#mediaeval demon

[detroitlib]

From our stacks: Illustration "Mediaeval Demon [MS. Decretals]," from Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair. By Henry Morley. With Facsimile Drawings, Engraved Upon Wood, by the Brothers Dalziel. London: Chapman and Hall, 1859.

[geschiedenisish]

Dutch 1500s witchcraft

I saw a lot of satanic posts on my feed today, so I thought I'd just drop this Dutch prayer here I found in a 1500s book;

“I adjure you, Ashtaroth, by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and by the Virgin Mary and by holy obedience, etc., that as long as this candle burns, through the fire, N., the daughter of N. becomes inflamed and burns with love and desire for me, so that she neither wakes nor sleeps nor eats nor drinks nor does anything until she has submitted herself to my will.” (In the places of N you need to fill in the relevant names.)

“Ik bezweer u, Astaroth, by de Vader en de Zoon en de H. Geest, en by de Maagd Maria en by de heilige gehoorzaamheid enz. dat, zolang deze kaars brandt door het vuur, N., de dochter van N. ontstoken wordt en brandt van liefde en begeerte voor my, zodat ze niet waakt of slaapt, eet of drinkt, of wat anders doet totdat ze zich aan myn wil heeft onderworpen.”

Source; "Middeleeuwse witte en zwarte magie in het Nederlands taalgebied" (Medieval white and black magic in the Dutch language area) written in 1997 by historian Willy L. Braekman.

The book is full of examples of how Dutch witchcraft was truely practised in the Mediaeval and Early Modern Netherlands. (The book is in Dutch, but is fully in txt form so you can easily put Google Translate on it.) So not the stuff that innocent women were accused of, but how people truely used magic to improve their lives.

Most of it is little things against small pains, finding lost things or stuff like that. But one of the biggest claims was the above prayer that can get you a girl. (Or a boy of course. Just replace 'daughter' with 'son'.)

Hope y'all can enjoy it and put some use out of it! :)

Also out of the book as a whole! I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in witchcraft and how our ancestors truely practised it in the past. <3 (It was more nuanced and interesting than the outrageous accusations thrown at innocent women.)

[j-august]

At Prague John Dee told the Emperor Rudolph II that for forty years he had sought knowledge, only to find that no book or living man could tell him what he wanted. He had therefore determined, with the aid of a special stone and holy angels, to make intercession to God to reveal to him the nature of his creation. In his dealings with angels he was always careful to ensure that the spirits which came to him were good, and not demons. At no point in his occult wanderings did he consider himself to have passed the bounds of Christianity.

Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic

[morelorethenthereseem]

“some says she’s a demon of a Swordswoman.

But it’s more fair to say she’s a swordswoman of a Demon…”

[the-mediaeval-monk]

If there was anything that medieval monks were terrified of, it was demons. As monks were dedicated to God that meant they were good and holy. (Well, in theory at least. Check out my Misbehaving Medieval Monks series for examples of monks not behaving themselves!) Demons do not like it when people are good. Following this logic, it’s only natural that demons would look at a monk and decide to tempt him away from God. Or if the demon didn’t feel like tempting anyone, they would cause some mischief instead. There are a lot of medieval primary sources recording just that. This series will share stories of medieval monks and their run-ins with demons. Today’s source is A Monk’s Confession: The Memoirs of Guibert of Nogent.

[airandangels]

I still really want a movie or show about the Frankish weather wizard-assisted grain-stealing sky pirates versus the anti-demon grain-defending werewolf corps in mediaeval Europe

I think we do it animated in a similar style to the Netflix Castlevania series

like you open with the werewolves having a normal one descending into hell to fight the demons that keep trying to steal the grain from the fields at night (because Hell wants grain for some reason? or just to make life hard for the humans?)

it's cool as heck and there's lots of subterranean parkour and biting

there's a new young werewolf in the team (Thiess) and the others are protective of him and he very nearly gets got by the demons due to his inexperience and eagerness but the brave big mama werewolf saves him

in the morning they are tired but happy knowing they did good and kicked ass for the Lord

and tomorrow night they'll do it all again!

at least they think that's what's going to happen!

but then SHBOOM SKY PIRATES!

and the werewolves and the demons are like "what the fuck"

(they're not going to declare common cause or anything the werewolves still beat the shit out of the demons it's just that they have a shared moment of perplexity)

also also

the Frankish weather wizard magic from the sky is going to cause crop circles

I love my idea

[anarchotolkienist]

you’re attacking that neopagan kind of birthstone post about druid plants, but could you please elaborate or at least clarify the explicit trope that is being used that has been historically weaponized?

I used to spend about a good third of my time on this godforsaken website attacking that idea, but sure, I'll do it again. This will be a bit of an effortpost, so I'll stick it under the readmore

There is a notion of 'celts' or Gaels as being magicial and somehow deeply in touch with nature and connected to pre-Christian worldviews that the people who decided to make up the "Celtic tree astrology" used. This is also why Buffy used Irish Gaelic as the language of the demons, why Warhammer uses Gaelic as Elvish, why garbled Scottish Gaelic is used by Wiccans as the basis for their new religious construct, why people call themselves Druids to go an say chants in bad Welsh in Stonehenge, or Tursachan Chalanais, or wherever, etc etc. This stuff is everywhere in popular culture today, by far the dominant view of Celtic language speaking peoples. Made up neopagan nonsense is the only thing you find if you go looking for Gaelic folklore, unless you know where to look, and so on and so on. I could multiply examples Endless, and in fact have throughout the lifespan of this blog, and probably will continue to.

To make a long history extremely brief (you can ask me for sources on specifics, or ask me to expand if you're interested), this is directly rooted in a mediaeval legalistic discussion in Catholic justifications for the expansionist policies of the Normans, especially in Ireland, who against the vigourous protestation of the Church in Ireland claimed that the Gaelic Irish were practically Pagan in practice and that conquest against fellow Christians was justified to bring them in like with the Church. That this was nonsense I hope I don't need to state. Similar discourses about the Gaels in Scotland exist at the same time, as is clear from the earliest sources we have postdating the Gaelic kingdom of Alba becoming Scotland discussing the 'coastal Scots' - who speak Ynglis (early Scots) and are civilised - and the 'forest Scots' (who speak 'Scottis' (Middle Gaelic) and have all the hallmarks of barbarity. This discourse of Gaelic savagery remains in place fairly unchanged as the Scottish and then British crowns try various methods for integrating Gaeldom under the developing early state, provoking constant conflict and unrest, support certain clans and chiefs against others and generally massively upset and destabilise life among the Gaels both in Scotland and Ireland. This campaign, which is material in root but has a superstructure of Gaelic savagery and threat justifying it develops through attempts at assimilation, more or less failed colonial schemes in Leòdhas and Ìle, the splitting of the Gaelic Irish from the Gaelic Scots through legal means and the genocide of the Irish Gaels in Ulster, eventually culminates in the total ban on Gaelic culture, ethnic cleansing and permanent military occupation of large swathes of Northern Scotland, and the destruction of the clan system and therefore of Gaelic independence from the Scottish and British state, following the last rising in 1745-6.

What's relevant here is that the attitude of Gaelic barbarity, standing lower on the civilisational ladder than the Anglo Saxons of the Lowlands and of England, was continuously present as a justification for all these things. This package included associations with the natural world, with paganisms, with emotion, and etc. This set of things then become picked up on by the developing antiquarian movement and early national romantics of the 18th century, when the Gaels stop being a serious military threat to the comfortable lives of the Anglo nobility and developing bourgeoise who ran the state following the ethnic cleansing after Culloden and permanent occupation of the Highlands (again, ongoing to this day). They could then, as happened with other colonised peoples, be picked up on and romanticised instead, made into a noble savage, these perceived traits which before had made them undesirable now making them a sad but romantic relic of an inexorably disappearing past. It is no surprise that Sir Walter Scott (a curse upon him and all his kin) could make Gaels the romantic leads of his pseudohistorical epics at the exact same time that Gaels were being driven from their traditional lands in their millions and lost all traditional land rights. These moves are related. This tradition is what's picked up on by Gardner when he decides to use mangled versions of Gaelic Catholic practice (primarily) as collected by the Gaelic folklorist Alasdair MacIlleMhìcheil as the coating for Wicca, the most influential neo-pagan "religion" to claim a 'Celtic' root and the base of a lot of oncoming nonsense like that Celtic Tree Astrology horseshit that started this whole thing, and give it a pagan coat of paint while also adding some half-understood Dharmic concepts (three-fold law anyone?) and a spice of deeply racist Western Esotericism to the mix. That's why shit like that is directly harmful, not just historically but in the present total blotting out of actually existing culture of Celtic language speakers and their extremely precarious communities today.

If you want to read more, I especially recommend Dr. Silke Stroh's work Gaelic Scotland in the Colonial Imaginary, Dr. Aonghas MacCoinnich's book Plantation and Civility in the North-Atlantic World, the edited collection Mio-rún Mór nan Gall on Lowland-Highland divide, the Gaelic writer known in English as Ian Crichton Smith's essay A real people in a real place on these impacts on Gaelic speaking communities in the 20th century, Dr. Donnchadh Sneddons essay on Gaelic racial ideas present in Howard and Lovecrafts writings, and Dr. James Hunter's The Making of the Crofting Community for a focus on the clearings of Gaels after the land thefts of the late 18th and early 19th century.

@grimdr an do chaill mi dad cudromach, an canadh tu?

[oobbbear]

im not in isat fandom loop just looks cute*drews them slightly fucked up*

(@skyllion-uwu tagin my other isat fan moot dont mind)

Ohohhhhhhh i like this loop they look creepy god I adore how you put their star in a open crack in their chest it looks like an eye shaped wound

Ohhhhhh they are a little fucked up ohhhhhhh they look like a wishing star from a mediaeval painting they would crawl out from under your bed in the middle of night and ask how u doing or something ohhhh I dig this design sm

Those eyes stare into my soul and they’re judging me

Basya I love how your designs range from Cute bug girl to Sleep paralysis demon /very positive

[hamsterclaw]

Desecrate

A fall from grace causes you to stumble into the hands of a demon prince. Inspired by Lilith.

Pairing: Yoongi x f! reader

Word count: 2.6k

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Sex, swearing, mention of murder, non-explicit attempted assault, angels and demons

Min Yoongi is older than most creatures to walk this Earth, this much he knows. It’s been years since he last felt that any of the petty skirmishes mortals involve themselves in was worth any of his interest or his time. 

Even though time, for him, stretches out, almost infinitely. 

He doesn’t know your face at all, but you catch his attention, and hold it. He can sense your mortality slipping through your fragile grasp as you grapple with the men holding you down. 

You’re not going to win, though he admires your grit. 

Yoongi’s no stranger to blood but he has no desire to watch you get used and torn to shreds. He’s moving on when your eyes meet his. 

You plead with him wordlessly, desperately, as the light dims in your eyes. 

Yoongi knows that this is a dangerous time, the twilight between living and dying. You’re straddling both worlds, dying even as you push uselessly at the hands around your neck. 

It would be facetious to say that Yoongi kills without a shred of remorse. It’s more truthful to say that he kills without a thought. 

He’s standing amidst the mess he made, you at his feet, your face pressed to the ground. 

You’re unconscious, but you’ll live, unlike the men Yoongi dispatched on your behalf. 

There’s something unbearable to him about the way the lovely line of your cheek is touching the dirt of this human dumping ground. 

Yoongi doesn’t know what possesses him, but he takes you with him as he leaves. 

***

You wake in stages, in a very human way. 

Your eyes flicker open, shut. Yoongi can hear your heart accelerate, your breathing quicken, he can see your muscles tense. 

Your mouth opens on an inhale, and your eyes flicker open again. 

‘Where am I?’ you rasp. 

Your voice is soft, plaintive, your vocal cords swollen from your assault. 

‘You’re in my home,’ Yoongi replies. 

When you turn your head to look at him, your eyes are more focused. 

‘And who are you?’ 

‘I saved your life,’ Yoongi tells you. 

He watches as your eyes scan the domed ceiling, the painted frescoes, the stained glass. Your gaze stops at a scene of the Madonna. 

Yoongi studies your profile, the dirt smudged on your cheekbone he’d not bothered to wipe off.

Your gaze returns to him.

‘You’re Min Yoongi.’

It’s not a question, but Yoongi’s compelled to answer anyway, because the fact that you’ve guessed his identity means there’s more to you than he first thought.

You sit up, and Yoongi wonders how he managed to miss the celestial aura emanating from you. 

Lords and beings.

You’re an angel.

Seokjin is never going to let him live this down.

Min Yoongi, ancient slayer of humans, demonic legend from the mediaeval history of man, saved an angel.

Yoongi gets up, lets a tiny fraction of his darkness show. His voice deepens, resonating through the chapel.

‘Leave.’

You’re frightened, he can see it in the way you’re tensed, body held taut like a bow.

‘I can’t. It’s the night of Pandemonium.’

Pandemonium marks the beginning of when the Gates of Hell open each year. From your reaction, Yoongi guesses you’re a young angel, limited in power, incapable of cloaking or protecting yourself.

He laughs sardonically. ‘I don’t think the home of the bulgasari Prince is the right place for an angel on the night of Pandemonium, do you?’

You clasp your hands.

‘I’m not an angel.’

Yoongi stares at you.

‘Not anymore. I was cast out.’

For the first time, Yoongi feels a flicker of interest.

He can feel the scales in his mind threaten to tip by the tiniest of margins. 

For the first time, he thinks he might not kill you.

Seemingly unaware of his internal debate, you take a step closer to him.

Towards the most dangerous being in the room.

Yoongi flicks his tongue over his lower lip, steps forward so you can see him in the red glow.

His human form is beautiful, drawing others in. Leading them to their own destruction.

He can see the way your pupils dilate, your tongue wets your bottom lip, as you see him clearly for the first time.

‘You want to stay with me?’ he asks, silky. He takes another step.

You tilt your chin so you can keep looking at him.

‘Show me how much you want to stay.’

Yoongi turns his head towards the painting above the hearth.

‘Destroy it.’

You turn to the painting. 

It’s from the 14th century, by a little known Italian painter called Diavollo, depicting the death of Santa Lucia. He was gifted it by a corrupt nobleman in exchange for his life. Yoongi had taken both. 

You cast a defiant look at him, rush towards the painting. You stop, head bowed, before it.

‘I can’t.’ 

‘You can,’ Yoongi says, pitching his voice low, letting the heat of it flare out to you.

You clasp your hands together again, despairing. ‘I can’t.’

Steps heavy, head bowed, you head for the door. 

You stop just inside the front entrance to the chapel, as if giving him a chance to change his mind before he sends you to certain death.

Yoongi’s had countless beings plead for mercy from him in his long life and he has never once given in.

There’s a stirring in the recesses of his mind as he admires your profile for the last time. It feels like longing.

Then you’re gone, door swinging closed behind you.

***

Yoongi dislikes gatherings like this, when the princes of Hell and their delegates celebrate their misdeeds in front of the beings who serve them.

If Seokjin hadn’t asked him to attend as a personal favour, Yoongi would be in his home.

Oddly, he’s not been able to look at the Diavollo since you gave your life rather than destroy it.

He wonders if that sort of foolishness is what got you exiled.

He’s thought about your face so much that when he sees you, he’s momentarily stilled.

You’re knelt at the feet of Malvarius, the highest ranking demon of Yeomna’s court, save for Seokjin, and Yoongi himself.

Yoongi watches with revulsion as Malvarius scratches a bloodstained nail along the line of your neck, stopping at the iron collar around your throat.

Malvarius wraps his fist in the chain attached to your collar, tugs.

You fold to the ground in a heap of loose limbs and the sheer drapery he’s dressed you in.

Yoongi finds he still doesn’t care to see your face against the ground.

He approaches the demon, and you.

When you see him, there’s a flicker in your eyes.

‘She’s mine,’ Yoongi says, unceremoniously, to Malvarius.

Malvarius, the treacherous devil, says smoothly, ‘Pardon me?’

‘I made her a deal,’ Yoongi replies, preternaturally calm. ‘She owes me.’

Malvarius sits up, and Yoongi realises there’s a crowd gathering.

It doesn’t take much to have demons baying for blood.

Malvarius draws himself up to his full height.

‘Do you mean to say, Yoongi, that you own the soul of Azariel’s only daughter?’

Yoongi blinks.

Azariel, the most revered of the archangels, is a name that strikes fear even in the hearts of the most seasoned of demon princes.

You’re Azariel’s daughter? 

Yoongi remembers the way you cried over the Diavollo as you walked to your death.

You’d not used your father’s name as a bargaining chip. 

Yoongi says, coolly, ‘One fallen angel is just like any other.’

‘She’s a lusty slut,’ Malvarius remarks. ‘Can’t stop opening your legs for me, can you, angel?’

You gasp in pain as he pulls up on the chain, making you dance on your toes to keep from being choked.

Yoongi finds he doesn’t care for the sight of you in pain, either.

‘Give me what’s mine,’ he says, bored. ‘Or we can ask Yeomna to mediate.’

At the mention of the lord of Hell, Malvarius scowls. The last time he clashed with Seokjin, Yoongi had come very close to removing his power, Yeomna’s rules be damned.

He tosses the chain on the stone floor with a clang.

‘To your new master,’ he says, with little grace.

Yoongi removes the collar from around your neck.

‘Follow me,’ he commands.

Yoongi leads you through the debauchery, ignoring your gasps and sobbing breaths as you step through blood, entrails, sex. 

It’s only when you’ve followed him all the way back to his door that he speaks to you.

‘I’m deciding what to do with you,’ he tells you. ‘You will stay here, whilst I decide.’

‘My father won’t engage in barter for me,’ you say immediately. ‘He’d as soon as I was dead as alive.’

‘You must have done something terrible, angel.’ 

Your mouth clamps shut, lips flattening into a straight line.

‘Did you kill?’ Yoongi asks. ‘Maim?’

You barely react to his taunting tone.

‘Were you envious? Greedy?’

You’re quiet.

‘You’re not wrathful,’ Yoongi observes. 

He waits until your eyes meet his.

‘That leaves pride, and lust?’

From the way your face tightens he knows he’s stumbled upon his answer.

Yoongi lets his eyes travel to your beautiful form in the sheer silk you’re draped in.

Your breasts press against the material, rounded, enticing, and as he looks, your nipples tighten visibly.

‘Ah,’ Yoongi says, voice dropped to barely a whisper. ‘He said you were lustful.’

Yoongi leans down, close to your cheek, and enjoys the way you shiver as he breathes on your skin.

He flicks the tip of his tongue against your skin, and your pupils dilate so much your eyes are practically black.

Your lips part on his name, and Yoongi, for the first time in a long while, feels a surge of lust.

You stay completely still as he touches your cheek.

‘What do you want from me, angel?’ Yoongi taunts. ‘Aren’t you fallen enough?’

Your breath trembles in your chest as his fingers tighten on your face.

‘Come,’ says Yoongi. ‘Show me how you fell.’

He lets go of your face to caress the swells of your breasts, and you gasp, but you don’t stop him.

Instead, you arch your back to press your breasts into his palms.

‘You want more?’ Yoongi asks. He knows you do.

He grasps the front of your gown, rips it all the way down.

Your thighs tighten on his hand as he reaches between your legs.

Yoongi’s hand explores you, leisurely, slow, until you’re twitching and trembling.

Your nipples are so sensitive now that when Yoongi rolls his tongue around one you buck your hips into his hand.

‘Uhngh,’ you moan. 

Yoongi thumbs the bud at the top of your sex, and your warmth pulses around his fingers.

Wet, hot, tight.

Yoongi drags his tongue along the round of your breast, and your breathing hitches.

Your nipples are so puffy and erect they almost look painful.

You whine as he grasps your rounded flesh. The sound causes a stirring, low in his belly.

Yoongi’s cock swells at the sounds you make. You’re so pleasured, breathless, and he’s barely making any effort.

He’s already almost fully erect when your soft hand brushes the front of his groin.

‘Bold for an angel,’ he says.

There’s a spark in your eyes, clouded with lust. 

‘How many angels have you defiled, Lord Min?’

Yoongi considers your question as his eyes roam your beautiful body.

‘None,’ he tells you.

You smile, and you’re so pretty he can’t take his eyes off you.

‘Luckily, I’m not an angel any more.’

Yoongi smirks. ‘Let me show you how the other side lives.’

He turns, and you follow.

***

You’re lost, Yoongi isn’t sure when it happened, probably between your fourth, maybe fifth peak.

He’s covered in your arousal, he can taste you on his lips, on his tongue. His cock’s still so rigid inside you he’s aching, caught in the delirium between pleasure and pain.

He plunges into your wet warmth, rocking his hips against yours.

Your arms are limp, one draped around his neck, just barely holding on, the other splayed out, fingers uncurled. You look dazed, fucked out, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

You cry out as Yoongi moves, dragging his cock against the walls of your cunt, and he notes with grim satisfaction how hoarse your voice now is.

‘Yoongi,’ you beg, ‘wanna feel you.’

‘You’ll feel me,’ he promises.

You shake your head. ‘I want to feel your pleasure.’

Yoongi groans as you hold your legs apart for him, letting him see exactly how he cleaves you apart , the way he looks entering your core.

He wraps a hand around your neck, tight, and your eyes close. Your hand snakes around his wrist, urging him on.

You’re clenching around him so sweetly Yoongi’s disarmed, and when you press a kiss to his temple he releases, shouting your name, spilling inside you.

Belatedly, he remembers to loosen his grip around your neck, and as you remain still he feels an unnerving wave of fear that he might have hurt you.

He says your name, and you stir. Relief floods through his chest. 

‘Stay,’ you mumble into his chest. ‘Stay.’

Yoongi curls his arm around you, a display of skinship he’s unused to but that you seem to want.

He wonders, curious, why he’s swayed to want to give you what you want.

***

You wake during the night. 

Yoongi’s flat on his back, arm propping up his head. He watches with dark amusement as you look your fill at his naked form. 

‘You’re too wide-eyed considering you have my seed all over you,’ he drawls. 

You blink at him. ‘I was surprised to wake, my lord.’

‘You thought I’d kill Azariel’s fallen daughter?’ Yoongi muses, not bothering to acknowledge how close to the truth you are. 

‘You do have a reputation, Lord Min,’ you say, so seriously that it takes him a moment to realise you’re teasing him. 

He’s startled into laughter that sounds rusty even to him. 

You turn over, breasts spilling onto the silk bedcovers, lush and beautiful like you were made to tempt him. 

His cock stirs, and it doesn’t escape your notice, minx that you are. 

You reach for him, gentle, soft against his hardness. 

Yoongi groans, eyes never leaving you as you stroke him. Your lips part on a breath, tongue flicking between. The cavern of your mouth feels like the heaven Yoongi will never know. 

He’s never rued being born a demon prince until this moment. 

Yoongi pulls you off his rigid shaft, seeks the warmth between your legs. You’re already gasping, spreading to take him, so soft and slick and willing he can barely hold himself back. 

His hand finds its way around your neck again, squeezing, and the pleasure ramps up a thousandfold. 

Your back arches as you peak, and this time Yoongi doesn’t have the patience to deny himself. He groans into your hair as he fills you, remembers to loosen his grip. 

You’re emboldened to press a kiss to his lips, a moment of contact so searing Yoongi’s jolted out of his post-pleasure daze. 

Neither of you speak, and neither of you makes a move to leave. 

***

It’s just past dawn when Yoongi stirs to the back of your entirely naked body. 

You’re getting re-dressed, helping yourself to his clothes. 

‘I should go,’ you say. 

Yoongi hadn’t realised you’d noticed he was awake. 

Pandemonium has passed, but Yoongi finds he doesn’t care for any possibility that you might get hurt. 

He rises, unclasps a chain from around his neck, fastens it around your own. The ancient rune now hanging between your collarbones is distinctly, identifiably, his. 

There aren’t many who would seek his wrath. 

‘My father will —--’ 

‘Rue the day he let you fall into the hands of a demon prince?’ suggests Yoongi. 

The hint of a smile plays around your lips, and Yoongi can’t tear his eyes away. 

‘I’ll be back,’ you say. There's a faint question in your voice.

‘See that you are,’ Yoongi replies. 

You bow slightly. ‘My lord.’ 

You take your leave, and Yoongi allows himself to watch you go until you slip between two buildings, and then you’re gone. 

©hamsterclaw 2023

[i-have-not-slept]

Halloween Spooky Fic Self-Rec!

saw other people doing it and thought I would give it a go....

Miles Cross: Rated M, 14k words. Set during Halloween, Faerie magic, kidnapping and rescue https://archiveofourown.org/works/41668965/chapters/104524290

holy water cannot help you now: Rated E, 3k words. Deal with the devil, Priest!Alec and Demon!Magnus https://archiveofourown.org/works/48026461/chapters/121095079

I hunt for you (across the hallowed ground): Rated E, 12k words. Mediaeval AU, werewolves, King!Magnus and Knight!Alec https://archiveofourown.org/works/56500126

[kanekisfavoritegf]

I am so exicted to do Kinktober this year. It is such a happy time for me because it means it has been a year since I came to the decision to start writing fanfics.

I am so grateful to be able to be in a space that creates content for black women and just anime/ manga enjoyers period. Even with its ups and downs, I will forever be thankful for my amazing mutuals.

Most of these will be JJK characters except for the last week which will be AOT.

As always Minors, Blankblogs, and ageless blogs pl don’t interact! 🩷

READ THIS PLEASE!!

Witchy Y/N and her Lover

◉ Bring me to life - Choso

◉ Double Double Toil and Trouble - Nanami

◉ Entranced - Sukuna

Recently awakened Y/N in mediaeval times gets gifted the sight and starts seeing demons everywhere…

◉ Human Pet - Geto ♡

◉ To Be Ruined - Gojo ♡

◉ Toji

A place where your screams can’t be heard…

◉ Dare or Dare - Gojo & Geto

An exorcism can’t save Y/N now…

◉ Armin

◉ Eren

◉ Erwin

◉ Prayer Group FT…

[autumnistic-danmei]

FantasyFQ AU

I've been bored in my classes so I decided to just sit down and make something so like- Here's this thing lol.

-Roughly based in the Dark Ages (Early Mediaeval times), but with the fun little added addition of a touch of ✨m a g i c✨

-Yes, I have an obsession with Fenqing. No, I will not be shutting up about them. Yes, those two idiots are a central part of this AU. Yes, I also have an unhealthy obsession with He Xuan.

Humans:

Feng Xin - He was a royal beast tamer/slayer from the fallen Xianle monarchy, who now just wanders the lands in search of the creature that destroyed his kingdom. Over the years, he has encountered Mu Qing multiple times, but he doesn’t really understand why. He also thinks he’s being followed by an unnaturally large black cat, but he really doesn’t mind its company, and he has nicknamed the little creature “Fu Yao”.

Ling Wen - A scholar and mage living in a coastal merchant town who gains most of her income through dealing with literally everyone’s paperwork and taxes.

Qi Rong - He used to be the irritating younger prince of the Xianle monarchy, who now rules over his own little hidden town of lesser demons.

Quan Yizhen - A wandering beast slayer searching for his old teacher, who has just a touch of the tisms, but really, who doesn’t?

Shi Qingxuan - They are a young noble from a kingdom in the south, who has been cast from their kingdom due to the actions of their deceased brother and now lives in the streets of a small town nearby. They hate seafood of any kind.

“Ming Yi” - A reclusive beast tamer that prefers to live near the coast and specialises in creatures from the caverns, who has ties to the royal family and commonly attends the banquets purely for the food lol.

Pei Ming - A beast slayer from the same town as Ling Wen known both for his flirtatious attitude and his impressive feats.

Ban Yue - She’s a young beast tamer, but she is surprisingly skilled for her age, already having tamed a whole den of lethally venomous scorpion snakes.

Lang Qianqiu - The only remaining descendant of the Yong’an monarchy, but as of yet, he has ruled over the kingdom quite fairly.

Xiao Mengyou (Little guy!!!!!!) - He’s Lang Qianqiu’s best friend and the royal mage of Yong’an.

Creatures:

He Xuan - Very few people have ever seen him, but the few witness accounts say that he is a siren of sorts with black octopus tentacles instead of a fish tail. He rules over the waters in the south, where his bone dragons sink every ship that tries to sail, earning the area the name of the Black Water Demon Lair. He seems to still have some feelings of attachments to Shi Qingxuan, but has yet to act on them.

Hua Cheng - An infamous fox spirit known for his unpredictable behaviour, mysterious past, and his rule over the massive beast den known as the Ghost City. He usually stays in his foxlike form, and very few have seen his human form.

Yin Yu - A ghoul serving under Hua Cheng who was once Quan Yizhen’s teacher, but he accidentally caused the deaths of many during an accident with a dangerous beast, so he was banished and later on, killed.

Yushi Huang - She’s probably the most chill faerie you’ll ever meet, who lives in a large farming town in the north and blesses their crops. She can and will beat you up if necessary.

Bai Wuxiang - An ancient white dragon known for destroying kingdoms and sending mysterious plagues into cities, wiping out large populations of people in a single sweep. He has been missing for years now, but people theorise that he is simply resting in the northern mountains.

E-Ming - An infamous lesser spirit possessing a large silver longsword, which is tied to Hua Cheng and is by his side almost constantly.

Ruoye - A lesser spirit possessing a long silk band, which has a rather playful attitude when it’s around Xie Lian.

Who knows what they are at this point:

Mu Qing - He was born human, but most (everyone except Feng Xin and Xie Lian) do not consider him to be one anymore due to his curse that causes him to have catlike features and an alternate form of a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. He follows Feng Xin around out of curiosity, but he refuses to admit that he’s actually following him.

Xie Lian - We’re pretty sure he’s a human, but his eyes reflect light like a cat’s, and he’s practically poisonous from all of the weird stuff that he eats, so he’s just the neighbourhood cryptid at this point. He lives near Shi Qingxuan, residing in a small village a short distance south of them, and he used to be the crown prince of the Xianle Kingdom.

[rpgsandbox]

The 10 Most Anticipated TTRPGs For 2024!

EN World's annual vote on the most anticipated titles of the coming year, and yes, some games have appeared on this list in previous years.

10 Tales of the Valiant (Kobold Press)

1st appearance Kobold Press joins the 'alternate 5E' club with this rewritten, non-OGL version of the game! A million dollar Kickstarter last year, and a new one for the GM's book going on right now, Kobold Press announced this as 'Project Black Flag' during the OGL crisis of 2023, but being unable to trademark that name opted for Tales of the Valiant instead. The system, however, is still called the Black Flag Roleplaying System.

9. Mothership 1E (Tuesday Night Games)

3rd appearance On this list three years running, the boxed Mothership 1E game should be coming out this year! This is sci-fi horror at its best -- you can play scientists, teamsters, androids, and marines using the d100 'Panic Engine'. Yep, it's Alien(s), pretty much.

8. Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Program (Exalted Funeral)

2nd Appearance Exalted Funeral made quite a splash when they announced this game last year, which went on to make neary $2M on Kickstarter. And how could they not? It's Monty Python fergoodnessake! A rules-lite gaming system, spam, a minigame with catapults, spam, coconut dice rollers, spam, and an irrepressible Python-eque sense of humour. Did I mention the spam? It was at #10 on this list last year, but it's claimed to #8 this year.

7. Daggerheart (Darrington Press)

1st appearance From the Critical Role folks, Daggerheart is a new fantasy TTRPG with its own original system coming out this year with "A fresh take on fantasy RPGs, designed for long-term campaign play and rich character progression."

6. Cohors Cthulhu (Modiphius)

1st appearance It's Ancient Rome. It's Cthulhu. It uses Modiphius' in-house 2d20 System. You can be a gladiator, a centurion, or a Germanic hero. Did I mention Cthulhu?

5. Dolmenwood (Necrotic Gnome)

1st appearance The British Isles, a ton of folklore, and a giant Kickstarter--Dolmenwood is a dark, whimsical fantasy TTRPG drawing from fairy tales and lets you "journey through tangled woods and mossy bowers, forage for magical mushrooms and herbs, discover rune-carved standing stones and hidden fairy roads, venture into fungal grottoes and forsaken ruins, battle oozing monstrosities, haggle with goblin merchants, and drink tea with fairies."

4. Pendragon 6E (Chaosium)

4th appearance Last year's winner was on this list waaaaay back in 425 AD, and it's still here! Well, maybe not that far back, but it's shown up in 2021 at #4, 2022 at #3, 2023 at #1, and now 2024 at #4! What can we say? People are clearly anticipating it... still.

3. 13th Age 2nd Edition (Pelgrane Press)

2nd appearance 13th Age is over a decade old now, and was our most anticipated game way back in 2013. Now the new edition is coming! It's compatible with the original, but revised and with a ton more... stuff! 13th Age 2E was #3 in last year's list!

2. The Electric State Roleplaying Game (Free League)

1st appearance Free League is always on these lists, and for good reason. This gorgeous looking game is described as "A road trip on the verge of reality in visual artist and author Simon Stålenhag's vision of an apocalyptic alternate 1990s".

1. Shadow of the Weird Wizard (Schwalb Entertainment)

3rd appearance First announced by Rob Schwalb a couple of years ago, this is a more family-friendly version of his acclaimed RPG, Shadow of the Demon Lord. SHADOW OF THE WEIRD WIZARD is a fantasy roleplaying game in which you and your friends assume the roles of characters who explore the borderlands and make them safe for the refugees escaping the doom that has befallen the old country. Unsafe are these lands: the Weird Wizard released monsters to roam the countryside, cruel faeries haunt the shadows, undead drag themselves free from their tombs, and old, ancient evils stir once more. If the displaced people would rebuild their lives, they need heroes to protect them. Finally at the top of the list after being #7 in 2022, and #6 in 2023!

[somekindofadeviant]

coming back for the WIP game: tell me something about Coffeehouse AU that I don't know 🥰

Well I know you know the rivals have appeared, so... In this AU, Giles got fired from Sunnydale High for breaking 43242423 of (whatever the American equivalent of OFSTED is called)'s rules for staff conduct. Such as stocking the library with [checks notes] actual literal mediaeval weaponry, a cage, and Ye Anciente Occult and Demonic Tomes, and even worse - Being Aggressively British.

His rapidly-approaching mid-life unemployment crisis and need for a place where teenagers can spend hours upon hours without spending more than the cost of a single tiny cup of coffee have converged.

Willow is eagerly trying to become the youngest manager in coffee shop history. She is also having a nervous breakdown approximately four times per shift.

Xander is a monster unleashed when it comes to seasonal drink creation. He is both feared and beloved. Sometimes both at once.

Buffy tries to skip out of clean-up because slayer duties. Her 'oh, what's that, patrol calling? i think i hear a demon coming, i better go deal with it. uh... obviously you can't hear it, you have a whole lack of slayer hearing thing going on.' is unsurprisingly unsuccessful. In her defence, a demon DID arrive shortly afterwards, and made clean-up even more terrifying.

[yanderelmk]

Can u do a yandere syntax x gender neutral readeeerrr? headcanons (and a lil oneshot maybe)

-🕶️ anon with cool glasses

Right off the bat, this man most likely would've relished the idea of turning you into a spider demon and basically taking you under his wing, even if you know not a thing about tech stuff

He will spend hours trying to throw tech-rizz at you, tech-related pick-up lines (You turn my software into hardware)

Highlights of lines he'd practice in a mirror for you: "Are you made of beryllium, gold, and titanium? 'Cause you're BeAuTiful!" "Hi. My name is Windows. Can I crash at your place?" "Are you Google Glass? 'Cause you augment my reality." "I always thought love was an abstract class until you made an instance of it." "Are you a computer keyboard? Because you're my type."

I just spent the past 15 minutes gathering those and wheezing because I just KNOW Syntax thinks he's like hottest thing on this side of Megapolis when he says these, he will lean up against the wall with a sly smile completely convinced he's swept you off your feet

Be careful though this guy could hack into any of your devices to check to see who you've been messaging, what your incognito tab history looks like, and how long you've stared at a person's profile and he will get thoroughly jealous, trying to figure out why you didn't respond to his message immediately

He texts either in the most abstract abbreviated way or like he's some mediaeval lord composing a sonnet to his intended while he's trying to ask you out (if he even goes that route instead of just nabbing you)

He is not a barbarian, he'll give you three days to make your choice to pick him. In his mind that's all the time you need. By his calculations you should have fallen for him by the third day, and if not...well, the queens venom makes her subjects loyal to her, there must be a way for him to tinker with it to add in a dash of loyalty to him

Actually- imagine you get a message on your computer and it's him saying he took the liberty of properly clearing out your device of any trackers, set up proper anti-virus, etc. Creepy, but hey at least your computer's protected

Speaking of protected he'd likely be the type of person to insist that he knows who you ought to hang around, "You deserve much better than...those of a lower IQ."

Obviously he thinks he's the highest caliber for you to be around, and will firmly drag you away from a social situation where he thinks you need his assistance (whether you asked for it or not)

Cannot express why, Syntax gives the vibes of someone who is...perhaps not 'snobbish' or 'uppity', I think the best word is 'persnickety'. Quite the fussypants when it comes to his own standards and how you deserve the same treatment. After all, you are his darling

[arcane-abomination]

It’s very common by now to hear the difference in a Grimoire and a BOS. A grimoire is a list of basic, unpersonalized magical instructions often for free use amongst many individuals while a BOS or Book of Shadows, is a more personalized version for only the witch or their covens eyes. Now I’m not saying this is completely wrong, but I am saying there are aspects of this understanding that have definitely been mislabeled and misunderstood in modern times. In this blog I hope to enlighten and educate on some of the more overlooked facts about these magickal books.

History of the Grimoire

For starters the term “Grimoire” was most often believed to originate from the Old French word “grammaire,” meaning “grammar” which was used to refer to all books written in Latin around the 18th century. However, the term grimoire would later develop into more of a figure of speech addressing something which was hard to understand. It wouldn’t be until the 19th century with the rise of occultism interest would the term become likened to a book of magick.

In essence a Grimoire was almost like a recipe book. Filled with spells and incantations for a number of things including talismans, charms, amulets, and even potions to summon or invoking spiritual beings such as deity, angels, even demons. There’s even evidence that the church played a part in grimoire creation, as strange as that would seem nowadays. But according to historian Owen Davies, "while the [Christian] Church was ultimately successful in defeating pagan worship it never managed to demarcate clearly and maintained a line of practice between religious devotion and magic."

Essentially, the use of grimoires would continue and as such, within the christianized Europe, the Church would ultimately divide books of magic into two categories: those that dealt with the so called “natural magick” and those that dealt in "demonic magic". Natural magick was essentially the use of gods power within various parts of nature (think something like medieval herbalism, especially for medical purposes) while everything else was viewed as devils work and therefore considered unacceptable. Despite this fact, there’s enough evidence to suggest that the mediaeval clergy itself were some of the main practitioners of this magic, at least those that were documented, and thus the church itself became the owners, transcribers, and circulators of many grimoires. Some historians have even stated they may even be the first transcribers of books labeled “grimoire” altogether.

Now because of Christianization in many parts of the world, the term grimoire would ultimately begin to travel and become associated over the years with any book of magick from any culture, even if the culture in question never actually used the term themselves. There were many documented magical practices, many of which predated the christianized movement and therefore the term grimoire. This has lead many to believe that while technically all magical tomes are technically Grimoires, not all of them should be counted as such. As it is much more appropriate to refer to them by their native titles. However since the term is so ingrained in paganism nowadays and has been for a very long time, its generalization is pretty much just accepted by many who carry the pagan label.

History of the BOS

Unlike the Grimoire, the Book Of Shadows or BOS is a more modern invention. It was coined by Gerald Gardner, the creator of Wicca sometime in the 1940’s or early 50’s when he initiated people into his coven called the Bricket Wood Coven. What made it different from other Grimoires was that he copied down a way of working in a more personalized fashion, changing what he didn’t want or didn’t feel like using while adding in what he did. In this Gardner’s book was said to be more personal, built around his own practice as a Wiccan rather than anything else. He even encouraged others of his coven to copy from it and add their own spin should they see fit. He also claimed that this BOS was to be burned when the witch died unlike the tradition of passing it down the way you would a grimoire. His reason for this was simply to keep the identity of the individuals witchcraft a secret.

As for how Gardner came upon the term Book Of Shadows, High Priestess Doreen Valiente claims he found it in the 1949 edition of a magazine called “The Occult Observer” where an article titled “The Book of Shadows” by Amir Bashir was published. It was said to be published just opposite of an advertisement for Gardner’s novel “High Magic’s Aid.” The article was about a supposedly ancient form of Sanskrit divination. It explained how to foretell various things based upon the length of a person's shadow. Valiente suggested that Gardner took the title for his grimoire. She would be quoted as saying "It was a good name, and it is a good name still, wherever Gardner found it".

Fact of the Matter

Although the BOS since took off for its more personal notes, it would be foolish to overlook a particular notion. Wicca as it was at the beginning was a religion that required the initiation into a coven, making it a pseudo closed practice of sorts. Although it wouldn’t be a system that really enforced this and as a result it began taking off in the more solitary communities of witches. It should also be understood that Wicca is definitely a new age belief. It is not ancient. It was formed and developed to fit into one persons ideals, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Other modern magickal systems have followed suit but it should definitely be a known factor in this explanation.

Magickal documentation, as stated above, is not a new concept. Many magical texts go back ages, and can be found all over the world in many cultures. What’s also present in these is the growth and adaptation that happens naturally as civilizations intermingle and even clash. One can easily see where systems reform and take new shape in accordance, so one can then understand that every grimoire that has been written has also been reshaped by time, it’s practices used and reused, retranslated, and reestablished in a wide addition of new beliefs for the time. In this sense all magick is personal and changing. Developed for the person and there way of life.

It is a common misconception that a shared book of magick isn’t personal. All magick you decide to incorporate is by definition then personal because you decided to follow it. And when we look at the magick that was outlawed before the time of the BOS, we can see where it was hidden, carefully chosen based on the place and the laws of the land, kept secret from all those who did not approve, written down in Grimoires to be passed on through the generations to keep the beliefs alive. In this the misconception that all grimoire were public and unpersonalized is false. The BOS may seem more personalized at first glance but that’s because we look at it through the lenses of a very personalized belief system that was still very new all on its own.

So if you really really want to be 100% historically accurate with your labels, a Grimoire is any book of magick records and recipes, personal or otherwise, private or open, that can be passed down through generations. While a Book of Shadows is a Wicca specific grimoire that’s a record of magickal workings, shared only amongst the coven members and fated to be burned when a witch dies. The differences in these two are far more striking now aren’t they? But I feel it should also be said that all in all it really doesn’t matter what labels you placed on your book. Titles and labels will always change with time, this is inevitable. Beside, in essence labels themselves are just words given specific meanings through the beliefs of various individuals. That means you can attribute to them whatever meaning that befalls your little heart. So call your book whatever you like, it will be valid.

Further Reading

• Book Of Shadows History

• The Book of Shadows

• Book of Shadows

• Grimoire History

• Grimoires: A History of Magick Books

• The History Of Grimoire