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tawakkull · 10 months ago

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ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 185

A distance of two bows’ length

This metaphoric Qur’anic expression concerns God’s Messenger’ unparalleled nearness to God during his Ascension. From the viewpoint of Sufism, it denotes rising beyond the horizons of Divine acts and Names and reaching the peak of Attributes or even going beyond it. Reaching the peak of Attributes is called Nearness relating to the Attributes, and going beyond it is Nearness related to the (Divine) Being Himself. However, we should point out that this nearness is our nearness to the Being Who is nearer to everything than itself, and is self-annihilation in the lights of His Existence through freedom from duality in the state of spiritual pleasures. Travelers who experience this cannot see, know or feel anything other than Him, see what they see as His making them see, feel what they feel as His making them feel, hold what they hold by His making them hold, and obtain what they obtain by His making them obtain. With all the atoms of their bodies, they become eloquent voices speaking of Him.

This nearness is the fruit of ascension toward God. In the universal level it was represented by him whose existence is the ultimate cause for the creation of the universe, upon him be peace and blessings. Those performing spiritual travel under his guidance can have a share in it, each according to his or her rank. A traveler, the elements of whose bodily existence come from stone, dust, clay, air and water, enters the way of being perfected through belief, righteous deeds, sincerity and pursuing God’s good pleasure. Freed from imprisonment in the dungeon of corporeality and traveling on the horizons of life in heart and spirit, the traveler is saved from the loneliness and solitude that originate from being distant from God, and reaches the point of friendship with God. In other words, as the traveler was originated by God in the beginning, so finally he or she returns to Him. One’s being originated or sent to the world is a descent and called the arch of descent, and one’s returning to God through Him and acquiring nearness to Him is ascension and called the arch of ascension. Since the picture formed of these two (curved) arches resembles two archery bows facing one another (separated only by the thickness of two adjacent lines), this has been described as the distance of two bows. Rather than distance, it denotes that the Messenger reached as far as the line or boundary of the realm of mortality and contingency, which adjoins the (Divine) realm of eternity and absolute necessity.

The expression “or nearer” signifies that the two (hypothetical) lines or boundaries, one belonging to the realm of mortality and contingency and the other to the (hypothetical) Divine realm of eternity and absolute necessity, have joined each other and become as if one boundary. It therefore refers to the furthest point of nearness to God as far as that which a created being can reach in journeying toward God. This nearness belongs only to God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings.

As mentioned before, every human being is caught up in two movements, one of descent and the other of ascension. The Sufis call the former the arch of descent, and the latter the arch of ascension. Although some Muslim philosophers have viewed this as a cycle based on the theories of Divine emanation and appearance, which are likely to open a door to heretical doctrines such as monism, incarnation and union, in reality this cycle is the education, purification and development of the spirit, making it into a polished mirror to God by means of belief, righteous deeds, sincerity, purity of intention and struggle against the carnal self. This is another on the way to becoming a perfect human being. It is a way that everyone can follow. That is something that Nadiri expresses most memorably:

What does it mean that we have taken up our residence at the highest point of rising, or at a point nearer (to Him)? We have made the way leading to the station of two bows’ distance a straight and easy path, like an arrow, by treading it time and again.

#allah #god #islam #quran #muslim #revert help #revert help team #revert #hadith #help #islamhelp #converthelp #convert #convert islam #revert islam #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

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starcrossedjedis · 1 year ago

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I told you, I'd probably end up compiling a list of my favourite original WIPs and make my problem your problem x'D

No, but it's actually nice to see that out of all my ideas (so, so many ideas on this cursed Google Drive) there are indeed some that are dearer to my heart than others.

As per usual, feel free to let me know which one intrigues you the most (and whatever else you might wanna tell me or ask me about these, don't ever be shy about popping up in my askbox <3)

All her life Eleanor has looked over the river at the bright, shimmering lights of King’s Island; wondering what it would be like to be part of the elite - never worry about the future, never want for anything… There’s always been this whole different world just a short boat ride away, but for someone like Eleanor it might as well have been on another planet.

King’s Island is for royalty, for diplomats and for the filthy rich. Eleanor has been born on the wrong side of the river and she has no reason to doubt that this is where she’s going to die some day.

That is until one day she receives a letter bearing the Royal Seal. A letter that will change her life forever…

“No one was supposed to find our ritual site. Hell, we even cloaked our path. We took every precaution in the book to keep tourists and townies from waltzing in on our dance and exposing our existence to the world. And yet... Here we are. Here you are. I do believe something about Salem has been calling you, Liliana Cooper, but I don’t think it’s a post grad in Women’s Studies…”

There are days when Alice Hawkins feels like suffocating from the lies that dictate her life.

While her father risks much more than just his position as head of a private paramilitary organisation by covering up her healing abilities, she jeopardizes everything by hiding four strangers with special abilities from that exact same organization.

With the whole world against them all they have is each other, but will a dark secret from her troubled past as a spoiled corporate princess ultimately leave Alice cast out of both worlds…?

Athena has been Odysseus’ patron goddess for most of his life, always intervening when he is in danger, always ensuring the cunning young man comes out on top. Yet she has never fully revealed herself to him - only ever guiding him through visions; whispers from beyond the veil that separates her from the mortal realm.

But it’s always been a universal truth that the Olympians envy the human life and desire a taste of the passion and urgency that comes with mortality.

When Athena witnesses Odysseus spare the life of Hector’s infant son, an act so merciful and tender and against everything she’s taught him over the years, she cannot fight this curiosity any longer.

Like countless Gods and Goddesses before her, she takes a leave from her duties on Mount Olympus and joins the young king on his journey to Ithaca under the guise of a Trojan girl named Thea…

When Calleigh Mackinnon unexpectedly inherits her father’s cattle ranch “Miller’s End”, all she wants is to get rid of it as soon as possible. But when she goes there for her father’s funeral, she finds that he has left her a letter, telling his daughter that in order to get full access to her inheritance she has to spend one year on the farm.

Can a year spent with the people closest to her father - and charming foreman Alex - change Calleigh’s feelings for the land she grew up resenting? Where will her heart lead when this year is over?

Prince Damian has been betrothed to Princess Melayna ever since they both were children, growing up together at her court following the assassination of Damian’s parents.

But when he travels to her kingdom years later to finally take her as his wife, he falls in love with Selena; the heiress to the Travelling Court who is serving as a Lady in his betrothed’s court…

tagged:@acabecca @akabluekat @asirensrage @bravelittleflower @curious-kittens-ocs @darknightfrombeyond @darkwolf76 @drbobbimorse @eddiemunscns @elmunson @emilykaldwen @far-shores @fcundwitch @foxesandmagic @fragilestorm @harleyquinnzelz @if-you-onlyknew @katiekinswrites @kingsmakers @mabonetsamhain @margoshansons @mystic-scripture @ocappreciationtag @sgtbuckyybarnes @stachedocs @susiesamurai @victoriapedrcttis

#my ocs #nanowrimo #writeblr #writer's block #welcome to my midlife crisis #stay tuned to find out if Imma buy a sports car to numb the pain

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wisdomrays · 1 year ago

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HAQQ (The Truth), HAQIQA (The Genuine) and WHAT LIES BEYOND: Part 2

Another approach is that the Shari‘a is perfect belief and righteous deeds, while haqiqa is God’s protection of these heroes of belief and righteous actions, as well as being the response of these heroes to this protection with a universal consciousness. It is a delusion if we expect Divine help and protection without belief and righteous actions; it is extremely difficult to be able to bear the heavy responsibilities of the sacred, noble Shari‘a without confidence in God’s special regard and help. Some have summed up this reality by saying: “Establishing the Shari‘a without haqiqa is extremely difficult, while the attainment of haqiqa without the Shari‘a is impossible.”

Within their broader meanings, the Shari‘a is the fulfillment of all individual, family, and social responsibilities, while haqiqa is acting as if seeing or in awareness of our being always seen by the One Who creates everything and favors each of His creatures with a rank of existence, the One Who creates guidance and misguidance and Who has the authority to guide or mislead whom He wills. It is He Who exalts and honors whom He wills and abases whom He wills, Who bestows success on whom He wills and causes whom He wills to lose, Who exalts whom He wills with dominion and takes away dominion from whom He wills, Who destines and decrees good and evil, belief and unbelief, benefit and harm, success and loss, and Who is referred to in the statement: “Whatever He wills to be is and whatever He wills not to be is not.”

From another point of view, the Shari‘a is the essentials that are taught and conveyed by noble Prophets for observation, while haqiqa is the favor of experiencing these teachings and responsibilities in the heart and spirit or through vision and spiritual observation. Starting from this point of view, some verifying scholars have regarded the observance of the religious commands and prohibitions as the dimension of Shari‘a that consists of servanthood to and worship of God, and seen the dimension of haqiqa as the gifts of witnessing, experiencing, and unveiling the profound truths that underlie those commands and prohibitions.

Haqaiq (truths) is the plural of haqiqa, and this is dealt with in four degrees. The truths of the first or greatest degree are those concerning the All-Holy Divine Essence. The travelers toward the Ultimate Truth who seek these truths should always be faithful in their thoughts, speeches, and acts to the criteria established by the Legislator of Shari‘a, remaining distant from personal comments and interpretations, even though when they are flying at the highest peaks of knowledge of God and spiritual experience. The truths of the second degree are those pertaining to the Divine Attributes of Glory. The travelers advancing toward this horizon should remain within the limits of the knowledge of the Divine Being provided by the All-Beautiful Names and within the framework established by the sacred Attributes. They should refer the knowledge about what lies beyond these limits to His special attention and favors without any personal expectations. The truths of the third degree are those regarding Divine Acts. Those who seek these truths should, provided they attribute to God Almighty everything that exists and occurs in this realm of contingency where Divine Names and Attributes manifest themselves and operate, advance as far as they can in reflection and contemplation of the outer and inner worlds and try to study things and events in the minutest detail several times every day.

The truths of the fourth degree are those pertaining to the works or outcomes of Divine Acts. The realm where all qualities and quantities are manifested, substances and corporeal bodies are formed and dissolve, and all acts of joining, separation, formation, deformation, dissolution, and disappearance occur is the realm of these truths. If a mental travel can be led by sound vision, insight, and discernment in this realm, it becomes possible to attain knowledge and knowledge of God. But if those who travel in this realm in pursuit of the truths in question do not view acts, events, and occurrences through insight and discernment, and if they cannot transcend the sphere of apparent causes, they will inevitably fall into naturalism. In fact, this realm is described as follows:

The sheets of the book of the universe are of infinite kinds,

Its individual letters and words are also countless.

Written in the printing house of the Preserved Tablet of Truth,

Each creature in the universe is a meaningful embodied word.

Hoja Tahsin

However, those who have not been able to find the true point of view cannot be saved from mistakenly seeing, reading or interpreting it.

Haqiqatu’l-haqaiq (The Truth of truths) is a term which is used to express the rank of Divine absolute Oneness (according to some, the rank of Divine absolute Unity), which is the rank of God’s original manifestation in His Essence. Some call this The All-Holy Absorption or the All-Holy Existence, or the Unseen of All Unseen. However, it is not permissible to see this most sublime truth as selfidentified or in terms of being or coming into existence as the Pure Essence. Neither can it be regarded or imagined as a relative truth. Just as the Divine Essence cannot also be thought to manifest Himself without a veil, so also the Truth of truths cannot be talked about as purely He without considering His Attributes or Names as veils. We can find way to gain knowledge of Him through His Attributes and Names. The All-Holy Essence of the Divine Being is absolutely free from any descriptions. Any description of Him means putting a limit on Him. It is we who are limited; therefore, it is a religious essential to see the Ultimate Truth in His Own position and the created in its own position. Any other approach would be clear misguidance and bewilderment. The duty which falls on servants is turning to God in utter submission and trying to traverse their distance from Him, advancing toward that All-Incomprehensible One in the guidance of the sacred, noble Shari‘a and with the provision of knowledge of Him. Concerning this topic, a friend of God says as follows:

Flee, O initiate, from the realm of multiplicity; advance!

Settling firmly in the Court of the All-Independent,

Unique One, advance!

If you desire to see the Face of Oneness through this multiplicity,

Purify and brighten the mirror of your heart; advance!

Some continuously turn around the Ka‘ba,

some around the Divine Throne;

You prefer the sacred sanctuary of God’s nearness; advance!

There is no end to the journey of those who set out toward Him;

Wherever you reach, go beyond; advance!

Ismail Haqqi

In reality, there is no end to the journey toward the All-Infinite One. Visions and experiences which take a whole life-time will continue in different depths both in this world and the next. An initiate who has been dedicated to such a journey will run from one vision or observation to another, perceiving from different perspectives, even though they have been honored with His meeting and company; possibly they will be transported by the pleasure of vision and observation many times a day.

O God! I ask You for resignation after calamity or any of Your decrees or judgments concerning me, the coolness of life after death, the pleasure of observing Your Face, and the zeal to meet You without suffering the harm of anything harmful, or any misleading intrigue and mischief. And bestow, O Lord, blessings and peace on the Inaugurator and Seal of Prophethood, on his Family and Companions, may God be pleased with them all.

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girish-jha · 6 months ago

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Mindfulness Meditation Classes in Gilbert Arizona | Girish Jha

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#Guided meditation for beginners Gilbert Arizona #Guided meditation For Beginners Near Me #guided meditation classes in gilbert arizona #guided meditation for beginner near me arizona #Meditation Coach In Gilbert Arizona

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artemisia-black · 2 years ago

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Nearly Headless Nick: An earthbound soul.

One of the main themes of the Harry Potter series is Death. And within this theme there are several sub themes including an exploration of earth-bound immortality (the series also explores metaphysical immortality).

This is largely conducted through three main characters/story arcs:

Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher's stone

Voldemort and the Horcruxes

Nearly Headless Nick (for the purposes of not having to type out his name I’m going to call him Nick from this point on) and the ghosts.

In this meta I will explore the philosophical underpinnings of ghostly existence. Although like the metaphysical philosophy I’m citing this will be more of a musing then a definitive meta.

1.0 The Headless hunt: Nick’s search for purpose

Throughout history philosophers and theologians have grappled with ideas about the meaning of life and as a logical extrapolation, the idea of immortality.

Throughout his body of work, the British philosopher Bernard Williams grapples with the desirability of immortality. And he explored the concept of what he called ‘ categorical desires,’ - the earthly desires that keep us alive (or in the case of ghosts keeps earth-bound existence meaningful). These can be defined as obtaining a degree, starting a family etc.

However, Williams argues that categorical desires can be exhausted by both satisfying them and losing interest in them. Even with the prospect of eternity, categorical desires are exhaustible. When discussing a play by Karel Capek (which explores the immortal life of a 342 year old woman, Williams states that:

“Her unending life has come to a state of boredom, indifference, and coldness. Everything is joyless” (Williams,1973:82).

It is worth noting that this play explores a corporeal woman who can influence the physical world around her.

However, Nick does demonstrate ‘categorical desire’, and his need to join the Headless Hunt can be read through this lens:

“But you would think, wouldn’t you,” he erupted suddenly, pulling the letter back out of his pocket, “that getting hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?” CoS

Through this desire, Nick is attempting to bring meaning back into his existence, to work towards a desire in order to fill the unending void of eternity.

2.0 The earthbound soul

Within the Harry Potter universe, the ghosts linger in the liminal space between life and death, veritable proof of an after-life yet having no knowledge of it.

Indeed Nick states that he:

“I……was afraid of death,” said Nick. “I chose to remain behind. I sometimes wonder whether I oughtn’t to have ... Well, that is neither here nor there... In fact, I am neither here nor there...” He gave a small sad chuckle. “ OoTP

The ghosts are earth bound, yet cannot influence the physical space around them nor partake in any earthly delights. At the Deathday party, Harry asks one of the ghosts (who was floating through the rotten food):

“Can you taste it if you walk through it?” Harry asked him.

“Almost,” said the ghost sadly, and he drifted away." CoS

Yet they are conscious and have ‘memory’ of who they were when they were alive. Nick describes it as:

“........an imprint….”

“ upon the earth, to walk palely where their living selves once trod….” OoTP

Indeed the construct of ghosts within HP, are congruent with the philosophical thinking of Rene Descartes.

In Meditations on First Philosophy, published in 1641, Descartes states that:

“ There is an outer world, which includes my body, but I could still exist even if it were all destroyed.”

He later furthered this idea, by merging the idea of mind and soul and exploring the dualism of the physical realm with the mental. In a letter to Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Descartes writes:

“…..These arise…from the close and intimate union of our mind with the body. This list includes, first, appetites like hunger and thirst; secondly, the emotions or passions of the mind that do not consist of thought alone, such as the emotions of anger, joy, sadness, and love; and finally, all the sensations….”

This sentiment echoes the ghost’s desire for food which is a recurring theme within canon. Indeed the first time Nick is introduced he states:

“I haven’t eaten for nearly five hundred years,” said the ghost. “I don’t need to, of course, but one does miss it.” PS

Within the HP universe, the idea of an immortal soul is a recurring motif. Yet the idea of an earthbound soul free of its body is one which is either deemed morally repugnant (in the case of horcruxes) or the shadow of human life.

In conclusion, while providing comic relief and a sense of wonder, the ghosts can also be interpreted as a metaphorical interpretation of immortality. And whether an immortal existence is a desirable one.

#harry potter meta #harry potter #nearly headless nick #wizarding world #random hungover musings

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forevercloudnine · 4 years ago

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new 52 riddler origin/timeline

I noticed an older 2017 post by @batriddler about Edward’s possible New 52 origin story was going around again, so I thought I’d make a timeline adding what we’ve learned about his origins since then through The Riddler: Year of the Villain (2019).

Childhood

So Year of the Villain brings back several elements of Edward’s original backstory. The first was that, as a child, he won a puzzle contest and became fixated on that moment of victory for the rest of his life.

Unlike previous iterations of the character, however, there’s no obvious indication that Edward cheated in order to win it (other than the looming shadow of his future careers). Whether he won it fairly or not, winning the trophy was a turning point for him because it was the first time he was given undiluted positive attention, something he wasn’t getting at home.

Edward’s mother is heavily, HEAVILY implied to be an alcoholic (like there are even more bottles lying around in this panel, I cut them out for the screenshot), and he himself implies in the narration that she was neglectful to the point that he pretty much had to raise himself. Interestingly, there’s no mention of an abusive father, which is the bog standard for Riddler backstories in previous continuities. There’s nothing contradicting the existence of an abusive father in addition, so obviously there’s room for headcanons here (though I’m enjoying that Jonathan’s New 52 daddy issues replacing his retconned Post-Crisis mommy issues was finally mirrored by Edward’s Post-Crisis daddy issues being retconned and replaced with New 52 mommy issues. It’s equality).

[Side note: apparently his actual birth name in the New 52 IS Edward “Nygma,” which is also a return to form to his first origin. Personally I’m much fonder of him being born “Nashton” and changing his name as an adult, but that’s just me.]

He says that winning the trophy was the first time he “felt like [he] meant something,” which would seem to indicate that before this he’d internalized his mother’s neglect into a low sense of self worth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the high of winning it lasted very long, since his classmates weren’t very appreciative of his victory (which is also very in line with Edward’s previous origins, especially Chuck Dixon’s take in Questions Multiple the Mystery).

There’s not much other information about his childhood available, though Batman Annual #4 does seem to indicate that unlike many of Batman’s other villains, he did grow up in Gotham.

This is just based on him telling Bruce that “all of Gotham City” watched him grow up, and that Edward in particular read and watched a lot of tabloid news about Bruce when they were adolescents (is this a Batman Forever reference??? It’s probably not a Batman Forever reference).

Teenage Years

Assuming we’re supposed to take Bruce’s heat-of-the-moment psychoanalysis in Zero Year seriously (Edward is clearly irritated by it, so... confirmation?), Edward’s desire for attention in childhood results in him breaking into corporate data banks and government safe-blocks as a teenager.

Given what Edward is capable of in Zero Year, this definitely doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, but it’s deeply hilarious in the context of what Year of the Villain confirmed he was (also?) doing as a teenager, which is working as a carnie.

I cannot tell you how hilarious I would find it if THIS is the “questionable past” that Bruce’s Uncle Phillip was talking about during Zero Year, but presumably he’s referring to the same kind of high profile crimes that Bruce was.

But seriously, how funny would it be if he was just talking about how Edward literally ran away from home to join the circus as a teenager...

Adulthood

The 2017 post theorizes that Edward started working for Phillip at Wayne Enterprises in his early twenties, and started earning the various degrees you can see stacked up in a corner in the image above during his employment there. That would seem to fit with this timeline, since I’m not willing to add “earned six different university degrees” to teenage years that are apparently already packed full of ripping off carnival goers AND corporate espionage.

In Batman Annual #4 there is the BAREST indication that Edward might have started working at Wayne Enterprises early into Bruce’s sabbatical abroad, since he talked about how “for months” there were nightly vigils at Wayne Tower where there were so many flowers people would have to cross the street not to step on them. Presumably this would have only been in the first year of Bruce’s disappearance, when Bruce was 18; at the very least this indicates that Edward still lived in Gotham when Bruce left, though it would make more sense for him to be visiting Wayne Tower as Phillip’s strategist than as a hacker/carnie.

In general though, Edward’s Zero Year plan is so ridiculously complex that I think it’s reasonable to assume that he took as long to prepare for his debut as Riddler as it took Bruce to train to be Batman.

[Another side note: Not to accuse Edward of projecting or anything (God forbid), but I think it’s interesting that Edward puts so much emphasis on criticizing Bruce for “disappearing for years” and “making everyone think he’s dead” in combination with the COMPLETE absence of his father from his origin story as presented in Year of the Villain.]

I do think it’s fascinating that Edward’s New 52 origin veers away from the whole “cheating” thing that’s so central to his character in previous continuities - not that he DOESN’T cheat when he feels like it (the whole carnie thing), but it’s not presented as an insecurity of his, and here he’s genuinely intelligent enough to mastermind crimes without needing to move the goalposts at the last second (cough Arkhamverse Riddler COUGH).

One final thing from Edward’s adult life that I think could relate back to his origin comes from Batman #23.2, “Solitaire.”

The issue starts with a flashback of Edward having a deck of playing cards confiscated from him in Arkham because he was playing Solitaire (like, genuinely playing Solitaire; he actually wasn’t plotting anything, it was just for stress relief). The comic is his quest for violent revenge against the Arkham guard who took his cards, which initially seems like a pretty average example of Riddler Brand Pettiness, but the story goes out of its way to highlight how much this really bothered him.

The Arkham Guard has moved on to become the head of security at Wayne Enterprises, so to get revenge Edward has to break into his old place of employment. An unexpected altercation with one of the executives leads Edward to totally freak out over her “touching” him, and afterwards he goes to meditate in her old office in order to calm down. His attempt to relax is interrupted by his old Arkham tormentor, who gets in a couple shots at him before Edward takes his revenge...

...which is BLOWING UP THE ARM that the guard used to take away the “small comfort” Edward had in Arkham. Afterwards, he goes up to the roof to play Solitaire, seeming to finally relax from his agitation earlier.

Given Edward’s isolation and neglect in childhood, it would make sense for him to have ended up playing Solitaire a lot: it’s a game that doesn’t require involvement from friends or family, but still requires a player to use strategy and skill despite the lack of an opponent.

[Yet another side note related to the previous side note: Batman is ACTUALLY dead during Solitaire, which takes place after Joker’s Endgame arc. Bruce and Joker are of course later resurrected through shenanigans, so Edward is right to think he’ll be seeing Batman again. But Riddler sitting on the Wayne Enterprises rooftop, indulging in a self-described “small comfort,” waiting for a man who’s disappeared to miraculously show up again is really interesting. Again, not to accuse him of projecting or anything, but... where’s your dad, Edward...]

His affection for Solitaire is also interesting, in the sense that one could argue that’s what he’s doing in Zero Year: playing a game with himself. He’s challenging other people to play with him through his “riddle” game, and he’s clearly prepared for the possibility of having an opponent (given that he has a whole rainbow disco death trap room set up at the end of Zero Year, which he seems DELIGHTED to have a chance to use), but he’s not expecting to have one. Whether this is a perspective rooted in his childhood or not, it seems to have changed after Zero Year, based on his riddle for Batman in “Alone.”

#riddler #edward nygma #zero year riddler #meta #if i missed something PLEASE let me know #i am by no means an expert on comics #i was considering titling this post 'here's how edward nygma can still have daddy issues in the new 52'#but ultimately i decided that was both not funny and not comprehensible #there are new bernie memes now #BUT i stand by it as a thesis statement

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47crayons · 3 years ago

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THE WICKED WITHIN—A COMIC SANS WIP REINTRO

!!!!! it's here :D the wip that started to consume me and has been continuing to do so since, now with a much better sense of what exactly is Happening

current tww taglist let me know to be +/- !! @a-completely-normal-writer @writing-is-a-martial-art @wannabeauthorzofija @magic-is-something-we-create @croctears @writeblrfantasy @opes-magnas @author-a-holmes @zoya-writes@fuyugomori @ink-fireplace-coffee

transcript is under the cut!!!

[transcript: a powerpoint presentation of black text on white background, written entirely in comic sans.

start slide one the top left corner reads in red, "warnings (most relevant) war, death, drugs (& addiction), poison". in the center, "the wicked within", and underneath it in smaller font, "a comic sans reintro by @47crayons". the comments around the entire slide read "a family that is so found!!!", "gang rivalry :D and gang content in general", "crime found family basically", "childhood friends to STILL FRIENDS", "all queer cast :p", "eat the rich (not quite, but it’s the right sentiment aldskjfls)", "kickass women, yeah bay bee", "nuanced relationships between different groups :D", "morally grey characters!!!", "so many different governments!!!", "a (mostly alsjflksdj) stable relationship!!!" end slide one

start slide two in the beginning of time… there were four gods: eltenjer, he/him, earth; skari, he/him, fire; aenged, they/them, air; thilda, she/her, water. i didn’t /mean/ for them to have genders, but a quiet breeze whispered “psst. i use they/them.” in the beginning? so you mean… they’re not there anymore? kind of! the gods need followers to survive, and after several unfortunate events, they lost the majority of their followers. the aforementioned unfortunate events: the great ruination, in which natural disasters caused several years of famine and other hardship. the restoration era, in which renovation led people to believe they can live without the gods. if the gods are dead, what’s the point? the gods aren’t /really/ dead, closer to dormant. they can’t actively interact with the mortal realm, but IF they had followers, they would come back to life. oh. did i mention that they control the magic. end slide two

start slide three the dormant gods who can't do... anything control the magic??? hey, no one said magic always has to work. foreshadowing alert huge foreshadowing alert. let’s talk about how magic works, shall we :D people use the Spirit to do magic. people have a Vessel (representation of stamina or how much Sprit can be used at once, can be trained!). people also have a Strength (a type of magic that works well with the user, these have varying frequencies which also depends on location). there’s too much i could say here, but the important thing is the main characters’ Strengths. the right depicts an image of a flowchart showing that gods need followers and produce sprit. people need spirit to do magic. end slide three

start slide four okay but where are we??? where could the magic be so fucked? well, here, of course! the left side shows a line art map, split into five parts going clockwise: portingdale, worchester, the hooks, elderwood, unlabeled. the legend shows that there are mountains in portingdale, forests in elderwood, and rivers that run from portingdale to everywhere else. the place where the four labeled regions meet is called the Inner City. the text on the right reads. welcome to Kjer! there are 3 districts. but wait! there are five? sections? and one isn’t even labelled. worchester used to be a district,,, but it left after the war began. the unlabeled section is the disputed region (re: war). let’s talk more about this war. elderwood wanted easier access to water (see: the rivers in the Wetlands) elderwood & portingdale have been fighting there on and off for over half a century. the hooks has three wards: west (hella rich), south (lower income), north (somewhere in between). end slide four

start slide five whomst. skip to the next slide if you want the actual characters. character basics: the unnecessarily-winded-and-cram-a-lot-of-lore-in version. in the North Ward of The Hooks, there are three main gangs. Kaer Styen, meaning “wicked ones”, Ghetfaer Skarnen, meaning “trickster lords”, Ad Knesten, meaning “the grumbles”. that was so many capital letters i don’t like capital letters alskjdflksjd. they have rivalries and conflicts from time to time, but it’s pretty rare. the tww cast is kaer styen !!! their main means of profit is a drug called jezdin. relieves physical and mental pain. lethal in high. quantities/ when tampered with. can also be addictive. they operate out of a dingy tavern-like building, and they live upstairs!!! okay so this is purely for vibes. how did u know. end slide five

start slide six the Gang. literally :3 Kaer Styen, my beloved. the first thing in each of their bios is their Strength (re: the magic slide). artbreeders!!! i fixed quite a few of them, but my artbreeder skills are questionable at best. this slide is split into three columns. the first column shows a white person with short, brown, curly hair and a firm, but not angry, facial expression. len, he/him, pan. Shifter (can manipulate physical properties). cynical, very cynical (because he has killer instincts). “oh people are dying? am i dying? are you dying? why should i care?” in a relationship with cal. the second column shows a person who appears east asian with long, black, wavy hair and fair skin. chloe, she/her, aroace. Chemist (chemistry but magical). literal archery god. also she’s so quiet it’s SCARY. seems welcoming, emphasis on /seems/ she’ll destroy your ass. knows what you’re feeling. she just. knows. the third column shows a white person with dirty blonde hair. they are smiling. cal, they/them, bi. Whisperer (can persuade others through speech/music). so casually funny all your burdens disappear for a hot minute. gets very attached very deeply. grew up in Portingdale which becomes Important later. end slide six

start slide seven cont. also they have piercings!!!! maybe i will make some picrews later (listen, i KNOW i’ve said this before but. maybe i’m for realsies this time, okay?) this slide is also split into three columns. the first a smiling white female with light blonde hair. eden, she/her?, demi lesbian. Healer (healing magic <3). seen hell and doesn’t want others to suffer. still believes in the gods’ existence. we Don’t talk about her awful parents. raised by a lovely woman in the South Ward, known as Nana. this eye (left) is almost PURPLE which i didn’t do on purpose but is honestly such a cool idea. the second column shows a partially smiling black man with short curly hair. jereth, he/him, gay. powerful life magic thing (will be spoilers if i talk any more). joins them at the beginning. honestly kind of scared of them (who wouldn’t be), but wants to live up to expectations. throws himself into stuff to avoid Thoughts. the third column shows a woman with brown skin, black wavy hair, and a small smile. she is NOT a member of Kaer Styen, but i’m talking about her here all the same. adalaide, she/her, bi (i didn’t like the e in adelaide alskdfjlsj). Melder (metals and the like). heir to the Portingdale throne (assuming her dad doesn’t disown her). Cal’s ex from a few~ years ago she’s still a lil’ hung up on them. technically an antagonist but i love her. so all my characters are queer sue me </3 end slide seven

start slide eight some semblance of plot? coming right up!! the four (jereth isn’t there yet!) are attacked in the Inner City. turns out it’s portingdale soldiers. and then they discover that portingdale has been poisoning the southern rivers (affects worchester and the south ward) because worchester doesn’t really contribute to Kjer as a whole. word gets out, and elderwood, naturally, is even angrier at portingdale (remember, they've been at war). so, they try to stop portingdale from being power hungry enough to poison the entirety of a country while learning about why worchester is so isolated while ALSO trying not to get killed by everyone who hates them. end slide eight

start slide nine memes :> the first is the meme of spongebob reading a sheet of paper and burning it. the paper reads, "going into worchester by yourself is going to get you KILLED", and spongebob is labelled "chloe". the second is the levels of brain template labelled "jereth". from the weakest to most powerful: "trying to figure out his magic", "doing it by accident", "saving everyone's lives". the third is the sleeping person and brain meme. brain: "you're going to portingdale". cal: yeah, i know. brain: you'll see adalaide. cal's eyes are wide open in fear. the fourth says "corporate needs you to find the difference between this image and this image". the first image says, "family", and the second one says, "len, chloe, cal, jereth." eden says, "they're the same picture". the fifth is the spiderman copycat meme where jereth is copying len. end slide nine

/end transcript]

#rbs very much appreciated!!#the wicked within #tww reintro #writeblr #writing #wip #rose writes

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aimeelouart · 4 years ago

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So I see you produce a lot of stuff (fics and art and ideas). Do you consume as well? Can you tell us some of your favourite fics or link to favourite fanarts etc?

That I do! I actually have something of an encyclopedic knowledge of the current body of FF7 fics on Ao3 because that’s...pretty much all I read over the summer (that’s a lie--FF7 fics were the ONLY thing I read over the summer). I’ll focus on FF7 here because it’s my current obsession but feel free to ask about other fandoms I post/write/have bookmarks for.

Top Fics that I would die for

1) The Best Laid Plans by Loralei_Dawson I cannot stress this enough. I would die for this fic. Cloud goes back in time but the process kind of scrambles his brain like an egg. He’s semi-aware of how absolutely insane he is, but also thinks he’s being perfectly rational while all the outside POVs are like “good god what the hell is going on with this child” as he unceremoniously installs himself in the Tower and repeatedly attempts to assassinate a baffled and concerned Sephiroth. Features Genesis the certified Cloud wrangler. I love it so much that I even made art for it

2) Terrorism and Anarchy by VarianN Cloud Strife is a badass motherfucker and this fic exemplifies that. He goes back in time to his cadet days and promptly yeets himself into the slums, much to Zack’s concern. He then proceeds to play a very amusing game of cat-and-mouse with the Turks and SOLDIERs by keeping them guessing about whether or not he’s the mysterious “CS Delivery” who’s exploding reactors left and right.

3) The Fifth Act by Sinnatious Cloud goes back in time (are you noticing a theme here?) and heals Genesis, but is unable to heal anyone else. He gets cornered into joining SOLDIER and kind of...wanders around in a vague haze completing missions and being forcibly befriended by the SOLDIERs? This poor boy needs a serious nap.

4) Angel in the Rafters by skadren (finally, an author who exists on Tumblr! ...that I can’t tag. Well then.) This one is in my bookmarks as “the one where Sephiroth is a possessive dumbass.” Cloud is also a dumbass. Everyone else is just along for the ride. Anyway, Cloud goes back, has wings, is around bby!Seph for a little while before getting slam-dunked back into his corporeal bby!Cloud body. A whole lot of shenanigans goes on as Cloud runs around avoiding Shinra and exploding reactors. Gen content is typically where my heart lives, but this one is Seph/Cloud (after they stop being MASSIVE DUMBASSES ABOUT IT >:I)

5) Son by @sheseesinthedark Am I biased toward this because she-sees is one of my co-authors on Saving Subject C? Surprisingly, no. She-sees is just massively talented at spinning up complexly interwoven narratives. Vincent goes back to rescue bby!Seph from the labs and raise him and OOF it is BEAUTIFUL. Things just keep escalating as what seems on the surface to be a relatively straightforward and simple narrative slowly becomes as complex and beautiful as a tapestry, all building toward a suspenseful zenith.

6) just be still with me by @rainbowcarousels

Excuse me how does this not have like 3,000 kudos??? ASGZC which started out as a cute and funny sort of get-together fic and then MORPHED into a masterful plot-driven fic. The characterization is just so delicious! I even made art for it.

7) N7 SOLDIER by @screamingvikings Actually you know what just go read literally everything by ScreamingVikings. She writes like (and is, iirc) a published author. N7 SOLDIER is, you guessed it, a crossover of Mass Effect and FF7 where Shepard ends up on Gaia post-ME3. Her Shep is delightful and I very much enjoyed watching that lady get really fucking offended at how Shinra runs its military.

8) Cadet Strife’s Adventures in the Big City by Munchkin47 Seph/Cloud soulmate AU that made me laugh so hard I literally injured myself. Cloud tries very hard to ignore Sephiroth after the revelation of their matching soul marks, but Sephiroth refuses to be ignored and recruits his friends into helping him seduce his hilariously avoidant soulmate.

9) The World that Never Will Be by @tocasia Kingdom Hearts/FF7 crossover (does that even count as a crossover considering Nomura’s fuckery? Whatever) that totally makes me ship Aqua/Sephiroth. They meet in the Realm of Darkness and everyone makes questionable decisions all over the place, honestly. But it’s so ridiculously well written and deserves WAY more love than it’s gotten so far.

10) Draw With Me by XpaperplaneX Cloud is in the labs with Seph and they basically adopt each other and become inseparable to the point that Cloud is with Seph in the OG plot while Zack is the protagonist. It’s really fucking cute okay. And also sad. But I love me some gen content.

11) Stick ‘em with the pointy end by @tyrantchimera All of AVALANCHE goes back in time...as tonberries. I think that’s all I really need to say to get you to go give this the amount of love it DESERVES. Prepare to laugh until you throw up.

12) Another Day, a New Dawn by MollyPollyKinz Zack is the one to go back in time here and he’s trying SO HARD but Angeal and the others cotton on pretty much immediately and are like “??? is he okay???” Spoilers: no. He’s not okay. I especially love Angeal in this one.

Ok I’ll stop myself at 12 recs. If you want more recs look at my bookmarks list! On Ao3! Most of them use my own tag system and have short summaries/commentary in the descriptions (except the ones I need to catch up on, oops!)

#ask #written reply #fic rec #FF7 fic recs

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tawakkull · 1 year ago

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ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 67

A distance of two bows’ length

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thedrown · 4 years ago

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Star Wars Interloper- Kanta Cym

And so starts the new overhaul of Interloper lore! I’ll be making new drawings of the existing cast and potentially edits to their background stories but we start with it’s new protagonist, former Jedi turned darkside anthropologist Kanta Cym, backstory below~

Following the Battle of Belsavis during the final year of the Clone Wars, Kanta found herself distracted by the activation of the facilities prototype weapon amidst her duel with Separatist Acolyte Nyss Mir. Vengeful for the death of her close friend Master Umo, Nyss barely hesitated to cleave her saber across the Jedi’s back felling Kanta instantly. As Nyss began to evacuate the collapsing base the dying Kanta channeled her excruciating pain into a last ditch effort to survive and attempted a dark side technique of transferring ones essence in the force to another host, she only partially succeeded. Joining her spirit with her very killer Nyss Mir and revealing herself months after her death after multiple failed attempts to fully hijack the Jedi’s body. Little more than a voice in her head, Nyss was less than enthused to have her mentor’s murderer residing in her mind and after considerable debate she agreed to assist Cym in exiting her body. Directing her along the way, Kanta had Nyss collect multiple artifacts from her private keep selling them for a small fortune and scraping every possible inch of her home for viable DNA samples before they departed to the cloners of Kamino with a most difficult, if not impossible task: Create a force sensitive clone. It would be many years, the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire, and numerous clones before the Kaminoans produced one with a slightly higher than average midichlorian count which both the aggravated Nyss and growingly frustrated Cym mutually agreed was good enough. And so Cym used Nyss’ body as a vessel to once more transfer herself this time into the familiar Feeorin form she hadn’t known for sometime and had to relearn much of her basic functions lost in the ethereal realm of the force.

Wanting to return to a peaceful life Nyss left almost as soon as Kanta’s spirit was removed from her person never wanting to see her again. From this point Kanta remained on Kamino for a period as she adapted to her new body yet whatever physical difficulties there were, they were grossly overshadowed by the hollowness of the force’s absence. For someone as infatuated and intrigued by the force and it’s traditions, to lose such a connection was deeply depressing and the most she could muster was meager heightened senses which even that she questioned whether or not was from the meager midichlorian count or simply her time during the Clone Wars and training. When she did finally return to the galaxy she found it foreign and oppressive and thus, she felt curiously free. Without the order to monitor her research Kanta was now free to pursue her fascination with the Sith species of old without limit and cared remarkably little for the new Empire ruling the galaxy. However, she had sold much of her artifacts and lost her lightsaber at Belsavis on top of pouring all of her funds into her new clone form. Destitute but unavailed she returned home and convened with her most prized artifact who she hoped would guide her forward: The holocron of Darth Nihilus. Originally but a proud piece of her historical collection, now largely absent of her connection to the force Kanta decided to commune with the holocron hoping the unusual and immensely powerful and leech like nature of Nihilus’ force abilities may hold the key to reestablishing her ties to the force...

The eldritch Sith and his unnatural tongue were less than caring in her endeavour yet seeking to regain his own legacy and the force tied to it, he sent her off into the galaxy to collect his most powerful artifact in his old red marked mask. Through treks through space and confrontations with pirates Kanta was able to procure the mask and has since spent her time under Nihilus’ instruction with his mask granting her the connection to the force she seeks albeit with detrimental side affects of draining her whenever she dons it. The remnants of the Lord of Hunger still strong in the artifact he once bound his very essence too, Kanta must tread carefully between her less than formal study under Nihilus and usage of his literally lethal mask on top of simply maneuvering a galaxy often hostile and ready to take advantage of the ordinary person she now is in this new era. It’s only in the Corporate Sector while attempting to find some modicum of income does the force inextricably bring her into contact with renegade Jedi survivors none too keen to let her darker presence in the force elude them, a sudden conflict that strains her survivalist abilities and is made even more complicated with the involvement of a Harch bounty hunter and the Empire itself.

#kanta cym #feeorin #star wars #oc #darth nihilus #interloper #sith #swi

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featherwurm · 3 years ago

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Stories

Longer narratives with complex character interaction and distinct through-lines. (Please note that this is not a free prompt - these are my own personal Wips.)

The Eternal General - A man is forced through a grueling ordeal in a low-fantasy world as the actions of the man he served as head general take shape as an unearthly monstrosity. This begins an endless bond of servitude to otherworldly forces and an eternity of different lifetimes (Features: Marcus, Rin, Ivan, Ytra.) This is a collaborative project with @fullyfunctionalminiaturebeehive.

Scratched Sky - Lifetimes and worlds away from where he began, Marcus finds himself in a world nearly destroyed through outside forces which took his likeness and were forestalled by an embittered and exhausted Ivan. He is forced into a life of recluse as we learn of the outfall of the creatures that Marcus has become bound to. (Features: Marcus, Ivan, Lynne, Shay.) This is a collaborative project with @fullyfunctionalminiaturebeehive.

Longbody Dragons - Below the ocean a reclusive empire reigns, and these dragons ferociously guard their own secrets. The Dragon King pits his many offspring against each other to determine who will succeed him and protect his empire from any interaction with the outside world. The twins, Shen and Su, take very different paths in life, but when Su's self-imposed exile comes to an end, there will be major change. (Features: Shen, Su, Dragon God Rahab, Ji-Ho.)

Gryphon and Dragon - Two creatures from another time that seem very out of place in a world where, from a technological dark age, a strange dieselpunk future has arisen. They must both unravel the strange mysteries of her past (who she is, why she is subservient to human will and whim), and going forward, ensure they understand his kind (what kind of a creature has the mind of a man but venom enough to fell him). When they find Gryphon's sisters, they are in for more than either of them is ready to take on, but out of duty and out of obligation they will go forward to whatever end. (Features: Gryphon the Sphinx, Dragon, Irina, Olga, Masha.)

Parnassus - A creature who at once seems beautiful, alluring, and otherworldly copes with being ripped from his homeland in an event that nearly destroyed him. Along the way he finds and gives much kindness to many, and the ways in which it trickles through their lives is complex and deep. (Features: Parnassus, Esquiline, Lucifer, the Tendriled Woman.)

The Voices - Strange and horrible creatures rise from the sites of massive human calamity in a slowly post-apocalyptic world. What they do, who they interact with, and what happens to them may be critical to the remainder of human life in the world (Features: The Voice of the Drowned, the Voice of the Decadant, the Voice of the Burned, the Bird.)

Humanfolk - ‘Humanity’ at the brink of collapse has split into three subgroups through various means, the humans, the flight-afflicted, and the merfolk. While once a hope of the last bastion of human thought, the merfolk had long since distanced themselves from land-dwelling humans and were considered little more than a food source. The flight afflicted are the result of a strange sickness that warps the mind and body - giving the precious gift of flight at the cost of reason and understanding. Humanity will have to find new ways to survive. (Features: Orcafolk, Flight Afflicted.) This story may blend with The Voices.

Vali the Dreamwalker - A story about surviving, enduring, and eventually thriving. Vali is gifted with the incredible ability to traverse and alter the dreams of any living thing, but ultimately, for all his efforts, healing will be his ultimate trial. (Features: Vali, Media, Oxalis, Fenn, A'thel, En'thel, B'rath, Ensen, Neis.)

Anton the Changed - A circus is abducted and altered by the fae for their own entertainment, some 100 years after this, one of their members manages to escape back to the mortal realm, although he has been permanently changed by the ordeal. He finds others that understand him and together they plan rescue of those he was bound with. (Features: Anton, Pleasant, King, Malachi, Samuel, The Fish.)

Anachronism - An immortal afraid of the ways in which the world changes, they have tried to keep to strange 'time bubbles' where the world stays still as time moves forward around them. When they are shunted from their last bastion of an older time, they are forced to confront the modern world and their own nature. (Features: Butler Cross, Rail.)

The Unable - Strange tentacle-headed creatures appear one day on our planet, inert apart from their subservience to any human whim. Their existence becomes a new economy, until, at last, one day they appear to awaken and develop wills of their own.

The Gardener - At the forefront of human bio-engineering and molecular botany, a strange and singular person lives in total recluse. Despite their successes, there is much they hide. They are forced to confront their own issues as they deal with corporate espionage, the ethics of synthetically made life and sapience, and reconciling a painful past. (Features: The Gardener, Glass.)

The Pitfighters - In a wold where manipulation of the human body can be pushed to tremendous and frightening physical extremes, underground pitfighting is a brutal blood sport fed by using the bodies of the illegal and the unwanted. Three different former pitfighters tell their stories in a political drama (Mercutio), a buddy road trip (Tac and Ephra), and a gentle love story (Tom and Zir) (Features: Mercutio, Tac, Tom, Ephra the Shifter, and Zir the Reptile Charmer)

Sinkhole City - In the world, strange portals to some other place are opening, and while they are dangerous, people seem drawn to them, and cities form around their edges. In this strange place Leon, recovering from a previous life, discovers many secrets and quirks of it, and the dramas that play out because of it. (Features: Leon, Lynne, the Horned Man, Rin, Ivan.)

The Beast of 1,000 Shadows - The monster lives far and away in distant hills and changes her form when she removes her pelt. She has different ones, but not many, and those that pass through her domain know to fear her. All but one. One who had been through many other things long before and marked them all on her skin in her own way. A wanderer and a wayfarer who found reason to pause. (Features: The Beast of 1,000 Shadows, The Tattooed Woman.)

Soft Minotaur - A version of the myth where the poor beast escapes with the help of two Athenian sacrifices, seeking only a simple life.

Quellus and Cipher - Raised in secret to be trained as the perfect king, the young man known only as Cipher (his real name lost - it was supposed to be a cipher for him to determine), suffers in the military academy where he has been pushed ahead, ahead, ahead, even though he'd rather retreat into the woods. When he is revealed as prince, his elder brother Quellus, with much hesitance and love, helps him flee from their war-torn society. (Features: Quellus, Cipher, Cipher's Sister.)

The Raw - ... I was going through some things. (Features: The Raw.)

The Unnamed World of the Four Schools - When a war for conquest comes to the Dark Mage's swamp, she is forced out of the neutrality that binds mages to lives of recluse. Reluctantly joining up with the mage, Arthur of the Woods, the two of them journey to forestall further conflict, and prevent a magic war that could damage the very fabric of reality. (Features The Dark Mage, Arthur of the Woods.)

The Unwitting Mage - Terrivald had lived a peaceful life under his brother's shadow, quietly enjoying a solitary life in his library, until a baffling artifact of elven making and a strange prophecy teleport him halfway across the world. As he journeys home, he must discern the purpose and abilities of said artifact, and whether or not he truly believes that he is some sort of savior figure, or if someone is simply having a laugh. (Features: Terivald, Navaras, Sandstorm.)

I often record my more memorable dreams as short fiction with accompanying illustrations. They are all tagged under 'Dream' and are sometimes a starting point for a longer piece of fiction.

I occasionally make short comics if I think the idea suits the medium.

My husband, @fullyfunctionalminiaturebeehive is working on a story involving Sihal, Farrow, Agate, Fall, Muriel, Rochelle, and others (side characters include Druzy, Saphire, Emerald, Snowflake Obsidian, etc.)

Some old stories may or may not see the light of day (but have some fragmentary existence in my portfolios) include: Mortalis, D.R.L.H., There are Places, Unfortunate Innocence, Vlasis and Lavinia, Lane Davenforth.

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wisdomrays · 2 years ago

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A Distance of Two Bows' Length

This metaphoric Qur'anic expression concerns God's Messenger' unparalleled nearness to God during his Ascension. From the viewpoint of Sufism, it denotes rising beyond the horizons of Divine acts and Names and reaching the peak of Attributes or even going beyond it. Reaching the peak of Attributes is called Nearness relating to the Attributes, and going beyond it is Nearness related to the (Divine) Being Himself. However, we should point out that this nearness is our nearness to the Being Who is nearer to everything than itself, and is self-annihilation in the lights of His Existence through freedom from duality in the state of spiritual pleasures. Travelers who experience this cannot see, know or feel anything other than Him, see what they see as His making them see, feel what they feel as His making them feel, hold what they hold by His making them hold, and obtain what they obtain by His making them obtain. With all the atoms of their bodies, they become eloquent voices speaking of Him.

This nearness is the fruit of ascension toward God. In the universal level it was represented by him whose existence is the ultimate cause for the creation of the universe, upon him be peace and blessings. Those performing spiritual travel under his guidance can have a share in it, each according to his or her rank. A traveler, the elements of whose bodily existence come from stone, dust, clay, air and water, enters the way of being perfected through belief, righteous deeds, sincerity and pursuing God's good pleasure. Freed from imprisonment in the dungeon of corporeality and traveling on the horizons of life in heart and spirit, the traveler is saved from the loneliness and solitude that originate from being distant from God, and reaches the point of friendship with God. In other words, as the traveler was originated by God in the beginning, so finally he or she returns to Him. One's being originated or sent to the world is a descent and called the arch of descent, and one's returning to God through Him and acquiring nearness to Him is ascension and called the arch of ascension. Since the picture formed of these two (curved) arches resembles two archery bows facing one another (separated only by the thickness of two adjacent lines), this has been described as the distance of two bows. Rather than distance, it denotes that the Messenger reached as far as the line or boundary of the realm of mortality and contingency, which adjoins the (Divine) realm of eternity and absolute necessity.

The expression "or nearer" signifies that the two (hypothetical) lines or boundaries, one belonging to the realm of mortality and contingency and the other to the (hypothetical) Divine realm of eternity and absolute necessity, have joined each other and become as if one boundary. It therefore refers to the furthest point of nearness to God as far as that which a created being can reach in journeying toward God. This nearness belongs only to God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings.

What does it mean that we have taken up our residence at the highest point of rising, or at a point nearer (to Him)?

We have made the way leading to the station of two bows’ distance a straight and easy path, like an arrow, by treading it time and again.

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southeastasianists · 4 years ago

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The way by which human beings relate to the environment is of urgent relevance today. The accelerating rate of environmental devastation in recent decades has gone hand-in-hand with the global triumph of a particular civilisational logic—consumerism. Anthropologists have long been interested in documenting ways of life practised by peoples who retain some autonomy from consumerist logic. Unlike the consumerist relationship to the environment, many cultural systems have traditionally regarded special features of the natural world as subjects possessed of powers that command respect. These ways of interacting with the world around us are not simply exotica or collections of superstitions. They contain profound lessons about the way humans can relate to the natural environment and we ignore them at our peril.

As Baudrillard wrote in his work The System of Objects, ‘… consumption is an active form of relationship (not only to objects, but also to society and to the world), a mode of systematic activity and global response which founds our entire cultural system’. The logic of consumerism is depriving the planet of subjectivity in human perception and casting it instead as an object of human domination and source of resources, which mankind enjoys the right to extract.

As delicate ecological systems and vulnerable cultural systems become subsumed by consumerist forces, their resilience and chances of recovering seem to be increasingly remote. I describe here several examples from Cambodia which show how capitalist forces have induced traditional spirits of the land to desert and be deserted by people. These have been selected to illustrate how a culture of consumerism is destroying the ability of both communities and their environments to resist and, perhaps, ever recover from the destruction wrought by unchecked consumerism.

While assaults on the environment have accompanied all modernisation initiatives in Cambodia, they gained momentum when Cambodia entered the global free market in the early 1990s. Although some 75% of Cambodians still rely on agriculture as a major part of their livelihoods, by 2012, the Cambodian state had granted around 2 million hectares of land as concessions to private corporations to create monoculture plantations, extract minerals, log hardwood and construct hydro-electric dams. To make way for this flood tide of so-called development, communities that traditionally respected the spirits of the land have been displaced from areas their forebears inhabited for generations. Communities, spirits and forests are disappearing as the new, consumerist way of relating to the land literally gains ground.

Khmer Buddhism and the neak ta

When Theravada Buddhism spread throughout Cambodia in the 13th century, it subsumed but did not eclipse pre-existing spirit worshipping practices. Despite the cultural divergence between the lowland Khmer majority and highland minority groups, they continued sharing a concern for the spirits controlling the resources on which they depended. In this cosmological system, the power of the source of all life—generally known as the maja tuk maja day (literally owner of the water and land)—manifested in specific forms, such as rivers, mountains, trees, rocks, great ancient trees, peculiarly shaped rock formations, termite stacks, wooden linga and more. The term neak ta (or lok ta) is used to refer to these spirit forms. A neak ta may appear in the form of phenomena such as tutelary spirits that protect specific communities, or as human ancestors and deceased heroes.

Often, a neak ta relates to the establishment of a specific settlement and is, in this sense, foundational. Some neak ta take anthropomorphic form and arise within a historical narrative. Stories abound of how ancient heroes protected the integrity of the Khmer realms while alive, and continued to do so as spirits after their deaths. Particularly in urban settings—for example, outside courtrooms or alongside major roads—one may find humanoid statues of historical figures such as Neak Ta Kor Krohom. This figure appears all over the country, woven into local legends of a deceased powerful figure.

These spirits articulate a variety of relationships: relations between people within the community, relations between the living and the dead, and relations between people and the environment—particularly when it comes to resource utilisation. Traditionally, when treated with respect, the neak ta responded by protecting and providing for communities and their members. However, when neglected or when the environment they ‘owned’ was transgressed, they could respond in wrath, striking people down with illness, flooding or depriving communities of rainfall and therefore food, withholding game animals during hunts, causing accidents, sterility and all manner of misfortune.

Historically, the ideal Khmer Buddhist sovereign was supposed to be possessed of virtuous power known by the Buddhist term parami. He achieved this by practising the ten kingly Buddhist virtues known as desarajadhamma. Many Cambodians in their forties and older, having grown up without television or even electricity, recall hearing their parents tell allegorical tales of the relationship between the ruler’s virtue and the welfare of both the human and non-human realms. One man in his forties told me that when criticising the current regime, he and his friends may refer to a story of an ancient ruler King Senakak Reach (the ‘Gangster King’), who took the throne illegitimately, then ruled with greed and cruelty. The King’s immoral behaviour enraged not only the people, but also the spirits. As punishment for the King’s misdeeds, the waters flooded the lands, forcing the King to flee, drowning people and causing diseases to spread.

The idea that rulers who fail to exercise virtuous power in respecting and caring for the environment ultimately unleash environmental catastrophe remains salient today. Unlike the supremely virtuous powers associated with the Buddhist sovereign, the neak ta are susceptible to corruption and co-optation. They share many characteristics with living people and their existence depends on human succour. They may favour the increasingly generous rich over the poor who, in the predatory and competitive world of consumerism, have less and less to offer them. Many claim that the spirits are deserting rural people, and that Cambodian villagers are equally forsaking the spirits of the land by adopting the new ethic and joining the rush for consumption. Others say these spirits have been bribed and corrupted by the enormous wealth accumulated by the new Cambodian elites.

Breaking the spirits of the people and their land

When I asked forest dwelling people in Mondulkiri province where the spirits of the great trees go once the trees have been felled, they told me they move to another tree. But once all the trees have gone, they will abandon the area altogether. One medium explained that the spirits of the trees only have the power to affect those who are close to them. They may visit misfortune upon the man brandishing a chainsaw, but their powers do not extend to socially distant company directors, who remain cosseted in air-conditioned offices in the city.

The construction of the Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng is a case in point. The idea of constructing a hydro-electric dam on this river was mooted in 1999 by the Asian Development Bank. It was a typical example of a programme focused on energy production for national economic growth while ignoring local communities’ interests and relationships to the water and forests of the area. Many of these communities consisted of ethnic minorities who had particularly strong cultural attachments to the environment. By 2012, the project had fallen into the hands of private companies: China’s HydroLancang International, Cambodia’s Royal Group and Vietnam Electricity.

The dam was to be constructed on the Sesan River, a significant migration route and breeding ground for fish from the Mekong. When dam construction began in 2012, one study projected an almost 10% drop in fish stocks in the Lower Mekong Basin following the dam’s completion and the extinction of as many as 50 species. It was also predicted that the flood patterns of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake would be radically altered.

The government paid no heed to scientific or international expertise. While dam construction works continued apace, desperate members of local communities, who stood to lose everything, beseeched their local neak ta for assistance. They recalled the power of their guardian spirit, who had successfully protected the village from US bombs during the 1970s. In 2010, when the villagers first learned of the plans to construct a dam, they implored the neak ta to intervene on their behalf. They offered to sacrifice three water buffalo within five years in exchange for his protection.

Despite these efforts, intensive deforestation and dam construction continued and neared completion by 2015. The ancient forest that had for generations provided locals with food, medicines and a resting place for the dead was already gone. When discussions were held that year about whether to sacrifice the promised buffalo, the elders decided that their neak ta had failed them and so the animals’ lives should be spared. One of the dam’s turbines became operational in 2017 and the entire construction officially opened in December 2018. The spirits of the people had been defeated, both literally and figuratively.

Beban and Work have described a similar case in Pursat Province. In this case, deforestation was being carried out in preparation for the development of a plantation. In 1997, the government had granted a 315,000-hectare Economic Land Concession to Pheapimex Corporation without the knowledge of the thousands of villagers living inside the area. Pheapimex is one of Cambodia’s most powerful companies, claiming ownership of some 7% of Cambodia’s land area. Its director, Lau Meng Khin, is a renowned senator in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). He was also involved in the company Shukaku Inc., which evicted families living around Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh and filled in the lake to create prime real estate land. He was similarly reputed to be the owner of the Alex Corporation, behind an ambitious mining project in Mondulkiri Province.

Lau Meng Khin illustrates the way Cambodia’s major companies are tightly knitted into Cambodia’s notorious political culture of personalised patron-client systems, with the prime minister at the apex of a network incorporating the military elite, police, judiciary and regional and local authorities. Given the endemic corruption in Cambodia’s institutions, the possibilities for poor communities to stand up against this kind of power network using secular institutions are extremely limited. Turning to the spirits for support may seem the only viable alternative.

In 2009, just as Pheapimex was beginning forest clearance in Pursat, a woman from the region suddenly became possessed by a spirit that demanded the machine operators stop clearing trees in front of the pagoda she was visiting. “This is our home, the mountain has been our home since ancient times,” the spirit said. “If you cut the trees we cannot stay.” 5,000 of the 315,000 hectares were then awarded to the temple, whose head monk had been visibly active in resistance to the plantation project. Although state actors alluded to the spirit’s importance, this was done in such a way as to authorise their grab of 310,000 hectares from local communities. Again, propagators of consumerist logic won and the locals, their forests, their spirits and the web of relations between them were defeated.

Corrupting the spirits

A third example comes from Preah Vihear Province, where Jonas Kramp conducted a study in 2017 concerning a conflict between ethnic Kui villagers and five Chinese concessionaire companies, all subsidiaries of the Hengfu Group Sugar Industry Company. The deforestation of large swathes of land and takeover of villagers’ farmland to plant sugarcane was leaving local farmers destitute. Oppression by local authorities was also making it difficult for the communities to organise themselves and act in solidarity. Activists gathered in smaller groups, setting up protest camps and, importantly, building a new spirit house to worship the neak ta of the area.

However, the villagers were disappointed to find that their neak ta did little to help. Not only were the neak ta powerless against the companies’ heavy machinery but they were also susceptible to bribes and greed. The villagers said the neak ta had changed sides. During a spirit ceremony, they asked their spirit why it had failed to help them. The response was that the Chinese companies had made more lavish offerings than the locals. One local compared this to his own nephew’s choice to sell up to the company and accept employment in it. Disloyalty to the moral order is mirrored between people and their spirits.

The only recourse left for the villagers in this case seemed to be to appeal to their spirits to curse the Chinese companies, the local authorities and people who sold out to the companies to ‘become homeless ghosts and to die for seven generations’. Recent developments suggest that perhaps this is having some material effect since in mid-2020, the Hengfu Sugar Company’s subsidiaries all had to cease operations indefinitely on account of numerous irregularities.

Desertion of the spirits

My final example comes from my own fieldwork. I have met several spirit mediums over the years whose stories have struck me as notably allegorical. The most recent was in 2020, when a man in his sixties living in Battambang Province explained that the spirits are abandoning local villagers there too. I shall call him Mr Chan.

Mr Chan explained that the neak ta which entered his body were once people who had exhibited extraordinary power in life—parami. Neak Ta Dambong Dek and Neak Ta Oung, the two spirits that had come to him, had been brave commanders. They had fought to protect the Khmer people from all forms of threat. But he added, “It’s different now. In the past Lok Ta was much stronger and people relied on his help. Nowadays, he is not as strong because people no longer respect him as much … Therefore, Lok Ta doesn’t like to stay here with the people but prefers to stay elsewhere, especially in Thailand because … [here] people always make problems with each other so the neak ta are not happy to stay with us”.

Among rural people in Cambodia, there has therefore long been an understanding that greed and unrestrained exploitation of the environment will incur reprisals. If we abandon the powers that rightfully own and protect the treasures of the water and land, they too will abandon us. This worldview dovetails now with that of climatologists and environmentalists worldwide who are regularly presenting evidence of the way that the planet is irrevocably succumbing to human plundering.

We need to pay heed to the lessons that may be gleaned from rapidly disappearing cultural schemes before it is too late. They provide invaluable insights about the way humanity relates to the environment, as well as the notions of development, progress and civilisation that are now driving the extinction of both cultural and bio-diversity. Clearly, we have a great deal to learn about our duties of reciprocity in relations with the powers of our environment.

I would like to extend warm thanks to the Swedish Research Council and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation for the sponsorship that enabled me to undertake the research underlying this article. Thanks are also due to Dr Courtney Work for much inspiration in developing these ideas. And sincere gratitude also to all the Cambodians who have helped me understand what is happening to their country and, by extension, to our shared world.

#Southeast Asia #Cambodia #Traditions #Traditional Beliefs #Culture #Development

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peachdoxie · 5 years ago

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Aliens? Please explain

If you’re reading this, beware of MAJOR SPOILERS for the entirety of the Stormlight Archive so far, and brace yourselves for a massive infodump. Also I tried to put this under a read more but for whatever reason tumblr put it inside the ask itself.

Yes, there are many aliens or descendants of aliens in the Stormlight Archive. First, though, a bit of an astronomy lesson...

Stormlight takes place in a dwarf galaxy, with a series of planets orbiting different stars. This is known as the “cosmere,” Some of these planets are known as Shardworlds, meaning they have been Invested with magic energy (called Investiture), which manifests differently from Shardworld to Shardworld.

The cosmere is comprised of three Realms: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm. The Physical Realm is much like ours, though it has magic in it. The Cognitive Realm is the Realm of thoughts and minds, where ideas - how something thinks of itself - exist in pseudo-corporal forms (the exact metaphysics is unknown). The Spiritual Realm is the Realm of souls and how they Connect to each other. Note: everything has a soul, even non-living things. All three Realms exist universally in the Invested parts of the cosmere.

The Cognitive Realm is the most important of the three Realms in this discussion. While the Cognitive Realm roughly maps to the Physical Realm, distances aren’t quite the same, meaning that some things that are physically far apart are closer together in the Cognitive Realm. Some things have more cognitive presence than others (think humans vs a rock) and this corresponds to the size of their manifestation in the Cognitive Realm. Since there is very little cognitive presence in outer space, due to it being a vacuum, planets end up very close to each other in the Cognitive Realm.

It is possible for a person to transition between the three Realms at certain spots, called Perpendicularities, provided that that person is aware of how the cosmere works and/or is Invested enough to transition between Realms on their own. From here, they can “physically” navigate through the Cognitive Realm, using the shortened distances between planets as a way to “worldhop.” People who worldhop are called worldhoppers. Worldhoppers are the cosmere equivalent of extraterrestrial life.

Every book in the four main cosmere worlds - Stormlight, Mistborn, Elantris, and Warbreaker - have featured at least one worldhopper, though you have to be rather cosmere-aware to spot him sometimes (I’ll give you a hint: he often takes the form of a beggar or storyteller, and thinks himself very witty...). In Stormlight, which takes place on the planet Roshar - also the name of its only continent - there have been at least 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...plus another 10.............a lot. Big things are happening on Roshar, cosmere-wise, and a lot of people are making their way there, mostly for unknown reasons.

But this is in present-day Roshar, and not actually that big of a spoiler. This information is all part of the behind-the-scenes story of the cosmere that we get glimpses of through the various books and short stories. So what’s up with the big plot twist that most of the characters from Stormlight are descended from worldhoppers, aka aliens?

Well, for that we need to turn to some theology: specifically, Vorin theology, the main church in eastern Roshar that many of our beloved Alethis follow (or outright reject, in one case). Vorinism’s basic cosmology is as follows:

Humans once lived in the Tranquiline Halls, a world of peace.

The Voidbringers came from Damnation and drove them out to Roshar.

The ten Heralds fight the Voidbringers during each of the Desolations, a time of cataclysmic destruction that wipes out nearly all of humanity. They are accompanied by the Knights Radiant: normal people given the ability to Surgebind, or the ability to manipulate Roshar’s Investiture.

In Ahariatiam, the Last Desolation, the Heralds finally forced the Voidbringers back into the Transquiline Halls, where to this day the Heralds continue the fight against them.

Humans, when they die, return to the Tranquiline Halls. If they excelled in their Callings - what they are best at and devote themselves to developing - they will join the Heralds in their fight against the Voidbringers. Normal people just sleep, waiting the day when the battle is over.

The exact nature of the Tranquiline Halls is never explained, nor how the humans were expelled by the Voidbringers, but since it’s where human souls return after they die, it’s not a physical place so much as a metaphysical place. It’s like Heaven on earth. It’s not a physical place you go to so much as a non-physical place where your soul goes. This is how the Tranquiline Halls and Damnation (basically Hell) are treated in the Stormlight Archive by the practitioners of Vorinism.

Quite frankly, the average Rosharan doesn’t seem that concerned about the nature of the Tranquiline Halls. That’s a matter for the ardentia, the monks of Vorinism. Instead, Vorins are more concerned about Voidbringers. Though supposedly they’ve been trapped in the Tranquiline Halls with the Heralds, there are many folktales and superstitions about the Voidbringers still existing on Roshar. Knowledge about what, precisely, Voidbringers were is hard to come by. It’s been 4500 years since the Last Desolation, 2000 years since the Knights Radiant abandoned their oaths and betrayed mankind (an event known as the Recreance), and 500 years since a group of ardents known as the Hierocracy attempted to take over all of Roshar, purging as much information as they could of the Knights Radiant and the Recreance. This included much of the information about the nature of the Voidbringers. What _is _known is that they were extremely powerful and very dangerous, bent on destroying humankind after chasing them out of the Tranquiline Halls.

In the first book of Stormlight, Jasnah Kholin, the foremost scholar in all of Roshar (and avowed renouncer of Vorinism), discovered the origins of the Voidbringers: the parshmen. See, humans are not the only sentient humanoid species on Roshar. There are the parshmen, people with hardened carapace instead of skin, who are slaves to most of the kingdoms of Roshar because of their obedience, endurance, and low intellectual ability. Jasnah theorized that, at some point since Ahariatiam, humans figured out how to enslave Voidbringers into parshmen. This is quite the startling realization, because Jasnah, among others, believes that the Voidbringers are coming back. The Last Desolation may not have been so final after all....

In book two, the Voidbringers return. Enough parshmen who weren’t enslaved and retained enough intellectual ability to function (known as the Parshendi) summoned the Everstorm, a cataclysmic hurricane from their god Odium that returns to parshmen their ability to think, thus freeing them from enslavement. And it turns some parshmen into Voidbringers, and each pass of the storm returns more and more of them. The disgraced Knights Radiant have also begun to return, supported by their god, Honor, in order to fight the Voidbringers and protect mankind.

All of this changes in book three, Oathbringer, in chapter 111, “Eila Stele,” towards the end of Part Four, over a million words into the series. The Eila Stele is the oldest known written document on Roshar, carved into a stone and believed to be from before the Desolations began, rumored to be written by the Heralds themselves. However, until Oathbringer, it was written in a dead language called the Dawnchant, for which translations have been lost. Through a specific use of Investiture, though, Jasnah and her scholars are able to translate the Dawnchant and provide a translation of the Eila Stele, which reads:

They came from another world, using powers that we have been forbidden to touch. Dangerous powers, of spren and Surges. They destroyed their lands and have come to us begging.

We took them in, as commanded by the gods. What else could we do? They were a people forlorn, without a home. Our pity destroyed us. For their betrayal extended even to our gods: to spren, stone, and wind.

Beware the otherworlders. The traitors. Those with tongues of sweetness, but with minds that lust for blood. Do not take them in. Do not give them succor. Well were they named Voidbringers, for they brought the void. The empty pit that sucks in emotion. A new god. Their god.

These Voidbringers know no songs. They cannot hear Roshar, and where they go, they bring silence. They look soft, with no shell, but they are hard. They have but one heart, and it cannot ever live.

The original Voidbringers were not parshmen. They were humans who invaded Roshar after destroying their home planet, likely escaping through the Cognitive Realm and emerging into the Physical Realm on Roshar, the nearest planet.

The first and last paragraphs are where we find the proof of this. “They came from another world” is fairly clear, as is “They destroyed their lands.” The last paragraph is where we learn that the Voidbringers were humans, not parshmen, who actually call themselves the “singers”. The references to the Voidbringers bringing silence is due to the fact that singers are attuned to the Rhythms of Roshar, a cosmere-wide series of vibrations throughout the Spiritual Realm, though singers are the only ones able to feel/hear them. Humans cannot, and are therefore “silent.” They also are “soft, with no shell,” referring to the fact that they have skin instead of carapace.

The tl;dr of everything else is that after humans fled to Roshar, they were given land by the singers, who took pity on them. However, humans then tried to conquer other parts of Roshar that belonged to the singers. The singers’ gods (spren, aka parts of Honor) betrayed them for the humans, and so the singers turned to Odium - who had followed/chased/been brought by humans to Roshar from their original home - for help in order to fight back against the humans. In response, the Heralds worked with Honor to trap Odium’s soldiers in Damnation, ushering in the cycle of Desolations. The term “Voidbringer” is associated with Odium, and so basically anyone who’s allied with Odium, and thus became associated with the singers, as they were the soldiers of Odium. Eventually, the humans won. Or so they thought. Now, Odium and his soldiers returned, and humans once more are fighting to defend themselves from the Voidbringers.

This is where our beloved characters find themselves: fighting another war against Odium and the Voidbringers and facing another Desolation. Except this time, the rightfulness of the war is brought into question. Are the humans right to be fighting against the people who were just trying to defend themselves from humans in the first place? Previously, the humans had Honor on their side to ensure them of the morality of their battle, but Honor was killed by Odium shortly after the Recreance, when the Knights Radiant gave up their oaths upon learning the truth about the Voidbringers. Humans have no God to guide them anymore.

We haven’t yet seen the fallout from the translation of the Elia Stele. Pretty much immediately after the translation was published, an Everstorm approached, with only hours to prepare for a massive battle in which Odium made his first major overture of war. The book ended shortly thereafter. We will have to see what happens in book four, which comes out in November.

So yes. The biggest plot twist of the Stormlight Archive thus far is that it is actually a story about dealing with the effects of an alien invasion in which the aliens won but then forgot they were aliens. In book four, there our heroes will have to grapple with the dubious morality of their way and the themes of the book will include discussions about postcolonial theory and decolonization. In this essay I will

#Anonymous #stormlight archive #cosmere #anecdotes by peachdoxie #i left out a whole bunch (mostly about the cosmere behind-the-scenes sotry)#but here's the infodump about aliens in stormlight archive

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shortythescreen · 5 years ago

Text

Things That Have Been

Summary: They were just kids when they fell in love.

Pairing: Bloodhound/Reader.

Author’s Notes: This is a prologue to Chase and Leave! Also can be read on AO3. SFW/SFT. Bloodhound and the reader are babbies! Meaning under 18. Friendly reminder not to follow if ur age is not in ur bio. SFT stuff is a rarity for me and I’d prefer everyone that follows be 18+! No serious warnings here other than the Epicenter blowing up + some human/animal deaths are referenced. Also some religious themes having to do with the tribe/village that Bloth is seen in! Enjoy!

Twilight never lasts long enough for your liking.

The Elders tell you it is the time when it seems the veil between realms is the thinnest, when you can hear the spirits laugh and play and dance across the winds of the valley. It seems harder to believe it is the time closest to the gods, and yet…

It’s one of the few beauties that still captures your interest. As a teenager, not much does, though you’re forced to concentrate far more than what is probably normal. You watch the stars appear overheard, the sky coloring them shades of violet and crimson. The sun still warms your face even though you can see the double moon of World’s Edge in your peripheral, just barely visible in the quieting day.

You’re perched on a boulder at the edge of a cliff, watching the city you once called home. It feels like a lifetime ago that you were there. You can just barely remember the little apartment your family lived in, the room you shared with a sister whose name you’ve long forgotten. All the toys strewn about your room, the soft, heavy quilt your mother had taken the time to sew. Your father’s chair that he would slump in after a long day’s work, a water dangling from his palm, you on his lap. You wonder if any of those things are still there, frozen in time. If those moments still exist at twilight.

“Hey!” You hear from behind you. You look over your shoulder then snort as you see a familiar face trekking through the snow, a big smile stretched across their lips. Oh, Allfather.

“What do you want, Bloth?” You mumble, turning away, resting your chin on the knee you’re hugging to your chest.

“You’re supposed to say hi back,” they tell you and the quiet crunch of snow slowly stops. You look from the corner of your eyes, finding them standing just to the right of your boulder. Their arms are behind their back, big grin on their face, and you sigh. You know them well enough to know they will not disappear, no matter how long you ignore them.

“I don’t feel like saying hi. Twilight is not the time for hi,” you tell them, “and besides you said hey, not hi.”

“Then say hey,” they tease and you huff, turning your gaze back to the city. If you squint, you can see the building that your father worked at. You have distant memories of it, of accompanying him, seeing the smiling faces of his coworkers. You only remember one of them, whose name you can only recall because Artur speaks so highly of him. Johann was a good man, one that loaded you on a train when the Epicenter began to shatter.

“Hello,” they try again and with a loud huff, you drop your knee, then twist to face them with a dour countenance. You’re forced to look down, much taller than them on your boulder.

“Can’t you see when you’re not wanted?” You bite, glaring.

“Nope,” they say, popping the p. They offer a gloved hand out to you. “Come on. Uncle says it isn’t wise to look upon the past for anything but lessons.”

“Since when do you listen to your Uncle?” You grumble, hopping down, ignoring the outstretched hand. Still, Bloth doesn’t take it back, though their grin has softened into something gentler, kinder. Even a little understanding.

“Since right now, when it benefits you to heed that advice,” they say, biting their lip to suppress a giggle. You roll your eyes, pursing your lips. “Besides, I don’t like to see you mope.”

“I wasn’t moping,” you mumble, crossing your arms over your chest. You stuff your hands into your armpits, looking at them with a little pout.

“Your smile is far more pleasant than whatever that is,” they say, “come on. I want to show you something.”

“I do not want to see another animal pelt,” you tell them, scrunching your nose, “they’re gross.”

“It’s not that,” Bloth says and, wow, hasn’t their arm gotten tired yet? “Don’t you trust me?”

You huff noisily, throwing your head back and looking at them over your cheekbones. They don’t flinch. You and Bloth came to their Uncle’s tribe together, small children who were forced to flee a disaster. You can still remember the day you met, shaking hands as your fathers introduced you, complaining about having to accompany them to work. You remember arriving in the village that same day, burying your face between their shoulder blades and not letting go, clinging to the only familiar face you had.

“That’s not fair,” you mumble but you take their hand anyway. Bloth grins and you’re certain if they’d ever take off their goggles, those pretty, copper colored eyes would be crinkling at the corners. Your eyes unwillingly fall to their dimples.

“It worked,” they reply, humming a jovial tune as they pull you along. They lace your fingers together, squeezing your hand, and your face warms with something that isn’t the cold. Though it’s been ten years, you’re still not quite used to the snow.

“Why can’t you let me stew in peace?” You ask as you trek away from your cliff. The elders say that no one has any claim to land, which is a sign that the old corporations, with their technology and claims, were evil. Yet, you can’t help but think of that little ledge, with the large boulder only you care to climb, as yours.

“Because you’re my friend,” they say, “and stewing isn’t healthy.”

“Says you,” you mumble though the venom behind your words has drained. You clutch Bloth’s hand and they return your grip.

You two hike through the snow for what seems like forever. Twilight has faded and now only the moons show overhead, both halves. The Elders say when both are full, those who train with the Wise Women will be able to see snippets of the things that have been, things that are, and things that have yet to pass.

“Your Uncle is going to worry,” you tell them, though the ground has evened out, and the trees overhead begin to blot out the moon. You draw a little closer to Bloth, your chest near their back, as your gaze flickers around the dank forest.

“Uncle knows I planned to take you here,” Bloth says and you sigh. It’s so rare they don’t cover their bases, that they don’t have an answer. It’s as frustrating as it is endearing.

“Why would you tell him that?”

“Because you were moping.”

“I was not moping!”

“You only go to that rock to mope.”

“I got to that rock to think, thank you, and maybe if you ever stopped to do it, you would know-”

You stumble into Bloth’s back as they come to an abrupt halt. You huff at them, opening your mouth and preparing to complain again, only to stop as your eyes land on the sight before you.

“Oh…” you breathe.

“Yes.” Bloth says and you can hear the smile in their voice.

You release their hand and walk forward. The waterfall before you is frozen solid, ice glistening silver like a freshly forged sword. Snow surrounds the edges of what was once a river and as you draw a little closer, you’re certain you can see the silhouettes of fish, dancing and playing like the spirits at twilight. Protected by the heavy stronghold of ice that comes and goes with every passing winter.

The trees around you are as they always are in winter, topped with snow like a fine powder. Yet, somehow, with the magnificence of this great body of water, its roaring stream tamed by the cracking whip of winter, it somehow seems even more magical. You peer up as it, at the way the forest has somehow parted for this brilliant, natural beauty.

“How have we never known this was here?” You ask, moving a little closer, crouching down to watch the fish beneath the frozen lake. Your breath puffs out like a ghost before you, but you don’t care, far more interested in the way in which nature has gone still on this snowy night.

“Uncle knew. So did the Elders,” they tell you, boots crunching the snow to join you at the river’s edge. “But I found something new about this place.”

You twist your head to look at them and this time, when they offer their hand, you take it. They pull you up and bound closer to the waterfall, which only gets more massive as you draw near. You look up at it, slowly smiling, fascinated with the way the water has sharpened into deathly looking icicles, glittering in its frozen standstill.

“Pay attention,” Bloth teases and you snap back as they release your hand. They climb onto a rock, adjacent to the waterfall, and the way they’re looking at you is a mystery with those goggles. Yet you recognize the affectionate twitch of their lips, the earnest smile, and your heart thumps a little more loudly in your chest.

“You pay attention,” you finally huff out, flustered as you move to follow them. You’re careful to copy their climb as closely as you can manage, feet finding the spots that theirs had previously been in. You wonder how often they’ve climbed up here, if they’re used to it by now and moving slow for you, or if this is one of the first few times they’ve come here.

Finally, beneath what seems to be a gap between the stone it’s fallen over and the fall itself, Bloth climbs through. They have to squeeze a little but when they finish, they turn to you, and offer you their hands. You grab one of their forearms, your other hand still holding onto the stone and you cast a glance over your shoulder.

“It doesn’t seem wise to look down,” they tell you and you turn to glare at them.

“Shut up and help me,” you say and they snicker, reaching down to meet your other hand as you swing up. Now, they hold onto your forearms, firm hands closed tightly around the space just beneath your elbows.

As they pull, your feet skitter on the stone, and you gasp, trying to find your balance.

“Hang on,” Bloth says, though you hear the edge of panic at their voice. Which definitely doesn’t help because if they’re panicking, they’re definitely worried about you falling. You squeeze their forearms so tightly that they hiss though they continue to yank you up.

“Bloth!” You squeak.

“I have you, I have you,” they say, and you clamber onto a more stable stone, your heart finally beginning to slow its stampede. One of your knees find the opening that Bloth is trying to pull you through. You’re forced to twist your body, shoulders too wide as you hang onto Bloth. They plant their feet on the cool ground beneath them, then lean back, using their weight to pull you through the gap.

With a loud thud, you finally manage to get through, careening forward and taking Bloth with you. You two slide back and, disoriented, your hands landing on either side of Bloth to catch yourself. You blink, trying to regain your bearings, only to realize just how close you and Bloth are.

Up close, you can see the shine of their goggles, their lips chapped by the winter chill. The markings on their face only serve to emphasize their skin and you hurry to pull away.

You flop onto your rear, then scoot back a few paces and Bloth immediately sits up, hands behind them to support their weight.

“Are you-” Their voice cracks and they clear it, shaking their head, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine- I’m- yes- this is, wow, what a place this is,” you say, trailing off as the little cave catches your attention. The light that had been reflecting off the ice outside pours into the cave as though taking the place of the water, casting a silvery sheen across the long cavern. It mixes with blue, like the water can’t decide if it should shines its light or the skies. You hold your hand up, flexing it in the dim light.

“Yes,” they say, “this is my boulder.”

“So, you mope here?”

“I knew you were moping.”

You smirk at them and they grin back. The tumble is long forgotten and Bloth scoots a little closer to you, bringing their knees up to their chest. They rest their cheek on their knees, cheek twisted to watch you.

“I found it a few weeks ago,” they tell you, “and it’s so nice and quiet… Uncle says it’s a sacred place. One of the only ones that wasn’t touched by the evil.”

“Right. The evil,” you say, sighing as you drop your hand. You slouch over, legs crisscrossing beneath you and your elbows rest on either one of your knees. You look at the beautiful, glittering ice before you, bright azure and ivory and silver.

“…I don’t think it was all evil,” Bloth tells you just as you think it. You look back over at them, noticing they haven’t looked away from you. “It might have killed my mama and papa but... Not all of it was bad. Not the way I remember it.”

“Do you remember fans?”

“How can I not, during the summer?” Bloth snorts and you grin, sighing as you look at the waterfall again. It’s hard not to feel solemn when you talk to others about things that were. Bloth is the only one you truly feel free to do so with, that you feel like won’t judge you for your beginnings in a world of technology. “And heaters.”

“And ovens,” you laugh, laying back on the cool cave beneath you. You stare up at the ceiling, breath hitching as you see the twinkle of gems at the very top.

You hear their coats shift before you see them lay down, joining you, staring at the mineralized ceiling. Even though you miss all those things, ovens, and heaters, and fans, and Allfather, TV was really nice from what you remember of it, there really is something magical about a place like this. A place that hasn’t been touched by the world, hasn’t been tainted by time.

“I think I miss my parents most of all,” they say and you turn your head to look at them. Their gaze is focused on the ceiling and you study the slope of their nose, their round cheeks that have slowly been carving away to something slimmer, sharper. When they sense you staring, they turn their head.

You hum, wishing you could see their eyes. Bloth’s eyes tell a story that their lips will not, though Artur doesn’t ever seem to be able to hear it the way you do. You reach out, cautiously slow, giving them time to pull away. When they don’t, you gently grab the edge of one of their goggles with your forefinger and thumb.

They don’t stop you, don’t even flinch and you slowly pull the goggles off. You scoot them to rest on top of their head so you can look at those pretty, copper colored eyes, so dusty brown they’re almost red.

“There you are,” you whisper, and their lips twitch up in a little smile. You drop your hand, a little colder than before, letting it rest between you two.

“It’s almost the anniversary of the explosion,” they remind you.

“I know,” you say, “I don’t want to go to the memorial. It’s always the same thing. The evil overlord corporations killed those that we loved and now we should scorn them. Like, come on.”

“We could just… Come here.” They say and you raise an eyebrow.

“Your uncle would be angry.”

“He’s usually angry about something.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Then you don’t know Artur as well as I do.”

You roll your eyes though stop arguing. The relationship between Artur and Bloth is no business of yours – you’re only here to listen when they get to be frustrated with the lack of pride they see in the old man. Silence passes between you two and neither of you look away, staring at each other between the narrow space of the cavern.

“I’m serious, though,” they finally say, “we could come here for the day and remember all the good things. Even if it ended badly.”

In your periphery, you see their fingers slowly inch out. They cover yours for just a moment before they slip their palm under yours, tangling your hands once again. Your lips twitch upwards and they return your smile, bashful. Bloth is sometimes reckless where they needn’t be. It’s one of the many things you like about them that also frustrates you. As confusing as it is endearing.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you tell them, “but we could have our own memorial one day and do that.”

“I’d like that,” they say, and you hum, gripping their hand tightly. You turn your gaze back to the ceiling, eyes flickering across the gems, like stars twinkling in the dim light from the moon shining through the frozen fall.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” you murmur. They thumb your knuckles gently.

“Now you can come bother me when I mope,” they say and you throw your head back with a laugh, neck arching away from the cold floor. You roll onto your side, preparing to remind them that you only admitted to moping once, thank you very much, only to realize the look in those pretty copper eyes. The story that no one can seem to hear.

“There you are,” they say back to you, reaching out with their free hand to touch your cheek. There your heart goes again, stumbling along in your chest, and your throat bobs with how hard you swallow. You two observe each other for a long time, skin silvery from the moon outside, and right now, you think you can hear the spirits, their giggles carried on the wind that blows through the cavern. They only seem to grow louder as Bloth uses their grip on your cheek to guide you to them, copper eyes fluttering shut.

Your lips brush just barely. Before you can tilt your head and stumble along to the beat of your heart, you hear shouts of your name and Bloth’s. You two jerk apart and Bloth’s face is bright red, the tips of their ears the same colors as the markings they choose to don.

“Um.”

“I’m so sorry-”

“No! No, I’m- I’m sorry-”

“You didn’t do anything, why are you sorry-”

“I don’t know! I just-”

Someone calls your names again and you twist to look over your shoulder at the opening, Bloth raising their head to join you. You two look at each other again, then at the opening, and you loudly sigh.

“Oh, Allfather,” you groan, before leaning down and connecting your lips with theirs. They squeak against you, hands shooting up to touch your face, yours on either side of their head. It’s messy, neither of you quite sure of what you’re doing, and your teeth clink, noses bumping as you seek your footing in this.

You pull away, heart racing again, and they stare up at you, equally discombobulated. Then, after another long moment, they smile at you, thumbs running over the apples of your cheek.

“Uh,” they begin intelligently and you grin back.

“Come on,” you say, scooting back, and they scramble to join you, pulling their goggles back into place.

“I, um. I really- We should-” they lamely continue and as you hit the opening you giggle in their direction.

“We’ll talk about it later,” you promise them. They stop their stuttering to beam, nodding along as they scoot around to climb down first.

You and Bloth hurry back to the others, all giddy smiles and crinkled eyes as you find the small group of villagers that had been looking for you – all hunters. They were very close to your hiding spot and Artur is among them, glaring at their brother’s child. He admonishes you both for being gone for so long, but you don’t hear bane in his tone.

Your eyes turn to the moon, both halves in the sky. Even though they’re not full, as you look at Bloth, the quiet grin stretched across their face, you think you can see things. Things that are, and things that have yet to pass.

#bloodhound/reader #bloodhound x reader #apex legends imagine #apex legends #bloodhound #reader insert #apex imagines #apex bloodhound #first kisses!!!!!!!!!#sfw

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