#illusory mansion

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

Boos Make Ghost Houses Hypothesis

In Luigi Mansion the Mansion is a fake created by the boos and disappears after King Boo is defeated. It goes on to be replaced by Luigi's New Mansion. So we know a Boo's power increases when several boos gather together.

I believe that all the Ghost Houses are created by the Boos when they gather together in large numbers. This could explain the countless haunted mansions throughout the Mario World. That rather than being abandoned are created by the Boos.

[rcksmith]

Brick by Brick - Kaz Brekker

Requests: “Heyy, I wanted to request a Kaz Brekker x reader fic where y/n is Pekka Rollins' innocent and naive daughter, and she stumbles across Kaz when he breaks into Pekka's house. Kaz tells her to stay quiet and stuff and y/n obviously has no idea who Kaz is, only that he's handsome as fuck and she kinda falls in love with him despite the fact that he's literally robbing her father

Love, anon :3

P.S. I love your writing.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing.

Word count: 2k

A/N: Thank you very much for your kindness and sorry for the delay. I love you. My loves, requests are open and I am banning Kaz's smut request rules. U can ask for anything in the original universe, without being in a UA. I hope you like💕 English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are open. Love you ❤️

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Ketterdam was not a good place. It wasn't safe, it wasn't pretty, it wasn't healthy. Every dark corner, every ghostly street, every edge whispering curses, was fulfilled the entire list of unholy sins and harbored monsters as horrible as the harbor rats on the coast. If the soil in that place was cursed, the people were demons.

Pekka Rollin’s knew this like he knew how to count kruger. He was one of those monsters. He taught profanity and stained the ground on which his feet walked with innocent blood. Pekka destroyed homes, hopes, kicked people's dreams and hit each one soul with his staff of damnation.

Each one.

Because of it that he kept his daughter under lock and key from the ugly world, far from that wretched city that he himself helped build the horrors and desolations. Maybe it was out of love, maybe it was out of sensitivity. Or maybe it was because you were the only healthy and intelligent heiress capable of leading his empire one day. You represent too many precious things for him to risk losing control over you. Maybe Pekka would never be able to love anything or anyone other than his own greed.

Whatever it was, he covered your eyes to Ketterdam. He decorated the blood-stained walls with sparkling pink and said to you that the smoke that covered the tops of Ketterdam's houses at night was Aladdin's magical fog, which pointed the way to a cave full of treasures, and not that it was the incinerated bodies of his enemies, nosy people and families who starved to death on their land. Pekka deceived you with pretty tales that the big mansion you lived in was because he would always give you the best, and not that it was bought with money stolen from honest people and that he liked to see in material forms the extent of his capabilities of evil. Like a trophy.

Rollin’s wove the ties around your limbs like a cursed puppet, and pulled your strings according to his unscrupulous interests of greed. For all of Ketterdam, Pekka was a demon of the worst kind. But for you, he was a bearded, loving father who made you see magic and romance in every corner of that city condemned by God.

The worst types of monsters were those who tricked and manipulated their children like pawns in a game of chess. But, again, perhaps Pekka wasn't capable of loving anything other than his own greed.  And, if the price for having an heir who agreed, trusted him for the rest of the life, who would follow in his footsteps and obey all his order, was to make you believe in his goodness, in the beauty of a life with him only to implant wonderful - and illusory -  memories in your childhood, so be it. After all, you were a girl, and in his view, girls were sentimental. So how would you go against him in the future, or not act according to his orders or not run his business as he wanted when he was too old, if you only had memories of him being an excellent and loving father? You will feel so guilty! You would fall under the weight of your own mind's arguments that everything he once did was to protect and give you the best, so your only obligation would be to be a good girl and return the favor by obeying your father's orders.

Loyalty.

Maybe, if you were someone else and this was a different story, you would have realized the hoax at 16 years old. Maybe you would have born with a strong, inquisitive and responsive personality. Maybe you would have developed that spark and fire that wouldn't let you lower your head to any man, that would make you stamp your foot on the ground, lift your chin with petulance and unravel the mysteries of that dark empire alone and take justice into your own hands.

But this was no different story. And you were just you.

You were born with a sweet aura and gentle personality. You liked butterflies and flowers since birth because their color and beauty attracted you and made you smile. Your romantic nature was not only accepted by your father, but encouraged and recharged every day - for his dark game. 

For 19 years you lived in the theatrical farce that Pekka created with monstrous hands, believing and agreeing with every story in your bubble. But the blame can never fall on the shoulders of the pure in heart, who blindly believed in words and stories just because it didn't have a single wave of malice or disbelief in the veins. One should never condemn the soul that was born naturally sweet and destined to be the breath of light that such a terrible world as Ketterdam needed. 

 You believed in love, fairy tales and pure honesty, and that was not a defect. The Herculean guilt should fall on the shoulders of the devil who abused the innocence of a girl for his greedy benefit.

In your perfect world manipulated and distorted by the unscrupulous Pekka, you blossomed like a dazzling lily in the middle of Plato's allegory of The Cave. You acted with honesty, patience and affection towards everyone who crossed your path: employees, cooks, gardeners, bakers, painters, stylists, delivery people, friends of your father.

You were, genuinely, a kind soul. Your interests were related to literature, cooking and painting, your heart vibrated with the sunset, with the first snowflake falling to the ground and how twilight seemed even more stunning in books when they portrayed a couple in love beneath it.

You always saw the poetic, lyrical, angelic side of life, with the eyes of an artist and a passionate soul, smelling mystery and romance in the air when others only smelled wet grass because of the rain.

And being like that was, perhaps, the reason for your downfall.

It was three o'clock in the morning on a Friday the thirteenth. A combination so full of superticities, curses, fears and prague. While some saw that day and time as a condemned and satanic sign, you saw it as something mystical, mysterious and enigmatic. And maybe that was your mistake. Maybe you should be careful about the things you think, the things you wish. Maybe three in the morning on a Friday really was the devil's time. Because as you crossed the hallway of the mansion's library, unable to sleep, you saw him.

Dressed in black like the darkness outside. Skin as white as the moon's glow. Hair personified as a raven's feathers. He seemed to belong to the mysteries and occultism of the world as sin belonged to hell. The huge Victorian window behind illuminated him like an apparition, a mirage, a nightmare…an erotic dream. Or like a demon.

You should have screamed. You should have ran away. You should have done something other than get stuck in that same place, anything other than feeling inside you squirms and something sinks into your belly like warm honey.

His eyes, as blue as the deadly waters of icy Fjerda, were fixed on you with as much intensity as the dangers of Shadow Fold. For a split second, a human emotion passed through those irises; surprise?

An inattentive observer would not have noticed such a tiny sign, but you lived 19 years analyzing every detail of life.

Would a demon have such a mundane emotion?

“Who are you?” Your voice came out like a breath in winter. 

Your concentration should have been on your dad book under that man's arm, but it wasn't.

A single thick, black eyebrow of his was arched, and only there were you able to run your eyes over the details of his appearance.

“Do you always ask questions for thieves?” His voice was like the scratching of sand on a stone, like a withered willow branch brushing against human skin.

That man, in his entirety, seemed to have come out of the dark romance books that you read hidden in your room in the early hours of the morning. You should have focused on the fact that he just called himself a thief, not the way your soul seemed to be shivering because of his voice.

“Or you´re just stupid?” the thief continued.

Kaz never made decisions based on fear. Only in despair. 

His analytical mind rewound every step of the years he spent investigating Pekka Rollin's; every detail, every day, every season, every strand of gray that appeared in Pekka's red hair. Where had Kaz gone wrong? Pekka had no children. And Kaz made no mistakes. Never. But the girl in front of him, too curious for her own good and common sense, had too similar traits to Pekka to be anything other than his daughter.

Desperation hit.

This made EVERYTHING infinitely more Herculaneum. Your existence meant that Pekka had many more secrets than the Kaz discovered in their constant meticulous investigation. You were a loophole, and that meant there could be others. Loopholes that Kaz had no idea about. Kaz Brekker felt naked, even though he was covered from toes to neck. Being without clothes wouldn't have bothered him any more than the damn fact that he hadn't come up with the perfect plan. He failed. And that disturbed him deeply.

Suddenly, that library seemed sneaky and questionable, even though Brekker had studied the layout of the mansion for months.

How the fuck did he didn't have the knowledge about that girl?!

A daughter meant many things. But being caught by his daughter created a LOT of problems. Problems involving Kaz Brekker on a gallows.

Fucking hell.

The Barril's bastard waited for a scream, for an accusation, waited for the guards to be alerted at any moment and…the silence was sepulcher. A silence so solemn that he heard the sound of his own blood running through his veins. None of his muscles relaxed, but the part of his brain that worked in despair was activated.

Or he could kill you. But a body would add an extreme problem and…

‘’Who are you?’’ Your voice was so feminine that for a second Kaz thought he had fallen backwards and landed in a bed of roses.

Which was bullshit. Because he never falls. And he had never touched a rose in his entire life

Were you really talking to the man who was robbing your house?! Where was your instinct?! Your common sense?! Your discernment?! And where, by the damned Saints, were you all these years?

“…you don’t look like a thief’ That voice again. That damn voice that made him think of roses he never touched.

Why didn't you shut up and run away?

“Have you seen enough thieves to know one?” Normally Kaz had higher control, but he couldn't hold back his whip tongue, which seemed somehow wanting to hurt you the same way he was being hurt.

That atypical creature blushed. You blushed! For the love of the saints! Who blushes face to face with imminent danger?! Were you stupid or just terribly naive?! And why did that sweet blush remind him once again of a rose?

Bloody hell, where have you been all these years?! Why didn't anyone tell him about you?!

“No’’ you replied like a little animal being caught biting the sofa “but common thieves wouldn’t have that much intelligence to be able to bypass the security of this entire mansion’’

You had a point. But why were you worried about arguing with a damn thief instead of running away?

“That's yet another reason why you should keep your mouth shut about what you're seeing here.” His voice dropped to deeper, more threatening tones. “Bypass security is not as difficult for me, just like hiding a body''

That should have scared you. It made you scared; but with less than it really should. He was threatening you with death, his voice as cold and hoarse as a grim reaper, his eyes as serious as prophecies of the apocalypse. So why you could only think that this about him was overwhelmingly enthralling?

Maybe it was because there was a lack of excitement in your life, maybe it was because you've read a lot of erotic books about mysterious men entering the towers at night and taking the girl away, or maybe it was because Pekka deprived you of the world so much that he left you unaware of the true gravitas of situations. Whatever it was, there was something that grounded you like the roots of ancient trees, something that made you want to look at that thief more closely. Perhaps you liked the danger... That nameless man represented a large part of all the danger of Ketterdam that was so diligently hidden from you for 19 years. He represented death. But he also represented the new, the mystery, the unknown. And you, romantic by nature, loved the occult and its secrets. That man came from a world of shadows, mists, risks, deaths. Where every night was full of adrenaline and every second was a fight to stay alive. He smelled like the ghostly five a.m. fog that you watched envelop the mansion every winter, that made your heart clench with the feeling that there was so much more to the world than you knew. Very quickly, Kaz - even though you didn't know his name yet - became everything you'd always wanted to know, but had always been deprived of.

Once again, you weren't a different person to know about Pekka's disgusting game, but you were romantic enough to feel your soul begging for adventure. Even if these adventures meant ruin. A downfall.

Did it only take one handsome, mistery man for you to throw all your comfort in life out the window and want to ruin yourself with him? Want to get lost with him? The same stranger who just threatened to kill you? Apparently, yes.

You took a step into the library, and Kaz stood firm on the ground, his blue eyes boring into yours like a shining knife. Brekker thought you were extremely naive. Who knew that damn Pekka Rollin's daughter would be so pure? He would bet the Crow Club on the certainty that, if Pekka saw you now, he would have a heart attack. The monster sure had kept you in a little pink bubble your entire life, given that you seemed to not have a single ounce of survival instinct left in you. And how would you have? You certainly didn't know what pain, loss, hunger, cruelty were. This was comical and irritating to Brekker. You were a daddy's little girl. But it was in these waters of thought that his ship hit one fact: you must be very valuable to Pekka. Because otherwise that idiot wouldn't have made so many efforts to hide you from the entire world. To hide the wrong eyes from you. Eyes like Kaz's.

A shiver ran through Brekker's body; a damn good chill, a note of music he'd been waiting to hear his whole life. Revenge.

Brick by brick.

Oh, how ironic fate was. The boy who lost everything at Pekka's hands, was face to face with what was everything for the man. Like a breaking violin string, you have become the most valuable item in all of Ketterdam to be stolen. The most valuable item for Kaz Brekker.

The corner of his mouth turned up, as if pulled by the devil's rope as he set the book down again. He had something else to take away.

Kaz advanced towards yoou. And suddenly, as fast as lightning that cuts through the darkness, everything in your vision turned black and you fell into the abyss of unconsciousness as something pressed against your nose and mouth.

[nerendus]

I finished the Abyssal Forest and wow! I think it surpassed the Fishing Hamlet in becoming my favourite Fromsoft area ever.

I am, however, bad at finding stuff and locating illusory walls, so I don't know if I have the full lore or not, so this is just an open mic for y'all to share what you think happened or just to point out any important information that I didn't get.

But with the stuff that I got and how I read it, Midra was the master of a mansion in the forest alongside his wife Nanaya (who, fun fact, shares the name of a Mesopotamian goddess of love) who, based on the fact that she appears to be pregnant in their painting, gave birth to a son.

Nanaya's Torch almost suggests that the spine the torch is made from is Midra, but considering you fight him, I think the spine is supposed to be the remains of their son who, for some reason, attempted to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame and ultimately failed, and I think that's where the state of the mansion comes from. His attempt to become a lord backfired on the mansion and set it ablaze.

Then, at some point, the Hornsent priests, who oppose the use of Frenzied Flame, came and, I guess, tried to cleanse the land but ended up themselves taken by the flame.

Midra did something bad, maybe it was he who urged their son down the path of lordship, and attempted to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame as well, but the Hornsent stopped it by piercing his body with the greatsword.

Nanaya then, whether purposefully or not, cursed him into staying alive to warn people trying to enter the manor, the remembrance states it was a curse--it may be a curse just in the sense that Midra wanted death or that Nanaya was still deeply upset with what happened to their son.

And after that, Nanaya cradled what remained of their son until she herself passed away.

....That's the best I got. It never once states they had a child or even that they were together, but her hand on her stomach really does make it seem like she's pregnant there and considering the torch can't be Midra, I can find no other alternative, but please, if anyone has different or more thoughts on the subject, please share. I want to talk about them.

[vesora]

Vesora, I don't know if this has been asked before, but recently I've been experiencing lots of Mandela effects, things I believed to be one way being another and I thought I wanted more of this, so now I want to completely shift my awareness... just out of curiosity, do you believe in these kinds of shifts? Like maybe going to sleep in one apartment and waking up in a mansion? I've been meditating on these ideas and I really do want to play around with it. Also, have you had any of your own? I've wanted to chat about this with my friends, but they don't really understand what I mean 😅

there is nothing to believe in (and no one that has beliefs). you can completely wake up in a mansion even if sleeping in the apartment prior because there was no solidity anywhere and no past. waking up in a mansion is the same thing as waking up in an apartment, because they're both equally illusory and differentiated by a thought that one can't happen and the other can etc.

[cleopheanne]

Shatabhisha, The veiling star 🌟

Shatabhisha or Shatabishak is the 24th nakshatra set entirely in Aquarius Rashi between 6’40 to 20 degrees. Under the rulership of both Rahu, Shatabhisha is the apex of said north node of the Moon and Saturn (Shani), Shatabhisha is the nakshatra that embody the most aquarian qualities.

Shatabhisha translated from Sanskrit means “100 healers” or “100 medicines”. Shatabhisha is the one “possessing a hundred healers”. An alternative name Shatataraka means “possessing a hundred stars”. Therefore, by its many names, we can establish that Shatabhisha relates inherently to the Collective, to groups, associations which are all 11th house and Aquarius subjects. Shatabhisha is the “ability to conceal secrets”, thus is best represented by a circle. The Circle reflects firstly the collective theme of this nakshatra as the circle is made up of numerous points which are all at an equal distance from the origine point, but the circle is also a symbol of containment, of protection. The circle imposes a boundary by its circumference; hence it differentiates what is inside from what is outside, it draws a boundary. The space defined by the limits of the circle is protected, fortified, dissimulated and thus kept secret. The circle also connotes an idea of elitism, discrimination: only those who form a close circle around a person have access to them, are intimate with them. Magic is often performed around a circle, those who have been initiated to the occult form a circle, they are “kept in the secret”. Magical charms can take the round form of the circle, talismans, objects of protection are round: The Evil eye is a round eye. The circle in its harmonious quality represents the infinite world of creation: Time, which is the tool that helps us conceive material reality, is circular. This circular nature of time is reflected in what we experience existing within it: you are born weak and fragile as a baby, then you grow strong, only to rediscover your fragility in old age: Life’s cycle, Life’s circle.

The circle is also a symbol of objectivity and in objectivity you discover the truth. To attain objectivity the circle multiplies the points of views and this addition of all these points of views helps to uncover what is true everywhere for everything. Shatabhisha is “the one who struggles with the truth”. Shatabhisha main concern will be truth, therefore will try to acquire objectivity by looking at every aspect of a situation. Shatabhisha Trimurti is Shiva, dissolution and reflects this concern because to truly discover what is true, you need to dissolve what is illusory, your unbased beliefs about the subject, you need to challenge your opinions to see if they can be transformed into thoughts. In this lunar mansion a lot of transformation occurs on the psychic level.

The deity of Shatabhisha is Varuna, chief of the Asuras. Varuna is the one who “binds the ocean”, he rides Makara which is the mythical crocodile and is the god of the Oceans. Therefore Shatabhisha association with Varuna reveals it’s universal qualities, the Oceans are vast and infinite, Oceans are also wide and profound and reflect The process of introspection. Shatabhisha's stage in life happens after Dhanistha where one enjoyed riches and fame, and is now looking for deeper contentement, that exists outside of material abundance. The figure of the adventurer who takes the sea to find himself might be relevant in this case.

Varuna holds a pot containing Soma, the drink of the god granting them immortality: Soma rejuvenates the body but also intoxicate much like Ambrosia in greek mythology. He also holds medicinal herbs representative of the power of healing of Shatabhisha: "Bheshaja Shakti".

Shatabhisha holds the persuavive power of the media by being the apex of Rahu. The people controlling medias are not in the eye of the public, they stay behind the scenes, dissumalated. Media is based on Maya (illusion) which is the domain of rahu.

[manytoonepoet13]

Mysticism and Secrecy...

WE'RE BACK AT IT AGAIN, PEOPLE.

So to recap, in the second part of episode two, we learned about the Illusory SEEDS and Merold's true intentions, how while those stories that were told about Merold and his abilities were indeed a lie, he is still the strongest, not in terms of physical strength, but rather in terms of how he carries himself, his words, his wits his smarts. And it indeed worked because My Melody's kingdom grew to be one of the strongest within the Red Continent.

This is what chivalry means to him, what made him want to become a knight; do whatever he can to protect the ones who are dear to him despite having him to "Tell as many lies and use as many underhanded tricks as I need to. Go ahead and call me a fraud. That means nothing of me. Not if it means I can keep Melody and her kingdom out of danger with these unworthy hands of mine.". Sounds familiar?

Quote from Your Melody: "It's okay to deceive with an outright lie... because within it lingers a quiet love." — "If I were to stain your smile, then I would do away with this heart of mine." — "Even with this fragile heart, above all else, you are my dearest. (Tell me, tell me why.) These overwhelming feelings are a MELODY for you. (Tell me, tell me why.)"

Merold knows that what he's doing isn't the best, even going out to admit they were merely "lies" and "underhanded tricks", and that they would bring disdain, fear and anxiety across the world of Fragaria, but he doesn't care because he's doing all of this to protect Melody. That, and he's already too far within his own illusion.

You see, Merold and the SEEDS aren't too different, really.

Quote from episode 2, part 1 (Merold): "These SEEDS and the oh-so-terrible "greatest knight" might just have something in common."

Besides, have you noticed that both MELODY (representing Merold) and SEEDS are both in all caps?

This is because they have similar forms of attack; by spreading fear and anxiety through lies or "illusions". The SEEDS' lie being their illusions to cause harm, and Merold's lie being his facade to protect the ones who are dear to him.

You see, this is actually not the first time we talked about the SEEDS and illusions all in the same sentence, or, paragraph rather.

In all of my theories, me and my friend concluded that the SEEDS take on various forms to create illusions to trap the knights. (The ribbons in Ever Red. The mansion in Your Melody. And the neon lights in Charcoal White.)

We figured that if the SEEDS can take into various forms to create illusions, it'll be easier to lure the knights in unnoticed, especially when the forms they take are what the knights' wants, but always at a cost.

In Ever Red, the ribbons tie everyone together — symbolizing Hallritt's want for all of them to come and work together as one, in exchange, he's being held back, tied down, pulled into the abyss of those fragmented memories as if he's being tied on a leash. And is now stuck in this loop of anxious torment. — They overpower the knights.

In Your Melody, the mansion is beautiful, peaceful, safe — symbolizing Merold's want for a peaceful life, one where he can keep everyone who he holds dear safe. In exchange, he became so fixated on this illusion that he cannot see any other way other than this. He knows that this is safe, he knows that he can protect them like this, but in the long run he will fail. — They overpower the meadow, the knights.

In Charcoal White, the neon lights are the ones that "paint the city" — symbolizing Chaco's want to be seen, but in return, he lost sight of who he truly is, now struggling with the fact whether or not he is authentic. Is he true self even "true"? — They over power the graffiti, the knights.

Now, "Seeds correlating to missing cases where they can make people disappear aligns with anxiety. Our first perception of seeds were that they're anxiety. It aligns because when you're anxious, you'd just want the ground to swallow you whole and disappear forever, hence the missing cases? I'm thinking that when someone is anxious caused by the seeds, it would soon consume them and then they'll "disappear"." — @c h a m a l a m.

"I'd like to think of these as different stages. Stage/act I: Anxiety. Stage/act II: Vanish. I could say that there'd be a third stage/act because it could fit well with the Fragaria 3: bouquets and timelines." — @c h a m a l a m.

So you see here, like what my best friend said said, it aligns because when you're anxious, you'd just want the ground to swallow you whole and disappear, that is what Merold thought of and incorporated when he lied about being the "strongest knight", to cause fear and make people think twice about making an enemy of him.

But this is where he will meet his downfall because I believe his plan would backfire. Going with the Your Melody theme, we have this line:

Quote: "The signals from our talks that made my heart flutter... are now sinking down my ordinary wish to the bottom"

Back then, I wrote how this "ordinary wish" of his is the want to continue living this "peaceful life because this is where it is "safe", but the more Hallritt protests, the more they talk.. he slowly began to realize just how this can be incredibly crucial to the story, that's why he began listening to Hallritt.

Now, have you guys realized that during Merold's little speech about what chivalry means to him and the mirror scene from Your Melody resembles each other?

Well, I believe this is because this is where he began sinking and got sucked into the broken mirror, where he began to lose the important parts of himself for the sake of protecting Melody. His actions were a double edge sword, causing anxiety and fear to bring peace and security.

This is also why Hallritt was serious–looking in the album cover and during the majority of the mv. He didn't like how he was told he was unfitting for a knight, how, when he asked Merold about the fault in wanting to be idealistic, he was told "All I'm hearing is 'let's work together' this, 'let's learn from Red Bouquet' that, 'I want to be this kind of knight'... It's all about you and your ideals. But for all your pretty words, in reality you were fooled by a single SEEDS and you achieved nothing.".

He became tense and distant towards Merold because he still sees Merold as a fraud and he even declares how he hated people like Merold, he even attempted to fight him a couple of times already. Hallritt's purity and innocence mixed in with the love and passion he's feeling has caused the predicament they were once and currently in.

All this negative energy won't do them any good, especially if they want to go against the SEEDS who literally thrives off of negativity. So, what should they do? SUMMON THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP, BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC. (jk).

In my Charcoal White post, me and my bestfriend theorized how in the song, they realized that going in headfirst while desperately trying to eliminate every single SEED they encounter wouldn't work, so what they did is take a strategic form of attack and will infiltrate the SEEDS at it's source. And it seems like we was right because that was what Merold and Romarriche did in the episode.

But truly, it is indeed best if they were to stick together and actually get along with each other because only they, the knights, could dispell the SEEDS, and if they let their negative emotions get the best of them.. then.. well, let's just say that it would result to more angst, conflicts, and time loops (probably).

[lutiaslayton]

Hey everyone! No Layton's Book Club today unfortunately, but I haven’t forgotten about it. The poll for Illusory Forest's update schedule ends on Thursday so I'll still wait until then, even though it's rather certain that the results won’t change much by that point.

Truth be told, so far I have worked a lot more on Mansion of the Deathly Mirror than on Illusory Forest (also don't get too excited the fanmade pleasant-to-read English translation is only done up to the first seven minutes of gameplay 😭 Blame that on me doing some additional CSS and brainstorming on how best to shape it into a simile of a "playable" walkthrough with links everywhere redirecting to other parts of the page)—but I do have the entire first chapter finished, which means that if the Prologue is posted this Saturday, I should have at least six weeks of buffer before reaching chapter 2.

Until then, I wish you all a wonderful week! And good luck if you have some exams or finals left before the holidays. You've got this! 💪

[alto-tenure]

About the democratically determined PL universe: I'm doing a series of polls on increasingly obscure Layton media outside the mainline games to see what people generally consider to be canon. More details here.

Currently open polls (as of September 4, 2023): Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror, Professor Layton and the Phantom Deity

English Wiki page. This was a novel published in 2010 taking place during the era of the prequels, around the time of Miracle Mask. It has not been published in any other language besides Japanese, but you can read an English fan-translation here.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Music for The Soul by Alexander MacLaren

God's Answer to the Soul's Cry

"Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good." – 1 Peter 3:13

Did you ever notice that there are two dwelling places spoken of in the 91st Psalm?" Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation," " There shall no plague come nigh thy dwelling "; or, literally translated, as in the Revised Version, " a tent " - a particular kind of abode. The same word, "habitation," is employed in the 90th Psalm - "dwelling-place." Beside that venerable and ancient abode that has stood fresh, strong, incorruptible, and unaffected by the lapse of millenniums, there stands the little transitory canvas tent in which our earthly lives are spent. We have two dwelling-places. By the body we are brought into connection with this frail, evanescent, illusory outer world, and we try to make our homes out of shifting cloud-wrack, and dream that we can compel mutability to become immutable, that we may dwell secure. We need a better dwelling-place than earth and that which holds to earth. We have God Himself for our true Home. Never mind what becomes of the tent as long as the mansion stands firm. Do not let us be saddened, though we know that it is canvas, and that the walls will soon rot and must some day be folded up and borne away, if we have the Rock of Ages for our dwelling-place.

But the wide scope and the paradoxical completeness of the promise itself, instead of being a difficulty, point the way to its true interpretation. " There shall no plague come nigh thy dwelling" - and yet we are smitten down by all the woes that afflict humanity. "No evil shall befall thee" - and yet " all the ills that flesh is heir to" are dealt out sometimes with a more liberal hand to them who abide in God than to them who dwell only in the tent upon earth. What then? Is God true, or is He not? Did this Psalmist mean to promise the very questionable blessing of escape from all the good of the discipline of sorrow? Is it true, in the unconditional sense in which it is often asserted, that "prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament, and adversity of the New "? I think not; and I am sure that this Psalmist, when he said " there shall no evil befall thee, nor any plague come nigh thy dwelling," was thinking exactly the same thing which Paul had in his mind when he said, "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose. " If I make God my Refuge, I shall get something a great deal better than escape from outward sorrow - namely, an amulet which will turn the outward sorrow into joy. The bitter water will still be given me to drink, but it will be filtered water, out of which God will strain all the poison, though He still leaves plenty of the bitterness in it; for bitterness is a tonic. The evil that is in the evil will be taken out of it, in the measure in which we make God our Refuge, and "all will be right that seems most wrong" when we recognize it to be " His sweet will." Nothing can be " evil " which knits me more closely to God; and whatever tempest drives me to His breast, though all the four winds of the heavens strove on the surface of the sea, it will be better for me than calm weather that entices me to stray farther away from Him.

[sineala]

So Iron Man #172 was the July 1983 issue, so have a belated chance to commemorate anyway you want!

(Review, Drabble, Cake, General Thoughts, (Self) Rec Fics inspired by this issue etc)

I love this issue so much. Also this cover. At first I wasn't entirely sure if I had read any fic inspired by this issue specifically (rather than fics that just mention it in passing) and then I remembered that I had in fact written a very long story with a key scene that absolutely hinged on this issue. *facepalm*

I have not, however, posted this story. It's the 150,000-word Madame Masque story that I wrote for @phoenixmetaphor's awesome art for the Cap-IM RBB back in 2019 and, for a variety of reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I ended up not posting it and writing an entirely different story that was just long enough to hit the word count minimum for the RBB. At some point I need to just take some time and rip out and redo a couple of big scenes closer to the end of the story, but I really hate editing and still haven't figured out how to fix the scenes and that's why I still haven't posted it.

Anyway, it has a pivotal scene (not one of the ones I am planning on changing) that heavily involves that issue. Phoenix even drew some lovely art for this particular scene and posted it a couple years ago, and, yeah, I still haven't posted the story.

I was going to post a longer excerpt of the scene in question but I couldn't figure out how to give the necessary context for the scene without spoiling about half of the story. So, uh, maybe someday I will manage to edit and post the entire thing. I just need to sit down and edit it. I have not yet managed to do that.

But you can have a couple hundred non-spoilery words of the very beginning of the story, because the actual first paragraph of the story is Tony having a nightmare about being back in the flophouse from IM #172. Uh, TW for alcoholism?

Tony woke, terrified, gasping for breath, the illusory taste of whiskey still lingering on his tongue. He clawed at his neck as phantom smoke stung his lungs, as his throat burned from the liquor, as tears leaked down his cheeks, while the flames roared around him, as he huddled alone and waited to die -- and then his eyes snapped open into quiet, serene darkness.

It had felt so real.

You're okay, he told himself, the beginning of the litany he'd made to ward away his nightmares. You're okay. It was a dream. It was terrible, but you're not there anymore. It's over. You haven't had a drink in years. You didn't really take that drink. You didn't ruin your life again. It was all a dream. You're safe. You're going to be okay.

The craving was still there, of course. It wasn't going to go away just because he wasn't drinking. Even if he never took another drink in his life, he was never going to be able to forget every last detail: the heft of a rocks glass in his hand, the way the light filtered through amber liquid, the smoothness of a fine scotch as he swallowed. His mouth was watering. He tried not to think about it, tried not to remember, tried not to build an image of something he couldn't ever have again.

The thirst was a siren's song, and it always had been: just one drink and nothing will hurt. Just one drink and nothing will ever hurt you again. Just one drink and you'll be happy.

It was a lie, and he knew that too. It was a lie, and for him it was never going to be just one drink, and that was why he couldn't have it.

But he wanted it. He always wanted it.

He pushed himself up to his elbows, and the sheet pooled down around his waist, exposing his bare skin to the air. The lights were off, but there was enough light through the curtains from the streetlights outside to orient himself.

You're in Avengers Mansion, he continued. You're not in that goddamn flophouse anymore. You're not shivering on the streets. You're in your own home and you're in your own bed and you're with someone who loves you.

That was when Steve, a light sleeper as always, rolled to his side and opened his eyes, pale blue gone nearly colorless in the dimness. His brow furrowed. "Tony?" His voice was thick with sleep. "Sweetheart? Everything okay?"

[thescarletmansion]

CHAPTER 1 - The Mansion

Night had fallen, making it the perfect set-up to get the large doors to open.

Irina had taken on an illusory form through the use of Metronome, somehow getting the exact effect she wanted with a little waggle of her finger. The Clefairy took on the shape of a little girl seen in one of the photos that the group had. The Pokemon studied it before deciding on what to do.

She would be the key to help open the way.

The conditions were set, they all waited until the whistling sound so many witnesses spoke of sounded. Being so close to the entrance, the door opened for the disguised Pokemon immediately, practically beckoning her to come in. It was in that moment that everyone would have a chance to rush inside.

Rika, dragging along Larry, followed by Alistair and Yellow. Red held up the rear, making sure Matsuba, Giovanni and Wesker made it in before hopping across the threshold.

When they all made it in, the doors behind them shut closed. No amount of super strength would make them budge. There was no lock, no handle. The other side of the gate was smooth.

The night that they ventured in to rescue Yuri, there was but a sliver of the moon left within the sky. It was not yet the night of the new moon. Yet upon passing the threshold, what should have been a gentle silvery light illuminating the corners of the room was as red as crimson filtering through the ornate windows.

After the initial panic of being unable to get back out the way they got in, came the further realization that everything was off. On the blueprint of the old style Johto mansion, there should only be three doors. One represented in the way they came in and one on each side of the initial hall they were in. It was only apparent something was off about the mansion layout after one of the other doors...

Choose your door...

WESTERN DOOR or EASTERN DOOR

@orrerunaway @godstrain @monterraverde @earth-master @simplifiedstrength @redlegend @yellowsforest @cursedmystic

EXPLORATION PHASE!

Look around the room, speak with your fellow explorers on your next move. To interact with the current room, send in an ask with your appropriate action. The GM will ask you for rolls depending on what you seek.

[dharmafox]

hiya it's me again! so the todaji ep, if i remember this correctly; the todaji was much like a Tsukumogami? or was it something else entirely? was the medicine seller just stuck in a loop of the past endlessly playing out or was it the correct time and it was just hiding the state of decay? i like this ep a lot [i like all of them a lot lol] but this one makes me think about it the most. i'd like to hear your thoughts on it! when you're not busy of course.

Hi again and thanks for the ask!

The major themes that I see in the "Nue" arc are life/death and memory, particularly the power of scent to evoke memory and make the past seem present (or "alive"). I think the world of the nue is a world of illusion created and sustained by memory. As the Buddha said, "the past is dead," but the people in that world are so lost in memory that they're oblivious to the truth of the present. They're "living in death" but haven't noticed.

The Medicine Seller recognizes the illusion - which is probably why "illusion" was the answer he gave in the first incense game:

(I've also theorized that the three suitors here represent the Three Poisons of Buddhism, which are aversion or hatred, clinging or attachment, and... delusion. It's worth noting that the Three Poisons are interdependent, like the three forms of the nue.)

The forms of the nue are also illusions, I think embodying the life/death cycle itself as a little girl, an adult woman, and an old woman. The forms mirror the three suitors, and I would guess are created by their perceptions, since the Medicine Seller says that which form appears depends on how the nue is perceived. When the three suitors are gone, the Medicine Seller recognizes the forms as illusory, and they appear as a single monster. Destroying that monster destroys the Toudaiji, which destroys the whole illusion of the dead world.

Like the humans, the Toudaiji itself is dead - it's just rotten wood. But when the Toudaiji is destroyed, it releases an explosion of life. The little flowery things that emerge at the end are probably kami that were trapped inside the wood. The humans would never have released them because they venerated the Toudaiji as a sacred object - in the same way they cling on to their memories, obsessively chasing after them by using incense to evoke them. (Incense has also been traditionally associated with death in Japan, since it's burned as offerings to the dead.)

Both clinging to memories of the dead past and grasping after a piece of dead wood, believing that they'll be granted something they want, trap the humans in an endless cycle of death. To stop the cycle, they have to break through the illusion that they're still alive, and the Toudaiji has to be destroyed. When what's dead is recognized as dead, new life emerges. The emergence of new life is the result of escaping memories of the past and becoming aware of the truth of the present.

So I think that, yes, in the "present time," the mansion was as it appears at the end, decayed and empty. Time only appeared to be repeating endlessly because of the perceptions of the people trapped inside.

[morganaas]

Jacopo Bearzatti Fragments Analysis

For context read the short stories

A slice of sweet serenity of days long lost I and II

Fragments Revdream Reincarnation

Jacopo's soul lives through the events of the third door, and the thousand years in the decrepit mansion, never truly forgetting the pain he caused the girl Morgana, nor the sins of his life. Jacopo believes he's irredeemable and Fragments is Jacopo enacting that fate on himself. “Yet you’re still here lingering. After I released your soul, you went and put on new set of shackles.���

“Tell me… how many times have you tried to grasp at this illusion?”

“How many times… have you punished yourself?”

Fragments is the illusory word that Jacopo creates to remind himself of what he destroyed with his own hands by showing himself the ideal world he wanted more than anything else. A self inflicted curse that will last until Jacopo’s soul fades away.

The warmth of the illusory world created by Jacopo is the same dream that Morgana seeks, reuniting them both in this warm idealistic fantasy that they could have had.

“I do… regret some of what I did.”

“That I misdirected my anger.”

“Oh yes, I still revile you, of course. But even more so …”

“I’m heartbroken…”

“How did it all end up like that?”

“So far gone… so irreversibly off the path”

Fragments and Revdream are the perspectives of Jacopo and Morgana on their own lives, an exposition of the truth that their situations had forced them to hide in their lives.

Jacopo’s Message to Morgana

“I don’t want you to forget me again, I don’t want you to forget what I look like, the sound of my voice, or how I feel about you, I don’t want you to forget what we talked about, what kind of man I was, or all the times we shared together!”

“Don’t forget me”

“Please don’t forget me”

These are the words Jacopo wanted to tell Morgana in that locked tower, and the words that have kept Jacopo chained, he’s never been free of the curse, since his curse is the weight of his own sins.

The words “If I had gone and found you”

“Would that have stopped you from becoming what you did?”

Are a reflection on Jacopo’s nature as a person.

Would it have changed?

Morgana’s response

“I don't need your atonement.”

“I told you already.. it’s all done.”

“ No curses No forgiveness “

“Nothing more between us ever again”

“Why, then… why am I here… talking to you?”

“It’s foolish.”

“We're hopeless fools, the both of us…”

“But it's not my fault..”

“This realm… is overflowing with so much warmth.”

“I can't hold back everything I've kept locked away all those centuries…”

“But on the end…”

“I just feel wretched about it all.”

“I would have rather never remembered.”

“We spent our lives trying so hard to suppress those memories.”

“fighting against our pasts”

“Just as we’re doing now”

“ And I hate you”

“I'll never feel anything but hatred for you.”

“There's nothing left in my heart but that.”

“This is… simply me showing pity for a pathetic, lost soul.”

“Maybe you should have said so back then.” (Morgana is talking about their conversation in the mansion at the end of Fata Morgana)

“Though I suppose you couldn't have… I had someone else to lead my way.” (Michel)

“All you could do was sit back and watch me go…”

“You were never one who could cry in front of others… or hold on to someone for support…”

We learn later that Fragments is Jacopo's perspective of Revdream as his soul fades away. To him it is an illusory dream created to remind him of what he could have had, had he made the right choices in life. He believes Morgana is a part of his illusion, but Morgana's soul has found his dream. The truth of the illusion is shown in Revdream.

Revdream is Morgana's perspective of this. This moment is referenced many times in reincarnation in the form of dreams, since this is the most important moment to their souls. Even when they lose memories of their past lives, fragments of these moments are still present, because these memories hold so much weight to them on a spiritual level.

[vanadisvalentine]

RWBY V9E8 - Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble

I waited a week for like 15 minutes of pain. It is time for quick rambling about chapter 8.

I'm glad we didn't get like, a pep talk from Little to cheer Rubes up like some people were expecting. It wouldn't really gel thematically since the entire volume's been leading up to her abandoning herself, and even if she was just gonna get a simple pep talk to "fix" everything, I would prefer it come from her team and not the character of the volume. Not that Little isn't great, I love them and would burn the world for them, but still.

On that note, I felt like I got shot point blank with a shotgun seeing all those familiar faces at Neo's tea party table. Of all the characters those stupid silhouettes in the intro could have been, I was NOT expecting it to be the people who have died thus far (though in hindsight I feel like it was obvious, but bleh that's how it is). I do wish the actual bit of her wandering into Neo's little mansion there was a bit more...there, but I get that time is limited this volume and you don't wanna spend precious minutes on a single character getting from point A to point B. Besides, the way it was framed worked well enough with Neo's whole thing being messing with reality in the Ever After apparently.

As for the tea party itself, man. That was...brutal. Far more than I was expected. The fact that Ruby's aura broke early (as to expected from a seven/eight vs one) meant that she was getting hurt, evident by the. You know. Blood and bruises. The Cat tore into her, and the fact that she straight up killed that illusory Oscar? God, Neo, you're such a bitch, I love you for that.

Speaking of Neo, I had an inkling we'd see something like this from her way back when the mechanics of the Ever After were being explained. Once she achieves her purpose (which has been the only thing she's given a single shit about since her reintroduction in volume 6), then what? What happens to her? And the answer is...she goes catatonic? Sure, I'll bite. And the Cat straight up possessing her is a good way of tying in Neo to the main plot of escaping the Ever After, ya kill two birds with one stone that way. Also she's probably going to die at the end of all this. I'll miss you, Ice Cream Wife, but let's be real. You had it coming.

GOD ugh next week we're going to see what actually happens to someone when the Ever After swallows them up. But I want to know now! Right now! I need to know if Ruby is okay and I need to see her reconcile with her teammates and Jaune and aaaaaaaaaah okay I'm losing the ability to think coherently. Should I have written this in the morning when I'm not dead tired (thank you timezones)? Yes. But I needed to get these thoughts out now or else I wouldn't be able to sleep. I'm gonna watch the episode again and go to sleep.

One last thing. Hearing Billy's voice come out of Torchwick, even if it was only for a few lines, hurt me. A lot. I miss that man. Taken way too soon and way too suddenly. Rest easy, my dude.

[broccolini-cellini]

Cornelia Parker's Transitional Object (PsychoBarn)

Exhibition Overview A large-scale sculpture by acclaimed British artist Cornelia Parker, inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper and by two emblems of American architecture—the classic red barn and the Bates family's sinister mansion from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho—comprises the fourth annual installation of site-specific works commissioned for The Met's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Nearly 30 feet high, the sculpture is fabricated from a deconstructed red barn and seems at first to be a genuine house, but is in fact a scaled-down structure consisting of two facades propped up from behind with scaffolding. Simultaneously authentic and illusory, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) evokes the psychological associations embedded in architectural spaces. It is set atop The Met, high above Central Park—providing an unusual contrast to the Manhattan skyline.

Source: The Met

As a site-specific installation at the Met, one of the most visited museums in the world, it's easy to lean into pure spectacle. Parker does this without being vapid, using it precisely to poke at America's obsession with spectacle, especially in politics. Weaving together American references (Hopper, the classic horror Psycho, and the red barn) she does so seamlessly with this comically horrific amalgamation while also acknowledging her position as a Briton connected to the US by mirroring Hitchcock's assimilation into Hollywood.

It's all a facade...

Parker's house is red from appropriating the materials of a dismantled barn. The structure disrupts the New York skyline but also screams (psychological) Americana.

The creative process behind the sculpture revels in research; from Dutch barns to the artist's affinity for pop culture. Parker translates her unease stemmed from an unstable political climate (this was in 2016, right before Trump was elected) through humour. I am trying to find this magic (for lack of a better term), this intersection of intention and everything else falling into pieces as if by fate.

Edward Hopper. House by the Railroad. 1925.

Source: The Met

The Bates house from the film Psycho. 1960. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock.

Source: Universal City

[erstwhilesparrow]

hi. i. uh?? okay. okay one second. i'm making another list.

i do not even a little bit believe that i'll be able to keep up with owen's pirates streams from here on out, but i've seen i think his first... seven? and there's a moment in one of them where he figures out that he can set the camera to do cinematic opening shots live on stream. watching his new episode and thinking about that makes me feel like chewing through electrical wires. he's good at this and i adore watching him be good at this!! show me the guts and bones of your work and i will never love anyone more.

etho decked out runs! he got out alive in both of them!! i am remembering why etho is my favourite hermitcraft guy. sighing dreamily about his season 7 decked out runs. i love it when people are good at the game. i love it when people know things. (i love it when people know someone's good at the game. thinking fondly of watching techno's minecraft monday with phil and hearing the two of them talk through the other players' competencies. that offhand knowing. this is also why i love post-mcc ~debriefs. give me shop talk PLEASE.)

(also wondering: have seen talk about how decked out feels alive and am deeply interested in this because it feels right up my alley but it. doesn't quite read that way to me? not that i completely disagree but more. huh. i'm less Wildly Excited by that idea than i thought i would be. what i've seen feels. illusory or intangible somehow. i want to see decked out's guts. show me the redstone wiring. show me the maintenance tunnels. i bet that'll do it. i know i should just watch tango's videos and maybe i will! but let me sigh longingly first.)

(thinking also about pandora's vault and the thing of-- when other people wanted to recreate its mechanics outside the dsmp, there was one section they just couldn't figure out. they had to use command blocks!! i love that machinery in minecraft is big and clunky and can swallow you up in its guts!! ahh!!)

mr. squishy's pokemon red in minecraft. the stage and ~set dressing was impressive enough, the command blocks laid out underneath actively made me want to weep. that is a computer program!! laid out in (sort of) three dimensional space with no regard for the physics of our reality!! i looked at it and went, "oh, that's an angel."

bdubs's little adventure in the broken woodland mansion. i was already very [chewing on drywall] about the woodland mansion when limited life was first coming out, and i am suddenly vividly remembering why. what the hell was wrong with that house. to have all the signs of a thing you should recognize but none of the actual stuff. empty chests, winding staircases. THAT BIT WHERE THEY GO INTO THE WALLS AND IT DOES WHAT FEELS LIKE SOME MC ESCHER BULLSHIT. and above that, the bridges. the waterlogged roof. everything stripped down to its barest functionality. it's so. you primed them for a death game and then gave them time to throw away. of course it worked out like this. of course.

(memory: i really like the dsmp's landscape? creeper holes everywhere, cobble trails in the nether to mark your path, buildings made out of the cheapest resources you can grab. early dsmp was so pvpers + speedrunners. i love that it showed in their architectural style. i love that there's such a thing as a pvper / speedrunner architectural style, or if not that, then a very particular way those people leave their mark on a minecraft landscape.)