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ways_back_room2005-11-18 10:03 am
gorlim.livejournal.com) wrote in ways_back_room2005-11-18 10:03 am
Advance Notice and Clarification on a Thing That's Happening
The questions and details in this post will be put into effect in approximately two or three days from now, and will end (in any way that possibly affects the general population) on the 27th—a total of about a week.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Tolkien-brand mysticism.
Firstly, a question which I promise is ultimately relevant:
I know Bar can't produce living things, but can she produce fresh-cut flowers, vines, branches, and similar? (And while were on the subject, just because it might come in handy someday, can she produce living, growing potted plants?)
Props aside, allow me to introduce you to the point. Beginning on November 20th or 21st, there will be subtle, escalating changes in Gorlim which will be apparent even to persons who do not necessarily know what he's like usually. In addition to a gradually becoming more and more withdrawn, certain characters may be able to see, hear, smell, or in other ways sense unusual and potentially troubling things about him. These characters include:
~Psychics sensitive to ghostly and supernatural disturbances
~Gods, spirits, and other immortals who can naturally sense ghosts (or equivalent non-corporeal... things) without needing to focus power specifically in order to do so
~Others (by discretion of their players—ping or reply to discuss particulars)
The changes becoming slowly apparent will come across as symptoms of Gorlim essentially becoming more... well... dead. He is DEAD already, but he'll start to become more obviously so to those who can pick up on it. Some of the things characters may be able to sense are:
~Appearance—Depending on your character's sensitivity to certain aspects of the spiritual, he may seem to be shrouded in a sort of diffused or dappled shadow (if your character is attuned to the presence of Evilsmall>TM); thin clouds of reddish haze may settle around parts of his body (if your character has an empathic nature); or he may appear 'faded'—not quite translucent, more like wax paper, and may have a dim halo of a particular shade of off-white that suggests rotting things (if there is no particular specification). Some characters may be able to see more than one of these OR something else entirely if you happen to have a canonical description.
~Smell—On the 22nd, you may notice a curious smell of smoke, burned flesh, or heated metal clinging vaguely to him (it would not be strong – no more than a fleeting whiff). For the rest of the week there will be a scent with a general association to death and related nastiness – imagine what somewhere people get tortured might smell like. Again, it'll be no more than a fleeting impression, impossible to really focus on and fading quickly after it is noticed.
~Touch—From the first day, anyone who touches him will notice he seems colder than usual. By day 4 or 5, you may notice a 'ghostly chill' when you stand close to him or pass by, as if he's standing in his own little atmosphere that never gets warmer than the outside cold, and gets colder at night.
~Hearing—Near the end of the week, his voice may seem to be raspy, echoy, or may seem not to come from his mouth but from the air around him even though whatever he appears to be saying still matches what you hear.
~6th Sense—You may get a kind of 'creepy feeling' around him (see note below). Empaths without the ability to see the ghosty bit may get a sense that something is deeply 'wrong' with him (whether that translates to you as him being sick or injured or lost or unbalanced in the sense of 'batshit crazy'). Psychics may get a feeling of someone being trapped when he gets near.
All this will be referenced when I post him into the bar to make it clear at any given time what people might pick up from him. I would prefer if people would limit what their characters can sense to one or two of the things in the list above. Of course if your canon gives you reason to pick up more than that, talk to me.
Note for non-psychics: Even characters who do not have any inherent psychic or magical abilities, or any particular sensitivity to the supernatural, may still get a 'creepy feeling' near him. If you figure your character would be affected by a Ringwraith or a Dementor, this applies to you. The feeling will be far less extreme until the very end of the week—subtle enough that you'll be able to ignore it if you choose, or may not notice it at all if your character is sufficiently unfocused on the floating anxiety section of the brain—but it will be there.
There will be other signs which I will describe in his posts as things progress, which will include a lot more than just Gorlim being broody and zoned-out. His behaviour will also become increasingly erratic, his speech less coherent, and there will be very definite creepiness of an R-Rated variety.
And now, an interlude for the all-important question of what is actually going on here.
The tagline summary: (for those of you just reading for the sake of curiosity)
Gorlim is temporarily experiencing a shift in the balance of his natures and taking on his Wraith aspect.
The details of why, the canonical basis, and other information:
The basis for this arc is drawn from several pieces of canon. First and most importantly: it is explicitly stated that Gorlim did become a wraith. That is his canonical fate. Added to my Gorlim is an implication from Leithian Draft 1 that he ultimately ended up in a Hell bound to Morgoth.
Why this is going on:
For those of you who are familiar only with movie canon, recall that when Frodo is stabbed by the Morgul blade, he begins to slowly turn into a wraith. What you do not see in the movie is that Frodo actually becomes seriously ill each year on the anniversary of being stabbed by the thing. This example is the primary basis for what's going on with Gorlim. Other similar and related examples exist, the point being—Gorlim is wraithing out following the dates of his capture, torture, and death.
Now, these dates are not supplied explicitly in canon, but there are descriptive implications. Gorlim is captured "at dusk of autumn sad with rain and cold wind whining" near his house described as "standing amid the leafless wood." The 'leafless' detail to me implies late autumn. Beyond that, my choice of specific dates is strictly arbitrary. In my mind—I cannot say why—I have always thought of Gorlim's death as being on November 26th. I tend normally to describe his time in Sauron's camp as having been longer than a week, but this being a condensed world, some things just can't happen in real time, and I think it could get tedious to try to extend this for longer than a week.
So why isn't Gorlim a wraith in Milliways?
Well actually... he is.
A definition from the Encyclopedia of Arda:
A mysterious alternative aspect of reality, into which the Ring could partly draw its wearer. Certain beings, such as the Ringwraiths, seem to have led a dual existence on the boundary between two worlds: our own world and the Wraith-world. While they had a partial form in our reality, they seem to have had a more solid existence in their own world. They also had the ability to draw others into their reality, and attempted this with Frodo through the use of an enchanted weapon. This power to draw others into their realm seems to have been used to terrorize their servants, too - 'they skin the body off you as soon as look at you, and leave you all cold in the dark on the other side', says Gorbag in The Two Towers IV 10.
The Wraith-world was not populated by wraiths and Ring-bearers alone: the Elves existed in a brilliant, shining form on the other side of the threshold. At least, Frodo saw Glorfindel in this form while on the brink of the Wraith-world himself, and Gandalf later suggested that this nature was common to the High Elves.
Which is to say, having a wraith aspect does not make someone incapable of appearing quite unremarkably human... or Elvish, as the case may be. With Gorlim, now that he is effectively 'alive' due to the magic of Milliways, his wraith aspect is reduced to a sort of persistent and vivid nightmare (the reason Gorlim doesn't like to go to sleep—ever) who wanders around his subconscious and makes itself apparent in the form of scars left by Sauron's torture which Gorlim obsessively hides under clothing that is almost comically too big for him. Gorlim's wraith form does, on occasion, increase in varying degrees—his scars tend to become irritated and even bleed when he gets near magic or is under a lot of emotional stress.
Right, I think that covers everything in that department.
Now for the REALLY important stuff.
The Thing that will happen on the 27th which may potentially impact people in the bar.
I'm looking for input from both mods and players on my basic plan here.
The Big Thing that occurs is that Gorlim will temporarily shift into full wraith form – as full as he can get without his body dying. By the time this happens, he will be very much Out Of It, sort of standing around by the lake looking... well... as dead as you can look and still be standing around mumbling to yourself. He'll have the full wraithy creepiness thing going on then, too, so in theory people will mostly avoid him.
Now the part of what I would like to do that potentially affects other people is that when Gorlim wraiths out, the area surrounding the lake would, too. For about five minutes. But not everyone would be able to sense this happening.
Now, first of all, when I say the lake "wraiths out," what I mean is that those people who can see this going on would, for about five or ten minutes, be immersed in a re-creation of Beren's vision from the Lay of Leithian, which is, to put it bluntly, extraordinarily nasty. The changes would not be real in a physical sense; it's more like a case of projected mass-hypnosis. Nothing about the lake would ACTUALLY change, but people nearby who are able to experience this going on would see things alter. This would not damage anything, and nobody would be hurt by it.
In order to do this with as little mass-impact as possible, I thought it would be a good idea to limit the people who would be able to experience this when it happens. My suggested list:
~Gods, ex-gods, demi-gods, angels, angel-like beings, demons, and spirits (meaning 'entities whose primary form does not necessarily include a corporeal aspect'—fairies and the like)
~The undead and associates: vampires, zombies, werewolves, cursed persons—in other words, anybody whose erm... essential nature has been altered.
~Magical beings: wizards, witches, sorcerers, necromancers, anyone with an inherent ability to cast spells. People whose magical abilities are not necessarily part of their nature would be subject to their muns' discretion.
~People who have witnessed death.
~The dead.
The last two items, admittedly, make the list include... oh... probably a good 90% of the bar. That's why it isn't the final list and still needs all sorts of bells and whistles. There are any number of reasons why people initially included in the general list might NOT be actually able to see the wraithiness, and there are all sorts of reasons why people not on the list COULD.
In other words, this should in no way actually inconvenience anyone who doesn't want to be a part of it. It does not make the lake change, it does not make it dangerous, it does not give any reason for people to avoid it, there is no absolutely compulsory involvement, and if you have someone who has no good reason not to witness all this but still intends to be out by the lake shortly after sunset on the 27th of November, there is always the "went inside to get a cup o' tea" excuse. Really, that's all the time this will take.
If that is absolutely un-doable because it disrupts too much of too many people's... whatever... plan B is... consider this a sign-up list for people who want to be wraithed out in a little over a week's time and I will FIND a reason for those people to be included without forcing it on anyone else. Because yes, it is also possible for there to be witnesses by association. It can also include only people standing within a given area around Gorlim, who, by the time this happens, will be very creepy and not particularly encouraging people to wander over for a friendly chat.
Now that that's all explained, open polls. The lake thing is GOING to happen, I just need the Collective of mods and players to give me a little guidance as to HOW it happens. Kay? Cool.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Tolkien-brand mysticism.
Firstly, a question which I promise is ultimately relevant:
I know Bar can't produce living things, but can she produce fresh-cut flowers, vines, branches, and similar? (And while were on the subject, just because it might come in handy someday, can she produce living, growing potted plants?)
Props aside, allow me to introduce you to the point. Beginning on November 20th or 21st, there will be subtle, escalating changes in Gorlim which will be apparent even to persons who do not necessarily know what he's like usually. In addition to a gradually becoming more and more withdrawn, certain characters may be able to see, hear, smell, or in other ways sense unusual and potentially troubling things about him. These characters include:
~Psychics sensitive to ghostly and supernatural disturbances
~Gods, spirits, and other immortals who can naturally sense ghosts (or equivalent non-corporeal... things) without needing to focus power specifically in order to do so
~Others (by discretion of their players—ping or reply to discuss particulars)
The changes becoming slowly apparent will come across as symptoms of Gorlim essentially becoming more... well... dead. He is DEAD already, but he'll start to become more obviously so to those who can pick up on it. Some of the things characters may be able to sense are:
~Appearance—Depending on your character's sensitivity to certain aspects of the spiritual, he may seem to be shrouded in a sort of diffused or dappled shadow (if your character is attuned to the presence of Evilsmall>TM); thin clouds of reddish haze may settle around parts of his body (if your character has an empathic nature); or he may appear 'faded'—not quite translucent, more like wax paper, and may have a dim halo of a particular shade of off-white that suggests rotting things (if there is no particular specification). Some characters may be able to see more than one of these OR something else entirely if you happen to have a canonical description.
~Smell—On the 22nd, you may notice a curious smell of smoke, burned flesh, or heated metal clinging vaguely to him (it would not be strong – no more than a fleeting whiff). For the rest of the week there will be a scent with a general association to death and related nastiness – imagine what somewhere people get tortured might smell like. Again, it'll be no more than a fleeting impression, impossible to really focus on and fading quickly after it is noticed.
~Touch—From the first day, anyone who touches him will notice he seems colder than usual. By day 4 or 5, you may notice a 'ghostly chill' when you stand close to him or pass by, as if he's standing in his own little atmosphere that never gets warmer than the outside cold, and gets colder at night.
~Hearing—Near the end of the week, his voice may seem to be raspy, echoy, or may seem not to come from his mouth but from the air around him even though whatever he appears to be saying still matches what you hear.
~6th Sense—You may get a kind of 'creepy feeling' around him (see note below). Empaths without the ability to see the ghosty bit may get a sense that something is deeply 'wrong' with him (whether that translates to you as him being sick or injured or lost or unbalanced in the sense of 'batshit crazy'). Psychics may get a feeling of someone being trapped when he gets near.
All this will be referenced when I post him into the bar to make it clear at any given time what people might pick up from him. I would prefer if people would limit what their characters can sense to one or two of the things in the list above. Of course if your canon gives you reason to pick up more than that, talk to me.
Note for non-psychics: Even characters who do not have any inherent psychic or magical abilities, or any particular sensitivity to the supernatural, may still get a 'creepy feeling' near him. If you figure your character would be affected by a Ringwraith or a Dementor, this applies to you. The feeling will be far less extreme until the very end of the week—subtle enough that you'll be able to ignore it if you choose, or may not notice it at all if your character is sufficiently unfocused on the floating anxiety section of the brain—but it will be there.
There will be other signs which I will describe in his posts as things progress, which will include a lot more than just Gorlim being broody and zoned-out. His behaviour will also become increasingly erratic, his speech less coherent, and there will be very definite creepiness of an R-Rated variety.
And now, an interlude for the all-important question of what is actually going on here.
The tagline summary: (for those of you just reading for the sake of curiosity)
Gorlim is temporarily experiencing a shift in the balance of his natures and taking on his Wraith aspect.
The details of why, the canonical basis, and other information:
The basis for this arc is drawn from several pieces of canon. First and most importantly: it is explicitly stated that Gorlim did become a wraith. That is his canonical fate. Added to my Gorlim is an implication from Leithian Draft 1 that he ultimately ended up in a Hell bound to Morgoth.
Why this is going on:
For those of you who are familiar only with movie canon, recall that when Frodo is stabbed by the Morgul blade, he begins to slowly turn into a wraith. What you do not see in the movie is that Frodo actually becomes seriously ill each year on the anniversary of being stabbed by the thing. This example is the primary basis for what's going on with Gorlim. Other similar and related examples exist, the point being—Gorlim is wraithing out following the dates of his capture, torture, and death.
Now, these dates are not supplied explicitly in canon, but there are descriptive implications. Gorlim is captured "at dusk of autumn sad with rain and cold wind whining" near his house described as "standing amid the leafless wood." The 'leafless' detail to me implies late autumn. Beyond that, my choice of specific dates is strictly arbitrary. In my mind—I cannot say why—I have always thought of Gorlim's death as being on November 26th. I tend normally to describe his time in Sauron's camp as having been longer than a week, but this being a condensed world, some things just can't happen in real time, and I think it could get tedious to try to extend this for longer than a week.
So why isn't Gorlim a wraith in Milliways?
Well actually... he is.
A definition from the Encyclopedia of Arda:
A mysterious alternative aspect of reality, into which the Ring could partly draw its wearer. Certain beings, such as the Ringwraiths, seem to have led a dual existence on the boundary between two worlds: our own world and the Wraith-world. While they had a partial form in our reality, they seem to have had a more solid existence in their own world. They also had the ability to draw others into their reality, and attempted this with Frodo through the use of an enchanted weapon. This power to draw others into their realm seems to have been used to terrorize their servants, too - 'they skin the body off you as soon as look at you, and leave you all cold in the dark on the other side', says Gorbag in The Two Towers IV 10.
The Wraith-world was not populated by wraiths and Ring-bearers alone: the Elves existed in a brilliant, shining form on the other side of the threshold. At least, Frodo saw Glorfindel in this form while on the brink of the Wraith-world himself, and Gandalf later suggested that this nature was common to the High Elves.
Which is to say, having a wraith aspect does not make someone incapable of appearing quite unremarkably human... or Elvish, as the case may be. With Gorlim, now that he is effectively 'alive' due to the magic of Milliways, his wraith aspect is reduced to a sort of persistent and vivid nightmare (the reason Gorlim doesn't like to go to sleep—ever) who wanders around his subconscious and makes itself apparent in the form of scars left by Sauron's torture which Gorlim obsessively hides under clothing that is almost comically too big for him. Gorlim's wraith form does, on occasion, increase in varying degrees—his scars tend to become irritated and even bleed when he gets near magic or is under a lot of emotional stress.
Right, I think that covers everything in that department.
Now for the REALLY important stuff.
The Thing that will happen on the 27th which may potentially impact people in the bar.
I'm looking for input from both mods and players on my basic plan here.
The Big Thing that occurs is that Gorlim will temporarily shift into full wraith form – as full as he can get without his body dying. By the time this happens, he will be very much Out Of It, sort of standing around by the lake looking... well... as dead as you can look and still be standing around mumbling to yourself. He'll have the full wraithy creepiness thing going on then, too, so in theory people will mostly avoid him.
Now the part of what I would like to do that potentially affects other people is that when Gorlim wraiths out, the area surrounding the lake would, too. For about five minutes. But not everyone would be able to sense this happening.
Now, first of all, when I say the lake "wraiths out," what I mean is that those people who can see this going on would, for about five or ten minutes, be immersed in a re-creation of Beren's vision from the Lay of Leithian, which is, to put it bluntly, extraordinarily nasty. The changes would not be real in a physical sense; it's more like a case of projected mass-hypnosis. Nothing about the lake would ACTUALLY change, but people nearby who are able to experience this going on would see things alter. This would not damage anything, and nobody would be hurt by it.
In order to do this with as little mass-impact as possible, I thought it would be a good idea to limit the people who would be able to experience this when it happens. My suggested list:
~Gods, ex-gods, demi-gods, angels, angel-like beings, demons, and spirits (meaning 'entities whose primary form does not necessarily include a corporeal aspect'—fairies and the like)
~The undead and associates: vampires, zombies, werewolves, cursed persons—in other words, anybody whose erm... essential nature has been altered.
~Magical beings: wizards, witches, sorcerers, necromancers, anyone with an inherent ability to cast spells. People whose magical abilities are not necessarily part of their nature would be subject to their muns' discretion.
~People who have witnessed death.
~The dead.
The last two items, admittedly, make the list include... oh... probably a good 90% of the bar. That's why it isn't the final list and still needs all sorts of bells and whistles. There are any number of reasons why people initially included in the general list might NOT be actually able to see the wraithiness, and there are all sorts of reasons why people not on the list COULD.
In other words, this should in no way actually inconvenience anyone who doesn't want to be a part of it. It does not make the lake change, it does not make it dangerous, it does not give any reason for people to avoid it, there is no absolutely compulsory involvement, and if you have someone who has no good reason not to witness all this but still intends to be out by the lake shortly after sunset on the 27th of November, there is always the "went inside to get a cup o' tea" excuse. Really, that's all the time this will take.
If that is absolutely un-doable because it disrupts too much of too many people's... whatever... plan B is... consider this a sign-up list for people who want to be wraithed out in a little over a week's time and I will FIND a reason for those people to be included without forcing it on anyone else. Because yes, it is also possible for there to be witnesses by association. It can also include only people standing within a given area around Gorlim, who, by the time this happens, will be very creepy and not particularly encouraging people to wander over for a friendly chat.
Now that that's all explained, open polls. The lake thing is GOING to happen, I just need the Collective of mods and players to give me a little guidance as to HOW it happens. Kay? Cool.
no subject
Um, Mercutio's in if I'm around. :)
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*considers* Nita's pretty well plotted up, or I'd offer her. And I'm trying to figure out if Charles Wallace would be able to see this. Is this a case of seeing the things that are really there, or something a little more illusory?
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I would like to volunteer Harper for the wraith part, just because he's pretty much lived and breathed death since he was little, and is a mass murderer pretty much, even if it was for the sake of History. If there is a mortal better acquainted with death than Harper (barring, uh, Raph), I would be quite surprised.
Speaking of which, Harper and Gorlim need to meet and be depressed at each other or something.
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... she's going to SHATTER, again.
We must speak of Gorlim's wraith perceptions of her. And if Eilinel herself ever goes ghostly, as she would if they were in Dorthonion ...
no subject
I shall ping you when you get online.
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Mostly because there's no fucking way he'd let it happen to his friend. *sigh* Ping for details?
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I offer up one demonish-goddessish being to witness the thing.