#Ogma Conceptions

[paganposting]

Ogham Readings

Hello! As some of you know i am trying to raise money for top surgery, and after very careful consideration i have decided to offer ogham readings.

What is ogham?

The ogham alphabet is the earliest written form of the Irish language, originating sometime around 300BC. In the mythology, the alphabet was created by the god Ogma as a gift to humanity. Each letter has multiple associations, trees, birds, colors, ideas, and much more. This is an oversimplification of course, but the ogham alphabet is a key part of my practice. Modernly many Irish pagans use it for divination, charms, and artwork.

Using ogham is not a closed practice. Anyone is welcome to it, but it is very deeply entrenched in celtic cosmology and can only be understood in that context. This is why ogham readings can be a bit tricky to get the hang of.

What Im Offering

Ogham readings are a service i provide in real life to people in my grove, its one of my roles in our community. I'm new to doing this online, so feedback is appreciated! I am only comfortable giving readings to those over the age of 18. You do not have to be pagan or even religious to ask for one.

$5- one fid reading

i will pull one ogham stave and discuss its meaning, history, and core concepts with you. this could be something that needs more attention, a message for you, or a concept deeply tied to you as a person. through talking we can figure out its meaning in your life.

$10- answering a question

i will help you craft a question best suited to your needs and the oghams ability to answer. i will use my method of ogham divination which usually yields 3-5 staves. we will discuss the outcome and its meaning.

$20- three cauldrons

the three cauldrons are poetic energy centers in the body that are turned by joy and sorrow. there is the cauldron of warming, the cauldron of motion, and the cauldron of wisdom. this reading will look at each individual cauldron and provide insight on what you should focus on in those aspects of life to align your energy.

DM if interested!

if there's something specific you'd like a reading on that doesn't quite fit one of these options let me know and we can negotiate price!

thank you 💚

[samejimachich]

Oh I forgot to post my DnD version Leny concept art.

He is 30 yrs Paladin, True neutrality that leans toward chaos and neutrality.

Somewhat he belongs to Ogma.

It's my first DnD but I don't know DnD world details, to be honest😂

Although, TRPG session with my closest friends is fun!

[notsoscarlet]

hc + home

aha. the concept of Home and what exactly that means for samto is interesting. because he's never really had a home in a physical sense: the closest he's had to a proper material home was as a child in aurelis, which did not last very long relatively speaking.

he's drifted between countries ever since the servile revolt in knorda, and i don't think he'd consider any of them his home. so far as samto himself is concerned, the closest thing he has to a home or even a family is the talysian free company — or perhaps just captain ogma.

[a-noone]

The best sci-fi explores social issues. The best Star Trek is at the cutting edge of social commentary.

Obviously, I'm Pagan, and psychic, and so I had a choice about whether to post this on my pagan tumblr (and to frame it as a dialogue between Morrigan, Ogma, Apollon, Hermes, Dionysos, and myself -- which it was) or my sci-fi tumblr (and to frame it as things to explore in stories I will later write -- which I will), and I chose here.

There are four things that don't really exist, except for through consensus, but that some people treat as immutable. We know they're not real because they don't consistently work the same way or mean the same things in all places and all times for all people.

Laws.

A law is a threat of violence. Its reality is enforced with military might. Importantly: nothing that is natural or real needs to be enforced with guns. However, this does not stop us from claiming that the laws we make up are "the natural order," or attributing their rightness to some invisible person who lives in the sky.

Prompt: Consider two worlds, one of which is a perfect anarchy, and one of which is a law-driven society with draconian punishments. Research how humans behave when disaster strikes and the "rule of law" breaks down (spoilers: people are kinder to one another, as their true animal instincts -- cooperation and empathy -- take hold.) An ambassador must wright a peace treaty between the two. How do they see one another? What do they get horribly wrong about one another? In which society is a person safer?

Ownership.

No one owns anything. We just pretend like we do. The only difference between a car you own and a car you don't own is that if you drive away in a car that's not yours, the cops will shoot you. To say that you own a person is merely to state that you have a right to do violence to that person.

Prompt: While visiting a new world, one of your characters accidently goes somewhere or touches something that, according to the laws of the society, means that the character is now the property of the local Lord. His perspective is that he has a very important title, and that the laws of nature state that he can own slaves. Another character must talk him around to get their friend back.

Money.

Paper currency has no real value. Digital currency has even less. Money is merely a means of communication, a sort of I.O.U. for real goods later. At the intersection of ownership of certain things (ideas, immortal souls, land), you have the least real shit imaginable.

Prompt: Envision a society with an alternative way of communicating the communal I.O.U. --- go full metal weird, or go home. OR, imagine a society that has taken the abstraction of a money-like concept way beyond our present society's level of absurdity.

Authority.

The really weird thing about dictators is that, despite their efforts to paint themselves as in charge in the most absolute way possible, they are far more likely to be executed than a democratically elected leader where all members of the society fairly participate. In smaller groups, people vote with their feet. Great nations and empires collapse when the majority feels that they have no say. No matter how we turn it, or spin it, no one has authority unless it is conveyed upon them by a critical mass of other people willing to follow them.

Prompt: Your characters encounter an absolutist totalitarian government, and run afoul of its Sovereign God-Emporer. They are thrown into prison, and escape, only to find themselves among the overwhelmingly disenfranchised proletariat on the eve of a revolution. Perhaps your Captain wants to talk the Emperor into a peaceful transition of power. Perhaps rebels are captured, imprisoned, and shot, only to win anyway because of their overwhelming numbers. Perhaps all of the rebel leaders are captured, and it looks like order will be restored, but the Emperor monologues about how little the will of the people means, only to be shot in the head by a supposedly loyal soldier. Illustrate the futility of trying to hold all the power as a single person.

[newroyaloceans]

God, I haven't posted in months!!! I've actually just been super busy working in career stuff that I doomed myself to do over the summer instead of while I was working an easy job :'))))

Uhhh...I'm just gonna share with y'all my CFV OCs cause I made a lot of them now lol

Gail (MY MC!!) He plays Shadow Paladin! Draganger Ogma specifically. I have this entire concept already made up so if you want more info drop an Ask!

Next is Aoi & Riku!! They're an idol duo! Of course they're inspired by Rummy Laybrinth but also idol boys in general because I really like them!!

Aoi plays Gold paladin & Riku plays Royal Paladin!

Next is Julie & Remington

Julie is Remington's niece and joins him in his detective outings, Remington is also Gail's mentor and buddy cop lol

(Gail just happens to be the "I work alone" guy)

Remington plays Dimension police like if it wasn't obvious haha

Next one an aqua force boy....just haven't thought of a name for him yet...

Next to him is Vivi!! Super energetic girl! She plays Narukami or Kagero if I remember correctly. I remembered!! SHE ACTUALLY PLAYS GEAR CHRONICLE!!!

Lastly is Shion (in the middle) he is Gail's future partner, and a Nurse at the local Hospital. He doesn't play much Vanguard but has an Angel Feather deck.

[your-lady-star]

I'm honestly kinda conflicted about this banner.

On the one hand, I'm glad that they remembered that Freyr exists and didn't make him the obligatory 4 star unit.

Along with him being insanely gorgoues. Like

Oh my, goat daddy...

On the other hand, I hate that he's on the same banner as Oni-chan McF*ckme. I find it ironic that her being on the fanservice banner goes to show that they know this is her only appeal (especially since they clearly inflated her proportions just for this banner).

I have seen people being confused on the Harmonized unit, but I think I have an idea of what they're going for. Pairing up Plumeria, someone who doesn't believe in the concept of love and thinks that humans only crave lust, with Caeda, someone with a great love for her country, her people, her friends, and even her enemies. I can imagine Caeda helping her realize that not only is love a very real but very powerful emotion, but giving her hope that she will one day meet someone who truly loves her and will make her happy, just like her and Marth.

Oh, and I'm neutral on Ogma and Norne. They're fine.

And this is kinda tangential and not at all connected to the banner, but it's something I just now realized.

Am I the only one who finds it really f*cked up that Freyja made Plumeria, a woman who doesn't believe in love, thinks sexual urges are all that dominates people's minds, and despises it more than anything, the fairy of lewd dreams? Like, "Hey, I'm gonna take you away from your sh*tty life and make you a fairy of dreams! And you're in charge of making dreams about the very thing you hate! Have fun, b*tch!"

Like, I know that Freyja is a massive piece of sh*t, but this is a whole new level of "f*ck you."

[faireth-reed]

Sooo... Controversial FEH?

And here I thought it was the 3H fandom not knowing much about how Heroes work, but it's in general. Everyone's acting really weird. So have some of my opinions, none of them meant to offend anyone:

Fallen Dimitri? We literally asked for him. We wanted his most famous voice lines to be in game, or some glimpse of how he was just after the timeskip.

The problem? Heroes decided to pretend he was now fully "healed" and okay in his Brave/Legendary versions. They separated his worst and "best" times. And we can't deny that he will always will have that side on him, he isn't magically recovered. He's not a "pure boy". He's Dimitri, and he'll always know how to live with his ghosts.

Then there's the hypocrisy of saying "oh but Orson was affected by magic!". He wasn't. It was all his mental state and him neglecting his own health because of a lost love, the horror of facing Monica that way, and specially after having sacrificed his betrayal to Renais. And guess what? All of us Orson fans celebrated having him in FEH. We didn't try to purify him.

That said, in my opinion, Fallen Units should be varied from each other. Otherwise, we'd only have brainwashed girls and characters similar to Fallen Ike, and it'd be quite boring, specially if they are in Forging Bonds. Fomortiis was much more interesting, Hardin too.

Too much 3H material? Yes. But it's the same as with Fates and Awakening. Banners with new characters are cool, and too many alts are boring, specially if they are always the same type of unit. People will be glad to see the Ashen Wolves as much as seeing Miriel/Vaike/Gregor, but not repetitive alts.

That said, most complaints come from Tellius fans. And we've been having Tellius all the time too (so some characters are cool, while others are unnecessary). And I've seen most complaints coming from people who asked for a Legendary version for each Tellius character? Man...

Remember what happened when people used bots to make Veronica win because they refused Camilla at all costs? Brave Veronica, who was a cool concept at the time, and Camilla's alts kept being released.

But what we have now is an incredible lack of Sharena, Bruno and other characters just because IS keeps releasing Veronica alts, because they saw her being popular in CYL. So this'll happen again if we delay a character's win for a year. They'll keep appearing, and the botted character will get too many alts.

About Caeda? Yeah, she's different. We know how IS treats fanservice, but I wouldn't complain when I have Ogma, and could have Barst, Bord and Cord (been wanting Cord for a while). And her face looks a bit like Lilina's, who's a good character.

But I don't know why everyone complains here, I was much angrier at her bridal art looking nothing like her. No one would guess that's Caeda. Different hair and face, really weird coloring... Nope.

Yeah, we knew Plumeria would get many alts, but perhaps the paralogue or the castle lines will compare their different points of view in Love. It's not bad.

And people have been praising the goat siblings forever to only realize now how problematic they are? Fortunately they're not a duo, and who knows what will happen when Freyja gets revived.

But luckily, certain datamines make it possible that we have less incest material? The Tempest Trials won't be like usual, so there's some less dialogue with these characters.

Speaking of that, I thought [character] had her hands balled under her fur cape instead of that, but it's not much of a problem. But her legs look much worse, like they're going to melt anytime. Weird proportions.

But the generic concept is okay. Laevateinn, on the other side, creeped me too much, she's almost a child! I would have foddered her if she wasn't such a useful unit.

[shinjinsofthemultiverse]

SKais Headcanon: Job/Hobby

This Headcanon Concept is about Supreme Kais that probably did Jobs/Hobbies when going to Castle School. I don't think a job is required so some may just have hobbies in place of a job

Anat: Photography/blogging.

Pell: Fitness Instructor. Has done substitute PE teaching but prefers instructing in small groups versus classroom size numbers.

Eyre/Ea: Lab work mixed with getting papers published.

Kuru: Camera man/Video editing skills. Probably helped bailed out students that need to get a video project done for their assignments.

Ogma: Botanist/Gardening. Would be the one that likely has an aquaponics station set up.

Fuwa: Restaurant Manager as in the measures needed to keep the restaurant afloat, like checking for any mess/untidiness, cross-contamination, budgeting, etc.

Shin: Librarian, tutoring, field trip chaperoning.

Grand Supreme Kai: Chef [We're talking a kai who was life-linked to Beerus so he might as well be pretty solid in the food department for that reason alone]

West Supreme Kai: Varied extra-curricular stuff in castle school. Would probably be the one attending tutoring sessions to keep the grades where they should and still participate in extracurricular sports.

South Supreme Kai: Boxing with some mix of martial arts? Has some experience being an instructor and life guard at beach areas.

North Supreme Kai: Aquaculture related? (Basically the goto guy for boat trips and sight seeing the ocean)

Iru: Project management. He would be the one taking team lead roles in different projects in the job of choice.

Roh: ...I feel like out of the other kais, he would have most survival skill pointers in the outdoors. So, I would say an outdoor job/hobby that focuses on survival skill discovering/showcasing?

Gowasu: Zookeeper. Used to do videoblogging until he picked it up again as a Supreme Kai.

Khai: Used to be part of a band (drummer mainly but the band has cross trained and can switch around). He doesn't like bringing that topic up though.

Agu: Something related to rehabilitating/helping folks get back up on their feet after dealing with downs of life? Above and beyond sort of counselor/advisor.

[margridarnauds]

But what would your ideal adaptation of CMT be like?

Thank you for the ask! (And for giving me the chance to talk about my actual child!) 

I meant to get to this yesterday, but I was in the library at the time, then I was at the post office, getting some of my books shipped back to the States before my move back, and then came the news of Level 5 and....Well. I was around town. 

TOUGH question, and one that I’ve been thinking about for ages. CMT IS my baby, so my standards for adapting it are, frankly, both ridiculously low (CMT ON SCREEN!) and ridiculously high (I stg if you do this wrong....) 

Personally, I have two ideas for it, one of which is more serious than the other, so I’ll deal with it first: 

A miniseries. Because I don’t think you can really DO CMT well in the course of a film. You could try, but I don’t think it would work. I would personally want it to be a part of an overarching series that’s just there to adapt the Book of Invasions. That way, there’s context for this. (And because I’m a biased bitch, I’d probably want it to begin with the Fir Bolg, with the previous invasions recounted. You could have Fintan as an overarching narrator, holding the various series together. Have a season dedicated to them, end it on the TDD’s arrival.) 

Now, what I’d want this miniseries to do:  - Have a setup where both Lugh and Bres are given equal amounts of time. A thing that I’ve noticed a lot of retellings doing is to make it so that Lugh is the unambiguous, shining hero and set off with that idea in mind from the beginning, with Bres being a cliched villain, but if you read CMT from the beginning....Bres is given a LOT of traits that we associate with heroes. The story of CMT even begins with his conception and birth. Bres, whether people like it or not, is a protagonist of CMT. He’s a villain protagonist. But a protagonist, right alongside Lugh. You can’t have Lugh without Bres, you can’t have Bres without Lugh, and I would LOVE for an adaptation to get to the heart of that dynamic. Start off with Bres, devote a couple of episodes to him and what makes him tick (while also setting up Lugh’s birth, since that’s taking place during his reign), and then show it all falling down. 

- Have one of the first images being of the Fir Bolg, led by Sreng in retreat. Look, I’ve accepted that the only one who really cares about Sreng as much as me is....me, and the only adaptation that would feature him as much as I would want is one that I’d be writing (IF I EVER ACTUALLY FUCKING WRITE THE FUCKING THING), but, if we CAN’T get him in there as a major character in his own right and Bres’ love interest, I would like to at least start it off with the understanding that the Tuatha Dé’s settlement of Ireland did happen over a LOT of Fir Bolg bodies. It makes their fight with the Fomoire a little more gray, because it’s suddenly less “THE FOMOIRE ARE INVADING THE TUATHA DÉ, HOW EVIL” and more “The TDD’s sins coming back to kick them hard in the ass”. The Fir Bolg had the land, the TDD challenged them for it, the TDD won. By medieval Irish standards, that was justified, as was the subjugation of the Fir Bolg afterward. But this is a modern adaptation, for a modern audience, and that doesn’t mean we have to be objective. Especially given that it forced the Fir Bolg to flee to the Fomoire, for fear of the TDD enslaving them. Ideally, the Fir Bolg’s history with enslavement would have been dealt with in the previous season, which would have started off with the Sons of Dela breaking out of Greece. 

- Present the Fomoire as Vikings. This is BIG to me because it’s VERY easy to make the Fomoire a Generically Evil, Dark Fantasy Race, which makes it very, very easy to do a black and white version of things. But I would rather show the Fomoire as a group of people who have their own priorities, their own cultural mores, but are still PEOPLE. Bres isn’t evil because he’s Fomoire (I hesitate to call him “evil” to begin with, but if we’re going to use that term...); he makes a series of bad judgement calls and turns traitor to his own maternal kin-group. Balor isn’t really evil himself, even if we go into the folktale variation where he wants Lugh killed at birth (personally, I kind of favor the CMT version of it where Lugh was just...born of an arranged marriage), is acting with the authority of a medieval Norse head of the household. Tethra is perfectly willing to go along with the raids in Ireland...but we know, from what happens later, that it isn’t because he has a personal vendetta, it’s just probably more convenient to him. And I wouldn’t expect ALL the Fomoire to get a ton of attention, because we still have to be concerned with time, but just enough to fill them out. 

- The only time I want to make an exception is Ruadan. Because we HAVE to get him fleshed out as well. We’ve got to see him as a young kid under Bres and Bríg’s feet, we’ve got to see the two of them pausing from the arguments that dominate their relationship during Bres’ kingship when they see him standing at the door, we’ve got to see him trying to adjust to the Fomoire, not QUITE fitting in (just like his father before him), but trying so, so hard. We’ve got to see Bres clinging onto him during the twenty years in exile, promising him that, one day, it’ll be worth it. Got to see Bres trying to not show the exhaustion from those twenty years in front of his son, even if we can see on Ruadan’s face that he knows. We’ve got to understand WHY he takes the mission up, the mission that he has to know will destroy his reputation if he fails (and if he succeeds), and we’ve got to understand why Bríg screams out in anguish when she sees his broken body “in his father’s presence”, Bres helplessly rocking him back and forth. I know we probably can’t get all of Bres’ kids (which is a pity because, honestly, Dui Temen and Indusa are probably my favorites), but if we can’t get all six of the Sibs, we’ve got to make sure that Ruadan is given a ton of fleshing out and development to make that one, horrifying moment strike true. Because that’s honestly, in my opinion, the single most poignant moment of the text and, if we don’t establish Ruadan off the bat, it loses that importance. 

--Indech, Indech, Indech as the primary villain. I love this Fomorian bitch so much and he gets no respect, generally being shafted for Balor. I know, limited time, but I would at least like to give him one or two scenes to establish himself as THE king of the Fomoire, next to Elatha, give him a bit of time to establish himself as a bitch, and give him his moment of “Their bones will be dust soon.” Because, let’s be real, that’s a kind of metal moment. Bonus if, when Bres is standing next to him, there’s this distinct moment of “Oh, shit, I did NOT think this through.” Possibly change the timeline around so that his.......”kidneys of valor” (THAT ARE NOT HIS TESTICLES, ABSOLUTELY NOT) are removed by the Morrigan AFTER Macha’s death, so that there’s this sense of catharsis. 

- Potentially controversial, but I like Early Modern Nuada, who, by the time of CMT, is a broken, jealous king. Have him decide not to try Dían Cecht for Miach’s death because, hey, they need him, and he DID do Nuada a favor. Have him hand over the throne to Lugh so that he can get rid of the Fomoire, yeah, but have him have doubts. Have him be jealous at the easy love that Lugh gains, while he can’t save his own people. Have him be paranoid about Lugh taking everything for himself and leaving him with nothing. Have him, as in the Early Modern recession of CMT, getting the TDD to drug Lugh before the battle, because, in that one moment, it doesn’t matter if the TDD win or lose, all he wants is for Lugh to be *gone*. And then have him redeem himself by challenging Balor to single combat, only to lose. Have Lugh, in those last few moments, promise to look after the TDD, whatever it takes. 

-Speaking of the Bitch, I REALLY want to see Lugh’s ruthless side. I know, even with a full miniseries, that we can’t get into, say, the Sons of Tuireann, because even though I’d love to spend a whole episode on that....places to go, people to see. But I would like to see at least a little of that part of Lugh that is willing to do anything, ANYTHING for the sake of the TDD, and that makes him do, arguably, worse things than even Balor and Bres for the sake of it. When Bres goes to plead for his life at the end, I want Lugh staring down at him, completely impassive. Around the two of them, there are bodies scattered EVERYWHERE, the ground absolutely drenched in blood, Bres himself is absolutely covered in blood and gore, his body held to the ground by an Ogham stone that Ogma put there (in my ideal world, where we get to establish the brothers and their relationship, it would be his one, last ditch effort to save Bres from himself), and there’s Lugh, totally pristine, his blonde hair perfectly curled, looking down at him like you would at a cockroach. When he says “Less will save you”, I want him to not even really be looking at Bres, but more at his goblet of wine, and then, when he accepts Bres’ terms, I want a zoom-in on that wine goblet, and specifically the dark red liquid in it, as an ominous theme begins to play. (I KNOW we can’t get to Bres’ death, but also....let me have at least a call forward to it. There’s a lot of Dindshenchas CMT-aligned material that I would LOVE to see, including Duirgen, Carn Hui Néit, Nás, and Carmun, but that...well. Time. Which is a pity because Carmun is probably my FAVORITE of the Dindshenchas stories.)

- A little bit of screen time for the ladies. Again, time is time, but it’s very easy to turn CMT into a boys’ story, which isn’t helped by the message of the original being quite patriarchal (THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET LADIES GET INTO POLITICS: A HOT MESS). But I actually really am interested in the women of the text. Ériu loves her son SO MUCH that she’s willing to turn her back on her people for him, and I’d love at least one flashback sequence, probably when Bres is making the decision to leave the TDD, around the end of....episode 3-4 I want to say, and we get to see Ériu as a young mother, holding Bres in her arms and smiling, even as the rest of the TDD look on her with anxiety, with her promising her that, no matter what, they’ll have each other. I want to see the Morrigan and Macha both trying to convince her to abandon Bres, because they don’t want to lose their sister, but Ériu standing firm in her decision. (She isn’t a warrior like them, but she’s strong in an entirely different way, with a spine of steel, and the other two know it.) I want to see Macha’s death at Balor’s hands and see the Morrigan and Badb losing their absolute SHIT for the first time (as a future archnemesis of theirs would say: “All sport, all play until......” The battle’s been FUN up until this point, but then suddenly it becomes very, very real to them.) If we could get a little of Tailtiu’s fosterage of Lugh, her status as an outsider (the Spanish widow to the last king of the Fir Bolg, trying to find her way among the invaders, dealing with the loss of her only biological son), and her own trace of ruthlessness, I would be VERY happy, especially since you can....see how Lugh turns out the way he does. Both the good and the bad. And we could probably handle that in just one scene, possibly in around episodes 2-3 during Bres’ reign. I’d also LOVE it if we could get a moment where, after Ruadan’s death, she’s the one to go over to Bríg and clasp her hand. Because, even if their husbands (possibly ex-husband in Bríg’s case, depending on how we deal with her dynamic with Bres) hated one another, Tailtiu knows fully well how it feels to lose a son, and it gives a chance for there to be a moment of humanity in a text that can be very inhumane at times. I’d love to see Cethlenn BEGGING Balor to not go to the battle, since she does have the power of foresight, but for it to be very obvious in her eyes that she knows that he isn’t going to accept it and then for her to straighten her back and wish him well. Because their love story is built as much on shared duty as it is on passion, and she knows that it has to be this way, he’s got to choose this, and she’s got to let him and keep her dignity. 

-This is probably highly wishful thinking, but I kind of liked Vikings’ idea of switching between English and the historically accurate dialogue, depending on the perspective. I think it would be HARD to pull off, but I’d love to see it going between Old Irish, English, and Old Norse, just to really show off that these are two very different cultures. IDEALLY, I’d also, in my absolute, ideal world, have audio dubbing in Gaeilge as well. It would be a hell of a venture, but I’m very firmly of the belief that this is an Irish story, it deserves to be told in Irish. 

-Relating to that: Irish cast (for the TDD/Fir Bolg, Scandinavian for the Fomoire), as much as you can possibly do. (Given that the total population of the entire island’s around 5 million, it’s a tall order, but hey.) IDEALLY, I’d want there to be also be regional variation in the accents: The Dagda will always, to me, have a Dublin accent, Ogma coming from Roscommon, Bres having a Northern Irish accent. If Sreng shows up, I’d want him to have a Cork or a Limerick accent, etc. Again, it’s a tall order, and one that I don’t think could be easily done, but a girl can dream. My ultimate goal would be to at least have a higher Irish: English ratio than The Tudors. That’s my dream. (I have but one really HARD casting decision and that’s Sarah Bolger as Airmed. Please. Please. GIVE HER THE ANGST. GIVE HER THE QUIET TERROR AND THE DADDY ISSUES. WE KNOW SHE CAN DO IT. That and Ruth Negga as Tailtiu.) 

- Also, ideally, I would like to have a situation where you have experts in archaeology, medieval Ireland and, specifically, Irish mythology on set to make sure that it’s as historically accurate to the 9th century as you can get without becoming bogged down in it. (Medieval Irish costumes...aren’t really.....glamorous, but I would like to see a nice streamlining of it that keeps the feel of the era while also, frankly, looking really, really cool.) For Nuada’s hall, I’d want to make sure that we actually had a reconstruction of the Great Hall at Tara (WHICH IS REALLY COOL IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF IN TARA, NGL) as people in the middle ages would have imagined it. This long, narrow hall lit by torches, Lugh almost having to walk over a few people’s legs to get to the front, and there, at the head of it all, is the king. People from UCD, UCC, Trinity, etc. (Maybe even get some people from Maynooth, if they promise to behave.) If I know my fellow Celticists well enough, I think a few of them would even jump at the opportunity to be a part of something like this. (I know of at least one expert in Old Irish who actually translated a spell for the Grimm TV show.) Basically, medieval Ireland almost NEVER gets put on screen (Pilgrimage is the last example that I can really think of, if we’re not counting Secret of the Kells, which we probably should because, tbh, awesome), and Irish Mythology gets it even less, so this would, theoretically, probably be our ONE CHANCE to get this done and get this done right.  

-Animated opening screen, Secret of the Kells style, in the style of an illuminated manuscript. PLEASE. I NEED IT. Either that or, if we can’t get something like that, I would love to see something that covers the entirety of Ireland, matching up the different characters to different locations, since the landscape is SUCH a huge part of these myths. You know. Like. That one fantasy show. The one with the dragons. And the zombies. 

Now, for my SECOND idea for an adaptation: 

A musical. Of COURSE I would want a musical. Like, it’s a no-brainer for me. Musicals thrive off of emotion and drama, and CMT has a TON of it. Now, what type of musical? That is the question.

And I’m actually being serious when I say this. 

Even though it’s going to sound cracky and tbh, it definitely is. But it’s also me. And what is CMT if not a 9th century scribe’s crackfic of Irish Mythology, put to contemporary political themes and using traces of Indo-European tradition? 

.....

A Takarazuka style musical. Because, goddammit, with their high focus on glitter, I feel like they’re the only ones who could TRULY put Bres and Lugh on stage, and their habit of letting pretty villains off the hook could work really, really well in Bres’ favor. That and I find the idea of them trying to adapt a myth with as much blood, guts, and sex in it as CMT personally hilarious. Lugh/Bui becomes the Top Star combo. Does Bui have all that much to do in the original CMT? No. But she’s our love interest. So she gets Top Star role, and at least one solo song. That’s probably all about how she’ll wait for Lugh no matter what. (We, of course, ignore her cheating on him.) Bres gets only one song, but it’s a showstopper, probably when he decides to fuck off to the Fomoire, and he and Lugh have OODLES of homoerotic tension. (If it were an adaptation of the first battle, Bres and Sreng would get. So. So much. But, alas.) If we don’t have Bres acting like a jealous boyfriend whenever he sees the TDD supporting Lugh, causing him to break out into a song about how much he HATES stupidly-hot Lugh, what’s the point? (Also: The chance for Goth!Bres. Which is, tbh, the Bres that I need in my life.) Also: Glorious costumes all around. 

The Dagda is the hapless comic relief character, who goes on PG-at-most antics. Probably involving eating a lot of porridge, hitting on every lady in sight (but of course not doing ANYTHING else) and passing out. He and Tsundere!Morrigan function as the Beta couple. 

Elatha is like. The Older Villain character, along the lines of, say, Mazarin in All For One, Talleyrand in Robespierre, Don Ferdinando in El Japón, etc. Balor probably wouldn’t be able to make it on screen, but...as an admitted and confirmed Bres Stan...........I’ve seen so many adaptations that don’t include Bres and make Balor the principle villain that...................sorry :) Balor :) That’s :) Very :) Tragic :) For :) You :) I LIKE Balor, but if he and Bres were dangling off a cliff....I’ve got to go for the pretty one with daddy issues and poor life choices, sorry Balor. 

Personally, I WOULD rather have Bres as the viewpoint character, with a Frozen “Monster”-esque number where he realizes that he’s the villain of the story but, unlike Elsa, decides to succumb to it, but I also know fully well that Lugh is basically MADE for the Takarazuka stage as a hero so...

The last time Takarazuka did something Irish-themed was in....I want to say 1994, with the Afterglow of Eire, and you know what? It’s time. If they did this for me, I would buy the DVD and force every single Celticist I know to watch it. And then make enough gifsets that you wouldn’t be able to THINK about Takarazuka on here without also thinking of “CMT” and vice versa. I would love it so, so much, no matter what they did. And I would, of course, relentlessly make fun of it as well. But in a loving way. (Even if they went the predictable route and went for Creepy!Bres.)

Alright, I said “two” but ngl, I came up with a third while I was writing this up:  A comic book. Because I feel like, in some ways, it’s the only way you can really capture that larger than life aspect. (Ditto for works like the Táin, which can only really be done either via comic book or anime. Not that I’m opposed to an anime with Bishounen!Lugh/Bres. Which wasn’t intended to be a slash ship but I said what I said. Cursed. But hey.)  

[kathyprior4200]

Dragon Ball Characters as Teachers / An In Depth Look at the 12 Universes

Goku: Teaches martial arts and provides free lunches for his students every day.

 Vegeta: Etiquette for addressing royalty.

 Gohan: Math, martial arts, and Saiyan culture. Wrote a book in a later age.

 Trunks: Teaches sword fighting, justice studies and the pros and cons of time travel.

Tien: Teaches the New Crane School with their martial arts styles

 Krillin: Teaches the New Turtle School with their martial arts styles

 Frieza: Monarchy and world conquering studies.

 Hit: History of assassins and time breakers

 Ginyu Force: Dance classes and learning poses. Also offers gymnastics and yoga.

 Piccolo: Spiritual studies, meditation, and perseverance.

 Bulma: Engineering, science, and the autonomy of capsules

 Chi-Chi: Home Economics, team teaches with Videl

  Master Roshi: Pornography studies, Kamehameha technique and his own version of anatomy

 Broly: Fighting techniques, the geography and life on Vampa…KILL KAKAROT!...that was his other older self, we’re not doing that…

 Caulifla and Kale: Fusion techniques and women in Saiyan history

 Cabba: Universe 6 history and the dynamics of a student/teacher relationship

 Cell: How to absorb others and become the perfect being. Also offers a course on bug and reptile studies.

 Majin Buu team teaches with Hercule: Wrestling techniques, how to become a champion, and how to enjoy the most candy. Bring pets and chocolate for extra credit.

 Android 21: Counseling and addiction course

 Beerus and Whis: A divine cooking course, learn how to make your favorite dishes from around the world. All students are required to bring pudding and meals to professor Beerus, unless they want the Earth to be destroyed.

 Jaco: Police duties and the history of the Galactic Patrol

 Zamasu and Goku Black: religious studies and the ugliness of humanity

 Jiren and Toppo: Fighting for justice across the realms. Strength is absolute.

 Baby: Tuffle technology and the science of possession

Turles and Bojack: How to be space pirates and colonize other worlds. Learn about the fruits from the Tree of Might and learn how to grow your own.

 Zeno Destruction Group: Team teaching, featuring Hearts as the head teacher. Teaches the tyranny of oppressive forces (Zeno) and how to make the world fit your own standards.

 Fu: Traveling to the past and future to gather energy. How to bring warriors together to fit your purposes. Have warriors fight each other and learn about science at the same time.

 Dabura: Demonology studies and the world of the Demons. Extra article: “My surprisingly good life in heaven”

 Pilaf: Rule the universe, gain wealth, and order your lackeys around! All the steps you need to make the universe yours!

 Kami and Dende: Namekian studies and the perils of releasing your evil self

King Piccolo: Rule setting, releasing criminals and living the good life. Learn about Namekian reproduction and how handy minions can be.

 Raditz: Saiyan history and world colonization.

 Yamcha: Desert living, thievery, and baseball studies. Win a baseball game for extra credit. Learn the Wolf Fang Fist and how to survive  when fighting Saibamen.

 Korin: Grow your own Senzu beans

 Shenron and Porunga: History of the Dragon Balls and why one should always be careful what they wish for

 Android 17: Environmental studies and how to be a park ranger

Android 18: Android physiology and how to raise a strong child

   U1 1st

U12 2nd

U5 3rd

U8 4th

U11 5th

U2 6th

U3 7th

U10 8th

U4 9th

U7 10th

U6 11th

U9 12th

  NEW! Travel abroad to other universes and learn their values.

 Universe 1: “We are one.”

With the symbol of the wise owl, this universe has the highest mortal level (harmony) of all the universes. Meet Iwan, the god of Destruction, Awamo the Angel and Anat, the Supreme Kai. Our universe has a vast collection of books and tablets filled with knowledge from ancient to modern times. Learn the secrets of true harmony and the ways to hinder violence and bias. Our Universe is closest to the divine, so you may get a chance to interact with the Grand Priest and even Zeno-sama. Our Supreme Kai/Core Persons are the most organized in all the universes.

 Universe 2: “Love is always in the air!”

The symbol of this universe is the eye of Horus, representing our love for Egyptian mythology as well as harmony. Meet the beautiful Goddess of Destruction Jerez and her angel attendant Sour and the Supreme Kai, Pell. Learn about our lovely warriors of our universe, featuring our trio of magical girls and guys. Ribranne explains the art of her transformations and her fellow warriors have graciously agreed to perform dances for tours! If you ever want to find true love, need relationship advice, or are plain lonely, our people will give you all the support you need. (Also, don’t miss our Valentine’s Day extravaganza and Sailor Moon movie night.)

 Universe 3: “Fix it if it’s broken; if not, improve it!”

Welcome to the most technologically advanced universe in the galaxy. Mule, the God of Destruction explains the workings of his robotic suit. Camparri is the angel and the Supreme Kai is Ka. Meet Castopersa, a member of our police force and a participant in the Tournament of Power. We make all sorts of efficient gadgets that would leave the technology-oriented Tuffles speechless! Feel free to sign up for our science studies program…engineers are always in high demand.

 Universe 4: “Conspiracies and secrets galore…hide them no more…in Universe 4!”

Our people will do anything to emerge victorious, consequences need not apply. Quitela is our God of Destruction, Cognac our Angel, and Kuru our Supreme Kai. Join us for an exclusive interview with our warriors, including the seductive Caway, Damon, our shrinking member, Gamisaras who can turn invisible, and many more. Have something to sell on the Black Market? Are you secretly plotting to influence the world? We got you covered, 100% guaranteed. Just come on over to our Universe and see the amazing things we have to offer!

 Universe 5: “Balance is key.”

Our Universe represents Ying and Yang at its finest. As a Universe with one of the highest mortal levels, we are committed to being the best we can be. Arak is our God of Destruction, interests include peaceful meditation. Cukatail is our Angel and Ogma is our Supreme Kai.

 Universe 6: “Giving up is never an option.”

Champa is our God of Destruction, Vados is our Angel, and Fuwa is our Supreme Kai. In our Universe, you’ll get to experience an alternate world where the Saiyans become protectors and Planet Salada still survives. You may get a chance to encounter His Majesty King Salada (who was better than King Vegeta ever was). Meet our Saiyan fighters Cabba, Caulifla and Kale as they share their stories from Salada. Hit is our legendary time breaker and assassin. Frost can be a cheater, but he’s still a great fighter. We also have robot fighters, but be sure to be nice.

Update: Our Earth has been restored thanks to the God of Universe 7. Now let’s hope that the mortals there don’t get into fights again.

 Universe 7: “This land was made for you and me.”

Beerus is our God of Destruction, Whis is our Angel and Shin is our Supreme Kai. Here is where the events of Dragon Ball Z and Super took place. Also, we are the Universe that won the Tournament of Power due to our teamwork and determination. Meet Goku, Vegeta, Androids 17 and 18, Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and many other great individuals. (But don’t meet Frieza, he’s evil).

  Universe 8: “Dignity in Diligence.”

Work hard, play hard. No other Universe puts in more effort than ours! Liqueur is our fox God of Destruction, Korn is our Angel and Iru, our Supreme Kai.

 Universe 9: “Our bark is worse than our bite!”

Our Universe may be barren, but that doesn’t stop us from surviving! Sidra is our God of Destruction, Mojito is our Angel and Ro is our Supreme Kai. Bergamo, Basil, and Lavender are three warrior wolves and our finest fighters. Weakness is not tolerated here, so survival of the fittest does apply. Here we forge brotherly bonds to help us survive the harsh and violent climate we live in.

 Universe 10: “Muscle is Might!”

Come visit our marvelous Universe and meet the strongest fighters in all the realms. Rumush is our pink elephant God of Destruction, Kusu is our Angel and Gowasu is our Supreme Kai. (Be sure to bring him tea if you see him. And don’t mention the traitor Zamasu). If you think you have what it takes, join our boot camp and see what our fighters face each day.

 Universe 11: “Strength is absolute, but Justice is for all.”

Justice is more than just a concept. Here in Universe 11, we believe that everyone deserves equal treatment…and the proper punishment when necessary. Vermond is our clown God of Destruction (who has his own group of harem woman), Marcarita is our Angel, and Cae is our Supreme Kai. Come join us for an exclusive interview with the Pride Troopers and the strongest mortal in the world: Jiren!

   Universe 12: “Be the Ultimate Being.”

Meet Giin, our aquatic God of Destruction, but be sure to treat him with respect. Martinu is our Angel and Ag is our Supreme Kai. Learn about a mortal who used a time machine from one of our civilizations. Our Universe has the second highest mortal rating…and you won’t be disappointed. Travel and stay in our futuristic Atlantis city, visit our oceans and learn aquatic techniques to cleanse your mind, body, and soul. If Giin decides to be ruthless and conquer other worlds, don’t take it personally.

[architectuul]

Photographers: Ricardo Oliveira Alves

Architectural photographer and architect Ricardo Oliveira Alves comes from Lisbon. He already contributed his Forgotten Masterpieces and has many more to share via Architectuul’s Pinterest Board. 

How did you started with architectural photography?

Although I acquired my first camera at the age of 14 and photographing ever since, the architecture training gave me not only technical but also cognitive tools. Architectural photography is something that comes up as an extension of the professional activity and one of the main reasons to be succeeded is due to that knowledge. 

I began with architecture photography when I worked with Samuel Torres de Carvalho. Himself, a great lover of art and a great photographer, pushed me to shoot his works. 

What is the role of photography in architecture?

It remains the most inexpensive and effective way to communicate architecture as holds the value of being an immediate and agile way to bring architecture to people. This is extremely important because it creates a contact with quality architecture, realizing the importance and reason why hiring an architect. The main objective of photography is to communicate, a photographer is therefore an ambassador of architectural dissemination. 

The Wall House is like a wall in a Castle built in concrete, glass and wood.

It is highly reductive to think that one can summarize architecture in photography. Architecture is complex in so many ways, the scent of wood, the density of air, space temperature, the sound of the wider versus tight spaces, the warmness or coldness of light according to the time of the day. These aspects are lost when observing a photo in a two-dimensional way. Therefore I always try to register reality as pure and beautiful as I see, hear and feel.

How do you work; which is your approach?

My work is quite simple and direct. The opportunity to plan photo sessions is quite rare because of tight schedules. In many cases I am the first to enter a built project after being completed, sometimes even before its owners. 

I register space in its natural light, identifying its best qualities. In post-production your senses start to materialize, but our memory can deceive us regarding colors or lights intensity. What matters is to create a tuned sound, like an orchestra tuned in the right rhythm.

What are the difficulties?

Managing a company is not easy because you have to deal with many bureaucracies. The most complicated is marketing, customer acquisition and working out the strategies to reach clients with whom you intend to work. 

The Siza’s Tea House creates a conversation between nature and people in a dialogue through space, experience and materiality. 

There’s insufficient discussion about image licensing. It turns out that fees, applied to image usage endings, are always a theme. As a result the feeling that our work is not recognized gets reinforced. Because clients are paying for our work, they think to possess it and can do whatever they want, share it with whomever they want to. 

Tree Snake Houses by Luís and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade are away from pre-established concepts associated with the modular construction.

There is a lack of reflection about the financial effort and investment applied in professional material, cameras, lenses, ultra-powerful computers, calibrated monitors, backup discs. Other element that doesn’t help the professionals is the lack of cooperation and deontological code between the photographers themselves, causing great inconvenience to the ones that make their living based on photography and video of architecture alone. Prices keep coming down as new photographers arrive in the market practicing prohibitive fees and in such way destroying the market.

What are you currently working on?

You can reach an exhibition of my work at the Galeria Trema, representing me since 2017. Three years ago I came up with the urge to realize some different approaches to my work. I wanted to materialize photography into a last longing physical piece, something that could be a step towards a return to photographic imagery contemplation. My art pieces are large format photos, printed in black and white upon alucobond (brushed aluminum plates). 

The experience went well and took a direction that has led me to the Venice Architecture Biennial 2016, India (IAD18) and Rome, where I donated my art piece to Pope Francis. 

The presence of House Colares defines the plot with sharpe white edges.  

Quite recently I shot CTT- Portuguese mail facilities, now I’m registering facilities for OGMA, the aeronautics maintenance repair company. These clients want material for corporate and commercial purposes and I can learn new things from these type of spaces and functions.

The concrete structures of Gulbenkian Museum are separated but on the other hand interconnected pathways. 

What is your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from each space I get to know. There’s a dialectic process between me and the space, a silent dialog that passes on elements to my senses as the relation gets stronger when I dive into the project. It is like someone you just met and you want to know better because conquers your heart. Of course one must be willing to see or look for the best of it.

The Gulbenkian Museum design includes two wings in a T shaped format.

My other inspiration is cinema. I love cinema and animation, it’s the source from where I get my main references. For example from Kubrik’s or Miyazaki’s movies. And the amazing work of incredible photographers like Ezra Stoller and Ansel Adams keeps on being an inspiration as well.

Ricardo Oliveira Alves is based in Lisbon, Portugal. Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Vimeo

[rimurutempest-bounced]

Fire Emblem Heroes Ask Meme 1, 4, 13, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30

1. fave unit: mgrima or green tome soren

4. fave banner: the first tellius banner, for sure

13. fave character art: nephanee, tibarn, lucius, fallen takumi, reyson, mgrima, exalt chrom, and vanguard ike. so far, at least.

18. animations off these days. i kept them on for a while, but the flashing is too much now.

19. healers or dancers, healers ig, but mostly neither? i love using lucius and halloween mia in brigades though.

24. fave characters i've discovered from heroes: i like loki and hríd? i still don't really care about anyone from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 12, and i know everyone else. ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯

25. least fave unit to pull: wrys, luke, frederick, virion, gunter, sheena, arthur, cecelia, merric, niles, azama, jakob, reinhardt, jagen, hinata, ogma, siegbert... mostly gunter, if i can only pick one

26. fave heroes oc: hríd(im gay) and gunnthrá(she deserved better)

28. what unit have i never pulled that i want: yune!!!!!!!! spring soren, keaton, kaden, tanith, velouria, idunn, naga

30. unit i want added to heroes: lehran, altina, soan, dheginsea, heather, volug, kurthnaga, elena, emmeryn, say'ri, awakening anna, xane, valbar, mila, ashunera, ashera, almedha, ilyana, older sanaki(cipher/concept), risen king chrom, jill, rhys, ulki, janaff, gangrel, orochi, dwyer, mitama, forrest, candace, lilith, luthier, silque, tatiana, marcia, vika, rafiel, kyza, skrimir, lyre, giffca, ena, nasir, gareth, volke, bastian, new adult tiki alt, kyle, forde, artur, cormag, tethys, gerik, ewan, knoll, saleh, rennac, colm, neimi, ross, ismaire, selena, glen, duessel, morva, fomortiis, rath, guy, nils, heath, athos, bramimond, leila, young zephiel, guinevere, eleanora, elbert, sonia, limstella, ephidel, uhai, merlinus, chad, dorothy, vaida, elffin, hugh, lalum, echidna, igrene, sword saint karel, cath, niime......there are still so many great characters and if they're gonna give us more alts instead of introducing any of the dozens of excellent designs and personalities they still haven't gotten to, they could at least make them interesting and worth while alts.

sorry, that wound up being a lot! thank you anon!

[ogmacomic]

I love your kobold-related things. Would it be alright for me to use the concepts in a small campaign I'm planning to run in the summer? It's just with a few friends, but I wanted to ask permission first

Sure thing! So long as you credit us and spread the love of OGMA.Also, please be nice to the kobolds.

[ogmaitconceptionspvtltd]

Advantages Of Hiring PhoneGap Developers In India

You can hire a PhoneGap developer for cross-stage application development. You can do it by encouraging the development of versatile apps. It can run on various stages at the same time. PhoneGap is a multi-stage versatile application advancement. It allows you to overcome the obstacles in the systems of various mobile OS vendors. Ogma Conceptions have a Phone Gap Cordova app development team who help clients. Clients are from the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. They are also from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Italy, India. They are also from many other countries that make most of Adobe Phone Gap. Our years of experience with Apache Cordova, were before known as PhoneGap. Other Phone Gap options are in hybrid mobile app development frameworks. It has enabled us to take on cross-platform development projects of any size.

Discover The Different Prospects and Advantages Of Hiring Efficient PhoneGap Developers

Unravel the different advantages of hiring efficient PhoneGap developers for your brand.

Development of PhoneGap Apps

Using the recent technologies and trends, we create customized and feature-rich PhoneGap Apps. Do this to meet the needs of your business.

Integration of PhoneGap Apps

We, at Ogma Conceptions, put your Phone Gap apps as part of our integration services. Integrate your Phone Gap app with cutting-edge alternatives.

UI/UX Design for PhoneGap App

We create appealing and simple Phone Gap app UI / UX designs. We do it to provide an easy-to-navigate and functional app for your app users.

PhoneGap App Support

We, at Ogma Conceptions, ensure that your app will continue to function for a long time. We offer maintenance and support for the Phone Gap applications that we have built.

Consultation for PhoneGap Apps

Do you have an app idea that you want to develop into a strong app? Get personalized advice from our advisors at Ogma Conceptions in the PhoneGap app.

Use PhoneGap Developers

Hire our dedicated developers on an hourly, monthly. You can also do it on a fixed-fee basis, on-site or off-site. Collaborate with the most knowledgeable and experienced Phone Gap app designers.

Unveil the different advantages of Phone Gap app development.

Perform more with less effort:

Entrepreneurs will need to spend less money on the development. Developers will complete single projects with less effort. You can hire Phone Gap developers to create a single portable application. It will run on all the major versatile stages available. This viewpoint creates a win-win situation for both entrepreneurs and developers.

Supporting cell phone pillars:

You can hire a PhoneGap developer to take advantage of a cell phone's equipment. These include a camera, accelerometer, geolocation, and so on. It intends to provide your clients with an excellent user experience.

Cross-stage consistency:

Phone Gap app developers can address this issue by giving applications consistent emotion. They can do it across all stages. It was doubtful that an app intended for the iOS stage would have different operations. They would do it from one intended for the Android stage.

Establishment on HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript:

Phone Gap has a programmed introduction. It is because it utilizes client-side innovations like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. As a result, a product development organization can make the best use of assets. They can do it for available in local development centres.

Do You Know The Outcome Of Hiring PhoneGap Developers At Ogma Conceptions?

Developing a cross-platform with PhoneGap is less expensive than developing many native apps. This is so for different operating systems. Phone Gap is an open-source and free framework for developing cross-platform applications. It is simple to begin developing hybrid applications with PhoneGap. PhoneGap supports the development of mobile apps. They do it on eight different platforms. These include iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, WebOS, Symbian, Bada, and Tizen. Creating PhoneGap mobile apps entails creating a single codebase. It runs on many platforms for mobile apps. Many people appreciate this adaptability. Get a hybrid app that still has the speed, look, feel, and functionality of a native app. It is so with the development of Phone Gap apps. Also, receive testing and migration of Phone Gap apps. You can also do PhoneGap Game Development and Development of PhoneGap Plugins here. You can also track the development of PhoneGap API for your brand! Hence, hire Phone Gap developers from Ogma Conceptions! Notice the significant evolution in the rate of returns for your brand!

[emblemtried]

dark things about archanea:

the entire concept of fe12′s bad end. tiki has to be killed, or her destructive power will rival even medeus. medeus isn’t slain and soon after fully reincarnates, meaning marth has to go through a third round of all this.

even if the four clerics are rescued, theres no guarantee much of the archanean league actually survives a third go round with medeus.

xane and gotoh??? just as individuals???? we don’t know if gotoh has the same powers as xane but we do know that he also threw away his dragonstone

also wyverns? in archanea? the remnants of a dragon tribe that went completely feral 8D

also the rarely-discussed fact that caeda rescued ogma from slavery

[dutchpagan]

Ogham - an introduction

So I may be Dutch, but there's interesting things to learn from all over the world and from all kinds of cultures. I've always had a love of the Irish ogham letters - probably since they're strongly connected to popular Celtic paganism, and to tree lore. Here's an introduction to the Ogham I wrote some years ago, that I think is still pretty accurate. Please let me know if you've any comments or questions!

---

History About ten years ago I came across a book called Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamires. Now, I’m interested in Celtic stuff, and I love tree and mysteries, so this was the right book for me. Through this book (which in my humble opinion is quite a good start if you want to learn more about this subject) I learned about the Ogham alphabet. This early medieval Irish alphabet has become quite popular in modern Celtic Pagan and Druid circles, mostly as a means of divination, but also for other magical purposes.

As I said, the alphabet is early medieval Irish. It might have been developed when the first Christians came to Ireland and brought the concept of writing with them, but there is no actual proof of that. We have about 400 known inscriptions on stones, most of them names. The functions of these stones is unclear, but most researchers are of the opinion that they mark borders. Other uses of Ogham have been found in manuscripts, and these provide more insight.

Contemporary information on the Ogham is sparse; what has been written about it can be read in high medieval and late medieval manuscripts. These manuscripts are: The Book of Leinster (12th century) The Book of Ballymote (1391) The Book of Lecan (1416)

These manuscripts refer to older sources: The Scholar’s Primer, The Values of the Forfeda and the Book of Ogham. The Scholar’s Primer says that Ogham was only to be used by learned men – would they be monks or druids? The act of reading and writing was very elite in the early Middle Ages, so we can be sure that the average Irish farmer wouldn’t have been very familiar with Ogham.

The exact origin of Ogham isn’t known, but there some interesting myths and stories have been written down. In one of the manuscripts we find a legend about the origin of the Ogham: it was developed by Fenius Farsaidh, with the help of Goidel Mac Etheoir and Iar Mac Nema and a whole host of scholars. After the destruction of the Biblical Tower of Babel, Fenius went to search for the letters all over the world that together would make the most perfect language. Each letter was named after a linguist who best devoted his time to this task. Note that ‘Gaelic’ or ‘Goidelic’ (the name of the Irish language) comes from Goidel Mac Etheoir, one of the scholars that developed Ogham.

Apart from this legend, another link has been made by modern scholars with the Celtic Irish god Ogma, who may be compared to the Celtic Gallic god Ogmios. The names of these gods seem connected to Ogham (which, by the way, means something like ‘idea’ or ‘notion’). The Romans liked to compare foreign gods with their own gods and they dubbed Ogmios the ‘Celtic Hercules’, or at least an older version of their Hercules. According to these Roman sources, Ogmios was depicted as an old but strong man with one end of a chain through his tongue, the other end being attached to the ears of an eager public. This has been explained as the power of eloquence, or the power of words, in which the strength of this god lies. There is no direct connection between Ogham and Ogma/Ogmios, but could there be a divine element to the development of Ogham, keeping this part of mythology in mind?

Purpose and meaning The ancient Celts were mostly an illiterate people. It was the Roman world, and Christianity after that, that brought the written word to those parts in Europe that apparently had no use for it before. This is also the reason why we use the letters we have today instead of systems like the Ogham. Our letters are derived from Roman scripture, and more directly from the letters in medieval manuscripts (especially those made under Charlemagne). To be honest, Ogham isn’t a very practical script – so what was it used for?

Based on where the Ogham has been found, it appears that this alphabet had a few specific uses. First of all, as has already been noted above, Ogham has been found on standing stones, or monoliths. They are said to mark borders, and by doing that they also marked someone’s property. This might also be the reason why mostly names and short phrases (‘of the clan of x’, etc.) are found on these stones, instead of actual texts. There could also be some cryptic message in all this, since not many people were actually able to read Ogham, even in that time – but as far as I know this has been lost. Ogham that has been found in manuscripts seems to have a different function. It has mostly the purpose of learning, remembering and making connections.

But there are also certain stories in which the Ogham has a more magical purpose. From these old sagas we learn that Ogham was not only written down on stone, but also on wood. This is a material that doesn’t last, so there is no physical evidence, but it seems plausible that this was actually done in reality. There is even one instance where Ogham is written on metal. In the Book of Leinster we find an medieval legend in which an Ogham text on an iron ring around a stone says: ‘Whoever comes to this meadow, if he is armed, he is forbidden to leave this meadow without requesting single combat.’ The only thing stopping someone from simply leaving the meadow without a fight is the text itself – therefore it must hold some magical power. The semi-divine hero Cú Chulainn has another solution; he throws the stone away, with ring and all. In another instance, Cu Chulainn gives a small wooden spear to the king of Alba (Scotland) inscribed with Ogham – it says that the king is allowed to take Cú Chulainn’s seat at the court of Ulster.

There is slight evidence of the use of Ogham as divination in Irish myth, and this is what Ogham is used for today by many Celtic Pagans and Druids. In an Irish legend, a druid writes down Ogham letters on yew sticks and then uses them for divination, but it gives no further details.   Nowadays, what is most popular is to make a branch for every letter and then use this set of branches in several ways. This can be done by blindly drawing one or several sticks and then interpret the meaning of the letter(s). Another way is to throw the branches on ‘Finn’s Window’ (based on the round diagram that can be seen on the parchment page from the Book of Ballymote here depicted) and draw a meaning from how the branches fall.

The technical details So, after reading all this, you’re probably wondering what this Ogham alphabet actually looks like. I’m not a linguist, but I’ll give you an outlining that’ll hopefully give you more insight. The Ogham Alphabet doesn’t have the sort of letters that we are familiar with. Its essence is lines; smaller lines that are placed in a series across a longer line. Ogham can be found on standing stones, where this line goes from bottom to top (and from top to bottom on the other side) . It can also be found in parchment manuscripts, where it goes from left to right. The notches on the long line, the actual letters, are called feda, which means ‘wood’. Is this just a figural way of speaking, since the long vertical line on a stone with the notches on each side does sort of look like a tree?  Or is there more behind this? I don’t know this – then again, I can’t actually read Old Irish, excepts for the few words that are needed to understand the Ogham alphabet, so perhaps someone else can help me out here. On to the letters and their order:

B  L  F  S  N  H  D  T  C  Q  M G  nG St R A  O  U  E  I  EA  Oi  Ui  iO  AE

That makes 25 letters, of which the last five letters (the so called forfeda) were added at later times – so it appears the oldest version of Ogham had twenty letters.

Keeping these twenty letters in mind, there are four families/series, or aicmí (plural of aicme), that each contain five letters: Aicme Beithe, Aicme hÚatha, Aicme Muine, and Aicme Ailme. Note also that a neat quarter of these letters is a vowel and three quarters exits of consonants.

There is some confusion about the order of the first five letters. In many texts it says BLFSN, but in some other text it says BLNFS. As far as I know, it was Robert Graves in his famous book The White Goddess, who used the sequence of BLNFS first. This has probably to do with the poetic and mythological value he added to each letter, and also with his introduction of the so-called Ogham Tree Calendar. [The tree calendar gives a certain period or time of the year for each letter, e.g. 24 December – 20 January for Beithe. This is a strictly modern invention, though that shouldn’t say everything about its value.] The White Goddess has had a huge influence on many modern pagan and witchcraft traditions, and I think that it’s from this source that the BLNFS-sequence has seeped into the modern use of the Ogham alphabet. However, it seems that more historically authentic sources stick to BLFSN, so that’s the sequence I’m sticking with, too.

Some note about individual letters: iO was original P – for some reason this letter was replaced in later times, leaving the alphabet without a proper P-sound. AE was originally X or CH.

The ‘Tree Alphabet’ So what about the name ‘tree alphabet’? Actually, the Ogham was also a bird alphabet, colour alphabet, river alphabet, etc. It appears that there were many systems that were used for remembering the letters of the Ogham alphabet. Of all these systems (several hundreds, they say), the tree system has been most popular since early times. So, every letter got a tree attached to it, and by memorizing the trees, one was able to memorize the letters. A mnemonic aid of some sorts. Then again, we can’t rule out a deeper, perhaps even magical, meaning for using such a system.

The meaning of the letters connected to the trees was further developed in the uses of kennings, or phrases, known as the Bríatharogham. Three of these lists are known: Bríatharogham Morainn Mac Moín (who was a human judge) Bríatharogham Mac Oengus (god) Bríatharogham Cú Chulainn (semi-divine hero, we’ve already noted him in connection to the Ogham) The translations of these kennings can be found below, under each individual letter.

The separate letters

Beithe Literal meaning: birch, (a) being Letter: B Tree: birch (beithe) Book of Ballymote: Now Beithe has been named from the Birch owing to its resemblance to the trunk of that tree. Of withered trunk, fair-haired the Birch. Word Ogham of Morainn: Faded trunk and fair hair/withered foot with fine hair. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Browed beauty, worthy of pursuit/beauty of the eyebrow. Word Ogham of Oengus: Most silver of skin/greyest of skin.

Luis Literal meaning: flame, herb Letter: L Tree: rowan (caertheand) Book of Ballymote: Luis is named from Mountain Ash (caertheand) as it is the old Gaelic name for rowan. [Delightful] for eyes is Mountain Ash owing to the beauty of its berries. Word Ogham of Morainn: Delight of eye, quicken-tree; to whit, the flame/luster of the eye. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Strength of cattle/sustenance of cattle. Word Ogham of Oengus: Friend of cattle.

Fearn Literal meaning: alder Letter: F Tree: alder (fearn) Book of Ballymote: Fearn, Alder, the van of the warrior band for thereof are the shields. Word Ogham of Morainn: Shield of warrior bands, owing to their redness/vanguard of warriors. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Protection of the heart, a shield/protection of the heart. Word Ogham of Oengus: Guarding of milk, or milk bucket/milk container.

Saille Literal meaning: willow Letter: S Tree: Willow (saille) Book of Ballymote: Tthe colour of a lifeless one that is, it has no colour, owing to the resemblance of the colour to a dead person. Word Ogham of Morainn: Hue of the lifeless/pallor of a lifeless one. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Beginning of loss, willow/beginning of honey. Word Ogham of Oengus: Strength of bees/sustenance of bees.

Nion Literal meaning: branch fork, loft Letter: N Tree: ash (uinnius) Book of Ballymote: Nion, Ash-tree, a check on peace is Nion for of it are made the spear-shafts by which the peace is broken. Word Ogham of Morainn: Checking of peace/establishing of peace. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Flight of beauty, a weaver’s beam/boast of beauty. Word Ogham of Oengus: The flight of women/boast of women.

hUuath Literal meaning: horror, fear Letter: (silent) H Tree: white thorn Book of Ballymote: A meet of hounds is Huath (whitethorn), or because it is formidable owing to its thorns. Word Ogham of Morainn: Pack of wolves/assembly of pack of hounds. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Difficult night, hawthorn/most difficult at night. Word Ogham of Oengus: Whitening of face/blanching of faces.

Duir Literal meaning: oak Letter: D Tree: oak (duir) Book of Ballymote: Duir, Oak, higher than bushes is an oak. Word Ogham of Morainn: highest of bushes/highest tree Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Kneeling work, bright and shining work/most carved of craftmanship Word Ogham of Oengus: Craft work/handicraft of a craftsmanship.

Tinne Literal meaning: metal bar, ingot. Letter: T Tree: holly (cuileand) Book of ballymote: A third of a wheel is Tinne, because holly is one of the three timbers of the chariot wheel. Word Ogham of Morainn: Third of a wheel/one of three parts of a wheel. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: A third of weapons, an iron bar/one of three parts of a weapon. Word Ogham of Oengus: Fires of coal/marrow of (char)coal.

Coll Literal meaning: hazel Letter: C Tree: hazel (coll) Book of Ballymote: Coll, that is everyone is eating of its nuts. Word Ogham of Morainn: Fairest of trees/fairest tree. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Sweetest of woods, a nut/sweetest tree. Word Ogham of Oengus: Friend of cracking/friend of nutshells

Quert Literal meaning: bush Letter: Q Tree: apple (aball) Book of Ballymote: Shelter of a wild hind is is Quert, that is, an apple tree. Word Ogham of Morainn: Shelter of a hind, lunatic or death/sense [the time when a lunatic’s sense comes back to him]/shelter of a lunatic. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Excellent emblem, protection/dregs of clothing. Word Ogham of Oengus: Force of a man/substance of an insignificant person.

Muin Literal meaning: not certain – neck, ruse/trick, love/esteem Letter: M Tree: vine (finemhain) Book of Ballymote: Highest of beauty is Muin, that is, because it grows aloft. That is, a vine-tree. Word Ogham of Morainn: Highest of beauty, strongest of effort, Muin equals back of man or ox for it is they in existence that are strongest as regards effort./strongest in exertion. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Pack of wolves with spears, three vines/path of the voice. Word Ogham of Oengus: The condition of slaughter/proverb of slaughter.

Gort Literal meaning: field (as in: garden) Letter: G Tree: ivy (edind) Book of Ballymote: Gort, that is ivy, greener than pastures is ivy. Word Ogham of Morainn: Greenest of pastures, sweeter than grasses, due to associations with corn fields/sweetest grass. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Pleasing oil, corn/sating of multitudes. Word Ogham of Oengus: Size of a warrior/suitable place for cows.

nGetal Literal meaning: slaying Letter: nG Tree: broom (cilcach) Book of Ballymote: nGetal, broom or fern, a physician’s strength is broom. Word Ogham of Morainn: A physician’s strength, panacea equals broom/sustenance of a leech. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: beginning of heroic deeds, healing/beginning of slaying. Word Ogham of Oengus: Robe of physicians/raiment of physicians.

Straiph, Literal meaning: sulphur Letter: St Tree: blackthorn (draighin) Book of Ballymote: The hedge of a stream is straiph, that is, blackthorn. Word Ogham of Morainn: Careful effort, strongest of red, straiph equals sloe which gives strong red dye on metal/strongest reddening (dye). Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: An arrow’s mist, smoke drifting up from the fire/seeking of clouds. Word Ogham of Oengus: Increasing of secrets/increase of secrets.

Ruis Literal meaning: red Letter: R Tree: elder (trom) Book of Ballymote: The redness of shame is Ruis, that is, elder. Word Ogham of Morainn: intensest of blushes, it I reddening of a man’s face through the juice of the herb being rubbed on it/most intense blushing. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Arduous anger, punishment/glow of anger. Word Ogham of Oengus: redness of faces/reddening of faces.

Ailm Literal meaning: pine (?) Letter: A Tree: fir or pine Book of Ballymote: Ailm, a fir tree, a pine tree. Word Ogham of Morainn: Loudest of groanings, that is, wondering. Ailm or A for that is what a man says while groaning in disease or wonder/loudest groan. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Beginning of the weaver’s beams, ahh/beginning of calling. Word Ogham of Oengus: Beginning of answers/beginning of an answer.

Onn Literal meaning: ash-tree Letter: O Tree: furze (aiten) Book of Ballymote: Onn that is furze. Word Ogham of Morainn: Helper of horses, wheels of a chariot, equally wounding; whin/wounder of horses. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Strength of warriors, fierceness/[equipment]  of warriorbands. Word Ogham of Oengus: Gentlest of work/smoothest of craftsmanship.

Ur Literal meaning: earth, clay, soil Letter: U Tree: heather (fraech) Book of Ballymote: Ur, that is heath. Word Ogham of Morainn: Terrible tribe, in cold dwellings; mould of the earth, or heath/in cold dwellings. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Completion of lifelessness, the grave/shroud of a lifeless one. Word Ogham of Oengus: Growing of plants/propagation of plants.

Edhad Literal meaning: unknown Letter: E Tree: aspen (crithach) Book of Ballymote: Horrible grief, that is, test tree or aspen. Word Ogham of Morainn: Distinguished man or wood/discerning tree. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Kinsman to the birch, aspen/brother of birch (?) Word Ogham of Oengus: Additional name for a friend/exchange of friends.

Idhad Literal meaning: yew-tree (?) Letter: I Tree: yew (idhad) Book of Ballymote: Yew. Word Ogham of Morainn: Oldest of woods, service tree, yes/oldest tree Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: strength or colour of a sick man, people or an age/energy of an infirm person. Word Ogham of Oengus: Abuse for an ancestor or pleasing consent/fairest of the ancients.

Ebad Literal meaning: unknown Letter: EA Tree: apsen (critchach) Word Ogham of Morainn: Fair-swimming letter. Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Fairest fish. Word Ogham of Oengus: [admonishing?] of an infirm person.

Óir Literal meaning: gold Letter: OI Tree: spindle-tree or ivy (feorus, edind) Word Ogham of Morainn: Most venerable substance. Word Ogham of Oengus: Splendour of form.

Uillen Literal meaning: elbow Letter: UI Tree: honeysuckle (edleand) Word Ogham of Morainn: Fragnant tree. Word Ogham of Oengus: Great elbow/cubit.

Iphín Literal meaning: spine, thorn (?) Letter: IO Tree: gooseberry or thorn (spinan, ispin) Word Ogham of Morainn: Sweetest tree. Word Ogham of Oengus: Mostwonderful taste.

Emancholl Literal meaning: twin of hazel Letter: AE Word Ogham of Morainn: Groan of a sick person. Word Ogham of Oengus: Groan of a sick person