(no subject)

[presgarddihellis]

Who: Katsumori and visitors
When: After Cafeteria Announcement
Where: Katsumori dorms
What: info piling and things
Warnings:

[well, there have been yet more crimes committed...]

Comments

[ordimame]

[brightening quickly afterwards]

But it's worth the expense. Every guy deserves to have a passion, right?

[presgarddihellis]

I don't disagree.

Though it depends on the hobby.

In this case, it's fine if you can afford it.

[ordimame]

I wouldn't be throwing the money around if I couldn't.

[. . . what does he even do for a living??]

[presgarddihellis]

[good question. because Klein knows from experience that the best paying jobs are actually the shadiest.]

That's a relief. Some people aren't so good with managing their money.

[... Klein, why are you so focused on money (he's always like this, actually)]

[ordimame]

[lol]

. . . were you worried that I wasn't?

[presgarddihellis]

No. I just also don't know what kind of finances you had.

[ordimame]

[fair point]

Kind of a weird thing to talk about in a place like this, isn't it? It's so. . . [a beat]

Mundane.

[presgarddihellis]

I find the mundane to be pretty refreshing.

[ordimame]

[ah]

[after a moment of quiet as he peers at Smith from the corners of his vision]

Yeah. I do, too.

[presgarddihellis]

[does actually seem cheered by the topic of the mundane. weirdo.]

Routine is another thing.

It's both something to look forward to and also a reoccurring goal.

I used have a weekly meeting that I would organize for some fellow like-minded folk. It's always an interesting time.

[ordimame]

[hm?]

What do you mean by "like-minded" folk?

[presgarddihellis]

... well.

At first, it was an accident. I summoned a pair of people who happened to have been praying to unknown entities. And you could say, they did find one.

[lol, Alger and Audrey OGs, bless.]

[ordimame]

[. . . oh my god]

So they turned into your. . . [trails off. what word does he use, here?]

Followers?

[presgarddihellis]

Funnily enough, it was before I had even drunk the potion of Sequence 9--I was still very much human and just ended up in a strange predicament where people assumed I was an awakened god.

I didn't even know what a Beyonder was, but one--the eventual Miss Psychiatrist--was asking after it since she wanted to become one. And the other... hm... let's call him... Mr. Seafarer. He was already an experienced Beyonder who was part of a Church.

I just let him answer.

[lol the con, man.]

The group grew quite a bit from there. Eleven, including myself.

[ordimame]

[OH MY GOD]

[with. . . some shades of amusement]

Awfully bold of you to pretend to be a god without the phenomenal cosmic powers to back it up. That must have taken a lot of guts.

[presgarddihellis]

The stage certainly helped.

Miss Psychiatrist was fairly naive at the time, very sheltered, so not too difficult to fool.

It was Mr. Seafarer who was the harder sell... but I think he convinced himself more than anything.

[he is so fond, though.]

1/2

[ordimame]

[before he can even think to stop himself]

Yeah, yeah. . . sometimes it's not a matter of fooling someone else, but instead tricking them into fooling themselves.

[. . . . . . .]

[ordimame]

[. . . tilts his head away as he rests his chin in his palm!!]

Did they ever find out the truth?

[presgarddihellis]

[oh, buddy, you showed your hand with that one, yeah.

but.

smiles.]

... just recently, actually.

Miss Psychiatrist had a lot of it figured out... but there were pieces none of them would have been able to figure out. And... I couldn't just talk about it.

But others were able to find the answers and tell them when I couldn't.

[ordimame]

[he did, but as long as Smith doesn't pry. . .]

Vague answer, but I'll take it.

. . . what made you decide to try and be a real god, then?

[presgarddihellis]

... I don't think it was just one event.

At first, it was to get home.

Then, when I realized that wasn't possible, it was to get the power to stop the ones who caused a lot of needless death in performing rituals for their own ascension.

After that... just plain survival. The higher Sequences are no joke. And the natural-born higher Sequences lack humanity and even led me around and cultivated my progression to Sequence 2.

[there's a bit of a twist to the smile. it's clearly something he does not like to think about.]

One reason after another after another... but most importantly, I wanted to be able to protect those I had a connection with in that strange world. And that's no easy feat.

[ordimame]

[. . . . . . .]

. . . were you able to protect them?

[presgarddihellis]

For now, yes.

[ordimame]

Good.

[quiet for another long moment]

[. . .]

[a bit more softly]

Do you ever regret it?

[presgarddihellis]

... it was worth it.