#✧ ′ time may fade but i never will ⦗ heretic verse ⦘

[salvatcrechilda]

       ❛   the  irony  of  it  all.   do  you  think  our  dad’s  would  find  this  hilarious  too ??  ❜   he  said,  looking  at  the  other.   ever  since  he  had  arrived  at  the  salvatore  boarding  school,  everyone  knew  this  relationship  was  bound  to  happen.   and  now,  here  there  were,  a  fully  formed  tribrid  &&  a  fresh  new  H E R E T I C .   ❛   so  what  are  we  going  to  do  with  you ??  ❜   he  sighed.   ––––– ✨  ⦗  @tribridkissed​  ⦘

[salvatcrechild]

⦗ legacies verses ⦘

[skyholdlibrary]

I've been thinking quite a bit about the singing scene after Haven since i started to replay DAI in May.

This is going to be a long post so please be patient with me.

When i first played years ago i thought just as everyone else that it seemed a little bit cheesy. But it is actually not and i needed a few years and actually giving it a thought to finally see why does it make perfect sense and it is in fact not “a bit too much.”

Someone somewhere i am sure already wrote this but i just had to get it out of my head. So this is nothing big actually.

In advance i was pretty slow to this realization because i'm not particularly religious. At least not in the common sense so i did not exactly obseved the scene in that regard for quite some time. This post was brewing from some time now and i finally got around to write it down. It's mostly to calm my brain not to change the world.

See we know Haven was an isolated mostly religious-traditionist village and DAO and the Warden happend. No need to elaborate. Than thanks to Divine Justinia later it became an important destination for those who went on a pilgrimage to the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

Now if we consider all this, chances are that the citizen's of Haven are highly religious, with maybe a few exceptions. Like traders or the like. They do believe in the Chant and all.

So when the Inquisitor or back then “only” The Herald of Andraste (the same Andraste that is a key figure in the religion that all of Haven follows) shows up from the fade presumably with the guidance of Adraste herself, it is only probable that only those stayed in Haven who belived that they actually are the Herald because the Chantry declared them and their supporters a madmen and a bunch of heretics. Especially after officially declaring the founding of the Inquisition there was no Chantry support.

Then Corypheus attacks and the Herald sacrefices themself to save the citizens and maybe a few pilgrims who stayed. Basically everyone. And as we established they probably all are religious people. And later the Inquisitor rises from under the mountain and return to “their people” almost as if it’s some kind of miracle. You know the kind that is an important piece in most religions.

Death and resurrection.

It very well could be seen as a miracle because the circumstances are grim and people are more prone to see wonders in time of great need. They are all lost in somewhere among the mountains. A few weeks ago their sacred temple has been blown up. Their Divine is dead. They just have been attacked by a monster of legends, a darkspawn who was an ancient tevinter magister before who also happens to command a corrupted high dragon that looks eerily like an achdemon. Haven, their home or home for the past few weeks is buried under the mountain. They do not know where they are, they have so much supplies and no real sense of when the closest place of safety is. They are scared and understandably so. They have no plan, no concept on how to step forward. They are scared and frightened.

Do you remember what is one of the gut reactions as a child when you are afraid? Singing. It provides comfort, it is soothing. It does not matter it is by yourself, your mother, father, grandparents, brother, sister or just yourself. Singing calms people.

What ultimately the Chantry should be about? Comforting those in need. Just like any religion. Mother Giselle does not have answers but she is a devout Sister of the Chantry. She is a Revered Mother. So she tries to provide comfort to the refugees the only way she can. So she starts to sing. Sings about hope and the light after the darkness. That the dawn will eventually come. And in the camp everyone wants to believe that. All of them. Because they desperately want to feel safe. They need to feel safe and focus on going forward. Not succumb to desperation. So they sing with her. And never forget that everyone knows the lyrics so it is a hymn that is actively part of the Chantry repertoir not some long forgotten verse with a tune. It is familiar and represents hope. So they join in to the singin. The only ones that are silent are Solas and the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor because they are the one that is the centre of the awe. Everyone sings because of them. He is the beacon or at least focuspoint of the hope in camp. Solas in the other hand silent because he knows a bit more than anyone else about what is going on. And this is definitely not his religion if he has any. And he also knows a place. He is aware that Skyhold is not that far. They could make it there if he decides to let them know of it, which he eventually does.

So considering all this i really do not think there is anything overblown about this scene in the end. Actually the more i think about it the more i like it. There was some seriously good writing in this game.

[ver-flare]

RP Info: Odile Beaumont

THE BASICS ––

Name: Odile Beaumont

Age: 26

Nameday: 15th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon

Race: Hyur Midlander

Gender: Female

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral/Lawful Evil

Marital Status: Single

Server: Balmung

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ––

Hair: A grey-ish lavender color that fades lighter as it gets to the ends. When worn down the volume and wavy-ness of her hair is on full display and reaches just past the middle of her back. More often than not it will be worn up in some kind of ponytail or up-do, usually while working on her airship to keep it out of the way and out of the wind.

Eyes: She was born with two matching color eyes, so dark they almost look black, but from some traumatic experiences with void creatures her right has turned to a bright purple color, it almost seems to glow. Several scars cover the area around that eye.

Height: 5′1″

Build: She has a very small and petite frame, with hardly any muscle to speak of. Unfamiliar people often assume she is a greenhorn on her own airship, from how harmless she looks. Her arms of some definition, from her years of rapier training but nothing significant.

Common Accessories: Most noticeable is her eye patch that she uses to cover her purple eye. Usually she wears a black one, but will sometimes wear a white one in more formal events. She will also more often than not be wearing a pair of gloves. Partly because she doesnt want to hurt her hands while working on her ship or if she is forced to fight, and partly to cover the scars that cover her hand and arms especially on the right side.

PERSONAL ––

Profession: She is a very proud sky pirate captain, mainly focusing on smuggling and selling illegal firearms and substances, though they sometimes will sell parts from their expeditions in Azys Lla.

Hobbies: Odile is a fan of painting, a skill she picked up during her childhood years as a noble in Ishgard. She is also a fan of gambling, specially card games, though she tries not to make a habit of it.

Languages: Common

Residence: She has a house that she rarely ever stays at in Ishgard, usually only staying when she comes to visit for formal events that require her attention. Her small sky pirate crew have also inhabited a floating island in the Sea of Clouds that they use as a base. If not on her ship she is most likely there. She of course has her office on her airship, Lâche, which is where she spends most of her time.

Birthplace: Ishgard

Patron Deity: Llymlaen

RELATIONSHIPS ––

Spouse: None

Children: None

Parents: She grew up with her Mother and Father in the heart of the noble society of Ishgard. Her Mother was an established healer, and her Father was a honored, but a retired, knight. Paths that they forced onto their children at a young age. They both died by Odile’s hands.

Siblings: At one point Odile had an older brother she was very close to who joined the Ishgard Dragoons to fight against the dragons. He was killed in battle, which spurred her life changing events.

Other Relatives: None

Pets: Odile has a black hayate named “Lis” she takes nearly everywhere, including her the airship.

TRAITS ––

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ––

Smoking Habit: Odile will occasionally indulge in a cigarette or cigar. Usually only if in company that also smokes. Drugs: Never. Though her business is peddling illegal and dangerous substances, including various drugs, she is not keen on taking any herself. Alcohol: She will often have a glass of wine before bed, or in social events and if shes having a particularly stressful time, she’ll break out some whiskey or ale.

RP HOOKS ––

Sky Pirate-- Odile has been starting to make a name for herself and her crew. If you are a sky pirate you have probably started to hear whispers of the airship “Lâche” and its Captain. A smaller but fast airship that seems to always have weather on its side. Crews that have escaped fights with Odile’s ship advise not to engage without extreme caution.

Black Market-- If you are invested or a part of any kind of illegal trade or purchasing, especially illegal substances or weapons, you may have purchased from Odile or one of her crew members.

Aether Sensitivity I --  Anyone sensitive to magics would be able to tell that Odile has an absurd, almost stifling, amount of aether flowing from her. While she has taken measures to try and mask and manage it [since it can be damaging to her own body], it is still noticeable to some.

Aether Sensitivity II -- If you can sense aether and are well versed in Void Creatures you might sense that the magics Odile has an abundance of originates from the Void. While not a Void Creature herself she is often mistaken for one by people familiar with that type of aether. She will not answer questions about it unless very familiar with the person.

Ishardian Noble -- Any one from Ishgard who is familiar with the noble families might know the Beaumont name, its loyalty to the Ishgard military and its tragic demise when all the family members died in a raging house fire one month after their son was lost in war. Heretics were suspected, though some gossip it was done by the only survivor, the daughter Odile.

[thephilosopheroftheboudoir]

Grim History

The Satanic Verses: Mohammad’s Pagan Call to Prayer

    “God is the Greatest/I acknowledge that there is no God but Allah.” So says the first two lines of the adhat, the Muslim call to prayer when translated into English. In some Islamic traditions, however, Mohammad once offered a prayer to three Pagan deities in what has come to be called “Qissat al-Gharaniq”, “The Story Of the Cranes”, or most often, “The Satanic Verses.” What these three lines, as recited by the Islamic prophet, mean is obscure and has been a matter of debate for centuries.

    Not only the meaning of “The Satanic Verses” is elusive; their roots remain a matter of unknown origin as well. The earliest know reference to the words in question are attributed to the oral historian Mohammad Ibn Ka’b who transmitted the story to Ibn Ishaq a full two generations after the prophet Mohammad’s death. It is likely that the story was circulating socially before Ibn Ka’b incorporated it into his biographical account which was later recited to Abu Ja’far  Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn al-Tabari who wrote an early biographical book about the prophet’s life.

    According to al-Tabari’s narrative, Mohammad was overcome by a strong desire to convert the Qurayshi tribes-people of Mecca to his newly founded religion. When he initiated the adhat with the intention of reciting the “Surat an-Najm”, a voice whispered in his ear “Have you thought of al-Lat and al-Uzza/and Manat, the third, the other?” Believing the voice to have come from the archangel Jibreel, the messenger from Allah that communicated with Mohammad on that god’s behalf, the prophet then announced to the people, “These are the exalted cranes whose intercession is hoped for.” Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat were three Pagan goddesses that were worshiped by the Qurayshi people in the ancient city of Mecca and Mohammad appeared to be giving them his honors.

    As the story goes, the archangel Jibreel later approached Mohammad and informed him that the voice he had heard at that time did not come from him; it had, in actuality, been the voice of the Shaytan, the Islamic equivakent of Satan. Feeling deceived and dejected, Mohammad went into a state of despair and was later forgiven by Allah for having made a mistake.

    “The Story Of the Cranes” circulated widely throughout the Islamic community for many years. Muslim scholars commented extensively on its significance in the tafsirs, a collection of explanations on Islamic doctrine written by the earliest authorities of the religious movement. The story was, however, never officially accepted as one of the hadiths. Then, after being passed down from generation to generation for so many years, experts on Islam began to question the veracity of “The Satanic Verses” during the medieval era. Some simply dismissed the story as nonsense and slander that originated with enemies of the Muslim community in an attempt to sow doubt in the minds of the pious. Others claimed that some Qurayshis, in league with the Shaytan, had infiltrated the crowd of Muslims who had gathered to pray and, disguising their voices to mimic Mohammad, praised the Pagan deities in an effort to humiliate the early Muslims by making them look hypocritical. Still others dismissed it as misinformation since it contradicted the ideas written in the Qur’an, and since the Qur’an is, according to dogma, the perfect word of Allah, anything that contradicted it must be inherently false and heretical. And so “The Story Of the Cranes” faded from the minds of the Islamic community, rarely ever mentioned, and if remembered at all, thought of as little more than a footnote for lovers of obscure and trivial information.

    But then, repressed ideas of evil have a way of resurfacing once they have been dismissed as irrelevant. In the modern world, particularly as a result of colonialism, a handful of researchers, now derisively labeled “Orientalists”, started taking a stab at explaining the authenticity, origins, and meaning of “The Satanic Verses”. The revival of interest in this subject enraged the wrath of modern Islamic intellectuals, most of which invoked the concept of Allah’s power to discount the legend as heresy; their claim was that Allah chose Mohammad as his prophet so Allah would have protected him from being influenced by the Shaytan and therefore it would have been impossible for Mohammad to take instructions from the god’s biggest existential adversary. Another Islamist objection was that the story was an adaptation of Christ being tempted by Satan; a story that proved the necessity of keeping Muslims and Christians separate since the mingling of the two faiths would cause the theological pollution and degeneration of pure Islamic thought. Even so, the matter remained little more than an item of curiosity. That is, an item of curiosity until the publication of Salman Rushdie’s notorious novel The Satanic Verses in the mid-1980s, an event that caused a massive outcry around the world because of its unflattering depiction of Mohammad and his wives. The outcry led to the Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khomeini issuing a death threat against Rushdie due to his blasphemous satirical book.

    So what does it all mean? From the context of Ibn Tabari’s original biographical writing, it appears to be a parable teaching the lesson that Mohammad was a man, not a god, who was prone to making mistakes like all people and because of his devotion to Allah his mistakes would be forgiven. While this interpretation sound heretical to modern fundamentalists, an anthropologist would be quick to point out that concepts of heresy are products of the times that produce them; what is considered blasphemy to one generation may not be blasphemy to another generation. Actually it is traditional for Muslims to believe Mohammad was a man and not a divine incarnation, hence the reason that Muslims are forbidden from worshiping Mohammad in his tomb in Mecca. The idea that their prophet was perfect is a relatively modern and fundamentalist theological dogma.

    Of course, there is still one big question that needs to be asked. What if Mohammad was not the prophet of Allah at all? What then? Is this a question that only the Shaytan would encourage one to ask?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses

https://grimhistory.blogspot.com/

[weighyouranchors]

An unabashedly biased review of Science Fiction, by Brand New

I don’t have a favourite band. I do however have an upper echelon of favourite bands and Brand New has held a permanent position therein since 2006′s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. That album was so good that in the run up to the release of 2009′s Daisy, my overriding emotion was fear - how could they possibly follow up TD&G? Could I handle a disappointing Brand New album?Fortunately, the two releases were different enough that to compare them would be relatively futile and Daisy remains an album that I hold in high esteem.

In the 8 or so years that have passed since Daisy’s release, I thought that Brand New would fade away. I was always hungry for new music but when the best part of a decade goes by without a studio album you do start to wonder if your heroes’s hearts are still into this as much as you are.

And then, suddenly, Science Fiction happened.

What you’re about to read is my first ever review. It may also be my last. I am not a reviewer and I do not intend to be a reviewer. I just feel so utterly compelled to write about this album that I have dusted off this dormant old Tumblr account for that exact purpose.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Lit Me Up opens with quite possibly the most eerie sample to which I have had the (dis)pleasure of listening. It is uncomfortable. It is discordant. It sets the tone and ensures that the album has your undivided attention. The sample gives way to an ethereal guitar line accompanied by deliberately minimalistic percussion (more on which later) and haunting vocals. At around the 3:20 mark there is the hint of a swell, you think the song is going to explode a la Daisy. But non. What happens next is indicative of the masterful, mature song writing that besets this album - Lit Me Up takes a decidedly restrained route towards its refrain, which is beautifully led by an exploratory bass line. And, if you tell me that you don’t get chills when the song is suspended to allow Lacey to lament that “when I grow up, I wanna be a heretic” well, then, frankly I won’t believe you.

Can’t Get it Out represents a change of pace and what I think is the first example of whistling on a Brand New track. It is far more conventional than the opener and I think that this is deliberate. It offers a moment of toe tapping respite following what was a emotional first song.

Waste initially takes a turn towards the subdued, led as it is by a brilliant harmonising vocal line. There is an unashamed simplicity in the song writing here that only Brand New in their pomp can get away with - it is more gripping than it should be, but gripped I am.

Could Never be Heaven starts with Lacey singing over nothing but an arpeggiated acoustic guitar, before being joined by (I assume) Accardi’s harmonising vocals and second guitar line to turn this into a piece of music that ebbs and flows effortlessly before there it is again... A jarring, eerie, sample that ensures that any comfort you managed to garner during the last three numbers is erased.

Same Logic/Teeth is heavier (in the traditional sense) than anything that comes before it on this album, especially just before the two minute mark where we hear a more aggressive Jesse Lacey for the first time on this record. At this point the stomping, distorted bass line becomes more apparent and begins driving the song towards the absurdly delivered line “at the bottom of the ocean fish won’t judge you by your thoughts”. Two points on this - the first, I think that this is clearly a reference to Daisy’s “At the Bottom”, and the second is the way in which the line is sang... The swagger is palpable. It reminds me of a dominant boxer showboating by dropping their guard against an notably weaker opponent. At this point you know it, and they know it - Brand New are on top of their game. The final 90 seconds is dynamic, moving between the heavy and the acoustic before the instrumental refrain, which I assume is Teeth, leads us into...

137, “we started with psychodrama”, another short sample that reminds you not to let your guard down as a prescient piece dealing with nuclear wars gets underway. The conventional verse-chorus-verse-chorus type structure means that by the time the final chorus comes around you are well equipped enough to sing along, and let me tell you, it’s difficult not to.

Out of Mana comes out of nowhere with its riffy, lead guitar led intro giving way to a bass heavy first verse. This pattern is repeated for the first couple of minutes before the middle twelve explodes into a wah-pedal solo that in 2017 only seems acceptable coming from the guitar of Vince Accardi. What follows from 3:44 onwards is a simple guitar/vocal interlude including the line “I’m a ghost, I can’t say I know that I’m leaving here, or is this an eternal test?”, which has to be the most deliberately Brand New way of commenting on the constant speculation as to whether or not this is indeed their swansong. Right?

In The Water begins with a bluesy feel before breaking out into an expansive sounding chorus underpinned by acoustic guitars and a meandering bass guitar. The swells provided by the harmonica work from 5:01 onwards are truly beautiful however as the song fades, you sense the approach of another terrifying sample. There is a brief moment of respite as the familiar line “and we sing this morning that wonderful and grand old message...” evokes memories of Daisy but the glitchy, looped words “seven years” soon strip away any comfort you may have found in that old sample as an ambient swell and ominous, distant tapping move us onto...

Desert and it’s bouncy introduction. “Last night I heard a voice, it said this is the end”, which I am told is written from the point of view of a homophobic parent. I don’t know about you, but I feel as though I can hear Lacey seething as he has to get into character to deliver lines that he clearly doesn’t agree with, especially as the song reaches its end.

No Control is a track that I think I would not enjoy had it been released independently of this album. With its almost “lazy” delivery, I did find myself wondering if Brand New themselves were bored with No Control. Amongst its eleven counterparts however it serves an important purpose - it acts as a bridge between Desert and the truly disturbing interlude at its own end to keep your ears interested. I don’t know where it comes from but the twisted laughter at the end gives me the willies.

451 follows the laughter and picks up the tempo in what is a truly brilliant song in its own right. The bouncy, exciting, way in which this song marches forward soon makes you forget how scared you were mere moments ago. The verses build the tension. You know that, this time, Brand New are going to do what you expect them to. The chorus is going to explode and when it does the pay off will be worth the wait. And it is. It really is. Another solo dissipates into feedback, which is guided by some truly brilliant percussion into its last chorus and eventually its ever softening outro.

Batter Up follows. This is the song that Jesus could have been, and as someone who adores TD&G like very few other albums, that is a huge statement that I do not make lightly. It is peak Brand New. A trademark simple arpeggiated guitar, and a vocal line that instantly ensnares you with a harmony that is more likely than not to give you goosebumps. The first hint of percussion occurs as the second verse gets underway, it builds into the second chorus and typifies the thing that I love most about Brand New - their ability to find that place between being too restrained and too raw, and staying there effortlessly. At five minutes in you get the feeling that this piece of music, this album, this band, is coming to an end. It’s horrible, it’s upsetting, yet uplifting. The refrain, without vocals, and with slowly fading and meandering instruments gives the impression of letting go. Just before the seventh minute, the final note is plucked and we are left with an lingering ambience that sums up Brand New’s mystique after all of this time. If this is the end, it is perfect. I thought it in 2006, but I know it in 2017 - Brand New cannot follow this up. 

[salvatcrechildarchived]

[salvatcrechilda]