That's a peculiar question . . . it seems to me you're thinking of one thing that marks us out as different from our peers. Honestly, though, if I had some characteristic like that, I wouldn't tell you about it. I hope that doesn't offend you.
In any case, I've been here long enough to wonder, across all the worlds that exist, how much really qualifies as unique. I've been on a team with a boy who turns into a snake, and a talking pigeon, and . . . well, whatever Saya is. I've met telepaths and magical girls, rulers and witches and even a few gods. People who are kind and forceful and lazy and--absolutely insane, to be honest. I couldn't say--even the things that I still feel . . . separate me from the rest of humanity . . . those feelings might be wrong. It's possible I simply haven't yet met the people who share those experiences.
So there's no single thing about myself I could confidently state as unique. But I still don't think I'm like anyone else--it's everything I've done and been that sets me apart. I've lived on a ship that's an island. I've helped save the world. I'm an information-gatherer and a strategist, and I'd challenge anyone to prove themselves better than me. I've been on a team that shouts stupid catchphrases, and one that once chopped their heads off just to prove a point.
I've dismissed kindness and heroics, and--in time, come to understand their value and power. And I'm not very nice, but I think, in a world apparently full of naive, soft-hearted idiots, that there's some value in that, too.
How have your life experiences before Aather made you special?
. . . our experiences, I think, create understanding. Of problems that are similar to those we have faced in the past, or simply a greater appreciation of what is important and true. Ah, I suppose that's pretty vague. I'll give you an example, if you want.
I said that I'd helped save the world. My--comrades and I turned back something much like the Darkness from ours. It's the last thing I remember. When our own strength was insufficient, we turned to gods, and we pitted our strength of will and our world's power against the forces of fear and despair. And we did it all without having to resort to games in which people are forced to kill one another. Your fellow Personae's spells have made that complicated, but when I say there has to be a better way, I'm not speaking out of idle naivete. I know for a fact that there is one.
How do you think people would react if you told them about your past? How did they react if you did tell them?
Information isn't free, you know.
. . . a more, hmm, direct way of putting that would be to say--I haven't told anyone about my past for quite a while, although sometimes they've found out despite my best efforts. I'm not about to start now, but perhaps I can answer the question I believe you're asking.
If you're wondering if people here will hunt or hurt you for your secrets, I sincerely doubt that they will. Maybe if you run dangerous games. If--you're afraid that they might dislike you, abandon you, perhaps . . . I can't speak to that as easily. Undoubtedly some people will. But I have been continually surprised astounded, in fact by the capacity of people to ignore or overlook all sorts of things in the interest of continuing to befriend someone they've liked. I've known people who had murderous urges, or who caused the apocalypse, apparently, somehow, or who were--frankly, completely unhinged and awful. In no case were any of these people completely un-cared for.
Murderers, too. Very popular, those murderers. You'd be surprised.
My point is that you can be a number of rather unpleasant things and still manage to find people who care about none of them. And that no secret you might hold should prevent you from forming whatever circle of support and affection you desire.
(I can only recommend marshalling such a circle, by the way. It opens a number of doors, provided you're clear-sighted enough to notice that they've appeared.)
Do you feel that any of these things are something your team wouldn't understand? Why or why not?
My team is a collection of individuals, subject to continuous change. Not everything I do revolves around them. But as for the current set . . . some are too new for me to know what they might or might not understand. Others don't seem to understand much, although I wouldn't claim that their comprehension of the important things is particularly lacking.
. . . lack of understanding isn't rejection, you realize. Even if it's never, or can't be, bridged. It's nothing more than what it is. I wouldn't say--that understanding is necessary for compassion, either. You can be extraordinarily stupid and kind at the same time.
Re: JASPER
That's a peculiar question . . . it seems to me you're thinking of one thing that marks us out as different from our peers. Honestly, though, if I had some characteristic like that, I wouldn't tell you about it. I hope that doesn't offend you.
In any case, I've been here long enough to wonder, across all the worlds that exist, how much really qualifies as unique. I've been on a team with a boy who turns into a snake, and a talking pigeon, and . . . well, whatever Saya is. I've met telepaths and magical girls, rulers and witches and even a few gods. People who are kind and forceful and lazy and--absolutely insane, to be honest. I couldn't say--even the things that I still feel . . . separate me from the rest of humanity . . . those feelings might be wrong. It's possible I simply haven't yet met the people who share those experiences.
So there's no single thing about myself I could confidently state as unique. But I still don't think I'm like anyone else--it's everything I've done and been that sets me apart. I've lived on a ship that's an island. I've helped save the world. I'm an information-gatherer and a strategist, and I'd challenge anyone to prove themselves better than me. I've been on a team that shouts stupid catchphrases, and one that once chopped their heads off just to prove a point.
I've dismissed kindness and heroics, and--in time, come to understand their value and power. And I'm not very nice, but I think, in a world apparently full of naive, soft-hearted idiots, that there's some value in that, too.
How have your life experiences before Aather made you special?
. . . our experiences, I think, create understanding. Of problems that are similar to those we have faced in the past, or simply a greater appreciation of what is important and true. Ah, I suppose that's pretty vague. I'll give you an example, if you want.
I said that I'd helped save the world. My--comrades and I turned back something much like the Darkness from ours. It's the last thing I remember. When our own strength was insufficient, we turned to gods, and we pitted our strength of will and our world's power against the forces of fear and despair. And we did it all without having to resort to games in which people are forced to kill one another. Your fellow Personae's spells have made that complicated, but when I say there has to be a better way, I'm not speaking out of idle naivete. I know for a fact that there is one.
How do you think people would react if you told them about your past? How did they react if you did tell them?
Information isn't free, you know.
. . . a more, hmm, direct way of putting that would be to say--I haven't told anyone about my past for quite a while, although sometimes they've found out despite my best efforts. I'm not about to start now, but perhaps I can answer the question I believe you're asking.
If you're wondering if people here will hunt or hurt you for your secrets, I sincerely doubt that they will. Maybe if you run dangerous games. If--you're afraid that they might dislike you, abandon you, perhaps . . . I can't speak to that as easily. Undoubtedly some people will. But I have been continually surprised astounded, in fact by the capacity of people to ignore or overlook all sorts of things in the interest of continuing to befriend someone they've liked. I've known people who had murderous urges, or who caused the apocalypse, apparently, somehow, or who were--frankly, completely unhinged and awful. In no case were any of these people completely un-cared for.
Murderers, too. Very popular, those murderers. You'd be surprised.
My point is that you can be a number of rather unpleasant things and still manage to find people who care about none of them. And that no secret you might hold should prevent you from forming whatever circle of support and affection you desire.
(I can only recommend marshalling such a circle, by the way. It opens a number of doors, provided you're clear-sighted enough to notice that they've appeared.)
Do you feel that any of these things are something your team wouldn't understand? Why or why not?
My team is a collection of individuals, subject to continuous change. Not everything I do revolves around them. But as for the current set . . . some are too new for me to know what they might or might not understand. Others don't seem to understand much, although I wouldn't claim that their comprehension of the important things is particularly lacking.
. . . lack of understanding isn't rejection, you realize. Even if it's never, or can't be, bridged. It's nothing more than what it is. I wouldn't say--that understanding is necessary for compassion, either. You can be extraordinarily stupid and kind at the same time.