#also avid worshippers as well

[rayroseu-reblogs]

Im glad Skully is a different person than anyone in TWST

[inverted-flowers]

More hermits as deities!

I got very stuck on Impulse because I was so determined to do his... But well uh... yeah...

Bdubs: God of The Day

Good nights rest

Sunrise

Daytime

Horses

Enjoyable travel

Healing through rest

Safety at night

Symbolism:

Moss

Clocks

The sun

Horses

Sleep caps

Offerings:

Clocks, either working ones like pocket watches or fake art pieces

Blankets

Medicinal herbs

Lavender and other herbs associated/for calming and sleep

Notes: Followers would place shines in areas where they could get lots of sunshine. The most traditional spot would be in a bedroom window that gets lots of light.

Gem:

Feminine strength and power

Honesty

Self defense

Cottage life

Note: I only recently started watching her and honestly my poor health and lack of wifi is preventing me from watching most rn.. poor timing but I really wanted to include her because she's wonderful. Also she's rather Athena coded. Athena is a greek goddess of war who's also a patron goddess of craftsmen. I rest my case do I not?

Impulse:

Impulsiveness

Symbolism:

Yellow, gold, and black

Lower case i

Offerings:

Gold

Scar: God of The Trade

Trades and deals

Manipulation and verbal trickery

Facades

Aesthetic gardening

Beautiful trees

Symbolism:

Fae and vexes

Offerings:

Money

Snacks

Gardens and landscaping work

Notes: His typical worshippers could be traders, but especially those who work the land. Garden and field workers under the wealthy could be a particularly big group. Since typically fae are known for their twisting of words and also incredibly nature based, it's only right to include them.

Joel: God of Pride

Pride and bravado

Self awareness, shame, and false bravado

Sarcasm

Symbolism:

Lighting (I had to ok?)

Ogres

Offerings:

Notes: His followers are totally ubber secretive. Also I imagine that he's sort of a two sides to a coin type. In art maybe he's depicted as both an ogre and a man with green antenna. Which is used indicates which "side of the coin" is at play. I think there's a lot more to be included in his list too.

Tango: God of Ambition

Distractions

Intense focus

Mechinisms

Ambition

Passion, excitement, rage, and drive

Symbolism:

Red, icy blues for certain periods

Fire

Offerings:

Notes: Can I just jokingly say he's the god of adhd? Lord he was just about Impulse all over again in this process.

Xisuma: God of Music

Music and expression through it

Guidance

Community

Commitment (correct me, I'm not what you'd call an avid fan)

————

Overall notes:

I assume Cleo would be referred to as a diety instead of a god or goddess. When I inevitably start watching her content because oh my god a person who also uses they/them and another pronoun maybe I'll try to revisit this but I dunno if I'll remember lol. So if any who's a fan of their's had ideas please please share! I'm very curious of them!

I've also kinda broken it up into categories and I have more to add to this topic so I'm looking to do a post where I talk more about it! Feel free to join in when I do.

And just like last time, I'd love to hear other's ideas with this. If there's any gaps I left or people I haven't included, I welcome you to toss in your input. Even if you're just adding onto something that I didn't leave blank! I read all the ones people shared with the original post and it was lovely. Honestly I might explode because I still can't come up with much for Impulse so input would be greatly appreciated.

(Also I cannot believe I didn't include bdubs in the first post so I'm added him in here. How the heck did I not notice? He's the one I started with!)

Edit: it took me an embarrassingly long time to notice I didn't put the handful of ideas I had for Impulse down.

[silvermahogany]

Bro I need to know more about Iolys every scrap of information you post about that freak haunts me /pos

UEHEHEH

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECIEVE

Jeremy and Jessie dont read this im about to spoil literally everything

Ouuugh Iolys,,, my pookie bear.. my specialest princess... my poor tortured boy......

A tempest cleric of Tiamat currently at level 7 in the campaign im playing him in, he specialises in spells surrounding thunder and lightning as well as utility and healing. He fights long range and sucks at close combat, though he does carry a shortsword and has means to skitter away if enemies get too close.

Ive fucked about with his tiefling traits a lot and cat coded him to the EXTREME. His legs are slightly feline, though his feet arent entirely pawlike theyre definitely not. Normal. And he has small spikes all over his body. His skin is similar to a shark's being smooth when brushed one direction but brush and even a little sharp when brushed the wrong way. His teeth are pointed so sharp that he finds them to be inconvenient, hes always catching on his lips and tongue and struggles to eat small grain foods or anything that requires molars. He has to focus extra hard whenever he eats anything to not chew the inside of his cheek to shreds. He also gets regular neck pain from how heavy his horns are, they nearly double the weight of his head.

He sleeps as curled up as far as human anatomy will allow with his tail fully wrapped around, unless hes sleeping nect to something/someone he cares about. Then his tail will wander and wrap itself around them in his sleep, holding onto them tight as if scared theyll disappear in the night. Despite his practiced disinterested autism stare, his tail will often give away his true feelings, lashing when hes angry and thumping happily on the ground when praised.

Hes an avid collector of gemstones and shiny stones, always carrying a bag of precious gems on his travels. Some of them are used for his tithing ritual, the prayer to Tiamat performed each night where the worshipper must bury a gem and pray for the dragon queen's power, but many he just keeps because he likes them. Close companions will often find gems of their favourite colours at the bottom of their bags... though he doesnt admit to knowing where they came from.

His personality is somewhat contradictory. The cult taught him to be sharp and cruel to outsiders, to not allow others to get too close lest they distract him from his objectives. Upon first meetings, he will be snarky and dismissive, but he doesnt have it in him to be truly mean to most. If you stick with him for a week or two and not let his cutting words drive you away, he softens remarkably quick, still retaining his sarcasm but behaving much more like a gentle housecat than a pointy stray. Hes remarkably quick to trust, desperate for human connection, and will do borderline anything for the people he cares about.

He doesnt know how to show affection in normal ways, having spend his whole life worshipping some god or another, and so worship is how he cares for people. He'll buy them gifts, offer them gold and gemstones and protect them with his life. He'll often side with his loved ones even if theyre blatantly in the wrong, and will hype up theyre passions in an attempt to make them feel good about themselves. He seems shellshocked whenever recieving gifts in return, and will treasure anything his friends give to him.

hrm,, ok backstory time strap in

Iolys was born to a human mother and tiefling father, third generation of the tiefling curse in his bloodline. However at a few months old, he and his parents were attacked by bandits while travelling and both of his birth parents were killed.

He was found soon after by a hunting patrol of the nearby clan of golden dragonborn, the Dordeldrons. They were a small village of Bahamut followers, a few hundred in numbers, living nearby in a forest clearing, and they took pity on the crying infant. They gave his parents burials, and returned with him to their home.

Not long before this time, one of the Dordeldron women had recently suffered a miscarriage, and fell immediately in love with the orphaned tiefling child that the clan was struggling to figure out what to do with. Her name was Lorxious, and she happily volunteered to raise him as her own. As he was born female, Lorxious gave him a feminine name in her native tongue of draconic meaning 'survivor', however as he would ask later in childhood if he could be a boy instead, she happily agreed to give him a new name. One that surely encompassed all he had been through, one with deep meaning that people would admire-

"Can it be dragon themed?"

... and so in reference the higher fallen dragon deity Io Asgaroth, she renamed him Iolys.

He grew into a strong and curious child, given all the love and care one could need. Lorxious taught him draconic so that he would better fit in with the rest of the clan, whilst teaching herself infernal to teach to him in turn so that he would feel better connected to his tiefling roots. She taught him to sew basic stitches, to cook simple foods, and to care for the livestock that the village maintained. he grew a strong love for the animals, sitting for hours with the highland cows brushing their fur and plaiting small braids into their hair claiming he 'wanted them to see better'. Not all of the clan were eager to accept an outsider into their ranks, especially not one of infernal lineage, but Lorxious stood her ground. She would swiftly shut down any comments thrown his way and put pressure on the clan's educators to intercept any bullying the second it arose. Despite a rocky start, Lorxious' efforts saw that Iolys grew to be accepted by the clan, and before he even reached double digits most would see him as one of Dordeldron's own.

Very quickly, he began to take in interest in the clan's worship of Bahamut. He would beg Lorxious to take him to the sermons held in their modest church, listening with an intent that caught the attention of even the clan's priest. This interest in Bahamut would soon extend to other gods of all kinds, the library becoming his new favourite place as he researched all matters of deities. From the few known overdeities to the lesser known demigods, he would spend hours upon hours reading of their histories, their powers, conflicts with other gods, their rituals and convents. He took particular interest in ancient gods, those who had long fallen leaving scraps of their past glory to be uncovered. But above them all, he put his full faith in Bahamut.

He became one of the most eager worshippers of the platinum king in the clan, near obsessively learning his doctrine and history down to each word of every hymn. He would proudly announce to Lorxious his desire to become a priest, and travel spreading Bahamut's word of peace and justice, which she happily encouraged. As a young teenager, the clan priest Calrur offered for him to become his apprentice, which he was overjoyed to accept.

But along with his pure enthusiasm for Bahamut and admiration for other deities, Io's curiosity didn't stop at gods of the good alignment. All through his life he heard cautionary tales being sung of Bahamut's sister and enemy Tiamat, and how everybody seemed to speak of her with fear and distaste. Surely she couldn't stand up to Bahamut, could she? He who resided on the great Mount Celestia, king of justice who spread order and peace amongst man. He was surely unbeatable.

As time went on, so did his questions multiply. He focused his research deeper into the cult of the dragon, learning the workings of Tiamat's convent and how they terrorised good people wherever they lurked in the shadows. With his newfound apprenticeship he was allowed access to the church's archives, and he greatly took advantage of this to read every scrap of literature on the dragon gods he could find.

The archives were limited, but contained many ancient tomes that Calrur warned him told of rituals that must never be cast. But his fascination overrode reason.

One tome in particular caught his interest and for weeks he could think of nothing else. It was old and battered, containing more ripped and ruined pages than intact ones, and little could be made out from its faded text. He spent hours upon hours studying it, restoring whatever pages he could and memorising each arcane rune it showed. One page depicted a summoning circle that listed no origin and no result. it simply showed the symbols to replicate and listed the required components. And Iolys' curiosity overpowered reason.

Freshly turned 14, he took the tome from the archive behind Calrur's back, and returned to the church later that night with everything the ritual needed. He offered a prayer to Bahamut for protection, having full faith that if anything happened his beloved god would protect him from any harm. He drew out the arcane symbols onto the smooth stone floor in pure white chalk, poured a small bottle of acid into the center, and finally nicked his finger with one claw to imprint a single drop of infernal blood.

It happened too fast for his memory to retain.

He remembered dark green eyes and a threatening hiss, followed by searing agony striking across his face. He was blinded by his own blood as claws dug deep into his torso and launched him off the ground, followed by a shattering crack as the green dragon avatar burst through the roof of the church and dropped him to the ground. Something crunched in his abdomen from the impact and he couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't see. He lay there on the gravel as sounds of calamity ravaged around him, screams of terror and the sickening squelch of his clanmates being slaughtered. He heard the metal of the clan's defenders striking the beasts's hide, and the head guard barking orders whilst herding people to safety.

He didn't know how long he lay there. What had gone wrong? Wasn't Bahamut supposed to prevent things like this happening? He had asked him to be there if something happened, had he ignored him? Had he wanted to punish him for something? Had he not been a good enough devotee? Where was the justice in letting this happen?

He felt a rough hand grab him by the back of the shirt and drag him over the ground, a loud voice ringing in his ears and piercing through his trance. Traitor. Defector. Execution. Justice.

He heard the swing of an axe and heavy approaching footsteps through the echoing cries of distress of the crowd. The hand returned to force him to sit up, and suddenly he couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own breath.

Then a cry to stop. A gut wrenching crunch. And the splatter of someone elses blood mingling with his own.

He clawed at his eyes to try and clear the blood, and years later he still wishes he hadn't. Lorxious, his mother. She was clutching the shoulder where her left arm used to be, the sudden crowd forming around her the last think he saw before his vision was once again filled with red.

Another hand taking him by the arm.

The feeling of the gravel ground turning to grass, and then the jagged forest floor. A voice telling him to "Go. Now." His legs were moving without him telling them to, the sounds of calamity fading out behind him. He could have walked for minutes or hours, but it made no difference to him. His head pounding and senses swimming from the bloodloss, he felt himself fall to the ground.

Gonna have to start sectioning this up good lord

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

He awoke to a cold touch to his head, and a comfortable warmth bloomed over the splintering pain in his face and abdomen. Metal hands wiped at his eyes, and he looked up to be met with an older drow woman in full black armour.

"You are alive? Good.

You tell me of this dragon attack, and i'll bring you with me for proper medical attention. Yes?"

He gave her a small nod, the warmth fading into a dull ache. Under the gaze of this woman, her head haloed in the dawn light as she extended to him a hand, he felt small. He wanted to go home, god he wanted to. But that wasn't an option now. He had nowhere else to go.

He took her hand.

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

She introduced herself as Ornyryn, and brought him to a small base in a dimly lit building in a town he had never seen before. Had this always been so close to home? Cloaked figures stared at him from the shadows, and he clung tighter to Ornyryn's cape.

She waved a hand, and a cleric was by their side. Iolys jumped back at the healer's dragon mask, but Ornyryn soothed him, allowing him to cling to her arm as healing spells were cast and clean bandages were wrapped around the worst of his wounds.

"Not to worry child, you're in a place of worship.

Our deity is very different to the one youre used to, but i'm sure youll come to love her just the same. Your god abandoned you, did he not? Denied you protection, ignored your cries, allowed your village of such devout worshippers to be ravaged. Why, if i hadnt found you you would have died there, rejected by your home and your lord alike. But not to worry sweet boy, youre safe here. Queen Tiamat welcomes you."

Despite his initial panic at the admission, he had no way of leaving in such a state, and Ornyryn's doting quickly calmed his nerves. He told her everything that had happened as promised, and her face twisted in faux sympathy that his shattered mind could only process to be genuine.

She had been his salvation. He trusted her.

She promised him the dragon avatar would be slain and justice would be had.

He felt sick.

it wasn't long until the cult began to prey upon his vunerability in the time he spent with them. They showered him with assurances and promises of safety, of belonging, of a home to return to. He was carefully and meticulously indoctrinated, the spite of his exile ripped from his brain and twisted against him. Ornyryn was right, Bahamut had lied to him. What point was there in dedicating your life to a god only for them to turn their back on you in your time of greatest need? As immoral as Tiamat was, at least she was upfront about the price of her power.

He stayed with the cult until he had healed. And then accompanied them to the next city over. And then followed Ornyryn to the cult's main base in Waterdeep. She taught him Tiamat's doctrine and had him study spellcasting, strict and demanding. But when she praised him for his successes, he felt like the hardship was worth it.

One day, he called her Mother on accident. And she allowed it.

He would come to learn of her position as the blue wyrmspeaker of Tiamat, the second highest authority to the cult second only to the red wyrmspeaker and the dragon queen herself. He should have been scared, but he only felt pride. Pride that she had chosen him.

Years of Ornyryn's careful manipulation and teachings of the arcane morphed him into the most devout of Tiamat cultists with an evergrowing grasp on the harnessing of magical power. He had a family again, people who cared for him. Didnt they? He certainly believed so, and despite the gnawing guilt that plagued his mind day after day and the nights he would choke back tears at the uncertainty of his mother's fate, he was well and truly enwebbed in the cult's grasp.

He would lie, cheat and steal for Tiamat's benefit, devoting himself to her worship and fully dedicating himself to he cause. The cult accepted him despite the dire mistake he had made, and he swore to himself he would repay Ornyryn's kindness at any cost.

The night he turned seventeen, Ornyryn sat him down and ran her claws through his hair with a whisper of a spell under her breath. He watched in awe as dark blue streaks were left where her hand had passed, shining in the dim light.

"You've proven yourself capable, child. You're one of us now, one of my own. Let this spell be a reminder to you, that when you see your reflection you will always know where you belong."

The addition of 'and who you belong to' went unspoken.

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

i think thats uhhhhh all the main backstory stuff. Hrmm miscellaneous information now methinks.

Since the aftermath of the attack, Io has a deeply rooted fear of large dragons. Greatly ironic considering his whole life has revolved around them since he could remember, but every time one of Tiamat's wyrms passed him in the cult base he would be struck with the reminder of the sensation of having the flesh ripped from his face in their claws. Turning rituals were the worst of it, when he would be ordered to participate in a mass ritual to poison the mind of a captured dragon to Tiamat's will.

He spends the whole time fighting to keep his hands and voice steady, at war with his brain against the urge to turn and run for his life, but the thought of Ornyryn's disappointment keeps him rooted in place. He'll find a private spot to collapse in immediately after, breaking down and sobbing out the panic until hes able to compose himself and go back to pretending nothing was wrong.

Hes kept his special interest in ancient religion all the way from his childhood and will often beeline to libraries in every new settlement the party arrives in. He carries a bunch round with him at all times, and keeps a journal containing writings of his recearch topics, his personal thoughts, notes on quests and anything he wished to report back to Ornyryn with.

After fourteen years of dealing with him, Ornyryn is SICK of him. Shes sick of his kicked puppy eyes and the way he follows her around like a sad little stray kitten. She keeps him around because of his genuine devotion to the cult, believing him to still be somewhat useful, but is secretly waiting for him to slip up. For any excuse to either kick him out or kill him on the spot, and right now in the campaign hes on slightly thin ice...

He doesnt start transitioning until after being indoctrinated into the cult of the dragon, they oversee all his medical affairs. Eventually they offered to give him his top surgery or whatever the medieval fantasy equivalent and he of course enthusiastically agrees, only for Ornyryn to have the surgeon carve the scars left behind into the style of dragon wings as a way of branding him. A permanent reminder of his devotion to the dark queen etched into his flesh and for years he LOVES it. Its proof that he belongs, proof that they see him as one of them. Dont think he'll be such a big fan if he ends up defecting but however the campaign goes will decide that <3

Currently in the campaign, he has grown close enough with two of the party members to consider them close friends. Leaf, a qood elf bard and Arcrath, a dragonborn paladin of bahamut. Io and Arcrath have clashed for months on end for obvious reasons, starting out as enemies when me and my friend were playing them in spread out oneshots before using them in a proper campaign, but over the year and a bit we've been playing them theyve grown from enemies into pretty solid friends. Though they did just come out of a divorce arc we dont talk about that- they care deeply about each other. and maybe a little something more is brewing wink wink

One original member of the party was killed (friend couldnt play any more) but two more have recently joined, a sweet little goblin ruid of spores named Floof and in the most recent session, another tiefling, a warlock known as King. They had somewhat of a bitch-off when they met heghegdhe, kinda like a catfight in the street. But theyre begrudgingly now working together.

hgng. i think thats all the main stuff??? but i have loads of extra info and will very happily answer any questions thank you so much for beinig interested in him hes my scrunkly wunkly doomed miserable boy im slamming him into the wall im chewing on him. my sad autism riddled creature im so so proud of him mwwwah

tee hee giggle

his themesong

and his full playlist if you want

[wakinguponsaturday]

In lieu of a joke post about how people who choose to do "evil" playthroughs have much greater willpower than I can ever aspire to (was in turn based combat against Wyll with tears in my eyes), I gotta say I'm disappointed with the evil route, at least insofar as it manifests in act 1.

Not in that you lose some companions for attacking the Grove - there should be consequences to suddenly turning on a bunch of innocents - but in that aside from bloodlust or rp'ing that your character hates tieflings, there isn't really a compelling reason to do so. What does siding with the goblins offer? An easier fight, technically, but on paper beforehand you're told to go after 3 people that can each be isolated in the goblin camp, versus the entire druid grove, so why would the player assume the latter would save time or effort? Conceivably they could offer information about the Absolute, but it doesn't feel like there's enough dialogue to justify that - what with Gut trying to kill you almost immediately and Minthara going straight to demanding your obedience. Why do you have to default to an avid worshipper right off the bat, when it would be perfectly reasonable to play into your ignorance and gather information about the Absolute from her followers first, with the promise of more if you gain their respect? I'll admit that this could be difficult if True Soul is already a position of authority, but these interactions could feel a bit more tit for tat by laying out some lore breadcrumbs to pique interest. Or I'm imagining if there were some sidequests or even conversations like that with Rolan, Cal and Lia with the goblins that could lend them some character traits beyond violent and happily violent.

After the raid, you're given the option when speaking to Volo to say that you had to convince the goblins that you were on their side. But when did you decide that would benefit you. What [PERSUASION/DECEPTION] dialogue options or discussions with other party members lead up to that. If Wyll and Karlach are going to advocate for eliminating the goblin leaders, who's playing goblin's advocate? The motivations don't need to be laid out as plainly as the narrator going 'hey, this could be manipulated to your benefit', but it would be neat if everybody had something to say about the possibility of the raid before it actually happened.

I tend to style 'evil' characters as being self-serving and spiteful rather than bloodthirsty for the sake of it, and maybe that's on me for just looking for things the game isn't designed for. But from that perspective, the most in-character choice seems to be skipping out on this conflict altogether. Which I would think most people are disinclined towards in favour of seeing as much of the game (and gaining as much XP) as they can. I would love to have Minthara as a companion, but my power-hungry wild magic sorcerer isn't going to be convinced into some quick genocide on the hunch that she'll prove more open to sharing later. If you're playing a Dark Urge and leaning into it, this probably works well, but it doesn't seem well suited towards other interpretations of what evil entails.

(Also seen other people point out that the druids have some not at all subtle racism going on, and as a tiefling it would have been nice to have the option to save the tieflings and leave the druids to fend for themselves.)

For anyone out there who has sided with the goblins, would really love to hear your thoughts on it/what guided that decision! Or if there's some dialogue that I'm missing out on! I want to like it, but it's looking like a lesser alternative right now. I'm genuinely debating going back, getting Halsin and then leaning into the Absolute with Act II with the rationale that they're presenting an obvious way to get through the Shadowlands. Once it becomes clearer what the Absolute is/how much danger they're in in trying to stand against it, then I can see the characters playing along, but in Act I the motivation feels weak.

[wolfsbanemanor]

Monster Energy Drink Flavors Prompts: Zero Ultra (How are they different from the people who raised them?)

(Prompts here) Well, for starters, they're vampires. Their parents were regular human Sims, and until they reached Young Adult, they were, too. But also...

They are no longer Worshippers of the Watcher. Edward and Artesia were devout WotW until the day they died in a tragic accident. When Caleb and Lilith left the faith in their teens, Edward was not pleased.

Caleb is not a doctor (although he does work in the medical field in my save), and Lilith is an athlete. Additionally, neither one of them have been to university. Edward had a distinguished degree from Foxbury, and was hoping that one day, Caleb and Lilith would get degrees, too. (Especially Caleb, because he wanted Caleb to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.)

The only living relative they have left is Lily, and because she's a werewolf, they don't see her as often as they used to. Before they turned into Occults, Lily and her parents were at their house all the time.

Both Caleb and Lilith have had quite a bit of premarital woohoo. (Not with each other, yuck.) Their particular sect of Worshippers of the Watcher emphasized the importance of saving woohoo for heterosexual, monogamous legal marriage. Artesia was a virgin until she married Edward, although Edward had one partner at Foxbury before her.

Lilith is no longer capable of eating solid food. Obviously, this didn't apply to their parents, who were not vampires. Once Caleb's transformation from "normal" human Sim to Vampire Sim was complete, he was still able to eat solid food (because he did not have the Withered Stomach weakness.) However, while for other Sims food is fuel, for Caleb, it's strictly for pleasure, as it does not satisfy his Thirst need. Only blood (or bloodfruit juice) can do that.

Edward and Artesia were both avid gardeners, and kept the lawn and garden in front of their house absolutely meticulous. When you first load the game, their garden is...well, obviously, it's fallen by the wayside, with overgrown, dead rose bushes.

Caleb and Lilith are not afraid of swimming pools. Edward, however, couldn't shake the fear of them after his own father drowned in a pool after the ladder "mysteriously" went missing. He went in, and he recommended swimming to his patients to help them live longer, but he always had that fear in the back of his mind.

Caleb and Lilith are night owls. Edward was a morning Sim, always getting up with the sun and going to bed before 10 PM.

[konohagakureship]

Hidan and Kakuzu d&d au! Two more members of the Akatsuki Fellowship!! They are travelling around Khorvaire, in the world of Eberron!

au! Akatsuki D&D

Headcanons:

All the info related to places and clans is from the canonic lore of Eberron, or from interpretations that I’ve found here and there, and also a bit of my own homebrew lore. I’m gathering all the info and sources in my WorldAnvil page so you can check it out if you want :)

And this is the map with notes so you can pin all the locations.

This time I chose to put only the info relevant to the characters to make the post shorter. But still, this will be a LONG post so be prepared xD

Founding of the Akatsuki Fellowship

All the members of the party met in Sharn, the biggest city of the continent of Khorvaire. They were there for different reasons but ended up travelling together across the world.

Hidan the bloody warlock

Hidan was born in the warrior nation of Karrnath in the city of Atur, where the living and dead coexist in a daily basis.

His parents were members of the Blood of Vol cult, and actively participated in the life of the Crimson Monastery, the largest worship site dedicated to Vol in the entire continent. 

From a young age, his parents instructed him in the faith of the Divinity Within and encouraged him to follow their path and become a Seeker of the Blood of Vol.

The Blood of Vol is a religion centered on the belief of Divinity Within, which means that they do not revere any deity but the blood that courses through their own veins. The followers of the Blood of Vol are called Seekers, and many of them are necromancers employed by the government of Karrnath to control their undead soldiers. 

Seekers believe that death is a curse prevent mortals from achieving divinity, so by breaking the curse of mortality, humanity will be able to live a plenty existence. Necromancy is an attempt to fight the curse of mortality and prevent the loss of the knowledge and skills obtained by past generations. 

Contrary to the popular belief, Seekers cherish life and do not want to become undead. Those who become undead are considered to be martyrs who have given up their own chance at divinity to help others, since they will become tools for the living.

The Blood of Vol cult is ruled from Atur by The Crimson Covenant.

At the age of twelve, Hidan showed signs of possessing magical abilities, which catched the interest of the Cult and welcomed him into the Crimson Monastery to train his powers in favor of their religion and ulterior plans.

Hidan had always been an avid follower of his faith, but soon after joining the Monastery he started to interpret it in his own terms.

His warlock status made him believe that his blood carried the divine will, and that his mission was to actively fight for the Divinity Within by converting all the misguided mortals to The Blood of Vol, or sending them to their deceiving gods to see for themselves how misguided they were. 

The years passed and Hidan only grew more powerful and reckless, learning and crafting unique invocations to unleash his magic at its fullest potential.

His ever growing power mixed with his free interpretation of the beliefs of The Blood of Vol, marked him as an individual too independent and powerful to escalate in the ranks of the Cult.

In an attempt to channel his energy and give him a purpose, The Covenant prompted him to join the Order of the Emerald Claw, the paramilitary arm of the Blood of Vol, and sent him to Rekkenmark.

The Order of the Emerald Claw is an outlawed organization of Karrn patriots and Blood of Vol worshippers spread throughout Khorvaire. They continue to operate in a semi-terrorist fashion to this day, proclaiming their desire to see Karrnath once again rise to power.

Their connection to the Cult is only known by highest ranking members of the Order.

Hidan was sent to Rekkenmark, in the border with Thrane. His cell had the undercover mission to hunt down any paladin of the Church of the Silver Flame that entered Karrnath with the intention of killing Vol’s vampires and undeads.

The Blood of Vol is a forbidden religion in some regions of the continent due to the evil connotations associated with their practices, and many groups such as the Church of the Silver Flame actively works to destroy them.

His days as an Emerald Claw Knight were short, though.

At the beginning, Hidan thought that the Order was his rightful place, that surrounded by powerful patriots he will be able to bring the divine will to all the mortals and spread his faith to the edge of the world.

However, he soon started to feel disenchanted with how the Order handled their business and how little they cared about his divine will. He realised that like in the Monastery, the Order also lacked of determination, and so he began to make their creed his and reform it by his own standards.

The time passed and Hidan grew more reckless and discarded his superior’s orders more frequently, which caused friction within his cell. 

By recommendation of The Covenant, when the situation became unsustainable, The Emerald Claw “prompted” him to take his own path and fight for the Order by himself in his own terms, far away from Rekkenmark.

Instead of going back to Atur, Hidan decided to travel the world, free from any restraints, finding misguided mortals to convert to the Blood of Vol and killing all those who didn’t want to achieve immortality.

Unsurprisingly for everyone but himself, his homicidal activities granted him the status of “kill in sight” in many cities, and soon the bounty for his head was high enough to buy a villa in the upper levels of Sharn.

So Hidan, a powerful warlock and Seeker, spent the following years running away from the law and inquisitors of every city he stepped on. He never bothered to hide his presence anyway...

After a near death experience with a Flame paladin in Sigilstar, he traveled to Sharn, where he knew he could hide from prying eyes and find refuge in one of the Order’s liars. 

However, The Emerald Claw rejected to host him as he attracted too much attention, forcing him to hide in the lowest levels of the city, where he was told that there was a unofficially Vol-friendly tavern run by elves.

Little did he know, that in the Callestan district lived one of the most renowned bounty hunters of Sharn, who was currently drinking a pint in the same tavern he choose to spend the night in.

Kakuzu the bounty hunter

Kakuzu was born in the port city of Zarash’ak, in The Shaodw Marshes.

His father was a human from House Vadalis (beast tamers), while his mother was a human with a quarter of orc blood from House Tharashk with the Mark of Finding (bounty hunters).

He was raised within the Tharashk House and learned how to bounty hunt from a young age. Even though his training was focused on the ways of his mother’s House, he enjoyed spending time with his father and help him train and sell his imported beasts from the Eldeen Reaches.

Kakuzu spent his childhood proudly working for House Tharashk, dreaming of becoming a renowned bounty hunter and awakening a powerful Mark of Finding. However, his dreams would sunk when at the age of seventeen he finally manifested his dragonmark. 

It was an aberrant dragonmark.

The dragonmarks are passed through bloodlines and when two members of different dragonmarked families reproduce it often results in aberrant dragonmarks. Originally aberrant marked were seen as outcasts and outsiders, often shunned by the houses and eked out a pitiful existence. Now they unite under their own House, House Tarkanan.

Kakuzu tried to hide his new mark, constantly covering his body as much as he could and not getting intimately close to anyone for fear of being discovered and casted aside. His mood soured in a couple of months, and he ostracised himself from his closest friends and family.

But after a couple of years it had grown up so much that it almost took his entire back, and inevitably the House found out about his condition and expelled him from the clan.

Abandoned by his people, he traveled to Sharn in an attempt to join the Aberrant Dragonmarked House Tarkanan.

House Tarkanan is a house only formed by aberrant markeds, from any race and clan. They are usually bounty hunters, mercenaries and accountants.

When House Tarkanan first established itself in Sharn, the halfling Boromar Clan attempted to assimilate them, but the offer was turned down. This resulted in the Boromars attempting to destroy the House. When this proved too difficult a deal was struck. Since the Boromar clan doesn't traffic in assassinations, it was agreed that so long as House Tarkanan doesn't take contracts against the Boromars, they would be permitted to stay in Sharn without paying a fee.

Despite being shunned away by his family and now working as a bounty hunter for a bunch of criminals, Kakuzu found his place in Sharn. He also worked as an accountant for the clan from time to time, a nice changes of winds from his usual, dirtier, business.

He made himself a name in Sharn, and over the years was granted the title of Baron, as a senior assassin of the Clan. Kakuzu was well known in the city, especially in the districts of Lower Dura. 

He established his residence in the lawless district of Callestan mainly because the rent was cheaper, but also because his best informants also maraud those streets, inns and ateliers.

Kakuzu is a baron of House Tarkanan, and his main income comes from the clan’s dealings. However, he takes freelance work if the pay is good enough, and he usually doubles his fees if the contract is from his former House.

House Tharashk, despite expelling Kakuzu many years ago, is often interested in hiring his services in the big city, since bounty hunters that are not from House Tarkanan or the Boromar Clan are not allowed to make business freely even after paying a bountiful fee.

House Tharashk has deals and a close relationship with House Thuranni. The elven house team with them whenever they need to find artifacts or people, in exchange for influences and intel. They are currently working together with the Emerald Claw in Stormreach (Xen’dirk), seeking ancient artifacts for Lady Vol. 

House Thuranni is involved in many dubious affairs and unofficially allied with many organisations, such as the Blood of Vol and the Emerald Claw. The Thuranni fought alongside Karrnath during the War, and they have an important presence in Atur with their True Shapers academy.

These unofficial affairs turn every Thuranni establishment into a safehouse for those allies who need refuge or a meeting point.

So Kakuzu visits The Shadowkeeper tavern whenever the Tharashk need something from him, to catch up with his informants, or just to drink a large pint.

...though cashing in a good bounty for a dumb Seeker, is also interesting.

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

We have 6 out of 8 members of the party!! yeyyy!!! now i need to finish the other two ;)

[anobscurename]

ocean eyes – chris evans

PART I | PART II | PART III

concept: a collection of happenings, but there do happen to be a lot of references to the other parts. it’s just plotless fluff at this point. the slowest of slow burns. there will be many more parts. this is your moving in – finally – and the welcome party that follows.

pairing: chris evans x reader

word count: 2.7k

warnings: a lot of teasing, ice cream, dirty thoughts, and a touch of sexual frustration.

author’s note: so this is part four, and we finally have some mackie and stan action! also, because i believe in all ice cream flavour superiority, i have left a little “choose your own response” thing. select whichever one fits you as the reader :)

“Is that the last of it?”

“I think so.” You were breathless from the move, boxes covering almost every viable flat surface of your new bedroom.

Chris had himself a rather nice house up on the Hollywood Hills, and through one of the many windows, you glimpsed the shimmering reflection of a spacious pool. The residence boasted three bedrooms, and now one was yours. It was enough to make your head spin.

“I’ll let you get settled, then,” Chris smiled, his hand finding your shoulder in a gesture that suggested nothing more than friendship – one which your body reacted to as something more. His hand was warm, and you hoped he didn’t notice the goosebumps that rose on your arms at his very touch. The scent of him invaded your nostrils, utterly intoxicating.

You folded your arms across your chest hoping to disguise the sudden gooseflesh. There was something about him that made your hair stand on end, but in a purely unadulterated good way – some kind of magnetic energy that made you want his hands encompassing every inch of your body, committing it to his memory. When he retracted his hand, you hoped he hadn’t seen the slump of your shoulders in soft disappointment.

He had.

And if you had been paying more attention to him, and not your own suddenly raging hormones, then you wouldn’t have missed the smirk that quirked his lips at the visible effect he appeared to have on you.

“Don’t take too long, though,” he added by the doorway. The mere glimpse you caught of his cheekbones in profile had your breath stuttering erratically, even more so than the weight of your neatly packed boxes ever hoped to achieve. “We have a welcome party to get to in a few hours.”

——————

The welcome party, you were to discover later, was a party of two – just you and your cab thief – to be later joined by two of his friends who happened to be in L.A.

You banished any and all thoughts of it being a date or not this time, and found yourself much more put at ease by it once you had set your resolve. You were his friend – barely even that, if you would let yourself admit it – nothing less, nothing more. And what type of date would it be with his friends there, in any case?

So outfit choice came easy. If you were to be living together, he would inevitably become accustomed to you looking borderline homeless at times, and should the occasion call for it, like an absolute goddess the next. And so your selection of clothing came effortless, settling for something in between: a homeless goddess.

You didn’t know where Chris was taking you, so the selected aesthetic happened to be minimalistic makeup and a black jumpsuit that could either be dressed up or down, but looked classy all the same. You decided to dress it down – pairing it with a pair of old worn in Docs you had on hand – and one look at him – as he waited patiently for you on the couch – you knew you had made the perfect choice.

He had his legs crossed, ankle balancing on knee as he bounced his leg subconsciously. Dodger’s head was in his lap as he absentmindedly petted him. His legs were clad in dark wash jeans, tailored to fit him perfectly, and his torso sported a dark blue button up under a brown leather jacket. His hair was slicked back – either from a shower or from styling product, only time would tell.

Hell, he’d even shaved for this, his face appearing much more boyishly charming than anything now.

It took a moment for you to register that Steve Rogers and Chris Evans were two different people, what with him sat there in an ensemble he must’ve stolen from the costume department.

It was Dodger that noticed you first. He had taken quite the liking to you when you first arrived – three hours ago, to be precise – and it had taken almost half an hour to get him to leave your room so you could begin in the tedium of unpacking. He had been practically inconsolable, and had scratched at your door for another ten minutes after until Chris eventually decided to spend some time with him out in the garden to distract him from your loss. You knew you and the boxer were going to be fast friends. Especially now that his tail was pounding furiously in its wagging, beating the couch cushions into submission. It was then that Chris noticed you, too.

He turned his head, and time seemed to slow. A second felt drawn into an hour as he took you in. There was an imperceptible, intranslatable crease in his brow before it slackened and his face broke into a soft, boyish grin. “Wow,” he said softly.

“Is it… too much? I can go change if–”

“No!” He cleared his throat, his hurried response jarring enough to make even Dodger cock his head. “No, you look perfect. Beautiful. Great.”

His smile was contagious and you found your face splitting into a delighted beam. “You’re one to talk. You clean up nice, Captain Armani.”

He rose from the couch. Dodger followed him off to bound up to you and give your hand a soft lick. Under his breath, you could hear Chris scoff at the Captain Armani tease. “You ready to go?”

“Um, yeah… What about Dodger though? Will he be alright?”

“He’ll be fine. We won’t be out long anyways,” Chris winked – more so to Dodger than you, but that did nothing to stave off the shiver that ran unbidden down your spine. “I promise.”

——————

Chris took you to a restaurant first – nothing fancy, and very clearly nothing too romantic, that was certain; corroborated by the subtle sink of your heart – before you both began your pleasant evening stroll, vaguely in the direction of the “hidden gem” dive bar him and a few of his friends had found when he’d moved to L.A.

It would be an unfaithful recounting of events if you said it hadn’t been a bit awkward at first, but soon enough, you’d both found your footing, and the quick witted teasing and fast fire rapport was almost second nature to the both of you.

“Favourite Disney character, and if you say you don’t have one, you can find somewhere else to live.”

The mirth in his eyes suggested he was joking, but there was an edge to his voice that said otherwise. He was serious to some extent, and for some unfathomable reason, you refused to let him down. Also because you really didn’t have a place to go should this all go sideways. You mentally made a reminder to have a fail safe contingency plan if things got messy – not that they would; you were insistent on that.

“It happens that I’m in luck, then,” you retorted. “Because as it so happens, I have a top five.”

You rattled off your list, loving the way Chris’ smile grew impossibly wider at each name drop.

Your conversation – more a debate on who was the badder bitch: Mulan, Moana, or Elsa – took a natural halt outside a cute hole-in-the-wall ice cream parlour. Suddenly, memories of the first time you met came flooding back.

“Cookies and cream, right?”

He arched a brow in confusion.

“Your favourite ice cream flavour. It was cookies and cream.”

“You remembered.”

It was enough to make you laugh, the surprise in his voice. “Of course I would. You tried to convince me it was the best in the world. Stupidly so, considering [I already am an avid cookies and cream worshipper] // [my allegiances lie with {insert favourite ice cream flavour here}].”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you want some? Before we go and meet Seb and Anthony?”

“Uh, sure,” you shrugged.

He gave you a playful nudge of the elbow and headed to the counter. The order came quick, and soon you were back on your slow crawl to the pub, ice cream already starting to sweat and melt in the sugarcone.

You watched in amusement as Chris all but moaned in ecstasy as he devoured the cookies and cream. The sound was enough to make you moan yourself, but the sight – well, that was a more humourous one to behold. He ate like a starving man, and some dark recess of your mind wondered what else he might be inclined to eat with such passion–

He had caught you staring, and he paused his ministrations. “What?”

“Nothing.” You had tried to stifle your giggle with ice cream, and it had turned into a cough, and now you were outright laughing at him. “Don’t stop on my account, I just think you and your dessert should find a room if you’re going to be so vocal about your pleasure.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want some?” He smirked, offering you his mangled ice cream scoop, half gone already.

“I’ve got my own, I think I’ll survive.” The wink came natural with your response.

“No, really, you should try some.”

“It’s just hard to take you seriously. With all the ice cream on your face.”

He paused, confusion halting his steps. And rightfully so – he still remained immaculate, not a speck out of place. “Where?”

“Right…” – you suddenly grabbed his unsuspecting hand, still clutching his treat, and smeared the icy cold goodness on the side of his cheek – “there!”

Your howl of laughter was short lived as he slowly wiped the ice cream from his face before turning his attention to you. “Oh, you’re gonna regret that.”

It wasn’t menacing by any means, more playful, but when he came at you with his ice cream cone, every intent of menace was there. You were wearing black, after all, and a stain from that cream was going to be glaringly visible for the entire bar excursion.

Easily dodging his attack, you darted to the side and held your own ice cream out, hoping it would keep him at bay. He still advanced, and you knew you were screwed.

So you said fuck it, and ran.

Luckily, you had already been quite close to the bar, and although you wouldn’t be able to tell them where exactly it was should a stranger ask you in passing, you recognized the name on the sign easily enough. Taking one last mournful bite of ice cream, you discarded the rest in a garbage can, it proving more a hindrance to your escape than a good weapon.

Exhilaration flowing through you, peels of laughter leaving your lips, you burst into the bar, hoping you’d be safe. The patrons paid you no mind as you whipped around, eyes cautiously on the door, awaiting your doom.

Chris burst in not soon after you, both of you breathless. He had lost the ice cream along the way too, and with that immediate danger gone, you felt yourself visibly relax.

Among your panting breaths, you chuckled. “Truce?”

He nodded, swallowing thickly. “Truce.”

“Hey, Evans! Over here!”

Both of you turned your attention to the man who spoke. Sat side by side in a booth, waiting for your arrival, was the ever gorgeous Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie, the latter having risen to wave you over.

Your heart stuttered at the sheer bizarreness of it all.

“Holy shit,” you whispered. “How do I look?”

“You look great.” When you gazed up at Chris, there was a softness to his eyes and a gentleness to his smile. It astounded you how playful and teasing he could be one second, and how heartachingly genuine he could be the next. “Except…”

Your eyes widened. “Except?!”

He chuckled, reaching out a tentative thumb. When you didn’t pull away, he proceeded. One, large and wildly beautiful hand resting on your cheek, the thumb grazing your lip, you had to remind yourself that you had just run for your life and that was the reason for your heart threatening to break free from your chest – nothing more. But there they were again, the goddamn goosebumps. You shivered, undetectable to him, but what felt like earthquake tremors to you.

He swiped away the leftover ice cream that had been clinging to your lips, and, without a second thought, brought his thumb to those perfect lips of his. Time seemed to slow as you watched him lick and suck the ice cream off his finger, his eyelids fluttering, long lashes fanning closed.

And then the spell broke as he gave you a reassuring and completely friendly smile, unfazed at all by what had just transpired. “There. Much better.”

——————

Anthony was bewildered. “Wait, so he stole your cab?”

“And you let him?” Seb had paused while chalking his cue.

“She never let’s him forget…” Chris grumbled under his breath, taking a languid sip of his beer.

That earned him a mutual eye roll from you and Sebastian, and a look passed between you.

“What a baby,” you mouthed to him from across the pool table.

“I know!” He mouthed back with a smirk while sinking down to line up his next shot.

After an initial round of drinks, you and the boys eventually found yourselves migrating to the pool table. Anthony and Seb were the only ones playing, having gotten to the bar earlier than you and Chris and were pleasantly buzzed by the time you two had entered. Chris and you decided to sit the first round out, instead opting to drink a little more before.

“And then he followed you into an alleyway and you didn’t kick him in the dick?” Anthony gave Seb a pat on the shoulder in consolation when he missed the shot, but still had his attention focused on you, and the unravelling series of events that had led you to this moment.

Seb, still cursing from his failed shot, straightened from the table. “He would’ve been kicked in the dick the moment he tried to steal my cab, I can tell you that.”

Anthony and Sebastian found your story far more amusing than you ever did, but the more you spoke about it with them, the funnier it became.

“Well, it’s not so bad. I got to meet you guys.” You raised your beer in cheers.

Seb pressed a hand to his heart, mouthing a soft “aaw”, while Anthony, although smiling his adorable gap-toothed grin, rolled his eyes. “Man, get the hell out of here with that sappy shit.”

You laughed, hopping off your bar stool. “Alright, come on, it’s my turn. You’re all fucking it up, it really can’t be that hard…”

——————

Apparently it could be that hard. And you weren’t talking about the team of doubles pool game unfolding in front of you…

You were bent over the pool table, lining up your next shot. And Chris was…

His body was pressed against yours, leaning against you, every bit as warm as you expected, and rock hard with taut muscles that you could feel individually ripple at every movement. The smell of him – something delicious and indescribable – was all around you. Affable hands – leaving a blazing trail of goosebumps in their wake – travelled down to cover your own as he “helped you” play pool.

He was speaking low, directly into your ear, each husky word shiver inducing as every so often his lips would brush the shell of your ear as either he or you shifted.

“Nice and steady. Keep your eye on the ball,” he murmured throatily. The hand that wasn’t assiting your grip on the cue idly fell to land on the dip of your waist, travelling down to rest on the curve of your hip – searing hot through your jumpsuit. “Just like that…”

You involuntarily moved beneathe him, and you felt him stiffen. He cleared his throat, the rasp still tinted in his voice, eyes hooded with something unknown.

He drew back, leaving you cold and wanting – but much more clear headed. It wasn’t entirely lost on you, the way he shuffled uncomfortably, having to adjust his jeans – particularly around the crotch area.

“You know, Evans,” you smirked. “If I needed your help, I would’ve asked for it.”

To punctuate your point, you sank the ball you’d had your eye on, and, in quick succession, sank another.

He watched you, captivated, mouth slightly agape. “I…”

You shot Mackie a wink over the table as you missed the next shot, but managed to position the eight ball right in front of his and Seb’s most favoured pocket, effectively screwing them over. He groaned, but nodded and slow clapped in appreciation of the duplicity. You mockingly curtseyed to him, before handing the cue to Chris for his shot.

“Don’t worry,” Seb said, clapping Chris on the shoulder. “You’ll get ‘em next time, tiger.”

[disenchantedfaerie]

One Hit Wonder

I’ve been brooding about this for a while now because it just hit me the other day.

I’m a long time fan of Jason David Frank. He was the white/green ranger from Power Rangers. He was, still is, a hottie but back in the day he was the big draw for me to Power Rangers.

He’s had bit parts in several shows or maybe it’s better to say he’s had guest appearances on different shows. He’s now in his late 40s. He’s still very active.

So that’s the point? The point is his sole claim to fame is Power Rangers. What will he always be known for? Power Rangers. What does he continue to promote? What does he do when he shows up to all the, and I mean all the time and all over the US and UK, comic cons for and as? Tommy Oliver from the Power Rangers. I’m sure when he was younger, and perhaps even now, having a grand career as a leading action/adventure star in Hollywood is exactly what he wanted and was striving for but it just wasn’t meant to be and so now he’s embraced this, or so it seems, and continues staying relevant using the one and only thing really that he’s known for.

He sells his PR merchandise, some signed, he promotes fitness and martial arts (I’m unsure of what practice he is proficient in, but I do know he’s a black belt likely of multiple degrees).

He’s tattooed practically all over his body although admittedly (and Duh, I don’t know him personally) I’ve not seen his whole body. He’s an avid motorcycle enthusiast.

When watching him do a live IG, it’s usually in front of a specific place in his home (office?) in which you can see all things Power Ranger and all things Tommy.

Remind you of anyone? His highness, the king of covidiots, in my opinion, is this exactly. One huge difference, he was older (oh no! I know his age disturbs him greatly) when he landed his amazing role (insert eye roll) on that cable tv show that I don’t even watch anymore. He continues to seek Hollywood roles despite the fact that while he’s had moments of really good acting, he’s just not an awesome actor. He cannot for the life of himself do a great accent.

So now, since maybe this is dawning on himself, I have no idea, he is becoming JDF. He constantly shills his merchandise (which is all named for his and/or is all tied to his one and only real claim to fame) that’s all tied to his tv show. He’s become a waking advertisement. He now has multiple motorbikes and he is following several tattoo artists. By the way, I have nothing against tattoos I have several myself. They all have special meaning to me personally and have marked important times in my life. I can hardly wait to see what himself inks on himself. Will it be tv show related? Of course it will, it is and it remains, his one claim to fame. Even his road trip show is tied directly to that tv show. All his merchandise is tied to the tv show. His fitness program, it’s not really tied to the show but he is and that’s mostly how people find him and because he’s soooo amazing, join him. I won’t speak ill of the program because they have donated tons of cash (and some people truly have gotten healthy and turned their lives around) to his chosen charities which will have long term lasting effects for cancer research (thank you!) but make no mistake that at the end of a long day, it’s a business that donates money. It is not a charity.

I honestly foresee that this will be it. When the tv show ends, and I hope it’s soon, he will still do comic cons for that show, he will have more merch related to that show, he will have more motorbikes, he will start his adventure with ink, he will dictate his autobiography about his wonderful yet scary times on his tv show, his descent to darkness, his stalkers, how detrimental it all was to his mental health, how he never did anything wrong, how he skewed the timelines and all his worshippers loyal fans assisted him (it’s a cult). He’s a one hit wonder.

This is all just my opinion because I am no longer an active follower but the striking resemblance to JDF was remarkable to me.

Also, for shits and giggles, think Kevin Sorbo (did he do anything besides Hercules?), Dean Cain (the curse of the superman), Lucy Lawless (I’m well aware that besides Xena, she was also in Spartacus but if you ask random people, likely they would say “duh that’s Xena”). Did any of those actors do anything besides what I mentioned? Not really. Bit parts and guest appearances maybe.

I’m back to reblogging my recipes, cool photos I find, and hot men and women. Have a great weekend!

[landofknightsandlight]

Blood colors

Here we go, analyzing the hemospectrum! We’ll look into the lifestyle, powers, and other information about each blood color. A lot of this will be speculation, but a lot will be from the comic itself.

Rust: The lowest caste on the hemospectrum, and thus they live the shortest lives. They live an average of 18 sweeps or 39 years. They often have telekinetic abilities and abilities related to the dead. These can both be found with Aradia, however, we only see the first one with Damara. It is thought that Aradia was able to project her dream self, due to her death related powers. She was also able to summon the dead to haunt Vriska, and constantly heard the voices of the damned. They often live in rural areas, away from society, due to how many there are. They work as grunts, taking the lowest of jobs in the empire. They are the most psychically vulnerable, and thus can easily be manipulated. They will also be the first to die in the vast glub. 

Bronze: The second lowest caste in the system, they live a little longer than rustbloods. They live an average of 24 sweeps or 52 years. They usually have animal-related psychic abilities, like the ability to control animals. They have also been known to rarely pupate with wings, though they are often culled before they can grow up. They will be second to die in the vast glub and are also easy to manipulate. They live in rural areas, in smaller houses.

Gold: The third lowest caste. They live an average of 30 sweeps or 65 years. They have some of the most powerful psychic powers, having psionics. This gives them telekinetics, making it unlikely for them to need a sylladex. These telekinetics are a LOT stronger than that of rustbloods. They can also release a lot of energy from their eyes. They also often act as batteries for the fastest ships of the empire, allowing them to move MUCH faster than the speed of light. In fact, the most powerful known psionic was the Helmsmen, Sollux’s ancestor. I imagine that Mituna was just as powerful before his accident. They are the third to die in the vast glub, however, they also can only be manipulated about half the time.

Lime: This caste is currently extinct. This is due to a genocide done upon it by the Alternian highbloods. It is said that this happened due to their powerful abilities, though it is not known what these abilities might be. Some theorize that it is the “shooshpats” that Karkat does. This would be the ability to calm angry highbloods, but they use their anger and cannot have this. Another theory is that they were simply killed for having the same blood color as Calliope. We all know that Lord English would be petty enough to do this. Very little is overall known about this caste, though they do live around 50 sweeps or 108 years.

Olive: The fifth blood color, this caste lives to about 60 sweeps on average or 130 years. This caste has no psychic or physical abilities. They often live out in the wild, hunting for food. They make very good Moirails, due to their even temper. There’s really not much to say about this caste.

Jade: The sixth blood color, they live about 92 sweeps on average or 199 years. They have no psychic abilities but have the potential to become Rainbow Drinkers. They are usually girls and have the role of taking care of the mother grub. They are rare and often work as teachers in school hives, working through screens, as all adults are off-planet. They often live far away from urban areas and are the only caste able to stand the daylight. Due to their unique position, some live in deserts where the sun is bright.

Teal: The seventh blood color, they live 140 sweeps or 303 years on average. This caste is filled with highly intelligent, justice-focused individuals. They live in urban centers most of the time but are not restricted to these areas. They are known to live in rural areas. There’s not much to say about them, except that they’re exceptionally resistant to psychic abilities.

Cerulean: Ah, the beginning of aristocracy. These are the lowest of the highbloods, and live an average of 450 sweeps or 975 years. They are powerful psychics, with several abilities. They can read the feelings and base thoughts of lowbloods, and can easily force them to do their bidding. This can even extend to other’s psychic abilities, as seen with Vriska’s double psychic reach around, or Aranea using multiple Damara’s telekineses to smash two whole planets into one another. As they are also aristocracy, they often are allowed extravagant hives and clothing, even despite trolls hating fashion. They are the eighth caste to die in the vast glub.

Indigo: A caste filled with physical strength, they live 700 sweeps or 1516 years on average. They are filled with noble individuals and have noble lusii. They are extremely physically strong and very well educated. They are considered the middle of the aristocracy but have no psychic powers. They can be extremely dangerous without a good Moirail, and pair good with Olivebloods or Limebloods. Not much to say about this caste.

Purple: One of the most dangerous castes, they live 800 sweeps or 1733 years. They are the most physically powerful castes and have the gift of the Chucklevoodoos. These powers are mysterious, having unknown capabilities and limits. However, they do not get these powers from genetic inheritance, but instead from their religion. They are avid worshippers of the “mirthful messiahs”, who are really just Lord English. They are the highest of the land-dwelling trolls and work as the enforcers of the empire. They use their immense strength and amazing abilities to keep up the rule of the empress. They will be the last land-dwellers to die in the vast glub.

Violet: This caste is outright royalty, though they are the lower of the two. They live an average of 4500 sweeps or 9750 years. They have gills and fins on the side of their head, and have longer and sharper teeth than most trolls. They have no psychic abilities, but are extremely resistant to psychic attacks, practically immune. They only really answer to the empress, though they can be easily controlled by the Subjugglators. They not only live underwater, but sometimes atop islands as well.

Fuchsia: The very highest in the hemospectrum, they can live an average of 7000 sweeps or 15166 years. However, due to their natural abilities, they can in theory live forever. They have the ability to extend theirs and others lifespands, or even shorten them. They are exclusively female. There are only at most two of this caste at a time, one to rule and one to inherit. They are hatched very rarely, and the current empress will do anything in her power to prevent the next one from taking control. Over time, with experimentation, they may gain the abilities of the other castes, though in a lesser form. The condense was able to fully gain the powers due to doc scratch. They are completely immune to psychic attacks. They always share the same lusus, Gl'bgolyb. When this lusus dies, it will give the vast glub, of which only the Fuchsiablood will survive.

[aniksuman]

Footloosing in Agartala

Whenever a sudden opportunity does arise,, knocks on your door,brings fruit, enrichment , you just never mind, you just reap off as much as you could .It was all but a 'kamikaze' opportunity to explore a city as beautiful as Agartala. A smokey, dreamlike city nonetheless, situated at lap of the mountains that gingerly branch out the Great Himalayas, has enough to its disposal to enthral anyone's vociferous curiosity . Enclosed by myriads Jaggery collection of hills and mountains it is all but a hidden treasure . In addition , a mighty river, Gomati surrounds the city with paternalistic love ,spiralling, protecting, watching over, just as if.

Agartala, always a vibrant city, is a capital of Tripura state, formerly a princely state, one of the smallest of India . A close proximity to two neighbouring countries has just bolstered its significance even more .

However, there are other reasons to ravel the city. Having a sacred place right at heart of state,at Udaypur District that belies just 50 km afar from the city centre is a transformative, mouthwatering option, for pilgrims throughout the year and they roam it, muddle their body and spirit at every other opportunity.

According to Hindu mythology, Udaypur Matabari Temple scratches out its own position as one of the 51 revered places, where a sacred morsel of 'slain Sati' corpse was said to be fallen over .No surprise, it's a boisterous place, especially on auspicious 'Shiva Chaturdashi' night.Thousands of devotees flock at Udaypur Matabari Temple for offering prayers, for observing that day .

The glorious temple sits perfectly atop of a mole hill. A statuette of Maa Kaali has been stationed inside the central temple. Devotees are offering 'prasad, flowers, prayers through two narrow entrances .An abbot is busying himself doing all rituals amidst of incense that is devouring the room at most . There is a small Shiva temple too that gets overlooked easily .

At the base of the hill lies a large, pristine pool, abundant with Tortoises and fish, swarming . Some worshippers are feeding them mirth fully , believing it to be a cleansing act, while others taking a half dip, full dip into cold water, certainly an ablution for pilgrims.

While visiting Udaypur Matabari Temple a 'must see' for devotees, a spectacular Palace 'neer-mahal' just remains at the 'stone throw' distance that could easily satiates voracious lust to 'ravellers, history enthusiasts'.

Even at city centre, stands a large, magnificent Tripura Royal Palace, that's itself as big as anyone could imagine , if not the biggest of all India . Erected at the outset of 20th century by an English contractor, this Palace's gigantic presence is a supernal thing to admire. After passing over the main gate, there comes a half a mile elongated corridor that stretched till right at the base of main entrance of Grand palace. Standing there, Few sentries keep on gazing carefully upon visitors who are advised not to snap up photos inside the Palace as it is an offensive act, personage could be finned even .Torquois sky looms large over the supernal minarets. Tranquil ambience just gobbles up visitors before they enter the place.

Thousand years of turbulent, extraordinary history abridged is on display inside showcase that has jagged Tripura over and over again , refurbished it to its current vibrant colour .History, From the first king Ratnamanikya to the last one has been chronicled perfectly across various rooms inside the Palace .The current and comparative states of other six adjacent states viz Aasam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Maghalya, Manipur, Arunachal pradesh are described too alongside that certainly scores few brownies among avid explorers.

There is also an omnipotent presence of the Jagathnath temple close by,an abode for devotees as well as for tourists. The price of the rooms is very affordable , accommodating too .

There are other busy business centres too. Battola, Nagerjola are among them. The latter one is a premier bus stop.

Being a city that spersely located around mountains, Agartala just is able to manifest those. The city is mostly neat and clean. Currently Bengali is the most spoken language. But sights of hilly tribes and dialects are commonplace too.

While crispscular song creeps up slowly, one might still wonder at the city, befuddled by its somewhat crestfallen, somewhat abrasive nature just like its rugged, sinuous Roads , occasional sumptuous buildings.Agartala won't consummate your thirst ever , it holds on your arms to return.

And I will.

[tisthenightofthewitch]

The Whispering Walls of Tobias Forge

“I am all eyes

I am all ears

I am the wall

And I’m watching you fall

Because faith is mine.”

From “Faith” by Ghost

What is the path to Satanism?

I must confess to knowing next to nothing about Satan, and therefore very little about how one may come to practice Satanism.  My most vivid image of all things Satanic is being terrified watching Robert DeNiro’s portrayal of Lucifer in Angel Heart (1987). And I suspect DeNiro’s depiction is consistent with many people’s view of Satan – an entirely evil being whose sole purpose is to tempt humans to commit horrific acts, and then revel in the sadistic pleasure of being able to torture their immortal souls for eternity.

Yet as I researched the concept of Satan further, I found that Satan may take on different meanings for different people. For some, Satan is something of a cautionary tale -- a tragic figure whose own ambition caused him to be thrown out of Heaven. Others view Satan as more of a spiritual concept – the tendency for humans to be tempted by their own natural instincts such as lust, hatred or greed. And still others view Satan as almost a sad, comical and cartoonish figure – something to be laughed at rather than feared.

But for Tobias Forge, the lead singer and songwriter of the Grammy-nominated band Ghost, Satan came to represent something very different – a symbol of a rebellious libertarian-style individuality and non-conformity. As such, Forge sees his path to Satanism as a celebration rather than a condemnation of his humanity.

To understand Forge’s journey to Satanism, it is important to consider what appears to make him tick – a seemingly non-stop lust for imagination, exploration and creativity. And perhaps just as Satan was considered by many to be the highest of all angels in heaven, so Forge was initially in awe of Christianity as a spiritual vehicle.

Forge explained how his mother was instrumental in fostering his open-minded approach to the world. “My mom is very liberal. She has never been religious … spiritual but not religious. However she worked in art, and had a very avid interest in art and culture. So she presented church to me as more of an archeological or more museum-like institution … more from a historic perspective,” Forge told me. “She took me to Paris for example. And in addition to going to the Louvre and seeing art, we definitely went to Notre Dame and places like that because it was part of the art experience. And I was always very in awe of … all of those churches … So from my mom’s side that whole thing was very interesting and enthralling and very enticing.”

“Religion was more of a fictional art explosion.”

One church in particular that inspired awe in Forge was the Linkoping Domkyrka. “Even in my hometown of Linkoping where I grew up … the Church we had was very lavish – very boasty. So it ticked most of the boxes of big imposing Christianity. And I love being there if I’m in town … because it’s just this haunting place,” Forge explained. “The walls are just whispering there – literally because people engraved things in the stone. It goes back to the 1700’s when kids were in there for Bible school and you see someone engraving his name and it says something like ‘June 3rd 1772.’

“Seeing that when you were a kid was like, ‘Wow a message from ancient days.’”

Forge’s cultural experience included film and books that often offered an alternative and darker perspective on spirituality. “Not only did we read a lot at home, we also watched a lot of films. So I had already seen a lot of films that were about the crucifixion and the temptation of Christ, like Bible history and the Ten Commandments – stuff like that,” Forge recalled. “And I started watching horror films and you obviously have the Devil very present – The Exorcist, The Omen – all these dark powers … And religion – and more specifically because I grew up in a Christian country, Christianity – was of interest.

“Because it was just a fantastic story and it was ancient and it was filled with a lot of drama.”

More, Forge had access to music – particularly rock music – at an early age. Forge credits his brother with his music education. “My brother gave me my first records when I was about three or four years old, because he bought a lot of records. And he was very nice because he gave me the records he thought I’d like more. My first records were Kiss’s Love Gun, Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, and Motley Crue’s Shout at the Devil. That had immense influence on me,” he described. “When I was 8 years old I was already very interested in music. I already had my own records. I already had my own guitar. I already played guitar. I was already into many of the things that to this day I’m still deeply influenced by… a lot of 60’s music – the Doors, the Kinks, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones … You can go to a galaxy far, far away. And you can go into the Pink Floyd world and you can travel to Hyde Park in 1969 and watch the Rolling Stones pay tribute to Brian Jones.

“And it was a bigger, tasteful, stronger world that was so far away from the world that I lived in.”

And so it was that at an early age Forge viewed the world as one giant place to celebrate his free spirit – to explore, imagine and create. And he saw religion as a potent vehicle – along with various art forms – of nurturing his curiosity. But things changed for Forge when he encountered people whose practice of Christianity seemed geared more towards smothering rather than facilitating his spirit.

“I regarded certain people in my life … and school as handicapping … limiting. Throughout my childhood there were examples of the Christian people that I met – people who were in one form or another were devoted to any church or congregation. They were more often than not -- not very nice people. They were actually quite mean and condescending,” Forge explained. “Whereas I found my stereo and my VCR and my mom and the comfort of our home was this great universe of imagination where you can tap into whatever.”

“That made me look for other religious elements.”

Forge described his encounter with a teacher whose approach to Christianity felt more like servitude rather than support. “My first teacher … she was extremely strict, mean and deeply religious. I don’t think she followed the school curriculum – how many religious hours we were supposed to have … I remember reading a lot of Bible history.  She was definitely a very authoritative woman. And she liked discipline. And she didn’t like rebellious cursing kids,” he explained. “I was pretty foul mouthed. I was rebellious … and I questioned things. So I think we collided at first. She didn’t like me and I did not like her. And that pretty much screwed up my whole school, because I lost interest. Not in learning – but in going to school.  I didn’t like the idea of teachers … and she was against me and everything that I stood for. I was looking for freedom … and she was against that.

“And she definitely became the symbol for Christianity and not being very nice.”

Unfortunately, Forge had a similar experience with his stepmother, who Forge feels resented him as interfering her relationship with his father. “When they got together, he had this newborn kid. I was in the way of course. And she was deeply in love with my dad. And when you’re in love with someone you want to get on with the rest of your life together as soon as possible – no obstacles. And I was an obstacle,” he described. “She was also a symbol of the not-so-nice Christian society. In one way they were proclaiming to be advocates for being nice, and kindness and understanding, whereas I saw nothing of that.”

“And that started an interest in looking for the dark side.”

Soon, Forge started exploring Satanism as a form of spiritual rebellion against what he considered the oppressive behavior of some of the Christian people in his life. As Forge tells it, he was in many ways primed for this path not only by being open-minded and imaginative in general, but also specifically by the music that he listened to throughout his life.

“As a young teen, Satan, and the idea of some sort of world that you could be in touch with that could empower you was very much the symbol for freedom … “I guess more so than I had already been introduced to by Motley Crue and Gene Simmons and Darth Vader,” he said. “When adolescence was knocking, there are another set of emotions that come into play. And the idea of the Devil and the idea of dark powers from beyond that continue in any way or form is a very interesting thought for a twelve year old who wants to lose his virginity, and who would like to defend himself against the bigger kids and who is also a big worshipper of rock music. And it couldn’t have been more of a fitting marriage. Everything sort of coincided.

Forge’s interest in Satanism coincided with a cultural trend towards more extreme forms of metal – particularly black metal in which the themes were more overtly Satanic. “I think in 99.9% of every so-called Satanist in the last 50 years, you would find that the vast majority of them have been introduced to the Devil via music. And it usually happens at a certain age as well. And I would say that comes from bedazzlement,” Forge said. “And it was also the early 90’s – so that was the rise of the death metal and black metal movement in Europe and in the world I guess. Especially in Sweden and Norway, it was a big thing. And it was just right up my alley. And it became such a powerful way of expressing myself, and how to not only deviate and differentiate myself from the norm and normal people, but just like hand in glove with my way of seeing the world.”

As time went on, Forge felt that his issues were more with organized religion, which he appears to shun, as compared to spirituality, which he embraces. “Most people that I know that have been in a similar mindset. It’s definitely grounded in the will to expand and not implode. And I think most of us – people like myself – are leery of linear, organized religions because it’s limiting,” He described. “Those people that tried to tell me the order of the world from a religious point of view – they tried to steer me away from believing. They tried to steer me away from feeling those feelings that I want or should have -- feelings that I got through Dee Snider – “I Wanna Rock,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Or “Shout At The Devil” -- Motley Crue. They tried to steer me away from that – they didn’t want me to believe in anything other than what they said. It goes against imagination. You’re not supposed to have imagination.

“You’re supposed to read up on someone else’s imagination.”

Forge makes it clear that he does not dismiss religion outright – and in fact still struggles with understanding many of the religious concepts he learned as a child. “I am not against the idea of believing. I am not an atheist … The whole institution of Christianity being based on that book, being based on the premise that he was conceived out of nowhere -- it’s kind of hard to believe,” Forge described. “But on the other hand, I do believe in the idea of a historic person named Jesus that was a kind of chill dude who was just telling people to chill and be nice to each other. And he got penalized for that. So I’m not dismissing the whole thing as bullsh*t. But I definitely believe that tormenting other people because of the Bible and for that to be – for lack of a better word, Gospel.

“I think that is not very nice.”

For now, Forge is content exploring much of his Satanic spirituality through his work with Ghost – often taking on confrontational stage personas as “Papa Emeritus” and “Cardinal Copia.”  These challenging themes are so present in Ghost’s music and live show that the band has been labeled “occult rock.” As Ghost has just released its fourth full length studio album Prequelle and is in the midst of a world tour, Forge is aware of how he is now walking in the footsteps of the bands that had so deeply influenced him.

“It’s funny how the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. I’ve gone full circle being in a shock rock band nowadays, running around shouting at the devil and telling people to stay hungry and shooting love guns.”

All rights owned by PsychologyToday.com

[mask131]

American Gods: Myth VS Show. Today: The “Death Loas”

In American Gods, we recently encountered the two “vodou gods”, Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. 

Since I happen to own a small book about the vodou “religion” and “traditions” (Rituels et Symboles du Vaudou ; Rituals and Symbols of Vodou, written by Heike Owusu), I decided to see what was told about the deities, just to compare with how the show presents them. (Remember, this is just a small book, so it’s not an in-depht analysis). 

Sweeney describes the two entities as “Death Loas”, and indeed they are Loas associated with death. “Loas” are often called the “gods” or “deities” of vodou, but that is a misinterpretation. The Loas are not gods. Loas are very powerful spirit, that serve as an in-between located under the supreme force/being, the “true God”, and the mortal beings. Loas however were misinterpreted as gods 1- because they are worshipped and have symbols and attributes and specificities like typical gods and 2- they are described as “manifestations” or “incarnations” of the power and being of God, while not being God themselves. Some just interpreted that as being gods. 

In fact, you can compare Loas to angels, or to saints (and in fact, the Loas were linked to saints, when Vodou mixed itself with Christianity). 

Anyway, the “death loas” as Sweeney calls them, are in fact a very specific “family” of Loas, a group called the “Guedes” (les Guédés, in French). The Guedes are loas/spirits linked to death and to the deads. They tend to appear at the end of every big and important ceremony or ritual, even when they are not called upon. And when they are called upon, it’s usually to enter in contact with our ancestors or the spirits of our deceased loved ones, or just to talk with any dead. Contrary to the other Loas, the Guedes don’t receive a real cult and don’t have “worshippers”, and as a result they are said to be very lonely creatures. 

The Guedes are described as always spying on the livings and their world. They are envious and avid when it comes to the life of humans, and due to this jealousy and desire, their main gig is to parody and mock the living beings whenever they manifest themselves. Despite being mocking and insulting, these beings are treated as extremely wise and of very good advice, because they inherited the knowledge of all the past generations, and of all the great minds gone now. They have the knowledge of the deads, and this knowledge is great.

We met Baron Samedi, who is in Vodou religion the head and chief of all the Guedes. “Baron Samedi” is a double identity - because there is many Barons in fact. If you do researches you’ll end up meeting Baron Samedi (Baron Saturday), but also Baron Cimetière (Baron Cemetery), and Baron Lacroix (Baron Thecross). And these three barons are all merely the avatars, incarnations, faces of one and same Loa: the Baron (which is also called the Baron Samedi, just to confuse things even more). All in all, they all share roughly the same aspect: a dark suit with a dark top hat. 

Maman Brigitte is the other most well known member of the family of the Guede, and is considered to be the mother of many of them. However, contrary to the show where she’s a sexy beauty, Maman Brigitte is described in Vodou as being “bony and ugly”. 

The third well known Guede that completes this trinity, it is the “Loa-child” called Linto, that we don’t see in the show. When Linto “mounts” someone, the possessed one acts like a baby that just learned how to walk, and is typically fed baby-food. 

Yes, because, one thing with the Loas is that they tend to not appear by themselves, or under their real form. Usually, they possess human beings during rituals and speak through them. It is said that they “mount” humans. And that’s something that Neil Gaiman respected in the book: the Baron Samedi manifests twice. Once possessing a young girl during his Coming to America, another time in the final battle, having taken, again, over the body of a woman.

Anyway... the rest of the Guedes don’t seem to have specific personnalities or even names, and all act and appear the same (actions and appearances that influenced a lot media representations of Samedi and Brigitte).

The Guedes are known to wear clothes that are considered either creepy or ridiculous. They always dress in mourning clothes, or try to dress like undertakers, because that’s the only dressing codes they know. They like to move with spades or pickaxe in their hands (the Baron rather use a cane). The Guedes often dress with a worn-out frock coat, an outdated top-hat or un-fashionable bowler hat, and finally, they tend to wear purple veils. They are also MAD about sunglasses, dark sunglasses. Whenever they see a pair, they have to put it on, even if they belong to someone else - which result in some Guedes walking around with three or four pairs on their nose. 

Around All Saints Day, the Toussaint, the Guedes force the ones they possess to dress and put make-up so that they look like corpses, skeletons and other undeads. They walk on the street like that, and while at first it makes people afraid, they soon make them laugh by cracking jokes, and they are invited to parties and feasts.

Because the Guedes are known to be humorous beings, that absolutely love a good laugh. They have a twangy voice and when they speak, it’s in such a scabrous way that they can make “a whore blush”. Because the Guedes like sex, and are associated with phallic objects. It’s because in Vodou, death isn’t seen as an end to everything, or as the opposite of birth, but rather as a “rebirth” into another plane/state, and as a step in the perpetual cycle of life and death - because death allows the creation of a new life in the after-world. As a result, Guedes especially like to take possession of prude and “moral” people, and to put them through the “banda”. (And I think the “banda” is what Brigitte and Baron put Sweeney and Laura through).

The “banda” is a rituel, part-dance and part-copulation, and it is done in an outrageous and very comic way. Like I said before, it’s suppose to represent how death is able to create a new life.

In fact, since someone possessed by a Guede is prone to the most grotesque and extravagant sexual actions, the Vodou practicioners have a very rigorous test to check if one is really possessed by a Guede or merely simulating so he or she could do morally dubious things. The test in question is to force the person to drink a special liquor, filled with spices and piments, or to put it in his or her eyes. It is the favorite drink of the Guedes, and only the possessed can stand it, any normal human is terribly burned by such a strong and hot drink. 

Finally, Guedes, when possessing people, like to imitate human’s greed and gluttony and cupidity by smoking a ton of cigarets and cigars, drinking entire bottles of rhum and liquor, pouring it in their ears, and stuffing their face quickly with food before burying the leftovers to dig and eat them later. (Seen again in how the Baron and Brigitte both drink and smoke a lot). 

[insula-amoris]

Who’s Who in the ✨ Domus ™ ✨

Calpurnia:

Age: 24

History: just got out of a bad relationship and is ready to party. Her parents were extremely wealthy so she has high tastes. She comes from Mamucium where her mother owned a successful chain of taverns and her father was a textile merchant

Occupation: fabulously wealthy

Personality: calpurnia considers herself to be sweet and bubbly, and usually she is, but she has a depressive, jealous streak. When she gets jealous, she withdraws into sadness, which is why she needs her BFF Prima to encourage her to fight for love

What she’s looking for: she wants to find her one true love who will treat her like the queen that she is

Prima:

Age: 29

History: Born in Tunisia, but her father was a centurion who moved to Britannia so she’s lived her whole life there. Her father is an avid worshipper of Mithra. He was caught up with the wrong crowd and ended up getting into some hot water with a nasty merchant that ended with their family being dragged into the conflict. That’s where her trust issues come from.

Occupation: sells cloth imported from North Africa and Anatolia. Works in a weaving workshop every other day

Personality: The baddest bitch in the house. Will fight you for the last corn chip. Has made a shiv out of a nail polish bottle before

What she’s looking for: likes her men to be smart, but they better not be smarter than her.

Marcus Proculus:

Age: 39

History: born and raised in Rome, climbed up the ranks of the military in Cisalpine Gaul. He claims that nothing bad has ever happened to him EVER, but this is probably a lie

Occupation: military tribune. He feels embarrassed sometimes because all the other tribunes are younger aristocrats but he’s just a pleb who’s worked up from being a legionary

Personality: snobby, has expensive taste in wines, doesn’t always pick up on social cues

What he’s looking for: is attracted to both men and women but has a hard time admitting that he has attraction to anyone at all. He’s mainly here for the cash prize money of 50,000 denarii so he can leave this shithole and buy a villa in Barium

Cornelius:

Age: 34

History: Cornelius has fought tooth and nail to get where he is in life. He’s a freedman who was originally born in Scotland. Don’t let his sweet, innocent personality fool you—he’s seen a thing or two

Occupation: is currently working as a scribe but does pantomime acting on the side. Bonus—He’s literate! ✨

Personality: he’s a sweetie but he’s clumsy. He’s a disaster in the kitchen.

What he’s looking for: a girl who’s hot and sexy who can teach him the meaning of love

Atticus:

Age: 45

History: the son of a celebrated auxiliary soldier, atticus has had big caligae to fill. His father got Roman citizenship by serving in the army, and wanted his son to do so as well. Unfortunately Atticus has a rebellious streak and chose to pursue a career in the culinary arts

Occupation: gourmet chef in the summer house of an important legate. He gets winters off while his boss is on holiday in Hispania

Special skills he brings to the house: he can cook well

Personality: he’s quiet and reserved, but he picks up on everything that’s going on in the room

What he’s looking for: a lady who can go toe to toe with him

Secunda:

Age: 35

History: nobody knows who she is or where she came from, just that she has enough money to dye her hair blonde with saffron every month

Occupation: ??

Personality: calculating and cold. Really likes the color blue. She also likes plakenta cake made from sheep cheese and honey

What she’s looking for: is it love? Is it the money? Or something else entirely?

Patroclus:

Age: 22

History: born into the lap of luxury, this Anatolian prince has never wanted for anything in his life.

Occupation: princeling

Personality: he’s naive and inexperienced. He really likes music and can jam really well on the lyre

What he’s looking for: someone who will constantly praise him for how pretty and cool he is

[parachronismx]

You are the Duke of NY, A # 1 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOjC2n2VVtY John Carpenter's Escape From NY 1981 S. D. Bob Snake Plissken: Kurt Russell Duke of NY: Isaac Hayes 💚💜💙💛❤ Oh that Meatwad and Boxy Brown. My favorites. Was in the mood for this clip after I saw a video for Bambi https://youtu.be/K0Eeju2aiGY And someone said Rick Ross on a live stream. My friend says isn't Rick Ross the one that says... And from there, the search began. I knew the references and all, just couldn't remember it was Isaac Hayes 💙💜💚💛❤ In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Solid Snake names himself "Iroquois Pliskin" upon meeting with Raiden for the first time, Iroquois being a word meaning "Snake." Solid Snake's character was also heavily inspired by Snake Plissken.[10] Kurt Russell was reportedly offered the role of Naked Snake (Solid Snake's genetic progenitor, also known as Big Boss) during the development of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but Russell apparently declined. 👆👆👆👆 From: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Plissken 💀🐍💀🐍💀🐍💀🐍💀🐍💀🐍💀🐍 http://www.metalgearsolid.net/features/hideo-kojima-at-the-movies-escape-from-new-york Hideo Kojima at the Movies: Escape From New York With the third column of the series, Mr. Kojima transitions from World War II adaptations to a John Carpenter sci-fi classic, and it's lead character which laid the foundation for the antihero, Solid Snake. This article was exclusively written for Official PlayStation 2 Magazine by Mr. Hideo Kojima. We are now entering round 3 of this column. I have talked about The Great Escape and The Guns of Navarone - classics of the 60s. Obviously, I did not see them at real time. I saw them on the small TV in the living room instead of on the big screen at the movies. The process was not really an active effort of "watching" but more of a passive experience of "seeing" what happened to be shown on the TV. This was how I encountered many movies in my childhood. But it was these coincidental encounters that created the foundation within myself. I grew up and then became able to experience film "actively" by going to the movies by myself. This time I would like to talk about a film I saw not on TV but at the movies, based on my own will. And the 3rd film turns out to be the movie that influenced me the most in the birth of MGS hero Solid Snake - Escape from New York (the Japanese title was New York 1997). In Spring 1981, I was a high school student. I went to the movies with my friends. Considering myself an avid film fan, I certainly knew of John Carpenter. Although I did have him in mind, I was not a worshipper yet. The lights were turned down, and the film began. Only text is shown on the black screen. A calm melody with a monotone rhythm, analog electric sounds... a simple and even tasteless opening - but I was drawn to it. My skin could feel the unique atmosphere and what was about to happen. Then came a brief description of the setting (Manhattan Island turned into a prison). There is no room for questions for such a wild setting. A computer voice talks emotionlessly about how the future will be in the next 10-20 years. All this time the audience gets no live footage. All the audience can do is imagine based on the data and wire frame (actually models whose edges are colored with fluorescent paint). Various images of the future flood the minds of the audience and cause a mental panic. The next cut shows a panoramic view of Manhattan the prison. "This is gonna be great!" The next hour and a half, I was glued to the innovative idea and punk atmosphere. "How could such a cool movie exist!" It wasn't simply a fun movie. The movie and I shared similar chemistry. The colors, the smell, and the air were things that the director and I shared in taste. There is no logical explanation. I believe everyone has had this kind of experience with music and film. It might not have been a movie popular among the public, but it was definitely the movie I got into the most. I was especially electrified by the hero, Snake Plissken. Being in the midst of my rebellious period, the antihero "Snake" resonated harmoniously! He was a dark hero that separated himself from the orthodox hero who was either part of some organization, enslaved by the system, or was justice personified. Noire novels and stories and movies with evil heroes are common now, but this was quite rare back then. Although he gets used, he ultimately lives by his own ideology. Although confined as a criminal, he was not truly evil. Instead, he was a new type of hero with "justice not bound by others." Snake's words, actions and every move looked so cool. I'm sure that when people came out of the theatre, they were all dragging their right leg just like Snake (who gets injured by an arrow). My friends and I were no exception. (By the way, I had one eye shut like Mel Gibson after seeing "Mad Max 2.") The line "Call me Snake!" became a fad in school. The name 'Snake' in MGS comes from "creeping up on someone silently like a snake." The adjective 'Solid' expresses Snake's strong and blade-sharp image - paradoxical when combined with a snake's litheness. Normally, 'snake' and 'solid' do not get along. It's like talking about hot ice. I came up with this name to express this lack of balance and equilibrium. But when I decided that the codename would be Snake, the character itself was more Plissken than snake-like at the subconscious level. If I used a different name (animal) for Snake in MGS, he probably would have been a totally different character. This movie is another example that contains the very important synopsis element of "infiltration, rescue, and escape". What adds greatly to the suspense is the 24-hour "time limit". What plays a big role as a direction tool is his very obvious watch. You could ask, "Does it really have to be this big?" but showing this watch instead of an on-screen timer works really well. Snake takes a look at his watch at the very moment the audience wishes to take a look. The time is not spoken. The audience has to read the time just like Snake. Towards the end when it is only minutes away from the limit, the watch is no longer shown. Only Snake's facial expression is shown. It is a mean but calculated means of direction. Carpenter is great with such small touches. The device indicating the president's location, the cassette tape necessary at the summit, the bracelet with the hidden switch, the nanocapsule that dissolves in blood and causes and explosion, the diving glider, the egg-shaped escape pod... the cool use of all these neat gadgets adds to the enjoyment of this film. The reason why New York is the setting of MGS2, I have answered many times in my interviews. "After taking care of business in Alaska, where would Snake go?" When I asked myself this question, I very quickly reached the conclusion that he would be in a common location nearby instead of a remote corner of the world with a hostile climate. The candidate that I came up with no hesitation was New York. New York is the center of the world economy and culture - a melting pot and "mini Earth". It is in the United States of America, but not exactly American - more like an independent nation. That is why I chose New York. At the same time, it is an homage to the film. I said to myself, "If Snake escaped from New York in 1997, it was about time he returned to New York." John Carpenter was our hero in the 80s. He established the new genre of "Sci-fi horror." He did not "sell out" to blockbuster films. He pursued his own style of entertainment. He was never sucked into the current of the times. He ran the dark side. From the late 70s to the early 80s, he was a director completely different from Spielberg and Lucas. His popularity can be compared to that of James Cameron, who emerged later on (coincidentally, Cameron worked on the special effects of this movie). He has not created hits in the 90s, but he keeps on creating films constantly. Carpenter is Carpenter, and he will continue being Carpenter. No creator of our generation has been unaffected by Carpenter. I made sure to see every new film by him. This past summer, his film Ghosts of Mars has finally been shown in Japan. It was a B movie, but it revitalized me. It was the Carpenter film of all Carpenter films. His "rock spirit" was definitely there. Yes, it could be old-fashioned. It might not be a Hollywood mainstream movie. But still, I enjoyed it a lot. Like Escape from New York, it was indeed a Carpenter film. It was shown in a few selected theatres only, but die-hard fans like myself flocked to them and the film stayed in the theatres for a month. This was a sign of how popular and respected he is among men of my generation. In Japan, we released a Premium Package edition of MGS2. In the package was a pamphlet that included a comment from Carpenter himself. I have not met him in person, but he conscientiously played MGS2. I was really happy to hear that. He gave me his praising comment. The comment in the pamphlet is as follows: "Like Snake Plissken, MGS2 can't be stopped! This game rocks!" - John Carpenter -- Article by Hideo Kojima, Official Playstation 2 Magazine, 05.12.2002

[skeletal-hopes]

Prome - ❤❥❣⌚❅✿✍✎☁ツ∞✺✆❦❧‽☺☹✉⌨♫♯⋆☮

what does your muse look forward to their soulmate?

well Prometheus doesn’t care much for soulmates but he’d like his other half to be somebody well respectable and sensible.

how often/easily does your muse get heartbroken?

on a scale from 1 to 10, it’s negative 10,000

what calms your muse down?

believe it or not, it’s the color green. also his brother calms him down by reasoning with him

does your muse worry about time?

not as much as his brother, but considering he’s like 46 lepidopian years or something, he’s getting quite old

favorite time of the year?

winter. prome’s abilities are ice-based so it’s the time he’s most comfortable and at ease

does your muse like nature in general?

not really. he considers admiring nature a liberal thing.

can your muse write? How well / how bad?

prometheus can write like a fucking boss, man what even is this question, he can write several libraries full of stuff but he doesn’t like anybody knowing he likes writing

can your muse draw? How well / how bad?

I guess??? I dont know, he’s in the middle on this

what kind of weather does your muse consider the best?

snow blizzards and cool cloudless breeze, prometheus likes the cold for a reason

can your muse speak any other language other than their main?

prome can speak fluent german and a little bit of irish, tho he refuses to talk in them around others

does your muse believe in the afterlife?

sorta. believe it or not, prome is an avid worshipper of the moons like all other lepidopians. the afterlife consists of being a star in the night sky, watching over the living from the heavens

something your muse finds pretty

he likes dark or dull colors like black, white, gray and any pale colors of the spectrum. prome also likes succulents

what is your muse’s photo gallery filled with?

pictures of succulents, snow backgrounds, seren, his alcoholic sister metis passed out on the stairs with a body pillow of su jasper clutched tightly in her arms (cause its BLACKMAIL for later), paradise with his arm stuck in a toy vending machine, and some other stuff

what is your muse’s favorite fruit?

???? he doesn’t have a favorite because he’s a selective carnivore

what is your muse’s favorite kind of food?

meat. loves ribs and steak but hates seafood

something that makes your muse happy

watching snow fall to the ground and having a day of quietness

something that makes your muse sad / upset

losing his siblings, reoccurring memories in nightmares

how often does your muse text?

not that much. prome doesn’t care for digital communications and would rather prefer in person communication

what is your muse’s taste in music?

classical orchestra or piano music, something soft and soothing to the listener

something that gets your muse angry

people harassing his brother, his personal belongings broken, other people pestering him with questions, seeing close friends and family getting hurt

how much does your muse worry about their appearance?

prome dont give a single fuck about his appearance because who the hell in their right mind would find a fourteen foot moth attractive/fuckable? All he cares about is having his fluff well groomed and taken care of unlike paradise’s messy, tangled fluff.

[racingtoaredlight]

Opening Bell: February 17, 2017

Andy Puzder, President Trump’s pick to run the Labor Department bowed to intense pressure from Congressional Republicans and Democrats and withdrew his name from consideration for the cabinet position this week. The White House announced that a new nominee would be selected quickly and, following up on that promise, President Trump announced the nomination of Alexander Acosta. Acosta is currently the dean of Florida International University Law School and was previously an appointee of George W. Bush to National Labor Relations Board. Acosta, a son of Cuban immigrants, will be the first Hispanic nominee to Trump’s cabinet. Given his credentials, he will likely face a much easier pathway to confirmation than Puzder would have.

At the press conference which the Trump White House called for yesterday in order to announce the appointment of Acosta as the new Labor Secretary, President Donald Trump spent relatively little time talking up his new cabinet official and much more time on a wide range of completely unrelated topics, including his victory margin in the November 2016 election, an alleged unfair advantage given to Hillary Clinton ahead of last fall’s presidential debates, and especially the reasons behind the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn after only 24 days in office. The reaction of journalists covering the presser and those following it on television was a mix of bemusement, amazement, incomprehension, and realization that this aspect of the presidency—shooting from the hip and sparring with the press in a public forum—is probably Trump’s favorite part of the job.

It was learned yesterday also that Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents last month, just four days after the inauguration. In the interview Flynn claimed that he never discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador the United States, which flies in the face of what Flynn implied in his resignation letter this week. While intentionally lying to the FBI is a felony, it is highly unlikely that Flynn will be prosecuted as any defense could easily rely upon parsing of the word “sanctions.”

Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward was offered the job as Flynn’s replacement by President Trump on Wednesday, only to tell Trump that he needed to think it over. Late yesterday, Harward declared that he declined the offer to become the next National Security Advisor on the grounds that he did not think he could meaningfully fulfill the requirements of the job. Focus will likely turn now to former CIA Director and retired Army General David Petraeus, former Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno, or Bush 43 national security senior advisor Fran Townsend, though it is not immediately clear whether any of them are interested in the job.

After Labor nominee Puzder withdrew from consideration this week, murmurs began that other Trump cabinet nominees may fail. Focus has now shifted to EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, the current Oklahoma Attorney General who is no friend of the agency he has been selected to lead. Yesterday, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins announced that she would not back Pruitt. This potentially gives cover to other moderate Republicans in the Senate to come out against Pruitt as well; with the Senate currently at 52-48, only two more Republican Senators would need to oppose Pruitt in order to doom his nomination. However, Pruitt is likely to gain the support of at least one Democrat—Joe Manchin of coal-dependent West Virginia—and so the defection of Collins is unlikely to prevent Pruitt from becoming the next head of the EPA.

Amid all the hoopla of the yesterday’s news cycle, a report that six newly installed White House staffers were relieved of their positions yesterday failed to gain as much notice. The six staffers were fired after they failed the FBI’s mandatory background checks. At least one staffer has already secured a similar position at the Treasury Department.

Ever since the Trump administration’s Executive Order on immigration—which targeted seven nations with majority Muslim populations—was swatted down by a unanimous three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, there was an open question of “what comes next?” First the White House indicated that they would not appeal the Ninth Circuits ruling, but then only a few days later strongly indicated that they would in fact appeal the order to the U.S. Supreme Court (whether SCOTUS would have granted certiorari is another question altogether). But then yesterday, President Trump indicated that the appeal would be withdrawn and instead a new Executive Order on immigration would be promulgated in a matter of days. This new order was supposedly written by lawyers in the White House Counsel’s Office and is likely designed to be more difficult to challenge in court.

Astounding as it may be to believe, the 2018 midterm election is just 21 months away (okay, that might be overstating things). Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics is out with his first 2018 Senate rankings map. This is of course extremely early and does not take into account any retirements, but it’s worth giving a glance in light of the relative unpopularity of President Donald Trump, even if he has been in office less than a month. The reason is that midterm elections have, since 1914, gone against the party that controls the White House, with gains of four seats on average for the party out of the White House. Coupled with an assumption—albeit a large one at this point—that Trump’s unpopularity will continue, this would seem to make 2018 an ideal environment for Democrats to seriously threaten retaking the upper chamber of Congress. But, the election map is hugely, bigly even, in favor of the GOP as they will defend far fewer seats than Democrats. Barring the unforeseeable, Democrats only have two clear targets at the moment—Arizona and Nevada—while Republicans can set their aim on Democratic seats in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, North Dakota, and Montana.

This week the Pentagon floated the possibility of committing up to 2,000 American ground troops to Syria. Currently 500 American combat advisors, which are usually but not always Special Forces units, are on the ground in Syria. This proposal by the Defense Department, however, would involve deploying conventional forces, probably in the form of a brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborne Division, one of which is already deployed to Iraq. This may well be a trial balloon released by the Pentagon as it formulates a plan to defeat ISIS which President Trump ordered within 30 days shortly after he assumed office last month.

Meanwhile in Pakistan a large car bomb exploded outside a popular shrine for Muslim pilgrims in Sindh Province in the southeastern part of the country. At least 73 worshippers are dead and, with hundreds more wounded, the death toll is expected to rise. The attack is the latest in a decade long terror campaign which Pakistan asserts is being run by Islamic extremists—including groups allied with ISIS—in neighboring Afghanistan.

Speaking of ISIS, Foreign Policy reports on the sophisticated primary and secondary education programs and curriculum which ISIS has developed at schools in territory it occupies, particularly in eastern Syria. Textbooks and even computer apps have been developed to teach young children the basics of primary education—reading, grammar, and math—but with objects like bullets, swords, and tanks. Physical education is emphasized through learning methods of hand-to-hand fighting rather than through jumping jacks and dodgeball. Children are also taught English and other foreign languages.

During the campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the current state of NATO, suggesting the United States received a raw deal from the nearly 70 year old alliance because America provides a disproportionate level of funding compared to its fellow alliance partners, especially those in Europe. NATO bylaws recommend that member states devote at least 2 percent of their annual GDP to defense spending. Only four members of NATO—the U.S. at 3.6 percent, Greece (!) at 2.4 percent, the U.K. at 2.2 percent, and Estonia at 2.1 percent—meet this recommendation. Despite having the strongest economy in continental Europe, Germany devotes only 1.19 percent of its GDP to defense (though this may be in part due to a national distrust of a strong military based on historical events). Secretary of Defense James Mattis, an avid devotee of the alliance, nonetheless used his first trip to Europe as Pentagon chief to make clear America’s consternation over its European partners’ inability to focus on defense spending.

The United States has 188 embassy level legations around the world, 70 percent of which are headed by an ambassador who is a career Foreign Service Officer. The remaining 30 percent go to political appointees of the sitting President of the United States and are individuals who were the biggest financial backers of the president during the campaign and/or are longtime friends. These plum positions mainly include those posts in the Caribbean and throughout Western Europe; Britain, Ireland, France, Italy and Spain are generally considered the most coveted postings. The race among Trump backers to gain a nomination as ambassador is now well underway.

Workers at Boeing’s production plant in Charleston, South Carolina—the second largest Boeing production facility in the United States—overwhelmingly voted not to unionize. 2,800 of the plant’s 3,000 workers voted and of those 74 percent voted against organizing into a union. By pure happenstance, President Trump is scheduled to visit the plant in a few days to participate in the newest—and largest—version of Boeing’s 787 airliner. The 787-10 will be produced entirely at the Charleston plant. Though many unions collectively endorsed Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton in 2016, Trump won a greater proportion of rank-and-file union members than any Republican since Ronald Reagan.

The Center for Investigative Reporting, according to the defense news blog War is Boring, has published a report which uncovered that worker conditions at shipyards which build warships and cutters for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are incredibly poor and, at times, deadly. In recent years OSHA has issued six and seven figure fines to some shipbuilding companies as punishment for allowing the conditions to exist, but these fines are dwarfed by the revenue from the ships which the yards build for the Navy and Coast Guard. In turn, the two sailing branches turn a blind eye because increased regulations of the working environment in these shipyards could slow production of new ships for the fleet. In doing so, the Navy Department and Department of Homeland Security—which administers the Coast Guard—collude with the shipyards who are desperate to maintain government contracts, without which they would likely be forced to shutter.

Speaking of warships, the Brazilian Navy has decided to retire its sole aircraft carrier. The Sao Paolo, which until 2000 was the French Navy’s Foch, was refitted with an eye to keeping it in service until 2039, but a series of fires and the dire state of the Brazilian economy—along with the fact that there is virtually no military need for Brazil to operate an aircraft carrier—have forced the warship into retirement.

This week India's fast-growing space industry smashed the record for most satellites launched into orbit at once. The previous record of 37 was bested when an Indian rocket carrying 104(!) satellites launched and then successfully deployed each satellite into orbit around the Earth. 96 of the satellites—all of them relatively small—were from the United States, while the remaining eight belonged to seven other nations. India is quickly becoming the leading low-cost alternative in the burgeoning industry of launching commercial satellites into space.

Ever been confused by the "use by,” “best before,” “expires on,” or any of the other myriad of supposed expiration dates on perishable food items? Fear not, two of the largest groups in the supermarket industry announced that they will voluntarily simplify all labels so that only two are used in the future: “Use By” which will function as the expiration date, and “Best if Used By” which will indicate the date when peak quality of the product is reached. The measure is partly intended to lower the trend of food waste in this country.

Also in consumer news, a Walmart customer has sued the nation’s largest retailer for marketing its Trouble Brewing label of beer as “craft beer” even though it is actually produced by Genesee Brewing of Rochester, New York and no brewery under the name of “Trouble Brewing” exists in the United States. Nowhere on the label does any of the Trouble Brewing offerings refer to itself as “craft beer,” which has a specific definition from the Brewers’ Association—an industry trade group—they nonetheless, according to the complaint, model themselves in labeling and style as craft beers. Beer brewed on a contract basis, as Trouble Brewing is, is not considered a craft beer according to the Brewer’s Association. The recent judicial history on similar cases indicates that the customer who filed the lawsuit, faces an uphill climb.

Finally this week, those of us who frequent Twitter and other social media outlets have likely noticed than many well-known, and less well-known, national sportswriters seem decidedly liberal in their political leanings. The Ringer has an excellent analysis on how accurate a view this is and just how exactly this circumstance evolved. An outstanding read.

Welcome to the weekend.