#cultist simulator spoiler

[wdba]

Book of Hours spoiler related to a certain all-girl group!

That's her, isn't it? The visitor that appeared during a particularly silly goofy season? The seventh Ligeian? Holy shit the girlboss squad is complete.

[xylocopa-violacea]

Mole interest, in my Hush House?

[nephriteknight]

rip dr welling you would have loved cultist simulator

[golvio]

I also think Applebright is about poisons and toxins because the monks who made a pact with her to set up the Grove of Green Immortals are specifically Heart-aspected horticulturalists who specialize in knowledge of medicines. There are reasons why herbalists and medical researchers would want to have even poisonous plants around, as in controlled doses or as an ingredient in a greater chemical reaction, that which kills can cure.

For example, foxglove is toxic to the heart because of the cardiac glycosides it produces, but those same chemical compounds are used in highly controlled doses in drugs like digoxin to treat heart failure. A widely-used antimalarial drug is derived from sweet wormwood. Pacific yew creates a toxic compound used in paclitaxel, which has been used in cancer treatments since the 1960s to inhibit cancer cell growth. White willow, toxic if ingested, is processed into salicylic acid, a popular skin treatment for acne and dandruff you can get over-the-counter at any drugstore or supermarket. Even caffeine, that ever-popular and omnipresent stimulant, was produced by its host plants as a toxin intended to ward off its herbivorous predators, and can be fatal to humans in extremely high doses.

Not to mention it’s extremely useful to have poison samples around when you’re developing antidotes for them. I’m guessing that the methods the monks use to actually test their hypotheses are…a little dubious, depending on whether they or the Applebright are responsible for that skeleton outside of the grove’s front gate. This is taking place in the same universe as Cultist Simulator, after all. But they have a vast trove of medical knowledge and seem happy to share what they’ve learned with other institutions of occult learning.

(It’s also funny their other specialty is Moth lore. Of course, as the lore of The Wood, it’s incredibly useful knowledge to have when your job involves regularly dealing with a garden of scary magical plants that are constantly trying to kill you.)

[hush-house-yard-sale]

Hey Librarian, I just wanna ask, how fortified is your house against thieves? Specifically people who might take a peek at books? Specifically diaries? Specifically looking for pages that might imply your true feelings for someone and all this "I don't like you" is just an act because you developed affection towards someone but want to push them away cause the m-word is not a place for love and so you just pen these memories away in a book so all that love will not die? Cause I would HATE it if someone sent an expedition of talented followers to break down locks and seduce guards just to infiltrate *my* inner sanctum and read about all these things I actually wrote myself.

I'd hate it and I'm just... Checking how you prepare against those?

-Cul... cumber. CUCUMBER

How... fortified is my house against... thieves? You... you want to know how fortified my house is against thieves? Oh, for the love of—

First of all, Mx... [scoffs] "Cucumber," you should be well aware that there is no need to resort to breaking and entering if you wish to look at books. This is a library. The purpose of a library is so that patrons can come and look at books. No, I daresay that the only reason one would need to resort to breaking and entering is if one were trying to, oh I don't know, bypass the librarian and steal the books for yourself. And I assure you, Mx. "Cucumber," that that is something for which I will not stand!

Second of all, the only book in Hush House authored by me contains my life's work. You are very sorely deluded if you think I have not made arrangements for its publication, should my endeavors succeed! If you want to read my "diary," as you so dismissively call it, you can purchase it from any reputable retailer of occult works in 2-4 business years. But frankly? I doubt you will even bother, given the disdain you've had for my "nerdy essay." At best you'll flip through it searching for confirmation of this theory you've concocted to fill the void left by the Forge-of-Days' various rejections, and fall back to your opium when you find nothing of the sort. I could translate it into— into Vak if I so desired and it wouldn't make a difference to the amount of information you'd retain upon reading! Perhaps I shall! Perhaps I already have!

Furthermore, for all your obsessions—oh yes, I know all about your obsessions. Do you truly think yourself subtle? Or clever?— you clearly have no pride and no self-respect if you intend to send your followers to discern my feelings for you. Did your followers also write this letter for you? Do they choose the people you woo? When you kiss your lovers, do they position your head for you? There are some things that must be done personally Mx. "Cucumber," if they are to be done at all. And if you will not then you are a coward, and have no hope for earning even a crumb of my respect.

You may be obsessed with me, for what reason I cannot possibly fathom, but you have shown that you have no respect for me, no respect for my library, and no respect for my life's work! You hide behind a false name, and pretend that I am too stupid to see through it. No, I know only one person this callous, this self-centered, this entitled, this... immature.

YOU ARE THE DESPICABLE THIEF OF THE HISTORY OF INKS!!!!!!!!

You will receive no further correspondence from me until the tome is returned.

Firmest disregard,

The Yard Sale Librarian

Post Scriptum: Please inform your followers that my legion of guard vipers is ever-growing. And soon I will overthrow the world.

Post- Post Scriptum: Every last one of them is asexual.

[earlgraytay]

this is my Shame Pile of books in Phrygian that I cannot translate

this happens every run

jfc

[moth-short]

An Analysis on the Nature of the Carapace Cross

This entry cannot be fully in character, as it contains information not published in-universe. Sunset Diaries is not seen in either Cultist Simulator or Book of Hours, but in Enigma, Weather Factory's CultSim ARG. All of this is sourced from the Wiki, and will feature many different books in quick succession. It will also feature spoilers for the Moth Ascension of Cultist Simulator, in addition to spoilers as to the activities of the Nocturnal Branch in Book of Hours, aswell as the furthest place in the basement.

Sunset Diaries | Author: Christopher Illopoly

As the memoir of Christopher Illopoly, this one holds a place in my memory. Not for his previous works, but for what it holds - precious information on the lost species that holds our attention so much, the Carapace-Cross. We will be looking at only the foremost paragraph - "March 1959 '[THE CARAPACE-CROSS DID NOT PERISH BUT PASSED WITHIN]'. Of course they did; of course they did. By definition, this changes nothing, and yet I cannot ignore it. At the very least it lends strength to Coseley's arguments. I am beginning to think, after all, that he is right. "Birds of a feather stick together." Teresa, Teresa. Perhaps, had we known, it would have changed nothing for you, either. Is it fair to tell you? '[THE CARAPACE-CROSS DID NOT PERISH BUT PASSED WITHIN.]' I feel sick." (source: Cultist Simulator wiki)

From this point, this will feature spoilers for the Moth Ascension from Cultist Simulator.

The relevant line here is, of course, "The Carapace-Cross did not perish but passed within". This has been on my mind for weeks, since I have read the passage. At first, this seems like utter nonsense - at least, unless you've played through the Moth Ascension of Cultist Simulator.

None of it seems to relate at all to the Carapace-Cross, until the ending - the "Dodo and the Dragon" ending, where it says, paraphrased, "the Carapace-Cross are as dead as the Dodo and the Dragon". The achievement description is, "I have become something winged, dark and undying; something that no longer exists." Okay, so, there are no Moth-Long in the world. They hide in the Mansus as Carapace-Cross. This is a revelation in itself. But what does this mean?

The Manner in which the Alchemist was Spared | Forge 14 | Author Unclear

"In the days of the Carapace Cross, when humanity lived in the dark and ate on its knees, humans could enter the Mansus like vermin. One learnt the arts of Flint, the arts of shaping and remaking..."

If the Carapace-Cross lived at the same time as humans, then what does this mean? Consider it another way: humans were Carapace-Cross from the very beginning, and in the Moth Ascension you are reverting back to a previous state of humanity's being - the Carapace-Cross passed within, into the depths of the human DNA, and can be pulled back out with enough pursuance into the ways of Moth, who had, akin to the Carapace Cross, passed within the Wheel and usurped it from the inside-out. (Source: In Memory of Gods)

In Memory of Gods | Winter 10 | Author: "The Barrowchild"

The Barrowchild describes how the Grail drained the Hour called Tide, how the Moth 'usurped the Wheel from within', stealing its skin, and how the Forge first eclipsed then shattered Flint. 'Perhaps these are glories,' she observes, 'but then it cannot be that Glory is merciful.'

Five Creations | Grail 14 | Author: Scholar Shohei

"THE CARAPACE ORIGIN: we were born from shell, like the children of the wasp from the spider. THE GLORIOUS ORIGIN: our life-motes descended from Light. THE ORIGIN BEFOULED: we were found naked and smeared with muck in the roots of the Wood..." "Shohei's preferred theories are that we are the children of apes who walked upright, although his tone here is satirical; or that we consumed not only our parents, 'which is not the Crime of the Sky', but also our origin, so that we came from Nowhere."

The Moth "usurped the Wheel from within". The Carapace-Cross "did not perish but passed within". I hate to say it, but it seems like humanity is due to be usurped from within, as was the Wheel before by the Moth. The 'Carapace Origin' suggested by the scholar Shohei may be a theory that humanity are, indeed, of Carapace-Cross origin - though the Wiki points out the passage, "or that we consumed not only our parents", stating that it implies that humanity evolving from their ancestors the apes is akin to the Moth usurping the Wheel, and that they are cut from the same cloth.

So, to summarise the theory already covered: humanity came from the Carapace-Cross, evolving from the progenitor as from apes. Carapace-Cross DNA is thus buried - far back, where we could not know it.

From this point, we are discussing Book of Hours spoilers for the plot of Cucurbit Prison, the Nocturnal Branch of Hush House. There are also spoilers for the furthest place in the Basement, where the final secret of Hush House is hidden.

Cucurbit Prisoner Records 1927 | Nectar 12 | Author: Governor Collers' Private Secretary

"Accounts by Governor Collers' private secretary of interventions and experiments in the last years of the Cucurbit prison, focusing particularly on prisoners he believes might have Carapace Cross lineage."

"Two prisoners suspected of oneiric crimes are enouraged to access their inner Carapace Cross tendencies, and develop the attributes of the Seglaz-kind ('sickle-formed pseudocrustacea'). Regrettably they lose the ability to breathe air; one dies and Collers releases the other into the sea. Collers describes how he's successfully induced an unstable Carapace-larva to develop into a greater form, using Insects and Nectars techniques in the context of considerable Moth-aspect. He hopes that similar techniques might be used to expedite the moral development of prisoners..."

There is so much to look at here. Not just in how utterly unhinged Governor Collers clearly was, but just in general as to the subject matter at hand. This almost seems to confirm the theory that humans evolved from Carapace-Cross even just in the blurb - if humans can have Carapace-Cross lineage, that must imply it, correct? At least, unless humans bred with Carapace-Cross, and it is only select members of humanity that have the lineage, and such why only select members of humanity feel the call to change and have their Carapace-Cross DNA usurp theirs.

I would like to say that the two species are unlikely to be biologically compatible, but considering the fact that it seems that the Carapace-Cross also have several sub-species - such as the Seglaz-kind mentioned in the prisoner records here - it is surprisingly likely that at least one sub-species is capable of interbreeding. Perhaps it also implies that Carapace-Cross, as long as they are of the major species, can develop any such attributes of their sub-species.

We can even see the Carapace-larva Governor Collers had "successfully induced ... to develop into a greater form" in-game - it has not hatched, and still hangs in the Mazed Cell.

In conclusion, I believe it abundantly clear that Carapace-Cross are either humanity's precursor in Secret Histories, or a species that has bred and whose DNA lies dormant in select bloodlines. It has been said that Carapace-Cross and neanderthals were around at the same period of history, and Carapace-Cross have been implied to have a staggering amount of subspecies (akin to the staggering amount of species under the banner of "insect", so who knows what the Carapace-Cross name is truly referring to?) - so who is to say what is wrong? Perhaps the Carapace-Cross were never a species at all.

Recall the Taxonomic Rank system of biology - it goes species (the specific kind), genus (what it is), family (what kind of animal it is - cat vs dog, or somesuch), order (e.g carnivora, carnivores), class (e.g mammalia, mammal)... Perhaps Carapace-Cross is not a species. Perhaps this should be obvious. Perhaps Carapace-Cross is akin to a class - or even more likely, a phylum - "a group of organisms with a certain degree of evolutionary relatedness" Sources: (Wikipedia - Taxonomic Rank and Phylum)

Perhaps that is what Carapace-Cross are. Not a species, not a genus, but a banner - a precursor to many, many species, that had to fill an extremely wide array of evolutionary niches for their respective habitats, which would make complete sense for how many types of Carapace-Cross are described on the statue in the basement, the fact that Carapace-Cross can be both dark and winged, and this strange Seglaz-kind, a crustacean that breathes water instead of air.

The Carapace-Cross' true revelation of Book of Hours is not that they have passed within humanity - that was already known in Cultist Simulator. The true revelation of Book of Hours in regard to the Carapace-Cross is that Carapace-Cross are an evolutionary point for so many species in the Secret Histories-verse that it could be said that they are within everything. This is just a theory, but I feel it has some basis.

Thank you for reading.

[theonewhowails]

IM CHEWING ON THE FUCKING FURNITURE

I HAVE JUST BEEN WATCHING THE TRAILER OVER AND OVER LOOKING FOR SHIT TO FIND AND SPECULATE ABOUT!!!!!!!!

avert your gaze if you do not wish for sins of the flesh spoilers

LIKE LOOK AT THIS!!!!! i initially thought the nakey leaf was only gonna be a thing for the nudist ritual and would happen to everyone uniformly for the same amount of time. so it is fucking SENDING me that EVERYONE HERE IS WEARING CLOTHES EXCEPT NARI

individual outfits!!!!! do you think we will find them and gift them to followers the same way necklaces are? maid dress leshy. why is he serving looks (lol) tho. is that a hairless cat in the top right corner. IS THAT FUCKING SOZO IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT????? FOLLOWER SOZO??? ALIVE SOZO??????? I COULD CRY

a tiny sozo i found in the end image....cutie

also it looks like we'll be able to upgrade our cult and temple even further!!!!!!! or perhaps customization options? either way the stone floors and stained glass in the scene are sexy and im eating them. also theres a bones interior in some shots

also why does the guy in the middle gotta pitchfork. WHY ARE THEY ALL PULLING OUT PITCHFORKS. WILL FOLLOWERS BE ABLE TO FUCKING REVOLT???MOBS???? please that would be so funny

also fighting followers??? my initial thought was that this might be a progression from dissenting and now they can kill you(whimsical) but on closer look the eyes do not look like dissenter eyes. they look more like the eyes of eldritch opponents we fight

furthermore look at this ritual??

it looks much the same as the ritual the bishops perform before going eldritch, and we're clearly leading it, but the energy isnt going to US, its going to the follower in the center??

there is something to be said about how the lamb grows stronger by defeating and consuming their enemies...... it would be really interesting if we're going to get into organic free range home grown adversaries...... when you think about it, taking a loyal follower, corrupting them with eldritch power and then defeating them to absorb the power they gained would be sort of like a more refined form of sacrifice. and also way more fucked up!!! :D

also:

if sacrifice and cannibalism was too tame for you. get ready for letting your followers ritually EAT A BITCH ALIVE. its giving The Lottery vibes but maybe thats just me (nerd)

look at this shit which looks like a fucked up commandment stone. are they sacrificing health here???? for eldritch horrors???? ooooohhh

calamari getting into a slap fight is killing me but also i am going NUTS at the prospect of expanded follower relationships!! we had the seeds of it before with how followers can become friends, some give us quest for their crush, and reading their minds shows they can have conversations that go well or go poorly, and now theyre extrapolating to their logical ends: followers can get into physical fights, can fall in love, can have children!!!! GOD there could be.... actual generations of cultists......ToT

auspistice simulator lmao. but also theres two intersting things to consider here:

follower activities that take place at night, which could make nighttime in the cult more interesting and lively

if we might need at times to step in to break up a fight. would that suggest consequences for not doing so. Can The Followers Beat Each Other To Death Now.

also killing me that while this fight is happening maid leshy is just. drunkenly swaying and making creature noises. look at him. i love him

[rose-icosahedron]

The Prodigal in Book Of Hours is Gwendolen Farouk*

(explaining my friend @clintonlighthouse's theory as I understand it)

*this does not mean Gwendolen Farouk is The Prodigal** **This will be explained later.

This post contains major spoilers for the ending of The Lady Afterwards and minor spoilers for the beginning of Book of Hours, as well as discussions of cannibalism and filicide. If you are familiar with either of these characters, you know why.

Part one: Who is The Prodigal?

"Brancrug, March 7th, 1936,

'There has been no Librarian at Hush House since the fire - seven years now. Suitable candidates are very difficult to find, but perhaps we have found one in you. Take care on your journey - the seas around Brancrug are treacherous…'"

To construct a theory about a character, you must know who they are.

As the newest Librarian of Hush House, the player-character of Book of Hours wakes up on the shore of St Brandan's cove following a shipwreck. They are then tasked to figure out what is left of them, and The Prodigal finds that they still have their Chor and Phost (elements of the soul), as well as their journal. They will also remember their reason for choosing to come to hush house: Their parents are trying to eat them, an inevitability of when any immortals have children.

"My parents were Long - which is to say immortal - and Long are not permitted to make children. Their punishment is this: now that they know I live, they cannot rest until they devour me. Here in Hush House, I will be safe. It is even possible that I might learn to shape a weapon to defend myself." (Memories: the Prodigal)

Later on The Prodigal will solve a very minor Lantern challenge allowing them to read the hammered copper journal and be reminded of their origins, and the player will be told that "The Prodigal's dearest wish is sanctuary".

This is most of the information that can be gleaned about The Prodigal, and the rest of the information that can be gained about them specifically is in relation to their future: the different victories they can gain. These are about The Prodigal's future, however, not their past, so we do not need to dwell on them here. In fact, we should take a look into the past at Gwendolen Farouk.

Part two: Who is Gwendolen Farouk?

"You've been summoned to Alexandria, a city of coloured lights and curious histories. An old friend needs you to track down a woman. She's probably in trouble. Probably trouble herself.

Cherchez la femme, the saying goes. But what does the lady look for?" (5)

In the table top roll playing game The Lady Afterwards, a group of players (playing as alternate versions of some of the main characters of Cultist Simulator). Look for a woman named Audrey Leigh Howard at the behest of one Loretta Farouk.

In the process of their investigation, they learn Loretta has a daughter named Gwendolen. Records of her family show inconsistencies and it is eventually revealed that Gwendolen is actually the daughter of Audrey Leigh Howard and her lover Everett, two Long planning on eating their daughter in order to sate their hunger.

However the players may choose to intervene for Gwendolen's sake, leaving many endings for Gwendolen's story. The game runner's guide provides many potential endings, and since Gwen is to become The Prodigal, these are what we care about.

Maybe the players fail and Gwendolen is eaten, maybe she is whisked away by one Madame Matutine, maybe the player's give her magical water saved for her by her aunt so that she may be forgotten by the world and live in safety. Or maybe, none of those things happen.

Gwendolen gives the players a hastily written note musing about her future, thanking them for her survival and saying she might want to study and find some sort of peace and safety from her parents.

Becoming the Librarian of Hush House would of course be that, but how would she get there in the first place?

Part 3: Connecting the Dots

"A letter to me from St Rhonwen's Trust. The Trust's connection with Hush House is probably benevolent, but persistently obscure." (A Letter to The Librarian)

"Perhaps we have found a suitable candidate in you." The first thing the player reads when they play Book of Hours is a piece of text (the quote at the beginning of this essay) that is divided into two pieces. We have already touched on the second half, written in first tense, which states that the Librarian was in the shipwreck. However we have not touched on the first, which is written in quotes and second tense, states that it is hard to find a suitable candidate for the Librarian of Hush House but that you might be one.

Across the game, the combination of quotes and changed tense is used to represent things that are either said to the Librarian or direct transcriptions of text the Librarian has read. This, combined with the fact it is placed before the Librarian's memory of their shipwreck, implies that it was read or heard by the Librarian prior to their decision to head to Hush House, and is probably their invitation to the position.

The author or speaker of the text is left ambiguous, but later on the Librarian receives a letter from St. Rhowen's Trust asking if arrived and saying their will send a yearly stipend "as previously promised". It seems then that the Trust was the one to select and invite the Librarian.

The connection between St. Rhowen's Trust and Hush House is explicitly stated to be unknown to the Librarian, although when meeting one of the former Librarian's, Dr. Serena Blackwood, the Librarian mentions the Trust has worked with her as well. That connection is also left ambiguous, but a clearer connection is available in the Lady Afterwards game runner's guide. "Serena Blackwood is the founder of the St. Rhonwen Trust, a charitable fund established for the advancement of education, chiefly through scholarships for promising young talents." (32)

Beyond this, within The Lady Afterwards, Dr. Serena Blackwood is noted to be protecting Gwendolen and have an interest in her, as well as the Trust is stated to have provided Gwendolen a scholarship to the Egyptian University.

While this could be enough to make an argument for Dr. Blackwood setting up Gwendolen with a position at Hush House once it becomes available, or at least recommending her the position, there is even more evidence found in Gwendolen's letter to the players if she survives.

This quote both further states Dr. Blackwood's interest in Gwendolen, as well as her willingness to help her, given that she is "offering her time to think". A position at Hush House would be exactly what Dr. Blackwood wants for Gwendolen, both safety and a chance for her to achieve something.

Gwendolen could become the next Librarian of Hush House, and if she did she would match every detail of The Prodigal: A child of two Long on the run. More than that, Gwen is intelligent and innocent, intending not to become Long even if she does want to study the Mansus, both aligning with the pieces of the soul---Chor and Phost---The Prodigal has remaining. Beyond that, The Prodigal's diary is for lack of a better term flavored like Gwen's story, being made of copper (which Forge Long's blood, like Audrey, is said to resemble) and requiring completion of a Lantern (like Everett) mystery.

(I find it fitting that Gwendolen, so haunted by her parents, would have a journal reminiscent of them. Not only is it in some way about them; but Gwendolen was haunted by visions of a Lighthouse which she later interpreted as her parents calling our for her, they would still call for her in her dreams.)

This ties up almost everything, however it does leave one thing un-answered: Gwendolen doesn't always survive, how can she be in another game?

Part four: The Genius of the Secret Histories Timeline and Video Games.

"The attention of the Hours is drawn to the bloodiest wars. Afterwards, the Histories are braided like hair." (a Forbidden Epic)

Gwendolen does not always survive, but The Prodigal is not always the Librarian, in fact The Prodigal is only the Librarian one twelfth of the time.

This reveals a detail of all of the Secret Histories games. Any run possible within any of the games could be canon to the others. (I just think it's neat).

Part five: Conclusion

Every version of The Prodigal is Gwendolen Farouk, although not every version of Gwendolen becomes The Prodigal (Not mine, for example, since she ended up with an assistant and missing and arm. Sorry Gwen). And I just spent the evening of my first day back to school writing a 1.5K word long essay about a game series. Goodnight.

(Essays work like fics, if you want to encourage me to write more insane essays at inopportune times, tell me what you thought)

[badboi-goodheart]

Hi there, this is my first post on this account. I haven’t been on here since 2019 when i was 14/15.

Welp! My name is Bad, I am 20 years old, I am non-binary and use they/them pronouns. I am aroace and have 2 queer-platonic partners who I love dearly.

Some interests of mine, not in a particular order, are:

- The Magnus Archives

- Clowns (not the scary kind)

- Anti-Fascism

- Will Wood

- Post Sex Nachos (a band)

- Queer/trans activities and cool folks

- Crafts and making things

- Kandi bracelets

- Cultist Simulator (no spoilers im still learning!)

- Brittany Broski

- Smiling Friends

And more!

Please feel free to ask me any good faith questions about being aromantic and asexual, there’s no stupid questions! I love to inform and assist others who need some help to understand.

I have ADHD and also very likely am autistic too but I’m not diagnosed.

I also have a neurological condition called Irlens Syndrome. It is a lot more common than most folks know and I am passionate about spreading information and awareness about it!

I think that’s all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading this far!

[leggypuppy]

Can anyone point out the exact location in Cultist Simulator, Enigma, Book of Hours, or anything on the Weather Factory site that mentions the names/words "Blackbone" and "Girbirago"? UNLESS it's exclusively endgame/hidden book spoilers.

I can at least find mention of "Chione" and "the Snow" in a couple of books, but the others seem to completely escape me. The closest I can spot is the guy who is the Stag Gate and the name of Bitterblack Salts. I only know about the actual Hours because of mentions from other players

Also, if anyone had like. Any comprehensive documentation of Enigma in general and felt like pointing me to it, that would be amazing.

[beautifulsnake2162020]

Apostle Obsonate Victory (Major Grail Victory)

Can't believe I actually did it! I can now let go of my Cultist Simulator life now that I have finally achieved the Major Grail Victory.

To those who wants to do this route here are some things I'd like to share after hurdling this route (If you don't want spoilers look away now) :

1.) The main hurdle to victory is the battle with the Long. I'm not sure if there is an apostle run that won without killing the Long but in my run it was near inevitable no matter how many times I restarted the run. So don't escape your fate and focus more on battling it;

2.) You will want to build your cult and upgrade your followers as soon as possible. Especially those who are Forge, Edge, Winter, and Heart. Since this is the Grail route make sure you keep a Cyprian among the spies to the Long;

3.) At the midpoint of the game (wherien you are summoning your demon buddies) use them as spies since they have two aspects. Make sure to protect your followers because in the battle with the Long, they are your only soldiers (no demons or hirelings);

4.) Ideally before the major battle with the Long, make sure you convert your excess Reason or Passion into Health. I don't know if there's a pattern for how many Winter, Edge, or Forge disciples it takes to defeat the Long but make sure you have all of them. Only followers with disciple status can wound (and in my case eventually kill) the Long;

5.) After defeating the Long it's back to a laid back but attentive type of game in the standard run. At this point take your time to collect all you need before you do your major thing to help your past character. For Apostle Obstinate it is to collect ingredients to prepare for a major feast;

6.) Not sure if this applies to other Apostle runs but you don't need to explore all locations. Most of what you will need is in the Port Noon locations, so a large part of the later part of the run is collecting Secret Histories from the Mansus (mainly the Peacock door and the Stag door) and then fusing them together to make Port Noon Secret Histories;

7.) You cannot remove marked from your followers so make sure you've got some standby mystique (especially before the battle with the Long). If there's any follower you don't want to be marked it's the Heart followers because they are vital to your protection.

And so now that I have joined the Names serving the Red Grail and the Flowermaker is my usher to this delight I bid thee adieu.

[obscuredilfoff]

Propaganda below the cut! (Note: there are "massive" spoilers for the Caligula Effect 2!)

Bluffman

He is an actual single Father who is doing everything he does out of love for his beautiful daughter, who he refuses to have a proper conversation with. He is canonically autistic. He is an Epic Divorce Man. He commits plagiarism in order to catfish his twink coworker. There is something so wrong with him (affectionate) and his theme music goes so hard.

Where do I start with him. He’s an (accidentally) absentee dad trying to make it up to his daughter. He learns that she likes Vocaloid and comes up with the grand idea to hijack a virtual reality to make her a “Vocaloid” goddess. This plan involves him breaking into a composer’s house to steal their work and impersonate them btw. He sees nothing wrong with this because it’s in the name of familial love. As for his daughter, she initially goes along with it but gets overwhelmed by her followers. He does not compute her worries because this stunt should guarantee her happiness, right? (They don’t know how to communicate.) Finally, a coworker is led on by Bluffman’s impersonation of his favorite artist, making heart-eyes at him while the dilf is oblivious. This ends up backfiring massively as Bluffman gets stabbed to death by the coworker when realizing he’s been lied to. Love wins 💖 (Ultimately the appeal is of Bluffman is him having good intents but going about it in the most ridiculous and single-minded way without fathoming how this will affect other people.)

The Foe/Duffoure

Leader of an occult mob that trades in stolen lifespans. He's hunting down his kid because they stole 77 years from him. You (playing as his kid) can ascend to immortality by being so pissed at him that you fight forever.

[golvio]

Gotta update my metaphorical mental Cultist Simulator aspect sheet for the Zelda characters, because TotK Ganondorf’s got fuckloads of Edge aspect.

He’s also definitely Grail, because have you seen the fandom’s reaction to him? Also, his associations with water (Gloom is technically a liquid!) and consumption, as well as his post-stone abilities including a form of “birth” through magically creating life, albeit asexually.

Forge and Moth are two big ones, too, although I’m not sure which one he embodies more. Both feature themes of transformation, but Forge is more about the inevitability of change while Moth is about the yearning for it. Moth is “wild” and biological, while Forge is more scientific and chemical.

I still think he’s got at least a pinch of Knock in there, too. I don’t think he would’ve been able to “open the ways” he did without having a knack for seeing potential openings others couldn’t. There’s his penchant for collecting information about people/things as well, a lot like the Beachcomber. Plus he’s a magical hacker.

And then there’s Heart. He has supernatural longevity, and he could only be stopped by “sealing away” his heart. What little we get of his motives is about him trying to restore/return to an earlier world-state by picking up where he left off in his conquest campaign, which could count as “continuation/preservation.” However, his campaign was also about destroying the old order that Rauru set up, which is more Forge/Edge, like the Lionsmith. His powers involve manipulation of vitality, too, although his draining/destroying of your hearts could also count as Grail. Hmm…

[hush-house-yard-sale]

It appears I am about to have an unwelcome visitor

[earlgraytay]

[major cultist simulator spoilers]

FINALLY I BEAT THE DAMN GAME

AFTER PLAYING IT SINCE LIKE 2018 OFF AND ON

I AM BECOME LANTERN DESTROYER OF WORLDS, MUA HA HA HA HA