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no. 34 ( updated )

a schedule :

sundays will be about religion, mysticism, and magic ~

mondays will be about podcasts and music i like and dislike ~

tuesdays will be about mythology, legends, and folk lore i find interesting ~

wednesdays will be about tv shows and movies i like and dislike ~

thursdays will be about comics, books, and audiobooks i like and dislike ~

fridays will be about Project Prasiolite ~

saturdays can be about anything ~

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more poetry

i’m tired from morning and evening

of being perfect in an imperfect world

afraid escape is impossible

some poetry

i have many blessings, throne and crown

the best of fruit and flower

friends in deep places, low and mighty

the world of star, nebula, moon, and comet

a shyte poem

i wish i could meet my god

i could adore him, would adore him

get my hands dirty for him

shyt together, i’d serve him well

and make this work

urban legends

urban legends are a significant inspiration for Project Prasiolite ; as contemporary mythology, urban legends convey true sentiments, even if the events depicted are fictitious or exaggerated – there’s a thin line between a story and a lie and my devils walk that line ~ my favorite urban legend is one i grew up with : Candyman * i was an adult by the time i understood that Candyman was a creation of Clive Barker and not a figure i should have believed would appear behind me in mirrors if i called his name three times ( never mind that it’s a fivefold evocation in the movies ).

Candyman seemed to be a real danger to me as a kid ; even as an adult, you’d have to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to call his name five times into a mirror, especially in the dark, especially alone – i believe in spirits and mirrors seem to be very much like windows and doors, so i’m not taking chances like that lightly ~ point being, urban legends are a major element of my imagination *

old gods of Appalachia

i’ve finally gotten around to listening to the titular podcast ; it’s scratching the same rural horror / fantasy itch as Hillbilly – i have a deepening love for Appalachia, or at least the idea of Appalachia, owing in no small part to folks like Reverend Oliver Snow and Pink Williams ~

hillbilly

i’ve started reading the graphic novel series Hillbilly, a dark fantasy adventure in a fantastical Appalachia-inspired setting ; i’m about seven issues in and i’m really enjoying it – it scratches this itch i’ve been trying to relieve for rural fantasy ~

rules are made to be broken + fake words

it’s sunday but i don’t feel like focusing on real religion, mythology, or magic ; i would rather talk about my constructed language/s – i am not a Tolkien, so i don’t feel compelled to build languages from scratch, i believe in “cheating” ~ most of my conlangs are variations of the primary one, which is called Lingu * Lingu is the primeval language of Oblivion and it spawned two ancient languages, six old languages, and thirty modern languages, each with five dialects.

realistically, i don’t need to develop all those languages and dialects, i can just develop the ones that matter ; Modern Western Tozde and Lingu are the default language dialects of my tales, at least in the sense that special terms and names are translated from English to MWT or Lingu – one of the most important special terms is “gifalo” ~ gifalo are the devils of Existence, the default protagonists of Prasiolite tales *

i feel familiar words like “devil” carry too much cultural baggage ( even if i like a lot of that baggage ), so i try to come up with unfamiliar terms ; “Jedi” means what it means because George Lucas made it up and any spinner of tales could do the same – so anyway, gifalo are my devils and their sacred language is Lingu, which only they can write, speak, or read ~

here’s one of my cheat codes :

diabolical > d f l + i a o i = idafoli > dafoli ;

i <> a, t <> l ( dafoli > difola

o <> a, g <> d ( difola > gifalo )

i don’t like p or b, so i replace them with v and f

dafoli is the Lingu word for gifalo but they don’t use Lingu in mixed company, so it makes more sense for the text to refer to them as gifalo

designing the best magic system

what does a particular magician believe they need? the answer is their element.

why does the magician believe they should have it? the answer is their energy.

how does the magician believe their element can be lost? the answer is one of their magical banes.

how does the magician believe their energy can be lost? the answer is one of their magical banes.

where does the magician believe they are most powerful? the answer is one of their circumstances.

when does the magician believe they are most powerful? the answer is one of their circumstances.

what activity must the magician engage in to get what they need? the answer is their focus.

what activity must the magician engage in to keep what they need? the answer is their protection.

name at least two things the magician can do ; give the magician and their practice appropriate names –

my magician believes they need freedom ; they believe they should have it because not having it causes them suffering – they believe freedom can be lost through oppression ~ they believe suffering can be lost through pleasure * they believe they are most powerful in the forest. this magician believes they are most powerful at night ; they must sneak to get freedom – they must hide to keep their freedom ~ this magician sneaks about the forest at night to channel their suffering into freedom and hides from pleasure and oppression lest they lose it.

my magician can teleport and go unnoticed as long as they have freedom ; they are a sneak practicing the art of skulking –