41: Domain Drama
After that class, people were talking about things, and an extremely ugly guy approached a group of pretty people, and smiled horribly at them.
“You picked you grouping based on how good the other members look. You didn’t consider about the ugly people, or those who just don’t care about looks. However, I’m willing to join you to take up the roll of The Ugly one, looking over them.”
The group looked at each other and laughed, before agreeing.
Jane heard the offer and cried out “DON’T DO IT!”
Everyone ignored her, so she forced her way to the front of the crowd and had a look of abject horror on her face “Do you have any idea what you have just agreed to?”
The arrogant pretty ones scoffed, “Let someone else take care of the ugly people for us.”
Jane shook her head and said “No, you just helped create a God of Ugly Bastards! I’ve heard of him, and how foul he is. His Portfolio will include those ugly within and on the outside. Sickness shall be his, as with foul stenches and decay. Moral decay and cruelty shall be his. He shall corrupt, pervert and degrade your people, and then lead them in doing the same to others.”
Others were getting worried. In desperation she told them “Look up the term ‘Ugly Bastard’ What I’ve seen is horrible, but I hear when applied to porn it gets much, much worse! He will delight in doing things even demons would find distasteful and repugnant! Less because he enjoys it, but more because others are repulsed by it. He will try to sexually abuse all of you, even the guys. Just please do not accept him!”
They did not believe him, but others were growing sickened as they listened. The Ugly One just smiled, and that was enough to some a couple in the audience puke.
The group headed to the library, and started to look for things.
Drenak had his area set out, so he knew where to look. Garion had no idea what to look for.
Jane had an idea of where she wanted to focus, but Harlen just wanted to change her Domain.
Harlen gathered up all the books she could find on things relating to the Hearth Domain, and it was impressive. She knew she had no chance to go through all of them!
Jane frowned. “These are all the books you could find about the Hearth Domain, right?”
“All that I could think of. Why?”
“Harlen, I think it might be best if we find out what exactly Hearth means? After all, it could have a meaning we don’t know. At the very least it would remove one line of research quickly if we find nothing.”
Eventually they found a book on words and their origins.
Going to Hearth, they were surprised. It meant Fireplace!
Harlen went “Whoa! I never imagined that!”
Jane looked up with a smile. “I don’t think you fully understand what this means!”
“What does it mean?”
“Fireplaces have a Communal aspect to them. From campfires for warmth, to fireplaces in houses, to even bonfires at large parties! You can use this!”
Harlen smiled with renewed hope and got books on about social things involving fire. Finally she had some real hope now!
While they were looking through things, Jane looked up some things for other students that would help distract them and keep them off their back.
An hour latter Sandra and her group turned up, and addressed the group “Listen, you have no excuse to avoid me now.”
Jane told her “Please be quite. We are in a library, trying to research things for out Domains. If you wish for help, I would be glad to.”
Sandra was surprised. “You would? Why?”
“If you focus on your own Domains, you are more likely to leave us alone. I even found something I think one of your group would like to know as it will help with their own Domain issues.”
They were really off balance. “Really? What?”
Jane held up a book with a bookmark in it. “Yes. I believed the marked pages would be of real use for the Fat Acceptance Movement.” She handed it over. Sandra took one look at it and threw it down onto the table and started yelling at Jane for mocking them.
The book was “Fashion trends and their origins.”
Eventually Gallen came and escorted them out, taking the book with him.
One of the people who came to watch this had been a conservative radio talk-show host and was enjoying this show a lot.
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Gallen asked Sandra’s group “Why are you so angry?”
Sandra growled out. “She was mocking us! Giving us books about beauty trends to help with the fat acceptance movement!”
Gallen frowned. “Did you even read the part with the bookmark?”
“No, why should we even bother?”
Gallen sighed. “I think I know what the section will be about.”
He opened it to the bookmark and nodded. “Called it.”
He showed them, and they were stunned.
Gallen told them “In many cultures fatness is considered a sign of wealth, prosperity and power, for only such could afford to become fat. It meant you had more than enough to eat, and did not have to use all you energy working to survive. As a sign of such, it became something to seek in partners, and thus considered a sign of beauty. I come from a world of similar placement in the time lines to yours, and even then in some countries they have camps where girls fatten up by sitting around all day eating fattening gruel.”
That is what the section was about.
Gallen told them “This is what you would have learned from reading this, and avoiding embarrassing yourselves.”
Gallen turned to the obese woman, “This can help you seek to become a Goddess of many things. How you use it is up to you.”
He addressed the group as a whole and asked “Why are you not seeking to learn what you can to help you with your Domains, or even to discover which Domains would be best for you?”
He addressed the gay rights activist. “What Domain will you seek?”
He looked Gallen in the eyes “Gay rights.”
Gallen frowned. “That is a very minor Domain that can easily be engulfed by so many others. What is more, even if you succeeded and pushed for it, you would have to be careful because pushing for them is not pushing for justice for Gay people. Basically, it could be absorbed by Justice, or if you pushed for it beyond Justice, you would be seen as Evil and opposed for it.”
Suddenly he smiled. “Let us figure out the nature of homosexuality. What is the basis of it?”
“To be attracted romantically or sexually to your own gender.”
Gallen nodded. “I presume you would also promote bisexual rights, correct?”
“Yes. Why?”
Gallen calmly answered. “I am not allowed to tell you things you do not know, as it would be biased in your favor if I did that. All I can do is ask you the questions you should be asking yourself, and make you think about them.
“Now, what is the basis of bisexuality?”
“To be attracted to people, romantically, or sexually, regardless of their gender.”
Gallen smiled. “What Domain has people being romantically or sexually attracted to each other?”
He hesitated and half guesses in confusion “ . . . Love.”
Gallen smiled. “So, if you wanted to promote people being able to love whoever they wanted, what Domain would you try for?”
The guy was more confident now. “Love.”
Gallen smiled. “Just imagine an entire empire where people are raised to love others regardless of their gender. Would there even be a need for a demi-god of Gay Rights?”
He frowned. “No.”
Gallen nodded. “Of course, you may eventually lose out to another Deity of Love, who focuses on hetroes due to them having more kids, but even so you can just retreat to a sub-domain, like homosexuality, or bisexuality.”
This guy had trouble standing and went to one of the library walls for support. He had been hoping for a minor Domain at most, but was now facing a chance to be a major Deity! And he would have his original target as a backup for latter on!
The talk-show host seemed annoyed at that, so Gallen did something totally unexpected.
“In my home world, there is a saying ‘nothing resembles the far right as much as the far left.’ I want to see how far that goes between that guy there” pointing at the conservative “and Sandra.”
He was pushed in front of Gallen.
Gallen started with him “You are considered a conservative. What is thy aim as a talk-show host? Be honest with yourself and us.”
He thought for a bit and eventually said “I hate people coming in with different ways of doing things and causing lots of problems, with no respect for how things have been. Imagine a system that has been running fine for decades, even over a century, and now they want to change it due to some political fad? Or how about people trying to ban our traditions because it might offend foreigners while making us honor their traditions in order to make them fell included! I am not against change, but it has to be done carefully!”
Gallen nodded. “That is not a new sentiment. I believe the Amish in our part of the multiversal spectrum started in order to limit the social impact caused by the starting industrial revolution. I can see two Domain that are similar but different in important aspects that may suit you. If to keep society stable, would you advocate others unjustly suffering, or would you rather risk social stability in order for fairness to occur.”
The man did not hesitate. “Any society that is built on unjust suffering does not deserve to exist!”
Gallen nodded. “That rules out Social Stability as a Domain. How do you view Society as whole, in how it should be?”
“Live and let live for the most part. Don’t cause too many changes too fast or needlessly. Think about the impact of what you do or don’t do.”
He was getting riled up.
Gallen nodded. “You seek Social Harmony by removing or suppressing the disruptive elements.”
He faces Sandra. “What drives you?”
“Justice! I want everyone to be able to live freely as they want to be, without suffering from bigots and persecution! I want people to be able to embrace other ways of living.”
Gallen asked her “And what if they do not want to do that, but are content with how they are?”
“They don’t have to join it, but they should not try to stop us?”
“But what if they acts interfere with them? What if they want to hold a get together for something like a military reunion, but people consider offensive to people from nation they fought 60 years previously?”
Sandra had no response for that.
“Sandra, do you believe in reparations for ancestral slavery?”
“Yes.”
“But have you ever considered how it would be done?”
“White people would pay black people reparations?”
“That is not Justice, for some blacks came over as free people, and many white people did not own slaves. What is thy dream as to how things should be? This will be from a new start, so do not worry about addressing past wrongs.”
She thought for a bit. “ . . I want a society where people can be who they want to be, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or self identity. I want a society that welcomes all and we all live together in peace.”
Gallen smiled. “You seek Social Harmony via incorporating the different elements.”
Everyone was stunned, until someone called out “WAIT! Both of them can have Social Harmony as their Domains? But they are opposites.”
Gallen calmly replied “Are they? They seek to keep their societies harmonious, via different ways. His way would most probably be best is remote areas where changes are slow to arrive, and there is less need to adjust quickly. Hers would be best among places like trade towns and other places where there is a large mixing of different groups. This would be a textbook case of different ways one Domain can be applied in different ways if there was a textbooks to start with.
“However, both have to be careful to avoid slipping into other Domains that are actually harmful, or by being manipulated by those of such Domains.”
With that he left a stunned crowd behind.
Once out of sight and in a different identity he cracked up laughing.