#the secrets of the immortal nicolas flamel
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shadowqueen7 · 2 years ago
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I made a sinf quiz for everyone who wonder which character resembles them the most!
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morefictionlesslife · 1 year ago
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Till death brings us together
It is a continuation of my last story, but I guess you can read it as a stand-alone. Enjoy :)
Aoife/Niten
Niten was standing in front of a mirror wearing a black outer robe with white inner layers. His family crest was embroidered on both sides of his kimono – it was a discreet white crest with two arrows flying beside each other.
It reminded him of her.
Of his fiancée. They, too, had been flying beside one another for so long that he forgot to even hope to have his feelings returned. Until he died and was brought back to life by Tsagaglalal and Prometheus’ aura.
He remembered her strong small body embracing him, calling out to him, getting angry at him. The last one wasn’t surprising. It happened from time to time. But then he had taken the leap he had feared for so long. He had told her how he felt, because then at least, she would know the truth, if nothing else. She teased him, breaking his heart in the process, then she had accepted and kissed him.
Aoife had kissed him.
Niten smiled to himself when he thought about that moment. It was engraved in his mind forever.
He was so in thoughts that he completely missed the dressing room door being opened. Although, he would never admit to such a heinous accusation. He had a reputation to uphold.
“How fares the groom? Having cold feet?” teased Prometheus from the corridor leaning heavily onto the doorpost. When Niten turned around to look at the man, he couldn’t help but smile along. The Elder looked good for his age and the events that had occurred. His reddish hair was somewhat recovered, only a small portion of grey hair peeked through the red. His suit was…acceptable, not Niten’s personal choice, but clothes did not matter to the man. It was already than enough to have the elder man there, even though his orange suit made the groom’s eyes water.
“Never,” promised the swordsman, smiling even wider. How could he ever, when this was everything, he had ever wanted?
Prometheus huffed and straightened himself up. “Alright, alright. The first one out of the two of you, who would break this up, would probably be my niece.” Niten’s eyes betrayed his shock, and his hands trembled. Did Aoife say something? Do something? Was that why the older man was there? Had she changed her mind? Did she not want him anymore?
“Ah, you misunderstood me, my friend, I was merely being hypothetical.” The younger man gave the Elder a warning look. His shoulders slumped as his breathing became regular again. The swordsman had really lost a considerable number of years just from the teasing of this family. The number of times, he had had a heart attack, because one of the redheads or their uncle decided to be playful and lead him astray with their words, was astronomical. He could have grey hair just from those three. Not counting their grandmother, who said would show up for the wedding, making the Japanese swordsman sweat even more.
She had made her threat come true, because Niten had already gotten a glimpse of her when he had checked the garden if everything had gone according to plan. He had contemplated whether to approach the Witch of Endor and risk losing his head for asking Aoife’s hand or just pretend he didn’t see her and bolt. His immaculate upbringing hadn’t allowed him not to greet his fiancée’s family member. But the Witch had decided for him when she turned her back to him and went to greet her brother. Somehow the Japanese had known that she had known he was there. When he turned back to get dressed, he felt a big mirror to his left watching him.
The Elder moved closer to his soon to be son-in-law. He considered the twins to be his daughters so… “She is getting ready for the ceremony just as you are.” Prometheus bowed down to whisper into smaller man’s ear. “And, honestly, being even more nervous than you.” He pulled back. “She is fidgeting around the room like some ancient god is about to attack her. But then again, she would probably be even calmer if that were the case. Aoife can fight with everything…hold a decent conversation and talk about her feelings…not so much. The fact that she is doing both with you, means you are the perfect one for her.” Aoife talked with him about her feelings to a degree, would have the Japanese added, but kept it to himself.
Niten smiled for the hundredth time this day as he thought about his future wife. It was too good to be true, but over time the Japanese had learned to take everything given to him. It would only take a second to be lost, so he intended to make every moment count.
“And your purpose here is to make me even more nervous?” asked the Japanese with a grin as he straightened his kimono and pushed away dust particles, that had found a way to his robe.
Prometheus grabbed an apple form the wood cabinet standing near the door and took a huge chunk from it. “Exactly,” crunched the older, making both laugh. “No, actually I am here for the free food and alcohol, messing with you is just a bonus.” Niten heard him laugh in the corridor as he left the Japanese alone again.
The ceremony was about to start in 30 minutes. Niten couldn’t be happier and more rigid at the same time. In an hour he would be Aoife’s husband to take care of her, to be there for her and fight beside her. And she in return, would be there for him.
So why couldn’t he stay calm? His heart was beating like crazy; his hands were all over the place and his controlled breathing, he had worked for so long and maintained throughout his immortal life, was nowhere to be found. What a swordsman he was when he couldn’t handle his own wedding?
Perhaps, it was his biggest challenge yet. And the most rewarding one. Being Aoife’s husband was both terrifying and everything he could ever want. What if he disappointed her?
“Knock, knock,” said an angel or a demon, depended on who to ask, from the doorway. Though, the man was almost a hundred per cent sure, that he was the only one, who would call Aoife of the Shadows an angel. Even her uncle considered the twins to be little rascals.
Niten stood with his back to the door, but he could see the smiling redhead, when he looked at his fiancée from the mirror he was standing in front of. When their eyes met, the man gave her his biggest smile, which reached almost to his ears, and his dimples framed his already happy face.
“You know, in some cultures the groom should not see the bride before the ceremony,” said Niten to his wife-to-be, who had begun to sneak towards him with inaudible steps. His beloved wore a long black cape that covered most of her dress. Some of the green material still peeked through the opening in the front, leaving Niten no doubt that she will look gorgeous in it. The colour matched the green of her eyes perfectly.
Aoife smirked at him: “And there are cultures, where the bride will feast on her husband’s heart after the wedding.”
He chuckled and turned around just in time to catch Aoife securely in his arms, when she jumped at the man without much thought. The redhead put her hands in Niten’s combed hair, making a mess of it within seconds, and wrapped her legs around his body, taking him into her strong embrace. The cape and the dress underneath it, did restrict some of her movements, but both paid it no heed, while smiling to each other.
The Japanese proposed, while supporting his future wife with his hands around her back: “How about we disregard both of these traditions?” He caressed his beloved’s spine with his right hand, making the woman lean in even closer.
“Mm, and I so looked forward to the second one,” said Aoife slily, while sliding her fingers across his husband-to-be’s face making the swordsman’s face flustered, before finding Niten’s lips with her own.
Showing intimacy in public or even in their own home hadn’t come easily for the warriors. Niten could tell that most of the time, she was worried that she had crossed some lines, even if he had stated many times that she had a permission to kiss and hug him whenever she felt like it. Even the man was not sure, how much he could allow himself to do, what she was comfortable with. That required talking and while Niten had no problem talking to others, it seemed that every time he looked at Aoife, his breath caught, and his face started burning. She made him nervous. So, both held back in fear of hurting or insulting the other.
Some days felt like the old days, like nothing had changed, like they hadn’t gotten engaged or expressed their affections. Niten would wake up alone for Aoife needed very little sleep, Niten would make breakfast, they would go hunt demons or other creatures or the couple would practice or watch TV. The night would roll, and the man would go to bed.
Niten didn’t know how to break the cycle until one rainy day, he took a leap, because the last time he allowed himself to chicken out, he became to regret it a little too late.
The Japanese had sat on a couch and read a fairly good book, when he couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted Aoife to know the depth of his adoration for her. After that morning at the bay, when he had poured out his heart, and occasional words, he hadn’t really had a chance or rather given himself a chance to convey his devotion to her.
“Aoife,” started Niten carefully and stared at the woman training with her nunchaku inside their apartment near the pier, where his boat was. He sat in his reading corner as Aoife had once called it, while she destroyed yet another training doll in the living room. She wore black training clothing, not even a strand of hair out of place, when he drew her attention to himself.
She looked back at him with curiosity in her beautiful eyes. “What is it?”
“Would it be agreeable if I expressed my love for you?” asked the swordsman. He wasn’t satisfied with how the question came out, it left out so much, but it would have to do.
As expected, it brought more confusion than clarity. The redhead blushed, brought her weapon to a standstill, and stammered abashed: “Like right now or…?”
Niten stood up and placed the book on the counter. The Japanese offered the warrior a little smile while explaining: “I meant…always.” The woman put the nunchaku silently on the table and came closer her eyes searching for his. Have they always been that green? That beguiling? “Maybe not always, but more often. You accepted my hand in marriage and yet, sometimes I don’t see any difference, while I loved what we had before my death,” Aoife flinched, her lips grimaced at the horrible memory, “now that you know my feelings and aren’t repulsed by them, I don’t want to keep them silent, I would like to say, you mean the world to me, many worlds, I would like to hug you once in a while and…”
Niten stopped abruptly to shake his head. In his enthusiasm, he had completely forgotten that the redhead could decline any time and decide she didn’t want his affections to be expressed every day. To mend his mistake, he switched the theme and offered quickly: “If you don’t want, I, of course, will…”
Aoife wrapped her hands around his neck to put her head against his shoulder. Niten, while freezing for one second, recovered fast and pressed the woman as close as possible with his hands around her slim frame. He lowered his face into her soft spiky hair to breath his love in. While not having spores, Niten could swear she did have unique smell to her that he could recognize anywhere. To him, she smelled like home.
“Niten,” whispered Aoife, her warm breath against his neck making Niten shiver.
“Yes,” he wasn’t sure, he should add that little endearment, but couldn’t hold himself back, when his heart was overflown with love for his fierce warrior, who clutched him so firmly to her, “my love?” The swordsman had called her that also on that fateful day, when he felt, he could do anything.
The redhead blushed furiously against him, but the man didn’t miss the small smile that had crept up her face and refused to go away.
“What is it?” repeated Niten overjoyed with happiness of being that close to the one he loved.
Suddenly, Aoife looked up at him and removed her hands from around him, letting the cold air hit against his neck once more. She stepped a few steps back and began waving with her hands in no direction: “It’s just, I don’t know how to…to do all of this. I’ve never been engaged before; I’ve never had someone I…someone I…someone I love. Romantically at least, that much. You will have to tell me, what I must do and when I do something wrong.” Niten’s face lit up seeing her saying the words once more. He never doubted the sincerity of her feelings, but it was nice to hearing them out loud.
She remembered an error in her earlier words and added: “Well, there was Cuchulain.”
Niten didn’t think there existed anyone he hated more than Cuchulain. The human had lived hundreds, if not thousands, of years before he was even born, but that did nothing to quell his rage for him. Partly because he was the core reason for so much of Aoife’s sadness; this man had separated her from her beloved sister. While not entirely his fault; the twins should have communicated better or, from Niten’s understanding and few pieces of information from Aoife, at all; the Japanese found himself hating the human.
The second reason was a little bit silly and a lot more personal. Cuchulain had been in love with Aoife, the woman he loved. While Niten was busy pining over Aoife, the unattainable warrior, she had confessed that there were some romantical feelings involved from her part with this Irish warrior. Although Scathach seemed to have been the one that had been falling harder for the man, it had come as a shock to Niten when the object of his affections had said that she had feelings for this ancient fighter.
The night after this discovery was one of the very few nights immortal Niten, the fierce Miyamoto Musashi got absolutely wasted. He didn’t remember half the things he did the next morning, only the ugly emotion of jealousy that had clouded his mind and heart. Aoife made a few comments about his unusual behaviour but didn’t pry further. The man wished she had, maybe then he would have had the courage to state his feelings, but no, he sulked in the shadows and trained harder than ever, so his dreams would not revolve around the happy couple, making him sick and broken-hearted.
Niten really hated the man, this Cuchulain.
It was a few years back, when they heard about the Las Vegas incident with Scathach and Billy the Kid of all people. Cuchulain or Setanta, like he had called himself, had, in fact, survived and tried to kill Scathach, blaming her for his fate. Niten had to physically restrain Aoife from going to Las Vegas and destroying the entire city. The swordsman hadn’t the faintest clue, what that would accomplish, but he felt the urge to do the same. The man he had hated had somehow survived and going after the twins.
Not on his watch.
Their fury was unnecessary, because Scathach had already killed him. Niten didn’t want to know, what Aoife would have done, if the immortal had harmed or, even worse, killed the twin, Aoife’s baby sister.
So now, he took a deep breath and reminded himself, that Aoife loved him and not the dead warrior.
At the same time, he had contemplating bringing back Cuchulain so he would kill him himself, Aoife muttered quietly to herself: “Aoife, you coward, you can fight anyone, but can’t say Niten you love him?” She kicked a cardboard box lying on the ground towards a small ocean view window.
The man watched her adoringly. Niten told Aoife as she finally made an eye contact with him: “I love you, too, very much. I, too, have no previous experience in marriage or that kind of companionship. But…Every romance I have read or heard about is different, unique. I don’t think there is one right way to do things.” The Japanese began to cross the room with steady steps. “It is just us. Do what feels right because our relationship isn’t defined by someone else’s. It’s ours. So, kiss me when you feel like it, hug me when you like it or don’t, and I promise to do the same. If we don’t cross each other’s boundaries and talk about those things, it will be whatever we make of it.” He came to stand in front of red-faced Aoife and held his hand out for her. “So, would you like to learn and explore together?”
Aoife hesitated only for a second before taking his hand and pulling him down to kiss her.
After that, things got easier. Niten allowed himself to hug her from behind when he found her irresistible. Only when she knew it was him because he didn’t wish to end up dead. She kissed him sweetly when he made her a warm drink on a cold winter night.
It was good. Very good.
This was how things got to this point that these two ended up choosing January the 3rd as their wedding date.
“We are not having sex before our marriage ceremony,” told Niten breathlessly as he slowly and regretfully pulled back from Aoife’s relentless kissing, his lips swollen and his black hair like a bird’s nest.
Niten had stumbled, after the first few kisses, Aoife clinging to his shoulders and feet like vices around his midsection, backwards into an armchair, while losing his common sense and deciding that 30 minutes before the wedding would be the perfect time to have a make-out session.
But how could he deny her anything, when she looked at him like he was her world?
Aoife smirked happily and not flustered at all for she didn’t need to breath: “You want to wait until marriage?”
The man smiled slyly: “A little late for that, I think.” Aoife lowered her lips to his neck to bite there, being careful with her vampire teeth, and Niten would have let her; even when a horrible image of him standing in front of the altar with a visible hickey on his neck, came to his mind; when a shriek filled the room, making the woman hop to her feet in less than a second to fight whatever was coming their way. Niten was not far behind.
“MY EYES! I never want to see this ever again!” came an upset voice from the doorway. It was a pitch higher than Aoife’s. “You have 20 minutes to get ready and you two decide to…Never mind, you will have to come. And soon.” Scathach had covered her face and was grimacing while backing away from the dreadful scene that had unfolded before her very eyes.
“Well, you will have to because I am going to kiss my husband in front of everybody,” declared Aoife victoriously. The groom shook his head at the twins. She laughed at the sulking twin: “Nice dress, by the way.”
Scatty looked at the verge of killing the bride before the wedding in her pink bridesmaid’s dress. Niten didn’t think the dress was that bad, but clearly the Shadow thought something else, if her expression was anything to go by.
“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” muttered Scatty to herself and crossed her arms. Then, still upset from walking in on them, she directed her next saying at the man. “Niten, and I thought you had some sense of property. Clearly, I was wrong! I hate both of you.”
With that she walked away but was back half a second later: “You have 20 minutes, well, 19 now. Hurry up! Or you are not getting married!”
Then she was gone.
“Don’t worry,” murmured Aoife catching her fiancé’s arm, rising to her tiptoes, and whispering into his left ear, “I quite like this adventurous part of you.” She let her lips linger on the swordsman ear.
“Was I not adventurous before?” asked Niten with a sly smile. After all those wonderful trips to various Shadowrealms; fights, encounters with strange species and narrow escapes; he still wasn’t adventurous enough for his darling wife?
Aoife smirked close to his face. He felt her breath on his lips; that reminded him of the sweetness of her kisses. Unknowingly, the swordsman licked his bottom lip and Aoife’s gaze was taken over by lust.
She leaned closer so she could touch his lips with her own: her hand found a way to his hair. Niten drew the warrior closer by putting both his arms around her to flush her against himself. Had she always been this soft?
Aoife whispered: “Scandalous.”
Niten snapped. Their lips finally moved against each other, and their tongues danced together. The Japanese lifted the woman up and curling her into himself, while she threw her both arms around his neck and held onto Niten like she never intended to let go of him. The swordsman reciprocated the action. After all, she was his future, how could he ever let go?
A faraway gong brought the couple back to reality, only to realize that they had exactly ten minutes before the ceremony. And they, in fact, were still very interested in getting married; they had to control themselves. To some, it was easier (not easier per se, but they had more control over their desires), to some, it took a bit of persuasion and promises of making it up to them, to get them finally to let go.
The swordsman suggested quietly, while still holding her between his arms: “We should tidy up lest we make it very clear to everyone out there, what we did in here.”
“And how is that their problem? You are to be my husband, I can do what I want with you behind closed doors,” answered in her usual challenging way.
“The door was not closed, my love, as your sister demonstrated,” brushed Niten her unkept hair out of her eyes, “also, I believe I saw your grandmother. Do you want…”
“Tidying up is an excellent suggestion, husband mine,” said the woman quickly and letting the man slip from her grasp to take up a comb. Niten laughed.
Aoife hesitated for a moment in the doorway with a strange expression. The Japanese looked at her in worry.
“I’ll be the one in green,” stated Aoife a little bit wobbly. It was finally here! Their wedding. It was not happening in his dreams. This was reality.
He smiled blindingly at his one and only, at his love, at the reason he still felt alive after 400 years, at his Aoife. He knew that she was nervous. It was his honour to reassure her.
The swordsman placed the comb on the table to cross the room and take Aoife’s hands in his own. “It’s just me out there. Like I said, it’s for us. This wedding is a way of telling everyone what we already have. Do you plan on running away?”
“No,” came an instant reply.
“Do you think I will abandon you at the altar?”
“No,” came a strong answer, but Niten detected a look of fear behind those gorgeous eyes.
He smiled at his wife and didn’t bother on correcting himself because that’s ultimately what she was – his other half. “Alright then, we have nothing to worry about. The only essential people in the wedding are the bride and the groom. And the last time I checked; they are here.”
“Well, there is the one who conducts the ceremony…”
The swordsman sighed. “You have a way of turning my every romantic declaration into…something else.” He was loss for correct words.
“It’s just my charm,” smiled Aoife, but turned serious quickly. “Also, thank you.” She kissed his cheek sweetly.
The Japanese caught a glimpse of her forest green dress underneath of the black cloak. That reminded him. “Beloved, I don’t need anything to recognize you from the others. Never fear that.”
“You can’t just say things like that!” declared Aoife with reddening face. She pulled her hands free at his scandalous behaviour. Ah, so the make-out sessions are fine, but his darling drew a line at romantic nothings. Too bad.
“It’s my wedding day, I can say whatever I want to my bride,” said grinning Niten turning her earlier words to work in his favour.
Blushing woman grinded her teeth. Aoife said an ultimatum: “I still have a chance to not show up!” Both knew that to be a playful bluff.
Niten couldn’t help but take advantage of this. He sighed with a mournful expression: “Well, then I have to preserve them for someone el…” Before he could finish, he had an armful of furious warrior, who would make sure that every single one of his romantic sayings would be directed at her. She would just have to put up with those, because the thought of not having his love was too much, a reality she didn’t want to live in. As if he would ever have anyone else.
She was his forever.
“Don’t you dare! You are mine, Miyamoto Musashi!”
“I have been yours since the moment I met you, Aoife of the Shadows,” assured Niten to Aoife with all his heart.
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aramielles · 2 years ago
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Méléagant 🤝 josh des secrets de l’immortel nicolas flamel
être un homme en noir millénaire qui bully les gens
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saintsenara · 2 months ago
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thoughts on albus dumbledore/nicolas flamel? for once albus is on the other side of the age gap. not all that unhinged tbh, but fun to think about
thank you very much for the ask, anon!
and first things first... we've all deeped just how bonkers it is that dumbledore straight-up tells flamel to kill himself, right?
when you consider the events of philosopher's stone from flamel's perspective: one of his closest friends has told him that he's going to keep the one thing he needs to stay alive under impregnable protection at hogwarts [and is only doing this because of the unprecedented circumstances of voldemort wanting to steal it and resurrect himself]... and then said close friend turns up at his house one day and says "yeah, so the obstacle course guarding the secret to your immortality was low-effort even for an eleven year old and - btw - the stone has been destroyed for a reason i have no intention of elaborating on".
i mean... sure, dumbledore tells us that flamel is unafraid of death, but:
a. we only have his word for it.
b. the very fact that flamel takes the elixir actually suggests to me that he's probably got a slightly… voldemort-ish view of the whole dying lark…
which is to say, i actually really like the idea of a pretty dark dynamic between dumbledore and flamel - especially one which is, in essence, a reversal of the dynamic between dumbledore and grindelwald, in which dumbledore becomes the bored cynic with the desire to push the boundaries of magic and flamel becomes the innocent scholar who is delighted to have met someone on the same intellectual level…
and if you like the sound of that then, boy, do i have a fic for you - the absolute banger that is alone and palely loiteringby @squibstress.
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spooksandstories · 8 days ago
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CoC Idea/Prompt #36 : An Alchemist's Tale
For so many years, people have searched for the secret of immortality.
Now, it has been found. Through the alchemical work of Nicolas Flamel, an Elixir of Life has been created, extending the life of those who drink it.
You have the privilege of being involved in the further study and experimentation of this Elixir.
After all, immortality might come with unforeseen side effects.
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mask131 · 1 year ago
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Occult Paris (1)
« When materialism rules, magic rises. », Joris-Karl Huysmans, Là-bas, 1891,
 My local library has a beautiful book called « Paris occulte » that describe the occultism wave and the occult world of Paris. It is filled with a lot of info that is deeply fascinating – and while if you live around Paris you’ll know about a good chunk of it, a lot of people often never heard of it all. So, as usual, I thought of sharing it online.
  In 1934, the writer, occultist and opium addict Maurice Magre wrote that there were around then thousand devil-worshipers in Paris. He claimed that there were satanic temples everywhere, and that it was an open secret: there was one by the side of the Jardin des Plantes, and another next to the gare Montparnasse. When he put down his thought about the “world of magic, witchcraft and the supernatural” in his era, he divided the people involved in it in several categories. First, a “lot of charlatans and quacks, it cannot be denied”. Then a “lot of selfish experimenters who are only guided by their physical and moral interests”. Follows “a few curious people who throw themselves in the unknown for the sole pleasure of research. And finally “hopefully, some scholars and scientists that study magic with a purely disinterested mind.” And maybe, “maybe there are one or two wise people free of all petty intentions…” [You can find these notes in Magre’s book La Magie à Paris, Magic in Paris, a book he published under the pseudonym René Thimmy]
The history of the interest and passion for the supernatural in Paris is as old as the town itself. Back when it was the Gaul town of Lutèce, there were druids. In the Middle Ages, there were Knight Templars. Paris was the city of Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist, or Nostramadus, the astrologist-prophet, of the comte de Saint-Germain, rumored to be an immortal alchemist, and of the comte de Cagliostro, the 18th century sorcerer. But it was in the middle of the 19th century that the fascination for the occult sciences became an enormous phenomenon. In all the salons of the upper Parisian society, tables were made to dance and move in order to communicate with the dead. It was such an epidemic that the archbishop of Paris had to explicitly forbid spiritism to all Parisian Christians. But it was all in vain: Napoléon III himself, in the Tuileries, attempted to summon the spirit of his uncle, Napoléon the first!
In paralle, the industrial revolution changed the way everything was created and produced. Positivism, rationalism and scientism won over all the minds. Charles Darwin claimed man descended from the monkey, Karl Marx created a materialistic conception of history, and Friedrich Nietzsche affirmed that God was dead… And spiritualism was thriving. For the pioneers of these occult sciences, it was no mere salon game or entertainment. On the contrary – men like Allan Kardec, Éliphas Lévi or Papus – presented themselves very seriously, as the keepers of an ancestral knowledge, and wanted to make a school out of it. Let’s not forget that this movement spread itself in a newly rebuilt Paris, completely changed by the great works of Haussmann: maybe the destruction of entire neighborhoods of the Old Paris woke up some ghosts?
There was in Paris an incredible number of secret societies, filled with astrologists, theosophists, Rosicrucian, Gnostics or Satanists. To each their religion, to each their cult, to each their worship and rite. A lot among them actually had started or were in the middle of religious studies, before deciding to leave their seminary, ordination and liturgical clothes, to better worship new gods. While alchemists locked themselves in their cabinet in hope of creating the philosopher’s stone, authors and artists openly created based on their fascination for the supernatural: Hugo the giant, Nerval the melancholic, Huysmans the decadent, Satie the facetious… And the world of science soon followed, as many renowned scientists tried to take photographs of ghosts, and the astronomer Camille Flammarion, at the Observatoire, practiced experiences on mediums.
The Great War did not put an end to the occultist wave – but amplified it. The press identified the Germans with the devil ; spiritualists and fortune-tellers kept giving patriotic prophecies, and when the dead are buried, mothers, sisters and brides keep trying to communicate with their spirits. After the hell of the trenches, the world seemed suddenly very uncertain, due to it expanding massively – be it by Freud revealing the existence of the subconscious, or by Albert Einsten’s works on physics. This new fear in front of the unknown and the indescribable fed even more the influence of wizards and magicians on the population – now their visions were massively advertised by the press, no matter if they appeased the worries or on the contrary excited the passions. And very often, occult sciences and regular sciences intertwined when some rationalist souls tried to use paths not seen through a keen eye by the Faculté – numerous famous doctors, in the Sorbonne itself, tried to study the nature of ectoplasm. As for the general population, all scientific precautions and prudence were thrown out of the window: they all followed blindly the wizards, prophet an fakirs. It was the rule of René Guénon that practiced an apocalypse for the materialistic civilization ; it was the rule of Maurice Magre that taught sexual magic at Montmartre or Montparnasse. It was when Gurdjieff became a spiritual guide, and the fakir Birman needed an entire postal truck to have his mail delivered each day. Every popular newspapers and every women’s magazine offered an horoscope, and Madame Fraya was considered “the greatest fortune-teller of the whole century”. Politicians themselves started to hire magicians, wizards and mages by their side – barely disguised under the official title of “advisors”.
Of course, the unfolding of history and the flow of time very often ridiculed or destroyed the predictions and career of these oracles and crystal ball-readers – the celebrity of yesterday could become very well a hated figure today, only for a new obscure and unknown prophet to rise to fame the following day. And, it is the paradox of the world of occult sciences, no matter how much discredit was thrown over it, the passion and interest for the supernatural never stopped and ever weakened – it seems that talking with the invisible world is too essential to the human soul…
 Taken from Bertrand Matot’s Paris occulte, Parigramme.
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tothelighthouse1 · 1 year ago
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books and authors that shaped my childhood (before the age of percy jackson/harry potter/etc):
literally everything by erin hunter
everything by kathryn lasky
the perpetual search for the next 59 clues book since there were so many with different authors that they were shelved EVERYWHERE
the inheritance cycle
septimus heap
wings of fire
secrets of the immortal nicolas flamel
everything by jessica day george
scarlet by a. c. gaughen
spirit animals
everything cornelia funke
everything madeline l’engle
avalon web of magic
goddess girls
sisters grimm
frindle
the fairy chronicles
and so many others
y’all the impact these books had on me cannot be overstated. i would be a different person now without these.
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figosaurusnook · 1 year ago
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📖Review📖
The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel - Michael Scott
Loved the moral.
Some interesting backstory on some of the main characters
Loved Tsagaglalal and Machiavelli.
Still easy to read and understand.
Still intriguing.
Very touching end.
I’m glad I finally decided to open my heart to this series
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m34gs · 7 months ago
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Top Five Superpowers.
Thanks for the ask, friend!!! I am pumped to answer 💜💜💜 (based on this post)
This list will be, of course, extremely subjective. It is by no means a list of what the best superpowers overall are, but instead a list of the superpowers that I like the most! (and I will say, the angst factor weighs in heavy on this one. Gotta love that painful but beautiful character development...mwahahaha)
Top 5 Superpowers:
Divination/clairvoyance. I love this power so much. It's just so interesting, and can also be so devastating! There's so much to play with here: from being able to see what's coming and being powerless to stop it, to giving up something in return for the "gift", to not being believed, or even going mad with the knowledge...there's just so much. A few of my personal favourite examples when it comes to this power: using magic to bend the wind to carry visions of the future (Trisana Chandler in The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce); giving up real-world sight for visions of the future (The Witch of Endor from The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel by Micheal Scott); seeing the past, present, and future of whatever you are looking at all at the same time, as well as seeing different time periods around you at the same time (Aunt Del from Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl); clairvoyance with a 30% success rate (Yasuhiro Hagakure from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc); animal with visions of the future (Bond Forger, the dog, from Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo). Look how versatile the power is! And that's not even all of the ones I've ever seen; just some of my absolute faves! I love this power and how much potential there is for it!
Reading things into existence. This specific power is from the Inkheart Series by Cornelia Funke. To be more clear, it isn't so much that things are created by reading. The power is actually exchanging things from one world to another, through reading out loud. Basically, Mo and his daughter have the power to bring things out of books and into our world by reading out loud from a book; but the cost is that something (or some*one*) from our world will be exchanged into the book world. Initially, there is no control over what is taken or given, as Mo unfortunately discovers when he reads aloud to his wife and she disappears into the novel. Through the series, as they discover more about their ability, they start to be able to manipulate it better to the point they can figure out how to read things into stories and gain more control over what happens. It's so interesting and, to date, one of the most unique powers I've ever read about. 10/10. Also, I absolutely love the series and totally recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
The ability to see yokai/spirits. Love the communication with otherworldly creatures; it is a top tier power in my mind and a guaranteed way to get me to read/watch something. Some of my favourite characters with this power are: Natsume from Natsume's Book of Friends; Hanae Ashiya and Haruitsuki Abeno from The Morose Mononokean; Kotoko Iwanaga from In/Spectre. I just love how interesting the power is, and the themes it usually plays into such as loneliness, compassion, and empathy.
Necromancy. Not only speaking with spirits, but being able to raise the dead? Yes please! I find this power so interesting largely due to how it impacts the characters with the power. Necromancy can be considered creepy and is often an isolating power to the individuals who possess it. It's also chilling to think about; someone having the ability to raise you from the dead and force you to act how they want. The fact that it doesn't re-animate the person necessarily, meaning the corpse could be still rotting around their spirit. There's so much to it, and I love it. Favourite examples: Daniel Cain and Herbert West bringing people back to life in Re-animator with a special drug; Jinwoo in Solo Levelling being able to raise the dead and create an undead army; Chloe Saunders, a small, initially timid student who suddenly comes into her powers and begins seeing ghosts and accidentally raises the dead on more than one occasion, from The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.
Healing. This one is pretty broad, but that's because I love how it can have so many interpretations: from creating healing potions to using magical energy to repair the body, and everything in between. I love when there are consequences and prices for it. I love exploring the potential darker side of it, and I actually have so many ideas for how to make it a dangerous power...I really love playing around with this one. I also think it gets way less attention and world-building than other powers. I mean, there are so many things that can happen in the body and so much effort that would go into treating each one, you could have healers that specialize in one body system each and still they wouldn't be able to cover everything because every human is unique. Also, what about people who take short cuts and try to do things faster but not with the "proper" technique? Because I can guarantee there will always be someone trying to "save time". And healers who are not "careful" or "delicate" in their disposition, but tough old birds who are cranky as hell because "quit letting your children play in the Forbidden Fucking Forest it is FORBIDDEN for a REASON" and who could totally kickass, or even heal their own wounds so they can keep getting into fights? Give me!!! But, people don't write it that way. So, I want to play around with that aspect more at some point in my writing🥰
There you have it! Hope you enjoyed my answers, and thank you so much for asking!!
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bdazzlebooklover · 1 year ago
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The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel
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practice-2 · 2 years ago
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Pre- Production Part 3
An important part of the setting are the rabbits, as they are kind of like a staple of the island. In the slide bellow from the pre-production document I describe how the rabbits are scattered around the island and are even used as a means of transportation. (I also list princess Mononoke and breath of the wild as inspirations, since I wanted the rabbits to appear unique and have a magical element to them).
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I also describe how most of the animals around the island have been affected by the anomaly and are mutated in some way. One of my inspirations for that was the game 'Tangle Tower' and another inspiration was gravity falls, as they both feature weird/ anomalous animals and creatures, gravity falls especially.
After deciding on the setting, I started considering the story of the game and wrote a brief description
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A big inspiration for it was Beacon Pines, but I also looked at another game, Jenny Le-Clue Detectivu, where the protagonist discovers deep-seated secrets of a small town
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One thing that I was kind of struggling with was deciding how the wizard was going about trying to achieve immortality. I looked at a lot of different sources for inspiration. One source was the research that is happening right now on achieving immortality (whether it's realistic or not it could be useful). A lot of it seemed to revolve around a species of jellyfish which would match the seafaring theme of the project. My other main source of inspiration was the podcast Chasing Immortality, where the host discusses people throughout history that have tried to achieve immortality. There were definitely some interesting episodes that gave me some inspiration, like the episode discussing Nicolas Flamel. I ended up having kind of a nebulous idea of the wizard using a combination of the islands magic and alchemy.
I also wanted to flesh out my idea for the setting, so I brainstormed some ideas for key locations for the island and gathered some reference of Irish and Greek coastal towns. I was looking at Greek coastal towns because I'm already familiar with them having come from Greece, and the Irish coastal towns made sense, since the island of Hy-Brasil was meant to be close to Ireland,
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I was also thinking about the island's map and how it could be cool to combine the aesthetics of old maps and sea charts with nore modern maps geared for tourists. I was mainly inspired by this by Mario Odyssey, where the map is reminiscent of a map you'd get in a national park or a setting geared for tourism. I also really liked the map in Oxen free, and how throughout the game the characters made scribbled of their goals on it, I like the idea of doing something similar for the project.
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For the characters, the main two that I was thinking about where the sleuth and their sidekick. For sleuth I was mainly inspired by tin tin as well as Enola Holmes which I had recently watched and Nancy Drew. I wanted the character to be young curious and intelligent. For the sidekick I was imagining them to be an octopus. I really liked the idea of having a character who used to be an accomplished adventurer, and has developed kind of an arrogant demeanour as a result, but has been cursed and turned into an octopus. I looked at real life octopuses for inspiration, as well as other people's character designs.
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Bibliography:
+Greekacom (no date) Skiathos Greece: Travel guide 2023: Greeka, Greekacom. +greekacom. Available at: https://www.greeka.com/sporades/skiathos/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
@BobFekete10/31/17, B.F. and Nieva, J. (2017) Super mario odyssey wooded kingdom power moon locations, PlayerOne. Available at: https://www.player.one/super-mario-odyssey-wooded-kingdom-power-moons-121318 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Anukilimanoor (no date) Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland...., iStock. Available at: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/dunluce-castle-gm501175797-43166724 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Artstation - Fernanda Suarez (no date). Available at: https://www.artstation.com/fernandasuarez (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Best castles in Greece (no date) Europe's Best Destinations. Available at: https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/greece/best-castles-in-greece/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Carta Marina (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_marina (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Jenny Leclue - Detectivu on steam (2019) Jenny LeClue - Detectivu on Steam. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/319870/Jenny_LeClue__Detectivu/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Keith (2023) Shedd - giant Pacific Octopus, Flickr. Yahoo! Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nosamk/4758305907 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Lila (2017) Τεν τεν. Ο ατίθασος ρεπόρτερ με το όρθιο τσουλούφι, είχε αντίπαλο έναν ελληνοαμερικανό μεγιστάνα. Κατακρίθηκε, λογοκρίθηκε, αλλά κυρίως ενέπνευσε, πουλώντας πάνω από 200 εκατ. αντίτυπα, ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ. Available at: https://www.mixanitouxronou.gr/ten-ten-o-atithasos-reporter-me-to-orthio-tsouloufi-eixe-antipalo-enan-ellinoamerikano-megistana-katakrithike-logokrithike-alla-kyrios-enepnefse-poulontas-pano-apo-200-ekat-antitypa/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Matsuura, S. (no date) Artstation - Satoshi Matsuura, Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/hiziripro (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Oxenfree - Edward's Island Overview World Map Featuring Landmarks & Locations Information Xbox One (2016) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIHRZfKKrRQ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
O’Sullivan, V. (2022) 20 of the most beautiful villages and small towns in Ireland, CN Traveller. Condé Nast Traveller. Available at: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/beautiful-villages-ireland (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Owning a second home is antisocial behaviour | letters (2022) The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/29/owning-a-second-home-is-antisocial-behaviour (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Pallett, R. (no date) Artstation - explore, Artstation Ryan Pallett. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Paravantes, M. (2023) Access to zakynthos shipwreck beach banned this summer, GTP Headlines. Available at: https://news.gtp.gr/2023/04/11/access-to-zakynthos-shipwreck-beach-banned-this-summer/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Premkumar, A.D. (2022) 10 best coastal towns in Ireland you need to see, ViaTravelers. Available at: https://viatravelers.com/irelands-best-coastal-towns/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Thomson, C. (2020) The most beautiful Greek Islands for your bucket list, Suitcases and Sandcastles. Available at: https://suitcasesandsandcastles.com/beautiful-greek-islands-for-your-bucket-list/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
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Upcoming events at Lembeh Resort - North Sulawesi events (2023) Lembeh Resort Dive Resort & Spa in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Available at: https://www.lembehresort.com/category/upcoming-events/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023). Webster, A. (2021) Enola Holmes is getting a sequel on Netflix, The Verge. The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/13/22434366/enola-holmes-2-sequel-netflix-millie-bobby-brown-henry-cavill (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Best castles in Greece (no date) Europe's Best Destinations. Available at: https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/greece/best-castles-in-greece/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
Webster, A. (2021) Enola Holmes is getting a sequel on Netflix, The Verge. The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/13/22434366/enola-holmes-2-sequel-netflix-millie-bobby-brown-henry-cavill (Accessed: May 3, 2023).
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eightfourone · 2 years ago
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I need to reread The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel series because as a child I would literally just skip over chapters from different perspectives that I didn't want to read ... :/
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frontlinebicepsoftheninth · 2 years ago
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@something-you-do-not-know thank you, i will definitely add that to the list! i remember loving the celtic mythology in the secrets of the immortal nicolas flamel. and is it contemporary fantasy? i couldn't totally tell from the reviews i saw but if so that gives it extra points
i want to read more books in 2023!! if anyone has any recommendations for speculative fiction and sf/f i would love if you dropped me an ask/reply, especially if it's queer and even more especially if it's sapphic 👀
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tenaciousfansaladartisan · 4 years ago
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I drew some cute Sophie and Josh heads because they deserved better. 
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daniellesreadingnook · 4 years ago
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solreefs · 2 years ago
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*having a sensory overload* ah yes my magical powers are being activated
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