#I was expecting this hehe

[lulu2992]

Hey there!

After reading your great insight on what to keep in mind when, say, writing the Seed brothers in fanfiction, I was wondering if you wanted to cap things off on what to keep in mind when writing Faith?

You don’t have to do it immediately, just when you have the time.

Hi! Sure, let’s conclude this “series” with the last member of the family, Faith Seed :)

First, while she’s referred to as a/the Siren by Dutch, a couple of NPCs, and in promotional material, this isn’t her official title in the Project. And as you probably know, Faith Seed’s real name is actually Rachel. However, unlike what the Far Cry Wiki claims, I’m quite certain her full name was never Rachel Jessop. Unfortunately, the biography on her Wiki page is partly made up and based on that incorrect assumption, so I really don’t recommend trusting it. This advice goes for all Far Cry characters, and I don’t think the Far Cry 6 Season Pass is a good reference, either, since the DLCs were written with the help of the Wiki.

In Far Cry 5, in addition to the story cutscenes, she has three sermons (here, here, and here), four answering machine messages (here, here, here, and here), and can also be randomly encountered in the Henbane River region as a “specter” (term used in the files). When she appears, she either hums the song “Oh The Bliss” (here and here) or talks to the Deputy. I think what she says really is worth listening to and adds a lot to her character. @teamhawkeye has done a tremendous job recording and compiling all her appearances in 9 videos (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9)! As for Marshal Burke’s “apology video”, in which Faith also appears, it’s here.

I wrote a summary of what other characters say about her here (masterpost here), and all the NPCs’ comments about the Seed family are available here and here.

Faith isn’t in Far Cry Arcade and doesn’t have the same “combat lines” as most other characters, but you can still listen to everything she says during the final fight against her here.

Her deleted lines are here, and she has even more here. Most of them probably aren’t relevant anymore, but they’re still interesting and make me wonder what they originally had in mind for the character!

If I’m not mistaken, there’s only one note in Far Cry 5 written by Faith: the “Note for Tracey” (Hope County Jail). The note “A Confession” (Throne of Mercy Church) was also written by “Faith”, but it seems to me the author is one of Rachel’s predecessors.

Indeed, in-game evidence indicates Rachel wasn’t the first woman who took on the role of Faith Seed. There were at least two others before her, Lana and Selena, but we barely know anything about them or why they were replaced. Two letters, written by people who knew and loved them, can be found in the game in the Horned Serpent Cave and the King’s Hot Springs Hotel, but that’s pretty much it.

There was another note written by Faith, apparently cut from the game but still available in oasisstrings. It was supposed to be in her bunker, Faith’s Gate:

To my guardians, Because we have each other, we are already strong. But when the Collapse comes, this gate will need to be the heart of our strength. Guard it with your lives, knowing that any sacrifice you make will be for the future of humanity's greatest ideals and dreams. Jacob and Joseph have chosen you to guard this gate. You should be very proud. I know you serve me with love, but never forget that this will be your home, too. If you falter from this purpose, remember the bliss is there for you. With love, Faith

It’s worth noting that, in the game’s files, Faith (or the Henbane River) is sometimes referred to as “Selena Seed”. To me, this suggests that her identity and her backstory went through many changes during the development of Far Cry 5, and that might explain at least some of the grey areas surrounding the character.

Since she isn’t the Seed brothers’ biological sister and they weren’t raised together, The Book of Joseph doesn’t give a lot of information about her life before Eden’s Gate aside from what the game already tells us: she was a broken person, addicted to drugs, and was “adopted” by Joseph as his sister and Herald. When she joined the cult, since drugs are forbidden by the rules, she first had to overcome her addiction, and the book says she succeeded with the help of scopolamine (basically Bliss). It’s also explained she then worked with a geneticist named Peter, probably on developing Bliss. That said, in the game, he’s never mentioned, cultists never use the word “scopolamine” (always “Bliss”), and nothing clearly indicates it can be or has ever been used as a substitution treatment, so I’m not sure what’s still canonical...

Faith also appears in the short film Inside Eden’s Gate (not entirely canon to me but still good) where she’s played by Mackenzie “Kenz” Lawrén Johnson. I must admit Faith is my favorite Herald in the film; I really like Kenz Lawrén’s interpretation as well as her opinion on the character, which she gave in this interview!

Weirdly, Faith has often been referred to as the “half-sister” by the game’s main writers (such as here or here) even though she isn’t related to the Seed family in the game. It’s possible that she used to be but that was changed at some point. According to the Lead Writer, “Maybe she isn’t liked by the other two brothers as she didn’t grow up with them” (which is hinted at by NPCs and John himself in Far Cry 5). In a now-deleted interview for GameCrate, he also described her as “more of an outsider” and “probably the most fervent believer in Joseph”.

Greg Bryk, who co-created and played the Father, said he believed he needed Faith because “the maternal aspect of the feminine energy is missing” in his life even though it’s something “essential for Joseph to have”. He thinks there have been several Faiths because “when [Joseph] would lose faith, [he] would find another Faith.” And according to him, “she doesn’t need to have a specific energy because there’s something of an essence that [he needs] as opposed to a person”, and she almost has a “mother earth energy”.

While she does give a bit of information about her past life as Rachel in the game, saying she was “ostracized by her community”, “bullied by friends”, “abused by her family”, and “wanted to die”, it’s not always easy to know what’s true and what’s not when it comes to Faith because she’s known for being a master manipulator; lying is canonically part of her modus operandi. In a way, because Faith Seed is a role, I would say she’s also always performing. Unlike what a few NPCs claim, I don’t think that means she never tells the truth, but she’s still undoubtedly “very skilled at twisting the facts and turning any situation to her advantage”, as the game’s Narrative Director put it.

Although the details are unclear, I believe it’s true Rachel was “lost” and “broken” before she arrived in Hope County and joined the Project. It’s also true that, as Faith Seed, she’s now powerful, dangerous, and not innocent anymore, as her former best friend Tracey Lader, who knows her very well and witnessed her transformation (but was unable to stop it), warns the Deputy. I neither mean nor think the situation Faith is in is normal, healthy, or the best thing that could have happened to her, but I do think saying she’s unhappy with it, helpless, in danger, or that she only wishes she could run away from the cult really is a misunderstanding of the character. Faith knows what she’s doing, and she’s very good at doing it. To me, she’s the most powerful Herald.

Since the lore is a bit inconsistent, we’re not entirely sure how the Bliss works and who created it, but we know it’s an almost magical, hallucinogenic and pacifying drug made from “bliss flowers” (heavily inspired by Datura stramonium) that Faith is immune to, can control, and uses to brainwash people. “The Bliss” is also a place, but once again, the details are unclear. It could be her bunker, or maybe just a distorted version of reality that individuals who are exposed to the drug “live” in. Wherever or whatever it is, most people never truly come back from it or fully break free from Faith’s influence, as seen with the Marshal in the game…

In the Project, Faith’s role is to lure (hence the nickname “Siren”) people into the cult and convince them to follow the Father, often with the help of Bliss. If they keep resisting or are “too full of fear and doubt”, high doses of the drug can be administered to them and turn them into Angels, who are comparable to zombies according to some characters. Bliss irreversibly damages people’s brains, and those who become Angels unfortunately can never be saved. Faith and her followers seem to think they’re beautiful creations because they’re faithful to the Project and unable to sin. It seems she has the power to control them (at least partly), and the cult doesn’t hesitate to use them as “shock troops” or “slave labor and beasts of burden”, as NPCs say. They’re indeed very docile and resistant... as well as hard to kill.

Again, there are some discrepancies regarding what happens to potential converts in the Henbane River region, but it seems people first have to walk along the Pilgrimage path and, at the end of it, take a literal leap of faith from the statue of Joseph, just like Faith explains she did (even though whether or not the statue already existed at the time is a bit uncertain). As unbelievable as it sounds, NPCs confirm it’s entirely possible to survive the leap. After walking the Path, some pilgrims become Angels, some simply join the Project, and others don’t survive, either because they don’t make it to the end or die when they jump (maybe because their faith isn’t strong enough, I’m not sure how that works).

In the Family, Faith can be described as “the favorite child” (and I think that makes John jealous), who saw Joseph as her savior when they met and wants others to experience the same feeling, by force if necessary. Just like her brothers, she basically weaponizes her trauma and makes people relive a sublimated version of her life story: she targets the most vulnerable individuals, gives them drugs to ease their torment, and sometimes takes their minds away from them. Even though Faith is fully capable of thinking for herself, isn’t mind-controlled, was a drug user before she joined the Project (not after), and left her old self Rachel “in the darkness” willingly to be reborn as Faith Seed, she still became a new person for the Father and expects the same from anyone she converts, even if that means she has to completely brainwash them.

In conclusion, we don’t really know much about Rachel and her backstory, simply that she was broken, saw Eden’s Gate as a chance to start anew, and happily took it. Since she was young, desperate, and therefore suggestible when she met Joseph, one can wonder if Faith is simply a manipulated, brainwashed victim; a poor, helpless soul devoured by a cult. But although that situation is far from ideal or normal, she and other characters confirm that she too has teeth, and she doesn’t hesitate to use them. Rachel should theoretically just have been a victim, but as Faith Seed, she’s transcended this status. She’s found purpose, power, and is committed to her beliefs. Not everyone in Hope County precisely knows who she is, but now, she does. She’s a multifaceted mystery whom people tend to underestimate, and it’s something she likes to cultivate because that’s how she gets them. She’s a Siren, but in my opinion, also a Phoenix, who was consumed completely and rose up from her own ashes to be born again. Rachel was broken, but Faith is strong. Rachel lost herself, but Faith was found. Rachel was nothing; Faith can be anything.

[kristea9ay]

How and where did he walk for the first time?

Mk fell asleep with both of his parents cuddling, but when he wakes up...his papa is upset? Not on his watch!

Blurred text here

First - previous - next

[zhukzucraft]

=====>

As the strange world around you flashes, you close your eyes and open them again to the sun setting on the first day of the new game.

You are back at spawn and you are not alone.

Skizz: Mumbo!!!!

Mumbo: Oh my goodness

Mumbo: Skizz!

Mumbo: It was you!

Skizz: Yep!

Skizz: You and I are joined at the hip now, my guy, so you better get used to it!!

Mumbo: Oh

Mumbo: You-

Mumbo: You really chose to stay with me so fast? I'd barely even finished reading the rules!

Skizz: Yeah, what was there to think about? I knew my buddy wouldn't betray me!

Mumbo: But we're already down to yellow

Mumbo: Because of me

Mumbo: I just...

Mumbo: I don't even know how it happened, honestly, I'm so sor-

Skizz: Hey, who cares about that! You know what's important?

Skizz: You and I are together now!

Skizz: And if we put together that big smart brain of yours and these guns we will be unstoppable!

Mumbo: ah

Mumbo: Right.

=====>

Start Over -- Go Back

[chio-chan2artbox]

Step forward - Part 2

Perry has made a decision.

Part 1, Part2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

[sakasakiii]

imladris lads :D it started off as a few doodles of gildor bc of a great prompt i received from an anon a few weeks ago, and then spiralled into something else entirely bc i havent really taken the time to explore much of anything imladris-related? i really like the lindir-is-maglor concept so heres my take on how it couldve happened haha

as always, credit to Cartoon Network for the sparkly pink BG

thanks so much for the ask!! here's my take on gildor :DD i really like the way anon asked the question and it was what inspired me to draw finrod in the mix too strangely enough?? the vibes are similar 🤭

[wolfchans]

BANG CHAN ♡ GIANT NTV BEST ARTIST 2024 (241130)

[yurokiku]

See you in 2025! 🎊

[robiinurheart33]

Few months into their relationship, stone and robotnik waking up together.

Ivo never really cared for warmth in his bed, until he met stone.

Suddenly, everything in his life had more meaning, more colour. Everything in his life, he had stone there right beside him. Like he’s been there all his life.

Where was he all his life?

In any case, they were together now. Ivo supposed that was all that mattered. Tangled up in his bed, stone huffing breaths against his neck. That was another thing, he noted.

He hates physical affection. Any and all kind. It wasn’t like his agent was spared of that treatment. The slightest touch or brush against his coat had him screaming his face red. He stopped for a while after that. Then…. Then what? What has happened? One day robotnik had seen stone placing a hand on his arm, and it didn’t itch. It didn’t feel foreign, invasive. So he had allowed it. Just this once, he thought. Elevated heart rate. Just this once. Pupils dialating. Just this once. Sweating. Just this once.

Once came one too many times, and Ivo did not mind it. Not at all. And that scared him. He started to crave for his touch more and more, and almost like stone had read his mind, he had gifted it to him.

A squeeze on the neck, a brush of shoulders, a gentle hold of his elbow. It melted Ivo’s mind, the buzzing in his veins never stopping. In fact, it became more, and more. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop, could never stop. His head was always thinking, and stone slowed it down, turned it to slush. He made him second guess every word, stumble over his feet, make his heart skip a beat.

Stone was turning him human.

Ivo wouldn’t like to dwell on the little issues like when they first fell into bed together, kissed, exchanging words that could never have been said in the daylight. But it felt good. It felt right. It felt so unbearably human, exposing himself like this. But despite how utterly human he felt, Stone still worshipped him like he was the stars in the sky. And who is the doctor to stop him?

“Ivo..” Ivo, Ivo, Ivo. Stone likes to pray. He does not believe in a god.

“Stone.” Ivo’s more than happy to fill that role.

His agent tightens his arm around his waist, taking a deep breath from his neck.

“Mornin’.”

Ivo combs his fingers through his hair, settling his hand at the base of his skull, tugging on the strands lightly.

Stone hums, tilting his head up, eyes squinting still.

“Doctor?”

“Call me Ivo.” He whispers, patting the back of his head. “Just Ivo when we’re like this.” Stone complies, leaning into his touch and looking like a cat who got the cream.

“Okay, Ivo.” He grins. The doctor’s stone cold heart skips a beat, and his ears tingle. He’s gonna wear that out fast, he thinks with a smirk and a huff.

They lean in and crash together, orbits fitting perfectly, warmth shared and legs tangled under the futon. Maybe he craved more things than he thought he would. He’s okay to let Stone teach him in that department.

[vuelode-irbis]

Stonechat for day 6

[ID: digital illustration of a pair of stonechats, male and female, perched in a twig with lichens. The female is above the male, both are perched towards the right side but are looking to the left. End ID]

I forgot their very funny scientific name but I think it looks fine without it.

[notdysfunk]

Ohhh to take Moon out on the first nightfall after decorating your house with christmas lights Stepping out, his hand in yours as your boots crunch against the frosted leaves- stepping out across the yard His eyes are sparkling with the lights, just dim enough to allow him to marvel at them, but not as much as he's marveling at the way the light dances across your face UGh sorry just NEEDED TO>.... .get that outta my system

[gordonfreemanspussy]

@scienceteamtober day 2: passport?

this is pretty straightforward interpretation but i really wanted to do my own take on this sillay passport???

BEAUTIFUL BENRY PORTRAIT BY @perigostodick !!!! full image below. (and oh my god shout out to @black-mesa-passport-department for hlvrai passport reference. life saved forever.)

Look at him.

[smoosie]

Not invincible

[coffeebanana]

The way the finale went down isn’t the ending a lot of people wanted—I get that, and I sympathize. But I really do believe that’s in part because it isn’t an ending.

And, frankly, I love the way this season finale went purely for selfish reasons.

The thing is, I honestly think that from a fandom POV, that’s so much better than having everything go the way we wanted or expected. I’m already so inspired to create things—to patch holes of things I didn’t get to see or hypothesize on how things will turn out. There’s debate on what the wish really means that I KNOW is going to manifest in some creative af world building in future fics I’ll get to read.

I know some people are contemplating leaving the fandom after this, but that was going to happen regardless of how the season went down. And I hope that some of those people still find a way to enjoy what the show has given them. I hope people realize it’s never too late to play with whatever ideas they may have.

I think this “ending” is unsettling on purpose. And I think so many cool things are going to be created because of that set-up.

I’m super duper excited okay?

[tinyfantasminha]

ummmm teehehe surprise surprise i still care about my oc i swear

[sweetestflow3rs]

♡ NOEL THE VENDOR ♡

A rejected "PC", now become NPC. Can be found in Connudatus Street Stalls & the bus stop in the Forest at Midnight to 4AM. They seem to be ordinary, but all the customers lined up seem to regard her with a certain politness, perhaps even fear. Proceed with caution.

For more info regarding Noel below:

Noel was formerly a student and orphan named Riley, who was the town's rising track team star, being the best amongst her peers. Despite her popularity, though, it was agreed by most that Riley kept a small handful of friends. One in particular being a fellow orphan who was a few years older than her, before they eventually went missing; and Riley then, after.

Some assume it was due to grief, some think she was swooped away by what took her friend.

The reality of it being that Riley has always been someone with a hyper sense of awareness. Since she was little, she knew something was deeply wrong with the Orphanage: seeing the people frequent in and out of her older friends' rooms, the whispers of payment, debts. Eventually, hearing whispers of bodies found in the woods.

Hearing nothing for weeks regarding her friend's disappearance, she went looking and amongst the numerous shallow graves, Riley found the corpse of her friend. Spiraling into the worst mental breakdown, the night was a blur.

But, it can be agreed, that amongst the blood coating her body, dragging her feet to an abandoned home in the Moor, that Riley was no more.

Noel as a person is someone who always seems... off. For being someone that some in the criminal underground whisper carefully about, Noel often speaks hesitantly, unsure. As if gauging whether or not what they are saying is going to garner the right response. Often cagey, never really one to talk about themselves and often giving short, dry responses. Or just silence.

However, as the PC gets to know Noel, they come to find out that Noel is actually quite easily irritable. Squinting, and sighing at the slightest inconvenience and yelling and hitting at the largest ones. To Noel, everything can be solved with some form of violence.

They aren't really one to tell jokes, and aren't impressed by them either. Noel is actually quite a serious person.

Though Noel values themself and their survival above all else, at high love, Noel can be consider doting on the PC. Often fixing frayed clothing, 50% chance of being carried back to rest in her home if you pass out in the streets, and having a figure to vent to that won't say "that's terrible! i wish i could help you!" or "i should've been there!", but rather instead "why are you struggling so much? i sell weapons, buy the weapons i sell, use them, i am selling them for a REASON-"

SPECIAL TRAIT

Noel's special trait is her Paranoia.

On immediate first encounter, Noel's Paranoia is 100%. Any little action can increase Noel's Paranoia and the only way to lower it is by constantly interacting with her without doing any actions that would garner the wrong attention to her. ( Police, Bailey, etc. )

This takes time, and can take awhile for Noel's Paranoia to go down, making the process a bit tedious.

However, it does pay off, as Noel with low Paranoia will give the PC discounts at their store, give them protection charms for free and offer their home as a safehouse if they ever need it. They'll even take the mask off for the PC.

ROMANCING

Noel is... difficult to romance.

Due to having a volatile nature that is prone to violence and mania, romance is the furthest thing from their mind. And sex is almost non-existent in their head. If the PC tries to do promiscuous actions towards Noel, it decreases their love drastically as they are in fact, mostly repulsed by the acts of sex. They tend to sigh, and give the PC a tired look, or one of disdain depending on the love level.

And PCs with high exhibitionism, if approaching Noel with little to no clothing; the sexual act of it flies over her head. Instead, she urges you to buy clothes at her shop, dropping the price drastically so you don't run around the town nude.

However, sexual acts are still possible with Noel. It will simply have to be done in the condition of "fuck or die(not literally)", which, she will complain the entire time.

DISMISSING

it is possible to dismiss Noel when they are at 0% Love and 100% Paranoia. If Noel is convinced that the Player is a threat, Noel will try to make attempts on the Player's life; either indirectly or directly.

To protect themselves, the Player can either go to Bailey or the Police, creating two branches of Dismissal.

Telling Bailey results in Noel going missing for a week, before appearing again at her storefront. If the PC tries to approach, Noel will deny any interaction or offer of service, saying that their new employer has told them not to sell to any of their wards. Buying & Bonding with Noel will be locked out, and protection wards can longer be bought.

Telling the Police, however, results in a unique, variant event. During Avery's Poker Date Night, if Avery wins and brings the PC to the Elk & Fox party, when the sacrifice is being chosen, they notice a commotion coming from the guards and guests, with guards being beaten and bleeding on the floor. Numerous guards have to storm in to hold down & drag the surprisingly small sacrifice to the center of the room, a familiar face peeking out. Before they are sacrificed into the rift, Noel still has enough anger & fight in them to snatch off the masks of Remy & Harper, revealing their faces to the party, before grabbing another unsuspecting guest and dragging them into the rift with her. With the glare she sends the PC's way, full of vindication and rage, it felt like she was trying to grab at the PC, but took what was closest.

Noel will no longer be available in any way. Her character card only saying: "Noel has been sacrificed."

[cheriafreya]

Random gifs of Alhaitham ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)