#instead of necessarily Having to go to the afterlife!

[poorly-drawn-puppet-history]

so let me get this straight, watcher:

An unknown party is planting VHS tapes on your own set weekly, containing ad reads by:

a self-proclaimed professor

who mentions unfortunate encounters with horses

who has an 'estranged wife'

whose jacket is tan and tie and red

who is a 'gamer'

whose image flickered in like a hologram in an earlier ad read,

and you want us to just like, not think Something Smells Fishy. OK...

[wileycap]

ATLA Headcanon (this is very much spoilers and I'm pretty sure this isn't a super original thought):

Ozai was always thought of as kind of a useless coward in the Fire Nation, before he grabbed power. He was the spare prince next to the Dragon of the West, and this motivates him in everything that he does.

It makes a lot of sense and provides some depth of character to him - which, let me be clear, I don't think he needs: within the story, he works perfectly fine as just a cruel, narcissistic monster. Any detour into his motivations would have distracted from the overall story.

But think about it. Why does he hate Zuko so much? Because Zuko reminds him of his own (perceived) failures, as the disappointing son, and as a narcissist, he can not bear thinking about anything that makes him less than perfect. He wants to get rid of Zuko because he sees himself in Zuko, and this is only compounded by Zuko and Azula's dynamic resembling the dynamic between him and Iroh. Of course, in this case, it's the younger sibling that is the favoured, more capable child. Ozai wants to see himself in Azula, but actually sees himself in Zuko.

Now, I know that the more overt explanation is that he cares about his legacy, and wants Azula to succeed him because she's the stronger heir, but I don't think that matters to Ozai that much. It certainly matters a little bit, because the greater glory of his heir reflects well on him, and obviously he wants that. But I don't think Ozai is actually all that concerned with what happens after he dies. To that, Zhao, whom Ozai promotes and clearly favours to some degree, expresses open disdain at Iroh's spirituality - it's reasonable to think that this sort of attitude thrives under Ozai, or it might just be the Fire Nation in general.

I think Ozai operates under a belief that the world will end with him, and doesn't believe in an afterlife. I don't necessarily mean that he is actually cognisant of this belief - I mean that he is only concerned with himself, so to him, once he stops existing, everything of value will have left the world. If he'd still been in power once he was at the age where death becomes a real concern instead of an abstract possibility, he probably would have sought some form of immortality.

He is very quick to cast Azula aside with a meaningless title, after all. He doesn't value Azula, he just hates the reminder that is Zuko. Zuko also resembles him physically - and to that point, his method of punishing Zuko before getting rid of him is to disfigure him. To further distance himself from Zuko.

In Zuko Alone, Azula refers to Iroh as "his royal tea-loving kookiness" - and we have to remember that Azula probably parrots Ozai's words. Why is this significant? Because at the time, Iroh has just broken through the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, a tremendous military accomplishment. He's living up to the Fire Nation's greatest values of military power and glory in battle. And still Ozai disparages him to Azula.

Because Ozai is a wounded narcissist who's always been jealous of his brother. I'm intentionally paraphrasing Zuko's words from The Avatar State here, because it's very likely that those words are also originally Ozai's. An attempt to drive a wedge between his successful older brother and his son.

Ozai's plan to literally burn down the Earth Kingdom is, aside from being monstrous, a terrible strategic decision. What, does the think that the ashes are going to pay him taxes? What's the end goal? At that point, the Fire Nation has effectively won the war. Sure, they are likely still facing resistance, and the Earth Kingdom might be able to rally in the future and challenge them for hegemony. But, considering other conquering military states in our history, a large chunk of their economy probably relies on war. On levying taxes on subjugated territories in order to prop up the economy of the homeland. So, he's intentionally handicapping his own nation by literally burning down a massive source of income.

In the context of erasing his own profound narcissistic injury, however, that makes perfect sense. Who's going to remember Iroh's glorious victories in the Earth Kingdom when there is no Earth Kingdom?

So, there you have it. Ozai is the disappointing child in the shadow of his heroic older brother, the cowardly prince who never went to war in a nation that idolizes war and war heroics above all else, and he spends the rest of his life covering that wound up with blood and fire.

And I do think it's a very beautiful sort of karma that he ends up without his firebending after a short reign and without any meaningful triumphs or accomplishments to his name. Because fuck that guy.

[adobe-outdesign]

you’ve heard of “Yellow Guy is Lesley’s son” and “the series is the afterlife described by the Lamp” now get ready for my totally serious theory, which is that Duck is:

Not a Duck

Not A Bird Either

Evidence:

No one in DHMIS can properly ID a bird (”a little baby pigeon”, “Warren the Eagle”, “oh. it’s a rat”, etc etc.)

We’ve never seen another sapient bird puppet in the series to compare him with; closest thing we see are the photos in the car in ep. 5 that he himself put up

Don’t know what his parents look like, and he doesn’t seem to know them if the family episode is anything to go by

Can’t fly and has fingers, complete with fingernails, instead of wings

Eats chicken despite that being a kind of bird

Has been shown having human teeth at least three times (during the rotting scene in DHMIS 2 as well as the spoon reflection and disembowelment in DHMIS 5)

Has rabies despite the fact that birds can’t get rabies

If concept art is to be believed he also can’t swim despite supposedly being a duck

Describes himself as a “crow-like thing”, meaning that he’s not necessarily a bird, just bird-like

Conclusion: Duck’s not a bird, and is instead a creature(TM) that happens to look like a bird and doesn’t know better because literally no one in DHMIS knows What A Bird Is. thanks for coming to my TED talk

[inaconstantstateofchange]

Mephistopheles's Deal - Devilish Hierarchy in the Forgotten Realms

[Spoilers for Astarion's personal quest and also pretty much the entirety of the game.]

So, I have a lot of thoughts about the devils in Baldur's Gate 3. I think in general, Larian has done a pretty solid job of drawing from and referencing the Forgotten Realms lore as it relates to their characters and storylines, but with the devils is where the most has been lost in translation to the broader audience.

There is a big difference in the Forgotten Realms between devils and demons - it's more than just semantics. This is one area where the alignment charts are actually useful - Devils are Lawful Evil, while Demons are Chaotic Evil. What this means in practice, is that devils are evil, yes, but they are also intensely bureaucratic and bound by specific laws, structures, and hierarchies. Demons are the exact opposite, misshapen monstrosities (for the most part) that do not belong in the world and are driven to lash out at it for its existence alone.

The "Blood War" that Karlach and a few other characters mention in Avernus? That is devils vs. demons. In fact, devils were originally celestials themselves, that became corrupted in their efforts to stop the tide of demons. The remaining celestials turn a blind eye to the Hells (or actively encourage its existence) because the devils are the forces holding back the encroaching Abyss, a far greater threat than they themselves could ever be.

The major area that we see this hierarchy expressed is in the layers of the Hells, the different dominions. Zariel is the least powerful Archdevil, ruling (and fairly recently come to power, too) the First layer: Avernus. The second-strongest Archdevil, of the Eighth layer, is Mephistopheles, superseded only by Asmodeus, the Archdevil of the Ninth layer.

With regard to the overall power level of the archdevils, this is where the exact answer gets a bit fuzzy. It has varied by edition, and personal take on the lore, but the ultimate point of agreement is this: no matter how powerful you personally think the Archdevils may be, Asmodeus is the exception. He has at least the strength of a greater god (one with a wide and expansive domain crossing multiple worlds), not even including the additional power he would be able to bring to bear by virtue of his domain, were a conflict to take place within it.

Raphael and Mizora, the two "devils" we have the most direct experience with as players, are not true devils at all, but rather cambions: half-devils. This allows them to skip some of the steps of power development usually required for devils to increase their power, but also stratifies them a bit with that development. Their primary advantage is freedom of movement between the planes, granted to them by their mortal parentage.

(The above is just part of the reason why Raphael's "plan" is so laughably doomed to abject failure, but that is a meta for another day.)

On to souls: why do devils need them, how do they get them, and what do they use them for?

Devils have an entire society based on backstabbing, conniving, one-upmanship, and, most importantly: paperwork. The devils - especially the Archdevils - are always looking for ways to get one up on each other. Not even necessarily to take their positions (although if it so happens to work out that way, all the better), but just to have information, leverage, even one point of superiority over them, etc.

One of the primary ways devils can bolster their power levels is based on the number (and quality) of souls under their command. Those souls, when willingly signed away, do not go to the usual Fugue Plane upon death, to be taken by whatever god values them most highly to their own afterlife. Instead, they go directly to the Hells. There they begin the standard progression of lowest-ranked devils: tortured to wring out what magical energy can be gleaned from them, then starting as lemures on the lowest rungs of the hierarchy, contributing to the infernal economy and adding to their ruling Archdevil's power, ranks, and influence.

Unwilling souls can be used, but they are generally considered to be the lowest quality, used mostly for things like soul coins, etc.

Note: this is where this is going from primarily lore-backed meta to meta I am extrapolating onto a bit, based on what seems logical to me.

If souls can only be willingly signed away, why can Cazador pay for his contract with Mephistopheles by trading the souls of others? Based on the legalistic evil of devils, my take is that, by the properties of magic and vampirism in the Forgotten Realms, "legally" speaking, the spawn he creates are enough a part of him that he is able to speak for their souls in their stead.

Based on this property, and the aforementioned power scale of the devils, the thought arises: does it really make that much sense for the Dark Urge to just be able to waltz into the Eighth layer of the Hells and steal the Crown of Karsus? It would make much more sense if it was willingly given - or at the least, allowed to be taken - by Mephisto, who stood to gain something much better than a bauble of not much use to archdevils: souls, and a multitude of them.

If Cazador is able to sign away the souls of his spawn, due to them being magically recognized as a part of him, I believe the same would be true for mindflayers turned by the controlled Netherbrain. The goal of the Dead Three was to ultimately transform an untold number of denizens of the Forgotten Realms, to take their souls and the power from their worship away from the gods (they never claimed to be brilliant strategists, we'll leave it at that). Mephisto, then, would stand to gain a great deal in being able to make use of those souls himself.

I do think that rather than a heist, Durge and/or Gortash made a deal with Mephisto for the Crown in exchange for the souls of any transformed mindflayers. A win-win for both parties, by all accounts.

Shame about the unforeseen brain damage and/or ragtag team of meddling do-gooders - and their owlbear, too.

[kainereee]

Photographer - The Emperor

Going insane over the new idv tarot design like a very normal person, specifically looking at Joseph.

I'll be looking at meanings from a range of websites though most tend to follow the same message.

General Meaning

This is the card that asserts authority, organizes systems to retain maximum control and is the paternal influence of the Tarot deck, assuring that protection and security are provided to all those playing by the rules.

From this meaning alone it feels like the Emperor is the perfect card for Joseph. Immediately my first thoughts go to his inventions and obsession with the mirror world. The CN translation of his third character day letter sees him call the photo world akin to an "eternal kingdom", which has more hopeful connotation.

Joseph doesn't necessarily have malicious intent. Yes, the things he's done are utterly heinous and would be to any rational person who heard of them, but the bottom line is that both Joseph's hubris and his genuine belief that what he is creating and working towards will help people. Joseph sees living as suffering, but he doesn't see the afterlife as something that can guarantee him happiness either. Because the afterlife is foreign and unknown to the happiness he experienced as a child.

Instead he chooses the camera world. Preservation, something he has created, where everyone can be happy together, trapped together in a beautiful eternity. The photo world is the peaceful world where they will all rest, away from the adversities of life.

So how does this all relate to the Emperor? I like to think that it makes sense that because of how many things in Joseph's life that were out of his control ruined him, in the broader sense he does need (or feels like he needs) a huge sense of control, as much control as possible. The camera world allows him that. He's the master of that world but he does not assert such authority to rub his own ego necessarily, but because he's convinced that people need protecting. That living is suffering, and he's merely doing what's best for all. He is protecting them.

I also want to note it might be important that we are served the Emperor card upright. The reversed position of the card implies a lack of control leading to an abuse of power and unwise decisions. What Joseph does is undeniably an abuse of power objectively, but describing it as just that loses a lot of the nuance behind his actions and motivations. Despite how clearly mentally unstable Joseph is he is in control of what he is aiming to do. Like what the Emperor card represents, he has a burning ambition to achieve his goal no matter what it takes — and we see that from the way he does not falter after all his friends leave him, how it's implied that not even Elliott could stop him even though his words left some impression on him.

Design Notes

Moving on, I'd like to look at the design in more detail in comparison to what the traditional Emperor card looks like.

To get the full picture of the design we can look at the actual heritage of the Tarot card, which read me down a rabbit hole of exploring the history of the Emperor card exclusively. One detail that stuck out to me particularly was the fact Joseph isn't facing the audience in his card. In more contemporary decks the Emperor faces you head on, but Joseph isn't. I'd say this is likely in relation to the Tarot de Marseille characteristics.

By the mid-seventeeth century after Tarot card production had moved to France, the Emperor gained the characteristic of sitting on his throne in profile with his legs crossed.

The position of his legs was staged for maximum effect. Sitting at ease with one leg crossed over the other traditionally signified the highest status person in the room, or someone about to pass a legal judgment.

This doesn't drastically change the meaning of the card itself, but I thought it was a cool detail nonetheless. It feels quite fitting for Joseph ( Judge skin aside ) in the sense that he believes that what he is deciding for people is right, or that he even has the authority to in the first place. It fits well with his arrogance and ultimately all the other decisions that lead him to his self-destruction in a way.

The detail doesn't stop there. The Emperor card changed yet again with the occult tradition.

19th century occultists like Eliphas Levi, Oswald Wirth and Papus retained the Tarot De Marseille image but added their own cosmic interpretation. Particularly They saw the Emperor’s body as a triangle with his legs making a cross. Together these form the symbol for alchemical sulfur and allude to spirit dominating matter ( now where does that sound familiar ... )

What's particularly relevant to Joseph is that Wirth changed the Emperor's legs slightly to be more like the astrological symbol of Jupiter.

Because of the Emperor’s association with the number four and the Hebrew letter Daleth (door or womb) occultists saw the Emperor presiding over the birth of all material things, then ruling the material world as Jupiter. The globe topped by a cross, a traditional symbol of the Emperor’s worldly and spiritual power, was reinterpreted as the astrological sign for Venus, emphasizing the concepts of birth and creation. The Emperor represents the creative fire at the heart of all beings; so he’s also energy trapped in the material world.

So how does this all relate to Joseph? Well as I said this doesn't drastically change the meaning of the card, but there are small details and nuances that you could interpret liken to Joseph. Like how the pose he's sat in originates from when tarot deck production grew in France. On the other hand, the connotations of Jupiter could be the way he did achieve his goal in a way in creating the mirror world — defying the rules of life and death itself. Since the Emperor also represents the creative fire at the heart of all beings it could also be alluded to Joseph's origins as a creative in his journey, and his wish to see something more than the dullness and dread of life.

There is a lot more to the card heritage of the Emperor and other parts I could have mentioned, but I decided to include these as the most relevant. I'll have it referenced in the end if you'd like to check it out!

Now I'll continue my insanity into what the Emperor card means in certain contexts.

Past

In the past position, The Emperor represents a father or other authority figure who laid down the law and set a firm definition of acceptable behavior for you. Perhaps you rebelled against him or his teachings, or maybe they helped to keep you out of harm’s way. If you are in a secure position now, you have The Emperor in this position to thank. But some people do abuse their authority and if you are alone and alienated after being witness to the abuse of authority, this card confirms that the blame is there. Often we are given rule over our world and mess things up ourselves. Other times, the trust that put us in the care of another is at fault when this person goes overboard and so The Emperor represents a tyrant.

Honestly I don't have one set idea of interpretation in regards to Joseph and his story in terms of the past.

The first thing that came to mind was his father. We don't know a lot of things about Joseph's family outside of Claude especially with his relationship with his parents. All I can think of is Joseph's 2021 character day art where there were noticeable cracks over his father and mother in the portraits behind him.

Considering Joseph is hardly in a secure position, it might be implied that something went wrong too with his parents. When he lost Claude he had no other immediate family that we know of aside from them, but until he was of age he still would have been under their care. Was there a certain pressure placed on him as the only remaining son of the Desaulnier family? Did Joseph feel perhaps alienated by his parents who may have tried to move forward much quicker than himself? These are questions that we can't answer yet.

The other "tyrant" of Joseph's past I had in mind could have been the person who lent him those books on the occult when he visited the unnamed manor. I already alluded to such a person bearing similarities to Henry and Dorian in my little ramble after finishing the picture of Dorian Grey. But again, there's nothing to he said for sure.

Present

When The Emperor is in the present position, you have the rule of law before you to guide you on your journey. This card is especially strong in the present position as it gives you an absolute confidence to move toward a goal. This can also represent the influence of another person in your life right now. Are you so enamored of a new friend or lover that you have started following the advice and lifestyle habits of him or her? Have you discovered a new hero in the arts whose work has expanded your consciousness to the point that it is hard to relate to people who have not had a similar reaction to this person’s artistic output? Is there a new teacher in your life who has changed the way you think? Perhaps a new person at work is transforming the way you approach your on-the-job goals. The theme running through all of these possibilities is that one way of seeing the world is coming to dominate the way you experience life.

I've highlighted that last part for reasons that I've already stated in this post. But that line in particular is pretty relevant to Joseph.

Joseph who could not run move on from his grief and instead fell deeper into it. Joseph who could never enjoy life the same without Claude in it and after seeing the horrors that death brings, in his brother's death and the revolutionary war that tore up everything he had ever loved and known. Joseph whose life was dominated by his grief, anger and anguish that pushed away those who might have loved and cared for him — even Elliott, at the very end, could not save him.

Future

The future position is an uncomfortable position for The Emperor. The days and weeks ahead are vague and quite affected by the smallest decisions of the here and now. The Emperor card demands to assert itself. When The Emperor card is here, anticipate a change to come into your life in a bold manner; expectations to conform in the way you carry yourself may be part of this picture. Regardless of the situation, understand that new demands to follow a specific behavioral prescription will be coming your way and coming in the near future. Prepare now to submit, evade or resist.

There's a number of ways you could interpret this and none are strictly right or wrong. A lot of which echoes much of the sentiments of needing control, disliking uncertainty and particularly change in general ...

It could also be interpreted in regards to the trajectory of Joseph's life after Claude's death — what became of his future. We have seen Joseph has gained a habit of self-restraint now — not truly speaking what's on his mind but rather speaking what he needs to achieve a means to an end. He's someone who does feel the weight of peoples' expectations on him and seeks to excel past them, and that particularly becomes evident post the tragedies of his younger years. He changes particularly in the way he carries himself, whether that be influence of his own grief or that new-risen demand as the Desaulnier's surviving son and the pressure he put on himself.

Final Notes

You made it to the end! You must be as crazy as me or smth damn.

Anyways this was an unnecessarily long ramble of me basically saying how perfect this card is for Joseph and his story and I'm sure there's so many other elements I missed out and failed to convey. But this is all for fun! Don't take my words as law.

I kind of want to do some more for a few of my favs so ..

[jozor-johai]

Is Bran becoming a god? Can we count his future as godhood, or is his storyline proving the absence of actual gods? What's the difference? I don't even know the answer, really. Thinking about it, but sort of a long post.

I’ve always thought that there aren't really "gods" in ASOIAF, but rather “natural” (magical) phenomena that work in this world, and people have observed it, not understood it fully, and since created ritualized methods and folk-history to preserve the knowledge of such phenomena, attempt to explain the unknown, and sometimes to attempt to recreate the not-fully-understood.

Much of IRL religions have plenty of basis in similar things: how do you explain the (at the time) unknowable? Why does the sun only stay out for so long, why does night come, why does winter come and then spring? And, in a doubled effect, said stories serve to preserve the observable—well, we might have made up the idea that the daughter of the goddess of the harvest is in a joint custody situation with her mom and her husband, but the important part is we’ve noticed that when it gets cold and dark, it will get warm and light again six months later, so we shouldn’t panic when winter comes.

And then, of course, there are stories that remain to explain much more complicated and rarer concepts—why was there such a particularly large flood that one time? Why did the sun go completely black in the middle of the day that one time? How did we learn how to use fire, why do we write poetry, why did this war happen 400 years ago? Why are we being ruled by this one inbred family instead of growing all of our grain for ourselves?

As with all things, GRRM turns this up to eleven—What if, when Set killed Osiris and Isis brought him back to life, that literally happened? What if when Jesus was publicly killed and then returned three days later, that literally happened? What if there was a flood that literally covered the world, or a night that literally lasted a generation? What if religions that promised an immortal afterlife could literally offer it? How would that change what religions look like—or would it change anything at all?

Bran’s chapters in ADWD basically confirm some of the idea that magic out there, and it’s real, but it’s being interpreted as a deity—the North believes in the “old gods,” this half-remembered polytheistic idea of there being gods watching over you from everywhere in nature, but especially the Weirwood trees with their faces. Well, between Bran in ADWD and the Varamyr prologue, we get shown that these so-called gods are basically explainable: there is a way in which people, or at least the Children of the Forest, “live” forever in the ravens, or the Weirwoods themselves, and there really is this shared consciousness that one could tap into in death, like Varamyr almost does.

The “old gods” then seem like this half-understood, mixed up memory of this exact idea: there really is a presence watching you through the Weirwood’s eyes, there really is a consciousness living in the memory of nature. But it’s not necessarily ordained by any greater being, it’s just something that happens, if you know how it works, or if you’re taught it.

But then, does this make the “old gods” not really gods, because they’re just CotF, or humans, or both, whose consciousness survives in the trees and the ravens?

Or should we be looking at it another way? Perhaps those are the gods, and that deistic status is achieved through that joining. Perhaps, from that perspective, Bran is on a path to actual apotheosis by learning how to tap into the memory of the trees.

After all, “power resides where men believe it resides.”That idea exposes a weakness in power, as a king may only be a king if he has followers, but it’s also the strength of the concept: the people’s belief in kings make kings real. Perhaps it is the same with gods—believing those to be “old gods” is enough to define them as gods.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

any thoughts on "Yuu got isekai'd by death" theory? the evidence ive seen people on twitter bring up is 1) the coffins symbolizing parting with your former world and rebirth into a new one 2) the way in Savanaclaw manga's Yuuka runs into the traffic trying to save a cat and then instead of a car we see the carriage. (it also would make sense that yuuken would ..get hit by some wild driver while he was waiting at a bus stop) someone also said that it would add more reasons to why crowley is avoiding the topic of going home.

Personally, I feel like the theory is lacking in concrete evidence 🤔 and what has been presented so far has been very circumstantial or could easily be interpreted in other ways (especially because of how vague Crowley’s intentions are). I can see where people are going with in regards to Yuuken, Yuuka, and even Yuuya (from the light novel) all suspiciously being transported to Twisted Wonderland at a crosswalk, but... I don't know, the pragmatic part of me is going, "Doesn't it make sense for them to see a carriage at a crosswalk??? That doesn't necessarily mean the Yuus all got ran over and reincarnated, even if that's what is typically associated with a lot of other isekai". (Also note that game Yuu doesn't give an explanation of what their most recent memory was before waking up in a new world, although this could just be the product of making game Yuu more readily self-insertable for the players.) The coffins are just something I see as an overall aesthetic thing (ie all students arrive at NRC in coffins and/or the carriage), so it doesn't make Yuu's arrival particularly special other than the being from another world aspect of them. I also think there's tons of possible explanations for why Crowley may be avoiding the subject of bringing Yuu home or not putting forth a lot of effort to return them. It doesn't necessarily have to include "Yuu is actually dead". For example, it’s been mentioned in the prologue itself that Crowley wants (even “needs”) Yuu to help his students get along, so there’s an inherent benefit to himself and the school. That is already plenty of incentive for Crowley to get Yuu to stay.

This wasn’t mentioned in the ask, but I recall also seeing a few on Twitter suggest that since Yuu and Grim live in Ramshackle with ghosts (ie the dead unable to move on), this may imply that Yuu (and maybe even Grim) are also dead?? Again, this is something that I feel could easily be explained away by the dorm just being abandoned and being convenient housing for misfits; ghosts usually lay claim to unoccupied spaces with a lot of magical energy (ie Ghost Marriage) and Ramshackle just happened to fit the parameters? The idea just brings up more questions than it answers, such as Twisted Wonderland as the (pseudo)afterlife (?), what are the implications for the other characters that already exist in this world (are they also all dead, or is it only Yuu?), why don't other Earthlings that die in accidents also isekai'd to Twisted Wonderland; does it require outside intervention/a spell? (like... Yuu has yet to meet anyone who is also from another world??? Statistically speaking, wouldn't there be more than just Yuu??), did Crowley kill a kid just to transport them to Twisted Wonderland (if he, in fact, did intentionally summon Yuu and only Yuu there)???? Or was that death coincidental and Crowley just happened to whisk them away after that? What would the issue be with telling Yuu they’re dead right away do they’re more willing and ready to adapt to a new life at NRC if Crowley wants their help with making his students get along? Why play the long haul and lie about it?

Overall, I think that it's a cool concept! Maybe something to explore for angst fics or fanart. I also confess that it’s a veeeery convenient excuse to keep Yuu forever in Twisted Wonderland and never actually return home (meaning the game can go on for longer and make more money). Still, it’s just not something I find myself completely sold on, especially when the evidence for it is very vague and has more immediate explanations offered for them. It also seems like it would actually explain very little as opposed to clearing things up 😅 so for now, I’m highly skeptical.

I feel like if TWST really wanted to foreshadow the “Yuu is dead” thing it could have been done in a much less obscure way (ie the game doesn’t outright tell us that Ortho died, but we get plenty of dialogue that hints that something is off with Ortho; something similar could have been done with Yuu, even if they aren’t the one overtly speaking. Maybe other characters can comment about their abnormalities, I don’t know.)

[museum-spaces]

I'm really sorry to bother you, but I've been thinking about studying Museology and have read a lot of your posts (and those of people you've reblogged), and a few of those have been about the ethics of displaying corpses versus in some cases reburying them (which sounds like a very interesting dilemma considering that {in the opinion of someone who doesn't know a lot about museums} museums often are about preserving artifacts) - how often do questions like these come up? Can you avoid them?

not a bother at all dear nerd.

to quote a curator i used to work for 'people don't learn from bodies'

she was speaking about mummified human remains - i am not going to call them corpses as that is too clinical for what museums do. mummified human remains are somebody's ancestor. somebody's grandfather/mother/auntie/cousin/etc. all it takes for me to see the ethical quandary is to question if i would want my own grandmother displayed in a case in 100 years. - the answer is no i would want her body to remain in private for rest until she becomes earth again.

what that curator was talking about is how the macabre tends to shock and fascinate many guests without them questioning or learning anything new from the display. a museum that did it very badly had a human head on a stick with interpretation that said something like 'do you think i'm scary'. i can't tell you what else was in that gallery because there was a human being on a stick there. this institute has since re-displayed their human remains much more ethically - in a gallery off to one side with notices on the doors about the ancestors resting there.

from the position of museums having human remains will always change the landscape of the gallery. your display will become about the remains instead of about the culture they are taken from. you will always have issues with originating communities wanting their ancestors back - repatriation 101 - and they will be right to demand their return. they change the landscape of education in the gallery and more than that.

on the other side of the coin is the issue of consent. consent is not just for the bedroom. we as museum guests do not consent to walking into a random gallery and being confronted by a human head on a stick. we just don't. not all visitors would necessarily have an issue with that but i know one woman who had nightmares for years after visiting that gallery.

culturally speaking, not everyone is blase about human remains, many cultures disallow viewings and many parents do not want to have to explain to their children what death is in the middle of a museum. taking away the cultural context of the humans on display, there is still many many cultural issues with their display.

one way to get around that particular thorn, is to put up notices. to incorporate consent into the gallery space. and to make it an optional space. that is to say, in order to get through the whole exhibit from start to finish a guest does not have to go through the gallery with ancestral remains in it. instead they can consent to see a little bit more off to the left in a side gallery if they want to.

that does not deal with the cultural requirements of the human being on display - let alone their personal wishes. one of the cultural requirements for Egyptians is preservation in memory, so some people argue that having a mummy on display in Canada is not bad because people remember that person. this, however, ignores another aspect of Egyptian culture - to die and be burred away from Egypt meant they could not access Egyptian afterlife. therefore that mummy in Canada should be returned post-haste to Egypt.

this actually happened with Ramses the second. he was 'found' in Canada, and repatriated to Egypt. in Egypt he is still in a museum but he is among his grave goods, and among his people - and you have to consent to go into his final resting place.

this is getting away from me...

lets address 'museums are about preserving artifacts'.

yes and no.

the ICOM definition of museum is down to two proposals as of this year

Proposal A

A museum is a permanent, not-for-profit institution, accessible to the public and of service to society. It researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible cultural and natural heritage in a professional, ethical and sustainable manner for education, reflection and enjoyment. It operates and communicates in inclusive, diverse and participatory ways with communities and the public.

Proposal B

A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.

my preference is the first one, but you can see the complex issues we deal with from both of these.

If we were just about the artifacts we would be an antique store.... without prices.

yes museums with collections have a duty of care to those collections - a big part of why it is challenging to repatriate. but that is not our only duty. and there is only ever a fraction of our collection on display - there are too many things to display otherwise. So, even without returning ancestral remains to their living communities, there is no ethical reason to have them on the gallery floor. UNLESS the gallery space is the only climate controlled storage you have... but then you have bigger problems than ancestors on your hands.

please feel free to ask questions always - it is never a bother - and this is a 100 per cent non-judgmental answer. i know tone can be hard through text.

i would appreciate it if some other blogs chimed in with your opinions. i don't have to worry about ancestors in my current or former museums so i am sure i am missing nuance.

[sepublic]

Anyhow, in lieu of a recent post, I kinda wanna apply it to another fandom and say this is the reason why I don't think Emmanuel is gonna redeem himself next season, not necessarily at least. Like yeah sure he FEELS bad but to him this is a test from God or whatever so that justifies everything.

He thinks he's someone who accounts for the long-term, unlike these revolutionaries who think only about improving their short-term mortal lives, and thus forsake their long-term afterlife in heaven in the process. Emmanuel think he's long-term and he's gonna outmaneuver Erzsebet, who will be so caught up in using his night creatures to crush the rebellion that she'll fail to account for what happens afterwards when Emmanuel can just turn on her. He thinks he's fucking Solomon with the ring that can control demons.

Emmanuel is just gonna bitch and moan and weep about all the sacrifices he's making but it's the GOOD kind of suffering, like how Christ had to suffer and make sacrifices, because it's a test from God. He compared himself to Abraham and he was even rewarded with a ram in Tera for his devotion!!! So he could absolutely interpret this as proof he's on the right path and double down.

Emmanuel is such a mediocre father. It's heartbreaking that for all of her teenage rage and rebellion, Maria still earnestly cares for him once she finds out he's her dad, she risks it all in trusting him because surely her own dad will come around for her, and she cares!!! She cares for family!!! And then Maria is burned so hard for that trust, she saw Emmanuel weep about sacrificing her and then do it anyway. Maria lost her own mother, a parent who actually cared, because she dared to assume her dad had the same basic decency as Tera did. She's gonna know better, the poor girl... But at what cost?

And Emmanuel is gonna be Oh Woe Is Me!!! when he sees what his beloved has become. But in the end his Christian savior complex matters more than anything else, even if he DOES care for other things. Because if he truly cared for Maria from the start, he'd have quit his position to focus on raising his daughter. But instead he continued to neglect her, and then endanger her with his night creatures, and then finally outright sacrifice Maria. Because being the Christian savior who saves everyone's immortal souls, at the low cost of their mortal lives, matters more. Like god he must've had a savior complex about providing Tera hospitality when they first met.

"You're not gonna spare them, are you?" Shut the fuck up Emmanuel you're gonna cry yourself to sleep over this and then the next morning decide that you've fulfilled your daily Catholic Guilt quota and can go back to being a dickhead because you feel bad so obviously that proves you're a good person right???

And from a meta standpoint, I suspect Emmanuel is the show's version of Shaft, who was a major villain who died resurrecting Dracula and successfully inflicted real damage against the Belmonts for like two hundred years. The similarities between Emmanuel and Shaft are too many and obvious, and it'd be redundant to introduce Shaft when Emmanuel is right there as the evil priest. I suspect they changed his name because Shaft has juvenile connotations in English that the Japanese creators who came up with Shaft weren't aware of, especially when pulling from the German language.

Granted, Isaac changed quite a bit from his game counterpart, as someone who DID die resurrecting Dracula in the source material; But otherwise, the creative liberties is further support for Emmanuel being Shaft in spite of the differences. I don't think Emmanuel will start worshipping Dracula as a coping method; The show kinda burned the bridge with Dracula as a villain, and there isn't really a meaningful connection nor reason for Emmanuel to latch onto that guy in particular.

More likely, he'll latch onto the demon (probably Galamoth) who gave him the forgemaster machine, and that demon will read Emmanuel like an open book -an even easier read than the instruction manual for the machine it provided- and feed into his savior complex, into his self-perception of himself as a tortured and misunderstood genius or some shit. The demon will stroke Emmanuel's ego as salve after the humiliation of S1's finale, and Emmanuel is gonna snort it like copium until he's convinced this demon is an asset sent by God to assist him; Just as Solomon's demons were. He's gonna be played like a fiddle by some higher demon AGAIN be shocked about it. Again.

[hoardingpuffin]

Over the Garden Wall Fable AU Concepts

Okay, so - when I was across the pond to see my partner, them and I watched Over the Garden Wall. @the-uninformed-zennial had never seen it, and it's so very much their vibe so obviously we had to. And, as we are both Fable nerds, we ended up talking about potential AU ideas. I'd had two possible concepts for AUs floating in my noggin for a while and we fleshed them out together a bit.

Now, between (hopefully) finishing Three Wishes, and the holidays, and that pesky 30+ page bachelor thesis paper, I won't have time to write them as actual fics anytime soon, so I figured I'd at least put out the concepts somewhere, and Tumblr seemed like a good choice.

For anyone unfamilar with Over the Garden Wall: It's a mini series by Patrick McHale that aired on CartoonNetwork a while ago, focussing on two brothers stuck in the mysterious Unknown trying to get home and experiencing wacky halloween-y hijinks on the way. The Unknown is often interpreted to be a sort of afterlife/limbo, and the series has a lot of themes of that direction, but it's still quite charming and cute and funny (as it is made for kids).

_____________________________________________________________

Concept 1 Icarus and Rae are in the place of Greg and Wirt – they got into some sort of fight in the real world and ended up in a situation that made them enter the Unknown as a limbo between living and dying. In this case, the characters from the Unknown would be remaining a lot more like the ones we know from the show, so the Woodsman is just The Woodsman, the Beast is just The Beast, and so on. I’m not sure who’d be in the place of Beatrice, but there are a few possibilities. If we’re going with the popular interpretation that the Unknown is a form of the afterlife, then it could be someone from canon who has passed already (if we wanna be angsty, it could be Haley maybe? I am not sure if I want her to be though), or alternatively Beatrice could just be a random soul who, like in OtGW Canon, is trying to free their own family.

In this AU, the story would probably progress similar to the one in OtGW – Icarus and Rae trying to get home and through the Unknown, getting into more fights along the way, until Icarus ends up losing faith in being able to get home completely. Rae – much like Greg – would offer himself to the Beast in order to get Icarus home, and Icarus in turn would have to step up and be a responsible older brother and save Rae from turning into an Edelwood.

There’s a lot of similarities between Icarus and Wirt, I feel like, though Wirt’s anxious poetic nature seems more alike Rae. But both Icarus and Wirt have this streak of blaming their younger brothers for stuff that those brothers weren’t necessarily responsible for, and lashing out at them, so I can see Icarus in Wirt’s place rather well. Plus, well, Rae, like Greg, going on a whole arc of “maybe this is actually my fault so I’m gonna go with the Beast to try and fix it” seems fitting for him to me.

Concept 2

Now, the other concept I might actually like more by just a little bit – in this, the people lost in the Unknown would likely be Athena and Jamie, who (due to something other in the real world) are finding themselves in the woods, where they meet the Woodsman – who would be Rae. I can just see Rae being someone to devote themselves to being the Lantern Bearer for the Beast, if it meant to keep the soul of a loved one alive (though in this case it wouldn’t be the child, but likely Aax and Caspian) – plus, the Beast has the whole antler aesthetic going on, so that can overlap neatly with the warden in my opinion. Maybe it’s just cause the Woodsman is such a tragic figure already in OtGW canon, but I think it would be a neat spin to see that character lead the ones lost in the Unknown instead of just sending them on their way, to make the idea that he might be the Beast even worse of a betrayal, which I always thought OtGW was a bit light on. I wish they’d have given that betrayal as much weight as Beatrice’s betrayal. And then, once revealed to the Woodsman that the Lantern holds the Beast’s soul, not anyone else’s, the big fight feels in character for Rae to me, too. Rae’s devotion to the ones he loves is immense, and him fighting the monster that deceived him so – especially to also keep two innocent souls safe in the process – would not only be in character, but also give a quite triumphant turn for him in this AU. Plus, he’d get the happy ending he deserves once he actually slays the Beast and returns home to see that his loved ones are actually there and likely have been all along. The unfortunate side to his AU idea is that most of the characters in the Unknown, like Rae, already being dead and likely for a long time. However, Zenni presented an alternative idea, where the inhabitants of the Unknown aren’t always actually the souls of the deceased, but might also be sort of mirror-verse representations of them. I’m not sure how Athena and Jamie would get to the Unknown then, but it would be an interesting concept to explore, and give more detail to the world – plus, give Athena and Jamie both more of a reason to trust the Woodsman and either for the believed betrayal to hit even worse or for them to not believe it because they know Rae so well in the real world.

_____________________________________________________________

Now, obviously, these are just concepts, not nearly as fleshed out as I would make an actual fanfic - and some stuff might be jumbled as I've not actually written it out before and the whole Putting Things In Your Writing Brain Into Actual Writing thing is difficult as fuck.

Anyways. Those are the two ideas I came up with and have been mulling around my noggin. I don't know if I'll write them, gonna be honest, but - they are concepts alright.

[cat-alyzing]

The Sisters

The sisters are the split of group of the first known group of wild cats at the lake called the Archaic Lake Cats. After being given a sign of a horrible wildfire that would destroy their summer site the cats leader Half Moon let the cats decide where they would be moving, to the mountains or far away into unknown land. When counted there was a tie and it was decided that they’d split apart, the cats heading to the mountains becoming the Tribe of Rushing Water and the ones going farther becoming the Sisters.

The Sisters run a matriarchal, crepuscular, and wandering group. They wake up in the early dawn and start traveling, or hunting if their settled, stopping midday to sleep and then doing more at dusk before sleeping in and out during the night. They have a democratic system where the cats choose the next pathfinder or on vote on any decision often with a special stone or object given to them when their fully grown.

Traits include long thin fur, larger bodies, big maws, flecked pelts and strange eye colors, wide thick paw pads for traveling. They have two specific bloodlines from the first Sister’s Stone and Sun. Stone’s descendants have thick gray fur and purple eyes with a white spot on their face and back while Sun’s descendants have warm coats with wavy fur, a darker spot on their chest, and banded stripes.

First Pathfinder was Stone (prev. Smooth Stone) and the Current Pathfinder is Moonlight one of her descendants

The Sister’s Ceremonies

The Shift Ceremony is done under the full moon a year and a half after a kitten is consider a adolescent. At this ceremony the cat is tested on their connection to their afterlife in various ways.

Calling is when a cat calls upon to create a connection to a spirit but not necessarily summon them rather to create a voice to talk to the cat. This is the easiest skill for a Sister to learn but only available to them as no one else can hear the whisperer. A cat practices this by opening up their vessel for a spirit to attach to but not enough to attempt a full summoning often learners figure this out by doing it again and again on their own since it is so particular to the cat themselves.

Pulling is a more specific and done after something has gone may it be a plant or creature to pull a last memory or sliver from the dead. Mostly used to bring back special herbs that have died away. This is done by tracking the site of where the thing passed and fueling it through the cat themselves, this can cause exhaustion if used on larger or long dead things. Practiced by rooting up the dirt under a dead flower and fueling it, once revived the cat has passed the test.

Summoning is easy once mastered but hard to figure out as it pulls the full ghostly form of a spirit and makes them visible to anything watching. It requires to call out and open up the cats spirit themselves for a ghost to latch onto as a anchor, and then the cat will pull them to the living plane. This is easy to hold and maintain but hard to figure out and a little dangerous to do if a spirit is particularly hostile, powerful, or wanting to steal the living cats spirit themselves. Most often done in cases of needing to speak to a lost one, wanting guidance, or advice though a spirit cannot just tell a cat all the truth just what they can process. (So if a cat was found dead a Sister couldn’t just summon the spirit and be told what killed them. The spirit would only be able to speak in already known truths, recall shared memories, or hopes instead of facts)

Singing is a very commonly done practice by the Sisters. They sing to build bonds, pass time, share stories, raise hope, and even to heal. To better connect to those not on the living plane they have sing. The stronger the voices and the more there are the stronger their connection will be.

New life celebrations are held after a cat announces new life and throughout the settling moon. After a cat says their expecting they are flowered with special items like pregnancy related herbs, flowers, stones, and prey to the cat and they are immediately nestled into the center of the sleeping pile. As they find a suitable place to settle the Sisters will create the safety den for them which is very protective most often in bramble bushes, caves, strong burrows, or under thorn bushes. The sisters will stay at this den until the kittens are able to properly travel with them most often around 3-4 moons. If a cat decides to stay with their kittens they are given a goodbye ceremony just like any cat would.

Goodbye gifting is the ceremony done when a cat chooses to travel away. The cats closest to the traveler will give them a special gift that they’ll take with them on their journeys as a connection back to their birth group. The night usually consists of group singing, getting the cat ready for travel, and hunting so they have some prey to set off with. Just before they leave they are touched by the pathfinder and looked upon as a official wayfarer wandering the land for whatever they want, or just to explore.

Life in the Sister’s

The Sisters are a very close group and see each other as all being connecting may that be by blood, friendship, spirituality or love. They often sleep in open areas so they have a habit of sleeping all together in a big pile of cats with certain cats on the inside circle like those expecting, injured, shorter furred, or the pathfinder.

Gender in the Sisters is very self respected. While the pathfinder is matriarchal it depends on the cat themselves, i they see themselves as being able to be the pathfinder by the groups standards then they are. They do not differentiate by the gender of a cat and the only difference being that one cat can carry kits and the other sires them. Nothing more then that. Stone herself was a trans molly and the tradition of looking past many built up ideas is close to their culture. Sexuality isn’t really a idea to the cats since it’s just what a cats like, similar to how one cat prefers birds to mice or fish to bugs.

Their also avid storyteller singing great tales they’ve picked up and grown over time. Their main ones are of the four gods that control aspects of life like life, death, peace chaos. A changed version is seen in the Tribe in their own culture. They also have a story about the “stuck sister” which has ties back to the ancient Fallen Leaves.

The story of the Stuck Sister is a old tale stemming from the loss of Stone and Shadow’s only child at the time Fallen Leaves during is coming of age ceremony. It is sung in parts, the initial loss and the restless grief most often by the lead singer being the loudest and the rest humming along.

(Think the kind of tempo in “Enchanters - Dragon Age: Inquisition”)

“Oh Fallen Leaves oh Fallen Leaves with your fur of red and white. How much you’ve grown and still so small always in a fright. You went inside where there was no light. Lost forever from my sight. Oh Fallen Leaves oh Fallen Leaves how you’ve stuck to my mind. I sing to you in hopes to see you in the stars once more. Oh Fallen Leaves oh Fallen Leaves where could you be? I should’ve known when the air got cold a thief would steal my shine. My little light oh my little light so bright with heart and mind. Trapped in the stone, no way home. As I grow old and you stay cold I hope to see you then. While I am gone, your song lives on, forever should they know. My Fallen Leaves my Fallen Leaves with a pelt of red and white.”

The tale of trickster refers to the autumnal god known for his many seeds of chaos sprouted across history. A warning tale about the signs if he is near. Said over and over to ward away the beast in its story this tale is most often spoke around prey during autumn.

Autumn Glee forever be a trick of the eye. For fear the changing shadows and darkness soon to blight. He is of chaos and pain always feasting for more. Do not feed the restless Sol or you may be his final feast. Always hungry ready to leap. Stay away from the dying leaves. He will rot your belly and steal your soul. Take your body for a stroll. Then when you get free, he will finally finish the feast. Do not fall for the leaves. Or you will be his next treat.

The Spirituality of The Sister’s

The Sister’s are polytheistic worshipping the gods of each seasons who control the different aspects of life though they don’t heavily worship them. More so showing their belief in tales or comments. They do believe in the planes of existence though. The idea of the living being on one plane, the ghosts, and the passed over. Spirits who are ghosts can be easily called upon and are still trapped on the living plane either by choice or not. The passed over cats are the spirits who have moved on and gone back into the world their energy giving life to new creatures like birds, kittens, mice whatever. They have a code of giving what they take and helping those in need, very often healing those who need it or providing protections.

Their specific connection to the dead is stronger because of their consistent belief in the practice and learning over generations how to best use their powers.

[biblicalhorror]

I keep seeing posts about how Fig should be the one to run for president instead of Kristen and I could not disagree more tbh.

Fig hates responsibility literally more than anything else. She hates deadlines. She hates structure. Sure, the chaos anarchist might be exactly the energy Aegfort would want running his school, but she's fundamentally incompatible with that kind of position of power. She's charismatic, yes. But a grand majority of the time, she prefers to use her charisma for trickery and deception, not for popularity or politics. She has a very hard time being likeable or impressive as herself, which we see in action during the most recent episode with the note to Riz, or during episode 1 when she convinces Gorgug he was the one to seal the Night Yorb. In fact, a running character theme for her this season has been about how uncomfortable Fig is with herself, whether that's in regard to physically being in her own body or in keeping agreements with herself. Being student body president puts a lot of pressure onto how you the person is perceived, which Fig would absolutely struggle with immensely. (Tbh it would be very funny if she ran as Wanda Childa, though.) Fig is also an extremely loving and caring person, which I think people assume would translate well to a position in politics. But the thing is, Fig intensely cares for her own people. The opposite side of that coin is that she is also very frequently extremely distrusting of random strangers for little to no reason. She is kind, but in the sense of being extremely loyal and protective of her loved ones, not necessarily in the sense of being humanitarian. Frankly, I think the pressure of having that much power over so many of her peers would not be good for her mentally. Not to mention the fact that she actively has the bird cop coming after her for identity theft. The last thing she needs is more visibility.

Kristen, on the other hand, is almost entirely motivated by The Greater Good. She has a very hard time showing up for the people in her life on a day-to-day basis, and she also has a very hard time even caring for herself on a basic level, but she is always looking at the big picture and calling out structural injustices. Her main motivation as a character revolves around fighting against inequitable power structures created by evangelist gods, and she will never fail to put herself directly in the line of danger if it means protecting someone else, especially if she can stand up to some bullies in the process. This is the girl who, without any casting ability, decided to use a cantrip to try and help two souls, one of which was a literal stranger, pass on to the afterlife together in peace. She wants to bring people together more than anything else. Interestingly, she is also not good at facing herself and being perceived. However, unlike Fig, she deals with almost a disconnect between her public persona and her true inner self, which manifests as random chaos to keep other prople at arms length rather than constantly hiding herself behind different disguises. In a way, she's actually a super compelling foil to Fig. Kristen is very bad at being there for the people she's closest to, but she knows how to reach out to strangers and offer community. She knows how it feels to be isolated from her own power due to a disempowering social structure, and she understands grand, sweeping social power arguably more deeply than any of the other bad kids due to her history with all of her various dieties. Kristen, deep down, struggles with seeing herself as a person with agency rather than a conduit for power, and her fear of her power being exploited by a greater being to bring suffering unto others I think actually puts her in kind of the perfect position to be going into politics. She will always be vigilant about making sure there is a voice for the voiceless, and she would not put the needs of the few above the needs of the many. Also, she brings exactly the brand of chaos Aegfort is known for into all of her campaign-related interactions. And thanks to her friends, that might win her the election.

[ultfan]

@gravity-wall sent in: Give me your baseline crossover headcanons for both sinner demon and winner angel Komaeda.

before i begin i'm gonna establish that both of these take place after dr2. specifically i think this is a world where komaeda is not woken up after the neo world program due to actually dying — with his weak constitution he was unable to endure his virtual death and actually passed away instead of slipping into a coma. with that out of the way... let's go:

sinner komaeda: it's natural komaeda end up in hell for his actions. even outside of ultimate despair he still was an agent of chaos and despair in the neo world program — even if his intentions were to make hope stronger. i think komaeda would view ending up in hell as the ultimate bad luck. which means... he's actually excited to be here.

now, don't get me wrong, komaeda doesn't necessarily think he deserves to be in hell after his stunt in the neo world program. he doesn't know the result — so he assumes it worked. and his delusions of grandeur during that stunt gave him the idea that it would make him the ultimate hope. however, he also understands why he would end up here. after all, he used to be a remnant of despair. so he understands why he'd end up in this place.

due to this being an extreme case of bad luck for komaeda — probably the worst he's ever experienced — that means there is insanely good luck on the horizon for him. he's not scared to be in hell. like i said, he's excited. komaeda has never been able to properly process bad situations due to his luck cycle. and there's no way things could get worse from this point. i think komaeda's luck might get really out of whack because of the circumstances. it seems to work like a balancing act normally — swinging back and forth between extremes to balance itself out. since komaeda would be consistently suffering as a sinner in hell... his luck has to balance out that suffering.

i think komaeda would end up accumulating a lot of power in this scenario. perhaps gaining some notoriety as "the lucky demon," constantly stumbling into good fortune. no one dares bet against him in any game of chance because they are destined to lose. — if komaeda keeps up his self-proclaimed "ultimate hope" bullshit in the afterlife i can see him possibly attempting to become an overlord.

komaeda wants hope to prevail — and he wants every little bit of despair to be destroyed. as he put it in udg: he wants it to be burned down all the way to the roots. and what is the most despair-ridden place of all time? hell.

i'm sure you can imagine his intentions. he's probably a fan of the extermination stuff.

i think komaeda would also really admire charlie — someone seemingly so hopeful in such a despair-filled place. he'd really like the idea for the hazbin hotel, although i think he'd disagree with the idea that anyone can be redeemed (in a very hypocritical fashion). he can understand if people ended up here undeservingly, but if people have fully given into despair... he wouldn't believe such weak, detestable people deserve a shot as heaven.

i could see him checking into the hotel to kinda offer challenges and shit to the residence — really test their limits and see how strong their hopes to reach redemption really are. in which case he'd probably butt heads with alastor. but these are just hypotheticals so who knows.

angel komaeda: the greatest stroke of luck he's ever gotten — a ticket into heaven. against all odds. but if the ultimate luck couldn't win against any odds it wouldn't be much of a talent, would it? of course, due to this extreme stroke of luck... komaeda is on edge.

heaven is everything komaeda could ever wish for in a world. it's beautiful — the people are beautiful — there's no hint of despair. it's truly paradise. and it unsettles komaeda how good everything is. because, as his luck cycle dictates, what follows extremely good luck is extremely bad luck. and he has no clue if or when it might hit him. or whether that even applies in the afterlife.

but... if heaven is the paradise for the dead that it is meant to be... and nothing does happen to shake things up... i think komaeda would get bored with it. of course he would admire it for a long while. he'd be in awe — amazed that someone as wretched as him could have a place here. he would also be on his best behavior. polite and happy and praising everyone around him. putting everyone up on a pedestal. he probably weirds people out with this behavior, but he clearly means well. and this is heaven, so... there shouldn't be anything to worry about, right? even if he's a little odd.

but the thing is... i think komaeda is someone who needs conflict. he needs to increase the stakes. he can never be content. like when naegi became the ultimate hope and junko died — that should've been the peak. everything he's ever wanted. the ultimate hope destroying the ultimate despair. and yet... he wanted to continue to push naegi further. he wanted to make a new ultimate despair for him to fight against. so he can grow stronger and stronger.

heaven initially seems like a place full of hope — but komaeda would eventually realize that there is nothing "hopeful" about being stagnant. about being complacent. because hope has no limits... that means this can't be it. perfection is something you constantly strive for... so maybe heaven itself isn't perfect. maybe heaven has been complacent for too long.

i'm not sure how he would do it, but i think he'd definitely start stirring trouble up in heaven. causing actual conflicts people would have to face in order to grow. and... he might find a way to support the people down in hell. not because he's on their side, but because he wants to create a strong enemy for heaven to overcome. to give them an actual challenge for the first time in a long time.

[svartalfhild]

Hopefully you're not sick of elf lore asks yet, but do you have an opinion on whether half-elves can have elven souls/spirits? I was going to romance SH with an elf but got stumped because he got sad about the whole different afterlives thing. (And I'm disappointed that it doesn't seem like you can discuss any elfy stuff with Astarion or SH as an elf).

Oh, not to worry. I will take practically any opportunity to talk about a special interest, and elves are very much one of them.

The short answer is yes, if by "elven soul" you mean a soul capable of having an afterlife with the elven gods.

The long answer is that, generally speaking, in the FR setting, anyone can have any kind of afterlife they want if they've lived the life to earn it. The way gods and the afterlife work in FR is that you pick a patron deity or group of patron deities and if you keep to their teachings enough in life and pay them at least a little homage, they'll probably take your soul off to hang out with them in their plane when you die. If you don't and no one speaks for you at your judgement, you end up on Kelemvor's wall of souls, getting slowly absorbed, or if you're really unlucky, grabbed by raiding demons passing by. I think that probably also happens if you worship Lord Ao, because he is, uh, not interested in your worship. Of course, if you've made a deal for your soul with, say, a devil, that kind of overrides the whole thing and you go straight to the Hells to hang out with them in whatever form they choose as one of the Damned. You also might get a nasty fate if you worship a god but do it very badly, like if you do a lot of stuff your patron does not like.

Anyway, all of that is to say that if you want an afterlife with Shadowheart, you can have it, regardless of what ancestry your character has, they just have to angle for it. That's my hot take on the lore as written, anyway. Shadowheart also does not follow an elven god, so she wouldn't be going to Arvandor when she dies anyway, but even if she did, it wouldn't necessarily make a difference to your Tav or Durge as long as they invested in the right patron. The elven reincarnation stuff is a bit uncertain, so I'd say go with whatever your heart finds most compelling there.

On a related note, there's an avariel (winged elf) mage/cleric companion in BG2 named Aerie who was taken in by a gnome cleric, so instead of worshipping the elven goddess Aerdrie Faenya, she worships the gnomish god Baervan Wildwanderer, so I imagine her soul would go to the Golden Hills instead of Arvandor.

Regarding elf and half-elf companions in BG3 not talking about Elf Things™, yeah, I find that disappointing too. My main Tav is a Drow Wild Sorcerer who romanced Halsin and I was like "you'd think he'd have something to say about any of that, but apparently not". Also, I'd kill for voice lines where the elves and half-elves speak Elvish, just like how we get to hear snippets of the lesser baatezu and greater baatezu forms of Infernal in the game. Larian please hire me; I've been untangling and expanding FR Elvish for years; I already have a basic grammar and I've been slowly building a proper dictionary. As such, I've had some fanworks percolating in my brain about it.

[bestworstcase]

for it is in passing we achieve immortality; through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. i release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee.

we could be the gods of this world; our powers surpass all others. our souls transcend death. we could […] create the paradise the old gods could not.

when we break or wear out or simply finish what we were made to do, we’re called back. […] he’ll be fixed up nice, and made into the herb he wanted to be when he was still herb. then he’ll come back and find his purpose […] i know, i know, where you’re from things…die…but we’re just not like you at all. we ascend.

DO YOU SEE?

i'm... cursed. for thousands of years, i've walked the surface of remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating [in the body of a like-minded soul] […] i am the combination of [countless men who've spent their lives] trying to protect the people of remnant. with every rebirth, my soul is eventually [merged with another and i am changed], but my memories stay with me. this curse was bestowed upon me by the gods, because i failed to stop salem in the past, but we must stop her now.

DO YOU SEE??

ozma had been ready to give his life for justice countless times, but now he saw a woman worth saving it for / i’m sorry, but that world just isn’t as dear to me without her; if i may, i’d rather return to the afterlife to see salem.

ascension is a tripartite concept: death is transcendental, the process of becoming the ideal self through the continual refinement and active pursuit of one’s chosen purpose. both salem and pyrrha articulate this idea in full and the cat defines it explicitly.

when ozma describes his curse, he touches on all three parts but all of them are corrupted: death binds him over and over again to someone else; instead of becoming more and more himself his sense of ‘himself’ is continually eroded by fusion with someone else; his identity and sense of purpose have been ground down to almost nothing under the wheel of countless other people whose purpose was to ‘protect the people of remnant,’ with the last vestige of ozma’s self and chosen purpose being the pretense that he’s cursed because he must stop salem. but the uncorrupted form of ozma’s ideal self is that he was a hero searching for a just cause to die for until he found in salem a reason to live and the uncorrupted form of his chosen purpose is that he would forsake the world to be with salem; the final tragedy of the lost fable is that the corrupted nature of ozma’s false-ascension made the desecration of his identity and purpose inevitable.

and of course whole narrative flows from the tragedy of the lost fable and the story is very much about setting it right—healing the broken fairytale—which means, obviously, that ozma’s curse must be broken; meaning the cruel and twisted facsimile of ascension inflicted on him by the god of light needs to be undone, and simply liberating him from oscar is not enough; his self-identity and chosen purpose have to be restored too, because the false-ascension must be repaired in entirety. <- ozlem endgame

conversely salem is going to win. not in the sense of winning the war per se or even accomplishing her current goals necessarily (<- that depends on what, exactly, she’s planning), but in the lost fable she articulates (several times!) an ambition to liberate humanity from divine tyranny and, frankly, after V9 i think anyone who doesn’t think that salem is and has always been entirely earnest in that ambition is either not paying attention period or just not interested in engaging seriously with the text. so salem is going to win because what she wants is for all of remnant to be free from the god who wants to blow it up and torture her for eternity. lol.

[cinnamonest]

I have one crazy idea and it’s basically a innocent darling and everyone use her to study hilichurls

Like albedo want to learn if hilichurls from dragonspine is different from the rest, well enter darling and she will agree to anything because her parents shelter her so much growing up.

Or if she has a hydro vision and she wants to learn more so she ask mona for help and tells her that she can learn a lot from hydro slimes. That’s how darling end up being fucked by a hole group of hydro slimes, a lot of tentacles cover her.

Liue is having a problem because a lawachurl is close to the harbour, so the traveler ask is darling will help him but as you guess he just make her fuck it and says it’s part of the plan.

Hu tao is taking care of ghost but a lot of them have problem going to the afterlife because they died a virgin, she doesn’t know one that would accept having sex with hundreds of ghost so she asked traveler. He says that darling is the perfect person for the job and says just to say to her that she is going to help ghost. When darling gets to the ghost with hu tao, hu tao just tells her that she have to take of her clothing and just lay down and she will come the next day to retrieve her. And that’s how darling got fucked by hundreds of ghosts.

I have more but I think that’s enough

Lmaooo poor darling, imagine the betrayal... I also do have other similar thoughts about Churlfucking though! Consider being a sort of test subject.

Maybe you failed to pay off a debt and given an offer between this and prison/getting beaten up. Maybe some research group had advertisements hanging up in town, offering a lot of money, and you were desperate for mora and figured hey, why not? Or maybe you were a bit too dedicated to your studies as an Akademiya student, willing to sign up for something shady just to secure a scholarship or stipend.

They don't know a whole lot about hilichurl mating practices, and seem to be confused as to why no one ever sees baby hilichurls... while a certain traveler somewhere may know why that's the case, the world of science would like to know too! Maybe they don't reproduce in the same way? They do have genitalia though, so no one seems to get what the issue is. You're supposed to be there to test that. It's a little awkward, but hey, there's a reward right? Besides, it's one-way glass, so even though you have to know in the back of your mind that they can see you, you only see a silvery wall of glass, and don't have to look at their gawking faces.

Some theorize that the mitachurls are the ones that breed, so they took a few of those, isolated and restrained them for a few weeks to prevent them from mating or masturbating themselves, you know, to make them sexually frustrated and all that. Then they just take you (completely slathered in lubricant oil just in case), plop you down in an empty room, and release all five or so of them at once. Just to see if they display any competitive behaviors as well. What could possibly go wrong? They assured you it was safe, that they would intervene if there was any need. Oh, and that their cocks are the same size as a human's... well... at least proportionately. Sort of. Okay, maybe it was a bit of a lie, but not significantly, and it's not enough that it could like, genuinely injure you or anything.

The results are incredible, a major advancement in science. The fact that the mitachurls recognize human beings as sexually compatible partners -- why is that? What could it possibly indicate? Who knows. Regardless, predictably, they do note in the experimentation log that they do not have any concept of consent the way humans do, no signs of hesitation.

They don't necessarily assume human mating positions either. They must see no need, since the first one chooses instead to just pick your body up, wrapping a hand around your waist, jerking your body up and down as if shaking a drink or the like. Some of them seem to prefer more humanoid positioning, but many just opt for this hand-pump method.

Fascinatingly, though, they do display humanoid behaviors! While they do display some aggression to each other, they also seem to be comfortable with sharing, a herd animal mentality. Incredible! Likewise, based on these observations of sharing, when necessary they also engage in oral and anal sex, as they just shove their cocks into any available orifice.

The subject seems to be a good find, too, very, ah... brave. Seems to have no issues -- well, that's assumed to be the case. You're definitely making noise, but they sort of forgot to undo the soundproof mechanisms first, and by the time they got those undone, your mouth was stuffed full anyway, and all you can hear is those little grunting, whimpering noises as you choke. As long as you don't go limp, they'll assume you're getting enough oxygen, and it should be fine.

Now they can move on to the next step, and bring out the lawachurl. They have to do it back-to-back like this, as you may not physically be capable of taking the lawachurl unless you've been repeatedly stretched out for some time first, so it'll be just a little longer now.