Join the Flames

Weeeeeelp

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 04:57:58 GMT

New Amascut lore dropped, this time more centered on her mother (well, for some value of mother, like if you have a pet cat, are you that cat's mother?) Elidinis.

And from what I have read so far... it doesn't really contradict my impression of Elidinis as an absent mother, but maybe a mother who didn't care until someone put a restraining order on her. Well, not her specifically but the effect was still the same. Then she cared so much that she went world hopping looking for a magical doohickey and extincted a whole species because they genocided the creator of the magical doohickey and her many many many children.

But do we see Elidinis come back after the restraining order was lifted? No, not really. But the magical doohickey was a reality warping thing that lies about being a reality warping thing because there is no such thing as magic oh shit oh fuck is that a god killing us what the fuck™, so the story writers can just pull a "Actually she was hiding in plain sight the whole time!" plot.

And I haven't even gotten to the part of the lore drop that talks about Amascut herself. Apparently Elidinis was the first Goddess of Rebirth until that was delegated to Amascut? And now we're getting a different perspective on what happened between Amascut and the Elder Godess Mah.

This pantheon is like a found family gone horribly wrong.

comments

Deep time and young gods

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 04:41:29 GMT

So in Runescape canon, Amascut and Icthlarin are young gods. Not the youngest, but still, young. Working from their established mythologies, they are maybe 8,000 years old. They may be much older than that, existing as divine beasts native to the world or Colossi for millennia before being "lifted" by Tumeken, a god from another world and commonly viewed as their father, which is from where my 8,000 year guess comes.

Funny thing that I realized today – 12,000 years is about half of a certain Milankovitch cycle here on Earth, specifically the cycle of axial precession. 12,000 years ago, the Sahara was a green savanna which experienced torrential seasonal rains. By that time, humans were living in the area, living near sources of water that flooded every year and hunting abundant game. They developed complex cultures and learned to work with the seasonal floods, but as the African Humid Period ended around 6,000 to 5,000 years ago, those cultures had to shift from from hunter-gather cultures to pastoral cultures. As the Garden of Eden faded away, the memory of those seasonal floods served those humans that retreated to the now less swampy Nile well, as the Nile continued to flood, year after year, though in a greatly diminished manner.

I wonder if the story writers for Runescape had this in mind when coming up with the lore for the game. Much of it was developed in a piecemeal fashion, quest by quest. The overall skeleton may have been established in at least this much detail by Paul Gower decades ago, however. I used to think that the lore timeline was absurdly long. But in light of this, the timeline of the desertification of the Kharid fits almost too well with timeline of the desertification of North Africa. I also used to think it was too short of a timeline for non-anthropic climate change, but nope.

Hell, we are seeing so much climate change happening now, in the span of our relatively short lifetimes.

It's something to keep in mind when writing a character as old as even a few millennia. Or even as young as a few millennia – That timespan could be a significant portion of a planet's axial precession period. It's not long enough for the continents to drift but it is long enough for climates to shift. And long enough to watch culture adapt in response.

Wild to think how much the African Humid Period affected us as a species. The glacial period just before it was another very dry period for north Africa, which was a great impassible desert. Almost like the Sahara's ancestor.

comments

Book of Amascut

Sat, 25 May 2024 05:36:05 GMT

Time brought its revenges, and for the wrong-doing of existence all things paid the penalty of death.

-- Anaximandros of Miletus

The price of distinction is separation.
The price of existence is destruction.
The price of structure is entropy.
The price of life is death.
the price of intelligence is fear.
The price of sentience is war.
How much greater must be the price gods pay for their existence?

-- unknown

( Cosmogeny )
( The Time of Beasts )
( The Age of Arrival )
( The Zarosian War )
( The Age of Madness )
( The Long Quiet )
( The Return of the Gods )

comments

Under the Water by The Pretty Reckless

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 04:40:04 GMT

The themes of a daughter that wants to be saved by her father but is instead punished and restrained, an absent mother, and a chaotic life that turns friends into enemies and drowns everything in grief.

https://youtu.be/xBCrUByJzGk

comments

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 05:22:42 GMT

So after a drought of Amascut related content, the developers of Old School RuneScape (Runescape's low-poly concession to millennial nostalgia for how grindy the game used to be) put out a trailer for The Tombs of Amascut, a new dungeon raid

The lore of Old School Runescape and Runescape itself have been diverging since the players and devs collectively decided nostalgia wasn't enough to keep the game alive but disgust with the main games post 2011 development prevented the lores from syncing up. But it looks like somehow the lore about Amascut being a demigod instead of a full god made it through, but she's trying to become a full god? Huh.

comments

[ooc: music and old posts]

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 19:06:07 GMT

I had to go back and reread an old story post from Dec. 30th, 2013 just because I was listening to a mostly Phantogram playlist when You're Mine came on and reminded me of how manipulative I wrote Amascut back then.

Whenever I listen to Phantogram's stuff from their Voices or Three albums I have to resist putting all of it onto my Amascut playlist. They were going through some really dark times and their music was superficially poppy, but quite disturbing on the deep end for those paying attention to the lyrics. It would match Amascut too well, if it weren't for the modern references.

I should post an update to Amascut's playlist. The damn thing is LONG. 3 hours 15 minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNwP5iOZFUE&list=PLIqKxGdb5h7zPi4R9DawiJaPDYYTIGZ2R

comments

She is Murder by V.A.S.T.

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 15:50:49 GMT

https://youtu.be/y2CDMUGVE_k

comments

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 14:57:42 GMT

"With no thoughts of an afterlife, they live a simple life of kill and be killed. You should strive for such an existence, for therein lies happiness."

-- Sumona, when asked about the nature of slayer monsters.

comments

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 21:42:14 GMT

You are not the consumer, you are the consumed.

comments

Possible names for AU's?

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 04:36:59 GMT

Amascut Bintre Al-Kharidi?
Saareh Bintre Al-Kharidi?
Sabakuno Akane?

comments

Last year's goat post? Did I forget to actually post this?

Thu, 08 Dec 2016 05:38:16 GMT

Late in the day the Insolation sailed its way into the Caribbean inlet to collect its regular harvest of cacao beans from the little caches around the surrounding forest where they have been fermenting or drying.

While carefully monitoring the air currents so that the smell of roasting cocoa doesn't spread too far, the captain noticed a chill coming from the mountains and the tavern. Smiling to herself, she assumed that she successfully avoided Hallowe'en this year. It might even be time to set up another flammable sculpture.

Later in the dead of night, she paddles a canoe loaded down with tinder dry wood and palm leaves into the lake toward the shore closest to the tavern. She watches the shore and the tavern carefully, lest anyone catches her building the highly flammable Christmas protest goat.

But instead of a Yule Goat this year, Milliways will have to settle for the impromptu pyre ship burning out on the lake. That is, if anyone was even awake to notice it before it burned enough to sink below the surface.

There is no way in hell ~~Amascut~~Captain Black is coming ashore when that THING is stalking about.

The Insolation is gone before dawn due to the captain insisting that several bad omens had suddenly appeared. The crew was skeptical, but then again she was formerly the ship's sea witch. But then again, she was never much of a sea witch, just a sea-loving sand witch.

Then again, arguing with any sort of witch is bad luck.

comments

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 18:33:34 GMT

Fallen Goddess Amascut

One Word by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
Nature Boy by David Bowie & Massive Attack	Play ►
Center of the Sun by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
The End is the Beginning is the End by Smashing Pumpkins	Play ►
Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham	Play ►
Extraordinary Way by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins	Play ►
Can't Change Me by Chris Cornell	Play ►
Wild by Poe	Play ►
Temptation by VAST	Play ►
Judith by A Perfect Circle	Play ►
Better Living Though Chemistry by Queens of the Stone Age	Play ►
Arsenal by KidneyThieves	Play ►
Devour by Shinedown	Play ►
Fall Into Sleep by Mudvayne	Play ►
Do The Evolution by Pearl Jam	Play ►
Miss Murder by AFI	Play ►
1imb0 by The Stray Vocaloids	Play ►
Never Be Free by Garbage	Play ►
Proud Like a God by Guano Apes	Play ►
Sleep Now In The Fire by Rage Against The Machine	Play ►
Temptation Waits by Garbage	Play ►
When Animals Attack by Institute	Play ►
Hypnotized by Ian Taylor and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Ænema by Tool	Play ►
Tikal by E.S. Posthumus	Play ►
Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei	Play ►
Cat People(Putting Out The Fire) by David Bowie	Play ►
Final Showdown by Stephen Lord and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Last Man Standing by Hybrid	Play ►
CliffHanger by Ian Taylor and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine	Play ►
Wreath of Barbs by :Wumpscut:	Play ►
Time Will Destroy Everything by Garbage	Play ►
Radioactive Toy by Porcupine Tree	Play ►
Amascut the Devourer by Adam Bond and the Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
The Hollow by A Perfect Circle	Play ►

Playlist format by wastintime and posted in rp_tutorials

comments

Dimension of Disaster/not so dark timeline AU, AU week

Sun, 19 Jul 2015 06:26:44 GMT

So, there is a canonical Runescape AU that comes to light in the quest Dimension of Disaster, and while the scope of Dimension of Disaster is limited to the city of Varrock, there are some things that can be inferred about the rest of the world, especially given that the quest is a It's a Wonderful Life like story in that [player character] never went adventuring and some odd things about New Varrock.

Somehow, without [player character]'s interference, Amascut is neither phobic toward cat's or opposed to the undead. Are there more time travel shenanigans in store for [player character]? Is [player character] responsible for Amascut's phobia? Maybe, but it is hard to imagine how the Dimension of Disaster AU could happen while Amascut was around to pwn zombies or how she wound up being cat-friendly without time-travel shenanigans.

So the evidence for Amascut's changed stance is the Necrofelinomicon, a book found in New Varrock which plays part in the tasks/achievements A Cat's Bane and The Mummy Returns, in which a purple cat, a hellcat, a clockwork cat, and a generic stray cat perform a ritual to Amascut to bring their friend Fluffs back to life as a mummified cat (which is punny since she is the mother of all kittens that [player character] may acquire)

So, maybe, Amascut is not opposed to serving as the goddess of rebirth, either? Well, goddess of undeath, at least. Or undead cats. *shrug*

An exerpt from the Necrofelinomicon:

That is not dead which can eternal meow.

And with strange aeons even death may die nine times.

Amascut, not being cat-phobic, would have been coming into Milliways as cat-like things regularly. It sounds like that in the AU that she may be a bit of an eldritch thing (though, not an elder goddess and a pretty low-tier goddess who can still get away with directly interacting with mortals). ~~I think I will have her come in as a nebulous cat shaped dark cloud with predatory red eyes~~ Dark grey fluffy kitty with bright red eyes. Tis the Amuskitty. Ha.

comments

Sun, 14 Jun 2015 04:33:12 GMT

"You aren't a daughter of the sun; you are the ashes of a fierce star, disinterred after billions of years and revived to shine its horrifying light one last time. You aren't death betrayed; you are death gone completely mad!"

comments

For Sunshine

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 04:50:45 GMT

The front door opens, allowing in a young girl with strawberry blonde hair. Dressed in simple clothes that could do with a wash and carrying two books, Sarah momentarily stops at the threshold pleased that she has finally found a door back to this place and continues to the bar.

One of the books she leaves at the Bar semi-anonymously for Rae Seddon, specifically the younger version that has been visiting. ( It's a cookbook. )

The other book is a book of spells, and before she heads outside to read it she asks Bar for firewood.

You can find her outside, sitting in the middle of a large circle where the snow has melted and evaporated away, inside of which is a smaller circle of carefully arranged wood piles. Four burn currently, somehow making the inside of the circle as bright and warm as the middle of a summer day despite the cold and the time of day (or night). It's not quite a substitute for summer, or for the weather near the Caribbean inlet, but Sarah is content with her work.

comments

Ello, what are you after then?

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 07:26:07 GMT

Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then? Ello, what are you after then?

comments

The Elders!

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 07:25:41 GMT

Mah, the child and the spark, represented by the spiral
- From darkness is born light, the spark of life. The child is full of wonder, imagination, and innocence. Thus came Edda-Mah.
- From Mah, the light by which to see, the dark in which to hide. The potential for all life, and a place for all things.
Bik, the youth and the shaper, represented by the triangle
- From matter is born shape, ever growing and changing. The youth increases in knowledge and power. Thus came Edda-Bik.
- From Bik, the clay to shape, to build and destroy. Form and reform. The changing of states, of forms, of function.
Wen, the corpse and the unmaker, represented by the diamond
- From the cold is born fear, shrinking and death. The corpse lies still and lifeless. Thus came Edda-Wen.
- From Wen, the cold to harden and freeze, to brittle and fracture the clay. The ending of things, to break apart. To reflect on the past.
Ful, the maiden and the initiator, represented by the pentagon
- From the heat is born passion, growth and life. The maiden feels love and joy. Thus came Edda-Ful.
- From Ful, the heat to soften and burn, to work and fire the clay. The beginning of things, to start anew. To experience the now.
Jas, the matron and the guide, represented by the hexagon
- From life is born experience, wisdom and intelligence. The matron is nurturing and caring. Thus came Edda-Jas.
- From Jas, the thought to lead them all. The preparation, the plan, the execution. To look to the future.

comments

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 22:00:19 GMT

Fallen Goddess Amascut

One Word by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
Nature Boy by David Bowie & Massive Attack	Play ►
Center of the Sun by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
The End is the Beginning is the End by Smashing Pumpkins	Play ►
Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham	Play ►
Extraordinary Way by Conjure One feat. Poe	Play ►
The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins	Play ►
Can't Change Me by Chris Cornell	Play ►
Wild by Poe	Play ►
Quietly by Guano Apes	Play ►
Judith by A Perfect Circle	Play ►
Better Living Though Chemistry by Queens of the Stone Age	Play ►
Arsenal by KidneyThieves	Play ►
Devour by Shinedown	Play ►
Fall Into Sleep by Mudvayne	Play ►
Do The Evolution by Pearl Jam	Play ►
Miss Murder by AFI	Play ►
1imb0 by The Stray Vocaloids	Play ►
Never Be Free by Garbage	Play ►
Proud Like a God by Guano Apes	Play ►
Temptation Waits by Garbage	Play ►
When Animals Attack by Institute	Play ►
Hypnotized by Ian Taylor and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Ænema by Tool	Play ►
Tikal by E.S. Posthumus	Play ►
Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei	Play ►
Cat People(Putting Out The Fire) by David Bowie	Play ►
Final Showdown by Stephen Lord and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Last Man Standing by Hybrid	Play ►
CliffHanger by Ian Taylor and The Runescape Audio Team	Play ►
Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine	Play ►
Wreath of Barbs by :Wumpscut:	Play ►
Time Will Destroy Everything by Garbage	Play ►

Playlist format by wastintime and posted in rp_tutorials

comments

Out to sea

Thu, 28 Aug 2014 06:01:36 GMT

( a fruitless investigation in Varrock )

omniscientSavant [OS] has begun trolling mnemonicPhagocyte [MF]
OS: We know it was you.
OS: We just can't figure out why.
OS: Do you seriously hate him that much?
OS: Come on; you aren't going to let someone else take credit for this.
OS: Hello?
OS: Are you even there?
OS: Am I just sending words to die in the abyss?
omniscientSavant has ceased trolling mnemonicPhagocyte

( A witch appears in Port Sarim )

comments

Chaos altar maze

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 03:55:40 GMT

Faerie fire erupts on one of the many islands floating in the black and endless void surrounding the chaos rune altar. As quickly as it flares up it dies and out of the nothingness emerges Lucien, embraced tightly by Keli grinning from ear to ear.

"Ah, finally, some privacy for me and my Lucy," Keli teases.

comments

Sat, 14 Jun 2014 07:36:49 GMT

( Southwest Varrock )

( Afterwards, in Varrock Castle )

comments

Meanwhile, in southwestern Varrock

Thu, 12 Jun 2014 05:07:52 GMT

"You know what, that's it. I am done with sneaking around. We've been training for war for months now and meanwhile the Phoenix are freely running around taking money that should be ours," complains Katrine. All around the room there are grumbles of agreement from members of the Black Arm Gang.

The imposter hiding behind Keli Raven's face and mannerisms would have enjoyed the onesided bloodbath that would have resulted from throwing the Black Arm Gang at the shrunken but well prepared Phoenix Gang. There are more important things than causing a minor gang war that would be over in maybe a week, however.

Keli answers her sister Katrine, "Straven got lucky and convinced the weaponsmaster to stay with him and got away with most of the crossbows. We had to be ready for that. I am getting tired of this too, but while we've been getting ready, they've been enjoying easy times." At this, members of the gang grumble. "They've been living easy," Keli says dismissively. More grumbling. "Thinking we are too busy hiding from them to do anything else. They've been getting soft."

"I am not too sure about that," a voice speaks up in the crowd. "If you hadn't noticed, some of us didn't show up." The Black Arms start looking around the room to figure out who is missing. Keli, visibly flustered, starts looking around, but specifically for the voice that interrupted her.

"If they don't know already, they'll find out eventually," Katrine says, sternly. "Waiting longer will just give them more time to find out and prepare for you, Keli. That is if they aren't doing that already."

"If they are preparing for me, they are dead," Keli growls back. But she hastily adds, "because we are ready for them; all that they are ready for is me."

The Black Arms start hooting and cheering, but Katrine's demeanor stays the same. "You are going to stay hidden. I don't want you to get hurt, Keli."

"Come on Katrine, she is our ace in the hole," speaks up one of the Black Arm thugs. "She's tough, too; remember that one time I stabbed her? And she's walking around like it never happen--"

"You son of a bitch, you did what?" Katrine pounces, but Keli intercepts. "I'll kill you! Let me go!"

"Katrine! I am fine!" Keli yells.

"I-I thought you knew," says the thug, shocked. "It was an accident! How could you have not known?"

"She didn't know," Keli answers back at the thug seething.

Katrine stops struggling and backs off, and looks bewildered at her sister. "When did this happen? How?"

Just then, someone, or multiple someones, start beating on the door to the temporary hideout. "They've found us! Get ready!" Katrine orders.

Keli, her nostrils flaring, her fists shaking, and enraged, angrily informs the room, "It's not them. It's zombies."

There is a clamour in the room as many of the Black Arms remember why there would be zombies outside. Lucien. But there is excitement, too. No one has ever seen Keli in such a livid state before. Things are going to go kaboom.

"Zombies are just a load of rotting meat, and what falls apart easier than rotten meat? We are ready for these bastards, whoever they are!" Katrine reassures the room.

"THEY ARE GOING BACK INTO THE GROUND!" rages Keli before kicking out the door.

comments

Goddess of Tequila?

Sun, 20 Apr 2014 19:33:27 GMT

For future reference, these are the folks who make those skull-shaped tequila bottles

http://www.kahtequila.com/

comments

From Bilrach's memories

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:55:09 GMT

Then, the strangers Icthlarin and Amascut appeared and told us of a world with weaklings, assaulted by an implacable foe. They needed the help of beings as mighty as we, and in return offered us places of great respect and influence. This prompted a debate - the greatest I had seen in my short life - about whether to stay or to go. The sides were evenly matched in number, but with both Temekel and Azzanadra in favour of leaving, the subsequent violence left Salisard dead and Abrogal atop the marker stone. I do not know what Icthlarin thought of this, but his companion Amascut seemed dismayed by our ways and walked out of our village towards the volcano. We did not see her again.

With the matter agreed, the Mahjarrat tribe made preparation for travel and gathered up our meagre belongings. Before we were finished, a great bellowing roar came from the volcano. I do not know if it was Mother Mah, but I cannot imagine what else it could have been. Great rocks began falling onto the village, shaken loose from above, and there was no time to consider the Ritual of Enervation. We had no choice but to evacuate immediately, and fled with Icthlarin to his world. None of us ever returned to our homeland.

So, an encounter with a possible Elder God and abandonment.
Full transcript here

comments

Today in canon reveals

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:38:57 GMT

Kharshai's memory of Tumeken, Lord of Light

comments