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morallyinept · 8 months

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Writing For Ezra - An Overall Analysis Of Our Favourite Scoundrel’s Articulation.

I often see writers mention in their blog/fics that they’re worried or concerned about writing for Ezra because of his loquacious nature. As a fanfic writer it can be daunting to translate an already loved character into your works, without trying to alter their main personality trait. In this case, it’s Ezra’s way of talking that is his standout mannerism and the reason why so many have a soft spot for him.

So, I got to thinking and put together this, somewhat, deep dive into him and his talkative ways. I hope it proves useful for anyone tackling him for the first time (myself included), or even for the experienced Ezra writers already here, who are already killin' it. 🖤

If this is beneficial to you in any way, please kindly re-blog, and also tag me in any Ezra works you write because of it. I’d love to read your work and feature it on my Ezra fic recs list for others to enjoy too.

⚠️This will contain spoilers for Prospect, so if you haven’t watched it yet, then you might want to save this for later.

Ezra’s accent is Southern.

Ezra’s accent has been likened to a Texan accent with a side of ham. Ham meaning someone who enjoys performing or behaving in an exaggerated style. Not the pig meat. 🐷 And his accent and voice certainly does have that hamminess about it. Back in the day, approximately around 1882, the term ‘ham-fatter’ was used referring to a poor person who overacted. It was then shortened to just ham.

It was Pedro Pascal himself who gave this specific accent to Ezra. Although it is not confirmed in the film where exactly Ezra hails from, he is confirmed human. In the Prospect-verse there is no mention of Earth as we know it, but that’s not to say it doesn't exist or isn’t referred to by another name. The closest being Camrea or Lau in terms of similarities of planets with land and water. So there is a good chance that his accent stems as a direct result of his heritage from either Earth itself, or a planet just like it in The Fringe.

In the deleted scene with Ezra and Cee, Ezra reveals he has a brother. This is the only personal information we get from Ezra - and it was deleted.

Ezra says in the scene where he encounters Damon for the first time, "me and my partner feel we both deserve... satisfaction."

If you didn’t know already, the term ‘deserve satisfaction’ stems from the 17th century where duels were mostly single combats fought with swords. But then in the 18th century, the swords were commonly replaced with pistols. You’ve heard of the term ‘pistols at dawn’ right? Well to demand satisfaction means to restore one’s honour by demonstrating a will to risk one’s own life for it. Again, this originates from the Southern states of America, during such times where duels were prevalent.

Damon and Number Two actually have a duel-type shootout, which is how Damon dies (aside from Ezra putting him out of his misery).

So yes, Ezra is, in fact, a Texan space cowboy of sorts. 🤠

Edit: Whilst I can only find one source that states Ezra has a "Texan" accent (and it's a film review article, so not based in fact), many argue that he sounds Louisianan more than Texan. Either way, he's definitely Southern, so you can make your own mind up on where he hails from originally, as it's never actually confirmed. 👇🏻

Source of Article

Yes, Ezra is a rambler, but pay attention to the frequency of his actual rambling.

It would be easy to overdo it on the flowery language when writing for Ezra.

The fact that Ezra throws in some words that are not commonly used in everyday conversation, doesn't mean that he does it ALL the time. Try not to fall into the habit of writing paragraphs of archaic and wordy language, when sometimes a simple sentence is sufficient for him to get his point across.

Here are some examples where he speaks with simplicity in the film:

“How poetic.”

“The starter, if you don't mind.”

“Funny, I don’t see any mercs. Where are they?”

“This is so exciting.”

“You friendly with these fellas?”

“You got a field kit?”

“It seems I must.”

“Keep it creamy and it’ll be fine.”

See? Short and snappy sentences.

What’s in a name?

Names are important to Ezra; he uses names as a gentle threat. When he comes across Damon for the first time, he uses his name almost constantly:

“Nice to meet you, Damon. I'm Ezra.”

“Where’re you from, Damon?”

“Alright, Damon.”

“Damon, it has truly been a pleasure, but pleasantries pass, it’s time to get candid…”

“So how did you get here, Damon?”

“The starter, if you don't mind. Where is it? Don't make me root for it, Damon.”

“But Damon, if there is talk of the Queen’s lair, the excitement is momentary.”

“Damon, I have clearly underestimated you, I must stop doing that.”

“Damon… does this mean that the plan is off? You have me all hot and bothered up over the Queen’s lair, Damon.”

“It's a shame, Damon.”

Ezra uses Damon’s name 11 times in just the first few minutes of meeting him and his untimely death. A name is important for Ezra to gain the upper hand and to subtly manipulate and appear menacing, more so than he probably is. It’s also done to grab the attention of Damon constantly; to ensure that Damon’s focus is directly on him by mentioning his name continuously.

Later, when Cee won’t give Ezra her name despite him asking for it repeatedly, you can see the frustration this causes within him. Because he has no way of gaining influence over her without it.

He refers to her instead as “little bird, birdie, girl & oi, number 3.”

When he does eventually learn her real name, he uses it only once.

“Nice to meet you, Cee.”

He doesn’t use it again for the duration of the film as their relationship has evolved into an unspoken, mutual trust. Something he did not have with Damon and therefore used his name repeatedly as a way of asserting dominance over him.

☝🏻So, if you’re writing Ezra, don’t forget to use names in abundance, like he does. Especially if he doesn’t trust or like them.

Double Entendres.

Pay close attention to the possible hidden meanings inside Ezra’s words too. This might not be deliberate, but his face when he speaks and says certain things hints at a devilish playfulness about him.

A particular scene that stood out to me is when Ezra and Cee are at the Queen’s lair.

Ezra says, “somebody ought to give her a go… That's the price for a dry breach. My chem will calm the brine.”

Now, if you’ve a dirty mind like me, (😜 ha!) A dry breach could be interpreted as ‘a dry pussy’ and his chem is ‘his semen’ that will calm it, or moisten it up as it were. 😏 I like that he can speak with a double meaning, if you're looking for it, but of course this is subjective.

So, dirty talk from Ezra doesn’t always have to be directly on the nose.

Some more subtle examples are:

“Hello, sweetheart.”

“Hold it like you love it.”

“Slippery son of a bitch.”

His tone also changes when he wants to emphasise a point. When the Saters give him and Cee the juice in their tent, Ezra can sense Cee’s reluctance to drink it.

He knows it tastes bad, yet urges Cee to drink it, without insulting his hosts who he knows could be dangerous. His face changes; his features become sharper and serious as he says "it's good for you, cleanses the dust."

Only moments before he was smiling and jovial. 👇🏻

Cussing.

Ezra never swears, in the conventional sense, for just the sake of it. I get the impression he would find that kind of language lazy. Cussing/swears are saved purely to express his frustration or fear in the situation.

“Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh Shit. Oh Shit. Oh Shit.” - (Yes, 6 times he says it!) When he loses his arm. - Fear

“Slippery son of a bitch… No, no, no. Ah shit.” - When he's mining the Aurelac husks. - Frustration

When mining for the Aurelac where he can’t separate the gem from the blister due to his physical impairment of only having one arm, Ezra mumbles a long string of unintelligible words in frustration.

Despite listening to the audio over and over, I can’t fully decipher it, but some words I pulled out were: “cob spitters(?)... can fuck more nuggets(?)... in this sleep for snatch(?)…”

Who knows exactly what he is saying here, (if you know, lemme know) but he rambles quickly and incoherently when he swears; especially when frustrated.

He likes to fill the silence.

When walking with Damon, he keeps conversation flowing by questioning Damon about the corporate expeditions, and with Cee, he tells her about the channel rats. He seemingly can’t abide silence.

And this is prevalent when he first meets Damon, he says “I can't tell you how refreshing it is… hoo… to encounter another talker.”

It’s safe to say Ezra likes to talk. If you’ve not already grasped that yet. So make that ramblin' man chatter away.

Ezra's redemption shifts his language too.

Ezra fully admits he is not a good man to Cee. He does this first by blaming the way of life that they are thrust in.

“Why should I trust you? You stole from us. We did nothing to you.”

“That's The Fringe, girl.”

Later he confirms coldly he is indeed a killer when Cee tells him so.

“You’re a killer.

“I am. But are you?”

As time goes on, Ezra realises he is at fault for the death of Cee’s father.

“Well you can't... you can't think like that. If you go down that path. It's not good. If you need someone to blame, you blame me.”

You can see the shift in his language from being blunt and to the point in the beginning, to more accepting and gentler later on. Full character transition.

He also refers to Cee as his partner, rather than his daughter, when he is impersonating Damon to the mercs later on. His choice of words here is interesting.

This indicates he thinks more highly of her than he lets on; that she is equal to him. He soon thinks less of the Aurelac - the sole reason why he is on the moon - and more so of getting off the moon intact with Cee beside him. A complete metamorphosis from when we first meet him, and he's stealing Aurelac from Damon.

“You are not understanding me.”

“I say the terms have changed.”

“You’ll find a way if you want that buried treasure.”

“A ride for me and my partner on your handsome craft, or no deal.”

Actions speak louder than words.

Ezra’s movement is interesting, as too is the violence he engages in - it’s slick.

He slices the Achilles Heel first of the merc at the Queen's lair, thus rendering him unable to fight back or run for assistance from the others before ploughing him face first into the acidic hole.

Despite only having one arm, Ezra’s strength is still pretty impressive. He’s quick, experienced and brutal. And not opposed to fighting dirty to ensure his survival.

Ezra also has excellent aim with the thrower; he kills another merc with only one shot, and in the dark too. That’s pretty kick-ass when you think about it.

Describing not only his language, but also the way Ezra moves in your writing, will really make him leap off the page when you write him. Be that in an action sequence, or completely fucking you up between the sheets. 🫠

A man of few words in the end.

Ezra’s last words are for Cee:

“You grab the gun and you go. You can make it. Get outta here.”

He’s fully aware of his impending fate at this point and has accepted it. He doesn’t say anything else, not even when she comes back for him, suggesting their bond now doesn’t need a spoken word to cement it. It’s transcended verbal communication.

Even when in the safe confines of the pod ascending up to the sling back, Ezra doesn’t say anything, even though you can see he is awake.

☝🏻In the end, words are not always needed. Sometimes it's the things he doesn't say that has the most impact.

So there we have it, Prospectors. I hope this was helpful and insightful to you about writing for Ezra and how he talks.

He is my favourite Pedro Boy, and despite feeling that I know him pretty well as a character, the thought of writing him still brings me out in a cold sweat to some degree… 😬 So I can understand if you feel daunted by it too.

There are so many wonderful works already out there that are written fantastically and really captures the essence and the personality of Ezra. And if you’re thinking about writing for Ezra for the first time, please don’t be put off by it - he’s such a great character who can be thrust into so many different scenarios, and of course, you can also mould him to be your own creation.

That’s the great thing with fanfic and head canon - there are no rules. We all interpret characters differently. And that’s what makes reading about them so fun.

If you haven’t seen Prospect yet, I highly recommend it. Check out the Ezra deleted scene here too.

Also check out my Ezra specific fic rec list for further enjoyment of this dashing rogue from other writer’s points of view.

Ezra Thesaurus:

Loquacious. Flowery. Tincture. Drawl. Husk. Gravel. Gabble. Wordy. Babbling. Long-winded. Effusive. Droning. Garrulous. Gibberish. Multiloquous. Yakking. Muttering. Mumbling. Voluble. Cadence. Trib. Rambling. Glib. Clucking. Gregarious. Windy. Verbose. Prolix. Articulate. Fluent. Mouthy. Vocal. Opinionated. Drole. Gassy. Eloquent. Stylised. Chatterer. Logorrhoea. Word Vomit. Incessant. Spit-balling. Bleating. Clacking. Blabbermouth. Windbag. Motormouth. Harping On. Overzealous. Enthused. Mirthed. Crude. All Around The Houses. Effulgent. Airy-Fairy. Prattling. Harpsichord. Waxing Lyrical. Recounting. Din. Tone. Note. Music.

🖤

GIFS used by @uuuhshiny @perotovar @nicolethered @iamasaddie @pedgito 🖤

#ezra prospect #prospect ezra #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal #ezra is my fav #writing ezra #hints & tips #ezra (prospect)#ezra x reader #ezra prospect x reader #writing advice #writing tips #helpful advice for writing #character writing #writing

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srbachchan · 1 year

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DAY 5377

Jalsa, Mumbai Nov 1/2, 2022 Tue/Wed 12:19 AM

💛🪔 , Catching up with the Ef birthdays .. November 2nd .. is the birthday of Ef Erlika from Indonesia 🇮🇩 .. happiness to you , Lika , and love from your Moti .. your co-scorpio .. and (almost) sharer of birthday .. since Saudagar was released on November 1st , or so I was told 😁 Nov 2nd is also birthday of Ef Abhijit Jagtab from Pune .. and .. Ef Dipagala Gala .. greetings to you both and affection .. November 1st .. be the birthday of Ef Vishan Lal from Gurugram .. the one blessed with divinity of verse and notes .. bless your Flute of Krishna , Vishan , and your Spirit of Poetry .. we are blessed to have you with us and grateful .. and , you shouldn't worry , we got your birthday date right this time 😁 .. 🙏🏽✍🏽✒️🎼🎶❤️ And .. for November 1st .. the birthday wishes go as well to .. Ef Vaijayanti Ravindra Damle from Pune .. Ef Ms. Honey Aishu , the Punjabi from Bangkok , Thailand 🇹🇭 .. Ef Nouranne Achraf from Egypt / France 🇪🇬🇫🇷 .. Ef Pankaj Shukla from Indore .. Ef Shubhra Rattan .. and Ef Somraj Mane from Kolhapur .. happiness to you all and prayers .. Ef Sunil Ganwani from Jakarta 🇮🇩 .. love and wishes to you for your birthday on October 30 .. And .. Ef SHESA Nayak from USA 🇺🇲 .. happy birthday again to you .. this is to express our apologies for mentioning your name wrong the other DAY and all those years before .. it's corrected now .. love to you and be happy ..

Another day and another realm to be exercised .. listen adjust comprehend and execute ..

12:19 AM

But the tragedy of life and the writing of this Blog is the slumber that much like a Beethoven Symphony drives with the intersperse of the soft fluted melody with the harsh heavy instrumental strain of music - almost like the gentle atoms of life which interpret as desire .. and the larger sound of the base and the harsh symbols clashing along with a multitudinous 100 piece orchestra that takes over and drowns the fluted melody - DESTINY ..

Your fluted life , with its softness of all that is desirable is eventually governed and mastered by the heavy thrust of destiny, that converges as an impregnable cage , not permitting or allowing desire to escape and be free ..

The eventual story of all life .. dictated by the sound of music .. the strings the instruments that when plucked , leave a plucked rose just by the stem, as the petals lie strewn on the ground .. to dry to perish, never to be born again - until another plant grows form the earth of life ..

a bit poetic in the early hors of the morning that pulls you ot of the slumber at 5 am and warns you much like those harsh orchestral bearings that many a routine needs attention - the Blog, the connect , to the waiting and exasperated, ever vigilant Ef ..

It is not a compulsion .. it is the destiny of orchestral potent intent that drives the desire to wake up and perform ..

This morning .. no not this one , the one before was a satisfactory outburst of what had collectively been accumulated within and did not get the freedom of escaping the DESTINY caged room, filled with saturated exuberant content .. not one that had been its ‘impotency’ .. but one that had remained potent enough for a cell to cohabitate with the egg of procreation ..

the pregnancy was potent enough and the receptacle of birth occurred ... the ‘impotency of content’ gathered storm and was sufficient to break the barriers of resentful disconnect .. eventually converging on an emotional breakdown of realisation .. a realisation that who they were dealing with was not a ‘who’ but one that had deeper intent ; unfortunately of no lasting value , for the ‘pre’ had been preoccupied by the ‘others’ ..

the ➡️ moveth and the real of the reality takes precedence ..

work ..

and the wave of fortune expectations ..

to the gestures of the client that sits before thee .. in his brilliance ..

to them that make me in larger size and form .. they that make the divine God Lord Ganesh at the LalBaugh cha Raja Ganpati during the festival ..

and onto the spirit of drive .. in the strength of mobility that despite the lethargic limited consumption of food , must be given attitude of normalcy .. for the show goes on ..

drive .. the strength of hidden power .. of the energy which unless provoked never ever emerges .. and when it does .. it breaks that caged humēn .. boundless unbridled ‘want’ .. to give all that was never conceived before ..

ending eventually with the satisfaction of interaction with them that sit for hours for our creative hours to be complete .. to meet to look to speak to discuss to confess and to .. GIVE ..

the hand work of exceptional quality .. hand paintings .. that look beyond real .. that look like camera work but indeed are painted ..

... and the pride of regal wearings ..

And the DAY endeth .. for there is other responses to give to them that give so much for so little ..

my love

Amitabh Bachchan .. 7:30 am !!

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literary-illuminati · 11 months

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Book Review 15 – Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles

Okay, continuing to try to catch up on my 7-review backlog! If very inadequately, but hey.

So someone on here recommended I gives this a try, and having read it I’m flattered that they thought I was sufficiently cultured to get that much out of it. Or better to say that I appreciated it as, like, a concept or an art object more than I enjoyed it as a story or as a work of literature?

So the story itself is of a space station in the middle of nowhere, its economy based on gathering some strange cosmic fuel source from a local gas giant, and about to collapse as a revolutionary advance in starship technology decimates demand for that resource. At the same time, there’s a resident xenologist studying the strange alien ships pulled up from the gas giant, and strange spectral energy ghosts have begun to haunt the station.

But the actual point of the book is that it’s written in the Orcadian dialect (that is the dialect of the Orkney Isles) – each page is half filled with the text in Orcadian (and I’m fairly sure in verse), and then repeated in English in the bottom half. It is, if I’m trusting the marketing, the first science fiction novel ever written in Orcadian, and the first novel published in the language in fifty years.

Sadly Orcadian is just barely mutually unintelligible enough with standard English that I basically had to rely on the translated halves of the page for at least two parts in three, and it’s just...not great. Dealing with ambiguity in language is the curse of every translator of course, but I’m really pretty confident that just clumping every option together into a new compound word (e.g. “swellwaves and whirlrushdancespins”) is, in fact, the wrong choice. I got a headache from the eyestrain trying to parse the potential meanings at least a couple of times.

The whole idea is kind of charming in a 19th century cultural nationalist intelligentsia sense, and the flow of the Orcadian verse was usually really very pleasing to the ear, but yeah, didn’t especially work for me.

The story itself is – well, I was left entirely confused about the whole thing with the energy ghosts and all that, but everything else was fine, but kind of shallowly dealt with? The station was vividly drawn, the cast all seemed very real, but there just wasn’t the word count to actually deal with any of the stuff the book wanted to except by just touching on them and gesturing at wider tropes. Like, the sense of entropy and the worry of your home fading away and all the young people leaving to go seek a future their home can’t give them, and people desperately trying to find some way to adapt or giving up entirely – that was pretty keenly felt (one rather gets the sense that Orcadia and the Orkney Isles share more than just a language). But everything else? Just two many POVs and irons in the fire, not enough space for any of them to really breathe.

The comparison that comes to mind is the one Becky Chambers book about humans still living on the Fleet (Records of a Spaceborn Few, I think?), compared to which I’d say this felt much more poetic and emotionally resonant going after a similar sort of concept, but then I’m wildly biased here.

Anyway, yeah, really wish I could have enjoyed this more, but I can’t really say I did.

#book review #sff #Deep Wheel Orcadia #Harry Josephine Giles

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bones-ivy-breath · 2 years

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One must be receptive, receptive to the image at the moment it appears: if there be a philosophy of poetry, it must appear and re-appear through a significant verse, in total adherence to an isolated image; to be exact, in the very ecstasy of the newness of the image. The poetic image is a sudden salience on the surface of the psyche, the lesser psychological causes of which have not been sufficiently investigated.

The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard

#quote #the poetics of space #gaston bachelard #literature #philosophy #poetry #academia #light academia #dark academia #poetics #psychology #art #original post #imagination #creativity

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wisdombyvinayakbhatt · 10 months

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🌺Guru Purnima Wishes to All 🌺

Devi Tripura once asked Mahadeva, "What is the importance of the Guru? What is the achara to be followed with respect to the Guru?"

Mahadeva smiled benignly and in reply to her question, he extolled the importance of the Guru in poetic verse. This came to be known as the Sri Guru Stotra, which occurs as part of the Samvada(dialogue) between Devi and Lord Shiva, in the Parameshwara Tantra. (stotra given below with meaning)

The phala Shruti mentions that one who chants the stotra daily surely attains salvation (moksha). Mahadeva clearly explains that nothing, and absolutely 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 in the entire universe is greater than the Guru. 'Na Guror Adhikam, Na Guror Adhikam" he declares in each verse.

Very few people in this world have sufficient past life merit to even want to seek a Guru. Out of these, fewer still will actually meet a genuine Guru in their lifetime. And out of these few, even fewer will be able to really align themselves with the Guru and follow his path with a sense of humility and complete surrender. And out of this handful number of people, only one may have the faith, guts, tenacity and willpower to actually put the Guru's teachings into practice and reach the final destination, permanently crossing over to the heavenly realms, freed from the cycle of rebirth and karma.

May the Supreme Guru Tattva guide and bless all to reach the higher echelons of adhyatma.

🙏🌸Tasmai Sri Gurave Namah🌸🙏

Śrī guru stotram ~ Parameshwara Tantra

|| śrī mahādevi uvāca ||

gururmantrasya devasya dharmasya tasya eva vā |

viśeṣastu mahādeva ! tad vadasva dayānidhe ||

|| śrī mahādeva uvāca ||

jīvātmanaṃ paramātmanaṃ dānaṃ dhyānaṃ yogo jñānam |

utkala kāśī gaṅgā maraṇaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||1||

prāṇaṃ dehaṃ gehaṃ rājyaṃ svargaṃ bhogaṃ yogaṃ muktim |

bhāryāmiṣṭaṃ putraṃ mitraṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||2||

vānaprasthaṃ yatividhadharmaṃ pāramahaṃsyaṃ bhikṣuka caritam |

sādhoḥ sevāṃ bahusukha bhuktiṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||3||

viṣṇo bhaktiṃ pūjanaraktiṃ vaiṣṇavasevāṃ mātari bhaktim |

viṣṇoriva pitṛsevanayogaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||4||

pratyāhāraṃ cendriya-yajanaṃ prāṇāyāmaṃ nyāsavidhānam |

iṣṭe pūjā japa tapabhaktir na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||5||

kālī durgā kamalā bhuvanā tripurā bhīmā bagalā pūrṇā |

śrīmātaṅgī dhūmā tārā na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||6||

mātsyaṃ kaurmaṃ śrīvārāhaṃ naraharirūpaṃ vāmanacaritam |

naranārāyaṇa caritaṃ yogaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||7||

śrībhṛgudevaṃ śrīraghunāthaṃ śrīyadunāthaṃ bauddhaṃ kalkyam |

avatārā daśa vedavidhānaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||8||

gaṅgā kāśī kāñcī dvārā māyā’yodhyā’vantī mathurā |

yamunā revā puṣkaratīrthaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||9||

gokulagamanaṃ gopuraramaṇaṃ śrīvṛndāvana-madhupura-raṭanam|

etat sarvaṃ sundari ! mātar na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||10||

tulasīsevā hariharabhaktiḥ gaṅgāsāgara-saṅgamamuktiḥ |

kimaparamadhikaṃ kṛṣṇebhaktir na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||11||

etat stotram paṭhati ca nityaṃ mokṣajñānī so’pi ca dhanyam |

brahmāṇḍāntaryad-yad dhyeyaṃ na guroradhikaṃ na guroradhikaṃ ||12||

|| vṛhadavijñāna parameśvarataṃtre tripurāśivasaṃvāde śrīguroḥstotram ||

श्री गुरु स्तोत्रम्

गुरुर्मन्त्रस्य देवस्य धर्मस्य तस्य एव वा |

विशेषस्तु महादेव ! तद् वदस्व दयानिधे ||

|| श्री महादेव उवाच ||

जीवात्मनं परमात्मनं दानं ध्यानं योगो ज्ञानम् ।

उत्कलकाशीगङ्गामरणं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ १॥

प्राणं देहं गेहं राज्यं स्वर्गं भोगं योगं मुक्तिम् ।

भार्यामिष्टं पुत्रं मित्रं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ २॥

वानप्रस्थं यतिविधधर्मं पारमहंस्यं भिक्षुकचरितम् ।

साधोःसेवां बहुसुखभुक्तिं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम्॥ ३॥

विष्णोभक्तिं पूजनरक्तिं वैष्णवसेवां मातरिभक्तिम् ।

विष्णोरिव पितृसेवनयोगं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ४॥

प्रत्याहारं चेन्द्रिययजनं प्राणायामं न्यासविधानम् ।

इष्टे पूजा जप तपभक्तिर्न न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ५॥

काली दुर्गा कमला भुवना त्रिपुरा भीमा बगला पूर्णा ।

श्रीमातङ्गी धूमा तारा न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ६॥

मात्स्यं कौर्मं श्रीवाराहं नरहरिरूपं वामनचरितम् ।

नरनारायणचरितं योगं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ७॥

श्रीभृगुदेवं श्रीरघुनाथं श्रीयदुनाथं बौद्धं कल्क्यम् ।

अवतारा दश वेदविधानं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ८॥

गङ्गा काशी काञ्ची द्वारा मायाऽयोध्याऽवन्ती मथुरा ।

यमुना रेवा पुष्करतीर्थं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ९॥

गोकुलगमनं गोपुररमणं श्रीवृन्दावनमधुपुररटनम् ।

एतत् सर्वंसुन्दरि! मातर्न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ १०॥

तुलसीसेवा हरिहरभक्तिः गङ्गासागरसङ्गममुक्तिः ।

किमपरमधिकं कृष्णेभक्तिर्न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ ११॥

एतत्सोत्रं पठति च नित्यं मोक्षज्ञानी सोऽपि च धन्यम् ।

ब्रह्माण्डान्तर्यद्यद्ध्येयं न गुरोरधिकं न गुरोरधिकम् ॥ १२॥

|| वृहदविज्ञान परमेश्वरतंत्रे त्रिपुराशिवसंवादे श्रीगुरोःस्तोत्रम् ||

Meaning:

Sri Mahadevi (Parvati) said: "O Shambhu, the treasure of mercy! Please describe the importance of the Guru, and what is the achara to be followed with respect to the Guru?"

Sri Mahadeva said:

Knowledge of the Soul/atma gnyana, giving charity, doing meditation, death on the banks of Puri, Kashi or Ganga - none of these is greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||1||

One's prana/life, body, house, kingdom, heaven, enjoyment, yoga, liberation, wife, friend, son - none of these is greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||2||

Following Vanaprastha Dharma, the Dharma concerning the Yati, the Dharma of the Paramahansa, the Dharma of the Bhikkhu, that is, the Dharma of the Beggar - none of these is greater than Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||3||

Devotion to Lord Vishnu, affection in his worship, service to Vishnu devotees, service to one's mother, or to Vishnu in the form of the Pithrus- none of these is greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||4||

Pratyahara and repression of the senses, pranayama, doing the Nyaya-vinyasa, the worship of the ishta devata, the chanting of mantras, doing penance and bhakti - none of these is greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||5||

Kali, Durga, Lakshmi, Bhuvaneshwari, Tripurasundari, Bhima, Bagalamukhi (Purna), Matangi, Dhumavati and Tara, all these matruka shaktis are also no greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||6||

The incarnations of Lord Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Nara-Narayan etc., their deeds, pastimes(Lilas) and austerities etc. are also no greater than the Sri Guru, no greater than Sri Guru ||7||

The ten incarnations of the Lord described in the Vedas like Sri Bhrigu, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki are also no greater than Sri Guru, no greater than Sri Guru. ||8||

Ganga, Yamuna, Reva and other holy rivers, Kashi, Kanchi, Puri, Haridwar, Dwarka, Ujjain, Mathura, Ayodhya and other holy cities, Pushkara and other holy places are not greater than the Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||9||

O beautiful one! O Mother Goddess! Performing Gokula Yatra, visiting gaushalas and doing gau seva, chanting the auspicious names of Sri Vrindavan and Mathura - all these are nothing more than the Sri Guru, nothing more than Sri Guru ||10||

The seva of Tulsi, devotion to Vishnu and Shiva, the sacrifice of one's body at the confluence of the Ganges and what more can I say, even the devotion of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna is also not greater than the Sri Guru, is not greater than Sri Guru ||11||

He who recites this stotra daily becomes blessed by attaining both enlightenment and salvation Certainly, nothing in the entire universe that is meditated upon is greater than Sri Guru, nothing is greater than Sri Guru ||12||

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jannis-world-connection · 2 years

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Pride Reading: PROVERBS 16:17-20 The same two kinds of pride show up in many languages. Both kinds have to do with being majestic or exalted in some way. One kind of pride is good—for example, when parents view the development of their children as remarkable. But the other kind of pride is very bad. Throughout Proverbs we read about the good development that can happen when someone pursues wisdom. True wisdom is gained through God. And even though a wise person can go through many ups and downs in life, the wisdom they’ve gained will help to hold their life together. But beware of trying to keep it all together on your own. Beware of the pride that makes you think that anything you built on your own is worth more. Or that because you built it by yourself you won’t need anyone’s help to hold it together. Or, most dangerous of all, that because you have been self-sufficient, you are a greater person than people who have relied on others. That kind of pride leads to destruction. Poetically this verse is saying that if you have built something without God, then it isn’t built very well. It’s not built to last. Sooner or later, the so-called majestic life you built without God will simply fall apart. Prayer!!! Father God, keep us from the foolish pride that prompts us to build our lives on the rickety version of success prized by this world. Amen 💜🙌 https://www.instagram.com/p/CjNwD2iLCvw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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risalei-nur · 2 years

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The Words - The Twenty-fifth Word - Part 31

I will discuss only one of the countless truths found in these verses to show how the Qur’an makes truths understandable by all and silences the opponents: Through fifteen questions introduced by or, which express a rejection and impossibility, it silences all opponents, ends all doubt, and closes all ways to mis- guidance. It rends all veils under which the misguided may hide and discloses their fallacies. It crushes whatever lie they may fabricate. Each sentence either exposes and demolishes the fallacy of a group of unbelief, or remains silent where a fallacy is evident, or makes a short reference to an assertion of unbelief, which it refutes elsewhere in detail. For example, it refers their assertion that the Prophet is a poet to: We have not taught him poetry; it is not seemly for him (36:69), and their claim in the last section finds its answer in: Were there deities in them (the earth and the heavens) other than God, they would surely go to ruin (21:22).

In the beginning, it says: “Relay the Divine Commandments. You are not a soothsayer, for their words are confused and consist of conjecture. You speak the truth with absolute certainty and are not possessed. Even your enemies testify to your perfect intellect.”

Or do they say: “A poet (jinn-possessed). We await for him some calamity ahead”? Say to them: “Wait on; I am waiting, too.” The great and brilliant truths you bring are free of poetic fancy and artificial embellishment.

Or do their minds urge them to such (falsehoods)? Or, like senseless philosophers, do they consider their own intellects sufficient and so refuse to follow you? Any sound intellect requires following you, for whatever you say is reasonable. However, human intellect is unable to produce a like of it.

Or are they a rebellious people? Or, like rebellious wrongdoers, is their denial due to their non-submission to truth? Everybody knows the end of such leaders of mutinous wrongdoers as Pharaoh and Nimrod.

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brotherhoodnovel · 2 years

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My friend and poet Vijay R. Nathan's latest book launch party is today. Check out this review I wrote of it: Vijay R. Nathan's third poetry collection Breakdown Dancer is probably his most personal book, returning to the musings of his first collection Escape from Samsara after the celebrity character-driven Celebrity Sadhana. The themes are similar, dealing with Buddhist-inspired thought and the secular realities that taunt the quest for a meaningful life. But here we get much more about mental illness battles, brutal stays in hospitals, the heartbreak of almost loves, and the insecurity of friendships that we want to become romantic but which will never likely be. The collection is also heavily influenced by music, including three well-placed playlists which one can play while reading, or whose influence one can appreciate while delving into the musically-driven verse. Nathan uses a multiplicity of poetic styles, including the Billy Collins' created paradelle ("Motel 6 Rendezvous), text-exchange as poem ("This is Not Not a Love Poem"), hashtag inspired poems (#NoFilter) and the Ho’oponopono-inspired "Ho’oponopono", among many others. The publisher has created a beautiful book, including a sketch of the artist, a photograph of his childhood and a simulated Iphone music player, and much else. As with the previous books, there is a deliberate structure, but in this case we have two acts--a playful initial half followed by an emotionally driven climax and conclusion. The writing as a whole is more mature than his previous works. For such a slim volume, this book contains many riches. Even if you haven't read Nathan's previous works, you may find yourself sufficiently charmed by this one to explore more by this talented poet. #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetryislife #bookreview #poetryporn #poetrylovers #poetryisnotdead #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookreviewer #buddhism #buddhist #secular #secularism #octopus #octopusart #humor #funny #bookstagram #books #book #booktok #booklover #authorsofinstagram #author #authorlife #vijay #spokenwordpoetry #spokenword #poetryslam https://www.instagram.com/p/CcLBqrjL7-o/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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sufficientlylargen · 4 months

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Merry Crit Miss

'Tis the night before Crit Miss, and all through your house, not a sound can be heard save the click of your mouse. You scroll through your dashboard with nary a care; you've no clue that Saint Nicholas soon will be there.

You reblog your 500th Goncharov post, and continue to scroll, completely engrossed. When, from up above, there arises such clatter that you leap from your bed to see what is the matter!

In your haste, you forget you were browsing your dash - your laptop is hurled 'cross the room in a flash! It lands on its corner; you're sure it's just broke - with a crunch and a flash the machine belches smoke.

The cloud makes you dizzy, your vision gets blurry, and you lurch through the door to escape in a hurry. You misjudge the door frame, trip, stub many toes, and fall face-first forwards to land on your nose.

The main room is dark but stars flash in your vision and you feel blood drip from the site of collision. Dazed and confused you sprawl out on the ground, when you suddenly hear an odd rapping sound.

It sounds like… A horse? Or some other hoof? It's prancing and pawing up there on your roof? Oh right! You remember that something had clattered! That's why you'd jumped up, why your laptop was shattered!

And now there's a scraping noise from near the flue - Is this some weird break-in? What should you do? You grope for a lightswitch and just as it's hit, a kindly voice booms "HO, HO, OH HOLY SHIT!"

In a twinkling you realize your awful mistake as the room fills with screams and the air starts to bake. The switch which you thought ought to turn on the light was instead that which makes the gas fireplace ignite!

And now you can see, by the light of the fire, the shape of a man wrapped in flames like a pyre! He's trying to open the grate to get out, but it's stuck - rusted shut through neglect, you've no doubt.

You take up a poker and rush to the grate, Prying and trying with all of your weight to force it apart! SNAP! It breaks from the wall! And you and the flaming man to the floor fall!

The grating is hot, and it burns at your skin as you work your way out of the heap that you're in. One last shove and you're free! You stand up, and look down at the stranger who's lying, too still, on the ground.

He's dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, though a lot of it's now turned to ashes and soot. The stump of a pipe still protrudes from his teeth, While ashes encircle his head like a wreath;

The beard of his chin, once as white as the snow, is stained red with blood in the embers' dull glow, And his blankness of eye, and the twist of his head, Soon give you to know that this dude's super-dead.

With horror you notice, right in this man's chest A long metal rod is quite firmly impressed. The poker you'd grabbed when the grating was stuck! It went right through his sternum! Oh shit, you think, fuck!

In shock you lurch back, but your foot hits a snag - It's caught on the edge of late Santa's toy bag. You trip and expect to land flat on your back…

But instead you plunge into the toy-toting sack…

And that, I'm afraid, is the end of this tale, For my observational powers here fail. The toy-bag of Santa's a curious place Where infinite gifts drift in transfinite space

But without good Saint Nick there to tend to the mess What happens within it I only can guess. Perhaps you keep falling. Perhaps ground you hit. Perhaps you awaken some Thing in the pit.

The things that I do know: your house does burn down, And in its remains just one body is found. It's chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, (now stabbed and flambéed by your since-vanished self).

A lot of deer droppings are seen the next day, But nobody sees a reindeer, or a sleigh. And so this poem closes, we've come to the end. Merry Crit Miss to all!

You are not seen again.

#merry crit miss!#sufficiently poetic verse

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aliatori · 3 years

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Interlude - Opening Gambits

The Forsaken and the Forsworn | 3k words | T rated | Gabriel Berthelot/Hugo Melançon

@liodain asked me about a letter Gabriel has in his possession some months after the events of The Forsaken and the Forsworn, and then my hand slipped and this happened. Emotional turmoil and some sequel setup beneath the cut.

A pool spreads in sticky, erratic drips across the envelope on the desk as Hugo holds a stick of sealing wax to a candle flame. Black wax, naturally—black as mourning, black as brine. Gabriel never was one for subtle symbolism or unspoken rules of correspondence, but the symmetry of it pleases Hugo. Once there’s a sufficient amount gathered at the envelope’s closure, he sets aside candle and wax alike and reaches for the stamp. The cool, smooth wood rests awkwardly in Hugo’s grip. He hasn’t had much occasion to use this particular seal in quite some time.

Still, he presses the metal into the cooling wax, imprinting the initials ‘HM’ in a sturdy serif font. It’s a good impression—even with considerable wear and tear, there should be no doubt in Gabriel’s mind who this missive is from.

“You sure about this? Last chance to back out of what is, beyond a shadow of a bleedin’ doubt, a horrible idea.”

Hugo picks up the envelope and tears his eyes away from the seal. He stands from his cramped desk and faces the person waiting behind him. “I’m certain.”

Ciel adjusts the hooded cowl draped across their sturdy shoulders and grimaces. “I can’t guarantee this won’t get intercepted somewhere along the way. If the admiralty… hells, if anyone who has a third cousin on their grandparent’s side in the navy gets wind of this—” “I’m aware of the risk,” Hugo interrupts, voice firm. “We need someone still bound to the Fury, and this is the best option, not a safe option.” He holds out the envelope to Ciel, who takes it from Hugo and tucks it safe within the confines of their cloak.

“And the rest of the crew?”

“They’ll be in place, as will the vessel. The leverage I gave Ghislain on the dockmaster worked exactly as expected. All that remains is the letter.” At this, Hugo inclines his head in Ciel’s direction. “Which I’m certain you’ll handle to the best of your ability.”

Ciel barks out a short laugh. “That’s one way to put it. I’ll leave you a message at the usual spot when it’s done.” They’re gone in a whirl of dark fabric and a gust of crisp fall air, out the door and into the evening without waiting for Hugo’s confirmation.

That suits him fine. He’d rather his orders be obeyed than questioned further. Besides, there’s still work for Hugo himself to accomplish before he can even think about rest.

Hugo crosses his modest—squalid, compared to what he once enjoyed—lodgings and kneels in front of a trunk wedged in the corner, its brass fixtures glinting in the glow of his single lantern. Once he unlocks it, he withdraws a bundle of fabric so dark it seems to devour all the light in its immediate radius; he skims his palm across the surface until he finds the familiar curvature of horn beneath the luxurious cloth, confirming that both items he needs are contained within.

After all, the night is young, and there’s still so much to do.

*****

Gabriel rests his forearms on the railing of the Screaming Squall and stares off into the horizon, tracking the sun as it dips below the edge of the world. He’s not the kind of man prone to waxing poetical about things as a general rule. But seeing the sky awash in a million shades of pink and red and orange… it could inspire some clumsy attempts at verse.

If he weren’t otherwise preoccupied, that is.

His fingers are curled around a crumpled, stained letter, dangling it out over the ocean like he might dangle a particularly irritating captive. A live, screaming, piss-rank, and terrified human would be easier to deal with than the object in his hand. Part of Gabriel hopes fate will take the choice away from him, snatch the dreaded parchment from his hand and carry it off in a gust of powerful wind. Part of him wonders if he shouldn’t have burned it in the hearth of the tavern he got it in.

And still a final part of him is dying to know the contents.

Unless it’s a forgery, the letter means Hugo’s alive. That he made it off the island after all. That he, for reasons unbefuckingknownst to Gabriel, sent this message after being abandoned and left for dead. A sour, curdled feeling churns in his gut at the thought. He used to be able to hold onto his anger at Hugo, to incinerate all other emotions in the cleansing fire of fury. Now…

Now everything is muddled. Confused. Murky and clotted and impenetrable as the depths.

“Still staring at that letter, hmm?”

To his credit, Gabriel doesn’t jump out of his skin at the sudden intrusion of Camille’s voice. “Guess I am.”

“And have there been any insights this evening?” Camille asks, moving to stand beside him and take up her own post against the railing.

“Not yet.”

The calm waters lap against the sides of the Squall, the sounds gentle and rhythmic. Gabriel takes a deep breath of brisk, salt-drenched air and exhales twice as long. The longer he considers opening the letter, the more his palms sweat, the more his pulse races.

Camille breaks the silence. “You know what I’m going to tell you. I’ve kept it from the others like you asked, but if they find out you let that bastard go after everything we’ve done to find him…” She trails off, lips pursed in a thin line.

A drumbeat of thunderous anger pounds in his chest, though it’s a pale imitation of his previous capacity for rage. “Good thing they won’t.”

“No need to get tetchy, Gab.” Camille raises her hands, hip cocked and pressing into the nearby wood. “I’m only trying to head off another problem at the pass. You’ve got enough of them between the Fury and the Matriarch.” Her voice drops to a quiet murmur, barely audible over the ambient sounds of the sea. “I don’t want to see you taken off the Squall. Or worse.”

Were Gabriel not determined to keep hold of the letter, he’d rake both hands through his unbound hair in frustration. He tamps down on the urge. “Yeah, tryin’ to avoid that particular predicament myself.”

“You’re not asking for my advice, but I’m giving it to you anyway, free of charge. Open the letter and find out what he wants or get rid of the godsdamned thing and forget it ever existed. It’s not like you to be wringing your hands over something this long.” Camille’s warm brown eyes are full of the closest thing to sympathy the quartermaster ever manages. She takes hold of his shoulder and squeezes, giving Gabriel a little shake. “Can’t move forward until you do.”

Gabriel pats Camille’s hand a few times and says, “Might be unsolicited advice, but it’s solid. Wouldn’t expect anything less of you.”

“Damn straight.” The quartermaster huffs out a wry laugh and then pushes off from the railing. “I’ll leave you to your contemplation. If you want some company later, some of the offwatches are gathered down below decks for gaming. Aurele’s even made an appearance to destroy Lucien at dominoes, much to his consternation.”

“Probably best I don’t get involved in that case. We’ll see.” Gabriel manages a gravel-rough chuckle just this side of humorless.

After giving him a considering look, Camille nods and starts toward the stern of the ship, presumably to check on other hands as is her habit.

Which leaves Gabriel alone with the letter. Again.

He trusts Camille’s council in most cases, and this case proves no exception. She’s right. He needs to either fling this into the sea and let Hugo’s words rot in the cold, dark depths or stop screwing around and see what the bastard wants. His gaze falls on the worn parchment, an endless expanse of sea behind it, and for one endless moment he imagines letting it fall from his grasp. Gabriel even begins to loosen his grip, the letter sliding down a few torturous inches.

At the plunging swoop of his stomach to his feet and a nauseating surge of dread right on its heels, he clutches the envelope tight and saves it from a long fall into the sea. Gabriel’s pulse pounds a fearful rhythm in his throat. If the thought of losing the damn thing scared him so bad…

Gabriel tucks it in the pocket of his breeches, his feet already moving before the rest of his mind catches up. Before long, he finds himself in his cabin, door shut and barred behind him. The blunted halfmoon of his thumbnail makes short, messy work of the black seal, a feat likely made possible from all the wear and tear. Gabriel allows himself a grim satisfaction at destroying Hugo’s initials.

Then he withdraws the letter and begins to read.

*****

Gabriel,

Forgive me if I forgo the customary sentiments of good health and well wishes considered standard for the beginning of a letter. Given that you broke our accord and marooned me on an island in the middle of the Unchartables, you’ll understand the lapse.

Unfortunately for you, I’m not an easy man to kill—though your hard-won experience chasing me about the Fourfold Seas for years has already taught you that, hasn’t it?

But I’m not writing for the express purpose of goading you. Truth be told, I don’t know why I’m writing, exactly. I suspect you’ll consign these words to the depths before you even open the envelope—if they reach you at all. Digging up your hideouts and contacts took more work than I anticipated, and the information seems to be legitimate, but one can never be too certain. (By the by, you should be more cautious on that front. My former connections barely helped at all, which means any enterprising soul could replicate the feat.)

Let’s say between my unanticipated sojourn in the Unchartables and certain events transpiring afterwards… I’ve found myself with a great deal of time on my hands to think. About the past, about the present, about the future.

About you.

If I’m foolish enough to be discussing any of this, to send this at all, I can be foolish enough to admit you’ve been a constant in my thoughts. Seeing you… it was like having my bond broken all over again, like old scars being carved up and left raw. Like being struck by the lightning I once commanded. An upheaval and an awakening. A fundamental reorientation of true north.

Once upon a time, I would have said leaving you was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. Life has since seen fit to prove me wrong on that front, though it remains on the short list of hardships I’ve no wish to experience again. As it so happens, seeing you again—being with you again, however contentious and temporary our reunion was—proved even more challenging. I’m almost grateful you decided to betray me in the end. It would have been all too easy to board the Squall, step back into your orbit, and let the inexorable tide of your presence drag me back to a life I fought so hard to escape.

A life. Not you.

Regardless of what you choose to believe about my reasons for wanting to escape Xeheia’s ever-tightening grasp, regardless of how much I know it will hurt you one way or another to hear this: my departure from the Squall and the fold was never about you.

Which brings me to what you told me on the island about my supposed ‘betrayal’. Nothing adds up no matter how many scenarios I consider. Yes, I had an old map on my person, and yes, my jailers turned employers confiscated it. As we were otherwise preoccupied, I never got the chance to ask where you were apprehended, but I remember the contents of the map. How could I not? It wasn’t to the cove—you know as well as I the protections guarding it would make any cartography useless—but rather to one of the transient, makeshift coastal villages our ilk tended to gather at and abandon just as quickly.

A village long gone by the time the admiralty ever got their hands on the map.

You have a rat, Gabriel. Someone’s informing on you, and I can promise you—it isn’t me.

Certainly the navy wishes it were me, but they’ve decided keeping me alive to do the morally repugnant work of murder during peacetime outweighs a visit to the chopping block. Redemption and justice have odd meanings to imperial officials and mainland gods. In either case, you’re free to do with this information what you will, which will likely be nothing.

That makes this next part even more difficult.

I need your help.

Through sources I won’t be confirming in this letter, I have reason to believe that Xeheia wasn’t always the bloodthirsty and brutal goddess the fold is sworn to. There’s evidence of some kind of corruption overtaking the entity we know as the Watcher of the Depths. You’re the one with access to the cove’s archives. See for yourself. The slaughter, the augury via human sacrifice, the brine, the Matriarch… none of them can be found in any known imperial records of Xeheia or her priests. Hells, even the furystorms are recent in a historical context. We thought we were sworn to a storm deity, but…

I don’t know what we were sworn to anymore. What you’re still sworn to. But I intend to find out. And then… I suppose what happens next depends on you. You never used to be the type to hold grudges, at least not until I left. Though I'm not asking for your forgiveness for my past misdeeds, I am asking for you to listen, truly listen, and heed my counsel as you once did. To trust me.

If I believe what I’ve discovered—and I do—the corruption is only growing, fueled by the offerings of the Squall and the rest of the fold. It will grow to a point where it will swallow you whole, Gabriel. You and everyone you know, everyone bonded to Xeheia.

Unless we stop it together.

I’ve included the information for a rendezvous point, both date and location. If you believe me, if you want the rest of my findings, meet me there. There’s enough time between now and then for you to investigate my claims for yourself if you so desire. Of course, you can bring the full wrath of Xeheia’s fleet with you. But if you ever had any love for me, I’m hoping you’ll come with the Squall alone.

Because I know the way your mind works, I know you’re wondering: Why make such outrageous claims with no proof when they’re prime bait for a setup? Why tip my hand at all? As to the first point, I confess after so many years of secrecy and games between us, I’ve grown rather tired of them. As to the second…

With or without your help, I have a score to settle with Xeheia. There will be no knives in the back, no plots in the darkness.

I want you to see me coming. To honor what we once shared, I owe you that much.

The rest is up to you.

Yours ever,

*****

Whatever Gabriel expected, it wasn’t any of this. On his first readthrough, his brain stutters to a halt at four simple words: A life. Not you.

Four words to shift so many of the beliefs Gabriel has been holding onto for five long years. He wants to call it a lie because Hugo’s always been a manipulative prick and knows how to tell people what they want to hear. He wants to tear the letter in pieces and never think of it again.

Instead, he reads it once more.

Through the muted shock at Hugo’s audacity, at his presumption to still know Gabriel the way he once did, his mind reels and seethes with a swirl of emotions he struggles to untangle. Rage, despair, dismay, heartache, confusion, disbelief—Hugo has made so many outlandish propositions Gabriel doesn’t even know where to start being offended. A traitor in his own fold? Xeheia, corrupted? Fucking ridiculous.

A miniscule part of him, one he’s worked hard to smother, whispers in his mind: Is it really so ridiculous?

The problems Camille alluded to aren’t all to do with Gabriel specifically. They’ve encountered more and more imperial ships on their routes, forcing fights they don’t want or time-wasting redirections; it’s not such a far stretch to believe someone is leaking their plans. And, though this particular issue has been more hushed, the brine has been killing almost everyone it’s given to, including a few poor bastards already sworn to the Fury. Even Gabriel has had a harder and harder time coming back to himself on the rare times he uses it, and he’s been downing the shit one way or another practically since birth.

Though Gabriel’s not stupid enough to believe Hugo’s telling the complete truth, his gut tells him that the claims might not be entirely false.

It’s unsettling. Uncomfortable.

Reeling, Gabriel folds the letter up, places it back in its envelope, and pries open his secret compartment in the bulkhead to stash it. Gabriel might need the coordinates Hugo provided, so any impulsive destruction will have to wait.

Whatever he decides to do about the remainder of the contents, whatever he thinks about the rest… Far be it from him to squander an opportunity to solve multiple problems in one fell swoop.

If Hugo’s going to offer himself on a silver platter, trap or no, Gabriel’s in the mood to devour him whole.

#the forsaken and the forsworn #hubriel #ch: gabriel berthelot #ch: hugo melançon #ch: camille vidale #my writing #*angst and complicated history intensifies*#haven't decided if this will go on AO3 yet but for now #I hurt myself writing it #so please accept it #qliatori

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dearlittlefandom-stalker · 3 years

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I love these verses. Also I think that the last verse is so poetic. So simple. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

I mean, it is the Bible verse version of the “Don’t worry, be Happy!” song. I also think it kinda Vulcan ish? Maybe? Might just be the use of the word ‘sufficient’ for me...

Thoughts?

#Bible verse #sufficient unto the day #Bible #bible thoughts #Poetry #simple #don’t worry #be happy #song mention #Star Trek reference #I guess #Vulcan

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chaos-family-scp-au · 3 years

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SCP-1527

All files made with this format (parts removed/altered): https://pin.it/2z0f3JM

CLEARANCE (3) AND ABOVE NEEDED

IF NOT GIVEN PROPER CLEARANCE TO THIS FILE YOU WILL BE INFORMED NOT TO DO THIS AGAIN OR YOU’LL BE WALKED OFF THE SITE.

SCP-1527

Object class: Keter

Currently kept in Site [REDACTED]

Containment Area:

SCP-1527 is to be kept within standard containment. It must be guarded at all times. It is to be provided with sufficient materials for drawing and writing. Furniture requests are to be granted at the discretion of high ranking personnel, most notably the ones in charge of its experiments.

Colored art supplies of any kind are prohibited. They may only be given under strict surveillance, or for the sake of an experiment.

Any personnel found aiding it in acquiring colored materials must be demoted or otherwise punished.

Clearance Level:

Clearance level 3 is required to interact with SCP-1527.

Abnormal Property:

SCP-1527’s artwork and written poetry have differing effects when viewed, ranging from death to healing. These are only present in colored work, and as such it has been allowed black and white sketching material. The effects are strongest when the target is known well, especially in the case of a named target.

Spoken poetry has a similar, if dulled effect. More experimentation is needed on these aspects of SCP-1527.

SCP-1527 possesses the ability to shapeshift. It has two forms it shifts into, one more humanoid than the other.

In both forms it retains long, tufted ears, and an upturned nose/snout. It seems unable to shift at will, and calls these shifts an ascension to its true form.

SCO-1527 is by default in a humanoid form, and it’s shifts seem to be triggered by severe bodily trauma.

Behavior:

SCP-1527 is erratic and unpredictable, switching from violence to comfort to polite conversation in an instant. When confronted with an unknown staff member it’s first reaction tends towards curiosity.

If it decides something or someone is a danger to itself or to fellow SCPs it will attempt to hunt it down. It listens only to Dr. Graves. (Addendum: it seems fond of Dr. Bright as a fellow “Harbinger of Chaos”.)

It speaks in poetic verse when in a state of hyperactivity, joy, or distress. It goes by its identification number, though it also uses she/her pronouns.

Testing will be needed to see the effect its own name has, as soon as its name has been found.

Look:

Humanoid Form

“True” Form

You Have Been Kicked Out Of The File.

!!SYSTEM ERROR!!

#the terror of being known #scp au #SCP-1527 #submission #caps tw #bold text tw #body horror #????#scp files #scp drawings

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a-long-walk-in-the-forest · 3 years

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Itachi’s Taurus planets degree exploration

Since if I want to make a proper reasonable guess for Sasuke I need to have some idea about Itachi too so I’m going to just list any taurus degree that fit him. He has at least 3 things there (mars, venus, saturn).

I tried to keep different interpretations of the character in mind but not so much so that I can’t narrow it down at all. Note that these descriptions were mostly written by people decades ago so some of them may sound a bit ... Also the body parts mentioned are used for predictive and medical astrology.

0-1

It denotes a person of. a disputative mind, one who will have many enemies, and will need to exercise himself much in self-defense; one to whom life will open out into a great field of strife, but who, through his own native force and diplomacy, will eventually prevail. It is a degree of SELF-PRESERVATION.

The native will have to stand forever on the lookout ready to parry unforeseen attacks, as his destiny has fierce struggles in store. But in struggles he surely will thrive and revel as if it were his own element, and he will engage himself in them to his utmost. He has a great will power, is versed in tricks and makeshifts, and can be very reserved in spite of his liking for arguments and polemics. Churlish and insensitive to pain, he seems born to have things his own way in spite of the war furiously waged against him on all sides. He may even be endowed with magic powers. This hard character’s failing is ungenerous; it may even become cruelty.

Denotes a person of strong character; of a rather morose disposition, and possessing magical powers; one with strong will-power, very reserved, inclined to be cruel.

A persevering strategist; denotes good mentality; a prophet of a new order; love of home; brilliant 233 mind; renowned for benevolence; powerful in combining old principles in new application; beauty, devotion, fame or fortune; throat or gullet; palate.

Denotes one whose life is threatened in early infancy. The ideals are high, and he delights in all that is beautiful and sweet. The native is somewhat erratic and inconstant, loving “fresh fields and pastures new.” He inclines to the poetic and artistic, and may excel in such paths. It is a symbol of Cultivation.

This degree seems to blend the qualities of Aries and Taurus in a less desirable fashion. Here the stubbornness of Taurus is directed to the establishing of the ego. In so doing he alienates those around him so that he is left to carry his burdensome load alone. There is a strong tendency for men to be mislead by a woman usually because of his desire to possess her and make her subservient to his own ego. In most cases he desires and attracts someone extremely selfish and difficult to deal with. He seems not to be able to disassociate himself and pursue his course alone. This is an even greater threat if it is the man’s Moon or Venus which falls on this degree. At any rate it is the stubborn desire to establish his own ego irrespective of others which cause the insurmountable trouble.

This degree is favorable for a good mentality. Denotes a persevering strategist. More inclined to the artistic than Scorpio 0-1 degree.

1-2

It denotes one for whom life will be a severe lesson; whose ambition is likely to outstrip his power; one who will attempt great his discomfiture; whose efforts will prove futile, and whose hopes a will vanish as the clouds.

The present repels him, human society holds no attraction for him. If he, therefore, does not find an outlet in the pursuit of nature’s secrets or in historical studies and the like, he will lapse into a dull idleness, root of all evils. He must break the ominous spell isolating him spiritually from his kind if he is not to find realized in himself the biblical threat, Vae soli (Woe to him that is alone—EccI. 4:11). He must draw a wholesome lesson from his disappointments and realize that he has produced them himself with his wrong attitude of estrangement from life. Life must be loved if she is to present us with her gifts; these are not to be frowned upon in comparison with the unattainable daydreams, toyed with by cloud-dwellers apt to slump defeated to the ground if they cannot reach their aim. Any vital force that does not find a proper outlet will cease to flow. The greater one’s inborn vitality, the more quickly idleness will blight It.

Denotes that he, or she, born under this degree will live alone, isolated, mentally; not in sympathy with the present state of things.

Magic; a pleasing personality; a person who is above petty things; loyal and serious-minded; some interest in occultism; magnanimous; opening of throat.

Denotes one capable of immense sacrifices who surrenders self, expecting no reward. The life will be often lonely, but ever threatened by storms. In the end wisdom and worth will triumph and the second half of life brings good promise. It is a symbol of Devotion.

This degree is not a decisive one although it gives a strong will and a desire to protect the ego at all cost. There is also a capacity for cruelty. Self-preservation is the basic quality. When the self is not threatened the individual may relax and this degree will then be free to develop along other lines generally consistent with the chart as a whole. It is possible that the native could be so sensitive that even when the self was free from threat, defensiveness would be uppermost. Until this tendency is overcome there is not much hope of success. There is much ability both mental and physical.

This degree promises a pleasing personality. A person above petty things. Loyal and serious minded, with some interest in Occultism.

2-3

It denotes a person whose interest will be greatly enhanced in the autumn of life, who will reap benefits greatly enhanced in the autumn of life, who will reap benefits from old age and pleasures from maturity; whose chief characteristic is acquisitiveness, and whose designs will meet with much success. It is a degree of acquirement, of GATHERING TOGETHER.

This influence points somehow to untimely love. The native may have older people propose to her in her youth, or vice versa, will insist on marrying a younger partner in her elderly age. The planned match risks to come off whether the younger partner looks at it as a sincere and generous gift of his or her youth, or is driven to it by base interest-where the one alternative does not altogether shut off the other. Aside from the question of love or marriage, the native will be luckier in later years and will reap tardily the fruit of his days of labor.

Strong sympathies, excessive sensibility, very impressionable and mediumistic.

Scientific; artistic; degree of plot and strategy; an important degree in nativities of great military generals; a carefree traveler; inclined to live his one life regardless of others’ opinions; afflicted - may denote an unfortunate end; generous; uvula.

Denotes one favored by fortune. He will possess good judgment, and will do the right thing at the right time. His early life will be filled with struggle and with promise, expanding to favor as he advances in years. With a good insight into human nature the native can well choose others to assist in his work, and whilst holding work to be the true necessity of life, he knows the value of relaxation and pleasure to others as to himself. It is a symbol of Fortune.

Much indication of loneliness and self-undoing. Some of the artistic qualities of Taurus come through here. There seems to be little appreciation for life. These people generally find little to live for. They isolate themselves from other people. They tend to pessimism and despair. Much of this comes from inertia but it can also come from too much freedom and too many choices, which are not open at the same time but which sweep by in a maze of confusion to this individual. Idleness tends to atrophy any abilities that one might have. It would be helpful to him if opportunities were kept open to him for longer periods of time. He might continue to procrastinate, but in some cases this might lessen the frustration. Basically this is a problem the individual must solve for himself and realize his own part in humanity’s pattern. He must discover for himself the worthwhile nature of relationships with others. His childhood training will do much to over-come these problems if recognized and dealt with in meaningful way.

A carefree traveler, but adverse aspects may denote an unfortunate end. Artistic, scientific and generous. Inclined to live his own life regardless of other people’s opinions.

3-4

It denotes a person in whose life much sedition will prevail, whose affairs will be marred by his own violence, and whose house will be dismembered through strife, in whom wrath will effect great evils , and whose force will be turned against himself. If is a degree of DISINTEGRATION.

An exacting, disdainful, short-tempered being, destined to remain, so to speak, raw stuff throughout his life, who cannot possibly keep in harmony with the ones he loves. The native hat, however, a nearly military sense of discipline as something absolutely necessary for himself as well as for others. The keynote of this character is its lack of that indispensable minimum of feminine fluidity needed to melt and blend any spiritual alloy; therefore, both the native and his never sufficiently plastered buildings tend to harden and collapse. A male every inch of his boorish being, an irksome grumbler, easily roused to a fury, the native will not be able to put up with anyone; he will handle things and people awkwardly and clumsily and will be peeved and disgusted at any show of weakness in his neighbors. Hence a tendency to isolation and ultimately to self-destruction, as in Dante’s figure of Pier della Vigna (Inf 13, 70) who, embittered and nearly crushed by all his fellow courtiers’ envy and slander, ended by commiting suicide. Unless no other features balance this influence, the male native never will be able to appreciate feminine charm. The female native should never marry. This degree shows sometimes a remarkable feature: a special fondness for fireworks, which may well become a passion if the rest of the pattern helps (the Fire element). The native’s body will be subject to decalcifying.

Denotes one in whom the male principle predominates excessively, the female being nearly nil, sympathies towards the opposite sex wanting. if a man he rarely ever marries, If a woman, she ought not to many.

Literature (skill in working out plots); writers of detective stories; one accustomed to the exercise of authority; favors playwrights; military men. organizers who work to uphold the law; degree of plot; planning, tact, and scheming bodily injuries; destruction by fire, war or earth-quake; unscrupulous defeat; throat or larynx.

Denotes one whose destiny it is to come before the public in some professional capacity. The native will be impulsive, bold, and brave, and will be gifted with controlling and magnetic force. He will travel and move about a great deal, and will be exposed to danger with little or no hurt. It is a symbol of Intrepidity.

Gives an imagination guided by the eye. More a Mercury imagination than a Neptune imagination. A practical ability to plan and portray with mental activity to mentally see a completed project. This ability probably contributes to success in later life. Often brings a marriage to some one younger in later life although may be reversed and is not always successful but has better than average chance with the influence of this degree. It generally contributes to a building up of resources and a bringing together of people which usually results in a very prosperous and socially happy old age. 340 He does wait until old age to enjoy life but seems to enjoy the years of accumulating and building.

This degree of plot, planning, tact and scheming is found in the charts of novelists, play-rights, military men and organizers who work to uphold the law.

8-9

It denotes a man whose chief interest will be in his home, and in the care of his children; one who is attractive to young persons, and whose mind is pacific and benevolent; one who has the ability to inspire confidence and faith in other; whose footsteps will be followed in security and whose life goes by easy weay to a peaceful end. It is a degree of MINISTRATION.

The very figure of pater familias; love for one’s home and large family, careful upbringing of one’s children and well-meaning strictness toward one’s dependents. A humane, honest, peaceful yet energetic nature, such as to attract the young and inspire confidence in all. Love of nature and country life; good sense rather than common sense? efficient running of affairs rather than mere routine. The native will do his utmost for his children’s happiness, but is not in the least certain to reach happiness for himself; on the contrary, when particularly badly aspected elsewhere, he could look forward to death as a release, though no attempt at self-inflicted death can be foreseen; the good shepherd will not leave his flock. This degree may produce corpulence if other factors concur.

Denotes one who will have a very gloomy life and who Is likely to die be fore he passes his prime

A born teacher and scientist; hearing (afflicted - may in - cline to deafness); inordinately fond of food; afflicted - gluttons; if the will is weak, may become a drunkard; a tendency to be contrary and stubborn, especially with planets in 27 degree Aries-Pisces; frequently their own worst enemies; has much to do with healing; said to be a degree ruling the Irish; cervical vein.

Denotes one who acquires much by work and application, but who lacks the faculty of watchfulness in protecting his gains from the greed of others. He has an easygoing tendency, but gains come from labor, craft, and the management of his own affairs. He may be the victim of deceit or treachery, and should never put himself in the hands of others when his own well-being is concerned. He should avoid things and circumstances he does not understand. It is a symbol of Misleading.

Very subject to teasing. Easily taunted into futile efforts. This individual feels a responsibility which he cannot maintain. He is easily aroused into a defensive attitude. Part of this is due to a response to shadows and unreal images around him. If this person were born soon after a New Moon this tendency would be enhanced and become very difficult to handle. He is plagued by an environment too active for his lumbering nature. He has a slow heavy feel and is unable to move quickly. His record of success and failure would be improved by a protective cover of some kind under which he could take time to clear his vision before he struck out at the threat he fears. This degree also affects the vision adversely. If he could be made to feel a sense of protection rather than being subjected to constant teasing he would have at least an opportunity to correct his evaluation of his environment. This person however seems to have been born with the fuse lit. And it is very unclear what useful purpose this influence serves.

Contrariness when found with planets also in Aries, Libra in 27 degree. A born teacher and scientist.

16-17

This symbolizes a life of toil without much fruits; the misdirection of effort through ignorance of natural laws; a straining after that which Nature has not designed, and consequent failure in life. The native will be unpopular, moving against the stream, and by much exertion, hurting himself alone. It is a degree of FUTILITY.

The native’s habit of thinking with his own head is apt to make him unpopular; his failings will bring about his misfortune. His intelligence is like a river liable to flood the barren sands of Utopia instead of fertilizing the happy valley of originality. He is in for unceasing, often wasted, labors, which will not make him move a step forward. There is a guilty light-mindedness; the native will believe that he can solve single- handed and in his own way certain problems which repose on natural laws, as those of economics, dynamics and the like. On the other hand, such a being can easily rely on Divine Providence and reach that absolute faith which moves mountains and goes so far as to give sometimes personal success in spite of rationalistic logic and science’s “infallibility.”

A truly good person; one who has Implicit faith in the Most High.

Painting; business; musical ability (variations of pitch); singers; oratory; a powerful degree for men; color; and original person who has much influence on his sphere of society; ideas or popularity may grow by spurts, but unexpected falls sometimes follow too; homicidal tendency; abscesses of neck if with 25 degree Leo-Aquarius or 21 degree Aries-Libra; associated with explosions (of nuclear plants or bombings); often a tall person; tonsils.

Denotes one free as air, brave, spiritual, restless, and unfitted for the regular routine of daily life. Care in infancy is essential. He is of a wandering disposition and frequent changes are for him. It is a symbol of Wandering.

There is some contradiction in this degree. Basically the difficulty seems to be over-optimism. Stubbornness seems to be more prominent than the more desirable Taurian traits. One may well enjoy a certain measure of popularity which only seems to contribute a stubborn blindness to the weak spots which need attention. He also seems to enjoy a fair amount of luck which also tends to produce a false sense of security. If however, he has a genuine appreciation for his luck and is able to resist sheer flattery on the part of fair-weather friends without being rude and cutting himself off, he may come out pretty well. Luck in any form tends to run out if not used wisely. Here it seems to be built in that luck which is squandered does not continue. There is only enough to prime the pump. He must keep the flow going or it will stop.

A powerful degree for men. Denotes an original person who exercises considerable influence in his circle of society. Their ideas or popularity may grow by leaps and bounds, and unexpected falls sometimes follow.

18-19

It denotes a gentle, inoffensive but weak nature, inclined to indolence or hopelessness, and thus while Nature is luxurious and fertile, and all around speaks of wealth gained by industry, the native remains in a poor condition for want of determination. It is a degree of INCOMPETENCE.

An exquisitely feminine nature. The native may go so far as to be a genius, but even in normal cases she will have some very bright gift which she is not likely to exploit in full and will at least partially leave untapped. A gentle and sweet character, even too little self-assertive, which will tend to flabbiness, indecision, passivity and gloom. A certain typically feminine futility will accompany an equally feminine skill in getting things done. A voice of pure musical pitch, an unconstrained speech, a naturally smart and graceful demeanor. Her main virtues will be self-possession and cleanliness. In a mystic sense, the symbol may be taken to mean the Sacrament of Baptism. Destiny may have in store travel or emigration to the New World. Teaching may be a congenial profession, if the pattern contains such elements as to give the necessary authority for this.

This denotes a great genius. His home Is, or will be, the western hemisphere.

Music ( a trumpet); a person who rises from a humble birth place to a great renown through a process of unfoldment; hair; leader of party; often a tall person; maxillary artery.

Denotes one who is unable to estimate his abilities and who attempts things foolhardy and useless. There is a tendency to irritability and aggressiveness and lack of self-restraint. Thus he will court unpopularity and will suffer from his own actions. It is a symbol of Futility.

Mars N Node is located here and incorporates more violence than the previous degree. We should however learn more of the nature of Mars from this combination. In most reports the degree has characterized a violent misuse of the energy. It is considered savage and warlike. I am of the opinion that since the N Node of Mars is influencing this degree now we may expect to see some more constructive and positive action from people with planets here. One authority suggests an unfolding process which must proceed in an orderly fashion patiently as a flower blooms. There certainly is a contrast here between the growing power of life against the destructive but also temporary power of death.

A person who rises from a humble birthplace to great renown, through a process of unfoldment.

20-21

It indicates a silent, watchful disposition, inclined to caution, method, and thrift, but liable to assaults from unexpected sources, which will overthrow many carefully designed plans. It is a degree of ANTICIPATION.

A frugal, cautious, watchful, silent and close character bearing the hallmark of individuality, a deep mind, a pitiless logic, a precise and methodic intelligence, more suited for analysis than synthesis. The native will rely but on himself, yet destiny will baffle him with gleeful spite and take a cruel delight in hitting him just where rational logic would rule out failure or even danger. The collapse of his most accurately prearranged plans will tell on the native’s temper, whose guardedness may drift into suspiciousness, and misanthropy into wickedness.

Denotes one having an analytical mind. He may succeed as a chemist, or where application to minute analytical effects is called for; a very sound reasoner.

Music (variation of pitch); oratorical ability; doctors; homicidal tendency; undernourishment and poisons are in some way connected with this degree; immorality, violence, danger of accidents or poison; goiter; alcoholism; sinus artery.

Denotes one of sporting tendencies who delights in trials of skill and who is generally fortunate. To his nature there is a generous, sympathetic, and interesting side, which gains him many friends and much popularity. It is a symbol of Sportiveness.

This degree seems to have a dual nature and suggests varied and contradictory influences. There is perhaps the greatest tendency to cause one’s downfall by envy of another’s position. There is something here which suggests a Scorpion tendency to sting itself to death out of frustration rather than give up and walk away. There is a tendency to climb the ladder of success at the expense of competitors if necessary. But those who take this route pay for it one way or another. There is much rugged brute force strength of Taurus. This individual tends to feel he can go his way alone. There is one authority that suggests an ability on the part of this native to sacrifice himself for someone he loves. Of course there are many kinds of sacrifice. Some of them are beneficial and some of them are not. It is well to consider here whether the individual might not better correct his own faults in order to contribute something more worthwhile rather than sacrifice something which does not really pay the necessary price. Maturity of the human spirit should be the goal.

Undernourishment and poisons are in some way connected with this degree (May be denoted by planets here in aspect to planetoids.) Also Nymphomania.

24-25

It indicates a powerful and haughty nature; one who is disposed to justify himself by force of arms rather than by intrinsic merit. Such a person will make many his servants but few his friends and in the end his state will be a pitiable as that of a dying lion. It is a degree of PRIDE.

The subject’s inner world will stay closed and unknown to all. Yet this is no cowardly nature, rather an arrogant one; the native is innerly proud, haughty, overbearing, but not vain. As he is spiritually isolated among his fellow beings, he will have justice done to himself, if necessary, by having recourse to arms. As he is misunderstood, he will endeavor to have his own way even by resorting to violence; as long as his strength does not fail him, he will see subdued servants around himself, never friends. He will risk either to die a stray dog’s death, or to be kicked and spat upon on his death bed, like the lion in the fable.

This denotes a very mysterious character. Whilst living among men, a stranger to men. He has a life of his own, a world of his own, he is content to live and die unknown.

Sometimes have theories and ideas of doubtful value; homicidal tendency; alcoholism; women with planets here are usually intuitive, poetic, lively, and flirtatious; men careful with their money; lower jaw.

Denotes one of natural talent who will be beset with difficulties in gaining recognition, but whose mental strength will be the more determined because of them. When his time comes his power will be felt. He will force acknowledgment by sheer ability and energy. It is a symbol of Premeditation.

There is much disagreement about this degree. The most uniform expectancy centers around a peaceful highly spiritual being generally too soft for the hard blows delivered by life on this earth. If it pertains to mastership of a high spiritual nature, there are indeed few who could live up to such an influence. Therefore we would find few to indicate such evolvement. However, at the very least, this degree does have an influence contributing to a spiritual awakening. How far the native would be able to demonstrate such qualities would have to depend on the rest of the chart as well as the overall capacity he had to extract the good from any influence. At least there is very little that is derogatory to be said about this influence. I think it is quite obvious that it stimulates spiritual development. The steady persistent qualities of Taurus are blended with that influence and as humanity develops we should expect to see people improving on what has been accomplished with this degree by other people.

These people sometimes have theories and ideas of doubtful value. Women with planets here are intuitive, poetic, lively and flirtatious. Men with planets here are usually careful with their money.

28-29

It signifies a tyrant, who takes delight in power apart from its uses, and whose opinions are bigoted and selfish. To rule, without regard to qualifications, is the passing ambition of one born under this degree. Death, which frees the slave, will bind the hands of a tyrant in irons forged from his own heart. It is a degree of DESPOTISM.

Things are worse in a male horoscope. The other components ought, however, to be carefully weighed, and it has to be decided whether the omen refer to his (lawful or unlawful) mate, or to himself. In the former case, the man, of course, is the victim. Should contrary features of overbearingness be at hand, which could not possibly regard others, he is then certainly himself the tyrant looking at his dependents as pack mules, ignoring their human dignity, or taking a great delight in trampling upon it. The one hypothesis does not altogether exclude the other. Whether a woman or a man, the native would assuredly be in for a great many unforeseen events. He may well be cowardly as all real bullies are; but he is unlikely to have true foresight. Someone may thrash him within an inch of his life, or even shoot him as a dog. Vulgarity and bigotry usually complete the picture of such a character.

Be careful. A life full of strange events, and liable to grievous accidents.

Good organizing ability; strong will; usually magnetic, proud and stoical; heavy drinking; suicide; a degree giving “something to cry about”; Trapizius.

Denotes one who is continually beset with difficulties and who finds it hard at all times to decide his course of action. He is ever between forces of opposite natures, and is quite as likely to do the right thing as the wrong one. These conditions must be subdued by the steady cultivation of the will. It is a symbol of Embarrassment.

This degree is widely contradictory. And the two extremes may exist in the same person. There is potential mathematical and scientific ability, and at the same time a tendency to create and live in a dream world of his own. When the native is rebuffed or feels a sense of failure there is the temptation to withdraw. And yet his capacity to achieve is great. Many times this person gives up without a struggle especially if that dream world is comfortably constructed and the life situation is one that does not demand attention to daily details. Many daily details are of such a nature that they can be performed without much awareness but are accomplished by rote habit. When such is the case this native’s ability risks to stay dormant. Alcoholism is also a possibility here, although there really is no need for alcohol to escape into the fantasy dream world. There is also a magnetism here which may attract so-called karma or heavy problems to be dealt with or the magnetism may attract other people who add zest to the life.

These natives are usually magnetic, proud and stoical. Have a strong will and good organizing ability.

#itachi #itachi uchiha #degree exploration #n-astro

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blackswaneuroparedux · 4 years

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Anonymous asked: I love your book reviews under the banner ‘Treat Your S(h)elf’ - nice play on words. You have such a wide and cultured range of interests that I really learn something new. Do you read poetry? What are your favourite poets? What are you currently reading?

I love reading poetry because as the poet Robert Frost put it succinctly, “Poetry is when emotion has found its thought, and thought has found words”.

Poets are before anything else in the words of W.H. Auden, “a person who is madly in love with language” and language is the bedrock of any culture and society and ultimately civilisation. When you truly think about it, poetry is meaningless when it has been left to gather dust on a piece of paper. It is simply a memory of an idea conjured up by a writer with something to say. Poetry must be read, it needs to be experienced because it keeps these ideas burning. These meaningful concepts about the nature of life, death and everything. Every time a person reads a poem, a new bright spark emerges in that person’s head. A new way of thinking, a new way of understanding. That is exactly why poetry must be read because it is the essence of our language.

The reasons I personally read poetry, you ask? Here are some reasons I can think of from the top of my head others are too personal to reveal:

I read poetry because poetry is thoughts that breathe and words that burn. And I read poetry because it is what happens when my mind stops working , and for a moment, all I do is feel. This is good therapy for me as I’m not the most openly emotional or prone to displays of emotion in public. It’s just not how I was built. Poetry helps one to feel. So some poems remain so close to my heart.

I remember when I was about to go on my first tour to Afghanistan I was quite calm and cold blooded because that was and is my nature. My father - who served with distinction in uniform like his father and grand father, and great-grandfather before him - was always proud and supportive of me being the black sheep of the family as the only girl in our family going through Sandhurst and now I was off to the last embers of a war in Afghanistan that everyone had forgotten about. He was concerned - like the rest of my family - like any loving parent about what might happen. But he didn’t question my professionalism or my abilities so he didn’t give me that lecture instead he thrust in my hand both classical literature (Thucydides and Homer in particular) and the works of selected poets. He told me poetry will save your life. He wasn’t anxious about my physical safety he was thinking about my soul. For what happens during war and what comes after if and when I come home. Long story short: poetry saved my life.

By nature I am restless to an incredible annoying degree. I fear being bored. I find it hard to sit and be idle. Poetry is my balm for boredom.

I am incredibly busy and I work punishing long hours. Time is premium. People make demands on me and my time. Poems are like super-condensed stories, and are therefore usually short enough to be read over your morning tea/coffee. In this fast-paced world we live in, sometimes poems are a better alternative to reading fully-fledged novels, or even short stories and poetry gives you the chance to continue to expand your literary horizons even during the busiest times in your life. And becoming more widely read is an incredible way to ensure you are continuously growing, and learning, while becoming a more cultured individual at the same time. There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you and when I read some of those beautiful pieces of poetry by my favourite poets it's like the paper is filled with the breathings of my heart.

The most frightening thing is people I know stop growing culturally after they leave university and get on with the business of life i.e. careers, marriage and family. Once on that treadmill they don’t or can’t stop. They are unable to step off and take a breath. Poetry gives you a breather and helps you to re-centre your priorities. The more you read poetry, the greater your quest for knowledge awakens. Doorways will open inside your mind and unlock your hidden potential for a greater understanding of life. Anyone who reads poetry often can connect with this conclusive sentence formation that defines your very questionable outlook on life.

I also believe poetry allows us to be less rigid in our thinking with an authentic, personal touch. When I read poems, nothing is often straightforward. Every poem has a meaning hiding under it, but it is blocked by a myriad of literary devices such as metaphors and symbolism. It is important to be able to think more figuratively because it allows you to understand ideas and perspectives in a more abstract and possibly more meaningful way. Sometimes I find that having a single page of beautifully crafted words can be enough of a distraction to spark a sudden creative leap in my brain. There have been many times where I've miraculously thought of ways to solve a problem (big or small) purely because reading poetry forced me to think differently from the usual day-to-day thoughts required for general life.

Poetry is best read when you’re hidden from the outside world, in a quiet little spot, somewhere away from all the hustle and bustle. It is increasingly hard to do just that. I have so many demands on my time and limited space but I force myself to carve out the time and space to do this - one must try. As a rule I switch off all social media (not that I have many to begin with but most definitely my phone). The best time for me to carve out time is when I’m traveling as I’m able to shut out everything around me. Usually when I’m waiting for a flight in the business class departure lounge it’s quiet and not too many people to distract me and there is usually a delay to the flight. When I check into a hotel I feel a disconnect to the world around me. I feel like an alien. Poetry helps me to connect again. Poetry calms and focuses the mind. With poetry I can almost reset my day because it’s not just a time zone I have to get used to but also a state of mind - and especially if I find myself being unproductive too!

I often escape Paris and go into the countryside. I love going on walks, hikes, mountaineering, and other outdoor pursuits. It allows me the space and time to read poetry and reflect in peace. And of course I snatch time before I go to sleep to read a poem if I am not too tired.

The point is that I need the head space to absorb the poem and take some time to work out the meaning of the full entity. I try not swallow a whole book in one sitting, instead I read a few poems and leave the book until the next day or a few days depending on my schedule. Sometimes, you can read a poem again and you will find other meanings or pick up on information that you couldn’t see before. That’s poetry, you create the film, journey or picture inside your mind from reading the words on the page.

As for my favourite poets this is of course is a very personal choice. I didn’t read English at university but rather my academic interests were Classics and History, so I profess a very paltry poetic palate. Still, I’m grateful to those friends more versed than I to point me to other poets. So I do my best to keep an open mind and try and read poetry recommended by others or some thing that captures my eye when I browse through book stores or read it as a passing reference in a book I am reading.

Different poets and poems are discovered at one stage of life and where I happened to live in the world and only take on another meaning when re-read them at another stage. So I tend to re-visit poets I used to read as a teen and then see how it resonates now.

The majority of my poetic readings are in my native English and Norwegian languages but because I have varying degrees of fluency in other languages (because I grew up there for instance) I love widening my poetic palate. One of my regrets is not knowing Japanese and Chinese to a sufficient degree to really read poetry in those languages even if I have basic fluency in literature and everyday conversation. So reading Ezra Pound is one way in English to appreciate these Eastern poetic influences. I’m also ashamed to admit that I only know a woeful smattering of words in Scotiish Gaelic - my Anglo-Scots father knows it fairly well but even he struggles - and really I must find time in the future to learn more of it because it’s such a fascinating language (not least because it’s also dying out and that is tragic).

So below is an eclectic and random list from the top of my head and in no real order of preference:

• Homer (Greek) • Sappho (Greek) • Rumi (Farsi) • Mirza Ghalib (Urdu and Farsi) • John Milton • John Donne • William Shakespeare • Dante (Italian) • Robert Burns • William Wordsworth • Samuel Taylor Coleridge • William Blake • John Keats • Emily Dickinson • Christina Rosetti • Gerald Manley Hopkins • Walt Whitman • Oscar Wilde • W.B. Yeats • Rudyard Kipling • Wilfred Owen • Alfred Tennyson • Rainer Maria Rilke (German) • Cavafy (Greek) • T.S. Eliot • Hilda Doolittle • Marianne Moore • Sylvia Plath • W. H. Auden • Olaf H. Hauge (Norwegian) • Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (Norwegian) • Aslaug Vaa (Norwegian) • Rolf Jacobsen (Norwegian) • Sarojini Naidu (Hindi) • Gulzar (Hindi)

Living in Paris I tend to read more French poetry these days. By osmosis it helps me appreciate the French language and French culture even more.

• Charles Baudelaire. • Paul Verlaine • Jacques Prévert • Arthur Rimbaud • Alphonse de Lamartine • Alfred de Musset • Paul Valéry • Paul Eluard • Jean Genet • Françoise Villon

Poetry is an art that combines the essence of life through the fabrication of reality. Poets challenge and nourish me with their wisdom, philosophy, love and journeys beyond what used to be the limits of my own creative imagination. They push my boundaries ever so more. In doing so they grow my mind for understanding, my heart for empathy, and my soul for wisdom. It would hard to disagree with Robert Frost who sums up what poetry means to me, “a poem begins in delight, and ends in Wisdom”.

Thanks for your question

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