#so many of these include flame burning or ash etc.

[annieisyourfavourite]

the poems in my notes app are so good oh my god. who wrote these cuz it surely couldn't have been this foggy brained bitch

[draconscious]

NAME : dan!!

PRONOUNS : he/him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : tumblr im. discord. passenger pigeon. I'm very slow sometimes but you should plot with me!!

NAME OF MUSE(s) : clair, cynthia, barry, jupiter/eris + so many mooore (how did it come to this? LMAO)

BEST EXPERIENCE(S) : dedicating this section to both ash (@analuein) and aya (@distortsverity)! ash and I have been writing together for infinity years right here on tumblr. no matter the muse, it's always a blast spinning up plots and watching the magic unfold from there with her. from thorton to violet, to noland and clair. from wildencounters to indie. it's been a fantastic ride. day one. 😎

I transitioned from group rp to indie a few years ago and--at the time--I was all alone. I had no connections, just a lonely barry blog to my name. I wrote drabbles by myself in the dark for two weeks until aya came across my blog with her hikari, and everything just clicked. aya made me feel included, reached out with ideas, plots and feedback, and showed love to barry and all of my muse(s)--and to this day, I still feel TREMENDOUSLY grateful for the helping hand when I felt so isolated. I definitely would not still be writing here without her.

since then, I've had an amazing time here. writing with so many different people, muses, and groups--it's all so good. my best experiences happen when I'm writing (or even plotting) with someone, and everything just works, flows, and fits together and I can just feel that shared excitement. that feeling that we're building a great story together. that's magical. that's why I'm still around, trying new muses, diving headlong into amazing plots/dynamics, letting my imagination run wild, and--as always--writing a lot. much love to EVERYONE who has helped keep that fire burning over the years, but especially ash and aya for giving that flame a chance in the first place. tysm. ❤️

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : it's been said, but--on a personal level--I wish private communication would happen more, specifically when it comes to interest levels. my time is becoming more and more limited here (sad as that is) and I have always written at a slower, longer pace. so, given how fast this place moves, I would appreciate knowing if a thread has grown stale, or if something's off.

I'm flexible. I'd like to think that I'm pretty laid-back. I want you to have fun, and you need to drop or backburner our thread because life, interest, etc. that's okay. I promise. I also don't mind reminders about cold threads or overdue replies on my end. if that's the case, please let me know right away, and I'll pick it back up or let you know my thoughts. we can try new things, or not. just let me know what you'd like to do, and we can adjust from there. that being said, lack of time or muse =/= lack of interest. I get that. you never need to rush a reply with me, and I will always (for better or worse) assume interest is still there unless told otherwise by you. I'm no herlock sholmes. (I wish I was...)

so, as a courtesy, I'd ask to please talk to me if something's wrong. if you feel the need to drop our thread or aren't interested in an interaction and/or want to start fresh. I won't be upset (quote me on that.) I just want to make sure that the writing vibes are still good, and I want to spend my time here writing things that you (and others) are still into. and in the end, it's not really a big deal--this place is great and I adore my past/present/future thread partners--but it's something that I would appreciate!

(also since I haven't made it clear before: no AI with me, please. let's meet at the same level.)

MUSE PREFERENCES: strong women and brash, sunshiney dudes. (I'll really try anyone, but I certainly have types 😊)

PLOTS OR MEMES : whatever's easier for you to get in the door with--c'mon in!! I don't find myself with the time to reblog many memes lately, but my inbox/IMs are always open for spot interactions, and I'll do a lil' starter call here and there!!

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : I don't mind receiving either, but I always tend to lose myself in the sauce and write a lot oops. you never have to match my length. as long as we're writing together, that's chill enough for me!

BEST TIME TO WRITE : my healthcare job is killing me. I'll try to sneak on for some stuff here and there, but I'm most active during evening/nighttime CST US. confirmed night time scrawler. 🦉

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : some common threads linking all of my muses to me is the fact that we always want to be active, we have (too) high expectations of ourselves, we grew up and are still growing up, and we spend too much time working (and loathe it LMAO)

[duskforged]

4, 5, and 6 on that worldbuilding ask please

Hello, Kasha! Thank you for the ask. For this, I'll largely talk about Anazesan cultures.

4. How does someone propose marriage in your culture(s)? How long do they stay engaged, and what marks the marriage?

In Anaseza, marriage is usually asked by someone to another person, who may ask their ancestors or living relatives for input before agreeing or disagreeing. It is frowned upon for anyone under the age of 21 to become betrothed, but it can happen, especially among the nobility.

Generally, an engagement lasts three or four years, and it's regarded as scandalous to marry before then. The marriage is marked by a wedding, which consists of vows, followed by either a binding ceremony (if they are forming their own family) or a transferring ceremony (if one partner is joining the other's family), then a bonfire, which might include feasting, dancing, etc.

Occasionally people may exchange their weapons with their partners', but they will not do so for a long period of time.

5. What weather-based customs exist in your culture(s)?

In Anaseza, none come to mind. More northern cultures of the continent may have what we call siestas - closing down at midday due to the temperatures.

6. What customs surround death and burial? Are the people of your culture(s) even buried?

In Anaseza, it is very common for the dead to be burned on a pyre, and their ashes placed on, near, or under the ancestral altar if applicable. One may also scatter the ashes, but burying them or putting them into water is said to bring bad luck.

Burying the dead is also regarded as bad luck in many Anasezan groups, especially if they died violent or sudden deaths. They have deep connections with flame and sky, and burning the body essentially allows their spirit to escape.

(Spirits are, of course, a nebulous research topic - spirits themselves tend to follow the traditions set by their people, rather than following a particular set of so-called scientific rules.)

[archangelphoenixforce]

Phoenix~~ A cosmic, eternal energy force! Once, & still, worshipped by the likes of Egyptian culture, a sun fire 🔥 God; many other cultures have as well!! Never truly dying, as science with facts proves energy can not be CREATED or DESTROYED, it reduces to a smoldering ember at times lying in the coals and ashes stage, healing, strengthening, growing, becoming mightier than when it came from the fire 🔥. Each new rising, resurrection its EVER ETERNAL and only increasing in its performance and abilities through galaxies, dimensions, realms, plains, thruought and in between the vast endless array of universes in the multiverse!

Each time, soaring further, farther, faster, stronger, mightier, better, more improved than all the times before, as it evolves, adapts, learns from other energy sources throughout each destination. It has its own justice system of sorts. Ethics. Morals. Principles. Values. Etc....as it is an odd leveling, return to core basic essentials of scorched earth, surfaces, even chunks of planets it takes out with more might as it bursts back into flames from when the one prior had it....encaged. That spirit energy unites one with it! The shell of a body or host just into ashes as ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Many humans, if you've had a DNA sequencing test, but not ALL have a percentage of "unknown", "foreign", or aka "alien" DNA for scientists, we, know NOT the source of its DNA!!

We are made of star matter. As science, facts again, is able to show proper microscopic video approaching one's skin layer, into and through cellular levels, the nerve synapses, everything including varied coloration inside us as many varied colorful gasses can be seen burning from twinkling, sparkling, burning up stars in nighttime skies. Our bodies are lain out just like the universe has designed!! NOTHING is perfection but is nature's PERFECT DESIGN. Each flaw, purposely done for various reasons!!

For example: There's the black gum tree who's bark is bitter than any unripened spring berry, whereas we have the sweet gum tree who's bark is NOT sweet, but is so much sweeter than nature's design of the black gum tree bitterness!! Search online terms like "metaphysical properties of sweet gum tree bark" or "metaphysicl properties of black gum bark" and you'll start uncovering truths galore!!

Welcome one and all! I stem from TRUE, real, 💯 UNCONDITIONAL acceptance, support, respect, & love!!! No judgments, reserves held, hypocrisies here!!! This is a SAFE SPACE for all. Have a blessed day!

The truest form, size, shape, etc of The Phoenix Force (TPF) after all these ages, eons....can be reflective as in the image! One being this galaxy's SUN 🌞 ☀️ / Star 🌟 as well as the other ball being earth in such a comparison.

[theashen-fox]

Skills/Abilities

Martial Arts-Jeet Kune Do (unarmed) Iaido (armed).

Agility/Speed-What Ash lacks in strength, he makes up for in quickness.

Stealth-Having grown up in the woods/on the streets his whole childhood, he’s learned to find hiding spots in the most unlikely places.

Analysis-Ash can determine many things about people (e.g., a person’s honesty, their attitude, motivations, etc.), by studying their facial expressions and actions.

Semblance: Enkindle-Ash’s Semblance is the ability to increase the temperature of an object by causing it to heat up. When he was young, he could only do this to things that he touched. However, as he grew older and learned to control it better, he was eventually able to extend the heating to the air around him within a short distance, then able to focus it on specific objects and creatures. This power is quite useful due to its multitude of uses. Increase in temperature implies potential for turning virtually any solid substance into ashes (no pun intended) and almost any liquid into steam. Make of that what you will. However, as with any Semblance, it comes with its limits and dangers, including the typical fatigue. For example, he can only focus his power on things that are within his line of sight and relatively close to him. In addition, overusof his power causes him to run the risk of being burned himself. As such, he needs to take periodic “cooldowns” for any given time. How the overheating affects him depends on how long and how much his powers are used. At its lowest level, it causes heat exhaustion and dehydration. Highest level? A pile of ashes and a new punchline for one of Yang’s puns.

High Pain Threshold

Survival Skills-Again, having lived in the woods most of his life, he knows how to survive in them.

Tactics/Strategy

Archery Training-He learned how to hunt with a bow when he was raised by his brother. While in Beacon and Signal, he was given further training with archery.

Disadvantages

-While somewhat muscular in his own right, he isn’t very strong, and while his inner determination enables him to power through physical impediments, his overall endurance is rather low. This, naturally, is why he tries to make fights as quick as possible, or avoid fights altogether.

-Due to his relatively unorthodox methods of training from his brother and uncle, he has little experience in one formal martial art. As such, when up against someone who is well-versed in certain styles, he makes sure not to make it a fair fight, as he knows that it will likely result in his defeat/death if he tries to fight “fair”.

-He does have training with small firearms, but his skill is moderate/average at best. As such, he tends to use his guns in situations wherein he doesn’t have time to engage them in hand-to-hand combat.

Main Weapon

Designed after his brother’s katana–and as a means to move past the grief of losing him–Ash’s weapon is a sword that has no alternate forms (i.e., gun modes). The blade has the same design as Ash’s family crest (a fox’s head surrounded by fire). The hilt has a grey-and-red color. Several more features separate this blade from most others. Firstly, while Ash was at Signal, he built a fingerprint-based lock into the weapon in order to keep it in its sheath unless he is the one accessing it. Any attempts to draw it by unrecognized fingerprints will immediately result in a burnt hand. Secondly, Ash designed the blade itself to withstand extreme heat without damage. He did this so that he could use his Semblance to improve the weapon’s effectiveness (in short, so he could superheat his blade without it melting and be able to cut better). Another feature is one that works in accordance with the “lock”. Using magnetism, the sheath is designed to ”pull” the sword back into itself when activated. In addition, in the pommel is a container for Dust. However, only fire Dust is used, and it isn’t used as ammo, but as an “upgrade”. It allows him to send a concentrated burst of flame at an enemy, as well as increase the cutting ability to unthinkable levels. To do this, he sheathes his heated blade, inserts the Dust, then quick-draws it. Also, the sheath has ”venting” capabilities used to cool the blade after he’s heated it.

Alternate Weapons

A collapsible, high-tech bow that has various types of arrows ranging from explosive to knockout gas, as well as the normal arrowhead.

An assortment of knives, but most commonly used is a tantō with his family emblem on the blade, like his sword.

APPEARANCE

Apart from his Faunus features, Ash does not seem out of the ordinary. He is of average height, standing at approximately 5'4". He has a somewhat slender body with modest muscular development, not “buff”, but definitely not “wimpy”. A series of scars run down his back, looking to be like those of a whip (he doesn’t like to talk about them, brushing them off as “an old mistake”). His face is has an almost constant smirk plastered on it, as well as a mischievous glint in his eyes that could make one check their pockets to make sure that their wallets are still there. Speaking of his eyes, that brings us to his Faunus features. His eyes are of a dull yellow color. As for his ears, the fur is ashy grey, which, of course, is where he gets his name, and is considered a family trait.

He sometimes wears a haori (traditional Japanese coat) of the same color and bearing the family emblem as well as a grey hakama which has been cut a few inches above the ankles to allow for more mobility. Above these, he wears a black coat, which serves a more strategic purpose than most examples. Ash’s coat consists of a standard “wayfarer” style traveling cloak that has gone through a chemical wash originally designed for use on the front lines of the Great War. The material, while thick and restricting to the fabric, is nearly fireproof, and more importantly, resistant to most corrosive or destructive chemical mixtures and elements, including raw Dust. It also provides a certain degree of protection from blades and other cutting weaponry thanks to the chemical mixture’s rubbery texture. He wears this over his “civilian” clothing to be prepared in the event of an attack.

When on actual missions and in combat, however, he wears a type of “tactical uniform”. Based on enhanced stealth/mobility suits commonly in use by multi-kingdom mercenary groups and well-equipped bandits, the tactical uniform provides protection as well as a lowered chance of detection in one single package. Constructed of specially treated fibers and carrying composite inserts in most of the vital areas, the suit also features silicone rubber enshrouded boots that make slowed movement nearly silent. Multiple pockets allow for the silent storage and transport of various pieces of equipment, from spare magazines to Dust vials to surveillance equipment. As an added bonus, it even contains a built-in AI in the helmet, which can be used for detecting or assessing threats, among other things.

Age: 18-25 (depending on verses)

(Clothing descriptions provided by @huntsman-ash )

Voice Claim-Todd Haberkorn

[prep4tomoro]

Burning Answers About Using Firewood to Heat and Cook:

Many homeowners, all over the world, use firewood to heat their homes and cook. Some use it year round. A bit less convenient, especially when sleeping, than other home-heating/cooking options there is the need to constantly feed wood into the stove to maintain the fire. There are some methods (outdoor wood furnace) to make wood-burning a bit more convenient and safer and integral with an existing heating system. Wood-burning is a dryer heat and provides a relaxed, comforting ambience when the flame is visible. With the prices of other home-heating and cooking fuels, firewood is, usually, a better value with a renewable source of fuel available nearly everywhere. Consider adding a wood-burning stove as a backup for home heating/cooking.

Here are some facts about using firewood to heat or cook.

A Cord/Rank of Wood is a stack the measures Width = 8 ft. x Height = 4 ft. x Depth= 4 ft. (128 cubic feet)

Hardwood (deciduous): High density = More heat per cord, Burns hotter, More difficult to split, Harder to start burning, May spark more

Softwood (evergreen): Burns quickly, Provides low heat, Easy to start (Great to get your fire started, then switch to hardwood), Cheaper than hardwood

The amount of wood to purchase depends on many factors, including the size of the space to heat, the desired temperature, wood stove, etc.

Firewood should be stored away from a residence to reduce the chances of dampness, termites, mice, snakes and other critters and structural damage

Firewood stacks should be covered on top to prevent it from getting wet with ventilation and sun to allow it to dry (season) after cutting/splitting

Stacking the wood should allow airflow around each piece, however, a Cord/Rank of wood should be closely stacked, so no space is wasted, when purchasing

"Seasoned" firewood has been cut and split into multiple sections and left in the open to dry for 1-2 years before burning. It is darker in color and weighs less (than "newer" wood) due to moisture loss.

Kiln-dried wood is a commercial process that dries the wood quicker and dryer

Hardwoods take longer to season than Softwoods due to the difference in densities

The drier the wood the more effective it is at providing heat.

The average newly-fallen live tree has about 52% moisture content. It is usually considered "seasoned" at 20% moisture content.

Sizzling or popping sounds when burning means the wood has moisture and may need to be seasoned longer

Other Resources: Tips for Maintaining a Wood-Burning Stove Wood Cutting Safety Heating With Wood Everything About Burning Tree Bark Uses For Wood Ashes

[Reference Link]

[14-Point Emergency Preps Checklist] [11-Cs Basic Emergency Kit] [Learn to be More Self-Sufficient] [The Ultimate Preparation] [5six7 Menu]

[shinygladiatorcat]

Identification method of silk

Consumers can use the following methods to identify silk fabrics.

1. Identification method of product number: China-made silk and satin implement a unified product number composed of 5 Arabic numerals. The first digit from the left of these 5 digits represents the material number of the fabric, and all silk fabrics (including mulberry silk and silk) It is "1", chemical fiber fabric is "2", blended fabric is "3", tussah silk fabric is "4", and rayon fabric is "5". It is understood that there are no silk fabrics in the imported satin currently on the market, such as georgette, soft yarn, pearl pattern, etc. These are all chemical fiber fabrics, so there is no uniform product number for imported satins.

Second, the price identification method: the price of silk fabrics is about twice that of chemical fibers and imitation silk satin.

3. Gloss and feel identification method: spread the sample flat to observe its appearance, the silk has the performance of light absorption, it looks smooth and can not be mirror, the luster is elegant and soft, it is pearly, the hand feels soft and elegant, the silk thread is dense, it will be easy to grasp by hand There are wrinkles, the higher the purity and the higher the density of the silk, the better the hand feel; although the imitation silk fabric has been de-hardened, it has a softer hand, but the silk surface is dark and has no pearl luster; the chemical fiber fabric has a bright luster, dazzling, and a stiff hand. . In addition, silk products should have a slight scratching feeling. When two layers of fabrics are rubbed, a "silk squeaking" sound will be produced, while fabrics made of other materials do not.

4. Combustion method: take out part of the yarn and burn, the real silk cannot see the open flame, and has the smell of burning hair. The silk ash turns into black particles, which can be crushed by hand; the imitation silk catches fire and has a plastic smell, and the edge of the fire is extinguished. A hard stick of glue will be left behind.

The shrinkage rate of silk is relatively high. It is advisable to choose a specification larger than the actual demand when purchasing finished products. If it is fabric, soak the fabric in water for more than 5 hours before making it, let the fabric completely absorb the water and then dry it. Soak for the second time, so that the silk will not be deformed after two soaks and two dryings, and the clothes can be washed at will. However, if you choose a medium-to-high-end silk color, it is best to dry clean it, so that the fabric does not need to be soaked in advance.

Attachment: How to identify rayon, real silk, polyester silk?

The rayon has a bright luster, a slightly rough feel, and feels clammy and cold. After clenching it tightly, there are many wrinkles, and there are still lines after it is flattened. Pull out the cloth and rub it with the tongue, and the rayon is easy to straighten. Broken, broken. The elasticity is different when wet and dry.

Silk luster is soft, soft to the touch, delicate texture, rubbing against each other, can make a special sound, commonly known as "silk ringing" or "silk ringing", clench it tightly with your hands and release it, the wrinkles are few and not obvious, the silk of silk is dry Wet stretch is consistent.

Polyester silk has strong reflective properties, high stiffness, rapid rebound, firmness, good wrinkle resistance, strong strength, and is not easy to break.

Silk maintenance method;

1. Wash by hand below 30 degrees when washing, and turn the clothes over to wash, if you soak them in water with a few drops of balsamic vinegar

The silk clothes washed in this way are soft and smooth;

2. It is not advisable to wash with alkaline detergents and soaps when washing. After washing, choose a ventilated place to dry to avoid damage to silk clothes.

Hand feel and color;

3. Silk clothes should be washed immediately after sweating;

4. Do not hang silk clothes on hard metal hooks to prevent damage to the silk surface;

5. When the silk is not worn, it is not suitable to put mothballs, otherwise it will easily become brittle;

6. The ironing temperature should be 100 degrees, preferably with a lining cloth

[earthstellar]

Transformers Analysis: Folklore and Folk Magic in the Mines of Kaon

thinking about Miner Megatron again, as always. here we goooo 

So I've been doing some folk magic, as I usually do, and it got me thinking:

Surely, the lower class/caste bots wouldn’t feel welcomed into the more organised Cybertronian temples etc., or might even be outright banned from joining in shared spiritual spaces or rituals. 

So it’s time to teach y’all some working class magic history and how we can apply that to Cybertronian spirituality: 

Working Class History: Casting Spells on the Job (Just Call it Prayer so the Boss Doesn't Find Out)

Here's a quick history of rural Appalachian folk magic, for some context:

1) The Christian Bible has been used for spellcasting all up and down the rural East Coast in the USA from day one of colonisation.

In Pennsylvania you have Hexenmeisters and the Pennsylvania Dutch practices, for a well-documented example.

2) The working class has done spellcasting with the Bible from the very first day shitty bosses started

This is for several reasons, but primarily because Bibles were common and cheap, you didn't have to know how to read in order to follow along with or change the lyrics of popular hymns and prayers to fit your own needs, and it was very easy to sneak what is essentially localised witchcraft under the radar when it just looks like you're reading the Bible to everyone else.

Catholic materials were used a lot for this, because they were often provided for free by any local churches, and a lot of working class people in Appalachia were Italian (Roman Catholic) or Eastern European (Eastern Orthodox Catholic), which meant there was no shortage of all sorts of votive candles and the like to utilise for what we would now identify as spellcasting.

It's important to note that it wasn't called spellcasting outright by anybody; Sometimes it was called "hexing" or "sweet talking", among other terms, but if you called it spellcasting it was heavily frowned upon.

A lot of people were uncomfortable (and are still uncomfortable) with verbalising it or identifying it as such due to stigma from the more mainstream religious communities or their own religious backgrounds, and of course, historically if the boss found out that all the workers hated their jobs so much they were doing fucking witchcraft about it, it would not have ended well for the workers.

So, stealth it is. And that's why there are so many specific folk practices in a lot of historically working class rural regions/communities-- Not just in Appalachia, but similar things happen in similar communities around the world.

What does this have to do with Megatron?

Everything we know about the lower classes on Cybertron, the lower caste members, and the mines/industrial regions in Tarn and Kaon suggest that a similar folklore likely existed within these working communities.

And any local folk practices likely developed for the exact same reasons that this type of folk practice developed in the real world:

Workers are fucking miserable, "mainstream" religion isn't satisfying their spiritual/emotional/social/material needs or concerns, and close-knit people in small communities spending most of their time together naturally start to sort of do their own thing based on their collective situation.

People get desperate, there's nowhere to turn and nothing to do, so spirituality becomes a lifeline in that it builds solidarity and creates a more appropriate sort of support system.

For example: If we aren't allowed time off work to mourn our friend who was killed by heavy machinery, and we aren't allowed any time to process that or deal with it or take care of each other, then we will invent a ritual that allows us to grieve on the job.

This was, and still is, a common thing.

Which brings us to...

St. Barbara and the Mines + Solus Prime

St. Barbara's backstory can be summarised, roughly, as such (based on the version of this story that I know; keep in mind the details can vary):

She was kept isolated from others by her father, who became furious that she refused an arranged marriage. When she fled, he chased her; She ran into two people working in a field, the first who helped her, and the second who gave her path away to her father.

She was captured, and brought to a prominent local figure (the title varies based on different versions of this story), who had her tortured for escaping and disobeying her father.

However, when imprisoned, they tried to kill her again and again, and every morning she was healed. Fire intended to be used to burn her would cool the second it got near her skin, and daggers used to cut her would go dull when brought near her.

Snakes thrown into her room intended to bite her would then die the instant they went to approach her, and ropes intended to be used to bind and choke her would spontaneously fray and snap before they could be tied.

Eventually, she was condemned to beheading, and a special sword was used to cut her head off, which finally killed her.

Her father is the one who beheaded her, and as divine punishment, he was hit by lightning-- A single bolt that lasted so long that his entire body went up into flames, and his ashes disappeared.

Her gravesite became a place of veneration, where people prayed for protection and safety.

She became known as the patron saint of all people with dangerous jobs or jobs where the bosses don't care about the worker's wellbeing or safety, for obvious reasons: Nothing but the hands of her own father could ever harm her.  

(The imagery of St. Barbara being slain only by a special sword is very reminiscent of Solus Prime being slain only by a special sword...)

Workers, especially those with particularly dangerous or shitty jobs but also just anyone working class in general, can interpret this story in several ways which can make it additionally relatable:

Her father = A controlling and aggressive boss who abuses or neglects their workers to death.

The field workers = A pro-union worker (a helper) and an anti-union worker or scab (a betrayer).

So you can see how St. Barbara became immediately adopted as a common worker's saint, and was used in a lot of regional working class folk magic practices (where such folk magic developed within local working communities).

And this is still going strong as a tradition; Crossrail tunnel borers in London consecrated the drilling site in the name of St. Barbara in 2013:

"Several hundred contractors and senior management attended the St Barbara's Day ceremony at the Thames Tunnel (pictured) which will link Plumstead and North Woolwich when completed. The site was so large, that sound engineers put in place an amplification system for the ceremony." - Article here. 

"As a long-standing tradition, one of the first tasks for each new tunnelling projects is to establish a small shrine to Santa Barbara at the tunnel portal or at the underground junction into long tunnel headings. This is often followed with a dedication and an invocation to Santa Barbara for protection of all who work on the project during the construction period." - Article here. 

And here's a related example of a worker's prayer for St. Barbara, from here: 

So this is very much a tradition that is still going strong, and it isn't just Catholic workers who engage with these types of things!

To accommodate more diverse groups and communities of workers, folk practices (including what eventually becomes folk magic) increasingly develop even further away from any one specific religious origin, in order to become more inclusive for the majority of people who can be from all kinds of different spiritual or cultural backgrounds.

Hence, more folk magic is made-- And I believe something like this could absolutely have evolved in a similar way in working communities on Cybertron.

Cybertronian Spirituality: The Primes, The Knights, The Titans

My personal theory/headcanon, and there is not much in canon to support this particularly so please keep that in mind, is that given the average type of manual labour working environment in Tarn and Kaon (dangerous, dark, and deep), it would make sense for the legendary Titans to become worked into some kind of folk practice.

We have this concept of the Titans as these giant and very particular beings, which reminds me somewhat of the Jewish Golem of Prague, in that the Titans are made from raw materials in some kind of mystical or cosmically spiritual manner, then eventually ally themselves to at least one respective Prime who then acts as a director of their actions to achieve victory over cosmic evil(s).

The Titans then go forward and act as guardians of Cybertronian life by combating the origins of these cosmic evil(s) as protectors of their respective polities and regions and eventually colony worlds, called into action by what is essentially a metaphysical and possibly outright spiritual pull of the need of their Prime(s) and later on the needs of the Cybertronian and colony world populations in times of threat or desperation.

These details are peppered throughout canon and vary based on media/franchise, but most recently Titan lore was covered again in IDW’s Optimus Prime series, issue 10, literally titled Origin Myths. 

What is interesting is that while the Golem association could be reasonably made, you could also reasonably say that the Three Original Titans (Metroplex, Chela, and Metrotitan) could be associated just as easily with the Catholic concept of the Holy Trinity. 

Lots of different interpretations could be applied to this stuff!

Class Stratification Within Cybertronian Religious Institutions

No matter how you may interpret it, we know that the Titans have a similar mystical presence in Cybertronian history and cultural lore to that of the Primes and Knights, and it would make sense for those spurned and disparaged by "mainstream" spiritual practices (which were likely just as stratified by class and caste as everything else was on Cybertron during Megatron's youth) to go ahead and create a folk practice based more around Titans.

This is because the Primes would like be associated directly with their oppressive rulers and upper classes, and the Knights, who are said to be the first Cybertronians to come from the Well, thusly represent a very high class onto their own which may have repelled working class bots who were very likely sick of essentially worshipping those venerated in their class stratified society solely due to the conditions of their creation; The Knights were "born with silver spoons", essentially, and it's hard to sell that to people who suffered due to the conditions of their own creation.

Therefore, the Titans are the other most likely Cybertronian figures of historical lore that could reasonably be adapted into a sort of folk religion for the working classes and lower social caste bots.

The imagery is strong, and relatable: In Megatron's case, the manual labourers and miners all have large frames compared to the average Cybertronian, they all toil invisibly and in relative silence, and they are kept away from the end products of their labour and yet without them, Cybertron planet wide would instantly struggle to sustain their raw material demands. 

They are critical workers, yet many of them have no names/designations; It is noted at least once in canon that some Titans are so old or so little known that their designations are not recorded. Yet without these unseen/unknown Titans, it could be the case that cosmic evil could have achieved victory.

While the Titans are critical, they are largely a mystery and unknown in any real detail. They do not normally engage with average Cybertronians, and when they do, it is usually indirectly-- Even though their actions actively impact the lives of nearly everyone.

And though the Primes and Knights are generally never physically present, at least not within living memory, there is real and physical proof of Titans. I feel like that aspect alone may well appeal more to people who are very physically oriented; We also see a stark realist mentality from many of the lower class/caste bots, who are sometimes realistic to the point of nihilism (which is part of why Megatron's writings were so revolutionary, in that they re-introduced hope to people who had previously concluded that there was no realistic possibility of ever rising up).

The Titans being a known, tangible physical reality may well have endeared them as a more interesting folkloric or spiritual focus to this particular cohort of bots.

Just like with St. Barbara in real life, you can see how the Titans may have been interpreted in certain ways by the lower class/caste working bots which may have made them more appealing or more easy to structure into a framework of sorts for their own practices within their local cultures.

A Little Meta: There's a Lot of Various Religious Imagery in Transformers

Like with all media, especially Western media, inevitably some Jesus sneaks in there.

Which usually sucks, because it can be alienating for literally anyone who isn't familiar with Christianity in some way (as some references or parallels are inevitably not going to be as obvious or even detectable at all to people who didn't grow up with all this sometimes very specific shit, resulting in missed thematic elements and so on due to no fault of the viewers but rather the tendency for Western shows to overwhelmingly be written and designed by primarily Western white middle aged cis straight men who tend to throw some Jesus in there when there should not necessarily be any Jesus in there, but I could yell about this all night).

Transformers as a franchise altogether is not immune to this; As with all media, it is made by people, and people are influenced by their social/cultural upbringing, and that includes religious influences.

We could read some of this into the TFP/Aligned Continuity, in regards to the idea of the Thirteen Primes and how that concept is interpreted in TFP.

Transformers Prime: Alpha Trion is Essentially Paul the Apostle

The TFP Primes resemble both the Apostles as well as various Saints, and especially the Fourteen Holy Helpers; These fourteen Saints in particular are elevated above the others in many cases and contexts-- Similar to how the Primes are held up as elevated over other Cybertronians and other figures in Cybertronian history and presumably within certain Cybertronian spiritual practices as well. 

For example, Alpha Trion is strongly reminiscent of the Christian figure Paul the Apostle, who was a writer/scribe known for documenting early Christian concerns of faith in his letters, which became extremely important to theological historians in regards to determining early Christian discourse and attempting to create a timeline of early Christianity.

His letters are included the New Testament in thirteen (!) sections called epistles, which are archived forever in various iterations within the Christian Bible. 

Now, let’s take a look at the symbolism, using the TFP main illustration of Alpha Trion as featured in the Covenant, and a popular Icon image of Paul the Apostle: 

Beard, cloak, book-- Even the pose they are in here is very similar, look at the feet and the way they are both standing. Even the halo of Cybertronian glyphs around Alpha Trion’s head resembles the gold filament of Paul’s halo. 

And much like Alpha Trion's questionable ability to write/re-write history and determine events through some kind of cosmically divine power of foresight, the timeline of Paul's letters will likely never be fully verifiable, and of course, there are so many translations and interpretations of these letters along with the rest of the New Testament that while key points remain fairly consistent, there is still no "true" version or exact outline of events or discussions as recorded by Paul-- Primarily because in at least a few cases, Paul's letters are the only allusion to certain events or conversations.

This is extremely similar to how Alpha Trion states outright in the Covenant that he himself doesn't know if what he writes is actually factual anymore, or if he has changed things so many times to try to construct a more favourable narrative of actions and events that reality itself may have been warped by his Quill, either forwards or backwards in time...

You could also argue that Alpha Trion is presented as a God-like figure in TFP (especially when he appears to Optimus in the form of an echoing voice and shimmering spectral figure in a vision caused by what is essentially the equivalent of a holy relic), and Orion Pax would then be comparable to Jesus pre-Crucifixion, with his reformatting into Optimus Prime post-Matrix heavily resembling Jesus in the eyes of his followers post-Resurrection.

The main cast of Autobots in this comparison would then roughly correspond to the Apostles, of whom there were twelve, with Optimus then making Thirteen... And of course, canonically, Optimus is the resurrection of the Thirteenth Prime. 

You can also see visual similarities in the depiction of Thirteen in the Covenant; It reminds me heavily of the Divine Mercy image of Jesus: 

Both have their right hands raised, their chests emitting a holy/cosmic light. 

I'm just saying, it is totally possible to make connections between fictional lore/spiritual figures and real world ones, and TF is loaded with content that can be re-contextualised in this way. 

(I also want to point out at this time that it is not my intention to offend anyone with any of this analysis; I am writing from the point of view of someone who grew up with folk spirituality, and I am also a Quaker Attender, just so you are aware of my own personal background. I would love to hear any other interpretations of any spiritual imagery in Transformers media, because there’s a ton of possible ways to read into this stuff!) 

In Conclusion: Cast a Hex on Your Boss by Calling Upon the Titans

Just for fun, as someone who has actually done folk magic for my entire life, I've adapted a hex against bad bosses to fit this headcanon. I think this is something that lower class/caste bots would absolutely engage in; It's common in real life as well.

The original I'm basing this off of was actually something I found in one of our old family Bibles before I moved out, and was written in Girard, Pennsylvania sometime between 1920-1930. I believe it was written by a relative of mine who worked either on the farm or on the railways.

Remember that folk magic like this is for and by working class people, so there are no fancy supplies needed; Don't ever buy shit to do magic, you can do it with anything laying around you. No need to spend money.

If you have a shitty boss, please let me know if you hex your boss with this. I always encourage witchcraft, fictional or otherwise.

Here's what you do, if you want to actually try this:

1) Using any old paper that you have lying around, cut it roughly into a square (doesn't need to be perfect.) It doesn't matter what type of paper it is.

2) Grab any pen you like, it can be any type of pen, any type of ink.

3) Draw a square outline on the paper, making a border on the page. This can be big or small as you like, and you can decorate it if you want; Just leave enough space to write inside the square.

4) Fold this paper into a square, any way you'd like as long as it's a square, and take this paper while it's still blank to work in your pocket.

Carry the paper with you for at least one full day at work. If you can, place it in a chest pocket or a pocket where the paper will be fairly close to your body.

It doesn't matter if the paper gets dirty or smudged or torn; In fact, that's even better.

(Some people who do variations of this spell in real life even use the paper to wipe dirt off their hands etc. throughout the day, to really get the energy of a work day settled into the paper. As long as it can still be written on, you can do this if you'd like.)

5) At the end of the work day, take the paper out, and write the following:

Where I have put [X], the word "Lord" was in the original version of this hex which was in my family Bible, but to contextualise it within the fictional headcanon lore here, you can replace this with the word "Titan". (Or you can replace it with anything else that may be appropriate as well, if you would like to actually use this hex!)

"Give us pay for our work, or the poor will plea to the [X] against you, and you will be struck down, cast down.  

If you do not give to those who give to you, you will be cursed coming in, and going out.

Just as the [X] can raise you up and lead you to prosper, so too can the [X] turn away from you, and you will be left to have your walls destroyed, your fortress ruined.

Us servants will rejoice, but you will cry out in anguish, you will be put to shame.

Without the toilers, the land is made desolate, the haunt of jackals.

[X], turn your gaze to us, we labourers of all kinds, see our tears and our sweat.

Lay curses upon those who use their hands to hold us down; Kept below water, our tears lost in the flood.

Raise the waters, and surge the shores of their ill-owned kingdom; Bring forth to their memory that the [X] stewards the land, and that all among the land are equal in spirit.

The [X] will cast fury upon the unrighteous and conniving, cast rage and stand among us mightily, each motion casting winds against the oppressor who weakens like fractured stone under the onslaught of rain.

The [X] will make a storm from our anguish, which brings us higher, raises us from desolation. Our tears, become the rain that withers the false tower looming high above us.

Our hands will raise from our tools and duties, and offer high praise to the [X], who guards the disparaged and lowly, who enacts justice against those who have done wrong against us.

Let us be brought high, and those who revel in our struggle, may they be cast down."

6) You may flip the paper over once the ink is dry, and on the back, put three Xs in the upper corners of the paper. You may also add three more XXXs to the centre of the paper, where the crease in the paper is from folding it.

7) Re-fold the paper, and put it in the bottom of your right shoe. If this is too uncomfortable, carry it in any pocket on your right side.

You can also place it in your wallet for safe keeping, as your wallet contains money and possibly a work ID or something similar, which are all tied to work and working.

And there you have it! Fuck shitty bosses, both fictional ones and real ones. Join a union, do some witchcraft. 

This post was long as always, but I hope it's interesting to someone out there! <3 Thank you to anyone who actually reads through all of this! <3

[otterskin]

The Devil in The Window

Apologies for low image quality. This is a repost with some reworking for an earlier, longer breakdown I did of the Loki trailer. Now that episode 1 is out - (YAY I WAS RIGHT, TAKE THAT MEPHISTO FANS! But also I do look forward to his eventual appearance, you think I don’t also have a huge interest in satanic mythology and the devil’s appearances in literature? Because I certainly do.) - I think it’s a good time to review.

Anyway, here’s a new shot of the window, apologies for using the older ones I drew on before from hereafter though. They updated the design for the episode, so some details have changed - however, I think that the old one had some details that were actually better to demonstrate with, the biggest being the change to the chest shape. Still, I think the intent remains, and I suppose it’s all to the good I used the design that shows it clearer.

So, Norse Mythology. It’s been Christiannized. You can thank Snorri Sturluson for that, but you can google all about him later. Let’s just say that he made many Norse figures into equivalents for Christian ones. Baldur is Jesus, pure and a sacrificial lamb who dies for a greater good. And the devil is...Loki. Something the Marvel comics and the MCU have continued.

Here we have a devil, dressed in green and with a distinct shape on his chest:

Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...(yes they changed this design in the episode, but it still has this basic shape, just with another layer of gold above it.)

Ah. I’d say that cinches it. This is meant to be Loki. If you look at the devil’s hair, it also resembles Loki’s, being shoulder-length and kinda curly.

So, what’s devil-Loki doing? Laying an egg? Trying out a foot massager? For a second I thought it was a moon, but we see the moon over his left shoulder, amongst the stars. Which means this is - probably the Earth.

...Dammit; I live there.

So Earth is barren and being devoured by flames, likely caused by this Loki sitting atop of it (in a throne, no less). Aw gee, things look pretty bad, don’t they?

But wait - what’s that? Under the Earth (and, possibly, under the earth)?

It’s a plant. A shoot, to be exact.

Back to Ragnarok for a second. Ragnarok isn’t the apocalypse (something we see a lot of in this trailer - all of it seems to be exploring the end of days). Ragnarok is the fire meant to wipe out the old and fertilize the ground for the new. And after the gods have died, what happens? Well, Baldur emerges from Hel, one of the only surviving gods (hmm, seems him dying worked out, didn’t it?). He’s joined by Líf and Lífþrasir, who are the new first man and woman, who’s names mean ‘Life’ and who are pictured, usually, with plants and new life. It is they who are tasked who growing a new Yggdrasil after the destruction of the old. The previous first man and woman are Ask and Embla, meaning Ash Tree and Vine/Elm tree, so there’s a theme there.

So a new sprout, possibly a tree, growing out of the destruction of the old.

This fits with Loki’s role as understood in mythology. He checks the arrogance of the gods, including when they tried to achieve immortality (sorry, Baldur, nothing personal), and that keeps the gods at their best. After Loki is imprisoned, the gods become weak, unhelpful and foolish, and Yggdrasil starts to rot. Eventually Loki escapes and returns along with Surtur (who also resembles this figure) to burn it all to the ground. This is also referenced in Thor:Ragnarok, with Loki releasing Surtur in the Vault, a place of thematic importance to Loki and one that represents the hidden secrets and sins of Asgard). You could say Ragnarok continued into Infinity War, where Loki played an important part in aiding Thanos’ destruction, giving up the stone to protect his brother and essentially dooming the rest of the universe - but also ultimately leading to its salvation, even if, like Myth Loki, he wasn’t around to see it.

So, we see the Variant literally start a fire in the trailer -

- in fact, this whole trailer is awash in flame -

It’s fire, fire everywhere and Variant Loki’s setting them!

Damn, even our ‘hero’ Loki is burning stuff down! Does this mean that Loki is doomed, always meant to be an avatar of death and toasty destruction?

Well...let’s go back to that stained glass. Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...

And there’s something else...the bottom of the Earth is being lit up, and not by fire. Light appears to be coming off this little plant.

What colour is this plant again? That’s right, green. Green is the colour of new life and growth and change and...hang on, I’ve heard that before, too..

.

Hang on hang on HANG ON... let me have a look at the shape again.

That’s...a letter. An L? For Loki? Like in the title sequence?

Wait...no, a different letter. An older letter. After all, Loki is old Norse. How do you spell his name in that again?

ᛚᛟᚲ ᛁ

And ENHANCE on that third letter!

This, my friends, is a Kenaz/Kaunaz, or what would become 'K' in our alphabet. It is also known as the 'Loki Rune' (and the Ulcer Rune, for some reason. I suspect Odin understands why). It’s used to spell his name, but is also used on his own to represent him. Heck, it's even his Superman 'S' in the comics:

Runes are more than letters - they are symbols for concepts. So what else does it mean?

Primarly, it means ‘torch’.

And also ‘knowledge’ (ken). As well as ‘growth, change, the search for truth, decay, arrogance, elitism, feminine, kinship and creativity.’

...Okay, that’s a lot, but you have to admit it fits.

More specifically, it means ‘Mastery of the Fire’. As in, someone who has learned to tame fire so that it is helpful, not harmful. To bring light and, symbolically, knowledge.

There’s another way Loki’s been associated with fire - in the Wagner Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold, the opera that inspired much the Thor films’ aesthetic and certainly their helmets, Loki is called ‘Loge’, which means ‘Fire’. He’s usually dressed to match, too -

Many trickster figures are associated with fire. They are usually called ‘Fire-bringers’ - See: Raven, Lucifer, Prometheus, etc. They are often complex figures with a foot in different worlds, but who nonetheless help mankind with the gift of ‘fire’ - although they usually pay for it, and tend to be self-destructive.

(Side note. Lucifer means light-bringer, which is what luciferase is named after. Because it glows. Which is helpful in labs. In case someone needed to know that.)

Moving from a destructive fire-starter to a fire-bringer seems like a great character arc for Loki to take, especially given his rehabilitation in pop culture, the comics, and even wider culture. Loki has gone from being seen as an evil, deviant, destructive character to one who’s seen as a patron of the arts and creativity, of stories rather than lies. Heck, some scholars of Norse Mythology even posit that he’s the closet thing to a protagonist Norse Mythology has, so I guess that backfired, Snorri!). Being dressed in green and with the sprout clearly also being stylized after his Kaunaz, there’s foreshadowing that he’ll be capable of growing good things even out of ashes.

So, to sum up: Being ‘Satan’ sounds pretty bad, but with a little letter re-arranging like we see in the title sequence, you can be...

...practically a saint. Maybe even a saviour.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

[nerdythebard]

#4: Ah Puch, Horrific God of Decay

Welcome back, gods and goddesses!

Today, we take a quick peek into the domain of death with Ah Puch (pronounced either ah-POOCH or ah-puh-ASH), one of many Maya gods of death residing in the cold and dark afterlife called Xibalba. We know very little of Ah Puch (as is the case with a lot of Maya and other Mesoamerican gods), but from several texts we do have, we can learn he was known as "Ruler of the North" and that he was later banished for breaking his promise to the Maya king. But let's see what SMITE tells us about him!

Next time: Here comes the Sun... Is it a dog? Is it black ninja fire? No, it's...

As always, let's see what we need for Ah Puch to sow decay and death around:

Corpses: We need to do all kinds of freaky stuff with corpses of our enemies (including but not limited to: animating them, exploding them, making them heal us).

Decay: Related to the previous one. Area damage from miasma is another technique we need to implement.

High Area Damage: Ah Puch's Ultimate skill is a large AoE that summons the dead to rush the enemies. We need to find a way to empty the crypts en masse.

--- Once again, we're gonna play around a little bit. None of the established races fits Ah Puch... we could've picked Fallen Aasimar for that spark of divinity and a smell of the underworld, but let's follow the previous build's example and turn to the Wizards' Unearthed Arcana playtest material. This time, Gothic Lineages from 2021!

Ah Puch is a Reborn creature. This gives us a double creature - it lets us force a Wisdom saving throw on a target and paralyse them if they fail. Remember, it only works on humanoids; it will not stop animals, monsters, dragons, etc.g speed, 60 feet of Darkvision, and two languages – Common and one of our choosing. We also get to add a +2 and +1 to any of our ability scores. Let's get +2 Wisdom and +1 Intelligence.

There are two key features Reborn creatures get. First is Deathless Nature, which gives us several benefits:

Resistance to poison damage;

Advantage on saving throws and being poisoned;

We don't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe;

Magic cannot put us to sleep. Similar to elves, we can finish our long rest in 4 hours instead of 8 by remaining in a motionless state.

We also get Knowledge from the Past, which doesn't necessarily fit Ah Puch's lore, but it's too good to pass on. We get a pool of d6 dice equal to our proficiency bonus. When we make an ability check that uses a skill, we can roll a d6 and add the number to the result. We get all of the dice back when finishing a long rest.

Ah Puch walks the world of the living far and wide, so making him an Outlander seems like a good choice. We get proficiency in Athletics and Survival skills, proficiency with one musical instrument, and we get to learn one more language. We also get the Wanderer feature, which gives us photographic memory when it comes to geographical features and nearby terrain.

ABILITY SCORES

We start with Intelligence and Wisdom for our two best scores. Then follow it with Constitution, because spellcasters need those Hit Points, then Charisma for when we need to scare somebody into the afterlife, and we're gonna finish it with Dexterity and Strength.

CLASS

Level 1 - Druid: Some of you probably can see where this is going. Yes, I am that predictable. OR AM I!?

Ekhm... Our Hit Dice is a d8, we start with Hit Points of 8 + CON mod. We get proficiencies with light armour, medium armour and shields (with a note that druids will not wear armour or use shields made of metal), as well as clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, spears and Herbalism kit. Our saving throws are Wisdom and Intelligence and we get to choose two class skills; let's get Insight and Medicine.

At the first level, we learn yet another language – Druidic – which is unreadable for anybody but other druids, unless by means of magic. We also get Spellcasting from the very start. For our two cantrips, Shillelagh transforms our staff (we got one from our Wanderer background) into a magical weapon for 1 minute and lets us use our Wisdom modifier instead of Strength when attacking with it. Poison Spray creates a puff of toxic gas within 10 feet range. The target must make a Constitution saving throw or suffer 1d12 poison damage.

At the first level, we get two 1st-level spell slots and we can have four 1st-level spells prepared:

Charm Person targets a single creature; if it fails a Wisdom saving throw, it is charmed for 1 hour (no concentration needed). A "charmed" creature cannot directly or indirectly attack us, and we get an advantage on any ability checks while interacting with it. Remember, it's not a mindless control, and the creature realizes it was charmed when the spell ends.

Earth Tremor forces targets in 10 feet range to make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 1d6 bludgeoning damage and fall prone from the ground shaking.

Fog Cloud creates a 20-foot-radius sphere of fog centred on a point within 120 feet from us. It lasts for 1 hour (concentration) and is a great way to either obscure our movement or to sneak up to the enemy.

Detect Poison and Disease lasts for 10 minutes (concentration) and shows us any and all poisonous things and diseased creatures within 30 feet from us. It also lets us identify the kind of poison and disease.

Level 2 - Druid: Next level of Druid gives us their signature ability – Wild Shape. This lets us assume the form of an animal and the CR of the animals we can turn into increases at the 4th and 8th level. This doesn't necessarily work for us, who make Ah Puch, but there is another option: Wild Companion from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything lets us burn one usage of our Wild Shape to summon a creature to our side as per the Find Familiar spell.

We get another 1-st level spell: Faerie Fire summons colourful flames in 20-foot-cube that stick to all inanimate objects and creatures that fail their Dexterity saving throw. For 1 minute (concentration) any attacks against creatures and objects affected by the fire get an advantage, and the targets cannot benefit from concealing effects, such as invisibility.

At the second druid level, we get to pick our Druid Circle and for Ah Puch, there is nothing better than the Circle of Spores. Those who find beauty in fungi and moulds are perfect subjects for the Lord of Decay. When we pick this Circle, we learn the Chill Touch cantrip, with more spells coming to us at later levels.

Our first Circle feature is Halo of Spores. We are surrounded by microscopic necrotic spores that are harmless unless we activate them. When a creature moves within 10 feet of us, we can use a reaction to deal 1d4 necrotic damage to it, unless it makes a Constitution saving throw.

We also get the Symbiotic Entity feature, which lets us channel some more magic into our Spores. As an action, we can sacrifice one Wild Shape use to gain 4 Temporary Hit Points for every Druid level. We also get an additional dice roll for our Halo of Spores and if we have a melee weapon, it deals additional 1d6 necrotic damage to any target it hits. Those benefits last for 10 minutes, until we lose all Temporary Hit Points, or until we use Wild Shape again.

Level 3 - Druid: At this stage, we don't get any new class features. It's focused mostly on spells:

From our subclass, we get two spells - Blindness/Deafness, which does exactly what it says if the target fails their Constitution saving throw, and Gentle Repose, which prevents the target from decaying and becoming undead.

We unlock 2nd-spell slots, which means we can get Hold Person - it lets us force a Wisdom saving throw on a target and paralyze them if they fail. Remember, it only works on humanoids; it will not stop animals, monsters, dragons, etc.

Level 4 - Druid: Our Wild Shape improves, we can now assume a form of a 1/2 CR creature (such as a crocodile, a shark, an ape, etc.) without flying speed. We also get our first Ability Score Improvement of the build! Let's raise our Wisdom by 2.

We get two more spells, since raising our Wisdom puts us at 18.

Locate Animals and Plants lets us name a specific kind of plant or animal and notifies us of its position within 5 miles of us.

Healing Spirit summons a small nature spirit to soothe the wounds of an ally who walks into its range.

Level 5 - Druid: We don't get new class features, but we get to unlock 3rd-level spell slots. For this, Revivify brings back to life a creature that died within 1 minute of casting the spell. It consumes a diamond worth at least 300 gold pieces, so remember to hit up a jeweller whenever stopping at a town.

Feign Death lets us touch a willing creature (or ourselves) and put it into a state indistinguishable from death. The target is blinded, incapacitated and its speed is 0. It has resistance to all damage except psychic.

Our subclass gives us two extra spells: Animate Dead lets us bring a pile of bones or a corpse for our temporary service as a skeleton or a zombie for 24 hours. Gaseous Form transforms us (or a willing creature) into smoke. For 1 hour (concentration), we get a flying speed of 10 feet, we have resistance to non-magical damage, and we can slip through openings even 1 inch in diameter.

Level 6 - Druid: We get another subclass feature. Fungal Infestation lets us infest a Small or Medium corpse with our necrotic spores and animate it. The animated creature comes back to life with 1 Hit Point and obeys us for 1 hour after which it crumbles away and dies again. We can use this feature a number of times equal to our Wisdom modifier and we regain the uses when finishing a long rest.

We get another spell - Barkskin turns our skin into rigid, rough, and tree-like. For the duration (1 hour, concentration), our AC cannot be lower than 16.

Level 7 - Wizard

Come on, be honest, who saw that coming? :D

Time to play with some magic bois! Picking the first level in Wizard gives us 4 + our CON modifier of Hit Points, no extra proficiencies, but we do get Arcane Recovery, which lets us regain some spell slots the combined level of which is equal to half of our Wizard level (rounded up) and they cannot be 6th level or higher. For now, it will let us recover 1st-level slots, but we'll make it useful later.

We also get three more cantrips from the Wizard (yes, they stack when you multiclass!):

Fire Bolt hurls a mote of fire, which deals 1d10 fire damage on a successful hit.

Ray of Frost deals 1d8 cold damage on a successful hit and reduces the target's speed by 10 feet.

Toll the Dead forces a Wisdom saving throw on one target and deals 1d8 necrotic damage on a failed save. If the target misses any Hit Points, they instead receive 1d12 necrotic damage.

1st level Wizards get to pick six 1st-level spells at the very beginning. I'm not gonna describe all of them because it would take forever, so let me just list the ones we should get:

Ray of Sickness

Tasha's Caustic Brew

False Life

Cause Fear

Feather Fall

Mage Armour

Level 8 - Wizard: At this level, we get to pick our Arcane Tradition and to nobody's surprise we pick School of Necromancy. We get Necromancy Savant, which halves the cost and time of writing spells in our spellbook, and we double down on death magic with Grim Harvest - whenever we kill a target with a spell of 1st level or higher, we regain Hit Points equal to 2x that spell's level (or 3x if it's a Necromancy type spell).

Every time we gain a Wizard level, we can learn two new spells. For this one, let's get Shield for some extra AC in a clutch, and Witch Bolt.

Level 9 - Wizard: Since we get access to Wizard's 2nd-level spells here, let's pick Ray of Enfeeblement which lowers the target's damage dealing by half, and Spider Climb for some better mobility.

Level 10 - Wizard: For our halfway point, we get our next Ability Score Improvement. Let's bump up Constitution for better Hit Points and put the second point in Intelligence.

We get another cantrip, so let's get Infestation, to conjure some nasty creepy crawlies on those who fail their Constitution saving throw.

We also get two more 2nd-level spells: See Invisibility lets us detect all invisible creatures within our field of view for 1 hour (no concentration required). Phantasmal Force is a personalized illusion, which creates a creature, object or another phenomenon, perceivable only by a target that fails their Intelligence saving throw. Flavour it as threatening the target with being dragged to Hell, or their hands shrivelling up and decaying, etc.

Level 11 - Wizard: No new class features, but we do get 3rd-level spell slots unlocked. For this one, we can get Bestow Curse - which affects a target who fails their Wisdom saving throw. The curse produces several effects:

We pick one ability score. For 1 minute (concentration), the target has a disadvantage on all checks and saving throws using that ability;

Their attack rolls against us gain disadvantage;

At the start of each turn they have to make a Wisdom saving throw, or completely lose their turn doing nothing;

While the target is cursed, our attacks against them deal extra 1d8 necrotic damage

For our second spell, Spirit Shroud uses a bonus action to summon a horde of ghosts circling around us for 1 minute (concentration). Until the spell ends, every attack we make within 10 feet of us deals extra 1d8 radiant, cold, or necrotic damage (our choice). Additionally, any creature hit by this extra damage cannot heal until the start of our next turn AND any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of us has its speed reduced by 10, until the start of our next turn.

Level 12 - Wizard: At this level, we get the subclass upgrade - Undead Thralls. Normally, it would give us the Animate Dead spell for free, but we already know that one because of our Druid subclass spells; therefore, I would just give that spell the upgrade mentioned here. When we cast Animate Dead henceforth:

We can target one additional pile of bones, or a corpse, for two thralls to control at the same time;

Our thralls' Hit Points are increased by our Wizard level;

The thralls can add our proficiency bonus to their weapon attacks

We also get two more spells: Summon Shadowspawn calls forth a shadowy wraith in an unoccupied space within 90 feet from us. We get to choose between three types of shadows (Fury, Despair, and Fear). To further enhance our Army of the Dead, Summon Undead works in a similar way, except it summons an Undead Spirit, also with three types (Ghostly, Putrid, or Skeletal). Both spells come from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.

Level 13 - Wizard: No class features, but we do unlock 4th-level spells here, so let's add two of those: Blight causes a wave of necromantic energy to strike one target; they have to make a Constitution saving throw or take 8d8 necrotic damage (half damage on a successful save). If we target a plant creature or a magical plant, it takes maximum damage. If we target a regular non-magical plant, it withers automatically.

Sickening Radiance creates a 30-foot-radius sphere of necrotic energy within 120 feet of us. When a creature enters the sphere starts its turn there, it must make a Concentration saving throw or take 4d10 points of necrotic damage, suffer one level of exhaustion (i.e. disadvantage on ability check) AND glow like the fresh rivers of Chernobyl, which also prevents them from becoming invisible, for 10 minutes (concentration).

Level 14 - Wizard: We get another ASI at this level. Let's go for Intelligence and Constitution for some better casting ability and HP.

For our spells, Banishment forces a creature to disappear from the Plane of Existence it currently resides in, provided it fails a Charisma saving throw. If the creature is native to the Plane we're banishing it from (e.g. a bugbear in the Material Plane), it is transported to a pocket dimension for the spell's duration (1 minute, concentration) and reappears in the space it left. If the creature is not native to the Plane we're banishing it from (e.g. a fire elemental in the Material Plane), it returns to its home plane and doesn't return, provided we manage to hold the spell without breaking the concentration for 1 minute.

Phantasmal Killer is similar in mechanics to Phantasmal Force, except here if the target fails its Wisdom saving throw, it is frightened for the duration (1 minute, concentration) and it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw every turn or take 4d10 psychic damage.

Level 15 - Wizard: No new class features, just spells. We unlock 5th-level spell slots, which gives us a few new delicious death-themed magicks:

Danse Macabre lets us animated up to five corpses to raise as either a skeleton or a zombie. They obey our command for 1 hour (concentration) and as a bonus action, we can issue a command that all five of them will execute.

Negative Energy Flood sends out lashes of necrotic energy at a single target. It must make a Constitution saving throw or suffer 5d12 necrotic damage (half damage on a successful save). If the creature is killed with that spell, it comes back as a zombie albeit not under our control. If we target an undead creature with this spell, it gets half of 5d12 Temporary Hit Points.

Level 16 - Wizard: This level gives us our second-to-last subclass feature - Inured to Undeath. We now gain resistance to necrotic damage and our maximum Hit Points cannot be reduced.

We get our final cantrip - Mind Sliver, which forces an Intelligence saving throw on one target. On an unsuccessful save, the target suffers 1d6 psychic damage (3d6 in our case, because of lv. 16) and must subtract 1d4 on its next saving throw made before the start of our next turn.

For this level's spells, we take Enervation, which deals 4d8 necrotic damage on an unsuccessful save, and it lets us trigger 4d8 necrotic damage every turn for the spell's duration (1 minute, concentration). It takes an action to activate the automatic damage, and the spell ends if the target leaves its range (60 feet) or is behind a full cover.

Hold Monster is the same as Hold Person but can be used to paralyse beasts, monstrosities, aberrations, etc. It cannot be used against the undead, but we've got those under control.

Level 17 - Wizard: Once again, no new class features, but we do unlock 6th-level spell slots. For this, let's take Create Undead which does exactly what it says on the packaging; up to three corpses become ghouls under our control for 24 hours. We can extend the control over them indefinitely if we continue to re-cast the spell before the current 24 hours end.

Magic Jar is the closest thing D&D players have to become a lich and let's be honest - Ah Puch is the closest SMITE players have to a lich. The spell rips our soul from our body and stores it in a pre-prepared container for as long as we desire. We cannot do anything while we're stored inside a container, except attempting to possess a humanoid body within 100 feet of us. We can jump bodies as many times as we desire but if we decide to jump back to our own body and we're 100 feet or further away from it, we die.

Level 18 - Wizard: For our last ASI, we'll max our Intelligence to 20.

For this level's spells, we'll grab Contingency, which acts as a sort of failsafe program; we can pick a 5th-level or lower spell and select conditions for its activation (e.g. "cast water breathing as soon as the head is submerged in water or similar liquid").

Soul Cage allows us to use a reaction to snatch the recently deceased humanoid's soul and store it in a tiny silver cage. It is another "lich" spell, as it allows us to utilize the captured soul in several ways: we can regain Hit Points, ask a question, etc.

Level 19 - Wizard: Here is where we receive our 7th-level spell slots. However, there isn't that many 7th-level spells we need. Instead, let's pick two more 6th-level spells:

Disintegrate is a concentrated ray of green energy that strikes one target within 60 feet from us. If the target is a living creature, they must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d6+40 points of necrotic damage. If the target is reduced to 0 HP with this spell, it turns to dust immediately and can be only brought back via True Resurrection or Wish spells. The spell can be also used to destroy inanimate objects and magic constructs, such as barriers.

Guards and Wards is a powerful protection spell that transforms our resting place into a secured fortress (after all, we're the Death God of Xibalba, we need to have our own stronghold). We create a ward that protects an area up to 2.500 square feet of floor space, up to 20 feet tall. Within the protected area, all corridors are filled with dense fog, all doors and windows are sealed and locked, and all stairs are covered in sticky webs. The protection lasts for 24 hours (no concentration), but if the spell is cast on the same area every day for a year, it becomes permanent.

Level 20 - Wizard: For our capstone, we get another subclass feature. With Command Undead we can now bind all undead to our control, even those created by other wizards. As an action, we can choose one undead within 60 feet of us; it has to fail a Charisma saving throw against our Spell Save DC, or be friendly towards us and obey our commands until we use the feature again.

For our final two spells, let's move to 7th-level:

Finger of Death causes a blast of necromantic energy to pierce a single target. The target must make a Constitution saving throw or take 7d8+30 necrotic damage (half damage on a successful save). A humanoid killed by this spell rises back as a zombie permanently under our control.

Power Word: Pain targets every creature within 60 feet of us. If they have 100 Hit Points or less, they feel immense pain throughout their bodies. While affected, the creature's speed cannot be higher than 10, it has a disadvantage on all rolls (skill checks, attacks, saving throws) except Constitution, and it prevents any spellcasting unless the target succeeds on a Consitution saving throw. At the end of its turn, a creature can make a Constitution saving throw to shake off the spell's effect.

---

Now, let's see what we got from making the Death God of Decay.

First off, we've got cantrips for days, 20 Intelligence and 18 Wisdom, various types of corpses on our beck and call, and enough death-related spells to put a few liches to shame.

Unfortunately, we barely scratch the surface of 100 Hit Points, and we gotta manage two casting classes with two casting abilities. Our Charisma score is also not that good, so those saving throws might be difficult for us.

Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll see you next time!

Edit: WOW, that took way longer than I expected. I'm really sorry, I guess this was a difficult build and I worked pretty slowly on it. I'll do better from now on!

- Nerdy out!

[i-mybrunettelady]

For the secrets asks! Time to include all the lovely beebs <3

🍻 For Nyra

🏹 or 🌧 for Ren

🐇 for Sanne

🌟 for Liv

and🙃 for El

Feel free to skip any of these if you don't feel like answering them or use this as a free space to answer one you do wanna talk about :D

(@uselessidiotsquad)

Ty for the ask <3 All the beebs ahoy <3

🍻 For something bad/mischievous you did as a child or teen that your parents don’t know about:

Nyra: "My parents have always told me I was a leader. And I was, all the court children navigated around me like moth to flame, and though most of them were spoiled brats without care, trained only to suck it up to the Queen or a minister, there were few good ones. One of them, a boy mercilessly teased for belonging to a family of Orrian descent, I often felt protective over but had no other means to defend him rather than with words. But when my magic came, and one of his bullies was walking in procession of Dwayna's holy week with a magically lit candle, I stalked them and whenever it was important that the light was on, manipulated it to go down. Now, I do realise how dangerous that was - an untrained guardian is a danger not only to themselves, but also others around them, but the bully's desperation was evident and I wanted them to suffer as much as my friend had.

In my defense, I was 15, Deborah had just gone missing and I wanted someone else to feel as miserable as I did. I don't know if they still worship Dwayna, but I hope that my misjudged sense of justice hadn't deterred them from their faith."

🌧 For a heavy, emotional secret

Ren: "Over the course of my life, I've had to give up many things, often abruptly, without a note, clearing all traces behind me so nobody knew I was there. For example, there was no way the Vera - child of spies who grew up on the streets of the Reach - could leave any trace behind her, else the four years I've spent hidden away at the Chantry of Secrets would've been for nothing. But in vanishing without a trace, I left Petra - the sweet, sweet Petra who'd taken me to her father's apple orchard outside the city for that first kiss at 15 - praying for my soul every now and then. I sometimes assign someone to watch her, an Initiate with no real spying experience, or even go myself when my missions allow it.

Vera is dead, gone by her own hand the night before her hanging, and she left behind kids who've since ended up on the gallows themselves, or in prison, because they had nobody to guide them. It doesn't matter, really, a few lives here and there. I'd kill my own partners on the field had the need arose. I don't think about them often."

🐇For a secret item they keep (stuffed animal, comfort object, etc)

Sanne: "I still keep my first catch. It's nothing to boast over - Issormir's head stands proudly on my wall, for instance, which has the much greater value than the little animal I'd caught at 8 years old. It's a little rabbit bone, but I remember my father being so proud of it that he shouted at the next moot how his daughter was a hunter now because she'd caught a rabbit. Ragna would laugh if she knew, she teases me about those things, but I know she keeps her book of basic necromancer spells somewhere. The bone reminds me of his pride and my own and a time before the Elder dragons."

🌟For a secret wish or desire of theirs

Liv: "Sometimes, I wish I was a thief. I'm happy with what I am, really, but sometimes I wish I was an asuran thief who could just sneak past anything and anyone in stealth mode without being seen. My feet would also not dangle off the edges of many beds that way and even with all the fur, norn winters are off the charts when it comes to cold, especially on defenseless feet. I got claws, sure, but claws don't scratch away the cold.

I would also not sweat as much in summer. It's silly, but sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, I wish I was an asuran thief."

🙃 For a lighter, slightly embarrassing secret

El: "Before I say anything, I would just like to say that it's not my fault us plants are flammable. Only good flammable plant is a Mordrem, but I'm not hiding the fact I burned Mordrem. In fact, I would burn Mordrem again. I just wish I was more coherent when I did it, so I could hear the dragon's life force sizzle away in their green, nasty bodies as they burn to ash. But the said bitch dragon was screaming in my head at the time, thus depriving me of my only real potential source of good things in that wretched jungle.

Bad flammable plants are sylvari. Especially elementalist sylvari, without counting myself. Really, it wasn't my fault, do you even know how hard training elemental magic is? Anger at your fingertips, ready to fire, easy to rise and slow to cool down, hard to temper and moderate? It's almost like working with remnant god magic - Balthazar's sword looks intensely promising, with lingering flames not of this realm-

Anyway. There was this elementalist, earth magic, and she had yet to master the art of selective earthquakes in unholy hours of the night when all but Nightblooms are asleep and we were sitting beside a really pretty house when the ground started shaking all of a sudden and what was I to do but unleash a ball of fire that caught on said pretty house....

Needless to say, we never spoke of it to anyone. Only Niamh and Dagonet knew, because they helped us put it down, but I think Kahedins knew too because he was giving me strange and annoyed looks for a while after that...

Kahedins, make your creations not flammable and we'll talk. You're dear to me, but please, make plants not flammable. I believe in you."

[revolution-must-happen]

Holi: The cruel darkness behind the festival of colors?

“Holi Festival” Why do we celebrate? Whose success is the Holi festival a symbol of?

Background:

*Gurukulam: Traditional School

*Mulnivasi: the farmers, artisans and locals settled in Indian subcontinent before 5000BC during Indus-valley-civilization (IVC), until the invasion of Aryans happened(2500BC-1700BC), who were completely erased off their culture. Today they form about 80% of Indian Population. Scheduled classes(22%) Scheduled Tribes(7%) Backward Classes(52%), together they are also referred to as Bahujans.

**Brahmans: They performed priestly acts, and count about 2% of Indian population. They performed rituals of sacrifice and induced belief and fear in people, making them controllers of God. Vedas were their holy scriptures, where they wrote: “adhyapanam, adhyayanam cha yejanam, yaajanam, thatha daanam prathigrahachaivaha, brahmana nama kalpayeth” “Learning and Teaching are sole-rights of Brahmans exclusively. To offer prayers to God, to Seek prayers from God, to give or take Offerings/Donations are all exclusively reserved for them.” “Samastha lokam Daivadeenaam, Daivadeenamtu Mantraadeenam, Tan Mantram Brahmanadeenam, Brahmano mama Daivatah” “The whole universe is under the control of God, God is under the control of Mantras, These Mantras are under the control of Brahmans, hence, Brahmans are ultimate Gods.” They created fear in people about their well-being, and suggest to perform a ritual, which costs them anything from a Chicken, to a lamb to a Cow.. up-to their own Wife or Daughter.. They convince the Mulnivasis “No pain - No gain” and the poor man is left with “Pain” while the Priest is left with “Gain”. So they used to earn their living, not by hard-work, but by squeezing the sweat out of the Mulnivasis. They graded people into different classes or Varnas, 20% (Priestly, Warrior, Businessmen) and Laborers (80%). Four things to be noted here: 1. Ritual Sacrifices of Animals, Livestock, Grain, fruits of Labor, etc. 2. Women sacrifices, they abused their power to sexually exploit Women. 3. Alcohol was highly praised, and it is glorified throughout Vedas 4. Lies and Theft. (Astrology, Rituals from Birth to Death thereby forcefully squeezing benefits in the name of Offerings) Even the history of Buddha was distorted by the Brahmans, but the main reason Buddha came to existence is due to the injustice happening to common man in terms of exploitation. He was the first revolutionary in the world, who reformed the society spiritually, communally, socially, with equality and fraternity on the basis of the following core principles: Do not Lie, Do not Steal, Do not kill Animals, Do not allow prostitution. Buddha since childhood was against injustice and wanted equality, by the time of Buddha, the Indus Valley Civilization which was matriarchal and based on humanity, was completely destroyed and became Male-dominated society of the Aryans. Due to Buddhism(600BC), the Brahmanism was completely wiped out till south-east Asia. But their minds did not change, and poisoned Buddha at the age of 85 to kill him. Slowly they regained their power, and destroyed all the Buddhist Monasteries (Aramas) and established Vedic religion until 300BC. Then came the “King Ashoka the Great” who established Buddhism big-time and spread it much further. This was the only “Golden Era of India” during which the GDP of his dynasty was about 1/3rd of the whole world. Until his 10th grandson “Brihadratha” who was killed by his own Brahman-General(Pushya Mitra Shunga) by deceit. Again the Brahmanism regained its glory with Shungas. The Monasteries meant for gaining knowledge and donations for the well-being of the society, was occupied by Brahmans, who made reforms at a very slow rate. These were slowly converted to Temples and centers of belief, fear, exploitation, and idol worship. Between 200BC and 200AD was the Constitution of Brahmanism created by “Manu” which is called “Manusmriti”. This document divided people into 4 Varnas, and created a rigid form of hierarchical-discriminatory society, where intermixing of Blood was banned ever-since, even until today for over 2000 years.

***Vishnu: This guy has taken every possible Avatar. Rama, Krishna, Vemana, Hari,.. and so on. By this you must understand, how important this guy is, that’s why he sits in the Richest temple of the World “Tirumala-Tirupati”. Not only that, they got to the extent of including Buddha as an Avatar of Vishnu. Why? They decorated a Buddha statue with ornaments and lady Goddesses beside him, then obviously to cover up, they need to create stories, right? So Buddha according to them, took the 10th avatar of Vishnu. They owned Buddha here. They owned the Buddhist non-violent way of life. They gave up Beef eating. They became Vegetarians.

But Buddha out-rightly rejected afterlife, soul and rebirth. How then, can they claim Buddha to be an avatar of Vishnu? Rather, take all his credit, and render him useless, that's what they did, that's what corrupt politicians do these days, i guess they learnt it long ago with Brahmanism. Exactly, even today, over 70% of all top positions in India in 2021 are held by this 2% community.

The versions of stories:

Ever since the Buddhism has been erased off the face of India by the Vedic religions(Aryans), the actual history has been patched-up with so called Neo-hinduistic(Brahmanism) religion, and several distorted stories have been built-up to make the innocent uneducated, as well as educated Indians their slaves. Several stories have been published and popularized behind the reason for Holi celebration: 1. Holika: A demoness who was threatening the village during night, to avoid her, burn huge fire at night and get rid of her. 2. Hiranyakashyapa: A king who did several hundreds of years of Penance, receives impossible powers from God Brahma to conquer death. He can not die on earth or sky, from human or animal, and many impossible fantasies. Having gained such great powers, he wants to prove his authority as God himself, and tortures the people of all the 14 worlds(Only god knows 14 worlds, I know only this planet Earth!). To suppress his Nonsense, his son Prahlada took avatar of Vishnu(another God also known as Hari) and he successfully kills his father performing various tricks, ultimately as Narasimha(Half lion-half human) avatar. 3. Prahlada: He was tortured by his father(Hiranyakashyapa) in several ways, with snakes, burnt him, etc.. But Holika, the sisterof Hiranyakashyapa had special power of protection from not burning by a special Shawl. Obedient Prahalada was ordered by his father to jump into the fire in the hands of Holika. So he took the order and Jumped. At the moment of entering the flame, he prayed to Vishnu, so Vishnu vanished the shawl from Holika and replaced it on Hiranyakashyapa, meanwhile Holika got burnt in her own fire. So to pay respect to Holika, holi is celebrated! Hope it makes any sense/ logic, but this is what the story says! 4. Banasura/Mahabali: Vamana(Dwarf Avatar of Vishnu) came to Mahabali (a benevolent king who has special powers against death) and requested to place his three steps on land. The Dwarf Vamana placed one step on earth, one step on heaven, and Mahabali offered his head for third step. (Don’t ask the logic behind 3 steps, and how! lol) Then Vishnu unveils his real Giant avatar after stepping on Mahabali’s head. His son Banasura, insulted by Vishnu’ foot stamping on his father’s head, Banasura chased Vamana to death and killed him by starvation! Succesors of Vamana: Brahmadi Upadyaya performed a death ritual known as “Dahanam” 5. Kama Dahanam: One crazy story! Shiva and his wife Shakti/Parvati were in deep Meditation (due to their own personal reasons), life sustenance in the world was in trouble due to Yoga of Shakti and Shiva, while the Demons wreaked havoc on the other Devas(Gods). These demons could only be killed by son of Shiva+Parvati. No to disturb their meditation, the Devas decide to approach god of love Kamadeva, to generate Lust between Shiva and Shakti. Devas threatened to curse him if he doesn’t oblige, so better to die in eyes of Shiva than this cheap bargain, Kamadeva decided to shoot arrow of Love on Shiva. And Shiva opens his third-eye, Kamadeva is burnt to ash! Upon request of all Gods, Shiva forgave Kamadeva and offers his life back, but he can be seen by none other that his wife Rathidevi. Kamadeva also referred as Ananga(one without his part), or you might’ve guessed right?

6. Buddhist Literature: Celebrate festival with five colors. Five colors depict Pancha-sheela( five-qualities). This day is also celebrated as the day when Buddha visited to his place of Birth. In Magadhi language during King Ashoka’s times, Dholi/Tholi which means “cradle” or “swinging” is found on inscriptions as a significant day of celebration. “Dahanam” means burning. In Buddhism, the following three things to be burnt: i. “Burning the Body” means Abandoning the body/bodily desires ii. Immoral/Negative Emotions iii. Immoral/Negative Thoughts Buddha achieved all the three. Kollata/Dandiya: Playing/Dancing two sticks. Each person holds two small sticks and according to music, the make moves and clap their sticks. A group dance, the history which can be found way back from a skit of 700AD which describes Ashoka times. Narasimha suktam: which was written by Buddha’s wife and people of his time, mentions several things during this Period of the year. A period of 15 days during Spring-Summer, when family gatherings happened, a beautiful period when couples were left to know each other. Joyful and playful times. Meanwhile, the Monks could get busy with burning the evil within them.

Coming back to the Main Story:

Asura: one who doesn’t consume Sura/wine Sura: one who consumes Sura/alcohol All the kings of Mulnivasis were named Asuras. All Asuras were depicted as Demons. All those who went against the Brahman supremacy of Education to the Privileged few, were labelled as Demons. All these Demons somehow, illogically, according to their own stories, caused disruption to the Devas/Suras/Gods. The Brahmans/Gods punished them, killed them, eliminated them by hook or crook. They then created distorted stories. The forbid learning/reading/hearing/speaking of Vedas, Puranas, and their holy Texts, for one reason. Uneducated, and illiterate are bound to believe what is told to them. But the distorted, illogical stories make sense as long as you are illiterate, or blinded by belief. There is no rationality involved. There is no questioning allowed.

To speak bullshit and to not confronting questions, the best way to achieve this? BAN READING, WRITING, LEARNING! So intelligent they were in sketching such a plan, but so unintelligent that they created such stupid stories, which, if you ask more than 2 questions, they need to disappear, or you need to disappear. Coz there's no logic, there's no connection, there's no sense, or just that it’s nonsense.

Unaware of this, the indigenous Bahujans of India (mulnivasis), on the occasion of the “Holi festival”, some of the Brahman and Marwari communities burn a picture of Ravanasura (This guy is totally irrelevant here, but again, a famous Demon, celebrated for his death on every occasion possible: Dussera, Diwali and so on) under the name of “Kama Dahanam” at night. The festival is celebrated by burning the Effigy overnight and sprinkling with colors during the day.

The reason is the tragedy of the murder of “Holika”, the native daughter of this country. Ignorant and misinformed indigenous people who do not know the history, sing “Anandakeli Rangeli” while begging, as a tradition they keep doing this. And for some who wait the whole year for Holi to come, so they can beg and earn their living for the rest of the year.. Was it a tradition of hardcore Holi-fanaticism, to wait all year for begging on this special day? Or was it a punishment imposed, on some sections and Communities, to hide the truth?

Today, we sprinkle colors, drink alcohol, eat meat and go to sleep.

The king of these natives (mulnivasi), Hiranyakashipu with his son Prahlada would recite Harinama in Gurukulam, the Aryans conspired to teach Haribhakti(devotion to Hari). Hiranyakashipu introduces in Gurukuls, education with a different idea than Aryan education in his kingdom, completely revolutionary and against the Aryan way of education.

The Aryans, who cannot tolerate this, try to provoke the father and son into a fight. Blinded by belief of the words of enemy “Hari”, Hiranyakashipu’s younger sister “Holika” tries to please her son-in-law Prahlada that he must obey his father. Seeing this, the Aryan king Vishnu pushes Holika into fire, kills her to death, in order to thwart Holika’s attempt to pacify Father and Son. The day of the most brutal murder of a woman in our history is celebrated in the name of a festival.

The time has come to unravel the wounds from the bottom-pit of history, the conspiracies of the descendants of Manusmriti who are burying themselves with us, by lying concocted and irrelevant, nonsensical stories. Children of Manu, are scared and confused and shivering, in hope that their fake reason-less, proof-less stories, do have an end!

Long Live “Holika” Long Live indigenous Martyrs..! Mahatma Phule, Savitri Bai, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Pulan Devi, Rohit Vemula are rewriting history. As we see that the heritage is expanding all over this country, so is the demystification, decrypting the Parasite brain of Manu and his successors. The oncoming scene is clear.

They will hide as many facts, they will recruit as many Babas and Gurus. They will create as many gods, they will create as many festivals, but the truth still remains! To patch up a lie, a new lie is to be told, to cover up the death, a new god is created… They keep lying, and we keep uncovering their lies…

Jai Bhim! Jai Insaan!

[whattheheehaw]

Lately I've seen a lot of discourse on the Zutara fandom about the cultural mashing in the series but am I the only one who feels like it's ok? And yes there are parts of it than need to be criticized but I don't think people are focusing on the important ones. Maybe that's just me who knows?

My opinion on the cultural mashing in Avatar is somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I totally understand why some cultures had to be mashed together. I mean, Avatar takes place in a fictional universe after all, and many times fantasy worlds have certain things based on real-life cultures. But on the other hand, I don’t understand why Mike and Bryan made some specific culture combinations.

I mean, there’s some really small, minute things that kind of feel off for me. For example, I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of basing the Fire Nation off of imperial Japan and imperial China and then having the geography and some cultural aspects of said nation resemble those of Southeast Asian countries. It’s easy to lump the cultures of many nations into one, especially if they’re roughly in the same geographic location. It’s not uncommon to see Japanese, Chinese, and Korean culture lumped together into one giant one, especially since Avatar is a Western cartoon, but it just... feels weird if you think about the broader historical context of this cultural mashing. I’m not saying that it’s ok for people to group different cultures under one giant umbrella, because every culture deserves to be respected on its own. But like, I’m not going to send Mike and Bryan to the electric chair for doing this. Media has a tendency to group certain cultures together, and at this point, I’m a little desensitized by it (which is quite sad if you think about it).

But then there’s the glaringly obvious cultural mashups that don’t make sense. Like, ok, I guess the Sun Warriors are based off of the ancient Maya civilization at least, I think it’s the Maya Empire. It could be Aztec. Or Inca. If someone knows, please enlighten me in Mesoamerica? And I’m just supposed to come to the conclusion that those guys started off with that kind of culture and then developed into pseudo-imperial Japan/imperial China? Yeah, I can’t really wrap my head around it.

And then there’s the Avatar lore itself. It’s just a hot mess. I mean, the basic principles of the four elements being air, water, earth, and fire is from Greek philosophy. If the showrunners really wanted to stick with traditional Chinese elements, they would have used air, water, wood, metal, and fire. So there’s that odd culture combination to think about. And then there’s the whole dragons and phoenixes being a part of the Fire Nation (I’m speculating about the phoenix part solely based on the fact that Ozai thought it was a cool idea). Now, I could see what Bryke and the other show writers were trying to go for by using dragons and phoenixes. Both mythical creatures are featured in Chinese mythology so using them in the show would be a cool nod to Chinese culture, right? WRONG. SO WRONG. IF ANYONE HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY THAT AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER WAS DEVOID OF WHITE INFLUENCE, JUST BRING UP THE DRAGONS. 

I’m just—I get so pissed off when people say “look at the cool Chinese dragons in the show!” because they’re not Chinese dragons. Sure, the designs might be Asian inspired, but even then, that’s partially wrong because those dragons have wings. If you look at dragons from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean mythology, none of those dragons have wings and they don’t breathe fire. But you know what those Eastern dragons are closely related to? They’re usually associated with earth, sea, and sky. They’re typically seen as guardians of these realms. The concept of dragons being monsters and breathing fire developed in the West. When watching Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time, I actually expected the first waterbenders to be dragons living at the bottom of a lake or something. But to my surprise, I found out that the moon and ocean spirits are represented as koi fish, which is...ok I guess? I mean, koi fish are typically shown as a representation of yin and yang/fire and water which works in the context of the show. And there are legends in which koi fish can become dragons, so like... it’s close? I think it would have been really cool if they included some sort of Inuit inspired mythos into the Avatar lore for the waterbenders because their whole aesthetic is based on the Inuit, but I digress. I just don’t like how they cherry-picked some design elements of an Eastern dragon and then decided to put all of these other characteristics on it that originated from the West, especially considering that there is no “West” equivalent in Avatar. Like, unless Maya mythology includes fire-breathing dragons, I don’t understand why the writers decided to make this decision.

And the concept of phoenixes in Avatar: The Last Airbender is somewhat weird too. Yes, they show up in Chinese legends, but to my knowledge, they don’t combust. Nor do they get reborn from their ashes (because they don’t combust). Chinese phoenixes are just... immortal. They’re the king of the birds. They just... live. And they symbolize peace, harmony, good fortune, etc. I think the whole concept of a bird combusting into flames and then resurrecting from their ashes comes from Egypt or Greece. So again, weird culture combo that doesn’t make much sense to me. Also the fact that phoenixes are supposed to be another representation of yin and yang with feng and huang really makes the idea of Ozai choosing the title of “Phoenix King” really amusing. Like, I guess he thinks that he’s the bringer of harmony to the four nations but that’s so funny to me. In some old Chinese legends, phoenixes were paired with dragons to represent yin and yang so in that context, phoenixes are female. So like... I guess Ozai is the leader of the feminist movement lmao. Also Ursa is definitely the dragon in this relationship; no I don’t take criticism.

Again, I want to reiterate that we shouldn’t burn people at the stake for writing their fantasy worlds based on a mix of different cultures. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be allowed to criticize when this happens. I’m grateful that there’s a piece of mainstream Western media that features parts of my Asian culture, even if it isn’t perfect or done in the most tasteful way. But I don’t like it when people just slap a “this show is good because of all this Asian rep” or finish watching the show thinking they know a lot about Asian culture, because this is, in a way, contributing to the mindset that there’s no real distinction between these cultures. They’re all just... Asian.

[ask-fantasy-sanders-sides]

Are there materials in this world that hurt certain races? Like how in folklore iron burns fae? Any that affect the main cast members + Dee and Remus?

Of course there are! I'll go through the ones that effect each of the boys, since those are particularly relevant:

Virgil 

(General notes on some Drow Biology)

His primary weakness is, of course, sunlight. Drow are naturally weaker in sunlight, and it's not just the fact that they can't see: their magic becomes harder to access, and all of their senses become duller, to a certain extent. Virgil is significantly weaker in bright sunlight then in the dark.

Virgil has most of the weaknesses typically ascribed to fae, as well. He wont drop and count every grain if you spill a bag of rice in front of him, but... 

He can’t cross quick-running water

Pure iron hurts him

A circle of pure salt will trap him in place

He CAN lie, but it’s very very hard for him

He’s easily distracted by shiny/reflective things

He feels the pain of creatures and plant life in his general vicinity as if it were his own, ESPECIALLY when it is a creature he is particularly bonded with, like a friend, or literally any spider (they have an innate connection to drow, and vice versa)

He has allergic reactions of varying severity to plants like st. John's wort, four-leaf clovers, rowan, ash, mistletoe, holly, etc.

Names have power. He feels more attached to people who use his name frequently, and giving him commands by name compels him to listen to you (for this reason he does not like sharing his name, but yall didn't really give him a choice on that lmao)

Honey makes him slow and drunken, which is a weakness of all elves. Drow, specifically, are also inhibited by catnip and caffeine

Like Drow have a natural alluring quality to their music, music also has a natural control over them. Music can be used to control, sedate, and distract Drow very easily, and it’s very hard for them to resist the urge to sing and dance.

Certain flowers can often influence elves, including drow. If a daisy or pansy is slipped into an elf’s pocket or somehow worn by them, it usually makes them more trusting/friendly/open. Contact with a peony makes them violent. Contact with a forget-me-not makes them sleepy. And, while they bring good luck for other elves, if a drow is touched with foxglove, they will fall into a deep, unbreakable sleep...

Logan

As half-fae, Logan has some of the weaknesses fae have, but not all of them:

Pure iron irritates him, but won’t burn him.

He has light allergic reactions to the plants I mentioned

the honey and flower things are the same

(The rest that i mentioned in Virgil’s list don’t apply to him)

Patton

As a halfling, he’s not fae enough to experience the weaknesses other fae have. But, Hin do have a unique set of weaknesses all their own:

Generally speaking, aside from a few very specific exceptions, they do not feel fear. This can also be a strength, but fear is typically the impulse that.... keeps you alive? and away from danger? so...

there’s that Cheeese, which has a variant that specifically engineered to control halflings. Mind control drug cheese. its a very messy moment in history for them

Halflings are particularly susceptible to sleeping magic/drugs

Remus and Roman

...being the literal creations of a god/celestial, aasimar aren’t exactly made to have many weaknesses, BUT there are weaknesses that naturally come with Being Celestial

they naturally attract dangerous creatures like moths to a flame

For roman, there is the fact that he cannot break an Oath (Remus does not have this weakness anymore)

All Aasimar have physical tells from their Celestial parent that tag them as an Aasimar, and make it hard to disguise themselves!

Dee

considering he is some sort of human-snake-dragon thing, you dont know what the fuck is going on with him biologically. But, you have seen by now that he has 

relatively poor hearing and eyesight on at least one side, and 

a stiff and painful leg that slows movement down significantly in his humanoid form.

[strawberrysunrisewitches]

Oriana Profile

IDENTITY

Name: Oriana Autumn Althaia Lasair Dartsby

Gender: Female

Birth Date: 13 September

Species: Human

Blood Status: Pureblood

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alignment: Neutral Good

Ethnicity: Greek-Irish

Nationality: Greek-Irish

Residence: Dublin, Ireland

THE MAGE

Wand: Drakon scale 10″ Hazel

Animagus: Wolverine with a rain drop fur marking on stomach

Misc Magical Abilities: N/A

Curse: Curse of Prometheus

Oriana was cursed since birth to burn up from the inside, causing her skin to glow and crack whenever she feel negative emotions like anger, sadness, doubt etc, with each successive ‘attack’ being more volatile until eventually it explodes out of her, killing her unless she can break it for good

Boggart Form: Her curse having overcome her resulting in her turning to ash

Riddikulus Form: Until she breaks her curse she cannot successfully dispel any boggarts, after she does break the curse it will be her friends hugging her

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?) Smoke, charcoal, Creme Brulee, Bananas and cherries

Amortentia: (What do they smell?) Oranges, Apricots, cinnamon, hot chocolate and the sea

Patronus: Sarcosuchus

Patronus Memory: The moment she broke her curse

Mirror of Erised: Herself as an adult with a family

Specialized/Favourite Spells:

Incendio

Aguamenti

Glacius

Aqua Eructo

Protego

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim: Keira Knightley

Height: 6′4

Physique: Curvy

Eye Colour:  Green and Glowing Pink(Sign of her curse)

Hair Colour: Caramel brown

Skin Tone: Peach

Body Modifications: A tattoo of a woman made of a waterfall on her back, a tattoo of a chain of stars on her wrists and a red, orange and blue butterfly with pink flowers on both sides tattoo on the middle of her chest

Scarring: One scar over her left eye, a scar going vertically down her right cheek to her jaw. A jagged scar going the length of both upper arms, Faint crack-like marks going across her whole body

Inventory: (what do they carry on them?) Ice packs, school supplies, eyepatches to cover her glowing eye, multiple water bottles, wand, bandages, handkerchief which is enchanted to look like the night sky

Fashion: Clothing that is made of a magical material that is flame resistant

ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Ilvermorny House: Thunderbird

Affiliations/Organizations:

Hogwarts School of WItchcraft and Wizardry

Dartsby Family

Shields Family

Hufflepuff

Prefects

Professions: DADA Professor at Ilvermorny

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: A

Charms: O

DADA: O

Flying: P

Herbology: O

History of Magic: O

Potions: O

Transfiguration: E

Electives:

Magical Theory: A 

Ancient Runes: A

Music: O

Ancient Studies: E

Quidditch: N/A

Extra Curricular: N/A

RELATIONSHIPS

Siblings:

Brennan Dartsby

Bernice Dartsby

Cillian Dartsby

Daphne Dartsby

Ophelia Dartsby

Father: Blaine Dartsby

Mother: Aretha Dartsby

Love Interest: Marcus Shields

Best Friends: Ninfa Altera

Rival:TBD

Enemy:TBD

Dormmates: (Who’s in your MC’s dorm with them?)

Oliana Arcano

Lithian Stormr

Pets: 

A labrador named Ruby

A beagle named Charlie

Five Beagador puppies named Lila, Stella, Cinnamon, Sasha and Roxy

Closest MC Friends:

Aila Cresswood

Unni Arcano @kathrynalicemc

Oliana Arcano

Merlissia Xenia Aetós @aleksia-aries-hogwartsmystery  

Elyas Drakos

Visenya Stormr

Lithian Stormr

Hirtia Caldwell @cursed-ice-spirits

Isolde Roissinn of Avalon @no-moon-nor-stars​ 

Leander Asterio

Akane Fukui @lgvalenzuela​

Angelique Campbell

Lorilyn

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

Oriana's family many many generations before Oriana’s birth was in a bitter, bloody feud with another pureblood family known as the Phillips, the feud lasted until Oriana’s great great grandmother was born, the end result was the complete eradication of the Phillips family but their victory came at a cost, the last member of the Phillips cursed Oriana’s family so that the youngest child each generation is fated to burn away from the inside

Oriana is the fourth person to have the curse which caused much strife for her and her family, she frequently had curse attacks, by the time she started Hogwarts, the cracks that would eventually go across her whole body were on the entire length of her arms and her chest

When Oriana starts Hogwarts, she laser focuses on the subjects that she believes could help her break the curse to the detriment of most of her other subjects with the exception of Music which was one of the few things she felt she could truly forget about the looming threat of her curse

By the time she graduated Hogwarts the cracks had spread to the rest of her body a sign that she was very close to her death and she needed to break the curse fast.

In a last ditch effort Oriana travelled to America where she met Marcus Shields, a famous curse breaker with the ability to instinctively sense curses in his surroundings, who wanted to help Oriana as she was innocent in the conflict that resulted in the eradication of the Phillips family and so he ‘legally’ gained access to any record of the Phillips family and with the help of the records managed to break Oriana’s curse however her glowing eye stayed.

After her curse was broken, Oriana truly felt free for the first time in her life and she kinda felt lost in life until Marcus suggested she become the DADA professor at Ilvermorny which after quite a bit of considering it decided to go for it and luckily she got the position.

Soon after Oriana started working at Ilvermorny, she asked Marcus out and many years later they were married.

PERSONALITY

Oriana is a very empathetic and excitable person who always tries to make all of friend’s days better to the best of her ability. She can be unintentionally blunt when it comes to debates and arguments which often results in a lot of misunderstandings when she gets involved. She is incredibly defiant of any and all odds set before her no matter what.

MISC

Oriana is a descendant of Queen Maeve on her father’s side who before Hogwarts was founded helped teach young witches and wizards in Ireland

She is also a descendant of Andros the Invincible on her mother’s side

All of her family have extinct animal patronuses since her great great great great grandmother

She is fluent in English, Irish Gaelic and Greek

She knows how to play the violin

Her Tattoos look like this, this and this 

The scar over her eye is from a snallygaster, the one on her jaw is from a time when she tripped while carrying a pair of scissors and the scars on her arms are from a hippogriff 

She has a fear of Snallygasters and an aversion to scissors due to the above incidents

She is very self conscious of all her scars and tries her best to always cover them including the ones on her face

[nessie-rp]

PHOENIX.

The phoenix, in its many forms and with its many names, is a spirit creature of which very little is known to the common person, even in supernatural spheres. Conflicting stories of their origins abound — that they are born when a falling star passes over the birth of only the purest of souls, that they existed before the earth was separated from the sea and will exist long after one reclaims the other, that the dragons breathed life into ash and from those ashes rose the first phoenix, and so on. None but the oldest phoenixes themselves know the truth of their origins, and even then it is rare that a phoenix will experience the memories of their first lives — rarer still for them to share such an intimate reminiscence.

Mythological touch points include: the Greek phoenix, Egyptian benu, East Asian fenghuang/hō-ō, Chinese Vermilion bird, Slavic firebird, Iranian huma and simurgh, Turkic konrul, Arabian anqa, the figure/iconography of Garuda in South/Southeast Asia, Chilean alicanto, Mayan Vucub-Caquix

HISTORY.

Mentions of a winged spiritual being with some mastery over life and death stretch back to 3000 BCE (see: Herodotus’ writings on Heliopolis, the then-capital of prehistoric Egypt). The ancient Egyptians even believed that the gods Atum and Re would occasionally take the form of a benu, a type of phoenix-creature.

This was not the last time a phoenix may have been worshipped as a god. Taking on an aspect of divinity allows for more influence over the moral leadership of a society, which is a phoenix’s ultimate goal.

It is said that phoenixes show themselves to mankind at important moments in history, but their reclusiveness in recent centuries has made such sightings scarce.

IN LYONESSE.

The phoenixes have no official position on the Hallowed Council, preferring to keep to themselves and work outside of politics. Their presence has been felt in Lyonesse for at least five hundred years, though it's likely they've been in and out of the city since shortly after its founding.

FACTS.

A common symbol of life, death, and rebirth, phoenixes are linked inextricably to this cycle. only under strict and often fatal conditions do they break it. They are among the most powerful, ancient, and secretive species of the supernatural world.

All phoenixes typically find a moral purpose to serve in their early lives, some kind of mission, and attempt to serve that purpose in all their subsequent lives. It is unknown whether phoenixes are compelled to choose a cause due to their nature or if their attempts to shepherd the mortal world come from a dictate of the first community of phoenixes. Many simply continue the cycle both because it has been so as long as the world can remember and as a way of coping with endless resurrection.

General characteristics of phoenixes include:

Reincarnation and pseudo-immortality.

While they are essentially the same being in each of their lives, the "mortal" lives that phoenixes live before awakenings affect their personalities, interpretations of the world, memories, and sense of purpose so they remain highly mutable beings. Phoenixes may not always take the same form in each of their incarnations. It’s common to find a phoenix that strongly resembles or evokes one of their past forms, but much more difficult for them to preserve their physical appearance exactly from life to life.

Phoenix births are extremely rare, as they can only be born from the union of two phoenixes.

Phoenixes age at a normal rate in each of their lives until the point at which their past lives reassert themselves, at which time aging slows or stops completely. They then then experience extended lifetimes of between 90 and 200 years, but remain mortal.

When phoenixes "die," their last breath is one of fire. Their mortal shells are consumed and their immortal soul, the firebird, seeks a suitable host to birth their next incarnation through a process of metempsychosis.

Absolutely adore sunlight.

Skeptical of reptilian creatures, including dragons.

Quite fond of greenery, very good at caring for plant life.

AWAKENING & AVIAN FORM.

Phoenixes reach a point in each life where their memories of their past lives resurface violently — this is the point at which phoenixes are the most vulnerable, as they experience breaks between reality and their memoryscapes and their other powers slowly reawaken. After their awakening, they have access to their avian form. These feathered creatures seem to be made of flame and plasma, though they are solid and interact as a normal living being would with the world. The fire of this form will only burn if that is the intention of the phoenix. Seeing a phoenix in their avian form can sometimes be interpreted as an omen of death.

When in this form, a phoenix leaves its human, corporeal, and mortal body behind, leaving itself vulnerable to attack as the absence of the spirit in the body would prevent them from acting to defend themselves. The bird rises from the body and can move without a tether; should the body die the avian form will not also be extinguished. This form is incredibly fast and strong, and has some control over natural energies, including heat, magic, and electricity.

ABILITIES.

ENERGY MANIPULATION. Even in their human forms, phoenixes have the power to control energy in various states, mainly through pyrokinesis, thermokinesis, and electrokinesis. Though phoenixes are not prone to using these abilities offensively, they can prove extremely powerful in a confrontation and are not to be underestimated. This ability is innate, but does not manifest until after the awakening in each life.

HEALING. Their tears have immense healing properties and are extremely sought after by magical healers. They also have innate touch-healing magicks, but the most potent healing ability comes from their tears. These healing abilities do not apply to their own injuries/ailments.

MEMORIES. Occasionally, when a phoenix encounters the same situations in different lifetimes, they'll get a very strong deja vu type feeling that may trigger flashes of that situation happening in the past and, occasionally, in the future. It is the only known instance of phoenix clairvoyance.

IMMUNITIES. Phoenixes are completely fireproof and impervious to mind-reading and glamours. They are also much more resistant to human diseases.

WEAKNESSES.

MORTALITY. A phoenix can be brought to a true death by another phoenix or if they die while submerged in water. The killing of a phoenix marks the murderer for the rest of their lives and beyond. Other deaths can come about by any means, but they will always trigger the rebirth as long as the fatal injury/sickness/etc. is persistent enough to overcome their healing abilities. Magical practitioners have tried to interfere with the life cycles of the phoenix before to catastrophic consequence.

MAGIC. They are highly susceptible to witchcraft in their humanoid forms. Phoenixes who are cursed in one life may carry the curse to their next life, depending on the strength and conditions of the curse (i.e. if the witch was trying to kill the phoenix, the curse would not continue past that first death). They have no way of knowing that they are cursed until their memories reassert themselves with the awakening.

CONTAINMENT. Their avian forms can be caged or held prisoner if confined within/with metal forged in either phoenix or dragon fire. The latter is much more common than the former, though still uncommon. If the avian form is kept away from the mortal body for too long, the mortal body will die but the creature will continue to exist, in a limbo of sorts within their reincarnation cycle until they are freed from the cage and able to seek out a new host.

DARK PHOENIXES.

Those phoenixes who fail to find a purpose, who do not make a positive change in the world, or who are more self-centered than selfless are said to have gone “dark.” Committing an act of true evil will also sully a phoenix, i.e. killing another phoenix, sexual assault, murder of an innocent, etc.

SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Burning contaminated firewood will result in atypical flame colors; similarly, the impurities in a dark phoenix's soul will be displayed in their avian forms as their coats will be striped with uncommon colors such as green, blue, and white.

Dark phoenixes undergo much harsher awakenings than their purer counterparts. Their memories are often much more intense and violent, therefore much more difficult to manage reliving. They are considerably weakened by their first few transitions into the avian form and may even be unable to access this form for a considerable amount of time after regaining their memories.

Dark phoenixes are volatile and very powerful, burning hotter than their counterparts in their avian forms. However, this means that they tend to have shorter lifespans because they “burn themselves out,” so to speak.

ORGANIZATION & SOCIETY.

Phoenixes do not tend to congregate or have any kind of species-wide organization. Due to their rarity, natural secrecy, and the unpredictable nature of their awakening, they are usually solitary.

Though they do not have a typical family structure but, on occasion, they can be mated to a member of another species and absorbed into their own group structure. If this is the case, they tend to gain more sociability and become less guarded because they have the added protection of a mate.

They strictly forbid writing down direct accounts of their lives, though there is no organization charged with enforcing this. Many suspect certain phoenixes have made this their moral duty, so as to preserve the balance, but no records of such a person/group exist, perhaps because they do their work efficiently.

INTERSPECIES RELATIONS.

Many phoenixes keep their identities secret from the world, masquerading as humans or witches. Reclusive by nature, the only species they generally mistrust are dragonkind.

Their feathers retain magical energies if removed, but it is considered bad luck to trade in phoenix feathers, no matter how powerful they can be for witches. Some groups consider them sacred. Phoenixes shed feathers naturally when in their avian form for long stretches.

To vampires, their blood tastes like ash and they smell faintly of burning carbon. However, it is a little-known fact that drinking the blood of a phoenix allows vampires to walk in the sun for a short period of time without facing any of its ill-effects.

MYTHS.

These things do not apply:

They have only an avian form. Through magic, they can access this bestial form, but they are born with human forms and the magical ability to flit between forms.

They rise from ashes. Would be cool.

Bathing in the blood of a phoenix can reverse the aging process. As yet uncomfired but likely untrue.