text // aq. // 01

[helenite]

so is every1 here dead ?



[[ WARDEN FILTER ]]

hi im alice. any1 want my gun ?

Comments

[rank1]

Come on, there are lots of ways to die. Accidents, self-sacrifice, a true warrior’s death.

[helenite]

did u put those in order already ?

[rank1]

I wanted to build you up lame to worthwhile. Get some excitement going.

[helenite]

ok ill bite. whats a warriors death

[rank1]

It's a fight between men who respect each other enough to fight to the death. The warriors bare their souls through bloodshed, and only one walks away –– if you lose, you die at your opponent's hands, or take your own life in defeat. If you're too cowardly to do that, then it wasn't a real match. You were weak. You gotta pour your life into becoming a better fighter so you can come back later and prove it, or die trying. For real that time.

That's a real warrior's death.

[helenite]

1st q: why r u fighting som1 u respect

[rank1]

Why not? If they're on my level, they put a lifetime of work into their craft and skill as a fighter. Tens of thousands of hours. They're willing to put that on the line to prove themselves, same as me. Why wouldn't I respect that?

[helenite]

makes sense i g

2nd q: y do it 2 the death

isnt that wasting their lifetime

[rank1]

It's only a waste if you're small-minded. You could die any time. A heart attack, or trip down the stairs, or get hit by a bus.

[Choking to death mid-gaming sesh on a mouthful of chips you tried to wash down with a soda but it went the wrong way and you were going to lose the game and-–]

It's so much better to die with the blood pounding so hard in your veins that you can't think of anything but your thirst to win. TO LIVE.

[helenite]

that just sounds like doing coke

[rank1]

It's way better than coke.

[helenite]

still seems cheap

no offense. but long as ur alive ur getting better right ? & so r they. so if u kill them ur rly just getting out of having 2 fight them l8r when they might b better than u

[rank1]

It's not cheap. Fuck the future. Fighters hone their bodies for years, even decades, and perfect their skills through blood, sweat and tears, and it comes down to that one battle. It's a fight where every second, every decision counts, right then in that moment. It's THE moment. If you punk out on having that moment, or make it some game where you try to get the edge on someone else so you can avoid hard work, you don't respect them or death. You're just a thug.

[helenite]

[ hm. ]

have u evr been in 1?

[rank1]

Yeah. Several.

[helenite]

what was it like after ?

[rank1]

I'm always on top of the world after those fights.

You ever fought? Not to the death, or anything. Just fought. For anything.

[helenite]

yeah.

ur right. its the moment.

but then theres another moment u kno ? & another. & ur sitting in the vacuum of space texting about it ?

[rank1]

Yeah. I wouldn't say I hate them, but they're not the same. Maybe that's why some people just cheap out and go buy coke.

[helenite]

comedowns rough on that 2

but 2 get good - rly good - u hav 2 hav the between. right ? rl training doesnt montage

[rank1]

Oh, yeah. That's long-haul shit. Most people never get to a real fight because they can't even commit to training. Those people get cut down so fast they could have just made getting in shape their New Years resolution and gone back to their lives.

[helenite]

ok so humour me. thot experiment:

- guy trains his whole life. super scary. catches flies in midair. but he gets hit by a bus 1 day walking 2 his dojo or gym or w/e

- other guy doesnt put any work in. but he gets lucky. lives thru a few fights, then som1 at his same lvl kills him

which 1s the warrior ?

[rank1]

The first one. Being at the top of your potential and having ambition doesn't mean you're immune to freak accidents. Hell, it's a fucking tragedy. I'd mourn the last fight he never got to have. Carry him with me when I went into a battle of my own. Who knows? Maybe people like us don't rest unless we die in the heat of battle.

But the second guy... luck isn't shit. He's just a loser who got murked by another loser.

[helenite]

so what matters isnt the fight at all then

its the between parts

[rank1]

Fuck no! The guy who didn't get his warrior's death lives like a warrior

every

fucking

day.

There's a bit of that fight in everything he does.