#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. I, personally, heavily favour older lore. 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. 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!

[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

[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.

[brostateexam]

Too often in human history (and in Jurassic Park), we ask ourselves, “Can we?” when the real question worth asking is, “Should we?” Little else embodies this sentiment better than what is currently the bane of my existence as a person with taste buds: the latest wave of attention-grabbing ice cream flavors and collaborations.

Shockingly few things are as universally beloved and unproblematic as ice cream. It’s an ideal canvas for creative chefs and burgeoning entrepreneurs, a vehicle for unfamiliar flavor combinations, a welcome respite for even the pickiest eaters, and a soothing vessel of summertime and childhood nostalgia. It’s basically a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. However, ice cream has been going off the rails.

From Jeni’s shortbread-inspired pints celebrating the premiere of Ted Lasso’s third season and Van Leeuwen’s onion-based Glass Onion monstrosity to trending flavors like ranch or Kraft macaroni and cheese, things have gotten more than a little weird in the dairy department. And while some of these experiments have been surprisingly successful (looking at you, Kraft), many of them have haunted both my mind and stomach.

This whimsical approach to unexpected ice cream flavors isn’t new. But lately, it seems we’ve lost the thread in terms of what made these collaborations so invigorating, so exciting, so delightfully unserious in the first place. So, in an unapologetically selfish plea to the powers that be, I’ve laid out some simple requests for the future flavors sure to drop as part of whatever marketing stunt comes next.

Many limited-edition riffs go wrong right out of the gate by overpromising. These attempts try to be so clever that they end up missing the point, and failing to deliver on their flavor’s initial promise. If the ice cream in question promises to be sweet, why chock it full of unbalanced salt or bitterness, or a string of “buzzy,” viral ingredients? Or, if advertising a “mystery flavor” like Van Leeuwen’s totally not obvious Glass Onion flavor — which combined bourbon, caramelized onion jam, honeycomb, and greek yogurt — maybe consider ingredients that call back to the film without incorporating enough onion jam that even paid actors struggled to convince viewers they enjoyed the experience?

[pricklypear1997]

Wowowowoowow. This dumb bitch is still going off about me lol 😂. Suddenly I’m full blooded chetnik Serb now lol ok. Go ahead wishing violence and death upon another nation even though you’re the only one actually spreading genocidal hatred towards a neighbor country while also claiming shit that just isn’t yours. The tumblr is called @talking-about-albanians and she’s obsessed with Serbs and calls everyone a rapist and assumes we’re all Serbs, Chetniks and r*pists for calling out her blatant genocidal hatred and stupidity. This person is sick. Don’t believe me? It’s all over her profile.

Now these articles are here to simply prove a point; Albanians today are killing Serbs, and that there are clear statistics that both sides harmed one another HOWEVER, there was no Albanian “Genocide” before the bombings. The CIA had infiltrated and trained the KLA (Kosovo liberation army), and they did horrible things to Serbs, but sure the Albanians will deny any responsibility of course because everything is Serbia’s fault and ALL Serbs are murderers and rapists, despite the plethora of evidence against Albanians and their mistreatment of Serbs. The countless Serbs who actually ironically had to evacuate Serbia and move elsewhere including the US, describing the atrocities that were inflicted onto them by the Albanians in Kosovo. The CIA and NATO are pure evil organizations that killed so many innocent civilians, that includes Serbs AND Albanians. I don’t understand why Albanians are convinced the Serbs killed them en masse when it was obviously the bombing inflicted by NATO of Kosovo that did that. The US created instability between the 2 people groups as a way to weaken Serbia and make them financially unstable. Why? Because the US viewed Serbia as a threat. Why did they view them as a threat? Good question. It’s probably because they’re a Slavic ethnic nation that was also previously communistic, which is ironic considering how many American elites and politicians are suddenly pro socialist (as long as it suits their needs) despite the more laissez faire capitalistic mentality imbedded in American “culture”. NATO is also using (my country) Bulgaria as a puppet, I mean just look at our shitty corrupt politicians and this obsession with trying to get into the EU while also somewhat supporting American government intervention and other things such as supporting Kosovo and even having our own military stationed in Afghanistan (I mean what the fuck)… I hate NATO and the CIA with such great passion. They are a pure evil and the bane of all our existences, yet Albanians are so delusional and play right into their hands. DO NOT get me started on the whole Russia VS Ukraine shit of a pointless war that once again the US/NATO/CIA is just using Ukraine as a pawn against a long time enemy; Russia. It’s honestly just sick. All of it. There’s literally no excuse for bombing foreign land, ESPECIALLY CIVILIANS. THERE IS NO EXCUSE IN STARTING WAR IN FOREIGN LAND. GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR LANDS YOU WESTERNIZED SHITBAG TRAILER TRASH GHETTO RAPPING CASTRATING CHILDREN PEDOPHILE LOVING RETARDS. IT’S SO FUCKING OBVIOUS WHAT THIS SHIT IS, AND ITS A CULTURE WAR. AMERICA HATES CULTURE. AMERICA HATES COUNTRIES WITH RELIGION IMBEDDED IN THEIR CULTURES. AMERICA HATES COUNTRIES THAT ARE MUCH OLDER THAN IT AND HAVE REAL HISTORY AND CULTURE AND ETHNIC IDENTITY, UNLIKE THE US. THE US USED ALBANIANS TO DESTROY SERBIA’S REPUTATION, THEY’RE DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN WITH UKRAINE AND RUSSIA. THEY HATE EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS AND THEY ONLY SEEK TO DESTROY US.

[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!!!

[thegambitgazette]

Echo Chambers in Spirituality

Introduction

Time and time again, you’ll hear practitioners urge you to get unbiased confirmations. You want someone that is impartial to a situation, someone who doesn’t have any particular feelings on it to confirm something accurately.

Nowadays, it can be rather hard to do so. Everyone has their own opinions about something, right? These opinions can make it difficult to truly get to the bottom of things in the spiritual sense, especially when getting confirmation about important subjects such as more devotional relationships (godspousing, priesthood, etc), whether someone cast baneful magic (you don’t want to go around accusing someone of something they didn’t do, of course), or astral happenings.

I already know that a few people may be angered by this, thinking that their confirmations are unbiased because they’ve had multiple that match up or because it all just “adds up” to the situation. I get it; we’ve all been guilty of falling for what’s called an echo chamber.

What is an Echo Chamber?

An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. Echo chambers can create misinformation and distort a person’s perspective so they have difficulty considering opposing viewpoints and discussing complicated topics. They’re fueled in part by confirmation bias, which is the tendency to favor info that reinforces existing beliefs.

Confirmation bias was actually first identified by the ancient Greeks. In The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides described this tendency as such:

“For it is a habit of humanity to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what they do not fancy.”

This isn’t even solely a spiritual thing; we see this all the time when people have disagreements. They can see the same evidence and experience the same situation and still come away with their own beliefs on what happened. There are the objective facts of the situation, the parts that confirm our beliefs, and that sweet middle area that results in what we see and take away.

We need to especially be wary of it with digital spaces, where we are more likely to find people who have similar ideologies and beliefs. Pros and cons to online communities, no? The internet also provides algorithms that filter in information based on what we interact with.

Recognizing Echo Chambers

Echo chambers can also be tricky to recognize, especially if you’re in one. If you’re ever wondering if a social group or website may be an echo chamber, stop and think about a few questions. For this example, I’m going to use an example of someone asking for confirmation about pursuing godspousing for a deity. (I’ll make a post soon on the intricacies of godspousing and what it looks like in a modern practitioner’s life).

Do they tend to only give one perspective on an issue?

In the example, how does the community feel on godspousing? Are they supportive? Are they critical? Do they tend to enter into confirming relationships like godspousing with an already positive disposition instead of a practical one?

Is that viewpoint mainly supported by rumor or incomplete evidence?

Does said deity have a history of having priests or serious devotees, or does it fall under a bit of a bandwagon of godspousing as a whole? Does the pattern of proposing godspousing differ from how others encountered a similar relationship? Are the readers fluent in the history of the subject as well as the cultural context within the pantheon?

Are facts ignored whenever they go against that viewpoint?

Have there been other confirmations that say otherwise or provide different information that were ignored or looked down upon?

Avoiding Echo Chambers

Honestly, there’s no foolproof way to completely avoid an echo chamber, but here are a few tips you can use to discern “bandwagon confirmations” from unbiased confirmations.

make sure the source is completely uninvolved and has a practical and knowledgeable disposition on the subject

using the godspousing example again, is the reader fully aware of the severity and seriousness of where it stems from? Do they have prior knowledge of your relationship with the deity and therefore have their own opinions, subconscious or otherwise, on the proposal? Do they seem overly eager to confirm a godspousing proposal or, on the opposite end, do they despise those kinds of readings?

research people who may have different views on the subject (and, again, are knowledgeable on it), and consider getting a reading from them about the situation

even if you might not agree, you’d be surprised at how valuable another perspective can be, especially when it comes to spiritual readings and confirmations

don’t hope for any sort of answer

going into a reading with certain expectations, especially one as important as the topics mentioned, already puts you in a judgmental disposition; you may act angry or completely shun readings that do not give you the answer you want, therefore feeding into that confirmation bias

Echo Chambers in Spiritual Spaces

What It Can Look Like

I love online communities, don’t get me wrong. It’s a great way to meet people like yourself and learn about other practices and beliefs that you may not encounter in your own craft.

When I first started my craft back in 2015, Tiktok didn’t exist and I wasn’t social media savvy enough to navigate things like Tumblr or anything to find communities that could help me (I know, I was a sheltered kid growing up). I researched online, got books (much to my parents’ confusion), and around 2017 when I began deity work, started using this app called Amino because a lot of witchy youtubers at the time recommended it.

Now, I have 29k+ followers on Tiktok and a Discord server, all of which I love dearly and am so, so thankful for.

But I did notice a pattern. Back when I was more of a solitary practitioner, I had a harder time finding information for specific topics, but confirmations about said topics and experiences weren’t much of a hassle. I went to readers in these “pre-Tiktok” communities with an open mind without really knowing much of anything and took every answer and reading with consideration. By the time I started deity work, I was able to self-identify different entities in my space, and I do think a part of it is because I wasn’t overwhelmed with so much information.

Now, it’s a bit harder. Not only because my practice has advanced and I am a bit more private as a person, but also because easier access to information kind of made it so that way easier access turned into “only access.” You’d be surprised how many times people referenced content creators about information over texts.

This isn’t to say that you can’t use content creators’ experiences and information. I post about my craft all the time to help others where I didn’t have help back when I was 15-17 years old. Honestly, it’s completely understandable. Like I said, it’s a lot easier to get overwhelmed by so much information constantly on your feed that a person might not know where to start or what to look for, and that’s okay. It just proves why discernment in confirmation and information is important. Social media and other community platforms are a great jumping off point, but it’s definitely not an all or nothing resource.

My Experience

A little story time to a moment where I was a bit overwhelmed with a situation and—admittedly—could have gone about it better. (Hey, like I said, I try to offer help where I messed up. Learn from my mistakes, yeah?)

This was back when I thought everything was going wrong, and someone who I had tension with seemed to get everything they wanted. See where I’m going with this?

I trusted a then close friend group, and that was honestly my first mistake. Remember the first point under discerning confirmations? “Make sure the source is completely uninvolved and has a practical and knowledgeable disposition on the subject.” I didn’t want to tell a complete stranger about the whole situation, but now I realize that it’s better to get a little bit embarrassed about social drama than it is to let that drama affect your own readings.

I listened to their confirmations and readings, as they gave great detail on the situation and offered insight that I didn’t think about, both on the spiritual scale and on an emotional level. I realized that the “friend” I had wanted to isolate me and was eager to feed me their opinions on the person I had tension with, even if it meant making me believe they were siphoning my energy.  It took a while for me to “wake up,” and I still feel horrible for being so gullible and clueless.

My next mistake was not taking a second to reflect on myself. I didn’t stop to think how my feelings or my environment were affecting anything. It’s easy to forget to, as I’m sure a lot of you can understand. I just wanted to rest. I wanted to be left alone, and I would have done anything for a moment of silence. Stuck in despair, we look for anything to blame and try to find patterns where there are none just to find some solace of an answer.

It wasn’t until I talked with the person directly and come clean about everything that they, too, were honest about their feelings and intentions.

TL;DR, nothing was cast in anyone’s way aside from subconscious, festering negativity that could’ve been cleared up with communication.

Conclusion

It’s easy to get wound up in the hype and craze of spirituality. It can be a very fun and interesting deep dive into your own beliefs and the human experience in general, especially when you meet people who go through similar things and can help you along the way. I am a huge advocate for speaking your truth and being unapologetically you so long as you’re not hurting anyone. That being said, we also don’t want to hurt ourselves in the process. Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground, as they say.

[the-muse-coven]

Muse List!!!

This List isn’t concrete as it is on it’s own! Also not a complete list as Muses may be added and/or removed based on motivation and Drive!

This List also will be the muse, with an icon included, and then a few fun facts

Zhongli/Morax

Tags: Lapis Dei | Zhongli & Adeptal Prime | Morax

Fun Facts!

- Still has his Gnosis as he is Canon Divergent

- The Contract with Fatui failed as Liyue was not able to handle the trial of Osial

- As this happened, the contract fell through, and Zhongli kept his Gnosis and continued to rule Liyue as its Archon

Azul Ashengrotto

Tag: Poor Unfortunate Souls | Azul Ashengrotto

Fun Facts!

- Canon Compliant (mostly)

- Pre & Post Overblot offered depending on thread

- Headcanoned as Autistic

- His Mer Form can show up if he gets too overly emotional

Claude Faustus

Tags: Spider Butler No Longer | Claude Faustus & Golden Venom | Cimeries Faust

Fun Facts!

- True name is Cimeries Faust

- His Season 2 reason for becoming “obsessed” with Ciel is because he was closer to madness and starvation than Sebastian was at the time.

- Was ordered during contract by Alois to not use any magic during the time that he was with him.

- Sebastian wins the duel because as Alois’ soul still exists, he is contractually obligated through the Seal to not use the total sum of his abilities

- After the duel, Claude resurrects himself by scratching runes for a spell into his own skin as the island collapses around them while he’s at the brink of actual death.

Hatori Sohma

Tag: Zodiac of The Dragon | Hatori Sohma

Fun Facts!

- This man is very tired

- Busy practically 24/7

- The injury in canon makes it hard for him to use screens for long periods of time

- Yes, he is the family doctor for the Sohma family, yes he also erases people’s memories of the family if they find out about the curse. No, he is not only isolated to practicing in the Sohma family despite them being kind of loaded

- He doesn’t lose the whole able to erase someone’s memory thing following the end events of Fruits Basket

- He usually avoids touching people’s heads bare handed because of this.

Kureno Sohma

Tag: Freedom From The Curse | Kureno Sohma

- It was really honestly only through Tohru that he figured out why he was the first to break the Zodiac curse. Before then, he had no idea why he was just suddenly free.

- Still very close with Akito, but no longer has to be around 24/7

- Still feels somewhat responsible for how attached Akito became to the idea of the Zodiac Curse binding them all together.

- don’t be fooled this man is just as tired as Hatori

- Does Not Understand Technology

Malleus Draconia

Tag: King of Briar Valley | Malleus Draconia

- Does not understand how human culture works, but very interested in learning!

- Moreso Dragon than Fae, don’t tell anyone though they’ll have too many questions and he doesn’t want to answer any of them

- He does, in fact, have a Dumbass Mode

- because Catnip exists. Dragon Nip also exists. It is the bane of his entire existence.

- The One Housewarden Who Hasn’t Overblotted (Yet)

- Very Disappointed that people keep “forgetting” to get him actual invitations to events.

Aether (The Traveler)

Tags: The Savior of Teyvat | Aether Umbral Royalty | Abyss Prince Aether

- He can speak just fine without Paimon, thank you

- Kind of Tired of Solving Teyvats Problems but still Willing To Help

- Can Access All 7 of Teyvats Elements

- Can use 2 simultaneously, though it is draining usually if the elements aren’t compatible

[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.

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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.