#but she certainly gets a Kassandra treatment from other characters

[onaperduamedee]

Moiraine for the blorbo chart? 🙏

Hello, I realise that some of these may be contradictory but listen, I was switching between my Doylist and Watsonian hats while making this and now I am too tired to give more cohesive answers. In short, I enjoy that the narrative is giving her such a tough time, as well as the privilege to be the maker of her own demise, but...

She's (canonically) very little and you are hurting her.

Thank you for playing!

Send me blorbos and I'll rate them.

[vaalthus]

The Aker'varus (spoilers)

Ya know this entire time it somehow didn't occur to me that the Aker'varus was just a dragon this entire time, lowkey assumed it was just some terrifying giant bird-like creature based on the Aerozoophobia creature we encountered in the Jungle Adventure quest. A thought that becomes extra dumb when you remember that particular fear monster looks like this:

So the foreshadowing for what the mythical beast actually is was staring me right in the face and I completely missed that.

Ooof the trauma.

Sounds like an opportunity to encounter the actual dragon in the future when concerning the plot of the southern kingdom. On another note, I still find the matter of Kassandra's parent's death much too suspect when we know how the Imperial family operates. I'm still not fully convinced they aren't at fault for the Aker'varus killing Kassandra's parents so to speak. Their demise in this manner just seems too convenient at the moment.

Yo! A biologically metal themed dragon!?!?! Now I want us to fight the real thing even more now.

....I'm convinced this man is an anime protagonist.

Hmm while not stated, I suspect this fire being casted is doing "good" damage, as in the "elemental" good we see in game. Would certainly explain why the fire is pink in contrast to the orange flames Sirius was shown to cast as a child and furthermore it wouldn't be the first time we've seen the fires of other elements take on a completely different colors. In the case of good, its usually been a color motif of either pure white or a pinkish hue. Just an observation though.

I. WANT. TO. FIGHT. THE. REAL. THING!!!!!!

Okaaay didn't think Inanitas was straight up inside the artifact but I certainly won't complain. Might explain why no one else but Sirius has been able to use the artifact's power within the Imperial family's bloodline for a long time. It simply comes down to there being a literal conscience entity to decide who gets to use it or not. Gave Sirius some mad celestial drip though.

Easy to see why the Imperial family does not want Sirius to be free of the Sword of Inanitas.

This line feels more ominous than anything. Sounds clear the Celestial has its own machinations it wants to achieve and yet I cannot help but be at unease when reading this.

In spite of this feeling like a death flag, I suspect what might happen here is that Kassandra will simply be trapped in the Fearscape as opposed to dying in shutting the engine down with minimal damage. Perhaps leading to quests down the line to free her though that is a guess at best. Or her character will simply receive a fate worse than death treatment and she'll be forced to stay in an endless fearscape, for all eternity...or she'll just die. Alternatively, this might be a convenient escape for her from the Arcana. Can't imagine how Sirius will react if she's truly lost forever though.

[sisterofiris]

Question arising from one of your miasma posts: at least one of those acts that would cause miasma is the *contemplation* of an act. If someone gets intrusive thoughts imagining miasmic acts that they absolutely do NOT wish to perform or even think about... would that generate miasma regardless? (Tbh either way purification would probably feel good lol)

I don’t think that would generate miasma, but this issue is right in the muddy territory between “religious belief” and “ancient cultural tradition”. The Ancient Greeks didn’t have the understanding of mental illness that we do now, and as a result, it was considered to be a curse, or generally something impure. In Euripides’ Hippolytos, Phaedra’s condition is described (by herself and others) as madness: the chorus asks her (141-150) if she is possessed by Pan or Hekate, or if she has been cursed by the Korybantes, Kybele or Diktynna, all deities associated with madness. In addition to this, as Phaedra laments and finally confesses her lust for Hippolytos, she speaks partly in the Doric dialect, which is often used by characters in a disturbed frenzy (like Kassandra in the Agamemnon).

At the same time, the descriptions point towards Phaedra suffering from something similar to what we would call intrusive thoughts. She is certainly unwilling to be experiencing lust for Hippolytos, and unwilling to act on it too. This affects her religiously, as miasma. But again, I would argue that this is the result of an ancient understanding of how our minds work, according to which mental illness is not a brain malfunction but a curse of the Gods. (The same goes for physical illness, too: severely disfigured people were considered to be miasmic, because their physical condition was taken as a reflection of their soul.) This understanding sucks, it’s outdated, and I firmly believe it’s not something we need to reconstruct in our religious practise.

That said, I do think there is some truth behind it. Illness, both mental and physical, is a sign that something in the body isn’t quite working like it should. This something is not morally wrong; it just needs to be, if not cured, at least treated so it interferes as little as possible with our daily life. As a religious person, I believe it is useful to take a holistic approach to health issues by seeing a doctor or therapist for everyday treatment, and also by practising ritual purifications to reduce the spiritual ramifications of said health issues.

I don’t believe the Gods judge us for our illnesses. I don’t believe intrusive, unwanted thoughts cause miasma (though they could if you genuinely want to act on them). But like you say, purification is a useful tool - if anything, so we can help ourselves into a state of mind more suited to worship.