hadriel | eighth. voice (breathe underwater, i'm coming up for air).

[It's been a while since Mello's addressed the network with anything but cold, impersonal text (well, except for that one time he was possessed by a demon, but let's not dwell on that, he wasn't exactly himself), and the fact that he is now choosing this method of communication is significant - Mello does nothing without purpose. He's been here an entire year, and he has begun to slowly pull himself out of the mindset of a man with one day left to live and not much to lose. Near was right; he is better at dealing with people than he has been, and it's well past time he took steps to rectify that. He's stuck here, perhaps indefinitely, and he has, in spite of his various missteps over the past year, become a part of this community.

So when he speaks now, his tone is a measure less haughty and condescending than you might be used to seeing from him. This is, believe it or not, what an attempt at teamwork looks like.]

I've revised the introductory guide, and I've included a new attachment with a summarized history of the events that have transpired here. Please take time to review it. If anything of importance is missing, I'd like to know.

[Look at that, Hadriel. He even said please.]

I think we need better documentation of what happens to us here - not just so that we aren't forced to keep explaining things to the newcomers ad nauseam, but because our history informs who we are, collectively. And I can't help thinking that if the gods here or their so-called previous host population had left better records of what happened before, we might have been better prepared for what happened when we were attacked not long ago by the things that killed them off. Now, I'm good at collecting information, but I'm only one person, and as we've seen, the Door is unpredictable about who comes and goes. If only one person is collecting this sort of information and that person disappears, we all lose that record.

[He falls silent for a moment, thinking of Near's recent disappearance. As much as he dislikes to admit it, even to himself, it's something that has left a deep impact - deep enough, perhaps, to prompt this shift in his attitude.]

I guess ... I'm asking for your help. All of you.

[Don't make this weird, Hadriel. It takes a lot for Mello to ask for help with anything.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Aha. Weaknesses. Now they're getting somewhere.]

So if he has reason to believe we could physically defeat them, that really begs the question - why are they running with us from them?

Because even with us factored into the battle, we are still vastly outnumbered. The gods could have less benign motives that Hope neglected to mention, but I do believe they are sincerely afraid of these enemies, and trying to keep us alive if only because our emotions feed them.

Mm, I believe that.

[Seeing Fear himself afraid during the invasion was ... quite an experience, to say the least.]

It is in their best interest to keep us alive - as you said, we are, in effect, their food supply. But they have to know they can't run forever.

I think they underestimate us a little. Simply because they are more powerful overall does not automatically translate to power and skill in battle.

[She pauses for a moment, and there's a hint of amusement in her voice when she speaks next.]

If we ever are forced into a confrontation...I personally plan on trying to surpass Rage and Delight for number of enemies defeated. I think it would do wonders for making the gods more willing to communicate with us about some things, at least.

I know they understimate us. If they'd been straight with us from the start, we could have pooled our resources and abilities and been a hell of a lot more prepared than we were when we were under attack.

[Not that he's still bitter about that or anything!!]

Capability in combat is important, of course, but so is strategy.

That it is. My talents are more combative than strategic, but I have some grasp of strategy.

[Enough to think to question the gods when she had the opportunity and to ask some useful questions, at least.]

Strategy is what I'm good at. Each of us has talents, and if we'd been better informed, we could have all used them much more efficiently.

Ah, but they are so much more powerful than all of us mere mortals.

[It may be true in some ways, but that doesn't stop the sarcasm from edging into her voice.]

I'm glad you are documenting things. The better informed people are regarding the situation, the better.

They may have abilities that we do not, but that doesn't mean they're more powerful, necessarily. [What's a god to a nonbeliever? he might ask.] They're not all-powerful, and they can be killed. And revolutions throughout history have been fought by those without power against those with. Information may be our best weapon.

I certainly don't believe they are all powerful, but the scope of their powers does seem to be a little beyond what any individual here is capable of. Take Fear moving the entire city and everyone in it regularly, for example. Teleportation of people and objects is a form of magic in my world...but I have never heard of anyone able to transport so much at once.

[Still, she's not going to argue against his points regarding revolutions and information.]

One of my abilities is to sense the presence of magic. It gives me no indication of what the magic does, but I can tell when something is magical in nature and where it is. I was able to sense where the mistletoe was when we got those hideous sweaters. The gods' power feels similar enough to the magic in my world. I doubt that information will be immediately beneficial...but it could be useful for the future, considering everything they do.

Edited 2017-07-16 05:09 (UTC)

Really.

[That's definitely interesting. Mello files that piece of information neatly away for future reference.]

To my knowledge, magic like that doesn't exist where I'm from, but I've learned a few things while I've been here, so I believe magic is real.

Magic is a normal part of life where I come from. In some regions, up to ten percent of the population can use it in some form.

[People who manifest often have an affinity for a specific type of magic, although it is possible to learn other kinds. And despite that, even the mages who manage to survive to be one hundred still don't even come close to learning all of the magic that's out there. There are times where she's wished she learned more kinds of magic, but ultimately, it's better to be highly skilled and adaptable with the magic one has rather than knowing many kinds and only being subpar at all of them.]

eighth. voice (breathe underwater, i'm coming up for air).

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