[Video]

[devilofaboy]

[At least he could do video so he could properly express his disdain for this situation. If it hadn't been an option he might have just suffered in silence. As it was, everyone else was going to have to suffer him being understandably upset.

He was seated at the kitchen table and from off-screen came occasional bird noises, throaty raven sounds to be specific, but he didn't spare the bird a glance.]

These robots are a little too uncanny valley for my tastes.

[He could kind of see the appeal, but he would never want to be a robot himself.]

If their gods can bring people here, why can't their gods fix their world?

[It was easier to think of it like that than think about what any kind of God saw in him.

There was a clatter from off-screen and he looked over, pointing in the direction of the noise.]

Knock it off.

[He looked back at the camera.]

And we're supposed to believe that the power of love is going to save everyone?

[It sounded like a fairytale, something nice that you told kids before bed instead of the truth, that the world was a terrible, cold place.]

Comments

[necromanswers]

The short version, I'd wager, is that the magic required to move one thing that already exists to another place is easier than manifesting something real out of nothing.

The shorter version is that no one's 100% sure.

[This place has been built on "benefit of the doubt" at this point.]

[devilofaboy]

[Not for him, but he didn't know what difficulties awaited him yet when it came to manifesting things from nothing here.]

So basically, the gods here aren't all-powerful.

[He couldn't help but think this was the kind of thing Adam would have dove into without hesitation--before. Going away to Harvard had changed him, or maybe he'd always been the way he was and college had just revealed who he actually was.]

Maybe they're not really gods.

[necromanswers]

You wouldn't be alone in thinking that.

[Many a person has come into this world wondering the legitimacy of the deities who rule over it. And who can blame them? It's not like the gods pop into the temples and take Q&A sessions. Not even so much as a hello upon arrival.]

Gods have never truly been all-powerful. They put on a big show and they're incredibly strong and capable, but most of them wouldn't have much to offer if nobody worshipped them.

[devilofaboy]

Do you have a lot of experience with gods or something?

[He only had experience with one God, really, and He seemed to be ignoring Ronan. Maybe it was for the best; maybe God would say that Ronan was an abomination.]

[necromanswers]

A handful over the years, sure. Been hunted by one and saved by another. A few of my bros are technically emissaries for one. Gods are mostly just eccentric old people with short fuses and crazy resistance to change of any kind. Like a racist uncle.

[devilofaboy]

Sounds like they suck.

[Not all of them. Or maybe all of them.]

Maybe I should consider myself lucky God's never answered me.

[It was a joke despite his utterly deadpan delivery.]

[5thchild]

Do you not believe in "the power of love"?

[devilofaboy]

If the power of love was real, people wouldn't be killing the planet or murdering each other just because someone's different.

[The power of love wasn't going to solve his problems. It wasn't even enough to keep his boyfriend on his side.]

I'd like to believe in it, but-

[He shrugged his shoulders.]

[5thchild]

Doesn't that mean it's because there is lack of love, in those situations?

[devilofaboy]

[Don't come at him with the truth like that-]

So what's supposed to happen? Are you supposed to march up to the people who want you dead and try hugging it out?

[5thchild]

Why do you wish someone dead?

[devilofaboy]

Not me. I don't want anyone dead. But there's plenty of people who want to see others hurt or even killed.

[He was trying not to actually spill the beans on the fact it was him people wanted dead because then he'd have to get into the why and even though it felt like public knowledge at this point, no one here knew. He assumed, anyway.]

[pinkxeno]

The world is getting better by doing just that, tho.

[devilofaboy]

Is it really? In what ways?

[And was everyone sure it was because of the ~power of love?]

[pinkxeno]

There is more green now! And more animals. [ Mina grins wide ] The weather isn't as weird as it used to be, and the wall is expanding.

It's not perfect, but something is working.

[devilofaboy]

[That sounded nice, actually.]

The wall moves on its own?

[Because if it did--that was pretty cool.]

Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're pink.

[pinkxeno]

I never seen it move, but the barriers around the city grow as the gods get stronger.

[ she grins even wider now, placing her hands on her hips sort of proudly ] Yep, I know!

[wakemelater]

I think you're overestimating how powerful gods actually are. I've never known one that didn't need someone else to do their dirty work for them.

[devilofaboy]

[How did he respond to this without potentially starting an argument about God that he didn't want to get into--which was saying something because he was always up for arguing with people.]

How many gods have you met?

[wakemelater]

[He starts lifting fingers, like he's counting, but then just says:]

A lot. Too many. Enough to know most of them are dicks.

[devilofaboy]

[Was God a dick? Was it wrong to think He was?]

What if they just called themselves gods? What if they're blasphemers?

[wakemelater]

I...suppose that depends on how do you define a god?

[He hasn't thought about big G god in some time. He knows his mother had been Catholic, but he doesn't remember much about it.]

If they aren't real, then I'll have to re-evaluate my whole existence. I'd rather not.

[brokeforgood]

It sounds like bullshit, right? Like, some creepy excuse so they can watch people smooch and hold hands. It’s like “Okay, we get it robots, youre into some weird stuff, just be honest!” [She laughs at her own joke.]

It’s not so bad here. People are nice, and there’s not any murder, and all the weirdness is just annoying, not super dangerous.

[devilofaboy]

It totally sounds like bullshit.

[And he'd been thinking the exact same thing about the robots--and maybe the gods, too.

He was still skeptical about some things, though.]

There's no murder at all?

[He guessed that sort of made sense. Why would they have been brought here if they were just going to get murdered, but also. What was stopping other kidnappees from starting chaos?]

[brokeforgood]

Apparently not. [She gives the camera a little shrug— it’s hard for her to believe too.]

I haven’t been here long, though, so everyone could be bs’ing me on that too.