10 ⚜ Audio

[restingstitchface]

[Anyone who's familiar with Crane will recognize his compulsive need to study fear. But what's the curious thing, here? His approach. His voice is as soft and calm as it had been upon his arrival. It gives an impression of frailty that's deliberately misleading. There was nothing about him that sounded like the Scarecrow. And that's the frightening thing.]

Machiavelli once said, "And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."

I put his question to you all; is it better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved?

[He likes the idea of letting the piddling powers in this place believe he's behaving himself; listening to that silly therapist he'd encountered recently. Maybe his audience all be dishonest in their answers. Frightened. Scared. He indulges in a smile. He will have to confirm all of their opinions with an experiment, of course.]

Comments

[ voice ]

[disorder_heaven]

What's that, "The Prince," dude? Very retro-chic.

It's better to be feared. Clearly.

permaaudio

[restingstitchface]

His works are timeless classics.

Regardless, why do you believe that?

[It's better to be feared moreso than anything else. What's love got to do with it?]

voice

[rathercommon]

[ Scornfully: ]

Don't need any guesses to know your answer.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

[He inhales and draws back his shoulders.

When he speaks, he's using the voice he'd reserved for his students; those dumber than pond scum.]

My answer? There is no answer of mine. This is a question given to everybody hearing this post. I already know my answer and so I don't need to ask myself the question.

audio;

[assays]

Loved.

[ Come on, you knew that was going to be her answer. ]

audio;

[restingstitchface]

[You're so predictable.]

Then I hope you get the love you deserve.

voice;

[laruetheday]

[ Still trying to figure out where you live, buddy. (Give her a while.) ]

Feared, duh.

voice;

[restingstitchface]

[Certainly. Will eight years do?]

Really? Nobody seemed to fear you, before. To be marked for derision and scorn means people feel no fear, you know.

[Voice]

[kingofthetvworld]

Huh, you know, you kinda sound a lot like a ghost I know...

[But that must be a coincidence, everyone knows ghosts can't use phones. That's just basic science right there. Luckily, he doesn't care so much about the ghost, it's the question that catches his interest.]

But that's not important, why the heck would anyone want to be scary? That doesn't make any sense!

[Voice]

[restingstitchface]

[Boo!]

It makes perfect sense.

To be feared is to be respected. Who wouldn't desire to be respected?

video

[glitterateur]

[That was a really dense quote so she's skipping right on over that.]

Loved! Unless it's Halloween and you're going for a creepy costume.

permaaudio

[restingstitchface]

[Don't ever let him hear that. Regardless, get thee to a library, child!]

A typical, childish answer. Others would indulge your innocent naivete, but not I. small>[He'd learned his lessons early.] Anyway, you enjoy scaring people, then?

text; comm tag is "Hiro"

[microbrobotics]

has anyone EVER loved you?

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

[No. He's not mentioning his family here.]

Yes. They didn't take rejection lightly.

[Oh, he'd been a heartbreaker when young. Back in those good old days when he'd secured his place at Gotham State, he had found himself free to do whatever he wanted - take that, you old bag, I'll drink whatever I like - and learned not to do most of it again.]

[voice]

[timecapture]

I dunno... it might be safer to be feared, but I'd rather be loved.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Why? Fear itself is what keeps us safe, after all.

Video

[kanadian]

[ Ugh, his face says. It's Crane. ]

Loved. Being feared is -- people do pretty rash things, when they're afraid of someone.

Permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Yes they do. They also do terrible things because they fear losing love. You sound quite involved in this. Are you speaking from experience?

[Just putting that out there!]

audio;

[itistolaugh]

Both. Obviously. There's no reason it always has to be one or the other.

[ She's thinking of a certain old beau. ]

audio;

[restingstitchface]

Interesting. Are you speaking from experience, then? I wonder what sort of person could fear you.

[video]

[lovelyviper]

I couldn't care less if anyone feared or loved me. [Because honestly, she could easily make anyone love her one moment and fear her the next.]

It's not important.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

What an interesting answer.

Me. Objective. Informal. Me and mine. One's family.

Do you have a family, miss?

[Tell him yes. Cause you know what he'll drag up for her fears, then.]

audio;

[unwiseheart]

Is this what everyone uses this thing for? Philosophical questions?

[ And here's one Russian, too new to know to stay away from this guy. Fun times. ]

Feared, loved, I think I would rather be ignored.

permavoice;

[restingstitchface]

[Fun times for Crane, yes!]

Interesting. Can you share why that is your preference?

audio;

[rassera]

Who cares what some old, dead white guy says?


[Ugh, after that threat on Nonah he is so not feeling your jam, Crane!]

Sounds like SOMEONE just didn't have any friends.

audio;

[restingstitchface]

Someone like you? Yes, I agree with that.

Loneliness. It's terrible, you know. I suggest doing something about it.

voice

[quaerit]

[ From the question itself, it's obvious what this man expects the answer to be. He begs his own question. ]

Safer to be feared than loved, he says.

That may be true. Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.

[ In fairness, Richard Gansey is always going to prefer Camus. Machiavelli, in general, holds very little appeal. ]

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

[Neither are Crane's favorite, honestly.]

All the more reason to develop questions and philosophy of one's own, don't you find? Love can be a terrifying thing, so they say. But what if love and fear are the same thing?

audio

[beneathbluerafters]

Goodness, you must be bored.

As to your question, it depends. If they're people you actually like, then the former is preferable. Otherwise, I'd prefer they just leave me alone. Fear isn't necessary.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Fear is a survival instinct. It keeps us alive. It produces all our emotions. It is absolutely necessary. How can one have hope and courage if they cannot fear despair nor being branded a coward?

audio;

[akito]

[ oh it's the creepy guy. ]

There are some who would say that there is nothing more frightening than love.

audio;

[restingstitchface]

Yes there are. Are you one of them?

text;

[superposition]

Three guesses what your answer is.

permatext

[restingstitchface]

Three guesses? Well, I'll indulge you this once. Make your first.

audio

[unbreaker]

Why's it safer to be feared?

I mean, everyone protects themselves and others differently. Some people are stronger on their own, and others in numbers. So it's like...there's not really one answer to your question, there's a bunch. As many as there are imPorts, since that's who you're asking.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Yes, well, it's a fascinating question. I thought to share it with the group.

Now, consider it aimed at you. Since you presume to maintain that love is the safer of the two, what about that mix of chemicals keeps us feeling secure and warm? To be supported, nurtured, validated. The loss of these makes humans afraid. Then we experience a gut feeling. A hunch. A hesitation. All responses fear has gifted us. Love is a response to fear.

And safety is nothing but an illusion.

Text

[thelimitdoesnotexist]

only two emotions?

this Machiavelli has limited choices.

Permatext

[restingstitchface]

A limited choice. Are you certain of that? There is beauty in simplicity, after all.

audio.

[sweetarts]

There's no 'better' about it if you have to choose just one over the other. You've gotta have love if you want any support, and you've gotta have fear if you want respect.

audio.

[restingstitchface]

I see. And what of those whom garner support by being feared?

voice.

[glowsferatu]

[ It's that time again, and this time she's not going to let him make fun of the way she types. It's all in her inexplicable British accent, instead. ]

Machiavelli was also writing a satire. The Prince provides the model for such an outrageously horrid monarch, that some have speculated its purpose was in fact to inspire conduct so tyrannical that anyone who followed it would not only incite their subjects to revolt, but undermine their position enough to favor that revolt.

Though I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that you fell for it. Rather already broke your crown, didn't you?

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

[Hey! He was being helpful.]

Such an asinine question implies I wore a crown in the first place. A crown is more uncomfortable than a symbol of elegance and status. I cast mine away long ago.

So please, don't assume anything about me. That would be dangerous and foolish.

Video;

[crapbearer]

Above all else. the important thing is whether or not I'm a hit at parties.

Permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Thank you for sharing that. Now, please answer the question.

text

[driftsintobuffetline]

And survey says....?

permatext

[restingstitchface]

You can read, can't you?

Or is that an unfathomable conundrum? Fortunately, there are audio recordings for your simple mind to wrap itself around.

[Voice]

[missleadingquestions]

Of course it's better to be loved.

That Machiavelli stuff doesn't even make sense.

[Voice]

[restingstitchface]

I suppose it's rather advanced for you, yes.

[You're so dumb, Maya.]

text | id reads "Agent P"

[doesntdomuch]

The answer is obviously to be loved by your friends and feared by your enemies.

[Nemeses don't count, of course.]

permatext

[restingstitchface]

For you, yes. Why do you believe that?