Couch Potato

***“I won’t say it again. Infohazard protocols are in effect.”***

***WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.***

The **Couch Potato** (real name unknown) is a planar entity capable of altering the electron streams in televisions (that is to say, their images) within the world of Aerb. He's only shown this capability in library timelines and hasn't physically featured in Worth the Candle so far, but he is a potential danger as the technology continues to be developed by Amaryllis Penndraig.

> *“How much danger are we in, if we’ve watched television?”*
>
>
> —**Amaryllis**, Chapter 123: "Medieval Stasis"
>

## Capabilities

According to Raven Masters, the entity can produce images with memetic effects in live television (but not its recordings), which it uses to exert leverage over living beings on Aerb. The effects vary from positive (increased mental acuity, decreased reaction times, better impulse control, lessened emotional response) to negative (puppeting bodies, comatose or locked-in states).

Within some library timelines, the entity is honest in honoring promises and deals from cultists, up to a certain point. Once it's "brought to immanence", Aerb becomes a "paradise with bodily sacrifices". Raven claims it's possible the entity would be excluded in the regular timeline far before this.

## Biography

Raven introduced the entity to the Party upon first meeting them, and was in fact one of the reasons for her seeking them out.Medieval Stasis

Juniper coined the name, which stuck even though Amaryllis thought it inaccurate.Fight Club

In the Cypress timeline, Cypress successfully solved the entity's meddling within televisions, but was initially unable to figure out a way to prevent reverse engineering. Later on, she invented artificial satellites to serve as centralization points for distribution of television, which seemed to solve the problem.A Cypress WaitsKrinrael.

Juniper has mentioned they could eventually leverage the Couch Potato if the situation is desperate enough.Spilled Ink

## References

1. ↑ "[...] there’s every indication that the entity is forthright in honoring the promises he makes."
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 123: "Medieval Stasis"
2. ↑ “Mental changes in those who view them,” said Raven. “The effects vary.” She continued on quickly, because it seemed like Amaryllis was going to press the issue again. “The best case scenario is increased mental acuity, decreased reaction times, better impulse control, and lessened emotional response, which comes packaged with a direct line of communication to the entity itself. Non-replicable when the moving pictures are recorded, in case you were wondering. The ‘gifts’ are temporary and used as leverage. In the worst case … there are a lot of worst cases. The entity can make people into flesh puppets. It can leave them comatose. It can hold them hostage in their own bodies, locked in, which it does if it thinks that will give it an advantage.”

—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 123: "Medieval Stasis"
3. ↑ “Cultists,” nodded Raven. “Not like those that worship the infernals though, because there’s every indication that the entity is forthright in honoring the promises he makes. There have been scenarios where knowledge of the entity was presented to the world at large, as you suggest, in the hopes of mutual cooperation. The result, every time, was a race to the bottom as the nations of the world attempted to be the first to get on the entity’s good side. World population undergoes a precipitous drop once the entity has its toehold, until eventually the last one percent of survivors live in something approaching a paradise for a decade or two before the entity is brought to immanence. From there, it’s a paradise with bodily sacrifices. The contorted writings of those living in that world are something to behold.”
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 123: "Medieval Stasis"