#spirit possession

[shootingstarwritings]

Body Surfing Lesson

“’Body surfing,’ is an important skill to learn as fledgling body possessors,” Gerald spoke to the hidden camera, putting on his teacher persona as best he could considering the ciscumstances. “Normally, it takes a lot of mana for us to take over other people, but the body surfing technique involves taking over multiple people over the course of a single day, using their own mana as a sort of ‘surfboard,’ to ride the waves of mana that flow inside of us all.” He inwardly cringed as he spoke, his current body very clearly unfitting for his lesson.

Gerald had no idea who had come up with such awful terminology, but it was far too late to change that. The small yet tight-knit community the possessors in the area had formed needed to have a sense of unity. Too much innocent blood had been shed for shame to hold Gerald back. ‘Far too many of you have been lost for me to get cold feet now,’ he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, he continued his explanation for the future viewers.

“I’ve already spent quite a lot of my own mana to possess this young man,” Gerald forced his host to say. What was his name again…? He focused, face visibly tightening before his eyes widened in realization. “Jerry! Huh, it’s so close to my name.” He winced and made a mental note to himself to delete that part of the video. “It was difficult, y’know,” he said, pacing around in Jerry’s underwear with very little shame. He couldn’t help but strut, already enjoying the tight muscle in this youthful form. “I had to float into his cute little butt to take him over.”

Gerald grinned and slapped Jerry’s butt, enjoying the slight jiggling. He thought back earlier today as he launched into a story of how he had taken Jerry over for his class.

Gerald’s misty form had crawled through the apartment building’s pipes, searching for a nice and hot host that would catch people’s eyes while he tried to educate them. Then, he found Jerry exiting the shower and clad in just a pair of new-age briefs. Gerald stared at it in confusion, unsure if this is really what the young ones were really wearing. ‘Am I getting old?’ Gerald had briefly mused before launching himself towards Jerry’s ass.

“AH! Woah, ahhh…!” Jerry collapsed on his stomach, ass facing the ceiling as Gerald’s essence took him over. “Ah, pl-please… help…!” gasped Jerry, his hips thrusting on their own as he lost consciousness.

“Mmm, nice…” Gerald muttered as he sat up. He rubbed his stomach and then his bare, youthful legs. “It’s been a while since I was someone so young. And so hairless,” he chuckled.

“And that’s what happened,” he finished for his class. “It was lucky that this young man enjoys filming so much. Now I’ve got a nice and high-quality camera for this lesson rather than some janky phone.” It truly had been serendipity for him. Gerald giggled as he sat cross-legged in front of the camera, enjoying just how his borrowed form felt so exposed and yet so confident in his near-nudity. “So, I’ve got a dilemma. I want to move on and yet I’m pretty much exhausted my mana supplies—the essence of the soul. Say I even got into the trouble and I have to evacuate for whatever reason. What could I do in this situation?”

Gerald waited a quick second before continuing, “If you don’t know, that’s fine. This technique’s quite advanced. Not even some of our more veteran community members have even mastered it. Yours truly, however,” Gerald paused to place a hand on his chest, making sure to lightly tweak a nipple, “is well-versed enough in the arts to enlighten you.”

It wasn’t a secret nor difficult to figure out the theoretical part, but it was a challenge to divert the flow of energy instead of letting it be lost to entropy. It was similar to having a rush of anger and trying to convert the energy of that anger to something productive. In other words, it was turning anger to passion, turning sadness to compassion, and turning joy to kindness. The emotion behind it was just as important, if not more so, than the actual intention. 

‘Easier said than done,’ Gerald thought. ‘Honestly, I’d have to do a one-on-one with all of these new possessors for them to even get proficient at it. However, just imparting the knowledge would be enough… for now, at least.’

“Now, I have invited my host’s friend to come over soon. Before he arrives, I’m going to start masturbating my host’s body and preparing my mana.” One of the ways that mana flowed was through bodily fluids, with semen being one of the most potent ones. The emotions surrounding a climax allows a large flow of magic to surge through and even be present in the semen that one shoots at that moment of peak pleasure. “I won’t use my own mana,” summarized Gerald, “but instead use this young man’s mana from his own climax to possess his friend, Mike.”

Gerald was about to continue, but bit his lower lip as he heard the faintest knock from the front door. Then, Mike’s voice called out to be let in.

Grinning, Gerald placed a finger to his lips and winked at the camera. “Let the show begin.” It wasn’t difficult to begin jacking off in this youth’s body. Even stroke felt like a lightning strike and even gasp was just fuel to Gerald’s fiery lust--now reborn in this young vessel… for the time.

“C-C’mon in,” Gerald forced Jerry to say. He had left the apartment’s front door unlocked on purpose. With any luck, Mike would get curious and explore the lustful noises straight to Jerry’s room. “Door’s unlocked.” Everything was falling into place. Gerald had seen a few pictures of Mike. He was a cute ginger with a good body that used to play hockey in high school. Though his sports days were behind him, Mike still regularly went to the gym to keep a nice form. “Mmm…!” The thought of taking over another young hunk, one with fiery curly hair that was so much like his own during his teenage years, almost made Gerald cum on the spot.

“Hurry up…!” Gerald hissed. Just how much more did his thick cock need to finally cum. It was such a tease--to be on the verge of cumming but not getting there quite yet. “You stupid fucking himbo, fucking cum already!” Although he was on the verge of running out of time, Gerald couldn’t help but find the verbal abuse arousing as well. “Cum for me, boy. Lemme feel that stallion cock of yours burst all over your hairless, himbo body…”

“Jerry? That you? What’re you doing…?” Gerald could hear Mike’s approaching footfalls, and that only made the whole situation more erotic. Before losing his body, Mike would see his best friend cum all over himself like a shameless exhibitionist. And then, Gerald would do the same thing to Mike. Forget the class or keeping the peace, Gerald could only think of hopping between men and turning each of them into cum-obsessed cocksuckers.

“Hrrngh! Oh god…!” 

Yes… it was approaching. All Gerald needed to really turn this body on as he cranked the cock was a bit of foreplay. His core was beginning to tense, and he could feel himself rush past the point of no return.

Right at the precise moment, the door opened. “Jerry, what the fuck?!” Mike cried out as he saw his best friend beating his meat without a lick of shame.

Grining, Gerald forced Jerry to shout, “I’m fucking cumming…!” as torrents of cum shot high into the air in Mike’s direction.

‘Now, give me your body, boy.’

Riding that climatic wave, Gerald used the large pool mana that Jerry’s young body was shooting to propel his soul forward. Even though all of his own energy was spent, he felt rejuvenated, as though he was 20 years younger, as Jerry came. However, just like a normal wave crashing into the sea, it would not last forever. The energy could not be stored, only spent in that very moment; but that small burst in power was all Gerald needed as he dove into Mike’s body.

“Oomph!” Mike huffed as the force of Gerald diving into his body was enough to knock him off balance. He fell backwards and hit the ground, body convulsing as an invisible, unknowable force began to take him over. “Wh-What the fuck…?!” was all he could say as a cold and numb sensation spread from the tips of his fingers and toes into his core. “H-Help… ohh… please don’t…” Mike reached a trembling arm towards the doorknob, his fingers twitching as they tried to find anything to grab onto.

By the time Mike’s fingers gripped the brass knob, Gerald was already in control. “Mmm… delicious.” Something that Gerald noticed from certain bodies was that they somehow had some kind of spiritual ‘flavor.’ Mike reminded him of strawberries in a shortcake somehow. He licked his lips and chuckled at the light bristle of Mike’s bushy and manly beard. “Trying to be a real man, boy?”

Gerald forced Mike to sit up and then lie on his stomach. “Just a young man trying to be a big boy,” he chuckled as he positioned Mike’s ass high in the air, wiggling his hips the whole time. “But then a real man like Gerald took over my body. All with my best friend’s spunk as a springboard. God, what kinda friend--what kinda man--am I for letting that happen?”

A horrible idea suddenly crossed Gerald’s mind. Crawling back into Jerry’s room, Gerald opened Mike’s mouth and began to suck the remaining cum off of Jerry’s still twitching cock. “God, Mike, you’re so virile. I’m so glad you’re this cumslut’s friend,” said Gerald. Then he realized that he was still supposed to be explaining a lesson. 

Grabbing the camera, Gerald focused it on Mike’s face and began to speak. “Well, did you see that? I was all out of mana, but masturbating with a man’s other body, I was able to use his energy to possess this hunk of meat.” To illustrate his point, Gerald stripped most of Mike’s clothes until he was down to his boxer briefs. “See? And--” he stopped as he heard the front door open.

“Jerry? You home? What’d I tell you about leaving the front door unlocked?”

Jerry’s father. A tall and broad-shouldered man that, from what Gerald could tell from Jerry’s memory, wasn’t particularly fond of Mike due to his… ‘lifestyle.’ Was it due to something repressed? Mike certainly seemed to think so, but Gerald couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. Taking a look around and seeing the scene before him, Gerald began to internally panic--twisting Mike’s generally nonchalant expression into a stressed grimace.

‘Shit. His son’s unconscious, covered in cum,  and his best friend’s stripped down to his underwear.  If I saw this scene I’d think Mike was trying to date-rape my son! Don’t think I’ll be able to simply laugh off this little excursion. But… the only way to get out of this would be…’

Gerald had never attempted a double possession, with or without an explosive orgasm catapult. Was it a good thing that the camera was still recording? He wasn’t sure anymore. To be frank, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Loud, boisterous footfalls continued to ring in his ears.

Even in times of danger, Gerald knew he could rely on his libido to get him out. Throwing Mike’s underwear away, no longer caring about maintaining any sense of professionalism, Gerald got to work. Using what was left of Jerry’s cum as makeshift lube, he began to explore Mike’s tasty body with horned-up haste.

“The hell’s that, Jerry? Got a girl over?” Jerry’s father called out again. Gerald couldn’t help but giggle in-betweens his moans. If only he knew.

Mike’s gruff voice contrasted so wonderfully with his high-pitched and needy groans. His back arched and his toes curled as Gerald continued to beat his dick. The other hand freely explored the nice pelt of orange hair that coated Mike’s body.

‘What I wouldn’t give to just have a day with this guy,’ thought Gerald. A few tweeks of the nipples and he could already feel an orgasm building up. Just a few more minute and vigorous strokes and he’d be home free. “C’mon, cum for me…! Just a bit more.”

Jerry’s door flew open for the second time that day, and this time Jerry’s father roared in horror at the scene before him. “MIKE! What the fuck are you doing?! Jerry?!”

‘An audience,’ Gerald thought, smirking at the older man. ‘And not a bad looker either.’

“Hey, daddy-o,” Gerald forced Mike to say. He thrust into his grip, gyrating his hips as though to show off what his body could do to Jerry’s father. “Like the show? Have a seat, I can do so much for you if you want. I don’t mind some audience participation.” To emphasize his own point, Gerald raised a hand with a bit of pre-cum and slowly licked it off--savoring the sweet flavor.

Jerry’s father, mouth slightly agape and expression somewhere between horror and arousal, just stared at Gerald abusing Mike’s body. “Y-You’re sick,” he finally said, eyes glued to Mike’s swinging cock as it twitched. “What did you do to Jerry…?”

“Same thing I’m gonna do to you, daddy!” Gerald cried out in glee as Mike’s abused cock shot the first few rounds of semen. He bit his bottom lip, moans just barely muffled, as Mike’s hips naturally thrust with each shot. As the orgasm reached its end, Mike’s body began to tremble and grow limp as Gerald shot himself out. He rushed through the air and quickly dove right into Jerry’s father through his large chest.

“Hurugh! Ohh, what the fuck…?!” Unlike Mike, Jerry’s father remained standing even after Gerald dive bombed into his chest. However, despite his stronger will, he was unable to stop the tidal wave that crashed over his body. His broad arms gripped the door frame for support as his knees bent from the pressure. 

The invasive presence washed over him, filling him up slowly. It wasn’t unlike the first time his ex-wife had pegged him. The fear that came from being filled for the first time was matched only by the pleasure that followed. Just the thought of that night made his cargo shorts tighten. He knew that he should’ve been afraid and even outraged, but his body betrayed him in favor of the invasive presence. “M-More, please fuck me more…!” he whispered as his grip on the door frame tightened. Sweat dripped from his body as his soul let the tides carry him to a blissful and erotic rest.

“And that class,” Gerald forced his host to say, “is how you use your host to your advantage. Now, this is a more advanced technique, so don’t worry if you find it tricky at first.” Bill, Jerry’s father, was far more comfortable to Gerald than Jerry or Mike. The beefy look and authoritative voice also helped Gerald really get into the persona of a professor. It was like putting on a custom before getting into character. “But, as you can see from my improvised lesson plan, it’s possible to even chain multiple possessions in just one day! Really beats having to wait for the refractory period to end, huh?” He chuckled in Bill’s deep baritone, hands on his stomach as he felt Bill’s stolen body jiggle and quake with life. This was more like it.

And with the lesson done, Gerald now had plenty of time on his own to get familiar with Bill. Maybe Jerry and Mike would like to get involved as well…

[captainmalewriter]

Legend of the White Fox

Long ago, there was a time in humanity’s history where love had no labels. People were free to love whoever their hearts desired. It was arguably a happier time where love knew no gender. But alas, those peaceful times were short lived. There were a few who opposed free love, and went to violent extremes to restrict human sexuality. It was a massacre that showed the dark side of humanity on full display. The fresh snow in one of the affected regions captured all of the blood shed that night, creating an ugly mixture of reds and whites. Among the victims of the genocide was a man by the name of Iaro. Iaro was love personified for his love for life knew no bounds. Iaro had an animal companion that lived alongside him. It was a white fox by the name of Nivalis. Nivalis had a beautiful coat of fur that resembled the first snows of winter. It is said that in his final moments, as he held his lover for the final time, he issued a command to Nivalis:

Live on, Nivalis! Go forth and protect the innocent lovers from the hateful hands of our oppressors! Show them that we will not die no matter what violent means they may take!!

While Iaro died with the rest of his people, Nivalis fled. It is said that Iaro’s wish granted Nivalis the power to live on as a benevolent spirit to protect the pure hearted in times of need. This is the Legend of the White Fox!!

***

Alec was gasping for breath as he ran through the streets of the big city. The cold night air made controlling his breathing hard. But despite his growing exhaustion, all he could focus on was the sound of police sirens right behind him. The blaring sirens motivated him to run as fast as he physically could. He turned into a narrow alleyway and took a moment to rest.

“Shit man… this wasn’t supposed to happen…” Alec thought to himself as he tried catching his breath. Going from kissing the man of his dreams to running away from the police all within 10 minutes made his head spin.

It was supposed to be the perfect night. Alec had been looking forward to a date with his crush Ivan for weeks now. He thought he would never find a love that would bring him genuine joy, especially after growing up in the streets by himself after getting kicked out for being gay. But for a brief moment, while the two men kissed under a streetlight, Alec almost believed he had found the fairytale romance he had always dreamed of. But then the dream came crashing down when a nearby bigot began shouting slurs and other obscenities at the couple. Words quickly turned into fists as the angry man would not stop harassing them. Fortunately, Alec was able to subdue his attacker with a nearby iron pipe. Unfortunately, the police officer who happened to be passing by only saw Alec hitting a man square in the jaw with a weapon. Although Ivan tried to explain that Alec did it in self defense, the cop took the bigot’s side anyway. Alec knew he was fighting a losing battle and fled from the scene, leaving Ivan behind.

"WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

Alec heard one of the police officers shouting. They caught up to him quicker than he expected. Alec drew in one more quick breath and began running again.

"RESISTING ARREST WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE FOR YOU!!"

Alec ignored everything else and focused his mind on running through the labyrinth of alleyways. But while Alec was able to evade the cops for a good while, he was running out of steam. He slowed down to a jog, and then to a brisk walk as his sides started to cramp. He then kneeled over at the end of a moonlit alley, exhausted and in pain. His heartbeat was racing as he heard the officers closing in on him. Alec's eyes began watering up as he lifted his face to the starry night sky and whispered a prayer.

He basked in the light of the full moon, and as he did so, he thought he saw what looked like a white fox sitting on a nearby rooftop. Alec made eye contact with the fox, causing his once dark brown eyes to shine a brilliant hazel. But then he blinked, and the fox seemingly disappeared.

During the split second Alec saw the fox, he felt his panicked mind calm down as a cool wave rolled throughout his body. The cool soothed his agitated body. Alec closed his eyes and took deep breaths to steady himself again.

Meanwhile, while Alec was recovering, three policemen were about to corner him. They were only one short walk away from his location. The police men readied their weapons for a quick arrest, but just before they could turn the corner, a white fox had jumped out and ran past them with lightning speed. The fox had caught them off guard, so much so that they failed to notice the giant cloud of sparkling mist that was following the furry animal. 

The sparkling mist surrounded the police men within seconds. It was thick and obscured the officers’ vision. They tried to air it out by waving their arms but it was no use. The mist only grew larger until it began entering the policemen through their mouths. Loud gasps filled the air as each police man was getting filled to the brim with mist. Their eyes rolled to the back of their heads and their bodies began to compulse and bloat with each inhale of mist they took. The mist had overtaken their bodies once they inhaled it all. The mist made moving their bodies difficult. The best they could do now was shiver violently due to how full their bodies had become. But after nearly a full minute of shivering, each police officer began to moan obscenely loud. The mist was exiting their bodies through their dicks, causing each man to orgasm during the process. Wet spots began to form in their uniforms as each man shot out his load. The mist had drained the men dry of cum by the time it evaporated. The police men then collapsed onto the floor in the fetal position, desperate to warm up their bodies after the cold mist had invaded their bodies.

Alec had fully recovered by the time the mist had subdued the cops. He sat there for a long while, mentally preparing himself to get arrested. But when he noticed that wasn't happening, he peeked his head around the corner and gasped when he saw the three officers on the ground. He could hear their teeth chattering even from far away. Alec had no idea what could have happened to them, but he took his opportunity and ran off.

He made it home scot free that night. Alec’s heart was still racing just thinking about how he somehow got away from the police. He sat in his bed as he processed everything he experienced. Alec then took out his phone and sent an apology text to Ivan for leaving him behind. He hit send, and saw it was nearly 2AM. Seeing the time made the physical exhaustion hit him like a truck. Even though he had numerous questions about what had happened, he was too tired to go looking for answers. He got ready for bed and knocked out asleep.

Though unfortunately for Alec, while falling asleep was easy, staying asleep was a challenge. Alec felt his body temperature rapidly change throughout the night. Swinging between blistering hot and mind-numbingly cold kept Alec awake. As a result, Alec thought he was catching a cold and took some medicine to help alleviate his symptoms. But all the drugs did was contribute to the fever dreams Alec had in the short bursts of sleep he did get.

Alec kept dreaming that he was somewhere in the middle of some snowy landscape somewhere in the mountains. The sky was grey as snow fell steadily to the ground. It was during this snowy dream that Alec kept getting visions of some muscular man flexing right in front of him.

He had a clear, front row view of the man. Alec could hardly believe what he was seeing in his dreams. He watched in admiration as the man continued showing off his toned body. The man was young, muscular, clean-shaven, and handsome. To say he was hot was an understatement! Alec was having the time of his life in his dreams.

But, despite how easy the man was on his eyes, Alec couldn't shake off a nagging feeling he was getting in the back of his head. Something about the dream was undeniably off. He acknowledged how hot the man was, but Alec couldn't help but notice that he had never seen the man before in his life. No matter how hard Alec searched through his memories, he couldn't think of a single person who evenly remotely resembled the man. Yet, despite that, here the man was in his dreams. Somehow, Alec's mind was able to conjure a very detailed vision of this jock in his dreams.

"Who are you...?"

Alec thought to himself. He noticed that the man stopped flexing when he had that thought. It was as if the man had heard him ask that question. The man turned to face him and smirked. He then approached him with a smooth step to his walk.

"Welcome to the Snowscape, Alec. My name is Iaro," the man spoke in a foreign language. Alec could hear subtle undertones of Spanish mixed in Iaro's language. But despite his unfamiliarity with the dialect, Alec could understand the man perfectly as though he were already fluent.

"Don't worry, my brother, you're safe here in the cold. My friend Nivalis heard your cry for help, and because you live with a pure heart, she decided to bring you here to this sanctuary. Where I can grant you strength..."

The snow falling around them began getting heavier. The wind picked up too. Alec had to really focus to catch what Iaro was saying now. But it was no use, Alec could barely hear him.

Iaro paused when he noticed the disconnect. He gave a soft smile. It was a kind smile, one that put Alec at ease when he saw it. Iaro then proceeded to take off his robes. Alec was shocked that he would do that in the middle of a snow storm. He quickly averted his eyes before he saw him in the nude. The snow was getting heavier and heavier. The last thing Alec saw was Iaro's nude form, along with the words:

I will make you in my image, my brother, so long as you're ready...

Alec's vision went to white, and he blacked out.

***

Alec woke up the next morning confused and cold. Blisteringly cold. He never particularly enjoyed the cold. That was why he had all the windows shut tight and several cheap space heaters spread out throughout his apartment during the winter time. But despite his best efforts, he was still freezing. He curled up into a ball underneath several blankets. His teeth were chattering as he tried to warm up. Thankfully he started to feel the warmth after several minutes of being buried underneath his heavy blankets.

As he laid in bed, Alec thought back to the dream he was having. The dream was locked firmly into his memory. He could still vividly remember how realistic the snowfall felt on his skin too. It was as if he had teleported to some snowy mountaintop in his sleep! Even the man- someone who Alec had never met before, felt so lifelike.

"Iaro... Nivalis..." Alec whispered their names to himself. Now that he had a calm state of mind, something about their names felt oddly familiar.

"Iaro... Nivalis... Iaro... Nivalis..."

The more Alec said their names, the more he couldn't deny that he heard that combination of names somewhere before. With curiosity piqued, Alec rose from his bed with a blanket thrown over his shoulders. He walked over to his nightstand and took his phone off its charger. Ivan had responded, and he reassured Alec that everything was alright. The police had taken him in for questioning but it was brief and he got home without any physical injuries. Alec sighed with relief. He sent a quick reply with a heart emoji, then proceeded to open an internet browser tab while throwing himself back into bed.

He typed the two names into the search tab and hit enter. It took him some searching but he eventually found something about them. Apparently, Iaro and Nivalis were part of an old Latino folklore tale about a white fox. Alec read an archived version of the story, and soon felt his dormant memories of his late abuelita spring back to life. She was an incredibly talented storyteller by nature, and Alec loved hearing her stories by the fireside as a kid. Those were the good days...

Alec shook his head and returned to the present moment. He laid back in bed and let out a sigh of amazement. Alec could remember wanting his abuelita's stories to come true as a kid. But as he grew older and more jaded, his childish belief in the extraordinary died out. To think he would actually meet one of the folklore characters seemed like a fantasy come true. It filled Alec with glee just thinking about it.

As Alec took it all in, he remembered Iaro's last words before he woke up. He rolled over in bed, thinking about what Iaro could've meant. Alec had no idea what Iaro had in store for him, but whatever it was, Alec was sure he was ready for it.

In the days that followed, Alec tried his best to revisit the Snowscape he had dreamed about that night. But the Snowscape turned out to be more elusive than Alec thought. Several days passed by with no results. Alec was even becoming mentally fatigued due to oversleeping! But despite his failures, Alec was determined not to give up.

Upon rereading the Legend of the White Fox for the umpteenth time, an idea finally struck him. After reflecting on everything that he had seen and experienced since first spotting a white fox under the moonlight, Alec deduced that snow would be key in returning to the Snowscape. Alec hurried in checking the weather report, but was quickly met with disappointment when he saw that there was zero chance of snow for the foreseeable future. But even without snowfall, it was going to be extremely cold for the next few nights.

With that knowledge in mind, Alec prepared himself for bedtime that night. He turned off all of his space heaters, removed all of his blankets from his bed, opened all the windows, and stripped down naked. As Alec stood by his bed bare ass naked, he wondered if he was really going to risk hypothermia for a mythical figure he barely knew. In that moment of doubt, Iaro's words rang in his head again. With his determination renewed, Alec laid down in bed and braced himself for a very cold night. Within minutes he was shivering like crazy, but he forced himself to go to sleep through sheer willpower. It took him a long time to fall asleep under such harsh conditions, but he eventually did it. He went to sleep, and was immediately greeted by Iaro in his dreams.

"Welcome back, Comrade. I was worried we weren't going to see you again."

Iaro smiled as he approached Alec, who was laying down on the snow, now only dressed in a thin white robe. Alec returned his smile, and tried to get up to properly greet him. But he hadn't realized how heavy his body had become. Every time he tried to get up, he found he couldn't even lift an arm or a leg up from the snow. He struggled and struggled until he felt a soft hand gently caress his cheek.

"Don't worry, my friend, everything will be alright. Take a deep breath and relax your body. Surrender yourself to the snow all around us."

Alec swallowed his breath and did as Iaro had instructed him. Even though he could hardly move his body, Alec couldn't help but feel at ease. He watched as countless snowflakes fell down and landed on his exposed skin. He could feel their cool seep into his skin as they melted on him. Even though it was cold, Alec suddenly didn't mind it. It was as if Snowscape was his long lost second home, and he had just returned.

"Good," Iaro smiled. "Now we can begin. I will grant you power; it will protect you in times of danger. But power like this cannot be granted to just anyone..." Iaro leaned down to Alec's ear and whispered. "Do you swear to live an honest life and be kind to others, regardless of how much power you receive? To continue living with a heart as pure as the first snows of winter?"

A cold chill ran down Alec's spine as Iaro whispered into his ear. He gulped, then nodded his head vigorously.

"Excellent! Though with a heart like yours, this is hardly a surprise."

Iaro then stood back up and took a step away from Alec. As he did so, chunks of snow began to swirl up. They swirled and whirled until they formed three human-like figures. Iaro took a deep breath and exhaled his frosty breath in their direction, causing the snowmen to transform into policemen- the same police that had chased Alec down some time ago. The mere sight of them caused Alec's heartbeat to rise.

"These are the bigoted police men that hunted you down before Nivalis subdued them, yes? Don't worry, these men are only mirages I conjured up with ice and snow. They cannot hurt you here, but they will give to you all of their combined masculine energy. It may hurt a bit, but you'll be a new man by the time it's done. Are you ready?"

Alec nodded. Iaro then waved his hand at the three men, and they proceeded to gather around Alec. Alec watched from the ground as the three men towered over him. A gasp escaped his mouth as he watched the three men strip down from their police uniforms and into the nude. The men then began a circle jerk, with each man stroking their cock until they were fully erect.

Each man had a different dick, but in Alec's eyes, they were all beautiful. One man had a long, clean shaven dick with veins running all around the shaft. Another man had a shorter dick, but what it lacked it in length it more than made up for in girth. That cock was a heavy hitter, and it perfectly matched the bull of a police man it was attached to. The third man had a fairly average dick in terms of size, but it was the other details that turned Alec on. That dick had a heavy set of low hanging balls that dangled as its owner jerked off. It also had a thick bush of curly, black hair with a pink dick head that completed the look. And, as if that wasn't enough, Alec could smell the potent musk of each man's junk as they circle jerked in front of him. Alec took a deep whiff of their dank manhood, and he could feel himself getting warmer inside from how aroused he had become.

After several minutes, the three men picked up the speed of their jerking off. Deep toned grunts and groans filled the air as they did so. Alec noticed one of the men's dicks was starting to twitch, and he was soon followed by the other two men. Alec had no idea how he was supposed to receive whatever power Iaro was talking about, but if it meant he was about to receive a couple of loads, he was more than happy to oblige. Alec was more than ready to get cummed on, only to get caught off guard when that didn't happen.

The three men stood there groaning as they all climaxed at the same time. But instead of shooting out their loads of liquid spunk, they shot out their loads in the form of milky white mist. It was the same kind of glittering mist that had subdued the real police men back then. Their cocks were pulsating and their nut sacks were bouncing ferociously as more and more of the mist came pouring out of their throbbing members. Alec was shocked at the sight, though he was still unable to move. All he could do was watch from where he laid.

All of the mist congealed into one massive cloud of cum. It was the size of a walrus! But that didn't stop the cloud from entering its target. The white mist swirled round and round as it began its descent into Alec's body. The mist forced Alec's mouth to stay wide open while it filled him up, transforming his body as it did so. But even though the cloud was starting to shrink because it was possessing Alec, the three men never stopped stroking their still rock hard cocks. They were determined to keep going until their balls were completely drained.

As for Alec, the changes started with his chest. He could feel his body physically changing to accommodate all the magical mist inside of him. His pectoral muscles were tearing and recovering rapidly until he had a nice set of bulging, beefy pecs to call his own. A cold wave rolled throughout his chest to help ease the transformation pain. The cool made his sensitive nipples tingle, causing Alec to moan loudly. By the time the mist was done, Alec had obscenely huge tits that would put any man or woman to shame.

Alec gagged as the cloud of mist continued to fill up his body. He could taste the three men's tangy cum in his mouth while the mist was pouring itself down his throat. It was slightly overwhelming, but the sweet taste of cum kept Alec begging for more.

Once the mist filled out his chest, it continued moving throughout his body. Next, came Alec's arms. Alec could feel the cold reach his fingertips as the mist slithered down his limbs. His arms steadily grew in size while also staying toned in muscle definition. The veins started bulging out too, adding to the bodybuilder look the mist was giving Alec. Soon enough, Alec had cannons for arms with biceps the size of melons and with broad shoulders to complete the look.

The mist then moved through and down Alec's torso. Alec had to suppress a laugh as he felt the cold move past his midsection. The mist froze any body fat he had in the stomach region. His abs popped out one by one until he had a perfect set of washboard abs. But the body transformation didn't stop there either. The mist went further down Alec's body, shrinking his hip size as it did so. It also gave him an incredibly chiseled V line too. By the time the mist was done, Alec's torso looked like it belonged to a Greek god.

The mist slithered down to the bottom half of his body. By this point, Alec had his eyes closed shut while the mist continued possessing his body. He was moaning like crazy! So much so that he didn't even notice that the mirage of the three men had disappeared and that he had swallowed up their cum cloud in one intensely erotic slurp and swallow. The next phase of the body transformation happened rather quickly because of this. Alec felt waves of cold roll all over his body. The mist was filling him up to his limits. It filled into every crevice Alec had remaining in his body. He grew a bubble butt that was defined with muscle. His beefy thighs could crush watermelons. His engorged cock and balls could impregnate an entire village with just one load of his cum. Even Alec's feet grew in size until he had size 13 feet! All the muscle mass Alec's body had taken on thanks to the mist caused him to burst through the fabric of the white robe, leaving his new muscular body to bask in the glow of the twinkling snow and the sweat of a full body transformation.

Alec laid there in the snow, gasping for breath. He threw his arms to the back of his arms. He was so tired, he didn't even noticed he could finally move.

Iaro grinned at the sight of the newly transformed Alec. He walked up to him, and Alec managed to lift his head to look him in the eye.

"I've used my magic to grant you a powerful transformation. I've given you every ounce of masculinity your attackers possessed to make you in my image, my brother. You now possess my muscular body as well as an affinity for all things cold. But remember, although my magic will protect you, you must never let your pure heart grow dark."

"Huh... What..." Alec said in huffs. His mind was too busy regaining composure to fully comprehend what Iaro told him.

But instead of repeating himself, Iaro simply smiled. He then kneeled down to Alec and placed both hands on his face. Iaro then pulled him in and planted a wet kiss firmly on his lips. The kiss caught Alec off guard, but once he realized what was happening, he kissed Iaro back. It was a moment of pure bliss for Alec to finally be just as muscular as the jock he was kissing. But as Alec savored every moment of their kiss, his vision went to white and he blacked out again.

***

Alec woke up groggy and tired in bed. His whole body was sore and his mind was reeling. He rubbed his heavy eyes and let out a heavy yawn as he rolled over in bed. As he did so, Alec couldn't help but notice he felt a lot heavier than he was used to. He had also forgotten he went to bed fully naked and only remembered when he felt his soft dick flop against his bedsheets. Alec felt a cool breeze blow into his bedroom and pass by his nude body.

"Fuck man, it's so fucking cold..." Alec whispered to himself. But as he heard his own words, he quickly sat up in bed and realized he wasn't actually cold. In fact, the cold breeze had somehow invigorated him.

"What the fuck... HOLY SHIT!!" Alec shouted at the top of his lungs as he looked down at his new incredibly toned body. He looked as if he had been going to the gym his entire life!

"Shit man... I'm so fucking big now...!! God bless Iaro and the cold..."

As Alec ran his hands all over his new torso, really savoring every angle and edge of his new physique, the memories of his latest dream began trickling in.

The more Alec caressed himself, the more vivid his memory of the dream became. He remembered everything; the clear view he had of the three men circle jerking on top of him, the visceral feelings he had while the mist transformed him from the inside out, and the kiss he shared with Iaro that was filled with the most homoerotic love he had ever experienced.

A wet spot made from precum formed on Alec's bedsheets. He had unconsciously started thrusting his hips into the bed while remembering his insanely erotic transformation dream.

"Fuck me man..."

Alec flipped over to his back. His hardened cock was leaking precum like a faucet. He whistled at the sight of his new 8 inch member. He purred with his baritone voice as he grabbed his dick with a firm grip and gave it a few pumps.

"Nrgh... fuckkkk.....!!"

A mix of hot and cold began to flush over Alec. His new body was still getting used to the newfound strength and magic it had been endowed with. It made jerking off even more pleasurable as his body was still extra sensitive after being transformed! But even though Alec had a lot of gratitude for his new physique, he couldn't deny that he had a favorite part of his new body. His pecs.

He cupped one of the heavy slabs of meat on his chest and gave it a few jiggles. He then continued massaging them with his free hand while still keeping a steady pace to his strokes. He took his time feeling the muscles in his pectorals.

They were big. They were heavy. They were bulging. They were firm when flexed. They were jiggly when at rest. They were the perfect man pillows.

But, most importantly, they were all his.

Alec had always loved big pecs, but to be able to possess a pair of daddy donkers of his own was sending him over the edge. He gave the nipples a pinch. That little bit of pain sent a wave of warm pleasure to spread throughout his pecs, causing him to let out guttural moans as he continued loving his new body.

"Oohhh man..! Ohh fuckk!! FUUUUCK!!!"

After several minutes of self-love, Alec could feel himself getting close. He removed his hand from his chest and moved it to his dick. He was using both hands now to stroke his throbbing cock. Alec was gasping for breath as he felt himself getting close to cumming. Alec wanted to make his first nut in his new body the best he's ever had.

He picked up the speed of his strokes while flexing as many muscles in his body as he could. His balls were slapping against his thighs and bed while his pecs were bouncing like mad. Alec's face was flushed red and his body was getting drenched in sweat as he felt himself letting go to the ecstasy-like pleasure building up. He only lasted a couple of minutes more before he couldn't hold on anymore. Cum came flooding out of him like a geyser. His loads reached impressive heights! Alec could only moan in between bated breaths as he watched himself shoot cum all over. Load after load of warm, sticky seed came out. He was drenched in a mixture of cum and sweat by the time he was finally finished. He lifted his arm behind his head and caught a whiff of his sweaty pit. Alec was surprised he had worked up such a sweat just jerking off, but he loved his new manly musk and took it all in.

...After taking some time to calm down, Alec got out of bed and cleaned up. He took an absurdly long shower, though most of that time was spent admiring the goods. Even after processing everything he had experienced, Alec could still hardly believe it was all real! He kept grabbing and flexing his pecs just to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. But surely enough, it was all still very much real!

Alec walked back into his bedroom and sat down. Although he had been blessed with a new body, he had no idea what to do with it.

He sat there for a while. His phone chirped, and Alec reached over to reach it.

"Oh shit."

Alec read the text from Ivan. He had been so caught up with the Legend of the White Fox that he had been neglecting the man of his dreams for several days with little to no explanation. Alec wasted no time in drafting an apology text to Ivan. He promised Ivan that if he came over to his apartment, then he would explain everything in full detail but why he went MIA. After several revisions, Alec hit send and prayed that he could still salvage what he had going with Ivan.

As he waited with his head in his hands, he heard a distinct meow coming from his window. Alec turned his head to the source of the noise. He was surprised to see a white cat sitting at his windowsill. It had the most luxurious coat of white fur Alec had ever seen on any animal!

The cat hopped down from the window and walked towards him. It rubbed itself against Alec's leg, and Alec could hear its loud purring while showering him with feline affection. Alec bent down to pick up the cat, and as he held the beautiful cat in his hands, he couldn't help but focus on the gold collar on its neck. The collar had a single letter inscribed on it. An 'N.'

"Oh my God, it's you! Nivalis!!"

Alec gave the purring Nivalis a hug. He showered Nivalis with affection and thanked her nonstop for blessing him.

Afterward, Nivalis hopped out of Alec's arms and walked back to the window. She jumped on the windowsill, looked back at Alec, and meowed. She also began wagging her tail vigorously. Alec recognized Nivalis was trying to say something and joined her at the window.

Nivalis walked out onto the outer edge of the apartment building while Alec peered out of his window. Alec looked all around, scanning the area until his eyes spotted a disturbing sight. He spotted a lesbian couple cowering in fear as some bigot with an anti-pride sign was creeping up on them. They were cornered with nowhere left to run.

Getting angry at what he saw, Alec took in a deep breath. He inhaled with all of his chest, then exhaled. His breath was frosty. Alec watched in amazement as his frosty breath disappeared into the air. Alec turned back to the ongoing crime scene, and watched as the bigot dropped their sign as they began rubbing their arms. The bigot was curling up into the ball, shivering. The lesbian couple saw their chance and ran like hell before the bigot could warm up.

"Wow... That's so fucking cool, did I do that?" Alec turned his head to where Nivalis was sitting, but the white cat was already gone.

As Alec searched for Nivalis, a doorbell coming from his front door caught Alec's attention.

"Alec? Are you home? It's me, Ivan. If you're ready to talk I'm ready to listen, but if you don't open this door in 3 minutes I'm leaving!!"

Alec took one final look around trying to find Nivalis, but it was no use. He couldn't spot the mythical cat anywhere. Instead, he felt a cool breeze pass by. Alec took in the cold and smiled. He knew Nivalis and Iaro would still be around, watching over him.

He then hurried to his front door. Alec was excited to tell Ivan everything he had experienced, and he had a feeling that Ivan would find his new powers 'pretty cool' (and in more ways than one too).

[squirrelwithatophat]

Boinking Fade Spirits: A Very Important Meta

Continuing in the vein of fantasizing out loud about what I want to see in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, I think it would be great if the game would allow players to romance and/or sleep with a Fade spirit. Below I’ll elaborate on what we know about Fade spirit sexuality, both as a review and as a way to demonstrate that a Fade spirit romance would be consistent with prior lore.

Cole/Compassion 

We know it’s possible for a Fade spirit to fall in (romantic/sexual) love because that is one potential outcome of Cole/Compassion’s character arc in Dragon Age: Inquisition.  If the player’s influence leads Cole to become more human during Subjected to His Will (his companion quest), he eventually pursues a romance with the minstrel/bard Maryden in the Trespasser DLC, set two years after the end of the main story. We're introduced to the relationship during a heartwarming scene during the companion catch-up conversations, transcribed below:

Maryden: Oh, Cole, good day! I didn’t see you there.

Cole: But I saw you, as lovely as your songs.

(Cole gives her a kiss on the cheek)

Inquisitor: ("I'm happy for you") I’m pleased for both of you.

Maryden: The world has ample pain, Inquisitor. The kindness found in Cole is rare indeed.

Cole: Her songs bring happiness to those who hear… and I can make her happy in return.

It’s implied that the attraction has turned physical during a banter in Trespasser (emphasis mine):

Cole: Some of the stones here are pretty. I should get one for Maryden.  

Dorian: You’ve got a lady friend? Really?      

Iron Bull: You and the bard, huh?

Cole: I am human now.

Iron Bull: Good for you, kid! Let me know if you need any tips.

Dorian: No, no, that’s fine. You’re a real boy now. Would’ve lost gold on it being a girl, but that’s probably just me.

Cole: She’s kind, and her voice helps people. And her bodice smells good.  Wait, I shouldn’t have said that. Forget! Oh, that doesn’t work anymore. Forget?

Granted, by this time Cole isn’t a “pure” or “true” Fade spirit (for lack of a better term), given that the romance only begins if Cole has turned more human over time (otherwise, spirit-Cole likes Maryden as a person and helps her out but has no romantic interest in her; in fact, he even facilitates a romance between Maryden and another human, Krem, during Trespasser). It is, however, evidence that Fade spirits can come to develop romantic feelings for humans (or rather mortals), at least under certain circumstances.  

But what about sex with Fade spirits?

Cole for one is confirmed to be a virgin as of the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition (although, again, we see no evidence of any romance until two years later in Trespasser) by the desire demon (or self-proclaimed “choice spirit”) Imshael in the confrontation in Suledin’s Keep (Emprise du Lion) during the quest Call Me Imshael.  When offered a deal, if the Inquisitor asks for “virgins,” the following exchange occurs:

Inquisitor: I’d like to be showered with virgins.

Imshael: I should really stop offering virgins.  Everyone always chooses them, and I can never find any.

(If Cole is in the party):

Imshael: Oh wait, there’s one.  Eeh... you probably don’t want him.

On the other hand, Imshael the desire demon is suggesting that the Inquisitor wouldn’t be interested in Cole, but not that Cole wouldn’t potentially be interested in sleeping with the Inquisitor.  Interesting, isn’t it?

Desire Demons

It does appear to at least be possible to have sex with a Fade spirit.  In Dragon Age: Origins, a male mage Warden can enter the Fade and have sex with a Desire demon (a type of Fade spirit) in exchange for allowing the demon to continue possessing Connor Guerrin during The Arl of Redcliffe arc.  

Unfortunately, the outcome for poor Connor is less than ideal; according to the epilogue slides, making any deal with the demon whatsoever will result in Connor remaining possessed and then disappearing forever.  Some people might frown on selling a child’s soul in exchange for a chance to get laid, especially if you also murder his mom in a blood ritual in the process, but I believe this is a case in which the fandom needs to calm down and simply agree to disagree.

Desire demons are also shown enchanting people into acting out romantic or sexual fantasies without full possession. In the Broken Circle arc of DAO, the Warden encounters an unnamed Desire demon who has the Templar Drass under her spell in the Templar Quarters of Kinloch Hold. Apparently she has bewitched him with the fantasy/delusion that she is his wife and that they are going about normal and rather domestic activities, including tucking "the children" in bed. The codex entry Desire and Need reveals that Knight-Commander Greagoir had previously berated Drass for failing to live up to "the devotional requirements of training," presumably indicating that the latter might have been more interested in eventually settling down and starting a family than on being a religious fanatic on guard duty spiraling into dementia from being forced to huff magic rock dust. It's later made clear that Templars are in fact allowed to have sex and even marry, given that the Templar Wesley marries Aveline Vallen in Lothering (DA2) and that former Knight-Commander Cullen explicitly states in DAI that sex was permitted for Templars in Kinloch Hold and Kirkwall. However, the sort of domestic life that Drass dreamed of may not have been a viable option, since Templars are supposed to live in Circle towers and Chantries while the spouses and (non-mage) children of Templars do not appear to receive accommodations in either.

A similar instance of a Desire demon, this one named Allure, bewitching people into acting out fantasies occurs in the Repentance (Act 2) quest of DA2, although this time it involves explicitly sexual content. Here we see Lord Harimann, characterized by his childhood friend Sebastian as otherwise being a "prude," evidently preparing to engage in very kinky sex with an unnamed elven woman in lingerie. More specifically, they're standing half-nude around a bed, a whipping post, “manacles” to use for bondage, and an Iron Maiden, as the woman loudly urges him to apply "the feather" even “lower,” and Harimann chuckles, "Now, you be the naughty apprentice, and I’ll be the Templar torturer." His last shout is, “Today, I am more than a man! Come! Felicitate me!” Born-again "Choir Boy" and sole unfuckable/volcel romance option Sebastian Vael is naturally aghast, exclaiming, “I beg your pardon, Hawke. I did not mean to expose you to such things,” as if Hawke and Isabela don’t already do these things literally every single day after returning home from the Hanged Man.

The motive behind why Desire demons bewitch people in this manner short of full possession is laid out by the Desire demon in Broken Circle (DAO):

Desire Demon: I saw his loneliness and longing for a family that loved him. No one else would have known his heart. He did not know it himself.

Warden: You've made him into your slave.

Desire Demon: I fulfill his dreams... I grant him all his desires. Is he my slave, or am I his? We are partners. I give him what no one else can, and through him, I experience what it is to be mortal.

Warden: Well, he deserves to be free from you. To find his own happiness.

Sten: Freedom cannot be given. The templar must choose it for himself. If you help this man, what does he learn? Nothing.

Desire Demon: Our thoughts and spirits are melded. If one perishes, so does the other. Though much of my strength is spent maintaining this link, I am his wife, and his children; he will defend me to the death if need be. I want nothing from you. I have what I need. All I ask is that you leave us alone.

So, to sum up, we have in-game examples of Desire demons having sex with mages in the Fade, enchanting people into acting out sexual and romantic fantasies, and flirting with visitors to the Fade (seen with Isabela during Night Terrors in DA2; referenced by Dorian in DAI). Not to mention their stripper-esque getups and repeated breast-fondling. Desire demons are thus clearly canon sexual/romance options.

As far as sex with non-demonic Fade spirits goes, however, we’re in murkier territory.  

Wynne/Faith 

In DAO, one of our potential companions, Wynne, is of course possessed by a spirit of Faith.  Wynne makes multiple references to having slept around in the past (with both mages and Templars, ultimately being impregnated by one of the latter, heavily implied to be Greagoir) and even indicates that she has continued to be sexually active into middle age (“It would not be the first time I woke to a younger man in my bed”), but there’s no reference in the game to having enjoyed sex and/or romance post-possession — although to be fair, the possession is a rather recent occurrence, the party is in the midst of trying to stop the end of the world, and she is technically undead. (Full disclosure: I haven’t read all of Asunder yet, so let me know if you are aware of any information about Wynne’s sex life while possessed).  It may also be worth noting that despite being repeatedly compared to a “grandmother,” she’s actually only 49 years old as of DAO.

Zevran for one seems into it.  Not only does he flirt with her (though perhaps only in jest), but he seems to find the spirit possession a little too exciting for Wynne’s taste.

Zevran: ... but what does it feel like being possessed by a spirit?

Wynne: Why does this interest you so?

Zevran: I simply wish to get to know those that I travel with. Is that wrong of me?

Wynne: No, of course it isn't. Well... let me see. It is hard to describe. It is comforting... I... I feel safe, loved.

Zevran: Comforted, loved, yes...

Wynne: It is like being held close, cradled... the bond is so complete that I am unable to extricate myself, nor do I wish to. Wait... why do you have that look on your face?

Zevran: Mmm, I... I am simply imagining it. Continue, please.

Wynne: And there is a constant warmth, that spreads outwards from the very center of my being, infusing my body with--

Zevran: Ooh...

Wynne: Andraste's grace, what are you thinking about now? No, I don't want to know. I feel dirty. Do not speak to me.

Zevran also flirts with Wynne without reference to the possession, which reinforces the idea that he’s into it. (And remember, despite being repeatedly called an “old woman” and compared to a “grandmother,” Wynne is only 49 years old. Definitely within MILF territory).

Zevran: But it is a marvelous bosom. I have seen women half your age who have not held up half so well. Perhaps it is a magical bosom?

Wynne: Stop... talking about my bosom.

…

Zevran: There have been many bosoms in my past, though only few as fine as yours.

Wynne: Enough. I am ending this conversation.

…

Wynne: Zevran, I am old enough to be your grandmother.

Zevran: You say that like it's a bad thing.

Wynne: And what would you do with me if you had me, hmm? This is a game you play, nothing more.

Zevran: Ha, you are a cynical woman, Wynne. Cynical and powerful. It drives me mad with desire.

Kristoff/Justice

In Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, one of our companions is a spirit of Justice involuntarily possessing the corpse of a human Grey Warden named Kristoff.  Justice soon reveals that he has partial access to Kristoff’s memories but not any of Kristoff’s emotions.

Shortly after defeating the Baroness, during the conversation potentially leading to recruiting him into the party:

Justice: It seems I cannot return to the Fade. I am trapped here in the body of this “Grey Warden”? There are memories within this poor man’s mind, they are… they are difficult to see. But... he was a Grey Warden? He was... slain by the darkspawn, the one called The First?

Warden: The darkspawn are who the Grey Wardens fight. 

Justice: And that was your pursuit when you were tricked into the Fade, yes, I understand now.

Justice: It seems I am at a loss. I know nothing of this world, and have only a few memories of this Grey Warden to draw from. I do not wish to die. What shall I do, mortal?

This is relevant to the later discussions regarding Kristoff’s wife Aura.  Justice indicates he doesn’t personally feel Kristoff’s love for Aura but instead longs for such an experience of his own.  Yet this longing in itself is enough to trigger discomfort and questions about his identity as a (non-demonic) Fade spirit.

During the discussion following the quest Justice for Kristoff, after meeting Aura in the Amaranthine Chantry:

Justice: I have been thinking of Aura, the mortal woman who was wife to Kristoff. I continue to envy their love. But envy is what a demon feels, a desire for something it cannot have.

Warden: You aren’t taking it from them. There’s a difference. 

Justice: I… I think I understand. You coexist with both great darkness and great beauty. It must be confusing. Yet now I find myself wishing to be more. It is enlightening. Thank you for bringing me to this world.

This may have been part of the explanation for Justice’s deep attachment to seeking, well, “Justice for Kristoff.”  His overriding goal is to kill the Mother to punish her for ordering the murder of Kristoff (not that this stops him from openly eyeing Anders the entire time), and his willingness to excuse actions by the Warden that he considers morally objectionable (e.g., agreeing to murder a cop for money, burning down Amaranthine, allying with their former kidnapper) is motivated by a belief that working with the Warden is necessary to achieve that objective.  If the Warden tells him that he isn’t Kristoff and should just “let it go,” Justice explicitly says, “I cannot” (with this dialogue option netting -3 in Disapproval).  It’s true that Justice takes a deep interest in Kristoff’s life in general (even collecting personal property to reminisce over), but he specifically cites Kristoff’s wife as a primary point of interest.  He explicitly says he wants to experience love and romance and sees Kristoff and Aura as an ideal example.  

(The Warden’s potential response of “You aren’t taking it from them” and “There’s a difference” also calls to mind Nathaniel’s ultimately successful argument in favor of possessing a living body: “Perhaps together, you can do what they cannot do alone. If you gave instead of taking, I would consider you no demon.”)

In general, Justice seems ignorant of and/or confused about sexuality and expresses annoyance at Oghren's dirty jokes and OG Anders’s habit of making a pass at every woman he meets.

When Oghren tries to probe Justice about reproductive functions and Kristoff’s memories of married life, Justice seems to not understand the sexual innuendo nor the significance of sexuality to marriage (or at least to most marriages that do not end in divorce).  

Oghren: Now that you have a physical body, what do you plan to do with it?

Justice: Serve justice, as I always have.

Oghren: I know what I'd do if I suddenly became a complete man.

Justice: You are alluding to something. I know not what.

Oghren: You can't be that stupid.

Justice: We have work to do.

Oghren: And... er... everything works? Everything's intact? All the plumbing?

Justice: You are alluding to something. I know not what.

Oghren: Oh, come on!

Oghren: You have memories, right? Kristoff's memories.

Justice: Yes.

Oghren: And Kristoff was married? You have memories of that, yes?

Justice: Yes.

Oghren: Aha! So you must know what I'm talking about!

Justice: Must I?

Oghren: Come on! Kristoff must have buttered the southern pony in his day.

Justice: I do not believe Kristoff has ever seen a southern pony, let alone buttered it. What does that even mean?

Oghren: (Sigh) Nothing. It means nothing.

Moreover, Justice denies experiencing any physical needs or desires while possessing Kristoff’s corpse and finds Oghren’s refusal to shut up about sex and excretion rather irritating.

Justice: You speak often of bodily functions.

Oghren: (Grunts) Not half as often as they happen.

Justice: But why this preoccupation? I have a mortal body, yet it provides me no such amusement.

Oghren: You have a dead mortal body. Try a living one sometime, and then we'll talk.

Justice: Possess a living host? I would never!

Oghren: Tough break. Enjoy the corpse love.

While he doesn’t report anything resembling sexual desire, Justice does seem to pine over lyrium, which emits a song that appears especially attractive to spirits.  So at this time he has retained his Spirit-related interests without fully acquiring human ones. His lack of awareness of sexuality leads to interesting implications for when he does possess a living body. As Oghren points out, Justice currently has “a dead mortal body,” and things could very well be different if and when he chooses to inhabit “a living one.”

But if we’re being honest, most of the people reading this are only really here for Anders, so let’s not beat around the bush.

Anders/Justice

Prior to his possession by Justice, Anders seems to have gotten around.  A lot, actually.  Despite the heavy restrictions on romantic and sexual relationships in the Circle, and despite being forcibly separated from his first long-term lover (whom he dreamt of saving for decades prior to the latter’s demise in the Tranquility quest), Anders was apparently an active participant in Kinloch Hold’s surreptitious hookup culture. In real-life contexts in which open romance is prohibited, after all, it’s a lot easier to get away with no-strings-attached casual sex than with maintaining long-term relationships, and this ultimately tends to undermine and destabilize such bonds. Consistent with this, if romanced in DA2, Anders will say, “When I was in the Circle, love was only a game. It gave the templars too much power if there was something you couldn't stand to lose. No mage I know has ever dared to fall in love. This is the rule I will most cherish breaking.” Despite World of Thedas vol. 2 confirming that he and Karl Thekla “shared a deep love,” Anders remains reluctant to admit that he was ever in love (at least prior to the romance with Hawke) — although this probably stems more from the pain of losing him (twice, in fact).

During Awakening, Anders flirts with or otherwise expresses interest in virtually every woman he meets (sometimes rather inappropriately, as seen in his whistling at Velanna in the video above), including the Warden. He’s heavily implied to have been in a romantic/sexual relationship with his so-called “friend” in Amaranthine, Namaya (an city elven “mundane”/non-mage), given that she seems to resent him despite going out of her way to help him over a year after they last met and that she’ll grumble to a female Warden not to let him “sweet talk” her. In their Act 1 banter in DA2, Isabela and Anders will reveal that they had hooked up in The Pearl (Denerim’s brothel) during one of his escape attempts, apparently using magic for kink.

Anders: I keep thinking I know you from somewhere...

Isabela: You're Fereldan, right? Ever spend time at the Pearl?

Anders: That's it!

Anders: You used to really like that girl with the griffon tattoos, right? What was her name?

Isabela: The Lay Warden?

Anders: That's right! I think you were there the night I—

Isabela: Oh! Were you the runaway mage who could do that electricity thing? That was nice...

Considering that initially he indicates that she looks familiar but can’t pinpoint where and how they met, that they had even had sex, and so forth, it sounds like such sexual encounters (with mundane women during escapes, potentially using “that electricity thing”) would have to have been fairly frequent and perhaps occurring a long time ago. And despite the common claim that he was/appeared totally straight until the second game, his high-approval dialogue with a male Warden is highly suggestive (“the picture of virile heroism”) — and this isn’t even getting into the “gay earring” and other queer-coding (which seems to have been intentional on the part of his original writer). As I mentioned above, Justice seems rather put off by Anders’s sexual antics, at least at this point in time. On the other hand, there are a few hints that Anders retains an interest in kink even post-possession (e.g., his apparently surprised/curious reaction to Merrill's interest in "dirty spells"). Most notoriously, if romanced by the time of Mark of the Assassin, he reveals a fantasy that is straight-up Nightmare Fuel, incorporating his worst fears (i.e., forcible Tranquility) and sadomasochistic elements:

Anders: Here I always figured you'd be the one coming to spring me from someone's dungeon. I had it all planned. I'd be in the Gallows, templars all around, holding the brand for the Rite of Tranquility. Then you'd burst in and break my chains. And then it would be all about the best way to show my gratitude.

Hawke: Did it have anything to do with finding another use for those chains?

Tallis: Not to come between you two or anything, but you didn't actually rescue us. I did.

Anders: I could be grateful to you too.

And he's into the idea of a threesome with Tallis ten seconds after learning she approves of mages like him having their mouths sewn shut.

Overall, though, Justice-Anders in DA2 has a noticeably more negative attitude towards sex (or at least casual/promiscuous sex) than did OG Anders in Awakening, but the reason for this is unclear. This change could be due to the influence of Justice, an understandable reaction to the number of STI cases he has treated in his clinic since coming to Kirkwall (of the local brothel, he complains, "I treat a lot of these customers in my clinic"), a reflection of increased religiosity (given that Anders likewise seems to go from skeptical and irreverent in Awakening to devoutly Andrastian, albeit of a heretical variety, in DA2), a reflection of aging or increasing depression... or it could simply mean nothing at all and be entirely attributable to a change in writer (from David Gaider to Jennifer Hepler) between games. Who knows?

In any case, in DA2, Anders repeatedly insists from the very beginning that when Justice possessed him, they merged into a new entity with shared thoughts and feelings (as opposed to Anders simply acquiring a moralistic voice in his head).

For example, at the end of Anders’s recruitment quest (Tranquility, Act 1):

Hawke: So, you have this spirit of justice living in your head?

Anders: It's not like that. He's gone now. He's part of me. It's not like we can... have a conversation. I feel his thoughts as my own. Not even the greatest scholar could tell you where I end and he begins.

(I recommend checking out the possession metas by @carabas both for the Justice-Anders merger and the general DA lore on spirit possession, including a collection of relevant quotes).

This is reinforced by the Tranquility (Act 1) quest log reading: “Anders was revealed to be a spirit of Justice, [sic] and killed his friend Karl. He provided copies of the Grey Warden maps of the Deep Roads around Kirkwall and is available to join the expedition if desired.” That is, the Anders we meet in the second game is in fact a spirit of Justice, not merely a human man with an extra passenger. Justice has become Anders much as Compassion has become Cole, although the latter’s identification is considered rather unusual in that, in Solas’s words, “You have not even possessed a body” (Subjected to His Will, DAI).

Sort of, anyways.

During the romance scene in Hawke’s mansion, Anders notoriously says (in his very first lines), “Justice does not approve of my obsession with you. He believes you're a distraction. It is one of the few things on which he and I disagree.”

Why this (allegedly) rare conflict? It’s heavily implied that Anders is in love with Hawke from their first meeting regardless of what happens next (e.g., “For three years [since having first met], you've haunted my sleep. I wake aching for you”; the Rivalry points not simply for rejecting his advances but for not flirting with him immediately; the later jealousy banter if he hadn’t explicitly been rejected in Acts 1 or 2); and if Hawke is a Friend, Anders outright exclaims, “Even Justice bows to you for the faith you have shown us” (Justice, Act 3) — suggesting that Justice does in fact like and/or approve of a supportive (at least as much as the game allows one to be) pro-mage Hawke. The word “even,” however, implies that Justice was inclined towards being hostile or suspicious of Hawke, at least initially.

Perhaps the phrase “obsession with you” is key. If romanced, Anders says that over the years he has spent a lot of time thinking about Hawke (see the above quote as well as a similar one, “For three years, I have lain awake every night, aching for you. I'm still terrified I'll wake up”), and Hawke does appear to hold a troubling amount of influence over him (e.g., convincing him to help kill or turn in mages in stark opposition to his and Justice’s morals and political goals, to venture into the Deep Roads repeatedly despite his claustrophobia and insistence that he never wants to return, and so forth), although much the same could be said of the other companions, who rarely do any more than briefly complain before complying with whatever Hawke asks. Prior to possessing Anders, Justice’s familiarity with love, sex, and romance had been limited to some “difficult to see” and emotionally-detached mental images of Kristoff’s marriage — again, without the direct experience of Kristoff’s feelings connected to them — and the affection of long-married couples tends to lack the intensity, absorption, and instability often associated with eager young people embarking on new love affairs.

It may also be worth noting that these lines about Justice’s disapproval comes not during the initial love confession and kiss but just prior to having sex (at a prearranged time and place) and in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic incident involving Justice taking over by force and lashing out blindly. In mages, it also seems that high emotional excitement can lead to a minor “leakage” of magic or temporary loss of control (perhaps an example of the Power Incontinence trope?), which may be especially frightening to them after the loss of control during Dissent (Act 2), which immediately precedes the romance. After all, Dorian sometimes accidentally shoots fire when shooting his shot (according to Iron Bull, at any rate), and Dorian's probably the chillest dude in the entire series.

Furthermore, as a spirit terrified of the prospect of demonic corruption, he’s inclined to see both desire (e.g., telling Anders that demons “have been perverted by their desires”) and envy (e.g., “envy is what a demon feels, a desire for something it cannot have”) as inherently demonic and corrupting, and it would be surprising if such an attitude didn’t create tension around sex and romance.

There’s a repeated insistence that Justice isn’t participating in the romance/sex, although this could be a case of Perhaps the Lady Doth Protest Too Much.

In the Hawke mansion, initiating the romance (Act 2):

Hawke: (“He's still in there... right?”) So, he's kind of... an unwilling participant in our threesome?

Anders: Don’t call it that.

In the Hawke mansion, rejecting Anders prior to sex (Act 2):

Hawke: Maybe we should wait until the voices in your head are in agreement.

Anders: I understand.

Meeting Isabela at the Hanged Man after initiating the Anders romance (Act 2):

Isabela: You, Anders... and Justice. That must be exciting! As they say, two's company, but three is better.

Hawke: (“Not with Justice”) I don’t think whoever made that claim had a Fade spirit in mind.

Isabela: No? You don't like his spear of righteousness then?

(Alternate):

Hawke: (“I like Anders”) I enjoy being with Anders. And that's all I'm going to say about it.

Isabela: We know about Anders.

Isabela: What about Justice? Does he not get involved? Or perhaps he thinks you're too good of a person and isn't willing to smite you? That would be a shame, wouldn't it? Everyone deserves a good smiting, now and then. I could use one right this minute.

(On a side note, considering that Isabela and Anders have had sex in the past, if they hooked up again post-possession, she would have an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast. I’m just sayin.’ It’s also interesting that both Zevran and Isabela have expressed potential interest in sex/intimacy with someone possessed by a Fade spirit. If two experienced sexual connoisseurs like Zevran and Isabela both agree that some novel sex activity would be good fun, I believe we can be fairly confident that it is at the very least worth trying).

Yet not only does Anders elsewhere repeatedly insist that Justice is always present (e.g., "It's always me. Justice and I are one," "He's part of me," "We are the same," etc.) and that the two share thoughts and feelings, but he makes the following amusing comment if rejected in favor of Merrill during the romance scene in Hawke's mansion: “Be careful. As innocent as she seems, she is still a blood mage. She is just less honest about there being a third party in your bed.”

Remember, his recurrent accusations are not that Merrill is currently possessed by a demon but that she's liable to eventually become possessed and/or is (perhaps unwittingly) doing the demon's bidding, which is considerably less intimate than the supernatural entity in question living in one's body and directly controlling one's thoughts and actions. Merrill even uses the word "platonic" to draw a distinction between her "relationship" with Audacity and Anders's "relationship" with Justice (Act 2 banter, post-Dissent, if Ella dies):

Anders: It's not a good feeling, you know… Being an abomination. I just got a taste of your future.

Merrill: I'm not that foolish. Our relationship is, um, strictly platonic.

So (at least when feeling cranky), he admits that Justice is a "third party in [their] bed" — occupying some role in their romantic/sexual relationship — even if he rejects the term "threesome." Again, recall that he simply cringes and urges Hawke not to "call it that" rather than actually rejecting the label as inaccurate per se.

So is Justice actually an "unwilling participant" in their "threesome?"

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Perhaps at risk of stating the obvious, Justice plays an increasingly dominant role in the Anders-Justice merger, and by the endgame at least, it appears that Anders may not even be capable of defying Justice’s wishes for any sustained period of time — and the relationship with Hawke lasts at least three years. It’s clear that Justice and Anders are in conflict at least some of the time, and there are at least brief moments in which one can seize full control and do something the other does not want. In the discussion after Tranquility (Act 1), Anders claims that the two usually blend together but that when he/they become sufficiently emotionally distressed, Justice can take over and lash out as “Vengeance,” episodes during which Anders has no awareness and/or no memory. The amnesia appears to be one-sided, though Anders wonders aloud if Justice has a similar experience so far as feeling controlled goes. If killed in the Fade during Night Terrors (Act 2) — whether Hawke fights him due to a misunderstanding or because Hawke genuinely tries to get Feynriel possessed by a demon — Anders worries that he could be emotionally harming Justice by making choices that the latter doesn't agree with (or at least doesn't explicitly give his blessing to), given that they are sharing the same body (Anders in the Fade, Act 2):

Hawke: (“You two never talk anymore”) Do you need someone to mediate between the voices in your head?

Anders: Hmm. There's an idea.

Hawke: (“You need to control him”) It's sounding more and more like he's the one in charge.

Anders: I've stayed out of the Fade since we merged. I don't like being a passenger in my own skin. I suppose Justice feels like that every day. Shackled to my body and every decision I make. No wonder it's become a prison for him.

However, at least as time goes on, Hawke's potential complaint that it's "sounding more and more like [Justice is] the one in charge" even outside of the Fade seems more accurate. Perhaps most obviously, in the few instances where Anders and Justice can actually be seen vying for control in the moment (e.g., upon initially encountering Ser Alrik during Dissent in Act 2; when confronted by a Rival Hawke at the end of the Justice quest in Act 3; and during Act 3 banter with Varric, when Varric complains that Justice won't let "Anders come out and play"), Justice ends up winning. On a more subtle and tragic level, Anders goes from personal aspirations and longing for relationships in Awakening to denigrating all this as “selfish” by Act 1 of DA2, wondering out loud “how much is left” of him without Justice in Act 2, and finally insisting “there is nothing else inside me” by Act 3. If he’s in a Rivalry relationship with Hawke, by the end of his personal quest in Act 3, Anders complains of blackouts and memory loss (during periods in which Justice seizes control forcibly), despairs that “he’s too strong,” and finally says, “It's like the longer we go, the less of me there is.” It should be noted here however that the Friendship route and the Rivalry route represent two different character paths, so far as Anders’s relationship with Justice is concerned. While Anders and Justice are more in tune and tend to see themselves more as one being on the Friendship route (where Hawke is supportive), the Rivalry route entails Hawke instigating or exacerbating conflict between them by persuading Anders to defy Justice’s purpose (by siding against the mages), diversion from which has a corrupting influence on spirits. Regardless, with Justice increasingly in the driver's seat, by the endgame they have shifted to prioritizing the mage rebellion over a romantic relationship with Hawke. To quote the romance-specific dialogue from the aftermath of the Justice (Act 3) quest:

Anders: I love you. I wish that meant I would never hurt you. You are the most important thing in my life. But some things matter more than my life, more than either of us. I'm sorry.

(First Option):

Hawke: (“Love is important”) You're wrong. There is nothing more important than love!

Anders: I told you I would break your heart. Just know it breaks mine to do it.

(Alternate):

Hawke: (“You’re right”) This is war. We cannot be weakened by our feelings.

Anders: I knew you would understand.

(As an aside, it's a little mysterious why Anders doesn't simply reveal his plan to a Hawke who makes statements championing "war" and "overthrowing the Templars" and the like after happily supporting him with his "suspicious" requests, except on a meta-narrative level - that is, the authors wanted to preserve the surprise on the part of the player).

It's worth noting that Anders expresses surprise if Hawke doesn't literally stab him in the back during The Last Straw (Act 3), and he handles both being killed and being dumped with remarkable equanimity here (despite getting offended if being killed in the Fade or dumped immediately after sex in Act 2), suggesting that he had already made peace with these possibilities. Unlike the other two infamous Endgame Plot Twist Apostates, however, Anders does not disappear or attempt to terminate the relationship in the end — if anything, he’s positively thrilled if Hawke remains at his side. To quote the romance dialogue from just before the final battle with Meredith:

Anders: I should have trusted you. Even with all we've shared, I never thought you'd spare my life. If we live through this... you know I'll be hunted. No one in Kirkwall will offer me mercy. But... if you would join me, I'd rather be on the run with you than safe with anyone else.

Hawke: Then we will be fugitives together.

Anders: We will fight for a world where our children can be born mages and free. Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no templars to tear them apart. May the Maker bring us victory. Or everything else is meaningless.

So despite everything, Anders is still in love with Hawke and hopes to pursue the romance, albeit from now on as an Outlaw Couple spreading the revolution across Thedas (which Hawke reports they have been doing in their DAI cameo, if Anders was romanced and supported and the mages defended). And in the end, his vision of what justice and mage freedom mean isn't about punishing all evildoers, about mages being represented in government or governing themselves, about equal rights under the law, or anything else that abstract -- rather, it's about the freedom to love and form families.

Prior to their merge, Justice talked abstractly and militantly about "oppression" and the need to "strike a blow against your oppressors" and "free those who remain oppressed," while Anders declared that individual-level freedom really meant the option to retire to a private life (phrased jokingly as "a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools"). Yet under the Friendship path in the second game, when Anders declares they have finally fully fused together, the ultimate end goal is that future generations can enjoy such loving relationships. Constructions such as "our children" and later generations of "someone like me" and "someone like you" (emphasis mine) represent a fusion of the personal and the collective, a substitution of vicarious fulfillment for personal happiness. After all, he had sacrificed his individuality and personal aspirations years before he prepared for any physical martyrdom. Yet "our children" has a more literal meaning as well. Did Anders, or perhaps Hawke, finally rub off on Justice?

Flemeth/Mythal

The last major spirit-human pairing featured in the games is that between Flemeth, the "Witch of the Wilds," and Mythal, the elven goddess of justice and childbirth. Flemeth is revealed to be carrying a "piece" of Mythal's soul/spirit in DAI, and describes the possession as follows in The Final Piece:

Flemeth: Once I was but a woman, crying out in the lonely darkness for justice. And she came to me, a wisp of an ancient being, and she granted me all I wanted and more. I have carried Mythal through the ages ever since, seeking the justice denied to her.

Inquisitor: Then… you carry Mythal inside you?

Flemeth: She is a part of me, no more separate than your heart from your chest.

The divinity of the elven gods is disputed by members of the pantheon themselves, namely Fen'Harel ("The Dread Wolf") in Trespasser and Flemeth/Mythal here. The pre-Trespasser dialogue even suggests that "Mythal" may be a Fade spirit.

For example, the Warden and Morrigan can speculate about whether Flemeth is some kind of abomination in DAO.

In DA2, Anders/Justice (an "abomination" himself) is confused as to the nature of Flemeth when encountering her on Sundermount during Long Way Home (Act 1).

Anders: What are you? A spirit? An abomination? This is no magic I've ever seen!

Flemeth: And you would know of spirits and abominations.

Anders: I'm a mage. Of course I know of such things.

Flemeth: Of course!

Fenris is also rather confused by her, although he rejects the notion that she could be a spirit or possessed by a spirit.

Fenris: You are no simple witch.

Flemeth: Figured that out yourself, did you?

Fenris: I have seen powerful mages, spirits, and abominations. But you are none of those things. What are you?

Flemeth: Such a curious lad. The chains are broken, but are you truly free?

The Inquisitor can express suspicions that what Flemeth is calling Mythal may have been a demon, and although the wisdom of the Well of Sorrows refutes this explanation, Flemeth does validate their questioning of the claim to godhood:

Inquisitor: That could’ve been a demon, lying to you.

Flemeth: What do the voices tell you? / You hear the voices of the Well, girl. What do they say?

Inquisitor / Morrigan: They say you speak the truth.

Flemeth: But what was Mythal? A legend given name and called a god, or something more? Truth is not the end, but a beginning... As for me, I have had many names. But you… may call me Flemeth.

Morrigan is also rather suspicious, and Flemeth's response (as per usual) does nothing to clarify the situation:

Morrigan: And you follow her whims? Do you even know what she truly is?

Flemeth: You seek to preserve the powers that were, but to what end? It is because I taught you, girl, because things happened that were never meant to happen. She was betrayed as I was betrayed—as the world was betrayed! Mythal clawed and crawled her way through the ages to me, and I will see her avenged! Alas, so long as the music plays, we dance.

This all sounds very dramatic and even epic until we take a moment to reflect on the much less flattering (and even rather crass) depiction of Flemeth in DAO as well as the broader context.

For one, given that the elves who worshipped Mythal had received no discernible help from her across centuries of enslavement, dispossession, and genocide, it's unclear why Mythal instead chose to bond with a human woman entangled in a soap opera narrative of marital infidelity and domestic violence. (The non-response to the persecution to the elves is hand-waved away with Flemeth's usual evasions and non-sequiturs). DAI confirms that this is indeed Flemeth's backstory and the context in which she became possessed by the entity later identified as Mythal:

Inquisitor: I know the name “Flemeth.” It belongs to an ancient Fereldan legend. It says, long ago, you left your husband for a lover. Your husband then tricked you, killed your lover, and imprisoned you. Then a spirit came to offer you vengeance. Mythal—that’s what you spoke of.

Flemeth: One day, someone will summarize the terrible events of your life so quickly. But, yes, I was that woman. That is how my tale began.

Inquisitor: Flemeth appears in other legends, helping heroes for reasons of her own.

Flemeth: I nudge history, when it’s required. Other times, a shove is needed.

For another, her own daughter characterizes her as emotionally and potentially physically abusive, does not hesitate to believe that she is ready to harm her children and grandchildren, and later cries in despair, "I am many things, but I will not be the mother you were to me."

Flemeth apparently taught Morrigan that love is a weakness. To quote some examples:

Morrigan telling the story of how her mother shattered a mirror to teach her a lesson: "Beauty and love are fleeting and have no meaning. Survival has meaning. Power has meaning. Without those lessons I would not be here today, as difficult as they might have been."

If asked if she loves Flemeth: "What an odd thing to say. Why must ‘love’ enter into the equation? Flemeth taught me everything I needed to learn. How to survive. The meaning of power. The truth of men. If other mothers do not teach these things, then I believe them the lesser."

If romanced: "I have allowed myself to become… too close. This is a weakness."

If romanced, Morrigan exhibits familiarity and even confidence with sex but struggles to understand and cope with love.

Perhaps this ought not be surprising, considering the lessons Morrigan learned from Flemeth, who provided a less than stellar role-model when it comes to relationships with men.

Leliana: They say your mother is Flemeth, a witch of the Korcari Wilds.

Morrigan: They also say that washing your feet in winter makes you catch cold in the head, but we all know that is not true. But sometimes they are right and they are right in this.

Leliana: You know the stories about--

Morrigan: Of course. You think my mother would let me go without telling me all the stories of her youth?

Leliana: My mother told me stories too. She was the one who kindled my love of the old tales and legends.

Morrigan: Hmph. My mother's stories curdled my blood and haunted my dreams. No little girl wants to hear about the Wilder men her mother took to her bed, using them till they were spent, then killing them. No little girl wants to be told that this is also expected of her, once she comes of age.

Leliana: I… uh… I see.

Morrigan: No, you don't. You really don't.

That's right: Flemeth enjoyed bragging to her young daughter of luring "Wilder men" into sex and murdering them as soon as they're worn out... and told Morrigan that sleeping with strange men before murdering them was also "expected of her, once she comes of age." You know, totally normal parent-child dynamics? It also may be noteworthy when considering the reason Flemeth sent Morrigan with Alistair and the Warden to begin with. Namely, Flemeth wanted Morrigan to seduce Alistair and/or a male Warden in order to give birth to a baby with the soul of the Old God Urthemiel, for reasons that she never explains. The Final Piece suggests that Flemeth wanted to extract the now-purified Old God soul from the child, but no explanation is provided, and Morrigan herself is rather mystified by her motives and intentions.

Flemeth's tales of banging random guys in the wilderness before disposing of the bodies is also consistent with Chasind legends of Flemeth's many daughters despite the absence of any known/named men in her life (after the original drama of her abusive husband murdering her lover), although Morrigan considers the possibility of Flemeth simply abducting babies to obtain new "daughters" at least as plausible. Morrigan reports that she cannot recall Flemeth ever having been young, but given her shapeshifting abilities, it's likely that Flemeth can look any way she chooses.

How else can we explain her GILF-tastic transformation from DAO to DA2?

In addition, a major subplot in DAO (Morrigan's companion quest Flemeth's Real Grimoire) revolves around discovering Flemeth's grimoire, which reveals that Flemeth has been raising daughters in order to possess their bodies once grown, thereby evading death. When confronted by the Warden, Flemeth does not deny it, offering her usual evasions. After the Warden either "kills" Flemeth or agrees to lie to Morrigan that Flemeth is dead, they discover among her belongings the Robes of Possession, the description for which reads: "The original intent of these robes is clear: a 'welcome home' present from Flemeth designed to sap Morrigan's will and ease the ancient sorceress's possession of her daughter." Neither does Flemeth give an explicit denial in DAI, although she later tells Morrigan, "A soul is not forced upon the unwilling, Morrigan. You were never in danger from me." What this means is unclear; Morrigan is also mystified, wondering if that means that Flemeth expected her to eventually consent to possession despite everything.

Evangeline/Faith

Towards the end of Dragon Age Asunder (set about halfway between the events of DA2 and DAI), the Spirit of Faith departs Wynne to possess the Templar Evangeline, who ultimately sides with the mages against the Templar Order and enters a romantic relationship with the mage protagonist Rhys. The possession saves Evangeline's life only at the cost of Wynne's, given that spirit possession is the only factor keeping the latter alive after her near-death experience in DAO. In DAI, dialogue with Cole and subsequent War Table missions (Locate Rhys and Evangeline and Deploy Rhys and Evangeline) confirm that Rhys and Evangeline are alive, well, and together (and still presumably in a romantic relationship). Given that Faith had previously spent the past several years in the head of Rhys's mom prior to any potential "threesome" with Rhys (you know, as one half of Rhys's girlfriend?), it's fortunate that Fade spirits apparently have no concept of awkwardness.

Mihris/Imshael

A potentially interesting but book-exclusive case occurs in Mihris, the First of Clan Virnehn (and thus a skilled mage), when she allows the Desire demon (or self-proclaimed "Choice Spirit") Imshael to possess her in The Masked Empire.

Notably, our examples of consensual spirit possession (Wynne/Faith, Evangeline/Faith, Kristoff/Justice, Anders/Justice, Flemeth/Mythal) involve apparent/implied gender matching between spirit and host. However, this is not consistently the case with demonic possession in any part of the series. For example, Marethari is possessed by Audacity ("him"/"his"), for example, while Connor is possessed by the unnamed Desire demon ("she"/"her," "the scary lady").

With the highly salient exception of Desire demons, most of the demons of Dragon Age are coded as male/masculine, being voiced by men and often referred to with "he/him" pronouns when not being denied personhood altogether and called "it/its." In DA2, for example, the pride demon Audacity targets Merrill and Keeper Marethari as potential victims to possess (Merrill reveals that Audacity had been calling out to both of them in their dreams since arriving at Sundermount) and eventually possesses Marethari, despite being referred to with "he/him" pronouns (e.g., "It would have taken powerful magic to break him free of this prison," "You would have been his first victim"). If I recall correctly, the only clear inconsistency in gendering occurs in Night Terrors (Act 2), in which the Pride demon Wryme is gendered male during the quest but subsequently referred to as “she” by Fenris in the follow-up Fenris Night Terrors — although fans usually interpret this as “suggesting Bioware may have originally planned for him to fall prey to the [female/feminine] desire demon instead” (in the words of the quest wiki page).

Again, Imshael chooses as his host a young Dalish woman, despite being presented as male/masculine and referred to with "he/him." This is highlighted in the following passage in Chapter 17:

Celene looked at Mihris in disgust. “Possessed by a demon?" “Spirit,” Mihris corrected, and then caught herself and chuckled. When she spoke again, her voice had deepened to that of the man who’d stood in the circle. “Ah, pity. You’re a bit more cunning than you look. Yes, Empress, I offered young Mihris here a little additional power in exchange for getting to come along.” The thing inside Mihris smiled. “None of which explains why I shouldn’t just kill bold Ser Michel now to fulfill my end of the bargain.” “You will free the elves when you are ready, when it is safe. You offer me a stately dinner,” he said, waving Mihris’s staff idly, “when what I want is the ravening, bare-fisted gluttony of a starving man”

Like with other cases of possession, the spirit/demon seizing control appears to cause vocal changes (usually a deepening of the voice), but here the text specifically states that Imshael's surfacing caused Mihris's voice to "deepen to that of the man," specifically transforming into Imshael's normal (masculine) speaking voice.

Not only is he regarded as a distinct and alien entity by both the text (written from a third-person POV) and the other characters, but unlike Justice with Anders or (to a lesser extent) the unnamed desire demon with Connor, Imshael doesn't appear to ever actually identify as Mihris or speak from her perspective (beyond perhaps hiding his presence, if previous dialogue from a possessed Mihris is interpreted as originating from Imshael). Likewise, in a passage written from Imshael's perspective (World of Thedas vol. 2), Imshael speaks of Mihris rather distantly and from the third-person, presenting her as an autonomous being with whom he made a fair contract and later had his disagreements. Quote: "She seemed quite invested in avenging her clan and killing Ser Michel, even to the point of allowing me to possess her to give her the power to do so. Sadly, it ended up being a waste of time. When her chance came, Mihris flinched from the consequences, and with no interesting choice to keep me bound, I was forced to go my own way" (p. 279). Interestingly, despite the earlier scene in which he directly assumes motor control for a brief moment, his characterization of their merger gives Mihris the overall agency and power in the relationship. After all, she had to "allow" him to "give her the power" she needed to accomplish her goals, and when she rejected "her chance" to do so, he was "forced" to leave.

When returning in DAI, Imshael appears as clearly male/masculine, being voiced by a man and wearing Anders's signature bird suit (perhaps to remind the audience that Anders is the Real Bad Guy who you were supposed to kill). Funnily enough, among his three offers ("choices") presented to the Inquisitor in exchange for avoiding a fight, one is for "Virgins" — a longing for instant gratification with virgin sexual partners being a very stereotypically masculine desire — which could be read as implying either that Imshael himself has stereotypically masculine interests (i.e., in easy sex with young/naive partners) or modes of thinking (assuming that others would share such interests) and/or that he typically makes these offers to men. If the Inquisitor does ask for "Virgins," his subsequent reply ("I should really stop offering virgins.  Everyone always chooses them") indicates that he has made the offer of virgins quite often, suggesting he's just tossing out what he thinks the random person on the street might be interested in.

I for one strongly recommend making some kind of deal with Imshael during the Call Me Imshael (DAI) quest. First, you get some nice loot more or less for free: a Superb Corrupting Rune (if "Virgins" is chosen, in compensation for the lack of virgins); a collection of gems worth 1,532 in gold (if "Riches" is chosen); or the same great items that you would otherwise have to fight him to obtain, namely the shield March of the Everlasting, an Amulet of Renewal, and 3 Spirit Essences (if "Power" is chosen). But most importantly, if spared Imshael will kill Michel de Chevin for you, which is objectively the most wonderful and morally correct outcome. Besides, the only conceivable benefit to letting Michel de Chevin live is getting a crappy low-level Enchanter Staff Schematic (only 55-62-71-73 in terms of DPS) which almost certainly do not need at the completion of the War Table Operation called Assigning Michel de Chevin. There is literally no other way to kill Michael de Chevin other than to make a deal with Imshael — to repeat, you must let Imshael go in order to ensure Michel de Chevin's death — and allowing a literal demon to unwittingly do your dirty work for you is an excellent way to maintain your reputation as the leader of a shady military-religious organization. Moreover, Imshael's escape and subsequent rampage is also mostly Michel de Chevin's fault, so you can blame any hypothetical future destruction on the part of the re-released Imshael on the now-dead Michel de Chevin.

Anyways, returning to gender in Fade Spirits... While spirits and demons are strongly gender-coded (e.g., Valor, Justice, Compassion, Rage, Pride, Sloth, etc. as male/masculine; Faith, Wisdom, Desire as female/feminine), it's unclear to what extent they may be reflecting back the mages and dreamers who encounter them versus actually having stable gender identities.

To take perhaps the most prominent example, prior to merging with Anders, Justice may have had a more fluid sense of gender (or perhaps simply failed to recognize the significance mortals generally accord to an alignment between gender identity and sexual anatomy), given the following banter with Velanna in Awakening:

Velanna: It seems you actually like this world.

Justice: I do. I have had experiences I cannot even begin to explain.

Velanna: A pity that you'll soon fall apart.

Justice: I could find and inhabit another corpse. A female body might offer a different perspective, wouldn't you think?

Velanna: If I die in your presence, you stay away from my body, you hear me?

Justice: Your objection is noted.

So Justice would like to acquire a woman's "perspective" and "experiences" to augment the ones he has come to enjoy about the mortal realm, despite his initial protestations. Here he admits that he does in fact "like this world" and would even be willing to procure another rotting corpse to remain in it. It seems like he may even have been eyeing Velanna as a potential host (about the same time as he was badgering Anders); it's shortly after this hard rejection ("you stay away from my body") that he returns to berating her about killing humans in the Wending Wood, as if siccing possessed trees on colonizers is in any way wrong.

Dragon Age Origins also provides the only clear instance of a bigender or gender fluid character in Witherfang/the Lady of the Forest. As Zathrian later explains, they are in fact the same entity (as opposed to host and spirit?), with Witherfang and the Lady representing two different facets of one spirit's nature. While the Lady is obviously gendered female/feminine by name, pronouns (always being referred to with "she/her"), and physical appearance, Witherfang is specifically stated to be a male wolf (and referred to with "he/him"). They are also given stereotypically feminine and masculine attributes, respectively - the Lady standing for peace and cooperation, Witherfang for violence and blind vengeance, in parallel with the differences between Keeper Lanaya (pacific, multicultural, feminine) and Keeper Zathrian (vengeful, warlike, sort of masculine). Unfortunately for our purposes, though, Witherfang/the Lady are not reported to have engaged in any sexual or romantic relations at any point in their existence in the mortal plane, and the werewolves serving the Lady appear to consider her as a leader or mother figure rather than a potential mate.

Returning to Mihris/Imshael, the pair parts rather soon after initiating their working relationship, so the long-term implications of possession are unclear in her case. Given that across the first two games, characters are depicted banging female/feminine Desire demons and/or banging others with their presence or instigation, it seems deeply unfair that there are no opportunities to peg Imshael despite his evident willingness to trade the sexual favors of others for his life.

Other Spirit Possession Cases: More Information Needed

There are of course a few other cases of (potential) spirit possession, although with these we lack adequate information on the topic at hand:

Sigrid/[Unnamed Spirit]: In the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, we encounter a young Avvar woman named Sigrid, who exiles herself from Stonebear Hold out of a refusal to part with her "teacher" — in this context, a Fade spirit. Traditionally, Avvar mages invite benevolent spirits to possess them as part of their education and training (and potentially continue to cohabit with them indefinitely if they fear they are too weak to withstand demonic assaults), later releasing these "teachers" in a special ritual when no longer needed. The education and training of mages appears to occur across a similar developmental period across Thedas, beginning as soon as magic manifests (according to written lore, usually around puberty, although we see a number of very young children manifesting magic) and typically ending around late adolescence or early adulthood (apparently the 17-20 year age range). In the Circles, if Anders and Kinloch Hold are any indication, it appears that many apprentices (most of them teenagers) are sexually active despite the restrictions imposed by Templars. It's unclear whether and how much sexual activity on the part of Avvar mages-in-training occurs or is culturally permitted, but the cases of Anders/Justice and Flemeth/Mythal strongly suggest that spirit possession in and of itself is not a barrier to sexual activity, so it stands to reason that at least some possessed Avvar mages are putting themselves out there. Sigrid has apparently chosen to remain bonded with her spirit over the long-term as an adult. How might this affect her relationships? Unfortunately, we do not know.

Aldenon/Wisdom: Admittedly, this potential case of spirit possession is rather speculative. Aldenon was a royal advisor and an apostate rebel mage reputed to have a booming voice, extraordinarily powerful magic, an unyielding commitment to his ideals (perhaps at the expense of practicality), and claimed he could see the future using Wisdom's Eye. He apparently had a close and special relationship with King Calenhad.

Ameridan/Unnamed "spirit companion": Also admittedly speculative. Ameridan was the First Inquisitor, as well as an elven mage, and the plot of Jaws of Hakkon revolves heavily around uncovering the truth about him. Interestingly, one of his memories reveals: "My spirit companion believes we can seal the dragon away, even if we cannot kill it. It is less clear whether I can do so without sealing myself in as well... but I have little choice." As @mikkeneko points out in her excellent meta, this “spirit companion" may very well be an internal spirit (meaning possession), given the pronoun usage, the failure of his experienced Templar friend Haron to recognize the presence of any spirit, this being the only reference to a spirit despite it being a trusted "companion", and other factors. Ameridan was in a long-term romantic relationship with an elven Dreamer mage named Telana, a fact which the Chantry attempted to suppress; as Professor Bram Kenric puts it in the codex for Inquisitor Ameridan, "Ameridan was forced to retire due to the still-young Chantry's restrictions requiring celibacy, as he was involved in a relationship with a mysterious 'lady-mage' that the Chantry erased from history." Ameridan addresses her (and their romance) directly in one of his memories: "Telana, my love. I should not have asked you to come with me, though I know you would not have stayed behind. You are a Dreamer, and this dragon the Avvar have tamed carries a demon inside it. I can see how its presence hurts you. You should be at Halamshiral, reminding our people of our alliance with Drakon. Not here, risking death again with me. Still, in the old tongue, your name, Telanadas, means 'nothing is inevitable.' I will remember your name and hope." Solas, Dorian, Cassandra, and Vivienne all reply remarking about how Dreamers are "sensitive to demons" and how the demon must have caused her immense "pain." Dreamers, however, do not appear to have any aversion to non-demonic Fade spirits; Feynriel has no reaction to Justice despite being horrified at demons to the extent of considering Tranquility (which he had previously considered worse than death), and the most prominent Dreamer character, Solas, loves engaging with spirits, calls spirits his close friends, and spends his time seeking them out and trying to understand them. If Ameridan was bonded with a spirit, it may even be the case that it attracted Telana the Dreamer and ultimately drew them closer. Perhaps they initially found each other through the Fade. Unfortunately, we do not have much detail about the relationship, other than that their love was so powerful that Telana sought him out despite the demon and ultimately perished attempting to reach him.

Grandin/Rage: Although Rage is technically a demon, unlike most cases of demonic possession, their relationship seems to be consensual and even symbiotic, as the demon apparently saved Grandin's life from the Jaws of Hakkon and gave him the strength to seek revenge for the deaths of his friends (against the same enemies as the Inquisitor and co. are fighting). When discovered, Grandin/Rage swears to continue to fight in the service of the Inquisition, and unlike other cases of demonic possession, the protagonist has the option of allowing him to go free. They appear to be in agreement, refuse to be parted, and speak in first person plural pronouns. Once his close friend Scout Harding learns of his new condition, though, she essentially considers him gone and his life already over, so even if the demon doesn't go feral and start attacking the incorrect targets it seems unlikely that he will be able to reintegrate into society and enjoy normal relationships while still possessed.

Putting the Pieces Together: What would Fen’Harel do?

In evaluating the possibility of Fade spirit sex, our most important source may be the funky hobo elf that started it all. In Trespasser, of course, Solas reveals that he is actually Fen’Harel (“The Dread Wolf,” the elven trickster god), responsible for the separation of worlds that created the Fade and the Veil standing between it and the mortal world. Over the centuries, his only close relationships (before meeting Lavellan) appear to have been with Fade spirits rather than mortals. So he should know more than anyone about sexuality in the Fade — and he does!

At one point in banter, Blackwall (with Sera's encouragement) even asks Solas point-blank about the possibility of spirit sex:

Blackwall: Sera and I were just talking about you. We need you to settle a question for us.

Solas: (Sighs.) Sera's involved? So this question will be offensive.

Blackwall: Yes, probably. Sorry.

Blackwall: You make friends with spirits in the Fade. So... um, are there any that are more than just friends? If you know what I mean.

Solas: Oh, for... really?!

Blackwall: Look, it's a natural thing to be curious about!

Solas: For a twelve-year-old!

Blackwall: It's a simple yes or no question!

Solas: Nothing about the Fade or spirits is simple, especially not that.

Blackwall: Aha! So you do have experience in these matters!

Solas: I did not say that.

Blackwall: Don't panic. It'll be our little secret.

Solas: Ass.

Blackwall: Now who's twelve?

(Side Note: This officially makes at least 4 major characters who have expressed an interest in sex and/or romance involving spirits - Zevran, Isabela, Sera, Blackwall. Up to 6 total if we count Maryden and Hawke, whose interest/involvement may be conditional on player choices. This should count as explicit validation on the part of Bioware).

In case Blackwell calling him out didn't make it sufficiently clear, Solas just admitted that Fade spirit sex is "especially not" "simple." As in Fade spirit sex is not just real and complicated but relatively more complicated than most things in the Fade. As in much further elaboration is desperately needed.

Furthermore, it may be especially noteworthy in this context that when Solas initiates (let me repeat, initiates) romantic/sexual contact with the Inquisitor, it's in the Fade. He's excited and confident enough not simply to accept another's affection but to actually take the lead, reaching out to grasp Lavellan's hand and pulling her into a kiss in the Fade, even while he becomes embarrassed and seeks to withdraw when once again in the physical world. Yes yes, it could reflect his general preference for and comfort with being in the Fade over the physical world or a nervousness about the reactions of others (given that going incorporeal ensures perfect privacy), but I would much prefer to immediately jump to the conclusion that it means that Solas has a lot of experience getting laid in the Fade and briefly panicked about how much she would read into it and whether she might harbor any prejudice against intercorporeal (???) relationships given traditional Dalish suspicion of contact with spirits.

Conclusion

If you've finally read to the end of this obscenely long post about Fade spirit sexuality, then I don't even know what to say. Uh, thanks for indulging in my unhinged ghost sex fantasies dumped on my blog under the flimsy excuse of writing another Dragon Age meta? To be fair, though, you probably wasted far much less of your life reading this than I spent writing this. As always, linking to porn of any of the spirit/spirit-possessed characters above (er, the adult ones) is strongly encouraged and may increase the likelihood of you becoming my favorite mutual.

In conclusion, I believe we have firm evidence that banging Fade spirits would be interesting, lore-consistent, and overall a valuable addition to the upcoming sequel Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Bioware cheated us with previous opportunities to fornicate with Fade spirits, and it's only fair that they include an option to get laid with some sort of incorporeal or transcendent being in the future.

[musicmakesyousmart]

Spirit Possession - Self-titled

Profound Lore

2020

[dustedmagazine]

Jonathan Shaw's Year in Review: Another year of pissed-off music (and some that’s somehow not so pissed), for the freaks, and the lovers, and the ghosts

2023 threatened for some months to be a marginally less awful mess than the several years before it, but then came autumn, and the Cop28 Conference turned into a massive lobbying event for the fossil fuels industry; and Geert Wilders pulled off his dismaying political success in the Netherlands; and the paranoid style in American politics was further entrenched (witness MTG’s juice as a figure of national political import and Mike Johnson holding the House gavel); and Gaza was reduced to blood-soaked rubble; and there is the ever-increasing, mind-flaying certainty that yes, 2024 will be dominated in the States by a presidential race between two completely unacceptable choices: a frail Boomer largely coasting on the fact that he is not his principal rival for the office, and that principal rival, whose absurdity increases in direct proportion to the hazard of his petulant, narcissistic rage.

No wonder much of the music on this list is so steeped in fury, contempt and sorrow for the continuing idiocy and grinding horror of the human condition. Some of that music is memorably grim, or ferocious, or both. See the records below by Gravesend, Lucifixion and Spirit Possession, all of which cut viscerally violent paths through your senses. Eardrums are subjected to scorched-earth treatment. I dig it.

But those aren’t the only feeling tones available on records I listened to a lot this year (still the dominant metric for how records get on this list: How often did I play them?). On “Bananas,” a great song from Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You, Will Oldham’s gentle strumming and the song’s duet of hushed vocals dramatize lovemaking, to achingly gorgeous effect. On “Quiet World,” the best track on Home Front’s excellent Games of Power, the band commits to the sad-boy, New Romantic postpunk that some of their other songs flirt with a good deal less certainly. And while no one would ever wish to accuse the Sleaford Mods of anything other than sardonic smarts, “The Rhythms of Class” may be as close to pop music as the band has ever gotten, and it’s a terrific tune.

So maybe that’s why Gel’s Only Constant got so much play in my world this year: it’s “hardcore for fucking freaks,” as the band likes to insist, and it rips. But that’s not its only tone. The songs are also affirming, like the hand on your back at the edge of the pit that doesn’t shove but seeks to steady you on your pins. You can hear plenty of anger in the songs, but it’s not the sort that sends you out to score coke or oxy (more likely it'll mostly be fentanyl—careful out there, kids) or prompts you to set fire to random objects in the public square. It’s music to dance to, along with the other freaks, and to gather and sing in support of something you believe in. And thank goodness there is still great punk rock that wants us to feel that.

So Only Constant is presented below, first, as the album I am most grateful for this year, and all the other records are alphabetical by artist.

Gel—Only Constant (Convulse Records)

What’s better than those first 50 seconds of “Honed Blade”? To my ears, this year, nothing.

BIG|BRAVE—nature morte (Thrill Jockey)

Noisy, beautiful and idiosyncratic songs of love, desperation and death. The band finds new ways to create shapes with sound, and tunes out of those shapes.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy—Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (Drag City)

Simultaneously spare and lush, poetical and direct, wooden and fleshed. It’s the best record he’s made in some years.

Gravesend—Gowanus Death Stomp (20 Buck Spin)

Like a dip in the Gowanus Canal, this record is cold, corrosive and really, really bad for you. Not all of Brooklyn is for hipsters.

Home Front—Games of Power (La Vida Es un Mus)

Synth-rich postpunk meets the macho multi-voiced choruses of Oi! and the unthinkable happens: the songs are really, really good.

Lucifixion—Trisect Joys of Pierced Hearts (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

Icy, satanic black metal that’ll strip you down to the bones, and it’ll grin while doing so. Weirdly, you may grin, too.

Retirement—Buyer’s Remorse (Iron Lung Records)

Overly adventurous consumers might have some buyer’s remorse if this record slips impulsively into their carts on a Bandcamp Friday, but smart punks sure won’t. Fast, nasty, hammering, anti-capitalist hardcore.

Sleaford Mods—UK Grim (Rough Trade)

More songs slagging Idles, Brexit, Tories and Labour, but as ever, the Mods make it all sound fresh. Angry, exhausted and jaded, but still fresh. Neat trick. Good record.

Spectral Lore—11 Days (I, Voidhanger)

Originally released as a straight-to-digital charity fundraiser, 11 Days has been packaged as a CD by I, Voidhanger and put back into circulation. Unusually political for Spectral Lore, the record sonically represents the journey thousands of migrants have taken across the Mediterranean, only to face the current racism and ethno-nationalisms proliferating through Europe. It’s harrowing stuff.

Spirit Possession—…Of the Sign (Profound Lore)

Utterly nutty, memorably antic, acid-drenched black metal. Like a bad trip, but you’ll be sort of disappointed when it ends.

Special shout-out to Mitski for “My Love Mine All Mine,” a great song that is, as a friend pointed out to me, both pop and the real thing—in spite of which the broader culture has embraced it. And also this:

They’re both gone now, but we still have their songs, and memories of them like this one. O’Connor’s weird, inbent charisma is hugely effective here, and she is so, so lovely. But it’s MacGowan’s song, and while he wrote it a bit earlier (when he and Cait O’Riordan were both still in the Pogues; she sings on the excellent version of the tune that made it onto Sid and Nancy’s soundtrack), it’s bittersweet that the last great song he ever recorded and released was a love song. A song in which the power of love is registered by the extent to which one is “haunted” by its “ghost,” and hence also by its death—that’s MacGowan to the core, and we’ll never get another songwriter like him.

Down with fascism, smash all nationalisms, turn the music up.

Jonathan Shaw

[save-the-data]

GHOST DOCTOR S01E07

Korean Drama - 2022, 16 episodes  

~ Episode List~ |  ~Korean Drama Master List~    

[jan-hen]

Possession - Sylvanas and Tyrande

A special double possession line art commission featuring ladies from the Warcraft universe. A lucky lad has somehow managed to split his soul in two, and is currently possessing the bodies of Sylvanas Windrunner and Tyrande Whisperwind!

Feel free to check out the full resolution version on my Patreon! www.patreon.com/retrosqueeze

[idesofrevolution]

Friends on the Other Side

Ted looked down at his watch, of course the flight was delayed. It's not as if he were on a time crunch anyway, a few weeks off in Miami and Key West would be exactly the right way to spend his hard earned vacation time. He'd always been a workhorse, barely eating, barely sleeping, just going hard every day for the last nine months until he was a zombie: skin and bones. All those hours added up, and thank god he'd been able to use them against his boss-all in all he'd accumulated 14 days of vacation days, and it was finally time to cash in.

It seemed, however, that Delta had different plans. The flight was now delayed almost an hour thanks to "difficulties" in Atlanta and Ted was then left to occupy himself in the terminal for the next 45-50 minutes. He sighed, the thought of the white sandy beaches and rolling turquoise waves was beckoning to him from the vast beyond. He'd be there soon enough. Pulling out his phone, he did what any self-respecting 20 something year old twink would do: he checked Scruff. Sighing with exasperation, he opened the app to an immediate fifteen messages- most of them from pictureless or torso profiles. Though, some of them were rather nice lookin.

His options were limited to whoever was flying in and out of the airport, unfortunately, so that knocked the options down to only a single man. A torso, but it was a nice lookin' torso. Cobbled abs, meaty pecs, tattoos all over. Yummy yummy. Smiling, he opened the message.

BARONSAMEDI: Hey there baby, what brings you to Scruff tonight?

TEDDYTWINK: Looking for a good use of an hour or so. Flight Delay.

BARONSAMEDI: Quite a bit you can do in an hour.

TEDDYTWINK: What can you do in an hour? ;)

BARONSAMEDI: Why don't I just show you?

Ted felt his cheeks blush. He was slick, a nice change from the immediate three unflattering dick pics and a "hey." Not to mention it'd been a minute since he'd actually had the energy to... enjoy some company. He looked up at the clock, 45 minutes in counting. Then there's boarding, so maybe another ten minutes or so? As he sat there trying to justify what he'd been looking to do, the man messaged back.

BARONSAMEDI: Concourse C. I'll be in the mens room. Third stall. If you're curious, of course.

Ted was in Concourse C, and the mens room was only about four gates down. Perhaps it was the proximity that convinced him, or the large time window, or more likely than not, the mysterious man's confident energy itself. He smiled, closing his phone and gathering his belongings. Stacking his bags, he rolled down the long hallway, past gates for Minneapolis, St. Louis, Bangor, and Seattle before finally arriving at the men's room. He quietly walked into the bathroom, finding it completely devoid of occupants. He'd never seen an airport bathrom entirely empty before- perhaps he just hit it right. The rolling of his suitcase's wheels against the tile floor loudly echoed in the cavernous room, and as he arrived in the third stall.

Gingerly peering into the floor gap from above, he could see two huge black combat boots standing behind the door. You know what they say- big feet... big, oh you know. A gentle tap was all it took for the the lock to click open, as Ted did one last sweep of the bathroom before sneaking in and closing the door. Turning around, he saw the occupant, his companion for the next hour.

"Well hello there, my pet." Before him stood a man, large and imposing; two dead, white eyes peered at him behind a dark skull visage. His voice seemed to echo in a low sultry growl, and his accent made him rather hard to understand. "What's the matter, never met the boogeyman before?" The lights seemed to darken around the man as he cackled, leaving a black, empty void surrounding them. He pulled out a cigar, smiling as he lit it with the snap of his fingers. Smiling, he blew the smoke in Ted's shocked face, as he bent down to speak to him at eye level. "I have a proposition for ya, my child."

Ted was terrified, the being before him was not of this world, he was from the great beyond and past our comprehension. There was a strange energy about the man: smooth, flirtatious, suave, with an ounce of danger lurking beneath. The way he looked at Ted... as if he were fucking him with his eyes and that smirk, it was a difficult dichotomy for him to comprehend. Though, as he stood there, cowering in awe and fear, a lingering curiosity grew within him. What did this creature... this being... want with just a normal dude like him? The man leaned in closer, blowing another puff of thick cigar smoke in his face, a probing look across his skeletal face.

"Wha... what did you have in mind?" The man stood upright again, towering above Ted in the dark expanse, letting his long split tongue lick his plump, painted lips. He seemed to lean against the nothingness, a glass of dark rum manifesting itself in thin air into his inked hand.

"Well, it's really quite simple. You're lookin' for a good time, a nice vacation on the beach, maybe make sure some good lookin' fellas end up in the bed at the end of the day. You want to be able to snatch a fella like that with just the snap of your fingers. You want to be strong, and hard, and virile, and get that goood ass. Do I paint an accurate picture?" The sting of truth rang through Ted. Every word was correct. He cautiously nodded his head, still skeptical of the sinister spirit. "Now all I want to do is have a little fun myself, ya feel me? I want a little some of that action, you know what I'm saying? Now I'm all about helping a lost, sad little man like you when he's down in the dumps. But I don't work for free."

An air of menace fell over the duo, and the tension seemed to only grow between them. The spirit looked at him from nearly every angle, as if he were examining produce at the market to find the best one, and he seemed to be pleased.

"What are you proposing, then, sir?" Ted's voice shuddered, be it fear or pure adrenaline. He himself was not sure of his thoughts- this eldritch spirit with the energy of a lusting horn dog was offering him a once in a lifetime deal... perhaps he'd at least hear the terms?

"Only that we may share our experiences with eachother. I will provide you with the tools you need to, shall we say, seal the deal. And in return, you merely allow me to have a little fun of my own along the way." The terms were unclear at best, and duplicitous at worst. That seemed to be in line with the ambiguous intention that the spirit exuded. "Do we have a deal?" The man extended his long, boney hand, the subtle whispers in the dark encouraging him to 'take the deal, take his hand, do it, do it.' Ted, perhaps blinded by the prospect of him being some sort of casanova stud, exhaled deeply as he grasped the calloused, rough hand he'd been offered. He accepted.

The quiet whispers in the room quickly turned to maniacal laughter, as the spirit smiled wickedly at his naive prey. His split tongue ran down Ted's cheek as it tickled it's way down his neck. Ted's clothes faded into the endless oblivion, where he now stood naked and vulnerable. The grip on his hand started to tighten until it felt as if his skin was being seared by the scalding heat. The spirit cackled, the smoke from his cigar wafed around them, obscuring Ted's sight. Within seconds, through a small clearing in the smoke, the spirit's fist flew toward his face with no time to react. All Ted could do was close his eyes and prepare for impact, but to his absolute shock and horror, there was no collision whatsoever. He felt a tightening in his neck, as if there were a frog in his throat. Opening his eyes, he saw what was causing this sensation.

The spirit's arm, submerged into his gaping mouth up to his elbow, and continuing to sink deeper. As more and more of the spirit began to push past his lips, the mans body began to dissipate into a thick fog of almost liquid smoke as it rushed down into Ted's gullet. The taste of ignited tobacco, spiced rum, marijuana, and musky sweat overwhelmed his tongue until it was all he could sense. Holding his breath held no resistance, as the spirit continued to effortlessly push further and further into him, the last of the rubbery smoke flapping around as it whipped down into his mouth.

Ted looked down at himself, a strange green aura began to emit from all around his body, while within him, the spirit's deep, low laughter now bellowed loudly. He looked down as what looked like tendrils began to snake around beneath his skin, protruding out as they squirmed.

"Well, well, well." The spirit's voice boomed from deep inside his chest. "You must be enjoying yourself, Ted. Not much of a fight I must say. Now, as I am a man of my word..." The tendrils snaked down his arms, squiggling their way toward his fingers. Ted began to scream, but as the smoke filled the entirety of his hand, he now found it clasped tightly over his mouth. It began to pulsate as it started to grow and bulk, thick slabs of muscle seemlingly inflating from his very bones, and within moments, it looked nothing like what used to be. His hands were now thick, wide, and calloused, capping off an arm with bulging biceps and triceps dangling from a rock hard deltoid. Ted let out a gasp, pleasantly surprised as his arm flexed all on it's own, a salty wet musk pouring from his pit. "You are enjoying yourself, Ted. No more fighting. Just let me do my work- you won't be disappointed.

A flood of tan washed down his skin from his head to his toes, as the rest of his body began to creak and crack. Tendrils shot out from ever direction, squeezing into Ted's lanky extremeties and inflating them with thick, cut muscle. His shoulders broadened, and his pecs pillowed out of his chest, a light dusting of hair sprouting down his individually popping abs. His right arm swelled to match the other in tone and size, Ted smiling eagerly as his thick knuckles cracked at the sheer force of his fist. Shooting up to an impressive 6'10, Ted's legs burst with mass, ballooning outward and hardening into thick thighs, a tight ass, and chiseled calves. Bursting out of his shoes, high arched size 17's now rounded out his physique, emanating a strong funky musk of their own and keeping all 230 pounds of cut mocha colored muscle steady and supported.

Feeling the final changes settling in, he waited with bated breath as his face began to contort and pinch, squelch and crack. His throbbing cock stretched outward, pressing against the skin tight jeans that encased his lower half, finally peeking it's slimy uncut head out the top, eventually letting the 11 inch monster leak it's pre all across his hard abdomen. Ted opened his eyes, and looked down.

He was an adonis- the jacked, sultry heart throb kind that he'd see on modeling campaigns and pornos. Within his head, Ted profusely thanked his grantor, absolutely dying to explore his new body and see what it could do. Though, it seemed the spirit had other plans. Ted felt a wave of goosebumps flow over his skin, and his new plump lips crack a mischevious side grin. The sly spirit within was not finished, it was now time for Ted to pay up.

"This is my masterpiece, Ted. You should be proud." The spirits dark, deep voice bellowed out of his mouth now while his hands groped and prodded ever delicious ounce of man meat. "But now it's time to pay up, my friend." Ted, now reduced to a mere soul acting as a passenger in his former body's mind, felt the spirit's presence tightening around him. Compressing him. "Now, just let me get a bit more comfortable." The pressure was mounting, building and building against his intangible soul until he felt a small prick. That's all it took for the spirit to flood into the kid's soul. He gleefully grabbed his cock, slowly stroking it as he took this body for himself. Ted felt the very core of the loa merging with his consciousness, as if his last bit of individuality was being slipped on like a costume. His fear was slowly replaced by cockiness and confidence. The feeling of lust overwhelmed him; debaucherous and filthy kinks flooded his mind as the loa inserted himself into Ted.

Intricate tattoos began to be burnt onto his skin, starting from his smelly toes and crawling all the way up his body. Breathlessly jacking his cock, animalistic growls and grunt escaped his mouth, the green cloudy aura grew stronger, now filled with the sharp scent of musk, booze, and tobacco. Nearing climax, the loa took one final moment to absorb the last of Ted, truly becoming one with him. And with an animalistic roar, he shot stream after stream of his thick, gloopy load, pooling into a small sea of cum around his bare feet. His eyes shot open, now a dead white, and his tongue split in two as the last of his ink finalized on his face, the pattern of a skull sublty hidden in it's design. The baron let out a gutteral laugh, as he tickled his sweaty pits with his forked tongue.

"Thanks, Ted. It's a win win. You have the body you've always wanted, and I get to enjoy the land of the living, with all the dick, ass, and pussy that I can take." The loa snapped his fingers, manifesting a string of protection beads, a purple chiffon shirt, and massive combat boots to deck out his sexy new form.

---------

"Final call for boarding on Flight 1102 with service to Miami." The young desk attendant hung up the speakerphone. Only one no-show, not the worst turnout, and only one person that he'd have to get cussed out by. As he typed away at the computer, preparing the gate for takeoff, he caught a gentle whiff of a strange smell. Sweet, salty, sharp... was someone smoking? Before he could look up to find out himself, a hand slammed a boarding pass down onto the desk in front of him. The young man looked up, only inches away from the final passenger's devilishly sexy face.

"Got caught up in the bathroom, my bad, baby." The desk attendant shivered at the sound of his voice, deeper than the ocean and darker than night. Gazing into the piercing grey eyes that stared into his very soul, he felt entirely lost in them. Mindlessly, he stamped the boarding pass, not breaking eye contact for a single moment. The man smiled, biting his lower lip as he sized up the flight attendant. "Thanks, baby. You know how it is. Man's got needs and tension he has to let out. I got a bit left over for a special someone." The man gently caressed the attendant's cheek with his rough fingers. "If you happen to need a release of your own, I'll be ready for you." His split tongue slid between his pearly white teeth, as he took the boarding pass from the attendant and started down the jetway, the trailing green mist wafting behind him as he strode.

[tawneybel]

Female Cartoon Characters Who Get Possessed

Note: Or infested. Animation, comics, etc. Be free to suggest more. Male list. Female live-action list. Male live-action list.

Frightwig from Ben 10 (“Ghosfreaked out”)

Gwen Tennyson from Ben 10 (“Ghosfreaked out”)

Anya Alstreim from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

Sissi Delmas from Code Lyoko (“Contact,” “Cousins Once Removed”)

Tamiya Diop from Code Lyoko (“Music to Soothe the Savage Beast”)

Aelita Hopper from Code Lyoko (“Double Trouble,” “The Pretender,” “The Secret”)

nurse from Code Lyoko (“Contact”)

Yolanda Perraudin from Code Lyoko (“Tip-Top Shape”)

Milly Solovieff from Code Lyoko (“Music to Soothe the Savage Beast”)

Sophie from Code Lyoko (“Music to Soothe the Savage Beast”)

various from Code Lyoko (“Lyoko Minus One”)

Muriel Bagge from Courage the Cowardly Dog (“The Demon in the Mattress”)

Sam Manson from Danny Phantom (“Urban Jungle”)

Paulina from Danny Phantom (“Lucky in Love,” “Public Enemies,” “What You Want”)

various from Danny Phantom (“Urban Jungle”)

Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls (“The Inconveniencing”)

Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (“Get out of My Head!”)

woman possessed by mummy’s ghost from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (“Get out of My Head!”)

Ami Onuki from HiHi Puffy AmiYumi (“Ami Goes Bad”)

Wonder Woman from Justice League Unlimited (“Dead Reckoning”)

Jody Irwin from The Life and Times of Juniper Lee (“It Takes a Pillage”)

Ophelia Ramirez from The Life and Times of Juniper Lee (“It Takes a Pillage”)

Katie from Martin Mystery (“The Curse of the Necklace”)

Diana Lombard from Martin Mystery (“The Body-Swapper,” “Haunting of the Blackwater,” “Return of the Djini”)

M.O.M. from Martin Mystery (“Beast from within”)

Jenny Wakeman from My Life As a Teenage Robot (“Pest Control,” “The Return of the Raggedy Android”)

Lorna from Over the Garden Wall (“The Ringing of the Bell”)

Hotaru Tomoe from Sailor Moon S

Clover from Totally Spies! (“It’s How You Play the Game”)

Mira from Totally Spies! (“It’s How You Play the Game”)

Maria Kurenai from Vampire Knight

[blastbeat]

spirit possession [usa] // raw black metal.

"enter the golden sign” is from the album “of the sign...”, released via profound lore records in 2023.

[justcallmecappy]

You know, in terms of mage companions I feel like on we haven't had yet is a rivaini seer or an avvar mage. So on one hand, I'll love to see both of them as a companion but then Bioware would find a way to villanize or both-sides the them. Instead of just presenting them as they are and letting us come to our own conclusions they employ these manipulative writing techniques to steer you away from having TOO much sympathy for mages, so I'd rather Rivain just remained in the background. Much safer

It would be so cool to have a Rivaini seer or Avvar mage companion. Bonus points if they were benignly possessed by a Spirit (two-in-one deal! 😆) and it would shed so much light on the lore on Spirit possession.

On the topic of Spirit possession: Jaws of Hakkon kind of gave us a glimpse into what benign Spirit possession among the Avvar looks like; it might be likely the next game will take us to Rivain and we'll get to see practices among the seers there, too. I think it also might be likely we'll get to visit Nevarra, and might either get to play as a Mortalitasi or have a Mortalitasi companion, which might also shed more light on Spirits inhabiting (dead) bodies.

But you do have point about BioWare's disappointing track record when it comes to portraying mages. The next game will bring us to Tevinter; I'm just dreading they'll try to convince players "magic bad, mages evil!" 😐 I'm not keeping my hopes up.

Thanks for the ask! 😃

[shootingstarwritings]

"Hey bro, how does a crew battle work...?"

Hey, it's me again! The name's James. Last time we checked up like this, I hopped my roommate's body so he'd get better at fighting games. His name's Korrin, but he prefers Kor.

I gotta admit, these powers were a pretty sweet deal. He suddenly had a brand new genre to enjoy and I got to play with his body every once in a while. Seemed like a win-win, right?

Well, we got caught up talking just a bit too much shit during one of the weeklies. Think I ended up messing with my roommate's personality a bit too much while I was jerking off as him. He was far cockier than before I started taking over.

"Yeah, that's right. $500 crew battle," said Kor, flexing his muscles through the tight t-shirt I had mind-fucked him into preferring to wear. "Me and James could beat the shit outta everyone in this venue. Easy."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, saying, "Chill the hell out before you spend all our rent money," through clenched teeth. In response, he leaned over and gave me a deep kiss before talking more shit.

We didn't have to play everyone in the venue, but now we were stuck in a 4v4 crew battle; and Kor had successfully pissed off just about everyone who was a regular. We had two weeks to find two other guys to fill out our team or we'd be going hungry for the next month.

The ride home was quiet, although Kor didn’t seem to mind. He stared straight ahead, one hand on the steering wheel while another was on my thigh. Occasionally, he would squeeze while smiling at me. The way his eyes lit up whenever we were together dazzled me. I couldn’t stay mad at him, especially when it was my fault he was the way he was.

"Aww, don’tcha worry," said Kor as he massaged my shoulders, another trait I had bestowed him. My bed was a bit small for the two of us, and Kor had often wondered out loud if we could fit a queen sized bed in my room. “I’m sure we’ll find some guys. Even if they’re dead weight, you and me can wipe the floor with everyone there.” Before I could say anything, he leaned over and kiss my neck. I shivered, toes curling as he greedily licked one of my more sensitive spots.

After I let out a few… unbecoming moans, Kor pulled away and tittered. “Love making you cry out like that,” he said in a sensual tone. “Well, good night. Gotta get to the gym early tomorrow.”

As the door to his room shut close, I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. I had a few other friends that liked games, but they had no interested in fighting games like me. Of course, that had never stopped me before…

Two weeks should be enough time to make two pros, right?

The first guy on my list was Jason. He was a buddy of mine that I met in college. Smart, kind, and eager to show off the gains he'd made at the gym. "I spent three years to get this bod," he had bragged to me, showing off his toned and sweaty torso. Even so, he still enjoyed playing games, particularly RPGs. He was always throwing one my way or another--with tons of fan translations and cryptic guides as well.

I'd have to play one of them to completion one of these days to thank him for the service he was about to provide.

The night after Kor made his bet, I made my move. I locked my door and focused on flying. My body slowly lost its weight, density, and then mass in general. Skin peeled away and disappeared into dust, waiting for the chance to reform once my mission was complete. Organs twisted into neat little knots that blinked out of existence. My bones ground up against each other before vanishing.

It was only during those few precious moments that my soul was free. I sailed through the sky, unable to feel the wind on my face yet elated all the same. The moon was so close to my fingertips that it felt unfair that I couldn't grasp it. However, I knew exactly what I could grip instead.

I phased through Jason's apartment with little issue and found himself soon afterward. He was playing a battle simulator without a shirt on. "It's about a 73% to one-hit KO," he muttered to himself as he clicked through an innumerable amount of tabs. I knew for a fact some of them were months old and untouched for just as long.

Probably another habit I’d have to kick, but it was hard to focus on that when I kept focusing on that tight body he had. I would’ve licked my lips of I had any in that form. Not wanting to waste any more time, I hopped into him.

“Hnng…! Ahhh…hah…!” Jason let out a moan, tongue sticking out involuntarily as a shiver of pleasure ran all throughout his body. “Wh-what the fuck—is happening—“ Jason moaned as he turned around and began to hump his seat cushions. “AH! NRGH AAAAAHHHH!” Any words Jason would’ve tried to cry out were soon overpowered by panicked pants of pleasure. His hands, which would’ve normally reached for his phone to call for help, could only play with his chest and sensitive nipples.

My will overpowered his own, but Jason didn’t seem to mind. He kicked off his shoes, socked toes curling up in pleasure, and rubbed his trembling body all over the coach. “I-I…! K-Keep go—OOAHH—Keep going!” He said, panting and laughing the whole time. His back arched once more as he let out a strangled scream while his erect cock spewed semen all over his shorts. Jason, mind drowning in a hurricane of euphoria curtesy of me, collapsed covered in a sweaty, semen-covered mess.

Eventually, I opened my new eyes and felt my chiseled body. “Mmm, oh Jason. Let’s get your hand-eye coordination to my level.” As I began to strip so I could play in the nude, I saw angry DMs from Jason’s opponent.

Smirking, I walked over to the laptop and messaged him back. “Sorry bro, too busy playing games and fucking bussy to play with a pussy like you. GG you win, loser.”

I laughed as I got another stream of profanities from Jason’s old opponent, but I didn’t care. I was covered in sweat, smelling like a real man, while I was playing my favorite game.

Once Jason was done and truly mind-fucked, I had one more person I needed to visit.

[acorpsecalledcorva]

hi! we've seen your post about mediums/possessions in other cultures and relation to plurality - we'd like to ask, do you know anything (or can you conduct to some resources about) experiences of channeling a spirit/superior being?

I know it's way too generalised like that... what we do experience is a partly voluntary-partly involuntary experience of partial possession by a spirit or deity. think like co-consciousness and intrusions of actions/thoughts, but instead of being "regular" co-consciousness within our system, is separate from us

sorry if it's too elaborate!

It's certainly a tricky one. I mentioned in the last post a case of possession consistent with DID, there's another example about a century later of a nun who believed she was possessed by Angels, but DID isn't the only mental health condition that would have been misinterpreted as a possession, schizophrenia, BPD, bipolar, tourettes, autism, heck pretty much anything could have been taken to be the work of the devil, in some cultures depression is viewed as being caused by bad spirits. To that end, modern practices pretty much all stipulate that mental health must be ruled out or advise that someone shouldn't become a medium if they experience mental health issues. This is less common unfortunately in the more eclectic non organised practices of the online witchy community.

It is something that the community has endless debates on though! There are a lot of witches who talk about having made contact and establishing a regular dialogue with deities, occasionally going so far as to date them. This is met with quite strong skepticism, usually along the lines of "why the fuck would the Egyptian deity Osiris take time out of his busy day to hang out with a 17 year old Walgreens clerk from a small town in Arizona?" but that also kinda depends on the spirit or deity. In Umbande, communication with a group of spirits colloquially called Pomba Gira is an encouraged and open practice.

Now for my own experiences and perspective, which may or may not be relevant as I don't know know anything about you, I started my practice shortly after system discovery. I had alters who were really interested in it but the host at the time was very against it. Since then, things have gotten weird. I haven't had any experiences as you've described, but I've seen things. Visions of a god chained up in a far away world, visitors in my bedroom at night, creatures that climb up the sides of houses while I walk around during the day. Many of these experiences have been quite distressing, and as such it's very important to me that I understand that these things aren't really there, they're just hallucinations. I've seen what happens when a practitioner becomes overwhelmed by psychotic symptoms entrenched in their spiritual beliefs and it's not pretty.

That being said, in other ways my being a system has been incredibly beneficial to my practice. So many exercises and techniques that are used to reach an altered state of consciousness is stuff that my brain does automatically and easily. When I've engaged in trance induction rituals slipping into the trance is as simple as taking a step through an open door. My ability to close off my perception of the outside world and look inwards is so beneficial both in meditation and parts work. Someone once gave me advice on how to alleviate chronic pain and it was something I had been doing since I was 10 years old. And so if I wanna get really Woowoo with it my assumption would be communication with and possession by spirits requires dissociation. To be able to turn off the parts of our brain that connect to this plane of existence and become open to others.

So to sum up, I would advise a healthy level of caution and exploration into any mental health stuff you might have going on, be truthful with yourself about whether this experience is beneficial to you or harmful in some way, if you know who the spirit or deity is and it's a known and established being then it's worth exploring precedent, but if it's all good then it's all good, right?

[squirrelwithatophat]

One thing that has always disappointed me about Wynne’s portrayal in Dragon Age Origins is that pretty much all of the player’s interactions with her occur after she is possessed by a spirit of Faith. She has, what, 30 seconds or so of screen time (standing around at Ostagar) prior to this life-changing, even self-changing, event?

The games show us what possession by a Fade spirit does (or at least can do) to a person through the story arc of Anders. Merging with a spirit of Justice radically alters his personality — in Dragon Age II, the way he speaks, his interactions with other characters, his outlook on life, etc. all much more strongly resemble the original Justice than the original human Anders of DAO Awakening. It also imbues him with a spirit’s burning antagonism towards demons and anything even remotely demon-related (whereas Anders the human didn’t express any strong opinions on demons or blood magic) and overriding need to fulfill its purpose. The quest log immediately after completing his recruitment quest (Tranquility, Act 1) reads, “Anders was revealed to be a spirit of Justice” (not simply that Anders was possessed by or host to a spirit of justice), and he himself elaborates early on, “He's gone now. He's part of me. It's not like we can... have a conversation. I feel his thoughts as my own. Not even the greatest scholar could tell you where I end and he begins.” David Gaider, who wrote Anders and Justice in Awakening and plotted out their story arc in DA2 (before handing off the writing to Jennifer Hepler), explained, “The character in DA2 is not Anders. Or, I should say, it’s not solely Anders. If one was looking for him to be solely Anders, that character is not there. He is both Anders and Justice. As I’ve said previously regarding Anders in DA2, if there was anything I would go back and try differently, it would be to make the transition between the old character and the new a bit less jarring.” There’s an entire 10+ hour game (Awakening) featuring the “real” (or perhaps simply “original”) Anders, in which he is the first lasting companion to be recruited and in which the player gets to learn in depth his history, his hopes and dreams, his fears, and just who he is as a man. Regardless of your perceptions of Justice-Anders and their actions in DA2, I believe there’s enormous tragic value in witnessing a character’s loss of self or “death of personality,” as Anders the human becomes subsumed by Justice the spirit. Unfortunately, you only really see this directly if you played Awakening first — while Gaider had intended “to show his progression over the acts” from an Anders-dominant to a Justice-dominant personality, in Hepler’s hands the switch between the Anders of Awakening and Justice-Anders of DA2 is pretty “jarring” (in Gaider’s words) and left many DA fans confused. While in all honesty I’m deeply dissatisfied with the way Justice-Anders was ultimately written (to clarify, I’m referring to the “how” more so than the “what”), at least we do get to know Anders and can observe the change, with fairly long before-and-after shots to compare and write metas about.

But we get none of this with Wynne.

True, a Faith-possessed Wynne discusses her past on multiple occasions, although for the most part she tends to refer to the distant past, her childhood and ‘wild youth’ so to speak, and this distance makes it difficult to disentangle the effects of aging and gradual adjustment/resignation to life in the Circle from the direct effects of spirit possession.  There appears to be continuity in her overall beliefs from shortly before and after — she was deeply religious, identified as an Aequitarian by Niall (i.e., believing in reforming the Circle while remaining under Chantry rule), opposed to Uldred in his efforts to ally with Loghain and seek independence from the Chantry (according to her Codex), “trying to save what was left of the Circle” during Uldred’s uprising (see Codex), and so on — and she indicates that the spirit of Faith had taken an interest in her (acting as a sort of ‘guardian angel’) years before the possession, albeit for reasons she doesn’t quite understand. Faith’s attraction to Wynne could have been based on the latter’s personality traits, beliefs, or life struggles (considering that she had turned to, well, faith to cope with hurt and anger at being imprisoned in the Circle), and the preexisting similarity between them could account for the apparent continuity in Wynne’s attitudes and behavior. But again, we have to listen to retrospective descriptions and make inferences rather than actually directly see what’s going on.

So who was the real (or perhaps “original”) Wynne?

Don’t get me wrong; I hate awkward flashback sequences as much as the next guy, and I’m not going to shed tears over it. But it would be cool if Gaider gave us some prequel material.

[mrtva-vrana]

Spirit Possession | Of the Sign...

March 31, 2023

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