The Stink

The Stink
Type of Deity	God of Incompetence and Humiliation
Known Worshippers	The Greater Glottage Police Force Daggler Hayward (unwilling)
Legality	Stray
Story Context
First Mentioned	Chapter 9: My Song Has Taken Hold Of Me
Featured in Episode(s)	Chapter 9: My Song Has Taken Hold Of Me Chapter 13: So Let Me Dwell Eternal

The Stink is a god of incompetence and humiliation that has attached itself to the Glottage Police Force

ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk.

Description

"You don’t know that when the Stink begins to gather around an Investigating Officer, when others begin to whisper that they’re no longer capable of closing cases, it tends to only get worse. The Stink. It lingers in the corridors, in the stares and hisses of those watching the unhappy failure trudge by. It builds, and it worsens." - Hayward

The Stink attaches itself to officers who have failed to close cases. Once the sacrifice has been "marked", the employee becomes alienated as a tangible smell does begin to arise from them, their desk is pushed into the hallway, and their ineffectiveness at their job becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as they are alienated and given the worst cases. The sacrifice is a target for tension within the police force, and will ultimately endure a humiliating ritual ending in group beating and execution, which acts as a form of release for the other officers. Shortly after, another victim is identified and begins to smell.

"Not much you can do to avoid getting the Stink on you - if you’re insistent on doing things by the book." - Hayward

According to Hayward, one method of officers historically used to ward off getting "The Stink" was through personal deities. such as a god of bullets and accuracy, a god of bureaucracy, or a rhetorical god "to help your truth find sympathetic ears."

Organization

Sacrifice Ritual

The sacrifice which has been marked by "The Stink" is one day brought to an investigation room. A bell is rung and they are dragged forth with a long restraining rod attached to a collar around their neck. They're led through the bullpen forcefully as fellow officers are allowed to stuff unsolved case files into the sacrifice's clothing, while they blame and accuse them for being unable to solve cases and save lives. Ultimately they're chased into the yard, where a small group of the most frenzied officers beat the sacrifice (with fists, boots and batons). "Finally the participating officers of Furnace District gather around him in a circle, draw their service revolvers, and fire a ten-gun salute down into his trembling body."

There is a suggestion that the role of this God in the police force is to dissipate tension, perhaps in the form of scapegoat-ism. It also motivates officers to close cases and maintain a constant appearance of professionalism and effectiveness.

"It’s like breathing out. You feel the tension across the bullpen dissipating as the echoes of the gunshots fade. The Stink has been driven back for another day, everyone is thinking. But you, you don’t understand why any of this is happening yet. You’re just so relieved...that it isn’t you." - Hayward

Notable Events

• Hayward, who suffers from disillusionment towards the practices of the Police force, is very concerned that he is being affected by The Stink, and is reinforced in this concern by Daggler.