#culture is the bane of the human existence

[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore Compilations (+ this blog's tagging/filter list at the end)

A WIP of a pinned post table of contents to tidy up the blog while I empty my fixations onto it plus a lore accuracy disclaimer (so I don't have to keep typing one), because why not. I like tables of content.

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Disclaimer regarding lore accuracy: If you combine 50 years, 5 editions, 10+ settings, god knows how many novels, and then all the writers who all retcon and contradict each other's work then what you get is a clusterfuck. The lore I show here is compiled from all five editions of the game. You will likely see stuff out there that contradicts some things I say, or stuff I didn't mention/know. That's the lore for you. If you were the Dungeon Master making your own story, your job would be to pick and chose and build your own take on the setting out of it. Larian absolutely did this with Baldurs Gate 3 - frankly, I don't think they even know half this lore even exists, and Bioware took some liberties in the original games too. Wizards of the Coast themselves trample D&D into the ground all the time! All D&D is near enough fanfiction built on fanfiction. (I, personally, heavily favour older lore.) Therefore, if you find any information useful you may take it, leave it or tweak it to your desire for your own story, because it's D&D lore, and that's how it works.

Disclaimer regarding Larian's canon (and Bioware, and Obsidian): The setting shown in BG3 does not really match up to the setting as presented in sourcebooks (and sometimes novels, previous games, and 'word of god). I'm always talking about the latter and reframing the story and characters within the latter.

Disclaimer regarding asking me for my opinions on how [x] works in canon: I can make an educated guess based on the sourcebooks, but there are many gaps in many places and however educated the guess, unless it comes from a sourcebook, novel, or writer, it's just my own headcanon.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS [WIP] (I make no promises as to the speed or order at which any of this is produced - and some of these need updating)

Abeir-Toril Why it's called the "Forgotten" Realms

[Some of this is getting revamped at some point] History | Time & Festivals | Lexicon [1] [2] | Languages | Living in Faerûn [1] [?] | Notable Organisations | Magic | | Waterdeep | The Underdark | Geography and Human Cultures

Baldurs Gate: The City #1 | Demographics | Law & Legal System | Aministration & Government | ???

Human Names | Clothes and Fashion | Music | Dating, Sex, Marriage etc [part 1] [part 2] |

Religion How religion works in the Realms, the different pantheons in the world and then individual posts dedicated to the gods as individuals, how and why to worship them and how their churches function

Religion | Priesthoods and Temples | Deities

Death and the Afterlife Dying | Judgement | Afterlives

Deities in BG3 Shar | Selûne | Bhaal | Mystra | Jergal | Bane | Bane #2 | Bane #3 | Myrkul | Lathander | Kelemvor | Tyr | Helm | Ilmater | Mielikki | Oghma | Tempus | Silvanus | Talos | Corellon | Moradin | Yondalla | Garl Glittergold | Eilistraee | Lolth | Laduguer | Gruumsh | Bahamut | Tiamat | Amodeus |

The rest of the Faerûnian Pantheon Gods of Magic & Knowledge | Nature Deities | Cyric | The Elemental Lords | Good Deities | Evil Deities | Neutral Deities |

Arcane Magic

Public Perception | Types of Mages | The Weave | Specialisations | Obscure types of magic | Elven High Magic | ???

Vampires Feeding | "Biology" | Hierarchy & Powers | Weaknesses & Cures | Psychology

Elves The Complete Book of Elves once said ‘The elves of Toril do not follow the standards of most other worlds,’ which yeah, pretty much. The Player’s Handbook is not necessarily going to be accurate when talking about the Tel’Quessir.

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and Age Categories | Homes | Language | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

Drow Culture | Other Drow Cultures

Planars & Planetouched Tieflings | Githyanki | Bhaalspawn | Devils

Dwarves Overview | Culture | Specific Cultures | Magic | Religion | History

Orcs

Hin - That's "halfling", if you're over 3'4" Overview | Names | Culture | Homelands | Religion

Gnomes Culture | Names | Homelands | History | Religion

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Tagging system:

Various lore things that don't go in the larger compilations are tagged lore stuff. Things that aren't lore will get tagged babbling.

For sensitive material, such as if I feel like poking at the various delightful topics presented in the game:

I'll use edgelord hours as the generic "reader discretion advised"

The tag villainous nonsense means Dead Dove Do Not Eat.

the family circle is an extra warning for discussing the themes and subtexts such as those present with Bhaal's cult and the Bhaalspawn: including reproductive horror and sexual abuse, including the incest.

When babbling about my ideas for a World of Darkness AU specifically Vampire the tag is wod shenanigans.

If I feel like posting anything I scribbled ("art"), the tag will be the scribbles

When I'm making posts and being negative or complaining about video games and trivial stuff, it will be filed as: griping.

Whenever I find or consider something new about the Dead Three and/or want to rant and scream insults at Bane again, my tag is the idiot three

When I babble about my characters, I tag it OCs, and the ocs are also tagged by name. So far I've only mentioned Vel

If I don't want to put my babbling about certain characters into the tags, I'll just put the / in front. /astarion, /orin, /gortash, /durge, etc

When I want to babble about stuff happening in my game as I play it, they're tagged playthrough shenanigans. The original games are bg2 playthrough shenanigans.

When I start talking about my oc's romance with Astarion I'll tag it petty murder boyfriends

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Wow, your writing is incredible! The way you handle the romantic moments and the humor it’s all so lively! There's something that really stood out to me though, and I’ve been meaning to ask. It feels like Alfred is always there, even when he’s not. even when he's not in a scene, his presence seems to linger, subtly shaping events, even in moments that don’t seem to be about him at all. Was that intentional?

I'm about two months later for this comment. Apologies, but oh, very much on purpose. But only after a long time of realizing it would happen a lot of the time, even if I didn't mean to.

Alfred is just so overwhelming in so many ways. Americans and American culture are so intense and powerful that it's inescapable. Part of the reason I enjoy writing Jack and Zee in their early lives is that they are an ocean away and know little of Alfred or Americans.

This phenomenon of Alfred haunting the narrative is particularly bad when I'm writing from Matt's pov, but it kind of seeps in no matter what perspective I'm trying to if its related in any way to the US. It's just the most intense for him. It's just how loud and forceful American culture is. American culture stands heavily on a strong foundation. A lot of people overseas will say things akin to "Americans have no culture" or at home, "I have no culture," while just drowning in American media. In opposition, Anglo-Canadians have often been commented upon as building their identity upon not being Americans. An identity often constructed as an Anglo void of "I am not" rather than the French shield of "I am."

And in that void, Americans can still project themselves onto and inside of Anglo-Canadians. Matt has an anchor in French Canadians, especially Quebec, but no shield on earth can keep Alfred out. My Alfred tends to be a New Englander but less in a cultural sense and more in the Lovecraftian sense. Cthulhu-esque. He is so overwhelming. Ten times the population, untold more cultural influence. Something like a Golden Retriever with too many teeth and far too much strength or intelligence and even more power. They are all some kind of eldritch, but Alfred's shows more. It exerts itself on his neighbours and the world. Most can look upon him, hold him, love him, and know him without madness. But live on the edge of that immensity? To not know one's innermost self without the pressure of that which Alfred is? To be so used to that form shaping the world its like gravity vanishing when its presence is gone? Yeah. Alfred is going to haunt the fucken narrative no matter what I do.

But if Alfred's body is more intensely eldritch than normal, his personality is also, in some ways, more intensely human. Isolationism cut him off from many of his own kind of beings. Being hung as a child by his own people for that eldritch nature made him crave the safety of seeing himself in another, in sensing that another sees themselves in him. He's charming and (usually) the gentlest kind of manipulative, the kind who can not only believe his own bullshit but forget its bullshit. He laughs and smiles and exists largely genuinely, that power and confidence born of belief.

He's Matt's brother and the bane of his existence. His nearest neighbour and worst nightmare. He lays damage on Matt and is then the one most likely to drop in to check in on him later. Cthulhu but if Cthulhu was a golden retriever. The void that screams back is also usually rather sweet. The emerging insanity is also the affectionate, indulgent elder brother. If a hurricane could be a hugger.

All that to say, yes. Alfred haunts the narrative the way gravity and American pop culture and soft power haunt the world.

[mayfast]

Chapter 3 WIP (Unbetaed)

Crumbs for the the TigerSeal and SeaMonkey fans. So if you've been wondering where I've been, I got diagnosed with epilepsy. So I got put on some meds that make me hella tired. Like all the time. I would sleep 15 hours a day if you let me. So it's been a struggle to get this next chapter up and rolling. But I'm close to finishing it. Afterwards I'll send it to my Beta (I feel so cool saying that), then I'll get it all posted on AO3, God bless that site.

Enjoy~

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“Jake Sully,” Somehow, he’s been expecting this all night. But he still wishes he could have another day to mentally prepare himself. He throws a casual look over his shoulder to spot Ao’nung behind him, glancing at him almost shyly.

            “Yes?” He sighs. He doesn’t want to give him the wrong impression, he’s started liking Ao’nung more. After he got over the Metkayina calling his daughter a freak, picking a fight with his kids, and almost killing Lo’ak. But hey, everyone makes mistakes, right?

            “I want to court Spider.” He’s blunt and staring Jake in the eyes. Almost like it’s a challenge, like he’s ready to fight. Jake can almost appreciate the little spitfire, but after the tongue lashing from Norm and Max earlier…he’s caught between a rock and a hard place.

            “Yeah?” He acknowledged with some gravel in his voice.

            “…Yes.” The other held some confusion in his eyes. His blue eyes wandering over Jake’s slumped form, trying to get a read on him. “I don’t know what I’m doing though.” This draws a snort out of him. Took a big man to admit when he’s lost. Maybe Ao’nung is maturing.

            “How so?” He raised an eyebrow and patted the ground beside. He had decided to take a little detour back to the center beach, where the adults are still celebrating, after laying Tuk down for bed. He was going to send Spider, Kiri and Lo’ak to sleep when he got back, but he wanted to give them a little more time with their friends. Now the current bane of his existent came and found him.

The younger man sat down on the beach as Jake observed the sky. “I… I don’t … There’s a lot.” Ao’nung breathed after a moment. His shoulders slumping, mirroring Jake’s posture.

“Well, find your first question.” He laughed, turning to watch Ao’nung roll his eyes, tail twitching as he digs his fingers through the sand.

“Is Spider old enough to be courted?” He questions after a moment. His gaze fixated on the sand below him and his ears are pinned back, distraught. Jake can almost feel pain. Dating someone younger than you can be a risky game, especially when they’re a different species with different aging practices.

“Dating.” Jake corrects him and looks up at the sky again. Finding the star that supposedly his first home orbits around. “We call it dating. And yes, he’s old enough to go on dates with you.” Norm’s going to tear him a new one. Max will stitch him up just to tear him a second one.

“It’s where you do courting practices, but you don’t mate even if you think your ready, at least not yet, he’s not old enough for sex, okay?” It feels dirty coming out of his mouth, like ash and acid. Yet, he needs to set some boundaries, some lines in the sand. He’s the only one here who understands how human teens work, kind of.

“Okay.” Ao’nung nods, good, he sounds accepting.  “How do I court the human way?”

“Why do you want to do it the human way?” Jake finds himself suspicious. Not that anything Ao’nung says doesn’t make sense, but why is he going so left field for someone’s who’s so different from him. Jake had to learn the Na’vi way, because he was on Eywa’eveng. Ao’nung doesn’t need to go out of his way to learn another culture.

“He’s ashamed to be human.” Ao’nung tells him after a moment of internal debate. He’s confident in his answer, sounds like he and Spider have already had a conversation. “I don’t want Spider to be ashamed of what he is, or who he is. So, I want to prove to him that I accept all of him. Even the parts he doesn’t like so much.”

            He’s not exactly sure how to feel about this. It’s a lot for his jar head to take in. Ao’nung trying to do this the right way. And shouldn’t Jake want the best for Spider? Someone who wants to make him happy and feel like he belongs? Still, shouldn’t that have been him? What if Spider end up with Daddy issues and acts out later in life? He could get self-destructive, well more self-destructive, or codependent on Ao’nung.

            “Humans are different from Na’vi, Ao’nung, you know this. From how they look, to how they show affection.” He grabs Ao’nung by the shoulder, needing the other to look him in the eye. “They can’t form a tsaheylu, ever. Are you okay that?” Because he doesn’t want Ao’nung to regret his decision ten years down the line and start resenting his baby. It would be unfair to both of them.

            “With him, I don’t need one.” Ao’nung clasps a hand over his forearm. The grip just as tight as his hand on the Metkayina’s shoulder. “I want him the way he is.”

            It soothes a part of his soul. Jake’s gone through most of his life without a bond. But after experiencing it, he’s not sure he could go back. It was like an addiction. The peace of mind his mate gave him. A safe space that only he and she were allowed to curl up into. Ao’nung would never have that.

            “If you’re serious about this, I need to warn you that humans don’t mature until twenty-five. That means he’s still changing a bit, figuring out who he is.” Jake retracts his hand and throws it over his bend knee. “I wouldn’t change being with Neytiri for anything, but I was twenty-two when she and I bonded. I was still figuring out my place in the world, but she helped me through it. Spider may not be the same person he is now.”

            He notices the way Ao’nung closes his eyes and smiles. “Then he is like the sea. It’s never same.”

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Onyvolan

CR 3

Chaotic Neutral Monstrous Humanoid

Adventure Path: War for the Crown: Crownfall, pg. 86-87

Y’know, Pathfinder borrows creatures from just about every mythological, folkloric, and religious sphere on the planet, and every Bestiary contains a generous handful of creatures based on existing properties with enough differences that most people who recognize them will go “hey, I know that one!” Cute homages and references abound in Pathfinder, something I DO genuinely enjoy... But this one?  I think the Venn Diagram crossover section between “people who play Pathfinder” and “people who’ve actually watched Return to Oz“ (or read the original sequel books) contains maybe 7 people. While not the most obscure property or story Pathfinder’s ever referenced, it’s definitely up there! I enjoy that Pathfinder’s version goes all the way back to the original story’s first description of them, making their wheels keratinous appendages instead of the mechanical augmentations they were in the movie.

And god does it make these things weird. In the whimsical Land of Oz, the weirdness of the Wheelers is perfectly at home and almost entirely glossed over as just another example of the strange natives of an even stranger world. In Pathfinder? ... well, they also don’t have an excuse. There’s ZERO explanation of where these creature’s come from, why they exist, and why they do what they do! Not even a handwave explanation of mad wizardry, magical contamination, a bloodline curse, or alchemical muckery. As far as anyone care to tell, they’re simply forms of bizarre wildlife that have evolved--naturally, magically, or otherwise--to live in human cities. And only in human cities, unfortunately; their wheeled appendages make them quick as a pony (40ft movement) and quiet as a whisper (+10 Stealth!) on flattened ground, beaten dirt roads, and stone pathways, but uneven surfaces prove to be a bane to them. They’re Easily Hampered, and any difficult terrain they encounter costs them 20ft of movement per 5ft square, slowing them to a glacial crawl.

Onyvolan are curious creatures through and through. They’re intelligent as any human and can hold perfectly lucid conversations in Common, but their entire being and culture seems to revolve around being roving gangs of bullies, scavengers, and thieves. They squat in unused buildings and abandoned homes, roving out to scavenge what they can from any source they can, prizing junkyards and garbage pits to vandalize nearby structures, as well as find food, trinkets for their odd collections, and especially clothing, their alien mindsets causing them to prize clothes above all other forms of treasure; the more garish, eye-searing, and ugly, the better. Gangs of Onyvolan look like groups of hideously-dressed street toughs on roller skates, and they act the part, too. They seem almost instinctually motivated to bully and scare any Humanoid they come across, as if they were perpetually in the mind-space of being belligerent and aggressive teenagers. often surrounding victims on all sides and shouting, growling, hissing, spitting insults, laughing, and whooping until they’ve had their fun with the object of their attention and rolling off. Their Creepy Cackle is noted to be particularly chilling, any creature within earshot needing to make a DC 14 Will save to avoid being shaken by the sound, and though success on the save renders the victim immune to that particular wheel-man’s Cackle for a day, the monstrous creatures are almost never alone.

If feeling especially brave (typically, this means outnumbering their target 3 to 1), Onyvolans will tackle and trip their victims, their Nimble Charger giving them +2 to Bull Rush and Overrun maneuvers (for a decent +9) and preventing victims from making Attacks of Opportunity in retribution. Once on the ground, Onyvolans will pilfer items from their unfortunate victim, grabbing articles of clothing or bags of groceries in their sharpened teeth before running off, cackling into the distance as they skate away at speeds the average human cannot match. Unlike a great many city-dwelling humanoids with sharpened teeth, Onyvolan aren’t man-eaters or even murderers, preferring to keep their crimes to muggings or breaking-and-entering. Their two slam attacks, each dealing 1d8+1 damage, are more for discouraging guards or punishing people who don’t fork over their belongings than actual tools for murder, and Onyvolans are Cowards (as every single bully is), easily shaken by any creature trying to Intimidate them back and preferring to flee from fights than stick around and see them to their end.

These creatures make for very strange encounters in metropolitan areas, wheeling in to harass and steal from the party before making a swift escape. Their relative harmlessness (in that they’ll beat you up but probably won’t kill you) and the low stakes they tend to involve themselves in (the most dramatic crime they’re stated to take is coordinated raids on clothiers and haberdashers) make them good targets for adventurers getting their own metaphorical wheels spinning, though despite their cowardice and the ruination that any amount of difficult terrain inflicts on them, one shouldn’t underestimate how punishing it can be to be shaken while surrounded by creatures that specialize in hitting people while they’re down. Just because you’re unlikely to die doesn’t mean you’re unlikely to lose and get all your clothes stolen, and few things are as damning to a beginning Wizard or Inquisitor as losing your big goofy hats. That’s practically like losing a class feature!

You can read more about them here.

[asfateentertwines]

Love languages

Spiders love languages are acts of service and quality time

He spent a large amount of time alone and figuring things out for and by himself so having people put the attention on him is his weakness

He's embarrassed to admit it but he loves attention. Kiri is the only sibling to realize how much he'll preen under it and teases him for it relentlessly

Similarly, he's one to show his love by trying to help them and give them his time, however, the favor is only ever returned by his siblings. Hence, it gets him flustered to be the target of help or focus

Lucky for him, Rotxo is exactly this type

Rotxo's love language is also acts of service but also gift giving. He loves to make things for those he loves and puts his time towards them to show it

Much like Spider, reversing this onto him will fluster him to oblivion

Hence, their courting is the bane of all the kids existences

They're both usually in the background and so neither can handle it when they're brought to attention

Spider will go hunting for coastal animals for Rotxo since it's a rarer event in the Metkayina meals to have land food

He and his brothers take it upon themselves to help change that, but Spider will specifically snag cuts of meat for Rotxo since he loves to cook

He also makes Kiri help him find herbs and such similar to what they had a home which he helps Rotxo explore when he cooks

There's a lot of nights they end up eating scraps cause Spider isn't exactly the best one to show him how to cook. A, he has little talent for it and B, he couldn't eat half of what he grew up around

Rotxo ends up tentatively approaching Neytiri (who actually terrifies him despite him growing up with Ronal) to get help in cooking Omaticaya foods

She's adopted Spider at this point, but their relationship is still not nearly as close as it is with her other children so it's one of the ways she starts to mend that bridge

Rotxo and Neytiri bond over feeding their families and sharing their cultures recipes

Rotxo also puts more effort into finding human-friendly foods. He refuses to accept that his mate can't have the good foods he loves just because of some measly poison

Spider has accidentally been poisoned several times but doesn't have the heart to tell Rotxo to stop trying or to deny trying his creations

If they cook together, Spider is on chopping and cutting since he has the best knife skills and the least cooking skills

Rotxo is a solid chef but has a questionable palette at time and has made some rather interesting meals that only pass by the questionable tastes of teenage boys

By the time they're young adults, Neteyam and Tsireya have to step in and help them make better decisions

While Spider brings gifts from land, Rotxo likes to bring Spider gifts from the water

Even with his mask, Spider isn't able to get but so deep before the pressure bothers his head

He's a strong swimmer and keeps up normally but there's certain limits his human body can't breach

So Rotxo will dive for him and bring him little gifts

Shells and rocks are common for his braids or the jewelry he's now covered in but Rotxo also brings him little bottom-feeders so he can see it all. He'll bring the little creatures to show Spider before he'll thank them and return them

Spider just sits on his ilu or whatever rocks they've found and grins, watching this giant race to and from to show him whatever it is he's found this time

On the note of jewelry, they're both covered in necklaces, beaded clothing pieces, and bracelets that they've made for one another. shells, stones, bone beads, and whatever else they find adorn them both. Rotxo can't always wear so many in the water so he'll wrap his spear and daggers in them and leave the rest to decorate their marui. Spider, on the other hand, has most of his on at all times

It reminds him that he's wanted, that someone loved him enough to make them

Spider grew up working with some of the elders and mothers making garments for the clan and so he gifts Rotxo with belts and shoulder-guards he made with his cultures skills and Rotxo's styles and resources.

Neytiri has to help a lot, women is keeping them both together in a lot of ways

Rotxo sorts through his clothes to try and wear them all, he loves the feeling of being loves and shown off when he wears what Spider has made him

Gift giving between the two is constant

They also are one of the best teams when they work together

While other couples (Lo'ak and Tsireya) work together and struggle to get through tasks, they play off of one another constantly

They meet in the middle very well and are just very in tune with one another

With their jobs, Spider working among the clan or on the coast and Rotxo being a diver and warrior, they don't get to work together as often as they like so when they do, it's a sight

They're the type to finish one another’s task without care or notice. Both grew up as someone's right hand and being in the background so hard work is nothing new

Similarly, they're deadly as a duo

Spider will literally use Rotxo as a spring board and combine strength and agility in a deadly combination

They have each other's back at the end of the day no matter what

Everything comes back to wanting the other to never feel alone or unwanted

They just love to take care of one another man

[songoftrillium]

So how would the concept of lifting the Veil fly with the Garous in WtE.

Like I suspect that some wolves in the Eastern Concordat and maybe the Glass walkers has shopped the idea around the tribe since if people knew that Pentex stuffs pollution demons into they products then it won't look good for they quarterly report to say the least...

Of this idea would probably get shot down by leadership Espically the shadow lords since presumably they still take they task of preserving the Veil very seriously. And the glass walkers would probably just try to quash that idea since they position in the Western Concordat is tenuous as is. They don't want some young pups brain worm to make thing worse.

I'd say it's a complicated matter, but not much moreso than prior editions. There are certain circumstances wherein the veil is lifted in particular regions a la the Rend the Veil rite. In cases like that, its more a situation of extreme conflict where public exposure is entirely unavoidable. Though, I don't think that's what you're asking. A short answer I have is that there would likely be a development of Kinfolk Fellowships that are wholly disconnected from Garou Septs, wherein those belonging to the community pattern themselves after the behaviors of other Kinfolk.

The question I'm gonna answer here is "What does Gaian society look like to a Kinfolk?"

I think examining that will make much more apparent what a non-Gaian "lifting of the veil" may resemble. There are, by and large, two kinds of Kinfolk that exist: kenning and callow. A kenning Kinfolk is one that grows up aware of their Gaian heritage and their connection to Gaia and belong to fellowships that espouse their tribal beliefs while (in the western concordat) largely kept at the periphery of Septs and Caerns, interacting with other Garou only for specific occasions (beyond your typical family function.) Callow Kinfolk are those who grow up without any awareness of their connection, and only when they experience their First Change do they become aware of their nature. Depending on locale or upbringing, every tribe has at least a few callow among them.

In cases of kenning however, they have to exist at the periphery of Garou Society, if nothing else for the constant danger many Garou find themselves in. All the same, if a kenning kinfolk undergoes their first change, they already know the Garou Tongue, live up strongly to their auspice, and largely already kinda know where they stand on the affairs of the Gaian Realm (material world.) So, what does lifting the veil look like to an insular Eastern Concordat society?

Lets start with the basics. A Gaian has to live a spiritually clean lifestyle. The things they eat, the manner in which they're prepared, the holidays they participate in, and the manner in which they participate, will reflect their cultural background but will be oriented towards regularly participating in what amount to regular cleansing rituals. Other things would likely be incorporated as well, such as orienting ceremonies and rituals in such a way that function like practical chiminage that draw protective spirits into a space (even if the mortals arent entirely aware of it.) The fact of a human being tainted doesn't mean they are evil, so much as open to possession and corruption by banes. Cleansing a populace makes them immune to possession, so changing society at the community level can make enormous strides towards reducing the number of fomori in the world. I could see parallels to a Halal or Kosher aspect of societies to inspire ideas there. Basically where the rest of the world fails them, they have to make up for it in their own communities. The Codes and Creeds of renown could form the foundation of such non-Gaian fellowships:

Glory Creed

I shall be valorous

I shall be dependable

I shall be generous

I shall protect the weak

Code of Honor

I shall be respectful

I shall be loyal

I shall be just

I shall live by my word

Creed of Wisdom

I shall be calm

I shall be prudent

I shall be merciful

I shall think before I act and listen before I think

Think about what such a society would look like in your own locale. They'd be groups that invest heavily in their communities, espousing ideals of altruism and the betterment of society. Add in a moon-based horoscope and you have the bones of what comes to mind for me. It's important to remember that many basal human emotions feed into the Urge Wyrms that lead the war of Apocalypse. Things like Greed, Apathy, Cruelty, Despair, Hatred, and Alienation, these would be things a Gaian community would likely go to great lengths to root out in their societies. When I think of an Eastern Concordat putting in work to try to integrate humanity in with a 'back to gaia' mindset that's likely where it starts. Many of these things are universal problems everywhere, so I'd see change happening on the human and personal level, in which case the 'knowing werewolves are real' doesn't need to come up. I'd see that as degrees of ways the Eastern Concordat can work to lift the veil that don't put anyone in the front line of danger.

Thank you for asking!

My askbox is open! Feel free to ask me questions about World of Darkness meta, Storytelling, Werewolves in general, or whatever!

[almostourgalaxy]

HFJ the wink had me 👀 what are you hiding /j so now im 👀 back for more Animal Motifs my beloveds

So certain animals represent different things across the board, but SOME mean different things for different regions.

Sharks are one of those. So are eels, and sea birds.

Sharks, for most ocean dwwvelling groups, represent wwvhat most human cultures see in lions or bears. Strength, powwver, authority, and bravvwery. Omens of good fortune and better eating.

They do NOT mean that if you livvwe in freshwwvater, wwvhere the only sharks you tend to see are BULL SHARKS, wwvhich are territorial and highly reactivvwe.

In the swwvamps, rivvwer deltas and peninsulas, Sharks mean blind rage, Vvwiolence wwvithout reason, and are usually used to represent invvwading forces (and clowwvns)

Eels mean to the freshwwvater folk wwvhat Sharks mean in the ocean. Saturn's name isn't an insult, it means the same as calling your son Leon, or Authur.

Sea Birds, especially gulls, are pests if you livvwe inland, and represent dishonesty and nonsense speaking. Most Tricker spirits are supposed to come as sea birds.

At sea, they mean hope, and are considered guiding spirits, because you can followwv them and are almost guaranteed to find land.

Beyond that: they don't like dolphins nearly as much as you'd expect. Not just because of... all of the shit dolphins do in general, but because they compete wwvith them EXTENSIVELY for food. And because, much like humans don't like animals that act a little too much like the bad parts of US, neither do they.

They tend to be associated wwvith demons, and CLOWWVNS. There's legends of Dolphins mimicking vvwoices and luring children off into the open ocean wwvhere they wwvould nevvwer be seen again.

The exception is Orcas. Representing Teamwwvork, Ferocity, resourcefulness, and matriarchal vvwalues, they are a FAVVWORITE of most sailor family coat-of-arms'.

Then you havvwe Cephalopods. Represent clevvwerness, protection of children(look into howwv often mother octopuses starvvwe guarding their eggs), and ferocity and coordination(Humboldt Squids man) often used as a holy symbol to invvwoke Gy'lbgolb's indirect protection wwvithout invvwoking HER.

Sea turtles symbolize memory, and invvwoke safe journey. Old Legends depict a wwvell knowwvn folk hero travvwelling wwvith a turtle to drag his murdered matesprite's soul back from the underwwvorld (it also invvwoulvvwed him using a seahorse's help to bargain wwvith the EverChase for her soul)

And there are wwvhole FOLK BALLADS about Penguins and Reef fish. If there's a fable happening, it WWVILL star one of the twwvo. Three-Penguins-Awwvayin' wwvas a VVWERY popular little wwvalkin ditty among the pups.

Then you havvwe the more fantastical animals. Like y'knowwv. Goat dad. The bane of evvwery sailor's existence WWVHY ARE YOU STILL A L I V E?

He's used to represent the church as a wwvhole.

Crabs and other shellfish are used to represent livvwestock animals, but MEAN Security and Self Sufficiency. Especially inland.

Catfish, shockingly, represent quick thinking and preservation in the face of impossible odds. They ALSO get used as the stock Villain-Turned-Companion in fables.

There are PLENTY of other animals that get brought up in legends and folklore, but they tend to be more minor.

[nw-of-dark]

Vampire Clan: Tzimisce

Fiends, Voivodes, Dragons, The Old Clan, Flesh-shapers

The Tzimisce embody a clan of noble beings and masters of flesh manipulation. If one were to describe a Tzimisce as inhuman and sadistic, the Tzimisce would likely praise their keen insight and then proceed to demonstrate how their mortal understanding of sadism pales in comparison to the depths they can reach. The Tzimisce willingly shed their ties to humanity and enthusiastically strive to surpass the limitations of their vampiric existence. At first glance or during a brief interaction, a Tzimisce may appear as one of the more amiable vampires. They exhibit politeness, intelligence, and curiosity, standing in stark contrast to the raging hordes of the Sabbat or even the seemingly more compassionate Brujah or Nosferatu. However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident that this facade merely conceals something unearthly and monstrous.

Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Protean

Bane - Grounded: Each Tzimisce is required to select a specific responsibility, referred to as a charge. This charge can encompass a physical territory, a group of individuals, an organization, or even something more abstract, but it must be clearly defined and constrained. During their daytime slumber, Tzimisce must be in close proximity to their chosen charge. Traditionally, this has often meant resting within the earth of their land, but it can also entail being surrounded by that which they govern in their current nocturnal pursuits. This could involve a particular group of people, a structure intricately tied to their fixation, a local underground movement, or even more extraordinary elements.

Torture

It is an unpleasant fact to some Kindred that a large portion of the Tzimisce culture revolves around ways and means of hurting other beings. Many Kindred would understandably prefer to ignore or gloss over this aspect of the clan. Still, Tzimisce are dubbed Fiends for a good reason, and information from that perceived evil that is the Clan Tzimisce may be particularly useful to those used to a more benevolent Camarilla perspective.

Psychological preparation is vital for any torture session and Tzimisce disciplines are admirably suited to this. Vicissitude allows the torturer to assume a shape appropriate for the situation. Perhaps an incredibly beautiful member of the gender to which the victim is attracted, to heighten their shame; or an impossibly hideous one, to heighten the revulsion and terror; or even the form of the victim's worst enemy, or closest friend. Auspex allows the Tzimisce to discover the victim's phobias and dirty little secrets, and to discern which areas of the victim's body are particularly sensitive.

Tzimisce disciplines also vastly aid in the actual torture session. Vicissitude allows the torturer to become his own toolkit, reforming his extremities (or the victim's extremities) into a variety of intrusive implements, perfectly shaped to fit the victim (or, not quite fit, as the case may be).

Of course, common physical torture has its limits, and this is particularly true concerning Kindred. Most Elders worthy of that title have experienced massive body trauma at least once during their unlife and thus, are somewhat numb to the usual concept of pain. Moreover, Kindred scoff at threats that would break many mortals, such as amputation or castration, given their regenerative capabilities.

Unfortunately for such victims, Tzimisce are equally skilled at emotional torture. Centuries of unlife have given Tzimisce torturers an uncanny degree of psychological insight into the way the human, and Kindred mind operate.

Hospitality

The rights and treatment of guests forms an indelible part of Tzimisce culture. There are many archaic rules concerning deportment, manners, greetings, goodbyes, allowances, and settlement of grievances, but there are a few Clan-wide obligations that are always honored. A guest of the Tzimisce is entitled to several things:

Shelter and nourishment for three days and three nights (not counting the night of arrival)

The protection of the host against third-party aggressors

Suspension of inter-family grievances for the duration of the stay

The best quarters in the home of the host (up to and including the host's own chambers)

However, the guest also has a few obligations that makes them worthy of such special treatment

A ritual exchange of gifts or services (on arriving, departing, or sometimes both)

Respecting the host's boundaries and property

Not needlessly angering the host or any of his family

Not staying any longer than the requisite three days and three nights unless invited to.

[monstercumhrt]

🚨 PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA PROPAGANDA🚨

Listen. I can't speak outside of my profession — people in human medicine, please feel free to chime in — but what I can say is this: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the bane of my existence in veterinary medicine.

You can smell a P. aeruginosa infection from across the room. It's the most distinctive scent. I am the only one in our hospital who volunteers to clean the ears of a patient infected with it, because my sense of smell is so poor... But this bacterium doesn't care — despite it all, it's scent still reaches me, and clings to my scrubs for the entire day. In particularly bad cases, I am barred from taking rooms for the rest of the day, lest I scare the clients away. I can only imagine the Hell that my coworkers must go through.

This is the only time I'll ever say this, but you don't even have to run a cytology to know what it is. But you know what we do run? Cultures. Because this son of a bitch is resistant to EVERYTHING. And it NEVER wants to go away. We have a patient who has had P. aeruginosa otitis externa for years, because it just keeps coming back. This bacterium strikes fear into the heart of every technician and veterinarian in the whole wide world.

And the worst part is? The owners never believe us on the first go. And so they don't come back for continued treatment... Until it returns in full force with a newfound resistance to the one antibiotic that actually worked well. And this infection is painful, beyond belief. There have been times where we've had to use lidocaine, while the patient is sedated -- to even clean the visible portion of the ear canal... Nevermind the inner canal.

I nominate Pseudomonas aeruginosa not because I love the bacterium, but because it's the only bacterium that has Demanded my respect and commanded my fear in such a way.

@bacteriashowdown

[wolf-tools]

The Wolf Tools

Before we get too deep into analysis, let me establish the system we’re analyzing on here—that is, The Wolf Tools.

They’re a series of symbolic categories that define, in broad terms, what makes a werewolf a werewolf. Some of the tools are traits that move beyond just the werewolf, but in combination, they define the werewolf as something unique.

In short, we’re looking at the following:

The Moon - transformation

The Beast - monstrous form

The Bite - infection/initiation

The Bane - weakness

The World- narrative surroundings

For longer descriptions of the tools, read on, my friends

Disclaimer: there are many stories out there that lie on the fringes of “werewolf”—especially when we emerge into monster stories of other cultures. The lines can blur, but I’m not really here to have the argument of “could you classify a skinwalker as a form of werewolf?”. Maybe you can, maybe you can’t. That’s not what wolf tools are built for.

My focus is on the tools, how designing a werewolf with certain traits or details can shape a narrative’s tone, and how these stories reflect the wider world they exist within.

All that said, let’s dive in:

The Moon

The Moon represents the act of transformation. Despite the name of this tool, not all werewolves transform by the light of the full moon. Mostly, it sounds poetic.

Common questions that the moon asks of a werewolf story:

What causes the act of transformation?

How much control does the werewolf have over this act?

What is the physical process of transforming? How is it described? How is it shown to the audience?

The Beast

“the beast” represents the actual, physical, monstrous form of the werewolf. If the Moon is the initiation and process of transforming, the beast is the end result. Depending on the story’s greater purpose and the era of generation, you’ll see some interesting variations here.

What does the beast look like? How lupine is it?

What is the mind of the monster? How much conscious control does the human within have?

The Bite

The bite concerns itself with transmission. It’s a more common trope among monsters—we see bites among vampires, among zombies—and it lends a certain universality to their horror. Not only is this thing terrifying… but you could be, too.

With werewolves, the Bite broadens beyond a physical, disease-like “transmission”, and in certain cases, there is overlap between the Bite and the Moon (where a transmission or bestowing of Werewolf-ism immediately triggers a transformation. We see this a lot in curse stories)

What causes transmission?

Typically the answers to this question fall into three main categories:

Physical interaction (eg a bite, scratch, lovemaking, exchange of blood or saliva)

Birth (born to a werewolf parent)

Magic (placed under a curse, given a magical ring)

The Bane

The Bane encompasses the werewolf’s weakness. What renders a werewolf vulnerable? In some cases, this may be what makes it killable, what pierces its thick hide; in other cases, this is a question of what forces, or hinders a transformation.

What is the material, object, location, or action, that triggers the weakness?

How does it affect the wolf?

The World

Finally! Last but not least, this is a broad category that explores how the werewolf navigates the world, how the world perceives the wolf, and the general back and forth relationship between the monster and its surroundings.

How easy is it for the wolf to navigate in the world?

How much of the world knows of the werewolf’s existence?

What is the world’s opinion of the wolf

How intertwined is the wolf’s story and experience with the structure of the wider world?

[dailydemonspotlight]

Day 20 - Agathion

Race: Yoma

Alignment: Neutral-Law

April 17th, 2024

Talismans and trinkets have always been the number one spot for mischievous spirits to hide away, but sometimes, the opposite is true; a demon doesn't possess one, but rather, becomes one. Enter an Agathion, a demon that has appeared throughout the series for many a game in spite of its lack of significance.

As the series itself puts it, there is no real consensus for the real shape of an Agathion, though the series depicts it as a small specter within a golden, occultly decorated pot. Agathion are effectively a version of the concept of a familiar, an idea originating in medieval European folklore- a spiritual being conjured by a witch or wizard who would fight alongside, assist, or just be a pet to its summoner.

Familiars had no real defined form, instead typically taking the form of a common household pet such as a cat, though they could really fit any shape. The main defining feature of a familiar, as opposed to a ghost, would be that it had a real, strictly defined form- a familiar would appear like any normal animal, yet had boundless magic, and could assist its summoner in any way they'd need.

Agathion are a specific type of familiar defined as being able to take the form of an inanimate object as well- a ring, a talisman, a bottle, whatever- though they could also do the classic familiar trick of appearing as an animal or even a human as well. The biggest defining trait of an Agathion lies in the time of day it grows strongest- while most familiars had a regular amount of power no matter the hour, an Agathion could be seen as running on sunlight, as their strength grows the most when it reaches midday.

There are, frustratingly, very few descriptions nor depictions of this demon out there, being a generally accepted idea without a concrete origin. I can't even find a historical depiction of a famous agathion- most of them seem to have been common folk belief in the middle ages, and what makes this even worse is that Agathion are also a thing in, what else, but Pathfinder, where their lore is completely different! My wild goose chase for any proof of an Agathion even existing in history has turned up squat, and I'm sorry for that.

The only definition I could find would be in the book "Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures" by Theresa Bane, which is a short, very apt description. I come to this blog bearing not much beyond a short description and a recanting of my frustration, and I'm sorry for that.

However, given how little there is to work with, Agathion's design in SMT is iconic for good reason- a perfect, mischievous depiction of the familiar that is as charming as one would expect. As such, while my research was frustrating and slightly soured my opinion on this demon, he's utterly adorable, so whatever.

[zinbu]

Character Biography: Akira

Full Name: Akira Saito

Species: Vampire

Age: 120 years old (appears to be in his early twenties)

Turned By: Haruto, an ancient Japanese vampire known for his cunning and strategic mind.

Appearance: Akira is the epitome of ethereal beauty, a striking figure draped in an aura of mystery. His skin, a flawless shade of porcelain, glows faintly under the moonlight, contrasting with his fiery red eyes that can both mesmerize and intimidate. His long, jet-black hair cascades like a midnight waterfall down his back, often tied in a loose ponytail. Standing at 6'1" with a lean but muscular build, his presence commands attention and respect.

Backstory: In the twilight of the Meiji era, Akira was born into the noble lineage of samurai, raised with the discipline and honor of a warrior. His mortal life was abruptly severed on the battlefield, where Haruto, an ancient vampire with eyes that had seen centuries, found him on the brink of death. Sensing a kindred spirit and potential in the young warrior, Haruto bestowed upon Akira the dark gift of eternal life.

For the first century of his newfound existence, Akira roamed the world, a shadow moving through time and space, absorbing the essence of diverse cultures and mastering numerous languages. His odyssey took him from the sacred temples of Kyoto to the fog-shrouded streets of Victorian London. In every city, he danced the delicate ballet of seduction and manipulation, blending into societies with an ease that belied his true nature.

Personality Traits:

Adventurous: Akira’s spirit is an unquenchable flame, constantly seeking the thrill of the unknown.

Flirtatious: With a smile that can disarm the most guarded hearts, he revels in the art of seduction.

Romantic: Beneath his dark veneer lies a heart that still beats with the rhythm of old-world romance.

Polite: His samurai upbringing instilled in him a deep respect for manners and decorum.

Cunning: A silver-tongued devil, he wields words like weapons, bending situations to his will.

Resourceful: A master of adaptation, he thrives in the face of adversity.

Likes:

Travel: Each new destination is a canvas for adventure.

Fine Arts: Music, painting, and literature are his sanctuaries, places where he finds beauty amidst the darkness.

Nighttime: The night, with its stillness and secrets, is his true realm.

Challenges: Whether a complex intrigue or a formidable adversary, he relishes every test of his mettle.

Sake: A nostalgic pleasure, connecting him to the warmth of his human past.

Dislikes:

Boredom: Stagnation is his enemy; he craves constant stimulation.

Ignorance: He values intellect and insight, shunning those who lack awareness.

Sunlight: The burning kiss of the sun is his bane, a reminder of his cursed existence.

Disrespect: Honor is his creed, and he cannot tolerate insolence.

Predictability: He finds joy in spontaneity and the unexpected.

Saying: "Life, eternal or fleeting, is meant to be tasted in every way possible. Why limit yourself to one flavor?"

Body Description: Akira’s body is a symphony of agility and strength, sculpted by centuries of combat and survival. His movements are poetry in motion, a graceful dance with an undercurrent of lethal power. His pale skin highlights the sharp contours of his face, from his high cheekbones to his chiseled jawline. His red eyes burn with an unsettling intensity, windows to the soul of a predator.

Fun Facts:

Akira has amassed a collection of artifacts from various epochs, each with a story as intricate as the relic itself.

He once indulged in the irony of playing a vampire in a silent film during the early 20th century.

Music is a secret passion; he is a virtuoso of the shamisen and the piano.

His hidden lair in Tokyo is a treasure trove of books, art, and curiosities from his adventures.

Despite his dark nature, he occasionally leaves mysterious gifts for those he deems worthy, acts of kindness cloaked in shadow.

Akira Saito is a vampire who dances on the edge of the unknown, his heart forever beating to the rhythm of adventure and romance. With a devilish charm and a thirst for the extraordinary, he navigates the eternal night, savouring every fleeting moment of his boundless existence.

[anxietyfrappuccino]

i hate having social anxiety. i want to scream free palestine/fuck colonialism everywhere i go. i want to TALK about it everywhere i go, in every way that i can, but no, human interaction makes my throat close up, and that is not a metaphor. i literally can't fucking speak, and it's painful in every way.

this is the way it's always been for me. all this heart of burning sun and no fucking outlet for the fire. i want to bathe the world in warmth and light, but i'm a lonely star raging in a soundless void.

i am of mexican american descent. my culture and ethnicity are half indigenous, half colonial settlers. how fucking dare anyone allow the continuous rape and genocide of palestinians and their land. the western world and its ideals has been nothing but a false glory. colonialism is the bane of existence. humans deserve better than this self-injected plague. the palestinians deserve freedom and the respect of life, the natural born right to live and thrive.

i can't say this out loud in the ways i would like to, so i'll say it here:

FREE PALESTINE!!!

[wind-sage-serin]

What is Stark-Hylian Faith?

Stark-Hylian Faith is the modern name given to the mid-2000s Pop-Culture Pagan movement known as Naroin, coined by surviving member and Sage Serin Kyneri. It postulates through theories involving alternate realities that Hyrule’s chosen were, either due to catastrophe or simple migration, moved to the world of Stark, which is believed to be the same world and/or universe of our Earth.

Though the Annex Wiki talks of both Naroin and the related festival mentioned, Solissey, as simple fanfiction, the fambudzelda proboards forum was active with a clear and deliberate spirituality. This had been running since at least 2007-08 when the Founding Document was produced, up until at a currently unknown period, the forum hosting site shut down either that particular forum or the whole hosting site as a whole. Since then, the FB group “Chamber of Sages” has been used specifically for those who wanted to remain in touch. Regrettably, the FB group itself is a bit of a ghost town as well.

I, Serin Kyneri, not content on letting the baby be thrown out with the bath water, am now seeking to revive the tatters to piece together not only this part of internet history, but to preserve what could be a founding block of overall Hylian Faiths.

Specifically with regards to Stark, the belief of Hylian migration or transportation (if divinely done) comes with a quite horrifying conclusion, that being that if the legends are taken into account it means that Ganon can (and likely will) pursue.

There’s most certainly an aspect of an apocalypse theory here, one that absolutely made me frightened as a young one. Though I admit it’s a scary thing to imagine, the other caveat is that there will be a Goddess-blooded individual as well as a Hero to come to the aid of the people.

The matter now is… who?

Though the Founding Text implies the stipulations that the Golden Goddesses gave the writer, Zelda Farore Barrow, are prophetic, I’m not entirely sure I feel they are accurate to today’s world. After all, it was 2007, and there was a political zeitgeist, and humans don’t always write everything without bias or a concerned hand. Not that I necessarily want to throw *everything* out, of course—just that given there was a revision later on that included Atlantis theories, I have to maintain a healthy skepticism.

I think there’s something important to the matter of the bloodline of Hylia— being in Stark for so long, it’s possible that the line has become a huge and tangled tree. Perhaps we will not see a single princess this time, but several regents of different and widely varied walks. The Hero may also be a title more than a literal single soul that keeps getting reincarnated as the same entity every time, but I would need a better grip on how the information we have describes Demise’s curse.

As for Sages, there’s a lot to be found and a lot they can do. From the 6-7 meant to Seal the Sacred Realm, to the Earth and Wind meant to sharpen and empower the Blade of Evil’s Bane respectively, to the Wealth of the Champions, whose efforts are vital to weakening the Beast Beneath, there’s a lot of people to be found.

——————————

Additional Notes

I still feel my place as the Sage of Wind has remained firm after all these years. Though a quiet existence, I know the role I play, especially with my personal Picori and Kokiri past-life identities. I feel I have been asked to prepare for something big, whether that be a coming Calamity or perhaps simply a change in the awareness of Hylia’s presence here. Either way, my job as a Stark-Hylian Scholar is to seek as much information as I can to best prepare for whatever I sense on the horizon.

I don’t think we are presently in extreme danger, despite unfavorable politics. But should there be an instance where we are I want as many to be ready as possible. Being Picori, I consider knowledge, gratitude, and luck to be some of the most vital gifts to provide to mankind. They are something Hylia likely directed my ancestors to administer surreptitiously in her stead.

Thus I continue this tradition by preserving what I know and applying it going forward.

Alright, I think I should get some sleep. I recently brewed an herbal tea that I’m hoping will help me catch a glimpse of the Fated Blade’s new shape. Whether that Blade needs to be forged or found is still unknown, but regardless I pray for results.

[dreams-of-valeria]

EPILOGUE

| Series: The Glass Cage Epidemic | Pairing: Evan Peters OC x FOC | Warnings: Obscene language, mentions of su*cide Smut | Word count: 3,263 | Rated: Explicit | Books mentioned: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Who even invented EDM?

I don’t like to be dramatic but it was literally the bane of my existence. That, and Carla’s borderline gaslighting to drive her home after she got shitfaced at some dudebro’s graduation party she didn’t even know. Suffering this sur teenage wasteland was more appealing to me than hanging up Carla’s missing posters. I reconsidered that several times. One more week and I was quitting as her roommate and moving back to the dorm. 

Chopin in my ears vehemently fought against the muffled beats I was drowned in, even seated outside on the lawn couch (you understand the dudebro now). Yoko Ogawa was spitting facts in a cleverly wrapped blanket of magic realism, if the blanket was made of human tears, and I was destined to soak it all in. At Least, that’s what my mind told me. 

Mercifully, the sexual shenanigans were limited to inside the threshold, although I cannot say I’ve been exempted from them before. Why did people do things they thought they should be doing?

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and a figure took a seat on the ottoman across from me. It leaned forward in speech, and I was forced to take out my earphone. At first glance, he didn’t seem like a two earphone removal worthy person. They mostly never are.

“I said, there’s a party going on inside,” he grinned, dimples dented and brown curls falling across his forehead.

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed.” I said flatly and returned to my book, keeping the other earphone out. The faster he could hit on me, the faster I could turn him down and the faster I could finish these last 20 pages.

“Can I get you a drink?”

I raised my book up and let him read my shirt. He scoffed.

Cue one drink won’t hurt, I’ll drive you home, subtext: with promises of mind blowing sex but in reality will essentially be three pathetic minutes of animalistic humping where at the end I ask you if you came because I  don’t know the fucking difference either way.  

“She lose her leg yet?” He asked, taking a sip of his beer, and I had to look up at him for that. His features were pensive, and just a tiny bit smug. Okay, so he knew he had my attention.

“You’ve read this?”

“Years ago, when it was first published. What do you think about it so far?”

I swallowed. That wasn’t a question I received often, and certainly not from someone like him. I noticed only then that he wasn’t unattractive, now that the other, cultured foot had dropped. We only see what we want to see.

“I think it’s about loss and the fear of it,” I leaned forward. He reciprocated.

“The author meant it to be an allegory of an autocratic government,” he stated, eyebrows knitted together.

“Yeah, but I’m free to interpret it the way I want to, unlike the people on the island.”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Go on.”

I leaned forward and yanked the other earphone out. “Sure, it’s dystopian totalitarianism, but I think the general theme of such a specific form of oppression revolves around the fear of loss. Think about it, why do we fear authority? It’s the fear of loss of control and freedom in your own lives. 1984, Fahrenheit 451, all the bullshit young adult dystopian novels these days, they have a common theme. In this book, loss of memory is rendered as loss of objects but none of that would have meaning unless you are afraid to lose said object.”

“Sounds like you’re suggesting materialism.”

“Everyone is materialistic. It’s embedded in our DNA to want and need and crave things.”

“Surely not all people?”

“Most people. Let’s say at a supermarket, which shelves in a row do you think sell out quicker than the others?”

“The middle ones?” He looked confused, but intrigued.

“Exactly. Ease of access, standard, you see other people reaching for fucking . . . Brawny paper towels and see an almost empty shelf, you think hey, I probably need paper towels too, better get them before it’s all gone! Sandra from around the block certainly seems to use hers to wipe her five kids’ asses all the time and god forbid Sandra knows I’m using a non-name brand product and yaps to the entire neighbourhood. And bound by this fear of standing out, you don’t wanna tippy toe or squat to get to the other shelves so you tell yourself this is good enough and convenient so what the heck?”

“Okay?”

“That holds true with Maslow’s pyramid of needs, my friend. It is a fire sale and the middle shelf of love and belonging is the first to go.”

He chewed on that for a minute, a smile always staying on his lips. He then got to his feet and sat at the hand rest at the other end of the couch.

“So you’re arguing that love is not everything?”

“I’m saying that people are entrenched to believe that it’s everything, be it of other people or things, and very few know better.”

“Like you?” He was just teasing now.

“I’m getting there. What about you?” 

He took a deep breath. “Do not now strive to uncover answers: they cannot be given because you have not been able to live them. Live the questions for now.”

I think I stopped breathing. “Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way into the answers, one distant day in the future.”

“I knew I liked you,” he grinned and took another sip.

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone not from English Lit who read Rilke.”

“How do you know I’m not minoring in it?”

“Are you?”

“Nope.”

We laughed.

He sighed and stood to his feet, stepping closer to me. “I know this will sound like I’m inviting you up to my room for sex, but I really want to show you something.”

“You make it sound like the two are mutually exclusive.”

“They don’t have to be if you don’t want them to be.”

I scanned his face. Who was I kidding? The minute he spewed Rilke, I wanted him inside me.

“I’m gonna go check on my friend and meet you out in 5?”

“I’ll be here,” he grinned again , making him look so much younger than he was. He had to be a senior. After a lot of difficulty, I managed to track Carla down at beer pong and assigned responsibility to a girl who lived in our building. She’d be fine. It would only be for a couple of hours. After telling her to keep her phone on for the fifth time, I nearly sprinted to the front door. My breaths were unsteady. Oh boy. Pull it together.

“My lady,” he smirked and offered his hand, and I took it without complaint after gathering my things.

He lived in a dorm and not a frat house, and I was somehow grateful for that. As was I for how it wasn’t overly messy like they often are, only a few things out of place and smelled really pleasant. His roommate was out. How convenient.

After some shuffling through his bookshelf–which was alarmingly impressive judging by the number of classic novels on it, mostly Russian–he showed me a yellow paged tattered copy of The Memory Police.

“Sorry about how it looks. Katrina,” he explained and flipped to the last few pages kept for making notes, and there it was, his analysis of it being mostly about the fear of loss.

“No way,” I said incredulously, reading the words that I may have paraphrased not 20 minutes ago.

“I know. That’s why I had to show you right away, you know? I mean what are the od–”

“Do you have rubbers? Sorry, you were saying something?”

“Uh, no. And yeah, I do have them,” he said, reaching into his drawer in a hurry.

“You’re prepared, I see.”

“They’ve been sitting in there for 3 years.”

“You’re kidding. You haven’t fucked anyone in 3 years of college?”

“Not in the traditional sense, no.” That smirk again. I couldn’t tell if he was joking. “In your words, there’s not a lot of pyramidion dwellers and that’s how far my line of sight stretches.”

“You do know these are probably expired?”

“Oh,” he looked behind me at the door. “I think someone down the hall–”

“I think we can make do,” I said and kissed him before he could react.

***

“I’ve always thought of sex as a chore,” I said, rolling the tassel of his hoodie between my fingers. He was cold and I was happy to snuggle. “The favourite pastime of friends who no longer wanted to be exclusively friends, or strangers who no longer wanted to be strangers. In the traditional sense, at least. IT’s always disappointed me somehow.”

“Doesn’t live up to your expectations?”

“Not exactly. I often wonder, is this really it? Is sex really the most fun we can have with our bodies? It all just feels like a let down, you know? It’s way too overhyped for a few minutes of feel good meat slapping. Don’t get me wrong, it feels incredible and . . . you were incredible but I feel like there’s more stuff we can do with our bodies that we haven’t figured out yet. I mean think about it, we have so many neurons and body parts and enzymes that we don’t even know what they fully do. So how can we just accept that this is it? What if there’s more? How do we know that this is it?”

“Is this your way of asking me to fuck you in the arse? Because I’d be happy to,” Ace offered graciously.

“No, but you see what I mean right? I often feel like I’m missing out on something.”

“Maybe it’s pain,” he suggested.

“Pain?”

“We have more pain receptors than pleasure. Maybe the BDSM folks have it all figured out.

I simpered and looked at him, the underside of his stubbled chin. A sweet, familiar scent emanated from the crook of his neck and I nestled into it. “It’s funny you mention that because it reminds me of something I wrote a long time ago.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t freak out, but when I was a teen and knew how sex worked, I used to think of the vagina as an unhealed wound, never closing for fear of repeated trauma and penetration.”

“That sounds non-consensual.”

“Wrote a paper on it for the Feminist Newsletter.”

“Oh, I don’t read that anymore since they started publishing articles dissing intersectional feminism–but do go on.”

“I wrote about how all the other holes in our bodies have some sort of covering or border. We’re born with them open and they’re meant to be open. But the vagina has to be torn open, and it remains torn through repeated sex and childbirth. Think about it, the mouth isn’t harmed by food we eat everyday. Shit doesn’t harm us as it passes out. So why just this one gash? It’s like for women, pleasure can only be sought through a gateway of pain first and only the pain is mandatory. Guaranteed.” 

“You’re focussing solely on the physicality of it.”

“As opposed to?”

He shrugged. “Love.”

“Boo hoo,” I teased, lifting my head up to look at him. He was grinning.

“I’m serious. I think there’s more love involved than we recognise.”

“Oh really?” I scoffed, sitting up on my elbow. “What about one night stands? Where’s the love in that?”

“The thrill of novelty. Expectations. Exploration. Common ground. All different kinds of love, my pet.”

I rolled my eyes. “So love is the driving force? Haven’t you ever heard of good old physical attraction?”

“Just a means to an end.”

“But what end?”

He took a deep breath, and his fingers twitched around my waist.

“A feeling of love and belonging is sex’s greatest motivation. If sex were purely borne of love, it would be sacred. You know when Achilles died, he wanted his ashes mixed with Patroclus’. He loved him so much he believed they would be reunited in death if the remains of their mortality were mixed, so they could travel the underworld together. Now I can’t say for sure the underworld exists, but I think for now, this is what we have. Sex is the most colloquially accepted expression of physical attraction, but not it’s only driving force..” 

“And what of women, Aristotle?”

He chuckled .”I can’t speak for women.”

“Surely, you must have given it some thought,” I goaded.

“Okay then, I think women do it to escape a boring party with a mate of her choice.”

I laughed, and rested my head on his abdomen. It moved everytime he breathed, and I soon found the movement comforting.

“Means to an end, then? You’re saying it’s convenience?”

“Not convenience, no. I think it’s intrigue.”

“You think I'm intrigued by you?” Why did I sound offended?

“Aren't you? I certainly am, by you. I have this feeling of gazing . . . not quite in a mirror, but through a pond of rattled water,” Ace rested his folded arm under his head to look down at me. 

“Why rattled?” I asked.

“I've known you barely an hour, cherie. Intimately yes, but that's very little time. Barely a blip on the cosmic scales.”

“Hm,” I mused, playing with my own hair. “That comparison makes me feel small all the time too.”

“Right? How dare we demand things knowing how insignificant our lives mean in the universe. That’s why I'm going to space. I need a cold hard reminder of my place. I need to be humbled.”

“How?” I chuckled.

“I don't know yet, but I will. I have all the tools to map out a vague plan. All I need is time.”

“Good luck with that, time is a bitch,” I breathed.

“Isn't it?” 

“Everyday, it makes me mad that we can't control it.”

“It’s grueling stuff. Some days I pretend not to be aware, and I pretend to be stupid and content with worldly treasures like the others. Some days, it's just easier to pretend like tits are the greatest joy to mankind, you know?“

“Wow. Who knew I carried such wealth on my chest.”

Kit snaked his hand up my tee and clutched at one of his wealth. “My wealth.” 

“For all your talk of humility, you can be possessive.”

“You have no idea. We’re granted minor joys as it is, why can’t I claim ownership of the ones I like most?”

“Am I a part of this analogy?” I turned to my side, and my ears filled with the sounds from his bowels.

“You’re whatever you decide to be, cherie.”

“What if I said I didn't like you?”

He laughed. Uproariously. “I’d call you a terrible liar. Like it or not, we’re both on either sides of the pond.”

“Maybe we are. But it’s exhausting sometimes.”

“More so for people like us.”

“Do you feel burdened too?” I asked him. 

“Yep.”

“Do you sometimes wish you were like the others?”

“Brain dead? No, thank you. I’ll take the searing pain of knowledge over the cold embrace of comfort anyday. And so would you.”

“Careful now, Ace. You’re almost coming full circle.”

“How so?”

“Common ground. What next? You gonna propose marriage?”

He scoffed. “There’s no greater scam than marriage.”

“Hey, it’s the only union we’re familiar with. People find comfort in familiarity. At least some of us do.”

Kit tilted his head and gazed at me. It was the first time his tone had raised. “You find settling into a heteronormative and monogamous contract comforting? Fucking one person for the rest of your life?”

“You don’t agree with monogamy?”

“I don’t agree with the implication of it in marriage. Think about it, you have to find someone, buy a house, buy a car, mix your genes together, raise kids who would only do it all over again? It sounds like bullshit propaganda to me. Like it’s the best way to control us. Give us just enough freedom to choose someone and then fall into a cookie cutter world that’s been predestined and pre-designed since ages. It’s been romanticized so much that it’s the first thing anyone thinks of as soon as they’re out of college. We’ve been conditioned to think so. Like they’re afraid of what we’d do if we didn’t have a system in place. A distraction in place.”

“A distraction from what?”

“Who knows?” he sighed. “People haven’t broken norms enough. Everyone wants to fucking settle. And even if they want to break it, they’re gaslit and shamed for it, and they’re forced to settle. Some days I wanna scream at weddings. I wanna ask people what the hell they’re doing instead of doing literally anything else.”

“Have you been called vain for it?”

He chuckled. “Oh, Several times. But that’s how it seems to them, you know? To them I’m questioning the normal because I’m a loser who can’t find a girl for myself. It’s sad.”

“So far we have: all sex is love but not all love is sex, boobs good, marriage bad . . .  Do you ever wanna have kids?” I asked.

“Fuck no. Huge responsibility. You murder someone and you get 15 to life. Good behavior shaves off half the time. But a kid? That’s permanent. You’re stuck with them forever. Sure you can ditch them but the guilt will stay with you. It’s not like a subscription you can cancel.”

It made me giggle.

“What about you?” He asked.

“I think I wanted to at one point, but I think I’d just screw up. Too much generational trauma. Besides, I think I’m too selfish to have kids. I can’t dedicate that much time raising another human you know? I mean to be fully responsible for someone’s life, safety, education, manners, that’s too much. I don’t know why people do it. Whatever happened to the whole let a village raise a child. It’s unfair to dump it on two people.”

He hummed. “Now you see it. The entire family structure we’ve adapted is wrong.”

“Too bad we can’t change it unless we fundamentally change people.”

“Oh, do I have plans for that . . .”

I snaked my way up his chest to look at him up close. “What plans?”

“I plan to correct flaws.”

“You’re seeking perfection? Why?”

“Inefficiency, that’s why. Everything wrong with society is due to the weakness of humankind. War, death, conquest, disease . . . they’re just weaknesses.”

“But weakness is what makes us human. You’re arguing that we be built the same as rule-following robots unable to practice free will. That reality is far more bleak than the one we live in.”

“I prefer bleak over weakness anyday,” he breathed. 

“Why?”

“Have you ever tried to k*ll yourself”

“No,” I chuckled.

“I did. And that’s why.”

I sat up and gazed down at him. I expected tears, but there were none. Then I expected laughter, but there was none. Ace looked solemn as he told me how he tried to do it, but never explained why. I remember holding him as he slept that night, and didn’t understand why until 8 years later. 

I slipped into a deep yet troubled sleep that night, awash in the light of a kindled soul, one I thought I would keep forever. 

I woke up the next morning, alone.

fin.

[mylocalskill]

Artificial Intelligence in IT Recruiting: Boon or Bane?

AI is transforming industries across the globe, and IT recruiting is no exception. AI technologies offer promising advancements, but they also bring their own set of challenges. This blog delves into how AI is impacting IT recruiting, exploring both its benefits and potential drawbacks, with insights into how IT employment agencies are navigating this new terrain.

AI as a Boon in IT Recruiting

1. Streamlining Recruitment Processes

AI significantly streamlines the recruitment process. IT employment agencies utilize AI to automate routine tasks such as sorting through applications and resume screening. This automation allows recruiters to focus on more complex aspects of their job, like candidate engagement and relationship building, making the recruitment process more efficient.

2. Enhancing Candidate Matching

AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to identify the best candidates for a specific role faster than ever before. IT employment agencies leverage these capabilities to ensure precise matching based on skills, experience, and potential cultural fit, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful placements.

3. Predictive Analytics

AI helps IT employment agencies predict outcomes by analyzing trends from large data sets. This includes predicting the success of a candidate in a role based on historical data, which helps in making more informed decisions and reducing turnover rates.

4. Reducing Bias

When programmed correctly, AI can help reduce unconscious bias in the recruiting process. By focusing on skills and qualifications rather than demographic information, AI can promote a more diverse and inclusive workforce, which is crucial for fostering innovation in the IT sector.

AI as a Bane in IT Recruiting

1. Potential for Bias

While AI can reduce bias, if not carefully monitored and calibrated, it can also perpetuate existing biases. AI systems learn from existing data, which may contain historical biases, inadvertently leading to biased decision-making if the data is not properly vetted.

2. Over-reliance on Technology

There's a risk that IT employment agencies might over-rely on AI, overlooking the human aspects of recruiting. Recruitment is not just about matching skills and qualifications; it's also about understanding people, something that AI currently cannot fully replicate.

3. Privacy Concerns

AI in recruitment involves processing large amounts of personal data, raising concerns about privacy and data protection. IT employment agencies must ensure they comply with data protection laws and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of candidate information.

4. Job Displacement

As AI automates more aspects of the recruitment process, there are concerns about the displacement of jobs within IT employment agencies themselves. Recruiters need to adapt and upgrade their skills to work alongside AI, focusing on areas where human interaction is irreplaceable.

Navigating AI in IT Recruiting

To harness AI as a boon while mitigating its potential as a bane, IT employment agencies should adopt the following strategies:

1. Continuous Monitoring and Updating

Agencies must continuously monitor and update AI systems to ensure they are free from biases and adapt to changing recruitment dynamics.

2. Balancing AI with Human Insight

It's crucial to balance AI's efficiencies with human insights. Agencies should use AI for initial screening and data analysis but rely on human recruiters for final decision-making and personal interactions.

3. Training and Development

Investing in training for recruiters to work effectively with AI is essential. They should understand how to interpret AI recommendations and maintain the human touch in recruiting.

4. Upholding Ethical Standards

Agencies should commit to high ethical standards in using AI, ensuring transparency in AI-driven processes and safeguarding candidate data.

Conclusion

AI in IT recruiting presents both significant opportunities and notable challenges. By thoughtfully integrating AI into their processes, IT employment agencies can enhance their efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining the essential human touch that is critical to successful recruiting. This dual approach will ensure that AI acts as a boon rather than a bane in the ever-evolving world of IT recruitment.