#by just going “conceived from a place beyond mortality”

[maleficore]

Trying to come up with a more or less lore-accurate and believable way for baby Durge to be sprung into existence makes me want to tear my hair out

[katakaluptastrophy]

This is your semi-regular reminder that for all that he very much leans into being 'just a guy', John Gaius is a horribly unsettling and disturbing eldritch entity who has not been entirely human for 10,000 years:

As the world went up I remade us both. I hid me in you... I hid you in me. And when we were together... I became God..

We're repeatedly told how uncanny Alecto was. And how terribly ordinary-looking John is...but how deeply, deeply upsetting his eyes are to behold. They're repeatedly described as "monstrous" (on one occasion, directly before John jokes "I'm not a monster"), as well as "terrible", "like dead planets", "primordial", "chthonic", "inconceivable", and "deeply fucked up".

There are multiple descriptions of how his down to earth persona suddenly falls away and he can be seen as something infinitely more awful:

"terrible divinity clung to his skin"

"It was the first time that he had seemed at all mortal. Humanity touched him briefly, like a passing shadow"

"He was no longer human. He was immortal again"

"He was always somehow more alive than everyone else around him, and yet dislocated from what you considered living. A man-shaped eclipse."

"The Emperor of the Nine Houses - the Resurrection - the First Reborn - sat at the end of the table, his plain face splattered with gore, and his eyes were the death of light."

There's one moment in particular where Harrow perceives him as something vastly beyond human:

his great immortal age - of an enormous distance between you, of an ignition too bright for you to conceive. You were an insect standing before a forest fire. You were a cell holding a heart.

(Though of course Harrow herself is far from metaphysically straightforward - in the River, Gideon says "You were a sigil: you were an intermingled fire...you were a hunger without a stomach...")

When John describes Resurrection Beasts to Harrow - although we do not yet know that this is a confession of murder and of a sort of cannibalism by a part man, part planet - he is "lit from beneath by electric lighting, the gleam in his eyes black and wet. You caught him moistening his lips with the tip of his tongue."

Even when he's not obviously being an eldritch thing, his very normal crown of foetal bones moves on its own, and the white rings in his eyes are described as flickering. Even blithely sitting in a Cohort Admiralty meeting munching peanuts, John is in constant, unsettling motion.

As if that doesn't already sound unpleasant enough, it seems rather like there is something physically discomforting about making eye contact with John. Looking on those white rings is likened to "dying" and "a migraine", and described as "scalding".

It still hurt you a little, to look into his terrible eyes... You had never become used to it.

Making eye contact with John doesn't just cause physical pain. It also seems to open you up to some degree of suggestion or compulsion. Here's Gideon's description of making eye contact with John:

God looked at me...and held my gaze. It was this that pinned us in place. When those white rings hovered on someone else, the blood rushed back to your brain; when they flickered back to me, I went white and blank again, mute and stupid, a floating outline... Those white-ringed eyes closed, and your heart almost relaxed in your chest.

Which seems to place two incidents that otherwise might be explained as Harrow's difficulty refusing the man she has been raised to worship as god in a different light:

It still hurt you in an undefinable way, to see him lowered so: as though he offered a compliance test where you ought to flatten yourself in front of him as low as you could go. The white ring around his pupil was so white.

He looked at you as though he were glad to see you... some nameless softening in his face and those white-tinged, primordial eyes. He reached out for your hands. You could not refuse him, and in any case had no choice of doing so; your body reacted long before your mind did, and the meat of your meat and the flesh of your flesh belonged to God

I don't think we're nearly frightened enough of John... Or of the prospect of John and Alecto - the man who became god and the god who became man - reunited (even if at odds) in ATN...

[eldritch-spouse]

On a scale from 1 to 10, how shocked would Dorem be if you actually managed to make Limbo independent. Giving him the chance to finally retire

11 on the scale of shock. But there's a lot more going on internally than just shock.

Of course, he's flabbergasted that a mere mortal like you not only has retained enough knowledge to know how to make a difference in this matter, he's shocked that you're selfless enough to do this, to fix a problem that has nothing to do with you, to make the world genuinely a better place at a level most other humans aren't even aware of. You are entirely abnormal, he sees traits in you that he hasn't seen in lessers for hundreds of years.

There's also a deep sense of humiliation. Dorem has failed. He's useless now, and he's effectively been replaced by an automated system put in place by a fucking human -no offense- of all things. This is beyond pathetic and he sincerely wishes a star would swallow him.

Ultimately, his life has truly ceased having a purpose now, so he's left not knowing what to do with it. At the same time that he loathes you for so coldlessly robbing him of a shred of meaning to his existence, he can't truly be furious, because you fixed a mess that he didn't have the drive to cure anymore. You are better than him, such is reality. Dorem arrives at the conclusion that you won't turn out like him, despairing under endless pressure to the point of nihilism.

But you are only human, and your little mind can only conceive of so much before your sanity takes a massive dive, making you dysfunctional. He decides then, bitter yet determined, that he'll have to oversee your state constantly. Whether you like it or not.

You cannot simply adopt this mantle and return to your previous mundane routines. You are now working with Dorem, for a goal far beyond whatever you claim is so important about your previous life.

You've chosen this. You've chosen him.

[thisisnotthenerd]

i need to get further into this because it’s plaguing my mind after the finale

there have been a couple of examples of divine casters in exandria who a) don’t worship the primes/betrayers (jester) or b) don’t draw their power from worship of a deity at all (zerxus).

why was there no change to the divine magics after the gods shed their immortality. why did divine intervention work. i’m talking in-world. what is it actually drawing on. the possibilities are fascinating.

domain

if it was a question of clerics being able to draw from domain rather than deity it would be one thing. divine intervention??

let’s pursue this line down a little further, shall we?

let’s say the gods leave their power to their domain as part of the ritual. what differentiates them from the domain in the first place? they were beings of light that took purpose with their flight from tengar. what makes their domains diffuse enough from them that they can leave them behind for their followers to pull on as they did before catatheosis?

if we assume a relationship that functions on an initial power base supplied/taught by a given god that is supplemented through collective prayer, why wouldn’t the loss of the initial power base change how the magic is performed?

predathos

and why wouldn’t the aspect that is supplied by prayer be considered food for predathos? what makes it different. why isn’t the luxon predathos food? why isn’t tharizdun? if the titans helped seal predathos and presumably would have been equally threatened, why couldn’t ashton and fearne be seen for their shards?

why build it up as a world-ending monster if it dispersed (relatively) peacefully when the gods took mortal form. no consequence for bringing it into exandria, no significant confrontation for the fact that it posed an unknown danger to the people of exandria. none of that was explained.

myths and cults and spells

on the other hand, the effect on faith.

a comparable story that’s told in hinduism is that of dashavatar: the ten avatars of vishnu. each story describes a moment of great crisis where vishnu chose to descend in mortal form and face the evils of the world. these stories speak of miracles, of great triumph over crisis. but there are also tales of humanity woven into them. a key trait of krishna is that he liked to steal curd and butter as a child.

in a world where gods are observable phenomena that have a tangible effect on the universe beyond the actions of their faithful? the myths would be insane. exandria is about to get hit with cults like no one’s ever seen before. holy war takes on another meaning when you could conceivably be fighting alongside the god whose name you fight in.

i suppose you could shift the definition of the class of cleric to be more about drawing from innate will and alignment with the tenets of a domain. but what makes them different from paladins in that case? what makes them different from divine soul sorcerers? what makes them different from wizards and bards beyond the casting stat, if instead of praying to anything, they’re drawing on an innate wisdom and affinity for a domain that they study and engage with over time? what makes the clerics different from warlocks?

also, divine healing is pretty clearly a major aspect of how the societies on exandria have developed. what is the actual source of the healing, and how can you match the role of clerics as healers if the source is no longer present?

could bards theoretically learn major healing spells through magical secrets? how can you pass that knowledge down? if the clerics of smaller deities are able to cast these spells (i.e. jester), how small could you go before the spells were powered purely on the faith of the caster alone?

do the restrictions on resurrection go away? ashton was resurrected with the casting of raise dead and the use of dunamancy, but none of the regular resurrection ritual aspects that we saw previously on critical role. do the spells just work now? is that related to the gods and their afterlives being separate?

back to my previous point: if clerics and paladins have their magic through belief and affinity for a domain, could you have an atheist cleric who gets their magic to work purely by believing in themself enough? i feel like that’s how you get cult leaders. zerxus was powered by his faith and commitment to redemption; but you could commit your faith to anything.

[bardic-tales]

oc-tober: day twelve: the future

Bianca is my most complex and developed character. I know exactly where I want her character arc to go: a hero-in training who embraces the darkened half of her soul.

In the future, Bianca's goals centers around her alignment with Sephiroth's grand vision of destruction and transcendence. As she embraces her own destiny as an agent of chaos and the destroyer of existence, itself, she is fully committed to bringing about the kilonova event that will annihilate the omniverse, resetting it and allowing a new creation to rise from its ashes. This was what Asmodeus conceived her for, but she will not be giving Asmodeus power: rather her love interest.

Her role is not just a participant of this event but a catalyst. As she embraces her destiny, she is committed to invoking 'Umbra Ascension', her ultimate ability that channels her raw energy into a kilonova. This act of cosmic destruction is not an end but a transformation, as she collapses reality and shapes it according to her will, setting the stage for a new creation to rise from the ashes with her and Sephiroth ruling side by side.

Beyond that goal, Bianca is driven by a broader plan to support Sephiroth's ambitions of merging with the Lifstream and striking the Planet with Meteor. She stands by his side -- most likely with Jenova along for the ride -- as he plans to ascend to a higher being, transforming the Planet into a vehicle of intersellar conquest.

Together, they seek to continue a cycle of destruction across different worlds, and now dimensions, bringing annihilation after annihilation, as she feels that humanity and other mortals have betrayed her and caused both great suffering to both Sephiroth and herself. They will only stop once they reach the Promised Land: most likely a place far beyond the constraints of a single dimension.

This vision is not an abstract dream for Bianca but a very concrete goal that she will achieve at all costs. It is fueled by her devotion to Sephiroth, her sense of justice for everything that had happened to them both, and the belief that their soul-bond can and will survive in the chaos that will come. In supporting Sephiroth and embracing her own destiny as the 'destroyer of existence', she hopes not to only attain power and purpose but also to fulfill the need to create a Omniverse where her fractured self is made whole.

NOTE: Sephiroth's goals are taken from his speech in Advent Children: What I want, Cloud, is to sail the cosmos with this planet as my vessel. Just as Mother did long ago. Then one day we'll find a new planet and on it's soil we'll create a shining future.

tagging fellow creators club to explain a little of Bianca's intentions: @themaradwrites @littleshopofchaos @serenofroses @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@nightingaleflow

[dailycharacteroption]

Planar Tour Guide: Positive Energy Plane part 4

(art by Nele-Diel on DeviantArt)

Adventuring

While the Positive Energy Plane is  a place of life and new genesis, it is tied with it’s negative counterpart as one of the most hazardous planes to actually try and visit, and one could argue either one beats the other out based on whether you think the oppressive hunger of The Void beats out the deceptive assumptions made by those who assume Creation’s Forge is benign just because it is made of raw healing energies.

Beyond the plane shift spell, parties need to have planar adaptation in their arsenal to even dare go to this plane, limiting it to mid to high-level storylines, though there are ways to get around this, namely involving natural portals and those rare pockets of minor positive dominance, but given how rare and small they are, such adventures are likely very location-based and short-lived at best.

But of course, with the plane itself (as well as many of the locals) being so hostile, one has to ask… what would a party of adventurers want with plane?

As mentioned in previous entries, The Furnace’s inhospitable nature makes it the perfect place to store things that a group of heroes don’t want falling into the wrong hands. Evil artifacts, the soul cages and dread armor of liches and graveknights respectively that they can’t yet destroy (which has the added benefit of trapping such undead on a plane so inhospitable to them that their cell is likely the only place they can exist in, if that), monstrous or divine prisoners, and so on. If bargained with properly, the jyoti can be made to agree to be the wardens of such things, though it might be tricky to convince them to give it back if the party needs it for plot reasons if said wardens think they cannot be trusted with it.

Speaking of which, another related reason to venture to the plane might be to extract said artifacts or prisoners, either to use them for personal or plot-relevant reasons or gain information from them, and so on. Naturally, the jyoti wardens of such assets are inclined to politely deny direct requests AFTER they’ve put a spear in your throat, so when need is great, a heist or raid may be what is needed to get the goods out.

For all its straightforward role in the cosmos, the Positive Energy Plane is abound with mysteries of it’s own, ranging from the half-forgotten history of the conflict with it’s denizens and the gods and/or the sceanduinar of the Negative Energy Plane, answers to great mysteries of how the cosmos functions (like, if the plane is an infinite source of quintessence and positive energy, why does the Antipode river feeding it exist? And so on. Not to mention scholarly beings such as manasaputra and the turuls might have rare collections of knowledge which the party may need to unlock some great mystery in their own journey.

Despite it’s destructive potential, the Positive Energy Plane is still a place of healing, and the most potent necromantic curses or blights might find their cure in this place, making it worth the risk for the desperate.

The plane’s role in the birthing of new souls means it is at least partially culpable in the existence of not just every hero, but every villain that has ever lived. As such, a prophecy of a birth of such a legendary figure might spur some to try and witness that soul being created, and either enjoy the event or maybe try to stop a great evil from being ever conceived, (or preventing someone else from doing so) but such an act brings into question a lot about morality, predestination, and nature vs nurture. All of which can be awful or fascinating depending on how it is approached.

Of course, sometimes Creation’s Forge comes to you instead of the other way around. While the jyoti rarely leave the plane, they might if some event on another plane demands it. Meanwhile, both manasaputra and turul alike have a long history of guiding and manipulating mortals, all of which may draw the party to the plane once the truth is revealed.

That’s a decent spread of hooks and suggestions there, but that will do for today. Tomorrow, we’ll wrap things up for the week with the conclusion! Look forward to it!

[markiafc]

to fulfill my promises to @ananeiah and to expound on @seventh-fantasy's post, there are many conceptions of enlightenment. because buddhism is a massive and old religion with a very robust canon, enlightenment goes by many names, it's articulated and imagined in many different ways. let's play the game of how many of them are adopted by the show...

popular metaphors that embody enlightenment include a refuge, a flame going out, or a firm island - because this world is often described as an ocean. all human beings are floating in the 生死苦海 sea of rebirth and suffering. to escape it, one must make their way to the island or to get on a boat. mahayana buddhism (aka. chinese buddhism) is literally named 大乘 the great vehicle, the primary idea being that enlightenment = to board a vehicle of transport, it will take you away. however, buddhism doesn't just envision this as an ambiguous vehicle. 乘 the vehicle specifically refers to a 船 boat.

the mortal world and the cycle of suffering is a sea and the way out is enlightenment, envisioned as a boat.

an extension of this is the concept of 彼岸 the faraway shore (alt tl: the further shore, the distant shore, the other shore, or at times the opposing shore). it draws on the same notion of 苦海 the ocean of suffering. to achieve enlightenment is to swim to shore, where there is finally safety and stability, free from suffering. this is why the euphemism for enlightenment is to 度到彼岸 reach the faraway shore.

此岸 this shore, is this ever-changing world full of agonies. you wade across the 苦海 sea of suffering, and reach 彼岸 the faraway shore. this is enlightenment.

as @seventh-fantasy depicts in this post, the final shot of ep 40, and as seen in the bonus ep 40.5, this is where llh is. ep 40 ends with the camera moving further into the distance, moving further into the sea. and the bonus ep 40.5 makes it clear again that lxy/llh has found his way to a different beach. llh has crossed the sea to another beach. he is on another shore, the 彼岸 faraway shore, far from 东海 the east sea where everyone else is.

let's look even closer at this.

enlightenment is also conceived as a place: 淨土 the pure lands, 极乐世界 the realm of greatest bliss, and so on. one of the geographical markers of this idea is 西 the west. this "land" accessible only to the enlightened (佛 buddhas, 菩萨 bodhisattvas, and 阿罗汉 arhats) is also dubbed 西方淨土 the western pure lands and 西天 the western heavens, etc.

enlightenment is imagined to be westwards. the opposite direction and away from 东海 dong hai = the east sea. where the story began and lxy famously plunged into; he fell into the 苦海 sea of suffering located in the 东 east. from this starting point, llh makes a meandering journey to his final location in the show. he makes his way 西 west, towards enlightenment, and reaches a 彼岸 faraway shore, the enlightened "after" and what is beyond.

now that we're on the topic of the pure lands, it's worth mentioning that this concept is furnished with a lot of descriptions in buddhist sutras. it is a beautiful, glorious land brimming with lotuses. because, of course, the lotus is yet another ubiquitous image that represents enlightenment.

the lotus position is crucial to the buddhist practice of prayer cultivation, especially in 禅宗 zen buddhism that is built around the central practice of prayer. lotuses are motifs in buddhist art, and buddhist myths (the legend goes that lotus flowers bloomed under the buddha's feet when he took his first steps as a child). people practicing buddhism are referred to as 莲友 lotus friends, 芬陀利花 the white lotus is a synonym for the buddha. lotuses are also integral to buddhist canon; the pure lands are detailed to have seven 宝莲池 treasure lotus ponds. every buddhist has their own lotus waiting for them in the pure lands; it is believed the more you cultivate, the more your bud in the pure lands grows/blooms.

of note, every living thing residing in the pure lands are made from lotuses. in fact, buddhist canon states that the enlightened are reborn inside a lotus bud, similar to an incubation. their new body is reconstituted from lotuses and they emerge anew when the bud blooms. crucially, it is also stated that every enlightened in the pure lands will have 莲花座 a lotus seat. this is a vehicle of transport, usually likened to the magic carpet from one thousand and one nights. it is described as 随心所欲、飞翔自在 something that acts after your heart's desire, something that flies free. the lotus seat is about boundless, freeing travel.

this isn't comprehensive at all, there are tons of other ways lotuses come up throughout buddhism. but the connection to the show is straightforward and self-explanatory. the primary motif in 莲花楼 mysterious lotus casebook is the lotus - a famous marker for buddhism itself. one of the dominant illustrations of enlightenment, the cultivation process to achieve it, and enlightened entities themselves.

the buddhist notions of rebirth are similarly heavily intertwined with the lotus. it is your body; you become it, it becomes you. from then on, you are surrounded by its image and its presence. you even have a lotus vehicle that becomes your main method of travel, a mode of travel defined by carefree contentment. sound familiar? llh's identity and his living carries major markers of enlightenment. it is one of the primary concerns of his character arc.

quick detour. a prominent moniker for enlightenment is the setting of the sun, as yet another epithet utilized by the drama.

detour over. crazy connections time.

discussions of death and suicide is, to my knowledge, particularly prominent in japanese buddhism. but as a whole, a significant portion of buddhist canon and a good number of buddhist media deals with this too. dying as a means to get closer to enlightenment, equating death and enlightenment, the subject of suicide itself. characters seemingly pass away and become enlightened, or characters strive for death with this express purpose as death is connected to enlightenment. this is true. one does not necessarily cause the other, but the concepts are interconnected in buddhism. it comes hand in hand, dissecting one means dissecting the other and vice versa.

most buddhist texts and masters do not condone a direct correlation, suicide is not the way to enlightenment. there is no buddhist value to killing yourself. but the key exception lies in one of the most important buddhist texts: the lotus sutra.

"These include several themes dealing explicitly with death, such as how suicide was committed to speed up rebirth in the Pure Land based on the sanctioning of voluntary death as a superior form of sacrifice in Chapter 23 of the Lotus Sutra ..." [1]

the chapter 23 in question talks about a bodhisattva who turns himself into a human candle and burns himself up, in offering to the buddha. there is more to the story, but it mainly functions as a lesson about cultivation and enlightenment.

in the canon about buddhist suffering, there lies a subset dedicated to physical pain and torment. there is a heavy focus on our 5 senses, specifically (that's a whole separate topic i won't go into here). very briefly, to suffer is to experience the world through our 5 senses. to live as a human being is to suffer in a sensory way.

buddhism aspires to transcend this flesh and blood suffering. so annihilation of one's body is an essential step to achieve enlightenment. usually, this theory centers natural death and decay. you accept that you are always aging, your senses will lose their edge, your body is always subject to illness, injury and other failings. let the body waste away, it will do so regardless.

hence, the human body is set on a course of gradual deterioration. this suffering is processed through our 5 senses and is defined by them. in the face of this, the lotus sutra is the only notable buddhist text that looks kindly upon "voluntary death" to transcend it.

similarly, llh accepts the effects of bicha on his body. it mimics the natural decline of the human body, accelerating the degradation of his senses, his immune system, and his physical capabilities in general. his experience of this form of suffering is also emphasized through a period losing his sense of sight. it is a very buddhist torment. but at the end of the day, it is still a man-made, unnatural cause generating this effect. accepting this is not the same as accepting 生老病死 death via age, sickness and other natural processes.

llh embodies the sentiments and themes in the lotus sutra when he consciously chooses to let bicha run its course. he chooses to die, it is a "voluntary death". let this destroy his body. let this suicidal choice (though its more nuanced than simply suicide imo) free him from buddhist physical suffering. thus bringing him closer to peace, a version of himself that will be happier.

finally, enlightenment is about ambiguity.

凡人 the common people are incapable of comprehending enlightenment. it is understood that the human senses and the human mind is too inept and unrefined, too clouded by illusions, to grasp it. there are a million ways to express it, depict it, and name it. but there is a consensus across buddhism that these are simply aids for the common student of buddhism, and they are not accurate to the truth. at the core of enlightenment is an abstraction, an inherent unknowing.

it is, by definition, a departure and a continuation. it is a removal from this world and a transition into another place, another realm. all at once, the phenomenon straddles a greyness between an ending and a beginning. it is unclear whether the enlightened has left, or is it the common man who is so lacking he cannot recognize or even perceive the enlightened? in the theory of enlightenment, buddhism accounts for both factors. but we will never know for sure.

where do the enlightened go? where are they, where have they gone? these are questions buddhists often ask and explore, and it is also the question that the remaining cast engages with. what is enlightenment, exactly? there is a suspicion, some notion of what must have happened. it might be death, it might not be. only the enlightened can answer this, everyone else is left without clarity.

in the end, the seekers get close to the answer but there is no real fruition. and so the search lasts indefinitely.

that, too, is part and parcel to enlightenment.

as for how enlightenment narratives function, i leave you with this.

"Nirvana provides the full stop (period) in the religious story; it gives what one might call, to use Frank Kermode's well-known phrase, "the sense of an ending" - that is, a real ending and not a mere breaking off. Such an ending is only possible within a narrative.

[...]

Nirvana, I want to suggest, is a moment within a discursive or practical dynamic, a formal element of closure in structure of Buddhist imagination, texts, and rituals. One might say that nirvana has primarily a syntactic rather than semantic value: it is the moment of ending which gives structure to the whole. The fact of narrative structure and closure provides a meaningful and satisfying resolution, although in itself nirvana has merely the formal value of a closure marker.

[...]

Earlier I called nirvana the full stop (period) in the Buddhist religious story; now I can add that it is a full stop in an eternal story, a full stop which brings closure to individual lives in a master text which itself can have no final ending." [2]

Sources:

Tragedy and Salvation in the Floating World: Chikamatsu's Double Suicide Drama as Millenarian Discourse by Steven Heine ↩︎

Nirvāna, Time, and Narrative by Steven Collins ↩︎

[lycanlovebites]

☠️ - Would you survive in the shoes of your favourite original character?

Hm. That’s a good question. First off I have to pick a favorite… probably either Valentine or Soleil. I think I’d fare quite well as either of them! They have pretty cushy lives I think, nothing too terrible happening to them… yet. If I was in Valentine’s place I might have a bit of a rough time dealing with summonings gone wrong, amateur covens trying to harness my magic (yet again, goodness can’t these witches just find other ways to get magic other than sapping it out of a demon? Whatever happened to hard-earned skill and cultivating it yourself?) and the occasional run-in with a pearl clutching old lady with a crucifix pendant. There’s also the ever-present risk of being discovered as not, in fact, being a human and purely platonic companion to the priest of the town I live with, unlike popular belief, which could result in being killed in various colorful and dramatic ways by demon-fearing townspeople. However, no one seems to be any the wiser of my situation with the priest and our fellow “companion” Soleil who is most definitely a normal human being and is definitely not an angel. Definitely. Other than that things are quite nice and easy going! As long as I don’t get summoned away in front of members of the church (like that one incident..) or accidentally bare my teeth too much, things should be fine.

As Soleil, it would also be quite nice, all things considered. I have a nice home and comfortable life with my human ward and our demonic partner, and while I have to wear a human disguise when out in town it’s pretty enjoyable. However, being Sol would not always have been easy or as painless as it is now. Sol has been around for millennia, since before the dinosaurs went extinct (most of them, anyways. Birds still remain, thank the stars for that) and it’s absolutely devastating to witness that amount of destruction. The very first creatures I would have warded over, protected, all gone. Unable to save any creature beyond the one I warded over when it happened, wanting to save them all but limited by things larger than myself. Divine beings? Nature? Fate? I personally wouldn’t know how to live after that. But Sol continued, unable to die. They’ve seen the rise and fall of species and stars, the birth and death of many. And through it all they’re here now, with their beloved Father Gabriel and Valentine, peaceful and safe.. for now. However, like all earthly creatures, Gabriel will eventually die. He’s only human, and they live for only a short flicker of time in the history of Earth. Not even a hundred years, can you imagine that? To an angel, human lifespans are like mayflies. Brief, yet profound. Over swiftly after it begins. But that’s what makes them so beautiful. Humans know almost from the moment they are born that they are mortal, that some day they will eventually die. It’s impossible to imagine, for an angel. The knowledge of what’s imminent, would that not crush any being cursed enough to conceive it? Yet Gabriel seems to live with the knowledge well. He’s made peace with it since he was a boy. After all, death was a familiar face, more than any childhood friend perhaps. But Sol cannot fathom it. How could he be so… accepting of it? His own mortality? It troubles Sol at night. Because they’re so painfully aware that eventually all this will end. Gabriel will die, and while he will have loved Sol and Valentine until the day he does, Sol and Valentine will continue to miss him for the rest of theirs. It’s heartbreaking to fathom, so they try to savor the time they have. Perhaps his life is a short existence, one riddled with pain even Sol themself could not erase, but they could make it good for now. They could make him happy, safe now, peaceful. They could savor him. and, perhaps, if they were lucky, find a way to make this time last forever with him.

I guess in short I would survive quite well as either of them! Not without pain of course but I wouldn’t die. Probably.

[@justaderivative tagging you in this because it has ✨character insight✨! Bone apple teeth, dear mutual]

[crossdressingdeath]

Echo of Illasera: I am Illasera the Quick. Child of Bhaal. Slayer of his idle children. Cut down before my time. Kyvir: Do you feel the call as I do? The crawling in your blood? Echo of Illasera: Unholy Assassin, your birth was a miracle. Bhaal conceived you from a place beyond mortality. Echo of Illasera: Your birth, your creation... Father tended to you with love... He made you perfection... Echo of Illasera: I am most interested to see what will become of you, Child of Murder.

Oh, lovely. Virgin birth. Can't believe I'm playing murder Jesus. Although the implications of Bhaal conceiving Durge "from a place beyond mortality" are fascinating. I had seen some spoilers about Durge basically being Bhaal's attempt at copying whatever race you make them rather than them actually being that race, but this phrasing has me wondering, uh. do we have confirmation that Durge is even mortal? Because I'm not gonna lie, as someone romancing Astarion and Halsin with a tiefling the ability to headcanon that he's going to live significantly longer than maybe 100 years tops without actively contradicting canon would be stupendous.

Also Bhaal treating Durge so differently from his other children makes a lot more sense with the reveal that he literally made them to be his perfect little apocalypse-starter. Although it clearly didn't work as well as he probably wanted; while Durge can be an unrepentant murderer the whole way through they can just as easily be a perfectly good and kind person aside from the Urge, and some of Sceleritas's dialogue (along with the whole situation with Gortash, which based on the Prayer for Forgiveness Bhaal was not happy about) suggests that they were never quite as wholeheartedly devoted to Bhaal and his apocalyptic plots as he might have expected. Bhaal tried to make a good little murder puppet and somehow came out with a full-fledged person who was not as evil as you'd expect someone made from the literal god of murder to be and in fact depending on player choice potentially is remarkably nice. I can only assume everyone is confused as to how this happened.

[awellboiledicicle]

The only reason Anders won't want to fistfight Mystra is because he'd be a little convinced that killing/fighting a god would lead to another version of the blight and he absolutely does not want that to happen.

Hawke will let her go expressly because his husbands say no stabbing the goddess of magic.

No but Anders would be deeply concerned about his tainted blood and/or Gale's ambitions leading to something-- and there's plenty more dragons here than in Thedas. Many that could probably become Archdemons in power, however the god involved decided it would manifest.

Honestly the biggest argument Gale's going to get about his ambitions, aside of Hawke going "mm you don't need to do that and also you shouldn't", is going to be Anders going "Let me tell you what happened to Thedas when someone tried to usurp god" and explaining everything he learned about the blights while in the Wardens and from general history knowledge.

He'd be even more concerned about what it means, theologically, that they seemed to be beyond the Fade, and that Lae'zel's people know of Thedas-- in the context of "that is a cursed place". Because if the Maker turned away from Thedas with Andraste being the sort of spiritual go-between to occasionally make him listen to prayers [in theory], then it could mean he turned toward someplace out here. Meaning one of the pantheon of gods HERE could be the Maker under a different name.

Add in that magic is sometimes called a gift from the Maker [he's doubtful most times its said, but its still said] and he's looking at Mystra with a good dose of apprehension. Because like. Maybe the Maker is a woman. Maybe the Maker doesn't have a gender and mortals are just guessing. Maybe the Maker fucked off to collect magic users like ceramic cat figures and make their lives worse.

He doesn't know! And he's not going to march up to some alter somewhere and ask! Ok maybe he would, but it'd take some courage building because killing things and keeping calm while healing people is one thing-- talking to gods that could conceivably answer is another.

Add in the Justice is likewise unsure what to make of all this and he's just.

[long screaming]

[plumblossomcafe]

Reflections of Mortality (3/4)

Ei: So, uh, what are we supposed to be doing?

Paimon: We're taking a photo of you. Just leave the hard work to us. All you need to do is stand over there and strike a pose. Basically, a photo makes a visual record of you at this very moment in time, so it makes a great souvenir.

Ei: Okay, so what exactly is "striking a pose"?

Y/n: The photo is a visual representation.

Ei: Ah, I see. So, in other words, I need to do some sort of visually agreeable action in front of you, right? The more I think about it, the more embarrassing it seems. How should I pose? Help me out here. It should look good but not too over the top. This isn't coming naturally to me at all.

Y/n: Try relaxed and casual.

Ei: Casual... How about this? This feels quite natural.

After taking the photo and showing the picture to Ei

Paimon: It's a wrap! Take a look. Here's the photo we took of you.

Ei: Wow... this is astonishing. Is it some kind of magic? It seems to be... another copy of me? But she doesn't seem to be able to move or talk...

Aether: It's just a record. It's not the real you.

Ei: I thought it would turn out poorly because I felt rather rigid. But it actually looks much more natural than I'd imagined. The pose is exactly the same, and so is the scenery in the background... I can't imagine how it's achieved.

Paimon: That's what makes it so special.

Ei: Hang on, I'm still struggling to understand this. I need you to explain it again... So the one in this photo... are you sure it isn't me? If it's not me, then why does she look exactly like me? And if she is me, then... who am I?

Paimon: Uh... okay, way above Paimon's head— over to you guys!

Y/n: Hm, well, It's a little bit like you and the Shogun.

Paimon: Hey, that's right. Do you think the Shogun counts as you?

Ei: Of course I do. It was never my intention to place control of Inazuma into anybody else's hands.

Paimon: So then, who does that make you here and now?

Ei: Well, I'm still me. There is no doubt about that.

Y/n: So your existence isn't singular.

Ei: My existence, hmm... I think I understand. I am me. There is only one of me, but I can exist in many different forms. It's not important what form I exist in. The Shogun, for example, is one of my forms of existence. The question of whether or not she is me is not determined by any of her components.

Paimon: In that case, this picture is one of your forms of existence, too.

Ei: Hmm. So even I, who seeks Eternity, am constantly changing my form of existence... Then, how can I ask Inazuma and everyone who lives here to remain unchanging?

Aether: Inazuma will always be Inazuma. Human beings will always be human.

Ei: Everything I have encountered on this journey with you three has been from beyond my existing sphere of knowledge. *sigh* You've seen a lot of my ignorant side today. Maybe you can't tell, but all this has challenged my understanding of things. Based on what I have seen today, I am forced to accept that Inazuma is a completely different place from the one I remember. But it would be incorrect to conclude from this that the Inazuma of today is no longer Inazuma.

Y/n: Right.

Ei: Both the Vision Hunt Decree and the Statue of the Omnipresent God were conceived as a means of bringing about Eternity. But if I were really getting closer to Eternity, none of this ever would have happened. Hmm... Perhaps... perhaps I've been holding on to everything too tightly.

Paimon: Sounds to Paimon like Ei's figured things out! And that means that we've done a really great job as her guides!

Ippei: *from afar* Master Kamaji! Master Kamaji!

Paimon: Hmm? Why's it getting so noisy down there? That sounded like Ippei. What could be the matter?

Ei: Ippei? Is that someone from the Tenryou Commission?

Paimon: Yep. Let's find out what's going on.

.

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Paimon: Hey, Ippei, what's the matter?

Ippei: Ah, it's you. I... Huh? Th—The Almighty Shogun!? You must be looking for my master, Kujou Kamaji? I'm very sorry, he's not here at the moment. But if it pleases you, I will gladly deliver a message on your behalf?

Ei: It's okay, I'm not here to see him. We just heard you calling out, so we came to see what was going on.

Aether: Are you looking for your master?

Ippei: Yes. Master Kamaji still hasn't returned from the negotiations, and I'm starting to get worried. In fairness, he does have a habit of taking long walks and coming back late. It's perfectly possible that he just found somewhere he likes and lost track of time. But for some reason, today I'm particularly nervous.

Ei: Kujou Kamaji... A descendant of the Kujou Clan, I presume.

Ippei: That's right. Apologies, since the head of the clan is in poor health at the moment, and Master Masahito is rarely home, Master Kamaji is currently serving as representative of the Kujou Clan.

Ei: I have heard that things are quite tumultuous within the Tenryou Commission at present. Does this have anything to do with Kujou Kamaji?

Ippei: Forgive us, Almighty Shogun. The Kujou Clan has failed in its duty. The Kujou Clan's reputation is damaged, and its power over the Tenryou Commission is in decline. Plus you, um... ahem, you have yet to issue a verdict on the Commission's future... So, Master Kamaji decided to enter negotiations with the Takatsukasa Clan with a view of having them take over...

Paimon: Surely they would be discussing something like that at their headquarters, right? Why are you looking for them here?

Ippei: Actually, they decided to hold this one elsewhere. I'm a little confused as to why, to be honest, but I didn't feel it was my place to question the higher-ups. The meeting place is in the mountains near the Grand Narukami Shrine. I believe the Takatsukasa Clan has some kind of base there.

Ei: Takatsukasa... another familiar name. They have been faithfully serving the Kujou Clan all these years?

Ippei: Yes, yes. That's why Master Kamaji decided to discuss things with them. I understand they must have had a lot of ground to cover, but still, there's no way it should have gone on this long. I've searched all over the city. If he really hasn't returned yet, then...

Y/n: Maybe something's happened.

Ippei: Yeah, I thought of that possibility too... but someone of my rank can't just go venturing into Takatsukasa Clan territory like that.

Aether: We can go check things out for you.

Ippei: No, no need. I'm probably just overthinking things. Besides, if they're still at it, they'll only blame me for interrupting the negotiations. I'm only a lowly servant, but Master Kamaji and I grew up together... It'd be terrible if anything ever happened to him. I'm not as smart as Master, so I can't really share his burdens. But the last thing I'd want would be for him to come to harm when I could've done something about it.

Paimon: Hmm... what do you think, Almighty Shogun?

Ei: Let's go see what's happening. With me present, they are unlikely to blame you three even if we do happen to interrupt the negotiations. Besides, this has only come about because I failed to make a timely decision. This issue started with me, and I shall be the one to finish it.

Y/n: That's commitment, right there.

Ippei: Thank you so much, Shogun! I'll keep looking around in the meantime, too! Let me mark out the location of the base for you. I hope everything goes smoothly!

[coal15]

I managed to get Ch.10 of All Roads Lead Back posted yesterday. In this chapter Aziraphale and Crowley learn how Maggie's mum ended up in Heaven's Corrections Department. Here's a short sample:

It was business as usual in Heaven. Gabriel strolling around enjoying how his very presence intimidated the lower Angels. Sometimes he even said hi to one just to watch them stammer out a ‘hello, sir.’ Lower Angels were always a hoot. But then Baxter, a mid level scrivener assigned to the Corrections Department flagged him down, waving a file folder in the air.

“I thought you should know, sir, that apparently one of those little pissant Angles we like to keep out of our way went human back in the 1980s and no one noticed, and now-”

“Who gives a crap?” Gabriel shrugged. “Let them age and die a mortal death, it’s their own fault for choosing well dressed monkeys over their own kind.”

“Oh I agree sir, but this particular human-humper is trying to go Angel again and work a miracle!”

“WHAT?!” 

Gabriel summoned the Metatron immediately and the two of them took exactly thirty one and two tenths of a second to absorb the file’s disgusting contents. Not only had this Angel chosen to be human, she actually conceived and birthed one? Gross. How dare she expect grace or favours from Heaven!

Meanwhile on earth, Zoe closed her eyes and drew deep breaths to hold impatience at bay as the familiar power of Heaven soaked into her flesh. The second her grace was fully restored she would work the miracle, then accept whatever came next.

“NO!” A voice she never wanted to hear again barked.

Zoe spun around to see Gabriel marching down the street towards her, imperious as ever. Having been so low on the totem pole as an Angel, she hoped it would take the Higher Angels at least a few minutes to get word of her sin. Enough time to change her family’s fate, at least. But no such luck. 

Was this all for nothing? She wondered as her heart sank. “Please Gabriel, please just let me-”

“Silence!” The Supreme Archangel stood an inch away from Zoe’s body with stiff posture, looming over her with the wrath of an angry Heaven at his command. “You clearly do not understand the enormity of your sin, Zoe, so allow me to explain,” he paused to snicker at his choice of words. “Haha, allow me. Yeah, I am going to explain and you are going to listen, like it or not. You did not just choose to go human, Zoe. No, no, you did worse. You procreated. And not even with another former Angel, but an actual earth-born man! The whole thing is beyond blasphemy! I mean, did you even think about what you were doing? Because we both know even a former Angel is still technically a divine being.” 

The Supreme Archangel tensed up and shuddered at the word ‘technically.’ It annoyed him to his core that some elements of the previous Almighty’s design remained seemingly unchangeable. Half the reason he and his Higher Angel peers conspired to help the Metatron overthrow that old bat in the first place was so they could take charge. Full charge. But for the time being all he could do was hope eventually they would discover a way. Crack the code to demolish every natural law of Heaven and earth, and do things better. Correctly. Case in point: as far as Gabriel was concerned if an Angel decided to go human, that should be it. They give up every hint of the divine and become 100% fashionable monkey, no takebacks. 

“You turned your back on us, Zoe. The Metatron tells me God was devastated to hear what you’ve done.”

“WHY?!” Zoe shrieked. “So what if there’s a few slightly divine humans running round down here what harm does it do?”

Gabriel replied calmly. “It is not part of her natural design, and that is all we need know. It is unnatural, and gross, and you are to be sent straight to the Corrections Department. No trial, no appeal, and remain there until you renounce the decision to become human and beg forgiveness.”

“Fine,” Zoe sobs. “But Allan and Maggie are blameless in this, and at the very least my daughter deserved a future so please, I am begging you, let me work one last miracle!” A hollow pit opened up in her stomach as she realised no amount of desperation would help her cause. All the sorrow of all the mothers on earth wouldn't be enough to move Gabriel to sympathy.

So how the hell do I convince him to do me a favour? Has he EVER done a favour for someone?! She was fast descending into heartbroken panic when suddenly a new idea struck, offering a sliver of hope. Think like him . . .

“What if my time here ended in horrific pain?”

Gabriel’s eyebrows hitched up. “I’m listening.”

*********To read from the begging go HERE

[overohoverthethorn]

Emily Dickinson's The Way is Narrow ~ With Levinas’s Radical Difference of the Divine in Mind

Steven Copeland

You're right – "the way is narrow" –

And "difficult the Gate" –

And "few there be" – Correct again –

That "enter in – thereat" –

'Tis Costly – So are purples!

'Tis just the price of Breath –

With but the "Discount" of the Grave –

Termed by the Brokers – "Death"!

And after that – there's Heaven –

The Good Man's – "Dividend" –

And Bad Men – "go to Jail" –

I guess –

-- This poem this testimony argument is as all of her oeuvre - it constitutes a sharp critique of the vast majority of 'the religious' - of religious people - their understandings; namely, that they miss the mark far more than by the proverbial longshot. What this 'religion/religiosity' involves has, according to ED, nothing to do with the actually 'religious'!

-- Rather utterly Rather/Instead it involves a self-centered self-serving making of the religious - making, conceiving of what we call 'God' in a most human wrapped-up in the narrow needs desires of the self way - rather than really opening ourselves to the Absolute Otherness Difference nothing like a human-being - Its tremendous vastly beyond us in Its 'Infinitude.' This is the religious experience the Aeeiii Divine that ED knew. ~ In/with her You're Right - 'few there be' who really begin to 'enter in[to]' - approach apprehend 'thereat' - namely the truly religious divine reality meaning inso-not-so-far extent degree we can catch sense glimpse some partial brush with that inhuman Reality outside except for hints within our mortal reality. That Infinitude not here nowhere for us as such.

The poem is tongue-in-cheek sarcastic and really condemning trashing the so-called religiosity the seeming religious experience - encounter - understanding of the religious life - understanding of the Divine - of the vast majority of those who see themselves to be 'religious' - knowing something being in some relation with the Reality the Beyond-Reality on the only really Real Reality that is the Source Behind Everything but not being anything like our self-serving as it were - put all in italics all in quotes{!} they are all so way off the mark - including of course re the most ultimate - question of the religious of 'Heaven' so-called - - -

And this she testifies in the third stanza is also for sure so very much - the true character way experience of what is called – not the fullness no place no reward no immortality in any physical or separate ego that continues bodiless – no – in that sense – ED – sardonically cites that actually irreligious human self-centered ‘under’standing at the heights of over-reaching hubris.

'And after that - there's Heaven' ~ the so-called 'religious life.'

It is not at all the category - the experience characterized by William James in his lighthouse work on The Varieties of Religious Experience - 'The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness' - or - may God keep us from That - of happiness! It would seem that James is advocating for such a religious experience as being the most advanced the most accurate most true - no question when juxtaposed to the religious experience he characterizes terms as The Sick Soul; who would choose that over the religion of healthy-mindedness?! But ye-es is actually the argument of James as it is of Dickinson - as it is of Emmanuel Levinas.

Theodor Adorno: 'The highest form of morality is not to feel at home in one’s own home.’ In our present context here in relation to ED's poem testimony credo - the highest the truest is always the most demanding that does not assume the criteria, the meaning of our human condition to be self-serving ego-elevating – some high and happy security of salvation; but rather of Buber's 'narrow ridge’. Indeed, the criterion the guiding star ought to be the demanding commanding unsettling call of the But-Rather; the Talmudic – one of its most repeating key word - alef lamed alef – Ela. – This is the spirit of ED's 'the way IS narrow' - 'difficult' - we could say demanding – in-heart-mind indeed the Hebrew biblical and rabbinic commanding way - 'costly' - demanding - but so 'purple' - rich, deep, noble. Having nothing to do with the experience categories if they can even really be re-cognized as accurately honestly knowing facing the genuine weight reality of our human situation and indeed truly religious being in league in relation with the Divine - with 'Heaven' - but not the 'Discounted' version which is a falsification that serves only our own small-unminded seeing ourselves our narrow self-interested 'Dividend{s}' seeking cliche falsifying ways.

ED interrogates indeed verdicts as bad weak-minded our 'guess{es}' that are our – albeit false – comforting certainties; she intones it derisively - she will have no part-of her no compromising what can what does call us to really face know as true - which for sure does not consort with how we seek the world - and God - to be serving our marketplace 'discounted' - far from the richness the depth of the ‘purples' {more demanding commanding as such more real true. – That are not-so-much-about-to-suit-to-fit-us not-in-our-self-serving-non-traversing-conversing-with-the-'difficult{y}-of-the-genuine-Gate{s’}-costliness" – so-costly not coming easily – in that it demands we give-up surrender our self- mortal-centered presumptiveness-es that we can really know and be-served-by the Infinitude the Secret Behind It All we call by our so easily readily spoken simple one-syllabled word yet actually in English anyway – in every language in its way-hey – ‘God’ – with the intimation of its More-Than-Largeness in how long how high can’t get over it is the ‘o’ sound in that most simple three letter sound but hinting at it’s on the contrary actual Beyond-Size-Or-Any’thing’-Fathomable – with not the sound indeed of awe – that elongates The Wordless Word Go-aaoughwwwee-ddd - - -

This is the Rex tremendae majestatis of Verdi as well as the Still small voice say that nature intimates -- but not the false made in and for our image that tells us what we want so 'comfortably' self-centeredly-servingly-soothingly- to 'hear' 'know' --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS2U5w303X8

A most key of ED's poems testimonies credos that speaks to 'our' poem here You're Right - that speaks to her religious experience philosophy - 'philosophy' - likewise as the word-realities 'religious' and 'experience' - most often so self-narrow-self-centeredly 'Discounted' - is My Period Had Come for Prayer - -

My period had come for Prayer —

No other Art — would do —

My Tactics missed a rudiment —

Creator — Was it you?

God grows above — so those who pray

Horizons — must ascend —

And so I stepped upon the North

To see this Curious Friend —

His House was not — no sign had He —

By Chimney — nor by Door

Could I infer his Residence —

Vast Prairies of Air

Unbroken by a Settler —

Were all that I could see —

Infinitude — Had'st Thou no Face

That I might look on Thee?

EMILY DICKINSON'S 'THE WAY IS NARROW' ~ WITH LEVINAS'S RADICAL DIFFERENCE OF THE DIVINE MIND

The Silence condescended —

Creation stopped — for Me —

But awed beyond my errand —

I worshipped — did not "pray" —

[marz-barzz]

I'm bored, imma yap some more about my boy

-----

Fun facts that I forgot to mention:

• he was born on a feudal world!! Therefore he is not the most tech savvy fellow, but hes trying his best!! but hes not grandpa level inexperience with tech, he just applies his knowledge where he can because he is hyper-intelligent just as all the other primarchs ar supposed to be.

And thus prefers power bows and traditional polearms over guns and modern weapons, though he can use them.

• he has white hair and constantly sheds hair (he has hand selected serfs who help him brush his hair) though with his wanderlust and desire to explore and trek through anything, he gets sticks, leaves l, grass stains and various items caught in his thick mop of long hair.

And speaking of long hair, it is seen as beautiful on his home planet, and to cut it was tradition for mourning a loved one or a display of dishonor if cut by another person.

• Savik wears a mask carved by his stepfather (who was a shaman), because Savik's presance and aura was deemed too godly for his face to be seen, though the few times his face was revealed, savik was described as

-A pale man with young growing tusks in the lower jaw like a hog. Two white dots for pupils, floating in the void in place of his eyes, thin white eyebrows. A short and stout nose, that of a felines and soft jaw.- as his stepfather had written.

• he is selectively mute, and speaks through telepathy. Given savik never bothered to speak much to his stepfather's dismay, learning through his fathers meditations and spiritual practices to push his spyker abilities beyond growing plants.

• and my favorite things it do describe the presance of a primarch. Like with Magnus, I describe his presence like the embodiment of an ancient and wise archive with all conceivable knowledge, or Lemans with an intensity of a great yet beastial warrior, and that his presences is very primal I all senses of the word.

Therefore with savik l, his presance is like the essence of an ancient forest, each tree standing for centuries and wisdom ingrained on each ring inside.

• he in fact is rather petty and more closed minded out of most primarchs (not pert level) but in the way that if its different from what he was used to, he wouldn't like it as if it where something that reminded him of home or something he's used to. Such as the advanced technology of the Mechanicum, he does not approve of their worship yo the omnisiah though he won't say anything.

• later into the heresy, Savik fucks off onto some dead nowhere planet and rebuilds it into an EXPREMELY dense and highly toxic and dangerous jungle only he and his gene sons are adapted to. Which Vulkan is like "that's something bad going to happen right there" and burns down the whole place and leads to a massive fight against those who which leads to Saviks hate for Vulkan for destroying his sanctuary and his new home because savik cannot return to his first home because it was alredy colonized by the Imperium and it would only hurt him to see the modernized version of his home and the magic that was destroyed.

• also his home planet was very open and comfortable with sexual topics and was welcomed as a 'bonding experience' among adult male soldiers by their commanders. And given savik was a fertility god, he probably as a few mortal children that are his.

• he cannot draw for shit and has no idea how to paint, sketch or put a pencil to paper, but he can carve wood and is very good at it, making almost life like sculptures and idols.

• he is terrified of blue eyes. No I will not elaborate.

• Likes to assume his old life outside of his primarch duty with meditation, taking strolls through his own personal gardens, spiritual practice like his father, hunting and so on and so forth.

• Because the other primarchs give him shit for living on a feudal world. And hes like, "okay, gonna call me dumb because i think a bolter is fucking horrifying? Okay, fuck you. I'm going to vibe alone." And keeps to himself more often than not. Though him and Jahgatai do get along but they aren't the best if friends.

-----

Mk that's all for nowwwwwwww

I need to sleep lol

Tell us about your primarch oc! They look super cool!

~🪲

JFYGJFMHJHRSFHNRFG FOR REALSIES??????

SO THEY'RE INSPIRED BY FEUDAL JAPAN (not as heavily inspired as Jaghatai was with the Mongolians) but I love him so much and I think asian culture is kinda cool and I wanted to do something based on that (and not white scars as much as I love them)

ANYWAY YAP TIME

--------

XXI legion

Pre-heresy; the shrouded guard, soon after falling to chaos they changed their name to the festering angels; post-heresy.

Commonly using Guerrilla tactics and stealth in forested planets

Primarch: Savik; Lord of Fauna, ancient of the blessed garden

Founded in the home planet of lord Savik; notoshibo. The people of the planet had deemed him a fertility god for his blessings as a spyker and the ability to terraform their world into a golden age of crops and all plant life.

Though he was taken from his planet given with his heavy disinterest in the imperium after multiple attempts from the emperor to persuade and challenge Savik into joining the imperium.

And much to his displeasure, adjusting to life on terra was highly difficult and became rather known for his bitterness. Though since no one on his planet had the genes for blond hair or any eyes different than brown, seeing sanguinius and Robute's hair was a strange experience for both parties and still bothers Savik (he will not get used to blonde hair and blue eyes)

The sons of savik go through a very common and spiritual process with psyker energy given through their gene sire, connecting each Astarties minds like the rootwork of mushrooms and to their Primarch. Each man of the shrouded guard could communicate without speech, information passed through their network of spyker energy.

Lemme know if y'all wanna hear more :3c

[primordial-shade]

Demi-Gods of Valyria

Ok, so this is the idea. Valyria was meant to be based around the old Roman/Greek empires and their mythos included. Now a fun fact about Some Greek Demi-gods is that sometimes women prayed to give them a child and the gods would do so, but in some instances they would possess the husband of the woman and create a child that way. 

This means the kid has a godly parent, Mortal Father and Mortal mother.

Now do you see where I’m going with this.

Rhaenyra Targaryean, future Queen of Westeros, has been married to a man who is mourning and, after some attempts, cannot give her the children they both want and need.

Laenor tries and tries and and Rhaenyra tries and tries. They both want a child, they both need a child.

Desperate and ardent worshippers of the 14 Gods of Valyria, they pray to their ancestral Gods for help, desperate and pleading. 

And the Gods answer.

They give the two a option, one as fantastical as it is a blessing. They tell them that each of them will come in turn, to give Rhaenyra and Laenor a child, that each one of them will ‘sire’.

They immediately bring in Rhaenys, Corlys and Laena, who brings along Daemon as well. After proving this exsists both agree full heartedly to the deal.

Needless to say Corly’s is stupendously excited and Daemon has to be stopped from exalting his gods in public by Laena. Rhaenys is just happy her son and Rhaenyra get what they want.

Arrax of course comes first. King of the Gods, creator of the first Valyrians, he possesses Laenor that night and sires upon Rhaenyra the future King that night.

Jacaerys Targaryean is born 9 months later. His skin the hue of his father’s, with golden-silver curls and Violet eyes brighter than any Valryian before him. Upon his shoulder is affixed the birthmark of a Crown.

When the topic of the heir of Driftmark is brought up there is much debate amongst the gods but eventually, Caraxes is chosen to sire Lucerys Velaryon. Born with skin almost as dark as his granfathers, silver and onyx curls like his grandmother. His hand marked with the sign that mimics a rolling wave.

Syrax fights her way next, having let her brothers sire the childs to be heirs she claims the right to sire her favourites, the child who named her dragon for her, third child. Joferys Velaryon is born with a mark of crawling vines on his neck.

Despite their arguments Vhagar and Meraxes agree to sire the next two children with Rhaenyra together. The Twin’s Rhaenys and Visenya are born from this union. Rhaenys, child of Meraxes, is born with a twisting wind mark on the back of her neck whilst her twin Visenya, child of Vhagar, is born with the mark of the sword in the same place.

Their Darling Aemma is conceived barely 2 months after by Meleys, a reminder of Rhaenyra’s dear mother who Meleys had adored. Aemma is born with the mark of a heart over her very own heart. 

The Triplets come next. Monterys, Sired by Vermax with high Valyrian marked on his right bicep, Daenaera, sired by Vermithor marked with a smiths hammer on her right bicep, and Valaena, sired by Tyraxes and marked with a bird in flight on her right bicep.

Another set of twins comes two years later. Daenys, child of Tessarion, marked with an eye upon her wrist and Naerys, child of Shrykos,marked with a rising sun in the same place.

Then finally their last triplets. Aenys, born of Aegarax with the mark of a dragon between his shoulder blades, Aemon, Child of Gaelithox and born with a burning star between his shoulder blades, and finally He who comes at the end, Balerion, sires thier final child Baelon, born with a skull between his shoulder blades.

Jacaerys born: 112 AC

Lucerys: Born: 114 AC

Joferys: Born 115 AC

Rhaenys and Visenya: Born 117 AC

Aemma: Born 118 AC

Monterys, Daenaera and Valaena: Born 120 AC

Daenys and Naerys: Born 121 AC

Aenys, Aemon and Baelon: Born 123 AC

Rhaenyra and Laenor are happy, they are beyond at peace with this offer. Laenor gets to go to sleep and wake from a peaceful sleep knowing his best firend and wife carries their new child (He consents to this by the way, just saying it now and long as he isn’t in the drivers seat he is fine.)

Rhaenyra is able to have the children she so desires without hurting her husband and best friend, or seeking elsewhere for seed for her sons. With Daemon and Laena in on it she eventually takes them on as lovers and Laenor does the same with Ser Qarl.

They are happy, especially when Alicent enters the room after Jacaerys is born and see’s the dark skinned curly haired little boy with a crown shape emblazzoned upon his shoulder and nerly faints on the spot. It is not long before Corlys and Viserys both scream of his right to be king to the realm, celebrating the birth of the heir’s heir, born marked by the crown he was destined to wear.

Otto nearly has a seizure back in Oldtown, it unfortunately does not kill him.

Rhaenys is hardly seen without her first born grandchild, often holding him whilst she trains Rhaenyra in the art of ruling and power or simply showing him around the castle that will ‘One day will be his.’

Alicent is screaming somewhere, I don’t care honestly fuck her. Viserys just continues to die somewhere building his model, again don’t really care.

It is the day of Jacaerys birth that the Dragonkeepers find Syrax and Seasmoke with 14 eggs. Every colour of the Rainbow, another sign of Jacaerys and Rhaenyra right to rule they claim. Rhaenyra herself picks a egg of pure red veined with gold for her son and heir, within a month it Hatches into a Dragon named Arrax, for his father. The other 13 are kept in warmers, guarded and precious.

Alicent tries once to claim one for Aegon, still without a dragon, and it burns him in his crib fiercely. She does not try again.

Here is my current list of dragons, and yes I know Jace had Vermax and Luke had Arrax but we are switching things up.

Jacaerys - Arrax. A pure Targareyan red dragon

Lucerys - Caraxes II. A sea green dragon.

Joferys - Syrax II. A deep royal purple dragon.

Rhaenys - Meraxes. A bright sky blue dragon.

Visenya - Vhagar II. A rust red dragon.

Aemma - Meleys II - A pale purple dragon.

Monterys - Vermax. A emerald green dragon.

Daenaera - Vermithor II. A steel grey dragon.

Valaena - Tyraxes. A pale grey dragon.

Daenys - Tessarion. A pale yellow dragon.

Naerys - Shrykos. A bright yellow dragon.

Aenys - Aegarax. A vivid orange dragon.

Aemon - Gaelithox. A bright silver dragon

Baelon - Balerion - A pure black dragon.

All these dragons share golden accents and pure purple eyes. They also grow at a far faster rate than many dragons, think Daenaerys Dragons growth rate. This is especally as Rhaenyra declares the Dragons should roam freely for the first time since Aegon the conquerer.

Jacaerys is pretty much universally loved and the green faction begins to wither especially with Alicent claiming that the children are ‘aberrations’ and that they cannot be trueborn.

Court: looks at Laenor holding baby Jacaerys who looks pretty damn like him.

Court: Looks at Lucerys who resembles his grandfather almost exactly with Rhaenys lovely hair.

Court: Bitch are you crazy??

Otto and Alicent are struggling and I am here for it. They also nag Viserys and give him headaches and I am also here for that. Justice for Aemma Arryn you nasty rotting bitch.

Rhaenyra is just giddy with it all. her kids are Laenors and hers, and if they needed help from their gods well it wasn;t like anyone was going to believe that.

So anyway the young 14 demi-gods grow up pretty much adored by their parents and family. Not to mention their godly parents, by right of helping to conceive them, are pretty much always near them in a spiritual way.

Does Otto and Crispy Cole find a lot of misfortune going their way? Yes. tessarion is a particularly savage goddess in this and makes sure they always manage to catch a wide variety of illnesses and ailments, especially when her own daughter is born.

Are they kind of odd? Do their purple eyes, so unique, pierce your very soul? Does the air simmer around them and luck bend to their whim? Of course, but be damned if you dare say that around any of their parents. Even the Gods have nothing on Laenor and Rhaenyra’s protectiveness over their children.

As they grow older the topic of marriage of course comes up. Whilst Rhaenyra does not get along with Aegon and Aemond, especially after Aemond tried to claim Vhagar despite Laena still being alive which led to him losing an eye to the dragon, she Adores Helaena and Daeron and eagerly plans their marriage to Jace and Baela who adores her cousin.

Of course Alicent then delcares Helaena will marry Aegon and it turns into an argument as Viserys debates because he’s a fucking wet wipe.

Jace does not accept this in any way.

Alicent is horrified when the Prince spirits away Helaena and marries her in the traditions of Valryia before anyone can stop them. She faints when the couple return and Helaena tells her it was her idea and they had already slept together (Jace is 17 at this point and she is 19.)

Rhaenyra is half delighted and hald ‘done with her children’ whilst Laenor immediately begins planning a wedding for the faith with Laena as they both giggle and Daemon howls in the background. Viserys. glad he didn;t have to make a choice, blesses the marriage and declares it done.

(When Alicent tries to wed Daeron to a lady of Oldtown when he is 19 Rhaenys easily spirits him away. They return 6 months later and she is already pregnant and wed. Rhaenyra has to have a strong drink whilst Laenor and Daemon howl with laughter.)

(Daemon finds it less funny when Alicent tries to marry Daeron to a lady of Oldtown and Baela kidnaps him and they come back married and her already 3 months pregnant. Laena and Laenor are delighted and Rhaenyra enjoys her taste of vengeance.)

(Rhaenys, who followed her own Husband for a year on dragonback before she was finally permitted to marry him simply smirks, knowing her genes are strong.)

the other kids also grown up and take either their siblings or other nobility as spouses, as when Rhaenyra becomes queen she declares that any who marry into their family will become Targaryean so replenish their bloodline. It suprisingly is very welcomed.

I have more but this is getting really long. Thank you to the Game of throne roleplaying wiki which gave me the list of gods below so that I could use and abuse it as a reference.

Arrax - Ruler of Gods, law, order, justice, governance, and strength.

Aegarax - God of all creatures that walk, run, swim, or fly. Creator of the first dragon.

Balerion - God of death and the Underworld.

Caraxes - God of the sea, twin of Meraxes.

Gaelithox - God of fire, stars, moon, sun, and the dawn, rival of Meraxes.

Meleys - Goddess of love and fertility.

Meraxes - Goddess of the sky, twin of Caraxes.

Shrykos - Goddess of beginnings, endings, transitions, and doorways.

Syrax - God of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, and ecstasy.

Tessarion - Goddess of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, beauty, and archery.

Tyraxes - Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, and battle strategy.

Vermax - God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, and writing.

Vermithor - God of smiths, crafts, and artisans.

Vhagar - Goddess of war.

[teatin]

@gall-e-xy​ I hope you don’t mind that I made a separate post for this, this is actually something I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while and I’m incapable of keeping it brief to save my life. Also, tumblr replies are a nightmare.

1 - God I wish that were me. I wish I could forget that ever since 2011, most of Diana’s origin stories, when she is given one, involve her being a child conceived by Zeus and Hippolyta. I have no idea why they changed this. Perhaps they thought giving her a father would make her more relatable? Maybe they thought her being a demigod would somehow make her more special and/or interesting? Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, the Zeus lovechild story has overshadowed the clay one as the Wonder Woman origin story that most people (who aren’t hardcore fans) are familiar with. Hell, even the DCEU movie went with it, and it was such a disservice to both Diana and Hippolyta as characters (more on that in another post, this is long enough as it is).

2 - Both, I guess? I hate everything about it. Firstly, if you’re familiar with WW mythos then you probably know that Diana’s relationship with her mother is the single most important relationship of all. Ever since they retconned her to be Zeus’ kid, there were times when he overshadowed Hippolyta, when Diana was introduced as “daughter of Zeus” like it’s a badge of honor when he played no role in raising her and shaping her into the person she is, all she gets from him are super speshul godly powers and that’s it. I don’t know, but that just doesn’t sit right with me. 

Secondly, it just... defeats the whole point of her character? Diana isn’t Wonder Woman because she was born more special than the others, WW isn’t a title bestowed upon her because she’s a princess or a demigod, she won it fair and square in a competition. Making Diana a demigod runs the risk of turning her into The Chosen One, because when you have one warrior with demigod powers who is stronger than the rest, it’s only logical and natural that she’s the one going to Man’s World, there would be no need for a competition. Making Diana a demigod inherently places her above the other Amazons not through any effort of her own but because a god happened to bonk her mother. 

As an aside, demigod!Diana’s relationship with humans is almost always written in a, “ah pesky humans, they know not what they do,” or “silly little mortals with their inconsequential problems, they will never understand what it’s like to be burdened with special-ness” way and I just really fucking hate that. Not that she doesn’t have trouble understanding humans sometimes, but that stems more from the fact that she comes from a utopia with no crime, a society without patriarchy where women are granted freedoms that they aren’t always in Man’s World, not because her bloodline is super speshul.

Lastly, it feels like everyone is ignoring that we already have a Wonderfam character who’s a daughter of Zeus and whose identity revolves around that idea, Cassie Sandsmark. When Diana was retconned to be Zeus’ daughter, Cassie’s origin was also retconned to be a granddaughter of Zeus (via some random guy that was one of his countless demigod children) instead of his daughter. So they basically stole another character’s origin for Diana, except they couldn’t even be bothered to write it in a way that is even remotely compelling or interesting beyond “wow special chosen one with special god powers, child of two worlds whoopee”. 

tl;dr: Death to demigod!Diana.