Tokiyo Fujikagi || Consequence [TRANSCENDENTAL]
Nov 30, 2016 11:01:56 GMT -5
Walter Weiß and Ginjō Xôi like this
Post by Consequence on Nov 30, 2016 11:01:56 GMT -5
TOKIYO FUJIKAGI
Consequence...
All of us are trapped. Stuck in an endless transition from one state to the other, we are captives of the past and the captors of the future. It's my solemn realization, belief really, that we own as much of that dichotomy as we are willing to pay for. I could preach at you here, from my vantage point, until the heat death of the universe if you really wanted me to. But I'd really rather keep things moving along as we both have important things coming that we should be paying attention to. So please! Allow me to cut to the chase.
CONVERSATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS:
I was born in 1134 Anno Domini just a few shades over 880 years ago. I understand that it's odd to remark on the birth of someone from Japan with reference to a Western construct, but it's important that we agree that we're using the same frame of reference. Objects and events can appear very differently with merely the slightest adjustment in your perspective.
My body was a stout one, if nothing else; a solid 5'10" frame although I wore it a bit short. I had good, wide shoulders and a strong back. I was built for manual labor, much to the relief of my father, and manual labor was what I would do. I had a family of two older brothers and we were raised traditionally, in our fishing village, to the extent that our meager wealth would allow. My oldest brother was most closely groomed and received all the social and monetary boons that we could muster. In letting go of needing anything more I found an invaluable happiness is embracing the simple and true love of my family, and for honest labor. They came before everything else in my life, which is why is was both so difficult to leave, yet such an easy choice to make.
That version of me died in 1159 at the fertile age of 25. Where and how we can talk about later, the details are really anything but important. Just know that it was death that meant little in the long run and caused very few ripples beyond the tears of my family. In many ways, this death was actually the beginning. I was freed from the flesh and began a Plus, a spirit. My stay was short and soon I exchanged the dirty streets outside of Kyoto for the...dirty streets of the Soul Society and the Rukongai.
Age: 882 [Born 1134, death in 1159 (25)]
Gender: Male
Family: None, Unknown
Original Race: Shinigami
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 195lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Shaved head & Blue eyes
NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT & APPARENT:
I hope you believe me when I say that other than my signature soul-crush stare and a strong jaw line, there's very little you could call intimidating about my physical presence. Yet I hope you will join me in marveling at the capacity of the human soul to hold such an infinite and complex potential, despite an unassuming appearance like this.
I carry my scars with me wherever I go, and I've left them exactly where they fell. It's not really fair to call them mistakes as, in hindsight, I got exactly what I should have expected. Nor is it fair to call them souvenirs, like they belonged to me to take, or belonged to someone else to give. My actions led to the swath of scar tissue that starts above my left eye and crosses the bridge of my nose. My choices led to the spider-life pride flesh above my right pectoral. And the fallout from what I failed to do, and failed not to do, earned me the clean cut that runs from my left flank and up to the armpit. There are plenty of others, many of them subtle, that you can pick out if you looked closely. Despite the perfection my form is now capable of it just didn't seem fair or right to hide from them now that I can choose not to.
As I said before, I was never a big guy although I was stout. My father used to call me his 'little sack of grain', and then toss me over his shoulder and carry me down the dock to our fishing boat. I guess there are some things we never outgrow despite everything we grow into. I discovered some time ago that those broad shoulders very nicely filled out a suit, which is why you will often find me in a very sharp -if I do say so myself- three-piece, black suit accented with a crimson red tie. My shoes are a classic, black, Oxford dress shoe with little more intent behind them than to cover my feet and avoid any distraction or detraction from the rest.
I like how seriously people take me, how their posture shifts and stiffens slightly, how they suddenly recall their manners a bit more clearly when I enter a room in my tailored finest. It's neat to watch. I used to care nothing for what I wore and it was very difficult to find me in anything except a white t-shirt and some gray pajama pants when I was off duty and outside of my uniform. While I haven't forgotten the part of me that loved to revel in that comfort, it's tough to convince others you should be taken as seriously when there is a spot of soy sauce on your shirt. But, enough about what I look like. It's really just as fleeting as the weather. Maybe you should know a few more things about -who- I am. Used to be. Will be.
Glory & Honor
They call these things 'my good side'
Overtly Modest || There is no acknowledgment you can give yourself that could ever hold a candle to a compliment given from another person. And those compliments will not start until you've earned it. I do my best to remain modest and humble in all business so I can appreciate my actions without over-inflating their success or failure. Results, as they say, speak for themselves.
"There is no limit to the amount of good you can do when you don't care who gets the credit."
Stoic || Emotions and passions are tools to motivate people who cannot otherwise motivate themselves. Making good decisions, making the best decision, should be the only reason a man would ever need in order to act. Accepting the vulnerabilities that come with emotion, you open yourself up to not only pain and agony that could be avoided but the risk of letting obstacles interfere with what you know to be right. Sometimes it's okay to experience the possibilities, but it is much better to be checked by reason and a level head rather than to be ruled by a fleeting, fickle heart.
Confident || You shouldn't act if you cannot act decisively. Moving without belief in both yourself and your actions is to invite disaster against any worthy obstacle, great or small. There are few things weaker than a blade swung without conviction. It shows on every cold bead of sweat on your brow, every lost look as you desperately scan for answers, and it clings to your body like a foul odor. Knowing you are right can make all the difference necessary.
Utilitarian || No single man's life is worth more than the health and well-being of the whole. No cost is too great if the benefit is extreme enough and only an especially clear mind can realize this. Society endured long before any single one of us and it will thrive on long after. People may doubt you and your choices and the costs you are willing to pay to secure their future but at least they will be around to offer that conjecture.
Empathetic || Understanding where someone is coming from is the only reliable method for predicting where they will go. I need to feel that connection in order for the right decision to be made, and all the puzzle pieces necessary to lay this together are within your foe's experience, beliefs, and values.
Fire & Faith
I suppose that makes these things 'the bad side'
Impersonal Curiosity || Casual and willful disregard for another person's boundaries and limits is something I am...okay with. Questions need answers, and if a question is important enough to be asked, then the answer should be worth its pursuit regardless of cost. You never know what good may come from a bit of temporary physical, emotional, or mental anguish in the pursuit of greater knowledge. In simple terms, people should just get over it.
"Great minds can't be limited by what they know, but rather by what questions they are willing to ask. What answers they will seek out."
Ruthless || Victory has no meaning if it is not guaranteed. If an opponent has been defeated, their subjugation must be beyond question to avoid any and all retaliation. And if they persist? You mustn't hesitate; there can be no half-measures. Make no timid assumptions about what your goal might require.
Assertive || It's difficult to allow people to pursue a choice you do not want to happen. So, frankly speaking, I normally don't entertain that, at least when it concerns me. Considering I know what will happen (to some degree) with each and every circumstance, I could be more subtle about it.
Aloof || Sometimes being able to see so far forwards and backward can pull you out of focus with the present. The threads of fate are often more fun for me to watch either come together with the moment or branch apart into infinity than to actually appreciate the choice. Given my perspective, life can often feel like a TV show where you know there is another episode coming and everything comes with a TV Guide summary.
Severe || Maybe it's just the intense look, or maybe it's how little I smile, or maybe it's a product of being born of a bygone age. You may find I am likely to make my points in dramatic and potentially traumatic ways. Patience is a virtue I appreciate but most people just...do not live long enough to get their lessons at a casual pace. They can sacrifice a bit of comfort for a slice of betterment.
I have a more pleasant side; some of the things that I like.
Meditation || One of my favorite pass-times! I enjoy spending a quiet hour each day reflecting on the self and communing with whatever part of my existence I feel I should reach.
Cooking & Food || Truly a passion, I fervently enjoy seeking out foods I'm not used to eating or cooking and experimenting with their flavor profiles. Gregarious in the extreme, the food a culture eats is the quickest, surest way for me to learn about the fabric of a people.
Rania || Would she ever forgive me if I left her off of this list? The obvious answer is no, I'd be as good as dead. Which is precisely why I love her so much. More than probably anyone else I've ever met in my many centuries, she keeps me grounded. I need her now more than ever.
Consequence...
All of us are trapped. Stuck in an endless transition from one state to the other, we are captives of the past and the captors of the future. It's my solemn realization, belief really, that we own as much of that dichotomy as we are willing to pay for. I could preach at you here, from my vantage point, until the heat death of the universe if you really wanted me to. But I'd really rather keep things moving along as we both have important things coming that we should be paying attention to. So please! Allow me to cut to the chase.
CONVERSATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS:
I was born in 1134 Anno Domini just a few shades over 880 years ago. I understand that it's odd to remark on the birth of someone from Japan with reference to a Western construct, but it's important that we agree that we're using the same frame of reference. Objects and events can appear very differently with merely the slightest adjustment in your perspective.
My body was a stout one, if nothing else; a solid 5'10" frame although I wore it a bit short. I had good, wide shoulders and a strong back. I was built for manual labor, much to the relief of my father, and manual labor was what I would do. I had a family of two older brothers and we were raised traditionally, in our fishing village, to the extent that our meager wealth would allow. My oldest brother was most closely groomed and received all the social and monetary boons that we could muster. In letting go of needing anything more I found an invaluable happiness is embracing the simple and true love of my family, and for honest labor. They came before everything else in my life, which is why is was both so difficult to leave, yet such an easy choice to make.
That version of me died in 1159 at the fertile age of 25. Where and how we can talk about later, the details are really anything but important. Just know that it was death that meant little in the long run and caused very few ripples beyond the tears of my family. In many ways, this death was actually the beginning. I was freed from the flesh and began a Plus, a spirit. My stay was short and soon I exchanged the dirty streets outside of Kyoto for the...dirty streets of the Soul Society and the Rukongai.
Age: 882 [Born 1134, death in 1159 (25)]
Gender: Male
Family: None, Unknown
Original Race: Shinigami
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 195lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Shaved head & Blue eyes
NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT & APPARENT:
I hope you believe me when I say that other than my signature soul-crush stare and a strong jaw line, there's very little you could call intimidating about my physical presence. Yet I hope you will join me in marveling at the capacity of the human soul to hold such an infinite and complex potential, despite an unassuming appearance like this.
I carry my scars with me wherever I go, and I've left them exactly where they fell. It's not really fair to call them mistakes as, in hindsight, I got exactly what I should have expected. Nor is it fair to call them souvenirs, like they belonged to me to take, or belonged to someone else to give. My actions led to the swath of scar tissue that starts above my left eye and crosses the bridge of my nose. My choices led to the spider-life pride flesh above my right pectoral. And the fallout from what I failed to do, and failed not to do, earned me the clean cut that runs from my left flank and up to the armpit. There are plenty of others, many of them subtle, that you can pick out if you looked closely. Despite the perfection my form is now capable of it just didn't seem fair or right to hide from them now that I can choose not to.
As I said before, I was never a big guy although I was stout. My father used to call me his 'little sack of grain', and then toss me over his shoulder and carry me down the dock to our fishing boat. I guess there are some things we never outgrow despite everything we grow into. I discovered some time ago that those broad shoulders very nicely filled out a suit, which is why you will often find me in a very sharp -if I do say so myself- three-piece, black suit accented with a crimson red tie. My shoes are a classic, black, Oxford dress shoe with little more intent behind them than to cover my feet and avoid any distraction or detraction from the rest.
I like how seriously people take me, how their posture shifts and stiffens slightly, how they suddenly recall their manners a bit more clearly when I enter a room in my tailored finest. It's neat to watch. I used to care nothing for what I wore and it was very difficult to find me in anything except a white t-shirt and some gray pajama pants when I was off duty and outside of my uniform. While I haven't forgotten the part of me that loved to revel in that comfort, it's tough to convince others you should be taken as seriously when there is a spot of soy sauce on your shirt. But, enough about what I look like. It's really just as fleeting as the weather. Maybe you should know a few more things about -who- I am. Used to be. Will be.
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Glory & Honor
They call these things 'my good side'
Overtly Modest || There is no acknowledgment you can give yourself that could ever hold a candle to a compliment given from another person. And those compliments will not start until you've earned it. I do my best to remain modest and humble in all business so I can appreciate my actions without over-inflating their success or failure. Results, as they say, speak for themselves.
"There is no limit to the amount of good you can do when you don't care who gets the credit."
Stoic || Emotions and passions are tools to motivate people who cannot otherwise motivate themselves. Making good decisions, making the best decision, should be the only reason a man would ever need in order to act. Accepting the vulnerabilities that come with emotion, you open yourself up to not only pain and agony that could be avoided but the risk of letting obstacles interfere with what you know to be right. Sometimes it's okay to experience the possibilities, but it is much better to be checked by reason and a level head rather than to be ruled by a fleeting, fickle heart.
"If something causes you pain, it is not the thing itself but your perception of it. You have the ability to revoke that at any time."
Confident || You shouldn't act if you cannot act decisively. Moving without belief in both yourself and your actions is to invite disaster against any worthy obstacle, great or small. There are few things weaker than a blade swung without conviction. It shows on every cold bead of sweat on your brow, every lost look as you desperately scan for answers, and it clings to your body like a foul odor. Knowing you are right can make all the difference necessary.
"Confidence, like armor, provides an aura of protection from any who might seek your downfall."
Utilitarian || No single man's life is worth more than the health and well-being of the whole. No cost is too great if the benefit is extreme enough and only an especially clear mind can realize this. Society endured long before any single one of us and it will thrive on long after. People may doubt you and your choices and the costs you are willing to pay to secure their future but at least they will be around to offer that conjecture.
"By measure, any one man lives and dies. It is the name of the family, the people, that lives on. Never let them forget our legacy."
Empathetic || Understanding where someone is coming from is the only reliable method for predicting where they will go. I need to feel that connection in order for the right decision to be made, and all the puzzle pieces necessary to lay this together are within your foe's experience, beliefs, and values.
"Everyone thinks their own pain and heartbreak are unprecedented, but then you read someone else's book. Only then can we understand that the things that torment us most are the very things that connect us with each other."
Fire & Faith
I suppose that makes these things 'the bad side'
Impersonal Curiosity || Casual and willful disregard for another person's boundaries and limits is something I am...okay with. Questions need answers, and if a question is important enough to be asked, then the answer should be worth its pursuit regardless of cost. You never know what good may come from a bit of temporary physical, emotional, or mental anguish in the pursuit of greater knowledge. In simple terms, people should just get over it.
"Great minds can't be limited by what they know, but rather by what questions they are willing to ask. What answers they will seek out."
Ruthless || Victory has no meaning if it is not guaranteed. If an opponent has been defeated, their subjugation must be beyond question to avoid any and all retaliation. And if they persist? You mustn't hesitate; there can be no half-measures. Make no timid assumptions about what your goal might require.
"If you have found my foot on your neck it is not because I mean to threaten you. The time for that has passed."
Assertive || It's difficult to allow people to pursue a choice you do not want to happen. So, frankly speaking, I normally don't entertain that, at least when it concerns me. Considering I know what will happen (to some degree) with each and every circumstance, I could be more subtle about it.
"You have the right to make mistakes. I have the right not to."
Aloof || Sometimes being able to see so far forwards and backward can pull you out of focus with the present. The threads of fate are often more fun for me to watch either come together with the moment or branch apart into infinity than to actually appreciate the choice. Given my perspective, life can often feel like a TV show where you know there is another episode coming and everything comes with a TV Guide summary.
"Something horrible could happen, right now, and wipe you off the map and history wouldn't even bat an eye. And while I might be sad for you, just for a moment? To be frank, I wouldn't bat an eye either."
Severe || Maybe it's just the intense look, or maybe it's how little I smile, or maybe it's a product of being born of a bygone age. You may find I am likely to make my points in dramatic and potentially traumatic ways. Patience is a virtue I appreciate but most people just...do not live long enough to get their lessons at a casual pace. They can sacrifice a bit of comfort for a slice of betterment.
"Severity is allowable any place gentleness will do you no good. I've no time for games."
I have a more pleasant side; some of the things that I like.
Meditation || One of my favorite pass-times! I enjoy spending a quiet hour each day reflecting on the self and communing with whatever part of my existence I feel I should reach.
Cooking & Food || Truly a passion, I fervently enjoy seeking out foods I'm not used to eating or cooking and experimenting with their flavor profiles. Gregarious in the extreme, the food a culture eats is the quickest, surest way for me to learn about the fabric of a people.
Rania || Would she ever forgive me if I left her off of this list? The obvious answer is no, I'd be as good as dead. Which is precisely why I love her so much. More than probably anyone else I've ever met in my many centuries, she keeps me grounded. I need her now more than ever.
Socratic Method || My favorite way to learn and my favorite way to teach, I am only too happy to help other people see the benefits of probing their ignorance.
A Good Book || A window into another world, or another mind, or another life. I love all literature, modern and classic, and I love to study its diversity especially as the words on the page might age but the sentiment endures. While few contemporary works catch my interest, there is some hope for the modern time.
But, yes, there is also a less personable side; some of the things I just don't care for.
Disrespect || Manners and civility are two of the most obvious trademarks of an intelligent and evolved mind. It's also tragically obvious when someone is missing these tools. Being crass is one thing, but lacking all respect is an entirely different kind of bad.
Waste || Do not take anything you do not intend to use. It's a simple concept, and one that holds all societies together until they evolved beyond scarcity and folks forget such a basic concept. Be kind to your neighbors and future generations; leave minimal waste.
Public Intimacy || Keep it behind doors, people! Intimacy is an expression of your love for one another and as such it's none of my business and I'd thank you kindly to keep your DNA off of places I like to visit.
Giving Up || Why did you even bother in the first place if you weren't willing to see it through? This is the surest way to lose my respect. However, I do not fault anyone for recognizing when quitting is the right decision. There is a difference, and it is absolutely critical.
Being Obstinate || When you are shown something better or more right than what you had been working with the only tragedy would be for you to reject the upper hand because of your pride. Do not get in your own way. Do the right thing as soon as you can. Ironic of me to say, no?
The Power Within
Please don't think of this as anything so trite like 'predicting the future', of even deciding what the future will be. But rather, consider where any choice might take you and imagine a reality where all those possibilities are tangible. That's a perspective we could all benefit from. And while some people may simply call it wisdom or insight, don't lose sight of the fact it is chiefly an opportunity - provided you're willing to see it through.
I suppose you could burn away the flowery words and the theory and think of it like watching a movie. Only, instead of sitting in a theater, we are sitting at home, watching the Director's Cut, and I am holding the remote control. I'm only too willing to skip forward a few frames and then flip back to show you what the main character has gotten themselves into, or perhaps make a quick edit here or there to frame the story. That is, if you can't handle the suspense.
Concept of Reality: Consequence
By recognizing his fault and abandoning his previously intrinsic desire to manipulate his own circumstances, and the circumstances of those around him, Tokiyo has finally gained a power over that which had eluded him all along: Consequences. By recognizing that any choice worth making will have a set of consequences that you, yourself, should find are worth facing, he has shed his shame and cowardice and can now bring his powerful insights to bear in order to protect the natural order. Consider, if you would, a great, branching tree of decisions. Each time we decide one thing, we are irrevocably steering away from one reality, one branch, and continuing down another, leaving behind the reality where we chose differently.
Even the simplest things can cause ripples for untold eons. Choosing decaf instead of regular with your brunch. Paying the full amount of your credit card bill this month, rather than 60%. Accepting the admission to Pharmacy school instead of Law school. Planting that spruce tree in the Southwest corner of your yard, rather than in front next to the mailbox. Killing that Quincy or merely knocking them out. The choices and implications range from the grandiose and the profound to the mundane and seemingly trivial, but none of them are necessarily what they appear to be.
I can look at, and show others, the Consequences of their actions and behaviors, and manipulate the chain of events that might cause something to come to pass. In short, I can now view the universe as a sort of 'If-Then' statement with some degree of control over both variables. To this end, I can only work with what I am given, and cannot reforge reality to accommodate something that would not otherwise be possible. In this way, my insight into situations, their circumstances, and their results is my most valuable tool.
