#dismemberment theory etc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

n1kolaiz · 4 years ago

Text

The Six Realms

Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3

Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!

Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?

I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.

Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!

So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."

Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57

Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.

- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana

As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.

The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.

The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.

The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.

The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.

The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.

The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.

If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.

[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]

The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.

Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.

Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."

And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.

[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]

Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.

side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.

Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."

Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.

Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:

the decay of courtly tradition in Japan

the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics

Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era

Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:

Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.

On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.

Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.

As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.

In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'

A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:

Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.

The Decay of an Angel, p.53

The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:

He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.

The Decay of an Angel, p.113

I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."

What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.

This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.

That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3

sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :

the six realms

samsara

the decay of angels

beast!au

the book

the sea of fertility

yukio mishima

theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au

q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book

theory: beast!dazai and the book

218 notes · View notes

adamwatchesmovies · 3 years ago

Text

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Final Destination 3 was bad. The Final Destination a.k.a. Final Destination 4 was worse. Surprisingly, the series manages to recover with this fifth chapter. Final Destination 5 contains suspense, gruesome deaths that will make you wince, some unexpected turns, and characters you can feel ok about getting attached to.

Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) is on his way to a company retreat when he has a vision. He manages to prevent the death of several people but a series of accidents hint that they were meant to die. As a mysterious coroner (played by Tony Todd) warns them “Death doesn’t like to be cheated”.

At this point in the franchise, you know who's headed for the grave right away. You're checking in to figure out how. Final Destination 5 excels at finding interesting demises for its characters. There is one scene in particular at a gymnastics practice that will have you on the edge of your seat. Little pieces are set up around the room and you don’t know how they fit in the big picture. Something as simple as a screw falling on the group and landing point up or the potential for some laser-eye surgery gone wrong makes for many scenes too nerve-frying to watch but too enticing to miss.

Starting with the third film, there’s been a trend to include men and women that are merely there to add to the body count. They’re so unlikeable you can't wait for them accidentally fall inside a lion’s cage. Here, we have a couple of men who are fairly one-dimensional jerks… but they’re done right. I kind of liked P. J. Byrne as Isaac. He’s such a loser, he’s so unlikeable that he's hilarious. I don’t know if it’s the delivery or the fact that both life and death seem to be against the guy but I looked forward to his scenes. The rest of the people catch on fairly quickly to what’s happening (maybe a bit too quick but I won’t complain about that) and from there, you’re excited to see them run around, trying to figure out how they can escape whatever new plan Death has for them.

Final Destination 5 isn't in the same league as the first two. Despite some new twists, the formula is getting a bit old. The ending makes up for this partially, but more could've been done with its theory that if you kill someone, you "trade spots" with them and "steal" their remaining years. It also - and this is going to sound weird - overdoes the gore. I keep going back to one of the most memorable deaths in Final Destination: the one in the shower. No bones were sticking out, no geysers of blood, no ropes of intestines on the floor. It was so much creepier because the people in the universe didn’t think twice about it. Here, when people bite the dust it’s so crazy they instantly know something’s up. When people's skulls are this easily crushed, how could there not be?

With the franchise now at an end, it’s easy to see who the winners are. Final Destination and Final Destination 2 are the best entries, with Final Destination 5 coming comfortably in third. The opening disaster sequence is spectacular. The deaths are memorable. The beheadings, dismemberments, fatal defenestrations, impalings, incinerations, etc. are inventive. There are some nice grounded moments of horror and some dark humor as well. (On Blu-ray, September 18, 2016)

#FinalDestination #FinalDestination5 #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #StevenQuale #CraigPerry #WarrenZIde #NicholasD'Agosto #EmmaBell #MilesFisher #ArlenEscarpeta #DavidKoechner #TonyTodd #2011 movies #2011films #horrormovies #horrorfilms

3 notes · View notes

needleanddead · 3 years ago

Note

If you really wanna know, alright! Velvet is around, let's say, 1,000-ish 2,000-ish years old. When you first meet her, shes soft and kind, and adores nature, hence being a satyr. Once you get close enough to her, before you know it your already kidnapped. I'll write more later. -Velvet

Continuing on, she also is a masochist. Will be a sadist in some cases. Also, please, please never have chopped down a tree or harmed one. Since shes connected to nature in some ways, she will know somehow. And won't be happy. Shes also a bit ecstatic in alot of things involving being cut open, beat, etc. Also wants a big strong man to husk her away and hold her captive. Hence the masochist part. She ALWAYS writes in cursive. And her first and last name is Velvet Indigo. Colors, lol. -Velvet I wonder how TF Van and Velvet would meet and howd it go! I can imagine they'd meet in the forest, with her reading books under a tree about dismemberment and the history of torture methods. -Velvets creator, Lex.- Also sorry for spamming the ask box, but I just have so many things to say!

Anon, I am always happy to talk about and think about murderous ladies . . . there are never enough evil girls in this community in my personal (gay) opinion! And I am always a fan of murder OCs who are switches or who can also somehow end up as murder MCs too, even if it seems as though many of them would probably be hopelessly outmatched by Velvet!

True Form Van's interest would be majorly piqued! As a whole, he's not a fan of mortals but he very much likes other supernatural creatures and is likely to be 'kinder', but upon finding out that perhaps that's not what she wants . . . he's probably got some of the most intense kinks out of all of my characters and he, too, loves masochists. He also gets incredibly angry when he sees people being uncaring about the world around him! He likes keeping pets, and though most of the time he does indeed take mortals, there's something to be said of the 'status symbol' of having a fellow inhuman as one! Is she immortal? Would she survive a lot of violence if it were enacted on her?

What's her victim type like? I am knitting her a sweater as we speak (in theory because in practise I cannot do that). Also, please do not apologise for spamming my askbox! I am always excited and happy to learn about other people's OCs and to talk about how they might interact with mine. I am pretty shy but I am very friendly and easily excitable! You are welcome to continue talking in my askbox but you're also welcome to DM or something if that's what you would like!

#🦇 pip squeaks #others ocs #long post

2 notes · View notes

padawanlost · 5 years ago

Note

I watched Attack of the Clones today and noticed something interesting about how Obi-Wan and Anakin "handled" their creatures in the arena. Anakin tried to calm it and used its force to defend himself against the guards while Obi-Wan cut its limbs and killed it. Kinda remind me of Obi-Wan's line about "a pathetic life form" in Phantom Menace and the way he can be a little "snob" sometimes (snob may be not the best word but I can't think of anything else rn)

I remember reading a very interesting meta on how each beast behaved and how each character handled them was a reflection of the character’s personality and their overall arc. I’ll try to find it and I’ll reblog it as soon as I do it.

As for Obi-wan being a “snob”, yep, especially when he was younger. I mean it takes some arrogance for someone to call a 9 years old slave a “pathetic life-form”. But the more I think about it the less I believe Obi-wan’s love fordismemberment was a result of arrogance. More than arrogance, I’d say it’s the result of privilege. In the real world, law enforcement (and all branches of the governments) are expected a certain level of accountability. Even when you act in (alleged) self-defense, certain mechanisms are activated to ensure some level of transparency and, more importantly, legitimacy. The GFFA didn’t have that. The Jedi Order only answered to the Senate on the bigger stuff and only when the Senate demanded (which it rarely did) so, for the most part, there wasno real accountability. Now, imagine being raised on the belief that as long as you are doing it for the right reasons, you are doing the right thing. You can justify pretty much anything: mind control, murder, dismemberment, etc. Obi-wan is a product of that environment. So, it’s not like there’s something ‘wrong’with him, but there’s definitely something wrong with how de was raised and what he was taught.

We can see this so clearly during Ahsoka’s trial when it became obvious how unprepared the Jedi Order was to deal with accountability and the actions of their own members. They have no ‘Jedi internal affairs’, no system in place to ensure their members are following not only the code but also the Republic’s laws. And, because of that, they can get away with pretty much anything. Of course, that willful blindness is also the direct result of their religious extremism. They are so utterly sure their actions are righteous that they refuse to even acknowledge their members might do something unlawful, let act to alone prevent it. We see this when Padmé accuses Dooku of being behind her assassination attempt, with the Council immediately dismisses her theory on the simple fact he used to be a Jedi, and that’s not something a Jedi would ever do.

In the end, it’s not that Obi-wan mindtricks people and cut off their limbs because he believes he’s better than them. It’s because he feels justified in doing so because that’s how he was raised.

#ask #astromechdroid-r2d2 #obi wan kenobi #jedi culture #sw meta #meta: obi wan

102 notes · View notes

hotdadslade · 5 years ago

Text

Pennyworth Impressions

So I have seen more or less nothing about Pennyworth, and it’s little wonder why. It was released episodically on a channel/streaming platform no one I’d spoken to had ever heard of, with zero fanfare, and what marketing there was seemed to exclusively focus around ‘it’s about Batman’s Butler’.

So, first things first: Pennyworth is an alt history story with a young Alfred Pennyworth as the main character. That ‘alt history’ bit is important, but is in absolutely NONE of the promotional material I saw. Specifically, the story takes place in probably-the-60s, only it’s a vaguely dystopian world: people are executed publicly, there’s bodies in gibbets hanging around London, etcetc. I’ve seen a lot of people saying they’re not interested because... well, what’s so interesting about this kind of prequel? You already know what’s going to happen.

The actual plot is only barely about how Alfred meets the Waynes. The real plot is about political squabbling between two groups, the Raven Society and the No Name League, who are both secret societies which later become political parties, and they’re pushing England towards a full on civil war. Alfred gets involved on both sides, things get fucky, you know the deal.

That said, I’ve got four big points about the show for anyone interested so far.

One: This show is VERY gory. Not as bad as Swamp thing (which was some top-class body horror), but we’ve got torture, mutilation, heads blown off, etc... All shown with some pretty extreme detail. It is downright gratuitous at times and as someone who’s not a huge fan of gore I had to look away quite a bit. There’s also at least one rape, lots of animal dismemberment, cannibalism... You name it. If you have any sort of content you’re worried about, it’s probably in there.

Two: This show does nothing with the DC license, and seems to actively be made worse by it. The only named characters from the comics are Alfred, Martha, and Thomas. You’ll spend more time wondering how things connect to the characters they’re named after then making any actual connections, such as the reveal that Thomas Wayne has a sister and that he works for the CIA. Nothing really connects back and this would honestly have been a better story if it was just billed as a standard alt history political drama, because then I wouldn’t have spent all my time wondering wtf is going on.

Three: This show is, in theory, a political drama. That’s what it’s trying to be. However it has almost nothing to say about politics and the way it portrays politics is a bit... tone deaf. The fact that one side is described repeatedly (even by their own people) as fascists who are willing to engage in everything up to and including assassination and suicide bombing while the other side are socialists who... might be willing to kill a mass murderer - but are depicted as being on the same level is kind of surreal. All the sides are terrible yet the impression I got while watching is that we’re supposed to be cheering for the old guard (the Queen and Prime Minister) who are also terrible.

For a show almost entirely about two secret societies with opposing political views, the show doesn’t say anything about them, and keeping them all straight is... difficult. Alfred himself is almost staunchly apolitical, refusing to take sides, but considering one side is running around with women’s heads in jars while the other side is guilty of... trying to stop the other side... it kind of falls into the ‘not making a choice is a choice in itself’ category.

Four: The show has no idea what it’s doing.

There’s no nice way to say this, so I’ll be direct. There is a plot. There’s a story here. But that story is wandering and meandering in the most bizarre way. The first episode is astounding. Great character moments, fantastic world building, and it works almost as a standalone movie in its own right.

But every episode after that the plot gets more and more muddled. The characters wander around doing their own thing and only really come together at the end. A character who we should absolutely hate because he’s a complete fucking monster gets a multi-episode recovery arc to make him sympathetic, only for him to toss it away at the last minute.

The best example I can think of this comes midway through the series, and I’m going to go right on ahead and spoil it so I’ll drop it under the cut.

Midway through the season, Thomas needs to go out and do something to keep the show’s main plot going on. However, his drug addict sister, Patricia, has shown up at his hotel room, and he needs to make sure someone keeps an eye on her while he’s gone. He gets Martha to do this. Martha, for some reason I do not understand in the slightest, both says yes and then immediately agrees to go to a party with Patricia.

They then attend a bizarre party at the satanist Aleister Crowley’s house. It is vaguely implied that Martha might have been drugged, but left unclear. The party devolves into an orgy, and Martha repeatedly attempts to leave only to find herself back in the main room. The last time she does this she returns to find the room silent, with everyone staring at her, and she carefully walks across the room to be faced with the devil, featuring a goat head and six creepy eyes.

The scene cuts and we go back to Alfred’s stuff which seems absolutely inconsequential in the face of this bizarre reveal in what should be the B plot.We don’t pick this plot thread up again until the end of the episode, when Martha wakes up completely naked in a field.

The next episode establishes that Patricia has not come back, and that Martha has been missing for three whole days. Martha and Thomas investigate, find Patricia happy and healthy with Crowley, and Crowley is VERY intent on making it clear that no, he’s legitimate, he actually works for the devil. Thomas calls his bluff, insisting on negotiating, and is shown a piece of satanic ritual pornography featuring his sister, which mind controls him into attempting to murder Crowley’s assistant. He’s traumatized and more or less flees the building. At this point, Martha strongly implies that something terrible happened, and it is strongly implied she was raped by the devil and may or may not be pregnant or changed by this in some way.

This plot arc is then completely forgotten and effectively never brought up again.

It is so completely out there that my head was actually spinning by the end of the episode, because Pennyworth just established that the devil is real and may have raped Martha and then does absolutely nothing with it. It almost completely forgets about it, and I can’t even remember Patricia coming up again after that point. It was so bizarrely out of place that going back to it’s usual thriller political drama stuff felt completely wrong. If this was supposed to be a season two tie-in, they did a terrible job of it, because all I could think watching the last few episodes were ‘why do I care about this when the devil’s running around London’.

Overall, Pennyworth was a show with no clear direction and no idea of what it wanted to be. It didn’t use it’s license, it overly relied on shock value, and while there was some fantastic acting, it didn’t save the fact that the plot was all over the damned place. While it had some fun moments, I’d say most of those moments were at the very start and the very end. If you’re interested, I’d say the first three episodes (available for free on amazon) are pretty enjoyable as a standalone set, but I wouldn’t bother with the rest. If it gets a S2 (which so far seems unlikely), I’m not even sure I’ll go back to it.

#pennyworth #alfred pennyworth

21 notes · View notes

8bitsupervillain · 8 months ago

Text

Higurahi When They Cry Ch. 1 Onikakushi part 5

In which things really start popping off.

I wonder if there's going to be any real narrative pay off for why Mion calls herself "this old man." Or if it's just a choice they made translating it.

I get the feeling if this were made today there would've been a single jumpscare screen where Mion's eye is seen in an extreme close up through the door.

My how scandalous, that's what they did to Tomitake?

Can I just say that I extremely dislike when anyone decides they need to censor kill, die, dead, etc.? I try to not complain about it happening on twitter, or youtube, or what have you. People have this notion that you can't say these things for fear of the fickle spirit of the internet machine silencing your posts or videos or whatever, and making them basically unviewable or unsearchable. But to engage in this level of silly self-censorship in your Mature rated game that is in theory being marketed towards adults is just such a bizarre thing to do. Especially since earlier in the game you have characters talking in earnest about bloody dismemberments, and other types of death including clawing out ones own throat. Doubly especially since in this very chapter detective Ooishi and Keiichi talk about Tomitake's death and use the words kill, and dead.

In the other post I mentioned that I couldn't remember if Mion had a gun in the anime version of Higurashi. I'm fairly confident she did, so in that case did they just erase her gun when they did the new art when they brought the game to GOG and Steam? Is this in fact the dread spectre of censorship? I'm not trying to beat my chest and harrumph and decry those darned monsters at mangagamer for censoring my beloved visual novels or anything of the sort. It just strikes me as utterly pointless to suddenly now, ten hours into the VN decide that the word killed is the worst thing the reader could read.

I admire the sheer dogged tenacity VN protags have to willfully and completely act like terrifying situations didn't just happen to them.

The will to try to self-deceive only goes so far. Eventually you must face reality. They're trying to kill you man! At the very least send you a message about shutting your damn trap!

I think things are going to be okay for young Keiichi Maebara!

#higurashi #higurashi when they cry #higurashi no naku koro ni #higurashi playthrough

3 notes · View notes

theladyjojogrant · 7 years ago

Text

The Missy Chronicles and why it’s one of the best Doctor Who books ever made.

Is it as hilarious as it sounds? Even more so.

I just read The Missy Chronicles and I still can’t believe how perfect it is. Each story brings something unique to Missy’s character and adds some interesting things to Doctor Who canon that you really, no I mean really, don’t want to miss.

(Below is a short synopsis of each story and some memorable quotes/things that happened. If you don’t want spoilers, come back and read this once you’ve read the book!)

1. Dismemberment by James Goss

Basically, the Master always goes to this sketchy gentlemen’s club after he regenerates to just chill and be around other morally questionable people. But this time there’s a problem. The Master (as Missy, though she hasn’t decided on her name at this point) goes to the club like usual after her regeneration, but gets kicked out because she’s a woman. The rest of the story is her carrying out very extravagant plots for revenge on each of the members of the club, including, but not limited to: making it rain blood; tying a man to train tracks, marrying him, and then letting him get run over; and last but not least, freeing an African American slave and letting her poison the food at the club’s big annual celebration, telling them they can be cured if they eat some paper, and then telling them after they eat the paper that she was lying.

Favourite quotes:

About Missy: “Her eyes possessed that cold burn you got from holding ice.”

Missy: “So sorry I’m late. Just been running over a maths teacher with a milk float. You know how it is.” (GUYS I’M NOT CRAZY MY THEORY WAS RIGHT AND IT’S NOW CONFIRMED, MISSY KILLED DANNY!!!!!)

Generally, this story was funny and very typically Missy. Also the African American slave Missy saved is the one who eventually comes up with the name Missy, and the only person from the club that Missy didn’t kill was a certain man named Dr. Skarosa...

2. Lords and Masters by Cavan Scott

The time lords recruit Missy to go on a mission for them, so they hijack the Eye of Harmony in her TARDIS and send a time lady to hold a gun to her head. Basically she has to figure out what’s causing some strange time disturbances, and it turns out this doctor genetically engineered a creature that could travel in space and time and kept it in stasis so that he could gain the power from its energy or something like that. Missy was supposed to kill the creature, but instead she manipulated the time lady to kill the doctor, kept the creature, and miniaturized then killed the time lady and sent her back to the General on Gallifrey.

Favourite quotes:

“Missy had places to go and people to subjugate.”

“Missy gave her the look she usually reserved for simpletons and UNIT personnel.”

Not too much went on story-wise, but it was interesting to see how Missy dealt with being pushed around by the time lords. She also gets her first “companion” in this story: Yayani, the time lady who’s supposed to kill her if she doesn’t obey the time lords’ instructions.

3. Teddy Sparkles Must Die! by Paul Magrs

Yes, it is just about as strange as it sounds. Missy becomes the governess of three children in early/mid-20th century England. The children are suspicious of her and go through her things, only to find a sparkly teddy bear who’s really an alien who can distort time and complicated stuff to grant wishes. The teddy bear lets them go to crazy places like the moon and Missy gets the kids out of trouble. In return for her rescuing them, she wants the kids to wish to grow up to be powerful people in the world, and the kids do it because they don’t really get it. So they grow up and become powerful people, forgetting about Missy. Then Missy comes back when they’re older and demands they give her the world. Teddy Sparkles (the alien bear) thwarts Missy’s plan by rewriting time and sending the kids back to their childhood, though he also accidentally incorporates crazy creatures that Missy told the kids stories about into the world. Teddy Sparkles uses up the rest of his energy/life to set everything right again, even inventing a fictional story about a governess with a carpet bag and an umbrella who takes children on fantastic adventures so that Missy will become famous, which is something she hates because she gets crowded by people gawking at her. Missy leaves, and in the end one of the children grows up to be a grandmother, and Teddy Sparkles shows up as a Christmas present for one of her grandchildren.

I didn’t write down any really memorable quotes from this one, but the whole Mary Poppins connection was great, and I found it interesting that Missy actually “lost” in this one; it wasn’t from her point of view at all, either.

4. The Liar, the Glitch, and the War Zone by Peter Anghelides

This one is pretty complicated to explain because it’s very timey-wimey, but basically Missy runs her TARDIS into some Gryphons (after escaping from the Daleks at the end of The Witch’s Familiar) and then crash lands in 21st century Venice. Through a series of things happening (time rifts and stuff are involved), Missy’s dematerialisation circuit ends up in 14th century Venice and she goes back in time with a random girl (Antonia) and also tries to destroy 21st century Venice in order to get her TARDIS working again and escape the Gryphons. After the TARDIS starts working again Missy time rams her TARDIS and everything undoes itself, so 21st century Venice goes back to normal. Missy tries to leave Antonia in 14th century Venice with her dead friend who fell through a time rift, but Antonia mysteriously ends back up in the TARDIS. More on that in a sec because...

GUYS. THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR IS IN THIS STORY. NO JOKE. Missy discovers her dematerialisaiton circuit went back in time when she sees an ad for it being on display in a museum. She tries to ask where it came from, but all the employees keep telling her to talk to the curator. So finally she sets up an appointment, and that’s where I immediately became suspicious. The curator’s office is very thoroughly described, and while the combination of old and new stuff (including a plague doctor’s mask) could be telling of the Doctor (I mean, Day of the Doctor and the Curator, hello???), it also could just be a typical curator. But what set me off was that the curator is never physically described at all. There are other clues (before an obvious reveal at the end of the story.) Through the whole story people keep calling Missy “signora” and she insists that she wants to be called “signorina” instead. The curator calls Missy “signorina” without any indication from Missy. And as the curator is helping Missy find out where the dematerialisation circuit came from, she says “I do enjoy this kind of research myself. It’s a real trip into the past.” Missy also runs into a plague doctor back in the 14th century when she’s getting her circuit back. Then at the end it’s made really clear. Antonia shows up in Missy’s TARDIS (after Missy tried to abandon her) saying “If it wasn’t for her, no one would have seen me again.” She then gives Missy a note: “...two short paragraphs of neat handwriting chastised Missy for her lack of caution, and told her that she would need to try much harder.” Missy goes back to the curator’s office and finds it empty except for the plague doctor’s mask. All the curator’s secretary can tell her is (and it’s the last line of the story): “The doctor doesn’t work here any more.” (*SCREAMS*)

Also, Missy decides to call one of the Gryphons “Hermione” and then says that she’s a Slytherin girl herself because she goes for the bad boys. She also says that she sees some Severus Snape in herself.

5. Girl Power! by Jacqueline Rayner

I don’t know how Jacqueline Rayner can write perfect Doctor Who stories. Every. Single. Time.

This story is not told in traditional narrative fashion, but initially through messages that Nardole and the Twelfth Doctor send back and forth to each other. Nardole is guarding Missy in the vault and is worried when she seems to be putting together some sort of plot. The Doctor tells him to go along with it, and soon enough Missy is contacting important and influential women all throughout history to create MADAM, Missy’s Army for the Demotion of All Men. (I’m still dying over that XD). She creates a group on “Spacebook” and chats with these women, including Henry VIII’s wives, Joan of Arc, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth I, Agatha Christie, and Jane Austen. Basically Missy just wants them all to kill all the men on the planet. But the Doctor joins the chat pretending to be Circe and gets all the women to leave the chat. He and Missy end up talking because Missy of course knows it’s him, and the Doctor thinks she came up an elaborate plot so that she could escape the Vault. Missy sort of accidentally confesses, however, that she was trying to have the oppressed (women) fight their oppressors (men), like the Doctor would do.

Favourite quotes:

Literally the entire story. The synopsis is vague because the meat of the story is Missy writing all these feminist things about how to respond to stupid man questions and how to do things that women can’t do at certain points in time (like vote, own property, etc.) and sending them to the members of MADAM. At the beginning of the story Nardole relates to the Doctor things that Missy has asked for, and the Doctor approves or disapproves them. These things include: hairspray, history books about important women (which was where she got the MADAM idea), marshmallows, a campfire (to roast the marshmallows; however, the Doctor doesn’t approve that one because “If she’s still got that can of hairspray, we could all be in big trouble.”), a tiger, and sherbert lemons.

Missy: “It has come to my notice that being a woman isn’t just about the addition of some wobbly bits and a sudden inability to grow a goatee.”

Missy on her Spacebook profile under the section ‘other names:’ “Professor Thascales, Colonel Masters, Reverend Magister, Sir Gilles Estram, Mister Saxon. Look, if I called myself ‘Reggie’ or ‘Dave’ the Doctor never even had the decency to suspect it was me. I used to go to a lot of trouble dressing myself up for him so is it so wrong to want some attention?”

Missy on her Spacebook profile under the section ‘life events:’ “Born, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died, Died Died, Died, Took over some bloke’s body, Died, Died, Died, Became a human, Stopped being a human, Died, Died, Became a woman, Ruled!”

Missy: “I’m 100% done with human women. Hate the lot of them. Hope they all use lead-based makeup and die.”

I literally did not stop laughing throughout this entire story. And I really mean that. My abs hurt.

6. Alit in Underland by Richard Dinnick

Takes place during World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. Missy and Simm!Master travel around Floor 507 with Alit, the girl who gave Cyber-Bill the mirror in The Doctor Falls. The Masters (with Alit in tow) take out some Cybermen who come after them and find an elevator to leave the floor.

Not much plot-wise, as you can see, and it’s a fairly short story. But bantering between the Masters is fantastic, and one of the best parts is Missy and Simm talking about how much they love cartoons. Missy tells him that she and the Doctor watched Frozen together and Simm can’t believe it and keeps judging her for it, when finally Missy tells him to “Let it go.”

The other interesting and really cool aspect to this story is Missy’s character. She comforts Alit, tells her a story when she’s frightened, and even holds her hand. She also deliberately saves people, but keeps that a secret from Simm. I really like how the final two stories incorporate Missy’s slight moral shift. And the last little bit of the story, and of the book itself, is awesome:

Simm!Master: “Tell me. Travelling with the Doctor. What is that all about?”

“I was imprisoned. It was the only way out.”

“So you did have a plan before you ran into me. Get rid of him; betray him?” He licked his lips. “Kill him?”

“Get rid...?” Missy looked at the Master, and her face became a stony façade. “That has a certain ring to it.”

...

“Note to self: Get rid of...betray...kill.” Missy nodded. “Yes. I suppose that’s the only way.”

The Missy Chronicles, everyone. If you have the chance to read it, please do.

#the missy chronicles #beebs book reviews #book reviews #missy #the master #doctor who #dw #dw books #doctor who novels #doctor who books #simm!master #twelfth doctor #thirteenth doctor #nardole #dw series 10

70 notes · View notes

gristlegrinder · 7 years ago

Text

tagged by @sainterly hello!! i’m so sorry, i told myself i was going to do this and then immediately forgot until i found it in my likes again, like, a month later. rules : answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to know better tagging: .................nobody because i’m an awkward mess

under a cut because I’m not good at being concise

(A)ge: 19

(B)irthplace: New York!

(C)urrent Time: …8 in the morning. I haven’t slept.

(D)rink You Had Last: I, uh, had one of hose starbucks doubleshot energy things around 9PM last night. yes, this is connected to the last answer. it was delicious and worth it.

(E)asiest Person To Talk To: Hm, depends? There’s a lot of people who fit this bill, but if I’m gonna be honest the answer is prooobably myself just because I’m one of those people who talks to myself constantly whenever I’m trying to work things out.

(F)avorite Song: Well, The Past Is A Grotesque Animal, definitely. Recently, I’ve been in love with Homecoming Serf, Fuel, I Listened, Proof, and Holy Water.

Not necessarily my favorite songs, but I recently made a playlist for my tabletop group and it’s got a lot of current lex bangers on it. And A Woman, A Woman, A Century Of Sleep has been today’s loop-on-repeat track, so that counts for something.

(...I’m bad at answering this question.)

(G)rossest Memory: Surprisingly, I don’t have a lot of these? Coming up with one is hard. I dropped a can of soda on my foot when I was eight and I remember one of my toes having this really nasty purple bruise for a week afterwards, I guess?

(H)ogwarts House: I was a self-identified Ravenclaw for the longest time, but recently I was re-housed into Gryffindor. And I’ve moved far, far enough past my pretentious “ew gryffindors are all fake fans of HP who just like it because it’s the ‘good guy’ house” phase to absolutely embrace this switch.

(I)n Love?: I’m not gonna @ them here but I love my girlfriend!! Nin’s a babe

(J)ealous Of People?: Yeah, that sort of happens. But I’m trying to get better at reminding myself that it’s ultimately useless to hold myself up to other people.

(K)illed Someone?: ;) only past iterations of myself!! existence ain’t permanent

(L)ove At First Sight or Walk By Again?: Both are probably bad ways to approach relationships tbh.

(M)iddle Name: I hate it, so we’re not mentioning it.

(N)umber Of Siblings : 2-4 depending on how you see it! Two half brothers, two stepsiblings (our parents have since divorced, but we still chill and see each other as kinda-siblings, it’s complicated).

(O)ne Wish: Certain individuals currently associated with America can drop dead finally, and also maybe I finally work up the damn courage to start bugging people about uh, religious conversion things and uh, therapy.

(P)erson You Last Called: Probably my dad.

(Q)uestions You’re Asked The Most: I get a lot of surprised you’re nineteen?!s from classmates / parents’ friends / online people, but I don’t know if that counts. Then, like, generic questions about how school’s going, I think.

(R)easons To Smile: I move back up to uni at the end of the month, and I’ll be living alone! My classes next semester are all really fun! Audio/Video Production, Film History 1895-1950, Film Theory. I’m finally making progress towards getting my driver’s license!

(S)ong You Last Sang: When I’m home alone, I’m basically jamming out nonstop, so:

— Q.U.E.E.N. has been stuck in my head for days.

— Guardians has been my muse for a character I’ve been designing? so it gets mumbled-under-my-breath-sung a lot.

— The Dismemberment Song is probably just my favorite thing to belt at the top of my lungs. in general.

(T)ime You Woke Up: …………uh, see previous answers, because I still haven’t slept, (as for yesterday, I woke up around noon).

(U)nderwear Color: I never really cared for “what color is your underwear” questions on a get to know me meme (but teal).

(V)acation Destination: I’m going to Seattle in three weeks for a couple days! Really excited because the tabletop game I run is set there, so it’ll be cool to see some of the places I have as plot points. And a friend’s got me excited for the thought of doing a road trip across America after we graduate. Biggest dream travel spots are Liverpool (points at my gf), St Petersburg, Tokyo, and Antarctica, though.

(W)orst Habit: Saying I’m going to do things and then the ADHD brain crashes for like, a week, and all of the things I need to do pile up and then I don’t get to any of them. Also forgetting to reply to skype/discord/etc messages.

(X)-rays?: I’ve never broken a bone in my body, or really ever been hospitalized as far as I can remember.

(Y)our Favorite Food: Cochinita pibil (which is a Yucatán slow-roasted pulled pork marinated in Seville oranges, it’s good shit), biscuits (sausage gravy optional), lately I’ve been craving cocktail shrimp.

(Z)odiac Sign: Libra!

#lex.txt #i promise i still think you're cool and want to chat more i'm just so so bad at this

2 notes · View notes

jmkitsune · 5 years ago

Text

this is my like FIFTH time seeing a variation of this post and the star wars nerd in me has to say something the above is ALL perfectly hit but let’s look at it from a star wars “lore lens” cause some whiny pissboys need it

...its a long rant sooo under a cut it goes :D

1- IN THE DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC- youngling Jedi’s trained with physical weapons first be it wooden swords or something a non saber blade type weapons- it depended on what you’re looking at, (some sources it was vibro blades (heheheh vibro) and others it was wooden practice swords like on earth where martial artist use bokkens before REAL swods so they can learn the weight/feel of the weapon) was used to acclimate the children to the weapon they would soon construct when Yoda or another Council member took them to Ilum to acquire their saber crystal(s)

THIS BEING SAID- Rey’s YEARS of using her quarterstaff (yes it is a quarterstaff - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rey%27s_quarterstaff) is established and proven to exist anyway- she had spent YEARS, developed her reputation with it on Jakku, ergo WE KNOW she is good with it when we see her use it protecting BB8

2- Jedi are trained with lightsabers with their masters, using saber on saber contact to determine their skill, agility, etc can’t learn to shoot unless you shoot a target right? - and before you go “yeah after YEARS of practice” here’s a fact some of you FAKE nerd boys (yes nerd boys only) forget/don’t know or care to know- LIGHTSABERS HAVE SETTINGS! (from the canon wiki section - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lightsaber)

Other parts that could be added include handgrip ridges and a blade length adjuster.[9][7] Some lightsabers also featured a non-lethal low-power setting used for training.

oh look- NON LETHAL LOW POWER SETTING - a way to train to acclimate oneself with a lightsaber (they weigh differently than non lightbased weapons due to the energy output of the crystal inside the hilt) without worrying about Skywalkering yourself (...let’s be real skywalker men have a limb losing problem we’re calling it skywalkering yourself) because lets not forget- MOST padawans were preteens-young adults...ie - PROBABLY the least graceful, and more prone to accidents than the adult/wiser/more experienced masters who MORE THAN LIKELY had accidents too, even with the force some days you just roll a nat 1 on any skill it happens

Anakin had made his saber -the one Rey has- POST battle of geonosis and during the clone wars, which means he had (as of canon) a padawan (ahsoka) to train during the war. IT IS WORTH ANY theory, presumption or even GUESSTIMATE on any common sense level- his saber had a power setting so when the two trained- he didn’t accidentally well ya know- have the high ground sort to speak lol. also we know during the clone wars- Anakin OFTEN would let Padme have his saber momentarily and she was able to use it without injury, not in full saber combat obviously, that’d be TOO AMAZING (a queen at 14, political bad ass before 20, rock ALL those amazing fashion iconic looks AND able to use a saber, come on, she had to have SOME hard limits) but practically non the less, she did use it in situations that didn’t result in injury- just like Han did in Empire Strikes back to save Luke by shovin him all up in that Tauntaun, and like Finn did in Force Awakens to - oh right GO TOE TO TOE WITH THE GRANDSON OF FUCKING DARTH VADER WHO YES WAS INJURED BUT FINN STILL GOT A FEW HITS IN ON HIM (oh look- non jedi using sabers without dismemberment- tellin ya, its a skywalker boy thing, ben might lose a limb in Ep9 just sayin)

3- REY trained with Luke for pfft we’ll say a week AT MOST, and in that time sure she doesn’t learn a LOT cause Luke was rightly havin a sit an cry with himself as we often do when we grow up and realize BOY the world sucks...and HOLY SHIT DONT MEET YOUR HEROES lol but we do see her practicing with Anakin’s saber...and derping around, we also see her use it AMAZINGLY well along side Ben against Snoke’s guards, she took out a few of them- on her own mind you, using VERY unorthodox saber fighting styles, styles which she probably had mastered for a staff but adapted best she could for a sword.

SO let’s combine these things with the fact we KNOW there is a time skip between Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker they announced there would be, don’t @ me thinkin I makin shit up this is star wars I don’t make shit up, except that it should be still canon that lando invented chocolate milk/hot chocolate, THAT SHIT WAS HILARIOUS (if you dont know what I mean- go and read the expanded universe you filthy casual...Im sorry, filthy winging casual- to all you non pissbaby wanna be fans - read Heir to the Empire, its the first mention of hot chocolate in star wars and its between lando and luke, its nothing BIG but its still a gem worth enjoying)

ANYWAY we dunno how long a skip but there is one

so in the time between Rey is gonna obviously focus on training her self more we see that in her jungle training montage in the trailer- go girl achieve your jedi rambo stats :D show us whatcha got, at some point FIXING the Anakin saber (we see her using it in the trailers) and then POTENTIALLY she gets this double bladed flippy saber (WHICH I LOOOooooOOOOVE its sooo gorgeous lol)

if you can accept Luke learned how to fly an X-wing (the equivilent of an f-14/f-16) after only having experience flying T-16 skyhoppers (basic jump planes farmers would use for crop dusting by comparison to an x-wing) but not that after a LIFETIME of practice with a quarter staff (one that isn’t even that standard in making it looks very like fashioned from something NOT meant to be a staff) and then practiced with a lightsaber to finally come full circle and have a said staff saber combo...turn in your nerd badge and go back to reading instruction manuals for drinky drinky birds I’ll call you when your time out is over

OR if thats too mean

just enjoy the saber flippy sounds, and the pretty colors they make

enjoy the space pew pew and the fact that somehow all the ships in these moves make noise...IN SPACE or can do SHARP BANKING TURNS like fighter jets in atmosphere..BUT IN SPACE

STOP DEMANDING women in this series meet REAL WORLD physics but suspending belief when a slug is a mob boss and a walking iron lung was the scariest thing in the galaxy but a girl who self trained to survive with one type of weapon gets a class upgrade to the ultima version of said weapon over the course of her journey in space wizardry CAUSE YOU JUST BEING STUPID AT THAT POINT

and let Rey have a BAD ASS saber she EARNED LONG before BB-8 found her on Jakku

oh and also- vision or not- we knew WE FUCKING KNEW Rey was getting a double bladed saber from the SECOND she called Anakin’s saber to her in Force Awakens

it was BUILT UP TO AND PROMISED the second we saw her skills with her quarter staff

in writing you dolts- THAT IS CALLED SET UP AND PAY OFF

WE SET UP HER SKILL WITH A STAFF

then PAY OFF with a STAFF LIKE SBAER

see

set up...pay off

now, for GODS KNOWS HOW LONG people clamored “we want more star wars, we want more star wars, give us more stuff that isn’t the prequels!!!” ya know what- THE SEQUEL TRILOGY HAS IGNORED THE PREQUELS SO MUCH til now so take it this from genie

end rant...sorry guys I just love star wars and hate seeing “the fandom” (minority of sexist boys without lives) RUIN THIS FOR ME AND THOSE WHO GENIUNELY ENJOY THE SPACE PEW PEWS

I just cant guys. I can’t. The girl has been using a staff most of her life but apparently that’s not enough for some people. 😒😒😒

4K notes · View notes

morgaine2005 · 8 years ago

Text

Tressia BACC: Pirate Code Religion

So, since I also created the Place of Worship for the followers of the Pirate Code this round, I figured I should probably get this up.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to convince you to read.

So let’s see who clicks on the read more!

First of all, a fair warning – I’ve had a bit of a change of plans in how religions are going to run. Originally I wanted to do a total of 8 religions (5 for the main hood, plus 1 for each Maxis vacation destination), but the mod isn’t letting me do that. So, we’re just going to stick to the five main religions: Peteran, Jacoban, Pirate/Viking Code (Three Lakes), Four Ideals (Twikkii Island), Morgaine (Takemizu Village).

And a note about names: the followers of the Pirate Code have 2 main geographic bases: Three Lakes and the wretched hive of scum and villainy known as Aarbyville. In Three Lakes their religion is known as the Viking Code, in Aarbyville it’s the Pirate Code. But it’s the same faith (ish) in either place.

That being said, let’s move on.

Religious Figures

-- Not every religion has to be about a Deity, but there has to be some kind of central figure holding the code together, even if this figure is a philosophy, a list, or a celestial body.

Is this religion built around a single god (monotheistic), many gods (pantheistic), or are there even gods at all (philosophical religions, ancestor veneration)?

The religion encompasses both a code and some gods. Let’s do the gods first.

This religion is … basically pantheistic, according to the second definition I found on Google: “worship that admits or tolerates all gods.” Followers of the Pirate/Viking Code (seriously I’m getting sick of typing “followers of the Pirate Code,” so, Pirates) believe that just about every god or god-like figure worshiped by someone, somewhere is real. However, they don’t necessarily believe that any of the gods is all-powerful. In fact, they think that most gods are quite limited in power, or at least more limited in power than their followers would like to believe.

Except, of course, one god, the one they worship:

The Grim Reaper.

(Sorry, Hat, this might end up sounding a bit similar to your Cult of the Grim Reaper … hope you don’t mind …)

Now for the code. Since (spoiler alert) all of the main Tenets are set to Allowed, the code consists of five precepts:

It is better to dance on the knife’s edge than to throw yourself on your sword.

This is the heart of the philosophy of the Pirate Code. Pirates understand and accept that death is inevitable. There’s no knowing where or when it will come, only that it will. All of life is lived on a knife’s edge – so you might as well have fun with it. Take risks, do crazy things, follow your passion wherever it leads you. To do anything other than live life to the fullest in the time you are given is a sin and frankly, in their view, a form of suicide.

Question not others’ bliss.

Pirates, for the most part, do not stigmatize certain Wants or Aspirations as sinful or unholy. As far as they are concerned, all Wants are valid and worthy of pursuit. If someone wants to spend their time indoors maxing all seven skills, you don’t judge. Marry off six kids? Don’t judge. Fifty first dates? You get the picture.

However, though you are not supposed to question/criticize the Wants other Sims get, you are perfectly free to gossip about/make fun of them for the way they go about fulfilling them. An example: You can’t make fun of Don for having an LTW to Woohoo 20 Different Sims. However, if Don is woohooing Nina and gets caught by Dina, Cassandra, Kaylynn, and/or Bella – or all of them at once for maximum zaniness – and gets himself slapped silly and/or beaten up as a result, you are allowed to gossip about him and laugh over his misfortune. Because you’re not making fun of the Want, you’re making fun of the dumb way Don went about attempting to fulfill it.

Treat others as they would treat you.

Pirates have heard of the Golden Rule (the “treat others as you would like to be treated” one, not “he who has the gold makes the rules” one). They think it’s nice in theory, but woefully inadequate in practice. There are too many Sims out there who are mean, small-minded, bigoted, and worse. Why be nice to them if they aren’t going to be nice to you?

Granted, this type of thinking can lead to some circular reasoning (I am a bit of a jerk; other Sims are mean to me because of my jerkiness; therefore, I can be a jerk to them), but Pirates don’t really worry about that. Life is too short. But some nicer Pirates will adapt this rule to a philosophy of “do no harm but take no shit” or “Pirates don’t start fights, but they can finish them!” if they prefer to live a quieter life and get along with the neighbors. This is perfectly acceptable (see: question not others’ bliss).

Give no quarter, but show no cruelty.

If another Sim gets into it with a Pirate, that Sim can expect to be dealt with without mercy … to a point. Pirates believe in proportionate justice and letting no insult go unavenged. But there’s a limit. You are allowed to do what you must to solve a problem and render the other Sim unable to mess with you, but you can’t go beyond that.

An example: the fight between King Arthur and the Black Knight in Monty Python & the Holy Grail. King Arthur dismembering the knight was a-ok under the Pirate Code – the knight started it and wouldn’t leave Arthur alone until he was legless and armless. But if Arthur had defeated the knight and then pulled an Obi-Wan on him, that would be wrong. Dismemberment would be cruel and unnecessary.

This rule also accounts for Pirates’ obsession with fairness in combat and other venues. Generally, you are not allowed to pick on Sims who have no chance of retaliating against you/defending themselves against you (unless they started it, see treat others as they would treat you). To get into it with Sims who cannot fight back is cruel.

Render unto the Reaper that which is the Reaper’s.

Pirates are the Grim Reaper’s chosen people. By allowing them to worship him, he frees them from the silly dictates and killjoy commandments of other gods. In return, all he asks for is a modicum of respect. If the Grim Reaper has claimed someone as his own, you don’t mess.

What “mess” means is a matter of some debate. Most Pirates do not view medicine and first aid to be “messing” – the afflicted Sim might die or not, that’s up to the Grim Reaper, but there’s no harm in trying. Even using Elixir of Life might be forgiven; you’re not making yourself immortal, you’re just putting off the indignities of old(er) age. It’s raising the dead/joining the undead that is more problematic. Most Pirates would be categorically against the use of the bone phone. Spells such as Expello Mortis and Vivificus Zombiae would also be taboo, though some Pirates will do them anyway and say they’re just dancing on the knife’s edge (more detail when I get to witches & wizards). The place where things get really thorny is concerning how vampires and zombies should be treated – which will be discussed in more detail once I get to that point. What's the Deity (central figure) of the religion like? If the Deity is more like a philosophy, what's involved in the philosophy?

Tough, but fair is the best way to describe the Grim Reaper (at least in the eyes of Pirates). The Grim Reaper shows mercy to no one. His scythe falls on young and old, rich and poor, beautiful and ugly (perhaps slightly sooner on the ugly; this is the Sims), smart and dumb (again, slightly sooner on the dumb), etc., alike. No matter who you are or what you have or how many people love you, the Grim Reaper is coming for you, and you cannot escape him.

But at the same time, the Grim Reaper is not cruel, and it can be said that he has an appreciation for style. Those who have taken their time on this earth and lived, he rewards richly, with a chorus of hula zombies to guide them to the afterlife as well as a nice suitcase and a fruity drink with an umbrella in it. While this mostly occurs with the very old, Pirates insist that anyone who “dies in glory” gets similar treatment, even if witnesses can’t see the hula zombies, etc., as they do for the old.

Pirates believe that the Grim Reaper does not punish – it’s no punishment to get the treatment you were going to get no matter what you did. But he does reward, if you really, really earn it. If there's a pantheon, who else is in it? What are they like? (If you don't have specific ideas yet, get down broad strokes-- 'the pantheon is basically the Deity's family and extended family,' or 'it's less a pantheon and more a lot of nature spirits'-- both work well and leave you room to edit or add more so you don't write yourself into a corner.)

In terms of the entities the Pirates worship, the hula zombies are the main other members of the pantheon. Pirates see the hula zombies as being the Grim Reaper’s faithful companions and assistants. They don’t have names or separate personalities. Instead, they join the Grim Reaper to shepherd deserving souls into the afterlife.

Pirates also believe that just about every other god – the Watcher, the Demigoddess, the Four Ideals – exists. They generally take their followers’ word for it when it comes to the characteristics and personality of each individual deity. (Admittedly, Pirates aren’t sure what to make of the Watcher, given that Jacobans, Peterans, and followers of the Demigoddess all say such different things about nominally the same figure. But they also don’t really care much.) The caveat here is that they don’t believe any of the gods are all-powerful or even mostly-powerful. Rather, they think that each god only has power over his/her particular followers. In fact, they believe most “gods” are actually powerful Fae who have managed to channel the belief of Sims into greater magical power for themselves.

The exception to this rule of course is the Grim Reaper. He’s acknowledged in one way or another in just about every religion, so the Pirates reason that the Grim Reaper must be more powerful than all the other gods. (Some even think that the Grim Reaper has the power to kill other gods if he chooses – and some think that this has already happened to gods who are no longer worshipped.) And the Grim Reaper has chosen the Pirates as his people. If the religion is monotheistic, are there other non-central figures that are more divine than mortals but less divine than the deity? If so, what are they like? Are any of them adversarial to the Deity?

N/A, or at any rate I explained that above. Do the figures of the religion, if there are multiple figures, have associations? What sort of pattern do those follow? (Thor, god of thunder or Jude, patron saint of lost causes, or the Olympian model, where top-tier gods have less-specific associations than lower tiers, so you have the God of the Sky, the God of the Sun, the Goddess of Rainbows, et cetera...)

Not really – it’s just the Grim Reaper, the hula zombies, and the gods of the other religions.

Followers

-- Most religions exist (and persist) for the same handful of reasons: to explain the unexplainable, to offer comfort in difficult times, and usually to provide some kind of moral framework for the faithful. What does the religion promise to gain or retain followers? Does religious doctrine revolve around hope, fear, love, retribution, power, defiance, something else?

“Defiance” actually sums it up quite well. At their hearts, Pirates believe that the universe is cold and unfeeling. Crush it down to powder, and you won’t find one atom of justice or one molecule of mercy (to paraphrase Sir Terry). But their religion is a way of raising a big ol’ middle finger to the universe. “You might not care that we’re here,” the Pirates say, “but we are, and we’re going to make the most of it.”

Pirates don’t often find that their religion makes them kinder, or more considerate, or, well, nicer. But they’ll all swear it helps them live more fully. How does the religion attempt to explain the unexplainable, the seemingly random, and natural disasters? How would religious doctrine or tradition answer when asked "Why did Bob get struck by lightning?"

In short: life’s a bitch, and then you die.

Pirates don’t necessarily look for deeper meaning in the random and inexplicable; at least, they don’t look for a religious meaning. (Those of a more scholarly bent may try to study the natural world to see if there are natural causes that can be understood and explained.) Though the Grim Reaper shows up when Sims die, Pirates don’t necessarily believe he kills Sims or has any control as to when and where their deaths will occur.

If anything, they subscribe to a version of chaos theory – the one where a butterfly flapping its wings in Asia causes a hurricane in the Caribbean. They believe there’s simply too much going on with the natural world and with powerful Fae-Gods manipulating their followers to try to suss out a cause for every effect. Instead of tying your brain in knots, it’s best to take a deep breath and move on. How does the religion comfort its believers and see them through in difficult times? If Bob dies of an infected guinea pig bite, leaving Betty widowed, what does religious doctrine say she should do now? Does it have any instructions for her neighbors, friends, or relatives (by blood or through Bob, or both if there's a difference)?

The first line of comfort comes from looking at Bob’s life. Did Bob live as deeply, as fully as he could before dying of his infected guinea pig bite? Did he chase his Wants and Aspirations as hard as he could? If the answer is yes, then Bob lived a good life, and at the end of the day that’s all you can do.

The second line of comfort comes from trying to figure out what you, personally, can do to change the situation, make it better, or just escape it. Pirates aren’t much for wallowing and grieving (at least not in the doctrine). This can lead to some unhealthy coping mechanisms, but Pirates generally assume they don’t have time for grief and will do whatever is necessary to move past it.

The Pirate Code doesn’t particularly have instructions for Betty’s friends and neighbors and relatives – the Code is a very individualistic religion. If it does have instructions, they would probably be to try to take Betty out of herself as much as possible. Yes, Bob was a good husband – but Bob is gone now. It’s time to move on. What's the religion's overall moral code? What does 'be good' mean to the religion, and what are the consequences of failing to be good? If the religion bans Theft (hypothetically), what does its doctrine say awaits Betty if she steals Sylvia Marie's lawn gnome?

Being “good” means following the Code and doing your best to life a full, exciting life – to make the most of every minute you’re on earth (in the neighborhood?). Failing to follow the Code leads to a terrible sin: wasted time. And you only get so much time on this earth, so what are you doing wasting it?

Basically, the fear of every Pirate is to come to the end of their life and find, instead of a fruity drink with an umbrella in it and some hula zombies, an hourglass running on empty. Following the Code gets you hula zombies. Not following the code … doesn’t. Are transgressions against other mortals considered more or less serious than transgressions against the Deity (or the central philosophy)? If the religion bans Same-Sex Romance (hypothetically), what does its doctrine say awaits Melissa and Claire if they have sex?

Transgressions against the Grim Reaper (i.e. render unto the Reaper what is the Reaper’s) are viewed much more seriously than transgressions against mortals. It’s hard to sin against other mortals under the Code (other than being excessively cruel, which might lead to unpleasant real-world consequences but probably won’t piss off the Grim Reaper too much).

But taking back from the Grim Reaper what he has claimed? Are you nuts? Is that something you really want to play with? Now, it’s said that no one (living) has ever seen the Grim Reaper mad … but nobody wants to, either. They’re not sure what he will do, but they’re pretty sure it will be bad. Very bad.

Mythology

-- Most religions have some mythology attached. These stories help to codify a religion's explanations, comfort, and morality, but also teach worshipers why deities should be respected, feared, or loved. It isn't necessary to know all the stories right away (in fact, it can be better not to, so you can write yourself out of corners later), but broad strokes of the mythology are good to know especially any stories that are likely to be reflected in daily life or regular worship. What are the bones of this religion's creation myth? Who made the world? Why? Is the central figure the same figure who made the world? Why or why not? What's the world made out of? Why are things how they are?

The first thing to remember about the creation myth is that believing in it is not compulsory. There is a higher proportion of first-generation converts among Pirates than there are among religions like the Peterans, Jacobans, or even Four Ideals. Many of these converts still believe in the creation myths of their childhoods/forefathers, and Pirates are fine with that as long as they don’t try to force those beliefs on anybody else.

But most Pirates who are raised in the religion believe this. There is a race of higher gods that are outside the Sims’ world (not to be confused with the Fae-gods) who were playing a game with clay figurines. They’d created a little world for their figurines. Because they were gods, this world was incredibly detailed vivid, with trees and plants, bushes and flowers, animals, and more.

And then they somehow brought their figurines to life. Some say it was a stray bit of magic that did it, some say that a trickster god did it, others say that a god accidentally sneezed on the figurines, and, well if the breath of a god brings things to life, a sneeze ought to.

Some Pirates think the gods are still out there, watching the game that came to life, and moving the pieces along the board or tweaking the natural world to make things more interesting. Others think that the gods got bored as soon as they couldn’t control the figurines anymore and moved onto something more interesting. And still others think that one of the gods volunteered to come into the little world and keep an eye on the figurines, shepherding them through this life and into the next world … and that figure is the Grim Reaper.

But none of the Pirates really knows, and they’re ok with that. Most of them would also be ok with switching to a more scientific view of the universe, should one become available. What are some of the prominent myths besides the creation myth? Broad strokes are okay.

Probably the most prominent is the myth of the founding of the religion.

The story goes that a tribe of beleaguered Sims, the Muendas, were chased from their homeland by another tribe, the Grunts. The Muendas were led by an old woman named Ophelia. She managed to bring them to a land in the far frozen north. It was so cold there that spring and summer never came, only fall and winter. There they tried to make their home. But the land was harsh and unforgiving, and their band of survivors was having a difficult time, well, surviving.

One day when Ophelia wandered from the camp to see if she could find some herbs or the tracks of a beast they could hunt, she found out why. The Grim Reaper appeared to her, scythe in hand, and blocked her path.

“Is it my time, then?” asked Ophelia, for she was very old and had seen the Grim Reaper many times before.

“NO,” said the Grim Reaper. “AT LEAST, NOT YET. WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

Ophelia raised an eyebrow. “At the moment, I’m trying to find some food for my people. Would you happen to know where it might be located?”

“THIS LAND IS NOT FOR YOU.”

“Pardon?”

“THIS LAND. IT IS NOT FOR SIMS. IT IS MY OWN KINGDOM AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, WHERE I GO WHEN I WISH FOR PEACE. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.”

“The Muendas are not welcome anywhere,” Ophelia replied. “Sims have chased us from east and from west, from north and from south. We are here because we have nowhere else to go.”

“GO BACK. ONLY DEATH AWAITS YOU HERE.”

And Ophelia’s eyes flashed. “Death awaits us everywhere! The Grunts of the south have taken our lands, stolen our corn, enslaved our sons and daughters. Those they do not enslave, they slaughter. What can you do to us that they cannot?”

The Grim Reaper raised his scythe menacingly.

Ophelia laughed. “Do you think you frighten me, Reaper? Ha! I have buried two husbands. My sons are slain in battle, by daughters slain by their sides or else gone before. All I have left is a granddaughter, Willow, and the child she carries. Even if you cut me down now, it is a better fate than that which awaits me if I turn back and bring my people back with me.”

The Grim Reaper slowly spun the scythe between his bony hands. “THIS LAND IS NOT FOR SIMS,” he repeated. “LIFE ITSELF EXISTS ON A KNIFE’S EDGE HERE. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE?”

“No one survives – at least not for long,” Ophelia fired back. “As for me, I should rather dance on the knife’s edge than fall on my sword. If we fall to cold and famine and wild beasts, what of it? At least we spent our last days in freedom, if not in plenty.”

The Grim Reaper did not answer. If anything he seemed taken aback. And then he vanished.

Right behind where he had been standing on the path was a patch of red onions, still somehow growing despite the cold. Ophelia filled her basket and hurried back to the encampment.

Somehow after that survival grew easier, though far from assured. The Muendas made it through that first harsh winter and survived into the fall that followed. The tribe found it easier to discover herbs and beasts. They began to grow their own crops.

Sometimes, when Ophelia wandered from the encampment to search for food or scout the terrain, she would see a flash in the air, like light reflecting off a metal blade. Whenever she followed the flash, she would always find something that would help her people.

Seasons passed. And eventually the warlike Grunts caught up to them. The Muendas were at the edge of the world; there was nowhere else to run.

So they stood their ground and fought. And they discovered something.

That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

The Muendas had spent season after season eking out survival in one of the harshest places known to Simkind. They were lean and hardy, tough as the hardiest oak yet pliant as the willow. And their backs were against the wall. If they lost this battle, they would lose everything.

The Grunts didn’t know what hit them.

And when the battle was over, when the Muendas stood victorious and the Grunts were in full retreat, the Grim Reaper appeared.

“HALT!” he said, and the Grunts halted.

“KNOW THIS. THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE ATTACKED ARE MINE. THEY HAVE COME TO MY LAND, THEY HAVE DANCED ON THE EDGE OF THE KNIFE. AND THEY HAVE SURVIVED.

“THEY HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO SETTLE HERE AND PUT DOWN ROOTS. AND THEY HAVE EARNED MORE THAN THAT. THEY HAVE EARNED MY PATRONAGE. ANYONE WHO ATTACKS THEM, ATTACKS ME.”

The surviving Grunts were terrified, and when they fled, they spread word of the Muenda’s fearful patron far and wide.

Free from outside harassment, the Muendas had a chance to not only survive, but thrive. Though the land remained cold and harsh, they became skilled hunters and skilled farmers. They also developed fast, sleek ships that they sailed around the three lakes that surrounded their new homeland. Sometimes they took their furs and metals on these ships and traded them with other Sims for things they could not grow or hunt or produce themselves. Other times, the loaded their ships with their hardiest warriors and took what it was that they wanted. Unlike the Grunts, who fought and conquered and held onto lands, they engaged in quick raids – in and out, like lightning, sailing away with the loot before the enemy even knew what had hit them. They called these raids “Viking.”

But whether they sailed to trade or to raid, they always sailed under a black flag with a white design chosen to honor their patron: the skull and crossbones.

And as the Muendas grew stronger, Ophelia continued to see and converse with the Grim Reaper. It was she who handed down the Code that belonged to their people. She said it came from the Grim Reaper, and she may have been telling the truth, but then again she may not have been.

It was ten years after her first conversation with the Grim Reaper that Ophelia saw him for the last time. She was sitting near the door of her cottage, the largest in the Muendas’ little village, shelling peas. Her great-granddaughter Peponi, the child Willow had been carrying, sat by her side and helped her.

Ophelia was content. Her tribe had grown strong, their numbers swelled both by others escaping the Grunts and through natural growth. The warriors had just returned from their first successful raid, the ships full of treasure and useful goods. Willow had spoken in Ophelia’s place at the last council meeting. She was doing well and would continue to do well.

Then Ophelia and Peponi together heard beautiful music playing, music they had never heard before. And before them appeared the Grim Reaper, flanked on both sides by beautiful caramel-skinned woman with black hair and dark flashing eyes. Though it was cold, they wore skirts of grass and brassieres of coconuts. The Grim Reaper was holding a drink in one bony hand.

“OPHELIA OF THE MUENDAS, IT IS TIME,” the Grim Reaper said.

“Time for what?” asked Ophelia. “And who on earth are these ladies?”

“NOT FOR WHAT – FOR WHOM. IT IS TIME, OPHELIA, FOR YOU.”

“… Oh.”

“AS FOR THESE LADIES, THEY ARE HERE TO WELCOME YOU TO YOUR REWARD IN THE NEXT LIFE.” He held out the drink. “SO COME, OPHELIA. YOU HAVE LIVED A GOOD LIFE. YOU HAVE DANCED ON THE KNIFE’S EDGE BETTER THAN ANY OTHER MORTAL I HAVE KNOWN, AND I HAVE KNOWN A GREAT MANY MORTALS.”

And even though Peponi was starting to cry, and even though Ophelia’s joints were painful and arthritic, and even though Ophelia was very, very tired, a burst of energy rushed through her, and she sprang to her feet and took hold of the drink.

Or at least … the part of Ophelia that made her Ophelia sprang to her feet, leaving only the worn-out husk behind.

And through her tears, Peponi saw her great-grandmother – young and vibrant, as she had never seen her in life – walk off with the Grim Reaper. Just before Ophelia faded away forever, Peponi saw her great-grandmother take a sip of the drink the Grim Reaper had been holding.

“Say, this drink is pretty good,” Ophelia was heard to say as she began to fade. “What’s in it?”

“APPLES,” the Grim Reaper replied. “WELL … MAINLY APPLES.” What does the religion's mythology have to say about the afterlife? What happens to the soul or spirit after death? If ghosts are allowed to roam free in your game, how does this religion explain them?

Unlike, say, the Jacobans or Peterans, who place a great deal of emphasis on the afterlife, the Pirates’ religion is not afterlife-focused. They do believe in an existence after death. They believe that the dead are chained to this world after they pass, bound to forever exist in the area near where their mortal remains rest. They cannot interact with the world other than to occasionally scare passing Sims.

But it is not all grim and hopeless. Pirates believe that the favored dead who get to drink the Grim Reaper’s drink (called “scumble”) as their spirits are freed from their body have much greater freedom of movement. They can go over all the world, observe everything, and see everything they had not a chance to see while they were living. It’s not as good as getting to live again, but it sure beats being stuck in the graveyard forever.

In order to earn a sip of scumble, a Sim has to die “in bliss” – either at a ripe old age in platinum mood, or in some way that shows they were living until the last possible moment. So death in battle counts, execution under some circumstances might count, even death after a “hold my beer” moment would probably count. Death from an infected guinea pig bite or from burning the spaghetti? Not so much.

However, there are some Pirates who think that the souls the Grim Reaper has favored are allowed to return to the world for another shot at living, though other Pirates think these Pirates are out of their minds. Most Pirates focus on living as much as possible now, because they do not believe something better awaits them after death, and they are not going to assume that they will get another chance.

Tenets

-- G-Rated and Original (with the Original romantic and sexual Tenets included to help round out the Religion. They're useful, they just conflict with things). Banning is always a flat ban, but allowing can mean anything from 'this religion encourages that' to 'this religion stays out of that.' WRATH: Does the religion ban or allow outbursts of temper, aimless rage, or shouty tantrums? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

Pirates see no reason to bottle their rage and wrath. The Grim Reaper doesn’t much care about it, and plenty of Pirates think it’s better to deal with those types of emotions as quickly as possible so that one can move on and work on solving the problem at hand. Plus, let’s face it, it just sucks to not be able to get where you need to go, and shouting a bit makes you feel better. THEFT: Does the religion ban or allow taking things that belong to someone else, whether or not you can make use of them yourself? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

“Treat others as they would treat you.” Pirates trace their religious lineage back to a people who had everything stolen from them. They firmly believe that given the chance, most Sims would take everything they could from the Pirates, so they don’t see a problem “repaying the favor.” However, some Pirates believe that stealing from people who could not afford the loss is cruel, so they are careful about whom they steal from (or don’t steal at all, especially if they live in an area where the local authorities frown on that sort of thing). VIOLENCE: Does the religion ban or allow hostile physical contact, everything from a mean poke to make a point to feeding someone to a cowplant? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

Again – “treat others as they would treat you.” The Pirates live on a knife’s edge much of the time. Violence sometimes is just how you survive.

In areas where Pirates have control of the legal system, violence is even a key part of it. Trial by combat is a favored means of resolving disputes for some crimes. (Yes, some things are against the law, even in Pirate-controlled areas.)

Finally, there are some Pirates who take the worship of the Grim Reaper to extremes that even other Pirates see as unhealthy. Some Pirates are desperate for visions of their god, and as all Simmers know, there’s only one foolproof way to get the Grim Reaper to show up on a lot (without cheats): kill someone. So yes, there is a subculture of what’s best described as ritual murder, but this sort of thing is disavowed by most Pirates as being extremely bad for PR. INDISCRETION: Does the religion ban or allow rude behavior that may be incidental or harmless as easily as petty and mean? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

Pirates would roll their eyes at anyone banning Indiscretion. What’s the harm of an occasional dirty joke? And streaking sounds like a lot of fun when you have enough rum in you. Life’s short. Live it up! DISRESPECT: Does the religion ban or allow intentionally mean, sometimes petty, always insulting acts against others? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

Again, Pirates are rolling their eyes at religions that ban things like kicking flamingos, pranks, and soaping fountains. There are some Pirates who specifically go around soaping the fountains of religions who don’t like Disrespect. Life is too darn short not to laugh at the occasional Ventrilo-fart. ADULTERY: Does the religion ban or allow married people from romantic and/or sexual activity outside their marriage? Why or why not?

ALLOWED … with caveats.

“Give no quarter, but show no cruelty.” Most Pirates believe that cheating on a partner who isn’t expecting it or who hasn’t okayed it is cruel. If you can’t be monogamous, you shouldn’t be with someone who desperately wants it from you. So most Pirates get around this one of two ways (should they be inclined toward Adultery in the first place):

Open marriage arrangements (different from Polyamory below in that all parties aren’t necessarily part of the marriage)

Making sure the spouse/partner NEVER finds out about the cheating.

Some Pirates mix 1 and 2 by allowing for cheating ONLY when a couple is separated for long time periods (i.e. when one half of the couple is out Viking or being a pirate). When the couple is reunited, they generally follow a DADT policy on what happened when they were separated.

FORNICATION: Does the religion ban or allow unmarried people from sexual activity? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

You remember that part in the Austin Powers movie when he’s asked, “Sex?” (i.e. male or female) and he says, “Yes, please!”?

That’s how the Pirates see Fornication. SAME-SEX ROMANCE: Does the religion ban or allow romantic and/or sexual activity between two members of the same gender (lesbian, gay, or same-sex bisexual)? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

“Question not others’ bliss.” You want to bump uglies with someone who has the same set of uglies as you do? It’s none of the Pirates’ business. Unless of course you need someone to come to your wedding and drink all the good liquor and streak through the proceedings and make out with the mother of one of the parties behind the cake. Because if that’s what you need, the Pirates are happy to make it their business. POLYGAMY: Does the religion ban or allow plural or group marriage (multiple spouses, of either gender, at once)? Why or why not?

ALLOWED

Again, “question not others’ bliss.” Pirates see no problems with these kinds of arrangements, as long as everyone who is in them is happy.

Practical Matters

-- These aren't playable Tenets no matter which version of Religion you use, but it's still important to ask. Where is the religion originally from? Has it spread? Dwindled? How does its origin affect its doctrine?

The religion is originally from the land of Three Lakes, far to the north of Tressia, but you can find adherents to it in pretty much all lands – even Yacothia, for all that Pirates in Yacothia tend to be quiet about their religion.

The other major locus of the faith is Aarbyville. Aarbyville was founded by Vikings. It’s one-half of an island (or possibly an entire island; I will figure this out once I find a good neighborhood map for Gastrobury/Aarbyville), so the Vikings found it convenient to have a colony closer to civilization (so to speak). (Note: The island was completely uninhabited when they colonized it.) Today the two areas aren’t joined politically, but they do share a faith and culture.

As for how its origin affects its doctrine – the Pirates originally hail from a harsh, cold land where life is cheap and death is cheaper. It’s this memory of survival on the knife’s edge that animates everything they do. Does the religion have any local political influence? If so, how much influence, and how does the religion use that influence?

Right now, the Pirates only have one official adherent in Tressia – Edelle Finbor, the town thief. (And she keeps getting converted to the Peteran faith whenever I turn around.) Their political influence is … well, nil. But this could change someday! Does the religion have any local cultural or social influence? If so, how much influence, and how does the religion use that influence? Does culture and/or society have as much or more influence over the religion than it has over either of them?

In Tressia, the Pirates have very little social or cultural influence. Though this could change now that they have a Place of Worship (the Pirates’ Wharves). If anything, the Pirates’ influence exists on the edges, in the voice that whispers that freedom is just over the horizon if you’re strong enough and brave enough to chase it.

Most of the influence that the culture and society of Tressia has over the Pirates is convincing them to go underground and keep their views to themselves. But again, this could change – especially once Aarbyville gets annexed, or more Sims visit Three Lakes. Is marriage a religious matter? Is divorce? Are there religious requirements for an engagement, marriage, annulment, or divorce?

Marriage and divorce are not religious matters. In Three Lakes, marriage is regulated by the state. There are contracts drawn up, dowries exchanged, etc. In Aarbyville, things are a bit more casual – Aarbyville sees a lot of people “just passing through” and not necessarily so many permanent residents. But in Aarbyville, a couple (or threesome, foursome, etc.) deciding to settle down might have a big party and invite the whole block to come and celebrate their union(s).

In both Aarbyville and Three Lakes, however, marriages can only be conducted between people who are legally able to consent – i.e., adults.

Divorce is similarly handled by the state, as most marriage contracts in Three Lakes will have clauses explaining under what circumstances the marriage can be dissolved. (Usually “by the consent of both parties” is enough, though there are also some circumstances like adultery, abuse, etc. that allow a marriage to be ended even if one party doesn’t consent to it.) In Aarbyville, things are, again, more casual – usually a divorce happens when spouse has had enough and throws the other one out of the house.

In Tressia, if a Pirate wants to get married, they have a couple of options. One is to marry another Pirate in an informal handfasting. This marriage will not be recognized by the authorities in Tressia, which means that any children resulting from the marriage will not be considered legitimate and will be members of the Outlaw class. However, divorce will be a lot easier, since as far as the authorities in Tressia are concerned, the couple was never married in the first place.

The other way is to pretend to be a Peteran/Jacoban and get married in one of their churches. While this will confer legitimacy on any children, it does have the potential to blow up in the Pirate’s face if things go wrong.

The third option is to elope with the fiancé(e) and claim that they were married in a church elsewhere. I’m not sure that Brother Cernin or Shepherdess Alayne would put the time and effort into checking up on this. Well, Shepherdess Alayne might, but Brother Cernin probably wouldn’t. Still, this could blow up in the Pirate’s face if things go wrong. Is interfaith marriage allowed? If so, are there any special requirements for it? What are they and why? If interfaith marriage isn't allowed, is converting to marry allowed? Why or why not?

Interfaith marriage is a-ok. “Question not others’ bliss” and all. While some Pirates would wonder how well a union like that could last, depending on the religion of the non-Pirate party, most of them would recognize it’s really none of their business.

(Not that this’ll prevent them from gossiping/pointing and laughing if it all goes wrong. Because it won’t.) How does religious doctrine define virtue? How does it define vice? Does it have a concept of sin? Are there any particular prohibited behaviors beyond the official Tenets?

Virtue, to Pirates, is freedom. Virtue is following your bliss wherever it may take you. Virtue is courage, is defiance, is facing the world with a grin and a mocking, “Is that the worst you’ve got?” Virtue is drinking life to the dregs and spitting those dregs in the face of anyone who’d tell you differently.

And vice is the opposite. Vice is going along with the herd, in stifling yourself to please others. Vice is living your life according to someone else’s idea of right and wrong. Vice is ignoring what you really want and behaving yourself into the grave because you’re sure there will be a pie in the sky when you die. Vice is being so certain that you’ll be given your reward in heaven that you ignore the great gift you’ve been given here and now, i.e., the present.

Beyond all that (and now for something completely different), most prohibited behaviors have to do with the 5th precept: Render unto the Reaper’s what is the Reaper’s. Using the bone phone is banned, as is bringing back zombies using Vivificus Zombiae. Expello Mortis also sometimes comes under this category. Pleading for the life of a loved one is frowned upon, but some Pirates reason that if the Grim Reaper really wants that soul, he’ll take it no matter what your Sim says. Elixir of Life just barely squeaks by as acceptable for a couple of reasons: 1) given my aging mod, the 3-5 days you gain from a single dose are the equivalent of a few months/just over a year, so, no big deal, and 2) Elixir of Life doesn’t really keep you from dying, it just keeps you from aging and getting wrinkly. Are there any particular activities the religion prohibits only at Places of Worship? Is there an expected manner of dress at Places of Worship?

There are three categories of Places of Worship. One is the Temple of the Grim at Three Lakes. (Which I have to think up what that’s gonna look like and … you know … build it …). The next category is made up of the various taverns, thieves’ dens, etc. across the land. Pirates believe that anywhere multiple Pirates are gathered to eat, drink, and be merry (i.e. enjoy life) is a Place of Worship. The last Place of Worship is the meeting places of those Sims who tread the darker type of Pirate-ism … the part that involves chasing visions of the Grim Reaper.

At the Temple of the Grim, solemn reflection is encouraged. Sims who come here generally dress in their best and at least attempt to behave themselves. For many Pirates, seeing the Temple of the Grim is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they can keep a lid on it for a few hours.

In the various taverns, etc., anything goes! The rule is “come as you are and do as you please.” (Which means if you’re a bookish Sim who prefers a quiet evening at home to a riotous night on the town … maybe you won’t stay long.) The only thing that won’t be tolerated is not enjoying yourself.

As for the areas that the darker sects use … it’s best to follow the house rules there, whatever they happen to be, or else you might be the one summoning the Grim Reaper to see the group … Who builds and maintains Places of Worship? Where do the funds to do so come from?

The Temple of the Grim was built by the Vikings of Three Lakes, using funds and treasure taken from defeated enemies. It was considered fitting at the time to pay back the Grim Reaper using some of the spoils from victories he sent them. Today Vikings still donate part of the spoils of their victories to the Temple.

As for the taverns and bars, those tend to be private businesses (even if they’re freebie lots, I’m just going to say they’re owned by some of the Population Multiplier Sims). They charge for drinks, food, room rental, etc. and run the way any bar, inn or restaurant would.

The areas run by the darker sects … well, they tend to be frowned upon by the local authorities, so, the first criteria is that they are in places where the local authorities won’t go. So they could be a member’s basement, or a remote part of the woods, or an old abandoned warehouse. So I guess the answer to this one is YMMV – it very much depends on the circumstances. How does the religion deal with abandoned, unwanted, orphaned, or imperiled children among its followers? Does the religion have any influence over what happens to them at all? (This may vary depending on your game setting and how reflective of reality it is. The US stopped using orphanages altogether in the late 1970s and switched to the foster care system, though not every TV writer has picked up on the change.)

How much influence Pirates have over abandoned/unwanted/imperiled/orphaned children depends on where these kids are. If the kids are in Three Lakes or Aarbyville, Pirates will have some say in what happens to the children. The authorities in Three Lakes will re-home children when necessary. The same thing will happen in Aarbyville.

Outside of Three Lakes and Aarbyville, Pirates have very little official influence over what happens to imperiled children of their number. This doesn’t always stop them from taking matters into their own hands – whether by “dealing with” the parties imperiling the children, or, if the children have no one to care for them, taking the kids in and giving the finger to any authorities who might have different ideas.

Pirates also tend to be relatively welcoming of runaways and stowaways, at least, if they can be convinced that the kids in question are running away from thing worth running away from (and not just exhibiting poor decision-making skills). Many Pirates started out life as runaways and stowaways themselves. To abandon a child in need, especially a child running away from something horrible, is cruel in many Pirates’ eyes. (“Teenager” also counts as child in this formulation.) What are the religion's views on each of the playable supernatural life states (aliens, zombies, vampires, servos, werewolves, plantsims, Bigfoot, witches and wizards)? Why does the religion have those views? Are any life states favored over the others, or over regular Sims? Are any life states looked down on or forbidden from the religion?

Fae/Half-Fae: Pirates have no official issues with these Sims. Even though Fae are very long-lived, Pirates know they can die, so they’re not exactly flouting the Grim Reaper just by existing. Half-Fae are seen as the same as regular Sims. Of course, some Pirates – like those who got abducted when they didn’t want to be – might have problems with the Fae, but that’s, well, life.

Zombies: Pirates have … issues with zombies. They believe that zombies, by the mere fact of their existing, are breaking the 5th precept. However, one thing that Pirates keep in mind is that zombies generally didn’t ask to be resurrected that way and often had no choice in the matter whatsoever. So some Pirates believe that zombies can get a sip of scumble if they manage to die in bliss, but it’s harder for them than regular Sims (because death by old age is off the table).

Vampires: Pirates believe that vampires are flouting the 5th precept just by existing, especially those who were turned by choice. Most Pirates will not react well to a vampire. They also believe that it’s impossible for a vampire to get a sip of scumble when they die, no matter how blissful their death. But the exception to this is vampires who were turned involuntarily and are seeking a cure. Pirates are much more likely to help those vampires.

Servos: Pirates follow the duck rule when it comes to Servos: i.e., Servos act like Sims, talk like Sims, feel like Sims, have Wants and Fears like Sims – so they’re Sims. And Servos can die, so it’s not like they’re flouting the Grim Reaper just by existing. Pirates are likely to be welcoming of Servos, especially if they’re fleeing mistreatment at the hands of other religions.

Werewolves: Pirates also have no problems with werewolves. Some are likely to admire werewolves’ ability to let their inner beast out in the most literal of fashions. As long as the werewolf doesn’t maul the entire crew, they’re good with Pirates.

Plantsims: Whether Plantsims happen to follow the Four Ideals or now, Pirates have no quarrel with them. True, they might roll their eyes at Plantsims’ squeamishness when it comes to violence, but for the most part, Pirates see Plantsims as good if rather naïve souls.

Bigfoot: Since Bigfoot is a native of Three Lakes, Pirates tend to get on quite well with him. He’s welcome to join the crew if he likes, or if he’d prefer to stay in his cave, that’s ok too. “Question not others’ bliss” and all that.

Witches & wizards: Let’s get one thing straight: Just being a witch or wizard is not enough to get you on any Pirate’s shit list. The only time Pirates have issues with witches and wizards is if they’re performing one of two spells: Expello Mortis and Vivificus Zombiae. Pirates see both as interfering with the Grim Reaper’s business. Now, Light witches and wizards will insist that Expello Mortis is not interfering with the Grim Reaper’s business, as any Sim who they save using that spell is only mostly dead, which as we all know, means slightly alive. (Whether Pirates accept this is up to the individual Pirate.) Dark witches and wizards are more likely to justify their Vivificus Zombiae spell by claiming that they’re dancing on the knife’s edge. If the Grim Reaper has a problem with it … well, he knows where to find them.

Does the religion offer sanctuary? If so, are there eligibility requirements for it and what, if any, are they?

Since the Pirates are very loosely organized, they don’t really offer sanctuary on any kind of official basis. Which isn’t to say that individual Pirates won’t help individual fugitives from the law whom they find to be sympathetic, because they totally will. But it’s not so much “sanctuary” as, “Here, hide under these blankets while I lie to the guards until I’m blue in the face.” In this case, the eligibility requirements are whatever it takes to arouse the sympathy of the individual Pirate.

Aarbyville also offers sanctuary of a kind to anyone who makes it to their shores – mostly because they don’t extradite people to other countries. If they have a problem with you, they will let you know and deal with it themselves. If they don’t, you’re free to stay in Aarbyville as long as you like.

Clergy

-- You can't designate them in the mod, but you might want them in your game. "Clergy" is used as a gender-neutral term despite the Christian shadings, intended to designate Sims who help manage the religious needs of their community in some way, putting the 'organized' into 'organized religion.' Does the religion have clergy at all? If so, what are they called? If not, how do Sims manage their own religious needs?

Outside of Three Lakes and the darker sects, there really aren’t any clergy members for the Pirate faith. Sims manage their own religious needs by living life to the fullest and teaching the kids the precepts of the Pirate faith. Things are deliberately kept simple because most Pirates don’t want clergy. They don’t like the idea of people telling them what to do or interpreting their religion for them. Who is eligible to join the clergy? Is anyone barred from it? Why?

In Three Lakes, clergy members are the shamans who oversee the Temple of the Grim. These are free to be both men and women. Sims who have “receptiveness” to the Grim Reaper are eligible. In practice, “receptiveness” can mean magical talent or an experience with the Grim Reaper before hitting the teen years. Being able to claim descent from Ophelia the Muenda is also helpful, though not in itself sufficient.

Clergy of the darker sects tends to be … self-selected. Usually one Sim will be determined to pursue visions of the Grim Reaper and will gather around him or her like-minded Sims. These sects tend to be small and short-lived: short-lived because local authorities everywhere tend to frown on serial killers, and small because, well, local authorities everywhere tend to frown on serial killers, and three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. (Also, these sects sometimes end up being “a religion for life but not for long,” which also keeps numbers down.) What does the clergy do? What rituals does the religion have that might require clergypersons to participate in? What duties do they have, sacred or secular?

In Three Lakes, the clergy runs the Temple of the Grim. They also conduct the rituals surrounding the dead and dying, from helping to prepare the dying for the end to overseeing the cremation of the dead. (Pirates cremate – they believe that this can stop someone else from bringing them back as a zombie. Burial at sea also works if they’re in a situation where cremation isn’t wise … like aboard a wooden ship.)

In terms of the darker sects, the clergy would conduct the rituals of initiation and all the rituals of summoning the Grim Reaper. They’d also have the duty of keeping the sect from being discovered by the authorities. Are there different levels of clergy? If so, what are they?

In Three Lakes, there are shamans and shamans-in-training – other than that, no real levels.

In the darker sects, there will probably be one lead clergy member and several acolytes. But these darker sects tend to be making things up as they go along, so what levels exist within the clergy vary from sect to sect. What do laypersons expect of the clergy?

In Three Lakes, the laity expect the clergy to keep the Grim Reaper happy enough that he doesn’t decide to wipe out the kingdom all in a go. The Grim Reaper is pretty chill, so this usually is not a difficult task. But in times of war/famine/plague, the clergy will probably get an earful from the laity about “why is this happening” and “what exactly are you doing to stop it?”

As for the darker sects … well, the vast majority of the laity don’t know they exist. As for the few lay people who do, they expect their clergy members to keep the Grim Reaper showing up on schedule (and to keep the rest of them from being caught by the local authorities). If they fail in this, they might end up making the Grim Reaper show up – just not in the way they planned. Are any vows attached to joining the clergy? If so, what are they? Is the clergy expected to do anything in particular differently than laypersons?

I have a hard time seeing Pirates being cool with the idea of vows. The only Sims I can see requiring vows are the darker sects, and those vows would be more around the idea of secrecy, with consequences for spilling the beans spelled out in excruciating detail. How are clergypersons fed, clothed, and housed? Not only in terms of special proscriptions, but-- are clergypersons expected to pay rent/bills? Grow or buy their own food? Make or buy their own clothes? In whole or in part (cassocks provided, boxer shorts not)? If the clergy isn't expected to be self-supporting, where do the funds and/or goods to support them come from?

Shamans are supported by booty and loot from successful Viking raids. The Temple gets a cut of the loot, and shamans are supported off the cut the Temple takes. Since they run the Temple … they pretty much get all of it. Shamans also may be supported by gifts Vikings make as thank-yous for a successful harvest, hunting season, etc.

As for the clergy of the darker sects, well, how they fund themselves varies from sect to sect. But let’s just say it’s a bad idea to leave a bequest to a member of one of the darker sects. If you do, you might end up getting an up close and personal experience with the Grim Reaper.

Ritual

-- Because raising Faith can just be talking to other Sims of the same religion, but it doesn't have to be. Remember, a ritual can be as elaborate as an official coronation or as simple as blowing out the candles to Happy Birthday To You. Does the religion require regular meetings to worship, or is private worship enough? Either way, how do members worship?

Pirates do enjoy communal worship in terms of meeting at their Places of Worship (i.e. bars and taverns), but it’s not really a “requirement.” The Grim Reaper doesn’t particularly care if you worship him or not, and Pirates are well aware of this. To them, worship is living life to the fullest, in whatever form that might take.

In Three Lakes, communal worship at the Temple of the Grim isn’t required – most of the time, if you want to give thanks or ask for favor, you’ll drop off your sacrifice/offering and trust the shamans to take care of the rest. The rest of the time, they’re off living their lives.

As for the darker sects … communal worship is definitely A Thing with them. And I’m sure you know exactly what it entails. Are there any regular rituals for the average meeting or private worship session? If so, what are they?

Pirate worship sessions in bars and taverns tend to be casual and low-key. But one thing that tends to indicate that this is a worship session and not just another night at the pub is the singing. What, exactly, is being sung depends on the singer. Sometimes it’s a rousing epic, sometimes it’s an old-fashioned sea shanty, sometimes a rowdy folk song. But if a Sim ever stumbles upon a bar full of half-drunk Sims singing a strange song that they somehow always know the words to, they’ve found their way into a Pirate worship session.

As for the darker sects, their worship sessions tend to vary from sect to sect. But the central part of it is always the vision of the Grim Reaper – which means that part of it always involves some poor Sim getting to know the Grim Reaper very, very well. Does the religion have any holy days (holidays)? If so, what kinds of holidays are they? What do they mark?

Pirates don’t really have set holidays. They tend to take their celebrations as they come, since the idea of putting off a party is anathema to them. Most of the time, Pirates will set aside time to celebrate whenever they have a triumph – whether that triumph is a bountiful harvest, a successful raid or voyage, or a wedding. Does the religion require any special observances of holy days, if it has them (feasting, fasting, celebrations, obligatory services or personal rituals)? If so, what are they and why are they required? Are there optional special observances for some of the holy days? If so, what are they and why are they optional? Why would someone choose to observe them or not observe them?

N/A Are there ritual requirements, observations, purifications, or optional blessings for significant life events (birth, age transition, death, marriage, divorce, illness, miscarriage, sex?)

Birth: Not really. The family might throw a feast or a party to celebrate the new arrival, but there aren’t set rituals for it.

Age Transition: Again, a successful age transition might be a great excuse for a party, but there aren’t particular rituals for it.

Sex: Pirates would think anyone interrupting sex for a religious ritual is out of their mind.

Marriage: In Three Lakes, a marrying couple might make an offering at the Temple of the Grim Reaper for luck, and there are secular festivities and celebrations. Other than that, not really.

Divorce: No real ritual for it, although if one of the parties is really pissed, they might make an offering at the Temple of the Grim for bad luck for their ex, or hand their name off to one of the darker sects …

Illness/Miscarriage: No real ritual.

Death: Ok, now we’re talking. Pirates are very particular about what happens to their bodies after they die. They insist on cremation, or failing cremation, burial at sea. This is because they believe that cremated bodies can’t be brought back as zombies. (They’re wrong, but it’s what they believe.) Burial at sea serves the same purpose because there’s no grave for a passing evil wizard or person with a bone phone to disturb. The second thing they insist upon is that the ashes stay together. They believe if ashes are spread or scattered, the deceased’s consciousness is fractured and split with them. Most Pirates view this as a fate worse than simple death. Does the religion use ritual to cleanse or forgive worshipers' transgressions, or does it expect practical restitution, or have any way to make up for mistakes at all?

Pirates are focused on the present. Once a transgression has happened, well, it’s happened and you can’t go back and change it. The best you can do is take a deep breath and try to do better next time. And since the Grim Reaper isn’t exactly keeping a tally of the shit you do, there’s no real reason to tie yourself in knots trying to make up for past mistakes.

If an individual Pirate is feeling guilty over something s/he did, his/her fellow Pirates would suggest practical restitution of some kind. But in that case, the restitution is more about alleviating the personal guilt and helping the Pirate to move forward than restoring some sense of cosmic balance or earning forgiveness for a sin.

Special Notes

-- There's definitely something about your religion that I haven't covered, something that you really want to write down. What else is there about the religion that's important to know?

Prates are obsessed with fair play. Except for the darker sects, they usually insist that any person they attack/attempt to harm have a fair chance to fight back.

Furthermore, in areas like Aarbyville and Three Lakes, they do attempt to keep some kind of public order, even if things like Theft and Violence are permitted in a religious sense. Theft is outlawed in most Pirate territories, though raiding from other territories/being a small-p pirate on the high seas is fine.

Laws in Three Lakes and Aarbyville also focus on trying to get two fighting parties to resolve disputes between themselves rather than involve the state as a party to the dispute. Because of this, civil suits/trial by combat tend to be more common than criminal trials.

Another important thing to note is that the Pirates do not believe in the death penalty where they have control of laws. They will impose fines (ruinous fines even), forced labor, and physical punishment, but not the death penalty. (They don’t do imprisonment, mostly because they see that as a waste of resources.) Of course, regarding trial by combat above – sometimes that trial by combat will be a duel to the death, either because that’s how it works out or because that’s how both parties agreed to resolve their dispute. But Pirates don’t see that as the death penalty, because both parties have a fighting chance to make it out alive.

Even some of the darker sects might give their victims some kind of chance, reasoning that whether one of their number gets killed or the chosen victim, they’re still getting contact with Grim Reaper. But they usually stack the odds in favor of their “champion” for lack of a better word, because of course if a victim escapes, the jig is usually up with the darker sect. (Even in Aarbyville and Three Lakes, nobody likes a serial killing cult!)

Lastly, Pirates believe that the Grim Reaper is inordinately fond of cats. They believe that anyone who purposely harms a cat will face the wrath the Grim Reaper reserves for very, very few. And in a way, the Pirates are right … because if they hear of anyone hurting a cat, they are going to open up a can of whoop-ass on that Sim’s behind, the likes of which has never been seen before!

#tressia bacc #tressia bacc: rules #tressia bacc: religions #sims 2 religion mod #pirate code

6 notes · View notes