[ Nero admits to the murder not with a casual tone, exactly, but as if it explains everything. And, well, it kind of does, given that the person leading this so-called holy order had turned out to be a demon himself. A megalomaniacal one.
Steve wishes he could be surprised.
He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head to himself, finally leaning forward to take a drink of water as if it might wash the bad taste from his mouth. ]
So it was rotten all the way up. And those who truly believed in the order were devoting themselves to a leader who was the exact thing they were trying to stop.
[ Yeah, it makes sense it would have all fallen apart after that, and yet there were still demons to be cut down. Steve nods, understanding a bit better now. ]
So as far as you're concerned, these 'old gods' here are no different from the demons and devils you fight back home, right?
[There's still believes, like Kyrie. People who can't deal without the idea that there's a higher power looking out for them -- as if even Sparda would give a shit about them. No offense, gramps, but seems to Nero he didn't even care about his family long enough to stick around to this day.]
Plenty of the cardinals agreed with him. They had a whole ceremony for it. Turning into demons. They'd been testing it for years on people getting possessed. [And really, there's no further explanation needed for why Nero won't ever trust any religious group. There's always going to be people using it for power, because it's the perfect way to take power.]
I don't see why I should. Every time they pop up, they do the exact shit demons do. And I know plenty of demons trying to become gods. [Nero leans over, his arms on his knees, staring Steve down.] Think about it. Have you heard or seen of a single one of these gods coming out of nowhere to save someone? No. Maybe they'll grant their favors. Maybe they'll give you a hint, or a bit of pittance in power. But they never step in. Even when it's the other gods that are fucking it up for everybody. Why is it they can directly come in to kill people, but they never show up to save anyone? What about all the people who drowned in the pit? The gods sure as hell helped keep us in there. But not a single one helped save people.
It's because they're all the same, just different levels of interference with us. You know that saying, a rotten apple ruins the bunch? That's them. They don't save us because they aren't like us. They never will be.
[ Then it wasn't just the leader, but his underlings too. Steve's frown deepens as Nero explains about the ceremony, how they were turning people into demons — he didn't even realize that was possible, but it's not like he's an expert either way. It's no wonder, then, that Nero had been at the end of his rope with what was done to them in that pit. A ritual to physically and mentally change them sounded way too similar to what had to be unpleasant memories.
Whether it's through war and conquest or cult activity, people will always make bids for power, and it doesn't seem to matter what world they're from either.
As Nero gives his argument for why the gods really aren't gods at all, Steve lets him talk, the frustration and anger and betrayal set into every word he speaks. It's not like he's wrong, either, and Steve nods along, letting out a low sigh as he shakes his head back and forth. For someone who was raised religious, Steve's already had his understanding of what a god is challenged plenty of times before he ever got to Abraxas, and it's only continued here. But Nero's relation to them is a lot more personal, he can tell. ]
Yeah... to be honest, most of the gods I've had any sort of interaction with are capricious, to say the least. [ He pauses then, remembering that Nero and Thor had known each other for a short while. ] Did Thor ever tell you that he's the God of Thunder, where he's from? That one threw me for a loop. To be honest, the gods I've met are just like people, only with more power, or control of some element or concept. I think it's a mistake for anyone to revere them, but the people of Solvunn obviously do.
[The mention of Thor startles him. Right. Sometimes he forgets the guy was from that whole -- this whole team of theirs, or whatever, that he had a bunch of people already who liked him. Who knew him. Nero pauses, fist going into his other hand. Thor cut his arm off, but in a fucked up way, he sort of liked him more for it. Because the guy was nuts.]
Yeah. He never stopped telling me, actually. And trying to prove it.
[Maybe if more gods were stupid dickheads like Thor, the pantheon wouldn't be such a fuckin' mess. 'Cause Thor -- if Nero is supposed to believe him -- would've been the only god he's ever heard of that gave a shit about anything. But what was Thor but another person with too much power?]
That's what I mean. If they're not just overpowered people, they're monsters. And maybe, yeah, it's easier to let them keep thinking it. But then they're gonna keep sacrificin' people thinking they're making a difference, too.
[ Steve can't help but smile at Nero's remark about Thor. That doesn't surprise him at all, given how strange it must have been for Thor to arrive here and have no one even recognize his name, let alone his title.
And, on a more melancholy note, for someone like Thor who'd had so much stripped from him already, to lose even his divinity... Well, it's probably better not to dwell on it. ]
I guess my point is, they can run the gamut. Any god who's demanding sacrifice isn't one that people should be listening to, but maybe some of them can be reasoned with. [ It's hard to know when their interactions with the gods have been so limited so far. Steve shrugs; given that he's in the Cities, he has little in the way of a direct line to any of this. ] What's maybe more worrisome than the gods themselves is what lengths people will go in service to them.
[But that's the thing. What is he supposed to do? You can't force someone to stop worshippin' gods. Even Kyrie believed in Sparda... 'cause he was all she knew. And yeah, it is a little fucked up of him to come to this world and start fights with their gods, but seriously? Sparda never ate anyone whose body got transmogrified into a fucked up sheep.
(Probably.)
Maybe Steve is close to having Nero realize he should put a pause on this idea. Or... maybe he should work on killing gods faster. Hard to say.]
Way easier to kill a god then it is to change people's minds. And the way things are going, the one thing I'm afraid of is the people of Solvunn start worshippin' us instead. They're already halfway there.
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no subject
Steve wishes he could be surprised.
He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head to himself, finally leaning forward to take a drink of water as if it might wash the bad taste from his mouth. ]
So it was rotten all the way up. And those who truly believed in the order were devoting themselves to a leader who was the exact thing they were trying to stop.
[ Yeah, it makes sense it would have all fallen apart after that, and yet there were still demons to be cut down. Steve nods, understanding a bit better now. ]
So as far as you're concerned, these 'old gods' here are no different from the demons and devils you fight back home, right?
no subject
[There's still believes, like Kyrie. People who can't deal without the idea that there's a higher power looking out for them -- as if even Sparda would give a shit about them. No offense, gramps, but seems to Nero he didn't even care about his family long enough to stick around to this day.]
Plenty of the cardinals agreed with him. They had a whole ceremony for it. Turning into demons. They'd been testing it for years on people getting possessed. [And really, there's no further explanation needed for why Nero won't ever trust any religious group. There's always going to be people using it for power, because it's the perfect way to take power.]
I don't see why I should. Every time they pop up, they do the exact shit demons do. And I know plenty of demons trying to become gods. [Nero leans over, his arms on his knees, staring Steve down.] Think about it. Have you heard or seen of a single one of these gods coming out of nowhere to save someone? No. Maybe they'll grant their favors. Maybe they'll give you a hint, or a bit of pittance in power. But they never step in. Even when it's the other gods that are fucking it up for everybody. Why is it they can directly come in to kill people, but they never show up to save anyone? What about all the people who drowned in the pit? The gods sure as hell helped keep us in there. But not a single one helped save people.
It's because they're all the same, just different levels of interference with us. You know that saying, a rotten apple ruins the bunch? That's them. They don't save us because they aren't like us. They never will be.
no subject
Whether it's through war and conquest or cult activity, people will always make bids for power, and it doesn't seem to matter what world they're from either.
As Nero gives his argument for why the gods really aren't gods at all, Steve lets him talk, the frustration and anger and betrayal set into every word he speaks. It's not like he's wrong, either, and Steve nods along, letting out a low sigh as he shakes his head back and forth. For someone who was raised religious, Steve's already had his understanding of what a god is challenged plenty of times before he ever got to Abraxas, and it's only continued here. But Nero's relation to them is a lot more personal, he can tell. ]
Yeah... to be honest, most of the gods I've had any sort of interaction with are capricious, to say the least. [ He pauses then, remembering that Nero and Thor had known each other for a short while. ] Did Thor ever tell you that he's the God of Thunder, where he's from? That one threw me for a loop. To be honest, the gods I've met are just like people, only with more power, or control of some element or concept. I think it's a mistake for anyone to revere them, but the people of Solvunn obviously do.
no subject
Yeah. He never stopped telling me, actually. And trying to prove it.
[Maybe if more gods were stupid dickheads like Thor, the pantheon wouldn't be such a fuckin' mess. 'Cause Thor -- if Nero is supposed to believe him -- would've been the only god he's ever heard of that gave a shit about anything. But what was Thor but another person with too much power?]
That's what I mean. If they're not just overpowered people, they're monsters. And maybe, yeah, it's easier to let them keep thinking it. But then they're gonna keep sacrificin' people thinking they're making a difference, too.
no subject
And, on a more melancholy note, for someone like Thor who'd had so much stripped from him already, to lose even his divinity... Well, it's probably better not to dwell on it. ]
I guess my point is, they can run the gamut. Any god who's demanding sacrifice isn't one that people should be listening to, but maybe some of them can be reasoned with. [ It's hard to know when their interactions with the gods have been so limited so far. Steve shrugs; given that he's in the Cities, he has little in the way of a direct line to any of this. ] What's maybe more worrisome than the gods themselves is what lengths people will go in service to them.
[ Also true back home. ]
no subject
[But that's the thing. What is he supposed to do? You can't force someone to stop worshippin' gods. Even Kyrie believed in Sparda... 'cause he was all she knew. And yeah, it is a little fucked up of him to come to this world and start fights with their gods, but seriously? Sparda never ate anyone whose body got transmogrified into a fucked up sheep.
(Probably.)
Maybe Steve is close to having Nero realize he should put a pause on this idea. Or... maybe he should work on killing gods faster. Hard to say.]
Way easier to kill a god then it is to change people's minds. And the way things are going, the one thing I'm afraid of is the people of Solvunn start worshippin' us instead. They're already halfway there.