#Numen

[xiation]

[starfreak]

Random Elden Ring Rant (Contains Spoilers, VERY LONG)

So, the Numen. We can choose it as a character preset, which tells us they come from another world, or another land. I say "or another land" because historically, America is referred to as the "New World," but it's not a separate planet. However, translations from the Japanese version of the game suggest that the world they come from is one of spirits, the dead, etc., so it could definitely be a Literal other world.

Marika is (rumored to be) a Numen, as are the Black Knife Assassins that participated in the Night of Black Knives.

If Marika is Numen, then it stands to reason so is Radagon, since they are the same person in the same body. This means their children together, Malenia and Miquella (and now presumably Messmer since he has red hair like Radagon, but Miyazaki said that he's the child of Marika, so unless there's another red-haired hottie running around the Lands Between, Radagon is the father), are also Numen. This also means that other children of Marika/Radagon are half-Numen.

It seems Numen are not a single ethnicity, but a whole race of people, with various different contradicting skin tones and hair colors. The template in the character creator has medium-dark skin and brown hair. Marika has pale skin and golden hair (possibly changed to be gold from the Greater Will's influence) and Radagon has the same skin with fiery red hair. We know from the Giant's Red Braid item description (below) that Radagon was either cursed by the Fire Giants or simply born with red hair. I mean...no item descriptions suggest he was born with it...but if I was born with hair I hated, I would blame it on a curse too. Though, to be fair, it IS the same color as the Fire Giants' hair.

Also the Black Knife Assassins have no physical form, so we can't discern their hair or skin colors.

So skin tone seems like a non-factor, but Hair is much harder to parse, due to half the Numen in the game having fiery hair and pronouns. The game says nothing about Marika's hair changing to gold, so it may have always been that color, leading me to believe that indeed, Numen are just...magic humans from a land far away...she's just blonde.

WELP.

That's all cool, but what is the culture of the Numen like? Well we can see that they have a very strong affinity for women and femininity. Not only is Marika, the most powerful Numen we know, a woman...all of the Black Knives are women. Additionally, if we choose to believe that Malenia and Miquella are Numen, this fact is further evidenced by Malenia's being a strong warrior woman (she is literally a Valkyrie) and Miquella's own complex gender identity. Miquella was (supposedly) born male, but presented as rather feminine/androgynous all his life. While Malenia is a masculine woman and reflects Radagon, Miquella is a feminine boy reflecting Marika. Not to mention that Miquella is ALMOST DEFINITELY Saint Trina, who is exclusively referred to as feminine.

In addition to the stong feminine aspects of Numen society apparent in the overabundance of strong fem-presenting characters, the description of Marika's Hammer suggests that women in Numen society (like Marika) have a role as destroyers and warriors, while men (Radagon) have a role of construction and repair.

"Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon attempted to repair it."

Again, this is just speculation, and the mythological actions of Radagon/Marika are likely motivated by a mutlitude of things (namely, the Greater Will constantly looming over them, the presence of the Elden Beast constantly lurking just under the surface), but I'm making do with what I have.

Also, back to genetics of the Numen again for a second, of all Radagon and Marika's children outside of the ones they had together (Messmer and the Twin Empyreans), most of them seem to inherit Radagon/Marika's hair.

Radagon and Rennala's kids, Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni, (presumably) have red hair. We never actually see Ranni's hair pre-doll form, so I'm assuming it's red lkke her brothers'.

Marika and Godfrey's kids, Godwyn, Mohg, and Morgott, all have either pale hair or no hair (Mohg has no hair visible on account of all the omen horns).

So it seems like the genes of Numen are incredibly dominant, even dominating the gene pool multiple generations after the first. Godwyn's kids, Godrick and Godefroy, have the same hair color as he does. Malenia's "daughters," although not genetically related to her, all seem to have gained her red hair through exposure to her Scarlet Aeonia. This may also be true of the Cleanrot Knights, but they could also have plucked the red hairs from Fire Giants or Leonine Misbegotten and used them as decor for their armor.

Even merely interacting with a Numen as powerful as Marika, or her direct children, can change one's appearance irreversably. Sure, this could all likely be from her status as a God, but who knows how powerful the average Numen could become if granted the strength? We become Elden Lord after all.

[hoarah-babylon]

I had to make a BIG post going over everything that's got my brain whirring after watching the story trailer - it's all my speculation and personal opinion so don't take it as fact yada yada IT'S FUN SPECULATION TIME

(I'll put it under the cut bc this is gonna be a LONG one)

“Miquella the kind spoke of the beginning. The seduction. And the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose. And so too was Shadow born."

My interpretation of this scene is that we are seeing the creation of the Golden Order by Marika. She plucks grace from something dead and fleshy, and holds it up to the Greater Will, beckoning in her new age. It would make sense to me, considering the voiceover, that this is a dead god that has been betrayed by Marika so she can pursue her Order and claim power. It does like quite reminiscent of Kos from Bloodborne to me. The fleshiness of the corpse also reminds me of the godskins/snakeskin. However, I don't believe this is the Gloam Eyed Queen. From my understanding of the timeline (mainly thanks to @eldenringslut) the GEQ didn't come about until later on during Marika's reign - if we are seeing the creation of the GO, and my understanding of the timeline is correct, I don't think it would make sense for this to be the GEQ. I can't deny different aspects of this do allude to things related to her though - the dusky sky, the godskin-like flesh. But I almost think that would be too 'perfect' for it to fit together like that, especially with how much people want to know more about the GEQ, I think fromsoft would want to keep us in the dark and surprise us. Whatever we are seeing here, Gold and Shadow seemingly came about at the same time.

We get our first look at what appears to be Messmer's army. They appear to all wield spears which ties into Messmer's whole Impaler thing, along with the shot of the person(?) impaled on the steps. I wonder who these people were, if they had to stay in the Shadow Realm after the battle was done (if it is?). I find the design on the helmet interesting - at first glance I thought it could be a tree or roots, but actually doesn't it kind of remind you of the black tendrils that shoot out of Messmer's flame? I think it could be either, or both, or maybe it's a chicken and egg situation and they're related somehow... my first thought when the initial gameplay trailer came out was that the dark tendrils in Messmer's flame could be deathroot or something similar to that. Maybe I wasn't far off?

We get our first shot of Messmer here. His pose pretty much solidifies to me that this is his army - this is the pose of a character commanding an army. It's so classic fantasy, the composition and everything, I love it. Messmer is awesome. I'm obsessed with the snake-like flames flying above the carnage.

"What followed was a war unseen. One that could never be put to song. A purge without Grace, or honour. The tyranny of Messmer's flame."

My take on this is that once Marika had won her battle/betrayed the God we see her pluck Grace from, she had her opponents banished and/or wiped out at the hands of Messmer. I have to say, it does surprise me that it seems Messmer was around and fully grown at the creation of Marika's Order. The implications there leave me with so many questions. Who is his other parent? Marika is Numen, and they seldom give birth. This is not an insignificant thing for her to have a child, especially if the theory of births being governed by the Erdtree/Golden Order is to be believed, and this must have came about before then. It would also go against the idea that Messmer is the full brother/secret triplet of Miquella and Malenia, considering that Miq + Mal were not born until Marika had left Godfrey for Radagon. I find that detail so intriguing... especially because I was so on board with the butterfly theories.

No idea who this is, but they're cool and that definitely looks like the kind of weapon we'd be able to pick up. It just looks like a PVP weapon, know what I mean? Very reminiscent of Vyke as well imo, similar pose to the box art of him along with the billowing cape. This reminds me, I'm noticing an emphasis on hair in this trailer too - I never took much note of Marika's hair before but in this trailer there was a lot of emphasis put on how long it is, how similar it is to threads of Grace, and Miquella's hair too. It's making me think of the bible story of Samson but let me not go too off the rails

Here we have some of the coolest shots in the trailer imo. This posits the Lion/Omens as enemies of Messmer to me - which to me supports the view that Messmer is aligned with Marika. The Lion/Omens always came off to me as if they were making a mockery of the GO - positioning themselves as enemies to Marika/the GO. We get another good look at his Flame, with the tendrils. They almost remind me of thorns actually. That final shot looks like a victory scene to me. It also really hammers home the Impaler thing. The man knows his brand!

Then we pan up to see what hangs above this burned city - this 'shadow tree'. THIS IS MARIKA'S RUNE.

I think we are seeing the origins of her rune as part of the modern Elden Ring here - Grace/blessings dripping from the bough of this tree. I have to say given the imagery relating to motherhood on the run up to the DLC, the rune does look vaguely yonic, especially on the seals. I think references to motherhood are in this trailer too - Marika taking something from a fleshy orifice with a voiceover talking about seduction, I can't imagine that wasn't intentional. So far the main character we have seen is her child, after all. The whole story of Elden Ring revolves around Marika's children. I have a feeling Marika's relation to motherhood and childbearing is going to be a big theme in the DLC.

I remember when the first gameplay trailer dropped, people theorised that this was Ranni's rune, and I was happy to believe that because of the similarities to Rennala's rune. But now I believe it's Miquella's rune, for several reasons, one being it reminds me of Malenia's rune, and they are twins after all. Although Rennala and Malenia's runes are oddly similar, it just makes more sense to me that it would be Miquella's, considering we are following in his footsteps. I think these rune spikes are going to be our DLC equivalents of sites of grace.

"And so kindly Miquella would abandon everything. His golden flesh, his blinding strength..."

Abandoning his flesh is very reminiscent of Ranni... but why would he need to abandon his flesh? Perhaps after Mohg stole him away? Though I have to say, I'm warming up the idea that Mohg never actually had Miquella, he just thought he did. That might not make sense considering that body in Mohg's palace is how we get to the Shadow Lands, but I don't know, something about it doesn't sit quite right with me for some reason. The line 'his blinding strength' is a bit odd. I can't take credit for this next idea, I saw it on twitter, but someone suggested that this is referencing him potentially abandoning Malenia - his strength, his blade. For Miquella to abandon Malenia though, it doesn't exactly align with what we know of his character. This is the person that turned his back on the GO because it could do nothing for Malenia's sickness. He'd need a really good reason to do that to her. Maybe it was his only option? I'm so intrigued about why Miquella is even in the Shadow Lands to begin with. What are his motivations? Perhaps it's something to do with his proclivity to want to welcome all, especially those outside of Grace, I suppose those in the shadow lands fall under that mantle.

"Even his fate."

Now THIS is super interesting - our first look at St. Trina! In her usual purple - associated with sleep. It does also look like she's sleeping here, sinking... What on earth does it mean to say that Miquella abandoned his fate as we are shown an image of St. Trina? Was he meant to eventually become Trina fully? We don't know much about her, but we do know Trina is an aspect/alter-ego of some sort of Miquella. Considering his parents were one in the same body, it's not a stretch to assume this could be the same case here. But in Marika/Radagon's case, it doesn't seem completely intentional - with the Ring shattering, I always got the impression they each fought to be in control of their singular body. Perhaps Miquella/Trina worked together rather than against each other? The queer part of me can't help but think of some kind of allegory to transition and Miquella having to walk away from it for whatever reason... but I really don't know enough to figure anything out from this.

I saw someone point out that this shot of Trina looks like Trina's lilies too, which is super cool (sorry I don't remember who that was).

"But we are not deterred. We choose to follow. Will you walk with us?"

I'm honestly surprised to see all these characters that we saw in the previous trailer just hanging out, I assumed they'd all be enemies of different factions. But here they look like allies, and from the voiceover they sound like it too, asking if we will join them. I think the voiceover is one of these NPCs. Seeing the fighting guy second on the left has got me super excited, what if he teaches us the hands-on combat we saw him do in the first trailer? I also think the crouching character on the right is the one we saw sleeping in the purple area (Trina?) from the last trailer:

Anyway, these are my thoughts, I hope they resonate in one way or another. I can't wait to come back in a couple months and see how wrong I was <3 yayyy

[9musesandanoldmind]

Numen - Prologue

Sharing the first pages of my webcomic!!!

I'm already working on the 1st chapter so you can go to my Patreon to read as soon as it's ready~

[castilestateofmind]

"If you have ever come upon a grove that is thick with ancient trees rising far above the usual height and blocking the view of the sky with their cover of intertwining branches, the loftiness of the forest, the seclusion of the spot, and your wonder at the unbroken shade in the midst of open space will create in you the feeling of a divine presence".

-Seneca the Younger on the numina.

[elysium-the-true-faceofsalvation]

Welcome to Elysium, The true face of Salvation

Welcome to my ocgram blog!

This blog is ran by @sorastar6

The current Voting form/See the voting + More detailed voting form

Important info: Boundaries, Trial 1 schedule, Resources used

Trigger Warnings

This series will directly or indirectly mention, show or imply: abusive and toxic relationships, racism, child abuse, abusive families, misogyny, bullying, mental disorders, ableism, internalized ableism, suicide, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, self-hatred, transphobia, murder, violence and references to religious themes.

Character Profiles

Numen 01,02 03,04 05,06 07,08 09,10

Pre-Trial 1

Introduction "NUMEN" Voice Drama Undercover Voice Trailer

Trial 1

Voice Dramas 01,02 03,04 05,06 07,08 09,10

MVs 01,02 03,04 05,06 07,08 09,10

Interrogation questions 01,02 03,04 05,06 07,08 09,10

Extras!

"Silly" headcanon post Elysium Memento Mori files Character hobbies

[little-red-fool]

Ok since I don’t have to worry about spoilers anymore here are some old doodles of Father Isaiah as well as a loredump. I usually draw him with his hood up because his hair colour and ears (as well as other things) were a large plot point and spoiler—blood red hair is the main symptom of being Blood Stained, which is essentially a werewolf on steroids (they’re generally between 8-9 feet tall in their canid form and very powerful and agile) and is a blessing/curse (depending on how you view it, it’s generally considered a curse but a blessing by those who receive it) given to someone by the moon numen.

Isaiah has other features that show that he’s Blood Stained—he’s used his canid form a lot so some of its aspects bleed into his human form, such as his elongated ears and fangs, a small tail, and his right arm and leg having a more bestial appearance.

[doodlesketchgirl]

made an attack for @bukobean !!!

[artificial-absinthe]

"I'm nothing but ambition:

I'm a queen.

This world belongs to me,

because the likes of you never knew what to do with it!"

Carmilla of Styria

The apathy and indecision of the rest,

so pathetic, so weak in comparison...

I am fit to lead

because nobody else has even attempted to show a new way.

Megatron of Kaon

[theexaltedbride]

Dead Island 2 Slayers X New Numen Reader. (Female).

You failed to get to the evacuation zones in time. There were just so many zombies around, so much chaos, and the earthquakes damaged the roads, preventing you from taking any of the pre-prepared routes. By the time the military pulled out and set up the quarantine zone, it was already too late. 

You were trapped in Hell-A, and you had no choice but to run, hide, and pray for the storm to pass. Days turned to weeks, and the earthquakes continued, causing power and water to be inconsistent until it shut down completely. You had to survive by moving from house to house, hoping to find enough resources to live just one more day, and not to run into any marauders who might be interested in taking advantage of the situation and a lone woman without a group.

You were pretty lucky at first, none of the infected around you were anything more than rotting Shamblers who could be outpaced by a fast walk or a light jog. But your luck was set to run out, as a Butcher moved into your area, and began stalking you. It could smell your blood, hear it pulsing in your veins, and it wanted to hear the musical rhythm of your heart beating in terror as it slaughtered you. Like a skilled predator, it waited until you were vulnerable, when it came in for the lunge, and you first knew of its presence by being impaled in the side by one of its bone spikes, then by a bite on your face.

You were mauled by several of the infected, tossed about like a ragdoll, bitten into. You only barely escaped with your life by biting the Butcher right back and tearing off its nose. While it was confused and in pain you fled and found an alleyway to recover and think up a better plan, hiding in a dumpster, where the stink of it hid your scent from the Butcher, long enough for the virus to course through your body and begin repairing you. Parts of your body are different now, your eyes are a different color, almost like one of the infected, your jaw feels strong enough to crunch bone (like a dog does), and you feel like you have way more energy than you did before your infection.

Something in your blood responded to the virus, and it began to work with you rather than against you. It called out to others like you, and you could sense them nearby, but so could the Butcher, as it finally chased you out of the dumpster and into the streets, where someone else finally came to your rescue. 

Amy:

-Amy saved you from the butcher by running in with a war cry and a pistol, firing off bullets as fast as she could pull the trigger. While the Butcher was fast, she was even faster, moving like the wind. She ducked and weaved round the Butcher’s strikes, using some old cavalry sword that she’d made sharp with some mods to slice the Butcher up. Once it was dealt with, she focused on getting you to safety, and has been by your side since then.

- Amy has been a great help in getting you used to your new status and keeping your spirits up. She’s had to go through the loss of a leg, and turning that into a positive, as well as the shock of discovering she was a Numen. She knows what you are going through even more than you do, and is always there to empathize with you.

-When Amy trains you she focuses on building up your stamina as much as possible. Even if you have super speed you wont always be able to use it and sometimes being able to outlast an enemy in a fight is more important than being stronger than them.

-Whenever you feel ashamed about your bite and stab scars, Amy will take time to ask you to help her adjust her prosthetic leg as a subtle way of showing she understands, and to show how much she trusts you by letting you help her in that way.

Bruno:

-Bruno showed up by doing one of those action movie slides over the hood of a car and shouting for the Butcher attacking you to “Pick on someone who hits back!”. Bruno brought the hurt on the Butcher with an electrified machete, that sent the monster reeling back and screaming as 1.21 Gigawatts of ‘payback’ flowed through its body. Once it was dead, he used that same electric machete to jumpstart a car and use it to take you back to Emma’s mansion where you could be given first aid.

-While you were recovering and still healing from the Butcher’s attack, Bruno was always there to help you out and had several calming playlists to keep your mind from panicking too much as your body put itself back together and the group slowly introduced you to what they knew about being a Numen.

-Bruno teaches you a lot about gadgets and inventions (almost as much as he does about music and videos) and wants to make sure you always have some trick up your sleeve if you are ever in danger.

-You’re starting to pick up that Bruno goes out of his way t make your music playlists empowering to you or to help you come to terms with being humanity 2.0, but in a good way, more heroic than what the Eschaton Group is like.

Carla:

-Carla came roaring in on one of her fixed up motorcycles when she sensed you in danger. Like something out of an action movie she jumped off the back of the bike and let it slam right into the Butcher, knocking it off its feet, while she pulled out a tricked out mace to smash the Butcher’s head in. Once the threat was dealt with, she put you into a princess carry and ran with you all the way to Emma’s place, kicking zombies to death along the way while constantly talking to you to keep you from going to sleep.

-Carla knows your fast, but she trains you to build up some upper body strength. You can use both speed and strength to get the upper hand on any Butchers who come after you in the future. Carla won’t always be around, but she wants you to be safe.

-Whenever she gets a motorcycle working again, she loves pulling wheelies and showing off that same trick which helped her to save you. Sure she’s wrecked a few bikes, but its worth it for her to see that glimmer in your eyes.

-Carla sometimes struggles to train you as much as she wants during sparring sessions because she doesn’t want to accidentally hurt you.

Dani:

-Dani’s accent was one of the first things you noticed when she came to your rescue. Matched only by the constant cacophony of gunfire from her. She seemed to have guns hidden in hammerspace, as each time a magazine ran dry, she just pulled out a new one and kept on firing, even with how a Butcher seems supernaturally able to block bullets, it wasn’t able to stop every single shot and soon Dani had turned the Butcher into paste, before taking the time to provide you some initial First Aid. 

-Dani comforted you as you were taken back to Emma’s mansion, and you learned that a lot of hard swears can actually be pretty endearing when said with a comforting tone and some genuine care. 

-Dani has put you through a full gun safety course so you can soften up a Butcher (or any other threat) from afar before it can get too close to you, as well as teaching you to swear like a sailor and get yourself hyped up. Don’t get scared, get angry!

-She’s started trying out some different hairstyles to find something which matched your hair to your new Numen eyes, so you wouldn’t have to be afraid of looking different.

Jacob:

-Jacob played the role of the dashing hero out of nowhere, ducking and weaving through the attacks of the Butcher, while sometimes taking hits and managing to turn it around against the Butcher. Once he dispatched it (by turning a feint into a suplex that broke the Butcher’s back) he dropped his normally comedic attitude, and promised you that he’d get you help as he slid his arms under your own and started to pull you towards the mansion. 

-Jacob has always got a kind word or smart comment ready to help lift your spirits up, which proves very useful during training when he teaches you how to fold your body and handle getting hit, and turning it around against an enemy.

-The two of you tend to hang out a lot and just talk about things, a Jacob really impart his devil may care attitude about being a Numen to you. Its just the same as being a regular human but with extra steps.

-When you admitted fear and shame over other people seeing your mutated eyes, Jacob took the moment to gently remove his own sunglasses and show how he has one discolored eye, effectively blind in one eye even after becoming a Numen. He knows a lot about how you feel.

Ryan:

-When Ryan initially found you he was full on using a fake firefighter voice to sound heroic as he fought off the Butcher and eventually stomped the monster’s head in. He then put you into a fireman’s carry and ran with you all the way back to the mansion. Ryan didn’t know much first aid, but he had the strength and stamina to get you back to the mansion for treatment, where he chose to be by your side the entire time.

-It took you a while to learn Ryan’s secret, as he kept up an act of being a real First Responder to keep you calm and feeling safe. It wouldn’t be until after you made a full recovery that he told you the truth.

-Ryan’s training with you has been focused on helping you think on your feet and come up with responses and plans quickly when under attack. He isn’t much of a planner, but when the going gets tough he still manages to keep his head.

-When you both grew to trust one another more, Ryan admitted that he is always afraid. The mask of bravery he wears is an act for everyone else. So he can sympathize with you when you admit you are afraid of Butchers, but he also helps you to learn to mask that fear and keep it behind a mask, until the mask becomes real and the both of you are genuinely brave enough to fight whatever horrors Hell-A throws at you.

General Headcanons:

-The Eschaton Group tries to recruit you into their faction and pull you away from the Slayers. They know you have powers that the rest of your friends don’t, and they want that on their side. They tell you that the age of baseline humans is over. Numen are inherently superior and should rule the world to come. But you recall the fear and pain you endured while you were still a ‘baseline’ human. It pushes you to save others, and use your powers for the better. Great Power comes with Great Responsibility, and those with the means to protect others have a duty to do so.

-You’ve taken to wearing sunglasses to cover up your Numen eyes, so you don’t scare anyone with how different you are. Its even become a bit of a game for everyone to bring you some new sunglasses and see which one works best for you. Sometimes this leads to some very good finds, and other times it leads to hilarity as you are running around Hell-A slaying zombies in the most ridiculous sunglasses your friends could find.

-Your own Numen powers are beginning to develop the more you test them. While the others get things like super strength and rabid fury, you are developing the same kind of regeneration as them mixed with an incredible movement speed. When you trigger it you move faster and smoother than everyone else, its like they are all walking through water or mud while you stroll past them. It’s fast enough you could even dodge the strikes of a Butcher if one were to attack you again. It only lasts about ten seconds, but that is still just enough to finish off a zombie or to pull someone out of danger. 

-The sight of the Butcher infected still sometimes inspires fear in you. But you know you can handle it. You’re a Numen now, you have the power to beat the shit out of these monsters, to save people, and you have friends and a lover with you who have that same power. It will take some time to conquer this fear, but you know you can do it. 

-Since you have other Numen allies to help you master your new powers and status, you’re discovering that it is easier to control your abilities with those who support you and you’re learning it faster than the other Slayers who had to learn it from trial and error. It almost acts as a direct challenge to the ‘Sink or Swim’, method that the Eschaton Group uses.

-Your vision is slowly changing, you can see things, almost as if you can see through walls to pick up on when infected and uninfected are around, its let you get the jump on some of the more dangerous autophage variants out there. 

Bonus: Bruno’s Playlist for you.

-Disturbed “The Curse”.

-Transistor ”She Shines”.  (The one by Supergiant Games)

-Skillet “Feel Invincible”.

-Disturbed “The Light”.

-Karl Sanders “The Elder God Shrine”.

-Matthew Good “Weapon”.

-Matthew Good “Fated”.

[xiation]

XIATION - VOID

After waking up in a colourful world without his memories, a jester must learn of his family's troubled past and confront his maker.

XIATION is an ethereal based alternate reality outside of our own.

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: XIATION and REVERIE PEAK may occasionally contain mature themes mostly intended for older audiences as well as material that may be disturbing. Discretion advised.

(VOID) MAIN CHARACTERS UNDER CUT

HAPPY (THE FOOL) - (HE/HIM) Our protagonist and jester in question! Despite the occasional terrors, he remains a cheerful explorer. With a tendency to see the bright side in everything, he can often be blinded by the active horrors of everything around him.

SPRITE - (IT/SHE) Don't let the simple appearance fool you, this bowl is entirely sentient and capable of feeling. . . ! Adoptive sibling to Happy as well as Numen's assistant. "How can I assist you?" ^ ^

NUMEN - (HE/HIM) oɿbʞodl b'xʞm Ƨ He'll do anything to keep playing the game of life his own way. Happy's father. (He rather loathes his son.) In the planning phase he was going for a ringmaster, though the fact that his life is cruel a joke translates well with his more clown-like appearance.

VINCA - (SHE/HER) The love of Numen's life, and Happy's mother. She always overcooked the food and Numen always undercooked it. While it was a beautiful dynamic in it's own way, the fact that neither of them could cook should've been her cue to run away to save the both of them trouble from the start. "He turned the divorce papers into an origami crane. I didn't know he could do origami, then again I didn't know he was sick in the head either."

[tina-aumont]

Raïna interview at VoyageLA page.

[Raïna and her horse Quincy]

Dr. Raïna Manuel-Paris has a multicultural background, born of a French father and a Dominican mother. She was raised in France and England until her early 20’s then moved to the US. Fairy tales and Legends were her refuges. They helped her understand the difficulties of her childhood. By the age of twelve, she had read most of the myths and legends of the world. From Ireland and Russia to Arabia. She holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with emphasis in Depth Psychology from PGI.

She also holds a Masters Degree in Film from Columbia U. She taught Magic and Ritual and Myth and Symbol for 15 years at the Art Institute in Santa Monica, where she also offered guided meditations and somatic energy work. Her own spiritual seeking and evolution has taken her from Bali to the sacred shores of Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre… She is also adjunct faculty at PGI where she taught a course in Archetypal Patterns in Cinema. She assisted Dr. Lionel Corbett during his Psyche and the Sacred workshop with its ritual aspect. She has also taught at the Relativity School in Downtown LA. She is a published author of non-fiction and scholarly articles: Trauma War and Spiritual Transformation, Journal of Jungian Thought, 2017; The Mother- to-be Dream Book. Warner Books, 2002.) She is also a poet and published one book of poetry with Raven Books as well as several poems in various publications. Her documentary the Bridges of My Father was selected for the short film corner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.

[Raïna's husky mix Numen]

Currently, Raïna splits her time between Los Angeles and Ojai, CA. She works with individuals in a process she calls “The Cradle and the Crown,” assisting men and women in coming to alignment body mind and soul, developing deep aliveness as well as careful listening to the whisperings of their soul’s desire. She also uses the Tarot and other oracle tools to help her clients. She is a speaker /lecturer at the Joseph Campbell roundtable on the Tarot: the 22 universal patterns of transformation and on Love: Primal Agent of Change as well as the Myth Salon in LA. She has given numerous lectures at the Philosophical Research Society and taught workshops based on the Cradle and The Crown process. She practices Natural Horsemanship, with her horse Quincy, and also spends time exploring the Ojai valley with her husky mix, Numen. She also plays the ancient frame drum and sings. She is working to complete a novel with archetypal motifs. She also wrote a play with writing partner Susan Kacvinsky: “Seeking Sophia” which had a staged reading in Los Angeles in 2014.

Her work with students, including many veterans, always emphasizes the ways in which one reconnects the Soul of the World, Anima Mundi, with Corpus Mundi, the body of the world, and how to hold the tension between the inner world and the outer world in a way that engages curiosity and compassion. She worked on an online course “Awakening the Magician Within” as well as on her lecture “What Women Want”. Probably the one thing that has been at the core of her life is the understanding that we are all spiritual beings, whether we know it or not, magical beings with a desire for healing and love. And that archetypal stories, and the ancient mysteries of nature, provide a helpful direction towards an authentic relationship with the Self. Having a life with ritual and contemplation is very helpful as well. Soul, she believes, needs Mystery more than Meaning in order to feel the joy of its divinity.

[Raïna Paris]

Has it been a smooth road? A life is not a smooth ride, ever, if you want to actually live. What I learned as a child was so filled with confusion and misunderstanding, judgment, and rage, I became fear-based and so mixed up inside I had to learn to untangle all the different strands of my life and identify them, like the four impossible tasks given to Psyche, There has been many losses and deep grief along the way as well as health challenges. But always the deepest learning comes from all those challenges as well as the wisdom of the body, Re-learning to listen to the instincts and the intuition, trusting the inner guidance which has always been there but that took time to relearn to trust. I had to learn how to live from a place of inner authority as opposed to outer expectations. The mystical tools, like the Tarot, and the wisdom teachings of the ages, have always been beautiful signposts along the way.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know? I am not someone who likes to teach or talk about something for the sake of talking. I need to come from love in whatever I do. Specially because I was so fear-based, And I also need to know what I am talking about, what I am trying to convey, not only intellectually but in the body and in the heart. I am a scholar, a guide and a poet. And I do not ever talk about a subject however scholarly without implicating myself on a personal level. It’s not something I decided to do, it’s just how I am. I am always trying to live a life that is absolutely personal and authentic to me and at the same time, share my experience with others in the hopes that it might be helpful or useful.

So I go into the places of the In-Between, of liminality. It is the place of dreams, of imagination, and it is also the world of Nature, where the truth lives, at the threshold between this world and the archetypal world, I work with the tarot from an archetypal viewpoint because it is an ancient wisdom tool and I believe it helps give perspective to this crazy road trip called life, which often seems to spiral back to the same places we have experienced before. I also teach a seminar about the Cradle and the Crown process which helps people connect with the power and passion of childhood joy as well as the wisdom of inner authority. Once the weeds of false beliefs get rooted out, I find there is a beautiful way to live in tune with the Self and the world around us.

[Another photo of Raïna and her horse Quincy]

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least? I love that the city is surrounded by Nature, so close by, from parks and mountains to ocean.

It is a challenging place with just as many opportunities to heal and transform, as there are opportunities to lose oneself.

Raïna Paris interview at VoyageLA on-line magazine published the 20th May 2020. The name of the person who wrote this article or conducted this interview is not listed.

[9musesandanoldmind]

Back here to announce I'm getting a new webcomic ready!

Meet Alix and Theo, they're the protagonists of Numen, a GL mystery with bits of mythology and supernatural fiction, and of course, that layer of personal drama in need of a healing journey we all love~

You can get more details about it on my Patreon! And keep an eye out for tomorrow!

(And don't forget to sign up to my newsletter, where you don't get only news about my work, but sapphic recs and interviews with sapphic creators!)

[castilestateofmind]

"The beliefs and practices of pagan origin that survived Christianity were those that the men of the first Church called "pagan", that is, typical of the inhabitants of the "pagi", of the peasants. It was more difficult for the higher mythological systems, the great theogonies, to remain alive. The belief in a numen of the fountains, of rivers, of forests, or caves (or a family cult) could survived more easily than the complex cults of the Greeks and Romans".

-Julio Caro Baroja.

[elysium-the-true-faceofsalvation]

Numen- THE ANGEL

Personality: Numen is a child who genuinely wants to help others. He is an empathetic good-listener that won't stop for anything if she percives someone's in need of help. They don't seem to care much about themselves, she doesn't even care at all about the fact that he lost all of his memories. She can be extremely pushy, and will force their help even on people that do not want it, he doesn't seem to understand that not everyone wants salvation, if you are suffering, you would want to put an end to that, right?

Likes: Carefree people.

Dislikes: Questioning.

Gender: Genderfluid.

Pronouns: He/she/they.

Age: 14.

Height: 149 cm.

Birthday: Unknown.