(no subject)

[belheir]

Sender: Anonymous
To: Everyone
Subject: Question

What do you think human nature is closer to? That of gods, angels, or demons?

[ It's been something that's been bothering him for some time. He knows the answer he had given, but it'd seemed like it was... incorrect, at the time. ]

Define "human" as whatever your worlds closest equivalent is, if you need to.

Comments

[amnesiadragon]

i think it depends on the person honestly

i mean maybe i cant really pass judgement since im not human but it really seems to depend

ive known some really terribel people but ive also known some really good people too

[belheir]

I'm talking as a whole. Not individually. I'm also not asking whether or not humans are "good" or "evil".

[amnesiadragon]

arent angels supposedly good and demons evil??

they dont really exist in my world so i only know about them from reading books

[belheir]

[... Well, that doesn't make him feel particularly great. ]

That's the story.

Sender: Joshua

[empyreancatastrophe]

I would say humanity is close to none, while bearing aspects of all.

Human existence is a grand tale. One where cosmic wonders unfold upon each page. One where we fill the role of an entity whose essence aims to mimic the divine, elude the ethereal, and dance in the wake of shadows. An enigma wrapped in the fabric of time, a brief, bright spark that illuminates a small corner of creation with the brilliance of free will.

Unlike lofty gods who command the heavens with omnipotence, humanity stands as a testament to the beauty of limitation. Neither burdened by the clipped wings of angels nor ensnared by the infernal chains of demons, humans tread the earth with a unique, untamed spirit, a spirit that yearns to soar beyond the boundaries of destiny--even if it means we often court destruction in our hubris.

Such is the blessing and the curse of our wills.

Free will, that sacred flame stoked by equal parts ego and humility, courses through the veins of every human being, a force that carves paths unknown and fills us with the courage, or foolhardiness, depending on who one asks, to traverse them. It is the catalyst for choice, the forge where dreams are wrought and where the magnificent discord of individuality thrives.

However, as I mentioned before, despite my honeyed words, there is of course a darker side to our will. We may dance in the wake of shadows, but only because we rarely take responsibility for them.

We bear no infernal chains, yet we clad our innocent brethren in steel and, therefore, our entire lot in chains of acrimony.

Our wings may not be clipped, but we cannot fly without accounting for the weight of consequence.

We stand as a testament of limitation, but if we were to ever break free of it, we would ultimately destroy ourselves.

While gods, angels, and demons may be defined by their celestial attributes, humanity is characterized by its boisterousness, its fragility, and the exquisite chaos of its unbridled will.

I hope this answers your question.

[belheir]

[ Leave it to Joshua to wax poetic.

Though... that was essentially what Naoya had told him too. His Naoya, not the one here from a different path taken. ]

I was told what you just said once. That humans are neither like the unwavering rigidity of angels and gods, nor like the free form chaos of demons. That in a good sense they were flexible enough to lend to either or. In a bad sense, too vague to be fully trusted to either.

sender: Flowey

[your_best_friend]

The main difference between humanity and monsters is that humanity is capable of determination. Humans can also come on all sorts of forms, from the most sociopathic and depraved to the most pacifistic and friendly.

[belheir]

I'm not talking about the concepts of good and evil or right and wrong. I'm talking about the nature of humans as a whole.

[your_best_friend]

And I'm telling you. Variety. Arbitrary specializations that they shape themselves into.

They can come with different types of SOULs. Besides determination, their SOULs can also be justice, integrity, perseverance, bravery, kindness, and patience SOULs.

See? Variety.

[belheir]

You're still not getting it. Humans can be all of those things at once, or none at all. That's on an individual level.

If you had a group of humans, a million or more, would you classify their over all nature as rigidly following rules? Or would you classify it as something more chaotic and free?

[your_best_friend]

Golly, if that's the game you want to play, then by all means, allow little old me to go even further down this rabbit hole.

Why should rules be rigid? Where do you draw the line on what is a rule, a guideline, or moral code? What do you define as chaotic? Are the veins on a leaf purely chaotic in nature or are they rigidly following some unseen rule you you just don't know about?

[belheir]

That's still not what I'm talking about, and has nothing to do with my question, so maybe you missed it or forgot somehow.

Of Gods, Angels, and Demons, what do you think human nature lies closer too?

[your_best_friend]

And what would you define as a god? What would you define as a demon? What would you define as an angel?

All three of those things could mean different things to different people. And what would or would not make you the absolute authority on those definitions?

[Flowey, you're just being a jerk now.]

[belheir]

It's really not that deep.

Either answer the question or don't. You obviously know what those three things are, at least to some degree, since you didn't immediately start by asking what they were.

[your_best_friend]

[...Fine then.]

Demons, most likely. I've met a few. Normal humans from my timeline aren't really capable of magic, so gods and angels are off the table.

[belheir]

I see.

Demons tend to be creaturs that are self serving, chaotic and free. To them, Might Makes Right is their way of life.

My answer was the same as yours.

[your_best_friend]

I noticed you said "was".

[belheir]

I'm still deciding on how I feel about it. I was told that it wasn't the right answer, but part of me still thinks it is.

Sender: Xiao

[whirlwindthrust]

Humans are unique unto themselves. They bear characteristics that gods and demons simply do not.

[belheir]

So you wouldn't say that as a whole they lean closer to demonic or divine nature?

[amnesiadragon]

the story

but not the truth??

[whirlwindthrust]

I wouldn't say that they do, no. Whatever way they may lean is up to the individual.

[localweirdo]

How interesting! What brought this on all of a sudden?

[belheir]

Depends on who you ask. I personally would consider all of them "evil", with minor exceptions for some individuals.

But that's just been my experience.

[belheir]

It's something I've been thinking about for a bit. Especially seeing how people interact with the demonic and divine in general here.

Not everyone is human, but most seem to know of or have the concept of angels and demons.