oo3 ♛ text ( A N O N Y M O U S + filtered from all starks )

[meant]

( truth be told, despite the fact that the bracelets were entirely new technology and unlike anything alayne has ever seen before, she's been learning. teaching herself in secret, cautious of anything the gods have deigned to give them. through them, she learns a great deal about asgard, or the people of it. petyr would have told her that knowledge is power. knowledge can sway kings and knights alike, regardless of which hand the sword is in.

but today, instead of listening passively, she has a question to pose. one that she has been struggling with for some time now, even before she ever set foot in asgard. but the question is one that she makes sure to pose under no name of her own, hiding behind whatever anonymity the bracelets provide. it wouldn't do to ruin the guise of innocence and guilelessness that she's set out to craft. )

Dear people of Asgard, a moment of your time, if you please. I would like to pose a question for consideration. Any counsel on this matter would be appreciated.

Is there harm in a lie that is kindly meant? If the truth is perhaps unbearable or monstrous. If it is done out of regard, or even love. Surely, such a lie is more merciful if it ensures the happiness of others, is it not? Or if it is told to protect oneself.

( she thinks about robb and knows that she might never tell him the truth. she knows that it might kill him to see what becomes of him, of all of them, and he is suffering so much already. but there are other lies to attend to - her name, her identity. since meeting arya and jon she has foolishly thought -- even for a second, that she could come clean. that perhaps it is not too late. )

( ooc | all replies will be permatext and perma-anonymous. )

Comments

[audio]

[hollowchild]

Sometimes lies are necessary. There's harm in truth, too, sometimes. It's up to you to weigh it.

[text]

[meant]

It is finding the scale which presents difficulty. It is not so easy to know which are necessary, surely?

text;

[integrous]

Those kind of lies are still dangerous. [ this is a subject she feels strongly about - at least she's changed her mind a little about it with the help of her friends, but it's still difficult to accept. ] You don't know for sure whether the truth wouldn't actually make them happier in the end or not, right? Who's allowed to decide something like that?

text;

[meant]

It is not a truth to bring joy to anyone.

( death, and failure, and the dissolution of everything they once had; she cannot see this as anything but horrible. some are things she's done, things that would surely evoke shame or scorn if they were revealed. but to alayne, she knows, or thinks she knows what such revelations will bring.

and she's not convinced that the truth is a good in and of itself. )

text (ooc: is his quirk okay? If not, I don't mind not using it!)

[fishdouche]

humans are far too attached to the fuckin truth in the first place
lie wwhen you havve to lie wwhenevver you just fuckin wwant to
its better to be a liar than a corpse

text; I am completely okay with his quirk!

[meant]

( its better to be a liar than a corpse.

it sounds like a lesson that the hound might have once imparted on her, with that rough language and the brusque practicality of it all. alayne, in turn, takes those words to heart perhaps more than she should. she's always thought it, anyway. it's always been there, at the back of her mind. )

I should thank you for the counsel.

[Voice]

[yamagishi]

It depends but I wonder how they will feel once they find out the truth.

[text]

[meant]

It is my dearest wish that they will never find out.

[Video] | Private

[dragonspeak]

It depends on who you're lying to. Some people would prefer to be left in the dark, while some others would prefer to know the truth.

I liked to a friend of mine--many, many times--to protect him, but it only angered him when he finally found out.

text

[meant]

( she's lied to merlin, too. she's lying to him right now. it feels different, worse almost, to be talking to him under this guise when she knows him. there are no lannisters here, alayne knows. but telling him her true name would make a liar out of her.

she wonders what he might think, but decides that she doesn't really want to know. anonymity is safe, and safety is something she's learned to appreciate over the past few years. something that is hard to come by, even here with the protection of her brothers and all of their swords.

nothing lasts forever, after all. but she's curious, as well - what lie might merlin have told? it's none of her business, a secret that he's welcome to keep, but she's surprised that he's so frank about it. )

And in what manner did he find out?

( she's bolder now, asking questions she might not dare to otherwise. )

text

[caladvwlch]

If you believe there are no other solutions, a 'lie' may be the most noble of gestures. It may be necessary for a leader to lie to his people to maintain control, but the choice is yours if you believe this is a circumstance like such.

text

[meant]

( to maintain control, she says, and alayne knows. she knows that nobles and kings alike lie more than anyone else, that this so-called game of thrones is a perilous thing. the choice then comes down to if she wants to follow in such an example. to become mired in a game that she's already knee-deep in. )

I am no leader, and I have no one under my control. But I do believe in the nobility of this. More than anything.

audio;

[freerunning]

Even if it is so kindly meant, it may do much damage.

I think it may be the burden of both the liar and the one who has been lied to, to determine if it is deserving of mercy.

text

[meant]

I do not ask for mercy. Only a chance for a new start here in Asgard, if the gods are good.

[outoften]

Sometimes, lying is necessary. Doesn't mean it's harmless.

[meant]

What harm could come out of something done to protect another?

( if he finds out, the small voice in her head says. but he won't find out. he can't. and even with the slight amount of power alayne has at her disposal, she won't let that happen. )

text;

[biifurcatiion]

why are you a2kiing when iit 2ound2 liike you already know the an2wer.

text;

[meant]

I thought it wise to seek out the thoughts of others on this matter.

( but she does already know the answer. and so far, no one has prompted her to change her mind. )

text;

[deputychief]

That seems like a well-reasoned case to me. Why do you present it, then?

text;

[meant]

To benefit from whatever knowledge the people of Asgard have at their disposal. I do not claim to know much about this matter.

[perma-anonymous, text]

[tenacityformed]

Can you keep the secret? Protect the lie? Because if not you'd better be prepared for everything to fall apart.

And by that I mean it'll blow the hell up in your face and you'll lose everything and everyone.

[meant]

( you'll lose everything and everyone.

although he can't see it, alayne flinches when she reads those words, because they're what she fears the most. her family, who prized truth more than anything else -- she hesitates before responding. she sucks in a deep breath and stirs whatever courage she has. )

I...don't know what else I can do.

video;

[burping]

So long as it does not affect their life greatly I think it would be fine to keep it. But if it is to protect yourself... then you should keep it.

text;

[meant]

Why is protecting myself of greater importance?

( my lady, alayne wants to add, because the courtesies are important. but here, under the veil of facelessness, she can't afford to give herself away. )

text/video

[circuses]

well they can definitely be told because someone wants to protect you

[ Regina pauses, and switches to video. Somehow her perma-sparkles don't seem particularly appropriate for answering a serious question such as this. She's grown up to learn that much, at least. ]

I mean, my Dad told me stuff that wasn't true. And in the end everything turned out badly for us all...but he wasn't a bad person! No way! [ She still idolises him, even though she now knows he shielded her from the truth about death. ]

text;

[meant]

I suppose that is a father's duty.

( because alayne's father tells her lies all the time, plays her as easily as he plays the nobles of the vale, and alayne accepts this knowledge without protest. sansa's father had refused to lie, and it had destroyed them.

but she doesn't begrudge him for it. )

Do you forgive him?

[audio]

[singlehandedly]

[Male, thickly accented voice. Middle-eastern might sound vaguely like Braavos to her, but who can say. He sounds stern.]

Yes, there is harm in it. If you can see how there is harm in lies, then you should understand this. Truth is not kind, but the protection of a lie will only take anyone so far. And when it fails, and it will, in due time, it will hurt all the more for your mercy.

text;

[meant]

( she flinches for a moment, because he sounds so harsh and he speaks the truth - she knows it is the truth, but what other choice does she have? as cowardly as it is, alayne is grateful for her anonymity right now. )

And the truth? How do I inflict such a thing on someone?

( bolder than anything she might have said otherwise. )