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givemeonebreath · 1 year

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Sir Nobody

(Notes before beginning: *Spoilers for A Link to the Past and related manga, and Oracle of Seasons and Ages manga. *Reminder that manga reads right to left.)

I've said before that I don't subscribe to the fancanon that Legend is Zelda's brother, because the point of Legend - or, indeed, any Link - is that they come from humble origins.

But that's not entirely true.

In A Link to the Past, Link is the last in a bloodline of knights that Agahnim seeks to destroy.

But he didnt know that.

In Shotaro Ishinomori's A Link to the Past comic, after Link's parents (both knights) disappeared into the Dark World, his uncle deliberately kept him from royal politics, and Link believed his parents to have simply died. He gets called into the role of the Legendary Hero, completely baffled, wondering why the hell some ordinary kid can suddenly telepathically communicate with the princess.

It's much the same in the Akira Himekawa manga. Link has lived a docile life being an apple farmer, raised by his uncle, believing his parents died when he was a baby. His uncle suggests that when Link was younger he had dreams of being a swordsmith, and Link fobs him off thusly -

(Also, he cooks!)

Later, when shit starts to hit the fan, it's evident that Link was totally invested in his orchard, and the future he'd seen for himself was that of a provider.

He was thrust on his journey with just as much bewilderment as most of the other Links.

Here is also a good place to compare the wording of his uncle's final dialogue in the Japanese vs English releases of the game. English gives us, "Save the princess. Zelda is your...", which of course gave rise to the theory that Zelda "is your... sister." The original, though, is "Protect Princess Zelda. You are, the princess's..." which leads more naturally into something like, "... final/only hope", or even more bluntly, "knight". And, the use of save is quite vague, whereas protect has stronger connotations with the specific duty of a knight.

Ultimately, he decides it doesn't matter where or who he came from, the only self that matters is the one right now.

In the Oracle of Seasons manga, Link is born with the triforce on his hand; his family knows he's destined for great things.

And he does know, in this case, that he comes from a long line of knights. But he doesn't want to be one. He wants adventure, not glory. (Also fits the characterisation of Legend not wanting a leadership role.)

Like, when Impa notices his hand -

And actually, the only reason he ended up on an adventure is because his grandma convinced him to take the knights' trial in Castletown, where he was then transported to Holodrum.

Maybe this advice stuck with him.

So we all know Zelda lore is a cobbled together mess, right. Link's Awakening came after A Link to the Past, so it was said that Link was on the boat in the first place travelling away from Hyrule to "continue his training" after defeating Agahnim in ALttP.

Then the Oracle games came out, and they (according to Hyrule Historia, at least) are set between the previous Hero of Legend games. By all accounts, it seems his Seasons and Ages journeys weren't all that voluntary; he didn't travel to Holodrum and Labrynna so much as he was magically sent there. And he was on his boat trying to sail back to Hyrule from those places when the events of Link's Awakening happened. Or... sailing to yet another new land to continue his training, if you read the Zelda Encyclopedia.

Everything, all over the place.

(This is to say nothing of Sir Raven's influence on Link actually wanting to become a knight in the Oracle of Ages manga.)

My point is, no matter how you want to interpret the Hero of Legend, I still think he meant it when he described himself as a "nobody". At the very least, he wants everyone (and himself) to believe he is. I also think there's interesting potential in the fact that he's mistrustful, disdainful of knights after having them turned against him, and maybe because of this he doesn't want to telegraph that he comes from a long line of them.

#hero of legend #linked universe #lu legend #lu? analysis #theorising and shit #idk how to tag man #legend of zelda - the franchise where everything's made up and the points don't matter #ramble on

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dk-thrive · 1 year

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You don’t have to necessarily be the best at what you do—there’s always someone better. Instead, be the only one who does what you do.

— Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life: A Memoir (Crown, December 18, 2007)

#work #success #individual #independent #unique #focus #amy krouse rosenthal

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blairstales · 1 year

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Selkies | Scottish Folklore

Selkies are seelie court fairy that are mostly in the form of a seal, but can also shed their seal skin and become human. This “becoming human” part has lead to many stories of human men kidnapping selkie women for brides. In fact, theMacCodrum clanin the Outer Hebrides were said to be descendants of a selkie bride, which is why members of this clan were said to have skin connecting their fingers.

"In their human form, the male and female selkies were more beautiful than ordinary mortals, though they were uncouth and shapeless as seals, their beauty only showing in their large, liquid eyes. The male selkies were amorous, and used to make expeditions ashore to court mortal women, but they would never stay with them long." A Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katharine Briggs (Published in 1976)

If I am being honest, most of the Selkie bride stories are a rather uncomfortable to read. They often have the love-stricken human man steal the seal pelt, and lock it away. In doing so, he traps the Selkie bride on land, and has no choice but to stay with him.

“Vainly she implored the restitution of her property; the man had drunk deeply of love, and was inexorable; but he offered her protection beneath his roof as his betrothed spouse. The merlady, perceiving that she must become an inhabitant of the earth, found that she could not do better than accept of the offer. “ Folk Lore and Legends of Scotland by Anonymous(1889)

As the years go on, she has children, but never stops looking longingly at the sea. In some stories, she sneaks to the beach to talk sadly with a large seal.

The stories always end with either her or the children finding her pelt. When that happens, she embraces her children one last time, then escapes to the sea.

“The large animal of the same kind with whom she had held a secret converse soon appeared, and evidently congratulated her, in the most tender manner, on her escape. But before she dived to unknown depths, she cast a parting glance at the wretched Shetlander, whose despairing looks excited in her breast a few transient feelings of commiseration. “Farewell!” said she to him, “and may all good attend you. I loved you very well when I resided upon earth, but I always loved my first husband much better.” Folk Lore and Legends of Scotland by Anonymous(1889)

Which may not be a surprise, seeing as he did kidnap her.

There are other sad stores, such as the one where a mermaid sacrifices herself to fishermen in order get a selkie his pelt back, and in doing so saves his life.

But there are stories that end on a happier note. In one, a man who is seal hunting stabs a seelkie, gravely injuring it. That selkies son comes to land, turns the human man into a seal, and brings him to their home. There, the selkies son explains that only the human who used the knife can heal the wound on his injured father. The human man does, and is allowed free, back as human. He never hunts seals again.

#FairyTypes #ScottishFolklore #Scottish Folklore #Folklore #sidhe #sith #scottish #myths #mythology #folktales #fairies #selkies #WaterTypeFairies

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lorekeeper-backset · 4 months

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New Year, New Me, Same old OCs. Here's a list of my protag OCs/Canon Protags with Headcanon Personalities. Not including Kanto and Johto because I still haven't played those games and my perception of Red is pretty solidly colored by @heavenlysphere's portrayal of him (sorry for tagging you, Maverick) and Alola because I kind of... forgot to make one. I'm also including Protags who serve as rivals if you don't pick them.

Marie "Mare" Lillian Birch: My first ever and longest running Protag OC, she's the protagonist of ORAS and also my fanfic An Account of Rayquaza's Chosen. Short and mad about it she has Aura Powers, allowing her to understand Pokemon, and is the Chosen of Rayquaza meaning Rayquaza likes her a lot and lets her use its power sometimes. Despite being somewhat overpowered, she's limited by her strict moral code and deep well of trauma. Her last name is Birch even though she's the protagonist because Norman is her step-father and her mom is Professor Birch's Sister.

Brendan Birch: A real brat of a boy and Mare's cousin, Brendan is desperate to prove he's better than her at literally anything, something he consistently tries and fails at because, despite claiming to be the best battler in his school, he's really bad at battling. Eventually, he finds enjoyment in something he is good at and actually enjoys and becomes a star Coordinator with the help of Lisia.

Detective Annabelle "Ann" "Dawnbreaker" "Dawn" Berlitz: Sole heir to the Berlitz family fortune and protagonist of Platinum, Ann has an obsession with classic noir style detective stories to the point where her goal in life is to become a Private Detective, much to her parents' chagrin, to the point that she wears a trenchcoat and fedora at all times and has a habit of diving into detective monologues. She goes by the codename Dawnbreaker, shortened to Dawn, because she met Looker and thought the idea of having a codename was really cool and all detectives should have codenames. She is the Chosen of Dialga and uses her powers over time in conjunction with her her partner, Lucas', power over space to solve crimes nobody else can as the Time-Space Detective Agency. It's kinda like Ghost Trick except they can only reverse a death under very specific circumstances.

Detective Lucas "Luca" "Lux" Diamant: An incredibly bright boy from Sandgem town, Lucas shares Ann's interest in Detective stories, gaining a reputation around town as a sort of Encyclopedia Brown-type detective, solving small cases like missing shoes or some kid's con scheme. His intelligence got him tapped by Professor Rowan to be his research assistant, a job he quite enjoys. He goes by the codename Lux for the same reason Ann goes by Dawn. He is the Chosen of Palkia an uses his power over space in conjunction with Ann's power over time to solve cases no one else can. He is also descended from Adaman and consequently is cousins with Calem and Perrin.

Hilda Kyoko: A rough and tumble girl from the streets of Castelia City, Hilda keeps the streets of Castelia safe from unwanted troublemakers (gangs, mafia, Team Plasma, etc) as part of the Castelia City Girls, a band led by Roxie (the band would later move to Virbank City and change its name to Koffing and the Toxics following Hilda's departure and Roxie becoming a Gym Leader, leaving Castelia's protection in the hands of a successor band that took up the band's old name). She is the Hero of Truth and Chosen of Reshiram, revealing the truth about Ghetsis to the world. Her connection to N isn't as strong in this universe since Mare serves as his foil instead so the reason she leaves is to track down an escaped Ghetsis, who she believes to have fled the region. She's also friends with Victini who will occasionally lend her its power when it feels like it.

Hilbert Ashton: An ordinary teenager from Nuvema Town, Hilbert dreams of becoming the very best, like no one ever was. A veritable Pokemon Master, one could say. And the first step on that journey is to become Champion of the Unova Region.

Rosa Florence Annie Bridgewood aka Stella Black aka The Riolu/Lucario Girl: A bubbly, happy-go-lucky teen actress whose breakout role as The RIolu Girl aka Stella Black in the first Brycen-Man film has shot her into the spotlight. She convinces her agent to let her go on a Journey with her friend and rival Hugh as a publicity stunt to promote the upcoming movie "Brycen-Man Strikes Back." As part of the stunt all League battles have to be taken on in-costume and in-character as The Riolu Girl (and later the Lucario Girl when her Lucario evolves), with the Gym Leaders being hyped up as sensational villains (some of them, like Elesa, get super into the role while others, like Cheren, put no effort into trying to sell it at all). Most of her battles against Neo Plasma are also taken on in-costume. She is not a Chosen but is best friends with most Legenaries, gaining the favor of both the Legendary Birds an Legendary Beasts as well Victini, Meloetta, Reshiram, and Zekrom. Even Kyurem likes her and Kyurem doesn't like anyone.

Nathan "Nate" Lumiere: An aspiring Cinematographer, Nate is an intern at Pokestar Studios. He finally gets a chance at making his dream a reality when Rosa asks for him specifically to film her battles against the Gym Leaders.

Calem "Cal" Xavier and Serena "Rena" Yvonne: They are a pair, do not separate. Despite not being related, Calem and Serena refer to eachother as Brother and Sister and share a deep bond, essentially being raised together. Calem is the calm and rational one while Serena is the Chaos Gremlin of the two, leading to much siblingly bickering and teasing. Excelling at Multi-Battles, each sibling can practically read the mind of the other making them a terrifying combination in battle but also meaning any matches they have with eachother always end in a draw. Two of the few Protags to actually become Champion and keep the role, they're referred to as the Twin Champions despite Serena being a year older than Calem. Calem is descended from Adaman, making him cousins with Perrin and Lucas, and Serena is descended from Irida.

Kai Riposte: A fencing prodigy and the protagonist of SwSh, Kai prefers fencing to Pokemon battles, going on a Journey to make sure her friend Hop doesn't get into too much trouble. Originally from Spikemuth, a fact her mom insists they keep secret so the neighbors won't judge, much to her annoyance, she doesn't get the big deal about Dynamaxing and almost never uses her Dynamax band.

Juliana Violeta: A quiet girl who is incapable of using first person pronouns (that's not a metaphor she literally cannot use I, Me, etc), she prefers to simply not speak at all, and when she does speak she keeps it short and concise. Despite all appearances, she's actually very friendly and open to making new friends. Nemona, who does enough talking for the both of them, appoints her as Vice President of the Student Council with Penny as the Treasurer (cause she's good with numbers and the position supplies her with certain privileges the can exploit for the purpose of Operation Starfall) and Arven as the Secretary (because they needed a Secretary and it allowed him and Juliana more time to speak). She bonds with Miraidon.

Florian Escarleta: A boy who is even quieter than Juliana. Unlike her, he prefers to keep to himself, being extremely shy and having difficulty interacting with other people. He is very creative and enjoys telling stories but is too nervous to show them to anyone. He eventually becomes Student Council Stenographer, keeping record of everything that happens in the Student Council Room as well as transcribing Student Council Meetings, revealing a surprising amount of wit on his part that he'd never display verbally. He bonds with Koraidon, an impressive feat since it hates everything.

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desertgremlin · 4 months

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Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life / The Anthropocene Reviewed

#the way I always stumble upon amy krouse rosenthal in some form on another on my worst days #words #amy krouse rosenthal #live another day #crying. btw

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holdoncallfailed · 5 months

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can you do a longlist of the books about strong girl protags and female friendships, etc. that were really impactful/your favorites so i know what to gift/rec any young girls in my life?

aww!! i would literally love nothing more than to compile such a list ty anon. i tried to put them in an order vaguely representative of youngest audiences to older...i'm not sure how well some of these would hold up in 2023 but they're all ones i remember enjoying and having an impact on me somehow...

not one damsel in distress by jane yolen

the daring book for girls by andrea j. buchanan & miriam peskowitz

the whole dear america series!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the ordinary princess by m. m. kaye

the caddie woodlawn series by carol ryrie brink

walk two moons by sharon creech (i used to have whole passages of this book memorized because i read it so often...potentially the most formative one on this list)

because of winn-dixie by kate dicamillo

the scholastic encyclopedia of U.S. women by sheila keenan (my elementary school art teacher had this book in her classroom library and i remember flipping through it when i was hanging around after school while my mom was doing PTA stuff...it was the first time i'd heard of so many of those women and further stoked my interest in history. i remember being so disturbed [and also intrigued] by the entry about ethel rosenberg specifically. i'm sure there are more updated versions of the book but this is the particular edition i remember reading.)

the penderwick sisters series by jeanne birdsall

bloomability by sharon creech

everything on a waffle by polly horvath

the tracy beaker series by jacqueline wilson

the outcasts of 19 schuyler place by e. l. konigsburg (also extremely formative)

saffy's angel / the whole casson family series by hilary mckay (i used to carry these books around with me as if they were security blankets)

p.s. longer letter later and snail mail no more by paula danziger & ann m. martin

the secret language of girls by frances o'roarke dowell

the tail of emily windsnap by liz kessler

savvy by ingrid law

love, stargirl by jerry spinelli (idk if any book had more of an impact on me as a child tbh like this rocked my world so completely i still think about it/quote it all the time. i know a lot of people read stargirl in school and honestly i don't think it's that good but the sequel is so underrated. so read it.)

a perfect gentle knight by kit pearson

feathers by jacqueline woodson

habibi by naomi shihab nye

the anastasia krupnik series by lois lowry

criss cross by lynne rae perkins

ella enchanted by gail carson levine........OBVIOUSLY

esperanza rising by pam muñoz ryan

kira-kira by cynthia kadohata

the city of ember by jeanne duprau

bad girls by cynthia voigt (tbh i REALLY don't know how this one holds up but i remember thinking it was pretty edgy as a kid)

little women by louisa may alcott

hurt go happy by ginny rorby

persepolis by marjane satrapi (obviously for slightly older readers)

the aforementioned rookie yearbook, natch. (also older)

#Anonymous

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bshocommons · 1 year

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Who am I? Oh, yes: I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like fiction, country music, or cilantro. We use these defining truths to help us stay in the lines of ourselves. We think we have to hold on to these labels, we feel comfortable holding on to these labels, but it turns out the labels are removable, you can peel them right off. Okay then, change of plans: I’m the kind of person who likes nonfiction and fiction, and used to not like cilantro but now likes it, but still doesn’t care for country music.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

#commonplace book #amy krouse rosenthal #encyclopedia of an ordinary life #identity #change #self #labels

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melsdreamweaving · 4 months

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I don't know if this is supposed to help anyone. At the moment I am feeling a little lost. And at the same time, I'm pleasantly surprised. After years of suffering, I feel like a chapter has come to a close. I'm just an ordinary person, who has met some extraordinary people on the way. A nobody who really knows nothing at all. I'm happy being a nobody.

A somebody is someone who just does. But in my case, I'm choosing to balance between doing and contemplating. My middle school teacher called me the thinker. She made an award just for me. Praising me for resolving conflicts in our classroom. But the only thing I did was ask a group of teenagers and tweens to just stop and breathe for a second. That petty fights aren't worth their friendship. That is until one of them screamed in my face. I remember Miss Reyes, her lips set into a thin line. Hating that the toxicity of an older teenager was all it took to make me shrink again. But at the same time I had befriended another girl from Puerto Rico. We've been nerdy art friends ever since.

It's funny to me but in my home, I just wanted to pick up the pencil and draw. However I was also told that I had to write. To make our story known... I used to look at my grandmother and ask her, with what voice? You have already taken mine.

I've had many friends, they come and go. I've had lovers, they come and go. Could I have stayed virginal for the "right one"? It depends. Up until that point, I hadn't really met anyone I would have saved myself for. If I even had something to "save" for them. A girl I knew from Dade, had a similar circumstance. She was funny, and she used to say steal all of their virginities. That way they will never forget you. This person was a riot. And at the same time I understood what she meant. I'm glad that they were able to move on and have a better life elsewhere.

One of my friends had pointed out, that those with sour grapes shouldn't spoil your kind spirit. I also ran into one of the two boys that I altar served with. Reminding me that I have kind eyes, eyes that inspire compassion... I appreciated it, especially now that I am struggling not to go low.

My favorite comedian, Margaret Cho, is now in her '50s. When I dropped out of high school, I was filled with shame. The entire year I had spent it trying to get expelled. Coming up with elaborate plans, and failing miserably because I was still a naive young girl. My favorite thing that she said in the stand-up bit called Vicious Cho was: f*** it this is me. I feel like a lot of young people would benefit from watching her. Especially if you're not LGBTQ but are just feeling lost in your own body. I was told to have a career first, and then there will be time for family. But at the same time, I fell in love. A goofy other nobody named cro mag named Ug, really saw me for the first time.

I can't explain it. But most of what I do is motivated by his smile and influence. I was a teenager when I met him. Just barely turned 18. He took me out on a date, and got me a copy of "Brave New World" from the local borders. I definitely recommend reading it. He asked me if I saw myself in anyone. To tell you the truth I saw myself in the indigenous young man. Taken into high society and not being able to cope with man's inhumanity to man. He told me that you can't save everyone. I knew that. Even one of my professors told me that not everybody can get on the ship little one. And then he proceeded to tell me that being a single father is hard. I nodded my head and said that it must be...

I didn't want to rule the world, I just wanted to see it. Having been a nerd, I enjoyed reading the encyclopedia on the computer. At the time, I loved the sound of hearing the machine come to life. The disc whirring and... My best friend would be there to greet me.

I shared the computer with my uncle and brother. It was a lot of fun to look and see what they were into. Sometimes I didn't understand it, but as my mom taught me snitches get stitches. So I stayed quiet, and played on the encyclopedia Britannica. They had this really cool game called mind maze. Were you learned random facts and navigated a castle.

My favorite games were those where you were a protagonist navigating a strange world. The King's quest games were my favorite. I loved King Graham, and the enchanted world of Daventry.

The woman who authored these games, was introduced to the role-playing games by her husband. I always thought it was awesome to be able to do such a thing. In college it was really hard to find others who played these games but it was fun to talk about character design, and story structure.

Currently I'm playing Shadow dark with a group of my husband's friends. What I enjoy about it is that it reminds me of discworld, at least the way we're playing. None of us have died yet thank goodness.

I like drifting away from things too. People, places, and just relaxing. Have you ever just laid face up in a pool for hours? It's my favorite thing to do. You can just meditate and forget everything. It feels like you're in space. Even though I don't think I would like to be up there. Something about the sky always makes me feel like it's trying to eat me. The ocean however feels like home.

Having Taino ancestry I think back to one of the last survivors of Fidel. At the time when he came to power, the first people he targeted were indigenous. My grandmother had to hide my mom. Her straight hair was a huge problem back then.

The man that I'm thinking of if he is still alive, lives by the ocean fishing and just swimming all day. A simple life. A wonderful life really. My husband and I, talk about living by the sea. Not caring anymore. Just enjoying our lives, because why bother with a world that would turn around and defraud its own people. You were ignorant for believing in others... Okay, I think that says more about you than it does about me.

I love my husband because he said go back to the gym palpy you ain't getting my Padme, lol 🤣. Our food names are ironically rice and beans. Everyone used to call him Mr Bean cuz he looked like the actor when he was younger... And at the time my friends all had food names, and I picked rice. Mostly because I go with everything. And of course being a fan of Fruit baskets definitely influenced that. My friends were fun, but I always felt plain like rice. I met other people that are like rice though. I call them burnt rice, mostly because they're rough around the edges and prickly.

If you were a food what would you be?

#creative writing #original poem #writers and poets #dead poets society #fiction #poem #poetry #poets on tumblr #poetsandwriters #drawing #creative nonfiction #writers on tumblr

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alchemy-fic · 5 months

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My book wishlist!

Egyptian Magic by E.A. Wallis Budge (1901)

Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism by Gershon Winkler, David Carson (2003)

Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews by Deatra Cohen, Adam Siegel (2021)

Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg (1939)

Ancient Jewish Magic: A History by Gideon Bohak (2008)

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism: Second Edition by Geoffrey W. Dennis (2007)

The Green Mysteries: An Occult Herbarium by Daniel A Schulke, Benjamin A Vierling (2023)

Reading Sumerian Poetry (Athlone Publications in Egyptology & Ancient Near Eastern Studies) by Jeremy Black (2001)

The Literature of Ancient Sumer by Jeremy Black, Graham Cunningham (2006)

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman (2002)

Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East by Amanda H. Podany

Auguste Racinet. The Costume History (Bibliotheca Universalis) by Françoise Tétart-Vittu

The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature by Rachel Bromwich (2009)

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Seventh Edition (Penguin Classics) by Geza Vermes

Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Aquinas, Ralph McInerny

The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion by Thorkild Jacobsen

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Graham Coleman, Thupten Jinpa

The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Penguin Classics) by Wallace Budge, John Romer

History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer (1981)

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books) by Samuel Noah Kramer

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales by Mhara Starling

An Annotated Sumerian Dictionary by Mark E. Cohen

A Sumerian Chrestomathy by Konrad Volk

Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture by Thorkild Jacobsen

Early Mesopotamia by Nicholas Postgate

Amulets and Talismans by E. A. Wallis Budge

Mundane Astrology by Michael Baigent, Campion, Nicholas, Harvey, Charles

#bookmark #my bibliography is going to be insane

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mask131 · 8 months

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Fragments of fright (1)

To begin with this series, I'll go easy. More precisely I will look into my childhood book and compile everything I can find about archetypal Halloween/European monsters. Why? Well because before delving into the more complex or informed ideas of what vampires, werewolves, witches are, we need to remember how these monsters were simplified and synthetize by popular culture, and how we as kid, receive them through monster encyclopedia for kids or youth books about supernatural beings.

So here is the compilation of what several of my "books about monsters" contained:

The werewolf

The werewolf looks like a perfectly ordinary human being by daylight. At most, you can recognize a werewolf by little physical signs: a werewolf in human form will have very hairy hands, feet and back ; they will have a hoarse voice, reddish nails, ears placed nearer to the back of their head than regular people, or their eyebrows will join themselves above their nose. They are often solitary beings, living at the edge of society.

During nights of full moon, the person will start howling. Their teeth will grow, a muzzle will appear, claws will burst out of their fingers, their body will be covered in fur... And soon they will become a powerful, agile, ferocious and cunning animal. A werewolf.

Werewolves can look like a great wolf, or a cross between a human and a wolf (wolf's head and tail, human hands and feet but hairy and clawed). They can walk on all fours like a beast, or on two legs like a human. Some claim that werewolves only keep one thing of their humanity during full moon nights: their voice. A werewolf only has one desire: to attack, to bite, to rip apart. They hunt all night long in packs throughout the forests, slaughtering and devouring all those they come across. Werewolves attack and devour as much animals as humans, and while they often attack adults, they are not above ripping children to pieces.

When morning comes, and the sun rises up, the werewolf will turn back into a human being. The person will find themselves naked in the wilderness, with no memory of the crimes they committed during the night, weakened by their night's adventure, and with no appetite whatsoever.

There are many ways to become a werewolf. Some peope were cursed by a witch ; others were "infected" by being bitten by another werewolf ; a third group became a werewolf by making a deal with the devil. You can become a werewolf by eating the flesh of a wolf ; by wearing a piece of clothing made of wolf skin ; or by drinking water out of the puddles formed by the wolf's paw-prints.

Silver is the only way to truly fight a werewolf, as this metal burns their flesh. Shooting at a werewolf with silver bullets will either break the curse and return them to their human state, or (if shooting straight at the heart) kill them. Any blade made of silver will also harm or kill a werewolf. A silver cage will very easily trap a werewolf. It is said that one way to break the werewolf's curse is to make sure they do not eat human flesh for nine years in a row.

The vampire

Vampires used to be regular human beings, but after their death they accessed a form of "half-life". Neither dead nor alive, they now spend their days in their coffins or their graves, and get out at night to feed on the blood of living beings, to restore their strength, rejuvenate their body, and gain supernatural powers.

You can recognize a vampire by a lot of physical traits. Vampires, due to lacking blood in their body and only being active at night, are very pale, with a very white skin. They have sharp teeth, especially their canine, which they plunge into their victim's neck to drink their blood. Vampire are said to usually wear black clothes - and the popular image of a vampire, inspired by Dracula, is the one of an aristocratic figure in evening-wear, leaving his half-ruined castle dressed in a tailored outfit and black-and-red cape. Other physical traits of vampires can include long and sharp nails, hair inside the hands, a very bad breath (due to their diet of blood), or the presence of only one nostril.

Vampires have the ability to hypnotize their victim, so that in the following morning they do not recall the vampire's attack. Day after day the victim wastes away as the vampire feeds on them: their skin grows paler and whiter, and they hide from the sun. When they finally die, emptied of all their blood, they will turn into vampires themselves.

Vampires have many supernatural ways to escape those that try to attack or hunt them. For example they can turn into animals, usually transforming into a bat or a wolf. They can also turn themselves into mist, which allows them to enter their victim's house by the tiniest openings. Some vampires can move abnormaly fast, almost teleporting themselves from one place to another ; while others are so strong they easily lift the tombstone blocking their grave, or carry it under their arm while walking outside the cemetery. Vampires are, finally, said to be able to communicate with animals.

There are many ways to fight a vampire. Vampires only leave their lair at night, because they either hate the sunlight, or the sun can actually destroy them. Vampires do not like mirrors because they allow humans to identify them: vampires lack reflections. (Some joke that this is why vampires have bad hair or are badly dressed). Vampires can be fought by holy items or symbols belonging to the Christian religion: holy water burns them, and a crucifix will repel them. The icons of saints also work. Vampires refuse to enter or stay in a room with garlic in it - they hate its smell. In a similar way, vampires cannot stand certain flowers: regular roses, briar roses and hawthorn flowers are their banes. But to kill a vampire, there are only three ways.

Fire. Burning a vampire is sure to kill it: preferably burn the vampire while he is in his coffin, sleeping during the day.

Beheading: A decapitated vampire is a dead vampire (but beware, the head can still bite a few seconds after it was detached from the body)

A wooden stake: A wooden stake through a vampire's heart is sure to kill it.

The ghost

A ghost is the spirit of a dead person that, after their death, did not left earth. They stayed among living human beings. A ghost usually haunts either the place where they lived, or the place where they died. If they were a criminal, they might have been cursed to haunt the place of their crime - the ghosts of criminals are often seen wearing chains. The ghosts of kings, queens, princes and princesses often haunt their castles.

Ghosts usually appear with the same shape they had when they were alive, but extremely pale, or sometimes translucid/transparent. The typical image of the "bedsheet" ghost is also technically true, as it is a deformation of a type of ghost that appears wrapped in the burial shroud they were buried into. Ghosts can also bear the marks of their death upon them: the ghost of a hanged man will have his neck crooked with a noose around it, whereas the ghost of a beheaded person will carry their head under their arm.

Some ghosts are benevolent, consider themselves part of the family of their descendants, and can "guard" the places they used to live in. But other ghosts are malevolent - or rather, they do not like being disturbed , and cannot stand to share their house or "domain" with living beings. These ghosts typically do a lot of things to make the house they haunt as creepy and unhabitable as possible. Typical signs of a haunting include: strange apparitions that pass through walls ; cold air flowing below a bedroom's door ; staircases and walls creaking ; floors squeaking ; doors slamming in the middle of the night ; strange howls and wails with no clear origins ; objects moving by themselves ; disturbances in lights and with telephones...

While some believe there is nothing you can do to fight a ghost except leave the place they haunt ; others believe you can make a ghost disappear by asking it "In Heaven's name/in God's name, what do you want?".

Outside of "fixed" ghosts in haunted houses and old castles, there are also "travelling" ghosts: many are the tales about ghost-ships filled with spectral sailors or pirates, floating across the sea ; or ghost-carriages and ghost-coaches, pulled by spectral horses, roaming through the streets.

The bogeyman (or rather the croque-mitaine)

Unfortunately, on all my children-aimed books, only one speaks of the "croque-mitaine", the French version of the "bogeyman". And it is a version that softens the figure a LOT but it will be a start until we get into more adult texts.

The croque-mitaine is a type of giant (or a very large man) whose job is to teach a lesson to naughty children. Frightening looking, dressed all in black, he can be called or summoned by parents who are exhausted by a capricious, disobedient, unruly, bratty child. The croque-mitaine will arrive and put the child in a big bag : no need to hide, the bogeyman knows every hiding place, and always can find the child he is supposed to take away. Once the child in his the croque-mitaine's bag, he takes them to his dark and creepy house - somehow always near the town or city the child lives in. Taking the child out of the bag, the croque-mitaine will lock them inside his basement, filled with rats, shadows, hairy spiders, and other nasty thing. Once the children is scared enough that he begs for forgiveness and promises to be good, the croque-mitaine gives the kid back to their parents. Until next time...

The witch

Witches are present everywhere in fairytales and folktales. They are wicked women, typically appearing as old and ugly women. A witch's traditional appearance is the one of a hag with a hunched back, a hook nose and crooked chin, long pointy nails, wild hair, warts, a tattered dress, and a pointy hat. However one should beware: witches can change their appearance. They can appear young and beautiful, or turn themselves into animals (such as black cats).

Witches always have with them a broom - this is their magical broomstick, that allows them to fly through the air. While in popular culture it is the broomstck itself that is magic and allows its owner to fly, in folkloric tales, a witch actually needs a special ointment to fly. Before climbing onto the broom, the witch will need to cover her entire body this product, a mixture of soot, toad's saliva, bat's blood and various plants.

Witches have various and many magical powers, that they use for evil intents. They will cause storm, hail and rains to destroy the crops. They cast curses into people - turning beauty into ugliness, or human beings into animals. Living in small cabins hidden in the depths of the woods, they brew evil potions or violent poisons in a large cauldron, before selling them to unscrupulous people. Witches keep their recipes and magical incantations within grimoires, books filled with mysterious inscriptions that stay obscure to those that do not practice witchcraft. Witches usually have as companions "negative" animals, such as black cats, crows, toads, owls or rats.

It is said that there are however good witches - usually less ugly than their wicked counterpart, and who use their powers to do good. Whereas the wicked witch curse people, the good witch protects houses against evil spells ; where the wicked witch turns people into animals, the good witch heals them with strangely-flavored brews ; where the wicked witch sells poisons, the good witch sells love potions ; where the wicked witch helps robbers , thieves and pirates find treasures to steal, the good witch helps parents find their children lost in the woods. Good witches are said to either be kin with fairies, or to be wicked witches that, overtaken with regrets and remorse, decided to do good.

However, despite the existence of good witches, the wicked ones are far more famous: the two most famous of them belong to the fairytales of the brothers Grimm. They are the hag of "Hänsel and Gretel", who lures children with a gingerbread house before cooking and eating them ; and the witch-queen of "Snow-White", who tries to murder her stepdaughter with a poisoned apple because she is jealous of her beauty.

In the Middle-Ages, it was believed that witches gathered several times a year, during a great nocturnal ceremony presided by the devil hmself: it was the witches' sabbath. These unholy feasts were held in remote and discreet locations, such as cemeteries, and there witches danced and feasted and exchanged recipes, congratulating each other on their curses and creating new spells together.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, there were great witch-hunts organized throughout Europe, where numerous women were accused of being witches and persecuted as such. Some of them were actually recognized as witches by people, but as good witches, as they usually were folk-healers: but they were accused of having obtained their supernatural powers by the Devil, and thus of being the Devil's servants. As the hunts grew, people started to accuse and persecute women for almost any kind of reason possible: everything could make you a "witch" in people's eyes. If you had a strange behavior, you were a witch. If you collected unusual plants, you were a witch. If you were too ugly, you were a witch. If you were too pretty, you were a witch. Many of the accused ended up burned at the stake. A particularly horrible type of trial, to prove if a woman was a witch, required the woman to have her hands and feet tied together, before she was thrown in a river. Given people believed witches were lighter than water, if the woman floated, she was a witch for sure. If she drowned... she was innocent, but it was too late for her.

#fragments of fright #witches #witch #werewolves #werewolf #european folklore #vampires #vampire #ghosts #ghost #european horror

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