#also he’s holding some laurels in that first image idk why

[chibishortdeath]

I love making Simon my personal dress up doll <3

These are a bit old now, it’s been in drafts for a while cause I forgot about it, but eh.

Random explanations under a cut for funsies—

First one is pretty standard Simon fit stuff, belts armor, a tank top, boots with the fur, etc. Inspo mostly came from just looking at random pictures of belts on Pinterest and finding one with a cool like flail head on it! Which is just neat in general, I’d imagine Simon would probably find it convenient to have the different end attachments for the whip to be easily switched out, so yeahg sure he’s got it on his belt now lol. I tried looking through my boards to find the belt image but I think it may have gotten deleted :(

This one is an outfit I ran into that said “draw ” thing, also saw it on Pinterest, but it took a bit to track down the original artist of it: the artist is “ HEAVEN . “ on Pinterest, also @/luffydguzzler on Twitter. Hopefully drawing Simon and not one of my OCs in this outfit was alright, unfortunately when I ran into the post it was from someone on Pinterest who straight up stole the artwork (;_; ). That being said, if I find out that this is against any boundaries at all, I will take this drawing down. But related to the art itself, I drew him in it because the outfit ratio fit him perfectly. Tight shirt, something on the lower arms, midriff showing, tiny skirt, belts, furry chunky boots— these are all combinations he’s had in his designs before. :3

This one I also just saw a little caplet thingy on Pinterest and went “wow he’d look cute in that” and yeahg. I actually have a Pinterest board that’s entirely for random clothing I think he’d wear! Which is such a uh very normal about a character thing to have 💀.

He’s working out— POV you are Simon’s sparring partner (he’s very happy about it) (also you’re about to get kicked you might wanna block tha— oh no eee— on your left— ooo aaa oof yowch yikes—). Anyway I feel like I made his head a little awkwardly small in this hmmm. Either that or I took the photo of it at a weird angle. But yeah now you have seen Simon with leg warmers, you’re welcome!!!

[bumblewarden]

!!!!!!!!!! The doodles!!! Are too cute!!!! omg omg The blorbos and babies are all living happily together, and nothing will ever ruin their peace😊 (*stares daggers at the advancing plot*)

But i must hold in until i can properly enthuse about the reunited family. For now, i must respond vaguely in order (<- said while vibrating)

Novhen does in fact indulge in that little protagonist habit of looting everything he can fit into his pockets. Near everything. Okay, i have to admit, i use looting as a bit of a roleplay moment. As notoriously sticky as his fingers may be, he's generally not going to steal from refugees or other impovershed people. He knows what it's like

Also, i am now realizing that i have been neglecting to read Ilanlas's dialogue in a Dalish/Welsh accent 😔 This must be corrected. Oh boy, i am going to have a time flipping through so many different accents lol. There's so many English accents i can't actually tell apart, Brooklyn, Welsh, and because you associated so many country songs with Khêd in that one post, i've been imagining him with a bit of a southern drawl but idk how correct that is

Re: Ilanlas wondering which god the Maker could most likely be besides the one tatted on his face. Novhen is going to respond "Doesn't have to be Elgar'nan. Could be Sylaise for all I know. You're the expert." (Wow, for all the gaps in his knowledge, this city elf still knows a lot more than Ilanlas might expect about the Creators, but i'm sure that's irrelevant :3 )

When Cassandra comes barging in (uninvited might i add), do you think Feign Death would work there XDXDXD No? Oh well, it was worth a shot XD

And i mean, Morrigan learned Sleep in my playthrough. No reason she can't learn it here! I imagine having Sleep cast on you almost nightly for two whole months will continue to fuck with your sleep schedule after that for a while, but he'll surviiiive

If Khêd ever takes an opportunity to rant through his list of "Things I never want to fight again" Novhen is butting in to add "What about the Children?" That's what's at the top of his list. He'd rather fighter another archdemon than even one more of those Children, he'll claim. *This claim should not be taken at face value (lol Awakening banter idea?)

I certainly hope nobody is insinuating that Radka's old comrade and dear guest is stealing from the Divine's palace! Why, she might just have to whip up a storm of outrage in response! Nobody passing by will notice anything else and certainly not notice anyone slipping in or out of that room full of valuables two doors down the hall on the right with the marble statues on either side!

Also, the image of Khêd interrupting his own translation to remind Sulri that they can't tell anyone that Novhen is probably still alive XD

Warden Interrogator: Are you two having a side conversation? I would strongly prefer if you just interpret directly.

Khêd: It's obvious you don't have a ton of experience in this line of work, but some things take a little more effort to interpret. Let me conduct my business.

At least the Dark Wolf isn't confirmed to be working against the Wardens yet! In fact, his crimes in Denerim had a very pro-Warden slant to them if you're to believe this isn't some vulture claiming someone else's laurels. All we know is he's in the area fleeing royal justice (lol). It's all very suspicious, but he's not confirmed against them yet

Also, since Zev is away in Antiva for the duration of Awakening, i imagine there's going to be at least one night where Novhen knocks at Astala's doors and asks if they can have a sleepover. He's rarely ever had to sleep alone before: only when his tentmate had first watch (and even then, they'll be back before he wakes up) or in extenuating circumstances like his recovery from the archdemon. Maker knows that by the cramped standards of the alienage, these fancy noble beds could probably fit an army in them

And the kids!!!! I'm back to them! They're so cute!!!!!!

I love all the emotions in the first picture! I can really feel Kieran's apprehension! With his newfound loneliness, he could very well be feeling an unsureness that he's never quite had to grapple with at this scale before, and now he's supposed to be making all these important introductions! It's all a bit nerve-wracking, and it'd be nice to have some support

Novhen: It's alright, Kieran. They don't bite. *leans over to Astala* They don't bite, right?

Also, Carlo as the friendliest makes the most sense. A street rat has a bit more need for charisma than a Crow

Morrigan is absolutely returning Perinella's gaze. You stare, you get stared at. Thus is born a beautiful mentorship!

And Virel in the bushes XD XD XD XD XD Novhen totally has him spotted, but he's not going to expose him at quite this moment if it will cause more distance than it will cross. (If Virel is a street cat, then Novhen has a pouch of catnip in his pocket and is ready to pspsps him over at the first sign it might work XD)

At least in the real world, if you're nonverbal, that's often a very convenient excuse for people to ignore you in conversation while still allowing you in the space, so Carlo could probably pretty well attend these meetings and get everyone to believe he's a firm supporter without ever being forced to actually help or harm the movement if he doesn't want to! Ask not what you can do for ableism but what ableism can do for you! (source: am selectively mute)

And that drawing of Novhen with Virel and Perinella at the market is sososososoooooo cute!!!! I am going to die; look at them!!! I imagine Perinella there just spotted a delicious-looking treat, and Novhen's trying to figure out the math of how many plums he'll need to buy to apologize for spoiling her appetite! And yes, Virel can get something too since he was so nice as to help carry groceries

EDIT: I just remembered that Novhen had a speech delay and was nonverbal himself until around 3! That in addition to he generally prefers to not talk much in his personal time if he can get away with + it does hurt a little to speak too much on account of the scars inside his throat, he's more than willing to accommodate for a nonverbal nephew

Very slightly off-topic but do Carlo and Sulri have any overlapping time at Vigil's Keep? I would assume so, but maybe there's some very unfortunate timing in the works that i don't know about? Even if he doesn't yet know the sign languages she uses, i imagine once he does (or if what he already knows is similar enough) that it'll be a huge relief to her to finally have someone around whose default communication is visual lol. Does Tía Sulri play favorites? Will she play favorites once given auntie privileges?

Novhen would be far too excited by tío to be upset by Nobén. I know i did that expression meme once where he was reacting to his name being mispronounced but i think i really overstated how much it'd peeve him off (Expressions are hard :c ). He's used to it being mispronounced, particularly by humans. And it's entirely possible that (mostly for the older three) he might struggle with the pronunciations of their names, so it's only fair they get away with struggling with his. Although if they ever complain a little about struggling with the "vh", Novhen might get in a little joke bout "Is it really that hard? Carlo's never gotten it wrong"

Ooo for a quick nickname detour, Carlo and Virel are harder to organically chop, so they'll probably have to get the -ris treatment. Vir -> Virris is easy enough (Little Way?), but Carlo's "rl" may cause issues. I'm thinking Novhen would eventually settle on Colris? Carris? Idk, that nickname's going through quite a few steps I did not write down, and one of them sounds a little like cholera. That might need to go back to the workshop. Perinella to Peri is easy peasy though! The last three are also pretty intuitive to shorten Rinona -> Rin or Nona, Astolfo -> Asto, and Eidela -> Eida. Thoughts? Because Astala and the kids themselves are absolutely permitted to steer his direction in-universe as well (or if you have any preloaded headcanons on nicknames)

(Also, when i was checking if Astolfo had any other real life nicknames to reference, i saw one of the proposed etymologies included a word for wolf which is a funny coincidence! Or was it intentionally wolf for the unrelated reasons of Zevran being "singing wolf"?)

Novhen will also likely start making an effort to learn Antivan (or whichever languages the older children prefer in addition to Trade. I assume all Crow recruits are taught in Antivan, and if Carlo's preferred spoken language were something more alienage, that might be harder to find a way to learn. Not impossible, but certainly harder. Zevran probably speaks both at least. Language preference is a complicated beast that i am trying very hard to not go into a full essay explaining likelihoods for right here lol.) which he'll be very grateful for once they have to evacuate Amaranthine. It seems only fair that he speak to his new niece and nephews in their preferred language/s, but Trade will have to do in the mean time

Shortly after the first birth, after confirming everyone is healthy and getting the initial coos in:

Novhen: Wolf's maw, I'm so glad I can finally drink again.

Astala: Oh, didn't you hear :) I'm not supposed to drink while breastfeeding either :)

But Astala please be careful with that lettuce! What if you or the baby get hurt! No, don't bench press your rogues either!! That'll be even worse for you XD XD XD

But ohhh i forgot about that one Zevran line entirely ToT He's got so many big feelings that he couldn't allow himself to feel for so long. That paired with everything about poor Cyrai, he is definitely not a small amount of stressed. I'm sure the Cure eases some of his worries, but it cannot be easy

In Novhen's canon, Adaia had a difficult time giving birth. (Novhen, the rotten bugger, insisted on coming out feet first.) If kept, would Astala have ever told Zevran that piece of family history? The breech birth is a little amusing in a fucked up sort of way and probably could've come up as a fun little piece of trivia before there was ever a pregnancy. But even though there's not a strong genetic correlation (assuming Thedas has that knowledge) (besides apparently an increased risk for twins which i just found out!), it could still cause more anxiety once she becomes pregnant

Also that Morrigan is SO dead on "Hm yes I think I did make the right decision handling the pregnancy on my own actually. The innumerable blisters were worth avoiding this" XDXDxD

And oh no!!!!! Rinona!!!!!! Thank whichever deity that claims it first (Urthemiel probably) that Kieran was there! Novhen doesn't have his cane there, so at least it was probably a pretty good day painwise at least it was before he got jumpscared. She looked like she was having so much fun too 😢

He'll let Astala get her lectures in, but he's also going to establish his own terms before any blanket ban can become permanent

Novhen: Now, we're not saying sneaking above my line of sight is off-limits. I don't want some bad bones to get in the way of your learning. But we can't do it like that. What if instead, you toss a tiny pebble my way to announce yourself?

Astala: Are you encouraging them to stone you?

Novhen: I'm encouraging them not to break my back.

(RIP Astala, why is every single rogue she meets like this)

I imagine Novhen and Astala's tales of their old alienage games of hide and seek enrapture their young audience quite well. It probably inspired some of this, now that i think about it 😅 Those kids are gonna be so proud once one of them gets a whole train searching for them just like Novhen got when he was a kid XD

A cousin really is just a sibling with extra steps lol. Still, Kieran's so fancy and worldly 😮 He met the Empress Celene, you know. He's definitely curious and polite, you're right, but if you talk to a Kieran who never held the old god soul, you can see a bit of his good humor in there too 😊 I wonder if Rinona's little whirlwind might be a little overwhelming for Kieran some days lol

I think Kieran might be mostly successful at refusing to get wrapped around someone's finger… until that someone is his cousin who's a whole decade younger than him and so very sweet XD He'll put up a fight, but he's got his da's soft heart

While it might someday become important for his cousins to know about Kieran's relationship to the archdemon, that's going to stay a secret for as long as possible. If Kieran, Carlo, Perinella, and/or Carlo get wrapped up in some companion-type business with the Dreadwolf protag, it might be good to come clean then. And if Astala hasn't already told Zevran what she learned while studying the tome Morrigan left them in Witch Hunt, he's going to be told once they move in together. Novhen figures he has enough right to know if he's going to also be taking up a fairly permanent guardian role ("Uncle Zevran"… bet he never thought that one would happen)

And to close out: you've heard of stealing your boyfriend's clothes! Now it's time for stealing your brother-in-law's clothes! Zevran may be devoted family and a skilled assassin, but he is, first and foremost, an excellent shirt softener 😌

Twins AU (Round 2)

Since our original post exchange got a tad bit long, @bumblerhizal I’m starting a new one here ^^ First, a few things on the doodles: I’m still cackling XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD Especially about Amell (Pavle) going all “woe is me! 😩😩😩” over the dirt on his favorite robe while these two Alienage kids with probably multiple patches and mends on their clothes just look at each other like “can you believe this guy” XD XD XD XD XD XD XD It’s sooooooooo good and I am now imagining Pavle coming face to face with Sigrun’s particular brand of cheerful dead inside XD XD XD The official Grey Warden merch is amazing and our guys are great models. I really want that on a shirt now (and I could, now that I think of it. Ooooooh it’s tempting). I love Valendrian’s grey hair counter. The expression is on point XD XD XD The Plum of Peace should be a Feastday gift. And it’s very good to see reference for Radka, Pavle and Mr Andras (Who looks so kind!!!!!) Mousevhen is absolutely adorable. I want to give him all the pickled beets in the world

Keep reading

[didim-dol]

Explanation of Shamanic Rituals in 손: The Guest

This is not the most organized of thought pieces, so I do apologize for that. I’m not being paid, so I honestly don’t care enough. 

Disclaimer: I am not a native Korean speaker, nor do I have any academic training, except access to academic texts, and a significant interest in the subject. Also, I’m married to a native Korean speaker, so trust me when I say, I badgered him all the time while we watched the show, asking questions that allowed me to better understand what I needed to look for in research. I can read Korean and type it, so I was able to find a lot with information he provided me. Google Translate sucks balls, but it’s often good enough, and/or points in the right direction. If you are a native speaker, and I’m totally wrong, please let me know. I will fix it and credit you! 

I know there were lots of vagueness and unanswered questions about the rituals, who Park Il Do was, and what the ever-loving-fuck was going on most of the time, so I want to address them. I don’t speak to the Catholic part of any of it, except to say, in Korea, Catholicism is one of the more tolerant of Christian denominations that proselytized/evangelized there. As you can see, while not the same, they are compatible with one another, like in structured rituals dealing with possession, among other things. If you are Catholic and want to contribute to the post, please do! 

First let me point out that in the entire show, the terms “possession” and “exorcism” are used rather loosely, and encompass many different rituals that don’t have obvious English translations. Some were more confusing than others, which I want to clarify.

Episode 8-9: Seo Joon (the little girl)

In Episode 8, when Seo Joon is questioned about what happened to her, she tells Hwa Pyung and YukGwang she was approached by an old lady ghost in old-fashioned clothing, who was frightening at first, but later wasn’t

YukGwang asks about the symptoms she had (digging, aching body), and says she has been “possessed” and she needs an “exorcism.”

The translations are a bit funky here: The English subtitle is “possession” which is true, but not in the way we think of it the west, which is primarily from the Catholic Church. What is actually happening to her is called: 무병 (巫病, mu byeong), or “spirit sickness/ghost sickness,” and she is experiencing 신병 (shin byeong) or “self-loss”, which is what happens to someone destined to be a shaman. They serve their spirit guide, take a new name, and thus “lose” their former identity.

Then he tells her grandmother she needs an “exorcism,” which is not a very good translation. He says she needs 내림굿 (naelim kut) which is the initiation ritual of a new shaman, meaning she needs to accept her role and become a shaman.

But when Seo Joon says the lady is gone, replaced by spirits with knives, they realize that can’t happen. The old lady she saw was the spirit who should have become her spirit guide, and the one she would serve as a shaman, but Park Il Do destroyed her, leaving Seo Joon without a guide, and vulnerable to the evil spirits that come for her instead.

In the end of the character’s arc, he talks about another “exorcism” which is, yet again, a different ritual. This is the 눌림굿 (nullim kut), or the ritual to suppress a potential shaman’s abilities to see spirits. It is the same one that was used on Hwa Pyung when he was a child.

Episode 12: The Blind Shaman

Choi Yoon goes to see the shaman who performed a 굿(kut) on Hwa Pyung as a child. She tells Choi Yoon she remembers the boy from the 세습무 (saeseummu), or “hereditary shaman” family. He asks which kind of ritual she performed on him, and she says nullim kut, but its effects are wearing off. She refers to the 큰귀신 (k’un gwishin), or the “great/powerful spirit,” which they call Park Il Do, that wants him. This weakening of the ritual’s power is why he is able to see the ghost of his father again. It doesn’t explain why his eye hurts or why he can’t touch the cross, though. 

Episode 16: The Ritual to capture and contain 손 

In the flashback in Episode 16, we see Yukgwang telling Hwa Pyung how to trap Park Il Do in his body. He uses two words the translators didn’t even bother with. I don’t blame them.  

The first word is the ritual that Hwa Pyung should use to trap Park Il Do, and is called the 팔문금쇄진 ( 八門金鎖陣; palmungeumswaejin)  or “The Eight Gate Lock Formation,” which comes from the Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is a fictional military formation, but also a real ritual used in Korean Shamanism. It probably comes from the influence of Buddhism and Taoism from China, which goes back to the 3-4th centuries.

Each gate represents one of the Eight Generals/Gods of the Eight Doors and the Eight Directions (If you have a better translation for these, let me know. I did my best.):

North- 휴문신장 (休門神將) - God of the Gate of Rest

North East- 생문신장 ( 生門神將) - God of the Gate of Life

East- 상문신장 (傷門神將) - God of the Gate of Injury

South East- 두문신장 (枓門神將) - God of the Gate of Fabrication

West- 경문신장 (驚門神將) - God of the Gate of Fear

North West- 개문신장 (開門神將) - God of the Open Gate

South- 경문신장 (景門神將) - God of the Gate of View/Scenery

South West- 사문신장(死門神將) - God of the Gate of Death

The act of doing this ritual is called 팔문진경 (palmunjingyeong).

In the actual ritual, an intricately cut piece of paper in the shape of a cylindrical net is hung from the ceiling where the ritual is taking place. Eight nets are then strung out from the center net to eight more hanging nets with the names of the above deities written on amulets in red ink, pasted to the corresponding net. The image of the ghost or spirit that needs to be captured is then placed in the middle of the net, like so:

Source

Because Hwa Pyung is trying to trap the spirit of Park Il Do in himself, he carves each of the god’s names into his body in, roughly, the proper directions. It’s much more gruesome, but works. His blood is red (the color of the dead)  which is a substitute for red ink. The last one, he writes on his arm which is significant because 팔 (pal) means “arm” in Korean, as well as the number “eight” in Sino-Korean numbers. 

The characters are Hanja, and correct as far as I can tell. I can imagine it would be quite difficult to carve complex characters into one’s skin, upside down, and they are kind of hard to read.

Side note: I tried to find out how these directional gods corresponded with the 오방신장 (obang shinjang), or the “Gods of the Five Directions” in Korean mythology, but I was unable to find anything. It may be that the difference is in pre/post-Buddhist and Taoist influence. I’m not sure.

손: The Guest

The term 손 (sohn or son) It means “hand” as well as “guest/visitor.” In shamanism is it referred to an “ominous force,” which is why the villagers call the thing from the sea, sohn.

It was unclear from the beginning if sohn and Park Il Do were the same or different, even in Korean, as Korean is very vague. Pronouns aren’t really used, so there is no real reference to who they are talking about except in context or direct questions. This is why Choi Yoon assumed that “he” was Hwa Pyung, not his grandfather, when the shaman said sohn was still in the body he had possessed back then.  

So at one point, they were not the same. Park Il Do was possessed by the ominous force known as sohn, then transferred to the driver. Then I’m not sure if he went into Hwa Pyung’s grandfather, or if there were more in-between. I can’t remember. 

As the grandfather was from a hereditary shaman family, his body was powerful enough to hold him for the 20 years, along with Park Il Do’s body buried in the backyard. This is like the crow that allowed Park Il Do put in the pickled shrimp, so he always had access to Hwa Pyung, even when he was far away. How he stayed attached to Park Il Do’s body, idk, except because it wasn’t destroyed or cremated. Wrapped up like that, the body didn’t decompose. 

Miscellaneous Words

살 (煞 sal) - “invisible arrow,” “evil spirit.” Sal is also a homophone for death in Chinese, and in pure Korean, it means arrow. Therefore one is struck with an arrow of misfortune. More generically, it is evil/bad things that are caused by malevolent spirits.

살푸리 (salpuri)- ritual to remove curses and evil spirits; or remove the arrows of misfortune. 

I’ll probably add more to this later on, but if you want to add to it, please do! If you have any corrections for me, you can message me or reply. But don’t be an asshole. 

11/23/18 - NEWLY ADDED

구마 (guma) - the Korean term for the Catholic Exorcism. 

저주 (chaju)- a curse (what happened to Choi Yoon)

Sources: 

Shamans, Housewives, and Other Spirits by Laurel Kendall

Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology by Choi Won Oh

Other random sites I didn’t save. Sorry.