#school of theurgy
Text
Mystic Egyptian Polytheism Resource List
Because I wanted to do a little more digging into the philosophy elements explored in Mahmoud's book, I took the time tonight to pull together the recommended reading he listed toward the end of each chapter. The notes included are his own.
MEP discusses Pharaonic Egypt and Hellenistic Egypt, and thus some of these sources are relevant to Hellenic polytheists (hence me intruding in those tags)!
Note: extremely long text post under this read more.
What Are The Gods And The Myths?
ψ Jeremy Naydler’s Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It dives deep into how the ancients envisioned the gods and proposes how the various Egyptian cosmologies can be reconciled.
ψ Jan Assmann’s Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism focuses on New Kingdom theology by analyzing and comparing religious literature. Assmann fleshes out a kind of “monistic polytheism,” as well as a robust culture of personal piety that is reflected most prominently in the religious literature of this period. He shows how New Kingdom religious thought was an antecedent to concepts in Hermeticism and Neoplatonism.
ψ Moustafa Gadalla’s Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One provides a modern Egyptian analysis of the gods, including reviews of the most significant deities. Although Gadalla is not an academic, his insights and contributions as a native Egyptian Muslim with sympathies towards the ancient religion are valuable.
How to Think like an Egyptian
ψ Jan Assmann’s The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It illuminates Egyptian theology by exploring their ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations from the Old Kingdom period to the Ptolemaic period.
ψ Garth Fowden’s The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind identifies the Egyptian character of religion and wisdom in late antiquity and provides a cultural and historical context to the Hermetica, a collection of Greco-Egyptian religious texts.
ψ Christian Bull’s The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom provides a rich assessment of the Egyptian religious landscape at the end of widespread polytheism in Egypt and how it came to interact with and be codified in Greek schools of thought and their writings.
How To Think Like A Neoplatonist
Radek Chlup’s Proclus: An Introduction is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It addresses the Neoplatonic system of Proclus but gives an excellent overview of Neoplatonism generally. It contains many valuable graphics and charts that help illustrate the main ideas within Neoplatonism.
ψ John Opsopaus’ The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon succinctly addresses several concepts in Neoplatonism from the point of view of Gemistos Plethon, a crypto-polytheist who lived during the final years of the Byzantine Empire. It provides insight into the practical application of Neoplatonism to ritual and religion.
ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism draws connections between theological concepts and practices in Ancient Egypt to those represented in the writings and practices of the Neoplatonists.
What Is “Theurgy,” And How Do You Make A Prayer “Theurgical?”
ψ Jeffrey Kupperman’s Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It is a practical guide on theurgy, complete with straightforward explanations of theurgical concepts and contemplative exercises for practice.
ψ Gregory Shaw’s Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus demonstrates how Iamblichus used religious ritual as the primary tool of the soul’s ascent towards God. He lays out how Iamblichus proposed using rites to achieve henosis.
ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity explores the various ways theurgy operated in the prime of its widespread usage. He focuses mainly on temple rites and how theurgy helped translate them into personal piety rituals.
What Is “Demiurgy,” And How Do I Do Devotional, “Demiurgical” Acts?
ψ Shannon Grimes’ Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It constitutes an in-depth look at Zosimos—an Egyptian Hermetic priest, scribe, metallurgist, and alchemist. It explores alchemy (ancient chemistry and metallurgy) as material rites of the soul’s ascent. She shows how Zosimos believed that partaking in these practical arts produced divine realities and spiritual advancements.
ψ Alison M. Robert’s Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art delves deep temple inscriptions and corresponding religious literature from the Pharaonic period and demonstrates them as premises for alchemy. These texts “alchemize” the “body” of the temple, offering a model for the “alchemizing” of the self.
ψ A.J. Arberry’s translation of Farid al-Din Attar’s Muslim Saints and
Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya contains a chapter on the Egyptian Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri (sometimes rendered as Dho‘l-Nun al-Mesri). He is regarded as an alchemist, thaumaturge, and master of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It contains apocryphal stories of his ascetic and mystic life as a way of “living demiurgically.” It is an insightful glimpse into how the Ancient Egyptian arts continued into new religious paradigms long after polytheism was no longer widespread in Egypt.
Further Reading
Contemporary Works
Assmann, Jan. 1995. Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism. Translated by Anthony Alcock. Kegan Paul International.
Assmann, Jan. 2003. The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs. Harvard University Press.
Bull, Christian H. 2019. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Brill.
Chlup, Radek. 2012. Proclus: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Escolano-Poveda, Marina. 2008. The Egyptian Priests of the Graeco-Roman Period. Brill.
Fowden, Garth. 1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge University Press.
Freke, Tim, and Peter Gandy. 2008. The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
Gadalla, Moustafa. 2001. Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One. Tehuti Research Foundation.
Grimes, Shannon. 2019. Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt. Princeton University Press.
Jackson, Howard. 2017. “A New Proposal for the Origin of the Hermetic God Poimandres.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 17 (2): 193-212.
Kupperman, Jeffrey. 2014. Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy. Avalonia.
Mierzwicki, Tony. 2011. Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment. Llewellyn Publications.
Naydler, Jeremy. 1996. Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred. Inner Traditions.
Opsopaus, J. 2006. The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon. New York: Llewellyn Publications.
Roberts, Alison M. 2019. Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art. Northgate Publishers.
Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. 2nd ed. Angelico Press.
Snape, Steven. 2014. The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
Uzdavinys, Algis. 1995. Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books.
Uzdavinys, Algis. 2008. Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism. Lindisfarne Books.
Wilkinson, Richard H. 2000. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
Ancient Sources in Translation
Attar, Farid al-Din. 1966. Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat alAuliya. Translated by A.J. Arberry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Betz, Hans Dieter. 1992. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Copenhaver, Brian P. 1995. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Guthrie, Kenneth. 1988. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press.
Iamblichus. 1988. The Theology of Arithmetic. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press.
Iamblichus. 2003. Iamblichus: On the Mysteries. Translated by Clarke, E., Dillon, J. M., & Hershbell, J. P. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.
Iamblichus. 2008. The Life of Pythagoras (Abridged). Translated by Thomas Taylor. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.
Lichtheim, Miriam. 1973-1980. Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volumes I-III. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Litwa, M. David. 2018. Hermetica II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Majercik, Ruth. 1989. The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Leiden: Brill.
Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
Plotinus. 1984-1988. The Enneads. Volumes 1-7. Translated by A.H. Armstrong. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Van der Horst, Pieter Willem. 1984. The Fragments of Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
#mystic egyptian polytheism#resource list#philosophy#neoplatonism#egyptian polytheism#hellenic polytheism#hermeticism
39 notes
·
View notes
Text
ice burns // myg
summary - tired of yoongi constantly one upping you, you finally snap, challenging him to a duel. . . in the middle of class. only in the afterwards of your mutual destruction of the classroom do you learn that maybe, just maybe, he’s not as bad as you thought
pairing - academic rival!yoongi x teachers pet!reader
genre - fluff; wizard 101 au
word count - 3.3k
warnings - dip’s made up lore, yoongi is a bit mean, academic rivals >>>
guide - thaumaturgy = ice magic, necromancy = death magic, theurgy = life magic
author’s note - again, yes they have last names for reasons
the seven schools of ravenwood masterlist
You hated Yoongi Iceblood.
There was nothing much to it. He was stuck up, rude, entitled, and a know-it-all. And not to mention that last name, ugh. Iceblood. His family came from a long line of thaumaturges, claiming to be taught by the Ice Giants themselves in the Days Before. Then to just rub it in further, he had chosen Death as his secondary school. One of the most reserved and harshest classes. Yoongi had been named well.
And it angered you more than anything.
Your rivalry with Yoongi started years before either of you were even old enough to attend Ravenwood. Back when the streets of Wizard City were safe to walk on alone. Down in the cold, snowy roads of Colossus Boulevard.
It was a surprisingly nice day, considering it was winter year round on the boulevard. You remember the sun shining through the ever present grey clouds, causing the snow to glitter in the light. Your mother allowed you to play outside for the day, your older siblings had just started school and needed quiet in the house whilst they did their homework. You spent hours walking through the beaten path of the lower part of the street, so you began to head upwards.
Small, squished apartments turned into lavished homes the closer you got to the castle. No king or queen resides in it, no. But it was home to many government officials and their families. This was where you met Yoongi for the first time.
Looking at the many houses in awe, you were not paying attention to what was in front of you, leading you to walk straight into Yoongi. Both of you fell into the snow with an ‘oof’. Pushing yourself up, you looked at the young boy you had crashed into. Snow clinging to his blue hair and white robes, judging from the style alone, it didn’t take an idiot to realize you’d crashed into one of the more affluent wizards. You opened your mouth to apologize, but he cut you off before you could say a word.
“Watch where you’re going, snowpig!”
The apology died on your tongue. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he sneered as he stood up on his feet.
“Well maybe you should watch where you’re going!” Admittedly, it was your fault, but to insult you so brazenly? No, you wouldn’t have it.
The blue haired boy gaped in shock, but before he could retort, a voice called out his name, summoning him home. Yoongi, as you learned, narrowed his eyes on you. But he said nothing as he disappeared into one of the nicest houses on the block.
You never thought you would see him again. That it was simply a one off encounter and you would never see the likes of him ever again. But you thought wrong, and you couldn’t have felt more stupid for thinking otherwise. Despite your different social standings, both of you came from families of thaumaturges. His family only ever enrolled in only Ice for their primary school, whilst your family was a mix of having the subject as a primary or secondary.
The moment you walked into Professor Greyrose’s novice class, his eyes fell on you, narrowing. You turned your head away to ignore him, wanting to purely focus on class and learning thaumaturgy. Yoongi, on the other hand, did not plan on doing the same.
“I didn’t know they allowed snowpigs at Ravenwood.” Laughter roared from the students that surrounded him as heat rose to your cheeks in anger. “How long do you think they’ll last? I bet they wouldn’t even make it past the first lesson.”
It was then and there when you vowed to yourself that no matter what, you would best Yoongi Iceblood.
Where he chose necromancy as his secondary, you chose theurgy. Not a challenging self taught class like Death, but just difficult seeing how Ice was as far from Life as possible. When he learned a new spell, you made sure to advance by two more.
It wasn’t a secret, by any means. Yoongi had caught on, and he fought back twice as hard. As the years passed, the entirety of Ravenwood knew, placing bets on who would earn the highest marks on each passing test. Both of you remained at the top of the class, as whenever one of you managed to advance, the other would catch right back up.
Which leads you to today; Professor Greyrose was asking for a demonstration for the Ice Wyvern. As expected, both you and Yoongi stood up, raising your hands. You smiled as the half-fairy selected you. Standing up, you raised your want and closed your eyes. You’d been practicing the spell for ages in your dormitory, and last night finally the creature came to your call. You drew out the symbol of Ice in the air, focusing all your energy in bringing forth the wyvern once more. With the mastery of that spell, you’d be ahead of Yoongi once again (he’d jumped ahead of you a few weeks prior).
The pressure was on, you had to do this.
You knew you could do it.
You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt the familiar chill of ice running through your veins.
Then the worst happened.
The Ice symbol that was floating in the air shattered, tiny bits of broken magic fell to the ground in a sparkly mess.
A fizzle.
Professor Greyrose smiled at you sadly, but before she could even thank you for the attempt, Yoongi stood up from his seat.
“Oh please.” With a wave of his wand, the symbol appeared in the air once again. Instead of fizzling, it glowed brighter as the Ice Wyvern formed in the air above. He made it look as easy, like it was nothing but a Frost Beetle he was summoning. The wyvern floated in the air above for a few moments before vanishing, a smug look written all over his face.
You didn’t know what came over you, but you raised your wand again, this time directed straight at Yoongi.
“Get down!” Someone shouted as an Ice Serpent jumped from your wand and spat at Yoongi. The force of the serpent’s icey venom threw him back against the wall, knocking down one of the shields that lined the room.
You couldn’t believe you just did that. Before you could manage to stutter out an apology (or Greyrose to get you to stop), you met Yoongi’s eyes and a shiver was sent through you, even though by now you are far too used to the cold.
He summoned his own serpent, casting it back at you. But instead of spitting at you, the creature wrapped its scaly body around you, squeezing you tight until it faded away, leaving you a bit breathless.
You’d like to say at this part you conceded, stopping the duel right then and there and accepting whatever punishment Professor Greyrose deemed fit. However, you can’t say that. Cold anger flowed through your veins. You’ve grown used to the effects of ice magic on your body for years now, but this was something you had never felt before. Pinpricks poked and prodded at your every nerve as you waved your wand and stormy grey clouds appeared in the center of the ceiling.
Blizzard.
“Everyone take cover!” Professor Grey rose shouted, everyone jumping underneath their desks. Your fellow students yelped and cowarded as four loud thunderous booms echoed in the small building, shaking the ground with each hit. Then it all went quiet. Not even the ever present bubbling of the ice potion was heard.
Slowly, you peered out from above your desk. The blue shields that lined the sides of the classroom had fallen to the ground, beant and or broken. The black boards snapped into near splinters. It was a mere miracle that the desks were even still standing!
“Frostthorn! Iceblood!” You flinched at the sound of Greyrose’s shrill voice. Both you and Yoongi rose to your feet, neither of you saying a word. You kept your eyes focused on the ground, ashamed of yourself. “You are my best students and I- I cannot believe this! Dueling! In the middle of class! I just-” She flitted about before settling down on her desk, folding her arms. “Both of you will clean this mess up. I want my classroom looking back as it was. No magic! Understand?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Yes, Professor Greyrose.”
“Now, the rest of you, class is dismissed.” The other adept thaumaturges quickly gathered their things (or what was left of them) before scattering out the front door. Professor Greyrose looked down at the two of you once again, shaking her head. “I am very disappointed.” With that, she flew out the door.
Neither you or Yoongi moved for a moment, standing in the aftermath of your destruction. Silently, you started picking up the larger bits of broken wood and metal, wanting to get it out of the way first. Yoongi followed soon after you, moving towards the broken blackboards. The two of you are in a silent agreement to not speak at all as you cleaned up the class, leaving you to stew in your thoughts. You couldn’t help but feel foolish. You allowed yourself to let your anger get the best of you. You’re an Ice Wizard, for goodness sake, have the same great patience as the mighty glaciers.
“You know. . .” Yoongi was the one to speak first after nearly two hours of cleaning.
“I don’t want to hear it, Iceblood.”
He scoffed at your retort. “I was simply going to say that if we were following proper duel etiquette, you won.”
“But because we weren’t, I suppose you were victorious?”
“No, because I wasn’t following it either. We both lost.”
You couldn’t believe your ears. After so many years of Yoongi’s taunts and belittling you, to hear him admitting that you had bested him in a duel (proper or not), you felt pride swelling up in your chest. “Oh? So does that mean you finally think I’m better than you?”
“What?” He dropped the wooden board he was holding. “No. No! I wasn’t saying that! If we actually followed the rules of combat, you would’ve won. You did cast Blizzard.”
“Right. . . I did. . .”
He furrowed his brows at you. “Did you not mean to?”
“I’ve. . . never cast it. I only managed Ice Wyvern last night,” you confessed.
“You’re. . . that’s impressive.”
You eyed him strangely, wondering how or why Yoongi was suddenly so amiable to you after so many years. “Thank you.” You thought that would be the end of the conversation, but he spoke up again.
“If you want, maybe we could study together. Give each other tips, help hone our skills.”
“You want to study? Together?” This had to be a dream, there was no way Yoongi Iceblood was offering to be study buddies with you.
“You have a lot of potential, that’s all!” He clarified, his voice cracking slightly. “It would be a waste of your talents, teaching yourself.”
You pondered his offer for a moment, before nodding. “I suppose it would also be fair for me to beat you on even ground.”
Yoongi scoffed as he walked over to you, his hand extended outwards. “You’re on then.”
You eyed his hand cautiously before taking it. “May the best wizard win.”
By the time Professor Greyrose returned, the classroom was near back to normal. Unfortunately, because of your informal duel and destruction of school property, you both were suspended from class for the next few days. You were obviously distraught at the thought of missing classes, but Yoongi told you it was fair punishment. Besides, you could come visit him at his house to study and catch up together.
So that was where you spent the next few days, in Yoongi’s frozen castle, located not far from Wizard City. You were shocked to learn he didn’t live on campus with other students, but he’d admitted to you (a bit shyly too) that he’d never lived in the dorms. His parents did not want him to mingle with others and have complete privacy whilst he studied.
The first time you visited, you were in complete awe of it all. It was a frozen wonderland, with a large tower serving as his home. But the real site to behold was the two stone statues of a Dragon and Ice Giant facing off in battle that stood on the other side of the floating island
“You’re the first person I've invited over,” he told you as you approached his in-house library. Dozens of books lined the walls; topics ranging from types of magic to crafting to the history of all the worlds in the spiral. It was an impressive collection.
“I’m honored, but let’s get to it. Shall we?”
When your suspension was lifted, your class was shocked to see you both engaged in friendly conversation, smiling and laughing as if you hadn’t been dueling each other a mere few days ago. Word spread like wildfire, soon enough the whole of Ravenwood had heard of your’s and Yoongi’s odd acquaintance (you wouldn’t dare say friends)(at least not yet).
Even afterwards, you and Yoongi continued to work together and study for the upcoming exam, where you would move from the adept thaumaturge class to the magus class. You were nervous to say the least, having struggled a lot with some of the coursework, regardless of Yoongi’s help.
Then there was the matter of your new acquaintance in general. You knew he was smart, but you never knew exactly how smart. His family had taught him loads about thaumaturgy in theory, but never in practice, which is how he fell short of some spells. So most of your study sessions had been him telling you bits of information and helpful tips on remembering them.
Factoring all that in while studying for the adept final exam, you’ve never felt more nervous. Never before had you both been on even ground before. What if everything he’d told you was a lie and caused you to flunk the class? What if you had to start the whole class over again? Why was he so nice to you? Why did he always smile and congratulate you anytime you successfully cast a spell? And why did his words stir butterflies in your stomach each time without fail?
You don’t know when it happened but at some point, you stopped caring about being better than Yoongi. Your study sessions no longer came about from wanting to work on even ground, to beat him hard and true through hard work. But suddenly became actually wanting to be around him, to work with him, to help each other and better each other instead of just yourself.
“You alright there?” Yoongi asked, pulling you out from your thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“You’ve been staring at History of the Ice Guardian for the past ten minutes?”
You blinked down at the open book in front of you. He was right, you hadn’t moved on from that page in Spiral knows how long. “Sorry, my mind is a bit elsewhere, I guess.”
“Nervous about the exam?”
“That and many other things?” You huffed, shutting the book. “But mainly the exam, I just don’t want to fail miserably.”
“You won’t. You’ve worked hard. You’ve got this.”
“You know, I don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to you encouraging me,” you admitted, chuckling awkwardly. “For so long, all I wanted was to be better than you and to have you on my side, it feels like I’m missing a reason to do this. . .”
He didn’t say anything, causing you to look up at him curiously. He was gnawing on his lower lip. “What if we had a little friendly competition like I don’t know. . . a wager?”
“A wager?”
“Yeah, like say if I get higher marks, you have to pay for my ice cream.”
“We’re getting ice cream?” You asked.
He gave a vague shrug. “Yeah, little reward for us after studying so hard. I get ice cream after every exam.”
“And if I get higher marks?”
“Then I’ll buy your ice cream.”
You thought over his offer for a moment before holding out his hand. “You got yourself a deal, Iceblood.”
The day of the exam came around and you couldn’t stop fidgeting; you’d pick at your robes, twist the rings around your fingers, anything to help settle your nerves. Noticing your nervousness, Yoongi (who’d moved to sit next to you in class now) placed a hand over yours, giving it a squeeze.
“You got this.”
“Thanks. Good luck.”
He winked as Professor Greyrose handed you both your exams, allowing you to start.
Throughout the exam, you felt as if you were going to be sick. Writing out the answer, scratching it out then rewriting it out because you were right the first time. Sure you’ve been nervous taking tests before, but never before had there felt like such high stakes (it was ice cream, why were you so stressed?).
Once the last of the exams had been turned in, Professor Greyrose dismissed the class, saying results would be posted in three days’ time. So for three, long grueling days, you waited. Yoongi didn’t appear nearly as stressed as you, chuckling as you all but ran towards Ravenwood.
“Relax! The results aren’t going anywhere.”
“How can you tell me to relax? This was the adept final exam! I can’t fail this term, I just can’t!”
“And you’re not going to!” Yoongi said as you walked through the tunnel. “I told you, you’ve got this.”
“Sorry, I just. . . haven’t been this stressed before.”
“What? You’re worried about spending some extra gold coins on ice cream?” He raised a brow at you.
“No it’s just. . . I don’t know.”
“No, tell me.”
With a sigh, you stopped walking. “We’re on even ground. You know everything I know and I know everything you know. What if I’m actually not that good. . .”
“Nonsense, you got this far by yourself, didn’t you?” You nodded. “Then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You’re a good thaumaturge, Y/N.”
“Thanks, Yoongi.”
“Now come on, let’s see who’s buying ice cream.” With that, he took you by the hand and you continued walking through the tunnel, towards the School of Ice. Already a group of people had gathered outside the door, eager to see their results. As the two of you approached, your classmates whispered amongst themselves. Their voices might’ve been low, but you could see the way they looked between your entwined hands and the posting on the door.
Oh dear.
Releasing Yoongi’s hand, you pushed your way to the front, ignoring the heat growing up against your cheeks as you could feel everyone’s eyes as you pushed through the crowd. Your eyes flickered to the top of the page scanning the name that received the highest test score.
It was your name.
Written above Yoongi’s.
You could feel him standing beside you. “I believe a congratulations are in order,” he said, holding out his hand. You took it, shaking it gently. “Congrats, I told you you could do it.”
“I’m sorry,” you blurted out. Instantly you cringed at your words, dropping his hand.
He looked at you, puzzled. “What are you sorry for? You earned that score, fair and square.”
“For running into you. . . and for dueling you in the middle of class, it was. . . it was stupid. And I’m sorry.”
“Oh. . .” He nodded, remembering that first ever encounter all those years ago. “I’m sorry for calling you a snowpig. That was. . . I shouldn’t have done that. It was mean, and I was mean to you. You had every right to challenge me.”
It was weird how light you felt after that. But it felt good. “I hope that means you’re not gonna go easy on me from now on. I’m still determined to best you!” You poked him in the shoulder.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he responded. “Now come on, I believe I owe you ice cream.”
“I believe you do,” you said as you linked your arm with his, heading towards the nearest food shack.
Maybe Yoongi Iceblood wasn’t that bad after all.
#btsghostie#yoongi x reader#min yoongi x reader#bts x reader#min yoongi x gender neutral reader#yoongi x gender neutral reader#bts x gender neutral reader#bts wizard au#wizard min yoongi#wizard101 au#bts x wizard 101#fluff#bts fluff#min yoongi fluff
110 notes
·
View notes
Text
Lectio Divina and How That Looks in My Praxis
Lectio Divina is a Christian meditative practice within the mystical circles of the faith. It is Latin for “divine reading.” These more esoteric interpretations and scriptural practices were believed to stretch as far back as the 3rd century CE by Origen of Alexandria (185CE—253CE). The four-step method we know today was formalized by the Christian monk Gugio II in the 12th century. Not sure when the fifth step was added, but given that Gugio was a monk, I guess it makes sense why he would stop just at four.
So, when diving into wordy, philosophical texts such as the Dao de Jing, or Corpus Hermeticum, one may obviously want to pursue these texts from an analytical and intellectual perspective. While that kind of point of view has its time and place, it indeed “misses the mark,” so to speak, on what and how these texts should be read and experienced. Now Hanegraaff proposes that early academics viewed the Hermetic corpora as nothing more than a “literary phenomenon” with no actual practitioners. This was obviously due to how these texts didn’t seem to have canonical views and that the texts do not display a dogmatic structure resembling something like Christianity or Islam. He proposes that there was indeed a Hermetic Spirituality rather than some modern example of a “school of hermeticism” with many students diligently copying notes. This is evident in the only known “Hermetic practitioners” we can name today: Theosobia, Zosimus, and Iamblichus. We indeed see that Hermeticism was just as practical and involved much praxis as philosophical thought. I can’t say much about the scholarship in Daoism, but we have more evidence of Daoist praxis of which is heavily tied to Chinese folk magic.
From the beginning of my journey, I knew Hermeticism was right for me, it took me about a year to really settle into it and solidify my praxis around a Hermetic framework, so I wish to keep it that way. One thing I know that I, and a lot of other people I converse with, sort of mirror traditions and faiths that really embody what a Hermetic praxis looks like, as the evidence for what I have, as a Hermeticist, is that of the teachings of Iamblichus and Zosimos to Theosobia. We know philosophy and reading was prerequisite for Iamblichus in his apology of Theurgy in his Response to Porphyry, but mere intellection alone cannot raise us up to the gods and ultimately to the Platonic Forms. “…for it is not pure thought that unites the theurgist to the gods.” (DM II.11). For Iamblichus, intellectual pursuits were not the primary goal to us to return to the gods.
To put that off the way, what are the four steps to Lectio Divina as established by Gugio II? They are as follows (Latin on the left—English on the right).
Lectio—Reading
Mediatio—Meditation
Oratio—Prayer
Contemplatio—Contemplate
And the Fifth step is Actio- Action.
I will link another article explaining these steps in more detail, under a Hermetic understanding, as the purpose of this musing is just to reflect on what this practically looks like in my practice. (See my Twitter page for the link).
Before I begin my Lectio, my readings, I start with a prayer. This prayer was gifted to me by a friend many months ago, and I have edited it since then. My version of the prayer is as follows:
O God, teach me gnosis so I may know you in all your holy forms. Grant me the essence of the Prophets’ understanding, the eloquence of their memory, and the quick comprehension of your archangels. O God, bless me with your light of wisdom and quick experience, liberate me from the darkness of doubt, and open the fates of your light, O God of the Worlds.
Likewise, here is a Taoist mantra to recite before you begin a Lectio Divina, translated by a friend from a Taoist Discord Server:
誦經密咒
貪羅鬱羅，符無蘇陀。太沖太極，陰陽抱和。
出有入無，鬼神莫測。出生入死，變化自然。
元始混炁，玄中之玄。上干有頂，下洞太淵。
誦之一徧，沈痾自痊。鍊魂育魄，真陽自全。
齋戒禮誦，萬過飛仙。無上密咒，萬神綿綿。
心中心咒，重得宣傳。貪羅洞盟，與道合真。
玉清上極，梵炁氤氳。分靈布炁，降注臣身。
形神俱妙，變化飛昇。一如令格，統攝萬靈。急急如律令。
English:
"Recite the secret mantra, (the name of the mantra)
The entanglement of desire and sorrow, talismans offer no aid..
Supreme void, supreme polarity, yin and yang embrace harmony.
Outward is being, Inward is non-being, ghosts and deities can’t find or predict it.
Outward is life, Inward is death, it's natural transformations.
Primordial chaos energy, the mysterious center of the mysterious.
Above, reach the celestial peak; below, touch the deep abyss.
Recite it throughout; ailments self-heal.
Refine the Hun, nurture the Po, true yang becomes complete.
Abstinence, chanting, transcend the mundane.
Supreme secret mantra, myriad gods abound.
The mind that stays centered and be with the mantra, will attain the state of legend.
The net of desires has holes, united with the true Tao.
Jade purity ultimate ascent, Silence energy pervades.
Share spirit and give energy, descend it down to my body.
Form and spirit are both wonderous, transformations soaring.
Unified like the command, encompassing myriad spirits.
Please follow my orders."
This prayer is only said with the purpose that I will be “divinely reading” a chapter from the Corpus Hermeticum or Dao de Jing.
After reading a chapter from either text, I will meditate on them. The way it is described within the Christian tradition, this looks like after just basely reading the texts, you revisit the quotes and passages that didn’t make much sense or the passages that resonate with you, and the goal is to explore those feelings that are invoked in the reading. Here, I employ an act of pondus, Latin for pondering. This stage of the Lectio Divina in my praxis involves much emotion and self-reflection brought about by revisiting and further pondering those chapters and passages I have just read.
After my meditation, we enter the Oratio (prayer) step. I repeat the same prayer from above and further pray; since today is Tuesday, and I honor Anpu on Tuesday, I will continue with prayers in accordance with the great god of the scales. I observe a deity every day of the week, as this helps me keep my praxis more organized than praying to many deities every day. These prayers will include pre-written and informal ones to the god to help me further understand the words I have just read and meditated on.
Next, we come into Contemplatio. The way this looks for me is after reading a chapter and further pondering the passages that struck me as odd or true, I equip my shroud and gown, sit in the dark with earplugs, close my eyes, and meditate and sit with those words. So if I finish reading chapter 37 of the Dao de Jing, the terms and phrases I have underlined, such as: “Listen, with this unvarnished simplicity without a name, there will be no desires. Without desires, there will be peace, and all under heaven will be settled independently.” I will meditate on these words, silently reciting them repeatedly for 10-20 minutes.
When the rain noises on my phone alert me to return to my senses and close out the Cotemplatio stage, Gugio II would have me stop here. But like I said, there is a 5th step to this Lectio Divina Process, and I’m not sure when this 5th step was added. Regardless, I now enter the Actio phase. How does one put these words that we have effectively eaten, chewed, sat with, and digested into action? This four-step process brings about a great humility of the heart and soul. So when one effectively participates in a “Divine Reading” as prescribed with the guidelines proposed by Gugio II, this great humbling leads to greater and more discoveries of the Self, I purpose. As I’m struck with a great sense of humility, I am called to act for myself and better myself. Let’s return to chapter 37 of the Dao de Jing, how to be “without desire” in the mundane, everyday world? Whenever I’m struck with great passions and desires, whether positive or negative, I refer to the simplicity of reciting surahs and Hermetic maxims to help me return to a “desireless” state of mind. To what degree do I come “desireless”? Well… it’s not much. But the purpose here is to actively take our readings and intellects and apply them for something greater than ourselves, something ineffable and so transcendent it can’t be spoken of; for even the one who has come to understand The Great, i.e., God cannot speak on it. (SH 1)
42 notes
·
View notes
Text
WIZARD101 LORE FILES - THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
In my thirst for more Wizard101 lore, I've been compiling a heck load of information about various things and it's frankly become a mess. One of my first endeavors was to find resources about the Schools of Magic. This first rabbit-hole was about the School of Life. As a disclaimer, my main school is not Life, it is actually Balance. However, I've recently made a Life wizard and wanted to scrape the barrel for lore that I could potentially use for their story.
This is a working "document", and is separated into 4 sections:
I. Information given from the game
II. Theories
III. My own ideas
IV. Sources
Things will be updated as I find more stuff or if I have more ideas (which I definitely will).
I. INFORMATION GIVEN FROM THE GAME
From the official Wizard101 website, the School of Life is described as follows:
“Life is spirit, the force of awareness and existence. It is about constant growth and movement. Practitioners of Life Magic, known as Theurgists, are positive, enthusiastic people who seek to appreciate the simple pleasures. At times, however, they can be too flighty or frivolous when circumstances demand otherwise. Theurgists use Songs to breathe life and spirit into a vessel. Unlike other magic, which relies on summoning, coercing, or beseeching, Life Magic harnesses the power of the Song of Creation to create something new. Scholars believe that Theurgy channels the tapestry of music from which the Spiral was created, and that in echoing portions of the great symphony, a Wizard can bring forth and create Life where none previously existed.
Life Magic rests between Fire and Storm, for the spark of Life comes from those two forces.”
And I believe this is from when you first pick Life as your school:
“The Life School will train its student wizards to heal themselves and other players. Life Wizards are given the ability to heal themselves the most effectively, as well as the unique ability to heal other players. Combined with this, they do low to moderate damage attack spells with extremely high accuracy rates. They also possess the sole group heal spells.
Life Wizards are often Social, Charming, Funny and Spiritual. Famous Theurgists include Queen Titania, Leonardo DaVinci, and Thomas Jefferson. Life Wizards are great at healing themselves and others.”
From the History of Life Magic:
“Life Magic was said to have been discovered by the earliest inhabitants of Ravenwood, guided by none other than Grandfather Tree himself. He instructed his early disciples to plant trees and tend to a grove to learn the complex interactions of all living things. As these early Theurges advanced in their studies, so too did their gardens improve, eventually sprouting the sentient Spell Trees. Not just of Life Magic, but all of the Schools. Each tree embodied a new form of magic, a new aspect of existence. It was through their growth, study, and teaching that Magical Law was tested, explored, and codified.”
From one of the Life School Quests:
Moolinda Wu: “Music is the language of Life. When we sing, our Songs can take form, and with each new Song, a spirit is born! Imps, Pixies, Sprites… the Fairy spirits are the essence of Music.”
Lady Oriel: “Greetings, little one. I am Lady Oriel, Princess of the Seraphs. We are the Guardians of Life. We protect the Song of the Universe and seek out those who will help us keep our World alive.”
The Rota of Reading:
“Summer is coming in. Loudly sing, Cuckoo! The seed grows and the meadow blooms, and the woods spring anew!”
II. THEORIES
Life Magic is, in my opinion, the School of Music. Their symphonies and their songs uplift organisms and give them the courage to grow. Theurgists breathe vigor into others and are strong in their convictions. Movement and change are the tunes they dance to, proving time and time again that it is difficult for them to remain stagnant.
The History of Life Magic states that Life Magic was discovered by some of the earliest inhabitants of Ravenwood. While I believe this to be true for the world of Wizard City itself, I believe that Life Magic, whether spoken of in a different font, existed in the Spiral. This is based off the running theory I have that every living thing is made of magic, that all one must do is channel what they have within in order to wield it. Older worlds such as Azteca would apply here.
Throughout the story of Azteca you’ll read that many Aztecasaurs say they heard the Song of Creation, which is directly tied to Life Magic. Perhaps they formed their own version of Life Magic? We truly don’t know. Maybe the “earliest inhabitants” of Ravenwood were from Azteca? Or at least knew a shred of the teachings and influences of that world? Again, we don’t know. There’s a reason why this section is called “theories”.
Another interesting part of the lore is that the School trees were first sprouted by none other than the newly formed disciples of Life Magic. This seems to supplement my theory mentioned above. Furthermore, at the epicenter of each School tree is Life Magic. Many things come back to Life Magic. However, did they also create Niles, the Balance tree? Who is not in Ravenwood, but in Krokotopia?
Moolinda Wu says that music is the language of Life. This has me thinking that perhaps the Theurgists best weapon is not a staff but a musical weapon. In the game we have flutes and guitars of many shapes and colors. Ocarinas would be viable for Theurgists as well. In one of the first Life quests, you make a flute from Blossom’s branches.
Life Magic also reminds me much of White Mages from the Final Fantasy Series. See here:
“Conjury is an art that takes life and the living for its domain. Its primary purpose is the salving of hurts and the granting of protection. Adventurers such as yourself oft stand upon the front lines of battle. Owing to this, you are like to find yourself in many situations wherein a capacity for healing would be advantageous. Mind you, there is more to conjury than that. By harnessing the power of earth, wind, and water, conjurers are also capable of weaving spells that wreak havoc. In terms of sheer destructive power, conjury may pale in comparison to thaumaturgy, but its capacity to defend one against aggression more than compensates for this relative shortcoming.” – E-Sumi-Yan
Theurgists should want themselves to be known and have the uniqueness to stand out from a crowd. Their songs should be used to not only heal but to draw attention and command. Generals, leaders, commanders, and the like can utilize Life Magic in this way.
Here’s another part of conjury that I find interesting:
“Conjury calls upon the elements of earth, wind, and water and concentrates them to a potency at which spells can be weaved. Through practiced meditation on the essences of creation, conjurers draw forth and absorb aether from their immediate surroundings. A wand or cane made from unworked wood is then utilized to focus the aether until it manifests as the desired spell. Versed also in magicks that restore and strengthen, conjurers are regarded as accomplished healers.”
Life Magic, through Songs, can be similar to Conjury in that it can bring together Fire and Storm magic and blend them to a point where Life is sparked, where certain spells can be achieved. Note that while Conjurers/White Mages in FFXIV draw their power from the surrounding aether, it is not the same as Theurgists in Wizard101. Theurgists use the power they have within them to put into their Songs. However, like Conjury, it can be theorized that the best Life weapon is not only a musical instrument, but one made of a certain wood. This wood could be different for the specific Theurgist.
III. MY OWN IDEAS
This section will be the section that is most edited. I will make sure to provide changelogs at the beginning of this post.
IDEA ONE - To begin, I had this idea of a potential fairy world that existed in the Spiral. Recall that Moolinda Wu says that spirits are born from Songs. Specific spirits include Imps, Pixies, Sprites, Fairies, etc… There could be a world based off of this! A magical, whimsical world, perhaps one that’s sort of bug-like in nature. This “fairy world” would be the antithesis of Khrysalis. Furthermore, my idea was that this world would’ve been part of Khrysalis before being separated in some way.
The fairy world would feature a story based off of A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, maybe from a different point of view, or with another plot element added in.
IDEA TWO – Many Theurgists have some sort of Imp, Pixie, or Fairy ancestor in their lineage. Because of this, they are shorter individuals with more dainty features, and pointed ears. They are shorter than other Wizards, and depending on how closely tied they are to their spiritual family, could even have wings.
IDEA THREE – Theurgists have a natural green thumb, whether they choose to admit it or not. It is up to them if they wish to pursue an agricultural hobby, but the more they practice Life Magic the better. These individuals, with time and practice, are able to communicate with surrounding flora and fauna. I believe it is much like how some people in FFXIV’s setting can talk to the elemental sprites that are most prevalent in The Black Shroud and other settings. While some can distinctly make out words and sentences, most people who can communicate with the elemental sprites are only capable of feeling their emotions.
IV: SOURCES
https://finalbastion.com/wizard101-guides/understanding-lore-life-school/
https://wizard101.fandom.com/wiki/School_of_Life
https://www.wizard101.com/game/magic-lore
https://finalbastion.com/wizard101-guides/w101-analysis/the-lore-you-know-an-updated-look-at-the-schools-of-magic/
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Quest:Introduction_to_Life
Thanks for reading!
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
Today on P3R, we’re technically covering three play sessions, because I didn’t have time to make a post before Katsucon. But a lot of that was Tartarus, so it’s not actually too much. ^_^
(Katsu pictures are coming at some point.)
Anyway, we’re off to Tartarus to train some and play with the new special attacks we got last time we were here! And get a little higher while we’re at it, so, let’s g--
Oh god oh fuck not you
It’s not the boss version, so it’s fine, but I didn’t think things showed up as enemies until after they were bosses???
The other reason we were in Tartarus was to get black quartz to trade to the guy in Escapade for a discount on fashion glasses. (Is there somewhere that will buy my gemstones? The police station won’t, and I get why, but like… I just have these.)
She looks very nice in those, actually.
Back at school, we’re still having a time. Odagiri of the student council has moved on to accusing the vice president over this one cigarette. And is not being diplomatic about it.
I’m gonna mess up his social link just because I keep not agreeing with him on these things. X’’’D
I’ve also met Keisuke Hiraga of the art club, who is a very good artist, but his dad is a doctor, so he’s also… Very Fussy. XDDDD
I can now hang out with my friends in the dorm, and I still think it’s weird that it calls them social links when I can’t start any of the girls’ links yet, and I can’t actually link with Junpei and Akihiko. I had tea with Mitsuru, though, and watched DVDs with Yukari, read manga with Junpei, and cooked with Akihiko. It’s nice! And some of them do give me stat boosts and items, so that’s cool.
I’m smooth now~
...well, shit. Here we go.
Minato’s theurgy skills are apparently the fusion spells, which you’re allowed to use even when you don’t have the actual personas with you, which is nice. The two I have so far are Orpheus and Apsaras’ Cadenza, and the Jack Bros doing a standup routine, which is cute.
I also got my first introduction to the Reaper. None of these floors really seem large enough to worry about it, so I think this appearance was scripted. Easy enough to get away from, though.
Nice.
Wait, what??? Can it do that??????
Once we found the missing girl, we escorted her back to the entrance, and I kept going til I found the next barrier floor. We’re done for now, so it’s time to go work on some more requests. Liz has a good one here. :D
I love that all the Velvet attendants have a soft spot for Jack Frost.
We also get our first intro to Koromaru!
Apparently he walks himself each day, since his owner at the shrine passed away. He stops for pets, but then carries on with his routine all on his own. He’s such a good dog. T_T
Ikutsuki drags us away from fussing over Koromaru to have a proper SEES meeting. He’s concluded that the Full Moon Shadows we’ve seen so far follow the Arcana from I to IV, and that there should theoretically be eight more, spanning from the Magician to Strength. And if we destroy them all, it will get rid of Tartarus and the Dark Hour, and we will have saved Iwatodai from Apathy Syndrome!
...they are us. There’s not much more we can say, Ikutsuki.
Yeah, let’s go to the mall after that seriousness. We can check out a new social link!
...oh yeah because this won’t go wrong.
School is still kicking my ass because this school is insane. But Junpei gets it, at least.
I can’t spend time with Fuuka unless my courage is badass-level, because apparently her food is just that scary. She wants me to be a badass, Mitsuru wants me to be a genius… Is Yukari gonna want a casanova or something? X’D
And even though Mitsuru wants me to be a genius, she called the police because she thought Junpei’s messy room meant someone had broken in.
And, as my last act before leaving for Katsu, these guys have made their first appearance, executing people in the Dark Hour based on requests on a revenge website. I don’t know how they wake people up from the coffins, but Tattoo Man over here is blasting people with a real gun, so that’s gonna be a problem~
.
[KATSU INTERMISSION]
.
I return from my convention, happy and optimistic, and school is immediately still full of bullshit. XD
You know, Keisuke, if you dad doesn’t want you to be an artist, and wants you to take over the hospital, why does he have fancy paintbrushes?
Anyway, Keisuke is about to win an art contest and gain the opportunity to study art abroad. And his dad is actually encouraging him to study abroad, so now he doesn’t know if he wants to do it because he doesn’t want to do what his dad wants. It’s kind of ridiculous, but the Fortune Arcana is all about choices, so… I guess.
We’re also off to fashion club to hang out with Bebe, who is actually surprisingly lovely despite being French. I appreciate his utter weeaboo enthusiasm. But… his aunt passed away unexpectedly, and he doesn’t know if his uncle will support letting him continue to study abroad. So not only is he upset that his aunt is gone, he also might have to leave the country he loves.
Neither were you, dude! It’s okay!
This is not quite NieR Automata levels of “everything is bad”, but things are pretty bad. I mean… people are just leaving the Lost laying on the sidewalks. :/
The Lost are the ones with Apathy Syndrome, but everyone else seems pretty apathetic, too.
I took Elizabeth to Iwatodai Station, and we had a lovely time.
The takoyaki lady can see her, which, don’t worry, ma’am. Just showing my weird cousin around. She won’t tell me what’s in the takoyaki instead of octopus, though, because apparently the knowledge would be detrimental. Which… okay, Liz. Thanks. That’s not worrisome at all.
When last I saw Maiko, she was planning to ask her parents why they were getting a divorce, in the hopes of being able to fix it. Which, not a great plan, but I couldn’t actually stop her. She wants to talk now, though, so we’ll see how that wen--
WHERE IS HE
Maybe we can throw them into Tartarus. Fucking hell. Maiko wants to run away from home so that her parents are forced to work together to find her, and I am NOT allowed to beg Mitsuru to let her stay at the dorm. This sucks so much. She wants me to keep her plan a secret, but good lord. This is going to go so badly.
I go home to stew on my thoughts and play computer games for babies to up my courage.
However that works. X’D
Lastly, I’ve reached my first choice that could potentially reverse a social link, I think?
We commit scandalous hand-holding, and it’s nice. Chihiro clearly has a crush on me, but I don’t know who I want to date, yet. OBVIOUSLY, I have my preference, but since my preference isn’t available, I dunno. Fuuka is nice. Mitsuru is… great, but also SO far out of my league. XDDD
Pharos came back for my one-week full moon reminder, so I guess that’s up next. They keep implying it’s gonna be the Lovers shadow, since couples are passing out and someone mentioned Shirakawa Boulevard, but I thought Hierophant was next.
Ah, well.
#Li plays P3Re#how are the French kid and the elementary schooler my favorite ''official'' social links
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
Persona 3 Reload — The Hero Character Trailer
youtube
Japanese version
youtube
Yukari Takeba Character Trailer
youtube
Japanese version
youtube
Iwatodai Dorm Life
youtube
Japanese with English subtitles version
youtube
Junpei Iori Character Trailer
youtube
Japanese version
■ Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (New S.E.E.S. Combat Uniform)
This remake updates the classic combat uniforms worn by the party members when exploring Tartarus. Check out all-new character art of the Protagonist, Yukari Takeba, and Junpei Iori in their new gear!
strong>Protagonist (voiced by Aleks Le in English, Akira Ishida in Japanese)
Weapon: One-handed short sword
Initial Persona: Orpheus
Theurgy: Cadenza, Best Friends, and more.
His weapon of choice is a one-handed short sword, and the first Persona he summons is Orpheus.
Normally, a person can summon only one Persona, but he holds the power of the Wild Card—a special trait allowing him to handle multiple Personas and different types of Theurgy.
—Orpheus
Orpheus is the first Persona that the Protagonist awakens. In Greek mythology, Orpheus was known as a heroic poet and master of the lyre.
Yukari Takeba (voiced by Heather Gonzalez in English, Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese)
Weapon: Bow and arrow
Persona: Io
Strong Skills: Wind, Healing
Theurgy: Cyclone Arrow
An expert archer with the unique Persona Io.
She specializes in wind and healing abilities, and her Theurgy skill Cyclone Arrow ignores an enemy’s natural affinity to deal heavy wind-type damage.
—Io
Yukari’s unique Persona is Io. In Greek mythology, Io was known as a priestess in service of the goddess Hera, favored by Zeus.
Junpei Iori (voiced by Zeno Robinson in English, Kosuke Toriumi in Japanese)
Weapon: Two-handed Sword
Persona: Hermes
Strong Skills: Fire, Slashing
Theurgy: Hack n’ Blast
A hard-hitting attacker with a two-handed sword.
He specializes in fire and slash attacks. His Theurgy, Hack n’ Blast, deals heavy slash damage to a single enemy regardless of affinity.
—Hermes
Junpei’s unique Persona is Hermes. In Greek mythology, Hermes was known as the messenger of Zeus, revered by travelers and merchants.
■ Social Stats
As you go about your daily life, you may be challenged to meet a certain standard of aptitude in three Social Stats: Courage, Charm, and Academics. These can be improved through activities like studying and part-time jobs. Without sufficient Social Stats, you may not be able to use certain facilities or develop Social Links, so be proactive in self-improvement.
■ Dorm Life
While living in the student dormitory, you can spend time with friends in the common areas. Together, you can cook, study for tests, read books, watch movies, tend to a rooftop vegetable garden, and more! Doing so can raise your Social Stats and teach your friends passive skills called Combat Characteristics, which you’re sure to find useful.
By experiencing dorm life together, the Protagonist and his friends will grow as people. As these bonds grow stronger, they may reveal new sides of themselves.
Public Computer
You can use the public computer in the dormitory lounge to study with software or gather intel. In addition to raising Social Stats, you may also learn useful skills for combat and exploration.
Acquire Special Characteristics
When you spend time in the dorm with fellow students, they may acquire special Characteristics with effects like increased critical attack rate, reduced cost for healing skills, and more. These are sure to come in handy during battle, so try to make time for your friends.
■ Schoolmates
Through student life at Gekkoukan High School and being a member of SEES, you’ll get to know all kinds of people. These bonds are called Social Links, and by raising their ranks you can experience special scenes with them. You’ll be able to find a number of fellow students to hang out with after school hours. Interacting with them will also strengthen your Persona abilities, so be proactive in building these relationships! For this remake, Social Link characters have received all-new portrait illustrations, and their scenes are now fully voice acted.
Classmate: Kenji Tomochika (voiced by Joe Zieja in English, Wataru Hatano in Japanese)
A second-year at Gekkoukan High—one of your classmates. A good friend of Junpei’s who wastes no time asserting himself as your friend as well. He professes his love for older women and soon turns to you for advice on dating.
Gourmet King: Nozomi Suemitsu (voiced by Paul Castro Jr. in English, Fukushi Ochiai in Japanese)
A third-year at Gekkoukan High known as the Gourmet King. He has toured restaurants all over Minato Ward, eating everything on the menu—including secret menus. He appoints you as his bodyguard after helping him escape a dispute with a shadowy figure.
Track and Field: Kazushi Miyamoto (voiced by Mark Whitten in English, Eiji Miyashita in Japanese)
A second-year at Gekkoukan High—one of your classmates and a fellow member of the track and field team. He’s a star athlete who has ranked highly in competitions thanks to his hard work, spirit, and perseverance. He recognizes you as a worthy rival who can go toe-to-toe with him.
Track and Field Manager: Yuko Nishiwaki (voiced by Shelby Young in English, Emiri Katou in Japanese)
A second-year at Gekkoukan High and the manager of the track and field team. She’s childhood friends with fellow track team member Kazushi, referring to him by the friendly nickname “Kaz.” Kind and caring, she watches over you as a new member of the team.
Student Council: Hidetoshi Odagiri (voiced by Austin Lee Matthews in English, Masaya Matsukaze in Japanese)
A second-year at Gekkoukan High, vice president of the student council and head of the Disciplinary Committee. He’s known for his ruthless enforcement of rules, earning him the ire of the other students. Once you join the student council on Mitsuru’s recommendation, he seems to take an interest in you.
Student Council Treasurer: Chihiro Fushimi (voiced by Kelly Baskin in English, Aya Endou in Japanese)
A first-year at Gekkoukan High and treasurer of the student council. She tends to have trouble expressing herself to others, and is particularly uncomfortable around men. Overcoming this struggle is at the top of her mind.
Art Club: Keisuke Hiraga (voiced by Griffin Burns in English, Yuuichi Iguchi in Japanese)
A third-year at Gekkoukan High and head of the art club, where the two of you meet. As the son of a doctor, those around him believe he will follow in his father’s footsteps—but he himself is torn between medical school and arts study abroad.
Foreign Exchange Student: Bebe (voiced by Jeff Berg in English, Mitsuhiro Ichiki in Japanese)
His real name is André Laurent Jean Geraux. An exchange student from France who loves and admires Japan, from kimonos to historical dramas to Japanese gardens. After the two of you meet, he encourages you to join him in the fashion club.
Persona 3 Reload will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) February 2, 2024 worldwide. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.
#Persona 3 Reload#P3R#Persona 3#P3#Persona#Megaten#P Studio#Atlus#video game#PS5#Xbox Series#Xbox Series X#Xbox Series S#PS4#Xbox One#PC#Steam#Microsoft Store#Xbox Game Pass#late post#very late post#long post
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
Maybe this is a dumb question, but what are the etymologies of your trolls' names?
Note I made these lil dudes when I was 13 originally it’s been a decade lol (also there used to be 7 when I first made them but we don’t talk about that 7th troll they are pretty much void)
So basic all of their cores originally from when I was 13 were the w101 classes that’s like the seed they sprouted from. Life death myth storm fire and ice, you can sorta still tell what each of them are actually either way if you didn’t well here’s your oc lore lol
In order:
Sauron’s core is death, necromancy and guess who is a very popular necromancer in pop culture? Ding ding ding it’s Sauron form LOTR.
Falmea is fire literally just took the name of the pyromancer professor npc Dalia Falmea.
Cyrusk same deal I just put a k at the end his core is also myth btw conjuration
Cybele has the core of life and theurgy and Cybele/ kybele is a nature, earth and motherhood godess which entangles with the whole life thing
Majell is a bit of an odd one but she is ice, thaumaturgy and her name comes from a saint- saint Majella to be specific (Thaumaturgy is preforming miracles thus saints there’s your through line)
Helstm has the storm class as his lil core in the games it’s also divination, that teacher npc is named Halston, easy- also really weird thing he ended up being my space player and uh… the storm school npc is a frog coincidence???
As for all their last names they were originally based on the 7 deadly sins cuz I am sooooo original, still are in not changing them just take out 1 of the 7 cuz the balance class character is missing here anyways.
#if you didn’t know I like wizard101 and I still play it#it is my nostalgia comfort game Iv played since I was a kid#and I am still playing it now so… something…. something stuck#also I main balance you could say Dextra is that 7th character cuz she’s me#I’m the balance wizard after all you know#thanks for the ask!
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
(Here’s a snippet of another WIP of the Darbys-Megatronus connection, so yeah, Other!Humanformers!AU.)
Jack had asked where whales went to die. The answer: they sunk to depths, down to the ocean floors where only creatures that never seen sunlight resided.
Optimus was a such a whale, perhaps this was a strange dream before a true death, sinking down, down, and down, past not only whale-song and schools of tuna and bright snapper, but legendary creatures as well. Immense serpentine sea-drakes battling equally-sized krakens, multi-headed monsters peering at his sinking frame and leaving him unaccosted, beautiful shades of shifting color and haunting voices as humanoid faces watched him with curiosity as he past down into the dark trenches.
All he could think was that it was unfortunate he couldn’t snap a clip to show the sparklings. Jack and Miko would have been entranced by it all…
The moment his pedes touched the seafloor, a mangled face and torso rose from the bed of sand and bones.
< From a court of stardust and forged souls. > It spoke. Half eaten away by rust and coral, features distorted by time and decay, optic-less with empty holes, oozing out sludge as octopi and jellies tumbled out of one socket, the soft bioluminescence of color was beautiful on its grotesque face. It turned its sightless gaze upon Optimus. < Forge and Forger. What are you, little thief? Forge or forger? >
< I did not steal anything. > He said, air bubbles poured out his intake, glossa moving in the unknown glyphs. His frame whole and hale rather than broken and dying from the Autobot base coming down on him. < Nothing unclaimed. >
< No, you say? > It came close to him, the earthly shackles unreleased. The Void stared deep -pitiless and without end. < Others beg to differ. >
< Then I ask what was the supposed crime? What was taken? >
< Something cast away. Twice fold. >
< Is it truly theft then? If it was thrown away to be picked up? > Optimus questioned. He slightly flinched as something brushed his cheek. A strange creature with a dark, slippery body and a transparent head. The exposed organs pulsated and jiggled from the pressure and currents as the fish docilely flicked its tail and swam into the Void on the broken face.
It laughed, face cracking and flaking from the force, booming and thunderous and immense as the crushing pressure.
< Insolent, little kin. > The corpse of an ancient god spoke with endearment, with familiarity, before ordering. < Find my kenning. Reclaim it, oh lost astrum, for its rightful owner. >
Kenning. An archaic word for personal battle weapon or flag. It was said that such items were semi-sentient, so imbued by their owner’s own essences they were alive in some ways. Gatekeepers and sentinels of memories and skills to pass on to whomever deemed worthy to wield such weapons or to continue a legacy.
< And where would I find such a boon? >
< Elsewhere and nowhere. A dream within a dream. > It cryptically replied and stepped back with a misshapen grin. Broken and skeletal and turning massive, growing taller and taller as distant roars of thunder rolled far above them, voice booming over him. < Bring my kenning to a living act of theurgy. Bring it to the dreamless dreamer. >
Optimus was knocked to the ground, soft sand cushioned him, but beneath the quaking floor was the god’s massive hand cupping him as Metroplex once had, its size rivaling the majesty of roaming Titans.
< This is my will. > It was forcing him back up into the light, fighting the pressure and currents to keep them down below the world’s surface. < Wake the dreamer, little thief. >
_______
Optimus gasped his way back to the living, his vision shot and damaged frame uncooperative as a mass was lodged deep in his intake and tank over-pressured. He choked and sputtered, vents wheezing terribly, and multiple pairs of servos immediately pulled him to his side and he tried coughing out the mass. Someone then hit his back hard and it dislodged from his throat and onto the floor.
To everyone’s bafflement, Optimus retched out tarry sludge, seaweed slime, and seawater upon the floor as well as sea stones, coral chunks, and live fish gasping and flopping on the concrete.
“What the absolute fuck!?”
“Is this normal for Primes?”
“NO! THIS ISN’T NORMAL AT ALL! FOR ANYONE!”
#transformers#Transformers Prime#tfp#optimus prime#optimus#jack darby#miko nakadai#humanformers#humans into cybertronians#megatronus prime#creature#Magic#gods and goddesses#My writing#fic ideas
51 notes
·
View notes
Note
I had a fun idea
Somehow, probably bc the school got attacked by the Theurgies, but the point is Ulrich and Mx. Hardwood are fighting and Ulrich just took their wand:
Ulrich: What now, little missy? You have no magic!
Mx. Hardwood, smirking bc they know that this bitch has never been in a non-magical fight: *cracks knuckles*
Ulrich: What are you do-
*Ulrich proceeds to gat his ass beat by a enby proficient in hand to hand combat*
SAGE ADVICE FROM MX HACKWOOD!!!
37 notes
·
View notes
Text
Archetypes for Divine Obedience
Divine Obedience is a very fun and flavorful feat, allowing you to thematically and behaviorally tie your character to one of Pathfinder setting's many gods in return for a whole three course meal of new abilities.
Unless you take a certain trio of prestige classes, or one Cleric archetype, however, you are more or less stuck getting those abilities in the back half of your 20 levels of advancement. With all due respect to the Sentinel and Exalted classes, I do think that's a damn shame. Additionally, arcane casters are straight up just locked out of this system. I can see the idea behind this, but all the same, the distinction between science and faith is a relatively modern one, and a Christian one at that. These are two archetypes that expand the roster of Divine Obedience!
(Scholar by Dopaprime)
Deific Champion (Fighter Archetype)
Even outside of a formal church, there are loyal, devoted worshippers of gods who fervently follow their deity’s path and in return are granted divine power to augment their abilities. These are Deific Champions, forlorn wanderers and elite warriors of a god’s agenda.
Sentinel Blessing
A deific champion gains magical might from her connection to her god. At level 4, she gains Deific Obedience as a bonus feat. If her patron grants multiple boons, she gains the Exalted boons. Additionally, she gains them at an accelerated rate- at level 8, she gains access to her deity’s first boon, at level 10, she gains access to her deity’s second boon, and at level 14 she gains access to her deity’s third boon. She still must perform her daily obedience to have access to these boons, and she loses them if she loses favor with or faith in her god.
This replaces the bonus feats gained at levels 4 and 10
Devotion
A divine warrior’s devotion to her god is staunch and difficult to break. Starting at 2nd level, a divine warrior gains a +1 bonus on will saves against compulsion and charm. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd.
This ability replaces Bravery.
Divine Scholar (Wizard Archetype)
Though many see the personal, scientific research of wizardry and the religious dogma of worship to be incompatible, this belief is not held by all. There are those who see the pursuit of arcane knowledge as an exploration of their faith; these are divine scholars.
Arcane Bond
A scholar of the divine must take an amulet as his arcane bond. This amulet takes the form of the holy symbol of his deity.
This modifies Arcane Bond
Domain
A divine scholar does not take an arcane school- instead, he gains one of his deity’s domains as a cleric. His spells granted by the domain are arcane spells. He still must take two opposition schools, but gets no penalty if spells in his domain belong to one of his opposition schools. If he stops worshiping his god or loses favor with them, he loses his domain, but not his other Wizard spells.
This replaces Arcane School.
Exalted Blessing
Additionally, at level 1, a divine scholar gains deific obedience as a bonus feat. If her patron grants multiple boons, she gains the Exalted boons. Additionally he gains them at an accelerated rate- at level 8, he gains access to his deity’s first boon, at level 10, he gains access to his deity’s second boon, and at level 14 he gains access to his deity’s third boon.
He still must perform his daily obedience to have access to these boons and access to his domain.
Learned Gifts
A divine scholar uses his intelligence modifier rather than his charisma modifier to determine the DCs of spell-like abilities gained from his Deific Obedience.
Minor Theurgy
At level 12 a divine scholar gains a mote of access to the powers of a cleric’s spells. When preparing spells, if he has performed his deific obedience for the day, he may, for each spell level except his highest, choose one spell from the cleric spell list to prepare. These spells are cast as arcane spells, and take two spell slots, as with an opposed school.
This replaces the bonus feat gained at 10th level.
#soylent original#any setting#classes subclasses and archetypes#divine obedience#faith#homebrew#pathfinder
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
chidori for the character ask
favorite thing about them: everything <3 best character design in all of persona, best outfit, banger character arc, she has red hair, she deserves everything and the world
least favorite thing about them: ppl hating on her revival route :'( idc if it doesnt go w the themes 1. yes it does 2. THATS CHIDORIIII 😭
favorite line: "This pain is insignificant... The suffering my heart bears is far greater." my girl wouldve done NUMBERS on tumblr in 2014
brOTP: i think her and fuuka would and should be besties
OTP: jundori obvsssss
nOTP: prolly her x jin or takaya? those are her gay brothers... LMFAOO
random headcanon: maybe after p3, she starts going to school and trying to live a Normal Life, i think itd be really funny if she went through really intense phases (cause if u think abt it its probably her first time caring about anything after living w idgaf strega for her whole life) like... she starts listening to jpop and becoming obsessed w the groups to the point where she starts putting up posters and begging junpei to come to concerts w her, or she starts watching anime and becomes tatsumi port islands biggest madoka magica fan and hosts watching parties idk JAJAJJA
unpopular opinion: i kept seeing a lot of people say they didnt like her reload va but i think she was pretty good :) a different direction but still really nice
song i associate with them: the death of you and me by noel gallagher
favorite picture of them: obviously also every picture ever but... (spoilers under cut)
her silhouette at the end of junpei's ultimate theurgy gives me like 30 new mental illnesses
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
life support // knj
summary - namjoon likes to think he’s the embodiment of the perfect example of a theurgists: positive and enthusiastic. however when his professor asks him to help tutor one of her secondary students, only then is that pushed to the limit
pairing - tutor!namjoon x neurodivergent!reader
genre - fluff; wizard 101 au
word count - 4.0k
warnings - dip’s made up lore, namjoon says one mean thing, thoughts of fraternization
guide - theurgy = life magic, divination = storm magic; marlybonian = british dog people; pigswick = another wizarding academy;
author’s note - last names for reasons. and this was a bit personal for me as i do have adhd and i struggled a lot with theoretical teachings. this is based off my own personal experience with school and having adhd, not everyone’s is the same
the seven schools of ravenwood
Best in class. That is how Namjoon has always been described ever since he was a novice theurgist. It came easy to him, with a glance at a textbook he could perform the spell in an instant. Life magic was simply in his blood. So when Professor Wu asked him to tutor some of her less than stellar students, he wasn’t surprised. It took a while for each of the other students to catch on, but one by one, he helped them understand the material and soon enough, they raised their grades. Namjoon’s track record was stunning, there wasn’t any student he couldn’t help.
That was until he met you.
Normally Professor Wu only offered tutoring for her novice primary school students; young theurgists that either did not grow up where magic was practiced or simply fell behind a few lessons and needed a bit of help to get back on their feet. Never before had he had to tutor a secondary school theurgist. But he was willing to step up to the challenge.
Pushing open the heavy oak doors of the Life School, he was greeted with the familiar sight of Professor Wu standing at the top of the platform. Standing right at the bottom of the stairs before her, was you, dressed in purple and gold. A diviner, Namjoon thought to himself. Life magic sat in between Storm and Fire, so one normally would expect a student of those primary schools would easily understand and excel at theurgy. He wondered what could be the problem.
“Ah, Namjoon!” She smiled as he approached you both. “Y/N, this will be your tutor; Namjoon Jadeshield. Namjoon, this is Y/N Raindreamer,” she introduced.
“Pleasure,” he greeted, holding out his hand for you to shake. You don’t shake his hand, only giving him a tight lipped smile. “Okay. . .” he dropped his hand. “What exactly are you struggling with so that I can help?”
You opened your mouth to speak, but Professor Wu cut you off. “Everything, really. They’re supposed to start their initiate program, but unfortunately they must repeat their apprenticeship.”
Namjoon tried to hold back his shock. Failing the apprenticeship class? You’d have to repeat the whole two year process, probably never catch back up to your primary school level. “Okay. So how often shall we hold tutoring sessions?” He glanced between you and Professor Wu.
“Ideally every day after class,” the professor answered.
Your head snapped in the direction of her. “No!” Turning to Namjoon, you began to plead with him. “Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. I need Wednesday and Friday free. I have-“
“You know very well that any or all after school activities are suspended until your grades rise, Raindreamer,” Professor Wu tisked.
But you didn’t acknowledge her, only keeping your eyes trained on Namjoon. “I’m sorry, but Professor Wu is right. Until you have sufficient grades to prove it, no after school activities.”
As the words left his mouth, Namjoon watched in slow motion as your face fell. Like the world had crashed around you. Quickly, your face steeled and a frown was etched onto your features. “Fine.”
“Alright,” Namjoon nodded, wanting this meeting to be over and done with. “We’ll start tomorrow. Meet me outside the Commons Library? Sound good with you?”
“Yeah, fine. Whatever,” you huffed as you shouldered your book bag and left the school building, leaving Namjoon and Professor Wu alone.
“I swear, with a name like Raindreamer, it’s no wonder they have grades like this,” she sighed. “But thank you again, Namjoon. I know you’ll be a great help.”
“I’ll do my best.”
The following day, Namjoon waited for you just outside the Commons Library. He was there a full 10 minutes before you finally arrived. He opened his mouth to berate you for being late but words failed to come out at the sight of you; fresh scrapes and bandages covering any exposed skin.
“What?” You raised a brow at him.
“Are you- what happened?”
You looked down at the bandages before shrugging. “Fell.”
Whilst that didn’t feel like the full reason, Namjoon didn’t push any further, simply wanting to get the tutoring session along. You trailed behind him as he climbed up the final steps to the library, pushing open the doors. Namjoon waved hello to Harold, the old Marleybonian that served as the librarian, as he scribbled away in his ledger.
“This way,” Namjoon said to you as he walked down the theurgy wing. Other life students, dressed in robes of greens and browns, were seated at the tables that were strategically placed alongside the tall bookshelves. He made his way over to his usual table, it sat right between the initiate and journeyman textbooks. Granted those might be a bit out of your range, but perhaps it could serve as a bit of motivation to help you move forward.
Placing his book bag down, he looked at you, straggling along still. A bit further than he would’ve liked, but you were soon catching up. Your eyes were trained on the books as they flew across the shelves, rearranging and reorganizing themselves. There was a small smile etched into your face as you watched the books and scrolls float about, reminding Namjoon of a child on Christmas. Clearing his throat to gain your attention, he watched as that smile faded away, back into a look of displeasure. You picked up the pace, taking the seat beside him.
“Professor Wu didn’t give me any specifics as to what you need help with. So are there any particular parts that you need help with?” Namjoon asked as you pulled out your scrolls and text books.
“Everything, I guess. It just. . . doesn’t make sense. I can’t figure out how to get from Point A to Point B,” you explained.
“So conceptualizing it?”
You blinked at him. “I- uh, I guess that is one way to put it.”
“Okay, that gives us a starting point then.” He smiled at you. “So let’s go to basics. See if that can help.”
“Alright,” you muttered, learning forward as he began writing.
“So theurgy is a bit different than the other schools, when using magic we don’t summon or coerce the creatures into appearing. We breathe life into them through the Song of Creation. Are you familiar with that?” When he turned to look at you, you were staring blankly at the paper. He waited a few moments for you to respond, but you didn’t. Namjoon snapped his fingers twice, you jerked back to attention.
“Sorry, I- uh. . . what did you say?”
It was then when Namjoon realized how you were able to fail your apprenticeship so miserably and how you earned your last name.
You could not focus at all.
Every time Namjoon was going over spell casting and or creation, he would turn to you to check to see if you were following, only for you to have a blank look on your face or your eyes to be trained on the floating books again. Every time he would have to snap his fingers to regain your attention. On some occasions, he saw you scribbling away into a notebook. At first he thought you were actually taking notes, but anytime he tried to take a look at it, you shut the book in his face.
By the end of the second hour, when your session was coming to a close, you had finally managed to understand one spell. It was just a shield spell, so it wasn’t too complicated, but not enough for Namjoon to be satisfied with your progress.
As the two of you left the library, you were about to make a break for the right, no doubt returning to your dorm room in Ravenwood, but he quickly grabbed onto your wrist.
“What?”
“I want you to read over the History of Life Magic, chapters one through four. Just the basics, that should help at least a tiny bit.”
“You’re giving me homework?”
He blinked at you, caught off guard by the question. He’s always asked the students he tutored to reread certain materials, and they did so without question. “It’s not really homework, just helps to go over the material again,” he sputtered out in response. “I want to see you succeed and catch up in your secondary school. And reading helps.”
“Yeah, sure,” you huffed with a roll of your eyes, then walked down the pathway through the Commons.
Over the next two weeks, the two of you had fallen into a routine; every few days you’d be late by no more than 10 minutes to each session (how he had no idea, considering the initiate divination class would get out around your scheduled time) with fresh bandages, he’d try his damndest to help you understand the material, and then you’d part ways, heading off towards the right. And it was agonizing for Namjoon. You read at a snail's pace, mixing up the pixie and fairy spells, scrambling words and wand motions together. It wasn’t by lack of effort either, Namjoon could see you were trying, genuinely, but no matter how much reading he assigned you, nothing seemed to stick. You got one spell for every ten he went over with you. He simply could not believe how you managed to even get enrolled into Ravenwood in the first place.
When he expressed his frustrations towards Professor Wu when it was time for a follow up, she finally told him that you were a new student, only coming in within the past 6 months, after being kicked out of Pigswick for poor performance. He was shocked at the information, but it made sense. You were a troubled student and needed a firm hand. So he went to work, putting together another lesson plan that was more strict to try and see if that would help you at all.
It didn’t.
Barely a full session in, he watched as you failed to recite the proper incantations to summon a leprechaun, something you nearly had the day previous.
“What isn’t clicking for you?” He found himself asking you at the end of the session.
“I’m sorry?”
“I mean, why can’t you do this? This is basic theurgy, and you’re a storm student! This should come easy to you, right? So why are you struggling so much?” He felt like he was at the end of his rope. If he couldn’t teach you, then what hopes could he ever have about being a professor?
“I mean, it just. . . doesn’t. It’s hard to explain. . .”
“Well if you don’t figure it out, you’re gonna get kicked out from another school,” Namjoon muttered under his breath.
“What?”
He froze. He cringed to himself as he turned around to look at you, regretting even thinking the words. Once he laid eyes on you, he saw that same broken look he saw when Professor Wu said you couldn’t continue with your afterschool activities, only worse. Your shoulders sagged, and Namjoon swore he could’ve heard your heart break, shattered by him. Then your face hardened as you tightened your grip on your bookbag.
“Then I guess there’s no reason for us to really continue these sessions, considering I’m just gonna get kicked out anyways.” Then you turned on your heel and stormed off.
“Y/N, wait- I’m sorry!”
He wanted to follow after you, but he couldn’t find it in him to. He watched as you disappeared into the crowded Commons area, wishing he never even opened his mouth.
The following day after class, Namjoon made his way over towards the Storm School. You deserved an apology, Namjoon knew that. What he said was mean, and something he never should’ve said as your tutor. It was just his luck that his mastery class ended at the same time the Storm initiate class ended, giving him the perfect opportunity to find you and apologize. He eyed through the students as they made their way past him, on their own way towards their next class or any after school club. But he could not find out. He knew he had the right year, you were supposed to go into the initiate class this year, you were the proper age for it. Where were you?
Perhaps you stayed inside to talk to the professor, he thought to himself as he approached the heavy oak doors. Thunder boomed overhead from the gathering storm cloud that resided inside the classroom. It had been years since he’d ever stepped foot in the school of storm, the first and only time being from when he was trying to find a secondary school, all those years before he finally landed on balance.
Namjoon glanced around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of you but you weren’t in the room. Only Professor Balestrom resided in the classroom, standing on top of his desk as he gathered papers.
Taking a deep breath, he entered the school, clearing his throat to gain the frog professor’s attention. He turned on his flipper as the sound of Namjoon and bounced up to his full height of three feet.
“Ah! How can I be of service to you?”
“Hi, I’m tutoring one of your students. Y/N Raindreamer? They would be in your initiate class.”
A frown etched itself onto Professor Balestrom’s face. “Raindreamer is my student yes, but they’re not in my initiate class.”
“What?”
“Raindreamer advanced into the adept class about 3 months ago! They’re a brilliant student, one of the best diviners I’ve seen in a while,” he explained.
The information shook Namjoon to his core. You were an advanced student? But how could that be, considering your grades in theurgy? It didn’t make any sense. “I-I didn’t know that.”
“First time in my class, they struggled though. Came in on a reading day, which is everyone’s least favorite part of the curriculum. But as soon as we got to spell casting, they nearly blew the roof off this place!” The professor continued, leaping up in the air for dramatic effect. “They weren’t even here a week before I took them to the headmaster and demanded they advance to the journeyman course, only that was also too easy! They’re getting a real challenge in adept, I’ll tell you that.”
Namjoon couldn’t believe his ears. Here he was, thinking you were a walking failure, doomed to be kicked out of a second school. Only to learn that you were nearly two years advanced in your studies! “Oh. . . well, do you know where they might be? I do need to talk to them.”
Professor Balestrom looked at the clock on the wall. “Should be in the arena by now.”
“The arena?”
“Yes. The arena! They’re a duelist, did you not know that?”
Only then did it dawn on him that he never did ask what you wanted to do so badly that you wanted to schedule your tutoring sessions around it. Then he remembered what days you were late on, the fresh bandages you always had on. . . You were still dueling. Under the school’s nose too.
“Thank you, Professor Balestrom. I appreciate it.”
“Of course, of course!” The frog man called out to Namjoon as he all but ran out the door. As fast as he could, he made his way through the tunnels to the Commons and then to Unicorn Way. He pushed open the doors of the arena, the snapping of puppets and growls of different summoned monsters filled his ears as he approached Diego, the dueling master.
“A newcomer? Are you interested in learning the art of the duel?” The unicorn asked, raising a brow at him.
Namjoon shook his head no. “Sorry, I’m actually looking for someone. Y/N Raindreamer?”
“Ah, yes! They’ve been short on their dueling practice lately, but they’re in the next dueling chamber over. Come, I shall show you.” Diego led Namjoon down a hall towards an empty arena, where sure enough you were, dueling against a puppet.
He was blown away with the sight before him. You waved your wand with practiced ease and the creatures you summoned did your bidding with little to no struggle at all. It wasn’t at all how you were when he was tutoring you. How could you manage to do so good in one class that you advance two classes, but struggle to advance in your secondary?
“Pretty good, eh? Came in from Pigswick, good school and all but they don’t actually teach magic there. It’s all theoretical. But as soon as Raindreamer was enrolled here, and with a little help from your’s truly, they advanced in no time!” Diego explained as he and Namjoon watched you battle the puppet. “They come in here as often as they can, practicing all the spells they learn in class. See the scrolls?” He pointed off to the side of the dueling sigil where sure enough, were piles of spell books and scrolls, mainly of storm magic, judging from the purple lining. But Namjoon could see some greens in there.
You weren’t just practicing.
You were studying.
Raising your wand again, this time the life symbol appeared. Up until the last wave of your wand, it was perfect. You had twisted your wrist in the wrong direction, causing the spell to fizzle completely. You let out a curse as you stepped away from the sigil, the puppet standing still. You pulled open the life scroll, reading over it again, no doubt trying to find your mistake.
“You’re supposed to twist your wrist towards the right, not the left!” Namjoon called out to you. Your head snapped up in his direction, mouth open to probably yell at him. But you didn’t say anything, your eyes focusing on Diego behind him.
“He’s right, you were perfect up until that last move,” Diego confirmed as he trotted down the stairs towards you, Namjoon following after. “He was looking for you, I hope you do not mind I brought him here.”
“It’s alright, thank you, Diego.” You gave the unicorn a slight smile, who nodded before stepping away, giving the two of you some privacy. Once your attention was fully towards Namjoon, your lips pressed into a thin line. “What is it, Namjoon?”
“I wanted to apologize, what I said was out of line. As your tutor, it should’ve been my priority to build you up, not to tear you down.”
You regarded him cautiously. “Doesn’t change the fact that what you said really hurt. I did try, but studying like that just. . . it doesn’t work for me. Sitting there and telling me how to cast spells, I have to see and do it to fully understand. Do you get that?”
“Yes, I can see that now.” Namjoon stepped toward the pile of scrolls and books that you had at the side of the arena. Picking up the one that was open, he flipped through it. There were a bunch of notes and scribbles in the margins, he recognized the chicken scratch as yours but what you wrote were what he would go over and teach you in your tutoring sessions. “This is why you wanted those days off, so you could practice your spellwork and could try to actually grasp what you were learning?”
Slowly, you nodded. “I will admit, I did continue dueling, but without the proper amount of dedication to practice and study, it just. . . I couldn’t do it.”
“Then we’ll hold our tutoring sessions here.”
You looked at him in shock. “What?”
“If this is what helps you learn, then this is what we’ll do to help you,” Namjoon started, “I’ll tell Professor Wu about the change and reserve an arena with Diego. We can meet here instead of the library, does that sound good to you?”
“I- yeah! That’s- that’s perfect, thank you!” You said, beaming widely at him. It was the first time you actually smiled at him, and he was going to deny the little flutter he felt in his chest.
“Okay, so I’ll see you here tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow!”
Just as he said, Namjoon talked with Moolinda about having you study via dueling.
“I don’t know, Jadeshield. . . they’re failing, and the rules are no extracurriculars unless a student is of a passing grade.”
“I know, but this is how they learn! I didn’t understand it at first, and that’s my fault. But they’re actually really smart! Did you know they’re two classes advanced in divination?” Namjoon countered.
Professor Wu was taken back by that knowledge, judging by the way her eyes narrowed down and focused on him.
“Please, just give them a chance.”
She was quiet, before placing her hooves together and nodding. “Very well. You may hold your tutoring lessons in the arena.”
Namjoon was so ecstatic, he would have jumped for joy. But there was one more thing that he had to ask. . .
Due to his meeting with the professor, Namjoon was running late to meet you at the Arena. He saw you were sitting on the grass outside the building, looking down at that book you would scribble in during your tutoring sessions, flipping through the pages.
“Hey!” He caught your attention as he approached you. “I have great news!”
Looking up from your book, you furrowed your brows together. “What?”
“I talked to Professor Wu and she gave the green light for us to do dueling tutoring sessions and she agreed!”
You jumped to your feet. “Really?!”
“Yes, and she agreed to something even better.”
“Spit it out then! Don’t leave me here in all this suspense!”
“If you test well enough on the next exam that’s in a few weeks, you can join the initiate program!” It took a lot of convincing on his part, and staking his whole career as a tutor on the line, but he was wrong to ever doubt you in the first place. He knew you could do it.
“You-oh my stars! Thank you!” Dropping your book, you threw yourself onto Namjoon, wrapping your arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly.
He stilled at the sudden contact, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. “You’re- you’re welcome,” he said, patting your back gently. He’d never been thanked in such a way before, usually a quick handshake or a smile. Never a hug.
As quick as you hugged him, you released your hold on him, smiling brightly at him. “Come on! Exam may be a few weeks away, but I wanna be sure I have everything right so I can ace this test!” You said, before racing inside the arena.
Namjoon stood back for a second, still feeling the heat on his cheeks. He took a step forward to join you, only to accidentally step on your book that you’d dropped. Kneeling down, he picked it up. Curiosity gaining the best of him, he took a peek inside. It was doodles and drawings of different creatures and spells, with little notes dotted along the sides. Still flipping through the book, he began walking towards the arena, but he stopped as he turned to a page that took him by surprise. It was a drawing of him, incompleted, but was very obviously Namjoon. He felt the heat on his face return, crawling up his ears too. Reading along the sides of the page, were your own personal anecdotes about him. Calling him all sorts of names, but also things he had said; Stuff from his lessons. You had remembered, you were trying. He just couldn’t see it.
“Ahem.”
Namjoon’s eyes broke away from the sketchbook, meeting Diego’s gaze. The unicorn said nothing, only winking at him as he tossed his head in the direction of the arena doors.
Breaking eye contact, Namjoon pushed open the doors, hoping you wouldn’t see the embarrassment on his cheeks. He spotted you almost immediately, talking with some other students he could only presume were your friends. Taking notice of him, you smiled at him again, and he swore he could see a twinkle in your eye-
No. No. No.
You had an exam to study for and he was your tutor. He couldn’t fraternize with you like that. However, he wouldn’t be for long if you ace that exam. . .
“Raindreamer, let’s go!”
#btsghostie#namjoon x reader#kim namjoon x reader#bts x reader#namjoon x gender neutral reader#kim namjoon x gender neutral reader#bts x gender neutral reader#bts wizard au#wizard101 au#neurodivergent reader#namjoon x adhd reader#wizard namjoon
39 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ok I’ve had like 24 hours to digest the ending of P3 so I’m here to dump my thoughts. Full disclosure this is going to have a ton of spoilers for Persona 3 Reload!!
The party members were good, I didn’t like them as much as 5 but I do prefer them over 4.
I was kind of annoyed to learn that Chidori could be saved, because the whole thing is easy to miss. I also think the whole idea of her coming back alive and not remembering anything about the Dark Hour or her persona is kind of… lame. It’s just a very convenient way to wrap up her storyline. I did like Junpei’s growth, though, and she obviously contributes to that. Their personas merging when she dies is really… bittersweet.
Speaking of character deaths… Shinjiro??? Hello??? Absolute shock, I was not expecting to lose a party member. Can’t believe they got me to instantly ship Shinjiro and Akihiko just to have Shinji die in Aki’s arms.
And bringing up both Chidori and Shinjiro’s death, let’s talk about Strega. Jin is overall pretty plain, I don’t have much to say to him either way. Takaya, on the other hand, I have so much to say. Full disclosure, I started calling him “Jesus” as soon as I saw him, which I mean… makes sense with the theme of the game. He’s a good, creepy, culty villain and he does it well. My only issue with him (aside from like, obviously disliking him because he’s the villain and a murderer and stuff), is his design. I absolutely hate that he is always shirtless, it is super uncomfortable and weird (which is presumably the point, but still it gives me the ick).
I enjoyed most of the social links, overall. I didn’t really like Kenji and his whole dating a teacher thing, but his link did get better once he was dumped.
I was also kind of irked by Nozomi because his character and the writing is… pretty fat-shamey, but my main problem was the way his storyline feels incomplete. We learn he was in a cult but don’t ever really learn directly what they were about.
I maxed out all but two social links. Chihiro was left at rank 9 and Kazushi at rank 6. I consider that a pretty solid attempt at maxing for a first run.
I knew this going in (one of the few things I knew about the game before playing) that the male party members did not have social links. It’s still a bummer though, because I would have liked to spend more time with them and see them developed outside of the main plot.
And speaking of main plot. I did actually like the pseudo-science involved in the Dark Hour’s creation, I thought it was kind of neat to have a sort-of explanation for how the world with shadows came about (at least for this game).
The way I lost my mind when it was revealed that Ryoji was death… damn. It was a little predictable, because something was obviously weird with him but I was not expecting it to be that weird!
The whole end of the world final showdown is pretty standard JRPG stuff, so I don’t really have much to say on that plot point, but I have to admit I don’t really like the ending.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of the protagonist sacrificing themselves is fine, even if it’s emotionally charged, I respect that as an ending. I’m more irked by the idea that the protagonist basically fought to survive a few months in order to fulfill his promise to meet the team on the school roof, just to die right before they all arrive (excluding Aigis). It feels like the ending doesn’t really give closure, to see SEES happy together after their success or alternatively have them grapple with the loss of their leader and friend.
Overall, I thought the gameplay was fun. Theurgy adds an extra little boost to your character’s strengths which was nice and helpful in speeding up some of the full moon boss battles (and cheesing the Reaper). People (and cats) getting lost in Tartarus adds an extra reason to explore Tartarus along with Elizabeth’s requests, making extra trips to Tartarus worth doing.
The music is fantastic, of course. Bangers all around, and I don’t think this needs any additional explanation.
So here’s my final thoughts/stats for the time being—I’ll be back to 100% it soon:
Persona 3 Reload
Achievement Progress: 85%
Play Time: 85:15
Rating: 8/10
Favorite Song(s): Master of Shadow, Mass Destruction, Burn My Dread - Last Battle
Favorite Character(s): Yuko, Ryoji, Mitsuru, Shinjiro, Koromaru
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
do you have any sylvia drake headcanons? i love her in game and i really wish they would expand more on how she died :’)
Hey there anon! I'm sure many of us do, what with the whole "fridged wife" trope and all that.
I'll also say that from a story-telling perspective, a sympathetic villain's backstory only works if we--the reader--have reason to believe that things were better before. We get nothing on Sylvia, so she tends to seem very overrated if you only assess her in-game appearances.
"How she died," huh? I've got some stuff for that! Mind my tone, this is about to get dense.
First, my interpretation of Sylvia Drake comes from Avalon, not Dragonspyre (which is strongly implied in-game). She grew up with her step-mother and her 2 sisters--one older, one younger--and she was on good terms with her family for the most part. I promise to expand more on her family later!
I did steal a canonical part of her character, that being her ability to learn fire magic in her young-adult years. In my version of the Spiral universe, most magic-users have a primary elemental school and then learn a secondary spiritual school, and Sylvia's primary was pyromancy.
I had a story written up about her finding a way to be both a strong, extroverted pyromancy and a nurturing, gentle theurgist at the same time. She finds that balance through teaching!
There's a standard to theurgy, especially with healing people and making sure you don't get complacent with your abilities, but she also knows that healed people heal others better than most. Hence why the kids loved her but also knew not to trifle with her. The Master of Death married her, after all.
I think she was definitely a tough grader, but in a way that all her students knew was fair. You’re dealing with people’s lives—you can’t afford to make mistakes and just “get by” in her class!
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
rug wrested into 75% submission. how many times did i turn it around because i wanted to see specific squares of it in specific spaces because it's a hand-made rug and thus each square configuration is different in colour?
too many times.
it's only 75% submission because i cannot lift my television stand high enough to get that corner of the rug beneath it without taking everything off of it so it can a) be lifted high enough, b) not have everything slide to one side and then off.
also her name is theodora (the website named her, not me), but i'm deciding which theodora the name shall be evoking, and i'm leaning toward theodora of emesa:
one of the last students of the athenian platonic school (thanks for closing it justinian 'the great' you dick)
also studied at the alexandrian school with her younger sisters (we love to see the traditions of hypatia continuing)
possibly descended from the emesene dynasty
is the dedicant of damascius's life of isidore (aka the primary source on hypatia, perserved in the suda).
said to have performed pagan rites along with theurgy (i see you looking, hermetic order of the golden dawn)
was described, along with her family, three centuries after her death, as 'first prize winners in idolatrous impropriety' by photius (which i can only see as a compliment, because he excommunicated the roman pope, made-up a theory of people having two souls just to make his opponent look stupid by arguing against it seriously and then said he was just kidding, caused a schism, and is responsible for saving some of the lost fragments of diodorus siculus's bibliotheca historica)
in conclusion: one of the best theodoras. theodorae?
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Strictly, it was not the emperor, but his genius or guardian-angel, who must be propitiated and by no means blasphemed. Every man had a ‘genius,’ every woman a ‘Juno.’ This piece of old Roman folk-lore was now so much mixed up with speculation about disembodied souls and spirits that the fuller consideration of it must be postponed to a later chapter. Apuleius is a valuable source of information on the spiritualistic beliefs which were now becoming almost universal.
Christianity was not unaffected by them, but it did a great service by discountenancing magic and theurgy. The school of Plotinus was less successful in resisting the popular craving: it was at last deeply infected by this kind of superstition, which Plotinus himself disliked but could not wholly repudiate, since nature, for him, was a web of mysterious sympathies and affinities. The ‘genius’ was properly a man's higher self, his spiritual ego. It is therefore significant, as showing how fluid was the conception of personality at this time, that families, cities, trades, had their ‘genius,’ much as the individual soul might be held to be subsumed under a higher unit, and ultimately under the universal Soul.
This vagueness about personality made the notion of a celestial hierarchy easy and acceptable. Maximus of Tyre is fond of regarding the spirits as messengers and interpreters between earth and heaven, and Celsus, the Roman official, compares them to proconsuls or satraps, deputy regents of the supreme ruler. Plotinus himself believed in these intermediate beings, and so did the Christians, for whom the ‘dæmons’ of paganism became demons in our sense.
-- William Ralph Inge, The philosophy of Plotinus
3 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
indigo474
How good can life get
istanbulbeylikduzutravesti
Beylikdüzü travesti rüya 0531 332 6006
mad-armada
Form and Function
pink-n-spooky
Slay?
sortofsluttymoth
just as you are