#people are such ritualistic creatures its insane

[kuvvydraws]

Solitale AU

Praetorius' HCs 💙

First • <<Prev ← Part 14 → Next>>

While he no longer keeps a belief in anything holy, Praetorius is highly respectful of religious spaces. He understands the dedication of the self to something bigger, the chain it represents for some and the gift it is for others, and he always tries to keep his mouth shut and polite when such topics come around. If you ask him, on the other hand, about his own perception of anything greater than himself, he gets bitter and resentful — despite his dedication to his role as the Commander, after Surfacing and realizing how much he could have been and grown, he sours and grieves what couldn't have been. Don't talk to him about his God, for all he cares that fucker had all but forgotten about him. Even worse, perhaps his suffering was on purpose... Just let him change the topic.

Much like religious spaces, Praetorius feels the reverence of places where the dead lay. A different type of seriousness gets a hold on him at cemeteries, crypts, graveyards... So many people he has seen perish, so many he has killed himself, both in battle and executed, so many fallen to hunger... Regardless of what kind of life they have run, it was over, and very few individuals, no matter their species, feel calm in the face of death. That challenge alone is worthy of respect in his eyes.

He's not very ritualistic, nor believes in the manifestation of luck — Praetorius is a hardcore ride or die with actions and free will. Fate is a fallacy, and how could the future be written in the stars when monsters have been deprived of them for ages? Countless years in the dark, with no hope for something better, and what for? How many have perished, wishing to the glittering crystals in Waterfall, and saw their lives end with rotten optimism? Reality is harsher, but Praetorius would rather it be so.

After a few months on the Surface, once monsters have settled amongst humans and he can afford to exist without having a panic attack every time he has a free moment, Praetorius spent a lot of his days off trekking back to Mt Ebott. He would return Underground to explore the Castle and its vicinity, and then bit by bit, all the cave down to the Ruins. At first, he tells himself he's doing his rounds to make sure no one was left behind - no matter how many patrols he did in the beginning when the Barrier shattered... It'd be weeks later, after he realizes he's insanely going back over and over, obsessed with a life he was forced to leave behind, that he wills himself to break the habit.

He doesn't know much about fashion, as stated before, but he finds animal print hideous. It's such a visceral reaction to him even his eternal mask of neutrality breaks when looking at it, a sneer cracking over the facade with the speed of lighting. Somehow, the effect is different if he sees the pattern on real creatures, be it a cow or a leopard, but that, printed on cloth? He wishes he had eyes so he could tear them out of his sockets.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Addams Family (2019)

For a $40 million animated film, 2019’s The Addams Family looks great, partially with its character designs taken right out of the original comic by Chas Addams. If you’re a fan of the characters, your nostalgia bone will be tickled. Unless the characters’ macabre nature just fills you with joy, however, this family comedy is prone will probably leave you as silent as a grave.

Newlyweds Gomez and Morticia Addams (Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron) move to New Jersey and take residence in a haunted, abandoned insane asylum. With the help of their butler, the monosyllabic Lurch (Conrad Vernon) and disembodied hand Thing, they raise two morbid children: Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard). When obsessive remodeller and real-estate developer Margaux Needler (Allison Janney) decides the Addams clash with the planned community “Assimilation”, she seeks to drive them away.

Seeing the opening credits boast “and featuring Snoop Dogg as Cousin Itt” made my heart sink. Ultimately, he's a joke for the adults (his character is accompanied by a censored version of Drop it Like It’s Hot). The rest of the star-studded cast, however, perfectly fit their characters and everyone disappears in their roles. The opening jokes as Morticia gets ready for her wedding day are pretty good but after that… there’s not much waiting for you.

In addition to Margaux Needler’s meddling, the Addams worry about Pugsley, who must prepare for a ritualistic dance that will symbolize his transition to adulthood. It isn’t a commentary on anything. Aside from some dangerous swordplay, it isn’t extraordinarily macabre. Essentially, it’s a funny dance. Similarly, the planned community isn’t standing in for the xenophobia associated with small towns. Wednesday Addams doesn’t befriend Needler’s daughter, Parker (Elsie Fisher) because her lesbianism makes her feel like an outsider, for example. She's simply interested in wearing black instead of pink. I didn’t go in demanding the film to stand for something. All I expected was for it to be funny and since most of it isn’t, I craved more. In 2017, The Creature from the Black Lagoon got turned on its head with The Shape of Water. Today, so many people would rather have the Addams family rather than the traditional two-parent, one boy, one girl and a dog household. Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, writers Matt Lieberman and Pamela Pettler didn’t even think of doing more than the minimum. Where’s the edge? The innovation?

The conclusion is particularly weak, quickly wrapping up the plot, leaving character threads hanging to rush towards the iconic theme song (which still remains catchy) before showing the credits. What you experienced wasn’t darkly funny, or even regularly funny except in a few, fleeting moments. The visuals look good and overall you'll probably have fun but this is nothing that will stick with you. The Addams Family isn’t a total disaster, which leaves hope for a sequel should one be made. This material has worked before, just not this time. (Theatrical version on the big screen, October 13, 2019)

[ziyadnazem]

An Introduction To 'Q'

Who is Q? What is Q? And, perhaps most importantly, why is Q?

Q and the ever-growing worldwide movement it’s inspired have been the objects of fascination, mockery and hatred, but of surprisingly little serious analysis.

Q first appeared in October 2017 on an anonymous online forum called 4Chan, posting messages that implied top-clearance knowledge of upcoming events. More than 3,000 messages later, Q has created a disturbing, multi-faceted portrait of a global crime syndicate that operates with impunity. Q’s followers in the QAnon community faithfully analyze every detail of Q’s drops, which are compiled here and here.

The mainstream media has published hundreds of articles attacking Q as an insane rightwing conspiracy, particularly after President Trump seemed to publicly confirm his connection to it.  At a North Carolina rally in 2019, Trump made a point of drawing attention to a baby wearing a onesie with a big Q.

In recent weeks, the tempo of Trump’s spotlighting of Q has accelerated, with the President retweeting Q followers twenty times in one day. Trump has featured Q fans in his ads and deployed one of Q’s signature phrases (“These people are sick”) at his rallies. The President’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has also retweeted Q followers.

Q has noted that the media never asks Trump the obvious question: What do you think of Q? To Q followers, the reason they don’t ask is obvious. They’re afraid of the answer.

In the meantime, Q’s influence continues to spread. Protestors in Hong Kong, Iran, and France have held up Q signs and chanted Q quotes. Q’s revelations are uniting people all over the world who want freedom.

If you’re unfamiliar with Q or only know it through the media’s attacks, I’d like to provide a brief introduction to this extraordinary phenomenon. I’ve followed Q since the first drop, and I’ve grown increasingly impressed by the accuracy, breadth and depth of Q’s messages. Q followers were prepared long in advance for the easing of hostilities with North Korea, the deflation of the mullahs of Iran, and the discovery of Ukraine as a hotbed of corruption for American politicians. They knew a great deal about Jeffrey Epstein’s activities before the public did and anticipate even more shocking revelations to come. As Q likes to say, “Future proves past.” As Q’s predictions come true, they lend retroactive credibility to the entire enterprise.

Q’s followers believe that Q is a military intelligence operation, the first of its kind, whose goal is to provide the public with secret information. Many Q followers think the Q team was founded by Admiral Michael Rogers, the former Director of the National Security Agency and former Commander of US Cyber Command.  Some suspect that Dan Scavino, White House Director of Social Media, is part of the team, because the high quality of Q’s writing has the luster of a communications expert.

Q is a new weapon in the game of information warfare, bypassing a hostile media and corrupt government to communicate directly with the public. Think of Q as a companion to Trump’s twitter. Whereas Trump communicates bluntly and directly, Q is cryptic, sly and subtle, offering only clues that beg for context and connection.

Here’s the way it works: Q posts messages (also known as “drops” or “crumbs”) on an anonymous online forum, which are discussed, analyzed, and critiqued by the board’s inhabitants. (The forum has changed a few times after massive online attacks.) Hundreds of social media accounts then spread Q’s latest posting to worldwide followers who share their research, analysis, and interpretations of Q’s latest information.

I’ve compiled a list of Q’s most famous catch phrases and tried to put them into context.

The Great Awakening: We’re living in a unique time in which ordinary citizens around the world are collaborating to understand and expose the corrupt system that rules us. The system thrives on deception, and the overwhelming task of The Great Awakening is to penetrate its lies and reveal the truth.

The first phase of The Great Awakening is heightened awareness of the Deep State – the interlocking governmental entities that operate outside the law to expand their own power. Elections and popular opinion don’t impact the ability of the Deep State to enforce its agenda.

The second phase of The Great Awakening investigates the Deep State’s alliance with other powerful sectors: the media, Hollywood, charities and non-profits, public schools and universities, religious organizations, medical, scientific and financial institutions, and multinational corporations. This phase can be painful, as you discover that “those you trust the most” (in Q’s phrase) are deceiving you. Beloved celebrities, religious leaders, doctors, educators, innovators, and do-gooders are all in on the hoax.

The third phase of The Great Awakening is perhaps the most painful of all. The people who rule us are not merely amoral creatures who view us as collateral damage in their drive for money and power. It’s scarier than that. The potentates we serve are actively trying to harm us. That’s their goal. We’re under coordinated attack.

Dark To Light: Q tells us that what our rulers fear the most is exposure. Bringing their crimes out of protected darkness into the light of public scrutiny destroys their power to deceive. And as their power fades, the darkness of our divided, violent world will yield to the light of freedom, cooperation, and peace.

Where We Go One We Go All (WWG1WGA): Q’s most famous phrase expresses the worldwide egalitarian nature of the movement.  Every country is suffering from the system’s oppression, and the whole world will benefit from a rebirth of freedom. In this unique movement, anonymous citizens work in collaboration with the highest-ranking military leaders and the president, and everyone’s contributions are valued. When commenters on the board have thanked Q for his service, Q has replied that no one is above and no one is below. “We work for you.”

These people are sick. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of The Great Awakening is coming to terms with the depravity of our rulers, whom Q has called The Cult. Jeffrey Epstein’s story has helped to awaken people to some of the elite’s crimes. The mysterious temple on Epstein’s island hints at possible future revelations that are frightening in their scope. Q followers believe that The Cult engages in ritual practices that enshrine the shedding of blood and which prey on the innocence of children. The sickness in their souls thrives on brutality, war, and terror. These disclosures will be tough for the public to take.

Trust the plan. The presumed military leaders who created Q and who protected Trump throughout the election and presidency have created a precise path to victory. Despite the seeming chaos of daily events, a steady progression of victories is taking place. The plan includes offensive maneuvers against the Cult’s financial power, legal standing, human supply chains, and military capacity. And, of crucial importance, the plan attacks the Cult’s ability to control the narrative that shapes what the public believes. In this high-stakes game of information warfare, Q plays a vital role by empowering ordinary citizens (like me) to spread the truth.

They want you divided. The hatred that’s growing between races, classes, age groups, religions, and political parties is purposely fomented by the Cult. The more we’re divided and focused on attacking each other, the weaker we become. Q urges us to stay together and to fight the Cult, not each other.

They think you’re sheep. The Cult believes, as Q says, “you’ll follow the stars” – the celebrities in media, Hollywood, and academia who tell you, in coordinated fashion, what you’re supposed to think. Their contempt for you makes them confident they can control you and ensure your surrender to any agenda. Q, on the other hand, offers only clues and can only be understood by high-grade critical thinking, spurred by constant crowd-sourced criticism and reassessment. The essence of the Q movement is to think for yourself.

Bigger than you can imagine. Expand your thinking. Q encourages us to reevaluate everything we think we know.  The Cult may date back to ancient times, and through its powerful families, it might have manipulated historical events in ways that we haven’t suspected. The Cult may also possess advanced technology and medical cures that have not been released to the public. One aspect that may be “bigger than you can imagine” is the unfathomable scale of theft from our national coffers, as funds for foreign aid and wars wind up in the Cult’s pockets.

Track resignations. Beneath the surface, a broad and deep cleansing of corrupt players is taking place. Q asked us to track resignations to understand the scope of activity. (Here’s a website that took him up on his request: www.resignation.info) Resignations, retirements, and unexpected deaths from major players in politics, media, charities, and corporations all point to possible deals being made quietly without the public fanfare of arrests. For me, a notable resignation is Eric Schmidt’s abrupt exit from Google, which received little media attention. Schmidt resigned on December 21st, 2017, the same day that President Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency related to “serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.” Further context for Schmidt’s resignation may be inferred from this photo of him in North Korea, apparently in an advisory role. Standing next to him is Bill Richardson, former Governor of New Mexico, the state in which Epstein had a secret ranch. Richardson has been accused by one of Epstein’s victims.

Their need for symbols will be their downfall.  The Cult uses certain symbols over and over again, which may serve some ritualistic need, but makes them vulnerable to detection. Q followers are familiar with Y-shaped horns that mimic those of the goat deity Baphomet, owls, pyramids, one eye encased within a pyramid, red shoes, bandaged fingers, and other repeating symbols, including the mysterious black eye that afflicts so many famous people. The Q Army also knows the coded pedophile symbols listed by the FBI. When Q drew attention to the design of Epstein’s temple, alert Q followers noticed how similar it is to the set design of a famous talk show. And the red ring on the hand of dead terrorist Qassam Soleimani prompted Q followers to compile images of similar rings on the hands of powerful people.  An excellent source for understanding how these symbols are incorporated into pop culture targeting the young through music videos, TV shows and movies can be found at vigilantcitizen.com.

Nothing can stop what is coming. Nothing. Now comes the pain.  The headlines on any given day may sound discouraging for those who want justice to prevail. But these setbacks are temporary, as a juggernaut of justice heads our way. As Q likes to say: We have it all. Massive amounts of irrefutable evidence await the criminals who try to evade their reckoning in court. For those who worry about Trump’s ability to overcome impeachment, election fraud, and assassination attempts, Q assures us: Patriots in control. And no legal tricks can help the criminals escape the ultimate judgment of public disgust.  Q promises us that the day is coming when they can’t walk down the street.

You are the news now.  The “fake news” decried by President Trump is losing credibility and audience by the day. Q has exposed the 4 A.M. drops that provide the daily talking points to media personnel, so they can all parrot the same propaganda. Q has also named various journalists whom he says take bribes. The media is concentrated within six powerful companies; on the other hand, the Q army is vast, voluntary, and anonymous. Q assures us that our efforts to disseminate the truth through social media and conversations with family and friends are having a huge impact. We are the news now.

We know what happens in the end. God wins. Many times, Q has asked us to pray. He’s quoted the famous Biblical lines of Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We’re living through monumental times. It’s comforting that Q believes that if we work together, God wins.

[telawi]

WOMEN, PERFUME AND PRAYER

by Salleh Ben Joned

(NST, 16 September 1992)

I’m writing this on the morning of Wednesday, Sept 9. By the Muslim calendar, it’s 12 Rabiulawal 1413. It’s a public holiday; right now thousands of Muslims are gathering on Merdeka Square after a procession from the National Mosque. Yes, it’s the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

While I’m typing these keys, on the telly the Prime Minister is addressing the crowd on Merdeka Square. Banners among the crowd proclaim all kinds of pious aspirations. One of them announces the theme of this year’s celebration: Berjihad ke Arah Kecemerlangan (Struggle Towards Excellence), though the word jihad, which in another context can mean holy war, may make ‘infidels’ feel a bit uneasy.

The words of the Prime Minister, specifying the four qualities of the Prophet that Malaysians (including non-Muslims, I take it) must endeavour to emulate, are ringing in my ears as I tap the keys — keys to some understanding of the true significance of the Prophet to modern man. The four qualities are sidiq (truthfulness), amanah (trustworthiness), tabligh (responsibility of conveying the truth) and fatanah (wisdom). Marvellous qualities, all; and necessary if our society is to achieve excellence in the moral and spiritual spheres, as well as those of politics and economic development.

To the sceptic and the cynic, such words of idealism proclaimed on such an auspicious occasion smack of well-meaning birthday resolutions; ritualistically affirmed but not rigorously observed, much like those ubiquitous slogans that we are constantly bombarded with — you know, Bersih Cekap Amanah (Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy) and all that jazz.

The Prophet as a revered model of being and behaviour is constantly affirmed, at least verbally, by all pious Muslims. Such an affirmation constitutes a conspicuous part of Muslim piety. Equally conspicuous but more deeply rooted in the heart is the extraordinary, if not unique, love for the Prophet universally felt by Muslims. As Muhammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher of Pakistan, strikingly puts it in one of his poems: “Love of the Prophet runs like blood in the veins of his community.” Like blood, yes. Note that, and remember The Satanic Verses.

This unusually profound love for the Prophet is, it seems, stronger among the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent than anywhere else. It has been said that to Pakistani and Indian Muslims, the figure of the Prophet is more sacred than even God Himself. With them, apparently, you might get away with insulting God but not the Beloved Prophet. 

Iqbal, in whose works the Prophet figures prominently as a model of the heroic self or ‘superman’ has a line in his poem Javidnama which most people would consider amazing in its assertion, but is apparently quite acceptable to a Pakistani or Indian Muslim. “You can deny God,” says the line, “but you cannot deny the Prophet!

”This truly extraordinary regard for the person of the Prophet is something that Salman Rushdie, who hails from that part of the Muslim world himself, should have realised when he chose to display his satanic genius in the reckless way he did. If God has 99 beautiful names or attributes (the al-asma al-husna), the Prophet has even more. Each Muslim, depending on his imaginative capacity (or peculiarity), may treasure one particular name representing one aspect of the Beloved Prophet more than others, just as he may treasure one particular hadith more than any other. 

The name or attribute of the Prophet that I myself feel I have a special something for is Kamil (Perfect), and pretty close to it Munir (Radiant). To the Sufis, especially those influenced by the theology of the great 12th century Spanish-Arab mystic Ibn ’Arabi, the Prophet Muhammad is the archetype of the Perfect Man (al-Insan al-Kamil). This is a difficult concept to truly understand, and if understood, to explain. Briefly and crudely put, the Perfect Man in Ibn ’Arabi’s sense of the phrase is that man in whom the purposiveness of creation is consummated, who is the isthmus (barzakh) between the two poles of Reality: the link between Heaven and Earth, the invisible and visible. 

Talking of the visible/invisible immediately reminds me of the strikingly suggestive ambiguity of the Arabic word for invisible — ghaib. The word, according to Malise Ruthven (Islam in the World), can, depending on the context, “apply to a reality outside human sense-perception, or to the private parts of a woman — ‘that which is (i.e. ought to be) concealed’.” (I’ll have to come back to this later.)

The Perfect Man, according to Ibn ’Arabi, is at once “the eye by which the divine subject sees Himself and the perfectly polished mirror that perfectly reflects the divine light” (Fusus al-Hikam or The Bezels of Wisdom, translated by RWG Austin).

Mystical crap, did you say?

Meditate on the word ghaib and you’ll, insya-Allah (God-willing), be granted a glimpse of the seductive heart of the mystery. 

Thinking of the Prophet as al-Insan al-Kamil leads me naturally to recalling my favourite hadith: “Women and perfume have been made dear to me, and coolness hath been brought to mine eyes in the prayer.” [This is the best translation of the hadith that I know; it’s by Martin Lings, the author of the best modern biography of the Prophet, who informs us that “the coolness of the eyes” is a proverbial Arabic expression signifying intense pleasure.) This beautiful hadith also happens to be the one which Ibn ’Arabi chose to meditate on in his chapter on Muhammad in Fusus al-Hikam.

On the birthday of the Beloved Prophet, while my fellow Muslims on Merdeka Square are entranced by the Prime Minister’s speech on the theme of Berjihad ke Arah Kecemerlangan, I’m mysteriously moved to quietly meditate on that most poetic of hadiths.

Women, perfume, prayer … Ibn ’Arabi’s interpretation of this hadith is not exactly easy reading, or easy to explain in the limited space given to me. So I’ll simply quote parts of the suggestive summary by the English translator of Fusus al-Hikam. The ‘perfume hadith’, says Austin, illustrates ‘the underlying theme of triplicity in singularity … This triplicity in singularity is … the two fundamental poles of the God-Cosmos polarity, the third factor of the relationship between the two, all three elements [i.e. women, perfume and prayer) being united in the Oneness of Being.” 

The first element of the triplicity, women, “represents the various aspects and nature of the cosmic pole, suggesting as it does multiplicity, nature, form, body, receptivity, fecundity, becoming, beauty, fascination…” The Perfect Man may have “total involvement in the complex and multiple demands of cosmic life, symbolised by absorption in sexual union”, but he’ll take care to “correct” that total involvement “by the purification of remembering and reintegration into the world of the Spirit, symbolised by the major ablution after such union.” This should explain what Ibn ’Arabi means when he says that a man “may most perfectly contemplate God in woman.” (Some feminists would probably dismiss all this as patriarchal claptrap; others might like the privileged status of women it implies.) 

Austin’s summary goes on to say that, according to Ibn ’Arabi’s view of things, “the attracting beauty of woman, far from being a snare to delude man, should rather become for him that perfect reflection…of his own spiritual truth, being, as she is, that quintessential sign or clue … from which he might best learn to know his own true self, which is, in turn, to know his Lord.” (Sorry for the convoluted sentence, but there you are.) 

It seems, if I may hazard an obvious gloss, the Sufis’ claim that to know yourself is to know God can best be realised through a woman. In other words, union with the Ghaib can best be realised through the ghaib.

The second element of the triplicity, perfume, is a sort of connecting factor, “not entirely physical nor yet entirely spiritual”. It “symbolises at once both the current of the creative Mercy and also the spiritual nostalgia that draws the human spirit back to its source in God.” 

The last element, prayer, “symbolises the spirit and its reflection in man”; its purpose is to make man fully aware of God. As with women, prayer has its own “perfume”.

On the birthday of the Beloved Prophet, it is customary for Muslims to chant prayers and sign panegyric verses (selawat, marhaban and qasidas) in his honour, as well as listen to sermons. I prefer to express my reverence for and love of our ‘Perfumed Prophet’ by remembering in the very flow of my blood the perfection of his being; a perfection that embraces the human (very human) and the superhuman, the earthly and the transcendent, the creaturely sensual and the divinely spiritual, the visible and the invisible.

And with that remembrance also to recall that the essential thrust of Islam, “the least ‘other-worldly’ of the great religious systems” (Malise Ruthven), is, pace the cheerless mullahs and puritannical fundamentalists, truly and marvellously life-affirming. 

[phantomoftheteahouse-blog]

A Haunting in Ecruteak | HallowMEME Drabble

A purple scarf, with classic pin, a headband to tie one’s hairs In city of old, brass, tin, and pine, preparing for all the scares In black and white, a spooky time, the telling of campfire tales On Hallow’s Eve, amidst the trees, you hear those ghostly wails

You’ll go to the Dance Hall, and deliver the masks And I’ll take the Tower of Bells The rest of you each have your tasks We must make sure it sells Our Morty’s soul has been quite down But soon, his spirit will lift We will chase the nightmares, turn the frown And open up the rift Now ghosts from each and every realm From cemetery and night We call to you to take the helm And deliver us a fright A haunting there will be in this our city of Ecruteak In any way we inspire fear, by trick, in shadows we sneak And I will play the best of parts From Burning tower beyond We will shake the city, stir its hearts And sing this midnight’s song Now Samael and Hellion, go fetch the souls from off the plane And Lune and Hazel plague the air, bewitch our guests to be insane Now fright the air Alight this lair And let our ghosts do work For in this mist We’ll take a risk And earn ourselves a smirk

~~~~~~~~~

“Gengar?” Morty asked the darkness, having awoken promptly at midnight, wanting to begin festivities early. He would decorate in the depth of night before sleeping away the morning, as the festival would begin when the sun began to dip below the trees. And yet, with his ghosts, the atmosphere could be made for the whole of the day. Despite any rumors people may have spread, when Morty rose on Halloween not a soul in the city would do much but sing his praises, besides perhaps to scream.

But Gengar was not in the darkness of his room. Morty lit his lamps, calling for a few more ghosts, and finding none of his haunts available. How troubling. Morty dressed, noting his scarf was missing. Gengar must have been trying on his costume. He always dressed as Morty. In any case the Gym Leader stole into the night wrapped loosely in his robe to find his friends, but when he came outside, he was met by a different sort of sight.

Gastly swirled around the sky, and ghosts of all species ran the streets, with pumpkins, mist, and skeleton creatures hidden in places around the whole city. Morty’s smile inhumanly bright amidst the darkness of the lateness of night. Ecruteak was haunted, alright, and he’d done nothing to help it along.

In the center of town sat a boiling cauldron, pouring fog and heft in varying colors, swampy ones, that might make a child nervous to touch it. Emerging from the cauldron was Gengar himself, wrapped in his scarf, with a devilish grin and an echoing, booming laughter piercing the whole city. People came out of their houses. Shrieks of delight and surprise filled the air.

Someone asked if Morty had got to work early, marveling at the extensive decor, remarking that as the sun rose and set it would look even scarier.

“No,” he said. “This year I had a dream, and it distracted me from celebrating. Gengar, did you do all of this?”

Obi burst from the dance Hall, each dancer clad in a Kimono resembling a different ghost. Mismagius, Dusknoir, Golurk, Chandelure, any ghost you could think of seemed represented by a young woman in a skull mask, dancing about the cauldron, and around Morty, the haunted chanting of music coming from each of the towers.

And Morty was given his own kimono of rich purples and flash red, resembling a Gengar in its beauty. And he joined them. And as they dance, as Morty brought great terrifying revelry to the scene, his power mixing with the ritualistic dance, his dusknoir brought a multitude of spirits to the place. The city had twice its population that night, if one might count the dead.

The past long buried dared not be unearthed, but the spirits of those he had loved, had helped, had prayed for, they came. It was frightening, to be certain, and children screamed with glee, but when Morty made up Ecruteak like a haunted house, there was always a strange beauty to it. Gengar always helped, they all did, and though they gave it their special flair, spooky and gorgeous and all of it, they had learned from him.

For even to make something scary to others, Morty always saw the city as a piece of art this season. The dangerous, the frightening, the macabre, he loved it all. And the people of Ecruteak? Now seeing ghosts come back scared even the grown and the brave, but they could see, perhaps the only day of every year, a happy gym leader without care. And none could believe much of rumors then. It didn’t much seem to matter. Ghost, or demon, spirit, or man, when Morty dance with his friends and laughed openly, everyone believed in magic.

Thus ends the tale of a haunting in Ecruteak, as told first by Gengar, and then by a friend.

[blackfiire]

[ 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁  𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗿 𝗜𝗠, 𝗔𝘀𝗸, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱---𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁. :𝗗 ]

⛧ - A horror thread. I am a horror fanatic and former horror writer. I have the most fun when I---or my muse---is scared. ‘Course Blackfire isn’t one to outright admit her fear. But entities, disembodied voices, and inhuman creatures having the ability to take control of a living being and making them face unimaginable horrors while struggling for survival is always up my alley.

Have Blackfire and your muse play with a ouija board in an abandoned insane asylum just to try and freak each other out. Blackfire is obviously the girl who doesn’t take ritualistic ceremonies seriously. She disgraces the ritual and pisses off some very angry "residents”---even conjuring up an entity that will haunt she and your muse for years to come.

                                             How can you fight what you cannot see?

⛧ - Blackfire takes your muse to Tamaran, where all that she endured is exploited and revealed just by being in her presence. Despite her people having immense prowess and are able to squash your muse under their boots, they are very kind and welcoming towards the newcomer.

However, they attempt to condition your muse into following their beliefs and “revealing” information about who Blackfire really is, and what she is capable of. Most of them are lies built on religion, others from experience by enduring the ugly alien’s wrath.

Will your muse side with tamaran and kick Blackfire to the curb? Or will they remain at her side to solidify utmost devotion?

⛧ -  Another Tamaran one. Blackfire takes your muse to the empty remains of what used to be Tamaran. Their planet was on the verge of dying, to which it finally had. It’s now just a floating rock of ruins. Its here your muse learns more about Blackfire and her past. Your muse asks her a lot of questions which then brings something of a smile to her face knowing that someone is interested, if not, puzzled by her heritage and where she came from. She loves talking about herself. So, give her the opportunity.

⛧ - Please give Blackfire a chance to go BUCK WILD WITH HER ABILITIES. Listen. I have only ever ONCE made her use her darkbolts in a thread. The rest were in drabbles. It’s hard to have a powerful muse when she has all this strength being pent up due to conspiring with human beings (and muns who dont want their characters killed bc obv <3). So. Like. Please. Let her fight. Let her do some amazing things. I BEG OF YOU.

⛧  - A thread where your muse is teaching Blackfire things. Just. I’ve said it before, SHE IS AN ALIEN. She may seem like she knows a lot about earth but she sincerely knows VERY little. Have your muse teach her, whether its wrong information or not. TEACH HER STUFF.

⛧ - AU with non-murderous Blackfire. She’s still a bitch. She’s still intimidating, but without the serial killing. I suppose you could call her “nice” Blackfire. She just wants to party and vandalize shit.

⛧  - Blind!Blackfire. So, there's this scene in the comics that Blackfire goes blind, and I would LOVE to explore that. Perhaps your muse blinded her, and now she is PISSED.

⛧  - Starfire meets Jerome Valeska. :’D I know its not exactly a BLACKFIRE thread but, it will definitely have some instances about her.

⛧ - Pregnant. Well fuck. After years of tormenting men with her lies, it seems karma showed up and left a damn baby in her oven. Help her get it aborted? Kick her down the stairs? Use a hanger? Or do you want her to keep it like the asshole your muse is?

⛧ - Child Blackfire is abandoned and left to die on planet earth, only to be taken into foster care by a couple who aren’t emotionally invested in the youngling. They are simply caring for her just to earn money from the state. Nothing more, nothing less.

Little Blackfire’s dream is to see “Halys Circus” she hears so much about. Her foster parents deny her wish on the grounds of, its “dirty” and “smelly”. And the “popcorn is always stale.” Not to mention the abundance of annoying clowns littered everywhere. But of course Blackfire doesn’t know what clowns are, which only furthers her want to go.

One day, after saving up money from doing chores, she decides to go to the circus all on her lonesome.

⛧ - Any kind of ‘end of the world / apocalypse scenario. STRUGGLING FOR SURVIVAL IS JUST UGH. ♥ Make the planet a friggin wasteland of deformed people who are basically monsters that want to eat you. IDC. GIVE IT.