#metaphysics. metaphysics?! again?!

[hoozukis]

This!

A proper analysis of a fictional media piece must discern it within the contextual scope of that fictional universe; not by forcing puritanical Tumblr echo chamber’s modern wokeisms onto other complex space-times that are fundamentally different from our own continuum, and insisting everyone else must rigorously adhere to one’s personal beliefs lest they be stamped Utterly Evil!™

Fictional laws, moralities, ethics, traditions, values, beliefs, social expectations and behaviours, and sociocultural anthropology in general can and should exist in fiction. Use a little bit of imagination. This make-believe stuff will be much more fun if we do.

Hating Dumbledore is nonsense, it is like thinking only the main character must have the intelligence and skills to defeat the villain. Dumbledore was a necessary character to guide Harry, who was completely away from that world when everything started. It is non sense to think a mentor is the one who has to fight against the villain because "they are powerful enough to do it and it is irresponsable to let a kid do it". In that case, why would the saga's name be HARRY POTTER?

[emilinqa]

i don’t remember how to draw

[solradguy]

No one ever talks about how Sol's sword turns into this thing when he installs. Or how it has a Tree of Life on it

I need someone to ask Daisuke Ishiwatari about his library and how he got inspired to put some of the wildest theology and metaphysics deepcuts you can imagine in the equally wildest places in Guilty Gear, and why like... No one has really brought them up (AFAIK) in the 25 whatever years GG's been around for

[serpentface]

DOES the pilgrimage end the drought?

Well the actual rites occur at the end of the season Inyamache and beginning of the season Anaemache (winter-spring period in which most rainfall typically occurs). Two weeks after the fact, a big storm blows in from the sea to the southwest, and dumps a good deal of rain over about a third of the region. One single rainstorm doesn't mean the end of the drought, there have been other isolated events of major rainfall these past few years that ultimately did not change overall conditions. People vary between finding it hard to get their hopes up, and hard Not to.

There's a few more overcast but dry weeks after that, and then periodic rainstorms start to hit for the rest of the season. It's actually a colder winter than usual and they get a rare blizzard, but it doesn't stay below freezing long enough to be considered a tlat piladne (literally 'snow catastrophe', referring to unusual prolonged freezing temperatures causing most precipitation to come and accumulate as snow, resulting in mass livestock deaths and sometimes crop failure). Overall, the precipitation is a little sparse but DRAMATICALLY more consistent than anything since before the drought. Any other year, it would be considered a kinda middling, tough winter, but this year it's miraculous.

The temperature warms up a bit later than ideal for the first planting seasons, but in the meantime conditions have been right for mass spring blooms to occur in several parts of the region (unusually dry conditions killing off grass, followed by heavy early rain and then adequate but not Too much rainfall for dormant flower seeds to grow). It's hard not to ascribe significance to land that has been near-dead for several years exploding into miles upon miles of blossoming flowers, which gets a lot of people into a pretty damn good mood about things. Some of the flowers are even edible.

That spring, the rivers have recovered somewhat and water insecurity issues have been substantially eased. But water levels are still much lower than what much of the agricultural system depends upon. That summer's harvest would be considered poor by typical standards, and people are still starving and dying at high rates. But it's LEAGUES better than the previous several harvests. The general consensus is that the state of affairs is positive, the rains came back for real, and the drought has ended. Things might still be tough, but they're better, and it's going to be okay in the end.

Droughts are part of life, but one this long and devastating has not happened within living memory, only spoken of in old historical accounts and poems. The timing and nature of events is SIGNIFICANT. Its very easy to ascribe its onset to major events in the human world, and its alleviation to the success of the annual rites at the Sons of Creation. The rites happened every year during the drought, but things were performed differently this time. The Usoma Amanti Stawis, who had been broadly disliked and considered a bit shit, redeemed himself in willingly giving his life to restore his land. The meteor-iron statue of God that had previously received God's living spirit in human sacrifice and was damaged in the temple's sacking 14 years ago (and perhaps has never been the same since) was replaced in the rites with a living white wild calf. He is now a beautiful young bull and already has many offspring being carried in the womb, his progeny will one day be abundant. The drought began a little under a year after the last Odomache was defiled and killed, it ended after a new one was finally incarnated and took a new, (opinions vary but general public consensus leans on the side of) appropriate place above the incumbent Usoma as the head of state. Grain taxes stayed high as fuuuuuck but this year we all got MUCH bigger shares distributed in the famine relief so it was, like, whatever.

Conclusion: Sure

[hoozukis]

See, this was exactly the logic I was going with when I decided to mash together all these universes into one huge crossover, and have Naruto and JJK represent the 魔法所 (Mahoutokoro, which is an exonym) side of the Wizarding World; because 氣/प्राण/vital energy, 脈輪/चक्र/འཁོར་ལོ་/wheels, magical capacity, elemental bending, life force/energy field/aura, livity, mana, aṣẹ, superpowers, etc. are variants of essentially the same concept (or slightly different but largely overlapping concepts), but a bit more fantasised!

Well, a lot more fantasised. But at its core, these are forms of energy that certain entities may generate or convert in larger amounts than others, may know and understand deeper about than others, and may have stronger proclivity to wield and manipulate than others.

As for specific, pinpointed usage of magic… well… 術 would be the umbrella term, since it can be attached to the end of any technique, art, or skill. Under this umbrella term are the bending stuff, and… spells, which is also an umbrella term that houses more specific English denominations, following the standard Fantasy terminology distinctions between charms, enchantments, hexes, jinxes, and curses. Alternatively, the D&D 8 schools of magic can also serve as a categorisation system.

Depending on where someone is in this world and to whom they’re talking, many of these terminologies and categorisations overlap with each other, because folks like to “invent” things and then give them names, when in reality, nature/the universe had made had made all of these available and up-for-grabs for anyone who is capable enough. But whether or not someone is “capable enough” tends to rely more on lucky genetics, over sheer hard work and manual labour; so, people started making social classes and castes out of their gifts, which is then meant to correlate to distinct power levels. All wise and rational, right? After all, hierarchies must be established and maintained. Except, get this: evolutionary psychology and behavioural ecology get in the way of clear-cut puritanical labels! This is where quantitative genetics and molecular genetics (as well as population genetics and evolutionary biology, to a lesser extent) come into play!

Ah… Impalpably metaphysical concepts for us that are only mildly metaphysical for them! Gotta love self-induced headaches 😂

People in Naruto use chakra to do amazing reality-bending feats. And chakra is life energy, so chakra=mana, and this shit is basically magic. Because what else would you call it?

All ninja are wizards, and jutsu are spells. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

"Everything went wrong after David Bowie died" "everything went wrong after the Reformation"

Me, whose Metaphysics studies and medievalist interests have been heavily shaped by Dominicans: everything went wrong after Ockham et al. sustained the primacy of Will before Good in the nature of God.

[zarnzarn]

t4t nsft odypen silliness to make up for yesterday, here u go <3

_

"Lady Athena," Penelope says, as Odysseus finishes his prayers and they all rise to disperse. He looks over at her, inquisitive and amused, as she contemplates for a few moments, hands clasped. Then she bows her head and begs, rushed like it's bursting out of her, "Please let me fuck my husband today."

"PENELOPE!" Odysseus- well, shrieks. The other priestesses abruptly turn and file out of the room, led by Telemachus, at very high speeds. Odysseus is torn between making note of asking them to go compete in the races next year and putting his hands over the ears of the statue of Athena.

"Please," Penelope begs, eyes closed and ignoring him. "I never took the oath of celibacy, Lady Athena, why must I suffer this drought? This lack of my husband's beautiful thighs-"

Odysseus reaches over and shakes her, scandalised. "What are you doing, woman? In Athena's temple, have you gone mad-?"

"Athena," Penelope practically whines, letting herself be shaken. She looks crazy around the eyes, like she'll actually cry. "Please, please, if I don't get inside him I will die-"

"Did they not teach you about blasphemy in Sparta?" Odysseus yells, cheeks crimson.

"I unlearned it all when I spent twenty years without your cunt," Penelope moans pitifully. Odysseus wheezes ungracefully, mortified, tripping over his sandals as he gets to his feet to slap a hand over her mouth. Her shoulders are shaking, mischief in her eyes and lips twitching as he approaches, still pleading, "Please, Lady, suspend his vow for one day so that I may sheathe myself within his warm wetness and make him see stars in daylight for pleasure, I'll treat him well, please-"

"Hush!" Odysseus shouts at her, burning alive for the mortification. "Athena, I am so sorry-"

He closes his eyes in dread as the sound of loud cackling fades into existence. Athena stumbles out of the shadows, grin wide in a way that means she was drinking ambrosia, possibly at a party, cheeks bright with laughter. "What is-" She giggles. "What is this I hear about permission?"

"Nothing, Athena, extremely sorry for disturbing you, we- OW!"

"Please let me fuck him," Penelope begs, like she hadn't sunk her teeth into his flesh three seconds ago. "Let me have sex with my husband, I beg of you."

"She is not going to let you-"

"Sure."

"Athena!"

"What, she's asking so nicely." Athena shoots him a shit-eating grin, revenge in her eyes. "If you are alright with it, who am I to come in the way of a married couple?"

"Oh, so now you- what happened to celibacy is the highest form of clearing your mind-"

"Wait," Penelope cuts in, frowning. Athena's eyes slide to him slowly, glittering with laughter, before focusing back on Penelope with furrowed brows- she is drunk, definitely. "Wait, so you're- you are not the one who makes Odysseus not want to sleep with me?"

"What?" Odysseus demands, flabbergasted, as Athena bursts into loud peals of laughter overhead. "No, our agreement was the same as any of the other priestesses. That- that is just my own preference, some days."

"To be fair, we thought we were going to have to marry Odysseus off to some man back then," Athena grimaces, scratching at her feathers and squinting. "Ugh. But yes, you can do whatever you want, Queen of Ithaka. If Odysseus wants it, of course."

"You do want it, right?" Penelope says urgently, grabbing at his hands, eyes blazing and chest heaving. "Most of the time? Right now?"

"I-" Odysseus stutters, flustered in the face of her intensity and closeness. He feels unattractive still, even with the hair cut and change of clothes."I- Yes? Do you?"

Penelope's face spasms with rage. "ODYSSEUS!" She stamps a foot. "It's been an entire two days since you've returned! I'm burning alive with lust over here! How could you possibly not see, everyone in the palace can tell!"

"Okay- okay, hey, calm down-"

"-keep shifting about so people do not see me hard in my dresses, with every tantalizing move you make, every grin and giggle-"

"Wow," Athena takes a swig of a bottle. "Intense."

Odysseus exhales and shoots her a look, holding his hands out to placate a cursing Penelope. "Are- You're sure it's alright?"

"Yes!" She laughs, waving him off. "Your war is over, your glory is secure- go, have all the sex you want!"

"But-" Odysseus' next words are lost to a yelp as Penelope grabs him and manhandles him down to the ground. Athena whistles. He valiantly holds back the urge to snap at her that she needs to stop drinking if all it ever does is give her the personality of a teenage boy.

"I'll only fuck him in the temple," Penelope says, staring up at Athena determinedly and ignoring Odysseus' loud shout of distress at the scandal of it under her. "So that you may see that we are only trying for an heir, like the condition provides. Will that satisfy the oath?"

"That would," Athena agrees, almost leering as she lilts alarmingly to one side. "If that is all?"

"You-" Odysseus cuts himself off with a strangled scream as Penelope bites into his throat like a dog, sliding into him so abruptly it makes his vision go white. He's drenched still from her words earlier, but both the cocks at once, so suddenly inside-

Athena chuckles, and he feels a breeze across his face as she leans down to clumsily press a kiss to Penelope's forehead, then his. Penelope eagerly goes back for another kiss from Athena, thrusting sharply at the same time, making him moan so loud it echoes around the temple.

Athena snorts, and gathers her garments as she gets up to her feet and stumbles away. "Have fun!"

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

she gave it to her friend with the belief it will return itself to her. she is SO logical but when it comes to jinshi she could go metaphysical

[fortunaestalta]

[authenticity2025]

When love finds you again, I wish for you that is kind, gentle, loving, peaceful and tranquil. May it make you smile again, laugh often, dance like no one’s watching, and support your true self without condition.

[freyadragonlord]

me: both times Dokja faced the Nameless Mist in ORV, he was saved by Secretive Plotter. That wouldn't happen now in Side Story, tho, ahah. Impossible. He is retired. me 3 minutes later: holy sHIT!!!!

[ef-1]

girlhood

[wayti-blog]

“He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”

Gabriel García Márquez

[alpine-sitte]

I really don't know if I'm even talking about the same thing as other people here on tumblr when I talk about magic, cause when I think of it, I think mostly of "folk magic". The magic of everyday cultural traditions, the stuff that is often branded "superstition".

I don't know what makes people think that you need any special preparation or education or training in order to do all this stuff. There's nothing secret about it, and nothing complicated. And unless you engage in behaviors that physically/mentally harm you, I don't see what dangers could possibly be involved.

But also I think people overcomplicate the whole thing. You don't need any sort of special tools. You don't need to spend money on any of this. Literally all you need is the knowledge of what you're trying to achieve and a clear idea of what you are trying to practice. And please, let's stop acting like "trivial" activities are excluded from this. The same goes for what you desire to achieve with these activities. Nothing is too trivial of a need/desire. You are hoping for the bus to arrive on time tomorrow? That's a perfectly fine thing to want out of whatever you're about to practice!

I think as a whole, the pagan community needs to get their heads out of the clouds a bit and ground themselves and their practices. As cliche as it sounds, y'all need to touch more grass again. It's a hands-on spirituality, after all.

And genuinely, the gatekeeping and mystification of it all has to stop. There's no secrets, no exclusivity, no sacrilege, no entry barriers in paganism, no scholars, and no knowledge is off-limits.

It's the religion of the common folk. You do not need to read any books about it, you don't need anyone to interpret for you, or follow anyone's directions on how to practice this or that. And if you feel like there's nothing tangible about your paganism, if you find yourself having to believe in things rather than simply experiencing them.... it's time to ask yourself who indoctrinated you with such ideas.

[menaceborn]

thinking about how ayru probably has to somewhat re-learn how to use the force around the years leading up to t/c/w because a lot of the anger that he used to pull from isn't there anymore

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Gantober #3 - Today I'm Cheating

Indeed!!! Today, I am cheating, and picking one of the unreleased frames from Thralls that I manage to scavenge from Discord ;;

I know I'm one day late and I WILL manage to catch up at some point!!! But not today.

In the meantime, this asshole (<3) :