sticksandbones | If it were the real me and you

Entry tags:

If it were the real me and you | OPEN

Who: Wolfwood and YOU!
What: Wolfwood schedules a cult book burning and invites everyone
When: March 10th
Where: The Church
Warnings: Relevant info for this event can be found here, general warnings for: monster attack which could lead to blood/gore/etc in threads, please tag accordingly! Will update as needed

Netbook | Morning

Hey everyone, it's me Wolfwood. Nicholas D. Wolfwood if you're new.

So, here's the deal. The church I bought has a problem. It came with a bunch of religious texts inside of it, and while that's...you know. What you'd expect in a church, these ones are like

super fuckin culty.

Not exactly what I asked for. Not that I asked for them at all. I keep trying to get rid of them but they keep showing up again later so

Basically Im gonna be burning them again this evening if anybody wants to come to the bonfire, or help me in getting rid of them cause theres a shit ton. Bring marshmallows or whatever, I dont care.

and before someone comes preaching to me about burning books, again: its cult propaganda bullshit. read it for yourself if you dont believe me
just make sure you chuck it in the fire afterwards or ill do it myself.

Church | Evening

[Should you choose to come to the Church later that evening for whatever reason, you'll find the Priest himself already hard at work setting up a pyre in the yard just outside of it. (Just look for the massive bound cross propped up nearby, you can't miss it.) With the way he loads up the firepit he's created with kindling, it's clear he's already had to do this once before. It's a bit tricky to find anything dry given that the snow is still on the ground in a lot of places, but he's making do with what he's got. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Beyond getting the fire going, there's a matter of getting the aforementioned books out of the church. It's just as Wolfwood described, should you grow curious and crack one open. They're very religious, but strangely...plant focused. Like it's a religion that revolves around the Forest itself, almost. Definitely nothing orthodox about this, that's for sure. There are quite a number of them to take care of as they've all refilled the church pews since the last time he did this.

Or, perhaps you're just here because you think bonfires are cool and want to simply enjoy yourself for a change. The Forest seems to have had its fun with the animal race given that everyone's back to normal at this point, so really, why not kick back and enjoy the warmth of the flames while it isn't sub-zero temperatures outside anymore?

Feel free to mingle...or don't. Perhaps the distant unease in the atmosphere is enough to stop you.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's like
a mix of the Plant religion that exists where I'm from, and worship of some kind towards the Forest itself.
And I don't exactly have love for either.

[He won't get into it on a public forum, obviously, but it really sucks to have the object of your trauma in a place you bought for yourself.]

So it's a religion you dislike and information on the Forest. Interesting, that the two have been combined in some way. Are these texts something that existed in the original church, or did they only appear in this new incarnation? Both have their own implications that are worth looking into. There could contain information on how the enemy thinks, what they're after, what tactics they might use to manipulate others, etc.

Research is about facts, not "love". I don't agree with destroying knowledge for petty reasons.

Well if you care that much about information, come get one. Knock yourself out. Get twenty if they mean that much to you.

But I'm getting rid of the rest.

Considering your previous attempts have been unsuccessful, I don't feel terribly rushed to read a bunch of dull religious texts.

But if you do destroy something permanently that turns out to be critical information, I'm going to say I told you so.

You really think the Forest would just be handing over information to me that might help us beat it? Cause that'd be dumber than what I'm doing, that's for sure.

Would it be as dumb as rewarding us for one of its stupid games?

I don't expect intelligence from anything that calls itself a god.

I mean ill be real, I really don't think the Forest IS a god.

Even if it keeps touting itself like one, and people keep acting like it is one. Some kind of powerful beast or monster, yeah, but a god...?

Of course it's not. Gods are nothing but a convenient explanation dreamed up by simple-minded idiots. I don't believe in such pointless things.

[Uh-]

Hang on, I didn't say all that. I just said the FOREST wasn't one.

Right, because gods don't exist.

Yaknow there are people here who have like...met gods from their worlds, or whatever. Right?

Entities like the Forest that claim to be gods, yes. Many people also suffer from mental illness, delusions and hallucinations. Is there a point you're trying to make?

[...]

Are you really saying that peoples' experiences with gods are actually just them being mentally ill?

Now you're the one putting words in my mouth. I didn't say that at all.

It is one of several possible explanations. I wouldn't be much of a scientist if I made assumptions without looking at the evidence first, now, would I?

Maybe, but that's pretty much what you meant.

If the evidence points to that answer, then yes. The human brain is a delicate machine. All of our senses are tied to electrical impulses that can be disrupted or manipulated to display incorrect results, so-called divine "visions" or interventions. It's not that difficult to replicate in the lab.

[bro-]

So basically you're a science guy. Got it.

Next you'll tell me that the magic people use here is a hallucination, right?

Magic is just the manipulation of El or mana. It's an unreliable craft that relies heavily on genetics and physical affinities, but that doesn't mean it can't be explained at all. Nasod technology can replicate most forms of magic without all of that nonsense.

Edited 2024-03-05 06:24 (UTC)

That's nice and all but I don't have El or Mana where I'm from. I think if anyone from my world saw the way some of you use it here they would think it was something otherworldy.

So you don't have anything you just believe in. Nothing at all.

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harmacy - 2024-03-05 17:58 (UTC) - Expand

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lupusxylem - 2024-03-12 23:22 (UTC) - Expand

Would you like to run that by us again.

Edited 2024-03-05 05:04 (UTC)

[he underlines the part in question and adds a couple ?? to the end]

I'm surprised this is so difficult for people to grasp. Don't tell me you all believe in that nonsense?

Would that I could not believe it. But the god in my head would be quite cross if I went about denying its existence again.
And before you accuse me of being infirm, I would gladly show you a display of its power.

So you have a spirit, holy beast or other such entity bonded to your psyche. You don't have to put on an act for me to believe that. I can also put on quite a show using the power of my Dynamo, after all.

What about that makes it a god?

Any one of those could be a god in their own right. What makes you so arrogant as to believe that your definition is the only one that's correct?

But if you must know. The Beast (note the capital before you assume this meets your divine beast criteria) within my head was responsible for the shaping of the world as it is, commands the faithful and imparts its "gift" unto others, just as its fellow divine can. The power of the elements, the driving force of our world, lays at their beck and call.

If that is not Godly, what would be?

If a god is something that can be defined and quantified through scientific means, then it hardly qualifies as a god. And there's nothing in the world that can't be explained, so there's no such thing as gods. Simple.

If "The Beast" is all-powerful, why are you still stuck here? Hold on, let me guess. Conveniently, it cannot perform any world-shaping acts because that would be interfering in mortal matters or some other divine cop-out. Am I close?