thefarshore | BBS - Anonymous Text

Entry tags:

BBS - Anonymous Text

From: Anonymous
Date: April 27

A recent conversation has given me something quite interesting to consider:

We are assigned to the roles of certain gods. What does one do if one feels that particular god doesn't suit them?

What if the god has a particularly unsavory reputation? Or perhaps even too flawless a reputation?

Does the god someone is assigned to represent color what you think about them? Would you, for example, be less likely to trust a god of decay with taking care of your houseplants? A god of foxes for pet-sitting your chickens?

It's an interesting thing to consider.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I feel that the god I was assigned to was a good fit for me, but at the same time the responsibility that fell on my shoulders is a bit heavy.

I think I wouldn't judge someone based on the god that picked them, but on their personality. I don't mind if the god of decay house sits my place, since it's a treehouse, for example.

So I see.

In what manner do you find your burden heavy? It seems to me that there are not a great deal of expectations put upon us unless we wish to take them upon ourselves.

That's the problem. My duty is to the forests and trees, and I've been stressing over the self appointed task of caring for them.

In my experience, trees don't tend to be terribly judgmental. I think perhaps you have less to worry about than you think.

That is actually true!

Though keeping trees healthy is a bit difficult.

I think it boils down to the person you're dealing with, rather than a reputation that was placed on them by someone else. Some of us probably feel like our assignments are fitting, while I'm sure others would disagree.

I don't know if I'd say the role I'm assigned to matches my personality or not, but it's one that doesn't have the same place in this world as it did in mine. I have to carve a spot out here for myself, instead of trying to follow any footsteps. Maybe that changes my opinion, too, though. (ー_ーゞ Hmmm...!

It sounds like you have much to think about!

How does the role you've been assigned differ in your world? I must admit that I find all of this quite interesting because there are very few gods here that I've heard of personally.

In my world, Shinju-sama acted as the sole protector of humanity against threats posed by other gods, lending out power to humans who could help in that cause. Here, though, instead of having to place that kind of burden on other humans, gods and shinki band together to do things like wipe out ayakashi! As Shinju here, I still get to help protect people, but my fellow gods don't see humanity as a target to take out.

I think the Shinju-sama of my world is unique, due to the circumstances that created it, where pretty much all of the other named gods here are things strictly of legends, myths, and stories. Those kinds of differences are really interesting to me, and even if someone ends up being named a god of chaos or decay, I think I'm pretty lucky to be able to meet everyone! ✧( ु•⌄• )

They may be myths and stories to you, but they're very real to others!

Actually, I heard that there are a few among our number whose "assigned" god was simply themselves!

Which is what makes being here so incredible, I think! So many chances to meet people and learn about their worlds that I'd never have back home! o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ)o

Whoa, really? That must mean they were pretty powerful people before they even got here, right?

One would assume!

Of course, I would imagine it might cause problems if someone were assigned to be a god and later that god made an appearance themselves.

Surely you only pray to gods about things that suit their talents. So if you need the chickens killed and eaten you pray to the god of foxes, for pet sitting maybe try somewhere else.

Certainly, but where does that leave us who no longer have gods to pray to? If we wish for aid in such matters, we have no one left to turn to but our neighbors.

Ah you mean for us rather than humans... I guess here we know people as who they really are rather than just their god so the question is if we trust the person to sit the chickens and keep the foxes away. In that matter what they are like is more important than what god they are I think.

So you would trust your own estimation of a person over their possibly being summoned to represent the very embodiment of untrustworthiness?

I guess. I might wonder if they have a dark hidden secret though. So they can watch my chickens but I will definitely be counting the chickens afterwards.

That might be the wisest course of action!

Though even the most shining of exemplars may have a dark secret, you know.

That's true. You never know what's going on with people. [Does Shen Wei have a dark shadow? He sure is suspicious sometimes... Da Qing knows there are things his god doesn't tell him...]

What makes you ask this? Are you a god yourself?

I am, so you can understand how such things would be on my mind.

As for the reputation of the particular god I've been assigned to be, I suppose you can say that it's questionable at best, though it does very much depend on who you ask.

Questionable? And do you think that's linked to a hidden dark side of yours?

[Perhaps a bit too personal to ask over the Internet. But this person is anonymous so it will be fine. Da Qing is sure.]

Perish the thought! I would like to think that none of my sides are hidden, though I do admit that some are harder to find than others.

So obscured rather than hidden...

What god are you representing? Or what are they a god of, if you want to keep your identity a secret.

That's not as simple a question to answer as one might think. It seems there's quite a bit of disagreement within the scholarly community as to just what he's meant to be the god of.

It makes my job here a little more difficult, I suppose.

Well then can't you just decide. Pick a thing and do that. You're the god now so it doesn't really matter what scholars think.

[Shen Wei would probably disapprove of that, being a teacher. But Da Qing figures that squabbling academics wouldn't argue too much if the god actually showed up and decided the issue.]

That will cause them no end of consternation!

The aspects of the job that most appeal to me are the ones they seem the most desperate to disregard.

And what parts are those? [This is interesting, he hasn't really spoken to many gods. Except Shen Wei but they haven't really spoke all that much about his 'godness'. Perhaps they should.]

If I said what they were, I wouldn't be very anonymous anymore, would I?

Of course, I don't believe I've ever told anyone what god I'm mean to represent in the first place, though I assume it's registered somewhere. One would expect the Heaven's to have some sort of a bureaucracy.

I guess they do. They definitely knew what temple to send me to when I first arrived so someone is keeping a list somewhere.

And yet they don't pass that information on as far as I can tell!

Though I suppose that's typical of most bureaucracies. The more organized people try to be, the less organized they truly are.

I don't think so. Shen Wei sure looked surprise to see me at his gate, I don't think he'd been told he had been assigned a shinki.

[So they were either highly secretive or much less organised than they pretended to be.]

So either incompetence or deep secrecy. I'm not sure which is better.

At some point, they're more or less one and the same.

I would hate to think they're being remiss about notifying gods of shinki they're meant to have assigned to them. I would hate to think there's a shinki somewhere that I'm responsible for that's been left to wander the world untethered.

That would be pretty terrible. It's confusing enough to come here without being left to wander about getting into trouble.

[Not that he would get into trouble if left unattended, despite what Shen Wei seemed to think.]

And yet they will lecture us about getting in trouble!

Exactly! If they want less trouble they should teach us better! And give gods better instructions of how to live up to their name.

I think they may very well be waiting to see if we'll all simply disappear as unexpectedly as we appeared.

That's not very forward thinking of them, what happens when we stay. They just have a load of undisciplined gods on their hands.

Wow that's a lot to unpack!!!

You had me thinking for a bit. A god might not be suitable for some things.

Maybe it's okay to talk it out.

I wonder about that a lot..Especially how they decide whether you're even suited to be a god. And how do they decide which one.. Surely they're should be some criteria or qualifications for that kind of position.

One would think!

After all, I have always assumed that the Heavens are meant to have some sort of bureaucracy. Admittedly, there is no such thing as a bureaucracy that runs as it's meant to, but there should be certain structures in place nevertheless. When on considers one cannot even attain a government position without passing some sort of examination, it seems truly lax that so many people are handed godhood sight unseen.

If things go wrong, then whose fault is it then?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

BBS - Anonymous Text

text

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Text, from Shinju

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text from Da Qing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text: iris

Anon text

no subject

no subject