American Gods – A Thousand Words
"In touch with the ground. I'm on the hunt down, I'm after you. Smell like I sound, lost in a crowd. And I'm hungry like the wolf."
We love this song! Our song in a way. Like wolves, always on the hunt for new prey. We are proud and full of it. Stalking amongst the mindless herds of sheep looking for one of them to just snap, and we'll be there to snap them, if you know what I mean.
Like a million twinkling stars, or like the power of the Sun in our eyes, we are there. Capturing every second, every moment, every juicy, extraordinary moment within our eyes. Then, we feed them to the eager masses. They are always look for that next tender piece of meat to chew on. Like rabid dogs. They can't get enough of it. Sure, they whine and howl, but in truth, they love it. No one is safe from our eyes, that freeze and catch time. No gods, no mortals, no angels or celebrities. The living or the dead. Olympus rises and falls so many times, and it never gets old.
Are we gods ourselves? Not sure on that one. We deliver the faults and flaws of others. We are the jackals are your door. The vultures in the sky. The flies on the walls. No one can evade us. No matter how hard we try. Even if they tell us to get lost or say "no comment", we will uncover their secrets. Though the Library of Alexandria burnt down long ago, information is now much easier to obtain. Every fingerprint, mouse click, and phone call leaves a mark somewhere, and we can find it. We will find it.
We are often split into two camps. Those of us who want to bring light to those who do wrong, and those of us who just want to bring people down. But, whatever conflict that comes between us, we all crave the stories. The tales. The scandals, rumours, and insatiably gossip. This stuff is even more exciting than your average TV soap. People go nuts over this stuff, and want to read, hear, or watch more, no matter how bad it becomes.
They do say a picture is worth a thousand words. It is just a thrill to capture that exact moment of corruption or fault in people, and spread them like wildfire. It's like wiping faeces across a windscreen, and people just lap it up. Whether it is a sex scandal or politicial corruption, a celebrity getting into a drunken brawl, or just getting drunk, it is gold. No leprechaun has what we have, and can have.
Ethics and morals have jackshit to do with getting the right angle, quality, and framing. A picture of a royal on the beach is worth all the gold in El Dorado. The old gods are floundering, but we'll be here now and forever. As long as our followers pick up a newspaper, watch the TV, listen to the radio, or spread our words like a bushfire, we will be fine. And that is going to go on, and on, and on, for a long time. Even when they turn against us, they will always come back. They need us, as much as we need them. They managed to get out of their caves on their own, but we are keeping them from returning there.
Still, in light of things, our splitting was always there. We don't know when it happened, but it has extended our influence and power around this world. Intrusion and exploitation is our pedigree, but so is the truth. It is an addiction that we cannot satisfy. Nor can those who follow and pray to us. Prayer through photographs isn't new, but it sure is sweet.
We are not sure when we came into being. It might've been recent, or years ago. But, we do remember when King Farouk punched Tazio in the face. After that, the only way was up. We didn't get our names yet, but some called us "mosquitoes with lenses". No, those are called drones. They're becoming a new weapon for us to use. Now, no one can hide from us. They barely could before. We could infiltrate their homes like shadows. Even if they could blend in, we would find them. Like a game of tag, or hide and seek, like the little ones play.
Some say we make a career by forcing our ways into their lives. They should be thrilled that we are giving them our attention. Ungrateful. Pathetic. Worthless.
The term celebrity has become a bit vague. Not too long ago, a celebrity was famous for a reason. They walked on the Moon, were sports champions, drove people crazy with their music, or were genuine heroes like in the old days. Nowadays, someone posts a sex tape online and they are now walking amongst the Olympians. And it is our civic duty to give them the attention they crave. Some hate us, and hurt us, but in the end, they preen for us when it suits them.
We will never stop. It is our mission, our purpose, our reason to exist. We will trap them in their cars, chase them down the streets, watch them from afar, tap their phones, steal their post, raid their garbage, break into their homes. We will kill them if we have too. We give what the people demand. Gods rise, and gods fall. In the end, they all fall.
Do we envy these people? I don't know. Unlikely. We are looking for that moment that can capture a person's life, forever immortalising them. In a way, everyone wants to be remembered. So, we help them. Even if they don't know it or want it.
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Another short side story involving a New God that personifies the paparazzi. This one came to me a little quicker than Angel of Wires. Feel read to read that one, and leave a review. Enjoy the story.