#almost more important than achieving the original goal | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eetheon · 16 days

Text

-MiNUS-

WARNING: manipulation, gaslighting, toxic relationship, minor suicide and depression mentioned, cannibalism

A/N: pretend that the poster said chapter 1 teehee 🕳️🚶

MiNUS: is a story mixed between greek mythology and bible (with jewish mythology creature idk) about a newborn son of Nyx actually caring about the world's situation between the gods and sets an impossible ambitious goal

the story is not accurate to the original and can only see as an alternative story between the two major stories

Chapter-1

As the tears of the primodial goddess, fell and rest upon her bare hands, the hands of a mother that lost her beloved daughter. Nyx mourned for such long time until her heart could no longer ache anymore, both of her palm rest in front of her very core as it's cosmos' power and rule blooms in sadness and spread throughout the whole night nation, her brows furrowed in frustration thinking about.. her long gone daughter

-Oizys, was a sad and poor girl. Her cosmos rule enable her to feel every negative emotions of every being on earth and could be used as her cosmos power, but she could never feel any positive emotions other than neutral and negative. She was the daughter that Nyx loved the most, having her passed away broke Nyx’s motherly heart in every single way as painful as possible, yet she couldn’t just sit and cry and expect it to bring her daughter back to life, though there’s much more important things approaching, much more heartbreaking for her to take even if she already know what it is.

That’s why she’s creating a new deity, a new god, a new son. The new god of negativity, depression and misery.

But unlike her daughter, he has a separable senses which called core in the vocabulary of god. She destined for him to be able to take out the core that senses the feeling of sadness, and also the core that transfers every negative feeling into his cosmos power, the power core. But because of the harm that was coming, she destined him to grow within a year making him the youngest child. But at that time she was too messed up to write his cosmos identity properly as she immediately released the newborn god to the world with a command, “balance the world’s sentiment, alongside your partner, goddess Euphrosyne.” Right after her words, he descended to the world with a confused and unknowing feeling.

Nyx' hiccups and cries continued to slip out of her mouth as her body weakened, plunges down onto the floor and drown into the ‘felt like’ eternal despair and desolation, without anyone to lift her up into their limbs, or so she thought she was alone.

As a presence of the second known primordial god, one who swore to protect her yet, he stood there behind her and spoke softly, “replacing our youngest precious child already? You must’ve been miserable my love.” He said while walking forward to her inadequate body.

“Dear, for what you’ve done, it’s not only for the child’s sake nor ours. But you benefited me quite astoundingly, say me my dear, were you to voluntarily assist me, into achieving the highest authority of the whole expanded universe?” Nyx look at him with the same sorrowful eyes the same as the few minutes before, while he caress her right hand to lift her up gently. She opened her mouth to let out shaky words

“But Erebus… we know you can’t do that… it’s entirely impossible to reach that high dear-“

—“So you’re not willing to help me? Aren’t I your most beloved one my dear?"

“N-no it’s just that- it already happened to Momus—“

“Are you willing to assist me or not?”

Nyx flinched as Erebus’ voice echoed through the chamber’s emptiness, his expression remained stoic, while his free hand rose up to caress her almost-dried tear stained cheeks softly, but barely affectionately

“Yes dear…”

Erebus smiles softly, but plain, he nodded as a gratitude for her beneficial distribution, even if it was forced, the obscured sadistic desire of his, craving of his for obedience whether it was her or not. Erebus whispered her a sweet adieu, au revior as if she would wanted to acknowledge his presence anywhere, yet, she loved him as much as she was forced to

The embodiment of the darkness lord vanished into the other destination of his, she looked at the entrance of the large chamber again, just to perceive yet another presence

“Mother?”

“ how long have you been here, child” she asked the much younger man coldly, dragging her gaze away along with her head

“Enough for me to hear everything” the man said while trailing his gaze down, his head tilted down to the floor, his adam’s apple budged as he swallowed deeply while pondering to himself for a moment before asking his dear mother

“I’d really appreciated it if you open up to me, mother”

Nyx clenched her jaw slightly, she wanted to do that, she wanted to run into her dearly beloved child’s arms and express all of her imprisoned, excluded from sights of a sentiment to him. He knew how badly she craved for even a slightest genuine love and comfort, that’s why he wanted to persuade her to actually let out all of her agony.

But his presence, his aura, his appearance and part of his personality just tragically recalled someone who just happened to left right before she noticed her son’s presence

“You assume that your mother is in need of such help? Thanatos?”

“Mother, when I said I heard everything, It doesn’t go past my ear and left forgotte-“

“Take your leave and exclude yourself out of my sight, young man.”

Her son, Thanatos’ expression was filled with guilt and pity, he felt bad, he understands why she disliked him in someway, it is for her own good to push him away, but he felt worthless to not be able to help his mother even if he offered her everything she needed, yet, she denied everything from him. He loved her and he’s certain that she does too, but he missed the way she fill him with motherly affection and care, he missed everything before Erebus loses himself to his greediness, but he can’t and won’t be ready to understand his father just why, …..——

Thanatos sighed and didn’t say anything further, he bid her a farewell, knowing she would avoid seeing him even more, if only he could embed this splintered family

If only he could do anything about it

If only he could intervene

‘Dear the newborn, I entrusted that ability to thyself.’

Thanatos descended to the depths of the underworld while the dawn is shining

The newborn felt everything. Sadness, anger, grief, sorrow, pain, suicidal feelings, anxiety and many more than what words can describe, he was drawn towards the miserable feeling, it’s like he belonged to it even if he was just born few minutes ago, though, those feelings made him never wished to be born at all

The God’s sadness was multiplied by a lot, just how much have many suffered for him to feel this way? He wondered what kind of things each creatures here could have been through

That is when he felt much more greater pain towards the ground, beneath the upperworld, it was a different negativity that he felt

He felt sins, sins that many souls committed and was sent to suffer beneath the land, obscured from many’s eyes

The feeling was intense and the deity couldn’t resist to chase it. The divine presence roamed through the land, looking for an entrance, and that is when he came across the river, known by many as the river styx, the deity lean towards the cave hole to see nothingness, raven pit of void with nothing to discover, though, the closer he lean towards the pit, the more he was drawn to the feeling. Curiosity and stubbornness strikes, the deity jumped down into the pit, darkness covers his sight, mysteries below him are waited to be found

Soon enough, multiple cool-toned lights and torches lit throughout the land beneath him, it was dark yet beautiful, most of the dimmer lights are souls or known as shades, grouping up and forming in a few lines, many scattered across the landscape, brighter lights are mostly from torches and plants, he fell deeper and more further into the ground, he saw a many small old fashioned houses, the lights from the houses shine below him, though the eye catching and curious sight might distract him a little too much, he fell face first right into one of the house and crash into the first floor of it “what the heck?!” Loud word echoed across the room he crashed into, what misfortune, it was a bathroom

“…sorry” he says quietly while he quickly got up and ran away

Once he got out, he was surprised by how beautiful the town is up close, he noticed a large gloomy castle at the end of the land which is far away from him there are several houses and even a marketplace, yet, it lacks a literal term of life, there are few souls roaming around, a few gathered to look at him, an outsider isn’t new here, but he was different, there were many negative energy flowing in him that it attracted the souls too, this caused a little commotion in the area, curious, he doesn’t understand himself yet, but he could tell that his presence sparks curiosity in them, yet, disturbing for them

Again, the sudden shock of feeling magnet-like wave attracted him to go down further, the current place isn’t to his attractions yet, there’s more, beneath him, way lower than where he’s already standing, just before he can move forward, he heard a gentle male voice coming outside the crowd of shades

“Please, make way” the other male squeezed in the crowd of souls and make his way to him, he smiled gently and let out a small sigh, “I expected for you to be here, though.. there’s a little business I wanted you to attend” the male spoke, he noticed he had a beautiful long raven hair, his face mark is similar as his and his appearance.. “you look like my creator… but also like me” he spoke quietly, ignoring his earlier request, the male’s eyes expanded slightly “I do? That was the first time someone said that” the male chuckle slightly and held out his hand for the other male “let’s go, we can chat while we walk” he took his hand as the crowd of shades back away and some went back to do their things

A loud sigh echoed through the large chamber, a ruler clenching his fist with his pen in it, many pictures flashing in his head, the presence of the young newborn god, only a step in this realm, his power wave already damaged every creature in this realm, or even lower than the underworld, “Persephone…” the male in the chamber sighed out a name, trembling slightly, his quivering hand reached one of the devices and called someone

“Pardon me, but, do you mind bringing your newborn son back? I’m afraid he wandered off into the wrong place”

“Apologies, Hades, contact Thanatos to get the boy here” and Immediately, the other side hung up on him as if she didn’t want to talk, or in a hurry. Hades sighed again as he tries to maintain his sanity, the waves of negativity that that god is spreading is unbearable, it provoked memories he didn’t want to think about again, he lift his head up tirelessly and looked at the vase of flowers on his working table, many more pictures flash in his mind, the colors of it, texture of the vase, the memory when she gave him that vase and the eternal flower, irritatingly he swept the vase out of his sight, falling from the table and broke apart, millions of shards scattered on the floor, laying burden and meaningless while holding a bitter sweet scent of sorrow in it

“My lord, you called?”

Hades perked up to see Thanatos standing at the chamber entrance. “You seem troubled sir”, The king sighed and lean his head to rest on his fist, his eyes wander on the table as he hesitated to speak anything "Nothing to worry about, there's more important matter for you" Hades said while running his eyes up to look at his servant, Thanatos who put all the pieces together, doesn't need to be told anything, he simply let out an expression to express that he understands what the order is and simply bow and turn around to exit the chamber.

"I'll be holding this meeting in Lucifer's place, we wouldn't wait for him any longer"

Beneath the underworld lies an important figures, sitting together in their divine meeting as they discuss about the same trouble that Hades has been facing currently. One of the figures stood up and rest his hands on the table

"But he isn't in the good state right now, and neither of us too. For the plan, I have a new plan for the war, though I should be discussing this to Lucifer and Big brother first, but it's best for me to leave them for a while" a male with many gold jewelry said with a slight concern in his eyes

"I'm hoping for this meeting to actually be useful, Mammon" the youngest of them said with an unamused expression, crossing his arms and lean back against the chair, the ruler of greediness eyes shift to his younger brother with a furrowed brows but quickly went back to the topic right after

"As i was saying, we have a new plan on the war, and with this current strange situation, it could be very useful in the plan, and i think Lucifer would very love it" Mammon said while his eyes wandered at the table, trying to catch the presence of the new born god so he can elaborate further

"The greeks had a new deity, and that deity is the one causing us to trigger our negative emotions and memories right now, but i figured that if we got that deity, take it and make it one of us, with that amount of power we'll be able to go against them with a lot less struggle"

After Mammon's words, the siblings began thinking and discussing to each other for a moment, most are agreeing with each other

"Just how much we'll achieve after bypassing them" Mammon said with a soft smile, letting himself lost into the dept of his thoughts, after what Mammon said, his twin brother couldn't help but agree with him "true... we can eat as much angel wings as much as we want" but maybe his other siblings doesn't really agree with that

"Beelzebub, what the fuck."

Mammon look at his twin brother with a disturbed expression, not really liking what he said, though, they're already used to this

"Alright, so our current plan is that we'll go up and find that deity to make them our ally, is that clear" Mammon changed his expression back to more serious one, along with his tone, his eyes moving along to look at his brothers, waiting for their response. The sleepy demon who's next to Mammon lean back to his chair lazily, tilting his head to the left to look at his brother who was standing "Belphegor says we'll have to let the deity adapt with that power, if he can't handle nor control his power yet, then we're no different with him" the third person referring himself said with a tired smug, as much as Mammon wanted to argue him since he wanted to learn the deity's power as soon as possible, he knows that Belphegor is no different from what he wanted and what he said was precise, he chose to agree

"what Belph said is true, so I'd say we wait for a few months"

The feminine demon raise his brow at Mammon's word, questioning his suggestion "Few months? wouldn't that be too fast?"

The greed demon think to himself for a moment after the lust demon's question, he wasn't so sure about the time yet, "Then that few months is our minumum time to check that deity, we'll have to plan for a way to watch them on earth, or any other realm" Mammon said with a slight smile, huffing his chest again as he felt like he found a good plan, he wasn't the only one who agrees with himself

"mmm I mussh agree with shyou"

Beelzebub said while feasting on his raw food, disturbing his fellow brothers again with an oblivious eyes, Mammon clenched his teeth in disgust, then the few other brothers nodded their head in agreement, taking Mammon's attention to them

"very well, I'll report this meeting to Lucifer and big brother, our discussion ends for now, you guys can go do whatever you want"

Right after Mammon ended the meeting, the brothers soon take their leave to do other activities to their liking, leaving Mammon to be the last to leave, before he could step out, another figure appears in front of him

"Oh, the meeting's already ended?"

"Yeah, and the audacity for you to show up right after that"

Mammon look at the younger demon with a gut wrenching expression, he was not pleased with the demon's unprofessional behavior, "Oh well, I bet you guys didn't make any improvement without me" the demon shrug his shoulders, smiling and swallowing his own narcissism

"actually we got a plan"

"I bet that plan is going to fail soon"

Mammon scowls are becoming more visible, clenching his teeth as he was close to snapping at the demon at any moment, but he took a deep breath and calm himself down for a second, but before he knew it, the demon had already turned his back to walk away, Mammon took a step forward where the demon's direction headed and raised his voice

"The plan involved the new deity that is causing the commotion right now, it can be our ally or one of us if we convinced it"

Mammon's word stopped the demon who's on his track, making him hesitated for a moment and turn back to the greed demon, before he can open his mouth to say anything, Mammon cut him off with more bribing

"It can grant us freedom after the war, and even more other goals, I think you've already imagined all of it"

The demon eyes expanded slightly, but then he chuckles, causing Mammon to question whether he laughs out of joke or a prideful laugh

"Alright! that sounds amazing, guess you're not that bad after all" last words spoken by the demon before he turn back to his destination and move foward

Mammon grunts, but smiles warmly at the demon once he turn back to the opposite way, walking his way to the exit of the larger chamber, as his mind wanders into deep pit of his thoughts

“I am Thanatos, personification of death, I am your brother and your creator is our mother, which is why we’re similar” the long haired male spoke while leading him to an isolated island from the previous one, the newborn god look at him for a brief moment before his eyes shift away and look around the land, it was a floating island-like landscape, filled with a different kind of plants and a different scenery from the previous land, he remembered that one of the plants where he was standing is similar to the ones back when he was created, the place was as beautiful, but his eyes only filled with curiosity

In the middle of the land, there's a large spiral staircase, leading up to the mystery beyond his knowledge. Thanatos who noticed that the newborn deity drink up the scenery for a while, decided to rest at the staircase, he smiles warmly at his brother's curiosity

"You can always ask me you know"

The newborn deity shift his eyes to his brother, nodding as he walked foward to sit beside his older brother

"What's down there? I feel drawn to the place beneath us"

Thanatos' smile dropped slightly as he looked at his brother with a soft glaze "Just another realm, it's nothing for you to question about, nor a place for you to just jump off into" the younger god's eyes avoided Thanatos' after the last sentence, he turned away in embarrassment

"Curiosity is common among humans, even gods" Thanatos responded after he catch his brother's reaction, reassuring him while let out a small chuckle, the young deity nodded in response, his head tilted slightly downwards to think of a conversation

"Do I have a name?"

Thanatos looked back at him with the same soft smile, humming as an expression of thinking, he wasn't sure if he should name him himself, but he also think that Nyx couldn't careless enough to name him. Thanatos let out a soft sigh, finally answering the curious deity "not yet, but who would you like a name from?" Thanatos responded back with another question, though, he couldn't say that he wasn't hoping for the answer to be him

"you" The young deity answered without hesitation, leaving Thanatos' eyes widened slightly, he paused for a brief moment before letting out a chuckle, "alright, since you're here then, how about Dyavolos?"

"Wouldn't that be too long?"

"I think it's cool"

the younder deity ponder for a second, the name is nice, but he didn't like it, nor he had the ability to do so, he also didn't hate it, it's just okay for him

with a few seconds, he nodded and looked at his brother who was smiling wider after his previous movement "alright, Dyavolos it is then" The young deity said with a slight smile, making Thanatos grin proudly, his gaze shining at his brother, his hand travel up to Dyavolos' head and pat his head dearly, before bringing his hand back and lean backwards to rest his back against the staircase uncomfortably

"Is this the place you wanted to bring me to?" Dyavol asked his brother with the same curious expression, this time his gaze is softer than before

"Oh, right" Thanatos replied as he realized that he had forgotten about his order, chuckling embarrassingly, he got up and positioned himself to move upward on the stairs, waiting for his brother to follow his movements

Dyavol got up briefly after him, looking up at the staircase with curiosity, but he chose to stay silent, Thanatos turn back and began entering a place where it was disconnected from the earth, bonding the path between the Hades and the next land, a familiar one.

Before the young god could blink again, he suddenly appeared in a dark chamber, with only a bit of light, but he was able to see everything clearly, he was reminded from the architecture of the palace, it was similar to the place where he was created, he turn back to look for his brother but was left with a nothingness

He panicked a bit, anxiety strikes silently as Dyavol realized that he was alone, or was he tricked? but Thanatos seems genuinely trustworthy, just when he was about to ponder any further, he heard a voice from the outside of the chamber, curious, he moved foward to the outside hall to see his brother again, he noticed that Thanatos was talking to another person. Dyavol realized that Thanatos was talking to his creator, or their mother to be exact, he noted that Nyx seemed to feel uncomfortable talking to Thanatos even if he tried to appear as harmless as possible, he felt like Nyx didn't hate him but she just hate who she sees in him

The young deity was frightened when both of them began moving towards the chamber that he's staying in currently, panicked, he lean back and sit on one of the couch, pretending that he was just sitting and waiting for them. Not so long after, both primodial deities enter the chamber, glancing at the young deity softly, but the other glaze is off to somewhere else, before running it back to Dyavol who was sitting with a silent anxiety

he can feel it

he can feel the negative energy from them

guilt and dejection

but he can only identify two, as there are too much more for him to grasp his hand to, he tries to ignore all the sentiments that are spurring in their minds, because of his core that can absorb the negative vehemence around him, it's hard for him to control it due to how overwhelming the moment is

Thanatos took notice and quickly went to the point so he could get this done and not letting his brother ache any further, putting up a smile to reassure Dyavol and spoke up "I'll get straight to the point, what makes you feel like this right now is because of your core. Currently you have two cores, cosmos core and power core, your cosmos core allows you to feel every negative emotions of every creature on earth, and transfer them into the power core, your own negative emotions can also be transferred into the power core as well" Thanatos describes as he point his hand towards Dyavol's exposed core on his chest, frowning, he brings his hand back behind his back and lean back to stand beside Nyx. The mother move foward to converse with the younger god

"your flaws are your emotion sensitivity, it'll be more intense than others" The goddess spoke with a stoic expression, finishing Thanatos' sentence, her hand brought up to his power core, forcing upon it as the large amount of energy flow around it, as it slowly ascended out from his chest and rest upon her bare hand, Nyx exhaled and backed away, she turned around to step foward out of the chamber and only left the two a small glimpse of her glance

Panicked, Dyavol felt the sudden bare feeling of energy, the overall feeling was indescribable for him, but because of the sudden loss of the core, his body felt weakened. His eyelids became heavy as he had a hard time maintaining his balance

before he could bring his hand up to brace the empty space of core, his body fell foward slowly, his eyes shutting completely as his vision turned black, allowing him to dive deep into the lack of real world and physical reality, the only last thing he saw was Thanatos who quickly dashed foward and crouch slightly to expand his arms and capturing the unconscious young deity into his warm embrace. The older deity sighed and sink into the silent moment, glancing at his brother from the side with a frown.

He'll take care of him as best as he can even if the fate is restraining him to do so, it's only an elder brother's duty to do.

#fiction #story #alternate universe #greek mythology #minus dyavolos #minus #minus nyx #minus arc 1 #minus thanatos #minus hades #minus lucifer #minus mammon #minus asmodeus #minus leviathan #minus oizys #minus erebus #minus satan #minus belphegor #minus beelzebub

20 notes · View notes

somnolentdipso · 2 months

Text

Soft Gainer Shoutout!

Everyone Enjoys A Soft Vibe Once and Again~

My my, look at yourself. Just a little dirty mess, aren’t you? The sweet aroma of the cake you had been eagerly anticipating filled the air as you gazed at it with delight. You couldn't resist the temptation and decided to indulge in it, after all, you had worked hard to reach halfway to your weight goal. As you savored each bite, you couldn't help feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride. Mister is just so equally delighted with your progress!

Lately, have you not noticed that you are producing more noise than usual while walking? The floors seem to be creaking and speaking back to you as you move around. It almost too adorable to watch you wobble like a blubbery short stack. Nevertheless, seems like your hunger pangs are causing some noticeable effects, such as the tremors that originate from your stomach and the sounds of creaking furniture under your weight. Additionally, it seems like you've been indulging in food quite frequently, as evidenced by the growing expenses on food bills. The sheer number of Togo sauces you order from various places is quite noteworthy and could potentially be used as a game of bingo.

Do you remember how we both had a great desire for your growth and expansion? Your progress has been on the top of my priority list even when I forget most things. I'm proud to see how you've filled out those old clothes and eagerly await the the new clothes for your voluptuous figure.

I understand that celebrating success with indulgent treats and traditions is common, but please remember I also prioritize your health and well-being as well. It's important to find a balance that makes you happy and fulfilled.You’re a great little lard loaf, just a bundle of puff and fluff, right?

It seems like you're on the path to newfound expansions. I can't wait to see what's next for you. Perhaps there will be opportunities to try funnels, paddles, and velvet ropes to add some excitement to your experiences. With so many possibilities, the future looks bright. I'm excited to see what the future holds and can't wait to explore the amazing possibilities yet to come our way! Great news! We can definitely replenish your oils and lotions, so no need to worry. Get ready to be pampered and indulge in some luxurious self-care! Mister believes it's important to prioritize your skin's health and maintain your dough and your sprawling plumpness. While I encourage you to strive for your goals, taking care of your skin is equally important. I want you to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin, and that starts with good skincare practices. It's important to exfoliate regularly to keep your skin healthy. During your next bath, lets focus on exfoliating the areas under your fat folds to prevent buildup and keep your skin smooth and fresh. Hey there how about we give that new scent you picked out a try, hmm? I aim to provide you with the utmost care and attention following our rigorous activities and untidy situations. I can sense that you have a bright future ahead of you. I am excited to help you grow and achieve your goals beyond your wildest dreams. Together, we will make great strides and create loving memories.

40 notes · View notes

tarotwitchy · 2 years

Note

Hi, sending ♥️♥️♥️ for you! Hope all is great out there!

I would like to know from you which placements can indicate a person obsessive with power and money?

• PLACEMENTS THAT INDICATE A PERSON THAT'S OBSESSIVE WITH POWER AND MONEY •

I personally love this ask. So, thank you for submitting this one. Long post ahead!

🎩 Capricorn in the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 10th House

This sign situated in the 1st house (Ascendant) would make a person have laser-like focus on achieving a powerful image to show the public, and accumulating the hefty sum of money to back it up.

In the 4th house, Capricorn would like to flex their achievements — such as a high societal standing and amassed wealth — unto the family unit; most importantly, to their parents. They want to prove that they can make it on their own, if not, better than their predecessors.

Capricorn in the 8th house is a placement that makes the native have secret agendas to be at the top of the social pyramid without anyone knowing how they do it, or why. These natives are internally prideful in their value as a person, and would definitely want to leave a powerful name and legacy well after their deaths.

In its original house, Capricorn in the 10th house is the epitome of power, money, and control. They are seen as people who are born to have these qualities because almost everyone can feel and see their potential to make it to the top. And these natives take that impression very seriously.

🎩 Jupiter aspecting Saturn (especially Conjunct)

This is a powerful union between these planets, especially if it's in conjunction — which is quite rare. Regardless of the type of aspect, natives with this placement are almost always followed by power; no matter if it's good power, or bad.

If these planets are aspecting positively, we get someone who knows their own capabilities to reach great power. Perhaps, they already have a head-start in life, and are already somewhat power in their own right. But these natives know what they're capable of. And they will make sure to put that into good use, and make something out of themselves. (Natalie Portman has this placement in conjunction, and look at how sought after she was since she was still a fledgling actress. Another example is Meghan Markle. Say what you will about the woman but money and power followed her in life).

If these planets are negatively aspected, the same effects are to be expected. However, there are a lot of hurdles ahead of this native before they reach the pinnacle of power and heights of money they desire. But all these challenges and suffering only make these natives want power and money more than anything now. The prospect that all of their sacrifice and hardwork will eventually bear successful outcomes fuel these natives' drive to push harder than ever.

🎩 Mars aspecting Saturn (especially hard aspects)

With the same sentiments as the aspect above, Mars-Saturn hard aspects make someone more obsessed and focused on gaining everything they want in life. And these natives learn early on that in order to get the most in life, they'd need all the power and money they can get. Also, they will be aggressive about it. It is not wise to get in between these people and their ambitions.

🎩 Mars aspecting Pluto (all kinds of aspects)

I'd be remiss if I don't talk about the planetary connection between these two. Being able to amass and embody power are one of the most important goals these natives have. Of course, power looks different for many of us. But being able to wield that power is crucial for people with this placement. And more often than not, they also use this power to acquire money. (They also use money as a source of power in itself!)

If negative aspected, these natives need to be very cautious not to hurt themselves and others when they don't get things their way. If power and money don't come easy for you, please remember to be patient. Don't start a warpath just to get what you want.

Bruce Lee has these two planets aspecting, and he ended up disciplining his physical power to train his body to do his bidding. Instead of being a brute about his martial arts skills, he harnessed the power for good, and trained himself to control the power he holds.

🎩 Mercury aspecting both Saturn and Pluto

Having Mercury aspecting both Saturn and Pluto at the same time gives you a native that can almost be Machiavellian in nature. They can, of course, use their intellectual skills for the better of all. But if they let their obsessions about money and power consume them, they can easily be those who are seen as heartless and cutthroat in whatever field they are in. This placement gives me real Lex Luthor vibes.

🎩 Heavy Taurus, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Capricorn influence in the chart (especially if these signs are all in your big 6 combined)

All of these signs are known for their potential and risk for being obsessed with money and power. But if you're wondering why Libra is there, let me explain. People tend to glance past Libra-dominant natives as if they're all just diplomatic, peacemaking folks. But if you really examine what's going on, why do you think Librans are really keen on being seen as a pacifist? Librans employ a great strategy on getting well with everyone because it's their tactic to eliminate as much hostile and aggressive competition as possible, all while they keep their eyes on the prize of achieving power!

Not to mention, Venus is the planet of Libra; which governs all things beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. These natives know that some beauty in life doesn't come for free. People severely underestimate Librans, please don't.

🎩 8th House Stellium/Personal Planets on the 8th

Lastly, we all know how the 8th house governs power and monetary fortune. Obsessions about these things run deep in natives who have a Stellium in this house, or their personal planets residing here.

In my experience, most (not all) people I've seen with this placement are quite nepotistic. They may not come from extreme wealth, but their family has the money to walk the talk, and these natives know that. They know they also have to live up to their family's expectations of greatness — or continuing the line of wealth — so they definitely feel the obsession to reach great heights in power and money.

{masterlist}

[Do not repost, copy, or reword]

488 notes · View notes

jacquelinemerritt · 1 year

Text

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 53 Review

Tension rises again.

The nature of a comedic abridged series is often antithetical to what is required to establish and build tension within a story. It is far funnier for, say, a powerful egomaniac to have his pride and body quickly shattered when faced with a powerful enemy than it is to still give that egomaniac a chance at victory and for his actions to matter within a story. Being funny can also mean sacrificing clear stakes within your story as well, as shown earlier this season with the threat of Androids 16, 17, and 18, who were kinda dickish to be sure, but never overtly evil or threatening outside of the potential fate of country music.

But just as Team Four Star knows when to cut the jokes to establish deeper character drama or emphasize important themes, they also know when to pull the punchline and establish real stakes. It’s the reason they show us a character having to patiently power-up to attack for the first time in Dragonball Z: Abridged (a recurring event in the original show); they know that by making us wait for Trunks to fully exert himself against Cell, it will be all the more impactful when we finally see it, and also finally see a chance for one of our heroes to achieve real victory within this story.

The decision to use an orchestral cover of Hikari no Willpower helps build tension here too, as does the excellent editing. There are only a few brief pauses in Trunks’ fight against Cell, and they are used to tie our empathy even more strongly into Trunks and remind us of the threat Cell poses, further investing us in the result of their battle. It’s such a memorable fight sequence that it almost seems like it lasts the entire episode, when in fact, it is only a couple minutes long, perfectly placed in the middle of the episode so that we have time to process Trunks’ defeat.

His loss to Cell, despite achieving Ultra Saiyan Form, is a tough pill to swallow, placing all of our heroes and the world into danger, as no one else has even come close to being able to harm Cell in his perfect form, but it also thrusts the story forward into the final act, with our heroes finally having hit their lowest point.

Even here though, Trunks does receive a minor victory, having goaded Cell into sparing him by teasing that Cell would be forgotten when Goku eventually defeated him, and turning Cell’s sights on another goal beyond the destruction of the earth. Cell may have hit a nerve when he reminded Trunks of his failure to save his timeline’s Gohan, but Trunks pinpoint verbal strike revealed that Cell’s ultimate weakness is a desire found in everyone.

The desire for an immortal legacy.

Rating: 4.5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

Showing off the enhanced mental abilities of Super Saiyan Goku by having him ramble on about the statistics of the various Saiyan forms is a really clever way to characterize how much more focused he can be when fighting is the only thing he has to think about.

That “Don’t break Popo’s stuff” is so ingrained in Goku speaks to him having experiencing the wrath of that vengeful deity once already, and I imagine that he could use a hug after being reminded.

Krillin Owned: We’re up to a count of thirty-six now, because Krillin is bad at judging how much self-deprecating humor Vegeta is emotionally capable of.

That said, Krillin deserves more than a dime for every time he’s been beat up. I’d say each “Owned Count” is worthy of ten dollars, which means Krillin should have $360 by now. That totally pays off the hundred thousand dollars he has in debt, right?

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #tfs #dbz #dbza #dbza ep53

9 notes · View notes

chickencowcow · 8 months

Note

TELL US ABOUT SANDBOX

Oh hello my dearest of mungeon dasters, lovely to see you here! Well, I won't deprive you of the information you so desperately crave. So....

Let's talk about Sandbox!

Hailing from the short campaign/multi-shot so affectionately dubbed Dudehole Squad, Sandbox is a Monster of the Week Character in a game ran by the very person who sent this ask in :) Sandbox is built as a Spooky -- those of you who know Monster of the Week should be familiar with the playbook already, and those of you who don't... Well, let's just say he's got some fucked up magic, and emphasis on fucked up. Specifically, his is due to his... patron? Patron is perhaps the best way to describe the entity that Sandbox calls Overwrite, who is essentially a sapient computer virus. Long story short, Overwrite took over Sandbox's computer about six years ago, isekai'd his daughter into the digital world, and refuses to give her back until Sandbox fully helps them achieve... whatever goal Overwrite wanted to achieve. In essence, Sandbox is the victim of a creepypasta.

Development

Sandbox was actually invented long before Dudehole Squad was ever pitched to me -- he was my first ever MotW character. Now, granted, I never played him, but I think it's important to realize that I was approximately 14 when I created him.

Initially, he leaned far more heavily into the creepypasta idea -- the original concept was that he was possessed by some entity as a child and killed his parents, and that entity kind of stayed with him for his whole life, changing forms as he grew up to stay physically close to him. His name was always meant to be Sandbox, and from my memory he was always supposed to be a tech-y dude, but he was meant to come across as far more... Dangerous. Haunted. Unstable, even. This was a man you didn't want to mess with because you had no clue what he was going to do, or even what he was capable of.

And then I kinda forgot about him.

Until my dear dear dear GM reached out to me and asked if I wanted to play in a MotW oneshot and I said "fuck yeah are you kidding"

So... I reworked him! I didn't want him to be as off-putting or standoffish since he was only meant to be a oneshot character, and I place more importance on team cohesion than my character being EXACTLY the way I envisioned them. Plus, I wanted to rework Sandbox anyway. What ended up happening was that I... Well, scrapped him down to his bare bones and rebuilt him from that. He became much kinder * and much more down to earth, and honestly a lot sillier, thanks to my dear dear fellow players in the oneshot. Instead of coming off as threatening, he's now more socially awkward than anything else... which is funny, because I think he's the first truly awkward character I've played (at least in a while.) That being said, there's a lot more mystery in his character too, given that a big change to his backstory I made was that Overwrite selectively erased his past memories. He doesn't know his name, and Sandbox is just a moniker he took on after the memory wipe.

* we'll get back to this in Personality

Design

I'll be talking about him visually here, which SUCKS considering I don't necessarily have any fullbody art of him that I'm proud of.

His character description on his sheet reads as follows:

"Tall and lanky with fluffy brown hair that's starting to grey. Bags under eyes -- constantly looks weary. Almost uncanny glow in iris, like the reflection of a computer screen. Hardly ever seen without a jacket, even in the hottest of weather."

There's a couple more details that aren't in his description that I find important (like the fact that his eyes are brown and that he looks like the spitting image of his mother except for the fact that his nose is crooked because he broke it in high school,) but within that, well, "official" character description is a whole bunch, so let's break it down!

"Fluffy brown hair that's starting to grey." - Sandbox is thirty-seven years old, and given that men tend to start greying in their mid-late thirties depending on genetics, Sandbox is right on the money for this. I like to imagine, however, that the men in his family are really lucky when it comes to greying hairs, and the reason he started "early" is simply because of the stress he's under. The fluffy brown hair is actually a reference to the whole "fluffy haired gamer boyfriend" thing that's been going around recently -- I thought it would be fun to play with those "vibes" when it comes to a man who's generally older than the people that trope refers to.

"Bags under eyes" - I'm actually pulling from a few stereotypes of people who work with computers: you know, the late nights, no sleep, bags under eyes. I like to think it also lends itself to showing just how... well, again, stressed Sandbox is. "Uncanny glow in iris" - here's where we get into some interesting things. See, Sandbox's physical appearance certainly did NOT go unscathed from his little deal with Overwrite, and here's where people normally see the first instance of something supernatural with him -- I'm playing quite literally with the term "blue light" here and mashing it with the visual of a computer's screen reflecting off someone's iris in the darkness. Except for Sandbox... Well. It's constant. And clearly not Normal.

"Hardly ever seen without a jacket" - this one is fun to me purely because I didn't figure out WHY he did this until after we'd played through the first session. It was something I put in as a fun little quirk -- something that simultaneously contrasts and elevates the "comfy" vibes that the dudehole squad party brings to the table (i could talk for hours about their dynamics don't TEST ME). Sandbox is someone who seems comfy -- wears a nice big jacket that he almost seems to sink into. Taking it off, however, reveals something different -- it's not that Sandbox prefers to wear a jacket, it's that he doesn't want to be seen without it.

And why is that?

Well...

This is why.

See, like the glow in his eyes, Overwrite left another mark on his body -- something akin to glowing tattoos. Their design is loosely inspired by a circuit board, and they're also easily clockable as supernatural: after all, they glow, and the color hue shifts the more you look at it. These markings do have a specific purpose, however: while Overwrite can "follow" Sandbox almost everywhere, there are a few places where... technology and internet connections aren't easily accessible. Those markings serve as a sort of... back up battery-- a pool of power Sandbox can call upon when Overwrite isn't reachable. I have a feeling these markings are gonna be pretty damn important next session... Regardless, they're another peculiar part of Sandbox that he doesn't like to show off -- it just means people will stare at him, and he's already awkward enough as is.

Personality

Sandbox is the closest to the "just a guy" trope out of any of my characters. I mean, sure, Overwrite is there and all that, but he still retains that... just, normalness despite literally everything. His favorite color is forest green. He likes Diet Pepsi, but his favorite drink is honestly water. He's a dog person, but gets along with cats too. He adores karaoke and loves singing along to songs playing on the radio even if he doesn't know the lyrics. He's a big fan of the ocean and the beach. He doesn't really want anything more than a good life and a good home. He doesn't want anything more than his family back.

Now, that's not to say he's not impacted by Overwrite. In fact, it's a big part of his character, actually: Overwrite's influence on his morality.

That's right, we're getting into that little bit about "kindness*". See, while Sandbox may be every bit a normal person, Overwrite has still managed to subtly shift the way he thinks. In battle, he's... ruthless. He doesn't seem to care for the lives of other people who aren't close to him, even going the extra mile to try and kill them when his teammates didn't see the need. Now, this isn't because he experiences any sort of bloodlust -- neither him nor Overwrite are inclined to that sort of behavior. It's simply... efficiency. These people may wake up and cause problems later. It's better to kill them so that doesn't happen. Enemies aren't really people in Sandbox's mind. Just problems to be dealt with.

Backstory

Sandbox [REDACTED], ex computer programmer, ex aspiring game dev. He/Him. His wife, Cerise, unfortunately died in childbirth, leaving him to take care of his dearest daughter Clementine. Though devastated by her loss, he did his best to try and raise his daughter and teach her well. While developing his game, his computer managed to contract a terrible virus -- but little did Sandbox know, this virus was controlled by an entity far more sinister and cruel than he could possible imagine. One morning, after he woke up, he was horrified to find his eight year old daughter missing, and was promptly informed by the computer that was talking to him after he most certainly turned it off the night before that she had been taken, and would not be returned until Sandbox did their bidding. And so, in desperation and fear, Sandbox agreed. Strangely, the entity wanted not human elimination, but monster elimination, and through this, Sandbox was able to squeeze another deal out of the entity -- in exchange for magic that would help him hunt monsters, Sandbox would give up his old name as well as memories from his past. Now 37 , Sandbox has been working for the Cryptkeeper's Society for the better part of six years-- always on the lookout for a new mission his entity (which he has nicknamed Overwrite) wants him to be thrown on… as well as any way to get his daughter back sooner.

^ That was adapted from the original description I'd given to my party at the very beginning of Dudehole Squad, back when it was simply meant to be a oneshot. The Cryptkeeper's Society is the group he works for, dedicated to taking care of monsters and other supernatural issues. It's led by one Dr. Casey Aidenwaller, who Sandbox had a very awkward interaction with early on in the first session. I like to imagine Sandbox wormed his way into the Society by simply hacking into their database to collect information on monsters that Overwrite would instruct him to find and fight. His solo work didn't last long though -- another person from the Cryptkeeper's Society found him and kind of took him under his wing: Brodie Gambit. Brodie and Sandbox are two vastly different people (Brodie is the embodiment of a California surfer dude) but Brodie's constant warmth and optimism is something Sandbox really enjoys being around, even if he doesn't always verbalize it. I like to imagine those two as the extrovert and his adopted introvert.

I won't get into other player dynamics because that's a whole other beast, but let's just say that Sandbox worked in information gathering for a while before being once again moved to the front lines. He tended to volunteer himself for missions in remote locations specifically because Overwrite couldn't reach him there. Their relationship is... strained, at best. Overwrite has fun, but Sandbox will never ever forget that they are the thing keeping him from his daughter.

Special Topic: Overwrite

I talk so much about Overwrite. I think they deserve their own special little section.

Overwrite is.. an entity. They are a sapient computer virus. They are a menace. They're an enigma. I created them and even I don't know much about them at all. I don't know where they came from or who made them, or if anyone even made them at all! I don't know why they chose Sandbox. I don't know what they'd done with Clementine all those years she was stuck in the digital world. I know they like to cause chaos and crash into different pieces of technology, but I also don't know why they're so... helpful. I don't know why they want monsters to be taken down. I don't know if they've done this before or how old they are or fucking anything. I can define Overwrite more concretely by what I don't know about them because they're crazy fucking mysterious and also crazy fucking unhinged and I LOVE THEM. Imagine being asked to shut off cameras in a subway system and your idea, as a LITERAL BEING OF TECHNOLOGICAL HAVOC, is to fire off a gun at someone. Perfect idea, 10/10. That being said, I don't know why they're here. I don't know what they want.

Well... I didn't. Now, I have a pretty damn good guess.

See, the first session of dudehole squad started innocently enough. Like, woah, there's people going missing on the subway and a bunch of sewer gators (not related), we gotta find em and figure out what's going on here. Simple. Easy. I mean sure, there were a few ominous ass messages from our DM about a "meat mech" or whatever the fuck, but it was totally fine. This was supposed to be a relatively cut and dry fun oneshot.

Oneshot, I say. And yet, at the beginning of this, I referred to Dudehole Squad as a multishot/short campaign. What happened?

I had an idea is what happened. See, the whole time we were playing, I was trying to figure out how exactly Sandbox's magic worked. Per rules of the Spooky, you can use magic to attack. And... how the fuck do you attack with technology? And then it struck me! "Oh," I said. "The brain is like a supercomputer! Overwrite's powers can hurt people by hurting their brain!"

"Oh, okay." said my wonderful GM. "I'm fucking running with that."

So Overwrite's powers allow Sandbox to, in essence, release electrical shocks to another person's brain. It was described in game as a DDoS attack. He stopped someone's heart momentarily. Certainly nothing fun. But useful. It establishes Overwrite can enter someone's brain, too.

Enter the meat mech. This was, in essence, something that a group of cultists were trying to power to life in order to control and wreak havoc across the world. And we, like idiots, took out the cultists and brought Overwrite RIGHT TO THE FUCKING MEAT MECH. And Overwrite took that opportunity to say "hasta la pasta" to Sandbox and jump from Sandbox to the meat mech.

But hey, at least Clementine's back, right? Yay,,,,,

Fun Facts

Sandbox does actually have a name -- not that he. remembers it. It's Hudson Jones -- he's named Hudson because it's a type of cherry! His wife's name also means cherry, and their daughter's name is a fruit, soo... Jones has no real meaning behind it, unfortunately. I just like how it sounds.

The name Sandbox is, perhaps obviously, due to the "sandbox" type of computer/video game, where you can essentially create and do anything you want.

Sandbox's favorite food is a philly cheesesteak.

Due to Overwrite's efforts, Sandbox, well, technically doesn't exist anywhere. Any records or social media presence have been wiped completely.

Sandbox is a big fan of levers, especially pulling them.

Anyway that's all teehee please feel free to send in more asks ab characters i LOVE talking ab them!!! And if u don't know my characters just send me like. three emojis and I'll assign a character to da ask myself!!!

#dudehole squad #sandbox #character asks

4 notes · View notes

anarchistin · 1 year

Text

I think it is important to understand that modernity is not a continuous trajectory with what preceded it. Modernization theory continues unabated in almost every academic field. This theory, foundational to writing and making history, operates on the assumption of what I have labelled a “theology of progress.” The theology is founded on the assumption that time has a homogeneous teleological structure, that this structure is inevitable, and that the earliest phases of history were preparatory for the later ones, which were in turn simply the means to reach the intended summit of real human progress: Western modernity. Integral to this understanding is that no culture or “civilization” outside of and prior to modern Europe possessed the same validity, competence, and moral and intellectual development. Whatever these civilizations had possessed of value, culturally or otherwise, was consumed in the process of preparing for a higher goal, outside and beyond themselves. The goal was Western modernity, which was imposed on the world by colonialism, coercion, and hegemony.

Even if we were to concede—however objectionable and repugnant this may be— that modernity’s violent tools were adopted by necessity with a view to improving the human condition, we find ourselves facing the bitter reality of a world in which we have destroyed almost everything around us, from communal and social structures to ecology and environment.

What many do not seem to understand is that all this is integral to modernity as a particular project, as a particular epistemology which has dictated a particular set of practices, all of which are the work of a particular subject, a particular subjectivity. My argument is that modernity’s structure of thought created a novel relationship between man and nature, one that produced a pathological sense of domination over nature, including our own.

Colonialism did not start in the colonies, but in Europe itself, and this is because early modern Europe embarked on a quest in which knowledge was systematically harnessed to subjugate nature, including our own selves. Orientalism is nothing more than a strand of discourse by which this bleak result was achieved, but every branch of knowledge – philosophy, science, law, etc.– is equally involved in the same project. That modernity now is everywhere in the world should not hide the fact of its European origins.

Wael Hallaq

#wael hallaq #orientalism #racism #white supremacy #colonialism #capitalism #islam #philosophy

5 notes · View notes

astralbooks · 11 months

Text

Immortal Longings - Chloe Gong

Read: 04/06/2023 - 09/06/2023

Rating: 5/5

Rep: Chinese coded setting and cast, side f/f relationship, implied achillean side character

CW: violence, blood, on-page death & murder, suicidal thoughts & intention, poverty, kidnapping, hospitals, consent issues

Review:

Each year, the twin cities of San-Er hold a game. Eighty eight competitors fight to the death, with the winner being granted riches and the option of leaving the city for a quiet life elsewhere, something which nobody else is allowed to do. When Calla enters the game she’s determined to win, though not because she wants or needs the money. She’s a princess in hiding who’s been in exile since she killed her parents five years ago, and being the victor is the only way she can get face to face with the king, her uncle, so she can finish the job.

This book isn’t slow paced, but is deceptively slower paced than you’d probably expect, with a decent chunk of the word count being dedicated to descriptions of the cities that paint a clear and detailed picture of what San-Er looks like and what it’s like to live there. This is a stylistic choice that isn’t going to be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it! Gong managed not to lose my interest at any point, even during the passages where less was actively happening, and by the end of the book I had a really strong understanding and image of the city in my mind.

I loved Calla! She’s the sort of anti-hero who desperately wants the world to be a better place and is prepared to do whatever it takes to make it so, even if that means burning everything down and hurting innocent people along the way. She’s not happy about participating in the king’s games and she doesn’t revel in killing all these people but that doesn’t mean she won’t do it with brutal efficiency. She doesn’t waste time feeling guilty about any of it. Those people need to die so she can achieve her goal, that’s all there is to it, and she’s confident in her ability to get the job done to the point of arrogance. It was interesting to see the ways in which her priorities shift – and don’t shift – as she gets closer than anticipated to Anton, another participant in the game.

I didn’t find the romance between Calla and Anton entirely convincing, which weirdly I thought suited the story well. Their relationship isn’t healthy and in the situation they’re in it would be almost impossible for it to be. They both have their own reasons for entering the game that means losing isn’t an option for either of them, and unless one of them pulls out of the game one of them has to die. They both know this from the start. They both know they aren’t planning on backing down. The third most significant pov character points out in text that Calla and Anton’s relationship can’t possibly be genuine love after so short a time. Just because a character believes something doesn’t mean they’re correct, and this book is a prime example of that. I believe that they believe they’re in love which is arguably the more important point. If you’re looking for a heartwarming love story this isn’t the book for you.

The magic system is centred around people’s ability to ‘jump’ from body to body, basically possessing other people. No more than two people can occupy a body at any one time, if someone possesses someone for long enough then the original person will fade away and effectively die, and the only way to tell who’s piloting a vessel at any given time is by looking at their eyes as those are intrinsic to the person and their qi, and not to the vessel. I thought this was a really cool detail!

Jumping is so normalised in this society that it’s stated that many people don’t stay in the body they’re born in, with Anton spending the entire book hopping from vessel to vessel without giving the people whose bodies he’s taking much thought. It also leads to there being a lot of collateral damage in the game, because if a player is killed then so is anyone else who happens to be in that vessel at that time. It’s established that people who’ve been jumped into are completely unaware of anything that happens during this time but that they still have to deal with the physical consequences of whatever was done while they were possessed. There are some inherent consent issues here. Someone who’s being possessed can’t consent to anything the person possessing them might decide to do with their body. Your mileage may vary on how much this bothers you.

This is getting a lot of comparisons to The Hunger Games, and it’s completely understandable why, but Squid Game is possibly a closer comp. Unlike in The Hunger Games, the people participating in King Kasa’s game have all volunteered to be there and are technically able to withdraw at any time, but the vast majority of them are facing financial situations such that they’re effectively facing death either way so almost nobody ever does. Just like in both these comps, the societal critique is both blatant and sadly needed.

I sometimes find myself wishing I didn’t read an arc of a book for the very simple reason that I’m now faced with even longer to wait until the next book in the series than most people are going to have. The way this book ends is such that I desperately want to know what happens next, both the bigger picture and also the next thing that gets said in that room. But I have to wait! Oh well, Chloe Gong hasn’t disappointed me so far, so I’m sure the wait will be worth it.

If you like retellings, battle royales and the societal commentary that tends to accompany them, a magic system based on possession, or the concept of cyberpunk-but-make-it-dial-up, then I recommend checking this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-arc in return for an honest review.

#review #book review #immortal longings #flesh and false gods #chloe gong #books #booklr

4 notes · View notes

stuffedeggplants · 2 years

Text

While the Shangri-La missions are great at introducing us to an important figure in Kyrati culture and mythology, I think their purpose might also be to contrast Kalinag’s journey with Amita and Sabal’s in order to talk about their characters and say something about the larger story. I’m still trying to work this out and I haven’t done the last Shangri-La mission yet, so let me know what you all think!

In the third mission, Kalinag talks about how the longer he stays in Shangri-La, the more he loses his identity and forgets his original purpose, who he is and his people, etc. He begins to feel “more at home” there than in his actual home, Kyrat. He also talks about how your state of mind determines your reality, and that Shangri-La itself is a state of mind. He comes to the conclusion that he can’t abandon his people and identity in favor of just mentally existing in some manifestation of paradise, cut off from everything else but his own enjoyment. Then he would be like a Rakshasa, literally only there for himself, and the corrupting influence of that mindset is visible in physical changes and butchery all over Shangri-La, consequences of the demons that have invaded it. This is important because though Kalinag never came to Shagri-La with bad intentions, he recognizes that he could make a choice to stay there that would only have selfish outcomes that don’t actually help anyone. So Kalinag decides to free Shangri-La from the demons and return to Kyrat and his people.

What did Amita and Sabal originally want? What was their purpose? Amita would probably say that she wants to emancipate the women of Kyrat and modernize the country, transforming it in ways that will improve the lives of all its citizens with economic and educational opportunities they could never have had before, all while throwing away superstition and cultural institutions that only oppress others. Sabal might frame his goals as wanting to protect Kyrati heritage and traditional centers of community, honoring the goddess Kyra and restoring and strengthening a cultural identity that’s undergone twenty years of damage as Pagan Min destroys religious sites and seeks to replace ancient cultural symbols like Kalinag with himself.

At some point--maybe before the game even starts?--Sabal and Amita both lose sight of their original goals like Kalinag admits almost happened to him, but while Kalinag was self-aware and realized he had to stay grounded to his true purpose and walk away from an implied path that would only lead to suffering like the Rakshasas brought to Shangri-La--or at least a path that wouldn’t actually help anyone--Sabal and Amita never have this realization. If your state of mind determines your reality, then they’re both so stuck in their own worlds and in their own concept of the right path for Kyrat that they’re both completely blind to the terrible nature of the place that leads them.

Like Kalinag, neither of them started their journey with explicitly “bad” intentions, but they fail to realize that having good intentions does not mean you always make good decisions or achieve good outcomes. They can’t see past their own egos (maybe?) and don’t even try, so while Kalinag realizes that the path he feels inertia is leading him down is actually negative and rejects it, Amita and Sabal are unable to conceive of their choices on the road to liberate Kyrat as being fundamentally mistaken or wrong. They’re unable to look back, reassess, and see that they’re running roughshod over human rights to achieve once positive goals. They replace one evil with another and in the end both turn out like the Rakshasas, corrupting something that was supposed to be good.

#Tbh I'm not sure about some of what I've written here but writing helps me think and synthesize things #it's a process #I also don't know to what extent Amita and Sabal were always 'like this' and were always planning to go down the path they were #if they were then ignore literally everything I've written lol it's nonsense #I did find a letter from Sabal to the extremist monk who was kicked out of Chal Jama #where Sabal thanks him for his guidance/advice #So did that guy radicalize Sabal or was Sabal radicalized before then and sought out this monk?#I wish I knew more about the backgrounds of Sabal and Amita because without that everything I wrote feels kinda shaky #like I've made a lot of assumptions #Far Cry 4 #Sabal #Amita #Kalinag

15 notes · View notes

ruggiethethuggie · 1 year

Text

for @sonicsponge03 - Dec 17 * reference is this post cause i have a big ole birthday encyclopedia. post is not original thoughts. excerpts will be cited.

December 17th The Birthday of the Vital Realist | "I am what I do."

Life Lesson: Seeing the lighter side. The Way Forward: To understand that one of the ways to improve your life satisfaction is to take everything and everyone less seriously. Luck Maker: Carry a lucky charm to activate your sense of wonder and inspire a positive expectation of good fortune.

December 17-born tend to say exactly what they mean and they expect others to do the same. Success to them can be measured in concrete terms and, as a practical realist, they garner responsibility and a reputation for honesty and hard work. With the courage and vitality to achieve almost any goal they set, these people are doers rather than thinkers. What interests them is facts, results and actions, not dreams, debates or theories. Everything is focused on what can be achieved or produced right now; this ability to concentrate only on what is before their eyes means they can achieve spectacular results. They can be overly serious at times and don't understand the importance of small talk and a sense of humor; they need to smile more and recognize that emotions sometimes can't be explained or categorized. Born managers, they are drawn to business, retail, commerce, administration, accounting, the law and sales, but may also excel in education, writing, science, sport or research. Their artistic side may pull them toward music, acting or other creative pursuits. Their lifestyles can be sedentary, so regular exercise and paying attention to their posture helps them feel fitter and more upbeat. For self care, wearing, meditating on and surrounding yourself with the color orange encourages you to be more spontaneous. Although others value these people's earthy sensuality and sincerity, real intimacy requires them to lighten up a little. Until the age of 34 they focus on practical issues and a need for order and structure. They already tend to be pragmatic and realistic, so it is important they don't also become too materialistic. After 34 they become more experimental. The key to their success and happiness is their ability to introduce a spiritual dimension to their lives, because this will give them the sense of certainty, truth, order and wonder that they have been seeking. Once they are more self-aware and in touch with their emotions, their destiny is to pioneer wonderfully creative action plans.

#~.birthdays #♦ dec 17 #not my own writing #encyclopedia of birthdays

2 notes · View notes

whatonyogaearth · 3 months

Text

Yoga as a State of Being

We now find ourselves in an age in which more people are practicing yoga than ever before, the term yoga here having become more or less synonymous with postural āsana practice. There are a bewildering array of yoga styles out there, each one trying to make their mark. Yoga appears in glossy magazines and on YouTube and TV programmes and yoga studios have cropped up all over the place in most cities. At least 12,000 ‘yogis’ turn up at Times Square in New York twice a year to practice āsana en-masse. These days it sometimes feels like almost everyone is doing yoga (an exaggeration, I know). Yet, the question has to be asked, is what they are ‘doing’ really yoga?

To answer this question, it may be useful to try and more clearly define what we mean by ‘yoga’. This in itself is a tricky business! First off, is there something tangible, a set of practices and worldviews that we can point to and say conclusively ‘ah-ha, that’s yoga’? Or does the term yoga, as I suspect, refer to something more encompassing, more primordial even, to that yearning to find one’s place in the universe that has arisen amongst all humans in all times and cultures? These days we often hear people say something like “I’m off to do my yoga”. In the very early history of yoga this phrase would not have made much sense. Mostly, yoga was not something you did, but more often referred to a state of being, something you were at the core of your being, and the word was often used interchangeably with samādhi. I think it is important to fully understand this point, that yoga is ultimately the goal, that which we aim to attain, through whatever means and whatever practices seem right for us. The truth is, in its long history yoga can and has been defined in many different ways, as even a cursory look through this history will attest.

We might begin this journey sifting through the rather questionable ‘evidence’ presented by pre-Vedic archaeological finds from the Indus Valley Civilisation and early Vedic texts, where we meet the long-haired sages and vrātyas who some claim to be proto-yogis. Much scholarly research is now suggesting that the origins of the practices and concepts of yoga may have originated amongst the ascetic groups known as the śramaṇas, such as the Buddhists, Jains and Ājīvikas, although they didn’t actually use the term yoga. Our next hard evidence of yoga appears in the genre of texts known as the Upaniṣads where the first clear reference to yoga (in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad) defines it as firm restraint of the senses, a state in which one becomes completely undistracted by the outside world. Within the Bhagavad Gītā, we see yoga defined in a multitude of ways, including in this sense-withdrawal guise, but also as separation from suffering and also as ‘skill in action’ in the context of karma yoga. In Sāṃkhya and subsequently in the Yoga Sūtras the aim of yoga becomes ‘the stilling of the turnings of mind’ and the separation or isolation (kaivalya) of our true self or puruṣa from the everyday material world of prakṛti, and explicitly not becoming ‘one with everything’ which is in fact a more Vedāntic, Tantric and New Age notion.

Later on, yoga becomes inflected with a new set of meanings from the Nondual Śaiva Tantric traditions. The aim of yoga here becomes any practice aimed towards the achievement of that heightened state of awareness where one can perceive the Divine in all things, all situations, and all beings, including oneself. Later still, we come to the tradition of Haṭha yoga. Ironically, the name of this style of yoga which is now usually promoted as a ‘gentle’ yoga in most yoga studios, actually literally means something like ‘forceful yoga’. The overarching aim here remains one of ultimate liberation, but to reach this all kinds of bodily practices are employed, and in some strands of the tradition at least these are geared towards raising the kuṇḍalinī energy up the suṣumṇā nāḍi, awakening the c̣akras as it goes. Here, the division of four yogas, with rāja yoga placed highest, first appears. Though bodily health and longevity are promised as benefits of Haṭha yoga these are hardly seen as the ultimate goal. Indeed, it can be said with some confidence that health related aims (admirable as these may be) do not take on any considerable significance until we get to the present age, within the last century or so. Nowadays, yoga is very much embedded within the Health and Wellbeing industry and we have seen the rise of ‘fitness yoga’, for want of a better term.

So, what is yoga, and can it even be said to have a definable essence? For me, yoga describes a state of being that is innate, natural and primordial. Yoga is not even something to strive for or towards because each one of us has yoga at the very core of our being. In prehistoric times I believe we were all naturally engaged in yoga, and by saying this I certainly don’t want to portray a rose-tinted view of the past in which life was perfect and peaceful, that’s absurd, but I do think we would have been more deeply connected with the source, with the ground of Being, that puruṣa, brahman, Śiva, God, Pure Awareness, call it what you will. In the modern technological age, we have more and more distractions that prevent us from realising and abiding in this true state. This does not necessarily mean that the modern age is all bad, again that’s just absurd, it just means we have to work much harder to regain this state of yoga. And again, this is not really the right wording, because we are not actually re-gaining anything, as yoga is always with us, it is simply veiled or covered to varying degrees.

Having as I do a preference for the Nondual Śaiva Tantra view of things, I also happen to believe that rediscovering the state of yoga does not mean renouncing or closing oneself off from the world, to the contrary, it means opening up fully to the universe and all the wondrous potentiality it contains. If one could see the Divine working creatively through everything (including oneself) in every single moment, whether enjoying a beautiful beach, cleaning a toilet, or doing a headstand or whatever one does in life… then one would know one was truly living in yoga. We might rediscover that lost state through dancing or whilst washing the dishes, we might rediscover it through sitting in deep meditation, and yes, we might rediscover it through standing on our heads! Who cares how we find it? Yoga is a destination with many paths, and now is hardly the time to bicker about which path is superior.

As a species, we stand at a crossroads. Our egotistical desire to control and manipulate everything has left us at the edge of destruction. I know it all sounds a bit grand but maybe, just maybe, rediscovering this state of yoga, this state of equilibrium and joyous exuberance in all-pervading Divinity, will be the thing that can save us...

By Dr. Benjamin Major

#yoganaturesheffieldblog #yoga philosophy #yogaasastateofbeing #yogahistory #yogainspiration #yogaforrelaxation #nonduality #whatisyoga #yogaislife

0 notes