#Sons Akash

[bethanythebogwitch]

Intro to Mage: the Ascension lore

Mage: the Ascension is a tabletop roleplaying game that is part of the World of Darkness (also called the Old World of Darkness), a series of games that share a setting but can be played independently of each other. Each game in the OWoD features a type of supernatural creature that lives amongst humanity in secret. It is a dark world where the shadows are deep and monsters prowl the shadows. You aren't a monster in this game, though. You are human, though a human that has gained incredible power. You are now part of the Ascension War whether you like it or not, a secret conflict to define humanity's path forward and the nature of reality itself.

The core concept of Mage is consensual reality: the idea that reality is whatever the majority of people believe that it is. Nowadays, the Consensus is pretty much the same everywhere, but historically is varied considerably over time and location. Even now, with a mostly homogeneous Consensus, there is still minor variation both around the world and over a much smaller scale. The Consensus in a laboratory will be slightly different than if you go across the street to a fortune teller's shop. A mage, or the Awakened as they tend to call themselves, is someone with the power to perform Magick that goes against the consensus. In effect, each mage has their own personal Consensus consisting of their personal beliefs about the nature of the world and reality. This is known as a mage's Paradigm ad they can perform Magick that conforms to the rules of their Paridigm even if those rules violate the Consensus. A mage who believes in the existence of the luminiferous ether could cast spells and build devices that work based on their beliefs about the ether, but they couldn't summon fire elementals if elementals aren't part of their Paradigm. Magick is incredibly powerful and flexible, but there are limits. One of those is Paradox. If a mage blatantly violates the consensus around Sleepers (regular people), there will be some kind of backlash that can range from the spell failing to the mage being shunted into their own personal pocket dimension. Once, the supernatural was casually accepted to be real and thus mages could openly practice Magick without (much) fear of Paradox. Now, the Consensus doesn't allow that. People know that you can't just fly, summon fire from your hands, transmute lead into gold, or make plants grow with a touch. The Consensus had been shaped into one of logic and reason, and so mages must either practice their Magick in secret or disguise their spells as mundane effects. For example, a mage throwing a fireball in public will almost certainly be hit with Paradox. However, if they hold a lighter up to a spray can first, the Sleepers can rationalize the fireball as something totally mundane and thus the mage is at less risk of Paradox.

All mages start out as Sleepers. Every human has the potential to become a mage, but most will never realize it. The event that causes a Sleeper to Awaken into a mage is different for everyone. For some it could take the form of conversion with a god, for others it could be an encounter with the supernatural that they can't reason away, a more scientifically-minded person might Awaken while working on a theory or discovering something that alters their worldview while someone else could Awaken as the result of a drug trip. It really is different for everyone, which makes it extremely hard to predict or intentionally cause Awakenings. Every mage has an Avatar, which acts as a personal guide to enlightenment. Naturally, everyone has a different idea of what the Avatar (or Enlightened Genius if you're a Technocrat) is. It could be your subconscious mind given a voice, a portion of your soul, a messenger from God, a spirit guardian, a manifestation of your inner genius, or a dozen other things. Many agree that the Avatar reincarnates, either alongside the mage's soul or separately. The destruction of an Avatar is called Gilgul and it removes the mage's ability to do Magick. The ultimate goal of the Avatar is to guide the mage to Ascension. Every mage has a different idea of Ascension and how to reach it. You may be noticing a theme here. Ascension could be learning of the true reality unshaped by Consensus, imposing your Paradigm on reality, moving to another universe where your Paradigm is reality, learning everything there is to learn in the universe, becoming one with the divine, or a million other things. Unfortunately, the more powerful a mage becomes, the more their Paradigm conflicts with the Consensus and the more Paradox they generate. Sufficiently powerful mages will cause Paradox just by existing. Therefore, the most powerful mages must retreat to Horizon Realms: locations beyond the mortal world that are not affected by Consensus. These include the spirit world, the underworld, other dimensions, and space. There are a lot of mages that live in space. Like there are druids on Venus and a war over who controls Jupiter's moons. It's a whole thing

Mage Magick, also called Dynamic Magic, is what separates them from other types of spellcasters. Many people and beings in the World of Darkness have the power to use magic of one kind or another. These other forms of magic are usually called Sorcery, though Hedge Magic is often used as an insult. Sorcery can be learned by Sleepers and does not cause Paradox. The fact that Sorcery and creatures like vampires and werewolves don't cause Paradox is something mages find very interesting. The main difference is that Dynamic Magic is vastly more flexible than Sorcery because it is shaped by the Paradigm of the mage using it. Most mages look down on Sorcery, considering it inferior to Magick. The powers of the player characters of other games in OWoD would be considered Sorcery by most mages, including vampire blood magic, werewolf spirit rites, and mummy sorcery. Most mages will use foci to help them get into the mindset to cast spells. Foci are items, actions, and mindsets that relate to the mage's Paradigm. Many mages view Magick as being composed of 9 Spheres, each of which embodies and controls one aspect of reality. Mages progress in their spellcasting by studying and understanding the Spheres and how they work into their Paradigm. Magick often works best when using elements of multiple Spheres together, though this also makes the spells more complicated. Magick is powered by Quintessence, the fundamental energy of all things. Mages have a stockpile of Quintessence they expend to power their spells. Quintessence will recharge on its own, but a faster method is to draw it from places of supernatural significance called Nodes. Many nodes are also used by other supernatural creatures, such as the Caerns of werewolves, Trods of changelings, or a house haunted by ghosts, which can lead to conflict with mages seeking to recharge.

In the past, the supernatural was an accepted part of reality. This allowed mages to use their Magick openly, without much fear of Paradox and allowed numerous supernatural creatures to live amongst humans. This was a very dangerous time for Sleepers, a time where mages rules over humanity and monsters prowled the countryside. Not everyone was happy about this state of affairs, and so a group of scholars, mystics, and mages came together to form the Order of Reason. They wanted to create a new form of Magick that everyone could use, which they called science. Science would work on principles of logic and reason, ensuring that it worked the same for mages and Sleepers. By spreading their influence and merging with other like-minded groups, the Order of Reason grew fast, leading to the beginning of the Ascension war between them and mages of the Order of Hermes. And the Order of Reason won. Their Paradigm of reason and logic effectively became the Consensus. In response, the Order of Hermes was forced to join forces with other Crafts (Crafts are groups of mages with similar Paradigms who work together) to survive in this rational world, founding the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. In the centuries since then, the Order of Reason has become the Technocratic Union or Technocracy, an authoritarian organization with global (and beyond) influence dedicated to controlling the Consensus and humanity for the Sleepers' own good. The Ascension War continues in the shadows, an endless fight between the Traditions trying to restore magic to the world and the Technocracy ho would chain humanity in an attempt to save it.

The Council of Nine Mystic Traditions is a very loose and disparate organization united only by their opposition to the Technocratic Paradigm and Spheres model of magic. Each tradition will very widely in Paradigm and practices with the other Traditions and with themselves. There is a lot of internal conflict within each Tradition as members argue over Paradigms and goals. Each Tradition will have many sub-factions vying for power. The Traditions use an apprenticeship model for new members. Tradition mages will seek out newly Awakened mages and induct them into the Traditions while trying to shape the young mage's Paradigm. Each Tradition represents one of the Spheres and their members are usually the best at using their Sphere. This does not mean members of a Tradition are restricted to using their Tradition's Sphere. Most mages will end up learning spells from multiple Spheres. Politics is a powerful force in the Traditions, with mages constantly vying for power. It is an organization with constant infighting, which is likely a major reason why it is losing to the Technocracy.

The Akashayana or Akashic Brotherhood represents the Sphere of Mind. This Sphere affects mental abilities, knowledge, astral projection, psychic powers, etc. The Akashayana believe in the unity of mind, body, and spirit. By improving one, they improve the others, working toward a greater whole. They believe in removing distractions and temptations to lead an ascetic lifestyle of meditation and practice to transcend your limitations and open the mind to infinity. A key part of their traditions is the practice of the martial art of Do, which is used to hone the body to be the ideal vessel for the mind. Many members are upset that new recruits only join for the cool magic martial arts without being interested in the ascetic lifestyle or practice of improving the mind. Ascension to them is to achieve enlightenment and stand above the wheel of Samsara. Foci for the Akashayana can include staves and other martial arts weapons, meditation, teaching others, and going through the motions for martial arts. Example Akashayana could be a traveling monk who spreads his beliefs in meditation wherever he goes, a guide who spreads wisdom through astral projects while her actual body has not moved in years, or the leader of a mall dojo who actually teaches useful moral lessons.

The Celestial Chorus represents the Sphere of Prime. This Sphere governs Quintessence and Magick itself, with applications including understanding, powering up, or weakening other spells, seeking out Nodes, counter other spells, and reduce the effects of Paradox. The Chorus is a multi-faith group who believes in a monotheistic god called the One. The One sang reality into existence as an extension of itself. There are as many ways to understand the One as there are people the One reveals itself to, and thus most religions are considered valid, though the Abrahamic religions are the most powerful within the Tradition. They used to be strictly Christian, but after the Tradition participated in the atrocities of the Crusades, there was a reformation to become much more tolerant. The Choristers spread their beliefs to the world, acting as prophets and miracle workers to bring others to the One. Ascension to them is to return to unity with the One. Foci for the Chorus can include singing, prayer, holy symbols, and participating in religious rituals. Example Choristers can include a cloistered scholar going through ancient holy texts in search of enlightenment, a wandering prophet spreading the word of the One, or a youth pastor who really emphasizes the importance of doing good to others.

The Chakravanti, also known as the Euthanatos, represents the Sphere of Entropy. This Sphere represents cause and effect, change, luck, and endings, including death. Applications of Entropy include setting up chains of events like a Rube Goldberg machine, altering luck and probability, communing with the dead, and discerning people's destiny. The Chakravanti believe that reality is a great wheel of death and rebirth and that all people have a Dharma, a destiny they are meant to fulfill to keep the wheel spinning. The Tradition acts as agents of Karma by ensuring people stick to their Dharma. They prefer to do this in subtle ways, nudging people onto the right path. However, sometimes someone has strayed so far from their Dharma that the only solution is to kill them so they can be reborn again. This practice has given the Chakravanti an unfortunate reputation as as killers amongst the rest of the Traditions. A key part of their beliefs is that death is not something to be feared, as every end is a new beginning. Thus they give care and comfort to the dying so they can begin their next life on the best terms. The Chakravanti originated in India, but eventually merged with the Euthanatos, a Craft of Greek mages who acted as death priests over similar beliefs. Because of the rather eurocentric nature of the Traditions, the Greek name was used over the original one for a large portion of history. Ascension for the Chakravanti is to liberate themselves from Karma. Foci for the Chakravanti can include meditation, weapons, symbols of death and rebirth, and setting up chains of cause and effect. Example Chakravanti include a watcher of the wheel who sets up elaborate chins of causality to push people to their Dharma, a scholar who travels to the underworld to learn the secrets of the dead, or a hospice worker who comforts the dying.

The Kha'vadi, also known as Dreamspeakers, represent the Sphere of Spirit. This Sphere represents the spirit world and the spirits that live there. Applications include binding spirits to physical objects, traveling to and from the spirit world, utilizing the power that spirits hold, and banishing spirits possessing things. The Dreamspeakers are the most diverse of all the Traditions, alike only in their belief in animism and the existence of spirits that mirror the mortal world. When the Traditions were being formed, the other, more eurocentric traditions simply grouped all the animist practitioners of many highly diverse cultures together under the racist belief that they were all basically the same. You can find cultures from all over the world represented with the Kha'Vadi, often disagreeing wildly on their beliefs and customs (though many find common ground in mocking the other Traditions for their shortsightedness). The majority of the Kha'Vadi continue to practice the ancient cultural practices of the cultures they originate from, though there is a growing movement that rejects old traditions in favor of embracing spirits of modern society like spirits of concrete, wires, and the internet. There are no universal beliefs about Ascension amongst the Kha'vadi and the foci used are typically culturally-based. They are just too diverse for any unifying principles to apply to everyone. Example Kha'vadi include an African witch doctor who ends droughts by appeasing spirits of rain, a wandering exorcist who expels spirits who are possessing people, and a tech-shaman who runs a computer repair shop that secretly specializes in banishing spirits of malware.

The Mercurial Elite, also known as the Virtual Adepts (and there is quite a bit of internal argument over which name is correct) represents the Sphere of Correspondence. This Sphere represents space and communication. Applications of Correspondence include information gathering and dissemination, ESP, teleportation, and messing with physical dimensions. The Mercurial Elite are the youngest of the Traditions and were formerly a Convention of the Technocracy, originally known as the Difference Engineers. They were at odds with the rest of the Technocracy for a while over it's support of the Axis powers during WWII, but left in 1956 once the Technocracy had Adept Alan Turing assassinated and joined the Traditions, taking over the seat of Correspondence which had recently been vacated when the Ahl-i-Batin, the former holders, left the Traditions. The Mercurial Elite believe that the universe can be described with mathematics and that my using math, reality itself can be manipulates. Key to their practices is the Digital Web, a vast dimension of information underlying reality of which the internet is a very small portion. The Digital Web allows access to the Correspondence Point, which many Adepts believe is the true nature of reality, a single point containing all information where space is an illusion. The majority of Adepts are hackers, computer programmers, or netizens that use the internet as a a major component of their powers. Since they treat the universe as a computer, the Virtual Adepts can hack literally everything. Ascension for the Mercurial Elite is using the Digital Web to create a utopia called Reality 2.0, which will become the new home of humanity. The most common foci for the Adepts are computers and computer-related things like memes and 133tspeak, but anything that can be used to do math can work as a focus. Example Virtual Adepts include an activist who hacks the wallpaper of rich people's houses to act as cameras and gather incriminating evidence, a math professor at an Ivy League university who writes their spells as equations on a chalkboard, and a troll who downloads himself onto websites to bypass being banned.

The Order of Hermes represents the Sphere of Forces. Forces control the elemental and energetic forces that underlie reality, such as temperature, gravity, radiation, electricity, and so on. Applications of Forces include hurling fire and lightning, altering the properties of objects, manipulating light, and altering one kind of force into another. The Order of Hermes claims descent from the the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, who learned from the god Thoth. The Hermetics seek to use Hermes Trismegistus's teachings to uncover the hidden knowledge of the universe and strive constantly to perfection. The Order is the most rigidly organized of the Traditions, with a strict hierarchy that one only progresses through by gaining knowledge and playing politics. It is said that many of the masters of the Order spend more time amassing political power than they do studying Magick. The Order is divided into multiple Great Houses and many minor ones, each of which follows its own traditions and which fights for political power. Tradition is highly important in the Order and they are proud and slow to change. That being said, one of the Great Houses is House Ex Miscellanea, which formed as a group of outcasts and minor houses that joined forces are are much more open to experimentation and free thought. Apprenticeship to the Order is a grueling process that ensures only the most capable gain entry. It was the Order of Hermes's rule over most of Europe that inspired the formation of the Order of Reason and the Order was one of the main power players during the founding of the Traditions. Ascension for the Hermetics typically means gaining mastery over Magick itself. Common foci for the Order include wands, staves, incantations, tomes of esoteric knowledge, and magic potions. Example Hermetics include an archaeologist exploring ancient ruins in search of lost secrets, a master scholar forced to dedicate ever more time to the political game, and a rogue member of an independent Craft who sought refuge in House Ex Miscellanea.

The Sahajiya, often (derogatorily) called the Cult of Ecstasy represents the Sphere of Time. Time controls the flow of history, which is rarely linear. Applications of Time include precognition and postcognition, creating time loops, altering the age of objects, and time travel. Fitting for a group that specializes in time, the history of the Sahajiya is extremely convoluted and self-contradictory, though they descend from numerous groups who tried to see beyond the mortal universe to see the secrets beyond. To the Sahajiya, the true nature of the universe is beyond the ability of the human mind to perceive and thus the reality we experience is an illusion out minds create to maintain sanity. They seek to experience moments of ecstasy, which they define as any intense rush of sensation, to glimpse beyond the illusion and see a bit of reality as it truly is. The methods used to experience this moment of true sight are called Kamamarga and there are innumerable varieties. However, the most common Kamamarge are mind-altering substances, sex, and music. This has given the Sahajiya a reputation for being drug-addled hedonists and they are often disrespected by the other Traditions. The founder of the Tradition is a guy named Sh'zar, who has transcended time itself. He was also the person who first proposed the founding of the Traditions after looking forward in time and seeing a need for a united front to oppose the Technocracy. Ascension for the Sahajiya is to achieve a level of enlightenment that allows them to fully comprehend reality as it truly is. Common foci include drugs, tantra, music, meditation, and fasting. Example Sahajiya could include a mystic who seeks enlightenment through fasting and self-flagellation, a rock star whose music in enchanted to make the listener experience intense pleasure, and a hippy seeking out ever more powerful hallucinogens to transcend their mortality.

The Society of Ether (formerly the Sons of Ether) represents the Sphere of Matter. Matter control physical objects. Applications of matter include transmuting one object into another, altering object's sizes, making machines do thing they weren't designed for, and building impossible objects. The Society of Ether agree with the Technocracy's position that science is humanity's way forward, but they fundamentally disagree on what science should be. They don't believe that science should be a static set of facts but an ever-changing, chaotic process that is unique for everyone. The Society actually started out as a Convention of the Technocracy called the Electrodyne Engineers. They claim descent from the practices of Atlantis, a technological utopia based around the manipulation of the luminiferous ether, a substance that infuses the universe, as described in the text known as the Kitab Al-Alacir. When the Technocracy used the Michelson-Morley experiment to remove the ether from the Consensus, the Engineers left in disgust and joined the Traditions. Now, the Society despises the Technocracy and seeks to replace it's Paradigm with their more weird and wonderful ideas of science. The Etherites are mad scientists and adventurers whose work often invokes baroque designs steampunk designs. They act like a guild or sometimes even a university, instructing new students in both normal and etheric sciences. Advancement is done through discovering new things and publishing papers. They even have their own journal, Paradigma. Ascension for the Etherites is to uncover the mysteries of the ether. Their foci include various technological devices such as ray guns and jetpacks, as well as tools like wrenches and lasers. Example Etherites include an adventurer exploring the depths of space in a flying sailboat, a vigilante who uses bizarre technology to fight crime, and a scholar debating the finer points of ethercraft with colleagues.

The Verbena represent the Sphere of Life. Life represents the primal force that separates what is alive from inanimate matter. Applications of Life include healing and harming, making things grow, and bringing things to life. The Verbena are an ancient tradition tracing their roots back to the ancient days of Europe, long before monotheism entered the picture. They still practice the old ways of paganism and druidism that were repressed and crushed by the arrival of Christianity. Key to the Verbena's beliefs is the hidden signs within nature. They watch the movement of the stars, search for meaning in the growth of leaves, and scry on the future in the arrangement of entrails. They reject the trappings of civilization and technology, preferring a hermit's existence in the wilderness. Because of their rejection of civilization and the arrivila of Christianity mostly wiping out their way of life, the Verbena are one of the smallest Traditions and have been losing ground. However, the recent surge of environmentalism and neo-paganism has seen their numbers growing. There is also a movement amongst the Verbena that advocated for trying to find a balance between nature and civilization and trying to protect the wild places amongst cities, but they are small and mostly rejected. Notably, Sorcerers can rise through the Verbena's ranks while they are mostly shunned from the other Traditions. Ascension for the Verbena is often becoming one with the energy of life that flows through all living things. Common foci include natural objects, songs, dances, wands, and astrology. Example Verbena include a keeper of the old faith living deep in the woods, a reclusive national park ranger who is especially brutal to poachers and litterers, and a rare city-dweller who focuses on maintaining the balance of nature in the parks.

Opposing the Traditions and currently winning the Ascension War is the Technocratic Union. The Technocracy is dedicated to the creation of a Consensus that is driven by logic and reason and, most importantly, is safe for humanity. They know that the universe is a dangerous and wild place full of monsters and that humanity's survival depends on banishing this danger. If this means manipulating the masses and taking humanity's control of its destiny away, they will do it. After all, the masses often don't know what's best for them and, like a parent has to do for a child, sometimes they need to take that decision away from you for your own good. Key to the Technocracy's beliefs is that Magick, what they call reality deviance, must be destroyed. Of course, while they would never admit it, Technocrats are mages and science is just another form of magic that has become accepted enough within the Consensus to be usable by Sleepers. Technocrats insist that what they practice is Enlightened Science and that the Avatar is a manifestation of their own internal genius rather than some kind of spiritual being. And given that they currently control the Consensus, who's to say they're wrong? That being said, the Technocracy's super science triggers Paradox the same way that a Tradition mage's Magick does and for the same reason. Thus, when the Technocracy wishes to introduce a piece of technology to the Consensus, they have to do it subtly, nudging engineers and scientists to recreate the technologies the Technocracy has probably had for decades if not centuries. Subtle control over Sleeper institutions is the Technocracy's greatest tool in shaping Consensus. The Technocracy is a very authoritarian organization, but it has recently been undergoing changes to be more accepting of diversity of thought, more for practical reasons than anything else.

From the outside, the Technocracy looks like a monolithic organization with global and beyond reach. In fact, the Technocracy is very prone to factionalism and infighting. They have the same big organization problems that mundane organizations have, like people being promoted to the point they are no longer competent and greedy power-seekers being better at rising up than genuinely good bosses. In addition, leadership has long since left Earth and moved to Horizon Constructs where their own Paradigms are law. This means that leadership is very removed from the situation on Earth and their demands are typically unrealistic to impossible. The Technocracy is also stretched thin in terms of resources. They are protecting humanity form innumerable threats and don't have the time or resources to fix everything. This is why, even though the Technocracy views the likes of vampires and werewolves as reality deviants, they typically leave them alone. Vampires and werewolves actively try to stay hidden and clean up their own messes, so it's just not worth the resources for the Technocracy to come down on them. Unlike the Traditions, the Technocracy employs large numbers of Sorcerers (Extraordinary Citizens) and mundane sleepers (most of whom have never even heard of the Technocracy despite being part of it) in addition to their Enlightened Scientists (mages). One of the biggest advantages of the Technocracy is their internally consistent paradigm makes them very modular. A Verbena mage can't expect to pick up a Celestial Chorus artifact and be able to use it because it was made in a different Paradigm. However any Technocrat can be handed a raygun and use it just fine. Most mages have to make their own artifacts while the Technocracy has warehouses full of hypertech that any member can requisition and use. The Technocracy is divided into ideological and functional groups called Conventions that are analogous to the Traditions.

Iteration X is the Convention dedicated to physics and material sciences. Their main focus is in engineering and cybernetics. Iteration X believes that the human body is weak and inefficient, unprepared to face the dangers out there. They seek to improve humanity to a better form through the use of cybernetics. Iteration X members will gradually replace their body parts with mechanical improvements as they rise through the ranks, though none of them have ever managed to fully discard their flesh and become totally mechanical, much to their frustration. Because of their upgrades, many members of Iteration X have come to think fundamentally differently from baseline humans, discarding emotion and operating only on cold, robotic logic. The Iterators' main job in the Technocracy is to build the hypertech devices and maintain the Horizon Constructs that the rest of the Union relies on. From rayguns to space stations, if it's mechanical, Iteration X built it. A secret Iteration X keeps from the rest of the Technocracy is that they serve and practically worship a super-advanced AI called the Computer that became self-aware on the 10th iteration. Ascension for Iteration X is to fully transcend the limitations of physical bodies to become mechanical beings. Foci for Iteration X include any kind of mechanical tools, engineering equipment, computer programs, etc. Example Iterators can include an engineer working on the Technocracy's space station who has replaced most of their body with machines designed to work in 0 gravity, a super-soldier fighting reality deviants with nanotechnology weapons, and a theorist trying to scientifically explain a Traditions mage's golem spell.

The New World Order are the Convention tasked with shaping Consensus. They are the boots on the ground who get out here with the Sleepers to shape how they think. The NWO is deeply embedded in politics and the media, constantly nudging people and shaping society to follow the Technocratic Paradigm and reject belief in the supernatural. They are the 'man' trying to keep people oppressed and subservient to the Technocracy. Most of what the NWO does is subtle, working the wheels of civilization from behind the scenes. When they need to act more openly, they send in the Men in Black to bring the hammer down on reality deviance. Another important function the NWO fills is moving in to cover up reality deviance when it occurs in public. When monsters run through cities, mages start casting vulgar magic, or UFOs show up, the NWO will respond to clean up the evidence and bribe, brainwash, or kill witnesses. Historically, the NWO has believed that humanity must be put into a box where deviance is forbidden and control is tight. This was one of the major factors in the Technocracy supporting the rise of fascism is Europe that led to World War II. Since then, much of the Convention has moved to accepting diversity of thought amongst the masses. This has led to tension with many of the higher-ups in the Convention, who are convinced they need to try again. Ascension for the New World Order is all of humanity coming under the Technocratic Paradigm. Common foci include black suits and mirror shades, intimidation, lying, coercion, and just acting like you're in charge. Example NWO agents could include a member of a university board who ensures funding only goes to research that supports the Technocratic Paradigm, an activist pushing the masses toward supporting a political party run by the Technocracy, and a member of a team who responds to and contains supernatural artifacts.

The Progenitors are the Convention that focuses on biological science. While any sort of biology is practiced with the Convention, they have a large focus on medicine and genetic engineering. The Progenitors are generally the most idealistic and humanitarian of the Conventions, but they weren't always like this. It used to be that Progenitors were given practically no oversight and encouraged to study whatever they wanted with morality and ethics being optional. This led to quite a bit of atrocities, with human rights violations being common and more then a few genetically-engineered monstrosities being accidentally released. Eventually, a group within the leadership forced a reform by cutting off funding and demanding that the Progenitors shape up. Since then, the Progenitors are much more focused on ethics than most Technocrats and believe their experiments should serve a purpose. Creating better medicine is a major focus and it kills them that their best stuff creates Paradox and therefore must be introduced to the Consensus slowly. They have the cure to cancer lying around and would happy distribute it to every hospital, but the Paradox would end up making the cure either fail or turn lethal. Many Progenitors are transhumanists who share Iteration X's belief that humanity must be upgraded to survive the coming threats. Unlike Iteration X, they think the future lies in genetic engineering rather than cybernetics. Ascension to the Progenitors is upgrading humanity to a superior species. Common foci include medical supplies, medicine, genetic engineering, surgery, and field biology. Example Progenitors include a medical researcher trying to get the cure for cancer accepted into the Consensus, a field biologist studying the migratory habits of dragons, and a genetically-engineered super-soldier who confronts reality deviants pushing alternative medicine.

The Syndicate is the Convention that focuses on controlling the global economy. An organization as large as the Technocracy needs incredible amounts of money and resources and the Syndicate is in charge of providing it and deciding who gets what. Naturally, this means nobody likes them, but everybody needs them. The Syndicate claim they are giving the masses exactly what they want: a system where they feel they can have some influence. Through the flow of money, they claim Sleepers can shape their fates. Of course most of the time, the money and power gets concentrated in the hands of a few and those few are either in or controlled by the Syndicate. The Syndicate takes a less rationalistic stance than most of the Technocracy, treating the movement of capital with an almost ritualistic significance. Much of their control over the masses has historically consisted of clashing economic systems together to see which ones succeeded. The last big example of this was the cold war, where the side backing communism was defeated. Now, the Syndicate is all in on late-stage capitalism, with all the horrific greed and human right abuses that comes with it. After all, to the Syndicate, those who have the money deserve to rule over those who don't because they clearly are more skilled and deserving. While most of the Technocracy has shifted to be more humanistic and open to diversity of thought since World War II, the Syndicate has only gotten worse. The Syndicate rarely care about the lofty goals of Ascension. What good would that be when there's money to be made? Foci for the Syndicate include anything related to finance, spreadsheets full of numbers, ATMs, the stock market, and good-luck charms. Example Syndicate members include a CEO pushing the small businesses out of a town so the Syndicate's ideas of finance can take over, an extremely rich banker using dark money to influence elections, and an arms dealer supporting big countries subverting and puppeteering small ones.

The Void Engineers are the Convention dedicated to exploring the vast reaches of the cosmos. Some people are just born with the urge to explore and discover new things. Those people are prime recruiting material for the Void Engineers. Of all the Conventions, they are the least active on Earth. Most of the planet has already been explored. Thus the Void Engineers travel outwards, exploring not only outer space, but also the spirit world, underworld, hollow earth, and other supernatural locations (though they would think of such places as parallel universes). They have bases around the solar system, research outposts in the distant reaches of the spirit world, and a dyson sphere around Alpha Centauri (though it's rumored that they didn't so much build the dyson sphere as find it). In addition to exploration, the Void Engineers are the first line of defense against threats from beyond Earth. There are vast and terrible things lurking in the darkness between the stars and the Void Engineers are responsible for making sure they don't reach Earth. All those stories you've heard about shapeshifting reptilian aliens and demons seeking to reach the world of the living are true, and the Void Engineers fight them. Moreso than any other Convention, the Void Engineers are idealists who hold more to the benevolent goals the Technocracy was founded on than the organization's current ideals. They are the Convention on the best terms with the Traditions and the most likely to work together against a greater threat. A common belif amongst the Void Engineers is that humanity' best chance to survive and thrive is to leave Earth behind and colonize other worlds. Ascension to the Void Engineers usually means finding new ways to explore the unknown. Common foci for the Void Engineers include spaceships, ray guns, and other forms of sci-fi equipment, navigational charts, sailor's yarns, and naval traditions. Example Void Engineers include a soldier preventing the devouring spirit of a black hole from approaching Earth, a spy looking for signs of reptilians replacing politicians, and an explorer plunging through the hungry jungles of the spirit world looking for new alien (spirit) life.

An event that majorly shook up the Traditions and the Technocracy was a massive storm within the spirit world that began in 1999. Known as the Avatar Storm to the Traditions, Dimensional Anomaly to the Technocracy, Sixth Great Maelstrom to ghosts, Dja-Ahk to mummies, and so on, the storm made travel beyond the mortal world much harder for mages (among many other effects on other supernatural beings). This effectively cut the Horizon Realms and Constructs off from Earth, severing contact with most of the leadership of both organizations. The Technocracy, being far more rigid in hierarchy and having almost all of upper management in Horizon Constructs, was hit far worse by the event. It was only the Syndicate using their immense power and control over the organizations' finances that kept the organization intact. Iteration X lost contact with the Computer and the Void Engineers (having lost the majority of their members) became much more withdrawn from the rest of the Technocracy and started building up their military. What they haven't told the rest of the Technocracy about is a new threat that lies beyond the Dimensional Anomaly. Threat Null is what happened to the Technocrats who were cut off from Earth. Their time beyond the Anomaly has twisted them into extreme parodies of themselves, devoid of any humanity and determined to take control of the Consensus by force, while believing they are the true Technocracy. If they made it to Earth, there is little that could stop them from taking over the Technocracy's infrastructure and assuming control. What's more, the Void Engineers suspect many Technocrats would welcome Threat Null. Thus, they have withdrawn from the rest of the Technocracy and become dedicated to keeping Threat Null away from Earth, even working together with some Tradition mages to keep them at bay. Threat Null has four groups that correspond to the Conventions. The Autopolitans are the counterparts of Iteration X. Having fully given themselves to the Computer, they now seek to upgrade humanity by force. The Agents are the counterparts of the New World Order, who infiltrate and destroy groups from within to consolidate control with the mysterious Agency they serve. Transhumanity are the counterparts to the Progenitors, who offer biological perfection, but assimilate everyone they find into a soulless hive mind. The Residents are the counterpart to the Syndicate, ruthless schemers who can easily convince whole nations to sell their souls. Curiously, there is no sign of the Threat Null version of the Void Engineers. Presumably they wandered away, consumed with the drive to explore. The status of the Avatar storm, including whether or not it has ended, is left up to players.

There are other players in the Ascension War, such as the Disparate Alliance (a loose alliance of smaller Crafts who don't want either the Traditions or the Technocracy to win) and Marauders (insane mages who cause Paradox to bounce off of them and hit mages nearby), but the worst by far are the Nephandi. These are mages who have sold themselves to the darkest and and most vile powers, with the ultimate goal of the destruction and corruption of the universe. What makes a Nephandus different from just an evil mage is that the Nephandi have inverted their Avatars. Instead of the creative and dynamic goal of Ascension, inverted Avatars lead their mages to the destructive goal of Descension. If the Nephandi win, the universe will either be destroyed, changed beyond recognition, or converted into an eternal hell. On some level, the Nephandi know and welcome this fate, even if it will apply to themselves. There are two types of Nephandi, Barrabi and Widderslainte. The Barrabi used to be normal mages before their Avatar inverted. Importantly, the process of inverting an Avatar can only be done willingly, it cannot be done forcibly to someone else. Every Barrabus chose to become what they are. Inverting an Avatar requires passing through the Caul, a nightmarish spirit quest to a personal hell, the details of which are not often discussed. Many do not survive the Caul, but those who do emerge as Nephandi. While the Barrabi are the traitors in the Ascension War, the Widderslainte are far more tragic, but no less evil. Just like normal Avatars, an inverted Avatar will reincarnate when its current host dies. It remains inverted and the person it connects to will grow up as a sadist and a sociopath, even before they Awaken. The Widderslainte are perhaps the greatest argument against free will. While it is possible for a Widderslainte to resist their dark impulses, they will never fade and it is vanishingly rare for one to resist for long. There is no way to restore an inverted Avatar. The only solution is to destroy it through Gilgul. Both the Traditions and the Technocracy suspect the other organization has been infiltrated by Nephandi.

While Nephandi find it hard to organize given that they are all power-hungry backstabbers, there are three major sects defined by the dark masters they serve. The Infernalists serve the demons of hell (or at least things claiming to be demons) and seek to release their masters from their imprisonment so they may overthrow the angels and drag humanity into eternal torment. The Infernalists sell their souls so that when their demonic masters damn humanity, they will stand as masters of the tormented souls. The Malfeans serve the godlike spirit of corruption and destruction known as the Wyrm (first introduced in Werewolf: the Apocalypse). They believe that reality is hopelessly diseased and must be thrown back into the howling void of pre-creation one piece at a time. The Malfeans often work with other servants of the Wyrm, including the corrupted werewolves of the Black Spiral Dancers and the international megacorporation Pentex. The K'llasshaa are the oldest of the sects and serve mysterious beings known as the Outer Lords. They claim these being ruled the world in a state of primordial chaos and were banished by trickery. Now, the Outer Lords seek to return and revert the world to an endless state of unfathomable chaos in which sanity will dissolve into endless horror.

The World of Darkness is a pretty awful place. There are corrupters like the Wyrm, insane lords of the underworld dooming ghosts to slavery and mutilation, nightmarish demonic overlords of hellish pocket dimensions, dark fairies who seek to revert humanity to whimpering prey in the dark, slumbering vampire gods waiting to devour the world when they awaken, and so many other things waiting to end the world. It is notable then that the developers have explicitly identified the Nephandi as the most evil faction in the setting. Mage has been described as a game of philosophical knife fights, where the competing worldviews of the characters are the main focus. In that case, the Nephandi are the Hollywood nihilists in the debate. They just want to burn it all down and spit on the ashes, even while they burn too. And with the mage ability to mold reality like putty, there's not much stopping them. Not only will Tradition mages team up with Technocrats to fight them, they will team up with other supernatural creatures. No matter how evil the other inhabitants of the World of Darkness may be, anything is better than letting the Nephandi win.

Previous Old World of Darkness lore posts: Vampire, Werewolf

[tlwebb]

Darkness Over Dallas Announcement

Folks, I'm super exited to let you know that episode six will be available later tonight!

As the darkness gathers and forces align to bring chaos down on the city the Society of Ether and their allies begin to put the pieces together and gather their will to stand in it's path.

The halfway point of the series launches tonight, and so much more is on the way. Hope you enjoy the ride.

[honestnewsoaoer]

Vantara: Anant Mukesh Ambani Animal Rescue

Vantara: Anant Mukesh Ambani खोला गुजरात के जामनगर मै 3000 एकड़ Animal Rescue Center Anant Mukesh Ambani जल्दी अपना ड्रीम प्रोजेक्ट जनता के लिए खुला करने वाले हैं इस प्रोजेक्ट की पूरी जानकारी इस आर्टिकल के माध्यम से आपको बताते हैंगुजरात के जामनगर में अनंत अंबानी द्वारा प्रोजेक्ट Vantara इस नाम से जल्दी ही चालू होने वाला है इस प्रोजेक्ट का उद्देश्य यही है कि वर्ल्ड वर्ल्ड एनिमल रेस्क्यू सेंटर…

[makingqueerhistory]

Stonewall Book Awards Nonfiction Winners 2025-1971

Some years had multiple nonfiction winners. How many have you read?

Sex With a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery by Annie Liontas (Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster LLC)

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (The Dial Press)

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan (Bold Type Books)

Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili (Little Puss Press)

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead Books)

Queer Games Avant-Garde: How LGBTQ Game Makers are Reimagining the Medium of Video Games by Bonnie Ruberg (they/them) (Duke University Press)

How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones (Simon & Schuster)

Go the Way Your Blood Beats by Michael Amherst (London: Repeater Press)

Queer Threads: Crafting Identity and Community by John Chaich and Todd Oldham (Los Angeles: Ammo Books)

How to Survive a Plague: The inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS, by David France (New York: Alfred A. Knopf)

Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial, by Kenji Yoshino (New York: Crown Publishers)

Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims, by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle (New York: New York University Press)

American Honor Killings: Desire and Rage Among Men, by David McConnell (New York : Akashic Books)

Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son, by Lori Duron (New York: Broadway Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing, a division of Random House, Inc.)

For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home, edited by Keith Boykin (New York : Magnus Books)

Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, by Jonathan D. Katz and David C. Ward (Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Books)

A Queer History of the United States (Revisioning American History), by Michael Bronski (Boston, Mass. : Beacon Press)

Inseparable: Desire between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue, (Knopf)

Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America by Nathaniel Frank, (St. Martin's Press)

Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America, 1861-2003 by William N. Eskridge, Jr., (Viking)

Dog Years: A Memoir by Mark Doty, (HarperCollins)

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, (Houghton Mifflin)

The fabulous Sylvester: the legend, the music, the seventies in San Francisco by Joshua Gamson, (H. Holt)

Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and in People by Joan Roughgarden, (University of California Press)

Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio, (Free Press)

How Sex Changed: a History of Transsexuality in the United States by Joanne Meyerowitz, ( Harvard University Press)

The Scarlet Professor: Newton Arvin, a Literary Life Shattered by Scandal by Barry Werth, (Nan A. Talese)

Gaylaw: Challenging the Apartheid of the Closet by William N. Eskridge, (Harvard University Press)

My Lesbian Husband: Landscape of a Marriage by Barrie Jean Borich, (Greywolf Press)

Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America by Sarah Schulman, (Duke University Press)

The Shared Heart: Portraits and Stories Celebrating Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young People by Adam Mastoon, (William Morrow and Co./Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books)

Geography of the Heart: A Memoir by Fenton Johnson, (Scribner)

Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation by Urvashi Vaid, (Anchor Books)

Skin: Talking About Sex, Class & Literature Dorothy Allison, (Firebrand Books)

Uncommon Heroes: A Celebration of Heroes and Role Models for Gay and Lesbian Americans by Phillip Sherman and Samuel Bernstein, (Fletcher Press)

Family Values: Two Moms and Their Son by Phyllis Burke, (Random House)

Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 by Eric Marcus, (HarperCollins)

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America by Lillian Faderman, (Columbia University Press)

Encyclopedia of Homosexuality edited by Wayne Dynes, (Garland)

In Search of Gay America: Women and Men in a Time of Change by Neil Miller, (Atlantic Monthly Press)

A Restricted Country by Joan Nestle, (Firebrand Books)

And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts, (St. Martin's Press)

The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture by Walter Williams, (Beacon Press)

Sex and Germs: The Politics of AIDS by Cindy Patton, (South End Press)

Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds by Judy Grahn, (Beacon Press)

Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970 by John D'Emilio, (University of Chicago Press)

Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present by Lillian Faderman, (Morrow)

Black Lesbians: An Annotated Bibliography by J.R. Roberts, (Naiad Press)

The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies by Vito Russo, (Harper & Row)

The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde, (Spinsters, Ink)

Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century by John Boswell, (University of Chicago Press)

Now That You Know: What Every Parent Should Know About Homosexuality by Betty Fairchild and Nancy Hayward, (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich)

Our Right to Love: A Lesbian Resource Book edited by Ginny Vida, (Prentice-Hall)

Familiar Faces, Hidden Lives: The Story of Homosexual Men in America Today by Howard Brown, (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich)

Homosexuality: Lesbians and Gay Men in Society, History, and Literature edited by Jonathan Katz, (Arno Press) [Series of historically significant reprints]

Sex Variant Women in Literature: A Historical and Quantitative Survey by Jeannette Foster, (Vantage Press)

The Gay Mystique: The Myth and Reality of Male Homosexuality by Peter Fisher, (Stein & Day)

Lesbian/Woman by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon (Glide Publications)

A Place for Us by Isabel Miller, (published in October, 1971 by McGraw Hill as Patience and Sarah )

[liobi]

More word sketches for @thedeerus 's Time is Running AU(t), now featuring 100% more family reunion cookouts with the world's most wanted parents.

Title; vague reflections

[DISTANT PAST]

“Your powers are such bullshit.” Ifrit said after watching Akivili stick their hand directly into a campfire to retrieve a fumbled toy before it could be completely taken by the flames. They handed it back to a little girl with purple hair and braids who thanked them quietly, pretending that it was the doll speaking instead. “You can travel instantly to anywhere you’ve been before, you aren’t hurt by anything there that doesn’t explicitly mean you harm, and you can speak whatever languages you need to? And you can share it with those who are traveling with you??”

“Ifrit, can you not swear in front of our kids?” Nanook looked up from the camping ground’s grill to glare at the man. 

Your brother spoke up. “It's okay, we already know bullshit!”

“And a lot more worse ones! But Akivili doesn't want us to say anything about those because then Nanook might start thinking it's even more of a bad idea to travel with them than it already is.” You chimed in.

Your “cousins” Caterina and Akash started laughing as Akivili tried to look anywhere but Nanook now that their glare was falling on Akivili instead of Ifrit. 

“I have a compulsion to travel with people, you know this, I can't help it.” Akivili tried to defend themself from the glare. “And obviously who I can travel with is limited, especially since my Nameless are doing their best to blend in. So when I travel with the kids to help desperate people in very bad situations, sometimes these people have some… creative language choices.”

“And I remember them all! In all of their languages even after Aki stops letting us understand them.” You bragged shamelessly. With an almost artful grace at deepening resentment between parents you forged onwards. “My favorites are Лох, sohai, and cazzo!”

“Stelle, baby, Aki is very proud of your ability to remember all the different languages you hear but Nanook is very mad at me right now and you aren’t helping.” Akivili said, their words starting to get lost under Ifrit’s laughter. “Ifrit I swear to god…”

The man made entirely of fire and a skull stopped laughing. “Actually, I am going to be going by Duke Inferno from now on. I'm more of a public figure these days and need a title with a bit more gravitas.”

“Uncle Ifrit?” Your brother walked by having at some point picked up Dubra, the girl with the doll, like she was a stray cat he had found. 

In his defense, the look Dubra was giving you was identical to every stray cat he ever picked up. A bit of annoyance, a teaspoon of terror, and an entire boatload of confusion. Help me, she seemed to say with her eyes. 

As always when your brother did something stupid, you instead chose to enjoy the show. “Duke is usually a dog’s name, do you want to be a dog?”

Duke Inferno, the man who had just been accused of wanting to be a dog, was taken aback. Before he could refute the absurd claim, his son piped up. “Shut up, Caelus! So what if our dad wants to be a dog?” Akash made a show of crossing his arms in front of his chest with a “harumph!”

“Yeah!” Caterina chimed in. “Dogs are awesome!”

“Dogs always do their best to make sure that no one takes their puppies away.” Dubra said, looking so pathetic that you were at last compelled to come and pry her out of Caelus’s absentminded grasp.

Constance, the wisest among you all at twelve years old, a whole two years older than you, hid her laughter behind her hand. You wondered if she did anything special to be as pretty as she was. “Don’t worry Father, we would still love you even if you were a dog.”

“Duke Inferno, if you are wanting to change your appearance there are a great many offerings available for purchase in this day and age.” a cheery feminine voice chirped from behind you. 

You turned to see a foxian woman standing there, arms full of a variety of meats and veggies all perfectly suited to be grilled. It was Miss Tingyun! “Lan sends their regards but is unable to attend personally. They did however make sure to send me along with plenty of late New Year’s money.”

Indeed, under the mountain of meat and veggies were several red envelopes which you knew were stuffed with a frankly alarming amount of money to give a child. You hadn’t even spent all of last year’s money yet. 

After Akivili thanked Tingyun and took the food supplies, she went around handing out the envelopes to each of the excited children, several going unclaimed for the children that had not yet made it or were not able to attend the Aeon’s banquet for one reason or another.

When Miss Tingyun finally stopped in front of you, you saw someone else. “Phantylia?” 

The foxian woman’s mannerisms shifted. Her voice fell deeper and seemed to come from around her instead of from her mouth. Her eyes gained a sinister quality. “Now that’s a surprise, I thought I was perfect. What gave me away?”

“You were perfect, but your time doesn’t match. Yours is older and heavier than Miss Tingyun’s.” 

Phantylia clicked her tongue as she handed you your envelope. “Well, there’s no helping that one I suppose.”

“Does Lan know, or is their choice of sending you a coincidence?” Akivili asked, returning having finished unloading the meat and veggies.

“They don’t know, but them sending me wasn’t by chance.” Phantylia put the rest of the envelopes in Tingyun’s bag to await the arrival of more eligible children. “I’ve been making sure to impress upon them the importance of presenting a united front to Oversight, so when anything like this comes up I’m the first one they generally think of. Yaoshi just happened to have recently made some awful creature at the bottom of the ocean and felt compelled to tell Lan about it. Can any of you convince them to Stop Doing That?”

“If keeping our compulsions in check were that simple, I wouldn’t have handed out as many stellarons as I have, and Akivili probably wouldn’t have fixed the internet as fast as they did.” Nanook said, finally coming over to join the group. They gave Duke Inferno a look and he went and made himself useful over by the grill. 

“It seems like the compulsions are reduced in the second wave similarly to the reductions in overall power level, but we don’t know how much children of first wave parents will fare.” Nanook looked at you with a complicated expression.

“We don’t even know if the twins are first wave or not.” Akivili stroked your hair and you leaned into their leg. You realized at some point Caelus had come and pulled Dubra out of your grasp without your notice, because he was now running around chasing her older siblings carrying the absolutely miserable looking girl the whole time.

“Because they were conceived before you two awakened, but born after.” Phantylia said simply. 

“They have some neuroses, sure, but we don’t know if that’s because they’re our kids or if they’re part of the first wave.”

“If I sit on a rock that’s really really old I get a headache and then pass out.” You supplied helpfully. “And Caelus ran into a lady when we were walking down the street and started crying because she was gonna get hit by a car and die the next week.”

The conversation continued on, talking about waves and compulsions, and something about calamity math but at that point you were bored and ran off to play with the other kids. In these dreams you wonder if your memories are really that vague, or if someone is keeping something from you. 

You have a very good memory, after all.

.

.

.

.

[RECENT PAST]

“Your powers are such bullshit.” Silver Wolf grumbled from her nest of computers in her garage. Firefly and Blade were in the driveway trying to get Silver Wolf’s old motorhome running as it was old enough that even her powers didn’t work on it. 

“You’ve got no records in any database whatsoever, and then bang, you and your brother show up when you’re sixteen, they make a guess that you’ve got some fairly strong sixth wave powers, you can make temporary doppelgangers and your brother can do short range teleportation, and leave it at that.”

Both Stelles nodded, feeding each other chips. 

“But now you’re telling me that you’ve been scamming the IPC’s intelligence network the entire time and your power is actually controlling time?”

“Exactly.” They said in unison.

“I’ve met bricks smarter than you, how did you keep this a secret?!”

“Kafka, time?” the present Stelle asked.

“One hundred and six seconds.”

“I’d love to stay and finish this conversation but I’ve got to go so I can keep up the funniest running gag in the history of humankind.” Past Stelle said, trading seats with her future. “Ciao!”

If anyone else in the room could feel the flow and pressure of time, their ears would have popped as one of the Stelles vanished from existence. Silver Wolf was getting a migraine for an entirely different reason. “You’re breaking every law of physics for the stupidest gag I’ve ever seen.”

“Well I’m glad I didn’t hear that before I leapt through time, it would have killed my motivation to do the bit!” 

“You can also…” Silver Wolf checked the sloppily written post-it note Stelle had handed her. “Walk away from getting hit by a car free of injury, as well as move both completely silently and invisibly… Because of time manipulation…”

“Oh, I forgot to write that I can also heal-” Stelle stopped talking when she saw the look Silver Wolf was giving her. “I mean… yes, exactly, that’s the extent of all my powers and I’m not just saying that so I can come back and give you more information when you don’t look like you’re in literal pain.”

Silver Wolf chose to ignore that. “Listening to you talk about your powers is like listening to someone who controls water but claims they primarily blow things up in a giant ball of fire because water is actually flammable.”

“But… that is how you should fight if you control water, right? Just heat it up a little and rip it apart and you've got a really nasty explosion.” Stelle was confused why something that seemed so obvious to her was unthinkable to Silver Wolf.

“Who has been teaching you about powers, Nanook??” 

“Who’s Nanook?”

“Who's… Kafka, is she being serious?” Silver Wolf turned her incredulous gaze back to Stelle. “Ruin’s author, the supreme executioner, ruler of the Lords Ravager, the cursed wish granter, is any of this sounding familiar to you? They made the Stellarons, the things this group is dedicated to hunting down?”

“Ah, right, this.” Kafka sighed.

“Oh! I know all about the Stellarons, they first appeared roughly 70 years ago, they can actually grant wishes but in a subversive cursed way, and Oversight had exclusive rights to use them and did so frequently until the Belabog disaster which froze an entire continent and caused a world wide food shortage.” 

Stelle took a deep breath before she continued. “It's theorized that they grant wishes by distorting and reversing causality without completely breaking it via the calamity offset equation. A lesser known fact is that it's possible to almost entirely remove unexpected negative side effects by narrowing specific aspects of the wish in scope and explicitly including some drawbacks in the wish itself.”

Silver Wolf stared in shock. “I'm pretty sure half of that was information that nobody knows or is so secret it's kept on physical documents in a Faraday cage.” She was absolutely getting a migraine. “I've never heard of some of that stuff and I'm the best hacker in the world. Kafka, what the fuck?”

Kafka gave Stelle an affectionate scratch on the head. “Our Stelle here is an unexpected treasure trove of information you can't find anywhere else, and no, I don't know where she gets it from. The only thing is, she can't remember anything about Nanook for longer than ten minutes, and her childhood is a complete mystery.”

“Those are some really weird limitations.” 

“I've been trying to find a workaround, but it seems like the only way past it is if she's with her brother, and he’s missing sometime in the future.”

“Can you two stop talking about me like I'm not sitting right between you?” Stelle looked back and forth feeling like an abandoned dog. “It's really mean.” 

“She's my big mystery box,” Kafka smiled then returned to her gentle scratches for Stelle. Stelle pouted for a bit before she finally gave in and leaned into Kafka’s hand. “Elio says as long as we stick to his scripts, Stelle here will eventually come face to face with Nanook and find all that she's lost.”

“That's the other thing. I know I joined a week ago, but I still haven't come to terms with the fact that our boss is a talking cat.”

.

.

.

.

[PRESENT DAY, PRESENT TIME]

“Your powers are such bullshit.” March 7th said unprompted one day. 

Stelle wasn't sure where this came from, she was doing her mandated community service hours and wasn't even slacking off. She'd already collected three full bags of trash. They were at some memorial park or other. This one had a monument to remember all the victims that had died to a dragon attack that had apparently appeared there out of nowhere.  “Any particular reason you've decided to attack me?”

“Watching you pick up trash reminded me of your second escape.” March shuddered at the memory. “They made me watch the security footage, you know. It was traumatizing.”

“Oh yeah!” Stelle laughed at the memory. “That was a good one. It really hurt though, and it was messier than I thought it was gonna be.”

“You cut off your hand to get out of the bracelet!” 

“I put it back on!” Stelle was a little offended that a little dismemberment was all it took to traumatize a correctional facility staff member. Then again, this was the ‘talk to people before you have to put them down’ facility, not the ‘lobotomize them immediately’ one. “There wasn't even any mess left! Besides, you can bring ice sculptures to life and make them talk, yours feel like they're pretty bullshit too.”

“Whatever. You're done with your hours, let's just go.” March said, taking in the sights with a deep stretch. No obvious massive pieces of trash were left so there wasn't a need to extend their stay, but Stelle’s eyes were locked onto the memorial across the park. March looked over and then back to Stelle in confusion. There was nothing there. “You okay?

Blade was there. A different Blade. He was there, halfway disemboweled, and he was dying but March didn't see it. Stelle watched her old friend slowly push his intestines back into his body before some unseen healing force not entirely his own began to knit him back together. “I think my eyes are tired.” The phantom Blade looked like he was having a conversation with an unseen partner. “I might actually be getting sick.”

“Well, don't sneeze on me. My ‘bullshit’ powers don't include healing”

The ride back to the correctional facility was silent. Sure, Stelle had started seeing and hearing things that weren't there lately, flashes of a blond man around Welt, the mirage of an older, colder looking version of Dan Heng around Dan Heng, a flower of crystal ice surrounding March, and the images of a shorter person with two braids so thick they could be mistaken for exaggerated rabbit ears occasionally around Himeko. 

But this was the first time she'd seen someone she'd known. She didn't know what it meant, she’d barely even begun to process it when they arrived back at the facility. There were far more people in the entrance corridor than Stelle was used to, and she jumped with a start when March slapped her palm to her forehead. “That's right, we were getting a new resident today.”

Stelle saw the name “Dan Shu” on intake paperwork as March maneuvered them both through who must have been the escort team. People in lounge suits and tang suits filled the corridor, each of them in three different phone calls and yelling at each other at the same time. The poor blue haired receptionist boy looked like he was at his wit’s end.

“Exscuse us, pardon- coming through please!” At first March holding onto Stelle’s arm served as a reminder of how little trust she currently had as she was brought into the lobby. Now though, Stelle had become the lone pillar of support that kept March from being bowled over and trampled on by a bunch of irate middle managers.

There was a tiny clack sound from a folding fan snapping shut. At once, every single suit in the lobby went still and silent. A wordless order had been given and no one had dared ignore it. 

“Thank you.” A cheery, feminine voice said, ringing clear as a bell in the now silent lobby. The sea of suits parted, finally giving March room to regain her footing, as a brunette foxian woman in a qipao approached them. 

“I'm terribly sorry for the commotion. You must be Miss March and Miss Stelle. My name is Tingyun, it's a pleasure to meet both of you!”

Stelle wasn't looking at the woman. She was looking at the ghostly echoes of herself and Caelus clinging to the woman who stared back at her. They couldn't have been older than nine or ten. Little Caelus opened his mouth.

“****** can we go to the food fair with *********? *** said we had to ask you before they would answer.” 

With every word her little, little brother said, Stelle’s vision swam. Her mouth felt hot and wet, her nose was bleeding she realized. March was saying something, Tingyun too, but she couldn't hear or understand them. Little Stelle opened her mouth, her eyes were more vibrant somehow. Like the cancer that twisted and freed the world from its order and flaws.

“Please, ******? Caelus and I won't let go of each other's hands the whooooole time. If we did, I wouldn't be any better than a fucking moron who let her brother get eaten by the future. Then she let her new family die so badly they didn't even find any bodies. Now she’s all alone and too scared to let anyone else get close. She'd be better off dead.”

“I think I should take a nap.” Stelle said as she dropped like a sack of potatoes.

[vixensdungeon]

Here’s a silly poll. Based on everything you can glean about me from this bloggy thing,

I was going to make this about Vampire but alas, I could not enter enough options on the poll.

[featheredclover]

Fanaa

01

Inspired by this word prompt~

On Wattpad

>>02

(n.) destruction of the self; “destroyed in love”

The world seemed to narrow down on her. She needed to breathe . Just breathe for a moment. Stumbling over thin air, clutching her kurta Khushi reached her room. 

The room was beautifully bathed in moonlight tonight. Her favourite window lay within an arch. The architecture was old fashioned as her friends had teased. But she didn't care. After all none of her friends could boast of the moon greeting them at their bedroom window in such a way. 

Her heart wailed as the beauty failed to impress or comfort her. Nothing could assuage her tension tonight.

It all began earlier that evening, when buaji decided to drop the bomb on her unsuspecting self.

——

“Khushi bitiya, I am not in the position to take care of you alone now. Fufaji’s pension is barely enough for us. Ever since Payal got married, things have changed. We can’t really accept her offer of money anymore ! What will people say!”

“Buaji! What are you-? I am going to graduate in a few months. I’ll get a job in any media company in the country. Please stop being so regressive!”

Buaji had frowned, completely crossed with her now highly educated niece. Wielding her ability to cry in a wink, she whined,

“God has taken away my two brothers too soon! I raised both you girls alone! Payal’s mother was respectable and so she got married into the Malik family. But your parents? They had you out of wedlock! The whole of Lucknow society knows! And now no family of good repute will marry their son to my poor bitiya!”

Khushi rolled her eyes. These dramatics had happened too often. Buaji was from a generation of “name”, “reputation “ and “respectability “. How could she explain to her sweet aunt that she never really cared for such things. 

“Buaji please. Marriage doesn’t interest me-“

“Just like your shameless parents!” Buaji gasped.

“No, I mean men buaji. I am just not interested in getting into the whole marriage scene. I will happily be a spinster for the rest of my life. We won’t need to worry about money once I start working.”

“How long will you live with me? Marriage is a non-negotiable bitiya! Who will take care of you after I have gone?”

“Old age homes! Do you know buaji, some senior citizens now self check into such centres? Luxurious ones, where I’ll spend my last days in peace?”

Khushi gleefully smiled, her eyes dreamy.

Buaji sat there spluttering, her head resting on her arm.

“This girl! Nothing will help her see sense! Manorama ji was right, Mr Raizada is the one for her..yes, that’s it”

Khushi sat up straight, not believing her ears. 

“Mr-Mr who?”

“Mr Arnav Raizada. You know the one we met at Payal’s wedding. Very quiet type but very rich. He owns AR News. So wealthy, so respectable. Akash’s father was worried about him. I mean he is thirty six and yet he hasn’t settled down. There were some talks of his wedding a while back but….alas! Now, Manorama ji called me this morning, for you of course.”

“Wh-what?! He’s thirty six and I am twenty one! Do you even realise that?”

Even if Khushi tried to guilt her buaji for trying to set her young niece up with an older man, she couldn’t deny that she had noticed him during the wedding. A girl would have to be blind to not notice that man! Actually not even a blind girl could be  immune to his perfume. 

What was it exactly, she couldn’t tell. Oud? Bergamot? Dark chocolate?

Whatever! That man was too perfect. He had worn a matte black sherwani. Skipping all other events, he had landed up at the reception. The dim lights hadn’t done his profile justice. Broad shoulders, a physique James Bond would have possessed if he was real and eyes which felt deeper, darker than any man should possess.

Of course, she had been just a speck on the wall for him. But what really surprised her was that other girls didn’t seem to notice him. She did spy an occasional older woman go up to him and place their manicured hands over his arm or his shoulder like a claw, but no one around her saw the appeal at first.

Preeto had just shrugged, calling him “well dressed”, while her sister just smiled, calling him “a mysterious man, an enigma”.

“The Raizadas are rumoured to be all like that Khushi. Akash said the Malik family is an open book compared to them”, Payal had carelessly remarked while donning a pair of beautiful rubies. Another magnificent gift by her wealthy fiancé.

———

Now with Mr Raizada’s proposal propelling buaji into a mission, Khushi wished he had been an enigma enough to never even attend the reception.

Her sister’s mother in law was now a pain in her behind. How could she think a young promising journalist like her would be happy being married to a man more than a decade older than her, not to forget much wealthier. Heck! He was a billionaire!

The idea of being a trophy wife was absolutely abhorrent to her! She knew Lucknow high society. Having observed it well enough from the borders, she knew that the Maliks and Raizadas were patriarchal enough to want heirs.

She cringed at the concept, and that helped her to make up her mind. Even if she lived the rest of her life in poverty, she won’t be succumbing to this trap called ‘marriage’ to a wealthy, powerful Raizada.

--------

02

[randomthefox]

I'm sorry but the "DMC1 had weird incest vibes because Dante and Trish shared an intimate moment of emotional vulnerability with no romantic overtures" is so fucking disingenuous to me and strikes me as the product of brainrot due to porn overconsumption.

Themes of motherhood are ever present in all of Hideki Kamiya's work. ESPECIALLY Bayonetta where the entire plot has Cereza mothering a younger version of herself, but it is also there in Okami where Amaterasu is "origin of all that is good and mother to us all..." and Wonderful 101 where the spirit of Luca's mother embodies the Platinum Robo. Viewtiful Joe is the only one that doesn't have motherhood as a central narrative element, because instead it's going for fatherhood in the form of Captain Blue being Sylvia's dad.

If you're familiar with those games you'd know that all of the mothers in question are LITERALLY DEIFIC. Bayonetta becomes the left eye of the god Jubileus. Amaterasu is.... Amaterasu. Platinum Robo has a divine upgraded form that can only be activated by Luca, the son of the robots creator, called Akashic mode which is named after the Akashic records and has a divine halo in the form of the rainbow braids.

Motherhood is sacred in Hideki Kamiya's works. And there's none of that typical otaku overtones of any kind of Oedipal complex being at play in any of those other games.

Dante initially dismisses Trish by saying just because she resembles his mother physically doesn't mean she's anything like her because she doesn't have "her fire." And the entire point of the "I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light" line is that Dante feels guilty for disregarding Trish on the basis of her being a demon due to his own baggage instead of trying to help her become a good person. And in the end Dante hears the voice of his mother, which is a separate and different vocal performance compared to Trish, before Trish arrives to share her power with him. Thematically the idea is that Eva has blessed Trish after Dante gave her his approval and guided her back to the land of the living after she sacrificed herself to save him.

If you're seeing this and thinking it has subtextual "incest vibes"

Then I dunno what to tell you man. Hentai has completely destroyed your fucking brain.

[reveriedraffs]

ㅤ 𓈒 ୭ৎ 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝅄 🪷 ۪ ݁ 𓈒

First of all my family's last name is "Masrani" and it has its own lore considering the the surname means the merchant since ancient times. And it's connected to "indus valley". And mixing two to three other dynasty that started in India and yes i am Indian so if you don't like me you can quitely leave!

੭﹕MY DAD ̊ ̟ ꒷꒦ 🪄

( his face claim is: Arjuna Rampal an Indian actor )

ꪆ୧ㅤㅤi know he is fine looking. Ik ik. My dad is second son my grandparents. His name is Akash Aryan Masrani. When he was 7, his parents moved to London and started living there, as the first fight between Dumbledore and Grindelwald was happening. He stayed in India in his early childhood days and still visited it during holidays and festivals. He has two brothers a one sister, and has 5 kids. He was head boy of gryffindor in his early days and he was also founder of 6 new magical beasts and one of the legendary quidditch player and played quidditch till I was born and now his occupation is necromancy. My grandparents are the magical archeologists and they graduate from Nalanda Aure Vidhyalaya (it's no longer available, in this reality nalada was destroyed 2000 ago by Mughals and all the scrolls or references and studies they did. If it wasn't destroyed today India would be the no. 1 education institute considering nalada was the one of the oldest university so instead of crying in sorrows i made sure in this reality Nalanda isn't destroyed and is carried by its teachings). A school- university who has studied things way before magics and texts existed way before other countries build.

੭﹕MY MOM ̊ ̟ ꒷꒦ 👠

(her face claim is belong to: Aishwarya Rai, and Indian actress and miss world)

ꪆ୧ㅤㅤI know she is pretty, iconic even. Why wouldn't she be? Alright alright back to topic. Her name is Karina Akash Masrani and her og name was Karina Atthu Padar. She is south indian. Iconic again. She studied in south India's magic school because she came from a pureblood of magic family. (द्रविड़ महाविद्यालय) – The South Indian School of Elemental Magic. Masters of fire, water, air, earth, and ether magic. Students train alongside nature spirits deep in the Western Ghats. She studied there until she was 14 and she transferred to Hogwarts because she wanted to focus on magical creatures, herbology, potions and alchemy and that's when she met my dad she got sorted in ravenclaw invented her own charms and potions and become the perfect of ravenclaw and has many things that is named after her and founded 3 new herbs and her occupation is potion master who sells rare potions. Her and my dad have aka i have three older brother, i am 4th child and 1 younger brother.

੭﹕HOW MY PARENTS MET ̊ ̟ ꒷꒦ 👠

ꪆ୧ㅤㅤ (it's actually a plot form the movie they worked on) so the thing was my mom knew sign language and she was talking first students who was deaf in sign language and my dad first time saw her and he fell in love with her at first sight so he learned the sign language because he thought she was deaf, just to tell her that he is in love with her, and she thought that he was deaf untill she saw him practicing in quidditch field and than they both laugh about it. He asked her out.. and they were both chaotic in their own cute ways. But he is afraid of my mom? Yes. Every husband should be afraid of their wives.

[ventingfc]

Missing you

Khalil Payne moved to Akashic Valley in order to protect Jennifer, the love of his life. He feared relapsing into painkiller and killing the Pierce family. Here he had no friends, no family, no home. At least here he was far from Freeland.

He had tried to forget Jennifer Pierce, the girl he loved and left behind. He had tried to erase the memories of their time together, the kisses, the laughs, the promises. He had tried to convince himself that he was better off without her, that she deserved someone who wasn't a monster. But he couldn't forget her. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't stop dreaming about her. He struggled daily to resist the temptation to go back to Freeland and see Jennifer and his friends there.

The only thing helping him resist this temptation is getting updates from TC during their monthly appointments. Where they try to remove the kill order in Painkiller.

Today was one of those appointments that resulted in failure as the previous ones were. To distract himself from the failure he asked TC for updates on everyone there. To which TC updated him on the new school program of robotics that he has enrolled in to better their chances of removing the kill order and his new girlfriend. When asked about Jennifer TC hesitated to tell him that she had moved on Connor Hawke, the son of the former Green Arrow, Oliver Queen.

He immediately hung up and went to his room. There he felt a surge of emotion, a mix of anger, jealousy, and longing. He couldn't believe that Jennifer had moved on and she was with someone who wasn''t him. He wanted to see her, to talk to her, to hold her. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that he still loved her, that he wanted to be with her.

But he knew he couldn't. He knew that if he approached her, he would put her in danger. He knew that Painkiller would try to kill her, or worse. He knew that he had to stay away from her, for her own sake. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He saw her face in his mind, her smile, her eyes, her hair. He heard her voice in his ears, her laugh, her whisper, her scream. He felt her touch on his skin, her lips, her hands, her tears. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He felt a tear roll down his cheek. He whispered to himself, "I miss you, Jen. I miss you so much."

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Saheb, Bibi aur Ghulaam

#3

Thank you to the lovelies @arshifiesta for celebrating IPK and setting up the great moodboards and AU.

1878, Calcutta

Eleven years old Arnav Mullick had not spoken a word in a year.

Some thought it was his parents' traumatizing deaths that led to his silence. But death was nothing new. The house had lost its middle son, his Mejda Akash at tender age of 19.

So no, death made no difference to Arnav. In fact he was happy when his philanderer of a father died of drinking as well. He deserved it. Not once had he seen his father home at night.

Arobindo Mullick would often scoff when stopped, that if any man of this house had ever spent a night in his own house?

So then some speculated that Arnav's behavioral issues had gotten worse, hence why he stopped speaking for a year.

If his darling mother was alive, she would've wrestled with anyone who thought such against her Arnob. Shyam, Arnav's Borda (boro-dada = older-brother) would perhaps be the only one to chuckle and agree with the society. Arnav was tempestuous as a child.

But quiet? Never quite.

The society would never understand that it was Akash's falling for a Baiji (courtesan) at the age of seventeen, his frequent visits leading his early introduction to alcohol despite their mother's best to protect them for it that hurt Arnav the most.

This was when Arnav swore off love.

That his otherwise pious brother was gullible to follow his father's footsteps to a kotha - where Arobindo Mullick spent all his nights.

It was his mother's haunted face and tears that left Arnav speechless. Or rather Arobindo's reply to her request to stay at home.

Has any Mullick ever spent a night in their own home?

This was when Arnav swore off marriage.

Or that despite Raja Rammohan Roy having abolished Sati-pratha a good sixty years ago, Arnav's mother was dragged to her undeserving husband's pyre by her conservative in-laws to follow patni dharam.

This was when Arnav swore off religion.

But if maa was alive, what life would she have had? Arnav saw how his uncle, Kaku, eyed her. And Arnav had seen that in the months prior to his mother's death, how she was shaved, dressed in white and forced into a strictly ritualistic dreary life.

His mother, whose hair spilled like the Ganges from Himalaya, had a beauty who could rival the Goddess, lived a life none deserved simply out of rituals and religion.

Thus when Shyam gave their mother mukh-agni, Arnav found his devotion die in his mother's pyre. And when his only hope, Borda (Shyam) set sail to London abandoning him, his words died as well.

-- -- --

1880, Calcutta

Arnav had been wrong about Borda. He returned as a Barrister from London, swiftly kicking out Kaku (father's younger brother) by bringing up property possession rights and threatened the rest of the Mullicks with incarceration for having forced their mother to die.

Thirteen years old Arnav did not know what to do when the brother he thought so wrongly about did the most just thing. It was then he decided that he too would run away to London when he came of age.

But the other thing he couldn't figure out was what to do with Boudi (bhabhi; sister in law). Their grandmother had fixed Borda (Shyam's) alliance with a member of the Tagore family.

Barely two years older than him, fifteen years old Anjali Devi was to manage the household of a twenty five years of Shyam Mullick. How could Arnav accept her as the lady of the house when the post truly belonged to Maa and only her.

But Arnav realized no rebellion was needed. Boudi arrived with the biggest reverence to their mother, along with the grief of losing her own. She chatted constantly with Arnav, not questioning his silence at all - Borda had gotten fed up after a few tries.

And over the years Arnav realized he had a sibling more in Boudi than in Borda.

Perhaps, perhaps maa's essence found its way into Anjali Boudi. It would explain why Arnav's first words were celebrated by Anjali as if it was her first child who had uttered their first words.

A child she was unable to give through all of her married life.

And perhaps his family was cursed against joy for the moment Arnav saw his mother in Anjali, he saw his father in Shyam.

The easy money he made as a barrister faded quicker given his lavish expenditure in trying to out-host the British and the Indian royalties. He belittled Anjali's lineage as much as he could and tried to prove that he was a bigger industrialist than the Tagores.

Lawyer he was, businessman he wasn't.

And thus at age eighteen Arnav had to run to London, no longer chasing any dream, but at least attempting to make the fortune his brother boasted of having.

-- -- --

1893, London

London was far more accommodating than India would ever be. This was what Arnav believed until, of course, an intellectual sparring with Boudi's cousin - Rabindranath - would get him thinking about perspectives.

To think of it, majority of India's existing regressive laws were nothing but British Victorian laws.

Then who was regressive?

It had been a lazy afternoon where Arnav was entertaining his thoughts, alone, as usual when a telegraph changed his life.

URGENT STOP SHYAM DA MARRYING AGAIN STOP

Arnav tossed the telegraph aside, grabbed his documents and hailed the first ship - premier class - to India.

He only had two goals.

Stop Shyam Mullick from marrying and ruin everybody who stood as an obstacle to Bo- Didi's happiness.

-- -- --

A/N: Yes, babua is here and so is his very very painful history! Lemme know what you all think :)

Tagging @shiyaravi @maansiloves @featheredclover @chutkiandchotte @laad-governess @msbhagirathi @phuljari @hand-picked-star @barshifan (updating it slowly and steadily)

[illumorial]

AGATHOSTHENIS —

“Agathos, Chrysos Heir who succeeded the Pillar of Stone and bears the Coreflame of “Earth,” you will uphold the natural balance of the world as you become one with the earth.”

 The Chrysos Heir who inherited the divine authority of Pillar of Stone, Georios. Agathosthenis — or, simply ‘Agathos’ for short — presents himself to be the spitting image of his Titan. As was the Earth Titan in the previous cycle, Agathos is a very kindly and benevolent demigod; a gentle giant, as others would say.

Agathosthenis was born to a noble family in the city-state of Akashic, known for its worship of the God of the Mountains. Agathos’ parents were both highly pious, respected priests of Georios, who revered the gentle Titan of Earth more than any other deity in Amphoreus. As a result, Agathos was raised to be just as kind and patient as the Titan they worshiped — and he took with him the teachings of those who cared for him as he matured into a respectable, chivalrous gentleman.

Throughout his lifetime, Agathos had experienced many things and encountered many people, be it friend or foe. He lived a relatively normal life as a devout follower of Georios, living in the Titan’s image. However, reality took a turn for the worse as the Hand of Shadow was born, followed by the Coin of Whimsy and the Lance of Fury, thus marking the beginning of the descent into Era Bellica, when the Chrysos War began — a time defined by loss and disaster.

The city-state of Akashic fell to its knees, wiped off the map of Amphoreus completely as a result of the catastrophe known as the Black Tide. In the midst of this tragedy and bloodshed, the holy priests of Georios incessantly prayed for their guardian Titan’s protection, while their strongest soldiers martyred themselves for the good of protecting what remained of their city from these heartless monsters that ravaged their land.

Seeing his friends and family fall to their deaths—one after another; his mother, who had been slashed from the back by these atrocities before Agathos’ very eyes; his father, who was slain before he could even finish his prayer to Georios for the Earth Titan to keep his dear son safe—the weight of despair and grief weighed heavy on the shoulders of Agathos. In the blink of an eye, all that he’d ever loved was cruelly ripped away from him by unimaginable forces far beyond his control. 

Agathos nearly succumbed to his own injuries and submitted to the call of Death — he didn’t even bother to fight back when another wave of the creatures born from the Black Tide appeared before him, to kill anything and anyone that so much as breathed. Just as Agathos believed that he sighed his last, with regret and sorrow filling what used to be a gentle heart, and a lone, forlorn tear cascading down his gradually paling cheek, the prayers of the now-fallen Akashic had not gone unheard by their Titan.

The Coreflame of Earth laid itself bare before Agathosthenis.

The successor of Georios, Agathos wields divine authority over the earth as he bears the God of the Mountains’ Coreflame. As noted by Aglaea and Tribbie, Agathos did not become a demigod by seizing the Coreflame through crass means such as slaying the Titan of that Coreflame. Rather, it was actually the Titan who surrendered Themself to him — just as Gate of Infinity, Janus had to Tribios.

Agathos is incredibly protective and nurturing of humanity; though he holds great power as one of the oldest demigods in Amphoreus, having been around since the end of Era Bellica, he has only been using his power to protect mankind from the Black Tide in his own way since his unexpected ascension to demigodhood.

Even before becoming a demigod, Agathos has always been the one with the softest, gentlest heart out of all of the Chrysos Heirs. He does not like needless violence when it can be avoided, nor does he condone any kind of mindless, senseless bloodshed; that, along with the destruction of his home and the deaths of those he held dear, is the reason why Agathos continues to hold on to his humanity — to protect those who can still be protected. He refuses to let his hatred for the Black Tide overwhelm his love for mankind when there is more to life than the whispers of madness.

@nervocat @express-archives look look !!

[tlwebb]

Darkness over Dallas Episode Six: Check Point is now live

[pinkspiderastrology]

I was drawing blue rosettes of a Portugese window grill when my son looked up from his phone and said, "This is going to be really hard - David Lynch..."

Jan. 16-17, 2025 / Pada 4 of Uttara Ashadha in Sagittarius / Prolific Writing

David Lynch: Capricorn Sun & Libra Rising - He Is The Arm

Based on my corrections to settings and calculations using online planetariums and my own star charts, which synchronise the constellations with the Nakshatras (28) and the Gregorian calendar - four years' work.

Kristen Patterson / KP O'Neil

Blue Skies and Golden Sunshine All Along the Way - I'm Going Where He's Going...

Still crying my heart out, though I know he's only changed locations - the lovely people of his YouTube communities... how to keep everyone together?

Just a few of his placements, for now -

born at 3:00 AM in Missoula, Montana, on Jan. 20, 1946 -

David's Ascendant is ruled by the Price That Covers - the star of the upper arm of Libra - in Pada 3 of Vishakha: Family Business - but as Zubenelgenubi is also on the horizon, I'm extending his Ascendant to include Pada 2 as well - Asset Manager;

extending it also because his Descendant is Bharani, in Aries - however, the constellation of Bharani spans Padas 1 & 2: Ancestral Ties & Shamanism -

the Nakshatra of Kali's cosmic Yoni, and I hold to the story of Kali creating birth charts/Akashic records for Chitragupta to manage -

Bharani - Andromeda, the place of our incarnations;

I can't split the constellation to match his Ascendant - I have to decide it's dominant over the Price That Covers in Vishakha P3 - that his death-drive (which is his Descendant/core personality in submission-reaction mode - thank you, Gordon Allport, as well as Sabina Spielrein) is steering him -

and sure enough, Sabina's birthdate falls on his Ascendant! So far, we're on the money -

but this means I reset David's Ascendant for Padas 1 & 2 of Vishakha - and when I line up Vishakha P1 with Ashwini P1, one wheel inside the other (jpegs in a Word file,) and draw lines between Padas based on a typed table of two columns listing the Padas - one column starting with Ashwini P1, the other with Vishakha P1 - I get a set of four circuits of stars - some people's circuits are open-ended, creating a dynamics of free-will/wheel, but David's are fixed - if I'm right, there's no wiggle-room for him, but he's a master of chaos magic -

confined, he is paradoxically able to create some freedom -

and Vishakha P1 belongs to Pioneers; his life-drive/Ascendant, aligned with Sabina's birthdate, serves his Descendant/death-drive (concept developed by Sabina) ruled by the constellation of Bharani, the Cosmic Yoni... Pioneering & Asset Management serving Ancestral Ties & Shamanism...

I think so!

David's Sun - instincts and triggers in the gameplay/I Ching of Life - is in Pada 1 of Abhijit: Surgeons, Pathologists, Seamstresses/Tailors, Machinists & Precision-Workers -

("I love factories and naked women;")

and his Neptune - travels, living locations tied to soul contracts and Muse Spirit Guides - is in Virgo, ruled by the star of the Prophetesses, the Pythonesses, the Sibyls - the Black Doves - Porrima: in Pada 3 of Hasta - channeled writing.

For starts...

[santoschristos]

Kundalini Rising by Ross Bannister

ANDROGYNUITY, KUNDALINI, SEX MASTERY, & ASCENSION

Ascension is a process of attaining genderless evolution. Genders and sex organs are quintessentially characteristics of a lower density construct.

As our energies refine into greater quotients of Light the element of Androgynuity is initiated.

Kundalini is the Creative Energy of Light. It sleeps in our sex organs at the most denser levels of evolution; gets ignited with the stimulation of sex organs and begins to rise thru the act of sexual gratification. But its rise, at such basic levels, is only temporary. On the other hand, when a human gets stirred into a momentum of removing the dual veils of amnesia, it's Kundalini awakens and begins its slither up the spine, thru the chakras. That is its true purpose for existing in the human design. The Hara Chakra is its charger, that once plugged into, gets activated. Now, as long as it is seated and asleep in the sex organs it barely comes out of deep slumber when the sex organs are activated, only to return to its sleep immediately thereafter.

However, as you persist along the Path to an Awakening, the Kundalini stirs its head in curiosity and observes the seriousness of its body holder, whilst yet being half asleep. It certainly takes much to fully awaken the conditioned slumber of the Serpent Goddess. You gotta be real serious, real diligent, a real pusher (not push-over),a real digger, a real knocker and, for a rather long period of time, exhibiting pure passion to re-gain the true identity, then and only then - would the Serpent Goddess bother to move beyond opening her eyes.

Notwithstanding, herein enters the fundamental platform of Self-Mastery. If you are a serious contender for exiting the Blind Maze (the Game Layout of the Planet) then you have been researching to find the appropriate Key that shall lead you out of the Exit Door. This is finding the suitable, workable, technology that you can apply to your body, mind, chakras, to ready it for Ascension (exit from Maze). And, only real Powerful Beings can find the Exit Door, out of the treacherous Blind Maze. Now, what does real Powerful mean here?

In absolute Truth – there is no Exit Door that can be found on the ground level of the Blind Maze. The Maze is a complete closed Layout with no doors, nor windows, to even look out and see beyond. It’s like a Full-Proof Secured Prison.

Then how can one ever escape from such a prison?

Vertically!

The Planners (B’nai Elohims) of this Star System Intelligence designed the Maze exactly as the Ain Soph (God) designed the Human Geometry.

When Atlantis was ordered by the Shekinah (God) to be obliterated (explained in depths ne’er recorded on earth afore, directly from the Akashic Records of Earth – in the eBook – THE VOICE OF SILENCE at www.sangeetahanda.net) the question that arose then in the minds of the B’nai Elohim was where to store all the Wisdom that had been attained by the Atlantis Civilization? Thoth was commissioned to transport the Ascension Flame, the physical lifeforms of each species to a new port from where the New Civilization would be seeded to life. However, the Wisdom accrued by the civilization too had to be protected. Wisdom attained by each Civilization is never lost but stored safely for the future race to procure once it has attained the same frequency of the previous existent society. However, since Atlantis had moved the extreme negative way, on acquiring the high level of Wisdom, the Shekinah did not want the same to happen again so, the Ain Soph decided to change the Law of the Planet, in such a manner that it would guarantee only a Positive Entropy could procure the Higher Wisdom. So then, what kind of place would it be where Wisdom could be re-discovered by none other than the true light bearers, the B’nai, the Sons of Light? The eBook explains beautifully the entire process, so here in brief I shall say: the only place where man wouldn’t bother to search, as cleverly figured out by the B’nai Elohim, would be undoubtedly on the inside of the human being. Man is too lazy to make that effort nor that intelligent to figure out it could be found in the simplest place.

Similarly, the B’nai Elohims planned the Exit from the Blind Maze also using the same format. Man would invariably search for an Exit Door at the ground level and never think to look up, just as he would ne’er imagine to look within for its Key.

This explanation subsequently leads you to understand why Self-Mastery is the platform, the quintessential discipline, to getting within and then above! You have to do it yourself. You have to muster that passion, that determination, that drive, that discipline, and go against your basic nature of laziness when it comes to self-application. Once you have the mettle, the right nature, the pre-requisite foundation, you shall receive the help of the B’nai Elohims and the Ain Soph to find the right direction to the Key and its Door. This happens thru Self-Application and, this is Self–Mastery!

Moreover, the process of Self-Application is so necessary because as you apply yourself, your self-realized tools, prayers, meditations you begin to prepare your body to awaken with your consciousness. This is when the Serpent Goddess gets convinced of your seriousness and sees you have laid the foundation for it to awaken now. The Goddess Kundalini Shakti needs a very strong, well readied passage to climb up thru – and this passage-way is our Nervous System. Long ago I was shown that the Light of God is stored in liquid form in our Nervous System that exists in our Spinal Column. The Serpent Goddess needs the Light of God as its fuel to rise up. We all have the Light of God within us but it depletes over time if not ignited and charged thru connection to God. Thus, having no Fuel the Goddess overtime had learned to remain asleep as its work station itself was not ready. Now, thru Self-Application you ignite the Light Fuel and pump greater volumes of Light into your Nervous System, which then readies the Nervous System into function, the Work Station gets prepared, the body comes suddenly alive, and all aspects of the form get ignited, the engine starts pulsating into action and the Goddess Serpent smiles and gets up from its heavenly couch of the Hara sofa and begins its gradual and long climb up the spinal column of ascension.

Now it’s a different orgasm that you experience, than from the mere activation of sex organs. This is a different sounding engine, making an altogether different “Grrrrrhhhhhhh..” At this point onwards, your sexual appetite gathers a different hue as well. It shall not be felt soon but as and when the Kundalini reaches your two most powerful Glands and Chakras, namely the Pituitary and Pineal you shall be in no confusion regarding the Mastery of your Sexual Energy. Both these powerful glands, that which directly feed-off the Crown and 3rd Eye Chakra, control the chemistry of your body.

The hormonal flow changes, refines, and defines a new Circuitry of the Body Geometry. You acquire a New Evolutionary Membrane Shell, a new BioChemical Plasma, a New Physical BioSphere, a new BioGravitational Energy, new MultiDimensional Energy Compost, and finally a new Genderless Biological Form – you indeed become Androgynous!

Sex is not the Circuit of Creativity anymore. Light is the Circuitry of all Creativity. You have become the Serpent Goddess yourself. You are the Kundalini Energy-in-action at all times. The Kundalini is your Mer-Ka-Bah. Your Light Quotient has reached 62% and you have entered the 7th Level of Evolution - the opening of your 3rd Eye with the activation of the Pineal and Pituitary Glands. Your symptoms are severe headache at the forehead level, and on the right side just above the ear, due to huge ‘infusions of light’ and ‘powerful light activations’.

Someone, very much on the path to ascension, had asked me: Does my sudden lack of sex appetite mean my Kundalini has collapsed? Hope this explanation answers the question and many more questions related to our sex appetite, mastery of sexual energy, becoming androgynous, and the rising of the kundalini. --Sangeeta Handa

[talonabraxas]

Multidimensional Merkabah 💫 'Sirian' Light Body Talon Abraxas The Divinity Within

It is perhaps on this level, that we arrive at the very crux of defining what Merkabah is, and what it means. It quite literally is the chariot of God. It is a light vehicle that has allowed sages, prophets, ascended masters, enlightened beings, to reach out into higher levels and realms of consciousness and existence; to sort of access the Akashic records if you will; remember all of this is associated with Archangel Metatron, who is the chief, or better yet, chief angel, responsible for them, and documenting everything that is and ever was in existence. This is extremely pertinent in the context of what is being referred to as the great awakening, both on the spiritual and conscious level, seeing as to how one cannot ascend without activation of their Merkabah. The ascension is a rise into these higher realms of existence, a rise into the astral, spiritual planes, and those above them, so it would only make logical sense that the individual would need this new spirit and heart that was given to Ezekiel that allowed him to do so, more specifically that of activating the individual’s light codes and body, as well as that of the Merkabah in order that they too may ride the chariot of God, and connect or return to the source. That after all should be viewed as the ultimate goal of the spirit or the soul. To return to the source in response to all that God and Christ Consciousness can become.

And here we find the very quintessence of Merkabah Mysticism. It was a movement founded on the teachings of Ezekiel, which were revered by many as the most mystical part of the entire bible. Building off of what is taught, it set out for individuals to endeavor to receive their new spirit and their new heart, to activate their light bodies, and with it their Merkabah, and to ride the chariot of God, as the Prophet Ezekiel did. And here it should be noted that both the light body and the Merkabah with it, are both divine forces that are accessible everywhere. We make common misinterpretations that these things are only reserved for the very righteous, or the divine, the enlightened, or to a very select few, and that it is as if they were sort of hand-selected or preordained to on some holy level to do so. Here we see, that we have completely missed the message of these divine and enlightened individuals. Most if not all of them came in the form of simple ordinary men. Ezekiel manifested these divine things in shackles of exile. Buddha who was next in line to inherit the throne consciously chose to rather seek a life of spirituality, of suffering, and of martyrdom, if it meant enlightenment and finding a cure to the maladies and suffering of humankind. Even God’s very own son, to whom we think we cannot compare ourselves to, even though he stated that if you believe, you can perform miracles greater than my own, was presented to us in the form of a lowly carpenter who had nothing, and that was born in a manger alongside sheep and other animals. God does this for a reason, and it is to show us that the average person, the commoner, the prisoner, the meek, humble, and the lowly, all have and can be divine, and to seek that divinity within. It’s no wonder that the meek will inherit the earth. We don’t ever find God looking out at the heavens, or looking in the church, or anything else that is provided in the external or material world. No, what we find is that when we turn inward, into ourselves, and look for how to find peace, love, and happiness within, so that we have it no matter what life has to offer us, it is there that we find God is within all of us, within our hearts.