divus | GODLY AUDIENCES - TAKAOMI SHISHIMARU

...thanks. [He weirdly genuinely means that.] I'll see what I can do in the next week, but it's anybody's game still.

The numbers are still pretty even, even with the amount of people who are close to hitting zero...

[ and two weeks doesn't seem like long but. it kind of is in a game like this. ]

Yeah. It's why the competition exists. It makes people really think about what they want and what they really believe in instead of aligning with whoever they think sounds the nicest. And until people start playing the game the right way like that, this is how it's gonna go.

... have people been talking to you guys more often now?

...yeah, some of you. [There's a tentative grin in his voice.] It's been easier to explain some things now that people are actually asking questions instead of just assuming I'm an asshole.

[Which like. He's aware he's an asshole, it's fine.] Hard to say who people are going to, but I've had a few people come to me recently.

[ oh. that's good. there's a hint of relief in taka's voice when he talks again. ]

Well, it took them long enough.

[A huff of laughter.] People think my stance isn't the best way to approach things, and maybe that's why my numbers are low, but I want to get through this competition being as up-front with my vision as possible. I'm not gonna make promises and then go back on them and rearrange them when I don't have to, and if people have trouble facing the truth that's not really on me.

[...] As long as that doesn't stop in the next few weeks, I'll take it.

... I think that being honest about what kind of person you are is for the best. You guys keep saying that we shouldn't decide who to pick based on who's the nicest to us, but on what your beliefs are and our own goals.

That'll be kind of hard, if you were hiding it.

Yeah. I already did that in the old life anyway. [Hm.] Sometimes deception's the only way you'll live, but in a game like this it doesn't benefit me. If people don't believe in my vision or what I said for or their own goals, it won't work anyway. It's the same for all of us, so why give them false expectations?

[ very hm, but also taka is dating senri so he can't really say anything. ]

... I've been wondering. Is there a deeper meaning behind "it won't work"?

Depends. What've you heard so far about that particular idea?

Mostly just that we won't get what we're expecting.

Yup. If you align with a god you don't actually believe in for numbers' sake, their power's kinda screwed. It's like...okay, did you ever read Peter Pan? Or see the movie, I guess. [He waves a hand.] Anyway one of the things from the play is that she's only revived thanks to belief from the people around her. Think of it like that.

You don't believe, the whole thing isn't as strong as it could be and the vision doesn't come true.

[Why does Cunning know about Peter Pan? Great question.]

[ he crosses his arms over his chest. hm. bad. ]

Is it in the case of both your new world and also our wish?

Definitely the new world. The wish is up in the air since technically you guys would have won...but I also wouldn't leave something like that up to chance. Would you?

Probably not.

... do you think there are more people who are with their god because of a convenient reason, or because they truly want their world to happen?

Oh I definitely think there are people aligned with some of us just because they want to win. A god's number goes up, others follow because it means there's a high chance of that god staying ahead. That's the thing that's starting to piss me off.

I guess that's what happens when you offer people what they want the most. They don't really pay attention to anything else.

[ taka really wants to win, but on the other hand, he sadly wants to do things the right way because he wants to make things difficult for me, francy. ]

People get desperate, they end up throwing away all kinds of logic just to get what they want. That's what makes power so dangerous in the wrong hands. [There's a sigh, a hand scrubbing over his…mask. Goddamnit.]

But you know people are just going to ignore me saying it because I'm a bloodthirsty god who supported a killing game, I'm a bad guy, whatever. You can see where the problem is.

You could take that off, if you want.

[ it's getting exhausting watching cunning fight against the mask at this point. ]

You're not that bad. Kind of harsh and rude, and I probably wouldn't agree with some of the shit you do, but you're not evil.

Yeah, I don't think so. Maybe next week. [Hm.]

That's the thing. Nobody's, like, really evil. Evil ideas and really messed up logic, sure, but evil's subjective. If I had to pick there are a lot better names I could've been besides "Cunning." "Cleverness", "Tactical" and "Knowing" would've worked and don't sound half as bad.

…we were all human or close enough at one point. Humans screw up, that's what we do, but would you judge a god by what they did in their mortal life?

Edited 2019-03-19 22:16 (UTC)

If I'm still alive I'll ask again then.

[ but hm... even merriment said something similar, of how there were other things he could have potentially been called. ]

I think that it's probably still important, since... a lot of your motivations for why you're a god now probably came from that, but... you're going to spend a lot more time as a god than you will as a human if you're immortal.

[There's a huff that's probably disbelief, but he lets that go.]

Most of us, anyway. I'm just saying that sometimes things happen post-ascension that changed our overall plans, or made things different than what we thought about as humans.

Never take any of us at face value.

I'll keep that in mind.

[ he's been doing his best to be openminded about them anyway. ]

... and I'll see about making people suck less.

...thanks, kid. [There's another short sigh as he glances around at the camp he'll be leaving behind soon.]

What else can I do for you today?

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bakaomi - 2019-03-19 23:23 (UTC) - Expand

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divus - 2019-03-19 23:24 (UTC) - Expand