#with papier mache ghosts

[jupitermelichios]

(spoilers for the ending of assassins creed 1, and i guess technically the whole franchise)

Her name was Helena Petrovna Hahn von Rottenstern, aka Madame Helena Blavatsky, and she's one of the most influential people of the 19th century, and for some reason we don't talk about her

in response to being married at 17 to a man 40 years older than her, she ran away and travelled around for a bit (we do not know where, because she lied about literally everything all the time and 99% of the things she said about her own life were probably bollocks - we only know for certain when and where she was born because her mother was a reasonably well-known writer and her life was therefore documented by people who weren't compulsive liars!). She claims these travels included going to tibet - as it was a closed country at the time which did not allow foreigners to visit, this is probably bollocks, but who knows

eventually she washed up in america in the 1870s with minimal money and a hundred-a-day smoking habit to fund, so she immediately starts running the popular scam at the time of pretending to be nobility in hiding so people will let you stay with them for free (she was from a noble family, but a pretty minor and unexciting one). While doing this, she encounters spiritualism, and claims to be an immediate convert. Actually, she's just spotted a good grift.

she works as a medium for a few years, conning people in a very mundane and kind of sad way, and then has the genius idea that actually the best way to make money from this would be to start a religion, so she does.

it was called theosophy, and it was mostly based on the Edward Bulwar-Lytton novel fantasy novel Zanoni, which she was very familiar with because her mother did the russian translation for it, with a big dose of spiritualism and orientalism on top, and its big innovation in the cult and spirituality space was the "secret masters"

see actually madame blavatsky wasn't a fake medium, she was the student of an immortal enlightened being from tibet (because being a closed country meant it was cool and mysterious and also you can't prove it's not full of immortal wizards) called koot hoomi, who was part of an order of ancient beings who had been guiding humanity from the shadows for centuries. (in some accounts they specifically lived inside the earth which was hollow, but i can't remember if she introduced that or one of her followers later on. probably once tibet opened its borders and everyone realised it was just a normal country full of normal humans)

for the low low price of massive donations to her cult, and also maybe moving to india to live in their compound, you too could become a student of the secret masters and learn the wisdom of the ancients!

my favourite thing about this grift is that she had a papier mache koot hoomi head which would get pulled up on a wire during seances to convince people he was a) real, and b) physically mannifesting in their house.

(she also convinced her followers she could teleport, and to do this she'd pay their servants to drop cigarette buts and ash in their houses and then tell them they were from her cigarette when she teleported in earlier. no really, she was here, she left just before you got in. the 'i have a girlfriend she just goes to a different school' of fake magic powers)

my least favourite thing about the grift is that a group of her followers calling themselves the order of the star in the east became convinced that the son of one of the compounds gardeners in india was actually the messiah so they basically purchased this kid off his dad and raised him in the cult to be the messiah, and she was cool with this. (he ended up shockingly well adjusted, basically did a press conference when he turned 20 where he publically announced that he was definitely not the messiah, and moved away to the country to live a pretty normal life)

the big long term effect of theosophy is a) every modern cult that isn't just 'existing mainstream religion but real extreme' is just theosophy in a funny hat, and b) the idea of this super intelligent powerful ancient race that taught humanity everything they know and you too can gain their knowledge for the low low price of loosing all your friends as you fall down a conspiracy rabbit hole caught on in a massive way.

this leads to a whole of lot very bad nazi and nazi-adjacent beliefs (the nazi spin is that the aryan race were the secret masters and all blonde people are their direct descendants). then in the 50s you get roswell and the alien sighting craze, and suddenly everyone's asking 'but what if the secret masters were aliens'

that gets us to another horribly influential terrible person, Erich von Däniken, who publishes Chariots of the Gods in 1968 about how ancient brown people were too stupid to do anything and actually everything cool they did was done by aliens who visited them (and probably looked like white people - not all ancient astronaut belief systems are racist, but like 99% are)

this book became massively popular and pushed the secret masters idea fully mainstream, and you started getting a whole lot of pop culture stuff based on it (so much of marvel comics. so much. jack kirby fucking loved that stupid book. the Eternals are literally just chariots of the gods fanfic)

from there, it's a straight step to Assassins Creed, a game about how the bible and also greek mythology is actually just describing a race of super-advanced immortal aliens who have guided humanity and gave them technology etc etc (if you did not know that's what those games were about and instead thought they were about being a cool assassin doing stealth missions, sorry for the spoilers. this tumblr post is allowing you to experience first hand how fucking jarring the final act reveal of that game was without needing to spend $20 and 30 hours playing it - a bargain!)

and then michael fassbender made one of the worst decisions of his whole career, and now I have to get jumpscared by a 19th century conwoman and her stupid papier mache ghost when i'm just trying to learn about d&d mechanics, lmao

tl;dr - conartist creates a cult around the idea of secret immortal beings guiding humanity, second different conartist goes 'yes but what if they were aliens and also racist', this idea goes on to be central to way too many marvel comics and also the assassins creed franchise

i was watching a video about d&d and the creator said he thought it would be cool to have a setting where elves are a lost race of powerful ancients rather than a current-day player race, so now i'm thinking about how much of modern pop culture wouldn't exist without one specific 19th century conartist again

(also cults. so many cults. minimum 50% of modern cult belief systems wouldn't exist without her)

[vidavalor]

Angel of Music

Auctioneer: Lot 665, ladies and gentleman: a papier-mache musical box in the shape of a barrel-organ. Attached, the figure of a monkey in Persian robes, playing the cymbals. This item, discovered in the vault of the theatre, still in working order, ladies and gentleman...

Auctioneer: Lot 666, then: a chandelier in pieces. Some of you may recall the strange affair of The Phantom of the Opera-- a mystery never fully explained. We're told, ladies and gentleman, that this is the very chandelier that figures into the famous disaster.

Auctioneer, cont.: Our workshops have repaired it and wired it for the new electric light. Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a little illumination.

Madame Giry: But remember-- your hand at the level of your eyes! Why? The Punjab pun jab lasso, Monsieur!

In sleep, he sang to me... in dreams, he came...

...that voice which calls to me... and speaks my name...

...and do I dream again?...

...for now I find...

...The Phantom of The Opera is here...

...inside my mind...

[nientedal]

👻 - Favorite costume you've worn on Halloween?

al;djsflkdf ahahaha the most elaborate was probably my centaur costume, which took A LOT of papier mache and chicken wire. but i think my favorite is the costume i wore the very last time i went trick or treating. i dressed in a nice button-down shirt and tie and slacks, carried my dad's briefcase, and pinned a big notecard to the middle of my chest that read "IRS AUDIT TEAM" on it. it was an idea i think i got from an old Foxtrot comic: most people opening doors for trick or treaters are adults, so, what do adults find scary? it's not ghouls & ghosts!

that costume got a lot of laughs. and i got way more candy than usual! definitely a fun one.

[littlebadger]

what specifically named color are you ?

phlox

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤyou  are  someone  who  often  finds  themselves  comforted  by  the  quiet  and  solitude  of  the  world  around  you.  you  find  soft  spoken  people  who  speak  their  minds  much  louder  than  those  who  scream  what  they  found  out.  you  find  temples  made  out  of  papier  mache  and  duct  tape  and  a  dream  and  put  offerings  at  their  altars.  you  are  quiet  in  the  way  you  love  the  world,  and  it  shows.  the  world  does  not  SEE  you,  and  that's  the  way  you  want  to  keep  it.  the  world  does  not  even  notice  you're  there,  and  it  scares  you  just  a  little,  just  a  few  moments  every  day.  you're  not  sure  yourself  if  you're  much  more  than  a  GHOST,  and  you  can't  bring  yourself  to  ask,  too  afraid  to  get  the  wrong  answer.

tagged by: @gamenu ( thank you lovely ! )

tagging: @candyredhzbins , @rockange , @infernalight , @outforlve , @voxistem , @erxsxre , @hexsreality , @kukyc , @redemptsin , &. any others who want to !!

[braveryhearted]

what specifically named color do you embody?

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

verdigris

you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

Tagged: @tacitusauxilium Tagging: Uh, @infog @yosukeh & my other persona moots. Also anyone else who wants to do this. Say that I tagged you.

[r3dblccd]

what specifically named color do you embody?

Chul - verdigris

you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

Jakah - phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

Yohan - cattleya

you're a gentle soul in a world that you know would slaughter you if it found out. you're careless in your love, and reckless in how you show it, and that's not going to change. it's your shield, that is to say that you love with the intent to defend yourself from harm. you don't know how else to love, and that's okay. your love is armor, your love is a shield, your love is a fortress. you welcome all people to this grand estate, this fortified battalion, and all who live among your fields are safe from harm… at least from you. you have made mistakes in your love before and it cost you pieces of yourself. but you love. you will always love. because you love to defend. you love to protect.

[slumberingchaos]

What Specificly named Color do you embody?

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

Tagged by: @origami-assassin

Tagging: EVERYONE

[ratwhsprs]

what  specifically  named  color  do  you  embody ?

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

Tagging: whoever wants to do this!~ Do it and tag me!

[peach-cant-sleep]

What specifically named color do you embody?

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

cattleya

you're a gentle soul in a world that you know would slaughter you if it found out. you're careless in your love, and reckless in how you show it, and that's not going to change. it's your shield, that is to say that you love with the intent to defend yourself from harm. you don't know how else to love, and that's okay. your love is armor, your love is a shield, your love is a fortress. you welcome all people to this grand estate, this fortified battalion, and all who live among your fields are safe from harm… at least from you. you have made mistakes in your love before and it cost you pieces of yourself. but you love. you will always love. because you love to defend. you love to protect.

feldgrau

hesitant, neutrality, italy's markets, intelligence, regretful. you have so many things that you'd like to apologize for. your world has lost a majority of its luster and color due to all the things you've done and regretted, all the things you want to take back or try again. the people you've lost have told you that you need to work on yourself, and you don't know where to start anymore - you're not sure you ever truly did. it's cold, in the world, and you don't know how to make it warm for everyone, which is where your mistake lies. the world is cold and cruel, and indifferent to those who walk the earth. but that doesn't mean you can't try. (you have to TRY.)

cattleya

you're a gentle soul in a world that you know would slaughter you if it found out. you're careless in your love, and reckless in how you show it, and that's not going to change. it's your shield, that is to say that you love with the intent to defend yourself from harm. you don't know how else to love, and that's okay. your love is armor, your love is a shield, your love is a fortress. you welcome all people to this grand estate, this fortified battalion, and all who live among your fields are safe from harm… at least from you. you have made mistakes in your love before and it cost you pieces of yourself. but you love. you will always love. because you love to defend. you love to protect.

verdigris

you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

Tagged By; @scrrowblue (thanks for tagging me!!!) Tagging; @antiiinnocence//@arrivalled (if you wanna do it for all of em!) , @crvptd, @lultimagoccia, and anyone else who wants to steal!!

[gildead]

WHAT SPECIFICALLY-NAMED COLOR DO YOU EMBODY?

tagged by: @youwantyoudont tagging: you :)

Phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

[attroxx]

what specifically named color do you embody?

phlox you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

[astarab1aze]

What specifically named color do you embody?

cattleya

you're a gentle soul in a world that you know would slaughter you if it found out. you're careless in your love, and reckless in how you show it, and that's not going to change. it's your shield, that is to say that you love with the intent to defend yourself from harm. you don't know how else to love, and that's okay. your love is armor, your love is a shield, your love is a fortress. you welcome all people to this grand estate, this fortified battalion, and all who live among your fields are safe from harm... at least from you. you have made mistakes in your love before and it cost you pieces of yourself. but you love. you will always love. because you love to defend. you love to protect.

pavo

you're not one to be tied down to the rest of the world. you move from place to place with a natural grace and practiced ease. the world may want you to slow down and settle down, but you have too many things to do, too many people to meet, too many places to see. the world is your oyster, and you intend to crack that bad boy open. but the world is a dangerous place, and i'm sure you learned that the hard way in your travels. the world does not care about you as much as you don't care about it, and it has led to you becoming more jaded and distant from the people who truly love you. your world is much smaller these days, than you remember the vastness being when you were younger. how strange it is to realize too late that you didn't need everything - you just wanted truly anything at all.

solferino

hesitant, confidence, athena's temple in greece, empathy, relief. you feel, and you feel, and you feel. your heart might just beat out of your chest with how much you feel, and yet you hold onto nothing, as you live by the motto of "if you love something, let it go". you are someone who believes that good things come to those who wait - but in the same measure, you also believe in some level of karma. no one can outrun their just desserts, and everyone has done something they regret at some point in their lives. you're not different from the rest of the world, you just take it in stride. you love the world, in spite of its cruel indifference to itself. you love, and you love, and you love. you'll bleed to death from the ache of it.

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

verdigris

you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

harlequin

you're the life of the party, the one who everyone goes to for a laugh! you find it easy to be around people, and people find it easy to be around you! there are few moments where you don't have a person next to you, and there are few moments where you aren't talking. but... you value the quiet moments more than anyone else- more than any other person alive, you value the solace of solitude, and the ones who stayed the longest and continue to stay longer are the ones who stand beside you in silence as the day moves past you. you value the hard work of friendship, and the dedication of family - found or blood. you are you, before you are anyone else's.

tagged by: @origami-assassin Tagging: anyone <3

[elysian-noctuary]

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪꜰɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇᴅ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇᴍʙᴏᴅʏ?

Adrian, Junpei - phlox

You are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. You find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. You find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. You are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. The world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. You're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

[ still no icons for masoko rip]

Masoko, Ino - harlequin

you're the life of the party, the one who everyone goes to for a laugh! you find it easy to be around people, and people find it easy to be around you! there are few moments where you don't have a person next to you, and there are few moments where you aren't talking. but... you value the quiet moments more than anyone else- more than any other person alive, you value the solace of solitude, and the ones who stayed the longest and continue to stay longer are the ones who stand beside you in silence as the day moves past you. you value the hard work of friendship, and the dedication of family - found or blood. you are you, before you are anyone else's.

Inumaki, Haibara - cattleya

you're a gentle soul in a world that you know would slaughter you if it found out. you're careless in your love, and reckless in how you show it, and that's not going to change. it's your shield, that is to say that you love with the intent to defend yourself from harm. you don't know how else to love, and that's okay. your love is armor, your love is a shield, your love is a fortress. you welcome all people to this grand estate, this fortified battalion, and all who live among your fields are safe from harm... at least from you. you have made mistakes in your love before and it cost you pieces of yourself. but you love. you will always love. because you love to defend. you love to protect.

Benimaru - pavo

you're not one to be tied down to the rest of the world. you move from place to place with a natural grace and practiced ease. the world may want you to slow down and settle down, but you have too many things to do, too many people to meet, too many places to see. the world is your oyster, and you intend to crack that bad boy open. but the world is a dangerous place, and i'm sure you learned that the hard way in your travels. the world does not care about you as much as you don't care about it, and it has led to you becoming more jaded and distant from the people who truly love you. your world is much smaller these days, than you remember the vastness being when you were younger. how strange it is to realize too late that you didn't need everything - you just wanted truly anything at all.

Tagged by: @origami-assassin <3

Tagging: anyone who reads it

[ephemyrals]

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 ?

verdigris

you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

phlox

you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

tagged by : @oneireth ( <3 )

tagging : @taiixuan , @cosmosin , @mugein , @apricyties , @raytm , @memoryextrction

[incandescentia]

what specifically named color do you embody?

verdigris you will do everything and anything to not think about the past days. how many you're trying to forget, it doesn't matter, but you will do anything, everything, all the things you can in order to not have to focus on the fact that you made a mistake. the world is full of life and vibrancy, and you don't want to be that dark spot in it that you believe yourself to be. so you fight it with everything you've got, pushing away people in fear of them making you darker, fighting those who oppress you without questioning their motives. fearful. regretful. uncertain. you dance to a tune only you hear in this world, and you know it's going to kill you one day. you hope it's soon.

phlox you are someone who often finds themselves comforted by the quiet and solitude of the world around you. you find soft spoken people who speak their minds much louder than those who scream what they found out. you find temples made out of papier mache and duct tape and a dream and put offerings at their altars. you are quiet in the way you love the world, and it shows. the world does not see you, and that's the way you want to keep it. the world does not even notice you're there, and it scares you just a little, just a few moments every day. you're not sure yourself if you're much more than a ghost, and you can't bring yourself to ask, too afraid to get the wrong answer.

tagged by: @caemthe ty liri! tagging: you!!

[grimweaver]

WIP Whenever:

Papier Mache "Ghost of Christmas Future"

Tacky glue, water, leftover tissue paper, paper towel roll, and paper towels.