#not only he can use the old rides power but also summon them

[anghraine]

I think it's interesting that when Gandalf describes Denethor's ability to "perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men," he ties it less to his wisdom or general insightfulness (though he possesses both) than to his difference from "other men of this time," his near total Númenóreanness, and as bolded here, the active exercise of his will.

Tolkien also attributes Denethor's resilience against Sauron (by contrast with Saruman) to not only his right to use the Anor-stone, but "great strength of will." He notes that Sauron had no servant with greater mental powers than Saruman or Denethor, and Gandalf remarks that Denethor was "too great" to be subdued to Sauron's will.

Denethor and Gandalf have a strange and unsettling silent confrontation, carried on by their gazes, yet it strikes Pippin as like "a line of smouldering fire" and "as if reading each other's mind." Gandalf afterwards says Pippin was stuck between two "terrible old men," lumping Denethor in with himself. Pippin also sees some kind of kinship between Denethor and Gandalf, as Sam saw between Faramir and Gandalf.

In his letters, Tolkien said that the ancient Númenóreans became barely distinguishable from Elves in appearance and in their powers of mind. In Unfinished Tales, he notes that they loved their horses, and when a Númenórean had a strong bond with a horse, it was said that the horse could be summoned "by thought alone."

In LOTR, Faramir—who has inherited Denethor's Númenóreanness/wizardliness—has a reputation for command over both animals and men. When everyone else is thrown by their horses upon being chased by five Nazgûl, he not only keeps his seat, but mysteriously gets his horse to ride back towards the Nazgûl. And during the retreat across the Pelennor, the soldiers in the city conclude that Faramir must be with the men who are managing to retreat in order, repeating Beregond's remark that he has some undefined command over both men and beasts.

Gandalf suggests that this is a result of Faramir pitting himself against the effects of the Nazgûl in some way, but his abilities (whatever they are) are outmatched. In the event, the effect of Faramir's Aura of Courage commanding abilities remains until he's shot and finally falls to the Black Breath.

Faramir also makes repeated references to perceiving or reading things in Gollum's mind. At one point, he describes Gollum's mind as dark and closed, yet unable to prevent Faramir from detecting that he's holding something back about Cirith Ungol specifically. Noticeably, this only happens when Faramir orders Gollum to look at him (which Gollum does "unwillingly"), and the light drains from his eyes as he meets Faramir's. It seems decidedly reminiscent of the later Gandalf vs Denethor duel-by-eye-contact.

Faramir's exact words about Gollum's secrecy are "That much I perceived clearly in his mind," in reference to his earlier questioning of him. He says that he can "read" previous murders in Gollum and Gollum cries out in pain when he tries to lie to him.

When Faramir gives staves to Frodo and Sam, he says that a "virtue" of finding and returning has been placed on them, with zero explanation of what he means by that. He adds a hope that the virtue will not altogether fail under Sauron's power in Mordor. He describes the people who did the woodwork but not who placed the virtues (it doesn't seem inherent to the wood itself, given his phrasing).

We do know that Dúnedain can potentially embed enchantments into items. The Barrow-daggers carried by Merry and Pippin are specifically enchanted against the Witch-king of Angmar by an unknown Dúnadan of the North, and when Merry stabs the Witch-king, the dagger breaks enough spells for Éowyn's ordinary sword to finish the job.

Meanwhile, Aragorn uses his healing powers to help the city, wishing for the presence of Elrond, because he is their eldest of their kind and more powerful. Aragorn, also, has at least some part of this ability to actively exercise his will and mental powers, perhaps an equal share, though he uses it less often.

In the book, he doesn't physically attack the Mouth of Sauron, but instead holds his gaze (again, eye contact is important!). There's another silent struggle that involves no weaponry or any other contact.

He prevails in some way over the Mouth of Sauron (not a warped creature of Sauron in the book, but a cruel Númenórean who has "learned great sorcery"). The Mouth indignantly says he has diplomatic immunity and can't be attacked like this.

But, I mean, maybe they're all just smart and perceptive, it's really unclear.

[your-old-sins-tournament]

12 YEAR OLD OCS; SIDE A

Cupid [@onitekka] (she/her)

Cupid is like every normal middle school student, a pink-haired half-vampire totally not crushing on her girl best friend, seemingly born from every weird twelve year olds innate wish: make a video game.

Cupid journeys through the depths of hell to rescue her "girl best friend" (very subtle) from the evil Dark Overlord Xanata, who sealed her best friend into a crystal because she Also wants to be Cupid's "girl best friend".

she boasts a variety of super cool barely vampire related attacks that involve just straight up yelling at enemies! this girl has a sonic screech that can shatter glass, bulletproof bat wings, and a literal gun! you can practically hear angel with a shotgun (nightcore) blasting in the background.

why is the embodiment of love a vampire? because vampires are now ostensibly fallen angels. why is she fighting hell if she's a fallen angel? because it's cool.

Description: A beginner's illustration of Cupid. she has messily coloured short pink hair with two longer strands in the front, red eyes, a fuschia top, and a green skirt. she is also wearing black boots, and part of her bat wings are coloured black as well. there is blood dripping from her mouth.

Ash [@changeling-ash] (she/her)

She is so cool. My little self insert. My baby. Epic powerful magic.

Ash was part of a secret subspecies of humans (Homo sapiens dimutus) which could shapeshift, which she used to grow huge black wings or turn into a black leopard or look like a monster to scare enemies, anything as long as her brain stayed the same size or got denser to fit smaller. When she shapeshifted she would release green and blue fire from the power of the transformation (cause she has lots of copper in her blood that burns green. To protect against cancer, you see. Shapeshifting has lots of cancer risk so copper is sooo important)

She became one by genetic engineering at 15 so the dimutus could get more soldiers and spies for a war with the demon-like psyuedos (child soldier lol). She could come back to life because she had a failsafe that would activate where she would shapeshift away the wound and her brain would jolt back online. The only way to kill a dimutus was to kill the brain.

Like other dimutus, she could also dimension hop, so she'd travel the multiverse, from tv show to tv show or to the universe with dragons or with cool landscapes. She was good with a sword and something called a bladed quarterstaff, which is basically one of those two sided lightsabers but a blade. She was mentored by one of the most powerful dimutus of the war and is super powerful too compared to other dimutus.

Propaganda from the old post

Okay time for my propaganda once more!

Ash is my girl, my baby.

She has TWO dragons. The first one is Flicker, who is strong and agile with black scales and a violet belly. Ash rides on her back and she speaks dragon at her. Her other dragon is Zephyr, who she raised from an egg and he looks like a blue sky with white patches like clouds, and random little flecks of gold scales. He's lithe and fast and so agile. She can summon them from their alternate universes by calling out "Tul Lüg" for Flicker and "Zep-iagh" for Zephyr, and they leap from portals to fight.

She can speak so many languages. The language of Dimutus is actually Modernized Latin. She knows English, Spanish, French, Latin, Italian, ASL, and has the best translators.

She made friends with a shadowy wolf companion called a Shadowlupe who accepted her as part of the pack. She runs with him in hunts as a wolf.

She can do a double backflip. Enough said.

She would fly with huge black wings, it was her favorite thing to do. Knew how to do all the tricks. She is dimension hopping miles in the air just to fall for ages, then fly at breakneck speeds. And she was terrifying in battle, she would dodge and weave and slash as she passed, an airborne killing machine.

She could give herself big springy legs to jump so high and do crazy tricks. She adapted herself to move fast, bounce and parkour her way at insane speeds. She could traverse so well.

She also did normal parkour. It was a fun challenge to try with minimal modifications. Pretended a lot of parkour POV vids were her.

She had two cats trained to infiltrate bases cause they are kitties and can fit through the vents and no one suspects the kitties. Baya was a Bengal and Shadow was a beautiful medium hair black cat.

She could also dimension hop in a way that was like astral projecting. She'd just be floatin, near invisible. She'd keep her wings in that state to pull them from the dimension fast to use them quickly. Her friends would chill there and comment to her while she was doing boring things.

She had a ragtag best friend and copilot partner Katie that was the mostest important person to her. Her brother in arms, her guy in the chair, her support, and Ash was the same to Katie. They were ride or die, and they died a lot for each other. (I basically made a QPP a decade before I myself ended up in one. Probably an early sign I was aro.)

She lost her arm sometimes, and she'd have a badass prosthetic if she couldn't shapeshift it back right away.

So much trauma from being a child soldier will come later. Her future character with me a decade later is somethin.

[gammagoop]

here’s a kind-of-masterpost of the notes for my Last Life Fantasy AU !! i will add more to this in the future, but here’s what i’ve got now:

(its long so just click the read more)

General world notes:

Not really kingdoms since theres less than 20 people total but the various alliances do have castles/towers/homes of similar grandeur

There are fantastical creatures, but theyre not as common as normal animals, and none that the players come across are too extremely dangerous.

^ Except for the Wither! In which the Wither is a horrible decaying demonbeast that’s summoned by Grian

^ I’m thinking the typical Minecraft hostile mobs are replaced with things like kobolds and big rodents and . skeletons which ig are still the same

The Boogeyman is genuinely believed to be a curse in this world. No one quite knows where it comes from, but speculation ranges from ghosts to old magic to divine punishment

^ Those cursed by the Boogeyman become snappier, more on edge. There are no physical changes other than being visibly more tense, but it’s very hard to spot if you don’t know how to look for it

^ It’s also popularly believed that the curse will subtly enhance one’s strength and magical power, but also make them more vulnerable to attack

I haven’t decided if the members still have multiple lives, or if its more of an injury thing. I’m leaning toward the latter, in which someone is grievously injured in the place of dying (at least until the final death) because that also leaves room for life-giving to become healing magic. Perhaps one can only heal so many times before they become aggressive and combative in place of a red life? And different people are more or less vulnerable to that insanity

When I describe a person or group as ‘magical’ I mean that they can use magic at will. Any person can use magic if reading a spell that was written by a magic-user, but only some members can use magic without that. <— italics bc its important

^ The most common spells used by non-magic people are healing-related

^ Those with magical ability manifest it through instinct and will, rather than word-for-word spellcasting

Non-magic users can also use magical items, which are items enchanted by a magic user to perform a specific spell (ex. Scar’s crystals)

Fairy Fort/Shadow Alliance:

General:

Fae people. Generally humanoid-looking, if not for their pointed ears and shimmery skin. They have whimsical and nonpowerful magics

Primarily within a magically protected circle of dense trees, which is later burned down by Cleo after she’s betrayed

visually they are kind of 4 seasons coded… Lizzie being Spring, Bigb being Winter, Ren being Fall, and Cleo being Summer

Lizzie:

The strongest magic user of the group. Even so, she doesn’t use it to hurt people directly, more just for evasion and negotiation

BigB:

The boogeyman curse puts him much more on-edge than he normally is. He would have never thought he would kill a teammate, but the jitters and the pressure really got to him

Ren:

Can communicate with animals at a low level (not full conversations, just notions of instincts) due to his magical ties to dogs

Fiercely protective of Lizzie

^ Drawing on myths of fae: maybe he was once a dog himself but was transformed into a person by Lizzie?

Cleo:

Not quite a zombie but has ties to the dead. Generally just a green-skinned fae creature, but her injuries leave more prominent marks

The river over which they were betrayed is said to be cursed with Cleo’s blood

Team BEST:

General:

A team of knights who serve no crown. They serve each other and themselves, a tight but troubled group

This group has no magic users, but are the strongest in non-magical combat

They live in a castle which was once painted white, but has since faced some decay

They ride horses

Bdubs:

Doesn’t like to keep his helmet visor down because it obscures his vision. The visor gets torn off when he gets to his red life

Etho:

Wears a different style of armor from the rest of the team, both due to his own independence and his different fighting style

He prefers ranged combat to melee, meaning his armor is lighter and easier to move in

Skizz:

In the leadership role of this team, but by his own admission he’s not really their leader. He more just organizes plans and makes sure that everyone is on the same page

Highest in ‘rank’ and thus gets fancier armor. It’s not really stronger than any of his teammates’ but he gets a big feather on his helmet and a cape and some cool designs engraved in his armor :D

Tango:

Wears goggles instead of a helmet since he dabbles more in traps than combat. Pretty bad at melee anyway

Nonhuman but humanoid. Likely some infernal species? Not necessarily demonic, but he’s tied to heat and fire

Is more adept at performing spells as a non-magic user and therefore is always called on to heal Bdubs when he goes crazy (thanklessly)

Scottage/GGG:

General:

Wealthy in resources. Not magic users, but have access to various spells and magical items

More reserved than the other teams

Very skilled at less chaotic combat

Small but extravagant (artsy) castle

Pearl:

More combative than Scott

I gotta work the axolotls in somehow but I’m not quite sure how yet…

Scott:

Enjoys wearing more fancy outfits (cloak, gold accessories) but still relatively protected

Cleo:

Happily taken in my Pearl and Scott after leaving the fairy fort, wears much more armor then

Wears less extravagant accessories than Pearl or Scott

Magic Mountain:

General:

The most powerful magic users on the server (due to being wizards)

Not necessarily a team since they don’t work together much, but they have a wizard solidarity with each other

Live separately on the same mountain. Scar lives in a small-ish cobbly tower with lots of trinkets and hidden compartments. Joel lives in a cabin-like house within a small alcove in the mountain

Joel:

Visually more warlockish, but has no patron and therefore is a wizard. Uses his magic more directly and more aggressively than Scar– just replace all his traps in canon with spells (that mostly went wrong)

Not a very accurate magic user, but when he hits he hits hard

Evidence toward the theory that the Boogeyman curse makes you both more powerful and more volatile

Scar:

Rarely uses his magic directly, instead imbues his crystals with (often weak) spells for fun and profit

Is more of an accurate spellcaster than Joel is, but almost always uses his magic for selling and trading rather than attacking. He’s not great at combative spells anyway

Jellie as his familiar…………………thinkin about it

Southlands:

General:

Artisans and philosophers. Not as wealthy in resources as GGG, but they have a good amount at their disposal

^ Haughty A-HA!!!!!

Mostly unmagical, but it’s possible that Grian and Jimmy have some weak or dormant powers

Live in towers, similar to canon but more structural

Mumbo:

Artificer, proficient in small machines and automated farms

Martyn:

Philosopher who speculates on the nature of their world

Impulse:

Similar skills to Mumbo, but plays more of a diplomatic/negotiation role within the team

Builds larger farms and machines than Mumbo does

Jimmy:

Has a more peasant-ish outfit than his teammates

Proficient at building small devices like clocks and spyglasses

Grian:

More combative than his teammates

Astronomer, not as focused on that study as his teammates are on theirs

[sarenth]

Reflecting on some of the posts that I have made and seen in the last couple of weeks, both here on Tumblr and on TikTok, I am increasingly suspicious of anybody that insists that voting is a useless or misdirected effort of energy. Not only have I seen innumerable cases in my state where this is simply not the case, entire sections of the federal government are effectively locked into right-wing positions because Trump won his election. He has entire sections of the appeals system and federal government more broadly aligned with him precisely because of how many nominations he's successfully put forward. Now, this does not mean that Biden or even the Democratic party more generally is going to ride to the rescue, however it speaks to the power that voting results wield.

Not voting is not an effective protest. All you are doing by not voting is saying hey someone else make this decision for me. By not voting you are not actually saying to the system "Hey I'm protesting against you!" At that point you have given the government system cart blanche to fucking ignore you.

I don't know who told you that not voting was anything other than giving up what little power you have to influence your government and therefore how your tax money and society operates on an everyday level. They lied to you. After a certain point there's no nice way to put this.

If you choose not to vote, that is a choice. I view it as an incredibly poor one. I also look at voting third party outside of elections where you know the candidate has no honest to the Gods shot to be a waste of time. You can vote however you want. If you want your vote to be effective then you're going to have to play with the system we've got until we can make a better one. These things take time. If we are being realistic, it is likely more than a few election cycles.

Another thing I have found intensely distasteful this entire election cycle has been from some leftists to sneer at harm reduction, as though opposing Republicans with Democratic candidates is just caving to fascism. Democrats and my State backed up unions and secured a woman's right to choose and secured bodily autonomy not only for women but forLGBTQIA+ folks. Republicans have fought against that.

"Oh but Manchin-" "Oh, but Sinema-"

Are not the whole of the Democratic Party. They were conservative holdouts in a largely center to center right coalition party whose younger constituents are far more left that the old guard. They fucked up some excellent legislation (or at least excellent opportunities) to put us in far better positions through helping to kill the Democrats' Build Back Better Plan and similar legislation.

Trying to punish the Democrats retroactively for not pushing Roe v Wade into law or not fulfilling all their campaign promises, by withholding your vote come the elections is short sighted, retrograde, and ultimately, harmful. It hands power to the Republicans without a fight, and allows them to set the boards for zoning, schools, city council, and so much more. It actively shoots your fellow citizens in the foot so you can feel moral superiority.

It reminds me of folks saying "Well I'm not filing because I am not gonna pay my taxes!" Unless your income is entirely under the table or illegal, or you intentionally changed your contributions, chances are that you were paying taxes this entire time and the only thing you're doing by not filing is potentially fucking yourself.

I get being angry, desperate, and despairing at the state of things, whether the political system, the world more broadly, or whatever issue you hold most dear to your heart. I'm not saying don't be angry, sad, depressed, or raging. I'm saying use it well. If you cannot summon up the give-a-shit on your own case, do it for those around you. Every bit we can do helps, and voting can make a lot of difference in our neighborhoods, and from there, the greater world.

Whether you are reading the missives from various pulpits or you're looking at project 2025, Christofascism is here. Folks have been warning about this for quite a long time, and it is here and it is in full swing. We cannot afford for the Republicans to take over. Heathens, Pagans, magical folks, none of us can afford a Republican victory at this point. Republicans have shown a deep willingness to use the apparatus of the state to harm queer and non-Christian people. They have shown a disdain for the separation of church and state. If you are on the right in this country you should be concerned if you're in any marginalized group. You will not be spared because you're "one of the good ones ".

Did you not see how they treated the Log Cabin Republicans? Did you not see that? Voting red will not save you, it will not make you more palatable. If the Republicans take power and get what they really want through their Christofascism and Project 2025, it does not matter how long you've been a Republican; if you are queer or Pagan you may as well not exist.

Believe me, I am not for a moment stating that Democrats are our saviors. They are a coalition center right political party that we can influence through our lobbying and votes. We can influence them through a variety of other means, including direct action is some have done. Some of you have failed to notice that your direct actions actually were useful! Kamala Harris came right out and said that they were pushing for a ceasefire, after so long of just leaving it off the table entirely. It is not that the narrative cannot be pushed, it is not that we cannot be heard, but you all need to recognize when you are heard and act accordingly without moving the fucking goal posts.

You demanded the administration work on a ceasefire and now they are. That is a victory! However, the Democrats cannot make the Israeli government and the Palestinian government come to a ceasefire. There is also only so much that we can do given the treaties and the alliances that we have. Yes, I know that America has a history of breaking it's treaties and why couldn't we just break this one? Well, because we're just not going to because it's been policy for almost the last 80 years. I just fervently wish the left more generally understood the political process better than it does and realize that we are doing quite a lot to move things along from where they could have been.

If you think for a second that Trump presidency would be better on any of these things you're wrong. That there are some leftists want to sink this project of American democracy simply because they didn't get what they want reminds me a lot of screaming fucking children who want a toy and are going to scream and shout when they don't get it. There's a sincere lack of understanding of the political process that I am seeing right now, especially given what I saw during the primary elections, and is sincere lack of understanding the political process with regards to our position with Israel. Again, I am not saying for a fucking moment don't be angry and don't do everything that you can't tell lobby for the Palestinian people. Engage in whatever diversity of tactics appeals the most to you. Part of having a diversity of tactics is including voting and on the ground diplomatic work. It isn't fun, it isn't sexy, but it's absolutely necessary in the meantime to get us to a place where we can be more effective. I would rather be more effective than being morally pure. I would rather be more effective and do what is possible than see everything around me fucking burn because it isn't just right.

I really do not hold with deontology. As a heathen my ethics are more centered in consequentialism. I care about how the tapestry looks after it's been woven, more than I care about how it has been woven. I will take an imperfect way of getting to the end of a tapestry then the tapestry never getting finished or being finished poor due to constantly unraveling it. There is no way that burning everything down is going to be helpful or effective for most folks. In any case, burning everything down with nothing to replace it leaves folks like me who rely on regular medications like insulin completely fucked. To be sure, the system fucks me and those in my position. It fucks the poor, the disabled, the marginalized. However, not having anything to replace it and just burning everything down, having no complex systems in place to slot into place will do immense, untold amounts of damage. Reforms are not sexy, and but they are how we can continue to live while we do the work needed to make things more equitable, more fair, more just.

I want change. We need to change as a society to become more just, equitable, fair, and to survive in the face of the challenges that we are facing. However, stepping away from the system as a whole, as though you're not going to be wrapped up in it as things go forward, that, to me, is giving up. It's not revolutionary. I would far rather see leftists and left-leaning Heathens and Pagans to flex their vote and their activism locally, to make the changes on the ground that we can where we live, how we live, with the Ginnreginn we live alongside.

[blazescompendium]

Blaze's compendium entry #7: Never deny tobacco to the Saci Pererê

The Saci painted by Newton Cavalcanti to a stamp collection, 1974

Warning: Faith and religion are important real life topics, that tackles the culture and way of life of millions of real life people. It is a cultural expression, and must be respected by all means. Here, we use a video-game ( some times) and other media series only to ignite the flame of learning about the matter, using its art when well depicted, but we do this with all due respect to the cultures we talk here, grounded by real life sources, cultures and people. And i mean this with respect. Hope you all enjoy.

I can finally talk a bit about my home country myths after a brief trip around other countries mythical creatures. The Saci is an extremely popular creature in Brazilian Folklore, and if you are Brazilian i am absolute sure you have encountered its fabulous tales already.

The Saci is (regrettably) not represented in the Megaten game series, as most of characters from my Compendium series. But i want to pop this bubble going forward, and not be exclusively tied to this games, since Mythology is a much more expansive subject, and i like to use Megaten just as a welcoming gate to more casual audiences!

The Saci Pererê is a Brazilian folkloric creature, akin to the trickster ''gnome'' archetype, not considered an evil creature by any means, but very mischievous and a prankster. Normally depicted as a black skinned toddler smoking a pipe, red cap, and some times red clothing. It's most striking feature is his only leg, which he uses to jump around in a surprisingly agile manner. His mischief deeds are many, like he would tie horse's manes, startle them, move objects inside people's homes, etc... His most known power is his control of wind currents. He can summon small sized typhoons, in which the creature can ride on to flee or use to fight if he needs to.

The Saci is hyperactive and fast, always doing something. Some people can interpret this creature as malevolent since its mischief and pranks can cause serious problems, like stealing the breaks of a carriage. However, that's not exactly the truth. The Saci is, almost always portrayed as neutral creture, and it has been since it's inception into the public consciousness. As we can see, some times it can be treated as a little devil, but it's a beloved figure nonetheless.

The name Saci Perere cames from a theorized corruption of the Tupi Guarani words: Caa Cy Perereg, which means ''Jumping Evil Eyes''. That's stated on the book ''Saci Perere: An Inquiry Result''. I was not able to verify it independently because i do not speak Tupi, and i was also unable to find online translators. But, this wording is also verified by the book ''Geography of the Brazilian Myths'' by the legendary Brazilian folklorist Camara Cascudo, so it seems legit. There will be a lot of this book in this subject, because it is such a complete work and a vital piece of research for anyone getting into the topic. [2], [1]

Cascudo does a great scholar work, going as far as giving dis-ambiguity of the Saci from other myths, and even animals that could be related to the legend.

Context: The Tupi Guarani, or just Guarani are the biggest native population living in the territory of Brazil today. They live more from the central region to the south and south-east, relatively far away form the Amazon forest in the northern regions. In general they are polytheists, and today are around 57.000,00 people. [This is sourced by the IBGE, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]

But, even being a very popular creature in the local folklore, and even transcending the boundaries of its homeland some times, (as we will see ahead) the Saci has a relatively recent history. It's impossible to pinpoint exactly who and how this legend started. But we know it started on the southern and south-eastern most regions of the country, but there's no mention of it on the old fables from native people, which makes scholars think that the Saci is not that old as its relatives of the regional folklore.

A fact that corroborates this assertion is that, besides being a very popular folklore in Brazil, Saci is absent form any mentions to ancient sources, starting to appear more from the 18th century and above. [1]

The name Saci is not stranger to Folklore in the region though. Saci is also the name of a bird, Tapera Naevis, which has a related myth according to the Brazilian National Museum. The Saci bird is treated sometimes like a demon, that can confuse travelers with its singing. Another local legend has that this bird can suck the dead's souls. Al tough both of those claims are backed, i personally did not hear about it until researching for this topic. [1]

This particular bird its said to be seen as a bad omen to this day, in the Amazon region. This is pretty far away from where the folkloric Saci was born, but it seems that a common association with the bird is that it asks for tobacco to its pipe, just like the Saci does. This animal has the habit to sing during night times, so the legend says that it means it wants tobacco. If you actually replies to it, its said the bird will come after your promisse. [1]

This particular bird can also be connected to another folkloric tale, this time from the northern regions of Brazil, a witch called the Matinta-Pereira. This is a particular demonic witch, that can transform itself into the Saci bird, (Tapera Naevis) to get offerings from residents of villages. When her demands are not met, she causes bad things to happen. She also wears a red hat, and her name also bears the ''Perereg'' wording from before. Scholars believe that this is because this bird sometimes jumps in one leg, and has red feathers in their heads, which would also make senses with the Saci! I personally could not find any visual registry about it, but i am sure most of birds some times do this kind of stuff. [1]

The Matinta eventually became a generic name for haunting and supernatural ocurrences in the Northern regions, while the Saci became a thing in the southern regions. The Matinta became more associated with its cursed singings, as the book mentioned before says: ''It trespasses villages with its haunting screams. It will not attack or go after people, thought.'' [1] It kinda resembled me personally of the European Banshee, which also caused misfortune and disasters, and possesses a terrifying cry.

The Saci bird and the Matinta-Pereira witch. (Art i got from Wikipedia, can't find the artist ): )

But this is just one, of the whole ''Birds named as Saci''. There is also the Romococcyx Phasianellus known colloquially as ''Peixe Frito'' (Fried Fish) and inhabits most of Brazilian territory. It has myths around its singing. [1]

If you got interested in this whole rabbit hole of folkloric birds, there's a lot to go on around the world myths! Just some time ago we made an article about the Muh Shubbuu from the Buryati people!

Notably the Saci shares its notoriety and Brazilian legends Pantheon with other similar trickster spirits, like the Caipora and the Curupira. Both are protectors of the nature, both of those are tricksters, and both also asks for tobacco in some legends! Although, the Saci is not a protector of nature, his only goals are to cause mischief. In more recent times, Saci is treated like he's a friend of those two, but this has more of a childish connotation, when teaching about national folklore to children.

The Saci also has spawned some relatives in neighbor countries. In Uruguay there is the Yasi Yatere, which is kind of a gnome with a magical wand. It can shape shift, and it usually kidnaps woman. When its wand is taken, much like the brazilian Saci with its hat, its powers ceases and it becomes weak. It's described in great detail in the book ''Supersticiones y Lendas'', from Juan B Ambrosetti. [1], [3]

In Argentina the Yasi is described mixing the features of its cousins from the region. It is also a dwarf type of gnome, but it's red and also carry a magical wand that protects its powers. They also would kidnap children to play with them, but they would go insane after that. It is also described by Ambrosetti. But also mentioned in a letter of a European missionary called José Guevara. [1]. [3]

Many of these features that the Saci and the Yasi shares comes mostly from European legends, the old archetype of a monster that can be tamed by taking it's belongings. Like the Vouivre from France with its carbuncle. The Saci wears its distinct red hat, that its often taken as the source of its power, so capturing a Saci involves capturing his hat. This could have a Portuguese influence. [1] Theres myths in Portugal, like the so called ''Pesadelo'' which is a creature that when having its hat stolen, could be controlled by the assailant.[1]

-Interesting fact that i have found many sources for this Portuguese myth, and other books mentioning it, but when talking with a friend from Portugal, he could not recognize this specific legend. If you are also Portuguese, and know about it, please let me know!

The 1924 book from F.C Maytzhusen: ''Pigimeos en Leyendas de los Guarnies'' Roughly translated as ''Gnomes in Guarany legends'' tells that the own Gurani people from the region had already its own myths about small magical people living in the woods, which some scholars attribute to an ancient memory of a small stature tribe that potentially lived around. This concept probably mixed very well with the before cited European beliefs, brought by the invaders. [4]

As you can see, it's like the already established lore about native gnome myths got fused with the European equivalents, such as like: The haunting trickster spirits of the woods, small size, agile and mischievous. In the book Geography of Brazilian Myths, the author makes a lot of comparisons to Djins, Imps, Faes, Fairies, and in fact i believe the Saci can absolutely fit in any of those ''races'' of mythic creatures, specially a Djinn or Yokai.

But in that book, the author fixates on the European Kobold being it's main ''ancestry''. The Kobold is like a Goblin, gnome and other whimsical forest creatures like the Brownies, Knockers and Silkies. Kobolds are a bit more versatile than its relatives, being told to live in houses, mining sites, and even boats. The boat ones used to smoke pipe! Kobold are individuals and can be mischievous, haunting and tormenting Humans that don't do their will. Just like their possible Brazilian relatives, the Kobold encounters are not usually fatal.

Silky, Knocker, Kobold and Brownies are just some whimsical European fae that can be the common ancestor to the Saci

While some of those European Fae often smoked, the actual academic theory on why the Saci smoked pipe, it's from the native smoking rituals and culture of the Brazilian Native people, such as the Guarany. In the book before mentioned, the native people from Brazil teached the European invaders how to smoke. This was quick considered to be a sin for some European priests and got demonized by some as well, while it spread quickly between their peers. [1]

The Saci being one legged is not something original in mythology. Going back further in time to the legendary book ''Natural History'' from Pliny the Elder, (i really want to come back to this book one day) where he describes the Monopods, humanoid creatures that had just one leg and a giant feet, which they used to cast refreshing shadows on themselves when it was too hot outside. This creatures were before described in the even older book, Indika from Ctesias, and supposedly spotted in India. Just like the Saci, this creature was extremely agile even if just having one leg. They continued to be believed and continuously described well over the middle ages. [1], [5]

Monopod. A rather Silly guy from Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

There's no consensus on its origins, but some people say that the first people from the Europe seeing Yoga practitioners in India stand in one leg, or have some kind of parasol confused. We will likely never know, but that goes to show one legged humanoid creatures were already talked about much earlier. [1]

In Chile you also had the Ketronamun from the native people there, a small gnome with just one leg, that appear in myths from almost every part of the Pacific South American coast. [1]

But there were also one legged deities around, take Tezcatlipoca from the Mexica (Aztecs) for instance. Being the god of moon and the stars, and one of the most important beings in the Mexica pantheon, he lost its leg fighting Cipactli. It was also related to the nocturnal wind, another connection with the Saci. But there is no scholar belief that the two were actually connected, they just shared a lot of similarities. [1]

T ezcatlipoca misses his leg, or foot in many depictions!

But How the Saci was actually Born?

As we discussed the Saci Pererê was not cataloged by the first European Invaders of the 16th century. In truth, there are a lot of myths and tales that were properly archived by them, but the Saci is nowhere to be seen. So, scholars deduct the Saci was not that old, being actually born and popularized around the 17th century. [1] But the Saci would just gain character and personality around the 19th century.

The legend much probably, spread by word of mouth from south to north, while it would slowly absorbing local and foreign elements during its trip. From the regional mythical creatures like the Curupira, he inherited the ability to confuse and mislead people. From Caipora he inherited the haunting whistles and its relationship with horses. Its only leg could be from the Bird myths, and also inherited from European folklore as well. Its own red hat also coming from there. [1]

The red hat sometimes its a sign of supernatural entities in Europe. The name ''The One With The Red Hat'' was an euphemism for Satan himself and other devils in Portugal. The Saci some times is treated like a devil, in the Book ''Saci: An Inquiry Result'' at the page 83, there's a tale about the Saci appearing with a sulfur scent, just like demons would normally do. [2]

The Revival and the Controversy of Monteiro Lobato

When we talk about the Saci in Brazil, the elephant in the room is always Monteiro Lobato, an author from the 20th century. Without a doubt, his work was one of the most prolific and known authors if its time, and also dedicated a lot of his work to disseminate national Folklore. There was just one big problem: He was a terrible person. Lobato was a racist, aligned with the United Statian KKK, (yes) and generally treated people, specially black people, very poorly. So, if that was a text oriented only for Brazilians, i'd completely ignore his name, and would focus on the texts. But, for the sake of education of foreign readers, i had to mention him.

In 1917, this (awful) individual published an inquiry in one of the biggest newspapers of the country, searching for personal and regional tales about the Saci, which he planned to catalog and archive. The idea was to protect the national Folklore, since he would argument that we should focus on our own mythology, rather than importing everything from other countries. While the Saci had the ancestry of European Myth, it was a 100% modern Brazilian born legend. This kind of thought is pretty impressive from a racist dipshit, but ok.

Although Lobato did had the idea of collecting tales, they were all brought from other people, regular people, which i prefer to credit. With this rather than him. They published the book ''Saci: An Inquiry Result''. This book would be very important for the Saci lore, because it ended up skyrocketing its dim popularity, making sure he would survive for more centuries.

A funny trivia about this book, is that at the time of its publishing, the newspaper asked its sponsors to make ads using the Saci. Which had some pretty weird art that i rather not show. Thank you Monteiro Lobato for creating our capitalist version of the Dictionaire Infernal, very cool.

[EDIT] Lobato is also the creator of the work ''Sítio do Pica Pau Amarelo'' or roughly translated as Spot of the Yellow Woodpecker. I ended up not talking about it, but this is by far his most famous work that featured the Saci Pererê as one of the main character, as many other folkloric Brazilian entities. This work is often credited as many children's first contact with the Saci, and other folk Brazilian tales. This particular series is about a farm owned by Benta, an elderly woman that lived alone in the countryside. Her friend Nastácia lives along, and is famous for her dishes. She often gets visits of her nephew Lucia, which has the nickname Narizinho. She brings along her doll Emillia, which ends up gaining life and becomes a sort of tomboyish sidekick. They both live adventures along her friends and folkloric creatures.

Much regarded as the ''Brazilian Wizard of Oz'' this work was so popular it got adapted into several comic books and live action shows. The most popular of which aired during the 2000s from 2001 to 2007, and i as a kid often watched it. My favorite character had to be Emilia. (She will be present in the compendium, or a lesser post soon enough)

Al tough, due to Lobato awful nature as a person, the series is often pointed out as racist and problematic, being also written in the early 20th century it was filled with problems, which made a lot of people that grew up with this work depressed by those details. Luckily this is one of the rare occasions where there is an active effort from scholars and fans alike, to separate Sitio's influence on Brazilian culture and Folklore, from the awful person that was Lobato. The book is now on Public Domain, and each new iteration of the story deletes more and more problematic points, and as more decades went by, it gets more safe to consume and mixed with the Brazilian folklore, leaving the author in a sweet side note.

That said, not everybody is ok with this approach as well, and prefer to just abandon the literary work entirely. Which i honestly can't blame them for...

One of the latest iterations of Sitio do Pica Pau Amarelo is a cartoon, produced during the 2010s. Here are Emilia and Lucia.

But, as the 20th century went by and more people went in contact with the Saci tales, now widespread, the once regional myth started to gain the world, and became a symbol of the country culture. For instance, in the 70s and 80s the Saci would be featured in the Japanese anime: Akuma Kun, from the legendary author Shigeru Mizuki, which i already covered many times here. Mizuki is an old acquaintance of us theologians, because he was not only a mangaka, but also a devoted scholar of over the world mythologies. Its studies some times ended up in Brazil, and that's how he got the Saci.

You may know this author from the famous Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro series. Mizuki made some mistakes, but he was one of the most important folklorists of its time, helping to protect and disseminate the folklore of his country. According the author Michael Dylan Foster, in the book ''The book of Yokai'' Mizuki was influenced by folklorists as such Yanagita Kunio (we already mentioned him here as well, for the Obayrion post!) And thanks to Mizuki, most post war Japanese people were thinking of his works, when thinking about Yokai.

But back to the Saci, he was a recurring character in the Akuma Kun manga. The series was about a boy that could control mythical creatures from around the world. Since Akuma Kun got a lot of sequels and reboots, we are talking about Saishinban Akuma Kun, from 1988. There, the Saci makes an appearance! The looks is very faithful, but the hat isn't red, and in the animation the character would have two legs, rather than the only leg always associated with it. Still, he controlled the winds and was very mischievous just like in its home country!

The Saci in Akuma Kun Manga vs Anime

Mizuki's iteration of the Saci also just loses its powers when people take out his pipe, which differs from our regular version, where the hat does that. Besides this fact, Mizuki takes the artistic freedom to make the creature liking Football, which i particularly find funny but a bit stereotypical, and some people did not liked it. Overall, i thought it as a great representation!

Akuma Kun will get a new Anime in 2023. Lets hope that our Brazilian whimsicall friend makes an appearance.

There is much talk on how Mizuki found about the Saci Pererê, and the contact of Japanese with Brazilian folklore. I already explored that on my text on the Pokémon Whimsicott as well. However, the Brazilian Folklore in my opinion resonates very well with Japanese Folklore, so much that a lot of other Japanese artists that came in contact with it ended up using it as inspiration as well. A very known example is from the animator Ype Nakashima, that much probably had contact with Mizuki. The Saci was a character in one of Ype's most beloved works, the animation Piconze.

Although the exagerated details in the Saci, that can be seen as problematic nowadays, this depiction is a product of its time, and i do not agree with it. It's here for the purpose of education.

While the Saci is not from Japan, we can see that it would get along very well with other Yokai, which ends up making it kind of popular with Japanese audiences. Other Brazilian Mythical creatures were also explored by foreigners like the Cuca, Caipora, (which appeared in the Demi Kids series of games, by the way!) The Curupira, and many others!

The Saci vs the Halloween a National Symbol

The Saci Pererê got the status of a national symbol. And as such, it was often used as a counter point to foreign interference in Brazilian culture. Since its rebirth in the 20th century, in an attempt to retrieve its legacy, the creature is often held as a protector of Brazilian culture.

As such, in 2003 it was proposed by Brazilian politics that the Saci should have a national holiday, and it should be commemorated in October 31st, in opposition to the growing Halloween culture around Brazil. The argument was that this was a foreign holiday, not from our country, and we should celebrate the Saci as a symbol of patriotism.

But the problem is that Halloween was never a tradition nor a holiday in Brazil, and both holidays never caught too much attention. Still, the Saci vs Jack O'Lantern fight is somewhat took lightly as a funny way to protect our national Folklore.

Notoriously, the beef between the Saci and Jack O'Lantern was commemorated in a song, from the 2013 parody metal album ''Metal Folklore'', sang by the Brazilian metal singer Bruno Sutter, acting as his parody Persona the Detonator. The album was pretty well received and brought attention to the concept again, with the song called ''Saci.'' which is a critic to United States imperialism and its forced influence on Brazilian culture. Bruno brought along the famous Punk Rock singer João Gordo to this track, which is a celebrated artist in the country, who even ended up in some Nirvana gigs, back in the 1990s.

I personally got to know Bruno during a concert, and even watched him perform live. The dude is amazing, and you should give it a listen!

You can listen to this particular song on Spotify!

''October 31st is the Saci day!

Do not fool yourself my friend

Halloween is american, which is far away from Brazil

Trick or treat is your fucking mother!

Saci is the red cape warrior!

Saci is a mischievous boy!

The Pumpkin is already shitting itself

Don't fuck with Brazilian Folklore!'' -Some Lyrics from the song

This amazing artwork was provided by my great friend @atmaflare! Here we see the Saci having an argument with Jack O'Lantern, probably saying to him to stay away from his turf.

The comedic and critic nature of the song made it pretty popular at the time, and this canonically beef between the two creatures became somewhat common here. Still, both are dates are celebrated without any major incident!

Inside Brazil, Saci is also a major character of the amazing Netflix series ''Invisible City'' which is all about Brazilian Folklore, and supernatural occurrences in a life of a police officer in modern times. Give it a watch!

On Personal Notes

So, in this case the Saci comes from my home country and naturally i grew up with his tales of mischief and supernatural occurrences. In this sense, i have much more of a personal connection to my topic of study for this text, and so i can have my own verdict to it. It's natural for kids here to have contact with this mythical character. Or at least, it was when i was a kid in the early 2000s.

When i was little, the Saci was a particular mythological being that i feared. It was not that he was dangerous in a real sense of the way, but i rather not find it alone in the woods, or be bullied by him.

Still there was a grain of fascination by his figure, because there was the possibility to actually win against the Saci, taking his hat and making him do as our biding. And most of time, his mischief ended up as funny for kids.

Nowadays the Saci is still regarded as one of the most beloved folkloric tales of Brazil, inspiring newer generations of folklorists to protect and share the culture that they belong and grew up with, such as myself. For this reason, the Saci will always stay in the Brazilian collective consciousnesses, not only because of its supernatural powers, its haunting abilities surviving the current age, but also as a symbol of our own home in this planet.

As Camara Cascudo said in his book:

''Today the Devil that is inseparable from tales, from countryman conversations. Vague, haunting, unexpected, malicious, humorous (...) Now, diluted in the memory of those who does not have the spiritual age to fear it anymore.''

Sources and Bibliography:

1- Camara Cascudo: Geografia dos Mitos Brasileiros (Geography of Brazilian Myths)

2- Saci: Resultado de um Inquérito, Monteiro Lobato (Saci: An Inquiry Result)

3- Supersticiones y Lendas'', Juan B Ambrosetti.

4- Pigimeos en Leyendas de los Guarnies, F.C Maytzhusen

5- Natural History, Pliny the Elder

6- The Book of Yokai, Michael Dylan Foster (small Citation)

[whateverisbeautiful]

🀄️reflecting on richonne

Rick and Michonne have had many similarities in their individual journeys. Some tragic, like both losing their firstborn sons and having to kill their best friend from the old world after that said-friend tried to take Judith from them. But one of the really sweet similarities is them both having an elder that influenced their lives. 

Both R&M had an elder figure that really believed in them and helped them hold onto hope, not just for the greater good of everyone but for their own life too. And both these elders passed down a memorable, powerful, and needed phrase that helped Rick and Michonne believe love was still out there for them. Which then helped advance Richonne’s exceptional love story.

For Rick, that elder mentor was Hershel.

I love Hershel and I believe he truly was the second-most influential character to guide Rick. (With Michonne of course being number one.) In that lovely scene tending to a plant during the s4 premiere, Hershel passes down a sentiment to Rick that could be the thesis of the whole show and also the exact message Rick needed to know for his own life. 

It’s when Hershel tells Rick, “Things break, but they can still grow.” 

After so much loss, Rick’s family probably felt like it would be broken forever, especially once Carl became the only person left that he knew from his world before. In s3, Rick also hit a breaking point after all the loss, stress, and pressure he’d been carrying. 

Yet, despite all that brokenness in his life, something beautiful and better than he could’ve imagined still grew. Hershel had to remind Rick that, even when things break, whole new plants are still possible. And by embracing that thought, it helped Rick to eventually embrace the love and fruitful life that was out there for him. 

That idea of broken things growing and becoming new and bountiful is beautifully executed in Rick and Michonne’s story. They restored so much in each others lives and a whole new healthy plant is exactly what Rick got through Michonne and their wonderful Grimes 2.0 family.

Imo it’s no coincidence that right after this farming scene between Hershel and Rick, we immediately hear Michonne riding in on a horse as Rick stands up like he’s been magnetically summoned to greet her. Michonne’s return meant a crucial part of Rick’s whole new plant had arrived. 😌

For Michonne, that impactful elder was Deanna.

The more time goes on, the more I become a fan of Deanna. Because I know a Richonner when I see one lol. 

I love how much Deanna saw the potential in Rick and Michonne and tried to get them to see what she saw in them. (I also feel like Deanna knew how special Michonne must have been to Rick right from the jump cuz I’d imagine Aaron told her that the only reason TF agreed to go to ASZ is because Rick does what Michonne wants 😋)

But I especially love Deanna’s deathbed scenes with Michonne. It’s so significant for Michonne’s journey and heart. I adore how passionately Deanna wanted to use her final moments to speak with Michonne woman-to-woman and be adamant that Michonne go after what she wants for herself personally. (Plus it’s a sweet way to set up Richonne, which would be canon just two episodes later.)

Deanna’s pertinent phrase during their chat is, “Someday this pain will be useful to you.”

Having endured so much trauma, it’s meaningful for Michonne to be reminded that valuable things can still come out of pain. And the pain isn’t just useful to others but “to you.”

As I reflected, I realized one of the first ways we saw Michonne’s pain prove extremely useful to her was when she first arrived at the prison. Because I believe Michonne being a mother, and especially a mother who experienced the pain of losing a child, is what even led her to TF in the first place. 

It hit me how a huge reason Michonne even chose to first pull up to that prison fence is because she knew a baby was in there. 

Michonne could have easily just kept walking after seeing Glenn and Maggie get taken by Merle. I mean she had very little reason to trust anyone after Woodbury. But Glenn and Maggie were talking about a baby and they had formula and I think that maternal instinct largely led Michonne to take the big risk of showing up to this new prison group. Because she had to get that formula to that baby. She has to ensure that baby would be okay. 

And little did she know it was her baby she was saving. Making this one of the hundreds of reasons I’ll forever love Michonne and Judith’s mother-daughter story. 

It was the pain of Michonne’s past as a mother that was useful in leading her to a whole new family, where she got to not just love again but be loved again by her kids and her husband. 

I appreciate Deanna for passing down her wisdom and having so much belief in Michonne, and in Rick. And I appreciate Deanna for being a Richonne stan to the end lol. Like I’m glad that in establishing her as a character who can really read people, they have her being adamant to pair Rick and Michonne together because she could tell they were uniquely cut from the same cloth and compatible in every way.

I also think Deanna saw herself and Reg in Rick and Michonne and wanted to pass the baton to the two of them because she felt they were the power couple most capable of building the future she believed in. Just like Deanna expressed how happy she was to build a life with her family from start to finish, she wanted Michonne to know she could have that too because it’s really what Michonne most wanted. 

But just like Reg and Deanna weren’t only leaders and builders together, Deanna wanted Michonne to know that the person you work so well with can also be the person you fall in love with and who is deeply in love with you too. 

I know Deanna would be celebrating when she saw Rick and Michonne finally realize what she’s been knew, which is that they’re perfect for each other. And even with Rick’s “Farmer Rick” era being short-lived, I know Hershel would still be so proud of the way Rick and Michonne grew a beautiful new plant together. 🥰

[ditzydisaster13]

The Ache in these Veins

chapter 18/31 of Ethereal: JuLance challenge 2024 written on Ao3

Lance shut his book softly, marking the page and placing it under his chair. Smiling when he recognized a pair of boots. 

“Hey Keith.” Lance claimed softly. The purple eyes of the man before him reaching his.   “Lance.” Keith wasn’t much of a smiler. But Lance is okay with that. 

His head pounds with a migraine. And there’s a black spot in the corner of his vision. He can barely make out half of Lucif’s face. But the long haired male -longer than Keith’s hair, so much so that it’s worn in a thick brain that reaches his stomach- gave him a worried brow anyways. His brown eyes giving a dark flash to red.

Lance decides to ignore it for now. They’ll only end up talking about it later. 

“So Keith! How about I decide to introduce you to everyone. I think you’ve met Pidge and Shiro by now. But it’s still nice to get to know everyone.”

“It’s good to meet you again Keith.” Pidge reaches out to shake the half galran’s hand. “And look. If you get tired of Lance, like, I know he’s your boyfriend and all? But come to me. He knows I’ll kick his ass.”   “Hey wait!”   “Nope. Lance, I know that Keith came with us to complete the Voltron lions and all, mostly because you’re a pining idiot who the second he meets someone cute at a bar, stalks them,” lance quickly squawked his resentment to the statement. “But I’m sure the Blade faction would be happy to have him back if anything happens.”

”Thanks for the hospitality then?” Keith gave a teasing smile at Pidge, who smirked in return. Lance felt his chest swell at the smile.

It was kinda true. Lance had first seen Keith at a bar. And since then, frequented the bar hoping to see him again. Luckily things worked in his favor and a little drunken flirting on his part, turned into a drunken number exchange for the both of them. 

“Okay well, you know Pidge. She rides the green lion. If it wasn’t more obvious past her clothes.” Lance huffed a laugh. “Anyways. The green lion has given Pidge the ability to harness energies. She uses plants as an extension of herself. She’s a genius in her own right and a caffeine addicted techie. But seriously she never sleeps. Seems to think she doesn’t need it when she can just summon energy. But forgets that her powers are only an addition to herself.” Lance finished with a pointed look towards Pidge. 

Pidge held a blush in her face for a second, embarrassed for being called out. Sonwhat. She had energy to spare! It’s not his call. She’s 20 years old and an adult woman. But before she could give Lance a piece of her mind, he was moving on to the next person. 

“-and he’s the rider of the purple lion. Stars and night and all that stuff. Luckily, he gets his sleep in the day. But Shiro is kinda like the dad friend to all of us? We tease him for it, but I think he appreciates the nickname. It’s not anything mean. It honestly just shows that we’re thankful for what he does. Now, I can’t exactly remember how you two know each other- but, I still think it’s cool.” 

“Thank you, for all of that Lance.” the man in question met Shiro’s statement with a wink. “But it’s also great to see you again Keith. I hope your mother is better now that she’s back on solid ground. 

Oh! That was right. Keith’s mom, a Galran woman and also a member of the Blade, was flying into the planet from a mission when a recent storm surged through her ship and she nearly crashed. She would have if Shiro hadn’t been patrolling the skies that Night. Lance wished he could have been there to help.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I was supposed to help out payroll that night for the storm but-”

“But you were sick. Remember? Besides, Shiro, Allura and I had it under control. You needed the rest. I wouldn’t say you’re as bad as Pidge. But you don’t know when to chill.”

”Hey! I’m like- the best at chilling!” Lance crossed his arm with a huff. Turning away from his brown eyed friend and accidentally reaching the gaze of his confused boyfriend. Keith was raising a brow in his direction. 

“I mean. This is Lucif. Not like Lucifer or anything. He’s really a good guy. He has the black lion. And he like sorts shadows. Helping lost spirits. Fighting against the evil ones. Oh, and he’s like a human lie detector. So careful who you tell your secrets to.” Lance blinked owlishly at Keith. 

“Then we have Lotor. He actually couldn’t make it. But he’s half Galra. Like you. But he’s also a prince? We’re like absolutely sure Zarkon was his great great grandfather or something. But he has the white lion. Whom he named silver because he’s a confusing motherfucker. But he does stuff with the moon and at night. He does a lot of night patrols, like Shiro, so he’s sleeping in right now. He also has this crazy accent. But I’m sure he’ll want to meet you at some point. Though I’ll tell you, as a repercussion of his powers, which we all get, like Pidge and her energy thing,” Pidge rolled her eyes. “Lotor doesn’t have the best vision in the day time. Something about the direct sun and not a reflection of it being too much.” 

He couldn’t help it when he got lost in thought. But he wanted to direct the conversation elsewhere. His ears began to ring as he spoke. But the spotty vision was starting to thankfully fade. 

“Someone else who isn’t here is Matt. He’s Pidge’s older brother. But he wasn’t chosen by a lion for a while. The brown lion is like, all about dirt. I honestly think their whole family is just full of geniuses. Who were for some reason stolen from their phones and computers because their godlike ancestor wanted them to touch some grass.”

Lance chuckled with his eyes closed. Feeling and reaching out for his glass of water. It took him a second for him to register what happened. But the sound of glass shattering told him he knocked it over. 

Eyes staring down. Vision fuzzing just slightly. One hand still and frozen from where it  He felt his other hand cramp up uncontrollably and uncomfortably into an angled claw, hidden under the table. Joints locking and skin stretching over his fingers tighter than he thought they could.

He finally blinked again.

“Oops..” 

Keith was still staring at him. But it didn’t looked worried, like Lucif’s, so he wasn’t out for long. He gave a heavy blink and turned to allura. A gentle smile forced into his features.

”This is Allura. I’m pretty sure she’s like an Altean princess. But she has the pink lion and does a bunch of really cool healing stuff. Also, I’m not really sure if she’s actually a lesbian, or I’m just not her type. But either way, she’s a part of our little family all the same.”

Keith was struggling not to laugh, eyes already rolling. Allura looked way too used to Lance’s flirting. But maybe that was a good thing. He stole a glance at Lance, neutral face breaking into the slighted of a smile anyways. 

“Now, not that I’m jealous. I could totally date anyone I wanted. Like you. But this other beauty at our table.” “Hey!” “Is Romelle. Allura’s girlfriend. Romelle rides the teal lion. And decorates his mane with bows as you’ve probably seen before. But she can speak to animals. Like, all kinds. Even ones shipped in from other planets. It’s really cool.”

“Well I know that I appreciate it.” Coran said striding into the room.  A tray full of sandwiches in one hand, the other tray loaded full of lemonade and club sodas. He quickly set them down on the table. Everyone grabbing their share of the good and drink. “Hello Keith. I’m Coran. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about me.” Keith glanced at Lance. “But I’ll have you know that I’m happy with what I do. I might not be a Voltron hero, but being able to watch the lot of you improve is just enough for me.” Coran fiddled with the collar of his shirt.

An orange tabby cat pawed into the room and did a lap between Coran’s legs. Keith was still just impressed by the mustache the man maintained. But an adorable cat stole his attention and Coran chuckled. “Ah, this is Tang. Lance got me this guy so I wouldn’t feel left out not having a feline friend. Now, he’s no Alfor. But he’s one of the best friends a man could ask for.” 

“Oh! Speaking of best friends, this is Hunk! My brother from another mother! We’ve been close since diapers. It’s wild. Especially since we were both chosen to be part of Voltron and stuff. But I couldn’t ask for anyone better to fight alongside me. he has the yellow lion. Which honestly has only made him stronger and kinda than he was before. He’s like the hulk mixed with Teddy bear. Best honest combination.”

“What about you?” Keith mumbled around a mouthful of bread and lettuce. Everyone else turned to him. Oh lord.

”Well. I still haven’t told you about your own lion. Though I know you have your own personality. The red lion has quite a temperament.” 

Lance hoped he didn’t look as dizzy as he felt. He massaged his still locked hand. Hoping to relieve its ache even before the muscles eased back. Wishful thinking at most. 

“I’m actually impressed. Red is pretty sassy and picky. So you should be honored you were picked. Or we might never have completed Voltron. Now, I haven’t seen her abilities in full action, but something about the way her mane -yes, her mane- glows with heat and fire, I’m pretty sure she’s got like flame and stuff. And smoke. Maybe she’s like a phoenix.” 

“Lance. That’s not what I asked. I already sorta figured that out for myself.”

”Oh well. I’m Lance. I was the first one chosen by a lion. I can produce things like water and ice from my hands. And kinda tame storms. Like, the water is pretty cool. Since I grew up near a beach. But it’s pretty fun to be the one that can mess around with electricity!” 

Lance shot a series of sparks through his hand. His veins glowing blue and his eyes reflecting the light show. Little Litchenburge marks flickering across his tanned skin and up his arm till they disappeared as the ball of lightning died. 

“Oh my god!” he whispered out excitedly. “That actually worked!” He flexed his fingers and wrist experimentally. It fixed his hand! Oh my god. Perfect!

“What actually worked?” Keith said across the table. But Lance wasn’t listening. “Lance. Um. Lance?” 

And that’s when they noticed the twitch in Lance’s hand. When they noticed the way his mouth hung just barely open. How his eyes had rolled scarily into the back of his head. 

“Oh my shit! Fuck!” Lucif stood up and faced around the other side is the table. Keith just barely making out the words “no no no… not again!” from his lips as he passed him. 

Again? 

Lance begun to Seize. 

read the book and follow along on Ao3

[starbornsoulrider]

Halo's Stables- MASTERPOST

This is a master post of all Halo's CANONICAL horses, pets, and household members. This post will definitely be updated frequently, the first few additions I'll be putting here are the ones that are the most important to their story.

HORSES-

"Buddy"

Registered Name: Nimbus

In-game Name: Babyboy

Gender: Stallion

Age: 7

Breed: Jorvik Warmblood (Guardian)

Personality: Adventurous, sassy, protective

Desc: Halo's first horse, adventure buddy, and best friend- wherever his rider goes, he's bound to follow. Nimbus grew up on a small ranch in the north of Jorvik, where he was trained in showjumping by his owner's granddaughter. However, following a series of tragic events involving the loss of his sire, a fire that destroyed the barn he grew up in, and his owners going bankrupt, he was temporarily boarded at Moorland Stables while his owners went overseas to try and rebuild their lives elsewhere, planning to bring him over once they were in a stable living position. For the next few years, Nimbus was used as a lesson horse for the annual Moorland Summer Riding Camp, until one day a mysterious pointy eared "human" appeared at the stable's shores. Halo turned out to be his fated rider, and has found a much more fulfilling life full of the excitement he'd craved for so long in their care. They were also the one to give him his new nickname, "Buddy".

"Angel"

Registered Name: Angel Dawn

In-game Name: Angeldawn

Gender: Gelding

Age: 7

Breed: Lusitano (Starbreed)

Personality: Shy, level-headed, patient

Desc: Angel had once been all around the world in prestigious dressage competitions with his previous rider, but as a consequence spent more time cooped up alone in trailers and stalls rather than out in the pasture with other horses. Not only that, but with whatever little free time his old rider had, she was too busy spend it with him outside of training. He was winning her ribbons, though, which brought a smile to her face- and for a long time, that was all he needed. After a traumatic accident involving another horse attacking him at a show, however, Angel became an anxious mess in following competitions and kept failing to perform to the best of his abilities. Inevitably, he was ended up sold to Jorvik Stables and was set to be auctioned off during the next Open House. That was where he caught the eye of Buddy, a clumsy but endearing stallion who sympathized with all the hardships he'd endured, who insisted that his rider would help get him out. With the assistance of Herman, Halo successfully managed to bring Angel home from the auction that day. Angel now lives a peaceful life in Halo's barn, as Buddy's mate and a figure of support for any other anxious horses who end up in his rider's care. He also joins Halo in their dressage lessons with Anne.

"Lilyan"

Registered Name: Lilyan

In-game Name: Lilyangel

Gender: Mare

Age: 1

Breed: Lusitano X JWB Mix (Pandorian)

Personality: Sweet, feisty, mischievous

Desc: When Buddy and Angel decided they wanted a foal of their own, Halo struggled in finding any orphaned ones in need of a new home they could adopt. "My two male horses told me they want a baby" isn't exactly something you can just say to any potential sellers. So, one night Buddy snuck out with his mate to seek out the help of Ydris- hoping that with the help of the magician's powers he could grant their wish. Ydris, surprisingly obliged, and thus Lilyan was summoned into this world. She has Buddy's sense of adventure, and Angel's compassion, and a knack for trouble-making she formed herself. An unexpected result of her being born from Pandorian magic was her having Pandorian powers herself, similar to that of Zee. While this discovery was certainly a surprise to her dads, they still love her unconditionally and do whatever they can to help her manage them. Over time Lilyan's gathered more control over her abilities, and is even well on her way to mastering them. She longs to go on the same thrilling adventures her dad does, but Buddy fears she isn't quite ready yet.

"Ash"

Registered Name: Ashfall

In-game Name: Ashfall

Gender: Mare

Age: 5

Breed: North Swedish Runerunner (Starbreed)

Personality: Headstrong, brave, loyal

Desc: Ashfall was Halo's reward for completing their training into a fully fledged Soul Rider under Rhiannon. Ash was brought down from the North upon Rhiannon's return to Valedale, where she'd originally spent her life under rigorous training from the Wild Wardens, and had in fact been Rhiannon's current project before being contacted by Elizabeth. The final stretch of her training was passed off to Halo following their graduation ceremony, as one of the things she struggled most in was working together with a rider. Originally, Ash was admittedly rather skeptic- Halo seemed to be the head-in-the-clouds type, and their horse Buddy lacked the restraint she was taught. However, over the months they spent training Halo slowly but surely proved themself to her, and she willingly let them ride upon her back. The two still don't always see eye to eye, but they both find unity in the strong dedication they share to protecting the island and those they love. Being with Halo was also helped Ash loosen up a bit and learn to enjoy the more leisurely aspects of life.

PETS-

"Timber"

Gender: Male

Age: ???

Species: Domestic Mistfox

Personality: Silly, curious, sensitive

Desc: Timber is Halo's loyal and lovable fox companion, who they originally found stirring up trouble and stealing people's lunches at the Moorland Riding Camp. After Halo showed the little guy kindness instead of shooing him away like everyone else (and offered him a few of their cheese swirls), he's been glued to their side. His favorite activities are sticking his nose into things and feeling the wind in his face while hitching a ride in Buddy's saddlebag.

"Crafty"

Gender: Male

Age: 7 months

Species: Owl

Personality: Humble, friendly, easily distracted

Desc: Crafty is the fledgling of Farah's owl, Toby. As a thanks for Halo's continuous support of her shop and assistance with her with deliveries, Farah let them be the one to help raise him once he hatched. Crafty love spending his time foraging and watching Halo craft things over their shoulder, and has grown rather attached to Ashfall in particular. He often hides the little trinkets and shinies he finds in her mane, much to her dismay. Ash loves the little guy, but his tendency to go flying off the second he spots something of interest stresses her immensely.

MISC.-

[ No photo available yet! ]

"Twig"

Gender: Female

Age: 2

Species: Capran

Personality: Compassionate, outgoing, optimistic

Desc: Many joke that Twig is Halo's daughter in a way, but even she considers herself that to an extent. Halo originally found her following the Capran incident in Hollow Woods, and found her as a baby in one of the bags they'd dropped. Not having the heart to abandon her, but unsure of how to find a way to track down her parents, Halo took her under their care. That decision didn't spark approval from all the Druids, frankly, but the Soul Riders were more than willing to find out how to help Halo care for her. Twig is the kind to see the best in everyone, even in the likes of the Dark Riders. All she wants is for everyone to talk out their differences, understand each other and learn to get along. She hates violence, which has lead Halo to try and avoid showing her the more combative aspects of their Soul Rider duties. Although she may come off as naive to most, hearing her perspective on things sometimes helps Halo view things from a different, more compassionate angle.

[dragonclaude]

Hey! I'm trying to make my own Danganronpa action game concept, except with the V3 cast where all 16 students are playable. I was wondering if you had any ideas for the characters not listed here (Rantaro, Korekiyo, Kaito, and Kokichi.) Note that not all of them should be connected to their talents, as seen below.

-Kaede and Shuichi both use the UDG Megaphone hacking guns. They're the only ones with said guns, by the way.

-Himiko finds and uses a magic staff with a variety of spells powered by "mana" (soft drinks.) In reality, it's just the old "magic is just super high tech that we don't get" shtick. I also want her to use small tricks and sleight of hand, such as a smokescreen spell or the ability to pickpocket foes easily.

-Maki uses nothing but a metallic baseball bat. It's all that she needs.

-Ryoma fights with a tennis racket and balls, like what he did with the mafia.

-Tenko fights with nothing but pure Neo-Akido, and later on some devices that let her shoot out Hadoukens and such.

-Angie uses a "magic" paintbrush that is in the same category as Himiko's staff. She uses it to create flat living paintings or just spray paint with different properties.

-Miu would use a mini-mecha to fight, and one I'd assume has multiple different modes. I also think she'd have an outside-mecha form when she loses her mecha for whatever reason or needs to enter a smaller space.

-Kirumi fights with kicks, cleaning supplies (including a broom hiding a sword,) and equipment she picks up throughout the game.

-Gonta fights with his bare hands and his bug friends that he accumulates.

-Kibo would use similar enhancements to the ones he had at the end of V3.

-Tsumugi would cosplay and fight exactly like Usopp from One Piece.

Funny! For like a year I've been thinking about how I would've changed DRS to add more interesting combat and gameplay loop. During that, I've thought of how every character's attack animation would look like along with what abilities or weapons they could have with them. If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to talk about it, just haven't found a good way to introduce it without drawing a lot for it like RCB xD

Anyways, here are my ideas but slightly different for an action game:

Rantaro: Uses a variety of navigation-related tools for battering (ex. compass, telescope, captain's wheel) and can summon small boats that drive through the ground to attack enemies. Can stand on and ride on top of the boats if desired.

Korekiyo: Uses special tags and masks to summon spirits and ghosts to fight for him and has shadowy effects to his attacks. He has dodges that pass through things, and perhaps also uses candles for a fire damage attack.

Kaito: Has a rocket on his back. He can fly and crash into people to attack or turn the engines around to produce a flamethrower-like effect to close targets. If not using it, he has basic fist/kicking attacks without much tact.

Kokichi: Kokichi would probably have the least overall damage but the most dodges. He can either lay traps of a variety of prank items (ex. surprise peanut can), stick them onto enemies that go off after a second, or use them in his hands to attack directly. He will have a variety of taunts/insults to move enemies around to where you want them to be. Everything he does will stun enemies and he will then be able to use a "talk down"/"shame" move that gets anyone currently stunned around you out of the fight instead of killing them.

[lunarifie]

Rewatching Ninjago

(With no context other than the episode)

Skybound 7-8



Okay by why is Dareth out of everyone helping Nya, Cole, and Lloyd save Jay

Are Kevin and Dan self inserts-

Lloyd: who are they? Retrieval experts?

Dareth: better! Screenwriters.

I also saw these two random dudes in the jail and they were given lines and everything istg these are self inserts 💀

Also theyre voices sound abnormally normal

Everyone else in the show has a sort of distinctive or exaggerated voice

Not to mention how normal their outfits are. something I would actually wear in real life.

These are just some guys

The plan to recreate the sky pirates airship to blend in is actually a good idea

Lloyd: Ar! Yee.. matey, we be be, becoming pirates!

Dan and kevin:…

Kevin: okaaay thinking on the fly, the green one wont do dialects.

Dan: the mute pirate!

The dialect teacher: (teaching Cole and Nya)

Lloyd: (following their movement and swaying but not saying anything with a smile on his face)

I bet Lloyd loved pirates when he was little

This must be so fun for him :)

The airjitzu master after nadakhan stole him and his temple: This is me and my pupils home! You cant take it!

Nadakhan: And get rid of those peaky ghosts as well 🙄 theyre so last season

HDNSIFNSNR

The way Nya and Cole are hoping Jays okay 🥺

COLE FOUND JAY!!! WHAT I DONT REMEMBER THIS HAPPENING?!?!?!?

Jay sounds so pained :(

God I really wish Ninjago had like, a cartoon style like she-ra or spiderverse. Coles helping Jay stand and Jays voice actor is doing such a good job in sounding in pain but this would hurt so much more if we could SEE it.

They apologized to each other 🥹

Clancy (looking away): now here are the rules you need to follow new crewmates!-

Lloyd: (trying his fucking best as the mute pirate to mime to Nya that her mustache is falling)

Nya: 🤨

Lloyd: your mustache…

Clancy: hey! I thought you were mute

Lloyd: its a fucking miracle!

Huh, okay. So not only can the ninja not summon their dragons if they’re fearful, but they cant if they’re too drained or exhausted.

That makes a lot of sense actually

I love when powers come hand in hand with like health and stuff

They all got captured 😐

I hate that Nyas alone with Nadakhan

Jay: Thanks for trying to save me but maybe it would’ve been better if you guys never came…

Damn.

God Nadakhans so creepy…

Cole: Nya! Dont do it! Itll make Nadakhan all powerful-

Nadakhan: The black one goes first.

ik Coles the black ninja but the poc Cole headcanon has made me double take and go “🤨” to a few lines

DID NYA JUST FLIP DOGSHANKS HFJNSJF Holy shit

If I had a nickel for everytime an ancient item could collect elemental masters powers, id have two nickels, which isnt a lot but its weird it happened twice right?

STOP. MAKING. WISHES.

Lloyd: We have to be wiser for what we wish for!

Jay: NO. NOT WISER. QUIETER. NO. MORE. WISHES.

Coles getting his wishes twisted

Lloyds trying to think this through

And Nyas just wasting wishes💀

Like girl its not that hard to just NOT say ‘wish’

LLOYDS OLD?!?!?! 😭bfjdjfnfjsnt

Its so funny that the youngest became the oldest

Thats also scary though

Imagine the kid you swore to take care of turned 90 in a second

Lloyd: i see beyond the now..! Youll need your wish when its said from the heart

Love when age and wisdom gives you future vision

Jay: SAID FROM THE HEART?!?!? HEARTS DONT TALK!!!!

FUSION DRAGON!!!

How does that even work though

An electric and water dragon should be killing both Nya AND jay.

Wait so Cole and Lloyd used all their wishes. How is nadakhan gonna trap them in his sword now?

CLANCY NO DONT WISH THEM AWAY

Clancyyy :(

Nya riding the dragon while Jays sitting behind her is giving me movie Nya and her motorcycle vibes

so its just Nya and Jay now

And the whole police force I guess.

But what were they ever good for.

Oooooo a safe house

Wonder where it is.

Zanes dad’s lighthouse!!!

WAIT WAIT WAIT IK WHOS IN THERE

Jay: No no, let me row the boat, you saved me last time, let me do this for you :)

Awww thats sweet

Jay: Either way, a gentlemen NEVER lets a lady row.

Aaaand you ruined it.

Flintlockes getting reaaal suspicious of Nadakhan…

MUTINY! MUTINY! MUTINY!

that was kinda pathetic…

Jay: (venting his heart out about how this is all his fault)

Nya: Jay-

Jay: (continues venting)

Nya: JAY. Shut up. 😀

Jay: I know I know, you dont wanna hear it-

Nya: No- JAY. we’re not alone.

ECHOECHOECHOECHO

Jay: (cowering behind Nya)

Nya: I thought you were supposed to be protecting me?!?

Jay: I thought you were over that!

ECHO!!!!

Does anyone have any fic recs where Jay and Nya take echo with them????? Bc ik they leave with echo but we never see him again.

Clancy deserves better :(

Its actually kinda sweet how Jay wants to protect Nya

Little robot: (steals echos chess piece)

The seagulls: (trying to alert echo of what little robot just did)

Echo (looks back): Wait… How did you..?

Little robot: 🤷

Echos so cute 😭

I love Jay and Nya 🥺 theyre so sweet and it makes me genuinely like their relationship when they aren’t fighting

Nya fixed up Echo!!!

Nya: Its nothing… its just, both of you seem so convinced you have a future with me.

Nya: what voice do I have in all this? All my life , my identities been defined by someone else. First I was Kais sister, then I was your horrible girlfriend!

Nya: Even when I wanted to be Samurai X sensei told me no…

Nya: I just want the choice to be who I wanna be.

I feel so bad for her.

See THIS is why shes my favorite. I literally love her sm.

Her character is just so dynamic and well written

I really hope the ninjago writers dont tear down her characterization and make her bland in newer seasons

Fuck theyre here.

Nya: Lights, camera, ACTION! (flash-bombs nadakhans crew)

Dogshank: OW! You pulled my hair?!??! WHAT KIND OF WARRIOR PULLS HAIR???

Nya: One that is woefully undersized!!!

Jfjdjdbfhsjdnsjrn

Fuck this being about Jay. This is Nyas season.

Jay: Whatever you do! Dont pull that lever!

Doubloon: ? (looks at the lever) 😈 (pulls lever)

Jay (falls through escape trap door): Thanks! :D

GO ECHO GO

Aw echo :(

Nya: (pouring her heart out and confessing she’s always loved him and wants to protect him and for him to go through the travelers portal)

Jay: (goes for a kiss)

Nya: (fucking shoves him in the portal)

Nya. Girl. Ik this was like, an act of love. But if you marry the djinn, hes gonna be all powerful.

Like, its great that you believe Jay can save you later and stop the wedding. But you could have just left. If Jay got captured he’d still be able to make the ‘i wish you were never a djinn’ wish.

Nadakhans so creepy. I hate him and hope he dies.

[lumilasi]

MAJOR UPDATE: Since these guys will be part of NCP now, I have updated this majorly. I decided that since they'd mostly be seen in their bathhouse job/the parents would prefer traditional clothing anyway, that I don't have to draw them modern looks for this ref. I'll just list their preferred styles below. (This is still missing Toushi's mum, but so far I have no design ideas for her)

...Funny how all 3 young adult kids of this fam are single, I didn't really plan it like that, but that's where we are currently.

Ages:

The twins and Toushi are around 100 years or so (They are the same generation with their more distant cousin and the protagonist, Jurou), their parents are somewhere between 200-300. (They are the same generation as Jurou's father Harrow)

POWERS:

Kouka: her shadow elemental powers take the shape of 5-9 foxtails that can turn into arms. She can also summon a full on shadow fox and ride and command it. She is also an excellent swords-woman and can utilize powerful fox fire like her mother, and can naturally devour souls like her father. Her shadows are easily the strongest in their family, even capable of overpowering her father.

Kuromoya: His shadows manifest as 3 massive arms with either eyes and mouths, that he can use for offense, defense, or just picking up unruly children. He is not a swordsman but very good with short blades, and generally strong enough to rip things apart with his bare hands.

Toushi: His shadow powers are mainly used as a medium for spreading their vision abilities, where he can manifest eyes into shadows to observe things, or even listen in on people secretly. They also have clairvoyant eyes in both his forehead and left palm, both of which serve a different purpose; Eye-hand allows him to see what kind of character someone is by just touching them, and forehead eye allows him to read minds. Toushi can also traverse through his shadows if he wants to. He can hide the forehead eye, but not the hand eye.

Rikka: An excellent swordswoman with strong foxfire flames, she can also naturally turn into a fox, and is quite fast and agile even in her older age.

Hanma: His shadow element tends to take the form of mist/smoke, that eventually turns into dozens or even hundreds of humanoid "soldiers" he can use to easily overwhelm even entire armies potentially, as these soldiers are not vulnerable to normal wounds or effects, being made of shadows. He is also a good swordsman thanks to his wife.

Friends:

Gouken Shura & Shika (a Vigour spirit (magic created powerful being basically) and a Chimera lady), Yume & Yaguro (A witch and a moth spirit, keepers of a nearby old Arcane Library)

Other important staff or family:

Issui, a kappa who works as a janitor in their bathhouse

Yago, a young Chimera they sort of adopted unofficially, who also works in their bathhouse. It turned out he was the long lost sibling of their visitor and friend, Shika.

Shizuka: A water spirit who is actually secretly the Deity of the lake the bathhouse is in, she just doesn't remember this herself

Araknos/Blackthorne family: The "head family" of the bloodline the Murasakis branched off from, though nowadays they don't use these terms, and Jurou is simply seen as their more distant cousin/Harrow a more distant uncle.

Taiga: Rikka's grandniece who also happens to be dating the cousin of their relative Jurou's adoptive son.

Personality summaries:

Kouka: Calm and collected lady who tends to be a strict but fair leader. She has a playful side too, that comes out mainly around people she trusts. Really good at flirting, sometimes does it just to fluster people she knows are attracted to her.

Kuromoya: Equally calm and relaxed, comes off lazy even at times. In truth he is very sharp minded and calculative, constantly analyzing the situation at hand and selecting his words and demeanor very closely. He only really lets loose in fights typically. Chooses to be nice despite his struggles to empathize with people.

Toushi: Friendly, optimistic and an excellent attentive host. They take their job seriously without having a stick up his ass, like the staff describes it. Has a good sense of humor and isn't afraid to act silly, but can easily take things more seriously and behave accordingly if needed.

Hanma: Quiet and secretive, people find him quite intimidating, but he has a soft core buried within his constant frown, which admittedly took some effort from Rikka and Hanma's sister to form originally. A brutal warrior if he wants to be, has had similar struggles to his son in the past, when it comes to empathy.

Rikka: Gentle but firm mother figure with a strong sense of justice, who generally refuses to compromise her own integrity even at the risk of her own life. A patient woman who is capable of seeing and bringing out the good that exists even in the most broken people.

ABOUT THE FAMILY:

They run a bathhouse that on top of day-to-day business, functions as sort of a safe haven for some people in need of help/people escaping abuse. This latter half is unofficial and technically against the law given it often leads to them potentially devouring the abuser, but Mirror Realm tends to be more lenient about vigilantism...

It also includes a section for gambling, drinking and dancing. They also sometimes lend a hand for their friends or the local townspeople with various issues, typically more dangerous ones they can't handle by themselves.

FAMILY HISTORY SUMMARY:

Family was "created" during the expansion of the British empire in human realm, where a member of the family married a local Japanese witch.

Unlike the main family, this one didn't automatically become long-living, so many generations passed when essentially only two did for Blackthornes. The first to-be long-living members were in fact Hanma and his siblings.

Hanma's father wanted to overthrow the "main branch" family to gain all their influence and power. At this point, Hanma had managed to unlearn a lot of the toxic thinking imposed into him by his father thanks to Rikka and his baby sister, so he was against this.

The Murasaki family were the ones who attacked and massacred majority of the Araknos/Blackthorne family members, with only the youngest child Harrow being spared, as Hanma, Rikka, and Hanma's sister showed up to stop them, resulting in both families being annihilated except for the three of them. (Hanma, Harrow, Hanma's baby sister)

Harrow met his future wife Yui when visiting Hanma and his family years later.

The family moved to the Mirrorverse once WW2 broke out, not wanting to get sucked into it. They had hesitated to do so before this, out of guilt over what Hanma's family had done to Harrow.

They run their bathhouse similarly to what they did in the human realm with the secret darker side, although now the forces in power are aware of their business, just choose to leave it be

Fun facts:

Toushi is nonbinary and uses both he and they, though won't mind she either most of the time. He's pan

Kuromoya is gay with slight preference towards pretty boy types

Kouka is Demiromantic bi (meaning she'd need to bond with you properly before developing any sort of romantic attachment)

Kuromoya has a naturally low level of empathy he inherited from his father, but he actively tries to behave and be aware of his words and actions, to cause as little harm as possible when its not necessary. This was also something he was taught by his father, who did not want him to make the same mistakes he did when younger.

Kouka's style outside the bathhouse tends to be either business casual, or have gothic vibes.

Kuromoya doesn't care too much what he wears, but his style could be described as sporty

Toushi LOVES dressing up, and his looks are often over-the-top and glamorous.

The parents tend to not dress in modern clothing

Toushi LOVES cute fluffy things and will squeal over them with big sparkly eyes and squished cheeks.

Toushi enjoys hosting "girls nights" and is especially close with Yume, the witch managing the nearby library, often gossiping with her about things, mainly about her BF Yaguro.

Kuromoya is seen as Yago's primary parental figure, whereas Kouka is more of a big sister, and Hanma and Rikka honorary grandparents. Kiryo is just Kiryo

Hanma has a soft spot for kids, and is especially fond of his distant Grandniece Hitomi (Jurou's daughter) and let's her sit on his lap during visits (once she gets past how intimidating he is)

Rikka often asks Jurou how her grandniece Taiga is doing, since she knows Jurou does interact with her regularly

This bathhouse is a fairly common visiting spot for Jurou's family, though OFC the kids are forbidden from going to the "adult" section, aka the drinking and gambling area.

[newhologram]

2023 Overview Hologram Tarot

Year 4… It feels completely wrong to say. The unreality of time is undeniable now. How did last year change you? Take what you learned and use it because our overarching energy for this year is The Fool, representing new beginnings and limitless potential. Kronk is enthusiastic about this new journey, with his head held high. But he's also easily distracted and can become confused by the little devil and angel on his shoulder. Should you feel overwhelmed by conflicting inner dialogues, just take a moment to gather yourself before proceeding. Double-check that your shoelaces are tied before you take that leap.

January-April: We start with the Magician, which is fittingly the energy that follows the Fool's journey. We also got this card in the January spread, so take this as a confirmation of your power. Harness your creativity, Dr. Facilier says, because it's finally your time to shine. If you find you're feeling backed into a corner creatively, take a look at the options available to you. You may realize there's more than one way to accomplish your goal. Stay fluid, like Flotsam and Jetsom. Going with the flow doesn't mean just to let the sea carry you; it also reminds you to adapt. Use the currents to your advantage, and stay calm. What seems like a wrong turn at first could turn out to be a fateful redirection. Enjoy the ride without stressing about where you're heading. You never know who you might meet, so keep your heart open to love in all forms.

May-August: You've taken the initial steps and gotten your plan together, but you can't do this alone. Collaboration is key. Find others who understand your vision and who can use their own resources and skills to help you. You've gathered a lot of wounds over the years. You've learned so much from your pain, but now it's time to release what you don't need anymore, one sword at a time. Remember that endings can be painful, so be patient with yourself as you process what you've been through, especially if these past pains tend to play out as self-sabotage. Recall how Chernabog summoned his minions only to toss them into the flames. You deserve support and success, so don't be the one push others away. The tediousness and burdens of human life can be draining, so build a routine to care for your bodymind. This is especially important if you're taking on some new responsibilities. Be mindful of carrying too much and do what you can to avoid burn-out. You're no good to your dreams if you run yourself into the ground.

September-December: If we want a new way of life, naturally this means the death of the old way. Sometimes this transition is so scary that it keeps us stuck. Embrace the destruction of your old life with a sense of humor like Hades. On the other side of transformation lies renewal. You've gone through the acidity of the Underworld and can stand before the Mirror with clarity. You've been stripped bare of your old views and beliefs and can now see straight into your own core. Your heart is open and you're ready for this new life. Having gone through an intense cycle of death and rebirth, this open heart of yours feels strongly. By staying in touch with your sensitive center, you can help those in need, even just by being yourself. But an open heart doesn't mean you have to take on everyone's pain and projections. Stay grounded in your power, and know that even if others shit-talk your way of living, it says nothing about you and everything about them. Focus on your vision. You've come too far to betray yourself now.

Leliel, Angel of Night: This beautiful angel represents the glimmers of the unseen. She dances across the sky, kissing each star to life, to light the night. Through the constellations, she sings to us, filling our dreams with stories. She also rules over conception and pregnancy, and it is her job to harvest souls from the Garden of Eden for their purpose. In the womb, she reads the possible life paths available to the soul for this incarnation, but then wipes the child's memory before birth. She is aided by a wolfhound in protecting children from Lilith, battling in the realm of dreams.

The starry night sky reminds us that the universe is one big cosmic womb. What unseen battles are going on inside you? What messages does Leliel leave in the mythology of the stars for you to interpret? Listen to her lullabies and pay attention to your dreams. Feel her caress in the wind and know her love in the shining moon.

[your-old-sins-tournament]

12 YEAR OLD OCS; SIDE A

Ash [@changeling-ash] (she/her)

She is so cool. My little self insert. My baby. Epic powerful magic.

Ash was part of a secret subspecies of humans (Homo sapiens dimutus) which could shapeshift, which she used to grow huge black wings or turn into a black leopard or look like a monster to scare enemies, anything as long as her brain stayed the same size or got denser to fit smaller. When she shapeshifted she would release green and blue fire from the power of the transformation (cause she has lots of copper in her blood that burns green. To protect against cancer, you see. Shapeshifting has lots of cancer risk so copper is sooo important)

She became one by genetic engineering at 15 so the dimutus could get more soldiers and spies for a war with the demon-like psyuedos (child soldier lol). She could come back to life because she had a failsafe that would activate where she would shapeshift away the wound and her brain would jolt back online. The only way to kill a dimutus was to kill the brain.

Like other dimutus, she could also dimension hop, so she'd travel the multiverse, from tv show to tv show or to the universe with dragons or with cool landscapes. She was good with a sword and something called a bladed quarterstaff, which is basically one of those two sided lightsabers but a blade. She was mentored by one of the most powerful dimutus of the war and is super powerful too compared to other dimutus.

Propaganda from the old post

Okay time for my propaganda once more!

Ash is my girl, my baby.

She has TWO dragons. The first one is Flicker, who is strong and agile with black scales and a violet belly. Ash rides on her back and she speaks dragon at her. Her other dragon is Zephyr, who she raised from an egg and he looks like a blue sky with white patches like clouds, and random little flecks of gold scales. He's lithe and fast and so agile. She can summon them from their alternate universes by calling out "Tul Lüg" for Flicker and "Zep-iagh" for Zephyr, and they leap from portals to fight.

She can speak so many languages. The language of Dimutus is actually Modernized Latin. She knows English, Spanish, French, Latin, Italian, ASL, and has the best translators.

She made friends with a shadowy wolf companion called a Shadowlupe who accepted her as part of the pack. She runs with him in hunts as a wolf.

She can do a double backflip. Enough said.

She would fly with huge black wings, it was her favorite thing to do. Knew how to do all the tricks. She is dimension hopping miles in the air just to fall for ages, then fly at breakneck speeds. And she was terrifying in battle, she would dodge and weave and slash as she passed, an airborne killing machine.

She could give herself big springy legs to jump so high and do crazy tricks. She adapted herself to move fast, bounce and parkour her way at insane speeds. She could traverse so well.

She also did normal parkour. It was a fun challenge to try with minimal modifications. Pretended a lot of parkour POV vids were her.

She had two cats trained to infiltrate bases cause they are kitties and can fit through the vents and no one suspects the kitties. Baya was a Bengal and Shadow was a beautiful medium hair black cat.

She could also dimension hop in a way that was like astral projecting. She'd just be floatin, near invisible. She'd keep her wings in that state to pull them from the dimension fast to use them quickly. Her friends would chill there and comment to her while she was doing boring things.

She had a ragtag best friend and copilot partner Katie that was the mostest important person to her. Her brother in arms, her guy in the chair, her support, and Ash was the same to Katie. They were ride or die, and they died a lot for each other. (I basically made a QPP a decade before I myself ended up in one. Probably an early sign I was aro.)

She lost her arm sometimes, and she'd have a badass prosthetic if she couldn't shapeshift it back right away.

So much trauma from being a child soldier will come later. Her future character with me a decade later is somethin.

Sakura

Shes a fat black trans lady catgirl is that enough…

Description: she is a galaxy knee length haired calico cat girl teenager, she has galaxy eyes and goes to highschool and wears a young anime kids idea of a school uniform (sailor scout kinda thing) and her arch nemesis is named ‘jessaca’ and she has a big poofy cat tail and big lashes and she meows

[polhbayarea]

The dark prophecy the cave of trophonius

Apollo, Meg, and a new companion, Grover leave for the Southwest United States to find the next emperor that they must defeat. Leo and Calypso leave to warn some allies in California of an attack. Meg's sanity is restored and with that, a prophecy is spoken. Apollo is able to summon a surge of his old godly power to reveal his true godly form and blind Commodus, who falls out the second-floor window.Īlthough Commodus survived his fall and fled, Emmie and her daughter are safe again. Apollo and Meg leave Calypso behind and go to the cave of Trophonius and destroy the oracle and return to Emmie's house with an only half-sane Meg.Ĭommodus has broken into Emmie's home and his former victims, Emmie, Leo, and Calypso are fighting him. They also swiped the throne of memory on their way out. The three receive help from a large group of female archers and rescue the missing people, returning them home. The emperor is now identified as Commodus. "I am so happy to have my little girl back home and safe."Īpollo and Calypso, along with Apollo's long lost companion Meg, infiltrate the emperor's hiding place. They are rescued by Apollo's former companion, Meg, after they are pursued by the emperor's men. He probably fled."Īpollo and Calypso find themselves in a secret section of the Indianapolis Zoo searching for two Griffins that disappeared from their owners' home (courtesy of the crazy net goddess, Britomartis), and to obtain clues that might help them find the Roman emperor who is believed to be responsible for the disappearances. In addition, the teen trio must stop the emperor from taking over and destroy the oracle of Trophonius if they can find it. Our teen trio of the god Apollo, Leo the demigod and Calypso the titaness are called upon to come to the rescue. People in Indianapolis are inexplicably disappearing. Meg: "Ready for another ridiculous mission?" Cave of Trophonius Riordan Wiki Fandom The Burning Maze, The Dark Prophecy. They are rescued by an elderly woman named Emmie, who brings them into her home. Along with the spirit of Trophonius himself, the cave also contains. In the summer of 2011, we find our main characters Apollo, Calypso,Leo in Indianapolis, Indiana far from home. Pausanias described the emotional experience received by the devotees at the oracle of Trophonius as they descended into the. "I have to rescue these Griffins, find clues about the emperor, and not get caught in the process? I have to do all of this with nobody but Calypso?" Unfortunately for them, this is the seat of power for the. I rescued you because I just knew you had been sent by the gods to help us." Apollo, Meg, Leo and Calypso find themselves in Indianapolis looking for the Cave of Trophonius. We don't even know his name or what he looks like."Įmmie: "My daughter, Georgina, and countless others have been disappearing. Riding a dragon is not a good way to spend six months."Īpollo: "We have to locate and fight a half-immortal Roman emperor. Leo: "How do I calm Calypso down? I can't blame her.

[retr0scum]

Yann Itor (just call him Yann)

The park's janitor, they could only afford one (jokin jokin..)

He's secretly an "amalgamation" of some previous rides that closed in the past and can use their powers anytime. But chooses not to cause he has better things to do (like fighting carps in River Rapids)

Originally a scrapped concept of a Corkscrew but they kept him as a janitor. He likes turning back into Corkscrew on his free time..

[troublesometrollhunters]

Strickler as a single father to a daughter the same age as Toby, Jim, and Claire and is also a part of the Trollhunters?

This man is beyond stressed.

~ First of he adores you, you are his entire world. He worked hard to be where he is in the Order and now that he's where he's at you are safer than you would've been before. He knows he hasn't always made the best decisions for your relationship but he does his best as a father and is always thinking of your future and saftey.

~ Thankfully young changelings who are naturally borne and not switched from the DarkLands are often coddled or given special treatment. Changelings instinctively are very protective of their young whether its their kin or someone elses. They will do whatever it takes to protect the young of their clan. Otto and Nomura love you as if you were their own and when you were growing up they were your closest family other than Strickler.

~ Otto was a doting uncle and Nomura a caring but estranged wine aunt. You are older now but many changelings still coo at you like a child depsite being a teenager. Strickler tells you to use that to your advantage since it won't last forever but in his eyes no matter how old you grow you'll always be his baby. Despite his uneasiness around Nomura and Otto he knows they feel the same.

~ No one ever told Stricklander they were proud of him growing up. No one ever thanks him for his hard work or gives him his credit where it's due unless he fights for it. He bit and clawed and chewed and fought to be where he is now. That being said he always tells you how proud he is of you. He always lets you know your accomplishments mean something and he always lets you know your loved. He's not always good with physcial affection but he will always tell you he loves you and is proud of you.

~ Fighting and sparring is a bonding activity. He needs to know if anything ever happens to him you'll be able to take care of yourself. He tells you to depend on Otto and Nomura but never be surprised if they turn their back on you, that is the way of changelings once they grow. Strickler is prepared for any situation and he had raised you with that same skill set making you remember the honor code of changelings. Adaption is your middle name and decepticon is a game you've always played, Strickler couldn't be more proud of your talents and skill.

~ You both communicate in Morse code when your upset or in dangerous situations. He clicks his pen and you tap your fingers. If your stressed and can't speak or feel your words catching in your throat morse is the best way to communicate your feelings. Strickler taught it to you when you were very young and now it's ingrained deeply in your mind. Thanks to your dad you know many languages and codes and you never feel out of the loop.

~ At first Strickler wants to homeschool you worried your changeling nature will be revealed but you've grown so much and have mastered your powers. Plus it would be suspicious for a teacher to keep a child at home. It's at school you meet your dads favorite student Jim.

~ Before Jim becomes the trollhunter you and him actually grow really close. Toby and him being your only real friends. Strickler trusts them and you'll often ride your bikes home together and get tacos when your dads busy. You have to dedicate a lot of time to school and the Order but at least you have Jim and Toby when your in school.

~ Acting is in your blood so the theater club seems like a natural form of escape. Thats where you meet Claire. Jims told you endless stories about his crush and now you act as an agent. You help Jim and Claire get closer and suggest he tries out for the play so he can get his dream girl.

~ Your grades are beyond excellent and your role in the Order is forming nicely as you cement a place next to your father. Strickler has high expectations of you but he never pushes you too hard to break you. As your father he's supportive of your decisions only wanting what's best, but he reminds you the Eternal Night will be coming soon. And one must always be careful with their emotions.

~ Nesting is instinctive as a changeling. Doesn't matter how old you are, your getting long cuddles from your dad as he grooms your hair and babies you. Pillowforts and blanket nests are a must after a long week. You'll be huddled together and watching movies on his day off preening each other and snuggling into each other.

~ When you relaized how bad the Eternal Night was you flee from Strickler to join the Trollhunters and stop the Order. A strong divide is created in your relationship as you seperate yourself from your father and he does everything to try and make you come back. Its thanks to you Jim knows changelings are real and in Arcadia. You've endangered everyone in the Order and yourself. Depsite your original treachery Strickler still loves you and tries to talk to you whenever he can at school.

~ You'd moved out so suddenly having preplanned this and now you worked with the trollhunters full time. Your father wasn't sure if he was proud or safe Your kept safe in Trollmarket where you live with Blinky and Aarrgh in Blinkies library. Having you living with two other trolls especially trolls you saw as fathers infuriated Strickler to no end. He tries to get in contact with you to make you come home but Jim and Toby always had your back making sure he couldn't take you back. The friends he thought would keep you safe were now keeping him away from you.

~ Once Claire joins the group he's not sure of his next step. You leaving was unplanned, the amulet picking a human unprecedented, and Bulars temper tantrum about treason were unpredictable. He was left in a giant mess you helped create and there wasn't a lot of options out. However seeing the four of you together as team did warm his heart. His baby was growing up.

~ Chaos ensues in the Order after your departure. Strickler is doing his best on the inside to keep you safe but with changelings wanting revenge it isn't easy. When Bular is killed and the power shifts however Strickler sees an opening. As Strickler and Otto rise to the top of the Order your father wonders if summoning a certain Trollhunter assassin talented in kidnapping could get rid of both of his problems...