#everything goes back to cotl

[aveloka-draws]

I was playing animal crossing w my boyfriend and he pointed out how that game also had a sort of father figure with twins under his care so uh

The one who waits (extremely chill version)

[tidalfoam]

[cconfusedkat]

Warmup!! Mystic & Allure aftermath of their fight , few hours later returning from the underworld and allure is in perfect condition while mystic still has a hole in their stomach 😭

I realized making Mystic a follower was much better than killing them off for good. Cuz then i realized, oh yeah i think not only just having Allure kill both narinder and mystic in the same boss fight is important but also the fact i could also make them both follower forms

Anyways, narinder was killed first by allure and then scurried away back to the pentagram to teleport back to the cult and seek help from sozonius. Thennn it took like two hours for mystic and allure to fight,, allure uses a spear for the final hit and that's what kills mystic,, thus they become a follower and this happens LMAO- the quality is so ass

Additionally heres this as another warmup ,, theyd both probably be a bit awkward generally for quite some time due to the fact that the one who started the genocide (mystic) is now residing in a cult dedicated to the six [and dead] lambs mystic sworn to hate forever 😭 ik Archangelo and paloma are having a blast in the underworld together over mystic being a total loser now HAHA

And also allure has no idea what the mystique species are like. Theyre easily amused at the fact that mystiques are in fact shadows and why it explains their lanky figures, which is how mystic is built as a follower ,,, mystic IS the last of their own kind after all so. Karma? For starting a lamb genocide? Cuz now none of your shadows exist other than the witnesses i guess 😭

[riiviir]

fanart is so hard to draw. stupid characters having stupid details that are out of my stupid comfort zone AAAAAGH

[alllgator-blood]

'FOGGY STREETS AND CHRISTMAS LIGHTS'

(part 3/3)

I'm gonna infodump about the backstory of this comic, don't feel obligated to read it because it's not cotl related it's just personal stuff, I just want to be able to write about it somewhere cause I can't really talk to anyone about it.

As always, thanks for reading this far, sorry my stuff has been such a bummer so consistently. This comic goes out to all my "christmas induced depression" homies, I left my house maybe like ~5 times all month and it was NOT pleasant hearing "IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!" on the radio when I'm so ready for it to be over. Gonna take it reaaaaal easy til the year ends, you guys take it easy too!! Got some asks I have to respond to when I'm more stable but probably no new comic pages til january

Alright uhhh so this part of the comic is pretty much taken directly from the last time I saw my great-grandma alive, a few days before christmas. She didn't remember me, but at the nursing home there was a piano, and I sat down and played some stuff because I didn't know what to say. I was really into lisa the painful rpg at the time, and I played that "I've got the joy" song that the villain sings without realizing it was an old christian campfire song. She didn't really say much or move that whole night, just kind of gave me a polite blank smile, but started singing the words when I played the notes to that song.

I kinda stopped in shock, my dad frantically asked me to keep playing, so I did. While the comic I made is way more sappy than the actual moment was, I wish I'd cherished the moment longer. I didn't know it was the last time I'd see her alive. Every family christmas was held at her house when she was around, so it's been weird the past few years. I actually lost another dementia-addled grandma to cancer on christmas eve in 2009, so the holiday was already kind of weird for me on top of everything else that makes me sad this time of year. That's what part 2 was about, I'll spare the details but I wrote leshy to act out how I felt back then. Why are we all sad? This is supposed to be a happy time, all the decorations are up and we're almost all here, so why is everyone smiling yet everything feels so wrong? I feel like since leshy's canonically the most ignorant one to things lurking below the surface, he'd be the one to try and make everyone feel better but not quite understand why everyone is so miserable. My first memory of having self injurious behavior came from then, hence why I had leshy pull his leaves off in the last comic. It was confusing and frustrating and I was just old enough to comprehend something was wrong, but not old enough to understand the depth of it, it DEFINITELY didn't help that nobody helped me back then so I made leshy's siblings actually come in clutch instead of grabbing him/yelling at him.

That night with the piano was something that's stuck with me the few years she's been gone, but I felt kind of strange when I asked my dad and my sister about it and neither of them remembered it. The room we were in was completely empty so nobody else witnessed it but us three. I myself have a history of head trauma and memory loss (plus, native americans are disproportionately more likely to develop dementia... lucky us) so if I ever forgot about that moment, there'd be nobody left to remember it. Sometimes when I do comics, it's my way of going "this happened at some point, and the only evidence it ever happened was me witnessing it, so if something happens to me I want the memory to stay alive in some form."

Anyway. The autistic urge to overshare, am I right? Idk what my religious ass great-grandma would think of me drawing demonic comics about my last memory of her, she'd probably think it's funny though cause she raised my dad whose interests have always been "death metal and devil worship". I'm not sure if anyone read this far, I just hope my dumb comics can convey the things I can't say with my voice and struggle to say through text. None of this was supposed to be "feel bad for me!! Woe is me!!", it was supposed to me more like...cathartic? Healing? I almost didn't post this comic because it felt kinda weird, but seeing people connect with it made it worth it imo. Thank you

[cabi-leodrann]

sincerely hope you don't mind the continuous likes I just gave over the past uh...I actually have no idea how long I've been looking at your blog 😭 I really love your story and characters :D I'm very very excited for the update, I kid you not when I say I have been WAITING. I really really enjoy it I spent ages tracking it back down one day bc I couldn't remember your blog name

also READING ABOUT THE LANGUAGE. The language I really like your language for THaB... I feel very inspired to make languages for my own projects now!!! I actually remember vaguely conceptualizing one for an alien race but I digress. Irrelevant!

I'm curious to know by the way, do you and your co-writer share the universe? or is it more of just them helping you with the logistics and worldbuilding so you don't like..unintentionally make nonsense or something?? for lack of better wording LOL

I'm wondering (spontaneously) as well if you have any sort of unique cultural things for toohlegs and/or specific species of animal? praying I spelt that right UH. Yeah!! I don't know Im just very curious,, this is also my first time sending anyone an ask about lore and such, I think mainly because it's the first time I've been invested enough in a cotl au to actively crave knowledge on a regular basis. Genuinely captivating I am hypnotized !!!

okay that's all I think I'll go hide away in a corner now

I absolutely don't mind the wall of likes! On the contrary, makes me happy to see I grabbed someone onto the brain rot =D I am so glad you were able to find the blog and that you're enjoying the AU this much! I'm also a bit sorry you have to wait this long for the next update- the bonus that comes with it kind of got way bigger than the update itself ='3 But we're getting there! For your language: I recommend you the game "Chant of Sennaar"! I understood a lot about language with it, and it's pretty much the base I used to make Lamb's language! There are so many more variables, but I think Sennaar is a good start at understanding some aspect of what you are doing! *Give mic to @wowhy-s-silly-doodles*

"Then I got some idea that I proposed to them, and slowly I started proposing more stuff. One thing to know is that I spend a looooot of time using the cotl wiki, checking everything single detail and flavor text. I ended up stepping on something BIG and went to Cabi with an idea for it and we both constructed a major plot point in the story. Ever since we've both been very implicated into the creation of the story and it' hard to know which part is mine and which is theirs."

*Take the mic back* I'm glad that you asked about the Toohlegs =D The culture we are developing with Wowhy concerns more the cult of the Lamb specifically, as we don't really know how things goes in other communities outside the one of Lamb.

So yeah, most of the adult in the cult have their memento planned. Nobody really gets to live old for many reasons. Those rituals weren't always there, so the first followers were buried, and crypts were created.

But there's another category of Toohleg, and they are called the Mystics =D

And there's more than just those categories, but, you know, classifying a spectrum is kind of an endless task. One last thing. If you ever do a dish with a Toohleg egg, EVERYONE will know. The yolk is red, and egg whites have a particular shimmer to it, created from a sort of dust mixed in it, and this shimmer will be visible in your dish. Eggs can be broken, for an infinity amount of reasons. But, even if it goes against the zero-waste-philosophy, nobody wants to eat the egg, and the followers will kind of hate you for what you've tried to do. And I think that's it so far! I understand the anxiety of sending an ask, (especially when the answer takes a while to come) but you did well to send it! Wowhy and I will never pass a chance to ramble about THaB =D Thank you again for the ask, and have a nice day✨

[kyri45]

ISAT Sky Cotl AU Headcanons Masterlist

Here's the masterpost of the AU with all the comic! Feel free to suggest more if you want!! The list will be updated as the story goes to avoid major spoilers

About the Light /Wishcraft

Everything that is triggered originally in SKy in the AU is triggered by wish craft, which is a power that comes directly from the stars.

The island is filled with mechanism that recognize wish craft users and are modelled based on constellations

Most emotes are the equivalent of different forms of advanced craft hand signs, and each can be used like in Sky to activate certain doors (or to be able to call for creatures, or do other stuff like floating etc...)

There's a high concentration of star (wish) magic at the highest point of the Kingdom (where the eye of eden is currently) and if the habitant get's too far away from the island they wont be able to use some of their original abilities derivated from them (like for example they can't regenerate their wing levels)

About the habitant of the Island

Everyone is born naturally, but they all come from a line of people who were moslty made of stardust

The different seasons are periods of time like the chinese years, and are used as a reference for when people were born or even occurred.

People wear pendants with the season symbol they were born in. The season you were born in doesn't necessarily reflect your personality but can influence your passion

Every year, on the birthday of each sky kid, they meditate at the temple of the prince to visit Orbit and gain more power from the stars. They then come back with new "wings" every time. All kids do it with their parents or guardians until the age of 17th, which is the mark of them gaining their 6th wing wedge. From then on, they are officially considered an adult and can fly to orbit by themself. (I'm dividing the sky levels in half, since no one could live up to 200 years, so 4 wings is 5 y/o, 5 wings is 10 y/o, 6 wings is 17/18 y/o, 7 wings is 27 y/o, etc…)

People can decide to follow one of the Elders based on what they want to do in life/ which elder they are closer to (Dawn elder teaches navigation throught the stars, Forest elder teaches creativity and architecture, Valley twins trains your phisical ability and the Vault elder teaches you about the more advanced crafts). After they succeded in all the quests and finished their studies, they are blessed by the elders (which is the equivalent of finish one of the constellations, so you get the same gifts. Yes, the Valley Twin gift is literally them just allowing you to copy their haircut)

Moths are the equivalent of very young kids who still haven’t figured out which kind of person they want to be, which Elder they prefer to follow.

Elders are as big as they are for the same reason of the King in ISAT, the abnormal amount of craft they use is reflected in a collateral effect in their body

About their colture

Paper boats are rituals they used to send messages and wish anonimously, and are crafted so they can't get wet in the water

All capes are crafted so that you are always not too cold or too hot regardless of the climate

Creatures such butterflies, manta, fish and bird all are made of stardust as well, and recognize sky people as one of them and are able to charge them like in Sky

Their language is written with an alphabeth based on constellation shapes

SInce constellations are seasonal you would end up having different events based on the constellation they are under at the moment (days of nature, days of color, days of love, days of fortune)

About Siffrin

lived on the more outside part of the island, in the towns over the black sand beach (isle of dawn) which is the only part of the Kingdom open to visitors, travellers, traders, merchants.

Siffrin was born during the season of Performance and the Performance Guide was one of their first childhood presence during his first years. He continued to be passionated by acting even though he didn't live in Valley, but he and their parent still visited the Village Theather occasionaly to see some of their spectacle.

Had their cape made by his mother as custom, and before coming back to the island could never understand why it was so important that he should always wear it.

Siffrin before the events in the game always felt weird when it rained, was like slowed down and tired and sleepy. (by @forwonderfulpeople)

His call is the bird one (by @lone-owl-s-nest )

About The Wish (AKA The Eye of Eden)

The wish created a cataclysm so big people, not even Elders, can rememeber which was the original wish that caused it.

it made dissapear all people who were on the island, leaving only a spark of their memory

The Wish make you both forget and lose your wish craft power.

Krills are very big sadness

[acoraxia]

I may have just found your art (is so freaking pretttttyyyyy) and your cotl AU but I now desperately need to know everything about the AU because it looks so. cool.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INDULGE IN TALKING ABOUT MY LITTLE AU AHEM AHEM

I’m going to ramble now if that’s ok-

WARNING:: long and messy ramblings about AU ideas, headcanons and body horror/gore mentions up ahead

My Lamb’s story is actually pretty simple: they were born as Aluhé (ahl-weh) to a family filled with traveling performers. They traveled throughout the land of the Old Faith, worshipping the gods (especially Shamura) and performed to earn money to maintain themselves. Life was good up until rumors of the prophecy foretold by the Bishops spread towards the little hers; when Aluhé came of age they learned of said prophecy and that that was the reason why their family “settled down” in a (supposedly) hidden village.

Eventually, heretics arrive and they kill the herd safe for Aluhé and they escape, meet a flock of goats and Jahel (goat co-op character) and then run away due to guilt only to be captured by heretics and be introduced to the bishops.

After meeting Narinder and obtaining the crown, Aluhé refused to do anything in his name — refused to start a cult or touch the crown or anything… for months

they met Koi when they were planning to simply kill the Bishops bare handed and instead save her from being sacrificed (haha me too!). They don’t run the cult per say — mostly due to the fact they don’t want to get attached to anyone but they feel a strong sense of… protectiveness when it comes to the flock, going as far as appointing disciples to ensure the cult is safe and beating the life out of heretics that get a little too close for comfort to the cult grounds.

THE CROWN TAKES SUCH A MASSIVE TOLL ON ALUHÉ HOWEVER — apart from the fact that Aluhé is “easily corrupted” being fueled by a blind sense of justice towards the culling of their species over a family’s spat and a selfish fucker’s decisions, the crown latches on to their body and often does so when Aluhé has their guard down. This allows for certain changes to occur — the lack of hunger, exhaustion and ability to “morph” their body being a few of them.

It doesn’t help that Aluhé refuses to use the crown to fight unless absolutely necessary (because they hate dying because it means hearing Narinder talk and because they’ll end up angry all over again—) and often wears the crown around their neck.

This causes certain personality changes as well: Aluhé is typically quiet and docile when engaging with the flock if only a bit intimidating. They don’t talk to the followers unless necessary and only exchange actual conversation with their disciples. Since no follower is allowed to go on crusades with Aluhé they’re omitted from the fact their benevolent leader is in fact very, very, very, violent

They’d often consume heretics during their final moments or force feed their remains to the few that tried to get away (and failed) so they’d choke and die — a brutality that spread towards the bishops and their own disciples (Narinder still remembers how vile it was to see a meek little lamb get up and tear Barbatos to shreds, only to then use one of the worms’ teeth to sink it into Leshy’s flesh. Charming, really). This only strengthens when they kill Narinder and are eventually crowned the new god of death… among other things… and their body eventually adapts to the changes but it takes a toll on their mental health (

Their behavior, however, can be traced back to Shamura…

Since the two had a very interesting conversation before Aluhé was sent to be sacrificed:

Smh Aluhé you should be grateful to be blessed with the presence of the War Bishop tssk tsk

When the Bishops are killed and, eventually, brought back to life per the Mystic Seller’s request, Aluhé refuses to heal them or allow for their bodies to heal until they repent or make a pact with them to ensure obedience as they join their flock. Goes about as well as you can imagine

A big little change I made was that I made the Bishops Embodiments of their titles rather than just gods worshipped for it.

So Narinder is the Embodiment of Death, Leshy is the Embodiment of Chaos, etc. despite having somewhat mortal bodies they are still connected to their godhood and this will not change due to the fact that the world still needs gods in order to maintain balance — it also means that Aluhé is not just the god of death but the god of other things; it also means they have.. a union with Narinder, so to speak

The Gods have vessels for the sole purpose of their finding their replacements (because the gods will exist, even if they are not the same person they once were years ago) or to gain more worship and strengthen their power. When the Old Faith started getting greedy (coughs, Narinder) it was harder to find willing vessels or the right type of vessels to take on the task of bringing the Siblings more worship. It took years to find the proper candidates for Leshy or Kallamar (because the fucker was so PICKY /j) and it also caused a bit of horror to the siblings to see Aluhé reject the Red Crown as though it were simple

Aside from the Siblings being somewhat “dormant” and Narinder not being within the cult and Shamura traveling with Jahel… there’s a lot of silly little lore I managed to put into the four of them because I thought it’d be fun to explore the capability of Vessels and Gods and “War/Death Incarnate” as a whole — there’s a lot of story lore I don’t want to spoil but you can have these as a treat:

And thats it for now

[joffyworld]

what are some Cult Of The Lamb Bishops head canons that you will defend with your entire existence. Please a couple for each bishop. Thank you so much love ur poems BTW!!!

First of all thank you!!!!!! So sweet of you I'm glad you enjoyed them there's still at least 3 more to come soon

Also for headcanons,

Narinder

Was actually an okay dad to Baal and Aym, not very affectionate at all but he did care and they knew it deep down

Was a nice and caring brother Pre-Betrayal, just flew a bit too close to the sun and the prophecy forced the bishops to act

Deeply in love with the Lamb, has zero rizz though

Is basically @bamsara's TROD Narinder, sardonic asshole with a heart of not quite gold (because that fic got me into this fandom so yk he's my default)

Smokes cigarettes because what's it gonna do? Kill him

Hates people that smoke cigarettes

Also not my headcanon but someone made a trans Narinder I can't remember who but that was fucking awesome (maybe @ghosts-and-glory I think that might've been them, shout-out their COTL stuff so good sorry for @'ing you if you want it removed ghost please let me know)

Leshy

Slavic king, stereotypical Adidas tracksuit enjoyer

PIWO PIWO PIWO PIWO PIWO PIWO

Says Kurwa a lot

Bites everything

Living or not he bites it

Is actually a caring and loveable but chaotic younger brother (Pre-Betrayal)

Goes insane a bit and only has moments of normalcy and regret (Post-Betrayal) (this one's kinda in the poems if you look carefully) (also his dialogue in-game if you refuse to help him with his artifact)

Gay for boycat (idk just how it's always portrayed)

Heket

GAAAAAAAAAAAY

Very gay, lesbian queen

Like a kinder lesbian aunt vibe

Very hungry

Sarcastic but cares

Very "do what needs to be done"

Lives with the regret as best she can

Also has zero rizz, pathetic wet beast of a lesbian

Kallamar

The gayest

Like so gay

Pansexual icon

Just a gigantic whore

Coward, uses manipulation and sexuality to coerce more than he uses violence

Jewellery king, collects that shit like pokemon

Is best friends (maybe a situationship) with Midas

Super gay

Shamura

Regrets it all, would turn back time if they could

Non-binary but queen and motherly vibes

Oldest sibling by a wiiiiiide margin so they took on a motherly role

Goes by she/they

Wise beyond their years even after the brain damage

Brain damage made them go loopy though, basically trapped in time reliving the prophecy over and over

Accepts that they tried their best but feels immense guilt they failed their family

After resurrection their brain slowly recovers memories and they become a surrogate mother to the Lamb

Does not blame the Lamb at all

Sews and Knits (begins as rehab for their muscle coordination but continues as a hobby)

Is gay (lesbianism my beloved)

Is actually really kind and decent as far as a God goes, very forgiving and wishes they had acted differently in the past

Still loves Narinder even before the lamb comes to kill the gods, sent him Aym and Baal through a deal and ritual with Forneus so Forneus was okay with it too (and the kits didn't have to die)

[kikorikoiko]

Lore drop: the crowns in my cotl au

So, as you may have noticed, the crowns do not have a specific domain: they shift their area of expertise (i guess we can call it that) depending on the bearer (for example, the red crown shifts from being the crown of Sleep to the one of Death).

Also, no crown has a domain strictly reserved to them, and by this i mean that any crown could rule over the domain tipically assigned to another specific color, like: the yellow crown before Shamura's rise used to be related to war centered matters, there was a god of Death who beared the blue crown, a white crown of order, and the list goes on.

However, every crown has a specific macrocategory under which every single domain ever they ever ruled over falls.

So, the five crowns the Bishops wear are, actually the crown of Creation, of Survival, Pain, End and Cleansening

Let me further elaborate about this categories and how they inflence the story and their bearers.

The green crown of Creation tends to be the most destructive one, filled aoth energy and potential, powers strictly related to the cosmic order and nature. Potentially, the most strong of the crowns, but it tends to heavily hurt its own bearer in its race to unlock it's full potential. The most ancient of the crowns, its bearer are usually either calm enough to not let it start a new era, or have someone else that helps them control it.

The yellow crown of Survival tends to make its bearer evolve from a strictly phisical point of view: sharper teeth, poisonous fangs, more eyes, harder skin, etcetera. While all the crowns tend to transform its bearer, the yellow crown is the only one focused strictly on the evolutive point of view, instead of making the bearer appearance reflect how they see themselves. Heket was the only prey animal who got to wear the crown, since usually it chooses people who have already a big evolutionary advantage over others (racist crown, yippie).

The blue one is a peculiar case, since for a really long time the crown was hereditary and handed by a god to their successor. When it has the possibility, it tends to choose someone who has a familiarity with pain and has the desire to not be hurt anymore in their priorities. The crown of pain is focused more on the research and attempts one does to avoid being hurt, since after all pain is what tells us that something is wrong.

The red crown is actually the newest crown between all the others, since the end must come only after everything else. Due to this, until Shamura started the purge of the gods it holded itself back. In its short existence (by comaorison with the other crowns), it tends to accept as bearer only someone who has the ability to either make others calm while facing the imminent doom or making them accept it eother by telling them there is no other way or reassuring the mortals that it's not realy the end.

The purple crown has the job to clean the world from the other crowns. Exactly, a crown with the mission to control the number of deities going around. Almost as old as the green crown, however way less used since whoever picked it either give up and hided it or died and was left to rot somewhere. It had only five bearers, all charaterized by a strong hate for the other gods.

Having said that, how exactly is a domain picked for a bearer? Does it solely rely on the nature of the new god or does the crown have a say on it?

The first of the two domain is decided only by the nature of the new god, and the second one can either be in direct contrats with it, connected to the first one or chosen by the crown as a way to balance its bearers choice; for example, Shamura has as a secondary domain Knowdlege to both help them in their task and bevause the crown noticed that the pthers gods tended to get extremely defensive if there was a god of extermination or something at their doors. The crown itself is the one communicating to the new god their domain once they deem them ready. Usually, new gods spend their first year officialy as the substitute of the last divine who had the crown, but in some cases their actual domain was revealed as soon as possible. Usually the crowns wait for their first time in eldritch form to tell them, but that's the norm, not the rule.

[viaviv124]

Cotl Unity AU

Okay because we all know i will never start, let alone finish, writing this we'll do the same i did with the orphan AU and give a plot summary. I won't go too much into the politcs of shit here, many outside relationships that arent crucial or make time to explain small easter eggs/gags i put in so feel free to ask if you wanna know! I'd love to yap more! Same goes for questions in general!

Alright lets start!

So there's this country/kingdom called Dagas and the royal family, currently consisting of 5 siblings, the oldest taking the crown as the monarch/ruler, are viewed as gods and worshipped by the church. Narinder is the 3rd prince and 23 years old. He's pretty invested in the military and handles a lot of politics having to do with fighting, earning him the title God/Prince of death (allthough this also comes from his ruthlessness and cold demeanor). One day Shamura tells him he's betrothed and that his fiance will arrive in two weeks, that day being a royal ball to publically announce it. Narinder tries to fight this arrangement but fails, much to his dismay. The decision is final. He knows nothing about his fiance, only that they're slightly younger than him, allthough still an adult.

The ball comes, Narinder is not amused and keeps ranting to his siblings, and around an hour or two in a carriage arrives and the guards escort the fiance inside, a lamb in precious, simple white robes and a red camelia in their wool. They bow in front of Narinder, introducing themself as Nanda from Venzor, a rather small village. They're a commoner, Narinder is less than thrilled, allthough for appearances he gives himself as charming and interested, allthough his face is deadpan for the crowd cannot see it. He extends a hand and Nanda kisses it, not recieving the same courtesy back allthough he should've. Narinder tells them to rise and despite eye-ing Narinder for a split moment, Nanda smiles politely and says how much of an honor it is for them to stand in front of him like this, allthough lowkey passive agressively. Narinder takes that personal and decides he doesn't like them even more. They have a dance because, again, appearances, and allthough Nanda cannot dance they manage to keep up impressively well. During dinner with the rest of the royal siblings it is revealed that the reason for this engagement is that Nanda is indirectly from the church. Allthough not officially a priest, they've caused a small, abandoned church in their village to blossom and bloom, causing even a lot of travelers to move to this village in order to devote themselves to faith. Nanda's talent/achievements within the church, which is lowkey controlling the loyalty of the commoners torwards the royals hence why it's so important, combined with their sharp wit it would be a good match with Narinder's military upbringing. Narinder doesn't protest but silently hopes that Nanda will just be an obedient believer who won't get in his way.

And that works, for the first week or so they do as they're told, work wise, and everything seems fine. Until Nanda realized/learned they can be casual around the royals, they cannot get rid of them or harm them unless they commit a respective crime, so they start relaxing and showing it in their attitude. What pushes it over the edge for Narinder is that Nands dared ordering him around. Well actually they just asked him if he could get something for them he was closer to but alas, who is to understand the mind of that prideful cat? (Nandas words) From that day on none of them held back. They bicker and bicker with no end, every so often it'd escalate into a fistfight too. They can barely sit in room together without one deciding to provocate the other for absolutely no reason. And hence their dynamic is born.

Around a month since Nanda arrived Narinder has to leave for a week or two. When he comes back and steps out of the carriage or leaves the ship or something everywhere around them are screams of pain and agony. It is caused by Nandas hand, ss they've killed people that seemed previously hidden. Once the acts are committed Nanda goes blank with this horrifyingly odd look in their eyes, making everone believe they lost it. They didnt hurt anyone else though and they didn't resist arrest. Narinder, accompanied by a guard for safety, decided to interrogate Nands himself. They reveal that these people were plotting to kill Narinder the moment he came back, providing a few letters exchanged in secret by the perpetrators they managed to steal as evidence. They never intended to kill them, but they couldn't help but see red. If they should be executed for their crimes they won't resist. Narinder believes their story and demands Nanda free. When asked for his reasoning he says that these letters were the real deal, for he knows Nandas handwriting enough to say so. Nanda saved his life so they get pardoned. Narinder doesn't understand why this drove Nanda so far they could only see red, this starts changing his view of them ever so slightly positively, allthough this doesnt stop their constant fighting.

Their normal life goes on until 2 months later they have to go to Venzor, Nanda's hometown, for various reasons. There Narinder meets Ratau, Nandas mentor and the one who arranged the engagement together with Shamura, allthough Nanda didn't find out until the day they had to leave. In general Narinder meets a huge culture shock, for as the common folk seem to greatly respect Nanda, calling them leader (which they've only seen Corey do sometimes) and in turn treating Narinder all casually despite being aware of his Status. During their stay he sees a very kind and mature side of Nanda, also seeing their skill in delivering sermons and in general doing work preists usually learn their whole lifes to do. On their trip they also need to clear out a nearby forest of monsters, creatures that greatly plague Dagas' safety and that Narinder frequently goes fight for a hobby. There he learns that Nanda is not only skilled with swords and daggers but also posesses black magic, making him re-evaluate each time they fought and in theory they could've just ended him right there.

In general both of them they realize they make a great team and work greatly together, be it about their actual work or fighting together. Especially after their visit to Venzor they also fight less. (allthough still very frequently, this is just their thing. Most of the malice is gone.)

Narinder learns Nanda is plagued by nightmares around two weeks after they return home. He found that out because he demands small cuddle sessions every now and then (obviously totally not romantic at all or anything, the grumpy kitty just needs his big plushy). Surprisingly the nightterrors become less when Nanda's with him so they end up sharing his bed. Over the span of the next 2 or 3 months the two of them (allthough mainly nanda) open up more in general, telling the other personal things and things that trouble them. For Nanda this includes telling Narinder their nightmares and that their birth family is dead. Over that time the two of them also begin sleeping with eachother on a regular basis.

For the next bit i have a semi-written out scene, with that i mean dialogue, so here you go:

It's late at night. Nanda is prone to overworking themself, especially just working deep into the night, and this day is no other. Narinder enters their office, leaning at the doorframe. "Come to bed." Nanda shakes their head "I need to finish this." Irritation starts filling the prince's voice, allthough with no real heat "I am not repeating myself, lamb." "What, can't sleep without me?" "I've no use for someone sleep deprived." A scoff "I don't need to be useful to you." "As a commoner thats your purpose, even more as a religious figure. You’re supposed to devote yourself to me." "Baah, i never did that. It’s dumb. I just use the scriptures as my own and take from it what i want and need. Now be quiet and follow your own advice and go to bed, prideful cat." "Excuse me?" "You heard me." Despite the bickering Narinder's interest was piqued. After a bit back and forth he gets Nanda to elaborate, who proceeds to tell him their story. Nanda grew up in a small village, not Venzor, with their family. However, that place was pillaged when they were around 12. From their family they are the only survivor and had to flee. In order to survive they had to resort to theft and violence, also getting with some very bad people i won't get into here. This went on for around 3 years when they met Ratau. He took them in and brought them the holy scriptures closer, saying that he himself also doesn't believe in the gods but that the morals and allthat are good to follow if you have nothing else to believe in. Surprisingly this worked for Nanda too and they got a lot better, the traveling with someone trusted who wouldn't hurt them also helped. Eventually they came across Venzor, a small miserable village. Nanda decided to teach the people what Ratau taught them, that even if they don't believe in the gods they could take whenever they need for courage, comfort and guidance from the scriptures. The people found hope in that and the rest is history. As Nanda was talking Narinder moved to the chair himself, keeping the lamb on his lap. They kept talking, telling stories of their travels or telling anecdotes from the villagers etc. As they were talking they finally fell asleep. Carefully Narinder took them to bed, holding them especially close that night.

From then it only took like a month before the two of them finally admit their feelings. They're on the balcony of Naridners (by extension Nandas, they barely use their own room anymore) chambers on a beautiful, moonlit night. Nanda is very deeply in love with Narinder, but still believes Narinder dislikes theme so they keep quiet, the prideful prince however has run out of patience and decides to do it right then and there. He kisses Nanda tenderly, saying "There is no need for me to proclaim my love, as you are already destined to be mine to wed." Nanda tears up and hugs Narinder tightly. They kiss once more, then Nanda sobs in Naridners shoulder, then they kiss again. It was a very happy and tender night for both of them and the first day or two they full on embraced the honeymoon phase, actually going without bickering. However, they very quickly return to the status quo because that's just their thing and how they're the most comfortable.

Around 3 weeks later the two of them go to yet another crusade, that's how they call their monster hunting, and they come across a small, dilapidated village. They're on guard as they look around, allthough no soul is to be seen. Not until a man comes to them with painful cries. His soul is damned and incased in darkness. He begs for help and mercy. Narinder is ready to strike, as this old man is about to turn into a monster sooner or later, but Nanda stops him. They turn to the man and extend a hand, cleansing his soul with their magic. He thanks them very much before quickly leaving this damned place. Not long after a bigger crowd of damned people drag torwards Nanda, begging to be healed to. Selflessly they do so. By the end of it around 200 people are cleansed and went on their way, meanwhile Nanda's own light left their body, leaving their body slowly blackening as they collapse. Alarmed Narinder catches them in time and rushes back to the palace. They won't wake up and each healer, each cleric, declares they cannot be saved. They had sold their soul for black magic, this is the consequence for the magic kept gnawing at Nanda's soul and this overexersion made their fate final. They won't survive this. Narinder is heartbroken and doesnt leave their side. He barely eats, won't talk to anyone, he just stays as Nanda'a side, holding their cold hand or body tightly. On the fourth night Narinder recieves an anonymous letter. The letter talks about how there is a cure, but people using light magic deem it as unethical, as it requires a new soul, be it through sacrifice or a shared one. It requires the soul of someone very close to the afflicted, like family, very close friends or a lover, as a stronger connection will increase the success rate. Unless an entire soul is given no one will die. If Narinder is willing to do this, all he has to do is break the tooth in the envelope. The letter is signed with "the teeth in the darkness". Without much hesitation Narinder breaks the tooth. The next day he wakes up next to Nanda, they still show no sign of waking up but their body feels warmer and the blackening went back. Sorrowfully he whispers “how dare you leave me after i’ve finally made you mine? You promised to stay, yet you’re a liar.”, words he has said multiple times since Nanda fell ill, that now feel even heavier. Around an hour goes by, Narinder lets no one inside as he mourns his lover, when suddenly their breath slowly speeds up again. They move. Slowly they wake up. Narinder embraces them tightly. Both cry. It is a very overwhelming and emotionally raw moment.

Nanda makes a full recovery and the wedding is held a few months after.

And that's pretty much it! Again, in the background is a lot more going on but this is already long enough. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

[cotl-inspiteofyou]

The ISOY discord server is going private

The ISOY Discord is being made private. I wanted to announce this fact so it is somewhere for people to find if they see older posts about a Discord only for the link to be broken.

Thank you everyone that joined while the server was public. If you want to join the private server, you can do so by joining my Patreon as a patron of any level! Each level has its own perks other than being able to join!

If you care to learn why I am making it private, I have given the explanation below. If not, have a wonderful day. 💕

I came to the decision to make the server private after a lot of thought. I haven't been well emotionally for a long time and every time I thought about my comic, the server or anything related to Cult of the Lamb I had this fearful hesitation around it. I knew why to an extent. It was because of what happened to me the previous year in this community. I thought I was addressing it and moving on, and in some senses I was. But I couldn't get over it. I was considering quitting because it was still so stressful whenever I thought about it. I had so many negative emotions attached to it and I didn't know what else to do.

Not long ago I realized something though. I still love my story. I still love Cult of the Lamb. It's the community I hate and frankly, am scared of. I hate and am scared of being judged. And I was judged. I was made a villain for (what boiled down to) how I type. Something I taught myself from ~10 years old, properly punctuated etc with the sole intent of making it easier to write my stories and not have to take forever editing them, and that makes me seem like a big intimidating bad guy. A goddamn habit got me judged and ganged up on. (I learned about the "how I type/talk" thing a few months ago thus is not in my previous response.)

I am always judged wherever I go and I am not about to change the way I type just to appease people that judge first and communicate never. I wanted to give people that space too. A place they can be themselves and not worry about being judged. A place where the ones in power are at their level and don't abuse that power. Somewhere safe.

I can't do it anymore though. I can't keep the server public because it is the public that judges me. I don't want to be scared to talk in my own server out of fear of some random person deciding to take something I said out of context and blast on the internet. The CoTL community (and the internet in general) is a terrible place and it has invaded the corner I tried to make for myself and others too much. I tried. I'm not doing this to be exclusive or to get new patrons or whatever. It is literally just for my mental health. It is a step to try and come back to something I love.

So the server will still exist, it is just private. Only patrons and people I trust can join. I will miss the larger sense of community there was, but it has been gone for a long time already. My DMs are always open though, until I am pushed into making those private too.

As my mantra goes at this point: Communicate. Talk things out.

Remember there is nuance to everything.

[infamouzsky]

Because you said you love rambeling about lore and you are looking for excuses to talk about it redeem this cupon for one free lore ramble, any topic

OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT U JUST DONE

SIT BACK AND RELAX CUZ THE GOATS UNIVERSE HAS BEEN IN MY MIND THE WHOLE WEEK + SOME HEKET RAMBLING Cuz I got her a partner idea hehehe <3

LONG RAMBLING UNDER THE CUT!!! (btw bless chu I appreciate u <3 )

ABOUT CULT OF THE GOAT AU:

About the Purple Crown: Ive been seeing a lot of interpretations of Goat's Crown going around and honestly Id like to put in my cents: I dont think the Crown being purple changes who the owner was, because the eye shape is still the same as Lamb's Which brings me to think that, just like how in COTL everything seems to be colored after warmer/reddish colors, everything in Goat's universe must be following cooler/purpleish palettes What does that mean to me? That ALL the other Crowns are of different colors as well, maybe a colder one compared to their original ones

Im still thinking about what each of them would be here but so far I like to think that Yellow -> Ocean green?? Green -> Blue Blue -> dark pink? Purple -> Cyan/White

I think the Crown shapes would still be the same + what each Bishop's domain would be as well

About Aym and Baal: They were never offered to Narinder. Shamura didnt have that compassion. They were so mad at their brother that they couldnt bring themselves to consider his feelings for being banished. Neither did any of the other siblings, for they wouldve been too busy fighting off Old Gods and hunting for empowerment

So where are Aym and Baal? Theyre alive! With Forneus! And both of them are lil jerks as much as their mother Taught to steal, lie and fight, all in order to survive no matter what. The twins have already expressed wanting to go out and explore the world, but Forneus refuses to let her kids go, much for her own selfish reasons of them being the only things that make her happy in this fcked up world AND because, of course, she loves them. She knows how cruel the world has turned into, she does not want to lose them Aym and Baal never met Narinder, and Narinder never met them Maybe eventually, while Goat is out in a crusade, they shall cross paths........as enemies

About the Purgatory: This is still smtng I am speculating about, but what I have so far: instead of it being MS to tell the Goat to free the Bishops from their deserved-suffering, itd be them asking the deity if such thing was possible, because Narinder wouldve been feeling bad about it He believes that his siblings could change over time, especially now that the Crowns were relinquished by the Goats power, and so they are allowed to have that chance This would unlock many scenarios of the Bishops actively trying to take over the cult, run away or kill the Goat + their followers. It is smtng Ill let cook for a while more

IF ANYTHING Id just- leave them dead lol they wouldnt be redeemable in this world (BUT BECAUSE I LOVE MY SKRUNKLIES EQUALLY ILL TRY TO MAKE IT WORK-)

ABOUT HEKET: Ehehehe I accidentally started shipping her with my follower OC Astrid so we'll see how it goes

Astrid is someone who keeps to herself for the sake of others; she is not used to opening up and oftentimes believes her pain is not worth of complains compared to others she is caring for However, she is very much talkative, maybe as a way to make her forget her problems Whilst Heket she- well. She cant. Talk much it hurts like hell UASHDNJASMDK

SO WE HAVE A TALKATIVE BUBBLY GF WITh her mostly quiet butch wife that shes constantly having to change the bandages of <3

I have a dialogue set up for them which I shall get to drawing a comic for as soon as I am done with thIS CURRENT COMIC-

ANYWAYS thats the ramblings for now, HOPE YALL LIKE THE IDEAS bless u again for givng me a free pass made me rlly happy MWEHE,,!! 💜💜💜

[mossy-doodles85]

Did you know how I draw Loop actually somewhat represents where they are in their AUs timeline?

Lots of words will be used onward, continue with caution

Loop

This indicates that Loop is still looking with Siffrin to find a way out of the loops by looking through AUs. Loop is still a very big pushover and depending on how far exactly they are in the timeline may not even be stern with Siffrin and the Change God yet, the first two people they actually grow a nerve for. They are quite powerful, being about level 86, but that gets much higher as time goes on, it can go over 99 because I like the chaos it brings. Loop doesn't use a dagger to fight, mainly relying on craft for that, because they want to find a weapon that calls to them thats different from Siffrin's. Loop likes watching and sometimes interacting with AUs. Loop actually has quite the soft spot for most other Loop's, they feel sad and worried for them because while Loop can relate, they also can't. Loop likes to pop in and chat with looping Siffrin's and others to keep them more sane if possible, they hate seeing anyone suffer like that and in general. Loop likes giving nicknames to others! They call Siffrin Hoshikuzu or Kuzu, and call the Change God Kai. Loop may or may have not became friends with their AUs Pétronille in secret.

Loop?

This indicates that Loop and Siffrin have found the way out of the Loops but has to deal with a new problem. Loop doesn't get to spend as much time with Siffrin anymore so they tend to be visiting AU almost all the time now. While they would love to tell every AUs looping person (usually Siffrin) how to leave the Loops, the Change God doesn't let them most of the time because of "keeping balance" and all that which is a lie for the most part. Loop isn't as much as a pushover before but still is a pushover. Its very rare to see Loop being angry or stern or anything like that so you know its something serious when it happens. Loop found @kyri45's isat sky cotl AU and manged to make their green cap along with finding the yellow scarf, they visit this AU the most, they also find memories that the Siffrin here may not have found. They also found this fluffy white... cape? coat? whatever you call it and gave it to their Siffrin. Loop feels like they aren't really 'Loop' anymore and definitely not 'Siffrin', they still use the name Loop because they don't know what else to call them self for now. Loop gets a lot of new hobbies they enjoy, like gardening, drawing, cooking, flying, and clothes designing. Loop still does wood carving, but not as much as before. While Siffrin and almost all their family started making their way to Bambouche, Loop would visit Pétronille until Siffrin and everyone arrived. Loop calls Pétronille Isamu and Pétronille calls Loop Butterfly. The Change God tends to hang out with Loop more because they find them so interesting and because they worry for them. Loop somehow manged enter different fandoms at some point (Kirby, OneShot, chicory: a colorful tale, and maybe others).

Luma

This indicates that Luma has become their own person, they spend most of their time in a different AU with Bonnie. Luma can turn into their star form whenever they please but prefers to stay in their human form. Luma hangs out in an AU where everything is basically the same as canon, well if you don't included that Luma's there. Luma joins Bonnie while they were running away from the curse, when Siffrin finds Bonnie they had been separated when a strangely strong sadness got a sneak attack on Luma. Luma has nicknames for everyone here, Siffrin is called Akari, Isabeau is called Haru, Mirabelle is called Sakura, Odile is called Kei, and Bonnie is called Aiko. Bonnie calls Luma Lulu, everyone else calls them Luma. Luma tends to not fight and stay in the back with Bonnie, this is because they don't really like showing their true power, but they will fight if they think someone is in true danger, like Bonnie. They fight with different kind of firework wand from sky cotl and craft of course. Luma shows Bonnie the multiverse while they were traveling before meeting the others and Bonnie promises to not tell anyone about it without permission. Luma is the only one that actually remembers stuff through the loops, they really want to tell Siffrin about how they just need to tell the others they want to stay with them and they want to comfort Loop but can't... and it sucks. No one can see the colors of Luma's cape and Bonnie's scarf until Siffrin turns giant, its not really talked about until after Siffrin goes back to normal. Luma and Siffrin interact more, so yay!

And thats all for now I think.

[scribblestatic]

Ding Ding Ding new COTL sads for the masses

I've been up all night with a migraine so it's time to make it y'all's problem by writing some angst I thought up.

I call this shit the Forsaken AU, because why not.

I may go into summary-drabble partway through this, but I'll probably fix it up or something when my brain stops trying to kill me via headache.

(Note: I wrote this stuff several hours ago. Finally went to sleep, so now I am Rested. Also, omg hit tweet. I'm glad y'all like the soft fluff! It's very good and I'm glad I thought of it and shared it so we could gush over the idea as a collective!

Time to show you sadness now uwu)

Warning for canon-typical violence.

-- -- --

The Lamb has done their duty. They have gathered an entire flock of followers, just for The One Who Waits. 30 souls—some found and indoctrinated, some born into the cult—all caged and waiting as the Lamb stands before their god. The One Who Waits grins down at their most successful vessel, freedom on the tip of his tongue.

And the Lamb, ever devoted, goes down on their knees without hesitation.

They take the crown off their head and look down at it solemnly. Of course the little one has grown attached to the power, Narinder thinks. He wonders, briefly, if he will have to wrestle the crown that is rightfully his back from the creature he only temporarily loaned it to.

But no.

After a few brief tears, and even thanks to the crown, the lamb lifts their hooved hands to their god, willingly relinquishing the crown's power back to its owner. Narinder can't help but smile. Now, the most successful vessel has become the nearly perfect one.

Narinder lifts the crown back onto his own head and feels its energy flow into his body. The already rotted chains fall away with a clattering shatter, and the cuffs that rubbed his skin raw fall to the ground with loud clunks.

The One Who Waits feels it all: the devotion, the power, the energy that flows through him once again. It has been so long since he felt so powerful. And now, without his wretched siblings in the way, he can truly enjoy the full extent of his godhood.

Yet, at the same time, he feels resentment.

Anger.

Because, for as much as the Lamb preached to the cult about his righteousness, about his return, the devotion he feels comes attached to the Lamb. The Lamb slayed not a single follower they indoctrinated. When food became scarce, they granted all the ability to enjoy the grass like they could—not that they needed to eat any longer anyway. Instead of fasting, they called for feasting. Instead of taking gold, they had rituals in which they gave it freely.

Even if it ran the Lamb ragged to provide everything the followers desired, they did so with the smile of a fool on their face. They decorated the crypts and mausoleums with camellias and candles, curtains and statues. They allowed their followers to indulge in drink and sex, spending time raising their offspring while the parents themselves worked to provide for the cult.

It was all soft. All unrestrained kindness. All sugar on which the followers glutted themselves until their teeth rotted. And now, the cult worships death with a face of fleece, not fur.

Moreover, his siblings. Not that he ever wanted even the slightest bit of mercy for those treacherous heathens. The Lamb slayed them in his name, and they got exactly what they deserved.

But Narinder could not slay them himself. He couldn't be the one to truly rend their hearts from their flesh. Although he was the one to land the first blows on them, he was not the one to land the last. And that bothers him immensely.

These two sins the Lamb has committed against him. And for these two sins, Narinder shall use them as an example.

The Lamb floats into the air with Narinder's restored power. They have their hooves laced, palms touching in what Narinder can now hear and see as prayer. Hopeful, tearful eyes gaze up at him, much like they had each time the Lamb died and each time they went back to continue their crusade.

Having seen each other so often, the Lamb must notice something in his expression. Their gaze shifts from hope to wariness, glancing between his three eyes.

A wide smile spreads on Narinder's face.

"You've done me a great service. You've fulfilled the prophecy that has called for my return. For that, one could praise you for doing as expected..."

His hand curve, squeezing on air as the Lamb's limbs begin pushing in closer under the pressure. They look around worriedly, like they can't understand.

"...But. You coveted what was not yours, little lamb. I saw what was in your heart, in your mind. You wished for more than you were to be given. You wanted not your due position, but to take my own."

The Lamb quickly gazes at him, eyes wide with shock. They try to speak, but their voice cuts off with a gurgle. Narinder doesn't want to hear anything the Lamb has to say. He knows what was true and what isn't. Tears build up in the Lamb's eyes once more as their head slides to the side just slightly, enough loosening to prevent them from speaking.

"For that, my sacrifice, you must suffer."

And suffer, he makes sure.

The Lamb's mouth opens in a silent scream, unable to bleat, as their arms and legs begin twisting, snapping, as Narinder pleases. He revels in the horrified gasps and cries from the caged followers as they watch the lamb's body contort and break, red blood falling from their body and onto the pale ground below. They choke deeper as their head slips further, tears turning pink with blood.

And, with a final crack, a final squelch, Narinder drops the Lamb's body in a wretched heap. Their head, once loosely attached to their neck, rolls away, stopping on its side.

Narinder takes a moment to stand there, looking down at the result of his anger. And oh, it was such a small bit of reprieve, but it would have to do. Once he was back out in the world, he could do so much more.

He steps forward then, raised to his full height, and he walks over the lamb's body.

"You all have faithfully worshiped Death. I am Death. If you remain faithful to me and not the false prophet which brought you here, I can assure you—thou shalt live under my protection. What say you?"

He gazes to the left, then to the right, quietly waiting.

Eventually, one of the followers, a fox, shakily bends down onto their knees and bows to him. He wears more ornate clothing than some of the others, so he is clearly an important figure. With the fox's supplication, the others stiltedly follow, until all 30 of the followers bow before him.

He feels the devotion to the crown shift, becoming thicker and rugged. Rough, indeed, but it is devotion to him, and not to the fuzzy usurper broken below him.

With a smile, he snaps his fingers, releasing them from their cages. They disappear from Limbo, the cage that held him for hundreds of years. Now, the only thing that will be left would be the corpse of a traitorous martyr.

Aym and Baal stand in awe of him, finally witnessing the true extent of his powers after having grown at his side for so long. As they follow him out of the place they too had known for so long, they do not spare a second glance at the ruined corpse. Eager to stretch their legs, they leave the space together, where only a pathetic lamb's body remains.

And that was exactly how Narinder intended it to be from the very start.

--- ---

The world outside was...incredibly vibrant.

Although Narinder had seen it all through the crown, it was quite different experiencing it. The grass felt strange against his fur, arms once again covered under flesh, though the markings from the cuffs would perhaps forever scar him. The stars twinkle brightly at night, creating kaleidoscope colors across the sky. Sand feels terrible between his toes, but he would stand in it for hours if it meant catching the delicious fish that hid within the depths of the salty water near it.

Nature was all-encompassing. Full of life that he could, in theory, make eternal. But everything was so teeming with it, at times, it could become overwhelming.

It didn't help that, despite having his grandiose form, he changed into something smaller—still larger than his closest disciples, but certainly not as towering as he was just a bit before. He temporarily feared that the crown was not in its best shape, his powers altered irrevocably by whatever strangeness the Lamb polluted it with. However, he could still feel the devotion from his followers, shaken, but constant.

The Lamb had, indeed, prepared the "flock" for their death. They made it clear that they were to die for the sake of Death's resurgence to the mortal realm. Perhaps he could've toned down the Lamb's punishment if they were all so attached to them...hah.

Not at all. The Lamb was treacherous and deserved what they received in return. It just startled the congregation, that was all, and their wavering and fear caused him to perhaps unconsciously attempt to assuage their worries. After all, their lives were his do do with as he pleased, but he knew that there was meaning and purpose in having a cult. Their belief and dedication to him was his power. So, he needed to cement it.

Narinder spent the next few hundred years doing just that—undoing all the hogwash nonsense that the Lamb instilled into them and replacing it with what he knew was right.

And goodness, wasn't that an entire chore? You change the rituals around a little bit, and despite being their god, they have it up in their heads to dissent! Oh boy, do they love to dissent! Over the smallest things, even!

You don't go get some measly flowers from the Darkwood for some rabbit to decorate her hut in remembrance of some sibling of hers? Suddenly, she's whispering about how he's the false god and the Lamb had been fooled!

You change the feasting ritual to fasting, and the next thing you know, seven followers are destroying buildings around the cult and cursing your name as though you couldn't kill them! And him forbid you actually do, then the entire cult has the audacity to threaten to disperse!

And they can't seem to do a damn thing for themselves either.

"My Lord, the stone mine has run out of stone. What else should I do for you?"

Find another mine. Shouldn't that be obvious?

"My Lord, we did not put any more fertilizer on the plants because we did not find any."

Then make fertilizer, fool.

"My Lord, I would like to eat a bowl of poop. Would you make it for me?"

Wh... Do I look like a personal chef to you?! And what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you even ask for that?!

Even after decades of teaching them the new rituals and practices around the cult, their demands were never-ending. They never understood that he was their god, and their lives were his to do with as he wished...

...At the same time, he would not have the same power he does without them.

Their belief and devotion fed his energy and ensured it never ran dry. Such was the curse of a god's existence—they were nothing powerful without their followers.

The previous 30 had since lowered over the years, dropping to a more reasonable 14. All were descendants of the Lamb's "flock," save for one that Narinder saw fit to resurrect as he pleased and needed.

The fox, Maon, who had bowed to him first upon his release.

Narinder had laughed about it many, many years back. To think! The first to bow to his power was the Lamb's husband of all things! He watched his spouse die in terrible fashion, and immediately bowed to the one who did it! Hilarious!

Narinder had praised him upon finding out, saying that he really was as wise and crafty as his species were known to be.

From the broken look on the fox's face, he hadn't taken his words as a compliment, but thanked his god for them all the same.

Through ups and downs, Maon served him well. Although not to the same level as his enforcers, Aym and Baal, he was efficient at his job, helping maintain order in the cult. The first generation, the one who knew the Lamb, called him a traitor, which carried over into the second generation as well. By the sixth generation, he was merely one who witnessed the great sacrifice that led to Death's release.

Maon's emotional state also shifted with time. He grew apathetic toward mentions of the Lamb and no longer seemed bothered when Narinder ribbed him about betraying the one he married. Eventually, he also took off the ring the Lamb gave him, his hands now bare.

He once considered that Maon would attempt to betray him, especially when three of the followers went missing under his watchful eye. But it came to nothing in the end, and the loyalty and devotion he felt coming from Maon was trumped only by Aym and Baal.

Old fox as he was now, he wore pale robes, living his remaining years until his next resurrection. That was, if Narinder decided it would be worth doing so.

While the fox helped keep things in order, the blood of the cult was growing stagnant. He did not rely on incestuous practices to keep a steady flow of new followers, but one could only pair the increasingly smaller amount of them so many times before you risk disease. Several of the remaining 14, save for Maon, were siblings or cousins. In some cases, Maon was somewhere in their bloodline.

Though he was loathe to admit it, traveling to the old lands of his "dearly" departed siblings would likely be necessary to spark new, positive change in the cult. However, going to the lands of the Old Faith would likely trigger an encounter with that loathsome seller.

After he had calmed his cult and reinstated his position of power, he had tried going to the old lands to acquire more resources, only for the Mystic Seller to appear before him. Back then, it spoke in that strange language he could not decipher before referring to him.

"I seek the god restored to his throne, the final of the five, forsaker of his chosen vessel. Confer with me."

Narinder growled at the titles forced upon him, but became even more enraged when the stranger had the audacity to demand he release his siblings from their torment. He knew very well that the Lamb did not have the full authority of the God of Death when they slayed them. No, that was Narinder's domain. And he refused to let their souls rest, forcing them to stay in a limbo so similar to the one they forced him into.

Release them? Absolutely not! They would suffer the consequences of their actions until he saw fit!

So, he sent his followers out to gather what the cult needed, with them returning with varying success. Food? Fine. Supplies, Occasionally successful. Yet, for some reason, even when he sent one of his most faithful as a missionary to any of his siblings' lands, they failed to return alive, if at all.

It had to be done by himself. It would be necessary for him to go to the land of the Old Faith and find new followers to indoctrinate. He would, at most, allow their numbers to swell to 20, but no more than that. Having made his decision, he left Aym and Baal to watch over the cult as he went to enter its gates.

For some reason, they gates to their realms were closed, unlike before. He began to read the inscriptions etched into them as he felt a shift in the energy near him.

As expected, the Mystic Seller appeared, eyes narrowed at him.

"We meet again, God of Death. How do you fare, neglecting your duties?"

Narinder sneered at the merchant. "I've neglected nothing of import. Their continued existence just happens to be a minor inconvenience. I've seen fit to relieve them of it."

"Is that so?" The Mystic Seller seemed strangely blasé despite how insistent it had been decades before. "You still think yourself of such importance despite your artless negligence. All you desire is to maintain your small circle of influence."

"Death's influence is not small," Narinder hissed, transcribing the text in the door and not liking what he was reading. "Perhaps you've forgotten that, lifeless as you are."

"Death's influence includes rest, which you have denied them. But in your absence, it only makes sense for someone else to fill the void."

The God of Death paused, then turned toward it.

"What do you mean by that? I am the one and only Ruler of the Red Crown."

The seller floated behind him, almost seeming to pace.

"I have dealt with Gods, and often pondered; does the Bearer wear the Crown, or the Crown the Bearer? In these last centuries, witnessing the wavering flow of the ether of this realm, I believe a conclusion has revealed itself. Its answer was novel."

"You speak without saying anything. Leave me be."

"...A fool once sought knowledge, and knowledge he obtained. Now the knowing one returns to foolishness willingly. But tell this merchant—was it not his pursuit of wisdom that made him so dangerous?"

Irritated by its continued bothering, Narinder whipped around, prepared to tell the Mystic Seller to leave again. However, it had already left, the cavern behind him empty save for the elements of the entrance. The statue of the red crown glowed with an eerie, never-ending light.

"...Hmmh."

Whatever. He would figure things out himself.

But first, he had to go back to the cult and find a suitable sacrifice. The door to Darkwood would not open without one.

[celestedoesarttm]

hihihihi omg i heard abt u from @kip-has-fleas it said we'd get along well so hi here i am now please tell me everything about red sun omg i NEED to hear about it /lh (i'll be able to see and respond to stuff on here when i'm home alone so probably... next wednesday (unless u happen to have Sky: CotL or fortnite :3 /nf)

anyways yeah hi u can call me vio btw

i have tumblr (obviously lol /silly) and pinterest although u might have to get an invite link from me for that also i'm cloud_of_corvids on duolingo i think so do what you will with that lol /silly sooooooo yeah :3

Hello Vio!! I’ve heard some lovely things about you as well, and if there’s one thing I love it’s talking about my OCs for extended periods of time! I’ll try to keep basic Red Sun synopsis rather short, though.

Red Sun is set on a planet covered in a vast desert and lit overhead by a burning hot crimson star. There’s a City set up in a valley, a City so large that hundreds of millions of people mill about in some hundreds of thousands of levels every day. And outside of the City is the Wastes—the desert where nobody wise lives and anybody who wants to get away from civilization goes. Our protagonist, Gunhilde, is neither particularly wise nor particularly in love with her fellow man.

That’s why she and her newlywed wife, Annie, settle down in a cabin in the Wastes. And life is good and happy and lovely until their money runs out, and they can’t exactly just plant something lush and tasty in the desert. Gunhilde’s far from a stranger to her sixgun, of course, so she starts taking trips into the City every so often to do odd jobs that stray too close to the wrong side of the law for Annie’s liking.

The tension between them silently grows until, one day, Annie decides that damn it, she’s had enough. She steals Gunhile’s sixgun secretly and announces to her wife that she’s leaving, picks up her packed bag and her banjo case, and heads out the door. Gunhilde follows, protesting and pleading with her. Annie pulls out the gun to make Gunhilde leave her alone. Shock makes the sudden pain in Gunhilde’s right shoulder dull, but she doesn’t quite know if it’s shock from her body or shock at her wife—ex-wife, now, she supposes.

Gunhilde spends a sad few days alone in the house with a hurting shoulder before she decides to follow Annie into the City to find her. She stops at a sleazy bar at the very edge of the City, where she meets an interesting figure by name of Ivain Ray. Ivain’s rather interested in Gunhilde’s sorry tale, and they decide to stick with her and help her in her search. They bring her to their, ah, business partner Eloise Deorwine, the matriarch of one of the richest families in the entire City. Eloise offers Gunhilde money and resources for her search, as well as a place to stay and friendship. The cowgirl stays there for a couple of months, befriending Eilos (Eloise’s younger brother) and going to Eloise’s elaborate balls in between searching for her lover with Ivain.

Those lovely months filled with anticipation come to an end when, one day, Ivain and Gunhilde walk through an alley by one of Ivain’s bars as a shortcut and stumble upon the dead body of Ivain’s little sister, Ialde ‘Moray’ Ray.

Ivain is absolutely heartbroken, but once Eloise urges them to resume their life and stay away from drink, their grief turns into a wild desire for vengeance for whomever decided it was a great idea to shoot their sister. They start their own search alongside Gunhilde’s, and eventually their research reveals that a certain group killed Moray (on accident, it seems. At the very least she wasn’t a purposeful target) and that Gunhilde has previously worked for that group in the past, back when she was doing odd jobs for money. And apparently she’s still got quite a pretty little bounty on her head. And Ivain has lots of debts to pay.

Ivain takes Gunhilde out on a walk through the City, disguising it as another research trip. The moment they’re alone together, they pulls a gun on her and turn her in to the police for a hefty profit. (When they return home, Eloise greets them sweetly, then asks where Gunhilde is. They promptly break into tears.)

And so Gunhilde spends about a year in jail with an bullet wound to her shoulder that never quite received the proper medical care it deserved. That’s how, when Eloise finally ordered Ivain to go back and bail her out, Ivain found her with a badly amputated arm and a look of loathing in her eyes. They paid her bail and then paid an additional large number on getting her a new arm. (She tested it out by beating the shit out of Ivain. Since the arm was made of steel, it worked quite well.)

That’s currently where the story leaves off—Gunhilde staying with the Deorwines again, still looking for her ex-wife and adjusting to a new arm and new strained relationships; Ivain making deals with Eloise, being dismissive of Eilos, and avoiding Gunhilde; Eloise running the place, dealing with her vampirism, and keeping Ivain in check; and Eilos still struggling with his mental state, ripping up his paintings, and trying to remain good friends with Gunhilde. And, of course, somewhere deep in the heart of the City, you can still hear Annie singing and playing her banjo, the sound drifting out among the streets and looking for a couple of dollars.

And if some of the stuff I mentioned in that last paragraph seemed a bit out of left field, that’s because this is the HEAVILY ABRIDGED version. I’ve had to breeze past some set dressing details, Ye Miserable Bastards, the finer points of the Deorwines, the Rays’ backstory, and I’ve completely dodged the whole sorry tale of Azalai Belle and the Circus. (In my defense, that one happened a good twenty years or so before the story began.) but yeah!!

(Two last bits of promotion: Red Sun has a WIP website that I’m currently trying (and failing) to make! I also have a youtube channel where I’ve posted several animatics and songs related to Red Sun. They’re in a playlist on my channel, and the links to both my YT channel and my Neocities Red Sun website are in my bio.)

Thank you for sending in this ask, again, I love talking about my little guys and the stage show that’s dancing through my mind, so thank you for giving met he opportunity to do so. If you (or anyone else 👁 👁) have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask and I’ll elaborate!!! :D