[Being here in Vatheon is a whole lot different than being at home, for Jacob.]

[Not because of the change of scene or anything, or the various sorts of people here who he would have never known if he had never been taken here from the island. It's because, back home, he knew what sort of things were going to happen. The future was already laid out for him like a giant loom, and all he had to do was tie threads together and pull them around to ensure that it would never be unchanged.]

[But here, the future is dark and murky, and even though most of his powers have not gone away, he can't help but feel a little bit of concern that something will happen that he won't be able to predict. Even recently, there had been a bad feeling in his gut that he can't quite get rid of, an itch on the back of his mind. Something bad will occur.]

[When he finally turns the camera on, he doesn't quite meet the camera with his eyes, choosing to say something softly under his breath:]

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes...

[And then he shakes his head and smiles as he looks up, looking completely calm as he always is.]

You know, I've always wondered about the origins of superstitions. How, exactly, did people believe that salt could get rid of evil spirits, or how did black cats become symbols of bad luck? Somebody somewhere must have connected some dots, and said "Oh, opening that umbrella inside a building made me have a horrible day" or something similar, and then proceeded not to do it again for the rest of their lives.

But, of course, the most important question here is- are they really true? Can breaking a mirror give you seven years of bad luck? It depends on the person, really...believing in superstitions is kind of like religion, oddly. Some don't believe in it at all, and some believe in some, but not others. For example, in China, hospitals don't have a 4th floor, as the word for 4 rhymes with "death" in Chinese. Every culture has their list of superstitions and omens,and they can really reveal much about a group of people.

[And a pause as he tilts his head.] So...I know that everyone comes from their own individual worlds here, so here is a question for you: what are some common superstitions or omens that you know of from where you come from? Even if you come from Earth, like me, it'll still be interesting to hear what you have to say.

[Jacob smiles, though his overall expression is still a bit troubled, and turns off the camera. He'd have to wait and see whether his bad feeling would pan out at all. He sincerely hoped it wouldn't.]

[ooc: Once again, if you haven't done so yet, please fill out Jacob's permission post if you can about what he can know about your character thanks to his omniscience powers and what not. Thank you!]

[The SFC turns on, and it shows Jacob sitting quietly in the middle of his cabin, his black chocobo beside him. For some reason, she seems nervous, and keeps trying to jump up and run around, but every time she's stopped by his hand on her head and she calms down. The man himself seems to be staring off into the distance, not quite looking at the camera at all.]

If a person is made to change into something different...does this change them who they are as a person?

[There's an intake of breath from him, and then suddenly, without warning, the candles around the cabin go out, one by one, even though Jacob doesn't move a muscle. The man continues to speak as if nothing is happening.]

It's odd, really. You don't think that it would, but suddenly, you're seeing the world so differently, through someone else's eyes...

[It's now pitch dark. The chocobo lets out a nervous cry, and then the candles blaze ferociously on and off, showing the shadows of what seem to be two large wings coming out of Jacob's back.]

[And then the whole sight is gone as fast as it was shown. Jacob continues to sit, but this time he looks at his hands, as if making sure they're real. His chocobo, way too nervous by the affair, walks off screen, and Jacob doesn't stop her. When he speaks again, he actually sounds a bit uncertain, which is not a tone you hear Jacob use very often.]

I think...I think I'm an angel now. It's very strange. I'm me. But I'm not me.

I'm just something else now.

[ooc: Jaocb is a Supernatural angel for this curse, if you haven't figured it out by now. Here is all the info about them.]

In Egyptian times, they used to believe that when a person died, it was not considered the end. Instead, it was the beginning of an everlasting afterlife.

[The camera shows Jacob sitting in his cabin, his unfinished blue and white tapestry hanging in front of him on a loom as he works on it deftly, not even stopping while he speaks. It's hard to see, but it's clear that the tapestry so far has some Egyptian influences as well- black figures can be seen along with several hieroglyphs on it.]

[Jacob himself isn't smiling, though. In fact, he looks incredibly serious- the murder that happened a few days ago was not something he was taking very lightly. So he continues working on his tapestry, a very focused look in his gaze.]

It was a rebirth, really. But even then, when someone died, their soul, or their ka, didn't just immediately get the lush afterlife that they wanted. They had to go through many perilous obstacles, such as creatures that would devour them or kill them if they didn't recite the proper words. Because the fact was that even in the afterlife, you could die. And death was permanent if that ever occurred. There would be no afterlife from the afterlife.

[A pause as he starts on the next row of the tapestry, his mouth still set in a slight frown.]

But the hardest part of the road to the afterlife was the Weighing of the Heart. For after you defeated all the creatures, your soul would be brought before the goddess of justice, Ma'at, and you would tell her that you had not committed any sins. Then your heart would be taken and weighed against a feather. If the scales balanced, you would be brought to the lush lands of the afterlife and live there happily for the rest of your life.

If it didn't balance...then a terrible creature known as Ammit, the Destroyer, would eat your heart whole, and your journey would come to a quick end.

[There's a moment of silence, and he finally turns to the camera, bright blue eyes forever ancient and piercing.]

Even if death here isn't permanent...it does make you think about where the people from other worlds go when they die. Do they go to a sort of afterlife before being revived? Or is there something more to it? Does the place itself keep us alive and resurrects us because it needs us? And...why does it only apply to the ones that have been brought here against their will?

So far, when the natives die...they stay dead. There is no rebirth for them.

[A slight sigh.]

What, exactly, has death become here?


[ooc: Don't forget to fill out Jacob's permission post if you haven't done so already! Thank you. :)]

[Some things in Vatheon always stay the same. The coral in the middle of the plaza. The Nostalgia Nook. People freaking out about being wet and having a new tattoo on them when they arrive. Jacob giving very philosophical talks about love and hate and good and evil and everything in between.

[But today, that last thing has changed. For when the camera turns on, Jacob isn't there. Instead there is the face of a black chocobo looking at the camera inquisitively, and people who look carefully will see that there's something long thin, and beige trailing from her beak.]

Wark?

[She pokes at the screen of the SFC a few times, making curious noises. But before she decides to do anything else, a voice of a man, sounding a bit admonishing, can be heard:]

Ma'at!

[The chocobo jumps a bit, like an excited little kid caught in the middle of putting its hand in the cookie jar, and runs off, long beige thread trailing behind her. The setting? Inside Jacob's cabin, where it can be seen that a large and complicated-looking tapestry is hanging in the background. And then Jacob comes on screen shaking his head and looking rather amused, though he doesn't notice the SFC just yet. ]

No, Ma'at! I need that, it's for my tapestry, please give it back...No, no, no, come here. Come here. Just give me the thread.

[The chocobo merely warks back at him and basically plays keep away as they rush around and around in front of the screen, faster and faster, until Jacob just stops suddenly in the middle of the room, prepared to turn and catch the chocobo when she comes back around.]

[What he doesn't expect, though, is for the chocobo to bowl him over in a flurry of black feathers and loud warks.]

[So, Vatheon, you are now treated to the sight of a grown man lying on the ground with a chocobo almost as tall as him sitting on his chest just chirping in the utmost triumph. Jacob just smiles widely and reaches upward to pet the bird on her head.]

Ma'at...really, what will I ever do with you. You're such a child.

[He'll get up eventually and answer replies when he notices the SFC. But just have a cute moment to look at for now.]

Being selfless is not an easy thing.

[Hello, Vatheon. Once again, your resident not-god of a spiritual being, Jacob, is here to illuminate your lives with philosophical pondering and introspection to boot.]

[Don't mind him, it's just what he does on a regular basis.]

In fact, no one is completely selfless. Everyone has the need and desire to take care of themselves before anyone else. It's a natural thing. But even so, it's amazing that people can put aside their own wants and needs to help others around them. It goes against the grain, so to speak.

Sometimes...somebody is so selfless that they put their life in harm's way in order to protect others. For in those moments that mean life and death, they put aside the thought of danger and charge into it willingly. All because they realize that their life was, at that moment, not the thing that mattered most.

[A pause as he glances at the camera with those wide blue eyes of his which are as unchanging as the horizon of a calm sea.]

Sacrifice is a powerful thing, indeed. For sacrifice can impact people so deeply that they can experience an entire turn-around in their character. Because, I think, sacrifice makes us all realize that we are all miniscule specks in the cloak of the universe. We are not as important by ourselves as we think. And therefore, selflessness comes into play- we do things for a higher goal. A higher purpose. We hope that one day, our actions can influence things as large as an entire nation or an entire world.

[He lets the words sink in for a bit, and then:]

So, people of Vatheon. What do you see selflessness as? Is it a means to an end, or are we all just specks that can barely put a ripple in the fabric of the universe we live in?

[ooc: Don't forget to fill out Jacob's permission post if you haven't done so already!]