#cognitive alchemy

[themindtools]

What if everything you believe is a lie? The world’s most powerful thinkers know the mind’s biggest weakness: the composition fallacy. Learn how to destroy it, weaponize the truth, and rise above the 99%. #AlphaMind #PhilosopherKing #MentalAlchemy

[doshema]

StarGate

I question why I bother making my presence known through the word to the Great Eye upon the mountain of fire. Below, amongst the dead, I call out to the living. So subtle is the veil of time-oriented reality to those who know it is a carbon crystal projection of the seventh ray transmitted from the center of six-pointed geometry. The third Temple will be artificially constructed by the collective…

[kierongillen]

General Player Advice For RPGs

I published this in my newsletter here a while back, and discourse reminded me I wanted to put it more public. I probably should get around to actually doing a proper blog for this kind of stuff. You can sign up to the newsletter here.

One of the things which I’ve been chewing over since getting back into RPGs is that there’s so much advice for GMs and so little advice for players. I keep thinking over why - though the whys aren’t what I’m about to write about. However, some other folk think any worthwhile advice is system/genre specific.

This got me chewing over whether I agree with that. As the list below shows, I don’t.

The first four are ones where I think I succeeded, and as principles generally guide you towards better play no matter what game you’re playing. The last three are mainly applicable to games with a significant story component (the last especially). There’s a few more I played with, but they were more about being a good at the table generally – about being a better player in any game rather than specifically about role-playing games. I also avoided ones which were more GM-and-player advice rather than just player advice (if there’s a problem in game, communicate out of game, use appropriate safety tools, etc).

I also didn’t include “Buy The GM Stuff”.

Anyway – here they are. See what you think.

GENERAL PLAYER PRINCIPLES FOR BETTER PLAY

1) Make choices that support the table’s creative goals

If you’re playing a storygame, don’t treat it like a tactical wargame. If you’re playing a tactical wargame, don’t treat it like a storygame. If it’s bleak horror, don’t make jokes. If you’re in a camp cosy romp, don’t bring in horror. It also varies from moment to moment – if someone’s scene is sincere, don’t undercut it.

2) Be A Fan of The Other Characters

This is GM advice in almost all Powered By the Apocalypse games – for the GM to be a fan of the characters. It’s a good trait for a player to cultivate. Be actively excited and interested in the other characters’ triumphs and disasters. Cheer them on. Feel for them. Players being excited for other players always makes the game better. Players turning off until it’s their turn always makes it worse.

3) Be aware of the amount of spotlight time you’re taking

This is a hard one for fellow ADHD-ers, but have an awareness of who is speaking more and who is speaking less. A standard GM skill is moving spotlight time around to players who have had less time. Really good players do this too. Pass the ball.

4) Learn what rules apply to you, to smooth the game, not derail it.

To stress, this isn’t “come to the table knowing everything” but learning the rules that are relevant to your character along the way, especially if they are marginal (looking at you, Grappling and Alchemy rules). Doing otherwise adds to the facilitator’s cognitive load and hurts the game’s flow. The flip is being aware that knowing stuff isn’t an excuse to break the game’s flow with a rules debate either – that’s an extension of the third principle.

5) Make choices which support other characters’ reality

If someone’s playing a scary bastard, treat them like a scary bastard. If they’re meant to be the leader, have your character treat them like the leader , for better or worse. A fictional reality is shared, and you construct it together.

6) Ensure The Group Understands Who Your Character Is

This is the flip of the above – having a character conception that is clear enough that everyone gets who you are, what you want to do and how you want to do it. If you don’t, the table will be incapable of supporting your choices. This links to…

7) If asked a preference in a story game, a strong choice is almost always better than a middling choice.

Don’t equivocate. If asked “You’ve met this person before. How do you feel about him?” either “I love him” or “I hate him” is better than anything middling. The exception is if it’s something you’re really not interested in pursuing.

[harcidian]

Can we talk about how Riza must have felt when her father decided to let Roy practice alchemy? Instead of simply teaching it to her, she had to fight for her life to protect that knowledge. And why on earth did she join the academy right after her father died, fully aware that she had his dangerous research on her back?* That’s some risky behavior! The military health service doctors would have seen that tattoo during assessments, and there’s no way Riza didn't get injured; she would have had to undergo physical exams to enlist in the military.

Also, I just realized that her back tattoo remained unburned and unmarred throughout the entire Ishval War. Can you imagine if someone had taken an interest in it? What chaos would have ensued?

I would also love to discuss the stark contrast between Roy’s inherent need for control and Riza’s relentless desire for personal agency. She is often seen as the safe option—the "girl nobody expects to carry the potential catalyst of human destruction." Then there's Roy, who seems condescending as he believes he was the one who brought her into the military and the war. Meanwhile, Riza consistently emphasizes that it was her choice all along.

Kimblee recognizes Riza for who she truly is: frightened, yet still a potentially powerful weapon. It's amusing that their only interaction involves him pointing out her satisfaction after she makes a clean headshot. This contrasts with Roy, who at that time struggles to reconcile the cognitive dissonance between his vision of what Riza could have become (perhaps in a life away from the military, away from war like how she used to all her life) and what she is trying to be.

I believe Riza was trying to be her own moral compass, especially during the war. She may have hesitated to rely too much on Roy and confide in him, particularly after witnessing his shock at seeing her in the military during the Ishval war. She grapples with the same questions he does: now, alchemy is seen as a reason for people to run away rather than as something that offers protection? Additionally, I think Roy is the kind of person who would have preferred Riza to stay away from this godforsaken path. He may not have fully processed or accepted the guilt that drew her into it, even if he didn't intend for that to happen. Ultimately, the last thing Riza wants is to be a burden or liability.

Regarding her decision to join the academy, I believe a part of her felt that she couldn't remain still and hidden, similar to how her father kept her away from the world and made decisions on her behalf. Perhaps she wanted to actively choose those who would inherit her father’s research, and what better place to find ambitious intellectuals than the military? However, the war changed her perspective. As the beacon of flame alchemy, she understands that she must protect her knowledge and not rely on others for protection. She is not a damsel in distress. While she may be delicate, she isn’t fragile like a porcelain figure in a perfectly crafted cupboard; rather, she is as fragile in a ‘careful, she might blow’, like a ticking bomb (sounds like a corny Instagram caption but hey it makes sense)

[alexanderwales]

When it comes to writing, I'm a big believer in a kind of materialism, that tropes and characters and arcs and all that kind of thing arise from the basics of human emotions and cognition, and from the specifics of societies and cultures, and from what a writer's goals usually are.

I think there's a certain joy in the way that things get reinvented, in how problems keep getting solved in the same way. There's a certain math to it, I guess, a way in which you can derive the principles of narrative from basic axioms.

And one of the great things about taking in media from different times, places, and cultures is that you get to see how they did things completely differently, how the things that you'd thought were axioms of craft were really just part of a large edifice that had been built up piece by piece and was actually very specific to its media biome.

I was talking to a writer friend who just did not care about this at all, and I was fascinated by that. What do you mean you don't care why we do the things we do? What do you mean you'd rather just write what you want? Don't you want to know why certain things work and others don't? Don't you want to be able to construct tropes from base principles like some kind of strange alchemy? To arrive at the same solutions that other people have found, not because they were part of the common toolbox, but because it's in the set of obvious solutions? Doesn't that make you some kinship with everyone else?

And no, he didn't, he just liked to write whatever came into his head without worrying too much about theory or history.

[thetiniestrhino]

A little 🪶 + 😚 alchemy:

Kiss them gently + tickle them savagely = Confusion, chaos, delicious cognitive dissonance. 😵‍💫

Kiss them savagely + tickle them gently = Melt their brain into absolute mush. 🫠

Kiss them gently + tickle them gently = Lovely, intimate connectedness with maybe just a bit of struggle. 🥰

Kiss them savagely + tickle them savagely = Absolute thrashing psychosis, but it sure feels great when they scream into your mouth. 😈

[savanaclaw1996]

The Lion in the Garden-Leona Kingscholar x Fem! Reader

As you know, today is August 10th, and that also happens to be World Lion Day! And so, we celebrate the day honoring the renowned King of the Beasts, the lion! So here's a little fic to get us all in the mood!

Enjoy!

Word Count: 1,260 words.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You just couldn't believe it. One minute you were on your way towards your next class with your friends, and the next, you were suddenly whisked away by an unseen force.

It was just another day at Night Raven College. (Y/n), Ace, Deuce and Grim had just finished ancient history and were moving on to your next class, alchemy science.

The four of you were just talking and walking down the hallway when suddenly, there was a loud commotion and the students before you suddenly started running and yelling in panic.

"Lion! Lion! There's a huge lion in the hall!" one of the students started screaming. You raised an eyebrow, confused. Ace, Deuce and Grim also looked bewildered. "Huh? A lion? In the hallway?" you wondered. That couldn't be right.

But sure enough, as the crowd quickly parted, you saw a giant lion running towards you, Grim, Ace and Deuce. The lion had uber umber-colored fur and its large, shaggy dark chocolate-colored mane shook as it ran.

To see a wild lion running through the hall would definitely scare the living daylights out of anyone who crossed its path, for you, Grim, Ace and Deuce already started screaming in terror and scrambling to get out of its way.

Then the lion suddenly locked eyes with you. Like a deer caught in headlights, you froze. The lion's eyes were the color of summer, a brilliant green, shining like finely polished emeralds.

Before you or anyone else could do anything, the lion suddenly charged towards you at full speed. "Henchman!!" Grim screamed as he tried to reach you, but he was too late. The beast crashed into you and knocked you down to the floor.

"(Y/N)/HENCHMAN!!!" Ace, Deuce and Grim all screamed at the top of their lungs in horror. You, on the other hand, let out a frightened squeal, too shocked to even scream.

The lion had you pinned to the floor, its large frame covering yours. You stared up at the beast, your heart was pounding hard against your chest. Then suddenly, the lion reached down towards you and grabbed your jacket collar in its jaws.

With a yelp, you were suddenly lifted onto its back and the lion took off like a shot, taking you along on its back. All the while, Ace, Deuce and Grim could only watch helplessly and panic fearfully while you were whisked away by the lion.

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT DO WE DO?!?!" Ace shrieked. "I-I-I-I DON'T KNOW!!!" Deuce screamed. "HE'S GONNA EAT HER!!!" Ace wailed. "I'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN! SHE'LL NEVER FEED ME AGAIN! HENCHMAN!!!" Grim cried, fat tears rolling down his furry cheeks.

"Silence, puppies!" a voice suddenly demanded, followed by the crack of a whip. The three boys immediately went silent. Walking up towards them was none other than Divus Crewel himself.

Deuce quickly ran towards Crewel. "Crewel-sensei...! We need your help! T-Th-There was a big lion, and it-!" he stammered. but Crewel cut him off. "Yes, I know. There has been an accident in the lab. Kingscholar was caught in the explosion and had transformed into an actual lion." he replied.

"Eh?!!" Ace, Deuce and Grim all exclaimed, gawking at Crewel before he continued, "Despite having transformed into an actual lion, it seems that Kingscholar-san has still somehow maintained his cognition."

"Even so, it still would be wise to create a potion that'll change Kingscholar-san back to his former self. I will be in charge of creating the potion." He then gave the three boys a stern look.

"In the meantime, you puppies will have to keep an eye on Kingscholar-san and (Y/N)-san. Make sure that nothing terrible happens to either of them." Ace, Deuce and Grim all nodded. "Yes, sensei!" they all chorused.

"Good." With that, Crewel went to create the potion while Ace, Deuce and Grim ran down the direction Leona and (Y/N) headed down to. After 5 minutes of searching, they finally arrived at the Botanical Garden.

"Where are they?" Deuce asked as they looked around inside the garden. Grim turned his head and his eyes widened. "Ah, there they are! I see 'em!" he said. Ace, Deuce and Grim all hid behind the bushes as they looked at the scene before them.

(Y/N) was sitting under the shade of a tree in a grassy area with the large lion lying beside you, his large head on your lap. (Y/N) was softly humming a sweet tune as you gently stroked the lion's mane.

The lion then let out a yawn, revealing its large, sharp canines before it turned his head towards your face. He then softly chuffed at you, and you lowered your head towards his snout, rubbing his cheeks affectionately.

"Leona-senpai. You smell so good." (Y/N) cooed as you gave Leona a little smooch on his nose and another kiss on his chin. Ace shuddered at the sight. "Jeez, kissing a lion like that. (Y/N) sure has some guts."

Meanwhile, Grim was fuming that (Y/M) wa being affectionate towards Leona, giving him pets and kisses. He was supposed to be the one getting pets and kisses, darn it! This ISN'T fair! Grim then hopped out from his hiding place and marched towards (Y/N) and Leona.

"Hey! I want pets and kisses, too, y'know?! I'm your boss!" Grim yelled. Ace and Deuce all cringed. "Grim, you idiot! You're supposed to hide!" Deuce hissed.

Leona's ears twitched as he turned to face Grim. Sensing an intruder interrupting their little session, Leona immediately got up and growled at Grim, making him stop in his tracks.

Leona let out a low, rumbling growl at Grim and bared his fangs at him. Grim's fur on his back stood on end as sweat dripped down his forehead and his little paws began to quake with fear. Grim then realized that Leona was still bigger than him, and if he wanted to, he could easily rip him to shreds.

"Leona-senpai, stop!" (Y/N) yelled. "Don't hurt Grim!" Grim then slowly backed away, wisely giving Leona a wide berth. "F-For-Forget it..." he whispered as he quickly ran back toward the bushes where Ace and Deuce are still hiding.

"Whew! Even as a real lion, Leona is still scary as heck, y'know!" Grim exclaimed. Ace just sighed. "Consider yourself lucky that (Y/N) was there to stop him before he turned you into lion chow." he said.

And so, Ace, Deuce and Grim just watched as (Y/N) and Leona just sat under the tree, enjoying each other's company. It wasn't long before Crewel came in with the potion for Leona. Since Leona won't allow anyone except (Y/N) to touch him, (Y/N) had to be the one to give Leona the potion that will change him back.

And so, (Y/N) gave Leona the potion and changed him back into his beastman self. Leona stretched as he yawned. "Well, that was something." he said casually.

(YN) chuckled. "It doesn't surprise me that you'd still be cuddly even as an actual lion, Senpai." you replied. Leona smiled at (Y/N). "Well, now that that's over, I've gotta get back to the potions class". he said.

Before he left, Leona turned to (Y/N). "Meet me in Savanaclaw later, 'kay?" he asked. (Y/N) nodded. "Yeah, sure! See you there." you nodded. Leona smirked. "That's my girl." he said as he and Crewel left.

(Y/N) sighed dreamily. You couldn't wait to spend the rest of the night with your boyfriend, Leona. Whether he's a lion beastman or an actual lion, it hardly matters. What matters is that Leona will always be your Leona, no matter what.

[talonabraxas]

“Om Krim Kali”

Maha Kali ॐ Talon Abraxas

Kali is one of the many forms of Shakti. Maha Kaali is the fiercest of all goddesses of Hinduism. The word Kali has its roots in the Sanskrit word “Kaal”, which means time. And nothing escapes from time. Goddess Kali is sometimes referred as the goddess of death. But actually Kali brings the death of the ego. Even in the scriptures, she has killed demons but not anyone else. Kali is also not associated with Yama (the Hindu God of Death). Kali is considered a form of mother too.

Kali Maa: The Alchemist of Consciousness

In the esoteric heart of Tantric wisdom, Kali maa emerges not merely as a deity of destruction, but as the supreme alchemical force that transmutes the base metal of human ignorance into the luminous gold of enlightenment. Her fierce compassion serves as both crucible and catalyst in the most profound spiritual transformation possible.

The Alchemy of Being

As the Rasa Hṛdaya Tantra teaches: "Just as mercury purifies metals, Kali Maa's fire purifies the soul." Her blackness symbolizes the alchemical stage of dissolution, where identity must be broken down before rebirth becomes possible.

When she stands fierce as Dhosha Nasini, the Destroyer of Impurities, her Ugra Tejas (fierce radiance) consumes:

- The veil of ignorance separating self from cosmic unity - The binding chains of desire that trap consciousness - The paralyzing fear of death and impermanence

The Transmutation Process

The Rasarnava and Kalikularnava Tantras reveal the five fold alchemical journey under Kali Maa's guidance:

1) Murcchana: the liquefaction of ego-identity, where the practitioner surrenders to divine will.

2) Jarana: the purification where karmic residue burns away in her consuming gaze. 3) Bhavana: Kundalini awakens and ferments within, seeking liberation.

4) Paka: ordinary cognition ripens into transcendent wisdom.

5) Satva Patti brings perfection, the ultimate union with Siva, consciousness bliss beyond duality.

The Mercury and the Nectar

In this profound spiritual chemistry, mercury (Parada) symbolizes consciousness itself, fluid, quicksilver, elusive. Kali Maa, as Parada Devī, stabilizes this mercury, fixing the wandering mind into the philosopher's stone of enlightenment. Her lolling tongue, dripping with Amṛta, offers the nectar of immortality, the ecstatic reality beyond the cycle of birth and death.

[selfaware-promise-au]

so sorry if this goes against your rules since I haven't seen any yet but could you wright a sahsrau where reader tries to help Bailu save the xianzhou natives from their curse and in the end, they end up succeeding in doing so

Warnings: OOC. Platonic relationship. Mentions of medications.

A/N: Don't worry, your request didn't want against my rules.

----

You knew, that Blade's healing won't go unnoticed. How could it not be? The case of healed mara, that mysterious plague, would catch people's attention.

So, you won't be surprised, if the question of healing others would be asked.

But, it didn't come. Each time you attend The Xianzhou Luofu, you saw, how Alchemy Commission Personnel looked at you. Blade still was Persona non grata, but he was with you during your first visit. People saw him only once, and they see enough for rumors to start circling around.

But no one approach him or you with The Question.

Initiative is punishable, but you will take a risk.

-----

Now you spend most of your days in HSR World with Bailu. Observing mara-struck and helping her with healing other different sickness. And reading anything you could find about mara. Information was limited and, in some cases, vague. Not enough to work with or make solid theories.

But you have to start with something.

One time, when you two were having a small tea break together, Bailu thanked you.

"[Y/N], thank you for your help. Even if we didn't make any progress for now, I appreciate it."

-----

The first attempt in curing mara was an interesting one. You, with some help from Dimer, got some medication for Memory, Cognition & Dementia-Related Behaviors from the Real World. They did slow down the mara process, but didn't help patients to rid of it.

The second attempt was the most obvious. Using your blood.

You and Bailu keep "the main ingredient" of the experimental cure a secret.

Somehow, you succeed and fail at the same time.

Your blood did burn away mara-infected cells, curing it. But, your blood also burned in a process. One vial of your blood was enough to cure early stages of mara, but more serious cases required more of your blood. And there were too many patients. They need a lot of your blood.

Too much blood for one adult to give and stay alive and healthy.

You tried to write to Dimer again. Asking for an artifact, that would make you be able to give more blood.

His answer was short. Just a small reminder, that you shouldn't feel obliged to do something drastic or big to pay for your ancestors' sins. And you shouldn't experiment on yourself.

Yes, you have no obligation to help anyone from three worlds. You were just a normal person (with very questionable ancestors). You have no reason to travel between HSR World, Teyvat and New Eridu, for crying out loud! You could stay on Earth and build up HSR/Teyvat/New Eridu Gangs and left the war against divinity to them! And then, no matter if they win or lose, you will live in shame for being a coward. Guilty by inaction.

And you don't want to do that. You have empathy.

You will never forgive yourself, if you didn't try.

That's what you write in your next letter to him.

His next letter was short.

"In the eyes of the divine, you belong to the Earth, to the 'Real World'. However, you still have a deep connection to three more worlds. The connection, that will become stronger with time. Wait. Either for two more months for your blood to become more effective, or until Perversion fall, so you can think about a different alternative for mara."

------

In two months, one vial of your blood was enough to cure more serious stages of mara, and few drops were enough for earlier stages.

A quick letter to Dimer confirmed, that it's not the end and your blood will become even more effective in no time.

Slowly, but surely, the current mara-struck would be healed. As for mara-struck to come...

"So, what do you think?" You observed, how Bailu finished reading the last paper from a small stack you gave her earlier.

It was a project for a future. After Perversion will be dealt with, either you, or anyone who take the Creator's role, will make a lot of changes. One of them would be to change mara to something different.

You decided to call it Molting. While not an accurate title, it gave a good enough idea for what it will be.

In short, after a long-lived species reach eight hundred years, the regeneration process in their bodies will become dormant. During the next one hundred and fifty years they would go through a traditional aging process. Bad memory, bad eyesight, illness... Some unimportant memories will be "deleted". Nothing important will disappear. It should give a much-needed mental 'reboot' to a person.

After one hundred and fifty years passed, the regeneration process will start again. At the end, long-lived human will become good as new. Both physically and mentally.

She put the last paper down and looked at you.

"It is better, than the mara, I admit. But, Divine Healing, do they really need an aging process?"

You immediately nodded, while ignoring the title.

"Yes. Some rules must be followed. If not death, then aging. If not an internal sleep, then a rebirth, or regeneration, or..."

"Molting?" Bailu tilted her head. You nodded.

"Yes. I might come up with something else. But, for now, I only can think about that. I will do better..."

Bailu clapped her hands, making you stop talking. A grateful smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you for everything, Divine Healing. You already did enough. We already have a cure. Mara doesn't look too bad or scary anymore. And if you change mara to something less lethal and cruel... Xianzhou Alliance already in your debt, Divine Healing, but after that, you might become as important as Lan The Hunt."

You nervously chuckled. You were glad, that you have good relationship with aeons. You don't want to live in fear of being a target of Lan's hunt. Or Yaoshi's rage. Your voice was barely a whisper.

"I didn't do it for praise. I won't do it for recognition."

Bailu quickly nodded.

"I know, Divine Healing. But we couldn't just let your good deeds to be left unnoticed. Few days ago, Arbiter-Generals, Six Charioteers, High Elders and Preceptors have a discussion about you. Xianzhou Alliance are ready to follow you. We will assist you in your quest in saving three worlds. Together to the brighter future, right, Divine Healing?"

You looked away, staring at the distance.

"Yes. To the future."

[cryptotheism]

If you were to invent an interdisciplinary Alchemy major (or make a plan for individual study of it) at a modern university, how would you lay it out?

For analogy, my university offers an interdisciplinary major for cognitive science, which is basically a collection of courses from psych, neuro, philosophy, and more with the ability to choose tracks specializing in things like psycholinguistics or artificial intelligence

Any realistic study of alchemy would essentially be an antique language and history of science course. You'd need to know how to read Coptic and use a chemistry lab.

[eatmangoesnekkid]

My attention is almost always focused on and directed towards what I desire to bring into the 3D reality, whatever brings incredible levels of lubrication, expansion, liberation, discomfort, purpose, or fun, and rarely, if ever, am I focused on what I don't. I live cognitively and somatically in abundance in my thinking and feeling, and generally believe that whatever I desire is possible, no template or carved out path needed. There is not one person on Earth who I have spent significant time around that hasn't heard me moan, sing, yell, and scream. I command life through my Sounds . I decree through my voice. I energize through my deep throat (chakra). A vagus-nerve-tending life, as I call it, is a life of relaxation, deliberate creation, and play, that requires us to normalize using our sounds, to tend to our throats, to ‘will’ life in the direction we really desire through our vocals, and to deeply listen for next step instructions. I was told to connect to the water element to access sacred flow states, surrendering to the current and affirming out loud that the universe had a plan, and all I needed to do was relax at the water, pray and wave at the boats passing by. In other words, I became obedient to the universe, therefore I did not have to become exhausted and worn down because I was trying to force something to happen as learned. Instead, I allowed myself to feel safe being helped and supported by something (mostly) invisible and eternal.

My consciousness has drastically increased since publishing my first book "You Look Like Something Blooming" to crafting a new series of books, "The Melody of Love." Speaking with an upgraded consciousness required me to open up my crown through a purification process of slow deep circular breathing, eating real food mostly prepared by me, and channeling my "life energy" or sexual vitality with my heart in order to be able to receive higher messages and downloads. Through some combination of meditation, breathwork, chanting, sacred bathing, kundalini yoga, female sexual alchemy exercises, eating mostly organic, wild, or fermented foods, and/or spending quiet time alone or in nature, especially in warm sunny regions, permitted my 3rd eye to open therefore I could process the higher intelligence I was receiving without having an inflammatory response. And my throat chakra had to evolve to allow me to communicate the advanced messages I was receiving and processing in the simplest, down-to-earth fashion as possible to readers. But none of that would have been possible if feminine expression had not been grounded into my body over the years through root posterior chain work, calve work, and feet work that gave me strength and softness to be able to hold a greater capacity of energy and allow it to pulse through my body and psyche, you see. When your soul lives in a human body, this is the only true way "ascension" happens, from the bottom up. But I am also very grown AF. Not a day that goes by that I don't connect to my throat (pussy, or breasts) and feel the profound peace of the present moment. Like open my mouth and massage my back teeth and throat with coconut oil which also massages my pelvic floor and reproductive organs because the throat, pussy, and pelvis are all energetically and physically connected. What you do to one is done to all parts. Because one thing I know about women is that we live too closed. Our legs need to be open. Our breasts/hearts need to be open. Our spines need to be open. Our minds need to be open. Our hips need to be open. Our toes need to be open. Our buttocks need to be open. And of course our throats need to be open. It’s like women learn to be talk and talk all the time but we do not learn to open up our throats so that energy can properly flow into our eyes, inner eye, and brain, which means that we can finally ‘see,’ ‘feel’, ‘hear’ and interpret at the subtlest layers of reality again. The lack of real circulation is harming our bodies of their greater capacities. That's why the average woman has not touched the tip of what's possible in her body, life, and intimacies. The chronic negative thoughts have carved calcification imprints in her creative portals, made them hard and full of scar tissue. "The Melody of Love" books and school share how to dearmour the female body and unleash the raw multidimensional creative potential for every female body, the hidden, the regenerative, and the uncommon. I created my soft life (the real kind) because I learned how to live tuned in and tapped on in my body and mind, and I want to teach more women and other female-bodied people everything I know. Because when I do look out into world I see that this world needs us. More embodied women. High Priestesses. -India Ame'ye, Author

Only posted for 48 hours.....

[schizotypalpd-culture-is]

cw magical thinking? I do not know if that's right stpd culture: always getting weird looks or getting laughed at when I tell my Okay Lower people about prophetic dreams and the signs that God gives me. I feel like I am always in and out of this all cognitively, but it never really stops feeling correct for me. They just joke that I'm crazy and need to be medicated, and I can not go to most religious people because they also do not understand and they are not ready for it. Maybe I was just born too late to put my mind to use in alchemy, hahaha. Alchemy is really cool isn't it.

-🦒🎩

.

[doshema]

Dril-Bu & Dorje United

Man has become so desensitized to the black cat in the matrix that the Lion’s Roar of the Bodhisattva goes unheard, like the begging homeless child spirit you mindlessly walk past, blinded by self-denial.

Dril-Bu & Dorje United Teacher: All human interaction consists of two (402)qualities, that being the giving and receivingof energy. The object of the subjective mind receives, (403)and the subject of the objective form gives. The subject seeks attention from the object (404)of its fixation. The majority of human beings are attention (405)seeking creatures,which explains why they form…

[russenoire]

i just finished fullmetal alchemist 2003...

and i have words about this.

while both series have lovely scores, courtesy of michiru ooshima here and akira senjuu for FMAB, FMAB's OPs and EPs are almost all far too good to skip, ever. (if i have to hear pornograffiti's 'melissa' one more time, i will scream.) both series rely pretty heavily on slapstick humor to leaven the surrounding darkness, and the massive chip on edward's shoulder about his height, grating in brotherhood, also wears on my patience here.

i liked this story's approach to alchemy and how it works. but the creators' vision of homunculi here, where each homunculus arises as a result of a single alchemist's hubris and becomes their sin to answer for? i prefer it a little more than the admittedly more cohesive explanation of a single being splitting off aspects of himself.

we get to spend more time with scar and maes hughes (my favorite character; i adore his hazel eyes in this adaptation and hearing the late keiji fujiwara's silky pipes voice him twice is a joy). i still can't decide which solf kimblee i like best.

both fullmetals are examples of satisfyingly meaty storytelling and full of awesome animation. i suspect a dislike of canon divergence behind a lot of the hate for the first series, and a preference for deeper character study and pathos behind hate for the second.

i'm usually wary of adaptations continuing after creators run out of source material myself, but the story shō aikawa and seiji mizushima constructed out of whole cloth offers up a feast of philosophy, character study, mindfuckery and intricate military-political intrigue. and for the most part, it holds up under its own weight.

here scieszka, winry and rose are more instrumental to the story's plot. dante the cursed shapeshifting genius alchemist is a brilliant addition to the story, as is archer (more on him below). lust becomes an almost sympathetic character, what with having loved and lost multiple times as she manipulates mankind into seeking knowledge while being only a tool herself. alphonse is a formidable alchemist and a prodigy in his own right. here that's not just hinted at; both boys could have passed the state alchemist exam with ease. i loved seeing the elric brothers use alchemy to squabble with each other, not just fists and limbs. and edward... he's a double amputee, but his prosthetic limbs work well enough to rid him of any real functional impairment (bless winry's fantastic engineering!). i'm not going to get into the fucked-up implications of that in this post, but i will say that FMA '03 makes his disability much clearer. we see how painful attaching his automail limbs is, repeatedly. a character pries them off of him at one point and he's almost helpless until he can get them back. it's now obvious why he wears gloves most of the time.

the brutality and pervasive racism of the military dictatorship running amestris is given far more focus here. (edward himself gets checked on his own racist assumptions quite a few times.) we see more of the armed forces in the act of genocide, not just flashbacks in haunted soldier memories. officers openly call people savages; kimblee is sent in as an exterminator because of his amorality and solipsism; shou tucker's sick research is allowed to continue, even though the military already has a more efficient method to make chimerae. while making the situation the elric brothers left behind in liore worse, the shady lt col archer sustains what would have been fatal wounds. he gets rebuilt into some sort of robocop hybrid sentient killing machine with no qualms about gunning down his own men. rose is traumatized to mutism raped by the military for having led a rebellion and still leads her people.

whether this feels heavy-handed to you may depend on your tolerance for darkness and cognitive dissonance; i'm still processing how i feel about it. both takes on arakawa-sensei's story present their main and supporting cast as capable of cruelty and kindness, but FMA '03 foregrounds that evil a bit more alongside the good. it made the kindness less palatable for me, in a good way.

also i spoiled myself a bit by watching the conqueror of shamballa before finishing this series. when i learned that mizushima-san is a huge fan of hideaki anno's work, FMA '03's 'inconclusive' ending made even more sense.

[33-108]

Saturn/Shani—the most distant of the original 7 planets, slowest to move, weightiest in consequence-has long been associated with time , karma, and death. But Saturn is more than a mere harbinger of decay; in certain esoteric frameworks, it is seen as the Black Sun, the Sol Niger, the silent source behind all outward illumination.

In classical Western alchemy, the Sol Niger represents the phase of nigredo-putrefaction, the blackening,where the ego dies, and all constructed forms dissolve into the chaotic prima materia.. the raw, formless substrate-so that true transformation and rebirth may begin.

It is deeply Saturnian in tone: melancholic, cold, and stark. Yet in the Krama tradition there is a deeper, more expansive vision of this Black Sun.

Here, the blackness is not absence but overfullness. It is not decay but the uncontainable radiance of that which precedes and follows manifestation. Saturn as Black Sun is not merely the prelude to transformation, but the unchanging center of all transformation itself.

This is why Kali in the Krama tradition, is often depicted as the radiant void-the supreme śakti whose terrifying countenance is not simply an image of destruction, but of return: a return of multiplicity into unity, of time into eternity, of the false light of the manifest sun into the true radiance of the Black Sun.

She is not just a goddess of classical death, but of re-absorption. She consumes the world of name and form (nāma-rūpa) only to reveal the eternal prakāśa-vimarśa-the interplay of Śiva’s light and Śakti’s knowing.

This cyclical movement..of emergence and retraction is encoded in the sacred cycle of the 12 Kālīs.

Where the 36 tattvas which unfold linearly from Śiva-tattva down, the 12 Kālīs move in spirals, phases, and returns.

Each Kali is not simply a stage in cognition, but a contraction and expansion of Śakti’s pulsation/spanda. Their power flows from the center that is also the circumference, a center which is Śrī Kalāsaṅkarṣinī—She Who Draws All Time Back Into Herself.

These 12 Kālīs are interior flames of cognition that burn away layers of duality. Their progression maps onto the adept's descent into the inner void. They correspond not just to mental states, but to the tattvas themselves—becoming mirrors of the cosmos as it is drawn back into its source.

Each triad of Kālīs, often grouped in fours, reflects a deeper layer of retraction: the final stage, the last illusions of duality fall away-the adept confronts the final barrier between subject and object. This culminates in Śrī Kalāsaṅkarṣinī, the supreme goddess who draws even śakti into the unspeakable stillness of paramaśiva.

From this view, the Black Sun is that of total re-absorption into being. It is Saturn not as terminator but as originator-the sun before the sun, the nocturnal radiance from which all days are born.

The Saturnian light is not absent...it is so all-consuming that it appears as darkness.

It is not the nigredo of the fallen ego, but the absolute transfiguration that reveals there was never just ego to begin with.

Kali is both Saturn and Sun: prakāśa and vimarśa, the destructive grace that obliterates false self and reveals eternal light.

Not as a process of alchemical refinement alone, but as an ever-present truth: the Void is the fullness. The End is the Origin. And the Black Sun is the supreme blazing of Śiva’s unborn consciousness through the gaze of His eternal Consort.

[lady-quen]

hiii just to say thank you for your tags on rory's outfit timeline they fill me with joy 💙ALSO YES HELLO I AM HERE TO MEET ROURRHE

I am so glad! He fills me with joy, definitely on my list of characters to draw when I get over my very wonky asura anatomy. But ahhh what better way to get over it than to practice, for sure.

Alrighty, you have convinced me! Have a lore post on Da Boy. He is loosely based on Shulk from Xeno/blade.

Crimson Shadow of the Pact

Rourrhe was once a regular student at Synergetics, finding the prospect of exploring the workings of the Eternal Alchemy and how the world's systems interact with one another quite fascinating. He was a natural at spotting patterns and reading people, preferring to work on theoretical models rather than in practice. He enrolled in a krewe studying magical patterns and their possible use in predicting behavior. The research looked promising, some even saying it could open the way to predicting the future, even if in limited capacity. Unfortunately, funding was withheld by virtue of the project's idea being too heavily hypothetical.

While the others moved on to greener pastures, Rourrhe worked on the invention obsessively, using personal means, and eventually turning to the Inquest out of sheer desperation. While he received funding, he saw things that exposed the most horrific aspects of asuran society, and just how far some deranged lunatics were willing to go for science.

As soon as he had a working prototype, he stole it and ran. Of course, the Inquest were immediately on his trail, and the situation looked dire. A cloaked Rourrhe practically broke into the house of one of his former krewe members, a surgeon, and begged her - a raving madman at that point - to help him insert the "Alchemy lens" into his right eye. The final component of the future telling device seemed to be an asuran mind.

Confused, but horribly tempted to see the strange project to completion, the krewe member agreed and inserted the lens. Rourrhe woke up screaming, a vivid vision of the Inquest attacking fresh in his mind. He got off the surgery table, got dressed and calmed down his breathing. He then mentally counted down an exact number of seconds, took out his hunting rifle and aimed, firing shots perfectly into position before the Inquest could exit stealth tech, killing them all on the spot.

It seemed Rourrhe could indeed see glimpses of the future, a true breakthrough - but the lens had become a part of him and its functionality was limited to self-preservation instinct and brief flashes of pre-cognition. Nowhere to be seen were the prophetic visions on how to lead society to brilliance, and neither was the true shape of the Eternal Alchemy. Both his and his krewemate's illicit activity were discovered, and they were expelled from Synergetics.

Crestfallen and disillusioned, Rourrhe discovered his now-unnatural talent for shooting, starting out with hunting and prediciting his prey's movements seconds before it moved. It wasn't perfectly reliable, but it kicked in more often than not. He made a living as a hunter until the Order of Whispers heard of his prowess and decided to recruit him, offering protection against the Inquest.

Rourrhe continued to work with Whispers until the formation of the Pact, where he was put in an elite unit overseeing the safety of Marshal Trahearne and Commander Maelmordha. A stalwart ally, he accompanied them throughout the campaign and then Trahearne into Maguuma, where he was only saved from certain death by the lens alerting him of Mordrem movements. He laid low in a cave with a few other survivors, and later rejoined the Pact forces during the organized effort against Mordremoth.

During his time in the army, he had made friends with a Pale Reaver, but that friendship was not meant to last.

What he witnessed in that cave haunts his nightmares to this day. Some Vigil troops, stricken by grief and rage, decided to slaughter the injured Pale Reaver who showed no signs of turning. They did not only kill her - but tortured her deliberately, believing her to be nothing more than a worthless minion of the dragon. Rourrhe arrived too late to stop them, and could only end her suffering with a swift bullet.

It is then that a switch flipped in Rourrhe's mind. Without remorse, he murdered each and every last one of the soldiers, coping with the guilt only by believing the Eternal Alchemy itself had appointed him as some sort of "judge, jury and executioner" in the absence of law. That he was law now, the hand of "god" - the universe itself. That the mutilated, modified eye he bore was meant to see exactly who he was meant to kill, and he would simply know. He then spent days hunting down targets who were about to mutiny against the Commander.

Through all this, Rourrhe nearly went insane, preaching his crazed revelation until he eventually received psychiatric care from a Pact therapist following the Maguuma campaign. It is then that the Commander approached him personally, and Rourrhe confided in him about what he saw - and did - in the cave, as well as his later killings. The two had a long talk about the nature of Rourrhe's invention, and the asura's fierce loyalty was noted. The Commander gave the sniper a secret order: observe the Pact, and inform him of undesirable individuals.

Once reviewed, it was the Commander's call to give Rourrhe the go-ahead to assassinate the target. A fruitful cooperation that weeded out dissenters from within - and a companionship that would continue throughout the years. Perhaps, to give a madman such a vital task is folly, but make no mistake; The Commander had always had an eye for people, and now an equally igneous desire to see those who would do sylvari harm burn.

While Rourrhe's skill in remaining anonymous is well befitting of the Order of Whispers, talks of the Commander's loyal assassin ensure the Wolf's howl is feared just as deeply as his actual bite.

Even when a deadeye's swift bullet is often far kinder than a necromancer's true ire.

Rourrhe's personality is stoic and collected, being rather difficult to anger and lacking the typical asuran raging superiority complex. He tends to speak to people on a level field, being very goal-oriented and driven. Despite his professional demeanor, he is quite friendly, if introverted. He does not like talking for longer than necessary and is prone to migraines due to his crudely grafted future lens - the device's impact on his brain is slowly killing him, and he is deeply fearful of one day losing his sharp cognition. He is an aspiring revolutionary, hoping to help correct the asuran society from within by any means necessary - to put a stop to the Inquest' tyranny over the naïve and unfortunate, as well as help offer more and kinder alternatives to those not gifted in sciences and unable to mentally and physically cope with the Colleges' environment.

For making it this far in, have an older doodle I made of him and his funky eye (which glows like this only when active.)