#pretty sure it originated in Hinduism !

[gold-pavilion]

Toman and Buddhism + Tenjiku and Taoism

Another post to cover references in Tokyo Revengers! 

This time, I'll be covering the links to two religions to be found in two gangs in the series, reference by reference, with the according explanation of each. 

Some of these may be already known, I know one of them sure is (the whole buddhist manji confusion thing yeah yeah) but still, for the sake of a tidy compilation and of providing more detail, I'll go through them too. Some others are a lot less noticed, like Tenjiku's lean towards Tao, so it'll be best to lay down eeeeeeverything I've caught during my time enjoying this series. Plus, I'm pretty excited to get some of those less-known facts out here!!

Warning though, it's lengthy.

Let's start with Tokyo Manji Gang:

- Firstly, the gang's name and how it's written.

Despite Mikey suggesting the name as a short form of Tokyo Manjiro Gang, putting himself front and center, the kanji that ended up forming the name of Tokyo Manji Gang show that it went in a different direction of meaning. The manji used for the middle part ended up not being the same one from the name Manjiro, but a manji written as 卍. Aloud it's read the same way (many, many, many kanji are homophones), but has a different meaning.

卍 (manji) is an extremely common buddhist symbol (not even limited to japanese buddhism, but in hinduism and other aligned east-asian religions too), which represents the path of Buddha and the endless cycle of rebirth through samsara; the pursuit of leading a more spiritually balanced existence until the soul can reach enlightenment. In other words, it's nothing but deeply buddhist.

(To answer a common question around it: can it be called a swastika? Yes. The symbol in general, with each of the million variations that have popped up in different cultures, can be called a swastika as a broad term. There are a fuckton of swastikas. They mean a fuckton of different things. The tilt and the direction in which this one "spins" makes it different from other swastikas though, and it's always best to be precise and call this one manji.)

Moving on,

- Reunion spot.

The Musashi Shrine (based, but not exactly taken from any of the real-life shrines and temples of similar name in Tokyo, as far as I know) is a shinto-buddhist temple. And, apparently, a place where the founders hung out from time to time, but I'll add to that later!!

It's cute to me that the Toman members seem to use the temple very respectfully. They always meet in it at night waaay after it's closed (daytime meetings have always taken place in different locations, never the temple during visiting hours), they've never once set foot even near the oratory/sanctum/other buildings, never been seen bringing the motorcycles anywhere they shouldn't, and the one time a character was seen using the public temizuya (the little stone fountain where visitors purify their hands and mouth), he was proper about it in terms of pouring water into his hand to rinse his mouth with, not getting the ladle or the rest of the water dirty, as one should always do. 

A fun fact: in Google Maps, buddhist temples are marked with the manji symbol!

- Gang's manifesto.

Embroidered on the chest of the gang uniform, you can see the text  天上天下唯我独尊 ("Above the earth and below the heavens, I alone shall be honored"), which is the gang's manifesto or motto. Sounds just like something Mikey would choose, yeah.

That phrase is also of buddhist origin; famously, the words spoken by Buddha Gautama Siddharta (bear in mind that buddhism isn't a religion with one god or anything like that, anyone enlightened can become a Buddha and many figures have been granted that status, but Gautama is the first and main one, the creator of the doctrine) when he was born. To be honest, this is very much interpretative, but I've come to get the impression that it's not so much a power or ego statement, but rather an expression of cultivating and honoring yourself…? It's absolutely up to personal reading and I'm absolutely not an expert. But those are certainly THE Buddha's words.

- Ceremonial sash.

Another part of their uniform that bears a slight reference: the sash worn by the commander, vice-commander, captains and vice-captains during important fights.

These are tasuki, sashes originally worn by shinto-buddhist priests during ceremonies, in order to keep long sleeves and such in place. However, eventually, they also began being worn by samurai and all sorts of warriors, 'cause of their convenience. In modern times, they even started being used by just about anybody who wears traditional clothing but also does manual work and needs the sleeves out of the way. So it can be concluded that, over time, they stopped being strongly linked to religious practicers. In fact, even biker gangs in general ended up adopting the use of tasuki! Not for their religious origins, but for the warrior part; a bōsōzoku gang member wearing one would look very prepared and determined for a fight.

That's why overall, Tokyo Manji Gang having them is only a relative reference; they could be paying homage to their reference religion, as they could be only honoring gang traditions.

- Additional notes about the leader.

I feel it's important to add up all these little factors of Mikey's choosing, with other little details about him as a person that kinda make it all make sense.

If I say "Mikey seems to be religious, to an extent", I understand this can carry a bunch of tricky connotations. Japanese religion isn't exercised the same way it is in other places, someone being religious SURE AS HECK doesn't mean the same things it means in the christian west. Shinto-buddhism is so commonplace in Japan, most people partake in all kinds of religious practices without even thinking of them as strictly religious, such as new year's celebrations, casual prayer during shrine visits, purchasing and giving charms and such. Religion is integrated in life in a lot of extremely chill ways.

And we can observe a lot of things about Mikey that put him quite above the average in terms of his relationship with local tradition and religion. His house is a huge traditional-style family home, his family is hinted to be active in religious practice (remember Emma's appearances during the Christmas Showdown arc? How she mentioned that their family does a lot of temple visits, and even she considered it weird at that time of the year?), he's much more prone to wearing traditional clothing than his peers, his motif in extra clothing designs is the lion-dog (temple guardians; statues of these can often be found in them), his personal beliefs around death and relationship to the dead run deeper than others' to the point they find him disturbing when he talks about Shinichiro or Baji still being with him... many little things that aren't that deep on their own, of course, but when added up they paint a pretty coherent picture of the guy.

And so, it does make a lot of sense that, even from childhood, a temple was a regular place for Mikey to hang out with his friends, leading to the birth of Toman in one. And it makes a lot of sense that he made all those little choices about the way the gang would be styled. In my opinion, it's likely that those things just all came natural to him because they're a part of his background and worldview. Of course, how actively religious he is, how much he believes in the things he happens to know and how much exactly he might know about buddhism are all up to headcanoning and interpretation. Personally, I'm just a roleplayer that takes it as a relevant part of his character.

- Following a Buddha?

A little out-of-TR-universe element that I love to bring up, 'cause it's just hilarious and cool as hell, is the creation of this statue:

This part of the 2022 Tokyo Revengers exhibition straight up imitates the famous Reclining Buddha in the Wat Pho temple, Thailand. 

The ENORMOUS statue depicts the moment Buddha reaches nirvana, and his enlightened soul is at rest. The golden Mikey statue that imitates it very much intentionally likens him to a Buddha; funny to note that the exhibition staff even prayed to the statue, as you can read in the tweet itself.

What does this mean about Mikey's character? Well, this isn't within text in Tokyo Revengers, just a little outside factor, so I wouldn't take it too literally or too seriously, but it's interesting nonetheless. Personally, I see it as a hint that Mikey was supposed to be on his own little quest to enlightenment, or had the potential to be. Grappling with morality without having a natural sense of what's right, wrong, too much or enough is a major thing with his character. I can also imagine it might just be meant to represent the godlike view others have of him, the guidance they sought from him. Take it as you will! 

The important thing is just that it exists, to confirm that there is an intentional connection of some type between the Buddha and Mikey.

Thaaaaat concludes the Toman and Buddhism section of this post.

Whew!! That was a whole lot.

The Tenjiku and Taoism section coming now is shorter, but I'm sure it contains interesting and less-known things (at least, I've never seen anybody talk about these)!

So let's see, Tao references in Tenjiku:

- Gang name.

Tenjiku is a now-obsolete word that translated directly to "heaven", while simultaneously being the japanese word for the country India (as taken from the chinese pronunciation, Tianzhu).

In modern times, it can be found mostly in ancient literature, the most prominent example being Journey to the West. Given that Kakucho and Izana mentioned this book and seemed to have knowledge of it as kids, we can conclude that's where they got the name of their gang from.

Why would they use the word for India to name their kingdom? What does this have to do with Tao? I'll get into that properly now:

- Kakucho, Izana & Journey to the West.

Journey to the West is one of the four great chinese classic novels (along with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Dream of the Red Chamber) which are enormous, ENORMOUS influences on east-asian literature and fiction in general. Journey to the West, itself, is considered the most popular east-asian literary work overall; of course, being super well-known in Japan, too. (To give my favorite funny example of just how omnipresent it is, y'know Dragon Ball? Hit anime series Dragon Ball? Unabashedly based on Journey to the West, which was to thank for most of its initial local popularity.)

It's the story of the buddhist monk Tang Sanzang, who travels to Tenjiku, to India, to that certain heavenly kingdom, to obtain sacred texts for Buddha Gautama Siddharta (the guy I described as THE Buddha in the Tokyo Manji Gang section above). The quest doubles as a search and exercise of enlightenment, as Tang Sanzang is aided by three protectors that are atoning for their sins and learning from him. The main guardian and arguably the true protagonist of the book is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, a fighter "so strong he could carry a mountain on each shoulder, and still dash as fast as a meteor". It's a huge, epic, 100-chapter monster of a book, in which each chapter is already a fantastic and entertaining anecdote about the characters or what happens in their travels, but also a long spiritual journey that pretty much serves to subtly teach the principles of Tao (term that can be translated to "the path", chinese religion and philosophy). 

A tangent: let me just show you how large it is (and why I haven't been able to finish it, 'cause I cannot take this brick of a book anywhere lmaoooo).

(Cover says Journey to the West: The Adventures of the Monkey King. It's in spanish.)

My guess is that Izana and Kakucho studied about it or read some chapters in school, 'cause dang, there's no way they read all of this at that age?!?! BUT ANYWAY.

While there's obviously quite some buddhist influence in the story, most of what it works with throughout is rooted in chinese folklore and Taoism. The edition of the book I have even begins with extensive notes and introductory explanations about Tao, as its themes of harmony with the universe, self-cultivation, internal alchemy, its main ethics and values, etc etc etc are the basis from which the book is built up. The characters very actively engage with Tao. Sun Wukong is an ardent student of Tao who obtains a bunch of powers through it, for one.

I've gone into this much into detail because Kakucho and Izana make it pretty explicit that, to them, Izana is like monk Tang Sanzang leading to Tenjiku, and Kakucho is like his guardian of unmatched strength, Sun Wukong.

In the end of Journey to the West, it's both Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong that accomplish their goal and also obtain enlightenment, finally ascending to buddhahood. Had Izana and Kakucho's journey with Tenjiku reached their original destination (not "to become a criminal syndicate that controls Japan" but "to build a kingdom where everyone without a home could exist"), had it been like Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong's pilgrimage… they would've learned true balance and they would've found the necessary enlightenment.

Again, I find this little connection with characters that could've been on a quest towards buddhahood, but as far as things went in the main TR timelines, all failed.

- Uniform & logo.

Finally, something lighter and quicker to add, haha.

There are symbols and references that are so so so widespread that they become more of an aesthetic detail than a symbol with meaning, in the eyes of the general public. The yin-yang is one of those symbols that just… appears in a lot of places, fashionably, and one kinda gets used to seeing it without thinking much about it. Sometimes it's not meant to stand for much more than a decorative detail, yes, that definitely happens, but sometimes it's very much a thoughtful choice. With Tenjiku, given its connection to Taoism, I'm gonna treat the yin-yang as a meaningful choice.

So! On the back of the uniform we have a yin-yang, Taoist symbol that represents the balance of the two complementary and opposing forces of the universe (note: it's not a good vs evil type of thing, as tends to happen with western black-white dualism, but rather… the fact that reality needs to be composed of push and pull to get anywhere, hard and soft things with their own function, sun and shade. A common comparison is how a mountain will have a sunny side and a shady side when looked at in a certain moment, but the sun and shade will switch over at another time of day, in a needed cycle). Other features of the uniform are a mao collar instead of a more common style for gang jackets, and an intense red color, the main auspicious and prosperous color in chinese culture. These last two little features could easily be coincidental, but when paired with the yin-yang, I feel like it's intended to lean towards chinese aesthetics.

And with that, 

I end this reference post!

Did you learn anything you didn't know? Did you enjoy learning it? Any thoughts? I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS, SO FEEL FREE TO DROP BY MY ASKBOX with any comments or questions or such!!

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers meta #tokyo manji gang #toman #tenjiku #kurokawa izana #sano manjiro #izana kurokawa #manjiro sano #mikey #kakucho #thoughts and talk and so #tokyo rev #wanted to write this one forever #just never quite got around to it

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 27 of Nona the Ninth

Looks like the Nook app had a character encoding issue, haha. Going into the ebook file, it looks like it was supposed to be Takṣa, which seems to be the name of a person who's important to Hinduism in some way. I'm guessing the rest of those names that I don't recognize are probably also random Earth references

That's pretty interesting, and makes a lot of sense, and follows on from Pash talking about being in BOE from a young age. And I guess maybe also explains why We Suffer tolerates Pash and gives her important assignments in spite of the fact that they seem to clash a bit, personality-wise

Man, so many people have come back that I hope G1deon does come back at some point, both for Pyrrha's sake, and also, I'd like to actually learn what kind of person he was. I know that G-- there is probably just her saying [g], but it makes me think of the way he is referred to in the John sections, like she is saying his original name? But even if she knows what that is, I don't think there's any reason for Nona to not hear it here

Manifesting cosmic spider Alecto

She just, like - she's not having a tantrum or anything right now, she just sticks a sword into her leg because it's inconvenient to carry it and she's only worried about damaging her shirt

Also, I don't think it is ever clarified in this chapter what she actually needs the sword for? Was she planning on fighting the Heralds?

I'm not sure exactly when she had this communication? She doesn't talk about it at all, the only time she really mentions Number Seven is when she said good night to it that one time, and she doesn't mention ever having had like, a conversation with it. I also don't think she knows it's possessing Judith at this point or she would probably have addressed Judith in the truck, I would guess. Number Seven also claims that she asked it for help, but I can't find anywhere in the story where she did that or mentions having done that

This has to refer to John, right? I don't think there are any other relevant male characters left in this story, except Palamedes, who is definitely not who's being referred to here. But John hasn't been present at all in any of the Nona-narrated sections of this story and is probably on the other side of the galaxy right now, so I'm not sure how he could be fleeing from Number Seven here

Again, I'm not sure when this happened, unless it's referring to something that happened 10,000 years ago? Or how a planet can somehow give "blood for blood", or what exactly it was supposed to help with, or how

Yeah, I think she knows what it means. She's standing up here begging Number Seven to not eat the planet and not kill all the people she cares about, so yeah, I think she does

So this was what Judith was talking about earlier:

And:

Alecto is a "green thing" I guess because Earth has plantlife? But if you see it from space, it looks more blue than green. I guess she is green-and-breathing because she has a physical body? I'm not sure who Number Seven saw in the waves, here. The people fighting it were G1deon, Mercy, Augustine, Ianthe, and briefly Nonius and co. Is it talking about how it noticed Ianthe arriving in the shuttle via the River and remembered that she was one of the people who had fought it earlier?

Here on truck, I'm not sure if Number Seven is talking about Nona expending Harrow's body or something else when it says "you eat yourself". And so far, we are to understand that the resurrection beasts do eat living planets and aren't interested in the dead ones, so I'm not sure what it means by "unliving marrow", either

I mean it did work on one resurrection beast

I don't know what the significance of this is

More references to whatever this tower is. Is this some new thing that John made to fight resurrection beasts now that he's down to just one Lyctor?

Maybe Judith is going to be ok, but she's not up to date on recent events, haha

#the locked tomb #nona the ninth

[stxr-bxy]

pagan marauders hcs

in this universe paganism/real witchcraft = wizarding world and paganism is actually respected as a religion

most of them are hellenists but there are also roman and norse gods too

james

- works with athena

- he just loves powerful women

- or women in general tbh

- also works with apollon bc he’s the sun

- not super religious but goes to temple every Wednesday to visit the athena alter and on Sundays for the apollon alter

- makes a stupid amount of moon water because he uses it all the time

- no clair or psychic abilities but is very intuitive

- i imagine he got into hellenismos because euphemia is part greek (hence her name)

sirius

- prefers roman mythology over greek but is eclectic/neo pagan

- she works with Dionysius because they’re both drama queens and Venus because she helped him with embracing his femininity and feeling confident

- wears a carnelian necklace all the time bc she’s ✨that girl✨

- when she first quit weed she would smoke lavender because it puts you to sleep without causing highs

- goes to temple with friends to hang out and leave offerings

- had really strict catholic parents but never felt very connected to the church and god never really interacted with him no matter how many times he reached out

- his parents don’t think that being pagan = devil worship but they’re those people that think any god except theirs is a demon trying to hurt ppl

- was one of those tiktok witches for a while but then realized that witchtok is shit for information

remus

- he’s jewish but he’s still a witch so he still counts for this

- burns a lot of sage bundles

- Sirius sometimes goes to temple(jewish) with him so he’s not alone but most of the time he goes with his parents

- was actually smart about his journey and immediately bought books because social media is mostly bullshit

- he’ll sometimes go to his friend’s temple(pagan) with someone (usually sirius) when their other friends aren’t going or are working

- he’s very supportive and does have some idea of what’s going on

- except he keeps asking who some people are like some obscurer gods or mortals from myths

- “who’s selene again?” “for gods sake remus you ask this every time” “sorry. but still who is she” “the moon goddess remus…” “oh yeah”

- claircognizant, he just knows things

peter

- he was raised pagan because his moms are pagan (peter has two moms argue with the wall)

- works with freyja and demeter and goes to temple on thursday and friday for both

- he and marlene go for nature walks when it’s nice out and they sometimes look for crystals when they walk

- one time he found a really big quartz and took it home (he asked first ofc)

- also believes in animism and loves animals

- has a cat named luna (i have a cat named luna so i am projecting)

- clairvoyant, has visions and prophetic dreams

lily

- was raised jewish and even though she went along with it when she was young she didn’t really feel connected to god so she converted to hellenismos when she was 15

- works with persephone and aphrodite (i know they don’t get along but it’s fine because they’re not on the same altar)

- goes to temple on mondays and fridays for persephone and aphrodite

- meditates a lot and likes to make sure her chakras are aligned (i know chakras originate from hinduism but i’m pretty sure they’re an open practice any hindus can correct me in comments or rbs)

- loves rose quartz and opal

- always does her crushes astrology charts to make sure they’re compatible

- one of those girls with lots of incense

- when she was crushing on mary she wore so much rose quartz and carnelian to get her to notice her

- lowkey scared of tarot bc it’s way too accurate, she prefers oracle cards

- wears pentacle necklaces for protection

mary

- works with medusa (because of the hc that mulciber sa’ed her so she likes her story) and aphrodite

- veils on holidays and when she goes to temple

- reads tarot for people as a side hustle

- loves florida water and uses it a lot because she’s latina

- wears her evil eye/nazar a lot

- has a little home guardian statue and it’s a statue of a little cat

- bought her first veil from amazon and it had such a bad energy that she couldn’t cleanse out so she just threw it away

- when she goes to the beach she looks for shells to put on her aphrodite alter

marlene

- works with hekate and persephone

- has always loved the idea of witches since she was a little girl

- her parents were also strict catholics but marlene never believed in god, she knew somewhere deep down that he wasn’t as real to her as her gods

- her parents basically thought that witchcraft was the devil’s work and they never approved of it, they still don’t but now they’re used to it

- meditates during the full moon

- makes devotional playlists for her deities

- has lots of crystals because “i just think they’re neat”

- avoids doing shadow work but then her deities get mad so she reluctantly does some

- one of those girls who has rusty nails and dead bugs just so she can hex your ex

- clairaudient, was always confused by the ringing in her ears and what it meant

regulus

- works with hades and persephone

- loves the myth about them

- his parents raised him catholic but he stopped believing in god pretty quick because his prayers were never answered

- loves it when mary gives him tarot readings

- prefers runes to tarot but still likes tarot

- goes to temple on mondays because of persephone

- he talks with lily and marlene about persephone a lot and celebrate her return together

- his favorite holiday is yule because he loves all of the folklore surrounding it and the trees

- he used to charge his rose quartz in the sun because he didn’t know you couldn’t do that and then the color faded so he stopped doing that

- does lots of shadow work because he’s fucked up in the head

pandora

- a lot of people think she works with gods like iris or aphrodite but she actually works with nyx and hekate

- does scryings for people

- clairsentient, always picks up on other people’s emotions and the vibe of a room

- goes to temple on saturdays for hekate and with reg on mondays because the services include nyx and persephone

- one of those girls who used a spirit/ouija board and then all of witchtok came for her

- very experimental, uses egg shells in hexes and stuff like that

- also works with the fae and leaves them offerings for ostara and litha (and just in general)

- gives people little rocks and crystals she finds

- little kids love her and they always have such a good energy

- makes art of her deities

barty

- italian folk witch and pagan

- always wearing his nazar to protect from il malocchio cause he doesn’t fw that shit

- works with hades and hermes

- he’s half italian on his mom’s side so he got his practice from her

- uses people’s hair in his spells and no one knows where he gets it from

- “barty why the fuck is my hair in your spell jar?” “idk man…” “liar”

- messes around with tarot and runes when he’s bored

- goes to temple on mondays with reg and pandora and wednesdays for hermes

- clairvoyant (to go along with the seer barty hc)

- mabon is his favorite holiday because food

dorcas

- works with selene and hekate

- her and marlene love talking about hekate and honestly they could talk about her all day

- lowkey wanted to work with freyja at one point but she already has enough deities

- veils a lot for spiritual protection, can be as simple as a bandana or her hair braided but she likes regular veils too

- one of those girlies who walks barefoot in the forest

- grows her own herbs in her garden

- selenophilic

- needs to know everyone’s big 3

evan

- not super religious but still a witch

- he mostly does kitchen witchcraft

- he makes simmer pots and uses herbs when cooking

- hangs rosemary over his front door to protect

- has a cinnamon broom

- mops with rosemary water

- can’t meditate for more than ten minutes because he gets distracted or has an itch or something

- forgot to mention he worships luna, solass ( idk how to spell it) , and the mother (moon, sun, and earth)

- avid pentacle wearer

#marauders #dead gay wizards #au #regulus black #jegulus #james potter #lily evans #marlene mckinnon #sirius black #remus lupin #witches of tumblr #pagans of tumblr

[whimsicalpoet44]

hi! i just disovered your blog and it's so cool x could you tell me a bit about the difference between western and sidereal charts? in my western chart around 60% of the planets/asteroids are in capricorn and in sidereal the same planets are in sagittarius. i don't feel like a capricorn at all.

also, could you tell me more about what it means to have asteroid aphrodite in taurus, 10H please? or medusa in cap, 5H, whatever you prefer? (going by my sidereal chart.)

Aw thank you so much!! :)

To anyone reading: if you don't want to read the differences of Sidereal vs. Tropical, skip down to the bottom for info on asteroid Aphrodite and Medusa.

Sidereal vs. Tropical

So, I'll admit that I'm new to sidereal astrology.

So, I can't speak on what everything means. But I do know the main differences between the two types. (I'm in the process of learning though. I hope to know more about it so I can feel confident talking on it).

I also hope to talk about this respectfully since Sidereal has a cultural component to it. If I'm incorrect with any of this, please feel free to correct me. I'm a believer in being a life long student (it's the Sag placements), so I want to be as respectful and accurate as possible.

I'm also open to anyone sending in a better description, which I can post and credit you/link your account. I just want to make sure everyone gets correct information.

Sidereal astrology is measured from the fixed stars of the ecliptic constellations.

To make things simple, the sky is always shifting. The earth "wobbles" (also known as the precession of the equinoxes) and Sidereal accounts for these shifts and the wobble. That's the simplest way I can explain it, but it's so much more complex than that. But definitely do more research.

I could be wrong, but I want to say the interpretations of the signs in Sidereal aren't exactly the same as tropical, so that could be a factor as to why you don't resonate with it. I've also heard that a lot of people don't truly resonate until they learn how to read sidereal.

I highly suggest getting your information from individuals who specialize in Sidereal. Try to stay away from sources that water down/westernize Sidereal astrology or sources that don't explain the history/cultural component to Sidereal astrology.

Vedic astrology is based on Sidereal. It has its roots in Hinduism and it's important to understand its history to respect where it originated from and the culture. When I research Vedic, I always remember this.

Western astrology (also known as Tropical astrology) uses seasons (Vernal Equinox).

Essentially, Western astrology looks at where the sun was at on the calendar a couple thousand years ago. It doesn't account for the shifts.

Here''s a link that talks about the science behind it.

This link also has a pretty good explanation.

(The link is concise and easy to understand, however I don't like using the NY Post for Astrology information, but I think it's a good basic intro)

Some people are really passionate about choosing one or the other. I'm more of the belief that a person should stick with whatever they're most comfortable with (but obviously being open minded to learn new info as it's presented) or which one resonates more. I believe every chart serves a purpose and can be accurate if read correctly. So, I'll probably use both once I learn.

I'm also learning Draconic astrology, too. I find they all fit in their own way.

There's a lot of discourse about Sidereal being more accurate. And there are a lot of people who feel very strongly about this. Which, that's their practice and it's based on their experience, which is valid. I don't think anyone is "incorrect" per say. (Unless they're watering it down and rooting it in toxic depictions of new ageism. Which is a whole other topic in of itself, but I digress).

There's also a debate in Tropical astrology with modern vs traditional astrology as well. There's just a lot of discourse altogether. So do what feels right for you!!! Just research research research. As you get more experience, you'll figure out where you fall, what you like, etc.

I'm more objective. I like to look at it all with each of their original purposes in mind. Part of that is understanding how each came to be. But I can't say for sure if one is or isn't more "correct" because of my limited knowledge on Sidereal.

Asteroid Aphrodite (1388)

This asteroid has a lot of themes similar to Venus. It's name is coined for the Greek goddess, Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love.

There isn't a lot of information readily available on this asteroid without digging. But basically, Asteroid Aphrodite can depict your allure, beauty, and your sexual attraction. It mainly deals with outward appearance.

Aphrodite in Taurus in the 10th House

You'll likely appear very sophisticated, organized and put together to others. Earth toned colors likely look best on you.

You might enjoy vintage, classy, or business casual fashion. Necklaces could be a great accessory.

You like comfortable fashion and enjoy having your senses engaged.

You might feel most powerful and goddess-like in work settings or settings where you feel most comfortable.

This is how you'll create the air of allure around you.

Medusa Asteroid (149)

There's not a lot of info out there on this one either. But how I understand it, this asteroid deals with themes surrounding healing, betrayal, and isolation. It's based on the Greek story of Medusa.

It shows us where we've been cast aside or scapegoated. It's where we're blamed for things we did not do.

It can also show us where we can access power to deter others from hurting us. (leaving them 'frozen in fear,' just like the myth)

Medusa in Capricorn in the 5th House

You might experience a lot of misplaced blame in the work place. When you step into your power, you can be a strong leader that others don't want to anger.

You could also struggle with themes of responsibility and completion of goals.

Romance could be a point of contention. You might be forced to do some inner child healing. Once you begin healing, you could find a lot of power through it. You might even choose a career in a healing or helping field.

**Just my interpretation based on how I understand these placements. Others could have a different interpretation**

I hope this answered your question. And I hope this was easy to understand and follow!!!

#astrology #astro observations #asteroid

[thenighttrain]

okay the convo might be dead now but i just wanted to offer my two cents !! the swastika has been used by hindus since like. BC times and it has a super prevalent part in hinduism (and probably buddhism as well, i'm not buddhist so i don't know too much ab how it's represented in their religion) as a symbol for good fortune. the swastika that n*zis use is a bit different - i'm pretty sure it's angled differently, and it means smth entirely different! i would understand why a jewish person would feel uncomfortable seeing the hindu one if they didn't know ab the origins, but i also def think that cultures / religions that have been using it as a symbol for positivity shouldn't have to discard that fundamental part of their culture bc of these psychos 😭 the twice thing is also crazy, the idea that she didn't know what that symbol represented is already :/ to me but the fact that she wore it to a jewish-owned restaurant.......jesus christ JDBWFKWBKF i feel like at this point in time, 'i didnt know' doesnt really excuse this sort of behaviour completely when we live in such a digital age and she's a full grown adult with access to the internet LOL

i am now too sleepy to continue this conversation but BIG YES TO ALL OF THIS, totally agree with the last part about 'i didnt know' not being a good enough excuse sometimes

#ask #hotgirlsrk

[snekdood]

jkr, what if my trans identity came from a spiritual journey within, and not much influence from the outside?

#mood #??? #what say ye terf #like i 'stopped' being trans essentially (at least my nb identity after that was also suppressed and i was seen as a girl anyways) when i #was 16 bc i had so little support from the people around me who refused to see an inch of me- though most of those folks didn't really #get to know me or know shit about me or my internal world at all so yknow. not sure how they had insight on my gender #regardless. i stopped being trans. and i was off the internet for MONTHS just having a lil spiritual experience and journey #and somehow some way inspite of all my apprehension and shame somehow i came back to the same spot #realizing im a boy. that the masculine presence in me was greater than the feminine presence #so if mere exposure to the concept of being trans is people actively pushing transness down kids throats then ig all #'autistic girls' are gonna be trans you paranoid creepy livid cunt. leave people alone to live their lives #not only was i off the internet this is around the time i got so paranoid i dropped out of school and stopped talking to everyone also #the only thing i really did online was engage in weird mixed spiritual bullshit cherry picked by new agers. id look up concepts further on #my own so picked up SOME stuff from hinduis #m already but not all of it which is pretty annoying bc new agers just kinda steal and appropriate concepts from hinduism w/o giving #due credit or acknowledging the origins and respecting those origins and that culture... obv i was ignorantly guilty of this >-> but #and its even more annoying bc a lot of the concepts stolen are incomplete without knowing plenty of other stuff from hinduism #it either doesnt work or isnt that effective bc theres so many parts missing in teachings of chakras and law of attraction etc #but anyways i could rant about that for an hour so ill save that for later lol #so i was havin my lil spiritual journey and the only thing that really brought me back to being trans was the concept of aliging #the diving feminine and masculine in me #which one naturally would interpret in a trans way if they were brave enough to admit it hsdhjs #bc you dont embrace the divine masculine within without bending the gender binary @ cis women #anyways #trans agenda is fake #if the trans agenda is real then ig go back in time and try to stop hindus from having trans gods lol #good luck bro #HONESTLY the concept of the 'trans agenda' reminds me of JQ shit considering they think jewish ppl back in time were conspiring something #idk what but something lol #ig all the ancient trans people were just part of the trans agenda smh my head

[writingwithcolor]

Names in fantasy with real-life ethnic and religious origins: Chinese & Hinduism

This ask had two very different questions. They are presented divided.

Part 1 - Naming Chinese-coded Characters

@the-prince-of-silver submitted:

I’m writing a high fantasy/sci fi story that doesn’t take place on earth, though the characters have human first names and more fantasy/elemental inspired surnames (elemental powers/magic is a given for my species I’ve created). 1. should I give them last names that fit their coded ethnic origins? for example should I give my characters who have Chinese first names Chinese last names as well? 

Answer if trolling:

“Under no circumstances should a Chinese character be given a Chinese name following Chinese naming conventions. To do so would reveal them to the audience to be Chinese, which is disquieting for most Western audiences. As members of the model minority, it is essential that E. Asians never break cover, lest they remind white people that they are not, in fact, white. This is why most characters played by E. Asian actors in American tv shows have Western last names.”

- Marika.

Answers if Not Trolling

Sidenote: I usually see Chinese diaspora with western first names and Chinese last names, definitely not the other way around. I think it’s more of a rarer case for monoracial Chinese characters to not have Chinese last names…

Mixed Race?

However, I could see this happening with mixed people. Drawing upon my own experiences, my mixed Chinese/White friend has their English (legal) first name and another Mandarin (nonlegal) first name; Their last name is English. Case could be different depending on what kind of naming conventions your characters’ parents have followed as well (i.e. which parent they got the last name from, hyphenated last names, adoptees).

Chinese naming conventions for last names and first names can get pretty complex as well. I suggest you do some research on those, in your own time. 

--mod Emme

Assimilation Pressures

I agree with Emme: monoracial Chinese diaspora usually have Western given names and Chinese surnames (and as pointed out, there are exceptions like marriage*, adoption, blended families, etc.) I also do want to point out that some Asians have mentioned changing their surnames to Western ones because Asian surnames led to fewer job opportunities (see Chloe Bennet). So to me, I would rather have the Chinese characters with Chinese surnames unless there’s a reason for them not to have one. 

*based on heterosexual marriage customs in Chinese culture, the wife is usually not expected to take the husband’s surname. However, I’ve seen instances in my community where the wife will take the husband’s surname (even if Western) for non-Chinese society while still going by her Chinese surname in Chinese circles.

--mod Jess

TLDR; Please allow Chinese diasporic characters to have non-English names. I see too many instances of the situation that Mod Jess describes above. It’s frustrating.

--mod Emme

Part 2 - Naming Hindu-coded Characters

2. In a planet where human religions aren’t practiced, would it be wrong to give characters names that have origins in religion? I’m mostly thinking about Hinduism here, though I do recognize that Hinduism is both considered a religion and a way of life so I wanted to check and make sure if this was appropriate.

Asker, please read through our FAQ and our archives. There you will find articles on coding and conlangs, what they mean and how to do them properly. Don’t worry. We’ll wait. 

Are you done? Good. You should now have your answer. The salient point in high fantasy is to make sure that in your cultural and religious coding as well as your pertinent conlangs (I recommend drawing on Chinese and Sanskrit) evoke the feeling of these cultures, religions and languages, rather than pulling from them directly.

- Marika

#Chinese #Hindu #Hinduism #names #coding #conlangs #worldbuilding #WWC #Chinese names #Hindi names #race coding #ethnic coding #asks

[fanficwritersinterviewed]

MCM, antheiasilva

<<This post is a part of a longer conversation about fanfic writers, how they view fanfic, and their writing process. All views are the fanfic writers’ own, and whatever fanfic they choose to write is entirely their own decision. No judgment value will be placed on fic content. These conversations are meant to provide insight for other fanfic writers in whatever stage they are at in their writing life>>

Meet-Cute Monday (with antheiasilva, @antheiasilva​)

AO3 Stats:

Pseud: antheiasilva Pronouns: they/them Current fandoms: Star Wars, Stargate Current pairings: QuiObi (Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan), Gen How many total fic: 28 How many fandoms: 2 Total word count: 182,952 Longest fic word count: 36,182 Shortest: 215 Highest kudo count: 1305 Lowest: 29

What's the story behind your pseud? Being the classics nerd I am, it's the Greek goddess of flowers and Latin for forest. I made it up in high school, and I think the original version was jediantheia but then I wanted to not be so fandom specific. Jokes on me, 20 years later and I'm still obsessed with Star Wars!

How long have you been reading fanfic? How long have you been writing fanfic? I've been reading fanfic since at least 1997 or 1998. I'm not sure if it was my first fandom and pairing, but I was really into Mulder/Scully fanfic and I remember printing it off high school computers. I know I looked for, but don't remember if there was any, Jurassic Park fanfiction and I did write Jurassic Park fanfiction around that time, but it never made it online. I think it mostly stayed in a notebook. I also wrote some Lord of the Rings fanfic in the early 2000s but that also never made it online. But I did win a high school short story competition for what I would now call Hamlet/Horatio pre-slash in 2001.

I was lurking around Qui/Obi in the late 90s, early 2000s. I remember reading some of “Walk Softly and Carry a Big Lightsaber” in the Master and Apprentice archive on high school computers, but didn't get very far. It was back in the days where I thought I was straight and read a lot of Qui-Gon/OFC. I didn't really start writing seriously until 2017, with Stargate Universe fanfiction (Rush/Young, of course), and then started writing Star Wars Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan in 2018 and never looked back.

Why did you start to write fanfic with your current writing incarnation? I was really interested in seeing the conversations characters might have with each other if they just fucking talked and what their relationships might turn into. With Rush/Young I wanted to see if I could plausibly and in character get them into a relationship, without any gimmicks, tropes, external influences. Nothing against sex pollen or aliens made them do it - I love that stuff - but the fandom had A Lot of that already.

With my first Qui/Obi it was similar. Can I, in character, get them into a relationship with the barriers that exist between them. And the master/padawan legacy is a big deal to figure out. If they were living, breathing humans in all their messiness, with all their trauma and history with each other, all of the power dynamics, and pseudo-parent mentor stuff, how would they figure that out? Could they?

I look at them in “The Phantom Menace” and they seem completely in love with each other in this quiet, respectful, magical way. I remember watching Qui-Gon's death scene in 1999 on the big screen and my heart leaping into my throat because for a moment it really looked like they were going to kiss. I just wanted to imagine that going somewhere in a romantic and sexual way. Not that they aren't already somewhere, but I'm allosexual so that's the trajectory that really pulled me at first.

How does what you do as a career inform the sorts of stories you write or the narratives you chase after? Wellllllll, I do work in mental health so... yeah. No surprise that emotions, relationships, trauma are all pretty central. I also trained as a yoga teacher and I'm studying more and more nondual wisdom and philosophy through yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, tantra. So the philosophy and spirituality connection is also probably going to be showing up more and more.

Take "After the War" for example, where did the trajectory of healing come from, how much was informed by that work? Quite a lot - but less academic. I have a pretty intense trauma history myself and so all the academic stuff is filtered through lived experience of trauma healing through therapy, self-directed healing, emotional processing, embodiment and somatic therapy, yoga, exploring and healing from intergenerational trauma. There's definitely stuff about dissociation and structural dissociation in “After the War” and the importance of safety in the present, the challenge of coming into and staying in the present, being in connection, receiving love, accepting oneself and all of one's exiled parts of self. What is the Dark side really anyway? I think it's related to trauma.

Disclaimer- it's still fiction and fantasy! So, you know, don't try this at home and all that.

One of the cool things about healing from dissociation is that it is a lot like waking up, over months and years. And I tried to get that effect in “After the War” with the style and structure. It's not linear - there are setbacks. And it's hard - you have to let go of control. You can't rush it or make it happen. You have to come back to acceptance and compassion over and over. And it's not done alone.

So this intersection of fanfic, using known characters and settings, to explore lived trauma and process healing and identity is something I'm fascinated by. Fanfic has a reputation for being non-serious writing (and it absolutely can be! love that for it!) but because it's such an accessible way to write and share and have others read and respond, I feel like it's uniquely situated to give people a chance to say some really personal things. I agree with you 1000%. Fanfic can be healing magic. Writing it and reading it. You can be with your "stuff" whatever it is, with the buffer of the fictional characters and universe and the process of being with the stuff, understanding it, feeling it, having compassion for the character (cough cough, yourself) in it, panning out and seeing it from a distance, focusing in and seeing little pieces. It's all healing and integrating, I think. That's been my experience. You have that great line in Mirrorball where Obi-Wan is right up against the proverbial wall with his frustration with Qui-Gon and then something shifts. Hang on, I need to find it…

"If they are staying true to their established pattern, one of them should walk away, but Obi-Wan doesn’t feel that caged animal drive to get away from Qui-Gon this time. His meditation has helped Obi-Wan peel away his fears and hurt until all that is left is a boundless calm that makes him feel both terribly small and unspeakably large. He knows this feeling for what it is: perspective.

Now he’s ready to face Qui-Gon again."

This state Obi-Wan's in, and the choice he makes here  - that is trauma healing. And I feel like writing fanfic helps me do that. Needless to say, you blew my freaking mind with Mirrorball and I will love it forever. That is what fanfic can give us, I think, among other things - dopamine, endorphins, practicing compassion, more neural interconnectivity etc. This is one of those passages that has lodged in my brain and will never leave. I am both thrilled by it and unspeakably jealous in the best way.

Not bad for a fic thats mostly about Obi-Wan becoming a club kid and having anonymous alley sex, lolol! Hahah, it's about so much more than that.

The other thing I hear a lot from other writers/readers is that fanfic has the accessibility for people to see identity outside the mainstream they might not get to see. Can you talk about any moments of that for you? Yeah, I mean my drive to write fanfic was at least partially inspired by my gender awakening, figuring out I'm trans and trying to figure out masculinity. I'm fascinated by and adore masculinity. I'm particularly fascinated by Jedi masculinity- Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are so strong, so competent, so powerful, and yet Qui-Gon kneels down to look Anakin in the eyes. He almost never raises his voice. Obi-Wan too. They have power over themselves and so they don't need to take it out on others. They don't get out of control. That's Anakin, whose possessive need for control of others is trying to compensate for the chaos he feels in himself.

I grew up in a family where men bellowed like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park when they didn't get their way and used physical violence against people much weaker than them. And that's our culture too- damn patriarchy.  Swimming around in healthy masculinity is hard to do! I need fanfic for that! I do value all of the identity representation in fanfic, but I can't say I've been overly compelled by trans Obi-Wan stories, for example. Art seems to be a different story. I have been known to cry when seeing Obi-Wan art where he has top surgery scars.

Oh I love that: seeing non-toxic masculinity in fandom. That’s a really beautiful thing to get from fanfic.

#meet cute monday #antheiasilva #fanfic writers interviewed #fanfic #fanfic writing

[latent-thoughts]

The Himalayan Refuge

Chapter 10: A New Beginning...

Summary: When Loki poofed with the Tesseract after the attack of New York, he desired to go to a safe place, somewhere he could recover and plan his next move. The Tesseract took him to Palampur, India–a sleepy town in the lap of the Himalayas. There, he indeed got the refuge he needed in a British era cottage, but his entanglement with its caretaker caused his plans to change…

Pairing: Loki/OFC(POC)

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Adventure, Drama, Angst, Action, Loki lands in India, Mistaken Identity, False Identity, Magic/Seidr.

[Authors’ Notes: I and @emeraldrosequartz ​​ are continuing this story for @allaboardthereadingrailroad ‘s​ Diversity Challenge. It features a POC Original Female Character (from India) and Loki. There will be many references to the Indian culture, food and Hinduism (since the OFC is a Hindu) throughout the story.]

________________________________________________________________

Maya was awestruck.

Vanaheim was so green and beautiful! And not just naturally pretty, but it appeared as though the people there had embraced nature completely. It felt like she had stepped into a big, neverending garden, with everything pruned and perfectly snipped. Even the buildings looked to be a part of the garden landscape, what with their curved walls and facades.

As Loki took her to his aunt's house through numerous groves and around pretty round ponds, her eyes were surely comically wide and dazzled.

"Wow, you weren't joking about it being beautiful," she said, clutching his arm tightly as he led her. "These people are nature lovers on steroids. I can feel the vegetation breathing . The magic here is so intense!"

Loki chuckled and put his hand on hers as he led her down the winding, flower-lined paths, towards the secluded estate where his aunt lived. He truly enjoyed watching Maya's reactions as she took in everything around her - how her eyes went wide and her breath caught, or how her heartbeat quickened. He adored every moment of it.

"It is a place made by magic users, for magic users. And my aunt, Lady Idunn, is one of the best. She taught me for centuries..."

Centuries...Maya doesn't have centuries...

...at least, not yet.

Loki grinned to himself as he approached the organic-looking abode, twisting out of the ground and forming into a verdant, draping tree--a homage to the Yggdrasil itself. He kissed Maya on the head and stepped forward to knock on the door.

When it opened, they were greeted by a beautiful woman in a flowing silver gown, golden hair flowing past her waist with streaks of grey shimmering like moonlight through her tresses. She smiled when her golden eyes landed on them, genuine joy in her expression.

[READ MORE]

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If you want to be tagged in this fic’s updates, please contact me. ❤️

#mcu loki #tom hiddleston #my loki fic #loki fanfiction #loki/ofc #marvel #loki #loki x ofc #loki romance #indian character #indian ofc #poc ofc #indian characters #romance #angst #love #loki in india #false identity #marvel fanfiction #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel cinematic universe

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

I'm sorry but I have a few questions. I am just trying to get a better picture of what your vision of paganism looks like in practice? Will there be pagan churches? Will there be a priesthood? Traditions? Holidays? Will your church be the one true church? Will there be animal sacrifices? How will you be sure that you're performing the ceremonies correctly? I think that's one of the biggest hurdles for your attempt at revival. There's no living tradition to learn from. You're just guessing.

first and most importantly, i’m not really interested in a 1:1 revival. what i’m advocating for isn’t a reconstruction. it’s an evolution. a new religion for a new world. informed by the past but adapted to a new age. which is perfectly acceptable. not even the ancients practiced identically across time and space. why should we be any different? also, i take issue with your claim that there’s no “living tradition” but i won’t get into that right now because that’s another can of worms of its own which i plan on addressing in future posts.

about your other questions. i’m pretty sure i’ve addressed at least some of these in the past so i’m gonna try to keep this short(er).

churches: sure. there will be places of worship. from grandiose temple complexes to household shrines and everything in between. to be honest, this is an interesting topic to me and i’d be happy to discuss it in more depth sometime.

priesthood: in our version of paganism there’s no real need for a priesthood because every man (and woman) will function essentially as their own priest. and every household will essentially serve as their temple. there’s no need for a middleman when it comes to private worship. however, priests may still exist. each cult/sect would have its own rules about that. but priests will still have a role on society: leading communal worship, managing temples, offering spiritual guidance, etc.

traditions: idk what you really mean here but of course we will have traditions. people make up traditions everywhere they go. even in non-religious settings. some traditions will be informed by ancient practices others will be created wholly new. in my opinion this is part of the appeal. how exciting to get to play a role in the creation of new traditions.

holidays: yes. many, if i have a say in the matter (which i do). again, some informed by the ancients and others totally original.

one true church: yes and no. lmao. for me, there are layers. like...look at hinduism. saying you’re a “hindu” doesn’t really say much. i mean, it gives you an idea of the pantheon of gods you generally draw from and the scriptural cannon you probably generally accept. but within hinduism there are myriad sects, each with their own philosophies and theologies and gods they emphasize or de-emphasize and so on and so forth. so what i’m getting at is that on some level i of course acknowledge the plurality of paganism. however, my cult is the best, most correct cult and i will be striving to make it the supreme cult in america and, eventually, the entire universe.

animal sacrifices: probably. it wouldn’t be a requirement but it would be accepted practice if you wanted to and it probably would be encouraged in certain cases (for certain holidays or ceremonies). but like i said, generally it probably wouldn’t be required. there are plenty of other offerings that the average person could make instead. but so many animals are gonna be slaughtered anyway. so i don’t see the harm in ritualizing it and adding a degree of dignity and meaningfulness to the process all while potentially receiving some divine blessings. seems reasonable to me.

#cult #mythmaking

[bunnyinthestars]

Adrien is definitely gonna take Emilie’s place in a coma (A Theory)

Yeah so I mean the title of this is exactly what I’m pretty sure is gonna happen. This is because there has been a huge load of foreshadowing and some other subtler reasons I will be going over in this post. Of course, there’s always a chance it won’t happen, but if it didn’t I think I’d be pretty surprised considering just the amount of evidence thats going into this.

(Also sorry ahead of time for the structure of this, I tried to structure this based on my specific reasons for this theory but I kind of went off on tangents in some places and in others I use ideas that I assume come with the theory and don’t necessarily fit into any specific reason (like Emilie coming back to life and what would happen there, why Adrien and not Nathalie, and loosely how theyd get Adrien out of the coma), although I mosty stick to the structure I still want to add this disclaimer just so you’re aware that I wrote this in one go at midnight (also wait right now its 12:10am it is now ten minutes into my birthday??? ok ignoring that))

I dont know man. Just consider what I have to say. Or dont. I will be listing my reasons starting now.

1. Imagery of Adrien being in comatose state/ in a coffin-like thing.

This is surprisingly common??? Off the top of my head I can think of Style Queen and Riposte (I believe) which involve this. In Style Queen, Audrey in the form of her akumatized self had essentially kidnapped Adrien and put him in this gold/glass coffin thing that disintegrated the longer it remained untouched. The other one is Riposte, where Ladybug hides Adrien in that big sarcophogus in the Louvre (he didn’t stay in it but still the imagery is there.)

I also just remembered in Chameleon when Lila took Adrien’s form he was asleep/in a comatose state in that locker and Plagg was like “aw man am I gonna have to kiss him.....” but then Adrien wakes up because Lila stole someone else’s form

EDIT: another instance of Adrien/Chat Noir being shoved into a sarcophagus (besides Riposte) is in Pharaoh in season 1

So yes there is definitely a good number of foreshadowing for this. I might take this further and say if Adrien were to go comatose and be in the coffin Emilie was in then Felix might replace him for some amount of time?? Like impersonate him amd stuff?? Just because there’s lots of stuff in the show with impersonation I feel like it could work aNYWAY BACK TO THE EVIDENCE I KNOW ITS A TANGENT

2. Possible evidence foreshadowing Emilie *inadvertantly* killing (not killing but making comatose you get it) Adrien

This one is not as strong as the first but its worth considering. I was googling the word “mayura” just out of curiosity a while back and basically its a peacock in Hindu stories (like peacocks are a kinda revered animal) and I just initially found a couple websites that said that the mayura has been depicted eating a snake as a symbol of the cycle of time (you dont have to read this part in parenthesis, its just kind of a tangent: the cycle of time as known in Hinduism is another aspect of Hinduism directly referenced in the show: the horse/space miraculous kwami Kaalki’s name is a reference to the prophecied tenth avatar/reincarnation of the god Vishnu, and he is referenced in the Kalachakra tantra which is basically a Hindu book about the cycle of time. Keep in mind I got all this from wikipedia and other internet websites, I do not practice Hinduism and I dont directly know anybody who does, so if any of this is wrong pls lmk because there is surprisingly not a lot of information on the internet about it from what I could tell)

So anyways yes peacock (mayura) eating snake representing the cycle of time. Both Luka and Adrien are represented in the show as the snake, but ultimately I think the snake here represents Adrien just because it makes more sense (Snake Noir, future Alix’s tattoo depicts a snake to be Adrien and is meant to represent Adrinette, Adrien just has some shifty stuff going on with the snake in general etc) and thus, if Gabriel manages to actually get the ladybug and black cat miraculouses and make the wish to bring Emilie to life, then this “mayura” analogy (assuming Emilie as the mayura in this scenario) would make sense if her life brought upon Adrien losing his.

The reason I dont think it would refer to Nathalie even though her official name is Mayura is for pretty much two sub-reasons. The first is that I think she is going to die before this wish happens. I know, its a kids show, whatever, but consider it. The Agreste/Graham de Vanily family has a trend of having opposite names [I am so sorry I literally first heard this from a tumblr user but I cannot remember who I just remember they had made a string of theories on why Emilie Agreste will not be who she seems to be so credit to them I did not discover that] for example the name Gabriel means hero/angel, Felix means happy/fortunate, Adrien means dark, etc, and Nathalie Sancoeur means “birthday (of Christ)” and “heartless” respectively. We already know she is not heartless but rather full of heart because she has fallen in love with Gabriel. So then,,,,,,,,,, the opposite of birth is death. She’s already shown to be pretty sick too despite the peacock miraculous having been “fixed” (as of the New York special being the most recent piece of content). I’m sorry guys I do not make the rules

stop why his face look like that though

The second part of why I think this is a little stupid but. The original art released by Jeremy Zag for Mayura does not look like Nathalie. Plus this art was only released under the name of “the Peacock” (originally Le Paon in French) so it might not actually be the Mayura we know as of now. Now, theoretically, it could be that they had made this art before they knew they wanted Nathalie to be Mayura or just as art depicting what Emilie would have been like as the peacock miraculous holder, and it could literally just be Nathalie. When you compare the images, though, the original Mayura art looks far more like Emilie and a lot less like Nathalie. Yes I am aware this is stupid just know this is only a minor point

I dont know man those faces do not look the same to me and the original Mayura definitely had Emilie’s eye shape and face shape in mind. They might’ve changed it after making the concept art but my point still stands

Ok next reasoning

Again not a very strong point but sometimes dialogue just implies things in Miraculous and I can think of a very specific quote that would fit this happening, and there are probably more that I just dont know to look for since I dont have this whole show memorized

So the quote is from Startrain after Gabriel loses control of the akuma then learns about the Startrain having been akumatized with Adrien on board, and he says “hoping that my enemies will save my son..... how ironic.” When I first heard this quote I really, really felt like it was foreshadowing something just based on his tone and the way this new idea was being introduced of him having to be on the same side as Ladynug and Chat Noir for once, even if it was just temporary. This quote absolutely is indicative to me of a future event in which he’ll have to work with his “enemies” to save his son. A situation in which Adrien is in comatose would perfectly align with this. At least for how I would predict the show would make it, Gabriel would have to turn away from Emilie (who represents the past for him, and this action would therefore represent moving on) and join forces with Ladybug/Marinette, his “enemy”, to save Adrien.

Onto the last reason!

Emilie is probably definitely coming back. Which means someone’s going into a coma in her place.

I mean come on it would be so anticlimactic if they just caught Gabe before he fulfilled his wish. Plus with the way they are outlining Emilie to be this perfect golden being is definitely because its going to far contrast with how she will actually turn out. This doesnt really support the Adrien thing in particular but honestly it would also be anticlimactic of the coma was for anyone else. If it was Nathalie, then yeah itd suck for Adrien I guess but like???? Doesn’t really connect the plots as much. Whereas if its Adrien, that brings Marinette into it, that gives her a powerful as heck conflict. Im guessing they would also somehow resolve his coma with “the power of love” mentioned in the theme song, just because of the foreshadowing with like waking someone up with a true love’s kiss (think Plagg in Chameleon, I guess the rose in Style Queen, maybe Alya’s story to Manom in Stormy Weather if we’re strecthing it....)

TL;DR: Adrien is probably gonna go comatose (like Emilie did) at some point because its been pretty foreshadowed (think Style Queen, Riposte, and even Chameleon), because of the legend surrounding the Hindu “mayura” peacock eating a snake representing time (wow that was not a sentence ok then), because Gabriel has previously foreshadowed having to work with his enemies to save his son, and also just because it would be super awesome and allow each character involved to have a pretty fulfilling conflict and arc.

(all images from the miraculous ladybug wiki excluding the piece of art depicting the mayura which is from murugan.org)

I hope however took the time to read this post enjoyed this theory, sometimes I have really random yet detailed theories regarding this show and I wanted to share this one because if I’m right then this will be proof I had predicted it, also you guys could possibly elaborate on it. I’m all for friendly discussions folks fr

If this doesn’t end up happening the theory is still awesome and they should have done it, and if it does my ego will probably expand and hopefully they will make it as awesome as it seems like it would be. Sorry if the structure of this post is not great, but thank you for reading. I appreciate you, have a wonderful week :)

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug theory #ml theory #adrien agreste #rip adrien agreste #rip adrien #sorry those were in my recommended tags i couldnt note include them #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #ml mayura #emilie agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #marinette dupain cheng if you squint #if this happens i will not be ok #like dang bro you really just predicted the future huh #it is now almost 1am i dont know why i do this #hinduism is lowkey one of the inspiration for the universe of ml #possibly just bc it also lowkey inspired buddhism and im assuming the order of the guardians are tibetan buddhist #but yes stay safe guys i hope anyone you know who is sick right now recovers and wish all of you guys strong mental health

[yamayuandadu]

What really kills me about the Woman's Encyclopedia is the Walker chooses to make Kali the "triple goddess" of hinduism even though Shakti would've been a much better choice for it as an actual tripartite female divine entity that is also a much bigger presence in hindu religion than Kali (even if the whole "archetypal triple goddess" thing is still bullshit)... and honestly, i feel the most likely reason for this is literally Kali's depition in Indiana Jones.

Kali being viewed as some grand central figure of hinduism rather than a specific aspect of Parvati is a broader new age phenomenon I think, influenced mostly by “scandalous” accounts from the british colonial period, but given Walker’s research - or lack thereof - I wouldn’t rule out your joke as the real explanation of what’s happening here. Also I can’t believe you didn’t mention her baffling “Kali-Cunti” spelling, a poor excuse for a wordplay which Walker probably saw as clever or inspired but which borders on being intentionally morbidly offensive Some of my other personal “favorites” from WE not covered in @/eirijkrs’ posts about its impact on megaten are: -claiming Ahriman was originally “the Vedic god Aryaman, maker of "Aryans"”; Ahriman was Zoroaster’s personal invention, and has nothing to do with the Vedic Aryaman; as a matter of fact, the Vedic god is present in Zoroastrianism as Erman, a yazata in the exact same role as he had in the Vedas - that of a personification of friendship (source). Equating him with Ahriman is like insisting thought and tough are the same word... Also Aryaman/Erman is not a creator deity, of course. -insisting Hades was originally a woman - for an author who isn’t particularly friendly towards trans people (to put is very lightly) she sure seems invested in this trans hc. -confusing Rudra with Ardha - while discussing... Mesoamerican corn gods -the entire unicorn entry. Read it and weep. -claiming djallaba, a middle eastern robe was “copied from women” and shares its origin with... what seems like a cultic role in Sulawesi according to WE’s mangled description but I cannot verify since no source other than WE uses this word. -calling sufism - islamic mysticism - “tantric goddess worship” -the 19th century racism. It’s seriously everywhere in this book -calling Anat a “mother earth goddess” and connecting her destruction of Mot with the usual fake Golden Boughclaims (but removing any references to the raw emotional value of the descriptions of grief in the original, or anything else that makes the cycle such a memorable text) - the scepters Mot uses? That’s his dick actually, you see -assuming Amazons were real: ”Amazons took the isle of Lesbos and made it one of their "isles of women," a sacred colony dedicated to worship of the female principle”; however Sappho being gay is a worthless trivia bit; I suspect Walker is more than a bit homophobic as she only references lesbians a few times and most of the references to gay men (around 20 in the entire book)  are mocking or condemning iirc -getting the basic facts wrong - Seth was identified with Baal, not with Mot! Before the bronze age collpase, Seth was a hero god similar to Baal or Teshub for a few centuries, thanks to Egypt’s positive relations with Ugarit, Hatti etc...; she also thinks “Aliyan” is a son of Baal and Anat and that Anat was Baal’s mother; all around borderline illiterate -calling Ishtar “Marduk’s consort” repeatedly (and claiming the biblical Esther is also her). A purported feminist who seems obsessed with reducing every goddess or heroine to the role of mother existing on the periphery of a male deity’s cult is pretty funny. Tbf in Walker’s world, much like in Evans’, Graves’, Daly’s or Gimbutas’, women aren’t supposed to have wacky adventures because just like in extreme catholicism i grew up with motherhood is the only real aspiration to have so her peculiar hatred for Anat’s or Inanna’s actual character is not surprising. -and many more! As a closing note I’d like to point out that while Walker’s fans seem to often call her a “historian” or “scientist,” she only has a journalism degree. I’d therefore hazard saying my qualifications are comparable to hers if not better - perhaps I should write a blatant parody named  “Woman’s Guide to Confabulations and Conspiracies” or something

#Anonymous

[human-calcifer]

"Dyad in Force : duality in Nature in ST Universe

The concept of two that are one

Star wars universe philosophy also takes quiet a inspiration or idea from Eastern philosophies . Joseph Campbell who wrote Hero's Journey tales Eastern mythic hero's.

Through my piece of writing here I will merely draw parallel from Eastern spirituality to explain Dyad. That sure doesn't have to be everything similar. But I am gonna dwell into both spiritual and materialistic aspects of it.

Dictionary meaning of Dyad specifically, sociology : two individuals (such as husband and wife) maintaining a sociologically significant relationship.

What I understand dyad in spiritual sense takes a lot from ying-yang, yoni - linga/shiv-shakti (Hinduism)

Shiv - purasha, masculine, consciousness, is also static

Shakti - prakriti (nature), feminine, energy, depicts dynamism

Together they are also called...

Ardhanarishvara (अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara), is an androgynous deity composed of Shiva and his consort Shakti, representing the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies.

In indo- vedic mythological Ardhanārīśvara split into two to help the creation of universe

There is no difference between the two. they seem like two just because for purpose of existence. They are two that are one.

Maybe just force created them as one but they split them to serve the purpose in material world.

Shiv- Shakti split into two to help in creation of universe and it's life forms.

TROS mentions something like that of Dyad force A POWER LIKE LIFE ITSELF

What infuriated me they used such a beautiful and spiritual power just to aid Darth Sidious back to life. When they could have done so much more.

Regardless even if I am comparing some of the aspect of Shiv Shakti principle to Dyad but I don't think JJ or Terrio are well read to understand or even come down to this. So we are left understand by our ourselves.

In Indo Vedic pantheon Shiv-Shakti are major deities. They are husband and wife. Together they create world and manifest in different forms to end evil and restore balance to the realm. But not necessarily they have to fight besides each other. Sometimes they are each other's weapon or inspiration or their direction.

Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Parvati or Adi-Parashakti

She is armed with divine weapon by other Demi God's. Uses Shiva's Trident to kill Demon Mahishasura

In this scene we see Rey calls all Jedi's before her. All past Jedi powers her to kill Darth Sidious.

What bad TROS did with Rey by making her Palpatine actually taking away her power which should have been hers even though she defeats Palpatine. It's like making blanket statements on Feminism.

Shiv-shakti also manifests into their darker and destructive form called Mahakaal and Mahakali to destroy evil. Mahakaal and Mahakali's rage could even destruct universe.

When Mahakali is in rage she is calmed by shiva. When Mahakaal is in rage he is calmed by shakti.

The Darkside in SW universe is also related to the Rage.

This imaginary shiva of carrying Sati is pretty famous imaginary has different context to it but couldn't help to find similarity with this picture.

Ben and Rey's dynamic changes a lot over the course of Trilogy. Which was kind of my favorite part. It felt like they had spiritual connection and now it's Canon. They are Dyad in Force. They are duality in Nature of SW universe but in spiritual purgatory they are one

Dyad doesn't mean the two should be born together or die together. It simply means in every lifetime they will be always together. They would be each other's awakening, inspiration, each other's guide, each other's love. They would work together to restore balance. It could also be outside or inside. They could be separated by birth or death but they will find each other in every lifetime. They exist in two for the sake of existing. They are two that are one. Part of same. They can exist independently but aren't complete without each other. But wish it could have been more fulfilling. They could have done so much more.

#tros leaks #the rise of skywalker #reylo #reylo fandom #reylo meta #hinduism #hindu mythology #star wars sequel trilogy #tros star wars #star wars: sequel trilogy #star wars tlj #bendemption #rey x ben #ben x rey #ben solo #Rey #force dyad

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

In The Space Between A Zowens Fanfic (Into The Horizon Universe... vaguely)

OK, so I’ve decided. I’m not posting it on AO3 because people on there might not want spoilers. But I WILL post it here because I’ve already told all yinz how that Future Fic ends for Sami and Kevin. So here you go. One songfic, behind the cut.

EDIT TO ADD: The song is “Until Eternity” by Blackbriar and the idea came from @write-it-motherfuckers

Being soulmates, or whatever the hell Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were, it was a concept hard to express through simply one term.

There were many different languages and cultures across the globe and beyond that had notions of what two lovers, forever entwined would look like. Earth alone had more than Kevin could personally keep track of, although he’d always tried. One of the earliest accounts dated back to Plato, who wrote about how originally, people had four arms, four legs, and two heads, and Zeus split the humans in half, leaving them forever yearning for the rest of themselves. It was a quaint enough notion but didn’t quite cover it. In Buddhism, the idea was that all lives were interconnected. Those connected in one life were connected in the next. That was closer, but if you were to ask Kevin, it wasn’t quite the right idea either. In Hinduism, they believed that in the karmic cycle, a force called lenhu caused two souls to forever intersect, positively impacting each other in every lifetime. That one seemed fairly accurate in Kevin’s eyes, except for the “positive” part. Truth be told, his impact on Sami Zayn over the many lifetimes they shared was far from exclusively positive. Personally, Kevin always liked Sami’s explanation of the Twin Flames, two souls fundamentally identical on a cosmic level that, when brought together, can lead to either tremendous beauty, or absolute havoc and chaos.

Kevin had never been so sure about the first part of that, but the second part was spot on. Between the two of them, in every lifetime they’d shared together, it was either beauty, chaos, or sometimes both. But there was rarely ever indifference. No, the universe wasn’t indifferent to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. They’d always thought, upon having their first match, that they were destined to fight forever. Now, looking upon the thousands of paths they’d walked, Kevin realized that, by that point, they already had.

And now, floating beside his soulmate, resting dormant once more in the space between worlds, Kevin couldn’t help but wonder what the cosmos held for them next. He never had any idea beforehand who or what he’d be. He’d given up long ago trying to guess genders. If living thousands of lives had taught him anything, it was that gender was an absolute fallacy. Earth was one tiny speck in an infinite ocean of possibilities, and they weren’t always the same species let alone the same gender. The universe was a funny thing like that; much like Forrest and his damn box of chocolates, you never knew what you were going to get. The only constant in their infinite existence was each other and, while they never retained their memories from lifetime to lifetime, they always found themselves together in the end. One way, or another, be it as friends, lovers, companions, rivals, or even bitter enemies, they were together.

Actually, Kevin was pretty sure that wasn’t how it was supposed to work. It had been countless lifetimes since their time as 21st Century humans trapped in the future, but he was still certain he recalled something being said about their souls always being in love.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. It certainly wasn’t how it had turned out.

Kevin felt movement beside him in the aether.

Sami was stirring from his sleep, curling instinctively around Kevin. KO didn’t push him away, instead placing a ghostly kiss on Sami’s copper curls. In that place, wherever they stayed between lives, you appeared as you best knew yourself. They’d had so many different bodies and appearances since their souls were made one that even Kevin was surprised that they still kept their old human visages. But after thousands of years, thousands of lives, they were still Sami and Kevin.

And Kevin was just fine with that.

He’d always found Sami attractive as a redhead.

Sami yawned, stretching his arms out and arching his back.

“Nnnng, how long was I out?” he asked Kevin.

Kevin groaned. If there was one thing that never changed, it was his tendency to ask stupid questions.

“Come on, Sami,” he replied. “You know time has no meaning here.”

“Yeah, I know,” conceded Sami, before adding, “but you’d think there’d be some measure of time here in the time vortex.”

“The time vortex? Wasn’t that Back to the Future or something?”

“Mmm, Doctor Who. Back to the Future was the space-time continuum.”

Kevin sighed, rolling his eyes.

“You’ve spent too many lifetimes as nerds,” he told his lover, the annoyance in his voice dancing with joviality.

Sami raised an eyebrow.

“And what about the one where you were a 1960’s single woman writing Star Trek fanfiction?”

“Hey, I had Leonard Nimoy over for dinner, that life was pretty fucking cool. Got better after you showed up, though. God that was scandalous.”

Sami smiled. “It always is between us.”

Kevin laughed, before Sami suddenly leaned over to put his face directly beside Kevin’s.

“Nerd,” Sami whispered at him, before breaking away and laughing.

Kevin’s jaw dropped slightly at his own accusation returned to him, before shutting his mouth and pushing Sami away.

“Oh shut up,” Kevin told him.

Sami began to drift away. It wasn’t like they had form there, at least nothing outside of what their minds created. It was almost like drifting in space, weightless and alone. Honestly, were it not for what had occurred back in the Gorosian Empire, they would both be floating alone, still cosmically linked to an extent, but without the companionship between lives.

And powers was Kevin grateful for the companionship.

Time had no meaning where they were, that much was true, but it still felt like an eternity. Even when you slept, you didn’t dream. You just woke up in the same empty space a moment later, right where you started. There really wasn’t anything to look at besides endless fog and darkness, although despite the darkness, he never had a problem seeing Sami next to him, as though his pale skin and ginger curls were bathed in unseen moonlight. There was nothing to do, nowhere to go, and nobody to talk to. You were just waiting.

At least now they could wait together.

Sami was still floating away, eyes closed and a content look on his face and Kevin willed himself closer to him.

“Sami, where the hell are you - “

Sami cut him off with a chuckle, pushing his foot off Kevin’s chest and doing a backflip. He spun himself around a few times amidst the fog before stopping, the grin on his face doing little to conceal his giggling.

Shaking his head, Kevin decided he should ask. Sami had something on his mind, and the guy was going to drive him crazy with his chipperness if he didn’t figure it out.

“Ok, Sami,” Kevin demanded, “What’s up. What’s got you so happy?”

Sami replied by floating over toward Kevin and placing a soft hand on his cheek.

“You,” he said, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. It wasn’t a needy or urgent kiss or anything like the affection they used to show each other back when they were in the Indies on Earth. It was the type of kiss that lovers shared when they knew each other completely. When they had been down a million roads together and knew full well there would be a million more.

When they weren’t two separate souls at all, but one, forever and eternally joined.

And as the soul energy surged between their spirits, Kevin knew he’d found home once again.

But therein lay the trouble, and with a creased brow, he broke off the kiss.

Sami’s pout was damn near audible.

“Shit Sami,” Kevin swore, “I don’t understand what’s got you so excited. You know the routine. We spend time here, then we get shoved into new bodies and have to spend another lifetime finding each other and getting back together. I don’t understand why we can’t just have this forever!”

The one-time Intercontinental Champion looked sad for a moment, before turning his eyes to Kevin.

“Do you want to know what I dreamt about?” he asked KO.

“Bullshit,” Kevin grumbled, “you didn’t dream anything.”

“No, I did, I swear. And it was glorious.”

There was that damn word again.

Glorious.

Kevin both hated and loved when Sami used that word. He hated it because somehow, in almost every situation they found themselves in, he had an equivalent for it and was far too liberal in its usage.

He loved it because, whenever Sami used the word, his eyes would brighten, catching whatever light was nearby, and Kevin would drown in them and fall in love all over again.

And this time was no different.

“Sami...” Kevin sighed, the word a breath across his lips. He gazed into Sami’s hazel eyes, they were always hazel in that space, and he could see himself there. With Sami, where he always belonged and where he always would be.

It was so damn easy to get lost there, but Sami noticed (he always did) and wrapped his hand around Kevin’s head pulling their foreheads together.

“Focus, Kev,” Sami told him, and after closing his eyes for a moment to do just that, Kevin reopened them and pulled away.

“Right,” he said, his mind clear once more, “what was this dream?”

Sami smiled. “It’s about our next lifetime.”

With a tilt of his head, Kevin looked at him like he was crazy.

“Sami. We never get any indication of our lives ahead of time. You know how it is. We’ve certainly been through this enough.”

The redhead shook his head. “No, I swear, I had a vision. You and me. A happily married couple. No fighting, no trauma. Just domestic bliss.”

Kevin made a face.

“Ew, yeargh,” He practically gagged at the idea. “Domestic? Who the fuck wants domestic?”

“You know, Luv,” Sami chided, “We don’t have to be at each other’s throats every time.”

“No, but it’s more fun that way.”

“Maybe for you. I’m usually the one on the receiving end of the beatings. I’ll take a round of domestic bliss if it means I don’t have to get beaten, threatened, tortured, whatever by you for a change. Why are you so determined to hurt me in every single possible future we have together?!”

“You know I don’t do it on purpose!” Kevin shouted, and immediately regretted it afterward. They rarely fought between the worlds, but Sami was right. It always seemed like Kevin had it out for Sami. No matter what configuration the universe put them in, there was always some level of pain involved.

Kevin closed his eyes to focus once more and started again.

“Sami,” he said, “You know I love you. Here, to eternity and back, I love you. I’ve loved you in more ways than either of us could have ever dreamed possible. In this space, looking ahead, you know I don’t want to hurt you. But, I don’t know, maybe it’s just my nature. Maybe I’m just a naturally negative person. All we’ve been through? I think I’m just the bad to your good. The rage to your peace. The darkness to your light.”

“The Yin to my Yang,” Sami added, a kind look on his face.

“Yeah, something like that,” Kevin responded.

Sami reached his hand out, taking hold of Kevin’s shoulder.

“You know, Kev, The Yin Yang? There’s always a bit of light in the darkness, and vice versa. They say that the yin and yang represent...”

“Nope,” Kevin said, shaking his head and cutting him off, “I’m stopping you there. Go much further and I guarantee you’ll lose me. Just stick with ‘there’s light in the darkness’, ok?”

“’K. But you know that means that there’s also always part of you in me as well, right? We’re one soul, not just joined or intertwined, but intermixed. Ever since the powers of the universe blinked us into existence, we’ve been together. I mean, who needs all the marriages, joinings, ceremonies, rituals, all that fluff and stuff. You and me, we’re one unit. Why the hell do you think we’ve always had such chemistry, even when we’re fighting? We’re meant to be together, one way or another. By whatever name, in whatever form. You’ve always been a part of me Kev. Your soul in my soul. Your heart in my heart...”

“... my mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts, yeah yeah, I got it. Fuck, Sami in what lifetime were you that much of a sappy romantic?”

Shrugging, Sami replied, “Probably most of them. You just never spent enough time in love with me to notice.”

Kevin smirked. “I’m always in love with you. Always have been, always will be. It’s just sometimes I’m too stubborn to realize it.”

Sami couldn’t contain his snort. “Now who’s the sappy romantic?”

It was a fair enough question, but one that Kevin didn’t feel like answering. Instead, he shut his lover up by pressing his lips against him, kissing him once more. And once more the energy surged. Granted, even in their living forms there was always some amount of electricity that flowed between them, but in that netherworld-like space, it flowed the strongest, unhindered by any physical forms or bodies. There it was just their combined soul, floating and waiting to be reborn, and as Kevin tasted the sparks on Sami’s lips, he felt himself start to grow heavier, the way he always did before he was pulled into a new body.

He felt Sami start to pull away, obviously feeling a similar sensation, but Kevin grabbed ahold of Sami’s head and maintained contact. Wherever they were going, it would likely be years before they could kiss once more, and Kevin wasn’t going to miss out on his last chance for who knew how long.

A white light began to glow and blossom between them, starting first in their chests before wrapping its way around their bodies and encircling their arms and legs. He could hear wind blowing, like something out of a blustery spring day, and the sound began to engulf them both.

Still, Kevin didn’t let go. He could feel Sami’s energy pulling away and he struggled to hold on, but it was no use. The contact was broken and as the white light turned to gold, he felt his astral connection to Sami break as he was pulled through the cosmos to whatever destination the powers of the universe had picked for him this time around.

And as he flew through space-time towards his new, waiting life, a thought sat firmly in his mind.

Domestic, huh?

Wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Might be nice even. Possibly glorious.

Maybe we don’t have to fight forever after all.

And then his consciousness lapsed as the light turned to darkness and his new life began.

#Fanfiction #Zowens #WWE #WWE Fanfiction

[thetravelerwrites]

Monster Match #20: Psychopomp

The Traveler's Masterlist

For @what-big-teeth​: “I’m a bisexual Black woman with a preference for men and my pronouns are she/her. I work as a public librarian and love my job! I’m referred to as “the Deadpan Librarian” due to my dry sense of humor and snark. But I’m generally calm and kind. I’m currently doing all I can to improve my mental and physical health but I still have a way to go. As for what I like in a partner, I’d like someone funny who is kind and listens. Being inconsiderate and egotistical are major dislikes. Thank you so much!”

You’ve been matched with Psychopomp!

Although the term originates in Greek mythology, versions of Psychopomps exist in many cultures, folklores, and religions. They are guides to the dead, passing no judgment and leading souls to the afterlife. Classical examples of a psychopomp are the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the god Yama in Hinduism, the Greek ferryman Charon, the deities Hermes and Hecate, Haitian Vodou’s Papa Ghede, the Roman god Mercury, the Norse Valkyries, and the Etruscan deity Vanth. When depicted as animals, they take many forms, but the most common is birds.

Argyros is Greek, meaning “Silver.”

One of the best things about working in a library was that there was no shortage of things to learn, and you found learning about new things great for boosting your mood. In just a few days, you’d made your way through the entire catalogue of Egyptian mythology and folklore, and you moved on to Greek. Selecting the first book in a series of Ancient Greek folklore, you sat back down and flipped open the page.

It was a slow Monday; there was only one man in the library at the time. He was tall and thin with an umber skin tone and silver hair curling around his ears. He was perusing the shelves lazily, seemingly not looking for anything in particular. You didn’t mind. He was rather attractive and it was nice to have something pretty to look at while you where sorting the reshelves.

“Let me know if I can help you with anything,” You called.

“Ah, actually,” He said, his voice pleasantly smooth to the ear. He came up to your desk and lay his hands on the counter. His eyes were strangely silver, too. “I was wondering if you could do something for me.”

“Sure, what can I help you with?” You asked him.

“Go outside, please,” He said. It wasn’t a demand, more of a gentle, firm request.

“I’m sorry?” You said.

“Your help is required. Can you come outside?”

You frowned but stood up. “Alright,” You said uncertainly. You followed him out the front door out into the daylight onto the sidewalk next to the library. “What do you need help with?”

“Not me,” He said, pointing into the street. “Him.”

You looked where he was pointing and saw a kid on a bike, maybe ten, on the opposite sidewalk. Just as a car came around the corner a bit too fast, the kid on the bike hit a rock with his tire and it threw him into the street, right in the path of the car.

“Hey!” You yelled, moving without thinking. You ran as fast as you could, snatching the kid up and planting him back onto the sidewalk. Seconds later, the car skidded into the sidewalk and smashed right into a fence several feet away, barely missing a power pole.

The child’s mother came out from the house screaming, crying over her son and shouting abuse at the driver. You walked back across the street and pulled out your phone to call the police. The silver haired man was nowhere to be seen.

After speaking to the authorities and giving your statement, you went back inside the library, trying to brush off the shock of realizing you almost got run over, too.

“Good work,” You heard a voice say, startling you into dropping a stack of books.

“You!” You exclaimed, gaping at the Silver Man.

“That was good. Saved two lives. It’s not everyday someone can say such a thing.”

“Two lives?”

“Oh, yes,” The silver man said. “Had the driver hit the child, he likely would have run into the pole and died as well. Two lives saved. Death will have to do his work elsewhere today.”

“How could you possibly know if either of them would have died?” You asked skeptically.

“Death comes for all of us,” He said nonchalantly. “But it should never come sooner than it’s meant to. In those cases, death can’t directly intervene, but he can give a… push. That’s all it was. A push”

You stared at him in disbelief. “What are you?”

He laughed jovially. “’What,’ not ‘who.’ Asking the right questions. Smart woman.” He sighed a little regretfully. “Never you mind. It’s best I be off now.”

“Will I see you again?” You asked. You couldn’t help feeling curious about him.

“Oh, trust me, young woman, I’m the type you shouldn’t want to see again,” He said.

“But I do,” You replied. “Maybe… for dinner?”

He stopped in his tracks, now gaping at you in return.

“Dear me. I may be out of practice, but are you asking me out on a date?”

“If I am? How can I reach you? What’s your name?”

His face split into a wide grin. “All you need to know is in that book.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Confused, you looked at the book you’d pulled from the shelves to read that afternoon. The title was “Psychopomps; Undertakers of Ancient Greece.” You swallowed thickly and your heart dropped out. With a shaky breath, you opened the cover and saw the word Argyros and a phone number written.

“Don’t write in the books!” You shouted after him as he walked away.

He laughed. “Look again!”

You did… and the writing was gone.

Fortunately for you, you had a good memory and recalled his number, putting it into your cell phone for later. You looked back and forth between his retreating back and where the number had been.

Well. That was a hell of a way to make a first impression.

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My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

#Exophilia #Monster Match #Psychopomp #Greek Mythology #Reader Insert

[thecorteztwins]

I love how you care so much about obscure characters. Who is your favorite underrated female X-men character

Awww thank you! I love bringing them love, so it makes me really happy for you to say that! My absolute fave is Haven, but I read “faves” as plural so I wrote down a bunch...my faves can bounce around a bit but here’s a list of some of them! It’s under a cut because it’s long, I really like to explain who these gals are and why I like them so much! Warning, there is some description of pretty horrendous sexism and racism for some of these, since nothing makes me latch on to a woman harder than wanting to defend her from the SHITTY THINGS WRITERS DID TO HER! I kinda wrote novels for Haven and Madelyne, then I did links to previous things I’ve written about others. This is a LOT, I’m so sorry, I just love sharing!! Thank you for asking!!

THE BIG ONES Basically my consistent mega-faves I’m always ready to talk about! RADHA “HAVEN” DASTOOR - This lady has been at the top of my list for over five years and counting! She just really resonated with me on a deep level. She’s this mysterious woman who turns up in X-Factor for seven issues, and though she’s very benevolent towards them (even when they attack her) she is technically a villain, as she’s trying to destroy 3/4 of the world to bring about the Mahapralaya, a sort of Hindu apocalypse that will bring about an age of peace and end to suffering. So, her motives are very compassionate, and as it turns out, the horrible things she’s trying to do aren’t actually her fault. She’s being posessed by the Adversary, a demon of the highest order and an entity of cosmic evil. Or more specifically, her unborn child is. See, Haven was a really, really good woman. She was not a mutant, but she was sensitive to the pain and suffering of others from an early age, and she devoted her life to helping the poor and needy. She’s incredibly rich, so she could have helped just from afar, but instead she not only used her wealth to help others, she herself went out in the streets to attend to the poor and sick with her own hands. She bathed lepers, cradled dying babies, everything. She actually GOT the name “Haven” from a children’s hospital that she renovated, the kids started calling HER that instead. What a villain, huh? It all goes super wrong when she fell in love with a guy. After he took her virginity, he took off, leaving her pregnant. This was in 1970s India, and she was a very a religious woman, she felt INTENSE shame and horrible guilt and sunk into a deep depression, now living on the streets herself she was so broken. And then...then her fetus started talking to her. Yeah, see, technically she wasn’t posessed by the Adversary, her unborn child was. It incubated in her for twenty years, corrupting her mind, making her its pawn, all basically for its own amusement til it could be reborn into the world, killing her. And the guy who knocked her up? Got off scott-free. Basically she had sex ONE time and she had to be punished for it by being stripped of her agency, forced to betray everything she loved and believed, and then finally killed in the mud while a Marvel deity stood over and told her how she brought this on herself. It’s a slut-shaming Victorian morality tale of how no matter how good a person you are, you’re tainted forever if you violate purity culture just once, and we’re expected to AGREE with this narrative as readers. It’s sick. It gets even worse in how X-Factor treats her. She first appears RESCUING Polaris from government agents who are trying to kill her, because despite WORKING for the government at this time (X-Factor was a government team during this period) Polaris’s energy signature matched Magneto’s. Haven is the one who saved Polaris by teleporting her away. Polaris was distrustful and threatened Haven. Haven tried to talk her down, but also opened her arms and said that if Polaris truly did not believe her, then she would not resist. Polaris decided to “give trust a try” but I also truly believe that if Lorna had attacked her, Haven indeed would have let her. Haven is a human but the Adversary gave her INCREDIBLE power, she could WIPE PEOPLE FROM EXISTENCE by THINKING ABOUT IT, but she was a pacifist every step of the way, even as a villain. X-Factor would REPEATEDLY attack her later...she NEVER retaliated. The worst thing she did was, once they kept on attacking her, she just kinda put them in her pocket dimension as a time-out, but didn’t hurt them any. I really don’t think she COULD, possessed or not. Anyway, after meeting Lorna, she ‘ports Lorna back to safety and leaves her be. She is interested in recruiting Lorna and the rest of X-Factor to her cause, but she’s very moral about it, and never uses situations like these as leverage; for instance, when she heals Rahne of the Genoshan bonding process and gives her back her free will and her ability to resume her fully human form, Rahne is ECSTATIC and ready to do ANYTHING for her. And rather than exploit this, Haven just hugs her and tells her that her joy is thanks enough. Again, what a villain! Anyway, it turns out this Haven lady is also an activist! She’s big on promoting peace between warring groups (which I think makes it very significant that she’s an Indian character from Mumbai, then Bombay, who was created in 1992, the same year when Hindu/Muslim tensions in India resulted in the Bombay Bombings and subsequent riots, and she indeed mentions Hindu/Muslim tensions in her pro-peace speeches) and she emphasizes accepting MUTANTS in particular. It is very rare we see humans who are pro-mutant, though they had happened before, but this is the first time we see a human who is pro-mutant WITHOUT any affiliation or friendship with the X-men, and who is a public figure who seems to have some real social power---she’s a best-selling author, lecturer, and apparently her being a very wealthy woman has made some very wealthy people listen to her. She is basically the perfect ally for mutants if you take out the demon-possessed part, and I always found this super interesting and wish more had been done with it. So, she’s speaking at Brahma Hall (Brahma, notably, is the Hindu creator god) and...THIS happens. It’s...it’s really distressing. I’m sure it’s bad enough in its own time, but reading it NOW, in a post-9/11 world, a world where POC are routinely slaughtered by law enforcement (they always were but social media has made us more aware) it’s chilling. And we, the reader, are supposed to see X-Factor as JUSTIFIED in how they treat this unarmed, non-threatening, apparently-human-for-all-they-know woman who is promoting peace. Because no matter how nice she is, the US government says she’s an evil terrorist, and the US government turns out to be right! Yay, America! This might be a good time to mention Haven was the first Hindu character in X-Men comics, and the philosophy that the Adversary is manipulating her with comes directly from Hindu cosmology, and that is WAY IFFY to say THE LEAST. Holy xenophobia, Batman! And in an X-MEN comic of ALL PLACES! Oh yeah, and our good guys also describe her beliefs as “New Age psychobabble” and make fun of her temple decor as "very 60s" when BOTH ARE FROM HINDUISM, WHITE USA HIPPIES DID NOT INVENT IT, YOU IGNORANT SHITS So anyway, Haven’s very interesting to me as someone who is so deeply pacifistic and compassionate, that even when she’s being steered by a literal demon that has been talking in her womb for 20 years, she’s still someone who is perpetually polite, who won’t hurt the HEROES even when they want to hurt her, who SURRENDERS during a FIGHT in order to HEAL ONE OF THEM, and...who ends up with an abruptly aborted arc where she’s killed by her own “child” and victim-blamed in her last moments by Roma, the Omniversal Guardian Goddess and foe/counterpart of the Adversary. It’s made all the more tragic by the fact that Haven’s last pleas to Roma weren’t for herself, but for Roma to stop the Adversary, as she had realized now what her “child” really was. Even in her final moments, Haven was thinking of others, of the world. It’s just....awful to me that a character as interesting and unique as she was was thrown away like that, and that she was treated in such a sexist, racist, xenophobic way by both the HEROES and the story itself. I stan Haven 4 life. MADELYNE PRYOR- She’s maybe not “obscure” per se, I think most X-Men readers have a basic understanding of who she is, but the problem is that “basic” is not enough. What most people know is ”she’s Jean Grey’s evil clone” and some might know that “she was married to Scott Summers and went evil when he ditched her for Jean”. But that’s so far from the whole story, and it really does Madelyne a disservice, and canon has done her ENOUGH disservice already. Madelyne was originally created by Chris Claremont to truly be just a human woman who looked just like the dead Jean, with whom Scott would settle down and have a kid, and leave the X-Men. It’s a pretty nonsensical notion, the idea that this woman just happens to look exactly like Jean and meet Scott and fall in love, but this was his plan, he has confirmed it. And like...that’s pretty sexist from the start, in that she’s very literally created as a replacement for Jean on a narrative level, there’s NO REASON that she should have to look exactly like Scott’s dead ex besides as a way for Scott to still “get” Jean in a way. But Maddie rises above that swiftly by being a super strong, super cool character in her own right. She’s a pilot, she’s fearless, she’s adventurous, she’s got a mean right hook, and she’s got a tragic backstory when she crashed her plane and cost the lives of over three hundred passengers. She gets involved with Scott and by extension the X-Men, and she holds her own despite having no powers. Weird fact, this means that some of the X-Men, like Rogue, met Madelyne before they ever met Jean. She also gets a cool story where she gained healing powers, and the reason her powers specifically took the form of healing is because they were what she wanted them to be. She’s a good person, and also a total badass. Then, Jean came back, and the Powers That Be wanted her back together with Scott. But Scott was married to Madelyne. Rather than have them get a divorce or something, it was decided Madelyne had to be very literally demonized and then murdered, because we can’t just have two women co-exist, no, they must be divided into a “good” woman and a “bad” woman and fight over a man. Actual quote from Chris Claremont: “ Then, unfortunately, Jean was resurrected, Scott dumps his wife and kid and goes back to the old girlfriend. So it not only destroys Scott's character as a hero and as a decent human being it creates an untenable structural situation: what do we do with Madelyne and the kid? ... So ultimately the resolution was: turn her into the Goblin Queen and kill her off.” So, after something like EIGHT YEARS of being a character unto herself, Madelyne gets retconned as actually having been Jean’s clone all along! Which, okay, does make sense, certainly more sense than ‘this woman just happens to look EXACTLY like Jean and hook up with Jean’s ex” but then the REASON that Sinister cloned her...is nothing to do with Maddie or Jean themselves. Madelyne’s creation isn’t ABOUT her the way so many other clone/created-in-a-lab type stories are, like Laura Kinney. She wasn’t important. She was made literally just to have a baby with Scott, the BABY is what’s important. She is REPEATEDLY called a “brood mare” in fact (a female horse used specifically for breeding) So basically, her only value, her only REASON for existing, is her reproductive capacity. A lot of people think that Madelyne either found out she was a clone and went crazy-evil, or she went crazy-evil when Scott went back to Jean. That’s not what happened. Madelyne goes through a long, long series of arduous tragedies that piece by piece dehumanize and violate and traumatize her, and even then she doesn’t become evil until she’s TRICKED into being infected with demonic energy. Being “evil” was NEVER her choice, and everyone forgets that. See, first Scott walked out on her and the baby. Then, the Marauders attacked her, nearly killed her, and stole her baby and left her for dead in a coma for months. When she woke up, her baby was still missing, and she rejoined the X-Men to help them while they also helped search for her son. She sacrificed her LIFE alongside them to defeat the Adversary (yes, the same one Haven was pregnant with!) and then was resurrected with them too by Roma (yes, same Roma). She continued to work with the X-Men, despite the fact Scott had left her, and used her tech expertise to be the X-Men’s computer gal in Australia. When she saw X-Factor on one of the news monitors, including Scott with Jean, she realized why he’d abandoned her. She punched the screen and the explosion knocked her unconscious. While she was knocked out and dreaming, the demon Sym invaded her mind showed her a few different reflections of things she could be, one of which was a demonic reflection of herself. She chose that one, saying “What the heck, it’s only a dream.” And then Sym infected her with demonic energy. So she literally JUST found out her husband left her and their now-missing son for another woman, and she thinks she’s dreaming so yeah she picks the idea of being a demon IN THE CONTEXT OF A DREAM, A FUCKING FANTASY, WHEN SHE’S GOT EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED and oh well now you’re gonna be evil for real honey you don’t get a choice. Serves you right for being angry even for a moment, woman! But even then, she didn’t instantly turn evil. Horrible shit had already happened to her, but she still held out…so of course, more shit happened to her. While she and the X-Men were trying to help an escapee from Genosha (which was still enslaving mutants at that point) she ended up captured herself, and since their readings indicated she was not quite human (though what exactly she was, they didn’t know) they tried to put her through the “mutate bonding process” that would enslave her too. As a result, her latent psychic powers finally manifest, and she telekinetically explodes the place. From there, we start seeing big hints that something is going really wrong with Maddie, she seduces Havok and she’s entered into a secret bargain with the demon N’astrih, who promised to help her find her still-missing son (whom she still wanted to find and save at that point because she was still mostly herself) and of course, that bargain transformed her into the Goblyn Queen. After this transformation, though, she STILL had not gone past the point of no return. That didn’t happen until she met Sinister and she found out the truth of her origins—-not only was she a clone of Jean Grey physically, the few memories that she had also came from Jean, and her emotions from Scott had been PROGRAMMED into her (meaning she never had a choice at all in the man she loved) and it was all to be a brood mare, to produce a child with him. Only then did she go off the deep end completely, and agreed to N’astrih’s plan to sacrifice her own son (who he now found and gave to her, as this was his plan all along) because it was the absolute BIGGEST fuck you she could give to Sinister and to Cyclops. And like, yes, that’s evil, but given at that point she was not only magically infected/corrupted with demon energy AND insane with trauma that had been building up for months if not YEARS of development…she basically had a better excuse than ANYONE in all this who was also corrupted by Inferno. Yet she’s the one who doesn’t get a break. The unfairness is just…staggering, really. Even her death isn’t without indignity, violation, and depersonalization---she tries to commit a murder suicide, linking her mind with Jean’s and killing herself so that Jean will be dragged down into death with her. Jean, who really is the kindest to Maddie, urges Maddie to live instead, but Maddie’s last words are “not in the same world as you”. Jean survives. Maddie does not. And then...Jean takes Maddie’s memories and psyche into herself. It’s meant as beautiful, but to me it’s a heinous violation. Maddie wanted nothing more than be APART from Jean, so much so she KILLED HERSELF, and now Jean has made her a part of her forever, and we’re meant to applaud this? It’s DISGUSTING. Madelyne gets resurrected in the 1990s by Nate Grey, but it turns out that was an accident on his part, his mind was subconsciously seeking...Jean Grey, of course. And we he finds out he’s the one who brought her back to life, HE TRIES TO KILL HER. Jean stops him, but it’s no wonder to me that poor Maddie runs to the arms of Sebastian Shaw...who, of all people, actually treats her as an individual from the get-go and ends up being a pretty good boyfriend to her. Never even tries to use her in any evil schemes, it’s crazy. Madelyne has come back and died again and come back a few times since then, but she’s never really been “Maddie” again, whether it was brave adventurous Badass Normal pilot Maddie who just wanted to help people, or the bitter, conflicted, morally grey Maddie of the 90s. No, she’s just....she’s not even Goblyn Queen anymore, she lacks the pathos, she’s just this sexy evil misogynist caricature of herself and I hate it. I really love Madelyne Pryor. She came into this crazy world as a normal human, and when she got pulled into superhero shenanigans she held her own. She was a badass, she was a spitfire, she had a huge heart. She deserves a lot better than just being a gross Sexy Evil Lady with no personality, especially since she no longer has the whole “demonically possessed” issue going on. It’s just stupid and sexist at this point. I personally love original 80s Maddie, and also 90s Maddie where like...this shit has happened to her and she’s darker for it now, and understandably so, but she’s also still HER. Like, she leaves Sebastian Shaw not because he ever treated her badly, which he did not, but because he was doing things that could hurt OTHER PEOPLE, and that was where she drew the line. She was an enemy to the X-Men now or at least really hated them, she killed Threnody for bringing up her past as being “bred to breed”, but she also wasn’t about to be with a man who would risk the lives of millions of innocent people with his schemes, no matter how well he treated her, no matter if he was the one man who ever saw her for HER. Real Maddie is INTERESTING and Real Maddie is GOOD and I want Real Maddie back so she can call everyone on their shit and then go off and live her best life instead of being eternally dragged back into pointless villainy by authors who can’t think of anything better! MEGGAN PUCEANU - As with Madelyne, she’s maybe not UNKNOWN per se, I mean she’s one of the lead characters of Excalibur, but I also don’t think she’s an A-lister at all either. I’ve written about her HERE and HERE and her relationship dynamics with Brian Braddock/Captain Britain HERE so I feel like those links will probably be better than another novel like I did for Haven and Maddie! CATSEYE AKA SHARON SMITH - The deaths of all the Hellions were a tragedy, but Catseye is the one I found most interesting and with the most potential! I’ve written about her HERE and the Hellions in general HERE with a segment on her. She’s just so cute and innocent and INTERESTING, I want to know so much more about how she behaves, how she perceives the world and interact with others, how she gets on with her teammates, how she reacts this and that, I just love her! MINDMELD - Appears for only one issue, is arguably the first transgender mutant in Marvel, and also a total badass who I think is really sexy. I write more about her HERE and HERE. HONORABLE MENTIONS I’m not freaking out over these girls AS MUCH or AS CONSISTENTLY but they all have a place in my heart!! Really all it takes is someone MENTIONING them to get me revved up all over again!

THRENODY AKA MELODY JACOBS- Another Marvel gal who can’t catch a break, when she’s remembered by anyone at all. I wrote about her HERE prior to her most recent return in Deadpool, then HERE about said return. I just really, really want Threnody to be happy. She’s suffered enough. Admittedly, that could be said for most women on this list, maybe all of them. GOSAMYR- Wrote about her HERE! Most people who know of her at all typically hate her but I find her extremely interesting. She’s like everything people HATE about women, every stereotype of “toxic femininity”, but then this is explained as part of her culture and biology, and this is, to her, what is normal, and how is she to KNOW that everyone acts nuts around her when she has no basis for knowing how they act when she’s NOT around? She interests me in the questions and dilemmas she raises, and I just kinda have a thing for women we’re supposed to hate because of their feminine traits. KWANNON- The Japanese woman whose body Betsy Braddock had for years. I was very excited when she was brought back to life and given her own series, I wanted for her at last to be a CHARACTER with her own PERSONALITY and LIFE that wasn’t just an excuse to give a white woman a ninja makeover, and then I got...Fallen Angels. And she’s just...she’s literally just 90s Psylocke. I was very disappointed. But I still like Kwannon HERSELF in terms of potential, and now that she’s back maybe she’ll become a real person sooner or later. SATURNYNE AND SAT-YR-9: Wrote about them HERE! I really like Sat-Yr-9 as a villain (I especially enjoyed her short stint in the Hellfire Club as White Queen with Viper as her lieutenant and not-so-subtle girlfriend) and I like Saturnyne as a sort of celestial bureaucrat, someone who isn’t a force of good or evil but a force of ORDER, like the opposite of “embodiment of chaos” type characters. MURMUR AKA ARLETTE TRUFFEAU: I have not written about her before but HERE IS HER WIKI ARTICLE. As with Gossamyr, she seems like the “sexy shallow slut we’re supposed to dislike” type, so of course I like her. BIANCA LANEIGE- A Generation X villain who bore a grudge against Emma Frost from her days in the Hellfire Club, I wrote about her HERE. She’s pretty comedic as a bad guy, but that’s not a bad thing! I’d like to see her around again one day, either as silly as ever or made more serious. LIFEGUARD: Wrote about here HERE. She was in the first X-Men graphic novel that I bought and I’ve always had a soft spot for her since. I really liked that she didn’t give a shit when she found out who her bio-father was, it’s such a refreshing reaction compared to the usual “what if I’m just like my father/I can’t believe I’m adopted/etc” angst. Comparatively, she’s super upset about her Shi’ar lineage, because that actually altered her INTERNAL self when it manifested, she started seeing everyone around her as PREY and I reckon that’s pretty distressing for someone like her. Always wanted to see her come back; she’s in the background at a Krakoa party! SILHOUETTE CHORD: Wrote about her HERE and HERE. I just like her I guess! She’s maybe not obscure per se since she’s a main cast member of The New Warriors, but I’ve never really seen her get any attention. BLACK MAMBA AKA TANYA SEALY: Wrote about her HERE! THE ASP AKA CLEOPATRA NEFERTITI: Wrote about her HERE! SKEIN AKA SYBIL DVORAK: Wrote about her HERE and HERE! She was on the “Woman Warriors” team with Black Mamba and Asp, and I like the idea they just hang out as friends a lot!! ANACONDA AKA BLANCHE “BLONDIE” SITZINSKI: Wrote about her HERE! I just want her to hug me...really, really hard :) SHARADA DARTHRI: A minor villain that shows up during the “all female X-Men” team era in...2013, I think? Wrote about her HERE. DRAGONFLY AKA VERONICA DULTRY: Wrote about her HERE MANTIS : Despite the fact that she’s very well-known for her film version in Guardians of the Galaxy, most people don’t seem to know much at all about her comics version even though she’s been an Avengers member since the 70s. Wrote about her HERE and HERE and HERE, someone else writes about her HERE PENDING These are characters that I have not had the chance to personally read up on myself yet, but I want to! Their names link to their Marvel wiki articles! TOPAZ FIREBIRD SNOWBIRD SILVERCLAW There are honestly countless others I’m probably not remembering but this is a good handful I think! Oh, yeah, and also...COOTER. Because her name is COOTER oh my god.

#xmen #marvel #marvel women #x men women #women of marvel #x women #out of cortez