#dealing with dead people

[breelandwalker]

I wonder sometimes how witches who insist that unwarded home are just open season for spirits must view non-witchy homes. Like do they think that these places are just riddled with ghosts and spirits and bad energy because no one is regularly cleansing or casting protective spells?

I wonder if it's something that crosses their minds or if they reflect on the broader implications of the idea that an unwarded home is automatically going to attract spirits and whatnot. Or maybe they don't think about the concept outside of witchcraft-related applications, I don't know.

Moreover, I wonder where they're getting these ideas and whether it's all just influenced by ghost shows and the plethora of Warren Bullshit that floats about the community.

No shade or anything, it's just something I think about whenever these conversations come up.

[akanemnon]

That's two jailbreaks in one day!

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[lotus-pear]

i love you royal trio (minus akechi)

[technically-human]

okay now please doodle Charles and Edwin’s wedding. Also love your art it’s so cute and loveable in a way

Sherwani for Charles and morning dress for Edwin, yay

ko-fi

And you get a little headcanon/concept

At some point during their friendship, way before Port Townsend, Charles mentioned the tradition of wearing gold at weddings. He did so in a sad sort of way, as he had seen the pictures from his parents wedding, and knew her mum had not been allowed to wear a lehenga nor many gold accessories.

Maybe, as these things are meant to bring happiness to the couple, he mentions that as a child he believed his parents marriage would have been happier if she wore those things.

Edwin starts to collect gold items. He doesn't analyze the reason, but if a case offers gold as payment? Edwin is taking it. Charles thinks nothing of it, it's just one of Edwin's quirks.

After his revelations in Port Townsend, Edwin will eventually realize a few things regarding his gold rush.

And they will have a lot of gold jewlery for their wedding day!

[deadpoets]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989) dir. Peter Weir

[spacedlexi]

"sounds nice... having a partner"

[soup-child]

The fact that Adaine "i don't know if im asexual im 15" Abernant and Riz "why is everyone so horny im definately aroace" Gukgak both being in the same show is incredibly important to me

[danny-chase]

Things every Dick vs Tim Red Robin fallout gets wrong no matter who's side they take

1. They still loved each other

2. Dick went after Tim after Tim stormed out of the cave. He didn't just leave it at that

3. They didn't have 0 contact, Dick called Tim back to Gotham for Blackest Night. They weren't talking because Tim didn't want to talk

4. Alfred gave Damian the Robin costume initially without Dick's knowledge, and his first mission as Robin was saving Tim's life after he got beat up by Jason (again). He apparently left this mess for Dick to clean up, and I don't think anyone ever told Tim that's how Damian ended up with the mantle

5. Dick helped in the process of bringing Bruce back to the current time, Tim presented his evidence when he got home, and Dick checked it out and solved the time puzzle in Bruce's ancestral home. Tim didn't magically pop back with Bruce after doing everything by himself, it was a coordinated effort that involved the Justice League

6. Tim and Damian started to get along. Not during Red Robin, but during Batman: Gates of Gotham

7. They were both grieving, Dick just masked it better

8. Tim didn't feel like he could ask for help because he knew sounded insane (and was feeling/acting insane). He was doing one of those 'i push away everyone i love because i hate myself' things, which he also did to Steph (who he fired as Spoiler under god knows who's authority) and Cassie. Dick wasn't special in this treatment, and he can't force Tim to stay, so he trusted Tim's judgement and let him leave. It is a "Tim's a sad boy" comic, but he's also very much a part of causing his own problems

9. They still loved each other. They never stopped loving each other. They never hated one another. Both in this era asked the other "Do you trust me?" And the other replied "Yes" and did the thing they asked. *shakes everyone who's ever written about this* that's the whole point, it's about miscommunication, and being in a bad place, but having what you need where you started waiting for you the whole time

[vaguely-concerned]

I have so many thoughts I (ironically) can't put into words yet about the use of heightened and ritualized poetic language and phrases in connection to magic in Nevarra (or possibly within the mourn watch?). they don't default to an ancient language for it like tevinter predictably seem to, and while they do have a whole scholarly language for the academic side of it -- when they're actually casting it and interacting with the dead, they speak in common but through poetry and metaphor in ways we haven't seen any other culture do. maybe the avvar, as the closest, just in a different literary tradition. they speak to the dead, but in a living language. ingellvar rook gets a bit defensive and even reproachful during emmrich's recruitment quest when the other companion makes some sort of comment to question it. 'it's watcher tradition! >:('

'Open your hearts to the final day, companion of all the ages'. even a rook who doesn't take the almost religious element of the role of watcher as seriously knows that one by heart no matter what you make them say during walking the graves. when myrna in so many words says that the necropolis is still rook's home, the way they agree with her is simply to quote 'A home in life, a berth in death...' and her smoothly finishing the thought with 'a house of many mansions'. there are several times with emmrich where rook answers something he says just by quoting from some watcher text they both clearly know well. (if you do this to weasel out of answering when he asks if you're afraid of dying, he is understandably peeved you're quoting watcher 101 stuff at him, and rook clearly knows exactly what they're doing.) this shared base of literature -- and more than that a kind of oral tradition, it sounds like? it's just What You Say when you do certain things, do you think half of this is even written down anywhere? this shared inheritance of language making for a feeling of belonging and continuity is beautiful and moving in a way but also. a bit cold and distant, all mind and no body connection. which I feel might be a running theme around the necropolis haha they mainly seem to have interest in bodies once life has vacated them, they don't give that much thought to what makes it feel good to be in one while you're here. we can only imagine the psychological effects of growing up a crypt baby in this particular cultural milieu.

you know what it reminds me of a little bit in places, actually? the way the qun uses language and set phrases to convey layers of meaning. the qunari are an oddly poetic bunch. and I think there's also something here about like... cultures whose religious side are more about philosophy and the language used than an idea of the divine as such. yeah nevarra is technically andrastian, at least on the surface, probably largely for reasons of 'ugh it would be SO inconvenient to have an exalted march called on us :/ some of us have real shit to get on with you know this body isn't going to mummify itself. sure tell orlais we'll join their dumb club or whatever'. but within and beneath that the syncretism with and survival of much older traditions are still so obviously (and double ironically!) alive. how much does your average watcher believe in god, and how much and how immediately do they believe in the grand necropolis, and in their duty to what has been, what is and what will come after them -- the quest for knowledge? memento mori ass culture to the point of absent-mindedly forgetting about everything else including god (affectionate). maybe the maker exists, but he's just not that relevant down here. he may take the souls, but we still tend the graves. render unto the chantry what's the chantry's, and unto the watcher what is theirs!!! really is the whole thing huh

[alexwilltellyouthings]

*walking around in my house talking loudly to myself* but also we have to consider they likely felt jealous of each other before, charles even recognizes edwin's jealously immediately when crystal is there, so during the whole season not only charles probably assumes edwin's jealously is platonic as it had always been, but also reassures him multiple times he's still the priority and that helps edwin warm up to crystal and not see her as a too much of a threat, EVEN after knowing they kissed, because the important thing is being sure of his place beside charles.

also that probably means charles may even know that what he felt towards monty was jealously but, then again, platonic, because why would it be romantic? how do you know the difference really between that and the fear of being left out, which is exactly what monty was doing to him? *gestures frantically*

[breelandwalker]

Ghost-Be-Gone Powder

Intent: To banishing interloping spirits.

Ingredients:

2 pt Angelica Root

2 pt Basil (any type)

1 pt White Oak Bark

1 pt White Willow Bark

1⁄2 pt Bloodroot**

1⁄2 pt Black Salt

1⁄2 pt Sandalwood (if desired)

Note: Powdered versions of most herbs are available online. I recommend Starwest Botanicals and Penn Herbs for quality products at reasonable prices. Also, if you can get your hands on a good electric spice grinder, you can make your own powder from dried herb products.

If you don't have premade powdered herbs, grind each ingredient separately to produce fine powder. Sieve the material through a mesh strainer into a collection dish; this removes the larger unground pieces and gives you cleaner powdered herb. (Pro-Tip: Putting a funnel under the mesh strainer reduces lost material and makes collection much easier.)

Combine the component powders in the collection dish, mix well, and bottle immediately. Label with the name, date, and ingredients for future reference.

Use in magics intended to remove troublesome spirits from your home. Sprinkle in the corners of each room, and across thresholds and windowsills to banish unwanted spirits and prevent their return.

Cast a few pinches of Ghost-Be-Gone Powder out your front door or on your doorstep after performing a home cleansing or banishing ritual to help keep your home free of uninvited spirits. Keep a bottle of the powder in troublesome areas to help reduce problems with mild to moderate hauntings and make any spirits who wander in easier to remove. Including the powder in regular cleansing rituals also helps to keep out all but the most determined metaphysical pests.

Add a small amount of Sandalwood or your preferred incense powder to create a burnable mix for smoke-cleansing purposes. Be sure to ventilate your home well after censing as part of a spell or ritual. (Censing or heavy smoke-cleansing are not recommended for homes with pets, small children, or persons with respiratory ailments. Always let caution and common sense prevail when planning your workings.)

-adapted from Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils, (c) 2017 by Bree NicGarran

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[introspectivememories]

nah cause like you dont get it!!!! the sully kids and spider are a unit!!! they're puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. the very definition of "the gang is what i trust"!!! they're together their whole lives and then spider gets taken and all of a sudden the puzzle is in disarray. kiri's so spacey cause she doesn't have spider to bring her back down to pandora. lo'ak's acting out cause he doesn't have his usual partner-in-crime/fellow outcast to make light mischief with. neteyam is like two seconds away from a heart attack/stroke the whole movie because the other kid he used to parent his siblings with for the past like decade is gone!!! and spider on the other hand? is completely alone. at least the other four have each other. all spider has is his alien racist, genocidal, imperialist dad dragging him on the world's worst war crime road trip. there's no kiri to get him out of his head. there's no lo'ak to to be outcasts with. there's no neteyam to have a quiet reassurance that they're in this together with. there's just him and his stupid, fucking mind. and then they blend his brain at bridgehead and it's over for him.

[shit-talker]

I saw someone in a TikTok comment saying they didn't really think DBD was that great of Queer rep because none of the ships actually ended up together at the end of S1. But here's the thing, Queer rep isn't always about gay couples - it's about the characters, and yeah, the easiest way to show a Queer character is putting them in a queer relationship, but that's not what it's all about.

I found DBD particularly fascinating because the queerness of these characters wasn't the main focus - it's not a romance, it's a teen drama that mainly focuses on character development (as seen with Edwin coming yo terms with his sexuality, Crystal overcoming her experience with her abusive ex, Charles dealing with the trauma of having an abusive parent, and even Niko dealing with contacting her mother and dealing with her father's death) it's about the relationships, but not necessarily in a romantic manner.

Charles and Edwin's relationship is one of the main focuses on the show, and yeah, eventually, they'll end up together, but they first have to get over these obstacles in their own internal lives. Charles has to be able to regulate and deal with his own emotions instead of repressing them, hiding them with humour, and eventually lashing out, and Edwin has to be comfortable in himself before he can be comfortable in a relationship - and they would be true if they were a straight or a gay couple.

Queer representation doesn't need to be the main focus of everything - if this were a romance, then yeah, maybe, but it isn't. I don't think any of the relationships in the show would have changed if they weren't queer and that's what representation is about. It's about breaking down these barriers that separate a gay couple from a straight couple. It's about showing that love isn't defined by a gender or whatever.

And it needs to be realistic. For me, watching shows like Heartstopper (I haven't seen all of it, I read the webcomic like 3 years ago, tho) it felt very surface level because it was almost like every plot point revolved around the characters being queer, and while I love that and think it's great for a younger queer audience (like 13/14) I think shows should focus less on making gay characters and couple to please an audience, and focus more on creating in depth meaningful characters who just so happen to be gay.

Shows like Good Omens, I feel did a great job with dealing with a queer narrative. It's not technically about a queer relationship as the main focus, and yet the audience is still able to pick up on it and catagorise it as queer media.

Is Dead Boy Detectives perfect in this regard? Of course not, no piece of media is perfect, but I do like how they've dealt with it.

People need to realise that shows can have an underlying queer narrative without queerbaiting or specifically stating so. In DBD, characters never state their sexuality because it doesn't matter to the show - not to mention two of the main characters are from periods of time where labels weren't a huge thing, or even known about but we are still able to pick up these context clues that point towards a preference for them.

[maxdibert]

If I have to read one more time some idiot Slytherin Skittles or Jegulus fan saying that Regulus “I have my walls covered in pro-Voldemort propaganda and was canonically the role model my mom always praised” Black was a poor abused child forced to follow the Death Eaters, I swear I’m going to explode.

No one forced Regulus to do anything. There’s no evidence of that in the books, no indication that he was abused — Sirius himself says his mother always reminded him how much better his brother was than him, lol — or that he was pressured. Regulus was a rich aristocrat perfectly aligned with his ultra-conservative family’s ideology, who chose to follow Voldemort because Voldemort represented everything he had always believed in, though he eventually got in over his head because he wasn’t cut out for war. He’s clearly a parallel to Draco Malfoy, who always believed what he was taught at home until it turned against him. Stop treating him like some poor soul who didn’t actually have such awful beliefs, because he absolutely did.

The same goes for Barty Crouch Jr., who was so much worse. At least Regulus regretted his choices, but Crouch was a fanatic willing to do anything because of his unresolved daddy issues that drove him to follow Voldemort in search of paternal validation. He tortured two people into permanent insanity, condemned his mother to die, killed his father, and kidnapped a disabled man, keeping him locked in a damn box for months. What tragic figure is Barty supposed to be? He’s not a tragic figure; he’s a freaking Jeffrey Dahmer, and you ruin his character by turning him into some “uwu poor baby who didn’t know what he was doing.” He did know what he was doing, perfectly well, and he loved it because he was a sadist.

The fact that you have the audacity to say Snape is the worst monster in the saga or claim that his actions are unforgivable while excusing these privileged brats is straight-up aporophobia and classism, and honestly, it’s starting to creep me out.

[lord-squiggletits]

Ratchet expresses more Functionist beliefs on-screen than Pharma ever does send tweet

[calibrationneeded]

Sometimes I’m normal and other times I remember Dean’s canon daughter and how Sam never got hounded for killing her by the fanbase but Dean is still treated like mayor of cunt city for mistreating Jack. Obviously two wrongs don’t make a right and Dean was very much in the wrong for how he treated Jack, but the fact Sam is seen as better than him for it despite doing arguably the same thing rubs me the wrong way. And this isn’t so much a dig at Sam as a character but rather a commentary on how the fanbase kind of puts him on this weird pedestal.

He killed Emma. Sam made up his mind about Jack in the same amount of time he made up his mind about Emma, but chose to kill her and empathize with Jack. Dean didn’t have an obligation to Jack, he didn’t know him when they first met, but Sam had an obligation to both Dean and Emma as a brother and an uncle.

I know he acted to save Dean, however- as a sibling, I know that if I were to kill my hypothetical niece or nephew to save my sibling that they would hate me forever, and that is a fact that would alter my idea on how to approach the situation.

Often Dean is viewed as this huge piece of shit for his behavior towards Jack in the beginning, because “how dare he assume the antichrist and son of the guy who killed Cas would be not great” but meanwhile Sam gets off with not so much as a mention to the fact he killed a young girl because she was a monster.

Where are the lines drawn? What makes a monster a monster? Are they less of one when you see yourself in them? Or was Dean in the wrong because Jack became a more important character. Hell, maybe it all ties back to the fact that Supernatural seems to hate women, who knows.