Religion and glitter?

[tryingitall]

Balthazar has settled into the Nexus fairly quietly. It's a place more or less to his liking, he must admit. Chaotic without being violent, plenty of entertainment and liquor and people to talk to...

It's not home, and he's not going home, since this is apparently what he gets as an afterlife. That's more than a little depressing. He's already missing his siblings. Still, this might be better than oblivion. Time will tell. In the meantime, he's found or purchased assorted craft supplies, including markers and crayons, heavy paper, glitter glue and paint. And dry pasta.

"So, how do we all feel about religion?" he asks with aggressive cheer. "Do you have one? Would it bother you to discover something here that contradicts what you believe?"

Pause. He pokes at whatever he's working on with a little frown. "...and if that's too heavy a question, come look over my shoulder at this. I need critique."

He's been gluing and painting and glittering farfalle with reckless abandon. "Does this look like a bunny? I think it looks rather more like a unicorn threw up after a trip to the Olive Garden, but I'm still an amateur pasta artist."

Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a professional pasta artist? If so, he wants to meet one.

Comments

[rosco_coltrane]

"Well, we call religion Christianity, where I come from," Rosco answers, coming to stand beside him, gazing down at the artwork. "I believe in God and Jesus. I ain't a regular church-goer, so I ain't much good at the philosophical stuff. I got a pretty good idea on how to live decent."

Granted, thanks to Boss Hogg, Rosco doesn't always live up to even his own standards of living decent, but he doesn't see any way to help it. So, he doesn't bring that up, but just continues eyeballing the pasta image of a bunny.

"It ain't that bad," Rosco says. "I don't know what unicorn sick up would look like, but you ain't too far off from a bunny. They're mostly ears, belly and fluffy tails."

[tryingitall]

"You come from a place where Christianity is the only religion?" He doubts that, and partly he's being a smartass on purpose, but he supposes it's not out of the realm of possibility. "What does that leave for people to scream at one another about? Just politics?"

He glances back at Rosco and then back at his work, tiling his head. "Ah! It's the fluff that's missing," he concludes, beaming. "Thank you! You're quite right. I'll have to get some cottonballs."

[rosco_coltrane]

"Uh. No?" Rosco asks, confused. Did he say that? He doesn't think he did. "I mean, our world is pretty big and we got...um. Well, there's Jewish people and that fat fella some people, like in China or Japan, worship. In Hazzard, though, those that claim religion are Christian, mostly. They'd have to go to Atlanta to worship anyone else."

He giggles at the question about yelling.

"Shoot! Have you ever seen a Methodist minister and a Baptist preacher get into it? You don't have to be different religions to raise a ruckus at each other!" Rosco says, before nodding about the bunny. "Yeah, that would work real good. That's what we always used, back in grade school."

[tryingitall]

Don't take it personally, Rosco. Balthazar is prone to deliberate misinterpretation. He likes to think of himself as a teller of difficult truths, but primarily he's actually just a jackass. "Ahh, I see! I can't keep track of all of my world's religions. I think there must be thousands...but I'm not religious, myself, unless hedonism counts."

"Can't say I've known many ministers. I knew a fellow who used to like to dress up as a priest, but that was for, er, non-religious events." Best he doesn't elaborate on that, probably.

"Cotton balls it is! I never went to grade school. What's it like?"


(('They'd have to go to Atlanta to worship anyone else.' I'm dying. XD ))

[rosco_coltrane]

"I-I don't think it does," Rosco says, apologetically. "I'm sure there are plenty on my world, too. I just come from a real small town of like minded folk."

Rosco blushes at the priest comment and decides he better keep quiet about all that. It's really none of his business and he doesn't want to know, anyways.

"Um. Grade school? It was okay, I guess. I tended to skip, when I could. Honestly, staying cooped up all day was pretty tiresome. How did you manage to avoid schooling?"

[ixis]

"Religion? A crutch. Even if definite proof of gods is offered, and it has been, why devote yourself to them? It's begging for scraps when you could be putting that energy towards your own ascension. Gods exist only as bar for you to surpass. Or destroy." That last opinion is added with a nasty snicker.

[tryingitall]

Megalomania, party of one? Your table is ready.

But Balthazar rather likes colorful characters, and his lips twitch into a smile. It’s not precisely mocking, but there’s definite amusement in it. “Surpass? Good lord, why would you want to do that? Sounds like far too much responsibility to me, running a planet. How would you ever get a vacation?"


((Hey, is the addendum to the sign regarding not asking about Ixis' species still up?))

[ixis]

((HAH let's say yes, it's a good look for The Sign))

"You're the one in charge! You get to take the time off when you demand it!" He gestures with a great deal of animation, using both hand and claw. Said claw is clutching his staff and possibly not caring if he swipes a person or two with the implement. "The joy of being a ruler is that your every whim being law; if you want reprieve, take it! Maybe not enough to lose track of those trying to stick a dagger in your back, but..."

[tryingitall]

The angel sobers a little, because as far as he can tell, his world is on the receiving end of the Deity wandering off to attend to his own amusements, and leaving things in motion to run amok. "I suppose no one can tell you no, in that case. Seems a bit unethical to me, though, if everything depends on your whims to begin with."

"What are your plans, then, for when you become a god?"

((Excellent.))

[ixis]

"You say that as if I haven't already served a tenure as a god. Well, demi-god. Crafting an entire world to my whims, seeing the birth of a race under my machinations to said world, maintaining absolute control and omnipotence so long as I remained there...That all qualifies as godhood, doesn't it? I could go on, but either way, it only went to demonstrate that it's a perfectly obtainable goal to have. No telling if I care to apply that to another zone any time soon, but maybe if the fancy strikes." He shrugs, a great deal more careless about the coming and going of godlike power than any man should be.

[synthdetective]

Nick peers over Balthazar's shoulder to look at the piece of art, and he squints his eyes to see if he can make sense of it. "It looks like a rad rabbit." Valentine leans back, and he slips his hands into his pockets. And he tries to think about the other question, long and hard.

"If there was much of an afterlife, I'm not sure that I would even be here," says Nick, and he goes to take a seat in one of the chairs along side Balthazar and he reaches out for a piece of pasta with a finger to look it over.

"But as far as religion goes, I never paid it a whole lot of attention. There are others who do, but I'm not exactly the judgmental type. Because for some it might give them a bit of hope in what might be a hopeless world," says Nick, as he rolls the piece of pasta between his fingers.

[tryingitall]

"Rad?" The angel has to assume that's a compliment, and smiles pleasantly at it. "I'll take that, thanks."

He doesn't seem to object to sharing pasta, either, nudging the box closer obligingly. He might even share his glitter glue. "I feel relatively neutral on the topic of religion, myself," he admits. "I've no grounds for judging anyone. That's not to say I don't do it, I just know I've no grounds for it."

"Mostly, I just want to know who I'm likely to dramatically disillusion with my life story, so I can avoid them."

[synthdetective]

Nick watches Balthazar nudge the box of pasta a bit closer to him, and while he has never done the pasta art before it doesn't seem too hard. "A rad rabbit is a mutated rabbit due to radiation exposure. I know it isn't the most creative of names, but it just happens to be one of the creatures I've come across that won't kill you."

"I try to remain neutral when it comes to religion, trust me. And while I've seen it, give people a little bit of hope. I've also seen people find belief in something that's dangerous." Nick reaches a hand out for a piece of green construction paper, and he places it in front of him. "I suppose it is something humans like to do in order to explain things they don't quite understand. Or that they think they understand."

Now what to make out of pasta and glue. "Mmm. And that goes back to things becoming dangerous for everyone else. Now what should I make out of bent noodles."

[tryingitall]

Oh. Well, now he's disappointed. He thought 'rad' meant 'radical', like in the 80's. Mutated is probably a more accurate description, though. "You have mutant bunnies? Charming! You know, I saw a movie like that once, only they were giant rabbits and they ate people. Highly implausible, but worth watching if only for the adorable fuzzy animals running through scale models."

"Humans have a desperate need to make sense of the world," he agrees. "The pathos gets to me after a while of watching them. But I'm an angel--not a very good one--and it seems a bit unkind to shatter the worldview of the ones who believe in gentle winged guardians with halos and whatnot."

"What about an elephant?" he suggests. "I have pipe cleaners somewhere, too, if you like. And liquor, if you want a drink, but I'm thinking perhaps you don't drink. Are you an android of some sort, if that's not too terribly rude a question?"

[synthdetective]

"An elephant. Don't think I recall what one of those looks like. I could always make a noodle radroach or bloatfly." Nick looks a little disturbed at the thought of giant mutant rabbits that eat people. "Trust me, I think having mutated rabbits that don't have an acquired taste for human flesh is a good thing." He then proceeds to look down at the pink sheet of paper, and he reaches for one of the containers of glitter glue. "Half of the mutated animal life back home has gnawed on me at one point or another." His hat has slid down to cover his eyes just a tad, and as he looks back up to Balthazar with his yellow eyes looking him over.

"An angel, eh? Never thought I would ever run into one of them before. And here I thought there would be more flowing robes and wings." Nick puts his piece of pasta on the paper, and he tips his hat up so he can get a better look at this so-called angel. "And holding a harp."

"As for me, no, don't worry about being rude. The fact you're not screaming in horror or pointing a gun at me is an improvement. I'm called a synth. Or synthetic human or android of sorts."

Hope you don't mind me coming late to the glitter party!

[rekindledtitan]

Both question and invitation are taken up by another machine, this one in high-tech plate armor. She stops by his array of craft supplies, head tilted at the results.

"Hm. With the caveat this stuff isn't my strong point, from my perspective you get three main kinds of religion. You've got the old Earth ones, and they seem fine. Don't cause trouble for our city and people seem to like them, and that's enough for me. You've got faith in the alien being who's protected us for centuries. I don't know if you'd call it a god, but it's the closest thing I know.

"And then you have the things our enemies worship. They come in different forms but all of them seem to come back to the same thing. Something that would turn humanity's last city into our last grave if it could. You can imagine how I feel about that." But he doesn't have to, because the grim turn of her tone there spells it out.

Her companion Ghost slips around her while she talks, a tiny machine with a many-pointed silver shell. It peeps curiously at the glittery pasta with a single blue optic, keeping a shy distance from the artist. This seems to prompt Blaze to nod at the picture herself and comment in a more good-natured tone, "Looks like you got kinda carried away with that."

this party never sleeps!

[tryingitall]

"So from your perspective, religion is what religion does?" He looks up at her sideways, takes in the much smaller machine wandering around her, and then smiles and makes a casual gesture to invite them to settle wherever they like. Presumably the Nexus furniture is designed to handle the weight of machinery and armor, as well as the many types of beings that wear it.

"I think that's sensible. Although, frequently a religion's followers seem to be the ones doing the basic philosophy all wrong." He frowns thoughtfully. "Also, apocalypses do seem to be common across the board. Why is that, I wonder? Why should things have to come to a chaotic end at all?"

It's a rhetorical question. Pasta is easier to discuss! "I am all about getting carried away, darling. But perhaps the glitter was a bit over the top, unless it's a Las Vegas showgirl bunny..."

I am come hooome

[rekindledtitan]

"Good way of putting it. I guess it's not a very, uh, spiritual point of view but," she shrugs those padded shoulders, "even philosophy's a practical matter for us."

Blaze seems to hesitate a fraction of a second before inclining her head and accepting his invitation, pulling up one of the sturdier chairs to plonk herself down on. She sits forward, leaning on her knees the better to engage in conversation - and to accommodate the weaponry at her back. "I'd figure my people would have lost the taste for apocalyptic ends by now, but I can't honestly say."

She glances up at the Ghost floating above her shoulder, in case it can enlighten her. On this occasion though, it turns side to side in a small negative. Another mystery for another day.

"I'll take your word for it. Looks to me like it ran through a patch of spinmetal fronds." She tilts her head. "So- why a bunny, anyway?"

[tryingitall]

"A rather well-known religious figure on my world is quoted as having said 'you will know a tree by the fruit it bears'. Practicality and spirituality aren't always contradictory, I don't think."

"I have no idea what spinmetal fronds are, so I'm going to ask you for a photograph of one next time I see you." He offers her a bag of pipecleaners, in case she cares to join in. There's some penne pasta. She could make jewelry or weird sculptures.

"I don't know, I thought a bunny would be easiest. Like that other fellow said, they're basically long ears and fluff. It may surprise you to hear, but I don't actually know what I'm doing." Grin.

[rekindledtitan]

"Sounds like someone we'd like," she notes with approval. The sentiment's familiar - perhaps the words too but she can't immediately recall where she heard them and won't dwell on it.

"I have pictures, if you'd like to see," her Ghost offers shyly. If that meets approval, he'll float down and project a holographic image: what appears to be a bush of silver-blue metal, twisting and branching from some kind of canister.

Blaze, meanwhile, nods a little in thanks and pulls out a handful of the fuzzy sticks for consideration. It's not her usual sort of craft, but given the choice between sitting idly and doing something with her hands, she'll choose the latter every time.

"Probably shouldn't be surprised," she admits, absently bending and testing the pipecleaners. Well, it looks absent-minded, but on the other hand she hasn't broken any so she must be taking care. "We just don't meet a lot of people just playing around with this stuff. Is there even such a thing as pasta art?" If she ever knew this, it has long, long been forgotten.

[itmeanstruth]

"Something here that contradicts what we believe?" Came a voice from the tree directly above Balthazar. A middle-aged man dropped down to make his presence known, though he was still hanging from his legs. "Nothing more exciting than that."

It was topics like this, and the chance to learn from people from all kinds of worlds, that brought Minoru into the Nexus at random times. He was a wandering Snake Sage, a pupil in the sect of one of his world's sacred animals. In some worlds, he might be considered a monk or shaman. In more secular ones, a drifter. But one thing was clear - he was always curiously open-minded to learn something new about the mysteries of life, death and rebirth.

"Where I'm from, in my birth village, we follow a belief system that was once known as ninshu. But it's not as spiritual a path as it was when the Sage of Six Paths was still alive. What is religion like in your world?"

[tryingitall]

"That's a healthy attitude," he says mildly, glancing up at the Hanged Man above him. Just like a tarot card! But he'd best not spit or sneeze on his artwork.

"A bit weird, but healthy. I find most people get frightened or angry when they come across contradictions. Either that, or insufferably smug as they try to explain why it's not a contradiction and the person explaining their logical fallacy is the sadly misguided one. Different beliefs are all well and good, but a jackass is a jackass."

He shakes his head. "Religion is varied and chaotic in my world. I asked because the type of creature I am is very closely affiliated with several major religions. I'm not what most would expect, and I'd rather not single-handedly destroy anyone's faith."

[itmeanstruth]

He swung slightly from the branch, never perfectly content with staying still.

"In a universe made up of infinite worlds with infinite possibilities, contradictions aren't really as divisive as people make them out to be."

Minoru had a rather unique point of view on the subject, and not just from his travels to other worlds. His parents were actually the same person, but from parallel dimensions. Contradictions were... kind of mundane, really!

"Are you a god?"

[tryingitall]

"Hmm. 'Welcome to the Nexus. Nothing is true, everything is permitted'?"

It might work just as well the other way around, for the Nexus, given how stringent the antiviolence field seems to be.

Balthazar, of course, has little to no opinions on parentage unless he's trying to insult someone. He was created, not born, and what he knows of family is, he thinks, inadequate based on the bonds mortal creatures seem to form.

"A god?! Good heavens, no. Mind you, I know a few of my kind have pretended to be gods, but I'm from a slightly different divine classification. I'm an angel. An Ofan, to be specific."

[itmeanstruth]

"An angel, hm?" He pondered the word.

He was more familiar with elementals, with other sages, and a handful of deities that the Great Snake Lord Elders honored. He'd heard of angels, though, and even met someone claiming to be an angel once. But that left a lot he didn't know, and Minoru was naturally curious.

"What makes an angel an angel?" He dropped from the tree, tucking and rolling effortlessly.