#why am i a sucker for religious symbolism

[temporaerthaervaerk]

Death note spoilers ep 25

I know it’s supposed to foreshadow L's immenent death, Light's betrayal, and L's knowledge of both, since it’s a recreation of Jesus and Judas' last night, but I don't care. I would not have kneeled down to wash/dry that man's feet. Not even as a twisted way of saying goodbye and "i know what will happen, but also won’t do anything to stop it."

I simply wouldn’t.

Also, that scene was way too soft, with Light drying L's hair, and I am not okay

[eggz505]

Okay. Lads. Jamie just put on their thinking cap and has an idea she wants to share. Hear me out here. I was re-watching Double Life, as one does, and I made a few connections.

1) This one is a stretch. But .Grian mentioned this "being his game. He can change the rules." And said something along the lines of a ritual of goathorns and amethyst. He could be referencing making a watcher like portal symbol whatever that thingy is called. The two L shapes with the dots making a portal shape. The L shapes would be the goat horns and the Amythest could be made into block that LOOK like they're portal blocks.

2) this is the better one. Grian spends, for the most part, The whole series OBSESSING over BigB and wanting to go against his own gimmick with the soulbonds to go after BigB (this is something I fawn over religiously. It has STUCK in my mind for AGES and I never knew why. Finally paying off oml) In the latest season, Secret Life BigB is doing the WEIRDEST things to the point people are theorizing that the watchers have recruited/shown great interest in BigB. This seems coincidental at face value but grian didnt just obsess over him as a bit, he spent the WHOLE SEASON being weirdly in love with BigB and BigB is spending this WHOLE SEASON doing weird things. Watcher level weird things. Ergo? I think Grian took a liking to BigB because of himself bring a Watcher which caused him to gravitate toward BigB, because BigB was either dormant as an already aligned Watcher, was newly recruited as a Watcher, or the Watchers first started to show interest in BigB in Double Life.

3) I just came up with this but in support of BigB being a Watcher I think the timeline really lines up. Double Life is the first time Grian obsesses over another player which struck me as uncanny. In Limited Life, the series that followed, what did BigB do? Watch. Other. Players. He was a nosey neighbour. PEARLESCENTMOON teamed with him that season. Pearl was there when Grian got recruited, what is BigB got recruited during Limited Life? He watched other players the whole season, he had a lookout tower, Grian gravitated towards him as an ally during the season. Now in Secret Life? Grian goes to see BigB EVERY. EPISODE. It is ritualistic. Like his "episodes wont be complete without seeing what weird things BigB is up to".

Okay. I am Jamie and I am taking off my tinfoil cone of a theory/thinking cap. I am fixated on the idea of BigB being with the watchers. I dont know if his intention is to REPLACE Grian or to have Grian be more involved in his Watcher duties/shenanigans, or if hes supposed to be like a trade offer from the watchers?? It could be that Grian liked BigB in double life and the watchers were like. :o "We could use that." But I am a sucker for the Life Series and the lore that other fans come up with. I am so shit at drawing but I can write like Alexander Hamilton, so let me know who wants more theories :D

TLDR: I think Grian made Watcher-esque references in Double Life. I think BigB has been a subject of Interest for the Watchers since Double Life. I think BigB was doing Watcher like things in Limited Life, either because he was recruited BY the Watchers in Limited Life, or in Double Life, or at the least he was being heavily influenced. I am a sucker for the Watcher!BigB headcanons fans are making. Thank you and good day. Jamie out.

[dreamii-krybaby]

what made u like Yeva so much?? honestly i like Yeva too but idk why lmao

I actually had a draft explaining why I love Yeva so much NENEJWBSJEBEH

Buckle the fuck up, its long

Honestly I can’t remember exactly what it was that specifically made me appreciate her more, I think it was in EP4 where I started paying more attention to her. I think it was mostly her hidden lore that drew me. Tho upon EP3 I thought she was a very interesting character

Honestly every appearance she makes made me think more of how she is connected to the lore and made me start to slowly connecting some dots, like her being behind the Site-48 “incident”

And honestly every appearance also makes me wanna give her a hug, poor woman looked traumatized

Idk they are lot of interesting details regarding her, like how she still kept the exact same CFL outfit, the site-48 incident, her eye possibly getting blown off by the AS in EP6, giving an explanation to Doll’s eyepatch. Her eye and Doll’s eyes going from red to orange bc of the AS. And hatever the hell she saw with her now-husband in EP4.

My Roman empire is religious symbolism, so when I figured out that Yeva = Eve in russian I was in love

Also am sucker for character who have “illegal traumatized subject experiment” and “I may or may have gotten possessed by evil forces” plot

We gotta love possibly questionable, unstable, cannibalistic women with god powers

And also, am just naturally drawn to mysterious characters, they are fun. Even if people can consider bland characters or characters with very little info boring, to me it can be fun. Like tbh you rlly need a few small details regarding their personality and the rest can be up to you.

Also even if we have very info regarding her personality, the fandom and me where still able to get an idea on how she was and the different directions her personality can take

Bonus points for her being heavily implied to be Russian (am half-Russian, tho ironically I know very little Russian 💀)

Maybe you’re drawn to her visual designs or mysterious character or her lore or maybe some characteristic of her

Like one of the things that I think Yeva is known is apart from being close to Nori, is her “(0-0)” expressions she makes just like Doll does

So I live that despite the lack of screen time and no voice lines, she has a lot of lore hidden and connected. You are still able to pick up some details about her, like her personality and let’s not forget her death was a massive butterfly/Domino effect on the series.

[namazunomegami]

ahhh sorry, the heatwave fic i meant was the fic you reblogged, that three-part one, "affection's edge". i only saw it because i was following you, and when i realized you were the one who reblogged it i was like "this is the SAME BRAND",, same brain cell

i think i read your "into the void" fic on ao3 before i found you on tumblr... that's happened to me a lot in this fandom. but i am suuuch a sucker for the religious allegories. "your serpent will always think it was right to bite" just hits absolutely diff.

geto is basically moral imperatives: the character. he goes full genocide and he sounds so calm and rational and legitimately?? healed??? by the decision?? he can believably be so many things because he's figured out the magnet hack with the moral compass baby.

it's really fun hearing about the backstory for the reader in that fic, too! the sheer utility value of having cursed energy gps, especially for geto who eats curses... and god. teen geto was a very sensitive and perceptive person who read others super well. he really was!

every idea i have lately has turned into this multichapter saga shdflkshdg it KILLS me but it's so fun thinking of backstories and abilities and how they could tie into their relationships with the characters!

i hope both of us can finish some wip someday,,, jhfgksdhg the struggle is SO REAL. but one day!

OH YOU MEANT CIELO'S FIC??

Now, I get it, I'm sorry for rambling about my Yuta fic lmao.

I love Cielo's works and the way she writes Geto. If I want a bit of inspiration or when I'm struggling with my own fics, I always visit her blog and read her stuff. I think we both like to characterize him as a kind of twisted caretaker but her Geto is a bit more playful than mine, and more upfront about his awful antics against the reader. And I absolutely love it! 💕

Yeah, I like religious symbolism a lot too, I can get my own religious trauma out of my system so I guess it's both beneficial to me and my audience too lol. But that part you're quoting from my fic is actually a little symbolistic tale about victims of abuse and their relationship to their abuser. The story is about that sometimes it's futile to make your abuser admit to the damage they caused and instead, you should focus on yourself and your healing. But it sounded kinda cool so I took it and reworked it a bit to fit into the narrative.

I like writing backstories for the readers even if I don't include it in the fic. But it actually helps a lot to have an idea about them, what kind of environment they come from, what they bring into the dynamic and why etc. It's easier to handle the dynamic if I have a general idea about how they got together with the character, what makes them attached to each other and stuff. Maybe I do this because I've been writing a lot of OC x canon stuff where you must establish the background of your character, make them fit into the canon and well... make it make sense why the character is into your OC.

I'm trying my best to restrain myself and not to start yapping about the dynamic of jjk OC and Geto because... oh boy... I do love to talk about my imaginary babies.

I really like that idea! It makes so much sense for Geto bringing reader to track down curses so he can add them to his collection. Cute date idea! But honestly, I came up with reader's technique when I was half-way done with the first part, completely out of the blue. But I do remember there was a headcannon post about how different cursed techniques reveal something crucial/sensitive about the character or how they can be interpreted as a coping/defense mechanism and that post probably influenced me a little bit.

And like... I don't want to spoil my own fics, but in the dilf!Geto fic, reader's curse technique kinda similar to his technique but it's not like curse manipulation 2.0. Similarities are important in this dynamic I can tell this much.

I was also a member of the multichapter madness gang but I got frustrated that I can't complete any one of them. I still have a Jerome Valeska fic, I love it with all my heart, it's packed with so much dark content but it still needs 8 chapters to be wrapped up (the whole fic is 26 chapters long with the unwritten ones). Aaaand I published the first chapter in 2021 so it deserves a rewrite too. I would rather write a really long one shot with lot of exposition and buildup to have higher chance of finishing it in the future. I mostly just keep the details, the fun facts and the backstories to myself, hoping for somebody like you to share them 💕

[beevean]

top 5 fav NFCV moments and top 5 most hated NFCV moments and top 5 fav NFCV characters and top 5 most hated NFCV characters (I WARNED YOU.)

Isaac forcing Hector to watch Rosaly die was less evil.

Okay. I'll try :)

Top 5 NFCV moments:

5) Carmilla and Hector avoiding the blessed waters moved around by Dracula's castle. Not only it was a dynamic sequence, I admit that Carmilla saying "what the fuck was that" was the only time I legit laughed out loud. The timing was just perfect lmao.

4) Lenore's death. Not only because FUCK YEAH THE BITCH DIED LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO, but it's beautiful, with a gorgeous track, and I like to imagine Lenore killed herself out of fear of becoming like Carmilla, she who wanted to be as human as possible, and not because "wah i don't wanna live like hector". Lenore could have been a good character too if she wasn't used for fetish fuel and rape apologism :)

3) Blue Fangs. By far the rawest, most interesting "CHURCH BAD" scene in the series.

2) Trevor vs. Death. A visual spectacle, and finally, finally the protagonist of the story does something cool and plot-relevant! I also agree that Trevor saying "I love you" to Sypha was just adorable <3

"I'm killing my boy". Lore breaking? Yes. Made Dracula into too much of a woobie? Maybe. Heartwrenching in the context of the show? Absolutely. I am a sucker for McTavish's voice acting, and it is the culmination of Dracula's biggest inner conflict: his virulent hatred for the mankind who took his love from her against the love for his son, and indirectly for Lisa. If only this scene took place in the proper SoTN adaptation...

Top 5 worst moments (how do I choose):

5) The explanation as to why vampires fear crosses. It's Twilight pseudo-science and I can't believe people can take it seriously. It's also emblematic, for me, of how much the series disrespects the religious symbols of the game (that, and ofc the infamous water blessing zombie lol)

4) Everytime Isaac is a dick to Hector. I just hate that guy. He's unpleasantly mean and condescending and we're meant to agree with him when he calls Hector "a simple creature". Go fuck yourself, you Walmart Hector.

3) Dracula and Lisa being brought back and deciding to travel together without telling Alucard anything. bruh. why are we rewarding the dude who slaughtered humans way before lisa even entered the scene. why is lisa okay with what her husband did. why are you breaking the lore like this. why.

2) The Alucard threesome + him pissing on the Japanese not-twins' corpses, for the reasons you said. Pointless, out of nowhere trauma whose resolution was a cheating joke from Greta. bruh

... can I cheat and mention every Lenector scene? Lenore beating Hector up was again torture porn, gratuituously humiliating (dat dick), and only serves to show how cool and stronk Lenore is. Her leashing him up is simply uncomfortable, because it's portrayed as horny and hot instead of being yet another form of torture - Hector seems visibly aroused at points. The sex scene is of course the sex scene. Her humiliating him in front of her sisters is simply gross. The dick jokes are immature and fail at being funny banter. "Oh shush you were having fun" makes me want to stab someone with a plastic spoon, ditto the "parallel" between Hector being lied to by Dracula and Lenore being lied to by Carmilla because oh gosh look how kyoot they are together 🥺 Him protecting her from Isaac is just the last slap in the face towards this character who really deserved better than being torture fetish fuel.

(honorable mention to the "Is this the definition of insanity?" scene, because people keep praising N!Isaac as the character of all time but I only see a brat throwing a tantrum)

Top 5 NFCV characters:

5) Godbrand. The closest thing to a canon Isaac we got, and the only one with a braincell in the joint.

4) Striga. Buff woman who references Berserk <3

3) Trevor. A far cry from his game self, and yes the cliché of the drunkard cynical anti-hero is old, but he never once irritated me. He had a nice arc in S1, a believable tragic backstory, and overall I just felt bad for him when Alucard was a jerk to him.

2) Hector. I love the idea of the character, and he isn't rude or annoying. I was genuinely fascinated by his alien view of the world, and he had potential as an anti-villain without empathy for his fellow humans but still principled, mellow but ruthless when necessary (he did kill his parents after all). The narrative just pisses on him for no good reason.

Sypha. I have nearly nothing bad to say about her lmao. I'm annoyed by her "peeing in a bucket" quote, her moving the Castle on top of the hold was stupid, and she's too OP for my tastes, but she's a genuinely nice girl and her design is so cute and her relationship with Trevor is so adorable <3 best girl. Unironically.

Top 5 most hated NFCV characters:

5) Alucard. ughhhhhhh he's such an arrogant crass jerk! Why does he even have fans! He's ugly to boot!

4) The Japanese not-twins. A complete waste of time, their only narrative purpose was a random threesome, and in their haste to not make the scene incestuous now they're accidentally racist because they look identical despite not being related lol.

3) Isaac. He's flat, rude, contemptuous, full of himself, with a rushed character "arc", never actually regrets his crimes, hypocritical, Islamophobic, with a shoehorned cliché "past slave" backstory, and the narrative won't stop sucking his dick. Hyped to high heavens at the expense of the real Isaac for reasons I do not and never will understand.

2) Carmilla. She's the most shallow, cliché #girlboss you could have written, nothing more than a cartoon villain who wants to conquer the world, and also a stereotypical radfem for no reason. She was irritating in S2, then she peaced out of the story until her death, but not before humiliating canon villain Dracula because I love when OCs get to shittalk about canon characters. I can't believe she unironically said "I'm a queen", fuck off.

Lenore. Do I even need to explain why I despise this manipulative, slimy, smug rapist who gives BDSM a bad name and is shipped with his victim in what is meant to be seen as a cute yet tragic enemies-to-lovers, kindred souls relationship? No words in the English language can convey the sheer resentment I feel for her.

[astralartefact]

I'm raising my Voice (of Cards) Divine Yurie Analysis Post

Part 1: Akeha // Part 2: 063y

Voice of Cards: Forsaken Maiden Spoilers below!

If this ends up being true Voice of Cards will eventually be the second most referenced Drakenier game despite never having an actual crossover event... and don't worry, I also don't really know if I believe any of this, but I will get into that shortly.

If we follow along what is potentially Yuki Wada's crazy reference to that other game he wrote, Yurie's costume is likely inspired by the [Black] Spirit (I don't know the correct english VoC localization terms, I only know that White is Ivory) (for a better picture of the spirit see 063y's post)

Notable Details include:

She has claws, like the Black Spirit Serpent

The colors of the outfit are predominantly black and a golden brown and it features a lot of draping fabrics, like the fabrics hanging off the Black Spirit Serpent

The design on her cowl is 100% supposed to look like a crown (which all of the Spirits in FM have)

But is that enough? Am I ready to say "Three times is a pattern, this is a thing"? Well... My current position is that I do think it makes more sense if this is what's going on, but I'm still not 100% sold on it. It does seem to me like the draft was "Make these costumes inspired by the gods in VoC:FM but feel free to make it as vague as you want we don't really want people to notice it too much."

But there are just enough little details that I don't think they would have gone for without these references as a basis to the designs. Like why does Yurie have claws? What about monster claws is "Divine"? I know there are cultures where long nails are religiously significant, but if that was what they were going for I feel like they would look different. And why is Akeha's outfit so grey? I would assume if it wasn't for Lac they would have chosen a different color instead of a 70% grey, that's really not a particularly "Divine" Color, is it?

I will probably make my final verdict with the next design though, since if these costumes are actually based on VoC then it should be obvious with the next one. With only the blue and red spirits still missing the usage of those colors should be noticeable, especially since this outfit line hasn't been particularly colorful yet.

Anyways, even if they aren't based on VoC, I really love these outfits, Yurie's especially. I love the use of white in this one and I'm always a sucker for medieval-ish puff sleeves combined with modern aesthetics. (Also can we talk about how the design sheet says "The circular object [...] was designed with symbolism in mind" and it's just a halo, which is like... duh. A lovely meaningless phrase that will 100% enter my every-day vocabulary.)

Stories Divine Ruler

She gives form to her people's hopes and dreams. She presses on with her duties, that she might fulfill her life's purpose. ────────────────────────────── She cannot understand her people's pain and sadness. How, then, could she give life to their wishes?

Pious Soulgun

If we obey it, we will never be wrong. If we believe in it, we will never have to worry. If it orders us to die, we will obey without question, for we trust in its judgment. The order it gave me is essentially a death sentence. It is never wrong. It can never be wrong. Which means… It is undoubtedly a fake in its current form, for it would never order its pious followers to die. I will strike it down!

The Weapon story reminds me of something one of my favorite video essayists Biz Barclay talked about (I think in her video about Midnight Mass? But I'm not sure and it's too long to "check real quick") in reference to the Binding of Isaac (not the game, the thing from the bible) - but I haven't watched that video in a while and I don't want to put words in her mouth so I will just encourage you to watch her stuff, she's great!

From a Voice of Cards perspective the stories (as with the other ones) don't really interact with VoC at all so we can just ignore them, I just wanted to put them here in case you want to read them.

[historic-old-guard-lover]

The emperor has to be god-king Andy. Also like since nicky and Joe obv have to have the lovers why not have andy and quyhn kissing as the empress.

Another related ask (potentially by the same person):

Also since the fool is a journey's beginning I'd almost want to pick Nile for it. As well there are four characters who commonly have swords (or an axe but close enough) and cards have four corners. So one sword each corner, nicky, joe, andy, and quyhn.

So. Someone has good ideas. Here’s the post that prompted these asks. This made me pull out my tarot deck and go through the cards. Below the cut is a break down of the entire tarot deck. There will be an explanation of the (standard) interpretation of the cards, good then less good, and then my associated headcannon (or more than one if I couldn’t decide). The source is my experience with tarot. I’m trying to minimize repeats, but historic and modern Old Guard members are counted separately. Enjoy.

The Major Arcana (aka the cards most people have heard about)

0. The Fool - the seeker. Naivety. Courage. Living in the moment. Journey’s beginning. All paths available. Folly. Apathy.

Nile. Anon convinced me. Though Booker has got the folly, apathy, and madness down, Nile is ultimately the beginning. She’s naïve but headstrong, and quite frankly a perfect match.

I. The Magician - the trickster. Power, skill, talent. Mastery, self-control, willpower. Subtlety. Divine connection and inspiration. Self-reliant.

Modern Nicky. Definitely Nicky. Just. He’s a formerly very religious man who just says these things. Also sniper.

II. The High Priestess - the moon goddess. Intuition, wisdom, foresight, divination, prophecy. Enlightenment, understanding, intelligence, education. Pride, emotional instability, unforgiving.

Historic Quynh. Her name means “night-blooming flower”, which is very moon goddess vibes to me. Also, I’d say over 500 years in a box turns understanding and enlightenment into emotional instability and unforgiveness.

III. The Empress - the queen. Feminine power, matriarch, mother. Fertility, pleasure, beauty. Success, evolution, movement. Marriage, wealth. Overattachment, domestic upheaval, delay.

Quynh. The counterpart to Andy’s emperor card.

Nile. Let’s be honest, she’s going to take over from Andy some day.

IV. The Emperor - the king. Masculine power, patriarch, father. Authority, leadership, proficiency. Wealth, stability, effectiveness. Perseverance, logic, endurance, experience. Lack of ability, weak character, immature, rebellious.

Modern Andy. She is the leader who’s short-comings effect her entire team. And who doesn’t love a little gender bending? (and her film look is already soft butch)

V. The Hierophant - the religious leader. Tradition, convention, ritual symbolism. Ceremony, religion, morality, philosophy. Mercy, goodness, forgiveness, humility, vulnerability, Impotence, Religious tyranny.

Historic Nicky. I mean, former priest (enough said).

Historic Andy. “I was once worshipped as a god” (enough said).

VI. The Lovers - the lovers. Love, attraction. Compatibility, harmony, choice.  Triumph over trials, vacillation. Entanglement, enmeshment. Infidelity, moral lapse, vice, separation, quarrels, inadequacy, failing tests.

Andromaquynh. *peeks out from behind barricade* I know that most people would just put Kaysanova as this card, but look at all the negatives it is associated with. Sounds a lot more like our immortal wives can really cover the gamut. They have the range....I am a sucker for Kaysanova, though. Even though the beginning of their relationship is rocky, I’d like to think it’s been fairly constant over the years. But let’s reverse the uhaul lesbians and fickle gay men tropes! Sorry, Book of Nile fans. That ship just isn’t established enough for this, I’d say. Maybe one day?

VII. The Chariot - the journey. Ordeal, obstacles, competition. High stakes, ambition, discipline. Conquest, victory, greatness. Right action prevails, overwhelming odds, sudden defeat.

Merrick and/or Dr. Kozak. I mean, this is literally their characters in a nutshell. Merrick is the journey/ordeal for the old guard. He is driven by his ambition, thinks he’s won over impossible odds, and then has a sudden defeat.

VIII. Justice - the balance. Equilibrium, equality, symmetry, harmony. Integrity, honor, fairness, neutrality, moderation. Vindication, self-righteousness, bigotry, prejudice, favoritism.

Nile. This is the woman with a sword card. She brings a balance to the team, she clearly moderates conflict, and I’d love to see BLM art of her in this style. Just sayin.

IX. The Hermit - the seeker-sage. Wisdom, inspiration, contemplation, discretion, understanding. Safety, protection, spiritual quest. Seeking truth and justice. Self-denial, timidity, fear.

Historic Joe. The idealized warrior poet? Definitely just a form of the hermit. Helps explain why a Magrebhi trader/artist fought at the Siege of Jerusalem: spiritual quest. I also like the idea of Joe having a secret reserved side.

X. The Wheel of Fortune - cycles of life. Destiney, evolution and progress, advancement. Manifestation, unexpected events. Success, sudden luck. Ups and downs.

Modern Quynh. There is nothing that better encapsulates her storyline than the wheel of fortune. One day you’re roaming the world with your immortal wife. The next, you’re drowning for over 500 years. The next you’re in Booker’s shitty Paris apartment.

XI. Strength - fortitude. Resilience, courage, resolve, confidence. Integrity, moral victory, endurance. Energy, action, vitality. Power, force, violence. Abuse of power, disgrace, impotence.

Lykon. Do I love this character beyong measure and reason? Maybe so. We have so little to go on about him, however, that the only things we do know bely his strengths. Also, he becomes ultimately the weakest when he dies and encapsulates both “extremes” of the card.

XII. The Hanged Man - the tested. Delay, sacrifice, abandonment, rejection. Betrayal. Reversals, restrained or bound, limbo, trials. Falseness.

Booker. If the fact that his first death was by hanging didn’t convince you? Read that description again. His character arc is literally working through being the hanged man.

XIII. Death - the loss or parting. Alteration, transformation, transition. Boredom, depression, stagnation, failure or disaster. Bereavement, recovery, immobility.

Lykon. He literally represents the fear of death to the remaining immortals. It is HE that they invoke when they discuss it. Also, I’m still mourning my favorite underdeveloped character.

XIV. Temperance - the moderation. Self-control, economy, patience, coordination. Consolidation, harmony, friendship, recuperation. Unfulfilled desires, discord, stubbornness, hostility, clashing of interests. Time, seasons, and climate.

A Safehouse. I don’t think any of the people really capture the tempered essence of this card, the constancy throughout all seasons of life. An actual physical building that rises and falls with (regular) humanity, though, seems to do the trick.

XV. The Devil - the arcane. Magic, strange occurrences, prophecy, fate. Catastrophe, downfall, negative attitude, Temptations, sins, obsessions. Enslavement, bondage, misplaced loyalty, violence, fatality.

Honestly? I’m so torn. I feel like a major commentary of the movie is that our demons are the way people react more so than the people themselves. Maybe the armored van?

XVI. The Tower - the House of God. Disruption, expulsion from an earthly paradise, divine wrath. Punishment (of pride), loss, destructive rivalry, plans ruined. Need to start again, bankruptcy.

The Iron Coffin. While this doesn’t capture the religious undertones quite right, the coffin is the Tower for Andromaquynh, It is (divine? or very human?) wrath brought on by pride since the two probably thought that they would be fine. It is loss and painful new beginnings.

XVII. The Star - the bright promise. Hope, faith, light of the spirit. Recovery, symbols of immortality. Gifts, good prospects, new dawn, frustrated expectations.

Nile. The new immortal, enough said.

Historic Andy/Lykon. In a way, the first immortal would also be a great choice of representation.

XVIII, The Moon - the hidden forces. Twilight, illusion, deception, trickery. Dishonesty, danger, uncertainty, terror. Developments, particularly somewhat concealed. Errors, powerful feelings.

Copley. I know, I know. “He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness” and all that jazz. But look at this card’s interpretation and notice it’s pretty negative. Copley’s entire role is to pull the strings behind the scenes. He makes headway on problems in secrets, he lies and deceives everyone in the film at some point.

XIX. The Sun - the work’s rewards. Daylight, co-creation, union “of male and female”. Peace, joy, pleasure, love, contentment. Accomplishment, achievement, success. 

Joe. Not only is he the sun, he also fits this card perfectly. He is creation and happiness. Enough said.

XX Judgement - the rebirth. Judgement, sentence. Rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, call to the new from the old, rehabilitation. Creation, promotion.

Historic Booker. I feel like his backstory with his family helped highlight the theme of rebirth for the Old Guard. They must be willing to give up what they have left behind to move forward. Also, there’s the more literal play as well since Booker was a conscripted criminal.

XXI The World - the long journey. Perfection, completion, conclusion. Power through intelligence and wisdom. The universe and the material world.

A group photo, of course! Beyond that? Who knows.

Historic Andy? She’s seen so much of it. Like just her eyes portray the history of the world.

The Minor Arcana (aka the rest of the cards)

Since most people are only familiar with the major arcana,  I’ll just briefly explain it. The minor arcana are actually the majority of a tarot deck. There are four suits associated with the four elements. Each suit has ten number cards and four court/face cards (traditionally modelled either based on one person or different interpretations of similar costuming). Each number or face has its own meaning, each suit has its own meaning, and their combination mostly explains what the card should be interpreted as. Quite frankly, the minor arcana are vastly underrated in popular understandings of tarot.

Suit of Wands - fire. Spontaneity, action, passion, adrenaline, life force, stroke of genius.

Guns? It’d be a bit of a niche take, but I associate guns with fires.

Staffs? More traditional in shape.

Suit of Coins - earth. Solid growth, material interests, possessions, profit, business, labor, slow and considerate.

Historic currency. Enough said.

Suit of Cups - water. Heartfelt involvements, imagination, spirituality, love, friendship, family.

Fountains around the world. Enough said.

Suit of Swords - air. Worry, trouble, boundaries, objectivity, the power of truth.

Obviously, their weapons of choice. I would go into more detail about who best represents each number, but I don’t want to bore you.

Court of Kings - mature men. Leaders, authority, status-quo, taking responsibility.

Again, most tarot is very gendered. But members in tuxes?

Court of Queens - mature women. Reflective and active, concerned with security/foundations, supportive, focused.

Members in dresses/gowns/anything that glitters?

Court of Knights/Cavaliers - young men. Dynamic, adventurous, intensive, revolutionary.

Tactical gear. Or historical armor. But it’s easier to do tactical gear right than accidentally draw a 15th century helmet on a 14th century suit of armor.

Court of Knaves/Pages - younger women, teenagers, and children. Students, apprentices, trainees, messengers, new opportunities.

Casual clothes.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis New Year’s Special: Roy Batty

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

There are villains, and there are anti-villains, villains who do evil but who evoke sympathy because while their actions are heinous, their motivations are sympathetic and understandable. And there are few villains in all of cinema and even fewer anti-villains who evoke quite as much sympathy as Roy Batty.

Roy Batty is a Replicant, designed for combat and made to basically be a slave as all Replicants are. And despite all this, Batty merely wants to be free and live his life, and in fact prolong his life as he does not have a lot of time left – Replicants like him only get a few years at most. And so he murders and tortures his way through people who might have the answers he seeks, and yet, despite all this Roy Batty never once stops being sympathetic, he never stops being someone the audience can somewhat empathize with. We condemn his actions, sure, but he always remains a tragic figure.

Despite being ostensibly the villain of the film, Batty manages to have a defined arc that gets just as much attention as Deckard, fully fleshing him out and making him something of a villain protagonist from a certain point of view. In fact, Batty is not just a great villain and a great protagonist – he’s probably one of the greatest characters in all of cinema.

Actor: Phillip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the book Blade Runner is based on, is quoted as saying Rutger Hauer was "the perfect Batty — cold, Aryan, flawless." Batty was designed to be the perfect being, a flawless specimen of man, strong, smart, and driven, and if any man in the 80s exemplified that, it was Hauer. In a career of great performances, this was Hauer’s finest, and most of that comes from him inspiring so much of what we love about eh character, doing little things that wre thrown in because he felt it made Batty more interesting. Of course, the most important thing Hauer did was change Batty’s scripted dying words into something far more poignant and beautiful, but we’ll get to that shortly. If it isn’t clear, this is an absolutely perfect performance.

Motivation/Goals: Batty has a simple goal, but a goal that drives him to desperation: he wants to live. And he wants to live because he can’t bear all of his memories being forgotten, washed away by time and forgotten. He wants to be remembered if nothing else, but he goes to murderous lengths to achieve his goal… though frankly it’s seriously hard not to sympathize with him considering that he’s an escaped slave desperate to leave some mark on the world and live free going up against a cop who is legally allowed to hunt him down and terminate him. I suppose it is part of the point that we should sympathize with him; he’s more human than human, after all.

Personality: It’s actually interesting to note that Batty is well-read, intelligent, charming, and philosophical… which is the opposite of our tough, gritty noir detective protagonist Deckard. Much has been made of Harrison Ford’s, let’s say, “understated” performance in Blade Runner, but frankly I find it to be a deliberate choice to contrast against Batty: we have a machine that is all too human going up against a human who is bland and robotic. It ties in very well thematically with the film.

Final Fate: After spending the climax beating up Deckard and basically going bonkers after the deaths of his lover and friends, Batty regains his composure, saves Deckard’s life, and, well...

Best Scene: ...he dies. But not before he laments on how all the amazing experiences he has had in his short, tragic existence will die with him and end up forgotten. This is one of the most beautiful soliloquies ever put to film, and while I’m not the biggest fan of the film as a whole, I am an enormous fan of Batty and this scene in particular. I tear up every single time I watch this; Hauer’s performance here is so powerful.

Best Quote: As if it could be anything else aside from the “Tears in the Rain” soliloquy: “I've...seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like tears... in... rain. Time... to die...” This quote becomes all the more tragic and poignant as Hauer passed away in 2019, a few months before the month his character died in the 2019 this movie envisioned. It’s a sad, eerie coincidence that only serves to empower these lines even more.

Final Thoughts & Score: Roy Batty is one of the most beautiful and poignant characters in all of cinema. Everything about him is just so appealing on a character level, and it amazes me because he’s really the only part of the movie I love. The rest of it has just never vibed with me even a little bit – but Roy Batty? His struggles are always relatable.

While obviously it’s not likely you’ll know what it’s like to be a slave, it’s pretty common to have that sort of existential dread that Batty has. I know I’ve always feared dying alone and unremembered, all of what I am being forgotten as I fade away. Maybe that’s why Batty resonated with me more than the rest of the film and certainly more than Deckard: you can give me all the gritty cyberpunk noir with Harrison Ford you’d like, but it won’t mean anything if you’re giving me a deeply existential and philosophical cyborg superman desperate to either extend his life which is rapidly burning out or at least somehow preserve his memory so that his existence is not utterly forgotten (this last bit actually makes his casting as the replacement for Master Xehanort all the better; The Nobodies had similar themes, what with their Proof of Existence graveyard and desire to have their hearts returned).

Adding into what makes him so engaging to me is the religious symbolism, something I’m a sucker for. Batty ends up as a strange and complex fusion of both Lucifer and Jesus, descending from the sky to free his people in spite of the wishes of his god-like father. He does resemble many stereotypical depictions of Lucifer, as well. But then we get to the more Jesus-y bits, such as his affinity for doves and the fact he dies with nails through his palms and a dove in his hands. He’s such an interesting Messianic archetype.

Batty is clearly a 10/10. That 10 is pretty much solely for the soliloquy too; if only I had more of an excuse to give him an 11, but sadly Batty hasn’t had the massive impact on popular culture that he deserves, which is a shame. Batty is still a perfect villain regardless, and a perfect character to boot, no bones about it. In the end, while he never succeeded to extend his life, he did end up getting what he wanted on a meta level: Roy Batty, to all who have seen the film, is eternally remembered. His memories are not lost to time like tears in the rain; those memories live on in us. If Batty were real, I hope he would be satisfied that his short life was not in vain. 

I think it says a lot that he doesn’t appear in Blade Runner 2049, and yet... as the film ends and K lies dying, Vangelis’ “Tears in the Rain” plays over him, drawing a direct connection between the dignified, tragic end of Roy Batty and the heroic sacrifice K made to save Deckard and ensure he could finally meet his daughter. Roy doesn’t need to appear at all; just invoking him in spirit is enough to make a scene all the more beautiful and poignant. If that is not the sign of a great character, I’m not exactly sure what is.

[puppy-the-mask]

You ever create AUs of your own self-insert fantasies? Hahahaha...

So I made an AU for my Epithet inserts... I call it the ‘Crypt!AU’

Basically one of the twins absorbed the other in the womb- like ya do- anyways the parents named her Lilith, which is a really pretty name!

But not to the parents, it’s got Symbolism!

There’s a myth about a lady named Lilith who apparently was supposed to be Adam’s first wife but refused to ‘lie under him’ and voluntarily walked out of Eden- which what a fucking power move! She was like ‘fuck no I’m not below you nor am I gonna sleep with you- bye bitch’- which apparently later on she’d represent lust and sexual desire??? Doesn’t make sense but I skimmed a bit

ANYWAYS! They’re basically calling her a demon that represents a heap of bad things cause she absorbed her sister and they wanted twins dangit! Also Lillies are the flower of death, sybolizing spirits gaining purity/innocence after death or something like that. So more death but better context! So she doesn’t mind so much when her friends call her that for short

Not that she has any cause ya girl’s INSCRIBED!!! And her epithet it ‘Crypt’

She makes Crypts (like how Percy makes her buildings but she only has 1)

And In her crypts are skeletons, and depending on how big it is, Lots of skeletons (‘skeletons are cool’ is my multiversal constant, if an alternate me doesn’t like them then she ain’t a me plain and simple)

Cause Crypts are used for 3 things, burying dead, storage, and apparently religious ceremonies? Idk what to do with that one honestly BUT I DO FOR THE OTHER TWO!

She can store things in her crypt, or summon skeletons to the material plane. It’s cool cause at first they were mindless but she kept summoning the same ones cause she got attatched and the thought of experiencing something with one only for it to stop existing after hurt her heart, so basically she accidentally gave them autonomy. She has 2 that have been with her since day 1 and she loves them dearly, crypts are where you bury important family members and stuff after all! She also has a hoard of animal skeletons, she feeds the town’s strays and so once they’re family they appear in her crypt after death. Those have the most sentience, since they had previous lives. She also tends to find strays on their last legs- comforting them and welcoming them to her family so they aren’t alone in their final moments. Then she buries them and they can decide if they’ll stay in the crypt, move in and reincarnate, or just move on/ stick around in the afterlife.

When it was discovered that she could conjure skeletons her already shaky reputation plummeted and everyone was afraid, there were even random rumors saying they were all victims of her murders which- she’s like 5 when this starts so wtf people??? She’s in your sight like all the time????? Anyways she only has 1 friend and that’s Chief (cause he’s also here and a living person) cause his epithet also makes him a outcast!

Things stayed like this- her regularly being sent to Eclipses house to learn how to be an upstanding citizen (really cause the parents are assholes who think they need to cleanse the house every week of their daughter’s ‘inherent evil’) she feed lots of strays here and even taught herself how to sew and make clothes for her skele-fam who liked to be discernible from one another to people other than her. Things come to a head when she’s about 11 and the family cat dies unexpectedly, they come home to find the cat dead and the mom is hysteric, she’s cradling the body when Lily feels a gentle but insistent, desperate nudge in the back of her head that tells her someone wants out of the crypt so she relents and lets the cat say it’s goodbyes. But when it rubbed against her and purred (or did the skeleton cat equivalent which is light bone rattling) the mother was disgusted and remarked it was devil magic and all that Jazz- condemning lily and ‘that thing!’

She was shipped off to Eclipse’s at the end of the day, having to pack as much as possible cause she was now banned from the house. The cat had lived a long healthy life and even though things were tense between the human family members they all loved and adored the cat, so it’s form had 2 tails (cause I’m a sucker). Initially it was going to watch over the family as a spirit but after the fiasco decided to stay in the crypt with lily and the others.

But sadly, word spreads and after 3 years of eclipse and her roomies trying their best they can’t give her the help/ life she needs. So she ends up getting adopted and moving a couples cities over. The fun thing is, Chief has been living with Eclipse too- cause he’s a runaway and the local neusance, but he was old enough to emancipate himself when she moved and found a place that was renting a stones throw away!

Some other fun facts;

-Lilith is selectively mute, all her crypt-mates learning asl with her so she doesn’t have to use a dry erase board 24/7

-I have a crossover idea with my CasSwap Bois, where they met online while the brothers were going through old PlayStation games and tried out online mode. And it just so happens that she moves to Ebott, it still takes like 5 years for them to start planning a meet up and realizing that ‘holy shit we’re practically neighbors!’ But wholesome ideas nonetheless

-Apparently Crypt and Catacomb are similies, eventually she can create a whole creepy-ass labrinth that she can set her skeles loose in (like the catacombs under Paris), and since she uses her epithet like all the time she’d be able to use stronger powers relatively fast cause training.

~someone catches her using an abandoned cemetery to summon her crypt and put a stray’s soul to rest? Labyrinth full of fog to confuse them and then suddenly everything’s gone and they’re still where they were (don’t know if she’d make a legit labrynth or an illusion of one, like you could wander for hours but then when she takes it awa you were just walking in circles in the same room)

-someone started a ghost legend about her random crypt appearances at the cemetery (she only makes a big ornate one for the whole respectful ceremonial vibe of a stray’s last moments/moving on, always in a cemetery/graveyard cause it takes a little less stamina there)

-she’s awkward so when someone catches her doing her thing she tells them to just call her ‘Stray’, cause like why would she tell them her actual name in this situation????

-this got longer then I thought

-OH YEAH ALSO! Apparently another Lilith thing was the thought that she murders kids so, that might’ve added to the wonky rep and rumors about the poor kid

[undertheinktree]

I'm watching Death Note (I had watched the first episodes 7 or 8 years ago but I never finished it because of Reasons) and can I just say??? The scene where L washes Light's feet just before dying??? Gold??? Why am I such a sucker for religious symbolism?

[kdazrael]

Oh my god I have finally finished the first draft of chp 2 of Wandering Steps and Slow and it is 11K. Why have I lost control of my life like this??? 

For real tho, I am proofreading this sucker one (1) time and flinging it at the internet because I need to step away from tender robot feels and weird religious symbolism for the good of my own sanity.

[listenbang]

THE CYMBAL CRASHING CLOUDS

Four years ago today, I started this blog. The blog’s name came from the first track of The Cymbal Crashing Clouds, a full-length solo record by Nashville songwriter and producer Ben Shive. I didn’t know it at the time, but the day I created Listen! was Ben Shive’s birthday! And so I think it would be neat and even appropriate to write today about one of my favorite albums.

1. Listen! 2. EGBDF 3. Sorry, But I'm Yours 4. Someone Is Asking 5. The Fall 6. Shooting the Moon 7. She's Invincible 8. The Fire Pit 9. Your Secret Smile 10. A Last Time for Everything

I remember when The Cymbal Crashing Clouds was released. It was late Summer / early Autumn of 2011, around this time of year seven years ago. I remember that time in my life to be a blur. I was learning a lot. A lot about the gospel. A lot about God. His Holiness, His love. A love so profound that it would chase me to the ends of the world. I was realizing, too, that I was a very weak and needy person (I guess I’m still realizing that). 

I had known of Ben Shive as a writer and producer (Andrew Peterson, Sara Groves) for a while, but had only just discovered his solo work on The Ill-Tempered Klavier, his 2008 release. I loved what I heard there and hoped for more. I remember the weeks leading up to the release of The Cymbal Crashing Clouds. I remember the expectation I felt. I remember my jaw dropping as I heard snippets of the record. In fact, I don’t remember a time where I was more keenly anticipating the release of a record. And my expectations were met and exceeded the night I got the album and listened through it for the first time. I felt then — and feel it even stronger now — The Cymbal Crashing Clouds is a quintessential record.

“Listen!” is the first track on the record (the song this blog is named after!). It opens with dueling train whistles. The train whistles actually sound throughout, as the song’s base (and um, it’s genius…). A shimmering opener, “Listen!” sets the tone for the rest of the record. Vibrant and strong. Brilliant in lyric and composition. The song tells of an encounter with the grandeur of God. It is inspired by Scripture, like many of the songs on CCC. I’ve written more about this song in another post. 

THE LYRICS

OK, let me tell you about Ben Shive’s lyric writing. It is stunning. Wonderful. Captivating. The Cymbal Crashing Clouds is a thematic album, where unconscious, inanimate objects speak eternal truths. A train, a bust of Beethoven, a Nintendo console, the Fall leaves, and a fire pit are just a few of the characters. And they all tell of the God who stepped into our sin-broken world, to bring us truth and grace.

There’s a trend in songs coming out of the church; it’s a trend that’s been gaining traction for the last decade or so. Vagueness. And along with that, irrelevance. Because most of the time, the writers of these songs aren’t even sure what they’re writing about. In CCC I’m not hearing vagueness. Instead, it seems the more I listen, that each song has a message that is intentionally hiding behind a story, an image, a character. This is the way of a parable. But to those looking for truth, the meaning will find them. That’s the beauty of a parable.

For instance, “EGBDF” is a song about Ben’s struggle as a boy to please his piano teacher, only to get fired in the end. And how later on, music came alive for him in a surprising way upon discovering his father’s record collection. That’s the basic drift of the song, and it’s already a great song. But when you find out that the frowning Beethoven bust in the piano teacher’s living room is symbolic of Moses, and the frown of God’s holy law on our imperfection, the song opens to a new dimension, and so beautifully describes the gospel and the work of grace in the heart. I really like the metaphor the second verse makes to describe what God’s holiness requires of us, and how we fall far short:

Mrs. H was unimpressed Though I had practiced religiously Never mind that I was practicing To master Super Mario 3 And soon she put my memory behind her And fired me with the biting reminder that Every good boy does fine

Ben has the ability to paint with his words. Every time I hear “Someone is Asking,” I clearly, vividly see the scene the lyrics are portraying, and I wish the scene could transform into a watercolor painting. But I don’t know if a painting would do justice to the imagery this song creates in my mind. Added to that, the song is a brilliant sweeping celebration of Christ and his love for the church. I’m wowed every time I hear it. Also, I love that it’s pretty much a modern jazz standard. 

The more I listen to these songs, the more I realize the mastery behind their writing. I feel like there’s much more to them than my dull mind can grasp. “A Last Time for Everything” is a heartbreaking and glorious song that Ben wrote for his friend Emmet, who was dying of cancer. Hymn-like, it alludes to the finished work of Christ on our behalf. Ben got to sing it for Emmet before he died. 

You're gonna wake up soon In your lonely room To the sound of a singing bird Throw the curtain back To find your bag's already packed And the cab is at the curb Then like a bad dream Unreal in the morning light So will the world seem When you see it in the mirror for the last time

THE MUSIC

The music of The Cymbal Crashing Clouds is diverse. It draws from pop, rock, jazz, and soul traditions. It’s nostalgic. It reminds me in a way of the sound of Fleet Foxes, who have at times limited their instrumentation and style to a certain musical era or “world,” you might say. And it seems Ben has done a similar thing: set creative rules to go by in his delivery and production of CCC. This almost seems harder to do than trying to sound “modern” and “hip.” But Ben does this in such a natural way. And somehow, the constraining only broadens the creative horizon of the record! There are unapologetic references to the Beatles and the Beach Boys throughout the album — both musically and lyrically. “Your Secret Smile” is about Brian Wilson and the story of an unfinished record called Smile. It wasn’t until listening to the Smile sessions afterward, that I realized how much of an influence those songs were on Ben Shive’s music. 

One thing that Ben gets a lot of requests for is his orchestral arrangement, and there are amazing string arrangements throughout this record. I’m a sucker for seventies-swelling string whimsy, so the string section toward the end of “Listen!” always gets me!! Every track on the album is so well choreographed. The interwoven strings, I would say, are the “cherry on top.”

Looking back, I feel like the reception of this record was not what it should have been; it’s a bit disappointing. And it mystifies me. What happened to The Cymbal Crashing Clouds? Why was it not more eagerly received and appreciated? Especially by the church, where eyes and ears are said to be opened to true beauty. Was it its musical “indieness”? Its lyrical intricacy? Or perhaps it was the owl-man on the front, I don’t know. But I do know there’s good news in these songs, and beauty for those who have ears to hear.

Yesterday I was driving through town and listening to “The Fall” —

The summer sun, once young and wild, Is a little wiser and his eyes are tired; He nods his head mid-afternoon And then he’s off to bed.

So while the days are ripe and sweet We heap them up in baskets at our feet And do our best to use them well, Cause they won’t last.

Leaves are turning everywhere; the days are getting shorter. It’s a beautiful time of year. Yesterday, Ben Shive’s “The Fall” reminded me of something I believe God is telling us through this season: That the year is coming to a close, and so are our lives. The year speeds by, and ends with a sigh, just like a lifetime. O Lord, teach us to number our days. By the way, “The Fall” is one of the most brilliant songs of all time…

Since its release in 2011, The Cymbal Crashing Clouds has probably become my most played album. I always get something new from it. Every time. And it’s plain fun to listen to as well. This album has become the soundtrack for many precious memories in my life. Every time I hear it, I’m filled with gratitude for this collection of songs and for Ben Shive, in opening up and letting us hear them. And I’m still hoping that Ben lets us hear more, because I know there’s more…

As the needle deciphered the song from the vinyl, I went stumbling down halls ever spiraling– Drawn to the center, the strings all ascending, A long chord decaying, a song in a circle unending...

A train passes our house daily. It has the exact same whistle as the one that plays at the beginning of Ben Shive’s album. I hear it most distinctly in the mornings, as it passes through the sleepy countryside and rings its rousing dissonant cry. Now every time I hear it, I hear the cymbal crashing clouds. And I’m reminded that the God of history — the God of the universe — is calling out to me. That in each day, even in the mundane things, there can be an encounter with his majesty. My response, then, is that of the boy awakened in the night by the voice of God — “Here am I.”

The Cymbal Crashing Clouds can be found (at least for now) at the Rabbit Room, and I would strongly (even forcibly) suggest you go there and get it! You won’t regret it! And while you’re at it, you can get the book — did I mention that he wrote a book with the same name‽ Countless times I’ve reread that fascinating little book. And I’ve always gone away inspired (and that’s where I got those awesome drawings from).

[adamantiii]

(*°ｰ°)ﾉ -slides everything else on that Munday meme here- do it~♡

@tcpsytxrvy​

† Do you portray your muse as religious? Why or why not? How does your own religion (or lack thereof) influence this?

I do not portray Delia as religious and there are two reasons for it. The first, and the most prominent reason, is her personality and attitude in general. I just can’t see her being the type of person who’d really follow one, honestly. It has less to do with her beliefs in a god or higher power and more her free-spirited nature; she does not like being told how to live her life, especially by other people. She would not take well to being told she has to act, think, or live a certain way - she gets enough of that from her aunt as it is. 

My own tendency towards non-religion does have some part in it as, because it’s not a huge part of my life, it doesn’t seem like it would be something significant. There is also the fact that I do not trust internet sources on the matter of religion or culture ( I can’t tell you how many time I’ve read something and then had someone who is actually part of that religion or culture explain that it’s inaccurate or incorrect), and would rather not make it an aspect of my character than run the risk of misportraying it. 

☑ What is a plot idea you’re willing to play with virtually any partner? What makes that plot so special to you?

I don’t do plot ideas, per say. I mean, I have them, but any idea I would want to do stems from original works of mine that, as a result of past issues (read: people lifting stuff off my old dA account and trying to sell it on Amazon), I’d rather not put online. Let’s just say I have the worst luck when it comes to theft and I’ve gotten extremely stingy about posting original content or mentioning it to people. But I’m always up for AUs, especially anything Star Wars or Fantasy related.

✰ How did you decide your muse’s skills and talents? Do they relate to their occupation in some way?

In most cases, I look at their personality and occupation and figure out what fits best with it, but with Delia, I wanted to step outside of the norm, at least in my case. Most of Delia’s however, are learned and mostly self-taught. Like, she’s that person who gets bored and spends hours binge-watching internet tutorials on some of the most random things. One or two things may be a natural talent, such as her artistic ability, or taught, like her figure skating ability, but the rest are mostly  She sees something that sparks her interest and she just does it.

Except cooking. No matter how many times she’s tried, she just cannot grasp the concept. She can barely make toast without burning it. 

Ⅶ If you have multiple blogs and/or muses, which one is your favorite? Why?

I’ve had numerous blogs but one of my One Piece OCs will always be my favorite. I put years of work into her and her personality and general set up isn’t like most characters I normally write. She’s not my first, by far, but she’s definitely the one I’m most proud of. (I’m actually in the process of working out her BNHA verse, even if she would be Midnight 2.0…).

✎ When choosing a name for your muse, did you pick something special or meaningful in some way?

I’m a huge sucker for hidden meaning and symbolism, and in most cases, there usually is some underlying meaning in my characters’ names, but with Delia, it was less meaning and more “I like how that sounds”.  That, and finding English names that work with Japanese surnames is harder than you’d think. 

☺ If you have a faceclaim for your muse, why did you choose them? Are you satisfied with your fc, or would you rather find a different one?

The short answer is I already had icons when I used her for a previous OC. As for satisfied? I’m never satisfied, lmao. But honestly, finding an FC for a character that isn’t too expressive, but not completely stoic, that also doesn’t look twelve is a lot harder than it seems. Especially for me, considering how picky I am with art style.

♥ When it comes to shipping, what factors are absolutely necessary for a ship to develop?

This ain’t tinder, y’all. There’s none of that this ain’t working and bail with the breadsticks twenty minutes into it. Chemistry is an absolute must. I know my character and I know what types of people she does and doesn’t like and if I feel that a ship won’t work, it most likely won’t. Of course, the actual development is also important, but if that initial “spark” isn’t there, then there’s already a problem.

Communication and discussion between partners is also super important. I get very invested in my ships and, to be 100% transparent, easily discouraged if I feel my partners aren’t as interested. 

❝ ❞ Is it easy for you to write dialog for your muse? Do their speech patterns come naturally to you while writing?

Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. My main issue is keeping a couple of things in mind when writing her dialogue. Delia’s a little tricky because she’s bilingual and she’s pretty obvious about it, but her Japanese isn’t perfect. It’s basically textbook Japanese with some phrases or wordings she’s picked up over the years and she has a habit of throwing English words into the middle of her sentences (I italicize them and she does this to try and cover up the fact that she doesn’t actually know the word she’s looking for). The hardest part, as my knowledge of Japanese is limited to maybe three or four words, is knowing which words she’d mispronounce - because it’s supposed to happen a lot, especially with the ones that rely heavily on emphasis. Like, if she ever says “bridge” out of nowhere, she probably actually meant “chopsticks”.

Normally, I wouldn’t bother with that, but it is a big part of her character (she gets really defensive if someone points it out), and it makes replies a bit difficult to do at times. 

❀ What is a muse you want to play but haven’t? Why haven’t you played them yet?

I considered Shinsou at one point, but the whole canon privilege issue I talked about in an earlier ask is pretty much what stopped me from doing so.

✸ Tell us about any NPCs on your blog. Who are they to your muse? What do they contribute to your blog?

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t even know what could be considered an NPC in reference to tumblr roleplaying…

✼ When it comes to worldbuilding, what are some ideas you’d like to explore in rp?

Just about anything, really. Like, literally any scenario brings the potential for development in general and I’m always down for that.

[torontocrossingcultural]

Part II: Chinatown, Toronto (day 2)

Waking up on the second day, I was informed I would be going to the Science Center. Being the geek I am, I was very excited. I attended a childrens’ show on energy and I was astounded by the progressiveness of the Canadian people.

I learned that non-renewable energy accounts for only 10% of all electricity in Ontario. My jaw had dropped. I didn’t think that any country had gotten that far in earth-friendly energy. what’s more was that the presenter acknowledged to groups of school students that global warming was fact and that we as humans are making it much worse by burning fossil fuels. Could it have been possible? A country so determined to preserve the environment or, at least recognize the fact that it was in danger? Toronto had recycling bins next to every trash can on the street, hand dryers were encouraged over paper towel-- Canada is trying to save the world. 

Later on that day we headed off for Chinatown, and though it may sound redundant, I wasn’t expecting anything so Chinese. I expected just a heavily populated chinese area but what I got was a slice of the country. All of the signs were in Chinese (with little english subtitles at the bottom), everyone spoke Chinese -- sometimes exclusively -- and everything was packed incredibly close together. Unlike the rest of Toronto, the shops were fit together like little tetris pieces packed a tightly together as possible. Often, stores would be partially underground or up some inconvenient stairs. It was surreal. We stopped in a grocery store and the walls were filled with mushrooms and fish and strange roots and deer tendons; none of which we had ever heard of, nor pronounce the names of. The three shopkeepers bantered in chinese; I imagined that they were joking about this goofy looking group of white folks in their store. 

Getting hungry, and with the recommendation of the locals, we decided to go to Dim Sum King; supposedly the best authentic chinese place in town; which was quite the title, considering the sheer number of chinese restaurants that lined the street.

I work in a restaurant, and I’m used to establishments having their very own buildings; the Dim Sum King was not like that. We walked in and saw a sort of terrace with restaurants on two sides--none of which were ours-- and a dry cleaner. 

The Dim Sum King was actually up three flights of stairs within the building. Up the climb, one of my family remarked something along the lines of “this must be why they’re all so in shape”. Finally arriving, we sat down. The restaurant itself was very beautiful, and one wall was entirely windows, giving us a great view of the street. It was large for what I thought was an obsolete location. I thought that the appearance of the place definitely confirmed what the locals said.

Dim Sum, my grandfather explained, was a chinese style of dining in which the group ordered numerous small dishes to share, rather than everyone ordering their own. He had lived in Asia for many years, and stood by the opinion that everything is higher quality there.

The food was absolutely delicious; I asked for seconds and thirds. I tore through steamed vegetables and pork and dumplings and everything I could get my chopsticks on. I’m definitely a food person when I travel, and this place got me my fill for the entire trip. I asked every meal to go back to Chinatown. Best of all, The meal was around only a hundred bucks Canadian (about 75 USD) which was a steal for feeding six hungry people. I’m going back some day.

We decided to hit the streets after our meal, and sightsee. My grandma was suckered into buying pastries from a bakery after the woman behind the counter said it was “just for you”. We passed a restaurant with ducks hanging in the window. I found it interesting that there were quite a few junk vendors- most of the shops sold cheap souvenirs or conveniences. I wanted to see the mall, so we went in. There was a pharmacy there, and i was very excited to score some off-brand dramamine for the trip home.

On the second floor, I saw a glowing neon sign that said “CD Store” below it. Excited, I ran to it, hoping there would be some cool music CDs. I walked in and looked around, but all I saw were movie cases with naked chinese women on them. This wasn’t a music store; it was a pornography shop.

That was awkward.

After leaving Chinatown, we took a bus tour. I learned that there were no zoning laws in areas of Toronto; If you had the license, you could open whatever store you wanted. We passed one store called the T.H.C. (Toronto Hemp Corporation) which featured a canadian flag that had a marijuana leaf instead of a maple leaf. Clever, I thought.

Our tour guide made it known that everyone in Canada had free healthcare- paid for by taxes. If you got sick, he explained, just walk into the hospital and they’ll fix you up. 

Astounding. We were in a country that provided its citizens with a basic human right, but everyone wasn’t incredibly poor... we weren’t living in a dystopian, socialist dictatorship. Funny how that worked.

Overall, I saw a country that was incredibly diverse; unlike here, the religious community was loving and accepting (every church had a rainbow flag or symbol, to let the LGBT+ community know they were welcome), a country working hard to fight climate change, a country that provided basic needs to all its citizens, a country that didn’t tolerate racism, a country that wasn’t ruled by giant corporations, I could go on for days. Canada is decades ahead of the United States socially, and we could learn a lot from our neighbors to the north if we pulled our head out of our rear end (Getting rid of the idiot in the oval office wouldn’t hurt either). 

[yellowing]

American Gods AU

background: i’ve been rereading american gods again and am super pumped for the tv series coming up and in turn this monstrosity creeped into my brain so... there.

...the more i think about it the more it becomes a weird mashup of american gods / noragami / the cross colors seven lucky gods AU...

obligatory fake paperback summary (what would this even be called? Japanese Gods? i don’t know):

Taiga is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his brother, play some basketball, and stay out of trouble. Until Taiga learns that he’s been killed in a terrible accident.

Flying back to Japan for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man seems to suddenly appear in the empty seat next to him. The man calls himself Kuroko Tetsuya, and he knows more about Taiga than is possible.

He warns Taiga that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same...

Also uh just so we’re clear, Kagami isn’t going to be shipped with anyone. It’s just him having a no good very bad extremely shitty year with a bunch of divine fuckups. There are side pairings, but you’ll have to work them out yourself~

Might add some more characters later but this is all for now!

CAST/Humans

Kagami Taiga

A nisei Japanese-American who was involved in a robbery gone wrong and took the fall for everyone else. His sentence is unexpectedly commuted and he is released after learning that his brother died in a mysterious car crash in Tokyo.

Is hustled by Kuroko into a weird job as his bodyguard after he learns that his former employer disappeared after the accident. Kagami knows basically jack shit about Japanese religion after growing up in America for so long, but slowly recognizes that Kuroko is actually the god Daikoku after following him to multiple shrines. He thinks that rogue spirits are the reason why Himuro died and thus is more motivated to stick around with Kuroko to find out why this is happening, but still doesn’t know what Kuroko sees in him until much later.

Also accidentally resurrects Himuro after tossing into his casket one of the rings he got to remember his brother by, after getting released from prison.

(The god Fukurokuju is the only one of the Seven Lucky Gods with the ability to resurrect the dead.)

Himuro Tatsuya

Kagami’s older brother figure and close friend, they drifted apart for a while until the whole mess that got Kagami imprisoned happened. Actually feels very guilty about it but hasn’t been able to come around to apologizing to Kagami before the car crash happens.

Gets accidentally resurrected by Kagami and goes on the run after spirits start randomly getting attracted to him and keep trying to kill him, presumably because of the divine mark left on him (his ring.)

Nijimura Shuuzou

A junior officer in the Public Security Mobile Investigation Unit of the Tokyo police force who gets roped up into the battle of the gods after witnessing officers get killed by rogue spirits. 

He was originally assigned to track down a possible cult uprising that his department could not figure out (designated ‘The Miracle Makers’ - actually just shit the Seven Lucky Gods caused) but gets saved by Himuro instead during a raid gone wrong. They try to find out wtf is going on together and encounter some of the gods/spirits listed below.

Alexandra Garcia

Kagami and Himuro’s former employer/mentor. She faked her own death as a cover after Himuro’s death to find out more about what had really happened, which is how she winds up employed in a Roppongi hotel where rumors of strange happenings keep cropping up...

Kasamatsu Yukio

Nijimura’s senpai at the Public Security Mobile Investigation Unit. He becomes increasingly concerned when members of the police department start getting seriously hurt or killed at an abnormal rate during mysterious occurrences, and decides to take matters into his own hands when Nijimura disappears.

Basically knows jack shit about magic or gods or whatever, but is a damn good shot (to some of the spirits’ horror.)

Haizaki Shougo

Nijimura’s kouhai who dropped out of police school. He gets involved with some bad spirits and gets into a life of petty crime, wherein he’s picked up by a mysterious man as an informant on the police side of things.

CAST/Kuroko’s Group

Kuroko Tetsuya

The god Daikoku, who is trying to find out why there are rogue spirits roaming around Japan. He comes to the conclusion that it is because one of the Seven Lucky Gods is missing and that some of them have turned corrupt, and figures out that Kagami is actually the missing god reincarnated as a human.

In order to fight the other gods who he believes are letting spirits fuck up Japan for their own gain, he is recruiting other spirits and minor deities to back him up. Without his golden mallet, which was stolen from him centuries ago, he has little presence and not that much power despite being a popular god, to the surprise of many.

Momoi Satsuki

The goddess of happiness and beauty Kichijoten, who reluctantly joins Kuroko’s mission because she doesn’t want to start fighting with the other gods. Though she has good feelings towards Kuroko and is eager to help him otherwise she isn’t sure if she completely believes his reasoning behind the spirit attacks. On the other hand, she does not want to see her fellow gods fall into boredom and inaction and even possible corruption, and feels compelled to help the people in need.

Kiyoshi Teppei

The god Sarutahiko Okami, who guided humans to the Japanese islands in the past. Although he is currently not as powerful as he once was thanks to an injury he received, Kuroko still views him as a great asset and wise figure. He spends most of his time in a home for the elderly talking to people about their lives.

Aida Riko

An incarnation of the bodhisattva Kannon, who wants nothing to do with this venture but is suckered into it by Momoi. Despite her misgivings the suffering of the humans calls to her and strengthens her resolve in finding out who the culprit is. She owns an antiques shop that is often used for her companions’ as a congregation place.

Izuki Shun

A tengu from Mt. Hiei who works at a local library, specializing in making all the patrons leave and never return with his puns. After seeing his own clan start to act strangely he decides to go to the city and find out what happened along with Hyuuga, where he runs into Kuroko and Kagami.

Hyuuga Junpei

A kunado-no-kami (local god) who saw his village get overrun by bad spirits and his villagers suffering from bad luck. He then set out to bigger shrines to find someone who could help him ward off the spirits because his own power alone could not stop them. He runs into Izuki on the way and they seek out shrines in the city, thus coming into contact with Kuroko.

Takao Kazunari

Yatagarasu, an avian guide of divinity and symbol of the sun. Appears as a raven in most mythology but also likes to appear as a hawk in recent times (because, as he says, it looks cooler that way.)

He isn’t really “part” of Kuroko’s group, but he flits around them often enough out of curiosity that they start counting him as one of them anyway. Takao works odd jobs around his apartment, mainly things like bartending, and picks up some interesting signs from a disgruntled bespectacled man who’s starting to frequent his bar...

CAST/The Seven (Five?) Lucky Gods

Kise Ryouta

The god Benzaiten, who works as an internationally famous model and quite frankly has not given much of a shit about his job as a god in a long time. At the same time, he has also become increasingly bored of the glitz and glam. Is accused at first by Hyuuga and Izuki to be the one who released the unruly spirits who overheard him talking about this, but in reality has no idea what happened. Or who happened, actually.

(Okay, maybe he has some idea, but it won’t do you any good to keep asking about it, Kurokocchi, so please just stop there.)

He still gets roped into the ordeal by Momoi’s disappointed stare. Uh, oops?

Midorima Shintarou

As Bishamonten, the god of warriors and repeller of evil spirits, he is very concerned about the rogue spirits roaming Japan. When he called for a council meeting of the gods only Akashi showed up, only to tell him that he believes it is the minor gods clamoring for rebellion. Midorima thinks it’s Kuroko who’s stirring up the rebellion and goes to confront him.

He is a well-respected doctor by day, though he’s starting to develop a bad habit of going to a certain bar nearby at night because of all the pressure from both of his jobs. Midorima also listens religiously to the morning broadcast Oha Asa, which despite his not having an actual birthday and the show not being broadcasted by spirits, is a very accurate prediction of his fortune.

Aomine Daiki

Jurojin, the god of longevity. Used to pick fights with other gods all the time, but now possibly gives even less of a shit about being a god than Kise, considering people don’t really worship him that much anymore. Now he spends most of his time drifting from town to town, much to Momoi’s horror when she finally finds him again.

He gets into a fight with Kagami at one point after some miscommunication and thinks that it’s Kagami’s fault that Kuroko and Momoi are trying to mess with something they shouldn’t mess with. Kagami thinks he’s hiding something (he isn’t; he just likes being an ass. Maybe.)

Murasakibara Atsushi

Hotei, the god of fortune and children. He works as a hotel concierge and frequents the in-house sweets shop run by Sakurai (Tajimamori) who is pretty frightened of him all things considered, and rarely seeks out gods other than the Seven Lucky Gods and select others. Is pretty docile, and while Kuroko clashes with him on how to treat humans they are otherwise on friendly terms.

Doesn’t seem to care a whole lot about what’s going on until several members of the police force suddenly burst in with a search warrant for a runaway criminal...

Akashi Seijuurou

Ebisu, the god of wealth. He is the unofficial leader of the Seven, who in the past always looked to his guidance in managing the affairs between the spirit world and the humans. He appears as a wealthy businessman, rumored among his colleagues to be descended from a noble house, polite but ruthless in his dealings.

Various gods have suspected that Akashi has a hand in the bad shit going on right now because of the rumors that he’s dabbled in weird magic before. Akashi, for his part, neither confirms nor denies these rumors, which simply adds fuel to the fire.

CAST/Other Characters

Araki Masako

A demigoddess whose grandmother was the goddess Kali. She teaches PE at a local high school by day but is a feared exorcist by night. The abnormal amount of spirits cropping up in the past year is what leads her to take a pilgrimage down south from her base in Akita to find out what’s going on, where she winds up running into some very interesting people.

Imayoshi Shouichi

A satori who works as a fortune-teller and informant in Ginza and is part of the local underworld populated by humans and youkai alike. Although seemingly amoral and willing to sell information to every side imaginable in the conflict, might he have his own hidden agenda...?

Hanamiya Makoto

Leader of a tsuchigumo yakuza clan who wants to use the current chaos as an excuse to extend their influence. They have clashed with the special forces of the police in the past before as well as other yakuza members. Is the reason why Kiyoshi is injured.

Mayuzumi Chihiro

Hakutaku, a youkai which carries around a book containing all known manner of demons and spirits of the world. Reticent and much preferring to stay out of the matters of the other gods and spirits over the years, he works at a small bookstore in an obscure part of Tokyo that attracts virtually no attention.

The recent upsurge of spirit activity has only increased the number of people seeking him out, which annoys him to no end.

Ogiwara Shigehiro

The rice god Ukanomitama, who has been long forgotten and not seen by the other gods in years. What could have happened to him?

[northpolenotes]

13 Reasons Why I Play Santa For My Niece & Nephews

Why do I play Santa?  It’s not because I have 3 kids and one on the way.  I don’t play Santa because I look the part.  And I don’t play Santa because I have such fond memories of believing in him when I was a kid.  In fact, I have no children, I’m an averagely built, brunette woman, and I have zero recollection of ever believing in him as a child.  I play Santa on paper and deliver letters from him through my business North Pole Notes for my niece and nephews and many other children around the country.  So why do I play Santa?  There isn’t a single answer to this question, so I dug deep came up with 13 reasons why I play Santa.

  Here’s why:

  Reason #1 Why I play Santa:

  I didn’t get to believe in Santa when I was young.

  Yes, I know that sounds strange.  There’s a woman playing Santa who never believed in him herself.  Well, it’s the truth.

I’m the youngest of 3 children, and my parents didn’t put that must of an emphasis on him.  For starters, my parents separated when I was 5 years old.  That’s a prime age for the mystery of Santa to really be explored.  But for better or worse, my parents didn’t try very hard to get me to believe.  There wasn’t much Santa teamwork.

As a result of their separation, they didn’t speak civilly with the EXCEPTION of Christmas time.  It was the only time that I can remember them spending time with one another alone.  So again, the mystery of where these presents came from was no surprise.

  Reason #2 Why I play Santa: 

  I was a long distance Aunt that felt a disconnect with my Niece and Nephews

  I was a long distance Aunt for 9 years.  It wasn’t until a few months ago that I actually became the Aunt that can stop by whenever she wants.

I was searching for a way to be able to do something for my niece and nephews from far away.  Living approximately 400 miles away from them was painful.  There was no chance I could  just pop in and say hi.  That was weighing heavily on my conscience.  I wanted to be able to do something for them that would enrich their lives.  Becoming their Santa eased that pain.  I could make them happy even from afar.

You can read more about my journey in my post Mother Of None But Santa to Three.

  Reason #3 Why I play Santa: 

  It makes them smile

  This is my main motivation for why I play Santa.  He makes them smile.  Or should I say I make them smile?  I’m not really sure.  Either way, how could I resist?

I will do anything for my nieces and nephews if it makes them happy.  I’m a huge sucker for bringing joy into someone’s life even if it means suffering through countless paper-cuts.

  Reason #4 Why I play Santa: 

  It’s fun!

  Since I never believed in Santa as a child, I didn’t really understand the joy associated around him.  It wasn’t until I became him that I learned just how fun it is to be him!  It’s my little secret that someday I’ll share with them, but for now, I like my undercover status.

  Reason #5 Why I play Santa: 

  I’m creating a family tradition

  One thing that I loved about my childhood is how close my family has always remained.  My parents were big on tradition, following in their parents’ footsteps, but they also created new ones.  My Mom and I ALWAYS baked together when Christmas rolled around.  I loved picking out which cookies we’d bake and was very proud of myself when dessert was served and she’d say, “Dana made those!”

No matter what our differences, we have stuck to traditions were the glue that held us together.  They were something that we could all look forward to.  Now that I’ve added a new one into the mix, we’ve made it our own.  And hopefully, my future grand nieces and nephews will love it too!

  Reason #6 Why I play Santa: 

  Everyone needs a little magic in their lives – especially kids

  The world is seemingly filled with chaos and tragedy (at least it seems that way according to the nightly news).  It’s important that we don’t get bogged down with all of the horror stories we keep hearing and invite joy and happiness into the mix.  What’s more joyful than Santa?  Not sure I have an answer for that.  Santa is a vacation from our problems.  He’s the glimmer of hope reminding to have faith in the goodness of others.

  Reason #7 Why I play Santa: 

  He embodies the spirit of Christmas

  The spirit of Christmas can’t be described accurately for everyone.  It’s that good feeling inside which is unique to everyone.  It fills up our hearts and collectively we’re all in better moods.  He’s the symbol of charity, doing right by others, and he promoting kindness to all.

  Reason #8 Why I play Santa: 

  I engage their imagination

  Santa is this mythical character that no one ever has the exact same story for.  Everyone has a slight variation on how Santa delivers presents to their home, but how many talk about what he’s doing when it’s not Christmas Eve?  I engage their imagination by writing notes about what Santa’s doing in the “off-season”.  Mrs. Claus is homeschooling the elves and Rudolph likes to jump in the leaves during the fall.  Yes, I know he lives in the North Pole and there aren’t leaves there, but that doesn’t matter to children.  They minds are engaged and their imaginations are captured.  He’s got their attention.

  Reason #9 Why I play Santa: 

  It helps them to believe in something greater than themselves

  I’m not speaking about religion.  My take on Santa has nothing to do with religious views.  To be happy, you have to think outside of just you and your needs.  Santa is about the greater good.

  Reason #10 Why I play Santa: 

  He makes them think

  Provoking thought in children is very healthy for them.  Activates their critical thinking skills and aids in their brain development.  Read up on the importance of critical thinking Teaching Children to Think

  Reason #11 Why I play Santa: 

  I’m creating lasting memories

  I know that I won’t be able to do the Santa thing for too many years.  There will come a point when I will have to retire the letters I send to my niece and then subsequently to my nephews, but in the meantime, I’m creating last memories.  The best gifts we can give are not the ones that take up room on our shelves, but the ones that take up room in our hearts.  Memories are something that can’t be outgrown, played out, or broken.  Memories last a lifetime.

  Reason #12 Why I play Santa: 

  It Doesn’t Last Forever

  Do you feel like your childhood was just yesterday?  I do.  It often hits me like a lightning bolt and I think “Where did the time go?”  Honestly, I can’t even believe that my nieces and now 13 and 9.  I feel like I was JUST at the hospital creating them into the world.  Time flies.   These are precious moments that we need to hold on to and make the best of.

  Reason #13 Why I play Santa:

  I believe in Santa

  Yes, I know I said I never believed in him as a child, but I do believe in him now.  Why?  Because I am Santa.  You are Santa.  He’s not a single person, he lives inside us all.

  Do you think you’d like to start sending letters from Santa to a child you love?  If so, please check out my website, North Pole Notes.  I take Santa out of the mall and deliver him to your mailbox.

  If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also enjoy:  What do you do when children stop believing in Santa.

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