#so far any of them could also be invocations

[nuggetynoodle]

me right now thinking about how Xenk is a hexblade warlock pretending to be a paladin

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Hey, Can I make a request with a s/o teaching Shenhe, Eula, Yelan, and Arlecchino how to play video games?

(Genshin Impact) Shenhe, Eula, Yelan, Arlecchino, Furina, and Clorinde's S/O teaching them how to play video games

Game: Animal Crossing

Shenhe has tried games like Genius Invocation TCG, but that one frustrates her more than anything.

S/O, then decided to show her a game that she for sure would enjoy: Animal Crossing!

It didn't require anything other than just a will to relax. Plus, it was just a cute way to do something together!

(Shenhe) "...Your character looks cute."

Shenhe is enraptured by the charming little animals, being fondly reminded of Cloud Retainer in a strange way.

She plays it a little bit in what free time she gets, but really enjoys it in S/O's presence. Though there is one thing that annoys her about the game.

(Shenhe) "This is the fourty-seventh time I have gotten the 'Sea Bass' today. Am I doing something wrong when I am fishing, S/O?"

Her ingame avatar has long white hair and wearing something far more cutesy and casual than her usual attire.

Part of her wondered if S/O could get her these kinds of clothes from a store so she could wear it in real life.

A/N: I've gotten more Sea bass from ocean fishing in this franchise than I've eaten bread in my life.

Game: Monster Hunter

Eula decided to indulge S/O in trying to teach her how to play a game. After all, it was better than doing nothing.

It takes her a second to get used to the controls, but she quickly learns how to attack and dodge.

Only when the game truly begins did she realize what S/O had picked out.

(Eula) "Are you trying to tell me you'd like to go hunting for beasts with me, S/O?"

Teasing aside, Eula is a quick learner and becomes very skilled at hunting the many monsters of the game, getting weirdly competitive about it. Despite the fact there was no player versus player element at all in it.

(Eula) "HAH! I finally made the best Master Rank armor in the game! Everything we fight should be child's play!"

She also loves the cat companions that are in the game and spends a great deal of time dressing them up in cute/hilarious outfits.

Though she will enact vengeance if anyone calls her out on that.

A/N: Man I can't wait for Wilds.

Game: Metal Gear Solid

Yelan usually rolls dice to see what her day off becomes.

And this time, it was to have S/O show her these "Video Games".

Yelan settled for some "Tactical Espionage Action" game, the irony not being lost on her at all.

She learns the controls and plays it extremely casually, being more drawn in by the absurd story and characters.

Yelan is usually laughing at the action, but still enjoying herself.

(Yelan) "Geez, is this how your world views agents, S/O? It's not nearly as cool as this game's making it out to be."

Part of her wants to try hiding in a box to see if anyone would notice, but she'd also like to still be alive and not caught.

But the temptation is always there, everytime the dice decides for her to play this game again and again...

(Yelan) "Hm...the explosions in this game are a little much, but I guess it's also not entirely inaccurate...Sometimes, anyway."

A/N: I GIVE MY LIIIIIIIFE, NOT FOR HONOR, BUT FOR YOUUUUUU

Game: Mario Kart

Arlecchino usually passes on any offer to play a game, not because she didn't want to, but because she likes to observe.

(Arlecchino) "Let the children play first, S/O. I will join soon after."

What she usually witnesses for Mario Kart is a bloodbath.

This game brings out something in her kids that she hasn't seen before.

Even Freminent and Lynette, some of her more reserved kids, turn to something feral when playing against the others.

She's equally entertained and kind of concerned, like maybe this game wasn't healthy, but it did bring everyone closer and give the kids something fun to do.

Arlecchino decides to jump in at many kids' requests, and admittedly isn't that great at it.

But she has more satisfaction in watching the kids have fun.

That being said, there is some sadistic pleasure she has throwing the blue shell and watching whoever's in front take the brunt of it.

(Arlecchino) "Fascinating what these video games can do to children. Do you have more they can all try?"

A/N: Coconut mall is the best map, change my mind.

Game: Subnautica

Furina is at first excited to try something new.

(Furina) "Oh, a game about the beauty of the ocean? I shall beat it no problem!"

But she didn't realize that unlike Fontaine's waters, (Which to be fair, held its own terrors), this was an alien planet's ocean.

She's jumping at every little thing, screaming as she's desperately swimming away from the tiniest fish or anything that even makes a weird noise.

(Furina) "W-WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?! I'M GOING BACK TO THE LIFEPOD!"

That's not even to mention the Leviathans.

The first time she saw a Reaper, she immediately dropped the controller and buried her face into S/O's arms in terror, yelling out something sounding like a curse and crying.

Furina doesn't like video games anymore.

It takes something like Endless Ocean to calm her down about the waters again, thinking that every video game ocean has a Leviathan now.

A/N: For me, that game is horror until I get the Prawn Suit, then it becomes Pacific Rim as I hunt down every Reaper near the Aurora.

Game: Baldur's Gate 3

Clorinde was intrigued by video games, but honestly wasn't too keen on the idea of trying it. It didn't seem up her alley.

Until S/O showed her a game like Tabletop Troupe, but this time without the fears of annihilating some poor Game Master's campaign.

(Clorinde) "...Do you mind if I give this game a try, S/O?"

Her expression doesn't really change as she's playing, but that's because Clorinde is really immersed in the world.

It's just a lot of fun to truly let loose and interact with the world and NPC's, no fear of dealing with any player trying to murder-hobo their way.

SHE could be the Murder-Hobo, finally. Not that she would.

She enjoys playing it in her off time, but nothing beats living players and rolling the dice herself however.

This game did give her a few ideas for some new campaigns however.

(Clorinde) "I'd be interested in seeing you play with me, S/O. What choices would you make? And by the way, in true Tabletop Troupe fashion, we're not save-scumming. Once you roll the D20, our fate is sealed."

A/N: OS TAV RO VA VIVOLKAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

[jennarations]

Would love your landoscar fic recs 💌

your wish is my absolute command 🫡🫡

i’ve gone back to college and started student teaching and gotten covid and adopted a kitten all in the last two weeks so i haven’t gotten to read as much but here is what i’ve got! the key is the same as the lestappen fic rec:

> (Title) +/= (Multichaptered/One-Shot)

(Summary)

!!! (Link)

• (Tags - please note these are just the tags I saw relevant to myself, double check the fics themselves for any other tags you might deem relevant!) *(Word count)

Here we go! I’m also tagging some of the bestest and loveliest authors at the bottom of the post, go send them some love!! (Putting it under a Read More for all of our collective sanity)

My one (1) work (shameless self plug heheheh):

> Thunderstruck =

Lando has a childhood fear of thunderstorms and in a record-breaking year for rainfall, Oscar Piastri becomes his new teammate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50579323?view_adult=true

• Falling in love, Slight pining, Fluff, Humor *8.1k

—

> If You’re Barbie, And I’m Barbie, Then Who’s Driving the Bus? =

Anyways, the driver room is largely quiet at the moment. But not entirely, much to Lando’s enjoyment.

Buzzing from Oscar’s headphones, loud enough for Lando to hear the words, is a song from Barbie.

Charli XCX, no less.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48940792#main

• Fluff, Comedy *800 words

> Mortifying! Anyways, =

Mortifying interaction, but he’d survive. Besides, it’s not like the cashier was that cut–

“Cute enough to make you stupid, huh Norris?” He could hear his smile before he saw his face, a proper Cheshire grin.

“Fuck off mate,” Lando groaned, already trying to scrub the cashier from his brain. Except for the Australian accent, he decided; that bit could stay. Maybe his eyes, too, as tired as they had seemed. And his hair, which looked so soft in that kind of ridiculous side part.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49328047/chapters/124474876?

• College AU, Clumsy Lando, Meet-cute *2.3k

> The New Normal =

He wears a lot of shorts.

Lando had thought that Daniel wore shorts a lot, and then along came Oscar. It must be something about Australians.

Carlos never wore shorts.

Oscar’s pale, unblemished, muscular (and hairy) thighs spill out of the team issued black shorts whenever they sit to film content, or sit in meetings, or whenever Oscar sits in Lando’s general vicinity while wearing them.

They’re not a distraction.

OR Lando’s very healthy obsession with his new teammate’s thighs.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49335997/chapters/124496539?

• Pining, Slight smut *8k

> Invocations One Fall Away From the Concrete = ♥️

“Okay,” Lando says. “What’s your power?”

“Telekinesis,” Oscar replies a little too easily, like he’s trying not to make a big deal out of it. In fact, he’s already looking back down at his form. Lando doesn’t miss the way he seems completely stumped by the ‘Birth date’ square though.

Telekinetics are far and few between. You’re probably more likely to be struck by lightning twice than to meet a telekinetic. They’re so highly sought after in the hero industry that any telekinetic baby would automatically have a net worth of at least three hundred billion US dollars the second it was born. Moreover Oscar's an Oxy. It’s like, the jackpot of jackpots. This guy’s simply unreal on paper.

Lando scrunches up his face, rolls his eyes and says, “alright.” He shrugs. “Nothing to write home about, then.”

--------------------

AKA the low-key superpowers au where they have to activate their powers doing a really specific thing. Oscar's activation is a mystery to Lando, but it involves a lot of good stuff, pinky promise. (Lando Wink™)

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49508506/chapters/124953475?

• Non-Driver AU, Superpowers AU, Roommates, Slight Angst, Fluff, Humor *10.3k

> Only Found = ♥️

“Hey, well. No strings attached, right?” Oscar says, strategically.

Lando smiles and says, “hell yeah. And now that that’s established, what’s your stance on aliens? Also, do you still want your cake?”

--

cinderella soulmates au where whatever you lose, your soulmate finds. except: oscar has a soulmate and lando is a No-Match, a person who doesn't have a soulmate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49218676#main

• Non-Driver AU, Soulmates AU, Lawyer!Oscar, Streamer!Lando, Angst, Fluff *6.8k

> Carried Away =

"Oscar," Lando said. "Don't hate me, alright, but I've—”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48871015#main

• Non-Driver AU, Fake Relationship, Angst, Fluff, Humor *22.1k

> Little Bit of Love =

“I’m freezing,” Lando says. Whines, really. “Don’t be mean, Oscar, I feel like shit.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49143811

• Sick fic, Fluff, Realization of Feelings *4.7k

> Signed Sealed =

Delivered

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48959461#main

• Text fic, NSFW pics *4.3k

> Smokeshow =

Because Oscar won the American football challenge, Lando had to wear the cheerleader uniform.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48546973#main

• Smut, Cheerleader uniform Lando, Brat!Lando *3.5k

> I’ll Kiss You First =

“Uh,” Oscar says, when they’re in the car on their way to the airport. “I think you’re—um. Going into heat, mate.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47264011#main

• A/B/O, Alpha!Oscar, Omega!Lando, Smut *3.1k

> Sunflower Seeds =

Not worth dwelling on, really. Oscar doesn’t have to understand him to be on his team. If he were a pitcher, it would be different; Oscar has to get his pitchers in order to do his job as a catcher well. Lando isn’t a pitcher, though. So it’s fine.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49596088/chapters/125175172?

• Non-Driver AU, Baseball AU, Realization of Feelings, Fluff *8.6k

> Chronically Bitchless But Still Wifed Up = ♥️

Lando wasn’t above throwing his weight around in order to get what he wanted, at least in some circumstances. And he wanted to meet Oscar Piastri.

In general, he wanted to go to a MotoGP weekend and probably could have either bought tickets and waited around there like a normal person or asked one of his actual sort-of friends in the paddock to hang out in their garage, but the more specific desire was to meet Oscar Piastri.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49301212#main

• MotoGP!Oscar, Driver!Lando, Fluff, Humor *8.3k

> Negative Splits =

So officially, Oscar Piastri, pretty good steepler and pretty bad pacer, was now a professional runner.

They wanted him to steeple, mostly, though he’d be doing cross country in the fall, and Lando had pinky promised him, mid-distance guy to mid-distance guy, that if he wanted to get into the 3k flat indoor then he would get him in.

Oscar didn’t really want to ask how he planned on doing that. Felt safer not to ask.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48161206#main

• Non-Driver AU, Professional Runner AU, Injuries, Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort *10.1k

> Thinkin Bout Your Touch =

Lando’s brain gets so occupied by the thought it shouldn’t come as a surprise really, when a few rounds later Oscar says, “Dare.” Lando blurts out, “Let me suck your dick.”

There’s a long, awkward silence in which they just stare at each other, Oscar’s expression completely unreadable. “Uh,” he eventually says. “I think a dare is something I’m supposed to do.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48704749?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Blowjob *2.3k

> I’ve Tasted Blood (And I Want More) =

Lando grabs a pillow and hits him with it, while Oscar laughs loudly. His fangs are on full display, white and sharp and pretty. “You know what I mean, you dickhead!”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Oscar says, eyes twinkling. “You want me to use you as a human Capri Sun. You know, like a weirdo.”

“God, you’re making this so much worse than it is,” Lando says, burying his face in his hands. It’s. Well, it’s embarrassing, but Oscar also hasn’t outright said no, so. You know what they say. In for a penny, in for a pound. “So, will you?” And then, just in case, he adds. “Suck my blood?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48136999#main

• Vampire!Oscar, PWP *5.6k

> Legerdemain =

“You’re so modest it’s disgusting,” Lando says. “Michelle’s told me all about it. You winning against some master back in Australia. Anyways, she wants to hop on the bandwagon, get us to play chess, take photos after the weekend. She thinks you could teach me. It would show that you’re pedantic and that I’m pushing past my comfort zone...”

Oscar scoffs. “If Michelle’s only taking photos, why do I need to teach you it? Couldn’t we just pose with a chess set, like the Williams drivers?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49690744/chapters/125422075?

• Chess, Humor, Sexual Tension *5.8k

> What You Do To Me =

“Oh,” Oscar says, because what else are you supposed to say when your teammate says ‘I wish I still had a girlfriend so I could fuck some of that frustration out of me’. “I mean. I uh. I could give you a blowjob? I’d suggest a fuck but I don’t have any lube on me right now and I’m guessing you don’t either.”

Huh, would you look at that. Looks like the award for ‘most insane statement of the night’ doesn’t go to Lando after all.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47993518?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Blowjob *2.5k

> Purring in My Lap (cause he loves me) =

The cat thing ends up getting sort of explained in Bahrain, when Lando walks into his driver room and finds a small orange cat sitting on his couch.

Oscar’s cat, presumably.

And he kind of looks like Oscar, too. Slender, lean, and with a slightly grumpy, unimpressed expression on his face. It makes Lando laugh a little. Like owner, like pet, clearly. “Should I just call you Oscat, then,” Lando jokes, giving the cat a little head scratch.

The cat, Oscat, stops rubbing at Lando’s hand and just stares at him instead. Lando would almost say he was looking at him disapprovingly, but it is a cat, so he’s probably just imagining things.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47878867#main

• Cat!Oscar, Fluff, Slight Angst *5k

> In Limbo =

“So what, you like me?”

Tick this box for yes, and this box for no. Fold it tight. Slide the paper under the desk. Don’t let anyone see.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49619383#main

• PWP, Dubious Consent *2.3k

> Eyes on Me =

He just doesn’t understand why Oscar stares so much.

It first comes to his attention at the pre-season media shoots. They have to be photographed in the new gear, and the new suits, and all the while a video camera is rolling to capture content for some behind the scenes pre-season footage. Lando likes to look back at the content they film, just to see how awkward he is.

He looks over some of the test photos while the videos load, and he sees Oscar’s eyes on him a lot of the time. Lando’s own are on the camera, his posture relaxed as he goes through the motions of what the team asks of him.

OR

Lando notices just how much Oscar stares at him, until one day he realises just how much he stares back.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49769368#main

• Mutual Pining *3.8k

> Home Is Wherever You Are =

‘You know, we could ask Carlos to babysit tonight,’ Lando mumbled against his mouth.

Oscar pulled back and hit his husband’s chest while laughing at him and shaking his head.

‘The man just arrived, babe, we can’t ask that right away!’

Lando pouted and pulled Oscar back against his chest. ‘But it’s been so long since it’s just been the two of us.’

OR: Lando and Oscar spend the day with their daughter and friends before finally having some alone time

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49909321

• Kid!fic, Established Relationship, Fluff *4.1k

> Grand Theft August =

Oscar Piastri, eh? It's not the worst idea he's ever had.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49975555?view_adult=true#main

• Angst, Humor, Smut *6.9k

> We’re All in the Butter But Some of Us Are Looking At the Cars = ♥️

Under it, the cross stitch with the Mandela quote, there was another one. A different one. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Stars, again. And then the one beneath that was also about stars. Weird, he thought, then went to the till to wait for his sister.

Above the pile, too high for twelve year old Oscar to read, a sign was stamped. SECTION #13: REACH FOR THE STARS.

Twenty two year old Oscar rests his nose to the glass and looks at the clouds.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49696357

• Angst, Slow burn, Prose, Realization of Feelings *14.3k

> Terraforming =

“WORMHOLES! An Einstein brain child. They are created when FTL objects puncture the bed sheet that is our universe. Going through them should be a trip through timespace, which sounds cool, except it’s not because we never know what’s on the other side—”

“I think you meant fabric, not bed sheet,” Oscar says.

Lando rolls his eyes. “It’s a metaphor, mate.”

“For what?”

“For like. The fabric of the universe.”

“Huh.”

“Shut up.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50099659

• Space AU, Non-Linear Narrative, Angst, Happy Ending *8.8k <- I literally haven’t read this yet because it was uploaded today but i love enzo and all their stuff is fantastic so i’m rec’ing it anyway :)

> Superdense Neutron Star//Post Supernova +

It felt good to laugh. Thursdays already kind of sucked, all of the walking and talking and nothing to do, even when he wasn’t being drilled on the abrupt shift of his career. It was manageable because it had to be; because there was half a season left and a championship spot left to fight for and a team that was still his home, even if he’d just been delivered the eviction notice.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49981615/chapters/126195823

• Angst, Fluff, Ambiguous Ending *21.8k <- i also have not had the time to read this one because of life, but i trust leaf with my feelings (and my life) so this also goes on the list.

EDIT 11/5: More additions to the list!

> Unraveled =

Lando does not have a thing for his roommate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50085112/chapters/126476167?

• Non-Driver AU, Roommate AU, Bartender!Lando, Realization of Feelings *7.1k

> It’s Not Queerbaiting, It’s Saving the World =

Lando bursts into Oscar’s room without knocking. He’s red in the face and panting, sweat collecting on his forehead like he just ran a marathon.

“You need to kiss me.”

or, the drivers stage a protest, of sorts. Oscar might lose his mind.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49710619#main

• Fluff, Humor *1.6k

> Melepathic. Or Something =

“Thank God we used condoms,” mutters Oscar later, when they’re presentable, no doubt thinking back to last week when they. Well. Lando peeks out the door to check if the hallway is clear. It is.

“Yeah,” he says as he gestures Oscar out. “See you in a few, mate.” Oscar slips through and Lando picks up his phone again, sees a new message. Up for some fun tonight?

sure, says Lando after a moment. Amen to short refractory periods and all that.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47589115#main

• Smut, Miscommunication, Happy Ending, FWB *8.5k

> What Would You Do (If I Went To Touch You Now?) =

“Okay, so they both like each other. We need to get them together.”

“How? Lando’s too freaked out to think straight and Oscar is the human embodiment of the standing man emoji.”

Charles purses his lips for a moment before he snatches his boyfriend’s phone up from the other side of the table.

“What are you doing?”

“Initiating Mission Landoscar.”

“Did you just make that up?”

Charles waves at him dismissively as he begins texting, and Max lays his head down on the coffee table and prays for strength.

***

In which Max tries to prove to an oblivious Charles how glaringly obvious it is that Lando is head over heels in love with Oscar. When Charles finally gets with the program, Lestappen go on A Mission™ to get the two idiots to admit their feelings for each-other, but it’s easier said than done.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48745483/chapters/122963314

• Lestappen as a plot device, Angst, Slight Smut, Fluff, Humor, Texting, Escape Room Shenanigans *29.7

> Soft Vanilla Foreplay = ♥️

“Oh shit, you’re,” Lando gasps, smiles. “You’re a. You’re Robin Hood. You’re a kitty Robin Hood.”

Oscar stops grinding. “Can we have this talk tomorrow?”

Lando laughs and comes down to place a kiss on Oscar’s lips. “Yeah. Oh yeah. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be great. I’m sooooo busy right now. Hmm.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50382910/chapters/127293583?

• Vigilantes, Cat!Oscar, Hacker!Lando, Non-Driver AU, Slight angst, Humor, Happy Ending *8.6k

> Is it Gay to Watch Your Teammate on TikTok? (Asking for a friend) +

He’s sitting on the bed, dinner long since picked at, with his knees pulled up to his chest. He feels close to hyperventilating.

It’s playing on loop, some sappy little edit captioned “i need to find someone to look at me the same way oscar looks at lando”.

And really, who the fuck was going to tell him that Oscar smiles at him like that?

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/127611460?

• Fluff, Humor, Ship aware Lando (containment breach of RPF), Pining *4.6k

> HOCKEY!!! Shrimp Colors :) =

Montreal puts Oscar on waivers after years - years of bouncing from the feeder team up to the league, and then back down. Edmonton picks him up.

Edmonton keeps him. Lando does, too.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50562061/chapters/127728067?

• Non-Driver AU, Hockey AU, Leaf puts sports boys into other sports, Angst, Fluff *13.8k

> My Shelter in a Hurricane =

Oscar wants to help Lando get better after the disappointment of Qatar's GP qualification. He doesn't know how...

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50639854/chapters/127923673?

• Fluff, Established Relationship, Post-Qatar Quali, Slight Angst *1.4k

> Pretty When You Cry =

Lando wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry, rip his hairs out, punch a hole into a wall, maybe shove someone, or maybe all of the above.

Or: the mclaren boys comfort each other after that shipwreck of a qualifying.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50624551?view_adult=true#main

• Fluff, Slight Angst *1.4k

> Already Home = ♥️

Lando takes a deep steadying breath. “I think I might be in love with Oscar.” He says, and hates how immediately when he says the words, he knows it’s true.

“Right,” Max says, nodding. “And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and?’” Lando says, a little outraged. “I can’t be in love with him! We’re married! This is like, a disaster waiting to happen!”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50704861/chapters/128087614?

• Non-Driver AU, Fake Marriage, Falling in Love, Angst, Humor, Fluff *32.5k

> Do You Like Me? Y/N =

oscar & lando have an awkward plane conversation, aided by uquiz.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50706235/chapters/128091004?

• Fluff *3.8k

> Recreate the Sun =

“You know who you sound like when you say that?” Lando asks absently, tossing the open bag of Skittles to one side and hoisting himself up the bed to rest against the pillows, head tipped back, the jut of his Adam’s apple catching stark in the TV’s flickering light.

On some level, Oscar already knows what’s coming. The Cheshire cat grin Lando gives to the ceiling near enough confirms it.

“Who?”

“Mark Webber.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48632239

• PWP, Weed use, Oscar/Mark mentions *3k

> Landoscar Cooking Show =

Lando and Oscar's love story through food-related posts on Instagram

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50825998#main

• Picture fic, Social media fic, Fluff *0k

> Little Renaissance = ♥️

And Oscar - people said he didn’t like the spotlight, didn’t know how to capture it and keep it the way Lando did. They always compared the two of them, in that regard. Even after Oscar left. But they weren’t right, the strangers, not after the first year at least.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50824324/chapters/128393929?

• Future Fic, Retirement, Angst, Pining, Acceptance, Happy Ending, Prose *14.2k

> Those Magic Changes =

“Yeah, right.” Oscar’s beer tastes stale in his mouth. “Sure there’s other perks though, right?”

Logan’s attention has been taken by his phone. Probably a girl, Oscar thinks, or his Mom. Maybe there’s a particularly big fish being shared in the family group chat. He types out a message then locks it with purpose, chucking it face down on the table.

“Yeah, I mean. You know what they say happens when you podium, right? The girl thing?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49308133#main

• Fem!Oscar, Smut, PWP *7.8k

> Sometimes I Start To Think You Hate Me Too =

Lando seems to have come to the conclusion that his strategy of appeasing him isn't working, so he opts for being impersonal, objective. "You were optimistic, Carlos locked up, you both crashed. It was a racing incident, and you - you are being dumb about it."

It doesn't work.

He scoffs, upset, he has never left anything well alone, he digs his heels deeper. "I wasn't too optimistic, I was inexperienced, was I not?"

OR,

The deep fear of yearning, wanting and needing without understanding the jealousy that consumes you. Breaking and breathing heavily under an awfully put facade of everything going well.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49659349/chapters/125339467?

• Angst, Inner Turmoil, Fluff, Happy Ending *3.7k

> Mine =

All in all, it’d been a shit weekend for Oscar. He knew he was beating himself up over understandable, expected rookie mistakes, he knew it was a great learning opportunity, he knew that the damage to his car hadn’t been entirely his fault on both occasions. Even if he didn’t show it or express it outwardly, it stung to watch his teammate stand on the podium - P3 - after all that’d happened. It hurt even more when that P3 became P2 before they’d even finished celebrating.

Lando moved up in the championship, so did the team. He deserved it, but it hurt like a bitch.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/51053692?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Dom!Oscar *2.8k

> Sanctus = ♥️

“Nessun maggior dolore che ricordarsi del tempo felice ne la miseria,” Oscar read. Recited. Proclaimed.

“There is no greater sorrow than thinking back upon a happy time in misery,” Lando echoed.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50752399/chapters/128207113?

• Renaissance AU, Non-Driver AU, Angst, Master/Servant Relationship, Religious Imagery, Fluff, Happy Ending *5.5k

> Anything Less Than Human =

Oscar doesn’t really do entrances. Sure, in high society, it’s deemed necessary to stand at the top of some ridiculous staircase and wait for someone to announce your arrival. But that really only works in your favor if your name has any kind of good status associated with it.

Oscar’s not fortunate enough to fall into that category.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49902154/chapters/125979850?

• Vampire!Oscar, Masquerade Ball, Consensual Blood Sucking *2.7k

That’s all for now folks!

Authors (i love and cherish u all, you’re simply the light of my life):

@wanderingblindly @eisenberg @ocontraire @celientjeee @nyoomfruits @gaslybottoms and @ venerat (ao3 user)

P.S. whoever the nonnies are that wrote “Grand Theft August” and “We’re All in the Butter but Some of us are Watching the Cars” i would literally pay you to step on me, thanks and good night.

[romirola]

Prince Shifter (A Redactedverse/Princess Bride AU) Teaser for Snippet Sunday

A short scene from the upcoming chapter of The Prince Shifter, featuring Alexis and Quinn discussing their evil plans once Alexis and David marry...

Tagging (with no pressure) @us3rnam3-r3dact3d, @kermemet, @ririchurl, @penncilkid, @arrowfleur, and anyone else who'd like to play along! Share a snippet from your WIP of any medium!

Also going to tag those on the Prince Shifter taglist: @vind3miat0r, @annahxredaxted, @zozo-01, @eeeeeevesstuff, @dawnofiight

Far away from prying eyes of the court, Alexis and Quinn marched through the forest, taking a path they had so frequently taken together. 

“Your shifter is really quite a winning creature,” Quinn noted. “A trifle grumpy, perhaps. But his appeal is undeniable.” 

“I know,” Alexis boasted. “The people are quite taken with him.” She giggled. “Insipid fools. The whole lot of them.” The princess kicked at a rock near her feet for no other person than she was capable of doing so. “You know, it’s funny. When David was initially kidnapped, I was so put out. After all, I had selected him purely for the optics of it.” She scoffed. “How in the world could anyone claim I would not rule with the citizens’ best interests in mind after I marry one of them?” 

“And a mutt, no less,” Quinn agreed as the pair came up to a large tree. “Oh, it was a perfect plan, Your Highness. As soon as you say, ‘I do,’ you’ll be in their perfect position to take the throne and mold Dahlia to match our vision.” 

Quinn and Alexis had spoken at length about that vision. It included citizens being used to provide the royal family with an endless blood supply, no matter what. It included government take-overs of every business and institution, replacing citizens in any sort of leadership positions with state-approved, and thus state-loyal, vampires. It included anyone who would like to hold such a job to be turned into a vampire, and, by extension, be bound by an invocation of obedience.  

Alexis straightened her tiara. “Yes, yes, it was. But now, I’ve come up with a new, even more perfect plan,” she revealed with excitement. “If David thinks I am so inferior to his precious little mate, then so be it. He’s nothing but a mongrel anyway. It’s going to be so much more moving when I slaughter him on our wedding night. His body will be nothing but a mangled, bloody corpse. It will be easy to claim he shifted and attacked me. Giving into his beastly instincts and all that nonsense.” She parroted the stereotypes with gross indifference. “The whole nation will be simply outraged. And we can seize that outrage into demanding all shifters be put under a trance for the protection of everyone else. The people will practically demand it. We’ll certainly claim the trance will not be overly authoritative…” 

“You?” Quinn grinned. “Overly authoritative? Perish the thought.” 

“Total shifter submission will be the first step in making our dream a reality, Quinn,” Alexis predicted. “Ah, and what a glorious reality it will be, when Dahlia is nothing more than an endless supply of blood and labor for us.” She cackled at the thought. “And people will be so deeply enthralled, they won't even realize what's happened.”

“Wonderful, Your Highness. Simply wonderful,” Quinn said over his shoulder. Quinn faced the large tree, examining the knotty bark carefully. “Now, where is that secret knot?” he muttered to himself. “It’s impossible to find.” After a few tentative presses, Quinn finally found the correct knot. “Ah!” When he pushed on it, the trunk of the tree slid away, revealing a passageway and a flight of stairs going underground. “Are you coming down into the Pit?” he invited. “The pirate, or should I call them, as your groom-to-be does in his nightmares, ‘Angel,’ on the Machine today.” 

Alexis stamped her foot. “You know how much I love watching you work, but I can’t,” she pouted. “But I’ve got my country’s 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my husband to murder, and an attack to fabricate.” She threw her hands into the air. “I’m simply too overwhelmed to have any fun.”

“It is my official recommendation that you get some rest, Your Highness,” Quinn suggested, his extra tooth showing through his smile. “If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything.”

[itstheheebiejeebies]

hi! would u share more about Faith, Devotion, and Invocation? pls

So that one is a Supernatural fic I've talked about on my main before as my Faith Dean Fic. It grew wildly out of control because it was supposed to just be focused on S1E12 Faith and now will span through the end of S5. It's at 35K and so so far from done and I haven't been working on it lately.

The premise is Castiel is who's being used to heal people by the Faith Healer instead of a reaper and he asks Dean to let him in to be get help to get free of them and Dean says yes and gets possessed by Cas. Cas gets free by the end of the episode but Dean doesn't forget the experience and so when anything vaguely angelic comes up he wants to investigate.

The kicker is Cas gets mind wiped by Heaven upon returning so when he's sent to get the righteous man from Hell he has no recollection of Dean but Dean remembers him. This causes a different kind of friction in their relationship but also grows it because while Cas doesn't remember Dean he's still drawn to him (in part because angels leave grace behind in prior vessels and in part because he's always going to be).

And now you get a section from it below the read more because it's kinda long

Ask me about my WIPs

Reverend Le Grange takes the stage with help from his wife and stands at his lectern. “Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?” The crowd sends sounds of agreement to him. It’s unclear if they truly believe he’s right or if they just are so desperate for help they’d agree if he said the sky was orange. “Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act.”

Immoral, unspeakable, well, there goes any chance of me being chosen, Dean thought. His past could generously be described as checkered, but more aptly described as a train wreck in human form. The things he’d done in his life would appall this man. It had all been done with good intentions, to help people, to avoid worse situations, but everyone knows the saying about good intentions. Dean would find out if it were true soon enough he supposed.

Sam takes stock of the way the stage is decorated, there’s an altar of a sort, someone untrained in the supernatural would simply call it a table, but the plethora of candles and the unique cross with an additional cross in a circle up top made him think it was slightly more than decor. There were also some kind of runes carved into the sides of the table top, he had no clue what they meant, but supposed that maybe he was thinking too deeply about it. This was a church after all, there’s symbols and sigils in every church. He brushes off his suspicion, not because he doesn’t know better but because, like the others in the crowd, he’s desperate.

“But I say to you, God is always watching.” Reverend Le Grange has his hands out towards the crowd. He’s getting more intense with the way they agree.

“Yes he is,” comes from the crowd.

“God rewards the faithful, the good, and punishes the corrupt.” The crowd nods and some verbally agree. “It is the Lord who does the healing here, friends. I am but a vessel for his work. He guides me in choosing who to heal by looking into their hearts.”

“And into their wallets,” Dean grumbles to Sam.

“You think so young man?”

“Sorry,” Dean shrank slightly into his seat, he felt about nine years old again. Like his father was staring at him and blaming him for something. The whole crowd was looking at him.

“No, no, everyone’s entitled to an opinion, just be careful ‘a what you say around a blind man, we’ve got sharp ears.” The crowd laughed and focused back on him and away from Dean. “What’s your name, son?”

He hesitates, clearing his throat before answering, “Dean.”

“Well Dean, I want you to come on up here with me.”

The crowd claps with the exception of Layla and her mother, Sue Ann walks toward center stage and puts an arm out towards Dean, and he sinks further into his seat shaking his head.

“No, it’s okay.” He’d be punished if he went up. It was a loop in his brain, he was about to be punished. The man would humiliate him in front of everyone, or if this guy did have powers he'd be in trouble. The pastor's prior words “He punishes the corrupt” and “Immoral and unspeakable” rang through his mind and the ringing in his ears had gotten even louder, the eyes of the crowd had him overwhelmed. He wanted nothing more than to run out of the tent and never see this place again.

Sam turns and whispers to Dean, “What are you doing?” His prayers had been answered and Dean wouldn’t go up? He couldn’t understand it, why wasn’t Dean getting up?

“You’ve come here to be healed haven’t ya?”

Dean stammered, “Well yeah, but uhh, maybe you should pick someone else.” Someone worthy, his traitorous brain supplied.

“Oh no Dean, I didn’t pick you. The Lord did.” He was smiling, trying to be inviting but also it seemed genuine. Like he truly believed it.

The crowd cheered once again, but it was Sam tugging his arm up that made him get up. He slowly made his way to the stage and was led by Sue Ann to stand next to the Reverend. With each step his ears rang worse. He felt half a step away from either throwing up or collapsing by the time they stopped moving.

“You ready?” Le Grange asked.

Dean paused, pushing down his nausea before speaking, “Look, no disrespect,” he let out a breath, “but uh, I'm not exactly a believer.”

Reverend Le Grange smiled, “You will be, son. You will be.” He turned to the crowd, “Pray with me, friends.”

As Dean stood there it felt like the world started melting away, he was suddenly unaware of everyone staring at him.

The ringing hit a pitch that made his brain feel like it was melting and then it suddenly turned into words. It sounded nothing like the reverend, it was deep and gravely, and oddly comforting despite the shockingness of it, “Do not be afraid Dean, I need your help,” the voice didn’t belong to anyone on stage, not that he could see, but he felt the words reverberate in his head. “Say yes, you must accept me. You need to let me in.”

“What, what’s happening,” Dean sank to his knees, the world was fuzzy and he could see a sort of blue glow around the reverend. The glow started taking over his field of vision, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

“It’s alright son, the Lord’s healing you.” He could hear the Reverend but he couldn’t see anything other than the glow, he could feel it too, it was like the first ray of sunshine after a rainstorm. Warm and delicate on his skin but also just the tiniest bit too bright.

“Say yes. I need you to say it. It’s the only way I can be freed, they are holding me here. I can heal you without him. Say yes.” The voice in his head was teetering between begging and a forcefulness that made him want to obey.

Dean felt like his strings had been cut, but he let a soft “yes” fall from his lips. It was all but impossible for anyone else to hear but it was enough. Within seconds he felt a rush into every cell in his body and then breathing was easier than it had ever been, his heartbeat felt strong, he felt the blood return to his face and color with it. His fingers felt warm for the first time in too long. The nerve pain and muscle spasms were gone. His hearing felt better than it had been since he was a little kid. It wasn’t perfect but it was so much better than he was used to. He wasn’t straining to hear like usual. He wasn’t just healed from the electrocution, he was healed all over. Sam had rushed forward when he’d fallen and was holding onto the front of Dean’s hoodie. Dean swayed gently, overwhelmed by the increased input from his ears and the sheer fact that he felt good. Genuinely good. All his old aches and pains he never even paid mind to anymore were greatly reduced or even gone and he felt light.

He was healed. Actually healed. Maybe he was better than he’d given himself credit for, it was the only reason he’d possibly deserved to be saved much less healed to this degree. His head felt full, he wanted to brush that off because of the blood rush and the increased input, but it was likely whatever he said yes to, he’d deal with it in a minute, when he wasn’t the object of attention for dozens of people.

“Are you okay?” Sam helped a dazed Dean up. His trick knee didn’t hurt as he returned to his feet. Every part of him felt healthy. Maybe this feeling is why Sam ate all that healthy crap he did. It wouldn’t change his own habits but could make the occasional salad bearable.

“Praise the Lord, he has been healed!” Reverend Le Grange pronounced to an excited crowd who’d gotten to their feet and begun clapping. Layla clapped too, but there was a somberness to it, while she was happy for Dean she’d been hoping to be chosen this week.

Dean made his way down from the stage with Sam at his side. He wasn’t sure what it had been, what he’d let in and he needed to figure it out.

[liskantope]

I think part of the reason I tend to get so argumentative nowadays about "what your side proposes kills people" -type political talking points is that it seems that this is being used more and more frequently as a rhetorical bludgeon, mainly (though not entirely) from the Left. There's a lot of shutting down of arguments based on "but HUMAN LIVES", and it's begun to feel to me like a disturbing trend. For instance, a good bit of the rhetoric in favor of shutting down schools in 2020-2021 seemed to center on "here, look at my computation that the expected value of children's lives lost if we don't shut down schools is greater than zero; anyone who disagrees with us doesn't VALUE HUMAN LIVES", with the effect that a lot of us (including to some extent me) were blinded for a long time to the absolutely devastating effect such extensive school shutdowns (in some geographic areas) had on children and their whole families, an effect that is still scarring them today. I'm not saying anything about whether or how far those school shutdown policies went wrong, just that they had very substantial harmful effects that don't vanish relative to the VALUE OF HUMAN LIVES.

Then there's the now-everyday claim that the anti-trans culture warriors "ARE KILLING US [TRANS PEOPLE]", which is true under a particular interpretation of "killing" and tragically true to an extent pretty well beyond some vanishingly rare extreme cases but is also transparently being used to drown out most other aspects of the debates around trans issues. Much more disturbing still is the accusation I now semi-regularly see casually flung that conservatives "actively want us [trans or LGBT+ people in general] dead" (I think I've occasionally seen left-wing variations on this that aren't even about LGBT+ people). A couple of months ago I called it "stomach-turning" ("it" being both the content of the accusation itself and the fact that so many people in our cultural discourse have seen fit to use it; this of course was semi-willfully misinterpreted by someone as my saying that trans people turn my stomach), and I reiterate now that it's still completely turning my stomach. This example is different from others in some fundamental ways, some of which make me more sympathetic with why people feel driven to use it (and it's not being used to drown out completely unrelated issues, for instance, like the guns thing is), and the general rhetorical weapon of "the other side wants to kill us" deserves its own effortpost which I intend to write later this summer.

So anyway, yeah, I'm also getting a kind of short fuse around insinuations of "what they show kids in school won't kill them, but guns could, so that's the only issue involving schoolchildren that anyone should care about" that I now see daily.

Of course, invocations of "my cause is the one whose stakes directly involve life or death so it outranks everything else" isn't exclusive to the Left at all. The Right has been doing it for decades with abortion to shut down both the abortion debate and whatever unrelated debate they didn't want to have ("millions of babies are being MURDERED each year, while liberals obsess over [women's bodies] [or] [just about any totally unrelated issue which appears frivolous next to MURDER]"). I also vaguely remember something that sounded like this in the post-9/11 years ("we're the ones looking out for Americans who might be KILLED in the next terrorist attack, that has to be the only priority right now"). And there was that bizarre "death panels" accusation around 2010-2011 when Obamacare was being debated which I guess might also count.

Only loosely related, but I'm reminded of a moment in the very first vice presidential debate, between Bob Dole and Walter Mondale in 1976, where Dole invoked a computation of the number of deaths in wars the US engaged in under Democratic versus Republican presidents, and apparently he got a lot of blowback from how underhanded this rhetorical move came across.

[a-sentient-penrose-triangle]

On the topic of Apophis (and Neheb-kau)

Part 1: Unpacking My Worship

Go ahead, scold me for using Apep's name. The reason gods are evil and vengeful and hateful and all the other nasty things that the gods have done to each other and to man (Zeus, Loki, Medusa, Persephone, the entire rivalry of Set and Horus), but in the end like all stories it has a moral. It has morality, a reasoning, a balance in the end. I use the name of the "accursed primeval force" because, unlike many, everything deserves love as long as they 1) do not hurt others and 2) do not force things of self/themself upon those unwilling.

The Christian God, Yahweh, and His many counters are one such example. You think you know God? If you've been in an abusive Christian house you probably know Him for his rage and hate, and I'm sorry for that, but it was never God, but whoever forced this view upon you. Negativity clumps together like Grey Goo, I know because my Mom would invite all kinds of nasty shit in unintentionally, and I'm traumatized by pictures talking and constant nightmares. God is as stated in the Bible, Existing. Exhilarating, right? Well yes, when you look at the entire universe you start to realize how odd our existence is. At the edge of a mild galaxy, we sit and fester with our evil, just like all the ancient texts state humans have done for, well, ever. We are a petri dish, an experiment like all the gods after Him. That's why we see fuck ups in all these texts. Mistakes were made, and now, do you ever see a god just chilling on the street?

Morality is the reason we're here, its the reason things have right and wrong, because God saw that like all the deities he created below him to help with delegation, that Him and them would make mistakes and fuck up. (That's why the bible drops off so far, and is hard to find actual historical evidence of as well. It was wiped for a clean slate, without the gods and God interacting. The Flood is the biggest example.)

Now, what does this have to do with Apophis and Neheb-kau? A whole lot. Snake invocation was always two sided, one wrong move and you could be envenomed, but also its how we harvest the antidote. Neheb-kau, for as little as i can find, is (a form of) Apophis. The biggest point I use is not only their similar primeval nature, but also their energy. I work with Neheb-kau and a good chunk of the gods, and God (all in all I'm universally Polytheistic, believe in nearly everything). I work with God under the simple pretense of one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall not worship another before me." Never really states you cant worship, like, Apollo or Hades as long as you understand "Hey, thanks for creating all the others who can interact with us as you sit observing the fish tank of Creation."

Neheb-kau (Who i shall call Neheb for brevity) has actively given me permission to use both Apophis and Seta/Sata (A deification of becoming one with the snake, mentioned in The Book of the Dead of Ani, and i believe others) as names or acknowledgement. Neheb has shared over dreams, meditation, and other methods about his past and where he sits on the totem pole, which happens to be a layer or two below God.

Why I believe this is from experience as a Christian. God's love is as strong as his wrath, and i believe this is from the fact that He simply cannot, and will not interact with man again until we learn to all get along, even with the deities we victimize, villanize or put upon a pedistal. Neheb gives me very God vibes (like Ra) both very primal entities, and thusly are very raw and hard to connect to.

I wish I had a better outlet to rant this all too, because as you can see theres a lot of things going on that even I struggle to keep track of. I feel as though there is justifacation in cultures demonizing or hating, but it gets to a point that it feels as though a medical or scientific process created an entity for no reason. Apophis is fine to be around, and i do not worship any gods as of yet. I am a student under them, using their energy to work myself. Whatever opinion you have, please share. I'd be more of a Thoth devotee if it wernt for the fact that he simply hasnt called.

I am by no means done, but i can only let anger fuel me for so long before i realize im forcing my opinion down others throats. Also will admnit, lost a couple of thoughts writing this, its a rant after all.(hopefully the #tw covers those with triggers)

[quibbs126]

So this has been a thing on my mind for a while now, but screw it, might as well post this now

So some months back, I was thinking about how when it comes to criticisms/complaints I have with Evoland 2, they're pretty much all narrative and had nothing to do with the gameplay. But then I did think of one gameplay topic to talk about, which is what I'm doing now

So, let's talk about your party members' Focus abilities and their usage in game

First off, we got Fina, who I think is implemented pretty well, the best of the three

I don't know what I was originally thinking with her power being changed from Nature to Wind fairly late, because her abilities are basically entirely wind based. Also, the Sylphs are named after a kind of wind spirit, but back on topic. Her powers get frequent usage, particularly since she's the first ally you get, and I think they can be quite versatile in how it's used, whether it's cutting something down, pushing something in a certain direction, or activating levers and mechanisms

I don't have much to complain about other than me thinking it's used less in the second half of the game, but that's true for all 3, since only half of the new areas really give you normal areas that you use your abilities to navigate

So now let's move on to Menos

I think he also has relatively good implementation, with you having to use his abilities semi frequently. Though it is limited in some aspects, because he's going to be the character that's always taken out of the party. I'd say he's probably absent for like a quarter of the game, and he doesn't have Velvet's excuse of coming in late. But back on to usage, I think he's done relatively well. His ability is all about strength, so if you ever find an obstacle that you think needs strength to overcome, you know to use him. Granted you're probably mostly going to be using him for boulders, but whatever, he's not necessarily lacking in stuff to do

I do, however, have one particular complaint. Namely that, if it were not for Iggrit being the Invocation of Fire, I would have never known Menos' ability is supposed to be fire based. I'm not gonna lie, I'd far more believe it was Earth. Like I said, most of what you do with him is break boulders and other rock things. Not to mention unlike the other two, his ability has no obvious ties to magic, and are instead based on his raw strength (even if they're probably Maana enchanced). And yet again, his ability is based on strength, something that is far more commonly associated with earth things, and not fire. Yeah, his skill animation has fire effects in the 3D version, but I can easily believe those are just effects to make it look cooler, rather than them being indicative of his actual element

I feel like the developers could have found some way to implement the fire aspect of his ability in some way. Like I don't know, have a section where you need to light candles/fires or something. Or easier, just have his element be Earth, since that's practically what it is in all but name. I genuinely don't know why he's Fire

But anyways, let's move on to our final party member, Velvet

First off, unlike the other two, Velvet doesn't really have any problem of type weirdness. Fina has a bunch of Nature themes, particularly as well as her Wind themes, and I've already gone on my tirade about Menos and his association with Earth instead of Fire. Heck the Magi Key fragments kind of tie into that, with the one with Fina importance being the Nature fragment, and Menos' main one being the Earth fragment while he's got a bit of special importance in the Fire fragment section. Meanwhile, Velvet seems pretty consistently just Ice themed

But her biggest problem to me is that she's definitely the least implemented of the allies and their abilities. In my experience, almost all of what you'll be needing to use Velvet's ice powers for is to freeze water to move across it. And most of that time, it's for something like a chest, which are ultimately optional. And in addition to that, her main ability is pretty much top down only, meaning you won't be using her in the side scrolling areas. I'll pretty much only use her if I need to get a monster diagonally, and I don't really use abilities to deal with monsters or bosses all that much (unless it's the shooter levels, then I go like no tomorrow). I get her freezing ability would probably be useful against enemies, since it makes them briefly unable to attack and lowers their defense, but I don't ever think to use her because I almost never have a reason to other than collecting

You're also really only going to use her in the second half of the game, which I've already established has less normal areas

I'm gonna guess the reason why is that it's because her ability is far less versatile. Wind can be applicable in a lot of ways, like cutting and pushing. Strength also has a lot of different uses in multiple environments. Freezing however, is very specific and is gonna need specific circumstances to work. So I guess the solution here would have just been to make her ability something different. But it seems like Velvet was always supposed to be Ice, so I don't know what you'd change it to. And also it seems like the devs wanted a green/red/blue sort of color scheme with the allies and their abilities, so their options would have been limited. Granted you could still do Water if you had to, which probably could have been more versatile

Or I don't know, maybe make more things for Ice to do? Like say there's metal obstacles that Menos can't break, at least not on his own. But Velvet can freeze the metal, making it weaker and susceptible for you to break it with your sword. Or cut out the middle man and the ice just makes the metal go away all by itself. But granted, metal obstacles like that may be hard to plausibly come by, and to establish this you'd probably need Menos there when first explaining Velvet's freeze ability, which couldn't happen for plot reasons

To be honest I think Velvet's the most undercooked member of the group, both in terms of mechanics and narrative. But that's a topic for another day and more articulation on what I mean in detail

I'm debating talking about our final secret ability, but I don't feel like tagging spoilers, so. But to give a general thesis, I think it sounds cool but is entirely useless, considering you only get it at the final boss and you do not need it to beat them. I only used it like once to see what it does and then completely forgot it existed. But I guess it's just supposed to be a cool final thing, so I guess it has leeway

I also have more to say on the Level 3 abilities and the Invocation Guardians, but that's probably another topic for another day and post, so let's leave it here

Honestly I'm just left wanting more levels where there's more implementation of the abilities

Though I will say, because I forgot to mention elsewhere, I think the Sylph Forest has the best implementation of them. All three are useful (even if Fina is slightly more but that's fine since this is kind of her chapter), and Velvet and Menos at least get more unique implementation. Menos gets to push down mushrooms blocking our way, needing to push different colors for different paths, and I admit now that he still gets the short end of the stick here, but he gets something. And Velvet's freeze ability is actually useful here as you need to freeze the Tomatils to avoid the Sadistas. Which is cool, she gets to do something other than freeze water (even if she still does that here). Maybe if there were more Sylph Forest like places, we could have had better implementation. But also I found the Sylph Forest really confusing and I don't like all the time warping puzzles, so hmm

[decepti-thots]

If it's not too much trouble, could you explain in simple terms what makes Spotlight: Arcee transmisogynistic? I feel like I must be missing something.

I get that it probably has to do with her being crazy violent and out for revenge because of a forced sex (and gender???) change and that she didn't ask for or agree with, but is that all there is to it?

This is an honest question and I am not trying to troll btw.

I'm happy to share my thoughts with you on it (below a cut, because the subject matter is less fun than I usually tackle on this blog), but with a couple caveats.

First off, I wouldn't answer this if I felt completely ill-equipped to give an answer, naturally. But I do want to stress that this is an answer, one particular perspective from one particular person, and not a claim to any kind of authority; for context, while this opinion is heavily informed by the opinions of trans women I have spoken to and read the thoughts of regarding this comic over the years, I'm not one myself. And more broadly, nobody's opinion is ever going to cover every possible angle on a serious topic, and I can only speak for my own opinion on the matter, informed by the opinion of a few more who I respect. I'm just some rando. You should only ascribe the below as much respect as you think Some Rando Online TM deserves; probably not all that much, hah. ;)

Now that context has been established, what I actually think is below the cut.

I think it can help to put the stuff you bring up in this ask into a broader perspective to explain why these elements are transmisogynistic, which is something we can look at on a couple of levels. One of these is in the sense of how these elements interact with a broader history of similar tropes in pop culture, and another is a discussion of the surrounding context of Arcee having this kind of story told about her given the history of her representations in prior incarnations of TF comics. So let's tackle the former first.

So there's the trope of a forced "sex change" invoked as horror you highlight in this ask, which works to present the concept of "changing sex" in a shocking, traumatic and frequently graphic light; this is something found in all manner of schlocky horror media, hence why I refer to it here as an established and recognizable trope. Spotlight: Arcee did not invent it; the comic is riffing on a stock concept it understands an audience will recognize. (For a recent and particularly blatant example, google the 2016 film 'The Assignment'.)

While an argument can be put forth (and often is) that this only presents involuntary "sex changes" as scary things, distinct from the concept of someone undergoing a voluntary gender transition, that... well let's put it this way: involuntary forced gender surgeries of the kind that trans people voluntarily undergo are not a real problem. (Forced surgery for intersex people is, but is also a distinctly different thing than what is presented in this comic, just to be clear.) But they are often invoked as though they are a real problem to cast doubt on the ethics of all transition in real-world transphobic rhetoric, and so the use of them as a horror trope is far from neutral. Simply by suggesting such a thing really is something to be feared, you're implicitly acknowledging the existence of, basically, a transphobic conspiracy theory.

(A similar argument is often had in relation to the famous 'is Silence Of The Lambs really transphobic if it has a passage about how the serial killer isn't a REAL trans woman', regarding the fact that positing that there might be violent men pretending to be trans women to do terrible things is in itself simply an invitation to scrutinize trans women for signs of that supposed dangerous "fakery".)

Spotlight: Arcee on a conceptual level relies upon the idea its audience can accept this invocation of the concept and revel in the horror it inspires in them. Some things in fiction we accept despite them being clearly bullshit, obviously, but we are motivated to suspend our disbelief, and that motivation is often telling. Zombies aren't real, but we pretend they are because of what they do for a zombie story. (Or, if the zombie story sucks, we don't, and we laugh at its failure to convince us.) In Spotlight: Arcee, the motivation to accept the deeply unrealistic concept underpinning it is one that is motivated primarily by a misogyny it assumes is present in the opinions of its audience. Put a pin in that; we'll come back to my arguing that case later when we discuss Furman's prior work. The main takeaway here is that the comic invokes a common transphobic trope that exists to associate transition with violation and threat.

There is also, as you mention, the fact that the comic makes Arcee a woman (by its own internal logic, where surgically altering someone's body non-consensually does that by default) and then has that as the direct cause of her going into a violent frenzy. Needless to say, 'once she was given some indefinable Woman-ness, she lost her shit and became unreasonable' is uh. Well nobody ever accused Furman of being good at writing women of any description, did they.

This isn't specifically a transmisogynistic issue as much as it is just. A generically misogynist one. The transmisogyny comes in basically because it exists in the same story as the above, and so can't be separated from the whole 'forced sex change' trope.

It's especially worth mentioning Arcee is given some innate, obvious "woman-ness" attribute in-text, like it's something that emanates out from her in a way other characters cannot help but notice despite not knowing what a woman is. Arcee is like 'you can't HELP calling me 'she', you just KNOW that something about me is NOT LIKE YOU' so the metaphor is uh. Not subtle. Women have a Thing and the Thing is Woman-ness and also if you have it you go nuts. (Sidenote: as well as being offensive, this comic is just... REALLY badly written. This part makes no fucking sense.)

So those are the two main reasons it gets called transmisogynistic. Not only because of the things that happen in the comic, but because of how they interact with pre-existing stereotypes in broader pop culture and media.

But there's another reason Transformers fans specifically will point to this comic as an issue, and it's that this whole thing is Furman doing a meta-commentary on why he thinks "woman in Transformers comic bad". Furman has made it clear many times since his original run with Marvel that he thinks Transformers "having gender" is stupid- specifically, he thinks Transformers being women is stupid, because only women have gender and the default is implicitly masculine to him. (Optimus Prime being a masculine looking guy embodying stereotypically masculine traits voiced by a man who is called 'he' is fine, but Arcee is a no-no.)

He wrote a comic for Marvel about how Arcee was created to appease angry stupid human feminists, like this is in-universe why Marvel Arcee is a girl there- it reads completely as some sort of commentary on what he sees as 'political correctness' being forced onto the franchise.

And he kept doing this. His never-realised plans for the female characters in Dreamwave included all the women being revealed as Quintesson sleeper agents. Then, Spotlight: Arcee, where her existence as a woman is an artificial, deeply wrong imposition into a universe that has no need of her or anyone like her, a corruption of what these characters are "supposed" to be.

That it leans specifically on transmisogynistic tropes is less because it's deliberately going for that I think, and more because pop culture often pulls out transmisogyny to communicate a lot of the ideas here about womanhood as artificial or bad or corrupted or whatever. So when you reach for tropes to communicate these concepts, the overlap with media more specifically evoking transmisogyny is pretty much inevitable past a certain point. I don't think Furman wrote Arcee in this comic intending her to be a trans woman, even a horrible stereotype of one. I think he wrote her to be a metaphor for how "forcing" women into things where they "aren't needed" is unnatural and bad, and the easiest tropes that communicated that idea were ones about trans women, and what this says about society's broader transphobia is telling.

This was a lot of words to say about a short, bad comic that almost nobody has read by a guy whose career mostly consists, these days, of comics almost nobody reads. I probably wouldn't have wasted so many words on this comic except that I think it is a useful case study in how to recognise these sorts of things in works that sometimes evade notice because they profess not to technically "be about" trans folks. The key is not in what the "identities" of the characters are (they're fictional; they don't "have identities") as some defenders of S:A have insisted, but in what the tropes they use communicate and reinforce in a broader context. S:A is a shite comic. Don't read it. But if you read it, that's probably the most valuable thing you'll get out of it.

[sburbian-sage]

Arbiter, greetings. I am a native Smith of Flux.

A somewhat rare title, I’m given to understand. Nonetheless, I excel in that role, and often vagabounce to it. And over the years, I have gained a great deal of skill, and at at times reached incredible heights of power.

I once played in a session where I had a Seer of Flux as a coplayer. We developed a method by which I could gather massive amounts of our aspect within myself, and use it to essentially “supercharge” her, expanding her powers beyond what would normally be possible.

We never got far with it. The first time I ever want all-out, suffusing her with as much Flux as possible, I think she saw something she wasn’t supposed to see, or else saw too much, too fast.

In the moments before she died, she began describing to me something she called a “locked timeline”. She was soon distracted by other subjects- something about Toblerones, something else about the rumored “Huss” class, basically gibberish, and she only devolved from there.

She then suffered what we later determined to be a fatal brain hemorrhage. And cancer in basically every part of her body. And none of the available revival methods panned out.

This was years ago. In the meantime, I’ve tried vagabouncing to Seer of Flux myself, and have tried to examine those strange concepts she hit upon.

I think there may have been merit to some of it, especially the Locked Timeline concept.

I don’t want to get my hopes too high, but at minimum, if the glimpses I get with my (admittedly MUCH lesser) powers, and the things she said were true, I think we may have stumbled upon a way for Time players to branch a timeline without dooming one of the branches.

But I don’t know. I don’t know how to create one, hell I’ve not even been able to confirm for sure that they exist! I think I need to do the supercharged Flux-sight trick again- or maybe a similar trick, but with the Time aspect instead. But I’m scared. It’s not like I even really know what specifically went wrong the first time… or why kissing her didn’t bring her back, I KNOW her dreamself should’ve still been alive…

I want any advice you have to offer.

Man, Flux fuckers are the craziest, ten times out of ten.

I understand that a Seer of Flux would be able to divine the secrets of metatextuality, narrative, potential, and "the story" (making them, and Flux in general, really good at manipulating the Roleplay mechanics of SBURB by interacting with the "mythology" of the Session). But I don't think I can lend any credence to what she saw. Which was, in no particular order, Swiss chocolate snacks (I'm betting it was the Big Toblerone as well), a Class that doesn't exist, and something that fundamentally disregards how Time itself works. Not to mention that "Locked Timeline" sounds like how Time works normally, where there's "one path" and loads of doomed deviations if you free yourself of this fate. You said she died of a brain hemorrhage after you two super-Fluxxed her, wouldn't your first thought be that it was the fevered dreams of a literally broken mind?

To say nothing of how foolish it is to replicate a feat that resulted in someone dying a slow and bizarrely definitive death. But I know how you Flux guys operate. Right now I'm telling you not to do something, which sets up all the narrative framing. The Seer seeks council from a Sage, two Tacticians discussing a plan, which the Sage shuts down, citing the fatal flaw of Seers and Sages to act hasty and get themselves or others killed. This invocation of hastiness is, itself, hasty, as the Seer, disregarding the council in a display of symbolic and dramatic irony, moves forth with their original plan to great victory. Or perhaps...? I see it playing in your mind now, but I also know Flux-types hate it when you spell things out like this. There's a fine line between meta-textuality and breaking the fourth wall in so vulgar a fashion, and I'm Deadpooling it up over here. Ceci n'est pas une Tumblr blog post, this is a Prototype Towers archive site outfitted with an interface that makes the UI look exactly like Tumblr!

[octopodian]

13 and 18 for aide?

13. what languages do they speak? how fluently?

common, gnomish, elvish, dwarven, and grippli (which is a frog language)! you could sort of say gnomish is their native language (built by gnomes) but they grew up speaking it and common basically the same amount. they also speak common and gnomish sign language. theyre still fluent in dwarven and elvish but they use them FAR more rarely so theyre rusty.

also they have a magical ability to read Any writing (warlock eldritch invocations baby!) but this does not translate to speaking

18. their opinion on lying, stealing, and killing?

lying: good unless you lie to them in which case it is very mean

stealing: fine*

killing: fine*

*once a person is dead they have really strict morals for how to treat dead people respectfully. they will never ever take something from a corpse (a LOT of dnd is looting corpses. they do not do this.) and they usually leave a small stone by the body or grave as a sign of respect. they will, however, absolutely kill innocent people. they respect the dead almost more than they respect the living.

[lightstar789]

ARC Review: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

Thank you so much for providing me an ARC of this book, Netgalley and Penguin Readers Group!

(Quick disclaimer: as of the time of writing the book has already been released for about three days so hopefully the publishers aren't mad T - T)

Hello! This review will be a lot shorter than my usual ones because of finals. Obvious spoilers ahead, let's get into it!

RATING: 4/5

I've honestly never been one to be drawn to to occult-ish books, but I'm happy to report that this has made me change my mind. Going in, I expected this book to focus more on the mystery surrounding the witch-killer (whose identity was surprisingly predictable) but instead, I got treated to a wonderfully crafted story about female rage, empowerment, and the dangers of being a woman in today's society. Now, it's time to move onto the...

THE GOOD:

Themes: A lot of The Invocations is focused on female rage, empowerment, and the realities that women have to deal with on a daily basis. While it can seem a bit heavy-handed at times, the story normally does a good job exploring these themes. Emer has a strong distrust for men because of their cruelty to not only the demons, but also to the women in their lives, often having to reluctantly give out invocations to women who have no other choice, and whose husbands refuse to see reason. The occult gives women access to otherworldly power so they can finally feel safe from the horrors they face, and the fact that men try to take this away from them is portrayed just as reprehensibly.

The Characters:

Emer Byrne: Emer is a witch who works as a curse-writer for women in perilous situations, and was raised in a coven from a young age. Naturally, this has shaped her perspective of the world at-large. What I love about her character is just how protective she is of the people she is close to, and her clients. She relies mainly on her wits, and frequently works out to protect herself, in order to avoid searing invocations into her skin as much as possible. Having understood the immense bodily and mental sacrifice that a small bit of power costs, Emer usually tries to convince her clients of the simplest solution, and always does her best to make sure that they're safe. So when the notion of serial killer gets brought up, she goes absolutely apeshit and I loved seeing it! Also, I just loved seeing how she warmed up to the girls (especially Jude :) ) and how she began to treat them as family.

Jude Wolf: I love her so much it's not even funny. Witty, flirty, yet yearning for normalcy, she is responsible for a good 75% of humor in this book. She's the estranged daughter of a millionaire who aches for the lifestyle, luxury, and adoration that she once had, a refreshing change of pace from many characters who always want the opposite. While at first, this is the main thing that drives her to help Emer and Zara with the serial killer predicament, she grows to care for more than just herself.

Zara Jones: Zara was kind of a hit-or-miss character for me at times. However, I could fully relate to her bookwormish tendencies and her undying love for her sister. Being new to the occult, she comes in wanting to learn necromancy, so she can revive her sister from the dead, at any cost. This leads her to making less-than-rational decisions that annoyed me at times, but they were completely justified given what she had been through to get to this point. I especially loved the motto she always abided by, “I didn’t come so far to come so far.”

World-Building: As many may know by know, I am a HUGE sucker for good world-building and power systems, and this book never failed to deliver! Witches (which includes curse-writers and invocation holders) in the modern-day exist as a sort of secret-society, where curse-writers often advertise themselves in discreet ways for women looking for power, in the form of invocations. An invocation for a certain power must be then carefully written (in several languages, dead and current), so the demons in question know how to grant the power properly, and then finally, the soul is tethered to the demon. Women (and trans women) are the only ones allowed to use magic, and these invocations take the form of patches of skin that resemble tattoos.

Diversity: I love how diversity plays into the narrative and also into the character's narratives. Besides being a female-driven book, the first thing established about Jude is that she's a massive lesbian, and later on, Emer is revealed to have feelings for Jude as well (they also kiss at the end!!). Another thing that I thought was pretty neat was the incorporation of diversity into the magic system! Languages from several parts of the Earth are used to encrypt and write invocations, and I smiled when I saw Sanskrit and Tamil being mentioned as some of them. Another thing I loved was the casual inclusion of transgender people. During a scene where it gets revealed that only men can use magic, Zara asks whether or not trans women can use magic, to which Emer responds that it's the soul that matters, not the vessel, which made me smile.

THE BAD:

The Mystery: Okay, let's be honest. I saw the twist coming from a mile away. When Jude mentioned that she had four brothers, and Emer called the witch-hunters who murdered her coven "The Four Horsemen," I put two-and-two together. Another thing that irked me was just how slow the trio were in figuring out how the witch-killer was using powers, because think about it--why would a fellow witch be so obvious in pointing out the victim's involvement in the occult when they themselves should be in hiding as well? As soon as Zara mentioned that she mistakened Savannah's invocation as a tattoo, I realized that the witch-hunter probably pulled a Jigsaw and stitched it onto themselves, and that they were a man. I could've excused it if they told us prior to the trio finding the woman at the bottom of the lake, that men can't use magic, but this wasn't really mentioned until later, which made it seem so obvious.

Overall, this was a FABULOUS read to kick off 2024, and I highly recommend you read this book. I hope to read more Krystal Sutherland books because I love the way that she writes! Let me know what you guys think about this book and if you have any recommendations for me. See you!

[witchybooksarl]

This is Cedar

cedarwood has magical and spiritual powers that include 6 main properties:

Purification

Banish negative energy

Reverse or halt a spell or hex

Used for protection

Rebirth and regeneration

Attracts power and money.

If you. Yourself know of any other magickal uses of cedar. Please let me know in the comments. Even if it's folklore magick . Please if be really interested in learning more about cedar...

Brief History Of The Magical Properties Of Cedarwood

The cedar tree has been revered for its spiritual significance for thousands of years.

The earliest mention of cedarwood comes from ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets. In these ancient tablets, it is said that a battle occurred between the demigods and the humans over the beautiful and divine forest of Cedar trees near southern Mesopotamia.

This forest, once protected by the Sumerian god Enlil, was completely bared of its trees when humans entered its grounds 4700 years ago, after winning the battle against the guardians of the forest, the demigods.

Ancient Egyptians used cedarwood to anoint the bodies of the dead so the dead would experience rebirth and regrowth.

Chests made of cedar dating back thousands of years have been found at the Temple of Apollo at Utica housing perfectly preserved scrolls made of vellum and papyrus.

The wood from cedar has long been used for the doors of sacred temples.

Throughout the world, people have long burned cedar as part of their purification and cleansing rituals.

OUR PRODUCT LINEUP IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE

MAGICAL PROPERTIES

What Are The 6 Magical Properties Of Cedarwood?

The magical properties of cedarwood are highly valued in magickal circles because of its purification and protection properties, amongst many other magical properties.   

All matter contains and retains power.  This is why certain herbs and plants have what we perceive as magical powers.

To use cedarwood in magic, you could use cedarwood by itself, as part of a ritual or potion, or use cedarwood in conjunction with uttering a magical word or as part of a prayer or an invocation spoken in Latin.

Also, remember that the results you seek may not occur immediately.  Just like casting spells, the effects of using the magical properties of herbs can take time.

The approaches we offer are mere suggestions of how to access the magical properties of cedarwood.   They are far from the only approaches.

Your imagination is a very powerful tool when conjuring up magic.  What works for one person may not work for another person.  Take these suggestions we give you as a base, and make them your own.  Magic comes from your head and your heart, not from props.

As a general rule, cedarwood has magical and spiritual powers that include 6 main properties:

Purification

Banish negative energy

Reverse or halt a spell or hex

Used for protection

Rebirth and regeneration

Attracts power and money

If you are interested in learning more about how you can use herbs in your magic rituals, check out the following book by Ally Sands “Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist’s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest“.



Table of Contents

DISCLAIMER:

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only.  Occult properties of herbs and essential oils are provided for historical interest only.  For possible treatments of physical or mental diseases, please seek a trained and licensed health professional.  Enchanted Aromatics is not responsible for any adverse side effects resulting from the use of any suggestions, products, preparations, or procedures mentioned or from the following historical uses of herbs and essential oils.

What is cedar

Of the many species, only four are considered “true” cedars: Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), Cyprian Cedar (Cedrus brevifolia), Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), Deodar Cedar Tree (Cedrus Deodara).

True cedar trees are only native to the Mediterranean and Himalayan regions.  Cedars that grow elsewhere, like the red cedar that grows here in the southwest where I live are actually cypress or juniper.

For this article when we refer to cedars, we are referring to both true cedar and cypress variants.

These other cedars can also be used in magic rituals since they are made up of mostly the same compounds found in true cedar. 

For example, cedar is extremely sacred to Native Americans here in the southwest.  But these cedar species come from the Cypress family, commonly known as arborvitaes, including red and white cedars found in North America.

Brief History Of The Magical Properties Of Cedarwood

The cedar tree has been revered for its spiritual significance for thousands of years.

The earliest mention of cedarwood comes from ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets.  In these ancient tablets, it is said that a battle occurred between the demigods and the humans over the beautiful and divine forest of Cedar trees near southern Mesopotamia.  

This forest, once protected by the Sumerian god Enlil, was completely bared of its trees when humans entered its grounds 4700 years ago, after winning the battle against the guardians of the forest, the demigods.

Ancient Egyptians used cedarwood to anoint the bodies of the dead so the dead would experience rebirth and regrowth.

Chests made of cedar dating back thousands of years have been found at the Temple of Apollo at Utica housing perfectly preserved scrolls made of vellum and papyrus.

The wood from cedar has long been used for the doors of sacred temples.

Throughout the world, people have long burned cedar as part of their purification and cleansing rituals.

Cedarwood Correspondence 

Cedarwood is considered Masculine.

The vibration of cedarwood is considered part of the fire element.

Cedarwood is associated with Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.

Astrological signs of cedarwood: Aries, Sagittarius, Gemini, and Cancer.

Cedarwood is associated with the Deities Pan, Ra, Aphrodite, Cernunnos, Artemis, Isis, Jupiter, and Osiris and is sacred to the Goddess Brigit.

Cedarwood is used to invoke the archangel, Michael.

Cedarwood is used in magickal spells and formulas related to solar matters which include healing, illumination, physical energy, protection, and success.

Cedar is one of the nine kinds of wood traditionally placed in the traditional Celtic Druid balefire.

[klaeusmoved]

ㅤㅤa skeptical brow lifts for a moment, wondering if she's truly asking for what could basically be called a history lesson. but given he lived through all the events mentioned, why not speak of them? far be it for him to turn down an opportunity to flex his memory and knowledge. he snorts as his eyes roll, recalling said war with ease. ❛ easy, do not fall for such an obvious ploy from a fierce enemy. perhaps also that nothing is truly that easy. though i personally found the greeks to be rather entertaining, so i didn't mind that conclusion to the war. ❜ not that he'd had a vested interest in it from the start, anyway; he'd had far more pressing issues on his mind than another bloody human squabble. he hums before his lips twist cynically. ❛ that your god will never protect you ⸻ you must be able to do that yourself. ❜ he finds her final ask to be rather paltry compared to the first two, but he keeps that to himself and answers anyway. ❛ let grief convert to anger. blunt not the heart. enrage it, ❜ he quotes, smirk painted upon his lips. he doesn't continue, finding its invocation to be self-explanatory. rage is his best friend, isn't it? or perhaps his only true friend, and a comfortable old crutch.

ㅤㅤthe glass dangles carelessly betwixt his fingers, exasperation taking over his expression for a moment. ❛ a rather romanticized view of monsters, i must say. though fitting considering the current culture and its obsession with nonhumans, it is a foolish idea regardless. ❜ and it's a fool's hope to think monsters could ever be better, to ever be more. and for the creatures themselves, having any sort of faith in such a dream would only lead to disappointment ⸻ and falling back down that slippery slope of monstrosity even further than where they'd started. how many times had he himself done that? thought perhaps this was the time he'd find something truly worth living for, find true happiness, only for it to be torn away? leaving him colder, meaner, lonelier than ever? he has no desire to try again. his head tilts in acknowledgment of her unspoken request, rather enjoying the idea of not being the only one drowning one's sorrows. ❛ and so what if we do? that won't change the fact that becoming something to fear is what has allowed our survival in the first place. ❜

         eyes roll momentarily at his words, because of course, he was going to say that. it was almost a patented reply of who he was. and further reminder of how far beneath his shoe he tended to shove humanity. she was slowly getting used to that fact. that and she could see clearly, he would preach something, but was someone who very rarely practiced it. just as she was. advice was easy to give, and even harder to follow.   ❛   okay so in your humble opinion, what would one learn, from lets say, the war of troy. of the viking attacks on england, or even Shakespeare.   ❜    a part of her was genuinely curious to what he would say. which was why she'd only included one thing that well, spoke of things that cut too close to home for both. Shakespeare was pretty much an analogy for monsters and loneliness. she'd know simply from reading all his works. as she watches him take a long drink, her hand continues to move over the page, fingers creating a drawing, that only her mind knew. her hands a slave to the actions, and it was calming in it's simplicity. that and kept her from reaching for the alcohol herself.     (    her liver for one was glad for that reprieve.!    ) 

          a swift chuckle burns off her lips, as she raises amused hues to look up at the hybrid before her. ❛   there is no fairy tales. just cold hard truths. that even monsters can be lonely. always searching for something they're too scared to truly reach out and touch.   ❜   something she knew herself. as how long had she wrapped herself in a bubble of isolation. to protect her heart. how long had she been running from love?  (   even when she craved it completely!   )    looking up from the drawing once more. she lets her mind think over things, before finally shifting and walking over to the booze. needing one more than she thought, holding up a glass as though asking permission.   ❛   that may be true. we need to become the bigger monsters. but how long before we become scared of one in the mirror.   ❜    her words uttered into the silence of the room. before she too throws back the drink in it's entirety. relishing in the burn before moving back, to where she was seated, and picking the pen up once more. returning to her drawing. to her distraction.

[koraki-grimoire]

Witchcraft in Hellenismos

Disclaimer: This post is non-exhaustive, and though I'll try to equally spread my focus, it will inevitably lean towards the kinds of magik I personally practice.

Often, in modern pagan circles, people are under the impression that Ancient Hellenismos either didn't have or despised witchcraft. This is largely from three causes. The first is simply misreading, or failing to come across witchcraft in the Hellenism they research. Second is only reading about or adhering to branches that didn't like witchcraft (usually due to it being perceived as hubristic) and therefore assuming that's the most popular opinion. Finally, sometimes people apply their assumptions based on Christian and Germanic culture to Hellenismos, and assume it carries the same attitudes.

In actuality, the view of witchcraft was historically more neutral. Witches weren't typically seen as hags, but maidens, respectable men, priests, and more. It should also be noted that, frankly, "witch" is a slightly tonally incorrect translation usually applied to the word "pharmakis."

For historical attitudes towards witches, we can read works surrounding mainly Medea and Kirke, as well as Hekate if we go past pharmakeia.

But pharmakeia and nekromankia (necromancy) are far from the only forms of witchcraft or magik--which in Ancient Greek would be "mageia" or "goeteia" depending on time and place, but will simply be called "magik" here.

So, with that very long introduction, let's get into types of magik.

Pharmakeia - Herbal Sorcery, Witchcraft

Pharmakeia is perhaps the most recognizable form of magik in historical Hellenismos. As mentioned, it was associated with the heroine Medea, as well as the goddess/nymph/hero (it's complicated) Kirke. This was magik performed using the aid of herbs, and both historically and now blends magik and science. It includes brewing poisons, casting curses, potionmaking, transmutation, and more. Kirke, famously, used pharmakeia to transform men into swine, whereas Medea tended towards poisoning, but both had variety in their craft.

Generally, when pharmakeia is translated, it's done very broadly compared to other kinds of magik. For example, pharmakeia is usually translated, especially in the Odyssey, to "witchcraft" or "sorcery." Pharmakis--the word for a practitioner of pharmakeia--is usually translated to "witch." This often leads to misconceptions of witchcraft in Hellenismos being specifically oriented around herbs and transmutation, when that's only a small piece of the picture.

Nekromankia/Nekromanteia - Necromancy

Nekromankia is far more famous now in its Anglicized pop-culture form, but it was most certainly present in Hellenismos. It's important to clarify that in Ancient Hellas, nekromankia was magik pertaining to the dead, not things such as zombies and raising the dead. In Hellenismos, the maintenance of good relationships between the dead and the living is of great importance. There were plenty of festivals devoted to placating and celebrating the dead--not to mention the monthly Attic holiday Hekate's Deipnon, devoted to honoring Hekate, goddess of nekromankia. So, unsurprisingly, there were witches who gravitated towards this as a craft.

Multiple Hellenic deities were associated with nekromankia, the most notable of which being Hekate, but also Persephone. Though, of course, any khthonic deity--especially khthonic theoi who also had non-khthonic aspects--were relevant, such as Haides or Hermes. A practitioner of nekromankia would be referred to as a nekromanteías.

Manteia - Divination, Oracles

It should be noted that manteia is heavily contested as being a form of witchcraft or even magik in Hellenismos, but it certainly meets the qualifications. The main reason this debate exists is controversy around magik in Hellenismos in general, since as most Hellenists know manteia is so central to so much of our religion, and those who dislike magik are insulted by it being considered that. Additionally, the definition of magik is constantly in flux--it's debated in modern magik circles, and it's even harder to apply a definition we can hardly agree on to an ancient culture with its own independent definitions.

Manteia is, most simply, the power to give prophecies, divination, and the use of oracles. It's the power of the Pythia (Delphic Oracle), it's in the Olympian Alphabet Oracle, it's every single seer and prophecy and divinatory method known to us.

Someone who practices manteia is called a mantis (usually translated as "soothsayer" or "diviner") or a khresmologos ("oracle"), depending on station.

Heliomanteia - Solar Magik

Heliomanteia is hard to find detailed historical information on, but most simply, it's magikal invocation of the sun. This is generally done by attempting to harness the power of the sun, or by requesting the aid of solar deities (namely, Helios).

Interestingly, Helios had many associations with witchcraft and warding off evil. It could be assumed that, due to the qualities attributed to Helios, heliomanteia would be best used to reveal truth, ward off evil, harness the power of fire, promote life, and similar.

Presumably, a practitioner of heliomanteia is a heliomantis.

Goeteia - Magik, Charms

Goeteia (in modern times "goetia") is a term for magik that fell out of style for general magik around the 5th century BC in favor of mageia. It, additionally, was shoehorned into a dichotomy of theurgy (divine, "professional," and virtuous magik) and goeteia (low, malicious, and fraudulent magik). This was largely due to political and social overhaul. The name became associated with fraudulent and harmful magik, and talk of goeteia in Ancient Hellas is a major source most anti-witch Hellenists use.

The goes (practitioner of goetia) was maligned, seen as hubristic and either trying to go against the power of the gods or intending to scam others. Plato famously portrayed them as malicious frauds, and he was not alone. Since the term "goes" is generally translated as "witch," it's not a leap to figure out why this lead to a lot of anti-witch Hellenists.

However, before this (and technically after), "goeteia" simply meant magic, charms, and similar. As a unique practice, and not simply an umbrella term for witchcraft, it can be considered channeling, a relative of nekromankia, or baneful magik, depending how much one leans into the later definition.

Theourgía - Deity Work, Divine Magik

Theourgia (in modern times "theurgy") quite literally translates to "deity work" or "god(s) working." It is ritual, sometimes magik, done with the intent of invoking one or more of the theoi. This was the ritual magik often performed by priests. In fact, it could be considered the mainstream magik of Ancient Hellas--assuming, of course, that one considers it magik.

It's not only historic magik that was central to the religion, but sets historical precedent for the controversial phrase "deity work." The existence of theurgy as the "higher form" of magik in Ancient Hellas is singlehandedly enough evidence to prove the phrase is not and would not be considered inherently hubristic. It should be noted that this form isn't inherently superior, but if you asked Plato, he would disagree.

There are certainly more forms of mageia in Ancient Hellas--For example, I skipped over amulets (periapta), which were almost incontestably the most common magik in a lot of Ancient Hellas, since they could technically fit under some other crafts and because they're the easiest to research on your own. It's a similar case with potions, too.

One important takeaway is the hard line between magik, religion, and science is a fairly recent invention. Pharmakeia could act as medicine, not just sorcery. Many potions were also medication. Frankly, the more women were involved, the more practical it tended to be, with 'spells' often being genuine aids to childbirth and/or birth control. This didn't make them any less magikal, and the magik doesn't make it less real.

And I hope I made it very, very clear, but witchcraft has always been in Hellenismos, and isn't inherently hubristic. That is a myth, and is rooted often in historical (and modern) classism, misogyny, xenophobia, or similar. Always consider your source's incentive to stigmatize before discounting all Hellenic witches.

[yanban-san]

For the demon AU, is Ingo getting sent to Hisui like an accidental exorcism?

Not sure, but I do like the potential for Eldritch antics in the Coronet Highlands-

More antics under the cut:

This isn’t a time or place where their darling is, and he’s only interested in getting back to Unova- Back to Nimbasa, back to his beloved brother and his precious darling. They may be idiots when they’re experiencing Darling-Induced Brain Rot, but when they are dealing with anything getting between them and experiencing Darling-Induced Brain Rot, they become quite malicious and threatening. Though, they do take the attitude that humans are just silly little creatures that don’t understand what they’re doing, and Ingo would try to give any humans interfering with them a second chance, so to speak; He’d prefer to erase their memories or alter the world to make it so people aren’t aware of him and his brother’s true natures.

Also Galaxy Team and the Clans having reports of a horrific monster lurking in the shadows of the highlands- Sometimes looking vaguely humanoid, other times incomprehensible- Would be fun to play around with.

The other thing is, they’re immortal so even if Ingo got sent to ancient Hisui, he could just wait if he had to, to end up back in the future. Granted, he would be pissed when he “gets back,” unless Hisui was in another universe entirely, in which case Emmet could just summon him again- Their darling isn’t the only one who can summon them.

I can imagine a scene where Shauntal tries to banish Ingo and goes “phew, that worked-” And then Ingo just manifests from the ceiling, absolutely furious and not hiding his monstrous characteristics anymore because he’s had to wait some 400 human years or something to get back here-

Or a possible scene where Shauntal banishes Ingo, and Emmet is entirely nonplussed, pulling out a train watch from his pocket and checking it for a few moments, while Shauntal is wondering what he’s doing- Only for Dialga and/or Palkia to burst into the room a second later looking absolutely terrified of the demon riding one of them who looks far more intimidating than they could ever hope to be.

And of course, attempting to banish either of them is going to piss off both of them royally- and especially the one left. If you manage to send both away, well, they’re incredibly powerful and both of them together could easily claw their way back into reality. I imagine part of their summoning would also give them a tie to their darling, so they can hone in on them wherever they are.

Now as for who is doing the banishing- That would cause some interesting scenarios. If their darling tried to banish them, oh, they’re going full yandere. If it’s something to do with Elesa and Skyla’s investigation into Emmet’s sus behavior, then Ingo is throttling Emmet behind the scenes while he tries to fix everything before either the gym leaders find out about Darling or Darling finds out that they’re inhuman monsters. If someone banishes them correctly- Probably with some invocation to Arceus to fix the loophole they were exploiting to enter reality, they are going to be furious in a whole new manner- And probably try to fist-fight Arceus, which may or may not go well.

Or, to keep in line with the mildly comedic nature of these guys, they start pestering Arceus with their Two Brain Cells and their Darling-Obsessed Brain Rot, until Arceus relents and just goes Holy Me Fine Just get Out of my Sight You Damned Arcane Eldritch Bastards-

Person who banished Ingo and Emmet: Finally, now the world will go back to normal-

Ingo and Emmet: Surprise Bitches

Person who banished Ingo and Emmet: What the hell Arceus repaired the laws you guys distorted with the fabric of reality how did you get back here?!

Ingo: Gods are not immune to the power of supernatural  t e n a c i t y

Emmet: And sheer annoyance

Ingo: Yea that too