize a lot more with someone who indirectly hurt Nate. With the next bit, his voice turns a little mocking:]

Oh, no, Anders, how dare you try to fix things with people by talking on the crystals, you're just making it worse!

[His voice returns to being a little angry.]

But it's fine when you deliberately make things worse? And you make them worse for me, too, because half the people here aren't talking about Loghain.

[tactical_alert]

I'd say it's reasonable enough to nurse a grudge like that for the rest of your life. Though I imagine it would become exhausting.

And airing ones dirty laundry for all to see and smell and hear seems exhausting as well.

[elegiaque]

Until they die, unless you want to be angry that they died and in doing so denied you satisfaction, in which case until you die.

Also, I have an assassin.

( She needs to stop offering to have Guilfoyle murder whoever upsets her friends. For starters, he's in the Dales right now and it would be a logistical nightmare. )

[doneisdone]

[There is at least one person listening silently and saying nothing. Most of the time she hates these bloody crystals, but they really can't be beat when it comes to reconnaissance.]

[wardeneructate]

People here think I'm the nug ass but you might have stolen my title with this salt rock you threw in the soup pot.

[He's like...genuinely impressed here.]

private, later

[doneisdone]

That went well.

[ichaer]

Just push them both out a bloody window.

[ wait, back it up. ]

I mean I guess it depends on if your sword comes back as it was. If not, you'll need to figure out from how high up the window needs to be and if they'll be falling toward the ground or the water. [ a beat. ] And as for the second bloke, a window above an active volcano is always nice this time of year.

[limier]

It is one thing to hold anger, it is another to hold the sword.

[ are you planning to stab anyone, dude ]

[aforethought]

[ it's never been a riddle or a joke or a metaphor when she's asked yet and that's the only thing keeping her from doing so now because really, what.

bluntly: ]

You ain't dead.

[ probably. very likely. do you care about yourself, alistair? ]

[faithlikeaseed]

If you've managed to put together anything from all this babble that answers your question, serah, would you mind passing it on to me? [His tone is deliberately light.]

[mythalenaste]

...Oh.

[Yeah, the...Loghain thing.]

Pinecones?

[lyriumcarved]

If they deserve that anger? Forever.

[He's going to be very uncompromising about this, because there are indeed cases where permanent anger is justifiable.]

Particularly if it's more along the lines of the latter situation you describe.

[crowncitizen]

[Gee this seems strangely specific.]

You know, I think it honestly just comes down to if you want to stay angry. Like, for the last one? Pretty justified in hating them forever, I think. But that doesn't mean you have to. Holding onto that anger tends to be exhausting. [He shrugs.] Might also depend on whether or not the person is sorry and is trying to change or make up for what they did.