Personification of Life

[Millstone]

Welcome Millstone!

Thanks!

I think this could be possible on the Discworld, too, but I' not quite sure, since I haven't fully understood the Discworld's mechanics yet (people believe in Time, so Time does exist ? - And what was at the very Begining Of Time ???) ...

Well, you have to keep in mind that Death isn't death, Time isn't time, The Lady isn't luck, and so on. They are "merely" magical beings shaped after those concepts.
I wish this was true for the Auditors as well. But this is where the series loses its SF vibe, because the Auditors are the actual thing.

[LilMaibe]

That's not fully correct, dear.
They are antropormorphic personifications.
That means they are not 'magical beings shaped after these concepts' they are these concepts taking form through the power/magic of believe.
They took the form people believe they have (as mentioned)
So, life might probably look more like Nanny Ogg than anything else.
But for love's sake, don't you now go and write THAT over at tvtropes' WMG too

[Millstone]

But for love's sake, don't you now go and write THAT over at tvtropes' WMG too

...

So this thread prompted me to modify my WMG entry about the personification of life. I actually shortened it to the part I most care about: Death doubling as Life.

And you decided to go there and add a remark that amounts to "Cool story, bro"? And now, here, you speak of love's sake with a mad smiley?

I am starting to get the feeling you are not the most friendly fellow.

[LilMaibe]

Naw, no worries
I just meant you seemed to be a bit overenthusiastic about the topic as you altered the bit on tvtropes more or less each time a new aspect to the theory came up. That can't be healthy.
Calm down and wait for a full theory to form

[Millstone]

I think I know what gave you this impression. But the truth is that my WMGuess was already mentioning Rincewind before I opened this thread. Since that part was mostly a joke, I didn't include it in the first post, but I was pleasantly surprised when somebody else brought the idea. Then, when I understood people would suggest even more candidates, I decided to make my WMGuess shorter.

Anyway, thank you for your own recent editing of the page. It is funny how a single word can completely change the perceived tone of a sentence.

[LilMaibe]

I'm often rather impulsive, I apologise for that. And hey, you saw the other stuff I added to WMG over there (Yes, I DO worry a bit Ponder will turn into a second Trymon sooner or later )

[Millstone]

I know a french forum about fanfictions. I like this forum a lot. But there is that one guy. He has very strong opinions about realism in science-fiction, the theories you are authorized to have about the plot, what makes a proper argument, etc... And he calls everyone names, all the time. I think this left me a tiny little bit paranoid. I should apologize too.

Yes, I DO worry a bit Ponder will turn into a second Trymon sooner or later

For a long time, I thought Ponder Stibbons had some sort of direct connection with Simon. Now, it turns out Simon changed the whole UU. If Ponder follows into Trymon's steps instead, I do hope they won't have to kill him.

Somewhat back on topic, what is it anyway that sets apart gods and personifications? They both need a manner of faith. They both can agglomerate from weaker deities. We have seen Fate, The Lady and a few others anthropomorphic personifications in Dunmanifestin. The Hogfather used to be a god before he was the anthropomorphic personification of a holiday. There was this time when "Bill Door" ceased to be Death. Anoia used to be Lela... They are all so malleable!

[LilMaibe]

Paranoia(as well as suspicioun), in tiny amounts, isn't a bad thing

And oh, boy, do I hate people who are all -i'm a better fan than you- *grumbles* Hor-ri-ble.

As for the difference:

As I understood it gods are created by people believing there is/should be one.
(If I remember it correctly Anoia came to be in her form 'cause of shouts a la 'Gods damn it why -ing hell won't this -ing open?!')

Personifications are a form certain powers take because people believe they look like this and that. They were there before, though.

[Millstone]

Taking the magic field of the Disc as a "meme vector", I would say that it always holds a collective mourning, a collective hangover, etc... A little imagination and faith can then turn one of those into a sentient entity. On the other hand, a being like Om relies on "pure" faith, because he only represents himself. They could therefore have different needs in terms of followers.

[LilMaibe]

As said, it's complicated which 'things' are a AP and which become gods.
Just look at Hogfather and the beings popping into existence there