#multiversal quintessence worked into this branch

[kiwibirdlafayette]

MIANITE AND LIFE SERIES? oh please,,, please tell me holy shit im VERY normal abt that idea (im lying)

YESSSSSS I AM SO. I AM SO NORMAL (biggest liar)

I'm still sorta workin on the story plot wise but basically I imagine it as like the lifers are brought into like a semi-reset realm of Mianite under the guise that it's supposed to be like a regular life series (but its not 👀!) Ianite's back to being imprisoned and maybe there's also some other underlying happenings Watcher related or not idk haha

(the god followings i mention later on were based off @ranababamboo , they made some awesome art for this crossover u should totes go check out :D)

I think it'd be funny if theyre still greeted by a version of Dec (or maybe Pix or Iskall would make a funky cool prist :Oc) and are introduced to the mechanic of the game- It works similar to Secret Life where they're all given a set of tasks; One from Mia, Dia and Ianite, and based on how they go about the tasks each session, it leads into them forming factions (aka the god teams) with Lizzie starting off with Mianite and later finding evidence of a Marthanite and BigB doin his funky backrooms things (he's set to follow the World Historian how he gets there I'm not sure but if anyone wants to add on feel free! /nf)

Tiem Reester isn't present but I think it'd be interesting if there's like traces of them (implying this takes place post-s2 but funky multiverse relative universe things hehe) I have plans for Jordan and Tom specifically in linking this to their hardcore series from last year I affectionately named Linked Life bc of the whole "if we all die the server resets" but ye. ye ;]c

I imagine tons of shenanigans ensue ofc from both just them all bein the silly goofys they are, and then as they start to form their factions (maybe both by god followings but also if the factions are mix of the different gods too would be interesting to see... Like Mounders with two dianitees (pearl n joel) a mianitee (bdubs) and an ianitee (mumbo) for example👀 As the sessions go on the tasks become more interesting/offputting or odd that are maybe more lore related, like one big one I keep coming back to is Ianite sending Mumbo to the S1 skycage via a book only given to him with a chest of redstone supplies to make a flying machine

How much the gods appear kinda varies, I've already half written this bit that Scott, Tango and Mumbo are the first to see a physical form of Ianite after a redstone-filled night of building and Pearl becoming Dianite's champion so yeyeyeeyeyeeee!!! :D

[ofalsehoods-archive]

ALTEAN POLYTHEISM: Gods, Government and Science

i mentioned in my previous post that alteans worship alchemically based gods even though not all of them can use alchemy. this is because they represent the forces that govern life and the universe in general--forces that any altean can appeal to and influence through prayer. this is because the deities are understood through a duality: they are simultaneously individual beings and greater forces that work through every reality. they are completely aware, and yet they are also sources of alchemic power on which the multiverses run--they are both the personification of the thing and the thing themselves. every time alchemy or nonmagical science is used to connect to the gods, you’re connecting to a near-infinitely powerful multiversal force that may sometimes choose to appear before you as a person or a lion. 

side note: the fact that the gods are simultaneously beings and forces is the reason why some of the old alteans were adamant that others can be proselytized into the altean religion. these believers, known as multiversalists, insist that since the gods are multiversal forces, anyone who is willing to access them through alchemy or prayer should be allowed to do so. the exclusionists reply that even though the forces are universal, the personal aspects of those forces are for alteans and alteans alone because honervael, the white lion and the parent of the altean species, is responsible for giving each of the forces a personality. 

this view serves as the foundation for altean science and alchemy, and is the reason why science and religion have rarely if ever clashed. because the gods are both persons and scientific forces that you are supposed to tap into and ask for power, scientific exploration was not opposed to religious piety. tapping in and gaining knowledge is a natural process, in fact a sacred one, one that is to be encouraged by religion, not stifled by it. the natural and supernatural worlds are not seen as separate things; the gods are a part of nature, not detached from it, and so can be studied like any other phenomenon. culturally, alteans don’t understand “the supernatural” as a concept; they split the world only into “things we understand” and “things that we just haven’t explained yet.” also, when collaborating with other scientists, the scientific concepts that alteans understand as godly phenomenon often have to be translated into others’ secular scientific concepts, something which alteans find quite irksome--but they do it anyway for the benefit of their partners. after all, both parties are pursuing the same truth.

a major reason for this is because altean polytheism originated as a state religion. while many offshoots burgeoned off and were tolerated (to some extent), the government’s say on religion would be a major determining factor in how science and religion interact, and since the government believed that science and faith were inseparable from one another, they became the greatest sponsors of scientific progress throughout altean history. alteans had no dark ages, no long span of centuries where the central church denied the reality of every scientific theory that wasn’t from a holy book or a certain philosopher. nor did they need an enlightenment or the period after it, a century of learning at religion’s expense followed by centuries of learning that learning need not be opposed to piety. alteans did not need hundreds of years to puzzle out the most productive relationship between science and faith like we did because science is their faith. it is their holy duty to explore.

to an altean polytheist, nothing is out of reach of the inquiring mind; the indestructible and eternal gods have nothing to fear from alteans learning their mysteries. state-sponsored doctrine actively invites followers to partake in the revelation of natural mysteries because in the end, there is no such thing as an inaccessible holy mystery--many alteans believe that every godly secret can eventually be revealed. one of the accepted truths of the multiverse is that the high status of the gods can never be touched or even surpassed, but in a way, the more alteans explore, the closer they will get. (a primary reason why gods are still worshiped even when viewed this way is because they are guides in how to use their power, not all-powerful prohibitive forces; their main purpose is to be teachers, not authoritarian rulers.) the justification for this: altean empathy is the sign of the gods’ will toward knowledge. when the altean has sudden flashes of insight about others or the natural world, it is the surest sign that the gods want alteans to know and explore to the fullest extent. if it was not every altean’s duty to learn and be aware, then this sense of intuition would not have existed.

side note: of course, there are different branches that disagree on how the holiness that is knowledge should be pursued, and the ruling class would not have stuck to one branch throughout all of history. in particular, alfor’s branch would have held that even though all knowledge can eventually be attained, there are some boundaries that should not be crossed for the safety of everyone involved--something that might have actually enraged some of his subjects. honerva’s branch would not have had these restrictions--she would be much closer to the aforementioned sentiment that “inaccessible mystery” is an oxymoron, and restricting one’s research in any way is antithetical to what the gods want for their people. so alfor trying to stop her from discovering all the secrets of quintessence would have been considered a blasphemy.

end note: i feel particularly passionate about this headcanon because i want to use it to get across that the development of "modernity” that many humans like to call “progress” is not a strict linear process. the teachings of the european enlightenment have a significant flaw: it encourages us to see only one vision of progress into the future, and it is this--it is the view that ““““““benighted”””””” people must 1) learn science, 2) ditch religion, 3) ????? 4) PROFIT!!!!

it is tempting to fall for such a view, as it seems logical from the perspective of the western model of progress. but it actually has some racist connotations because it completely disregards the way that other cultures handle their own sort of progress and attempts to pigeonhole everything into western standards of what that progress is. so i basically wrote this as a giant middle finger to the notion that religion = lack of rationality and enlightenment because holy hell, that narrative is more fucking stale than anything “rapped” by igloo australia.

[kiwibirdlafayette]

oooo i wanna know about orphi!! he’s a gorgon right?

YES YES HELL YEAH!! hellooo i have loreeee hehhe

Ophi is a stargorgon to be super specific, which falls under the larger species of Voidwalkers, End-inhabitants created by the Ianite of his home-realm Astrakheins :D She used energy derived from the Void and starlight to transform gorgons and other mythical creatures into these beings who could move freely about the end through flight and overall had a stronger affinity to transformative magics (such as magical properties related to invention, building, engineering, etc.) They somewhat still retain features from their origin species, in Ophi's case the snake hair, and the Eyes tm (he can somewhat turn people to stone too if they look in his eyes, but its on his own volition, meaning unless he's mad at ya you could look right into his eyes without his shades on) Other Voidwalkers could have wings, any other number of eyes (like cyclops), hooves or whatnot, what's most important is that they have some kind of star like feature about them such as the blue snakes on Ophi's head

Ophi is trans, like all gorgons is AFAB and transitioned at a early age :D He's also demisexual/biromantic! As a whole he's a very loyal, sometimes irrational silly chaotic guy who makes up for a lot of social awkwardness (sometimes he doesn't know when to shut it) with a decent amount of technical knowledge. He's had an interest in portal travel and their capabilities from when he was young which is what led him into his field of work. He also likes bees, and singing as side hobbies :D

Before he came to Oakheart (realm of Mianite RPG) Ophi worked for Syn inDustries as a materials engineer, where most of his research was in experimenting with the physical, magical and mechanical properties of materials being uncovered out of the Nether, which for the longest time was shut off as it fell to ruin in the absence of a god (as on Astrakheins, there is only Ianite. Mianite and Dianite are not present at all, and haven't been. the reason why I can't reveal just yet smiles menacingly /silly ;] Ianite in a way rules over both the Overworld and the End in this universe)

He was somewhat content with his work, but part of him knew that there must be more out there, out in the vast multiverse and was worth exploring, that he could make a name from. He never felt like he fit in amongst his Ianite worshipping peers, and was often seen as the odd one out- this only being fueled more on a day that changed his life forever.

He was in the Overworld visiting his mom's supervisor strolling through some woods when he sees a fiery rift tears a hole in the sky, from it, a blazing horned red god draped in a black fur cloak. He drops what he's carrying and runs through the exit when the god takes something (he's not sure what, or who) from the ground, and leaves with an inferno in his path. He's drawn to whoever this god is, and now having some greater sense of what's really out there, he promises to himself he'll find him again. Ophi spends the next two years putting his research to the test, on days off retreating to a shack in the corners of the End to build a portal. Using some stone fragments from the crater from where the god landed, he's able to hopefully have extracted and located a quintessence signature in a branch of the "greater mianite multiverse" and sets his sights on that realm- somewhere far away from what he's known all his life.

As he does this, he does become shunned by his peers, who bring their concerns to his mother and eventually Queen Ianite. He gets summoned to the goddess who gives him a name for this god- Dianite. She warns him that the god is not someone to be meddled with and that it would be in his best interest to abandon his side project; but the name calls out to the chaos living dormant in Ophi's heart and he goes on with his plan regardless. A few days before he leaves, his mother visits to plant a patch of new sunflowers next to his house, wishing him good luck, and not to forget her.

Upon landing he arrives in Oakheart and is greeted by the others- many of which who also came from other universes. Without question, upon learning that there is in fact a Dianite here, he pledges his undying loyalty to him. When he finally gets to meet Oakheart's Dianite, he doesn't look all like the Dianite he saw back on Astrakheins. But he knows time moves differently between timelines, theres offsets, so it must just be that a ton of time has passed. This is his god. Over the course of the next year, he embraces his silliness, his chaos and contributing what he can to prove himself to the old man- through fights, being apart of the legion and making friends and allies and fighting the bringers of Darkness, finally feeling that sense of belonging he's longed for. There are days he still looks up to the stars not sure if he'll stay here the rest of his life, but for now he's happy by the legion of dianite and the guardian's side- no matter where it takes them (even back to the season 1 world uh ohhhh)