#metatext

fanon convention then seemed to be that Anakin Fell bc Obi-Wan was TOO attached, cared for him TOO much, wasn't strict ENOUGH etc etc. I think it's almost certainly the case these days that fandom prefers to write Anakin Falling bc Obi-Wan didn't show Anakin ENOUGH the depth of his attachment and his love, didn't let him know ENOUGH how much he cared, was TOO strict etc etc

Virostasis (virostasis.net) is a horror anthology/sandbox world from @skaiwrites (and other contributors where attributed). It is in active development, and stories set in the world may take many forms. As an anthology, stories may often be presented without any consistent chronology.

For the purposes of this blog, #about and #metatext will be used to indicate posts not set within the world itself (though it is perhaps unlikely that many stories will be posted to Tumblr directly)

Premise:

In some near future, a viral pathogen has infected a vast majority of the world's population, altering the human genome, tinting the skin a greenish blue as a subset of melanosomes are replaced with chloroplasts, and otherwise entirely revoking people's ability to change physically.

Skin is impenetrable. Bones unbreakable, but unfixable, too; if one has a broken leg as the virus begins to infect the body, the break will never heal, nerves sending shock after shock of undullable pain from the slightest pressure unto eternity.

Death is a distant memory (for most). Anyone with access to water, air, and sunlight has just enough energy to feel their life pass by, but those with empty stomachs still hunger.

source: tcrf page for deltarune

A thin and pliable volume, smelling faintly of dust.

[An excerpt from the ongoing Metatext: Rebound by Iosefa Elgin, a scholar excommunicated from the Church of Deneir for the heretical efforts to reconstruct the Metatext, her god's annal of lost and hidden knowledge.]

Of what value is a life? Far too esoteric a topic to warrant any serious critical consideration between these pages, surely - or so it would seem at first glance.

But once we push aside the mysticism and dewy-eyed sentiment so often clouding our assessment, it is clear that across all the spinning planes, each and every life does indeed have a quantifiable value. It is simply that not all are equally valuable.

Consider: we already know that the destruction of our material form is not the end. If anything, our souls are more free after death, transcending planar barriers in search of a resting place that best befits our deeds, beliefs, and station in life. But even this assessment is subject to market forces: Lord Kelemvor weighing our souls against how thoroughly we have given them over to other gods, empowering them in turn.

There is, of course, an alternate route: not at the end of the path, but the chance to retread it. Clerics across the Realms wield the power to return life to any soul deemed worthy or willing enough. It is strange, then, that these so frequently intersect with those deemed wealthy enough, for the components for such a spell are beyond the means of most mortals.

I have interviewed those who have made such a return, and in truth have found them to be of the most dull and unimaginative sort that I cannot possibly imagine what it is they were so eager to return to.

If a true assessment of the journey is to be made, then there is simply no replacement for embarking upon it oneself. Perhaps, one day, this great volume of learning will make me worthy enough to walk that path - and wealth enough to return.

after the intensive "what should I put in my profile" treatment

now facing the very first post syndrome the medications aimed to reduce