{ (set: $mourn to false) (set: $scream to false) (set: $sing to false) (set: $celebrate to false) (set: $consume to false) }so big, so untouchable, much larger than any of us - the mighty, almighty! demanding, shouting, under the yoke of worship and obey, obey, to lean into the words of a diety. but patience pays off, at last. creaking, crackling: even divine bodies can give out, and from heaven - god falls. god is dead. [[mourn]] [[celebrate]] [[consume]]{ (set: $mourn to true) }even if it is terrible, it is still a god. its might is worth mourning. it was beautiful, even as it was a nightmare. although it is good that it is dead, it is still sad and there is a moment of stillness, of memory, for the god that is dead. (display: "deep sea fish") and isn't that a sad cycle? the sort of cycle your heart aches at, your heart breaks at, the sort of cycle you could close your eyes to and keen to the heavens. [[sing]] [[scream]]{ (set: $celebrate to true) }like most, you celebrate. god is dead; you are free of its chains and now it will provide sustenance for the next hundred years. its bones will become houses, its flesh will become feasts - (display: "deep sea fish") god is dead! and though a new god will rise, tyranny is not immortal, and a god is not all-powerful. now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors; the good luck of when a god is torn from its place in the clouds and brought down to where it belongs: a corpse, for the use of mortals. [[rest]]{ (set: $consume to true) }yes yes yes this is what you were meant to do, what you are meant to be, what it was meant for. eat the flesh and grow strong, grow wild, off of what is here for you. (display: "deep sea fish") you will eat the god, and bloody your teeth, and smile sharp smile. you will eat the god and divinity will taste like ambrosia, and in eating you will become. consumption is the greatest form of flattery, after all, and you will devour that which sustains you, that which sustains all life beneath its shadow. another god will take the place of this one, and another god will one day die. for now: you thrive. you consume. [[rest]]like deep sea fish there is life only in death, bones creating shelter, flesh creating food.heady with the thick of it, (if:$consume)[throat still thick with blood,](elseif:$celebrate)[mouth still tingling with kisses,](elseif:$mourn)[throat still raw from sound,] the night after whalefall, it is time to rest. laying on a bed inside a house made of the last god's remains, stretched out luxuriant, drunken with divinity's dying breath, your eyelids flutter with dreams that taste like sauerkraut and chocolate. resting, yes, but yearning too: the god is dead and you are alive. alive because of all the dead gods that fall from the heavens and kiss the earth. [[kiss]] [[dance]] [[sleep]]{(set: $sing to true)}(display: "howling") when you tire, you hum, your song fading softly. hand over hand, together, building castles out of bone and feasts out of flesh. the god is dead. but you are alive. [[rest]]{(set: $scream to true)}(display: "howling") your throat goes hoarse, and you gasp and gulp for air, but the god has been mourned. now, you take and keep its remnants, using them to fuel your life. god will be replaced, as god always is, and the next tyrant will fall by hero's sword or the hatred of all those it subjugates. but it was nice to mourn, to acknowledge that even the most terrible are deserving of recognition. [[rest]]you howl, mightily, echoing. you howl and your funeral dirge is loud enough that those around you pause, , , take note. some join you in your howling, mourning this beast with you, coaxing memory into validation. the god is dead, and how cruel the world, that the god must die that others may live.what is the point of being alone? what is the point of feeling this, of being so full of dead god, and of being //alone//? there are still people wandering, still people filled with your same energy, people who would love to tangle beneath the sheets. you could find anyone, you could fall in love, you could have one night of absolution and creation. you just need to decide [[boy]] [[girl]] [[other]]the energy of the divine is too electric. if you stayed here, resting, you'd burst with it. so you get up instead. motion, movement, you fill yourself (you feel yourself). (if:$consume)[you want to devour more. you want to take it inside of yourself, swallow down every drop. you want to become. you want to worship. you want to coat yourself in blood and suck the marrow from the bones and call that "devotion" (isn't it? isn't it devotion to consume, to love, to swallow something whole? you are the keeper of your own designs, and you can create what you want out of the ashes and bones of your favorite flavours.) if you eat it all up and leave nothing behind, is it selfish or is it just the identity of the divine? to take and consume to take and devour. you creep out to the flesh amidst all the others; the body dwarfs yours, //massive//, all-consuming. to teach it humility, you consume it instead. and you think - yes yes yes this is love yes yes yes devour.](elseif:$celebrate)[twirling like you were born to, you escape the confines of the bones from the god that fell before. the celebration need not stop. you dance now, and you laugh, the echo of your joy felt by all those who, like you, are still celebrating. can you be anything else than what you are? arrogantly taking the divine, using it for your own purposes, as if there will be nothing to one day consume you all the same. the cycle of life. god falls and is used to fuel its once-supplicants. and those supplicants are then gods to the next lower form of life. but it's beautiful, isn't it? all beautiful. you are a god, and everyone around you is a god. and you will fall and the flowers will grow, the moss will cover you - today, you use; tomorrow; you are used. the cycle begets itself.](elseif:$mourn)[with noise, you mourned. with movement, you worship. you celebrate. god is dead, and you are the feaster of its corpse. god is dead, and you are alive. now, filled with divinity, with energy that you cannot escape, you move. your hands lift to the air, your body sways, you open your mouth. this time, no noise comes out. your throat is raw. your lips are parted because it is right. because it is the final act of what it is to love a god. devotion. consumption. one in the same. grief. joy. one in the same. there is no difference; one flows into the next. good-bye, god, good-bye and good fucking //riddance/.] [[restart]]you do not give in to the feeling. divinity is within you, but it does not control you. roll over. bury yourself deep in sheets made of intestines and memories. all belongs to the gods. all is the gods. all is sacrifice. the gods devoted themselves to you. this, the next in the line of dead gods to become living mortals. do you sleep and dream or do you transform and do exactly what you imagine? or are you only halfway there, in sleep, in wakefulness, neither and both - divinity cannot be escaped so easily, o foolish child. and if you will not listen to it, it will listen to you. (if:$consume)[after all, you blooded your teeth on it. you swallowed it whole. blood in your throat, blood on your skin. godflesh tastes sweeter than the sweetest ambrosia. you have swallowed divinity, and now you dare to turn it down? you will rise from your bed. you will walk. you will follow the rules. you will open your mouth, your jaw will crack. wider. wider. you will eat flesh. godflesh, mortal flesh, the flesh of the unwary. you are the consumer. you consume because you love, because you are devoted, because you are the one who will control the final fate of god's rotting corpse.](elseif:$celebrate)[how could you forget your celebration so easily? how could you fold yourself and hide away? do you not know? do you not remember? you are a god, folded within, divine upon divine. let the energy fill you. let yourself become what you have always been meant to be. let yourself let yourself. there is no running from what you are meant to be. you can try to hide but you are a scavenger, a lesser being feasting off the skull of a creature greater than yourself. and you want to sleep? you want to hide? you forget to celebrate? foolish - foolish creature, foolish you are, to ignore what the divinity sings of you. the god is dead but it still controls you. death is not the end, not the ending of beings as great and as mighty as a god.](elseif:$mourn)[sleep? sleep now, when you have mourned? you have given lip service, you have given your soul, to the diety that feeds you, that lies here, serving you (serving its purpose). now you must celebrate. you must feel the richness of what the god provides. you must take its rotting flesh and coat yourself in it and be born anew. blood is your baptismal font; bone is your homecoming. you are a creature that is divinity, waiting - you have divinity before you. you must. you must. after the mourning, after your (if:$sing)[song](elseif:$scream)[call], after your tears, it is time to embrace what is here. the god is dead. the god is yours. you are alive. why do you reject it? you must give in. you must consume. you must celebrate. you must. you must. you must.] the stars twinkle above you, mocking your resistance to the divinity within you. why do you fight the gifts that you steal from god? [[restart]]his mouth is hot on yours and his body is cold. so, so cold. divinity fills you and it fills him and the two of you find a quiet enough corner, amidst the throng of other bodies, all of them drunk with the death of the god. [[kiss->kiss boy]] [[fuck->fuck boy]] [[consume->consume boy]]her mouth is hot on yours and her body is cold. so, so cold. divinity fills you and it fills her and the two of you find a quiet enough corner, amidst the throng of other bodies, all of them drunk with the death of the god. [[kiss->kiss girl]] [[fuck->fuck girl]] [[consume->consume girl]]their mouth is hot on yours and their body is cold. so, so cold. divinity fills you and it fills them and the two of you find a quiet enough corner, amidst the throng of other bodies, all of them drunk with the death of the god. [[kiss->kiss other]] [[fuck->fuck other]] [[consume->consume other]]his lips are soft on your lips. his hands are soft on your hips. divinity makes you sentimental, soft with the god's death, and you sigh into your kiss. he sighs back. clothes are removed, and blood is ignored. tangled together, limb over limb, inside and outside. two become one. a mad dance: wild, erotic, irresponsible. doesn't matter. this is beautiful and you are beautiful and he kisses you like he's drowning. when you are satisfied and tired, you bring him back to your home, your bed. you shelter him under your bones, and as you drift to sleep, you hold each other. tomorrow, it will be much the same - the two of you will part. but tonight, you have company and you dream of the stars and what a god sees when it looks up. [[restart]]this is loveless. this is sharp. this is only to fulfil a need. you and he tangle your limbs together. (if:$consume)[you nip and bite with your sharp white teeth ]desperation brings you together, and you (if:$mourn)[gasp without breath](else:)[moan out your pleasure], he moans out his (if:$mourn)[pleasure ]- the two of you are tangled limbs and tangled thoughts. satiation fills you with warmth, and you run one hand through his hair. you drag yourself back home, back to your bones, back to your bed. divinity has drained out of you, leaving you lethargic, tired, leaking. you collapse, and you dream of all the luxuries of whalefall and how lucky you are that a god died in your lifetime. [[restart]](if:$consume)[your teeth are sharp and your throat is bloodied. it is the risk of the divine, a risk everyone takes - you press your nose to his throat, then your teeth. your kisses become bites. you swallow away chunks of skin. he screams, and you eat. you devour. you eat and you eat, your stomach never filling, you eat until he is only bones. and then you break his bones and suck out the marrow, and you groan, glutted on your consumption. [[swallow->swallow boy]]](else:)[your teeth are sharp and your kisses turn to nibbles. you leave him bruised, bloodied, and you fill each other up. your thoughts are only of control, wrestling, demanding, and you are violent as you take your pleasure. he signed up for this, and he bruises your arms, your legs, he takes his as much as you take yours, wrestling, demanding, the two of you intertwined. when it is done, you are breathless, satiated, finally full. [[separate->separate boy]]]you eat her. you eat her like you ate the god. but you're still hungry, your stomach empty. you chew on the pieces of her bones. your body cracks. your memory cracks. you only know devotion. (display: "violent devotion") [[restart]]consumption is devotion. you devoured each other. now, as you separate, you are filled. you are satiated. you can see it in his eyes: so is he. (display: "soft devotion") [[restart]]devotion is to consume. you love and you consume, you take what you love, you eat and you are empty. you are empty so you love, and you love and you eat. you are not the only one to grow monstrous and sick from devouring the god. but whalefall comes precious little - you must eat what you can. and you have eaten. and you want more. when you are finally captured, locked up, you devour your own limbs. yes yes yes this is what you were meant for, to eat, to consume; your teeth are sharp and your stomach is empty, and you will eat yourself to pieces. consumption is devotion consumption is love. yes yes yes eat. eat more. fill your empty stomach. consume. just like you were meant to.you stumble back to your bed at home, alone. bruised, bloodied, //full//. divinity is intoxicating, the sweetest wine, and you sigh as you fall into your sheets. you will consume again tomorrow. this is worship: once a god dies, then it is worthy. you consume. you devote. you survive.her lips are soft on your lips. her hands are soft on your hips. divinity makes you sentimental, soft with the god's death, and you sigh into your kiss. she sighs back. clothes are removed, and blood is ignored. tangled together, limb over limb, inside and outside. two become one. a mad dance: wild, erotic, irresponsible. doesn't matter. this is beautiful and you are beautiful and she kisses you like she's drowning. when you are satisfied and tired, you bring her back to your home, your bed. you shelter her under your bones, and as you drift to sleep, you hold each other. tomorrow, it will be much the same - the two of you will part. but tonight, you have company and you dream of the stars and what a god sees when it looks up. [[restart]]this is loveless. this is sharp. this is only to fulfil a need. you and she tangle your limbs together. (if:$consume)[you nip and bite with your sharp white teeth ]desperation brings you together, and you (if:$mourn)[gasp without breath](else:)[moan out your pleasure], she moans out her(if:$mourn)[ pleasure](else:)[s] - the two of you are tangled limbs and tangled thoughts. satiation fills you with warmth, and you run one hand through her hair. you drag yourself back home, back to your bones, back to your bed. divinity has drained out of you, leaving you lethargic, tired, leaking. you collapse, and you dream of all the luxuries of whalefall and how lucky you are that a god died in your lifetime. [[restart]](if:$consume)[your teeth are sharp and your throat is bloodied. it is the risk of the divine, a risk everyone takes - you press your nose to her throat, then your teeth. your kisses become bites. you swallow away chunks of skin. she screams, and you eat. you devour. you eat and you eat, your stomach never filling, you eat until she is only bones. and then you break her bones and suck out the marrow, and you groan, glutted on your consumption. [[swallow->swallow girl]]](else:)[your teeth are sharp and your kisses turn to nibbles. you leave her bruised, bloodied, and you fill each other up. your thoughts are only of control, wrestling, demanding, and you are violent as you take your pleasure. she signed up for this, and she bruises your arms, your legs, she takes hers as much as you take yours, wrestling, demanding, the two of you intertwined. when it is done, you are breathless, satiated, finally full. [[separate->separate girl]]]you eat him. you eat him like you ate the god. but you're still hungry, your stomach empty. you chew on the pieces of his bones. your body cracks. your memory cracks. you only know devotion. (display: "violent devotion") [[restart]]consumption is devotion. you devoured each other. now, as you separate, you are filled. you are satiated. you can see it in her eyes: so is she. (display: "soft devotion") [[restart]]their lips are soft on your lips. their hands are soft on your hips. divinity makes you sentimental, soft with the god's death, and you sigh into your kiss. they sighs back. clothes are removed, and blood is ignored. tangled together, limb over limb, inside and outside. two become one. a mad dance: wild, erotic, irresponsible. doesn't matter. this is beautiful and you are beautiful and they kiss you like they're drowning. when you are satisfied and tired, you bring them back to your home, your bed. you shelter them under your bones, and as you drift to sleep, you hold each other. tomorrow, it will be much the same - the two of you will part. but tonight, you have company and you dream of the stars and what a god sees when it looks up. [[restart]]this is loveless. this is sharp. this is only to fulfil a need. you and they tangle your limbs together. (if:$consume)[you nip and bite with your sharp white teeth ]desperation brings you together, and you (if:$mourn)[gasp without breath](else:)[moan out your pleasure], they moan out their(if:$mourn)[ pleasure](else:)[s] - the two of you are tangled limbs and tangled thoughts. satiation fills you with warmth, and you run one hand through their hair. you drag yourself back home, back to your bones, back to your bed. divinity has drained out of you, leaving you lethargic, tired, leaking. you collapse, and you dream of all the luxuries of whalefall and how lucky you are that a god died in your lifetime. [[restart]](if:$consume)[your teeth are sharp and your throat is bloodied. it is the risk of the divine, a risk everyone takes - you press your nose to their throat, then your teeth. your kisses become bites. you swallow away chunks of skin. they scream, and you eat. you devour. you eat and you eat, your stomach never filling, you eat until she is only bones. and then you break their bones and suck out the marrow, and you groan, glutted on your consumption. [[swallow->swallow other]]](else:)[your teeth are sharp and your kisses turn to nibbles. you leave them bruised, bloodied, and you fill each other up. your thoughts are only of control, wrestling, demanding, and you are violent as you take your pleasure. they signed up for this, and they bruise your arms, your legs, they take theirs as much as you take yours, wrestling, demanding, the two of you intertwined. when it is done, you are breathless, satiated, finally full. [[separate->separate other]]]you eat them. you eat them like you ate the god. but you're still hungry, your stomach empty. you chew on the pieces of their bones. your body cracks. your memory cracks. you only know devotion. (display: "violent devotion") [[restart]]consumption is devotion. you devoured each other. now, as you separate, you are filled. you are satiated. you can see it in their eyes: so are they. (display: "soft devotion") [[restart]](text-style:"sway","smear","expand")[= this is a poem. heavy themes of blood, consumption, and death - and the life that comes from death. sometimes, you will not be in control of your actions. it is for those who are eighteen and older, as there are options only suitable for adults. read responsibly. [[whalefall->restart]]