[It'll be Advancement Opportunity up the wazoo again, huh?]
Entrapta and Ludger shared with me that they intended to join you. Entrapta might still defect, but I'm not sure if Ludger plans to after what he said during the trial.
Well, of course he does. No one can be opposed to the idea of being rewarded if you put some effort into things. It's just everyone is so attached to the idea of getting their gods to win that they won't consider it.
[She waves a hand a little dismissively.]
For all their talk about how ohhh, it's so bad if someone kills, they sure don't mind it when it's not one of theirs getting killed. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
[He purses his lips. It'd be hypocritical of him to say anything to that, because he's basically doing what she just described. It works out in her favor, though, so she can't say anything to him!]
Everyone has a bias. Really, this contest is turning out to be a game of cliques more than anything. The level of emotional investment is high.
[Much higher than anything he's put in. Listen, he'd have to be crazy to trust anyone in this temple.]
[ . . . Yeah, he's keeping that one to himself. She probably thinks of him as a mere tally mark, but it's pretty clear that she cares about the rest of her followers.]
Right. In the end, we'll all be back to the way we started, which is why we should discuss the plan.
[Because she seems confident that it'll all work out, but he's not. Her popularity has been plummeting in the last couple weeks.]
By right power, do you mean Advancement Opportunity?
Exactly. They're not going to like it, but it's a power that's been available to anyone who switched to me from the start, so we're allowed to use it if we want to.
[she huffs]
We've got next week, and then another trial if anyone decides to go all stab happy, and then one last chance for you all to decide who to align with. That's when we'll strike.
You mean, near the end of the week, so that no one has time to coordinate defections? That . . . if we're lucky, that just might work!
[Even though it's a huge gamble, and one that can blow up in their face just as easily. It won't take a genius to find out what they're plotting if someone were to sit down and think about it. This is an all-or-nothing gambit!]
Right. If all of you spend the week figuring out who's who that you don't know about, you can coordinate it. Talk over who you've already used it on, who you haven't, and what you know about their alignments. We won't want to be doing this blindly.
[She'd just. Tell them who to talk to if she could, but...]
They'll know you used the power on them the next time they sleep after it's been used. If you do it Sunday morning [by 8 am Sunday so they have 24 hours to defect oocly] they won't be able to do anything about it unless they take a nap in the middle of the day and wake up. Get the timing right, and they'll go straight from dreaming about it being used to having to pick a new god.
[He stares at Ambition with his mouth agape. How clever! She really doesn't hold back if it means getting what she wants.
He shuts his mouth. Although . . . ]
Ideally, those we use this power on will come over to you. If they do, though, are you going to be all right? The winner needs followers who believe in their ideals, or the end result won't be pretty.
There are two options: either they join me or they don't.
At this point in the game, they won't join me if they don't believe in my ideals, but they also won't be able to coordinate another god for a big group to rally behind, so it'll spread their numbers out and make it easier to win with just our team.
But also, come on. My ideals are easy to believe in, even if they don't actually like me. Those idiots are all living by them already, and they don't even realize it. They're soooo sure they're going to get what they want. Why? Because they think they worked for it.
That's what my ideals are. Doing the work, and getting results.
[At least she's aware of the fact that not everyone likes her. That's not news he would have enjoyed sharing with Ambition. More than anything, he values his life!
He can't imagine this plan not ending on a sour note for some, because it's incredibly selfish. Aren't they all? Isn't that why they're here, because they're all selfishly wanting for something enough to upset the worlds as they are? He's no worse than everyone else here. It's all going to pay off, anyway!]
That's why I'm here.
[No, it's not. She scared him and that's why he's here.]
Ah, but if I may . . . As your potential followers, it probably isn't a good idea to be calling them idiots.
Ahem, in any case, I'll do as you say and collect intelligence before the end of next week. You can't tell us whom to target directly, but can we still run some names through you first?
[Great Ambition, your opinion of him is so low. Not that he disagrees.
Can't he just request an audience with her on Thursday night and fall asleep in her presence? Then they wouldn't have to worry so much about who gets killed off from their faction. If she's really a superhero, she'll keep her followers safe.
Well, he tried. He nods eagerly.]
It would be a pity to die so close to the end. I'll do everything in my power to survive!
You'd better. You've stuck with me for so long, you've got to get your wish.
[It's a point of pride for her at this point. No one thought she would be able to win at the beginning of this, so now she's going to win and make her followers happy to spite them. :/ ]
[Spite is good, understandable. If she wanted him to win for his personal happiness, he'd be weirded out.]
With you to guide me, I just might . . . You have no idea what this means to me. I know how useless I am, but even I wouldn't carelessly waste this opportunity. You can rely on me.
[she actually flinches at the word "useless," then shakes her head]
...someone important to me once told me that nobody's useless. [...ugh, no, that sounds way to vulnerable. she tries again.] I wouldn't have wasted my time with you if I didn't think you could serve some kind of purpose.
[Ambition, what is the point of throwing those deliberately cold words around after revealing that tender side first? She's really bad at this hot-and-cold business, simply terrible.
Not that he fully grasps what she's conveying. Of course, even the most useless pawn can have some use if the task is simple enough. Mindlessly throwing her power around, anyone can do that.]
You don't have to worry about that. Once this week is over, I'll serve that purpose.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He sits down.]
They really did go after us. Is the plan going to be all right?
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[farewell, every other god's followers]
Do you know who else is on our team?
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Entrapta and Ludger shared with me that they intended to join you. Entrapta might still defect, but I'm not sure if Ludger plans to after what he said during the trial.
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He better rejoin us. I didn't give him permission to leave me weeks ago just so he could stay away forever.
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[Because everyone now knows that there's a chance he'll be on Ambition's side. PR hasn't been so good for this god lately.]
He might. From our last conversation, it sounded like he really agrees with your approach.
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[She waves a hand a little dismissively.]
For all their talk about how ohhh, it's so bad if someone kills, they sure don't mind it when it's not one of theirs getting killed. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
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Everyone has a bias. Really, this contest is turning out to be a game of cliques more than anything. The level of emotional investment is high.
[Much higher than anything he's put in. Listen, he'd have to be crazy to trust anyone in this temple.]
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[...says the god who told her followers to clear out for a week because she wanted to keep them safe]
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Right. In the end, we'll all be back to the way we started, which is why we should discuss the plan.
[Because she seems confident that it'll all work out, but he's not. Her popularity has been plummeting in the last couple weeks.]
By right power, do you mean Advancement Opportunity?
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[she huffs]
We've got next week, and then another trial if anyone decides to go all stab happy, and then one last chance for you all to decide who to align with. That's when we'll strike.
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[Even though it's a huge gamble, and one that can blow up in their face just as easily. It won't take a genius to find out what they're plotting if someone were to sit down and think about it. This is an all-or-nothing gambit!]
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[She'd just. Tell them who to talk to if she could, but...]
They'll know you used the power on them the next time they sleep after it's been used. If you do it Sunday morning [by 8 am Sunday so they have 24 hours to defect oocly] they won't be able to do anything about it unless they take a nap in the middle of the day and wake up. Get the timing right, and they'll go straight from dreaming about it being used to having to pick a new god.
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He shuts his mouth. Although . . . ]
Ideally, those we use this power on will come over to you. If they do, though, are you going to be all right? The winner needs followers who believe in their ideals, or the end result won't be pretty.
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At this point in the game, they won't join me if they don't believe in my ideals, but they also won't be able to coordinate another god for a big group to rally behind, so it'll spread their numbers out and make it easier to win with just our team.
But also, come on. My ideals are easy to believe in, even if they don't actually like me. Those idiots are all living by them already, and they don't even realize it. They're soooo sure they're going to get what they want. Why? Because they think they worked for it.
That's what my ideals are. Doing the work, and getting results.
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He can't imagine this plan not ending on a sour note for some, because it's incredibly selfish. Aren't they all? Isn't that why they're here, because they're all selfishly wanting for something enough to upset the worlds as they are? He's no worse than everyone else here. It's all going to pay off, anyway!]
That's why I'm here.
[No, it's not. She scared him and that's why he's here.]
Ah, but if I may . . . As your potential followers, it probably isn't a good idea to be calling them idiots.
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[probably.
god she's the worst.]
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[Sounds fake.]
Ahem, in any case, I'll do as you say and collect intelligence before the end of next week. You can't tell us whom to target directly, but can we still run some names through you first?
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[some things never change.]
You can do that. I can even say if I think it's a good idea or not.
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Then I will come and see you one more time, at least.
[He pauses.]
Since next week is the last, we shouldn't have to meet so often in the armory anymore . . .
[Please, just free him from the hellish game of cat and mouse.]
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We can stop meeting in the armory on Friday. The last thing we need is for you to stop practicing and then get offed at the last minute.
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Can't he just request an audience with her on Thursday night and fall asleep in her presence? Then they wouldn't have to worry so much about who gets killed off from their faction. If she's really a superhero, she'll keep her followers safe.
Well, he tried. He nods eagerly.]
It would be a pity to die so close to the end. I'll do everything in my power to survive!
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[It's a point of pride for her at this point. No one thought she would be able to win at the beginning of this, so now she's going to win and make her followers happy to spite them. :/ ]
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With you to guide me, I just might . . . You have no idea what this means to me. I know how useless I am, but even I wouldn't carelessly waste this opportunity. You can rely on me.
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...someone important to me once told me that nobody's useless. [...ugh, no, that sounds way to vulnerable. she tries again.] I wouldn't have wasted my time with you if I didn't think you could serve some kind of purpose.
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Not that he fully grasps what she's conveying. Of course, even the most useless pawn can have some use if the task is simple enough. Mindlessly throwing her power around, anyone can do that.]
You don't have to worry about that. Once this week is over, I'll serve that purpose.
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