#laveleyan

[kiramessa]

I'm not sure if this is your brand of meta or whatever, but I'm replaying Faith's region, and I visited "Tweak" Kirby and his whole set up (notes, wall paint, etc.) there really seem (to me) to imply either he or his dad invented the bliss (or early prototypes) So I started to think that Tweak was the inventor and his dad took advantage of him and gave the formula, etc. to the cult. Anyway, I was wondering if you or anyone else had any related meta/theories/evidence related to this?

I noticed that when I played it too!! I think he mentions how the Seeds seem immune to any of its addictive effects, right? I always thought that was weird. It can’t just be luck that all of them wouldn’t have any problems with the drug–I mean, it could be, but I find that to be an unsatisfying answer. It honestly seems like all of them were dealt a really weird hand of fate, considering how everything fell into place like it did in Hope County–not to mention just how much RachelFaith is tied up in the finding, creating, and proliferation of the Bliss.

Tweak’s herbal remedies have similar uh, enhancing effects to the Deputy, albeit temporarily, but they also used a lot of the local fauna (and Bliss oil!) to do this. One of the plants is Jimson Weed, which itself is related to the flowers used to make Bliss, and also has hallucinatory properties. Which makes me assume that these herbal remedies are probably just a mind over matter type of endurance/resistance thing. Still, I find it interesting that the Deputy has to use Bliss oil to experience it. 

Honestly there’s so much up in the air about this that I can’t really safely call it a meta, it’s more like just a rambling theory with more questions/speculations than answers.

[Tweak’s notes: Wtf did dad make? Feels kinda like datura but less dry mouth/tachycardia/anxiety and more hallucinatoral[sic]/calm. Higher OD threshold too for sure. Modified jimson weed + additive in refinement? What parts of plant do they use? Consequence of aerosol? Tried tincture leaves + seeds extracted in alcohol. Effects similar but not right 100%. More hyoscyamine maybe. Experiment 22 inconclusive.]

In another room to the side of that, there’s tons of words painted on the walls: 

I always assumed that the painted words were left by Tweak’s father, so let me run with that theory for a bit before I debunk it: If he did write all this stuff, he clearly harbored a lot of guilt about what he did (as well as resentment for Faith and “he” [Joseph?]). I’d also hazard a guess that he was RachelFaith’s dealer before all this, and they worked together to either make Bliss or even spread it around the region. It’s RachelFaith’s family farm that was used to grow Bliss, if I recall correctly, and an NPC in Henbane says that the old summer camp was where the cult first found these flowers. RachelFaith went to this same summer camp, though I can’t quite figure out how all that factors in.

Another part of the painted graffiti are the words He lied to me. I’m going to assume that this “he” is Joseph, which makes me wonder what he told Tweak’s dad about the work he was doing. I can’t see why a local drug dealer who was clearly plying an already heavily addicted teenage girl with drugs would suddenly develop a conscience when he was asked to make yet another one. I mean, it’s clear that he did develop it, considering what he’s written all over the walls (and his presumed death/disappearance). But I find there’s too much missing for me to safely make an accurate or even intelligent guess as to what that… means.

This is where I think your idea that Tweak left all these messages really holds water and is very likely the truth. The first note we find says that Tweak’s dad made the drug, but didn’t tell Tweak much about it. Thus we can safely guess that Tweak’s dad lied to him about what the drug was, and its purpose–which would explain the words “he lied to me.” The repeated writing of “I’m sorry, I did it” make me think Tweak was the one selling the Bliss at first, until he figured out just what it could do and what it was being used for.

As far as “she is a liar” goes, it makes me wonder if Faith really was just a drug addict? I like to take her at her word for some of it–that there’s a grain of truth in every lie–so it’s possible she was an addict, but also clearly developing and selling drugs herself (maybe working with Tweak’s father and Tweak himself?). This also ties into what Tracey says about Faith in the jail: that she destroys things. This also ties into what people say of Faith–that it’s thanks to her that the cult spread as fast as they did, that she’s “a cancer.” This seems an especially personal hatred of her, and I can’t think of a more locally destructive person than a drug dealer, especially if said dealer then worked with an armed militia doomsday cult and basically destroyed the county’s ecosystem because of the drug. That’s about as destructive as you’re likely gonna get without like, dropping a fuckin’ bomb on the place.

So Faith could’ve worked with Tweak’s dad before making the Bliss, and helped in its actual creation (if we assume she found it at camp + spread it around + then discovered what it could do, and somewhere along the lines Joseph did, too).

In Faith’s defense, it’s clear she felt broken and miserable enough to reach out to the cult in the first place. Her telling the Deputy about how hurt she was, and how the Father showed her how much she was loved, are, I believe, genuinely what happened and how she felt about the experience–but it’s not like she wasn’t, y’know, smart about the whole thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew about the previous Faiths (who were also local women), and she offered use of the Bliss to Joseph as an ace up her sleeve to ensure that she wouldn’t be cast aside like the others.

So… yeah, see what I mean about a lot of speculation? :c

In this note, Tweak refers to Bliss (again, not by name) as a mind control drug. I can see why that might make him feel horribly guilty–a mind control drug is slightly different then like, weed or heroin or meth. I mean they all fuck with people’s brains and their ability to function, and some are even so addictive that it destroys people’s minds anyway, and they can OD and die on it, so… again, interesting that Tweak draws the line at mind control (albeit a gentle mind control–people are pretty darn happy in the Bliss). I think this is also why Tweak only gives the Deputy herbal remedies, temporary helpful things and the like. This is also why Bliss oil is the base for these things.

Tweak also notes that the cult doesn’t seem to have weaknesses (???), but that they’re “same as anybody else.” So maybe that’s saying how like, there’s no specific special way to take ‘em down–they’re just people like anyone else. His note of “No Bliss withdrawal?” interests me, because he’s actually right: we really don’t actually see anyone going through Bliss withdrawal among the cult. They’re either able to tolerate it, or they can’t. Hell, people who are baptized are clearly in the Bliss as well and they’re able to hold normal conversations with the Deputy when s/he saves them.

There’s the Angels whose minds are completely obliterated because they’ve been given too much of it, and there’s cult VIPs who seem to constantly exude Bliss (likely because they’re constantly in it/taking it when they perform cult duties [Baptisms, worshiping at shrines, taking the Judges out on hunts {said Judges also glowing with Bliss mist}]). But as far as people who need a fix go? The only person who seems to behave that way is Burke once the Deputy pulls him out of the Bliss too fast–but his thrashing and fury is more like… angry despair that he was taken out of the place he wanted to be.

The other stuff on the wall (None of it is real) kinda just makes me shrug, because my little headcanon is that the Bliss is an actual place (it’s a total tinfoil theory of mine that I don’t pretend has any hard canon evidence, I just think it’s neater to think that besides ‘lol hallucination’). I do find it interesting that None of it is real; fear the mist; don’t walk the path are all linked. If none of it is real, why be afraid of the mist? Because it tricks you, deceives you? That seems likely. Especially since walking the path leads to a leap of faith cliff that has several dead bodies at the bottom of it–which makes me wonder just how it’s determined who survives that leap (unless it’s pure luck–which seems especially brutal, and a slightly sadistic notch just above what John and Jacob do to their captives).

On that subject: John gets you to confess and say yes, and carves your sin out of you. It’s implied this is a process that not everyone survives (which makes me wonder if John just goes overboard, or if they resist to the point of him just killing them [which I still consider less awful than kicking people off a cliff and watching them go splat–but only slightly less]), and those who do survive stay in his bunker. So… that’s nice? Better than being kicked off a cliff or turned into an Angel and fed dog food while doing slave labor.

Jacob condition trains people to become unthinking instruments of murder, and those who survive the process become the cult’s soldiers–those who don’t are just disposed of. As horrible as that is, I think it’s the less awful treatment of the three, because again, it’s not random chance or circumstance; it’s not him going overboard and murdering people because oops, he’s a little too knife happy. For a guy with a knife, he doesn’t seem to really use it much for anything. He’s still doing fucked up stuff, don’t get me wrong, but I almost feel like he at least gives these people some kinda fighting chance. Granted a lot of people die fighting but, y’know. Villains.

Anyway. This is a really long post and I’m sorry if none of it is in any remote way satisfying. Thank you for sending in the ask and giving me a chance to think about all this!

ETA: He also flat out says that his dad helped the peggies cook Bliss, so I want to add that in before I forget.

[space-whalesharks]

Sorry to hear you’ve been having a hard time! Hope you feel a lil better soon! If you’re up to it, I thought “I’m only here to establish an alibi” would be fun for the prompts. Maybe some more of John falling victim to Sharky’s nonsense? (This is a bit vague, so feel free to take liberties where you see fit!) Thanks!!! :)

After much deliberation, the fill is finally here. 

Shoutout to my fave kid at the daycare who does what Cal does in here ALL THE TIME. 

The Power of a Different Word

In which Cal reaches a milestone, John is mortified because he caused it, and Sharky thinks the whole thing is hi-fucking-larious. 

Sharky Boshaw was confused as all Hell when John Seed plopped down in the chair next to him in his area in the dorms. They had just ended their shift on rationing out food (even after two years, Sharky was the only one who trusted John enough outside of Nicolette and Earl to stay in a room alone with him). Once they were done, they’d usually go their separate ways. John would never actively try to be in their room unless both of them were heading in to sleep. Even stranger-  the man had come bearing a couple of beers.

John had wordlessly offered one of them to the man and put his feet up on the crate Sharky had used as a table. “So, anything new with you?”

“We just saw each other ten minutes ago, John,” Sharky replied.

“Things could’ve happened.”

“We live in a bunker. Life ain’t that exciting.”

“There’s never a dull moment with you,” John countered.

Sharky squinted at him and folded his arms over his chest. He could admit he wasn’t that bright, but he could tell if someone was getting skittish from a mile away. And John was skittish and then some at the moment.  “Do you want somethin’?”

“Can’t I just check in on a friend?”

“Are we friends?” Sharky asked.

“I’d like to think so,” John replied.

“Oh, now you really are fuckin’ with me, Man.” Sharky turned back around and

John stared at him,  then sighed. “I am trying here, Sharky.”  

Sharky narrowed his more. “You called me Sharky.”

John blinked at him. “That is your name, is it not?”

“Yeah, but you call me Charlemagne out of spite,” Sharky pointed out.

“Well, maybe it’s time that changed.”

Sharky stared at him again. He looked away in order to look out the doorway for a moment. No, their were voices outside, no one seemed panicked- John most likely hadn’t done anything to harm anyone. And, if the older man was honest, he knew he’d probably be on the top of John’s Maim or Murder list. He blinked a couple of times. Considering how odd the man was acting, even for John Seed, that thought did nothing to ease his nerves.

John held out the beer after a few seconds. “Thought you might want this.”

“What the fuck are you bribing me for?” Sharky asked before he could stop himself.

“I’m not bribing you, Sharky. I’m trying to be a friend, here.”

“Bu-”

John shrugged. “Alright, fine, guess I’ll find someone else who wants the beer-”

“Don’t you dare. Get over here,” he took the bottle when John held it out. After a beat, he frowned. “Wait. You ain’t baitin’ me for uh… a repeat of Nic’s thirty-second birthday again, are ya?” God, that had been a fuckin’ day. The Ryes had the kids for that night so Nicolette could ‘let loose a bit’, the three of them were drunk, they had somehow ended up having a lighthearted conversation about sexual exploits in college- and Sharky’s life in general, which led to a game that was part Never Have I Ever, part Truth or Dare that would make Addie proud, and it had ended with Nicolette admitting she missed being... adventurous, and then within minutes, the three of them were back in their room, door locked, clothes flying every which way, and on a mission to make it to the bed. They had woken up the next morning and after Nicolette had ensured that the turn of events hadn’t made everything weird, and three of them together were still all okay, they had all agreed it was a one time thing and it was never going to happen again.

It did. Three times. And there were probably going to be more.

John, who had opened his bottle and gone to drink immediately choked on the edge, apparently caught up in the same memories. “No, no, that’s not it.”

Sharky beamed. “So there is something you want!”

John opened his mouth, then shut it.  “Is it so hard to believe that I’m trying to make friends?”

“Johnny-”

“Don’t call me that-”

You just accidentally admitted there was something. Come on, if we’re friends, you can tell me.”

John sighed. “Whatever. I’m only in here for an alibi, anyway…” John admitted quietly.

Sharky squinted, then something seemed to dawn on him and he pulled a face. “Aw, come on, man. Tell me y’all didn’t fuck in the mess hall again and don’t wanna get found out-”

John huffed. “Why the fuck does everyone just immediately assume all we do is fuc-“

“Have you met yourselves?” Sharky countered.

John opened his mouth to respond, then firmly shut it when they heard Kim walking down the hallway, not far away.

Kim’s voice carried from a near distance away- she was using her Kid Voice, so the pair of them figured that she had Nikki, Cal and Tommy in tow.

John ran a hand through his hair. “Well, you’re probably gonna find out in a minute.”

Sure enough, Kim came around the corner. “We’ve got a problem,” she pointed out to them, ushering Nikki and Cal inside and pushing the stroller Sharky had helped Tommy’s dad throw together not long ago into the room.

“Short-Round!” Sharky called and scooped up Cal.

“Everything alright?” John asked Kim, a little too smoothly. He looked at Cal. “Hey, Buddy. You havin’ fun with everyone?”

Cal beamed, then, as proudly as a three-year-old could: “Fuck!”

The three adults immediately stilled.

Sharky looked from Kim, to John, to Kim again, then back to John because he realized John hardly looked as scandalized as he should’ve. And then it hit him. John had just mentioned needing an alibi. Sharky himself had mused that John had disappeared for the ten minutes between shifts, and that usually meant he went to go see Cal. 

Cal certainly hadn’t know that particular word earlier that day, and the boy had used that special, ‘just-discovered-this-word-and-it-makes-the-grown-ups-scared’ tone.  Oh. Shit.

This was better than when he learned that Cal’s first word was “No”, much to John’s chagrin and everyone else’s delight at the weird sort of karma that came from that irony. “I’M TELLIN’ NIC!” he called before he practically threw Cal into John’s arms and bolted out the door.

“You’re doing nothing of the sort!” John called. He immediately shoved Cal back into Kim’s arms, ignored the woman’s disapproving sigh, and bolted after him. “BOSHAW!”

“I knew I wasn’t Sharky to you!” Sharky countered. He turned the corner towards the radio room and went to charge. But of course, two years in a bunker with a relatively new and improved John made it easy to forget the man was still some secret beast when it came to agility and strength. No string bean of a man like him should have the power the former Herald did. He had barely made it a step into the new hallway before John had tackled him to the ground.

It was probably a terrifying sight to the three people they had passed, probably fearing the worst when it came to the one doing the tackling. However, the three who had stopped to watch merely sighed and moved on with their lives when John rolled off of Sharky after he tackled him and didn’t move to throw a punch or pull a knife.

Sharky couldn’t help the delighted giggle that still bubbled up in his chest, even if he knew he was caught. “How did that happen?”

“Cal wanted to come with me to put the extra rations back. Slammed my finger in the door when we were leaving. Muttered it. Kid heard it, said it, he didn’t say it again so I just got him back to school. Thought it would be fine. Clearly it’s not.”

Sharky laughed again. “Man, I thought it was gonna be me he was gonna learn it from, but you? Even better.”

John snarled and John smacked him upside the head.

“What is going on?!”

The pair looked up to see Nicolette walking around the corner, no doubt drawn out by the sound of her husband and best friend arguing and then the giant crash- and then the sight to behold of them tangled up together.

Both of them immediately pointed at the other man and launched into a rant in their own defense.

“Alright shut up!” she waved her hands, and both men immediately went silent.

“What. Is this. About?” Nicolette asked.

The pair opened their mouths again.

Kim came around the corner with Cal in tow, saving them by sheer accident.

“MOMMY!” Cal called and launched himself at her.

“Sweets!” Nicolette beamed and picked him up. “I missed you. You have a good day at school?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Cal nodded eagerly, then reached up to pat her cheeks. “Guess what?”

“What?!” she said over-enthusiastically.

“Fuck!” he shouted, matching her enthusiasm.

Nicolette practically dropped him. “What? Honey, no, we talked about this-”

“It was an accident!” John blurted, then stopped short. “Hold on, you talked about what?” he asked as he untangled himself from Sharky.

Nicolette opened her mouth, shut it, then sighed. “I… might have said… that when I had him when I was on rationing duty the other day.”

John stared at her, then immediately let out the giddiest laugh Sharky had ever heard come out of the man. John immediately swooped over to kiss Nicolette firmly before he gave Cal a sloppy kiss on the cheek, much to the delight of the boy.

Nicolette looked between them. “What?”

“It wasn’t me,” John said matter-of-factly.

She sighed. “So, you too, huh?”

“Sharky had his suspicions he’d teach the kid some choice words, too,” John pointed out, though he sounded guilty.

Nicolette sighed. “It’s us. He was gonna learn it sometime.”

“Would be nice if he could stop saying it so loudly,” John countered, more directed at Cal towards the end than anything.

“He is your son,” Nicolette replied.

“You’re the one that introduced him to the F-Bomb,” John argued.

“And now you’re not gonna let me forget it,” she nodded.

“Absolutely not. Until he learns the next one.”

“Which is probably gonna be very soon, knowing us,” Sharky added.

“Cost of the alternate definition of a ‘nuclear family’ that the Collapse started,” Nicolette agreed, then laughed when the men groaned.

Kim looked between the lot of them and sighed. “You guys are so, so weird.”

“Nah, just expecting the inevitable,” Sharky replied.

“Yeah, well, no offense John- I can’t believe I just said that- but expecting the inevitable was more the Peggie’s speed, and look how that turned out,” Kim pointed out. 

“What? That we’re all alive in a bunker instead of burned to ash up on the surface?” John cut in.

Kim opened her mouth to protest, then put her hands up. “Was going for the ‘Apocalypse did happen in general’ angle, but you’re not wrong.”

Nicolette shrugged, then turned her attention back to Cal. “But we’re not gonna say that, right?” she bumped his forehead with hers.

“Right,” Cal nodded.

She booped his nose and set him down. “Now go find Boomer, he probably wants to play.”

“Okay!” Cal nodded, the immediately hurried off.

“… The other two are gonna know ‘fuck’ within a day,” John sighed.

“Nikki already knows it. My Nick let one slip a while ago,” Kim admitted. 

“So for all we know Cal could’ve picked it up from him or the kid,” Sharky offered hopefully.

“Our kids are gonna be disasters,” Nicolette pointed out.

“Point is we’re all disasters and the next generation is gonna know more curses than regular words as they form their vocabulary,” John agreed.

“So much for Eden being all pure and innocent and shit, it’s gonna get inherited by the foulest-mouthed buncha kids the world’s ever seen,” Sharky mused.

There was dead silence from the others, and to everyone’s surprise, John was the first to break it with a laugh. The others joined in after a moment.

Of course, they all went silent again when they heard Cal in the distance, apparently changing course from wherever he was wandering. He had gone the opposite way and was still in earshot when he greeted whoever he had run into:  “Mister Jerome! Guess what?!”

“NO!” John and Nicolette called and immediately bolted from the hallway to go stop Cal.

Sharky snorted. He had never been so happy to not have kids in his life. Still, Cal made Nic and John happy and kept the latter distracted and on a good path enough that he was never going to revert to his old ways.

Being honorary uncle to two out of the three kids was exhausting as all Hell, but he’d never have it any other way.

The fact that watching them grow up with those parents was the funniest thing in the world didn’t hurt, either.

[casino-lights]

do you have any head-canons/thoughts on what john's other tats could be? (like where his shirt covers his arms, etc.) or what other sins he could have written on him/where? ooh yeah jacob too! you think he has any tats (idk if he does he might, i just havent seen any)? or do u think jacob has any sins written on him or do u think he gets a pass since he's covered in burn scars?

Ooh, this is a good one. I know @sivasova has beautiful art with shirtless John (she is doing the lord’s work out here 🙌) and the tattoos she gave him are breathtaking. I’d say he probably has a lot of Eden’s Gate-related tats like Joseph. I’d say he probably has some flowers and lyrics to the hymns, since I believe it’s implied that he wrote some of them. And probably some tattoos that don’t fit with the theme at all, remnants from his misspent youth, constant reminders, just like the scarified sins, that he must do better and he must be stronger. As for additional sins, he definitely has lust and gluttony somewhere. Gluttony is probably crossed out. Lust… is not.

And Jacob… honestly, I don’t think he has any sins written on his skin. Notice him shaking his head when Joseph says “God will not let you take me,” and what he says in his final scene: “I don’t know if [Joseph] talks to God. That doesn’t matter. He was right.” Jacob believes in Joseph, regardless of any kind of holy interference. He seems to doubt the presence of any kind of god, but if Joseph says he needs soldiers, Jacob will give him soldiers. This is why I don’t think he has any sins written on his body. I don’t think he believes in them as strongly as his brothers, and I think Joseph would see his scars as proof enough of his “repentance.” As far as tattoos go, he just doesn’t really seem the type. He doesn’t seem like he has anything he would want to display on his skin, no stories to tell with images alone, like his brothers. (I also have a small headcanon that he’s allergic to the ink but that’s just me.)

And I know you didn’t ask about Faith, but this made me think about her, too. Aside from the chemical formula tattoo she has on her arm, she probably has smaller, more decorative ones like Bliss flowers and butterflies. She may have a snake somewhere on her back. And though she would accept sins written on her skin, Joseph refused to let her have them, for she is a symbol, an icon to his children, a veritable saint, and she must be an image of everything one aspires to. She must be, as he says in his eulogy for her, angelic. Perfect.

[rennybu]

hey so I'm not sure if you've talked about this before, but why/how did mahon learn to sign? (I teared up seeing him signing to his mom not gonna lie.. i love seeing representation for sign language)

OOH GOSH! i love seeing it too! it’s a really underrated language imo and.. so expressive and good.. i’m sorry i made you tear up LMAO

as to why and how Mahon knows sign:

I like to think any community in Thedas has their own sign language to some degree, bc hard of hearing/Deaf/nonverbal ppl are all over the place, and for the most part Lavellan clan uses asl so that hunters and scouts can communicate silently while away from camp. (My version of Lavellan clan is in the Frostback mountains, so sound carries oddly enough without added voices bouncin around)

Unnnfortunately a very bad sickness hits the clan during a particularly hard winter, and a number of elves who were able to sweat out the fever end up mute or deaf or both, in cases like that of Mahon’s mother. So in the ensuing months, the majority of the clan brushes up on their sign to bridge the new gap in communication. Mahon is around 10 years old when this happens, so he spends the greater part of his life using asl daily!! (I wrote something here about Mahon seeing his mother for the first time after her fever breaks, if u wanna read it.)

Even outside of the clan he signs while speaking (if he’s nervous, mostly, bc sign is sofamiliar to him. they’re more subtle and contained but still there)

i also like to think that Sera knows sign, and Bull (in a more military/tactical sense)

[kiramessa]

(more on the Tweak thing) Not to nerd out too much but the "I am become death" quote painted around his room kinda screamed "scientist who regrets ever inventing something." Also he seems to be, as a character, a reference to Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman, so at the very least I think he was one of the first people involved. (okay now I'm done thank you for coming to my unstructured ted talk)

The quote was said verbatim by Oppenheimer when he watched the successful detonation of the A-bomb. “I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”:

Oppenheimer later recalled that, while witnessing the explosion, he thought of a verse from the Bhagavad Gita (XI,12):

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one ...[5][111]

Years later he would explain that another verse had also entered his head at that time: namely, the famous verse: "kālo'smi lokakṣayakṛtpravṛddho lokānsamāhartumiha pravṛttaḥ" (XI,32),[112] which he translated as "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."[note 2]

In 1965, he was persuaded to quote again for a television broadcast:

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.

I only know a little about Breaking Bad, but I think you’re right about that connection.

[kiramessa]

um unprompted theory cuz I know you like the song (hope I'm remembering that right): I haven't heard it in-game myself, but apparently NPC chatter says that John (&Joseph) wrote all the cult songs, & I've been thinking about John's story vs. Faith's & while "help me faith" does make sense for her, I feel like it relates more to John. Its probably not *all* abt him, but it seems to me a lot of his personal experiences are reflected in the lyrics (i might send another message w examples lol sorry)

to me, John’s story is reflected in the loss of innocence in the song. the family’s “rules” could be the Duncans but I don’t think it has to be that specific. what really gets me is the verse before the end. to me, it seems like the whole “riddled with sin” verse could reflect john’s demise in the game and how he’s killed by his own sin(s) as joseph predicts. so.. anyway that’s all for now with my rambling, i just think of this every time i hear the song so I had to get it off my chest ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think you’re onto something here.

He probably pulled from a personal place when writing it. The faith in the song doesn’t necessarily have to be RachelFaith–faith as a concept is tremendously powerful (it’s why putting the concept to a person’s face and have her embody it is likewise powerful, and destructive). The song is just vague enough to mirror almost anyone’s experiences in life–it certainly fits Rachel’s, and John’s, and mine, for instance–which then ties into the Project’s message of trusting, praying, obeying, seeing each other as family, etc.

I don’t think the line about sin has to relate to John’s death as much as it probably reflects how he views himself (”We are all sinners, you, me”). Still, it’s possible he had that in mind while writing it, if he knew about Joseph’s dream regarding his two deaths and how he might have died, as you said.

Thanks for sending this in! Some interesting food for thought. :)

[kiramessa]

Do you think there are any similarities between Joseph in far cry and Comstock in Bioshock Infinite? Obviously they’re both prophet figures, but I remembered (spoilers for infinite) that whole thing with booker losing his daughter and thought about possible parallels to Joseph. I mean there’s (probably) not time travel/ alternate-universe-travel in fc5 but it made me wonder what Joseph would be like if he hadn’t lost his wife/daughter like he did (kind of like a Booker vs Comstock scenario)

I couldn’t fit it in the rest of my message but thank you if you do find time to answer and also please don’t hesitate to ignore it if the subject makes you uncomfortable!! I’ve noticed people can push boundaries with you sometimes and I want to be mindful of that! Thanks either way!

Surprisingly, I was asked this already!

Short answer: no, I don’t think they’re similar.

And hey, no worries! Honestly the only things that make me super uncomfortable are questions about like... sexual inexperience/~purity, and that one ask I got about how the Seeds would deal with an angry drunk Deputy. Thank you for reaching out, and for being so nice!! I’m sorry that I can only just throw along a link to ya.

[casino-lights]

thanks for your reply earlier! you actually reminded me of a post I’ve been looking for, but it’s kinda a shot in the dark. I feel like someone wrote a post/meta about John writing the hymns and I’ve been looking for it. do you know who wrote about that? (nbd if you don’t! just curious)

I don’t know who wrote it, but I saw the post you were talking about just the other day. If any of my followers know, give me a heads up! I’d like to reread it!