#is it easier to read?

[pessimisticshapewithablog]

How are Death gods made?

I was thinking about TOWW's origin as a god. Maybe that was why TOWW was so different from his siblings? His origin as a god was one of death. Let's begin!

TOWW seems to be dead. He is a 'dead' death god. In mythology, gods of death aren't always dead themselves. As death for gods usually means they ceased to exist. This is very likely why the bishops couldn't kill him, only seal him away. You can't kill what's already dead. 

Now we know that gods in COTL can die just like mortals can, so whatever TOWW is, was not a normal death state for a god. Something about his death or how he died had to be significant enough to make him like this. Where death was a part of his being, enough to be a death god, not just the state he was in. Think Osiris, the Egyption god of death and mummification. He was not always a death god, he was once a living one with a different sphere of influence. Once he died, death became his portfolio. When it comes to death gods they are usually the first dead of their pantheon.

When it comes to how a death god is created it is expected for death to play a part in their origin. But this is not always the case. In some mythos, gods of death are living, they're just responsible for managing the dead. In TOWW's case it's implied that he is in fact dead. He makes a statement about his heart not beating and the state of his arms might imply some level of decomposition has occurred. The fact that he uses his eyes as combatants could also hint that his body isn't alive and he doesn't really need them, no other boss uses pieces of their body to fight us. 

Because TOWW is a 'dead' death god, I make these speculations under the pretense that all death gods in COTL are dead or must die to become one.The exact timeframe for when TOWW could have died isn't possible to know. He could have perished as a mortal and arose as an undead, possibly by the red crown, slowly gaining enough power to become godlike. Or he could have died as a god, and through some profane ritual, awoken as a death god. 

I liken TOWW's origins as a death god to that of a church grim. Church grims were guardian spirits of churches and their graveyards. They were 'created' when an animal, usually a black dog, was buried alive on the church grounds at its creation. It was believed they would serve as protectors and guides for the souls of the deceased. Animals were chosen to spare people from this eternal duty but not always. Their death was seen as a necessity.

COTL is a world of gods and the supernatural, so I imagine a church grim would be a real life necessity rather than simply a barbaric practice. But why, you ask, would Narinder have been at risk of becoming what amounts to a sacrifice? Well, he is a black cat. The devs state TOWW was designed after the belief that seeing a black cat would mean someone would die soon. 

With that in mind I imagine in the magical world of COTL that maybe a real possibility rather than a superstition. A possibility that could lead to prejudice against black cats. Maybe Narinder was a victim of prejudice, being murdered and turned into a church grim against his will? Maybe it was a cultural practice within society? Maybe it was a sinister ritual done under the cover of night. Maybe it was a punishment? Who can know?

Within the same cultures as church grims there was also a belief that the first person buried in a churchyard was tasked with protecting the souls of the deceased until the next funeral/burial. The newly dead would be their replacement. If something were to happen, and no more burials occurred there, that soul would be trapped in eternal vigil, with no replacement, and no way to pass on themselves. This is why animals were usually chosen. I believe this is the current predicament that TOWW is/was in. Why he seemed to grow tired of his duty as a god. 

"Lamb. Mortal life is so... fragile. So fleeting. So long did I stand at the gates between this life and the next, trapped at the nexus of what was and what wasn't."

-Narinder

Conclusion

Speculation Station 

In the beginning TOWW may have enjoyed the power of being a god but being dead may have been an uncomfortable state to be in for all eternity.

On a lighter note ,there is an IRL god with origins similar to church grims. Ankou, a servant of death. He was responsible for collecting the souls of the dead before he could go to the afterlife. This god has many disputed origins but he is the death god I personally associate most with TOWW. 

[soracities]

"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings, on Substack [ID'd]

[dreamyfreakout]

the first five pages of girl pop :3

if you enjoy my work, plz consider supporting me and helping me pay rent here! 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️

[collgeruledzebra]

the thing about trying to recommend fiction podcasts to someone who isn't familiar with them is that not only are so so many genres represented but also the level of production can fall anywhere from "basically an audiobook" to "major motion picture minus the pictures"

[beybuniki]

they should go on a fishing trip pt.1

[fonulyn]

since I've seen it talked about in several places recently:

if you are going to do a whump- or kink- or ANY-tober or other similar challenges please please please don't post them as one fic with 31 chapters unless it actually is one coherent fic. if they're 31 completely separate fics or ficlets then please just make a collection for them or just post them as separate fics. it doesn't matter if they're only 100 words or if you think they're too small or insignificant to post alone, they're not.

and why this?

because if you post all 31 of them in one fic the tagging is absolutely useless. if I look for things to read on ao3 I'm gonna look at the tags, and if the tags include something that's a dealbreaker for me, i won't even click on the fic. I might not even SEE the fic because I've filtered out the nope-tag! so I'm gonna lose out on reading 30 perfectly nice fics because of one fic that my nope-tag applied to.

ao3 is about archiving. it's about clear tagging and being informative. there is nothing informative about it if the tags in the fic apply to random chapters while others have nothing to do with it. it makes so much more sense to have each work as an individual fic with its own individual tags and warnings, so readers can make informed choices.

of course, you do you. I can't police what other people decide to do. but personally, I find it incredibly frustrating to weed through 31 chapters to find the ones I actually want to read. so I don't. I automatically scroll past all works posted like that. and I know some others do, too.

there is absolutely no shame in posting short things on ao3. there is no minimum word count. no one is going to look at you funny if you post a small ficlet on its own, I promise. it's just going to make some readers very happy when they can actually find the things they want to read.

so, please. at least consider the upsides of posting each work as their own fic.

signed, one very frustrated fandom grandma.

[ryssbelle]

Drew a bunch of Marinettes in a bunch of different artists styles it was a lot of fun!!

Artists who's styles I mimicked: @buggachat @hamsternamedmarinette @ladybeug @sabertoothwalrus and @anna-scribbles all epic artists 🤟😎

[gomzdrawfr]

[content warning:MCD, afterlife]

Back in your arms

[giantkillerjack]

Me: hm, I want something to put on the TV as background noise... Huh. Looks like YouTube is recommending something called The Last Unicorn. That's perfect, it's probably some old shitty animation that has aged poorly! I can watch it ironically!

Me, 2 hours later as the credits roll: *crying, cheering, buying the book, composing the songs*

Me, 2 weeks later: So I have compiled all of the quotes from the book that I think could make good tattoos, and also, HOW HAVE I NEVER LEARNED ABOUT HOW THE LAST UNICORN FUCKING SLAPS??? This gay-ass little fairytale fed my soul! Watered my crops! Transed my gender! Can't believe I heard of this story from youtube recommendations, of all places!!

[wis-art]

you should read fire punch and dorohedoro

[crawlingdrawing]

Master post to the X-men evolution fan comic The cage

When a mission to find missing mutants goes awry, Nightcrawler ends up separated from the X-men and trapped in the private freak show of one Amos Jardine.

Inspired by Nightcrawler (2004), and Weapon by Name by CNWrites. Takes place after season 4 of X-men Evolution.

Cover

Chapter One: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Two: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Seven: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Eight: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Nine: Part One, Part Two, Part Three

TW: kidnapping, torture (off-screen), dehumanization, misgendering

[soracities]

"As an educator, I don’t just want you to feel what I feel. I don’t want you to consider me correct because I said it beautifully. I want to sharpen your critical thinking skills and your world-making capacities. I absolutely do not leave emotion out of that! Emotions are as central as the written, verbal, numeric, social, ecological knowledges we are able to gain to navigate this world and the next. I am just… extra cognizant of how much I can lead viewers to feel with me without further thought. The videos of mine that go most viral are ones where I show the most emotion, whatever that emotion is: hopeful, cheery, despondent, grieved, furious, combative. We love emotion. We live such isolated, stifled lives.

The challenge of reading is to navigate the narrative without the overtures of overt feelings. There is no face to latch onto, no music that sways you. Words on a page especially cannot compete with screen-time. They’re not meant to. The boredom opens up space in your mindscape to your own thoughts, opinions, and feelings."

—Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings on Substack

[ruporas]

in a mood (ID in alt)

[drawnbythestream]

A “quick” doodle storyboard of one of my favorite moments from the JA series

[royalarchivist]

Wilbur: Yeah, I'm- I'm- I'm glad that I've actually done something right, Phil. Normally- normally on SMPs I'm- I'm always a bit of a- you know, a bit of a- a bit of a- a bit of a um, what's the word... uh... what's the word for like a-

Phil: Homosexual?

Wilbur: NO????

Bonus:

[heartorbit]

heartbeat