01 Text - Cult Recruitment!

[selfgodded]

hello residents of hinotori.

i am here today to extend a helpful hand to you all. what a dead world you reside in. a miracle you survive for so long. demons prowl and yet humans still manage to survive in the face of adversary. how does such a weak creature gain such strength. they are wild and conflicting in their ways. their emotions are inscrutable. perhaps it is those things that are their strengths.

they are like cockroaches. i mean that nicely. the humans of my world lived in a world that was dead. this one still has some life.

some.

in any case i should get to the point.

please excuse my poor literacy. i do not know how to write human very well. i am trying however. the spellchecker function on this is very useful.

the point.

cries of assistance was given. i enjoy helping humans. i wish to be benevolent to you. however power lies in faith and faith can only give power. my followers are no more so their prayers cannot reach me regardless. therefore i extend a hand.

i will be blunt. residents of hinotori join my cult.

:)

i added an emote of a smile because smiling is said to make people more relaxed when asking them of things. so please. consider my proposal.

:) :) :) :)

Comments

[pseudo-audio]

[selfgodded]

Oh! It is a pleasure to speak to you again. Yes. Well.

Not exactly.

My powers remain without faith, but I like fighting for my followers. It has a purpose, rather than the aimless thrashing of a dying animal.

But what is economic depression? I was unaware that currency could be sad.

[forceofnature]

That's true enough. I wouldn't harp nearly as much about the same old stuff all the time if I were the goddess of barren wastelands. But there are billions and trillions of lives depending on me, you know?

All that yelling gives me a headache sometimes.

And you don't have to worry about that. I think you need enough humans to have an economy first.

[selfgodded]

Hmm... it is an inconvenience if there are too many followers...?

[Anant is thoughtful]

How much is too much? Truthfully it is difficult to keep track of fifteen humans. They get into a lot of mischief when left unattended.

[forceofnature]

It depends on you, really.

I could follow each individual in a swarm of bees if I wanted to, but then the rest of the world would shrivel up, which isn't really what I'm going for. I've got to compartmentalize things if I ever want to get anything done. It helps to have servants - I've got whole armies and a few reliable generals back home.

Also, to be fair, bees are a little more predictable than humans.

[selfgodded]

What are bees? Their name sounds amusing.

[forceofnature]

[Viridi would facepalm if she were in the vicinity.]

...They're little insects that carry pollen for flowers to grow. They go about in swarms and sting things that try to hurt their queen.

[selfgodded]

The swarming and the stinging sounds less amusing.

But my apologies. I derailed the conversation.

Armies and generals? Do you preside over so many that military power is necessary?

[forceofnature]

They're only generals and armies when the gods have battles. Otherwise, they just take care of day-to-day business.

[selfgodded]

[Anant seemed to wilt, strangely enough]

Gods battle...?

[forceofnature]

Of course.

It's usually the gods of the Underworld stirring up trouble. When the balance of the soul-stream is disturbed, it's even worse than when the humans upset the balance of nature. The whole world could go to pot if we don't do something.

Naturally, some gods take issue with my stance against humanity, too. But I'll fight every last one of them if it means preventing the earth from becoming one like yours.

[selfgodded]

I was unaware that Gods could fight with one another. Aren't their duties more pressing than squabbles with one another? However, I was the only one in my world, so it is no surprise that I do not understand.

[Anant's voice still sounded gloomy, but after a pause it lightened back into its usual calm tone]

It is fine though. I have no intentions in fighting you. I have no army or generals anyway.

[forceofnature]

Sometimes, a god decides his duty is to become supreme ruler of the universe. Things don't work out so well then.

Unless that happens, I don't think we'd be fighting in the first place.

[selfgodded]

I have no intention of becoming a supreme ruler of anything. I am content in my role of servitude. So there will be no fighting.

[forceofnature]

No, you don't have to go that far the other direction. They'll walk all over you if you let them.

[selfgodded]

I do not mind being walked over if it makes them happy! It is my purpose, after all. I am happy to carry their faiths, their dreams, and their wishes, as well as their anger and blame, so long as it lightens their burdens!

[Anant's tone is greatly impassioned...]

[forceofnature]

...Ugh.

[Viridi sounds like she's wrinkling up her nose. Which she is. From a long ways away.]

The god of awkward displays of affection. I always wondered what a deity of emotion would be like. ...Imitative emotion, anyway.

[selfgodded]

[Anant makes a noise - it's almost like a squeal of complete, fanatic happiness, like a noise a fangirl would make when their OTP becomes canon. You can almost imagine the sparkles and flowers...]

You think I am a deity of emotion? Yes! That is something glorious to preside over! Thank you for such a wonderful compliment!

[forceofnature]

For being in awe of my range in emotion, you sure did a pretty nice job there. Maybe your problem is that you're trying to map your own emotions to the ones that humans can experience and quantify.

Coming from a goddess of millions of species that don't know how to communicate with each other -- it's more trouble than it's worth. Just feel whatever you want to feel.

[selfgodded]

Feel what I want to feel...?

[Anant's earlier happiness was instantly extinguished into a deep calmness]

But I do not know what I feel. I feel slips and snippets of things, but I do not comprehend them - so I imitate the humans, because they are...bright. With their emotions. Their feelings. For a species that is normally so weak and fragile, so wild and impulsive, their feelings are both a hindrance and an advantage...

When a compliment is given, humans act happy normally - very happy! So I act happy! That is the correct thing to do, yes? They even make strange noises! They jump! I did it correctly if you believe I can feel it so!

[forceofnature]

You know how there's no one unified way for humans to express their emotions, right? They feel things, and they act it out - sometimes, it's instinctive, but other times, they learn it through imitation as they're growing up. One group of humans might interpret what you did differently from another.

[selfgodded]

Yes...they are a confusing sort. When I think I have figured out a part of their thought processes and emotions, they do something unpredictable and ruin whatever profile I had created...

It is a daunting task, understanding humans.

[forceofnature]

That's why I stopped trying a few centuries ago! Just don't take the effort; you can make up on lost sleep and have plenty of time left over to take up a new hobby!

I suggest gardening. You never see a gardenia turn around and declare war on a rhododendron for encroaching on its turf. ...Literally.

[selfgodded]

There are many parasitic species of plants - wouldn't them encroaching upon another plant's territory be construed as an act of war?

[Anant's world was so harsh only the most resilient and deadly life forms lived there - including lots and lots of parasites]

[forceofnature]

[Sigh.]

OK, so technically, plants wage 'war' and release volatiles to call insects to defend them but that's getting way too detailed! They're still well-behaved even when they're killing each other! And they don't stamp all everything else in the ecosystem as collateral.

[selfgodded]

A very insidious and subtle art of war... I underestimated plants...

[ the point






Anant's head]