jonas / allstarz

[refractures]

fishes out my dissertation about how these two are so funny in juxtaposition

Comments

[refractures]

It seems to unlock people's powers. I wonder if people can get new ones if they don't have any to begin with...

[ ... ]

If someone has a world breaking skill, they could completely destroy this game.

[sixam]

I don't know about that. In ours, it wasn't always powers. Sometimes it was just a single item. But knowing this place the rules are going to change from all of the other games to begin with.

And anyway do you really think our friends the auditors would give us the ability to have something that can overpower them?

[refractures]

Well, Jonas. No.

[ He raises a finger. ]

But! People have fallacies. And you know what's the most common one?

[ He grins as if he's about to tell Jonas a secret. ]

It's the little mistakes. The little "oopsie". The occasional stupid moments we all have. While it would be nice but extremely unlikely for that to happen just coincidentally while someone happens to have reality breaking powers, it's fun to think about.

[sixam]

[ intewesting. ]

Is that something you do often? Look for the fallacies. I don't disagree, by the way, people get ahead of themselves all the time and it's how often people can slide in and access their weak points. Especially people who're used to bring powerful.

[ but he shrugs. ]

Tell you what. If I ever end up in that ring, and I get my powers back, I'll do my best to tear the whole thing apart.

[refractures]

Your...

[ Seodore looks surprised, though really. He shouldn't be. ]

You can do that with your powers?? You have powers?

[sixam]

[ he just tilts his head a little. ]

I did before coming here, yeah. I'm sort of downgraded like everybody else right now.

[refractures]

... I see. It looks like most people here do have some sort of power.

[ He rubs the back of his own neck a little. ]

But if you could find the chance to tear this all apart, that would be great.

[ He smiles a little, but it seems to be with complicated emotions. ]

... I'd like that.

[sixam]

[ there's a slow nod. ]

I don't like that we're all here. And I don't like that we're all stuck, powerless or not. [ ... ] I don't know the full capability of my powers, to be honest. I'm still trying to learn and figure it out? They're newish. But I don't think that's a reason not to try.

[refractures]

How did you get such broken powers to begin with?

[ Like. This kid was a bartender, eighteen years old, and suddenly he got games breaking powers? How does that even happen? ]

[sixam]

[ a moment of silence as he debates being frank or not. ]

Uh. Became God, I guess. [ sometimes you become god first, then you pick up bartending and then you turn eighteen. all very normal, clearly. ]

[refractures]

[ Jonas really decided to tell Seodore this. I don't know the amount of trust this took, but Seodore's expression looks a little more... complicated. He's definitely at war with himself. ]

... Does anything change you mentally when you become god?

[sixam]

[ uhhhh a lot and he is not fully convinced this was the right choice because he's always lowkey nervous about telling anyone given everyone's extremely complicated feelings about god. seodore's expression doesn't do much to quell this either. ]

If you're asking me if I only became like this because I became God, no, not really. [ his personality and mental state, he means. ] But... maybe I should just ask what you mean instead of guessing?

[refractures]

Compared to how you were before, did it make you feel any different? Did it make you want to save people more? Vanquish more evil in the world? Test your powers on someone you didn't like? Try to let go of personal grievances with your position?

[ Anything, basically. ]

[sixam]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! One thing at a time, man. [ yikes! but he pauses to take another drag of his cigarette just to stall and give himself time to organize his thoughts. ]

I died when I was seventeen. Kinda thought that'd be it, but God found me instead and dragged me to Heaven. We talked a bit. There was... a project that they had thought of but decided they weren't that interested in launching. But I wanted to because I thought it was more fair than an immediate ruling based on a single judgment. I called it the redemption project because it was meant to be eight weeks that people would be in a separate part of Heaven and given time away from their lives to reflect and assess and try to prove they would be able to handle a second chance at life and do better with it. Heal from things. See their own potential? Things like that. If they so chose to stay in Heaven, they could have. And if anyone really went backwards or didn't seem capable of change at all, it would've ended differently.

In order to do this though, I had to take on God's power myself. And so I made a deal. I would do that if they would help me with something I wanted myself outside of seeing this project proceed. We agreed if it was successful, they would help me. So there was an exchange of power. They just forgot to clarify it would be a permanent change.

[ sometimes you just accidentally become god without realizing the full scope of what you're saying yes to. ]

I don't use my powers to punish people if that's what you're asking because that's not gonna help. I spent months running the bar and being among the participants and getting to know them better so I could make a more accurate judgment and actually help them work through things. It was never meant to turn into a bloodbath, but... that's another long story. After a point, my only concern was helping them stay the course and protecting them where I could and finding a way to save the people we lost.

[refractures]

[ Seodore quietly listens to all of this and his expression seems to relax a little, though he's clearly still conflicted. What really saved Jonas was-- ]

So there's a god before you who... I see. It sounds a little like Alex's case where the title of god or satan is transferred.

[sixam]

[ well. ]

Yeah, it's... exactly the same thing? But Alex has just been doing it longer than me, so when I signed on she didn't realize who it was she was targeting.

[refractures]

... Huh.

[ He feels like he's had an epiphany (he did not). ]

What are you two exactly?

[sixam]

[ real. ]

Satan and God, respectively, from the same "universe" or whatever you'd call it. She took over about two years ago, I took over about ten months ago. Both dead, both ascended.

[ is that what he meant. we'll see. ]

[refractures]

No, I mean... were you friends? Before all this happened?

[sixam]

... yeah? [ this is more questioning himself than seodore. ] She was my best friend. She was the last person I saw before I died. Pretty sure it's the same for her.

[ along with a handful of other things, depending on the timeline. but regardless, best friend is consistent. ]

[refractures]

[ He would have taken that answer, but. ]

... You sound a little doubtful and speak in past tense.

[sixam]

Yeah, probably because it is. [ ... there's a sigh. ] I have no idea if we're even anything right now and honestly I don't even know what to ask to figure it out.

[refractures]

Because she ruined your project and presumably dragged many others down?

[ He thinks about Alex's possible reactions and thinks of her usual apathetic response.

... ]

[sixam]

Yeah, basically that. She says she probably wouldn't have done it if she knew it was me, apparently. [ "probably." ]

I don't think I can really afford being mad at her here when we aren't God and Satan right now, but it also doesn't change that we're not resolving, like, any of that. So. I don't know what we are.

[refractures]

So... she turned heaven into a game? One of these games where you need to "die"? And you think you're not allowed to be mad at her because she's not "Satan" right now? Even though it sounds like she willingly did it and not as an obligation of her title? Even though she played with people like a toy?