#based off my favourite bit of Red Death concept art

[always-amity]

Couple more doodles from last night

[feuillmort]

Hello! I am aware that you are not drawing COTL for the moment, but do you still answer asks about it? If you do, I'd like to ask, if it isn't too spoilery: What gave you the idea to make a reincarnation AU that you are writing right now? Does being the god of cycle also include death and rebirth in that domain? How do you plan on showing Lamb's suspicious familiarity with the Red Crown? How did Narinder became a follower of the previous Red Crown bearer? Would your Red Crown have its own personality or some form of sentience, and would it recognise its former bearer's soul if so?

What is your favourite weapon, fleece, and curse to use in the game? Any OC followers?

Have an enjoyable month, eat regularly.

EEEK HIIII OH GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST MISSED THIS ASK!!!! HIIII ❤️❤️ (speaking of which, all other asks pertaining to art reqs will be answered eventually!!! don't worry, i've seen em)

longpost and mentions of irl religion under the cut

What gave you the idea to make a reincarnation AU?

- There wasn't really any big "aha" moment when it came to the early stages of trying to find an au that i could write, but I'd been seeing fairly similar role reversal concept art on my dash for quite a while. Eventually, after I'd come up with some logical reasoning for how everything worked, I decided to write it for real :)

Does being the god of cycles also include death and rebirth in that domain?

- Yes! It's also part of the reason the lamb ever made it back to the land of the living in the first place, aside from being a genuine abstract concept.

How do you plan on showing the lamb's suspicious familiarity with the crown?

- Through dreams, primarily. The dreams don't start up until the lamb starts wearing the crown, and after that they're mostly vague bits and pieces that they oftentimes can't remember well enough to understand. On Narinder's end, it's even less certain. He can't recognize them--their soul, while it's the same, has taken up residence in an entirely new body. The possibility of them being his old god doesn't even cross his mind; why would it? He can't remember anything from his mortal life, not after spending however many years trapped in abject agony. However, he does notice how easily they seem to take to the crown in comparison to its previous bearers (ie Ratau). They bounce back almost immediately after being resurrected, and their power is amplified. He can't fathom why that might be.

How did Narinder become a follower of the previous Red Crown bearer?

- I based the worship of the Great Ones off of the worship of the actual Greek and Roman pantheons. While many people were not devoted to a specific god, it was common to leave offerings and pray to one for safe passage/victory in war/fertile soil/etc. For example, if one wanted to guarantee the safe passage of a loved one through the afterlife, they would pray to They of Cycles (although the god would do their best to safeguard deceased souls, regardless).

In contrast, Narinder grew up in a family of devouts residing in a temple to the previous bearer. From the moment he became old enough, he was an acolyte, assisting celebrants in processions and the like. As I've mentioned before, They of Cycles took on the form of a worshiper to observe their followers often. They had a tentative relationship with many in their temple, but they'd made fast friends with Narinder, too.

Would your Red Crown have its own personality or some form of sentience, and would it recognize its previous bearer if so?

- Technically, no. The crowns do not have their own personalities, and they are sentient in only the barest form.

I grew up doing witchcraft with my grandmother, and she had her own beliefs around how wands "actually worked." (And obviously I'm not trying to give commentary on anyone else's beliefs, btw! This is just how I grew up. I haven't interacted with other witches outside of my grandmother's older circle in several years.) A practician is perfectly capable of doing magic on their own, but using a wand is helpful for directing their energy during spellwork.

In the same vein, the gods are extremely powerful regardless of whether or not they posess their crowns, but the crowns are a great help when they want to focus their power toward more demanding tasks.

Where they differ, however, is the vitality of the god's conduit; gods can only last so long without their crowns. When their crown is not in their posession, a god's source of devotion is cut off completely, and they will begin to deteriorate over an extremely long period of time. This is why, by the time Narinder is free, the lamb is able to defeat him. They've had his crown for so long that he's weakened enough to be defeated in combat. Narinder recognized this risk every time he gave away his crown, but there was no other hope for escape, and as long as his vessel remained obedient and returned the crown to its "rightful owner," he would leave his prison more powerful than he entered it regardless.

Anyway, since I'm getting a teeny bit off track. No, the crown is not its own character and functions more like a wand, but it is sentient enough to recognize its true owner and begin funneling what's left of their power and memories back into their soul. Or something like that.

Favorite weapon?

- Dagger.

Favorite fleece?

- Glass cannon.

Favorite curse?

- I don't use curses. </3

Any follower OCS?

- None at the moment, but I have ideas for some that'll probably feature later in the fic!

Thank you for your well wishes! Your asks are always a joy to see in my inbox <3 I hope you have a wonderful month, as well, and make sure to get some sleep!