#path of the infinite

[koyotetheblind]

Everyday Sorcery for the Closet Magician

Everyday Sorcery for the Closet Magician

Magick is often conceived as either the superstitious tools of the uninformed, or else as the inaccessible obscure disciplines of secret cabals. There are, however, powerful strategies and dynamic principles that are easily accessible to everyone capable of awakening the latent powers of our being, and of giving access to the magical forces inherent in nature. It is true that to obtain mastery…

[shanastoryteller]

i'm going to move on from supernatural posting, i swear to god, but first i'm going to talk about ep 9x07 bad boys

the episode itself is fine and good (i mean it's another example of dean having a support network while sam can't have anyone and dean keeping secrets while when sam does it it's the worst betrayal ever but that's not what this is about and sometimes i think about what this show did two earnest, loving traumatized characters by turning them into the most tragic versions of themselves and - ok, this really isn't what this post is about)

but fandom interpretation of this episode actually drives me up a wall because it does a disservice to literally every character

one, john did not leave them without enough money for food. dean gambled it and lost it. there's nothing in canon to say that john was taking longer than expected, that they were running out of money, none of that. dean gambled food money and lost it and then tried to steal to make up for it. he was 16 when this happened and it was a bad decision but i don't think he should be at all vilified for this. he made a dumb mistake and then tried to fix it with another dumb mistake. john was right to be mad and sam was also right to tell him that he shouldn't beat himself up about it. just like with shtriga - yeah, dean was climbing the walls stuck in that hotel room. but you know who else was stuck in that hotel room? sam. and he didn't get a break to go play at the arcade. again, i'm not blaming dean here, he shouldn't have been stuck taking care of his brother that young and he was a kid and john leaving his his children behind while hunting a child eater, whether he was using them for bait or not, is crazy. but dean stealing food wasn't about john's neglect and all the sacrifices dean had to make for sam. it was about him trying to fix his fuck up

two, and this is the one that really gets me, dean didn't go back with john because he had to take care of sam

listen. listen to me. i am speaking from experience when i say this

parentified siblings are still, first and foremost, siblings. especially with only 4 years between them. the show shameless i think did an absolutely excellent job with this and is why i love the first few seasons of it so much. fiona is without a doubt parentified, she is raising those kids, but she's also clearly their sister not their mother

i know later seasons dean and fandom like to make it seem like dean literally raised sam and john was just a background figure but like. that's not realistic, and frankly doesn't even make sense

the reason dean leaves sonny and goes with john isn't because he feels like he has to keep him sam safe. it's isn't because he feels like he has to raise him. it's because he loves him

you are reducing dean to the most pathetic woe is me archetype with this interpretation and ridding him of all his rich loyalty and care and love to saddle him instead with comparatively flat duty. dean is more than sam's caretaker. he's his brother

there's also no reason for dean to feel this way. he just massively fucked up in taking care of sam - that's why he's with sonny in the first place. john has alternate people to take care of sam when he can't do it himself, as he has just proven, and while i don't think we should turn a couple teenage mistakes into making dean incapable, dean absolutely would - and did! he carries every fuck up regarding sam with him! so right now he's really, really low when it comes to his own estimation to take care of sam and leaving sonny because of that doesn't make any sense

but he looks at his brother and is reminded how much he missed him and loves him and realizes staying means he loses his brother. the good and the bad. so he goes, because he loves sam more than anything else

this is also why sam leaving for stanford cuts him so deep. that's why this moment is a parallel to that rather than being unrelated. stanford isn't about sam leaving dean even though he has a duty to care of him, because he doesn't. dean's 22 and at this point is always hunting with their father so there's no reason for sam to believe his presence is necessary for either john or dean's safety

no, dean's mad because he chose his love for his brother over a normal life and sam didn't

(sam didn't want to choose at all but this isn't about him)

anyway. dean fucks up sometimes and john sucks but not quite in the ways fandom thinks and dean loves his brother past reason or sense

[muninnhuginn]

Thinking about "your weakness is how you always want to be the hero" and how the series returns to this at the end

Li Lianhua hated how he acted as Li Xiangyi and spent years trying to distance himself from it, but ultimately he still fell back into the similar patterns, for all his added experience

His main priority was always to "do the right thing" regardless of how that would impact on those around him. And it *did* impact those around him. From Qiao Wanmian and Shan Gudao as Li Xiangyi to Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng as Li Lianhua

Giving the Styx flower to the emperor so he could use it as leverage to guarantee Fang Duobing and his family's safety. Using the last of his power to save Yun Biqiu. Constantly putting others above himself whilst actively refusing to recognise that his self-sacrificial nature would hurt those he cared about most

And sure, he thinks he's going to die anyway. They're going to be hurt regardless and he can't do anything about that. His odds are low of the Styx flower even working. But ultimately, he refuses to even consider trying. Li Xiangyi has been dead a long time and Li Lianhua is just there to tide things over. What value is the life of a ghost

To the end, he lives and dies a hero. To the end, he refuses to live for himself.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Both my parents actually suffer from HORRID emotional dysregulation and are prone to snapping and going into rages. My sister is the same way tbh. I am now realizing this is why they are constantly baffled by the question of whether or not I am mad at them.

I don't have external meltdowns.

I could. I don't let it happen.

I keep my rage on the inside and stay pretty quiet about it. It's just as strong as theirs [physically shaking nose bleed from high blood pressure kind of bad], but like as a kid I saw how terrifying it was to be around [dad breaking dishes, mom putting our lawn chairs into walls] and I just internalized that I wasn't going to wear that anger on the outside.

So my mother genuinely cannot tell if I am just being quiet or if I am silently hearing the dial-up noises of pure rage. This has lead her to both making strong and confident statements like "You are a pacifist who would never hurt a fly U.U" but also acting like I am secretly dangerous maybe... It's because she has never seen me snap.

She knows what her temper is like [throwing chairs through walls], she knows what my father's temper is like [pick up child and toss out door], and she can tell I am being tested, but she doesn't know what happens when I snap or where that breaking point is.

Her -perhaps unhinged- solution to this, my whole life, has been to do things that should obviously enrage me or shut me down completely, like ignoring important boundaries, repeatedly, punishing me for expressing emotions or needs at all, etc... And then to constantly ask me if I am angry with her when I get too quiet [right after near directly telling me to shut up].

It has occurred to me now, they have never once seen me lose my temper, so they literally just can't tell if I am angry at them. My sister is easy, my mother fights and screams with my sister constantly, my mother understands this. My mother doesn't have any grasp of feelings or boundaries that are not screamed at her [apparently, and I fear my sister is the same way]. Her and my sister are close despite constant fucking fighting because they understand each other.

They are trying to get me to engage the same way and it is not working. I realize now that this has been hard for them.

I was so successfully taught to suppress my emotions, by being punished for any outburst, that rage quiet looks the same as any other kind of quiet from the outside. To them anyway.

I did tell her. For the record. I used my words. I did tell her very calmly that my response to rage, in order to avoid doing the things that terrified me as a child, was to simply leave [the autistic urge to GTFO]. When a situation or person causes too much of the dial-up rage noise, I simply extract myself from that situation, up to and including never speaking to a person again. I explained this calmly. I explained it calmly 100 times and I explained that I explain myself calmly as my rage response 1-5 [also pretty much every other negative emotion tbh], and I told her that what came next was me simply opting out and fucking off. I told her this. I couldn't understand why she never took me seriously, or why she never fucking understood.

I couldn't understand what made her like this.

But it's the same problem I have with everyone else multiplied by a factor of 10.

If I am explaining myself calmly, they can't understand that it's actually serious or that I am actually upset. ESPECIALLY because they read me as "female" and women "aren't that rational" so if I am not screaming and crying about something, which I never do, people assume I can't be upset and it isn't serious.

And then after having my boundaries ignored too many times despite having calmly explained how and why it's a problem [shaking inside or not]... I leave. I leave and everyone gets upset like this is unexpected behaviour, even though I told them 50 times that is how I would respond if they kept doing *the thing.*

And for neurotypical people especially, they are expecting there to be a disconnect between what someone says they need or feel and what their actually boundaries and feelings are, and they expect the latter to be demonstrated with emotions. Telling them bluntly you do not function that way somehow never helps?

My mother isn't just looking for normal yelling or a few tears to know I am serious, whether or not I do those either [I don't], she's looking for an explosion to know there's a problem at all.

Fucked if I know how she proceeds through life this way in general or if this is just her expectation of her own kids???

And I couldn't get why my mother couldn't read my emotions and didn't seem to think I have any. It's because she's testing for the rage limit to see where my 'actual' limit is instead of taking my word for it. Never the fuck mind that she could simply *not* test at my boundaries instead of letting me have them. Separate issue.

I couldn't figure out what made her *like this*

She's expecting me to throw a giant meltdown violent tantrum at people when I have 'actually' had enough. Maybe she got away with those being like 5'4" in another time, but I am the size of the average man, I do not get to have giant screaming rages, whether or not people perceive me consciously as a woman, and least of all because a lot of people -at least unconsciously- read me as 'masculine' or at least always "they guy" of the situation compared to all other women and some men [bigger stronger and more rational, more able to just absorb the damage and let it go so the less rational screaming/crying one doesn't have to be dealt with]. Even if it was in me to be willing to terrify people [usually never], there are such limited instances where it wouldn't just blow back on me. Potentially very dangerously.

I am going to be the quiet calm one. You are going to have to let me use my words, bitch.

So she kept ignoring my boundaries until I had to cut her out of my life, and she probably doesn't understand and probably thinks it feels sudden -after 36 long years of bullshit- abrupt and unfair.

But I told her hundreds of times.

I probably should have just screamed at her.

[specialistmj]

After months of thinking about them they're all finally designed

You can ask me things about them if your interested 👉👈 I think theyre pretty cool

[everymadara]

Chapter 676

[rw-repurposed]

A n c i e n t s

So, in the first image are the five main ancients of Chasing Wind.

From left to right:

Nine Howling Vessels, Silent Night. Head of the Maintenance Council.

Darkness Befallen, Ashes Remains. Constructor of Chasing Wind, Head of the Society Council.

Four Rising Suns, One Setting Moon. Leader of the Ancient Colony, the Grand Councilor.

Stains of Shadow Over A Realm's Sorrow. Chasing Wind's Administrator.

One Direct Goal, Infinite Curved Paths. Head of the Research Council.

They will be the ancients who have the most effect on Chasing Wind and the lore as a whole.

[bathynom]

Some recent art

[zalmoxis-the-great]

About Orikan, Divinity, Divine Sparks and Speculations

C.W. Spoilers from TITD, T.W. mentions of death

A more technical aspect of Orikan's ascension can be explained in the D&D universe. There are a lot of real world religions that touch the subject of divinity, but I found a pretty satisfying explanation about reaching Godhood from role playing games, and by consulting forums online, as well as a well-made homebrew guide which clarified the information. I am sharing my understanding of what I read, as well as my own speculations.

In Dungeons and Dragons (the source I am using for this is The Extensive Guide to Godhood/ The Path to Godhood V1.2, which is homebrew, but the forums I consulted used the same concept from the 3.5E up to the 5E, and are very similar, but less organized), there are multiple methods to becoming a god, but all of them require the divine spark. A divine spark is what transforms a normal being into a divine entity. “To behold a divine spark, in the flesh, is akin to staring into a star”.  That is something that the divine has but mortals lack.

“If the soul is a flame, the divine spark is a star”. Depending on where you look, some will say that a few normal people are born with a bit of a divine spark in them, or that only a few special someones have some divine spark. But the facts are: it can be taken, gathered, accumulated, and after all that, if somehow, someone manages to absorb one, they get to go under Apotheotic Ascension, where “their bodies attempt to cope with the fluctuation of raw power inside of them, at the end of which their form will try it’s best to maintain that power without perishing”. That change is only the beginning of the transformation into godhood. Huh, that is an interesting and familiar concept. (Extensive Guide)

The issue is that many who dare try, fail to hold that power, those who succeed "will walk away with something more". In the book, Orikan didn’t explode nor die when absorbing the spark, therefor he succeeded his roll in absorbing it, otherwise, the only other outcome would have been complete and utter death and destruction of his being.

A way to acquire such a spark would be to simply slay a god and take their diviner spark(s) (dnd5e), other way would be to be worshiped by followers (“A deity’s divinity is measured by how much sparks they have”), another way mentioned in the guide is by harvesting the rare divinity of others within a week’s time, so pretty much mindless slaughter (the chaos gods growing fat with power from the divinity harvested by their worshipers), a less bloody way would be receiving it as a gift from another divinity, at the cost of theirs, them (the donor) growing weaker to birth a new god.

The eleven race, the equivalent of Aeldari, used Mythallas, magic items with a lot of power, that could manipulate the fabric of reality itself, drawing their energy from the weave (Dndbeyond 5E). Sometimes the essence of those Mythallas would contain the essence of the collection of hundreds or thousands of souls – that can form a divine spark. Sounds familiar? (Extensive Guide)

That is one way, the other way Orikan could get his divine spark is by using Mephet’ran.

We can assume that the Deceiver is a divine being, a star god. The more divine sparks you have, the greater the divine being you become, or are. Unfortunately for him, (the diviner) Orikan, cannibalized him at the end of the book. Since in the Warhammer universe, it is impossible to kill Star Gods without actually changing the natural order, since they are the embodiment of the laws of the universe, and killing them alternates the fabric of the reality, we can speculate he lost some of his divine ranking, by losing some of his divine sparks, consumed by the newly ascended god.

Based on the events in the book, I think Orikan has two divine sparks: one from the aeldari gem (which concentrated thousands of souls, and not any old regular souls, but aeldari souls, so long-lived and powerful), and another one from consuming the Deceiver.

Orikan right now seems to be a Quasi-deity, “he has enough divinity to be spectacularly powerful, but lacks worshipers, or power, has no clerics, no one to pray to him”. He is, I presume, an Ascended Being ( I liked how the Guide describes it, even if it is homebrew, “divinity being absorbed by him, able to walk among the material world unhindered, still bound by their “mortal shacks””).

So I think that Orikan might just become a deity of the Time Domain if he keeps on growing his powers, hopefully turning that divine spark into a fully fledge Godspark. (Extensive Guide)

~Z.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 745: At the window seat

Pag 1

1: The last

2 / 3: 200m!!

Pag 2

1: 150m!!

2: Sugimoto is still ahead!! Danchiku is behind!!

6: There are

Pag 3

1: 100m left!!

Pag 4

1: Issa.... are you watching, Issa

2: I've always been timid

3: I always pushed your back with all my strength

4: And then watched you being all frolic

5: I was satisfied

Hahaha!

Piece of cake!

Pag 5

1: When I was little, during school trips, on the bus

2: I won the window sit

I got it!!

3: I enjoyed looking at how the scenery changed outside the window

Oh, there are cows!!

4: The window seat is super nice!

But I was pushed by my friend

Neh, Danchiku, let's swap seats! Come on, Danchiku

6: Okay

Thanks!!

I gave up my seat

7: In the end

Amazing! What's that tower?

8: our seats stayed like the whole time

9: People also often cut the line in front of me

Sorry, Danchiku!

No, but the line....

Ah, you're so nice, Danchiku, so nice!!

Pag 6

1: After that, the girls scolded me, too

You're too nice, Danchiku!

Yes, yes

Well....

At times like that, you need to flat-out reject them!

Yeah, you're a guy after all

Yeah... you're right... indeed....

2: It bothers us, you know

Is it... my fault...?

3: Is it me....

4: I also yielded with bicycles

Move, slowpoke!!

5: “Move”.....

Ye... yes

Pag 7

1: If you don't want to win, then don't run in races!!

3: Riding was fun, so I started running with bikes, but

4: Indeed....

Want to win.... huh

5: I'm nervous....

I was even late for the start the other day

And I couldn't move forward.....

6: I guess I'll cancel my entry on the next race, then....

I thought I should stop

Pag 8

1: Oi, you

2: At that time....

Ah- ah

My bad....

3: I was thinking while walking... and since the street is narrow

You want me to give way!?

4: Even though I was just walking on the side of the road

5: No

6: You don't have to give up anything

Pag 9

1: Huh

2: You said “my bad”, but you're not at fault

3: I heard there's a guy who goes to the same school as me and who ride bicycles

A guy who runs seriously and practices properly!!

4: I'm looking for that guy

Looking for....

5: He called out to me so self-importantly

Pag 10

1: That guy was Kaburagi Issa!!

Team up with me, and let's become the best in Japan!!

2: The strongest local club team here is called “Team SS”

First, let's join it and train!!

Pag 11

1: That guy was saying things that made no sense, but he had said the two things I wanted to hear the most at that time

2: “You don't have to give up anything”....

“You're not at fault”......

3: So, too suddenly and without really understanding, I said yes

Huh.... yes

Alright, it's decided

4: Danchiku!? It's an unusual name, and that's important!!

It's important?

'cause it sounds kinda cool!!

Huh

5: I still think it wasn't a mistake

What a weird guy....

6: Because Issa never stole my window seat

7: And didn't cut the line in front of me

Waa Danchiku, I'm so behind you!

Haha

Lucky you, dammit

Pag 12

1: And with an overwhelming accuracy, he gave me instructions to move forward!!

Here, Danchiku, move forward!!

Yeah!!

Pag 13

1: It's SS!!

Kaburagi from SS is jumping forward!!

Danchiku is pulling him, that's bad!!

2: Let's win this race!!

Yeah!!

5: That's why I always dreamed of making you “frolic”

Hahaha

6: I pulled you, and you took the finish line

7: That was enough for me

Pag 14

1: But then, after he joined Sohoku, Issa started to say those things

2: Now!! You're next!! Get stronger!!

3: I had no confidence

….. yeah

I wasn't selected for the Inter High during our first year

4: And even when I was chosen for the “Minegayama” race during fall

5: Don't worry, you can win

6: Even though Issa cheered for me, I doubted myself

Yeah

7: Practiced hard, I ran on Minegayama, and somehow I won

Pag 15

1: But right after that, my condition got bad

3: As expected..... right....

Alone, I convinced myself I didn't have what it takes

4: I didn't rely on my heart

It was probably small enough to fit in the palm of my hand

5: I read so many books, trying to make it bigger

Pag 16

1: You can do it, don't worry, you have me with you

I can't wait for the Inter High...!!

You're making so many grains of rice fly around

2: Hahaha

3: When the training camp started, Touji-san gave me a new bike

4: And I became your buddy

5: There's something I noticed

Let's make a special technique

You can do it now!!

7: Ah....

Pag 17

1: I remember something I read in a book

2: “Four things necessary for a person who wants to build up self-confidence”

3: “Find the amazing within you”

“Praise yourself for it”

“Don't deny it”

“Keep polishing it”

4: These are ideals... there's no way anyone can do it

6: I want to meet someone like that, bring them to me...

I thought so, and so that time I put down the book

7: But

Pag 18

1: He was there, right in front of my eyes!!

Pag 19

1: It's been right in front of my eyes the whole time!!

2: The guy who finds the “amazing” in himself, who praises himself for it, and never denies it!!

3: I realized I've been with him for many years!!

4: So I feel like I'm starting to see the process to gain confidence in myself, Issa!!

Pag 20

1: Please look at me, Issa

I'll go to the Inter High!!

2: To prove that my heart is getting bigger, little by little

3: And to make you, who believed in me, even more frolic!!

5: Danchiku is shouting!!

6: He accelerated again!!

7: I'll become much stronger!!

Pag 21

1: Garuaaa!!

2: 50m left!!

They're neck and neck!!

(Thank you @monkeyingaround for beta-ing this chapter!! <33)

[thepathdown]

I saw @starplanes do this and decided to have fun with the template :)

[noctomania]

Help Protect the Internet Archive!

“If our patrons around the globe think this latest situation is upsetting, then they should be very worried about what the publishing and recording industries have in mind,” added Kahle. “I think they are trying to destroy this library entirely and hobble all libraries everywhere. But just as we’re resisting the DDoS attack, we appreciate all the support in pushing back on this unjust litigation against our library and others.”

I just donated to Archive.org because they have spent the past two decades building this Digital Library that has collected over 100 PETRAbytes (1 petra = 1000 tera) of content from all over time and the world.

All kinds of media, even game emulators.

Books you can rent.

Full feature films.

Historical documents.

Webpages - The Wayback Machine, archiving over 860mill webpages across time, is part of the library.

The have a slew of projects designed to help allow libraries and everyday individuals contribute to this library as well as help give everyone access like Offline Archive , Bookserver - even in unique ways like with the Bookmobile!

They are also under attack though, which is what encouraged me to contribute today. Libraries across the US, and lets be real - access to education in many areas of the world - is under attack. I do suspect not just DDoS, not just businesses, but even governments seeking to oppress people will try to suppress this archive and the knowledge is holds.

While you can donate there are other ways to help:

Volunteering is an option, if that fits your bill. If you have collections that should be digitized, they have Scanning Services that would help people contribute non-digitized media to the archive. Also the aptly named Open Library is a great place to contribute either with books or if you are a programmer you can build on top of the data as well. There are also some jobs available! (i can't be sure without their info, but they may qualify as a PSLF employer since they are non-profit)

Archive.org is my new favorite place of all time. Both because of the content but also because of the mission at the heart of it all:

The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, people with print disabilities, and the general public. Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.

[queenkinqs]

*long drag of my non-existent cigarette* I think invincible being a post 9/11 comic has more impact on the story than people realize. at least in the earlier arcs there’s a political connection that could be made with omniman the “defender of democracy” or w/e having secretly committed a horrible atrocity and then proceeding to murder thousands when his son protests against the idea of allowing the earth to be colonized by an alien empire. eventually invincible gets too lost in the sauce of trying to tell an engaging story that it drops the political implications for a while but then it brings in it the flaxan/dinosaurus/robot triple whammy arcs and then the comic becomes about taking initiative and making tangible chances in society, and who should or shouldn’t have the right to decide what’s best for people, and how even the most altruist of rulers will become corrupted by power when their tenancy is too long. but then the comic just kinda ends without really saying anything meaningful about any of that, which is probably for a mirad of reasons such as robert kirkman and ryan ottley wanting to wrap the story out as quickly as possible

the earlier political implications aren’t really present in the show anymore which is I assume why nobody talks about them, and it’s probably been intentionally subdued because there’s already an amazon prime tv show that examines the overlap of superheroes and politics, but it does make me wonder how the show will approach these topics when it eventually gets there (in 2045)

[gothighunicorntolerance]

Slay The Princess is kind of a Spiral/Slaughter statement. To me.

[biggestwilliamfinnfan]

does anyone think the falsettos revival > og falsettos > in trousers > make me a song > elegies > romance in hard times pipeline is real or am i just delusional

[specialistmj]

yeahhh introducing my silly guy since ive only drawn him once before (has many more fankids ive never drawn) also a silly thing ig

@sonic-fankid-showdown ouo