Viatorus Atlas Durant (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heirtothearcane) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
nexus_crossings2018-10-23 08:05 pm
heirtothearcane) wrote in nexus_crossings2018-10-23 08:05 pm
Ceremonial curiosity
In the past few years the Nexus has become more of a home for Viatorus than his own world, despite its strange and changeable nature. So then perhaps it is not so odd that he finds himself feeling more comfortable here than there, able to talk to strangers with nary a stutter. Mostly. Though whatever nerves remain they're still a far cry from how he was when he first came here. Now he can sit and think, his head clear and undisturbed by the passers by.
He sits and watches the crowd flow through the streets, shuffling the ring on his ring finger in slow circles. For once he's without a book in hand, not even with a tea nearby. In fact, he looks quite composed for someone so easy to fluster. Perhaps it's the distraction of speculation, for he certainly sounds like he's been mulling over this a while.
"Do you think that ceremonies hold power? Do they influence anything or do you think they're purely symbolic? Are they an expression of hope, or a way of channelling power?"
He sits and watches the crowd flow through the streets, shuffling the ring on his ring finger in slow circles. For once he's without a book in hand, not even with a tea nearby. In fact, he looks quite composed for someone so easy to fluster. Perhaps it's the distraction of speculation, for he certainly sounds like he's been mulling over this a while.
"Do you think that ceremonies hold power? Do they influence anything or do you think they're purely symbolic? Are they an expression of hope, or a way of channelling power?"
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Viatorus starts out of his own thoughts, jumping back into the conversation. "O-Or the… offering. One small bowl of fruit means nothing to a rich family, but so much to a poor one. It's… demonstrative of an attitude towards a ceremony, I think."
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That makes sense but is too simplistic to be at all satisfying.
“However, isn’t it the ceremonial context that is supposed to make a sacrifice, or offering, more meaningful?” His glance falls somewhere down and to the side as he thinks. “What you’re saying can be true too, though. Since the ceremony itself exists within a context...” He looks up again, directing his attention back toward Viatorus. “It seems like it should matter who the participants are and why they care about it. Do you agree?”
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He twists the ring on his finger once, and then rests his hands flat on his legs, staring down in their vague direction. "I think that ceremonies of a religious or magical quality can be considered to be powerful by virtue of being religious or magical. It's the other ceremonies and rituals, or the mundane or secular aspects of them, that I'm uncertain of."
His fingers curl up and then straighten out again. "If the circumstance, their offering, and the participants are all meaningful because the participants believe it to be so… Does that mean any power or influence lasts only as long as their beliefs? Is that, in essence, why there is a ceremony? To affirm a belief so as to ensure it's longevity?"
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He politely ignores the fidgeting, choosing not to even glance at the ring. As much as Johan enjoys acting, an abstract argument is more interesting than pretending to care about someone’s personal problems.
“How does affirming a belief ensure its longevity?”
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Someone willing to be persistently polite is all the kinder for Viatorus. He's not good at hiding his emotions, or lying, but he appreciates when people overlook his tells. Or would, if he knew that's what they were doing.
"If something isn't remembered, it fades into obscurity. Praying every day makes part of your life, and keeps it in mind. Celebrating anniversaries revives the memory of an event, and the feelings and beliefs behind it. Reaffirming something revives it, refreshes it, and keeps it from being forgotten."
[[ooc: Ah, sorry for the delay. Work and a cold left me feeling really drained last week. ;;]]
He flashes a cheerful smile. While not actually interested in politeness, he is incapable of breaking the facade. “There can be such distance between a person’s inner truth and outward appearance.”
If something is forgotten, it disappears. They can agree about that, if nothing else. “What if the belief is based on a lie? Does it matter how many times they affirm it, if they are still going to change their mind as soon as they learn the truth?”
((No problem at all! You take care of you! I hope you're feeling better))
He doesn't think so. No. It can't be so. Deception, with no basis, could never be as strong, as resilient as true belief.
"Sometimes lies become truths. Sometimes people willingly choose a lie over a truth. An illusion. A dream." He goes quiet and thoughtful for a moment, his gaze drifting away until he realises himself and looks to Johann again. "Affirm it enough times and it might become more than a lie."
[[ thank you very much! also -- apologies for johann, lmao. ]]
His expression is simply calm, and he fixes Viatorus with an attentive look. He has seen what lengths people will go to in order to continue believing things that make them feel good. But it is not like he imagines he holds a privileged, objective view of the universe either. A number of his own beliefs are entirely illogical, changeable, and based on delusions. He is aware and does not take them seriously, knowing what they are. He can’t imagine not knowing, and yet so many manage to reach adulthood without ever experiencing any thorough disillusionment. What is that like? His interest is sincere.
((Never apologise for Johann! He's a darling psychopath.))
Drifting thoughts keep dragging Viatorus' gaze away to stare into space. So yet again he snaps back to the present and focuses on Johann. He considers for a moment, and then tilts his head. "Does it matter? If everything about it feels real and affects you in a real way... it might as well be real."
[[ and poor viatorus is exactly the type of innocent cutie he would want to latch onto! ]]
His own responses come quickly, but he keeps his voice quiet, his tone even. “Would you be willing to do that? Affirm what you knew was a lie until everything about it felt real?” He mirrors Viatorus' curious little head tilt. “Even in the face of all contrary evidence?”
((And Johann is doing an excellent job of keeping off of Isidor's radar. Bravo, Johann!))
"Isn't that the kind of question everyone wishes they could say no to? People want to say they're sensible, logical, and smart enough not to be fooled, even by themselves. But… I think… The right lie? The right dream at the right time?"
His eyes slip away and he nods slowly. After a few seconds, he tilts his head at Johann with a little shrug. "How could anyone resist?"
[[ nothing to see here, isidor ]]
People need a little push. The right lie, the right dream at the right time. Then they wake up.
But of course the dreamwalker only understands dreams.
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More softly he adds, "The human mind is an amazing thing. Willpower, too. It's capable of so much we don't understand."
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“It is a little disturbing to think the truth could be so unpleasant that it is worth constructing elaborate lies in order to keep it out. But even if it is, humans are meant to be happy. I’ve always believed that.” He sounds so quietly hopeful and earnest, practically brimming with conviction about the importance of human happiness.
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He goes quiet for a moment, glancing off to the side to watch some random Nexus passersby. Friends laughing, couples holding hands. So much evidence that people are meant to live happy lives. Or so it seems, at least.
“What do you think happiness is?” His eyes flick back to Viatorus, always interested in hearing his thoughts.
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If Johann didn't seem comfortable with the silence between them Viatorus might have felt the need to babble incoherently. Instead he's content to think silently for a minute or two.
"I had been going to say that happiness is peace, but I don't think my sister would be truly happy if everything was calm and peaceful all the time," he explains, a somewhat sheepish smile accompanying his half shrug. "I think… I think happiness might be… Freedom. The freedom and safety to be yourself."
Content enough with this answer, he nods to himself and then tilts his head at Johann. "What do you think happiness is?"
just pretend it is a dinosaur in this random ass icon of johann hugging an iguana
He rests his chin lightly in his palm, deciding to tell a story about one of the Nexus’ other nameless monsters. It is a good, wholesome tale and Viatorus seems the type to enjoy those.
“I met a dinosaur here a couple months ago,” he begins. “An intelligent one, who communicated by scratching words onto the ground. Yet he had no idea what the word ‘friend’ meant. He didn’t even have a name.”
He pauses, giving Viatorus a chance to react to what may seem like an odd digression.
Awww Of course Johann would like Indo
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The sides of his eyes crinkle with a smile. He is fond of Indo.
“Anyway, I think the Nexus will be a good place for him. I imagine happiness is what will be left once the pain and sadness of his former life fade with time, now that he is free and safe. I actually think you summed it up rather well.”
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"I'm glad you helped him, and that he's in a better place now. I hope, once he's healed, he learns to be happy. Sometimes that's the hardest part."
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People (and dinosaurs) still want to be happy anyway. And so they will be. There is nothing remarkable about it, and it all works out well for the nameless monster, who uses that desperate desire for happiness for his own destructive purposes. That is all happiness is to Johann.
“Well, thank you for the interesting conversation,” he says standing, mindful to keep his presence relatively scarce at this stage. As much as he wouldn’t mind picking more at Viatorus’ brain or even hearing about some boring personal problems. Another time, perhaps.
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