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[divinebrush]

[Hello, citizens, you're now watching a recording of a curtain of silver hair and the sounds of someone poking and tapping at the communicator. There is an huff of breath, and then the camera is flipped over, revealing a woman with silver dog ears and red markings over her skin. She tilts her head curiously before smiling for the camera-- benevolently, radiantly, and somehow tinged with sadness. Then typing starts, slow and careful.]

HOW MANY PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE IN THE GODS? WHAT SORT OF GOD DO YOU BELIEVE IN, IF YOU DO?

Comments

perma video and text

[divinebrush]

[Amaterasu's expression falls.]

THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION. AND A DIFFICULT ONE TO ANSWER. I CANNOT ANSWER FOR WHAT YOUR GODS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE DONE TO YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE, BUT IN MY TIME, PRAYERS TO THE GODS WERE MEANT TO ALLEVIATE SUFFERING. WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD TO HELP.

BECAUSE IF THERE WERE NO SUFFERING AT ALL, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY MEANING TO LIFE.

[Video]

[greyerrant]

[ A huge, armored figure with glowering grey eyes just stares back at the comm ]

There are no gods. Only foul beings from beyond the realm of the real, that inflict cruelty upon us.

perma video and text

[divinebrush]

[Her face falls.]

BELIEF AND FAITH ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE IN THIS DAY AND AGE?

perma video and text

[divinebrush]

[She watches him curiously.]

IN MY WORLD THERE ARE GODS. DO YOU AT LEAST RECOGNIZE THIS POSSIBILITY?

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[ihaveanannouncement]

[Saori's hands grow cold at what she reads, heart pounding heavily. It couldn't be...was she really?]

I beg your pardon, but are you actually implying that you are a god?

[pistolsakimbo]

...well, yeah, I guess... that's true.

...it doesn't make it any easier to deal with though.

Re: perma video and text

[greyerrant]

I recognize only enemies of humanity, that would enslave them.

Re: perma video and text

[otakuro]

That's not really what I meant...

[His voice trails off thoughtfully as he watches the words appear on his screen.]

I guess I should explain. Almost every god is real in my world - You name 'em, they're probably there. Thor, Laksmi, Heqet... all the Shinto and Buddhist gods - Okuninushi, Zouchouten, Amaterasu... But they barely have any power because there's this one god that's above them all.

And he doesn't have humanity's best interests in mind, so... I can't believe in him, either.

[divinebrush]

[She nods faintly, understanding. She is getting many mixed answers and while it is interesting to learn other people's views, it makes her a little homesick as well.]

I'M NOT SURE WHO THIS GOD IS. I HAVE NOT HEARD OF THE BIBLE BEFORE. I AM FROM EARTH, THOUGH. FROM NIPPON.

perma video

[nofairy]

[... yeah forget this words are hard to read. He switches to video.]

Um... well they're the bigger ones... the Great Deku Tree was a guardian. I don't know if that's the same thing. Lord Jabu-Jabu is worshiped by the Zora. I had to go inside of him to beat up Barinade. I think the Gerudo worship a different goddess too, but I don't know what her name is.

perma text

[meaningdies]

I agree. And yet here we are, in this situation. I'm taking steps to rectify it, but my efforts were slowed.

[independent_dollmaker]

I know a handful of gods.

[divinebrush]

[She dips her head down a little in acknowledgment, her eyes twinkling delightedly as she gives a less-than-regal, lopsided grin.]

I AM NOT IMPLYING, I AM SAYING. I AM AMATERASU.

[sky_child]

She was a goddess.

[ And then things happened. ]

[getoutclaus]

Must be a time period thing, I suppose.

[Asking for the date someone is from can't really give a great idea - what if they didn't work in years where they were from? What if they were from after time was kept? Or what if they were from some kind of crazy alternate world?

No, date wasn't a great thing to rely on judging by the peculiar ways this woman was interacting with him. Santa decided on a safer bet.]

What's one of the most advanced pieces of machinery you have from back home? Like the wheel, the bow and arrow, the car, biological weapons and things like that.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

[ Not really. Wait until you meet the reflection of his dark side... ]

Yeah! I'm captain of her guard! No one's more loyal to Lady Palutena than me.

[divinebrush]

IZANAGI. THE NAME IS FAMILIAR.

[She furrows her brow, trying to remember.]

HE WAS A FRIEND.

[divinebrush]

[She nods in understanding.]

THEN SHE AND I ARE ALIKE.

[linefacingforever]

[Yu stared for a moment. Well, granted, she kinda looked ethereal, but...]

What's your name?

[sky_child]

How?

[divinebrush]

YOU ARE VERY RIGHT. I WILL DO WHAT I CAN IN THIS CITY.

MAY I KNOW YOUR NAME?

[divinebrush]

[She perks up.]

AMATERASU?

[ihaveanannouncement]

[...If she were anywhere else, Saori would have assumed it was a prank. Later, she would have had a laugh over it with her classmates. In Hinoto-Ri, a city of Personas and demons, she can't say.

Her hands are shaking, so badly that she can't even bring herself to type more than a few letters. And her heart is pounding so badly, she feels it should be bursting from her chest.

She recounts the years. Shrines, fortune-telling, tarot, weird rituals, praying to every god and lucky star who blessed people with love. All of that time she wasted wishing for a love that was ultimately selfish. A childish love she can look at and laugh bitterly. One she was punished for having, and to this day is still paying for.

And now, she's having an online chat with a goddess, who is smiling casually.

Saori stalls for a couple minutes, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Quickly she grabs her phone, and listens to her PA recording, trying to steel herself. You don't just talk shit about gods to an actual goddess and then disappear. That would make her a coward. And she'd resolved herself not to be one anymore.

Still shaking, she manages to type a small message.]

I'm so sorry.

[divinebrush]

[She dips her head down in understanding.]

FAIR ENOUGH. I CANNOT ASK ANYONE TO BELIEVE, ONLY FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND.

[divinebrush]

DO YOU? MAY I ASK ABOUT THEM?