Seven ★ Video

[wasthemaster]

[It's assumed that Draco is around somewhere despite not being on camera immediately, judging by the fact that when the feed starts travelers are greeted with a nice view of a bedroom wall absolutely covered in diagrams, charts, graphs, drawings and notes. Literally every square inch of the wall above the bed is covered in paper marked with random colored pens. It's assumed the rest of the room is set the same way. In the background, anyone listening can hear a coffee maker brewing a new pot.

War's never been one of Draco's favorite things, but the battles in Asgard have made him think of his home world and the situation he's in. He hates thinking about it, but he's started dissecting everything he knows…hence some of the charts that are overlaying some older charts. When Draco begins to speak, he's still out of the line of vision, if only because he can't exactly face the city just yet.]

…I know this man at home who's trying to, more or less, recreate the entire world. A perfect world where everyone's exactly the same and everyone who's considered less than worthy is punished severely if they're not outright killed immediately. [This is bad. This is a bad idea to be bringing this up, but Draco's full of bad ideas and bad decisions lately.] Actually, his favorite method is to torture them severely before sparing them and then murdering them with a flick of the wrist.

But the thing is, despite the fact he's more or less a slit-nosed homicidal freak, he has a large following. Many follow him out of fear, but there are just as many who follow out of loyalty. There are many people who actually, genuinely believe our world will be better if we follow his plan for destruction and reconstruction. It's messy and violent, and yet they go along with it anyway. Funny how that works, isn't it? One has to wonder why. [It's probably for the best that Voldemort's not around to hear that one of his servants is basically disregarding everything he's been taught. But after his last conversation with Jade? Maybe he really doesn't have to be constantly fearing for his life...maybe just every other day.

Let's get to the point, shall we? His hand appears in the frame of video and he's pinning a fresh piece of paper to the wall above the bed. He soon takes out a pen and in a neat, elegant scrawl writes something on the top of the page.

The art of persuasion and manipulation

His hand hovers in midair for a moment before he withdraws it.]

What is the fine line between persuading people and manipulating them? And, as a bonus question, what is the fine line between safety and fear? Sometimes I have to wonder if the rulers of this world aren't any different, what with having to do their bidding without even asking us. And yet we do it anyway because we're told it's better this way. [He knows it's a stretch, but it's still a valid point in his opinion.] As you can see, I've plenty of room on the paper so give me something worth writing.

Comments

[grimorchid]

I like the first response. That persuasion is neutral, where as manipulation is negative. Though I feel like it has the same effect as the argument: A square is a rectangle. Manipulation is just one form of persuasion, though persuasion does not always entail manipulation.

Perhaps manipulation is more "all powerful" as well, as the most recent girl mentioned. A puppeteer manipulates, or gods of fate; politicians persuade.


Not very original of me, picking at what others say. ((A bemused humm.))

[wasthemaster]

Not very original, though the fact that you're agreeing says a lot for the answers themselves. However, I'm curious what kind of argument can be presented if a person were to disagree and say that persuasion always entails manipulation. Persuasion is always preying on someone's weak points to get them to agree, isn't it? How else will you know that they'll listen?

[grimorchid]

I can play devil's advocate just the same. ((Sounds fun, actually. She thinks a moment, and starts.))

Let's say we have a group of gods. No, I don't mean our BELOVED gods of Asgard. I'm taking about an entirely different sort. Omniscent as they are, they pray upon a brother and a sister--and I say brother and sister to make pronouns easier to follow. The brother is a little cooler than his sister, so he always wears sunglasses, even at night. Every night they each can look into the sky and speak with these gods. Because he has his sunglasses, though, he never really speaks with them.

The girl, though, does and they offer her a chance to save the world, IF she listens to them. And only if. She doesn't have to though, they say. She can ignore them just the same and move on her way. But she doesn't. She falls victim to their persuasion and is more than happy to follow.

Later she speaks with her brother and attempts also to persuade her brother to follow her. Her attempts to convince him are honest, and perhaps more than necessary; regardless, because she persuaded him, she did have the intention to make him do what she wanted. Maybe she needed help? Probably, dealing with gods.

And he agrees to it, because she's his sister. In a sense, she's manipulated their relationship in her favour.



So, point being... I suppose with a story like that, two ways to persuade, one with evil intention and one with good. Seems as though both of them were trying to pull strings. So then, the point is there really is no fine line. More examples would be needed to prove its density--or rather, lack there of.

[wasthemaster]

Sounds a bit like the sister's a bit naive in this story.

But it's interesting as an analogy in pointing out that there really isn't a fine line despite many people saying there's a large difference. It's still the same way to meet the same ends.

...that was a very detail-oriented story though.

[grimorchid]

The sister is very naïve, you're quite right.

As someone who rather enjoys stories, I felt it would be wrong to give you a boring analogy. I mean, unless you would have preferred a boring analogy?

[wasthemaster]

To be honest, if it was a boring story I would have tuned it out right from the beginning.

[grimorchid]

Oh, exciting. At least now I know I can entertain an audience of one.

[wasthemaster]

For now.

So. Who are you anyway?

[grimorchid]

Rose. Lalonde.

[wasthemaster]

[...huh. So you're Rose. Got it.]

Draco Malfoy. Always refreshing to see someone who actually wants to look into the difficult questions.

[grimorchid]

Well. The question of manipulation and persuasion is relatively easy. But safety verses fear? I've seen some answers that make sense, yet I feel as if the line there is blurred far too greatly to understand the difference. I'd like to tackle it, yet I find myself reaching more counterexamples than I'd like.

[wasthemaster]

What's an example of a counterexample?

[grimorchid]

Well. My first instinct was just that to feel safe, one cannot feel fear, and to feel fear, one cannot feel safe. But running through scenarios, I'm wondering if maybe in order to feel either, they other must exist. Sort of like chaos and order. ((A pause.)) I mean, just thinking on it, imagine yourself in an impenetrable glass case while something outside smashes against it in attempt to kill you. Yes, you're safe, but there is something unnerving about that sort of situation.

It's just a matter of rooting through possibilities before coming to a kind of fine line that can be defined.

[wasthemaster]

That actually sounds like it'd be a worthy sort of experiment to lock someone in a glass case and see how they're affected. [That was not the point, but that's the point Draco's fixated on.]

[grimorchid]

Not very humane.

And actually, to get accurate and plausible psychological analysis of such effects, we would need to take a large number captive and record all findings, as well as find a way to create an impenetrable force field, and lastly, find the necessary monsters.

Really, you could try, but there's no really effective way to go about it.

[wasthemaster]

You take things far too literally sometimes, don't you, Rose?

[grimorchid]

Sorry, it's been a while since I dusted off my joke books.

[wasthemaster]

And by a while you mean they haven't ever been pulled off the book shelf?

[grimorchid]

Not quite. Maybe that's a good thing though: I could be spitting off one liners right now. Definitely the epitome of hilarity. ((Oh, sweet sarcasm.))

[wasthemaster]

You could be. And of course we would all then be stunned by your wit and humor and surrender to do as you wish. It's actually the perfect plan, why aren't you executing it?

[grimorchid]

Maybe someday I shall; it has a certain draw. One talented jest from my lexicon of gags and it would paralyse an entire mob, their sides burning with laughter. Only the most jocose will survive to join my ranks. Perhaps make them my legion of minions, all dressed in dark robes and purple scarves while handing me crystal ball that I might call upon my powers of mirthful one-liners. The minions would bomb a palace and fill the halls with laughing gas and I would simply comment: Well, that's one way to raise the roof. It sounds like the most jovial and ironic of takeovers.

[wasthemaster]

Are you always so...wordy?

[grimorchid]

Yes. Always.

[wasthemaster]

At least one of you is. Though I'm not sure if that's good, or if that's bad.

[grimorchid]

"One of you"?