#spirit monk

[waterfire1848]

[ The Spirit from the Temple finds Azula again. ] Spirit Monk: Don't you want to gloat about how much smarter you are than me? Azula: I won't be doing that. I mean, I did, but it didn't feel right, because I had no one to toast with, no one to share in my glee. And I realized, I care so much about winning that I've lost everything.

[darthlordcommie]

How They Move

Doing some thought about Jade Empire and the Spirit Monk. Spoilers for Jade Empire ahead.

Dawn Star: She’s not sure when she noticed it, or if it was ever something to “notice”, as opposed to a fact of life. But her oldest and dearest friend has always had a gift for movement of every kind, and that translated into fighting and training. When Master Li was training them, or when she was sparring with them, their talent, quickly being honed by training, for the master would accept no slacking, leapt out. They sometimes struggle with words, sometimes have to stop and think about what they’re trying to say. (When he comes to the school, Gao mocks them mercilessly for it) But when they move, when they act, when they fight, everything they want to say and intend is clear and beautiful, like Master Li’s finest calligraphy. Even the softest movements, a gentle tap on her shoulder, a quiet passing of food, carry so much meaning when they make them. And somehow, that translates to uplifting others, as opposed to pushing them down. Whatever the reason for it, whenever they spar with someone, or demonstrate a technique, or the many times they spar with her simply for the joy of it, or later on, when she fights by their side, everyone always comes away understanding their forms better, or standing slightly straighter. The way they fight alongside her makes her feel as if she can glimpse their gift for combat and emulate it, and she fights better than she could alone. Perhaps someone else might be afraid at seeing their unparalleled skill with fighting, but she’s seen their core for her whole life now. She knows their kindness.

Sagacious Zu: He’s on edge when he meets them. Not because of the thugs who call themselves “soldiers”, but because he can instantly tell in the way they carry themself that if they fought, he would lose. It’s an instinctive knowledge, formed from years of experience that leads him to look at their stance and know that his only chance of victory would be said experience and a great deal of luck. But they don’t fight. Instead, he finds himself working with them to help Dawn Star, the girl he’d spent so many years watching over and protecting. He works... well with them. It’s an unexpected feeling. He’d expected that the two of them would struggle to work together, between their lack of knowledge of each other, and his years alone, working with none. But their adaptability is astonishing. Their style shifts and their movements mold to fit his, to balance into a skilled team. It makes their fight with that brat Gao something to behold. Their teamwork with Dawn Star is greater than anything he’d ever seen in his years as an assassin, where they had all fought for the one purpose. On an instinctive level, borne of trust and knowledge, the two fight as one, as if they were each one hand guided by the same person. Gao never stood a chance. Nor did the soldiers attacking Two Rivers. It’s... frightening. Their skill is one thing. To work so well with others that those others are elevated to approach that skill level? It’s terrifying. And yet... they’re honest. They’re open. When he shuts down their questions, they leave it. They still offer their trust. Zu doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve such a gift, but when he descends into the assassins’ fortress, he does so not merely to make sure that they’re the Spirit Monk they claim to be, but to make sure that the light he sees in them won’t be snuffed out.

Silk Fox: The one thing that smarts more than her bruises is her pride. There had never been a point in her life where she’d been so thoroughly defeated and outmatched. And yet this person who called themself a... Spirit Monk, made her feel like a novice, as if the years of martial training by the top fighters in the Empire and the experience fighting criminals and assassins she’d gathered meant nothing. She had been utterly destroyed, and yet they had managed to beat her down without any permanent harm. The worst part was that somehow, she felt as if her own skill had grown leagues just by her humiliating defeat at the hands of the humble warrior. Her interest is piqued, and when she gets to spend more time with them and learns that while they didn’t know how to speak eloquently, they were fully capable of understanding and communicating thoughtful ideas and making her question so much of what she knows, she can’t help but notice them as a person as well as being a fighter. When she witnesses how utterly they dominate the arena, she knows that the Lotus Assassins will be salivating for the chance to recruit someone with their skill. When she sees their stubborn kindness in trying to help everyone they meet, her heart yearns for more.

... And I’ll probably continue this at another point, bc I have a lot of thoughts about the Spirit Monk’s fighting ability as seen through other peoples’ eyes.

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

A Single Moment

Easily one of my own personal favorite character-defining moments in Jade Empire isn’t even a quest. It’s a single interaction.

When entering the mountain to destroy the Cannibals and the Mother, you find a prisoner being starved to be transformed into a Cannibal. When you kill his captors, he begs you to kill him. You have 3 options, to mercy kill him, to say you want to save him, right before he transforms and you kill him, or to say you want him to suffer. And no matter what, despite always playing an Open Palm Spirit Monk, I always say that I want to save him. Despite the fact that the kindest thing to do is to mercy kill him before he transforms, I always say this.

Because I feel like it’s an important lesson for the Open Palm Spirit Monk, that sometimes, all you can do to save someone is kill them, and an essential one that guides them to the end of the story, and the decision with the Water Dragon.

[mipmoth]

The "Who am I? Where am I? When am I?" Duo

[gotticalavera]

Zuko: STAY. AWAY. FROM. MASTER. AANG!!!

Aang: Don't worry! He's very friendly☺️

[Edit with screenshots of the comics "Imbalance" and "Azula in the spirit temple"]

[yourplayersaidwhat]

[Monk and Paladin have been cursed with Rage Madness by the Minotaur Demon Lord]

Celestial Warlock: I've got Greater Restoration Last Level Up but I didn't get a chance to pick up a diamond for the spell components yet.

Lizardfolk Wizard: I can just Remove Curse.

Celestial: Could I crush one of my Revivify diamonds with an Eldritch Blast to get the spell components?

Lizard Wizard: Eldritch Blast is for creatures. I can just Remove Curse.

Celestial: Okay, I was just trying to save you a spell slot. Who needs healing?

Fathomless Warlock: Everyone. But especially Monk but she's possessed at the moment...

Wizard: She's not possessed! It's a Rage Curse. That's different!

Farhomless: Okay! Just wait until she's not trying to kill us.

Lizard Wizard: Alright I'll Remove Curse from Paladin while Fathomless holds Monk back with Bigby's Hand Tentacles as we planned. I'll get to her in a sec.

Fathomless: Cthulhu gently holds.

[Later...]

Fathomless: No, don't poke the bear. Let's just go around that.

Monk: Look I know this is a bad idea but I'm trying to advance the plot.

[The party collectively facepalming after Monk touches something she obviously shouldn't (gory, red, emanating an evil aura) and gets cursed with a Killing Madness AGAIN. ]

Wizard [sighs]: I spend another spell slot to Remove Curse.

Fathomless: What did I tell you? Don't poke the bear. Aren't monks supposed to be wise?

Monk: To be perfectly fair she comes from the ancient monk tradition of "Punch People In The Face."

[moonsofmachinery]

Transmasc and aroace monk

heree yuo go!!! silly thing...

[hinamie]

not a question but i'm losing my mind a little bit over airbender gojo.......in lok we learn that airbenders can unlock the ability to fly by severing all earthly tethers.....and what happened to gojo's tether? his one and only???? can he fly because he killed suguru? i'm not okay

that would be a good theory!!! if gojo was an airbender :3

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums

[sleepy-sham]

ATLA Big Post 10!!! This is the first fandom to hit double digit Big Posts outside of AOT let's go!!!!!

more atla memes

[thebluemallet]

Aang- We'll talk when I get back!

Gyatso- ...of course!

Me-

[darthlordcommie]

How They Move 2

More stuff on the Spirit Monk and how they move and fight, from the POV of more characters. This is fun. Spoilers for Jade Empire incoming.

Black Whirlwind: The Black Whirlwind is well-named, and he takes pride in it. Not just because of his unpredictability on the field, but because his speed and agility matches his strength, despite how people make their assumptions. He’s proud of his skill in battle, honed in his unique style over the years as he’s learned and discarded pieces as needed. He’s made a name for himself both in an arena he left behind years ago, and as a mercenary later, and it’s been rare that he’s even been matched in combat. And then he gets dropped on his ass by this skinny little fighter he throws down against. This “Spirit Monk” is the first one in more years than he can remember who’s actually beaten him in such a handy way. And all Black Whirlwind can do is laugh his ass off about it. Squirmy little thing who slips and rolls and hops and cuts past his guard while he’s trying to keep up with their abrupt changes in style on the fly. At first, he thinks they fight like a snake, dodging around before landing damned painful bites. But then he gets the chance to finally kill Kai Lan after all that damned serpent’s done. (And the Spirit Monk doesn’t say anything beyond agreeing to have him fight for them, but he knows that they know how much it means to him. So if there was any doubt before that he was by their side for as long as this journey of theirs went, it left his mind.) No, the Spirit Monk fights like they’re water. Not that he’s ever actually fought water, he hasn’t gotten quite that drunk. But he imagines that they fight like what water would be like. Moving around and dodging all shields, splashing back into combat when they actually get hit, or becoming a massive wave that destroyed all in their path. He’s heard some of the others mutter about some kind of “flaw” in their fighting style that seems to be present, but that they can never find. Well, that part’s obvious. The flaw’s there until it isn’t, because they’ll just water their way into a different style.

Sky: He feels slight guilt about using them as a distraction, but that is quickly overshadowed by his awe in seeing them move. They’re grace incarnate, smoothly dropping Gao’s thugs as if they were born to do it. They introduce themself as a Spirit Monk, and while he doesn’t know much about those, he knows that this person is one he doesn’t want to get on the bad side of, but also one he could watch for the rest of his life. It’s part of the reason he splits up from them after they get the door open. Despite the sense to their offer, he needs to split up, both because he’s not entirely sure he trusts them, and because he needs to step back. He hasn’t felt this kind of overwhelming emotion on meeting someone since he first laid eyes on his newborn daughter, and the Spirit Monk is drawing out feelings far more romantic in nature than paternal. Hopefully this is just his initial awe of them. (That hope is quickly dashed when he meets up with them again) And not only are they effortlessly graceful in their movements in ways that nearly get him brained in the head because he loses focus more often than he should be in fights, they’re also kind. Whether it be with strangers suffering, ghosts who are far more aggressive than he thought possible, or with their own little band of stragglers. Every gentle movement and soft word towards Wild Flower, and Sky loves the Spirit Monk more and more. Every movement they make is alive, and they make everyone around them more alive, just by how they move. Even their enemies seem to come alive, fighting harder and better, to try and prove their dominance against the Spirit Monk. They always fail, of course. Combat was their stage, their arena, their area not merely of expertise, but of mastery. How could anyone less than another master even hope to match them?

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

gdi your anons need to stop before i seriously considering writing the Inquisitor Spirit Monk fic I've had in my head for years kfjhdjadhskj

Anons, if you have more questions about a Spirit Monk Inquisitor AU, please send them to me and I will answer.

[apenitentialprayer]

A Tenth Century Irish Monk's Poem on Distraction

Such scandal, my thoughts how they slip away; I dread the woe to come reaped on Judgment Day.

Across the psalms they go on paths not right they run, they shout, they dance under the very eye of God.

Through crowded assemblies, through groups of giggling girls, through woods, through town faster than the wind.

They take the path of virtue at times without a doubt, then off again on wicked ways they're just as sure to go.

They start off with evil steps, without boat across every sea, with only one quick leap, jump from earth to heaven.

They run but not a race too wise, bounding here and there, after voyages indiscreet return home to me.

Though one tries to bind them by fettering their feet they never wish to settle, they do not care to sleep.

The sound of whipping seems not to slow their flight, like the tail of an eel they slip through my grasp.

Firm lock nor vaulted cell nor any chain or bond fort nor sea nor dungeon bare can halt their run.

O truly chaste and gentle Christ, my every thought You clearly see; may the Spirit of the seven graces keep them, restrain them.

Rule my heart O Creator just, that I may have Your blessing, that I may do Your will.

O Christ, give me Your love that we may be as one, You are infinite, not subject to weakness as I am.

translated by Bob Willoughby and John Caball, found in Voices From Ancient Ireland: A Book of Early Irish Poetry.

[thatskylynn]

this is made before moments ended, really enjoyed my time during this season(also the skid between jolly and nightbird is my skysona btw :3)

also here is the progress of this monster of a piece 😭 worked really hard on it

[yourplayersaidwhat]

Legs off the spider

NPC: "So are you in a devil deal too?"

Sorcerer: "I mean, technically yes, but this is unrelated. "

Mystic: "This is my way out of a deal, actually."

NPC: "It’s never the way out."

Monk: "Nope!"

NPC: "Then why are you here?"

Monk: "Wizard said the world would be better if Lolth died."

NPC: "What did Wizard offer you for your help?"

Monk: "Nothing."

NPC: "...he didn’t offer you anything?"

DM: "Roll me deception at disadvantage."

Monk: "Why? He never offered anything."

DM: "Do you as a player not remember?"

Monk: "DM, do you not remember that Wizard never told me in character he wanted our help to fight Lolth? The conversation where you told me we were on his 'dream team' for killing Lolth happened completely above table. We weren’t recruited. He said the world would be better if Lolth died and my monk started planning accordingly."

DM: "Did I seriously forget to have him hire you?"

Sorcerer: "Hire? We could get paid for this?"

Monk: "Wizard is my friend. He says kill a spider god, I kill a spider god."

DM: "...You know what, NPC is scared of Monk now."

Monk: "Yay!"

[3-aem]

i would be such a good monk or something or idk, just that my ability to ignore hunger in favor of whatever i am hyperfixating on is unparalleled at least within the sample size of my social circles