#ray/keys/whoever is fronting if you see this yes this abt ur post

[syndianites]

Just saw a post that made me think of this:

Imagine a Mianite AU where the gods never show up.

Like, they exist. They are real. Their presence affects the series and the lives of the people just as much as it would if they were there, but they aren't. Rather than being there, physically, they pull strings in the background.

There's no outright "teams" in the way you can define a person as a Mianitee or a Dianitee.

But, there's times when Tom gets an impulse that makes even him pause, something that is a bit more destructive or hurtful than he'd initially think to do. Wouldn't going full in on a cruel prank and blowing someone's house and items to smithereens be a bit across the line?

There's times where Tucker finds himself ready to snap at someone or put someone in their place because they did something just a little out of line. But that's stupid, right? It's hardly something worth starting a fight over if someone decides to get antsy and start carving up the ground and making mockery of someone else.

And maybe Jordan finds himself feeling like he has mood swings. Some days he's a stickler for the rules, things need to go a certain way and be in line and in order or else he just feels off the whole day. On other days, sometimes right after a order-y day, he'll feel the need to cause chaos, like he's been possessed by Tom all of the sudden. Things are too orderly, too nice and neat and Jordan just needs to tilt things a bit away from all of that.

Sonja gets a bit of that need for order, but its less. For a while she figures its just Tucker rubbing off on her until she starts to get darker thoughts. Things that scare her, because surely she isn't this cruel? Ideas of breaking her friends down, putting them beneath her and ripping their beliefs away from them. It's something she actively fights against, deciding its just a bad case of intrusive thoughts and reminding herself each time they happen that she doesnt want to hurt her friends and that these thoughts arent her.

Sonja is the closest to the truth.

Dec knows the truth, but he also decides to keep it hidden. Not in a "i will erase any hint of the truth" type of way, but in a "i wont go out of my way to reveal it." He can tell who is being affected by who, which person is more strongly aligned to which god. Each time a new person comes along he'd make bets with himself about who is going to be more like what god. Nadeshot? It was hard to say, with him leaning Dianite and back towards Mianite. Then he fell towards the Shadows which worried Dec. The Modesteps? Very Dianite- could have been a shoe in for the Shadows if they'd stuck around that long.

No, the gods have no real presence until the pirates come along. Capsize who is on a mission to free Ianite. Redbeard who is a little too observant when it comes to the leanings of the natives. Dec gets to them first, tells them the situation, then stands back.

It was always out of his hands, after all.