We are all our gods' fools

This gotta be one of the hardest lines ever put to the site

This is really very, very good as a story. I'll add a very tiny disclaimer here that I'm not really a fan of it as an expansion on 093, but that's entirely personal taste and didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of an extremely engaging and wonderfully written exploration of faith. For something of this length, it's exceptionally important that it doesn't have any fluff on it — every part needs to contribute to the greater whole, and needs to be engaging enough to keep the reader's attention. This nails that; even from the opening, it reintroduces a familiar setting and character in decidedly unfamiliar circumstances. Anibal's character is a tad one-sided until he gets to share his side of the story, which fleshes (huehue) him out in a way I can really appreciate. Nahum, Anibal, Miriam — all feel like real people, like Snap said. The prose works fantastically — no wasted space, all of it contributing.

I think Anibal's dialogue is a little Extra compared to the others', though that's not necessarily a bad thing — maybe he's just a drama queen. Either way, I think the strongest parts of this were definitely the sharing of the stories. Each one is an interesting recontextualization of the character, and shows a different aspect of why people believe — direction, power, sorrow. Miriam's story was a tad weaker than the others', though I can't really articulate why so I hesitate to offer that as criticism, just a personal observation. The start kicks ass, the ending kicks ass, everything in between does that while also delivering three (3) extremely well-written character explorations. Great stuff, DB.

In situations like this I usually say 'oh I should've read this sooner' or whatever, but I'm actually glad this is the last entry I read because I don't think anything can top this. It has such a sense of finality and catharsis that I wouldn't want to read anything else after. Ending the contest with a bang, for real.

Besides the great choice of setting, the engaging prose, stellar dialogue, and a million more compliments, etc, my favourite part was the silent resolution. An inferior writer would've continued the argument and perhaps rubbed Miriam's point in, which would completely ruin the story's purpose and impact. You avoided that pitfall with grace. The characters, despite their disagreements, respect each other and know it is time to come together at the end of it all. Anibal being the one to say 'Let us pray' was a phenomenal choice and great ending to his character arc for this story. This kind of deep emotional complexity is rare in stories, especially ones of this length, and I really — I mean really — gotta read more of your stuff.

"The fools have spoken their truths!" Miriam roared. "It is time I tell a story of my own."

This line is so good, everything before is so good, Aníbal getting his comeuppance and then her roaring almost in victory, but not total victory as she begins with her story. I really liked how Aníbal showed how Miriam and Nahum were the same then Miriam showed how Nahum and Aníbal were the same, although it did make me wish Nahum had been able to show the similarities between Miriam and Aníbal. Incredible work Din, inexplicably underrated as always 🙏

The three main characters were really fun to read, especially as their ideologies clashed, and this clash was explained through the tales each of them told. Miriam's story was a really good twist that I really liked, and how, again, the clashes between ideologies did affect the characters, especially Aníbal.

Overall, yeah, this was a great read, with beautiful imagery and great character writing. Easy +1~

It was a pleasure to sample these chips midway through baking. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to eat these chips all over again because they are just that good. Cheers!

-Styg

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dust_storm_in_Black_Rocks_Desert_nn.jpg