#absolutely all forms of witchcraft especially physical witchcraft

[safesthaveninexistence]

Divine timing aligns with my heart with over an antonellamania number of years worth of profundity

[crusxs]

ANGIE BOUCHARD ── `` HEADCANNONS ﹕

kind of detailed. mainly fluff but some mild nsfw. pet names. angie x f!reader. kissing. flirting. teasing. witchcraft. hurt/comfort. jealousy. stalking. lipstick stains. drinking. gift-giving. forbidden love. ✶ headcannons - I'll be using these in my stories.

Her skin carries the gentle, inviting fragrance of soft vanilla from her body wash and lotions, while her perfume and oils evoke the delicate essence of jasmine and on some days cherry. If you get close enough, you might catch a faint hint of cigarette smoke lingering in the air around her.

When she senses that you have feelings for her, she will go to great lengths to push you away, doing everything in her power to make you dislike her, regardless of the consequences or the hurt it may cause. If you work for her, she might even fire you to create distance. She might go as far as sleeping with someone else, knowing you will witness it, all in an effort to ensure you no longer harbor any affection for her.

When she first takes a liking to you, she becomes intensely curious about every aspect of your life. She might discreetly follow you or have someone else do it for her, gathering details about your preferences and routines. Although she would never admit to this, her interest quickly turns into a deep fascination when she falls for someone. She wants to know your favorite foods, hobbies, colors, and animals—every little detail down to the brand of your clothing and the scent of your perfume. Her aim is to understand who you are and imagine what your life together could be like. For her, close isn't close enough.

Angie uses witchcraft without shame, using it for nearly any task that might be simplified by it. She would use her magic abilities to clear traffic on her ride to work. When faced with paperwork, she might use it to finish everything. In her business dealings, Angie might cast enchantments to attract new employees or secure favorable contracts with clients. She may even use her magic abilities in intimate settings, using it to gain the upper hand in the bedroom. For Angie, magic is a gift and not a curse.

Angie never uses pet names with anyone, reserving them for only the closest relationships. Once she starts using them with you, she will rarely call you by your real name unless absolutely necessary. Her preferred term of endearment is "Sweetheart," but when she's in a foul mood or feeling playful, she'll switch to "Darling." To her, using pet names is an intimate gesture, so much so that she considers it a form of infidelity if used casually with others. She never uses these names on anyone else but you. If someone else calls you "babe," "hun," or "darling," Angie will stare at them with an accusatory stare. Later, she will demand to know why they addressed you that way, insisting that you must be cheating on her. To Angie, there is no other reason for someone to use such terms with you, especially since you are with her.

She tends to move quickly in relationships, especially if you show signs of reciprocating her feelings. On the first date, she will try to become physically intimate, her heels lightly running up your legs in the restaurant teasing you. Soon after, she will likely suggest that you move in together, even if it seems premature. If you hesitate or decline, she might respond with something like, "I can't help the fact that I want you all to myself, sweetheart.”

She flirts with you nonstop, regardless of the setting or the activity. Even during a family dinner, she would place her hand on your thigh and slowly inch forward, her eyes looking at you filled with a familiar fondness. If you ask her to stop, she will look at you innocently and claim that she was only trying to give you a massage and reassure you because you seemed stressed. Whether or not you believe her words doesn't matter to her; she enjoys seeing you get worked up over everything she does.

Her primary love languages are physical touch and gift-giving. When she first develops an interest in you, she will often bring you gifts or arrange for them to be delivered anonymously, just to see the smile on your face. Despite her flirtatious nature, she struggles with expressing her feelings through words. When you have a disagreement or a tense moment, she will often resort to physical touch as a means of apologizing or even conveying her feelings. She might place her hands on yours or find other ways to touch you, using these gestures to communicate what she cannot express verbally.

It would take her a very long time to admit that she loves you due to past rejections. She would only say it after you had expressed your love for her. When you first tell her, her mouth would slightly open, and she would look at you as if you had just told her the one thing she had been waiting to hear her entire life. She would immediately reciprocate, and her affection for you would be intense for the rest of the day. The next morning, she would want to hear you say it again. Those three words have a profound emotional impact on her. Even during an argument, if you say "I love you," she would soften instantly, smile at you, and once again shower you with affection, asking you to repeat those words, again, and again.

Angie has an obvious disregard for public norms. She deliberately leaves her red lipstick marks on you just to prove she could. It would become a routine for you to carry baby wipes at all times. Whenever she catches you wiping them off, she protests and leans closer across the table, kissing you with a playful defiance. When you confront her about the indecency, she would respond with a puzzled expression, questioning who made you feel guilty. She claims she could fuck you in a crowded restaurant and erase everyones memory of it the next day if she desired.

She loves the fact that your family doesn't approve of her; if anything, it makes her want to be with you more. She does want them to know she's the best possible person for you, but the idea of your love for her being forbidden just drives her crazy. She would tease your family, be all over you, showing them she's the best for you, but also pushing them down verbally and showing them they have no say anymore.

Angie is not a frequent drinker, but when she faces hardships, she will drown her feelings in alcohol. When you argue with her or when she feels you might leave, she will drink and wallow in her feelings. She prefers red wines, but she can drink hard liquor without so much as a grimace. She enjoys drinking with you, seeing you slowly let go and relax. She likes witnessing your true emotions and how much you trust her. She keeps bottles of wine in her cabinets for special occasions, or whenever they may be needed.

Angie is definitely more attracted to the masculine side of you. She likes it when you wear sports bras, tank tops, chains, and when you offer to fix something for her. Of course, she loves it when you wear heels, makeup, and dresses, but she also enjoys seeing you when you're more relaxed. She would often tease you and try to unbutton your pants while you were fixing her car.

Angie isn't very sensitive about your relationship. No one really tries to insult either of you due to Angie's power and status in town. However, if anyone attempts to insult you in any way, they would be forced to leave town or they would simply disappear randomly. You often notice a certain glint of hatred in Angie's eyes whenever someone calls you a dyke. Even after reassuring her they didn't mean it negatively, Angie still dislikes that term being used with you. If you strongly objected to her taking action against them, she wouldn't do anything unless they repeated it.

Angie wouldn't want any music playing when you two are being intimate. She enjoys hearing you and all the sounds you make for her. However, if you insisted, she would reluctantly agree but state that you owed her. Deep down, she would be a bit hurt and worried that you were getting tired of her. She would pout for the rest of the day until she got another chance to hear you moan for her. If you asked her to do something for you, she would cross her arms and say, 'I'd rather listen to music.'

When she gets into heated scenarios, her accent tends to slip out. For instance, when you two are in bed together, her French accent becomes more pronounced, and she whispers sweet nothings in French under her breath. Oftentimes, she will teach you French when you two are in bed together. She teaches you proactive phrases and gestures, such as how to ask her to stop, how to beg her to keep going, and how to tell her where and how to touch you.

Angie is unsure about having children. She likes the idea of having a child but is unsure if she would be a good parental figure. She would prefer to have a girl instead of a boy, but regardless, she would love them both equally. In time, she would become a great mother figure.

She takes it seriously when you get sick, whether it's a common cold or something more serious. She will use her witchcraft to make a remedy that could fix it immediately. As long as you are by her side, you wouldn't be sick for long because she makes sure of it.

She likes the idea of growing old with someone she loves but doesn't like the idea of death. She doesn't want to face the reality that one day you will grow old and die. She would constantly bring up the subject of immortality to you whenever she gets the chance. She wants to live with you forever and never wants to lose you.

Angie puts a lot of thought into you. On your dates, she always does what she knows you will love and buys you things you like. If she notices you staring at a piece of candy, she will buy it for you. This goes for anything you stare at, even herself. If you want it, she will give it to you. She will not settle for anything but the best for you.

Her favorite color is red. She likes all things red, but she is not afraid to admit when something is too ugly to be in red or when red looks hideous on something.

She loves roses, but for each rose color and pigment, she has a unique definition. For instance, she would give you red roses to convey her passion and love for you. She would give you white roses as a way to apologize, and so on.

Angie would always be there for you. If she caught you crying, she would not leave you alone until you told her what happened or until she felt good about leaving you alone for a while. She would wrap her arms around you and hold you flush against her body, asking you what happened. Deep down, she would always worry that she was the cause of your tears, but she would be relieved when you corrected her. She would do anything for you. She would always protect you, and that included your feelings.

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

December Prep 3

This week we'll be asking ourselves some questions and looking into some ideas to help us dig deeper into ourselves and our craft as we progress through the challenge ahead of us.

Discernment

The biggest tool we have as witches is Discernment. What is discernment?

Discernment is the ability to perceive, understand, and judge things clearly, especially those that are not obvious or straightforward.

here is a blog post that further explains it, through a witchcraft lens

Laws

The next thing we're looking into is awareness of laws regarding the things we're doing and our practices in general. One example being the legality of teaching witchcraft/ religion/ spiritual practices to minors. Where one can perform rituals and spells. Where you can find tools and ethically sourced materials for your craft. How to/ where to grow your own herbs and plants for your practice. The use of animal parts (if you use bones and the like) in your craft. The sale of goods and services, like spell kits, oils and diviniatory readings.

Make sure you're aware of laws in general, as I do not encourage breaking them in any shape or form. Know when you're allowed to be in certain places, like a park you wish to go to for a ritual, or any other public place. Make sure you're allowed to be there. If you're learning from other people, make sure they are allowed to teach you, legally. There are some laws regarding teaching minors, so it is always best to simply be aware.

This goes to both the local level, where you live, and beyond to the state and national level. You just have to be aware.

Lastly this week, let's actually ask ourselves some questions about the challenge and the year ahead.

What do you want to accomplish with this challenge? Do you want it to help you simply gather more knowledge? Or do you want to utilize it to grow a physical grimoire?

Are there specific things you hope to focus on? New things you want to learn or things you want a deeper knowledge and understanding of?

Correspondences

Along with discernment, we are going to talk about something that was only relatively recently popularized in witchy circles; correspondence lists.

Now, don't get me wrong, my grimoire folder is absolutely chock full of those big beautiful lists of correspondences for all kinds of things. Crystals, herbs, holidays, types of magic, so on and so on. And they're useful, ya know? To have lists of ingredients and items to use for certain things. It's great right?

But here's the kicker....

How do you KNOW that that herb is associated with fire? How do you KNOW that crystal is associated with water? What makes that connection and why?

So a big part of this challenge, when it comes to the prompts involving studying herbs and crystals and such, is going to be to first determine what our personal connection is to herbs and crystals and whatnot. What are they connected to for us individually, as opposed to just finding lists online.

Then, we will take lists that we find and make the connections with our personal research as to where others have found and made the connections they have.

Think of it like Basil, my favorite herb. "Where basil grows no evil goes" is a fairly common saying. Why is that? Where did it come from? Is that why some people use Basil for protection?

It is all good and well to have the association and correspondence lists, but it is also important to know where those things come from, and what makes those associations what they are.

Thank you all! I hope that we're all closer to being ready for the challenge ahead! December is a busy month, so utilizing time wisely is important, not only now, for the challenge prep, but for life!

M.G.

The Hazel Druid

[rocksanddeadflowers]

Doorkeay in your au doorkeay in your au doorkeay

The doorkeay <3 !!!

Gerry is a witch, and a fisherman. See, lots of place have societal norms of seeing magic users as unsettling and taboo, and occasionally towns make it illegal. So while witchcraft comes rather natural to him, and he still secretly does it for work (people still run to magic for aid plenty, even people who swear against it you know) he needs a more... 'respectable' job. One he enjoys/is good at. Wouldn't you know it he lives on the seaside and his father is also a fisherman! Boom! Problem solved! (He really does enjoy his work, even if it's strenuous and dangerous. It's just nice being out at sea any chance he gets.)

One time a storm caught him off guard, and he was knocked overboard. He woke up soaked to the bone on the deck of his porch, boat back in it's port. Writes it off, figures out he's already developing phenomena (it's fine he has the perfect spells to clear that up within a week or two) and focuses on taking time off to recover.

Wouldn't you know it, the next morning all the fish he caught and thought he lost appeared on his deck. Very weird.

The culprit? Ah, turns out to be a giant merfolk. Great to know those exist! Big friendly sharp (like, physically sharp) fellow.

So yeah Gerry is in his pajamas and has sick brain fog, turns around and sees giant mer-Micheal staring at him from the sea (concerningly close to his house) with absolutely glee. Scares the shit out of Gerry, but after trial and error communication, he figures Micheal is friendly.

Michael can't communicate verbally (well, he can in a merfolk sorta fish echo thing, but humans can't understand it nor can it be heard on land anyway) but he does have fairly human hands and an decent auditory understanding of what Gerry says. So over the course of Gerry's two week sick leave he teaches Micheal and himself sign language to better communicate, all the while slowly remembering through dreams and flashes that Micheal was the one to save him from drowning and take him home!

They become close friends pretty quick, Micheal checking in almost daily to see his human friend and give weird little gifts that Gerry cherishes dearly, and keeping up to date with the sign language lessons.

When Gerry is well enough to go fishing again, Micheal nervously stays close. It's a bit concerning, in a way, to have a great creature of the deep nearly surfacing next to your tiny fishing boat constantly. But in a way, it's not much scarier than the whales he's seen, and he trusts Michael now.

At some point, Gerry would actually jump into the water with Micheal, who is insanely shocked Gerry would willingly get in the water with him. Gerry definitely also puts his hands on Micheal's face and it's just very sweet and fluffy.

Also way down the road, I like to picture the whole main cast of the AU (dragon riders, including Jon, and doorkeay) all going to a little fair or something, a celebration at a local town. So everyone can dress up pretty and dance and have fun, but also specifically so Gerry can dig around his old spellbooks for something insanely hard to do.

Micheal loves his home at sea, but he still occasionally laments the idea of exploring the land, especially now that he's befriended Gerry. So obviously the solution is to find a spell that can temporarily shift Micheal into a human form. After loads of hardwork he actually manages to do it too! They all get to go to the dances together and Micheal gets to run around experiencing all the human stuff.

[faun-the-hound]

Magi information post (all information subject to change in future) These are only the Magi found/studied in Ru'aun/Tu'la regions.

Sirens, witches, vampires, demons, elves and faeries are all forms of Magi.

The term 'Magi' (pronounce 'maj-eye') comes from the word 'Magick' which refers to the supernatural abilities granted by unknown forces, powers that seem to defy the laws of nature and physics.

Demons, elves and faeries are the least studied. They are strange, mysterious entities, with odd power sets yet to be understood by humans.

Sirens are either fish-like or bird-like, depending on where they're from. They have an affinity for the ocean and song. Sirens possess two separate sets of Magick - aquakinesis, the ability to manipulate/manoeuvre water in unnatural ways, and mental alteration, changing or removing memories, forcing themselves into the minds of others and reshaping the mind and history.

Witches are the second-most human in appearance, the only difference being the constellation-like patterns across their skin, and slight glow to their eyes. They are the most adept at Magick, using the land's resources to invoke powerful and ancient rites, casting spells of all Magick varieties with ease and precision.

Vampires are simply humans with a curse, according to some. They are naturally very skinny, sensitive to sunlight, and have crimson eyes with sharp, felidine pupils. They appear as regular humans at a glance, so be wary. Vampire Magicks are referred to as hemocraft, or the manipulation and consumption of blood. They use the blood of others to fuel themselves and their Magick in a similar way to witchcraft.

Elves are found all across the world in a variety of places. From deep, dense tropical jungles, to the highest mountain peaks. Very little is known about them, as they are reclusive beings, seldom seen by humankind.

Demons are even more rare to see, as many are banished to alternate realms, or sealed within tombs across the world. It is known, however, that they possess many forms of Magick, and are highly dangerous.

Faeries are found in one place- Sun's Heart, in the very centre of Ru'aun's Sacred Forest, somewhere far, far off of the Golden Roads that traverse the forest. Sun's Heart has not had contact with the outside world since The Matron's time, and as such, faeries have not been seen in a similar amount of time.

Half-Magi refers to the offspring of a Magi and a human, werewolf or meif'wa. They often possess more limited versions of their Magi parent's Magicks, while taking physically after their human side, with minor differences.

-----------------------

Magi are received very differently depending on where in Ru'aun you are. Dante's hometown was incredibly bigoted against them, hence why Gene was burned alive. Pikoro is also not the fondest of Magi, while Bright Port absolutely loves them, and Meteli is just kinda neutral.

Werewolves and meif'wa aren't Magi, as they do not possess any natural Magicks of their own. There are Magick users within both races, of course (look at Michi), but they aren't Magi. Werewolves and meif'wa are Beastfolk, humans with animalistic features, and forms in the case of werewolves.

Some humans are also born with the capability for Magicks, but again, they aren't Magi, just humans.

Magick is generally tolerated, especially if it comes from a human with two human parents, but there are some villages and towns in the region that utterly despise it, thinking of it as an affront to the Divine.

[ggukieskookies]

AO3 fic rec of @vanishedelf

So, this writer's works have spiritually, physically, sexually, and emotionally impacted my life. This is a dramatic stance I am aware but I will die on this hill.

Firstly, my introduction to this writer's work was the fic called Blackthorn. I can without a doubt call this a story that will transcend the test of time because it lives rent-free in my mind every waking hour of my life. This was the catalyst in my life for my incessant need, and I mean NEED, for magic au's. I have read this so many times now, I am emotionally supported by these characters. I can't live without them, I am unsatisfied with anything less than vulnerable magic boys in love. On a more serious note, I do just love the creativity of this body of work. Gosh, the raw emotion expressed is just so addicting that I only get satiated by re-reading. The world-building is immaculate, it is just so raw and dives into deeply rooted complex emotions that are the epitome of growing up and trying to unlearn the constructs forced onto people in their formative years. It is a magic world, but the humanity of so many interactions between the three is incredible. Let me segway that into the absolute perfect choice of the maknae line being the dynamic that buds love. It seems crazy to expect let alone for that to grow from the many situations that transpire into a masterful display of humanity, relationships, and fantasy. It is such a beautiful world to read, I mean this next take in the best way possible. When I say raw and messy I mean the gritty and dirty human emotions that are nasty and mean. They bite you, and it hits you where it hurts given the context and the circumstances that each character has to interact with in their own lives. The age group of the characters is also a pertinent factor in why I love how it makes you feel as you read because life is exactly like this. And to write this now all this time after reading this work for the first time, I am no longer in my teens. I am still fresh into the true adult world and gosh my morals have changed, the foreshadowing that some of the topics touched on have had on me is wild. I just felt so confronted by the way I felt reading this story. It was so jarring to find comfort in Jimin's character when it was harsh, in Jungkook's character who I feel so many could relate to. Overall the human complexities of each character in the setting of the story were absolutely fantastic.

The next fic from this author is not a BTS fic, however, it follows in the realm of this magical world and when I say I re-read Blackthorn enough to feel absolutely elated by more of this setting is an understatement. Your Ink Tastes Like Sugar is an nct fic that also includes some magic elements, and non-human characters, that I took away the feelings and emotions of feeling different and unable to fit in. The magic stories, especially these two, truly capture a way I have always felt about being weird growing up. I have always felt connected to nature and the world around me in a way that led me to witchcraft today. So I really connect with the feeling of being weird, odd and like a person that people find hard to understand because I feel so deeply that I swear from a young age I just emotionally connect with feeling peculiar. I don't like being conventional and growing up I realized many also feel this way and I wasn't alone in thinking modern society can be wack way too often, to put it nicely. I'll wrap this up by saying that you should read both, Blackthorn first and then Your Ink Tastes Like Sugar. You won't regret it, but it's not my fault when you can't get enough and also need to read every magical fic you can get your hands on, after this changes your life so enjoy!

[piyangg]

Witchcraft

House : Slytherin

Blood Status : Pureblood

Wand(s) :

- 1st : dita wood, Sarimanok feather core, 10 inches. (her mother’s old wand)

- 2nd : maple wood, phoenix tail feather core, 13 1/2 inches.

Animagus Form : Painted Redstart

Patronus :

Boggart : The Death Eaters that ruined her life

.

Magical Abilities and Skills

- Tried learning occlumency but since her mind isn't the type to stay silent, she just mastered the arts of thinking a lot of things at once in order to block any attempts of reading her mind.

- She sucks ass at casting spells so these are her class skills disregarding spell casting abilities

Quidditch position : Beater (2nd-7th year)

Defense Against The Dark Arts : She listens and observes pretty well in the class, taking mental notes in what she could encounter in the future.

History of Magic : Absolute dogshit. If Rowan wasn't there to help her, she would've been much worst.

Transfiguration : She’s great with understanding it because professor McGonagall draws pictures.

Charms : She likes to draw in this class, since Professor Flitwick appreciates her sketches of him and her notes. She does get scolded for not paying attention especially since she needs it the most.

Potions : Doesn’t like Snape all that much but is proficient with Potions… it's similar, in a way, to baking: her main hobby.

Herbology : She’s knows a lot about plants and it's functions, but can't remember the names that well.

Astronomy : She likes how breezy the class is. Barely remembers the names of the constellations but she understands how it works and remembers the stories behind them.

Arithmancy: She despises the class, but works hard anyways, since it's one of the requirements of being a curse breaker.

Ancient Runes : She thinks its kinda fun, especially because the professor in that class makes it so.

Care of Magical Creatures : She has a lot of fun in this class, especially because Hagrid helps around now and then and she likes Hagrid.

Muggle Studies : Since she mostly grew up in the muggle world, this was an easy class. She thinks it's funny as hell how the ones who grew up in the wizarding world get stuff wrong about muggle things.

Divination: it was fun and curious at first, but the class quickly became boring to her.

Flying : She shone the best in this class, and looked forward to this class a lot.

.

.

.

Legilimens : Mind reading magic. An innate ability as a descent of a diwata.

Animagus : Animal transformation magic. She can hold it for 50 minutes with a 7 hour cool down time.

Physical Abilities

- To make up for her jarring lack of spell casting abilities she’s extraordinary in physical prowess

Speed : 21 mph

Strength : She can lift 300 lbs.

Combat : Shes pretty skilled with physical combat, to the point where she can mainly use that against a spell caster.

[astermacguffin]

What if the Mark of Cain manifests differently when it's imprisoning God and not the Darkness? If the Darkness makes the Mark bearer go insane with unbridled want for destruction, then what does sealing God make you do?

An obsessive desire for creation? Creation to the point of corruption? (Think of the Shimmer from the film Annihilation. Continuous reproduction to the point of begetting alien, cancer-like entities. A refracted, distorted notion of creation.)

Okay, so canon divergence from The Trap. They successfully seal away Chuck, then Castiel bears the Mark. (Jack won't be back until later episodes, so he's not here yet.)

At first, they think he's fine. Cas says he's not feeling any bloodlust just yet. (He does feel a certain itch under his skin. Not a desire to murder, but a desire to do...something. He doesn't tell this to anyone.)

His grace is getting stronger, almost archangel-like (if not more). It's incredibly helpful for hunts, and Cas is happy to feel his wings healthy again after a long time. Sam is happy for him, but Dean is suspicious of things (especially since he's a previous Mark bearer).

After a while, Cas starts feeling...burdened, almost bloated by grace. (After all, he does have access to an infinite supply of it.) He needs to have an outlet for it.

Cas tells them so and Sam suggests healing people. Dean gives the green light on the condition that he remains invisible and he doesn't go Godstiel on them again.

It's a great outlet, and for the first few weeks they start feeling normal again. But unfortunately, healing stops being enough to relieve Cas of his excess grace anymore. The mass healings start to pile up all across the globe and it catches everyone's attention. Some think it's a blessed miracle, some think it's a sign of the end times. They make him slow down on the healings after that.

Without an outlet, however, Cas starts feeling antsy and pained. They brainstorm on possible alternatives. Cas suggests going to Heaven and saving it from collapse by healing his brethren's wings and creating more angels out of consenting souls in Heaven.

He explains Heaven's endangered and dwindling numbers. Sam agrees that it would hit two birds in one stone: relieve Cas from excess grace and prevent the extinction of angels. Dean doesn't like the idea of more winged dicks so he shoots down the idea. Eileen says that since Cas is the one in pain, he should be the one to decide.

Ultimately, Cas defers to Dean's judgment (as always). Sam protests, arguing that he can't just shoulder that pain. Cas replies: "I've suffered worse, Sam."

Cas doesn't complain about the pain for about a week, so for a while, everyone believes him when he said he can shoulder the pain. One day, Dean finds him outside the bunker, groaning in pain as he bleeds himself out, his grace pouring into the ground and sprouting plants. Dean sees this and is finally convinced to allow Cas to make more angels.

What follows then is a series of escalating events:

While Sam and Eileen are practicing their witchcraft for spell they need in a hunt, Cas suggests to enhance Sam's physical and magical abilities using his grace. "It will make the process faster and safer," he reasons. He agrees, but Dean eyes this suspiciously.

During one of their hunts, they encounter a young and freshly-turned vampire. The boy begs them not to kill him, and Cas gives him a proposal. "Promise not to feed on humans ever again and I shall cure you of your hungers and your pains. Pledge your allegiance to me and you shall never be afraid of yourself ever again." The boy agrees, and before Dean could even protest, Cas slices his palm and feeds the vampire his grace.

They argue about the grace-feeding in the Impala. Dean notices Sam's pointed lack of complaints and figures it out. "You're in on this, aren't you? How long has Cas been doing this? He's going Michael behind our backs and you're letting him?"

Sam argues that it's different because Cas isn't making super monsters; he's making them less "monstrous" (whatever that means). Sam's obsession with his own "purity" is key to understanding him here.

One time, Dean catches Cas in his "garden" ("forest" seems more apt with how lush the greens already are) creating butterflies and bees out of thin air using his grace alone.

Reports of the miraculously healed people suddenly gaining new abilities like increased strength, heightened senses, and prophecy start popping up. Some are experiencing phantom limbs, talking about their sprouting "wings."

Sam is becoming addicted to Cas' grace to the point that he willingly lets himself be hurt in hunts just so Cas can cure him. Dean confronts him about this, but Sam just argues that he's "never felt this pure before." Eileenn shares the same concern as Dean.

Hunts are becoming less frequent the more monsters are being "cleansed" by Cas. The world is becoming disconcertingly quiet.

Cas' "garden" is starting to emit this strange aura. The plants and creatures growing inside it are starting to look more...alien.

One of the original angels goes to Dean and tells him of Heaven's affairs. The Host is stable again, but the angels he created are...not exactly angels. They're graced up and they sustain Heaven, but their true forms are "horrifying and incomprehensible, even to an angel." The angel adds that more than 60% of Earth's creatures have already been touched by Cas' grace.

The final nail in the coffin is when Dean catches Cas in the garden fiddling with his angel blade. It's emitting a strange glow, vibrating a subtle hum and looking as if it's liquid, flowing and distorting here and there.

Dean asks him what he's holding. "Oh, this?" Cas responds. "This is the Last Blade. Last, not in terms of time but in concept, for no other blade shall ever compare to it. The spark of creation. Fiat lux."

Dean's heart sinks. Of course. The First and the Last, Alpha and Omega. "Cas...the Mark, I think i-it's scrambling your brain, man."

"I know," he replies, eyes wet and apologetic. It's a small moment of lucidity amidst weeks and months of...whatever that was.

"Okay, okay, so you're still you, that's... that's good. Okay." Dean doesn't know how to approach this. Give him a fight and he'll know what to do, but this? Watching his best friend, the love of his life, be distorted into something incomprehensible? Yeah, this is totally beyond him.

"You know, I used to hate Chuck," Cas says. "How could the Father of All Creation be this angry, petulant child? But," he continues, "knowing what I know now, it's either regressing into a petty child or being reduced to insanity."

"Cas...what are you talking about, man?"

"No mind should bear this burden, Dean. No matter how infinite they are," he says, voice trembling in exhaustion.

(more below the cut)

He continues. "The awareness of everything is the awareness of nothing at all. Imagine perceiving every possible piece of information about the world all at once. Seeing light in all its forms all at once: ultraviolet, infrared, etc. Sensing all the neutrinos zip by, sensing gravitational waves, sensing the slighest bit of seismic activity."

Dean doesn't know how to respond, so he lets him go on.

"Knowledge can only ever be a slice of the Totality of Truth. Truth is absolute chaos, and Knowledge is the partial ordering of this chaos. One can sanely approach Truth only through organized paritions of Totality. Why do you think Chuck is so obsessed with stories? Stories are linear and finite; they're sensible snippets of the endless sea of possible worlds."

"So, what? Are you trying to—"

"I'm not trying to justify Chuck's actions, Dean," he interrupts. "I just want to contextualize them. Chuck's simplistic and repetitive narratives are what they are: manifestations of a chaotic Totality, gone insane trying to understand itself. Looking for simple things to hold on to."

Cas takes a deep breath. He speaks with a shaky voice. "I'm barely holding myself together, Dean. I can feel the universe beneath my skin."

He doesn't know what possesses him to ask, but he does it anyway. "What are you holding on to?"

Cas smiles at that. "You."

They stare at each other for a while, frozen where they stand. Cas, with unrestrained affection in his face. Dean, struck by shock and indecision. It's Cas who first breaks the silence.

"I think we both know what needs to be done, while I'm still lucid enough." Cas slices his palm and lets his blood drip down the soil. He then thrusts the Last Blade into the ground, lifting it when the soil glows.

Dean stared in awe as the ground erupts and a familiar shape rises from the hollow. "Is that.."

"The Ma'Lak box, yes. I also enhanced it with the Blade to be able to house things as powerful as me."

"Cas, wait, maybe we can think of another way to—"

"Dean," he says, calmly. "You know there's no other way. I wouldn't ask this of you if there was."

In any other scenario, Dean would've kept arguing, but even he knows that they're running out of time. Sam's grace addiction is getting worse and all the creatures touched by Cas' grace are slowly mutating into eldritch horrors. Dean offers a shaky nod. "Okay."

Tension visibly releases from Cas' body. "Thank you, Dean." He opens the box and enters it with ease. "When you lock this, bury me with the garden's graced soil. Once I'm under, my influence over the world should dampen."

Dean gives a wordless nod. For a while, they just stared at each other, Cas lying down and Dean trying to memorize every inch of his face while he can.

Cas presses his hand into Dean's left shoulder where his mark used to dwell. "My untainted grace," he whisper gently. "Some of it is still inside you. That's probably why you're not as affected by me."

Dean wants to say, I'll always be affected by you, but he holds himself back.

He takes his hand back, a bloody handprint now on Dean's jacket. "I love you, Dean," he says, breathless.

"Cas..."

"I probably would've built up to that if we had more time but," he makes a surprised laugh, "I am, as you would say, already 'losing my marbles', so."

The air quotes would've been funny and endearing in any other scenario, but it just makes Dean's vision blur up with tears.

"Thank you for everything, Dean. I know we've done nothing but repeatedly hurt each other these past few years, but I don't want to spend a deathless eternity with that as my memory of you. I forgive you, even for the things you haven't forgiven yourself for yet. And I'm sorry for everything, especially for ending things like this."

He should probably wipe away his tears to clear his vision, but Dean can do nothing but stare at Cas in awe, in fear, in grief, in reverence. They're both fully crying now.

"Goodbye, Dean."

"Wait, Cas."

Cas looks at him, waiting.

"Can you...can you say it again?"

He doesn't need to clarify what 'it' means. They both know.

With one last mournful smile, Cas says: "I love you, Dean."

And with that, Dean finally gathers all the strength he needs to shut the lid and lock the box. He stares at it for a while, unblinking. He forgot to ask, Can you hear my prayers down there? But it's too late now to ask.

The box automatically lowers itself into the hole it arose from. Now all that's left to do is to cover it again with soil.

Dean doesn't bother with a shovel. He gently buries the box with his hands deep in the soil, some of it getting trapped under his nails. He continues the mindless task, whispering a tireless series of I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I hope you're okay I'm sorry, over and over between his quiet sobs. Cas is quiet inside the box. No screaming or crying. Dean doesn't know if that's better or worse.

When the final clump of soil is pressed into the mound, he suddenly feels it: a visceral shift that echoes throughout the world. The alien glimmer of the garden dims, and the world corrects its axis. Dean screams his agony into the air.

That's how Sam finds him: sprawled over a mound of soil, crying his heart out. Dean doesn't need to say anything: he knows what happened. He pulls his brother off the ground and brings him inside the bunker.

For the first two weeks, Dean cycles through drinking and passing out in various places in the bunker. If he's not wearing the jacket, he's holding it with close to him. Sam gives him a considerable space to grieve while he monitors the world grace problem with Eileen. The grace mutations have significantly dropped since then and everyone's going back to normal.

Unfortunately, that means monsters are getting hungry again. Sam doesn't want to leave his brother alone after going nonverbal with grief and dysfunctional due to alcohol. Eileen assures him that she can handle hunts on their own and that the hunter network that they're building will lessen the workload.

Sam's attempts to sober Dean up finally work, mostly due to the latter having very little strength to protest. Dean remains sober an entire day for the first time in weeks, and all he can think about is: I haven't prayed to Cas in a while. The longing might have reached him, but never a coherent prayer.

The first time he goes out of the bunker in a while, he heads straight to Cas' garden. Sam's glad that he's finally going out because "the sun is good for you" or something, but he's really only here for Cas. He kneels in front of the burial mound (where a patch of an unknown species of flowers is already growing).

The first prayer he says to him in a while is: I love you, Cas. I should've said it while you were still here. Not saying it out loud and just strongly thinking about the words somehow bolsters him to get the words through.

He's crying again, and he knows he's losing coherency. In his mind, he's explaining about his hangups and his regrets and his continuous denial of his own joy, but one constant remains: he's beaming all his love and affection into this prayer.

He's halfway through explaining all the traits that he finds endearing in Cas when suddenly, he feels it like a snap. If the glimmer dimmed when he buried Cas, now it's as if it was never there in the first place. With an unsettling amount of certainty, Dean just knows that Cas is gone. For real, this time.

"C-cas...?" It's the first thing he's said in a while and it sounds rough in his long unused voice.

"CAS! CAS!!! " He's now screaming, ripping away the flowerbed with his bare hands and scratching the soil away. Tears are obstructing his vision, but he has no time to wipe them away. He needs to make sure that is really gone. His hands are bleeding and he doesn't give a damn.

Eventually, Sam comes running towards him. "Dean! Dean, stop!"

He tries to hold his brother back, but Dean just keeps on clawing away soil. "Sammy, Sammy he's gone, he's not there anymore, Sammy I have to see, please, let me see Cas again, I need—" he breaks into sobs again, and like a puppet with its strings cut off, he slumps into Sam.

"Dean, it's okay, it's okay..." he says softly to his shaking brother.

Eventually, when Dean calms down, he looks at the carnage he's done and starts sobbing again. The flowers, his last evidence of Cas being here, are all destroyed. Now Cas truly is gone.

. . .

When Cas first heard Dean's confession prayer, he was overcome with joy. When he realized what that means, however, his stomach suddenly sinks.

He hears before he sees the Empty arrive, slithering like black goo.

"Wow, were you excited enough for eternal slumber that you wanted a preview?" The Shadow teases in Meg's voice.

At first, he was dreading the Empty, but now that he thinks of it, it's actually the perfect prison for him: a vast, endless nothingness for him to fill with his creations.

And if Jack wasn't in Heaven, that only means that he's in the Empty, and he can't wait to see his son again. Even when blinded by the madness of the universe, he can never forget the joy of being a father.

"Yes," he replies, "I'm actually glad you're here now."

. . .

Somewhere around the globe, Billie drops Jack back.

"Don't worry, kid. You'l reunite with your father very soon."

(to be continued)

[vanillavelvet13-blog]

Witchin’ 101: Basics

A lot of baby witches, especially when getting into the craft are overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge they need or want to absorb and practice in their craft. And back then I used to feel the same. But not anymore, this is the ultimate guide you need in starting out as a witch.

In simple terms, witchcraft is the craft that is used to manipulate natural energies around us. Whether that may be banishing, protecting, attracting, or producing. Witchcraft in itself is a powerful craft that anyone can do. However, what can you do to start your own craft?

Research thoroughly on any subject of witchcraft that interests you. = This can be the simple things like cleansing or protection. It’s always required and advisable to research information and indulge in it to further lengthen your knowledge in the craft.

Take the information with a grain of salt, always. = And I mean this in the metaphorical sense. Of course you’re very much welcome to use literal salt but it’s up to you. Because taking every info you come across as a fact is absolutely horrendous. Some of these information may be a hoax or something truly advanced for new witches that they may not be able to handle it in their level. What works for them may not work for you because witchcraft is unique for every individual. And if you do think certain information is trustworthy, then it must be so. But never forget to experiment in your craft to see what works for you and what doesn’t.

Keep a notebook or anything to write down information you come across, practices you do, anything. = This comes in handy so much even if you’re an advanced witch. It’s good to write down what you come across because the information will be of use to you in the future. Recipes, rituals, anything you find in your craft, you must write.

Practice daily, do small meditations, protect, cleanse, whatsoever! = practicing your craft daily may be a difficult task for some baby witches but trust me on this one when I say that even doing the simplest forms of magic helps. And cleansing, protecting, and warding your space and/or your person has such a pure and powerful thing to me. It means so much to me and is such a beautiful thing to do. So make sure to practice as often as you can.

You don't actually need to have the items that's being asked of you. = as new witches, you're most likely exposed to seeing advanced witches having tons and tons of equipment and materials, tools and trinkets. Please don't take this as a sign to go and impulse buy multiple items all at once or constantly. Remind you that these advanced witches in their early days were new and only have very few items or none at all. Manipulating the energies around you, you don't require tools and herbs and crystals. Surely they are useful and help you in so many ways, but start small, you got this.

Be organised. = THIS IS MY GOLDEN RULE !!! In my humble opinion, this is completely an option yes but who doesn't like a clean space? Clean spaces can immediately cleanse your spirit and your mind and your atmosphere but not completely of course, however it helps a lot. Cleaning out your room, organising your notes on your physical or digital notebook, having a neat, well thought out spread is a nice addition and welcomes positive energy in my craft.

Make sure to have fun and love what you do my fellow witches! You're an absolute bright light of energy. I love you !!

[samwisethewitch]

Magical Journaling

When we think of a witch’s tools, we usually think of cauldrons, brooms, and jars filled with herbs. But for modern witches, one of the most powerful tools available is a blank journal. The journal can be an altar, a workspace, a diary, and a grimoire all in one.

Creating a Magical Journaling Practice

One of the benefits of this type of magic is that it doesn’t require a lot of tools and materials. However, there are a few things you may choose to include:

A journal, notebook, or binder. Having a physical journal for your magical practice can help to ground your magic into the physical world. Find a journal or notebook that speaks to you — this could be a composition book from the dollar store, or an elaborate leather bound journal. I highly recommend using a physical book, but if you are unable to keep a physical journal dedicated to your witchcraft, you can absolutely keep one in a Google Doc, a Microsoft Word document, or the Notes app on your phone.

Colored pens, pencils, or markers. These are a great way to include the magic of color in your journal. (See this post for info on magical color correspondences.) Writing your spells in a color that matches your intention can add an extra layer of power.

Stickers, photos, and drawings. This adds a visual component to your written spells. Just like you add things to a physical ritual based on their magical correspondences, you can use images of those things to add energy to journal spells.

A Daily Intention-Setting Ritual

This method of magical journaling is based on an exercise from Lisa Marie Basile’s book, The Magical Writing Grimoire.

In the morning, before you start your day, write your intention for the day ahead. This should be written in the present tense, and phrased in the positive — it’s about what you are doing, not what you’re stopping or trying to quit. Your intention can be anything, mental, emotional, or physical. (For example: “I am opening myself to love in all its many forms.”)

In the evening, before you go to bed, write down what you worked on that day. This can be anything you did that you feel nourished you, and it may or may not be related to your intention from the morning. (For example: “I used mindfulness meditation to become aware of my own vastness.”)

Living with intention makes you more aware of your actions and can be a form of magic in itself. You daily intentions can become positive affirmations that you can repeat throughout your day, drawing strength from the words.

Using a Journal to Cast Spells

You can cast spells on the page of your journal, with nothing more than a pen and paper.

There are four basic parts to every spell: your will, your intention, focused energy, and a ritual action. All of these components can be brought into a journaling session. Your will is your personal magical and spiritual authority — you use your will simply by being aware of it. Your intention is a clear statement of what you want to get out of your spell — in journal magic, this is typically written on the page. By directing your attention to what you are writing, you are focusing your energy. And finally, a ritual action is any act performed in a ritualistic manner — in this case, that act is writing.

When casting a journal spell, it’s best to do your work in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. You might choose to light a candle or burn incense to help set a spiritual/magical mood, or you might not. I recommend meditating on your intention for a few moments before you begin, in order to help focus your energy.

What you actually write is up to you. It could be a simple, straightforward statement of intention, a detailed description of what you want, or even a poem. Feel free to experiment with different methods to see what feels right for you.

Journaling with Sigils and Runes

You can incorporate sigils, runes, and other sacred symbols into your journal, or use them as spells by themselves.

I’ve talked a little bit about runes in a previous post, but here’s a quick refresher: “runes” typically refer to the symbols used in Germanic alphabets before they were replaced by the Latin alphabet. The oldest Germanic rune system, and the one most widely used in magic, is the Elder Futhark. Other Germanic runic alphabets include the Younger Futhark and the Anglo-Saxon runes, which are both descended from the Elder Futhark. There are other alphabets that are used for similar purposes in magic, like the Irish Ogham. The use of these symbols in magic comes from the ancient idea that writing is inherently magical. Both the Germanic runes and the Ogham alphabet were believed to be sacred by the people who originally used them. Because of this, the runes aren’t merely letters — each symbol has a set of spiritual meanings associated with it as well.

The nice thing about runes is that, for the most part, we have a good idea of what they meant — so learning the runes can be as simple as purchasing a book and memorizing meanings. They’re also tied to ancient belief systems, which makes them a potent source of magical power.

You can use the runes in your magical journal in a couple of different ways. You can draw the appropriate runes in the borders around your spell, or write them over your spell in a different colored ink to add their power to your words. You can also use the runes alone as a form of magic. For this, speak or chant the name of the rune as you write it, and then spend a few moment focusing on it, visualizing your goal, and charging the rune with your intent.

Sigils are a little bit different. Unlike runes, sigils are created on the spot, so the meaning of a sigil is usually only known to the person who designed it. This means that, rather than learning established meanings, you’re creating a new magical symbol with a unique meaning every time you draw a new sigil. Because of this, sigils are directly linked to your will, which makes them powerful conductors of magic.

Here’s a common method for designing a sigil: Write a word or phrase that represents your goal or desire. Cross out all the vowels and/or all repeating letters. Now, use the remaining letters (the ones that haven’t been marked out) to create a design, adding artistic flourishes as you see fit. It’s okay to get creative with this, and it’s okay if the shape of the letters isn’t obvious in the final sigil. For example: if I wanted to create a sigil to manifest wealth, I might start with the phrase “I have more money than I know what to do with.” I then cross out all vowels and repeating letters, leaving me with, “v r y k w d.” Using the shape of these letters as a starting point, I create an artistic design that carries the intention of the original statement.

Sigils are usually used on their own to conduct magic. Draw the sigil in a color that matches your intention (for my wealth sigil, I would use green). As you draw, focus on your intent and feel your energy moving through the pen, charging the sigil. You can leave the finished sigil in your journal, tear the page out and place it on your altar, or display it somewhere you’ll see it often.

Sigils are especially useful for witches who need to keep their practice a secret, because they can be disguised as simple doodles.

Resources:

The Magical Writing Grimoire by Lisa Marie Basile

The Way of Fire and Ice by Ryan Smith

Runes by Kylie Holmes

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

so i am back on the grima train and i was reading through your posts (absolutely quality, for which i can only thank you !! 💓) and you mentioned in one about his use of magic that you have a Lot of Feelings about grima in relation to gender and plz i need to hear them!! (if you want to share? 👀)

LOTR: Grima & Gender 

Oh man, so Grima and gender. My favourite topic. Other than Grima and magic - but they’re linked! So, that’s a bonus for us.

I want to thank you so much for asking this question. I have wanted to rant about this for Forever.

This became incredibly long, but the long and short of it is that Grima undermines social expectations of masculinity in Rohan through his disdain for martial achievements, his occupying a more private/passive role within the king’s household rather than the expected “masculine” public/active, his use of spells and potions being an “unmanly” and “cowardly” approach to problem solving, and his reliance on language and soft-power approaches to politics.

All of this works to position Grima within a more feminine role and character - at least within the context of Rohan’s hypermasculine performativity of manliness.

[It does allow us to read Grima as trans with greater ease in terms of fitting into the canon than the usual favourites, other than Eowyn. So, you know, do with that what you will. Eowyn and Grima both want to be queen. Let them be in charge! I’m going to get my ass bit for this.]

-

Grima’s gender performance needs to be quickly situated within the broader context of masculinity in Middle-Earth. Gondor’s ideal of masculinity is the gentler masculinity that everyone focuses on when they talk about men in middle earth being good models of what masculinity can look like. It’s a nurturing masculinity, it’s gentle, it’s healing-focused. Aragorn and others try and take the first off-ramp from violence or conflict whenever they can. There is no enjoyment in warfare or soldiering. It’s done because it’s necessary. Dick-swinging is limited to non-existent etc.

Rohan is different.

Faramir touches on this when he speaks to Frodo of how Boromir was more like the men of Rohan and how he thought that wasn’t a good thing as it meant he was seeking glory for glory’s sake, relishing war and soldiering as an occupation rather than an unfortunate necessity.

Of course, Faramir was also making (some very dubious) racial commentary, but race and gender are often bound up together (e.g. hyper-masculinization of black men and the feminization of East Asian men in the North America).

As R.W. Connell says, “masculinities are congurations of practice that are constructed, unfold, and change through time” — and, additionally, masculinity must be defined in opposition to femininity but, also, other masculinities.

For Rohan, there is a strong, militarized hyper-masculinity that threads through their culture. One of the reasons Theoden was seen as a failing king was his physical decline and inability to continue being a physically strong king. His aging emasculated him, more so when compared to Theodred and Eomer. (Something Theoden believed of himself and Grima capitalized on.)

For this, I’m going to speak of masculinity of the upper classes, since that’s what we see for Rohan. Masculinity, and how it’s to be performed, is contingent on social variables such as, but not limited to: age, appearance and size, bodily facility, care, economic class, ethnicity, fatherhood, relations to biological reproduction, leisure, martial and kinship status, occupation, sexuality etc. and as we never see lower class Rohirrim men it’s impossible to say what the “acceptable” and “expected” forms for a farmer or cooper would be.

Upper class men of Rohan are expected to be militarily capable - ready to ride and fight when called by their king or marshal. They are to be men of action over word, and when language is in play, it’s to be forthright and plain. No riddling. Marriage/Husband-ing is an expected part of manhood. Being strong minded, and capable of taking charge and making decisions is important. Fatherhood is also clearly prized, especially fatherhood that results in son(s).

(Theoden only having one child could be read as another “failure” in living up to Rohirrim ideals when compared to the older kings of his family who were far more prolific.)

The appearance of an “ideal” man is tall, fair, and handsome. Physically strong and capable in all ways (martially, sexually, fertile etc.).

Men should be able to demonstrate that they are capable of being in charge, taking control, defending and protecting families and homes. This slots in with more generalized expectations around bravery, honour and glory.

[Eomer: And that, in summation, is how you are to Be A Man.

Grima: Well that sounds utterly exhausting.]

-

So, with all of that in mind, let’s talk Grima.

First, let’s address the name and character construction as this is the least bound up in how he acts and its tension with Rohirrim ideals of Being a Man. It’s also interesting in that it can give a glimpse into Tolkien and the possible thoughts he had when constructing Grima.

Grima’s Name & Beowulf Stuff

Grima’s name is from old Icelandic Grimr, which is a name Odin takes during the Grimnismal saga.

Here are some lines from Odin in the saga:

I have called myself Grim,

I have called myself Wanderer,

Warrior and Helmet-Wearer,

[...]

Evildoer, Spellcaster,

Masked and Shadowed-Face,

Fool and Wise Man,

[...]

Rope-Rider and Hanged-God.

I have never been known

by just one name

since I first walked among men.

Not only is Grima’s name from Odin, more importantly, it’s the feminine version of that name. No man in the eddas or sagas goes by Grima. Only women. And most often they were seidr-workers or healers/magic practitioners of some kind.

"Other healers include Gríma from Fóstbræðra saga and Laxdæla saga and Heiðr from Biarmiland in Harald’s saga Hárfagra." 

- “Hostile Magic in the Icelandic Sagas,” Hilda Ellis-Davidson

And

"There was a man called Kotkel, who had only recently arrived in Iceland. His wife was called Grima. Their sons were Hallbjorn Sleekstone-Eye and Stigandi. These people had come from the Hebrides. They were all extremely skilled in witchcraft and were great sorcerers." 

- Laxdæla saga

This is most likely something Tolkien was aware of — I would be flabbergasted if he wasn’t. However, did he fully appreciate the implications in terms of gender and subversion of masculinity? Impossible to say, of course, but he certainly knew he was giving his male character a name that has only been used by women in historical texts.

It would be akin to naming your male character Henrietta instead of Henry. It’s a deliberate, explicit decision. And while I don’t think Tolkien expected most readers to track down the origin of Grima’s name, the --a ending, to most anglophone readers, signifies a feminine name, more often than not. At least, it rarely, if ever, signifies masculine.

So the name alone brings in, at a subconscious level to readers, feminine qualities.

Alongside this, Grima is loosely based on Unferth from Beowulf. The entrance of Gandalf et al into Meduseld directly mirrors Beowulf’s into Hrothgar’s hall (complete with Grima lounging at Theoden’s feet the same as Unferth at Hrothgar’s). Indeed, it was clearly Tolkien’s intention to make a call back to Beowulf with that scene. (He was being all “look how clever I am. Also these are Anglo-Saxons on horses. As a general fyi”).

Unferth is a fascinating character in his own right ,and there is much scholarly debate around his role within Hrothgar’s hall, as well as the text more broadly. While there isn’t enough time/space to get into Unferth, I will quickly note that he is another character who subverts his society’s ideas of manhood and masculinity — particularly with regards to expectations of heroism and bravery. Yet, at the same time, Unferth is noted for being very intelligent, cunning, good at riddling, and overall quick witted (also, a kin-slayer. Dude murdered his brothers for Reasons).

Unferth’s contrary behaviour that flies in the face of Anglo-Saxon norms and ideals of masculine bravery is clearly reflected in Grima. Particularly in Grima’s fear of battle and lack of interest in taking up his sword when called by his king.

This leaves us with a character who was given a woman’s name and who is loosely based on another character who is known for his inability to follow through on his society’s expectations for masculine behaviour. 

Grima, from the first moment we meet him, clearly reads more feminine than masculine - this is amplified when he’s contrasted with the likes of Theoden and Eomer. And, not only is his aligned with traditional femininity more than other male characters, he is specifically aligned with the more negative tropes of femininity (i.e. lack of bravery, unreliable, dubious morals etc.).

-

That is a brief overview of the bones of Grima’s construction: name and inspiration. Now for actions and characterization within the text. This will be subdivided into comments on his use of magic and how that interfaces with Rohirrim masculinity then we’ll get into power and language.

Grima’s key point of power is his ability to weave words in so powerful a way he could convince Theoden of his own infirmity and weakness thereby securing control over the king. Alongside this, we know that he was using certain “potions and poison” to further weaken Theoden. Most likely to amp up the king’s physical weakness so it coincided with Grima’s mental magic games.

Magic for Anglo-Saxon and early medieval Scandinavians was heavily rooted in the power of the spoken word. Runes were probably used but the historical support of this is vague. Which is to say, we know they were used, we’re just not certain how and to what extent.

We do know that rune staves were a thing. They were most often used to send your landwights after opponents or wreck havoc on enemies from afar. To make one, a magic-worker would carve the prescribed runes onto a large stave and position it in the ground facing the direction of their enemy. On top of the stave was added the head of a horse. (Lots of horse sacrifice happened for early medieval Scandinavians, alongside some human sacrifice.)

But, the brunt of magic for Anglo-Saxons and early medieval Scandinavians was spoken word. Which makes sense as their society was, like Rohan’s, predominantly illiterate or, at least, para-literate (though, there has been some recent archeological evidence that is starting to call that into question, for what that’s worth).

In particular, Grima’s spellwork aligns most closely with seidr, a fact I’ve gone about ad nausea. And, again, something we can assume Tolkien was aware of, which means he was also aware of the gendered implications of a man practicing the craft.

The mainstay of seidrcraft is, but not limited to, the following:

making illusions,

causing madness and/or forgetfulness,

brewing of potions and poisons,

prophesying,

channeling the dead,

channeling gods,

removal of elf-shot, and

recovering lost portions of someone’s soul.

The first three bullets are things Grima does to Theoden. That kind of magic — the kind that fucks with your mind and your sense of self, the kind that is subtle and quiet and lurks beneath the surface so you don’t know it’s happening, that’s cunning — that kind of magic is what women do.

It was considered unmanly/effeminate for a man to partake in it as it undermined the hypermasculine militarized culture of the time. Winning a battle or a fight through spells and poison was cowardly.

Therefore, in Rohan where we have this hypermasculine culture that so prizes military glory and grandeur and martial might, Grima pursuing his goals through spellcraft and potions/poisons is Grima pursuing distinctly unmasculine, effeminate modes of action.

Indeed, within Rohan it could call into question the entirety of his masculinity. It would make him ragr (adj. unmanly) because his actions are the epitome of ergi (noun. unmanliness).

"In the Viking Age, homosexual men were treated with extreme disdain and a complex kind of moral horror, especially those who allowed themselves to be penetrated. Such a man was ragr, not only homosexual by inclination and action, but also inhabiting a state of being that extended to ethical and social qualities. This complex of concepts has been extensively studied, and in the words of its leading scholar, "the unmanly man is everything that a man should not be with regard to morals and character. He is effeminate and he is a coward, and consequently devoid of honour". [...] What we would call sexual orientation was, in the viking age, completely bound up with much wider and deeper codes of behaviour and dignity, extending way beyond physical and emotional preference." -Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

Though Price references specifically homosexuality in this passage, a man could be considered ragr for more than just that — and one of the other ways was through practicing seidr.

We see this with Odin, who learns how to do seidrcraft from Freyja, and is then mocked by Loki for how emasculating the practice is for Odin to undertake (as if Loki has any room to talk). Odin’s made himself effeminate, he’s made himself unmanly, he’s allowed himself to learn spells that could enable him to take a cowards way out of a situation, to be dishonourable etc.

Which is a neat tie-back to Grima’s name being one of Odin’s names, particularly when he is in disguise and using seidrcraft and wily ways to escape various unfortunate situations that he ends up in during the Grimnismal saga.

(As Odin says: I have been called Evildoer, Spellcaster, Masked and Shadowed-Face, Fool and Wise Man.)

It also mirrors him to Gandalf - another character who bears an Odinnic name. Gandalf very much represents the masculine, “acceptable” aspects of Odin. Grima embodies the darker, more dubious, and more effeminate, aspects of the god. As I’ve said in other posts, they are two sides of the Odin coin.

Though both are temperamental as fuck.

-

Alongside the spellcraft and potions, Grima’s performance of power does not align with Rohirrim traditions and ideals. He relies on his wits and his skill with language to navigate the world. Succinctly captured in the epithet bestowed upon him: Wormtongue. This is the modernization of Wyrmtunga, or, Dragon’s Tongue.

Wyrm can translate to worm, sure, and we see Saruman doing this on purpose when he refers to Grima as a worm, a creature that crawls in the dirt. But Wyrm, of course, is actually a form of dragon. And in Middle Earth, wyrm is used interchangeably with dragon (Smaug is called both wyrm and dragon), rather than denoting a specific species/categorization of dragon as it does in our world.

Grima’s approach to power is that of a gentle touch. He speaks softly, but doesn’t carry a large stick. He’s not Eomer or Theodred, who are much more traditionally martial, aggressive and forthright in their responses to a situation. Grima is clearly all about influencing those around him either through persuasion/use of words, or through spellcraft. He manipulates, he uses linguistic trickery.

-

Additionally, how he undertakes his role as advisor to the king places him more within the private world of Meduseld and the king’s household than the active, public world of marshals and thanes. And, of course, the private world of households was traditionally considered the woman’s domain while men were expected to occupy the public spaces of the world.

Of course, being involved in court politics is a public role as opposed to existing within a wholly private space (such as Eowyn. Who, in the books, takes a mostly private role until she is required to rule in her uncle’s stead while he and Eomer are off at war, and even then it is clearly considered a temporary situation and part of her duty as a woman). But the manner in which Grima occupies that public position is a more “feminine” one.

We can assume that if Eomer or Erkenbrand or Elfhelm occupied the role as advisor to Theoden, they would have a very different approach to the position. A much more aggressive, active and probably military-focused approach. Less carrot, more stick.

A quick note on his appearance in the film, aside from being entirely in black with black hair in a land full of blonds because he needed to be visually distinct as the Bad Guy. He is dressed in longer tunics and robes compared to Eomer and other Rohirrim men (aside from Theoden, but as soon as he is “healed” of his possession(?) he returns to the Proper Masculine shorter tunics than the Weak and Effeminate longer robes and tunics of before). Grima’s hair is longer than Eomer’s and Theoden’s, he wears only a dagger and not a sword, the furs and quilting of his clothes indicate wealth and status, of course, but also decadence and effeminacy.

-

All in all, Grima’s performance and actions undermine and subvert Rohirrim expectations of masculinity. If not outright transgressing gender norms. He uses spellcraft to achieve his ends which is cowardly and effeminate. When it’s not that, he relies on language and manipulation to ensure his position and rarely, if ever, willingly takes on an active, martial role that would be expected of a man who is in the king’s household and serves as an advisor and a quasi-second-in-command.

Here is a man, occupying a man’s role, but doing it like a woman. Subversive! Scandalous! Underappreciated by fandom!

Grima lives in a liminal, marginalized space that is at once gendered and ungendered but is absolutely Othered.

-

As for my note on Grima and being trans - absolutely a trans woman. Grima suffers from that thing of “I want to be you and sleep with you” re: Eowyn. That’s my hot take. (Similar to me and Alan Grant from Jurassic Park - I want to be him and sleep with him.)

But no, in all seriousness, a strong argument can absolutely be made for Grima being not-cis, however that might look for Grima. Grima and Eowyn are the two, within the trilogies, that have the strongest arguments to be made for not being cis.

(Grima is a bit of a foil for Eowyn, I think, while also being a foil for Gandalf.)

[qqueenofhades]

Thank you for your answer to my last ask! Just sort of carrying on from that, what do you think about how they should cover medieval queerness in a potential prequel? I read your post about the deep relationships between knights which was really interesting. I guess what I'm asking is what would "Period-typical Homophobia" for Nicky and Joe actually be? Thank you for educating us better than school does.

Okay, I’m gonna come in here with a Scorching Hot Take that may ruffle some feathers, but possibly... none?

If the point of including casual homophobia or homophobic references is literally just for the sake of evoking some supposed Medieval Bigotry for ~Le Atmosphere Of Dark Age, there is a) no point to it, and b) not much historical evidence either. People love to point out that we didn’t have the modern identity labels of “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” etc. in the olden days -- well, in that case, we don’t have modern homophobia either, or reactions to those behaviors in the same way. We don’t even have much textual evidence for how ordinary people (outside clerical/religious elites, who would be predisposed to disapprove, just like the religious right today) reacted to so-called “queerness” in their communities, and the circumstantial evidence we DO have suggested that it was far from any imagined universal experience of rejection and isolation. Besides, what we call “queer” due to fragile modern heteronormativty and toxic masculinity was actually intensely normal for medieval people.

One of the tiresome arguments that Straight Historians tend to use, when queer historians are arguing for a queer, romantic, or sexual relationship between two people of the same gender (usually men, because that’s who mostly appears in our sources), is that “friendship was a lot more romantic/intimate/emotional/physical in nature back then!!! They’re not gay They’re Just Pals!!” This is actually true, in that medieval men, far from this Iron Man No Homo No Emotions trope that (once again) we ourselves have come up with, were encouraged (as I wrote about in my gay knights post) to love each other almost, if not quite, beyond reason. There was so much crying, kissing, embracing, tender declarations of loyalty, etc (see: Is It Gay or Is It Feudalism?) Any of those behaviors would make the modern viewer go “lololol HOMOSEXUAL!!!”, but it’s not even always the case? The standards of physical affection, vows of devotion, and close emotional bonds even between platonic friends were just different, and while yes, there was a corresponding anxiety about this attachment turning sexual, the fact that it was considered as a worry in the first place shows you how intense these bonds could be. So while the modern viewer may see two men acting like that and go “oh no gay cooties,” this just wouldn’t raise any eyebrows at all to a medieval person, and hence they’re not going to come back with some dumb manufactured homophobic comment.

Next, in re Joe and Nicky specifically: I SORELY long for a scene in this imaginary prequel where after something romantic has happened between them for the first time, Nicky understandably freaks out a little and goes to confession. There is one other guy in front of him, and a bored priest who is not very good at his job. Guy In Front of Nicky (we’ll call him Guy) goes into the booth and kneels. Priest looks at him, doesn’t even ask. “Oh, is it sodomy again? Fine, seven days fasting bread and water, say two decades of the rosary, Ego te absolvo in nomine Patris -- ”

Waiting outside the booth, Nicky can hear this (since remember this priest is Bad at his Job and has apparently never met the concept of confessional confidentiality in his life) and sags in relief a little. Oh sodomy isn’t that bad, right, it’s a venial sin, no big --

“Father,” says Guy, “I confess that I have also consorted with a Saracen in search of a magical remedy.”

(We don’t gender the Saracen, because we don’t believe in supporting  stereotypes, and since it’s established Guy is into Kinky Stuff, you never know.)

Priest LOSES HIS SHIT.

“You WHAAAAAAAT? CONSORTING WITH A SARACEN FOR MAGIC!! THIS IS A TERRIBLE SIN!!! YOU NEED TO REPENT IMMEDIATELY!!!”

Cut back to Nicky. OH SHIT!!! Sodomy not bad, he could deal with that. Consorting with a Saracen?? OH SON YOU’RE DOOMED. SODOMY WITH A SARACEN??? OH MY GOD I’M GOING TO HELL!

Cue Nicky’s silent existential crisis Dying in the background while the priest lectures Guy to within an inch of his life. Finally, Guy decides fuck this priest (not like that, this is not Fleabag) and scuttles out. A thoroughly terrified Nicky thinks about following him, but since the priest has already seen him, he can’t flee. He goes into the booth and kneels down, Quaking.

“What have you come to confess, my son?”

Nicky.exe has stopped working.

“.....jealousy.”

You get the idea. And guess what? This would be COMPLETELY accurate, because if we were using, say, Burchard of Worms’ Decretum, an early 11th-century handbook advising priests what penalties to give to various sins, that’s basically how it’s treated. Sodomy is blown over briefly with the other venial sins as a certain amount of days fasting on bread and water, while Burchard is really, really worried about witchcraft, magic, non-Christian beliefs, and other such things. So again, really, what is “Period-Typical Homophobia?” We’ve already established that behavior between two men that would raise modern eyebrows would be absolutely nothing remarkable to a medieval person, while priests obviously don’t approve of sodomy, but they’re not that fussed by it either. (Unless you’re Peter the Chanter, who’s just a dick, but he is yet again one guy writing about one specific context, 12th-century Paris, and the fact that he’s complaining so much means that it’s obviously happening in reality.) Besides, the whole idea was that sodomy was the “unspeakable sin,” aka something people just didn’t mention or talk about, which is why it can be hard to track down reliable or unambiguous treatments of it. Obviously, queer erasure isn’t a surprise, but it doesn’t mean that these people didn’t exist; it just means that chroniclers, especially monastic chroniclers, didn’t write about it. So even if this is outright happening, i.e. Joe and Nicky’s romance and/or the number of other queer characters we will be sure to include for verisimilitude, there’s still no guarantee that anyone would even actually SAY something.

And besides: not every minute of history was filled with homophobia, just as not every minute was filled with filth, torture, misogyny, etc. There is actually no necessary reason to include it, especially in boring modern homophobia form, unless you’re trying to beat us over the head with Things Being Bad Back Then. Especially if we’re making a movie that honors and empowers queer people, who deserve a chance to escape into a lavish historically detailed gay romance with Joe and Nicky and not have to deal with bog-standard microaggression as a result. Because what I’ve laid out above is just as much (in fact more so) historically accurate, and MUCH more funny, interesting, authentic, and original.

(And thanks so much!! Another GREAT question.)

[maverick-werewolf]

Werewolf Fact #60 - Werewolves Have Tails

Unbelievably, I never actually did a werewolf fact on this. But... Well, it disturbs me just how many random people on the internet I see making the utterly baseless assertion, as if they actually know, that “werewolves in folklore didn’t have tails.”

That is categorically untrue.

(Although plenty of things in Hollywood spurned tails on their werewolf designs for various reasons, Underworld remains the primary culprit for popularizing the concept of “my werewolf is too edgy and unwolfish to have a tail”)

Do werewolves in folklore have tails? The answer is so simple it can be shortened to just one word:

Yes.

Now, if you ask me, I think it looks totally ridiculous to have a werewolf with a wolf (or whatever modern designs pretend passes as something remotely wolfish; let’s face it, most werewolf designs, especially movie ones, have basically nothing in common with a wolf) head and/or digitigrade legs that doesn’t have a tail. Those need tails. But don’t get me started on werewolf designs.

I also personally think it’s much scarier for a werewolf to have a tail, and I don’t buy the arguments that they are “scarier without one,” because apparently startlingly bare werewolf butts sticking out like they’re begging to have a tail pinned on them are scary (?), and I’ll tell you why at the end of this post.

Before I get into the folklore meat of this, though, I will say that part of my personal stake in werewolf studies is to push for a less broad definition of the word “werewolf.” Personally, I don’t hold to many scholars’ ideas of calling every single person turning into a wolf a “werewolf,” and this applies doubly to things involving witchcraft.

Personally, I think a “werewolf” needs to fit a certain, meaningful criteria, instead of any old person or thing who has the ability to turn into a wolf.

To start off, I will open with the very simple statement that the overwhelming majority of werewolves in folklore turned into giant wolves. Yes, just wolves. Not wolves walking upright, not wolf-men, just wolves. And what do all wolves have? Tails. Case closed.

If that isn’t enough for you, though, there are many sources that detail exactly the how and why of werewolves having tails in folklore...

Firstly, there’s Henry Boguet in “Of the Metamorphosis of Men into Beasts,” from 1590 (my version was republished in A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture, edited and compiled by Charlotte F. Otten). On page 79 of this edition, Boguet marks a difference between werewolves and witches that have turned into wolves, repeating a common belief that, when witches turn into animals, they have “no tails.”

Notice that the witches do not have tails. The werewolves, however, do, and that is even specified as an identifying attribute.

Secondly, there’s the Malleus Maleficarum, specifically question X of part I, “Whether Witches can by some Glamour Change Men into Beasts.” I’m pulling this from Monatgue Summers’ translation.

They say that, “the devil can deceive the human fancy so that a man really seems to be an animal.” This specifically refers to deception. Thus, illusion. Not a true, physical change as we get with a werewolf.

Furthermore, however, they say that “when it says that no creature can be made by the power of the devil, this is manifestly true if Made is understood to mean Created. But if the word Made is taken to refer to natural production, it is certain that devils can make some imperfect creatures.”

“Imperfect,” in this instance, generally thought to refer to “tailless,” along with a few other legends, such as a witch in animal form still bearing human eyes. Again, witches.

Bear in mind that the Malleus Maleficarum was written and compiled during a time period in which werewolves were considered a form of witchcraft, although not equal to it. One could become a werewolf via a curse, without directly practicing that witchcraft. Long story short, werewolves and witches were NOT the same thing.

This also came from a time period when werewolves were considered negative (obviously), unlike in earlier time periods, and much more like today.

Moving on, we also have Albert the Great in his book On Animals, as cited by Montague Summers, who says that devils can indeed make animals: “they can, with God’s permission, make imperfect animals.” Again on the imperfection.

There is one scholar who disputes this very, very briefly in his writing, and that is actually one of my prime sources: Montague Summers. In his book The Werewolf, he remarks, “many–but not all– authorities hold that the werewolf has no tail.” Like, dude, what? We just established that they do.

Something to remember about Summers is that firstly, he truly believed in werewolves as a form of witchcraft. To him, werewolves are more closely connected with those aforementioned witches (that I think werewolves need to be separated from). Secondly, when he makes this sweeping statement, he provides absolutely no sources whatsoever and doesn’t really make any kind of argument to back up or to defend that idea. I’m calling his BS on that one.

Thirdly, we have an overwhelming number of other sources on werewolves being depicted with tails as opposed to without. We have imagery from various time periods (as appeared in my post on werewolf appearances; there are a few more images here), in which they are virtually always depicted with tails or mid-transformation into the form of a wolf, which would have a tail. One of the only depictions we have of a tailless werewolf is the wolf-man woodcut of the one eating the baby, which is in itself a rare sight, as werewolves weren’t generally “wolf-men” very often in folklore. And, frankly, I think somebody misnamed that woodcut, because I’ve never seen any sourcing on it and I don’t even know if it’s supposed to depict a werewolf in the first place.

Descriptions of werewolves in folklore frequently refer to tails, or else refer to the werewolf as simply a “wolf” and thus lead us to assume they must have a tail, or such a radical difference would’ve been noticed by the narrator (Niceros’s tale, Bisclavret, Melion, the curse of Lykaon, Chinese legends, and many more).

There are doubtless many more citations/discussions/arguments on this, but I think you get the picture.

Werewolves have tails. And not some funky little cut-off rat tail or some stub sticking out from their spine - a wolf tail.

And you know one reason why werewolves have tails? Because, ages ago, people didn’t see a terrifying werewolf and immediately go “omg puppy uwu must pet good boi” or “werewolves are so corny lol.”

Because, ages ago, the concept of a human turning into something so inhuman was terrifying. Unfortunately, everyone today has reframed like 90% of everything into “that is bad and corny” if it’s remotely fantasy. Regardless, the idea of a human turning into something with a tail - a tail being a markedly inhuman trait - was extremely scary and startling. A werewolf with a tail will always appear much less human than a werewolf without one, and that is something that brings them closer to being terrifying beasts as opposed to just hairy dudes.

So yes, sure it’s an aesthetic choice of the creator, but werewolves in folklore had tails, whether anyone likes it or not. And if they are anything beyond a wolf-man, they’re simply going to look better with tails, and if you ask me, that’s also something that will be the case whether anyone likes it or not. You hear me, Blizzard? 

(If you like my werewolf blog, be sure to check out my other stuff and consider supporting me on Patreon!

Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter --- Vampire Fact Masterlist )

[daddywanken0bi]

Alright, I’m looking for some slightly fluffy Obi-Wan smut, like some daddy kink|Praise Kink x Female Reader. I live for some inappropriate usage of the force, because there’s just something about space witches using space witchcraft during (totally against the oath) sex that does it for me. Make it extra kinky? Voyeurism: Anakin watches. Extra points if you throw in a force choke.

Hi!! I am so sorry it took me so long to respond, but I have cooked up a really delicious one-shot for you. Hope you enjoy! :) -Jess

Warnings: NSFW, slight Master kink, praise kink, inappropriate use of the Force, voyeurism, absolutely filthy and I live for it.

--------

The door to your room slid open unexpectedly, making you jump. You whirled around, ready to chew out whoever had decided that it was acceptable to barge into your private quarters. As a high-ranking officer, this was the only place you found any peace on this blasted compound. 

Your icy gaze softened as you saw Obi Wan Kenobi standing in the doorway. However, his dirty armor marked with blaster burns caused you to frown. 

“What happened?” you asked. “I thought this was a recon mission.”

He waved his hand in the air dismissively. “You know how it is with Anakin,” he muttered. His voice sounded tired. “A recon mission always turns into a battle.”

You smirked and crossed your arms. “Are you just going to stand in the doorway or are you going to come in for a drink?”

Obi Wan grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

You reached for the small liquor cart next to your desk, which was stocked with your favorites, as well as a few drinks you knew he liked. Soft footsteps echoed behind you as you poured a glass, and strong hands encircled your waist. A small turn had you facing the Jedi. Your breath hitched when you saw the intensity of his gaze, blue eyes fixed on you. You handed him the glass. He took a generous sip, his eyes never leaving yours. 

“How does it taste?” you asked. 

“Mmm, it’s delicious, darling,” he replied, licking his lips. You watched his tongue as it traced a small arc across his upper lip. He set the glass back on the table behind you with a faint clink. “But I think I have an appetite for something else right about now.”

Obi Wan shifted closer, so that your noses were almost touching. The smell of smoke and sweat coming from him was intoxicating. You closed your eyes as you felt your heart rate pick up. You knew from the way his hands tightened on your waist that he could sense the change in its rhythm .

“Oh? And what might that be?” you breathed. 

Without responding, Obi Wan captured your lips with his and you melted. He drew you against his chest, hands deftly sliding down to your backside. A small squeeze on your ass surprised you. The little gasp you let out caused the Jedi to chuckle and pull away. A blush crept up your cheeks as he studied your face.

“What?” Your eyebrows crinkled.

The side of his mouth twitched into a smile. “Nothing.” Obi Wan chuckled again. “I thought about you the whole mission, you know.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

His lips found their way to your neck. “Really,” he murmured onto your skin. “Especially everything I was going to do to you when we returned.”

It was your turn to laugh. Your fingers found their way into his hair, and you tugged slightly. Obi Wan let out a delicious moan, and suddenly picked you up. His strong arms held your back as you wrapped your legs around him. His blue eyes locked on yours, twinkling with admiration. You gently stroked his bearded cheek with your thumb, placing a small kiss on his lips as he carried you to the bed. His soft smile was enough to make your heart melt.

Ever so gently, Obi Wan laid you down on the bed. In between lingering kisses, he helped you undress, until the cool air caressed your entire body. The Jedi Master stood over you, his eyes raking down your body. But you didn’t feel uncomfortable. You felt… beautiful.

“You are…” he murmured, running a calloused hand down your thigh, “absolutely breathtaking.” A shiver ran through you, from both his touch and his words. Before you knew it, his armor and tunic were on the floor, although he didn’t give you the satisfaction of removing his trousers just yet. Your eyes wandered down his muscular form, taking note of every scar and bruise you were going to kiss later. 

The Jedi climbed onto the bed and kissed you slowly, lips lingering on yours after each time he pulled away. Obi Wan liked to take his time with you, treating you gently until you begged him to be rougher. He trailed kisses down your neck and chest, and you closed your eyes, lost in the feeling of his lips on your skin. 

When he reached your thighs, he paused, hovering above your center. Dipping two fingers inside of you, he breathed, “Oh, you’re so nice and wet for me already, darling.” You gasped and arched into his fingers, tangling your own in his hair. His tongue joined his fingers, and soon you were bucking your hips and whimpering the Jedi’s name. Obi Wan’s beard scratched against your sensitive inner thighs, only adding to the incredible pleasure he was giving you.

You were so lost in the sensation of Obi Wan’s tongue that you didn’t hear the door to your room slide open. Only the sound of someone sharply clearing their throat caused you to open your eyes. Your heart sank as the image of Anakin Skywalker standing by your desk came into focus. You scrambled away from Obi Wan, as much as your body screamed at you to stay, and grabbed a sheet to cover yourself. 

“Admiral,” Anakin said, with an eyebrow raised. “I came to notify you that our assistance is needed off-world. Your fleet will deploy in a few hours.” You managed only a nod. You could tell that your cheeks were bright red, your breathing still ragged.

Anakin’s gaze turned to his Master who was sitting casually on the side of the bed, still shirtless. Obi Wan simply licked his fingers clean, ever so slowly, staring straight at the other Jedi. Anakin’s eyes darkened as he watched, focusing on Obi Wan’s face. You noticed his beard was matted and glistening from his efforts between your legs. 

“Is that all, Anakin?” Obi Wan asked. Anakin simply nodded, eyes returning to your face and then glancing at the sheet that barely covered your naked body.

“Well, if that is so, I’m sure you’ll excuse us,” the Jedi Master continued. “We have some important business to attend to. Don’t we, pet?” His nickname made you whimper, and Obi Wan grinned. He patted the bed in front of him. “Come here, love.”

You glanced at Anakin, who seemed to be lingering by your desk, his gaze intense. Obi Wan looked over his shoulder at the young Jedi, then back at you. “Don’t be shy, little one. Anakin is just leaving.” The Jedi Master looked over his shoulder again. “Unless… you’d like to stay, Anakin?” he said pointedly. 

In a burst of confidence, you dropped the sheet you were holding, letting the young Jedi see every inch of exposed skin. Anakin inhaled sharply, and you could see the internal battle he was fighting. A dark wave of lust rolled over you. You had an overwhelming desire to see his face as he watched his Master pound into you.

“Why don’t you stay?” you purred at him, crawling over to Obi Wan on the bed. The Jedi Master lifted your chin with a finger, forcing your gaze to focus on him. 

“Mmm, good girl,” he said. “Already on your hands and knees for me.” Smoothly, Obi Wan stood and removed his trousers, exposing the rest of him to you. You let out an involuntary whimper. 

“Why don’t you have a seat, Anakin?” Obi Wan said over his shoulder. “I can tell you want to watch. Besides, we both need something to relieve the tension of that battle.”

The young Jedi hesitated for only a moment, but a pleading look from you was all it took for him to nod. “Yes, Master,” he muttered. He settled in a chair next to your desk, gaze still locked on your face.

Obi Wan directed his focus back to you. “Now, little one,” he said, walking around to the other side of the bed, “I want you to stay just how you are. You look perfect like that.” You obeyed, and felt his warm figure settle on the bed behind you. “I want you to show Anakin how good you are for me,” he murmured, and you gasped as you felt him slowly enter you from behind. The young Jedi’s eyes burned. You could tell he was slowly losing control.

“Yes, Master,” you moaned. The pleasure of Obi Wan inside you was almost surprising. You forgot how to breathe for a moment, and a soft gasp left your lips. You allowed yourself to close your eyes while the Jedi Master began to move slowly inside you. When you opened them again, you noticed that Anakin had removed his tunics. Through a lust-filled haze, you admired his muscled torso. One of his hands drifted toward his thighs, and he began to palm himself through his trousers.

“Doesn’t she look beautiful like this, Anakin?” Obi Wan asked. His voice was rough and breathy from his efforts. A sudden sharp slap across your ass made you gasp.

“Such a good little toy,” Anakin agreed, slowly stroking his now-freed erection. He looked straight in your eyes. “That’s a good girl,” he murmured, “let Master Obi Wan use you however he wants.” 

You nodded, and Obi Wan increased his pace. Try as you might, you couldn’t hold in your moans of pleasure. They mixed with the sound of the Jedi’s thighs hitting the back of your legs as he drove all the way into you. 

“Mmm, what pretty little moans,” Anakin breathed. “Does that feel good, darling? Tell Obi Wan how good he’s making you feel.” 

You moaned the Jedi Master’s name. “Fuck, it feels so good,” you whined. 

Abruptly, Obi Wan pulled out of you. You whimpered, and he pulled you up onto your knees. His chest hair tickled your back, and you could feel his throbbing, hot erection against your backside. His physical hands held your wrists behind you, making you unable to move. But you also felt two ghostly hands begin to roam your body, twisting your nipples. There was a sudden pressure around your neck as Obi Wan directed the Force there.

You were completely exposed to Anakin. His eyes widened as he sensed Obi Wan’s use of the Force. His hand clenched the arm of his chair and an almost animalistic growl escaped him.

“Fuck, she’s perfect, Obi Wan,” the young Jedi groaned.

Your walls clenched at the praise. Obi Wan’s beard tickled your ear.

“Tell him who you belong to,” he murmured. The Force hand around your throat gave an encouraging squeeze.

Anakin’s brown eyes were full of fire. “I belong to you, Master,” you said breathlessly. “Use me however you want.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Obi Wan said. His lips trailed kisses down your neck, and a ghostly hand quickly found your clit. You gasped, eyes widening in pleasure. A fire was growing in your core, Obi Wan’s expert power bringing you close to the edge.

“Please,” you begged, “Please let me come for you, Obi Wan.” You felt his dick twitch against your ass.

“That’s it, darling. Show Anakin how pretty you are when you come. Now come for me,” he breathed roughly into your ear. 

Pleasure flooded your senses as your orgasm racked your body. Obi Wan’s was unforgiving as the Force continued to flick your clit, elongating your release. The Jedi’s strong arms held you up as you writhed against him, moaning unabashedly. 

You came back to earth, breathing hard. Your eyes met Anakin’s, and you grinned slyly. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, fist pumping his cock, looking at you like he was going to eat you for dinner. 

“Good girl,” Obi Wan said, gently helping you off the bed. “Now get on your knees.” You obeyed, kneeling in front of Anakin, but facing the Jedi Master, who had come around the other side of the bed. 

Obi Wan ran a thumb across your bottom lip. “Open,” he ordered. You did as he asked, and touched the tip of his cock to your tongue. “You know what to do, little one,” he said. “Let Anakin watch how good you are.”

You took the Jedi into your mouth, swirling your tongue around the tip and shaft. You knew what he liked, and in no time, his fingers were tangled in your hair. His groans were music to your ears, and only encouraged you. His dick twitched in your mouth, and you could tell that he was getting close. 

Anakin stood up out of the chair, stroking himself quickly. His eyes were trained on your face. “Master,” the young Jedi groaned, “may I?” He gestured at your face, and Obi Wan’s eyes darkened. He looked down at you, smiling. 

“I’m sure the little slut would love to have us finish all over her,” he growled. “Right, my pet?”

You nodded enthusiastically. Obi Wan’s cock throbbed in your mouth and he groaned. “Oh, darling, you are so perfect.” He pulled out and pumped himself, eyes closed in pleasure.

You positioned yourself so that both men had access to your face. Leaving your mouth open, you looked up at both of them with wide, innocent-looking eyes. Before long, the Jedi were groaning loudly, releasing their loads all over your face and chest. You licked your lips, and looked at Obi Wan.

His blue eyes twinkled, and he tilted your chin up. “You look beautiful like this, love,” he grinned. You giggled and shook your head, suddenly shy. 

Anakin had already put his robes back on and stopped by the door before leaving. “I’ll see you soon, Master.” His gaze turned to you and he smirked. “And you as well, Admiral.” You winked at the young Jedi, and he grinned before slipping out of your quarters.

“That one is a handful,” Obi Wan muttered as he retrieved a warm towel from the bathroom.

“Tell me about it,” you replied, laughing. 

The Jedi smiled as he gently wiped you off with the towel, planting a kiss on your forehead when he was finished. “We’d better get dressed, love. Duty calls.” 

You grinned and shook your head again. How were you going to deal with these Jedi?

[solarscholarsofmagick]

4 Ways to Juggle Adult Life With Your Craft

As the years go by, teenagers who experiment with witchcraft grow into adults. Some of these adults keep with the craft and find a lifestyle that really speaks to them. But, as we grow into adulthood, life (and our responsibilities) change. All of a sudden, we have jobs, relationships, finances, and more. At the end of the day, this means that life becomes busy. So busy, in fact, that sometimes our craft becomes lost and it become hard to find time between it all.

Miss your craft? Here are some tips to help you find your magick again!

1. All the Small Things, True Care Truth Brings

Magick doesn’t always need to include elaborate, skyclad rituals. There are tons of small, magick-filled actions that you can easily incorporate into your life on the fly.

A simple cleansing. You can clean more than your physical body in the shower. Imagine the soap taking the dark sludge of negative energy with it down the drain.

Charm your perfume as a quick and easy glamour. You can also do this to your make-up as well! Glamours are essentially real-life shape-shifting and/or invisibility spells. Here’s a quick glamour, if you don’t know where to begin:

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Ingredients:

A rose quartz crystal

An amethyst crystal

10 (preferably small) regular quartz crystals

A black candle

Procedure:

Find a flat surface.

Place the candle down and place the rose quartz in front of the candle and the amethyst behind the candle.

Place 5 of the regular quartz crystals to the left of the candle and the other 5 to the right. The crystals should form a circle around the candle.

Light the candle and chant, “By my will, I shall control perception of me.”

Wait until the candle burns out.

Place the amethyst, rose quartz, and 1 of the quartz crystals either in your bottle/cap of perfume or in a baggy near where you get ready for the day. This will need to be charged once a week!

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Take 5 minutes each day to say your thanks/prayer to your gods. This doesn’t need to be spoken out loud. You could even think it while on the bus!

Coordinate the colors of your outfit with your intent for the day. For example, wear blue to help with a stressful event, yellow if you want it to be a happy day full of good communication, green if you are asking for a raise, et cetera. Colors hold power!

As an easy offering to your gods, make a playlist dedicated to them.

2. Going Incognito

Sometimes, we want to proudly display our witchiness. However, with the stigma behind witches, sometimes we want to be recognizable to other witches, but not to the mundane.*

Wear crystal necklaces. While the popularity of this is growing, every time I see someone wearing a crystal necklace, I wonder.

Wear clothing with your deity’s image or symbol(s) on it. Not only is this noticible to other witches, but this is also a wonderful and easy way to worship said deity.

Try out rune/sigil nail art. To others who are not familiar, they will appear as simply abstract art.

Magickal symbol tattoos. The same logic as the last point applies to this one.

Find a community of witches near you! Having a community means that there is a space where you don’t have to hide who you are. Back in the so-called olden days, we could use a website called Witch’s Vox, but at the time of writing this article, it is going away soon. Instead, it is easy to find a community by looking for your local pagan society, Facebook groups, or other social media. You can even find a community online! Websites good for that include Reddit, Tumblr, and the Amino app.

3. Baby Shield Me One More Time!

No matter how busy, actually, especially if you’re busy, shielding is a very important task. If you are an empath, one could argue that it’s absolutely necessary. By shielding, I do not mean walking around with an actual shield. It means using your magick to protect yourself from unwanted negative energy. Sometimes this energy comes in the form of the stress from those around you, too many emotions or energy from a crowd around you, and even a magickal (usually psychic) attack. This writer’s favorite way of shielding is to imagine a golden, shimmering, impenetrable bubble.

4. You’re Stressed? Have You Tried Yoga?

A little stress is good for you! It’s what kept our species alive by telling us, “Hey, you should worry about this for your survival,” such as for finding reliable food and water and guarding against predators. However, there is a line (that is different for every person, dog, cat, and hedgehog), where it becomes unhealthy. Too much stress can impact your sleep and eating habits, your mental health, your productiveness, and even your physical health. If your stress is so bad that it is severely impacting your quality of life, you should consider speaking to a medical professional. So, as you read the tips below, remember, magick should be a supplement to medical help, not a substitution!

Carry a rose quartz with you. This crystal is known for its strong properties of calming and confidence. Alternatively, selenite will continually cleanse and shield your aura from negativity and/or harm.

Burn a blue candle/wear blue clothing. Once again, we reach the idea that colors are powerful! Blue is the most common color used for calming. Try burning one while meditating!

Meditating is probably one of the most irritating thing that people suggest when you say you are stress, but it really has the potential to help alongside professional help. The point of meditation is to work on controlling your state of mind. It is also a wonderful way to reach a solution to a particular problem that has been stressing you out.

Cleanse your working and living area. Chances are, your stress has caused the area to be saturated with negative energy. The more you stress, the more negative energy seeps from you, which causes more stress, becoming a vicious cycle.

Ever heard of Fung Shui? It is defined as a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (qi), and whose favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings. Basically, it means that the way you organize your furniture has an impact on how energy flows around you.

Have any personal favorites for how you incorporate your craft into your adult life? Share them in the comments below!

*The Solar Scholars of Magick are not comparing the attitudes of people towards witches to those attitudes towards religious and ethnic minorites.

If you liked this article, please consider supporting us by visiting our website, here!

[frankenmouse]

So I said I was gonna do it and here I go: 

The Influence of Christian Background Noise in Hades

Some caveats: 

I am not a Classics or religion scholar. I am a person on the internet with training in media studies and access to academic journals. So I may make mistakes. These are not out of malice, but out of the fact that I didn’t know. 

This is NOT me going “Boo, Supergiant put secret Christian stuff in Hades!” This is me saying that Christian symbolism and concepts are so baked into most of the Western world that even when making a game about a pre-Christian conception of the afterlife Christian shit still snuck in and I think that’s interesting. 

So, why am I saying that? Well, because there were several places that definitely read more as “Christian depictions of heaven and hell” than “pre-Christian Greek depictions of the underworld.” 

This has gotten long enough that I may need to do this as a multi-parter. So in this post I’m just going to focus on enemies and enemy design. 

Part I: Enemies

One area the influence of Christian background noise (henceforth CBN) is in the game’s enemies. 

In terms of both design and lore (from the Codex) some of the enemies can easily be mapped onto the “Seven Deadly Sins.” While the ancient Greeks did have some social consensus that temperance and moderation were virtues, they did not necessarily perceive excesses as “sinful” in the sense that excess would result in a trip to Tartarus. The denizens of Tartarus were generally comprised of either 1) people who pissed off or offended the gods in some way and 2) people who committed Big crimes and were unrepentant. Big Crimes were things like murder (especially of a family member) and betrayal (in the sense of betraying one’s responsibilities to another). It is also important to note that many of the historical writings about Tartarus specify that for most people it was a temporary place of punishment, after which the purged soul would move onto Asphodel. Only truly unrepentant and “incurable” souls would be sentenced to eternal residence in Tartarus. 

Anyway, back to the Seven Deadly Sins. For those who are not familiar they are sloth, gluttony, wrath, pride, lust, greed, and envy. Two of the most common enemies found in Tartarus are embodiments of some combination of these sins. The Lout’s design, for example, was likely inspired by (possibly unconsciously) the concept of gluttony (and maybe also greed). The enemy is designed to appear hugely overweight with swollen features and a goblet of wine in one hand. They wobble around slowly until a quick lunge. Because (unfortunately) in the context of a culture with Christian ideas as background noise: fat = gluttony = sin = Tartarus. 

The other enemy is the Thug. The codex entry for the Wretched Thug specifies that they were “knaves, scoundrels, cutthroats.” But the design and animation of the thug very much suggest it may have been (again possibly subconsciously) inspired by the conception of wrath (violent anger) as sinful. The Thugs carry huge spiked clubs and are depicted as hulking, overmuscled humanoids with angry faces. 

At this point you might ask, “But Mouse, the enemies have to look like SOMETHING, why not this?” And I would say back, “But look at all the other enemies in Tartarus.” There’s the floating death crystal, disembodied hands, urns that chuck explosives, floating skulls, etc. Plenty of variety; so why are the only two humanoid enemies such exaggerations of physical form? Because those exaggerations read--due to CBN--as “bad” and “sinful.” Because of the concept of gluttony, sloth, greed, and wrath as sins. 

And let’s talk about those skulls! And all the skeletons. Skeletons generally weren’t used as depictions of the dead (or Death) in ancient Greek art. Instead (as most Hades fans likely know) the dead were often represented as butterflies or winged souls. Skeletal representations of the dead became a popular theme in Western art around the Middle Ages. This is tied with the explicitly Christian concept of memento mori, or the idea that you should remember that you will die and be judged, so be good now. Skeletons in both art and jewelry were supposed to act as memento mori, reminding viewers that death (and judgement) are right around the corner. So the bloodless of Asphodel are actually continuing a long tradition of CBN influencing depictions of the dead. 

NOTE: Charon also gets hit by this. Early depictions of Charon generally showed him as an old seaman or beggar. His depiction as skeletal didn’t come until much, much later. 

Finally, let’s talk the witches. Oh, the witches. The ancient Greeks both 1) absolutely believed in and feared witchcraft and 2) would absolutely take advantage of magic. There are many archeological specimens of both curse tablets and protective amulets that show this belief in magic was common and widespread. Suspected witches may have been killed, but not because witchcraft itself was a sin, but because of fear or suspicion that the “witch” had been using magic to kill people. Tellingly, the crime for formal executions was not being a witch, but for murder via magic or for practicing harmful magic. Many other witches were patronized for healing, luck in love, good weather for a harvest, to protect a traveler, etc.. The Greek goddess Hecate, patron of witchcraft, was widely worshipped not only for her magic, but also as as a protector of the household and a goddess who watched over boundaries, especially crossroads

However, the codex entries for the witch enemies talk about magic being practiced forbidden or hidden by the gods and seems to indicate that witches NOT in Tartarus were only able to escape because of either their devotion to the chthonic gods (Spreaders) or because Hades viewed them as useful and allowed them out of Tartarus to work for him (Splitters). This is a very CBN view of magic and witches. The idea that witches belong in Tartarus (in CBN conception, Hell) simply due to their practice of witchcraft is a very CBN idea. 

NEXT UP: Talkin’ ‘Bout Tartarus & Asphodel, and Maybe That Whole “Blood and Resurrection” Thing