video; un: polaris

[anbaric]

[ asriel has been described as an imposing figure, and the harsh lighting in this place does nothing to dispel that. it's a spacious room, and what light there is seems swallowed by the darkness of the shadows. the lamp on the desk beside him provides most of what there is, and it also illuminates the mess of books and papers he did not bother to tidy before making this.

his snow leopard daemon sits calm and still at his side, all except for her tail sweeping back and forth. there are the sounds of ravens chattering nearby unseen, but as the cat seems more attentive to asriel, they don't seem to be the cause of her anticipation. ]

I am Lord Asriel Belacqua. Few of you will know me, as I only recently found myself in this world, which is why I am here now.

For various reasons, I am interested in the pthumerians, but my research will take time and is more limited in some areas than I would like. I would rather hear it from the rest of you since the people alive here right now are more relevant than the opinions of authors who may no longer be with us. Do you consider them friends or foes? What role does their presence play in your lives? Do you approve of their influence on you? Consider me taking a neutral stance, so all sides have value; if it is worth mentioning, I would hear of it.

[ it's intended to be some encouragement to those who might wonder if their information isn't important enough (because it is), but asriel being asriel means it comes out sounding more like a command. ]

You needn't answer all the questions either, just whatever you like.

[ yes, the snow leopard talks too, but stelmaria's manner manages to be gentler, at least. ]

Given the implications of the illness problem, now seems an appropriate time for an exchange of information, don't you think?

Comments

[lightthedarkness]

[It's more that Usagi is a ditz and less that she's childish. Though she IS that, too.]

Even if we could research the Pthumerians for a thousand years, I don't know that you would get anything terribly precise.

Intentions do matter more, yes. I've met plenty of friendly demons here who have no intention of causing pain or torment, and I've met plenty of... well I don't know that I've met an angel but I've met people who claim to be outstanding and good and are more than happy to abandon everyone and anyone for their own gains.

Intention matters, though it does have to be weighed with the results. What's the expression, good intent and hell or something like that? Anyway, there's something to be said if something is malicious but that person truly doesn't KNOW it's malicious or was going to result in something bad versus someone who was fully aware and did it anyway.

And like I said, we don't even know if they control the zombies or spirits or whatever else running around here anyway. Those were separate from the control of the gods back home.

[anbaric]

But you will still know plenty of things you didn't know before you started, so there is always value in doing the work.

[ asriel might have a difficult way about him, but he's an optimist at his core. a challenge makes it more interesting and any knowledge gained is worth the effort. ]

Weighing intent against the results is the best way of it, in my opinion. Not every choice in life has the benefit of being an easy one and some things must be done.

[ and the end has always justified the means, but he doesn't care if people look at him favourably. it's more important that she's thinking for herself. ]

"Zombi" means something specific in my world, but they were creations of men. I doubt most things in this world need guidance from the Pthumerians to do their worst.

[lightthedarkness]

But it's so much work! [And she is absolutely a lazy person if allowed to be (she is not, in fact, allowed to be).]

Oh, I know. [She's made some incredibly tough decisions in her life, make no mistake.] But that's why I said intent matters.

Okay well, zombie here means "dead dead dead corpse now suddenly walking around trying to eat you or tear you apart." Is that the same thing for you?