#magical girl ascetic

[kythecorg]

(っ◔ ω ◔)っ~~☆♪✨ ”𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸?! 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥!!” ✨

Musidora is very special to me. She’s been an oc for as long as I can remember. Still one of my favorites and tbh, a huge comfort oc for me. Her ecstatic curiosity about the world and naive innocence are things I wish I had sometimes.

Though obviously there’s still a lot I’ve gotta work through, in the meantime I wanted to draw something for myself.

I will do things when I can, one step at a time.

[xxnghtclls]

Ever since the final chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen came out, I‘ve been wondering who this woman is, that we see in Sukuna‘s final panels. So I decided to read a bit. (Maybe I‘m hella late and y‘all already know this stuff or it‘s already fully settled who this is idk I wasn‘t active until last week lol)

The woman appears to be a Miko, a type of priestess that works at shinto shrines. This source describes their duty as the following:

In general, Mikos remained virginal and unmarried for their entire lives. Until the late Heian period, mikos could be married to Yamabushi who belonged to the Shugendō religion. However, these were purely ritual-formal marriages that remained childless. (Wikipedia / Joseph Cali, John Dougill: Shintō Shrines)

Back to the Manga: some people assumed this woman must be Yorozu, since it‘s one of the persons who offered love to Sukuna. However, for me, there is no indication at all that Yorozu of all people, is a virgin, let alone a devoted priestess.

My personal first thought was, that this woman is Sukuna‘s mother. The only parent Sukuna ever mentioned is his mother. He also hinted at his childhood as well.

If we assume Sukuna‘s mother was a Miko, Sukuna‘s fate of being unwanted and at the brink of starvation would make sense, since Miko were expected to be childless.

So how could this have happened? As I mentioned above, until the Heian Period they were allowed to have ritual formal marriages with Yamabushi. They also were supposed to remain childless.

But who are the Yamabushi anyway? The followers of Shugendō performed magical-religious rituals and ascetic practices in the mountains with the aim of “becoming Buddha in this life” (sokushin-jōbutsu <<< Hah ring a bell?) and gaining supernatural abilities. These abilities are used for the benefit of the population, for example in the form of fortune-telling or to cure illnesses. (Wikipedia)

This sounds very Sukuna esque for me lol

Doesn‘t prove anything but I think it‘s interesting to mention.

ANYWAY

What if Suku‘s momma was married to one of the Yamabushi? What if they were just… human and did fell in love, putting their duty aside? Getting Suku‘s momma pregnant, and probably punishing her for it. Sukuna was unwanted after all, not only bcs of his appearance but bcs of the circumstances as well.

What‘s super interesting is, what is mentioned earlier, that up until the late Heian Period, Miko were primarily young girls from noble families. So Sukuna being the abomination that he is being born into the forbidden circumstances AND disgracing his mother and her family. Yea… unwanted little wretch.

However.

Maybe none of this is true and the Miko woman is just a symbol for the religious path he could have followed.

Who knows?

Not me. Apparently.

Any further information is very welcome!

[lttawnymadison]

TGCF Thai Edition Foreword by MXTX (2018 novel version)

Ghosts and demons have a long history in Chinese culture. Literary works themed around occult records that were popular during the Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern dynasties such as “In Search of the Supernatural” still remain as entertaining today as they once were. At the same time, “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio” from the Qing dynasty gave the ability to love to all things inhuman, from ghost ladies, to fox demons, to a flower spirit who falls in love with a young scholar and comes to visit him in abandoned temples and houses at night. They were far more lovesick than actual flesh and blood humans.

In 1989, the movie “A Chinese Ghost Story” was born, and became a perennial classic in the decade to follow. A little girl who hated reading watched this movie, back then, and fell in love with the story of the incredibly beautiful ghost lady with her grievances, exorcism arts that call forth a spectacle of lightning and thunder, great martial artists who soar through the sky and dive through the earth, and last but not least, the myriad ghosts and monsters who like to peel skin, pull apart limbs and tear out hearts and lungs...that little girl fell head over heels for it, indeed.

Still...all this combined still can’t fully explain where my fondness for mysterious supernatural things came from.

One problem has always been sticking in my mind, though: why is it always ‘gorgeous ghost ladies crazy with love’? Why not ‘gorgeous ghost men crazy with love?’

Problems always have solutions. Luckily for me, this is a problem I can find a solution to by myself. And thus Hua Cheng was born.

Red garments. Skin as white as snow. Moves around without a trace. Magic unfettered.

Maybe it’s because I cut out the whole thing about a ghost’s aura of grudges, but sometimes I feel that he’s more like a fox demon. While the ascetic gege is meditating, he’ll be sitting there lazily sunbathing on a rock, red fluffy tail shining in the light and caressing the back of the ascetic gege’s hand. He’ll quickly pull his tail back to his chest and sit there behaving himself while his gege sits there meditating. He’ll sit there just to be that person’s company, but also constantly shows off his fur in the most noble and regal of manners... (okay I’m getting sidetracked).

The period while I was writing Tian Guan Ci Fu was not an easy period for me. To tell you the truth, I was in a very bad place mentally back then, always drowning in stress and pain that I couldn’t get myself out of. Yet every time I got to a Hualian scene, I’d feel like I was making some delicious sweets for myself, and even if this may sound like I’m tooting my own horn, if a single piece of sweets can reach your hand and you feel that it’s delicious, too, I’ll be ten times as happy.

Let me bless my readers in Thailand with that spell: May heaven’s officials bless you, and no paths be bound (Tianguancifu, baiwujinji)!

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Translation source: https://x.com/faelicy/status/1428555536635731973

[olderthannetfic]

A bit late to this, but to that Anon who was complaining that atheists only think about Christianity or the major monotheistic religions and base their views of religion on that... What is your point actually? A fairytale is a fairytale no matter how popular, widespread or secretive and esoteric it is. Trust me, we are aware that there are tens of thousands of religions in the world, but NONE of them have any proof and faith is just the excuse people give for believing in things without evidence.

No one is trying to take your religion away from you. At least not where I'm from. Practice whatever special, ascetic, minority religion you like. You are free to do that in your head and in your home. But let's not pretend like a huge number of people don't always find a way to weasel or sometimes just ram their religion into public policy and the public sphere. It doesn't matter what you *personally* do and that 'not all religious people' or whatever because overall, religions has been a fucking cancer to society. The overturning of Roe vs. Wade is a case in point. (I'm not from the US but that shit is terrifying even being so far away from North America). And no, we don't owe ideas respect just because people believe in them or find comfort in them. For every person who finds comfort in religion, there's another who was left with religious PTSD (like myself). People need to learn to separate themselves from ideas and not get so offended when ideas are criticised.

Tbh, your complaint comes across as 'Not like other girls' but theist addition. Ugh, Christianity...Not me though, my religion is cool, not like those huge Abrahamic monoliths. It doesn't matter. Yeah, your religion may be all peace and love and that's great but religion as a concept is still nothing but assertion, anecdata and magical thinking. When there's some actual concrete, falsifiable proof of a higher power, then we can talk.

--

Funny you should mention fairytales, anon. Those are a recent concept from particular parts of the West.

[mitspeiler]

whole hog for my girl jila julianna and whichever other incarnations

My darling girl Jileyna, originally known as Julianna and affectionately nicknamed Jila by the people (you).

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

Julianna originally was just a name I picked with very little logic behind it. I needed a ttrpg character to play and extropolated "Julianna" from Julian of Norwich, a spiritual writer (she was originally a D&D cleric!). Jileyna came about from mangling her name a bit (with @fvriva's help) so it could keep some of the same sounds but not sound western, when I changed her setting from the Forgotten Realms to my original setting.

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

24-25. Her exact age isn't known because she was a foundling.

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Yes and no. fvriva is pushing for her to hook up with her OC, Baran, for thematic reasons. I'm not opposed to it. Whenever i get back to the Areatam novel though, she will probably have a different love interest.

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

For a proper meal it's the red gourd curry she makes. The red gourd is a staple food in areatam, hearty and grows anywhere, so this is a fairly common food, enjoyed largely by peasants and religious ascetics. That said she develops a taste for sweets. In D&D her favorite food was tiramisu.

💼 - What do they do for a living?

Julianna is a religious ascetic; in D&D she was a cleric with an acolyte background. In Areatam she is alternately referred to as a nun or monk by players, depending on what's funniest, though the actual word used in the setting is bhante which is gender neutral. She lived and worked in a large temple, where all the bhantes take turns doing all the essential tasks for maintaining the temple. However, in D&D she was an illuminator.

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

She likes cooking best of all the work she does at the temple, and draws on her own time. She continues to do these things outside of it.

🎯 -What do they do best?

What she does best is dole out massive amounts of damage with the destructive magical power welling up inside of her. Followed by cooking.

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Jileyna loves her hobbies, and sitting in prayerful contemplation, and successfully commanding the lightning. She hates unsuccessfully commanding the lightning, because she hates feeling like she is bad at things, which is common due to her being rather clumsy.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

As Julianna, it was an incident in which she finessed a social interaction in a dungeon. The party entered a neutral goblin camp and watched an improvised performance of a play they were putting on. Julianna transcribed and illustrated the play and sold it back to the goblin leader for information, earning the approval of the party. In Areatam, Jileyna's best memories are yet to form, though she likes to remember the free time she spent discussing philosophy and the shaping arts with her mentor Sebron.

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

In D&D, it would be the day they fought Tiamat, a horrific battle in which one party member died. Though the party emerged victorious, and Tiamat was slain (by Jila's own hand even!) it was a dark day that she would not soon relive.

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

Nope! As Jila originated in D&D her appearance was originally more western, featuring blonde hair. Her equipment was more western in style and she was also more muscular. Now she is thinner, dark haired, and has glasses. My artist and party members insist she is flat-chested too though I have made it clear she is not lmao

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

A former friend and I were crafting a setting whose premise was that the earth and a fantasy world merged together in some kind of cosmic event. I started making up random characters, of which I vaguely got the idea for a half-elf cleric who was a devout christian and the daughter of Zeus. This was a joke character, and I pared the premise down to actually be like, good

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

High fantasy always

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Pansexual cis female

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

None, but also hundreds of brother and sister bhantes.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

She does not have parents, though in the D&D setting she was originally going to be my bard character's half sister. This did not however wind up going anywhere. In Areatam I plan to leave the idea of her birth parents entirely untouched. They don't matter. In terms of having an adult figure that raised and influenced though, she could be said to have two father figures, Sebron, a soldier who retired into the cloth, and Abbot Behoom. They both mentored her in different ways, though of the two Sebron is more fatherly while Behoom is more paternalistic. If that makes sense at all lmao. She likes them both though.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

I like how she grew out of being a joke character into an actual good character that I like and enjoy writing thinking about. That can't be said for all my joke characters

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

Pretty often. I have used her in 3 rpg campaigns (one fell through, the other was fun but I didn't feel fulfilled in terms of character growth, the third is ongoing) and I have also written a few chapters of a novel set in her new original setting.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

No she is going to live forever

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

No, though she is full of religious terror over the concept of corruption. In Areatam certain actions and behaviors accrue corruption, which is like a physical manifestation of sin. It alters your magic to become uncontrollable and causes you to become evil. Many people over the course of their lives will accrue a small amount of corruption but it's definitely looked down upon to have any significant amount, even before it starts becoming actually dangerous.

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

None relly but let's say Tiamat for fun

🎓 🍥 - How long have you had the OC?

uhhhh 2018 I think

[spiraldancer]

Ariadne's Thread: A Workbook on Goddess Magic ( Shekhinah Mountain Water).

Cycle 1: Questions to Ponder

To Kick off This Blog I've decided to Answer the questions within Cycle one:

First one is: What is a Witch?

If I am to look at the English word, it's derived from the Germanic word, Witch, as in Wise woman and essentially that is what a witch is to me, a Wise woman that knows herself intimately and therefore knows the world around her as she can be guided by her intuition.

The Word "Bruxa" is derived from the Word Bricta, Likely the root word that "Bridget" or " Brigid" was derived from and it means enchantment or magic or spell if you will. I see this word then relating Bruxa deeply with the Goddess, namely the Bruxa being a worker for The Goddess in all her forms.

The Witch/ Bruxa therefore becomes a symbol of Woman's myths and deep inner wisdom but also becomes a symbol of the wild untamed spirit of women that Patriarchy has repressed and demonized and her resurgence spells to me the beginning of the end of the Repression of Her and of her Daughters.

The second question that was posed by the book is whenever or not I see myself as a witch and short answer is: Yes. Long answer is that I see my ease with identifying with the term as me coming home after trying to squeeze myself so hard in patriarchal institution and thoughts; from being overly skeptical to trying to become a Christian girl; none fit like being a witch and a follower of my goddesses nearly as well and blends my love of Mythology, beauty, nature and reverence to The Female form that I did not find in overly ascetic religions and spirituality and in overly rigid atheism and In Phallocentric thinking.

Third question is what Makes a woman a witch?

I suppose in other times just a woman claiming to be a witch would be enough, but as both witch and women become shredded beyond compression as terms ( including males in the definition of women for example and regressive gender roles in New age spiritualities with a poor understanding of what constitutes as Divine Feminine), I suppose I am somewhat of a gatekeeper of a term. I suppose the closest people to embody the witch are those willing to help their fellow sisters when comes the need and that becoming one's Proper witch self comes with time, effort, trial and error and the general wisdom gained from the passage of time and deep immersion in the Self and Of The Goddess. I suppose it's why witches have been associated with Crones or the elderly woman in general; it may indicate that a Woman or Witch Woman is at her most powerful when aged or aging. I do think we all have innate magical qualities, some more developed then others and that a magical path is a girl and woman's best friend into developing such skills.

From the 4th question, I actually did grow up in a culture that suspected of the witch and saw her as a force of spite and evil even if many relied on witches to heal themselves. I've always been uncomfortable with this stories but am reclaiming this role for myself as even the negative connotations I feel strip the witch of her moral complexities I think. I'm sadden by those burned and killed to this day when accused of witchcraft, even if they weren't actually "witches" in the proper term; it does show that everyone is seemigly afraid of a woman's power and will burn her for it. I'm mixed on the idea of Goddess religion becoming even more mainstream and accepted, in a sense I have plenty to thank to many groups of outrageous women that helped pave the way for current Pagan thought, but I suppose I'm sadden how little traditions are 100% female focus or don't try to insert some heterocentric form of duality in it.

I elucidated my religious background further above, but yes I did go through a period of catechism thanks to my abusive mom but I was deeply uncomfortable by the idea of God and of a male God and was critical of male religion as the tool of social coercion that it was, winch my father tried to stir me into Atheism; but rather then fully indulging in that I became Agnostic for a bit until I decided to research into Wicca and had many of my thoughts and feelings affirmed by dozens of pieces of Pagan thought and never looked back. As I delved deeper into feminism and female spiritual thought, it has led to my goddess focused lean right now. Needless to say and to answer the 6th question my spiritual background has little to do with the Goddess and is actual opposite of it in many regards.

7th question asks me if I believe in a conscious being that can create life and the universe and how this being is; I like the idea of a Creatix instead of a Creator and see much of everything as tending to be female. Even many "male energies" I see as being Her all along. I suppose I believe in Passive energies and Active ones, Offensive vs Defensive, Kind Vs Harsh rather the n a strictly male-female polarity, male and female meant for each other way.

The 8th question asks how The concept of Goddess affects me; and needless to say I've always been enamored by Goddeses of Greek myth and much to no one's shock im a Greek hellenic devotee.

The final Question asks who or what is the Goddess; even if I believe in her as an actual creative energy, I feel we relate to her through powerful symbology to embody her power and to better worship her. We feel naturally attuned to Her and recognize her as a primordial mother that we as her daughters do things to please and she in turn helps us and our lives by giving guidance and meaning to.

And thus I'm closing off Cycle 1 of the book. Thanks for reading.

[hadeschan]

item # K22D03

RARE Pra Somdej Ketchaiyo, Pim Taan Gao Chan, Luang Phor Guay, Wat Khositaram, Nua Pong Namman, Lang Yant Ha. A Buddha amulet with a bas-relief of a Meditating Buddha in Dukkarakiriya (self-mortification or Fasting Buddha) seating on a 9 tiers platform, and in the back is with an imprint of a Yant Ha (a 5 Buddha cabalistic writing). Made from many types of holy powder, blended with tung oil or China wood oil, oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree. This style of Buddha amulet copied the work of Somdej Pra Buddhachan Toh of Wat Rakhang that made for Wat Ketchaiyo. Made by Luang Phor Guay of Wat Khositaram (Wat Ban Khae), Chai Nat Province around BE 2515 (CE 1972).

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The number 9 ('Gao') is the luckiest of them all: it is thought to be lucky because, when pronounced in Thai, it sounds like 'moving forward' (“Gao-nah”).

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BEST FOR: Moving forward, this amulet helps you get past obstacles to change your life in a significant way. This amulet has a tendency to draw positive energy. Kongkraphan Chatrie (it makes you invulnerable to all weapon attack), Klawklad Plodpai (it pushes you away from all danger), Maha-ut (it helps stop gun from shooting at you). Nang Nieow, a rock-hard skin that is completely impervious to damage with bludgeoning or piercing weapons. It signifies continuous growth and multiplication in wealth, money luck, and good fortune. Wealth Fetching, Maha Larp (it brings lucky wealth), Metta Maha Niyom (it helps bring loving, caring, and kindness, and compassion from people all around you to you), Mahasanay (Magic Charm) it helps turn you to prince charming in the eyes of girls, Maha Larp (it brings Lucky Wealth / wealth fetching), and Kaa Kaai Dee (it helps tempt your customers to buy whatever you are selling, and it helps attract new customers and then keep them coming back. Ponggan Poot-pee pee-saat Kunsai Mondam Sa-niat jan-rai Sat Meepit (it helps ward off evil spirit, demon, bad ghost, bad omen, bad spell, curse, accursedness, black magic, misfortune, doom, and poisonous animals). It helps protect you from manipulators, backstabbers, and toxic people. This amulet would grant your wish to have glorious future in your career, business, with success plus wealth and prosperity. And the force of the bad intentions / activities / behaviors from your enemies hitting you, the Khata Sà-tón Klap Spell puts an equal force back onto them, meaning those bad intentions / activities / behaviors bounce back up to your enemies.

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FASTING BUDDHA

After reaching enlightenment at Bodhgaya, Buddha meditated and fasted for forty-nine days. Thus, showing him as an emaciated renouncer relates to his enlightenment and his status as a yogic ascetic who has ultimate control over his body). In Buddhism, fasting is considered a method of purification. Fasting in Buddhism is to develop control of one’s attachments so the mind can be freed to develop higher awareness. Also fasting can be done so that one restricts from a pleasure (food) and dedicate it to someone sick, in need or dying. Basically to restrict one’s body from the normal food intake is to develop discipline, awareness, self-control and even appreciation for all one has.

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Pra Somdej Pim Taan Gao Chan

Pra Somdej Pim Taan Gao Chan is a Buddha amulet with Buddha seating on a 9 tiers platform, it has a hidden meaning that refers to Mak 4 + Phon 4 + Nipphan 1, the 9 passage to nirvana. They are 4 ways to enlightenment + 4 results after you control your desires ; sensuality ; lust by Mak 4 + nirvana 1 (the way that you can permanently stop your desires ; sensuality ; lust)…

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Yant Ha or Yant Pra Chao Ha Pra-ong or the Five Buddhas Yantra

The Five Buddhas Yantra (Cabalistic Writing), Five Buddhas in Theravada Buddhist Cosmology

The Five Wisdom Buddhas, a group of five “self-born” celestial Buddhas who have always existed from the beginning of time. The five are usually identified as Vairochana, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi. The Five buddhas are a development of the Buddhist Tantras. And they are aspects of the dharmakaya “dharma-body”, which embodies the principle of enlightenment in Buddhism. Each of the “self-born” Buddhas is also said to have manifested himself as an earthly Buddha, an Adi-Buddha (first, or primal, Buddha), and as a Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-be). The Five Buddhas represent:-

1)Vairochana Buddha (Principal deity/meditator), the wisdom of the essence of the dharma-realm meditation mudra.

2)Akshobhya Buddha (East), the wisdom of reflection.

3)Ratnasambhava Buddha (South), the wisdom of equanimity.

4)Amitābha Buddha (West), the wisdom of observation.

5)Amoghasiddhi Buddha (North), the wisdom of perfect practice.

The Power of 5 Buddhas

1.The 5 Buddhas would grant your wish to have glorious future in your career, business, with success plus wealth and prosperity

2.The 5 Buddhas would help bring your good karma from your past life to the present.

3.The 5 Buddhas would help pull you back when you get lost by your choice, and/or by forces beyond your control.

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“ขอศิษย์ทั้งหลายอย่าอดอย่าอยากอย่ายากอย่าจนอย่าต่ำกว่าคนอย่าจนกว่าเขา”

“All of my Looksit (disciples / followers /adherents/ worshippers / devotees) will be away from destitution, failure, hardship & difficulty in living, poverty, inferiority, and deterioration in quality of life.”

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Luang Phor Guay was highly respected by Luang Phor Pare of Wat Pikulthong, Singburi Province. Many Batches of Luang Phor Pare’s amulets were blessed by Luang Phor Guay first, Luang Phor Pare would bring them to Luang Phor Guay and ask Luang Phor Guay to bless them for him before the Grand Blessing Ceremonies…

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*All of the amulet made by Luang Phor Guay, the last mantra that Luang Phor Guay blessed on amulets was “The Khata Sà-tón Klap (The Bouncing Back Mantra)”. The force of the bad intentions / activities / behaviors from your enemies hitting you, the Khata Sà-tón Klap puts an equal force back onto them, meaning those bad intentions / activities / behaviors bounce back up to your enemies.

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LUANG PHOR GUAY

Luang Phor Guay was an abbot of Wat Kositaram (Wat Ban Khae), Chainat Province living between (BE 2448 to BE 2522)

Luang Phor Guay was a disciple of many Legendary Guru Monks, for instance;

- The Holy Luang Phu Tao of Wat Kaang Kaao, a senior brotherhood of Luang Phu Suk of Wat Pak Klong Makham-tao

- The Holy Luang Phu Sri of Wat Pra Prang

- The Holy Luang Phor Derm of Wat Nong Pho

The supernatural power of Luang Phor Guay experienced by his Looksit (disciples / followers /adherents/ worshippers / devotees).

1)An ability to know the future.

2)An ability to shoot clay ball bullets from a sling bow with cursive path (line of fire) to any targets Luang Phor Guay wanted, no matter how far they were.

3)An ability to make a ring to be put on anybody’s fingers no matter where they were by blowing rings from Luang Phor Guay’s palms.

4)Photo shootings without Luang Phor Guay’s permission, those photos would be blurry or camera malfunctions.

5)An ability to make people who just visited Luang Phor Guay not to recognize Luang Phor Guay after leaving Luang Phor Guay.

6)An ability to stop gun from firing at him or anyone

7)An ability to make gun malfunction by squeezing out a piece of cloth in his hands.

8)An ability to make ants to return to their nest hole.

9)An ability to bless chicken food, and made chickens eat it if the chickens or the chicken eggs were stolen, and later eaten by the thieves, the thieves would got Dermatophytosis or Ringworm on their skins.

10)An ability to use a rock tying up with a robe, and beat up his looksit, and looksit felt no pain.

11)An ability to stop the gun from firing by saying “the gun jammed”.

12)An ability to treat people with headache by pinching their own thumbs.

13)An ability to heal people with broken bones.

14)An ability to replace the pain during child labor from wives to their husbands.

15)An ability to turn a man to both a crocodile, and then a tiger or vice versa.

16)An ability to turn midrib of a banana leaf to a green snake, and a loincloth belt to a cobra.

17)An ability to turn leaves of Maerua siamensis (Kurz) Pax tree to wasps.

18)An ability to turn a joss stick wrapped with red paper to a Siamese fighting fish.

19)An ability to hold burning charcoal in his hands

20)An ability to pick anything that his hand could hold from anyplace, no matter how far they were.

21) Luang Phor Guay’s message to his looksit would come true.

22)An ability to make his amulets floating in the water or flying in the air.

23)An ability to command wasps to sting any people he wanted. And command turtles to search for anybody he wanted.

24)An ability to toss his amulets into the air, and those amulets were flying to people whom he wanted to give amulets to, no matter where they lived.

25)An ability to know if his Looksit were assaulted or in danger, no matter where they were at.

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THE AMULETS OF LUANG PHOR GUAY

Luang Phor Guay made and blessed all of his amulets by himself. Mon Pra Gaan, the Lord Kala in Sanskrit, the Pra Gaan Mantra, the one who is beyond time (death) and universe and all life within, and the god of death. Those who have good intentions of using Luang Phor Guay’s amulets would be blessed, those who are not will be doomed. And all amulets made by Luang Phor Guay, at the final of blessing ritual, Luang Phor Guay would end with Khata Sa-ton-klap. Such Khata has a power that helps protect amulet wears from manipulators, backstabbers, and toxic people. Not only protection from those kind of people, but also people who are thinking a “bad” thought about the amulet wearers will also be doomed.

REMARK: According to Looksit (disciples / followers / adherents / worshippers / devotees) of Luang Phor Guay, Luang Phor Guay made amulets every day to release his mind power (Grasin Fire) that generated heat in his body, and Luang Phor Guay NEVER made amulets for sale. Luang Phor Guay just gave amulets to anybody he wanted.

THE BLESSING PROCESS OF AMULETS OF LUANG PHOR GUAY

Luang Phor Guay blessed his amulets at the 7 times of the day firstly in the early morning, in the late morning, in the afternoon, in the late afternoon, in the evening, in the late evening, and at midnight. These 7 times of blessing was said to be the blessing process of Black Magic, and to prolong/extent the lives of people who wear his amulets in case that people’s lifespan on earth are shorten by their bad karma. And only best guru monks or Best white robe masters could perform such rituals. Luang Phor Guay would pick the day on auspicious constellations (Rerk Mongkon), master of devil constellations (Rerk Boon Phraya Maan), and criminal constellations (Jora Rerk). Luang Phor Guay said that the Rerk Boon Phraya Maan, and Jora Rerk are constellations that help criminals, and evil people to successfully commit their crimes, and amulets of Luang Phor Guay would perform miracles to persuade those bad people to believe in good and bad karma, then they will return to support Buddhism, and finally, they will be decent citizens.

…………………………………………………

DIMENSION: 3.60 cm high / 2.40 cm wide / 0.70 cm thick

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item # K22D03

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[tenjin-no-shinja]

Chapter 7: Beans versus Demons

All photos and videos are mine, please do not use without asking. The above video is from the Setsubun Festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, the local Maiko and Geiko come out and throw lucky beans called 福豆 to the crowds. They also performed with was neat.

The Setsubun festival is one of the year’s most important, not because it is solemn and intense in its exorcism of whatever raging demons are besieging the community, but rather because it is noisy and lively, illuminated by bonfires and punctuated with the sound of laughter and excited screams as magical talismans are hurled into the void of the night sky. Setsubun means “change of seasons,” but as its mythic charter prescribes, the festival’s purpose is purification and the ending of evil…. I prefer a ruddy-faced grandmother’s recounting of the story as we stood warming our hands beside a bonfire of last year’s amulets and New year’s decorations:

Long, long ago, a terrible demon lived in a cave… not only did it commit all sorts of crimes during the day, it also came out at night to snatch young girls and do things to them I can’t tell you about because you’re a man, and it wouldn’t be proper [giggles]. Brave warriors tried to kill it, but they themselves were killed or defeated. Mountain ascetics tried to exorcise it with various spells and incantations, but its evil was too strong for even the sacred sutras they were using… one day, seven wise men… arrived at the cave and pooled their great learning to fight that demon. You might think they had some special magical prayer but no, what they did was to throw parched beans into the cave, and then they blocked the entrance with the heads of sardines and the leaves of the hiragi tree… Don’t ask me why it was beans and sardines…because they were magic and kept that demon in the cave forever.

Pages 64-65

[pof203]

A Summoner Birthday

Previous post: https://pof203.tumblr.com/post/724063985494818816/a-summoner-birthday

Story (Chapter 9 Part 2)

Boundless Tail!!

With one strike from your sword, you end the battle.

FLASH

What? What am I doing?! Why am I attack?!

And more importantly, why is Lupin here?!

You see, it's like this...

One explanation later...

Zao: So that explains it. I was just posting pictures for our club on our club's website.

Yule: I think I was looking at the same thing. I'm sorry sorry we attacked you.

No apologize needed. You guys were just under a spell, that's all.

Zoa: We know. But still, we have to make up for it. If there's anything, anything at all, please tell us.

You think for a moment... Then you have something.

Lupin: Well, I know Arachne designed our clothes to help us in the cold, but we could use a little rest and warming up. Maybe you could use your Rule to make us a hot spring.

Zoa: (happy) That's a great idea.

Yule: We made a hot spring resort last Christmas, I'm sure we can do it again using this barn. It doesn't seem to belong to anyone. But even with Zao's Rule, building it will take some time.

Oh, it won't take long... If we use a little magic.

Yule: Yeah, that could work.

Here's hoping it does.

Hecate: Then let's get started! Role of the Alchemist. Rule of the Arcane. Engrave mine name, Hecate, onto thee...

Crossroad of Destiny!!

Using her Rule of the Arcane, Hecate casts a spell on Zao and Yule so they can do their job faster.

Zao: Role of the Ascetic. Rule of Traverse. Engrave mine name, Zao, onto thee...

Yule: Role of the Deliverer. Rule of Gliding. Engrave mine name, Yule, onto thee...

Third Eye!!

Serendipitous Delivery!!

With their combined Rules, it didn't take long for the barn to be changed.

Yule: All finished!

Lupin: This is wonderful. Thanks, you three.

Zao: You're welcome, my fellow mountaineer.

A little later, you're all relaxing someplace nice and toasty.

(sighing happily) This is the life. Just what the doctor ordered.

I know what you mean, My Lupin. If feels like we're in a resort.

I gotta hand it to ya, you did a pretty sweet job.

Thank you, Kengo. It's just a shame Yule can't join us. He says he's warm enough.

...

Lupin: Is something wrong, Zabaniyya?

Wakan Tanka: It's alright to tell us, My Zabaniyya. We're all friends here.

Kengo: (laughing) Maybe's just shy.

Zabaniyya: It's not that. I'm just wondering... if he should join us...

You're all silent for a bit because you know who he's talking about.

Zabaniyya: ... You know, it's probably for the best. I don't think he even has the right out fit for it.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

(from the girl's side) Perhaps next time. (If Life Wonders will give him such an outfit.)

Zabaniyya: Perhaps you're right. I'd hate for him to feel not included, even though he possessed me that time and still is.

Wakan Tanka: We know. Especially... if you join the Summoners.

Lupin: That's right, I forgot. If you join us, so does he.

Zabaniyya: I know I should hate him because, when he possessed me, I missed so much. But I can't bring myself to do. In some way, he's a part of me... He is me.

Wakan Tanka: I understand how you feel, My Zabaniyya. It's the same with me and the me who is a World Rep. But we both found common ground. We both love Our Lupin and want nothing more than to be with him. Maybe your found your common ground, but don't know what it is yet.

Zao: My Third Eye is showing me that he's right. You'll find it soon enough.

Zabaniyya: ... (happy) Thank you all. I'm sure we will find it.

Lupin: We know you will. We have faith in you... The both of you.

Zabaniyya smiles at this hope for the future as you enjoy the hot springs before moving on.

To be continued...

[gawrkin]

Because the idea bug continues to bite me and I've let my thoughts stew, here's more concepts to throw in the Mirror Universe pot:

The Dames of the Round Table are not warrior-women, but powerful and intelligent sorceresses Miracle-working wisewomen (*wink, wink*). Sagely ladies who go travel around, defeat various foes and aid those in need using cleverness instead of brawn, meeting each other during festivals, and compete against each other using trickery and enchantment. It's sort of a cross between Magical Girls and the Mystical Wandering Ascetics/Saints. (*There's actually some synergy with real life Celtic Christianity)

Morgan herself is still raised in a convent, learning magic, theology and natural philosophy and is a kind of Virgin Mary-esque figure. Like regular Arthur, Morgan is ignorant of her royal heritage until she performs a miraculous act* that has her crowned as Maiden Queen of Logres, to the distaste of Older Queens who rebel against her. (*I haven't figured out would be the sword-in-the-stone equivalent should be)

Sebile, as stated before, is basically the Sir Kay equivalent. She is Morgan's sworn sister-in-arms from the convent and was the greatest and most powerful member of the round table with many cool abilities, only to be nerfed and humiliated by the heroines of later stories, like Dindraine.

Similarly, other enchantresses, like the Queen of Norgales, Brisen, Annowres, Hellawes, etc. fulfill analoguous roles to the male counterparts.

Of course, Guinevere is the Lancelot analogue, with everything that implies.

Nimue/Vivien is, naturally, the Merlin to Morgan's Arthur. The unique spin here is that Nimue is one of the few warrior-women in this universe. She's an elderly fairy amazon, ala Scathach, who advices and protects Morgan mostly through martial prowess rather than magic. Tragically, she falls in love with a young clerk named Merlin, whom she teaches martial arts but its betrayed when Merlin ties her to rock and thrown into a lake to get away from her improper affections.

Merlin becomes the Wild Man/Lord of the Wood who protects Morgan from Arthur's assaults and helps the Dames from time to time.

Arthur is Morgan's brother who opposes her, also learning Martial arts from Nimue, leading him to become a powerful, superhuman, otherworldly warrior and terrorist who traps many unwitting ladies in his many domains, raiding and pillaging many kingdoms. You can imagine him as basically your prototypical dark lord with a Celtic theme, complete with spikey horned helmet.

Arthur is so powerful, being able to uproot trees, toss boulders, knock down castles, cause earthquakes with his footsteps and breath fire. He's so terrifying, many liken him to a godlike demonic monster, leading to his name Arthur la Guivre (Arthur the Viper/Dragon).

Arthur la Guivre is very promiscuous, having many lovers and trying to seduce various ladies, especially Guinevere, whom he has an affection for.

The Knights of the Round Table basically become the Wild Hunt in this AU. The sound of their horses as they ride through the sky resembles thunder and the howling winds, their weapons are so shiny and flash like lightning. They're terrifying shadowy horsemen and quasi-ogre-like monsters who elude the Dames efforts to maintain Order.

They're also rarely named: The King of Brittany, the King of Wales, The King of the Glass Island and King of the Wasteland, Lord of the Fens, etc.

Sometimes, Arthur himself is called Lord of the Wood. He's lives in a Paradisical Realm in a Cave under a Mountain that he takes Morgan to after the Battle of Camlann and the Fall of Camelot.

As result of his might, Arthur is often beaten by the Dames via trickery and indirect means, getting hoodwink and his plans foiled.

The chief religious artifact the Dames of the Round Table search for is the Holy Clau or the Holy Rood. It's has some ambiguous relationship to either the Claimh Solais or the Spear of Lug, but generally speaking, its either the Cross that Jesus was crucified on or its the nail that pierced his hands and feet. It was brought on over to Britain by St. Elen, who becomes the matriarch to many noble families and siring the Rood Queens. Bonus points if the topic of Christ's-wounds-as-a-vagina is brought up.

The three Rood Dames are: Dindraine (the original heroine of the religious quest), Melora (Guinevere's daughter and the fancy new uber-idealized heroine) and one of Guinevere's cousins (Jandree, Eliabel, etc.)

Lancelot and Guinevere still get into an affair.

Lancelot still gets kidnapped a lot.

THIS time its Guinevere who becomes feral at some point lol

Guinevere's seminal adventure is Lady of the Sack, where Guinevere has to disguise herself by wearing a dirty old sack (a common punishment for female criminals), getting rotten fruit thown at her and humiliated in order to rescue Lancelot.

Arthurian Mirror/Role Reversal AU, where Morgan is the Once and Future Queen, leader of the Dames of the Round Table, who search for the Holy Clau or Holy Rood.

Meanwhile Arthur becomes the Supernatural Raider/Wild Man called "Arthur la Guivre", who terrorizes Morgan's kingdom but ultimately rescues his sister after the final battle, bringing her over to his Otherworldly realm under a Mountain.

Sebile becomes the Sir Kay of this AU.

[edoro]

Do you have any more Thoughts about Phillip making a grimwalker of himself? And maybe what that grimwalkers relationship with Hunter would be like?

oh i DO have more thoughts! thank you for asking!

this might be a little unorganized because i'm just kind of dumping my character ideas and what vague concept of a plot/life trajectory i have here, bear with me

so, first of all, i think this grimwalker predates Hunter by a lot. the idea of Hunter and a Philip grimwalker being raised together and interacting is a lot of fun, but the au with Wik/William has that covered imo so i went in a different direction

so my idea is that the two grimwalkers are the ones who Philip has when he first ascends to power as Belos. he makes them the same age, approximately 5 or 6, and what he tells them is that they had to live elsewhere in secret while he took power so no one could use them to hurt him, but now he has this big castle and a secure foothold and they can come live with him, and he tells them he's their father and raises them as twins.

the Caleb grimwalker is named Artemis. per my transfem Caleb headcanon, she's one of Philip's more successful unethical gender experiments - he more or less force femmed her and just raised her as a girl from the start, and while this has historically resulted in some Very Weird Dysphoria and been a contributing factor to the betrayal of several early attempts, it actually works out okay with her because she is in fact a girl, although sadly not really the sturdy farmbutch that Philip wants her to be.

(she's more of a reserved femme type - presentatio-wise, very good Puritan girl fashion, long full skirts and high-necked, long-sleeved blouses in sturdy knits and basic colors, enormous long hair that she usually keeps either up for running around or loose when she's attending meetings etc - not a lot of jewelry or ornamentation, but she has some fancier clothes for Special Occasions

personality-wise she's dutiful, serious, thoughtful but very headstrong and stubborn. she takes her role as princess seriously and genuinely believes that one day she will inherit the throne, so she sees herself as having a duty of care to the people of the Isles - kind of the 'best possible outcome' of a belief in monarchy here, where she sees herself as a superior kind of person and believes this gives her a responsibility to care for and guide those below her and do what's best for them.

as she grows older she learns to temper her impulses, and thinks her decisions through very carefully. after all, she's been taught her whole life that Her Actions Have Consequences, so, if she's going to do or say something, then she needs to be aware of and okay with the potential consequences. this means she's thoughtful but also means that once she's made up her mind, it's almost impossible to change it, because she's already considered every angle and decided she's okay with whatever she can imagine happening as a result.)

the Philip grimwalker is named Mortification-Of-The-Flesh, because Philip is not a subtle man. they call him Morty for short. he's the whipping boy, of course, so his life sucks so incredibly bad because he's the one designated to Suffer For Artemis's Sake.

(and also more than a little for Philip's sake too.)

Morty is a twitchy haunted mess of a recluse with absolutely apocalyptic amounts of rage simmering just beneath the surface at all times. he treats Philip with terrified obedience and respect bordering on worship, is wholeheartedly devoted to Artemis (who is, after all, the entire purpose for his own existence), and is a rude, sarcastic, nasty little shit to absolutely everyone else if he ever interacts with them.

his needs are provided for the same as Artemis's, but of course he's dressed in a much plainer, more ascetic style - lots of black and grey, you know. Philip keeps his head shaved to encourage humility. he's not given a staff or taught how to use magic or how to defend himself at all - that's Artemis's responsibility.

(she's not quite raised as a soldier the way, say, Hunter is later, but she is shown how to use an artificial staff and given combat training, and does eventually get given the position of Golden Guard, i think. in her case it's a lot more "personal bodyguard/caretaker/assistant to the Emperor" rather than the all-around gopher position we see Hunter have.)

he's punished frequently and harshly for any misstep on his sister's part, and he never really gets used to it or quite figures out how to disengage from himself while it's happening. really, his suffering is the point, so if you look at it that way, it would be wrong of him to, right? Artemis watches his punishments and is responsible for patching him up afterwards, to really drive home the lesson that this is her responsibility.

they are... very codependent. they both sort of see Morty as, basically, part of her. not even quite like they're both one person or conjoined in some way, but like he's one of her limbs, something that has no independent will of its own and could not function or exist separately from her, and which ultimately exists only to be controlled and used by her. totally healthy normal sibling relationship here!

Morty's very angry a lot of the time. he has an interesting status - barely even a person in his own family, but he exists to be punished for them, not for anyone else. since he isn't really an independent person and he doesn't really have any autonomy and he exists as the living embodiment of Philip and Artemis's penance, then he can't really get in trouble for anything he does to anyone else, right?

so he's just kind of an asshole and a terror to most other people. the castle staff and coven heads stay out of his way. this is easy because he likes to keep to himself anyway.

he lives a very aimless sort of life, just drifting around the castle or trailing after Artemis. he picks up a lot of gossip, i imagine, and shares it with her, and he's her errand boy whenever she wants to get something done without being seen to have done it herself.

i think these two make it into their early to mid 20s.

at some point, something happens, i'm not exactly sure what, but it's a bit of a lightbulb moment for Artemis. she realizes that Morty is, in fact, An Entire Separate Person, and furthermore that this whole whipping boy arrangement is extremely fucked up, and mulls that over for a bit and comes to the conclusion that it should stop, but when she tries to present this idea to their father, well, it does not go very well to say the least.

this earns Morty a ferocious punishment, and to really drive the point home, Philip makes Artemis be the one to inflict it. she does learn a lesson here, but not the one he wanted: she learns that perhaps her father is wrong and is not as reasonable as he likes to act, and decides that she and Morty need to get out of there. (and maybe she can go spend some time living amongst the common people, learning how they see things, etc etc...)

so that's a whole thing, she does the like Mulan plot-relevant haircut, dresses them both up all incognito and takes some money and goes. they end up wandering for a bit and then finally settle in a city a ways away from the castle, and get taken in by some good samaritan who recognizes they need help and offers them a room to rent and work at their business.

they have, oh, maybe a year or two of freedom, but of course eventually Philip catches them. :o) he kills both of them, burns down the shop/apartment, and has the person who housed them captured to publicly execute and Make An Example Out Of - see what this vicious wild witch did to his poor dear children?

he made sure to keep a bit more distance between himself and the next couple of grimwalkers, and he never made one of himself again.

[themysticalbookletsworld]

Like a rainbow among the clouds…like drops of rain in fresh soil

You penetrated into my heart as a thorn of love

A naughty desire is tormenting me as my wish is not fulfilled

Will it intensify my crazy love towards you or destroy it?

You are a lover that I have always longed for…You are a distant damsel

You are a little devil that don’t take pity on me…You are the strong will of my heart

You have beautiful fish like eyes…you are a peculiar female ascetic

You are my moon in darkness…Oh come to me, my girl!

How can I live without you? Come to me, my girl! Let my eyes see you!!

I am yearning for you…you are my heart beat

Hey Cutie! Beauty! My heart fell for you magically

It is desperately coming for you…it’s uttering your name and behaving like you in order to reach you

I will wait endlessly to see you…be it days or years…even hundreds of years

I am ready to face any hurdles…even tornadoes...I will be with you always

Oh love! Shall we live together with never ending happiness?

How can I live without you? Come to me, my girl! Let my eyes see you!!

Oh my goodness! You are a charming lady…you are an unforgettable lovely feeling

I can see your smiles of joy and sparks of eyes in the depths of my heart

Whatever I do…wherever I am…I always see you, you are the girl of my dreams

I would cut open my heart and place you in it…I would worship you with the flowers of my blood

Lets push back the time…lets write our story again

How can I live without you? Come to me, my girl! Let my eyes see you!!

[cassiachloe]

Locks, also known as Dreadlocks, Elf Locks, Locs, Dreads, Plica, Fairy-locks or in Sanskrit, Jaṭā, are one of the eldest hair styles in the world. Idigenious to every continent, locks are rich in history & meaning. For many they represent wisdom, protection and magic, though for each individual and culture the meaning is vastly different.

Exploring the global history of locks: 'The oldest depiction of locs is in ancient Crete, now part of Greece, in 1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization. Locked hair has also been found in mummified remains of ancient Egypt. A photograph in 1885 depicts a Native American Chief with locked hair. The style was also worn by Ancient Christian Ascetics in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and the Dervishes of Islam, among others. Some of the very earliest adherents of Christianity in the Middle East may have worn this hairstyle; there are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who is said to have worn them to his ankles.In Senegal, the Baye Fall, followers of the Mouride movement, a Sufi movement of Islam founded in 1887 AD by Shaykh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are famous for growing dreadlocks and wearing multi-colored gowns. Maasai warriors are known for their long, thin, red dreadlocks, dyed with red root extracts or red ochre. Some Indigenous Australians of North West and North Central Australia have historically worn their hair in a locked style, sometimes also having long beards that are fully or partially locked. Within Tibetan Buddhism and other more esoteric forms of Buddhism, locks have occasionally been substituted for the more traditional shaved head. Rastafari movement dreadlocks are symbolic of the Lion of Judah. Their dreadlocks were inspired by the Nazarites of the Bible. In Europe the ‘Polish Plait’ or ‘plica’ is documented and depicted in the 1700’s, though dates back much further and is associated with European folklore. ‘Elflocks’ worn by Druids who were the shamans and mystics of the Celts. The earliest written record of ‘Elflocks’ in folklore comes from the 15th Century Shakespeare in 'Romeo and Juliet' worn by the gypsy girl Mercutio. ‘Elflocks’ too are discussed in Jane Eyre worn by the fortune teller. In folk-lore, ‘Elflocks’ or ‘Fairy-locks’ are thought to be made by faeries, and thought to be unlucky if combed out.'

I’ve named only a few examples of locks around the world, and they are rich in History, and I do not doubt the style is as old as humanity itself. Dreadlocks today are seen throughout the world, and more famously known as worn in both Rastafarianism and by the Sadhu Ascetic Monks in India.

In the UK, locs have long been associated with gypsies, druids and the Windrush generation of the 40’s-60s. Later, locs became an integrated part of a variety of old and new music cultures, and free music culture, as well counter-cultural and political movements.

I can recall when travelling different people’s reactions to my hair. The reaction of Cambodian people, who repeatedly asked if I was ‘voodoo’, as they felt my hair was worn only by witches, especially knowing my vegetarian diet. Where as, while traveling in China my hair was met with a lot of mistrust, so I tied my hair back with a scarf, which changed people’s reaction towards me drastically.

I won't go into their meaning for me in this post. Nor would I even try to express or communicate the meaning of locks to others and different cultures. Yet it's fascinating to explore the breadth and depth of such an ancient hair style.

[gascon-en-exil]

I'm on a roll today; I finished Roland's route, Morality+Utility. It's pretty much the polar opposite of Benedict's, in gameplay and in theme.

Let's talk about the gameplay first. While Benedict's route features mostly open terrain and only really surprises with the Holy One's wacky supernatural shenanigans in the last chapter, the hardest thing about Roland's route may in fact be the terrain as there's a lot of verticality to work around. Svarog at the Twinsgate is basically a divide and conquer, but then you get to Aesfrost proper and things get more chaotic. Gustadolph has a multi-target long range attack similar to the Holy One, but because of all the houses and stairs and such on his map he's easier to corner and take out.

The real surprise though is that Gustadolph isn't the final boss, and that after he's defeated Svarog uses the Deathsknell cannon on Aesfrost's giant blast furnace and covers the city in molten lava. He wants the country to go out in a blaze of glory and is obviously still not over the murder of his son, but as final bosses go Svarog is less of a threat than the map you fight him on which is filled with the aforementioned rivers of lava and little islands of debris that you and the enemies have to navigate. It's a messy fight and just getting to Svarog is a pain, but as I said he's a little underwhelming for a final boss. That's probably the point though, as Aesfrost's defeat feels like a more personal, human tragedy than Hyzante's in Benedict's route. There you see nothing of the Hyzantian people as you invade their city and tear down their religion, but here Gustadolph rallies the Aesfrosti people to go down fighting in the name of freedom because populism is just part of his platform (despite being a noble ruling by hereditary right...eh, just go with it). Roland pointedly refuses to take his revenge by cleanly executing Gustadolph, and he and later Svarog slowly bleed out in the snow.

As for the ending and epilogue - even when information was being datamined I saw people on Discord calling this darkest ending, describing it as Roland being brainwashed into a cult. I can't say I agree, or at least that it's any worse than Benedict's. Ideologically it's the opposite: allowing a minority to suffer for the good of the many, as opposed to Benedict's ending where Gustadolph's principles of freedom allow a small number of people to profit at the expense of everyone else. Neither of them are good, per se, but Roland finds inner peace under the Goddess after spending an entire game being dragged down and even gets a little resolution with the girl who tried to stab him in Chapter 15, who's happy now with the peace and plentiful resources provided by Hyzante. The flip side to this is that Exharme was sent to destroy Aesfrost's Archives (except Svarog burned them up so he didn't have to, lucky him) and that the Roselle and religious dissidents remain in forced labor, but I do think this ending works out on balance with Benedict's.

Meanwhile, Geela hears of a bald nun preaching a different set of beliefs involving a great saltwater sea, and so we learn that Frederica hasn't given up on her dream of freeing the Roselle. Funny that both Roland and Frederica become religious ascetics in the endings where they leave Serenoa...I wonder what will become of Benedict in Frederica's ending. (Also, if you're determined to enjoy some gay brocon in spite of the dearth of subtext, this is probably the best option for that, as Roland never learns that they're brothers and he and Serenoa enjoy a pleasant companionship as two of the Saintly Seven. This also reminded me that Roland gets his seat in the Seven because the hierophant drops a magic nuke on Tenebris, just like in Benedict's last chapter. Truly, he is the most expendable of the Seven.)

Onto my third run, mostly for Liberty but with enough Morality to go for Frederica's ending. I probably won't have more than two posts on this next run as I'm going to have to start repeating some story paths, but I will keep updating regardless.

[jesscmy]

Jessamy was born in the early 17th century who immigrated with her parents to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640.

Jessamy's parents were devoted puritan converts who were eager for the ascetic lifestyle that came with such a religion. Jessamy's childhood and early teen years were not particularly happy, mired in the brutal winters and hard work of Puritan life in the early American colonies.

At nineteen, Jessamy was accused of witchcraft along with several other women in the colony. Despite her pleas for leniency, she was tried as a witch and sentenced to hang. Jessamy had, in fact, been dabbling in occult practices, but she possessed no real power and had done nothing of substance. It was solely lonely girl's attempt to escape an unhappy life.

Jessamy was reborn as one of Eve's Ravens and was devoted to serving the Endless. She found the sort of freedom and magic that she had always craved. She came into Morpheus's service about fifty years after her mortal death and was with him until her death at the hand's of Alex Burgess in 1926, ten years into her master's captivity.

When Morpheus was capture, Jessamy found her own powers weakened considerably. She feared being able to make it back to the Dreaming alone in her weakened state, and she feared what might happen to Morpheus if she could not make it.

Seeing a possible means of escape, Jessamy took advantage of an opened door and attempted to break the glass only to be shot by Alex, her second and seemingly last life ended.

Several years later, Jessamy was reborn in London as a mortal called Jessa Milton. She was a normal child albeit a far happier one than she had been in her first mortal life. She had no memories of her previous lives until the day Morpheus escaped his prison. Upon his release, Jessa Milton remembered both of her lives as Jessamy as well as her master.

Now something between mortal and otherworldly, she is coming to terms with the reality of what she is and what she was.

Note: What Jessamy does with this information and how she handles the influx of memories varies based on plot. It can run the gambit from takes it in stride to full breakdown.

Relationship with Morpheus: It is also worth noting that Jessamy has deep - often romantic - feelings for Morpheus. This is in part the result of intimacy over two hundred years before the Raven's death. Whether or not this is requited or unrequited would be up to other roleplayers.

[tros-for-dinner]

Like, okay, I need to talk about trauma a second

I’m reading The Body Keeps the Score right now - it’s a pretty comprehensive book about PTSD and trauma, and treatment of trauma-related mental illnesses and, like, I just keep thinking about Kylo (Ben)

In one sentence: Kylo is a deeply traumatized man and I can’t stop thinking about it.

As a general rule I don’t care about the ancillary materials, but “absentee parents” and “being left with droid caretakers that tried to kill him” is trauma - he didn’t have someone to comfort him and his usual caretakers weren’t safe. He probably started acting out, as what happens to kids that go through that. He was also deeply empathetic (metaphorically represented by being strong in the Force) so every lie that was told to him, every time someone feared him because of his ancestors, every time someone tried to use him because of his family - those are all wounds, too. Then, maybe because he was acting out, maybe because he was a deeply religious kid, he goes to live the ascetic life with his beloved Uncle Luke.

And I know this is my own headcanon, but knowing what I now know about trauma: he was still suffering the emotional effects of trauma. The fear, the mistrust, the anxiety, the anger - his fellow Force-sensitive students (and Luke) could feel those emotions. In the Jedi tradition, you either shut that shit down or you’re assumed to be on the road to the Dark Side.

Here’s the problem: the fear, the anxiety, the anger triggered by the pain of trauma can’t just be meditated away. It’s fight/flight instinct; it’s literally the oldest, most sub-conscious part of the brain reacting to the memory of pain and trying to prevent future pain. You can’t control it. You can’t reason with it. You either heal it or it controls you.

Luke can feel that his methods aren’t working but he hasn’t been trained in psychology so he has no idea how to fix this problem. Luke is deeply afraid of the Dark Side, and he was taught that emotions - a deeply-rooted function of the brain - are inherently ‘evil’ and cause self-destruction for the Jedi. Luke has a “all or nothing” “either I do it all or I’m a failure” mindset so he starts feeling despair at the bitter taste of failure. One night, out of pure fear, he takes an uninhibited look into his nephew’s mind (notably, without his consent) and sees how bad things could be in the future. For an instant, he honestly considers killing Ben to prevent that future from happening.

Here’s a question: what would you do if you woke up to a trusted, beloved family member pointing a loaded, safety-off shotgun at you, and you could feel without a doubt that they were definitely ready to kill you?

You would feel abject terror. Wounds from trusted loved ones can be the most painful, and this was a wound that eclipsed every other in Ben’s life. He escapes, and then falls into the hands of Snoke.

(I hate how the ancillary materials totally erased Ben’s agency by making Snoke influence his mind even before he was born. Grooming from a young age? That would have been fine. But as it is, it’s a supernatural element that oversimplifies and makes unbelievable a story that could have been more powerful.)

In my mind, Snoke doesn’t even have to be Force-sensitive: his gift is that he can tell what people wants, and he controls those people by promising what they want (and getting his victims just close enough to what they want so they keep coming back for more).

So he sees Ben and sees the perfect mark: someone who believes they’re inherently a bad person (drowning in shame, an instinct that is extremely self-isolating), enraged with pain, who has been indoctrinated into black-and-white thinking by the culture/religion he grew up in.

Snoke promises Ben 1. respect (i.e. a form of connection in which you don’t have to be vulnerable) and 2. power (which appeals to Ben’s helplessness).

All of us wear different “hats” depending on the situation we’re in: at work, we wear Customer Service or Manager hats. At home, we wear Caregiver or Partner or Roommate hats. Walking out to our cars in the dark, or taking the bus in a bad neighborhood, we might swagger with a Don’t Fuck With Me attitude. We hide or reveal parts of our personality depending on the tools we need in the situation.

Ben creates a persona to hide his shame, protect himself from vulnerability, and deaden the part of his conscience that objects to being part of an organization that is hurting people like his family was hurt. This persona is named Kylo Ren, and it uses the mask and robes like a magic spell to summon the gravitas and influence of his ancestor. But most importantly, the mask and robes shield him from the outside world as protection, but also to hide his shame and any emotions that aren’t ‘acceptable’ (’acceptable’ being anger, mostly).

The thing about shame is that it separates us from the people around us, preventing us from making meaningful connections. This is devastating to the human mind, because humans survive in groups (and our brain evolved to seek groups out). Bringing shame out into the light in the presence of someone you trust is usually enough to exorcise it.

Kylo doesn’t have anyone he can trust, and he is drowning in shame. He is totally isolated and knows he’s nothing but a weapon in Snoke’s hand. Snoke cultivates his shame and isolation because it makes Kylo easy to control. But then, totally by happenstance, Kylo meets Rey.

I hear people talk about ‘the power of love’ and I used to think it was total bullshit. I realize now that’s because visual media usually simplifies ‘love’ into ‘physical attraction’. In reality, love contains a spectrum of elements that are essential to a healthy, functioning mind. Specifically: a place you feel safe (a place where you feel trust, where you feel genuine connection, where you feel wanted, where you feel heard and seen and understood). The entire spectrum of intimacy (emotional, physical, and sexual) spans this need for a place to feel safe and known.

So Kylo meets this girl and a couple of things happen. 1. he realizes he isn’t actually alone. There is someone in the whole of the galaxy who might be his equal. 2. Totally inadvertently, Rey exposes his deepest shame (that he can’t live up to the legacy, that he is hurting himself for nothing) and brings it out into the light.

And, like, all of that would be disrupting enough, but then something even more important happens. See, Snoke built the expectation in Kylo’s mind that if Kylo cut away everyone who loved him, Kylo would be stronger, would be more powerful. Kylo gets the opportunity to cut away his father in the most final way - to kill him - and he takes the opportunity.

As soon as he kills Han - the very second after he ignites his saber - he realizes that Snoke was lying. It didn’t make him more powerful, it just makes things worse.

So while he’s reeling from that realization, his mind instinctively reaches out for connection, for people who might understand. I once read a meta that the Force Skype scenes in TLJ are initiated when Rey feels lonely, which I totally 100% buy into, but I’d suggest the connection happens when both of them are feeling lonely or hurt.

As far as I’m concerned, they bridged their own minds - Snoke took credit because he knew that would be devastating to Ben. Ben and Rey experience emotional intimacy and through their connection, they both start to heal a little from their individual traumas.

I went on a bit of a tangent there but here’s what I’m trying to get to: trauma doesn’t just go away. You don’t just flip a switch, forget about the past, and move on with your life. If you don’t heal, then that trauma and the damage to your brain persists. It takes time and an enduring safe place to heal. So I’m sitting here, trying to imagine what that healing could look like in-universe. And I’m just thinking about the fact that Episode 9 could have been about healing. They gave Rey the gift of healing. The moviemakers had a love story all wrapped up in a bow that could have been a metaphor for the healing power of love. They had all these traumatized characters that could have experienced healing. We, the audience, could have experienced the healing power of catharsis.

And in conclusion, I’m just thinking about Adam Driver performing this incredibly relatable character and TLJ’s Reylo and Luke&Rey plotlines being what they are - and just feeling deep gratitude.