The Final Test for Shojo

[Holy_Knight]

Okay, this post is based on two suppositions:

1) That Shojo is resurrected, and so has a chance to do anything at all.

2) That Miko is willing and capable of atoning for killing him.


So the question is: If both of those things come to pass, what will Shojo do?

Here's what he ought to do:

--Admit his own wrongdoings, and forgive Miko.

In a lot of ways, Shojo had it coming. I don't mean that Miko was right to kill him, but Shojo himself is in large part responsible for it happening. He was the one who called her to be a paladin in the first place, and he knew what she was like emotionally. He set up a web of deceit which continually resulted in not only placing Miko in unnecessary danger, but severely raised the likelihood that things would end in tragedy. Because of his moral lapses and shortcuts, he engendered a situation which once discovered, would call into question his loyalties. He was in many ways, the architect of his own destruction. Was he a good person? In general, yes, he was. But he screwed up, big time. Is Miko responsible for her evil act? Yes, she is. But Shojo is far from blameless. He made Miko what she was, and if he is brought back to life, the question arises what he's going to do about it. On that note, allowing Miko a chance at reconciliation would be redemption not just for her, but for him, too. Can he demonstrate through his actions that he really was working for the greater good? That he truly did care about the paladins who served him, despite the abuses he put them through? To acknowledge his own role in Miko's eventual descent and fall? Or will he condemn her just as she did him, showing once and for all that his self-righteous "greater good" morality was just as flawed as the paladin code that he criticized? He may never get the chance to decide. But if he does, it's time for him to man up.

[Morty]

Well, you make a good point, but I have one objection:
First, where it's said that Shojo made Miko what she is now? Shojo took her away from monastery and made her paladin, but I don't think we could blame Shojo she became complete zealot even before she has gone insane.
And besides, I think that was one of the situations where no matter what you do, it'll end up in disaster. If Shojo was honest to the paladins, he would have been murdered. And governing a city according to paladin code is one of the worst ideas ever.

[BardicLasher]

The question of forgiveness still says a lot. If Shojo is rezzed, he should perfectly understand why Miko killed him. Because it's PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE. Yes, she jumped to conclusions, but based on her information... Look, the point is, Shojo's final words were a snarky comment about her getting whatfor when Miko killed him. He serioulsy hurt Miko, and she became uber mad...

And yet when she kills him, when she gets pissed, even when he claims to be worried about her, he's just "You're nuts. Stop being nuts."

From what I gather, Shojo was her father figure, her master, her LIFE... And he hurt her bad. If he can't bring it to himself to forgive her if she tries to atone, well... Maybe she shouldn't be trying to atone at all. Maybe all the things he said to her really DON'T matter.


And yes, yes, Shojo had good reason to lie to his paladins... But even when he's talking to Hinjo, he shows very little guilt about it, and that's just a small comment. At the very least, SOMEWHERE in those three pages should have been "I'm sorry I lied."

[Erk]

Well, to be fair, in 406 he was probably in a bit of emotional shock. He may be a master at lieing consistently, but he is not used to being caught and has not had much time to practice. And he was hit with a lot at once. In 407, he was kinda chopped in half and bleeding to death out of most of his torso cavity. That does funny things to one's brain... oxygen deprivation for starters.

I would like him to apologise for lieing to Miko. If she is to accept a new life (I hope she doesn't attone or turn evil, I just want her to start being who she was all along), she needs to get past her demons, and that is a good start. I don't think Shojo is coming back to life, but he may be coming back to say goodbye in spirit.

[Alfryd]

Was he a good person? In general, yes, he was. But he screwed up, big time.True. But I severely doubt he'll be coming back in short order. Drama kills like that don't get undone by normal means. The laws of plot demand they have lasting significance.

He made Miko what she was...We don't know the extent to which he took deliberately cultivated her character traits, but he certainly took full advantage of them. She asked no inconvenient questions and got the job done, no matter what the obstacles. A perfect soldier for a ruler who doesn't want his motives too closely inspected and has frequent business outside his usual jurisdiction.

First, where it's said that Shojo made Miko what she is now?Apparently, Shojo chose Miko from among the others in the Dojo, and given she cried her first night away from home she may not have been too happy about it. He then explained her purpose there, which seems to have defined her function in life. In addition, he seems to have been in the habit of sending Miko on long, difficult, secretive solo missions without backup, where things like 'diplomacy', 'tact' and 'due process' have limited usefulness, but 'quick judgement', 'efficiency' and 'termination with extreme prejudice' are typically vital.
Maybe Miko preferred those types of missions. But Shojo should have done more to address her 'instability,' signs of which were seemingly evident before her encounter with the OotS, rather than taking the path of least resistance by keeping her at arms length, out of the hair of the other paladins. And maybe she had secret misgivings about her role which she could hardly debate with a leader she believed to be senile.

From what I gather, Shojo was her father figure, her master, her LIFE...We know she had some fondness and reverence for him, but we can't say exactly how far her attachment went. That's the thing that bugged me about 406. If she's genuinely angry with Shojo for lying to and manipulating her, enough to have her rationalise his execution as imperative, she doesn't have to dress it up with charges of high treason- that can come later. She can just say so- she has every right to be aggrieved. Instead, she's bathed in sudden icy calm.

[Jayabalard]

If Shojo is rezzed, he should perfectly understand why Miko killed him. Because it's PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE.
Not really... not even imperfectly understandable.

[Baxter Konrad]

Shojo has, in my opinion, nothing to answer for.

The Paladins are Paladins. It is their role to march around and make sure everyone is Lawful and Good, and smack people around when they aren't.

Shojo, as he said, is a ruler. In order to Rule, you must make decisions, decisions which are not clear-cut, not black-and-white, and most certainly not determined entirely by the use of "Detect Evil".

To quote myself (Baxter Konrad) from a D&D campaign...
"Who are you to judge me, you who have never walked my path? You stand there with your 'morals' and your 'ethics' and your 'laws', but I'm the one who risked my life so you could live. It's all well and good to sit on a high-horse and preach at me, but when it comes down to it, I was the one in the press, I'm the one who had the choice to make, and I made it. You don't have to like it, but you're ignorant if you honestly think what I did was wrong. I'm not proud of everything I did, but I am proud of what it accomplished..."

[archon_huskie]

Not really... not even imperfectly understandable.
If it is perfectly understandable to slay the leader of a country on the basis of that leader not being truthful . . . think about how that would work in real life. How many politicians would one slay? More importantly, how quickly would the Secret Service, FBI, military, and police forces descend uponthe would be murder? Doesn't really sound understandable now does it?

[chibibar]

Shojo is not a paladin. He is an aristocrate. His job is to protect the city. Shojo is doing what he knows best. Even the greatest of leaders do what they think it is best. Maybe his lies did cause for his death (in this case it is) but in a way, his lies also "cheated" death many time from other power hungry aristocrate (who are probably not Paladins since they hire assassin to try to kill Shojo, that should also be an evil act)

I personally think it is hard (not impossible) for a true Paladin to run a city. A person like Hinjo who doesn't have a stick on his butt would rule with just while Miko (same paladin right?) with different mentality would probably rule with an iron fist. I know it was a joke but I can totally see Miko putting someone in jail for 3 months for removing matress tags.