#for whom the alchemist exists

[dreamatia-stories]

So in my free time, I've been assigning the Jobs from Alchemist Code to the Dreamatia crew, despite Square Enix's attempts to ruin my day specifically.

After assembling the document, I realized that the cast contains an incredibly disproportionate amount of Bards, even AFTER cutting some back.

The worst part is this still isn't all of them; I still have yet to design the entire cast in Recolor.

[noxtivagus]

yoko shimomura i love her style so much

[sassy-pistachy]

Arbor Philosophorum Perfecta

The Philosopher's Tree. Diana's Tree. Considered a precursor to the Philosopher's Stone.

In TMAGP 19, we learn Isaac Newton perfected the work of Wilhem Homberg (another chemist and alchemist) to produce the perfect Philosopher's Tree.

"Diana’s Tree was considered a precursor to the Philosopher's Stone and resembled coral in regards to its structure. It is a dendritic amalgam of crystallized silver, obtained from mercury in a solution of silver nitrate; so-called by the alchemists, among whom "Diana" stood for silver. The arborescence of this amalgam, which even included fruit-like forms on its branches, led pre-modern chemical philosophers to theorize the existence of life in the kingdom of minerals"

If the Philosopher's Stone is trying to transmute non-precious metals into Gold, the Philosopher's tree is transmuting things into Silver.

As Newton reaches for a "fruit" from the free, he cites the Genesis “de ligno autem scientiae boni et mali ne comedas in quocumque enim die comederis ex eo morte morieris”. God says to Adam, "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die"

Any Alchemy nerds here getting any conclusions? Our pal Newton here definitely did something more than creating silver crystals inside a flask. He's playing God. He's playing with life. Transmutating supposedly lifeless minerals into... something straight out of Edward Elric's worst nightmares.

[throwaway-yandere]

Duke Diluc & The NPC

(Yandere Otome Isekai Diluc x Reader Visual Novel Demo)

Game Link (should work on mobile now!!!!)

Before playing the game, I suggest reading I Got Reincarnated As A Server NPC In An Otome Game But A Capture Target Won’t Leave Me Alone first to get an idea on what's going on. Danke~ <3

Currently the game ends on the prologue so it's just a very short demo :D

Game Description:

Greetings, I am Diluc Ragnvindr.

Welcome to Southern Gaciea. Unlike the North, East, and the West, the South is a tourist spot for outsiders. It's a closed off country, so outlanders will need to submit their documents to the department of domestic affairs.

Perhaps you do not remember, but you've encountered many interesting individuals upon your arrival such as…

Sir Dainsleif, the famous Western knight turned retainer for both Prince Lumine and her missing brother, Prince Aether;

Lord Kamisato, the Eastern noble who controls Gaciean trade with just a flick of a wrist;

Chief Albedo, the Head of Domestic Affairs and Chief Alchemist from unknown origins;

Justice Ajax, the unreasonable Northern politician whom I often argue with;

…And, of course, Duke Ragnvindr, the Southern Head of Military Affairs. That would be me.

It's a shame you no longer remember much of our time together, (Y/n). I assure you, I can make you feel at home in this universe. But— you're not planning to leave South Gaciea soon, are you? ♥

Credits:

Genshin Impact belongs to Hoyoverse, of course.

OST from Cafe Enchante (Welcome to the Mysterious Cafe, My Beloved Enchante, Coffee To Wake You Up)

And of course, the weird sprites are made by yours truly, Ansytea/Throwaway-Yandere hehe

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

04/21/23: this prologue only existed because we had like a two day holiday in my uni lmao.

[talonabraxas]

“An alchemist is one who turns everything into love.”

Venus & Mars 'Cosmic Lovers' Talon Abraxas

Venus and Mars

Venus and Mars are the planets closest to the earth; they refer to what is most personal and primordial in the make-up and the behavior of a human being, to the most intimate factors in the life of an individual.

Venus moves inside of the earth's orbit, Mars outside of it; and this fact alone tells what meaning they have in astrology. Indeed the basic meanings attributed to each of the planets in our solar system is neither a matter of chance nor the result of millennial observations by astrologers and empirical tests; these meanings are deduced essentially from the place the planets occupy in the solar system and in relation to the earth.

Thus, because Mars is the first planet outside the earth's orbit, it represents fundamentally outgoing activity and the organic and psychological instrumentalities which make such an activity possible (for instance, at the physical level, a man's muscles, his adrenal glands releasing quick energy for action).

In contrast to Mars, Venus — the first planet inside the earth's orbit — refers to man's ability to bring into the field of his consciousness and inner life the results of his experiences, and thus to pass a feeling judgment — pleasurable or painful, elating or depressing, good or bad — upon these experiences which Mars made possible.

The symbolic characters traditionally used to represent Mars and Venus can best be understood if we relate them to the one for our planet, Earth. In many medieval paintings we find God (or even the emperor, as a divine ruler), holding in his hand a globe surmounted by a cross. This is the earth, as the home of Man, whom God created in His image and likeness.

According to a persistent and widespread occult tradition, the planet Venus is the spiritual twin of the earth. It was from Venus that some eleven millions years ago a host of spiritual beings came upon our planet to give to animal-like human beings the divine "seed" of self-conscious intelligence and moral responsibility. The Greek myth of Prometheus is an abridged version of the same event.

It is also said that wheat, perhaps corn and bees (and probably ants also, as everything has its shadow aspect) were brought along in some manner from Venus. Even the Hebrew Bible has its version of this "descent" upon the earth of quasi-divine beings when it speaks (Genesis 5) of the coming of the Sons of God who took as wives the daughters of men.

Whether this be fact or myth (but what is the source of myth?) the astrological (and astronomical) sign for the earth is that of Venus inverted — and we should remember the old saying that "the Devil is God inverted." Here on earth the — cross dominates the circle or globe; on Venus it is the circle which stands over the cross. What does this mean?

When one looks through a small telescope or gunsight often a cross made of two fine threads (the web spun by the black widow spider-makes the best) helps us to focus our observations or aim This most ancient symbol, the even-armed cross, is not only a Christian image — its meaning reaches into the very depth of existence, and especially of human existence, for man is that being in whom all powers and faculties can reach a clear and sharp focus. The value of our modern science and its rigorous type of logical thinking is that it is a discipline of thought which makes possible the most precise focusing of our attention — our discrimination and, in general, our mental faculties.

This indeed is the function of earth life and of incarnated man — to be precise, accurate and sharply discriminative in conditions in which an either-or judgment (an intellectual-rational or a moral yes-or-no judgment) is imperative. But man can go too far — and perhaps has gone too far — along this road leading to the sharpest possible focusing of his mind and energies, and our modern scientific civilization, based on the "specialist," may yet prove how disastrous this "too far" can be.

Venus, on other hand, refers to a realm of existence in which a whole view of life dominates the opposite earth trend toward the sharply focused analysis of a multitude of details. The circle is a symbol of wholeness, of infinite possibility. The Venus symbol tells us that in that Venus realm "with God everything is possible," because the consciousness of the whole is ever present.

The Divine is also ever present. Yet it is present in close association with the "human" (i.e. the cross). It is a consciousness of wholeness emerging from the many crosses of existence. You start with the cross, the crisis, the tragedy, then you rise to the total vision, the conscious fulfillment or plenitude of being.

On earth man starts from an unconscious fullness, of which the Garden of Eden is the Biblical symbol, then he has to emerge from this Edenic childlike unconsciousness in which he passively reflects the Divine Image — and the emergence occurs through crises, through conflicts, through "sin" (the "negative way" which leads man to light out of sheer horror in the realm of darkness).

About the 6th century B.C. humanity experienced a rebirth in mind. A new mind began to operate, whether in the Asia of the Buddha or the Europe of Pythagoras and the Greek classical era. This was an -emergence from a more naive, earthbound consciousness of life energies and sex power. It led to the Cross on Gethsemane and to European rationalism. It is only now that the Venusian type of mind is beginning really to operate in humanity — the sense of the whole, intuitive thinking, and the emergence of a global society.

In the astrological gylph for the planet Mars there is also a circle and — if the figure is correctly drawn — an arrow pointing up to outer space at a 45-degree angle above the horizontal. The 45-degree angle is very significant in that it marks a direction of maximum intensity in electromagnetic fields. The circle here represents the biopsychic field of man's personality, and when internal pressure builds up to an explosive point it is released in a "Martian" outgoing. What we have therefore in the Mars symbol is a picture of simple, spontaneous release of energy.

One can relate it to the symbol for Sagittarius, but in this hieroglyph we see a release which stems not from a circle but actually from a cross, whose vertical arm has been bent by a dynamic urge to expansion. It is probable that the direction of the arrow is not at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal, but rather at a 60 degree angle — which would make it coincide with the direction represented by the cusps of the Third and Ninth Houses of a birth-chart And the sign Sagittarius has much to do with the Ninth House of the horoscope.

The Planets and their Symbols by Dane Rudhyar:

[quitealotofsodapop]

Of course, the little Prince never forgot the Elder, even as history did. One of the first things he teaches his cubs (and MK once he unlocks his monkey form in aus where he isnt Wukongs biological cub/TMKATI) is how the elderly storyteller had cared for him on behalf of his birth mother, whom had sacrificed her life to make the egg from which he had been born, and how it had been he who had first inspired Wukong to set out on the path he had done so.

Of course, since he had been staying with the rest of the Noodle Gang due to his home kinda... getting split in two... that means they had the unfortunate matter of eavedroppers when Wukong told MK this

prev.

The Elder was quite old at the time, but he was a beloved babysitter - a true Shí bǎomǔ if there ever was one. And he tried his best to care for the newborn Prince the best he could. His four students, the Stalwart little cubs Ma, Ba, Beng, and Liu, acted as the cub's siblings and playmates, and often brought him to their parents for help in feeding him. Although the Prince was never truly adopted by a member in the troop, he was rarely lacking affection or food from his playmates' parents- many of whom had newborns of their own.

The Baboon and Gibbon had been joys to encounter. The Elder and the wandering pair hooted happily and shared stories for days on end. The sadly could not stay - they had a universe to see afterall - and they departed with the knowledge that there was still more of Them out there beyond the seas and stars.

When a strange Six Eared cub seemingly fell from Heaven, the Elder had been the only adult not terrified of his arrival. He remembered that there were others of his kind out in the stars, just not how many. He along with the Stalwarts and the growing Prince, helped the odd cub learn How to Monkey after a lifetime raised as a Celestial. Macaque didn't forget this elder's kindness when he left Aolai to find a purpose in the stars he'd originated from. He just wished that he had been there to ask more question about what and who they are in the cosmos.

I feel like one of the first things Wukong does as a "true" King of his people is to make a shrine to the Elder of the community that raised him, and helped raise so many of them into wise monkeys. Although his knowledge on Stone Monkeys as a species in a scientific sense was lacking (The Elder had been a storyteller not an alchemist), Wukong makes sure that it is known that Stone Monkeys existed on Aolai, and that he was one of them.

When the Burning occured, many of the shrines had been destroyed, and many of the older monkeys who knew the Elder perished.

By the time of the modern day, only Sun Wukong, The Six Eared Macaque, and the Four Stalwarts that learned from the Elder directly even know he existed.

Wukong hopes to change that.

In the TMKATI au a conversation will certainly occur between Wukong and Macaque over their skills as parents - how can they raise a child of their own if their upbringings were so unusual? Wukong being raised as a child of the monkey community vs Macaque being raised in near (unintentional) isolation with Chang'e. The adults of the noodle gang certainly overhear this conversation, though they do not bring it up directly. Pigsy would start a tangent about being an only child and how he has hundreds of cousins out in the countryside in Gao Village, and how he always felt a little alien amongst them. If only to put Macaque's particular worries to rest.

When MK of any universe begins to ask the Big Questions, Wukong makes sure to pass on the stories of the Elder and of the community of monkey demons that populated Aolai. How the Monkey King was not made in a vacuum. And neither was MK.

[gear-project]

I saw the A.B.A. gameplay video. I never played the old games since I started GG with SIGN, but that Jealous Rage, you have an idea on what is wrong with Flament? He looks sickly and disorientated and I am not sure if A.B.A. has done this before. Also, it looks like A.B.A. is more 'confident' and 'nonchalant' in her fighting stance compared to the older games, although she seems more aggressive and vicious in her attacks.

It's a tad early to speculate what is going on, but I suspect that Flament was exposed to the INSIDE OF THE GATE.

The story goes that the Inside of the Gate is embodied by "everything" that Homunculi do not possess that Humans "have".

"Jealousy" is one simple way to put it, but it is basically every aspect of what exists in terms of absolute opposition.

Greed, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Sloth, Vanity, and also Despondency.

It's a little complicated to explain what I mean but...

With every "talent" that Humans have, there exists something that "lacks" that talent. Every skill, every blessing, every idea, every presence. Becomes a Burden, a Curse, a Vexation, an Obsession, and so on...

Getting caught up in the "darkness" (the thing that changed the Original Sage in to Happy Chaos), basically.

What makes us unique and special... the things we value... are all taken inside this gate in "equivalent exchange" (if we hope to gain something more than what we already have in our greed and hubris).

The Gate itself is similar to the Idea of "that which seeks to surpass humanity".

In simple terms it's similar to desire, once again using the word "jealousy" here in a vague way.

But just like how I-No was born from the world's desire for a better future... it was that "desire" that also broke the world (namely the Backyard).

Homunculi are, give or take, something of a "connection" between this world and the world beyond the Gate... similar to Boundary Contact Mediums like BlazBlue had.

As for Flament Nagel himself... he was originally a battle axe in the shape of a Key... after countless battles and engorging himself on bloodshed and conflict, he transformed in to the "goat face" with horns we saw in Accent Core.

However, this shape is formless... almost liquid-like. Similar in fact to Eddie and his formless body as a Shadow Organism.

Likely getting swept up in the Currents of the World beyond the gate has dismembered parts of Flament Nagel beyond recognition... though he still somehow "remembers" what he looked like (only just barely).

Probably A.B.A. is part of the reason he can still "revert" back in to his Key Form (an attachment to this world perhaps).

(Side note: Hoenheim is the Label on the tassel, which is a reference to the Alchemist whom created A.B.A.)

[virtuangel]

welcome, 2024 !! some messages are longer in the written version below.

as always, i wanted to thank my friends for, well, keeping me alive lol but seriously i say this every single year but you really. made my year. and i'm very grateful for that.

in particular, i'd like to thank my most beloved tuals (twtuals for the most part), thank you for dealing with me on a daily basis, i bet it's not easy !!

// in alphabetical order of the contact names!

[ashie] ; @geumibear

my ribbit !!! we haven’t spoken much this year, but your presence was always, ALWAYS very appreciated!! i’m also very much enjoying the crush saga … in my humble opinion he wants u SO bad ashie. so bad. also, belated congratulations for getting into your chem degree, my whittle alchemist (<- ik that’s not what u are but that’s cute so u hab to accept it sorry) i hope that you always always always remember that i love you very much even when we don’t really talk!! may 2024 bring u crush and uni successes <3 can’t wait to keep up w your adventures this upcoming year as well!!!! lob u

[biebear] ; @marklyluvr

dear bylan p baller! sorry, my BELOVED BIEBEAR <33 we were already pretty good friends (i like to think) but i feel like we’ve gotten much much closer these past few months!! (or is it just me. who knows) . either way i’m really glad for that <3 because idk if u know this (u better. this is a threat.) but i love you a LOT. sorry for making u deal with me recently kjdfksbdk but thank you for hearing me out (and giving me courage also) <3 also thank you for always playing along w me when i say dumb stuff ure so cute i lob u… thank you for always being so nice to me and for being my most beloved villaintual my ohseungtual so important to me what wld i do without u… please be careful on the road!! ure still a whittle biebear so people should let u do whatever u want when ure driving but i have a feeling that they won’t :( i hope that the upcoming year treats you better than this one, i love you!! my cutieful bieloved!! ps. kissie for lillie

[bnuuy / my gabi] ; @yangsminho

my biloved <3 i already said this recently but. i really missed you an awful lot.. an so i’m SO very glad that we’ve been talking a bit more these days <3 u falling for nicho (and subsequently fuma. and) was one of the best things to happen to me this year fr . i kiss u btw . sorry for being so needy and annoying sowwy for targeting u so often when it happens its bc i love u i can’t promise i’ll be less annoying next year hope u understand… also, sure, i only know your internet persona BUT i do love you a whole lot and. this is something i’ve said before but. your internet persona is still a part of You. and i would love you no matter how and where and when i met you, i promise. thank you for being my friend, and i hope we can continue that throughout the upcoming year <3 can’t wait to hunt down nichofuu at the korean clubs w u mwah!!

[founding matthewer / my iri] ; @seokmatthewz

MY IRI WHOM I LOVE my forest witch my cherry fox (og) my shrimptual my elf chef… and most importantly recently my zebitual ofc ofc ofc. founding matthewer. i love you. btw. if u even care. i think this year was a big one for miliri!! got ur twt n subsequently ur discord i feel like i won at life. i guess im also thankful to zebi for existing so i can annoy u more… or i guess ure the one terrorising me most of the time but. as u know. i don’t mind. (also &t i’m so glad u had no other survival show to watch im so glad u decided to subject urself to &audition i love the consequences of that so bad u domt understand) i’m really really glad that we’ve been talking arguably? more this year!! i hope you’re willing to deal with me next year as well!! also excited for the 2024 miliri jesus birthday cafe run, of course!!!!! kdfkjsdnjkd ps. may 2024 bring u all the shrimp of the world. right to ur door. and say miss blue that i love her. and ur honorary catdog also &lt;3

[léksie] ; @possession1981

my léksie whom i love <3 congratulations on your graduation hehe!! things are…….the way they are recently so i feel like we haven’t kept in contact as much as i wish we did this year but i’m glad that you’re still… here, yknow!! i love you very, very, very much and you deserve nothing but all the love in the world!!! 2023 was tough, i know, and i hope that 2024 treats you so so much better… if it doesn’t ill kill the universe actually. i’ll also be crossing my fingers for a potential miléks meetup (<- literally have not discussed this w u seriously but idc i’ll be scheming)(just between lovers marathon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when!!!!!!!!!!!) thank you for being such an amazing friend and role model, i really, really care about you and love you a lot. 

[loml / my brina] ; @aquablues

MY BRINA LOVE OF MY LIFE MY SUNSHINE MY RAINBOW MY LITTLE TULIP MY BRILOVED MY LITTLE STAR WHO IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME …. MY WORLD …. MY BABRI (baby bri) WHOM I LOVE SOSOOSOSOSOSOSOSOOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this year was a big one for you and i’m so, so, so, so, so, so proud of you always always always!!! i’m SO glad to see that your college life has been treating you well so far i’m genuinely SO happy that you’re having a good time like u dont get it i’m literally tearing up as im writing this?? anyways thank you so much for keeping me (and the rest of us) updated on your uni adventures i really appreciate it!! and as u know i would have been devastated if u just contact w me like i wld be so sad if u ever do that at least give me like a two weeks notice ok thank u… please remember that i love you i adore you i cherish you my brina!!! so much!! i hope you can continue to enjoy your uni experience in 2024 as well (without the annoying u-know-who this time). ps. i still have a jo to send u someday i just think i prob shldnt send it to ur home address considering ur parents??

[megmeg] ; @lunetual

my megmeg my beloved <33 thank you for helping me this year despite being so busie <3 even if we dont really get to talk i’m really really happy to have you in my life!! and thank you for making efforts to keep in touch despite being so busie i love u… i hope we can continue to be friends in the upcoming year hehe <3 ps. give kissies to apollo from me!!

[mr. meoweks] ; @awek-s

dear mr pawminister sir. i hope you’re doing well in this very busy season,, kjsfnksjdnfkksn hello my meoweks whom i meow (love) so so so meowch!! i thiiiiiink we might have gotten a bit closer this year and i’m very happy about that!! ik this year was definitely not easy for you so i hope that 2024 can be a much better year BUT! congratulations (yet again) on getting into ur phd program im sosoosososososososo proud of you genuinely SO proud!!!! i knew you could do it but STILL!! cant wait to be promoting ur anthology entry in the streets <3 also omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg……………… meowmeow (aweks millie) meetup i CANT WAIT head in hands im so excited u domt get it meoweks.. also i think its SO cute that u have little bunbuns now wtf tell them that i love them wtf wtf wtf they’re so cute i love them. ps. do tell me if u want me to send u the cappuccino or if u want to wait until u come over!!

[my danderion / my eri] ; @xiaojuun

my beloved eri… what can i say that i havent said yet at the beginning of the month lmao this is the hard part abt u being a december baby it’s like i don’t wanna keep repeating myself but it’s literally only been like 3 weeks. but it’s been. Very busie weeks also. it’s slightly sad to have u so busy (from a selfish standpoint bc … my ewi … i miss my ewi …) but i’m also genuinely very happy for you!! you get to do what you wanted to do where u wanted to!! AND ur not living alone!! u won big time i think!!! im also very very grateful that you’re making efforts to still keep me updated even when you’re so busy, i appreciate it a lot, really :< i love you (you already know this). and. as i said before. i am Very glad to have not a friend Like you, but You As my friend. also i hope u know that i’m taking my wittle pengeri (tuxedo sam) so so many places! in very important 2023 events i am also SO happy (and still so giddy. i am insane. and i love u.) that i got to meet you irl <33 one of my best memories of the year! thank u for being such a cute n nice guide i lob u… i hope 2024 treats you well and that we can !! continue!! to be good friends!! i love you lots <3 i really do. ps. give flo and vika a kithie from me if u can!! and sarabi too, the next time u see her <3 pps. i allowed myself to show my grandma meri christmas pics and she said ure pretty. shes right. btw if u care.

[my ina] ; @flops

MY INA WHOM I LOVE!!! i feel like every year my wishes of getting closer to u get realised !! and u have no idea how happy it makes me!! im also so so happy that u joined us over on twt im so so so glad im so glad u hab no idea im SO happy i can annoy u so much more now thank u so much… (also sorry). thank you for putting up with me and all the annoying things i send u .. its a love language (and for sending me my leo)!! i love you to bits… and yet again, i hope we can get even closer in the upcoming year <3 ps. milina meetup when

[my violet / my vyvy] ; @souladies

MY VYNAIGRETTE!!!!!!!! MY VYONCÉ!!!!!!!!!!! my violet my vyvy my viavy my vyvyney whom i love so so much my little mouse my fluffy cat my beloved fennec fox <3 i feel like we’ve gotten SO insanely closer these past few months?!?! first of all thank you so much for being my beloved dramamate <3 thank you for being okay with me live messaging u my reactions to wifty and piggy king, thank you for agreeing to (re)watch hidden love with me, thank you SO much for experiencing fiys with me, thank you (and paula) so much for welcoming me for that one insane extraordinary you episode, and thank you (and ro!) for watching the killy votey & kidnapping day with me as well!! thank you so much for always making time for me :< i really appreciate it. and more recently, thank you for being my line friend hehe <3 i really love talking to u a LOT !! idk if u can tell . thank you sm for dealing with me skjdnfksdnk i genuinely thought u were going to stop talking to me after that one piggy episode . anyways i hope that 2024 treats you well and that we can continue talking and being friends <3 also i’m very excited for the next vyllie drama, whatever it may be!! ps. tell paquito that i lob him

[pauby] ; @ghiblin

MY PAUBY!!!!!!!!! my capy <3 i lob u so much thank u for always being so cute and so nice to me!!! and thank you for allowing me into the pauney extraordinary you watch that time and for welcoming me so nicely i kithie u … i hope that 2024 treats you vewy nicely (or else!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and that we can continue to be friends <3 ps. tell ur kitty that i said hello pps. pauby to be honest i wld let u :O eat me . honestly

[princess roro] ; @sunghanbin

MY SUNSHINE MY MODEL MY PRINCESS MY BEROVED RORO!!!!!!!!!!! <33 big year for milro i wld say but also i feel like every year is… <3 thank u (and vyvy) for watching killy votey and the kidnapping day with me <3 thank you for being the girl with the prettiest smile ever <3 also just the most beautiful girl ever. i know things have been rough lately and i’m very sorry about that… i hope 2024 can bring you and your family good news! that aside, thank you for being my friend and talking to me and bickering with me and getting me into bonedo and for showing me so much love and for trusting me!! what i’m trying to say is!! i love you!! a lot!! my beroved!! and i hope you are willing to deal with me for another year <3

[puppie !!] ;

MY PUPPIE MY VENVEN MY VEN PARA whom i love. thank you for STILL being friends with me i feel like its been so long…. i don’t really know if you realize this but you’re a extremely important friend to me. genuinely. i think my life would be a lot more miserable without you. thank you for dealing with me despite everything.. amd thamk u for the kitty videos always!! i kissie u <3 i love you <3 i hope that you always remember that and that you Never ever doubt it. may 2024 treat u nicely!!!!!!!!!!! and i hope we can be friends for even longer <3 ps. pls tell my children (phantom max sassa . i feel like im forgetting someone if i am im sorry i am on my knees repenting) that i love them!!

additionally, thank you to my other mutuals that have spent this year with me!! my miha (@jaebeomtual) and lili (@ninqz) who have been so sweet ; my sarah (@wabisaba), my rosie (@kimjiwoong), my beluluved (@fushigojos), my sofsof (@yeofi), luna (@yunwooz), and my dee (@ryudaeng), who have been with me for a While now and stuck with me despite us not interacting much this year ; rachie (@gnanii) and mary (@dongkwan) whose contribution to the eri project i'm very grateful for (and they're amazing just in general as well but) ; as well as vivi (@moonsua) who's a beloved twtual &lt;3

and a special thanks to paquito and lavender ; phantom, sassa and max ; miss blue and iri's woof ; paula's cat ; eri's woofs whose names i forgot i am so sorry... & bestinez and sarabi, bestie j & ellis and florence and vika ; apollo ; lillie ; gabi's many many many animals ; grimm ; sammy and ashy ; brina's friend group. for being around my beloveds and for all the stories (amd cute pictures) involving them !!

as well as jinsung coming back bc this is my post and i can be insane <3 as a treat <3

credits!! [icons] // [ash pfp] // [bie pfp] // [gabi pfp] // [iri pfp] // [aléks pfp] // [brina pfp] // [meg pfp] // [aweks pfp] // [eri pfp] // [ina pfp] // [vy pfp] // [paula pfp] // [ro pfp] // [ven pfp]

[torgawl]

can we talk about sukuna and rika and why the king and queen of curses having a dispute is also narratively fitting? if sukuna is an heian era sorcerer with an antipathy and disregard of human emotions and the weak's will to live, blind to love and unable to comprehend the value of relationships with others then rika, as his counterpart, works especially well. rika is just a kid, or was just a kid. an innocent young girl who ended up dying tragically and saw herself transform into a vengeful spirit after being cursed by love. not only does she represent the weak (remember when sukuna's slaughter of women and children was implied?), she represents love itself. with her feelings lingering after death, she clinged onto her existence with the sole wish of protecting yuuta. it counteracts so well with sukuna's selfish will to kill time before his final breathe, which he admitted to be his will and motivation.

before i move on to my next idea, which let me preface by saying that it might be a little out there and dives into theory territory, i'm going to contextualise it with some information on the symbolism of "king and queen" that might help understand why this thought may make - at least some - sense.

in alchemy the king usually appears in conjunction with the queen, representing the sun-and-moon duality. in accordance with the theory of sulfur and mercury, which together, after alchemist purification, form the philosopher’s stone (also called the elixir of life, associated with rejuvenation and immortality), usually represented by the crowned hermetic androgyne (the union of the complementary male and female, achieving perfection or completion in the human state). according to jung, the king and queen also signify the spiritual conjunction that takes place when the process of individuation is complete, with the harmonious union of the unconscious and consciousness. jungian psychology has subjected the alchemistic tradition to extensive analysis and views the king less as an image of paternal authority and more as an archetype of higher insight and wisdom.

with that in mind, i think it's easy to understand where i'm headed but i want to add something else. remember jjk 0? geto's plan at the time was to obtain rika so he could use her power and move forward with his plan to annihilate all no-sorcerers. he believed her to be the key to achieve his goal and was willing to risk his own life for it. furthermore, the story is highly based on buddhist concepts and one of the core aspects of jujutsu kaisen is the cycles of suffering the characters are subjected to. in buddhism the goal is to become free of the samsara (continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth), eliminate suffering and achieve nirvana (enlightment). this ties withe the name of the series as kaisen is comprised of the kanji 'kai', meaning cycle, and 'sen', meaning battle, which combined with jujutsu (which means magic/sorcery but contains the word curse) describe the story as an endless battle of curses. and in a sense, the story also repeats itself, between generations and storyline-wise with the events circling back to how it all began. yuuta managed to land a fatal strike on geto once again, but now rika is pointed to be in a direct confrontation with sukuna as the queen of curses. now that i went through all the context needed to understand this, is it possible rika is once again in danger of being taken away? the idea of achieving a state of perfection with the unity between king and queen is quite intriguing. sukuna finally addressing yuuji as a worthy rival because of his unshakable resolve and unbreakable soul, is almost directly implying yuuji to be the one with whom sukuna has his last battle. an ultimate power-up (or the equivalent to), would be veyy cathartic before a final fight where yuuji would have the opportunity to finally go all out and have his well awaited and deserved protagonism (in my eyes, at least).

[cresvalkyrie]

So I've finished all the story quests in Arcane Odyssey, and with that I've re-drafted up Ailyn's lore as well as how she met the crew. Potential spoilers for the Ravenna arc, you have been warned if you haven't finished it yet. Putting it down in a readmore just to be safe

I'll start with the lore behind Ailyn's family first. She's descended from Athena, via Erichthonios - a mortal whom the goddess adopted as her own child and personally tutored in the art of war after she had stumbled upon him half-buried in the earth as a newborn. Under her tutelage and blessings, Erichthonios would later become a legendary warrior-mage during the age of the magic wars, back when Ancient Greece was at its peak. And out of gratitude for Athena, he and his descendants became devout worshipers of the virgin goddess.

Adding on to that, Erichthonios himself was a direct if distant descendant of Zeus. It was through their descent from Zeus that the family line acquired a fraction of the god's powers in the form of Lightning magic, something that would manifest in almost every member born into this bloodline, although it also resulted in a peculiar quirk where they would exhibit two magical affinities: the primary one being Lightning, and the other their natural magical affinity influenced by their inherent natures.

For centuries, Erichthonios and his descendants were a powerful noble family, holding immense influence over the War Seas... but one day the noble house mysteriously collapsed, leaving not a single trace of their existence in the wake of their disappearance and were eventually forgotten to time. However, there are survivors who bear this lineage and had scattered to the winds to preserve their lives; Ailyn's specific bloodline ended up fleeing to a tiny remote island village (so small that it could not be found on maps) that would later be subjugated under the reign of the Ravenna Realm and become one of its many colonies.

Currently her family is no more than peasants, although they still possess an ancient artifacts - one dating back to when the family was once powerful and influential - which served as the family heirlooms. It was a set of bronze spear and shield, said to be gifts bestowed upon their ancestor Erichthonios by Athena in the age of the magic wars. Now it was of no use to the peasant family, its descendants having forgotten its true value, but they were still faintly aware of its importance and kept it within the family for generations.

Now back to Ailyn. She is born on 3rd February 1836 as the eldest of three children, on a remote island village under Ravenna. Her family were quite poor, making ends meet through fishing and offering their services as weavers and alchemists. Even as a child, Ailyn longed to see the outside world, having grown restless from the predictable village life. Something her parents would eventually notice.

Thus on her sixteenth birthday, her parents passed down the family heirlooms to her and their blessing for her to leave the island to walk her own path. And ecstatic, Ailyn immediately left the village by hitching a ride on a passing merchant ship, heading first to Ravenna where she later enlisted into the Bronze Legion.

She served in the Bronze Legion for two years, quickly rising up the ranks and eventually becoming a Legionnaire thanks to her diligence and competence. However, that all came to an end one day when she received a command to siege a suspected rebel base and lay waste to it. At first, she didn't think much of it, having heard it was some remote island... only to realise in horror that it was her home village that the royal family had ordered her to destroy without mercy. And by then, it was too late for her to save anyone...

Disgusted and horrified by what she had done, she deserted the Bronze Legion and attempted to flee Ravenna, only to be caught and detained as someone who she thought as a friend tipped the Bronze Legion off about her plans to desert as they were jealous of her for being able to climb up the ranks so quickly. Ailyn was originally to be sentenced to the Eternal Mines if it weren't for a high lord of the Order taking an interest in her after sensing a peculiar magic in her. Intrigued, they had her be shipped off to serve as the Order's newest experiment subject instead, believing her to be useful in fulfilling the Order's goals.

It was there that she met the rest of the experiments crew (i.e Raju, Acelia, Ambrosia and Reiko). However, at that point, she was still badly in shock from the drastic turn of events that had occurred not too long ago, and was almost unresponsive to anyone whenever they attempted to talk to her beyond simple nonverbal communication. Ailyn spent around a year in the Order's clutches as an experiment subject before escaping with the crew, but she parted ways with them shortly after they woke up on Dawn Island to track down the whereabouts of the family heirlooms she had lost after the Legion had confiscated them upon her detainment.

During ch1 and ch2, Ailyn became a mercenary and bounty hunter separate from the main crew, desperately searching for the heirlooms but to no avail. She was just about to call it quits when she unexpectedly ran into Raju at a tavern in Cirrus, who offered her a place in her crew after hearing that Ailyn had nowhere else to go. Seeing that she had no other choice, she accepted, even if she felt that Raju's kind offer was wasted on her... and the rest is history.

I still haven't figured out how Ailyn plays into the overall storyline with the crew, but if you guys see this I'd like to hear your thoughts on Ailyn!

[aurorawest]

Reading update

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - 3.75/5 stars

I hate myself a little bit for using this word to describe this book, but it's a meditation on modern (western) culture, the drumbeat of living a purposeful life, and, imo, the millennial condition.

It also, separately from that, made me think of the song 'New Constellations' by Ryn Weaver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EX7qGdUGI

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

This book features Gareth Inglis, a member of the gentry whose father shipped him off to his uncle when his mother died. Gareth never saw or heard from his father (who remarried and had another child) again, and no one knew he existed because his father was a piece of human garbage. Which meant I couldn't stop thinking about my former father-in-law, who had two sons from his first marriage whom he, as far as I could tell, never had any contact with after remarrying and having another child. Life imitates art?

Anyway, it's KJ Charles, so you pretty much can't go wrong. I saw someone refer to this as enemies-to-lovers and realized my toxic trait is railing against people who want to apply enemies-to-lovers to everything. Spoiler alert, this is not enemies-to-lovers. But it is lovely, and includes Gareth and Joss Doomsday (a smuggler) bonding over beetles.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by SA Chakraborty - 4.5/5 stars

It was no Daevabad Trilogy, but then again, I remember finishing City of Brass and being like, yeah, it was fine, I'll probably pick up the sequel at some point. It wasn't until Kingdom of Copper that I grew to really love the series, so I'm hoping the same happens with this. This book was a lot of fun, and the fact that all the characters were middle-aged was pretty delightful. I'm definitely excited to see where this series goes.

The Long Run by James Acker - 5/5 stars

Excellent YA book about two lonely jocks in New Jersey.

Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert - 3.75/5 stars

His Accidental Cowboy by AM Arthur - 4/5 stars

Brida by Paul Coelho - 1/5 stars

One of the reviews for this book on Storygraph says it 'aged like milk' and I can't put it better than that. This is a soul mate AU where souls undergo cell division, essentially, and your soul mate is from your same base soul from before the soul split in half. Okay, great. Oh but wait, the soul always divides into male and female. And your soul mate is always someone of the opposite sex, even though that doesn't make sense because as souls divide again and again, that means there are a lot of people out there who came from the same original soul as you. Also, witchcraft? Also also, even though the book is called Brida and is ostensibly about the title character, her whole journey was really just to serve the unnamed male character, the Magus. This isn't implicit either, it's completely explicit. At the end it's like, 'sometimes young women come along to show men the way' (I'm paraphrasing but...not much).

This went straight to my give away pile, and I hated it so much that the rest of my Coelho books joined it (except The Alchemist).

Enlightened by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

Or, For The Love Of God Please Give David Lauriston And Murdo Balfour A Break, And Preferably A Happy Ending.

They got one, btw.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao - DNF

Honestly, the Mad Libs YA title should have warned me off of this one, but I always give my Illumicrate books a try. Cartoonish villains and protagonists I find myself liking less the more we get to know them. The prose is quite good but not enough to make up for the character deficiencies.

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel - 5/5 stars

Blurbed by no less than Tamora Pierce (Song of the Lioness supremacy!), Rainbow Rowell, Freya Marske, and CS Pacat. Did I go into this book with insanely high expectations? Yes. Did it mostly meet them? Yes! If you're a Captive Prince fan, this one's for you.

Siegel tells us up front, before the book even starts, that it's a romance and not historically accurate. So don't go into this expecting a historically accurate love story between King Richard of England and King Philip of France. It is, however, a gorgeous romance. The world-building is top notch. Even if it's not totally accurate to the High Middle Ages, it feels accurate, if that makes sense? Siegel really captures the feeling of being in a different world. Lush writing, amazing sexual/romantic tension, lovely sad boys. Highly, highly recommend.

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian - 4.75/5 stars

I docked .25 stars because it bugged me that they didn't move in together at the end. Idk, just felt too 'look, I'm subverting romance conventions!' Still good, obviously.

Like Real People Do by EL Massey - 4/5 stars

A very wholesome and low stakes hockey romance. I found myself often thinking that the interactions of the men on the hockey teams seemed unrealistic, but it was charming and sweet enough that I didn't care.

The book reads like fanfiction, which is because it was fanfiction—but it's in a mostly good way, not a bad way (*cough* All The Way Happy *cough*). Apparently the original version was Check, Please! fanfiction, which I am vaguely familiar with as a thing that exists. Apparently it's a web comic? Anyway, I enjoyed the book enough to pick up the sequel.

[gorbalsvampire]

Hiya, nice to meetcha. Anyway… I was a little curious since mentioned something about your treatment of the Tremere and was curious about that little detail. How exactly are the Usurpers treated in this little corner of the internet?

Short version: they're not mages and they never were: they're alchemists. They stumbled into vampirism by accident and decided to take over.

The context is...

Well, first up I find the Tremere/Tzimisce/Salubri metaplot very overcooked. It's top level Antediluvian find-the-lady that has no relevance to playable characters, just impact. It's superhero comic plotting, nerdism run wild. I have a fundamental distaste for how the official materials present those three clans in particular and I'll take any excuse to knock them down a peg or two.

But also: I'm tidy minded, and I've been a development editor for RPGs, and as such... I loathe Thaumaturgy. I see a power set that works nothing like any of the others (instead of 1-10 linear progression it's a series of 1-5 scaling options, instead of stat+skill like everything else in the game it runs off Willpower) and a) I want to know why and b) I think that needs a rework, because for some reason you, the developer, decided to break your own rules at publication point.

b) is easy. You, the developer, didn't need to do that. Kill your darlings, especially in game text where your darling is adding brain wrinkles to the whole process of play.

a) is fascinating. There is some industry scuttlebutt that I can't verify, and it goes like this:

Before Vampire, the same-ish team worked on Ars Magicka. (RPG where you play Hermetic wizards and their associates caught up in complex inter-House politics spanning a fantastic version of early thirteenth century Europe. It has a neat verb-noun spellcasting system, and the cool then-innovation of people running multiple characters so they can switch out to suit the needs of the scene or story. It's a good game. None of this is Ars Magicka's fault.)

When Vampire came along, someone on the team, someone without whom the new game would be dead on release, folded his arms and said he wouldn't work on it if he couldn't port in his Ars Magicka character, effectively holding Vampire development hostage. Thus House Tremere became Clan Tremere, and the wizard spells received a whatever-he's-happy-with implementation, and we have all had to put up with decades of "there's a Path for that" largely because someone had a mantrum back in 1990.

As I say, can't prove it, and it would be outright libel for me to name names, but it certainly feels true based on how the Tremere were implemented into both system and setting.

Anyway, Bloodlines did it right - here's a series of wizard spell powers that all riff on the theme of blood in some way, and that exist in the same mechanical framework and structure as every other Discipline - and I'm glad V5 took its design cues from there.

I'm fine with Rituals existing for that toolbox aspect, I just think the game loses something when you have someone literally playing by different rules to throw around fireballs and lightning bolts and do teleports, for no good reason other than internal company politics from thirty plus years ago.

[bonesandthebees]

I'm really happy to hear that you're comfortable enough to write rose again. The break was definitely something I feel like we all needed and I'm looking forward to seeing rose return since I really like seeing you write politics and the whole vibe of the fic in general (Niki my beloved. I can't wait to see her again. My love).

I haven't read the scrap bin yet but I plan on it before going to bed as tlou is my shit and I love seeing other takes on the world as I have my own mini au of it (I only have like 1 scene actually written from tlou2 but the brainworms are real). Also I am one of the people who have never seen fullmetal alchemist before so I am curious as to what the scene is that it needed tws.

I am excited for what is to come and hope that I will not drown in the mountain of schoolwork waiting for me next week.

I will def be sending in more of my thoughts on priory because I need to scream about it but I hope all is going well in your life :]

Also your music taste is banger after banger. I would send one of those music note asks but I do not have emojis rn :[

-Shark anon

yeah I think we all really needed the break, me to feel comfortable writing the story again and you all to feel comfortable reading the character. I'm about halfway through the chapter now? maybe a little more? so hopefully it shouldn't be too long till I can post it, but I'm also not going to rush myself. I'm taking it easy when it comes to writing these days.

hope you enjoy/enjoyed the scrap bin snippets!!! tlou au one only existed for a brief time in my head while I was watching the show but it was sooo good. I knew it was never going to be an au I wrote out in full but I just wanted to capture a little of it with sandduo, just for myself.

also, uh, good luck with the fullmetal alchemist one. it's intense (and might not be very enjoyable if you've never seen fma??) but fun fact fma is about two codependent brothers one of whom is an angry blonde teenager who wears red and hates being called a child. edward elric is literally ctommy to a T.

good luck with all the schoolwork!!! I see you guys all talking about homework and exams and I'm just like thank god I'm out of school now

tbh I got more music asks but I felt like they were getting a bit spammy on the dash so I stopped answering them I didn't wanna annoy anyone 😭 glad you enjoyed seeing my music taste though!! I always love sharing songs with you guys

[yuurei20]

Meet the Seiyuu: Deuce Spade

In 2021 both Deuce’s VA Kobayashi Chiaki and Epel’s VA Tsuchiya were selected for “Rookie of the Year” awards. In 2022, the radio show he hosts with VA Kobayashi Yusuke (no relation, Kobayashi is a very common surname) won the “Best Creative Radio” award by popular vote.

He worked with Ruggie’s VA Ichikawa on both Sonny Boy and Boogiepop Phantom. Here is a 2021 interview the two had together.

Kobayashi is real-life friends with Ruggie’s Ichikawa, and the two host a regular web show on Nico Nico. Their most recent video is available here:

His first lead role in an anime was in 2018’s “Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari” as Kyoichi Sano. He has since voiced lead characters in 16 anime including Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE, Y School Heroes, GREAT PRETENDER, Moriarty the Patriot, SK8 the Infinity, Fanfare of Adolescence, Shoot! Goal to the Future (with Epel’s VA Tsuchiya) and Arknights: Prelude to Dawn.

He has voiced lead characters in 8 video games including DANKIRA!!! – Boys, be DANCING! and For Whom the Alchemist Exists.

He has had roles on over 30 drama CDs, including the lead role of Sayama Masaki alongside Ace’s VA Yamashita as Date Yuusei in “Hizamazuite Ai o Tou” (NSFW).

Kobayashi has hosted three different episodes of Twisted Radio Station, all three available with English subtitles.

Episode 2 (with Ruggie’s Ichikawa)

Episode 3 (with Sebek’s Ishiya)

Episode 6 (with Ace’s Yamashita)

He also hosts a regular YouTube show, “Kobayashi Chiaki’s Blue Monologue”, where he spends half an hour talking about pretty much whatever he likes.

The most recent episode (as of this tweet) is number 64, viewable here:

He also voices Sora Yakumo in Mayonaka Danshi Meshi alongside Idia’s VA Uchiyama and Crewel’s VA Ito.

All three twst voice actors appear in this installment:

Kobayashi seems to prefer radio-style shows over being on camera, but he does appear in this brief promotion of the 2021 animated movie “Summer Ghost”, where he voiced main protagonist Suzusaki Tomoya alongside Silver’s VA Shimazaki.

(Silver's Shimazaki on the far right, Deuce's Kobayashi center)

[vifetoile]

Why Gandalf Never Married, a 1985 Talk by Terry Pratchett

Originally delivered as a speech at Novacon 15. Excerpt below:

But I must accept that people called witches have existed. In a sense they have been created by folklore, by what I call the Flying Saucer process -- you know, someone sees something they can't or won't explain in the sky, is aware that there is a popular history of sightings of flying saucers, so decides that what he has seen is a flying saucer, and pretty soon that "sighting" adds another few flakes to the great snowball of saucerology. In the same way, the peasant knows that witches are ugly old women who live by themselves because the folklore says so, so the local crone must be a witch. Soon everyone locally KNOWS that there is a witch in the next valley, various tricks of fate are laid at her door, and so the great myth chugs on.

One may look in vain for similar widespread evidence of wizards. In addition to the double handful of doubtful practitioners mentioned above, half of whom are more readily identifiable as alchemists or windbags, all I could come up with was some vaguely masonic cults, like the Horseman's Word in East Anglia. Not much for Gandalf in there.

Now you can take the view that of course this is the case, because if there is a dirty end of the stick then women will get it. Anything done by women is automatically downgraded. This is the view widely held -- well, widely held by my wife every since she started going to consciousness-raising group meetings -- who tells me it's ridiculous to speculate on the topic because the answer is so obvious. Magic, according to this theory, is something that only men can be really good at, and therefore any attempt by women to trespass on the sacred turf must be rigorously stamped out. Women are regarded by men as the second sex, and their magic is therefore automatically inferior. There's also a lot of stuff about man's natural fear of a woman with power; witches were poor women seeking one of the few routes to power open to them, and men fought back with torture, fire and ridicule.

I'd like to know that this is all it really is. But the fact is that the consensus fantasy universe has picked up the idea and maintains it. I incline to a different view, if only to keep the argument going, that the whole thing is a lot more metaphorical than that. The sex of the magic practitioner doesn't really enter into it. The classical wizard, I suggest, represents the ideal of magic -- everything that we hope we would be, if we had the power. The classical witch, on the other hand, with her often malevolent interest in the small beer of human affairs, is everything we fear only too well that we would in fact become.

Oh well, it won't win me a PhD. I suspect that via the insidious medium of picture books for children the wizards will continue to practice their high magic and the witches will perform their evil, bad-tempered spells. It's going to be a long time before there's room for equal rites.

[talonabraxas]

The sunlight does not belong to the Sun, it flows through the Sun.

The light reaches the Sun from higher sources and passes through it.

Since he receives it and allows it to pass through, he shines forth. It is not his light. It is the light coming through the central Sun. It is not the light of the central Sun. The light existed long before the formation of the central Sun. It passes through the central Sun. Central Sun receives it from cosmic Sun. It is also not the light from the cosmic Sun. It is the light, which emerges from the background. It is the light that weaves the cosmic system, the solar system and the planetary system, that gives birth to the cosmic Sun, the central Sun and the planetary Sun. They are all products of light through whom the light flows.

Mercury, the Alchemist

The Central Spiritual Sun, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn