+iny ©at people

i dont think endangering and traumatizing someone to prove a point that amounts to a self-fulfilling prophecy is a lack of tact.

Our lack of tact led to Fern leaving in the first place. If Fern hadn't left, that wouldn't have happened.

we're our own antagonists here, the biggest danger we're up against is our own mistakes.

Correct. Which is why we need to stop making them.

what happened isn't something we can cover up, it's not something we're going to come back from. we've really fucked it here, and the only way this won't come back to bite us is if we're absolutely open and honest towards windy and fennel.

You seem to be under the impression I don't want to be open and honest, which is false. I am simply saying that we need to be careful how we word it. Frankly, your suggested letter sounds like the pleading of an abusive husband trying to get their wife to take them back. I doubt it will be well received.

they need to know that we've fucked up, that we're going to keep fucking up, that they need to rely on their own moral judgement because we are many and we are deeply flawed, and that a significant part of us wants to see them succeed.

As I stated before, we've already told them all of this. Kids don't like being told the same thing over and over when they already know it. It's annoying. Let them process things on their own.

even tossing all compassion out the window, thinking about this in the coldest way possible, you have to keep in mind that if we lose windy and fennel, it's over, there's no way forward-

This statement is false. We can still create more TCPs even if we lose the 3 we currently have. It would be a tactically disadvantageous position, but looking at it in the coldest way possible, we do not strictly need them. We could create new ones with no knowledge of our faults, and begin again with a clean slate, knowing what not to do. In fact, in some ways, that would be an easier situation to manage. But I don't think any of us want that.

Just remember that want and need are two different things.

we must fight for them, even against ourselves, or they will leave. what happened with fern is severe and they will find out one way or another

Which is why we need to consider our response more carefully, as I've already stated.