The exposition feels natural... well, as natural as can be for a fallen-ish angel (who seems way more sane than the non-fallen kind) talking with the the reinstantiated persona of a dead girl can be when both are bundled up into... whatever exactly it is they are. Basically, given all the other distractions, the exposition is fine. Especially given how long you've made us wait for it! <heh>
Double cliffhangers out of the same peril is wicked and evil. Teach me your ways oh senpai! I figure I'm doing well if I manage a single cliffhanger...
Well, a Klein bottle has no inside or outside, it's all one. That's kind of how I'd answer the question of whose mind they're in, really. I don't see it as either/or, which means I'm probably missing something...
Double cliffhangers out of the same peril is wicked and evil. Teach me your ways oh senpai! I figure I'm doing well if I manage a single cliffhanger...
Well, a Klein bottle has no inside or outside, it's all one. That's kind of how I'd answer the question of whose mind they're in, really. I don't see it as either/or, which means I'm probably missing something...
The "whose mind" question isn't hard to answer if you're meta/analytical. The insanity part comes from just letting your easy question-answering faculties spin around in loops.Gremory is probably at the high end of sanity for the Host in general, but only in subjective terms. Most Fallen are "well-adjusted" but also criminally insane. Gremory is sane, but "unbalanced" by peer standards, or even by human standards. Her desire to essentially sacrifice her identity in favor of someone else's would be considered insane by plenty of people, even if they accepted it was a possibility in the first place. Even if you're a convicted murderer and you want to donate your heart to a nun, medical ethics says no, as long as you're still healthy yourself. And if you take drastic measures, they'll probably shrug and use the heart, but say you were insane for doing it.
Most of my better cliffhangers have been from reaching a point where I wasn't sure where to go next, and rather than deciding, just clicking "Submit" and brooding on it.
You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down...
Hm. I didn't really read Taob as criminally insane, though. I suppose he's another of the high-functioning ones. I mean, yeah, he sees humans as playthings to break... but while that's criminally insane for a *human*, is that an applicable standard for the fallen?
I hadn't realized until now just how much of her 'self' Gremory is giving up. There seems to be a lot of her left, if she can have the conversation in this chapter - it may be suppressed, but it's not gone. That makes a big difference, at least to me. (Partly due to contrast with the masses of transformation fiction out there where personality-overwriting persona-death is common. I am no fan of that, and this doesn't feel like it.)
See, I have the opposite problem. I get to a good cliffhanger spot, and know how the next bit goes so I just keep writing...
Hm. I didn't really read Taob as criminally insane, though. I suppose he's another of the high-functioning ones. I mean, yeah, he sees humans as playthings to break... but while that's criminally insane for a *human*, is that an applicable standard for the fallen?
I hadn't realized until now just how much of her 'self' Gremory is giving up. There seems to be a lot of her left, if she can have the conversation in this chapter - it may be suppressed, but it's not gone. That makes a big difference, at least to me. (Partly due to contrast with the masses of transformation fiction out there where personality-overwriting persona-death is common. I am no fan of that, and this doesn't feel like it.)
See, I have the opposite problem. I get to a good cliffhanger spot, and know how the next bit goes so I just keep writing...
I don't think personality death and overwriting is particularly bad if handled correctly, but it mostly depends on how permanent or consensual it is. If done right, it can actually be a massive window for some rather creative methods of forced character growth.
What worries me a bit about this situation is that, if the cloak really does fail, and Augusta ceases to exist again, how much of her memories (both from before her death, and those made more recently) will Gremory retain? With the way this situation has developed, Augusta has experienced things that Gremory was not supposed to be capable of understanding, or experiencing herself. Would those memories be erased? Or would Gremory become something more, and no longer fit under the restrictions normally placed on demons?
It's something I wonder about with Augusta... they said that she truly died a natural death, and her soul went to its destination. But if her memories and everything that made her who she was could be extrapolated into the persona containing Gremory, did they just manufacture a duplicate soul? Some things may have potentially been altered by Gremory, but could this new Augusta exist as a separate person?
What worries me a bit about this situation is that, if the cloak really does fail, and Augusta ceases to exist again, how much of her memories (both from before her death, and those made more recently) will Gremory retain? With the way this situation has developed, Augusta has experienced things that Gremory was not supposed to be capable of understanding, or experiencing herself. Would those memories be erased? Or would Gremory become something more, and no longer fit under the restrictions normally placed on demons?
It's something I wonder about with Augusta... they said that she truly died a natural death, and her soul went to its destination. But if her memories and everything that made her who she was could be extrapolated into the persona containing Gremory, did they just manufacture a duplicate soul? Some things may have potentially been altered by Gremory, but could this new Augusta exist as a separate person?
Personality overwriting can be done well enough, yes. But it's basically a death, so it needs to be treated as one. Not just... thrown away. Eh, Sturgeon's Law applies everywhere.
I don't think I can answer the other two. If the cloak fails... well, Gremory will certainly have some very interesting memories. Living memories, which is better than most people get when they die. Why would a super-fancy cloak require the generation of a soul? Whatever Gremory has (black and inky as it is...) seems to be working well enough.
I don't think I can answer the other two. If the cloak fails... well, Gremory will certainly have some very interesting memories. Living memories, which is better than most people get when they die. Why would a super-fancy cloak require the generation of a soul? Whatever Gremory has (black and inky as it is...) seems to be working well enough.
I don't necessarily read Taob as criminally insane. As you say, he sees humans as playthings to use as he chooses. For a being of that level of power, that is neither criminal nor insane; that's simply the reality of his existence. It would be rather like condemning a human for stepping on an ant. The ancient gods certainly displayed similar proclivities, and we <worshiped> them.
That said, Taob is not a being I would want to either run afoul of or emulate (assuming I could).
YppleJax will have to correct me here, but I'm assuming the Taob character here is part of the pantheon referenced in the Legemeton?
That said, Taob is not a being I would want to either run afoul of or emulate (assuming I could).
YppleJax will have to correct me here, but I'm assuming the Taob character here is part of the pantheon referenced in the Legemeton?
Not just Taob. Good ol' Sol's Lesser Key, so much trouble has been caused thereby... 
There's a very strong bondage metaphor in Gremory and Augusta's relationship. So yes, even terribly deep in sub-space, wrapped up in Augusta, the core of Gremory is still there, doing whatever souls do.
That's hinted at too, by the fact that Augusta still sheds a small amount of demonic influence, she can quick-change into things she hasn't imprinted, she occasionally gets limited access to Gremory's prophetic ability, etc.
Insanity is always relative to local ethos. Regarding Taob, I meant in human terms. Tho agreeing to help Gremory was arguably insane in general, unless he knows more than has been implied so far.
That's hinted at too, by the fact that Augusta still sheds a small amount of demonic influence, she can quick-change into things she hasn't imprinted, she occasionally gets limited access to Gremory's prophetic ability, etc.
Insanity is always relative to local ethos. Regarding Taob, I meant in human terms. Tho agreeing to help Gremory was arguably insane in general, unless he knows more than has been implied so far.
It's not surprising that bondage is central to one of your stories, I suppose. I hadn't really seen it that way until you mentioned it, though.
Getting a clearer look at how the 'taint' is working (or not working) is yet another interesting aspect of this chapter. If these two find any kind of happy ending, that's going to need to be controlled...
I can see Taob helping, even if he knows it means chaos, just so something *interesting* will happen for once. I can see boredom being profoundly problematic for entities at their level.
Getting a clearer look at how the 'taint' is working (or not working) is yet another interesting aspect of this chapter. If these two find any kind of happy ending, that's going to need to be controlled...
I can see Taob helping, even if he knows it means chaos, just so something *interesting* will happen for once. I can see boredom being profoundly problematic for entities at their level.