bjornwilde (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bjornwilde) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ways_back_room2015-01-15 05:58 am
bjornwilde) wrote in ways_back_room2015-01-15 05:58 amEntry tags:
DE: Kinda, maybe, sorta
What has your character learned about lying?
bjornwilde) wrote in ways_back_room2015-01-15 05:58 am
no subject
On a personal level, it's something he doesn't bother with much because he's got enough self-confidence to stand by the truth. The biggest exception is with the missus because wow, no one wouldn't lie to avoid an earful, and stay out of trouble.
ETA: Of course, I've just remembered his entire life, world and existence is a lie he created, and is unaware of himself, so chalk him up to Valjean's 'hey, lies can ruin everything' club. :\
Javert - has learned that the world does not necessarily fall apart if you tell one, but the fact that he has now - just one - still weighs heavily on him. Also that to lie, possibly, might occasionally have more virtue than a truth. He remembers a nun who had taken a vow never to speak a lie, and everyone knew never had - well, she told a lie to save Valjean. It was her he mirrored when he spoke his own untruth. But he doesn't like to think about it, because it makes his head hurt and his soul ache. Javert...not a good liar, and will attempt never to do it again.
Valjean - knows well that they're a necessary evil. He understands that lies can sometimes be kind, and he knows they can save lives and maintain freedom. The last twenty four years of his life have been nothing but a lie, on one level, but it's necessary to protect a truth. The facade keeps a shelter around Cosette.
He is also shatteringly aware that the lie can ruin lives as well as protect. Hence the end of canon, and yay, everything I get to write this weekend. \o/
no subject
*head on desk*
no subject
...oh wait, no. No it's not. Ahaha. *facepalm*
no subject
no subject
no subject
...You know, the guys who all die together. Punning. As you do. Merry lighthearted fare!
(agh but I'm looking forward to your weekend writing so much and then also I think I need to go buy a tearbucket.)
no subject
Oh yeah, until there's all those bayonets and bullets and blood streaming down the gutters, and beautiful groups of bestest buds all dying together yay. D:
(Heh, thank you! I don't even know how to convey that much augh, but I'll try.)
no subject
Continuing a lie beyond the point of necessity is not something she is okay with. She still does not understand why her father did not pull her aside when she was old enough to manage discretion and tell her the truth about the Vault and the Overseer and where they came from, or at least tell her the truth about his plans to leave before men with guns came into the picture. Safety for a child she understands; keeping an adult in ignorance by massive deception she doesn't.
She is still trying to work out how to tell her husband the truth about Milliways. She's never actually lied to him about the place, but she has orders not to let other people in the Brotherhood know that she has access to resources that might put the high Elder in an awkward position if he didn't make a move to claim them, so she's never bothered to counter the rumors that she's in contact with an underground civilization of mole people. Once things are finished in Philadelphia and she's worked out how to pass the request through the chain of command without raising even more questions, she'll ask for the okay to clarify things to Jerald, but right now she's bound by orders not to tell him the truth, and she's getting more uncomfortable with that pretty much every day.
no subject
no subject
Cassandra: What made you write about Hawke? All your other books are complete fiction.
Varric: Someone had to set the record straight about the Champion.
Cassandra: Yet your book is still full of lies.
Varric: Ah but true ones! That's important!
Solas: By the end of Hard in Hightown, almost every character is revealed as a spy or traitor.
Varric: Wait, you read my book?
Solas: It was in the Inquisition library. Everyone but Donnen turned out to be in disguise. Is that common?
Varric: Are we still talking about books or are you asking if everyone I know is a secret agent?
Solas: Are there many tricksters in dwarven literature?
Varric: A handful, but they're the exception. Mostly they're just honoring the ancestors. It's very dull stuff. Human literature? Now there's where you'll find the tricky, clever, really deceptive types.
Solas: Curious.
Varric: Not really. Dwarves write how they want things to be. Humans write to figure out how things are.
There's also the fact that the entirety of Dragon Age 2 is framed as Varric telling Cassandra Pentaghast about what happened with his friend Hawke and how he doesn't know where she's gone; in game 3 Cassandra gets a few good scenes where she flips her lid after finding out that despite her stabbing his book and threatening him and so on and so forth, Varric did not, in fact, tell her the truth about matters in that regard. I do not consider this a spoiler because... well. I can't find an exact transcript, but if you're in a conversation with Cassandra in game 3 about questions of faith and suchlike, at one point Cassandra will say something to the effect of "Did you know Varric is an Andrastian? He deceives with every second breath, but his heart is righteous." Also if you choose the dialogue wheel option when talking to Varric to ask him about himself, he'll tell you that he's your dwarf, but he's also prone to outrageously self-serving lies, so ask away.
Long story short, this is not a dwarf to talk with if your character is made uncomfortable or cranky by lies, untruths, deception, etc.
no subject
no subject
Tybalt: Lies are fun and make great stories. They can protect one's self and those one cares for, but should never be used maliciously. Guard your tongue against using them against your friends, even when you think you are protecting them.
Selina: To be really good at lying you have to learn your tell. Once you know that, you can say anything with a straight face. Watch people's eyes when they are telling you things that seem important. People think that the tone of voice or body language is what gives away a lie, but it's really the eyes. Never give cops the whole truth, always keep something for yourself.
Sam: You have to be very careful with lies cause you can start believing them, especially the ones we tell to ourselves and those we tell about ourselves. Still, you can learn a lot about people by what they lie about. Most often what they fear the most or care about them most.
Andrea: Lies grow and take over your life; thus be damned sure the lie is worth the telling or living.
Ethan: Lies are like a change of clothes. Some times it's good to try them on but make sure they fit the climate you find yourself in.
Quinlan: Lies can lead to information but should never stand between those you love and trust.
no subject
no subject
He's also really really bad at lying -- although okay at diplomatic omission, at least sometimes -- and not all that great at seeing through lies, although it depends on who's lying to him about what. He's aware of the former, and somewhat aware of the latter but not as much as he should be.
Enjolras believes in truth and Truth with all the fervor of an idealist written by a 19th century Romantic, so that's a whole lot. Relatedly, he's not very good about lying about his emotions or how he feels or what he believes -- nor does he want to be, because the very idea is anathema to him -- and his feelings tend to show on his face, although he can blank it out to a polite reserved mask if he needs to.
However. He's also a leader of an extremely illegal revolutionary cell in a time and place where free speech wasn't much of a thing, and he got to be a leader by being trustworthy and capable. He can do the polite reserved mask, he can lie by omission, and he can and will lie about facts. But he'll do that to protect others, one way or another, not to make things easier for himself.
Cosette is another with a pretty open face. But she's definitely capable of lying, at least to the extent of "Gosh, Dad, I don't know who that guy is, just some dude who hangs around the park sometimes I guess! Why?" about her secret boyfriend.
This... is also an I learned it from you, Dad! situation even though she doesn't consciously realize it. :/ Cosette's life with Valjean has taught her that he's absolutely dependable and devoted, that she'll always be taken care of, and to never ask hard questions or expect them to be answered or talk about serious quandaries she's struggling with, because Valjean doesn't talk about any of that ever either and she doesn't really have other models. Her uncle was a lot more cheery and chatty, but I don't think he talked about serious stuff with her either, and the nuns who'd mostly vowed silence sure didn't.
Trowa is a lying liar who lies, and learned that from a very young age. It's the lessons about honesty and trust that are more memorable. (And not all recent, but a lot of them are.)
Clare can lie, but not to anyone she cares about. She can play a part, but it's definitely a shift into a persona. Left to herself, she's direct, straightforward, honest, impassive, and laconic.
River... is a long answer, and I'll have to think about it!
no subject
Ahaha, the days when they can actually talk are going to be...interesting. >_>
no subject
(But protip, Valjean: the answer to "I messed up, I didn't teach my daughter to talk to me about serious stuff" is not "so I'll never talk about anything serious BUT ALSO RUN AWAY." Just sayin'!)
no subject
(Valjean: But..but...but...THAT IS HOW YOU RELATIONSHIP. *fear*)
*pats him*
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Telling the truth is usually the path of least resistance.
no subject
Lucas is so bad at lying that he can't even lie by omission. When asked about where Claus ran off to, his first answer was, "No, Claus didn't take Dad's homemade knife and go to the mountains!" He's not sure he really sees a benefit to it either way.
Lohengrin has always valued honesty and can't see a situation in which lying is the preferable choice. Though he can omit things for the sake of tact or keeping things from getting confusing.
no subject
Ummm.
Fairy Fixit doesn't lie, because maintaining lies is complicated. She doesn't tell the whole truth, sometimes, but she does tend to think out loud, so its easy to trust that she is being honest and forthcoming about everything when she actually isn't. There are only certain circumstances that will cause her to withhold things, though.
no subject
Tahno can lie his pants off, but there's never really a need.
Alana prefers honesty, HANNIBAL, and she's a fundamentally honest creature herself.
no subject
Speaking of faith in humanity, Feuilly manages to be genuinely indignant about the lying bastards in politics and the army who said they would totes support the republican movement and then never showed. I don't think he's a very good liar himself, really.
Gredya rarely sees the point in lying. She has no problem just plain not answering questions she doesn't feel like answering. But why would you bother lying to other species?
no subject
no subject
no subject