Some Tricky Life Situations

Alright... the Path of Exile community is known for creative builds and strategies so let's see that being applied to some tricky life situations that may seem absurd but actually plausible. More hypothetical situations might be added to this post in the future.

1. The Molester

You are a man. You are in a public area, like in a train or waiting in line somewhere. Along comes this dude, who gives your package a squeeze in full view of everyone. Of course, people can be apathetic so they do nothing but look or pretend like nothing happened. However, they cannot hide their curiosity as to how you'll react. Now what do you do? Most guys would probably beat the crap out of the stranger but you are level-headed - you know that will cause you to get into trouble with the law. However, if you don't do that, you might be seen as a wimp, especially when your co-workers hear about this. You consider calling the police but it would make a scene and the whole situation will be drawn out, especially when the molester runs away and also, you're a very busy family man who has no time for this nonsense. So, what is your solution? Do you say or do something?

2. The Co-worker

You work in an office. You are sociable and generally well-liked. You are well-traveled and love sharing your life and travelling experiences with your co-workers. One day, one of the older co-workers who generally keeps to himself, approaches you...

"Hey. It's nearly payday. I know we don't talk much but I need three-quarters of your monthly salary for the rest of this year, and maybe the next. I've exhausted ALL other avenues of financial help. See, my wife has cancer and treatment is expensive. I have five children to look after too. I know you are single and you don't have any siblings to look after. I know your father died five years ago and your mother died three months ago. I know you have visited almost every country in Europe and I know you are saving for a trip to Bulgaria. I also know you are saving to have LASIK surgery. Why not let all that money go to me instead? Don't be selfish. You're the most well-off here - everyone else is married. And congratulations on the impending promotion."

How do you reject this guy nicely without looking like a jerk/bitch?

3. The Donation Lady

You are a housewife. You regularly drive to the supermarket alone for groceries. One day, there's someone near the entrance, stopping everyone in her tracks to ask for donations for the charity organization she's working for. Sometimes, she even stops people in the supermarket. She stops you one day and you donated the minimum five bucks. The next day you see her again and so you waited for her to be distracted before entering the supermarket. The day after, she stops you again and this time there's no easy escape as you're stuck in long line.

"Hi, would you like to donate? Surely you can afford to donate again, I mean, the kids could always use more. That's a nice diamond ring you got there... Hey, you're a regular here, aren't you? I recognize you behind those Versace sunglasses. I see you driving here in your Mercedes everyday. Anyway, you have kids, I know. Can you imagine if they are suffering like these kids? What's this? Caviar? I wish I could afford sardines. So, please donate, for the kids, yes?"

What will you do?

4. The School Singing Competition

You are a teacher. The student singing competition has been narrowed to just two students. The other students were eliminated by voting but the final winner will be a judge's decision. Your colleagues are assholes - there are supposed to be three judges, you included but the other two went on sick leave and nobody wants to replace them and do something "above their pay grade" and hence, you are the lone judge.

Jenny is one of the finalists. She is well-loved by her schoolmates. Everyone has turned up to support her, signs and all. A year ago, she suffered from flesh-eating bacteria. Since her family was poor, they couldn't afford treatment. However, through a successful crowd-funding effort, and a fundraiser from the school, Jenny underwent a successful amputation of her affected leg. Also, her mother is an active volunteer for the school.

Hasan is the other finalist. His parents are wealthy business-people who recently emigrated from the middle-east. The people from his community have turned up to show their support. His family is prominent in his community for using their wealth to improve the lives of the people. Hasan's father is also known to give generous donations to the school.

The thing is, Jenny can't sing. At all. Your ears hurt when she opens her mouth. Hasan on the other hand, has a beautiful voice, which was probably why many kids voted him without prejudice through all those rounds. Which child will you pick as the winner? And how will salvage your image afterwards?

1. Wouldn't happen in the first place. You either know who is around you or you don't. Someone enters my bubble I'm on red alert.

2. I'm sorry, but if someone, even a good friend of mine came up and said "hey, your family is dead or non-existant and..." is getting punched before another word comes out. You don't just go up to a homeless person and bitch about not being able to eat at a fine restaurant. You don't just go up to someone who has five kids, works two jobs, and just hit a lady while speeding to work about your indecisiveness of what to do with your time.

However, if this person told me all of what's going on in their life but didn't bring up all of the things in my life, whether it's deceased family, personal surgery (even if it's plastic surgery), and other personal things like it's nothing, I would gladly do whatever I could to help them. I'd offer to look at their potential bills, watch their kids, and more.

But there's a second killer in there. "Don't be selfish". Oh, that's almost as bad as the family one. I'm sorry, but if you worked your ass off you would've been the one getting promoted, not me. I'm not shooting up in rank because I've got resources, I've got resources and an upcoming promotion because I bust my ass. I'd tell you about the other things I'm doing, like writing a book, teaching at a school, and more, but you're not worth my time.

3. Oh, I can. But you see, I just donated. To a more reliable source.

4. I would tell the school president that I am incapable of sitting in as a judge. I have doubts about the authenticity of the selection process and thereby will not attend. You will excuse my absence.

4b. On a side note, if I know the president and doing the above would get me in trouble, I would further add: If my absence cannot be excused, you can take this email/letter/memo as a Letter of Resignation. Good day.

Isn't this the "Voight-Kampff" test? Yeah, not falling for that one.

1. I would file a police report.

2. I refer him to 211 or a similar social assistance network navigation service for an organization with better means to provide financial assistance. I'm unwilling to help, but some motherfuckers LOVE helping other fuckers, so why not introduce them to each other?

3. See #2. Except I'd be more terse and less willing to answer questions regarding her seeking such help.

4. Hasan. It's a singing competition, not a pity competition. If anyone tried to shame me for my decision, I'd tell them Hasan's parents are wealthy business-people, known to give generous donations to the school. (This might get gasps as listeners suspect bribery, but I'm not done.) I'd say: "If the situation were somehow reversed, and I believed Jenny had the better voice, she would be the winner, even if it meant the withdrawal of Hasan's family's support for the school. It's a singing competition, not a tragic illness competition, not a financial influence competition, and I judged it as such." The idea is to demonstrate I have nothing to hide, addressing potential rumors directly.

1. Bitch slap.

2. Nope.

3. Nope.

4. Hasan.

"

Upandatem wrote:

Isn't this the "Voight-Kampff" test? Yeah, not falling for that one.

Well, not really. This is more like those decisions you have to make in those Telltale Games and BioWare video games. Difference is, this is real life - there is no wiki for you to assess the ramifications and definite consequences of your moral (or otherwise) choices. I thought it would be interesting to pose some of these situations to the PoE community and see the responses. And yeah, I prefer more possible and plausible situations to extreme ones like the Trolley Problem.

"

ScrotieMcB wrote:

2. I refer him to 211 or a similar social assistance network navigation service for an organization with better means to provide financial assistance. I'm unwilling to help, but some motherfuckers LOVE helping other fuckers, so why not introduce them to each other?

3. See #2. Except I'd be more terse and less willing to answer questions regarding her seeking such help

The office man with a cancer-stricken wife and five children has exhausted ALL avenues for financial assistance. But yeah, you can try to introduce him to such networks. However, he might say "Thanks for referring me to these people but they are pretty stretched thin with so many requests, don't you think? I've already tried with them and all they can do is make me wait real long and provide very little help. What I don't understand is, we are co-workers and you don't need all that money. You can choose not to go to Bulgaria and you can choose to wear glasses or contact lenses instead of having LASIK surgery. So, why not put that money to good use and help my family instead?"

Also, the donation lady doesn't need assistance - she is working for a charity organisation. I'll edit the main post.

1) smack him, no sympathy for molesters
2) even less sympathy for beggers; you want something, earn it
3) I donate / fundraise regularly to charities of MY choice, not giving anything to people asking me for cash
4) it is a singing competition, so vote for the best singer, that is your responsibility as a judge


2 + 3) both people in your example try to use guild tripping to get what they want. extremely low sympathy for people using guild tripping so that alone warrants a NO from me, regardless of anything else

"

Buenomars wrote:

Alright... the Path of Exile community is known for creative builds and strategies so let's see that being applied to some tricky life situations that may seem absurd but actually plausible.

Spoiler

More hypothetical situations might be added to this post in the future.

1. The Molester

You are a man. You are in a public area, like in a train or waiting in line somewhere. Along comes this dude, who gives your package a squeeze in full view of everyone. Of course, people can be apathetic so they do nothing but look or pretend like nothing happened. However, they cannot hide their curiosity as to how you'll react. Now what do you do? Most guys would probably beat the crap out of the stranger but you are level-headed - you know that will cause you to get into trouble with the law. However, if you don't do that, you might be seen as a wimp, especially when your co-workers hear about this. You consider calling the police but it would make a scene and the whole situation will be drawn out, especially when the molester runs away and also, you're a very busy family man who has no time for this nonsense. So, what is your solution? Do you say or do something?

2. The Co-worker

You work in an office. You are sociable and generally well-liked. You are well-traveled and love sharing your life and travelling experiences with your co-workers. One day, one of the older co-workers who generally keeps to himself, approaches you...

"Hey. It's nearly payday. I know we don't talk much but I need three-quarters of your monthly salary for the rest of this year, and maybe the next. I've exhausted ALL other avenues of financial help. See, my wife has cancer and treatment is expensive. I have five children to look after too. I know you are single and you don't have any siblings to look after. I know your father died five years ago and your mother died three months ago. I know you have visited almost every country in Europe and I know you are saving for a trip to Bulgaria. I also know you are saving to have LASIK surgery. Why not let all that money go to me instead? Don't be selfish. You're the most well-off here - everyone else is married. And congratulations on the impending promotion."

How do you reject this guy nicely without looking like a jerk/bitch?

3. The Donation Lady

You are a housewife. You regularly drive to the supermarket alone for groceries. One day, there's someone near the entrance, stopping everyone in her tracks to ask for donations for the charity organization she's working for. Sometimes, she even stops people in the supermarket. She stops you one day and you donated the minimum five bucks. The next day you see her again and so you waited for her to be distracted before entering the supermarket. The day after, she stops you again and this time there's no easy escape as you're stuck in long line.

"Hi, would you like to donate? Surely you can afford to donate again, I mean, the kids could always use more. That's a nice diamond ring you got there... Hey, you're a regular here, aren't you? I recognize you behind those Versace sunglasses. I see you driving here in your Mercedes everyday. Anyway, you have kids, I know. Can you imagine if they are suffering like these kids? What's this? Caviar? I wish I could afford sardines. So, please donate, for the kids, yes?"

What will you do?

4. The School Singing Competition

You are a teacher. The student singing competition has been narrowed to just two students. The other students were eliminated by voting but the final winner will be a judge's decision. Your colleagues are assholes - there are supposed to be three judges, you included but the other two went on sick leave and nobody wants to replace them and do something "above their pay grade" and hence, you are the lone judge.

Jenny is one of the finalists. She is well-loved by her schoolmates. Everyone has turned up to support her, signs and all. A year ago, she suffered from flesh-eating bacteria. Since her family was poor, they couldn't afford treatment. However, through a successful crowd-funding effort, and a fundraiser from the school, Jenny underwent a successful amputation of her affected leg. Also, her mother is an active volunteer for the school.

Hasan is the other finalist. His parents are wealthy business-people who recently emigrated from the middle-east. The people from his community have turned up to show their support. His family is prominent in his community for using their wealth to improve the lives of the people. Hasan's father is also known to give generous donations to the school.

The thing is, Jenny can't sing. At all. Your ears hurt when she opens her mouth. Hasan on the other hand, has a beautiful voice, which was probably why many kids voted him without prejudice through all those rounds. Which child will you pick as the winner? And how will salvage your image afterwards?

Since this is a Path of Exile build creativity type question, here is how those tricky life situtations could be solved:



As a Karui, the dude that grabs you has insulted your mana.

Utu - revenge -is called for, but not now for you are both standing near the sacred fountain, where bloodshed would be tapu. You stare him down, memorizing his face and make sure he knows that what will be coming is worse than death. You lean in close to the punk and as he shivers and shakes, you smell his neck saying, "You reek of fear. I will savor your fate for three days, then there will be no escape."

As a Tūtūā who has had to earn everything he had, you have little patience for those who flinch from the realities of life and admiration for those who stand up to hardships. The two beggars insistance that you and your wife do not need what you have made yours is suggestive that your family will become no greater in number and like a direct curse on your future success, it must be cleansed with Utu.

Having learned trapping from the chieftain's son you recognize that being prepared is half the battle. Having watched the village Tohunga's necromancy, you know that usefulness does not end at death. Suspecting that your coworker and the woman in the supermarket might stalk your family, you patiently wait, and watch while they return to their vehicles and put a GPS tracker on their cars.

The next day you learn that your coworker Ted, is making trips to a very bad part of town. When you research the address - 3112 Wingston Ave, you do a double take at the results. Really? You think, as you learn that a reknowned transplant surgeon who was fired for his addiction to pain killers lives there. You watch the cars come and go from 3112 like flies on a corpse as they people seek the drugs they need.

That evening, you learn that the The begging lady, Margie, likewise spends her gains foolishly, going to the Breaking Winds - a rundown Ezomyte tribal casino, where she stays until stumbling out broke and drunk. Even drunk and disheveled, she looks like she could have been a swimsuit model ten years ago.

..........

When you get up the next morning, and go to grab the newspaper, you notice a letter stuck under your windshield wiper. You look around cautiously before opening it. The letter states:

"I'm not trying to gain an advantage for my daughter, but I don't think Hasan should be allowed to compete. He is much too old for highschool. I'll explain more at the library at noon."

........

Jenny's mother tells you that although Hasan looks very young, his youthful effeminate face is the product of plastic surgeons, and that she has found a video of him competing in a singing duel in Munich ten years ago.

You shake your head, "It could be someone else that looks like him. I can see why you are worried. With a voice like that, I'm surprised he doesn't have a record contract."

"Someone that has the exact same Koura tattoo on their neck?" she shows you the pictures.

When you see the Koura tatoo, - you know. It all comes swirling together like a cyclone during vaal storm season.

You tell Jenny's mother that you will look into it, and with a plan already forming you stride quickly away to head to the airport.

Afterward, you find Margie in the supermarket and when she approaches, you reach into your pocket and drop a $50 Breaking Winds poker chip into her palm. "I know it may sound odd, but I've got a favor to ask, and I need someone I can trust. I can't pay you in cash, but I have $500 in chips now, and another $500 when you are done." You then explain the details to her.

Her eyes look lost for a moment, and you realize she is as vapid as she was once beautiful. Cleavage can only carry a person so far though.

Margie asks, "You can't get your wife to do that for you?,"

You shake your head, "She's out of town for two weeks."

Margie nods. "I'll be waiting in the limo."

She smiles as you hand her a stack of nine more chips.

Although it's getting close to closing time, you head back to the office to finally confront your coworker Ted.

"Ted, if you'll come into my office, I've made a decision. I think you'll like it."

Ted looks shocked, but readily follows and plops down in one of your plush leather chairs and his eyes wander over the intricate carvings that embellish your solid bronze desk.

You close the door and lower the blinds. "Ted, I know you think I cavort all over the world, living the high life, but the the reality is quite different."

Ted crosses his arms. This isn't going the way he had hoped.

"I've looked into your records, and I know you have a problem."

Ted starts to stand up to leave.

"SIT DOWN!" With a strong hand on his shoulder, you force him back into the chair.

"Are you going to tell the boss?," Ted is now cowering.

"I should, but I'm not," you say as you lean back and let your hands rest on the two brass spheres that decorated the corners like bedposts. Whoever had carved the mokai women chained to those orbs was a master artist.

"What are you going to do?," Ted asked.

"When I was fifteen, I spent the summer fishing all day, and drinking all night till I puked and passed out. One of the village elders said I should be fed to the sharks. Another said I deserved a second chance and sent me to glorius Sarn for a week. The time away gave me a new perspective and a fresh start."

"I think you deserve a second chance too." You hold up your hand to keep Ted from trying to talk. "I think you need a vacation, a chance to breathe and clear your mind," you say. "That trip to Bulgaria? I want you to take it. You can use my hotel reservations and my business card to relax for a week.

"Are you trolling me? There's gotta be a catch," Ted replies.

You hand him two tickets to Bulgaria.

"Who else is going? If this is some sort of drug smuggling I'm out."

"Relax, it's nothing of the sort," you reply. "One of the tickets is for an *ahem* "lady friend". Her services are already paid for, so that's an additional bonus. I need a new business partner, though. I'm a liason connecting very wealthy people with very precious resources. Everyone gets something they need and leaves happy."

Ted looks skeptical, so you lay out the details. Ted shrugs, and tries not to look too excited as he nods in agreement.

.........

The next day, Friday evening, the night of the talent competition, you stand by the curve of the high school and watch the students and parents go in.

Jenny's mom drops her off and Jenny hops by you with a smile on her face, "Wish me luck!"

You return the smile and watch the other other cars and people go by. A big black limosine pulls up to the curb and waits.

A gold limo pulls up and you see Hasan dropped off by his chauffeur. The gold car pulls away and Hasan nods to you as he moves toward the school.

"Hasan Aziz?" A buxom blonde woman comes running up.

Hasan can't take his eyes off her bouncing chest. "Yes, that's me." As she gets closer, he realizes her age. What a beauty she must have been once though!

"I'm Margie," the blonde woman leaned over and reached out with her hand, giving Hasan an ample view.

Hasan shook her hand. "What can I do for a beautiful woman like you?"

"I'm supposed to take you to Simon Cowell."

"Here? In town?" Hasan looks skeptical. It was a long shot, but Hasan knew he had the talent to make it if he ever got the chance. This might be it!

"We'll meet him in town, then fly to Bulgaria," Margie held out the tickets.

"I'm not so sure about this," Hasan backed away.

"Suit yourself, Simon will just find someone else. The contract's worth $150,000," Margie put the tickets back in her purse.

"Well..." Hasan shuffled his feet.

"Simon doesn't like to wait, this is your one and only chance at this kid," Margie held out her hand.

Hasan took a deep breath and took her hand.

Margie snuggled in close and hugged him. "You are making the right decision!"

As the two climbed into the black limo, Margie said, "Take us to Mr Cowell,"

Now, it made sense, Ted thought as he started up the limo's engine and pulled away from the curb and headed to Dr Simon Cowell's on 3112 Wingston Ave.

Margie lets out a squeal and a laugh from the back seat, as she pretended to push Hasan's away from her. "What's this lobster tatoo on your neck for?" she asked.

"t's a Koura, a sacred crayfish, not a lobster," Hasan responded as he tried to get his hands loose from hers.

.........

You watch the limo fade off into the traffic, close your eyes and take a deep breath through your nostrils. You can still see the Koura and still smell the fear on that punk's neck.

You wonder if a kidneys really was worth $150,000. If so, 300 grand should be enough temptation to make sure nothing fell through. Trapping the limo with recording devices would make sure Margie and Ted ended up with at least life sentences. Life from death - the tribe's old Tohunga necromancer would approve.