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?

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video | un: graham crackers

[possessum]

( This is the kind of thing Peter thinks about, a lot, and more and more lately. It isn't the kind of thing he'd usually talk about aloud. It'd stay swallowed down safe and secure, along with all of the other things.

But he has been here for over a year now, and things have changed, and he is changing, and perhaps.... talking about it with someone else could offer some help. (For him? For others?) Somewhere along the line.

But he's a nervous presence on the other end of the feed, a tall and thin young man with dark circles beneath his eyes like bruises, and a perpetual discomfort to his disposition. The man who posted this intimidates him, and the subject matter intimidates him, and that probably shows. (The snow leopard also intimidates him. Peter is easily intimidated.) )

Hi. I'm uh, Peter. I've been here a while.

I don't know what to think about them, honestly. Sometimes they help, and sometimes they make things a lot worse. I try not to get too close. I don't ask them for things or give them things, and I try... not to think about them too much. It seems like uh... intention matters? To things like them.

( Something shifts in his features, a slip of fear. Peter is far closer to "things like them" than he would like to admit. )

....Mine's connected to something really bad, to one of the most dangerous parts of this place. I don't know what that means for me. Why he's the one I'm supposed to be connected to, here. ...It scares me.

( A pause, hesitant. It's a personal question, but it's not one that has to be carried further, if the man doesn't wish. )

Have you learned which one is yours, yet?

[anbaric]

[ asriel considers all the information he's given and files it all away, but a few of these testimonies stand in his mind for a particular reason. unfortunately for peter, it's his fear. everyone else has mostly been indifferent or accepting.

stelmaria settles down with her front paws outstretched like a sphinx, sparing peter the intensity of her piercing eyes as she lets them slide closed. she seems perfectly at ease despite asriel's interest; the rhythmic twitching of her tail is the only suggestion to the contrary. ]

Which one is yours, and what makes him so dangerous? My Patron is Never Mind. I spent my entire life fighting so that knowledge would always be accessible to everyone seeking it, so it's no surprise that we should be connected.

[possessum]

Mine's the Tower. ( Even saying the name aloud makes him visibly on-edge, and the simple word comes out sounding a little foreign against his tongue, like he doesn't often voice it. Because he tries not to; Peter's painfully aware there's a certain power in a name. If that even is the Patron's true name. It could actually be a title, the way Paimon wears titles to conceal his true name when he needs to. )

There's these things here, called the Zealots. They're... not human. Don't even look human anymore.

( Peter fidgets, fingers brushing restlessly against themselves. He can't control the fear, the way it ripples up under his skin like the whisper of a ghost, keeps his voice strained. )

They kidnap people. Take them into the Tower, do... terrible things to them in there. They need to make... sacrifices? ( There's a wince. ) And he's where they do that. They're one of the most horrible things about this place.

I guess it kind of freaks me out, being connected to something like that.

[anbaric]

It is no reflection on you, of course.

[ stelmaria is always the one between them to offer a considerate word. at the mention of zealots, asriel's expression darkens instead. different place, different gods, same old thing. ]

I don't think you should fear this Tower, although I understand why you would. It should be a choice whether someone shares a bond with something outside themselves or not, and you have been saddled with something awful.

Still, it's just a thing living in the world as we are, you know? The scale and power of an enemy eventually mean nothing when you know how he works, and you can take him apart.

That's what I'm trying to learn.

[ he says it with the certainty of having succeeded once. mostly. ]

[possessum]

( Peter looks up to the Omen as she speaks, and while it's still intimidating to find one's self face-to-face with a snow leopard (even if through the screen of an Omni), there's a quiet flutter of gratitude at the words. It's good to hear. It's what he's been wanting to hear for a very long time.

But the flutter flickers towards another feeling, one that sinks and pulls and has his mouth slowly tugging down at the corners. He keeps listening to the pair of them, to the man speak up again next, and... oh. 'It should be a choice whether someone shares a bond with something outside themselves or not'

Peter feels a pinch in the hollow of his throat and swallows, fingers restless against the edges of his jeans. He realises he'll have to say more. Give more... context, if he's going to truly be helpful in the way that matters, here. )

Honestly, I think it might be. A uh. Reflection of me. ( Said hesitantly, like a confession. ) Back in my world, something... happened to me. It has to do with... ritual, sacrifice. All those same kinds of things. I think that's maybe why... why I'm connected to him here, instead of one of the others.

( He can't pretend otherwise, even if it's uncomfortable to voice aloud. But the man's words give him pause. )

You're trying to learn how to take them apart? Even yours?

...Do you mean kill them?

[anbaric]

Well, you're quite the easy choice then, aren't you? It's simple when the sacrifice is literal. You fit a set of criteria.

[ a dismissive wave of the hand accompanies his words, which is all the mind he thinks anyone should pay the matter. ]

If you're a Pthumerian who has taken an interest in meddling with people, you might choose the ones that interest you the most, don't you think?

[ he's direct because it looks very simple to him, all laid bare and logical how he likes it. the best remedy for fear and uncertainty in his opinion, although anyone who might have ever hoped for a kinder tone would probably disagree. ]

I want to understand their power. I assume my Patron would not oppose my seeking out that knowledge, but I don't expect to be handed the answers directly either. Killing them is one final option, of course, but it would be enough to free ourselves from their influence.

[possessum]

( Peter pauses, eyelids giving a soft, staggered flutter at the words.

It makes sense. What this man says, and how. Laid out just like that. 'you're quite the easy choice then, aren't you'

It's strange to hear someone else say what he's maybe been thinking this whole time, what's been brewing within him. But it isn't easy to hear it. It churns in his gut, feels like an uncomfortable amount of small, slimy, living things. It makes his throat slick and nauseated, makes the perpetual chill to himself feel icier still. The reaction is probably painfully visible, but Peter's not necessarily trying to hide it. He's past that point by now. Fear is his almost constant state. )

Y-yeah. I think so too. ( He agrees, maybe too easily. Maybe other people would fight against that claim. Or try to. Peter won't. Even if it hurts to nod to it, to admit that he thinks the man's said exactly how it is. That he was chosen by this thing.

He's thrown off-guard by it, enough that it takes him a few moments to process the rest. The man seems so assured, so calm, about all of this, a stark contrast to himself. When he replies, it's still nervous, but Peter has spent some time thinking about this. )

Their power... I don't know how all of it works, but.... sometimes I wonder if they're trying to change us. They cause Corruption — not always, but... a lot. And Corruption is how this world functions. Maybe they need us to be Corrupt. To change.

[anbaric]

Good.

[ he's pleased with that easy agreement because people unquestioningly agreeing with him is the ideal state of affairs in asriel's mind. all the same, he can recognise that none of this is actually as easy as it might sound, but he has greater respect for someone who is afraid but faces it anyway.

surely this leisurely confidence won't ever come back to bite him (haha), but for now, he has no reason to doubt. approached with an open mind, asriel is sure the work will yield the answers. ]

You may be on to something there. Corruption also leads to Beasthood, but perhaps the difference lies in being shaped by one's own monstrous impulses versus being groomed for a purpose. My understanding is that little remains of what one used to be in either case.

[ it's not a theory he can discuss without looking disgusted. he has a few reasons to object to the idea of being changed for anything else's sake.]